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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Star Wars: The Forces of Deception pt.3 - The Conclusion

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction Stories--Classic JC Board (Reply-Only)' started by Geoff Morton, Jan 21, 2000.

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  1. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    A flash of sparks and fire ripped across the bridge of The Tidal from the engineering console. The unfortunate Lieutenant stationed at the console screamed in pain and staggered around the bridge, his body covered in flames as his skin bubbled and burned. Seconds later he collapsed, as the fire control crew doused him in fire retardants; he was dead before he hit the floor.

    "What happened?!?" Admiral Kendrick bellowed, ducking to avoid the flames that sputtered and spit from the console. Smoke was rising from the burned out computer console, and the exhaust fan couldn't keep up with it.

    "An Invader got through our shields," a crew member shouted in response over the din.

    Commander Nea leapt over the railing to the sensors section. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked up at Admiral Kendrick. "They didn't just past our shields Admiral, they simply attacked us from behind."

    Admiral Kendrick's eyes narrowed to slits and his mouth curled to reply, when he was interrupted by the crewman at communications. "Sir! We've just got a report from Unity Station!"

    "Not now Ensign!" Kendrick snarled.

    "Sir, it's the K'kli!" the Ensign protested, throwing his hands in the air. "They've broken through the fleet, and are on route to the shipyards!"

    "What?!" Kendrick and Nea both replied at once, their faces whitening despite the heat.

    The Ensign gulped nervously; this was not how he'd wanted to make an impression on the Admiral. "Estimates place the Swarm surrounding the shipyards in less than a minute Sir..."
     
  2. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    "You move quickly," Darth Malice hissed as Tarra's blade blocked his with a flash of sparks. She'd moved from where she'd landed to beside her apprentice with unexpected speed; the girl was a definite master of the physical arts.

    "She's the best," Roshivva snarled in reply, swinging low with a blow that Malice easily blocked. She felt comfort at the effort her Master had put into coming to her side; in the condition Tarra was in from the crash, it was a wonder she could fight at all.

    "Hardly," Darth Malice replied casually, a savage blow against Roshivva's blade sending her flying backward in the snow, into a roll. She extinguished her lightsaber as she rolled, before igniting it again when took to her feet again.

    "I've had enough of you!!!" Tarra screamed, lashing out at the Sith Lord passionately. Her single blade flew with rapid frenzy against his two, and he took a step back. "Your hatred! Your manipulating of every event to lead us here! Your mockery and distain!"

    Again and again, Tarra forced the Sith to give ground, as his twin blades moved back and forth, side to side and up and down to block her single lightsaber. Past the fire-extinguishing vehicle Tarra pushed him, with Roshivva hanging back, lightsaber ready to leap into the fray when an opening appeared.

    As the minutes past, Tarra's lightsaber collided with Malice's repeatedly. Not a word of mockery or praise slipped past his gaunt, skeletal lips, not an expression of surprise or anger broke the tightness of the skin on his face as he took step after step backwards. His eyes were locked on those of the young Jedi Master in front of him, and hers were locked on his, a twisted parody of lovers in a clutching embrace.

    The hills behind the Sith loomed larger. The cold wind blew snow along the plain, and even from this distance, a shrieking howl could be heard as the air funnelled in a circle into the open tunnel laying behind the protective fence, where mere days earlier several children had ventured in innocent curiosity...

    [This message has been edited by Geoff Morton (edited 03-30-2000).]
     
  3. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Six K'kli scrambled out of an opening that snapped shut behind them, scuttling with a maddening clicking noise towards the pair of Jedi down the slick round corridor. The claws of the pair on the ceiling penetrated the tan-grey surface as they slipped towards Luke and Finellen. With a flurry of blue and green light, the first of the K'kli were severed in several pieces. Screetches of pain and anger, and the splattering sound of gore hitting the walls and floor, filled and echoed down the corridor.

    "There's got to be an easier way," Finellen muttered as he spun around to dismember the K'kli that had snuck up behind him. The creature's divided halves flowed a sickeningly odourous ooze, and it joined the moisture in the tunnel. He noticed that down the corridor, past the swath of K'kli corpses left in the Jedi's wake, almost a dozen K'kli were barrelling down the tunnel towards them, and that the diaphram ahead of Luke had opened again, and that a similar number had slipped past.

    "There is always an easier way Finellen," Luke shouted over the din, glancing back and becoming aware of the odds growing against them as they neared what he suspected to be the final barrier. He could sense the fear and anger growing within his apprentice, and he knew that five years ago, he'd have felt the same. "But don't take it, especially right now!"

    Don't lecture me!!! I am a Jedi!!! the voice suddenly appeared in Finellen's head, and he felt great resentment towards Luke; was he trying to get them killed on some misguided principle?

    Luke felt the flareup within his apprentice. It was dark. It was vile. It was familiar. He could smell the dry sand of the Arena as though he stood within it; he could hear the cheering in his mind as he felt a great surge from Finellen.

    The air between Finellen and the K'kli suddenly shimmered and twisted. Finellen's lightsaber fell loosely to his side, as his other hand arced forward agressively towards the clicking creatures. Suddenly the first of the creatures split in half as though some invisible blade had cut through it mercilessly. The K'kli behind it suddenly split with a cry of terror, as did the one behind it. The force continued through the group of K'kli, rending them into halves that fell to the ground twitching and bleeding...
     
