RPlog:Korolov's Senate Bombing

' This is a rough stub and need editing'

The Chief of State doesn't waste time, Enb'Zik reflects as he

stands smoothly and approaches the front of the Republic Military

hoverpod. The device floats out smoothly as Ikihsa touches the

controls, perhaps bringing to the minds of some present the fact

that he is one of the Republic's most well-known fighter pilots.

None of the flash associated with that shows here, however --

only the grace. As the pod draws to an appropriate spot not far

from Leia's own, it turns so that it faces both her and a large

portion of the galaxy's finest democratic representation. He

breathes calmly and begins to speak in a conversational manner.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, good afternoon. I hope all

of you have managed to stay dry in this afternoon's showers." He

smiles, "Sometime, we'll have to ask the good beings of the

Weather Bureau just exacty what it is they're watering." The

comment draws a low bout of good-natured laughter from across the

gallery, and Ikihsa pauses to let it pass, the smile on his face

fading to a somber expression more in keeping with the topic at

hand. "Most of you have already received briefings from my office

regarding my counsel on this issue," he states seriously, "I

would strongly advise all of you against the passage of this

bill. In conjunction with the facts I have already raised about

undermining trust between the Senate and the military, and in

conjunction with the fact that Second Fleet can not fairly be

punished for not completing a task that was never assigned to

them, I would like you to please consider the potential results

of sending our servicemen and servicewomen into combat with the

goal of retaking several major systems within the span of the

next month."

Folding his arms behind his back, Ikihsa turns and walks to one

side of his hoverpod, a droid hovering nearby and recording his

actions and words, "To take back a single planet would require

the dedication of an entire fleet. To do so within one standard

month would require sending that fleet in without a well-planned

strategy for accomplishing the goal. Without a good strategy, the

lives of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of our service

people would be put at an unnacceptable level of risk. And if

they managed to take the planet back by some miracle, with no

plan for doing so, they would likely be so decimated by that

point that actually /holding/ the territory would be impossible

once the Empire responded."

Ikihsa looks around the gallery of representatives, "Ladies and

Gentlemen of the Senate, I hold to you that Senator Vala's plan

is, at best, untenable. At worst, it is folly that will result in

tragedy and leave us worse in the end than we are in the

beginning."

Rook catches herself blinking in disbelief... several /systems/

inside a month? The New Republic starfleet is big, no question

about it, but it's not /that/ big. And going in without a plan,

for lack of time to prepare? "What /fedejik/ wrote /that/?" she

mutters. And is interrupted by a voice over her headset. "Zulu to White

Tiger, did not copy. Please repeat?" Blushing furiously, Rook is

suddenly glad she can't be seen over the radio as she feels her

face heat quickly with embarrassment. Forgot to set her mike to

toggle rather than voice-activation... she quickly switches it.

"White Tiger, Zulu, please disregard." I'm fine, we're all fine,

thank you... how are you? It occurs to her that if her reaction was so strong, then others'

must be equally so. She lifts her macrobinoculars and focuses on

a few of the platforms in turn, looking for responses... aside

from the applause of servicepeople and ex-servicepeople scattered

throughout the public balconies and viewing chambers, as well as

no small number on the Senate platforms themselves. No question

what /their/ opinion is... Rook can't help but smile.

Knowledgeable people are hearing this.

Being one that is dressed in all white, it would seem there were

a lot of military folk in their dress uniforms as well. Ahh,

well, it seems he is blending in quite well. As for the different

people around as well, it was a public gallery for them all to

see. No doubt many were interested in the military matter. But

business was dependent on a great deal of things, this being one

of them. He watches and claps at the appropriate times, even to

the cry not to pass this bill. He'd lose a great deal of clients

if they did pass it, and what is bad for business cannot be

something he needed to support. Every so often he writes a few

notes and comments to himself, but nothing out of the ordinary.

