Log:Knights of Ren: Fall of Jedha - One With the Force
One with the Force
OOC Date: May 7 2020
Location: Jedha
Participants: Knights of Ren: Syrus, Errod Zand, Iollan Canem, Erisi Auslese. Domino Graystorm, Imani, and Malik Ren as GM
[Malik Ren]
The battle is well underway as the Knights exit their adventurous trip through the underground catacombs, and the sky is filled with streaks of turbolaser fire from sleek TIE fighters and their quarry. Ships scream through the sky, and some vanish into their constituent atoms in terrifying explosions... others, even more horrifying, are winged and fall to the moon's surface in streaks of fire and smoke, giving their pilots time to understand the imminence of their deaths.
Trying desperately to keep the First Order and Sith ships away from Jedha, the turbolaser battery fires a steady barrage of fire into the sky. The reports are deafening, and anyone anyone says to each other is going to have to be yelled until the battery is silenced. The Knights have brought with them explosives for the purposes of dismantling this thing... but getting there is unlikely to be a completely simple prospect.
A Guardian with a light bow at the top of the crest draws, and hastily fires -- a shower of rocks clatter down onto the Knights, and then he disappears perhaps to go warn the others that they've got company. The Knights have a short time, and a short time only, to make it up the ridge to the battery and join the battle.
Within their defensive position, a captive sits hastily tied.
[Syrus]
"There a more Guardians remaining than I thought," Syrus says, his lightsaber igniting as he marches forward, whipping the blade in front of himself a few times.
Armored boots trudge across the ground, and steam escapes the maw of his helmet, the result of the strangely cold climate of the planet. "They will fight you to the death, and are likely more competent than you'd expect. Be wary and kill them quickly."
[Errod Zand]
Emerging from the caverns below after a refreshing run up the stairs, Errod stands amongst the sound and fury of the battle overhead, the booming blasts of the turbo laser battery washing over him. The black-painted grip of his chain whip vibrates softly in his hand as his eyes stare ahead from the slits of his plain-faced helmet. "Hmm." The blank metal turns upward, spotting the flash of black and red from the Guardian's robe's before the light bow's shot cracks into the rock above, showering him in pebbles. "/Krif./"
A hand slaps around his body, checking the various belts that criss-cross his person for their explosive payloads, and reassured to find them all there, points out towards the emplacement. "Up!" With none of Syrus's deadly steadiness, he darts forward toward the Guardians' bastion, ducking behind each available piece of cover he can spot, no lightsaber and no premonitions of the future to protect him, just his nervy wiles.
[Iollan Canem]
It's always stairs. But hey, what else gets the blood pumping? A steady patron of leg day though, Iollan zips up to the top of things with only minor huffing and puffing, blaster never leaving the worn palm of his glove -- there's no hiding the gunfire up ahead.
There's falling rocks too, which is fun. A small duck come from the detective ad Iollan is indeed showered by shrapnel, though luckily it bounces off his helmet without much effect. A quick scan of the area notes the shooter, the captive nearby, and furthermore the path ahead of them, which promises a very /exciting/ next two minutes. <<"Full contact then,>>" hums over the comms at Syrus' command, though over the turbolasers it's hard too say how much is heard. <<"Let's go.">>
And then, a man of his word, Lan strikes out into the middle of the field with that rangy stride of his, the heavy flap of his duster adding some dramatic semblance to the posture, blaster at the ready for the first warm body he can spot. Time to get messy.
[Erisi]
Adventurous indeed. Erisi, who had been enraged and outbursted not long ago, has been pacified by those bloody stairs which she barely made up. There were breaks, pauses, hand against the wall and forehead in against the cool rock as she tried to talk herself out of merely following Sebek to go searching for shiny things, to instead rally to the top. Maybe, just maybe ...she could kill people up there.
You're a Knight of Ren. You can do this. They're stairs. You bled a freaking crystal and bent it to your will. You've survived DEATH at the hand of the Jedi. You can conquer these stupid stairs.
