Lord Greshh

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

"Very likely, though I don't know if there are any reinforcements to spare. The warriors Ava left here were barely enough to hold off the Republic attack, and even fewer remain if a second attack comes."

Hayden Twilight

"Gavin was planning to rally the Revolution to help hold the Senate Tower, but I'm not sure if he was successful or not. Now that I've done what I came back for, I'd honestly rather go back to help them then stand around here..." As I speak, a thought occurs to me, and I look at Jerus. "Oh, but before we do anything, I meant to ask you; where are Dad and Cosen? You're back from your little hunt for Stoneheart, so I assume they are too. How did everything go?"

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Hayden Twilight

"Two or three cats at the least. About the size of a nexu, which I'm guessing was a main inspiration. They seem pretty tough too because even Temari Ordo's weapons couldn't take them down. And my lightsaber just bounced off of their armor."

Becca Twilight

"Same armor as their cousins then. Hopefully they have similar weaknesses. HJ's Intel on the first generation Sith Hunters was invaluable. I wonder if the Foundry had any schematics on the newer models."

Hayden Twilight

"If there were any, either HJ forgot to mention them or the New Empire rushed him out before he could find anything. Speaking of which, were is HJ? I'd have thought he'd have been with you when you rushed over here."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

“Good idea. I’ll have Hunter gather his top warriors to plan for a better defense just in case though.”

Hayden Twilight

“Hunter? You mean Kam, right? Or did he get blasted?”

Becca Twilight

“Long story. Kam is Hunter, and he is also... well, your cousin. Ryder’s son, or rather his MIND is Ryder’s son. His body is Kamari Ordo...” I struggle to find the right words. “You know, it’s all just...”

Hayden Twilight

“Crazy Force shit. I get it. I’ve been to the Dark Side.” I ponder this new information for a moment. “Well, I guess that explains a thing or two. When I first got here, I mentioned that Korre’s baby snapped Ryder’s neck and Kam nearly had a breakdown. Didn’t realize I was talking to the guy’s son.”

Becca Twilight

“You what!? Oh, I was afraid he’d found out. I wish it could have been under better circumstances. Knowing you, you made it as blunt as possible.”

Hayden Twilight

I shrug. “Maybe I did. I prefer it that way over bearing around the bush. Kid was gonna find out one way or the other.”

Becca Twilight

I shake my head in exasperation. “Whatever. It’s out now. I sense Hunter has a lot of conflict over this, but I do not believe he harbors any I’ll will towards Korre or the child. It isn’t in his nature to kill in cold blood.”

MEANWHILE

Hunter Ordo

I stand over the body of a Republic Officer right outside the Medical Center. I caught up to him just in time. “Is this what it’s come to? Soldiers murdering defenseless wounded?”

In the back of my head, a voice whispers “Not defenseless. Let it die.”

The voice sends a shiver up my spine. I shake my head to try and clear my thoughts. Before I realize it, my left hand is hovering over the door controls, and my right hand is on the trigger of my blaster. Catching myself, I pull both hands away and back from the door.

A moment later, a different voice speaks over my helmet comm, informing me that the Republic forces are retreating, and that command center remains ours.

“Good. Make sure all of our data backups are secure. Restore whatever was deleted, and inform Mand’alor of our success. I’ll... be right up to meet you with you.” I turn and hurry away from the medical center.

The closer I am to Korre, the stronger that dark feeling gets.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Hayden Twilight

“Then now is the time to finish him off once and for all!”

Becca Twilight

I shake my head. “No, now is the time to be most cautious. If Sucal was willing to sacrifice his own son, then he is not playing games anymore. We can’t go rushing in unprepared. Besides, we still need to finish repelling the Republic forces here.”

Hayden Twilight

“So I’ve heard. Personally, I think t battle in Senate Plaza is more important. The Mandos are pushing towards Presidential Palace with everything they’ve got, and the Revolution is gearing up to capture the Senate Tower. Oh! Speaking of which, they have a new type of Sith Hunter Droid.”

Becca Twilight

“We’ve noticed.” I point to the humanoid droids crushes under Hayden’s shuttle. “They’re are definitely more skilled fighters than the big chunk old brothers.”

Hayden Twilight

“What? No, not those. They have a fourth version; a cat like droid with claws and teeth and razor tails. I fought a couple before coming here, and I’m assuming there are more back at the tower.”

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

"Be careful." I raise my lightsaber and slowly approach the shuttle, ready to fight in the pilot isn't friendly.

Hayden Twilight

The emergency hatch pops open and I jump out, Jude slung over my shoulder. "Okay, not the landing I was hoping for. Those Mandalorians are getting super trigger happy up there." I look at my mom and Uncle Jerus. "So... I guess I'm here to help."

