Ask to Join Star Wars: Knightfall

[Killerbunny the god]

Link to discussion: https://forums.pokecharms.com/threads/star-wars-knightfall.30175/ (Star Wars: Knightfall)

The galaxy is falling under an era of darkness. The malevolent Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious has killed Jedi Masters Saesee Tiin, Eeth Koth, Kit Fisto and Master of the Order Mace Windu. Now he’s sending his new apprentice, the former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, to destroy the Jedi Temple with the help of the 501st clone battalion. In the meantime, Darth Sidious activates the clone army’s Order 66 initiative which forces all of the clones to kill all of their Jedi generals. Across the entire galaxy Jedi began to die. Jedi Master Ki Adi Mundi tried to fight back on Mygeeto but was quickly overwhelmed. On Felucia, Clone Commander Bly gunned down Jedi Master Aayla Secura. Jedi Master Plo Koon was shot down from his Jedi Starfighter on the planet Cato Neimoidia. Truly a day filled with tragedy for the entire Jedi Order. But even in tragedy, hope still persists…

Wahryyn was sitting in the Jedi Temple's library, studying the fauna of the planet Utapau. The animal he was currently reading about was the varactyl, which was a beautiful and majestic creature. They were excellent climbers, even capable of navigating the uneven and vertical surfaces of their homeworld. They were incredibly loyal to their riders, to the point where they would even jump down perilous slopes if the rider called for it.

His studying came to a sudden halt when he heard something. It sounded like a blaster bolt. And another. And another. He stood up suddenly and knocked his chair over. There were definitely blaster bolts sounding in the hallway. But who would-?
Suddenly the door opened and a squad of clone troopers began firing into the library! The poor Jedi too close to the entrance were gunned down in a second. Wahryyn ignited his lightsaber as more clones entered the library and shot at every Jedi in sight. Most Jedi had already ignited their own lightsabers and fought back but the stragglers didn't have much luck. Wahryyn saw Jedi after Jedi fall as the clones advanced further into the library. Thinking on his feet, he snatched the holocron he had been studying before beginning to fight back himself. He deflected blaster bolt after blaster bolt but could barely keep up. These clones were way faster than the droids they used for practice. He would not be able to survive if he stayed on defensive. So he engaged.

He ran up to the nearest clone trooper and cut off his arm before jamming his lightsaber into the clone's stomach. He was dead on the spot. As he pulled his lightsaber out he was already moving on to the next one, whom was just as unlucky as the first. A third was stabbed in the chest and a fourth was decapitated. Wahryyn was closing in on the door to the hallway. There were even more clones outside the library, he could hear the firing of guns. He didn't know why this happened and for the moment he didn't care. His primary objective was to survive. The fifth and sixth clones were both cut down in one fell swoop as Wahryyn made it outside to the hallway with another of his fellow Jedi that made it out.

The hallway was chaotic. Dead Jedi were sprawled out everywhere while the remaining ones tried to keep the clones at bay, but there were just too many of them. A stray blaster bolt hit Wahryyn in the left arm and he grunted out in pain. The Jedi that got out alongside Wahryyn took notice and covered him as he recovered from the initial shock. She was an older Twi'lek named Venam Ben'oni. Wahryyn didn't know her very well but her reputation as a good duelist circulated in the temple.
"Come on, we need to find as many younglings as we can and get them to safety!" she told him as she deflected another two blaster bolts coming their way. Wahryyn nodded and took a quick glance in the hallway's other direction. The nearest group of younglings would likely be in one of the classrooms or training halls in that direction. Another Jedi dropped to the floor, dead, as the clones continued to push forward. His arm was hurting badly but he had to keep going. He deflected another blaster bolt and then made a break for the nearest door.


@Charlotte Pryce @D34N.U5R @Cmeriwether @GLITCHSKULL @=Nightshade=

 

[D34N.U5R]

Foniguav was meditating in the building, with Force Valour at 10% as per usual, when he started hearing gunshots. Lots and lots of gunshots. He opened his eyes. It was chaos. Clones killing Jedi. Jedi fighting back. Foniguav groaned. "Alright, what's going on?!" he shouted. The clones started aiming at Foniguav. "Order 66," one of them said, "Now it's 22 against one." Foniguav smirked as he sliced through all of them in 5 seconds flat. As he stopped, the smirked turned into a grimace.

