TheElvenJedi

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

-Haha boss fight, yes I like that way of looking at it actually XD I concur, I imagine Renso would like to see first-hand what our dynamic duo are capable of when they're working PROPERLY in sync instead of stil just being 'forced' into it like the last time he witnessed them fighting in the temple on Quensu. Mwahahaha I can't wait to write that bit either, it's going to be GREAT :D It'll be a real turning point/growing point for them both too for sure, especially for them both to finally get some closure/vengeance after everything that they've been through because of Bracknell's doing o:

-Excellent, that works quite nicely since I added a little bit of the ground force troops from Vano's POV into my latest post which ends with the decision to hunt down Soto so that leads into that very nicely actually :P

-Sounds good! (I don't imagine the duo would have terrible interest in blabbering on about poltical nonsense more than they have to anyway so I'm sure they'll palm it off to the other diplomats the first chance they get so they can deal with more important matters! XD)

Tah dah! didn't want to cram TOO much into one post so hopefully I set up them finding Bracknell well enough o.o *fangirls uncontrollably* this is so exciting XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Bracknell nodded his head at the holographic projection of Jean that hovered above the projector built into the flight command console.
“Excellent work, my apprentice. Everything will work according to plan.” the statement was firm and assured, rather than hopeful. He would ensure it himself personally, and the reason why he would not be joining Soto on the ground assault. He would need a wider reach to put his battle meditation, learned from the Master himself, into action across their whole fighting force. “We will celebrate later.” He asserted. “But now I must go, I need to concentrate.” with one final affirmation, Jean’s holographic image flickered away, Bracknell settling into the seat behind him and focusing on the ebb and flow of energies around and below him. A smirk would colour his face as he sensed the four break the planet’s atmosphere.
So, they thought they could bring the fight to him, did they? Oh, he was looking forward to this. Noctis and Lash, two of the last who had evaded him so long, would be dead before the battle was over. Jungze would perish on the planet with the rest of their pathetic resistance and then he and Soto could sit back and reap the rewards of their success. If they could achieve it promptly enough, he might even consider leaving her alive…
___________________

The very ground seemed to rumble with the next impact, Vano hunkering down beside the remaining members of her squad as they took cover in the tree line. Peering ahead, the energy shields that protected the compound rippled as they absorbed the railgun fire. Inside, Jungze and Ailel had managed to hold off the majority of the approaching fleet though a handful of fighters and trooper carriers had slipped through, dropping their forces in the forest while the fighters circled back on the compound with a vengeance. She had tried to manipulate the fighter’s engines, bring them down in the brief respite they had been given from fighting Alliance soldiers as Voldon’s unit dropped back to join them, but something seized hold of her as soon as she tried to reach for the jet mechanics and she found she had to withdraw again.
“How are they still coming at us?!” gasped a wide-eyed recruit behind her. “We've killed SO many of them and it just doesn't seem to matter at all, ma'am!”
The Mirialan realised with an uncomfortable jolt that he was right. What the hell was going on with these people, it was like they weren't even people at all, but almost robotic. Seeing their comrades fall before them had nigh on no effect. She could think of only one solution.
“Soto. We have to find Soto.” turning to look for the Battlemaster, she called. “Master Naylon!”
________________

“How are we going to know which ship is Bracknell's?” Cheriss questioned as Abbeth steered them around the last mountain peak and out into the vast openness of space.
“Easy.” Roan answered after a long enough pause that betrayed the effort it took him to determine it. “The comm channels, they've got outgoing transmissions to instruct their guys planetside, we find the one ship all the transmissions pass through before they go out and we find the flagship. He’ll be there, where he can keep an eye on everything from above.”
“Right.” their pilot grunted, it took one circle of the opposing fleet for them to locate the flagship in question. Then it was a simple matter of them slipping past outgoing fighter squadrons to dock in the hangar long enough for their strike team to jump ship.

“Bracknell will be on the bridge.” Cheriss whispered as they crept through the hangar bay’s main doors and into the adjoining corridor, only to be greeted by a warning siren that blared throughout the ship as an elevator ‘swooshed’ to a halt on their floor, opening to allow a mixture of Imperial shock troopers and Republic commandos to filter in, rifles and vibroswords raised to attack positions.
Raising both hands into the air, Roan bellowed out:
“We are here for Bracknell, and Bracknell alone! NONE of you have to die for him, drop your weapons NOW and surrender, and you may leave in peace when he is dead and this is all over.”
Most of them faltered and stopped in their tracks, hushed murmurs flitting from one individual to the next as they seemed to doubt the Sith Lord's words.
“How many more of you are willing to die for that tyrant? There are comrades of yours below with our friends who can attest that we brought them no harm.” Cheriss promised them. “We are imploring you, drop your weapons. Or we WILL have to kill you to get to him.”
Drop them. Please. Aria begged the soldiers silently. Think of your families. An audible breath out left her lungs as safety switches clicked on once again and rifles and blades were set to the floor.

