Log:Jedi Order: Byss - Red and Black
Jedi Order: Byss - Red and Black
OOC Date: December 12, 2020
Location: Byss
Participants: Jedi Order: Chani Tahn, Kasia Ashkuri, Rune, Zandra naMuriel, Elrych Cometburn, and Rey Skywalker with Ben Solo
With the excitement of the newly arrived Empress comes the unfortunate reality that there are certain expectations incumbent upon a ruler, especially one with such a cult-like devotion as the Imperial Remnant. The people of the Throne City want to see their Empress; what's left of them, anyway. The years have not been kind, and only a quarter of the city is still inhabited.
Still, the streets are lined with people, most of them dressed in utilitarian jumpsuits, uniforms, whether military or civil service, or the rare trappings of a wealthy individual.
The royal procession is formed by a contigent of stormtroopers at the front that represents the majority of the Spire's garrison, and the thing that stands out the most is how few of them there are. Moff Pax heads up a squad of officers just behind them, with the Royal Guard and Empress in the mid-rear, trailed by a group of scout troopers who are meant to keep an eye on things.
<"Remember, it's a short loop through the city,"> Ben signals through their internal comm channel, one of the guards flanking Rey in the formation. <"Just get through it and we can go back to what's important.">
<"I'll stick close to the Empress."> Chani Than speaks through the internal communications net only the Royal Guards share, toggled by the gentle bump of her tongue against an internal switch inside the helmet in front of her. It's an odd way, if any, to activate that particular communications net, but the privacy it affords them is worth the small oddity. It's a suggestion as much as it is her attempting to be smart about this. Of those assembled as the guard, Chani is the least qualified, and in the event that things truly get out of control, the actual safest place for her to be is next to Rey. For now, she marches with the others, part of the rank and file, posture straight, force pike tall, determination in every step that she takes.
Kasia still lacks in military precision, but is doing her best to not be the one who trips things up and outs herself as definitely not a bodyguard for the Empress. Her posture is straight, that is one thing she's good at, the weapon is held in a similar fasion to the others, and she tries to appear as though she's moving with a purpose. <"Just a short loop? We can do this."> Though there are some quiet, nagging worries, she tries to sound confident over the comms.
It's a tradeoff and today Zandra is in the red uniform, instead of the TIE flightsuit. Who would know if she switched with one of the others, right? They're all the same after all - the empress' guards. Zan is also in formation, not too far from Chani. While Zan might be a bit more skilled in some ways, she's perhaps not so used to a force pike at all. Hopefully it won't come to that. There's a thoughtful look on her face, not that anyone can see it. She nods her head imperceptibly, to what Chani says, before she triggers her own mic. << Here's hoping there's nothing amiss. >> she says simply. << Let's keep our eyes and ears open. And you bet we can do this. >>
Rey has been 'in character' for quite some time now, not wanting to really let herself shine through for fears of it just causing the rest of the card house they've created here to all come toppling down.
Because of this, she's been a bit hard edged, and leaning in to the aspects of herself she once feared. Is it wise for her to do that? Who's to say!
In the here and now, the Empress is marching with the rest, her eyes going to the crowds along the street's sides and her hand even coming up to wave to some of them, along with offering light nods here and there.
She's gotten better and identifying precisely who is who in their guard outfits as well, though still the Force helps with that.
"This city is in dire need of help." Rey says to the Moff nearest to her. "These people need relief from the burdens they've endured. Rewarded for such loyalty to the Empire..."
"There are some among the ruling class who would assert that the people's loyalty is a reward in itself," Moff Pax replies to the Empress, mustering up a tight smile bereft of any warm feelings. "Sacrifices have been made by all, no matter what the little people might tell you. It has not been easy for anyone." Still, scanning the faces in the crowd reveals that those few in finery appear well-fed and healthy, the uniformed individuals look hale, and everyone else trends towards guant and twiggy.
Ben marches along quietly next to Rey's hoverchair, the floating minithrone that keeps her just barely above the street so that the Empress is not forced to sully her feet by walking. He holds the force pike they all carry loosely in one hand, stiff mask making it difficult to scan the crowd but the wide slit allows a decent amount of peripheral vision.
As the parade continues, the crowd's disposition slowly begins to change, with less and less of the well-dressed upper crust that were rare sights to begin with and more of the rank and file. The enthusiastic cheering gradually fades away into scattered calls of vague approval, but many simply look on in silence as the stormtrooper-led march stamps through. <"Keep your eyes on the crowd,"> Ben says quietly.