Order 66? The hell was that? "Y'know what?!" Foniguav shouted again, "I was born here, and if I die, I'll die here!" He felt a surge of power throughout his body and, before he knew it, he was fighting against another wave of clones, far larger than the last. The fight was finished in just under a minute. Foniguav sighed. "What's up with Order 66?" he said to himself, "I really am broken beyond repair, aren't I"

Meanwhile, on the streets of Coruscant
"Ayo what's up with this 'Order 66' bullshit?!" Llokuj shouted, "I can hear a lot more quiet things than other Mandalorains!". The clones ignored him. Llokuj groaned. "Look, I dunno what you're getting at, but I will find out what Order 66 is!" he shouted. One of the clones fired at Llokuj, but to no avail. Llokuj was fast enough to dodge the most powerful blast a Super Battle Droid could fire and, before he knew it, the clone that fired at him was dead.

 

[=Nightshade=]

A muffled explosion rattled the walls of the training hall, provoking murmurs of unease and infectious looks of owlish confusion from the Younglings. Training sabers flickered off, and those supervising the training leaned towards one another, whispering furiously. Knell, among the oldest of the Younglings present, found herself trying to keep some semblance of order as the younger ones began ambling toward windows to get a good look or swung their training sabers wildly at invisible enemies. She caught the wrist of an errant human five-year-old, arresting his momentum toward the door.

“Hey!” the little boy protested. “I wanna fight the bad guys!”

Knell glanced at his training saber. “Not with that, you don’t,” she said bluntly, her gaze now roving the scene as her hand gravitated towards her own lightsaber: a real one, from her recent Gathering. An immense sense of deja vu fell over her, as though she had been here before— if only in a nightmare. Because, surely, that’s all it could have been.

Judging by the reactions of the adults, they didn’t know what was happening, either, but they were preparing for combat. This made Knell uneasy; who would be so bold as to attack the Jedi Temple? And how had they made it far enough inside for the sounds of combat to reach this place?

And why do I feel like I’ve seen this before?

Knell tightened her grip on the five-year-old as he tried to pry himself free and dash for the door again. “There’s danger out there. No—” She cut him off before he could protest. “I know you think that’s the point, but it’s for the grown-ups to take care of.” Knell figured this was a line of reasoning the kid could follow better than I think the clones have turned on us because I dreamed about it once. “It’s okay. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

The kid stopped struggling, pouting. He hadn’t detected the lie in her voice.

I don’t think it’s going to be fine.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

It started as a normal day for Cresa. Well...as normal as it had been for the past nine months. She woke up from a bad dream on a cement floor in the slums of Coruscant. She spent the entire morning wandering the streets, hoping to buy a decent meal for what few credits she possessed. She was forced to barter with a Rodian for what looked like assorted piles of mystery meat. She stashed these in her hideout next to the dump. Cresa was starving but wasn't about to eat without knowing where the food came from. Last week, a Twi'lek was arrested for supposedly marketing sentient remains as produce. Cresa doubted the rumor was true. Still, it made her extra wary of handouts.

That afternoon, Cresa visited the marketplace. There was an Ithorian who sold partially rotten fruits at a reasonable price. Cresa had been on good terms with him since she helped him pay off his gambling debt. It may have involved cheating at Pazaak, but was it considered cheating when your opponent cheated first?

"What do you have today, Lopar?

The Ithorian began a long-winded speech about the quality and rarity of his items. "Got this from a Naboo trade ship," he said in Ithorese, holding up a green and red lump, "and the meiloorun is especially fresh. Of course, if you prefer something sweeter..."

Usually, Cresa was content to let him ramble, but today she wasn't in the mood. "Look, I don't care if it's bantha butt so long as it's not sentient." She slapped some credits into his hand and took an orange-and-yellow spikey fruit. She munched on it on her way back to her hideout. It wasn't half bad. Mushy but tangy. It reminded her of the mennja fruits back home.

Home.

Cresa couldn't believe it had been almost a year since she fled Nek'tal. She had come to Coruscant hoping to find information on her family. Instead, like so many refugees, she had gotten stranded. Cresa sunk onto the crate she used as a makeshift chair. Were her parents still alive? Was Monique? What about her cousins: Aybai and Trip? Did they make it to the platform in time? It made her sick to think about them. In her nightmares, they were caught in the crossfire screaming Cresa's name as their bodies collapsed and burned. Other times, they held a funeral service for her on some distant planet. In these dreams, Monique's crying would always startle Cresa awake. She missed her sister terribly. The only nightmare that was worse was the one Cresa had last night.

