Carpe Diem (Open)

[Ragsmire]

A cocky smirk caressed Judicar's features as the blast found its intended target. Though, within a moments time, he quickly realized the attack did not have the desired affect. Malum seemed little phased by the blaster bolt, covering it with a single hand as he would a freshly delivered brush to his arm. However, what was that spark in the air, was it....pain? Perhaps Malum was a better seasoned actor then anyone knew, and he was covering up. If so then what else had he hidden beneath layers of power and Mental delusions, Fear, frustration, anger, all at the concept of creating the one being that would be his ultimate downfall?

That realization brought with it a renewed sense of spirit in the face of incredible odds, Judicar was his ultimate fear, no matter what crazed plots his master had conjured, now or in the future. He checked his footing before bracing himself to charge Malum, never even taking note of the new addition to the room until it was far too late. Just as Judicar was on the verge of pouncing he felt the tendrils of the force wrapping around his neck, the first, and most distinct, thing he noticed about this was that the power behind it was far less significant then Malum's own.

Judicar wasted no time in embracing the shadows at his feet and dropping into the mystic antiverse that seemed to be the void, despite previous altercations within the dark realm, he had no trouble entering it without worry. His problem had long since been vanquished thanks to the assistance of his Master, in the end It was only a figment of his own imagination, his carnal desires given body and form to act on their own long since repressed behave. Since that time he'd come to accept it, and only grow more powerful thanks to it.

Judicar however was now worried, two against one wasn't good. And Malum, despite what he had thought seconds ago, seemed to be quickly recovering. But, as was his nature, Judicar thought out a contingency long beforehand. He rose from within the void, at the end of the command deck however, leaving several well formed shadow clones in his stead. They would serve only to distract the woman, and Malum while the real Judicar made his escape. Pulling a two way comm from his belt, he pressed the device to his mouth.

"provision Omega."

Prenuncius of Ruina, Bridge.

On the bridge of the Ruina, Commanding officer of Overwatch station, and personal servant to Judicar since his ascension to power beside Malum, Damon Wayneright received the orders from his lord and quickly relayed them forward.

"Shield squadron, proceed with your run." Within moments a flight of TIE bombers shreeked passed the viewport of the Ruina headed toward the command deck of Sovereign like a pack of angry bees after their nest had been disturbed. the strafing run commenced has planed, with the bombers being left ignored until it was far too late.

[Roku]

Ariana growled ferociously as Judicar dematerialized into the netherworld to escape the sailor scouts and be in a adulterous relationship with Queen Baryl. Ariana turned in the direction of the voice of the grizzled Jedi. "Hmm?" She asked. "How did you get in? What do you want?"

Ariana casually walked in his direction, her unseeing eyes only faintly poised towards his face, though obviously unfocused on anything. Why hadn't he just fired at her? She knew he had a blaster and that it was pointed at her, but only by searching his feelings. He hadn't yet attempted to harm her, so she wasn't sure what to make of it. She deactivated her lightsaber, and put it back on her belt. A large force barrier came up to protect against the bombs, shielding her from the attack of the man who disappeared back into the void. She growled, disliking how everyone was running away. There was a strange patience Ariana possessed, where she had little interest in combat until it was initiated by the other party, whether it be on herself or one of her allies.

[MikDaTv]

"Awwww damnit, you let him get away." Jor said. He turned back towards the command decks entrance and saw the shadow clones materialize. He put two and two together and bolted. He was quite familiar with shadow clones by now. Engaging them directly was a fools errand but he could follow the thin tendrils of consciousness that connected them to their master.

The blow that was coming was almost guaranteed and Jor wasn't going to be there for it when it did happen. As he approached the first shadow clone he reached out with his free hand and touched it, absorbing the energy that made it corporeal. He channeled this energy through his body and formed a wedge with the Force, pushing the others aside as he ran past them.

When he neared the blast doors he reached down to his snake like belt and retrieved a small object. A relic from his past battles and one of the novelty weapons he was well trained to use. He hurled the thudbug into the panel next to the blast doors. The insect didn't have a lot of time to build up speed but it had enough force to activate the door controls. The blast doors slid closed quickly and Jor slid under it. As it slid closed he pulled his lightsaber from its compartment in his thigh and plunged it through the wall on his side, opposite the control panel on the other side making sure that it couldn’t be used to reopen the door.

