Log:First Order: Point of No Return

First Order: Point of No Return

OOC Date: September 5, 2019
Location: Ichren
Participants: Knights of Ren: Kylo Ren, Oran Arcantael, Ravelyn, and Erisi Auslese; First Order: Hadrix Rol, Karys, Duke, Evie Leven, Saanvi, and Tullia

Kylo stands at the front of the command center near the large viewport that looks out on the system's multicolored star, Solominus. The elite Vanguard and Knights of Ren are gathered here for an informative briefing from the Supreme Leader, whose scarred face presents a serious expression, as it often does, and whose monotone palette is at odds with the swirling rainbow of hues.

"We have a lot of ground to cover. We still don't know what it is that Ruanna found on Alpha Prime, but if the warning is worthwhile, it's something-"

As if on cue, the viewport behind him is suddenly dominated by the familiar wedge of a First Order Star Destroyer that stretches into existence, phasing in from hyperspace. As soon as it appears, the massive warship opens fire on the base, rocking the command center and causing Kylo to stumble into the nearest bulkhead.

A panicked transmission crackles to life over the comm tower's receiver: "Supreme Leader, this is Captain Keeva of the Predator. We are no longer in control of the ship. Someone has taken over. All crew is still on board but we cannot control the ship."

Her helmet off and to her side, pistols stowed as her stance widens and she looks to the supreme leader. A brief glance is given to Hadrix before her attention turns forward again. That is when she sees it phasing in, dark brows over brilliant blue eyes furrowing. "Is that.." is that supposed to be there is the unfinished question.

As the base is ROCKED by the blows, she manages to keep her footing as the transmission assails them over the comm. Her head turns to that of the other vanguards and without hesitation she drags her helmet up and on, twisting it into place to make sure its sealed. The HUD comes to life and she says, <"KS-0218 awaiting orders.">

He had hoped his first team up back with the Vanguard would have been an easy one, the briefing seeming like such a lighthearted way to become reacquainted with the team and away from any serious danger. What a silly thought to have been had, nothing is ever safe when there are those who wish to undo the order and peace the First Order wishes to bring to the galaxy.

Avery was standing at attention, listening to information given by the Supreme Leader when blaster fire rocks the ship and the rookie trooper stumbles to the side. Helmetless, bright green eyes flash to the nearest console and his fingers itch to attempt something with the technology. "Permission to attempt to lock out their gun systems, sir!" He requests even as his feet are carrying him in that direction, the massive T-21 slung across his back.

His first instinct is to say 'Well blow it up then.' But he's not the supreme leader, nor does he make those kinds of calls. Stumbling under the impacts on the base, Hadrix growls dropping to a knee to keep his balance by lowering his center of gravity.

<<"Prep for marine action, Vanguard.">> is Hadrix's response <<"Move on the First Leaders command until were in field.">> When Avery steps in to offer tech aid, he doesn't contradict, nodding to AV - good to have more back on active.

Erisi had been very serious, hands tucked in behind her in the small of her back, gloved hands clasped together. She looks very serious. Face made up, hair pony-tailed and bangs looking fresh. It's something - Eri almost leans forwards as the word hangs, only to have that lean turn into a arm-wheeling tumble into some terminal. Clutching said terminal she pops her head up to look darkly around. No words. YET. She might have had the wind knocked outta her. She needs a sec.

A modulated groan crackles through the vocoder of DK-4077 as he watches the incoming heavy bolts intent on assailing their fine vessel. Steady enough on his feet, his helmeted face turns to regard the Supreme Leader; waiting to see what the man has in store for him.

The station gets rocked and Evie doesn't exactly go flying, but she does stumble around a bit before regaining her footing once again. Well, when she'd caught the sight of the Destroyer out of the corner of her eye that wasn't the greeting that he expected it to offer! Definitely not standard naval protocol. Much like Duke, Evie's not speaking immediately. She's standing at attention and awaiting orders from the man in charge, now. Limbs already tensing and ready to jump into action.

There's a slouched comfort to Ravelyn's stance as the briefing begins, helmet angled so the Knight can focus on the Supreme Leader while he speaks. When the Star Destroyer appears, however, the crossed arms drop and the knight straightens. A quick look is cast over to Kylo to confirm that this is supposed to be happening, when... no it's definitely not supposed to be happening. Shots are fired and Ravelyn goes staggering back as well, one hand shooting out to brace against a terminal.

Oran stumbles into a bulkhead not far from Kylo's when the command center's world is unexpectedly rocked! He's quick to right himself, with a brief dusting off of robes like that definitely never happened. "Move Finalizer into defensive action, scramble the TIEs, disable but do not destroy -- we have thousands of personnel on that ship. Tens of thousands," Oran reminds any who might be a little keen towards destruction. "If our support can keep it busy enough and give us cover, we can punch in and address this issue more -- surgically." Shrug. "That's my vote, at the least."

Saanvi sways and falls back a step but manages not to fall on her ass. She observes this with a detached curiousity, "How would one go about obtaining control? How fas-How infuriating!" She affects a scowl and uses her com <<Catastrophic on call protocol code yellow: stand by and be prepared for emergency medical response>> communicating to medical her staff the appropriate reaction at this time.

"Boost the shields," Kylo snaps at the tech-inclined, righting himself with a snarly expression that's cast towards the viewport and the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer outside pummelling the station with turbolaser fire. Warning klaxons ring with alarm, red lights flash, and panicked personnel come rushing into the command center despite the fact that it's being used by the Supreme Leader, quick to man their stations.

"Supreme Leader," the transmission continues, "repeat, ALL HANDS are still aboard the Predator, we are locked out of the reactor core and the bridge. Weapon systems do not respond. Intruders hold the bridge, the reactor core is situation unknown. I have my best men at work on it but we've never seen anything like this."

