Corellia

[Gren Sairdonga]

(Sigh WJ if you can (As in are allowed to) adjust to run with mine that'd be sweet.)

 

Gren who like the people who had come talked to him were actually standing outside the Demented Madness some distance away with his Operators and their holomap was caught completely off guard when Kirlocca grabbed him and Cas and chucked them into his shuttle which his Agents had brought. That being said his natural cat-like, nanite enhanced, decades of military training and experience ingrained reflexes quickly took over. The instant he was grabbed his hands flung out for leverage, quite unfortunately for Ares that leverage happened to be his arm which was possibly yanked out of its socket as he was dragged along with Cas and Gren.

 

Midway through the air after being thrown Gren moved into a tuck and roll coming up to his feet he instantly slapped a hand on his wristlinks Action's On Emergency button. Immediately the RTB (Otherwise knows as the Shadow Sentinel shuttle) shields came up just as Mother moving like an insane silvery blur shot up the ramp and into Gren, bearing him to the ground once more and covering him with his metallic frame.

 

Even as shields powered on a ridiculously powerful explosion ripped the Demented Madness to pieces and the shuttle was struck like a brick built pighouse. Allowing time for only one last thought. The first Gren knew of it was when the shockwave struck his ship.

 

Damn I hope those shields hold!

 

Even if they didn't he had the armoured bulk of the RTB between him and the explosion. With any luck between the two the four people inside the ship would live.

 

((Defence post for myself, Kirlocca, Cas and Ares as they stated coming to talk to me. Citing my first two posts on planet were stating my guys were gathered around a nearby shuttle and that I went to talk to them not following anyone inside the Demented Madness))

[Jidai Geki]

The hospital shook with a tremendous explosion, and every single window in the building shattered inwards, shredding several unlucky hostages and a couple of unwary acolytes.

 

"Hmm," said Geki thoughtfully. "Hospitals getting blown up by a homicidal lunatic... this reminds me of a holovid I saw once. Except aren't I the one who's supposed to be bloody blowing things up? Oh, don't cry, children," he soothed, switching from screaming maniac to patient, avuncular childminder in an instant. "Uncle Geki shall have to eat you if you all insist on blubbering, shan't he? Yes he shall! All right, come on..."

 

The children's silver-threaded eyes looked up at him obediently, and they stood up with the military precision of a Hitler Youth battalion preparing to hunt down emaciated, terrified Jewish fugitives in attics and basements.

 

Blocks away, the Lich powered up, hovered into the air, and came towards the hospital, hugging the skyline.

[Dahar Raikanda]

Dahar had been in constant connection with Kirlocca since their arrival, in fact since the Jedi Master had opened up himself to Dahar in his first lessons of Wru'torr. As a Jedi Knight Dahar had a strong connection to the life around him, but under Kirlocca's guidance he was learning to feel out the smallest subtleties in people.

 

His connection to Master Kirlocca allowed him to sense the uneasy feeling in the Jedi Master. As soon as this had happened Kirlocca had already cautioned him through the Force, through the silent Jedi language, that danger was coming.

 

Dahar watched as the Wookiee lifted Gren and Cas and took off with great speed. Dahar too had honed his body into a fine machine and with incredible velocity followed the Jedi Master into the shelter (building? shuttle?). As Kirlocca began to use the Force to set up a bubble of protection Dahar aided in the effort. He added his physical strength to that of Kirlocca's.

 

<< KILLSHOT DEFENSE >>

[Cassandra]

The posse had landed. The left without really allowing her to get any weapons from her ship. At least she had Alice with her, her D6, spotting scope and a grapple hook. What she would have done for a melee weapon, especially with a Sith or two. Or whatever was going on. Cassandra was never really briefed by anybody. But Alice had found out and informed her.

 

As soon as they re-entered the natural atmosphere, she collapsed her helmet. And put the ysalamir onto her back with the crude harness. Within moments Alice had a data-link as to what these creatures where, and what they could do. She drew up a 3D city map inside her helmet. Where they landed, where another contingent landed. Perhaps they should be working together to bring this situation to rest.

 

She noticed that the other's had left towards the other visitors. Cassandra chose another route, opposite of them. Scouting was the most productive she could be right now.

 

"Do you think your doing, shouldn't you be with the others?" Alice came over her inner speaker.

 

"Hush. We are scouting. I am no good to the others in a diplomatic fashion." She replied, walking down two blocks to a five story building. She made her way to the top of the building. But there was a feeling in her gut. Looking over towards the Hospital, she didn't see much. Save for the lack of activity. But then, all of a sudden a radio communication came over, a Master Geki's demands. Interesting demands. He was indeed bluffing. There was no logical way these Sith would profit from this. It made no sense.

 

A wave of heat rushed over her. It was weird that she felt it through her suit. Unless it was a massive epic explosion. She stood up, returning her spotting scope to her side.

 

 

"Warning. Massive energy output in this sector. Abandon position, seek cover." Alice came over.

 

Had her face been showing, it would show a very disgruntled face. Flames and buildings erupted from four blocks away. Cassandra cursed. she ran to the opposite side of the building. Almost as quick as she ran, buildings imploded behind her in the following city blocks. What had just happened?? The epicenter of the blast was where her fellow compatriots had been. She hoped for the best, then put it out of her mind. She had to secure herself.

 

Cassandra threw out the grapple hook attached to her armor. Free-Falling down the side of the building she slowed her decent with the grapple. But it was too late to escape the blast. Windows shattered all around her, the building shook. she was only three stories up still. The building shook, the metal line swooned.

 

Cassandra cursed, two stories up. Some windows shattered and siding fell off. Then she fell... Two stories. The cord snapped and she fell flat on her face.

 

With a muffled *Thump* metal siding and glass fell all around her. Thank goodness for her armor. The wind was knocked out of her and she probably had some contusions, but she rolled over. The building she was just on top of, was on fire. She could hear civilians screaming in pain. There was nothing she could do. With how much rubble was laying around, it was likely that the other side of the building was reduced to rubble. She lay there, just collecting her thoughts.... Watching the shattered building burn.

 

((Killshot Defence))

[Lord Ar-Pharazon]

Sheog the Mad vs. Wookiee Jedi (Kirlocca), Teutonic Knight (Bradly Manning), Cas Holloway, Gren Sairdonga, Dahar Raikanda, Cassandra, Aryian Darkfire (Darth Ares), Ysalamiri, Strike Teams (Shadow Sentinels) and Several Thousand Civilians

 

In order to determine the resolution of this Killshot, it's absolutely necessary to factor in the effect of the ysalamiri. It's there, and it's effective. I have been told that since various members of this party have already used the Force in the direct proximity of the ysalamiri, coupled with the fact that no objections were raised, that therefore, because of that error (or abuse), that it is acceptable to use the Force here and now, as the tangled result of some sort of inevitable precedent. First, you cannot suspend the rules simply because they were overlooked in the past. Additionally, players do not typically call fouls on their teammates. Who would have reasonably objected to such a thing? More importantly, player error does not establish precedent. Second, why were the ysalamiri brought on this mission? The answer is obvious: to suppress Force use from Force-using enemies. It is extraordinarily absurd to think that a character can simply ignore its effect, especially in a serious combat scenario, and then immediately turn around and use it on someone else with the harshest expectation of Force suppression. While that has not played out, the intent is clear. So, with that in consideration, the use of Force is suppressed. Therefore, defenses based on actions that use the Force are compromised.

 

Sheog the Mad vs.

 

• Wookiee Jedi. It is in direct violation of the rules to edit one's post in RP, after someone has replied. That's clear. It doesn't matter if one posts the specifics of what they edited. There is no way to verify that and we do not have an honor system since there is no way to test of enforce it. There could, perhaps, be an instance where editing might not be as big of a deal, if it's an innocuous conversation between friends in a cantina, or something along those lines. Combat situations, like this one, are the worst possible time to edit, since every detail in these exchanges is wholly necessary and relevant. To go back and change one's previous post, after other defenses have been made, is "kind of a big deal."
   