Chani finds her stomach turning whenever Moff Pax opens his mouth. She's heard this kind of rhetoric before. She's seen it imposed on people through force. It's disturbing. It puts into perspective for her the importance of what it is that she's trying to do. What it is that the others are trying to do. She's thankful, at the moment, that she's relegated to a role where there is little talking involved. Chani's not sure she could keep the bile down or the acid out of her voice if she was forced to talk to such a man. Ben's voice in her ear encourages Chani to stop staring at the back of the Moff's head and to instead divert her attention to her peripheral view. She's learned, in recent days, that it's easiest to move her eyes rather than her whole head.
Kasia can't help but to note the shift in the crowd the further they go on, already doing just as asked over the comms and keeping an eye on the crowds. She doesn't move her head much, but the visor along the front affords a broad enough view to take in quite a lot. Enough, apparently, because not long after the request she speaks. <"I think we might have some trouble,"> she says over the comms. <"To the right. See that guy? He's staring awfully hard at R-- at the Empress."> There's a pause. <"I think he's speaking over comms, and seems way too ... intense? Something about it feels off.">
Zan marches along, her eyes flicking towards the Moff and then over to the Empress as they speak. But she's listening to what their lead guard says, and so she lets her gaze go to the crowds. The expression on her face sours somewhat as she eyes the changes in the crowds. It's a good thing nobody can see her face at all as the thin, verging on gaunt, shows up more and more. She looks to the crowd, blinks, and stares again. She looks to the left, then the right, even turning her head to look briefly. She sets the mask back to front and center though, using her peripheral vision to keep track, before she says, <<Odd. I see someone with what looks like a mirror, a small compact one, but they're just flicking it around towards the street, rather than looking at themselves in it. I would have thought it was a make-up mirror, but - how odd. >>
Not being on the Guard channel and able to hear the comms, does present a challenge for Rey. But it's one she's having to do her best to put aside and ignore. She has to focus on her part in this, and her part is directly interacting with that very unpleasant Moff Pax.
He who gets a stare, a stern glare in fact, at his response to her. "Moff Pax. Be it true that loyalty in itself is a reward, I am a new leader to these people. I wish to make an impact, to inspire them to believe in me and work for me to reforge the Empire to it's former glory. I don't see that being as easily accomplished if we just let our people waste away." Rey says as her eyes snap forward again toward the path ahead of them.
"No, I wish to inspire my people to truly make them fight for their Empire. We have an uphill battle ahead of us, and I intend to reach the top of that hill, hand in hand with one another. All of us together, or none of us at all."
Rey's eyes momentarily sweep back over to Pax to glare daggers toward him. "Wouldn't you agree?" She says, leaving him little choice to do anything but.
"Your grace, I am an old man now, and one of the few lessons I've learned in my life is that there are /far/ better things to do with my time than disagreeing with those who are above my station," Moff Pax replies with a smile and a backward glance to Rey's place in the procession. "I'm practically /tripping over myself/ to agree with you," he continues, lowering his voice in the way one might tell a particularly funny joke.
The streets of the Throne City are long, wide, and straight, with side-streets that head off at right angles. As a result, the sightlines are excellent; the guards can see down the street they're walking all the way to the Gulf, where it will eventually drop off into a canyon carved eleven years ago. Similarly, they can see down any side-street as soon as they come abreast with it. What's difficult is to see up, in those helmets.
The flashing mirror; the intent commer; the Jedi can feel something is wrong, they can see clues, but it just takes too long to connect the dots before something happens.
A long way up at the top of one of the skyscrapers, a rocket launches down. The noise, the trail of fuel burning off as it descends, marks it out clearly and the stormtroopers scatter. None of them are at the epicenter when in strikes the street, but some are still knocked flat by the blast and the march is cast into disarray. <"Stand close!"> Ben hisses into their private channel, while the stormtroopers hustle for cover or kneel in the street, blasters turned skyward, waving to and fro and they search for the launcher.
