The Dark Tomb of Ice

[Necro Stormborn]

((Ok guys, this is the SITH thread, this is where you can start. You can begin on the bottom floor and work your way up or you can start at the midsection where the mountain and temple wall is blown open.... However, If your character is not extremely skilled and could possibly die from jumping directly into a fight... mostly jedi... we are talking center of temple which is mostly Jedi master's and knights, you will want to go to the bottom instead. Anyways, same as everyone else said..... let's not have everyone and their mother in here... so choose to either be in here, and work upwards, or go to the other thread that DUTCH already posted "Darkness Falls".... anyways... ENJOY, and let the battle... BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!))



-------Planet Surface: Rhen Var--------


The Gunboats roared through the sky over the temple, gunman raining blaster fire down all over. Troopers attempted to fire up at the Ships, and were dealt with swiftly. There were to be two landing Zones, one point was on the ground level, easiest means to access the archives, and the second was going to the mountain side canopy.

The ships split up and headed to both landing zones, 75% to the bottom floor and the rest to the mountain side.

The temple entrance at the bottom of the mountain was first to get it. The ships circled down and opened fire on those in view. Then all ships opened fire on the gate and generator by the main access point. The generator flared white hot and exploded into a plume of smoke which blew open parts of the wall and opened the main doors. The chastity of the temple was ready to be violated. The ships landed 2 at a time, dropping all the sith troops off at once, while the other aircraft circled and provided covering fire.

Once on the ground, the orders that had been given prior to making the jump to hyperspace were now on track.

The battle at the base of the temple was about to erupt in a veritable storm of swords.

[Casual]

Xzun Grozmick, also known as Jack, was riding along as part of the landing crew. His earnest blood-lust filled the bay in which the various other troops waited with a mixture of trepidation and eagerness. Barely hours before, he had notified the Dark Lord Eurachis of his desire to be among the first of this landing crew invasion, his excitement for battle gurgling, somewhat muffled in his emotions through the Force. He had also been given command of this squad of men aboard this vessel, assuring a high body count for whoever would be foolish enough to get in his way.

A smirk alighted his face as the craft touched ground and an sensation as close to joy as a demon like himself could receive tingled in his gut. The air was ripe with the sensation as he had now unleashed the chains that bound the release of his emotions, to all other men, it would feel like a most twisted and vile happiness, a sinister hunger for blood, mingled with excitement. He could feel the shivers of some men around him, but there was a surprisingly large amount of men who seemed to revel in the sensation, as if they shared in it. It was on that note that Jack Grozmick grabbed his lightsaber from its holster at his hip, feeling its all too farmiliar contours within the grasp of his fingers.A thought arose out of his mind then, as out of context as it was given his thoughts of the moment, but he realized that he had not yet spoken to the troops gathered around him on the vessel. He decided that they could do with a bit of motivation. As the pilot prepared to drop the door, making sure everything was ready before unleashing Hell, Jack turned and spoke to the warriors around him.

Comrades, brothers in arms, today you face an enemy unlike any you have probably ever faced before. Today, you face Jedi, and though they are pitiful scum who cling to the Code of cowards and fools, they are not weak. They could easily overpower a man like the everday soldier. But! You are not everyday soldiers, you are the strong and powerful soldiers of the Sith Empire! Warriors who fear no Jedi, warriors who kill and destroy at will! So ask yourselves,

With a clank the door began to lift, ominous and slow.

Are you everyday soldiers? Or do you truly intend to call yourselves soldiers and warriors of the Sith Empire? If this is the case, I demand that you aim to kill, NOT survive, but to deliver such a blow that those of the Jedi Order will ask themselves, were those men, or were they the Gods of Beasts and Fire!?

I demand, He said, as the doors reached just above his neck,the sounds of chaos raging just beyond that slate of metal, a chaos as maddening as the tainted yellow and crazed look in his eye,That you give me beyond your best, that you bring me corpses.

With that, he ducked under the door and ignited his blazing orange lightsaber, charging into battle with a bloodcurdling bellow, just like the beast he demanded to see in his men. The Jedi would question their sanity indeed.

//IDK if it really matters that I had Jack take control over the troops he was with, but I say, w/e. If it's bad, I'll stop, but I kinda expected him to have some control over some kind of force, being that he's trying to get "in" with the Military aspects of the Sith Order, which I admit I've been a bit of a pain trying to constantly express ;D . So, yea... bite me. //

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

The red and silver gun-ship stood apart from all of the other Sith troopers. This was a good thing, for as it descended amongside them, hovering above the landing zone, it truly was different from them. Different, but the same. A metaphor for the two factions that existed here; the Dominion, and the Sith. Different, but the Same. Each had their own methods, but ultimately they were working toward the same goal, under the same general flag of the empire. The Sith troopers were here to kill things, to maim the chastity of the Jedi and perform an action that would be the catalyst of a full-scale war.

And how could the Dominion *not* want a part of that? A single gun-ship, with fifteen crack raiders and an...Interesting squad leader. Yes, they were getting a part of the action, whether the Sith troops wanted it or not.

~*~

Hsi's small, slick hands held a death grip on the two handles that protruded around him, his bottom placed on the seat he was provided with. He was nice and snug, with the two belts afforded to the seat going diagonally across his chest from top to bottom; keeping him tightly in place. He sat in a small metallic seat that was strapped onto the back of a tall, red-armored Dominion raider with broad shoulders and firmly set posture to keep from falling over in the quickly moving Gun-ship. Hsi Asmae was riding in what, for all intents and purposes, was a booster seat, strapped onto the back of the man like a baby on an over-bearing parent.

Since Hsi was so small, he couldn't move as fast. For the first stretch of the landing, they had deemed him to ride on one of the Raider's backs. At first, Hsi was bitter about it, feeling infantile. He had his arms cross the whole time and blushed red every-time he saw the embarassing vehicle he'd be in. But after a while, he got use to it, even began thinking about it in a whole different light; he didn't have to move for himself, all he had to do was sit down for a while and relax! Easiest command position ever.

There was one more, slight disadvantage. The Raider was facing out in a rather unfortunate direction, so that Hsi was simply staring at a steel wall, with no way of really knowing what was up, or even if the landing was going to work. For all he knew they were heading straight toward a mountain cliff. It was a bit unsettling. He almost couldn't bare it when the guns started firing down, tapping his foot impatiently. It occured to him, only a few moments before landing, that should give some sort of speech. The ship descended rapidly toward the drop zone, and Hsi turned around, calling out to the raider that carried him.

The man turned around and said, "I'm about to give a speech." The man nodded, then continued to stare forward, Hsi snarled, "Turn around, moron."

"Oh."

The raider turned around and faced the wall so that Hsi could face the other Dominion troops, all standing with their weapons ready, looking over to him with a slight grin, some holding back laughter, even. A short amusement before being launched into a hellish fight.

Hsi looked at each of them, as the Gun-ship began to level out, hovering just above the ground, "Jedi scum wait outside. Its our job to kill them." He told them confidently, "And remember that every kill is for much more than a Sith blood-lust, or for your own glory. Resting on each of your shoulders is more than your honor, more than this single battle. Upon our shoulder's lies Shard's Glory. Shard, who mobilized us, gave us a vision, and will soon give us a home. Shard, glorious dictator of the Dominion!"

