Session export: [Taldryithmas] Port Kasiya Blizzard

Holmes District, Port Kasiya Aboard the Water Kitten 41 ABY

“Looks like things are getting pretty bad out there,” noted Bril while looking at the displays present on Minnow’s Punworcca 116-class solar sailor. “I should get on the ground and provide assistance where I can.”

The Nautolan nodded with a determined look in her seafoam-colored eyes, and stepped forward to squeeze his shoulder. “Be careful, Bril. Comlink channels open. I’ll use the Kitten to help transport supplies and in the evacuation efforts.”

“Always,” he reassured her, leaning down to give her a kiss farewell before turning toward the sloop’s exit. The sound of his Nautolan’s quickened footfalls echoed against the ships metallic floor as she headed back to the ship’s cockpit. While waiting for the doors to open, Bril sent out a quick message to Sivall to update her on the situation and to request her assistance. Included in the message was a ping of their location, which would allow her to more easily rendezvous with them should she decide to lend aid. After the message sent, Bril tucked his datapad away and directed his eyes forward upon hearing the sharp hiss of the Kitten’s hydraulic doors beginning to open. A blast of cold air rushed into the widening gap, biting at the skin of Bril’s face. He pulled up his hood and mask to cover his ears, lips, and nose before stepping out into the cold.

-

Frigid winds roared without relent. So much snow had already fallen that it most of the street was completely covered. The damage to the Port’s power grid had left lighting conditions poor, making it even more difficult to see than it already was thanks to the torrential downpour of snow and ice. Luckily for Bril, he didn’t need to rely on his sight to find his way; the Force would guide him. The Zabrak closed his eyes and took a breath to steady himself, and dismantled the mental blocks he kept on himself to attenuate his perpetually active connection to the Living Force. Like motes of flame flaring up in defiant opposition to the bone-chilling conditions that beset Port Kasiya, the warmth of all those precious lives reached beyond space to touch the young Arconan’s mind.

To say that it was a relief to know that there were still this many people clinging on to life despite the abrupt and catastrophic change in the weather instilled Bril with a feeling of elation that he seldom felt, but it also reminded him just how exigent the present circumstances were. He needed to act fast. Hopefully, there were others who had come to the same conclusion, because this was a mountainous undertaking that would require as many helping hands as possible to complete.

So, without further delay, Bril trudged out into the street, letting his senses guide him to where he was most needed.

<@244244163002892288> <@264959101384130560>

Interesting. That was how Alaisy described the recent turn of events. Her shuttle, ‘Shimmer’, had been sent out before the storm escalated.

Meanwhile, her dress was in the final stages of its transformation. Metal pins and buckles ended up in her hands as she reinserted them between the black tendrils as if they were piercings. The alchemical rubber weaved itself together in helix-shaped coils until it covered all of the tall Sith’s pale skin.

Finally, she held her mask up as it grabbed onto her face. With a little help from the Force, she pulled her heavy hair into a high ponytail with a flick of her wrist, as a metal cuff sealed it in. She loved the cold, but perhaps this was a bit excessive. The cold parts of her body gradually warmed up as oils flowed between the layers of skin.

-

Tir'eivra’s tail flicked eagerly from side to side as she attempted to peer through the cascade of white. She had mistaken the strong winds with people screaming.

At least that’s what she thought until her boot tapped the stiff body of someone who got trapped under a durasteel beam. That was fast

Some people always had a talent for finding death. She used her heels like icepicks to move forward as she left the half-buried body behind. There were sounds of explosions nearby and bright flashes of blue light among all the white. Perhaps she shouldn’t have stuck around the spaceport for so long.

The white armoured Mandalorian was trudging through the snow as if she was walking on gravel, it didn’t slow her down at all after years living on a planet covered in snow. She did find it odd that this much snow got dumped here in this short a time. Not only her, but many people were caught off guard by it and it showed at the chaos it had created around her.

She took a moment to listen to cries of help to see if she could help anyone around her.

It took her a moment to realize she had kicked something that wasn’t snow or a stone. When she looked down she saw a hand emerge from the snow. Quickly she started to dig the snow away, following the hand to its arm and then find the person’s head.

“Please be alive,” she whispered to herself as she tried to check for a pulse.

A cry for help rang in Bril’s ears and pulled his eyes away from the pair of electro-binoculars he’d been using to improve his vision when he needed it. He clipped the binoculars onto his belt while turning to face the Twi'lek pair, who were both a shivering mess as they approached. Who knew how long they’d been wandering through the cold in search of their daughter.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured them, “I can help. May I?”

His eyes drifted to the teddy bear while he extended a hand. The distraught parents exchanged confused glances for a moment but ultimately nodded and headed it over. Bril held the toy in his hands and focused. The microsensory stabilization gloves he wore augmented his sense of touch, providing him with more details to grasp onto and use with his Force abilities. Images flashed his mind’s eye, centered on the teddy bear itself as if it had its own perspective; there was a young Twi'lek girl with lime green skin in a with little bows tied around her lekku, who clutched onto the teddy bear tightly while holding her father’s hand. The icy winds roared fiercely, buffeting the three of them with a wave of biting, blinding sleet and slow. They were separated. The little girl was alone now, cold and frightened, with just her teddy bear to comfort her as she wandered through the bleak landscape. Voices nearby rang out from … somewhere. Then, other people arrived. People she didn’t recognize. But they helped her into a nearby building where others were taking shelter.

The vision ended.

“I know where she is,” he announced, while gesturing for them to follow. “Grab onto me and I’ll lead the way. It isn’t far from here.”

And they listened, each grasping onto a different part of Bril’s robes while still holding one another. He had pinpointed the girl’s presence within the Force, imagining it as a beacon within a dark room that all he had to do was approach like a moth to a flame. And so, he did.

–

When they arrived, Bril noticed someone there already, digging furiously at the wall of snow that blocked the building’s entrance.

“Step aside. I can melt the snow.”

When the man turned to do just that, Bril stopped for a moment upon realizing it was none other than Draca Zul. He held his gaze for a moment, his utter silence conveying more than words ever could. Then, he shook his head. There was something far more important to focus on, now. If Draca did as he asked, then Bril would take a step forward and aim the vambrace on his left arm toward the frigid obstruction. Moving his fingers in a precise pattern caused the vambrace to emit an electronic chime right before the whoosh of its flamethrower heralded the production of an orange flame that made quick work of that pesky snow. Once that was done, Bril rushed to the door and gave one of the handles a good tug. Damned thing was frozen shut.

He moved closer to the door and shouted loud enough for anyone inside to hear him, hopefully. “If you’re near the door, stand back! I’m going to try cutting it open.”

Unhooking his cross guard saber, Concord, from his belt, Bril uttered a silent prayer to the Edalinare asking for his lightsaber to work. It hadn’t been exposed to the elements for very long, so he was cautiously optimistic that it would, but a prayer to the ancestors would never hurt. He mashed the button with his thumb …

–

CRACK-HISS

Concord’s blade exploded from its emitter and painted his surroundings in an amber glow. That energetic hum was music to his ears. Bril lifted the weapon above his head, aligned its tip with the seam between the two doors, and pressed forward to plunge the blade into the metal. Orange sparks flew from the point of contact as he slowly, carefully pulled the blade down the middle of the two doors. And he didn’t stop until he’d cut a path all the way to the bottom.

After deactivating Concord and returning it to his waist, Bril grabbed onto one of the door handles with both hands and looked to Draca. “Give me a hand, here.”

<@837236610684813342>

Muz tilted his head as the message looped back over itself on the holoprojector aboard the Fallen Spear. They had only just broken atmo when it came through, the images corroborating the swirl of heavy white they could see through the transparisteel of the bridge. He turned to his side, Darius’ hand on the helm, awaiting orders as the Lion’s hand went up, bidding him to stop. Leena watched him, stepping forward as if she could see better a few feet closer to the window.

“That looks just terrible…” She crossed her arms, her right lekku flicking at the other one, looking back at the Lion, leaving the question unasked.

The image flashed in her head, the boxy droid with corrugated legs tottering around in the workshop. It had his flavor, the vision slightly smoky around the edges as he often did, distinguishing his telepathy from her own inner voices. She nodded at him. She had finished the rewire on the gonk droid last week, a pet project for this sort of thing. The ungainly droids were able to provide power for large installlations on their own in a pinch, and she thought it wise to have one on standby. It would be good to give it a test.

Blackwind’s eyebrow went up, waiting for an order as patiently as he could muster. The hyperspace coordinates were already punched in, awaiting his final ignition when the distress signal came through.

Muz turned to him. Open a channel to their Consul. It would be inefficent….and inappropriate to show up without coordination. She would know where they were needed most.

Howling winds and snow so thick it was blinding. What a miserable place to be.

Thane sighed as he stood in the alcove just outside the port where he had made landfall not too long ago. His timing had been just as miserable, it seemed. His black-gold eyes adjusted to the darkness with little issue, seeing the world aglow in ultra-violet light.

For a moment a distant memory tugged at him, a recollection of a certain blind hybrid Sephi’s exuberance at discovering there was an entire spectrum of colour he could see and for her to learn. Just as quickly as it had come, the memory slipped away like the passing snow.

Another sigh, this one denoted by a large puff of smoke as the chill caught his warm breath. Thane pulled his cloak tighter around himself and decided to see if there would be any emergency response to the sudden power outage before making his next move.

“I don’t understand why we aren’t dispatching the military to the Marid Plains! Our people need assistance just as much as those savages in the Kasiyan Wilds!” the representative from the plains called out from his seat. The senate chambers, despite the severe weather outside, were completely packed save the members from other worlds.

The senator from the Varish Enclave stood up immediately following that statement and boomed out in anger on his microphone. “How dare you, the plains are in far better shape than the wilds at the moment! You’ve got hot springs, not to mention the southern range of the Arreat Mountains protecting you where we have nothing and our people are dying! You traditionalists always think you’re so entitled!”

Voices began yelling and arguments started to ensue, before over the intercom came Cassandra’s booming voice. “Order!”

The chamber fell silent, and eyes fell upon the main video monitor that was directly above the Chancellor’s Rise at the front of the chamber.

“That will be well enough, out of all of you.” she started with a firm voice as she stood up, the view entirely centered on her now. “We’ve dispatched a regiment to each of of the areas, with the more severely hit receiving additional forces and aid. Regardless of affiliation, each area is being treated equally in terms of initial response. As the situation changes, supplemental aid can and will shift between the regions. Senator Michaels, what your fellow senator from the Kasiyan Wilds has confirmed, their region has been more severely affected, particularly due to their proximity to the ocean where the weather fronts have been intensifying.”

Another senator stood up and raised their hand, upon which Cassandra’s attention shifted over. “The chair recognizes the senator from the Karufr Lowlands.”

“If I may ask, your eminence, has there been any update on the timetable upon which Grannus and Huracan are expected to vacate their positions and the storms begin to subside? Even with the assistance of the Legion, I do worry how long even they will be able to last in this situation.”

Though it was an incredibly difficult question to answer, she went into a response almost immediately without so much as missing a beat. “The Krath Laboratory is predicting about another six days before the positioning of both planets has shifted enough off of our parent planet, Perune, to restore proper temperatures to this quadrant of the system.”

“Six days!?” another senator called out, with a loud THUD coming from their desk where their fist slammed onto the top of it. “You honestly expect things to maintain themselves for SIX days!? Why not use that fancy new ship of yours and shove it up Huracan’s backside and make it move? It was a viable tactic during the war with the children!”

“Estimates show we should have enough supplies to last approximately eight days, and we’ve received word from other clans of the Brotherhood that additional aid and-”

She was unable to finish before one of the senators from Port Kasiya, a Sephi, stood up. “It was the will of this senate to distance ourselves from that…entity. Why have you requested their aid before consulting us regarding it? You do realize as far as this body is concerned we are no longer a member and therefore should care not about them.”

“While I appreciate your sentiments, and reminder of internal decisions from this body, I do need to remind you that the decision rendered that day was discretionary and advisatory. In terms of policy and internal activity, there has been no involvement from the Brotherhood. However, we are still a part of it and still abide by their requests and decisions. As such, they have offered to help us of their own volition.”

A ding sound went off above, and murmuring began across the body.

“That is time for now,” Cassandra started as she straightened several datapads on her desk, “this emergency session is concluded, we will reconvene in twenty-four hours bar any major changes. Dismissed.”

She grabbed a small gavel next to her and banged it down, the monitor above her promptly powering down.

A sigh of relief escaped from her as she hurried to dig him further out and trying to understand what he was saying to her. A few moments later he was free enough to be pulled out from under the snow. Hooking her arms under his, she pulled him free from the pack of snow still on his legs.

“Let’s see if we can get you warmed up,” she said as she looked around for a place they could hide from the cold.

As the chambers began to funnel out her Grand Vizier, a blue-skinned Twi'lek, stode up to her with a red colored commlink. “If I may pardon the interruption, you have a priority message from Lord Ashen.”

She turned her head and glanced at the Vizier with a curious expression as she took the commlink and began moving into her private chambers behind the rise.

“Good day, Lord Ashen. It is a pleasure to hear from you again, though..I wish it were under better circumstances.”

<@284848346672136192>

He nodded at that in silent respect, both for her position and the situation. Having to reach out for aid was never easy, least of all for those among the Sith tradition. And yet, Muz understood why babies were able to cry, and the species still survive. He looked at her through the glare of holographic projection, blue as she was.

“We’re still here.” His voice rang through her ears a half of a moment before her mind this time, the distance flipping the speed of the communication method from the usual. “Where can I best help?”

Thank the Force. Thank the Edalinare. The Zabrak duo managed to force the door open, its frozen metal groaning loudly when they did. Bril was the first one through the door, reaching out with the Force again to locate the Twi'lek child amongst the others huddled within the building’s darkness.

“There she is!” exclaimed Bril while pointing in her direction. She was huddled off to the side, just to the left of the doors. He felt relief wash over the girl’s parents when they rushed over to her.

“Sena! My precious baby girl, you’re okay.”

“Mama and Baba missed you so much.”

Both of the parents turned to Bril and Draca and thanked them emphatically, earning a smile from the former. He kneeled in front of the child to speak. “Your name’s Sena, right? I’m Bril. And I’ve got something for you.” Bril watched the girl’s eyes light up when he produced the teddy bear, which she snatched from his hands and hugged excitedly before running back to her parents. He gave them a final wave while advising them to seek shelter elsewhere. Then, he turned to Draca.

“Thanks for the help,” he said, extending a hand to shake. Whether he returned the gesture or not, Bril tapped on his vambrace’s display for a moment or two. It produced another audible beep. “There. I transferred you my comlink codes. That way, we can reach each other if we need any more help. We’ll cover more ground if we split up for now.”

Bril left it at that, giving the Jedi a nod before venturing out into the blizzard.

She finally had to contemplate a question for a moment as she considered it. There were numerous areas that needed aid, especially within the home districts.

“I leave that to your discretion, though I can say with certainty either Port Kasiya proper or the villages in the Karufr Lowlands. We have not heard from them in some time, and the regiment sent out on an expedition has been facing difficulties. As per the city, nearly eighty percent is still without power and the technicians at the power district of Arroyo are struggling to keep the grid operational due to the severe amounts of snow and ice.”

“Oh, and there is also the new city construct in the Arreat Mountains, we’ve lost contact with them as well. Being centered over the volcano, they should be fine in regards to temperatures…”

Muz turned to Leena, his black eyes relaying the plan as he concocted it. He’d deploy her to the power district to use the power droid to shunt power to the district while she helped to repair the grid, and he’d head to the Lowlands to do what he could, even extracting people on the Spear as need dictated. She nodded, turning to dart off the bridge toward her quarters. As hotblooded as she was, it was still going to be colder than she’d be comfortable with. Thankfully, she had a good, fur-lined coat hidden away that would be as useful as the Gonk droid now. She could feel the ship re-entering atmosphere as she turned the corner, nearly losing her balance in the milliseconds before the dampeners engaged properly.

Looking back at the holoprojector, he nodded. “I’m to Kurufr. Leena to Arroyo. Let me know if needs change.”

Muz held still a moment, watching the hologram turn off and the storm grow ever closer as the ship approached, waiting until the view was completely obscured by swirling white before heading to the hangar. It would only be a few minutes now. He cast a sidelong glance at Blackwind as the door opened. “Turn up the climate controls. I have a feeling that we’re going to need it.”

Sparks reflected from snowflake to snowflake, her peripheral vision picking up a glint of light flickering at the top of her domed helmet. She peered up. A large, square object. It flipped its sides as it whirled downward.

Right, no time

She stretched out her arm towards the wall and focused her entire will on it. Then she released. She felt the energy she had built up carry her jump. As she flung herself to the ground she rolled into a somersault. The push felt more like a punch in the back to her, but it did the job.

The entire neon sign crashed onto the snowy pavement. She kept her head down for a moment after her landing. At least, the patch she landed on was piled up with snow.

What a deathtrap

A hand stroked her back as she got herself back up with the help of a drainage pipe. With a quick glance upwards she continued towards the Holms District, even though any blue sparking lights were now looking eerily similar to fire and smoke.

Their reaction seemed less than friendly. Her eyebrows scrunched together behind the transparisteel. Her left hand formed into a claw, while the other reached for the hilt on her hip. As if addressed, her tail raised up.

She hissed her words like the air she pressed out of her mask. “No one would notice you missing, speak quickly.”

The lack of proper etiquette was apparent. There was no middle ground with the tall Sith. She was either a ball of aggression or an eloquent lady with class. Their reaction was slightly baffling to her and she had her doubts.

Her hands relaxed and so did her stance, her tail took a bit longer to adapt, its tip twitching as it went down.

“I need to? By who’s orders?” She made one step forward, placing both hands on her back in an attempt to look more imposing.

Koda forced himself out of one of the emergency exits of the Bastion, he clanked to the ground as he landed in a mix of snow and the hard hanger floor underneath. “Why is it that every other time I’m here something happens to my ship.” He sighed. The doors had frozen over and once the power went out around the city he knew something was up. Koda activated his jetpack to boost himself out the roof of the hangar, but it only seemed to last that far, sputtering out as he roughly landed on the roof, “Dank ferrik…” He cursed. He gazed upon the black city, only the faint silhouettes of buildings and landscape were showing. Koda flipped down his rangefinder to scan the area, hoping the cold isn’t tampering with that either.

That last comment really cleared up her mind. It didn’t matter if they were law or not, their lack of authority was their undoing. The incompetence.

How dare they

She seethed, the cold air might as well have been on fire right now. She stepped back and forth, having her masked face turned towards them as she calculated their moves. Her heavy boots created a path in the snow.

Then she stopped. Her knees bent slightly. Built-up hatred fed on their doubts. The fuel went into her legs. A hand reached for her weapon. Met with the other. A flourish ignited both crimson ends with a crack-hum.

The few steps from her long legs would cover enough distance. Right through them, channeling the rawness of the Force into her sprint, blades aimed at their middles.

She quickly rummaged through the garage to get some fabric blankets for him. It wasn’t much but would at least help him some while she thought of a way to get more warmth around here. As she covered the man as good as she could with the blankets she saw the speederbike at the far end of the garage.

‘Emergencies and such,’ she thought silently as she aimed one of her Westars at the bike and shot. It didn’t take much before the bike lit up and started to burn and then exploded.

Once safe, she helped the man up and move closer to the fire to help him get back to feeling warm again.

“Stay here, I’m going to search for others.”

With that she left him behind and went outside again to search for other people that needed help

Dasha was desperately trying to put together a shelter with chattering teeth. This wasnt only going to be a shelter, but a mechanically warmed one to revitalize those suffering like she was.

Exercise bikes were pulled from a nearby facility but wiring them to a battery which was wired to a large heater was slow work when her own fingers were feeling numb.

Next she would need to find volunteers to work the machine until the main power can be turned back on… having been one of the main people whom worked out the network, she knew the issues probably was the power stations and individual above-ground lines and NOT the expensive underground system she had pushed for… greater investment for the future at its own large cost.

A group of teenagers whom were out for a stroll waddled in, “Taldryan is here to save us?” One asked quietly with chattering teeth.

Dasha herself raised a shoulder to indicate for them to come over, hands clutching herself for warmth as she mounted one of the bikes and forced herself to start pedalling.

The heater seemed to start blowing frigid air at first. Not wanting to be frozen to death, the short Sephi pushed herself to pedal faster and faster… soon the heater flared grey and red producing some warm air which the teenagers huddled around to warm themselves up.

The Spear hovered above the building, the maw of the ship setting down gently on the roof as the snow billowed around her, kicked up by the ship’s engines. Leena pulled her hood up and pulled her goggles over her eyes, stepping off carefully into the ice-encrusted duracrete, the Gonk following her tediously. She flitted the button on her wrist, the message received on the bridge to peel back. She adjusted her backpack, the tools within crucial to her work. She sneered underneath the scarf wound around her head and lekku, hoping that tools and wits would be enough here. The last thing she wanted was…

The commlink in her back chirped at the same time as the sensor ping hit her datapad. Good. From high up, it seemed that it wouldn’t be but half a click away from the substation. The buildings were too dense for the Spear to land anywhere closer than that, so she’d have to find her way down to the street level and walk the rest of the way. “All right.” She exhaled the words in a cloud of steam. “Let’s go see if we can’t fix this for them.”

The lowlands were supposed to be here, but it looked more like Hoth than Kasiya to Muz’s eyes. The storm was in full effect here as the ship lowered, swirling gusts of wind and drifts of snow. Somewhere out there were villagers. Somewhere out there were stranded rescuers.

He took a step off of the lip of the bay, dropping the last few feet to soft snow below. Hekate peered over the edge at him, the wind tearing at their hood. “Master?” The droid’s voice had an odd echo, like three feminine voices at once. Muz looked up at the HK unit, nodding once. It straightened up, pulled its robe tight, and took a step off the edge as well. If there was any sound, the snow ate it whole. Hekate straightened their back with a gentle whirring sound, the purple photoreceptors glittering in the whipping wind.

Muz raised a hand, calling for silence before Hekate had a chance to speak. He let his senses dance along the lines of this world, feeling for the survivors. Their song was there, but muted. A funereal song of despair, of fear, undercurrents of inevitability. He tilted his head, letting the force invigorate his senses as he plotted a direction in the blinding white.

His colleague had fallen, yet there was still doubt. She could feel the ebbing of life behind her. The sniveling made it worse. If they had family, they would be better off without them. This was mere natural selection.

She stepped forward, facing the quivering guard. Her hand moved to the middle of her hilt, fingers settled between the chromium spikes. The other hand was at the ready. There was a pause. She enjoyed seeing his face lit up in the crimson light. It must have been a great sight to see her own as well. Alaisy wanted the KPP officer to shoot, or for him to say something. But neither happened. A hiss of air escaped the mask.

“Very well.” She spun the saber below his blaster and caught her saber hilt with a reversed grip, lobbing his lower arm clean off.

The cry he made was piercing. There was no satisfaction there. Her head throbbed, and she squeezed her eyes shut. With a whoosh the low hum of the saberstaff dissipated.

She heard him fall on his knees. When she opened her eyes she could see his sad frown of confusion. Her tail twitched. Tir'eivra extended her clawed hand and fanned her fingers over his face. His other hand gripped her arm in desperation. “No! Please.”

He shouldn’t have done that. She sank the vibronails into his skin further as his grip on the Sith’s arm tightened. He pulled on the tall woman’s arm in desperation.

She gritted her teeth and sank the nails further in until she could see his eyes dart between her fingers. Meanwhile the hilt was aimed at his heart, activated only for a swift stab. With a thud, his life was ended.

A lone woman stood in what seemed to be a makeshift hideout, one that had obviously been cleared of its contents. All that was left was a solitary table and a fizzled out spotlight lamp. Ellisyn Kendis found herself in her secondary home one last time, clad in her black and red armor and looking down at the helmet in her hands. She thumbed the domino mask inspired visor, running her gloved digit along its protruding edges. “Just one last run…” She mumbled to herself. It had taken so much willpower to move away from this place, from Holmes, from the place that had accepted her with open arms and she pledged to protect.

She looked to the garage door to where her speeder once resided, cursing its absence. Not that it would’ve done much good in the frigid air outside. The same could be said about her jetpack and any other method of assisted travel. She’d be lucky if she could even get her vambraces to work out there.

With extreme hesitance, she turned her helmet around, slid it over her head, and watched as the MFTAS hud came to life. The first thing she noticed was her brother’s ID tag displayed on the side of her screen. What was he doing here? He rarely left his castle on Elysia. Perhaps he was showing up too late for the Expo, or maybe he heard she was visiting and wanted to come say hello. Whatever his reason, she was just grateful to have him here helping the people they had both sworn to protect.

The Firrerreo did one last equipment check, verifying that all her grenades were on her body and ensuring her jetpack was secure. She looked to the lone case under the table and, begrudgingly, picked it up and set it onto her workbench. She took a deep breath, unlocked the rudimentary coded lock, and opened it to reveal a sapphire blade. She had been gifted this blade for the work she put in for the city. It once was a source of pride, but now all it reminded her of was loss, pain, grief, regret, and a whole slew of other emotions.

She reached into the box and pulled the sword out by its sheathe, inspecting the hilt for a moment before sliding it out of its protective cover. With barely any light to shine upon it, its usual glimmer was all but faded away. It was rather poetic. She took only a moment to inspect the blade before resheathing the weapon and fastening it to her back. She couldn’t stall any longer. It was time to go.

The vigilante made her way to the exit and forced it open. Thanks to the frigid wind and snow, it had frozen shut. She stepped out into the cold, her body glove retaining her body heat as best as it could. She knew this city, this district, about as well as she knew herself. There was bound to be people aiming to take advantage of the storm and use it to facilitate their nefarious deeds. So, like any good vigilante would, she dashed for a nearby fire escape, kicked off the wall of the building to reach the bottom, and pulled herself up. She made her way to the rooftop and from there began her usual perilous route along the buildings, this time having to worry about ice as well.

Meleu Karthdo’s eyes slowly fluttered open. A sharp, throbbing sensation encompassed his head and continued down his neck. Carefully, he turned his head in order to work out where he was, who he was with, and more importantly - how he got here. He lay on top of a lumpy mattress, wrapped in a tattered, old, but warm blanket. The room was dark and the windows drew in zero light, despite Meleu’s internal clock knowing it was daytime . A cheap bedside table next to him displayed the weaponry usually attached to his belt. Meleu pulled one of his arms out of the blanket and reached out towards his curved hilt on the table, but recoiled and screamed out in pain. Evidently he had endured some damage in whatever situation caused him to find himself here. He heard shy footsteps slowly approach the room and a woman’s head poked around the corner.

“M-m-my Lord, you’re awake!” The mysterious woman stuttered with a worried tone. She slowly moved into the room, but kept her distance from the mattress on the floor and her eyes glanced at his weaponry before darting towards the ground. Meleu did not need to use the Force to sense the fear emitting from the woman. Groggily, Meleu began to question the woman,

“Tell me what happened.”

The unknown woman, without raising her head, answered him,

“My Lord, we pulled you from the snow, an-and it looked like you had fallen from high above. You were cold. We brought you back here and wrapped you warm.”

“Who is ‘we’?” Meleu quipped, his voice slightly raised.

“M-me and my husband, Sir! We are just factory workers!” The woman seemed moreso visibly scared now, her hands shook and her eyes gripped shut.

The lack of light in the room and vague memories of a blizzard indicated to him that he was in a dire situation. He delicately pulled one of his arms up to reveal his commlink. He desperately tried to make connection with his starship the Dusk, to no avail. Meleu, despite feeling dominant over the woman, realised his need for her assistance. He could barely move. Feeling helpless, he let out a sigh and reassured the woman,

“Don’t worry, you saved my life. I won’t hurt you.” His polite tone caught even himself off guard. Was he using her as a tool to get himself out of this situation? Was he grateful? Meleu himself did not know. What he did know however, was that he needed to regain his strength.

“I’d kill for some soup!” Meleu chirpily informed the woman, with a rare smile forming on his face.

“Sir, a moment, I want to double check this coordinates with you.” To say this place was slowly becoming chaotic was an understatement. She was just glad she can help and had something to do instead of just sitting at the hotel or heading back home.

Empty home.

“And there WILL be someone there to receive them, right?” Evelyn wouldn’t think it would be smart to drop the supplies if they aren’t sure if there was still.. survivors.

“Let’s hope so.” Was all they responded as they left. Evelyn sighed and started to walk towards her ship.

<@583854106599489557>

The Consul of Clan Vizsla overheard the pair talking as they walked towards an unpainted N-1 Starfighter. They wouldn’t really be able to drop many supplies and while he was reluctant to allow anyone else to pilot his personal Kom'rk starfighter. He had supplies himself to deliver as well as help out himself in the rescue efforts. He had worked with Evelyn before and she was more than a capable pilot.

“A mutually beneficial proposal if you are willing.” Korvis said as he approached them. “The Verda'Kyr here is fueled and ready to go. We can add your supplies to the shipment from Vizsla and you won’t have to risk your ship. If you are willing of course?”

Evelyn looked up from her datapad at a familiar voice and turned to see Korvis. She knew better than to interrupt so she listened. She can use someone else ship instead of her own? Stars, yes.

“I am not going to say no to that. I will treat your ship like my own.” She was honestly surprised that Korvis had trust her enough to fly his ship. Though, she was curious about something. Why did he want her by his pilot seat? Before she could ask, she quickly caught the worker and asked him to load the supplies to Verda'Kyr. After the worker confirmed, she glanced back over to the armored Mandalorian.

“Sir, you are capable to pilot, so why ask me?” She wasn’t sure if he had something else in mind or two pilots was better than one in this roaring blizzard.

“The Blizzard will most likely make it impossible to land. We will have to do a high altitude drop. I intend to escort the supplies to the ground.” he stated in a matter of fact way. Almost like giving a briefing for a mission. “I can’t pilot the ship and see the supplies to their destination in the City Center of Kasiya.”

Evelyn deadpan stared at Korvis. She opened her jaw but then closed it again. Her neck was starting to hurt looking up at him.

He was a higher rank than her so if he wanted to do that instead of just dropping off the supplies at the coordinates, that was up to him. Course, they were not in the same Clan but she still respects people if they had been respectful.

And Korvis had.

Evelyn gave him a nod, “Alright, sir.”

The worker returned, “Supplies are loaded on the Kom'rk.”

They approached the Kom'rk and Evelyn was in awe. It wasn’t just a Kom'rk, it was the Nite Owl Edition one.

“Oh. It is beautiful. If you do not mind me prying, what does Verda'Kyr mean?”

“It loosely translates to Warriors End in basic.” He replied. “It still needs some work to finish it just how I want. But it gets the job done.”

“It is lovely.”

“We are over the coorindates for City Center now, sir!” She mentioned over the comms. She had been keeping the ship steady and this wind has been howling. This ship was very well-equipped but you can hear the roars and whips of the harsh snow amongst the wind. She would not want to be outside. She was prepared sudden change in cabin pressure the moment that ramp opens.

“Forgive me for mentioning this, but do you have one bloody brain cell, sir?!”

“More than one, I assure you. At least I am not trying to fly a ship in a white out.”

He continued to check his gear. Preparation was the key to surviving these High Altitude jumps and so far Korvis was still alive. The chutes were firmly attached to the gear from Vizsla. Heaters, rations and power cells made up the bulk of it.

“When we are over the target area drop the cargo. I will follow to make sure it lands in one price and doesn’t get hijacked.” The consul said.

Meanwhile, at the shelter, the teenagers had warmed enough to start getting onto some of the many exercise bikes to pedal while more near frozen citizens stumbled in.

Dasha went to a supply crate to reveal emergency food and rations while the townsfolk shared in the work of keeping the shelter warm and goods distributed properly.

Once everything seems to be in order, Dasha took 2 steps outside, shivered, then shouldered a slug thrower pointed into the air. She squeezed the trigger and fired off the specially made slug, a glitter firework that exploded as it slowed going up to send a smaller projectile up higher and higher. Glitter rained outwards like an umbrella and twinkled regardless of light or darkness.

Her handiwork set, she dragged her borrowed slug thrower back inside to warm herself. Teeth chattering, she graciously accepted a mug of hot cocoa made by the now-adequately-powered food replicator.

Even so, her job wasnt done yet. Her eyes stayed at the only entrance in case of unwanted folk.

Part of Bril had hoped that Draca and Anders had left to … somewhere else after the heated exchange the duo had with him and Minnow hours earlier. He didn’t know where that would be, but he just knew that he wasn’t ready to see either of them again so soon. Admittedly, he didn’t really have a problem with Draca, and he couldn’t even blame him for how he’d reacted. Standing by those you love was a natural reaction, of course. But Draca knew perhaps better than anyone the kind of man Anders was. He knew what he was capable of and all too willing to do to others. What did it say about him that he was willing to abide such behaviors?

Bril shook his head. Spending this much time thinking about two people he barely knew was a waste of mental resources that he’d need every bit of if he was to help as many people as he could. So, Bril kept his senses open. And they soon came to his aid when the Force screamed for him to move moments before the whirr of a landspeeder registered in his mind. Bril leaped from the ground like a fleeing bogling, barely evading a landspeeder that tore through the street and slammed into a nearby building!

“By the Force…”

Rushing over to the scene of the crash, he clicked his teeth upon seeing a Leyakian man sitting in the driver’s seat, unconscious. Blood streamed down his leathery brown skin from a laceration on his forehead. Bril surveyed the situation. A mixture of snow and rubble piled atop the speeder’s hood, crushing it against the icy ground. Even with the Force, removing all of the debris would take far too long, especially in these conditions. He didn’t know how long it would take for the man to succumb to his wounds or the elements, but he wasn’t about to wait around to find out, either.

–

“Alright, bud, we’ve got to get you out of here,” Bril muttered to himself, knowing the man couldn’t hear him. After pulling the door open, he gripped beneath the Leyakian’s shoulders and braced against the speeder with his foot to pull him out. He didn’t budge. A closer look revealed that the man’s legs were pinned. What a mess…

Leena shivered against the wind. She hadn’t been that cold since… well, she couldn’t recall. She shook her head, hoping some friction from the fur that lined her hood would warm her head a bit as she trudged through the drifts, leaving a path for the gonk. She turned to check on it. “You okay?”

“Gonk.” The droid shook a foot for a moment before following.

“I know, buddy. Just a little further.” It was a hard half-click. The substation was easy to mark, even under snow that threatened to swallow everything whole. The spires that reached to the sky were threaded with metal, a wisp of steam coming from a chimney that should have been belching it. She took inventory in her mind. The main reactor was down somehow, and that would need restored. With the sudden onslought of snow, it was likely that the exhaust was blocked, especially if they were running on standby and not hot enough to melt it as it came down. And the battery banks? Well, if they were like they were constructed anywhere else, they didn’t like the cold much. Transmission lines would be impacted if they were aerial, although she hadn’t seen any, hopefully they were all buried instead. Good. That was the kind of problem that required a lot of manpower.

She raised a gloved hand to knock on the employee door, the echoing sound loud before the snow absorbed it. She shivered for a moment before retreiving her slicing pad, booting it against the cardswipe access panel. It was a rudimentary system, government simplex, but brute force would not be enough. A cold gust whipped her jacket around, the flesh of her thigh twitching at the winter’s touch. She dropped her facade for a half of a heartbeat. The color washed back into her vision, the sounds sharpened as she felt along the circuitry, invisible fingers bridging the lock with a subtle click. She smiled beneath the scarf as she stowed the pad and pulled open the door.

“Hello?” Leena raised her voice in the dim facility. “Backup crew is here!”

Evelyn genuinely smiled. It was asymmetrical and looked like a smirk with a dimple on the side but she was really smiling. Luckily, there was no one in the cockpit to catch her in the act.

“Guilty, sir.” Evelyn replied through the comms, her knuckles were white as this storm despite being tanned, she was getting nervous. Everything was okay so far. Difficult, but managing.

“We are over the drop off area now.” The ship came to a halt and hovered but the winds were swaying it left and right, it was taking all of Evelyn’s focus to try to get it stable as possible.

From his sheltered doorway, Thane once again sighed. There wasn’t a reason, specifically, for the sigh. It was just something he did. Usually it meant he was thinking or perhaps, just maybe, he had forgotten that breathing was a thing that he needed to do.

Don’t judge, it happens.

The chill from the storm was at war with his body’s warmth. He could feel it clawing at him even as he rejected it. He knew, logically, that he was at risk the longer he stayed exposed, and there hadn’t been any measurable emergency response that he’d taken note of.

Perhaps he needed to act instead of waiting to see if he was required. But, what if he overstepped? He wasn’t in contact with Taldryan’s leadership and, most likely, his presence in their system wasn’t even known.

Awkward.

Thane closed his eyes momentarily and recovered from the light (such as it was) assaulting his sensitive eyes within the flurry surrounding him.

She shuddered, knocking the snow from her jacket as she stepped forward. “Leena.” She turned, brushing some snow from the Gonk. “Hey, go get local restored on bypass, okay?”

“Gonk.” The droid plodded forward, wobbling down the way. “Gonk Gonk Gonk.”

Leena smiled, pushing her hood back and opening her jacket. “Alarm tripped downtown, so they put me on the ticket. So, let me guess, main reactor’s down? Exhaust clogged?” She took off her backpack, opening it to expose tools and a high-vis vest. “Hey, uhhh…” She pulled out the vest and looked around at the workers. “Is safety on site?”

“That’s an emergency flare if I’ve ever seen one.” Koda quickly leapt off the top of the hanger and to the streets, using the slightest burst he could get out of his jetpack to lessen the impact of his fall and sliding on some ice. Once he got himself to his feet, he made his way towards the origins of the flare.

“Well, kark.” Leena muttered under her breath as she slipped the vest on, then adjusted the helmet for her lekku. She watched the gonk move toward them. “The power droid can get us a bypass while we fix that. Do we have a spare cover or even just a plate I can weld in place?” She set the hard hat on top of her head, then rummaged through the pack. Setting aside a plasma torch and fusion welder, she continued to dig. “I’m pretty sure I have some silicone b-seal in here, if nothing else. I’ve got two more tickets behind me, probably four, if dispatch does what they normally do…” Closing the pack and slipping it back over her shoulders, she stepped forward. “Where’s the victim?”

“Naturally. I meant access?” She smiled at them as she pulled her hood back up, then flexed her fingers in the gloves. She watched the foreman point, her eyes tracing the line to the expanded metal steps that led up and out of sight. “I’ll give you guys a moment to run the bypass through the gonk so I don’t get lit up like a life day tree. Plus, warm up a bit.” Maybe only a little bit, the room was cold, a dramatic departure from the normal heat of these sort of facilities.

Moving toward the steps, she leaned against one of the railings, tapping her foot as she waited. “Exhaust is clear already?” She nodded along with his response. “Good. Should be a real quick turnover, then.”

Muz moved through the snow, warcoat flailing dramatically in the gusts of wind. They were close, the drift having piled up against some sort of structure, hard to recognize under the seemingly endless white. The buildings of the area were piled upon, jagged formations of snow and ice reaching for a dark sky that continued to dump more on them. He paused, letting himself feel through the cold, to hear their heartsongs, to know they were there.

He twisted his mind, flinging the snow with thought and will, the drifts erupting into fine dust and then flung up into the wind. The building below was older, stone and brick, some wood and plaster. Dark windows seemed like a corpse’s face gaping at him. He moved forward, Hekate behind him. There was a dozen sentients in there, even a few non-sentients. Pets, he figured. He stopped, a few feet from the door, opening the techpad built into his arm, opening the link to his ship, calling it closer. He raised an eyebrow at the building, a flicker of motion at one of the windows.

“Hot food and transport.” The Lord’s voice boomed. It only took a few moments after that, the front door opeining a crack to find that the drift that had buried them had been removed.

The power outage was still in effect and Meleu was frustrated. No hot soup. With his memories flooding back, and explanations from his saviours - Meleu had begun to piece together what had happened to him and the current situation on Kasiya.

Whilst attempting to reach the ‘Dusk’, he had fallen from a low rooftop in the Westwind district whilst trying to avoid the havoc on the ground. He was knocked unconscious and the snow continued to fall over him. The couple who were currently housing him saw him whilst on their way back to the house to grab their children. Unknowingly, they brought a Sith Battlemaster back to their home.

Luckily for Meleu, he had regained a portion of his strength. Unfortunately, with the power still out and still not in a good enough shape to move around in the hazardous conditions - both from the weather and the Moxx gang - he had to stay put until he was able to get in communication with someone.

His largest threat at the moment was the gang. The woman - who had called herself Trasya - had explained that they had barricaded their door shut. The all female Twi’lek gang sought to strengthen their position within the district and had begun going house to house in order to find potential sheltering enemies. That’s exactly what Meleu was. As a member of the Taldryan Republic - and a powerful Force user - if they found him defenseless, he would be killed. The family housing him knew this.

Unfortunately for the family involved, they had no choice but to shelter the Sith as they were unable to escape with their children. If they were caught by the Moxx gang, they would be killed. And if they abandoned Meleu? They would be killed.

For Meleu now, it was a waiting game. Regain strength. Wait for power to return. Fight his way out of the district if he had to, and reach the ‘Dusk’.

Checking the tracking beacons on the supplies that had been dropped Korvis saw them active in his head up display. They were still dropping fast as the chutes had not deployed yet. But they were working.

“As soon as I am clear get the Verda'Kyr clear of this mess.” He stated before peering out into the black of night from the drop bay. He pounded his fist onto his chest for good luck and dove head first into the storm.

The wind was much stronger than anticipated. Snow flew towards him as his speed intensified. It reminded him of the white streaking lines of hyperspace. His feet and hands turned colder as he fell and his heads up display warned him he was off course of his target area. Rotating his body he fired up his jetpack for a course correction. It burned hot for a moment then cut out.

Sithspawn

Ice had formed on his armor and his jetpack. Desperately he tried to beat the ice off his jetpack by hitting it with his fist but he couldn’t get a good reach on it with it being behind him. He watched as the ground rushed to meet him. A couple hundred feet from impact his altimeter gave a warning. He tried again to fire up his jetpack and a chunk of thick ice broke off but nothing came out.

He flipped in the air setting his feet first towards the ground. Broken legs were better than a broken neck. Still trying to fire up the malfunctioning jetpack it finally ignited but too late for a soft landing. He impacted the snow in what could only be described as a controlled crash. Bouncing and twisting he tucked himself into a ball instinctively.

He didn’t know how long he had been out. Only that he had somehow survived the landing. His body felt like he had been hit with a speeder truck. His vision was blurred and while he wiped away the snow from his visor it was apparent that the snow wasn’t the issue with his vision. He hoped Evelyn fared better in the ship and struggled to raise to his feet.

Still having his vision impaired Korvis could make 30, no 15 gang members. Too many for his whistling birds to take out. If only his other gauntlet hadn’t been getting worked on. He likely could take the group out if he hadn’t just done his best Appius shuttle landing impression. Plus, he was new here and didn’t know how the Taldryan leaders would take to him slaughtering their citizens even gang members until they actually posed a threat. He slowly raised his hands about chest level and waited for their next move. His Beskar meant the blasters posed little threat but he still complied, at least for now.

Thane’s eyes were still closed, but not his awareness. He could feel everything around him. It would be so easy to just remove the problem. Eliminate it.

In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated. Whoever this was would have already been dead and gone, nary a thought spared.

This was not the past.

Again, he sighed. “This is ill advised,” Thane stated flatly.

The vision had been a waking thing, overlaying him blinking between the present and the almost-present future, like a lucid dream. He’d been lingering, debating some inevitably awkward messages to Anderson and the Taldryan Consul complimenting them on their city and festival that he didn’t have Cora with him to edit for his crappy grammar. Just when he’d sighed and turned to ask Evelyn and Jemel, the feeling of dread and cold in his bones had shot through him like a bullet.

Great warning, he’d thought, as he often did, in frustration and despair. Because he’d only managed to tell Evelyn to get in the air before the blizzard was on them.

Memories of the outage attack on Selen were right on the surface. He pushed them aside and, concerned for the Falleen hybrid, ordered Jemel to stay behind at the port buildings. Then he’d gone running, messaging Cassandra <@61385159655559168> as he did.

Hey I’m still here.This is Ruka. The ar ona proconsul. Going to help. Wheres most important?

Eventually she’d replied, pointing him to the city center. The largest public emergency shelter was there, apparently installed after the Mortis terraforming attacks two years prior. He sympathized. Having a crystal asteroid franging attack your planet was pretty concerning to the locales and really inspiring to construction.

-

But even the Force didn’t match weather; even a godlike Grand Master could be stopped by nature’s wrath. The Mirialan had to struggle through the worst of the snow dumping, and so by the time he reached the district, there was already so much going on, screaming to his senses, whispered cacophonies snarling to his instincts: cold, hunger, fear, suffering…violent death? the swing of a saber, the slither of a familiar suit, a predator that could never be trusted around people…more violence, greed, falling from the sky, falling snow, falling hopes…

And rising ones. Families reunited. Doors opened. They needed more.

These people needed somewhere to go.

Ruka landed atop the mega-shelter, a massive construction of duracete and transparisteel of starship quality, made to withstand even enemy invasion, but now buried. His legs bent as he struck down like a dark comet muted to a quiet plop, sinking up to his waist, only not breaking his knees due to the Dark invigorating them. He wobbled, then straightened.

Breathed in. One, two, three, four…

Held.

And exhaled.

One, two, three, four.

Violet eyes opened again, a burnished, blinded gold.

Even a master not normally needing anything but his will, his hands still lifted for a task of this magnitude. They slowly rose, and everywhere he could see, the droves of snow, hundreds of kilos of it, lifted. Away from the streets, the entrances to the shelter, the sidewalks and surrounding buildings. Off roofs and windows, and down the walkways, clearing an entire area. He slowly pivoted, lifting all along, until a radius around the shelter was simply freed of the snow.

- But more would fall. And if he set this down anywhere, it would only make those places worse.

So with sweat dripping down his scar-broken brows and freezing even as it fell, the Proconsul extended his arms and twisted his fingers, legs folding down as he sat in the now-clear roof.

And then, he threw the snow back into the maelstrom itself, and held it all back. The wind, the blizzard, every flake in the air in that bubble around him. The veins on his face popped with darkness, and he inhaled, and exhaled. He couldn’t move, or do anything but this, but hopefully people would begin to notice and find this spot.

A nexus of stillness in the storm.

“Roger, sir.”

And Korvis was gone. Hopefully he made it but this blizzard was harsh. She started to pull away until something cut through.

“… roof … into building … no shelter … coordinates … help … with child … roof … ” It was hard to pick it up with all the static but she got the gist the longer she listened. They were on the roof of some building and they cannot get inside for shelter and there’s five of them including one child. Her jaw harden. Each second counts.

“Sorry, Consul. Let us see what this baby can do.”

Ignored the no-fly zone warnings blaring in her head, Evelyn had made her way to the coordinates. The ship was being battered like a Loth-cat playing with mice but she found it. Among the insane whiteness, she saw a few colors on a roof. It had to be them. The ship’s hull protested and whine against the pressure of this storm but she kept it steady. She managed to have the bloody ship to stay hovered long enough for them to jump on the ramp before being pushed away.

They all made it. They clambered to get inside while the ramp was closing and Evelyn had to do a sharp swerve to keep from crashing into a building accidently sending the survivors up against the wall inside.

There may be some bruises.

But everyone was making it out.

Up yours, no-fly zone blizzard. For the first time in a long time, Evelyn felt alive, as if she was a teenager piloting for the first time again.

The knock startled Meleu and he bolted upright on the mattress. In a flash, he grabbed the hilt from the makeshift bedside table and pulled it underneath the blanket that lay atop of him.

BANG BANG BANG

“If you don’t let us in we’ll blast the door! We know you’re in there.” An unknown voice barked through the door.

Trasya stood with her back against the wall, her finger still pressed against her lips and face white with fear. Meleu caught her eyes and let out of soft whisper,

“Let them come.”

Trasya paused briefly, although it was obvious she couldn’t refuse the Sith’s request. He could kill her there and then. Meleu lay back down and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Immediately, she made her way towards the door and began pulling away pieces of furniture that herself and her husband had used to block the entranceway.

“G-give me a minute, I’ll open it!” Although Trasya’s voice quivered as she responded to the female voice on the other side, she had shown strength to Meleu. Still to him, it was unknown why her husband was not dealing with such things.

Trasya’s hands still shook with fear however, and it took her longer than it should’ve done to clear a path in front of the doorway

BANG BANG BANG

“HURRY UP!” The voice from the other side commanded.

Trasya pulled away the final piece of furniture and opened the door.

As the doorway opened, three Twi’leks of the Moxx gang revealed themselves, blasters pointed towards the poor woman inside.

“Show me where he is.” The primary Twi’lek said in a soft, sultry voice.

These were supposed to be law enforcement. Well, no wonder it was such mayhem around here. She cleaned the blood off her vibroclaws with the snow and peered around the area.

The blizzard had already begun to bury their bodies. They were close enough together. She looked up and saw an awning sticking out from the building, weighed down by the heavy snow. All it needed was a bit of help.

Tir'eivra stretched out her arm towards the weak, most bent point. Eyes behind the visor became an even brighter blue as she focused on the Force to bring the whole thing down. Metal creaked. Then a metallic pop followed as the supporting rods snapped off.

Her mask hissed as she exhaled, concentrating on flinging the overhang on top of the dead KPP officers. With a ringing noise and a loud clang, she covered the two corpses up with a durasteel blanket.

The ground shook. An explosion low and deep drowned out any noise she had made. Even through the obfuscation, she could see the orange and cerulean clouds. It came from the Holmes District.

Time to go

She made the impossible look natural as she headed off. Her weight was shifted to the balls of her feet, able to take quick steps with her long legs. Bladed heels picked and chipped into the ice, keeping her from ever slipping, while the wide and high platforms kept the momentum going, almost ignoring the growing piles of snow.

Elly’s eyes widened when she saw the blaster this lowly thug was carrying, her whole demeanor faltering for a moment. Sloppily, she stood in place too long in too obvious of a place and was spotted by one of the brigands and quickly dashed back, canceling the input halfway through to instead jump forward and off the building down towards the thugs.

The building wasn’t too tall. Thankfully, the vigilante was able to confidently drop into the alleyway and tumble safely into a roll, narrowly avoiding multiple blaster bolts through the whole maneuver. She sprung out of the roll with enough force to topple one of the criminals, and she quickly slammed her fist against their skull and moved on to the others.

Of the two remaining, one of the goons recognized Elly and immediately raised his hands up, a phantom pain returning to the bones she had broken in his body. His companion, the one who held Darrio’s blaster, looked at him in disbelief. He went to ask what he was doing before being cut off by Elly grabbing him by his coat and hurling him into a wall.

She stomped over, grabbed his jacket once again to lift him up, and pressed him against the cold surface behind him. “Where did you get that blaster?” She growled, a bit of her more feral side coming to light.

She noticed a flare go off, the red glare reflecting in the top right of her visor. Tir'eivra kept her march northward going, despite the increasing density of destruction. Large empty circles surrounded a chain of smoking cars as fires kept snow at bay. Nice of them to keep battery storage so close to a refueling station. It would burn for a very long time.

There was something eerily beautiful about seeing society collapse so vividly.

Elly took the punch like a champ, only slightly dazed. She kept one hand on the guy who stole Darrio’s blaster and for the first time in a very long time pointed her vambrace at the man who punched her and shot him in the thigh “I don’t have time for you!” She shouted.

She turned her attention back to the person who she had pinned “You will bring me there. NOW.” She all but roared.

Thane opened himself to the Force. As always, he envisioned it as a bottomless ocean with himself standing upon the shore. For this, he needed only to wade into the frigid shallows and allow the burning cold to suffuse whatever remained of his soul.

Unseen tendrils of power snaked around the weapon at the back of his head and the hand holding it. With a steady application of pressure, he kept the trigger from being pulled and turned the wrist upward.

At the same time, Thane pivoted and met the other’s gaze with his black-gold eyes. His lips curled slightly in a silent snarl, exposing his sharp canines.

There was nothing to be gained in this.

“Return to your shelter,” he instructed, his lilting accent hanging on the powerful wind.