Kylo listens while pacing back and forth in front of the viewport. "This must be what she found. A way to override the Order's fleet. We have to keep them from getting aboard the Finalizer or the station, and disable that destroyer." He glances at the Vanguard. "Get to the ships. We're going in."

The launch bay is a maelstrom of activity, crew and pilots scurrying in all directions, droids rumbling across the deck, TIE fighters powering up and lifting off. The Shadow is prepped and ready for flight, as well as the various TIEs piloted by the Vanguard: they got options. Kylo steps onto the landing ramp of the Shadow, leaving the choice up to the others as to which they will utilize, while the shuttle begins to lift off the bay floor, the landing ramp hanging open a few moments longer for any who do not wish to fly.

Orders are given and Karys is quick to turn. To the ships. Falling into a jog with her other Vanguard members she is making the quick turns through the base for the landing pads. The lights flicker and gleam off the black colored armor, its red stripe a bit ominous on the dark field. Time to take the fight to one of their own ships.

Avery moves quickly to the console, his fingers flying over the display as he works on fulfilling the Supreme Leader's first command. Eyes dancing from side to side as he processes the readout and answers accordingly. After a few brief seconds, the rookie turns with a satisfied smile to the lot of them. "Shields boosted, sir. That should hold for a bit." He adds as he snatches his helmet from its fallen place on the floor and moves to dash down the hallways after Karys, aiming for the shuttle to carry him to the offending ship.

A fair pilot but not so much a hand with vehicle weapons, Hadrix is up the ramp to the Shadow and moving to take position in one of the assault ramp stations. <<"Vanguard, mount up - fighter or transport, to your strengths.">> growling to himself as he switches to a broader line of comms. <<"Supreme leader, suggest assault lander dock base of the tower, on the aft side. Will put us in a good position for either going for the bridge, or engineering on your command.">>

Tullia was calm when the attack began. The alarms trigger a surge of adrenaline and the promise of battle. Already in her pilot gear she immediately sprints towards the hanger bay and to her beloved TIE. She grins, a rare thing that only happens when she thinks that she gets to kill Resistance fighters. Her fighter's screams echo the rage inside of her.

Erisi quickly follows to board the Shadow, the chick not one keen to fly. Because she can't. Anyone remember her trying to drive a ground vehicle? "Whoa, whoa - hold up." Picking up her robes she'll strike out into a run, hopping up onto that hovering ramp, an exaggerated jump, "Woof." She sways momentarily, fabric of her robes dropped, right hand sweeping up into her bangs, "I am getting fitter by the day .." Said with some exasperation. All is not well in the Galaxy if Eri can hustle without losing breath. A disdainful sniff and she's shuffling into the Shadow proper, clearing the way for any others who wish to follow.

Making sure that everything is all in order, Duke steps into the Shadow, tightening his gauntlets and checking the seal of his helmet. "Ma'am," he offers as he passes Erisi on his way to a jumpseat. His EZ-Snap is stowed in favor of something a little more suited to the right corridors of a ship and he takes a seat, finger tapping idly against the trigger guard.

When the order's given, the Kuati girl can't help but quirk the corner of her lips up in a smile. "Roger that, sir. We'll clip their wings." Evie replies before moving into a run towards the hangar bay. While the choice of opponent isn't exactly one she would've made, it's always good to be en route to one of her beloved TIEs. She's quick to climb up into the cockpit and fingers are moving across panels -- it's a thing to see her operate, really. The girl was practically born in a TIE, and she was definitely at home in the sleek machine.

Systems are prepped, engines are ready, and Evie throttles forward to take the ship into space. <<"Alright, pilots. you heard the Supreme Leader. We've got to disable the Predator so that our ground forces can purge the virus from within.">>

Burn it out, she's guessing, if Hadrix has anything to say about it.

Ravelyn spends the time it takes to travel from the command center to the launching bay considering which option to select. The fighter, or the transport. It's the latter that Ravelyn chooses, stepping on board right on the figurative heels of Erisi. "You're not the only one," the armored knight remarks to her, dropping into seat.

Oran probably could fly... maybe. Has anyone seen him do it? Or only heard stories? Evidence as to piloting ability or lack thereof will not be forthcoming today, as he braces against another impact to the immense Spearhead station and turns to follow Kylo -- all the way to the shuttle, where he occupies himself with pre-flight checks as quickly as possible and sends a comm transmission to the special-forces group scrambling into their ships. "Shoot to disable, do not shoot to destroy," the Coruscanti knight comms, "Our goal is to get aboard that ship, not to destroy it, and once we do -- mind your targets. Friendly fire is unacceptable, 'Predator' has enough problems right now as it is." After it's shut off and the shuttle is peeling out, he sighs, wondering off-comm to the others in the Shadow, and perhaps rhetorically, "How did she find us?"

Saanvi follows behind the others to board Shadow, <<Medical standby for status report, be prepared to deploy>> She of course had her medical supplies. The Space Scouts and Nerds never are caught unprepared!

Once the last of them are on board the Shadow, the landing ramp seals up and the ship shoots forward, the Supreme Leader at the controls and ready to get this ball rolling. <<"If you cause unneeded casualties on that ship I will add you to the list,">> Kylo warns over the comms, slamming the yoke hard to the left and bringing the shuttle around on a line with the Predator. <<"Aim for the autoturrets. Whatever they have, it can't fly TIE fighters,">> and there are none in the air except for those that have scrambled from Spearhead Base.

The Predator's guns continue to boom away, pelting the base and the Finalizer docked above it, causing the shields to bloom bright blue against the blackness of space as the Finalizer hurries to undock and put distance between itself and the rogue destroyer.