He gave a quick, "HUMPH!" Then pointed menacingly, and said with a serious tone that belied all sense of intantilism, "Do not disappoint him." His every word was punctual and demanding. The depressurization of the doors suddenly opening up was heard, and Hsi held his head up charge before shouting at the top of his lungs, "For the dominion!"

The men took up the cry, sweet white light bathing the inside of the gun-ships, they lifted their weapons then cried out, "DOMINION!" As they piled out, dashing down the landing pad. The Raider that carried Hsi, Bunta was his name, spun around, grabbed his blaster rifle with his left hand, a large metal case containing Hsi's weaponry ( that he wasn't wearing on him ), and charged forward, leaping off the gun-ship. He bent his knees as he landed to absorb the shock and then broke into a full out dash, following the other Dominionites.

And as they charged, Hsi began to realize one more problem of having to be carried, one he certainly didn't like. He couldn't see the blaster fire coming at them. He gulped, watching the gun-ship take off behind them.

[Jace]

What a bore. Gabriella really couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. This whole war thing was overrated in her opinion honestly. Yes they were going to fight Jedi, but it was all too fast. She couldn't play around with her prey on the battlefield. No it was all kill as soon as possible and then move on to the next. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy killing Jedi but where was the fun if you couldn't savor it. It truly was a bore.

She was surrounded by soldiers who were giddy for the battle to come.She had given thought to torturing one on the way here, but she had promised Mistress Renata that she would restrain herself. Restraint wasn't exactly her strongest point, but she didn't want to disappoint her new master. Thus she merely sat, somewhat sour throughout the trip to Rhen Var. She tried to convince herself that killing Jedi would somehow satiate her needs.

They were making their way to the ground now. Soldiers began making final checks, things suddenly got silent. Gabriella was luckily spared the need to make any speech for there were a few other Sith on her ship. The Echani just tuned it all out, it was all a bunch of garbage anyways. Their little speeches about loyalty and the brotherhood and all that other worthless stuff. This really was trying on her patience.

Gabriella wasn't even sure why she was here in the first place. It was the Force. She came all the way out here because of some silly feeling. Why did she even bother?The Echani wanted to slap herself, but instead she decided to slap the man sitting next to her, who just happened to be another Sith.

"What the Hell do you think your doing?" He shouted

"Oh Shut up" came Gabriella's reply

The man could only be described as fuming now. He reached for his lightsaber but didn't ignite it. She gave him a coy smile. Being the apprentice of Renata did have its advantages it seems. There wasn't a chance to see what would have happened next because the ship touched down on Rhen Var. Soldiers and Sith alike stormed out of the ship until only a single Echani woman was left. She took her time and slowly exited the ship. The cold chill hit her in a wave and she swore loudly. This was truly a miserable planet. All one could see was snow. What a bore.

[Necro Stormborn]

(( Music for post reading: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wd5M2BqLIo ))


-----Sky above Rhen Var------

The wings of the gray stealth fighter grew a hot red as the ship sailed down and into the murky white atmosphere that was Rhen Var. The control panels shook, and the gears vibrated and hummed, and then there was a loud pop. The shaking and jolting that had been rocking the small fighter so hard suddenly ceased. The gray and murky white sky thinned into a small orange and red flashes, with some black pillars of smoke jumping up all round the sky. The fighter popped through the sky jerking back and around, dodging some small anti-aircraft fire from temple defenses and the like. The ship swirled down in a cyclonic formation, sweeping faster and faster around towards the ground where the flashes had now become clear explosions. Thermal detonators and blaster fire was everywhere. Green and blue hues clashed with yellow red and orange.... blades all over deflecting, reflecting blaster fire, parrying swipes from one another. The loss of life growing every second, this was going a lot faster then initially planned.

The man in the cockpit heaved his weight onto the control yoke and spun the ship up and around to avoid incoming turbo laser fire, dodging it and arcing back upwards, racing around the outside of the temple now. The pilot's eyes were searching for something, scanning the ground at the base of the temple... He flew lower, passing overhead many of the ongoing battles. He bore witness to a jedi jumping back and forth beheading and amputating 3 men, before being completely surrounded by the sith troopers and initiates like a pack of wolves. And so they came at him from all sides like hunters, leaping all around till finally the jedi was downed and plugged full of blaster bolts and sabers.

The pilot remained quiet and slowly brought his ship to a stop, remaining in place hovering above the snow. He weaved slightly to the side as he watched a gunship get thrown, clearly by some magic other then poor steering on the pilots part, into the mountain wall and explode into a ferocious flaming ball of wreckage.

Two men in white and gray looked up at the fighter, and one of them bowed down before it. The other pulled from his belt a commlink. He clicked it on and tried to communicate with the fighter, but his raspy voice was hard to make out with all the explosions, screaming and harsh wind chill that attacked everything on the planet.

"The jed....at the......temple coun......on top by....leading the...believed to be rhi...."


The pilot pivoted the ship to the right and edged the wing closer to the man in the white cloak. The dark eyes of the pilot concealed behind the mask and visor searched the mans face... saw no deception.

A black gloved fist hovered over the control yoke and moved closer to the viewport, aimed at the man. The man began to scratch at his neck.... choking. The man slowly lifted into the air, dangling and kicking wildly. The canopy opened softly with a hiss, and the man in black piloting the fighter leaned over the side an grabbed the man in white.

"Are you certain..." He demanded, to which the now very afraid recon scout replied, "absolutely."

The pilot moved back into his seat and brought his hand back down to the control yoke. as he wrapped his fingers around it, the man in white suddenly plummeted 10 feet to the snow and coughed wildly.

The canopy closed, and the fighter roared it's engines loudly. seconds later the fighter jarred upwards and and exploded into life, flying fast and hard toward the summit of the rocky temple.

Whatever was coming in that ship was now alive.... and anything and everything that had an ounce of sense would see it coming long before it arrived, for behind it trailed the darkest and grimmest of thoughts and energies. The time was now, and Darth Eurachis was about to grace the battlefield.

(( moving to Darkness Falls ))

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Bunta found a nice niche in the snow, quickly tunnelling out a little ditch, then placing Hsi down in the snow. It was in the middle of the battle-field, but allowed him to enough cover to hide him and protect him from blasters. He then placed the case down and opened one side up, inside was a series of circular devices, he looked at them funny. Hsi grinned and said, "Mines. Place them around a perimeter in the area, ten feet in front of me. Hurry up too." He ordered. The man gathered the mines, nodding. There was a reason Hsi had requested a Raider that was also an experienced enough sapper. He rushed out and began placing the mines as ordered post haste. Bouncing betties, Hsi's second to last line of defense against skilled Jedi.

Hsi reached over to the silver suit-case. It was bulky and two sided, so he flipped it open, and opened up the other side, revealing padding and to parts to his new favorite toy; The PMS. A magnetic rifle that fired high powered slugs that could pierce light armored vehicles. He chuckled and hastily pulling the stock and other parts out he assembled it, placing it down against the case after it was done and letting the magnets charge up for a moment. While that happened, he speedily went over inventory. He had two thermal grenades on his left bandolier, and a flash stick on his right. It worked light a flare, except light up like a flash bang for only a short amount of time. Very effective for shocking close range enemies and gunning them down with some blaster pistols or running away. His -last- line of defense.