Clued in to the peculiar happenings via the voices in her ear, Chani herself is unable to spot anything out of place. She sees no mirror flashing -- the person in front of her is too tall for her to see beyond them -- and no person intently speaking into their comlink. All Chani sees is hued vision and whatever she can see to the side not occupied by Rey's throne. She hears the rocket rather than sees it first, and that leads her to glance up. There's precious little time before it detonates, casting duracrete and sediment as its shockwave ripples out from its impact point. The air is sucked back in faster-than-a-blink later, leaving dust and smoke swirling from the impact point. As panic erupts, Chani desperately glances around while crowding closer to Rey, hoping to find some semblance of where they're being attacked from. Anything to be useful in the moment.
She glances back up again, and the HUD on her helmet redirects back along the dissipating trail of smoke. What she winds up finding is someone reloading the launcher they've already used. <"It came from the top of the building slightly to our right!"> She doesn't know military terms. <"It looks like someone's loading something!">
With Kasia's head angled back as sit is, it's in just the right position to see not only the source of the rocket, but something else. She bracess for the impact but manages to keep on her feet, and avoid the worst of the debris from the impact. <"You're right,"> she says to Chani. <"And we've got more company up there."> At 'up there' she points up to a building on the left side of the street, not quite so high up as the rocket came from, about a dozen or so floors up. Both to perhaps assist the troopers who are searching for targets, but also to clue Rey in the additional trouble. "We need to move."
Zan's looking to see where that rocket was launched from, though she does move closer to Rey. <<Doesn't that just make us a better target?>> she retorts to Ben first. While she's lookng. The HUD makes everything look somehow a hazy blue, which is both good and bad, really. There's an arched brow at what Chani calls, about the same time as Zan is looking up, catching sight of a blurry red figure who is - "Reloading a rocket launcher," she confirms aloud so Rey can hear too. The force pike is used to point in the right direction. giving a visual to go along with the words she and Chani have spoken. Where's her TIE fighter when she needs it? She's very tempted to use the force, to try to pull that rocket launcher and just let it fall off the building to smash on the ground. It might save lives, and not just them ... but it's a difficult distance, and there's this whole cover thing. Shields, definitely need to learn those force shields, when she gets a chance. "Your Supreme Majesty, it may be time to relocate." she offers to Rey, Any strain in her voice may be attributable to her helmet, right?
Rey's eyes leave Moff Pax with a soft smirk upon her lips. "Justly so." She mutters in response to the elder man's words for her. She settles back a bit in to her throne then and lets her gaze goes over the crowds to her right before the attack comes.
It's then that she moves to stand up only to stop herself when the guards move in closer around her... she can't openly act upon this situation with having all these protectors here to do it for her.
When she's motioned to look upward though, Rey's eyes dart in that direction. She can see it, feel it, and attempts to reach a hand up to do something about it... but they're too far from her atop the skyscraper.
"It would seem loyalty isn't entirely a given around here, Moff Pax." Rey says. "Lets forgo the rest of this little public event, shall we? Guards, seize those attackers!" She shouts to anyone who'll do just that!
"I might remind the empress of our history lesson. Loyalty is a harsh master," Pax replies smoothly from behind a trio of stormtroopers who are providing him with a white-armored shield to quick-walk to the side of the street. The parade-watchers have scattered in a screaming panic, while the stormtroopers begin to return fire, peppering the side of the skyscraper with blaster shots. Another WHOOSH heralds the launch of a second rocket, which again seems to be targeted at the troopers, striking the street in another deafening boom.
It just so happens the royal procession is lined up precisely with one of the side-streets, and it is now that a band of shouting figures burst from the street level doors of one of the buildings, a ragtag band of youthful men and women barely out of their teens carrying old imperial blasters. "Down with the Empress!" one yells as they run, some stopping to shoot at the stormtroopers while a core group, about half a dozen, charge straight towards Rey and the Royal Guard. "Free Byss!"
Ben puts his back against the hoverchair, snapping his pike down into a ready position, eyeing the other Jedi as much as can be done within the constricting helmet.
Another rocket launch sees Chani ducking when the impact smashes into already ruined duracrete to leave another impact crater exposing the ground beneath between a spiderweb of cracks. Spotting the Moff heading towards the side street, Chani glances towards another. It's not until the shouted screams of protestors running towards the throne that she turns her gaze to a group trying to approach Rey. Just like she'd done yesterday, Chani intercedes herself between the Empress and any that seek to approach her. And although she has great reservations against it, they do have weapons and they seem to have every intent to attack. Chani does what she does out of defense, and uses the blunt end of the weapon to inflict as little damage as possible. Luckily for the man in question, Chani misses the swing at him.