The rest of the ship was once again eerily empty, the only other encounter they made was when a heavy blast door opened from the right-hand side as they navigated a long, winding corridor that snaked around towards the front of the vessel, the black-suited Ubese making a reappearance. Only this time it was not just one or two, but a contingent. Cheriss stepped forward, the energy fixture in her weapon crackling as she activated the lightwhip in her hand, the bright red column snapped above her head as she swung it in a wide arc to gain momentum, sparks cascading down onto their heads as it glanced off the ceiling.
“Keep going!” she called over her shoulder to the other three in their group. “Find Bracknell, I'll deal with them!”
For a fraction of a second, Cheriss met her father's gaze and something unspoken seemed to pass between them, like they were aware of something the duo were not, before the doors slammed abruptly shut behind the Dathomirian again.

“Find Bracknell.” Roan commanded, the two Tuk'ata at his heels letting out spine-chilling howls as they took off around the corner ahead of the remaining trio to find them the quickest route to their quarry.
“VARIAN, YOU DAMNED COWARD!” Roan hollered out loud as they continued to follow the path of the corridor along, knowing he would be listening. “IT'S OVER! STOP BARRICADING YOURSELF BEHIND THOSE WEAKER THAN YOU AND COME OUT AND FACE US LIKE A REAL SITH!”

“Yark! Yark!” The tomb beast’s signature ‘warning’ call sounded as they reappeared, another door sliding open out of sight around the bend, followed by footsteps, slow and purposeful, echoing towards them.....

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Next post shall be with you in the next couple minutes, apologies for the delay as I actually had to figure out how they would figure it out too and I was scratching my head a wee bit but got it figured now haha XD

Some thoughts/considerations I've had about the progress of the battle itself and such:
-In terms of Ari and Bol (and some other help which shall be later revealed mwahaha) ACTUALLY taking Bracknell out after he offs Roan, how do we want that to play out? I've got two possible ways thought of myself: they pursue Bracknell through the ship and intercept him before he reaches a ship to 'escape' planetside and kill him, OR Bracknell flees while they are preoccupied saying final farewells to Roan and flees planetside to locate/join Soto and they pursue him back to Zinuthra and hunt him down and kill him then OR something else entirely different that I haven't thought of?

-While that's going on, with the ground forces below, do you want them to find and kill Soto before or after the duo finishes off Bracknell? OR alternatively they could take her prisoner and interrogate her about where Bracknell suddenly got the power/knowledge he got, I guess (then kill her afterwards, if they feel she's too dangerous to be left alive, or instead lock her up in maximum security "for life" if they're feeling merciful?(which I find doubtful but hey Ailel and Matt might advocate unnecessary manslaughter still *shrug*)? Thoughts? O_O

-Thoughts on Ari and Bol arriving back at the compound in time to (help) negotiate the peace deal with Saresh? Perhaps she refuses to speak to anybody else and demands to speak to them as the initial "orchestrators" of the rebellion in the first place?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Ohhhh man, that bit with Yerbol and Neta got me nearly choked up, if she ACTUALLY dies I'm gonna be a wreck XD

I can do, shall work on it shortly! :')

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Nah that's cool! Might have taken a couple artistic liberties with Roan's battle plans so feel free to correct anything that seems like it's glaringly impossible XD

Battle stations, everybody!! Ari also decided she had a bit more to say in that last paragraph (albeit internally xD), so have that probably-expected little curveball there before they march to their epic final confrontation XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

At least it wasn't just him, Matthew was slightly late to the assembly, with Ailel trailing in after him a few moments later. “Bracknell is the key to this.” Roan maintained his assertion despite Matt’s misgivings on the matter. “Him and Soto. I know it's difficult to believe Matt, but we're fighting this war with THEM, not any of the others.” He explained as Aria and Yerbol slipped into the command center to join them.
“...no army can function without leaders.” Cheriss caught on to Roan’s chain of thought.