It was startlingly vivid. She was standing in an auditorium surrounded by a faceless crowd. They were wearing odd clothing, robes, and large cloaks. Suddenly, there was a barrage of flashing lights. Blaster fire and streaks of green and blue illuminated the room. Before Cresa could make sense of the conflict, several of the cloaked figures were dead. She knelt next to one of the bodies. As she got closer to the ground, the cloaked figure shrunk. Cresa rotated the figure onto its back. When she pulled back the hood, she lept up in shock. The casualty was only a child.

What did it mean? Cresa was not one for superstition, but since she was separated, she felt like the galaxy would blow up any minute. Of course, that was ridiculous. Right?

 

[Cmeriwether]

Nawara Loathsom had been walking around the Jedi Temple, as one does on a given day when blaster fire opened into the Temple. As he picked up on the clones' life forces dropping, some dropped in.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." The Twi'lek Hybrid whispered.

He ignited his Lightsabers, reversing the Sai like Saber's grip.

"The younglings." He whispered.

Clones started opening fire. As Nawara reflected a few, they were dropping, but not fast enough. He then started his movement, heading towards a Clone that was about to shoot a random Youngling. The Rodian had no idea what was going on when Nawara stuffed his Sai-like blade down the end of a blaster barrel, as his main blade chopped its head off. Then he flipped over the next Clones, upon landing, the clone's arm was chopped off, with one of the side blades going through the chest area. He then swung the main blade to Chop the next Clone in half.

"Do you know where the younglings are?"

"I got separated from the rest of them, but I can lead you there." The young Rodian responded.

The Rodian led Nawara towards where he knew the other Younglings were. Nawara was clearing out clones as he went through the area. He heard the cries of a Wookiee through the halls, but he couldn't see the Wookiee. Judging from his Force Sense, the Wookiee wasn't dead yet, as far as he could tell. He then continued his way towards the Location that this Rodian had been showing the way to. When the Rodian arrived, the kid had Nawara behind as Clones turned to shoot. Nawara jumped over the kid, blocked the shot and went for the clones. He was removing clones from play by chopping them as he made his way towards the location. When he got to the door, he went and started taking down clones as they attempted to approach to breach it.

"I don't know what's going on, but get to a safe place, young one."

The Rodian nodded and ran off find a Safe place.

"What is going on, why are the clones attacking us?" Was the thought running through his head as he fought the clones.

"If anyone is in there, stay where you are." Nawara called out, "I'll handle the clones out here, wait until I give a Signal."

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Wahryyn opened the door he had sprinted towards but found the room empty. Then he turned back towards the clones and deflected more blaster bolts coming his way while slowly making his way backwards. The Twi'lek that had helped him earlier was also making her way backwards to his position. When the opportunity presented itself, she took a dash past him to go further down the hall.
"Come on, I know where the nearest group of younglings are! Follow me!" She shouted. Wahryyn grunted in confirmation and after deflecting another blast, he dashed after her. The woman turned around a corner and Wahryyn followed shortly after. The clones behind them were still occupied with two remaining Jedi in the hallway, but they would come after them soon.

As they rounded that corner they spotted another Twi'lek fighting off a squad of clones coming from the other direction. Without hesitation, they sprinted over to assist the Jedi.
"That's where the younglings are! You go in and round up as many as you can while we hold off the clones!" Venam told Wahryyn. He nodded. He gave off a series of grunts towards the Jedi infront of them in order to let him know about the plan.

@Cmeriwether the other Jedi I've included is an NPC and cannon-fodder so you're free to control her yourself if you want

 

[=Nightshade=]

The sounds of fighting were closer, now. The human boy Knell had been holding onto seemed to have abandoned his desire for combat, and now held tightly to her blue hand with his smaller peach-colored one. The other Younglings had been ushered away from straining at windows to form a group in the middle of the room, and one of the two Jedi who had been supervising them left the room to assist in the fighting.

The remaining adult spoke comfortingly to calm the Younglings, who now seemed more anxious than anything, now that the initial excitement had passed. And yet Knell could see in the way the Togruta’s jaw had set behind his forced smile that this was not something that had been foreseen.

Blaster fire became distinguishable from the other sounds of chaos. There must be fighting practically right outside the door. Knell found herself calculating her chances of survival, which would drop far lower if she took anyone with her. She immediately shook her head, breaking off that line of thought — if she survived, it wouldn’t be from cowardice, and certainly not from cowardice that would cost her fellow trainees their lives. If Knell could save just one other, she would fight.