  It has been explained and stipulated that Force maneuvers are impossible, due to the presence of ysalamiri. Therefore, Force premonitions and bubbles won't work. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Teutonic Knight. When given the chance to respond strategically to this attack, Bradly has chosen instead to die, based on the comical nature of how he treated this explosive situation. Toilet humor. Literally. While I don't intend to question his motivation in doing so, his actions have not benefitted him in a way that increase his odds of survival. However, those circumstances are all punctuated by the severe reality that Bradly is immediately present with these explosives, inside the ship. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Cas Holloway. Since Cas was carrying ysalamari, and replied upon Wookiee Jedi's Force maneuvers to deposit him to safety shortly before the blast, that creates a contradiction. So, aside from that, Cas did not really do anything else to truly shield himself or try to minimize what was an instantaneous explosion. So, there was no way to get inside and behind the excessively convenient durasteel table. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Gren Sairdonga. Having looked, Gren is talking with Cas and Wookiee Jedi about a three pronged attack. Considering that this explosion is something that moves instantaneously, not even over the course of five or ten seconds, there isn't a realistic way to initiate shields and maneuver around with one's ship and droid. Additionally, Gren is not getting any help from Wookiee Jedi, since he wasn't able to entertain any sort of Force-based premonition. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Dahar Raikanda. Dahar's post was too closely linked to Force maneuvers from Wookiee Jedi that were not possible due to the ysalamari. The Force bubble is not doable either. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Cassandra. This situation is complicated, but easily resolved. The previous post, by Cassandra, is her first post in this thread. There has been some dispute that she did not post arriving and therefore she must not be present. That is not the case and I will clarify why. The rules of the game state that: ”œYou may not post another character's actions unless it is agreed upon by the other user.” Cassandra was brought here through the actions of her teammates, after she made it clear that she was to go on the mission. It is a norm of the game that when groups assemble and depart, one person posts that action. It's a solidly known game norm. So, that point has been resolved. However, the logic carries over. Since her presence on Corellia is a result of her teammates' decisions, arrival, and descriptions, she is bound by the circumstances that surround them. She has not posted in this thread, at all. There were three days between the arrival and this attack, and that would have been the appropriate time for Cassandra to assert and describe her own circumstances by posting.
   
  Cassandra's post needs to deal with what is happening now: “an imminent explosion." Instead, this defense post looks to create a different set of circumstances that plant Cassandra some distance from the explosion, after describing many events that happened before Sheog's attack. One cannot merely go back and repaint a scenario with more favorable circumstances. Additionally, the explosion is the attack itself. Posting a defensive maneuver is what is required. Instead, Cassandra posted a significant portion of the resolution of the attack. She posted results of the explosion and how it affected her character. Such actions and descriptions step well beyond the bounds of what is supposed to be a defensive maneuver and reaction. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Aryian Darkfire. This situation is different from the others. As indicated in the Ruling Request Thread, Aryian Darkfire has decided not to post any type of defense maneuvering. This game's Killshot system is designed to provide the defenders with a chance to make their best attempt at a well-written, strategic, and creative defense. However, since the opportunity to mount any sort of defense was waived, entirely, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Ysalamiri. They're being carried by people who are toast so now they also are toast. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Strike Teams. Killshots are not generally needed to dispose of NPCs, but this was a very well planned attack with multiple setup posts for the explosions. Additionally, since the NPCs are not part of an official faction, any sort of tactical advantage is minimized. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.
   
   
  
• Several Thousand Citizens No one is posting a legit and solid defense for real civilians here. The entire neighborhood is getting hit hard by this explosion and a number of ground floor establishments are wrecked, causing considerable structural damages and collapse. Therefore, the conclusion is: KILLSHOT SUCCESSFUL.

 

I can reasonably surmise that many of you might say that "well, there's not a lot we can really do with this situation." That's true. Largely, you've been thrown in a really tough situation. I'm going to quote the rules. Regarding killshot successes, it says "the attacking character has the defender at an extreme disadvantage. For instance, the defender is in a prison cell with no defences and the attacker is fully armed and holding the defender prisoner." In this situation, you were all at an extreme disadvantage. From the split second that slimy finger (or whatever it is) touched the datapad, there was an immense explosion. There really wasn't a lot that could be done, without any kind of premonition from the Force. So the ysalamiri really became the big issue in this one.

[Sheog the Mad]

(OOC: I made everyone's death... Over the Top. It's my style. I mean it as no offense to anyone...))

 

Ka...Boom....

 

A wonderfully gigantic explosion ripped through the still Corellian air, sending the nearby airbirds into a tizzy of flight, before they were obliterated by the heat and shock-wave. The Demented Madness exploded into a brilliant flash of light and sound, the intense light brightening the city as the sun set behind the rising mountains, startling the city's populace.

 

Sheog glanced slowly over the table to see the massive explosion as it billowed about like a lady who had eaten more than her share of Space-Twinkies. Bradly Manning was naturally the first to go, the material he thought to be toilet paper, sending his body rocketing up through the exploding durasteel, like a porcelain rocket of death. The ceramic missile sailed high before making its less than gentle decent back towards the Corellian cityscape, where the body parted from its throne. The toilet landed unceremoniously in the backyard of an orphanage, crashing down on top of an occupied jump-house, where the complex was hosting a birthday ceremony, by allowing the orphanage's varied offspring to jump about in a bouncy death-star model. Somehow, someway, like a repeat of history, the ceramic torpedo entered the bouncy-house at the weakest point in the fabric: the painted area which represented the thermal exhaust port. The Jumpy-house (which was the crown jewel of JOKER JUMPY HOUSES historical reenactment jumpy fleet) imploded in a ginormous expulsion of air and children, worsened by the fact that a fat child was standing on the air-release valve. Half of the orphanage's charges disappeared in the blink of an eye, most of them becoming trapped in the flying plastine-fabric and falling into the sewers, where they started a complex society of their own. (around a thousand years later, the populace of "The Sewer Children" would rise and take over the overground, whose regime of plastine-fabric fisted justice would rule for a around twenty years, until internal struggle tore "The Sewer Children Movement" apart at the 'seams.') Bradly's body suffered a different fate, and landed on the Hospital's glass covered foyer, leaving a bloody streak on the nicely washed surface.

 

Gren Sairdonga, was an unfortunate soul. As his booted feet began to pound upon the landing ramp of his shuttle, a piece of shrapnel caught up to him. The shrapnel was about the size of a football, and was not made from a piece of The Demented Madness's hull, but rather from the head and helmet of one of his own men. The hardened battle-helm, and the idiotic head of a rodian, smashed into the small of the Soldier's back, shattering his lower spinal column (at the Lumbar three area) and immediately cut off all nervous system interaction with the lower half of the man's armored body. As his feet slipped from under him, the rest of the rodian-commando's body hit him, knocking him off his feet and over the landing ramp. A signpost, placed there by the bureaucratic city organizers to warn people to not hit their faces on low-hanging signs, greeted Gren's face like a European friend, but instead of an incredibly awkward kiss, it was death from a brain hemorrhage that met him.

 

Dahar Raikanda, was incredibly oblivious when the explosion happened, having concerned himself more with trying to see use the force while in the shade of a ysalamiri, instead of what was right before him: a ship that was exploding. As his blackened cloaks swirled around him, one of The Demented Madness's great Gatling guns detached from the hull and sailed through the reverberating air, electrical impulses triggering its firing mechanism. Thousands of 30 mm rounds punched holes through the man's blackened cloaks, all surprisingly missing the Jedi Knight. The bullets might have missed him, but they did not miss several fully loaded ambulances, carrying scores of wounded protestors who had been in a nearby city park protesting the government's constant hanging of useless signs, when a nearby (several story high) signpost, laden beyond its limit crashed down on their hippie heads. The gun itself smashed into the oblivious Jedi, driving him into the side of the parked, and tattered shuttlecraft. He lived for but a moment longer before one last bullet entered the gun's great chamber and splattered his insides with molten lead.

