The Sanctum Stands

[Rugs]

Dutch Harukei Ash

The Charybdis pierced the thick layer of haze that shrouded Nar Shaddaa. From one of the battleship’s auxiliary hangars, Aurelius could see flashes of laser fire flitting back and forth from the pitched battle roaring overhead in orbit. Down below, fires, punctuated by explosions and puffs of smoke, ravaged Nar Shaddaa’s cityscape. Yet the Charybdis, for now, found itself in a strange layer of in-between calm.

“We’ve descended as far as is wise, Lord Aurelius.” Moff Tarion Varrus’ voice buzzed through the communicator in Aurelius’ ear. “We could go further, but it would put undue strain on the ship’s systems...”

“This will do, Varrus,” Aurelius said. “We’re only here to open the door.” He glanced behind him, to the great beast restrained by behind a makeshift energy cage that took up the bulk of the hangar’s space. A lopsided smile split his lips, showing the tip of a pointed canine as the Arkanian dragon — a horrific resurrection of the extinct legends born of Novus’ Sith Alchemy — roared and thrashed against its restraints.

Scyllos, ever near his master, growled, raising the spines along his back. “There there,” Aurelius cooed at the Tuk’ata as he rubbed its large head. “Best you don’t piss it off. Even you can’t stand up to that thing.”

The dragon thrashed once more against the shimmering blue energy wall that kept restrained it. Its thorned tail beat without luck against the barrier. The failure only seemed to agitate it further as it started to pace, restlessly from one side of the hangar to the other.

You haven’t been like this for the whole trip, Aurelius thought, watching the beast. Indeed, the dragon had only grown this agitated upon reaching the system. Is it the battle that stirs you? Or can you sense her?

A great red eye in the middle of the dragon’s head opened abruptly. It darted this way and that, searching, until it focused on some distant something. Aurelius’ brow knit, wondering at what the beast was doing.

Suddenly the dragon reared onto its back legs and spread its massive black wings wide. Nearly filling the space behind the barrier. Its maw yawned wide and a pillar of flame and smoke erupted from it. Aurelius reflexively raised a hand against the glare and wash of heat that radiated beyond the energy barrier.

“My Lord!” an officer yelled. “The barrier!”

Aurelius looked to see the field flickering and struggling in at its edges. His eyes widened in shock.

“Let the damn thing out!” he yelled. “Varrus, are the escorts ready?”

“Yes, Lord Aurelius. Launching them now.”

The field dropped at Aurelius’ command, followed moments later by the energy barrier that blocked the hangar from the outside. The dragon lowered itself to all fours and plodded forward, walking across the yellow-hot metal that lined the former barrier’s edge without a care.

It stopped near Aurelius, studying him and the Tuk’ata for a long, silent moment, as the wind from Nar Shaddaa’s upper atmosphere whipped at them. Then it turned and leaped from the Charybdis, roar echoing over the city as its wings beat against the air.

It took off as if guided, flying toward some distant point near the mountainous purple crystal rising over the horizon. A pair of Sith interceptors zipped through the air behind it, keeping watch for any Archeri aerial threats. They’d see the dragon to its destination. After that...

Then that’s up to you, Novus’ he thought as the hangar barrier sprang back to life and the blast doors started to slide shut. I’ve done my part.

He picked up his armor’s helmet as he exited the hangar.

“My Lord, your dropship is awaiting,” Varrus said. “We are in position over the Kalai Ri’ Biro Spaceport. We believe Lord Solis and Lady Keres are already on the ground. We’re getting reports of heavy enemy resistance.”

Aurelius smiled — a full, toothy thing that split his face from one side to the other. “Excellent. I’ll be ready to depart immediately once I get to the hangar. Once I’m out, push back up into low orbit.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Aurelius slid his helmet on, locking it in place as he picked up his pace to join the battle raging below.

[Harukei]

The descent towards Nar Shadaa was anything but silent. The gunship shook as the hull kissed the atmosphere, a red hue visible through the view ports of the vessel. The constant chorus of clinks and clanks of the Imperial Troopers are they inspected their gear again and again. The com chatter of pilots filled the troop bay and the muffled blast of explosions only added to the symphony of sound before the battle... No... This was war, for this world was already at war. 

"We're going in the first wave!" Keres heard a sergeant said. "Means more of them bugs to kill! You smash the entire area, you kill anything that has more than too legs! You get me?!"

A roar of approval came surged from their troops and through the Force she would feel their pride swell. Their eagerness to fight, to kill, to destroy soaring beyond the fanaticism of the loyal warriors of the Empress. They would need it, for the Archeri had proved to be anything but weaklings. But as they chanted in defiance, they bolstered their confidence to greater heights, the Sith Lady knelt in the middle of the gathered troops. Eyes closed as she began to inspire the flames of her fury. But that wasn't something terribly difficult for her to achieve.

Keres hated this world and everything it represented. She hated the fact that it seemed like her fate was tied to this armpit of the galaxy. But more than anything she remembered that it had been here where she had exacted revenge, that she had gouged her father's eyes and snapped his neck. And that memory stayed with her, the first time she had dabbled in the Darkside, her first steps and the sensation of the first being she had killed. Her hands became fists and her expression behind the sealed silver and ebon helm was one of fury. This world should burn. But the Acheri shall do. She told herself as she rose to her height and remained still even as the gunship shook again and again. The armor she wore felt as natural as her skin, an extension of herself as the runes that ran over the polished plate caught a glimmer of the red light of the troop bay. Her gloved hand reached for the ebony orb in the middle of her chest plate as she focused the power within her, and her eyes opened. 

