Garang

As the platoon raised their weapons to fire at the man that leaped out to stand before them, no more than a pace and-a-half from her, challenging her. An upraised hand forestalled tactical blaster fire, or an overwhelming barrage that even the best blademaster would be hard-pressed to deflect. Her eyes alight from the darkness that engulfed her features. Picking up a blast shield appropriated from a stormtrooper, Medleyn hefted the shield in her left hand, spun her lightsabre once in a form of a sword-salute and a shift into a battle stance that she learnt from her father, known as Phoenix Lights on a Branch, a stance few outside of the Maiplwuud family would know in intricate detail, and held herself ready. This fight was hers and hers alone.

“No.” said the girl, growling.

She threw herself in a forward leap, slashing wildly at the ground just inches from the mans toes, and throwing her shield directly in front of herself and towards him, a move meant to push him back and deflect any counterstroke on the first move. Her next will be to end the battle before he had a chance to assess her moves too much to make himself more ready for her methods.

* Aeryn runs through the ranks of storm troopers to the front line to meet up with the troopers he was assigned to who where led by Nicolina. Aeryn leaps over Nicolina and her unit, thumbing his lightsaber to life mid flight. Landing a few feet in front of Nicolina, his silver blade dances in the air as he deflects incoming blaster fire. Aeryn gives Nicolina and her troopers a few extra moments to get themselves together and move their wounded off of the front lines. Looking over his shoulder for split second, Aeryn could see that he had given Nicolina and her troopers the time they needed and then presses forward.

Sprinting forward, he is unhindered by the usual armor that Imperial Knights wore for he had forgone that armor in favor of his own personalized combat attire. Deflecting blaster fire as he moves forward, Aeryn flings himself into the outer defenses. His lightsaber cuts down rebel troops like a scythe clearing a harvest, clearing a path for Nicolina and her trooper to advance. Aeryn focuses on the force to fill his body so that fatigue would not effect during the battle, with each strike his speed and ferocity grows and rips through the outer defenses.

Leaping over a destroyed turret emplacement, Aeryn lands in a crouch and looks through the chaos of battle that had ensued. It was then that it caught his eye, a green blade flashing through the smoke. Aeryn moves towards it as a somber feeling feels him knowing he was going to have to fight a Jedi. As his eyes set upon the Jedi, an overwhelming feeling of surprise and emotions take him over...."Kyree"... he thinks to himself. Impossible he was told she was dead, how can she be still alive and here of all places.

Aeryn runs up kicking a storm trooper in the chest and the with a force push sends h=the trooper and three other flying backwards. As he turns around, Aeryn senses danger and bring his lightsaber blocking the green blade that came slashing down at him. The two look into each others faces, their eyes locking in pure shock. Aeryn takes a step back pointing his saber at the ground*

" K-Kyree....is it you? "

* The slender female jedi looks at Aeryn, her green eyes meeting his as her strawberry blonde move with the wind.*

" Aeryn....your alive " 

* Aeryn takes a step forward deactivating his lightsaber*

" I was told you where killed.....on Naboo " 

*Kyree looks on at Aeryn a single tear running down her cheek*

" Your an Imperial ? You....your traitor !!! "

" No its not like that Kyree !!! You have to get out of here, Dantoiine is doomed and I cannot loose you again " 

* Aeryn turns, thumbing his lightsaber back to life just as Nicolina and her troopers began making their way over the defensive positions, he tosses a small thumb sized data clip to Kyree *

" Use it to get of planet, I will find you !!! " 

* Before she can answer Aeryn makes his way towards Nicolina and her troopers his blade held casually at his side. He lifts his left hand out before in a stopping motion. *

" I cannot let you pursue that Jedi "  

“Then you have chosen your fate,” said the man, whom she could barely see through the blur of her rage-impaired vision, “I will kill you and burn this world to ashes”
 
“AAAAAHHHH!!!” Medleyn shrieked and darted forward, finding time to spin the stun baton once before she thrust forward whilst shielding herself with her lightsaber. The two clashed as one, both having rushed forward at almost the same time to meet in the middle with destructive force. Even as the skies rained with capital-class laser fire and projectiles, as the air swelled and burned with ion-fueled weapons fire from the fighters and the ground shook, a sheer kinetic bubble burst from the clash of blades and the surge of the Force that emanated from both Dark-Siders.
 