  4. Jeff 42

    Jeff 42 Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 14, 1998
    The private turbolift rose quickly, its movement accompanied by a barely audible whir. After just a few seconds, it came to a halt. Mara reached for her lightsaber, and each of the four other Jedi did the same as the door slid open in a tortuously slow manner. When it had finally come open, Mara stepped out and stared up toward the pair of beings who waited for them.

    Skara was a familiar sight, although there was a disturbing look in his eyes that had not been present the last time she had seen him. The man sitting in a large throne next to where the fallen Jedi stood . . .

    "Not Palpatine," whispered Mara. A palpable feeling of relief ran through the other four Jedi, but this dark side user would clearly still be a threat. He was a commanding presence, with flowing white air and a hateful look in his eyes.

    Liam was the first one to break the heavy silence. "Skara?" he asked tentatively, worry seeping into his voice.

    "I am sorry, Liam," replied the young man coldly. "I have found a master who has far surpassed your pathetic teachings. Master C'baoth has taught me the true nature of the Force."

    "The dark side, Skara," countered Liam. "You are walking down a path that can only lead to your own doom. But there is still time for you to come back, back to the Jedi, back to the light."

    "Not likely," sneered Skara. "I only wish that you would see the truth and join . . ."

    "Enough, my apprentice," said the white-haired man, C'baoth, cutting off Skara. "These weak-minded fools will never see the truth. We have no choice but to destroy them."

    "Yes, Master," said Skara, although Mara could detect just a hint of uncertainty behind his calm reply. She could not act on this, however, for Skara quickly ignited his lightsaber and took a threatening step forward, down the wide stairway that stood between the Jedi and their two opponents. The three Knights and two apprentices lit their own weapons, while C'baoth rose from his chair. Mara noticed a lightsaber hanging at the dark sider's waist, but he made no motion toward it.

    "Now, Jedi," he cackled harshly. "You will be destroyed."
     
  5. Jeff 42

    Jeff 42 Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 14, 1998
    "The K'kli fleet is closing on the shipyards!" exclaimed a loud voice over the Mon Calamari Cruiser Storm's intercom. "We've got to hold them off as long as we can. All gunners, fire!"

    Neal Mickes quickly scanned through his targets, then aimed his turbolaser at a massive K'kli Battle Cruiser. The Storm was coming in hard on an intercept course, but the Battle Cruiser, along with a swarm of its counterparts, was rapidly approaching the precious Corellian shipyards. Neal squeezed down on the trigger, and a powerful beam of red energy lanced out through space toward the alien ship. It was joined by hundreds of other blasts. The energy impacted the Battle Cruiser's hull, causing small explosions here and there, but they seemed to have no effect whatsoever. The invading vessel raced on inexorably toward its helpless, immobile targets.

    Neal grimaced as the K'kli fleet came ever closer to the shipyards. Republic and Corellian defenders put up a valiant defense, put it was scattered and appeared to have little chance of success. A friendly frigate exploded in a wash of green energy off to the Storm's side. The Battle Cruiser flew right past the disintegrating hulk, straight at the shipyards. And at the millions of innocent people within them. It was becoming quite apparent that many of those people would not survive.

    Neal continued to send off a heavy barrage of fire. I'll do everything I can, thought the young man grimly, to keep that death toll to a minimum.
     
  6. Charlemagne

    Charlemagne Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    May 15, 1999
    General Charlon Rohan curved his command chair around as the swarm broke free through the defensive perimeter as Captain Ackbar immediately went to the forward thrust consule.

    "Crew of the Mothma set the shields on Section A-C at 35% taking energy from Sections Q-S and Sections W-Y.  Forward at half speed....guns blazing....this gentleman is not a test or a drill...this is the real thing and every life in this Sector is counting on you." The General's voice rolled out as he turned his chair upward and activated the Dodonna-tactical command signals immediately to every ship in the area....

    'Kendrick isn't going to argue.' The General thought meekly as he smiled, he couldn't shake the feeling that whether he lived or died he was going to be proud to take as many of these Invaders down with him.

    "Six K'kli Kli trasnports and a nine swarms of fighters headed this way sir shall I assign Nova squadron and the Alpha-Gamma shipyard fighter groups to deal with them?" Ackbar called.

    The Dodonna typed out it's recommendation and Charlon convienantly pretended not to see it.

    "No...they're our problem.  Nova and the rest have they're own. Set to engauge them and aim tractor beams to throw the ships off course and into each other....with luck they'll tear into each other trying to get to us." Charlon spoke as blue beams appears on the Dodonna's tactical read outs and he flicked his cigarra away, the ashes burning his fingertips.  These kind of manuevers had worked against the animals of the Baltiv Pirates, let's hope they work against another type of animal.

    "Sir what if they're radiation manages to get through our sheilds?" Captain Alak Ackbar called as the viewport of the Mon Calamari-Mothma class warship illuminated with red lasers, turbolasers, and even ion blasts. 

    "Then we pray the radiation treatment on our armor works...if it doesn't we won't have time to complain." Charlon turtly replied as he began to bark orders all through the ship.

    ***

    Kai saw the comming K'kli horde the momment he adjusted the four ion engines of his Mark II fighter and set his fighter squadron for direct intercept with the K'kli Ki fighters.  The things were huge, more like freighters than actual starfighters but they moved almost and as maneuverably as anything Kai had seen. 

    Spectre whistled "Solaris formation" which Kai promptly relayed to the group.  It was a routine ordered format that was just above basic flight school instruction, it left though, room for proton torpedo fire which Kai ordered immediately.  The White Novas were running according to the orders Kai had recieved, straight into a large group of K'kli fighters that outnumbered them three to one.