Waiting around for someone to come help him wasn’t going to cut it. Bril had considered contacting Draca over the comms, but he had no idea how far away he was or if he was busy himself. No, he had to this himself. Bril had been through countless shockboxing fights since he was a child, slain Sith war beasts, and even survived a war — so, why did he feel nervous? Uncertainty twisted his stomach into a knot, but he didn’t let that deter him. He couldn’t, not when this man’s life was in jeopardy.

He took a deep breath to center himself before beginning to talk himself through his options.

Telekinesis wasn’t going to work. He was skilled at his use, but doubted he had the raw power to remove that much debris. Besides, that wouldn’t help him free the Leyakian.

Maybe he could just … amputate his legs? Prosthetic technology was unbelievable these days and he could scrounge up the money to pay for the surgery. No. What the hell was he thinking?

“Get it together, Bril. Alright, alright.”

Then, inspiration struck. Thank the Edalinare. Without missing a beat, Bril produced Concord from his belt again and ignited it, painting the blacks and greys of his Lotus robes in an orange glow. Stepping toward the landspeeder, he carefully aimed his saber’s tip and plunged it into the vehicle’s metal frame. Although he wasn’t a mechanic, he did know enough about the general design motifs of speeders to know where he could cut and where he couldn’t. Superheated plasma ate through the painted metal with ease, allowing him to introduce weak points in the landspeeder’s structure. Once he was confident that he’d done enough to implement the next stage of his rescue plan, Bril put Concord away and stepped closer to the vehicle’s doorframe.

“Alright, here goes nothing,” he said to himself while gripping both sides of the doorframe with gloved hands.

-

Then, he pulled his arms apart, tapping into the wellspring of the Living Force to enhance his strength to superhuman levels. That sensation, the feeling of being able to crumble metal like paper, never got old—and Bril had to suppress the urge to use it more often whenever he did rely on it. Be that as it may, the Zabrak’s skill with the Living Force won the day, allowing him to separate the landspeeder into two pieces whose division followed the path carefully cut by his lightsaber. That provided him with enough room to pull the Leyakian man’s legs from the speeder’s floor compartment.

The sight of the man’s broken legs made Bril grimace. At least he’d be able to heal some of the damage. Or so he thought. When he laid his hands on the limbs to do just that, the Living Force answered his call again, but he quickly realized that the damage was too great even for his abilities. The bones were too badly broken, and frostbite was beginning to set in.

“Pajfiit!”

That his connection to the Force wasn’t strong enough for him to heal wounds of this magnitude was bad enough, but his frustration was exacerbated when he recalled that just a few months prior, he had been more than capable of doing just that. His Force healing hadn’t been the same since he healed Minnow on Dathomir … since he saved the precious life that he nearly snuffed out while ensorcelled by his ancestor’s magic.

A dejected sigh escaped his lips. If he couldn’t heal the man’s wounds, he could at least try to keep the frostbite from spreading. Luckily, his Envoy essentials bag came equipped with a towel made of nerf wool. He carefully wrapped that around the man’s legs, then did the same with his armorweave cloak before gently tying them both off with the roll of fibrecord rope in his Essentials Kit. That would, hopefully, fend off the elements long enough for him to bring him to a proper shelter.

-

Scooping the man up and hoisting him over his shoulder, Bril began moving across the ground as quickly as he could in the present conditions. The occasional burst of speed via the Force helped him cover ground far faster than he would have otherwise. For the next several minutes, Bril went from door to door and gave each one a stiff kick to see if it would budge. It took a while, but he eventually found one. Based on the design, it appeared to be someone’s apartment, one with a second floor. Excellent. That meant that what little warm air reminded in the building would have risen to the higher floor by now, so that’s where he went.

“Alright, my friend. You should be much better off here,” Bril spoke to him while rummaging through his bag. “And you’re going to be even better when my lora arrives. Speaking of which…”

Bril fetched a backup comlink from his bag and fiddled with it for a moment. It wouldn’t have anywhere near its normal range because of the damage to Port Kasiya’s communications network, but once Sivall received his original message and pinpointed what district he was in, this should alert her to this man’s whereabouts so she could help him. After taking to the time to transmit his plan to her via the comlink built into his beskar vambrace, he gave the Leyakian man a pat on the shoulder.

“May the Force preserve you, friend.”

Then, he turned to leave.

—

Back on the streets, Bril went on the move again, keeping his senses open for more people to help. A distant explosion of a flare in the sky caught his attention, but only for a fleeting moment before something far more sinister impinged upon his consciousness: a presence steeped in the Dark Side, trumped in its depth only by the Tuk’ata he’d battled as a Knight. What the hell was a Sith doing here, at a time like this? Hopefully, they weren’t trying to take advantage of the chaos unfolding. Whatever their reason for coming here, Bril knew he’d be remiss to not investigate. What if they were putting more people in danger?

Not on his watch.

Bril took off, rounding corners and leaping over partially frozen landspeeders until he found the person he was looking for. Sliding to a stop a paltry fifty feet from where the towering woman stood, he regarded her with a pair of narrowed eyes, never keeping his hands two far away from his hips where his sabers – one visible and one hidden amongst the similarly-colored robes – rested. He didn’t say anything, yet. Not that she’d be able to hear him over the roar of the blizzard, anyway. How he chose to act going forward depended entirely on how the woman chose to respond to his presence, and the kind of Sith she revealed herself to be.

<@188018248241905664>

Eastbrook

Sofila was so glad she decided to bring her armor on this trip.

It did NOT make things easier anyways. It was hard to see and so difficult to hear over the roaring of the winds. She gazed over to Cole, “Doing okay?” Sofila asked through her earpiece as they continued onto finding the next building for them to check into for rescue or to see if anyone needed help.

<@432543120635461643>

Cole had not brought his armour but cold weather gear had been provided to some of the arriving help at least. With a knife and a blaster pistol on his hip, it was good enough for search and rescue. He looked up at the building, blinking snow out of his eyes before looking toward Sofila and nodding.

“Sure.”

As long as he didn’t get hypothermia again he’d be fine. But then again last time he’d gotten stranded in a frozen wasteland. They wouldn’t be exposed as long this time in theory.

“The door is blocked, unless we want to dig through we might be better finding a window.”

In the chilling howling of the blizzard, Socorra’s gloved hand, wielding a blade, appeared as she silently materialized behind Bril. The glint of the blade shimmered faintly, finding its place against his throat.

“Stalking earn you ‘creep’ title, not date.” Socorra’s heavily accented voice echoed through the vocoder embedded in her helmet, a touch of irony lost amid the confrontation.

Her presence too was steeped in the Dark Side, raw and powerful. A Sith Elder.

Warm and snug in her white beskar armor, she blended seamlessly into the blizzard, nearly invisible even without the camo upgrade, her form a ghostly apparition against the snowy landscape.

<@188018248241905664>

The Zabrak’s senses weren’t so dull that he couldn’t detect the approach of another Force user who, as far as he could tell, had made no effort to conceal themselves in the Force. Feeling his muscles tense at the Force’s clear warning that something was amiss, Bril didn’t think—he reacted. Ducking low and spinning on the balls of his feet just as an armored, knife-wielding hand appeared from the snowy haze, Bril narrowly avoided the weapon that he could only have guessed was meant for his throat.

CRACK-HISS

Concord’s blade exploded from its emitter and painted his surroundings with an amber glow. The Force confirmed Bril’s suspicions, this was someone far stronger in the Force than himself. He needed to play things smart, especially with his original source of trepidation and curiosity standing off to the side, as well. Gripping his saber’s hilt tightly with its tip trained on the armor-clad figure, he took a step backward so he could keep this new arrival and the Sith looming off to the side squarely within his line of sight.

“I’m not stalking anyone,” he fired back. “Besides, you’re one to talk. Whoever you are.”

Their presence in the Force was vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite make out who it was. Not that it mattered, now.

<@188018248241905664>

Chaos took its pauses between the gusts of wind and cascades of snow. For a moment life was still. No traces of civilization bar the white-covered buildings and frozen vehicles. The streets were dark, but the tall Sith preferred it that way, she was used to it. She took a moment to gather herself and peer around. Her tail swiped from side to side, warming her up as she could feel the pinpricks of blood flowing through it.

A rare few traces of recent movements were left. She followed those minute details, buzzing wires, creaking metal and spots where the ice had melted.

Something particular had caught her eyes, not much further from where she had taken a break. Spotted from a small distance away some footprints darkened the white snow. With little else to go by she followed the tracks.

Strangely the prints were quite deep, despite fresh snow covering them up a bit. Deeper than her own, and that was with the heavy platforms that also concentrated her weight on a finer point.

-

That sound

A chill ran over her back, making her tail twitch as she turned her masked face around, eyes squinting at the amber glint of light.

I was the one being stalked?

There was so much wrong with this place. She had been to city-planets before with zero kills to show for. Now she was being hunted and she had barely set her boots on the ground. Her apprentices? An old enemy? Her paranoia played games with her. Time to find out.

The valves on her helmet hissed as she exhaled deeply. Any doubts, any fear, and all of her paranoia culminated in fury. She shoved everything aside as she stomped her way towards the source of the sounds. With a low crack-hum both of her crimson blades erupted from the spiny hilt.

*As the day progressed, the only way now that it could be told that it was even *day was due to the fact that the white snow that descend from the skies was a bright color. However, that was it. The storm itself had significantly intensified and it was maybe lucky to see less than ten feet in front of you as the blizzard became as thick as a milkshake, with full whiteout beyond that range.

With less light descending to the surface due to the increased thickness of the storm, temperatures now were beginning to reach dangerous levels without proper protection or mitigation outside and those unable to weather it were increasingly wanting to go inside and remain warm and safe.**

Sofila grimaced at the intensity that the blizzard had picked up.

“This place has opened doors, let’s get in here.” She entered into the mansion with Cole and started to push the doors closed. They needed shelter themselves, the storm was getting worse.

Cole grimaced but open doors likely meant people to save. Hopefully those already locked in were safe enough. It certainly wasn’t for them, not out in the street.

So he nodded, following her inside and helping press the door shut though before it was fully done calling to Sofila, “Don’t close it fully in case anyone else needs open shelter.”

With the door set in place, Cole turned to look around the place. It wasn’t as grandiose inside and such a large building would imply, though a frame was nearby. He approached it, cautious of any strangers or traps that could be around but peering at the face with some curiosity. If the owner was around, it’d be good to know their face.

<@837236610684813342>

Sofila paused at seeing the painting. It… was cute. A family.

Something she desperately wanted. A baby to carry. A child in her arms. Her growing as a parent just to watch their child to grow.

And it felt like out of reach right now. With a clear of her throat, she was glad she had her helmet on. She doesn’t want Cole to see her right now.

“Okay. Should we split up? We don’t know how old this picture is… they may need our help.”

<@432543120635461643>

“Splitting up is a bad idea, if there’s something hostile thered be no way of informing the other unless you had time to hit the comms first. It’ll take longer but we have to consider our safety first.” Cole spoke firmly, “Downstairs first?”

That was true.

“Okay. Downstairs.” She looked at the picture for a bit longer before heading to the left side of the mansion first. <@837236610684813342>

The other man—woman? NB? He never really gave them much of his attention—slipped away with haste, following the instruction. Thane returned his gaze to the whiteout but never returned to the ethereal shore at his core. Instead, he redirected his control of the Force towards his self, increasing his core temperature and numbing himself to the winds. He even went so far as to slow his breathing.

With that preparation, the Deputy Grand Master entered the thick of the storm.

While it was difficult to see, the Firrerreo was not without a sense of direction. He had quickly glanced at a map of the Port and did a mental ‘you are here’ on it before entering the naturally formed labyrinth, not of walls but snow.

His destination? The City Centre. At the very least, he’d find more amicable shelter and perhaps be able to offer help if it was required of him.

Evelyn did everything she could to not start cussing. The family that was on board were already scared enough. Then.. it was still. She yelped in surprise as she ship was suddenly going TOO fast to fight against the blizzard and she had to slow it down. What the-

Her emerald hues widen in astonishment. It… was calm here? Her eyes went to the radar and it almost looked like what was called the Eye of the storm. Still. Quiet.

But this wasn’t natural. Her brows furrowed. With a sigh, she ignored it for now and started to call out to others for a safe shelter for her to drop off the family. She wasn’t sure if Korvis would like strangers on his ship.

Besides her.

She found a location for one. Evelyn made her way over and froze at seeing a familiar green skinned male. Focused. Ruka?!

I-It was him!? Oh.

Wow. Evelyn breathed softly. She went back to focus the task on hand and landed the ship at nearby shelter and the family got off of the ramp and made their way in.

“Anymore distress calls?” Evelyn asked over the open radio to see who would respond. In fact, she was itching to go back out there again.

This wasn’t her ship after all.

Elly’s roar was quickly followed by harshening winds and colder temperatures. She growled, frustration obvious in her voice. “Tell me the address and get out of here. The closest shelter isn’t far from here.” She said. The pair exchanged addresses of both the shelter and where the guy found the blaster, and Elly sent the thugs on their way, forcing them to carry their unconscious and injured comrades.

She watched them walk off, making sure that they were actually bringing their friends with instead of leaving them to freeze. Once she’s satisfied, she heads back into the alley and leans against the wall. Slowly she slid down it, Darrio’s blaster in hand. If she could take off her helmet, she would, just to be able to look at it even clearer. Every time she thought she was starting to get over him, something new came along. She was meeting people, she was making progress. But after tonight? After potentially losing all that she had made with people? Things seemed more bleak than ever.

The Firrerreo leaned her head forward, pressing the side of the blaster to her forehead, and began to sob, her whole body shaking as she lost control of her emotions for the second time that night. Why did life have to be so frakking hard?

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested as a ball of depression for a few minutes while snow caked along her armor, the frigid air chilling her to the bone. “One… two… three… one… two…” She whispered to herself, attempting to get herself out of that mindset. It took a few more chants before her body was willing to drag itself off of the ground and back into a standing position. With her helmet on, she was unable to wipe away the tears that were now drying on her cheeks, stuck with yet another reminder of the emotions she couldn’t control.

Elly had taken a holster from one of the brigands she had encountered and wrapped it around her waist. She deposited Darrio’s blaster into its temporary home and took one last deep breath. It was time to get moving. Her mind drifted to the explosions she had seen earlier, but quite frankly, she didn’t have the time or mental capacity to do anything else but focus on the task at hand. The warehouse.

–

The building in question wasn’t too far away, but in the pisspoor conditions, it felt as if she’d been walking for ages before finally arriving, her body shaking as the cold began to set in. She stood outside the doors for a moment, looking at them as if she was expecting Darrio to walk out and give her a hug and say he was sorry. To tell her that it’s all going to be alright.

But when that didn’t happen, Elly went to the doors herself and pried them open after smashing some of the ice away. She stepped into the warehouse and took in the sight that greeted her, looking at every detail she could from the doorway. <@837236610684813342>

The fusion welder flared, bright light bouncing off of Leena’s goggles as the snow picked up. It wasn’t a difficult repair by any stretch, but the weather imparted a sense of urgency. The comms showed there were a number of other facilities that could use her help. She smiled, beneath the scarf. Compared to the interpersonal complexities, the social tightrope between diplomacy and treachery, this was what she was good at. Find the problem, isolate the cause, solve the problem, move on. Even on a brotherhood clan world, the steps were the same. She finished the weld, switching off the tool and lifting her googgles to appreciate the handiwork for a moment before snowflakes caught on her eyelashes.

“Good to fire it up!” She bellowed through the commlink. A moment later, she could feel the transformer lurch back to life, the needed spark to engage the actual reactor a moment later, a cheer coming through the commlink from the boys downstairs. It was time to get back inside, before the steam started to really pour out of the chimney. As cold as it was, it would freeze into snow in the lower atmosphere. She sighed. “One down, six to go.”

This was getting old. A few dozen buildings later, and there was more than sixty civilians sitting or standing in the back of the Hangar, his Nihilgenia bringing hot noodle soup and tea to them as they huddled back by the heaters as they glowed toasty red. Doc had treated a handful of them for frostbite, and more than a few for anxiety, but they were otherwise unharmed. Muz moved toward the maw, looking down at the the buildings he had cleared, watching the snow pile up slowly again. The rescue team that the Taldryan Consul had sent was still missing. He opened his arm again, sending the message to the Taldryan Triage Center, the tower, perhaps? it didn’t matter. In times like this, coordination was key.

Blackwind. Muz pushed the message into his old friend’s mind. Coordinates inbound. They’d drop the civilians at the clan’s facility and head back, unless they needed him elsewhere. Staring at the storm, the black clouds above the unending white that pelted the ground, he knew it was far from over.

In the midst of the budding conflict with the armored figure who tried and failed to ambush him, Bril felt a familiar presence in the Force. It was small, at first … distant. But that didn’t last. What began as a whisper suddenly transformed into the clamor of a thousand horns all sounding in unison. Then, there was silence. A distant stillness persisted amongst the climatic tumult and cacophony of scattered, panicked voices to institute a region of much-needed order. And at its center, Bril sensed none other than Master Ruka Tenbriss Ya-Ir, himself. He cursed himself for not being there to see what he was doing with his own eyes but being able to feel it was more than enough, for now.

Besides, there was no time for protracted awe or feelings of pride in his master’s skill, not when there were potential threats in the area.

The malevolent presence that had originally caught Bril’s attention intensified, surging just like the blizzard was starting to. A palpable heat radiated from that direction. It was a welcome reprieve from the gelid conditions of his surroundings but was no less alarming to feel such torrid fury coming closer–and closer, still. How could such a feeling come from one person?

Bril didn’t let it disquiet him, though. He’d faced so much, already, and done so without fear. This was no different. Visibility was deteriorating rapidly, completely robbing him of his ability to see the Sith clad in black save for the faint crimson glow of her lightsaber.

-

Then, as if things weren’t complicated enough, Draca arrived on the scene. Great. He did feel some relief having someone present who wasn’t an overt threat, but why did it have to be him?

“I think we may be passed that point, Draca,” Bril replied, having to shout to ensure he was heard over the roaring winds. He knew Draca to have good intentions, so he was willing to hear what the man had to say, but there was no way in hell he was going to let his guard down for a second. Not with these two here.

<@188018248241905664> <@141239709291511808>

Now free of the wind, Elly lifted her helmet and held it under her arm. With great hesitation, the woman made her way deeper into the room. Because that’s all it really was, just a room. Sometimes, they’d let Violet stay at their place and watch Sulla so they could come here just to get some time alone together. With how busy their lives tended to be, it was rare they’d get to have those precious, quiet moments together.

She walked to the couch that, more often than not, ended up being a bed for them as well and sat down. It was just as soft and comfy as the day they bought it. She set her helmet down on the table beside the couch out of habit. It looked lonely there without Darrio’s to accompany it. Without thinking, she brushed some dust off the blanket, draped it over herself, and snuggled into it. Even though she was dressed entirely in her snow covered armor, she could still feel the warmth it once had.

And just like that, the tears came right back. Though this time, the Firrerreo’s sobs were more contained as she clutched onto the blanket as if she were an anxious child looking for safety. With clouded vision, she slowly looked over the rest of the room, noticing the mat they used to spar on, accompanied by some rubber training knives.

The vigilante thought back to one particular night they had decided to spend here together. They were in the middle of sparring when they got a call from Violet saying that Sulla wasn’t feeling well. Darrio didn’t hesitate to start getting dressed to leave. He didn’t even let Violet finish her sentence before he was rushing off to make sure their daughter was alright. Elly remembered her heart melting when they got back to their home, and Sulla was completely okay. She didn’t feel sick. She just missed Mama and Papa.

Elly would give anything to have that life back, but she knew nothing could fix it. Nothing would make the pain go away. She just had to learn to live with it and move on with life day by day.

Snow creaked under her boots. The wind carried her march. She felt determined. Tir'eivra had to be the Krykna that stole another’s web, she was not going to be the prey.

Another voice

This one was saccharine and sinless. It broke right through her defenses. Right through her wall of thoughts. She felt bombarded by warmth, perhaps heat. Strange, during a blizzard. Her heart pounded in her chest.

The crystal under her neck glowed brightly. It did something alright. Twisted and malformed. She wheezed as she tried to inhale. She scraped her throat. Things that were good and pure—especially when sharp like an arrow—inflicted more pain.

Her steps did not slow down. She heard the other voice again, so young, marked by amber light, shouting back at him.

Was this a ploy?

If it was, she was already too visible. Better to hit hard. She let the Force seep into the muscles of her long legs. Jumping off the ground.

With an aerial twist, she flung herself right at the light. Full weight behind the strike. Crimson primed to clash with amber. As she and the saber turned, her blade was going to come down diagonally. She growled, planning the follow-up swing. <@837236610684813342>

Leena waved her arms overhead as the Spear made a second pass. The half-click was harder on the way out han it was on the way in. She had to double back a couple of times to stomp down enough snow for the Gonk to follow her, and the door on the top of the building had been snowed over. Nothing a little push wouldn’t solve, but she was hesitant to make use of those abilities here.

She watched as Blackwind banked the ship through a turna nd brought it lower, compensating for the wind and snow like a true master. It came in slowly, the open maw of the hangar a few feet above the rooftop. She looked up, seeing Muz’s face as she got as much of a running start as she could, crunching snow with fast bootfalls before she leapt, him catching her with his left arm to ensure she landed safely. Tilting his head at her, he slowly nodded, then looked to the droid, wrapping his mind around it to lift it up into the ship as well. Go get warm. There’s soup.

“There’s a lot of people here.” She shook the snow off of her coat, looking toward the back of the hangar. “What’s next?”

The image of a triage center filled her mind, the building ostensibly used for something else in normal times. A school or rec center or something, she couldn’t tell. She turned back to the open maw, the hangar sealing off from the elements in a light blue tinge. The broad steam from the reactor was in full effect now, reaching to the clouds. She half smiled for a second, allowing herself to feel a mote of pride. “Next?”

Holmes district reactor. He reached out, showing her the information from triage, the map of the district, the facility.

“And you?” She nodded at one fo the nihilgenia as they handed her a steaming bowl of soup, taking her thermal bottle to fill with more. There’d only be a few minutes before she’d be out in the elements again.

She hasn’t yet said. He clasped his arms behind his back, watching the ground scream by as the ship maneuvered over the city.

Evelyn stepped out on the ramp and shivered. It was still. But it was eerily quiet too. She was just making sure the group she had saved safely went into the shelter. Evelyn didn’t like stowaways and she was sure that Korvis does not either. Maybe.

Still. Less surprise for the Consul. She turned to go back inside the ship and saw a familiar figure walking down the street. Renatus. She met him once at a party. She considered it for a moment and figured it wouldn’t be bad to have some help.

“Lord Renatus, if you are up for it, I am flying back out into the blizzard to find more people that needs to be rescued. I could use the help.”

<@185936112441622529>

Thane’s ears almost perceptibly twitched as he heard his title. More annoyingly, he heard it with an honorific.

The. Worst.

He squinted through the storm and focused on the ship and the open ramp. In short order, he was able to make out Evelyn calling to him. In even less time he had flipped through the archives of his memory and recalled everything he knew of them.

Help? Yeah, that he could do. Wasn’t doing much else as it was.

The Firrerreon redirected and trudged a path through the snowbanks and over to the ship. When Thane reached out to touch the hull in an attempt to steady his entry, he was struck by the unnatural disconnect between what his brain was telling him he should feel and what he was, well, feeling.

He allowed himself back upon the shore and felt the Force leave him. Not really. But it no longer inhibited his physical senses.

Great, now he was cold.

“Wyvern,” he stated with a nod. He didn’t say anything else, trusting that his arrival on the ship conveyed his willingness to help.

Through the thick obscuring blizzard outside, Dasha would see a shadowy figure approaching the shelter, getting larger and larger, a piece of clothing flapping in the wind around their waist. As they came more into view, Dasha would be able to see that the figure was of the Elysian Governor, Koda Kendis.

The slender blade danced between Socorra’s fingers, her hand moving animatedly as she spoke.

“S-Sizzla,” she replied candidly, the nickname sounding so incredibly awkward coming from the harsh accent and a vocoder. The tone itself however practically read as duh.

Dasha’s ears perked up in recognition before pinning down due to the chill nearly freezing her ears solid; her ears went up and down more than a few times but she stayed quiet as if expecting Koda to take over leadership over the people.

Deciding it best, she went to make sure everything in the now-warm shelter was in working order with no threats of any part of it breaking down.

“Thank you,” was all Evelyn said as the ramp closed behind them. She made her way back over the cockpit and sat down, keeping an ear out for any breakthrough. Then finally, through the static-

“… Vista … Rey … -oordinates … l-locked out … -lp …”

Evelyn assumed with a man of Renatus’s status would know to strap down… somewhere. The ship roared to life and she made her way over to Vista Del Rey. It was so weird to actually see the storm right where the ‘bubble’ was. It wa almost like being inside a snowglobe with the chaos on the outside. Focused and determined, they went right into the storm and the ship jolted violently as Evelyn maintain control while listening to the repeat distress call and made sure she got the coordinates right. <@837236610684813342>

Koda looked around the shelter and nodded to everyone, “Elysia is fine last I checked in. I’m not entirely sure what is happening here on Kasiya, but my current focus is making sure people are safe. Seems like you’ve all got some heating rigged up, very good. Communications are working to their best capacity, I’m going to try my best to establish some contact with the local authorities to get you all somewhere safer if possible. It’s times like these where we need to stick together, even if it’s just for warmth.” Koda looked around, hoping he roused a little bit of hope, “Does anyone here have any clear communications equipment? My helmet antenna was damaged while I was fumbling out in the storm.”

<@837236610684813342> <@77213354619318272>

A look of recognition flashed across Bril’s face, though his mask ensured that it could only be teased out via the widening of crystal blue eyes that followed. “You’ve got to be kid–”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence on account of the towering Sith rushing into proximity at a dizzying pace! But Bril was ready. All those matches in the Belkada and his training with Master Olen, and subsequently with Masters Ruka and Cora made sure of that. The Force screamed for him to act a few heartbeats before he saw the flash of crimson.

And move he did, instinctively lifting his left hand to block the diagonal strike, causing sparks of orange to scatter when superheated plasma clashed with the sole piece of beskar'gam he owned. Without missing a beat, he turned while momentarily gripping Alaisy’s wrist, using her own momentum to execute a shoulder throw that sent her over his shoulder and toward the icy ground below.

Someone was in need of a timeout.

Entreating the Living Force to help him again, Bril propagated a field about himself with the intent of cutting off the woman’s connection to the Force so long as she remained in his vicinity. The only problem was that suppression field wasn’t nearly as potent as he intended it to be. Whether it was the unforgiving cold or the fact that this was his first time fighting a Sith that wasn’t his master or Tahiri when he was a child, and she was quite the unsettling one indeed.

Kark.

<@188018248241905664>

The downstairs had been empty but they’d descended down, in search of people but instead they found.. a photo of Sulla.

Cole had paused upon seeing it, a frown crossing his face beneath the scarf still wrapped around the lower portion. “Sof. Come look, whoever this was knew Ellisyn and her daughter.”

It’d likely mean more to her than to him, though it was interesting. There was a layer of dust over everything that hadn’t been touched by the wind or snow. What had happened here?

Sofila heard Cole and walked over to him. Sofila took the photo and smiled at seeing Elly and Sully. But it wasn’t a warm one… it was a sad one. Not that Cole would see it.

“She… told me the dad was out of the picture. Didn’t say why or explain it but the way she said it, made me want to punch him and rip out his-” She stopped herself.

She looked around.

“I think this place has been empty for awhile. Upstairs?” Sofila requested, maybe the first floor and downstairs wasn’t touched that much but upstairs might.

She never understood people who lived in karkin’ mansions.

“Sure. We still haven’t heard anything so there’s nothing we need to see down here.”

Cole walked for the stairs, crossing the downstairs and moving up into the highest parts of the mansion.

She didn’t see it coming. Even though she should have. All that strength was used against her as she was flipped over his shoulder.

The snow caught most of her fall. But the sting of her tarnished pride hurt far more. With a grunt, she lifted herself and brushed the ice off.

A very Jedi thing to do

What she needed him to do, was sing her tune. Her right hand came off the chromium hilt. Tir'eivra peered at the man’s crystal blue eyes and tattoos behind his mask. It was time to test him. And she did enjoy trials.

She willed the Force through her arm, out of her hand, and used her metal nails like rods. A jolt of electricity sparked outward toward the Zabrak.

He saw it coming as he activated his lightsaber. Amber plasma caught the stream of blue skillfully. He made it seem easy.

The Sith grunted as she saw her effort dissipate. But it was not in vain.

He was showing his cards and she was getting warmed up. Alaisy returned to a fighting stance with a flourish, one boot in front of the other.

Whoever this woman was, she was as skilled as she was intimidating. From the blistering speed and lightsaber flourishes to the sudden projection of lightning from her clawed fingers, she gave the young Zabrak every reason to stay on high alert.

Not wanting to take the chance of being electrocuted again, he decided to try attenuating her connection to the Force again. And again, it failed, After all the kriffing practice he’d done with Masters Ruka and Cora, and he couldn’t use the ability when he needed it most. Frustrating.

He kept Concord in a slightly diagonal posture in front of his chest while keeping his eyes locked on the Sith.

“Is this what you do? Attacking the first person you see?” he asked, not really expecting a reply, but to hopefully distract her while he begin moving in a circle toward her right flank.

“You are not the first, and will not be the last,” Alaisy’s voice was modulated, making it sound more like a growl than something eloquent.

Her blazing eyes focused on his face behind the mask. Perhaps it would be easier to reach him with the Force as she heard his voice clearly for the first time.

Tir'eivra had replied, but not without an attempt at bringing tendrils of fear to the surface. She concentrated on peeling anything out.

Her free claw clenched. If this didn’t work, perhaps she could find out why he was watching her.

Something was wrong.

Although he was far from an expert with Force telepathy and the other abilities that entailed worming one’s way into the minds of others, he was more than familiar with the way it felt to know when someone was trying to invade his own. Alaisy’s noxious influence crept in from the farthest, most vulnerable reaches of his mind and lingered there in a galling attempt to extract his most intimate fears to use against him.

But Bril proved to be more resilient than she perhaps thought. Once he’d uncovered her inimical scheme, he rallied his resolve to expel her influence from his mind in a single, uncompromising rebuke.

Then, without hesitating, Bril dashed forward with the tip of Concord’s amber blade aimed for the Sith’s shoulder–the shoulder of the same arm that held her lightsaber. Although he had no intention to kill her unless she gave him no other choice, that didn’t mean he was opposed to disabling one of her best means of killing him.

Meleu lay on the mattress, eyes wide shut, but hand firmly gripped on the saber underneath the blanket. He didn’t need to take advantage of the Force to recognise danger approaching him. Heavy footsteps approached the Sith.

“Ay! Look at the weak Sith. Let’s take him back to the cantina.” The voice from the same Twi’lek banging on the door boomed. Meleu could sense two more bodies entering the room in which he was resting.

The Twi’lek’s footsteps slowed as she closed the gap between herself and Meleu. A combination of confidence with a slight cautiousness emitted from her. It didn’t matter for Meleu though what state she was in, because she would soon be dead.

The gang member’s arm reached down towards Meleu to pull back the blanket, but he was faster. Suddenly, Meleu bolted upright and his eyes shot open. Before the Twi’lek could react, a snap-hiss of Meleu’s saber ignition forced his crimson blade into her torso from under his blanket. Her body folded as she lay impaled on the blade, landing awkwardly on top of the mattress with Meleu.

Temporarily disarmed with his saber hand, the voice of the Force guided him to raise his other hand in an outstretched fashion. A blaster bolt flurry from one of the gang’s goons approached him with speed; which soon dissipated in thin air as Meleu shielded himself with the Force.

Simultaneously, Meleu released his grip from his saber and pushed the dead Twi’lek off his mattress. To most, it wouldn’t be a great situation to be in - sat on a mattress with no weapon with two enemies aiming blasters towards him. The Sith reveled in the opportunity to show off his strength in the Force.

–

Guiding a similar energy he had used to create a shield in front of him, he channeled a burst of energy towards the shooter which caught her off guard. The attack slammed into her chest and pushed her back against the wall behind her, knocking her unconscious instantly.

The last and final combatant ahead of him was obviously the weakest of the trio. She had frozen in fear, something which Meleu rapidly took advantage of. As he rose to his feet for the first time in almost a day, he reached out with his hand and lifted the Twi’lek off the ground with the Force. A clang sounded in the room as she lost hold of her blaster, her hands reaching to pull away an invisible grip that clutched her throat.

The Sith reached down and grabbed his saber hilt from the ground, and casually continued to walk towards the struggling Twi’lek who hung in the air. Despite still suffering from his head injury, a combination of adrenaline coursing through his veins and Force strength allowed him to continue unhindered.

“Now, tell me where that cantina is.” The Sith spoke - his first words in the entire encounter.

Looking around the warehouse Korvis was able to make out nearly 50 individuals herded into it. Obviously, they were captives of some sort. Families were huddled together, a few individuals were obviously bruised and had been beaten. It was somewhat warmer in the warehouse than it was outside though the heaters and lights were likely on some sort of back up power.

A shove in his back reminded him to keep moving. He was a stark contrast to the other captives with his armor and weapons still attached. It was pretty clear that whoever this gang was were common thugs as they hadn’t even bothered to try to disarm him yet. Perhaps they thought their superior numbers would save them. Along the walls were several guards with blaster rifles to keep watch and make sure no one caused any trouble.

“Take a seat.” The one with the scar said gruffly and pointed to a small chair. “Then hand over your spear, carefully. I may keep that for myself when we sell you back to your Taldryan masters.”

“You really don’t want me to do that.” Korvis replied. “It won’t end well for you.”

The defenseless Twi’lek told Meleu everything he needed to know. The cantina was a secondary holding point for hostages, there was no power there. A back-up generator existed in a warehouse a mere twenty minute walk away from his current location, and this warehouse held many hostages, and many more gang members for Meleu who would help add to his killcount.

Unfortunately for the poor woman, information was not all he sought. He released his force-grip over her, which was followed by her body collapsing on the ground. Angered by the entire situation he found himself in, Meleu relentlessly assaulted her body with his foot and brutally destroyed her skull - despite the fact he was wielding a more merciful weapon in his hand.

Tracya - the woman who Meleu found refuge with - looked on in horror. She had come out of hiding from the other room when she no longer heard conversation. The Sith shot over a glance to Tracya and spoke,

“Thank you for serving the Republic.” His gaze moved over to the unconscious Twi’lek he had earlier dispatched with the force. “This one is mine too”.

Tracya bowed her head and remained silent, seemingly to avoid watching what the Sith was about to do. Meleu casually strolled back over to the makeshift bedside table and gathered the rest of his belongings, before continuing towards the doorway to leave.

He stopped as he reached the remaining Twi’lek whose unconscious state persisted. She lay slumped against the wall, eyes closed. This was probably for the best. Meleu swiftly flicked his still-lit saber blade in an arcing motion towards her neck, displacing her head from the rest of her body in one clean swing. So precise in fact, the wall behind displayed no damage from his weapon.

Satisfied, the crimson-hue of Meleu’s weapon dissipated before he placed the hilt back within his robes. He continued his exit, nodding his head and throwing a disconcerting smile towards Tracya. The carnage he left within her house and how she was going to deal with the mess did not concern Meleu or even cross his mind.

“That wasn’t a request.” The Twi'lek said in a stern voice trying to sound bigger than she was.

“It is your funeral.” The consul of Clan Vizsla said before handing her his spear. She grasped the handle with both hands and held it in front of her as if testing its weight. The genetic sensor in the shaft went off shooting spikes through her hands mangling them beyond use.

Reaching his right hand out Korvis grabbed the leader of the gang by her throat and let his anger out, crushing her windpipe in his massive hand. She fell limp to the ground in front of her companions as Korvis kneeled to the ground. He pulled his light shield off his back and turned it on readying himself for the incoming blaster fire as he snatched his spear from the ground.

Luckily, while the storm had grown exponentially more powerful in the lead-up, it seemed that now it was beginning to calm considerably. Daylight could once again be seen as the winds calmed and the snow as well, though it was still coming down at a considerable pace. Now would be a perfect time to once again resume work on restoring the city’s power, prevent looting, and ensure stability throughout the city. Because you never know when the storm could worsen yet again…

A moment of listlessness set in. Tir'eivra’s focus shifted to the calming weather. Daylight was about to break through. She wondered if her mind had been clear at all these last few hours. Today had been different. It was a fresh start somewhere new. Yet her usual perspicacity failed to come through.

Alaisy’s ego wished to lash her for the lack of clarity. Any attempt to stifle the constant barrage of questions in her head collapsed.

Who was this Zabrak?

Where was he from?

Not alone

She wanted to ask him everything. Jedi did everything to stall a fight. The feverish agitation of her anger bit back. It kept her lips glued.

The bloodlust of her earlier slaughters flickered in. And out. Doubt set in.

Fine

Her battle stance waned. Muscles relaxed. Her clenched hand loosened, the index finger raised first, ready to finally ask questions.

“Why are y-.” He struck at her!

Not a Jedi

She tried to hold back the well-aimed attack by raising her weapon. The blow was caught. A wicked smile formed behind her breather. It deformed as her strength went missing from the parry. A frown of deep concern painted her face.

A high-pitched metallic sizzle rang in her ear. Amber plasma pushed towards her. She couldn’t swallow as a spiking pressure drove into the shimmering living suit. It singed away near the tip as it bore further into the pale skin of her shoulder.

Any hesitation burned away with it. She tensed and stepped back, pressing the sabers down. The pressurized mask hissed as she panted, her heart throbbing in her chest. She could swear she smelled the acrid tar-like odor of burnt rubber. Her imagination played with her psyche as the pain disillusioned her. There was no way she could pick up any scent.

The time to talk, however, was over.

Despite its brevity, the interstice lying between the Sith’s mental intrusion and Bril’s counterattack afforded the opportunity to glean what she was feeling in that moment. Frustration gave way to curiosity only for the former to rear its ugly head shortly after. And from the clamor of dissenting sentiments emerged one that seemingly brought the others to heel: acceptance–or perhaps, capitulation?

She began to speak again, though that didn’t deter him from continuing his strike. He’d be a fool not to. Crimson and amber clashed to produce a deeper, blood-orange hue that shone in both their faces. Bril’s expression was one of fixed determination to overcome her. A budding connection forged in combat allowed the Zabrak to tap into the wellspring of the Force, feeding off of it and everything she threw back at him to fuel his every strike. Every parry. Every breath.

Then, Draca threw himself into the conflict, forcing them both to withdraw from their clash. The Jedi managed dice his assailant’s saberstaff into three pieces but with Bril, he wasn’t so fortunate. The prismatic beam of concentrated plasma soared through the air toward him only to be caught between Concord’s main blade and one of its smaller quillons.

After forcing the blade away, Bril stepped backward while falling into a Makashi stance. “This doesn’t concern you, Draca,” he began, a hint of frustration present in his otherwise calm voice. Although he didn’t directly address the color of his sabers, a lingering gaze was evidence enough that they had piqued his curiosity.

He shifted his attention to the Sith, ready to defend if she chose to attack again.

<@837236610684813342> <@188018248241905664>

Like thunder, a rainbow had struck her Chromium Spine amid a lapsing blizzard. She staggered, her boots trying to pick at the ice beneath the snow. Her eyes bulged as a young Zabrak came crashing down. As smug-looking as they came. What fever dream was this? A sick joke, that’s what it was. Her hands had let go of the pieces of her now destroyed saberstaff, lest they be pierced by its spines.

The realization took time to take in. Two young males. Pitifully smaller than her. And she was there, disarmed by an impossibly colorful beam of plasma that had the nerve to show itself the same minute that starlight reared its ugly head. A clawed hand finally had a moment to clutch the stinging shoulder.

Emotion kicked in, hard. “What joke is this?!” She screamed, slamming the palm of her other hand into her helmet. “Who are you holier-than-thou fools!?”

She hadn’t even comprehended the new arrival’s speech. It was just too infuriating. An impossible-to-resist chuckle came on, muffled out by the mask.

Enough, that’s what he said

It finally dawned on her what the soaring knight had said. Ridiculous. Alaisy’s first instinct was to get back in claw and heel. That didn’t happen. The ludicrousness of it all made her drop down in the snow with a thud. Legs straight in front of her, she sat watching them. The cold did nothing. Appalling.

“You are both facetious.” <@1056685516441006091>

Draca’s comments earned a scoff from Bril. He knew he was right, of course. There were people who desperately needed saving, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like he’d been cheated out of a victory. Did he know nothing of their customs? “Tze'keyn, Draca. You should know better than to interrupt me during a battle. You dishonor me.”

He didn’t even acknowledge his request for him to lower his weapon. There was a better chance of the sun going cold before their very eyes. The Sith was still a threat even without her lightsaber.

When the disarmed woman began shouting and smacking her hand into the side of her helmet, only to collapse before them moments later, Bril regarded her with an expression caught somewhere between pity and morbid curiosity.

“Why did you attack me?” he asked, though his tone made it seem like more of a demand for answers.

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

“First, show some courtesy, I am here speaking to you am I not?” The demanding tone of the one she fought did not go unpunished. “Second, you were watching me from the shadows. You ignited that weapon.” She pointed at the amber plasma blazing out of its hilt. “Third, at least I know one of your names now. Please, go on.”

Alaisy put her knees up in front of her, hugging them as the heels sank into the snow. Watching them. <@837236610684813342>

“I was investigating you,” he clarified. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but your aura in the Force is noxious. And given the disaster that has struck Port Kasiya, it was a major cause for concern. I ignited my saber because an … ”

Bril looked back to where Socorra had been standing and to his surprise, she was gone. And he didn’t know when she’d departed. “Someone I know attempted to sneak up on me. It wasn’t meant for you.”

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

Her electric-blue eyes darted to Draca. At least he gave her his name. She ignored the other. There were no doubts in his words, but whether what he said was true or not, she had no say in it. And the spite made it seem deserved.

“Tir'eivra, my last, friendly, meeting here was with the Vice Chancellor and Lord Ashen.” She seemed calmer, her voice aristocratic, but friendly and free from arrogance. Just relief.

She stood up as he handed her his cloak. The tall Sith held up her hand in refusal.

“No thank you, I am not cold. Please keep it, you will need it more than me. I might need the cooling off.” If they could see it, there would have been a toothy smile. Her eyes showed it too.

<@837236610684813342>

The attempt at offering his cloak made Bril roll his eyes. His unwarranted friendliness reminded him yet again of the argument they’d had hours earlier, and how upset the fallout had left his Nautolan long after he and Anders had departed.

“Bril,” he answered this “Tir'eivra”, knowing she had no need for a surname to satisfy her curiosity. He deactivated his saber and returned it to his hip, returning her smile with little more than a tepid look. “We have unfinished business. But the edalinare have provided me with another opportunity to save more lives, one that I won’t be wasting. So, that’ll have to wait.”

He turned to Draca, next. “Don’t interrupt me again.”

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

The buildings were denser here, in the Holmes district. Muz opened the comms to Blackwind, the holographic figure watching as Leena pulled her hood back up around her lekku. The substation loomed not far, maybe a couple hundred meters away, but the buildings prevented the large ship from landing. “Psh, population centers, always getting in the way.” Leena scoffed as she raised her scarf, adjusting her goggles. “Badonka?”

The power droid tilted to one side and kicked out a foot, then leaned the other way to do the same. “Gonk.”

She chuckled, steaming up her goggles as she thought aboout upgrading the vocal processing system. But later. There were more pressing issues at hand. She waited as the maw of the Spear edged toward the roofline, foot by foot until it was a matter of inches. Leaping across, she skittered on the frosty duracrete for a second until regaining her footing and turning back to the ship. Muz gestured with one hand, the Gonk lifting from the deck of the hangar and set down gently in the packed snow where she landed a moment earlier. He nodded at her as the Spear pulled back, lifting into the sky as one of his soldiers stepped toward him. Leena watched as the ship banked and turned, headed for the triage center with it’s precious cargo.

“Well, buddy.” She sighed, plowing her way toward the roof access door. “Rinse and repeat, right?” She tried the door. Most of the time, they didn’t have them locked. It was a safety issue more than a security issue, maybe? This one budged, but seemed to catch. She paused, leaning in to see the ice that had formed around the cracks. “Karabast.”

That left the Twi'lek with two options: melt the ice with a torch from her toolkit for the next ten minutes, or… She paused, reaching out gently, carefully to see if anyone was nearby. Anyone who would sense what she was about to do. Her breath caught. One. Not terribly close, not too far away either. She let her lip curl in frustration. She’d have to risk it. She could always say it was the boss. They’d believe that, the guy had dragged ships out of the sky before. She took a breath, wrapping her mind around the Force and giving a tug.

First, the deep bass thrum that rumbled behind her eardrums. Then, the dull creaking of the metal in the door. Finally, the crackle of ice and the squeak of hinges opening. A cloud of steam pushed out with the open door, the heat from the lower floors congealing at the top of the staircase for however many hours before erupting with the opening of the door. She stopped, setting her feet for a second, wrapping her mind up in the blanket of concealment, keeping that part of herself hidden away. They didn’t need to know, and she’d rather that they didn’t.

Cole peered around the bedroom, listening for anything that’d signify presence but there was nothing.

Just a doll, sat against the pillow as if forgotten.

“Clear in here but.. we found the kid’s bedroom. Didn’t even get to take their doll…” it made him sad, for some reason. He didn’t expect that feeling but it came and passed quickly enough.

<@216702440140046336>

“…. Is the doll a resemblance of the man in the picture?” Sofila frowned. Kriff. She was starting to feel bad.

“I don’t think anyone is in here… but then how did the doors open.” She paused for a moment before, “Might’ve been the wind.”

<@837236610684813342>

“It looks like it.”

Cole looked across the hall, spotting the open doorway.

“Still, best be thorough in case it wasn’t a person that came in. The storms cleared a little but if it gets worse then we don’t ant to be stuck in here without knowing the full situation.”

He crossed the hallway, pushing the door open.

Another employee entrance, another sliced keycard entry. She watched the light turn green and turned the door handle, pulling it open for the Gonk droid to enter. She followed it, pulling the door closed behind her. “Hello?” She knocked some snow from her shoulders, watching the power droid track snow into the small room. “Anybody on site still?”

The Fallen Spear lowered to the ground slowly, the crunch of snow beneath the ramp heralding their landing amongst the roar of the engines. Muz stepped off, walking on the compact snow toward the Taldryan facility, looking for someone he recognized. The civilians followed slowly, a trickle of the boldest ones at first, then the rest, accompanied by his black-armored Nihilgenia. He made it to the double door before he saw a single soul. The narrow hallways of what was normally a school was lined with emergency suplies and support staff, ushering off survivors to the smaller classrooms. “Kurufr” The words came slow and gravelly, his voice seeming to echo in the Nurse’s head. “Survivors”

Muz moved to the side, a steady torrent of civilians streaming in behind him as he watched her call for assistants. “Is the Chancellor here?” He wanted to make sure that there wasn’t anything more pressing before he headed back to the lowlands to search for her missing team.

<@61385159655559168>

Thane had wasted little time securing himself before the ship roared to life once more. He wasn’t unhindered by memories of his last flight through Kasiya at the hands of Appius.

The ‘landing’ had been memorable.

That aside, he watched as Evelyn directed the ship towards Vista Del Rey. He watched on as visibility returned to somewhat tolerable levels in the midst of the calming storm. In the distance smoke greeted them.

Evelyn must’ve noticed much the same as he felt the ship redirected towards it. That much made sense. If there was something amiss at the source of the smoke, then that would be where they could be of most immediate use. The Deputy Grand Master opted to reach out with his ethereal senses as much as he could so that they entered the situation forearmed.

<@216702440140046336>

One of the guards nodded his head in confirmation. “She is, sir. Currently in her office just outside of the main senate chambers. Did you need to meet with her?”

Muz nodded, stepping off to the side again as a woman with two small children came through, their faces smeared with hot cocoa. He watched them pass, then raised dark eyes to the guard again, waiting for a point in the right direction before following the path they laid for him.

Leena snarled as the plate threatened to pinch her fingers. Another cold rooftop, another weld, another tube of b sealant to keep the weather off of the sensitive innards. AT least the snow seemed to subside a bit, she was thankful for that. She nudged it back into place with her off hand as the final bead of molten metal was drawn by her tool. She shifted her weight back, sitting on her heels and stretching her core. Stowing the welder, she pulled the comm again. “Good to go!”

Stumbling backwards to get to her feet, she waited for the slow turning of the coils within, the transformer energizing slowly after a few hours of being down. An eyebrow went up as she questioned it, her ear cones tuning into the sounds it was making, running diagnostics in her head as it cycled up. “Please kick over, please kick over.” Leena muttered to herself, trying not to focus on the tips of her lekku, the chill reaching them underneat the heavy hood and scarf.

The thunk of the final relay engaging prefaced the loud hum of normal operation. She sighed, looking around for the street lamps, buildings to receive power as she made her way back to the access panel.

<@837236610684813342>

The onslaught of sleet and wind worsened.

Ruka’s jaw twitched as he grit his teeth, black veins crawling all down his neck now and up his forearms. Although hidden under his robes’ layers and gloves, he could feel them, a burning sort of burrowing feeling, one that needed to be scratched, torn out. One that wanted more.

He refused it as always, feeling tears crystalize into ice on his cheeks as they welled, burning gold eyes watering from how little he was blinking. It took all he had to keep the air currents at bay, to shift his focus with them, to anticipate them and then manipulate them, to see and grasp every single flake of driving, freezing snow.

And turn it all away.

His head pounded. His shivering was slowing now, which he knew was a bad sign, but he couldn’t pay it any mind. Not while fighting back this tempest.

It could have been minutes or hours later that he felt the pressure suddenly lessen, a change in the maelstrom around him. He didn’t understand the mechanics of the weather that well, but he knew it had to be something with– warm air pockets or some disruption in the winds or whatever. Whatever it was, the reprieve as the gale forces lessened and the clouds above broke enough to reveal gaps of blinding sunlight against the white grounds outside his bubble of cleared streets and greenery was a welcome development.

- The Mirialan sagged, just a little. He didn’t lower either of his arms, which had been moving as he orchestrated this nexus, but his rigid posture went a little bit sideways. He sniffed, and his still-running nose just kept going, mucus growing rapidly cold just like the sweat on his brow had crusted to ice, how his lashes had frozen. Just because he was holding back the storm didn’t mean it wasn’t cold, and unlike his Pantoran husband, his biology didn’t do him any favors for it.

Did anyone even know he was up here? He’d seen ships coming and going, thankfully, unloading people, but none he recognized. He could barely sense Bril out there, and other strong, familiar, poisonous presences. But that was all.

Daring to lower one hand before whatever lull this was turned bad on him, the Proconsul reached for his comm, having to break it out from layers of snow and ice on his clothing and bags, and raised it to lips gone more turquoise with a tinge of bloodlessness than his typical verdant green.

“J-j-jem-el,” he managed after a few tries working his jaw, words bitten off to chattering teeth. “Wyv-n. It’s me. M-m-make sure. Pass t'word. All. Channels. Many as y'can. City ce-cent-er is…safe. F'now. S-send. Pe-ep'le…here. M'on t-the roo-oof.”

He let the comm drop into the cradle of his cross-legged lap rather than bother putting it away, then went back to what he was doing.

<@1056685516441006091> <@216702440140046336> <@61385159655559168>

Ankira looked up towards the sky. The weather had cleared up enough to try and get to their old house. If it even still existed.

She jumped up as her jetpack kicked into action and flew towards the mansion. The flight though was still difficult at times, but she got there without being blown out of course too many times.

A smile crept on her face as she saw it was still there. It wasn’t complete, but it looked fixable.

Landing in what was left of the garden she started to look around.

Sofila followed Cole but stopped when she heard the familiar sound of a jetpack. Outside.

She looked over to Cole and he heard it too.

“Should we go and check it out?”

Cole’s head had snapped towrad the noise, a frown crossing his face for a moment before nodding to Sofila.

“Sure. Careful though, there was word of people looting and raiding.”

He led the way downstairs, cautious as they approached the door to the outside and whoever may be there.

<@417336769181122562>

The guard did just that, and lead him into the massive complex. Snow was being kept out by an internal shield generator emitting from the lake at the center, allowing the area to maintain itself however the cold temperatures themselves were still managing to penetrate through. It was not long before they were at the foot of a massive white citadel, inside to reveal something only seen in the old architecture style of the Old Republic, even the senate chambers themselves as they went past.