Karys is quick to settle into a jumpseat with the rest being chauffeured over. Glancing up at Avery who enters right behind her, she gives a nod and then glances to the others as well. Click. CLICK. Click. The finally buckle settles into place to keep her strapped in for what might be a bumpy ride considering what they are going out to face.

She turns her head, the visor catching the light as she lifts her knuckles and hits them against Avery's arm, giving a silent nods before giving a nod to each of the other Vanguard.

With helmet secured over his features, Avery strapped himself into the shuttle and watched as the rest of the team maneuvered into their places. He nods to Karys when she thumps his arm, a slow smile catching his lips as the ramp seals and the ship lifts from the ground. The Vanguard zooming into space and toward their destination with all haste. <<"Nothing like a rousing attack to settle one back into the swing of things.">>

<<"Prefer it elsewhere then our own damn ships.>> Hadrix notes from his seat his helmet locking in place, making him look like a war droid gone terribly right. The plated mask returns Karys's nod and the big trooper looms, too big for a seat in his suit right now. <<"Exit lander on full alert, full combat awareness. I don't care if it's friendlies. OpFor can still wear a suit of armor and pretend until the time is right.">>

Erisi straps in immediately once within the shuttle, first finding a seat of course, gloved hands working quickly, a snorting half-laugh given to Ravelyn, "Please .." Voice drips the word out, "I've seen that backside, armored, sure --" An exhalation as she lets lips upturn into a bemused smile, "- but you aren't the type of person who's only 'just' getting fit. Not unless you're up for some serious chafin' from some built in shaping." Click. Grin. Ankles cross beneath her seat as hands clasp and drop to her thighs, bottom lip jutted out as she considers Orans' question, "When you're hungry enough for blood, or ..connected in some way, it's inevitable. You should know that." Softly chiding, head canting to the right as she lets her upper lip join the bottom to blow dangly bang bits out of her eyes. There. All safe and cozy.

Duke's finger continues to tap at the trigger guard as his wordless stare moves to land on on the floor of the shuttle. He breathes deeply and settles back into his chair, gun tucked up tightly to his chest. Beneath that helmet there's likely some sort of pre-gaming going on, but whatever it is remains a mystery for now.

There's a reason that Evie handles flight instruction for the Vanguard -- she's an artist in the void. Her TIE always has a certain grace to it as it sources between bright beams of laser fire and other hostile forces that inhabit her playground.

<<"Affirmative, disable is the plan. My boys know what they're doing, we'll roll out the carpet for you.">>

As she makes her first run on the Destroyer, she knows exactly how she's going to do just that. Her grip is tight on the throttle, weaving to and fro to ensure she's a hard target for the many weapons of the Destroyer which /aren't/ under Order command... and she unleashes a volley of fire at one of the autoturrets aboard the ship.

• BOOM*

<<"That makes two, nice shootin' over there Tullia -- keep it up!">> Evie chirps over the comms, already at work at picking out her next target.

"It's nice to be appreciated," Ravelyn states to Erisi in a sort of low key, tense amusement that one can fall into during stressful stuations. Safety straps are snapped into place, and then a glance is shot in Oran's direction. "You think they're going to listen?" The helmet cants to one side just slightly at the end of the question. One hand settles on the saber resting at roughly hip level, but it's not taken out, there isn't a lot to do with it now other than feel the reassuring presence of a terrifying weapon.

Oran listens to Erisi's response and half-smiles at the 'you should know that.' "Guilty," he agrees, watching out the viewport as Evie and Tullia roll out that carpet just like they promised. Another glance back to Erisi, and he notes, "Assuming no one gets killed by Ruanna here, we ought to speak later. Not about work." A pause, there. "Well, sort of about work." He doesn't elaborate, getting up to head toward the ramp as the vessel draws near the beleaguered Predator, and shakes his head at Ravelyn. "If they don't listen, I will make it clear what friendly fire feels like, let me put it that way." He heads for the ramp, in anticipation of landing!

Saanvi staps in, wiggling and tring to nmake sure it doesn't mess with her utility vest of medical supplies, "How confident are we that we are not about to get rendered to orbital debris by the unfriendly friendly fire en route?" She doesn't seem worried so much as curious, "Fourty to sixty, perhaps?"

The Predator's guns continue to operate on automatic, homing in on the TIE fighters scrambled by the base despite their friendly IFF signatures, and here and there blooms like a firework's mark the deaths of pilots. The autoturrets' blasts thump just past the Shadow's hull as Kylo brings it closer to the Star Destroyer, but not the landing bay.

"Hold on." An aggressive push of the forward shield toggle sends all of the ship's power there, and in the viewport the Predator's bridge grows larger, larger, fills the whole-

CRASH, with a shattering of transparisteel and a rushing of air, the shuttle bursts into the Predator's bridge, shearing its wings off in the process while the gaping maw left in its wake seals itself off with flat metal paneling that comes shooting out to maintain atmospheric integrity within the destroyer.

Kylo pulls himself off of the control panel, pushing his hair back out of his face, a superficial cut leaking red. "They said this is where the intruders are." A finger depresses the button to lower the landing ramp.

This is where the intruders are; maybe not the only ones, but the masked black-garbed and red blade-wielding figures climbing back to their feet and exchanging bewildered glances are not First Order personnel, that much is clear.

Those harnesses are coming in handy right at the moment they go careening through the bridge. There shrieking of metal and the sparks that fly fill the brief void of black when the transports lights dim and flicker as parts of its integral mass are shorn free. Grunting as the straps press and dig her armor into her body glove, Karys waits for things to settle and the heavy ominous SHUNK of the protective outer shell of the bridge functions as it should - thankfully.

Pushing up after depressing the button of her seat, she climbs to her feet and looks to the Supreme Leader as out come her pistols and she switches to stun. Friendly fire is going to be 'friendly'. She moves up to a flanking position and readies her weapons, lifting them to aim once they start descending.