Then he had his rocket, a very small, very easily carried rocket, but still pretty effective. Unfortunately, it didn't have much ammunition; needing bulky battery packs for the blast, one/two shots and that was it. Sometimes it varied with this early, but lighter, model that he had with him. He placed it on top of the case so no snow got in it, and then reached forward, heavily packing the snow in front of him so it would crunch, then he grabbed his PMS, pressing the stock tightly against his right shoulder, leaning forward and breathing steadily, the end of the barrel resting on the tight packed snow.

Bunta had finished up and Hsi gave the 'fire at will' command with his right hand. Bunta charged out excitedly. Ahead, Hsi caught sight of his Dominionite fellows. They were crouching as a pair of Jedi padawans leaped down at them, charging forward bravely. The Dominionites stuck together until now, but here they spread out a bit, stopped and took a kneel, raising their weapons and taking their shots. A few of them were knocked back by force push, and in groups they flew onto their backs. Hsi focused his aim, ready to support his troops. He didn't want to miss. The padawans swung their weapons, batting away the blaster-bolts coming at them. One assaulted straight on for a Dominion soldier, while the other followed behind blocking and deflecting blaster fire as best he could. One shot was deflected into another Dominion soldier, knocking him over, it wasn't a kill shot though.

The first Jedi arrived at the Dominion soldier slashing off the barrel of his gun and then bringing his saber over his shoulder to swing down on the Dominionite. Hsi held his breath and steadied his weapon. A loud *bang* came from his gun as the magnets clacked and accellerated the shot forward. The entire weapon shook violently, almost throwing Hsi down. He shook his head a few times, lying on his back, then leapt up and forward to see the result of his shot, taking his recharging weapon in hand.

The bullet had moved so fast the Jedi hadn't gotten the chance to swing down with his lightsaber. It hit him in the chest, exploding through him and launching him several yards backward, causing the lightsaber to flip through the air and land in the snow. The other Jedi immediately went on the defensive, but the Dominionites had circled and fired on him. Too many from too many sides, too quick. This poor Jedi didn't have what it took.

Hsi wasn't too cocky though. They'd probably saved one or two of their buds, but plenty of the Dominionites would die by the end of the day. As he thought about that another Jedi came out, using speed. It was a twi'lek, and she came out in a blur. She swung quickly, already upon one Dominionite who was in the lead, decapitating the poor bastard.

Hsi took aim quickly, steadying his now charged rifle. The person was zig-zagging pretty fast. Hsi quickly zeroed in. Dangit, the woman suddenly stopped in front of another Domininite, using the force to pull out his side-arm and fire over his shoulder. She was good, using the Dominion soldier as a meat shield. Hsi figured he was screwed already, so he took the shot. Once again Hsi was knocked back. The bullet tore through the Dominionite and the Twi'lek, killing them both. Hsi gave a short grin and spoke to Bunta through his communication piece, "Bring me those two light-sabers." He said.

[Casual]

What General Jack Grozmick stepped into was a nightmarish hell that was battle. To him, there was an air of nostalgia to it all. Not since his mercenary days had he seen such ferocity and tenacity of such evenly matched opponents. The battles of late had been against petty peoples of the Sith Empire. Rebels, mercenaries, pirates and the like had been his foes, and none of them stood a chance against his military and combat prowess. Now, a foe who was truly… worthy, it could be said, finally faced him. It was a feeling of elation that could not be placed, and it proved only to grow when he found himself here, actually within the battle of Rhen Var.

Around him were the sensations of darkness and power that he knew to be fellows of the Sith Order. Many of them, he recognized, were even those affiliated with the rag-tag Shard’s Dominion, which he had heard of. He had met the man called Shard, otherwise known as Charlill Sylvorr. Among the warriors though, were his own, both eager and fearful of the fight that was to come. He wasn’t actually certain he even wanted to lead warriors into this battle. This one felt somewhat personal, as it was with the Jedi. Sure, he held nothing against the Jedi beyond their betrayal of Jack and his late Master those many years ago, but that was an indirect affront. He did hold a grudge against the Republic, however, and in Jack’s mind, their being in cahoots with the Jedi was enough to condemn the Jedi themselves. Or was it?

As he charged towards the front-lines, he spotted a lone Jedi, recklessly making his way forward, his cover long lost and those around him too engrossed in the battle forward to stop him. To be fair, they certainly could have, but it was clear that the Jedi had one target. The man holding a blazing orange lightsaber quickly flashed a Makashi salute moments before his blade collided with the cyan blade of the young, grizzle-bearded human Jedi Knight. Within but a few quick strokes, he had removed the man’s left leg with fury and finesse. As the man fell, Jack, with a quick motion of Cho Mai, removed the Jedi’s lightsaber hand. With a laugh he kicked the hand aside and casually resumed his course towards the front lines.

The snow crunched underfoot as he walked forward, his men just a few paces behind. In Jack’s mind, the world seemed to move in slow motion. Snow fell slowly and silently, blasters fired left and right in a tranquil methodic pattern, lightsabers flashed and shone in the foreground, and all was silent, for Jack’s was so focused on what lay ahead that he couldn’t even hear his own breath; breath that came out in puffs, hot as the fire in his heart, a fire that boiled his blood and warmed him under his environmentally unsuited garb. It was the only warmth and intensity in all of Jack’s world. In his mind, he danced through the winter wonderland the waltz of war, listening to the ballad of battle. It was a most peaceful chaos. Chaos bred of darkness. Darkness, that Jack had come to revel in. And it was this darkness that was shattered like a fine snow globe when finally approached the bearers of light. It was then that sound shot back to him, and tranquility faltered, all in a painful rush of emotion and ecstasy that led to the response known as anger. It was with that anger that Jack summoned forth the power known as Force Rage. It was in this Rage, that Jack ran forward, his emotions bursting forth so viciously, that anyone with the Force could feel it on that mountain. Xzun Grozmick had now truly entered the fray.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

( Since nobody else is posting, I'll Go! )

Hsi stared at the two lightsabers that lay on snow next to him, licking his lips and greedily taking them up, quickly placing them into the suitcase that had been holding his weapons before. With a satisfied grin, he turned back to the battlefield, surveying. There were various firefights going on, with plenty of Jedi targets, but he noticed a slight teactical disadvantage for the Dominionites. A group of guards holed up in defensive positions were shooting down on them. The Dominionites were doing well, taking low positions of cover and returning fire rapidly. But they wouldn't be able to win on their own, and Hsi knew he could reduce any casualties. Sure, the Sith Troops would win this floor eventually and then they'd take these fools out and save the Dominionites, and the Dominion would get these guys eventually, but at the cost of one or two for the time it took. Not a risk Hsi cared to take.

BANG. He had scoped in on what appeared to be their leader, and popped a cap right in the poor bastard. Hsi shook himself a few times, then readied himself, propped his weapon back up, and surveyed the situation. Unfortunately, he had just pissed those guards off. First they took cover. Then they found -him.- He did admit he made plenty of noise and with his little trench and mines he wasn't hard to find. Hsi gave a quick wave to them, then ducked for cover as blaster fire came at him, hitting the snow to the left and right, and going over head. One even hit his trench, singing through the snow and lighting the tip of his robe on fire. Hsi quickly patted it out. After a few minutes, he began to crawl a bit to the side.

