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annexedlogs2023-02-05 06:19 pm
modaccount) wrote in annexedlogs2023-02-05 06:19 pm
Mission Log #4
How It Works
Welcome to the fourth mission log in Annexed!
How Mission Logs Work: There will generally be two main missions per month, with different focuses tailored to different skillsets (usually stealth vs. fighting, though other skillsets will be tapped on). Each mission will be posted in phases, with a prompt for the start of each phase. The plotting post will give you a rundown of what the missions are, how they might go, and what might be discovered. Characters may partake in whichever pat of the operation they choose, whether it's a large prominent part or a more supporting role. Characters may participate in both missions, and as many phases as they wish.
Mod Guidance: Players may request occasional scene-setting when they hit a point where they're unsure what might happen next in a log or what their characters might encounter. There will be a "Mod Guidance" comment that players can reply to in order to request this kind of scene-setting.
Completion of Missions: There will be a submissions comment for anyone who's threaded out a portion of the mission. Once a thread has been completed at least halfway, please submit your character's progress and plans for the thread to the submissions thread. These submissions are the main way that the mod will decide how the mission went in the next month's wrap-up post, so they are very important!
Plotting Post: Here!
The Invasion
Several months ago, there was a mission to deliver supplies to an endangered outpost of the Witches Camp. This outpost is called the Northeastern Front, and is in a particularly highly disputed piece of territory. There are constant raids and espionage by the Sylphid, who are trying to claim the area for settlement and to provide a much smoother route of invasion for the Witches Camp itself.
Just this morning, a scout from the Northeastern Front stumbled into the Witches Camp, dehydrated and starving, on foot, to report that the outpost has been completely taken over by the Sylphid, who hit with a surprise attack in the middle of the night. The scout reports that the outpost's inhabitants have been shut into locked cages and are being held without food or water, and that the Sylphid are occupying the camp completely.
The Witch is proposing a mission to retake the Northeastern Front. If this outpost remains taken by the Sylphid, a full on invasion of the Witches Camp can't be far behind, not with such a pivotal location taken over.
The Witch will be calling a general meeting at the Command Center where she will explain the situation and the proposed missions to stop it.
Mission A: Scouting the Scene
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: recon, stealth
This mission will focus on recon and stealth. Characters will travel on hover-ATVs to the Northeastern Front, where they will park in the jungle outside of the range of scouting by the Sylphid, and approach on foot. They will approach and learn the rounds of the Sylphid guards as well as release prisoners from the cages and take them out of the outpost to be rehydrated and fed.
The first phase of the mission involves the trip to the Northeastern Front, which is a trial unto itself, and working out the rounds of the Sylphid guards that are patrolling around the edges of the city. The biggest challenge of this phase will be getting to the Northeastern Front and parking at the rendezvous location outside the outpost, considering the terrain of the jungle and its inhabitants.
The Northeastern Front is to the northeast of the Witches Camp, nestled in the jungle just at the edge of The Troop. The outpost has been the subject of constant Sylphid attack and espionage since it was founded, but is very necessary for keeping track of Sylphid movements in the area, which is a highly disputed piece of territory. There have been several battles in the area previously, and it is only barely held by the Witches at this time. The trip to the outpost is hazardous, a rough-hewn barely-cleared path that winds through the jungle, and which must be navigated with great care. There are several hazards along the path.
⇝ Jungle Terrain: The path is mostly overgrown and very twisting, which is done on purpose to camouflage the path in the jungle. Only those who have been instructed on how to follow the path can follow it with any kind of confidence or ease. There are shrubs, tree roots, and other natural barriers that threaten anyone who travels the path too carelessly.
⇝ Wild Animals: There are a great deal of wild animals, many of them oversized, that will be both familiar and unfamiliar to people from Earth. There are large sabretooth cats, snakes and insects that have grown to the size of small buildings, wild boars, oversize deer that can take out a hover-ATV with their antlers and hooves, slime monsters, venomous and carnivorous plants, and many others. Be creative and come up with whatever monsters you like!
