Fwurg

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana activated her dagger blade again and was ready to kill some Mandalorian soldiers. Ariana dropped to the ground where she rallied what was left of the Union ground forces.

She telepathically contacted the remaining soldiers and started to give them orders. "Our back-up has arrived, rally behind me! Focus fire on the flanks. Attack!"

Ariana charged into the enemy soldiers.Using the speed of Ataru she sliced the arm of the first soldier and jumped onto another soldier and put her teeth in his neck, ripping through his flesh and draining the life out of him. In the meantime she fended of several blaster shots with her light sabers and sliced through another soldier with her regular blade. With her face covered in blood, fueled with rage she cut straight through the enemy lines.

((Check: 13 = 6 Force Level + 5 Energy + 1 Telepathy + 1 Battle Meditation -- Rallying the remaining Union soldiers and coordinating the assault on the Mandalorian forces.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan jumped down from the tree and rushed to aid the Union soldiers.

"Leave it to the Chair Force to be late." He mumbled to himself. Hearing Ariana's telepathic orders, Nathan immediately started to counter them.

"Belay that order! Stay in cover and use suppressive fire unless you want to die!" He shouted with his vocal implant set to maximum.

Seeing how Ariana went on a rampage he made a mental note to report her to the jedi masters. Deflecting blaster bolts with his lightsaber Nathan stayed close to the Union soldiers to protect them.

While fighter squadrons made for good backup against a corvette, it wasn't as effective against foot soldiers. Nathan knew that while he and Ariana evened the odds against the superior numbers and training of the enemy, advancing now would needlessly endanger the Union soldiers' lives.

((Check: 12 = 5 Force Level + 4 Fitness + 2 Athletics + 1 Force Jump -- jumping out the tree))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Both checks approved.

Note that Soresu explicitly contains the Circle of Shelter manoeuvre to protect your allies. That doesn't mean that it is impossible to do without, but I did use common sense to determine that without the manoeuvre you can't defend with 100% accuracy.))

Only moments after the dead Sith's corpse had hit the ground, Ariana landed there as well. Her telepathic orders to rally were clearly received by what little Hiocan and the Sundarian troops were on the ground with her. Immediately after she gave her orders, as the soldiers just started to leave their cover to converge on the Praetorian Jedi's position, Nathan's vocal implants bellowed different orders to the soldiers.

The situation turned grim very quickly.

The sixteen Union soldiers seemingly split up into three groups: a group of 4 following the Praetorian's orders, a group of 5 following Nathan's orders and a group of 7 that was confused by the contradictory orders. Those that followed Ariana's orders converged on her while firing shots, those that followed Nathan's orders stayed in cover and tried to place suppressive fire, and the group that was confused by getting contradictory orders were shot down the moment they hesitated.

The four soldiers with Ariana were unable to keep up with her as she charged into the enemy and started killing Mandalorians with deadly effectiveness, dispatching 8 of the enemy within the first seconds, and showing no sign of stopping. The four became three when they ran for cover behind a few fallen logs, pinned down by enemy fire. The five soldiers still in cover near the professor tried to lay down suppressive fire while Nathan covered them from enemy fire, but even with his jedi instincts he lacked the training to protect them all at the same time perfectly, and one of them was hit by enemy fire while he deflected a shot aimed at the professor.

It seemed that with the soldiers split up neither the group with Ariana, nor the group with Nathan was very effective. Their small number just to small against the much larger number of Mandalorian soldiers. With both groups being reduced by one again, only 7 Union soldiers remained, and of course the professor and the research assistants. On the Mandalorian side, Nathan could easily spot another 20 soldiers, while Ariana had already spotted her next 12 targets...

[Ariana Danacia]

Noticing that Nathan was clearly not aware of the advantage they had created over the enemy soldiers by killing their leader she immediately snapped out of her killing frenzy and was completely calm after just a few seconds.

Ariana immediatly switched to her soresu style and actively started to protect the soldiers that had followed her by deflecting the shots that were fired at them and keeping the mandalorian soldiers at bay. She no longer actively engaged the enemy soldiers at the moment.

While she was doing this she analyzed the situation and looked for weak spots in the enemy formations.

Futhermore she contacted Darones using her long range Telepathy. "Enemy Corvette is jamming signals and landed troops. Crystal is on the ground. Pinned down, order fighters to sweep over enemy ground forces. Requesting backup!"

Finally she turned to Nathan and said using her communication device. "Stop shouting conflicting orders, you are getting us all killed. I have contacted Darones and requested backup."