And it seemed like it might come down to it. A voice filtered through the door, telling the Younglings to wait for a signal. Murmurs of relief rippled through the kids, especially the younger ones. But Knell caught the eye of the Togruta Knight and knew they shared the same line of thinking: logically, even if they cleared a path here… how many more would it take to overwhelm them in an escape attempt? And how many would fall?

Knell broke eye contact and gently squeezed the hand of the five-year-old in reassurance. His hand was cold. When she glanced at him, his eyes were glazed over, blood trickling from a blaster-made hole in his throat. A standing corpse. Knell stepped back slightly, reeling, and her eyes gleamed with panic as she looked over the rest. Dead. Dead. Dead…

“Are you okay?” The little human boy looked up at her innocently. Knell glanced back down at him, feeling her heart pounding. Her hand was the cold one, now, cold and clammy. Not dead. Yet. He shook her arm. “Heyyyuh. C’mon, say somethin’.” His eyes needed reassurance, but that was something Knell couldn’t give at this time. She looked away at the room full of the living and wondered how many would still be living by the day’s end.

“I’m fine. It’ll be okay.”

 

[Cmeriwether]

Nawara had noticed A Wookiee and a full blooded Twi'lek, who were discussing things then sent the plan. She told the Wookiee to round up the Younglings and relayed it to him as best as Nawara could understand.

"When the Wookiee finds you, follow him." Nawara called out, but wasn't sure those there could hear him, "That's your signal, I will handle these clones with Venam."

The Twi'leks went to fight the clones, as Nawara was either reflecting the clones' shots or chopping either limbs or heads. Venam was blocking as many shots as she could. Nawara had been clearing as he could.

"There's been a possible issue Where are the Younglings are held. This is bad." Nawara warned, "I hope he gets through to the younglings."

Nawara kept his senses on, intending to try to detect if any more younglings suffer the fate of those around him.

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Wahryyn got to the door as he deactivated his lightsaber. It opened with a hiss. Inside were a bunch of younglings and one other Jedi Knight. With a grunt he ordered the other Knight to cover the back of the group while he would cover the front as they would make their escape. Making a headcount, he realised there were 15 younglings in total. He had no idea how they would succeed in getting everyone out but failure was not an option. He knelt down in front of the two nearest younglings and gave them a reassuring smile, hoping to give them a sense of security. One was a very young human boy and the other was a little older Chiss girl. They both looked terrified, which was to be expected given the circumstances. Wahryyn offered his left hand for the girl, although he winced in pain as he lifted his arm, and his back for the boy so they hopefully would feel even more secure with his presence.

As he rose back up again, he gave a nod of determination to the other Knight. The Knight had told the younglings to get in a line of two, with the remaining youngling staying in the back with the Knight. Wahryyn glanced out the door and began to calculate the fastest way out of the temple.
"It must be through the hangar... but that's three floors up. Who's to say the clones haven't made it there already and destroyed all the ships? It doesn't matter... with a group this big, the hangar is our best chance of survival anyway. We need a ship to carry all of us. So the hangar it is...". He steeled himself as he approached the door with a re-ignited lightsaber and gave the two Twi'leks outside a series of grunts to let them know he had rounded up the younglings and they would need to clear a path so they could get to the nearest staircase leading to the hangar.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Knell’s Shyriiwok was shaky under most circumstances, and that was especially true now—but she could understand the gist of the Wookiee’s plan. She did take his hand, and let go of the little boy so he could climb on piggyback.

With the door open, Knell could see the fighting now, and sure enough, the clones were the enemy. She felt uneasy at the sight; if that dream had (and surely only coincidentally) been accurate, then what about what she’d imagined earlier?

The young Chiss’s free hand again drifted towards her lightsaber as the Wookiee ignited his own. Knell knew if she had to fight, it would probably be too late, but it was better to be prepared. Her red eyes darted around the battlefield, trying to make some sense of the situation.

The copper tang of blood silently drifted through streaking blaster fire and the whistling hum of lightsabers. The smell of burning flesh joined it, and thin trails of smoke rose from downed clones. Movement seemed unceasing just outside the training hall, sabers moving fluidly in a colorful dance as sparks flew and ricocheted. Had Knell not been so preoccupied with her own mortality, she might have had time to think it was beautiful. But for now, the tension held her transfixed at the Wookiee’s side.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

For an unlucky person, Cresa could count her blessings.

