RedeemedLight

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

Ari with the Force scream! It has been a long time, hasn't it? She's gotta use that more often. I will admit, though, it is slightly amusing to picture pint-sized Ari manage to create that much power with her voice alone. Of course, her being as small as she is has been the crux of a few jokes, hasn't it? xD

Yeah, Arcann lured them all to that ship specifically to get them all in one place so he can deal with them (kind of arrogant, but I thought that meshed well with him as a character). Meetra will most certainly get going in my next post, seeing as I have to do one of my favorite characters in SW canon justice before she dies. Funnily enough, I played as a male Exile in my playthroughs, but the female canon seems to make more sense? I don't know why, but it just seems to click? Ah well.

I'll get you a post tomorrow :)

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

No worries! I know the feeling ALL too well. :)

A whole smattering of ideas [MxF]

Bumparoo

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

There we go! Felt better about that post. Trying to get Neta more involved and explore her more as a character through this arc. Hope you don't mind our operative getting a bit more love :)

Speaking of her finding love, I have seriously thought about trying to get her a love interest, but man it's been tough. Any ideas? Maybe she stays single? I don't know xD

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

A few minutes passed, Vaylin pacing, fingers clenching the hilts of her lightsabers repeatedly, mouth twitching. Arcann watched his sister for some of the time, keeping his innermost thoughts about his sibling as suppressed as possible, fully aware that she could read him at any moment. It was both aggravating and beneficial to have Vaylin in such close proximity, yet even he could muster up the patience to deal with the most unstable member of his family thanks to the raw power she held. She would be an excellent to-
"My lord, part of the group has boarded the ship. Shall I disengage the droids?" Colonel Eason's question was met with a determined nod.
"Very well. Droids will disengage and the ship will remain in position until you give the order.
"Very good, Colonel. Stay on this channel until further notice. I believe I will need the combat center in short order."
"Of course, Lord Arcann." Vaylin spun on her heel, brow furrowing.
"We won't NEED help, will we, brother?"
"Not for Revan and the so-called 'Champions'; the Heralds, however, might try to come after their master. I want our forces ready for when they do make their eventual arrival." She pouted.
"I wanted to kill them myself."
"Sister, you will have the privilege of slaying one of the most renown figures in all of the galaxy, a living legend. Be content with your very fortunate position." A flicker of a frown crossed her features before she turned back to the door once more, sabers now fully in hand.

__

"Watch it!" Ethan threw up a barrier of Force energy to block the incoming bolt of electricity from shocking Yuno, the apprentice pushing the energy out from their position in the direction of the attacker, which caused the droid to fling back against a few others who were firing on Yerbol's position. With a nod of thanks, Yuno leaped towards Yerbol, the latter occupied with several droids that had abandoned their blaster rifles in favor of vibroswords that emitted crackling bits of energy from the blades. Yerbol had gotten clipped a couple of times, each blow prompting a short burst of the same kind of pain he felt when they had arrived. No droids that Yerbol had faced before held this kind of weaponry or battle expertise for that matter. The Champion ducked another horizontal slash before jamming his saber upward and behind him, flinging the now defeated droid towards others that Yuno had engaged. As Yerbol rose to his feet, the droids that had once hounded them all simultaneously crumpled to a heap on the ground, their collapse echoing against the buildings. The trio surveyed the battlefield, Ethan commenting:
"That's...not good."
"Why would you say that? Our enemies have been triumphed." Ethan shook his head at Yuno's confident assertion.
"For all of them to shut down like that would indicate that someone either messed with their controller units (unlikely) or they were deactivated on purpose." Yerbol grimaced, kneeling to take a look at the remains of a droid.
"I have to agree with Ethan on this. This is far too convenient."
"Then let us make haste to Master Revan and the others; maybe their actions have caused the droids to fall." Yerbol nodded, rising.
"Potentially. That would be a much better alternative to what I'm currently thinking."
"Which is?"
"That the droids were a distraction and that the rest of the group is in trouble."