"One minute to landing." The voice of one of the pilots crackled through coms. "Initial bomber assault successful. Main hangar door has been breached!"

Another roar of victory over came the troops as the gunship banked to the left and flashes of laser fire emerged from the familiar shape of over-constructed buildings, bright neon signs and the smog of decay. But she noticed the differences, the strange purple tint where the dull orange would reign supreme. The strange constructs that had crawled from within buildings as the infestation was in progress and whatever remained untainted fought a forlorn struggle to survive. She went again to the minds of the troopers she commanded for this strike Force and sensed the pride and resolve fading away as trepidation and fear took them. If they saw what she sensed, then they would break as fear blossomed into dread, she would not allow it. 

"Sergeant." She called, breaking the silence that she and her Deathsroud Praetorians had operated under. 

"My lady?" The man said puffing his chest and standing tall. 

"Open a broadcast to all Imperial Frequencies."

"At once milady." The sergeant said as he worked through his own datapad, giving her a slight nod as the familiar crackle of the communication systems was activated. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Darth Keres spoke to all loyal Imperial subjects that listened. 

"To all Imperial Personnel. This is Darth Keres, Lady of the Sith and Faithful Servant of Empress Renata, beloved by all! This world is nexus of the infection that threatens the destiny of our Empire and the purity of our Purpose! We shall cut unto the heart of this infestation, cleanse this moon and burn every aberration that stands in our way! Know no fear! The Empress Protects!"

A deafening roar was heard behind her, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the hatch opened. Keres jumped forward followed by her own Praetorians, feeling the fury of the troopers behind her soar to even greater heights. Lightsabers ignited in a red sanguine light, blaster bolts and grenades flew, explosions rocketed and plumes of flames from flamers struck the incoming creatures as the troops marched on and the battle droids clattered on. 

"For the Empress! Death! Death!!"

The Troopers roared in a warcry. The Battle had now begun. 

[Dutch]

The lilting cadence of a neo-classical Imperial concerto did well to drown out the chaos gripping the Kalai Ri’ Biro spaceport. It played over the port’s central security terminal, accompanied by a light whistle as Darth Solis hit every note, though the sound would come off mechanical through the Sith’s tinted transparisteel mask. All the Zelosian’s features would be obscured by the umbral glass, all except his searing red iris’ which glowed nefariously despite the tint. While one hand idly plugged in the commands given to him through his helm’s HUD display, the other waved as if conducting the concerto, rising and falling with the sweeping strings in regular strokes. His gaze would occasionally flicker to the displayed Archeri spore count, or data feeds from fellow Imperials also tracked by his HUD, but his attention kept returning to the port’s security footage displayed on every screen.

Archeri soldiers in spades met the Coalition's forces head on, horrifically tearing at the Republic and Imperial footholds. Lightsabers of various colors flashed all across the screens, Sith and Jedi alike fighting to stem the waves and gain ground. This wouldn’t be a war of attrition, they wouldn't have enough time. This needed to be an extermination; not unlike a rakghoul outbreak. And if things continued, Nar Shaddaa was days, if not hours from being another Taris. The galaxy didn’t need another Taris.

Once finished keying in the commands given by his Cult slicer, Darth Solis would retrieve his datapad before inserting it into the terminal, humming pleasantly with the crescendo of his concerto the whole while. His eyes would slide shut as the upload worked, the Sith using the moment to center himself among the torrents of death blooming in the Force all around. He drank of it, letting the bloody iron and ash flood him until the very taste of it manifested over Solis’ tongue. A ping would bring him back to the present, his head still swimming with stygian energies, but the Darth pushed through the fog to retrieve his datapad and check to see if it worked. A miniature version of the port’s security network bloomed across the datapad’s display, and with it total access to its systems. Solis would smile victoriously, and cut the music being played.

"Much obliged, Port Commander Flynt." He said to the eviscerated corpse displayed spread eagle within the terminal’s seat, his innards still dripping loudly onto the floor, and his bloody security badge now clipped to the chest of Darth Solis’ dueling leathers. The Sith opened the private comm channel he shared with the Sanctum, and hummed as the channel secured itself.

"Kalai Ri’ Biro’s systems are mine, initiating lockdown protocol on your mark, Onin.” He said, and hovered a long, gloved finger over the 'execute' prompt.

[Ash]

The roar of fighter engines... The loud crack of sound as lasers and turbolasers cracked around and into hardpoints. A man casually leaning on a balcony railing could tell that this was a Sith assault by the absolute chaos being thrown around. Sure, it may be held by the Archeri but it may not always be the case.

Not when it would be sucked of life for the chorus.

Darmid let a smile touch his face, half hidden by a helmet he had on. The armor he was wearing creaked ever so quietly as he shifted his position. Just across the way from him was the Kalai Ri’ Biro spaceport, and Darmid knew that this was the target of this Imperial invasion. It was being left mostly intact, and even he knew that it would be a good spot to stage a full scale invasion.

Thats what the voices said. His voice joined with others. All in one. One is a part of all.

Part of Darmid was curious about who the Sith could be sending to take this hot point. It would have to be some fairly powerful people. Would it be enough though?