 

Cas Halloway, the poor unfortunate soul. As he ran, (like a girl) a large, jagged edge of transparasteel bounced happily after him, like a happy barking dog, trailing on the heels of his jogging master. Unlike a happy little lap dog however, this bouncing piece of trasparasteel did not want to lick its master or even accost him. It wanted to, much like a mastiff, or a nek battle dog, kill the armored agent of a bureaucratic police organization. As Cas meandered away, the piece of glittering steel picked him up by the large and bulky nutrient cage and began to skip across the landing pad. Another random signpost decapitated the man, his handsome head bouncing into the distance, like a morbid soccer ball. The piece of steel, whilst piercing his unlucky heart, also launched him into a landspeeder, which was currently occupied by a small family immigrating from Gala. Poor, decapitated, Cas was pinned, in full view of the five and six year olds to the side of the speeder. The memory was so scarring to the immigrant children, that both of them later became famous as mass murderers. The speeder did not slow, as the front veiwscreen was awash with the blood of both the ysalamiri's and Cas's blood. Because of this the, body was carried a good eight miles before the man driving had collected his wits enough to press upon the brakes. When the brakes were applied, the blood had already destroyed the electronics, so the landspeeder careened into a parked passenger-liner, where it impacted on the armored hull, and only the children survived.

 

Kirlocca, like the walking carpet he was, was unable to shield himself fully from the blast, due to the inherent surrounding of ysalamiri. As he was trying in vain to summon a force-shield, a small, wisp-like trail of flame passed him by, sending off a spark of fire. The spark nestled itself into the Wookiee's flammable fur, and immediately started a fire upon the Wookiee's pelt, which spread like a bunch of unsupervised minority children through a toyshop. The fire was just a destructive. As the flame enveloped him, Kiralocca could not escape the smoke from his own pelt. It invaded his lungs and began to suffocate him, the noxious pelt-smoke, acrid and noxious. Thankfully, for the Wookiee, asphyxiation on one's own burning fur was not to be his fate. From out of nowhere, a detached landing cord whipped out, propelled by the explosion and snapped around his neck, severing the great warrior's still furry head from his blazing body. The massive head rolled away, and bumped nicely into Cas's, at the foot of a random sign-post, warning of the possibility of exploding ships, which both had apparently not paid any attention to.

 

Cassandra, was unwise to take up rappelling on such an explosive day. As she was hanging off the ground by several stories, the initial wave sent her swinging like an armored pendulum. With each swing, she came closer and closer to death. A large, several meter long piece of shrapnel passed overhead, severing her safety line and impacting on the side of the building's large, illuminated, neon sign. (Which read: GUMBO'S MENTAL HEALING TECHNIQUES). Cassandra plummeted onto the decking below, where both of her pretty legs were taken off at the kneecaps by another passing piece of shrapnel. She landed on her back, where her last, lonely view was the large, immaculate sign in a free-fall, heading towards her. The only mental healing she would receive was a supermassive head-wound.

 

Darth Ares was the farthest from the explosion when The Demented Madness went critical, but was too preoccupied by contemplating the many uses of the force and becoming omnipotent enough to know everything about everyone, that he was caught unawares by the massive detonation. The wave of superior heat liquefied his armor and cloaks, searing them into his skin. His boots liquefied and molded to the decking, rooting the Sith Master to the ground with tendrils of liquid plastine. His lightsabers of blackened obsidian dropped to the decking. Rooted in place as he was, he could not escape a long pole, sent flying from The Demented Madness, as it honed in of his location. It impacted into his abdomen, ripping him from his plastine roots, and sent him flying, like a partially eaten, flaming, Sith Shish kabob. The flaming Ares kabob sailed across the Corellian cityscape, like a Sith-tipped arrow, before pinning itself to the engine compartment of a school-liner. The school liner's driver, who was unfortunately intoxicated at the time, was unable to regain control of the craft and it flew into the school it was destined for, except not into its docking bay, but into the roof. Thankfully it was not a school day, but a weekend.

 

The explosion ripped through the entire area, wiping out all the Corsec and Shadow Sentinal strike teams in a supermassive ball of flame. Every witness was wiped away, and the electronics surveilence surrounding the area was irreparably scrambled by the explosion. Fear began to compound as the mushroom cloud began to rise above the city-scape. As the smoke cleared, Sheog exited the building (dragging a hovercart) and surveyed the wreckage. He pushed himself swiftly to the detonation site and began to retrieve the bodies of the dead with the assistance of the force. Upon the hovercart he began to stack the bodies of the fallen, from Corsec to Jedi to Sith to Galactic Alliance. From the heads of each of the dead Jedi, Sith, and Corsec, he took a scalp, a gift for those higher up in his organization. In the end, he was able to collect few weapons and loot from the bodies, except four slightly charred lightsabers, two from Ares, one from the dead Wookiee, and finally one from the dead human. A small, silvery droid was also recovered from the dead Wookiee, with the inscription 41D imprinted on its side. The electronics were scrambled, but could possibly be reassembled by a proper technician. Sheog made his way swiftly into the hospital, dragging the piles of bodies behind him, prepared for the worst. Calling out with a loud, blubbery voce, he called out.

 

<>

[Jidai Geki]

Geki finished loading the children onto the Lich, ignoring their irritating snifflings at the fire and death and explosion raging in the streets below, and commanded the semi-sentient craft to take off and hold in orbit, in stealth mode, until he was ready to recall her. He had to deal with the situation below; if there was any justice in the world, he would have himself a Jedi or two to knock off.

 

The Lich took off and punched through the atmosphere like a degenerate sperm that had decided, upon achieving conception, that it wanted no part of this sickening life-creating process and so forcibly ruptured the egg from the inside out, destroying a potential life to save its miserable existence.

 

Geki stalked back into the hospital foyer like a concentration camp doctor eagerly awaiting the arrival of a fresh batch of identical Slavic twins to conduct pointless yet excruciating experiments on. What greeted him sent his scarred face from anticipation to black rage in an instant.

 

>>Geki! Our enemies lie... Dead. I brought their bodies for you to do with as you please...>>

 

"You... you killed Gantoris?" he asked, somewhat bewildered as he looked upon the scalped, slain wookiee. "You do realise, loathsome vermiform, that Gantoris is mine to kill, don't you? Don't they teach you half-wits anything in Sith finishing school anymore? More importantly... who in the nine hells am I supposed to kill now?" Geki's scarred lips pulled back from his teeth in a rictus of fury, and he rounded angrily on the Hutt. "You go out, capture sick, vulnerable children for someone else's twisted experiments out of the goodness of your heart, and this is what happens? Why do I even bother? What's the point if I don't get to murder someone?"

 

In a sudden fit of completely insane rage, Geki bites down hard on his tongue, a gout of blood frothing from his mouth instantly.

 

"You think you're tho clever, you bloody Huttth," he raged, blood gushing freely now down his chin and armour. "Well, how'th thith for clever, hmm?"

 

Without warning, Geki vomits blood into the Hutt's broad moon face, the viscous liquid no doubt getting into his mouth and leaking into his eyes and the mucous membranes of his nose. Simultaneously he tears Agony free and thrusts it at the Hutt's heaving bulk, near where he approximates the creature's heart to be located...

 

((1))

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog's crimson eyes glowered hungrily from beneath the large, ancient, tricorne hat, which was now sopping wet with the grease and grim naturally produced by the Hutt's many excretory ducts. There wasn't a sound of movement, but as Geki entered the foyer, his presence through the force shone like an insane beacon, swirling with many a cloud of annoying insects, drawn to their deaths by the beauty of the flame. Pure, unbridled insanity. A small smile lit Sheog's soiled face, as he recognized a kindred spirit, a bastion of Sith ideals. Within his own maddened mind, Sheog dove into his gluttonous connection to the force, beginning to feed off of the residual force around him, and the physical manifestation of nourishment within his belly.

 

The Hutt's large, strong hand released the hovercart's handle as his fellow Sith approached, and moved to his front, resting it with his other hand upon his ceremonial staff. Sheog's smile fell as he saw his brother's scarred and pitted face, from what he could see through the partial mask, change from a gleeful expression to one of unbridled rage. Perhaps choosing to side with the maniac was not the wisest choice. The fanatic's voice was strange and wicked as it carried the few meters to where Sheog sat rested.

 

”œYou... you killed Gantoris? You do realize, loathsome vermiform, that Gantoris is mine to kill, don't you? Don't they teach you half-wits anything in Sith finishing school anymore? More importantly... who in the nine hells am I supposed to kill now?"

 

Sheog's great eyebrows rose slightly underneath his tricorne hat, and his massive shoulders flexed in anger at the puny human's insults and general tone. A gentle breeze brushed through the foyer, streaming in through the shattered windows, chilling his slimy skin, even under the great, opulently decorated, overcoat of navy blue. With the wind, a few miniature clouds of smoke floated into the room, surrounding the two Sith with a light, brownish smog. A natural instinct swept over Sheog's body, and his nostrils sealed against the possibility of inhalation of the potentially poisonous smoke. His crimson eyes narrowed as the Sith Master continued his rant.

