Log:New Alderaan: Blades in the Night

The Fair Aubrei leads a scouting party to sniff out Rists.

OOC Date: October 18, 2021
Location: Snow Yavon Forest, New Alderaan
Participants: New Alderaan, Aubrei, Ulani Kalgaav, Chani Tahn, Bors Thul, Rune, Ariel Teral, Sorin Endesea, Yuun, Aryn Cortess GM, Herself, Lars Syrush, Jace Cole

Word had come in that a contingent of Rist soldiers were seen entering the Yavon forest to scale the steep hills and mountain to reach the Duchy Cole estates. There was a lot of land to cover on foot, and make no mistake, they were on foot. The best scout on New Alderaan was assigned by Ser Lars Syrush, the First Sword, to track them; a scout that happened to be a Mandalorian named Aubrei.

The trek through the woods began with rain, but changed with the elevation. Rain had turned to snow, and the trees became more dense, and the forest quiet. All that could be heard, aside from one's breath, was the soft flutter of snow, the whisper of the wind at the dead of night, and silence.

Tracking had been rather harried at times but Aubrei had stopped at moments to listen, consider her next step before continuing to follow the tracks. Her path had run its length finally, the woman coming up short as she finds the tracks have abruptly ended. Her head tilts back, the green and earthen hues enabling her to stay undetecteed in that moment.Its been a journey, the chill held at bay by her armor as the woman tries to press up against the nearest tree to help conceal herself further.

Finally she touches the button on her comlink and keys up the internal system. <<"Ser Lars, its a treacherous path but their tracks have come to an abrupt end. I think they are to expect us...or may be waiting to attack. I do not have a good feeling about it. I suggest that you approach with caution, my estimate is about twenty to thirty given the tracks.">> She keeps her position, waiting to see if anything else can be discerned from her location.

<<"Approach with caution.">>

Freezing rain and mud to her ankles, Ulani collected her frayed nerves and her betrayer of a rifle -- the bloody killer that it is -- and follwed close behind the others. Being soaked to tbe bone was bad. Now in the snowy terrain and tired, it's ten times worse. Breath fogging up her blastshield, Ulani's frame shivers as they trudge in the snow. The teeth chattering is kept to a minimum because she's clenching her jaws so tightly, she can feel the pressure in her sinuses.

Rifle held close to her chest, the Kuati woman steels herself and makes the decision to flick her setting from blue mercy to red judgment. It's already too late to take back what has been done. Better now to march forward and deal with the rest in respite.

The night is dark and full of terrors. Every breath she exhales curls into a cloud of mist, but Chani does not seem disturbed by the dropping temperatures in the forest as night progresses. Anyone that gets close to her can feel an unnatural heat radiating off of her, leaving her unaffected by the chill of tramping through the snow. This high in altitude, they're no longer dealing with mud and muck caused by the rain. Snowflakes cascade and twist around them, and the wind itself is like a muted, distant roar that lingers at the edge of one's hearing when everything is silent. It never quite is. Not with so many boots crunching through the snow and following Aubrei. When the Mandalorian halts, so does Chani, gaze fixated on the path ahead.

"Not very sporting." speaking low enough for only those immediately around him, taking advantage of the snowfall's quality for muffling sound while checking the charge of his carbine before eyes turn on Ulani and he carefully reaches to briefly rest a hand at her shoulder, "Soon to warmth, or warmer ranges, Ula. Worry not."

Halting and lowering himself slightly to a half crouch while trying to peer out into the frozen weather, attempting to see what the Mandalorian sees and listening for either call outs, orders, or enemy movement. The Lord Thul's eyes turn to study surroundings, shadows, tree trunks, the branches.

"Nary good tidings that..."

The going might have gotten a bit rough there for a bit, when the rain turned to snow and the lot of them were forced to track through the gathered white powder. Especially since Rune had left his voluminous robe back at the palace for ease of travel. However, with a quiet murmur to the Force, reaching out with his mind to call the power to aid him, he was able to use its influence to supernaturally warm his form. Thus the young Ysannan treks through the snow, quietly turning his head this way and that as they search for those that elude them.

Not possessing a comlink, the only sign to halt and listen is when the armored woman at the front pauses in her investigation and looks skyward. Rune too stops and peers around with curious hazel eyes. While a number of folk grab at blasters and pistols, his right hand closes over the black shiny pommel of the lightsaber hilt fastened to his belt. His gaze carries across some of those in the group and he hazards a brief smile to them if they'll accept it... perhaps in freezing temperatures while pursuing foe isn't the best time for levity. Regardless, with the change in weather the Initiate Jedi is attempting to keep spirits up.

Ariel's a little thankful that this armor has thermal protection, so the freezing temps aren't bothering her right off the bat. She was sure that the adrenaline spike that she was feeling was going to wear off eventually and then maybe she'd start feeling all the aches and pains. She didn't want to be a complainer either. So she had trudged through the mud and the rain with the rest of the group, staying towards the back so that she didn't trip or get into anything that she wasn't supposed to. Because the red head seemed to be good at mucking up situations when least expected. She's carrying the DL-18 that her guard had acquired for her as well, maybe fighting blaster bolts with actual blaster bolts was the correct tactic for the moment.