Becca Twilight

"Hayden!" I lower my weapon. "What happened? I thought you were with Gavin's team." My eyes shift to the body on her back. "Is that...?"

Hayden Twilight

"Jude." I say bitterly, lifting him off to show them his blaster riddled body. "He tried to distract the droids so we could shut down the shields. Sucal just watched as the droids blasted him." I swallow back the rising emotion in my voice.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

I nod, then reach out with the Force to grab the nearest droid. I try to focus my energy into the mental hand wrapped around it’s body and squeeze, while simultaneously swinging it back and forth into the walls, ceiling, and it’s fellow droids. At the same time, I am also trying to block incoming attacks from the droids that avoid getting hit.

When I’m finished, I toss my droid’s useless husk aside, then huff in exhaustion. “We’re gonna need a lot of blunt force if we’re going to take all these down.”

Jorah Rook

Outside the hotel, we are still fighting off the Republic troops that have not retreated yet. From the direction of the Senate District, I can see a shuttle coming towards us. “Enemy Reinforcements! Shoot it down!” A moment later, one of my men fires off a wrist rocket towards the shuttle, hitting it dead on and sending it crashing towards the lower levels of the buildings.

Hayden Twilight

I grip the controls of the shuttle tightly, fighting to keep it from smashing me to my death. “Idiot Mandos...” I activate the crash webbing just in time for the shuttle to smash into the hotel, breaking through the wall and skidding me into a lower hallway. “YEEHAW!!!”

Becca Twilight

I sense the shuttle a moment before it crashes through the wall and wipes out the remainder of the droids. “Woah! That ought to do it.”

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

"Good work. Hopefully they don't send in a replacement. You should know by now that 'tactical retreat' is just another word for 'gear up for round two' Hopefully Ava's army can end this before that happens." I step forward and raise my blade just in time to parry a strike from the nearest droid, then I spin down to slash at it's knees. My lightsaber cuts a streak in the armor, but doesn't go all the way through. Typical Sith Hunter plating.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

“Yeah, me too.” I move to a better vantage point, readying myself for the droid’s next wave of attacks. “I have Hunter making preparations to evacuate if necessary. At the very least, get our wounded out until we can finish clean up here.” The droids start towards us again. “Let’s not let them down.”

MEANWHILE

Hunter Ordo

Upstairs, I sent the two Mandos to the command suite. If the situation got any worse, they would wipe the data and sound the evacuation. I am on my way to the medical bay. On my way, I encountered a few small pockets of Republic soldiers, but I make short work of them. Breathing heavily, I whisper to myself. “This is going all wrong. I don’t know what to do.” For some reason, I could feel myself reverting to my previous self; my weaker self. I thought I’d buried it a long time ago, and given into Kamari’s confidence. But now, surrounded by droids and enemy troopers...

In my mind, I can hear my father’s voice: “Mercy.”

I sigh and shake my head. “I don’t know what that means! Why don’t you ever tell me anything by important?”

“Mercy.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say.” I continue towards the Med bay, trying my best to avoid any further confrontations.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

Shortly after Jerus finishes speaking, the doors are bashed open and 5 humanoid Sith Hunters rush in. “Oh great. They brought help.” I raise my lightsaber and charge in, immediately clashing with the closest droid’s vibroblade. With my usual Echani style, I duck and weave my way through the group, deflecting blows from all sides. If only the droids were slower, I might have been able to use this to my advantage, but their reflexes were better than I could have imagined. But if I couldn’t beat them, I could at least keep them distracted.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

“I’m on level 3. Currently holding the humanoid hunter droids at the stairwell.” The doors bang again, and this time they sent in a bit. “At all costs, we can’t let them get to the upper floors. We have wounded that can’t defend themselves.”

MEANWHILE

Cosen Greshh

The medical bay is a mess. I sit with a kolto patch wrapped around my head, watching as a medical droid lifted Jakito Twilight out of a kolto tank. In the corner, a second droid is 3D printing a prosthetic arm for him. Then there was Korre, who seems to be the main attraction of our chaotic circus show.

Senator Naberrie is close by her bedside, and a swarm of tiny medical droids zip circles around them, working to the best of their programming to make her labor as easy as possible... which I imagined wasn’t easy. The girl wasn’t ready to give birth. Sucal might have accelerated the gestation, but Korre’s body was still lagging behind. To be honest, part of me doubts she will survive, and if she does, she will be permanently damaged. Hopefully whatever magic Xan was weaving over her head would at least help in some small capacity.

Outside, I can hear the battle raging on. I want to join them in the defense, but I still feel weak on my feet, and when I move too fast, the room spins. I would have to stay here for now... but if any Republic soldiers get through the defense, I would not stand aside and be killed easily.