Unfortunately, they pissed him off as well. He sighed, throwing down the rifle, and picking up his rocket. He'd hoped to save all of his shots until later, but...With a grin, that suddenly didn't matter. He crouched, propped the thing against the shoulder, and peeked through the aimer, adjusting for gravity and snow and blah, blah, then squeezed the trigger. Fire erupted from his launcher as a rocket zoomed out and forward, leaving a green smoke trail as it traveled. He could see the guards scrambling and, yes, screaming, and began to cackle to himself.

The area of their cover exploded in a plume of smoke and fire, kicking up snow everywhere and sending bodies in different directions. The ground they had covered in was a smoldering crater, and in the few survivors would soon be dead as the Dominion raiders swooped in, taking their pick of what was left, their aim pretty dang good. The guards didn't stand a chance. Hsi looked down at the battery cell, checking that it had yet one more shot. Good, now he just needed to find a place to take it.

[Casual]

His passion had been unleashed, and with it, his fear, reservations, and possibly even common sense. His hold on sense was hanging by a thread. It was all he could do to keep from rampaging on everyone in sight. The taste of blood was fresh on his blade, and he wanted more. It had truly been too long since his last real challenge. He would need to give his warriors something to do though, where he was going would be too dangerous for them to follow. In his march he noticed a peculiar sight. A jawa with so many powerful contraptions and weapons to take down a moon. He decided that the little guy would probably need some defense while unloading and reloading such a payload.

Alright men, it looks my request to order you maggots around was in vein. I'm goin' for the Jedi within the Temple walls, and there ain't no way in hell you'll be able to follow me. My last order to you is that you protect that decked out Jawa, and I am now placing you under his command. Good luck.

He truly was getting reckless. Handing soldiers over to someone he does not even know, let alone some ridiculously well-armed jawa. He had no choice though, if he was to get into a rumble with the Jedi Masters, whose presence was very prominent, almost taunting. His blood began to boil as he watched his men trot over to the unknown jawa. His emotions roared and spiked around him. He was like a Rancor ready to charge, he kicked up dirt behind him with his foot and lowered his body. With that he extended his lightsaber out to his side, called the Force to him with ferocious intensity and cut loose. With the Force surging through him, he pushed harder and harder against his body, bolstering his speed as much as he possibly could. He charged past enemies, dodging their strikes and fire as best he could, taking a nick on the upper left shoulder. It didn't matter, that wasn't even his dominant arm. He was now but a few yards from the thick of Jedi Knights.

As soon as they turned to fight the clearly outmatched Sith, he leaped in the air, blocking what blaster-fire came at him with his lightsaber, and throwing as much of the telekinetic Force as he could at those below him. He also used this Force to muscle his way over them, and land within the Temple walls, his back to the Jedi. He was panting heavily after what energy he had just exerted, but they weren't done with him. Two lightsabers came towards him, thrown and under the influence of the Force. He leaped perfectly horizontal in Ataru form, the blades flying both above and under him. Then, as he landed, he bent his body diagonal as the two blades made their return, flying at vertical angles on both his left and right. He wasn't interested in dying, however, and bolted away from the mass of Knights rushing towards him.

He must have lost them as he made his way to the courtyard, because they were no longer following him, probably needed very much for the battlefield he had just left. That didn't concern him. He was now where the true battle was. This is where the Masters were, where the challenge was.

[Moved on to Darkness Falls]

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Hsi craned his head over to the approaching Sith trooper, his shining silver armor glinting in the light, his heavy boots bringing Hsi's attention to him instantly. A few feet from Hsi he stopped and crouched down, avoiding fire, "Tell them to avoid the mines." Hsi told him right away, concerned that some of the dumb troopers would blow up his whole field of mines. The trooper pressed a button and relayed that order to his group, "Careful for mines."

The trooper then looked down to Hsi and said, "Lord Grozmick sends his regards, and his troops, to support you. We're under your command, little one."

Hsi looked at the trooper with a scrutinizing gaze, then ordered, "Bring forth your next in command." He could tell that the trooper talking now was obviously the 'leader' under Hsi. The man stood still for a moment, then hesitantly called for his next in command to approach. Right after he did that, Hsi reached into his robe and procurred one of his heavy blaster pistols, aiming it up and putting three blasts into the skull of the first Trooper. The second in command marched over nervously, pretending that he wasn't looking at his dead comrade under his helmet.

"Yes, sir?"

"Your promoted," Hsi started, then gave an explanation, "The last man was a bit too disrespectful for my tastes." He was reffering to calling him, 'little one' which always infuriated Hsi. "Now, set up a perimeter around me, where is the Sith who assigned you?"

"There sir." The trooper replied.

Hsi looked over at Jack Grozmick's impressive display of skill, valor, and stupidity, as he leaped and force pushed his way over a crowd of Jedi. And they were not all too happy to see him. Hsi felt he owed this man something, so he quickly dove for his rocket launcher, throwing it over his shoulder and saying, "Pick me up."

"What?"

"Elevate me, trooper!" He ordered harshly. The trooper shrugged and kneeled, taking Hsi up and holding him over head. Hsi hopped down onto the troopers shoulder and sat down, "Steady me..." The trooper held Hsi tightly and steadied him, feeling awkward but taking orders anyway. Hsi remained stock still, keeping a good aim on the Jedi. He didn't want them to know it was coming until it was too late...

They all turned, getting ready to follow Jack in. Hsi corrected his aim, then pulled the triggrer, his launcher jerking violently. If not for the trooper's quick reflexes Hsi would be falling to the floor. "put me down!" Hsi grumbled. The guy followed orders, placing Hsi down upon the floor. "Good," He stared forward, watching the green rocket trail. The Jedi all turned around, but it was almost too late, headed right for them and almost near. The closest of the Jedi used the force to cause the rocket to go off course, but they were not strong enough. The rocket exploded in the ground not too far to the side, sending waves of fire, snow, and debris flowing over the Jedi, not to mention the shockwave. Jack Grozmick got away scott free.

"Excellent shot sir." The trooper said.

"I know." Hsi replied arrogantly, "Tell your men to change radio frequencies to 25." Hsi told the trooper before getting on his own communications piece and shouting orders to the Dominionites, "Regroup at my position. We're gonna secure the entrance."

[Jace]

Cold. Miserable, ugly, cold. Gabriella would not classify her experience so far an enjoyable. In fact she was beginning to get quite cross, and that usually wasn't a good thing for the people around her. The Echani was quite capable of shielding herself from the elements but she was too annoyed to consider that option. Most of the soldiers had already rushed up towards the temple, only a few remained behind. The sound of a battle soon reached her ears.

Nothing better to do I suppose though Gabriella with a sigh

Thus she made her way towards the battle that lay ahead. Every now and then there would be a large rumble which was most likely caused by another explosion. As she cleared the crest of a small rise, the true scale of the battle came into view. There were already small craters alongside the bodies that littered the ground. The Echani couldn't see many of her fellow 'brothers'. She could only assume that they had pushed forward into the temple. That wasn't to say that there weren't Jedi still battling out at the entrance.

Gabriella scanned the battle, looking for potential targets. There were too many options, which frustrated her, and pleased her at the same time. Eventually she finally decided on attacking the person that was closest to her current location. Sprinting forward she launched her first lightsaber through the air towards the Jedi. The young Knight managed to dive aside and dodge the deadly silver blur.Gabriella was upon him, with her other blade. The Jedi worked furiously to defend against the Echani's assault. He was managing to do alright right up until the point where Gabriella recovered her second blade.