    "The General is insane." Kai muttered as he klicked launching mechanism and shouted into his com a single word.

    "FIRE!"

    Energy torpedoes flew quickly into the horde of oncomming Swarm fighters...it only took a second to spot the other fighter groups but as Kai witnessed the TIEs, X-Wings, and other fighter groups sail forward in the same pattern...each outnumbered three to one or more...he realized there were hundreds of Swarm ships sailing into the shipyards...

    Kai turned his head back only in time to see the detonation of the weapons as they sent the Swarm fighters realing in every direction.....not destroyed though and only the front group.  The Swarm Ships took one and even two torpedoe blows without being destroyed.  Young Flight officer Renton saw at that momment the tell tale sign of K'kli Ki radiation emmiters powering up and shouted as quickly as he could into his comm as he veered to the left.

    "BREAK OFF INTO GROUPS OF THREE!" as the blasts began to come.

    Zeroing in his lasers, he quad linked them and fired them square on the weakest of the damaged vessels and unleased a blast of four red beams on to the Swarm vessel.  The thing scattered into fragments of the shards it had been grown from in a explosive shower of light.

    'My first kill....' his thought echoed as he spun to join Baldur and Gavin, his two wingmates.

    "Arrrghhhh...zzzzztt..." the flight readout of Whit
     
  7. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    The Nimrod rocked violently as the emerald energy from the Invaders crackled through space to collide with the shields. The lights in the cockpit flickered as the ship skimmed the surface of a dead K'kli Battle Cruiser, with the Invaders in close pursuit.

    "We've got to get out of here," Lando cried out, his hands dancing over the controls as explosions ripped across the surface of the Battle Cruiser below; Han was doing an impeccible job of evading at least some of the blasts from the Invaders.

    "You won't get any argument from me," Han murmered as he brought the Nimrod into a tight bank between the husk of the Battle Cruiser, and the hulk of a Corellian Star Destroyer that had drifted near it. Han tried not to notice the remains of the bodies that floated in space outside the hull, as the ship raced within scant meters of them. He could see sparks dancing over the rent-open surface of the ship, and the white mist of air escaping through small tears in the hull. The ship, and the remnants of the crew still alive on board, wasn't going to die a quick death, but it was going to die nonetheless.

    A thud sounded through the ship as a large chunk of the Star Destroyer spinning in space collided with the shields. The small attack ship was bumped slightly in it's course, but continued on through the space between the Battle Cruiser and Star Destroyer. Of the three Invaders following the Nimrod, only the center one managed to make it through the small crack between the two capital ships, as the outer pair collided with them explosively.

    The Nimrod veered through space back towards the friendlier Republic ships, with a single Invader in tow...
     
  8. Hagel

    Hagel Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 16, 1998
    Hi! Remember Me?

    Yes it has been a LONG time since i've been
    around here. I've not forgotten FOD. Its just been real life has kept me too busy
    to participate. But that is starting to change and I feel its time I helped finish
    what I helped to start here in FOD.

    Plus this helps push the thread back up top
    E-mail me when ever you can.
     
  9. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    "You think he's gonna be okay?" Tusk asked as he and Jacinda Keller-Hunter looked down at Fiero Junson's sleeping form. The medical bay on The Black Raven was dimly lit to allow the badly injured Fiero some much needed rest.

    Jacinda ran her fingers gently over Fiero's dirty brow. He sighed contentedly and shifted in his sleep, but winced in pain as one of his broken ribs shifted. "Easy Fiero," Jacinda said softly. She pressed her hand down on his belly lightly to force him to relax. Her other hand took his, and squeezed it gently.

    Fiero murmured and bubbled in his sleep as his weary face relaxed again. He rolled his head around a few times, before settling back down still, in a deep sleep.

    "He'll be okay," Jacinda said softly, resuming her gentle caress of Fiero's forehead. She shook her head sadly. "We came very close to losing him, Tusk. A minute later in that canyon and he would have been taken back in that Swarm ship."

    "I know... I'm glad we got here when we did." Tusk leaned in on both fists and looked at his friend. "It's too bad Jake sent us off alone to get him; it would have been old times... you, me, Jayke, Fiero... maybe picked up Mark."

    Jacinda smiled sadly. "I'm sure he had his reasons." She paused, and looked at Tusk with a furrowed brow. "You didn't mention Donati."

    "Oh, yeah, sure... Donati," Tusk said, rolling his eyes. "The way he told off Jayke after the Graveyard fiasco, I don't think you'll ever get the two of them in the same starship again. Jayke took it well, though. He barely batted an eye. Just said I'm sorry you feel that way, Don, I never meant for things to get so out of hand."

    Jacinda shook her head. "It broke him up inside. It really did. He never showed it to anyone, but he was down for weeks after. He doesn't take to losing friendships easily."

    "I didn't know that," Tusk said thoughtfully. He pushed himself away from Fiero's bed. "I guess we should take our conversation out of the medical bay, let Fiero sleep."

    "Well, Fiero's not waking up for a while," Jacinda said, moving away from the bed as well. "He's off the stimulants, and I've dosed him up on painkillers and relaxants. Top that off with his natural exhaustion, and he'll probably sleep the entire trip back. But you're right, let's take this up to the cockpit or somewhere. I don't know about you, but I just need to sit down."

