Lord Greshh

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Xanthippe Naberrie

All around me, the storm is laying low the skyscrapers of Coruscant, turning Galactic City into a ruin. As if the battle with the Mandalorians wasn’t enough. My personal speeder returns to the hotel and lands on an unoccupied landing pad. I jump out and run towards the building, just in time to see Korre being led out by Hunter. “Korre!”

Korre

“Mi’lady!” I should, waving with my free hand. “Thank the stars you’re alright! I was worried...”

Xanthippe Naberrie

“Forget worrying for me!” I say, pulling her and Val into a hug. Hunter stays respectfully back while I do so. “You need to go now, Korre. This storm isn’t going to stop.”

Hunter Twilight

“My ship is nearby. We can all make it if we hurry.”

Xanthippe Naberrie

I look up at the ships already trying to escape, but are easily struck by lightning and sent crashing. “No... we can’t make it.” I look at Korre, then at little Valkorion. “I think.... I think this is where we part ways.”

Korre

“What? What are you talking about?” My eyes fill with fear. “Come on! We have to go together!”

Xanthippe Naberrie

“No, I... I think I’ll stay.” I caress her cheek. “I’ can’t hold onto you anymore. You need to go, and don’t look back at me. Go to Dantooine, like we planned. The Twilights can protect you far better than I could.” I run my fingers through Val’s dark hair and give Korre a kiss on the cheek. I then turn to Hunter. “Get then out of here, please.”

Hunter Twilight

I nod, taking Korre’s arm. “Come on, Miss.”

Korre

Tears well in my eyes as Hunter takes me away towards his ship. I look back over my shoulder at Xan as I go. I want to stay, but I know that Val needs to be somewhere safe, so I go.

Xanthippe Naberrie

I watch Korre go for a few moments before I turn towards the hotel and begin to walk. While everyone is spilling out, I am the only one who is heading inside.

Becca Twilight

After finding that Korre’s room is empty, I began searching the halls for her and her son. Most of the people are gone now, so I have an easier time getting about. Pulling out my comm, I call her and ask her where she is. When she tells me she’s safe with Hunter, I breath a sigh of relief, but her revelation about Xan staying behind surprises me. “What does she think she’s doing?!”

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Jakito Twilight

I pass the last of the supplies to Luci, and she takes them into the ship. “We need to move now! Where are Becca and Zar’kun!?”

Becca Twilight

The speeder flies up just as he asks, and we jump out. “Is this everyone?”

Jakito Twilight

I do a quick head count. “You, me, Zar’kun, Luci, HJ, and Hank. I think that’s everyone... No, wait! Where is Korre? And Xan, for that matter?”

Becca Twilight

“Xan is on the way, I’m sure. But Korre needs out help. I’ll go look for her.” I run past the group and enter the hotel.

HJ Twilight

I look to Zar’kun. “What are we gonna do, Grandpa?”

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

“Right.” I climb into the passenger seat, and we are soon zooming of towards the hotel.

Korre

Everyone is panicking. With Val in hand, I run out into the hall and try to find my way to the landing pads where the Twilights are docked. People don’t seem to be paying me much mind; in fact they are acting like they don’t even see me with my child. They run past, bumping me and nearly knocking me over. “Ah! B... Becca!? Where are... ? Help! Please!”

Hunter Twilight

I push my way through the crowd and grab Korre before she is knocked over and trampled. “Hey! Come here! We need to get you to Naberrie quick!” I put an arm around her and begin pushing against the current of the panicking people, taking Korre to safety.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Darth Trayus

I watch through the viewport as the Mando ships move into attack position. I glance towards the men seating around the control panels. “Intensify pressure. Raise electrical charge.” They do as I say, twisting dials and pulling switches. Outside, the gears of the Genesis Engine speed up, and more thick lighting bolts begin to strike out at the ships. The power is intense enough to fry through shields very quickly, and those slow moving capital ships have very little chance of avoiding being struck once they move into attack range. As for their weapons effect on the station... well, I’m not worried.