The blur of Jar'kai influenced attacks was just too much for the young Jedi to handle. Gabriella landed her first slash along the man's chest and then followed up with a jab through the Jedi's chest. He collapsed in a heap onto the cold snow as Gabriella extinguished her blades. Killing Jedi was always satisfying to a certain extent but it was over so fast. She didn't really have anytime to enjoy and relish the pain.

What a miserable place

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

A great amount of fire rained down upon the Jedi's position at the entrance to the temple. The entire Sith battallion that had been given to Hsi lead the front-lines, closing down on the Jedi positions in a quickly tightening half-ring. Behind them, further off, were the Dominion Raiders, spaced out and offering more precise and thought-out fire, whereas the Sith were firing in bursts to keep the Jedi from focusing any sort of counter.

The Jedi were resilient though, taking cover where they could and using their force to counter. Several large boulders came flying into Sith Troopers, killing them. Many blasters were reflected back, though not with accuracy enough to fell anybody. Blinding sheets of snow were pushed up in front of them, and entire sections of the ring would fall down from a force push.

Hsi wisely commanded that they keep distance enough to stay out of firing range from a thrown lightsabers, which he had been able to judge as he'd watched other struggles across the battlefield. All around him, other struggles were being put to an end, with Sith coming out as victory. The battle for the lower level was not over, but Sith victory seemed inevitable.

Hsi lay crouched around three other Dominionites, Bunta and two reliable troops whose skills were based in defense rather than offense, his PMS rifle laying down shots wherever necessary. He wasn't getting any kills, but he was keeping the resitance down. The real victories were being scored by the Sith and the Raiders that were laying hell on the Jedi positions.

Just as Hsi was growing impatient, two of the jedi valiently jumped out of cover, swatting away blaster bolts and sending a huge wave of force to knock the soldiers down. It worked quite well. While this happened, many of the Jedi turned and retreated into the temple. Of course, the two Jedi who were up front couldn't hold out very long, one turning to flee, the other staying to the very last second and getting hammered by blaster fire.

Hsi smirked.

[Mara]

(((Here is my relief force entrance post!
This is mainly for Deceit on the Sith side;
any others, ask before joining in.)))


[...from x]


They had been in nearby system, the Falleen Knight and her Zabrak padawan, training in the jungles of Gargon when the call had come through from Master Vreem Took, Lord of the newly formed Blades. Luckily Xierra had had all calls from their transport shuttle set to reroute to her personal commlink in case of any emergency. She had meant for it to be the other way around; if she and Zorn ran into anything in the jungles, they could use the Valiant Justice's comm to call for help. An incoming call, especially from Master Took, was highly unexpected.

Xierra had wanted to spend time during the long trip from Coruscant to Gargon catching up with her padawan, and teaching him the odd exercise in the Force. After his sickness right before their mission to Vulpter, they had some time to make up for. And though he was feeling better, Xierra could tell he wasn't completely himself and hoped the detour to Gargon amongst all the life would help him out in more than one way. Plus, the Falleen just didn't feel all that comfortable in her own piloting abilities, so two Republic soldiers had been hired, more for the shuttle piloting and care than for any fighting ability.

The two humans thought the experience like an extended leave, wasting away the hours and days, sleeping, eating and playing cards. They had nothing else to do while the Jedi were out 'frolicking' in the jungle, as they thought. In fact Xierra had been using the time on the planet to get Zorn more in tune with his own Force presence, using the abundant jungle life to aid him. Getting him to focus on more than just lightsaber techniques with his newly gifted weapon.

They had only been about a hour away when the short message burst came up on Xierra's commlink, highly encrypted. Recognizing the frequency as that of the leader of the Blades, she cut her padawan's lesson on patience short--the irony of which wasn't lost the Falleen--and they had immediately turned back to their shuttle. She explained to Zorn on the way back about her involvement in the Blades, something that she hadn't had the time to discuss with him except very briefly. Her part in the Jedi group was relatively new, having joined about the same time she took on her padawan. Xierra tried not to alarm him, though she knew deep down that the only reason the Blades Lord could be calling was for a very good reason.

Her fears were realized when they got back to the Justice and played the message that her commlink had been made away of. Master Took was calling all Blades in the area of Rhen Var to his fleet to be assembled there. His message was short and without much detail, but Xierra could feel a gradual foreboding through the Force attached to his words. This mission would be something completely different than anything she had participated in before. But she could not let these overwhelming feelings of darkness show in her face or through the Force. She did not want her padawan to pick up on her emotions.

She woke the pilot and copilot, urging them to set course for Rhen Var to meet up with the Protectorate. Once she was content that they would follow through on her orders, she left Zorn to his own devices. He would be safe on the shuttle without her nearby, and she wanted to spend the time in hyperspeed meditating on what was to come. Meditation was not something she did regularly, but she felt the recent events called for some calming time spent alone with the Force.

Drawing on the Force as she sat crosslegged in the center of the empty cargo hold, she tried to focus in on that sense of foreboding she had had while listening to Master Took's message. But she couldn't anything more concrete; it was still only a feeling, a premonition. Xierra had the sense that something horrible was going on at Rhen Var. Something evil.

Not getting anywhere with that method, she instead turned her thoughts to her padawan. What was she to do with him? Her thoughts were conflicted. Part of her wanted him to have the experience and take him with her to see what was going on. If she was with Zorn, she would be able to protect him from whatever dangerous situation the Blades Lord was worried about. With the battle raging on in space, he could be in equal danger up in the Protectorate than on the snow-covered surface of Rhen Var. But the more insistent part of her wanted to keep her padawan safe, to leave him on the shuttle and go down without. She had no idea what to expect, and the idea of the unknown made her hesitate on Zorn's involvement. Xierra pulled on the Force, seeking an answer. Finally she had one. It was a hard decision, and she hoped he would understand in time. She had to send him back with the two soldiers. This was not yet a lesson he was ready to experience. He would be safer with the fleet.

.....


The Valiant Justice was speeding through the atmosphere of Rhen Var, with orders from the Admiral herself to deploy with the rest of the Jedi and troops called from the nearby systems. The soldiers piloting the vessel had orders from Xierra to go back to the Protectorate after she departed and take Zorn back with them. Joining the shuttle on its descent to the surface were two other transports; one was filled with a dozen Blades, the other a squad of Republic soldiers. Though going with this company, Xierra still felt alone without her padawan at her side. However, she knew she had made the best decision to leave him behind. The young Zabrak was not yet ready for battle. He would be safe with Rib and Jorus, the two human pilots.

Xierra was clad simply. She had taken only few items with her to Gargon, not preparing on partaking in battle. Her black hair was tied severely back in a bun out of the way. Her greenish gray skin was covered in traditional brown and beige Jedi attire, sans robe to aid her movement. And her feet were, as always, in her rough but sturdy boots. Her two lightsabers were clipped to her belt. The Falleen knew she might look unprepared to an unskilled eye, but she was a Jedi, and a Jedi was always prepared when she had the Force to rely on.