    Tusk nodded, and the pair slipped quietly from the medical bay. He shut the lights completely, so that only the faint light spilling in from the corridor beyond bathed the medbay in a dim illumination. "I have some brandy tucked away," Tusk said with a grin as they ducked under a low hanging pipe a couple twists and turns deeper into the ship.

    "That's strange," Jacinda said, looking up at the pipe and running her hand along it.

    "What's strange," Tusk asked, following her gaze. "It's a low pipe. Most ships have a couple."

    Jacinda shook her head. "This wasn't like this before."

    "It probably shifted in the Swarm ship's attack on us," Tusk offered dubiously.

    "No, I don't think so," Jacinda replied, peering intently at the pipe and the ceiling section around it. "This whole section's shifted. And there's scratches on it."

    "Ughkk," was Tusk's only reply from behind her, accompanied by the odd sound of metal twisting.

    "Tusk?" Jacinda said with a frown, turning around. Her eyes widened in terror, and she stepped back in shock, tumbling from her feet and scrambling back along the corridor's grated floor.

    A single K'kli poured it's limber form from the crawlspace above the corridor, through the piping and wiring that separated the two. Blood gushed from Tusk's mouth as he hung suspended from the K'kli's sharp and jagged tail, his feet centemeters above the ground and his eyes rolled back in his head.

    "Tusk!!!" Jacinda screamed in terror as her friend's blood gushed from the hole in his gut where the K'kli's tail emerged. She looked up into the crimson red, multifaceted eyes that stared down at her as the K'kli lowered itself from the ceiling to the floor, snapping Tusk's unmoving form from it's tail to
     
  10. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Smoke, blaster fire and cries of fear and terror filled the corridor running along the surface of Unity Station's E-Section. As the blackness of space outside the blood splattered corridor windows flashed with red and green, the interior of the corridor flashed mostly with red: the blasters of the woefully undermanned republic soldiers... and the blood of the Corellian innocents caught up in the merciless wave of chattering K'kli.

    "Back away from the holes!!!" Commander Kaalen ViNeas screamed as he pushed his way thorugh the crowd, towards one of the many tears rent in the floor of the corridor. The holes were being ripped from below by the K'kli, and Corellians were being pulled down into them or simply killed outright in obscene numbers.

    A K'kli screamed, the blood curdling cry filling the corridor, as ViNeas opened fire into the darkness of the hole. Grey gore splattered all over the small maintenance crawlway underneath the corridor. From beside where the blaster shots had impacted, a K'kli tail sprang outwards like a dagger towards the Commander.

    ViNeas stepped to the side quickly, his adrenaline-pumped muscles sensing the attack as it came. A Corellian's eyes rolled back as the sharpened serrated tail pierced his forehead; his body shook and convulsed violently as ViNeas watched in momentary shock.

    "Yeeeeeeeeeeeargh!!!!!" Kaalen ViNeas snarled in rage as he leveled his blaster down towards the K'kli under the corridor, whose red eyes sparkled evilly in the darkness. It quickly ceased to exist as the blaster bolts ripped through it's body, leaving it little more than scattered body parts in the tunnel.

    "Commander!" one of his Lieutenants screamed in pain as one of the K'kli's tails impacted with his armoured shoulder. With a yank, the soldier was pulled from his perch atop one of the floor holes, and yanked violently down into the darkness below.

    Everyone in the corridor could hear his scream of terror quickly fading in the distance under the floor, even as his fallen blaster rifle rattled to the floor with a clatter...
     
  11. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    As the pair of Jedi backed him closer and closer towards the mountains lining the edge of the Qualos plains, Darth Malice took a split second to expand his mind to the fields of force that made up the reality around him. He did not need to see the fence scant meters behind him to know it was there, nor did he need to see the slightly opened door leading to the tunnel inside the mountain.

    Darth Malice tossed one of his lightsabers into the air, and with a mere splinter of his concentration, it flew in the air determinately towards the fence. As both of Darth Malice's black gloved hands gripped his single remaining lightsaber against the pair of Jedi that pressed on against him, the blade sent sparks flying from the old fence as it twirled and spiraled through the air. The fence began falling in pieces to the ground as Malice's other lightsaber blocked one Jedi blade, and then pushed it away to block the other.

    As Tarra regained her footing from Malice's shove, Roshivva darted in with her shimmering blade. Malice's crimson saber blocked her attempt with slight difficulty, as he shifted his body weight to block Tarra's next underhand stroke.

    "You should be focusing on us, Sith Lord, not the door to the mountain," Roshivva taunted as Darth Malice's second lightsaber rent the door's two halves into large chunks that fell to the ground with thuds. Roshivva's comments were returned with Darth Malice's boot to her head. The young girl spun through the air as the Sith Lord's lightsaber arced around to block her master's blow against him.

    "I need less focus to clear the obstacles behind me than your apprentice does to chatter," Darth Malice said coldly as he stepped over the melted and smoking fence pieces towards the hole in the mountain. His lightsaber flew back to his hand, still ignited, as Roshivva struggled back to her feet, her broken nose gushing crimson blood. "Her training is less than spectacular, Tarra."

    Tarra's eyes slitted with surprise and bale. She lashed out with her lightsaber once, twice, three times in quick succession before Roshivva rejoined the battle. What bothered Tarra more than Darth Malice's taunt was the fact that fundamentally, she knew he was right, and that upset her most of all.