“Just once I’m going to do it the easy way. I swear, one of these times the bad guys are just going to give up instead of running.” He said to himself as he gave chase after Judicar. If this was going to be contained, Jor needed to make sure everyone stayed on the same ship.

[Gamov]

In spite of Ariana's efforts to stop Judicar's escape, she had failed to compensate for the powers of the shadow arts. Another trait of his student that Malum had always disliked, even when he knew Cain was capable of such abilities. They lacked elegance and were viewed by the Dark Lord as something of a blight on the galaxy, as were the Kumori who wielded such powers. Malum would make the mental note to himself to see to the destruction of those powers once and for all, but for the time being would tolerate Judicar's retreat from battle.

As the shadow clones appeared in the wake of his Apprentice's retreat, proximity alarms suddenly sprang up over the ship's p.a. system. Of course, this was not negating the importance of the appearance of the green robed Jedi on his ship either. Both of these things were indeed troubling threats, but Malum was only one man. Sadly it seemed he would have to rely on his underlings to deal with the Jedi. While Jor made good on his own escape to pursue Judicar, Malum allowed his saber to deactivate as he gave the order to Ariana to eliminate Jor.

"Go after him. Kill him and do not return to me until it is done." Turning sharply, the Dark Lord made his way towards the command bridge. Here things were operating at a decidedly more hectic pace. Yet in the center of it all stood Rain, ever the image of calm and confidence.

"But, Admiral.... The enemy fleet is...."

Rain gave the officer a quick backhand across the face. "Are you that dense? They are launching against us! Do your job and kill them before they kill us!"

"Y-y-yes, ma'am." The junior Lieutenant turned back to his station and began relaying his orders as Rain let out an agitated sigh and turned to notice Malum's return.

Bowing to him, she greeted him. "My Lord, Judicar's fleet has opened fire on our fleet. But I have the situation...."

Malum interrupted quickly, "we have more pressing matters. A Jedi has infiltrated the ship. He must be eliminated at all costs. Deploy the Guard to track him."

Rain seemed visibly shocked by the news. They hadn't detected any such thing with their instruments. Perhaps the Jedi had proven strong enough in the Force to guard himself from detection. A startling lapse in security to be certain. "What of Judicar, my Lord?"

"He will be dealt with in time. For now, focus on the Jedi."

"As you wish." In the next moment, the message was sent out ship wide for all stations to report to their battle stations and for security personnel to keep watch for a rogue Jedi aboard the ship.
__________

In the barracks located deep within Sovereign, the message was received for the general quarter to all hands. For Nisha, this was welcomed news. She had grown weary of trapsing across the galaxy on board a ship that was seldom attacked. It was a dull posting, but it seemed Malum's paranoia held sway over everything anymore.

"That's in then." Radik said, looking absently up towards the comm system in the barracks, "Guardsmen! Prepare to fulfill your oath; for victory or death."

Strangely, the Guard did not rally to battle with a resounding "hoorah" or some other equally stereotypical military chant. Rather, each Guardsman understood their duty and prepared for battle almost as if it were a solemn ritual. Silently, over 25 Guardsmen armed themselves and filed out of the barracks, fanning out across the ship in squads of five Guardsmen per squad. However, Radik's was the largest of any other group, consisting of himself, four fellow Guardsmen, a small contingent of 15 Overwatch special operations soldiers and Lady Nisha herself.

Though Nisha considered herself the defacto leader of the squad, Radik was always quick to remind her that they still served the will of the Dark Lord, not her delusions of grandeur. Though she mostly cooperated with Radik, there was still a fair deal of tension between the two.

"I'll take the lead on this one," Nisha said, gathering her own lightsaber and clipping it to her belt. "Your boys aren't quite ready to face a Jedi of this caliber."

"We are always prepared...." Markus slipped his helmet over his head and collected his personal saber, "always."