So, with Vosaurd, she would force her way up, and surpass the man by very little, by the end doing a half-crawl the last few steps until ...flatish land. She is a good five minutes behind the others, maybe even more, but there she is, emerging from the depths with gasping heavy breathing, forcing herself up to a stand as she hobbles forwards, clattering rocks missing her but they rolled towards her.
"Oh - we're ..okay." No break. Okay. Syrus, Errod, Iollan, are all bursting with energy forwards. With some exhaustion she'll draw her lightsaber off her hip, thumbing it on as the other arm, her cybernetic one, presses into the small of her back as she continues forwards, trying to hustle-shuffle forwards, wet robes doing her no favors.
Up the ridge she goes.
[Domino]
Domino has been bringing up the rear, taking opportunity to catch her breath and recheck her gear but at Syrus words she trots forward, making sure not to stand in saber-range of the Malik, Syrus, or Erisi but making sure she's posed to address troublemakers or dart ahead rather than hanging back even with the presence of so many promising meatshields. <<"Anyone recognize who or what the prisoner is? Do we care?">>
[Imani]
Imani's day started out like any other, and has taken an extraordinary turn for what could be the worse, depending on how all of this plays out. Things are not great at the present, she's found herself hastily bound in a chair, with a bloodied nose and a degree of mussed about her that suggests it was a fight to get her there. There are a couple of weapons near enough to probably belong to her, but too far out of reach for her to make use of either the ax, or the dagger. There is a steady effort happening to free herself, but her arms are well bound at the wrist, and legs bound together and to the chair. It's not the best job and given enough time she could probably get out of it, but said efforts are interrupted by the arrival of others.
"Oh. HEY!" You might think that she'd be terrified, and the sensible part of her brain likely is given the sabers, but in spite of that there's the flash of white teeth in a smile. "You're here! I've been trying to stop them, but found myself against greater odds than anticipated." She has no idea how much of this can be heard over all the noise, she hasn't comms to talk into, and even if she did they wouldn't be hooked up to the knights, but there's some very excited gestures happening from the wrists down, and a delighted expression at the Knight's arrival.
[Malik Ren]
Syrus was correct -- there are a few Guardians remaining, and three of them are here, in the distinctive attire that marks them as the Guardians of the Whills. Hiiaka and Kauri, both women who look tough as nails despite the crows feet at the corners of their eyes and a few wisps of silver in their dark hair, are wielding polearm melee weapons tipped with long, wicked blades. Guardian Lono, an older man with close-cropped hair, is the wielder of the lightbow, and he's taken up a position on the bunker roof that leaves him currently out of melee range.
Three other individuals, two men and a woman, brandish pistols and rifles. Their mismatched make-do armor is characteristic of Jedha, of a place where people take pride in making what they can out of the resources available to them. They do not look like Guardians per se, but they seem likely to be like-minded local mercenaries. "Backup, we need backup," the woman, Amina, is desperately yelling into a comm over the battery fire, "We need backup at the Battery, they're here."
Imani's tied-to-a-chair situation was clearly not anyone's plan 1, and someone apparently thought that keeping her OUTSIDE the duracrete bunker, with the fighters, would be the best idea. Maybe not so, now.
Malik assesses this and decides, "Get that thing out of that seat." It's a friendly first impression, right. "Destroy this place, and kill everyone who tries to stop us."
[Syrus]
Reaching the Guardians, Syrus's lightsaber is gripped with both hands, as Hiiaka begins her attack with the spear. He slips and spins out of the way of her onslaught, returning with his own. She's a spry old battle ax, though, so the Kiffar doesn't land a hit, his blade instead digging deep, glowing grooves into the dirt and duracrete around them.
[Errod Zand]
As he closes with the Guardians, Errod's forward advance is abruptly halted when he's shot in the right thigh, a snarl of pain escaping his lips as he falls to the side, gripping his injured leg for a moment before dragging himself back upright and flinging his weight ahead, the blade in his hand lashing out at one of the ladies in the robes. Neither swing connects, whishing past and only disturbing her pretty salt and pepper hair in a surprisingly fetching manner. The masked man curses and clutches at his wound, stumbling back away hastily, putting space between him and the others. "HIT, I'm HIT."