The guard knocked on an ornate red and gold door before pressing a button to open it. Inside stood Cassandra with roughly half a dozen individuals seated in a half-circle like that of a judge tribunal. In front of them in the air was a holoscreen mock-up of the moon, with a full breakdown of the rescue efforts, aid and triage efforts, and up to the minute weather reports in every region. She looked down from the display and towards Muz as the two entered.

“Ah, welcome Lord Ashen. It is a surprise to see you, but a pleasant one to be sure.”

A green-colored Gungan, whom sat three seats to her left, glared at him and sneered. “Hmph. Let meesa guess, he'sa one of tho'sa Brotherhood peoples. Why'sa he here? This'a is'a restricted area for only Taldryan members.”

Cassandra looked at the Gungan with a soft smile. “He is a personal friend of mine, Senator Frei-Jar. And need I remind you, they are here to assist us of their own volition. I’m sure your constituants in the northern seas would be disappointed to hear you not desire help when it comes to them suffering in freezing waters.”

The Gungan grumbled for a moment before he sat back and crossed his arms, in complete silence now.

“I apologise for his outburst, Muz. On behalf of the Taldryan Administration Committee, welcome.” she continued, her attention back on him.

From his kneeling position Korvis held his light shield in front of him as the blaster fire erupted. Bolts ricocheted off it as he kept into the large group that was behind their now dead leader. His spear pierced the abdomen of one of his foes while swung the light shield into another sending her flying backwards. The blaster fire momentarily stopped as they tried to track him without shooting their own people. Another viscous slash cleaved a gaping wound in the chest of a third gang member. Seeing the door in front of him Korvis charged it with full force. His shoulder broke through it as he tumbled out into the snow.

Screams both in pain and anger followed him as his foes regrouped to give chase. Korvis however wasn’t running away. He was forcing them away from the innocent civilians and out into a choke point where he could fight them easier. He turned quickly and faced the door ready to attack the first gang member that gave chase.

“I have met with the Vice Chancellor. My first impression has been a positive one.” She took his hand as a kind gesture. They had that in common, the hands thing. Formal, but a bit invasive and possibly painful to him if she wasn’t careful with her nails. She did her best to let his hand maneuver around her claws.

She brushed the snow off and recomposed herself. For a moment her eyes darted to Bril. She was going to see him again, but next time on her terms. On her battlefield of choice. Or perhaps a set of trials first. Tir'eivra thought of the possibility of savoring this new rivalry. These bouts were healthy for a Sith like frequent exercise would be for others. But it also sharpened the mind, something she sorely needed after her time away from the Brotherhood.

“You must be quite the asset if he took you on as his Apprentice?” She peered at the broken pieces of her lightsaber. Then she turned back to Draca, who looked young and lacking any sign of corruption. In fact, Bril seemed far further down the path of a fallen Jedi than Draca did. “And so skilled with the blade already. Curious and admirable.”

“Excuse me for a moment.” The tall Sith stretched out her hand towards the handle of her broken hilt and willed the Force to bring it into her palm. The crystal was still nestled in there.

<@1056685516441006091>

Ankira frowned, it felt odd to be back at her old home, but there was also something else nagging at her. Slowly she moved through the garden towards the door, her hands hovering over her Westars as she approached the door. The nagging got stronger, but what was it trying to tell her.

With one hand she used the code to open the door, or tried too, it didn’t budge. Grabbing the edge of the door, she tried to pull it side ways to get enough room to get inside. A curse in Mando'a escaped her lips as it was heavier to moved then she remembered it doing so before. <@216702440140046336> <@432543120635461643>

“I was defending myself,” he fired back, but said nothing else of it. Sure, he happened to be enjoying himself while doing so, but was that so wrong? If Draca really thought he was so wrong for that, even in this situation, then he was more sanctimonious than he originally thought.

The mention of Anders earned an eyeroll from the Arconan. Alaisy’s praise of his Jedi counterpart wasn’t any better. Any desire he felt to reconcile or form an actual friendship was dwindling quickly, and he certainly had no desire to remain here where he would only be judge further.

“Well,” he spoke when there was a break in their conversation, “I’ll leave you two to your … whatever this is.”

He didn’t bother looking at Draca again, but he did briefly make eye contact with Alaisy once more before turning to head deeper into Holmes. Now that the blizzard had weakened, he would have a much better chance of locating more people. Perhaps, he’d look into restoring power to the district if someone else wasn’t, already.

Bril only managed to take a few steps before his senses screamed at him. The Dark Side crept into his mind once more, digging its hooks into him and holding on with spindly fingers that burned to the touch. He felt the feelings of determination, of an unrelenting will to make a difference for the people here, that pushed back against the unforgiving cold and the temptation to simply give up that whispered to a distant mind … to his master’s mind.

“M-Master … Ruka.”

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

Elsewhere, Jemel Dresad stared in complete awe at the sight of his Proconsul using the Force to bend the blizzard, at least a sizable portion of it, to his will. He had heard of the awesome feats of Force Powers that Jedi and the like were capable of, but he’d never had the chance to see it with his own eyes. Until now. Jemel felt a bit of pride knowing that his suspicions about Mister Tenbriss Ya-Ir were correct. He was more powerful than he let on, keeping it locked away until he truly needed it. What a man.

The crackling of his comlink coming to life pulled the Clawdite-Falleen hybrid’s attention away adulatory thoughts. It was a closed channel between himself, his Pronconsul, and Evelyn—meaning that one of them likely would have something important to convey. A bolt of concern ripped through him when he heard Ruka’s voice tremble across the airwaves. He sounded cold and in desperate need of someone to help him, and Jemel wasn’t about to waste time in doing just that. Orders be damned. If he was to be reprimanded for disobeying a direct order later, then so be it, but he’d never forgive himself for not helping his superior in a time of urgent need.

“I’m coming, sir.”

The Clawdeen threw the door opened and rushed out into the bitter cold and felt relief wash over him when he realized that even outside Ruka’s sphere of influence, the blizzard seemed less powerful. Conditions were improving—thank the stars.

After finding the entrance to the right building, Jemel hurried up the flight of stairs leading to the roof. Once there, he barged through the last door and out into the open where Ruka was sitting. The way his posture had begun to sag made him look like a wilting flower. Jemel had to do something, but his options were limited. Any skills he possessed were suited for espionage not rendering emergency aid.

–

Wait. There was something he could do!

His hand shot up to grip the cloak wrapped around his shoulders. Ruka’s cloak. Without a moment’s delay, Jemel snatched it off and ran over to wrap it around his Proconsul’s body, gripping him tightly to hopefully transfer even an iota of his body heat.

“It’s going to be alright, sir,” Jemel offered, a hint of panic present in his voice. “Don’t worry.”

Jemel plucked the comlink from Ruka’s lap and took a moment to set its broadcast frequencies to as many available channels as he could. Then, he started to speak.

<@244244163002892288>

—

Holmes District

Slow, steady breaths aided Bril in regaining his composure once the last of the impressions came across his Force connection to his master.

A voice rang out from the comlink built into his beskar vambrace:

“This is Agent Jemel Dresad of Clan Arcona. I’m here with my Proconsul, who is currently maintaining a region of stability within the city center. If you can, please make your way to the city center. I repeat …”

So, that’s what he had felt. His master was using the Force to control the weather, at least part of it. He didn’t even know that something like that was possible.

<@216702440140046336> <@432543120635461643>

Muz dipped his head a degree at the Chancellor, a prescribed sign of respect. He had noticed that among the icons on their coordinator, there was none for his ship. That made a sort of sense, despite the fact that he hadn’t been running the stealth systems. Active radar would have picked them up as a result. Which meant that system was impacted as well.

He cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice purely his own. It was an effort, a minor annoyance, but he had no desire to strain these petty politicians further in a situation that already had proven stressful enough. “Holmes power should be restored soon. Those stranded in the lowlands have been brought here. Where would my team and I be most useful?” Tea. Tea with citrus and honey would be needed after this, to soothe his sore throat.

<@61385159655559168>

Leena jammed open the door at street level, the arc of the threshold only vaguely cleared of snow from earlier passing. Badonka followed her, stomping through the snow like a child in their first set of boots. She watched, a bit of amusement in her eyes, idly wondering if it had happened without her even trying this time. The lines within them all were a map of connections, metal or flesh. It had gotten easier for her, the work, twisting those lines within the metal to make something more…aware. Was it cruelty or mercy, to give such things a heart, sentience? To make them aware of the fact that everything was doomed from the start? She knew how everything had to end, in the hour of our twilight, and each of them would outlast her dirty little heart. All we have done and all we ever were… just zeroes and ones.

The work in her left lekku was proof.

“This is Agent Jemel Dread…” The voice carried on the wind, slipping down alleys and between the buildings of the Holmes district to her ear cones, snapping her out of her own head. Leena’s eyes narrowed behind her goggles.

<@1056685516441006091>

The weather, while calm the most recent of times, begun to gradually pick up once again as the snowfall started to thicken. Vision was reduced to about 100 feet, and a colder chill filled the air; nothing overly dangerous…yet.

Each of the committee senators began speaking up after his question, realizing just what he was capable of at that point. They each were trying to one-up one another in terms of their specific areas and how ‘important it was’ that their area’s people be helped, and that their people were in the most ‘dire of situations’. The only one who did not speak up, were both Frei-Jar and Cassandra, of which the latter sat back in her chair and rubbed her forehead.

Finally, she stood up for a moment and glanced among the others. “Given each of you has your own thoughts and opinions on where would be best served to have him help out…Lord Ashen, I feel it would be best served if you were to pick from among these four major areas which have been the most severely compromised.”

She gestured with her hand and the map separated into four different versions of itself, each zooming in on a specific sub-section of the moon. One was on the underwater Gungan city of Ohta in the northern areas, the second was the district of Westwind back inside Port Kasiya, the third was the mercenary enclave city in the center of the Kasiyan Wilds to the west, and the fourth was the southern area of the wilds in a section labeled the ‘Jagd Wastes’.

“Is this amenable to each of you?” she asked, glancing among the others. While there were small murmurs, each quietly disagreeing with one another in a various fashion, she had made a solid point to which they could not. One after another they each nodded their head in confirmation, Frei-Jar being the last to do so.

Politicians. Muz would have pinched the bridge of his nose if he hadn’t known that they would take that as a sign to push further. He tilted his head. The Fallen Spear wasn’t built for going underwater, and he wasn’t about to test her capabilities now. Mercenary enclaves were more likely to be cocky and headstrong and harry their attempts to solve anything. That left Westwind and Jagd Wastes. Westwind seemed more populated, so he pointed at it. “Westwind, then.” He looked to Cassandra, letting a message sail on currents of thought. Let me know if anything proves more urgent.

Muz turned with a gentle nod at the senators and left the enclave, opening his arm’s holoprojector once he cleared the room. Leena’s violet skin looked paler than normal through the haze. “Holmes is up. Can I get a ride out of here? There’s some Arconans down here handling the rest, I think.”

Muz nodded once, walking down the corridor with one of the Taldryan Guards escorting. The other Brotherhood agents seemed to be giving them a wide berth, which suited him just fine. Situations like these disasters brought out the worst impulses among the Sith. Taking the opportunity to use the chaos as cover for their brutality, their internecine attacks would likely happen until the situation was clear. Muz took a deep and slow breath. The wastefulness annoyed him. He moved through to the open field, his eyes falling on his ship. He turned and nodded to the guard before stepping toward his ship.

To the west, it was.

It wasn’t but a moment before Cassandra was outside and managed to make to the edge of his ship.

“Muz!” she called out. “I wanted to apologize for them, if I had known ahead of time you were coming I could have arranged a private meeting. They…aren’t exactly welcoming of members of the Brotherhood.”

In her left hand, she held a sealed bottle of Toniray and held it toward him. “I want you to have this, as thanks. One of my oldest bottles, not of Kasiyan growth but from Alderrani origin.”

He turned to see her moving toward him. Half a smile played across his face. I appreciate it, but you probably need it more than I do. He remembered all too well the pain of having to deal with rooms full of double-dealing and self interested so-called leaders. Would that a blade could solve it. And for want of a blade, well, that led him to where he was now.

He watched the consul’s reaction, and smiled. Seriously.

As for now, there were civilians who needed power and help. He dipped his head a degree and turned to continue toward the bridge. I’d offer to have you ride with us, but you and I both know… He left the obvious hang mid-thought.

As they made their way to the smoke, a voice cut through at her private channel, an ear piece. Ruka’s. Evelyn’s body tensed and her expression gave away nothing. Hopefully, Jemel can do something for Ruka as she was unable to do so right this second. Evelyn figured she can work on broadcasting a message when she can, right now, they were too close to fumes, she kept an eye out to see what kind they were.

<@837236610684813342>

Sofila gave Cole a small nod to show she understood. Hopefully, they won’t have to deal with looters. They made their way to the front door where they originally arrived and it’s still slightly open from Cole and herself earlier. She glanced down to the floor. No new tracks.

“Back door?” Sofila suggested and made her way to the backdoor with Cole following her.

<@432543120635461643>

“Yes.” Cole responded, peering out the gap of the door before following Sofila through to the back of the house.

Where curses were audible as someone tried to pull the door open. His hand went to his blaster but just rested on the weapon rather than drawing it, glancing to Sofila before calling out.

“Hello?”

<@417336769181122562>

Ankira stopped when she heard the voice. Who in their right mind would be here? She was sure they left their home behind empty.

“What are you going in my home?” she called back to the voice.

<@432543120635461643>

Sofila grimaced. Kriff. This home belonged to her? This must look bad.

“The front door was opened and we are here to see if anyone needed help. Here. Let me see if I can open the door.” She placed her hands at the edge and couldn’t get a grip on it. What the kriff? She stepped forward to try again, the snow under her boots had melted completely. The force and pressure had her boot loose its grip as she yelped and fell forward. Her head made contact with the door and the two metal rang as Sofila groaned. She was rather in an uncomfortable position up against the door.

“I’m okay,” she reassured the pair while trying to get back up.

<@432543120635461643>

“With the door being open we thought there might be people taking shelter-”

Cole had cut off as Sofila fell forward, careful as he stepped forward with a frown and slipped his arm under hers, pulling her up and glancing into her eyes for a moment. Hard to tell exactly but itd probably just be a bruise.

Internally sighing in relief, Cole grabbed the edge, unable to get his fingers into the gap but getting grip on the edge of the corner enough to make a gap, before pulling the door open to allow the house’s owner inside.

“…anyway there isn’t anyone else here. We were going to move on before long. As long as the weather permitted it anyway.”

<@417336769181122562>

“I loosened that for you,” Sofila muttered under her breath.

He seemed so delightfully demure. Alaisy’s cold eyes followed his deep brown eyes as she ascended to her full height. He did not have the arrogance or superciliousness that most Jedi possessed. And the loyalty, a mythical devotion she had never seen before in anyone. Tir'eivra couldn’t help but wonder how much Draca meant to him.

Anders, you have one invaluable gift.

Instinct kicked in and reminded her to not think dangerous thoughts. There were mind-readers here.

Show support

Where to go

She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts slink into the Force, like an icicle dropping in a boiling pot of spirits, melting and merging.

It was not difficult to locate. But she would make it in her own time.

“Go ahead, I will not slow you two down.”

<@1056685516441006091>

She nodded with a soft smile as she telekinetically moved the bottle behind him, up the ramp, and onto the ship in some random location.

“Yes..I have to remain here and coordinate everything. Dealing with the committee, much less the senate, is like herding porgs. Sometimes I wish that…” she had started but trailed off. “Well, that’s a matter for another day to discuss. If you need anything at all, here is a special communicator with my direct comm frequency. Encryption code is Papa-Alpha-Lima-Papa-Alpha-Tango-Indigo-November-Echo.”

She handed him a small comm device that was purple and gold in color. “May the force be with you.”

To say the Mirialan had expected his bodyguard to show up despite his order wasn’t totally wrong. What he hadn’t expected was to be joined on the roof altogether, or to have his cloak returned like this.

Or the side hug for that matter.

But at the moment, it wasn’t unwelcome, not as cold as he was. Another slow exhale of breath left his bluing lips. At least his shivering hadn’t stopped still.

Hearing Jemel relay the message, though, was an immense relief. Hopefully someone heard it. Hopefully it worked for the Kasiyans. Provided some safe place to get to for all those families and individuals, the rescue workers and police, everyone, even the alleged looters.

“Th…ank y…ou,” the Proconsul said slowly to his Cladeen company. He narrowed ice-crusted golden burning, bleeding eyes out at the storm as it picked up a little again, adjusting his manipulations. He couldn’t break to look at the officer, but his torpid speech did still manage to convey an extremely parental tone. “Do not… s-tay…long. Go in…warm…come back.”

Thane felt the people gathered below before they saw them. Already, the storm threatened to worsen and there was no way this ship was going to be able to land close enough.

He had a thought then. It made him frown. He didn’t like it.

Yet, he was gonna do it.

“Wyvern,” he began to ensure he had the pilot’s attention. “Get close and open the ramp.”

Thane waited for at least a nod of acknowledgement before disentangling himself from the passenger seat. He strode with purpose towards the ramp, the ship’s internal grav stabilizers helping him keep himself upright as it maneuvered. Then the ramp hissed and began to open.

As silly as it might look, the Firrerreo walked up the ramp even before it was down. It lowered with him on it and left him standing in the elements with his gold trimmed black cloak billowing around him.

As soon as Evelyn positioned the ship and came to a halt, Thane simply stepped off the edge into the storm.

A concentrated burst of Force energy between himself and the ground cushioned his fall, helped by his empowered legs. He came to a crouch in the landing but rose to his full height as the flames lit his features despite the storm.

He did a quick headcount before announcing his intentions. “Stick the landing,” Thane intoned. Well, try to.

With that, he used hand gestures for the sake of his targets and so they weren’t caught unawares. One by one, the stranded civilians learned the definition of ‘yeet’. They were gripped by invisible ropes and propelled into the waiting ship.

When he was done, the Deputy Grand Master focused everything into his legs and propelled himself up to the ramp with a bound. When he returned to the cockpit, he kept up a super casual appearance.

“You may close it now.”

<@216702440140046336>

Socorra materialized nearby, albeit the white armor still blended very well in the blizzard, all except for the bright out of place shawl around her neck. Snow drifted into her long raven hair, adding more white to the white-silver streaks.

“Nice fight,” she said. The other Sith seemed to pose no danger, no more than earlier in the market. “Handled yourself well. Unfortunate intervene.”

“You.” Alaisy peered at what seemed like half an illusion. She squinted at the raven hair. The feeling was similar to her meeting before. “Socorra?” The tall Sith seemed puzzled.

Her voice changed her tone from somber and agitated to courteous and formal. “Well, I am glad you appreciated the display. Despite the damage, the gain was more than worth it.”

She nodded an affirmative and slowly approached. The movement was silent all except for the crunch of deep snow beneath her boots. “What did you gain?”

The screens inside of the weather center of Taldryan Tower suddenly lit up red, klaxons going off throughout the room. Technicians began moving around in a scurry, ever sure to be in a hurry.

“What’s going on!?” the supervisor called out as he took his seat at the head of the room, putting on his headset. His eyes widened as he looked at the screens. Grannus and Huracan had begun to reach their apex in rotation as the view of the Caelus star began to diminish. In the lower corner of the screen was a projection of the temperatures ahead, and the number began to plummet…20 degrees farenheit…..10….0….-10…-20….-30… and it kept going. And trailing the edge of the projection was a storm front that was already starting to form over the eastern oceans along the equator…and was set to move directly over the continent.

Immediately he lept from his seat and scrambled to a nearby room up to a safe where he input a 6 digit code, then grabbed a red commlink out from inside of it. “Get me the chancellor, priority level obsidian.”

“…our worst fears have been realized.” Cassandra said as he listened to the report being given to herself and the administration committee. “How long until the blackout occurs?”

“Approximately four hours, your eminence.”

“Ah'nd yousa sure about da temperaturesa?” Frei-Ja asked cautiously, his chin resting on his hands.

“Unfortunately yes, senator. The worst of it will be directly over the central belt.”

“So, Port Kasiya then.” the brown haired Bothan senator quietly murmured. “What is the expected effect of this storm?”

“Falling snow will clump together into ice and fall from the skies, the air itself will gradually begin to freeze so anything and everything metal will start to form ice on it while ice forms inside windows and into buildings anywhere air can escape into. The snow on the ground will also completely solidify. Depending on the timeframe involved, the entire city’s exterior could become encased in frozen stalagmites. Current projections have it being over the city for approximately seven hours until the apex of the planets is cleared.”

“A crystal city basically at the worst..”

Cassandra sat back in her chair, and let out a breath. “Senate Guard Commander Roberts.”

“Ma'am.” one of the blue armored guards at the back of the room said as he stepped forward. Unlike the others, his blue uniform had yellow trim and adornments.

“Inform everyone on the senate grounds to evacuate into the underground shelters. We will keep the shield up, but there are no guarantees it will hold and the outdoors will be deadly to all.”

He nodded his head in confirmation and immediately left the room.

“Send an alert to the city as well, blue alert.” she said as she stood up and began collecting her things. “Let them know they have three hours.”

It was less than a minute before alarms began going off from Taldryan Tower and throughout the city, holographic billboards and signs changing to reflect the sudden order.

“Blue Alert” Seek immediate shelter in the nearest underground shelter or location. All above ground locations are considered unsafe, including homes and areas unable to be sealed or pressurized. Temperatures expected to plummet to -227, and a full eclipse expected with complete darkness.

Time to Shelter: 2 Hours, 58 Minutes

Hearing Draca shout his name pulled him out of the haze of mental chatter that had held his attention. “What?” he asked, still sounding somewhat out of it. “What’s the matter?”

His thoughts shifted to Mister Ruka again, who seemed to be fairing a bit better, now, but was still worrying him. “My master is in trouble…” he said to no one in particular.

Jemel shook his head. “No can do, sir.”

There was no way he was going to leave his Proconsul’s side, not for that, at least. He waz correct to show concern for his body temperature, but Jemel had ways of dealing that. It was time to kill two birds (heh) with one stone.

With no small effort and discomfort to himself, the Clawdite-Falleen tapped into his species’ shapeshifting ability to assume the form of a wookie. It was a wookie much smaller than what was common than average, but one that bore the coat of thick fur that would prove invaluable for the two of them.

“I-I apologize for this, sir. But it’s our best option.” Jemel said while focusing on maintaining the form, knowing that Ruka feeling him change into such a different form likely felt … unusual, to say the least.

Koda made a judgement call based on not getting a direct answer from the people in the shelter. “Very well, seems we’ll most likely need to get power restored in some way. I have a vague idea where we need to go, but does anyone here know where the nearest power station is? I won’t ask you to leave the shelter, directions is all I would need.

Ruka had seen some kriff in his time. It was hard to do worse than the caxqettes that had plagued Selen since that old tomb had opened, or the monstrosities made of men twisted in crystal until they were barely human anymore that the Principate had unleashed, or the other creatures the Children conjured. After all he’d been through, feeling someone shape shift right against him was…something alright. But not so bad that it broke his concentration.

He was mostly just impressed Jemel could keep his vocal cords Near-Human while in Wookiee shape. And one couldn’t complain about the extra fur. It was too dire to feel awkward, especially as their communicators both blared with a warning for the oncoming event of planetary devastation, sirens in the distance and boards lighting where there was power to run them.

“Ahdla and Bo-gan,” the chattered Mirialan whispered. Tears blinked from his eyes and froze before they fell. The open orifices on his face were actually growing to dry and crystallize. “Dresad. Th-is is an order. You go. Do. Whatever you can. To get people here.”

Evelyn’s eyes scanned the surrounding areas, trying to figure out how to signal them to get on a roof so she could-

‘Get close and open the ramp.’ Evelyn turned to look at him and considered it for a moment. It was… quite the drop. Maybe he was a Force User. They were always able to do things that people like her, cannot. She nodded to him and he was gone from the seat while she worked to get close as possible without hitting the buildings and pulled the level to open the ramp. While Renatus was busy with the survivors, Evelyn set up an automated message to broadcast on all open channels. Before she could finish, she heard Jemel cut through.

Well. Never mind then.

Then a muffled scream. And a thud.

Then another. Some of them didn’t scream and others did. Evelyn glanced at the radar. Amazing. He was legit throwing them in the ship. They should be okay. Some scrapes and bruises but at least they will be alive. The moment Renatus returned, the storm picked up, throwing the ship to bump into one of the buildings but Evelyn managed to regain control and away. The ramp hissed as it slowly closed.

The storm was becoming more alive. Her emerald hues glanced over at the metal of the ship, it was starting to look bad with the ice eating at the metal. Even with the warmth of the ship, she could feel the coldness attempting to pierce through. The ship whined and groaned against the darkening storm. Evelyn knew that when she drops them off, she would needed to find a place to land. She had already pushed her luck enough. This time, the pilot was prepared for the sudden change in the wind when they entered into the dome, she release the and relaxed the engine and let the blizzard push them into the dome.

Arrived at the closest shelter’s roof in City Centre, she opened the ramp for the survivors to get out.

“You can go. I will have to find somewhere to land.” She gave him the choice to stay or go.

“There is a generator in the mansion that should help bring back power to Eastbrook. Maybe you can help to get that running before we leave from here.” Ankira said as she stepped inside.

“If you worry to much about the cold, I will stay here to try and get it running so that you can get to safety.”

As she spoke, the alert went out.

Cole frowned, pausing to listen to the broadcast before shaking his head, “We have three hours before everything unsealed is a death trap. Getting the power running is one thing, maybe it’ll at least help people get to shelters, but we can’t let you stay here to freeze after.”

It was their one job to get whoever had remained in the area, out and to safety.

<@216702440140046336>

“An opportunity and a rival.” Her tail shivered, then coiled around her thigh. The air that pressed out of her mask was no longer smoke, but it instantly froze, creating shimmering sparkles of ice.

“It is getting colder, we should find a place to warm up.”

Okay. So. Elly was sitting in the dark, all sad like, and with one last sigh, pulled the blanket off of her and shakily stood up. Just as she did, the power whirred back to life, and the lights turned on, and she sighed. She’d have time to be sad and investigate this mystery another day. Carefully, she folded the blanket back up, replaced it on the couch, and looked over the space just one last time, and for the first time since she decided to move away from Holmes, she was sure it was the right decision. She was tired of the pain and the memories. She retrieved her helmet from its place on a table and slid it back on, quickly making her way back out of the building and into the snow.

It seemed that the blizzard had calmed, if only for a small while. With the added visibility, she was able to focus more on clearing her head in the most healthy way possible by beating criminals senseless. Without much direction on where to go and without a speeder to facilitate her search, Elly was stuck with simply climbing another building and jumping across the rooftops of Holmes in search of danger once again.

–

After a few minutes of some risky frozen building hopping, Elly came upon a pair of beings, one dressed up in what looked to be some sort of… she shook her head. Surely it’s just a shiny body glove like she had on. Something to insulate while the other was clad in all white. But even so, the metal claws on the shinier one were enough to warrant her attention.

She took two quick breaths and jumped down in front of the two strangers. Thankfully, the buildings in Holmes weren’t too tall, so a simple tumble roll was enough to keep her knees inside her legs, her healing factor taking care of the bruises that were forming. The vigilante sprang up in front of her and immediately got to the point.

“You two here to help, or do I need to be concerned?” <@141239709291511808>

Pausing a reply, Socorra’s gloved hands instinctively reached for the blades at her wide hips as they were joined. “Depends who asking.” Even through the vocoder her thick accent shined through.

The tall Sith’s electric-blue eyes darted from the raven and white-haired assassin to a new arrival with a matt black helmet. “You should be concerned, but not with us. The temperature is dropping fast.” Her modulated voice had a sense of urgency to it, yet even in a pinch it had that aristocratic, Imperial lilt to it.

“I have had my share of action for today, how about we find cover?” Alaisy had her eyes set on the red t-visor. “Alaisy Tir'eivra, I will let my associate introduce herself. What are you, friend or foe?” <@141239709291511808>

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to stay here, just want to get the power back online. Besides I can hold out in the cold more then others can.”

Ankira moved through the house towards one of the basement doors and pushing it open with a heavy creak.

“The generator should be down there, somewhere,” she said before disappearing into the darkness.

Elly eyed Socrra’s movements, preparing to move at a moments notice. “My name doesn’t matter,” she said to the woman in white “But you’re right, it’s getting pretty bad out here. And don’t worry, I’m a friend.” She assured. “I know a place nearby that should be safe if you’re okay to follow me?” <@188018248241905664>

Sofila shook her head. No way was she going to let someone go out alone to try to run something by themselves.

“Wait, are you telling me that the power for Eastbrook is in THIS mansion?” Sofila asked, shocked. She didn’t expect a kriffin’ city gen to be in a mansion.

“Yea, let’s get it running for the people and we can all go to shelter. They have food, water, and safety there.”

Sofila followed Alyin and glanced over to Cole. She wasn’t going to split up, not after the agreement they both had. So, the pair disappeared into the darkness, looking for the gen.

<@417336769181122562>

Cole remained a step behind. He wasn’t particularly skilled with machinery but he could keep watch at least.

“Whoever you are, I am glad you have your head in the game.” Alaisy inclined her masked head. “Ready when you are.” She turned her head back to <@141239709291511808>

Leena stomped from the bay of the Spear, this rooftop actually adjacent to the substation for a change. The gonk followed suit, chattering the same word to itself over and over. She watched as the ship pulled back, Muz’s warcoat flapping in the wind. She moved to the edge of the roof, looking down. Three stories. Time was not on their side. She snarled. Leena really didn’t want to tip her hand. Not here.

The gonk skittered on the ice next to her, sliding toward the low edge as her eyes grew wide beneath her goggles. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the power droid’s knees hit the edge, the top heavy block tipping before the legs flared skyward.

In the moments between thought, reaction lives. Leena had lived for more than a decade in this new world, where absent conscious thought, her mind solved issues for her. As she reached out her hand, her mind did too, catching the droid as it fell to the snowy street below, dangling ten feet in the air.

“Frell.” She swore at herself, setting the droid down gently. “Frell my karking…” She sneered, looking to see if there were any witnesses. Finding none, she slipped down herself, letting slowing her descent just enough to keep pain at bay.

Rising from the landing, she pulled the Force over her again, the blanket of concealment warming all but her flesh. Moving to the door, she quieted her mind with work, analysing the sounds the equipment made or didn’t make, dissecting issues and root causes. This one would be easier. It seemed that a few belts had snapped, and a wiring harness snapped in the brittle cold. Ten minutes, if they had the part. Fifteen, twenty if she had to rig something together.

She nodded to Alaisy “Good. This way” she said, starting a jog in the direction of an old fashioned bar, one designed to be nice and homely and thankfully very warm <@141239709291511808>

“Lead the way.” She had no idea whether she could trust this stranger, but Tir'eivra had a feeling they likely felt the same about her. At least she could shut down her brain for a moment. It was getting so cold that it felt more like it was burning. Her steps were long enough to keep up with the armored woman’s jogging. There was no clear Force signature that she could feel from the rather stocky person, making Alaisy feel just a little more at ease letting her thoughts flow freely.

It wasn’t a long journey, taking only a couple minutes at most with Elly leading them through all the shortcuts she had learned about the area.

The establishment itself was a very hole in the wall type place with only a small sign indicating its existence. She poked at the controls for the door and in no time she had it open and ushered the women who were joining her into the bar

Well hidden, this would do

She usually avoided these types of places. They were several steps below her standards, but in this case, the lack of attention it drew was probably a good thing. “You got us here, care to tell us who you are?”

It must have been an odd thing, to see a Wookie speaking in Basic, but Jemel thought nothing of it. There were far more pressing matters to attend to.

“I can’t do that, sir. The temperature is dropping too quickly,” Jemel rebutted, “If you stay out here, you’re going to die.”

Jemel wasn’t normally one to disobey orders, especially a direct order from such a superior authority, but how could he live with himself if his Proconsul died on his watch? There were plenty of others who were helping direct survivors to shelter, but so far, Jemel was the only one who was helping him.

The cold made his bones ache. That the weather had taken this stark a turn was almost hard to believe. Although power in the district had been restored and the people who’d found shelter likely wouldn’t have to worry as much, his heart wept for those who were still out there–still lost or trapped within this hellish maze of ice and snow.

“Come on!”

Bril’s head snapped to where Draca was standing, and he even began to move in that direction with some sense of urgency. But not nearly as much as he perhaps should have. Thoughts of his master out there somewhere, doing whatever he could to make sure others were safe while he did whatever it was he was doing, pulled at him. He should be out there, where Ruka was, making sure the man wasn’t killing himself for the sake of others.

But he knew there was no way he’d ever make it to him with how quickly the temperatures were dropping. All he could do in that moment was concentrate–concentrate on sending a message through the Force to his master’s mind that conveyed a simple concept:

Be safe.

–

<@244244163002892288>

Then, the Arconan rushed into the building after Draca and wasted no time in searching the area for something to block the hole in the wall. The room appeared to be a lounge of some sort, with several areas featuring chairs and L-shaped couches placed around long, metal tables meant to accommodate multiple people; there was even a bar at the back of the room.

Nothing was perfect, but the table would have to do, for now. A wave of his hand allowed Bril to lift the table with the Force and suspend it in the air long enough for him to cut it in two with his lightsaber to create to halves just wide and long enough to cover the hole Draca had created.

After moving them into place, Bril turned toward the winding staircase to their right. “We need to move to the higher floors. That’ll hold for now, but it’s still going to drain heat as the temperature drops.”

Bril moved up the stairs at a brisk pace, leading them into a long hallway with a single door at the end of it. Save for a few expensive looking paintings hanging on the walls, the hall was fairly nondescript.

It wasn’t like Alaisy could ever hide who she was anyway, her name usually preceded her. A slight frown of disappointment formed on her eyebrows as the woman in matted armor refused the same courtesy.

No matter

Her nails trailed over the bar as her icy eyes checked for the bottles on offer.

“You are just here to help? For free?” Tir’eivra scoffed. Nothing was ever free in her world. <@141239709291511808>

Elly turned around in her barstool to continue facing Alaisy, drumming her fingers on the table “Are you not?” She asked quite genuinely as she watched Alaisy peruse the wide selection of hard liquors.

“I help myself, why do you answer questions with more questions?” There was a spiteful tone in her voice.

Alaisy tried peering at her shoulder, she could feel the sting still. The mask was in the way, but the tendrils of her alchemical suit had been weaving it’s web over the wound. The first rubbery strands were white that quickly turned black. It was healing with the glow of creeping darkness accompanying it.

Her mask hissed as she inhaled. “So far those who were supposed to assist people in need seemed woefully inadequate to do so.” <@141239709291511808>

“Well that’s why I’m here and why hopefully others are as well. The ‘Supreme Chancellor’ sent out for help and if you two are here it either means the message got through and people are indeed helping, or you’re here to take advantage of the situation and use the city as a playground of sorts.” There was some obvious distaste in her voice when she mentioned the Taldryan leader.

“What did you do to your shoulder?” She asked, now offering both an answer and yet another question

“Seems like it,” replied Bril, who fetched the thermos from his Envoy bag to take a swig of water. He offered it to Draca.

“Doesn’t look like the storm is going to let up anytime soon. I wish I had my other suit that’s better suited to weather conditions such as these.”

<@837236610684813342>

Bril rolled his shoulders a few times, trying to work out the tension in his muscles that had accumulated from moving–and fighting–in the frigid temperatures. All without stretching properly beforehand!

“Yeah, you’re right,” he replied, shaking his head. “One positive is that the city’s response time was rapid. Probably helped that this occurred during the Expo. The presence of other Clans has been invaluable, I’m sure.”

“It could have, but don’t let that get to you. Need your head in the game for when we can go back out there.”

He gestured for the thermos and, if Draca obliged, took another swig of the water. “Where’s Anders? You two are usually at the hip.”

Ankira guided both through a series of rooms into an old generator room. She started to look around for a way to turn on the generator, but as it was old and she hadn’t seen it when her vision was still normal, she could not read what was on the machine to turn it on or what settings there were.

“I… uh need your help reading this,” she said hesitatingly. She felt bad having to rely on others to read what was on items and such.

“Assisting the populace? My specific talents were not requested. I had the pleasure of meeting some persons of high status before the storm.” Alaisy’s already aristocratic lilt sounded particularly posh this time. She was wondering if it would get a rise out of the woman who would refuse to tell her their name. “As for my shoulder, just a flesh wound you should not concern yourself with.” <@141239709291511808>

Cole blinked in surprise for a moment but leaned in close. Some people didn’t know how to read and kriff, maybe she was a mirakula under the helmet. He wasn’t going to question it while they were on a karking timer to not freeze to death. The light was limited but with the stream of it coming from upstairs there was just enough to make it out. Barely.

Once he knew what things were, he pointed them out in order to the woman so she could work the machine.

“I think that’s everything.”

Doing all the things in the order given by Cole she managed to boot up the generator after a few hisses it started up completely and started to generate power. The light in the home started to light up again and some soft hums around them were also audioable.

“Looks like we got it running and stable,” Ankira said as she looked towards the others. “Now I think it is time to leave if there really is no one else in the building.”

Sofila had so many questions. What. Not able to read? Does she want to learn how? Sofila would be happy to try! She loves reading books and being lost in them. What happened to this mansion? Though if the doll was left behind…maybe it was best not to ask.

Cole went to help her as she glanced around, well, the best she could in this darkness.

“We checked every rooms but if you want to check again to be safe, that’s fine by us.”

“There was no one else in this area that we could find. Its a large mansion, Sofila might be right.” Cole clarified, “We were sent to help make sure everyone was out. I wouldn’t mind checking again but we don’t want to spend too long here in case we get delayed returning.”

He looked around the basement, spotting the painting he and Sofila had found earlier but nothing else he cared to linger to look at.

“It was my home with my riduur and two ade. If someone else would have been living in here they would not belong here…”

She walked back up the stairs as she looked around. She felt sad and alone, even worse now that her home was alive again because of the electrisity being back on.

“You can go ahead, I want to check one room before I leave.”

“We’ll wait outside the front door for you.” Cole replied shortly. They’d remained with the woman and frankly Cole wasn’t keen to leave someone who’s home clearly.. wasn’t being lived in not even by her, completely alone. They’d come out to do one job.

“We can head to the city centre after, we’ll have time to make it there safely and be less likely to get isolated if communications go down during this kark.”

A look of sympathy flashed across Bril’s face when he heard Draca’s concerns, the guilt he felt for his perceived failure. It was a feeling that he resonated with strongly, especially during the last few months.

“You’re one person, Draca,” Bril began, “I know how you feel. I blame myself a lot for not being there for people I care about in their times of need. But we can’t be everywhere doing everything. We can only do what we can, when we can.”

If only he could follow his own advice. Bril knew his words were true and even wise, but that somehow didn’t make it any easier to hold himself accountable for what he considered failures.“

“Talents, huh?” Elly started “What could you possibly be talented at that would keep you from helping those who can’t help themselves?” There was a slight hint of trepidation in her voice <@141239709291511808>

ten minutes wouldn’t be so bad, if the snow wasn’t insisting to get in the way of her work. Leena gave an exasperated sigh, then removed the slack block, the belt tightening against the wheels. “Finally.” Pulling the cover back over the entire assembly, she turned the bolts that held it in place. To seal or not to seal, she debated with herself. It was as permanent a fix as any, what with everything going on.

Looking at the storm and recalling the alert blast earlier, she opted for it. Running a bead of sealant around the cover, she chuckled. The generators would be on, sure, but that level of cold? Well, it made her wonder how often it happened, and why people lived above ground in such a place. She stood back up, sliding the spanner back into her bag, and turning the comm in her hand. “Fire it up, let’s see what we got.”

The ignition sound was abrupt, but clean, the entire platform vibrating as the equipment came online. She watched for a second as the lights came on like dominoes down the block from her vantage point. Success. Wondering how many of the other stations had been brought back online, she closed her eyes for a moment and reached out to him. He’d need to know.

That’s three down. How much time do we have before it gets really bad?

About three hours. His voice rattled around in her head like it had so many times before. Despite the ominous news, it was a comfort. Leena opened the door, heading down into the facility. She had to collect Badonka and get to the taller rooftop next door for pickup.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be long.”

With that she walked off and ran up the stairs to the room of their children. There was something there that she wanted to get… needed to get. When she reached the room she halted for a moment, but then slowly walked into the room. She looked around for a toy, something that was left behind unwillingly then they left.

“There it is,” she said with a sigh of relief and walked over to gather up the plush Siky droid from the dresser.

She then walked back towards them and nodded, holding the plush toy close to herself.

“We can go now.”

Cole had nodded, leading Sofila out onto the front.

He remained close to her while they waited, shivering slightly on stepping outside. It was darker than it should have been… it was still midday afterall. The mercenary frowned but remained in place. They had time yet, though he hoped this woman was right in her timing. The borrowed cold weather gear wasn’t the best. He did not want to get kriffing hypothermia again.

The door opened.

“Let’s go.”

He looked down the street, before taking lead. The sooner they got to the city centre the better.

“So! My name is Sofila Sagitta Douve Armis, that’s Cole,” she made sure not to mention his last name, unsure how he felt with people know that. Another thing she needed to ask him.

“It’s so nice to meet you, what’s your name?”

<@417336769181122562> <@432543120635461643>

“My name is Ankira Irr. It’s nice to meet you too.”

She walked with them down the street and looked around, keeping her ears primed to listen if other people needed help.

The tendrils on Alaisy’s suit began to twist and turn more violently around the shoulder as the Dark Side flowed through her. Her shiny, black tail could be seen twitching. She flicked her wrist and curled her fingers.

Her voice was lower pitched and it had a certain echo to it. “Talents come in many forms, and there are ways to take them away. Some may suggest that there is a diplomatic niche for mine. A way to equalize the skill of others.” Alaisy smiled with her eyes.

A heavy energy bore down on the woman behind the t-visor. It seeped down like a Rishi eel, digging and digging. Like a virus it searched and infected any sign of hope, courage and determination. It came in waves of clawing coils, snapping and scratching and chewing. It took its precious time until its effects materialized.

“Why do you help people?”

The sky continued to darken, almost as if it were the cusp of twilight just before the dark of night. The temperature had already fallen critically low to the point where steam came off of anything warm, and just as quickly that steam solidified into ice chips and fell to the hardening snow below.

The cold itself was able now to pierce through light and medium layered clothing, while those without any protection at all would be at risk of hypothermia or frostbite in under fifteen minutes. Far off on the eastern horizon, an even darker mass could be seen as the forewarned storm began to edge it’s way closer and closer to the city. There was an hour and a half remaining…

Her engines were making sounds they definitely shouldn’t be making.

“Osik'la,” hissed the Nautolan through chattering yet teeth, her arm muscles all straining as she pulled on the yoke. “Aar'ika ner sheb!”

It had been a shit night and day. That dar'jediit’ and his worshipful child showing up, Elly leaving in tears, Sofila storming off after siding with the shabuir, Tahiri taking her leave with kind words and guilty eyes, Mikhail’s awkward escape. Then not even making it bed down in their ship, too up with ghosts, before the emergency calls came over.

Hours she’d been ferrying as many people as she could fit in the Water Kitten to the shelter where the Arconan Proconsul was performing freaky fraking miracles that made her skin crawl. And Bril was out there in it. It was hard not to worry.

But this was mission.

And she was Mandalorian.

The veteran took over, and it was like flights on Nancora, Barghebba, Ziost, Arx, all over again. Almost easier, because there was no live fire or suicide tugs in the air here; just a blizzard. But to say just about such things was the worst foolishness of any pilot, and her and her kind knew better.

There’d been a lull for a bit there, but now her instruments were indicating worse and worse. The last broadcast brought a chill to her spine both literal and imagined. She tentatively poked near the connection she could feel in her head to Bril, hoping that invasive feeling still meant he was okay, and focused on teaching the city center.

“Hold on!” she called to her passengers, a lot of whom were assorted families with children, crammed like vacuum packed sardines, into the rear cabin of her small freighter. She’d picked them up from a different shelter, unpowered, in the Tower district. “Ready? Everybody ready for the fun part? We’re gonna go WEEEE!”

The parents looked a lot less excited about it, and the teens didn’t either, but the younglings at least perked. Eh, best you could do.

<@1056685516441006091>

The Nautolan turned back to her ice-crusted viewport and maneuvered them into their descent. The whipping wind and snow battered at them unlike anything in space, even if it was half as cold, which was significant for a planet. The turbulence was a motherfraker. But the Mandalorian pilot did her many squadrons proud and navigated successfully, entering the sudden and still sphere around the central city.

In just a few more minutes they were landing, and grateful Kasiyans were directed right into the bunker by various KPP and volunteer aides. One saluted the Nautolan, and she saluted crisply back before turning to look over her ship.

Ice was a shell over half the exterior. She’d have to break it off before she could go back out. And they had maybe an hour left before the freeze grounded any sensible pilot, and killed any insane ones. No land-based machinery would work in that kind of cold. She didn’t have her armor or heavy climate gear. She’d just thrown on everything in her closest under her snowkitty outfit.

But according to their sporadic comms and codes, only some districts had power. Vista Del Ray was huge and dark. She’d seen it flying over.

There were people in need. And it didn’t matter they weren’t hers. She was oathsworn as an Erinos to protect– Clan Arcona, the jediit, and…anyone.

“A good day to die,” she whispered in Mando'a, inhaling sharply of air so cold it froze in her lungs. She went back up the ramp and grabbed her pick and tools. Get the ice off, then go find anyone else. “I’m sorry, Kitty…”

If she could just say goodbye this time…

But then seafoam eyes spotted a familiar coloration and figure.

Tahiri?

<@375384499770359819>

There was no one on the walk but the chill was bearing down on them. At least the centre of the city had clearer skies. Once they made it there it’d be an easier walk. In her set up, Sofila was warm enough. Barely. She still shivered now and then but the walk was enough to push through.

Cole however was feeling it brush through the weather gear. Whether it a failure in the gear or just him being more in the way of the wind, he could feel it to the bone. It slowed him down, having to push to keep up with the two mandalorian women who were steadily taking the lead. At least this Ankira knew the city, or he’d be worried about getting lost. Usually getting lost in a city wouldn’t be a problem but not with only an hour left to make it to shelter.

He kept it quiet for now, clenching his jaw and keeping his eyes set forward. Keeping moving would keep him warmer, it was for the best.

Bril listened to Draca’s words carefully, paying as much attention to the emotional content as he did the semantic. Even without the Force, it was clear that his deeper connection to the Living Force had become a double-edged sword for the young man. And as he listened Draca explain in vivid detail the maelstrom of life that he could sense at any given moment, Bril was struck not only with the kind of relief one tended to feel when encountered someone who really understood you, but also with a nagging feeling of remorse.

“I felt it, too,” he replied, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck while holding the other Zabrak’s gaze. “When the blizzard hit. More lives than I care to count, extinguished like candle flames. It isn’t a pleasant sensation.”

Notably, Bril spoke with a calmer tone than his Jedi counterpart–not unsympathetic but with the kind of measured objectivity gained through familiarity with a topic. And he had that in spades. “Neither of us wants anyone to have to die, especially not the people we care about. Everything I do is to prevent my friends and family from being hurt. But you have to remind yourself that death is as much a part of the Living Force as life is. They’re inseparable.”

He paused for a moment to step over to the window, placing his gloved hand on the glass while peering out into the darkened sky. There was an even darker cloud approaching in the distance; it stretched out across the Kasiyan sky like a cup of spilled ink in water. The familiar, tentative thrum of his Nautolan–his heart–reaching out across their bond brought an aching smile to his face.

I love you.

Ever mindful of his promise to her, he didn’t send the words to her mind, but he did allow all the warmth they carried to drift across their connection.

<@244244163002892288>

Then, he addressed Draca again.

“How many Sith have tried to cheat death because they were unwilling to accept this truth? I know you’re familiar with the history. Every life is precious, which makes every death a tragedy on some level. And we should never allow ourselves to forget that. But you can’t allow it all to eat away at you. It’ll destroy you, if you do. Turn you into something you never thought you could become.”

Bril turned and found Draca’s gaze and held it. “When my abilities first began to bloom as a child, my Force senses were always ‘on’, so to speak. Always shouting at me. It wasn’t until Tahiri found me and began my training that I realized that it didn’t work that way in most people. I had to learn how to quiet them. It requires constant effort for me to do so, though it’s mostly trivial these days. I can teach you.”

<@837236610684813342>

Cassandra walked out of the senate building, wearing a full black thick bodysuit with chrome colored reinforced armor on similar to that of a stormtroopers. She was fitting on the arm bracers, her aide beside her with the helmet as she walked along towards where her ship sat in the plaza. Not far behind her the Gungan senator Frei-Jar was following closely behind her.

As she moved, he finally yelled out behind her as loud as he could; completly ignoring honorifics and going straight for the throat. “CASSANDRA GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, NOW! YOU AND I ARE NOT DONE!”

At that, she stopped in her tracks as she snapped on her right bracer and turned, her eyes locking directly on the Gungan. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you?”

“You heard me loud and clear.” he hissed as he crossed his arms. “You aren’t leaving, your duty is here.”

“My duty, senator, is to my people.” she countered as she stepped towards him and glared down at him. While she stood nearly seven feet, he was barely five. However, he was not intimidated. “And they need me at this stage.”

He reached up and grabbed the top of her breastplate and yanked her front half down toward him as he all but spat in her face as he yelled at her still. “And your duty to them is best served here, where you belong just like your predecessor should have been, where we can watch you. You will not be a renegade like he was, or I swear to your ever precious force you will regret it. You will obey us.”

.

At this point, she did not care. With a swish of her hand, he was launched backward and into the massive doors of the senate chamber. They opened with a loud crash as he flew inside and slid along the floor. Dazed, he leaned up and looked at her with wide eyes. Her expression was one he had never seen before, and he pointed at her as he looked to the senate guards next to him.

“S-she attacked me! Take her into custody, now!” he stammered out as she began stepping back into the main room toward him.

The guards did not move.

“Did you hear me!?” Frei-Jar whimpered as he cowered back along the floor trying to get away from her. “Arrest her!”

Cassandra’s aide knelt down next to him and lifted his right ear as he whispered. “Everyone saw you grab her first. I would drop this, if I were you…”

He looked up at the aide, the guards who stared at him instead of her, then back to Cassandra before he stumbled to his feet and took off running. The aide snicked and laughed a bit. “Good work ma'a-” he had started, but already she was out the door and to her ship with her helmet going onto her head.

No sooner than she was on the ramp was the ship taking off, a signal of the urgency involved. Ever briefly a section of the shield that protected the senate grounds lowered to allow the ship out. The cold biting winds struck the aide for the briefest of moments as he grabbed himself in a shiver, his lungs hurting from the small breath he had taken.

It was going to be rough…but he prayed she would be able to help.

“My real problem is with Anders,” intoned Bril, “Not you.”

He paused to allow the words to linger in the air between them for a moment to make it clear that he meant what he said.

“Besides, I do owe you for taking the am'beta from me back on Batuu.”

They likely would have been having a very different conversation had that day turned out differently; perhaps, they wouldn’t have been talking, at all.

When Draca inquired about his reasons for “hating” Anders, Bril shook his head.

“I don’t hate him. But I’m not going to pretend like I don’t have a major issue with how he treated my lora and how he continues to make it clear that he feels no remorse for his actions.”

There was the added fact that the two of them just seemingly didn’t get along well in general, but that was far from being the crux of the issue.

“Minnow does hate him, and I don’t think she’s wrong for feeling that way given her past. But that isn’t my story to tell.”

Bril had only recently learned the full truth of the source of his beloved’s fear of Force users in general and hatred of Sith in particular. It had taken a long time for them to build the trust and feeling of safety for her to feel comfortable sharing it with him, and he wouldn’t dare betray that by sharing that information to someone who was little more than a stranger to them both–especially someone with such a close connection to Anders.

His eyes drifted to the window again. He hadn’t felt another pang across their bond in what felt like ages given the severity of their present situation, so he sent another.

<@244244163002892288>

“She is,” he answered while turning back to face him. Questions that specific seldom were coincidences. “I’m guessing he told you.”

Bril clenched his teeth at Draca’s response, biting back the anger that was starting to roil beneath the surface. “You say that as if I weren’t there,” he retorted, “As if that makes a difference when he’s not even apologetic about his actions. When he threatened her after that.”

