Fandom The Forsaken Renegades (SW TCW): CLOSED

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Anakin Skywalker | Surface of Er'Kit | Tagging: No one, mention of Amras and Padmé

Anakin surveyed the empty room and cursed himself. He had come too late.

There were definitely two presences in this very room seconds ago. One was obviously Padmé, and the other belonged to a stranger. And that other presence felt like something was off, or hidden... Bottom line, there had definitely been two people here a minute ago. And now they were gone. Two cold drinks still dripped with condensation, and Anakin recognized one of Padmé's cloaks hanging on the door.

Before too many paranoid ideas could form in his head, a roar from an engine sounded outside: a ship had taken off. Anakin managed to dash outside and throw a tracker on it, but it disappeared just a few seconds later. Had whoever was on that ship seen Anakin? In his rage at the idea of his wife being possibly kidnapped, he hoped the pilot had seen him, so that there could at least be an honest fight. Whoever had the nerve to so much as lay a finger on Padmé deserved to be taken down.

After the ship disappeared from sight, Anakin realized he had no way of following the ship. But after studying the coordinates his tracker was picking up, he realized the ship wasn't actually leaving the planet. With a shrug, he took off running towards the nearest town, hoping to catch a speeder. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and everyone else needed to stay focused on the battle. They couldn't afford to send one person out to pick him up.

Shona Aa'ri | Surface of Er'Kit | Tagging: Rika, Tralissk

Shona was getting more and more stressed by the minute, as the places to hide seemed to be running short. Every time she found a corner in an alley to lead the other Renegades to, it seemed like there was a battle droid already there. At least they were far away from that skirmish off in the distance between the Jedi and the Separatists. Shona and her small band were too small to survive against either of these groups, and she couldn't let Amras down by losing anyone. His trust in her was a gift not easily earned, and she did not take it lightly.

Finally, she found an abandoned building which seemed to have an empty cellar. "Get in here," she instructed the others, "and help me barricade the exit so that none of those Separatist droids can get inside. We'll try to wait this out till the fight is over."

Just A Daydreamer PhantomDog

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

(I have to go to work so posting one character at a time in case I don't have time to finish them all -- probably won't)

Amras Von | Renegade Leader |Er'kit | Tagging: Padme

Somehow, Amras had thought the Senator would put up more of a fight but once she realized that there was no escape, she didn't resist. It puzzled him at first but then he glanced over and could see her eyes darting around, alert and consistently aware of her surroundings and he realized she hadn't really surrendered at all. She appeared to just be waiting for something. He had observed the arrival of the Republic and the Separatists before he had reached her and assumed she must have realized that they were here as well, and no doubt she realized that her odds were better with either of those two groups than they were with the Renegades. Amras did his best not to harm the innocents of this war and saved as many as he could that had felt the backlash of this fight, but he didn't consider any of the ones involved with either side to be innocent at all. Those people usually suffered a rather unfortunate end if he got his hands on them, but only after they had fed him as much information as he could glean from them. Perhaps he would have to make an exception in this case and kill her more swiftly. Things hadn't gone quite as smoothly as he would have liked.

It was for this reason that he chose to take Padme away instead of simply interrogating her there. The fight, or at least most of it, would stay in the boundaries of the village and he wasn't too worried about any stragglers that might be sent to chase him down. It was being caught in the middle of a large fight with the Senator in his grasp that he mostly wanted to avoid.

Neither of them spoke for a while as Amras flew the ship over the barren land, but it was Padme who finally spoke first. "You won't win," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. He commended her silently on her bravery in such a predicament. Most he captured were squalling and begging by now. Amras hated when they did that. "The Republic will stop you and your terrorist group will fall."

Amras didn't respond to that but said instead, "You have something I want a great deal. Give it to me and I'll spare your life."

"No, you won't. I know your kind."

He paused and then shrugged. "Perhaps not, then. But I'll do you the favor of making it painless."

"I'm flattered."

They continued in silence again for the remainder of the trip until Amras finally landed the ship at the edge of the cliff and turned to face her. She sat stiffly in the chair he had put her in, her hands tied well behind her. "If you won't make this easy..."

She remained silent.

With a sigh, Amras pulled her up and half dragged her to the back of the ship. He would get what he wanted. The sound of her screams were met with nothing but silence, and in time she, too, fell silent and Amras emerged from the room victorious and stashed his prize away in a secret compartment in the ship. That was all he had needed from her. It was time to kill the Senator and head back to pick up the Renegades. He'd hated to leave them there in that battle but these plans were of the utmost importance and he trusted Shona to carry them through it, and he trusted the Renegades to do what they had signed up to do. Fight.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Rika Ellan | Renegade | Er'Kit | Tagging: Shona, Tralissk

Things were frankly not going to well. First of all, Rika really wanted to get out there and blast some droids into the ground. The Pantoran loved nothing more than a good fight and never liked being held back from one, even if the odds were highly against them. Secondly, the odds were highly against them. In case that hadn't already been mentioned. Basically, they were screwed because no matter how good of fighters they were, there were only a few of them since this was supposed to be a recruitment mission mostly and there were a whole lot of the droids. Not to mention...

The noise of something crashing drowned out the word Rika said when she realized the Clones and the Droids were starting to really get into it, and there were two Jedi to boot. Which she only found out because she was peeking out of the exit exactly as she wasn't supposed to do but damn, if she couldn't join the fight than she was bloody well going to watch it if she could. Shona had noticed the Jedi before but Rika only just now saw them -- or rather the gleam of their lightsabers as they cut their way through the never-ending sea of battle droids. Mournfully, Rika patted the blasters at her sides and heaved a sigh, glancing behind her at the other Renegades.

"This sucks," she said. Maybe they could pretend they were simple mercenaries and not Renegades... but that likely wouldn't do them much good anyway since the mercs who had joined the fight and started blasting everyone in sight were dying in droves and starting to run, and the Republic and the Separatists pressed on. "We're so bloody outnumbered. Although..." she squinted through the barrier. It was hard to see much of anything. "Doesn't look like the Republic has a whole lot going for them, either. I'd place my bet on the Separatists for su-- bloody hell!" Rika launched backward as the head of an unfortunate merc came rolling to a stop right next to the barricade. Finally admitting defeat, Rika sat down on an old crate and sulked. She had no idea that she wasn't the only one talking about how badly outnumbered they were....

----

Ahsoka Tano | Jedi Padawan | Er'Kit | Tagging: Obi-Wan

'We're badly outnumbered!"

The Togruta yelled over the noise of the battle and deflected another blaster bolt, wincing slightly as the Clone directly next to her fell dead without a sound, no time even to cry out. He was one of the lucky ones but Ahsoka still hated to see any of her men die. Scowling, she threw herself into the battle with vigor only to be pushed back a minute later, barely able to hold her ground. She was beyond grateful to have Obi-Wan with her right now but wishing Anakin was here. Of course, she understood why he had to go, but the loss of a single Jedi or even a single Clone when they were this outnumbered was devastating. They were going to have to fall back but they couldn't leave without Anakin and Padme and she had no idea where any of them were.

Yep. As usual, nothing went according to plan. This was definitely looking grim. Decapitating a droid, Ahsoka spared a moment to glance in Obi-Wan's direction. "Any bright ideas before we, ya know, die?"

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Heiss Unduli | Separatist Senator | Coruscant Senate Building | Tagging: Senators whose names I forgot

He was understandably nervous about all this. Not only was it like walking into a den of Rancors to come back here, he had no way of being 100% certain his information was even correct. But it was the closest he had gotten to the Renegades in a long time and he had taken the risk, hoping that he might hit a stroke of luck and that they would actually be there. Heiss also had no way of knowing that he had not only been correct on his information but he was about to blamed for an attack that he hadn't even known about. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.

But for now, he was very unaware of all of this and had opened his door to the Republic senators. This was a very important meeting. While his end goal was to be able to end the war between the two sides and negotiate some sort of peace permanently, for now, he was hoping just for them to be able to find some sort of common ground long enough to take care of this Renegade problem. If they could work together on that, then what's to say they couldn't work together on more? One step at a time. Heiss did know he was taking on a near-impossible task but it mattered little if there was even the slightest chance for peace, and that was why it was important for them to be able to save Senator Amidala should she really be in danger. He felt she would be ikely to try and work with him.