Nisha knew Radik was prepared to do whatever it took to preserve Malum. If nothing else, her master had trained the Guard well. They were loyal to the very end and would have no qualms about killing her if the Dark Lord deigned it. Giving Radik a sneering look as he passed her, she reluctantly fell in line behind him. At least she could still exert some control over the Overwatch lackey's she told herself.

[MikDaTv]

Tracking down Judicar had proved more complicated than Jor had hoped. As much as he knew he could, he didn't like just mind wiping every single person he came across of their memory for the past few moments. It made hims as invisible as air but it strummed a certain cord of unethical in Jor's conscious. These crewmen weren't evil, they were just stupid for joining the wrong side. That didn't give Jor the right to root around in their brains.

He stayed hidden as much as possible and avoided contact where he could. The good thing about the executor class was that it was huge which gave him ample space for hiding. Getting on board had been simple enough. Bring enough air tanks with you and you can trick an exterior airlock into thinking it's been pressurized. But staying aboard for any length of time without detection was the real trick. Jor had pushed it going directly to the bridge, but the change to take kill or capture the primary leaders of the bad guys was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

He slipped into a janitorial closet for a moment and locked himself in. He used the brief period of privacy to activate his com. "Big Blue, this is Snake Doctor. Whats your status?"

The monotone, synthesized voice of Shard came back to him. "I am in position Snake Doctor. Looks like fleet action has begun. As you say, the shit is about to hit the fan."

"Good, be ready Big Blue. I need you to relay a message to the Nest. Lost contact with enemy. Maintain watch over main hanger, attack at earliest opportunity." Jor said.

Shard saved the message to his memory file. "Message will be relayed Snake Doctor."

"Thanks Big Blue. Snake Doc out." Jor put his com away and knelt down to think for a moment.

He had been aboard Executors a lot before, but it was still easy to get lost. It was like a city in space. Blueprints stored in the suit from the Jewel of Coronet helped him nail down his exact location. He wasn't that far from where he came on board. He needed to get to his cache and grab his helmet. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that he'd need to do some vacuum work in the near future.

He stepped out of the janitors closet and slung his ACP array gun over his shoulder. It was easier to move without it in his hand, but he kept a razor bug in his palm just in case he needed it.

* * *

Outside the ship, Shard was standing on the exterior hull, right behind a ventral sensor array dish. He stepped out from the shadow cast by the dish holding up both his robotic hands and began to make hand signals.

[Ragsmire]

Judicar wasted little time in his escape, slipping through the blast door long before it closed and rushing down the intersecting corridor, shoving his way passed officers and troopers stationed on the executor alike, he knocked one female comms officer into a wall of people earning him questioning looks as the alarms were activated.

Instantly armed guards rose from every aperture weapons tilted up primed to fire. They had to have been ordered to stop him, something Judicar wouldn't allow. He snapped his hand in front of his face catching the first bolt that was fired at him, and utilizing his left hand clenched his fist into a ball pulling the five soldiers into a vortex of blood and gore as they were crushed together in a Whirlpool of telekinetic pressure. The sound of popping and bones cracking filled the air as Judicar took a fast right maneuvering down an alternate hallway.

"Ready my ship, now!" He screamed into the comm link, now locked on a different frequency set. A moment later he slammed into someone stepping out of the refresher taking him clean off his feet with the speed he was running. Judicar stumbled but quickly recovered and continued running down the hallway.

Hanger Three-Zero-Zero-Seven, Sovereign.

Stationed at the center of the emptied hanger, a reported chemical leak two days prior had forced an emergency evacuation and has since gone unchecked, was the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle that had been arranged to be here days before, The ship had been the reported source of the chem leak, but once the order was issued it quickly powered up, showing a fully functional and operating vessel void of any cargo that could be spreading contaminants.

The boarding ramp fell moments later with two dozen soldiers flocking from within and taking a defensive stance around it, securing the hanger gradually in case Malum had caught wind of the deception. Originally this was to be Judicar's escape route after a successful assassination, should he need it. However now it became the sole pathway he had to leave the massive capital vessel, and once space bond exactly how they were to get away without being blow out of the sky was a mystery to the pilot.