The trek through the woods has been slow and methodical, though that incline and ascent was made manageable and relatively fatigue free by the powered servos dotting each joint of Sorin's powered suit. Internal temperature regulation keeps the ever-deeping freeze at bay, and the armored man neither shakes nor shivers as his helmeted target tracking system plays its game between tree trunks and falling snowflakes. Though unseen from beyond his visor, a green cast to eyes and cheeks is the consequence of the goggle-mounted heads up display. Sorin hears Aubrei's scouting report, and glances for a moment in Ser Lars' direction, to observe his response and ensure proper distance is maintained from the rest of the party.

Having come to help Aryn, Yuun has heard a little of what was going on, and honestly he wasn't going to sit around any longer. Having come to New Alderaan, he lands his ship at the spaceport. He looks through his datapad and gets the information he needed. Having dressed for occasion, Yuun makes his way to the location of where things were happening.

Quickly making his way and sensing where the others are. Yuun treks through the rain, mud and snow. He keeps quiet and uses the comm frequency the others were using to catch up with them. Upon seeing them moving, he falls in line.

Aryn puts her back to a tree and breathes out slowly. The distinct feeling of being hunted crept over her like a dark shadow of a storm looming and slowly moving in to overtake the light. Fear, deeply rooted fear, begins to settle and Aryn does her best to control her breathing and focus. She wears a heavy cape lined with fur that mantles her shoulders; a scar has been wrapped around her face sparing only her eyes and the loose strands of blonde that are freckled with snow as they wait. She pulls out her lightsaber hilt, praying it was only just a feeling.

Ser Lars steps forward and draws his sword from the scabbard. His steps are labored, trying, and tired. His paralysis from the Rist toxin was showing its teeth. <<"We spread out.. draw them to us. They are well aware of us now, no sense in hiding that. Look for them around you.. in the trees or standing like statues. They use stealth generators.. bending light around them. Look for the distortions..">>

The armored figure that had led them this far is blind in the dark and she leans heavily upon the systems in her suit - which are not always ideal. But the moment sabers are drawn and she can hear the impact of the Force by way of the sounds made by their targets draws her about. She stays low and pulls the pistol quickly from her side so that as Sorin connects with his first foe she has yet to fully see an outline of one.

The snow is not helpful and she furiously wipes at her visor with her free hand as she attempts to find her footing in the midst of the dark stormy weather. It leaves her skin crawling and her breath coming all the more quickly though only she can hear it.

Bors' hand on her shoulder gets a moment of extra warmth as her goes atop of it, fingers curling to gives it a squeeze. Now that they've stopped, Ulani is shaking uncontrollably. The effort of moving through the thick bed of snow was at least generating some warmth. Now as they stand in the middle of the dark night forest, the cold has taken a cruel grasp.

Knowing the enemy is out there adds to the tremors. Without the aide of any enhancements and lacking the experience as well, Ulani tries in vain to make sense of her surroundings. But it all just looks like... like... "Shadows," she whispers back to Bors in a fog of her own icy breath. "All I see is..."

Nothing. She sees absolutely nothing and that's what terrifies her the most.

They're not alone.

When Lars starts to move forward, Chani doesn't. She's standing still with her head craned up and her eyes trained into the trees above them. For a few long seconds, she's silent. "..There's something in the trees." Knitted brows and squinted eyes have Chani straining her head forward a little more. "It's like.. shimmering." That shimmering sensation moves by leaping from the tree and begins to fall towards Chani. "WATCH OUT!" The Force is screaming at her in that singular moment, filling every sense of perception she has with danger. While her right hand darts towards her left hip to gather up her lightsaber hilt, her left darts out into the sky and air above her in a shove of her hand outwards. Though invisible, her symbiotic relationship with the Force sends powerful ripples through the very atoms of the air outwards from her hand.

Whatever was falling towards her is no longer falling towards her. The powerful shove from the Force sends it flailing backwards to land in the snow with a hard thud of something hitting the ground and the snow itself scattering. Powder kicks up and lingers in the air as whatever it is scrambles. "Watch the snow around you!"

Stealth field generators - of course they have them. Rist. Bors's eyes are narrowed and in the motion to drag his eyes from one section of darkened to the next a small whisp brushes across his blast screen - obscuring sight and forcing him to shake his head to clear it at the least best moment to be afflicted so.

And then shouting! So soon after Ulani's quiet comments. Carbine up and sighting down its length, searching the trees, the snow, where in all the darkest hells of Corellia is she seeing when her hand goes out and Bors tries like mad to suss out precisely what she spotted there.

"Oh...Zounds!" Language Bors.

The lightsaber hilt comes off Rune's belt and is ignited in one quick motion, a blade of green extending from the emitter to be held in front of the searching Jedi. The new light does nothing to help him in seeking those that Ser Lars had mentioned, the ones cloaked in the stealth generators. It does illuminate a bit larger area than normal, however, the white snow reflecting the vibrant emerald with ease. He spreads away from the others near him, doing as requested to try and draw the fight to them, the verdant column positioned defensively before him while he waits for some sort of action or clue.

Meanwhile, other lightsabers are lit and swords are drawn, blasters are readied and the group is prepared for battle... or at least trying to mitigate an ambush... and then it comes. Chani throws something into the snow causing fluff to puff up around the outline of a being, her idea is sound and he snaps his eyes to the unblemished field of white before him. Rune breathes deep and exhales with a sigh, eyes narrowing while he tries to still the hard thumping of his heart.