 

[PhantomDog]

Tralissk | Renegade | Er'kit | Tagging: Shona, Rika

After barricading the cellar, Tralissk leaned back against a wall and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He held his rifle in a resting postion for now, but remained ready to raise it at a moment's notice should anything happen. The sounds of the ensuing battle outside could clearly be heard, along with horrified screams from various victims as they fell, but none of it fazed him. He's heard plenty worse before. This was like calming white-noise for him. However, he could tell that his compatriots weren't as at peace with the situation, going the way it was. True, the day may not have gone according to plan, but for now they were safe and out of immediate danger. Their time would come to fight eventually, and Amras would return for them soon. It's just a matter of waiting it out.

Tralissk watched as Rika paced around, constantly checking the door and complaining. Being impatient wasn't going to help her as long as they were holed up in here, but he could understand her frustration. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue for a moment in irritation at watching her. She finally sat down. Glancing over at Shona, he sensed she seemed to be in thought about something troubling. Not surprising, considering their circumstances and Amras' absence. He trusted them enough, but even they could only do so much.

He thought back to similar situations in the past, back when he still collected bounties and hunted for sport. Rushing in to a hunt recklessly could have meant the difference between success and failure. Sometimes you have to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Of course he would love to be out there fighting too, perhaps even scoring a kill on one of those Jedi, but this was not the time to do so. He would have his chance.

Adjusting his grip on his rifle, Tralissk looked towards the entrance, listening intently. He would be ready for anything, no matter what.

 

[PhantomDog]

General Grievous | Supreme Commander of Separatist Droid Armies | Er’kit | Tagging: No one

As the holotable flickered with live footage of the attacks in the village, Grievous looked on in pleasure at the chaos. His trap was going much better than expected, and although he hadn't located the Senator's whereabouts yet, it would seem as though he had caught the Jedi completely off guard. It was no surprise to him that the Republic would send backup to protect their senator, much less the Jedi, but he was pleased it appeared that they had not been prepared for a full-fronted assault.

"General?"

He turned his head to stare at the emotionless face of a battle droid standing behind him. "What is it?" He growled. The droid hesitated as it glanced down at a datapad. "Well?" Grievous was not one to be kept waiting, and he had little enough patience as it was for these pathetic droids.

Looking up from the device and straightening itself, it continued. "Our sensors are indicating that an unmarked ship has just taken off from Sector 4, but it hasn't left the planet's atmosphere yet. We're currently tracking it headed northeast from here.”

This could be it. This could be the ship he was looking for that would contain the Senator and those plans he was sent to retrieve. He could send out his most skilled droids to bring it down and incapacitate its passengers, and he would victoriously recover those important plans. And kill the Senator, just to make a point. However, if this was just a basic civilian ship and not what he wanted, sending his troops to secure it could give the Senator time to escape, and then he would have failed his mission, unless he could overtake them elsewhere. No, better to play it safe for now. "Track the ship on long-range sensors for now, and watch for any other activity." The droid shifted back and forth, as if it had more to say. "What else have you to report?"

"It appears that the Jedi are beginning to fall back further into the town. Should we pursue?"

"Yes–" Grievous turned back to the holotable and pressed a button on the side panel with a bony mechanical finger, and watched as the live feed dissolved, giving way to a map of the surrounding area that took its place. Tiny red dots moved around in the town, represenative pawns of the Jedi and of his forces driving them back. He analyzed the conflict for a moment before deciding upon a strategy. "–Send troops to blockade the western and northern boundaries of the village and surround them. Give them no place to hide. You are to contact me for further instructions when you have captured the Jedi." He fell into thought, musing about what he would do to the Jedi scum once he had them in his grasp, and at the commendation he might finally receive from Count Dooku if he managed to capture the Republic Senator and recover the stolen plans for this superior weapon the Separatists planned to build that would dominate the galaxy. He knew this was a huge task that the Count had assigned him to, one that could severely injure his reputation with him should he fail. Just the very thought of it made his anger levels rise, knowing what the Count would say to him.

Unable to control his rage at the thought of failure, Grievous slammed a clenched fist down on the holotable, causing the projected image to flicker. A sudden noise behind him made him turn around, only to see the droid still standing there, unsure of what to do. "What are you still standing there for?! Go!" He swung his arm towards the droid to hit it, but it moved away fast enough. "Roger, roger!"

Taking a moment to cough, he glared down at the tiny projections of Jedi as they fought outside, unable to push past his endless droid armies. Perhaps this will be a day of great victory for him. He swiped at the Jedi on the table with his hand, as if to snatch them in his grasp. "Beware, Jedi, for this day will be your last, and I will burn it to the ground if necessary. Ahahahahaha!!!!"


— — — — —


Obi-Wan Kenobi | Jedi Master & General | Er’kit | Tagging: Ahsoka

Someone must have known they were coming.

He glanced around quickly to find any form of cover they could hide behind, even for a moment, just to regroup and strategize, but it was hard to tell amidst the continuous array of blaster bolts coming at him. He'd lost track of how long they'd been pinned here, and he wasn't sure how much longer his men, Ahsoka and he could hold out. These droids just kept on coming, wave after wave, relentlessly and steadily pursuing them. Already at a disadvantage of being far outnumbered, let alone without Anakin here to come up with his creative plans, Obi-Wan simply hoped he was having better luck finding Senator Amidala than they were.

For every step they took back, the enemy pressed forward with two. He couldn't let his guard down for a second, not with all these droids shooting at him. His arms kept moving at a constant rate to keep up with deflecting the blaster bolts with his lightsaber, cutting down any droids who got too close. Unfortunately, the clones serving beside him weren't as lucky. He noticed as one went down beside Ahsoka, and eventually two more fell with a short cry. This was not going well at all. He had to think of a plan- and fast- before they were all killed.

In order to slow the droids' advancement, Obi-Wan focused on the Force to pick up some wooden crates stacked against the side of a building and pushed the current wall of droids back, knocking them over. It didn't stop the next wave behind it from walking over their comrades and marching forward, blasters full blaze, but it at least bought them a couple seconds. He glanced down an alley behind him a little ways and saw it was clear of droids, for the moment at least. He felt through the Force for any hidden danger, but didn't have enough time to get a full sense of it as more droids were approaching. He would have to take a chance with it and hope some good could come out of this.

"Down here!" He yelled as he quickly backed up to the corner while deflecting. "Ahsoka, tell the men to fall back! We're going to use this alley as cover for now!"

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Eletha Rosach | Representative of Chandrila | Coruscant Senate District | Tagging: Senators Kal Mariii, Heiss Unduli

Eletha held her head high as she entered the office of Senator Heiss Unduli, hoping to disguise the nervousness she felt. One could say that this was one of her first solo meetings without her mentor, Senator Mon Mothma. Even though Eletha did hold the elected position of Representative on her home planet, up till now she had felt like a student or an intern, closely following and watching the actions of her mentor. And there was nothing wrong with that. She loved learning and was more than happy to glean what wisdom she could from Mon's experiences. And now, while she appreciated the independence and responsibility of being on her own, it was intimidating to have to handle a potentially delicate situation. At least Senator Kal Mariii of Mon Calamari was here, and he had many more years of experience than Eletha did.

"Good afternoon, Senator Unduli," she greeted the Mirialan, curtsying respectfully. "Thank you for inviting us here. I'm curious what you know about this 'Renegades' group you've spoken of."

It astounded her how many people didn't even offer him basic politeness simply because he was a Separatist. She strongly disagreed with his position, but that didn't mean she didn't want to hear him out. He was on a side that wanted to secede from the Republic- but what if the loyalist side was actually willing to hear what he had to say? Perhaps the Republic could be improved, made stronger, that way. Hopefully Senator Mariii would share her sentiments. Straightening, Eletha waited for him to take the lead.

Shona Aa'ri | Forsaken Renegades Coleader |Village of Aganar, Er'Kit | Tagging: Tralissk, Rika

Shona, like Rika, was tempted to stay as close to the barricade as possible so as to keep an eye on the fight. While she didn't get as recklessly close as the other woman did, she did manage to catch a few glimpses of what was going on. And it wasn't looking good. The Separatists were starting to swarm everywhere like a disrupted colony of ants, and she couldn't even see the two Jedi anymore. Shona didn't care if the Separatists killed them, but she did care in the sense that she wanted the army to stay occupied with their Jedi prize. Away from the village.