 

”œYou go out, capture sick, vulnerable children for someone else's twisted experiments out of the goodness of your heart, and this is what happens? Why do I even bother? What's the point if I don't get to murder someone?"

 

The force whirled around the Sith master, in increasing intensity, something Sheog recognized as a potential food source. Hunger began to swirl through Sheog's clouded mind, clearing away indecision. He had to eat something. Something more than the white-worms that now occupied the great belly. His left hand descended into his cloak, and grasped his oversized flask of extremely expensive scotch, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at the Sith Master's evil words. He certainly didn't mean Sheog well by his words. As he brought the flask to his gaping maw, he watched blood bubble forth from the maniac's scarred mouth. The harsh liquid began to bubble as it interacted with the Hutt's powerfully acidic sputum. Insanity indeed.

 

”œYou think you're tho clever, you bloody Huttth? Well, how'th thith for clever, hmm?"

 

The great Hutt began to move, lumbering at first, but becoming faster with the help of the Force. Blood flies free, vomitious in its ways, flung by the mouth of an insane creature. More nourishment for the ever-growing mountain of ravenous filth. The flask of exquisite brandy falls to the floor, and the maw widens even further, still full of the acid and alcohol mixture to capture the blood-spray in its entirety. The blood mixed with the acid, its hidden surprises (nanites) began to be dissolved, neutralized, and pre-digested. Geki's shortsword came forth at the same moment, tearing free from the maniac's freeflowing armor and robes. As the Sith leapt the meter or so to stab his massive chest, Sheog maneuvered his movement to the side, bringing his ceremonial staff to bear on the coming sword, channeling his power (both physically and through the Force) into the block. The blow caused the sword to land a skidding blow on the rubbery hide, splitting it partially, leaving a trail of greenish blood. Sheog's eyes widened at pain blossoming on his fattened chest, but concentrated on guiding his staff.

 

Channeled through the staff, Sheog commanded the Force with a gluttonous hand. Backwards he would move, out of range of the maniacal Sith Master. Inside his sealed maw, the nanites finished their digestion, turning back to base metals and proteins, rife with nourishment. With the Force, he grasped a hold of the Wookiee's flesh, intertwining his basic knowledge of necromancy with a good portion of telekenesis. The smoldering Wookiee, whom Geki had mistaken for Gantoris, would leap from the pile of the dead, a puppet in Sheog's hand, and land beside the landing Sith Master, hopefully distracting him, whilst Sheog brought Armalite from underneath his great overcoat.

 

As the Sith Master would land, the tip of the ice whip would strike at his face and chest, its chilling blade ready to slash, intertwine, or impale, unpredictable as most whips are, only linked to Sheog's mind through the semi-sentient nature of the alchemical weapon's design. The worms that had feasted on Uriel's flesh were as cold as the planet on which he was slain, and had been molded to be as sharp as any vibroblade.

 

The hunk smoldering Wookiee, some of its hairs still aflame, would land beside the Sith, hopefully arriving at the same moment as Armalite's icy sting. Within the force, Sheog's digestive tract began to increase its speed, churning food, driving nutrients into his bloodstream, feeding his connection to the force. Armalite would be ready for any movement of the maniacal Sith Master, to hold him at bay while Sheog conjured the next attack.

 

((1))

[Jidai Geki]

The Hutt was apparently ready for the coming attack, his mouth full of some sort of acrid alcohol. Geki felt the nanites in his mouth burn and die in the acidic maelstrom, and the blood that impacted against the creature's nostrils were denied as the gastropod sealed them shut against possible hazards.

 

Those eyes, however- those large, saucer-like eyes- were flooded with infected blood, and Geki grinned as he felt the nanites seep into the Hutt's head.

 

Moments later they were speeding for the creature's brain.

 

Suddenly there is a thud next to Geki, and he turned, startled, and looked up at the towering, dead form of Gantoris.

 

"You're dead!" screamed Geki, hacking at the wookiee's shaggy neck with Agony. "You can't be back again! You're dead!"

 

The short sword cleaved through dead flesh, and Gantoris' head toppled to the ground. Geki gaped at the wookiee's lack of resistance, realising too late that it had been a trick. A moment later a freezing, stinging sensation bit into his shoulder, and he roared in pain as he spun to face the Hutt.

 

"Tricks! Vile, dirty tricks!" he screamed. "What do I expect from a Hutt? Get him!"

 

From behind the Hutt, two Sith acolytes, two of the youngsters that had accompanied Geki, leapt at the Lord, igniting their lightsabres and thrusting them at the gastropod's obscene bulk. They were worthless, little more than meat shields, but they would hopefully distract him long enough for Geki to finish him.

 

At the same time, a swarm of nanites had reached what Geki was looking for- a portion of the Hutt brain that was responsible for the creatures' unusual- and highly irritating- resistance to mind manipulation. The tiny death-robots swarmed into the area and bit into the brain cells, shutting down the Hutt's enhanced resistance to mentalism and hopefully causing a good jolt of distracting pain.

 

Geki tore the ice whip from his shoulder and yanked hard, hoping to unbalance the Hutt for the acolytes' attack.

 

((2))

[Gonzo Lockjaw]

Lockjaw had been making good progress scaling up the hospital, by his estimates he was somewhere around the 5th or 6th floor. However in all of his enthusiasm Gonzo had expended most of strength and now almost all of the muscles in his upper body were burning with exhaustion. He needed to find a way into in the hospital quickly so that he could rest his weary arms and try to regain some of his strength. Suddenly somewhere out in the distance KA BOOM!!!, the giant explosion caused by The Demented Madness ripped through the air sending a massive shockwave that sent trembles throughout the entire hospital and nearly launching Lockjaw off of his climbing spears, the same shockwave shattered most of the glass windows on the hospital. Wondering as to what could have possibly happened and amazed at the sudden convenience of this perfectly located opening, Lockjaw used what strength he had left and flung himself from his position on the side of the building through the broken window and landed rather ungracefully and with a bit of a thud onto the floor. Stumbling to get up and very thankful to have his feet back on solid ground, Lockjaw made his way to the front of the hospital to view the absolute devastation that now plagued Coronet City.

 

On what used to be the landing pad upon which rested The Demented Madness was nothing less than a vast crater filled with the smoldering ruins of the glorious feasting ship that was The Demented Madness along with the other ships belong to CoreSec and the Jedi. On the outskirts of the immense crater, Lockjaw could see the smoke billowing from the ring of fire that now threatened to destroy the entire city. Even from his location in the hospital, Lockjaw could feel the heat from the all engulfing inferno, and from every direction in the city the screams of terrified citizens and the cries of emergency sirens filled the air. The entire city reeked of horror and despair, and Lockjaw was enjoying every second of it, Lockjaw laughed at the appalling act committed by his master, as he allowed himself to feast upon the fears of the city's population. Focusing on his connection to the Dark Side through his anger and passion, Lockjaw tried to absorb as much as he could from the terror instilled masses to swell his ever going strength in the force. Knowing that he could only obtain so much from such a distance from the source of all this pain and suffering, Lockjaw knew that he had to go to ground zero to take advantage of this situation. Not only that but he and his master were now without a means of transportation off of this planet, and with all of the chaos and commotion sweeping across the city no would be a good time to commandeer a new feasting vessel for his crazed master.

 

So taking the rope out from among his equipment, Lockjaw fastened it to the steel frame of the now broken window and began his descent repelling done the face of the hospital. Lockjaw immediately regretted this decision as his arms had not yet recovered from the climb up and Lockjaw found himself in a near free fall plummeting to earth beneath him. Lockjaw fell for roughly two stories before he could grasp the rope and begin to slow himself down, but as he did so the rope burned into the flesh of his hands causing severe pain to shoot throughout his body. When he finally came to a stop several feet above the ground, Lockjaw simply let go of the rope and let himself fall the rest of the way to ground. As he crashed onto the ground, Lockjaw nearly passed out from the pain that now gripped his body, what had happened only a moment ago he felt so powerful with the fear and terror of the people surging through his body, and now here he was in agony, but no he would not allow this pain to defeat him, focusing his mind on the dark side of the force and using his determination and passion to empower his body and force himself back up on his feet, and with a harsh limp and his hands bleeding Lockjaw hobbled away from the hospital and back towards the devastation caused by The Demented Madness.