[Gamov]

Sovereign's command deck:

On the bridge, every crew member was scrambled to their duty stations and were working feverishly at their posts. And it wasn't just because the ship was under attack. The presence of a Sith Lord had done a great deal to snap these men and women into overdrive. Fear kept them going now, fear that even the slightest miscalculation could be their last.

From his position at the front of the command deck, Malum watched the battle unfold outside his ship, not a trace of worry or concern visible in his posture. Slightly behind him to his right stood his faithful Admiral, her eyes equally tracking the battle with a keen tactical mind, waiting for even the slightest hint of a weakness in their defenses. Of course, an Executor supported by thousands of fighters and dozens of other capital ship vessels didn't appear to have a weakness to a naive officer. But Rain always knew that even the most well built armor had a flaw somewhere. Nothing was indestructible.

"Admiral," Lieutenant Vale said, walking up behind the pair and speaking somewhat timidly in the presence of the Dark Lord. Rain turned slightly to face the young officer, her expression demanding the report without a single word wasted. Vale cleared her throat, "we've tracked Judicar to a hangar on the ship's starboard flank. He seems to be attempting to escape. What action shall we take?"

Rain looked back to Malum, his rigid stance unbroken. She knew what to say now as she looked back to the Lieutenant, "nothing, Lieutenant. You will allow him to escape."

Vale nodded to the Admiral. "Yes, ma'am."

Shifting her attention back to Malum, Rain took another firm step forward, bringing herself directly to the Dark Lord's side now. "Why are you allowing that, sir? He tried to kill you." She whispered, keeping her own tone low so as not to raise any questions among the bridge crew.

"In due time, Admiral."

It was the same laconic reply she had gotten out of him at Byss just before the Empire arrived and laid siege to the planet. Rain hated that about him and was definitely more than frustrated by it. His timing was always impeccable though, picking moments where they were in public so she could not question his authority. It was that kind of brilliant tactical maneuvering that had always garnered a great deal of respect from her towards Janus.

"Am I to assume that he is going to be allowed to escape this system?"

Malum nodded casually. Though he knew Rain would prefer to finish this fight rather than drag it out and risk a defeat, he knew her loyalty and trust would ultimately lead her to fulfill his wishes as she had always done.

"Shall I have the fleet track him, then?" Playing 20 questions was not Rain's preferred style of getting around to doing things. It wasted valuable time, at the end of which you usually end up with just as much information as when you started.

"Dispatch the Manticore to shadow his movements. He has something more planned, I can sense it. Judicar is no fool, he will retreat from this battle rather than risk his fleet. And I want to know where he plans to set up his contingency."

Rain bowed respectfully to the Dark Lord, "as you wish, my Lord."

Sovereign's lower decks:

"He will undoubtedly try to use the hangars or pressure locks to escape the ship." Markus said, his squad currently stopped at an intersection in the halls that led off in several directions towards exterior escape points on the ship, "fan out on this level. Keep an eye on any air ducts and paths leading towards the hangars. Contain that Jedi at all costs."

As the squad around him dispersed, Nisha lingered behind, "what if escape isn't his plan? What if he just doubles back to the bridge and tries again?"

Radik glared at the Sith. "He's a Jedi, not an idiot. You would do well not to confuse those two notions any longer."

Nisha rolled her eyes in agitation at the Executor's condescending remark. "Spare me. He might be a Jedi, but his attachment to that antiquated code dictates that there is a measure of honor to be had in killing the Sith. An opportunity such as this won't come along again any time soon. He will try again."

"Then why did he run from the bridge in the first place?" Markus asked, smirking somewhat behind his mask, "he had the Dark Lord right there. If he was so hell bound for honor, he would have charged in right then."

Nisha let an amused chuckle slip out under her breath. For all of their disagreements and bickering, she did rather enjoy Radik's company. These were the kinds of discussions that she loved but could not seem to have with her own master. Philosophy seemed lost on the Dark Lord. A pity, she thought. He could be much more if he were to open his mind.

"Now who underestimates who here?" She asked, "I say he's going to try again. You say he's trying to escape. We'll see who's right." Pivoting on her heel, Nisha turned and began heading back the way they had come.

"Where do you think you're going?" Radik called after her.

