As Yerbol felt his now incapacitated body fling through the air ever so casually and eventually slam very hard against the stone wall, he reminded himself to never again charge a famed war strategist that was renown for his ability to always maintain the upper hand in any conflict. Thankfully Aria was there to help him to his feet in the nick of time, Faceless seeming to pour in from the once closed doors at an alarming rate. With the barrier of flames roaring a warning to any who would try to charge through it, the rest of the party would have to dispatch Manus' swarm before they would have a chance to figure out how to help Voldon, who apparently wasn't intimidated by the inferno, charging right through without a singe. What he hadn't seen was Ashara's help in getting the Elder through the flames in large part due to the Faceless attackers who Yerbol had to fend off with rapid succession. A downward thrust with one blade and blocking a blow with the other, a saber throw that cut through a couple of attackers on Aria's flank while he slammed his shoulder into another Faceless, the armored body almost incinerating completely as it passed through the flames. He and Aria teamed up as much as they could in the fracas, although at every turn more combatants joined together in an attempt to thwart the duo from gaining too much momentum. Could they sense their bond working to unite he and Aria's efforts? Or were they just attacking the targets assigned? It felt like it was the former, Aria vocalizing a similar sentiment as she kicked off another attacker right into the waiting blade of Yerbol's saber. With the assistance of Ashara and Khem Val in the Champions skirmish, the wave of enemies seemed to focus more on the former Sith and her creature-bodyguard-friend rather than the Qyaari, which was a welcome relief. Along with the expertise of Cheriss, the army of Faceless that Manus had thrown at them were becoming more of a sacrificial slaughter than an attempt to eliminate the Qyaari intruders outright. 

As they dispatched the horde of suicidal youngsters, one in particular stood out as a particularly vitriolic fighting style, which was unique considering that the Faceless had only a couple of unrefined stances that proved to be useless without proper training as evidenced by the piling of corpses in the room the Qyaari fought in. He and his partner teamed up in an assault against this one Faceless, whose helmet came flying off after a blow from Aria. The two exchanged remarks and even named each other. 

[i]Ghaleb?[/i]

Neither he nor Aria had time to entertain a conversation on where she knew this particular foe, although Yerbol had a feeling that he was a rival from Korriban who had signed up with Manus in a frenzy to prove himself. Yerbol's suspicion panned out as Ghaleb almost gleefully proclaimed how right Manus was, how the Qyaari would fail and so on. The drivel was honestly starting to get very rote. For Aria's sake, Yerbol attempted to reason with the young man alongside his spouse, which did nothing except delaying their inevitable killing stroke. When the duo turned around to assess the state of the battle as a whole, they witnessed the tail end of a...something rip through the remaining forces with ferocity in a flash, the incorporeal form vaporizing at the whim of Cheriss, who offered a brief explanation as their attention turned to the barrier of flames that obstructed their view. 

__

Manus was a strategist, a war veteran, but he was no warrior. Both he and Voldon knew this as their battle raged on, the former comrades exchanging parries, dodges and the occasional burst of Force energy that would leave the other momentarily stunned but with just enough willpower to summon the strength and dodge a potentially fatal blow. Manus grew weary, however, his hands growing heavier with each deflection and knew that his final ploy had to be enacted for some measure of success. Watching Voldon's saber thrust forward, Manus purposefully dashed left, leaving his right flank exposed. Voldon took advantage of the perceived gaffe and slammed Manus with a wave of energy that sent the former Jedi sprawling across the cobbled ground, saber clattering to a halt against the nearby wall. 
"It's over, Manus! Your plans end here and now!" 
"They never do...you should know that by now." The once approaching Voldon ceased from his warpath, brow furrowing. 
"The Temple of Healing is rather important to the Voss...it would be a shame for the Voss to suddenly lose this and other key points across the planet to the Gormak." Voldon stayed silent.
"Good, you'll let me explain." Manus grunted as he wobbied to his feet. 
"The Gormak were easy to work with when I explained that I would lay Voss-Ka at their feet along with the precious temple of Healing that the Voss treasure so much." 
"The Gormak don't work with any outsiders. Your bluff is an awful one."
"Oh but they did with me. You see, there were a few Voss settlements near Gormak territory that I sent my troops into to occupy and...well, lets say that the Gormak were happy to see the heads of their enemies rolled to their feet." Swallowing a lump in his throat, Voldon managed to angrily spit out:
"Innocents, Manus?"
"No one's innocent." Manus retorted bitterly, motioning around the chamber. 
"Your Qyaari, my Faceless, the galaxy as a whole...no one can hold up their hands and not show a little blood. But that's besides the point." He pointed to the flames. 
"The Gormak are, at this very moment, loading up their dropships for an all out assault on Voss-Ka. And, if my sense of timing is correct, their newly acquired portable missile launchers are being loaded to launch at this very temple in about...oh, I'd say ten minutes? Of course..." He motioned to his ear. 
"I have a comm unit embedded in my ear and I can call off the airstrike with a simple command to my operatives accompanying the Gormak, who will make sure those savages get nowhere near the capital. Of course, in order to call off the assault, I'll need you and your forces to retreat from Voss, Taris and Hoth completely." 
"I don't need your help, Manus. We'll stop you and the Gormak."
"But see, you won't. If I die, no one has the authority to stop the assault and there's no chance you could get back to the surface in time to call in reinforcements. My Faceless, as you know, are relentless zealots. They'll get the job done and make sure that this planet is nothing but a steaming pile of rubble." Although Manus COULD have been lying to dissuade Voldon from finishing him off, the Elder knew that there was truth to labeling his group as zealots. If Manus was indeed telling the truth, then there would be little time to decide a course of action. 
"Tick tock, old friend. What'll it be?"

___

The Mystics were still laying in a prone position when the Champions found them, their eyes closed and a gold colored aura emanated from their bodies. 
"Is this...normal for them?" He asked, looking to Aria with befuddlement. 
"How can we break them out of the trance?" The Voss weren't responsive to verbal or physical prodding(for some reason Yerbol thought he would get in trouble down the line if someone found out he poked a Voss mystic with his index finger, but no one else besides his wife needed to know), so the Champion concluded aloud:
"We'll just have to get them out of here on our backs. Khem Val should be able to hoist one up. Between us all, the other two should be no prob-" Suddenly the Champion rocked backwards, back hitting the cavern wall as dirt and gravel shook free from the ceiling. 
"That can't be good."

___

"Captain, incoming dropships!" Alliance Captain Malzon DeVries looked up as dropships descended on the Alliance occupied capital city as others screamed overhead in the direction of the Temple. 
"Get the AA guns back online if you can! Warn the Voss to retreat to battle positions!" 

___

Platoons marched forward with launchers jostling on their backs, warriors exchanging knowing glances as they saw the outline of the Temple in the distance. 

___

An eternity seemed to pass as Voldon quickly weighed his options, Manus smirking.
"Time is going to keep flying by unt-" Voldon had dashed forward in less than the blink of an eye, saber thrust into Manus' chest. Blood pooled in his throat, spilling onto the ground as Voldon proclaimed:
"No matter the losses, you can't be allowed to live." He kicked Manus' body off of his saber as he shouted:
"CHERISS, GET THE MYSTICS AND THE OTHERS OUT! I'LL DO WHAT I CAN TO MAKE SURE YOU GET OUT IN ONE PIECE!" The flames were still in play and although Voldon knew he could have one of them part the barrier, any time not focused on getting the mystics and any other survivors out of the Temple would be a waste of resources. 

He would submit to the will of the Force. No matter the outcome.