In Time of Need

[Rugs]

Aurelius’ gunship roared away from the Kalai Ri’Biro Spaceport. A Sith corvette, bearing soldiers and much-needed supplies for the general effort, hovered over the spaceport, with a Republic counterpart lumbering through the haze-smothered skies to the port’s far end.

The battle to claim the spaceport had been hard-fought. The Coalition had suffered considerable casualties in the assault, and that was without considering Keres’ disappearance.

If she is dead...

Aurelius frowned. That would be a hell of a blow — the destruction of one of the pillars of the Empire itself.

Had she made it to face him, would she have survived? Aurelius cast a sidelong glance to the slender metal polearm leaning against the side of the gunship. Darmid’s weapon. He had been... surprisingly formidable, with the Chorus lending him strength. If Kere’s assault on the hangar progressed as intended, and she’d faced the turncoat Sith instead of he...

He shrugged to himself. Darmid was defeated--he and Solis had seen to that. That Keres was missing, nothing could change. Still, Renata would likely not be pleased at having to choose a replacement...

“...need aid. Archeri... overrun... disaster.”

The crackling distress call pulled Aurelius from his silent musings. “Where’s that coming from?”

“Sector 08-3, My Lord,” the pilot said without a backwards glance. “The Archeri have are pushing Coalition forces back away from the Spire. To make matters worse, sir, a Republic ship has crash landed near the lines. It’s... going poorly.”

Aurelius looked out the small, round window beside him. Far in the distance, the second Spire towered above the battlefield, above the burning, smoking city and into the twilight sky. The Coalition’s fleet had destroyed the first Spire in orbit, but that wouldn’t matter if the Arhceri could get the second one operational. The battle was far from over.

The battle’s never over.

“Take me there,” he said.

“Oh, y-yes, of course, Lord Aurelius.” Aurelius didn’t miss the note of surprise in the pilot’s voice. He decided, as the gunship lurched in the air toward the new battle, he didn’t care.

---

From above, the situation on the ground around the fallen Republic cruiser seemed as dire as his pilot had described it. The Coalition’s lines lay in disarray — some had set up a desperate perimeter around the ship’s skeleton — with Archeri crawling like overgrown spiders across the broken urban battleground.

The gunship roared to a halt as Aurelius stepped out, locking his helmet into place. His lightsabers, one the color of polished gold, the other a deep, dark blue, hissed to life as he joined the fray to push the Archeri back.

[Deleted]

A console exploded near his head, bright lights and sparks flying across the small bridge. The ship lurched forward, causing some officers to lose their footing and fall over. Rill was barely able to catch himself on a nearby console as he looked on towards the rest of the bridge. The ship was in ruins, half of the systems were destroyed and the other half were barely functioning.

The brave men and women that he had been serving with were scurrying all over doing their best to keep the ship in the air, but he knew it was only a matter of time before they ended up on the ground. "There, make for that clearing." Rill ordered, pointing towards an open part of the battlefield. It had been close to the front lines, but he didn't see any other alternative. At least there, in the clearing, they could use the ship's broken hull as cover for the coming battle.

Their ship limped across the landscape until its hull finally met the ground. The crash was violent, sending everyone to the floor, killing some and knocking others unconscious. Rill rubbed his head where it had collided with the nearby bulkhead as he got to his feet. Systems all over the bridge had exploded and were smoking, others were on fire.

Ignoring the flames, no point searching for an extinguisher now, he and the other conscious officers began to help the survivors to their feet. "Are you alright?" Rill asked one ensign. The young man nodded yes, and Rill continued, "Find an active station and begin transmitting a distress signal. Hopefully someone is out there that can help us." The young ensign nodded, running off to carry out his orders.

They rescued several more crew members on their way to the airlock, making their way through the corridors. Unfortunately, as they made their way through the belly of the ship, they came upon several troops who did not survive the crash. Rill looked down, his heart heavy for a moment, then brought his head back up and continued on. "Grab all the supplies we can carry! Hurry, it won't be long before the Archeri are swarming this position!" Rill yelled through the chaos in the corridor.

When they reached the airlock, the door wouldn't budge. The controls on the wall were working and lit up, but the door had been damaged and would not open. Just as his men were about to go and find something to blow the door with, Rill lifted his arm and extended his palm towards the door. He closed his eyes, then released a large burst of telekinetic power at the door, blasting it open. "Quickly, let's go. Form a perimeter." He said, helping everyone get through the opening.