They're already here... inside...

Darmid cocked his head as the chorus whispered to him as they always did. He was left intact for moments like this. The perfect infiltrator and assassin. Combatant and destroyer. And to accomplish his mission, he had to move. To stop the invaders. To turn them to the chorus.

Darmid hopped onto the railing, then with a push of the the force, a powerful one enough to rush the railing behind him after he launched himself, he was damn near flying for the spaceport. It was a wonderful feeling, Darmid had to admit, to fly through the sky like this. Touches of the force kept him on course.

And right before he hit the window, he spun, feet first and burst through, the force creating a bubble around him and letting the razor sharp shards slide harmlessly around him. He landed lightly, lightsaber spear in his right hand, point down with the shaft behind him, and ignited, the magenta blade, hovering closer to red than purple, casting shadows. The man held his stolen blade like that as he walked forward, blending in as well as he could in his stolen gear. Time to see if he could use his hiding skills and sneak up on his opponents.

[Rugs]

Aurelius’ dropship tore through the smoke-filled twilight toward Kalai Ri’ Biro. Fighting raged around the starport as the Archeri tried desperately to fend off the Coalition’s advance. The Force swelled and surged in fits, like an ocean thrown to chaos by a terrible storm. Even for a master such as himself, it was difficult for Aurelius to pick out which explosions of power came from the Sith and Jedi and which from the Archeri in the disharmonious mess that filled the city below.

A few of the Charybdis’ turbolaser batteries roared to life above him, delivering a brief, terrible barrage of crimson plasma that tore an urban block to the spaceport’s south apart in fountains of roiling flame and smoke.

“Ordered airstrike,” Varrus said on his private channel to Aurelius. “A major Archeri advance is attempting to counter-attack. That should at least slow them down.”

“Of course, Commander,” Aurelius said, half-smile hidden beneath his duraplast helmet. “Make sure the gunners don’t hit us though; I’d hate to have to turn around and kill one of them.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

The dropship roared into the thick of things, clearing a patch of Archeri with an arcing barrage of concussion missiles. As it touched down, Aurelius’ men — a small squad of elite Sith soldiers with Ascension’s gold chevron on their chests — hopped from the ship. Scyllos, clad in custom black armor with gold trim followed.

Finally, Aurelius stepped onto the battlefield, surveying the state of things. His team would join Keres’ push for the hangar, while Solis was infiltrating the spaceport’s security compound.

"Kalai Ri’ Biro’s systems are mine, initiating lockdown protocol on your mark, Onin.”

Speak of the devil. Aurelius huffed a laugh. “You know me,” he said. “No reason to keep a party waiting. Hit it.”[/i]

Aurelius pressed forward, motioning for his men to follow. A trio fo Archeri appeared atop a blaster fire-scarred catwalk that connected a transit hub on the far side of a gap between city blocks to the spaceport proper. They skittered along its sides with their many legs, like overgrown spiders.

“So these are the mother fuckers, huh?” He said, igniting his gold lightsaber. “Let’s see what they’ve got. Open fire.”

A hail of blaster fire erupted from his men, punctuated by a rocket spiraling through the air toward the catwalk. Some of the blaster fire struck true, and an Archeri shrieked in annoyance. But the Force surged as the rocket flew near and it turned suddenly upward roaring to the sky until it went off with a whoomph and flash of flame.

“Alright then.” Aurelius grinned beneath his mask as the Archeri screamed through the Force and lept toward his squad. “This might be fun.”

His saber cut through three of the lead attacker’s legs as it landed, sending it crashing awkwardly to the ground. Before it could rise, his Tuk’ata was on it, tearing it apart with its powerful claws.

With one dispatched, Aurelius turned his attention to helping his men down the other two as the fight began in earnest.

[Dutch]

“As you wish.”

Darth Solis replied, and tapped the ‘execute’ prompt. Instantaneously a series of loud klaxons began to ring, accompanied by rotating yellow lights unfolding across the ceiling and security floodlights snapping to life all across the port. A broadcast chant of ‘Azalus! Hazard! Azalus! Hazard! Azalus! Hazard!’ sang from anywhere that could broadcast, the sudden cacophony of light and sound bringing a sharp, startled laugh from Solis who quickly switched off the sound control- leaving only a much brighter and easier to navigate theater for the coalition to work with.

“Excuse the show, friends, carry on.” The Zelosian said over their comm channel, a light laughter still tickling his tone. He flipped through his datapad a moment longer, designating a pair of bay doors to ignore the incoming lockdown; one each for the Republic and Imperial landing zones, executing that order with haste. The shush! of security shutters sliding into place echoed through the port, and near every window and way into Kalai Ri’ Biro secured itself. Satisfied with that, Solis patted the dead commander’s shoulder before turning to leave his office. The itch of his stagnant death crept over the Darth's fingers, buzzing bone and twinging muscle fiber from fingertip on upward until it pooled within the Sith’s chest- and churned thickly with entropic energy.

The Sith turned into the administration level hall, just as a few Archeri burst from a ceiling duct, and scuttled with deadly intent at the sole occupant. He began to whistle the concerto from before, and waved a hand as if swatting a bug towards the nearest Archeri- who promptly crumpled into the wall it clung to. Solis would gesture as if casually backhanding an acolyte, and the next chitinous creature would be smashed with a smear. A third would be interrupted mid-air by an unseen force, suddenly slammed into the rotating light above it with a satisfying crunch. The forth, and final attacker would be seized mid-leap; but instead of a sudden, violent end it would flail and rotate, all spiked limbs searching frantically for purchase. Darth Solis held it there, and observed the creature as it struggled. His obsidian-esque mask would tilt with curiosity, glowing eyes visibly narrowed in the helm’s gloom as he stepped closer.