Becca Twilight

I run with Zar’kun to our speeder. “We need to get out of here now. We can’t fight this.” As I say that, a lightning bolt strikes down from the sky and hits the top of a tall building, blowing it apart. “Damn!”

Xanthippe Naberrie

I’m also on my way back to the hotel. I had to get to Korre before it was too late.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

HJ Twilight

“By buy us time, I hope you don’t mean you’re doing the whole ‘self sacrifice’ thing! We’re all getting out of here together!” Huntress bellows from her place in my ship, clearly sensing the danger outside.

Lydi Viszla

I speak into the comm on my chair. “Mand’alor! It’s some type of weapon. A massive space station! Just like the one Mand’alor the Preserver wrote about!” Our ship continues to pull away, but rogue lightning blasts still fork out and threaten to blow through our shields.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

HJ Twilight

"We need to get out of here fast!" I start trying to pack the last of our supplies as quickly as possible.

Millu'ci'vanda

I look up in alarm. "If we try to fly into that, we're dead... but if we stay here, it could get worse and start laying low buildings!"

Lydi Viszla

As Mand'alor ordered, I commanded my ship to pull away and search for the cause of the storm. As we break through the intense clouds surrounding the orbiting fleet, we finally make it to clear space, and immediately see the source of the storm. It is a large, ancient looking space station. It's lower half rotates, and a steady stream of cloudy energy streams out, contributing to the storm. "How did this thing sneak up on us!?"

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

HJ Twilight

"More than a storm? What else...?" Before I can ask, there is another explosion in the sky. A few seconds later, shadows begin to move silhouetted behind the clouds. I watch as the shadows get larger and larger, then suddenly several burning starships drop through the clouds, plummeting towards the city below. "What the hell?!"

Armond Organa

I see the starships raining down through the storm through a window, and the senators around me all gasp and whisper among themselves. I immediately pull my commlink and call to the fleet in orbit. "What's going on up there!?"

Republic Admiral

"Sir! We... we have no idea! It's... it's some kind of massive storm... IN SPACE!!" In orbit, there is a whirlpool of crackling energy slowly engulfing the planet. All the ships in the area, be they Republic, Organa, or Mandalorian, are helpless as the storm unleashes powerful blasts of electrical energy in every direction, destroying everything in it's path.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

HJ Twilight

"I don't think you'll be the first HK Unit she's encountered, Hank." The sky overhead lights up, and almost immediately afterwords comes a loud crash of thunder. "Jeez, that's getting close. I appreciate the weather, but if this keeps up, we might be grounded for a while."

Jakito Twilight

"Yeah, even a starship can have difficulty flying through storms." As I say that, I get a twinge of danger sense. "That's... probably not good." I say to myself.

Hunter Twilight

Meanwhile, I have my own ship on a different landing pad of the hotel. Like the others, I am packing to leave, though where I plan to go I have no idea.

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Becca Twilight

"I hope you're right. We need some healing now more than ever."

Jakito Twilight

Back at the hotel, I am in the process of packing the Cora for departure. Luci is helping me, and HJ in working nearby on his own ship, the Rancor's Den. "So, where did Koraline get off to?"

Millu'ci'vanda

"She didn't name specifics. Just that she wanted to get in touch with some old allies from her underworld days. She hopes they might be able to at least help us flush Sucal out of hiding."

Jakito Twilight

I nod. "Not a bad idea. The fewer places Sucal has to hide, the easier it will be to find him and finally draw him out."

A Galaxy in Twilight[Lord Gressh/Zarkun]

Armond Organa

“I will leave you to it then.” I escort the two from the pod and into the hall. “I will, of course, muster what remains of the Republic military and command them to aid in whatever capacity they can.” I bow to both of them. “Until next time, my friends.” I am quickly overwhelmed with senators and staffers, all wishing to congratulate me in person.

Becca Twilight

I walk with Zar’kun towards the exit where our speeder is parked. Despite the good news, it is a gloomy, wet day. Distantly, I can hear thunder. “Rain to wash away the blood and put out the fires?”