______________

Aria's attention was immediately drawn to the galaxy map in the center of the room, a cluster of rapidly accelerating dots swarming towards the planet like angry hornets disturbed from their nest. That was a fleet and no mistaking it.
“Illegal hyperdrive modifications, they have to be.” Cheriss responded to Matt’s query regarding the fleet's movement speed. “No ship can travel that fast without them.”
Ailel sank her teeth into her lip as she studied the map, a group of the dots breaking away from the main fleet and approaching at a speed only fighter jets were capable of.
“We aren't equipped for this…” she piped up in agreement with Matthew, “Noctis we don't have aerial defense towers, we don't even have a damn fleet!”
Cold claws of dread gripped at Aria's heart.
“We didn't lead them back here...did we?” Yerbol's question broke the eerie quiet that had taken hold of the entire room.
“We must have.” she choked out in a whisper, the realisation hitting her right between the eyes. “Th-The transport ship was empty except for the prisoners...karkin hell, Bol, it was a trap...the whole thing was a trap! We GAVE them our coordinates!”
“I don't CARE how many ships he's brought with him!” Roan spat, cutting off Aria's tyrade. “It makes NO difference to any of this! They have the numbers and the ships but that doesn't mean they have the advantage. We know this planet better than they do. I can guarantee you Bracknell won't have that many Force users on his side, we've picked off most of them. They certainly won't be aboard every ship, the mountains will pick off half the bombers and fighters before they even get within thirty thousand feet of ground level, it's why we chose Zinuthra in the first place. The troops that do make it to the ground can be dealt with, we can lay traps in the forest and on the plains...we don't have to rely on just our manpower. The Riika cats and the other beasts here are territorial, have some of our squads lure theirs into their home grounds, let them do some of the work for us.”

He turned to Jungze. “Jungze, Ailel and the younglings can stay on base, do everything you can to throw off any bombers or fighters that do make it through the peaks, throw them towards the mountains if you have to.” He silenced Ailel’s protests with a vehement glare before they could begin. “Nobody said we had to fight fair, Ailel. Bracknell won't be, it's us or them. The rest of you need to space yourselves out with our forces between here and the forest camps, keep them as divided as possible and stall their advance on the base as much as you can. He might have Soto working their ground assault, if you see her and get the chance, KILL her as quickly as you can. We're going to need you to buy us time to get to Bracknell. If the worst happens and they DO break through into the compound, it'll be your job to hold the line until whatever’s left of the wilderness squadrons can fight their way back through to you. No matter what happens, you CAN’T give in to them, do you understand? Our plan hitches on you keeping their armada busy so it leaves Bracknell exposed. Aria, Cheriss, the boy and the Tuk’ata will come with me, while he's busy watching their progress Abbeth can shuttle us aboard Bracknell's flagship and then get back down planetside as quick as he can. Once we kill Bracknell whatever’s left of their forces will have to surrender, Saresh is a politician not a General, she won't have the skills to keep the attack going. We'll steal a couple of the backup fighters from the flagship and make our way back through while you negotiate surrender with Saresh. Job done.”

“Assuming it goes according to plan…” Ailel muttered.
“Then we make adjustments as it happens, Ailel.” Cheriss asserted. “All us older Masters have fought wars before, we don't have a choice.”
Aria nodded slowly, inching a little closer to Yerbol and touching his arm lightly as the tangle of nerves sprang to life in her gut. They were going to have to fight a war. They’d talked about it often enough, but now it was actually happening she wanted to bury her head in the ground till it was all over and the Council had dealt with it for them. It brought her some comfort that Roan was keeping the pair close to one another, and himself.
“So, this is it then.” she murmured. “We do this, or everyone up till now died for nothing.” Qanarr, Udike, Merak, Takree, who had gone down on an extraction of civilians and converted Alliance sympathisers two months before...this is what they had been fighting for. Their chance to kill Bracknell and Soto, and make it all worth their sacrifices.
“Battle stations, everyone.” Neta echoed, all the individuals in the room filtering out slowly to gear up and take up the positions Roan had suggested, or to make last minute adjustments to their strategies and discuss them with their squad mates.

They paused on their way to the shuttle to let a squad of armoured soldiers rush past them, out towards Zinuthra's wilderness to scout out the Riika cats’ dens, as her father had ordered. Vano among them, the Mirialan smiled bravely at the pair as she passed, muttering. “You give him hell, you two. Make Bracknell pay for what he's done.” Merak had been her brother, and more than anything she wished she could accompany them to give her fallen sibling justice, but she knew the wilderness and had a good level head on her shoulders. Roan's training had made her a vital troop leader for their ground squads, so she had to stay and do what she could, the ground squads were counting on her, on Kira and the other Masters who would be leading similar teams at regular intervals throughout the wilderness.
“Roll Soto's head off her shoulders for us if you see her.” Aria retorted, clapping a hand to the Mirialan’s shoulder briefly. “We'll see you soon.” she hoped.