As he stepped out of the ship himself, he looked up at the horizon and realized what they were now up against. Swarms of Archeri had been rapidly approaching their position, honing in on them as soon as their ship went down. Monstrous looking creatures, they were large and intimidating, some crawling on all of their arms and legs like arachnids. Rill, taking his eyes off of the hideous swarms, looked towards his troops, "Protect the injured. Assume defensive positions around the ships fallen debris. Make every shot count. May the Force be with us..." His voice trailing away.

As the swarm grew closer, Rill took his saber hilt into his right hand, igniting the green blade down by his side. He closed his eyes and tapped into the Force, letting it flow freely throughout his body, enhancing his movements and reflexes. Opening his eyes, he charged the approaching enemy with blazing speed, dragging his saber down at his side, intent on pushing them back.

Rill, using the Force and his complete mastery of Ataru, jumped up and over the first two enemies, slashing and hacking at both of them, his lightsaber blade cutting them down into several pieces. He landed back on his feet just as another Archeri was running up attempting to knock him down, but Rill again cut it down with his elaborate bladework.

Two more who were further away shot several crystals at him from their extremities with great speed. He blocked a couple crystals with his lightsaber before rolling on the ground to avoid the rest of the shots. Coming out of his roll, crouched, he threw his lightsaber towards the two shooting at him. Spinning like a boomerang, it cut them in half before returning to Rill's hand, though he knew those two would probably continue fighting in whatever capacity they could.

He looked towards his troops who were firing their weapons almost non-stop to keep the enemy away. Knowing that this was going to be a tough battle to win, he hoped someone heard their call for help.

[Rugs]

The gunship’s blaster canons whined to life as it lifted to the skies once more. Great gobs of plasma slammed into the advancing Archeri horde, cutting the vanguard down as the vessel gained altitude. But for every Archeri that fell, from the gunship or the heavy fire the ship’s crew let loose upon the Archer, another seemed ready — eager, even — to take its place. Aurelius saw several of the creatures limping or crawling along the ground, whole limbs or portions of their bodies missing, as if not a thing was wrong. In the distance, he saw green lightsaber spinning through the

With a disgusted sneer, he leaped into the fray, gold and blue sabers whirling around him in a frenzy as he cut a path through the skirmish’s outskirts. Even for all his strength, it’d be a fool’s decision to jump into the heart of the swarm without any backup. He didn’t know how the Plague worked, but he’d read the intelligence reports. Force users, for reasons beyond him, seemed particularly vulnerable to its effects, and he had no intention of dying to the Archeri.

He sliced through the outer edges of the Archeri onslaught, taking them from behind in a frenzy of saber strikes and attacks through the Force. Lightning arced from his fingertips. Rubble and Archeri bodies crumbled and broke before his outstretched hand.

It was invigorating, to let loose his powers in the middle of battle without worrying about allies or his squad or Scyllos to keep alive. There was only him and the Archeri.

There was only victory or death.

Soon the battered Republic cruiser loomed before him, belching flames and smoke into the sky. A hastily-set up portable blaster canon fell silent as Aurelius killed the last Archeri between himself and the Republic’s line.

A Republic soldier stared at him for a long moment. Aurelius could feel mistrust, hate, fear, all rolling off of him in waves. The soldier gripped the cannon with a white-knuckled hold.

“If I was here to kill you, you’d be dead,” Aurelius said flatly. While the flank had fallen silent, the sounds of fighting still raged at the heart of the Archeri attack. “Now you can shoot me and make your life hard before I kill you, or you can let me through.”

For another long moment, the soldier stared at him. He finally nodded, motion for Aurelius to cross over. Deactivating, but not putting away, his lightsabers, the Darth gave the man a mocking pat on the back of his shoulder and carried on.

Once past, Aurelius, quickened his pace into a run. His lightsabers hissed to life again as he neared the front to rejoin the fray. The main Archeri attack hadn’t stopped, and he intended to offer as much aid as he could--Jedi or no.

---

Herin Abrin glared at the Sith’s back as he loped off. If I was a better man, I’d have.. He gulped. Have what? Shot at him. Fighting a Sith or Jedi alone like that would have been suicide.