⇝ Sylphid Agents: The area is also swarming with Sylphid agents - scouts and hunting parties searching out the path itself and threatening the rendezvous point. Avoid these parties, or take them on, either is completely acceptable.
⇝ Magical and Mechanical Traps: Some of the Sylphid scouting parties have found portions of the path from the Witches Camp to the Northeastern Front, though they haven't yet found the rendezvous point yet. These scouting parties have set up various traps of both magical and mechanical types. Some of these traps can be deadly - pits with spikes at the bottom, flying logs, magical tripwires that disintegrate parts of the people caught in them. Again, be creative and feel free to come up with traps of your own.
Once the group has made its way to the rendezvous point, they will sneak up to the Northeastern Front and take their places in the jungle surrounding it, well-camouflaged with gear they've carried on their hover-ATVs such as ghillie suits, and watch the rounds of the guards to get a good idea of the best points of entry. These should be marked on a map of the area that will be provided for download on their personal devices.
Once they have divined the pattern of rounds that are run by the Sylphid guards, the recon and infiltration crew will be tasked with sneaking around the camp and mapping it out, as the Sylphid have rearranged it after taking it over. This includes the movements of the people inside and the location of the cages that the previous residents of the outpost are being held in and the movements of the guards that are keeping watch over them.
There are some notable locations within the camp:
⇝ Mess Hall: Where the Sylphid are being fed and where they congregate when not on duty. The mess hall serves meals but also functions as a sort of bar and communal hanging out location with a few pub-style games like darts and a pool table. Here is where you'll find a large amount of the Sylphid at any given time. Best mapped but otherwise avoided.
⇝ Armory: Where the Sylphid go to collect body armor and weapons. The best place to get armed in the outpost. There's less of a congregation of Sylphid here, but the ones that are seem to be quite ready for a scrap. Another place mapped but otherwise avoided, unless you want to try to steal their weapons out from under them - a dangerous idea.
⇝ Tents: The bulk of the outpost is made up of tents that each house four Sylphid. These were taken wholesale from the previous occupants of the camp and redistributed to Sylphid, without being moved. In the area of the camp that's just tents for housing Sylphid, the maps as they are still apply.
⇝ Cages: Brought in by the Sylphid and with rebels packed into them like sardines, the cages are kept at the 'back' of the camp, in a relatively dark area that's close to the jungle. There are consistently 6 guards on duty, all of which will need to be subdued before any liberation of the rebels within can occur. Each cage holds about 8 rebels, and there are 12 cages in total. The cages are each solid metal and under the influence of an anti-magic spell, one per cage, intended to keep the inhabitants of the cage from doing magic and rendering any spells to unlock the cages useless. The cages will have to be opened using lockpicks or brute force, with saws that will make quick work of the locks having been provided by the rebels for this mission.
The final phase of the first mission will focus on liberating the rebel residents of the Northeastern Front from the cages they've been imprisoned in. This sounds simpler than it is, considering this phase of the mission is meant to be as stealthy as the previous phases, hopefully retaining the element of surprise for the takeover battle that is to follow.
Characters who have been watching the camp will have found that the guards watch the prisoners for a shift of 6 hours before being relieved by a new wave of guards, and that other than these guards, there isn't much attention paid to the cages. The Sylphid are quite confident that the inhabitants are too hungry, thirsty, and magic-blocked to get out of the cages, and that the guards watching them will catch any dangerous business before it happens.
The best bet would be to silence and take out all the guards as quickly as possible after they start a new shift, preferably at night. Under the cover of darkness, these infiltrators can then open the locks as quietly as possible and free the prisoners, taking them back to the rendezvous location. The prisoners will be quite sick from dehydration, hunger, and abuse, but will recover quickly once given rations and water, and be ready to aid in the battle to retake their home. The people of the Northeastern Front are very hardy people, who take pride in maintaining their independence and their hold on this dangerous and highly-contested piece of land - they do not take kindly to being taken over, overpowered, and locked up. They'll have a lot to prove to themselves and, in their minds, to The Witch, once freed.