Surely, Draca wasn’t this naive? He hoped he wasn’t. He’d respect him more if he were just standing up for someone he loved–maybe.

“Both of you are smart enough to know that something being an accident doesn’t just magically make things better. Look at how both of you acted, earlier. If you two can get that upset simply from someone having harsh words for both of you, then neither of you should have any trouble understanding why we feel the way we do.”

Ankira wanted to move faster, but she noticed her fellow Mando didn’t have a jetpack. She was fine for now in the cold, but she felt like Cole was having trouble staying warm. As they kept moving through the streets she kept looking for something that could speed up their travels or something to give Cole extra warmth.

“Are you doing OK?” she asked as she glanced back towards him.

“I’ll make it to the shelters.” Cole answered. Sofila looked back to glare at him but he just shook his head. Whether or not she liked him dodging questions or knew he wasn in fact not doing okay from that answer, they didn’t need to stop moving for his sake. It’d make it worse anyway.

Somehow, Cole could feel the fact he’d hear about this later.

“That was your mansion, yes? If you know any faster routes, feel free to take lead. I’m just working off of the map we were shown to get to Eastbrook in the first place.”

He wondered if Draca trivialized the feelings of others or if it was just a habit with him? He shook his head, allowing a bemused chuckle to escape his lips. It was so frustrating, saying the same thing and still feeling like he somehow wasn’t being heard.

“Everyone has ‘reasons’ for why they do what they do, Draca. Whether those reasons are justified, is a different story. I understand why it might be pragmatic to kill an enemy–trust me, I do. And is he pure evil, of course not.”

That he was a far cry from the wickedness displayed by the Siths of old was no question, in Bril’s mind. He traveled around with a Jedi, after all.

“But that doesn’t make him good, either. If you disagree with his methods so much, why do you stick around with him? You’re an adult. A powerful Jedi. You’re more than capable of going it alone.”

“It was indeed, yes. And normally we just fly back and forth,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I can show you some shortcuts though, this way.”

Ankira led both of them through a series of narrow streets towards a larger mainstreet that would lead them to the shelters faster.

Bril shrugged. “I’m sure, but he could certainly show it more.”

A genuine smile appeared on his face, but only for an instant before a more pensive look took its place. Although it appeared that the two of them had come to some modicum of an understanding of where they stood and weren’t at each other’s throats, Bril wasn’t interested in becoming buddies with him while things between him and Anders–between Minnie and Anders–were still as hostile as they were.

“I’m not going to go out of my way to cause problems with Anders, but until he gives me reason to do otherwise, he will be met with the same energy he’s been given.”

The pair followed, Sofila lagging slightly to walk beside Cole.

He pushed on, doing his best to take note of the path they were taking. It would unlikely be necessay, but if they needed to backtrack having some idea of the direction would be.. helpful.

“Tell that to the Sith. The one who threatened someone for trying to save someone’s life,” he fired back.

Bril scoffed while stepping away. That was enough sanctimoniousness for one day. He fetched his Collegium datapad from his pack and opened it, thumbing through research notes he had uploaded during his last visit to the Shadow Academy.

A few minutes passed, and, upon seeing Draca clearly struggling with what he could only guess was his senses, he offered up a bit of advice. “You need to increase your concentration. Find something to focus on and devote all your attention to it. Whenever it wanders, make yourself aware that you strayed and then return to your focus object. The better you get at it, the quieter the feelings will become.”

Then, he returned to his studies.

Elly is sat on the barstool just looking at the feminine figure. She rose an eyebrow and watched as the tendrils repairing Alaisy’s shoulder started to behave erratically while her tail twitched. And with the flick of a wrist and a few magic words, suddenly Elly was plummeting into a man made mental hell.

Elly wasn’t having a good day. In fact, you could say that this was one of the worst days Elly had experienced in a few months. She had been awake for over a day and already had two full breakdowns while barely avoiding plenty of others. And now here she was, being forced into yet another moment of emotional distress and disassociated very fucking hard, out of tears to shed for the day as she internalized everything to a point where if she wasn’t currently crippled by fear, she’d most likely do something extremely self destructive

This is karma, Ruka thought to himself, that lone bit of reflection like digging fingers into his brain and peeling synapses apart, string by string, then yanking them out through his nose. Each stray thought and spoken word was the same. Clinging, slowly ripped out of the mass with great effort more than it seemed something so simple should require, white flesh from gray matter, unripe peeled oranges and stubborn, dried chicken bones. He imagined it was what a lobotomy would feel like, if one was awake and unnumbed for it.

“Jemel,” the Proconsul practically snarled, voice warping slightly in a way that had rarely happened before, deepened and more gutteral of command, the Dark in his veins wrapping around every tendon and vessel, even his vocal cords. “Go. And take. This.”

Parsing the smallest piece of his focus, a gold band floated off his ring finger on the left hand. It pressed into the shape shifted Wookiee’s chest, and it was as though gravity shifted for the Cladeen from that single point of contact. He found himself lifted lots gently than Ruka would have preferred and launched backwards, the door he’d come out into the roof from flying open to welcome him into its depths. As he was set down inside in a slight tumble, the door then slammed shut.

Back outside, the Mirialan summoned some of the snow he was manipulating, barely a fraction of a fraction now, to dump in front of the door, blocking it off entirely. <@1056685516441006091>

Alaisy pulled back from the Force, like leaning back in a chair, except it was within her mind. The noticeable silence and absence of motion were clear signs. A loud hiss came out of her mask as she exhaled.

The tall woman tapped her metal heels against the duracrete as she picked out a bottle from the rack.

No need to cool it any further

She picked up a glass and filled it, shoving it over to where the armored woman was sitting. Waiting for her to come back to her senses.

Thane guided the passengers into the nearest City Centre shelter. Fortunately, he didn’t have to launch any of them to their destination this time.

While he continued to use the Force to numb himself to the cold, he wasn’t impervious to damage from it. Thane already noted some damage forming on his fingertips.

Great.

The Firrerreo blew on them before rubbing his hands together. He pulled his cloak that much tighter around him and welcomed the refuge from the storm.

- Then his entire attention went back to the storm.

It loomed all around, above, dark and black and cold as the void. It reminded him of standing in a nexus of the Dark Side itself. As if there was an evil to it. But it just was what it was, merciless nature.

If you stay out here, you’re going to die.

Maybe. Probably. He’d survived a lot, with the Force using him while he used it. And he was scared. But if there was still a chance to save anyone else, then he was going to hold this ground. Protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

Okay, he thought, to that waiting tide, usually chained, like three bracere and shackles both tattooed on his skin, that he’d let open today. It rose over his head, willful drowning. Okay.

He pushed further. Harder. Felt something like a snap.

The risen veins on his face and body actually ruptured, too swollen. Black streamed down his broken skin, freezing almost instantly, blood or ichor, who knew. His eyes bled entirely yellow, and it felt like he couldn’t breathe.

But his hands stayed outstretched, his vision darkened at the edges and fixed on the clouds, the world alive around him.

And he pushed it back and held it back, even as the true depth of the blizzard came, the terrible cold. This little eye of the storm would stay clear.

He willed it.

[Crit 15 TK]

Tahiri was helping a family down the ramp of her Star Courier and into the mega shelter, while her brother carried a few of the disabled and injured into the shelter. Tahiri hurried back out and disappeared up the ramp, returning clasping the hand of one young Twi'lek girl, and cradling another who clung to the Togruta’s neck, both little girls looking back within the ship and waving at something within. Tahiri turned and called, Zuska came bounding out and stayed close to the one girl as they all quickly headed inside. Tahiri and her brother returned moments later, with Zuska, who had two ribbons tied halfway down his tail, one green and one blue. Bringing out her datapad, scrolling through the incoming messages and data.

“Ro, the reports aren’t looking good, looks like either this’ll be our last flight, but there’s coming back, especially if it’s as bad as they’re saying it is. Do you think you swoop bike would be able to carry us to the Vista Del Rey generator location? They’re gonna need that up ASAP, if anyone in that district has even a chance at staying alive, let alone be rescued. It is on the other side of the district.”

“Are you karking me sis? My swoop bike ain’t made for these conditions, and I definitely don’t have the tools or parts on hand to even begin to modify it enough to withstand this sort freezing hell.”

Smirking, his sister simply sighed and threw back her hood, “Well then, I guess it’s time we better start booking it. I’m up for a run.” Turning to her vornskr and kneeling in the snow before him, she reached her now bared hands and placed one on each side of Zuska’s head. Placing her forehead to his, both woman and beast closing their eyes for moment, as she spoke in Togruti, both of them breathing in unison till they opened their eyes. Zuska gave a whine and sharp yip before licking her cheek.

Standing up, the sorrowful look displayed on the Elders face said enough, “I know boy, you’ve always been with me, even through worst than this. But this time you can’t come with me, your coat isn’t thick enough for this cold. You protect those two little girls in there for me till I get back, no matter how long it takes. You got that?” Walking back over to the door of the shelter and opening it, she motioned him inside. Sitting down, the vornskr gave a huff, refusing to let his alpha leave without him. “Hadzuska, do not make me, make you stay. Those little girls need someone strong with them till we find their parents, and they’ve taken a liking to you.”

After some continued coaxing, including one little girl coming back out, Zuska finally broke down and obeyed. Letting the little one ride on his back into the shelter to join her sister.

Tahiri unfurled her cloak, wrapping it around her shoulders and tapped her commlink, “Max, take the ship and see if you can go find any other survivors on the rooftops. If you can’t fly them back to the shelter, then just keep them warm, till the storm passes.”

“Aye Mistress, as you wish. Please stay safe.” The ramp closed and then the ship took off in a whirlwind of snow.

“Will do my best, Max.” Shielding her eyes from the snow for a moment, then she turned to her brother, handing him his cloak, “Ready for a brisk run, Ro. Last one there, buys the first round?”

Elly didn’t exactly come back from that place, having ended up in this mental prison so many times that day and each time having a harder time escaping. She slowly turned and crossed her arms over the bartop and rested her head face down onto her arms. She felt hollow, empty.

Minnow watched Tahiri and her brother confer while she began chipping at the ice on her ship, sending her vornksr in with the children. She didn’t know what exactly they were talking about, not good at lip reading like her brother, but she could recognize the way they were sizing up the edge of the bubble where stillness ended and storm met.

She bit her cheek, tasting blood, and decided.

“TAHIRI! RO!” the tiny Nautolan waved from the top of her ship. “COME HERE!”

Even as she spoke, she could feel the flush of warmth and belonging that came sweeping into her mind from that little fissure she’d prodded at. It was so sweet and adoring. I love you, she knew Bril was saying, without saying it, respecting her always.

She didn’t know how to send anything back really, and their signal outside this bubble was miserable at best. Her messages hadn’t gone through for hours. Maybe…maybe she could ask Tahiri.

He was right about one thing. If he stayed here, he was going to die. The storm was held back for now, but it’s power began to increase as the front behind it consolidated and pushed up against the section that was held back.

The air continued to freeze and get colder and colder, almost as if the storm were getting worse due to this action. Suddenly a breath of fresh air seemed to come as a loud thud came next to him.

“Get yourself out of here, you’re in no shape to begin to handle this!” Cassandra yelled, her hands up in the air towards the storm. She may not be an elder, and her efforts definitely lessered, but she was determined in her mission. She felt her strength bolstered through battle meditation from those she had coordinated with back at the senate complex, and would be able to maintain this at least for a short while.

She felt the torment through her telepathy of the citizens who were not yet to safety, and this would be the last line of defense before the storm reached them. Her armor in turn, would keep her protected from the elements…but it would not hold indefinitely.

“Go get the last of the civilians to safety, then notify me immediately when it’s done.”

“My talents have been in high demand, worth sacrificing over.” Alaisy’s voice seemed dark, yet almost inviting, in a most pragmatic way.

Elly just groaned in response, slowly lifting her head just enough to where she can push her helmet over her head, letting it fall onto the table and then roll onto the floor “Frakk your talents.” She slowly lifted her head and grabbed the glass of water, taking a sip. “Thanks for the water, though”

Elly sighed. Alaisy obviously could access her mind so what’s the point in keeping herself a secret “Ellisyn Kendis,” she introduced herself

Ruka couldn’t speak, but with her telepathic connection and battle mind, she could easily read his spooled open mind and the distant thought of reply. He was making the safe place to go. He wouldn’t stop now, betting on his ability to survive but knowing the risk and accepting it.

Between their minds weren’t words exactly; it was a feeling of refusal to her order, and something of camaraderie between the leaders of the once bitterly opposed Clans. They would sacrifice together, if need be.

She gave a smirk, though it could not be seen within the pressurized helmet of hers. She in turn did not respond with words, focuing her energies on the storm as well.

Out of the corner of her eye, however, she already noticed her armor’s temperature seal integrity was down to 94%. Based on the information being given…she would be able to sustain for at a maximum another hour. Ruka, without adequate protection, would fall before then.

Would an hour be enough, and would the others quit their fighting and squabbling and focus on what was most important: The people.

The Sith ignored the rudeness. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Alaisy said with a smile in her eyes and immediately began scrolling through her datapad.

The Shadow Clan

She should have known, her old home. Now that she had time, she was able to look up the other two she had met before. Bril and Draca. Their meetings had balanced each other out. Any curiosity or uncertainty had faded from her by now.

“Well now that you know my name, wanna tell me what you’re doing my city other than meeting important people? Usually meetings don’t lead to shoulder wounds” she asked again, her voice quiet. She was having a hard time pushing herself to do anything but curl up and cry

“My, my, you pry. A duel, a trial, and a learning experience for two.” Her answer was decidedly cryptic. She ran her gloved hand over it. Still bumpy, but no longer sore. The suit had almost sealed the rupture.

“Of course I pry. It’s my job to pry.” She set her head back down in her arms, her head to the side so she could continue to speak “Wanna put a bunch of flammable things in a pile and set it on fire with me?”

Lips parted to grant release to a long overdue sigh visible as a puff of pale steam that drifted out into the dry air between them. The guy wasn’t that bad; a tad insufferable, maybe, but he had a good heart. He didn’t deserve the drama and pain created by someone whose actions he wasn’t responsible for or agreed with. Had the circumstances been different, Bril imagined they could get along swimmingly. But these were the cards they’d been dealt, and they had to find a way to make do with what they were given.

“I know you didn’t,” he nodded, “I didn’t want this, either. I left because I was dealing with a lot of darkness at the time, and I needed to get control of it. I was falling to the Dark Side.”

Although he had wrestled himself from the Dark Side’s foul grip and learned to reach an accord with it, he knew that dealing with the Dark Side of the Force was a dangerous game no matter how much control one possessed. Its nature was to take and it didn’t hesitate to violate the terms of any bargain given the opportunity. Scattered amongst the sounds of war that had haunted his dreams since the Brotherhood’s triumph over the Children, the call of darkness still remained, whispering in those same dulcet tones from the farthest demenses of his psyche.

He shuddered.

But not from the memories, from the presence of his master that suddenly smashed through his mental wards like a mudhorn through a glass rampart. Bril’s hands shot up to his own throat when he felt his breath catch; it was suffocating him, closing its icy grip tight and tighter around his neck to rob him of precious air. Would the pressure building in his chest crush his ribs and collapse lungs?

And piercing through that tidal wave of defiance and nigh complete surrender to the Dark Side of the Force came a feeling of acceptance, of resignation to the very real possibility of death. Of his master’s death.

His mouth opened to speak but no words obliged his whims, leaving him to utter little more than a grating, tormented groan in protest of his master’s silent resignation. Why wasn’t he there? Why was he anywhere other than where he needed to be yet again?

<@244244163002892288>

Thane shook his head in response to the doctor. Already, his species’ physiology was doing its thing and healing the damage he had accumulated.

That said, it was putting him into a calorie deficit. A fact that was revealed by an audible rumble from his stomach.

Paying it no mind, he instead reached out with his senses and touched upon the darkness permeating the area. There was something familiar about it. That familiarity was isolated within a breath.

Ah. Ruka. Such ignorant courage.

It would be curious to see if the Arconan would survive the attempt. After all, just because your body let you keep pushing despite all physical limits…didn’t make it immune from the harm of it. Thane learned that when he made his own sacrifice play long ago. The scales never balanced. Simply wasn’t worth it.

Two comms went out from Socorra, one to Korvis and one to Ruka, both the same message for time’s sake.

“Boss, sitrep?” <@583854106599489557> <@244244163002892288><@1056685516441006091>

It was karking cold but Cole had been right, keeping moving had been enough to get to the shelter at least. He was shivering and the layer below the waterproof one was sodden due to the time they’d spent in the blizzard before reaching the eye of the storm, but he was managing.

The shelter was ahead of the trio and Sofila wasted no time in dragging him toward it anyway just in case.

He glanced back to Ankirra, giving her a nod as the entered the shelter and headed below. In theory they’d remain together but if the Mando woman wanted to head off, at least now it was within safety. The streets they’d taken had been empty. It was a good sign at least.

<@417336769181122562>

Dasha arrived at the central generator’s room. Well it was more like a large engine bay.

In the middle was the massive generator, sitting quietly in the chilly room. All the technicians had fled.

With a shiver, the Sephi got to work, checking panels and other diagnostic equipment only to groan because they require power to function. So, she went manual and began taking off panels to inspect each part of the equipment…

Dasha grumbled and hugged herself as she shivered. She only got 3 of the 100 panels off.

Thane’s focus returned to the Zeltron with an appraising eye. Finally, he tilted his head with a raised eyebrow.

“Got meat?”

With no answer from the Arconan Proconsul, Socorra tried his comm again, her dark brow furrowing behind her helmet. “Ruka, it’s Socks. Come in.” The nickname was not a name she ever used for herself and an extreme few in the galaxy were allowed to live after hearing it. The fact that it came out of her mouth at all meant that things had gone that karkin’ FUBAR.

“Can anyone hear me on this comm? This is Praetor Erinos, over.”

<@1056685516441006091> <@244244163002892288>

After dusting off the snow that had settled on her cloak, she turned in the direction she had heard her name being called from. Seeing Minnow atop her ship, it looked like she was scraping the ice off, Tahiri waved back and then quickly walked over. Ro-Tahn waved and followed his sister over.

“Hi Minnow,” she called up. “You doing alright? If you need any help, Ro can fix it, especially if its a mechanical issue.”

“Nah, I got her, pretty good at patchin’ up my babies,” she patted the Water Kitten’s hull. “Tho if y'all wanna help get this ice off I can get her back in the air that much sooner.”

Grabbing her tools, Minnie slid down the side, landing in a roll and then springing back up to face Tahiri. Her expression was solemn.

“There’s still a whole district out there that’s dark. I’m going to see if I can find anyone else and get them back here. I know I can fly it. I’m just…” She swallowed. That spot in her head felt awful, choking and dark, and something had to be wrong. Maybe Bril was in danger, or maybe he was upset from what he felt from her, but she couldn’t find him, not like he could her. And she couldn’t ask. “I was hoping…you could reach Bril? With, like, the Force? And tell him. Tell him I love him, and to hold on, and see if he’s okay and…” she trailed off, struggling to keep it all contained, gnawing on her cheek and lip now, fists bunching. “I can’t get a message to him. But he feels– not okay. And if I’m going back out then I don’t. I don’t want him to not get a goodbye too. So. Is that something…you can do?”

She met the woman’s eyes. Yellow eyes. And asked for her help.

It had taken her a while to get to where the comm beacon was dropped because Siv was not a pilot, and the Nightengale wasn’t anything other than a civilian cruiser. No, she saved a majority of the flying expertise for her bots and Alex, who wasn’t here and had gotten left at home in her panic once she had gotten the call for help from Jemel. The force trickled through her bones as she flew, screaming at her that something was wrong, something was very wrong. She could feel it in every one of her nerves, every one of her synapses. The people she loved were in danger.

Godsdamn it she was going to do something about it this time.

The Nightengale half crashed-half landed in a snow bank in one of the lower buildings. The Chiss tightened her coat around herself and felt some sembelnce of comfort in the way the thick padding hugged her. She would have not normally come here, not normally risked a cold expidition. But her family needed her.

Bril wouldn’t have called for her if he didn’t need her.

Ellie chirped at her side and the Aedile leaned down, patting the BD droid’s head and offering it a soft smile. She could tell it was as worried as she was about coming here, knowing the effect the cold had on her.

“I’ve got this Ellie. It’s okay. I’ve gotta show everyone that I can do this. I’m in a position where people are looking at me now, expecting things.” Gods she hated those facts but it didn’t make them any less true.

She had tried to get as close to the artifical eye of the storm as she could, but had ultimately failed. She was still a good couple of meters away from where it started. She was hoping that she would find Ruka in there, knowing the massive show of power could be very few people– her adoptive father among them. She turned to look at her BD droid as she tore open the door of her ship.

“Ellie! Go to the comm drop and check on the civilian left there! Wait and I’ll meet up with you! I’ve got a really bad feeling!” She could barely shout over the roar of the storm, but it seemed the droid understood her nontheless and started it’s way down the snowbank with her enovy pack slung around it haphazardly and headed towards the comm. Siv on the otherhand turned back to face the wall of ice and began pushing her way forward.

It was karking freezing. Siv tried not to pay it too much mind. She’d been through worse, right? Ice against the skin, burns that would have stayed if they hadn’t been healed. Ice baths, as cold as they could get.

She broke through the wall and gasped, choking, but not because of the cold but because of the verocity of the dark side swirling within. She knew this signature, felt it before in tiny tastes in the moments she talked about her past and Ruka’s energy flared. This was nothing like the tidbits she had tasted before, no this she could barely breathe past.

She reached out with her own senses, trying to force past the onslaught of energy from the other side to locate Ruka exactly. She needed to know he was okay, needed to make sure he was alive in this frigid wasteland. Once she had his location pinpointed, she would hone down on it and sprint. She was new in this effort, not yet worn down by the cold. She could try.

‘Vacmi!!!’

<@244244163002892288> <@837236610684813342> <@1056685516441006091>

The cold was becoming astronomically horrendous, her heads-up display showing her temperature resistance had now fallen to 47%. The temperature now where her and Ruka was sat at a blistering -117 fahrenheit, and she could feel the cold beginning to seep through to her fingers and toes.

Ruka, how are you holding up? she telepathically sent with what little energy she could muster in reserves that wasn’t already dedicated to the task at hand. This was quickly turning south, but so far the efforts of the two former enemies was up to the task.

The storm itself had not advanced any closer, but the lingering effects was what placed them in danger. So far still there had not been a call for an all-clear, meaning they were still diligently working to get the power restored to the final districts and the last of the civilian populace to safety. She would not move until that time. She knew Ruka would not either, even if it meant they would fall this day.

<@244244163002892288>

Koda primed his gauntlets and backed away from the panels “I’d suggest stepping back.” He said, raising his arm towards the panel. With the flex of his wrist a stream of fire engulfed the panels and warmed the up, hopefully melting the ice away without heating up everything else inside.

When Jemel refused a direct order from his superior, from his Proconsul, he had expected a few things: a more forceful command, a shout, and perhaps even formal disciplinary action when they made it out of this mess. If they made it out of this mess. But he could have never guessed that the Mister Tenbriss Ya-Ir would have summoned the Force itself to make him go inside. He had every intention to stay by his side and offer him whatever help he could, to make a difference. But a sudden feeling of weightlessness made Jemel realize that the Mirialan had embowered him in the Force’s invisible touch. The sensation of the Dark Side was like red-hot needles poking into his skin, setting fire to the surrounding nerves.

“No, wai–”

He wasn’t able to finish his refusal before the frost kissed scenery bled into a haze of pale white. That peculiarity taken alongside the bite of an algid breeze rushing across the thick fur of his temporarily wookie-esque habit removed zero doubt: he was flying backward–far faster than he should have been.

The creaking moan of a frozen metal door warping itself to obey the Proconsul’s will rang in his ears. Then, he slammed into something hard, and the world went dark.

<@244244163002892288>

Coming to with a splitting headache, Jemel fumbled through his pockets to find the comlink that crackled to life moments before a voice sounded over the channel.

…This is Praetor Erinos, over.

He groaned while clutching his head. The distinct lack of body hair in abundance confirmed that he’d reverted to his true, Clawdite-Falleen form.

Once some of the mental fog dissipated, he realized that he recognized the voice that came from the comlink. Jemel scooted backward and pressed his hands into the cold duracrete floor to straighten his back against the wall. He clicked the comlink on with more effort than he would’ve liked and started to speak with labored breaths interspersed between his words.

©

“T-This is Agent … Jemel … D-Dresad, over.”

Half-lidded eyes drifted over to something that shimmered in the faint trail of light that shone into the stairwell through the door’s window. It was a ring, an expensive looking one. That was right. Mister Tenbriss Ya-Ir gave it to him moments before casting him away.

Why had he given him his ring?

Then, it clicked. It was his wedding ring. That could have only meant one thing: that the Proconsul believed he was going to die out there, alone.

By the Force…

At least someone answered. The Agent, Ruka’s Bodyguard. Her replacement. Shivering, or scared? “Agent, what is Ruka status? Over.”

“S-Still holding off blizzard. Not doing so hot, though. Worried he might d-die. Send help. Now.”

“Holding off blizzard? I.. ” She was confused for a split second and then calculated distance. “Roger. Not far, will be there fast. Erinos out.”

Socorra shifted to the women at the far end of the counter, turning the hand at her helmet that was indicating comms into a salute.

She went to the farthest back door, checked her gear fast, and opened the gates of hell, walking right into it. The door sealed behind her, no going back now.

Jemel let the comlink fall to his side before stretching his arm over to grab the ring so he could tuck it into his pocket. After leaning his head back against the wall, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Dasha backed up slightly but also held up her hands to warm them in the heat as if she was next to a roaring campfire.

“Let us start with the barstools then.” Alaisy stretched out a hand and tossed a chair into the middle of the room with the Force. “Go ahead, break it apart. Get rid of that pent-up frustration, Ellisyn.

Socorra’s armor, crafted meticulously by the Regent himself, could withstand far worse. The snow however was deep, visibility short, and the wind rushing. She had come ready for combat, not the apocalypse. Her assignment was finished even before visiting the market, she could have just left and avoided this entirely.

But no. She had taken the Proconsul post and had to pay for it with.. social.. things.

Her conspiratorial side considered for a brief moment that someone had created and brought a weather machine to assassinate some of summits. A crazy theory of course, but…was it?

The woman leaped into the air from the shelter, her legs amplified with the Force. The jetpack sputtered at first before blazing to life; the few minutes in warmth likely helping it. Both propulsions sent her soaring into the storm.

Her helmet display lit up with targets on the ground as she flew over sections of the city. Socorra’s jetpacking was not so great to begin with, and there was now no precision in her piloting as the wind knocked her around as it willed. She could see the Force shield wall in the city center, holding back the blizzard. Ruka, holding back the blizzard. It was by far one of the most impressive things she had ever seen the Mirialan do.

But what in the nine hells was she going to do for him? Slice snowflakes?

The wind and jets propelled Socorra to the sanctuary at breakneck speed, threatening to throw her right into Ruka. She twisted her body, stuck her arms out, everything possible to aerodynamically keep from slamming into him…or the ground.

”Osik! Coming in hot!” she yelled into the helmet comm.

Cassandra was knelt down on one knee, both arms firmly in the air as she heard the arrival of someone new. She overheard the voice briefly in her own helmet’s communication device, but was far too focused on what she had to do.

It was enough she couldn’t even speak, but had to communicate with whoever was there telepathically.

Ruka…hasn’t responded in a while…I think…he’s gone. I want to check, but…if I stop what Im doing…we are all dead.

She briefly opened her eyes, which had ice forming on her eyelashes. The air she breathed in the helmet was becoming frosty and sticking to the interior.

According to her heads up display, the temperature had now fallen to just under -200, and her temperature integrity was down to 16% and failing.

In fact…she knew she was holding her arms up, fueling what strength she could into telekinetically holding the storm back, but she couldnt feel anything from her elbows forward. She couldn’t even feel her legs it was so cold.

Get Ruka out of here…save his life. Save the city. I can…hold this back a little longer.

A little lower. Muz watched as they approached the storm from above, the maw of his ship sealing the throes of the upper atmosphere from him. Leena stared at him as he lifted the helmet over his head, lowering it to seal with a harsh snap. She double checked the datapad. Negative 200 degrees. He was a madman.

Muz turned his head toward her, the swirling clouds behind. He dipped his head in her direction and fell backwards.

Wind and ice, water and air. Primal elements, core to life. They swirled around him as he let gravity pull him to the center. Toward where he felt they were trying, fighting against the wild. Soon, he’d be in the heart of the storm, the cold raging against a set of armor sealed for the void. His mind calculated, the path aid bare before his mind. Contingencies upon contingencies formed like the ice crystals on his faceplate.

There.

At the heart of it all, the Lion closed his eyes.

The resonant thump rattled his teeth and shook his flesh, the Force groaning as it was chained into his service. The sky cleared around him, his will denying territory to the storm. He pushed, the gap widening, eddies of clouds and frost steaming at his mind’s touch. He pivoted as he fell, eyes snapping open as he maneuvered groundward. There they were, snowblind and scrambling, the Force swollen from their caresses. He would have smiled.

He flicked a wrist, pushing his mind into the space between himself and the ground, thickening it to slow his descent. A heavy boot landed in the snow with a crunch, his helmet dipping as he nodded at the Consul, his fingers twitching in arthritic cruelty. The storm would recover in mere moments, so that is what he had.

“Cras un vincum hodie.” Tendrils of power flowed from his fingertips as he twisted them to his purpose. They burned bright as they coalesced, his voice amplified with the words he had perfected over the past several decades. “…tua potestas adest nunc….” The bolts flared with energy, the arcs burning the air to charred ozone as they flowed, wrapping themselves around the consul, the proconsuls, himself. The bolts danced between them, scattering around, looking for more to attach to, bounding across snow and steel, seeking any who would benefit.

He tilted his head at them as he continued, watching them, seeing if they would flee or embrace the power. He knew Socorra well enough to know her answer. This was not her first time with the Rite of Exaltation. He poured more of his soma into the rite, his mouth working the words of power with rolling rhotics and savage syllables, older than stars and younger than babes.

The surge was next. He had tuned the rite over countless iterations, but there would still be a painful burning sensation for a few moments as the power bloomed within them, burning away the constraints of their imprint as he willed.

For a few hours, they would rise.

“Ascend.”

<@61385159655559168> <@141239709291511808> <@1056685516441006091> <@244244163002892288>

Elly took a few quick breaths to hype herself up before sliding off the stool she was on. She took another moment to steady herself before grabbing the stool she was just sitting on “You can help too” she said, tearing the legs off of the stool and tossing them into the middle of the room

She chuckled at the idea. Wondering just how much muscle there must’ve been under that armor. Then Alaisy’s eyes darted back to her vibronails. “You need it, and I need a moment.”

There was so much chaos in the air that she could almost grasp the Force and feel its viscosity. Her mask hissed as she took a deep breath. Her fingertips twirled as the Arcanist tugged at the strands of the living Force.

Better

Elly rolled her eyes. After she was done mutilating the stool that she had been sitting on, the Mandalorian grabbed her helmet back off the bartop and slid it over her skull once again, covering her face up.

She went to the stool Alaisy had flung into the middle of the room and started on that one “I don’t need help, but I would appreciate help.”

Her suit had mended completely and her shoulder felt like new. Alaisy’s gaze returned to Ellisyn, noticing only now that she had her Mandalorian helmet back on. As a kind gesture, she stuck out a limb and moved the next chair towards her with the help of the Force.

“What can I say? Except. You are most welcome.”

She snatched the chair out of the air and shook her head “You know you can help me break these down too. Unless you’re not talented enough” whether Alaisy helped or not it had to get done. At this point any source of extra heat was going to be good to have.

“I suppose I could.” The tall woman scoured the rafters looking for drinks with a high enough amount of flammables in them. She tossed them, manually, and by hand, over to the chairs. The breaking of glass was delightful.

Elly took a couple steps back from their little pile of wood, broken glass, and alcohol. This was going to go well. They’d find more stuff to add to it as needed but this would be enough for now. She pointed her vambrace and shot out just enough fire for the alcohol to ignite

“There we go. Was that so hard, Princess?” She asked, now coming back from her previous stupor

“I would have let the wood soak a little bit too. And I would have packed it all just a little tighter. The airflow could be gradually regulated too. That may add a couple of hours to it.” She chuckled at the attempted insult. “But this will do.” She held out both palms and admired the bonfire that ensued.

“Well thank you for your expertise after the fact.” She grumbled “I usually help put out fires, not start them.”

“I would say that I live to serve, but that would be laying it on a little bit thick. And it would be a lie.” Her tail whisked from side to side as the room warmed up. The smoke was a little bit concerning, but both of them had helmets on anyway.

“Because you only serve yourself. I know. You’re a sith.” She said with a sigh. To be trapped in a room with a being like this surely was a new situation for her. She wanted to be cordial since she’s learned from her years on Kasiya that some Sith can be amicable, but that was a rare occurrence.

Bril forcibly sucked in air upon hearing Draca’s advice, but no amount of deep breaths abated the constricting hold Ruka’s presence had on him. None of his brushes with the Dark Side, not even the duel for his very soul on Dathomir, came close to the depth of power he was feeling now.

And just as Bril was beginning to think his senses could be stretched no closer to their limit, he felt something unlike anything he’d felt before. Unlike anything he’d even imagined. Three signatures in the Force, two powerful and one fledgling, appeared amongst his master’s. Then, one whose might dwarfed theirs combined appeared and before Bril could fully register what was occurring, those four signatures became linked, boosted by the strongest of them to their zenith and shattering that ceiling to ascend even further beyond.

The young Zabrak seized Draca’s arm in a grip that could shatter duracrete when the torrent of power flooded his senses. A mere taste of power better fit for the Force primordials of legend washed over both men in that moment, offering them a glimpse of what was possible, and surely eliminating any doubt of the truly limitless potential of the Force.

“Of course, any Sith worth their Crait would serve themselves first. I would be very concerned about any who would consider themselves to be Sith to do otherwise. That would be a very, very short life indeed.” Alaisy considered herself to be antiquated on some of their teachings. She often bent her arguments around the Rule of Two.

“So, what do you think of Sith? Are you speaking from experience?” Tir'eivra was throwing her another test, this one decidedly higher stakes than her previous play.

Elly listened to Alaisy prattle on with their sithy rhetoric, barely suppressing a groan. She had heard these lines before and quite frankly she wasn’t excited to be hearing then again.

“I think Sith are the epitome of moral and emotional weakness. Shutting them off like some jedi do or letting them overwhelm you like some Sith do is a simple and easy way to lose yourself. My experience with Sith is that it’s smart to not trust them easily”

“Interesting. Why do you think their morals have weaknesses? You are wearing a Mandalorian headpiece. A people who put so much value in honor.” She flicked her war-plume like pony tail back.

“Because morals, whether they righteous or wicked, are exploitable. If there is something you feel the need to stand by and uphold, you will be at a disadvantage to those who learn to use them against you.” She turned her head to look at Alaisy, her mossy eyes meeting Alaisy’s electric blues from behind her visor “Mine are a weakness too, much more easily exploited than yours. But not as damning.”

Again with the compliments. This one knew her own weaknesses, yet somehow that was her strength.

“And that vulnerability does not concern you? Or those around you, those who love and care for you?”

“Of course it concerns me. I’d be a fool if it didn’t. If you aren’t self aware of your own weaknesses then you’re doomed to fail. It’s why I take great measure to conceal my identity and make as little enemies as possible with people I could never hope to win against. I say that but I’ve probably made an enemy of every single criminal on this moon and even some beyond this atmosphere.” She chuckled “Do yours concern you?”

“My morals? No, I set myself free from those chains.” She suddenly had a difficult time even thinking of any. “Principles are a fluid thing. You evolve with them or they leave you stranded and vulnerable.”

“I meant your vulnerabilities. Do they concern you? Feel free to lie to me and say no. But just know that if you do, I’ll know that you’re worried about them. Afraid even.” Elly didn’t want to dig into the Sith’s morals just yet, but maybe someday.

Master Ruka?!

“Boss, sitrep?

Mister Tenbriss Ya-Ir , sir, it’s Draca. What are you doing?! Are you okay?!

Ruka, it’s Socks.

"No, wait–!”

VACMI!

Ruka, how are you holding up?

All the voices in his mind, ringing out across a veil he couldn’t cross, too far for him to reach. Like sparkling light leaking through the waves, dissipating before it could reach the ocean floor, down into dark waters that had never once known warmth, where sunlight had never reached, where eons and eons could pass in the slow, inexorable, patient churn of the abyss, crushing cold, black, life-giving, full of secrets and sights unseen, molten vents cracked in fissures. Down, down, down.

He heard them, and he wanted to answer. He wanted so badly to answer, to assure, to make the pain he could feel from his apprentice and his daughter and his subordinates stop. Just like his family, he knew he was hurting them.

But that was always the cost, wasn’t it? To do the right thing, to save as many as you could, that meant sacrifice. And giving one’s life was the easy part of the asking price. It was everyone left behind who really suffered the toll. Cora accepted that. The kids…

He didn’t want to leave them, didn’t want to die. But to protect…

To protect…

His mouth couldn’t move, his eyes couldn’t see, he couldn’t feel his body, really. And at the same time he felt all of it. Like his heart was beating harder in his chest than it ever had. He felt the storm. He was the storm, almost.

And then another voice cut through it all, not a question now he couldn’t answer or assure, not calling for him.

It was a command.

Maybe, if he’d been able to say a word, to whisper it, plead it, even think the thought, he would have said no. But he couldn’t. And it came.

“Ascend.”

Ripping apart. Nothingness. Agony. Reknit. Made anew. Dying. Dead. Born again.

Words failed. Thought failed. There was nothing, and everything, and the Force.

The Dark.

In the infinite, infinite dark, the dying star in his chest, flickering and failing, bloomed in a supernova.

Ruka gasped lungs breathing, chest expanding, muscles shaking, black blood ice cracking. His skin was in shreds. He hardly felt it, and somehow he was in his body and outside it at the same time, breathing without a heartbeat, seeing without eyes. It wasn’t the bottom of the ocean. It was when the ocean itself was born. Comet melt and salt seas and magma. He was so small. But he could do… anything.

That was terrifying.

He shied away from that, refused. No. This power wasn’t his, and he would never let it run free, take over. He would not let it.

He directed it instead, and felt it fight him, quivering.

Protect them.

A scream in his head, maybe himself.

The Dark was patient, and generous, and infinite, and it waited. It waited for the will to slip.

Not today.

Ruka held on to all those voices and souls he couldn’t answer and willed it true.

Protect them.

The still eye of the storm trembled, then roared, exploding out and turning back the tempest even farther, Cassandra beside him, a Grand Master empowering them, everyone, everyone.

Protect them.

<@1056685516441006091> <@284848346672136192> <@61385159655559168> <@837236610684813342> <@141239709291511808> <@264959101384130560>

Socorra mentally heard Cassandra loud and clear. Of course Ruka was sacrificing himself. This might as well have been any normal day on Selen, fulfilling a vow to keep him from harm, or more likely, save him from himself. The irony.

She was about to reply to Cassandra when she felt it, not just Ashen’s arrival but the beginning of the Rite. The Rite. It was a decade ago and the woman still vividly recalled the unimaginable pain that preceded the exultation. Her heart nearly exploded with anticipation and the sudden threat to a non-fatal landing.

Piloting blackout was imminent. Socorra cut the jets immediately and deployed her giant white wings, aiming for the one snowbank in the entire city center.

Crash!

Beskar met ice, snow, and frozen ground, throwing up a shower of snowflakes. She remained still, flakes cascading back down and burying her under a small avalanche from the building roof, wings sticking out like an angel that fell from the sky.

Cassandra’s heads-up display was already beginning to fail at this point, and 4% temperature integrity remained. The power reserves had already all but reached their limits, the cold compromising what should have been days worth of energy. She could not feel her limbs at all anymore, and it was a struggle to even maintain her consciousness. The ones at the senate complex who were assisting her with a concentrated battle meditation were worn out as well, and she felt her connection to them waning.

Darkness and cold began to creep into her vision, the cold inching further and further into her body from her limbs.

This was it. Every fiber of her being told her one thing:

Run.

But she refused, her resolve and dedication to her people absolutely forbade it. If she did, the chances of those critical moments being the factor between saving lives or losing them was too great. The needs of the many, outweighed the needs of the few. It was something she had heard many years ago, something she held to heart.

Her own energy reserves were all but tapped as well, and she could sense the moment of impending collapse. It was a good life…she knew that much. And she regretted nothing.

She just had to hold on until that final moment, one thought in her head.

Protect them.

She had to. She could not fail until that final moment.

“Ascend.”

Without warning, her connection to the force was all but suddenly restored. Her internal energy supplies returned to maximum, and therein went even further beyond. Though her helmet was now without power, she opened her eyes and looked out of the visor to see what looked like a visible force wave being channeled through her and into the sky above, a twin one directly next to her.

She forced herself up from her knee, the ice that momentarily bound her to the rooftop cracking and breaking as she stood once more.

The force screamed throughout her, as if something were direly wrong. As if what she were doing was somehow…wrong. The pain was just as intense, but she forced it out of her mind with the fact that they were once again holding this thing back. Every fiber, muscle, cell was screaming in agony just like the force was to her.

It did not make sense…it was something she would have to figure out later. But for now, it was back to the task at hand, as almost all but directly over the edge of the city was a thick black blizzard cloud billowing ice to the lands below of the western Karufr Lowlands and the Kasiyan Wilds.

At this stage, as the pain began to subside, she felt the one thought intoxicated her mind above all else once again.

Protect them.

No. No. She could feel him fading and ebbing, could feel Ruka on the brink if death then brought back. The grip her fear had on her chest was suffocating, moreso than the Dark which battered her from all sides. Her vacmi, her home, was dying.

It was all so clear in her mind’s eye. Bril carrying Ruka’s body back to Selen, Cora’s cry of anguish at seeing his husband cold and lifeless, the kid’s reaction at Ruka leaving them— just like their mother, abandoning them. Leda would forgive him first, Noga would take some time. Melissa would suffer too, losing her guidance when it came to maneuvering through the force and it’s strange precognition. So many would suffer.

———-

She moved quickly, focusing the force to her legs to propel her as fast as she could manage up the building that cradled Ruka to the sky. Not today, Ruka Tenbriss Ya-Ir would not die today. She would write no mental eulogy, she would not start to craft condolences to the people who cared about him, reciting them in her head till they were perfect but still not enough.

When the Rite hit her, she didn’t stop. If anything the pain fueled her more, allowing her to zero in in absolute focus at the point where the building face gave away to the sky. Windows shattered as she passed them, a blurr of force and feeling and purpose propelling itself vertically up the side of the construct.

In till her feet gave away to air and she was floating for a moment, a few meters above Ruka and Soc’s crash site. Tears gathered in her Sanguine eyes immediately once they found Ruka. The Mirialan was bleeding, bloody, battered. The Dark Side itself having wrecked havok on his very person. The image solidified itself into her brain, burning itself firmly in her eidetic memory. She’d never be able to let go of this moment, of seeing Ruka like this.

She landed in front of her Proconsul and immediately started assessing, her breath becoming ragged and hectic. She didn’t know where to start, where to help. This was too much for just her to do anything. If only she had Rhylance or Cora or or or or… but she didn’t. It was just her.

“Nononono. Vacmi no. Please no. Gods no. Not again. Notagainnotagainnotagain. No eulogies. No apologies. No Fia. Please no…”

Fingers reached for the Envoy pack she no longer wore, their gloved surface trembling. No supplies, she gave them all to Ellie. She only had the force. She ripped her gloves from her hands with her teeth and pressed their quickly fading warmth against Ruka’s chest and focused as the Force flowed around her fingers and into him with one central wish.

Live. Please.

<@141239709291511808> <@244244163002892288>

“…Muz…” Cassandra said with a weakened, raspy voice. “Do you trust me?”

<@284848346672136192>

“Yeah, we can help getcha back in the air,” Ro nodded and smiled, taking a walk around the vessel to assess the amount of ice build up. Leaving Tahiri and Minnow alone for a moment.

The smile that had been on Tahiri’s face from the fact that Minnow was speaking with her, faded as the Nautolan mentioned Bril and the way she spoke. “Of course, I can do that, anything for you two. Let’s see where he’s at.”

Opening herself up, reaching out through the Force, searching for Bril through the raging storm beyond the circle of calm. “How long ago did you get these feelings that he wasn’t ok?” she had a bad feeling about the way Minnow said what she wanted to relay. However, due to the proximity of the mega shelter, Tahiri couldn’t fully get a grip on where his mind was through the storm. “I’ll have to head out into storm to get a better feel for him. Can you fly us out there? I mean if you don’t mind, that is? I’d rather stay close to you in case he wants to relay something back to you and you wish to respond. It would be easier for me than him.”

She reached her hand out, offering what she could in a way of comfort. Not sure if Minnow would take it or not, but either way she wanted to make sure she knew that Tahiri was there to help. “Let’s get this ice off quickly.”

Trust? Muz smiled at the thought beneath the helmet. Trust didn’t factor into the equation. He knew what happened next. He always did. The need. The fire. The conversation they would have afterward. The payment that she would offer, and the toll he would require.

Surprise only held meaning in his memories.

Muz reached out his hand. The coils within his spirit tested themselves, flexing at what legends would be told later.

Little did he realize just what she had planned. She felt his acceptance, and his willingness to participate. She turned to face Muz as she drew her right arm back, releasing her hold on the storm as she focused and augmented the force into her arm. She made sure Muz was diagonal to where the storm was as she threw her arm forward and struck him directly in the chest with her augmented strength, then followed through with a telekinetic strike that she sent through her arm directly into and through him almost as if he were a tuning fork.

The telekinetic strike rippled into the air as it blasted out of his back and went high into the air, and struck the storm front diagonally. Her hope was to send it off course and towards the Dinarri Bay…and it did turn slightly, but still continued its path towards the city. Her efforts just barely werent enough.

The call had come hours ago. More than that. Port Kasiya was going to freeze and they needed to get as many civillians into safety as possible. Zuza had been late by all accounts, the blizzard making it a struggle for her to make it down to surface but they’d made it all the way from Dajorra and she wasted no time in helping.

Initially it had been patrolling the edge of the snow globe Ruka had made, worry heavy on her heart for her friend. The husband of her best friend. But there had been people to pick up, those who’d hesistated to heed the call and gotten lost in the blizzard. She’d lowered onto nearby streets and called, getting as many as she could onto her freighter before rushing back into the centre and dropping them near whatever shelter was closest. The blizzard had gotten worse and worse until she’d been forced to land within the frigid bubble before her engines froze mid-air.

She’d spent her time in the streets, her flight suit’s cold overlay giving her longer time out exposed to draw people in before needing respite. It wasn’t much but it was more in comparison to many out here. The numebrs were thinning but still incoming.

And then the world turned upside down.

The Force keened and even for someone as barely sensitive as she was it felt like a volcano had erupted underfoot. Like falling into hyperspace and watching the flecks of stars and systems flicker by all in her chest for a moment. The Human swung round from her position. It came from the roof Ruka had posted on. He was still up there. Zuza ran, casting aside her duty for a moment as the instinct to protect her own kicked in, calling on what little of the Force she had to bolster her steps. It took minutes to identify the right building, the door already open due to the evacuation. There was too many stairs but it’d have to do.

She’d have to move fast enough. It was a great plan until, a half way up the disturbance in the Force hit her. A choice, clawing at her very being

Zuza had always been kist at thinking things through. It promised more than what she had. She needed it, the speed, the power. Ruka was up there dying, yes just let me-

A cry escaped her, dropping to her knees as the sensation of burning seemed to expand from within. Where within she had no idea but it quickly found her insides, her blood, her limbs, her eyes and mind. Everything alight with agony that faded into bliss. She grasped the railing, dragging herself up to her feet but whatever the pain had been had gone and left her… with more.

Consequences would come. It was too late to think apparently so Zuza didn’t let herself, beginning her rush up the stairs once more. Faster, lighter. With barely enough time to process each corner before she was up and past it again.

Hopefully she wouldn’t be too late.

Wake up.

The wings had done its job. The jetpack had done its job. The beskar had done its job. Now she needed to. She wasn’t dead, but her head had rung like a bell against the land beneath her. The helmet was bloody, crimson dripping down.

Protect.

The exultation coursed through her veins, waving off the cloud of unconsciousness. She remembered the black storm rolling in like a plague. Ruka.

Eatbreedkill.

She gasped, rising from the bed and stumbling backwards. That hivemind that connected them. Still? No. Her head rang, that was all.

Protect.

The woman turned to the Mirialan and the Chiss, debating the flamethrower to keep them warm. The wings on her back folded back in. With the flick of her wrist her cloak was on him. Not a flick this time, but with a gentle tug and pull, her shawl was as well.

Lose the shawl and I’ll kill you myself, she sent to him before joining Siv. The Elder sent everything in her power to unfreeze the man, blinking away the drops of red in her one natural eye. He needed more time and there was more to do.

Ruka and that karkin’ vow.

<@264959101384130560> <@244244163002892288>

Muz slid backward from the impact, his boots carving a trail in the snow. Muz raised an eyebrow at her, shaking his head as it was tilted. The clicking of holsters as they snapped open behind his warcoat reached his ears, an instinctual reaction, muscle memory from decades of use.

Somewhere, in the dark recesses of his mind, there was laughter. The mental image came too easily, a picture painted with the viscera that would steam for mere moments before freezing on this world. And after that? The voice chittered, his own voice and yet not, inverted as it was. There was a kind of comfort in its tones as it sang to him the truth in verses wrought from pain. That he knew the ways, the words, the signs. That it wouldn’t take much this time. Not with all the practice. How he was just so very…

Hungry.

Muz took a long breath, adjusted his posture as he regarded them. His mind focused, remembering the virtue of patience, sinking into zanshin. He rolled his neck, eyes finally seeing his own sabers floating around him in precise angles, just waiting for a command as though they were well trained animals. He tilted his head, watching their faces with a detached curiosity as he commanded them back to their homes. The faint clicking of their holsters echoed in his ears as he stared at Cassandra.

Discuss. Later.

“Um. It’s kinda. A lot right now?” Her eyes burned, refusing to shed tears. She was feeling so much from him and she didn’t have a direction or know how to work it out anything helpful! “Not long ago? And it’s still, like, happening. He’s hurting, I know it.”

Breathing deeply, she shook it off and focused up, the Mandalorian she was. She took Tahiri’s offered hand and squeezed back. This had to be hard on his godmother too.

“I was already gonna go out, so yeah, can take you gais too. I’ll see you there safe, at least. It’s getting back I’m worried about.” She sighed. “Just wish we could do more than ferry people. I can fix ships, but not a power station. Anyway, the engines won’t hold long in the cold. So we’ll need to be fast.”

Cass glanced up and saw the storm starting to barrel down upon them and immediately brought her arms back up again as she refocused her efforts into blockading it, especially while Ruka was receiving assistance. With a deep breath, she slowly exhaled as she resumed her former duty until another method could be worked out; even if she burned a solid amount of force reserves to pull that off.

Ellie’s feet were not meant for snow, for sure. The little BD droid skittered to the location the comm drop had specified, hopping into the building (and nearly falling on it’s posterior on ice), it searched the surrounding area for the civilian in till it found them.

<@837236610684813342>

Unfortunately…she had burned far too much energy on the telekinetic strike, and was finding it extremely difficult to hold the level of power she had against the storm just prior.

This…was bad.

It was quickly overwhelming her energy.

It was also at this point that her temperature resistance had also finally hit zero, and the cold around them all but penetrated straight back into her as the armor’s sealing system collapsed. It hurt to breathe, her body warmth being sapped from her like a drink with a straw. Every inhale she felt the crystallization inside of her lungs, the pain all but bringing her back down to one knee once again.

“Of course, my vulnerabilities concern me.” The question was strange. Perhaps the Mandalorian believed Sith to be above such things? That would be arrogance, some were indeed capable of that. Especially Jedi. “I do not need to lie to convince anyone that I have fears and vulnerabilities. But morals and principles do not add to them.”

There was a pause as Alaisy pondered whether she answered the question in the right way. “As the days go by, I strengthen myself in the areas that require the most work. And I take risks to make the steps possible. Perhaps there are principles and arrogance grounded there? An indomitable will that expects the better outcome?”