“I know you can hear me. Whatever controls this… thing...” He began, his grip on the Archeri tightening with a balled fist on approach. The monstrosity’s limbs buckled, then crumpled into itself, and viscous fluids began to drip between plates.

“Once I’m finished here, I’m coming for you.” Solis finished with a twist of his wrist and a burst of Archeri fluids.

[Ash]

Darmid stepped on the throat of a dying sith soldier, silencing the fallen soldier once and for all. Behind him were several other bodies, most of them were Sith, but one was Archeri, the corps riddled with holes from blaster fire. Darmid felt this one die, but ignored it in his murderous path.

"Master, I am feeling... They have sealed off this starport. Those who went to the control center have been killed."

Darmid looked to the blonde woman who walked up behind him. She was one who recently joined the chorus, and Darmid was glad that she she was here. She and another. The other was a purple skinned Twi'lek. The Twi'lek walked up next to the slightly taller woman.

"Rumi'ano, go check out the administration level and reopen the port. Bring backup. Iri, you're coming with me to the hanger areas. We're going to need some more defense and smaller targets so those turned Mandalorians are to show up to. We should get ready to cut power and force the doors open if we need to."

It was quite clear that the Sith and Republic wanted to take over this spaceport. He didn't know why, but it wasn't his problem. He was here to stop the invaders from taking over. Something happened and he turned his head, as did the woman known as Iri. Rumi'ano left, a few Archer behind her as they ran down the hallway. Darmid went down as well, but turned off, idly strolling down the hallway.

The hallway led to a catwalk. This wasn't his goal.

"Iri, wait up here for me. You're my backup. Everyone stays out for now."

The blonde nodded to him and leaned against the wall. Darmid used the force and opened a turbolift, jumping down two levels to the main hanger level. His boots clopped quietly walked into the wide open area. His hands were empty as his helmeted head looked around the hanger. This one, as being a spaceport had many, didn't seem to have seen too much fighting. There were items scattered about. With a wave of the force, he pushed everything away, sending stuff crashing into the walls and leaving the hanger wide open.

"Yes, this is just the area. The perfect place for wiping out the invaders."

Darmid stood in the middle of this hanger now, opening himself to the force and calling out to everything. He was well aware the Archeri would hear him, as they were together as one, but this was mostly for everyone else who weren't with the chorus yet. He was sure someone would come. He sent out bursts constantly, willing someone, no matter how many, to show up.

[Rugs]

The Archeri were a strange foe. Aurelius’ lightsaber sizzled through the chitinous shell of one of the big creatures — yet it still convulsed and thrashed at him, trying to get a blow in with its powerful limbs. It withdrew, staggering from the neat lightsaber hole burned through its back as it skittered to refuge. A blast of lightning from the High Archon’s fingertips caught the monster in its tracks. A barrage of disruptor rifle fire from two of his men put the thing on the ground, body dissolving in on itself where the powerful shots had connected.

The third Archeri had retreated. It was surrounded, as Aurelius’ fireteam fanned out. It scuttled back, and, despite missing a leg, seemed as surprisingly mobile as ever. It’s like they don’t even care, he thought, withdrawing and igniting his dark blue lightsaber in his offhand. They keep fighting til they’re dead.

A violet barrier sprang to life in front of the Archeri as his men opened fire. The shield boiled and rippled from the combined fire, but held. Aurelius clicked his tongue and loosed a wave of lightning that made the shield buckle. The Archeri screamed at him--some horrible noise through the force--as his men’s shots tore it apart. It fired small crystals from its body as Aurelius advanced, dodging some as other shattered against his armor.

Two strokes of the blades — one to sever the pointed arm that struck out to stab him, and a second to rend the beast from one side to the other— and it fell silent with the top of its body separated from the bottom.

Silence. Aurelius hadn’t realized the station’s alarms were blaring until Solis turned them off, leaving the flashing lights and hiss of security doors activating throughout the spaceport.

“We’re clear at the entrance,” he said over the comm to Solis and Keres. “For now. My team will push to join Keres.”

Aurelius motioned for his squad to follow. Behind, him, a Republic gunship deployed regulars who were fanning out to secure the beachhead. A quartet of Sith dropships broke through the smoke clouds above, diving toward the spaceport.

He disabled his lightsabers and hurried forward, followed by his squad. As he rounded a corner, he stepped over more of the strange rootlike growths that seemed to lead into the building. As he stepped over the largest of them, he felt a presence pulsing out from some distant point in the spaceport.

“I know that one,” he muttered under his breath. He stopped for a moment, reaching out with the Force. It had been some time since he’d seen Lancer--not since the Sith got kidnapped by the Jedi and disappeared into the night.

Of course, the former Sith was hardly looking to come back to the Order, according to Zexva’s debriefing from an encounter some months ago. And now you’re here, he thought. But no... something wasn’t quite right about that presence. It felt... alien. Strange. Tainted, in a way, and not by the Dark Side.

“Would you look at that,” he said to Keres and Solis again, continuing his original path. “The lost wolf wants our attention.”