Try to make the liberation quick, though, because once the prisoners are released, there is only the remainder of that guard group's shift before the next shift arrives and discovers that the prisoners are missing!
Mission B: The Battle
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: open battle
This mission will focus on open battle to take back the Northeastern Front. Once the prisoners have been removed and taken to safety, a force will approach the outpost on hover-ATV and suit up in body armor and arm themselves with weapons to retake the outpost. This will be a knock-down drag-out battle, straight up, with characters routing and taking down Sylphid, capturing prisoners for interrogation, and trying not to destroy the infrastructure of the camp.
Before the final battle to retake the Northeastern Front, the troops must gather at the rendezvous point for briefing, to help with reviving the prisoners who've been freed from the cages, and to generally get on the same page for a plan of attack. The Witch herself will be at the rendezvous point, ready to give an empowering speech and to personally participate in the battle, wielding powerful magic and carrying a magitech sword that she's very skilled at using.
Characters who are attending for battle will face the same dangers coming to the rendezvous point that the first crew faced, with the jungle terrain, animals, Sylphid scouts, and other dangers applying just as much as it did for the stealth group. Once they reach the rendezvous point, they will find that it's set up almost like a mini-camp, complete with patrolling guards and a tent where they can pick up a bowl of mushroom and rabbit stew to fortify themselves before battle. While they eat, they can look at a map that's been set up in the tent with a cohesive and well-scouted layout of the camp. It's recommended that people coming in to participate in the battle familiarize themselves with the map and know where everything is located within the Northeastern Front.
The battle will be beginning anywhere from 5 hours or less after the liberation of the prisoners, and this time can be spent helping revive prisoners, memorizing the map, making plans with fellow rebels, and coordinating with The Witch and her people. There will also be a round table discussion of the battle's plan of action, so if you have a good plan, this will be the time to speak up and make yourself heard.
Before the opportunity arises for the Sylphid to raise an alarm, the group ready to carry out the attack on the Northeastern Front will sneak their way through the jungle to the clearing and descend upon the enemy all at once, from all sides.
This is to be a relatively straightforward attack, and between the new extrauniversal arrivals and the NPC rebels, there should be enough people to be on an equal playing field with the Sylphid in the area. This will be a knock-down drag-out fight, with both sides going hard and fast, sword against sword, magic against magic, and skill against skill. Both sides will be heavily armed and wearing body armor and will be pretty evenly matched.
About halfway through the battle, however, anyone may find the Sylphid commander in the mess hall tent with the radio, asking for backup. Before anyone has a chance to stop her, unfortunately, there will be a call sent out for backup from Zephyr. But realistically, how could they get here with any semblance of time to spare, right? Right?
Just as the tide of battle is starting to turn in favor of the rebels, the backup from Zephyr arrives in the form of three powerful mages with their equally powerful familiars, arriving via a teleportation spell.
These mages are the most powerful the Sylphid have in their arsenal and won't be easy to win against. The mages and their familiars are as follows:
⇝ Silhara and Dragon: Silhara is the name of the first mage to arrive. She is possessed of powerful fire magic, including fireballs, flmespouts, and the ability to manipulate fire, and has a dragon as a familiar. The dragon has stone skin, almost impossible to penetrate and powerful fire breath, as well as vicious fangs and claws. The dragon stands approximately 12 feet tall and is about 20 feet long from the tip of the tail to the snout. The dragon does have one weak spot - a place at the base of the throat where the plates of the stone skin overlay each other, which must be hit with a precise cutting blow while the dragon is inhaling in preparation to unleash its fire breath.