He was waiting for the senate meeting to press forward and see

what the vote was to be. Vengan grins across the room at Rook's position, just

close enough to catch the female's flushed embarassment. A flick

of his fingertips cuts open a protein bar with his thumb knife.

The green-eyed Marine takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully as he

cocks an ear towards the platform. He nods quiet agreement with

the Senator's statement, pursing his lips wryly as the man echoes

the Marine's own previous sentiments. He glances at Rook again,

stands up and stretches his lower back. Not like anyone's going

to pull a blaster in the Senate Chambers.

Leia listens to Zik's statements, her own reaction muted and

indistinct. She waits out the applause of those who care to, then

turns to another section of the Senate building. She touches her

mic again, "Thank you, Brigadier General." Nodding, she lifts a

hand, the curve of her fingers elegant, "Ordinarily, I would have

called Senator Vala to speak first. However, I felt that she

might wish to speak to the concerns of the military. Senator

Vala? If you would, please?"

Standing, Jenya clears her throat for a moment, then

speaks. "Thank you, Madame President. First, I would like to

remind the General that my personal life doesn't belong in the

media. You could have offered no comment. I don't go offering the

media tidbits about your leadership that I hear from the troops."

She picks up a paper, "I proposed this motion, to start a

dialogue. 30 days may be a bit shortsighted, I'll admit, to

reclaim those worlds stolen from the Republic. I mention

Chandrila, because it is my homeworld, but I stand here for all

worlds stolen by the Empire, Corellia included. I am open to

amendemts to the motion. That said, the military is dragging its

feet. It's been over a year, and yet the worlds still remain in

posession of the Empire. Get off your fat asses, and do

something! People are dying. I'm prepared, as the motion says, to

bring money into it. I figure that motivates people. Thank you."

She re-takes her seat.

For his part, Mitali remains silent, though Senator

Vala's words have done a good job of rapidly darkening the

peaceful Mirialan's expression. He straightens slightly in his

seat, sliding his attention back towards Enb'Zik as he works his

jaw. No speaking up. That would not be good. Let them handle

this.

The Corellian X-Wing pilot's face also darkens considerably at

the exhoration from Senator Vala. Anyone looking at Kesander

could readily guess that the blond-haired pilot wars with himself

for a few moments about the shape and nature of his reaction, but

in the end, self-discipline prevails. And so he simply sits back

in his seat, rolls his eyes a bit and seems to stew a bit.

Sitting with the overall contingent from the Second Fleet, Major

Johmac Mabru sits there, arms crossed as he listens to the

Chandrilian Senator. Sitting near Mitali, Kesander, and the other

lot, he turns his head slightly to observe each of them in tern,

taking in their reactions quietly. When the Senator wraps up her

tyraid, his mouth tightens into a small little slit, and if

anyone's paying attention to how he's reacting, one could tell

he's biting down on his tongue hard enough to cause his eyes to

water..

Senator Faust arches an eyebrow at the bluntness of

Senator Vala's speech. He sits up as his attention turns towards

the other Senators around him, several of them are shocked as

well. the Coruscanti Senator however does little else. His face

is quite stoic as his trademark smile has disappeared. It is

almost as if the storm outside is reflecting his modd. His gaze

flicks back towards the small yellow droid which has resumed

orbiting the Coruscanti platforms. The Senator flicks a datapad

open and watches it for a moment, checking the time on his wrist

chrono before looking at the session agenda. He eventually rises

and his platform ejects itself into the aether hovering on a

repulsor field, "Madam President. I motion that we suspend debate

on this motion and put it up to a vote."

Suddenly, it strikes him. The elusive future, the one

that he's been searching for so closely for so many months,

becomes clear to him... and it's alarmingly close. Jumping out of his meditation, Luke leaps to his feet and

goes dashing inside the penthouse proper, grabbing a comlink from

the table. "Artoo!" he shouts, and tosses the comlink to the

droid, who just barely has time to extend a grappling arm to

catch it with an alarmed beep. "Get Rook on frequency, and get

out to the speeder!" He goes running for the balcony once more,

and with a wave of his hand, the energy shielding comes offline,

giving him access to the speeder parked at the edge of the

two-hundred-plus story landing, and the rain access to him.