”You cannot win,” a deep voice boomed through the Force, with such vigor that Aurelius winced behind his helmet. ”You are children playing at games you know nothing of.” Distant booms drew his attention skyward. The Imperial dropships were under attack by crystalline Archeri fighters. The last of their escort fighters tumbled to the city below in a trail of flame and smoke. One after another, the gunships ignited as the Archeri strike craft swarmed them like sharks.

“Your individuality weakens you. It will be your downfall,” the voice boomed again as Archeri appeared along the roof and walls of the spaceport. “The Chorus sees all, knows all. We are infinite.” Aurelius broke into a run as the Archeri screamed that awful noise through the Force. ”You are nothing.”

[Dutch]

Darth Solis let the crushed Archeri drop to the floor with a wet thud, already whistling his concerto again as his attention returned to the datapad. He flipped through the port system’s prompts, a wide array of passenger bounty boards, persons of interest (including all known Darths, unsurprisingly), shuttle control, emergency procedures and…

“Oh, yes.” The Zelosian crooned as he came across ‘Automated Security’, and swiftly opened that window. The Cartel did so love their toys, and it seemed Kalai Ri’ Biro wasn’t missing out on the Hutt’s favorite brand of third-party violence. Solis keyed open the security turret options, and smiled widely at the schematics, which included many new prompts featuring a tiny Eye of Truth next to them. With a few more strokes of his finger, Solis had toggled the turret’s targeting systems to engage only Archeri signatures, and keyed their start-up sequence. The Darth had to give it to his Cult’s slicers, they had made this as easy as playing a hologame.

A light laugh would be his only reaction to the pulsing within the Force, and Aurelius’ noting of their lost lamb. It didn’t surprise him to find Lancer among their foe. Darth Solis wouldn’t be much of a spymaster, had he not kept tabs on Sith expats, especially after the debacle at Ziost. The Archeri’s infiltration abilities were terrifyingly perfected, and had their agents not been stopped at the Citadel... well, he didn’t want to think of what an infected Sith Order could do. The Lord Inquisitor wouldn’t be so easily drawn from his mission though, and continued on with a step around the dead Archeri.

”You cannot win,” The voice suddenly thundered with a crack! against Solis’ presence. Like a burst of smoke against a glass cylinder, it enveloped, but did not penetrate the nefarious vigor which stained the Sith’s aura. ”You are children playing at games you know nothing of.” It continued, the speaker’s words rattling against his mind, also aware of another entity rearing itself from within him to stare back through the Darth’s glowing eyes. An icy creep of anxiety grew low in his belly, leaving the Sith terrified yet morbidly curious at this interaction.

“Your individuality weakens you. It will be your downfall. The Chorus sees all, knows all. We are infinite. You are nothing.” Solis tried to squint at the growing pressure from the voice as it pressed his conscience, but felt unseen tendrils force his eyelids wider to stare into the Chorus, the shriek popping his ears before the Force bloomed forth in a dark wave from the Darth’s mind to drown the invading vapors, then recoiled as if in rapid reverse back into him, leaving a suddenly empty, quiet hallway. The Lord Inquisitor could feel the beads of cold sweat rolling down his forehead as he turned to look around, suddenly aware of his own ragged breath through the mask.

“And I thought I talked too much.” He said with a half-winded laugh before returning to his datapad. “Now, where were we… ah, yes.” Solis added as he tapped the turret control’s ‘execute’ prompt. He would resume his whistling as a pair of pillars spun to reveal blaster barrels, and could already hear the steady rhythm of new blaster-fire roaring in the near distance.

“Witness this, Chorus.”

[Ash]

The chorus spoke out. It rippled through Darmid like water, coursing through him as the deep voice reverberated all around. His own voice joined it quietly, mouthing the words as they were spoken. When it was all said and done, the voice silent, Darmid knew what he had to do.

"Bring them to me. I know one of them quite well."[/b]

A few blaster emplacements sprung out of the walls and ceilings now, that glanced over Darmid without firing on him. He knew more than felt the Archeri being fired on, many fleeing into the ducts and away from the blasters. Several others went for them if they were close enough, giving up their bodies to remove the weapons.

Rumi, the beautiful Twi'lek woman, walked forward, hips swaying dangerously as she walked past a blaster turret. As she did, it seemed to collapse in on itself and was pulled from the wall, clattering to the floor. In the vents around her, the clattering of Archeri could be heard.

"Make sure you take them down, boys. cant be having silly blasters stopping the attack"

She continued onto the admin area. Darmid meanwhile kept his calling going on. The blasters around him were destroyed, ripped from their mounts and scattered around the area. He wanted to make it clear: if the sith wanted this starport, they would need to go through him.

"Make sure they are routed though here. Bring down the blast doors manually."

[Rugs]

The voice had retreated back to wherever it came from. Aurelius could only guess at its origin, but it left a strange, heading that lingered like the afterimage from a bright flash, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He scowled beneath his mask as he opened himself fully to the Force. It roared into him — a torrent that threatened to burn him away to ash if he didn’t bend it to his will.

But Aurelius had no patience for mysterious voices or lost wolves today, and so it bent.

The strange headache left as quickly as it came, and the Archeri atop the roof leaped toward at him and his men as his gold and blue lightsabers hissed to life.