⇝ Dark'ness and Hydra: Dark'ness is the name of the second mage to arrive. They are possessed of powerful shadow magic, including the ability to take control of a person via controlling their shadow, the creation of complete darkness, and they have a hydra as a familiar. The hydra has 4 heads and with each head that is cut off, two more will grow from the neck, with each head bearing vicious poison-dripping fangs. The hydra stands at approximately 10 feet tall and is about 25 feet long from the tip of the longest snout to the end of the tail. The hydra does have a weak spot - the heart, which must be pierced in order to kill the thing, or all of the heads being beheaded at once so no heads remain.
⇝ Dendrite and Chimera: Dendrite is the name of the third mage to arrive. He is possessed of a type of magic that hits people in their nervous systems, allowing him to cause immeasurable pain without touching someone or to completely immobilize someone with a timed strike of his fists against sensitive parts of the person, and he has a chimera as familiar. The chimera has the heads of both a lion and a goat protruding from the large catlike body, and a snake for a tail. It has powerful headbutting abilities with the goat's head and vicious fangs in the lion's head, along with powerful claws and a venomous bite from the tail. The chimera stands at about 8 feet tall and is about 14 feet long from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. The chimera does have a weak spot - it is exceptionally weak to beheading, and will lose control and go berserk if either head is removed, completely losing control and refusing to obey its master's commands, though a berserk chimera is a very powerful thing. Best to remove both heads at once if possible.
Once these three mages have been defeated, the tide of battle will turn, and the remaining Sylphid will flee the camp, leaving it to be taken over by the rebels and returned to normal.
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"Likely not. If you can't find an unarmored place - the eyes perhaps - aim for the witch." He had a lightsaber and the Force, he'd find a weakness to exploit one way or another.
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The clone gave a nod as he came to the same conclusions. "Roger that. -heat levels climbing, it's getting ready to expel," he warned as his display flared, detecting the spike. It probably didn't need to be said, but it was standard procedure to monitor a new obstacle in order to understand what they were dealing with. "Incoming!"
The dragon's neck arched back before it thrust its head forward, toothy jaws opened wide to spew forth a jet of flames.
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The Force shield did its job. The flame slide over them and it did somewhat abate the heat although - there was still an intense amount of it where they were arked under the flame as if it was water. It was heat Vader couldn't truly feel. And at this moment he desperately missed his own suit, capable of keeping his body cool in advance heat capable of EVA exploration and combat. It would be handy here, as much as he hated it. He knew by the end of this battle he would be completely overheated in need of medical care but never wants to take consider informing tech of this vulnerability. He would manage it as he would, he would live or he would die, but the dragon was going down with him.
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Tech ducked a bit as he watched the flames, reflex more than doubt that Vader's shield would hold. The heat was still worrisome, and even if Tech had his whole armor kit on had it wasn't as insulated as the rest of his squad's. For all that the Sith Lord appeared to hold it effortlessly, Tech didn't want to rely completely on that ability. He did not know Vader's limits but he knew the man would not readily say anything about them either. As much as it was the general's job to be mindful of the safety of his men, it was also the soldier's job to support efficiently so that the general would not be endangered either. Here even with no real ranks enforced, that mindset had not changed.
It was difficult to register anything beyond the heat through his HUD, but he continued to monitor the levels, even as he tried to keep track of how long the dragon was capable of hurling fire at them. "It's abating," he said, even as the flames started to lessen around the edges of Vader's Force-held shield. He catches movement just past the dragon, another flare of heat rising even as the dragon's fire tapered.
"The mage-" he said, right before he threw himself to the side and past the final flames licking at the edges of Vader's shielding. Tucking into a roll, Tech came up on his knees, bringing both his recently recovered DC-17s up to fire a barrage of blasts at the casting mage. Silhara aborted her spell, dropping down to slide along the dragon's neck before the beast withdrew its head, its flames spent for the moment. That didn't stop it from lunging forward to snap at figure with the glowing sword who refused to be burned.
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Loyalty has always been important to him. One of the grounding stones of his life hasn't changed. Will never change.