After being shaken thoroughly by their entrance, Avery taps himself on the helmet to make sure it is still on straight. Thankful for the harnesses indeed, had they not been present, the Vanguard might be cleaning AV-1004 off the inside of the ship. Fortunately, the trooper stands and steadies himself on his feet, twisting the massive gun around to bring the weapon to bear on the descended landing ramp. He moves to his place at the side of the ramp, watching the team assemble around the exit. He nods to the squad and awaits the signal to go.

"Troopers ain' easy to love... n'there harder to hold... They'd rather march to war than biscuits and tea. Plaststeel plates, and heads up displays... and each fight begins a new war... Y'got to understand him, he don't die young, just marches far, far away... Momma don't your babies grow up to be troopers..." Locked away in his suit, externals off and comms disabled, Hadrix apparently has a tune stuck in his head from bar visits. He can't sing. It's all to your benefit that the speakers aren't going. Really. Like a Bantha.

But then Kylo says to hold on, and Hadrix has to latch onto a hold stanchion to keep from flying into the cockpit. <<"My lord, if I had known you were so intent to be this efficient I would have suggested this first thing">> an edge of a laugh in Hadrix's voice before he charges the ramp

<<"Vanguard, wedge formation, on me, find cover, leap-frogdog advances">>

There is a brief moment where Erisi sits in her seat, strapped in tightly, looking somewhat stunned. Like a blossom slowly allowing it's petals to open up and display a smile begins to grow on her face, shoulders bruised, stomach clenched tight, hazel eyes dancing. Then the laughter spills out, her head dropping back in against the back of her seat, hands working to unbuckle as she exlaims happily, "He's the Supreme bloody Leader, Kylo bloody farkin' //Ren//. He doesn't /waste time/." Last buckle is released and Erisi is rising up, spared Had's singing as she sorts her robes out, adjusting the whip-thing at her hip and ensuring no fabric is ensared in locking pieces, "I do love this new family of mine." Happily murmured as chin lifts to settle gaze beyond the shuttle walls, the short banged woman straightening her spine with a small wiggle of shoulders which are then drawn back. Erisi then begins to follow the charging Hadrix off the ship into the surprised fray awaiting them at a more stately pace, hands coming up in front of her palms up, "Time to play."

Thankfully Duke's jumpseat is complete with straps to keep all of your body parts in the same place in the event of a crashlanding. The scout trooper shakes his head a few times and smacks at the helmet to get it to start acting right again before he unbuckles himself and stands up, rifle rearing to go.

Moving into formation, the man flicks the safety of his rifle off and comms, <<Ready.>>

Tullia is silently hoping that Resistance forces will blip onto her radar but for now these turrets will have to do. She snarls when her next target does not go up in smoke. This will NOT do. Chastizing herself mentally she prepares for the next round. Unlike the others she does not find anything to celebrate yet and although a small failure, it is still a failure, and she will not tolerate this from herself.

Evie tries to be extremely aware of where all the players are on the field. At the very least, the prize asset is always on her radar when he's on the field. She can't help but twitch an eyebrow as the Shadow misses the landing bay, though. Blinking in momentary confusion under her helmet as she watches its course with one eye and lines up her next run with the other. Until she sees just what's going on.

"You crazy..."

In pilot speak, it's a high compliment, and Evie's face lights up as the Supreme Leader executes a /perfect/ landing aboard the bridge of the Predator. That, that's one of the reasons she admires the man. He /flies/ like a pilot.

"Atta boy! Alright Eves, can't let him show you up too much." she chirps to herself, fully focusing on her own run, now. There's another autoturret in her sights -- but just to show off a bit? She sswings into a spin as she flies, doing a couple barrel rolls before squeezing the trigger once more and letting lasers fly.

• BOOM* goes another one! There's a shout of celebration inside her cockpit as the aptly callsigned Echo crosses another target off her list.

Hold on. That warning is rarely a good thing when on a ship, so Ravelyn takes said warning seriously and holds on, breath even held until the moment of impact when it's expelled by force. The sound of impact, the groan of metal, and now rapid breathing within the helmet. After a couple of seconds to collect thoughts, the knight's hand drops down to the latch and pulls the straps free, leaping up out of the seat. There's no sense of keeping formation here. Once the ramp lowers, Ravelyn is striding off the ship while tugging the lightsaber free from its resting place at the hip, and depressing the button so that it crackles to life. Another red blade is here to join the party.

"Ren, that's -- You're flying-- THAT'S---" Oran does not have the same joie de vivre that Erisi enjoys. Oran is gonna have a stroke here, paused in his journey aft as he realizes just what his boss is doing. Now he's caught between not wanting to correct a Kylo on a Mission, and an understandable internal sense of AAAAAAA as the Predator draws closer and closer and closer. In the end, he just gestures at the view screen in exasperation and says, "Star Destroyer!" like someone might call out a pot-hole in the road. Then there's a tremendous crash, atmo-sealing screens clamping down, and here they are. In the jaws of the beast.

Oran picks himself up from where he ate console upon landing, touches his fingers briefly to a split lip that is way less cool than Kylo's face cut, then plucks up his saber and marches toward the ramp and out. His red blade ignites with a snap hiss, humming ominous promise, but given the distance to cross, the adversaries are likely able to collect themselves before he draws near enough to strike first!

Saanvi stom-stomp-stomps after the others, checking her gear yet again with blaster in one hand and utility light just in case in the other <<What are comms protocols as I seek patients? Wait until Threat is eliminated?>> she peers, "How did these intruders get aboard?"

The others begin stacking up or hopping out, and Kylo unstraps himself as well, tugging the lightsaber from his belt as he strides back through the semi-ruined internals of the ship and leaps down to the deck, the long red blade igniting in his hand before it's joined shortly after by two smaller ones.

