freedomliveson

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

He was about to retort to the comment when he suddenly saw nothing but white, Aria slamming a pillow in his face. Yerbol grunted, grabbing the pillow and throwing it back at her before complying with her teasing command.
"Because for some reason going shirtless is a bad thing when facing down the entire might of the Empire and Republic?" He asked playfully as he got dressed. Yerbol wanted to respond to Aria's comment in some other way than shouting at her down the hall, but it would have to do for now:
"Oh yeah?! Well...I'll come up with something later! Just you wait!" What came out didn't sound very menacing, which was the opposite of his intent. There would be time for pillow related retribution later. For now, his sights were on Korriban...and so was everybody else's, as evidenced by the gathering around the holographic galaxy map. Neta was finishing a thought when she saw Yerbol approaching, a smirk crossing her face. Before she could remark, he held up a hand.
"I ask that we save all comments about my sleeping habits until after we're safe. From there, I can properly come up with retaliation." Neta had opened her mouth in the middle of Yerbol's protest, but then nodded.
"Fair enough. It'll give me time to come up with the right term for someone who could wake the dead." Udike, one of the Padawans, stifled a laugh, the gesture earning him a glare from Yerbol.
"So I assume that our gathering isn't just to mock me?" All eyes returned to the map as Neta pointed at the blue dot nearing Korriban, which was conveniently labeled. Around Korriban was a circular pattern of black and red colored dots that were shifting to the left and right in incremental amounts.
"This, my dears, is a blockade." Janika swallowed a lump in her throat, brushing away locks of wispy brown hair from her forehead as she asked:
"Is that...the same kind of thing we saw when we left Tython?"
"Correct. Both fleets, according to my long term radar, have already formed a strong ring around the planet. My landing codes were already used once to get past the first blockade, so I'm assuming they're going to fire on us the moment I try those codes again, let alone show up on their radar. So we'll need an alternative course of action to get planetside, which I believe I've already come up with. Roan oh so graciously installed a multi-signature panel onboard. That simply means that I can switch ship signatures at any time to fool radar detection, but when we made that jump to hyperspace, the memory banks of almost every component of the ship went haywire because of the power expenditure. I've only got our signature."
"And how would we obtain a ship signature?" Neta hooted a laugh, looking around at the young flock before her and told them:
"We've got to get us another ship signature manually."
"And...oh no. Please no." She nodded.
"We'll need to scan the ship's id tag manually with a scanner. I've got the scanner, but the ship..." She pointed at a small moon about three miles away from the blockade.
"Is there. There's a small Imperial outpost that probably is being used as a staging area for troopers who are being sent planetside, but if their pattern of behavior holds up, they won't be needing it for much longer. We'll need to get our boots on the ground there, scan the sig, then hightail it to Korriban before they smoke the planet." Neta's gaze fell on Aria.
"Unless our little firecracker has a trick up her sleeve that'll make this easier?"

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Ahhh let's go mix up. It'll be fun playing a Sith...I don't get to do that often xD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Honestly, I think the whole galaxy just needs to sit down and have a good sundae. That should fix things xD

Oh I can't wait to read what she has to say :p

Hmmmm...well, we could do it a couple of ways:
-I could control the Jedi, you control the Sith
-We can alternate to where you control two Sith and one Jedi where I control two Jedi and one Sith. That way we can mix it up a bit.

What do you think?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

It was Aria's time to process, which Yerbol allowed her to do without by not saying a word, giving her the same courtesy she allowed him a few minutes ago, which was to just...talk. He looked to her when she asserted they would do whatever it took and nodded.
"And we're going to pull this off. We're too stubborn not to." He leaned forward, examining the control panel in the center of the dashboard before flicking a switch that dimmed the lights of the cockpit to where they weren't reflecting off the glass viewing shield. Sitting backwards, he told her:
"Wild Space might give us the best bet to lay low for a while. With Neta's piloting abilities, we can find some sort of obscure moon or a small planet off the beaten path that would give us an opportunity to summon the Masters...that is, if they want to come." He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued:
"I think it'll honestly depend on who shows up. I know that some of the Jedi Masters are a lot more stringent when it comes to their...stance on the Sith. But then again, it won't matter, will it? They'll have to work together or watch the entire galaxy fall apart because they can't get over their petty differences." Yerbol then snickered, following up with:
"Could you imagine the conversations that we're going to hear? I think I might just want to watch them argue for a while for the sake of comedy alone. Lock them in a room, take their sabers and tell them 'YOU ALL NEED TO WORK TOGETHER!' before running away cackling gleefully while we get ice cream and let them hash it all out. That way we won't have to deal with their politics AND we get ice cream." His stomach rumbled, Yerbol patting it gently.
"Well, I think that's a sign. I'm going to go see if Neta has anything better than Republic rations and I'll let you know if they actually taste...ok. Probably get shut eye, too." He stood up, stretching his arms overhead as he examined Aria's side profile and couldn't help but admire the way her face was pleasantly round, but too round. Her hair seemed to blacker than his, but it went well with the complexion of her skin and her dark, piercing eyes. In all their troubles, he had never slowed down to actually...well, SEE her. She was strikingly attractive, even if she would deny it profusely.

His stomach garbled again, interrupting his momentary reflection. The Knight placed his left hand on her right shoulder softly.
"You did great, by the way. I think you must have been a gunner in another life." He lightly squeezed her shoulder before turning.
"And Ari..." He paused as he stepped out of the cockpit.
"I'm really happy we didn't go our separate ways. We'll take them down together..." His stomach warbled a third time.
"After dinner. Yep, after dinner."