Ariel was peacefully wandering along in the snow, but that had stopped when things started to unravel. She didn't see any of what was incoming, but she'd managed to catch up to the group. Her hazel gaze starts to dart around, trying to find a target to hit. This might be harder than expected!

Sorin's visored gaze sweeps back out as Ser Lars issues his instructions. It's dark, and the fall of snowflakes, gentle and pretty as it is, also serves as additional concealment to the stealth-suited Rist assassins everyone knows are approaching. That long, curve-edged crystalline sword hanging at the Alderaanian knight's hip is slowly withdrawn, a very soft ssssssssss escaping as the blade escapes confinement.

Sorin takes a handful of steps forward and seeks some admittedly questionable partial cover from the trunk of the tree nearest him. That visor-obscured hazel gaze sweeps. Nothing. Snow falls, and the forest is silent. His helmet begins turning and that's when he sees it. A shimmer of movement. There, and yet not. Just off to this right, and nearing - perhaps two meters distant.

He has but a moment to consider the approaching - and quite invisible - assassin, which he does out of the corner of his eye. Clicking on the unit's comm system he transmits, <"They are among us.> A moment later a second tightbeamed transmission, heard as a soft fuzz to all but the one not communicated with.

And then... violence. Servo-assisted, the lash of blade that strikes the Rist assassin is shockingly swift, and effectively disembowels the lightly armored man. Because a man it is, a flash of blue heralding the loss of the suit's stealth field. Hands go to stomach, hoping to keep his guts in, but a second sweep of Sorin's blade drives a cleave into the meat of the Rist's neck and shoulder. It's a killing blow.

Yuun moves apart from the others, though with his training he takes a glance to make sure he notes where the team he's apart of are. With that, Yuun's hand moves to his lightsaber but he doesn't ignite the weapon. No. He takes a breath, 'Bring them to us.' were the orders from Aryn.

So with that, he looks up watching to see where the distortions would be, he wanted to catch them off guard not the other way around and so closing his eyes and taking a breath, he hears one near where he is, as they tried to stalk him. His blade ignites and in one smooth motion he does a back swing missing his target as they dodge and tries to quickly adjust but Yuun doesn't allow them, moving quickly, he swings his blade to the left which the Rist Assassin feinted and Yuun took that bait. He will scold himself later for that. Tracking his target, Yuun rolls forward and stabs the assassin through the chest, his blue blade like a beacon until it's switch off. He's given his location, he had to quickly alleviate that.

With the assassin having appeared, he quickly takes off the stealth generator and slings it over his shoulder. He doesn't take his opponents weapon, 'Rest in the Force.' He says a silent prayer to his opponent before moving on.

Aryn spots one nearing her, and the fear is too much to push aside. Unable to focus, she tries to jut her hand forward and issue a response through the force but summons nothing. "No, no.." Aryn says, leaping away from the tree just as the Rist releases a salvo of razor sharp blades that chew up the bark. Aryn tumbles to her knee, climbs back up and tries to run, calling upon the Force again to conceal her and failing to do so. Without any other option, she puts her back to a tree again and activates her lightsaber, her breath giving the blue aura of the sapphire blade and auspicious presence.

Attacks spring from all different angles and the group can hear the fast movements of assassins as they trade positions with others. Thrown blades are their method of attack, using range to impact their targets whilst introducing them to the poison to make people sluggish. It becomes much more clear what to search for now, as distorted light has an effect on the environment (think of the Predator).

Ser Lars moves slow, backing up and breathing harshly himself. Old fears surface from having faced and killed a good number of these demons, yet.. here he is again. Unashamed to be frightened, the First Sword has to FORCE himself from backing up and hold his ground, sword at the defense as he tries to make sense of the sudden ambush.

There! As clear as day movement catches her attention and with a tense arm Aubrei sweeps around and aims down the length of her arm. The first bolt flies free of the sleek blaster, watching as the shot downs the assassin. Her fingers tense up when she realizes she is not shooting stun bolts now, this is real and its leaving her shaken some.

Her hands flex but the next two shots squeezed off miss, going wide and slamming into snow ridden ground and trees.

Ice crystals are forming on her lungs with each shaking breath in and out coming faster and faster as dread sets in. Ulani can hear them moving, scuttling in the darkness. The whistle of blades flying around and embedding in bark and body sing. Clearly not alone but her eyes will dilate enough to allow her to see.

Stooping down, Ulani races for the first bit of cover she can find; one of a hundred trees that surround them that gets her back pressed up against it. Eyes lifting towards the unfeeling curtain of black sky, Ulani whispers something to herself, her gloved hands tightening around her rifle.

A shot from nearby -- was that Aubrei's armour she saw in that flick of red light? -- drops the cloaking device from the assassin. Terror and cold keeps her movements stiff yet Ulani does manage to make herself move. Another flash of red joins the rest; her own rifle lighting her features for a brief instant then the bolt finds itself melting a single cylindrical space of snow.

"Aryn!" The Princess takes off away from the group and Chani follows, tramping through the snow to chase after the noble and the shimmering ripple of air that exists between them. Her lightsaber isn't activated, but she doesn't need it to be right now. She just needs the one free hand. When Aryn throws her back up against the tree and casts the shadows back away from her with the blue light of her blade, Chani lightly skids to a stop and reaches out with the Force. It's not just a metaphysical sensation. She can feel something between her fingers and her thumb as she forms a caged grip that seizes the thing she can't quite see, but can. Wrenching her arm back towards her body, she pulls the shimmer away from the noble and into the snow with a grunt, prompting a loud outcry as something carves a deep divot in the snow.