It seems a small boarding party, but by now the method of operation Ruanna's people employ is familiar; small, highly-skilled parties of fanatical Sith emulators. One of them reaches up and pulls off his hood with some difficulty due to the horns on his head, revealing a red face with yellow eyes. The Zabrak raises his red vibroblade in signal to the others, then lunges in to lead the charge, immediately slashing out at Ravelyn with his weapon, sending a devastating blow at the short Coruscanti noble before pivoting and whipping his blade just past Erisi's head.

The others come on with similar ferocity, moving with speed and precision, deadly blades capable of splitting flesh to the bone with barely a graze.

There is an ambush waiting for them on the other side and Karys lets out a sound of surprise when a powered vibro weapon an Its wielded comes down heavily upon her bicep. She steps back, trying to get room as it cuts through her armor like butter, scoring a deep hit against her flesh beneath the body glove. Grunting beneath her helmet, she steadies herself as her foot slides back and manages to steady. But she does not steady enough as she swings her guns up and all eight shots go stray, not one hitting as she tries to steady the rate of her heart, the twin pistols doing nothing to help her along the way. But the blood now leaking from a very deep wound in her arm might be the cause her missed shots - maybe not. But she holds position despite the urge to fall back.

Avery began his charge down the landing ramp only to be met with slashing swords, one of which slashes viciously into his leg, biting through the armor and causing him to stumble the remainder of the way down the metal extension. With a hiss he lifts the rifle and turns it to face his attacker. "Oh yeah!" He cries out through the speaker in his helmet before squeezing the trigger. The huge weapon roars to life sending three bolts screaming at the snarling oppressor. The first slams into their chest, sending them back a step while the other two careen off the nearby metal surface.

<<"Saanvi, pick up the worst, get them functional. Vanguard - Injured take back point. DK, with me. Full offense. All vanguard focus fire. Tear them down">> barked over the comms even as blaster fire splashes across the thick plates. Cutting grooves and making pock craters as he brings his own weapon to bear. Too many things that they don't want melted. Following AV's fire, and actually laughing at the 'oh yeah' Hadrix's E-11 barks, drilling in and past the hole made by Avery, sending them skidding to the ground (mostly due to the blaster cannon's power... For reals) as he twists and continues to stream fire, going wide of the intended.

That Zabrak has Erisi moving at a far quicker pace that she could have imagined herself capable of moving. The blade whips past her head, shearing off a curly-q length of hair as she side-skips out of the way, hazel eyes tracking the mans body. Drawing her hands back she punches them forwards, fingers flinging outwards in a fanning sort of way, sending a blaze erupting around the commander. As usual her skin harbors a soft glow, sweat and her use of the force, pyrokinesis in particular drawing her ever deeper into the darkside, a fact she doesn't seem to mind, "Take him down!!" She calls out, reading another attack, the air heating up around her as scarred and previously melted palms weave through the air to draw in whatever she draws in for the next attack.

<<Copy,>> is Duke's response to Hadrix, moving down the ramp smoothly as he acquires his first target. A squeeze of the trigger and the bolt goes flying right by the Commander's head, much to Duke's chagrin. Too much time in the vents, Duke. Too much time in the vents.

Tullia continues to dodge turret fire. She makes up for the previous pass by destroying the turret this time. She grimly perseveres but there's still something missing: A body count. Her mechanical foe goes up in smoke but she's itching for a real opponent. She keeps making her passes nevertheless.

Ravelyn tries to dodge the blade that slices downward, but the tip of it catches at just the right angle to get in between the armor plating and slice open an unpleasant gash into the knight's arm. There's a hiss of protest and pain, but it's cut off as that same blade swings around to attack Oran. Ravelyn takes that chance to charge forward, swinging up the lightsaber only to find the first attack woosh by and hit nothing but flooring of their own ship. The saber is brought back around, and rather than another slash, the angry red blade pushes forward to carve a molten hole in the commander's chest.

Everybody's luck runs out, someday. Oran's been riding high on a string of good luck, of watching enemies fall apart at his feet, quarry captured and brought before him in chains, personal disasters that turned out better than they might have. Lucky.

But luck runs out.

Maybe he read the wrong enemy in the Force, or misinterpreted that little half-hint that would have warned him where the blade was, but no sooner is he in range than the enemy's blade is very suddenly Right There, RIGHT THERE, poised to cut him apart -- there's no time to dodge, really, but it all just seems ridiculous that it would end this way. Ridiculous. Unacceptable.

Anger and hate roll off Oran in a strangely palpable, unsettling wave, something definitely a few degrees left of normal, some kind of dark-force activity that seems beyond the normal scale of emotions. Instead of trying a hopeless dodge, he sends his hand directly into the path of the blade; the saber cracks and its blade extinguishes, the vibroblade cuts down through the center of his hand and through his forearm. The hand and weapon are both wrecked, but he's alive, something that Commander can't claim for much longer once Ravelyn is through.

Saanvi grunts sharply as she's sent staggering back a few steps. <<MEdic en route.>> She grunts still breathless from pained surprise as she pivots and lurches hastily towards the fallen Oran, hands already yanking gear from her hideously ugly utility vest. Just imagine, this could be the last thing Oran ever sees with educational pamplets waiving at him from her hip pockets.

The Zabrak leader's expression is one of contempt as he chops the blade down into Oran's arm, fully expecting the weapon to have gone through the other man's spine or something, but the lunatic has instead subbed his arm into its place. Jerking at the hilt to free the weapon, he snarls at Ravelyn, dodging her first swing and beginning to spit some derisive commentary. "It's too late! Soon all your fleet will-" then the lightsaber skewers him, cutting off the speech. His yellow eyes shoot wide, and after a moment he falls to the floor, smoking and motionless.