[Onderin Starlisk]

A flicker of pseudomotion and someone else was there. Actually, it was two people, both Jedi Masters, arriving in a shuttle over Corellia near Coronet City. They were Onderin Starlisk and Darex Trevelian, and they were responding to the Geki incident much as many before them had. They knew little about the destruction that had surrounded the incident, but as Jedi Masters in a galaxy that was protected by no military, they had come to resolve the situation through any means possible.

 

Onderin, at the ship's controls, requested permission to land. His name immediately drew recognition from the operator on the other end--he was a bit of a celebrity here. Right now, it wasn't really appropriate for him to chat with whoever was on the other end, so he kept it to business and shut off the comm as soon as he had been given landing coordinates. Soon he had set the shuttle down at a familiar spaceport.

 

He had grown up in Coronet City, in times that felt like lifetimes ago and really had been over two decades. But this was home to him, and he knew these people and this city better than any others. The hospital that Geki was now holding hostage was a place in which Onderin had spent some time, especially during his CorSec days when criminals were frequently injured in firefights and questioning had to take place here. He'd been in here for a couple of blaster burns himself, back when it had just been him and his wits. Back before he'd become a Jedi Knight.

 

Effortlessly he made his way through the streets until the hospital was in sight. There he turned to Darex, who had been following him. "How do you want to approach this?"

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog's crimson eyes glowed with a dark energy as he manipulated the force, power flowing through his body, channeled by the ornamental, and beautifully decorated, staff. The liquid inside his mouth began to warp and change as the Hutt's force-imbued saliva began to modify it, preserving the alcohol, turning the substance into slurry. Pain spread like a fire across his side, where the maniac's sword had left a gash, green, gobby liquid drooling slowly out of the wound. Sheog fed upon the pain, adding it like another helping of insane porridge to his heaping plate of voracious power. The distraction of a Wookiee's dead flesh had helped his whip's strike land true, a puppet now headless, on a lonely string. Perhaps lonely no longer.

 

Sheog watched as the Master decapitated Kiralocca's smoldering corpse, a smile lightening his grimy face, the taste of dissolved nanites, blood, and extremely unhealthy amounts of alcohol flooding his maw. More and more material joined it. Hands of the gluttonous puppeteer began to retrieve more playthings for the obscenely overweight child, strings of bitter Force power spreading like ravenous tendrils towards the bodies of the slain agents and Jedi. Movement began to stir the scattered bodies, unnoticeable at first, but twitches and the crack of bones began to spread like a murmur across the room.

 

Sheog's smile widened as the Sith roared with pain, feeling the connection to Armalite's keen blade as its semi-sentient creatures rejoiced in the wound they had inflicted. The worms took nourishment in the blood, just as Sheog leeched power from his surroundings, growing in strength, wishing to break away from the blade and devour flesh once more. Within his maw, the liquid continued to form and mix, as if stirred by a fattened cook, who was almost finished creating a fine, is not deadly, stew. Before him, the Sith master howled like the insane man he was,

 

”œTricks! Vile, dirty tricks! What do I expect from a Hutt? Get him!"

 

Like a pair of delicious donuts, bounding towards a starving police officer, two Sith acolytes leapt forth, brandishing their lightsabers like spears towards the mountain of filth. Sheog's smile widened, as he felt a hand upon Armalite's tip, the worms screaming in anger at their mistreatment, wishing to unleash themselves upon the man who was causing the indignity. Like a lizard caught by a cat, the tail of the whip detached where the Sith Master was holding it, hopefully sending him flying backwards at the lack of resistance to his strength. The tip shattered in Geki's hand, turning into a hundred tiny, icy needles, as sharp as any blade, which would, if unhindered, fly into the Sith Master's face, hands and chest, his own maniacal strength sending them at a greater velocity towards himself.

 

From the tip of the ceremonial staff, a ginger blade shot forth, and Sheog batted one of the flying acolytes across the face with the blade, like a space-baseball hitter, severing the top of the young man' s skull, which didn't happen often in the sport of space-baseball, whilst Sheog moved swiftly to the side. The other acolyte's blade seared a dark line across the Hutt's tail as the powerful muscle smashed him into a nearby jukebox, which began to play an

, as the Acolyte expired upon it.

 

Sheog's scarlet eyes focused back to the Sith Master before him, feeding power into the corpses around them. Gluttonous rage, focused by the pain searing on his side and tail, was fed into each corpse, like force-feeding a prisoner on a hunger fast, who had decided to protest for the freedom of his brethren in another country. Kiralocca was the first to stand back up, now unfortunately headless, followed by Bradly Manning, Cas Holloway, Cassandra, Darth Ares, Dahar, and finally the armored Gren Sairdonga. The group rose as one after the great Wookiee's corpse, and began to shamble in unison, raising their hands into claws, dancing to the music, Kiralocca at the lead, like the black man turned white who had made the song now playing so infamous. It was all very, ”˜Thrilling.'

 

With a large smile, Sheog held his staff aloft, pushing himself backwards, out of the imminent carnage, channeling the power of the Force through the soul reaper that adorned its tip, his other hand dropping the handle of Armalite, and reaching for his trusty maser. The two acolytes joined the ranks of the dancing, their lightsabers held high. The corpses would advance upon the Sith master in unison, dancing the dance of smoldering zombies, and when their dancing line would arrive, all hell would break loose. Zombies, played like puppets upon a string, with a dash of necromancy for good measure, made wonderful weapons. Their hands would try to rip the Sith Master to ribbons, or bite and devour. If the bodies had swords or lightsabers, they would use them. Very thrilling indeed.

 

Then there was a tremor, a source of light radiating from the streets of Coronet City. Jedi... A whole lot of them had miraculously appeared, in almost an instant from another sector of the huge Galaxy. The Hutt's eyes narrowed, for it would not due for this fight to continue if there would soon be Jedi interrupting the dance routine. If all went well, Geki would easily sense them, but just in case, his voice bellowed out in the Force, full of rage.

 

<< Jedi... They seem to have arrived... Again...>>

 

((2))

[Darex Trevelian]

As they landed, Darex wasn't paying much attention to the chatter on the comm as Onderin requested permission to land in the capital. He was immersed in the Force; so much so that he almost forgot to breathe. The Force here was as much in turmoil as it had been on Coruscant, a dark storm building on the horizon. There was much anguish and despair and terror from the populace feeding into a titanic struggle. The most interesting thing to Darex however, was that both of the battling presences were dark voids in and of themselves. Sith infighting? Or a Sith who believes Geki is wrong? He didn't have much hope of the latter being true; the former was much more likely, especially given the sensations he had picked up emanating from the Sith Temple on Coruscant.

 

The first thing he was conscious of doing was dialing the comm system to a public CoreSec frequency. "Attention CoreSec, these are members of the Jedi Order. How can we be of assistance?" There was no response, and Darex got a very inexplicable but all-around bad feeling about this. CoreSec should have been here long ago.

 

As they neared the hospital and the widespread destruction was revealed, however, Darex grimaced. He gestured out the viewport. "It looks like a bomb went off," he said grimly. "I bet that's why we aren't getting any response from CoreSec. That is a massive blast radius."

 

He wondered if it had been Geki who had set them up the bomb. It didn't quite seem like the Sith Master's style, but then, Geki was the master of unpredictability. He traded glances with Onderin as his fellow master set the ship down and they began to walk towards the hospital. "We need to see what is going on first." He knew Onderin would be able to feel the turmoil in the Force as well as he did, so he didn't explain further. "But overall, I'd like to try to talk to Geki." He grimaced again. "I know it won't do much good, but I'd like to give him a chance to walk away." His mind flashed back to a very similar time when he had tried to talk Faust out of blowing up a Coruscanti hospital. "Perhaps we should enter through different points. Keep yourself out of sight and start evacuating patients while I attempt to reason with him. That way if things go sour, you'll be there to back me up."