[Iollan Canem]
Who in the--
The chromed front of his helmet swings around as Lan catches a voice nearby, and by all surprise it's coming from that captive? Huh. Though it seems for a moment as if he's about to move right along, combat-engaged as they all are about to be, the familiar voice of the Ren cuts through a certain driving intention. Fine. Heighting the biggest (or really, just quickest to find) target, the detective pops off too quick rounds as he's mid pivot, move of a suppressing fire than anything given that both red bolt go wide of any target. He's concentrating more on closing the distance over to the captive and reaching a free hand to pull a small blade from one of the bandoleers strapped about his shoulder. It flips in his hand and one decisive 'shwip' of motion, dangerously aggressive, gets at least her hands free.
"Do not get in our way," is the only charming greeting from the tower of a man as he straightens up again, the low tone of his voice warped by the helmet. That seems to be all he has for Imani, though kindly enough the knife is dropped on her lap to help the rest of her escape. Great guy.
[Erisi]
Erisi CRESTS THE RIDGE. She made it! Oh thank the sweet, sweet toes of Myrtle. There she is. Look at her. Huffing. Puffing. Only to get shot. Right in her right shoulder, her flesh and bone one, though the wound isn't /awful/, but it's not great either. She's forced to switch hands with her lightsaber while grunting in pain, falling onto one knee with the impact as she tries not to get knocked back off the ridge she just dominated.
"Shoot - Someone else untie the pretty handsome man or woman -- I ..frick." A growl then, the same anger held in her earlier roused once more, the rage pushing past her exhaustion and soreness to aid her in her time of need.
Nostrils flare as she scans the field, trying to suss out who shot her. Reddish hazel eyes settle on Kauri by pure chance, injured shoulder rolled back to deepen the pain, thus her rage, hand lifting up to extend organic fingers out as she focuses - focuses - and lights Kauri's clothing on fire from the knee up chestwards, fingers lifting and raking as the fabric seemingly combusts on it's own.
"Good job, Canem!" Breathed out as she turns her head in time to see Iollan's handiwork. Does he hear her? Probably not, but it's good to acknowledge good work when good work happens.
Goddess, she's still so tired and sore, but the pain. The pain fuels her. Up next, get close enough to attack with a saber. Or, you know. Just melt some more skin. Melting skin is probably easier, and far more satisfying to the short pyro. Up from her knee she goes, and a hobble-fast walk ensues.
[Domino]
Domino lifts her blaster and then hears Errod's cry of distress and there's a slight growl of vexation before she sprints towards Errod "MEdic here, if I get shot while I'm kissing your Boo-boo EXPECT to hear about it later," she yanks out a med pack, taking a quick scan with the device but her gaze is on the wound not the screen before she begins to patch up the wound.
[Imani]
The pretty handsome man or woman is a literal captive audience for this show playing out in the bunker, continuing to struggle against the bonds that keep her held firmly in the chair. When Iollan approaches and slices through the cording that holds her there, Imani's face once again splits into a broad smile as she looks up into the helmeted face. "I could kiss you," she announces, immediately reaching out with her now free hand to snatch up the nearby dagger and cut the cords around her ankles, until she's free and able to stand. She sizes up her new friends, and those that remain against them all while trying to shake the pins and needles out of her limbs.
[Malik Ren]
"Take your darkness and shove it up your mask-holes, you wretched whelp," Hiiaka growls at Syrus, neatly evading the swings of his saber. "Jedha is a place of light, Jedha is a place of peace, Jedha is a place of history and knowledge... you would never understand, and we'll feed your bones to the carrion birds."
Kauri screams as she finds herself suddenly set alight - that's upsetting, to be sure. They're not any garden variety mercenary though, they have a clarity of mind often lacking in others. The Guardian tucks and rolls into a neat little move to extinguish the flames against the dirt of her homeworld, and comes up swinging at Errod Zand. Lono, meanwhile, swings his lightbow around to fire a shot at Erisi in revenge for the fire! He pulls back... and misses the shot completely, given that he's got to dodge the sudden appearance of a saber being chucked his way. Twice he evades the unnatural rotations of the weapon flying toward him, but it catches him on the back pull and the archer is cut neatly in half.