Still, what he wouldn’t give to put a shot in the back of the Sith’s head.

He fumbled for his communicator, hands that had only been kept still by a death grip on his blaster canon shaking violently. He put a line directly to Rill Ringard, the Jedi leading the defense until they pushed the Archeri back or reinforcements arrived.

“Master Ringard,” he said, hoping the Jedi Master had a line open. “There’s a Sith coming. I think he’s... He may be looking for you sir.”

[Deleted]

Rill continued his assault into the Archeri's lines, rapidly and elegantly spinning his lightsaber to deflect all kinds of shots coming at him. Though he was worried for his troops and how they were doing, he couldn't afford himself any distractions if he wanted to stay alive. The Force continued to pulsate throughout his body as he relied on his expertise of Force Valor to keep himself always one step ahead of his enemies. His movements were quick and precise, his footwork light and agile; when in the heat of battle Rill was truly a force to be reckoned with.

As he deflected more shots, he sensed three Archeri jumping up and attempting to lock him down. Rill leaned forwards into another roll, but found himself surrounded on all sides. He twirled his lightsaber all around himself, doing his best to deflect the attacks, until finally it too much for him to handle.

He leaned far back, narrowly dodging a few more shots, and with a low back flip, he landed with his off hand palm on the ground. He sent out a huge surge of Force power, sending all of the Archeri that were closing in on his location flying backwards and giving himself some breathing room.

Rill looked back towards his troops, all of them still firing away, and was about to start heading in their direction when he heard over his comm, “Master Ringard, there’s a Sith coming. I think he’s... He may be looking for you sir.” He turned his head away from his troops and into the Archeri lines and, sure enough, he saw two lightsabers, one gold and one dark blue, swinging in the distance. Rill knew that they had been on the same side in this conflict; the Archeri had been too large an enemy for any one side to handle alone and, to ensure mutual survival, they had made an alliance to combat this threat.

If the situation had been different and the Archeri didn't exist, Rill might have considered what he was about to do absolutely crazy. But, with an enemy like this, he couldn't afford that thinking. He knew either side didn't totally trust the other, but cooperation was necessary if they were going to pull through this conflict.

"Understood, I'm on way way to him now. Continue to hold your position." Rill responded. Then, with a burst of speed, he made he way towards where the Sith had been. His green saber had twirled and swung in nearly all directions fighting near where the Sith was. Archeri were everywhere, yet he maintained his composure and fought with the dignity that his rank commanded. He kept his focus and was determined to see themselves out of this conflict.

Rill did not know this Sith, or what his capabilities were, but two was better than one, so he made the first gesture. "I wouldn't presume to call us friends, but I hope we can call each other allies." He said as he dodged three punches from a nearby Archeri before slashing his lightsaber through it. He looked towards the man, hoping for a favorable response. He didn't want another enemy, and he was ready to give him a fight if that's what he desired, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

[Rugs]

Aurelius cut like a scythe through the Archeri en route to the Jedi. As he neared the frontlines, where the brunt of the Archeri rush threw itself at the Republic’s defenders, he found himself moving ceaselessly from one foe to the next, with little time to think.

The Archeri came as one — pushing beyond the point of death, crawling over their fallen brethren in a singlemind assault to overwhelm the defenders’ lines. To their credit, Aurelius had to admit to himself as he sliced an Archeri in half with his lightsabers and hurled at at a knot of oncoming attackers, they fought ferociously. A burst of lightning blazed from his fingertips, singing the air with the scent of ozone as it crashed into the Archeri he’d sent flying. The lighting spread from it to its fellows as they collided, stunning them for Republic blaster fire to tear into them.

On and on he fought, until he saw a blur of green cutting through the horde from the other side. The Jedi.

Come to say hello, are you?

Aurelius couldn’t hold back the smile that split his lips, baring his pointed canines beneath his mask. In how many battles had he been here, pushing into a Republic encampment only to see a Jedi come to greet him? But this was different; the war between Empire and Republic had ended three years past, and though some truce could never bridge the gap between Jedi and Sith, this was not the time for battle.

A part of him regretted that. He did not hate the Jedi, not in the manner of many of his Sith fellows. They were, more often than not, formidable foes; he longed to cross blades with one and test himself again.