Rune had been in a rather good daydream as they marched along, his body allowing just enough brainpower to put one foot in front of the other and maintain the line. Thus it comes as a bit of surprise when the chaos erupts around them and suddenly they're a target of people that they'd normally be helping, if he understood Vhe's explanation of things. Out of the side of the restrictive helmet, the young Force user sees Ben ready his pike and likewise does the same. <<"We attack or retreat?">> Comes the question, a rather unknown voice pipping in on the guards' closed circuit communication network. He moves to put his back against the hoverchair, recognizing an excellent strategic move when he sees one. <<"There is an opening between structures, do we run?">>
Another rocket, another bracing for impact, but Kasia manages to remain on her feet this time around as well. Like Ben and Rune, she backs up to the hoverchair to put herself between the angry oncoming crowd and Rey. Though she makes no effort to rush in and attack, she seems ready to swing at those who get too close. A quick check is made to ensure weapon is on stun and she probably, /probably/ won't kill anyone. When one of the freedom fighters gets too close she swings the pike, connecting with poor Dak. It's a stunning blow, literally, and then she backs up to the hoverchair again.
Zandra takes a couple fast steps at the rocket impact, but manages to keep her cool. It's enough that she doesn't have a chance to attack at all. She does move to grab the unconscious body of the guy Kasia just knocked down, tugging futiley for a moment, and then dragging him back with her. <<Maybe they'll stop if we have a prisoner? Someone we can question later to chase them down?>> It's probably just a harebrained wild idea, but at least the guy isn't left there to be shot by storm troopers.
There's a lot to process going on here and now, this hastily thrown together parade was on the verge of turning in to a death trap of a choke hold. Back in her throne now, Rey sweeps her eyes around the battlefield after another explosion rocks the city canyon. Her lightsaber resides inside of her clothing, beneath her jacket on her hip, but she does not dare take it out and wield it here in this public plaza.
"Seize them, if possible!" Rey shouts to the others over the chaos. "I want answers from them!" She also doesn't want them dead, because they're sort've on the same side...
Sitting back in her chair, Rey focuses on the Force and tries to erect a shield around she and her companions... but the chaos is great, and her ability to master that power is... anything but!
The parade has devolved completely into a minor skirmish following the ambush. Reloaded, the first rocket launcher person pops back up at the top of the skyscraper on the right, but by now the scout troopers in the rear have figured out where the shots are coming from, and he's blasted down by a sniper and falls with a wail to the street below.
Rey gives the command to capture the freedom fighters alive, while Moff Pax, situated in an alcove of a sidestreet away from the fighting and covered by a pair of stormtroopers, shouts as well. "You heard your empress," he nearly snarls, his rich but gravelly voice cutting through the blasts. "Stun a few, kill the rest!" That's not exactly what she said, but the troopers take up the cause, gunning down most of the stragglers that engaged them to give the others a chance at reaching the new Empress.
One of them, a young man dressed in an imperial officer's uniform with the rank insignia torn from the chest, even pops off a lucky shot that seems to strike Rey, and a cheer of victory tears from his lips. "FREE BY-sshavit." The elation dies as he realizes that not only is she fine, but one of his friends is slumped unconscious in the clutches of her evil red guards.
At this point, Chani is less inflicting harm on the man amongst the protestors and more threatening him with a nasty bruise if he gets too close. She hopes, in the chaos, that her jabs look threatening and not at all like she's an inexperienced fighter. The important part is trying to keep them away from the Empress, and less about hurting them. Rey commands as much when she says she wishes to capture some of them alive. Chani knows that's for the best, but she also wonders what's going to become of those who do get captured. She knows captivity won't be good for them. But, being dead isn't good either. Huffing inside of her helmet, which thankfully keeps the signs of exertion from being visible, Chani tries a new tactic. "Surrender!
Engage it is, and he steps forward to swing his Force Pike into the side of one of the attackers, pulling his blow to stun the young man instead of kill him. He's sure the sight is intimidating, the faceless group of guards moving forward almost as one to bash these 'insurgents' into unconsciousness. Rune only hopes that they're able to knock them out before the Stormtroopers and other grey wearing baddies manage to kill them. Case in point, the man with the rocket launcher who falls screaming from the top of the building to the ground below. The Ysannan winces at the impact, allowing a sigh to escape his lips before setting himself for another round with the oncoming assault. He hears Chani's command and decides to echo it, hoping that the group as a whole realizes they're outnumbered and surrendering would be the best tactic. "Please, surrender?"