A loud banging sound, coming from the barricade, startled her out of her thoughts. Furious- and full of dread- at the thought of their hideout being compromised, she cocked her rifle and instructed the others to do the same.

"Open up in there!" a slurred voice yelled from the outside. "Have s'mercy on a poor innocent soul, would ye?"

Shona huffed in frustration. That was no battle droid; it was just some bum from the streets outside. She decided to ignore the voice, not about to compromise the structure just to let in a random sap from the town. But after a few minutes, the banging increased and a few more voices joined the first fellow. And even worse, some of the crates and scraps of metal started to fall down. Shona anxiously glanced around, but saw that there was no other exit.

I can't let Amras down... betray his trust...

"This thing isn't going to hold up," she told Rika and Tralissk. "We don't know how many of them are out there, but let's catch them at their own game. Only shoot if you have to. Don't try to start a fight." But she realized that for certain people here, that might be a tall order.

As she started to kick down the barricade, the voices outside became clearer.

"-I hear Snud's got his stash of Pirate Brew down there!"

"-You better be right! Looks like somebody beat us to it!"

"-Boy, I sure could use some right now, I hear it's strong enough to knock out a Jedi."

"-Shaddup, Bork!"

Shona cursed under her breath. Their safety was being compromised for a stash of liquor?

When they finally burst out from the cellar, a small group of mercenaries (or possibly harmless bums) was there to greet them, and some other groups were brawling in the streets. But most concerning was the fact that a group of battle droids was starting to come through the area. In fact, they seemed to be coming through all the areas.

Anakin Skywalker | Jedi Knight | A few kilometers outside Aganar | Tagging: Amras, Padmé

If Anakin had been paying closer attention, he would have sensed something very strange about that "Balian Curth" person. But he wasn't.

He was completely distracted by that one type of disturbance that troubled him most: Padmé being afraid, and in pain. And this wasn't the first time Anakin had sensed that; he hated that he even knew how to recognize this type of disturbance. Padmé was a diplomat, a peacemaker- she was never meant to experience the horrors that this war brought to the galaxy. If he had only arrived a few minutes sooner, maybe this could have been prevented...

But at least he arrived at all. He had found a cheap and reliable speeder in the town (though it had some strange-looking stains on it), and whoever was on the ship didn't seem to realize that they were being tracked. Anakin soon arrived at the small, abandoned-looking outpost a few kilometers outside of town, and that ship was still there. And the disturbance in the Force was strong.

It was easy enough to follow the disturbance into the outpost, and there were no battle droids or guards or anything like that. No security cameras either. Just an abandoned, dusty base... which should have been a relief to not encounter enemies right away, but Anakin found it unsettling. Usually, these petty politician types hid behind entire armies and security forces. Something was definitely wrong here.

And in a small, dark room he discovered Padmé. Whoever had done this to her was not kind at all.

He tried to speak soothing words to her as he freed her. "Padmé, it will be all right, I'm here. Hold still so I can cut these binders... that's it... let's get out of here, shall we?"

It was an immense relief to have her back, and getting her out safely was more important to him than pounding the scummy person who did this. But still, he wanted a fight, and he wanted answers.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Padme Amidala | Senator | Er'kit - Amras's ship | Tagging: Anakin | Mentions: Amras Von

---

She felt horrible.

Honestly, Padme couldn't have even remembered everything it was that had just happened to her because after a while the pain had begun to blur together, regardless of what he was doing, and before long she couldn't even place up from down or left from right. And she couldn't quite remember at what point she had broken and told him what he wanted to know. It had almost felt like he was messing with her mind but honestly, she didn't even have the willpower just then to be angry at herself for breaking, or to ponder over the hows and whys. The only thing filling her mind just then was Anakin. His face, his voice, his touch... the thought of him both frustrated and reassured her. The memory of him always helped but the realization that he wasn't there just made her want to scream. And she needed him. Though ever determined and resourceful, Padme finally -- albeit reluctantly -- admitted to herself that there wasn't any way she was going to get away from that monster on her own. Not this time.

It wasn't because she was frail of mind. In fact, she had been far more resilient than most, and stubborn to boot, but she couldn't fight against him when he forcefully strapped her down and she couldn't fight the intense waves of pain when he injected her with who-knows-what, and she was far too weak now to escape the bonds on her own. She couldn't even move her head with any measure of control and flopping it this way and that to try and see through blurry vision was just exhausting and pointless. And so, closing her eyes, Padme just waited for him to come and finish her off and thought of Anakin. The man with the gleaming red eyes would kill her, she knew. There had been no mercy or remorse in his eyes when he had tortured her.

She heard Anakin's voice. Now she must be hallucinating. But the next thing she knew, her hands were free and a familiar pair of strong arms were around her and she could have sobbed had she had the strength. Of course, she should have trusted him. Was he not always there when she needed him?

"Anakin..." she murmured, her voice hoarse, and she couldn't say anything else. But somehow she knew he'd understand what she was feeling.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Anakin Skywalker | Jedi Knight | Amras' ship | Tagging: Padmé

He did understand, all too well.

The weakness, the pain, in her voice broke his heart. His own experiences in this war combined with his close connection to Padmé through the Force made him recall vividly what it felt like to be in her place. The burning sensation shooting through every nerve. The world spinning around at dizzy speeds and everything turning into a blur. Anakin was familiar with torture. This was one thing he wished he and Padmé did not have in common.

After Anakin untied her and cut apart the handcuffs, Padmé started to collapse. He reacted quickly and caught her in his arms. She felt so limp... so weak. All this was so terribly wrong and it broke his heart to see her like this.

"What did they do to you, my love?" he whispered in her ear, picking her up gently and taking her out of the room. Not that he expected an answer; he was simply trying to think out loud and calm her with his voice. "Don't answer that, Padmé. Save your energy. We're on our way out now, and everything will be all right, I've got you...."

But even as these gentle words escaped his lips, violent thoughts swirled in his head. Whoever had the nerve to do this... who were they? What justification did they supposedly have for torturing his beloved? His hold on her grew subconsciously a little tighter. Once Padmé was safe and recovering, Anakin wanted an honest fight with this person, whoever they were.

In fact, he wanted more than that.

He wanted them dead.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Rika Ellan | Renegade | Er'Kit Village | Tagging: Shona, Tralissk, Mercs
---

"Don't try and start a fight."

Yeah, easier said than done. Rika was itching for the fight and was perfectly happy to fight the first merc that came their way under the excuse that the mercs compromised their position, although at the same time it was a rather lame excuse because Rika was glad they did it since that meant she could finally get out into the action. And when their loud drunken guests mentioned something about pirate's brew, Rika perked up and rummaged around for a few moments until she found it. Frankly, it wasn't well hidden. She opened one up and drank the entire thing in one go and then offered one to Tralissk, wiping her arm over her mouth and grinning. Things were about to get real fun. Yeah, she was a little trigger happy, so what? It wasn't like she killed innocents. Just... everyone else in the galaxy, that was all. No big deal. They had it coming anyway.

"Hello," she said cheerfully as they broke through the barrier, and she caught a glimpse of all the droids around. Oh boy. They were so dead right now. "Which one of you is Bork? Oh... never mind, you're all equally ugly anyway. Excuse me!" She walloped a Weequay merc over the head with the butt of her blaster and shoved her way through, taking shelter behind another crate as she peered out at all the droids. All right, so maybe Shona had a point. It wouldn't be easy to fight these mercs and still have the worry about the droids army, and there was plenty enough of a fight out there that Rika realized that she didn't need one in here too. Glancing around, she saw that things were finally starting to hit them and they were just now beginning to pull out their blasters. Idiots. "There's a crateful of brew down there," she said, pointing, and they immediately forgot about fighting and dived for the brew. Slightly less idiotic. They might live to see the morning after all, so long as they stayed down there and out of the fighting.

Though she was itching to jump out and take on the whole droid army, that was suicide in a matter of seconds. This whole thing would get them killed regardless but she wanted to at least fight for a while before she went down. "All right, Shona, now what?"