"The Princess." seeing Aryn with her back against a tree, blades all around. "Ula, with me." moving on instinct as his blaster begins to spit crimson, shots only vaporizing snow, shattering bark or flash boiling sap into aromatic explosions The Lord Thul is in motion and calling out now as Bors goes,

"Hile! Loyal to the Princess! To me!" making his steps small leaps, a run aiming to use proven steps to carry him across the distance with his intention to provide reinforcement to Her Highness. He does look about or behind him, to see whom may be following - but he does keep his eyes moving to espy for targets that he cannot quite find in the shadow and snow.

"Princess, make for me and be at my back - we shan't be snuck upon!" no slow in his drive though to serve and stand - to make it less a traverse for Aryn to come to aegis.

A blade suddenly appears from the dark, catching the shine from his lightsaber as it sails past to bury itself in the snow. Rune jumps back after the flung knife has passed by, just in case its twin appeared from the shadows. All that movement does is remove his bead on where the blade materialized from, the shimmer that showed itself now faded back into the surroundings. A grumble precedes wild swings in the night, the lightsaber blade punctuating the quiet around him with swift hums as it misses everything but air. Narrowed hazel eyes greet the night, glancing from left to right as he searches for the foe, any sign of anything that might give him a clue to the assassin's position.

Ariel's not going to be able to hit anything. She realizes this very early in the fight. So with the darting of her gaze and the way she twists to try to figure out where the assassins might be coming from makes her completely miss the one thing she should have been focused on. And that's on the enemy that's about to stab her in the leg. The blade manages to find an opening in the armor and she lets out a yelp as she tries to smack the Rist assassin away with her rifle as she stumbles backwards.

Combat. It's a stew of noises and scents, within which can be found the meat of action, and intention. In some undefinable manner the air-slicing shhhhhhhhk shhhk shhhk of poison-edged blades complements the stink of disembowlment rising from the man at Sorin's feet. Crimson-stained snow is stepped on as the knight of Alderaan whirls, seeking some hint of Rist in the air. Specifically, in this case, and there aside the next tree... a shimmer. For the briefest of moments Sorin can see the distorted air-outline of a hand rising to dart another blade forward.

Powered servos kick in as he rushes the short distance, and the Assassin catches Sorin's own movement just a hint too late. That crystalline blade, held forward yet close, is thrust forward in a heavy spearing of the Rist's lightly armored suit. With a flash of static-ridden blue the suit's stealth field dissipates. Chaos surrounds them, and any pretext of knightly flourishes of sword is dispensed with as Sorin heaves forward, the weight of his body, and the heavy suit of armor worn upon it, bears the remainder of his blade forward. The Rist is skewered fully, and does not survive the sheathing of crystal within his torso.

'The Princess.' Sorin hears Bors alarm and as he steps back from the falling body of that less-alive Rist he begins moving in Aryn's direction as well. That helmet continues to swivel, however, the man within on the lookout for distortions and shimmers of what little light still exists.

Yuun scans the battlefield, though as he does he sees Rune attacking one of the blurred enemies and Yuun quickly closes in, moving fast through the fight. He notices some are holding their own right now, he quickly have to drop down and slide under an attack from one of the Rist Assassins tried to take his head off, as Yuun slides under the blade, his weapon ignites with the familiar snap his and the assassin drops in two pieces bisected by the brilliant blue blade of Yuun's lightsaber.

Leaping up from the apex of his slide, lunges forward, using the force to propel him forward from his slide, Yuun's weapon was turned off after his attack, so that he isn't noticed. He hopes that Rune sees him but doesn't take notice, and as he nears the assassin, he ignites his weapon and cuts down enemy Rune was fighting. He rolls and tries to strike at another and misses. "You ok?" He asks Rune.

But as he asks this, the assassin he misses attack and Yuun is able to side step the attack, and he backflips away from another assassin who also attacks him. Getting some breathing room, "Everyone keep your focus, we can do this." He calls out to everyone hoping to provide them some aid to steel themselves against their foes.

Aryn prepares for the worst when she sees the assassin chasing her charging right for her. Only, he never reaches her. Some unseen force appends them from their path and flings them further away. "Chani!" Aryn cries out, thankful for a friendly face. Aryn runs to her, then past her, and slides the lightsaber blade into the distortion that had been flung away. She wanted to ensure it did not rise again. Their stealth field fails and shimmers back, revealing Aryn's blade piercing their chest with its tip pressed out of their back. When Lord Bors calls out, Aryn looks his way, then to Chani. "We must return to the group.. come on.." And to the loyal Thul Aryn moves, pausing only to make certain Chani is with her.

Ser Lars still holds his ground but has clammed up in fear. He can hear the whispers of wind as assassins move from side to side. He imagines their laughter, the whistle of deadly blades, and he watches as members of the team take to the torment of the Rist's projectiles. Shaky breath issues a challenge. "I will meet thee.. SHOW YOURSELVES, DEMONS! Mother pull you from the shadows!"

