The Battle for Kuat
IC: Sage Master Avalon
IC: Sage Master Avalon
Under a lonely spotlight does the white-robed wraith knot his brow in concentration, channeling the ethereal ocean to peer upon its volatile streams, to view places far away and far—or perhaps not so far—into the future. Rather than seat himself on the command bridge, Master Avalon sealed himself within his meditation chamber with nothing but the low, peaceful whirr of his mental hoverchair for company. It was an advanced system built from the architectural and technological knowledge of Jedi, Sith, Jal Shey, and the ancient Rakatans, and it served as the foremost answer to the Sith meditation sphere, concealing his presence and boosting his power just as they did. The helmet’s lights tinged his periphery with an azure glow as the system remained active. But it only mattered when he wasn’t using it. For his perceptions extended far beyond the meditation chamber, far beyond the mesopelagic glow that encircled him. Any other could accompany him within the chamber, and watch as he worked. It had no screen per se, using the segmented silvery bricks inlaid to create a replica, or one comprehensible to non-Forceful, of what Avalon saw.
And he saw very much indeed: workers and troops and Kuati loyalists packing ships with as much equipment, supplies, and ammunition as their bulkheads could bear; pilots quadruple-checking their fighter systems; officers directing the effort from within their respective command placements; engineers peering with eyes well-trained to spot structural and technological weaknesses. It was moving efficiently.
But not as efficiently as it could.
He knew why, for he could feel very much as well: he could feel the anxiety so strongly. He was not indifferent himself to the razor butterflies that persisted during such risky tactics and prior to the inevitable confrontation. When it exploded into combat—and he was sure it would—the adrenaline that pumped through each and every soldier might be as high amperage electricity pumping through their veins, or it might be like a corrosive toxin, eating away at the will to go on and poisoning the rest of the body. He could not afford to use his energy maintaining their morale; he would need every ounce of it.
The future was perpetually a vertiginous tangle of possibilities, and viewing each and every one was often a jarring and needless endeavor. Certainty came so quickly when it portended the path of tragedy. So deeply had Avalon peered upon the water’s reflections that he was pulled within, and he had seen jagged ships sailing its tenebrous seas, carving through the darkness in brilliant cerulean whorls that cradled an evil much darker than the cosmos.
Avalon, using the enhanced telepathy granted by the meditation chamber, touched the minds of every commander and flashed them with a warning. As preparations were made, he sunk into Battle Meditation, those muscles so finely sculpted that he did not even need to form an image to affect the flow of the Force. At once he kindled his force’s hearts with the cold, cosmic flame that succors in wanhope and distress. Eddies of calm and determination swirled throughout the entire fleet till it turned as one. With the natural bonds of life strengthened through Jedi Battle Meditation, each being of every ship felt as the limb of a whole body, the Enhanced Coordination of which made them primed perfectly to respond to and counter any threat.
And quite a threat indeed emerged. Like the clawed, curved digits of a cosmic colossus, Sith ships slammed into realspace with a sonorous thunder that barraged Avalon’s Force-scouring ears. Had they not been bolstered by Avalon, the Federation fleet may have been broken there and then by the brobdingnagian push dagger that aimed straight for them. But they did not despair, and guided by a great mental hand they met the Sith head-to-head, responding exactly to their tactics as their enemy did so, setting out to stifle them with perfect precision and alacrity.
Avalon reached out with his will and began to assault the minds of his enemy, seizing them with confusion and fear. Every missed shot was sure to be a harbinger of many more; every pilot suddenly became immensely doubtful of their own ability; and every commander suddenly felt a great absence begin to overtake the part of the mind where experience, strategy, and tactics lied. The Sith themselves might withstand more than their troops, but they were by no means immune.
And yet, no ripples upon the Force could be detected, nor did the Jedi master glow like a star within the Force like one might expect. Not even the ship where Avalon was aboard could be detected, cloaked from sight and sensor as it was, well outside of visible range. By all means, it might have appeared as if the Sith were simply immensely unlucky.
And worse still, great swarms of fighters erupted from hangar bays, while yet the original crew awaited orders inside the safety of their hangars. An arcane Fallanassi technique, redolent of the evil illusion magic the Sith employed, conjured a deadly illusory force. For every enemy that believed them to be real, they became such.
Their own methods had been turned against them.
But that was not all the fleet had to offer: Brilliant, powerful, luminous beings were preparing their own assaults.
And thus the battle for Kuat had begun, bathed in psychic fire.
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Powers Used:
Battle Meditation - 4 (supporting and coordinating allies, assaulting and demoralizing enemy)
Image - 4 (creating illusions of fighters)
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OoC: Please write your experiences prior to the beginning of the battle to shortly after this post ends. Choose your positions, you may take any with permission.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you creative geniuses come up with!
Tags: @DarthFeros, @Cardun Vrek , @Darth Voxyn
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RAVENCROWN FLEET
*24 hours ago*
The view from his private residence aboard the BLOODREIGN was stunning. The planet Korriban filled the lower half of the view port like a massive pool of blood, and the stars that dotted the encircling nebula crowned the planet.