The others continue their assault even as their leader and a comrade are cut down, the red blades flashing in dim imitation of the lightsabers wielded by the Knights, close-quarters weapons proving useful against the stormtroopers especially.

Kylo lunges in amongst them, leaving a deep gouge of glowing, cauterized flesh across one of their chests, but the Sith worshipper stumbles away out of his range, losing the tip of his vibroblade as he fends off a slash.

This lot is a tough one and those vibroblades are a pain. Karys growls low and follows focused fire to slam a bolt - at least one triumphantly to take out another warrior. Blood continues to drip from the wound on her arm, adding red along the armor to accent the stripe that is already there. She hisses between her teeth as the rest of her shots go wide once more, the first warrior she aimed at once again missed by the trooper. She gives a look at her pistols briefly and then at the wound.

A surge of hope pushes through the pain in his leg as his comrades cut down the commander, his yellow eyes darkening as he slumps to the floor. Karys' blaster fire reflects off his black as night armor, dropping one of the two remaining baddies while Avery turns to take aim at the second of their assailants. More blaster fire streams his way and the surprisingly agile being dodges the normally accurate pistoleer. AV-1004 levels his rifle and depresses the trigger, his own bolts of death leaping from his gun to join in the blast parade. Fortunately, one of his strikes the target and a faint smile curls the corners of his lips.

Oran is still up, as are the others, but Oran's hand... Hadrix frowns internally, looking from squad mates to knights as he fires. He doesn't register it at first when he takes the blast to the bicep, throwing his aim to the winds.

It's the fact that it snaps back and jerks of it's own accord right before the damaged nerves and tissue send up their report. This is painful. Very much so. 904 snarls and stutters back, momentum lost as molten metal hardens against his bicep. "Kriffing... d'aoh..." always the arms lately. He and Karys are going to be Arm-Twins soon at this rate.

Erisi is a one shot at a time kind of bish. Because she needs to concentrate. A lot. To get even the smallest of flames to dance for her, "That's right, Oran, don't let them dictate how you die." She's supposed to be horrified upon seeing how he takes the blade as he does, but nah. She proud. Look at her, refocusing as she sees Ravelyn, the terrifying being whom Eri admires so ardently, knowing the armored woman has the Commander.

Already she's turning and flinging her hands towards Shadow Warrior 2, stinging him with the flame, a smile encroaching on her lips as she simultaneously hears the Shadow Commanders monologue cut short. She said she loves her family, right? This family?

Tullia is hit but it's not severe. Not good enough. To make matters worse her next pass doesn't obliterate her target. She snarls again in anger.

One pass. One kill. THAT is how it should be.

She narrows her eyes and makes a mental note to cut her personal time and force herself to spend extra hours in the simulators.

Maybe she shouldn't have been so intent on getting revenge for that last shot. Maybe she should've gone more for an attack of opportunity like she normally does. Maybe... she should be more careful about straying that close to the Dark Side.

Because whatever forces keep Evie safe in the void weren't there for her this time, instead they step aisde to allow a shot to slide /right/ through at her TIE. Only a last-second swing of her bird saves her from being crippled in /her/ yard, and even at that the shields have been smacked pretty hard.

Her response is to fire at the first thing she sees -- another autoturret, another hit... but this time just a glancing blow against the powerful weaponry.

"C'mon, Eves. You're better this this. You /know/ you're better than this. They shouldn't be able to touch you. Fly between the shots, shoot everything that flies. You know how to do this." she scolds herself, not quite as boisterous as normal for the moment.

With one opponent down, Ravelyn whips around in search of another, cape flaring out dramatically with the motion. The last remaining warrior is spotted and the night doesn't hesitate to charge for him, swinging the lightsaber to try and hit. But it's a miss, passing right by without so much as singeing his robes. A second attack misses, this time deflected, and a third pass also misses, carving an unfortunate gouge into a nearby console.

Oran is a mess. He's stashed his broken saber, left handed, but his right hand is not moving and it's hard to see the extent of the damage through all the blood pouring out of the hand and the arm, all over his clothes - maybe that's why they wear black? - and all over the floor. It's not good, whatever happened, but he's also not dead, and seems a little more himself when that strange nuclear bomb of hate and darkness has dissipated. "Absolutely not," he gasps at Erisi when she says don't let them dictate how you die. "My death at least belongs to Syrus Volo, or someone else I've personally mistreated." Left-handed, he gestures, and wrenches a piece of bulkhead free to send it flying towards one of the warriors like a guillotine! CHOP!

Saanvi skitters back as Oran seems too busy to be treated. She spies Avery and bolts towards him, hunched and making the attempt to stay low even though it causes her to grimace like she's smelled something foul <<Medical inbound>>

It's an automated voice, the sort of calm, prerecorded message that never matches the dire situation it's coupled to. The intercom speaks in loud, clear tones. <<"ALERT: collision course confirmed. Accelerating to maximum speed."

The Destroyer shudders to life, and on a console, numbers flicker up: speed, slowly ramping up; distance, slowly creeping down; time to impact, steadily clicking away. Kylo hurries over to the terminal, the lightsaber tucked away, his injured followers second priority. "Override," he tells the computer.

<<"Manual override, disabled. Master key is in use.">>

"OVERRIDE." A stiff finger jams a few keys with mounting annoyance.

<<"Manual override, disabled. Master key is in use.>>

"What does that mean?!"

<<"Manual override, disabled. Master key is in use. Commands from master key cannot be reversed without the master key.">>

Now that the fighting is done and Karys is still sporting her lovely arm wound, she grunts and begins to consider the problem at hand. It has changed from kill or be killed to solving big problems with the ship. It takes a moment for her to shift gears and even then its not enough as she speaks to the group at large. <"I recall Master Keys...I think the computer is truthful. We have no way to override it."> Not as helpful as she would like to be because adrenaline is still racing through her system, she shoves one of her pistols away in order to help look for any further information with the rest of them. Blood slowly drips down her arm to the bridge floor as she makes her way.