Mentally he was grateful for Tech's statement - he couldn't feel a difference, not yet, but he was marking the time in terms of strain and effort, hoping the now not as protected parts of his cybernetic body could keep up with the strain.
Strain which was immediately forgotten as Tech found himself in the crosshairs of the pyromancer. Internally his own heart-dragon roared in rage, snapping it's jaws. That is mine it screamed. Vader's saber made contact with the dragon's snout, not breaking through it's armor but meeting resistance. Vader didn't withdraw, but pressed it tight and hard against the armored skin. Under the blade, the skin heated and glowed and Vader snarled in satisfaction as the Dragon reared it's head back in surprise.
The Mage's anger and rage - those were good too. He was an unexpected factor. Vader held his ground between them and Tech, and their two-man line from the greater battlefield.
A line Vader flat refused to give a micrometer on.
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"She's casting again," he warned, catching sight of the spike of heat. "Using the dragon as cover. I do not think she can do so for long- she will need a visual on her targets." He couldn't use magic but that didn't mean he couldn't learn about how it worked.
The dragon's head dipped down as it growled, back arching with the mage standing upon it, flame wreathing her arms, and immediately she flung them forward, casting the fireballs outwards at the two. Cover, it would soon be realized, as the dragon lashed out again at Vader once again. It clearly realized the more obvious threat.
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Vader Force-pushed balls of flame back, aiming for the mage. The dragon could lash out at him. He would prefer that. Vader dug into the ground with the Force and shoved. Created a wave of dirt, rocks, debris, and bits of vegetation straight at the dragon and the mage. He heard the dragon growl and toss it's head, heard and exclamation of alarm from the mage.
As soon as he could get a visual of the mage he threw his saber in a arc, aiming for the mage. She moved sideways, barely, but there was a fresh line of burn over her cheek and ear and Tech would be able to see warmth on the dragon scales from the impact of the saber. It flew back to Vader's hand and landed with a hard thud.
"I want to angle so there's a mound of dirt between us and them." He was formulating a plan. Fill the dragon's mouth with dirt - see hope that effected it.
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He glances at Vader, nodding as he quickly begins to look for an ideal position that would satisfy the Sith's needs. "There," he says, gesturing with one gun to a slight berm created by the dragon itself, several meters to their left. "It'll most likely start tracking you immediately. I'll draw its attention long enough for you to get into position." Which isn't long at all, he anticipates, but Vader probably doesn't need that long anyway.
Attention that he figures is already a toss-up as to whether they'll even pay him attention, but he knows which of the two is the more vulnerable target. His pistols snapping up, he moves just a ways to the side to get a clearer shot at Silhara, unleashing a barrage of blasterfire at the mage.
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"Tracking me would be fine if you can damage the mage or hit the dragon with potshots." It would split their attention and that may prove a help.
Not that Vader needs long. Anakin Skywalker was much faster than Darth Vader - almost frightening so…, given how quickly the Force allows Vader to move, even if it's 'slow'. Tech would notice the difference, he knows.
But also Vader was able to make a Force-assisted leap forward, using the momentum to fling himself into a sprint, then roll into place. The hard impacts of the landings fell against his mechanical limbs, preventing him from feeling pain from them. Vader landed on his knees, ready to attack.
True to their thinking, the mage tracked Tech - working up to fling fire at him, the dragon tracking Vader snarling and snapping at the thing that moved just too fast.
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Not something he can properly appreciate when he's got a fire-wielding mage to contend with. His blasterfire prompts the mage to move from the spot she'd been upon, to the point she actually drops down from the dragon. For a moment the clone loses sight of her because the dragon's body is between them, but he catches the flare of her magic even without his HUD as she blasts herself airborne with a stream of flames, launching herself over the creature, one arm wrenching back to hurl a wave of fire towards him.
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And he doesn't have time to throw a Force shield around Tech in order to protect him from the blast of fire. What he can do is shove an arm behind him in order to fling Tech himself out of the way. Hopefully he'll be able to catch himself in landing but it's not something Vader can spare the attention for at the moment. Even if he shoves him hard, he doesn't shove him too far off the ground.