"Hurry!" he cries into the apartment, to the astro-droid's

grumbled response as it rolls out into the rain. Luke hops into

the speeder, and moves to get ready to lift the droid in.

Listening to Jenya's rebuttal, Leia blinks, then blinks

again. She clears her throat, then speaks into the mic, "Thank

you, Senator Vala." She pauses, then adds, "I feel that I must

warn the Senator from Chandrilia against the use of slander in

further argument. Any further derogatory remarks, no matter the

degree to which you feel they are justified will result in your

being removed from the proceedings." She lets that sink in a

moment, "Which would be a shame as you were only recently allowed

back into this august hall." She touches another button on her

control pad and a yellow light appears on Jenya's platform. If it

turns to red, her mic will be cut and she will be escorted out.

"Please strike the Senator's slanderous remarks from the record."

She turns then to the list of those wishing to speak on the

proposal but is cut short by the Senator from Coruscant. She

lifts a brow, then turns to the monitors, "Do we have a second?" And many clap in response to the Senator's words, most of whom

being those whose worlds have been lost to the Empire, though not

all. The Fondorian senator claps just as enthusiastically for his

colleague's words as he did for the Sullustan's. Fondor was safe

for now, but it could not remain so for long, especially given

just how critical things are. But he used to be a soldier...talk

about divided allegiances. For now, he contents himself with

listening to all sides before he is called to speak.

A Senator rises moments after the question is asked, and she

speaks up. "I second this motion."

Nodding, Leia touches a button on her console and the

chime sounds to close debate. "Very well. The debate on this

motion is closed." She pauses, then lowers her head briefly, then

looks up. "All in favor of passing Senator Vala's measure, please

touch the 'aye' button on your consoles. Those opposed, 'nay'. If

you are undecided, please touch 'abstain'. Turning, she watches

the count begin to be tallied on the monitor above her.  K'tyyri has disconnected. Jenya touches aye on her console, and watches the tallies come in

as well.

Numerous responses to Senator Vala's words spring to General

Ikihsa's mind, just as they do to the minds of the hundreds of

military personnel present in the guest areas, watching from

above. The woman's accusations regarding the interview with IGN

are as absolutely baseless as the 'facts' that she uses to insult

those who put themselves in harm's way DAILY so that she /can/

consider marriage at all. And if the rumors aren't true, just

what has her behaving so defensively with regard to them anyway?

Get off their fat asses. The Sullustan has half a mind to abduct

the woman, put a rifle in her hands, and tell her to get off her

posh-living backside and bring /that/ into it. Her money isn't

what the military needs. People are dying. Indeed. Ikihsa had

watched it when his /own/ planet had been taken by the Empire,

and he'd actually been there to fight when Sullust was occupied.

So near is the Sullustan General to the Chief of State, that in

her empathy, she might sense the righteous ire roiling from his

psyche.

His face, however, shows none of it. Merely a calm resolution

that if the Senate were to pass such a bantha poodoo piece of

legislation, then the Senate may well be just as corrupt and

useless as some groups claim. He does not, however, believe that

is the truth, and as Sullust's delegation casts its vote AGAINST

the bill, Ikihsa, too, watches the tallies show.

Once R2-D2 is safely inside the speeder, Luke guns it.

With a screaming sound, the speeder launches itself at blinding

speeds out from the building, and takes a sharp bank to the east.

Once he's gotten the vehicle up to a racing speed, Luke reaches

out and snatches the comlink back from Artoo, and keys it on.

Those monitoring the same frequency as Rook would hear the same

message that comes over her comlink, with the sounds of the

speeder in the background, running at high speed. "Rook? Rook,

it's Luke. Something's terribly wrong, put the guards on high

alert!"