Joh, Temir, and Amina join the fight with a vengeance, but Amina desperately calls one more time, "Battery! WE NEED BACKUP!"
[Syrus]
"Jedha is a place of kyber. We're taking that kyber and its power and bending it to our noble purpose. Not hiding it in a temple. Not making /jewelry/ from it," Syrus says, as the woman's glaive slices across his armor's climate control. Sparks fly from the unit as her blade digs through it and into his chest, scarlet blood jetting from the wound for a moment before it mends itself, leaving only a patch of irritated skin behind.
"Your /obsession/, Hiiaka, with hiding this power serves nothing," he begins, lifting a hand to pull the helmet from his head, its formerly warm confines a thing of the past. It's tossed to the side and he swings a flurry of strikes at her. "It will be your downfall. And the downfall of every other member of your Guardians, who would keep that power out of the hands of people who would use it to restore order."
[Errod Zand]
"I'll remember that for next time," Errod growls at Domino from behind the mask, trying to restrain himself from grabbing at the wound during and after the quick field dressing. When the woman pulls her fingers away, he mentally vows to do the same, despite the urge and the curious itch of the numbing solution. Feeling like a fool for stopping in the middle of battle for that, he grips his weapon more tightly, eyes turning back towards the fighting in time to see Kauri's weapon hurtling right at his head.
"Krif."
It's less of a dodge and more of a fall as Errod drops to the ground in a barely-controlled heap, the polearm's blade burying itself in the dirt a sliver away from his helmet. "I wish we had met under different circumstances, but this is the only way it ever is." It's not a playful, flirtatious remark, more of a genuine, melancholy observation.
[Iollan Canem]
Maybe, probably, under all that chrome and black there's a wink to Imani's comment about kissing him. But the only indicator is the little glance back her way, helmet angled just so, as Iollan leaves the new conscript to finish up her own rescue.
There's a lot of of force related, galaxy-balancing monologuing going on nearby, and while it plies great effect to the heavy, bloody nature of the ambiance, that simply isn't Lan's field of expertise. A flick of the wrist sends the spent powerpack from his blaster as he keeps eyes on targets, skimming between Syrus' swordfight to the right and the other figures nearby; a rote reload slams a new cartridge in as he keeps striding forward, two more shots levelling at a nearby target with at least one finding it's intended outcome. There's a lot of mayhem though, predictably, and the detective takes his quick forward momentum into a knees-down slide to the nearest rocky outcrop, gaining as much cover as he can for this brief moment.
[Erisi]
Despite being attacked by Joh, a person she's never met in her life, Erisi remains steadfast in her focus on Kauri. You know, despite the call of praise for Iollan. Erisi gets snapped by a shot from said Joh - but with her lessons from both Malik and Syrus, she battles through the pain and forbids her body to allow that wound to even turn into a wound. She's shot in the chest, fabric of her robes curdling and rippling away to reveal the briefest of bruises - soft green before it pulsates away from dark brown flesh, leaving naught behind it.
That means Erisi's attention is fully captivated on the woman who rolled her fire away. Absolutely no appreciation for art. No appreciation for the /craft/. So what is an artist to do? Start all over.
"Next one you won't be able to roll away, little bird, I'll be smushing you into the dirt with my heel." Fingertips rake through the air, really more of a gesture to help Eri focus than anything else, and sets the woman on fire /again/, choosing the same placement as before to really, really make it hurt this time.
[Domino]
Domino comes up swiftly, blaster in hand as soon as she's up and locking on the first unfamiliar figure she sees that's not being engaged by fluttering-flailing robes or more familiar armed figures. Stepping forward to close distance she fires three rapid fire shots, "Anyone else need a medic? Don't bleed just because I'm not creepy enough for you!" even as her pistol sweeps seeking a new victim-clearly taking advantage of her apparent invisibility.
[Imani]
Pins and needles are appropriately shaken off, but in that time Imani finds herself shot right in the leg. Fair game, really, she was out of the chair too long and didn't move, the hit sending her back into the chair she just got up from with a fwump. "Unngthat smarts," the words blend together as she utters them, and then she hisses in a breath through her teeth before she stands again. This time she doesn't linger once back upright, working through the pain as she charges at Amina with the humble dagger, using it to carve a couple of deep grooves into the woman. This sort of behavior is what got her tied to the chair in the first place, but she's free now, and there's probably some regret now that they didn't just kill her when they had the chance.