Answers are sought, and so Kasia continues to do what she started out doing. Which is holding her post near the hoverchair while the attackers come to her. <"They're not going to surrender, Rune. Not without being convinced," she replies to the newest recruit. As before she doesn't go looking for a fight, but when one of those freedom fighters charges right at her to get to the Empress behind, again she swings the force pike with a precision that shows at least some practice with the weapon, or weapons like it, but not enough brutality to kill the man. He falls, and she doesn't go for the kill under the guise of wanting more people to question.
Zan is keeping watch on the prisoner she's got now, having left him in a pile at her feet for the moment. her pike is threatening him, not that he can see it, but his buddies can. Noticeable to those who look, she's careful to not actually touch him. She looks at the guy in the uniform, even if the insignia is torn off. "Is he the leader of this sortie?" she suggests. She's near enough, the other red clad folks should hear her, but hopefully not the rest. "If we get him, the others won't be so brave." It seems Kasia and Chani had the same idea, which brings a broad smile to Zan's face, safely hidden behind the helmet.
Where had Elrych been? Well seeing as he wasn't in the red uniform and stuck with a TIE Flightsuit he remained behind with some of the others. He'd needed a moments reprieve to catch up on some meditation and calm his nerves in the Force with all that was going on. Yet he wouldn't be so lucly as to get more than a few hours in before the comms started going off.
An attack. Elrych could have rushed off to the ground and out to where the fighting was happening but he wouldn't have made it there in time without using a boost from the Force... and that was counter to what they were trying to accomplish here. He knew his strength though. His roll was that of a Pilot... and so he hopped into Viper 1 and powered the TIE Defender up. THe craft lifted off and rocketed towards the action.
THe rumble of the Twin Ion Engines could likely be heard by the embattled coup before the odd looking shape zipped by between buildings, riding the deck and flying danger close. THe engines whined loudly and roared violently. THe rumbled shaking foundations. An impressive yet terrifying sight, another thing Sinar was good at. <<"Escort, this is Viper One? You guys got it handled down there or do you need a strafing run?">> He pulls back on the stick, heading back up into the clouds to bring the craft about.
The desire to get out of her chair and actually do something was very high, but Rey also knew that if she did she'd raise a lot of questions amongst their Imperial escorts, and with her capable companions there... maybe they didn't even need her help right yet.
Rey does sit up on the edge of her chair, just as the blaster bolt is sent her way causing her to lean back in recoil as it slaps against her body and is diffused by the Force around her. She looks down to her shoulder to see her clothing singed by the super heated gas of the bolt, and with a heavy expression she looks back up to her friends doing their best to bring the people down non lethally.
"We need them alive!" Rey shouts over it all. "All of them! It's the only way to truly find answers and stop this from happening again!"
Will that help though? Probably not! It's worth a try, however!
When the young man who shot Rey is knocked off his feet by the zapping smack of Kasia's force pike, the fire of determination dies in the freedom fighters' eyes. It's a visible deflation in the rest of them as young Almiston, the best of them, is flattened in a single blow by one of the oppressors. The skirmish slows, the fire peters out as the Empress makes another declaration, and the little band find themselves looking left and right and seeing the dead or motionless bodies of their friends. One fellow turns to run, while one throws down her gun.
The runner is immediately jolted by blue stun rings, sending him skidding across the pavement. Emerging from the sidestreet, Pax dusts himself off and approaches at a waltz, carrying himself haughtily upright and walking with confidence. "I assure you, your grace, you do not. If there's one thing you should grasp innately by your birthright, it is that these people only respond to one thing: power. The glove may be velvet, but the fist must be /iron./"
Glancing dismissively towards the freedom fighters, he waves at the troopers. "Gather up these traitors, that they may enjoy the Empress's mercy. And allow me to escort your safe return to the Spire."
One of the Royal Guards stares fixedly at the back of Moff Pax's head; the tallest one, with the pike still lowered in a ready position. After a moment, though, the weapon is raised again and the mask turns back towards the spire.
<"Spire Control to Viper 1, provide overwatch but do not engage unless necessary,"> a comm signal responds to the TIE in the air as the parade scrapes itself back together to return.