Avery's eyes watch the final warrior fall to the ground from behind the black glazed material that shields his vision, a flick of his eyes to the side when Saanvi comes into view to treat the oozing laceration in his thigh. <<"Hey Doc. Long time no see!">> The smile forming is wiped from his face when the klaxxon goes off, announcing their imminent collision with another object, most likely the base they love to call home. Frantically he drags himself over to a terminal and attempts to override the control, giving the ship back to the persons who should be in charge, namely THEM. Unfortunately the system is expertly locked and the rookie trooper curses in frustration. <<"Uh... this is... beyond me guys. Any other thoughts?">>

<<"My Lord... can't you... with that whole">> the power suits arms come up and do 'woogily fingers' and rip the engines off the ship to cut the thrust?">> Space wizards. Hadrix doesn't get them. Ever. Karys saying their doomer and Avery coming up short as well, he frowns. "What if we just turn the primary power supply off?">> Loom... no mechanical aptitude. He does put a fresh power pack in his blaster though. Essential.

Erisi has spent so much time, eons it feels like, burning things down. She barely has time to celebrate Orans' elektrokinesis powers to bring down the last guy, before Avery expresses his dismay at not being able to get into the computer and past it's defenses, "Shoot, shoot, uh ..lemme try, I haven't tried to break into a ship in, like ..ever, especially one so bitchy but .." She will quickly dart to Avery's side and try to get in on the computer action, gloved fingertips tapping the screen, tip of her tongue bitten down on as the ship gives it's warnings and the numerical count down to their dooms, "SO -- This is a CRAZY idea, but ..escape pods anyone? Because ..this thing is tighter than Orans butt hole, and ..yeah ..I mean ..we could try like all of us who got the --" Right hand raises to mimic Hads' finger air doodle, "-- to overwhelm the system at the same time, but ... I got nada else other than ..escape ..pod...sssss." Tappity. Still counting down.

Evie grips the controls tighter as she feels another blast rock her ship, blue eyes shutting tight for a moment. What is she doing wrong, here? She just can't place it, but she's got a job to do. She has to do everything she can, especially as her computers read a couple of distressing tidbits of information.

One, the Destroyer is starting to gain speed. Two? Her ship's just about had it, and turning back might be a good option if she doesn't want to have to risk bailing.

On go the comms, <<"Boarding team, reading the hostile ship gaining speed out here. Tell me you've got that under control.">> Pause. <<"Not much I can do from here with those shields still up.">>

Even shooting every munition left in her poor little TIE wouldn't get through those shields. If they were down? Maybe a different story. Maybe not, but her odds would increase, if nothing else!

Master key. Master key? Oran exhales something that mingles fatigue and despair as the situation drops into something that much more dire. "Bloody hell," he sighs, and kneels down next to the body of the Commander. He's the most likely to be the Master of the crew assembled, right? At least he should have a Commander Key? An awkward left-handed search of pockets ensues, and Oran successfully retrieves a KEY, a key for....! "Lodgings," he reveals in a flat tone. He pauses a moment and pockets it anyway, then stands, shaking his head at Hadrix with the suggestion of telekinesis. Or what he imagines is a suggestion of telekinesis, based on the waving fingers. "We tried that when the Resistance attempted to steal the Acolyte Cannon, and failed, against a smaller target than this. Is this a literal key we lack, or a piece of knowledge?" He pauses. "Either way, where is Ruanna?"

Erisi suggests escape pods, and he protests, "There are eighty thousand men and women on this ship. /Our/ men and women, and countless more on Spearhead, if it makes collision. Even if Finalizer destroys Predator before it does, not even a fraction of this crew will get to their own pods in time." But the countdown keeps ticking, and there doesn't seem to be any time left except the pods. Every second that ticks down, it seems more and more obvious that there isn't an obvious save-the-day. "Eighty thousand people." Oran sounds shell-shocked. "We promised them the future."

"She's not /here,/" Kylo snaps at Oran, clearly no less pleased by this development than he is. "She was /never/ here but this is her. This is what Snoke left on Alpha Prime. The master key to the fleet. Incontestable control. A failsafe." Erisi's mention of the escape pods has his eyes glancing that way. "We can't leave while it's mobile. Even with the engines disabled it would still hit the base. We have to destroy it."

Somber eyes turn towards Erisi, Avery, Karys. "Disable the shields if you can. Set the reactor to blow. Anything. Everything. Put out a transmission to the Finalizer and Spearhead, every gun fires on this ship."

<<"Override dis-">>

A fist smashes into the metal mesh that covers the speaker, silencing the voice. "Then we'll use the pods. Get into the intercom and inform the crew. Maybe some of them won't have to die for that future." They all know only a tiny fraction of the eighty thousand on board will have time to abandon ship.

Ignoring the searing pain of her undressed wound, Karys watches the Knights and the Supreme leader move through the varying shades of decision regarding the ship. There is nothing but that cold reflective visor and no way of knowing how she feels about the decisions being made. Her last pistol is shoved away ands he moves over, the artificial arm unharmed lifts and as she finds an open console. Patter, patter, patter goes the dripping blood from her wound as the soldier calls up the shields and begins to cut them off one by one. Her focus is off and it is taking her a bit longer than she would like. <"Shields are slowly being brought down."> Definitely not as fast as she would like but it is happening. She glances up at Avery and Knight Erisi, but then her attention is back on her screen.