"The bridge, of course. If I'm right, that Jedi is going to slip right through your guards and come back to finish what he started. And I want to be the one who stops him."

Now it was Radik's turn to feel a modicum of respect and admiration for Nisha. She was bold, he had to give her that. Unapologetic and unabashedly bold. She appeared wise beyond her years to the Executor, though he could never quite place why that seemed so. Turning back to the mission as Nisha vanished around the corner, Markus made his way towards the security center. He wanted to be kept up to date on every move that Jedi was making. More than that though, he wanted to beat Nisha at her own game.

[MikDaTv]

As Nisha rounded the corner towards the bridge she was stopped short by a guy in green armor and robes with an ACP Array gun leveled at her chest. He'd found his helmet again but the clear, full face mask visor showed his face plane enough.

Jor winked. "Hey, how you doing." He said. "Probably not a good idea to say your plan out loud so the guy your hunting can hear you. Did they teach you discipline in military school... or are you guys the cannon fodder off the street."

[Gamov]

Rounding the corner, Nisha was brought to an abrupt stand still as she nearly ran directly into an armored figure waiting just around the bend. Reacting first rather than thinking, her instincts guided her had to the lightsaber at her hip, a move that would normally scare off whatever useless grunt had decided to get in her way. But her hand quickly stopped, hovering just inches over the hilt of her saber as she traced the muzzle of the rifle being pointed at her back to its owner.

"Hey, how you doing." The man said with a wink, "probably not a good idea to say your plan out loud so the guy your hunting can hear you. Did they teach you discipline in military school... or are you guys the cannon fodder off the street."

"You've got to be kidding me," Nisha said, more to herself than anyone else. "Well, what do we do now, Mr. jolly green giant? It seems I am at a disadvantage here. You could kill me and just get on with what you've come here to do.... But you would have done that already if that was your plan."

[Ragsmire]

Hanger Three-Zero-Zero-Seven, Sovereign.

Flooding into the hanger like a rush of water, Judicar was pushed ever forward by a hale of blaster fire at his heels, since his run from the Command deck the Sith Lord had stirred quite a gathering of armed incumbents. Instantaneously jumping clear of his own trooper's line of fire the two sides began waring against one another within the small confines of the dock. Blast of orange-red fire splashed every direction with color and scorch marks as the fire rang about the hanger fiercely.

The number's were too great even for Judicar, he couldn't destroy hundreds of guards, not without exhausting himself beyond his powers. Instead he opted for a more cowardice approach, despite the sickening feeling that concept brought. He rushed up the ramp while the fighting was still in its prime and pushed his way into the cockpit.

"Take off." The Ship's captain swiveled in her chair to face him with a questioning look. "But what about the men?" Judicar summoned his blaster to his hand with the force aiming it at her. "Captain you will forgo your concern for them, as i am your commander you will take off this instant!" As if the fear in his eyes didn't spell out her unwilling cooperation, a pair of raised hands as she gradually returned her hands to the control panel did.

The Ramp lifted leaving the now swarmed men to fend for themselves as the shuttle rose from the dursteel floor and out the energy lock. within moment the remaining troopers had either been gun downed or surrendered, what would become of their fate was unknown to Judicar, Malum would probably use every trick he knew to extract information from them before permanently ending their military careers within the empire.

Homeworld-class Assault Carrier, Prenuncius of Ruina.

The transport came to an abrupt halt after breaching the magnetic field and crashing into the hanger, slamming into an adjacent TIE fighter. during the flight over the ship had come under attack by a pair of enemy snubs, but thankfully they escaped due to the timely assistance of Judicar's own fighter force. The Sith spared no more time on the Lambda then he had too, departing for the command chambers immediately upon final rest of the vessel.

The moment his feet hit the dursteel a adviser of Wayneright's matched his pace, quickly updated Judicar on the situation at hand. "My Liege, our forces are severely outmatched by Malum's, he has both the advantage in fighters, and Capital firepower as it stands. We're ready to order a full scale retreat of all our forces at any moment."