Perhaps she went too far explaining it this time. She crossed her arms and her tail curled around her thigh as if she became frustrated. “It is ironic that I am waiting in a den of burning chairs while the Force is in flux.”

A tiny of bit of relief, before more anxiety welled up in Tahiri’s heart, gently squeezing Minnow’s hand. “I do too. Ro can do mechanical work, so he’s confident he can get the generator up and running.”

“Hey, if you two are done chatting,” Ro suddenly appeared again. “I got the rest of ice off and you’re all set to go. Hiri, you ready to head out?”

Tahiri looked at her brother and then to Minnow, giving him a slight smile, “Change of plans Ro, we’ve got a ride. And I have to do something else as well.”

Ro-Tahn shrugged, “Alright then lets go. If you could drop us off in the Vista Del Rey district, I’ll have that generator up and going.”

Elly listened closely to the Sith’s words, formulating a response while listening, adding and removing words and points as the woman beside her continued. She was genuinely surprised at how Aliasy had started, admitting mentally that she had expected her to say something arrogant with how she had presented herself thus far.

“I’d call a want for self improvement a principle, one that you seem to follow.” She said while walking around the bar and grabbed two chairs they hadn’t destroyed. She brought them over to the fire and set them within reasonable conversation distance. Not too close to make either of them uncomfortable but not too far as to make talking more difficult. She plopped down into one of the chairs and continued.

“And by taking risks to improve yourself, you turn that principle into a vulnerability. It’s something that can be exploited. If someone knew about your principle of self improvement, they could push at the parts of you that you see as weak and lesser and force you into vulnerable situations. Of course, you could be too prideful to let their words get to you or too prideful in your abilities to let them talk poorly of you. Or maybe you’re lacking in pride and see the need to prove yourself, or that lack of pride ends up being a reason you don’t improve in that field. Which definitely isn’t you. At least from what I’ve seen,” She said, finally turning to look at her again. “But being aware of that principle allows you to plan accordingly, to try and recognize when it’s being used against you. Your awareness of this singular one is commendable for someone who claims to have none, but if you deny having any others, you are only setting yourself up for failure.” She sighed, probably having just said way too much and definitely projecting just a bit, but today was an emotional day, so she gave herself a small pass.

She patted the seat of the chair she had brought over. “I don’t have access to the force, so I dunno what you mean by it being in flux, but you’re stuck with me for now. Might as well try and enjoy some conversation instead of worrying about that.”

“He can?” Minnow’s shoulders lifted, hope kindling. “Oya, oya, oya! Then let’s move. Ibi'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur. Good day for us not to die.”

She sprinted up the ramp and nearly slammed into her seat in the cockpit, desperate to get a message to Bril and to get that generator going.

They took off imminently, the Water Kitten shuddering through the edge of the safe bubble and into the storm. They immediately veered, but the veteran pilot kept them on course, every trick and instinct she knew fighting them a way to Vista Del Ray.

Muz tilted his head as he watched the consul falter. All the power, none of the understanding. It was the same so many times over. He turned to the storm, reaching out with his mind, finding the heart as it whirled, gaining strength in the shadow of distant worlds. A simple push, as so many times before, dragging the storm off of the city, away from them all. He reached around it, nimble fingers trying to find purchase where none could be had. Nature was fickle.

Wrath.

He sneered beneath his helmet, debating funneling a tempest into the karking thing. The acrid taste fueled his mind as he calmed himself, channeling down to the next plan. There was always another way, one just had to think it through. To have the will to surpass failure. To push beyond and let them feed the success to come. He had enough.

Muz drew a breath in.

Slowly, he let it flow through him, the Force reaching from him in every direction, taking hold of everything, nothing, the spaces in between. It poured from him, his mind tasting the frostbitten air, the ice, the wind. He knew the flavor of the waters, the scent of their breath. In all the ten directions, he grew his reach, passing around everything with a heartbeat, everything that had thought. If he included them…no, that would not do. 3 meters. 30 meters. 300 meters. 3 kilometers.

Beneath the helmet, a beat of sweat formed.

He moved them.

All of them.

Every snowflake. Every ice crystal. Every speck of dust, every bit of air. He moved them all, shaking them at their core. The Force channeled through him, the particles vibrating in a buzz that no one could hear but him. Frequency. Vibration. Friction.

Heat.

The storm howled as it raged over head, throwing ice at them that fell as gentle rain, screaming in gusts that warmed them as sure as sunlight. It was furious at the indignity, at this vulgar display. How dare anyone challenge Nature’s brutal throne? It whipped itself into more of a furor, seething against the defiance.

Muz could feel Cassandra’s eyes upon him as sure as he could feel the blood fall from his nose. He turned slowly, his voice ragged, unamplified. “Can’t do this forever.”

Cassandra brought herself back to her feet, raising her hands up to toss her helmet aside with her dark burgundy hair falling all around her. Blood ran down her face from her eyes, nose, and mouth, using every ounce of energy she had to assist him as she added to his own attempt. Though it was not much, she gradually added more and more as her energy started to gradually restore itself.

“You won’t have to.”

With a small twitch of her finger, she activated her comm unit on her ear. “How long until the apex is over with Huracan and Grannus?”

“Approximately four hours, after which the apex will be cleared and the worst will be past.”

Four hours… she thought to herself. There was no way they could hold the storm off for another four hours while the two planets sat in close proximity to each other directly in front of the star, and sapped the entirety of the heat. There had to be something…anything.

“Notify the Allegiance, begin bombardment of Huracan.”

“…what!?”

“You heard me. Grannus facing side, try and force a gap…anything.”

“It won’t work, the gravitational and magnetic arcs between them are far to intense. Especially with the volcanic activity reinforcing it.”

“We have to do something, Admiral…we’re out of options.”

“…understood.”

“I admit that it took me a while to realize that it indeed was a principle, no matter how hard it is to admit.”

No, no, please, no. Alaisy noticed the Mandalorian grabbing the chairs. To sit around a fire, no less. Next up they were going to sing.

At least the distance was acceptable.

“The vulnerability is necessary. But it need not be abided by all the time. Once one knows that another is out to exploit your weakness, there is the option of temporarily breaking the habit. Or at least not greedily snatch the first hook that is trying to catch you.”

She sat down on one of the chairs, her eyes fixed on the woman.

“There have been many moments where I knew when to make a step backward, before treading forward again.”

“I suppose I have more exposures in my armor, now that I understand how you want me to look at it, let me tell you of another.” She pulled the air hose of her mask over her shoulder as she leaned on her arm with her head.

“There is of course patience, a trait many young, and old Sith do not possess. For a time, I was impatient too. Some lessons take longer to learn. So I swallowed that pride and began looking further ahead. Found deeper truths and greater goals.”

Part of this was waiting around in this room for a storm to lay down. So some things were on fire, but at least her company managed to stay alive until now. A change of pace for sure.

“Oh and the Force, there is a storm happening around the City Center. No doubt some friends of yours trying to be heroic. What a tale it will be when you tell them you have been philosophical with a Sith.” She chuckled behind the mask.

Bizarre

Ro and Tahiri had strapped themselves into their seats. While Minnow expertly piloted them to the generators location, Tahiri sent her mind searching for Brils’ mind, now that they were away from the City Centre. Finally sensing it, she found Bril in a state of panic almost. “Minnow, I’m making contact with Bril now.”

Reaching her mind out, the Elder grasped onto Bril’s consciousness, *“Bril! Ameeno'nop! I’m with Minnow. She asked me to deliver a message to you. She loves you. She loves you so much. She wants you to hold on. Bril, are you ok? She felt you weren’t alright. We’re both worried about you. Vyshtal, answer me!”

<@1056685516441006091>

Somewhere, deep at the back of Thane’s mind, the Deputy Grand Master was at least aware of everything that was going on. How could he not? Muz’s rite was a beacon in a starless sky.

He would have to be actively trying to ignore it to do so at this distance.

Still, Thane merely remained seated where he had found himself in the shelter, quietly chewing. His black-gold eyes focused on the simple sandwich in his hands. White bread, toasted, with an herby butter and what his flaring nostrils told him was some sort of fatty belly meat that had been grilled.

Chew, chew.

This was…nice.

Elly listened to everything Alaisy said, once again forming a response while listening. She appreciated that the woman clad in black was comfortable enough with the situation to take a seat next to her, seeing it as quite the win in her book. But it all went out the window when the woman implied Elly’s friends were out trying to help. The Mandalorian let out one of the most depressed chuckles Sith would ever hear as she was tossed back into her previous depressed stupor. She bit her tongue to try and keep herself from tearing up, taking a moment to let her emotions pass in complete silence.

“Friends… That’s one vulnerability that’s kriffing me over.” She sniffled, very quickly trying to push that topic away. “But that’s not important.” She took a quick breath. “It’s good that you’re able to recognize those shortcomings and plan for them accordingly. But mastering patience is something I’m certainly impressed by. It’s something I’ve been working tirelessly to do as it feeds into so many other vulnerabilities.”

Cole was stood near Sofila, creating some space while she crouched over an injured woman. The injury wasn’t visible but she was shivering, badly. Cole himself still was shivering visibly but bore no worrisome signs of anything other than being cold.

He looked over at the call out, not needing to raise much to spot the Zabrak. He simply raised a hand, unsure what Draca was doing but not ignoring the greeting? If it was a greeting.

Her helmet was already removed a while ago. She wanted the people to see her friendly face.

“Almost done,” she reassured to the woman. When she took care of the once frostbitten skin, she removed and nodded with a smile. “There you go!” The woman went back to her family.

Sofila exhaled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, not yet noticing Draco’s approach.

I need to recharge.

She glanced over to Cole and was about to say something to him but noticed his raised hand. With a confused blink, she glanced over and saw a familiar Zabrak heading their way.

<@432543120635461643> <@837236610684813342> <@417336769181122562>

Cole noticed the movement in the corner of his eye, holding his hand out to her.

There was too many people but as much as he hated the eyes, the push and pull, he more so didn’t want her swept away in it either. He wanted her close. Safer. Someone could recognise either of them together and use it against the other, but that seemed less terrifying than the idea of her being swept up in the crowd and something happening without him there.

The state of Westwind paused Meleu’s footsteps momentarily. He had been stuck inside since the beginning of the horrendous blizzard, and this was the first time he had seen the damage caused. Snow blanketed the winding alleyways of the corrupt district, loose limbs and body parts strewn around, frozen over. Order had obviously not yet been restored by the Taldryan Republic here yet - no signs of a support mission having started.

The warehouse was not far away from where he was, but the thick snow, heavy cold snap winds and loose debris would make the journey difficult. Luckily for Meleu, he had almost regained his full strength, and the Force would be his ally in staving off the killer glacial weather.

And so, he began his journey. The streets were still quiet despite the worst of the storm seeming to have passed. Either most had evacuated, been killed or still sheltering. It would make the journey easier at least.

Eyes wide open, still unseeing. A blind expanse of gold and silver, starlight and void black, of nothing and everything. Flames in the cold. People? Lives?

Was this seeing with the Force, some part of him wondered?

But all parts of him were focused on their sole, protective task. Rain and burning joining the tumultuous ruin. He kept that back too. Held it all away. Felt himself on fire. It hurt.

His chest was still.

He heard them all out there.

And he heard her right there. Begging, pleading, small tones that asked desperately.

Stay.

“Vacmi… Please…”

Siva.

Sweetheart. Little cookie. Blanket burrito baby. His little girl, not little at all. He hadn’t raised her, not like Noga and Leda. But he had had the honor of watching her grow so much already.

Live. Please.

I’m trying, honey, he wants to say, and cant. His jaw is frozen shut and thawing at the same time. He’s cosmic and feeble at once. He’s a breathing corpse with no heartbeat, he’s been here before, he’s stood at this crossing and known there would be no coming back, but that people would be safer.

Live. Please.

Vacmi.

Light and shadow and will whispered. Not his but hers. And it willed that stone-flesh organ in his chest to beat.

Under the Chiss’ hands, a thump-thump stuttered back to life. Sluggish at first, weak, but there.

An exhale left Ruka’s mouth through gaps in ice and teeth and blood. One with heat behind it, not from the God-driven weather, but from the bare warmth of pumping blood. What little was left. It seeped, crystalline still with slowly oozing, melting iron and ice, from the open pores and sinew exposed on his face and under his stained clothes. His body sagged sideways, thawing ever so slightly, and tiny blue hands cradled his head as he slumped into her hold while his arms and eyes stayed fixed upwards, his all still focused on the work at hand.

-

And overhead came another angel, felled in the tempest. Risen from ruin. Again again again. One cloak joined another, blanketing both the Chiss and her charge, Socorra’s hands finding places on his shredded body.

He didn’t hold her vow anymore. And she didn’t hold his.

They both knew that would always be a lie on his part, as if he ever stopped caring, regardless of how the woman told him not to, or shouldn’t, sah. And on her part, too, it apparently still held true.

Vows and all.

If a person could bloat and unravel at the seams it seemed Ruka would as the temperature changed, but the newly Vizslan Proconsul forbade that. She poured her focus into healing that she would typically call herself o'sik at. The Sith runes on her skin hummed and burned a thousand fires with the power enrapturing her once again, from different worlds, different times, different lives, all coalesced into this one strange one. His organs didn’t fail. His flesh reknit. The heart Sivall had restarted kept beating.

And so Ruka kept trying.

A third cloak joined the two, from Draca, a flash of a star running by. Familiar souls lingered in the doorway. So many voices. Clamoring. Hoping. Orders for fleets. Can’t do this forever. Hold on. Live please.

Protect.

Meleu continued carefully trudging through the snow. He wasn’t far from his goal now. Then it would be easy. Contact his ship’s crew and get picked up. The weather seemed ideal now for a pickup, and the warehouse was right next to a large open field where they could land the Dusk.

BANG

A loud explosion sound perked up Meleu. He immediately snapped to attention and found cover on a wall within the alleyway where he had been walking through. He slowly edged closer towards the end of the wall so that he could have a quick peek around the corner.

His eyes studied the scene ahead of him. The warehouse - perfect. A heavy barrage of blaster fire coming from it - not ideal. Meleu liked a challenge however, especially one that involved a fun fight. He had no idea who could be attracting that kind of attention from the Moxx gang and still survive.

As soon as that thought had crossed the Sith’s mind, a brilliant black beast rose from the snow. The unknown combatant held a shield in his left hand whilst twirling a spear-like weapon in his right. The snow beneath him reflected the lustrous gold trim off his extravagant beskar armour. Blaster fire continued to rain down upon him, but the rare bolt that snuck past his shield simply bounced straight off of him.

–

Meleu was impressed, Mandalorians always had this effect on him. It had been a while since he had seen one in combat and it was certainly a sight to behold. The Sith moved away from his viewing position and slowly made his way towards the carnage ahead.

The Mandalorian continued as Moxx gang members funneled through the warehouse doors, blaster fire momentarily pausing as they did so. The Mandalorian briefly dropped his weapon and shield and swiftly reached down to his waist. Before Meleu could blink, five throwing daggers flew through the air. With an insane level of precision, they found each of their target’s foreheads almost simultaneously. Without hesitation, the Mandalorian regeared himself for the impending second round of blaster fire.

The Sith continued towards the battle scene ahead. Suddenly, the Force whispered to him. He stopped in his steps and withdrew his lightsaber hilt from beneath his cloak. Loud, fast moving footsteps through the snow filled Meleu’s head, amplified by the Force. Around a dozen more gang members appeared ahead of him, but tunnel visioned their movements towards the Mandalorian. These must be Moxx gang reinforcements.

Meleu had to intervene. The enemy of his enemy was his friend - if only temporarily. This also seemed like the best way to lessen the threat the Moxx gang posed to his future plans. The less of them the better in his mind. With a hiss, the crimson-red blade of his lightsaber shot out of the hilt.

–

The Sith broke out into a sprint, his athleticism and balance made the snow no obstacle now that he was focused on the target ahead. He lept into the air to close the gap, landing directly behind the trailing member of the reinforcement group. This Twi’lek was the first to notice the Sith as the loud thud of his landing pierced the snow.

An easy downward swing of his saber cut the Twi’lek gang member in two from shoulder to waist. A second turned around, but before their blaster had even been raised towards Meleu, the Sith released a burst of Force energy that took the gang member off her feet.

The sound from the Mandalorian’s rear caught his attention. He turned on a dime whilst still deflecting incoming fire with his shield. As Meleu continued to cut through the ambush from behind, the Mandalorian acknowledged his presence with a mere nod of his helmet.

<@583854106599489557>

Sofila noticed Cole’s reach and her heart fluttered. She… did not expect that from him. Not in a terribly crowded place. Her hand reached out and grasped his and intertwined their fingers. She wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it.

She looked back over to Draca as he catches up.

“Hi Draca!” Her voice had a hint of exhaustion but she was always her peppy self when she can. She can’t think about other things or her heart would break again.

“Are you okay?”

<@837236610684813342>

It’s time to go…. Come on!

But how could he? Words of genuine urgency dissolved into the noise of a million other ephemera. The unforgiving demand placed upon his mind by the saliences of converging–cooperating–Force users left no room for Draca’s pleas to take root. Even if they had, how could Bril move when what felt like the weight of a star destroyer pressed upon him? Muscles, paralyzed by overstimulation and the bitter cold, locked him in a statuesque existence.

Was this how he’d meet his end? Alone and freezing in an empty building, his loved ones so close yet so torturously far all at the same time?

Surely, the Force had more in store for him than this. Bril still had so many things he wanted to accomplish, so many places he wanted to see. He had to continue to develop the Kenaek’Mai, to continue his research. And what would become of his friends and family? Of his beloved punchy Nautolan who had won his hearts?

A chorus of disembodied voices, faint at first but gradually lifting in volume, began to sing the songs of his youth. Their lilting voices and tonal chants combined with the boom of leather drums in a rhythm that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. The distant whistle of akro reeds dancing in the windswept plains of the Iridonian steppes rang out and wrestled his attention from his chaotic, dismal milieu. Am-Mirde hung in the blue sky above, bathing him in warmth that he hadn’t felt in such a long time. Too long.

Circumfused in the rays of Iridonia’s sun, Bril felt any worries he had about his fate fade from his mind forthwith–supplanted by the recognition of his people’s ancestral homelands. This was the terhan-zifa, the Land of Honey, the place where all Iridonians traveled when crossing over to the other side.

©

They were calling him, beckoning him to come and meet ancestors from generations passed. And in that moment of profound, indescribable peace, Bril struggled to find the words to deny them. They welcomed him with open arms, offering to rid him of all the pain he’d endured, and to rescue him from suffering that would inevitably follow should he remain. It felt as if he’d known them his entire life and, in a way, he had. His tribe taught its children how to commune with the edalinare in some form or another beginning when they were old enough to speak. But this, this was a level of intimate contact reserved only for the most shamanically gifted of his people, for the shamans of each Iridonian tribe.

How could he refuse such a warm welcome?

He watched as a young Zabrak boy stepped out from the field of akro reeds and extended his hand to him. Bril hesitated for a moment, but eventually reached out to take the boy’s hand. Just as he was about to let the child take his hand, he heard a familiar voice ring out like a mighty trumpet.

Bril! Ameeno'nop! I’m with Minnow. She asked me to deliver a message to you. She loves you. She loves you so much. She wants you to hold on. Bril, are you ok? She felt you weren’t alright. We’re both worried about you. Vyshtal, answer me!“

That was Tahiri. How was she here? She couldn’t be here. And Minnow was here, too? This wasn’t right. Neither of them were—

©

The boy was gone. In his place, stood an elderly woman dressed in what he recognized as kaldora (ceremonial garb), but none that he recognized. Her facial jat’i (tattoos), composed of brilliant yellows and bold blacks, told but a fragment of her life in the living world, but enough for Bril to discern that this woman was lo’edar—his matriarch. The first of his lineage. The woman who birthed the multitudes that his people venerated every day of their waking lives. She lifted a gaunt hand to place her palm on the crown of his head while offering him a tender smile. Then, she spoke in Ul’Zabrak.

“It’s not your time, child. Continue to live and grow. You will return to us one day, when all that’s destined for you in this world has come to pass.”

“But there’s so much I want to ask you.”

“In time, child. In time. Now, go and be with the ones you love. Something tells me they’ll be needing you very soon.”

Without another word, the woman gave Bril’s head a forceful push, causing him to collapse into the field of reeds that stretched onward without end. The vision ended and he sprang back to consciousness in the same room that he was in before. In the room that Draca had left him.

“What the hell…”

It was even colder, now, and the sound of rushing wind called Bril’s attention to the gaping hole in the ceiling. Evidently, this was what Draca had used to escape. The two of them were coming to some sort of an understanding, only for him to vanish. Did he really abandon him here? How long had it been since he shouted for him to come along? Where the kark did he go? All questions he’d have to seek answers for later. He had far more pressing concerns that needed addressing.

©

With Tahiri’s recent message still fresh in his mind and his link to Minnie seemingly even stronger than it had been before, locating them within the raging blizzard took little effort.

Neither of them was with her ship, which meant they were out there, in this hellish storm. He needed to get to them. And fast.

He took a deep breath, calling upon his connection to the Living Force to bolster his body’s defenses against the savage cold. Focusing on the blessed, life-giving heat of Am’Mirde ignited a fire within him that slowly rose his core body temperature until he felt the cold no longer.

“I’m coming, pur’ka.”

Empowering the reawakened muscles of his legs with the Force, he sprang upward so high that he leaped through the ceiling hole and floated a few feet above it before landing on the building’s icy roof. And he continued to do so as he sprinted across them, his cloak billowing behind him in the frigid winds as he raced toward Tahiri and Minnow’s location.

Off in the opposite direction in the city’s center, he felt the presence of Ruka and Sivall scattered amongst several others. Good. That meant he was getting help. Hopefully, whomever they were with would prevent the two of them from getting themselves in even worse trouble—or worse, from getting themselves killed. By the Force, he was going to have a long talk with them both about their proclivity to making martyrs of themselves. Another task for a later date.

Bril ran faster than he’d ever run before. He dipped and dove past every obstacle in his path, surrendering his body to the Force so it could lead him on the best path to reach his destination. And he did so quickly that it surprised even him. Appearing before Tahiri, Ro, and Minnow as a blur of black, grey, and brown, Bril dug his feet into the ground to slow his momentum; a gust of cold air created by his blistering dash rolled through the area a few seconds after he stopped.

©

Sky blue eyes settled on his beloved Nautolan, and he didn’t hesitate to cross the paltry distance between them to pull her into the tightest embrace he’d ever given her. When they touched, she’d realize how much heat radiated from his body. Even his robes were warm!

“My Tai’shan,” he muttered, “What are you doing out here? You need to get back to your ship.”

He looked to Tahiri and Ro. “All of you do.”

Something about the young Zabrak seemed … different. Both Tahiri and Minnow, through their bond, could hear the faintest hum vibrating from his aura in the Force. It was like a thousand voices all chanting in unison. And if his master and his lora listened closely enough, even they would be able to hear it despite the distance between them.

(d)

<@244244163002892288> <@375384499770359819> <@264959101384130560>

Warmth. Rain? Socorra’s HUD read the temperature going from -200 to 50 in the span of seconds. The Mandalorian considered the display too had been busted in the fall, but her senses screamed that the Grand Master was doing something again.

Ruka slumped into Siv’s lap, barely clinging to life. Di'kutla, but alive, just barely so.

Su cuy'gar. Don’t make me lightning you like you did me.

Socorra slowly pulled her trembling hands back. It wasn’t the cold that made them tremble so. It had been many years since the woman had done healing of any sort, for anyone. Not since before her fall, before she lost everything and everyone. Yet, here she was, offering herself, the precious life Force within, without a second thought. Her brows furrowed at the realization. Vulnerability enveloped her, a fear-inducing exposure. Ruka’s stolen memories didn’t echo the horrific sight she beheld now. These feelings weren’t just the vow.

The Sith did not like what she felt.

Love and friendship are a lie, she repeated to herself, a mantra that kept her alive, kept her safe—now more than ever, in her exile. It existed to momentarily dispel the crushing loneliness since waking, since Ruka forced her to live through that vow. Illusions! I make them!

The drugs. The cliff leap. The hivemind. The stampede. Standing shoulder to shoulder with him when crystals fell from the sky.

The Sith hated what she felt.

The Juggernaut was too fragile to hit. “Kark you!” the woman yelled at him instead. Her voice cracked and crackled from the helmet, vocoder busted from the skyfall, voice broken from.. something else. “Kark you for caring! Kark you for.. for lying! Everything is not kandosii!”

Socorra shot up from the ground and stood tall, her hands balling into fists. “He has to get inside,” she said to Siv, to.. whoever was there on the roof. “You have to get inside! Go now. I will make you go now!”

“I’m fine,” Ankira told him, “but are you?”

She couldn’t explain it, but she felt a lot of different emotions coming off him, most of it related to guilt. Why was she feeling all this? It was confusing to her. The whole Force stuff happening to her was confusing, but she had to be strong, she was a Mandalorian after all. Perhaps there was a way to help Draca see that what he was doing was enough. That he was enough, just like everyone around them. They were all doing their best to help others. What else could they expect of themselves?

She wanted to say something to him, but what? Silently she wished Appius was here, he would know exactly what to tell him.

Sofila winced when Draca’s hand went on her shoulder, “No, wait-“ Too late as she felt the surge of energy.

She could recharge her own energy, she haven’t had the time to do it yet. But she wasn’t going to be rude and complain about it. Her free hand went up and grabbed Draca’s and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“Thank you. It was very appreciative, let me charge my own energies next time so you can save yours, yea?” Sofila gave a friendly smile to Draca.

Well, if anything was obvious it was how not okay Draca was. The boy was was struggling to focus and didn’t bother with answering the question aimed at him. A bit of a chill wasn’t going to hurt him.

“Whatevers bothering you, you either need to work it out quick or put it aside. Were all-” Cole followed Draca’s gaze and noticed the deputy grandmaster just eating a sandwich.

No that was real. Okay. Maybe not all.

“We are trying to help people get organised, what are you doing?” It wasn’t accusatory, the words spoken plainly. Cole’s expression was carefully metered, as was voice, leaving no room for worry or judgement. Just a straight query to work out what needs to be done.

Despite her weakening force usage, Cassandra was able to listen as they helped out Ruka. A soft smirk crossed her lips, grateful that Ruka was fine. Her body was aching, her muscles just screaming at her to rest, but she refused. Her arms firmly stayed in the air and she concentrated on helping hold the bulk of the storm back using the assisted wave of energy from Muz while he in turn converted the storm into a much warmer version of itself. The soft warm rain was incredibly refreshing as it soaked her hair over time and in turn warmed her armor from its icy state.

While her core would take significantly longer to warm up, this added resolve of success almost warmed her in and of itself. The blood that ran down her face wanted to solidify, but the rain kept it moist as it trickled down. The darkness of the storm was not quite as dark as it had been,

“Once Ruka is taken care of, I would suggest using this opportunity to check for further survivors and get more to safety in the event we fail or finally reach a stage where we can back off and let the remainder of the storm run its course.” she said with a raised voice just to ensure she was heard over the soft smacking sounds of the rain. “Especially on the storm’s rim to the west.”

<@284848346672136192> <@244244163002892288> <@141239709291511808>

The experience of the Rite, ironically first used at Taldryan, resurfaced vividly. But Socorra was merely a Knight then, ‘only’ subjected to the power of a Prophet. An Adept now, she was so much more closer to it, an Ascendant. And it was at Taldryan that she had found how cruel and conniving others could be, what the world of Force users was really like even when not in war.

She peered over through blood spatter inside her visor to Cassandra, the Taldryan Consul, whom told her to save Ruka, an Arconan, while she froze to death. Had things changed so much since she had fallen years ago? That dying, frozen woman on the other roof told her so. The bright shawl that Ruka now wore told her so; the gift from the little Tal girl, to keep her newborn warm. (Lose it, find out what happens.)

The girl who might be out there. Her mother, somewhere out there. No, not somewhere, there Ankira was. That is where her mind went, and past it, stretching back out into the city and beyond. As far as it could go, which was easy on any given day, like breathing.

Save the city, the Consul had said.

They were not going to like it.

The Seeker’s method was hurried, intimidating, amplified with the Rite. The dark side trailed behind it.

Get inside, the Sith compelled every mind that was willing to listen. Get inside, she pushed against every mind that wasn’t. This is your last few seconds to get safe. Run or die standing!

Socorra pushed against the stubborn ones. She pushed against the martyrs. The dumb. The scared. The young. The injured. She pushed into their minds to force them to hovels, buildings, underground, anywhere they could shelter. She drew maps in their minds, guiding citizens and Brotherhood alike to the shelters.

Run.

She pulled back, the effect would last for a few. They would yell later. If the mentalist didn’t make them forget her mind was ever there, they always yelled. It was just…never this many. Let them hate, so long as they lived.

The former Herald looked to Ashen, the struggle in his stance. He had even come back for this. Why? she wanted to ask. Maybe this moment was special in the timeline. Maybe he was bored. As if Evant hadn’t wasted his skills entertaining himself.

Evant. Despite all of his flaws, unity had still been the last Grand Master’s mantra. The ship he had assigned his Praetor, the Affinity, was assigned because he had used it to unite the clans as Deputy. Socorra had been required to use it whenever she went, to represent him but also what he had done, what the Brotherhood should be: United. It was up there above them past the storm clouds, awaiting her return.

Unity had been a fancy word for a Sith. But ambition meant nothing if nothing was left.

She knew what both men would say: Do something then.

Socorra stepped to the edge of the roof, her hands raising at her sides.

My turn.

Evelyn’s head snapped at hearing Renatus’s voice but he wasn’t in the cockpit with her? Did he need her attention? Before she could unbuckle and get up from her seat, she tensed at the sudden invisible force and a ‘high five’ was made. Not long after, the energy was gone. She stared at her hand and slowly blinked. What the-

—————

Evelyn grimaced at hearing the slow creaks of the ship. It was baffling to her, the ships were made for temperature in space and extreme temperatures such as Hoth and heating from a dog fight yet it was struggling here.

This could not be a normal storm.

“Open the doors!” Evelyn shouted through the comm.

“Lady, you are insane if you think-“

“Do it or I am crashing in-“

“Oh for- get the droids to open the door!” Evelyn struggled against the whipping of the storm around the spaceport. She can’t even see the doors to gauge if they were open enough.

She couldn’t wait any longer. The winds were threatening to throw the ship into the icy waters. Why did they put the spaceport so close to the ocean?

The doors were barely big enough for Verda’Kyr as she managed to slip in and Evelyn veered to keep from hitting other ships and ended up scraping on the ground. Poor Verda’Kyr had a rough landing. She might need some work done along with the ground.

Evelyn exhaled sharply as she leaned back on her seat.

“I need a drink.”

Ankira held her head as she felt the intrusion into her head, she hated it when people did that, but she understood the why. Her head turned towards the doors of the shelter and frowned.

“We need to move these people further away from the entrances before they clog everything up. Draca, come, we need to guide them. Cole and Sofila, see that the hurt are guided to locations we can easily help them afterwards.”

With that Ankira moved against the stream of people and started to give them directions on were to go and to keep moving away from the entrance.

<@837236610684813342> <@216702440140046336> <@432543120635461643>

What would become of a mortal given the taste of a god’s power? How could they ever look at their life the same when it was so hopelessly mundane in comparison? Those questions repeated in Jemel’s mind like a broken holorecord while he sat in that cold, dim stairwell. The sliver of power the Grand Master had granted him and several others had wracked his body with pain at first, pain unlike anything he’d felt before. But now, it coursed through him and galvanized every cell in his body. Jemel’s nature as a Clawdite-hybrid meant that he’d always had a more intimate understanding of how his body’s functions worked–a necessity for him to use his species’ shapeshifting abilities. That knowledge and experience provided him with a deeper sense of what his body–his limbs, his skin, internal organs–was doing at any given moment. With the sudden boost in his middling Force abilities by Lord Ashen, this insight was elevated to its zenith, providing Jemel with both the knowledge and the ability to shape his physical form to heights of which he could hitherto scarcely conceive.

His body was clay for him to shape at his discretion. And so, he did.

It was Jemel that Ruka had inadvertently flung through the door and at the top of the stairwell, but what emerged was something else. Something greater. Emerald skin was now a dazzling white that glowed in whatever ambient light remained on the rooftop. The Clawdite-Falleen’s robes were shredded, forced apart to accommodate the growth of six wings of the same brilliant bleach white of his skin. When his lissome footfalls carried the transformed Arconan into the freezing outdoors, Jemel expected to be hit with the same biting cold they’d felt when he first ventured out in the blizzard to assist his Proconsul, but he felt no cold at all. Internal reactions set a blazing pace, hastening his metabolism to such a degree that the touch of the once unforgiving cold failed to register on his skin.

©

Jemel’s milky-gray eyes settled upon Ruka’s supine form, which appeared broken from overexertion, then to the Chiss woman who attended to him. A medic whom he recognized as the newest Aedile to House Galeres. Mister Tenbriss Ya-Ir was in good hands, with her. He just hoped it wasn’t too late for her to reverse whatever damage he’d accrued in his efforts to save them all.

The nagging sensation of a command pressing against his psyche caused Jemel to turn his attention to Socorra. He rebuffed her attempts to influence his mind and simply stared at her for a moment, regarding her with passing interest before turning their head to the door. The sounds of footsteps fast approaching had captured his attention, prompting him to glide over to where they were coming from with gentle beats of his wings.

It hadn’t taken long for the culprit to arrive, causing Jemel’s eyes to widen a bit when he realized that it was the new director of the DIA, Zuza Lottson. The difference in their height was even more stark now, with Jemel standing at nearly eight feet while occupying this new, lithe form. His facial features were still mostly the same, though, so it likely wouldn’t be too difficult for her to recognize him.

“Ma’am,” he said while inclining his head.

<@432543120635461643> <@244244163002892288> <@264959101384130560>

That dramatic chuckle made the Sith feel warm on the inside. Knowing she may have only needed words to accomplish what the Force did. Sometimes Alaisy barely noticed when she used the Force or if it was simply her pessimistic nature that always seemed to rub others the wrong way.

“Do you want me to help you put an end to that particular pain?” She was being sarcastic. Well, a little bit. “Not important? It sure does not sound like it.” Tir'eivra smiled with her eyes. “If you are willing to put the effort in and fight your nature, I will be more than glad to speed up the process.”

Patience

“Patience. Patience. Patience. It is commonly associated with the Jedi. It sets them on the wrong foot when you are the one that holds the cards, when you grasp time by the scruff. Do that, hold the cards. Make yourself invaluable to your friends as well. Make them fight for you, so they fight for themselves too. So you can stop worrying.”

Thane glanced towards the voice that was suddenly intruding upon his quietude. This one was…Draca? Admittedly, the Deputy Grand Master had yet to parse out any mental storage for him. It hadn’t been deemed important as yet.

Two more chews and the Firrerreo swallowed before responding. “Perfectly cromulent,” Thane said. A pregnant pause filled the air before he realized what the social niceties were. “You?”

“Split, find anyone who’s hurt, get them toward a medic. If someone’s lost, send them to a meeting point. There’s few set up around nd we don’t have time to help everyone with new people coming in.” Cole answered shortly, “If its a kid on their own, make sure they get somewhere safe before you leave them. Stay close to the entrance flow, we can work further outward as time passes.”

Cole had given Ankirra a nod of confirmation before she walked away and now looked Draca in the eye. He had been distracted on entry. Now was his chance to do something in comparison to nothing.

“Got it?”

Zuza practically leapt through the open door, spotting Jemel and pausing in place with a slightly slacked jaw.

“Jemel?!”

His face matched what she knew but while the Human had known he could shape-shift this was extreme. It took her a lament to move her gaze across. Ruka was hurt but covered and Siv was healing him. The call to run was strong in her mind but she was already running. The call to freedom crawled across her skin but worry held her in place for the moment.

Cassandra, the Taldryan Consul, was standing strong and some dude with a goatee who shed be less concerned about if he wasn’t the source of the Force screaming at her.

“Okay just, I need to look, make sure they’re okay. Are you okay? You- the Force stuff huh?” Her hands shook as she gestured, Zuza forcibly slowing how she spoke down.

Muz would have spit, if it wouldn’t have just splashed against the inside of his helmet. The cupric taste irritated him, a reminder of older days and more violent times. He sneered at the situation. Vindication, the emotions he felt seeing members from various clans working together as opposed to dedicating themselves to the foolish and wasteful Sith impulses to take advantage of chaos, they waned as he watched them all but squander the Wanderer’s gift. Too much power, not enough training. There were few who could manage that leap forward. Too few.

He turned his head, seeing the Consul of Taldryan, helmetless, pushing as hard as she could. Beyond her, Socorra thrust her arms skyward. His arms began to tremble under the strain of it all. Was it folly to cast so wide a net, to work at such a scale? Probably. But for whatever reasons they had, the angels and avatars, arch-devils and glorified dead kept letting him get away with it. He raised his eyes again, nodded at them both, letting the words slip from a tired voice.

“Bucket on.”

She had to know what that meant. He peeled his attention off slowly, bringing the coils back to his heart as he had done a thousand times, a million times. The storm wailed above the thresshold, and just dropping the heatwave would bring a ruinous torrent of frost upon them directly. There was something more to do.

To me.

His words echoed through their heads as the power did minutes ago. The Mirilian who held onto duty even as his blood froze like his dreams, the Clawdite/Falleen in the stairwell caught between thought and myth, the Epicanthix who stood at his side wearing duty as her armor, and the human who had paid too high a price to reconcile memory and destiny. All threaded together, ever distant, but here on the darkened moon. Each note, every song distinct and clear. It was just a matter of timing. They could be a symphony, powerful and devastating. He pulled them together into his soma, some flowing easier than others, but all eventually heeding the Lion’s call. Thick bands of the essence circled him as he wove the signatures together, and let them become what they needed to be. What they always were. What they never would be.

Harmony.

The wave erupted visibly from a hand as it stretched out, seething up and out from his outstretched fingers, the blast clearing the air as the heatwave retracted. The cold encroached quickly, but at least they would not be buried as they fell back. Muz turned, his legs carrying him stiffly at first. There was no time to waste, even in the haze that clouded their thoughts. It wouldn’t be long now before the gift would fade for them. It wouldn’t be long now before the storm recovered.

“Move.”

<@1056685516441006091> <@141239709291511808> <@61385159655559168> <@244244163002892288>

Sofila looked at Cole in surprise. He had been training her but, kriff, he should be a leader and not her. Her position should’ve been his.

She shook her head to regather her thoughts.

“Okay! I’ll go over where the medics are. I can heal and I get lost and forge things easily so yeaaaaaaa.” Sofila grinned and looked over to Cole, refraining from kissing him on the cheek. She removed her hand from his and made her way over to where the medics are.

<@432543120635461643> <@837236610684813342> <@417336769181122562>

He was just as surprised as she was, though it didn’t show on his placid expression. Something about this form had dulled his emotional responsiveness, replacing it with an equanimous state of mind that even resisted the temptation to completely lose his grip on reality in the face of the power that surged through him.

“Yes, it’s me, ma'am,” he nodded, “I’m great. Better than I’ve ever been thanks to Lord Ashen.”

Jemel lifted a hand to gesture to where the Grand Master was standing, who seemed to be preparing for another display of his awesome power.

“I would make it quick, if I were you.”

And it appeared that his suggestion was a wise one, because the command to move came shortly after.

“Yeah I’m going-” Zuza crossed over, keeping space from Ruka so as not to disturb Sivall but seeing her hard at work. He would be okay. Cassandra should be too. She walked around the edge when the command came.

Move.

Oh how she wanted to. The urge to just leap had her bouncing on her toes whenever her walk stopped, the circle checking on those there coming to an end with the lord Ashen. She never much fancied titles.

“I don’t know what you’re doing Ashen but this is awesome! I’ll help make sure any last stragglers get in on the way, thank you!” She raised her hand, for a high five to the man and craning her neck to do so. Not that that was unusual in the Brotherhood. Tall karkers.

<@284848346672136192>

“Yes, actually, I do. Only reason I’m not taking you up on that is because I’ve got two little girls waiting for me at home. Without them… I’d say go for it. I can’t stop you. I won’t stop you.”

Ellisyn was surprised by her own admission, tears already streaming down her cheeks. Her heart was in pieces, and no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t put it back together. No matter what she did, it felt as if everyone was destined to leave her. First, her biological parents sold her into slavery as just a child. Then it was her brother, abandoning not only the clan but her, leaving her alone with nobody to spend time with. Then it was Darrio, the man who took her heart, nursed it to health, and then shattered it, destroying all the work Elly had done to help herself over the past decade. It all led to these past couple of months of her failing time and time again, not only as a lawyer but also as a vigilante and especially as a mother. It led to her failing today and making a complete mess of the friendships she was so desperately trying to foster. She was back to square one. She was back to being the lonely failure that nobody could manage to want.

She removed her helmet once again and set it softly on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at the fire. “I’m tired of being patient. I’m tired of trying. No amount of training or punching or learning can help. Nothing can fix what I am.” And what Ellisyn thought she was was unloveable.

Kark you!

Everything is NOT kandosii!

Yeah, ay, well, tables turned ain’t they?

Kark you for caring!

Can’t help it. Somebody should.

“Bucket on.

Now what was that?

"Jemel?!”

Jemel? No he was supposed to be safe…wait, Zuza?

As the frozen locs on the Mirialan’s head crumpled from the increased temperature, breaking entirely in places, frozen chunks falling, some of the frost melted away, but the white color stayed. A new one, even, as if just in response to proximity of the Human about to do something stomach-crampingly reckless.

Get him inside! Get inside. Run.

Move.

But they weren’t done yet. So connected to the storm, he could feel that. More was still coming.

But everyone…they were all trying.

Tiny blue hands held his head. An angelic form waited. A woman who said she was no good came back for him, for the people. Together both Consul and Proconsul would die for the citizens. Gods and demigods all of them.

Together.

Not alone.

Ru…Angel… His husband.

Papi… His children. Vacmi! Siva. Ruka? Mela.

Qyriea. Baby Illeta. Little Turhya.

He’d learned not to stand alone. It seemed impossible, so much more than what they were doing.

Turning back a storm to protect? No. That wasn’t the hard thing. Refusing the Dark Side’s hunger, tempting him with whispers of how he could be this powerful always if he just let it free more? No.

Dying? No.

Living was harder.

Letting go. That was the hardest of all. Not saving everyone. Trusting that others were there too. Accepting that he had done all that he could, and that that was enough.

Ruka’s arms wavered, making sounds flesh should never have made, crackling like ice underfoot, as they lowered. He lulled fully into Sivall’s hold. His eyes were still open, golden and sightless, the sign that he was still holding back what he could of the storm. But he couldn’t refuse if they moved him inside. And…he wouldn’t try, even if he could.

Let it in, then let it go.

The pity party made her eyes burn, so bright that the blue vanished from them. She just couldn’t. This Mandalorian had shown so much might in words and physical strength, yet she was collapsing under social weight. Dead weight. No mother should be protecting girls if they aren’t willing to fight for them. Time for a lesson.

She stood up. The seat almost flew into the wall. Her tail raised up in the air. “You do not stop being a parent when it suits you. If they are not worth fighting for, please, just, die. NOW!” Tir'eivra’s voice was raised high enough to be screaming at this point, the modulation distorting it even more.

Both claws raised. Her hands twisting like wringing out a towel. Except it was aimed at Ellisyn’s neck. She willed her anger and disappointment into the Force. Squeezing the woman’s neck. “Are you USELESS? A tool to be DISCARDED?” Her head turned up like an Empress. Her white eyes staring down at Kendis.

An invisible grip folded around female Firrerreo’s airpipe. Impulses from the tall Sith fighting her control.

Siv cared very little for the massive forces at play, not because she didn’t understand the levity of it or didn’t appreciate them, but because her focus was singled on one goal— Ruka surviving.

She wished she was the kind of person who could selflessly sacrifice her loved ones in the name of the greater good, to understand that sometimes one person needed to die to save thousands, but she had never been good at that. She had so very little and she would cling to whatever she had left, the world be damned.

People swarmed her vacmi, cloaks and healing and warmth applied to the immediate area. A flare of anger burned in her chest at the sudden change in temperature, her brain screaming facts about how you should slowly warm the body to prevent necrosis and cell rupture, but she made no move to protest the boon given or the energy burned in the attempt at helping.

A taste of the Dark she held within, a whisper at that part of her that her former Master had cultivated, answered instead.

I should sear the flesh from your bones, you moron.

But that wasn’t her. Wasn’t Siva. So she kept those shadows inside.

Ruka collapsed into her and she sunk to the ground under his weight, a strangled sob escaping her as she cradled her not-father close. Breathing and heart beating and blood pumping— he was alive! The tears welling in her eyes stung but did not fall as she numbly nodded to Socorra’s demand. Inside she would go, using the force to bolster her strength to pull Ruka in with her.

She passed faces and people she should have thanked, should have greeted, should have talked to, but didn’t. Not even Zuza got a word from her, her face full of shock and relief and worry and… and…

Breathe Siva. With me-

I can’t.

(½)

Once inside she propped Ruka up against the wall and closed the door leading out. The medic ripped off her coat, not caring at the moment for her own body temperature, and covered the Arconan Proconsul withit while she went to work trying to heal his remaining injuries.

She willed the force to mend him, stitch flesh back together, thaw the crystals that had formed in his skin and veins and muscle. Her thin blue fingers trembled as she worked, her lips mumbling sodt reassurances as she worked.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you Vacmi. I’m gonna get you all patched up and heading back home. We’re gonna get you back to Mela and Cora and the kids and you’ll make me that spicy hot chocolate you’re so good at and-“

The sob that ripped through her hurt her throat. It caught like glass as it forced its way past her mental walls.

“W-Will watch those st-stupid lifeday holos Cora likes so m-much… A-and I-I’ll help L-l-leda paint your nails again because look! They’re s-so… so chipped now…”

The Aedile’s voice trailed off into a whisper as she looked at Ruka’s fingers. His hands that had held her when she cried and broken granite countertops in anger for her. Hands which were now covered in his own blood and raw from the force of holding back the storm.

She should have come sooner, dammit.

She continued along, her voice lost, healing what damage she could as her teeth began to chatter from the cold. The cold she would pay no attention to right now because she was not the one in danger, not yet.

A comm from Ellie chirped, she had found the civilian but they were on their last limbs. They would succumb to the cold if she didn’t hurry. Ellie had administered first aid and the warming blanket but it wouldnt be enough.

Kark. Kark! Karkkarkkarkkark!!

(2/2) <@244244163002892288> <@432543120635461643> <@284848346672136192> <@61385159655559168> <@141239709291511808> <@1056685516441006091>

Thane tilted his head, a show of confusion that didn’t appear on his impassive face at all.

“Minor frost bite. Already healed,” the Deputy Grand Master replied. He squinted somewhat as he appraised Draca, then a single brow flicked up. “Do you require something?”

In a situation such as this, Thane was as calm as ever. He just didn’t allow himself to get bothered by anything, even if it actually did manage to. That in itself was a rarity. Beyond that, however, he was completely capable of helping himself. Perhaps even helping countless others towards safety—not counting the handful he brought in with Evelyn.

It was a simple equation in his head however. If you require help, shouldn’t you ask? Otherwise, it wasn’t his place to decide that for them. Having power didn’t give one the right to impose it on others.

This had been the plan:

Minnow was too vulnerable to the extreme temperatures with her amphibian biology, so she’d seen one of two ways to do this. Either they made for the surely frigid power center as fast as they could, possibly with Tahiri carrying her at a Force-sprint, and hoped the interior could be sealed and that she could survive in there, depending on the temperature. Or, she could deal herself into the cockpit and converse the tiny bit of heat the Water Kitten already had, lowering the ramp for Tahiri and Ro to get out. That would compromise the back compartment, though and the cockpit was small, meaning it would grow cold quickly. It was a high risk she’d freeze either way, marginally slower, MAYBE, and alone; or in the few seconds or minutes exposed depending on how hard it was to find somewhere to get in and then to seal it behind them.

Given those options, Minnie elected to go in. At least if the worst came, Tahiri or Ro might be able to do something, and she would be more likely to get home to her clan and kitties.

They had all just disembarked down the ramp when the warmth burrowed in her brain suddenly flared up bright, and as if on the tails of it, there was Bril, pulling her into a crushing hug that squeezed her breath out. He was warm, which was great, but they were still outside.

“Kit…” she began, just inhaling to do it, even with cloth wrapped over her mouth and face, spiking pain in her chest. She had all of her clothes and Bril’s from the ship closet on now, even a tulle golden gown her brother had left her, layered up and coated in ice and snow from the few steps she’d taken, and it made moving more difficult. Still the cold seeped into her. It had been sharp at first, but then not at all.

Like going to sleep. Very fast.

“Bril…” she tried to say, to tell him, no, honey, we gotta go forward, hurry! but couldn’t.

<@1056685516441006091> <@375384499770359819>

Alaisy’s shouts didn’t leave Elly’s mind. She comprehended every word that came from her mouth. She just didn’t express any care for her tone nor what she assumed was faux concern. She was more than okay to let it go, to just wait it out until she passed out. But then she had to go and bring up Sulla and Lektra.

She turned her head to glare and respond but was unable to when her neck was suddenly constricted by the force. Elly’s eyes went wide with a bit of surprise. She was trained by Jedi, so you’d think she’d be used to stuff like that, but she had fought common criminals for so long that the feeling surprised her.

With a budding rage, the same rage that she tapped into on Dathomir, she raised her arm and used its repulsor to try and launch Alaisy away.

Tahiri was startled by at the suddenness of Bril’s appearance, as she had turned to help Minnow. Ro-Tahn simply glanced his way, waved and before turning back to frozen door he had finally wrestled open for all of them.

“Come on, we have to get inside,” Tahiri yelled to be heard over the storm, her own black lips turning to a grey color due to the cold. “Ro can get the generator up and going.” She motioned for Bril and Minnow to follow, as Ro-Tahn had disappeared into the building, heading for the generator to begin working on it.

<@1056685516441006091> <@244244163002892288>

Muz’s efforts proved fruitful, as the storm was blown entirely away from where they were by several miles. The double-helix style eclipse of Huracan and Grannus could be seen high in the dark sky, and the temperatures were a nice calm level at that point.

Cassandra quickly grabbed her helmet and swapped out the power pack as she placed it back upon her head, power levels back to full. With the warm temperatures, her temperature resistance was back to 100% as well, and in the heads-up display was a feed signifying the progress that had been made thus far.

91% of the city’s civilian population had been successfully relocated to powered areas underground that would adequately keep them protected, and each had been sealed to ensure this even in the event of a power failure.

The remaining 9%, were primarily all from Westwind, the one district generally overlooked by rescuers. Rescuers themselves were in the process of getting to safety themselves, to get out of the way of what Muz had managed to push away.

The ones still on the surface, the active rescuers as of now, however, were in for a tumultuous time.

No sooner than it was shoved away and the boon provided by Muz had worn off, did the main body began barreling down upon the city once more.

And it was angry. A solid line of snow and ice fell from the pitch black clouds like an encroaching army at high speeds as it traveled across the last range of the western mountains, and began crossing the fields just west of the city before it swallowed buildings whole on the western end of the city, one after the other, in its thick white wall. Steam flew off of buildings from the monstrous temperature drop deep into the negatives. Even with the most top-of-the-line protection, extended exposure would bring even the best to a standstill and all but guaranteed death.

At this point, there was no stopping it. The astronomers from the tower were sending out warnings to get out of dodge.

Now.

The storm had finally arrived…in Port Kasiya.

Hide, or die.

Cassandra looked over at Muz after her helmet was fully sealed. “We need to go, now.”

10 Minutes Prior

Muz seemed confused but she cheered at his return of the high five, shooting him a fingerguns for good measure before twisting round and rushing back toward Jemel. “We gotta go, if we see anyone we grab them but the streets should be clear now. Let’s go!” She gave him a nudge with her elbow before running to exit the roof.

Via the edge of it.

Zuza leapt, a whooping yell of joy echoing from her descending position as she pushedher body, the Force within her, to the most it would allow. The wind was deafening in her ears but she had at least aimed herself, using a window ledge from a neighbouring building to throw herself forward again, barely touching the ledge with her foot before moving on. It wasn’t quite like the birds but there was no shuddering of jetback boots underfoot. Just herself, cresting through the sky, weightlessness. Free. Lights swept past. The streets were a blur, she was admittedly observing a lot less than she should have been doing. It’d be fine.