___

"Son of a bantha-herder!" Neta let out another curse that was much more vulgar than the first as she rolled to her right, throwing her blaster pistol to the ground and withdrawing a vibro-dagger sheathed at her hip before jamming it into the Knight's leg, twisting it in for good measure as she withdrew it and stabbed again, this time at the hip. With a groan, the Knight fell over, Neta wiping droplets of blood that had formed around her mouth.
"Who needs the Force when you can play dirty, right?" She kicked the deceased Knight in the stomach, gripping her dagger tightly as she saw Kytra fighting off three of the Knights, the Selonian looking flustered as she parried as fast as she could.
"Hold on, Kytra! I'm coming!" The Knights were moving far too quickly for her to take a shot with her pistol, so instead she withdrew a second dagger and charged ahead, catching one of the Knights with their back to her.

Big mistake.

A howl of agony filled the air, Neta having jumped into the air, both daggers landing deep in the upper back of the Knight. The Knight thrashed in defiance trying to shake Neta off, the spec ops commander hanging on long enough to wrap her legs around the Knight's waist and use his flailing against him, bringing him down onto his side right as Neta removed daggers and used one to slit the Knight's throat, a cascade of viscous fluid spilling onto the chilly metallic surface. Breathing heavily, Neta managed to pull herself up from the ground, ready to engage more Knights when three forms flitted past her and ended the Selonian's lone stand in a matter of seconds.
"Where's Aria?" Yerbol asked Kytra, Neta answering as she made her way to the assembly.
"There, on the ship...that hasn't taken off?" The loading ramp was still attached to the assumed dock, both Aria and Revan already having gone through the steel doors that lay at the end of the ramp.
"Right, so on the ship on we go."
"Into a trap." Neta warned Ethan, looking to Yerbol with a frown.
"I mean, you see it, right? This is totally a trap. Whoever's coordinating this wanted Revan and Aria by themselves."
"So let's fix that and get our arses on this ship."

_____

The ramp closed hastily after the group made it onboard, yet the ship made no indication of movement.
"This is weird." Ethan's sentiment wasn't replied to, but the party could all feel a sense of imminent dread as they went through the steel doors and emerged into a wide, square-shaped space that had a cavernous ceiling and two sets of steel doors, one of which was open on the opposite end of the space.
"Looks like a staging area." Neta commented, pointing at the weapon racks dotting the area.
"Droids probably were deployed from here, which means that their command center must not be far."
"We are not here for the droids; we are here for Master Surik." Yuno closed his eyes for a moment, then pointed ahead.
"Through those doors there." He moved forward, Neta's brow furrowing as she cast a glance at Yerbol.
"Don't think I'm gonna try and throw myself in the way of a Sith and...well, all of you people. I'll try and find a way to deactivate the ship's security protocols, maybe even hijack it for ourselves?" She smirked, patting her hip.
"I'll be fine. Took out those knights well enough, didn't I, Kytra?"
"You're sure you'll be ok on your own?" The red-head nodded with a smile, gently punching Yerbol on the arm.
"Go get Meetra. I'll find you when you're finished."

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

Yep, perfect! As I thought about it, I realized that Arcann probably wouldn't take the chance of having Meetra at a stationary location, so throwing her onto a mobile prison might work better.

Haha, yeah, I'm pretty sure Revan has had enough of people he cares about being in danger. No time for subtlety at this stage of the game xD

I just realized my posts have been a bit shorter than normal. I'll have to rectify that in the next one...heh xD

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

Yerbol snorted a chuckle at Aria's overt attempt to calm herself down with dismissive humor, telling her after Revan made his point:
"We'll be fine, Ari. This might even be a bit simpler than normal, right? Rescue operations aren't so bad...right?" He turned to Neta, who had sidled up next to Aria in preparation for their arrival.
"Sure! Just keep the target alive." She nudged Aria gently with a sparkle that danced across both her eyes.
"You've kept me upright this long, haven't you? Shouldn't be too difficult to get Meetra with all of us working together."
"Touchdown in sixty seconds!" Ethan called out, the strain in his voice all too evident.
"Follow Master Revan's lead when we arrive. He has the most experience regarding the navigation of Zakuul."
"I think your master has the most experience regarding everything involving saving the galaxy. Yeah, we'll follow him."