The troops dismissed, the duo would continue to the hangar where they would wait for Abbeth, Cheriss and Roan to join them. Aria tried to fight down her own apprehension, clung to the reassurance that she and Yerbol would be together. That nothing bad would happen to him as long as she drew breath, or that if the worst happened they would go down together. Her hands balled into fists as she glanced sideways at her best friend, her heart aching at the mere thought that they may never get to talk out this confusing shift in relationship if one or both of them didn't make it to the end of this assault. She wished they had more time….there were things she had to tell him that she hadn't even found the words for, yet, damn it! You're the best friend I've ever had. We've not been together long, but I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone. I'm so glad I got trapped in that tomb with you, that I didn't kill you that day. You are more special to me than you might ever know, and a life without you isn't one worth living.
“Yerbol….” the words stuck in her throat as she tried to speak, to voice SOME of them, but they wouldn't come out. Instead, she simply threw her arms around him again, holding him tightly for the last few moments before the others arrived and they would have to be ready to board the shuttle and put her father's plan into motion, mumbling:
“One last hug. For luck. And just in case there won't be any more.” it pained her terribly to think of the last statement, let alone say it aloud, but she knew it was a very real possibility. This was war, and the Alliance wanted to wipe them from existence. "Promise me you'll stay close to me, please."

“Let's go.” Roan’s gruff voice broke them apart, Aria releasing her friend from her tight grasp and stepping back to nod her head firmly, her jaw clenching.
"Time to finish this."

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Hahaha I confess that one was totally by accident XD I was looking for a Two Steps From Hell track that I had in mind for the Bracknell/Roan showdown later and that one happened to be in the sidebar and I gave it a try and was rendered momentarily speechless XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh man, I hate it when that happens and totally kills a fab RP D: can't be helped though sometimes, though it is a shame.

Ahaha! Ikr, it's soo liberating to be able to totally nerd out and not feel embarrassed about going on about it too much or going too indepth into lore or something XD

Alsoooo, I know you linked the Witcher one, but I was listening to this one while typing this post and daaaaannngggg does it make the suspense even worse?! O_O just feeds that looming sense of dread that we've got building of something REALLY bad about to happen XD also apologise if the rescue itself seems a bit abrupt but I didn't want to linger TOO much on it, let me know what you think of the end and whether it warrants any changing. I figured Roan and the other Masters would be able to feel that SOMETHING was coming, though they wouldn't be able to say with certainty that it was an armada led by the Alliance or anything (though it seemed poignant for Roan to know he was going to/had to die in order for them to win, call me a sucker for that haha XD)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aria was frowning deeply as Yerbol joined her in the back of the shuttle, having overheard the Knight’s talk with Kilik through their bond, she was currently perched on the very edge of her seat, one leg crossed over the other with her chin rested on her knee. She almost looked as if she had swallowed something terribly sour, her frown was so severe. It seemed to brighten slightly as Yerbol reappeared, though she seemed as wary as he was about their approaching the convoy.
“No, it’s not just you.” she confirmed quietly. “I’ve got a BAD feeling about this…” something didn’t feel right. Everything was too easy, the three shuttles surrounding them didn’t even have artillery railguns, or even standard laser canons (or if they did, they were not made show of and there was certainly no firing upon their little transport as they approached the triangular ship). Regardless, they were here now and they might as well keep going with the plan. It didn’t sit right, but there were five people being taken to their certain deaths on that ship just for being Force sensitive, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen.