    From the look in the Sith Lord's sunken eyes, Tarra could sense that he knew this. As his twin lightsabers blocked the savage thrusts from the two women, Darth Malice crossed the threshold into the mountain, stepping over the melted chunks of door that littered the entrance. He was no longer on the attack as he stepped into dripping tunnel, his feet stepping onto rotting rail ties, splashing in the water that reflected the light from the four lightsabers in the dark tunnel. Instead Darth Malice was losing ground to the Jedi, step by step, as they pursued him into the tunnel. Their anger towards him dwarfed his; it fueled them, and their aggression was channeled strictly towards him.

    Darth Malice stumbled as his black boot wedged itself between two ties. As he struggled to retain his balance in the dark tunnel, Tarra and Roshivva pressed on, pushing him back, step by step towards the near bottomless hole that howled like a banshee at the end of the tunnel...
     
  12. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    "Finellen!" Luke shouted as a trio of K'kli found themselves rent asunder at the end of the tubular corridor, near the muscle-like door. His apprentice had an expression on his face of pure hatred, his eyes wide and his lips parted to reveal clenched teeth.

    Finellen's eyes glanced momentarily at his Master, before turning back down towards the door of the corridor. His feet making sickening splashing noises on the gore soaked floor of the tunnel, Finellen wordlessly pushed past his Master towards the muscle.

    "Finellen," Luke warned, grabbing his apprentice by the arm with his free hand.

    Finellen glanced down at Luke's hand on his arm, and the whistling of wind suddenly filled the corridor. Luke suddenly found himself ripped away from his apprentice, his hand pulled open by some unseen energy, and he found himself sailing away from the muscle-like door.

    With a splash, Luke Skywalker landed in a pile of disembodied K'kli. "Finellen, NO!!!" he shouted as he watched his apprentice reach out towards the muscle. Luke could feel a spine-chilling tingle in the air, and he could see the water and gore droplets and rivers all over the walls and floor began to move, rising quickly as they flowed towards Finellen into a large, fast moving wave.

    The door snapped open, and a half dozen K'kli charged through the opening. They were met, however, by the wave of liquid that raced down the corridor, parting around Finellen as though he were surrounded by some invisible wedge. The veinlike corridor around Luke was nearly dry as the gore-wave passed, and the muscle snapped shut again.

    However, Luke's apprentice was nowhere to be found...
     
  13. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    "Order the fleet to close up that gap!!" Admiral Kendrick ordered, wiping the sweat from his brow as he looked at the tactical display. The K'kli Swarm now had a free passage through the Republic/Corellian fleet, and they were taking advantage of it.

    "We don't have the numbers, sir!" Commander Nea countered, shouting over the din.

    The Tidal rocked violently as emerald energy sprayed off the dying shields. Sparks flew from the ceiling, bouncing off the steel floor and the control panels. The lights on the bridge flickered as energy was pulled to the shield generators, and they dimmed overall.

    "Tell them to make due with what we have!!!!" Kendrick shouted, grabbing the railing as the ship rocked again. "We can still turn this around!"

    "Sir!!" Nea shouted as a small fire began to flicker in the corner. A pair of K'kli Battle Cruisers were visible in the bridge window, drawing near, preparing to join the pair of Battle Cruisers that were pummelling the ship. "Sir, we can't do it! The Tidal is on it's last legs, and so is the Fleet!!!"

    "NO!!!!!!!" Admiral Frowan Kendrick shouted in rage, slamming his hand angrily down on the control panel as one of the Battle Cruisers unleashed a barrage of fire outside. Suddenly an explosion ripped across the ceiling of the Republic flagship, red flames pouring down and along the ceiling like water bubbling up from a spring. A massive chunk of metal broke loose from the ceiling, crashing into the deck on one edge.

    "Admiral Kendrick!!!!" Commander Nea shouted in shock over the noise of the overhead fire as the ceiling piece cleaved his commanding officer in half. Admiral Frowan Kendrick's body fell to the floor as flames erupted from the ceiling, engulfing him in a shower of crimson fire. Commander Nea threw himself to the side, avoiding the brunt of the firestorm that engulfed Kendrick's corpse, although his arm was caught in the stream.

    The Tidal rocked violently as the weapons console blew out, sending flames and sparks across the room. The Lieutenant at the station was killed instantly as shards from the control panel pierced his body and shredded his vital organs.

    "Commander!!!" the Lieutenant at the engineering console called out in shock and terror, as Nea cradled his useless burned and broken arm on the floor of the bridge.

    "What?!?" Nea demanded through gritted teeth as he pulled himself to his feet with his good arm. Blood flowed from a cut on his forehead as the darkening bridge flashed green again from the assault outside.

    "It's engineering, sir!" the Lieutenant replied. "Energy Cell Four is spiking!!! Temperature is rising!!!"

    "Disable it!" Nea ordered, his gut tightening as he saw the power levels from the engineering cell fluctuate madly. The Lieutenant's hands danced wildly over the control panel, but the readings continued to grow more and more eratic.

    "I can't sir! It's locked itself in a building-resonance-cycle!" was the reply.

    "Options?" Nea asked quickly, knowing that those cycles usually ended very quickly, with the explosion of the problematic cell. His eyes widened suddenly as the readout for cells two and five began to spike.

    "Oh no sir!" the Lieutenant cried out in terror. "It's begun a--"

    "Cascade failure reaction," Nea finished, his head starting to pound as the temperature on the bridge began to rise. What remained of the fire control crews were growing increasingly unable to contain the fires building on the bridge. He quickly surveyed his options. There was only one. "Seal off engineering, and dump the entire engine and power core."

    "Sir!?!!?"