Gritting her teeth, Medleyn strove futilely against her opponent’s greater strength. He was not only bigger and stronger than her physically, he was also significantly older, enough to be in the prime of his life, and much, much better trained. All she had was literal youthful optimism, and a little too fresh off the shoot to be at her own full strength, to say nothing of the fact that she still bore the wounds from her self-inflicted cuts with a poisonous blade, and was fresh from a massive battle with her own family on Dromund Kaas. She had not rested, nor sought treatment, or had even come to terms with the emotional aspect of all that had occurred, and now, once more, she fought for her life, and for the lives of many others, for the memory of a friend, the only friend she ever had.
 
Though she exchanged long, hate-filled glares with her enemy, the time that passed between them was little more than microseconds, and the contact was broken, with a brief leap backwards, and she moved herself to meet the assault she knew was coming. He was done playing games, and she never played games to begin with. He wanted her dead, and she wanted him dead, there was little more to be said or done about it. Her fury was the only thing that she had going in equal spades of fervour as with her foe. Around her, the Eighty-First continued their own battle, whilst a small handful watched her private battle, which was not going over too well for her. While her initial outburst had put on a brief equal footing, she was now losing ground.
 
Gritting her teeth, she snarled as she was forced back pace by pace, the Sith’s constantly shifting methods of swift attacks going to more powerful albeit slower motions, then reverting back, in no discernible order. As long as she gave him ground, he would surely gain the advantage and eventually break her defences. In addition, her attempts at dual-wielding wasn’t going over too well for her, as the Z6 made for an ungainly offhand weapon, whilst wielding her lightsaber one-handed meant she couldn’t fight the way she was used to, or with her full strength. Her enemy had no trouble as he was clearly familiar with the art of dual-wielding, and this meant even if one blade was moved slowly, the other could go quickly.
 
Then it happened. As she tried to counter his newest series of blows, she vainly tried to throw her attack on him, and instead, he burst through the attack and she felt a strange hot and cold sensation in her gut. Looking down, she saw that she had dropped her Z6 Baton to grab hold of one of his arms, the one that had managed to run part of his blade into her side. Drawing on the Force more strongly that she ever had so far, more than was safe for someone as her to draw in, and she turned it into an audible scream of pain, sharing it with any and all, but mostly aimed at the one right before her. Together with that, she repulsed him with the Force, throwing him as far away from herself as possible.

Sergeant Girish Achari, the male Kaleesh in command of the platoon's first assault squadron which has been tasked with supporting the Imperial Knights accompanying the platoon for the assault on Garang, signals the leader of his fire support element to open fire on the Rebels defending an anti-aircraft battery that has proven to be a particular thorn in the side of the First Order's forces. Once CPL Madatian, along with the rifleman, grenadier, and SAW comprising her team have successfully engaged the enemy and have their attention, Achari gives his movement element the order to deploy from their position and maneuver towards the left flank of the Rebel position.

Things go well for Madatian until a hidden explosive device is triggered, detonating buildings on both sides of the street the Imperial Knights and Achari's movement element had been traversing, killing two of the Imperial Knights and Madatian's grenadier, and wounding Madatian along with another Shadowtrooper. Achari, assessing the situation quickly and coming to the conclusion that continuing to engage the well defended Rebel position further would be folly, has his fire support element move out for a position from which they can cover Madatian and her people as they collect the wounded and retreat. Shouldering his ARC-996, Achari jobs from his position to help Madatian, firing and dropping a Rebel trooper that appears in the window of a building overlooking the rubble strewn streets and fires towards the Shadowtroopers and Imperial Knights that survived the trap.

Helping Macario carry Faina to cover, Achari orders Madatian and her people to fall back, and then comms Nicolina on the platoon's encrypted channel to inform her that his squadron has encountered heavy resistance, and has several wounded.


Uttering a curse under her breath after Achari has reported in, Nicolina orders the Kaleesh to hold his squad's position to await reinforcement from the platoon's second assault squadron. After telling her comms operator, PV2 Nirav 74, to send a request for fire support up the chain along with the coordinates of the Rebel anti-air battery so that artillery can take it out, Nicolina has CPL Giselle Simon, leader of the platoon's second assault squadron, move out for Achari's position along with the platoon's medic.