One or the other of the that's needs to go down.
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The sensation was unsettling, but he twisted to at least try hitting the dirt with his feet first. It wasn't at all a clean landing, and he could still feel the wash of the heat as the flames blew past him, but it was certainly better than what could have been. The clone trooper tumbled once before skidding to a halt halfway on his feet. Silhara had redirected her attention to Vader by then, angry for his interference, pointing at the Sith Lord in direction of her familiar.
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And while his helmet - fully in place to cover his neck, lower face, upper face, head, and even dome in place rather than just wearing the back, head, and upper face plates as he had been doing in the Witch's camp - prevented her from seeing the smirk on his face, his posture was cocky and smug, taunting almost.
He even half shrugged at her, as if going 'best you got?'.
People who knew Anakin Skywalker's or Darth Vader's preferred tactics would have recognized it for what it was - flinging himself into the front saber lit, flying in a bright yellow ship to attract attention, vaulting over the front line by miles to clear out line after line before his men joined in, laughing in the face of threat sure he'd survive.
One might say he was having fun even, for all he was luring his opponents into a trap.
Which worked. The dragon rushed at him, Vader stood his ground, unflinching. Not even seeming to register the extreme danger he was in. Even Silhara had to question because this man? creature? didn't seem to fear bodily harm or death (because he didn't) which was not how living things were supposed to work.
It wasn't until the dragon was almost ontop of Vader that Silhara realized the trap - the small berm of dirt exploded filling the air with dirt, rocks, mud, and other debris. The dragon coughed and choked, his mouth full of dirt and mixing with his salvia to make a thick mud. The pause was all he needed to send a massive Force push that threw the dragon backwards, back behind the ground they had gained.
Giving Vader and Tech a meter more of ground than they had started with.
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The clone rose to his feet, moving in even as he watched the fantastic feat just performed. The mage was both bewildered and struggling in her own way as her familiar's pain was her own. Tech saw as she tried to push past it, his guns snapping up again to fire.
Distracted as Silhara is, she isn't quick enough to try evading this time, snarling as a shot catches her side, hurling a hasty fireball back at him in turn. At least this is something Tech can dodge on his own.
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But in his nightmares, he knows the truth.
Vader leaves Tech to deal with the mage, for now. Vader keeps Force pushing back, so hard that the dragon's claws dug deep, leaving furrows in the ground, still coughing and trying to clear it's mouth, when Vader reached sideways and hurled thick vine-line creeper vegetation from the rocks it was clinging and climbing on at it, allowing it crack like a whip and curl and tangle around the snout of the dragon who immediately began clawing at it in an attempt to free itself. Even making plaintive sounds at Silhara for help. Vader took advantage of the distraction to Force push Silhara.
Or Force-throw, really. He threw her with force and speed, at an angle that was meant to hurt considering he threw her at a particularly nasty patch of jagged and chipped rocks.
Thus done, Vader took steps closer to the dragon. Not hesitant, just firm. Plotting, but clear in what his intent was.
Get close to the dragon.
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The reaction from the dragon was instantaneous as it jerked its head against the vines upon seeing, or probably rather sensing the pain its mage was going through, pushing its distress into panicked fury. Flames licked between its teeth, mouth still straining against the vines as its burning eyes focused on what the true threat was. It tried to heave its body around, sweeping its tail at Vader.
Tech kept his blasters trained on Silhara, the mage still trying to move despite that bad landing. He cast glances between her and Vader and the dragon. "Watch out!" he called as he saw the dragon shift.
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And he can sense that movement, even if he can't quite see it, barely missing the tail crashing into him. His right leg takes a blow, it's enough to shatter the ankle of a person if they were made of flesh and bone. His were not but made of metal. Still, it takes some damage. He can stand on it, but he's not going to be running on it.