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Ahsoka Tano | Jedi Padawan | Er'kit Village | Tagging: Obi-Wan, Clones

He didn't need to tell her twice. 'Fall back into the alley!" She called out, waving her arms to the ones who were too far away to hear over the sound of the battle. Two more Clones fell. "I'll cover you, go!"

She did her best. There were blaster bolts flying everywhere and no matter how quickly she moved, she couldn't deflect them all. It wasn't possible. But only one more clone fell on the way to the alley and, while that was still one Clone to many, they were lucky not to have more. As soon as they were all in, Ahsoka dashed back herself and ducked behind the nearest semi-solid structure, considering that everything here was falling apart. And what wasn't fallen apart the Separatists were blowing up. This had to be either Ventress or Grevious, surely. Dooku struck her as someone who was much more... particular in his approach, while the other two reaped chaos wherever they went without thought or reason. Ahsoka still wasn't sure which she hated most.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Amras Von | Renegade Leader | Er'Kit | Tagging: Anakin, Padme

Amras was waiting as they stepped out of the room. His body language showed a calm demeanor, despite the blaster he had pointed in their direction, but the slight narrowing of his red eyes betrayed something more. This wasn't supposed to happen. Amras really did not like it when things didn't go to plan, especially since that meant he couldn't just kill the senator and return for his Renegades and leave. At least he had gotten what he wanted. But... perhaps this could still work in his favor for if he managed to capture a Jedi like Anakin Skywalker than there was no telling the information that he was holding, though that meant he inconveniently couldn't just kill the Jedi where he stood. A chance to gain knowledge like this was rare, though, and worth the massive risk he was taking by not just shooting them both in the head when they came out. It would have been perfect. The Jedi was holding the senator and couldn't reach his lightsabers when his hands were full.

"Turn around and go back into the room you just came from if you want her to live," he said, his voice void of any emotion and his blaster pointed directly at her head. Padme murmured something unintelligible under her breath but it was impossible to make out what she had said, if she had said anything real at all. The Senator was in a very bad state. How like a Jedi to rescue her right before he was going to release her from her misery and rid the galaxy of another useless senator.

 

[PhantomDog]

Senator Kal Mariii | Republic Senator of Mon Cala | Coruscant Senate District | Tagging: Senator Heiss Unduli, Representative Eletha Rosach

It’s about time.

Senator Kal Mariii thought the door would never open. Then again, what was he to expect from a Separatist? As untrustworthy as he felt Senator Unduli was, he was nonetheless intrigued by the fact that, as of yet, he was the only one to claim of having any knowledge as to who their new common enemy was. That sort of information would be valuable to possess, even if its source was less than desirable. As wary as he was of the situation, he remembered that the Senate had voted on him to attend this very important meeting, and he could not let the Republic down. For now he decided to simply play along and hear the Senator out, but not for a second would he lower his guard.

He glanced across at Representative Rosach steadily as she entered the room ahead of him. He could tell she was nervous, but every representative and senator has been at some point or another in their career. As unique of an opportunity this was, with the Separatists coming to the Republic for aid against a common threat, it would be understandable for the pressures of this particular situation to get to anyone. Even he wasn't completely at ease. Despite Representative Rosach's youth and inexperience, though, he had confidence in her to navigate these potentially tricky waters. This meeting would be a good lesson for her to learn from.

Listening to her greeting, he nodded solemnly. "Agreed. I too am interested to learn more about this mysterious rogue faction who's been threatening our territories. They have become a serious issue to reckon with across the galaxy, and any information about them would be quite welcome." Let's see if this senator truly knows anything. He peered around the room in suspicion for anything out of the ordinary, but Senator Unduli had not done too much with it, at least that he could tell.

After a moment of formalities, Senator Mariii decided to dispense with the pleasantries and get started. "So tell me, Senator, how long have you been studying these... 'Renegades'?"

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Heiss Unduli | Mirialan | Separatist Senator | Coruscant | Tagging, Senator Kal Marii, Representaive Eletha Rosach

---

Straight to the point. Good. Heiss was anxious to have this off his chest as soon as possible for, should something happen to him considering he was a traitor in enemy territory, he wanted the Republic to have this information should something unfortunate happen to him while he was here. Yes, the senate building housed Senators from both sides of the war but he had purposely not been sent back here since becoming a turncoat. Rather, he spent his energy and resources tracking and hunting the Renegades with full support from the Separatists, and it felt odd being back amongst his old fellows again. He did not hate them. He simply didn't agree with some of their ideals, including their production and use of literal men for their army which he considered to be as base as slavery.

Waving his hand to the obnoxious Republic droid to fetch them some drinks, Heiss then folded his arms behind his back and leveled his chin. Regardless of his nerves, he would face this challenge the same way he had faced the others: With determination. "I am pleased the Republic has sent Senators -- and Representatives, of course -- who are willing to hear me out on this topic. As for how long I've been tracking them... Well, since the threat first arose. A long-time indeed to have only now come with some useful information for both the Republic and the Separatists, but they are better at evading threats than any other group or enemy I have ever seen. Always two steps ahead, until now. As you well know, I tracked them to the planet of Er'kit and made my way to the Senate immediately to give warning and I hope that, should the Jedi not be able to fully overcome them, we can finally forge an alliance to rid ourselves of these terrorists once and for all. To merge our resources. After all, is the Republic not devoted to finding peace? Can there be peace with such a group spreading terror in the galaxy?"

As he spoke, Heiss studied the two in front of him. He remembered the older one, Kal Murii, from when he had still worked with the Republic. The younger one he did not recall and she had a sense of inexperience about her and he judged that, while she no doubt knew who he was and his history with the Republic senate, she was not familiar with him on any other level and therefore seemed more open to what he was saying. Senator Murii appeared to be much more cautious. A wise pair, the two of them. The young and fresh mind and ideas from the Representative, and experience paired with familiarity with Heiss himself from the older. Not that the two had ever been close, but all the same it made a difference.

 

[PhantomDog]

Tralissk | Renegade | Trandoshan | 34 | Village of Aganar, Er’kit | Tagging: Shona, Rika, Mercs

Watching as the mercs began to flood into the cellar, Tralissk moved off to the side to wait them out. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention to himself, unlike Rika, who just hit one in the head. He growled in disgust at this motley band of invaders as they irritably fought over their brew in revelry. Such lowliness. Such waste. They would not be worth his time unless he was paid to deal with them.

He tensed his grip on his rifle when he saw a Weequay walking unsteadily towards him, but rather than confronting the reptilian, he instead shoved his way past to get to a hidden crate of brew tucked in the corner. Tralissk stepped aside and began to head towards the entrance when the Weequay paused from his rummaging to glance at what had been standing beside him. Squinting at Tralissk while looking him up and down, he seemed to be trying to make sense of what exactly he was staring at, when, finally, he observed while rubbing his nose, “Yer a tall one, arn’t ye?” The Trandoshan simply looked down at him and bared his teeth menacingly, uttering a guttural hiss before exiting the cellar.

The situation outside was more intense than he had previously thought. Battle droids were everywhere, and still more coming. He immediately crouched behind a stack of crates to avoid being seen, but he wanted to get a clear view of their surroundings. If they were planning on moving at any time soon, their chances were becoming slimmer with each passing minute. It would be hard enough for one person to get by, let alone a whole group like themselves. They would have to time it just right. Shona and Rika were already outside discussing their options.

"-Ey!" A voice called behind him. Glancing, Tralissk saw that the Weequay had followed him outside and was standing in the doorway. "Why ye hid'n? Come 'ave a drink wit us." Rolling his eyes, Tralissk continued to scan for any openings, but the Weequay was not as easily dismissed. Instead, he stumbled forward to confront his "friend" more directly. "Ello? Din't ye 'ear me? I sid– What is that?" He noticed Tralissk's rifle as he held it in ready position. "Ohh, that is- that is real nice. C'n I see it?" Tralissk was already becoming annoyed at this fly buzzing around him yammering away, oblivious to the danger he posed in attracting those droids, but once he started reaching for his gun, he'd had enough of this. He decided to go check with Shona to see what her plan was. Maybe the Weequay will get the hint and go back to drinking without causing a scene. As he began to stand up, the merc was becoming more and more feisty in trying to grab the rifle, so Tralissk firmly grasped his head and shoved him backwards onto the ground. The Weequay sat there, dazed at what just happened.