It was the Empress herself who called Xxys in the dead of the night cycle, and as the holographic projection of the diminutive woman crackled to life the Dark Lord rose from his seat (he rarely slept most nights) and fell to one knee, head bowed.
“Hail the Empress!” he looked up to see her face wore a serious expression that meant this was no social call. “To what do I owe the honor, my Liege?”
Her voice was curt and professional as always, and as always it commanded respect.
“Good evening, Lord Xxys. I will dispense with the pleasantries and cut right to the heart of the matter. As of three days ago, the Jedi dared to make a lunge at Kuat Drive Yards– no doubt a move to supply their camps at the other battlefronts across the galaxy. We had thought it to be something else, but it is clear now this is an act of war.”
Xxys had seen the reports of the raids but had chalked it up to pirates, and as neither the Empire or the Federation actually owned the historically neutral shipyards, there had been little need to intervene in the profiteering of small time raiders, however the Empress had resources far beyond his own, so it was no surprise she had a better overview of the reality of the situation… such was her power.
She continued, “The frontier is heating up, Lord Xxys, and our forces are already engaged on several fronts, from the root of this war on Ossus, and on Coruscant and Dantooine. Now, with this raid on the Drive Yards, I know we are ready to send our fleets into the fray of this war!”
She said the last word with an emphasis that said she not only welcomed the conflict, but had no doubt of Imperial victory. Her voice became low and foreboding.
“This is the final step in securing the Sith’s dominion over the galaxy, and ending the scourge that is the Jedi order once and for all.”
Xxys could feel the Empress’s hate radiating through the Force, and even across the vast distance separating them, it filled the room… such was her power.
“Scramble your fleet, Darth Xxys. Go to Kuat, crush these Jedi raiders, and secure the planet before the Jedi can gain any more materiel.”
Xxys’ voice was filled with certainty as he replied, “All will be as you command my Queen. The RAVENCROWN fleet is ready to deploy and is brimming with pilots eager to spill Jedi blood. I will…”
The Empress cut him short and Xxys could feel the pressing weight of her stare through the hologram…such was her power.
“Save your speeches for the troops, Lord Xxys. I am only interested in results. I want to see the fleet warping out within the hour, and Jedi heads on my throne room floor within the week.”
Her tone made clear no response was needed.
“May the Force serve you well, and good hunting.”
The Empress cut the transmission from her end before he could reply yet still he bowed and made his obedience…such was her power.
As the hologram winked out the cabin fell silent and Xxys rose from his knee and returned to the console he had been sitting at. Flicking a switch on the station the screen flickered to life and the familiar face of his second officer appeared.
“Time to spread our wings, commander. Ready the fleet for immediate warp out and have the crews get to their fighters. Our destination is Kuat.”
Now
The shipyard was huge, even by the standards of the Empire. A blue/green world completely encircled by a massive ring space station. The station itself was a marvel of engineering and the vessels being fashioned there were the very best the science of the day could devise. Nothing was run through the mill of mass production. No, these were the finest warships ever crafted. Engineering specialist from around the galaxy had been assembled, and well paid, to ply their knowledge and expertise to the creation of these weapons of war.
The RAVENCROWN fleet had matriculated in that very shipyard.
The fleet had been commissioned by the Dark Lord Xxys to serve as the vanguard of The Empire, and too become his new mobile base of operations. The silent hand of death to any system that dared oppose the Empress. The Imperatrix had given her blessings on the new fleet, and the name was a reflection of his noble house Vassago, and Empress Hesper, whom the fleet ultimately served.
Like it’s namesake the RAVENCROWN fleet arrived in the Kuat system like impending doom. All at once the fleet boomed into the sector from hyperspace, flooding the lanes the fledgling fleet come home to roost, and protect its former nest.
“I want complete domination of the hyperspace lanes in this sector! No one enters, no one leaves without clearance!” Xxys sat in the command chair of the BLOODREIGN, several tactical and strategic monitors fed him instantaneous information, displaying how the fleet was arranged as well as fighter squadrons command and movements.
“All squadrons to launch immediately once on station and have the INTERDICTORS activated so we don’t get any surprises!”
He took a few moments to observe the initiation of the blockade then flipped a switch on his console and instantly the Image of his newly appointed Admiral, and commander of the ECHIDNA, Volacius appears.
Aboard the ECHIDNA
"Hail Lord Xxys!" Volacius boomed proudly. This was to be his finest hour, the time where he could finally fulfill his purpose. Years of training, honing his skills with the Force and studying the tactics of countless commanders from dozens of wars across history, all the prepare him for this day. Now, thanks to the opportunity that Lord Xxys had so graciously afforded him, he would lead the charge against the Jedi, and he would not stop until he had burned the Jedi and their precious Federation to cinders, and brought Kuat bow on its knees before the Empress. "Our glorious fleet is already moving to lock down key positions and secure the sector. Sensor sweeps indicate that several large warships are still in the inner ring, and a few more are cruising the edge. I will have my crew working around the clock until we can get positive identification on these vessels." The Admiral looked down to his own monitors then responded to a question off screen.
"My Lord, there are at least three heavy cruisers and their escorts that are changing course and assuming an offensive formation," Volacius reported swiftly. "They're launching fighter wings!"
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