Brown eyes looked across the street. Zuza could hear her heart in her ears but her vision focussed, taking in the flicks of scenery. A balcony. It was far. Jumping forward again, she was closer to it. Again. She angled herself toward her target and pushed from the ledge.

For a moment, Zuza could she truly have had wings. Her arms outstretched behind her, reaching the top of the arc. Was she breathing still? Laughter tried to bubble free but she focussed, bringing a leg forward to land on the balcony’s railing. She was gliding toward it, air rushing along her arms. The flight suit protected her from the bite of the wind, the storm’s return nipping at her heels but as Zuza stumbled down off of the railing and hit solid ground laughter burst free.

She looked back across the street, leaning over the balcony. Okay. People. There were no people.

Pefect.

She climbed atop the railing again looking to along the buildings in the street and beginning to fly once more. She’d stop at the shelter.

Now

Zuza may have overshot the shelter.

The crackle of incoming ice and snow sent a shiver up her back and the Human turned to see the mass of black crashing across the city. Incoming.

“Oh kark.” She turned on heel, the joyous bounds from before reduced to a harried rush back down to street level. Toward the shelter. She hadn’t seen anyone, kark she hoped she hadn’t missed them but Zuza had to move. The temperature was sudden enough that she wasn’t entirely sure her flight suit, even layered as it was, could handle it.

No. Time to finally settle in and wait this mess out. It still felt like she was going to jump out of her skin but she was more settled now. The shelter was soon in view and she paused to do a final sweeping glance over the street. Just in case.

There it was. He asked.

Thane could understand on an intellectual level how someone might be put off that the Firrerreo had neither offered nor assumed the right to help. But in his own way, it was an act of kindness and respect to not do so. But when asked and he was able—which he certainly was—there was no need to hold back.

Meeting Draca’s eyes with his own black-hold stare, the Deputy Grand Master replied with a nod. Thane rose to his full height and so too did his strength in the Force. Deep inside of himself, the Firrerreo plunged down into the scorching, yet frigid depths at his core.

“So I shall.”

As Zuza got into the view of the shelter, while intially she did not see it while she was busy glancing over the streets, something felt off. And she would realize it, only through the force, that the exterior security doors on the ground level for the shelter she had reached were being sealed.

With the approaching storm, it made sense that this was going to happen. The doors inside the facility underground were hopefully still open, at least at this moment, so if she could get past this first door…

.

Bril was so caught up in embracing his beloved that he’d barely notice how tightly he was squeezing her, or how quickly she was beginning to run cold. It wasn’t until he heard Tahiri beckoning them to go inside that he snapped out of his amorous stupor and quickly sprang into action again.

“Hang on, pur'ka!” he said. Scooping his Nautolan into his arms, he rushed into the building without further delay, though not nearly as quickly as he was moving when he was arriving because he was still trying to be mindful of her issues with the Force. Plus, he didn’t want her to get sick. Once they were inside, he sat her onto her feet again before turning around to shut the door behind them.

“Alright. Where to, now?”

<@375384499770359819> <@244244163002892288>

When Director Lottson told him that it was time to search the areas for stragglers, Jemel wasted no time in following her. Six opalescent wings spread apart and gave a mighty flap. And then another, and another. He was flying, now, a sensation that he’d always dreamed of but never dared to try until today. He had more power than he knew what to do with, and he felt as if he could do anything in that moment. The last thing the party gathered on the roof saw was Zuza and Jemel diving off the edge of the roof in a blur.

He zipped and twisted in the air, enjoying the sensation of the wind rushing across his face despite how cold it was. It was a brief moment of childlike amusement that he’d remember for the rest of his days. But he had a task to complete. Scanning the area for civilians yielded no results, which filled him with a feeling of relief. The rescue efforts had gone far better than he expected.

“Oh kark.”

The worry in Zuza’s voice prompted him to look for what had startled her. When he saw the blackness spreading across the sky and felt the sudden drop in temperature, he immediately turned back to where the shelter was. It seemed like Zuza had the same idea. Their scouting directive had turned into a race against the clock meant to save their skin, lest they freeze in encroaching bitter cold. They arrived at their destination soon enough, and Jemel hurried in opening the shelter’s door before pulling Director Lottson inside and shutting the door behind them.

They both entered the main building just fine…but out was oddly quiet.

The people who Zuza had seen just earlier were nowhere to be found.

Zuza didn’t need much encouragement, turning back to make sure Jemel was with her and the door shut before heading deeper, for the door to the shelter itself.

No one else was here.

Muttered curses weren’t enough but they’d have to do. This was too close of a call.

She tugged on the shelter door, calling out, “Hello?!”

Alaisy’s eyes returned to their unnatural blue as the repulsor hit her in the chest. The feeling made her cough, but it didn’t break her concentration, it merely pushed her back.

Stop. She is fighting back.

Fighting her own fire, she relaxed her balled fists and let Ellisyn go. “Good.”

The door would not budge, it was already sealed. As much as she called out as well, there was no response from the inside.

As she tried, she was able to hear the increasing noise of the ever-encroaching storm beginning to approach and the gradual drop of the temperature from the warm 50s where it had been just a bit ago.

Once they were inside, Jemel followed just a few feet behind her, reverting back to his original form mid-stride.

When she called out and received no reply, he took a step forward. What were the odds that no one had made it to this shelter? Especially when the weather around this area had been kept relatively stable for so long?

“Is it stuck?” he asked, reaching out to grip the door both hands. “Let me try.”

He gave it his best shot but the door wouldn’t budge. “That’s a problem.”

“People are in there but its sealed.”

Zuza looked out a window, at the incoming darkness. If they tried to let them in but weren’t fast enough itd kill everyone inside.

She turned back to the door, hoping Draca could hear her, “THE STORM IS COMING, IF ITLL OPEN QUICK WE’LL MOVE QUICK TOO OR WE’LL FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE!”

By the stars, let it open quickly. There wasn’t much of anywhere else to go… had she dragged Jemel with her to die?

Elly’s eyes didn’t change color like Alaisy’s when she got mad. Her skin did. At this point, her face was pure silver, and it wasn’t changing back to its usual tone.

“What the Kriff was that for!?” She yelled at Alaisy, her hands still balled into fists. It was one thing to calm someone down, but choking them was a bit much.

Cole heard the yell about the bustle of the crowd, frowning and looking toward the young Jedi.

He moved through the crowd toward them, getting beside the door and- kark was that Zuza?! He looked to Draca and Thane, hesitating. It was a risk. But…

“Its sealed already isn’t it? How do we open it?”

“Why are you not thanking me?” Alaisy crossed her arms. She hadn’t even asked for payment.

Ungrateful, give it time.

“Thanking you!?” She questioned, absolute disbelief on her face. This gal just started to choke her and she wanted praise for it? “Look, lady, I don’t know what kind of relationship you think we just started here, but it does not involve me thanking you for choking me. That’s a bit much.” Elly did her best to take calming breaths, not wanting to lose her cool in such a cramped place like this where the only other place to go would be death in the cold.

She felt like replying in jest like some Jedi, but refrained. “If this were a relationship, you would not be alive.”

“You just showed me some semblance of self worth, hopefully you can see that.”

Muz moved to the door, the roof access for the building that they had been standing on. Ice caked along the seam, the threshold, the hinges. He sneered. No time for any of that. A flick of the wrist, and golden fire spilled from a hilt, the barab ingot within scorching the air around it. Had he a few more moments, he would have let the blade just melt the ice without contact, but that was not their current lot. Precise slashes carved at the sill, the durasteel and lumber scarred by the blade before releasing the door. A hand yanked the obstruction out of the way, his head turning to look at the others with him.

He didn’t need to say anything.

He wrapped his mind around his muscles, getting ready to pull the door back nto place once they were inside. It was a start. He hoped that there was a basement, a sub-basement. He had felt earlier that there were tunnels beneath the city. The further underground that they could get, the warmer it would be. He cycled the saber off, stowing the weapon as he waited, watching them file in after. He twisted himself around the frame, empowered muscles dragging the heavy slab back in front of the opening as the others headed down the stairs. It wouldn’t do much, but it was better than nothing.

Turning, he bounded down after them, his mind reaching out to the Consul. She would know the city better than either his Herald or he himself would. She had to.

Does this connect to the undercity?

<@141239709291511808>

Elly had to pause when Alaisy said she’d kill someone she was in a relationship with and suddenly felt pity for anyone who had died for trying. She shook her head and got back into gear. “Of course, I have self worth! I keep trying every single day, never giving up.” She took yet another shaky, deep breath as she tried to understand the whole situation. She gritted her teeth and went into her usual questioning mode. “So this was a lesson, then? Your way of trying to rile up my instincts and snap me out of it?”

“I’m not sure.” Cassandra responded as they quickly began descending, the noises outside echoing through the frame of the building louder and louder signaling its encroaching nature. “I would assume it probably would, our best bet would be to head to ground level and check for any maintenance rooms. If we were to find a way down into the undercity, that would be the best bet given the city’s imperial-origin roots. It’s something they would have done.”

She hoped to herself she was right about that. She knew by this point most if not all of the shelters would already have been closed up and sealed, in fear of if they had failed to hold the storm back originally. So going to a shelter was absolutely out of the question. The undercity though..that was an idea. It would have some of the moon’s natural warmth, as well as from the flowing sewer systems underground as well.

But if the temperatures got as low as they were predicting…would that be enough? That was the question she could not answer.

Sofila heard Draca shout. Her head snapped to the direction and he wasn’t even far. Oh. Kriff. “Ah! H-hold on okay!?” She told to the injured man.

“I will be right back sir!” She gave him a reassuring smile with two thumbs up before going to the door. She called on the Force to help her strengthen up and attempted to pry open the door.

“Need more help here!” Sofila shouted and went back to gritting her teeth, refusing to let go.

Strength alone was not enough. The durasteel door did nothing as much as even creak at the attempt. But, the amplified attempt?

The door creaked, clearly ready to give way if it was continued.

The two of them started hearing something in the distance, almost like heavy rain…

<@188018248241905664>

“That is what this was, yes.” Her foot couldn’t help itself but tap on the floor. Somehow the floor felt hollow beneath her heels.

“Did you hear that?” She peered at the door, ignoring the crackling of the fire.

“One hell of a kriffed up lesson.” She commented, crossing her arms and trying to calm herself some more. “But thank you for trying.” She said, still wanting to recognize that the woman had put in genuine effort, even if it was a psychotic effort.

She followed Alaisy’s eyes to the door and could only assume she was listening for something outside, and she did in fact hear something “I do.” She answered Alaisy’s initial question “Not much we can do about it though.”

“You are right, but it does feel like we are not going to be safe for much longer.” Alaisy tapped her boot again, shifting it over the floor to see where it was loudest.

“So, we are already down here. Is there a way further down?”

“From this bar? Potentially. There’s a series of tunnels under Holmes with a bunch of fun stuff in them. One time I busted a whole drug operation that was running out of them.” She sighed “Always wanted to look into them further but I’m just one person.” She remembered back to the few illegal fights she participated in to blow off some steam before the whole vigilante thing took off

“I do feel like exploring, I hate wasting my time down here.” Alaisy peeled around the edge of a tile with her heel. “Looks like this is it.”

Not knowing where she could get a good grasp on it, she stuck out her hand and willed the Force to move it. The tile floated up without much effort, lifting up a bit of sand and dust with it. “We are going to need to check if there is a light down there.”

Elly took a few confident steps over and looked down into the opening Alaisy revealed “Damn it Harkness…” She mumbled, mentioning the bartender by name. She had given him a pass because he had always seemed like such a wholesome old man. She sighed and walked back over to the fire, and grabbed her helmet, sliding it on and securing it

“I hope you know that there will be quite literally nobody friendly down there,” She said, walking back to Alaisy

Ankira was quick to help and pulled along more people to help open the door enough for the others to get inside.

“We need to coordinate! On three! One, two, THREE!” She commanded them

The Brotherhood holonet channels had been filled with calls for aid. A freak weather occurrence had struck Port Kasiya leaving many in desperate conditions. Desiring to reach out to a fellow clan in its desperate times Hector Von Ricmore, magistrate to the Vizsla consul, had prepared his personal ship with a variety of Vizsla guards, medics, mechanics and other aid workers. Crates full of cold weather gear, portable power fusion furnaces, food, water and medical supplies were packed.

Hector sat in the pilot seat of his Nite Owl. He was adorned in his typical armor with the addition of several layers of fur and heating technology. He hoped that the ship would make it in time to save lives from this freak blizzard.

And what a blizzard it was. Hector flew his ship down to the planets surface. Gale force winds battered against his viewport as chunks of hail smashed into the shields of the ship. Visibility was extremely poor. On more than one occasion the vessel nearly crashed into a Port Kasiya building. But the crew survived the dangerous undertaking and landed at the spaceport.

“Let’s get communications online and make contact with the rest of the planet. We can’t offer relief if we don’t know where we are needed.” Hector ordered his crew.

The door clicked and Zuza could hear voices inside, gathering. Kark.

“Jemel get ready to get in quick.”

She held her hand out toward him, smiling despite how terrified she was. They had the force, it was just how quickly the seal would go back into place after….

She prepared to rush forward, soon as the door had enough space.

<@1056685516441006091>

Evelyn rubbed her face for a few more minutes and looked around the console. A sign of Korvis beacon. Anything.

She should’ve never left him behind. With a frustrated sigh, she got up from the chair and figure a walk in the port will help her clear her mind. She will return to the ship to look once more for Korvis. She powered the ship down.

The hybrid made her way to the back and pushed the button to lower the ramp. She started to walk down. She scanned the ship with her emerald hues and grimaced at the beating that poor Verda’Kyr had taken. The pilot started to consider that she should ask off for a week and help Korvis fix it up

<@476595775187451913>

As the crew worked to establish communications under the inclement weather Hector reclined in his chair. His eyes caught sight of a nearby ship, its IFF tag listing it registered to Korvis.

The ramp lowered and a sentient he did not recognize walked down the ramp.

“What.” Hector muttered as he stared.

Standing from his seat the Kiffar walked to the back of his ship and hit the button to lower the ramp.

“Time to see what is going on.” Hector muttered to himself.

Jemel reached out to take her hand, squeezing it firmly while keeping his eyes locked on the shelter door.

“We’ve got this, don’t worry,” he said, trying his bests to sound confident. In truth, his words were a way to make himself feel better about the potentially deadly situation they’d found themselves in.

Some people had a saying. It went, “when you do things right, people won’t be sure you did anything at all.”

Thane liked that saying.

The Firrerreo stood behind and to the side of Draca. Beneath his heavy cloak, his hands slid into his pockets in an almost casual way. He leaned ever so forward, which was the only clue that he was acting. An aura of uncaring energy exuded from him and reached through the gap with invisible hands. His mastery of the telekinetic aspect of the Force was on full display as he unceremoniously yanked anyone who fell into his grasp.

He had become Scylla to the storm’s Charybdis.

Evelyn heard of another ship’s ramp lowering and glanced over for a moment. Thought nothing of it, she started to talk to spaceport crew about filling up Verda’Kyr with more supplies and cargo they could drop at nearby shelters along with droids that can last long enough to dig out snow so they could access to the cargo.

Problem was, they don’t know when the calm arrives long enough for pilots to take risk. Evelyn had a certain look on her face.

“Really? Ma’am you already went out longer than you should’ve!”

“I was not thinking now.” Evelyn does take risks but even she knew at hearing the howls of the blizzard outside the spaceport, it would easily swat the ships like a loth cat finding a ball of yarn.

Not now.

Now the seal was released Cole moved in, or tried to.

Guards were surging forward, Sofila and Ankirra still heading the pull on the doors. People bumped against him and he shifted, trying to just get clear but by the time no one was touching, no one was too close, the way was blocked. If anything he was further away from the door.

A door with Zuza on the other side, potentially about to die.

Kark. Kark! All he could do was watch.

“Excuse me?! “ Hector called over the howling winds. “Can you hear me?!”

Evelyn almost jumped when hearing someone shouting. She glanced over to the direction and saw a male kiffar, looking right at her and seemed to want her attention.

She recognized the Kiffar as one of the Summit leaders of Vizsla clan. It has not yet occurred to her that it may look bad with her coming out of the Consul’s ship without the man of the hour himself.

“Yes sir?”

“Harkness?” Her angled brows furrowed. “Well, I had hoped you would say that. Shoot first, ask questions later.” Alaisy slid down the ladder, not wanting to deal with the short slow steps.

Dark, cosy.

Elly didn’t respond to Alaisy questioning about the bartender’s name, the thought already leaving her own mind. Quickly she followed Alaisy down the ladder, sliding down until the pair landed on the stone flooring of the old waste/maintenance tunnels of the city that had long turned into something more sinister.

“I’m gonna make this very clear. We don’t shoot first, and we don’t kill.”

“Wait, what? You just told me there was no one friendly down here!” Her hand reached for the lightsaber hilt that was no longer there. The muck under her boots wasn’t pleasant, sending shivers down her spine. Her tail twisted abhorrently.

“Offense is my defense, how about you go ahead of me then.” She leaned against the ladder as Ellisyn stepped away from it.

“You-” she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. What kind of logic was that? “Sure. Fine. I’ll go first.” She said, turning away from Alaisy so she couldn’t start an argument about the idea of killing those who can’t defend themselves.

“Yes, me. Now go. I can almost feel the smell in here.” She turned on her repulsor belt, floating just above the mess. At least it helped them to stay unnoticed a little longer versus the click clacking of her heels.

Elly rolled her eyes at the woman’s reaction, an exasperated sigh passing through her lips. “Look we can go back up the ladder if you can’t take it.” She taunted, beginning to walk away from Alaisy. Elly on the other hand was relieved that it hadn’t been cleaned too well. Means it was a path that was very rarely taken so nobody thought to clean it up, unlike some other tunnels that were almost spotless.

“We made it down without being divulged by creatures, or shot at by who knows what. It will do.” The sighing didn’t go unnoticed. But at least Kendis was moving. The garbage took some time to get used to after all the clean snow and ice. “How do you know this place so well?”

“Because I lived her in Holmes for the past few years. Made it my job to memorize as much of the district as I could so I could protect those who lived here.” She wasn’t about to give her whole life story, but she turned her head over her shoulder, “What about you? Do you have a job that you use your talents for?”

“Might I inquire what you are doing aboard Korvis ship? Is the Consul around?” The Kiffar curiously asked.

Sofila grimaced and back off when the door looked like it was going to be broken. Luckily, many others came to the rescue.

With the door finally slightly ajar, she can feel the bitter cold. Then she saw her. Zuza.

“Zuza?! What the Kark?!” Helping by holding the door open with one hand she extended the other for Zuza to grab and the moment Zuza does, she’ll attempt to yank that woman inside and whoever else was with her.

Fair enough

Somehow the question felt judgmental. “You already know why I am here. It is not my home. And my welcome has both been impressive and warm and at the same time very cold and tense. My job here will likely not be defending peasants.”

“Consul Korvis requested I pilot his ship while he delivered cargo over City Centre. I have not heard or seen him since.” She does her best to hide her worried expression.

“He jumped off the ship in this blizzard, sir. I am about to go inside and see if there are any beacon or something for me to find him.”

“Then what is your home, your highness?” She asked, more than sure that she was part of that cold welcome.

“He jumped out during the blizzard? That does sound like Korvis.” Hector mused. “Before you do I recommend you come aboard my vessel. We’ll get you outfitted with proper cold weather gear and inoculations.”

Evelyn was slightly relieved when it does sound like Korvis but come on! Who would jump in this blizzard?

Course Korvis bought up about her piloting in this storm which, fair, but-

She was slightly taken back by Hector’s suggestion and nodded. “That would be great, sir. My name is Evelyn Wyvern.” She decided not to bring up that she was a captain of a squad in Arcona.

When she glanced over to Hector’s ship, there was a sigh.

“Maybe I should move over to Clan Vizsla,” Evelyn attempted to joke. It was obvious by her tone of voice that she does not joke often. If at all.

Now that was a good question. Not regarding its tone. Alaisy could understand why she referred to her as ‘Princess’ or ‘your Highness’, but it seemed correct even in mockery.

“My home is in a much worse state than Port Kasiya I’m afraid. It made me what I am. That should tell you enough.” Suddenly she didn’t feel so miserable being here in these filthy tunnels anymore. It could always be worse. And for so long it had been.

My home

My home

The question repeated itself in her head so many times. In a way she missed it. She even revisited it multiple times over. But it always got worse. Her body ached thinking about it.

Zuza grabbed for the hand, already in motion to dive in with Jemel, still gripping his hand but as soon as she got close a force over took her movement.

They were pulled inside, Zuza yelping in shock. Who did that?!

“You managed to get Korvis vessel through the storm, your skill as a pilot can not be denied. Vizsla would love to have you.” Hector earnestly replied.

The duo walked over to Hector’s ship, Raven Requiem.

“We need a set of cold weather clothes, a belt heater and a cold weather inoculation!” The Dark Jedi called to his crew.

One of the crew brought forth a crate with a variety of fur cloaks and clothes for Evelyn to choose from. Another brought over a belt with a heating device in one hand and a small needle containing a serum designed to help the recipient survive in cold weather.

“If you would please extend your arm?” The medic asked Evelyn.

Jemel saw the doors open and before he was able to take a step, he felt the Force envelop him like a firm hand and yank both him and Director Lottson inside. He hit the ground with an audible “oof” and pressed against it to lift himself up.

“Are you alright?” he asked Zuza.

Earlier

“Go! Now!”

So go she did. The Aedile of Galares focused whatever energy she had left and pulled Ruka up. Her knees threatened to buckle and her joints screamed. Not only was Ruka heavier than her, but he was also taller.

No help. Just her. Just like at the Children of Mortis base. Ruka was unconscious, the door was closed, and no one was coming to aid her.

She had this. She had to have this.

A twist put Ruka on her back, his feet dragging and his arms draped over her shoulders like a failed piggyback ride. Her coat was secured over him before she moved him, trying in a somewhat vain attempt to get him warmed.

“I got you Vacmi. Lets get you to the shelter.”

Now

She wasn’t going to make it. She could hear Jemel and Zuza talking, but her legs were giving out in the snow and wind. Her vision blurred and her bones creaked. There was one single thought in her mind echoing over and over like a mantra— move.

Keep moving.

Get Ruka to safety.

Move legs, move.

Please.

Thankfully, she was in range of Thane’s force pull. The unseen energy pulled her and her popsicle adopted father inside the shelter just as the doors closed.

Siv landed with a wheeze, her vision swimming. Her brain took a second to catch up with everything happening. The Chiss medic took a second, her sky blue skin raw and a tint darker than it normally was, crystals of ice crusted into her hair which had fallen out of it’s normal updo to hang loose at shoulder-length.

After about five minutes of ear-ringing silence and pain, Siv forced herself to sit up and crawl to Ruka. Everything hurt, her skin burned as she moved, but it didn’t matter. Her frosted fingers reached for Ruka’s pulse and waited, her own heart hammering in her chest.

“Please… please…”

<@244244163002892288> <@432543120635461643> <@1056685516441006091>

Oh. Wait, did he think she was serious?

“Tempting sir, but I am married into my job. And I am not certain if Consul Korvis will be pleased with me. He wanted me to get the ship out of the storm but he did not say when so I ran more errands.”

At least she’ll try to make it up later. Evelyn picked out fur cloaks that would keep her warm but give her mobility. She thanked the crew that brought her the belt and was working to put it on when the medic arrived.

Being part of the military life, she was used to inoculations, so she extended her arm.

The medic dabbed the arm with a Bacta antiseptic. He then administered the inoculation and wrapped the arm in a gauze wrap. “Thank you for making the procedure easy.” The medic said before returning to the cargo hold.

Evelyn rubbed the spot for a bit and felt nauseous. It will pass in ten to fifteen minutes just like last time.

She finished putting on the belt and looked up at the sounds of someone going up the ramp.

“All ships are grounded, this is a no fly storm-“ then they looked over to Evelyn, “Ships are currently not lasting more than a minute or two in this.”

Evelyn stared for a moment, disappointed, and then nodded.

“Please load up Consul Korvis’s ship, Verda’Kyr, and I will not leave until we get the clear to do so.” Then she looked over to Hector, “I am sorry, I will have to try to find Consul when we get the clear to do so but I cannot right now.”

Ankira grabbed Sofila by her arm so that she would keep standing as well as she kept giving orders to keep the door open just a little longer so all were save inside

Deep within the system just in orbit above Huracan and Grannus, was the Allegiance Battle Group. With the flagship Leviathan at the lead, volley after volley of turbolasers as well as missiles from both the capital ships and bomber fighters, were thrown into the side of Grannus. If not for the storms over Port Kasiya, this effort could probably even be seen from the surface.

On the bridge of the flagship, the valiant crew watched their panels closely and carefully coordinated with each of their teams. At the helm, mostly hidden by shadow, was a small furry figure in a white uniform.

“Status update.” The furry officer asked as he tapped a finger on the edge of his command terminal which sat slightly above the rest of the bridge in the very middle.

“Huracan’s orbit has changed by an azimuth of 0.03, not enough to pull it from Huracan’s gravitational influence.” one of the officers called back from below.

Immediately after, another spoke up. “Bomber squadrons are reporting low munitions, most will need to return and reload before they will be able to continue after next volley pass.”

“Fleet is reporting high temperatures within primary weapons systems, current rate of fire can not be maintained but for a short bit longer before they will have to cool down.” a third one said.

It was a solid idea, that one… the furry figure considered. If it weren’t for the volcanic activity reinforcing the magnetospheres on both planets, it might even have worked. But the pull is far too strong.

“Order the fleet to disengage, begin cooldown procedures. All fighters return to deck, rearm and prepare for next attempt.” he finally replied, the crew immediately dispatching the orders given. “Also, call for the Drake to join us here.”

He had an idea, given the minimal amount that they had actually succeeded in moving Grannus. Though the Drake was still in experimental covert status, if there was ever a time to utilize it’s potential given its armament, this would be as good a time as any to utilize it. With the Admiralty Board no longer in contact due to the storm, he would not need approval from them or the senate. This thought made him smirk ever so slightly, being out from under the bureaucracy if even for a bit.

Granted, the reports he would have to file afterwards would be all but endless…

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m certain we will be able to find him. We’ll try to raise him through the commlink and if that fails you can show me to Korvis seat. I can track him through Psychometry from there.”

Psychometry? That was a word she had not heard in a while. So Hector was a Force User. She needed to be sure to keep her distance, there was some secrets that she doesn’t want anyone to know.

Evelyn nodded, “Alright, sir. Let us try the comm link.”

“Then why do you still live there?” Elly asked, leading Alaisy down a few curves in the tunnels, following the map of the above streets on her hud for reference. She sighed as she thought about her own home, Heaven. Thought back to her mother, her clan. She could be relaxing and doing simple mercenary work with family, financially stable, and surrounded by people who care for her. But no. She chose to be walking in literal shit under a city covered in snow and ice.

If you insist, Thane mentally noted with an observational aside towards Draca’s exertion.

With a twist of his neck, the Deputy Grand Master flit his gaze towards one door, then the other. The Force pantomimed his actions and forced the heavy panels tightly closed once more.

Then he breathed. Curious how He hadn’t realized he stopped. Oh well. Thane took several even strides towards Draca before glancing down at the form he held. His head tilted curiously.

“That is, indeed, Zuza,” he remarked with a hint of sarcasm. At least Draca’s faculties were still functional.

“Heya Thane!” Zuza greeted with a slight laugh.

She hadn’t been expecting to be pulled into Draca’s arms but hey, friendly faces! Zuza shifted to give Draca a squeeze, before slipping out of his arms and standing on her own too feet. Her Force signature was still buzzing with the rite, alight with power that wasn’t hers. She was still practically bouncing in place. It was hard to differentiate the energy from the shivering.

“Thank you, both of you. I know I said we would find somewhere else but uh, that was, really close the storm was on our butts-”

“No kist.”

Cole had approached, keeping a polite distance but looking over Zuza with concern.

She simply smiled at him, “I’m good.”

Cole didn’t look pleased but nodded. She wasn’t hurt, at least. His eyes searched for Sofila, letting himself relax at knowing she was also okay.

Zuza looked back between Thane and Draca, “How’s it been going in here? I would’ve checked in earlier but- well. People are doing okay, right?”

Socorra shot Muz a mental dirty look at making them go inside too. It wasn’t exactly the end of another world, but at least she could have stood in and been in this one, watch the chaos unfold. Maybe finally find Korvis, play a game of hide and seek in the snow.

She gravelly grumbled a pout as they walked down the stairway. <@284848346672136192>

“I hardly still live there, besides it will not be for much longer now. “ There was so much wrong with her homeplanet that it would be much easier to make a list of five things that weren’t wrong with it. It was literal death. For her too. Practically she had died there. And strangely it did feel like part of her spirit lingered there. She was something else later. Only to be erased again, together with her symbiote. To live as a true monster. Yet there was an allure in all of the agony, destruction and decay. She missed the nostalgic amethyst skies. A pilgrimage soon.

24 hours previously..

A siren blared.

A deafening, stop in your tracks kind of blare.

The fighting was put to a halt abruptly. Twi’leki shouting could barely be made out with the sound of sirens piercing Meleu’s ears. The gist of it - find shelter now.

The black-armoured Mandalorian beast ahead glanced up to the sky, and even with a helmet on, Meleu could tell it was bad news. His eyes shot up in a similar fashion and grew wide.

The air, already frigid, took on an ominous stillness, foreshadowing the impending onslaught approaching Westwind. The air turned icy, and soon, powerful winds brought a storm that drastically reduced visibility. The temperature plummeted, and the world seemed to shrink beneath an advancing wall of snowflakes. Visibility diminished to a mere arm’s length as a blinding wall of snow enveloped the district. Meleu launched into a sprint towards the warehouse, a speck of bright gold layered on the Mandalorian’s armour and crimson blade guiding his way.

Others followed. Twi’lek others. Shouting about tunnels underneath the warehouse. Tunnels that Meleu would not be sharing with the Moxxi gang. The opening to the safe haven was close, unfortunately however, the Mandalorian had burst through the doorway with his armour, meaning there was not going to be a barrier between whoever was inside and the tempest outside.

The snow wall suddenly stopped, the feel of compacted snow under his feet stopped. Meleu had made it inside.

–

In the same heartbeat, Meleu executed an about-face with a quick pivot of his feet. His body seemed relaxed, but he was ready for what was about to come. Twi’lek after Twi’lek barrelled through towards the warehouse, unaware of the danger through the opaque snow barrier ahead of them. The Sith’s crimson blade arced through the air, almost a seamless extension of his arm. With a series of calculated flourishes, Meleu seamlessly transitioned between offensive strikes and side steps, effortlessly cutting through the ranks of oblivious gang members.

One set of racing bootsteps remained ahead of him, a set of legs that would come in handy for Meleu. A quick flick of a switch forced the deadly blade of his saber to dissipate back into the hilt. The final set of lekku appeared through the blizzard, and before the Twi’lek could stop her sprint, her eyes widened as she saw the Sith and the swinging arm of him approaching her gut.

The woman fell to the ground, and still conscious, Meleu began to drag her along the floor by the long appendages attached to her head. He turned with the Twi’lek in tow, to a scene of absurdity ahead. The Mandalorian was helping the sheltering hostages inside the warehouse out of their bindings. Meleu’s eyes simply rolled and his attention once again focused on the Twi’lek.

“I’ll keep this simple, just tell me where the tunnel is.”

The pain emanating from the Twi’lek’s skull couldn’t be hidden. Agonising screams from her suddenly stopped when Meleu let go of her lekku. She briefly squirmed on the floor, stopping as the Sith pressed his unignited hilt to her neck.

“In the office! Under the rug!” She cried out in a heavily accented Basic.

“Perfect.”

The saber blade ignited, slicing through the neck’s skin, muscle and bone with zero resistance. The Sith stood straight back up, admiring the last minute’s handiwork in front of him. Brilliant.

He swiveled on his heels and made his way towards finding the office, and hopefully the safe haven of the tunnels beneath.

Sofila gave Zuza a quick side hug as she entered into the shelter and didn’t notice another person was there until later.

“Oh! Hi-“ Then she stopped when Siv and Ruka went through the door. What the kark?! What happened to them?! She quickly knelt down by Ruka and her eyes glanced up at Siv. For a second, she froze. Seeing her Aunt…no.

Her Aunt was strong. She was strong, everyone in the family was strong. She quickly grabbed Siv’s hands if she let her and pulled her towards her, their hands above Ruka’s chest.

“Auntie Siv, he’ll be okay but we have to be okay first! Okay! We got this Auntie!” Sofila gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Her hands were warm and she was using the Force to heal Siv first. If Savi and herself can be brought back from the dead, so can Ruka but he would need them all.

“If someone can get her warm cloak and him too, that would be awesome! Or help us heal!”

<@432543120635461643> <@837236610684813342> <@185936112441622529> <@264959101384130560> <@244244163002892288> <@1056685516441006091> <@417336769181122562>

Before the big storm thing

“Looks like everything is up and running now, yeah?” Koda looked over the generator that finally sputtered to life due to the technical expertiese of Dasha. Koda looked around at the skyline as more darkness approached, “…spoke too soon. We should wrap this up and make it to someone a little more secure when we can.”

<@77213354619318272>

Dasha nodded as she smashed the panels back on and made sure the heat in the generator room’s sensor was working properly so it would not freeze itself again.

“Let’s lock up so no one can sabotage it at least.”

Well it seemed there might actually be more than meets the eye to this sith clad in black. Who would’ve thought. “Well if you don’t live there, then where is your home?” Elly asked as they neared a clearing she knew about. It was clear of thugs and brigands the last time she had passed through but with how things were looking in the district she knew there was a chance that the space was now occupied. As much as she could really go for a fight, she didn’t exactly want to have to deal with Alaisy at the same time.

Tir'eivra felt so far from home. Was it even ever her home? “Tratlaum, in the outer reaches of Hutt Space. Only miners and scum know about it. A little girl died there. It is not my home, just a graveyard.” Her voice was dreamy, somehow washing away the filth from their surroundings.

No home, no lightsaber

In a way, she felt naked without her weapon. Her horrifying weapon of murder was shattered by a Zabrak boy radiant in a full spectrum of light. The souls she had collected perished with the hilt, but at least she still held its crystal. It had been a companion, even if it was feared. Her hand kept reaching out for it. Every time reaching for air. An empty feeling to realize it, with a stab to the heart to compliment it.

Perhaps the catastrophe at Kasiya was exactly what she needed. A land of the dead, like her old home. She could settle and build up, to burn it all down countless of times again, and again.

“I will find a new home here, among the frozen corpses. Perhaps it is fitting that I will have to slaughter the next prey with my bare hands.”

The moon of Kasiya lay cloaked in an icy embrace as the worst blizzard in its recorded history ravaged the once-thriving city. Nora Olen, the Zeltron Seeker, fought her way through the biting winds and swirling snowflakes that danced like malevolent spirits. The streets, once bustling with life, now resembled a frozen battlefield, strewn with debris and battered by the relentless storm.

In the heart of the chaos, Nora sought refuge in Eastbrook, a district known for its opulent mansions and ostentatious wealth. The normally pristine streets were now obscured by a thick blanket of snow, muffling the echoes of prosperity that once resounded through the air. The glittering facades of mansions stood as frozen monuments to a life now disrupted by the unforgiving blizzard.

As Nora trudged through the knee-deep snow, she marveled at the stark contrast between the opulence of Eastbrook and the merciless onslaught of nature. The wind howled through the narrow alleyways, carrying with it the whispers of a city pushed to its limits. The icy tendrils of the storm seemed to penetrate every crack and crevice, seeking to extinguish any warmth that dared to defy its supremacy.

Her destination was a shelter rumored to be in the heart of Eastbrook. A refuge amidst the mansions, offering respite to those who had once reveled in luxury. The promise of warmth and safety beckoned Nora forward, her determination unwavering despite the biting cold that sought to gnaw at her resolve.

Arriving at the designated shelter, Nora found herself greeted by a scene of chaos. The wealthy inhabitants of Eastbrook, accustomed to order and privilege, now jostled for space in a desperate bid for survival. The shelter, designed for far fewer occupants, strained under the weight of unexpected guests.

A mix of emotions played across Nora’s features—exasperation, determination, and a touch of mischief. It was clear that the shelter, as crowded as it was, could not accommodate everyone seeking refuge. With a flicker of her fingers, Nora subtly manipulated the perceptions of those around her, creating an illusion that whispered of vacancies and unclaimed spaces.

The once-packed shelter seemed to expand, the illusion of available rooms calming the anxious murmurs of the displaced. As more people ventured back into the storm, believing they’d found alternative shelter, Nora made her way through the now-thinned crowd. The grandeur of Eastbrook’s mansions loomed over her, a testament to the stark disparities even in the face of calamity.

Finally securing a spot in the shelter, Nora felt a mixture of relief and guilt. She glanced over her shoulder, observing the deceived crowd dispersing into the blizzard-blanketed city. Her actions, though motivated by the need for survival, left an indelible mark on the collective struggle for warmth and safety.

Inside the shelter, the air was thick with a melange of scents—sweat, desperation, and the lingering aroma of once extravagant lives. Nora’s Equite Brotherhood Robes, soaked from the storm, clung to her form as she navigated through the huddled masses. The space, though filled with bodies, lacked the warmth that its occupants sought. The blizzard’s icy fingers seemed to reach even into the confines of their temporary haven.

Nora found a corner, a meager space she could call her own for the time being. She unclasped her cloak, revealing the layers beneath that shielded her from the frigid onslaught outside. The Ring of diPlagia glinted in the dim light, a stark reminder of the power she wielded, even in the face of nature’s fury.

As she settled into her makeshift sanctuary, Nora’s keen senses detected the undercurrent of tension within the shelter. The reality of their predicament weighed heavily on those who sought refuge, and whispers of uncertainty and fear filled the air.

The blizzard, relentless and unforgiving, worsened in its intensity outside the shelter’s fragile walls. Nora, surrounded by the displaced and desperate, braced herself for the long night ahead. The moon of Kasiya, once bathed in the glow of prosperity, now watched over a city plunged into darkness by the storm’s icy grip.

Several floors later, and they found the end of the stairwell. The light fixtures flickered and then came back on, their design betraying the fact that it was a maintenance area, caged and chipped in comparison to the bright and presentable lamps of upper levels. He pushed through the door. It was cold, even in the basement here. As cold as it was getting outside, the frost depth would have to been lower than a few measly feet below grade.

Muz stepped into the room, unfocusing his eyes as the two women followed him into the sublevel room. Tools, cleaning supplies, spare parts, crates of paper goods. Nothing of any immediate use. The paper goods and some of the cleaning supplies could make fire, even if foul smelling. But they were not that desperate.

Yet.

He raised a hand, clearing his mind and letting his ears hear what secrets the Force would tell. The mixture of emotions in the room flooded his senses at first. Socorra’s exuberance driving her to take advantage of Exaltation as much as she could played against her knowledge that it would invetibaly end sooner than she ever wanted. Cassandra’s overwhelming sense of duty masked something deeper, something guarded. A Sith would have dug further. But his purpose, they were not. Those were not what he was there for. Beyond that, an echo of someone’s fear, tears ever fainter, diluted by time. He dug deeper, fingertips pulsing as he plucked at the loom of creation, looking for a loose thread, a tiny knot that he could unravel.

There.

DIstance and soil colluded to hide it from him, there. He focused his attention there, stepping toward the wall on the far side of the room, reaching out an open hand to feel beneath the prefabricated duracrete, beneath the durasteel rebar, beneath the rock. He shifted his weight abruptly a foot braced sideways, rotating his hips, hands filling with the hilts of his sabers as quickly as a thought. The ignition sound had barely registered in their ears before the light faded, his work done.

The rectangle glowed at the edges from the cuts, then groaned as he closed a fist, pulling the chunk away from its brethren. It sheared cleanly, the half meter of wall and cheap imperial footing sliding like a piece of cake, out of their way. Muz dropped the piece, the segment crunching sideways into the opposing wall as it came to a rest. He moved to the new entrance, eyes peering into the dark. The stark lines and monochromatic utilitarianism reminded him of too many places in his past. They had built over this entrance, and they would use it as an exit from the ice above. He turned his head to look at the others as he straightened his posture, smoothly gesturing at the new path with an open palm.

<@61385159655559168>

As they entered the dark room, defined by its monochromatic colors and crisp lines, Cassandra raised her lightsaber into the air and ignited it. It glowed with a soft, light blue color which gave off an added glow from the blade almost as if the blade itself were frozen. The blue coloring illuminated the room, which caused her blood to nearly run cold in turn.

The room had tables with metallic instruments that laid upon them, bed-like panels that rested at roughly 45 degrees with very old dark colored stains upon them, and large clear containers on the far back wall that numbered well over a dozen which were filled with a colored liquid.

There were also numerous control panels, windows to adjacent rooms, and tons of medical equipment. Despite it being closed away, aside from the beds, it looked almost as sterile as the last time it had been used.

“What…is this?” she asked, with strange curiosity. What exactly had they come upon, especially in this part of the city? For the most part, the city center and its underground aspects had been all but mapped out; even the sewers. She reached into her armor and pulled out her datapad as she pulled up a local copy of the city’s map.

None of this was supossed to be here. According to the map, this section didn’t exist. And it was under the Protection Programme’s tower…

Muz was able to distinctly sense that something was causing her alarm at this point, especially as she looked around for anything to turn on power to this room but did not see anything that would do it. Maybe it was on a panel or something, she thought to herself.

<@141239709291511808>

As the last of the rooftop Ascendants entered the shelter, the great door telekinetically slamming back closed behind them, Zuza and Draca colliding and Thane observing as if still chewing his sandwich, the deadly, frigid air began to steam away around them. As it cleared, there was Sofila holding on to Siva, warming her and turning back the torpor in her muscles and nerves, bringing her back to alertness, pressing both their hands to Ruka’s chest. And now, under the thankfully long restored and plentiful emergency lighting that lined the underground, warmed shelter’s deep duracrete walls, they both beheld with greater clarity the state their Proconsul was in.

If he had appeared frightful in the dark on the roof, then that was better a phantom, shrouded in shadow and backlit only by the snow storm he’d held back. Now under the yellow-white glowbanks, it hardly seemed like they were cradling a person they recognized.

(TW: icky medical) ||Black ichor and red blood stained the robes, frozen fabric having shattered in places, leaving patches and sheets of mottled skin exposed. The open wounds that Socorra had previously closed had already re-ruptured in the desperate minutes of their last stand before he’d been pulled into the stairwell, and he bled from risen and burst veins in a sluggish fashion; what was coming out was more akin to red, chunky slush than clotting blood, churned with black streaks. Scar tissue peeled at the seams from other skin, like he was unraveling, and muscles and capillaries were broken, bloated, healed, and broken again. His remaining ear was black, as were his fingers and hands, lips and nose, frost burns covering… everywhere. And the swelling; it was as if that temperature increase had less caused just necrotizing and more like a subdermal explosion, tissues discolored and bulging all over, especially in the limbs, nails sloughing off.||

<@264959101384130560>

- His eyes were finally unfocused, staring sightlessly, the gold light of them dimmed back to a weak milky violet, lids frozen open still thawing, eyelashes and pores and hair all cracked, shattered, frozen.

His chest was again still. Either he was breathing extremely slowly, or he wasn’t breathing at all.

But they were inside, in good light, and there was already a triage set up further in, thanks to the efforts of KPP personnel and volunteer efforts. They could help.

Elly was rather surprised at Alaisy’s change of attitude. She went from an aggressive, no bullshit, whiney princess into something completely new. The lawyer was rather pleased at this development. It was the kind of attitude she was trying to bring out earlier when she was questioning her principles. Who knew that all it took was some dried shit and thoughts of home?

But of course, good things don’t last. Alaisy went right back to talking about grim and dark things, this time focusing on the murdering of helpless individuals. She knew it couldn’t be helped, but maybe she could keep the Sith in a better (at least better for her) mindset.

“Kasiya is a good place to live. Lots of fun to be had and sights to see. A diverse crowd, too. You might even find someone you can tolerate enough to keep around as a friend.” She looked back. “Or consensual pet,” she shrugged. Alaisy was a Sith, after all.

Minnow swayed on her feet as soon as she was set on them, but thankfully, Bril was quick enough turning back from shutting the door to catch her. It wasn’t warm inside the power plant. In fact, it was barely better than outside, having only a few degrees defiance thanks to the buffer from the winds and snows. The cold was deep, set into air and bones, as this plant had been unpowered since the initial storm wall some hours ago now; they would be the last ones to let there be light in the city, if they were successful as other efforts racing against time and frozen doom had been.

The tiny Nautolan barely made a noise, mumbling as she curled up closer to Bril’s warmth. The peek of skin he had around her brows and mouth were her makeshift scarves were slipping free showed bluing lips.

Signage marked the walls, and lines the floors, indicating directions and safe distances from machinery or doors. Offices were one way, the plant interior access another. Perhaps one would lead to lower levels. But they still needed power.

<@375384499770359819> <@1056685516441006091>

A pet? Consensual?

Did she really just hear her say that? First, Ellisyn was concerned with herself and her family. Now she suggested Alaisy find herself a pet to keep herself occupied. While it didn’t seem like a terrible idea, she had more important things to worry about.

“So you are saying that these catastrophic events are not frequent?” Her voice seemed disappointed. Tough life bred strength and resilience. Having that close to her would be a boon. Granted she could find challenge elsewhere, or make her own trials. But it wouldn’t be the same, and it warped her idea of Kasiya itself a little bit.

“I have met the local KPP here before, they were the ones that greeted me at the Starport. Dimwitted.” She scoffed as she mentioned the acronym.

“No, these events aren’t frequent,” She said, in mild disbelief that she even had to clarify that this wasn’t commonplace. “Well, maybe once a year,” She clarified, realizing that once a year was way too frequent.

She chuckled at the mention of the KPP. She was always a fan of the program, even if it didn’t help as much as people had hoped when it was first formed. But they tried their best. “Sure, not all of them are geniuses, especially if they’re guarding the spaceport, but the KPP tries its best. The ones at the top are quite brilliant.”

Ankira couldn’t fully make up what was happening other then that healing was needed. She wrestled herself between the throng of people towards a medbay and grabbed bacta tanks and patches and bandages. With her arms full of medical eqiupment she ran back towards the small gathering and knelt besides them.

“Anyone with medical knowledge who can help?” she asked around as she put the supplies on the ground next to them.

She didn’t have much knowledge, but did what she could, it was the best thing she could do after what he did for them.

She pointed to the man infront of them. “He is, they are helping him, but I have no idea for how long they will be able to. I got some supplies here, please do what you can to help him.”

“Once a year? Curious.” It made her wonder how they didn’t prepare better. The response had been lackluster, to say the least.

“What is so funny?” She noticed the sudden chuckle from Kendis. “They were outright disrespectful and threatening. I gave them one attempt to cease and they pulled a blaster on me. Called me a ‘thing’. Outrageous.” The hiss from her mask could have been her valves expelling air or just Alaisy.

“I was chuckling because it feels like I’m doing their…” Elly started to respond without really thinking. She was focusing more on their journey through the old tunnels. Her words slowly tapered off as she came to a realization and stopped in her tracks. The vigilante turned to Alaisy and stared directly at her, the crimson visor of her helmet slightly shining. “Where are you going with this?” She asked, her tone demanding and none too friendly.

Ro-Tahn was already ahead of them, finding the stairs and then making his way down a level to begin work on the generator. There wasn’t anyone here which was odd, but this was the industrial sector, so probably the storm hit too fast for anyone to actually get there to start it up. It took Ro about 20 minutes to get the generator up and going, with the small set of tools he had, plus the set of tools he had found alongside it. He chalked it up to being lucky. He finished cleaning the clog out, and placed the panels back in place, making sure that the generator was running smoothly, and the heat was going up within the room itself and that everything else seemed to be working. That’s when the tall Togruta felt the drop in barometric pressure, the storm getting worse outside. It’s like the sandstorms on Tatooine, except colder. And less sand.

Meanwhile

Tahiri took stook of where they were, while looking around for something to get Minnow warmed up faster, luckily for them this place was a small part of a bigger warehouse complex. Unfortunately, that meant a lot of open space and no real warm spots, except possibly the offices that were above the generator room itself. Since even the smelting forges weren’t giving off very much heat by now.

“Bril, see if you can’t find an office to hunker down in that’s decently warm. I’m going to search for anything to keep us all warm.” Feeling the shift in the storm outside, and drop in pressure, the Elders instincts told her that staying put would be better than trying to fly back out. Even if there was the slim chance they could make it off world or at least to the City Centre, there was no way of knowing how long the Proconsul of Arcona would hold, even with help. She had seen him, holding back nature itself was no small feat, if not a miracle in others minds, Ruka Tenbriss Ya-ir had her respect.

Right now though, the main thing on the petite Togruta’s mind was to keep Minnow warm and to check in with her godson. It concerned Tahiri that she had felt his consciousness slipping away like it had been, and then for him to come back and be as energized as he was, that was going to take a toll at some point. Tahiri felt she needed to be ready to lend assistance when asked upon, no matter what happened or needed done.

“Are you having one of your episodes again? Keep moving, it does not matter.” Alaisy crossed her arms. These tunnels seemed endless, but they weren’t much affected by the cold yet.

“Not until you tell me what happened to those agents.” She crossed her own arms, looking up at the woman clad in black.

“I see where this is going. They are dead. It was quick.” She stood her ground, but her tail raised up.

Elly’s fists clenched, balling up into fists as a low growl forced its way from her chest. “It was quick? Is that supposed to make it better? Those were innocent people!” She yelled, her body tensing “Not that this is anywhere near an excuse, but they weren’t even criminals! They were scared idiots caught in a storm faced with a freakishly tall lady with a mask and kriffing claws!”

“Careful, I am giving you the same opportunity to move on. I suggest you take it.” Her boots clacked on the pipes as she deactivated the repulsor.

All of a sudden, Ellisyn felt exceptionally silly. She had just spent the last however long pouring her heart out to a Sith who had just that day killed people she very well might have met before and would now never meet again. She didn’t feel surprised. Instead, she only felt disappointment in herself for assuming that maybe this stranger could be one of the good ones. So, without warning, she extended her arm and shot the whipcord out of her vambrace at Alaisy with the goal of lassoing it around her.

Not breathing. He wasn’t breathing. That fact alone felt like enough to stop her own breath in her chest. Her father wasn’t breathing. All the thoughts emptied from her head, the ringing in her ears only getting louder.

This couldn’t be happening.

Siv didn’t react to Sofila, neither did she pull away when the Mirialan woman took Sivall’s hands in hers and poured healing energy into her frozen fingers. Her wide, tear filled eyes just stared blankly at Ruka as unease settled into every atom in her body.

Her stupor and sluggish brain began to clear as the cold faded from her and the lights flickered on as power restored.

The scene in front of her nearly made her puke.

And Siv was never squeamish.

The wail that ripped from her lips bounced off the walls. It was a broken, desperate, terrible sound. One she had heard plenty of times, one that she had made before when she cradled Fia’s broken body. Some quiet part of her was deeply grateful that Alexandyr wasn’t here to see the sobbing mess she had become.

“No!! No!!” She wailed in basic.

“You can’t do this to me! I just got you! I just learned what a family is!” Cheunh.

“Don’t dare die on me!” Broken Mirialan.

What followed was word vomit mixtures between the three languages, a nonsensical torrent of pleading and begging for Ruka to come back. Words wishing this was a dream, that she would wake up, as Draca and Sofila went to work trying to heal what they could and Akira recruited help and got Ruka ventilated. In her hysterics, she reached out to the only other person who she wanted to see right now, who was close enough.

Bril.

Botmuni. Help. Please help!! Ruka did the thing he always does and.. and I think he’s dying and I don’t think I can save him! I don’t know what to do! I need you… I can’t breathe… I can breathe… please…

The Chiss medic’s hands gripped at broken fabric, black nails digging into her own chilled flesh. He couldn’t die. She had saved him! She had shown up in time for once!!

No.

She would not let this happen.

Even if it took everything she had.