Tralissk carefully made his way over to the others to listen in on their conversation. They obviously weren't too thrilled about the increased appearance of the droids or the drunken fools taking over their fort, or that Amras hadn't come back for them yet. Albeit much more dangerous and complicated, these factors certainly made the day more interesting than just hunting for new recruits. As much as he was into aiding this group and wreaking havoc across the galaxy, things were easier when he only had himself to worry about. No depending on others, no ties to hold him back. He could probably make it out of here on his own, but now he had a team to think about too. Not that he disliked it; sometimes it was helpful to have others fighting by your side towards a common goal. At least he could trust them to get the job done without double-crossing. As the Twi'Lek and Pantoran continued to debate their next move, Tralissk kept an eye out for trouble, when...

...Without warning, the fool of a Weequay leaped onto Tralissk's back, aggressively reaching for the rifle. "Give it t'me! I jist– want– to see it!" The impact of the jump made Tralissk fall forward a little, but he regained his balance enough to fight back. He threw himself against the wall to crush the Weequay into loosening his grip before reaching a long arm behind him and grabbing a hold of the soon-to-be-dead man. With full force he flipped the attacker over his shoulders and slammed him to the ground, and then picked him up and threw him clear across the street. The Weequay crashed into a stack of crates and this time did not get up, although a faint moaning could be heard. Tralissk snorted in annoyance. "Don't messs with me," he growled.

Too late did he realize the consequences. A few battle droids gathered around the unconscious Weequay to investigate. "What happened?" "Don't know, but it might have been the Jedi. Let's check it out." "Roger, roger."

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Shona Aa'ri | Renegade Co-leader | Twi'Lek | 35
Village of Aganar, Er'Kit | Tagging: Rika, Tralissk, Mercs

Shona crouched just outside the exit of the cellar as the other Renegades started to make their exit; she wanted to make sure they all got out safely before going anywhere else. But unfortunately, the locals- combined with the aggressive nature of certain Renegades- were making it difficult. When Rika started to yell at the mercs and start a confrontation, Shona got up from her crouching position, ready to intervene before the fight could escalate. But thankfully, Rika actually put herself to use and baited the mercs into going inside the cellar. Good; that was one less confrontation to worry about. Shona loved Rika and appreciated her loyalty, but sometimes she could be rather hotheaded.

And as for Tralissk, he seemed to end up in a tricky spot. Shona could hear their squabbles in the cellar, and debated going inside to help him- but she couldn't be everywhere at once, and the other Renegades were flocking to her as their point of stability. She assumed everything to be going all right when the unfortunate Weequay literally flew out the exit and landed on the other side of the street. This was one reason why Shona valued having Tralissk on the team; he was an excellent fighter and she rarely had to worry about him.

However, his actions brought on a new set of problems: the battle droids had noticed them and were coming in this direction.

Shona cursed under her breath and motioned for the Renegades to follow her. She moved swiftly down the alley with her blaster in hand, hugging the walls. The droids came closer and seemed to be distracted by the mercs- especially the ones who were in the cellar having a little Pirate Brew party. It also seemed like many of the mercs on the streets were starting to shoot back at the droids. They had their mechanical hands full now. At first, Shona started to relax, but this feeling came too soon. She and the group soon encountered another small group of battle droids. Off in the distance, she could see a pair of Jedi lightsabers flashing, one blue and one green.

Great. Stuck between our two enemies... that's exactly where we need to be...

"Surrender now, and you may live," one of the droids said in its monotone voice. A chorus of the words "Roger, roger" sounded as several of them agreed with their leader.

Shona glanced around at the Renegades, clenched her jaw and pulled her larger laser rifle from its holster on her back. "We'll never surrender to you Separatist scum," she spat. Bracing the rifle against her shoulder, she began to fire at the droids, trusting that her fellow Renegades would do the same.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Eletha Rosach | Representative of Chandrila | Maishuil | 19
Heiss Unduli's Office, Coruscant | Tagging: Kal Mariii, Heiss

Eletha tried not to fidget as she sensed the unspoken tension between Senators Unduli and Mariii. She recalled Senator Mariii telling her about how he had worked with Senator Unduli before, back before he changed sides. And both of them had some coldness and bitterness as they spoke to each other, though it was disguised by polite words. It would be hard, certainly, to work with and know someone only to see them switch sides entirely. Especially since Unduli was directly related to a well-known Jedi... Eletha could only imagine what their family dynamic must be like.

Snapping herself out of her analysis of the emotional vibes, she listened carefully to what Heiss was saying. Overall, she agreed with his sentiment. The galaxy was divided enough and here was a group who wanted to exploit that. Rather clever of them, Eletha thought- to use the galaxy-wide tensions to their own advantage. And unfortunately, she wasn't sure if there were enough in the Senate who had the maturity or the humility to work together and resolve this.

"That's something that I think we can all agree on, Senator Unduli," she said carefully, seeing that Senator Mariii was leaving her an opportunity to speak. "However, I think it's easier said than done, to work towards peace for this galaxy. I hope that there are enough people willing to take this threat seriously, but I worry that there are too many- on both sides- who are too stubborn and proud to do anything about this terrorist group. That's one reason why this war got started in the first place."

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Anakin Skywalker | Jedi Knight | Human | 21
Amras' ship, outskirts of Aganar | Tagging: Amras, Padmé

Normally Anakin was not the type to comply with anyone's demands. The more natural thing for him was to laugh in their face, pull out his lightsaber and take them down quickly. But this time, the owner of the ship had caught him in a vulnerable position- with Padmé's limp body in his arms- and there wasn't nearly enough time for him to react. The Chiss had a blaster pointed at them, and Anakin was not about to use his wife as a human shield. He was willing to be her human shield, if anything. So, his only choice was to take a few steps back, slowly set Padmé down, and prop her up so she was leaning against the wall. "Hold still," he whispered, not sure if she would understand in her semi-conscious state.

Standing protectively between Padmé and the Chiss, Anakin reached for his lightsaber and glared at him through furious, narrow eyes. There was something odd about this creature's presence in the Force, something that didn't quite match his cold, stiff posture. Anakin wasn't sure what that was about, but he knew one thing: this was the low-life responsible for torturing Padmé.

"Who are you and why did you do this?" he demanded. He couldn't take it anymore; he activated his lightsaber and stepped closer to the Chiss, holding the blue blade close to his neck. He needed to feel afraid for what he did, worry for his life, instantly regret ever having anything to do with capturing Padmé. Jedi weren't supposed to threaten people... but then again, Jedi weren't supposed to fight in wars either.

Padmé deserved justice. The despicable creature who had done this deserved to suffer.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Amras Von | Renegade Leader | Chiss | 23
Amras's Ship, outskirts of Aganar, Er'kit | Tagging: Anakin Skywalker
---

"You're not very good at following instructions, are you, Anakin Skywalker?"

Still void of expression, the Chiss tilted his head just slightly to the right, blaster still fixated directly on the head of the Senator. He could kill her. It would be all too easy. For a moment his finger pressed down on the trigger, adding just the slightest amount of pressure as he felt the temptation to end the life of the Senator then and there, but then he released it and oh so slowly returned the blaster to his hip, then raised his hands in the air. He had all the appearance of one who was surrendering but his face showed no signs of defeat.

"You're fond of her."

This one was not a question but rather a statement. An observation. And an important one at that. The Jedi was angered but holding back for the sake of trying to keep the senator safe and therein lay his weakness. To kill his only weakness would have been a foolish move and would have let the rage of the Jedi -- an oxymoron, surely, but such rage was evident in Anakin Skywalker -- burst forth completely free and unbridled. Granted, Amras was not aware of the depths of the bond between Anakin and Padme; only that one was there. He had no conception of romantic love or really of love at all, but for the friendship he found in Shona, and therefore could not understand it even if he was able to recognize that it existed. If Tano or Kenobi had been in the place of the Senator than he would have come to the same conclusion with no thought that there could be anything else beyond simple friendship for he knew that Jedi were forbidden to marry and therefore simply assumed they did not. Amras was wise beyond his years, it was true, but in many ways, his naivety and youth betrayed him nonetheless.