Their trip came to a quick stop as Judicar gazed out a view port eying the Sovereign out in the distance, barely able to make out the small spots of moment around it, like thousands of bugs bustling about a rotted carcass. His ships against Malum's, his bombers trying their damnest to score that one hit against that behemoth that would hammer another nail into its coffin. Though he knew it was a futile effort, Judicar still watched in amazement, why would these men chose to fight for him over his master? What did he have going for him that Malum didn't?

"My Liege?" The hazy voice drifted back into his frame of mind, apparently Judicar had been staring at the ship for several moments, expanding his senses to located his master one last time, he didn't feel any different. The same dark blotch in the universe he'd always been, Judicar wasn't sure why he expected something else, but never the less he did.

"Order the evacuation. There's no way we can win here. Fall back to locations Sigma, and Epsilon." Bowing out of the conversation, the assistant relayed the order.

[MikDaTv]

"Well, first i want to know how many there are in your squad. Second i want to know where they are headed. Finally, third i want your ID." Jor said. "Once those three things are finished i'll knock you out, put you in an escape pod and jettison you towards the planet."

Jor didn't budge his gun but he indicated it with as light tilt of his head. "Or i can shred you up real nice and leave you here I suppose. I don't like killing people though so i like my way better."

* * *

The twisting blue tube of hyperspace disapeared and quickly formed into streaks of light. Those streaks of light quickly faded into their individual pinpoints to form the stars and with that, the Jor Halcyon and her battle group exited hyperspace.

On her starboard side were two attack wings of Shard Class Scouts. Each wing consisted of Eight Shards making 16 of the fast moving craft in total.

On her port side were two attack wings of Olympian Class Escorts. making 16 of them as well.

The Halcyon herself began spilling fighters out of her hangers and Fighter Launch tubes like crazy, filling space around her with tiny one manned attack craft.

On the bridge, Captain Stowe watched as the holographic battle representation formed over the holotable at the rear of the bridge.

"Looks like the Ruina is retreating." Commander Peter said.

The Captain nodded. "Yes it does. Shields up! Helm, best possible speed, put us in front of the Prenuncius of Ruina and keep us there. Do not allow her to make the jump to lightspeed. All forward guns engage that Homeworld."

Confirmation of orders rang out from the bridge crew and the Lysander Class Carrier swung into action. The hull under their feet vibrated as the ships 15 forward turbolasers and 10 forward ion cannons began their rapid fire attacks at maximum range.

"Captain look at this." Peter said. "The Manticore moved away from the main fleet towards the Ruina as well."

Stowe pointed to the holographic image representation of the Olympian attack wings. "Have both Olympian wings on standby to soften her up but don't engage just yet, lets see who she decides to attack first. Has the Romulus been detected yet?"

Peter shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. Looks like Sovereign has taken damage from a squadron of bombers but that's about it."

"Commence Operation Bismarck." Stowe said.

* * *

On the hull of Sovereign, Shard received word that the Halcyon had arrived and Operation Bismarck had begun. He waved his arms up above him to signal the Romulus which had been watching him but unable to communicate via coms to prevent her detection. That time was coming to an end quickly however.

Once the message had been properly hand signaled, shard returned to the sensor array dish he'd been hiding by and planted three detpacks. one on the dish itself and two at it's base which would hopefully hull the ship and destroy the electronics connected to the dish. He looked along the artificial horizon the hull of the ship made and spotted his next target, a cluster of maneuvering thrusters. He chose to run using his magnetic boots rather than transform and fly there. The longer he evaded detection, the more havoc he could cause.

* * *

"Operation Bismarck has been commenced." Captain Ryan of the Romulus said watching the holo of Shard give his hand signals. "Pull us away from here and head aft towards the main engines."

the Helmsman acknowledged the order and the invisible Warbird Class Cruiser pulled away from where it had stationed itself, just off the main hanger of Sovereign and moved to the massive ships aft to put them off station over he main engines.

It usually took a very concentrated effort to bring down a ship like an Executor Class Star Destroyer. To Ryan's knowledge, no one had ever tried to nickle and dime one to death like this before. "Prep the main gun and get ready for a Loran Spitball." He ordered.

[Gamov]

Sovereign's command deck:

A new alarm rang up over the commotion on the bridge, drawing Rain's attention sharply away from the battle. She recognized the tone immediately as being that of the ship's long range proximity alarms. Something had tripped them, and it almost definitely wasn't one of the many ships already present over the planet.