((Check: 12 = 6 Force Level + 6 Reason -- Looking for weak spots in the enemy formations))

((Check: 12 = 6 Force Level + 5 Energy + 1 Telepathy -- Contacting Darones))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Rank 1 telepathy requires a check. You can't really maintain both Battle Meditation and use Telepathy Rank 1; pick one and check that))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Nathan cursed loudly at Ariana's lack of tactical insight. They where outnumbered and, seeing as the corvette was still above them, outgunned.

Not to mention the fact that rushing an enemy position nearly always resulted in friendly casualties, easily avoidable casualties. Sure he and Ariana wouldn't have to much trouble, but it seemed very likely that if Nathan had let Ariana's orders be the seven soldiers still alive would be dead now.

He would give Ariana a peace of his mind when they where done.

Continuing to defend the soldiers as best he could. Slowly advancing, he slashed through a nearby tree. As the tree started to fall he gave it a firm push with his shoulder. Causing it to fall in the middle of the Mandalorian ranks. Trying to disorient them and catch them off guard.

((Check: 12 = 5 Force Level + 5 Strength + 2 Athletics -- pushing over the falling tree))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

Ariana's short rampage had a visible effect on the enemy forces. They had decided that the few Union soldiers left weren't that much of a threat, and seemed to focus their efforts on bringing down the two Jedi. Of course, this had as much impact on the Jedi as a mouse would have against a rancor.

While Ariana determined the weak spots in the enemy's formation, Nathan hacked away on a big tree. With three slashes and a firm push he dropped the tree on the Mandalorians' center. The sudden falling tree disrupts their formation enough for Ariana to spot an opening that she could use to rush the right flank of the formation, taking advantage of the chaos and her natural flight.

With the falling tree Nathan had created his own opportunity to engage the left flank of the Mandalorians, as they did not seem equipped to handle the sudden change of environment.

((OOC: You two are now capable of dispatching the rest of the enemy soldiers, of which there are 23 in the right flank and 26 in the left flank. Feel free to describe your awesome Jedi combat prowess, make it cool!

EDIT: Fixed 'other right'))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

((OOC: Could you tell us which right is the 'other' right?

edit: Thank you))

[Ariana Danacia]

Noticing that the enemy soldiers were now only focusing their attacks on them, Ariana was confident that no more of their soldiers had to die. She jumped into the air and flew up to height of about 10 meters. She looked around for a rock or tree branch that was movable and large enough to crush at least two soldiers.

Ariana picked up the large rock or tree branch with her telekinesis and tossed it on top of two soldiers on the outer ring of the right flank. Using the Rock and the tree that Nathan pushed down as a kill box, herding the soldiers together.

Ariana switched to a more aggressive stance and picked one of her DH-17 blaster pistols out of her coat pocket. She now wielded her yellow regular blade in her right hand and her blaster pistol in her left handed. Directly after the rock impacted the ground she dived straight for the enemy soldier that is now closest to the impact location of the rock. While diving into the enemy soldiers she starts to fire her blaster pistol at the enemies near the tree. She starts with spraying some suppressing fire with her blaster on automatic.

The first three soldiers fall very quickly with a single light saber strike each due to the fact that they were taking cover. Although Ariana strikes the enemy with quick powerful slashes she is now totally in control. Ariana continues to pick off enemy soldiers by either diving onto them and hitting them with a short blow of her light saber when they fight back or aim for a split second and shoot them with her blaster pistol when they are out of reach or retreating. Due to her Force Speed Ariana only has to deflect a few enemy blaster shots, with her zig zag pattern she is all over the place, giving the enemy no chance to actually lock on her location.

After finishing of the enemy soldiers she returns to the crystal.

((Check: 16 = 6 Force Level + 5 Energy + 2 Telekinesis + 2 Hawk-Bat Swoop + 1 Force Speed -- Tossing a rock on top of at least two soldiers on the right of her flank to herd the enemy soldiers together and use the moment to strike quickly.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

Taking a deep breath Nathan readied his lightsaber. Now that he had an opening in the enemies defence it was time to finish this.

He charged, his sabre flowing like water. Using Kawa no Michi, Nathan hit the enemy ranks like a tidal wave. His long blade slashing through two enemies at once. Seamlessly he moved his sabre to defend himself, before his defence flowed back into offence. An overhead slash cut an enemy in half. A whirling sweep took out a three more. Stretching out his arm, Nathan grabbed a Mandalorian soldier by his head and locked him in a hold. A quick jerk broke his neck and Nathan threw him on another enemy before stabbing through both bodies.