In this instance, though, it was not entirely important that he be aware of the true nature of their relationship. It was only important that he recognized that he needed to first kill the Jedi before he took out the Senator and it was equally important that Amras recognized he could not kill Skywalker with a blaster, especially in such close quarters. Besides, Amras was not the greatest with a blaster. He didn't lead with weapons but rather with his mind, and as he usually remained hidden and behind the scenes, it wasn't often necessary for him to have to use it. And certainly not against a Jedi.

So yes. His hands were indeed in the air but he was not surrendering.

From behind him came a rattling noise, the sound of something clanking together, and then the brief humming sound of something dashing through the air, the sound growing rapidly louder as it grew closer to the pair of them. The Chiss didn't wait for Anakin to react and ignited the twin lightsabers that now lay firmly in his grip, and the red of the blades reflected off of the matching red of his eyes. The gleaming lightsabers paired with the blue one from Skywalker threw odd dancing shadows of them upon the walls. But Amras was not concerned with shadows.

He attacked, his formerly masked presence in the Force now fully revealed and his blades now spinning so fast that they were nearly impossible to see. Where Amras had once been calm and collected, controlled through all of his actions, he was now attacking with chaotic and flurried movements, relishing the attack and embracing the rage that he was now letting go and feeling as well through the Jedi. Some rage from his opponent was good. It fueled him. But Amras knew of Skywalker's reputation and knew as well that he personally had the disadvantage of only having the upper hand in lightsaber duels that were not long extended. It was not an easy form to uphold for long and he needed to subdue his opponent quickly, so having Skywalker in just the right frame of mind was important for Amras and the way he fought. With satisfaction, the Chiss felt as his lightsaber cut into the shoulder of the startled Jedi though he didn't stop to gauge the severity of the wound. Instead, he pressed the attack harder.

This was when he let the memories come back. It was necessary to dwell upon the future as the Leader of the Renegades in order to keep him properly grounded, but as the Dark Force User, it was necessary to dwell upon the past. To find the pain. The anger. To set it free.

Today, he would kill the Jedi Skywalker. Tomorrow, he would kill the Jedi Order. Then he would crumble the Republic and the Separatists and set the galaxy free.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Anakin Skywalker | Jedi Knight | Human | 21
Amras' ship, outskirts of Aganar | Tagging: Amras

Even in that instant of searing hot pain, Anakin's only thought was still to protect Padmé. To not let this fight escalate to a place where she could get hurt.

Lightsaber fights were dangerous, after all, and if Anakin had known what he was getting into he probably wouldn't have engaged this Dark Side user in the first place. Not in this delicate situation. Either he or the Chiss could hit the walls with their lightsabers, make things fall, make sparks fly. This was the only thing that suppressed his rage, keeping him from unleashing his full strength on his opponent from the very second he spotted those lightsabers.

As for his initial underestimation of the Chiss, he was paying the price for that arrogant attitude- and he had been warned against that sort of thinking countless times, by Obi-Wan and others. That blow to his shoulder was dangerously inconvenient. When he tried to raise his lightsaber and build up momentum for a Djem So style attack- his specialty- the wound caused his arm to give out prematurely, even though a steady flow of adrenaline numbed him to the pain. So, he couldn't utilize his specialty against the Chiss, and was forced to revert to the Soresu style. A more defensive, energy-conserving form that Obi-Wan preferred. Anakin was thankful he had a lot of experience in this style, at least.

He clashed blades with the Chiss a few more times, and tried not to think about the unnerving things he had said. "You're fond of her." What did he mean by that? Could he somehow sense the feelings Anakin was constantly trying to hide?

But there was no time to think about that. There was only time to think about the important thing: containing the fight so that Padmé would not get hurt.

Anakin kept up the Soresu game for as long as he could; the strokes were minimal on purpose, so he wasn't too afraid of creating damage. And the Chiss, whoever he really was, seemed to play along for now and not try anything tricky, but his strokes were definitely growing stronger. Or were Anakin's growing weaker? Either way, even the energy-conserving Form III moves were starting to wear on his injured arm and shoulder.

Hoping the Chiss had fallen into the comforting lull of routine, Anakin took a sudden jump backwards and deactivated his own blade. It was an unconventional move, but the only thing he could think of off the top of his head: he suspended his lightsaber hilt in the air with the Force, concentrated on his connection with the weapon, and encouraged the Force to bring it momentum so it would shoot towards the Chiss at a dizzying speed.

At first, Anakin considered activating the blade. Ending this now. But he had a doubt... what kind of information might this strange person provide if he were left alive?

And before he could make that choice, it was too late, so the metal hilt of the lightsaber collided with the Chiss's head. Anakin called the lightsaber back into his hand. The Chiss fell. A small amount of dark-colored blood pulsed out near his temple.

From there, Anakin was too worried about Padmé to bother with capturing his opponent. There was a chance he could be bluffing, after all, and Padmé was Anakin's first priority. He hastily scooped her up, painful as it was to use a burning, blistering shoulder to lift a person. Then he ran out of the ship as fast as he could, hoping this stun blow to the Chiss would buy him enough time to get Padmé safely away.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Amras Von | Renegade Leader | Chiss | 23
Amras's Ship, Er'kit | Tagging: Anakin Skywalker
---

His fingers tingled with power. The sound of the lightsabers clashing together, the sound of them humming as they followed the will of their master, the sound of his opponent's heavy breathing... It drove him on, further, faster, harder, until he could barely hear the sound of the humming of the blades through the sound of them crashing together, over and over and with increasing ferocity. Skywalker had been forced into a more defensive position and the Chiss pressed his attack harder, certain he nearly had him in his grasp. It would all be over soon.

But, as the Jedi had underestimated the Renegade, so Amras had underestimated Skywalker and his ability to improvise. A hard hit sent him reeling backward, lightsabers dropping from his hands, and with confusion he suddenly found himself opening his eyes, lying on the cold metal floor of his ship. The floor was dirty with a reddish liquid staining the surface. For some reason, that bothered him. A moment later he realized it was because that was his blood and it was dripping from his forehead, and reaching out with the Force he found that his opponent was fleeing the ship. The blow must have knocked him unconscious for a few moments, but that was more time than he was willing to lose. With a short exclamation of anger, Amras pulled his fury to the surface and allowed it to block out the pain in his head as he jumped back to his feet and pulled his lightsabers to him. The blood was tickling the tip of his nose but he ignored it and broke into a run, stopping just outside of the ship's exit with his feet landed firmly on the dusty earth of Er'kit. The Jedi was there with the still semi-conscious Senator and he was making for the speeder, no doubt intending to escape. Unacceptable.

Two options: Attempt to eliminate both targets or eliminate their escape. Kill two birds with one stone and gain a speeder in the process, or prolong the battle. But which held more risk? Amras found himself more cautious of the Jedi now and was unwilling to risk a failure that would allow the two to escape, and he doubted that Skywalker would allow himself to be caught off guard again. In moments he had made his decision and threw one of his lightsabers, guiding it with the Force as it embedded itself deep into the engine of the speeder, paused for a moment, and then flew back to rest in the hands of the Chiss as the speeder hissed, groaned, and then began to smoke. He tried to guide the saber into the running pair on the way back but missed just slightly, though he felt a nudge in the Force as he again clipped the Jedi with the returning lightsaber. He wasn't certain where exactly it had hit or the severity of the injury since he couldn't see the front of the Jedi but that was of no concern. He had made the right decision in choosing simply to disable the speeder for now since, though he had dulled the feeling of pain through focusing fury through the Force, he couldn't stop the effects of the head injury. A careless mistake from lack of practice. It would not happen again.

"You should have just surrendered, Skywalker." His mannerisms were no longer calm as they had been before and neither was his speaking. His voice had taken on a menacing tone, almost a growl, and it felt right. This was natural. This was Amras Von. The chaos and anger had been concealed, not eliminated, and now he let it free to wreak havoc upon anyone who stood in his way. Right now, that was Skywalker. Amras was intent upon destroying him. "I would have made your deaths quick and painless; I would have ended her suffering. And yet you challenge me."

The last sentence sounded amused. They challenged him. How foolish. Ought they not have known better? They were like children meddling in things they shouldn't touch and getting burned for it, only Amras wasn't done with them yet. They still had more to pay for their crimes against the galaxy and the twisted mind of the Chiss believed that he was the one who must do it for if he did not, who would?