Still stewing in his seat, Kesander leans forward, elbows on his

knees, his chin resting on his folded hands. The Corellian's

bright blue eyes are locked on the tally board as the Aye and Nay

votes begin to come in. Whatever the X-Wing pilot may be thinking

is uncertain, but considering the dour expression on his face, it

probably isn't something polite, or kind, or pleasant. The Fondorian delegation decides to cast the 'nay' button, the

Senator knowing that such a timeline can simply not be kept. But

as for the Senator who seconded the motion, she decides for it.

The Coruscanti Senator taps his voting machine for

/AGAINST/ as well. His platform stays in mid-air, as his lips

curl into a sublime smile. He could feel the emotion in the room

coursing through his veins, the Militaries members assorted

emotions almost strengthening the Coruscanti man's resolve. His

platform begins it's slow orbit back towards it's home position

when the green-eyed human reaches down and presses another button

on his platform that sends a very high frequency burst

transmission. His attention shifts back towards the Coruscanti

Governor. The two men lock eyes and Senator Faust's grin grows.

It's not like Rook can't sympathize with Jenya and many others...

her own homeworld has been in the hands of the Empire since

before she was born, and it's likely to remain there for quite

some time. But the Senator's caustic words, combined with her

obvious ignorance of the hard facts of military operations, has

her gritting her teeth. And she hasn't been active duty for quite

some time now. "Yup, our job's just the same: go out and get

killed Force-knows-where so fashionable and sanctimonious

politicians are free to sit in here and gripe about how much they

pay us... and then cut it for no reason." Still, nothing to do but watch the vote and see how it comes

out... So she does, taking deep breaths to calm down. One of them catches in her throat as she hears a chiming sound

from the pocket of her flying leathers... she quickly digs out

her personal comlink and holds it up to her left ear, the one not

covered by her headset. "Luke... I copy! Tell me as much as you

can..." she hisses into the device, then toggles her headset mike

and begins speaking into it. "White Tiger to Zulu... Code Omega! Repeat, Code Omega!

Unidentified threat in the Senate Chamber. Stay sharp, Marines!"

She looks back out across the vast chamber, large as the hold of

a superfreighter. How are they going to find the danger in all of

/that/? Vengan starts, hearing something crackle across the

secured channel. He bites back a sharp scold at the sound of

chatter on the frequency, but the code words jar the Marine into

action. He depresses the transmitter stud on his earpiece,

setting the device to voice activation. < Raider teams, Raider

teams, this is Raider One. Incoming from Zulu Command, Code

Omega. Code Omega. Weapons status red, eyes sharp. Deny control

point access to all personnel.> The headset clicks off, comes

back on a private channel. 

Leia watches the tally rise as emotions roil about her.

She darts a quick glance toward Zik, then looks again to the

tally. For a moment, something flickers across her Force

awareness and a frown begins only to be quickly smoothed over

again. With approximately 90 percent of the vote in, the measure

falls short by a nearly 3 to 1 margine. Turning back to the

deligation, she nods, "Motion failed." She waits while various

applause or hissing dies down. "Gentlebeings, before we get too

embroiled in measure's failure, I must ask each of you to

consider Senator Vala's bravery in proposing such a piece in the

first place. She looked at the situation from the standpoint that

what we are attempting is not working and went forward to attempt

to address what she considered the root cause. That she proposed

something that can not work is unfortunate, for it is; to some

degree, a waste of this body's time and attention. However, there

is merit in trying to see beyond the boundries of traditional

solutions." Touching a button, she freezes the vote once it has

finished tallying, sending the negative into the record. Turning

to face the platform of the Chandrilian delegation, she half

bows, then adds, "In the future, however, I trust that you will

better avail yourself of the plethera of research avenues open to

you so frivolous legislation be avoided." Her gaze abstracts to

include everyone in that admonition. During the pause, she

blinks, mulling over that blip she caught earlier. Clearing her

throat, she touches another button and the 'break' chime sounds,

"I would like to call an unscheduled recess. It is my

recommendation that everyone take a moment to get some air."