Taking a few steps back from Malum's side towards the center of the catwalk, Rain belted out the demand for a report. "Captain, report!"

Captain Thrall rushed over to a nearby sensor station, leaning in over the technician's shoulder to take a look at the readout for himself. The scans showed several dozen freighter sized ships escorting a larger capital ship slipping out of hyperspace just beyond their effective weapons range.

"Lysander-class, ma'am. And she's got company." Thrall said, looking back towards the Admiral.

"Her heading, Captain?"

Glancing back to the instruments, Gavin deduced that the Halcyon wasn't making a run for them, but was instead focusing its attention on the Ruina. "She's headed for the Ruina, ma'am. Looks like they're going to cut off their escape."

Rain glanced back to the Dark Lord, "my Lord, what would you have us do?"

Malum was quiet for several moments before he responded. "Continue with your orders, Admiral. I will deal with Judicar's forces." He said, finally turning his attention away from the battle and striding off of the command deck to his private chambers. Rain gave him an irritated look as he passed her on the catwalk, he could sense her immeasurable frustration. But he knew that anger could be channeled more effectively into a tool to use against their enemies here.

After Malum had disappeared from the bridge, Rain turned back to her duties, a cold, agitated undertone to her words. "Keep the Manticore on the Ruina's tail and engage at will. We'll force them out of this system if we have to." Here she was in command of the largest ship in the fleet, as she was being told to sit on her hands. It infuriated Rain to no end, but there were way around that. The sooner the Ruina left, the quicker she could engage the enemy and destroy their fleet.

Sovereign's lower decks:

Nisha was still more than upset with herself for having been caught so blatantly off guard. She should have been more aware of what was going on around her. But that did little to change the choices she had to make now, and in her mind they were simple. Lie. Lie like her life depended on it.... Because ironically, it did.

"My squad is probably more of a platoon, but they aren't much of one if you ask me. And right about now, they're probably going to be initiating the standard protocol for a security breach. You know, seal the doors, lock the ramparts, all that good stuff. So any major exit from this ship will be guarded like a fortress. As for my ID, well," she pointed to the lgihtsaber at her side, still clipped harmlessly to her belt. "This is my ID. With it I can go anywhere I want. But that presents you with a problem, because you aren't me. So, sorry ol' boy. Tough luck on the last part of the quiz."

Just because Jor had her in a position where she couldn't so much as sneeze without being shot full of lead, didn't mean Nisha would disarm her wit or her dislike for Jedi.

Manticore's command deck:

"Sir, message coming in from the Admiral." Lieutenant Bligh said.

Harkness, who had been mirroring the progress of the Ruina with his own ship, turned to face the Lieutenant. "Put her, through," he said, making his way towards the communications suite. There, he took a second to adjust his uniform slightly, tugging on the cuffs of his jacket before the image of Rain appeared on the holoprojector.

"Admiral. What new orders do you have for us?" Harkness hoped that they were to engage someone. Anyone. He hadn't been in command of the Manticore for very long and was eager to prove his skills in combat.

"Captain, you are clear to engage the Ruina at will. Don't destroy her, just encourage them to leave the system as soon as possible."

"And the other ships, ma'am. What of them?"

"Irrelevant for the time, Captain. Focus on the Ruina."

Harkness bowed, "as you wish." As Rain's image faded from the projector, the Captain turned back to his crew, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Lieutenant!"

Declan rushed to his CO, "yes, Captain?"

"General hands to all crew. We're clear to engage the Ruina."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Moving back to his position at the front of the command deck, Harkness clasped his hands neatly behind his back. The Ruina seemed to be just off their bow, so close he could touch it. Closing on her fast was the Jor Halcyon, making a bee line for the Ruina's escape route. No doubt the crew aboard the Ruina would recognize this and attempt to correct their course, but Harkness wouldn't wait to find out.