A couple minutes before she knew the shuttle would land, she turned to Zorn, knowing that she would regret it if she didn't say anything to him before she left. She knelt by him in order to look him in the eye. "I know you don't like this. I don't either. But... This is all for the best, Zorn. It will be dangerous down there." Coming into the system and seeing what was happening just in the space battle had made her that much aware of the severity of Master Took's call. The Force was broiled with darkness and evil, suffering and death, fear and pain. No place for a new padawan. "Rib and Jorus will take you back to the Protectorate. You will be safe there. I will come back for you." Xierra knew she had to come back. She would not leave Zorn as her master left her.

She looked at him a moment before speaking again. "Wait for me there. It'll be over before you know it." Xierra smiled here, trying to lighten the mood. She stood and nodded at her padawan before turning to the hatch where she would be debarking from. There was nothing else she could say without letting tears come to her eyes.

Pulling on the Force then, she pushed all other thoughts except for a hard determination at what was to come out of her head. There was no time to think of Zorn or anyone else right now. She had a job to do; Master Took called her and the others for this important assignment, and she wouldn't let herself let him down. Xierra stood alone at the hatch as the shuttle landed some distance from the mass of fighting Sith troopers and Jedi from the Temple. The other two shuttles landed nearby. With a deep breath and one hand gripped on her lightsaber, she stepped out into the icy wind and snow of Rhen Var.

Forcing herself not to look as the three shuttles departed, she grouped up with the other Jedi and the soldiers to decide what the plan was. The consensus was that they would just storm ahead, being that any surprise they had was already ruined with the appearance of the shuttles, with not much cover around the Temple. Why hide when the enemy already knew you were there? The enemy near the Temple seemed to be controlling the entrance. Inside there was bound to be the most of the Sith soldiers and Sith, so that was their objective. With the Jedi using their own troopers as cover, they ran towards the Temple, lightsabers ablaze, rifles and blasters cocked.

It was now or never...

.....


The Valiant Justice was the last shuttle to depart. Well, it would have if it had actually departed. Rib had engaged the drive and lifted into the air, but when he was sure the Jedi and troops were far enough away and not paying more attention, their focus on the battle, he had set down again, closer to the Temple but out of the way. He and Jorus might not be the Republic's best, but he would be damned if he would just sit by while his fellows fought and died around him.

Jorus hadn't wanted to go along with Rib's plan, but agreed when Rib explained things his way. He had imbued his patriotic pride, and who could say no to that? All thoughts of their orders to return to the Protectorate with the padawan were gone. In fact, they were about to head out into the snow when they remembered the Zabrak.

They stared at Zorn awhile, deciding what to do. Jorus wanted to sent him up with the shuttle to the fleet on autopilot. Rib thought to take the boy with them; he was a Jedi after all. The two soldiers argued for a while as the battle for the Temple entrance raged on. Eventually, though, it was the padawan who helped with their decision.






(((Cas, I took small liberties with Zorn at the end if it's okay, and I am giving you control over Rib and Jorus as you three disobey Xierra and leave the shuttle...
Okay, Deceit... I added some reinforcement NPCs for ya. Have at them, except for the two I gave Cas for Zorn and Xierra, of course. I'd like Rib and Jorus to last a couple posts.))

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

"Oh shit." One of Hsi's troops said as they saw a group of Jedi reinforcements charging toward their position. Hsi turned, and with wide-eyes shouted, "All troops, UP THE STEPS!" They immediately listened, the Sith troopers taking positions up and on the steps, blocking the entrance to the building, while Hsi's raiders actually went further back, taking cover positions and holing themselves in. Hsi immediately grabbed his case and pointed flustered, "Set the mines, set the mines NOW!"

Bunta turned to Hsi, then remembered the bouncing Betty mines that were in position by his old cover position. Fortunately enough, the Republic soldiers and Jedi scum would be running right over them! Or at least, they would, have, until the group turned a little bit, unknowingly saving their entire troop.

Still, they were close enough. Bunta pulled out a small device and re-activated the mines. They charged up, ready to fire. One poor Republic soldier was a bit off to the left, and stepped within range of the mine. It flung itself up into the air, and then exploded, sending shrapnel in all direction, hailing it down upon the poor bastard. A few of the troops died, others were wounded.

But they weren't setting off any others. Hsi cursed, and with the Jedi there, they might just leap over or go around. "Remote detonation!" He called, "Hurry!"

Bunta responded by finding the big red-button on his remote, and jamming a pudgy finger into it. A signal buzzed through the air, reaching the mines. Instantly, all of the mines in that area went off, leaping into the air and sending waves of shrapnel. Due to the distance, it wasn't as effective as Hsi would have liked. Most, if any, casualties were Republic, not Jedi. However, it would serve distraction and demoralization.

"Open Fire!" The Dominion and Sith Troopers alike began to rain as much fire as they could...

[Casual]

((OOC: SOOO... I guess I'm back here on Tomb of Ice then, lol. It's fine. I'm actually going to skip over Gargon and head straight into the Rhen Var stuff, because, quite frankly, I have no idea what to have Zorn say there, and there is just so much fun to be had in the situation Mara has presented Zorn with.))

He was entirely ready for some action. Rhen Var, the snowy temple of the Jedi, was under siege by the dirty Sith, and he and his Master were there, ready to take them on. Xeirra had explained to him about the Blades during their flight and after having listened to who they were and what they stood for, Zorn could not help but feel a bit uneasy. He was not one to take such a stance on the Code. The Jedi were to put peace and serenity in front of emotion and passion. They were to follow the Code in such a way that they should not go against the wishes of the Council. This was his Master, however, and there was injustice here. If there was anything Zorn hated at all, any way that he could be impassioned, was when he was led to hate injustice. In the way Xeirra had explained the purpose of the Blades, he decided that the only way he could involve himself with them, was if there was injustices to be righted. Here on Rhen Var, those injustices fought them viciously.

"Rib and Jorus will take you back to the Protectorate. You will be safe there. I will come back for you."

Were the words out of his master's mouth that caught his breath. He was expected to refrain from battle? To refrain from the noble act of defending the innocent? He was torn. On one hand, he had been given instruction by his master, and had been pushed by passion to fight for the Light side. On the other hand, even from here, he could feel the two opposing forces clashing, the roar of a very dark individual's bloodlust shrieked out at him. A beacon of Light also, which he was certain was that of Master Levin. The clash of a sadist against his foe. So many differing intensities and emotions were reaching to him, and they were all deep in the heat of the battle.

He knew what he had to do, but he had no say in the matter.

That was until the shuttle lifted, hovered a moment, and then landed closer to the Temple. From the back, Zorn could hear the discussion of Rib and Jorus, the two pilots. They wanted to stay and fight with their comrades. As he approached, they stopped and looked to him, as if waiting for his decision.

His mind whirred and turned as it fought to make the right decision. In the end, however, the deepest essence of Zorn won out.

We fight.

[Mara]

(((Haha, I knew you would, Cas. )))


Xierra cleared all thoughts from her head, focusing just on herself and her placement within the Force. And on the enemy ahead. She ran easily over the snow among the other Jedi Blades reinforcements from the other shuttle with the Republic troops just ahead. Her unlit lightsaber was in her hand; the Falleen Jedi Knight didn't want to ignite it until needed. She didn't want to risk taking off a limb of a compatriot as she was running, legs and arms pumping.