When her homeland was invaded, she was one of the last to make it onto a transport before the platform exploded. When Cresa arrived at Coruscant, she contracted stomach flu after drinking contaminated water. This saved her when some local thugs came looking for someone to punk. Now, Cresa was about to put her luck to the test.

With a bundle of raw meat in one arm and a cylindrical object in another, Cresa snuck towards the storage container. She swore she'd never come back here. There was an old saying about returning to the scene of the crime. Unfortunately, there was another old saying: don't make promises you don't intend to keep.

Cresa crept towards the back door. She knew the security would be tight. Two barghests slept at the entrance. Their six beady red eyes were closed, thank goodness. Cresa listened to the sound of their breathing. It was ferocious even in sleep. She took a few steps closer. The barghest on the right snorted. Cresa held her breath for minutes until the creature's deep breathing resumed. She set the meat on the ground while attempting to jimmy the lock. Unlike most containers, this one required a physical key rather than a passcode to open it. Cresa was not sure why. Perhaps, Vosnik trusted his security. The physical lock seemed like a decorative piece. Or maybe he figured that most thieves could hack a server these days, so there was no sense investing in an electronic system. Cresa picked the lock with a wire. Her friend Ethan used to do this whenever they wanted to borrow the training school's weapons for practice. Cresa hated to admit it, but she wouldn't have gotten very far without this trick.

The padlock slid open just as Cresa heard a low growl behind her. She turned around. The two barghests were snarling in her face. Don't panic. She thought as she unwrapped the bundle of meat. The six-eyed devil dogs seemed curious.

"This is for you," Cresa said, spreading the meat toward them. "Just keep your voices down."

The bribe worked. The two barghests fought over the scraps while Cresa helped herself to the storage container. The door slid upwards, revealing its contents. There were a few smaller boxes of spice, food, and assorted blasters. Cresa ignored these. She had her eyes on the cage in the center of the storage unit. A single creature was chained inside. It possessed features of an equine and an antelope. It had four hooves, though it stood only on its hind legs. It had brown fir and two spiral horns that connected to a shield-like plate down the front of its face. A kybuck!

 

[Killerbunny the god]

As Wahryyn exited through the door to join back with the other two Jedi, he began deflecting blaster bolts again. This time it was much harder than earlier as he had a youngling on his back and another youngling which was holding his hand. But he had to cover the line of younglings coming out behind him until they had all gotten out. He took a glance down the direction that he and Venam had originally come from and could see that the clones were just about to round the corner, which would mean that the group would be surrounded. He grunted out a warning to the other Jedi.

The situation was extremely dire. He knew the way towards the hangar but they couldn't take the elevators, they wouldn't fit with such a big group. And the nearest staircase was blocked by the clones. Hopelessness flashed across his face but he quickly shoved the feeling aside, he had to stay strong for the younglings.

NPC POV (warning, death):
Venam looked back at the clones rounding the corner behind them and then at the younglings. She knew that the situation was hopeless, not everyone could make it out alive. But she'd be damned if she'd let any of the younglings die. The Wookie was right, they had to get to the hangar. And they needed to clear a path in order to get there. She didn't know if she could prevent anyone from dying but... she could at least minimize the chance of everyone dying as much as possible. With a shaky and sad smile, she nodded to the Wookie and the Twi'lek she had been fighting alongside and dashed as fast as she could towards the enemy. She wouldn't survive herself, but maybe the rest would.

Despite her sudden dash, the clones were quick to react and managed to hit her in the right shoulder. She gritted her teeth but pushed forward. She cut down one, two, deflected a blaster bolt onto a third and stabbed a fourth. She was hit in the back by one of the clones' rifles. She whirled around, cut the rifle in half and stabbed the clone. Another clone shot her in the leg and her knee buckled. She caught herself before she fell to the floor and used her lightsaber to cut in a wide arc in front of her, which managed to cut the legs off of another clone. At last, a clone kicked her hand holding the lightsaber, which caused her to drop it, aimed his blaster at her head and...

Wahryyn’s POV again:
Wahryyn saw the lifeless body of Venam Ben’oni drop to the floor. She had sacrificed herself for the sake of the group. He shook his head clear of the grief that struck him, there was no time. They couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. He roared out for the group to hurry forward. The clones weren’t all gone, but they had an opening now. Personally he couldn’t go as fast as he usually would, he had to consider the youngling on his back and the one holding his hand, but he went into a quick jog so the girl could keep up. He called out to the remaining Twi’lek, asking him to take the lead.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Knell forced herself to watch as the Twi’lek Jedi sacrificed herself to clear a path, partially as though to honor her death, partially to jolt herself out of her reverie. Shock was not a good state to be in at this moment — the sooner Knell could realize that Venam’s fate could easily befall every person here, the better. It became clear, though, that this was not a common sentiment among the younglings; while they didn’t break formation, many of them hid their faces before the final shot, or cried out. Knell’s only discernible reaction was that her grip on the Wookiee’s hand went from tight to viselike.