Mentally he cursed because that made things much more difficult.
Still, he reached out in the Force, trying to slip inside the Dragon, to calm it, to get a sense of it. It takes concentration, something he can afford with the dragon's mouth secured for the moment, and Silhara injured enough to be less of a threat.
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The mage had dragged herself to her feet, bloodied and bruised, and she gave a baleful look in Vader's direction before turning it towards the clone trooper. Tech braced himself, but he could guess what was going through her mind; take out the soldier, then deal with the real danger. She must have been working on another incantation as she got up, because the moment she lunged, fire wreathed around her, catching Tech by surprise. He pushed himself back as he leveled both guns and peppered her with blasterfire, but he couldn't tell if they were getting through or being somehow disrupted by the intense flames- or perhaps Silhara herself just no longer cared. She knew he only had one trick. Well, maybe two. He'd noticed the communicator at her belt as she was getting up.
Things were getting too hot as the mage continued to press the offensive, swiping at him as he tried to keep her away from the dragon and away from himself. Suddenly she lashed out to grab his arm, and he winced at her burning touch as it superheated the metal of his bracer. At this proximity he knew the rest of him would burn soon enough, but he forced his focus to the mage's communication device. No, there wasn't time for any finesse or coaxing- he channeled the unfamiliar panic and desperation, and maybe just a touch of anger into his link forged through his Heba ability, envisioning an overload.
The sudden explosion while small was still enough to fling Silhara sharply to the side. She hardly expected to have her comm become a mine, and surprise and the fresh wave of pain effectively snuffed out her flames as she crashed into the ground. Tech went falling back as well, wasting no time in fumbling with the hot bracer to detach from his forearm and what was left of his sleeve beneath it.
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Blame Rex?
Blame Rex, that seemed like a good plan.
- but he was busy and he did trust Tech to handle his job.
Of course, he was aware of the emotion from Tech, and made a note to deal with that later. Not that he disapproved. But if someone didn't know how to manage such emotions - and Tech wouldn't - they could be overwhelming.
But he was also aware of the flame out and the witch wheeling back. The dragon also tossed its head and shrieked around its bound mouth. Vader used the distress to his advantage and Force pulled the dragon down to the ground, pinning it firmly and holding it in place. Vader reached out and rested a hand on the dragon's tail, feeling the armored scales and heat from the dragon. Working to establish a mental connection with the beast, which wasn't easy. It required more of the Light Side than he'd been able to touch in almost two decades, and he had to heavily draw on his memories of Geonosis to accomplish it.
The dragon - Shenan - tossed its head and fought back, and Vader could feel its anger. Determination too, more than anger. Vader attempted to convey a truth - he would only hurt Shenan if Shenan attacked. Attack the Slyphid and it could be free.
Shenan continued to fight the connection, lashing it's tail as best he could. Vader felt a deep admiration for the creature's strength. He didn't even notice his touch had gone from a firm press to keep contact to almost a petting. Shenan dug his claws deeper and deeper into the ground seeming to take the opportunity to not fight the restraint but to build into an explosion.
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Was he...petting it? Tech couldn't help but stare a moment. He brought his hand up to pull down his visor, wincing at the movement, and abruptly pushing it aside as he saw the dragon's heat levels swelling through his HUD.
"General, abort-!"
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Indeed Vader was getting overheated in his core as he couldn't sweat and was starting to feel the effects of heat exhaustion with a pounding headache and muscles cramping. But he wasn't focused on his body and ignored the discomfort as he'd been taught since toddlerhood.
He could feel Shenan's desire to fight and well. If it wouldn't cooperate...punishment might prove effective. Tech's warning came as Vader steeling himself to further choke the dragon but it was almost too late as the heat blast from the dragon's mouth vaporized the water in the dirt to steam and the vegetation burned. Steam, superheated ash, flame, and teeth came right at Vader and he only narrowly managed to swipe the blade of his saber across the tongue and upper palate of the dragon, cutting deeply into both as he rolled away, mostly thrown by the Force, his clothing smoldering.