Siv focused all of her energy into her hands on Ruka’s chest, the Force pooling around her fingers. With Sofila’s added help, Siv gritted her teeth and channeled everything she had left, pouring her entire being into the man who took her into her home and loved her despite her many mistakes, into the man who stood by her when she had karked up on Tekpantli and helped her to see the tiny flicker of light within.

Her vision tunneled, her heart skipped a beat in her chest and stuttered, her lungs burned. It took everything in her to not push the rest of her lifeforce into Ruka, and the only thing that stopped her was the fact she knew that he wouldn’t stand for her to sacrifice herself for him.

A half laugh, half cry escaped from her as she felt Ruka’s chest rise and his heart thump in his chest.

He was alive.

She felt clarity begin to come back to her, her mind beginning to formulate plans and solutions. He was breathing, she had supplies and a team of medical professionals here. The Chiss woman took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and let herself center.

Bacta. She needed Bacta. Eyes opened and hands found the supplies that Ankira had brought. Wordlessly she drew up two syringes of bacta and injected them into Ruka where she could, Sanguine eyes focused now on the man in front of her.

They were past the critical period.

They could do this.

“Someone call Cora for me.” A second hesitation before she added, “Please.”

<@216702440140046336> <@837236610684813342> <@244244163002892288>

“You must be ki-” Alaisy was unable to finish her sentence. Ellisyn had released a metal wire from her wrist. Tir'eivra made a sidestep and a rolling motion with her body, hoping to evade the cord. But it wound around her in the same motion. The kinetic energy pushed her back as it tightened around her middle. Her eyebrows pulled together, her air hissing as she lost her balance. She pedaled back two steps until too much weight was left on the tip of her heel. Any attempt to push herself onto the platform failed.

Traitor

Her vision went red in anger as she fell back. She tumbled with her long body against the rusty pipe. The metal of the tanks on her back made a loud clang. Both of her arms were trapped within the wiring. The wire cut into her sensitive second skin as the muscles in her arms tensed.

Koda nodded to Dasha and the two went along the process to lock up the generator room before trying to make their way back to a shelter.

Elly watched Alaisy dodge and inevitably tumble to the ground. Quite frankly, she was rather surprised that she was able to restrict the Sith that easily. But by no means was the Mandalorian disappointed. She reinforced her footing and kept the whipcord attached to her vambrace for the time being.

“Make this easy. Please. Just cooperate, and neither of us have to get hurt. In the end, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, you won’t be able to escape the consequences of what you did. Might as well face it now.” She did her best to slide some compassion and understanding in her voice to hopefully further convince Alaisy to go along with it all. The Firrerro wanted to believe that Tir’eivra would be properly punished once she brought the Sith to Tal Tower, but she was sure that the clan would find a way to reward her behavior. But it was at least worth a shot.

With a hiss she breathed in deeply, expanding her chest. The metal wire tightened. She let one arm slide from her side over to her back. Her wrist twisted and her vibronail wedged between the lowest bound wire, cutting.

Alaisy groaned, her eyes looking at the top of the pipe. “You just had to go there. You should run. I mean it. I say that with my last sliver of respect. Fast.” Her voice was demanding and serious. But it was also calm and calculated. Any second that Ellisyn gave her was going to cost her dearly.

“What don’t you understand about this?” She asked, her own patience waning. With every moment Alaisy refused to surrender, Ellisyn’s capacity for mercy lessened. She would never admit it, but she wanted the Sith to break free. She craved the challenge that would finally be put in front of her. Sure, she was doing this in the name of peace and justice, but the fight to come was going to be a welcome bonus for the deprived warrior inside the lawyer. “I’m not running. And you’re going to pay for what you’ve done.”

Alaisy snatched the wire the moment tension released. She kept it tightened as she breathed shallowly. “You have made your choice then.” With her hand, the tall woman searched for the cord that was still directly connected to the vambrace. She found it and pulled at it, exhaling further, creating a buffer. She was going to let go if Kendis pulled back…

<@837236610684813342>

While Dasha was locking up, mostly the admin-digital controls, she also took a peek and downloaded access logs and actions onto her datapad.

Elly watched Alaisy and waited for something to happen, expecting some big grandiose escape attempt after her ominous words, but when nothing came, her shoulders minutely slumped. “I have,” She finally responded. It seemed there wasn’t going to be a struggle after all. She slowly reeled the cord back in as she stepped forward, planning on leaving just enough slack to have some breathing room while holding onto Alaisy while guiding her along the tunnels. If the Sith continued to cooperate, of course. She had too much respect for the woman who had tried to genuinely console her in her own sithy way, so she refused to just drag her along the ground.

“Thanks for making this easy for the both of us.” She said as she arrived at the Sith’s side. “You can stand up now. I’m not gonna hurt someone who’s not resisting,” alluding to the fact that Alaisy totally would

“Fine.” She got up, the cable unraveling as she couldn’t keep it tensed with her hand doing those motions.

What now

Alaisy had calculated for a lot of things to happen. Except for this one. What if she would just rise to her feet and let Ellisyn make the next move. Either that, or she could be predictable and attack.

Choices

The release of those tight metal cables felt wonderful by itself. She scraped her tall platforms sidelong over the floor as she pushed herself up.

“It seems that I am generous enough to give you another choice. What a fine day it is, indeed.” She smiled with her eyes and spread her arms out, nailed fingers extending.

Oh. Of course. She freed herself. That’s why she wasn’t worried Elly thought to herself, trying to figure out where to go from here. She could always go for a sucker punch? But that wasn’t really her style. It was too underhanded and scummy for her taste. The Firrerro’s mind went to Darrio’s blaster strapped to her hip. Somehow, it felt less violent and more humane to simply stun Alaisy with a blaster than to use blunt force trauma.

Ellisyn’s hand drifted quickly to her hip, and she drew the blaster. She did her best to make it obvious that she was setting the blaster to stun, ensuring the Sith would notice, “It’s set to stun.” She affirmed before she tried to pull the trigger, feeling incredibly uncomfortable from not only holding a blaster but firing it at someone who had given her some genuinely good advice and conversation.

“Nice blaster. You seem to be decisive after our little revelation.” Alaisy kept her eyes locked on any inkling of movement. “Have you forgotten that lives are less valuable than the demand for my skills?” Her voice became increasingly condescending as she filled the void with words before the pull of the trigger. “Justice, it is an enigma.”

Alaisy could feel the beating in her chest slowing down. There it was. The whisper from the Force itself. Kendis did exactly what Tir'eivra thought she would do. Her hips twisted as she moved out of the way of the barrel. A high-pitched, circular projectile shot out of it. It brightened the sewers all the way along the length.

In fact, the light was so bright it blinded Alaisy as she tried to bring a claw down on Darrio’s blaster.

Elly was able to pull Darrio’s blaster away just in time, holstering it and turning her body all in one motion to throw a punch at Alaisy’s head, reacting on pure instinct now. She didn’t have the force, but she did have way too much combat training for a lawyer. She felt a good amount of regret that it came to this, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand walking beside a woman who murdered innocent people on her turf.

Alaisy blinked rapidly as the weapon disappeared before her. The bright stun blast had dissipated in the tubes. Without a weapon to grab, she saw a retaliating blow coming in. From the same direction as her current motion, she leaned in further. The Sith barely managed to duck low enough to let it pass by.

As Ellisyn swung wide over the Sith, Alaisy shifted forward into a somersault and rose up. She turned her body accompanied by the loud clacking of her heels. Both of her claws stretched out towards the Mandalorian. Her eyes glowed brighter as she plunged her will into the Dark Side of the Force. Crackles and sparks formed from her arms, crawling down to her gloved hands, arcing out of the vibroclaws in a furious burst.

Elly’s first thought was that Alaisy was fast, flexible, and dangerous. When the woman dodged her attack with relative ease, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge. Even she could tell what was coming. She closed her eyes and waited for the sound of the Sith’s next move but instead found herself relying too much on her senses and was assaulted with a barrage of lightning. The white hot plasma arced in and across her body, burning through her cells and along her armor, inducing a pain like nothing she had ever experienced before

The Mandalorian folded inwards, barely landing onto her hands and knees, long roars of pain ripping from her chest, barely holding back the shrill scream that threatened to escape her body. Tears fell onto the inside of her visor as her organs began to cook inside of her durasteel covering. She felt her muscles start to shake, and her heart palpitate, missing precious beats as her body threatened to shut down. Her vision began to blur, and her elbows buckled as she finally collapsed to the ground fully.

As they moved through the power plant with lumbering steps, Bril focused on taking shallow breaths to lessen the unforgiving sting of frigid air that stabbed at his nostrils, trachea, and lungs. Although he was aware of numerous planets with extremely low temperatures, such as Mygeeto, Hoth, and Orto Plutonia, he’d never had the displeasure of experiencing one firsthand. Until today. Iridonia’s deserts got cold at night, especially during winter, but no winter night he’d ever felt there came close to this. Even with him using the Force to slow his metabolism so he could conserve more body heat, Bril nonetheless kept his Nautolan glue to his side while they walked. Each unsolicited whimper ripped from Minnie’s lilliputian form served as a stark, potentially deadly reminder of their mission’s undertaking. Should they fail to restore power in this district, then there was an all-too real possibility that she would be one of several people who died of exposure.

He couldn’t bear the thought; he refused to allow such a contemptible outcome to linger in his mind any longer. Far too many motes of flame, of life, had become one with the Force already. No more would lose their lives while he was still breathing, especially not his beloved. But what could he do for now other than wait? While Ro-Tahn worked his magic on the building’s generator, Bril clicked his teeth in a show of mild anxiety, and reminded himself that the best thing he could do for now was be with Minnie–to be her heat.

©

“Just hang on, pur'ka,” he said to her in a gentle, reassuring tone, “Ro-Tahn is going to get the power on soon.”

And like clockwork, the generator groaned to life once the male Togruta finished cleaning and adjusting the internal parts that looked like a maze of gears and wires to Bril. The sound of its mechanical whirr was as sweet a sound of any, right now. Lights blinked on overhead, painting the room in a dull white glow. Bril was absolutely beaming by now, and he gave Minnie’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze as the heat slowly began trinkling into the warehouse.

Bril looked to Tahiri when she called his name and gave a prompt nod in agreement with her instructions. “Yes, ma’am.”

He looked down at Minnow. “Stay here, my love. You’ll conserve more heat if you remain still, and this won’t take me but a moment.”

A pair of lips found their place on the top of her head, above the fluffy hood of her jacket. Then, the Zabrak took a step backward moments before his image became a blur produced by his sudden, Force-amplified departure. He zipped from room-to-room, ignoring the sensation of cold air cutting at his flesh as he dashed between each room at land cruiser speeds. As he expected, the room on the second floor felt the warmest to him.

©

Upon returning to where the others were waiting, Bril slowed his movements down again and pulled Minnie into his embrace.

“There’s an office upstairs that’s warmer than anything down here. Still cold, but it’s certainly an improvement,” he noted while turning to lead them toward the stairs on the far side of the room. “We’ll be able to hunker down there until the storm breaks.”

This was good. They were actually making progress, and it felt like their fortune was beginning to turn in the positive direction. But the same couldn’t be said for those elsewhere. The sound of his adopted sister’s voice in his mind gave Bril pause.

*Botmuni … Ruka … think he’s dying … don’t know what to …

… I need you.*

The message was erratic, choppy—likely due to the panic he felt radiating from his lora like a miasma of stress. He lifted a hand to touch his forehead, trying to parse the feelings that flooded his mind.

“Mmn. Sivall is here,” he spluttered, eyelids clamping together tightly. “With Master Ruka. He’s in trouble. On the verge of death.”

He rallied his concentration to cross the divide and send a message in reply to Sivall’s.

Lora, breathe. Feel my calm and allow it to become your own. You’re the best person I know at medicine, Force or otherwise. I’m too far to make it to you but you can do this. Ruka’s in capable hands. Believe in yourself, Sivall. And trust in the Force.

Bril was mentally kicking himself for not being able to help his master, but he reminded himself that he couldn’t be in two places at once. And like he told Sivall, he was in good hands. But right now, there was no one who needed him more than his Minnow. His complete faith in his adopted sister’s abilities put him at ease.

“Let’s keep moving,” he advised the group, “We’ll be no help to anyone else if we freeze down here.”

<@244244163002892288> <@264959101384130560> <@375384499770359819>

The desert woman hated the cold. Space was cold. Socorra’s cabin was always overheating, and no one would go in it, which was just fine. And this planet.. well she learned last year and came well prepared. Now she was nice and warm and sealed, unwilling to unseal to try and fix the helmet vocoder. Or wipe her blood smears on the inside. That was how much she despised the cold.

The opening up of the new entrance was just enough to take her attention for a moment.

Her brow raised at Cassandra’s apparent concern. Clearly some abnormal and clandestine work had occurred there. She wondered how long ago.

With no obvious light source, the woman raised a gloved hand to the wall. They could look, but she was going to read. Watching the facility’s secrets seemed far more entertaining than looking for a hidden panel.

The tall Sith was breathing heavily, her tail twitching as she watched the bundle of might go down. For the first time that day, there was a latent sadness. Survival instinct had kicked in. None of what happened here went according to plan. There was no way Alaisy should have needed to exhaust herself like this.

It seemed like an excessive price to pay for etiquette and a very inefficient way to exercise it.

Her vibronails still buzzed and crackled after the stream. She shook off her hands as if they were wet, noticing how heavy they suddenly seemed to be. For some reason, she tasted a sourness in her mouth, as if she had too much sugar. The mask sucked onto her face with every deep breath, becoming harder to draw in oxygen.

Why did you have to go and ask that question?

As always, actions had consequences. But on Kasiya they weren’t mere ripples in the water, but tidal waves instead. The hiss of her air valves seemed to have an echo to it, turning more and more into a distant scream as it faded.

Her hands were trembling. Somehow she had frightened herself. The quaking power of the Force had taken her by surprise. Yet there was a comfort to the sorrow she felt. A melancholic song that acknowledged her actions and choices. It was as if the Dark Side itself opened up further to the Sith.

The embrace was as breathtaking as wearing a too-tight corset and as befuddling as being licked by a wet tongue. Eldritch and commiserative.

Being a Sith she knew she had to command the Force, not merely let it flow through her. But she did not just command it, she had dominated it, lashed it, and unleashed it upon her prey.

And the Dark Side had loved her for it. Her eyes smiled wickedly behind the visor.

“We will meet again Kendis. Rest now. And thank you.”

Sympathy ebbed from her heart as its beating slowed down in her chest. Her legs carried Tir'eivra away, one heavy clack at a time.

Bril, Draca, Ellisyn. Vengeance, Light, Wrath. Lessons. Trials!

As the storms raged outside, business under the district of Holmes continued for the most part as usual. The duracrete streets and layers of dirt that separated the criminal underworld of Kaisya from the innocents above. Among the residents of what some people called tranquility was a Mirialan woman of medium height wandering around the tunnels as something to do whilst her datapad charged in her small underground home. Her name was Xi Vaatu, and she sported shoulder-length chestnut hair and several diamond-shaped tattoos below her dark sapphire eyes. She pulled her sleeves down her olive green skin with a slight shiver, learning quickly that the further you went from the active areas of the underground, the colder it got.

Her night was going just as planned. Nothing too terribly interesting had happened while she was bartending. She even managed to get a couple of nice tips just before her shift ended. That is until she stumbled across the prone body of what looked to be the armored woman who jumped across rooftops in the district above. “Oh, kriff…” She mumbled to herself. Xi dashed towards the red and black armored woman, slid on her knees, and reached to her neck for a pulse. “Ow…” she winced. The moment she touched the Mandalorian, a static shock pulsed into her fingers. How strange. She was thankful to find a pulse, but it was barely there, beating weak and erratically. “Must’ve been electrocuted.”

With a long sigh, she contemplated leaving her there, most likely to die, but her consciousness kicked in at just the last second. She wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing she condemned this woman who did so much for the city to a slow death. So, using what little strength she had, she took hold of the Vigilante’s hand and began to drag her along the tunnel floor, groaning with each move she made.

–

It took some time, but Xi was able to drag Holmes’ very own vigilante into her small apartment. It wasn’t impressive by any means, but it was home to the Mirialan. With great effort, she pulled her houseguest up onto the bed in the single-room dwelling, letting out a loud groan the moment she was finally settled. “Why do I get the feeling it’s not your armor that made that whole journey difficult?” Xi said to herself before walking over to her wardrobe and opening its bottom drawer. It was there that she kept a military-grade medkit, one from her days as a combat medic for the Taldryan military.

The Mirialan hauled it over to her bed and placed it on the ground before she got to work removing the woman’s armor. She knew nothing of Mandalorian culture, so she didn’t even think to wait before she removed the vigilante’s disguise, revealing a face stained with tears. Her heart broke for the woman, but she couldn’t dwell on it; she had work to do.

It was a tedious process and took her longer than she cared to admit, but she was able to get the incapacitated woman down to her body glove. From the front, she looked alright, but when Xi managed to roll Ellisyn onto her back, what she saw was rather gruesome. The rubber-like material of the body glove had melted along her spine, the flesh around it looking as if it had melted just like the glove. “Oh my…” She raised her hands and gasped, “What could’ve done this?” She asked the broken woman.

What Socorra was able to read…made no sense. She sensed…children. Teenagers. Adults. Classrooms. Living Quarters. And tons of medical related facilities…and weapons training.

Something was going on, and behind a hidden wall?

Thane looked on as the drama unfolded before him. He could feel the weight of it. The emotion. It assaulted his senses and crashed against the rocks of his fractured psyche, dispersing back into the sea with him unshaken.

And he couldn’t be shaken. Not because of something as fanciful as an iron will, but rather because he was broken. He had been fixed, sure, but it was done wrong. Rather than restoration, his fragile mind had lost so many pieces and what remained had been welded tightly together into a barrier.

Thane didn’t feel what was suffusing the very air not by choice, but by incapability.

He just didn’t feel. At least, nothing between the extremes.

And so, Thane watched as Ruka was saved. Ish. Not for lack of trying for otherwise on the Mirialin’s part.

Also, he couldn’t call Cora. He didn’t have the contact.

Instead, Thane blinked and turned his attention to Draca. “Require other assistance?” he inquired.

<@837236610684813342> <@244244163002892288> <@216702440140046336>

Muz watched the Consul stare aghast at their discovery. It represented either a massive failure of intel gathering or complicitness with them. But the very obvious laboratory was not his concern at the moment, getting below frost depth was. He moved around the edge of the room, the golden fire of one of his blades lighting his way with an angry hum. There were two doors, one with a large transparisteel pane, one without. He wrapped his mind around the handles, giving each a gentle turn. Both were solidly maglocked, a identichip reader to the sides.

Black eyes glided across the rest of the room. One of the walls had a large window, ostensibly to watch the proceedings of whatever experiments were taking place here. Cabinets with various medical and lab equipment. The medical supplies could be of some use, but they were not necessary just yet. An eye wash station, and a suspicious lack of lighting controls. He chuckled. They must have been controlled by the outside rooms. He turned back toward the others, his voice knocking them from their introspection.

“Doors” He wagered that the Taldryan Consul’s chip would not open the door, not with her reaction. Thankfully, he always carried a few universal keys with him, in a variety of colors.

<@141239709291511808>

Zuza watched on in shock. The crowd of healers surrounding Ruka were enough she didn’t dare move forward. They were doing their work and even with all the power she had right now, she didn’t know how to heal.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned, meeting Cole’s eye with tears forming in her own but he just shook his head.

“Call Cora.”

He could see her mind whirring, the panic trying to set in but with that task in mind, it was easier. She nodded, smiling gratefully and stepping a small ways away from the chaos to bring up Cora’s number.

Cole watched her until the crowd shifted and it was more difficult, moving close enough the Chiss woman could hear him respond, “Zuza is handling it,” before slipping back away again and ensuring there was space.

It was difficult not knowing what to do but the four who’d entered were safe now at least.

She attempted her card, but as suspected, the door did not respond.

As much as she wanted to dig into…whatever this was…she knew there were more pressing matters at hand, like them getting further from the ice. Since a hole had been cut into the wall, it was a matter of time if the storm intensified that the cold and ice would penetrate this room as well. Hopefully it would calm and things would start to be better, then she could return. This absolutely warranted investigating.

“Lord Ashen, if you could get us a way through here..”

<@141239709291511808>

Curiosity killed the nexu. Socorra held her vambrace up to the ID panel, using her Praetor to code to see if either door opened. Evant never cared what she had access to as long as she looked for Telaris.. who in the end hadn’t even been in the same plane. Dacien was very different but she still had assignments all across their territories. The gods only knew who had set this facility up.

Sofila heard Draca’s words and gave a reassuring nod to Siv. She can hear Ankira ask for something in the background but she was focusing on healing her Aunt. She needed Siv and in her panic attack, they weren’t going to do anything. This was why when Sofila had problems, she shoves the emotions away until after it’s done. A few medical personnel got between them and started to clean up Ruka a bit. Maybe that can help Siv too.

The words from herself and Draca didn’t get to Siv. She was tone deaf. The Chiss constantly stared at Ruka and Sofila grimaced. Her eyes remained firmly on Siv. Desperate. Almost begging.

Look at me. Please. I’m here. Auntie Siv.. Three of us. We got this. Ruka will live.

Empty words in her head. She didn’t dare to say them out loud. How could she? She couldn’t look at Ruka. Not right now. Healing needed to come first. Sofila flinched and almost recoiled at the desperate wail. She removed Siv’s hands and started to ignore her. She cannot deal with this right now.

She can’t. Not when Sofila had made a similar wail when Cole aimed the blaster at-

No.

She doesn’t have the capability.

Anger started to rise and her heart was pounding loudly. Sofila swallowed down some bile and her hands moved over to Ruka. Her fingers twitched in frustration and anger but her healing was warm. Gentle. Her eyelids closed when Siv did the half laughter and cry of relief, she started to block out the sounds around her. Him. Ruka. Emotions weren’t important.

Not now.

He’s stable. He’s really stable. Sofila slowly exhaled a breath she didn’t know she had been holding this whole time. Her shoulders relaxed and she opened her eyelids. Her jaw hardened when looking at Ruka. And the extent of his kriffin injuries, what the-

Silently, the Mirialan slipped into the crowd and away.

<@417336769181122562> <@837236610684813342> <@264959101384130560> <@1056685516441006091> <@185936112441622529> <@432543120635461643>

The Mandalorian woman was getting overwelmed with the emotions around her so much she wanted to throw her helmet off and hit her head, but she couldn’t she had to stay strong. Instead she did the next best thing.

“You! Get something big enough to lay a person in, it needs to be watertight,” she ordered one of the guards.

“You!” she pointed to the next, “Get as much bacta as you can, we need to get him submerged in as much as we can.”

She hoped that would help Ruka get back into healing with the limited supplies and medical stuff they had around.

By some miracle of the storm lessening in intensity at that moment, Zuza’s call actually connected. It wasn’t a clean signal, rough with the interference of the icy apocalypse outside and the many meters of duracrete protecting them from it, but the Taldryanites had specifically designed these bunkers after the Children’s asteroid attacks to allow communications in and out, relays tunneling upwards.

The Human didn’t have to say anything, even. As soon as it connected, she heard the Pantoran’s staticky voice. His posh tones were rough but steady, tightly controlled. But she still knew.

Zuza was only one of a handful of people that knew what Cora’s voice sounded like when he’d been absolutely sobbing. (Even though more by occasion of them choosing an animated holo about fireflies and getting something else entirely than for tragedy.)

“Is he breathing? Is he going to survive this? Are you safe, Pippa? Are the others?”

Muz stepped back away from the doors as Socorra and Cassandra tried their way, eyeing the entrance that he had made. A few steps and he was at the threshold, the difference in light between the utility room and the darkened lab obvious. The cold would follow them down here, so why not slow it down? He tilted his head, wrapping his mind around the chunk of wall he had extracted with blade and will, dragging it across the floor to fill the gap. Instead of a doorway, there was just a crack along the outside, where his blade had run.

Turning, he watched as the locks refused to cooperate with even Socorra’s pass. That made a sort of sense. The Council wouldn’t have a facility beneath Taldryan’s nose without at least making them some level of aware about it. Then again, he didn’t know all that much about Evant’s proclivities. He gestured for them to step aside as he directed his blade, a precise stab through the door handle to melt the lock into slag before he did the same to the other door. He stepped back a few more feet, nodding to each of them.

There was no telling what lay beyond, but this was patently unfriendly territory. The sound of Cassandra’s and Socorra’s weapons being readied echoed behind him as he touched the doors with his mind. Weaving threads of energy behind the slag, he pulled, the doors swinging open on their hinges to expose what lay beyond.

<@61385159655559168>

It almost escaped his notice, Sofila’s exit from the healing group. But the flicker of purple hair caught the corner of his eye and Cole shifted away from the group to follow her. He doubted they’d particularly notice the absence and even if they did, he didn’t particularly care.

Sof walking away like that and not over to anyone she knows was concerning.

He caught up with her after a few moments, coming up at her left. There was nothing to be said yet, just being present with her.

Zuza hadn’t expected the call to go through, eyes widening for a moment but then- Cora had been crying. Sobbing. A hand came up to her mouth and she had to close her eyes before answering. Kark she was glad she kept to a corner, out of the way. It was quieter, easier to hear with the crackling connection, but it also kept Cora’s anguish private. He’d hate it if people heard him like that.

She would too.

“He’s gonna be okay Cor, he- I don’t know what happened exactly but he was holding back the blizzard for hours. This Ashen guy showed up, he helped Ruka and Cassandra keep the blizzard back and- powered them up? It gave people more time but Ruka hurt himself more with it I think. I- I don’t know but they’ve got him stable. I’m okay, everyone from home who I know is here are okay. We’re in one of the shelters.” Zuza struggled to keep her voice stable, flicking between the horror of what had happened to Ruka, the fear of her and Jemel’s bare escape from the storm and the sheer elation from the power still pulsing through her. It was hard to pick something to stick on. It wasn’t very successful, “We’re gonna be fine. The blizzard is going to blow through pretty soon I think, we won’t be stuck here too long.”

A sharp, shaking inhale came from the other side at the words he’s gonna be okay, and then the barest sob when she indicated she was okay and so were the others. Siva, Bril, Sofila, Cole… It was accompanied by a murmur to the side in Mirialan, and the Human recognized the tones in the background as probably Noga or Leda. Then further away, barely audible, the other sibling passing the news, “Mela he’s okay.”

“Alright, Pippa. I’m– so glad you’re alright, all of you, Ashla! A pause, then softer, Are you actually alright? You sound strange. Please don’t– don’t pretend to me now.”

“I-” Zuza hesitated. She didn’t know what to say. Don’t pretend but the reality was confusing. Strange. She didn’t truly understand what had happened to her, the.. power. Zuza realised it had been a few seconds and just started, unsure, “I am okay. I got a bit cold but my flight suit, it has the layering against conditions like that in case of breaches in space so I’m not gonna be ill. Warming up already. I uh- feel good. The- yknow how I mentioned the.. powering up? I did too. It.. i was going up to check on Ruka and everyone there and when I got close.. so yeah. I am okay. I promise.”

Sofila noticed movement at the corner of her eye and it seemed to follow her. She turned to see it was Cole. She shook her head and looked away.

“No,” Sofila whispered. She walked to the wall and opened each door that wasn’t obviously a bathroom. Then happened to find a cleaner’s closet. She let Cole in because she knew that he wouldn’t just let her be by herself. Not right now. Once he did, she closed the door and pressed her back against it and slid down to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into her knees. Her hands slipped to underneath her hair and rested at the back of her neck.

Sagitta with every inch of fury she had, jumped onto the ramp that belonged to the pirate’s ship. She was not going to leave her teammates behind in the hands of Dread Pirate Ronksin… Sofila was doing her best to recall a chapter from one of the favorite books she used to read all the time. Her eyelids closed and she started to also focus on channeling with the Force.

An exhale answered her this time, weary but also, a final bit of relief. Just for a moment. She could picture him sagging with his comm before he straightened back up in that perfect posture of his (on one of their sleepovers, he’d showed off being able to walk and dance perfectly with anything she could think of sticking there balanced on top of his head. The cucumber had been her favorite, and she hadn’t been able to stop laughing over the look he’d given her.)

“Alright. Alright, alright, then it’s. Thank you for telling me. I’m so glad you’re alright, Gods.” Some more murmuring, and a sharp buzz, fearing the call had been lost. But then he tuned back in. “…a? Can you still hear me? Is Siva there? It’s weaker, but I’ve felt her as well. If she’s able, may you put her on for me?”

-

Pink eyes and hope, anguish, trying desperately to be a sun even with dark marks.

Two young galloping hearts, barreling on too fast, feeling too much.

A commanding voice, calling for aid, demanding, and two miracles of medicine, a mask breathing when lungs could not, and healing concoctions cool in veins.

Tiny, tiny blue hands. Giving and giving and giving, love and life, until their life threatened to give entirely. But– no. Because there were reasons to live; even if only not to cause the one they tried to save more pain.

Under the ventilator strapped to his face, Ruka breathed, steady, with each administered breath. His heart beat in his chest. With the Light and Dark poured into him, he resembled a humanoid again, one that could, with time, fully heal. One that would go home to his family, that she was part of, and be a terrible patient until guilted into it, and probably still drag himself up just to make cocoa for everyone, and they’d turn the thermostat up even more after this. Give more tips on Mirialan culture. Teach more saber lessons. Probably loan more cloaks and hoodies. Just, live.

Thanks to everyone here.

People scrambled to get a makeshift tub together to submerse the Proconsul in, but in those few intervening moments, he was just there, the little Chiss over him, as others came and went.

<@264959101384130560>

On the other side of the door stood several humanoids, a Bothan, and several Kaminoans, all dressed in solid black medical uniforms with a golden Taldryan metal crest on the upper left breast area. The Bothan’s uniform had a grey trim indicating a higher position than the others.

They were all startled, one of them looking at the group before glancing Cassandra up and down with a shocked look on her face.

“M-ma'am, we-welcome. We were not expecting you in this chaos above us.” a silver-haired Bothan spoke up. “We assumed you would visit after everything had calmed down.”

“What is this?” Cassandra firmly asked, her saber returning to her side. “Explain.”

“This is the medical facility for the Taldryan Republic Grand Army, Lady Second.” the Bothan responded, a slightly confused tone in her voice. “Any and all issues that arise with them, we give them the utmost of care here.”

She paused for a moment then continued. “You…seem as if you were unaware of this?”

Cassandra nodded, her arms crossed in front of her. “Indeed. I was unaware of any existence of this place. It isnt even on the internal maps.”

“Oh, that’s because its meant to be a restricted area. The last thing we want is for an enemy to reach this place with a potential pathogen or know where to strike first should they ever make a move on Kasiya proper.”

“I see…” Cass nodded as she made an expression of understanding. “While we avoid the cold above and warm up, may we take a look around?”

If the Bothan would have been furless, her facial expression quickly gave indication that she would have been completely pale and ashen in that moment. “Unfortunately ma'am, we are currently doing surgical operations on quite a few who sustained frostbite and other injuries during their time assisting civilians on the surface leading up from the storm. Due to a sterile environment we cannot allow it at the moment. It would be best if you went on the elevator to our waiting area where you can comfortably rest until the storm calms.”

<@284848346672136192>

<@141239709291511808>

Nodding in agreement, she followed Bril and Minnow up to the room on the second floor, getting a feel for the place, while keeping an eye out for anything that could help them. Tahiri hadn’t found anything within the other offices on the first floor to build up any warmth, so once she knew which room they would all be in, she decided she would go back out and explore. Once there, the woman went around the room, checking for any cold spots of air, finding a heating vent she made sure nothing impeded it’s air flow, barely feeling a touch of cool air growing a tiny bit warmer. Then she preceded to move what furniture she could to provide a warmer condensed space. Including grabbing chairs from the offices next door and stacking them precisely in an interwoven pattern for them to lean against with the threat of them falling upon them or falling over.

“You two stay here and stay warm. I’m going to go let Ro know which room we’re in,” then without another word and slight smile, just to make sure Bril couldn’t volunteer to help, the petite Togruta took off her own cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders and Minnows. As she opened the door to continue her search, Tahiri made eye contact with godson, raising her finger to point at him and then then thrust it down. The Elder left, hoping that he would obey her signal to stay put, as he had done years ago. Although that boy only half the time listened, especially when his curiosity or sense of helpfulness kicked in. The thought made her slightly cold cracked lips hurt as she smiled.

Meeting up with Ro on the first floor again, she gave him directions to the safe room, “Get up there and get yourself warm tazi sa'daar. I need to access what else is here.”

“But sa'mahr, you need to get warm as well. Come on,” Ro-Tahn looked a tad worried as he noticed her cloak gone.

“I’ll be fine Ro. Go, I’ll see you up there in a sec,” she flashed him a smile before walking off towards the warehouse itself to see what she could find.

Ro-Tahn joined the Zabrak and Nautolan, sitting near them with his back against the half circle of chairs that butted up to the front edge of the full faced desk. Stretching his legs out, he put his arms behind his head and “Tahiri will be back shortly.”

20 minutes later

The tips of her Montral, a third of her Lekku and all the tips of her fingers were numb from the cold air that seeped into the larger portion of the warehouse as the storm grew worse outside. After searching the larger part of the warehouse, for what felt like a frustrating amount of hours, especially after looking over what already felt like a ton of product crates, she finally found two that were useful. The small crate had about 5 blankets that were silky soft, then there was a larger crate that had a couple gorgeously designed heavy quilts. Gathering the Force, she picked up the soft blankets in her arms, while slowly raising the heavy quilts with her mind and made her way back to the second floor room. Turning a corner, her eye caught a strange looking device on a shelf, and added it to quilts. Hmmm, maybe this is something that can help too.

On the way she met Ro, as he went to check on the generator. “How’s the room heating up?”

“It’s a little warmer, but with the storm intensifying, it’s a struggling to keep heat it any further. Just checking to make sure it’s not going to sputter out.”

“Ok. Well, I found some blankets and I think a heater,” hovering the strange device in front of him in inspect.

“Huh, you found a coil heater. Not the best heater out there, but it’s simple, should work for what we need though,” Ro-Tahn’s smile faded a little as he noticed the subtle shivering of his older sister.

© “Let me take the heater and make sure it works properly. Go and get warmed up. Don’t worry, I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“You better be, or else I’ll be back down here to get you,” she threatened through slightly chattering teeth.

“I promise sa'mahr,” grabbing the heater out of the air. “I got this, you go,” with cocky grin he turned and jogged off downstairs.

Smirking and shaking her head at her brothers cocksure attitude, she headed up to the room to distribute the blankets she found.

“Hey, Bril, I found some blankets, and Ro is checking to make sure the heater I found works,” she gave him a weak smile, while with a subtle thought one of the large quilts unfolded and placed itself on the chairs as an extra cold barrier.

<@1056685516441006091> <@244244163002892288>

It had been some time since Alaisy had left Kendis alone in the maintenance tunnels. The brimming of energy in her hands hadn’t ceded yet. In a way, she felt tired of ducking down, avoiding pipes and metal gratings. There was no doubt in her mind that the Mandalorian would survive. She couldn’t stop thinking about what the Firrerreo would do once she had recovered. Maybe Tir'eivra had given her the spark of life to turn things around. Maybe it would just turn to wrath against her.

The tunnels, however, seemed endless. If it weren’t for the scratches that her sharp heels left behind, she would have gotten lost, or left going in circles. At times Alaisy heard voices or screams. But it could’ve been her own breathing or her mind playing tricks on her. The top world felt like a mystery, and she hadn’t run into any of the brigands that Ellisyn had warned her about either.

She decided to take a break and tap into the Living Force, perhaps the ripples would tell her where to go. Or at least feel replenished afterward. An opened maintenance door revealed a nice nook for her to sit in.

Alarms went off throughout the Leviathan’s bridge and numerous displays shifted to a red glowing outline as a massive ship suddenly appeared out of nowhere directly off the starboard side.

“Unknown ship on sensors, less than 1800m off starboard side!” the sensor officer called out. “Must have dropped out of lightspeed right on top of us!”

“Shields raised, retargeting starboard guns.” another called as the communications officer opened a channel.

“This is the TRNF Leviathan to unknown vessel, identify yourself imme-”

“Stand down from alert, notify the Drake we acknowledge they are ready.” the furry officer said from his command chair. A large portion of the bridge crew looked towards him then between each other before acknowledging the order without so much as a question.

There’s no going back now. He thought to himself. This had better work.

“Acknowledgement from the Drake, awaiting command authorization to initialize mass driver system.”

The furry officer reached over to a panel display directly to his left and pressed several buttons on it. A blue acknowledgement screen with a diagram of the Drake came up upon which he pressed several more keys as he put in his command code.

Red areas that were highlighted on above the ship began to shift to a green color as the code acknowledgement was accepted.

“Drake reporting authorization accepted, mass driver system has been unlocked. Awaiting final authorization to begin bombardment.”

“…authorization given. Inform the battle group to commence operation.”

“With snack and caf machine too?” Socorra nearly snorted. “Is this your only facility?”

She sent two messages on her vambrace comp, one to Ruka’s comm and the other to Korvis’. Failing that again, she sent it to his ship.

Jemel. How is he? -Socorra <@1056685516441006091>

Korvis. Where are you? -Socorra <@583854106599489557> <@476595775187451913> <@216702440140046336>

Upon receiving the message, Jemel opened his datapad to read and then reply.

He’s in really rough shape, right now. But he’s stable, at least. How are things on your end?

The Bothan nodded in confirmation. “It is. If you three would, step this way and I can take you to the waiting area.”

She gestured to a nearby cylinder-like door that slid open to reveal the inside of a imperial-style turbolift, and was the first to begin moving toward it.

<@284848346672136192>

Looking around the pile of dead bodies Korvis just shrugged the carnage off. His temporary ally had disappeared as well. He stepped over the last few bodies and made his way back into the warehouse as the storm intensified once again.

Seeing the messages on his hud display he responded to his Proconsul with his coordinates and his status.

“I got 50 or so civilians that were taken as hostages by some gang. The gang members are deceased,” he heard one of the twi'leks groan on the ground, “mostly. Civilians seem uninjured.”

<@141239709291511808>

Zuza had had her own sigh of relief upon hearing the line connect again, nodding despite the fact he couldn’t see it, “Only just got you back, she’s right over there so I’ll ask, hopefully it holds on.”

She lowered the communicator from her face, holding it close to her chest instead to prevent any accidental bumps and threaded her way back through the crowd. Her height was both a boon and a curse in these packed situations. It was easier to manuevre with gaps being a lot more accessible to her lithe stature but spotting them before she was already moving past them was a struggle and a half. Still, it wasn’t long before she breached free, leaving some space in case Sivall was distracted, to avoid spooking the Chiss woman but still calling over to her.

“I’ve got Cora on call, are ya okay to talk?”

<@264959101384130560>

Breathe, so she did. Whatever bits of Bril’s message made it through had it’s intended effect, calming her nerves for the most part and steeling in her the confidence she needed to do what she had to do. She had never done surgery on a loved one, or any major medical operations.

Siv continued to work on Ruka, her hands becoming drenched in blood and ichor. She wasn’t so bothered by that fact because she knew Ruka was free of any bloodborn pathogens, but more so bothered by the fact that is was Ruka’s blood on her hands. Oh the amount of times she had nightmares where Connor appeared from the shadows and made her murder everyone she loved, always ending in her collapsed in a pool of her loved one’s blood. She felt her stomach lurch but forced it back.

With effort, as the exhaustion in the wake of the Rite and her actions began to settle into her body, she helped Ankira and the medical volunteers lower Ruka into the makeshift bath of bacta after cleaning what she could of ichor and blood from his body. Even so, streaks of black and red swam in the bacta as the chemical began to work it’s magic.

Zuza had appeared and asked her if she was okay to talk to Cora, and while she had initially not answered while she lowered her adoptive father into the makeshift bath of bacta, she now gestured for Zuza to place the communicator up to her face so she wouldn’t dirty it with the mess on her hands, which she held in front of her like she just finished scrubbing for a surgery.

“Neo'tocas-” she breathed, her body seeming to sag as tension left her, “He’ll make it. It’ll take time for him to recover but he’ll be okay. I’m concerned about his sight. Please get with Rhylance and see if he can’t suggest a good Opthalmologist. I’m worried it’s force-induced.”

<@432543120635461643> <@244244163002892288>

“Siva,” the Pantoran’s cracked dulcet tones gently, but firmly, implied a hush now on her name alone. “Thank you so much sweetheart, for telling me and thinking ahead like that. I know you’re doing amazing. I know you’ll do everything you can and more. But dear, I’m worried about you too. I know he’s going to be okay with you, but are you alright? Breathe for me too, dear heart. I’m right here. Alright? We’re going to be there as quick as we can. And I’ll bring– every sweater. And we’ll get you home and have a good scalding shower. Alright? We can talk about Ruka’s eyesight later. It’s something we’re aware of. So I just need you to take care of you for me too, okay? I need all of you to come home.”

Tucked up in Bril’s lap and against his chest, swathed in his and Tahiri’s cloaks and all her clothes, Minnow started to lose the bluish tinge she’d gained at the couple waited in the shelter built of stacked chairs inside the office. Ro’s own presence and then Tahiri’s helped too, and once the quilt cover came down, it was like a grassland hut, or their own little blanket fort, paltry but standing against the cold.

Eventually as the younger brother got the heater working, Minnie began to shift again, coming to when her Zabrak placed another kiss to her headtails in worry. She blinked blearily and her voice was muffled by so many layers, but she was conscious again, and while dazed, seemed to be reorienting without too much trouble. Certainly, it could have been so much worse had they not all acted.

“Uhn….m…Kitty?” the tiny Nautolan mumbled, shifting. “Wh…where are…we?” Her gaze traveled up around them, dumbfounded by what seemed like a tent at first but then obviously was mostly furniture. “Where’s– oh.” She looked relieved to see Tahiri there. “You okie. We okie? Where’s…Rotahn…”

<@1056685516441006091>

Zuza stepped as far from Siv as she could while holding the comms to Siv’s ear, turning her face toward Draca and responding in a more hushed tone. It was hard to keep it there, hard to stay still at all.

She needed to do something. Her connection to the Force was still thriving, pulsing energy through her. She could feel everyone in the room, their fear and anger and some had joy, relief. Hope was strong underneath it all though as the blizzard seemed to be thinning. It was good but overwhelming. It was hard to think.

“Yeah, I’m good, Ruka will be. Are you? Is Anders, I haven’t seen him, he’s usually with you?”

“Sir we’ve got communications set up.” A crewman reported.

“Good. Broadcast on an open channel that the spaceport has food, water, medical supplies, and heating equipment. We can’t easily fly in the storm but we can help those who come to us.”

A strange rumbling filled the air. Alongside the sound of metal scraping on metal.

Hector followed the noise to the cargo hold. Unnatural tremors and light eminated from one of the crates. The one he had stored his holocrons in.

Hector removed the lid from the crate. A glowing holocron floated upwards. The image of a Kel Dor projected from it.

“Greetings sentient. I am a representative of the Baran Do Sages. We have come to you in your time of need to teach you how to harnass the Force to manipulate the elements. But knowledge is never free. First you must prove yourself worthy. Grab this holocron and venture into the storm. You will recieve further instructions then.”

The holocron dimmed and the projection disappeared. Hector stared at the device. Was he about to venture out into danger on the vague promise of unknown knowledge?

Yeah he absolutely was going to.

The Kiffar grabbed the holocron, double checked his equipment, and walked out of his ship.

His trial awaited.

Bril kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, layers and layers of warm fabric bunched between them to insulate her from the biting cold. The room was warming faster now, and he felt like he could finally reduce his reliance on the Force to keep his body warm. A gentle sigh escaped his lips followed by another protracted inhale. He’d been relying on the Force for a while now, and it had left him feeling winded as a result. Although he didn’t need to replenish his energy just yet, he knew he would definitely need to if he continued using it as much as he had.

Feeling his Nautolan stir within his embrace prompted him to look down at her. He stopped humming to hear her better.

“We’re in the power plant in Vista Del Rey, pur'ka,” he offered, “Ro-Tahn got the generator working, and it seems like the weather is improving, as well. How are you feeling?”

A hand found its place on the Mandalorian’s face, which was beginning to regain its sunshine-yellow hue. His thumb traced light circles against her high cheekbones.

💜

There was very much happening so very quickly everywhere all at once.

Rue did his best to stay silent, attentive, and out of the way. They had eventually been rallied to a nearby shelter from The Hotell after the darkness had come, warned the cold would be too great. Then it was a matter of staying as out of the way as possible. Rue clutched Alk close, afraid of losing the young mott in the crowd or of him being abandoned to the ‘snow.’ Mikhail stayed right by him, because they were friends. But as more and more people filled the space, injuries had become evident, and without thinking of the pain that could come, Rue had gone to help.

Mikhail had stayed for that, too. It turned out he was a marvelous healer, though he used the word doctor. A scientist. Like the Masters.

There were several other doctors, but not enough.

Still they did what they could until they could not. Triage and wound care. Rue healed what was too bad to treat, and Mikhail caught him once when he blacked out after one too many. Some had died when he woke again, prayed for the will to continue, and went back to it.

It got worse. Then less so. It was decided to go for supplies and others. The doors were opened.

And out there, somewhere, he heard something.

Someone hurt.

Somewhere, down.

So the hybrid made sure Alk was alright and settled, the best friend for several hours now with the litluns present and being paid many attentions, and then grabbed up his cloaks and the fluffy bathrobe and slipped outside.

White was everywhere, and it was difficult to walk. Snow, it seemed, could get hard. The ice could cut. He crunched through steps that sunk down to his knees. But eventually he found what place felt right. A metal circle in the ground, which smelled and steamed with warmer air. He poked at it. It was heavy. But it moved.

Below was darkness, though his eyes could see somewhat. Handholds. Rushing noises?

Someone in need. So on down he went. <@160141735354171394>

Are you alright?

Suddenly it hit her that she was not alright. Though Sofila had cured her hypothermia and the worst of her frostbite, her skin hurt. And to make things worse, now that the adrenaline had passed and Ruka was on the mend, her situation hit her full force. Stuck, in the cold, trapped. Sanguine eyes widened and unfocused, icy breath catching in Sivall’s chest. Cold. It was so very cold. For normal people it would be bearable but for Siv?

Her jacket was gone, ruined. Bare arms exposed. Exposed to everyone, exposed to the cold, exposed exposed exposed…

She hadn’t even noticed.

The tiniest squeak left her as she wrestled to keep control, to fight back the memories drifting to the surface. Of her former master and ice and freezing, of her blue fingers turning almost white as she shivered, losing the feeling in her toes as she stood. She didn’t want to go back, not back in the bath, please no… anything but that, anything but the baths. Her eyes and throat burned with the effort of holding back her tears.

She would not let Cora worry about her too. She couldn’t let Sofila see her lose it again.

Suck it up, Siva, she scolded herself, You can lose it when you’re home and in Alex’s arms again. People are depending on you, depending on you getting home.

“I’m okay for now,” and it was true, for the time being she would be okay. She would force all the feelings down and process them later when she was safe and with her loved ones again, “My injuries have been seen to for now and… if I don’t think about the cold it can’t get to me. I’ll stay busy and safe, neo'tocas, I promise. And I promise I’ll keep everyone here safe too. We aren’t losing anyone, not today.”

Her tone, which was wobbly to start, was solid and full of determination by the time she finished speaking. She was focused again, ready.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes as she pondered things for a moment, and looking towards <@284848346672136192> and <@141239709291511808>.

“What do you two think? Should we go upstairs and I come back here a bit later, or…?” she commented as she crossed her arms and lightly tilted her head.

The cold claims all. It bites and gnaws, leeching heat, then strength, then nerves, then reason. It leaves only fragile husks at worst. At best, it takes a finger or toe.

The Arkanian was no stranger to the cold. Even though every major city on Arkania was enclosed, it was not uncommon for sections of the city to loose power, leaking heat into the unforgiving atmosphere. But those were the poor sections. The lower sections. The places Mikhail rarely went.

No, his experience came from a worse hell.

It was an ever pervasive thought that bore down on him as he worked. The frozen extremities blended together, he could almost hear the rumble of las canons while bandaging. The only merciful silence was given to him by the broken Saint. Rue was near his side at all times, together they worked, and together they saved more than Mikhail expected. It made his chest ache with guilt. For those he alone couldn’t.

But that pain was familiar, it’s groves worn deep through his heart already. It didn’t stop him from barely catching Rue as he collapsed, spent from his miracle healing. He would be fine, he needed rest and Mikhail would ensure he stayed warm.

The ebb and flow of victims dwindled, and some were planning on going out for rescuer and supplies. That was fine, they would bring more to work on. But when next he checked on Rue, who he had gently recommended recovery to, he just barely caught the literal tail end of the man slipping through the doors out into the white.

Mikhail had already donned his black fur cloak before he thought to check on the man’s pet, spotting it blissfully surrounded by a cadre of children. They’d be fine.

Rue, would not.

He hurried out after the Saint, tracking the remnants of heat through the wind and snow. He had to pull his glasses down sometimes to see better, but trudged along until he came to the manhole.

With a silent swear, he descended, calling after Rue. Hoping he would at least wait for him to catch up.

Rue had no idea where he was or what anything was, but that was a constant, now. It was damp and warmer, though not warm the further down he went, and when he eventually reached the end of the handholds, panting hard and trembling from the effort, his sole arm shaking with pain and tail cramping from also holding the rungs, his snow-crusted feet touched more of the strange stone. A river was nearby.

How odd.

Noises came from above, and he looked up to see a massive dark crow descending. Only, that great and magnificent beast resolved into his blue-eyed friend.

“Mikhail,” he exclaimed, once he had the breath to speak. “Someone needs help. This one can feel it.” He looked around the underground passage. “I do not know where this is.”

<@160141735354171394>

Zuza went to speak but Draca moved aside before she could. She remained in place beside Sivall, worry breaking through for the Chiss as her voice broke but unable to do much without interrupting.

She tapped her toes, not impatient but struggling to stay still.

Corazon made a concerned sound on the other side of the line, but seemed to let it go. “Alright, kollacecia. I believe in you dear. It will be alright, yes. We’ll be there soon. I love you. So does Ruka. Tell Zuza for us too. Don’t let her go off by herself, she’ll always do that to hide what hurts…” As if on cue with the storm’s changing, the connection began to crackle. “…iv? A? …can…h…me? –shla and Bog….Force be with you.”

Okay. So. Rue very quickly found himself in the sewer ducts of Holmes, the smell of sewage very clear even though the dry winter air. From all directions it looked as if the tunnel spanned for miles, becuase it definitely did. But there was something off about the whole space. The person in need, they were down here, but not in the sewer… no it was somewhere deeper, somewhere safe but dangerous all at the same time.

As the Drake launched salvo after salvo into the planet Grannus, the fuzzy officer on board the Leviathan continued to watch the screens. Even with it’s powerful weapons systems and the catastrophic bombardments which left vast craters, it still had only moved by another 0.08. Even then, the gravitational pull of Huracan responded in kind as visibly seen in larger volcanic eruptions where the two planets faced each other.

He sat back in his chair, fuzzy hands to his barely shadow-visible chin. This wasn’t going to work.

While it for sure granted a slight reprieve from the snowy onslaught on Kasiya, it was a matter of time before the eye cleared and Huracan covered the view of the star and began the second half of the storms. Given how cold and shocked Kasiya already was, if this happened a second time he was fearful of what it could potentially mean or bring.

It was clear as well that the crew was noticing their efforts were for naught, as he could see the desperation appearing in their faces and their actions as their efficiency climbed to unparalleled levels. There had to be an alternative outside of a fleet-ready evacuation of the moon if things turned too far south. He would not permit a loss of the homeworld, at all.

There had to be a way to maybe even break the magnetic hold…or even just redirect it.

I am but a guest here. The words sailed silently into her mind. He could sense her unease, her confusion somehow, worn plainly on her sleeve even without the knowing glances Socorra had shot him. Something seemed …less than on the level here, and he wouldn’t blame her for wanting an elder and a Lord backing her in the moment. I remain at your disposal.

He half smiled, beneath the helmet, where she probably couldn’t see. Yet still, the offer to help stood, and it covered more than just delivering aid or repairs to power substations. He raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze toward his last Herald. She would certainly prefer to provide a more kinetic form of assistance.