As the commands are given, Avery looks from Erisi to Karys and nods, shifting over to the terminal to give the new plan a go. His deft and practiced fingers fly across the keypad once more, assisting in dropping this shields, giving Evie hopefully a better shot at whatever she's going to try to do. <<"Got em going a bit faster. Do we want to wire the reactor to go but keep it as a failsafe in case we can't get this done by non-destroying everything means?">> This last bit he directs to Erisi as he scoots aside to allow her space on the terminal for whatever she's going to try to do.

"Move Spearhead then! The ship has a hyperdrive. Micro-jump to behind the Predator's current position, engage tractor beams and take out the engines?" Hadrix looks to Kylo. armor plates sliding away and helmet opening. "Can't we just do that? Then we can save both." worrying at his lower lip to the point he's chewed it into a ragged hump.

"Electricity." Eri is getting excited, back into Before Ren mode, hands lifting up off the console to wave in the air in front of her, "If we all concentrate on the ...physical wirings of all the systems, with all of the <insert technical space and wire jargon here>, we could overwhelm the central system and shut it down. Dead in the water. Or ..the ..dark matter. Or ..whatever is out there. In the death pool of darkness. Dead in the death pool of darkness." Erisi is already crouching down in front of her console to begin prying off the panel underside, "Grab-the-wires-cables-and-let-loose-come-on-the system-won't-be-able-to-compensate-for-the-surge!!!! Shields, everything will go down, emergency systems will boot up, if we can't stop anything at least we'll have the pods --" To Avery, Erisi tucking her arm in under the console, one eye screwing closed as she concentrates to try and use the air tingles to zap things, "And /some/ will survive ..and know we tried everything to avoid this."

<<"You heard the ground crew, Vanguard pilots. Shields are coming down, let's take out that engine and leave her dead in the water. Those are our people out there, let's give 'em every chance we can.>> Evie commands the pilots still swarming around the Destroyer, already directing her own TIE in that direction. <<"Any chance the Finalizer has a tractor beam that can even nudge this thing off of collision course if we can leave her adrift?">> is added.

Evie knows /starfighters,/ afterall. Capital ships she knows considerably less about, but she figures that it can't be /too/ much different... just at a MUCH larger scale. So once she's in position? She's firing every weapon she's got on the TIE with those engines as her target, and hoping that the rest of the pilots out there follow her lead.

At least they'll know they tried /everything./

Ravelyn steps up to one of the consoles to try and help with anything, really, but computer systems aren't exacrtly the knights domain on a good day, so there's a fair bit of button pressing and unseen squinting at the screen, and then probably a desire to slam a fist on it. Instead said fist clenches and Ravelyn steps back from the console. "I'm no good here, if you need me to fry something just point in a direction and I will try to fry it."

Oran seems to know where this is going from Kylo even before the tinny little voice starts to say 'override disabled', and before Kylo says 'every gun fires'. He closes his eyes and stays that way for a moment, before Hadrix's words seem to take him out of that place beyond words. "Spearhead is not capable of hyper travel," he says simply. "And the limited capacity for movement it does have is so slow there is no time for it." They're going to die. All the trooper and naval officers and TIE pilots and support crew -- everyone who was told repeatedly, for years, that this is the right cause -- they're going to die.

Oran sits at a console, one of the ones left un-mangled by the fight, and manipulates com controls left-handed, trying to get the word out through the general frozen, uncooperative state of the systems. "RSD Predator, this is Knight OA-001, Predator is compromised beyond repair due to enemy sabotage. All pilots are ordered to their ships and evacuation to Spearhead base. All remaining personnel to the escape pods. This is an immediate, direct order. All personnel to escape pods." The system is... unhappy, at best. Maybe every fourth or fifth word gets through.

"Finalizer, Spearhead, this is Knight OA-001, RSD Predator cannot be averted from collision course, cannot be stopped, cannot be reversed. Calculate maximum possible time before safety parameters are intolerably exceeded and when they are, fire on RSD Predator. Repeat, fire every weapon you have on RSD Predator, do not allow this ship to collide." Another comm, next to the ships flying around, though they likely would have received the comm to Finalizer and Spearhead as well: "TIE Fighters, fire as you can if the shields come down, but don't stay long. Get clear of Predator and return to Spearhead before the station and the Finalizer need to fire, they won't hold back."

Tullia doesn't panic even though her TIE is damaged. She hasn't been able to land another bullseye yet. Her nerves are still durasteel as she continues her mission. Her father wouldn't have retreated and neither will she. Better to die here than return to base a coward.

There's contingency plans for this sort of thing; while Oran is broadcasting over the intercom with mixed results, Captain Keeva is doing the same. <<"Attention the bridge; we're on a collision course for Spearhead Base. We're too close now to avert it even if there was a way. It's been the honor of my life serving the First Order. Supreme Leader, if you're up there, abandon ship.">> A wavering, audible breath is heard. <<"Attention Finalizer and Spearhead Base, initiate Order 117. Don't hold back, now. We'll... we'll be alright.">>

A handful of escape pods have already jettisoned, and dozens more fire from the holds below, but there's so many people and so little time.

On the bridge, half the terminals on one side of the room tear themselves from the floor and fly against the metal shielding covering the Shadow's entry point before Kylo storms towards the escape pods, with the others in his wake. The heavy turbolaser fire has already begun to thud into the unprotected hull of the ship, and warning lights and sounds are ringing, flashing, as the pods seal them off from the noise and shoot them out into the blackness of space to be picked up by rescue crews.

The RSD Predator cruises closer to Spearhead, its wedge on that dangerous course, until at last a thud of green plasma breaks the camel's back and the shape of its stern cleaves in two, the long tip of the front half wilting down away until a cataclysmic explosion rocks the pods, the station, the Finalizer, everything nearby with its shockwave, and the pieces of the Destroyer begin to break up or roll off the blooming blue shields of the base.