Alright, he growled out as he pushed himself to his knees. Now? Now he was pissed off. Indeed his yellow eyes almost screamed red as he drew on the Dark side, and the intense feeling of rot, decay, like slime and maggots others often felt in the presence of such, not to mention the brain's screaming of DANGER wouldn't likely be missed by any of the other three in the battle.
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The sudden sensation that suddenly overtook that portion of the battlefield was unlike anything Tech had ever felt and certainly more than he knew what to do with. It was more convoluted to process and no simple feat when his usual enhancements had been dulled to something closer to a baseline human's. This was far rawer than anything else, with nothing to measure or compare against, nothing to calculate nor break down into more palatable information. Even the lingering burn from being too close to flames paled in comparison to the sudden, inexplicable chill he felt as he saw the Sith Lord rise.
From where she'd landed, Silhara groggily lifted her head, looking in Vader's direction as well, eyes wide with uncertain fear. They had thought they had the upper hand against these rebels. They'd sorely underestimated them.
Tw : Vader graphically killing someone.
Just him and the power under his skin. Even the dragon cowered down and was crawling belly to the ground, torn between fleeing and rushing to Silhara. Vader strode between them, as if the danger flat didn't exist. And the closer he got the more that dread slick wave rolled into them.
He said nothing. A haunting terror on the battlefield whose power had turned lesser beings into quivering messes. Vader lifted his arm, hand extended, and beckoned the mage. She wasn't given a choice. She flew, meters of the ground, to a place within hand's reach of Vader. As he curled his hand into a fist, her hands crunch and cracked as the bones shattered, crushed. Her wrists followed and then her screams, of fear of pain. She couldn't focus enough to sumon her fire. The screams rang out just long enough to be a warning before being cut short as Vader's Force grip tightened on her throat, slowly cutting air off until she was kicking her feet and turning darker shades as her body robbed the remaining oxygen from her blood.
Sand he held her there. Making sure she fully felt the fear of not being able to breathe. On the closing darkness and knowledge of defeat. He pulled her closer, almost face to face, staring her in the eyes through his mask. And then, only when he was sure she truly understood she was defeated, he loosened his grip just enough to allow a mouthful of air so she could see him turn his attention to Shenan, and back to her. She'd lead her beloved power to it's death.
That started her flailing all over again, but it did nothing to help. Vader's grip tightened again, her head snapped loudly at an impossible angle and he tossed her body away, far back behind the Slyphid line.
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Juhani's words rang in his head like a faint echo. Tech felt like he was frozen in place, watching some forbidden event that no one would otherwise have been allowed to witness. He knew he wasn't, and yet he couldn't make himself move to look away, almost as though the thought of doing so would somehow bring the Dark Lord's ire upon him as well, an irrational thought that he for the moment could not quite quelch.
Even as a soldier who's witnessed and been in many battles, never had the clone seen such heartless brutality. Tech wondered that others on this battlefield had their attention drawn to the ongoing. It was no longer a battle here. The fight was over for Silhara.
Tech wrenched his gaze away from them as he heard the weak screams abruptly silenced, and for a precious span of seconds it seemed like that quiet spread in their vicinity, a tense hush as the Sylphid forces registered that one of their heavy hitters had just been defeated.
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But his own men had seen them, yes. In that, he treated by Tech no differently. And also in that only in trying to stop Vader would he turn that ire on himself but even then it would a relative gentle shove back or rendering him unconscious. Not harm.
Vader knew that quiet. That tense hush, that creeping horror, it was a common battlefield occurrence for him. On this side of it, of course.
The quiet was shattered by the roar of the dragon. It took had understood what had happened and it twisted to snap it's jaws as it worked up a firestream, going directly for Vader. Who didn't move. Didn't flinch.
"You had your chance," was his only comment as he rolled the saber, spinning on the back of his hand, feet planting.
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