Still watching on as to what is going on, he sees the different

figures debate the merits of the plan for the military. It

obviously strikes different sensitive areas, and takes a personal

route to the different leaders on both sides. It's pretty clear

that the debate is not turning out well for the military, and due

to that fact and with the Imperials at the doorstep, he makes a

few notes to prepare to take operations elsewhere. Business was

going to hurt, or at least he was predicting, based off what he

currently was seeing. There's a few things that he reviews, cross

checking sending some operations to other planets. A quick

reference to his mail and messages to make sure he still had a

supplier on Ithor willing to deliver to Caspar instead of here;

then a new message. He punches through a few things and reads the

message. It elicits a response, so he composes a new mail

entering in the message and tuning up the power for the

trasmitter. He could passively recieve, but needed some extra

power to broadcast from in here. Within a moment it sends off the

message; Celo then deactivates the high powered transmitter a few

moments later to look back on the figures within the chambers.

The split-second before a large explosion is a very

peculiar moment. Time seems to stand still and motion stops as if

reality were gearing itself up for the destructive force about to

be unleashed. Thus this moment is one of acute clarity, which is

quickly torn asunder as the large Platform holding the Governor

of Coruscant and his cabinet ceases to exist. Living matter and

the metal pieces of the platform become mixed in the same

molecular mess as they are vaporized. The explosion reaches out

and catches a dozen other platforms near the Coruscanti one, the

Senator's and their staff having barely a moment longer in

existence than the Governor had. The shock wave knocks droids out of the air as well as

platforms in transition from place to place. Senator Faust's is

one of those that is battered like a leaf in the wind. The shock

wave sends it careening towards the floor of the rotunda. One of

the Coruscanti Guardsmen is thrown out and falls to his death as

his armor can do little more than contain the pieces of the

broken man. Senator Faust clings to the center console as his

platform rapidly descends.

Kesander had been dealing the sensation of shifting from

depression to elation at the defeat of Senator Vala's motion. And

the Corellian had been on the verge of saying something that he

thought would sound terribly funny about the Senator and her

motion to Major Johmac, and Deck Officer Mitali and any other of

his Reprisal comrades who are seated round about. But the

devestating effects of the explosion that erases the Governor of

Coruscant and his cabinet change all that. Fortunately the Public

Gallery is sufficiently far from the detonation point of the

explosion that it's light, heat, and concussive force do not

present a lethal combination. However, they do knock the X-Wing

Pilot back into his seat with sufficient velocity to bounce him

out of his place and into the Aisle. "Holy Blazing Hell!!"

Bellows the Corellian as he staggers to his feet, dabbing at the

blood dripping from his nose and ears. But in a second, the pilot

masters himself and turns his eyes in the direction of the Ghost

Squadron CO. "Orders, sir?"

"There's going to be an ex-" but Luke's voice is cut off

from the comlink frequency by the electro-static interference

caused by the explosion. The speeder nearly guides itself as it

screams between buildings, off the designated flyways,

Skywalker's hands being guided by the Force as the Parliamentary

District comes into view. A gasp escapes his lips in that split

second before the explosions begin, and even though he can't see

them from outside, the shock it sends through the Force is

undeniable, if the static coming from his comlink wasn't enough

of an indication. "Rook?" he calls into it, uselessly. "Rook!

Blast." Tossing it aside, he centers himself on the job ahead,

calling the Force in to buffet the ship and give it that extra

push. From a distance, the speeder itself looks more like a

miniature comet, as it burns an ion trail through the atmosphere

and passes dangerously between one of the busier traffic lanes.