[Lord Ar-Pharazon]

First, for clarification sake, Onderin and Darex can arrive, but there is absolutely no way that they can interfere with this fight. This fight started before they left Coruscant, and since this actual fight would only take place in mere minutes, it is impossible that they would be there in time for it. However, they can meet Geki and Sheog after the battle. Second, if there is a notion IC that Darex and Onderin were in transit before, or even when, the ship blew up, such a notion is impossible, and thus nullified. The explosion happened, chronologically, before Darex and Onderin left Coruscant.

[Jidai Geki]

"Stupid, loathsome, fat vermiform scum!" screamed Geki. "I'll rend you from limb to limb! I'll tear out your spleen! I'll stab you so hard your abortions will feel it! I'll-"

 

Geki stopped, feeling the coming presence of yet more Force-users. These ones, judging from the auras that poured off them like the incandescent radiation of a star, were Jedi.

 

"Oh, never mind," he said, his mood changing in an instant as he lowered his blade and dismissed the zombies. "Jedi."

 

Geki sent a quick command to the nanites working Sheog's brain over to reverse the damage done to the portion of his mind controlling his enhanced Force resistance. Hopefully it would be easily fixed, but Geki was no brain-doctor and nobody had ever been able to fix his.

 

He concentrated on the minds of the two Jedi coming towards him. It came as little surprise to him that he had faced the two of them before. A dreamy smile passed over his face as he remembered the last time he had faced Darex Trevelian- he had forced the Jedi Master to cripple his own apprentice.

 

"Good times..." he mused.

 

But it was the other one that piqued his interest. He hadn't faced Onderin Starlisk in a long while, and the bothersome admiral had been a constant thorn in his side during his tenure as Emperor. Time to seek satisfaction for some old slights.

 

Starlisk, Trevelian, he hissed telepathically, it's been a while. Won't you come and join my associate and I in the hospital? It would be awfully nice to catch up...

 

((My and Sheog's duel has been cancelled by mutual consent, owing to the appearance of Jedi.))

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin shook his head at Darex's suggestion. "If I start evacuating hostages, he might start killing others. This is going to need to be settled through negotiation or by taking Geki down," he said. He would have thought that much would be pretty clear, but yet another price of the war was starting to become apparent. Jedi Masters like Trevelian had existed in a galaxy dominated by war for their entire lives. It had thrown onto the backburner all the traditional roles that the Order had filled, and as a result, this was probably Darex's first large-scale hostage situation.

 

What it meant was that the Jedi Order would have some growing pains in the next several months as they entered this new era where they had to deal with the subtle plans of evil Sith masterminds instead of just throwing themselves against an army of stormtroopers. Onderin had at least experienced the subtleties of command, but negotiation had never been his strong point. Hopefully, Trevelian was at least eloquent enough to get some concession from even someone as mad as Jidai Geki.

 

At that point Onderin felt the brush of Geki's telepathy. It had been a very long time since he'd faced the Sith in person, but Geki's reign as Emperor had solidified Onderin's perception of him as thoroughly insane but also a brilliant tactician. The insanity was deep, but it had played havoc over an intensely intelligent mind, and at moments that cunning took over once again.

 

It sounded like Geki was inviting them inside, past his associates, but Onderin's deep mistrust of the Sith led him to be suspicious. "Let's go," he told Trevelian, and started heading toward the hospital, his lightsaber in his hand but unlit. He choose to follow along the side of the street, using the buildings and ruins to give him cover from the hospital in case Geki had posted snipers.

 

Soon they were getting close, and Onderin steeled himself, opening up to the Force and trying to get a better bearing on the situation, specifically the locations of hostages and enemies inside the building, using his mastery of the art of Battle Meditation to learn everything he could before heading inside.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded his agreement. He had felt Geki reach out to them anyway, and that nulled the part of his plan where he pretended he was on his own. They made their way towards the entrance.

 

As they approached, the Force calmed down again, simmering with danger and warning and unleashed power instead of roiling as a thunderstorm. Clearly, the Sith had put aside their differences to deal with him and Onderin. Wonderful, he thought wryly. I suppose that's the way to make them get along.

 

Once they stepped foot inside the hospital, Darex headed calmly towards where Geki and the other Sith were. His senses were alert, and he was careful to keep his eyes roaming for any sign of attack, but his lightsaber remained clipped to his belt. Outwardly, he was the picture of calmness, appearing completely unconcerned that they were walking into a war zone. As they walked, they were watched by patients and staff in the hospital, and though the civilians didn't dare speak to them or approach for fear of Geki's retribution, a whisper went around, spreading hope like wildfire through the hospital.

 

The Jedi were here.

[Gonzo Lockjaw]

By this time Lockjaw had given up hope of ever getting back to the deceased ruins of The Demented Madness, because as he approached the outer rim of the crater, Lockjaw was greeted with a wall of flames and an onslaught of suffocating smoke. There was simply no way that he was going to get through that, especially in the current state that he was in, with his body bruised and his hands severely burnt and bleeding. Lockjaw needed to receive some kind of medical attention so that he could dull the pain searing throughout his body. The pain was becoming overwhelming for Lockjaw, he was having trouble focusing, his eyesight was becoming blurred and his legs give out from beneath him, and as he hit his head on the ground he saw a giant flash of light. Luckily for him, a few seconds later an emergency medical shuttle landed nearby. As Lockjaw lay there dazed he could faintly make out what the paramedics were saying,

 

”œHere's another one over here”

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog's bright crimson eyes glowed with a hidden fire, as well as reflecting the glorious destructive flames of the countless fires that swept the Corellian landscape, surrounding the hospital, now cloaked in the graying smoke. A darkened smile contorted his lips as he surveyed the dancing bodies, now content without having to attack the Sith Master before them. With a fattened hand, he grasped the hilt of Armalite, and began to repair its shattered blade, recalling the scattered worms and engraining them back into the mesh from which they detached.

 

His mountainous bulk heaved as he moved across the lobby, feeling the very small beacon of his apprentice through the force, pushing himself towards the Barabel's location. In the back of his swirling, maddened mind, another set of beacons were distantly glowing, the two Jedi he had felt earlier, who were now approaching. A deep chuckle swept over him, and he swallowed the destructive liquid in his craw, letting the force continue its dark, delicious, wondrous work upon its molecular structure.

 

With another powerful push of his slimy tail, the massive Hutt smashed into the small entrance door to the emergency room, shattering the glass superstructure, bringing down the entire wall, (which was made from fogged glass), and now fell like blades upon already critically injured patients. Sheog shook the granules of shattered glass from his hide, and cleared a path before him with the force, gluttonous hands sweeping the floor before him clean of glass, patients, doctors, nurses, children, gurneys, bodies, really expensive medical equipment, and a few wheelchair-bound invalids.

 

His scarlet eyes rested upon a somewhat manly Barabel nurse as it turned from a nearby supply closet. His dark chuckle deepened, spreading like a booming thunder through the room, to the terrified whimpers of the not dead patients. With one fattened hand, he motioned to the Barabel, calling upon his wonderfully dressed apprentice to approach, and with the other he swept a crying doctor into his maw, crunching upon the deliciousness with great satisfaction. Slowly mulling over the taste, he swept off his revolutionary disguise, produced the duel lightsabers of the fated Darth Ares from one of the great, oversized pockets and tossed them to his apprentice. Finding the small droid in the same pocket, he tossed it to Lockjaw as well, with a caring smile.

 

Within his stomach, the food began to churn, mixing with what had already been prepared during the brief spat with Geki, being imbued with even more Force energy, feeding off the life from the fated doctor, and the residual force in the area. Bones began to melt, form, and dissolve into sharpened chips. Upon his imaginary feasting table, his mental representation of the Force, more and more was placed, great mountains of biscuits, rolls, various breads, and heaping plates of pastas, for the doctor had enjoyed his carbohydrates more than life itself. Now Sheog was enjoying him, for he was delicious.