<@141239709291511808>

“…we …are? Oh…okie.” She sighed, leaning into the touch on her cheek muzzily. “Good, tha’s…that’d good. We did it. Ori'vor'e jate'kata.”

She’d done her duty as a pilot. Gotten the right people to the right place to accomplish the mission. Hopefully the people of Vista Del Ray could still be saved. It was a chance…

Minnie roused herself, tired but trying to wake up more, looking to Bril’s blue eyes. She was bundled up tight still in so many layers, she gave up immediately on trying to reach for his face too and nudged his hand instead with her chin.

“You okie? I felt? Felt you earlier. S'wasn’t good. Kitty?”

“I-” Evelyn watched Hector leave the ship. She had no emotion display on her face but inside she was confused. Did he not offer to go on Korvis ship with her and wanted to try psychometry abilities to find Korvis?

With a deep sigh, no matter. Maybe the storm had eased enough for her to find him. She made her way out of Hector’s ship and back onto Korvis. With a quick check of the radar, her shoulders dropped in relief. The storm was dying slowly.

Sure enough, she found him. The beacon. It was faint. With a quick look, she memorized the coordinates. While pulling them up, the ramp was closing, and she was turning the ship back on. It roared to life.

This blizzard was much easier to fly in and she was even able to see a bit more clearly. At least the sun was not out.

Snow blindness sucks.

“Korvis, come in.” Evelyn attempted to page him through his commlink.

<@583854106599489557> (whenever you can, no hurry <3)

With a clenched jaw Mikhail finally lowered himself to the floor next to Rue. His face was a grimace as he pulled part of his hood up and across his face, covering his mouth and nose from the stench. “You.. can tell that?” He casts his gaze down both directions of the tunnel, trying to avoid noticing the cursed heat rising from unmentionables.

“This is a sewer, it’s.. part of the city plumbing. Don’t touch any of that” he gestured to the flow. “It will get you horribly sick. We need to be out of here fast, so lead the way.”

💜

“A sewer…it smells of excrement,” Rue commented, actually pausing to sniff slightly more instead of mimicking Mikhail’s covering his face. “But not certain diseases…this is good.”

But heeding the warning, the hybrid edged away from the morass flow, clutching his robe and cloak close. His tail snaked out and wrapped around Mikhail’s wrist, a gentle coil.

“This way, yes…” He closed his eyes a moment, head cocking, then opened them. His tone was full of conviction. “The Goddess wills us that way…and…I believe I hear people below us. Somewhere.”

He started walking deeper in.

The sewers were what one would expect from a sewer. It was filled with sewage and general grossness. The smell was so strong that one could almost taste it. Hence why, it was one of the least-used routes into Tranquility. But it was a route all the same.

A few minutes of wandering would lead Rue and Mikhail to a small, rusted door. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years, but of course, that was intentional. Even someone with a trained eye would have a hard time figuring out that it was, in fact, one of the sturdiest blast doors on the market in disguise. It looked frozen over, maybe it had short circuited? <@160141735354171394>

Rue stalled eventually in front of the door, having to retreat back towards it when the sense he was following started to tug behind them. He stared at the door, then simply reached out with his only hand, trying to pull at it.

His feet slid forward, arm trembling, and he might have fallen over had he not had Mikhail right behind him to brace. <@160141735354171394>

“Evelyn, I copy. I am going to assume you ignored me and still have the Verda'Kyr. I got civilians that need a lift.” He responded. “May take a couple trips. Should be able to land near these coordinates.”

Turning to the people inside the warehouse he took stock of the members. None, looked worse for wear other than a few bruises.

“Women and children,” He yelled out. “You go first.”

“Why I never!” Evelyn exclaimed before there was a small pause.

“Yes and no, sir. I did take her away from this storm. For a few hours. You did not specify how long. However, I do believe I owe you a drink. Or two.” Evelyn quickly added as she went to the coordinates. It was difficult to find a good landing with everything covered with snow. It was hard to disinish from a snow covered tree to a snow covered lamp or just a pile up of snow and ice from the storm. Gently and slowly, she docked nearby them and opened the ramp.

Mikhail Looked down at his hand perplexed for a moment, Rue’s tail was a curiosity certainly but he did not mind. He let the Saint lead him through the pungent sewers, bright eyes open and ready incase another source of heat made itself known.

When they reached the door, the Arkanian gently placed his hand on Rue’s shoulder for support. “Let me.” He offered gently as he moved to grab the door and pull it open himself, letting the mouth covering fall from his face for a second in order to allow the tail to remain.

Blind and deaf to all the events around him, Hector heeded the words of his holocron. For days now he had walked, jetpacked, and trudged through the built up snow. His stomach rumbled in protest but his resolve continued to force him onward. He had not seen buildings for many hours and had now found himself at the base of a snow covered mountain.

“Ascend the mountain.“ The holocron voice whispered in his ear. “It is there that your learning can begin.“

Hector activated his jetpack and began to propel himself upward. A bolt of lightning struck his back, obliterating his jetpack and sending him tumbling down the mountain.

„“No!“ The voice chastised. „“You must ascend the mountain through strength of body and spirit! It is through these exertions that you leave your mind ready to learn and prove you are worthy of the knowledge you seek. Now go and overcome hardship.“

Hector grit his teeth to prevent any potential snarky reply from slipping out. He could always buy a new jetpack but the knowledge he sought could only be found with one source.

The Kiffar activated his lightsaber claws, slamming his right arm blades into the side of the mountain. He began to climb.

The blizzard had changed in frequency and intensity from when he had first arrived. But he could still feel a chill begin to set in. By some miracle the lightning strike had not set fire to his warm weather clothing. But the heater on his belt had been fried by the discharge. His inoculations would keep him from dying. But this would be a far from pleasant trip.

One arm after another, the dark Jedi scaled the mountain. His armored form and extra clothing weighed him down and his exhausted body protested every movement. But the promise of new knowledge; of the ability to aid in the survival of his allies, spurred him onward.

As he climbed the mountain began to shake. Weakened by the sheer strength of the blizzard, the weight of Hector‘s armor was a final straw for part of the mountaintop. It collapsed inwards, sending Hector plummeting down the mountain in a pile of snow. His armor‘s shielding saved his life, shorting out but stopping the fall from causing significant damage.

Hector Von Ricmore stood once again at the bottom of the mountain; exhausted and enraged.

Raaaa! He let lose a yell of frustration. Now was not the time for this. He had chosen to make this journey instead of providing immediate aid. It must not be in vain. The Kiffar reactivated his claws and began to climb again.

One arm after another. One arm after another. It became a mantra. An all consuming thought. Exhaustion had taken hold but hope had not fled his heart. The cold worsened with each minute spent in the tundra wilderness. But still he forced himself onward. His slow but steady progress was interrupted when once again the ground collapsed beneath him. But Hector was ready this time. With a desperate energy he flung himself upwards. He dug his claws into another outcrop, forging a handhold for himself. The sudden weight smashing into the mountain was not without consequence. A boulder of rock and ice came tumbling down. It smashed into Hector‘s shoulder at just the right angle. His armor kept his bones intact but his left shoulder dislocated. The Dark Jedi howled in pain. Pain at the impact. Pain from the injured shoulder now holding a great deal of his body weight.

The Force flowed through him like a soothing balm. Pain is temporary. Knowledge is well, not eternal, but longer lasting. Jaw clenched Hector resumed his climb. It wasn‘t long before he reached the summit of the mountain and forcibly hauled himself over.

He knelt in a meditative position and opened his mind.

Before him floated the holocron, the image of the Kel Dor projected from within.

„“You have done well. Before we begin, allow us to take care of that shoulder of yours.“ The guardian stated.

A green light fell over Hector‘s form. His shoulder slid back into place and ceased to pain him.

„“The rest will be up to you. You have experienced the might and danger of nature. Reach out and immerse yourself in it. Feel the Living Force, how it binds and connects all things. Before you can control a blizzard you must learn to understand clouds. Learn to feel each individual water drop that forms a cloud. Observe its precipitation, the rain, hail and snow it deposits.“

Hector listened to the Kel Dor wisdom as he sat completely still; mind and senses focused on the clouds.

And with a good amount of effort the door creaked and began to slide open for the pair. Someone was definitely going to die for letting this happen. Through the doors was a long staircase going down to yet another door, this one opening with ease into an open space, one that was a whole lot warmer than up above and thankfully didn’t smell of sewage.

(When they decide to go down)

A few people were there and gave the pair some very odd looks but didn’t say anything past that. If they were here then either they were meant to be or sooner rather than later, they’d find themselves in trouble that someone else could deal with. <@244244163002892288>

Cassandra began to move toward the elevator, the Bothan leading the way. She then turned toward another door and tested the waters, a morbid curiosity as to what would occur if she went against the Bothan’s request. That curiosity was answered when two guards raised their blasters directly toward her head with clicks echoing as the safeties were disengaged. She glanced between them and let out a sigh.

“If we didn’t already have other things to deal with…this would be something I would handle.” she remarked as she turned toward the elevator. “I just got word from the fleet, the plan to separate Huracan and Grannus to prevent the second half of the storm beyond the eye we are in has failed. We need to deal with the impending fallout from that first.”

Her attention then turned back toward the Bothan. “After which…you will give me the answers I seek.”

She then made her way to where they came from originally and with a twist of her hand ripped the section of wall that Muz had so graciously put back into place out. “I’m going to the Leviathan to confirm things with the Admiral while the storms are calm. I appreciate the efforts you both have given, and you both have my utmost respect for it.”

<@284848346672136192> <@141239709291511808>

Meanwhile…

The Drake and the rest of the Allegiance ceased its assault on Grannus, with numerous large craters that were now all but lava filled dotting the landscape where its unyielding assault had been focused. The fuzzy white-dressed leader glanced at the display next to him, their final result being only an azimuth displacement of still less than a full degree.

“Admiral, should we recall the Sovereign?” the executive officer asked.

“No. We need the eastern line maintained, and I don’t think even if they joined us that it would make enough of a difference.” he commented back as he crossed his arms and tapped his chin with his paw. “Depending on the Lady Second’s answer, we may need to refocus our efforts toward Kasiya. Unless there is some kind of miracle at this point.”

Muz raised an eyebrow, following the consul as she moved through the wreckage. If it was he who was consul and were treated so casually on his own world, they would have had to add entire chapters to the Yavin Convention. He let out a slow sigh. This was not his show, not his system, not his clan. He was here as a guest, after all. As she turned to face Socorra and him, he dipped his head a degree, returning the mark of respect.

He reached out to her, his mind condensing theories and possibilities, hopes and nightmares into a pearl of enlightenment that he silently gave to her. It unfolded in her mind like the blossoming of a flower, the roots drinking deep in her wishes, those corrupted thoughts that she dared not entertain but for those who relied on her. It sought the sunlight, much as she did, or perhaps it was because she did. It did not matter.

There was a decision to be made. He tilted his head, watching her for her reaction as the words slipped past his teeth, the tone deep and gravelly.

“Do you trust me?”

<@141239709291511808>

She gave a soft smile as she reached out her hand in the exact same way that he had done on the rooftop.

It was almost all but an exact mirror of what had happened there, when the roles were reversed. Would he have to offer up some form of payment perhaps now, or what kind of toll would she in turn require?

💜 With Mikhail managing to open the great door, Rue dipped his head, murmuring a reverent, “Thank you, sir!” before he rushed down with just as much blind benediction as he’d entered the sewers. No thought for danger, no worry for where they were plunging, only the knowledge that someone here somewhere needed aid. He was only stopped from running down into the stone tunnels altogether by Mikhail’s more cautious pace, linked at wrist and tail.

When they emerged into a more open chamber, Rue seemed unsurprised by the presence of people living there. He had, after all, heard them long before. He glanced quickly around, stalling slightly at the looks and spine stooping so that he could bow, deeply, to each individual in turn. Only then did he look back up, his hand gripping his hair frightfully, tail tightening on his friend’s arm.

“Pardon this one, Masters and Mistresses, but is anyone hurt?” he asked into the space. The feeling was stronger now, just the tiniest bit familiar, the Goddess urging him on. They were not far now. But he wasn’t certain they were there yet. Still, these people could also need help after the storm. “This one may help.”

<@301514304845381632>

Nora Olen, her Zeltron senses attuned to the Force, felt a ripple in the energy around her as Draca’s presence entered her sphere. The air shifted, carrying with it the distinct signature of a Jedi, an Arcanist at that. The interplay of dark and light within him resonated with the turmoil of the blizzard outside, creating a dissonance that echoed in the Force.

As Draca descended onto the balcony, Nora emerged from her corner, her emerald eyes locking onto the newcomer. The cold aura of the blizzard seemed to fade momentarily as the two Force-sensitive beings assessed each other. The contrast between their alignments, like the stark opposition of the storm and the opulence of Eastbrook, hung palpably in the air.

Nora, adorned in her Equite Brotherhood Robes, approached with an air of caution and curiosity. The Ring of diPlagia at her finger glowed softly, its crimson hue reflecting the intensity of the dark side that permeated the surroundings.

“Another seeker in the storm,” Nora mused, her melodic voice carrying a mixture of amusement and a hint of challenge. “The Force swirls with chaos, doesn’t it? A symphony of conflicting energies.”

The blizzard howled outside, mirroring the internal tempest that brewed within the Sith Zeltron. Despite the adversarial nature of their affiliations, Nora couldn’t deny the allure of the Force’s dance in such dire circumstances. The line between Jedi and Sith blurred in the face of a common enemy—the merciless storm that sought to claim them all.

“Seeking refuge, Jedi?” Nora inquired, her eyes assessing Draca’s demeanor. “Or perhaps you’re drawn by the echoes of the dark side that resonate in Eastbrook. Either way, we find ourselves in a precarious dance, don’t we?”

The shelter, filled with displaced souls, seemed to hold its breath as the two Force-sensitive beings engaged in a silent exchange. The blizzard’s icy fingers clawed at the mansion’s walls, as if trying to breach the sanctuary that held the convergence of light and dark.

Nora awaited Draca’s response, her gaze unwavering as the storm outside raged on, indifferent to the intricacies of the Force unfolding within the confines of Eastbrook’s mansion.

<@837236610684813342>

Nora’s gaze remained fixed on Draca as he spoke, her emerald eyes assessing the ebb and flow of his intentions through the Force. His words, while seemingly benign, were woven with an underlying current of tension. The contrast in their powers continued to play out like a cosmic ballet, each movement a subtle nuance in the delicate dance between light and dark.

The air in the mansion crackled with the potential for conflict, the dichotomy of their energies threatening to unravel the very fabric of the shelter. Nora’s darkness, fueled by the storm’s chaotic resonance, responded to Draca’s peaceful aura like oil meeting water—clashing, resisting, yet undeniably intertwined.

As Draca mentioned his concern for the well-being of those within the shelter, Nora’s expression remained inscrutable. A cynical smile played upon her lips, betraying a sense of amusement at the Jedi’s apparent naivety.

“Distress, you say?” Nora replied, her voice a melodious cadence that echoed in the tension-filled space. “This storm is distress personified, Jedi. It cares not for the well-being of anyone, and neither do I.”

<@837236610684813342>

Ankira looked up from the commotion that was building as more and more signals came in that the storm had passed.

“Seems like things are finally clearing up,” she said, trying to hide her tired tone in it as she got up. “I wonder how much damage we ended up with… and the amount of losses we suffered,” she followed as a whisper.

Nora observed the subtle shift in the storm’s intensity, acknowledging the temporary respite it provided. The ebb and flow of the Force mirrored the waning tempest, creating a momentary lull in the dance of their conflicting energies.

As Draca spoke, his measured words hung in the air like a calm after the storm. The Jedi’s intentions to aid those within the shelter were clear, and Nora’s amusement transformed into a predatory glint in her emerald eyes. She had goaded him, prodded at the edges of his resolve, and now, the opportunity for a more substantial conflict presented itself.

A sardonic smile played on Nora’s lips as she responded, her voice cutting through the tense air like a dagger. “Help, Jedi? A noble endeavor, no doubt. But do you truly believe you can shield these fragile beings from the chaos that lurks within us all?”

The dark side pulsed within her, responding to the renewed challenge. The Ring of diPlagia on her finger seemed to resonate with the growing tension, casting an ominous glow in the dim light of the shelter.

<@837236610684813342>

It felt like a century had passed. Alaisy had gone from tunnel to tunnel, from hatch to hatch, and up so many ladders. With no idea what floor she was even on Tir'eivra merely followed the light penetrating the rust. Her head began to throb as she came closer. She could hear the wind screaming like a horde of banshees. There was a familiar sensation.

Draca

Metal screeched as she commanded the Force to open the maintenance hatch. Its hinges broke off, the lid crashing into the snow. With a loud clack she dropped out of the piping system. Her visor adjusted to the sudden shift in brightness. Somehow she had expected it to be colder. There was another presence ahead. Once her eyes acclimatized she could see the silhouette of a stately house.

He owed her a lightsaber. She picked up her pace and headed straight for the tension in the web. <@585955949743964170>

With the storm calmed, Cassandra’s assault ship the Lancelot Albion, made its way from the moon to the Allegiance Battle Group that was in high-orbit over Grannus and Huracan. It was a relatively short trip due to its high speed capabilities, and was already docked before the group knew it.

The interior of the Leviathan, the Taldryan Republic’s flagship where they had landed, was purely reminiscent of old imperial-style naval architecture. The walls, the lighting, the double doors, blast doors, everything.

Once they had reached the command deck however, it drastically changed. The floor was a reflective obsidian with angled lighting on the walls between black pillars, very much the style of the First Order. The bridge was another major difference, as they came in to a descending circular style area. Directly in front of them was a projection map with both Huracan and Grannus, stairs to the left and right which lead to the lower pits and ladders adjacent to them that led to an upper pit area which encircled the lower rim of the windows.

“Lady second, welcome.” a voice called from above. Behind, and above them, sat a small creature with only his black boots and white pants visible. It was an outline almost of a bear. The area he sat in had numerous monitors and screens, with even more further behind him in what looked like a tactical-style setup.

“Admiral.” she responded with a nod. “What is the situation?”

His chair turned as he climbed down and made his way to a nearby ladder. He climbed down slowly, revealing the form of an Ewok, in full white garb and an imperial-rank insignia of an Admiral. He glanced between the other two arrivals, giving a Taldryan salute before directing his attention to the projection map.

“Right now, Kasiya is perfectly within the eye of the two planets. The storms should have all but calmed, but once the eye has passed, it will resume once again. Initial estimates put the eye’s timeframe at about two hours.”

Two hours.

Mikhail quickly closed the distance between Rue and himself once he started bowing to the strangers. He raised the hand that still had the tail wrapped around it to set on the taller mans shoulder, gently pulling him towards him. Through gritted teeth, he whispered “Saint, this is not to place for that. These people are not friendly, if you can still sense the wounded I will follow but we cannot stay here.”

As he spoke his other hand gently patted at his side, ensuring the mask of his helmet was in place and ready to be equipped should it be necessary. “They feed on the weak, do not appear so.” he muttered again before lowering his hand, relaxing as much as he could in this situation.

💜 Rue quailed a little into Mikhail’s touch at that commanding whisper, but he didn’t budge, despite crumpling all the lower in posture, so that when his friend’s hand fell, their shoulders were level.

“I–” he seemed torn, eyes darting over the faces. Unfriendly did not matter. That just was. And he was weak. That was truth. Mikhail had struck truer than he knew; Rue’s purpose was to serve. To be fed on. If these people, whomever they were hungered or hurt, he would give it. That was God’s will.

But Mikhail was also his friend. And said he would follow, but could not stay. And there was the wounded. The Goddess’s mission here.

His tail tightened all the more in anxiety. If not for the armor, Mikhail might have felt blood flow constrict.

“I… I–I…this one…they are that way,” Rue whispered back, pointing with his only hand. “Sir s-should save them. This one w-will follow.” His voice raised again, shaking but repeating the call, “I-is anyone h-urt?”

<@301514304845381632>

Rue’s initial behavior certainly confused the beings occupying the space with them. A couple of them stopped the work they were doing on some power cables to look at the pair with suspicious looks. Mikhail looked like he could at least belong, but Rue was far from ordinary. Thankfully for the two trespassers, these were grunts that had been hired on to upkeep Tranquility as a whole and were paid way too much to ask any questions about anything in fear of losing what they had.

However, one of the workers couldn’t help his curiosity and suspicion. “Who the hell…” A smaller woman began, looking the one-armed individual up and down. “People get hurt every day, especially down here.” She couldn’t help but feel awkward and a little put off by his behavior, having never found herself in this sort of situation. “Look, just get out of our way before I have one of these lovely folks force you out of our way. That goes for you too, pipsqueak.” She said to Mikhail, even though she matched him in height. <@160141735354171394>

“And with you, Cora,” and then the call cut and Siv gestured for Zuza to take her communicator back and smiled softly.

“Don’t forget to rest, Zu. Please? I’ll worry about you.”

She realized the absurdity of that comment, standing there covered in blood that was not hers, still shivering and looking pitiful. All the same, the Human needed to be reminded.

With that the Chiss walked off to find her next target to hyperfocus on, else the weight of her situation crash down on her. The target? Jemel, who seemed to be in not so great condition. She settled herself in a sitting position in front of the green-skinned male who was staring off into the middle ground somewhere.

“Jemel? Jemel right? Hey can you hear me?”

<@244244163002892288> <@432543120635461643> <@1056685516441006091>

Nora’s gaze flickered toward the disturbance, her emerald eyes narrowing as she perceived the approaching Sith Nightsister. Alaisy, with her jet-black hair cascading down in a tight ponytail and eyes ablaze in an intense electric blue, carried an air of confidence that resonated with the dark side.

The stately house’s silhouette framed Alaisy’s arrival, and Nora’s lips curled into a subtle smirk. A familiar tension threaded the Force, intertwining with the remnants of the storm’s chaos. Draca’s concern for the shelter’s inhabitants momentarily took a backseat as the arrival of the Sith Nightsister added another layer to the intricate dance of conflicting powers.

The storm outside may have subsided, but within the shelter, a tempest of unseen forces continued to brew, waiting to unleash its fury.

Nora’s voice, a measured cadence cutting through the charged air, addressed the approaching Sith Nightsister. “A new player in this cosmic ballet. What brings you to our stage, Alaisy?”

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

It was not uncommon for her to catch the attention of her potential prey so swiftly. The Zeltron’s bright shade of pinkish red made her stand out like an explosion of berries. It rather conflicted with the woman’s dark aura. Nora’s blue hair only made that contrast greater.

Alaisy’s eyebrows pulled together behind the visor as she peered towards the gleaming, pale Zabrak. With a loud clack she made one step further with her heavy boot. She tossed one-third of her saberstaff’s hilt down, its crystal pried away. “This boy swooped in, interrupted my fight with a Jedi, and cleaved the hilt in three!”

“I am not here for ballet! I am here to collect what I am owed!” Her modulated voice raised, the aristocratic lilt barely distinguishable from the growl. <@837236610684813342>

💜 The hybrid seemed to deflate again at this, and genuinely looked sad about the idea of people being hurt here everyday, if then resigned, accepting of it. He bowed his head again and then bowed deeply to the room at large before shuffling on in the direction he’d indicated to Mikhail without daring to look up.

<@160141735354171394>

“You chose this path Draca!” Alaisy snatched the hilt of her Bilari whip Worship from her waistbelt. “The second time I see you, ready to take on another Sith?”

Tir'eivra’s helmet turned to Nora. “Did this Zabrak stand in your path just as he did between mine?” Her electro-whip bent and warped into multiple discs, into a full-length lash cord with a bloodred glow. “This Jedi is a pretender, with an urge to make his master proud.”

“Why do you people not run and SCREAM!” Her modulated voice became guttural as she invoked panic into their hearts. Her free hand reached out for a Dioxis grenade. Not a fiber in her body cared where they fought. In fact, she meant to use this kind of chaos to her advantage. <@585955949743964170>

Nora observed the escalating tension between Draca and Alaisy with an almost detached amusement. The swirling energies of the dark side intensified as the conflict unfolded, and she found herself drawn into the impending clash like a moth to a flame.

The Zeltron’s pinkish-red aura clashed vividly with her dark demeanor, a visual testament to the conflicting powers at play. Alaisy’s accusation against Draca echoed through the cold air, the atmosphere crackling with the impending storm of violence.

As Draca proposed relocating the confrontation to a cul-de-sac, Nora’s response was swift and cold. “These people?” she scoffed, her voice carrying the weight of indifference. “Their lives are but fleeting moments in the grand tapestry of the Force. Let them witness the true power that courses through our veins.”

With a flicker of her fingers, Nora subtly manipulated the perceptions of those within the shelter. Illusions of safety and peace whispered through the minds of the displaced, masking the impending chaos that lurked just beyond the shelter’s fragile walls.

“As for this Jedi,” she continued, her gaze turning toward Draca, “a pretender indeed. A puppet dancing on the strings of the Force, ignorant of the true nature of power. Let the chaos unfold, and may the strongest emerge victorious.”

<@837236610684813342> <@188018248241905664>

“Mhm, I like this Zeltron, poor decision-making Draca.”

Her tail reacted almost as if it was amused, swinging playfully in wide arcs. Alaisy needed confirmation that Draca was going to engage and this was exactly the answer she was hoping for. A light chuckle could be heard from behind her facemask.

How aggressive.

The grenade that he had flung away was of no concern to her. It did its job as a lure. Now her hand was free again. And there was time. Time to do this right.

She lashed out at the ground with Worship. The buzzing and clanging of the electrified metal plates made an intimidating and satisfying noise. If anything Tir'eivra rarely used whips to inflict damage. They were an effective tool to remain at a safe distance and invoke dominance.

Nora’s talents for creating mirages made it so much easier for Draca to become isolated. Perhaps just what was needed for the tall black-clad Sith to turn this establishment into a haunted mansion for the Zabrakian boy.

Her heels clicked and clacked on the hard floor as she seethed back and forth, almost making it seem as if time slowed down. The hissing from her domed mask decelerated with it. Her gloom-ridden aura swelled as it began predating hope.

The tall Sith was pulling at the Dark Side of the Force, swirling her nailed fingers around in the cauldron of endless nightmares. Her burning hatred was set on the young Zabrak’s mind, twisting and turning all that he feared and pressing it down into his conscience. Like nails being hammered into a board she sent those atrophic coils inward, seeking to inflict lasting trauma.

Then she raised her clawed hand, for all of the shadows to spring to the surface.

“Drown in those sorrows.” Her modulated voice was quieter, a deep whisper. A low, alluring smokiness sang with it like an echo.

<@585955949743964170>

Heavy platforms stomped on the floor, closing in on Draca while darkness seared his mind. Her dark visor stared down at the Zabrak as she pulled Worship behind her back. With a wide arc, she lashed at him with her full might. The whip’s pulse emitter buzzed and crackled as it crashed down upon him.

<@585955949743964170>

“The Vice-Chancellor?” The mention of him froze Alaisy in her tracks. A cheap shot no doubt. If the Chiss was worthy of calling himself a Sith, he would likely delight at seeing his Apprentice going through some of life’s challenges.

“I am here for what I am owed!” Her free hand reached for her crimson crystal, opening a pocket on her waist-belt. “Do you wish to disgrace him?” Tir'eivra’s voice carried a certain pride. A tone Sith often used. Draca would know, ur-Kittat had the same feral, ancient accent to it.

That same hand she’d nudged settled comfortably against her cheek as Bril looked down at her. Like the aftershock of an earthquake, her question conjured memories of his recent visions that shook his mind with their intensity. That beautiful face, radiant like Iridonia’s sun, disappeared when his eyes shut instinctively. And he held them closed until the mental tremors subsided.

“…I’m okay,” he said tentatively, sounding unsure of himself. “Just some very powerful visions from the Force. Mu master, Ruka, was in danger. His presence his in the Force is weak.”

He needed to find him, to offer a helping hand as he and Cora had when Bril relocated to Selen. But Minnie needed him, as well. And as much as he wanted to race to where he could feel his master’s presence, reduced to what felt like a wilting flower in the Force, he knew that his beloved needed him more.

So, he did the only thing he could do, and reached out to Siva in the Force. Touching two fingers to his temple to aid his focus, he closed his eyes again and tapped into the bond he had with the Chiss medic.

Lora. Are you still with Master Ruka? Is he okay? What’s happening?

Once that was done, he returned his attention to his present family.

“The blizzard has cleared. Most of the remaining people have gathered in the city center. We should begin moving in that direction while we can, but not until Minnow is okay to move.”

<@244244163002892288> <@375384499770359819> <@264959101384130560>

The blizzard had cleared. Hector’s pursuit of knowledge had been for naught. Well, at least too late to aid in this endeavor. It was a tad humiliating, but not a feeling that he was unused to these days. The Kiffar held out his hand. Vapor gathered and coalesced into the shape of a small cloud. With his abilities he probably would not have been able to contribute much anyway. But there was always next time.

The Force thrived on conflict, on suffering. It connected all living things and everything that lived came to an end eventually. Whether by the desires of sentients or the destiny of the Cosmic Force; he would be needed eventually. The Dark Jedi ceased his meditation and began the trek back to his ship. Adventure awaited him.

Mikhail followed, first backing out of the room to keep his eyes on the others, then turning to get closer to Rue. He gently placed his hand on Rue’s bicep, then leaned in closer to whisper. “Places like this, hidden away from the general populace, are where people who don’t want to be found go. We have to be careful, only talk to those we need to. But you are doing a good thing. Even should these people disagree.”

💜 The hybrid gave a small whimper, whether to the touch or kind words, it was impossible to tell in the moment. He merely nodded and murmured an assent and apology, accepting the new information and noting it away. His tail snaked out as if to wrap around Mikhail again, but he stopped it with a quick look, redirecting the limb around his own waist.

“This way, sir,” he whispered, mindful of the people hiding down here, and led them on down further to where he knew they needed to go.

<@301514304845381632>

Things had finally quiet down enough to get from her makeshift shelter. She and a few other civilians had hid there to ride out the storm, which now seemed to have died down enough to get to a better spot.

“Stay here, I will go see how bad the situation is. We might not be through all of it yet.”

The man nodded slightly and closed the door tightly again behind her as she looked up to the sky. Something seemed to tug at her unconsciously, it felt like something she felt before when Teebu was around, but this time something else was also at play there. Darker feelings.

She climbed up the building with some small boosts of her boots and closed her eyes once she reached the top to get a better direction of where it was coming from. Once pointed out she started her travel towards it, hoping the storm would lay low long enough for her to reach it to find out what or who it was.

Two hours.

Muz sneered at the thought, watching the admiral explain to Cassandra. Two hours before the havoc would start again, and Taldryan’s people would suffer, along with all of those good-natured enough - or opportunistic enough - to be down on Kasiya. He nodded at her, the plans unfolding as he had foreseen.

The room you had mentioned? It was more of a thought than words, exactly. They flew between them with ease, her mind recalling the plan he had shown. The meditation chamber had an unobstructed view of the dueling planets beyond, and it was bereft of the bustle required of a starship bridge.

He didn’t need silence for his focus, but the others might. He walked with her as she led him to the chamber, the light from the distant stars reflecting on the polished obsidian of the floor. He moved to the center of the room, pausing and watching the space beyond the glass.

A deep breath.

Another.

He knew how this ended. How they got from here to there, well, that was always the question, wasn’t it? He nodded at her as he opened his commlink, sending the message for Leena to bring her. The chance for success that they wanted, that they needed made it so that he would make use of all the help he could get.

Muz removed his warcoat, reaching into the pocket on the inside to produce a small pouch before handing the garment to his Herald. He untied the throng at the top as he made his way from the center to the edge of the meditation chamber. Taking a deep breath, he centered his mind, and began to pour the contents out as he circled the room, a fine trail of particles that seemed to effervesce in the half-light as he began the preparations. Cassandra stepped back, moving to stand next to Socorra, watching his process with rapt attention. They had offered to help, but there was nothing that they could do.

He walked through the steps fastidiously, the lines and circles flowing between the stations, corresponding to the work that was needed. No grain out of place, he paused to wipe a bead of sweat from his brow before it could slide down and disturb it.

“You know, you could have just…” Leena smiled at him as the door slid open next to where Socorra stood. She waggled her fingers for a second before continuing, a smirk on her purple lips. “It would have been so much easier.”

The dark haired woman that came with the Twi'lek shifted her weight, the dramatic flare of her dress punctuating her movement as she crossed her arms. “There are no shortcuts where True Power is concerned.” Her accent was odd, lilting and almost as discordant as it was soothing. She straightened her back, looking at Socorra and Cassandra, then back at Leena expectantly.

“Pardon my manners.” Leena bowed her head a degree. “This is the Praetor Erinos, Socorra. And this is Supreme Chancelor Cassandra of Taldyran.” She paused for a second.

“May I present the Lady Tiamat.”

<@141239709291511808> <@837236610684813342> <@61385159655559168>

Zuza pocketed the communicator and just smiled at Siv’s worry.

“I will later, I’m okay now. You need it more than me.” She’d managed to comment before the Chiss moved off elsewhere. There was temptation to follow but no, she wanted to keep moving. Checking on people. She couldn’t heal them people losing those they knew or their belongings was a common occurence so she kept herself busy. It was easy to find things, to find the people they belonged to. The swell of relief in the Force was thick, even with the knowledge of the damage that had occured, at least as many had survived. This was only a small reprieve before the storm struck again but it was time.

Previously on Elly’s adventures, soon after her innards were seared:

The medic took some time to meticulously separate the melted body glove from the Firrerro’s flesh. Upon first scanning the stranger, Xi had been astounded at her biology, deducing that she couldn’t be human. Based on her teeth and other factors, Xi was able to determine the stranger’s species and started to operate accordingly. Using the Firrero’s healing factor to her advantage, the Mirialan could safely clear the wound of any obstructions and clean it just enough so it was ready for a plethora of bacta patches. Now, all she could do was wait.

–

After more time, Xi heard movement from her bed. She set her datapad down on her side table and moved from the couch back to her patient. “Where’m I?” The large mass of muscle asked, slowly opening her eyes to inspect her surroundings. Her body wanted to panic, trying to tear away the sheets that covered her exposed form, but she found herself too weak and tired to commit to the act just yet.

“You’re safe,” Xi said, her voice calm and soft. The last thing she needed was to be pummeled by the VIgilante of Holmes. “You’re in my apartment. I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re healing now. You’ll be okay.”

“Al-alright…” the Firrerreo said, relaxing back into the bed as best she could. With her healing factor, major wounds only took a few hours to heal up. Mix that with Bacta, and it wouldn’t take too long to get the woman back in working order. As long as she got the proper care of course. After her encounter with Alaisy’s electric personality, she was completely deprived of any energy, her healing factor burning through whatever reserves she had after a night of jumping around like a lunatic. She was ready to fall back to sleep at a moment’s notice. But she couldn’t let that happen. In fact, she refused to let that happen. There was still work to do, people to help. But… maybe five more minutes.

The Mirialan woman walked away from the bed and to her kitchen and fetched a glass, filling it with water for the Firrerreon woman to drink. “My name is Xi, by the way,” she said as she made her way back. She sat down in the chair that she had pulled to the side of the bed an hour prior when she was operating on the woman. “And you are Ellisyn Kendis.” She chuckled at Elly’s dumbfounded reaction. “I’ve read a couple of fluff pieces on your cases.” She explained “You’ve done some good stuff for this town.”

“I’ve done all I can here but we need to get you to a hospital or something. Patches can’t heal whatever happened to your insides.” She explained, finally offering the woman the glass she had grabbed. ©

The lawyer turned vigilante just stared for a moment. She had no idea what to do in a situation like this, especially in her mildly delirious state. She never thought she’d end up without her helmet in front of a complete stranger, let alone covered in bacta patches. She groaned out a sigh and barely pushed herself up the bed into an upright position and accepted the glass “Thank you,” she said, her voice husky and strained.

“Don’t mention it,” Xi said with a small smile on her face. She was just happy to help the woman who had seemingly dedicated herself to fixing Holmes. If only she knew that Ellisyn had given up on the planet and moved away.

—

With the lawyer in no state to be wearing her heavy armor, Xi took it upon herself to carry the load in a duffle bag she kept handy for her own nocturnal hobbies. With her body glove in pieces, Elly found herself in some mismatched outerwear that a few of the Mirialan’s flings had left behind. The pair exited the Mirialan’s small underground home and began their journey to the surface and, hopefully, a hospital where the vigilante could be treated.

They passed through the halls, ducking around corners and keeping to less traveled paths until they ran into a rather peculiar pair. One of which Elly recognized, much to her dismay. She kept silent, hoping she wouldn’t be recognized.

—

And now:

Rue and Mikhail wandered through the halls, guided by Rue’s senses, until they came across a pair of people, a Mirialan and a Firrerreo. The latter looked to be in a rather piss-poor condition. <@160141735354171394> <@244244163002892288>

💜 If Elly was hoping for anything like being ignored, it was certainly dashed. Rue stilled but briefly, golden, eponymous eyes flickering over the rugged, exhausted female giant and the one supporting her. He gave a small gasp, then rushed forward.

The hybrid was only a few feet away when suddenly dropped to his knees, sliding to a stop, seemingly heedless of skinning them against the old, old stone as he all but collapsed into a bow, single palm scraping on the ground.

“Mistresses,” he began, “please. The Goddess sends. This one can heal. Let this one serve.”

<@160141735354171394>

“Come on.” Cole spoke softly, giving Sofila a gentle nudge before getting to his feet. They’d been inside the closet for several minutes, whispers shared between them and emotions tempered but there was plenty to do. It was time to get moving again, as much as he didn’t particularly want to. Cole offered his hand to Sofila, the shivers at least having finally subsided.

<@216702440140046336>

Nora observed the unfolding chaos with an air of detached amusement. The dance of dark side energies played out before her, and she relished in the discord that surrounded them. Draca’s attempt to intervene and maintain control had been met with Alaisy’s calculated retaliation, unleashing fear and pain upon the Zabrak.

As Draca staggered under the weight of Alaisy’s dark assault, Nora’s emerald eyes flickered with a predatory glint. The spectacle of power and suffering was a symphony to her senses, a testament to the potency of the dark side.

She watched as Draca, in a desperate attempt to regain control, hurled his lightsaber toward Alaisy. The Sith Nightsister effortlessly sidestepped the attack, mocking the Jedi’s feeble attempt at retaliation. Nora’s lips curled into a faint smile, her amusement deepening.

Draca’s plea for mercy and a shift in focus away from the innocent civilians struck a chord of cynicism within Nora. The notion of civility in the midst of their dark dance seemed almost comical to her.

“Why, Draca, do you cling to the illusion of moral high ground?” Nora’s voice echoed through the turmoil. “In the realm of the dark side, there is no sanctuary for the innocent. They are but pawns in a game of power, mere collateral in the pursuit of dominance.”

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

Nora’s emerald eyes bore into Draca as he extended an olive branch in the form of understanding and potential help. His words, a mixture of apology and genuine concern, seemed to carve a crack in the icy exterior of the Sith. She observed him with a hint of curiosity, a flicker of something almost akin to introspection.

The Zabrak’s attempt to appeal to her pain struck a chord, though it remained concealed beneath the layers of her stoicism. Nora’s voice, a cold melody in the chaotic storm of their conflict, responded to Draca’s overture.

“Pain is but a tool, Jedi. A means to an end. I have embraced its lessons and wielded them as a weapon. Your empathy, though misguided, is noted.”

She regarded Draca’s outstretched hand with a contemplative gaze. The dark currents of the Force swirled around them, and for a moment, a distant echo of something buried within Nora seemed to resonate.

“Help, you say?” Nora’s response held a cryptic tone, as if the offer bore a weighty significance beyond the immediate conflict.

“The path we walk diverges, Jedi. Your notions of help may be misplaced in the shadowed corridors of the dark side.”

Her gaze lingered on Draca, a subtle undercurrent of conflict within her emerald eyes.

<@837236610684813342> <@188018248241905664>

Mikhail’s eyes widened as he spotted the massive heat signature of the Firrerreo. The familiar shape indeed seemed to have been roughed up, but not in the state that he would have been too worried about. Nor one that he would expect Rue to tear away from him and slide on his knees to a stop. He took a moment to register what Happened before he jutted forward himself, catching up to the man. “Elly! It’s me - Mikhail. What happened? How did you get here?”

He stopped beside Rue and reached down, awkwardly patting at his shoulder as he spoke in a soft voice to the man. “It’s ok Rue, you don’t need to kneel. I am sure Elly will let you help, if you have the energy to.” He didn’t mention it, but if he did pass out, at least Elly would be fully capable of carrying him out of there.

<@301514304845381632>

Circe zoomed through the air, going from roof top to roof top until she neared the location of the Darkness she felt before. It had shifted and coiled and then halted?

“Odd,” she said to herself as she pulled the shadows around her, disappearing from sight, the glowing eyes on her helmet disappearing last.

She snuck closer to the mansion the energies were the strongest.

Alaisy crossed her arms, the cord of the whip dripping down at her side. Her tail twitched as she held herself back, trying hard to let intellect overrule her frustration. She thought of what would benefit her most. The display of might had already occurred, she could leave it at this. To have broken a Jedi’s ego and demanded of them what she needed was satisfying in a way that she had never experienced before.

Cower

Nora was right though, why did Draca feel so morally superior? It was nauseating. But at the same time, Tir'eivra would love to see her enter the fray. Perhaps motivation was required.

Her visor turned back to the beige boy, tapping her boot on the floor. “Your apologies can be met by your master, the Vice Chancellor, Draca.” The Sith’s vibronails scraped against each other as she held her arms crossed. “Tell him that you were taught humility by me, Alaisy Tir'eivra.” Her tone was serious, with no chuckles interrupting her sentence, or emotion tinged in the modulated voice.

“And request a lightsaber of the same, or superior quality to replace the one you had mistakenly destroyed in a fit of misdirected rage.” The black, shining tail had not moved an inch. “Realize this is a great favor, and I promise, in turn, that no innocent lives will be harmed by me.” In her eyes, she had not harmed anyone that she considered guiltless. But she was going to leave the ambiguity with Nora and Draca.

Help us?

She wondered what he was talking about. Pain was a lesson, a way of life. Why did the Zabrak even care? He layered it on thick, almost sparking enough hate for her to re-ignite all over again. Her tail twitched. Alaisy studied the blue-haired woman. Nora’s answers were logical, albeit slightly dissatisfying. Tir'eivra would have wanted to study their battle too. But her cards were played and she was going to need a clear answer.

<@585955949743964170> <@417336769181122562>

Alaisy couldn’t help it. She had to reach into the Force to catch a glimpse of what Draca was going through. A chill ran over her second skin, tightening around her as tension raised within the Zabrak. In a way, she fed from his frustration. The twitch in his mouth was felt, not seen.

There it is

But he recomposed himself like someone who had trained under a Sith would. “Impressive constraints, Draca. There is a fire in you that would make most Dark Jedi cave in with envy.” She inclined her head at him. “Excellent, I look forward to my next meeting with the Vice Chancellor.”

<@585955949743964170> <@417336769181122562>

Circe snuck closer. She knew she was risking getting caught, but she wanted to see, to hear clearly what was said.

Holding tight onto the veil around her she got into viewing distance. There she saw a large black clad woman and a Zabrak and a Zeltron.

‘Guess I just missed the fight,’ she thought silently as she glanced around.

Jemel heard the woman call out to him but didn’t turn his head to look at her. He kept his eyes forward, staring off into what little unoccupied space remained in the densely packed shelter. Caught between the mental fog birthed from recent head trauma and the lingering buzz of Lord Ashen’s ritual, the Clawdite-Falleen had abandoned any desire he felt to do anything. At least he could see his Proconsul from where he sat slumped against the shelter wall; the Mirialan was in good hands, as he’d hoped he would be.

A faint, flickering smile appeared across Jemel’s features as he dwelled on the thought, only to fade shortly thereafter when another thunderous wave of pain shot through his head. That got him moving; two hands instinctively shot up to grip both sides of his cranium, and he doubled over while uttering a hoarse, tortured groan.

Sofila glanced up towards Cole. She didn’t… want to. What if they didn’t want her? What if they hated her? But Cole was right. They had things to do. People to help. With a nod, she grasped his hand and stood up. The Mirialan leaned down and got her helmet. She put it on, she doesn’t want people to see her face. Not right now. They stepped out of the closet and Sofila started to make her way towards the medic area to see if they needed anymore help. She had time to channel to recharge her energies in the closet earlier.

Muz nodded at the consul, then let his eyes dart to the various circles. Wordless instructions flew from his mind, their feet taking them to their spots. The swishing of the door behind them heralded the late addition of two more, one in robes and many questions, and the other in crisp white uniform and an overwhelming sense of duty. Leena snapped to attention, moving the pair toward the circles near the center. She carefully indicated the markings in the ground, their feet moving deliberately to not disturb them. Muz turned to them as Cassandra took their place in the third circle in that series, all arrayed around the Lion’s position.

“There will be pain.” He looked at each of them in turn and paused. The Admiral and the Jedi glanced at the Consul briefly, then returned his blackened gaze, nodding once. Muz cast his eyes downward, his fingers twitching as he began to weave the threads of the Force around them, the finer essences of their Somas.

“Cras un vincum hodie…” He plucked their strings, the resonant frequencies fibrating them to their core as he pulled their strength forward, condensing it, concentrating it into a brilliant fire that burned beneath their flesh. Warmth bloomed from their hearts, the energy seething through them with no place to go, snarling with each consonant he spoke. They grew louder, within their heads, inside their ears, resonating against the walls of the meditation chamber before coming to a crescendo with a single, brutal utterance.

“Ascend”

There was a silence, a momentary stillness of All.

Before the pain.

It screamed across every sense. Their skin burned and itched, crawling with virulent electricity, shocked into the height of power as it bounded across them. It seared their eyes in violent violence, widening their pupils as they began to see colors that they never knew existed. Ears burned hot, the crackle of power against eardrums deafening and mindwracking. Hands went to their faces, raw agony dancing across them, refusing any succor that they could have otherwise managed.

Seconds felt like hours, the torture of every sense being wrenched open to his power as he toyed with their connection to the whole. Each of them wondered in turn if it was some cruel joke, a long game played by the Lord to kill them all in horrific ways and have them volunteer for his vengeance. Soundlessly, they screamed, yet they heard it anyway. He stood there still, unflinching as they writhed. Watching them in silence, their eyes focusing on his stoney expression. Was there mirth in his manner, or did they imagine it? Death would be a relief, a welcome release, a joy held at a distance from them. It evaded them, fingers grazing it as they reached for it, the cold embrace chilling the edges of their awareness.

And then nothing.

Cold breaths fell from parched lips as each gasped, recovering and looking up with eyes burning with power from within. Muz allowed himself a smile as he saw them return to the present, energized and ready for what must come next, black eyes unfocusing. It would be difficult.

“What the Kriff?” Xi asked, stopping both herself and Elly in their tracks as she watched Rue slide forward on his knees. She turned her head to Ellisyn. “Do you know this guy?” she motioned to Rue

Elly opened her mouth to say no, but then she began to recognize the one-armed man’s companion. “Oh, you’ve gotta be…” Elly grumbled. At this point, she shouldn’t be surprised that even more was going wrong, but here Mikhail was, stuck underground with a bunch of criminals and seeing her injured and far far away from where an ordinary lawyer should be. With a pained sigh and slight cough, she looked to Mikhail. “What are you doing down here? You should be in a shelter.” <@244244163002892288> <@160141735354171394>

At Mikhail’s urging, Rue uncurled from his steeped pose somewhat, but didn’t rise. He did look up at the trio, glancing between Mikhail and – Elly? Yes, the woman he had been talking to earlier in the night. The ones that had left the food.

But for all those revelations, there was still his goal. With his heritage hearing, he could detect not just the pain in her sigh but also the wetness lodged in pleural lobes bilaterally in both lungs behind that cough, and other areas of blood pooling in the abdomen, this close. Her heartbeat, he was sure, was overly high, trying to compensate for other things going wrong internally.

“Please, Ma'am,” he addressed Elly again, extending his one hand, palm up, seeking permission. “You are hurt inside. I can help.”

<@301514304845381632> <@160141735354171394>

A soft frown, eyes searching and evaluating the Hybrid in front of her. Altered mental state, nystagus, dialated pupils before the male curled up in a ball clutching at his head. She had been there before– a failed escape from a mark’s house, landing her cracking her head off of a banister on the way out. Dull and sharp all at the same time, throbbing away to the beat of your heart, clouding all thoughts.

“Jemel?” Still no answer. The Chiss hesitated for a second, wanting to ask consent to touch the Clawdite-Falleen, but knowing that he wouldn’t be able to respond even if she did. Chilled blue hands carefully laid themselves on his head, doing her best to be as gentle as she could. She searched for any outside wounds, any splits in the scalp, anything she could help with externally. When she found none, the medic closed her eyes and focused.

Her soul tugged, exhausted, begging for rest. Not again, please no more, it cried, but she wasn’t done here. People still needed her help. Jemel needed her help. She needed to keep her promise to Cora. So she pushed away the pain, the ache in her chest that felt like her heart about to give out. Just a bit more, she just had to last a bit longer till Cora could get here. Then she could rest.

A cool sensation flowed into Jemel’s head, dousing the pain there like an ice pack. Swelling slowly reduced intill there was nothing left to leave Jemel’s neurons screaming under the pressure. It would take a moment for his senses to orient themselves again and for the ringing to stop, but the concussion was cured.

Slowly, but surely did the throbbing pain dissipate from Jemel’s head. That distant glare in his eyes faded, and he lifted his head to regard the woman who had healed him.

“T-Thank you,” he began, offering his hand to grip hers. “What’s your name? And how can I repay you for helping me?”

Sivall’s face brightened as Jemel came to, a smile spreading her lips. No matter how much she messed up, no matter how much she failed, the feeling that rushed through her when she helped someone… it would always remind her where her heart lied.

“Sivall. You can also call me Siv, or Siva, if you’d like.” She stood and grabbed the hybrid’s hand, gently pulling him to a standing position so she could assess his balance and coordination. “And you owe me nothing, it’s just part of the job.”

Jemel rose to his feet and held onto her. He was wobbly, at first, but eventually got his legs under him.

“I beg to differ. Even if this is what you do for a living, I want to show my appreciation, somehow.”

He smiled in kind. “And you’re especially in need of thanks for helping save Mr. Tenbriss Ya-Ir. Thank you, Siva. Truly. Is there anything I can do to assist you at the moment? I’m not trained in medicine, but I do have a working knowledge of the physiology of many species in the galaxy.”

Nora observed the unfolding dynamics between Draca and Alaisy with a measured detachment. The shifting currents of power, pride, and negotiation created an intricate dance in the Force, and she found herself at the center of this enigmatic performance.

The Sith’s emerald eyes focused on Draca as he navigated the delicate balance of negotiation and potential conflict. His words, a combination of humility and determination, echoed in the cold air. Nora’s response, a calculated harmony of agreement and caution, resonated through the tense atmosphere.

“An alliance forged in the crucible of necessity,” she mused, her voice a low murmur cutting through the charged silence. “The Vice Chancellor may find his apprentice’s lessons have transcended the expected boundaries.”

Nora’s gaze shifted to Alaisy, the Sith Nightsister whose motives remained shrouded in layers of complexity. The offer made by Draca seemed to have tempered the immediate threat, but the embers of potential conflict lingered.

“As for you, Tir'eivra,” Nora’s tone carried a subtle challenge, “it seems you have found a novel way to carve your path through the shadows. The dark side weaves intricate webs, and I am curious to see how your threads entwine with destiny.”

Her eyes, a reflection of the storm within, held a glint of intrigue as the trio stood at the precipice of a fragile agreement. The mansion’s walls seemed to absorb the weight of their words, and the blizzard outside whispered of the tempest that awaited beyond the shelter’s fragile confines.

<@188018248241905664> <@837236610684813342>

He squeezed her hand, letting go only to leave the room.

Cole remained close by her side, keeping an eye out for if he was needed but otherwise content to be with her and ensure no one gave Sofila or any of the other medics undue problems.

Dasha was dashing through the tunnels to avoid as much of the cold as possible, though it was definitely warmer than outside. She finally made it to the citadel where she begun having a hard time with frozen doors…

<@351852811883118594>