______________________

He had promised himself it would be only a few hours, then talk strategy on Korriban. Just a quick couple of hours! That would be all, he assured both Neta and Aria. Then, after getting undressed for sleep, his bare back hit the poor excuse of a mattress and he was practically deceased for twelve hours. Neta had walked in to ask him if he was still up for talking, but then let out a volumnious laugh as she saw the Knight on his stomach, arm over the edge of the bunk, face buried in the small "pillow" that was provided. Of course, he hadn't heard this laugh or anything else until his body decided it was time for him to wake up. His eyes opened slowly, Yerbol attempting to move his dangling arm only to curse at the soreness that crept through not only his arm, but his entire upper body...well, scratch that, HIS whole body. He managed to scoot himself to the edge of the bed before sitting up, groaning groggily. His hair was in disarray, his eyes were still a bit glossy and his muscles felt like they were encased in barbed wire.
"I feel old." He croaked to no one in particular, rising from the bed and hoping that Ari was nowhere nearby to see this...

______________________

He shed his worn cloak, throwing it against the side of the cave in disgust. Wiping the blood off of his hands on his Republic(!) issued greaves, he sunk to his knees, hands on the moist cave floor to balance himself, to help the tremors stop. The adrenaline coursing through his body was beginning to wear off, but the experiences of the past twenty four hours...those wouldn't be going away for a long time. His head turned upward towards the mouth of his cave, shoulders slumping in relief as the sun set on the Tattoine landscape. He would be safe for now...but just him? Was he the only who had survived this nightmare? He reached out, grasping for the link forged between he and some of his closest friends, but there was silence. They too were Jedi Masters, so to hear the silence only confirmed his suspicions. He might be the only Master left in known space.

And that frightened him.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

All sounds good! Will get to it post-haste

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh, also, when do you want to skip to Korriban? I can skip halfway there in my next post, then you skip to Korriban? How's that sound?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Grey is MUCH more fun than black and white :p

I would assume so...I mean, I can't imagine that ALL the Masters from both sides would have been wiped out. I think it would be cool to have a handful of Masters(or Lords?) from both sides to convene at wherever our pair end up. I REALLY want to write those conversations out because...well, it just sounds so fun xD

Besides, Ari and Yerbol are young. They're going to need experienced help other than Roan.

Maybe three Jedi Masters and three Sith Lords (including Roan?) What do you think?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

This IS dark, isn't it? Kind of like KOTOR 2 in terms of the "oh crap this is getting real" factor xD

Well, you ARE rp'ing with a guy who rewrote the canon of Dragon Age with another friend of his and it got just as dark just as fast...so welcome to my roleplaying life xD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *lightning shooting from fingertips at keyboard*

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

"Son of a bantha!" Neta angrily protested, her loud curse a stark contrast to the smooth quiet of hyperspace. Yerbol looked to Aria, shaking his head as he plopped helplessly into the co-pilot's chair. His mouth was ajar ever so slightly for a few moments, allowing the magnitude of what had just occurred wash over him.
"I had told them that they would be able to take care of themselves." He choked out, vocal chords seeming to strain at every syllable.
"That...that they could do it, they could..." His wide shoulders, normally thrown back, were slumped forward, hands running over his face. Neta walked over to the duo, placing a comforting hand on Yerbol's back.
"This wasn't your fault, sweetheart." Her gaze went to Aria before adding:
"And it wasn't yours, either. We're dealing with powerful people, people that are gonna stop at nothing until they get what they want. I'm used to the type." Instead of adding to the story that seemed to accompany that statement, she instead rubbed Yerbol's back for a few seconds before saying quietly:
"You kids take your time processing. I'm gonna go check on the younger ones, see if they need anything." As she walked away, she told them:
"We've got a lot of time. Take it. You'll need it."

Her combat boots clicked off towards the apprentices, prompting Yerbol to ask:
"You felt that, right? That...ripping. That awful tearing. It felt like...like every hair on my head was being slowly and methodically being ripped out by the root." He shook his head once more.
"Bad analogy, I know, but that's all I've got." Yerbol sat back against the chair, looking up at his companion:
"I just can't believe they did it. They actually...they want to do this. Kill every Force User not dedicated to their cause at whatever means necessary." His eyes returned front and center, staring into the blackness.
"All the Masters, the Temple, the Knights...everyone and everything that this order stood for. Wiped out." He slunk into the chair, head now resting where the upper back was supposed to go.
"I can't help but think about that vision we had before Manaan. 'Kill the Force'...is that what they're trying to do? By murdering anyone who can wield the Force, they can establish their own Order, but Ari, I don't think they just want to manipulate governments for their own power. It has to be bigger than that, more calculated." He thought for a minute, then added:
"They're going to do the same to Korriban, aren't they? Those murderous, conniving..." Words couldn't encompass the vortex of emotions that were swirling inside of him, but giving into that instability wouldn't help. Not now.
"I don't care what it takes, but we need to get whoever is alive on Korriban out. We can regroup, then, figure out how to...how to do this without the Masters." He chuckled, a grim edge to it.
"I never thought I'd miss the Jedi council this much. They were sort of like a security blanket for solving our problems. Even when our Masters had problems, they took it up with the council." Sitting up, a note of optimism crept into his voice as he spoke again:
"Some of the Masters must have been offworld, right? The Sith can't get to everyone...maybe we can put out some kind of message to them? Get them rallied to a secret location, then...boy this sounds desperate, doesn't it?" He slunk forward again.
"Tell me you're feeling some of the same things I am or else I'm going to ramble on for the next..." He peered at the navigation panel.
"Two days."