But Amras was tired. It was important for him to reserve his energy for a direct attack with the Jedi was in close range, but for now, he would resort to other methods. Deactivating his lightsabers, Amras tucked them in his pockets -- he hadn't any clips for them on his belt for obvious reasons -- and closed his eyes, stretching out both of his hands. This was where his strength truly lied. Having not had many opportunities to practice dueling recently, Amras had honed his skills through the Force in secret with only Shona as a confidante and had grown strong. He could practice that without an opponent, and practice he did.

He felt a great deal through the Force. Small animals that were quickly fleeing the area, a few larger ones that hung around and he could sense their curiosity and apprehension. A lot of rocks and dust and sand. The planet felt as if it was groaning and there was a strong feeling of death and grief surrounding this place. A perfect setting for a battle such as this. But Amras disregarded those things as unimportant and searched onwards and, though it seemed like quite some time that he allowed himself to search through these things, it all happened in less than second. And then Amras found the speeder. Unlikely, perhaps, but it was close and a simple target and would do the trick. He searched through the speeder in detail and moved his way through every small mechanical piece that made up the machine until he reached the damaged engine, and it was there that he settled. Loose pieces. Easy target. Amras grasped onto them and pulled them towards the Jedi and felt with satisfaction as they grazed into the side of the Jedi, though not as deeply as he wanted, and felt also where the lightsaber had wounded him with a shallow slash across the chest. Not life-threatening but dangerous wounds all the same and Amras was torn between the rage-filled desire to end Skywalker quickly and another desire to make it slow, make it painful. Make him suffer his defeat. Make him look Amras in the eyes as he died, a pathetic death that fit such a pathetic life.

Amras moved his senses towards the Senator. Some of the shrapnel had wounded her too but less severe as he hadn't been aiming for her, and he could feel her starting to strengthen. Not much, but soon she would regain consciousness. Just in time to see the Jedi die before he killed her too. Perhaps he would throw her from the cliff and let the Republic find her mangled body, and may it serve them as a warning for what was to come.

 

[AuroraRogersSkywalker]

Anakin's plan was to get Padmé in the back of the speeder and get her out of here as fast as possible. It was a gamble, really, since he had no idea how long he had until that Chiss revived. It was a severe blow to the head, after all, but different individuals reacted differently. Some took minutes to revive, others mere seconds.

But before he could lower Padmé into the backseat, he hesitated. Something felt wrong; the Force whispered to him of danger. He had a feeling that he was not to put her in the speeder at all. Heart racing, he followed his instincts and lowered her to the ground. Thankfully, she seemed to be regaining consciousness, glancing around the area with more lucidity.

A sudden hissing sound and clanking of metal made him jump. He glanced towards the source of the noise and could only see a reddish glow, and lots of smoke, surrounding the hood of the speeder. It was that Chiss's lightsaber.

The lightsaber shot backwards, grazing him across the chest as it went by.

At first, Anakin thought this was it; it was all over. The breath was knocked out of his lungs, and not even adrenaline could mask the suffocating pain from this blow.

But seconds later, he found himself still breathing, though it was laborious. No deathly darkness or mystical lights appeared before his eyes. This lightsaber blow was a shallow one, not quite severe enough to kill- which made Anakin wonder something. Had the Chiss barely touched him with the lightsaber on purpose? Or was that a move intended to be fatal? Because if the latter was true, maybe there was still a chance. Maybe this Dark Side user was stunned enough from being knocked in the head that his ability to use the Force was growing clumsy.

No sooner had he thought that when a second attack came. Dislocated shrapnel, from the speeder, flew past and cut into his side, creating a rather large and open wound. Some of it hit Padmé too, but Anakin was relieved that he didn't see nearly as much red liquid on her as he did on himself.

Staring with shock and pain and dismay into Padmé's frightened eyes, Anakin realized he was the only one standing between her and this monster. And he had failed. What made it even worse was that he had fought stronger opponents than this before, and had more success. If he had only been less arrogant, or more clever, in approaching this fight, maybe everything would have turned out differently. And now Padmé was at the Chiss's mercy, with Anakin not having enough life or strength left in him to do anything about it.

But... there was one thing he could do before exhaustion and blood loss could do him in. Maybe it wasn't enough, but it was all he had left.

He reached deep into the Force, though dizziness and confusion made it difficult, and condensed what energy he could find and threw it at the Chiss. This was no strategic or coordinated attack. It was a disoriented and desperate one, the final defense for his own life and Padmé's. For now, it seemed to work just barely well enough: the Chiss was launched backwards and thrown against the side of his ship. He fell to the ground, seeming to be unconscious once again.

Anakin was determined to at least try to get Padmé out of here, even though it was a near-hopeless effort. The Chiss would probably revive soon and neither he nor Padmé could go very far, especially without the speeder. At least Padmé was starting to stand on her own, even if she still looked rather weak and shaky.

Now, to decide where to possibly hide from the Chiss until he left. Anakin only had one idea. He stared down the ledge of the cliff, trying to estimate its height. Forty feet? Fifty feet? He had jumped down greater heights than this before, aided by the Force.

Blackness started to cloud his peripheral vision. He had to act quickly.

"Padmé... just hold still and trust me, all right?" he whispered, concentrating on the Force with all his might and guiding her gently downwards. This was a task that required patience, otherwise it would end badly. He couldn't afford to think about the Chiss or anything else until she was safely at the bottom. And it worked; he sensed her safe on the ground and undamaged from the transit.

As for getting himself down, he simply jumped, staying in that Force-enhanced state of mind to lighten his landing. But he couldn't keep it up for too long. The Force was becoming harder and harder to concentrate on.

He did manage the jump safely enough and landed not too far from Padmé. However, the blackness in his vision caught up to him in that moment and he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Hopefully it wouldn't be hard for Amras Von to believe that they were both dead.

 

[PhantomDog]

Obi-Wan Kenobi | Jedi Master | Human | 36 | Village of Aganar, Er'kit | Tagging: Ahsoka, Clones

Obi-Wan’s lightsaber shone brilliantly in the smoke as he deftly deflected the constant barrage of blaster bolts flying towards him. One thing was for sure- whoever was commanding these droids did not want them to succeed in locating the Senator. Or to come out of this alive, for that matter. He tried to figure out a pattern to the droids' tactics, to see if there were any weaknesses to exploit or openings to slip through, but it seemed as if the army had been simply tasked with surrounding and overwhelming their targets. Luckliy, though, they were only advancing on them from the front, which was at least manageable.

He stole a glance over at Ahsoka to check on her. Twin green lightsabers blazing through countless droids, reducing them to pieces, she looked like she had things under control on her side. Anakin had taught his Padawan well. Nonetheless, they were all doubtless growing tired of this steady attack pressing against them. If they had known what to expect upon arriving on Er'kit, they would have brought more troops along. This mission had immediately expanded from simply protecting the senator from the threat of the Renegades into also fighting for their lives against a massive army while being drastically outnumbered. Not that the odds were ever good on a normal basis, but for some reason this time was different. The sheer numbers of these droids just flooding in almost gave the impression that their leader was desperately looking for something. Or someone. If they could overwhelm the town, they probably thought they too could find the very person everyone was after- Senator Amidala. And knowing them, it wasn't just for a friendly diplomatic conversation. Padmé had something valuable in her possession, and her very life depended on who got to her first.

Finally, as unexpected as the initial ambush had been when they arrived, they managed to thin the droids' lines out a considerable amount. Why the sudden lack of offense against them? Was something worse about to come? Likely, but he saw this as a chance to call for reinforcements before things picked up again and became too heavy. He hoped there might be a Republic cruiser somewhere in a nearby system that could provide backup, just to even the odds a bit and add some more firepower, but all that would be dependent on if he could get a hold of somebody in the first place. After notifying Ahsoka, he pulled out his comm link and prepared to send out a distress signal, calling for any Republic ships in the area to answer.

"This is General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Republic. Can anyone hear me?" Several moments passed in unanswered silence. He repeated his query. Still nothing. He checked the device to see if it was working and to make sure communications weren't being jammed; no, it was functioning as it should. He was about to try again when a garbled sound started to emit from the speaker, possibly someone speaking. Turning up the receiver to clear some static, he repeated himself. The voice on the other end became clearer, although still a bit fuzzy.