An assassin appeared before Ser Lars, drawing their sword. "The Mother cannot hear you here, First Sword. Tis Shadows.. and darkness, and I have come to drag you back to them kicking.. and screaming." Lars lifts his sword. "You may try." The two circle each other and begin to duel, Ser Lars using his agile sword to guard against the fluid flurry of a highly trained assassin. They lock blades and Lars screams, shoving the other back. He swings his heavier sword, displaying his own skill only to have the attacks turned aside with precise parries. It's a stalemate thus far, neither scoring hits.

Assassins still outnumber the Alderaanian group, moving between trees in brief distortions of light. Projectiles are flung, swords are swung, and still.. the most dominating noise is the fall of snow..

<"There damned stealth generators!"> Aubrei cries out, whirling about as she tries to find a distortion in the cold unforgiving night vision. Its no wonder that one gets in close, the blade unseen until it showers sparks from her chest armor that light up the night as it screeches across the beskar.

It does no damage to Aubrei save for briefly blinding her further, spots filling her vision as she comes about, her pistol firing blindly as the distortion presented by the personal generator on her foe keeps her from aiming. She blinks rapidly, trying to help clear her vision.

<"I can not see them..."> She growls below her breath, the vocoder barely registering her voice and more like a mechanical whisper as she continues to pivot and search.

Some are leaders. Some are followers. And what's a good leader without those who are willing and able to follow? "Copy, Bors." Rolling away from the tree, Ulani follows close behind Lord Thul as they make their way over towards Aryn. Still her eyes cannot see anything but strips of shadows and snow snow snow. Somewhere in the darkness she catches the snarl of a Rist towards Lars, brows furrowing as they go. Boots crunching in the snow, she takes up a position of defense near Aryn and peers blind into the night.

The stakes of the fray go higher. Lars duels with an assassin and they begin to kick up snow and leave wide tracts of booted feet shifting around in the powder. The group has reformed with itself, but short of all turning themselves back to back, they can hardly defend in multiple directions. Chani's breath comes in quick, misting pants, but she forces herself to slow down. To take, just for a moment, stock of her situation. Her eyes drift shut and she surrenders herself to the Force. Her shoulders ease. When Chani opens her eyes again, she no longer sees the world as she did before. Everything has shifted. The world is dark, and the trees are but vague shapes in the ocean of that darkness. Everything else, however, is vivid. Blues and reds and greens and oranges. "I can see them." With a snap-hiss, the cyan blade of her lightsaber casts back the shadows around her. A Rist assassin comes in at her and Chani wards him off with the tip of her blade. He attempts to duel a lightsaber and finds he must draw his blade back on every attempted thrust, as Chani's wrist and arm turn to catch each time. He lunges, committing, and Chani carves the blade and crossguard off in a bisecting cleave that forces him to drop it to the ground. He draws another and Chani holds him at blade point.

"My thanks," offered to Chani by Bors, "M'lady." nodding briefly to the Naboo when a flicker takes his attention, turning his head - barrel following. But if there is aught to be found, there is no foemen found. Then again he turns, keeping pace with Aryn in escort to the main force again.

Another flicker, movement at his side that becomes a blaze of plasma washing away to blue when stealth field fails and the user is hurled back by the force to slam into a tree and tumble down to the snow. "Blast it all. Confounded rotters!" oh the BAD language is out this evening! It clearly makes his aim disrupted and the continuing blaze of fire from the old carbine chews into an older tree, creating blackened craters while a sapling takes the last and bursts to flinders.

"Damned devil Rist..." brows creasing to anger and his expression becoming thunderous.

There's one threat out of the way, Yuun appearing in a blaze of blue to drop the assassin that had been harrying him. Rune starts to respond when a soft pressure tags him in the side. There's no pain, and he looks down half assuming to see a friend's hand lightly pressing against his robes. Instead what he finds is a blade sunk into the cloth, his apparel having stopped the attack mere centimeters away from piercing his skin. The Ysannan pulls the knife free and, with one motion, flings it to be wedged in a nearby trunk.

"Thank you." Rune finally responds to Yuun, his eyes still canvassing the area for the slippery assassins. "I am fine, admittedly a little perturbed." he adds, grumbling a bit to himself once the claim leaves his lips. The Jedi turns about, the ones Yuun were fighting having disappeared into the darkness.

In desperation, the Initiate digs his foot in to the snow and kicks up a decent portion of power, flinging the cold substance out and in front of him. The snow drifts down to lightly dust a form in its wake, the outline of an assassin appearing against the dark of the night. "Got you." Rune claims, moving forward to bring his lightsaber to bear on the person revealed. Of course, he finds spotting them isn't everything, and the assassin, though seen, easily dodges all three of his lightsaber swings. At least the young Jedi made the assailant a little more uncomfortable and cold...

Ariel's leg is starting to feel a little weird and she's aggravated by the number of folks that she can't see! She fires off a shot and the second that she fires quickly after that strikes one of the assassins, decloaking them. She barks out a, "HA!" when they are sighted. They had a target finally! Even if she was going to get her butt handed to her.

Half-way to Aryn, Sorin observes Ariel under heavy Rist pressure and already having taken obvious injuries. Knowing others are rallying on the Princess, he quick-steps in the Lady's direction. A shimmer directly ahead, a Rist raising what appears to be a sword against Ariel, has Sorin cutting his own blade in a side slash that takes the assassin at mid-back. A second slice hits that light armor just /wrong/ and is deflected, but the first impact was enough. The Rist drops to his knees and receives a kick to the back that drives him, quite dead, into the ground. Reaching Ariel, Sorin positions himself in such a way that his durasteel plate may offer some situational protection. "Are you alright, my Lady?"