"This is weird."
"What is?"
"This is all mechanized, Yerbol. I mean, yeah, Coruscant has it's machines, but this...this just doesn't feel organic." Yerbol grunted in affirmation as the party made it's way down the wide metallic path, Revan spearheading their navigation as they wound their way around a corner to be greeted by walkways that branched off in several directions. Their visibility was hemmed in by a three buildings that jutted proudly up towards the stratosphere, although based on the caked dirt and rust that was visible on the buildings, they were closer to the foundations than the inhabited (assumption) portion, which more than likely was far above.
"I've visited the underbelly of Coruscant a couple of times, but this does feel a lot more desolate." While Coruscant featured citizenry going about their shady business and cantinas that loudly proclaimed they were the best place to get intoxicated, this portion of Zakuul featured an ominous silence that was only punctuated by the faint hum of power generators and the party's footsteps resounding against the buildings that surrounded them.
"Master, the paths diverge quite a bit." The party had come to a full stop now, Yerbol observing how each of the paths seemed to stretch forward and wind down different directions that snaked around the wide foundations of the buildings. The Champion was about to ask Revan where he thought they should go when he felt a sudden burst of energy cascade across his skull, jaw now clenching at the sensation.
"WHAT..." Ethan gripped the front of his head, groaning in agony. A moment later, the somewhat picturesque view of the sky they had been treated to was blocked by the form of a ship, it's underbelly opening to drop more of the droids the party had initially encountered on Odessa. Same droids, same warped, twisted Force signatures. To think that this empire was built on this kind of Force energy...
"I will deal with these threats! Follow Master Revan to your destination!"
"We just can't leave you here! One of us can stay behind and at least help you out!"
"HALT IN THE NAME OF ARCANN, ETERNAL EMP-" Yerbol launched his saber at one of the droids, dashing forward to deliver a crushing shoulder slam to the droid adjacent to the one who had been slashed by his saber.
"Ari, take the apprentices and follow Revan! Ethan and I will help Yuno before rejoining you!" Ethan took his cue from Yerbol, settling into a crouch before twirling mid-air to avoid blaster fire, landing on his feet a couple of feet away from a droid before thrusting it through on his saber.
"GO!"

___

"Excellent. Keep them occupied for as long as possible, then get them onboard the ship."
"Lord Arcann-"
"Do not question my orders, Colonel. Follow them." The miniature holographic projection of Colonel Eason disappeared from Arcann's holo-communicator, the wielder of the Eternal Throne glancing over at the stretched out Exile as a smile creased his features.
"You will get to witness a true expression of the power you sought to suppress, Surik. Be happy." Managing the smallest frown, Meetra spat out with a dose of blood and spittle:
"What you...have planned...will consume you."
"Isn't that the idea, Surik? Consumption rather than suppression?"
"You..." Her head dropped forward, normally lustrous brunette hair caked with blood and a greenish liquid that seeped down her temples onto the ground.
"Leading them all here is going to be so much fun, won't it brother?" Vaylin giggled, eyes trained on the steel doors about twenty feet away from they stood with the Exile.

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

No worries! Sorry that I didn't set that up clearer. I'll try to give you a better "in" next time :)

Post coming in a bit!

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

The shuttle hovered ten clicks away from the planet Zakuul, it's orbit swarming with sleek, golden tinted satellites that similarly colored fighter ships dodged between as they made a circuitous route around the monitoring devices and encompassed the planet. Fifteen minutes, Revan had told them. That was all it took for the fully automated fighters to circle around a planet that was, again, according to Revan, about the size of Coruscant and far more technologically advanced. Yuno and Revan had tried their best to brief the party on the current situation, yet the staggering amount of information was almost too much for Yerbol to take in. Thankfully there had been enough of a lapse in time between their exit from Revan and Yuno's makeshift briefing to their leaving Odessa that the Champion could ingest at least part of what they heard and wrap his head around it well enough to be an effective operative in the field.