Disruptor fire felled a few of the Archeri attackers, half-disintegrating their massive bodies before they hit the ground. The spaceports turrets thrummed to life and cut down a few more. As the first two Archeri landed, Aurelius’ sabers flew on their own, tossed in a line to cut their legs from under them.

A blast of lightning left one a smoldering heap. Tuk’ata claws tore the other apart.

Yet for all the success — for all the blaster fire filling the air — the Archeri pressed on by sheer force of numbers. They crawled on, pushed by some mindless drive and their perverse connection to the Force, over the corpses of their comrades as they swarmed at Aurelius’ team.

He directed his team forward, to the shelter of a speeder maintenance bay. One of his men fell as a pointed Archeri limb pierced his armor and blossomed through the front of his chest. Aurelius flicked the switch on a thermal detonator at the main’s belt with a touch of the Force. A push that followed turned the soldier’s body into a weapon that engulfed a quartet of the monsters in an embrace of flame.

“Good to know they’ve got some fight,” Aurelius said over the comms as his team pushed inside through the maintenance bay, away from the exposed courtyard. “Here I was worried they wouldn’t live up to the hype.”

[Ash]

Darmid couldn't keep waiting around for others to show up. The Starport would be lost before they would show up for the fight. Filthy cowards. He began to walk on, boots tapping the ground rhythmically as he left the hanger. The blonde beauty jumped from her hiding place and landed quietly next to him as he went into a hallway.

"Master Darmid, the intruders are cutting us apart, despite out numbers."

"I know. We're going to stop them"

They weren't too far away in the scheme of things. Darmid would have preferred to handled the Sith in the hanger he had been sitting in, but plans didn't always go as, well... Planned.

When they turned down a second hallway, there were a trio of sith soldiers facing away from them. Darmid lit his saber, causing the Sith to look at him and hesitate. That hesitation brought Darmid to them, slicing the head off of one and impaling a second on the starpened pommel. The third was held in the air by the force, Iri doing this. Darmid pulled the spike from the soldiers chest, blood pooling around despite the Sith's attempts to stop it.

"Blood for the blood god. Just need skulls for the skull throne"

Darmid spun his spear around, decapitating this man as well. The third was screaming frantically, calling into his radio for help before Darmid cut his arms and legs off, the pain causing the man to black out. Iri dropped the torso now, it falling among the removed limbs.

"That was a little unnecessary."

"He is still alive. That is all that matters. Come Iri. We can cut through the bay here. They aren't far from us."

Darmid moved on, leaving the corpses behind.

Meanwhile, The Twi'lek walked on, until she herself found a few Sith soldiers which she took apart with her double bladed lightsaber. She continued on until, sure as hell, there was a Sith standing not too far away from her.

"Excuse me, have you seen the morgue? You look a little lost"

[Rugs]

A corridor from the maintenance bay led into the bowels of the Kalai Ri’ Biro spaceport. For a brief stint, he could see the waiting areas for passengers who were coming or going from Nar Shaddaa’s busiest port, before the worker’s walkway, disappeared into the engineering section hidden from view.

Here, the floors were coated in a pale powder that was yet to be disturbed by the fighting raging throughout the spaceport. Explosions shuddered outside, rumbling heavily through the thick metal walls. More of the strange rootlike structures ran through this hidden part of Kalai Ri’ Biro, clinging to the walls and floors.

From what scattered reports Aurelius had seen before the battle this were indeed “roots” that tended to lead to the growths the Arhceri used to reproduce. Where these roots ran, however, was anyone’s guess.

His team pushed through the heart of engineering without any Archeri resistance. As they reached the terminal’s far side, the sounds of fighting grew louder.

A blast door, blown off its hinges with seared, twisted metal surrounding it, was a portal to chaos. Blaster fire tore through the air, and as Aurelius’ team slipped by, he saw a fatally wounded Archeri starfighter, trailing dark smoke from violet flames, careening through the air toward one of the hangars.

[Dutch]

The Lord Inquisitor was midway through perusing the spaceports security droid builds and programming, when the deaths of his rear guard blossomed into the Force. He would pause, and save the page on his datapad before securing it within a leather pouch at his belt. At the same time his free hand would drop to drum fingertips over the quartet of lightsabers clipped at his right hip, a finger tapping each followed by the light click click click click of all four being freed. Darth Solis let his presence bloom out to blanket the area, several of the administration levels’ lights blinking in response. One could feel the cold, turbulent energy emanating from the Sith, who stood perfectly still except for his helm which seemed to follow an unseen presence. From behind the tinted transparisteel, searing red eyes would narrow visibly and a smug grin would secretly settle.

"Excuse me, have you seen the morgue? You look a little lost"

The Twi’lek turned into his hall, though a classic specimen of the species, the foreign stank on her presence was all the Sith needed to taste to know she was the enemy. He was more familiar with how Archeri adepts felt than he wished, but after Ziost, knew they fell just as easy as any other. Her words would receive a light laughter in response, twisted with a metallic air from the Darth’s helm.

“I’m not the one separated from my herd, creature.” Solis said softly as the weight of his presence suddenly deepened, and a few of the hall's lights would pop with a shower of sparks and glass. Those red iris’ would take on a magmatic hue, and pupils dilated them into thin, searing rings fixed on the Twi’lek through the obsidian mask. Without another word his right hand would flick outwards, two fingers pointed at his target. Two lightsabers would flip from his belt; one igniting with a sharp hiss! and a cyan blade, the other with a choked crack-hish! and a volatile crimson, both weapons spinning rapidly right for the Archeri challenger. 