Facing off with the two enemies, Yuun has one in front and behind him. "You're welcome my friend." He says as he doesn't take his eyes off his opponent. Hearing the misses of the Initiate, "Calm yourself." He says to Rune, "Trust in the Force." He says and with that Yuun swings his blade horizontally cutting the assassin in half, and as he moves the assassin behind him flickers their blade out towards Yuun. The newly Knighted, Jedi Knight brings his blade in and uses his left arm to parry the strike, but he Is nicked along his right side. Though Yuun's lightsaber slams his lightsaber into the assassins chest. Again how Yuun fights, he's not striking the stealth generators, figuring this would be good to use for them. He quickly charges towards Rune, moving in from the right flanking the assassin he's fighting and with a flourish of his blade dancing, he cuts down that opponent. "Move in with the others and help them." He tells Rune as he starts to move towards the others of their group to help.

The fight between the First Sword and the Rist Master Assassin is still in full tilt, trading blows until Lars counters, batting down his enemy's smaller sword and cutting deep across their torso. He charges ahead, swinging again, but the assassin produces a second blade in time to parry only to realize the First Sword had used a feint to lead him off balance. Before the assassin can correct, Lars removes his head with a single swing of his sword and stands in stance, breathing heavily. The body topples to the ground and he growls, "Take that to the shadows.."

Aryn moves with Ulani, Lord Bors, and Chani.. in the heart of the attacks now. The rush of wind can only be the sudden movements of their foe, and Aryn just manages to see one of the distortions. They attack and Aryn moves her shoulder as if pre-emptively, countering with a very precise lunge that revealed her foe after the lightsaber's blade pierced them. She removes it and allows them to fall to the ground, then circles with her back to her friends protecting them from her angle.

There are fewer assassins now, but they remain committed to their attacks. A legend from long ago told a story of a single Rist assassin that toppled a dynasty. They were honed, trained never to give into feelings of defeat. Only death separated them from their task.

The wavering lines in the air are often hard to miss in the dark backdrop and movement of snowflakes. The sound of her breath echoing in her helmet leaves her somewhat deaf to any sounds so she has to take a moment to draw a deep breath and hold it, steadying herself and watching.

Ruined snow is everywhere but the flakes before her move differently and she watches the unseen predator move in. The blaster sweeps up and aiming at the slight displacement she squeezes off a shot, making an impact. The second, fueled by adrenaline misses, hidding a tree and dying out of existence. Finally the third lands on the same target, claiming a life as the scout skids across the slick ground, made so by their passage when she comes to a stop only after realizing she had been rushing towards her intended target.

Her attention shifts to the groupings and how she stands alone, taking that moment to reposition herself closer to Yuun, Rune while bridging that gap between them in Sorin with Ariel.

Those cloaking armours are truly a demon's make, for sure, but with the limitation of her eyesight and not wanting to shoot blind into the forest, Ulani's brain is taking over where her other senses and instincts are failing her. "Bors, cover me."

Not waiting for confirmation, Ulani slings her rifle and pulls out her datapad. It's been kept relatively warm in her bag but is still cold to the core. Perhaps even useless by now. Or is it? Dropping to her knees in the snow, Ulani flips the datapad onto it's face, still closed, and yanks out a small toolkit next.

Squinting in the darkness, she opens a panel on the back and tosses it aside; hurried and shivering. A few sparks... a smell of ozone. Soon, the snow around the datapad is starting to melt alarmingly fast. "Stand back!"

Grabbing the device, she hurls it forward into the shadows. As she does, the datapad starts to spark and crackle with electricity. Slamming into a tree, the device breaks and a surge of power FWHOOMFS! outwards; shorting out at least one of the Rist's cloaking armour and revealing them to the others. It's... something.

"There are only five of them left." Chani speaks with a calmness that was more fitting in with the trek deep into the forest than the riot of combat that has arisen among the trees. One of those five approaches her and Chani puts herself on line, right leg forward, left at a slight angle and blade point in line with her eyes. She watches his hand, not his face. The assassin tries to go in low and Chani draws her right leg back. A sudden twist of her wrist so that the back of her palm ims facing medial, towards the inside of her body, sees the tip of her blade flick down to carve the blade into nothingness. The hunk of metal drops to the snow and leaves that one disarmed. Another comes in and Chani steps back in a quick, low shuffle of feet and turning of her body. She uses a one-handed grip and as minimal motion as possible.

Were she not Force-sensitive, she might have fallen for the feint towards her center when the assassin means to go for her right forearm. Chani simply shifts it to the side in a horizontal motion that cuts the blade and upper grip of the assassin's weapon and leaves it, too, in the snow. "Surrender yourselves!"

"Copy." Bors's eye locks onto movement and a distortion of snow that are all his spies. Blaster taking the Rist in the shoulder on the charge, the falling woman crashing into the Thul Lord who does his best to keep Ulani from being a target while she does her work - tangled up in the body and his blaster firing into the dirt uncomfortably close enough to make his big toe very... very warm.