[Malik Ren]
He knows her name. He knows her name? How? Hiiaka's eyes widen as Syrus speaks to her, and then just as quickly, her features set back into grim, firm resolve. "You've swallowed a lie, child," she replies, even if she isn't exactly sure who he is for certain. "What did they promise you? What silver song did you hear? What snake-talk slithered its way into all those doubts in your mind, and planted corruption and rot in those places? Do you think you chose this? You were led. You swallowed that bait and went wherever the line took you."
Malik, generally disapproving of this kind of OTHER SIDE rhetoric, steps in to swing his saber at Hiiaka, but she evades him just as nimbly as she did Syrus. The others are not faring as well - Lono is dead, Kauri is grimly trying to fight through fire before the inevitable end. Joh and Amina are hurt, and Temir has been gunned down ruthlessly.
Another TIE falls out of the sky as the turbolasers fire again, and Hiiaka switches her target to Malik Ren as Amina's comm suddenly crackles with the desperately requested backup, "Stay alive, stay alive, we're almost there."
[Syrus]
"What thin teachings did the Jedi impart unto me that could fall apart so easily under the lightest scrutiny?" Syrus says, hand whipping out to the side, tendrils of Force clutchin around a chunk of debris and sending it sailing into the Guardian, just after she manages to land a hit on Malik.
"The only thing I've been led to is liberation," Syrus says, frowning deeply and resuming his defensive stance.
[Errod Zand]
With a sweep of his leg, Errod knocks the smoking, robed woman off-balance; the Guardian one, not Erisi. In the same movement, he pushes himself to his feet through the stinging pain screaming silently in his leg. The plasma-lined blade wings out with speed and precision, and it seems the middle-aged man has found the measure of his foe as now the weapon slices into flesh and cracks bone. Twisting in a deadly spin, he plunges the needle-tip end through Kauri's chest, almost embracing her as death wraps around the woman instead. When she falls away, he stands over the body, the mask hiding his expression, but he's clearly staring down.
[Iollan Canem]
The slide is pretty cool, but also pretty visible; dust kicks up, leather duster flapping, as Lan action heros his way into a hopefully more protected position, but not before the one man he was shooting at returns fire. Somewhere amidst the commotion of his motion, one bolt hits the detective firmly in the butt cheek, the other going forward jut far enough to skim into the solid meat of his thigh, same leg.
"Kriffing--" The curse cuts off as he sort of slams into the rock he was hiding behind, off-balance and reeling from sudden pain. All that armour took some of the heat, but the fried plating is no joke. One broad shoulder on the rocks for support, he twists far enough to return three quick shots -- miss, miss, hit. That'll have to do.
<<"We're going to have a lot of company very soon,">> arrives over the comms, strained but still level enough, all considering. Another glance traces around, back towards where they came, as he keeps down. <<"Need to finish this. Now.">>
[Erisi]
Erisi steps in as well to saber Hiiaka, not because she's not enjoying the discourse, but ...bb mighta wanted to stick with setting things on fire, because she is utterly graceless with the lightsaber. We're talking about heavy sweating, heavy breathing, and so much effort put into lifting her cybernetic arm up (seriously, it has gears, she just has to think to make it work, but girl is so bad with the weapon that no cool arm can compensate), swishing. Swashing. To no avail. Oh cripes. Why didn't she just try the fire, "Oh man, I ..I need to ...work on that ...this ..." Her lightsaber is given a small shake, woman doubling over and letting her head hang down, completely not embarassed at all. She knows she needs to work on her lightsaber skills, "I promise ...fire soon, just .." Breathe. Lan is speaking. Telling them they need to finish it off, "Okay ..okay ..I ...yeah, lemme ..juice up the engines ..tell ..tell onna 'em to ..poke me again, I'll get there." Wheeze. Hand lifts, waves in the air towards Lan, or her approximation in her brain hole of where he is, "Pl..plan..plant the bomber-doos on 'em ..save ..some time ..." Hand wave. She has spoken.