Seems Rasi was with the rest of the Second Fleeters, wherever

they might have been. And when Kesander, the Corellian from the

other day asks his question, he turns to Johmac, apparently the

highest-ranking here. He was tossed about by the strength of the

explosion, but he quickly regained his footing and regained his

cap, clearing his clothes of any dust.

The explosion successfully drowns out the surprised curse

that leaves Mitali's lips, the technician practically leaping to

his feet and rushing forward to peer over the edge of the

balcony. He makes a grab for his comlink just in time for it to

go off. He clamps a hand down over his ear in order to hear it

before shaking his head and pivoting on his heel, looking around

for the nearest security detail before bolting in their direction

to find out if and where they need assistance. You want the

military to get off their asses, well, that's what you're gonna

get.

Something seems to awaken Johmac from the anger boiling inside of

himself. When he feels the blast rock his chair, he stands up

immediately, hands grabbing onto it to hold himself up. Okay,

priorities. You're back on the Ground, Major... Just like the

Marines. Civilians. They need to get evac'd first, that was a

priority. "We need to get these people out of here," he states

toward Kesander quickly, before collecting a rather large breath

to bellow, in all his former Marine Glory: "REPRISAL CREW! HELP

START GETTING THESE PEOPLE OUT OF THE GALLERY! Work with any

Security forces you meet to get them out quickly!" He starts to

push through the people, pushing against them, and at times,

yelling, "Head for the exit! C'mon, move it along!"...

The shock of the explosion sends Leia's platform

careening down toward the Senate floor as systems fail all over

the place. She catches hold of the railing, her eyes wide with

shock and dismay. "Force!" Robes fluttering about her, she leaps

to the railing and tries to take stock of the situation. Spottine

Faust's platform, she

Davyd and the other Guards react smoothly, perhaps because this

is something they've trained for. Quickly issuing orders over the

guardnet he sprints towards where the explosion was as other

guards team up and start evacuating people. The Guard with Davyd

says something and they alter course, trying to get to the

Senator and Leia.

The massive shockwave of the explosion, perhaps a hundred meters

from Ikihsa's hoverpod near the center of the Senate chambers,

throws the antigravity transport forward and off-balance. The

sudden motion throws the Sullustan against the control panel with

enough force that the sudden, searing pain in his chest can only

be one or more broken ribs. The repulsors strain briefly and

almost immediately begin to fail, and like Faust's and Leia's

pods, Enb'Zik's begins to plummet. The fall is not fast,

fortunately, but it is inexorable. Holding an arm across his

chest and breathing through his mouth, Ikihsa works with one hand

to try and regain control of the device, even as massive chunks

of superstructure begin to fall around him and the others. A huge

piece of durasteel, perhaps weighing as much as two tons, careens

off the edge of his pod and knocks it one end over the other. The

fall accelerates sickeningly.

With no other chance to do anything about his situation, Ikihsa

Enb'Zik's entire world suddenly and accutely goes black. The pod

that had carried him crashes heavily to the Senate floor with him

beneath it. Dust and smoke and alarms and chaos quickly fill the

air in the wake of the explosion.

The shock of the explosion sends Leia stumbling from one

end of her platform to the other as the mechanical systems fail.

After trying to hover for a while, assisted by Leia's stronger

Force abilities, it upends and careen toward the Senate floor.

She catches hold of the railing and hangs there a short while,

her eyes wide with shock and dismay. "Force!" Robes fluttering

about her, she pulls her body to the railing and tries to take

stock of the situation in the few moments left to her. Spotting

Faust's platform, then Zik's, she closes her eyes in an attempt

to call the Force and slow their fall of all three enough to keep

them all alive.

Jenya sighs, great, another military blunder. First they can't

rescue Republic worlds, now they allow this to happen. You'd

think they would have swept the place. Seems they're more

incompetant than she originally thought. She'll have to work that

into the next motion she brings. Good fodder. As for this silly

little explosion, she simply leaves her platform, and with her

entourage, casually heads to the exit. No need for panic. She

won't give them the satisfaction. Aramis, shaking his head to clear it, is a step behind

Mitali, grabbing him by the back of the uniform and tugging.