Not today, he thought as the leaped toward the Jedi, using the Force to push him further than he ever could jump unaided. He landed behind an Archeri, using his blades and momentum to cut the creature apart as he came down.

"I wouldn't presume to call us friends, but I hope we can call each other allies," the Jedi said, dealing with an Archeri of his own.

“Of course,” Aurelius said. “If I thought to let you lot die, I wouldn’t be here.”

An Archeri fired a burst of crystals at them. Aurelius dodged out of the way, trust that the Jedi could handle himself. “It seems,” he said, losing a blast of the Force that sent the Archeri careening away, “that you and your boys are in a tight spot.”

A bit of mischievous humor touched the edge of his voice. He grinned as he spoke next, intending to prod the Jedi a bit to test his temperament. “How fortunate the Empire is here to cover you.”

[Deleted]

"It seems that you and your boys are in a tight spot. How fortunate the Empire is here to cover you.”

Rill smiled slyly as he continued to fight and deflect crystal shots from the Archeri that were rapidly closing on their position, knowing the Sith was trying to get a rise out of him.

It was actually welcoming, believe it or not. With how tense and dire their situation was, and how badly they were fighting for their lives, it was almost refreshing to have a bit of humor liven things up a bit. Especially a bit of banter between two factions that have been bitter enemies for so long, it was a way of kind of seeing things back to normal.

"Long live the Empire." Rill riposted, almost laughing through his smile. He continued to swing his lightsaber elegantly in all directions, incinerating the enemy projectiles that kept flying towards them. A couple of Archeri began to get a little too close for comfort so, pulling in with the Force, Rill back-flipped away from his current position, swinging his saber during the flip to dodge a few more projectiles, to a position a bit further back.

Once he landed, he got his bearings then went into a full attack on the two enemies that were attempting to overtake him. He slashed and hacked them down swiftly, tucking and rolling into a new defensive posture near where the Sith had been fighting. Though he knew he could not fully trust this guy, he also knew that it was a battle for their lives. Rill was willing to bet that the Sith wanted to stay alive as much as he did, and the best way to ensure that would be fighting side-by-side.

He looked around the battlefield and knew that this battle could go on forever. "Ringard to Commander Edington, has there been any response to our distress beacon?!" Rill yelled over all of the noise and chaos on the comm line. He went on for a few more moments continuing to engage the Archeri before hearing a response, "Yes sir, there is a transport on it's way to us now! ETA fifteen minutes!"

Rill nodded his head and acknowledged the transmission from his trooper. Finally there was a bit of an end in sight. Yes the battle was still going on, but if they could at least regroup and rejoin their main force that would be much more preferable that fighting the Archeri on their own.

Rill turned his head to meet his new friend and said, "A transport for those troopers is fifteen minutes out. Once they're evaced, we'll be able to regroup with our combined forces on the front lines and press the assault." He didn't know what kind of answer to expect from the guy, aside from some sort of sarcastic retort, so he decided to go first, "That is, unless you're having fun here." He smiled slightly, continuing his attack on the Archeri.

[Rugs]

“Long live the Empire,” the Jedi quipped.

Aurelius snorted a laugh. If Renata could hear that... “You’re alright, Jedi,” he said wryly, watching the other man from the side of his eye as he shifted his focus back to the Archeri assault. With the two of them fighting together, the force of defenders had a better chance of surviving the attack.

For now, Aurelius thought as he leaped to motion, cutting through the attackers that dared venture near with blades and blasts of the Force. But, if they were going to make it out of there — if they were ever going to get off their heels and press the assault on the Chorus — they needed reinforcements, and they needed them badly.

Dark Lord or not, Jedi Master or not, the Archeri had numbers to spare and then spare more. Alone, they would fall, eventually.

"A transport for those troopers is fifteen minutes out,” the Jedi called. “Once they're evaced, we'll be able to regroup with our combined forces on the front lines and press the assault."

Aurelius considered the battlefield, using the short break in the fighting to look about. The new Spire still loomed int he distance, with smoke from distant fires rising all around. “Much as I’ve grown attached to this place in my two minutes here,” he said, looking at the Jedi, “I’ve never been one to sit back take attacks.”

He opened a line to the Imperial forces and made a call for the gunship he’d ridden in earlier, with backup, to return. “No, Jedi, I think I’ll join you on this assault.”