[Domino]
Domino was looking for a target and she finds one as soon as she sees some filthy, unworthy, idiotic waste of space score on their ren-HER Ren. This is where logic suggesting a more suitable target is willfully discarded and she strides at an angle until both Malik Ren and Erisi are clear and then she opens fire with prejudice, willing and wishing those bolts to land true even as targets which are not engaged two to one go overlooked. Dom wants Hiiaka to die-NOW preferably! <<"Working on it, Nuggets. Just dealing with this skidmark trying to unpretty our Ren.">> and from the sounds of her tone Fu** EVERYTHING else until that end is achieved. Including Erisi's obvious need for medical care.
[Imani]
There is a lot happening behind Imani, but her focus is upon the poor woman who was unfortunate enough to tie her up. Probably on someone else's orders, but those nuances don't matter right now. There's another quick flick of the wrist and the dagger pierces Amina's chest, sinking into some organ vital for life, and yanked back out just as quickly. With that job done she turns away as the body hits the floor, to look around at the carnage that's happened in such a short amount of time.
[Malik Ren]
Hiiaka manages to neatly slice Malik a new cut across the torso, a favor he does not manage to repay, but she suffers the blow Syrus telekinetically threw at her, gasping and reeling back a step as the hit lands. "I am one with the force, and the force is with me," she murmurs that annoying, annoying mantra of the Church of the Force, focusing her mind, a clarity that earns her just a grunt and a graze across her armor when Domino lands a shot. She is one with the Force, and the Force is with her. Beset on all sides, she attempts to attack Syrus again, while Amina and Kauri join Lono and Temir in whatever the force brings you next, if you are one with it, and the string of your life is cut short.
Joh is barely hanging in there but he attempts to fire a few rounds off as well, one last ditch effort before darkness returns him to bleed into the earth of his ancestors. Where are those damn reinforcements? "Come on," he murmurs, "Come on..."
[Syrus]
As he tries to close in for another attack, Hiiaka's weapon jabs right through his hut, leaving the man waving his saber fruitlessly for a few moments before the spear is dislodged from him and the Kiffar collapses into the dirt.
[Errod Zand]
Shaking his head, the human raincloud named Errod drifts towards the last of the Guardians still standing, approaching with a businesslike air. There's no particular artistry in his attack, two quick blows feeling out the other warrior's defenses, but she's more than a match for the cursory attack even in spite of her wounds. A low "hmmm" emanates from within the helmet as the man in black circles, weapon held at the ready, right foot dragging in the dirt more than it should.
[Iollan Canem]
Oh, he's bleeding. A lot. That fact is noted, signed, and delicately placed in some mental file as Iollan recoups for just a moment behind his rocky spar of cover. One gloved hand pats the hole in his legs, just to check, and comes up slick and black in the light here.
<<"Domino!">> Oh no, full name time. There's a sharp edge to the call over the comms, clearly urging her to run those bombs or die trying. A breath steadies, holds, as he pivots on a knee (the good one) to turn and poke up over the stones, blaster levelling in one hand, and--
Kriffing finally. The body drops as those bolts find home, with one extra going wide just as the boy collapses. Pushing himself back to his feet, managing pain as best as his year of practice in stoicism allow, Iollan comes over with another: <<"You have to run the charges. I'm not dying on this rock.">>
[Erisi]
Erisi watches Syrus drop and where she might normally go for the flame ordinarily, watching Syrus drop down has time just stopping for her. You know that weird slo-mo thing where time seems to expand a few seconds into minutes. Her breathe catches in her throat and she lets out a scream, "GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU OLD HAG." And there she goes, barelling forwards, trying to ward attacks off Syrus towards her as she swings her lightsaber like a love stricken idiot, "Go. For. Someone. Your. Own. Size. You ...womprat." SHWANG. SWHING. Into air, but maybe she distracts the chick enough to give a chance to Syrus. Bombs? Bombs? She only has eyes for Hii now.