In an instant, the forward batteries on the Manticore opened up, pelting the Ruina's starboard flank with a blast of turbolasers and ion cannons. Though they weren't out to destroy the Ruina, the blast would be enough to get their attention and hopefully send them in another direction. Shortly behind the volley, fighters swarmed out from the Manticore's hangar bay, a squadron of TIE Defenders set on a direct course for the Ruina. They weren't to engage with enough firepower to cause extreme damage, just enough to give the Ruina some extra incentive.

Malum's meditation chamber:

Settling into a seated position, the Dark Lord began to meditate on events outside the ship. More specifically, on the Ruina. Gradually, he felt his way out from the command deck of the Sovereign, feeling the tension among the crew before he extended his senses beyond the slate grey hull of his command ship. Past the crew of the Manticore now, everything was coming into much clearer focus for Malum.

He could nearly visualize the Jor Halcyon by sensing the general locations of her crew through the Force, but this wasn't his target. His attention shifted again, drawn away from the Halcyon towards the signature of his former Apprentice aboard his own ship. Judicar was there, and he seemed calm despite what was unfolding around him. He was in control of things on his end, but only to a degree. His crew was going to need far more help than their own determination.

Silently, the Dark Lord began to influence the minds of the crew aboard the Ruina. They would now begin to see things on a subconscious level as the Dark Lord did. Their responsiveness and cognitive abilities would become extensions of Malum's will, his invisible hand subtly manipulating them to the point where they could almost grasp a vision of the future for themselves before it could come into focus.

Delving further into Judicar's crew, the Dark Lord was able to single out their commander. Wayneright. Effortlessly, he approached the man in his own mind.

"Commander Wayneright" He called out, "are you there? Can you hear me?"

[MikDaTv]

Jor could feel it in his gut. There was a sinking feeling. The Dark Lord on board was demonstrating his power, reaching cross space with his consciousness.

Jor sighed and dropped his gun. "You lied to me." He said. He felt the dishonesty drip from her lips before she ever said anything. It left a familiar taste in his mouth. His lightsaber was in his hand in an instant but he left it deactivated. "Go, run. Get to a pod and get off this ship. If you value the lives of your squad, go find them and take them with you. Or you can fight me. I don't like killing, but if you force me, i'll do my best."

[Gamov]

Jor's offer to run, while enticing to her, sparked a different notion in Nisha's own twisted mind. Rather than simply turn tail and flee from a fight, she seemed to be presented with an opportunity to accomplish what she had wanted all along.

Her demeanor softened somewhat towards the Jedi now, "well, it's obvious you don't really want to kill me, so I'm going to make you and offer. The Emperor is distracted, I know you felt it because I felt it. Now would be the time to get him, take him down while his back is turned.... Literally. I know it isn't typical Jedi style to just stab a guy in the back, but I'm sure you would agree that the benefits outweigh the risks."

She didn't think she could rely on Jor to actually agree to help her kill the Emperor. But if nothing else, she hoped to put the idea in his head to go confront him while he was distracted from events.

[MikDaTv]

"If it comes down to me fighting him, he'll be given the same chance to back down as i gave you." Jor said. His hand tightened around his lightsaber. "So what is it to be? Run or fight? Fight or run?"

* * *

The Swamp Fox touched down on the public landing pad just inside the Imperial City limits of Coruscant. John Paul Jones was at the helm. The Normandy class stealth yacht had gotten through all the confusion in orbit without much problem but John was sure they had been spotted by the local authorities on their way down through the atmosphere.

"We need to go." Lieutenant Chip Hazard said.

John was already up and clipping his lightsaber to the belt around his Templar armor. "Way ahead of you. Lets get the troops going."

"Go ahead, i'm going to set the auto destruct for an hour." Chip said as he set about putting actions to words.

John headed out of the cockpit and down to the cargo bay where 52 men were gathered. Some of them wore Imperial uniforms, some of them were in plain civilian clothes. All of them wore coats and all of them were armed with DC-17m Weapon systems tucked tightly against their bodies under their coats. "Ok, we're on the ground, everyone out and rendezvous at site alpha."

The cargo ramp lowered and the men started to file out. Chip joined John in the line out. Chip was wearing regular civies like the rest of his men. John was wearing simple Jedi Robes over his armor. All of them filed out of the ship and dispersed into the city. Chip closed the ship up on his way out and dispersed as well.