There would be far more deaths before any chance of escape could come to fruition, Knell knew. She tried to convince herself that she was used to the idea after seeing this one, but she knew she was lying to herself. The one place logic did not apply was when one was within sight of Death’s door. And yet Knell still clung to it, like an unhealthy lifeline. Perhaps that mental lifeline would snap one day, but not here. Here, Knell took a shaky, steadying breath, and set her jaw. When the Wookiee started running, she managed to keep pace, and didn’t look back.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Getting the kybuck to calm down was the easy part. Cresa had a fair amount of experience with animals due to growing up on a ranch. Mounts were typically docile as long as you were patient and let them know you didn't mean any harm. The chains, however, were taking too long to get through. The kybuck flicked it's head back and brayed.

"Easy," Cresa spoke softly and stroked the creature's nuzzle.

The kybuck calmed down a little. It was probably Cresa's imagination, but the its eyes seemed to lock with her own, as if knew Cresa was a friend. The chain snapped apart. Cresa wiped her brown, and stood up. She looked at the item she had used to severe the link. It was cylindrical tube, tarnished with age with ancient Nek'talan symbols that appeared to have been burned into the metal: Mitrimidurablé. Meaning, my tribe is my strength. It was this phrase that caught Cresa's eye when she saw it on the black market the month before, but the object's most distinctive trait was the rose-pink laser projecting from its top. At the push of a button, the laser retracted. Cresa tucked the cylinder under her arm and guided the kybuck out of the storage unit.

She gave the creature an affectionate pat. "There. You see? I told you I'd get you out."

The kybuck snorted. The two bipeds tip-toed past the guard dogs. Just a few more steps. Cresa thought. Then they'd be home free. Suddenly, the kybuck reared it's head back and wined.

"Shh!" Cresa urged. A kybuck in distress is not good for stealth. "What's wrong?" Out of the corner of Cresa's eye, she caught a flicker of movement. Her first impression was of a hovering black ball. Only when the antennae extended from its side did she realized her error.

"Tauntaun spit! I forgot the droid."

 

[GLITCHSKULL]

Order 66 had begun.

Rowan was asleep when this all started. It was a Sunday, he deserved a lie-in. A clone trooper burst into the room.

"Easy pickings." said the trooper.

Rowan awoke to this, and pulled his lightsaber from the table. A few moments later, the trooper was dead meat.

"What the hell is going on?" he mumbled to himself. Rushing down the corridor, he was greeted with three more troopers, and the sight of dead Jedi. Resisting the urge to cry, he deflected blaster bolts, and they were downed in a few seconds. He had taken a blaster bolt to the knee, however. He healed it, thanking himself for learning the special technique.

 

[Snibble]

Despite the impending catastrophe throughout the galaxy, Kiro Nanniv’s quarters were nearly silent. The Jedi Knight within was intensely focused on his workout, elevating his entire body with just one hulking arm and extending his torso and legs so that he stood vertically in a handstand. Kiro’s layered black locks cascaded toward the floor and sweat dripped off the his brow, which was furrowed at the rigor of the exercise. The Kiffar gritted his jaw with closed his eyes as, with one final burst of effort, he began to gently levitate a lit candle off of the stout meditation altar on the floor.

There was a sudden cacophony of pained screams crying out through the Force.

Kiro’s eyes jolted open in horror and his brawny body tumbled like a felled tree. The candle clattered against the matted floor, extinguishing its flames and darkening the Jedi’s quarters.

What in the world was that? Kiro mused in the darkness, catching his breath.

His ears perked up at the unmistakable chime of a blaster rifle firing outside his door. Almost instinctually, Kiro’s lumbering body sprung into action. He reached immediately for his lightsaber, which was secured to his hip, and exited to the corridor.

The air inside the Jedi Temple was thick was the hum of whirling lightsabers and the resounding bursts of blaster bolts. Kiro stood petrified, trying to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of him. As he stepped into the corridor, two Clone Troopers swiftly approached him with their blasters raised.