    "Damn you!!!" Nea shouted as power cells two and six began to flutter. He shoved the Lieutenant out of his chair, sending him sprawling across the floor dangerously close to one of the fires. Nea quickly took his seat, and began keying commands into the computer console. He turned to the last man alive at the navigation console. "Give me a quick thrust. Send us out of the battle zone."

    The Ensign shook his head. He understood the command, and one glance at the engineering console told him the situation.
     
  14. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    The once-Imperial Lambda class shuttle exited hyperspace in an instant, over the tan planet of Qualos. The horizon of the planet filled the front viewscreen in the darkened cockpit of the shuttle. The co-pilot wordlessly checked the readings on the sensors.

    "I've detected the remains of a Lambda shuttle, sir," he reported to the pilot. "As well as the Infiltrator."

    "It's not cloaked?" the pilot asked in surprise. He'd expected to have to utilize the powerful sensor suite on the shuttle to locate Lord Malice's starcraft.

    "Lord Palpatine told me that it wouldn't be, before we left," a dark garbed man said quietly, entering the cockpit from the compartment beyond. "It should be very near a settlement, likely over a ridge or a hill. Land near it, but not too close."

    "Aye sir," the pilot replied, arcing the shuttle into the planet's atmosphere towards the source of the signal.

    "If I may ask," the co-pilot added nervously, "what are we doing here?"

    "It's a retrieval mission," the man replied simply.

    "Retrieving who?"

    The man in black shook his head. "Need to know, which you don't."

    "Sir, how will you and your men know when to move out?" the pilot asked as the friction of re-entry began sparking off the shields.

    The man in black had been moving back towards the passenger compartment. He stopped, and put his hand on the door as he looked back into the cockpit, and out the viewscreen. Even from this distance, he could see a large blackened area near their destination. "I don't know that right now," he replied at length. "But Lord Palpatine said that when it was time, we would know, in no indefinite terms."
     
  15. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    "The Tidal's in trouble!" Lando Calrissian reported as The Nimrod weaved and bobbed through the raging, yet thinning, battle zone in the Corellian system. Between the husks of dead ships, and smaller pieces of unidentifiable junk, some still spitting and sparking and disintigrating with red and green glows, Han Solo's experimental battleship spun and twirled.

    "We're not doing so hot ourselves," Han Solo muttered as he glanced from the battle scene in the cockpit window down to the tactical display and ship schematics. Several minor subsystems were redlined, and several were completely offline. Black areas marked the cockpit where systems had blown from continual attacks by the K'kli, and an acrid white smoke hung thinly in the air.

    "They're surrounded by four K'kli Battle Cruisers, Han," Lando argued, glancing at the tactical display and sensor readout of his scan of the fleet's embattled flagship. "She's trying to withdraw from the battle. There're major fluctuations in her engine core."

    "That's not good," Han muttered as he swerved the ship to avoid the spinning remains of a K'kli Invader. The large chunks of what was likely several X Wings bounced off The Nimrod's shields, although the ship shook violently, and a metallic rending sound echoed through the cramped and blackened corridors.

    "One of those chunks got through our shields!" Lando gasped, looking at the ship's display. Several small gaps of varying sizes were forming in the shields, shifting and moving about over the ship. "Power is flickering to the shield generators, Han."

    "Chewie, I need you to stabilize power to the shields!" Han snarled into the comlink to engineering. An angry bark and howl was his reply. "Yeah, I know you got problems back there. We got problems up here! I'm taking us into a heavy battlezone, Chewie. It's gonna be rough."

    An emotional protest was his response over the comlink, and in the background Han could hear the shouting of several of the other engineers as they worked feverishly to keep the power going in the ship. Chewbacca roared a litany of curses, identifiable not by the sounds, but by the tone.

    "Chewie, The Tidal's in trouble, and we're the only ship nearby with enough power to make a difference against her opponents," Han explained as the flagship and her four oppressors drew near. A trio of K'kli Fighters and an Invader seemed to detect the oncoming Nimrod, and each broke off their current engagements and moved to intercept. "Power to shields Chewie!!!"

    Han banked the ship hard as it passed through the small gap between the three Starfighters and the Invader. A barrage of emerald organic energy flashed through space to impact against the shields of the small battleship. Sparks flew from the weapons console as the ship rocked violently, and when Lando finished putting out the small fire formed, the panel was black and useless.

    "We've just lost forward weapons!" Lando shouted as the four K'kli ships picked up pursuit of The Nimrod after it passed between them. Chewbacca's angry, and almost fearful howl, filled the speakers of the cockpit.

    "Okay, okay!" Han shouted back. He glanced at Lando as a Star Destroyer in the distance collided with a K'kli battleship. He winced at the explosion that flared up, consuming both craft in a brilliant blaze of crimson and emerald. "Lando, Chewie needs your help back there!"

    "But you need my help up here!" Lando protested as the brilliance of the exploding battle cruisers faded, leaving only glowing husks behind.

    Han gestured at one of the Republic spare pilots who sat behind him. "This guy's gonna take your seat and start earning his pay. Chewie just lost his entire engineering crew in that last attack."

    Realizing that he was the best choice for the job, Lando aquiesced and stood. "Keep it warm farmboy," he said with a smile as the Republic pilot took his seat. "I'll be wanting it back."

    "Good luck!" Han called out as Lando raced from the cockpit towards the engineering section of The Nimrod.