The smoke from successful artillery attack on the Rebel anti-aircraft battery still hands in the air when Nicolina finds Achari after she, Nirav, and the second assault squadron fight their way to his squadron's position. Checking her DLT-19's remaining charge, Nicolina watches the platoon's medic tending to Faina as she asks Achari, Get a look at what the Rebs have waiting for us up ahead?

::Nothing good,:: the Kaleesh says wearily, ejecting the spent battery from his 9965 and slapping another one in. ::Defenses are getting heavier n' nastier the closer we get to the spaceport. Place is a fortress, every approach a meat grinder waiting to . . .::

I get the picture, Nicolina says, Achari's assessment little surprise to her as it matches what her forward observers and other First Order forces have been seeing and encountering as the battle for Garang progresses. Frowning beneath her helmet as she looks around at the state of Achari's squadron and the Imperial Knights, Nicolina starts the get the feeling that she may have to start considering withdrawing from the battle. Galling as it is to leave the field before the battle is won, Nicolina also knows that she won't do the First Order any good by throwing her life or the lives of her people away senselessly. Think we're going to have to sit the rest of this one out Sergeant, Nicolina says after a moment, patting the Kaleesh on the shoulder as she turns to Nirav and says, Get Simon on comms, have her squad secure a LZ for our Larties, and then stands as she tells Achari, C'mon, let's get everyone moving.


The sounds of the battle still raging throughout the city fill the air as Nicolina, last to board the platoon's second LAAT/i after the wounded have been brought aboard and all of her Shadowtroopers and the surviving Imperial Knights have gotten in, scans the smoke and debris filled area around the LZ for any sign of Morningstar, whom they have been unable to reach on comms despite several attempts to inform the Imperial Knight that they are withdrawing, before deciding that they have given him more than a reasonable enough amount of time to show or establish contact and stepping up into the LAAT as she tells the pilot, WO1 Calenda, Take us out.

Moments later the platoon's LAAT's are streaking up for orbit, leaving the battle for Garang behind them.

"You need to rest," Jyotish, a Zabrak Jedi Master with a crown of horns arrayed in a circle around his bald head, tells Berdine as he removes a blood stained surgical gown, drops it into a bin full of other blood stained gowns, then moves to a sink to begin scrubbing in for another procedure.

Unable to summon the energy to point out that Jyotish looks every bit as exhausted as she feels, Berdine simply nods and, finished scrubbing in herself, holds her hands up so that she can be helped into a sterile surgical gown and gloves before stepping into one of the many makeshift operating rooms that have been set up in the starport. As she fights to find the mental focus and concentration her exhaustion has nearly eclipsed within her so that she can work with the Force to use the healing arts she has trained in for as long as she can remember to try and save the grievously wounded Rebel trooper - one of what has begun to feel like a never ending series of beings that have been brought in from the battle ravaged streets of the besieged city to be treated by Alliance medics and the Jedi healers sent from the Enclave to assist them - Berdine closes her eyes as though doing so will shut out everything that threatens to prevent her from finding the inner peace she needs to achieve.

Berdine knows that she should not allow the anger she can feel building within her to take root and bloom into a poisonous hatred for the First Order, but with every hideous blaster wound, torn, crushed, or missing limb, with every horror that war visits upon those who are caught up in it, she can feel her wrath being stoked higher and higher so that it threatens to sear away all she has been taught, and all she has cultivated within herself over the course of her life as a Jedi healer. The saberstaff she bears as a symbol of her commitment to the Jedi Order feels as though it burns hot and bright on her hip to be taken into battle as Berdine struggles again and again to enter the mindset the healing arts require, and she knows on some level that it is only her ability to do so that saves her from being overcome by the darkness that has come to Dantooine.

Shuffling from the operating room once the Rebel trooper has been stabilized, Berdine overhears an Alliance medic telling Jyotish that a cease fire has been declared in the same breath as he gives a nurse orders to run a fluid bolus on a patient. As she sheds her bloodstained surgical gown, Berdine nods tiredly as the Zabrak Jedi Master tells her as he scrubs his hands yet again, "You need to rest," even though they both know that neither she nor he will rest any time soon.