The cold brisk air flowed over her face and exposed hands. Xierra knew fighting here would be a challenge for her. Not only was this the first time she would most likely be encountering real Sith, but the planet was cold. And she was reptilian. Her only hope at retaining enough energy would be to use the Force to aid her and pray the sun remained unshielded from the clouds for maximum effect. Her skin had already gone more grayish than green because of the lack of heat, but she had wrapped the Force around her. Suddenly forgoing her robe was looking like a bad idea. Warmth trumped ease of movement in her mind. For the moment.

Right now she couldn't let extraneous thoughts into her mind. She had to focus. As they got closer, she could see the enemy falling back closer to the Temple entrance. She wasn't stupid enough to believe that they were surrendering. Neither did the rest of the Jedi and troopers on her side. They all slowed, taking up defensive positions, with the troopers in front aiming their weapons but not yet firing.

Luckily for most of them, they had pulled up short just in time as the snow in front of them exploded, sending up a blast of more than just ice. Mines... Xierra set her jaw and turned to the other Jedi. Mines were hard to detect through the Force, as they were only metal and rarely contained any life. They would have a tough time coming any closer to the Temple unless they could figure out whether there were more potential mine sites.

But unluckily for the Republic soldiers with them, they were closer to the detonation. Xierra ignored the loss of life. There was no time to ruminate on it now. They had chosen to come; they had know the risk. They had fought admirably, and now she must also fight the same, along with the other Jedi and surviving soldiers.

Just seconds before the rest of the mines went off, Xierra felt a thrumming in the ground vibrating softly off her boots. She wasn't sure if the others felt it, being she was the only reptilian being in the group. "Duck!" she yelled, hoping at least the Jedi around her would hear her. The soldiers had spread out, hoping to limit causalities. She threw herself to the hard packed snow-covered ground and tossed up a Force shield to protect herself.

When she could feel the explosions ebbing, she got back to her feet and looked around. More dead soldiers laying on the group, but so far they hadn't lost any Blades. That was good. But they didn't have the luxury to check for wounds and do an official count. Xierra was sure the enemy up ahead would have more tricks up their sleeve. And getting distracted would just get them killed.

One of the other Blades instructed the remained Republic soldiers to go on ahead and to fire if fired upon. They would not be the ones who fired first. The Jedi followed along behind, this time at a more slower pace, and they kept sufficient space between them. All of them had their lightsaber hilts in hand. As one, they all ignited them, the telltale snap-hiss! sparked up all over, as the multiple of colored columns hit the chilling air. Xierra's pale green blade joined the mass.

It wasn't a moment too late. The Falleen Jedi heard one of the Sith troopers yell to open fire, and just seconds after the first shots rang out, the Republic soldiers in front of them opened up with their own weapons. With their spread-out positions, the Jedi Blades deflected as many bolts as they could aware from themselves and their Republic comrades.

All of her past training, including a mantra her master had beat into her head, told her to hit to disable not kill. But she knew today if she did so, it would just make the enemy fight harder. Today, she would have to hit to kill. Xierra hadn't killed another being since... No, she couldn't think of that. Though a Blade, it was still a tough realization to her, and she knew some of the other Jedi with her were also struggling with the matter. The soldiers, however, had no such inhibitions and were aiming for the most vulnerable areas on the enemy. The Jedi continued to defend for the most part, deflecting shots.

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

Hsi grunted and grabbed his PMS rifle once more. So far, it was the most effective force killer aside from a lightsaber. Scanning the battle-field from safely behind cover, he clucked his tongue a few times, "A few guards, but look at all the little glow-sticks down there, we hardly killed any Jedi." He complained to Bunta, "Force-damn. Or damn Force."

His zoomed in scope floated from glowing light to glowing light, at first, just watching the elegance and power within the Jedi; it was truly admirable. They were out in the open, their bodies being bitten by the cold without nice fortress walls to block the wind, and yet they moved with such grace. Every swat of their little glowing beams of death knocked away a blaster shot coming in at high-speeds. Should've been all-star sports players, they would perform admirably and certainly get paid much more than they are now. Oh, that's right, 'the gratitude of the people and peace in the 'verse is payment enough.'

"Well, block this..." He smirked, looking at his slug-thrower, "Just, who to pick? So many fools..."

"How about by color, sir?" Bunta's grim sense of humor came into play, laughing.

"Good idea." He turned to another raider, and shouted, "Hey, what's your favorite color?"

"I take particular fancy to Green, sir!"

Hsi smirked, and looked at the battlefield. There were a few green glow-sticks to pick from, but only one stood out in particular. It was held by a Falleen, who was also Green, matching her Glow-stick and, maybe even her combat experience. He looked through his scope, enhancing his vision on her. The fool hadn't even brought her cloak, her green skin had grayed significantly because of the weather. He grinned, "That one, right there." He said, pointing at Xierra, "One..." His scope centered in on her center body mass, she was moving awfully fast and he needed to make sure it hit her.

"Two..." He measured the distance and adjusted his scope to make sure that the aim would be perfect; dead center. His hand drifted down to the trigger, his finger easing against it, slowly, slowly applying pressure.

She slowed for a moment, then, he simply said, "Three..." And pressed the trigger; the entire thing rocked back, slamming into his shoulder. This many shots with his rifle was actually seriously starting to bruise him. He dropped the rifle for a moment and rubbed his shoulder, now sitting down on his butt, he shook his head, "Not cool."

"Sir," Bunta said.

"What?"

"She's still alive."

[Cirith An'Gol]

((OOC:Hey Mara, mind if Xerron takes Xierra on in a fight? We could even do a pause in the battle and do some dialogue. Which I'm secretly hoping for, lol.))

Xerron sat in the cramped space of the gunship, feeling shoulders bump him as the craft flew through hyperspace and then what seemed like mere seconds later flew out again. The craft must've been dodging enemy fire because Xerron felt it buck and turn, flip and spiral, he rode through it all, not a care in the galaxy because he was so focused on an internal battle.
He was beginning to doubt the rightfulness of his actions, he knew where he'd stood at Muunilinst and why, but, now after all the time he'd spent around the Dark Jedi and Sith, he was beginning to wonder if there perhaps was a better way of going about things.

He reminded himself that the Jedi's inaction brought about the death of his parents and the death of his uncle. He was numb though, confused on the subject of what to think or feel. The realization that this was a very real battle and that he would be pitted against real Jedi for the first time hit him hard. Harder than even he himself expected. He tried for all his worth to bring back to his mind why he so hated the Jedi, but, the truth was his reasonings seemed all too weak now. He'd wanted to prove himself valuable above all else, just so he could simply fit in somewhere. He was trained in the Force by his uncle, who was a Jedi Shadow, a man who hunted down the Sith and exposed their dealings...the people Xerron now served. So consumed was Xerron in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the ship swaying back and forth, avoiding whatever incoming fire was thrown it's way as it made a steep dive for the ice world below. The movements of the ship made some of the newer members of the Sith Empire sick to their stomach and they wretched violently, still Xerron did not stir. Xerron knew that for him to survive this encounter, this battle on Rhen Var, he would need to put all his doubts behind him. If he entered the battlefield with doubts, he'd most likely end up dead.