A switched flipped in Kiro and, without thinking, his massive arms shot out from his torso to clutch each of their helmets. With an extra surge of strength from the Force, Kiro collided the Clones' heads together, as shards of plastoid-alloy and blood sprayed the walls of the corridor on each side. He ignited his lightsaber and, with one final fell swoop, finished off the injured troopers with a horizontal slash across the chest.

Seeing an opening in the blaster fire that had begun to surround him, Kiro kneeled next to one of the lifeless bodies and reached out a hand in an attempt to activate his psychometry ability. Closing his eyes to focus, he felt an efflux of Force energy enter his body through that of the Clone Trooper. A blurry image began to appear at the very edges of Kiro’s mind.

“The ti-…Exe-…Order 66…”

The Dark Side suddenly suffused Kiro’s body and mind. He shot backwards, gasping for air and opening his eyes wildly to erase the darkness from his vision. He whimpered softly as he caught his breath.

What the hell is going on? he thought.

A nearby hydraulic elevator door hissed open as another squad of Clone Troopers flooded into the corridor and began to open fire. Kiro leapt to his feet and began to dash to safety with thundering footsteps. He assured himself that he needed to reach the hangar, but traveling three floors via the Jedi Temple’s lifts was evidently not an option. He would have to escape the only way he knew how: with brute strength.

As Kiro slashed down another Clone that stood in his path, he spotted a band of Jedi leading a group of Younglings to safety down the corridor. He knew that if he was going to survive, his odds were better in a group than flying solo.

“Hey,” the Kiffar called out to them in a gruff, panicked voice, “The lifts are filled with Clones. Our best way out is through the hangar, and to get there, we need to go out and up.”

As if to demonstrate what he meant by this, Kiro approached a large glass window overlooking the Coruscant skyline, which was illuminated in the twilight. With one punch, he shattered the window and a chilly nighttime breeze filled the corridor.

“Unless you think we can force our way past the troopers in the staircases,” Kiro said, turning back to the group, “But, I like these odds better.”

@Killerbunny the god @Cmeriwether @GLITCHSKULL @=Nightshade=

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

"Dune brat. I thought I recognized your voice."

A bronzed-skinned woman with braided hair and a blaster rifle as long as a Wookiee's arm emerged from the shadows. The security droid hovered just above her left shoulder.

Cresa scowled. Of course, the storage crates were guarded. Vosnik hadn't bothered with any fancy equipment because he didn't need two. Between the Barghests and his ace sharpshooter, most thieves didn't stand a snowballs chance on Tatooine.

"Zatahni," Cresa grumbled by way of greeting. "I take it that's your droid."

As if taking offense to that, the black surveillance droid pointed a vermillion laser at Cresa's forehead.

"That's enough, Prick." Zatahni dismissed the droid with a wave. Its laser pointer powered down.

"There's no need for things to get messy. Just hand over the goods, and I'll personally see to it that you won't be conscious for your execution."

"Am I supposed to find that comforting?"

Zatahni responded by shooting at the kybuck's feet. The animal screamed.

"I could have killed you any time I wanted," Zatahni snapped, pointing the blaster at Cresa. "While you were feeding the dogs--I even could have killed you at that filthy market place the other day."

Cresa froze. She had no idea Zatahni had been at the market.

"But I didn't. Couldn't. Not until you revealed the location of what you stole."

Cresa's mind drifted to the bundle smooshed between her armpit. She decided to play dumb. "I imagine you already know where the kybuck is," she said, "Seeing as it didn't make it out the back door."

"Bantha dung! You know very well what I'm talking about. The freakin' laser sword."

Is that what it's called? Cresa thought. "Even if I did steal it, you don't think I'd be fool enough carry it with me. Do you? AGH!"

The droid took a pop shot at Cresa's arm. As she stumbled backwards, something hit the ground. It was a cylindrical hilt the color of tarnished silver with a long blade extending out from it, a blade made of light. It rolled towards Zatahni's feet, revealing the scratches on the red button from where it hit the floor.

"Well, now. Isn't that interesting?"