    "One of their Invaders is below us," the co-pilot reported fearfully, glancing at the
     
  16. Jeff 42

    Jeff 42 Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 14, 1998
    <Well, after 3 months, this thread finally reaches Page 2.>

    Skara quickened his pace, running toward the five Jedi in a seemingly suicidal gesture. And it likely would be suicidal, Joni Samas realized, if we actually wished to kill him.

    The young Jedi apprentice stood behind and slightly to the right of his master, the black-furred Wookiee Woshirra, who was the furthest right member of the line of three Jedi Knights waiting to meet Skara's charge. Liam took the center, while Mara Jade stood on the left flank with her Mon Calamari apprentice Tobin just behind her. Five lightsabers awaited the one glowing blade that Skara swung wildly, yet he descended the stairs two at a time and kept right at the gathered Jedi.

    "You don't have to do this, Skara," said Liam at the last moment, but the angry young man just sneered as his blade arced down toward his former master. Liam quickly moved to block, but the two blades never connected. Suddenly, a powerful bolt of lightning came crackling from the other end of the room, and Woshirra, Liam, and Mara were all thrown backwards. Skara glanced down at the surprised trio of Knights, then spun to his right and lashed out at Tobin. Sparks flew as the two apprentices' blades met. Skara began to drive the Mon Cal backwards, and even with his still-developing Force senses, Joni was stung by the wave of anger that washed off the other young man. Joni took a deep breath, then began to move forward.

    "We've got to get C'baoth!" Joni paused, and as he looked on Mara led Woshirra toward the dark side master. Joni briefly met his master's gaze, but the Wookiee growled, [Help Tobin!] and the young man nodded. Again, he began to move toward Skara, this time with Liam beside him. A sudden groan from Mara, however, accompanied the next lightning strike, and Liam was forced to join his fellow Knights in fending off the powerful dark side attack.

    Tobin's large eyes went even wider as a saber strike caught him off-guard; then a kick from Skara caught him in the midsection. The former Jedi swung his saber down at the Mon Cal, but Joni leapt forward, brandishing his own orange blade. Skara spun around at the last moment, and his weapon locked against Joni's. They held the position for a moment, each one looking deeply into the other's eyes. Joni did not recognize what he saw there.

    Skara pulled back slightly, then struck with a quick left-right-left series of strokes. Joni backpedaled as he moved his blade rapidly to fend off the blows. He began to breathe heavily now, but Skara's fierce swings did not relent.

    Indeed, the enraged young man's attacks were growing ever fiercer.
     
  17. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Corellian Consortium Vice President Derret Retar stood in Central Command of the Consortium's Unity Station. He watched with dismay as battleship after battleship fell to the K'kli assault, as the Swarm swept through Corellian space towards the precious shipyards now nearly unimpeded.

    "The rate of attachment to E Section has slowed to a trickle, Vice President," a young Corellian manning the Sensors station reported. E Section floated in space idly, with dozens upon dozens of egg shaped K'kli Invaders embedded into it's outer hull. "No K'kli have debarked as of yet, sir."

    "How many are still on the station?" Retar asked gravely, eyeing the severed section.

    "Thousands, sir," the young man replied. "Maybe tens of thousands. It's imposible to get a count. And there are also a large number of Republic soldiers still on board sir."

    Retar stared at the station segment. Dozens of K'kli ships had attached themselves to Unity's E Section. Right now, Corellians were likely being slaughtered by the hundreds, or perhaps being carried to these invasive craft like chattel. Any minute now, these ships could begin pulling away, taking innocents beyond the known galaxy, to some unknown and hideous fate, like the Bespins and the Tatooines.

    "Set the command to self destruct Unity Section E," Retar said slowly, in quiet, measured tones.

    "Sir?" the young man questioned, not sure he heard the Vice President correctly. These were kinsmen, family and friends on the station segment.

    "These men and women will die in a heroic sacrifice," Retar answered slowly. "Not as food or reproductive hosts. Now do as I asked. Set E Section to self destruct, five minutes from my mark..."
     
  18. Jeff 42

    Jeff 42 Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 14, 1998
    Woshirra was thrown backwards, down several steps, as a bolt of dark side lightning surged through the air and singed his fear. The Wookiee roared at his attacker, but Joruus C'baoth merely looked down at the Jedi with a malevolent, half-crazed smile.

    Woshirra glanced back over his shoulder to see Liam Masters bound up the steps and join the Wookiee and Mara Jade. Beyond the approaching Knight, Skara and Joni were locked in a vicious battle. Joni was being pushed back, but then Tobin rejoined the fray. Although he could sense that his apprentice was struggling, Woshirra felt that the two young Jedi together would be at least an even match for the dark apprentice.

    Suddenly, the Wookiee felt a sense of danger, and he quickly turned back to face C'baoth. The dark sider raised his hands, releasing yet more fearsome energy. As one, the three Jedi Knights extended their sabers forward in a tight pattern. The lightning jumped toward the glowing energy blades, then crackled away and dissipated into the air.

    "Keep it up," said Mara through gritted teeth. The three Jedi moved up the stairs together, slowly but surely, as the lightning rained down faster and faster from the Dark Jedi's withered hands.
     
  19. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Step by step Tarra and Roshivva backed Darth Malice through the tunnel. His twin lightsabers against their gold and silver blades illuminated the tunnel with a dim hue, and the hums and sounds of their clashing filled the air.

    "Not so tough now, are you?" Roshivva taunted as Darth Malice stumbled slightly on a water covered tie, rotting away in the darkness. He quickly recovered from his stumble, and she darted in quickly with a strike.