[Ash]

The Twi'lek didn't seem worried in the least as the force swirled around the Sith before her. The hall lights dimmed slightly, some popping from the will the man put out. She quirked an eyebrow, arms crossing under her chest. He made a comment that he wasn't separated from his herd and sent two spinning lightsabers at her.

Two Archeri burst from the ceiling, their tall bodies too large to fully escape the lightsabers that came at them and they were used as shields instead. Her double bladed lightsaber ignited as she grinned, the smile fractured in madness on her face. She used the force to push everything before her towards the Sith, and continued to do so.

-------------------------------

Darmid casually strode across the newest bodies that crossed him, these were Republic soldiers, much fewer in number here compared to the Sith soldiers, but still bodies in his way. Well... most were bodies. Two were atoms that were thrown into a very violent force field protecting this maintenance hanger from the outside war.

He was almost to his goal.

He could feel Aurelius in the force close by; him and whoever that man was with. It was a stench Darmid could never forget. The evil and crippling darkness that swirled around him. It left a sour taste on his tongue. He would be rid of it today. Darmid broke into a sprint now, Iri keeping on his heels easily. He rushed to the end of this hanger and nearly flew into a doorway. Igniting his saber, he made a few large cuts in it and forced it through, slag fallowing the durasteel.

"NIERAAN!"

Darmid's voice was a forceful command, a burst in the force he was never able to do before he found the Chorus. He walked through into the next bay, magenta blade giving off a ominous light as it was again held below and slightly behind him. He was calm and collected again, back to his old self as his boots clinked off the floor.

[Rugs]

The Archeri fighter crashed into the hangar across the way in an explosion of lavender and orange flame. He felt the blast, more than heard it as fuel tanks behind the structure caught fire and burst in a great wall of smoke and flame. His visor automatically dimmed, as though he were momentarily staring at the sun.

The fire faded, rolling upward in a great, roiling sphere with a low rumble. Crystalline fighter wreckage law strewn about, mixed with twisted durasteel from the hangar. All around, the fighting raged on. For all its spectacle, the crash and explosion had been little more than a minor exclamation point to the pitched battle.

“How is Keres’ team progressing?” he asked one of his men.

“My Lord, no updates since she landed,” they answered. “We will continue trying to make contact-”

“Don’t bother,” Aurelius said, lifting an arm to cut the soldier off. “We’ll make a push of our own. But first...” his head turned to another hangar that, save some damage near the roof from the blast and debris, was largely unharmed. “I’ve got business to tend to.”

A lightsaber burned through heavy doors that flew from their places, followed by globs of molten metal.

“NIERAAN!” a voice, backed by the tainted weight of the Chorus, rattled against his senses. Yet for this, Aurelius’ was not shaken. His lips pulled up in a half smile beneath his mask as the lost one strode forward to challenge him.

Aurelius stepped forward, loosening any restrictions he held on his presence. The air nearly crackled as he reached out with his full strength, wild, almost untamed as it searched and pulled for any reason to be set free. A discarded repulsorcart for ferrying luggage crumpled, seemingly under its own weight, as he passed it. It’s been too long, he thought.

“Darmid,” he said calmly. “Or are you still going by Felix these days?” Oh yes, he knew Zexva’s report well, from the failed attempt to bring the runaway Sith to heel for his desertion.

Darmid, Lancer, Felix — whatever he called himself these days — hadn’t warrant enough concern for the Sith to go after him in force, but if he was going to throw himself before the Empire’s wrath, who was Aurelius to deny him?

“You’re less of a coward than I gave you credit for, to come here when you know what’s waiting for you,” he said, letting some mirth show in his voice. “Though,” a tremor of disgust snuck into his voice as his scowled at the Archeri stink coloring the ex-Sith’s presence, “more of a fool than I imagined for falling to these things.”

His golden lightsaber flew from its clip on his belt, then his blue. The two blades ignited one after the other. “But if you want a beating, like the last time we fought, that’s fine by me.”

A great wall of windows between them burst into a storm of jagged pieces without warning. Without lifting his hand, Aurelius commanded them forward, in a withering onslaught toward his foe.

[Ash]

The wind blew between Darmid and Nieraan as the two finally came to their long awaited confrontation. He cocked his head slightly to the side, thinking about the name that Nieraan should call him. Within the Chorus, names weren't the most important. Darmid shrugged and slipped his helmet off, looking at it.

"I can be whatever you wish to call me. Lets go a good number of years back though and settle on Lancer. I owned that name for a number of years before my capture and now joining with the Chorus."

Darmid took a few steps to his side and set the helmet down on the ground. The wind blew his long ponytail around slightly as he stood back up, looking at his opponent. The lightsaber staff Lancy held ignighted, the tip digging into the ground and dragging slightly.

"Iri, go meet up with Alter. I will join the two of you shortly."

Iri nodded to Darmid and ran odd back the way they came. It just left Darmid and Nieraan here on the precipice of battle. The other spoke up speaking about cowardice and not cowardice and some other forms of bull-shittery. It was useless banter, probably used so he could accumulate a burst of power.

"It is kinda interesting how I came to be like this"

Darmid spoke idly, flicking his saber up to admire the glowing blade.