 

He swept the Tricorne hat from his head, punched the crown, and it folded into a raspberry beret, which he placed back upon his grimy head. With a nod to Lockjaw, he placed an overlarge superman-print blanket around his massive shoulders, tying it like a cape around his neck, and from one of its hidden pockets he withdrew an enormous, curly, black mustache, which he placed upon his upper lip. From his sidebag he placed a large scarf around his neck, from which he pulled a paintbrush and pallet of colors. With a dark, ravenous smile, he glanced at his reflection in a piece of shattered glass. His disguise was very much complete, and wonderfully over the top. With a booming voice he spoke a few words to his apprentice

 

<>

 

With that, he swept his massive bulk around, his gigantic tail smashing down a patient, who was desperately trying to hobble away on crutches, and headed back through the shattered wall. Sheog swept Armalite onto his back, resting it in the folds of his massive, superman-print cape, hiding it from the view of any pesky Jedi. The dark tendrils of voracious power pulled upon the dancing bodies, like puppets on a string, continuing their eerie dance. He placed the pallet and paintbrush into his sidebag, and replaced them with his actual weapons. With another enormous push, Sheog entered the foyer, where Geki was waiting, his ceremonial staff in one hand, and his DN-bolt caster in the other. He began to meditate on the gluttonous power within his stomach, letting his hunger slowly consume his mind, the puppets dancing in the background, smoldering, decapitated Kiralocca at the lead. It was a good time to fight.

[Gonzo Lockjaw]

Lockjaw had just finished putting on his nurse's uniform/disguise and looking at himself in the mirror he felt completely embarrassed about wearing this essentially long white over coat that went down to just below his knees, buttoned up along the sides, and was a little tight across the chest, and to top it off he had a small white hat on top of his head that was stamped with a red cross on the front. All of a sudden Lockjaw heard what sounded like a giant bulldozer plowing itself through the hospital and escalating further the pain and the fear of the remaining hostages.

 

”œGreat”

[Starfire]

Her friends had left Starfire to her own devices while they were dealing with another problem nearby. That was simple enough, considering the activity going on around the city, but even while she didn't mind too terribly much, images of the small human life-form with the avian name sent chills down her spine.

 

She had a strange and inexplicable allure to him even though, as Tamaranean standards were, she wondered why she considered him at all. It was a strange thing on a planet she didn't even know, but she figured she would learn more as time went on.

 

She was just about to walk around the block to what had become an extremely familiar eatery for her. The merchant of the 'dogs' seemed particularly displeased with her when she drained a few containers of what she considered harmless, but amazing yellow paste. It apparently meant the world to his business though and he would express that particular reaction anytime she walked through the door.

 

However, a huge boom shattered the glass on the building near her and she was wrenched to the ground violently. She could feel her weapons clanging beside her and the damage that the walkway and broken glass had carved into her skin, but she was still in one piece.

 

"Oh my Glofnard!" she said through a throat depressed against the durasteel walway.

 

Her auburn hair was tangled under her hood and she had trouble trying to straighten it on her way back to her feet, but curiosity never left. She looked around for a few hesitated moments and began to sprint toward the disturbance.

 

It appears to be coming from the... The Hospital? I think that is what it is called.

[Jidai Geki]

As the Jedi Masters walk in, they are greeted now with the sight of Geki waiting placidly for them, but instead a wheelchair with a drip standing by its side. In the chair is a made-up Geki, his eye sockets gaping, bloody black holes and his scarred face contorted into a leering grin. He is dressed like a padawan- to be exact, the padawan that Geki had blinded and then had crippled some two years ago. The man that had crippled him, in fact, was standing right in front of him.

 

"Hi, Master!" piped up Geki cheerfully. "Long time no see! How ya been? Me, I'm just swell. At least, my spinal cord is!" Aerec-Geki chortled long and hard at these witty bon mots, almost falling out of the chair. "Well, Master Trevelian? Don't you have anything to say to me? An apology? A 'sorry I rammed a jagged chair leg into the base of your spinal column and left you crippled for life' card, perhaps? Nothing?"

[Adenna Alluyen]

((Adenna, Tobias, Sandy, and Tros Ardell have nothing to do with the hospital situation as they left well after it started.))

 

As they arrived on Corellia, Adenna was excited. They were finally moving towards getting something done about the slavers that had plagued her planet and her life until recently. She also worried about her family and was eager to know how they were doing. Since leaving over a year ago, she had not had any contact with them. Sending a comm message was risky since it could be intercepted by the wrong people. Any attention on that planet brought the risk of attracting the slavers.

 

Senator Ardell set them up in government facilities while he went to rally his support and get things ready. As soon as they unpacked their things, Adenna sought out a place that she could start training Sandy. She also planned on testing a little of Vos' attitude in combat and helping guide him toward using the light side of the Force.

 

Their first stop, though, was to a police station. Adenna used her credentials as a Jedi and a guest of the senator to get three training remotes from their armory out on loan. These were normally used to train their policemen on dodging attacks from snipers, but were equally effective in teaching young Padawans how to block those laser attacks.

 

They went to an outdoor grass court that appeared to be normally used in some sort of sporting event. It was unoccupied and provided a great deal of room to practice in without damaging anything or hurting anyone. It was a mild day outside with a slight breeze, though it was overcast. Adenna preferred that so that the sun wouldn't get in their eyes.

 

She had left her flowing robes back in their room and was now dressed in a simple beige sleeveless tunic and pants that gave her room to move without being confining. She had tied up her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her way, either.

 

When they were there, she pulled out the training saber that Jedi Relmis had given her and offered it to Sandy. Its blade was a golden amber color not all to unlike her own orange weapon. "This is not a fully functional lightsaber, but it will serve us well enough. Sadly, it isn't mine to give to you permanently, but you may use it until such time as you are able to build one of your own.

 

"I want to start you on the most basic of lightsaber drills. You may have had some practice as a youngling, but we need to move beyond that. If we are going to be going into combat, you need to be able to defend yourself. I don't plan on having you leading a charge, but if someone attacks you, I don't want you gunned down before I or another ally can get there.

 

"At this point, I am going to start you on defensive moves and how to block laser attacks. Later on, we can start working on how to go on the offensive and perhaps another day, I can show you how to defend against someone wielding a lightsaber." Sandy was young, very young. Adenna didn't even want to show her this much, but she had no choice. If Sandy was ever to become a Jedi, she had to know how to fight even if it was only to defend herself. How she handled these easy lessons would determine how much or how quickly Adenna would teach her more.

 

"Vos, I know you are far more advanced than this, but perhaps if you listen and reflect, you will see how light siders approach lightsaber combat. As she starts drilling by herself, I want to work with you on using the Force without calling on the dark side."

 

She began guiding Sandy through the basic motions on how to use a lightsaber without lopping something off of herself. The training saber was set to its lowest setting so when someone got hit, it wouldn't do much more than sting a little. Adenna's own lightsaber, even in its non-lethal mode, was nowhere near that kind to people but would deliver enough charge to numb someone's limb for an hour.

 

After she got the hang of that, Adenna showed her how to use the Force in conjunction with the lightsaber to predict attacks and deflect them. She demonstrated the technique herself several times with her own lightsaber against all three remotes. When she felt that Sandy was able to start, she allowed her to begin against a single remote on its least aggressive setting.

 

While Sandy worked against that, Adenna went over to sit next to Vos and relax for a moment. "I know this may bore you to death, but she is young and has to start somewhere. What was your early lightsaber training like?" She was genuinely curious to hear how Sith taught their apprentices.

[Tobias Vos]

Another planet. He felt as if there was an existing conflict... It was of no importance to him. Tobias went off to meditate by himself. Doing a hand stand, he began to meditate. Raising a few things into the air, and maintaining his stance he concentrated on the control of the art. Once he felt Adenna approach. She had questions. Setting down the few things and returning to his feet he met her gaze.

 

 

"I was thrown to the wolves, so to speak." The beast brushed up on Tobias's leg affectionately. He patted the rib cage and continued. "My masters gave me no formal training until just about I came to Corusant. Before that I had to fight informally with a saber. Any injuries I made to myself because of it, was my own fault. I was fortunate enough I never injured myself." He laughed.

 

"Do we have any water around?" Sweat seeped from his forehead.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna pointed to a water fountain off behind the stands. While he got some water, she pondered what he said. It was very odd for the Sith to simply throw their apprentices into a situation without training. Perhaps they simply didn't care to impart any knowledge that would make those apprentices a threat to them.

 

It was even more interesting that Vos managed to survive through self taught skills. Though, if he were facing those who similarly had no training, it would be an even playing field. Even when she went into battle on the Death Star, she had at least some training, even if it was nowhere sufficient for the task at hand. She had further training with both Dahar and Kirlocca after that battle and sparred constantly with them and other Padawans.