    Darth Malice didn't answer, instead he simply regained his footing and blocked her blow. Again and again his swinging lightsabers sliced into the narrow tunnel walls, sending showers of sparks and molten rock flying with a hiss. He intensified his concentration as he fought, seeing the world and the Jedi in front of him not as physical beings, but glowing patterns of force and intent. He sensed a strike by Tarra before she lashed out, and his saber arced out to block it with ease.

    The howling of the vertical hole scant meters behind Darth Malice grew in intensity, and his robes, as well as those of the Jedi, began to flap in the wind.

    Focus all your energy on him, Tarra thought to herself, hoping that her apprentice might pick up on her thoughts. She saw the hole behind the Dark Lord, and had faint hopes that they could occupy his attention to such an extent that he would simply stumble into it and fall to his death. Indeed, his eyes, as they darted back and forth between Tarra and her apprentice, gave no indication of his attention being anywhere other than on them.

    Roshivva noticed his proximity to the hole as well; it had low fencing around it, but a good lunge at the right time could send the Sith sailing over to his death. Cold, fragmented death! The words sprung unbidden to mind, and Roshivva felt a shiver down her back. She forced herself to fight the feeling off, as Malice drew within mere steps of the hole.

    "NOW!!!" Tarra yelled as she lunged out at the Sith Lord. Her lightsaber sprang forward with great force, arcing in an upward swing woards him, with the intent of the strike forcing his weight over the fence.

    Roshivva lashed out at the precise moment that Tarra did, and their sabers collided against Darth Malice's blades with a shower of sparks.

    As hoped, the twin attacks carried enough force behind them to force the Dark Lord of the Sith off balance, and up over the guard-railing...
     
  20. Geoff Morton

    Geoff Morton Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1998
    Fighting the fear that wanted so badly to rise up in his gut, Luke Skywalker stepped up towards the muscle-like portal at the end of the corridor. He could hear the clicking of the K'kli down in the darkness behind him, and Luke knew his choices were limited.

    The door snapped open without a sound, and Luke was almost overpowered by the stench, and the cacophany of clicking, from the chamber beyond. Wincing, he stepped over the bottom of the door, with his lightsaber drawn and at the ready. He was not ready for what he saw.

    Luke Skywalker knew that he was in the engine core of the Imperial Star Destroyer, but he knew that no Star Destroyer's engine core ever looked like this. Hundreds upon thousands of K'kli lined the walls and machinery of the core. The walls weren't Imperial grey, but rather the same, moist tan material the corridor beyond had been made of. Like the honeycombs of a hive, the K'kli had buried themselves in the walls, each one occupying a cell.

    A clicking above him alerted Luke to the rush of a pair of K'kli. With a dive, Luke severed the pair in half, coming to his feet with his weapon drawn. Four K'kli halves dropped to the floor with a scream, and Luke knew that his presence was known.

    "Finellen!" Luke called out, though his voice was lost in the din. Dozens of K'kli peered out of their cells down at them, clicking and chattering madly. Luke stumbled, as if in a dream, into the chamber, as K'kli began descending the walls towards him.

    He glanced over at one area that enjoyed a great commotion. Hundreds upon hundreds of tiny K'kli, perhaps an inch long at the most, crawled madly and mindlessly over what seemed to be the remains of a larger K'kli, lying in a dead huddle in the center of the floor. Their little forms darted in and out of the large K'kli, between the chewed out holes in it's exoskeleton. With his acutely sensitive ears, over the din of the rest of the K'kli, Luke could almost make out the sounds of flesh being rended inside the K'kli host. His eyes widened as he spun around and around with his lightsaber drawn.

    More and more, the K'kli began emerging from their cells, their multifaceted crimson eyes reflecting in glints the dim light of the engine room, and Luke's own lightsaber. He glanced over at a much larger congregation of K'kli, around a large mound on the wall of the engine core itself. He could see the emerald glint of Finellen's lightsaber, although it didn't move like he was striking out at the creatures.

    "Finellen!!!" Luke called out, but the din of the K'kli was his only answer.
     
  21. Wedge33

    Wedge33 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    I was just wondering if anyone knew how the wires were "removed" from wire stunt shots. The only thing I can think of is to go in frame-by-frame and paint them out. But this woul be incredibly tedious (not that I don't have to do it for the lightsabers anyway), and I would just like to know the real way that it is done. Can anyone help?
     
  22. Short Round McFly

    Short Round McFly Jedi Youngling star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 13, 1999
    If you're NOT in front of a blue or green screen, go to the most recent frame where the wire is not in front of something and copy and paste it on the wire. And do that with all frames. I never done it, but I'm sure that's how to do it.
     
  23. Avene

    Avene Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2000
    If you have a lot of money, you could buy a copy of Puffin Designs Commotion. It has a wire removal tool.
     
  24. Wedge33

    Wedge33 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2000
    If I do end up using wire stunts, it's probably going to cost too much just to get the right riggings and stuff. I won't have any money to buy a new program, especially an expensive one. Thanks for your help, though.
     
  25. buliwif

    buliwif Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 28, 2000
    all i can say is... i hope you have a good stunt coordinator!!! wire stunts can be very dangerous if not handled properly... the stunts we are planning for our film are very worrysome for me, and we are taking great pains to make sure they go off without a hitch... as far as the f/x end... i have no idea!!! LOL but i'm sure i'll figure out something, and when i do i'll let you know...
    till then, safe filming!!!
     
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