"We have you, General Kenobi. This is Admiral Yularen. What can we do for you?" Obi-Wan gave a short sigh of relief at having gotten a hold of the Admiral, but continued. "My men and I are stranded on Er'kit and under heavy attack from the Separatists, along with General Skywalker and his Padawan. We were ambushed unexpectedly while on a mission to protect Senator Amidala from the Renegades rumored to be here and have suffered severe casualties. Could you tell me if there are any cruisers nearby that would be able to send reinforcements?"

"Let me check our assignments to see where the nearest fleet might be to your location." Obi-Wan held his breath a little while watching as more battle droids began to appear around the corner. The admiral's voice finally returned. "...I'm sorry, but there are no ships close enough to send aid, but we will notify one to report to your location as soon as possible. Have you located the senator or the Renegades yet?"

"No, but General Skywalker is currently searching for the senator. I will let you know when we have found either one of them."

"Of course. We'll keep you posted on when reinforcements are on their way."

"Thank you, Admiral. Kenobi out." So they were on their own for now. If the droids would remain at bay until more troops arrived, he would be fine with that, but he knew it wouldn't be the case.

Further down the street, he could see that the inhabitants of the village were putting up a fight with the invaders too. Good. At least they weren't the only ones giving the droids a hard time. And from what he could tell, they were holding their own pretty well too. Considering what kind of town this was, these people were probably actually just mercenaries and bounty hunters passing through, and perhaps they were the citizens themselves too, but he was glad to see that they at least disliked the presence of these droids enough to stand up against them.

As he pulled out his lightsaber to deflect the blaster bolts of this new wave of droids, a thought suddenly came to mind. Alone they were outnumbered and at a disadvantage, but what if he were to move further into the village where the people were resisting, effectively gaining others to help in driving back the attackers? Not knowing when Republic reinforcements may arrive, this could be the next closest thing to it, and perhaps their best option. Sharing his idea with Ahsoka and the clones, Obi-Wan gradually began to give ground to the advancing Separatist forces, effectively edging himself closer to the scene. While they now had droids on both ends of the street, they also now had aid from the populace, which was quite helpful. As he got closer he noticed a droid aiming at a Twi'Lek female from behind, but before it had time to shoot he leaped over and cut it down. These people may be capable at fighting for themselves, but he still wasn't about to let them them get slaughtered if he could help it.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Amras Von | Renegade Leader | Chiss | 23
Amras's Ship, Er'kit | Tagging:
---

Head wounds were dangerous and Amras was furious at himself for allowing the Jedi to have given him one in the first place. A single blow to the head -- provided it was in the right place --could kill a person, and he was not accustomed to allowing people to get past him like that. He had, in a sense, won the battle, but he was ill-content with the way things had gone and since he relied so heavily on the Force so much, he hated when his connection to it was skewed. His ability to concentrate and focus had been messed with by the blow to the head, his vision was off, and the blood was dripping steadily from his nose and chin. But still, he had been determined to press forward and finish the job when a sudden blow to the chest sent him flying backward and darkness quickly enveloped him.

He could see the Senator. Unsuspecting, rising to greet him as Balian Curth, mercenary clan leader and someone eager to side with the Republic. He could see the plans in his hands and the Senator again, strapped down and barely able to move. The Jedi's faces had disturbed him when they had appeared into his vision and he had searched for another way, but there was no other way. This was the only way to achieve his goal, despite this being the riskiest mission he had attempted yet, and it was too important a cause to be ignored despite the risk. So he continued down the path he was following in his vision and saw the red gleam of his sabers mirrored in the shocked eyes of the Jedi, and he saw their bodies lying at the bottom of the cliff. He couldn't see his own fate. Strangely, he had never been able to see his own fate.

His eyes flew open and immediately he winced, raising a hand to touch the back of his head where he had been knocked for a second time. There was no blood this time at least and Amras suspected the second knock hadn't been near as hard but rather that the trauma of hitting it twice had been what left him unconscious. He blinked rapidly, trying to shake away the pain when another vision flew into his mind unbidden. Only this one wasn't a dream or a vision of the past.

Surrounded by droids. The Renegades fought hard and, to his surprise and distaste, they were not alone. Nearby were two Jedi and several Clones, but the droids were still closing in fast. They didn't have long.

Amras staggered to his feet, cursing. The Jedi and Senator were nowhere to be seen and yet the speeder was still there, burning. He could sense them still. The Chiss called upon the Force again to dull the pain of his wounds and, determined, pulled his lightsabers to his hands and ran to the side of the cliff. Yes, they were there. And alive. Amras made a step forward to leap from the cliff and finish them off when he froze, another vision called to his mind.

Shona. She fought furiously, she always did. They were running out of time. She would die. She would die, but he could save her. If he didn't come, they would all die.

He hesitated, but only momentarily. His love for Shona was the only thing that transcended his hatred for the Republic, the Jedi, and the Separatists. It would have only been minutes for him to finish the two of them off -- less than a minute un-injured -- but those were precious minutes he couldn't spare. Not to mention if the Jedi fought again... He hated leaving them alive but the thought of losing Shona was more than he could bear, though he did pause as he reached his ship and turned around to face the cliff again. This was a desert planet. The two of them couldn't live if no one ever found them. Amras called to the Force again and gave a great push, sending sand down the cliff to cover the Jedi. Either they'd suffocate or die of their injuries. He then turned and ran up the ramp into the ship and within moments the ship was in the air and he was flying towards the town with all speed, still keeping a steady pulse of the Force to dull the pain and to help focus his mind. Every moment was more of a struggle but he would not abandon them, no matter what it took.

 

[Just A Daydreamer]

Padme Amidala | Er'Kit | Senator of the Galactic Republic
26 | Human | Tagging: Anakin Skywalker

---

She began to awaken towards the end of the battle. Long enough to see that the person who had captured her was definitely not who he said he was -- though she still didn't know he was a Renegade -- and she saw the red sabers in his hands. A Sith. Of course it would be a Sith. A Dark Force user of some kind anyway, maybe an Assassin, but she didn't have the strength to try and sort out exactly what he was. Not right now. The next thing she knew, though, he was flying backward and landed in a crumpled heap next to his ship, and she wondered if he was dead. Likely not. They were hard to kill. Bleary-eyed and confused, Padme blinked rapidly several times to try and clear her vision and then turned to look at Anakin, her eyes taking in his state of body first before she met his eyes.

He was bleeding, and badly. Funny... so was she. She hadn't noticed until now. Anakin said something to her and by the time it registered he had already lifted her up and was letting her down gently and she could feel he was weak through the way he was struggling to hold her so she kept very still, just as he had instructed. He followed shortly after, though less gracefully, and as she turned her head towards him, Padme saw that he had lost consciousness. He'd barely made it to save her. But that Sith was still up there and neither of them had the strength to run. She couldn't just give up though.

Grimacing through the pain, Padme managed to turn over onto her stomach and crawled her way towards Anakin, her hands brushing gently through the thick curls, though they were full of sand. She choked back a sob and turned her attention to his wounds, tearing off a piece from her cloak to try and staunch his wounds when a shadow fell over them. She froze, not daring to look up since she knew exactly what she would see. He would kill them and they couldn't fight him off. "Anakin," she whispered. "I love you."

He would never hear her say it. He had tried so hard to save her and they were both dead anyway. Stubbornly she continued to try and stop the blood flow from his wounds and it was helping, but not much. Not enough. Not like it mattered.

But nothing happened.

Padme ventured to look up and saw that the figure was gone and he had left them. Had he thought they were dead? Or he thought they would die out here? Perhaps he was right but he didn't know Anakin as she did, and he didn't know her either. They didn't give in easily. Still looking up, her eyes widened when she saw an avalanche of sand coming down towards them and the adrenaline kicked in. Hardly aware of what she was doing, Padme flew to her feet, grabbed Anakin by his arms, and dragged him over towards the cliff with strength she didn't even know she had. There was a ledge jutting out that she hoped would save them from the majority of it but even so, both of them ended up covered in sand from head to toe. At least not buried. She coughed, the pain suddenly kicking in as the brief burst of adrenaline disappeared and she collapsed next to Anakin, still awake but unable to move much more than to grab his hand in her own. The pain was too intense to do anything else.