The old soldier pausing to look in the eye of the assassin whom had been trying to kill him. They share a heartbeat, two, brows lifting and heads tilting.

"That was a close one, nay?"

The Rist coughs and falls at last, leaving Bors to stand there, observing what could have been a sudden titling of Bors of the Nine Toes.

Poor ring to it.

Would make people think he a midget probably.

"I am calm, I just wish this individual would stand still." and it appears they do, at least long enough for Yuun to dispatch them. The frosty assassin's form topples to the ground, puffs of snow falling back to coat the already dusted body. Rune nods to Yuun and begins to move back to the group, spying the Mandalorian, Ariel, and Sorin as they near. Amazingly enough, his sprint through the woods doesn't restrict his sight. In fact, as he moves swiftly over the snow, a trick of the light causes him to take note of a small group of them.

Lightsaber extended, Rune charges to run the first assassin through, his body blinking into existence as he falls from his blade. The second turns just in time to catch an over handed swing from the emerald blade as it carves a wide swath of damage down their form, they meeting the same fate as the first. The last assassin spotted leaps away to blend back into the surroundings, the shimmer that betrayed their presence gone for the moment.

Ariel's shot is lucky and she realizes this. But she can't pinpoint any more of them and she is starting to feel like there was something funny about that blade as she takes to one knee. Sorin startles her a little but she gives him a nod, "I'm alright!" she offers with a smile. Maybe that would be disarming enough for folks not to worry about her. She was going to have to focus on making sure she didn't die and no one else died trying to protect her.

A flash draws Sorin's attention back around, as that datapad overloads and explodes. A Rist killer is illuminated, and the Alderaanian knight turns quickly to Ariel. "There are few left, and one there. Keep safe, and the Mother watch over you." With that a pounding of armored footfalls bring Sorin, moment by moment, in a final closing with that Rist. "Enough of this," he growls, voice trapped within his helmet, and then there is a clash of crystal against finely tempered durasteel. First one ring and then another as blades are parried in reply to one another, and then... a feint, and Sorin's crystal bites the assassin's arm. There's neither time nor room for anything but the thrusting follow-up, which spears his opponent in the chest, through the heart, and into the tree behind. Dead.

Yuun sees Aubrei move over to to reposition herself with him and Rune. He scans the area and sees that Sorin has made his way to Ariel. This is what he is seeing, "You all ok?" He asks concern is etched in his voice but his eyes and focus are on their opponents, scanning to see.

With the fighting going on, he quickly moves forward and to the right allowing himself some room to maneuver but to attack. He sees another of the assassisns move in towards him, he reads his opponent and is able to dodge the strike by stepping in and to the left as he slashes into one opponent, and he spins his blade up and back behind him and as he does this his back is to his opponent, but somehow Yuun's blue blade cuts through his opponents sword and cuts through his attacker.

As he completes the spin he tries to stab a third but the assassins jumps back and away from him. Yuun steps back so that he isn't to far from his group, Rune, Aubrei, Soren and Ariel.

The last of the assassins fall to the swords, blasters, and lightsabers of the Alderaanians/allies who held their ground. For all there was for tracking these mysterious assassins, there appeared no warning that more would come. Silence returned to the forest for a short time until the thunderous noise of something approached. "Circle up!" Lars yelled, recalling the allies to the only defense he knew to combat a mounted enemy.

The sounds grew louder, and louder, until finally the noise revealed a mounted party on beasts with fogging breath. Each man wore a green cloak, including the heavy set one at the lead of the party. "WHO RIDES?!" Calls out Ser Lars, hoping the party be friendly.

The mounted party circles the group, keeping its distance for the moment until they finally came to a slow trot and eventual stop. "Cole," Called the large man who dismounts and parts the circle to speak. Lars lowers his weapon, "Your excellency.. it is good to see you." Lars says, lowering his head.

"And you, my friend. We heard word of a Rist detachment. I assume these are they, slain by your own?"

"Dad?!" Aryn calls, and the talk of battle ceases. Aryn leaves her group, deactivating her weapon and rushes her father to hug him. "Aryn, what are you doing out here?! You should be some place safe."

"I go where Alderaan needs me," Aryn says, muffled against her Lord Father's frame until they part from the hug. "As you say," Jace amends, chuckling, then looking over the others. "We found the other party of assassins further down. Now we have word of more toward the Terals. Alderaan needs us there. Come, mount up with us. We ride as one then." Jace may have been past his prime as a soldier, being heavy set, bearded, and older, but his command presence was still strong. He mounted his beast with ease and pulled his daughter to him. "We have extras from our fallen. Come, we must ride hard if we are to make it in time to aid their defenses."

"Yes, your excellency. It would be a honor." Lars says, motioning the rest of the group. He passes Aubrei by and pauses long enough to squeeze the Mandalorian's shoulder. "Excellent work, Mando. Your tracking led to our success this night." Lars nods firmly, then moves to find a vacant beast to climb onto, unsheathing his sword a second time once atop.

Mounted. Horses. Aubrei is briefly distracted from answering Yuun when they come riding up. This she can plainly see as they are not cowards wearing stealth generators - she should talk.

<"Uhhh yes, all well here, thank you."> She nods to the Jedi and then half steps, clearing her throat. <"You mean..ride...the horse."> There is a bit of surprise and perhaps a little elation that breaks through the weight of their encounter.