"I took a job with a certain former Sith who should have been long dead, but I guess that the Sith higherups don't give a flying fuck about little deals like that."

The attack came right after that, a jagged swarm of glass, now shattered, flying at him. Darmid barely paid any heed to it, wrapping himself up in a cocoon of defensive force waves. The glass blew right around him, the pieces being directed harmlessly away and mostly outside from the man.

"I don't quite remember you ever giving me any sort of beating. Perhaps it is stupidity that causes problems within the Sith. Heh. Glad im with the Chorus now. So much more... unified. Less self gratified pricks to cause problems."

Darmid's saber spun almost as if it had a life of its own, before being gripped midshaft by his right hand. His stance changed slightly, and his defensive bubble expanded outwards as he prepped for a full on fight.

Nieraan would join them one way or another. He bet his left arm he would.

[Rugs]

Aurelius’ arched a brow, a half-amused smile crossing his face. The expression was a fleeting thing, lingering a heartbeat or two on his face before it faded away. Not that it mattered — he could’ve been imitating the face of a manic drama mask and no one would be any the wiser, with it hidden beneath his visor.

“Is that so?” he asked, letting some amusement carry over to his voice. The glass fell to the ground, thousands of shards shattering to thousands more. Their shattering was lost to the din of the battle raging unrelentingly around them.

That the glass was waved aside came as no great surprise — it would have been more disappointing that satisfying, had Darmid fallen so easily. “Former Sith are funny like that, aren’t they?” he asked, stepping forward. A tense, barely-restrained energy hummed around him as he fought the urge to descend on Darmid like a Nexu tearing a Nerf limb from limb. Instead of loosing that violent, impassioned urge he held it, focused to a point. “And then they go running their mouths,” he said, sounding dismissive. “Turning a beatin’ into a killin’.”

Aurelius grinned, flashing both his pointed canines beneath his mask. “Ain’t that a damn shame?”

A bolt of lightning focused to singular, devastating effect arced from and toward Darmid. It burned with such intensity that heat lingered in the air after it flashed between them, followed by a staccato crack of thunder.

Aurelius didn’t hesitate behind the strike that meant to shatter Darmid’s protective shield. He lunged forward, sabers whirling in a blur of blue and gold to strike at the defector.

[Ash]

Time for basic talking was over now. The waves of energy coming off of Darmid now was smooth and calm, holding no malice or anger, just... empty peace. All was calm, quiet despite the raging battle around them.

It was amazing how once can be so out of tune with the greater world when there was action right in front of them. Darmid use to be like that a long time ago, unaware of his surroundings. It costed him dearly: his master, his padawan, and his own sanity were lost. Now he was expertly aware of everything around him.

Lancer twisted his body slightly, feet widening bare inches as his left side turned ever so slightly towards Nieraan. Darmid didn't match his opponents grin, his own face remaining neutral as the Sith attacked. Darmid reacted at the same time, his helmet flying off the ground. In the air, it intercepted the bolt of lightning, exploding but taking the brunt of the attack.

The fallowing attack didn't come as a surprise: Darmid and Neiraan were no strangers to fighting each other, which made things all the more fun. Darmid struck out as Neiraan closed in, sweeping the tip of his spear from his left to right with the intent of sweeping Neiraan's right blade out of the way and using Neiraan's forward momentum against him and let the Sith impale himself on Darmids spear. The two hands as well helped keep his body in check with speed and strength that coulnd't be matched with as single arm.

"Simply submit to the Chorus. You may accept your fate, or defy it. But you cannot deny it"

[Rugs]

Aurelius felt a rush as he stepped forward, lightsabers sizzling through the air. Adrenaline, pounding through his veins and the Force, at once fervid and as cold as the most brutal Rhen Var winter. As Darmid turned one aside, Aurelius shifted, sideways and letting his momentum carry him forward, on past the tip of the spear.

A quick snakebite of a strike met the far end of Darmid’s spear, which batted away. Aurelius started to grin as he opened his palm and loosed a powerful blast of the Force that scattered the broken glass on the ground behind them and made a distant container crumple in on itself.

He hoped the blast would send the former Sith tumbling back away with it.

As a Republic starfighter squadron roared overhead, he laughed. “That’s the difference between us,” he said. “You accept fate. I make my own.”

---

As the Dark Lord fought the brainwashed interloper, Cero Sarden shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He’d heard of Force users engaging in combat during the war, but had never seen it himself.

The Tuk’ata — Scyllos, it was called--paced fitfully back and forth, a low rumble filling its throat. Why can’t we just shoot him, he wondered, with a glance at the rest of the men that formed Aurelius’ squad. Mirrored black masks, lined with gold, hid their faces, as it hid his from his squadmates.

Too late now. Lord Aurelius and the Archeri Force user were engaged now, moving so fast that Cero could hardly keep track. Yet, if Aurelius could get the other man still for a moment...

”Captain Sarden,” a voice crackled across his comm line. “This is command. In response to your earlier query, we’ve lost contact with Lady Keres’ squad.”

Cero’s brows drew down. He frowned slightly. He didn’t know Lady Keres, but if a Darth’s squad had gone down...

“We believe they were overwhelmed by an Archeri counterassault,” the voice said. We have additional reinforcements on the way to help secure the spaceport.”

“Understood,” Cero said, inhaling deeply. He watched the dueling Force users with renewed interest. If one had already fallen, that set the stakes much higher...