[Domino]
Domino barely resists wasting more ammo on Hiiaka, holstering her weapon and sprinting towards the structure they are here to destroy. Still itching to hurt that crazy guardian she has no recourse but do what she does best-destroy something that someone better than her is desperate to protect. With a practiced hand and set routine she goes about circling the structure running cord and sets multiple charges at key intervals <"Someone please tell me that bitch is dead. Person who offs that insufferable witch gets three no question favors from me, Kill. That. Annnoying. Witch."> Like anyone wants or needs Dom favors.
[Imani]
Imani's shot leg is giving her some grief, but not enough that it stops her from diving immediately into more murder. She dare not stay close for too long what with the wooshing lightsabers, but she slides in and ducks low enough to slash at Hiiaka, first one way, then the other, and back again, though only the first lands. She doesn't wait around to try and do more, ducking away again to avoid decapitation via friendly(?) lightsaber slash. "Tell me how to help," she announces loudly as she looks around to the people who might still kill her and leave her here. But at least she's not in the chair anymore.
[Malik Ren]
Guardian Hiiaka is a ferocious opponent, a warrior who moves with the resolve and focus of years of hard training. Her physical abilities are on par with the Knights, especially considering how many of them she's tackling at once, but even more than this, her mental resolve is impressive. Her world is burning. Her sky is filled with the war machines of tyrants. Her body is bleeding and aching, now, and her friends lie in ruins around her. Kauri and Lono, her comrades from a peaceful, beautiful, balanced philosophy. Temir and Amina and Joh, who had to have known they were doomed as soon as they saw the sabers.
Still she fights, fighting until the bitterest end, single-mindedly aware that every second she fights off these toxic aberrations, another TIE will fall, another gasp of hope is bought for Jedha. Maybe someone will come. Maybe the reinforcements will arrive.
But if they don't, it doesn't matter. She is one with the Force. The Force is with her.
[Syrus]
Having rolled over into his back Sy's hand moves to the wound on his belly as his head lolls back into the dirt. Eyes watch the ships exploding above and there's a very real voice in his head that says he should just close his eyes right now and drift away, returning blissfully to the cool clay of his home world. In and out of it, he'll lift a hand to secure another chunk of stone in an attempt to fling it at Hiiata, but it sails wide and just succeeds in shattering against a nearby wall. So, there he'll lay, just watching Erisi. She is really very pretty, after all.
[Errod Zand]
Hiiaka is good. She's very good. But there's just too many Knights, and they're good too.
TIEs burst overhead while plasma streaks across the sky like falling stars, and Errod paces warily around the other warrior, watching for an opening, waiting for the moment to strike. He gets it when Imani stabs in, and the counterattacks lash out at Malik, presenting him with an opportunity.
It's not sporting. It's not poetic, no epic single combat between them, but he steps in confidently under the sweep of her pike and drives his weapon home, sending the Guardian to be one with the Force. When she falls to the ground, he stoops over her, confirming that she is, indeed, dead.
"I didn't want you fooling me. You were too dangerous to make assumptions," he grumbles quietly to the dead woman, pulling her hands onto her chest with her pike underneath them. "Return to the dust. Escape the cycle. Slip away into sweet oblivion." It's as close to a religious statement as he's ever likely to make.
[Iollan Canem]
Chaos reigns still, but as Domino legs it up past them, just in his eyeline, Iollan at least sees some light at the end of the tunnel. One big, blooding mushroom cloud of light and sweet success. A look tosses about the immediate vicinity, seeing about any other targets, but he's bleary -- fading, really. His right leg is all but numb now, barely holding any weight as he leans and sort of catches himself on the earthen structure in front of him. A gloved hand slips and he's on one elbow, hanging on.
A quick headcount shows that the rest of the team isn't doing so well, or so upright, either. Great.
<<"Alright.">> None of them are alright. He shifts a bit, facing what's left of the conscious team, as overhead the world continues to end. Very soon there's going to be a kaboom, and they should likely be somewhere else for that. He'd very much like to be somewhere else right now -- and none of these scoundrels are going to carry him. A tense inhale and a heave of effort sees him standing, sort of. <<"Time to go.">>
[Erisi]
Everyone has a weakness. Erisi's used to be her uncaring if she lived or died. It's why she was so happy to rush in to things all willy nilly. She believed so firmly and wantonly in the First Order and it's objectives, having been raised by her family to do so.