She glances, turning her helmet towards the others near her before she steps foward to find herself a mount and stands there, waiting until someone can help her climb properly otherwise this is going to look all wrong.

But that is when Lars touches her shoulder and she turns to look at him, the visor reflecting his face. <"I did my job, thank you though.">

The contigent of riders approaching tenses every sinew of Ulani that isn't already frozen. As they are revealed to be friend and not foe, the young New Republic soldier -- can you believe it? -- crunches over to collect the fried remains of her datapad. That demolition attempt could have good better, but that's what she gets for letting the knowledge rust.

At mention of riding back, Ulani is already refusing politely. "Oh, no no. I can walk. It's fiii--" With a laugh, one of the riders, a broad-shouldered woman, lifts her up rather easily and sets her down in front of her. A comforting pat on the shoulder later and Ulani grabs onto the reigns with freezing fingers.

The forest falls silent and so does Chani. Her nostrils flare amid breathing exercises designed to bring her respiration rate and heartbeat down. The young Jedi from Naboo allows her eyes to drift shut a second time, blocking out the alien view of the world she'd taken on to combat the assassins. When they open, everything is back to normal. Running her dark gaze over the battlefield, Chani is as quiet as the snow falling to the blood-stained ground. Her lightsaber is just barely louder than that. Depressing the activation stud, the cyan blade retreats into her lightasber hilt and Chani attaches it to her belt over her left hip. Dead are strewn everywhere. None of their party are on the ground, but plenty are injured. "So much death." Turning her back on the scene, Chani trudges through the snow towards the animals led by Duke Cole.

"Ride? Not on mount, two legs or four, but I shall be one too set myself at controls of my craft." looking to Aryn then Ulani, "We need make haste to the -" and then Ulani is taken by one of the riders and Bors is set to wonder what will happen.

"What -will- happen, yea?"

What is happening now?

"I mean.. what is happening?"

There goes Ula, dragged off into the distance when a hand hooks the collar of his combat vest and Bors finds himself cast up and onto one of the steeds.

"Hey! Hey! I'm up on one of these steeds!"

Behold, the majestic Lord Bors of Thul - Saddle Roll.

"I need to get to yonder hangars thus!"

He does, in fact, need to get to yonder hangars.

Rune nods to them all, pleased to see most are without wound though the state of Ariel is a bit concerning. "We need to get you better armor, miss." he offers, attempting to find a bit of humor in the dark of the situation. Not that he would know how to help her, his grasp of medicine is woefully frail. It's almost immediately after that there is more clamoring from the woods around, the sound of heavy footfalls has the Jedi raising his lightsaber once more. Fortunately the ones arriving are friends, father of Aryn and his company in fact, and it appears that their skirmish is over, for now. He extinguishes his blade and replaces the hilt at his waist.

The request to have them join in taking down another group of Rist has the young Ysannan nodding... until he realizes that he has to climb aboard one of those beasts. It's been a very, very long time since he's had to ride, over a decade, and he's all but certain any skill he had has been lost. Still, with a grimace, not even having to use the Force to foresee how rough the near future will be, Rune looks to an unmounted creature and works to climb on. Once 'settled' Rune grasps the reins and winces, a thin lipped smile finding the rest of the group.

Rune's words actually make Ariel look up to him and there's a bit of a smile, "Ah...yes, yes I should look into maybe a nice steel bubble." she chuckles to that as she tries to stand. There is a bit of a wobble, but she forces herself to work through the feeling in her leg. "Wait, Teral?" she frowns deeply to that. Panic rising. They didn't have many Teral's left in the first place! She doesn't argue with the horsemen that she gets to ride with, her house was in trouble and that's all the motivation she needed!

As sounds of battle die down, and then cease completely, Sorin simply stands. A hand meets with weathered old tree trunk, the two mutually supporting one another. Alright, no, the tree is doing all the work. Adrenaline still surges, pumped by a heart still beating in double time, though beginning to slow, and the knight of Alderaan takes first one deep breath and then another.

This moment's peace is broken by Ser Lars' challenge to a mounted party, which draws Sorin's sharpened hazel attention. Any initial sense of alarm dissipates, however, as Aryn embraces her father. The cavalry has arrived.

At the offer of mounts, a particular Mandalorian is spotted just past a handful of trees. He quietly approaches, and a gauntlet meets pauldron. "Fine work today, Aubrei." A nod to her chosen mount. "Let me help you up." He sounds... tired, but a quick smile is on offer as he prepares to help hoist her aloft. Once accomplished, he moves off to find his own ride.

A breath escapes Yuun and as he does he bows his head to Aubrie. "You're welcome." he bows his head to her. He looks around as the battle has died down and honestly he didn't like death, this brings back memories of when he and the other Jedi fought the Knights of Ren. Yuun frowns, "Rest and go with the Force." he says to those who have fallen. He begins to move to the fallen and start removing the stealth generator belts, "This could help you and yoru teams." he says as he looks back to Sorin, Arial and Aubrie. He does try to collect as many as he can and as he moves, he looks to have slowed down.

He stops and catches his breath, Yuun looks up and notices the mounted riders come towards them and he smiles upon seeing Aryns father for the first time. He chuckles and he is slow. Yuun has a puzzled look on his face but he does bow to them, "I've not ridden a mount before, could be fun." he smiles as he holds quite a few of the stealth generator belts.