 

She had seen him meditating while she was teaching Sandy and noticed his predilection for telekinesis. She was fair on the skill herself, but did much better with empathy, sensory perception, and healing. Though, she could see why Sith wouldn't need much of those, excepting possibly perception. They weren't exactly fierce combat abilities. She made a mental note to focus more on telekinesis in the future.

 

By the time he came back from getting a drink, she asked, "What can you tell me of your training? The more I know, the better I can understand you and how to guide you along the light side. Who trained you? What was it like? You said you fought people, did you kill them or did they beat you?"

[Sandy Sarna]

Sandy sat silently, her concentration upon a small rock which she kept in her palm. Her striking green eyes were squeezed shut, her blond head bobbing to an unheard beat. The pebble, was dancing to the same beat several millimetres above her open palm. There was a grin upon her face as she sat, enthralled in the essence of the force. She had never felt this way before, so in tune!

 

Then her master approached, a cylinder object within her grasp. Sandy glanced up and gasped. The rock jumping high into the air and out of sight and mind. She took the sabre gently into her possession and her shocked expression told it all. Her fingers shook visibly as she thumbed the ignition switch. With a hiss a golden blade erupted into the air between her master and herself. Her heartbeat quickened, it was so light! The blade weighed nothing and that threw her off a tad.

 

And the highlight of her time came, the training of the sabre. Shii-Cho, the way of the learner, wide sweeping motions for combat against multiple opponents. She slowly spun, twisting the sabre in her hand, her motions were wild, uncontrolled, yet she would learn. As the great masters of the order lay dead or were fighting to survive on the other side of the planet, she was having the time of her life. Her giggles of delight filled up the room.

[Darex Trevelian]

They encountered no resistance as they walked through the hospital, which Darex was grateful for. This was going to turn into a fight soon enough, he knew, and he was keen to put it off as long as possible.

 

They finally arrived at Geki's location. There was someone else with him, a large Hutt dressed quite flamboyantly. Darex would have dismissed him except for the shimmering of a powerful Force presence. Never thought I'd meet a Hutt Sith.

 

He turned to face Geki. The madman was sitting in a wheelchair, scarred and bloody, and clearly impersonating Aerec. It was sad, really. It showed the depths of Geki's insanity. As he spoke, Darex shook his head. A slow smile came to his face. "You've fallen a long way Master Geki, if you feel that ghosts of the past will...well, what is the reason for this charade? It simply proves that you do not understand what it means to be a Jedi."

 

Darex had been through the whole process in terms of that incident. He had blamed himself, had encouraged Aerec through months of rehab, and had finally received forgiveness, the master-padawan bond restored to be even stronger than before their duel with Geki. And at the end, he had let go of his guilt, putting the blame on the shoulders that it belonged on--namely, the insane Sith sitting in front of him. And with letting go came freedom.

 

So now as Geki sat impersonating a padawan that Darex had dearly cared for, the only emotion the Jedi Master felt was a touch of sadness for Geki's sake. That a powerful Sith Master was reduced to this. It was just sad.

 

The gentle smile on Darex's face faded, and his eyes grew serious. "Master Starlisk and I are here to negotiate your leaving this premises. You and your Hutt friend have caused enough bloodshed today. We shall not allow you to kill anyone else. Surely your appetite for violence has been sated, and your appetite for attention equally sated. Leave now, and return to your temple. There is no need for things to get violent between us."

 

He wondered how Onderin would respond. If they did surrender, would Onderin attack them? He almost wouldn't blame him if he did. Letting them go free would be a perversion of justice. But as Darex didn't think they would actually accept the offer, he had no qualms with offering it. After all, he had never known Geki to run away from a fight.

[Tobias Vos]

The water was delicious. As if he had never had a sip in his life. He gathered a collection device and filled it with water, setting it on the ground for Sooba. After a prolonged gulp, he returned. His fellow Jedi had more questions.

 

 

"What can you tell me of your training? The more I know, the better I can understand you and how to guide you along the light side. Who trained you? What was it like? You said you fought people, did you kill them or did they beat you?"

 

"Well...Alot were just scenarios with advanced robots, and they had sniper rifles, flamethrowers, melee weapons. The works. Even rockets. But I always came out on top. I have fought two people in my lifetime. One was a Rachael Fawks, through a divine act of the Gods, she dodged an entire ceiling falling onto her. She killed me. Then my master had me cloned, abandoned me, and I Was forced to instruct myself." He took a moment to take a breath.

 

 

"Then after another year of training, I entered into a Duel with one Darth Lucifer. I won, but did not kill him. But my actions were then criticized by the Dark Lord and I gained his attention. While we were on Corusant, he was beaten, and now a new Lord reigns over the Sith. But I'm still unsure of my former Master's name." he laughed a little as Sooba came over and layed down in front of Tobias. The beast was in a joyous mood, as was Tobias. Looking around, he fount an old Trash Bin lid and threw it like a frisbee down an open lane. Through the mind weld, the beast knew to chase it down. Tobias laughed as it lumbered off.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin didn't understand the reference Geki was making, but it was clearly directed at Darex. It meant that the two had encountered each other before, and from the sound of things, it hadn't gone well for Darex. That made this encounter personal for him, which could be dangerous. Still, Onderin noted, Trevelian kept a level head and tried diplomacy. It was a gracious stance, to let these murderers go.

 

For Onderin, things weren't nearly as personal, and Geki's madness would find nothing to use against him. That said, he knew the depths of the former Emperor's evil, and now it was abundantly clear that he was completely insane. Letting them go probably wasn't the best idea, and Onderin had a mind for justice, but when he thought about his recent experience on Ilum, he had to examine himself. Character growth only happened if the lessons one learned stuck.

 

Still, presently the Jedi Master's gaze was drawn to something else. A Hutt? What's a Hutt doing here? he thought. No less, it was a Hutt that was radiating dark side energy, and when Onderin touched that strong, alien mind in the Force, he found the same bizarre patterns that made Geki's mind stand out. Somehow he didn't think that this Hutt was any more sane than Geki.

 

Which made this a dangerous position. The mad weren't oft able to be reasoned with. Onderin said nothing, but shrugged his outer cloak back on his shoulders so that he could drop it off in an instant if need be. His hand floated near his lightsaber and he opened himself to the flowing power of the Force, extending his sphere of awareness to encompass the room, alert for any sign of duplicity, prepared for combat in an instant if a more aggressive solution was required.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna was partially horrified at what Vos described. It seemed barbaric and overly brutal to the point of waste. As she thought about it for a few moments, she realized that was exactly what the Sith were. It suited their needs well, apparently, or they wouldn't do it. Clearly, a group that didn't care about life would not care about the lives of their apprentices.

 

She was struck by the question of how she could counter all of that brutality. It was beyond her experience, both personally and from Jedi training. She had grown up seeing plenty of brutality among the slavers, but avoided the slavers at all costs and had no way of being in contact with the slaves themselves. This time, she had to deal with the wanton destruction and callousness towards life that both the slavers and the Sith displayed.

 

The only way she could see to overcome such hatred and malice was through compassion and love. He had some hope within him, some traces of love, loyalty, and possibly even compassion. That much she sensed in him at the hospital and could see even now. His brain was capable of thinking outside of the confines of the malice and cruelty he had experienced. All of the ingredients were there, just waiting to be exploited. She just needed to figure out how to apply the correct catalyst to get him to abandon the dark ways completely and embrace the light. It was a choice only he could make.

 

"What was done is brutal, senseless, and deplorable. Yes, it may have made you stronger for having survived it, but so would putting you in a room, tying you down, and beating you endlessly. The strength gained came at a horrible cost to your very soul, and the worst thing is that it was entirely unnecessary.

 

"The Sith value strength gained quickly through brutality. The Jedi value strength earned through hard work, patience, dedication, and respect for life. It takes longer, yes, but when you arrive at your destination, you have your soul intact, friends and allies you can trust and who trust you, and hope for a better life instead of simply more brutality and backstabbing from those below you who are envious of your power and those above you who fear it. As a Jedi, you can be at peace when you desire, but Sith can never rest for fear of being destroyed by other Sith."

 

She put a hand on his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes. "I know you have been hurt and horribly so. I can't undo all of that, but I can help you heal both the physical and spiritual scars from it. Seek the light for without it, you will only return to that brutality and hardship, probably forever."