Nathan's lightsaber continued to flow like a river. A seamless transition between cutting, slashing and defending. A spectator might have called the movements pretty, if it weren't for the fact someone died at nearly every move. It was a true dance macabre, but just as his movements where like an angry river, Nathan remained calm as a quiet lake.

Finishing the last of the Mandalorian soldiers on his side, Nathan deactivated his lightsaber and put it back on his belt. He stood there for a moment and looked up at the sky.

"May their Goddesses shine favourably on the end of their Great Journey."

And with that small prayer he returned to the group and the crystal.

((Check: 12 = 5 Force Level + 5 Strength + 2 Athletics -- Breaking an enemies neck))

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Due to the fact that both of you are Jedi, your checks are unnecessary for determining whether you win from a bunch of normal soldiers. That being said, some advice from your ST for next time:
@Ariana: Select the most significant action and check for that, or post two checks.
@Nathan: Athletics has nothing to do with breaking necks.))

With Ariana zig-zagging about at an unnatural speed, and Nathan taking advantage of his training in the traditional Kawa no Michi style, both Jedi expertly dispatched the Mandalorian soldiers without so much as a scratch.

As Nathan looked up he saw, predictably, the corvette's belly instead of the clear sky. As he stood there looking up, he saw the two wings of fighters do another fly-by to attack the corvette.

Ariana arrived at the crystal slightly earlier. Only moments after Nathan arrived, they heard the explosion of the first fighter. Unfortunately the fighter wings didn't carry enough fire power to do much more than harass the corvette and target weapons systems. On the other hand, if the fighters weren't here to distract the gunners of the corvette, they would be shooting at the Jedi right now; this distraction might be just the right thing to get out from under the corvette!

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana quickly checked the engine that they hard rigged to the crystal for any damage. She also tried to boot up the normal engine and checked the gyrostabilizers. When she was ready she hopped on the crystal again and started to move in the direction of the transport ships. "We should get out of here before they land more troops or get reinforcements."

Ariana started moving with the crystal again and moved towards the landing zone where the transport ships should be waiting.

((Check: 14 = 6 Force Level + 6 Reason + 2 Mechanical Engineer -- Checking the engine on the crystal for damage. Trying to use the transport harness if they are far enough out of the distortion field.))

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

As Nathan returned he saw the fighter explode. It took him a lot to keep calm and think straight.

"Alright everyone lets not sit here and wait for that corvette to find out we just killed all their guys down here! Everyone help moving that blasted crystal!"

He shouted as he started pushing the crystal.

((Check: 12 = 5 Force Level + 5 Strength + 2 Athletics -- Pushing the crystal.))

He decided it couldn't hurt to try the team in space again.

"Asillion to Space team. We need that corvette gone now or you won't have anything left to save."

[Ariana Danacia]

Went they got out underneath the Corvette Ariana contacted the Misty Voyage. "Misty Voyage, we are on our way with the crystal. Be advised we might be coming in hot."

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Both checks approved))

With combined efforts, the Jedi and the remaining soldiers started moving the crystal. As they moved, Nathan discovered that the fighters must have disabled the jamming equipment of the corvette, as he did not receive any static when transmitting the message.

"This is the Eclipse. We have received your message, Jedi Asillion. It is good to you are still alive. Jedis Fecta Trigiel and Rei are en route to engage the corvette.", the captain sounded relieved.

The moment the group was out of the shadow of the corvette they were soaked with rain again. The reply from the misty voyage was clear as well: "This is the captain of the Misty Voyage, acknowledged on the hot arrival. The Parable Defence is enroute to take up cover position between you and the corvette. We are ready for take off as soon as the package is aboard."

At their current speed, the Jedi only had to move another half hour through the swamp and they would've made it to the landing zone. While moving, Nathan spotted two lone Teprogrenaian bombers descending into the atmosphere and hurriedly changing course towards the corvette.

((OOC: The jedi from the space team will be joining the ground thread after this post!))

[Fecta Trigiel]

While he approached the Corvette, Trigiel tilted his bomber to get a better look on the ground situation. This should allow him to get a better idea of the overall position of the corvette and the forces on the ground. "This is fundibal 2 leader inbound to assist. It's time to bring this baby down.

Darones, let's try not to bring it right down on the others, I'll take the shields down, and will then aim for the far stabilizers."

First it was time to dispatch the shields: Trigiel locked on the shield generator of the corvette. It was a good thing he studied the Mandalorian ships a last time while they were on the way, otherwise he would have never knew were to aim. His heavy missiles locked-on and the padawan delivered his first pay-load.