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Wahryyn glanced behind him as a large Kiffar approached the group and smashed a window to escape that way instead. Wahryyn had doubts about the efficiency of that approach, but it did seem like the best option. He glanced down towards the girl beside him and grunted out that she should go ahead of him and take the boy with her. Wahryyn would cover their retreat. He glanced back over to the man with the same bear-like stature as himself and told him through his grunts that he should take the lead in case there were clones up by the hangar as well. Wahryyn and the Togruta would cover the back. Next, he knelt down and asked the boy to climb off of his back to go with the Chiss girl. He put half his hand on the girl's shoulder in an attempt to reassure her that everything would be fine and hoped his eyes didn't reveal his sense of hopelessness.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

There was no time to think. Before Cresa knew what she was doing, she dove after the lightsaber. Zatahni swore and fired two shots. Using her blade, Cresa blocked them. Man, this thing sure comes in handy. Cresa tripped Zatahni and jumped on the kybuck's back. The beast panicked, but took off once Cresa urged it to one.

"This is just great," Cresa muttered under her breath. She steered the kybuck out of the storage area with the droid, the sharpshooter, and the two barghests hot on their heels. The droid fired six lasers at them. By some miracle, they all missed.

"Turn!" Cresa yelled, forcing the kybuck around the corner. She had to find some way to ditch these jerks.

Kybuck and rider barreled into the market place. Several pedestrians fled at the sight of them and the lunatics that were firing in a crowded street.

"Sorry! Make way! Mad barghests!" Cresa hollered, hoping to avoid trampling anyone. Even if they did accidentally, she doubted anyone would summon the authorities. There was more shade in the lower levels of Coruscant then on the dark side of Tatooine's moons. The Berghests were catching up. Followed by Prick. She had lost sight of Zahtani. That's what worried Cresa the most.

Think. Think. She needed a way to lose all four of them and fast. But how? She spotted an Ithorian who who looked a little like Lopar. He was cowering beneath a crate that he held over his head. That gave Cresa an idea. "Pull over!"

 

[=Nightshade=]

Blood splattered up the walls as the bodies continued to pile up, but Knell was only thankful that they seemed to be more clone than Jedi. In some place deep in the back of her mind, she knew she was in shock, but dismissed the thought — right now, emotions were a detriment, anyway. She watched a rivulet of red slowly trickle down a seam in the wall, then blinked as her view was obscured by another clone that was promptly cut down by another Jedi, recently arrived.

Some of the Younglings had scattered.
Most had remained, faces slack with shock or twisted in terror. Some were crying, though Knell was not among them. At the Wookiee’s guttural speech, Knell turned her red-eyed gaze on him, then nodded at his instructions. As the little boy half-climbed, half-slid down from the Wookiee’s shoulders, sniffling, she took his hand again, then looked back up to Wahryyn as he placed one huge, furry hand as much on her shoulder as would fit. Her thoughts came out in words without consideration.

“As long as we’re alive, we have a chance, despite its nanoscopic size.” She blinked again, almost smiled, looked at the ground; then towards the broken window, waiting for the Kiffar to take the lead.

The little human boy continued crying.

 

[Charlotte Pryce]

Stupid, Dune Brat! Zahtani thought. "How could you lose her?"

The droid PRK-1, alias "Prick", beeped something in response. The hit woman had no clue what it was saying and, frankly, she didn't care.

"Well if you don't find her soon, you can kiss your circuits goodbye." Zahtani pointed her rifle at the droid for emphasis. PRK-1 was unfazed. By now, the droid was used to the thirty-something year old woman's threats. He continued to survey the parameter, unable to compute how the scrawny sentient was able to evade them and the hounds.

(Meanwhile...)

Gr-Onk!

"Sh!" Cresa hissed. "Do you want to get caught?"

To be fair, hiding underneath a slimy tarp in the middle of a garbage depot was not one of her better ideas. Most of the scraps contained droid parts, parts of old speeders, and assorted unspeakables. The pile she and the kybuck were currently nestled in contained various scraps from old ships. She hoped that the heat and the light bouncing off of the metal would confuse the security droid's scanners. If not, well, she hoped that her sword training back on Nek'tal applied to laser swords.

After a few hours, she was starting to get a cramp. The kybuck didn't seem to be taking well to the cover or the insulated heat.

"Just a few more minutes, I promise." Cresa reassured the creature by patting it's neck. Just then she heard the sound of footsteps. Cresa gripped the hilt of her saber. The footsteps were drawing closer. Don't breathe. Don't make a sound. Don't---

The tarp was pulled away, the kybuck screamed, and something yelled Utinni!

A frightened Jawa scrabbled away, leaving Cresa breathless. "Well," she said, "I guess it's safe to come out. Come along, Bright Eyes."

The kybuck snorted, relieved to be safe, and possibly displeased with it's new nickname.