A hand grazed his upper back, Yerbol's eyes meeting Neta's normally sparkling green pupils. Yerbol valued Neta's ability to maintain her cool when the stakes were extremely high (as they normally were when it came to helping the Champions), but the cloudy hue of her irises and waves of erratic cautious slamming into his consciousness spoke to the concern she held about what they were about to do. He knew she wouldn't verbally express the anxiety she felt, almost wanting to answer her question before she spoke it:
"Feeling ok?" The Champion peered across from where he was seated, the small viewing window putting on display the very superiority of Zakuul's mechanized defense force.
"Of everything that we've ever done, Neta, this...this is different." He recalled what Yuno had told them about the nature of their robotic enemies, how their control panels, circuitry and artificial intelligence were powered by a device similar to the Star Forge, which took raw Force energy from living creatures and poured them into...those things. Revan had added that he had faced the horrors of the Star Forge in person, how he and Malak had traded blows for hours on end thanks to the seemingly endless supply of energy the Forge provided Malak through the comatose Force-sensitives Malak had harvested on his quest to take over the galaxy. There was more that Revan had said he wanted to share, but their immediate course of action was to rescue another legendary figure who was being held at a remote base on a planet named Zakuul, which is where the seat of the Eternal Empire resided and whose Emperor, Arcann, wanted to extend his reach far beyond his remote corner of the galaxy and sweep across the universe as a reaper of the Force for his own ends. According to Revan, the Heralds were the only force standing in-between Arcann and complete annihilation of the galaxy, but the key to their success was a woman named Meetra Surik, canonically called "The Exile" in their own pocket of the universe. Yerbol had read snippets about a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars who had been exiled due to her actions, but he couldn't fully grasp her contribution to the galaxy until Malachor, when he had felt her resentment, her aching loneliness, the overwhelming sense of gratitude she felt towards Revan. In a strange way, he felt like he had known Meetra for years and yet she was still a myth, a stranger of legend who they were supposed to rescue.

Wait until the Council hears about this...

"Might be a different galaxy, different people, but you know what's the same?" She pointed to his chest, jamming her index finger right above his ribcage.
"You. Me. Ari. We've faced odds like this before and came out on top. It'll be exactly the same this time, too." The cargo hold where the duo were seated jostled gently as it proceeded forward.
"Except this time we've got my apprentice at the controls of a ship headed towards a heavily monitored planetary hub. Why didn't you volunteer to steer this?" Neta shook her head, loose strands of vividly auburn hair lazily dangling in place.
"When I was training operatives, I always wanted them at the front lines as soon as possible. Can't learn how to deal with the pressure of operations until you actually face it. If they screwed up, they learned and hopefully had a chance to use what they learned to their advantage." She cocked her head upward, looking at the open hatch that led to the upper bay of the ship, which included the cockpit.
"Besides, this small of a cargo freighter is a breeze to handle. Shouldn't be too much trouble for someone who has the kind of experience he has." At times, Yerbol forgot that Ethan had experience with the Alliance as a foot soldier and pilot on aerial missions, both of which Ethan had talked about with great pride (he mostly spoke about it to Neta, but some details he revealed to his master).
"Surprised you aren't at least supervising him." Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Eh, he's got your lovely wife, Kytra, A pureblooded Sith and karkin Revan up there guiding him. I THINK he doesn't need another voice telling him what to do." A few moments passed before Yuno spoke loud enough for the duo below to hear:
"Our ship codes were accepted by the transponders. We won't have much time until the docking bay droids send a distress signal due to our not showing up. We will drop down to the atmosphere in three minutes and descend, per Master Revan's orders, half a mile away from the compound. We will proceed from there."
"Got it." Yerbol rose, half-closing his eyes while pushing aside thoughts, emotions and nervous ticks that wanted to manifest themselves. His breath slowed, muscles relaxing as his shoulders slumped forward.

The Force is One. The Force will always be One. The Force is Harmony. The Force is Life. You are the Force.

Suddenly, his shoulders snapped back, eyes opening on cue with the ship's sudden acceleration.

You coming down to join us, love? Or are you going to glare daggers at Ethan whenever he makes a wrong turn?

A smirk played across his lips as he turned his body towards the cargo ramp, leg muscles flexed in anticipation.

He was ready.

You never see it coming Part II [RedeemedLight x Elven]

So my question is: how would Vano know how to get to Zakuul?
Wasn't she the one who decoded the charts? Right, so she has nav data, but our characters used that slipspace technology Neta had on her ship to get them there in a much speedier fashion than hyperspace would. I guess my question would be logistical in nature. If we could explain how she got there, then she can absolutely intervene.

Yeah, I don't see Revan surviving this. I mean, he gave up EVERYTHING to find Vitiate. Bastila, Carth, his child. In our timeline, even Satele is dead and I have no idea where Theron is (do we even have him as a character in our AU? Or did he just get wiped out in Act I?)

Awesome, so I can get a post up tomorrow? Wife and I are trying out cars today. She's on the shorter side, so we have to sit in a bunch of cars and test out how well she can see out of them.