Then Trigiel made a full looping with his bomber for a second run. He aimed with his bomber for the stabilizers on the far side of the corvette. Once he had a lock-on, he delivered the second pay-load. This should bring the corvette out of balance making it slowly fall out of the sky to the side with no stabilizer, away from the ground forces.

[Ariana Danacia]

Ariana kept the crystal moving.

With the fighters keeping the corvette busy and two bombers coming to take it down she was confident that this corvette would not cause any more trouble for them.

"We are on our way to the transport and are 30 minutes out."

[Darones Rei]

"Acknowledged, I'll focus my attention on the weapon-platforms, or I might even try to take a shot at the hangarbay or the bridge." Trigiel was right, there was no rush in taking the corvette out, not while it could still put the ground team at risk.

As Trigiel started his dive for the shieldgenerator, Darones circled around one more time, before he went in as well. His first targets would be any visible weaponry that was aimed or could be aimed at the ground team. With the fighters keeping them busy, Darones could easily pick them out as he lined up his bomber for his run, delivering his payload with precision.

He then circled around as Trigiel targetted the stabilizers and came back in for a second run at the ship's weaponry, taking out as many as he could. Leaving the hangar bay, though a tempting target with her open doors, for now, as it would probably cause too much damage to the ship and bring it down on the away team.

[Storyteller (Brend)]

((OOC: Dragonmaster352 announced that they would be away in the coming week, but that they would try to post if possible. I'm assuming that Nathan will go with the ground troop towards the transports, and see if we get a post.))

As the ground team hurriedly made their way out from under the corvette's shadow and into the rain, they heard the sounds of bombardment coming from the corvette. As they looked back, they saw two bombers flying crazy stunts around the corvette, dodging point defence fire as if it wasn't even a threat.

The first few bombs the padawan dropped onto the corvette seemed to do little, as they worked on depleting the shield buffers of the vessel. Once those were done for, Trigiel's excellent aim made short work of any possible shield regeneration. At the same time, Darones was rapidly going through all mounted turrets on the belly of the ship. Together, the repeated missile salvos from the two padawan were too much for the corvette to take, even with Darones holding back.

After five minutes of bombardment the side stabilizers of the corvette gave out with a loud explosion, and she slowly started to bank. The corvette tried to get out of the situation by firing up their main thrusters. But as more systems gave out, the planet's gravity got a hold of the ship and started dragging it to the surface in an almost controlled way. The Mandalorian corvette crashed into the swamp nose-first, and soon, the while vessel had disappeared from the ground team's view just before they felt the ground shake.

From the sky, Darones and Trigiel could see the vessel slowly sinking into the swamp as trees were displaced, and the weak ground gave way to the enormous ship. Eventually though, the ship stopped sinking. This provided the Jedi with the perfect opportunity to drop a few missiles to trigger a cascading explosion, or they could leave the corvette be and let the Hiocan military handle it.

The ground team had made good distance during the battle, and they had only fifteen more minutes to go to get to the LZ. As they moved through the swamp, the Parable Defence flew overhead. The Veolian vessel positioned itself over the ground team as if protecting the ground team as a shield, in this case though, it functioned more like a enormous umbrella.

[Ariana Danacia]

WIth the fighters covering the space above them and the bombers destroying the corvette they had a clear path to get the crystal to the L.Z.

Ariana continued to move the crystal to the transport ships and loaded it on the transport as soon as they got there.

[Fecta Trigiel]

"Ground team, the corvette is down, I let the rest up to you. I'll let the Hiocan military handle the Corvette, who knows what they get out of it.

As long I don't hear word from space, I will stay here and fly escort."

[Darones Rei]

With the corvette down, it was no longer a threat to the ground team. Just like Trigiel, Darones didn't feel like playing mop up crew, he would leave that to the Hiocan Military. So instead he peeled off and joined Trigiel in escorting the away team.

[Nathan Miodrass Asillion]

"Thanks for the help. A little later and that thing would have ripped us a new one." Nathan said over the comm.

"Let's double time it people! I've had just about enough of this damned swamp." He shouted the orders and quickened his pas.

[Storyteller (Brend)]

With the Mandalorian sith defeated, and their corvette shot out of the sky, the ground team quickly made their way to the transport. From there, it took a moment to get clearance from the Hiocan military for a safe takeoff, but within minutes, the transport carrying the crystal and the Jedi was speeding out of the atmosphere, and towards the Union vessels holding open the corridor.

Flanking the two transports were the Jedi in bombers, and the remnants of the fighter wings that battled the corvette.

((OOC: The final scenes will be posted in the [ Hyperspace ] Transport of Masuk' faik-khush from Erau thread.))