The big questions crawled at his mind, what am I fighting for? What meaning will this have for me? Am I anything but a tool to the Sith? Did my uncle know this was to be my inevitable path once he started to train me? or did he plan on taking me to the Jedi once my training was complete? Do I really hate the Jedi? Did the Jedi even know of the trouble that the Hutts were responsible for? Who am I really? A Sith or simply a confused and disoriented force adept?

The questions gave him a headache and what bothered him is that most of them he truly couldn't answer. Xerron's life had been mostly battle from the time he'd learned about the force to constructing his first two lightsabers. In his early years he'd battled the Trandoshan's to protect the Wookiee cities and villages, on Muunilinst he was helping to restore order to the new Sith Empire and despose of threats. He was a combatant true, but he was also sentient, he wasn't some mindless droid that had a particular set of programming perameters. The ship jounced hard, announcing their fight against Rhen Var's atmosphere was won. Xerron shook the troubling thoughts from his mind. He didn't need them now.

The thoughts threatened to try and crawl back to the surface but Xerron smashed them down and hard. This was a real battle with real Jedi, he needed to focus. The gunship lowered to the ground and the troups and Sith Initiates spilled out crying their battle cries.
Outside was pure chaos, lasers, lit lightsaber blades and other projectiles flew through the air at seemingly impossible speeds. Lightsabers that belonged both to Sith and Jedi, sprang to life and sang in the air as they danced their intricate dances, blocking and redirecting laser blasts back toward each other and the soldiers of either side. Xerron noticed quite a few species already out on the battlefield a Jawa of all things hefting a large rifle of some kind, a Twi'lek Jedi batting away laser bolts to protect some colleagues near the entrance of the Temple, a Falleen, suprisingly without her robe, issuing orders and likewise batting away the laser bolts that were inevitably fired her way.

Xerron took a look around the empty space and stepped off the craft, the door banging shut behind him as Xerron hit the ground in a roll and came up, both lightsabers coming to life in his hands. No, now was definetly not the time for doubting or soul searching. Now was the time for battle. Without a word Xerron silenced the conscience within him that struggled for freedom and banished the emotions running through his head. There were Jedi out there and he couldn't wait to meet them. With that Xerron took his first confident steps out onto the battlefield in the direction of the Falleen Jedi, wrapping himself in the Force and revelling in it's warmth. Then he cloaked himself dissapearing visibly and then a second later he shrunk his presence in the Force, to nothing more than a whisper and smiled.

[Mara]

(((Like mentioned in the Rhen Var disc. thread, I'll leave you to go after Zorn [Cas] first, and then Xierra will come to Xerron. ))



There was a confusing mass of blaster bolts flying in almost every direction as the enemy soldiers fired at the Jedi, and the Jedi deflected the bolts back towards them or off to the side, most of them dissipating harmlessly into snow or rock. The soldiers on the side of the Republic were firing their own weapons at their opponents hunkered down near the entrance of the Temple. Xierra was having a hard time figuring out which bolts were coming from where and just concentrated on making sure none hit her or any of the Jedi standing nearby her. She forewent accuracy for the more important preservation of herself, not caring where she was deflecting, whether into an enemy or into stone.

Her pale green blade spun around in a blinding spiral, her hands always moving across the hilt, never faltering in their placements. She had no time to glance at the other Jedi fighting with her, nor the soldiers set up in front of them. All she saw were the shots coming towards her, sending her blade to intercept them and send them in a different direction. Xierra's only awareness of her fellows came through the Force, as she had opened up to it following the start of the firefight to help her focus. She could only keep a small circle of awareness, though, needed more of the Force to steady her hands, than to pinpoint her allies. And so she had no idea of Zorn's presence still on the planet along with Rib Jorus. Nor of the presence of more enemies, this time with the power of the Force.

No, Xierra was much too busy at the moment. Too busy to notice that for now her side was more than holding their own. Very few causalities since the mines went off had impacted their ranks. Almost all the Jedi Blades were still standing, deflecting bolts in a rainbow of blurry arcs; a good share of the Republic soldiers were still knelt down, firing at the enemies. But not too busy too notice something in the center of her vision, something much too large to be a normal blaster bolt.

Without taking the time to figure out where it came from, she immediately took action to avoid getting hit. A quick glance told her that no other Jedi stood directly behind her, but there was another moving over in front of her, blocking her view of the incoming projectile. A subtle nudge of the Force moved the other Jedi, a Quarren, out of the way. No time for Xierra to explain to him about the maneuver, she ducked, taking a moment to divide her Force focus on a Force shield as she hit the hard snow, her lightsaber still lit. The slug sailed right over her with a harsh whistle.

Xierra jumped back to her feet, her blade going back to spinning and deflecting, her awareness now focused back on defending. She would need different tactics now, now that she knew that the enemy had more than simple hand blasters and rifles. There was something bigger out there, much more dangerous. She spared a look ahead, drawing more on the Force to aid her movements with her lightsaber, her dark eyes scanning the enemy ranks for the origin of the slug that had almost taken her and another Jedi out. The enemy was so close to the Temple with barriers around them that it was hard to distinguish one being from another.

She had only one solution: keep deflecting and defending the way she was, holding their ground with the others, hoping that they could eventually forge ahead to the temple if enough of their enemy was taken down. And also keep her presence in the Force strong in order to focus both on what she was doing and on the beings on the opposite end of the fight, keeping aware of any intent that was suspicious. For there she would find her target.

[Cirith An'Gol]

Xerron walked toward the Falleen, his confidence growing within him as she seemed to be too distracted to notice him in the Force. He smiled, unlike Lord Eurachis, this Jedi was too focused on deflecting blaster bolts from herself and her team mates to even try to search out other threats. Xerron's gaze drifted to the Falleen Jedi's team mates, they too were deflecting blaster bolts but, some had enough time to actively search the force behind them. He knew he was nowhere near enough to trigger their Danger Senses. He took a moment to consider his actions before moving any farther, crouching down in the snow to avoid any stray energy from a Blaster weapon, and deactivating his lightsabers. He couldn't cloak them quite yet like he could himself.

He looked to the Fallen Jedi and her team once more and shook his head. It was too dangerous. He had confidence that his Force Concealment was working on the team but, he doubted whether he'd be able to take down more than two stealthily before the others figured out what was going on. If he was lucky he'd be able to take down three. That's if he was lucky. His eyes searched out another target. No sense in being greedy and getting yourself killed in the first few minutes of battle. He saw a republic ship fly over a moment later and set down closer to the Temple. A few moments later three Republic soldiers and another Jedi exited the ship. Perfect Xerron thought his odds of defeating these adversaries increasing in his mind. Xerron got up and after gathering the Force to himself, Force-ran for the four from the ship, not bothering to deflect any of the bolts that came within his range. He allowed the force to run through him and guide his movements. He ducked, sidestepped and twisted out of the way of the laser bolts that inevitably flew his way, his body instinctively mimicing the movements of Jar-kai. His mind however, was blank and emotionless, giving nothing away in the force. The Sith Acolyte didn't even feel the blood lust the others surely felt, he'd closed himself off from it. Focus and the will to survive alone drove him on.

He stepped up behind, what he recognized as Republic Pilots from their uniform, and let the bloodlust rise into his eyes, turning them scarlet. His lightsabers hissed to life a moment later. A second after that he thrust them both forward, both of the weapons going for the heart of it's respective Republic victim.