_______________

They breezed effortlessly through the deserted hangar. No shuttles, no troopers, hell, not even a single astromech droid. This was really, really weird. It made the hairs on the back of Aria’s neck prickle uncomfortably, warning her over and over again alongside the hollow pit in her gut that this was a bad situation and they needed to get out of there, NOW, but she pushed it to the back of her mind so they could press forward.
“Not a single armed personnel anywhere…I don’t like this, at all.” she whistled softly as the hangar bay doors ‘whooshed’ open in front of them and presented them with three choices as to their next path, Yerbol turning towards her and making light mention of the result the last time he had made that choice. Smirking, Aria patted his forearm and stepped in front of him to stretch out her senses and try to scope out the hallways.
“Wuss. So what, if it goes wrong this time you can just blame it on me? Fine, I’ll pick.” blowing out another breath, she stepped towards the left-most corridor. “I think they circle around and join up on the other side of the wall. Elara said the prisoners were on the left-hand side, so let’s go left.” they trudged carefully down the hallway, but found it just as deserted as the hangar bay, and Aria’s predictions to be correct. They arrived on the other side of the previous wall without a hitch, sticking to their ‘keeping left’ approach and soon coming upon a doorway branching off the main hall. On the other side of the doorway faint Force presences could be felt. One, two, three...yes, five. Definitely five. Immediately beside that entryway was a smaller one, presumably the doorway leading to the terminal they would need to de-activate the fields with. Holding out a hand to place against Yerbol’s chest, Aria would halt his step and call his attention to the arrangement. Slipping into the smaller room, they would find the code on the security terminal was frightfully easy to crack (which should have been another red flag in and of itself, in hindsight…), the energy fields cutting out abruptly as Aria and Yerbol entered the room to rouse the half-dazed Force users from their deactivated restraint receptacles.
Sharp spikes of fear permeated through the room as it took the prisoners a moment to realise what was happening. At first, they assumed the worst. That they had arrived early and they were about to be executed.
Aria smiled gently as she hauled a frail-looking Twi’lek carefully onto his feet and murmured.
“Eti aan ily. dan ohk karkirjae guo. Gan cahsinark tlaran dan bo geo ar Koyis Kkita, ootay korjin cahsinark garei cloyan dan.”

translation

Aria: It’s alright. You’re safe now. We’ll take you with us to Wild Space, where they won’t ever find you.

It would take some more gentle coaxing for the five to stumble after them back towards the shuttle, but with some patient urging they made it, and managed to communicate their friendly intentions. By the time they rejoined Abbeth and Kilik on their escape shuttle, the five Force users were noticably calmer though still unsteady due to no doubt barbaric restraint techniques or drugs that had been used to incapacitate them. They would need considerable time to recover their strength in a medbay upon return to Zinuthra.

Aria leaned on the back of the co-pilot’s chair, having volunteered to stand around in the cockpit to allow the prisoners to have the rest of the shuttle’s seating area to themselves in order to help them remain settled and not stress them further.
“I don’t like this.” she whispered again.
“So you keep saying.” Kilik huffed, apparently annoyed (or perhaps so worried that he was snapping, as well?) by the duo’s constant fear-mongering. He sighed heavily again as he took the controls and they steered away from the transport, Yerbol inputting Zinuthra’s hyperspace co-ordinates to the navcomputer. “That was WAY too easy.” Kilik would nod, though their attention was focused ahead and they would not see the rest of the armada behind them uncloaking briefly as the crafts’ hyperdrives hummed to life in pursuit of the shuttle.

Soto’s features would spread into a broad grin as the comm system’s dialtone faded away and Saresh’s voice answered on the other end.
“Inform Lord Bracknell that we will be moving imminently. They took the bait.”
______________

A snout bumped at Roan’s hand, gently at first, and then harder. Again. An urgent, chuffing grunt followed as the Tuk’ata tried to rouse its pack leader from the strange Force-trance that seemed to have gripped him like icy cold fingers.
Nothing was vividly clear, the brief glimpses overlaying one another: the scream of multiple hyperdrives, blaster fire echoing off walls, walls not made of metal, lightsabers humming to life, Bracknell’s face twisted into a smug sneer as he proclaimed: “This ends NOW.”

Jolted from the vision as the Sith hound barked again and threw itself into his side, Roan got to his feet and bent to give it a reassuring scratch behind the ears. It was not a well-known fact, but apart from their intelligence, there were a few mutated Tuk’ata that were known to be mildly sensitive to the Force as well. The only two that remained since Korriban’s distraction, his ever-faithful companions could sense it too. The lingering sense of doom. He could not be certain, but if it was true...it would have to happen, or the duo would never have the strength to do what was needed to end this war.
“If this is what the Force wants for me, then it must be so my friend.” he murmured, striding out of the meditation room to locate Voldon, Jungze and Cheriss.
“Ah, Roan. Just in time, we got a call in, they did it.” Cheriss informed him as he slipped into the room.
“...Tell me that I’m not the only one who felt it.” was all Roan could say, his yellowed gaze moving between his comrades.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Ohhh man the suspense right now is just unbelievable O: working on a post now! :P

gah, "kicks butt" is definitely a way to put it, I so can't wait to see what happens in Act II, it's going to be as much of a blast as this one has been! :D I have never been able to go this crazy with a thread before or had a partner with as many epic and crazy ideas as I do so this thread shall forever be on the top of my 'favourites' list for sure XD