But now she has a real weakness. A new one. So raw. One that could be used against her. One that will leave her breathless and corruptable by the other side.
And he's so very stupid and thinks she's very pretty, and thinks she's so much cooler that she ever could be in reality.
"GO PLACE THOSE STUPID EXPLOSIVES AND BLOW UP THE DAMNED TURRET." Screamed as she unignites her lightsaber, shoving it into a pocket on her robes as she dashes over with energy she couldn't find before, sliding and skittering in the dirt as she slides into home base; Syrus. Hands fly out as she leans on her right hip, hands scouring over his body and finding that wound, cybernetic hand pressing in to apply pressure to it as she lets a series of panicked words escape from her lips, "Hey, hey - Syrus. Hey. Yeah, keep looking at me big guy, hey ..hey, don't go anywhere, okay? Hey. Hey." Is she crying or sweating. It's hard to tell. Leaning over him her free hand lifts to touch his cheek, fingers shakingly touching down as warm palm presses down.
"Look - look- we got it. It's ours, Jedha is ours, do you see this all?" She might be lying - no explosives have been lain, nothing has exploded save for ships above them, but she'll give the lie just in case he is leaving this plane of existence, "So many rocks for you to love on." A broken half-smile as she leans down to kiss an eyebrow, "Just stay with me." He is so very pretty, after all.
[Domino]
Domino double checks her work and sets the charges <Right-O! The Charges are LIVE, nothing's gonna stop them so let's go, go, go. Anyone lagging behind I'm going to carry if you like it or not so let's go-go-GO! Lollipops and medical attention on the ride home!"> She throws her arms up as she sees Errod take care of that peski witch <"FINALLY! THANK YOU! Errod, THANK you that-I owe you. Dunno what you consider currency so I'll just let you bask in my existential dispair sometime or something."> and with that she's charging off-and anyone too feeble to keep up or object is carried. MAybe.
[Imani]
Imani is prepared to stab someone else, but upon further inspection it looks like there isn't anyone else /to/ stab. The vibrodagger is shoved back into a small sheath at her hip, then steps over to the ax that was left propped against a wall. She picks it up and props it against one shoulder, eyes falling on the explosives that have now been planted. "So that's a sign we should go, right?" She's going to assume yes, takes only a second to bow her head to the fallen, a few murmured words that might be prayer, and then prepares to move toward whatever exit these fine folks take. "I hope you don't mind if I come along?" she asks, tempering what is usually a fairly cheerful tone after the emotional display from Erisi. "Should I help carry someone?"
[Malik Ren]
Hiiaka falls. Like Kauri and Lono, like Joh and Temir and Amina, she falls, cut down by a wise man who believes in nothing and no one. She doesn't die with a surprised look on her face, like some tight-pants spacer convinced of her own immortality. She dies choking on her blood, she dies feeling her body fade and fail around her, but she isn't surprised. Hiiaka knows what this is. She falls, and she does not get up again.
The explosion at the turbolaser battery equipment itself is louder even than the reports themselves were, a well-placed fireball that makes those on their feet reel a step backward from the force of the heat and the energy released. Ears ring, a high pitched and unavoidable tinnitus driving out everything else for several seconds. Malik can be seen yelling something at Domino, it's hard to hear, but he's pointing at Syrus, so it probably means 'Go patch that up before he dies on us.'
He shakes his head to clear it, then yanks off his helmet to study Imani as the tinnitus fades and the turbolaser battery burns. "You look like my sister," Malik decides, in a dry voice. "Thanks, I hate it. But you'd better come with us, girl." Reaching for a comm, he summons, "Sebek, Vosaurd, bring in the Buzzard for exfil, the guns are down, we have casualties, get here immediately."
The guns are down, and for a moment, everything is so, so silent.
Then slowly but surely, dark ships start to lower through the atmosphere, the TIEs and attack frigates that represent the domination of the First Order and its allies.
Like Hiiaka, Jedha falls.