"Come on, man, evacuate civilians time." Senators and their

people all have their own security to evacuate them. Once he has

Mitali's attention, Aramis turns around to grab a heavyset man

climbing over a seat and pushing past an older woman. "Sir!" He

intervenes to give the woman time to reach the aisle, then helps

the man after her. "Now you, sir."

The Corellian snaps a salute in response to Johmac. "Roger that,

sir." And with that acknowledgement Kesander immediately begins

to direct civilians and enlisted personnel who had been sitting

near him. "All right people listen up! Just as the Major says, we

need *everyone* to move in a rapid and orderly fashion to the

exits. If there are any who've been injured and can move, help

those individuals out of the building to where they can recieve

medical attention! Any who have neck or spine injuries leave them

where they are! Med teams should be responding and enroute to the

senate chambers right now. Let's move! Go! Go!" And with this,

the Flight Officer helps a dazed-looking Fleet Lieutenant with an

obviously broken wrist towards the exit from the gallery.  Defying Gravity Alana says, "hah, i thought so!"  Alina says, "Yeah, me actually. He thought I was about

to give birth because I blushed."

Along with everyone else in the gallery, Celo finds it shocking

at what happens before his very eyes. The fireball captivates his

attention, before his thought pattern of danger and leaving get a

hold of him. He says cool and calm, albeit in dismay of what was

going on around him. Almost being jarred out of his seat from the

initial blast, he gets up and makes his way with the civilians

and those here to get out. He's taking all the folks around here,

seeing that many are confused, many others make a rush out of

this place. As a civilian he is ushered by the security and

military folks for the nearest exit out of here - he willingly

compalies.

Hisround the periphery of the great dome time still seems to have

hit the emergency break. Another flash is followed by the shriek

of ferro-crete and heavy metal beams being shredded and expelled

in every direction. Less than a heartbeat after the second explosion, a

third, fourth, and fifth ring out in a cacophonous symphony as

cracks begin to arc across the orante ceiling of the building. Among the Senatorial platforms, several more detonations

go off in this time period as more delegations are immolated all

around the ampitheatre, detonations on one platform causing

debris and fragmentations to shread through the soft flesh of the

members of other delegations around the blast areas to become

casualties. Senator Faust's platform impacts the floor of the chamber

slowed by Leia's grasp of the force. However it is not enough and

his grip on the center console is lost. He is flung across the

floor and impacts the base of the center Spire. He lays at the

base of the spire for the time being, his body still as he makes

an effort to recover his senses.

Around the periphery of the great dome time still seems

to have hit the emergency break. Another flash is followed by the

shriek of ferro-crete and heavy metal beams being shredded and

expelled in every direction. Less than a heartbeat after the second explosion, a

third, fourth, and fifth ring out in a cacophonous symphony as

cracks begin to arc across the orante ceiling of the building. Among the Senatorial platforms, several more detonations

go off in this time period as more delegations are immolated all

around the ampitheatre, detonations on one platform causing

debris and fragmentations to shread through the soft flesh of the

members of other delegations around the blast areas to become

casualties. Senator Faust's platform impacts the floor of the chamber

slowed by Leia's grasp of the force. However it is not enough and

his grip on the center console is lost. He is flung across the

floor and impacts the base of the center Spire. He lays at the

base of the spire for the time being, his body still as he makes

an effort to recover his senses.

"Artoo, take care of the speeder." It's the last thing

Luke says to the little droid, before cutting the speeder's power

and turning it into a sudden side-swipe, which will eventually

aid in its slowing. As for Luke, however, he's leapt off the

speeder in a split-second before the droid can react. Soaring

through the air at a height of at least thirty meters, such a

leap of fate would certainly be the doom of a normal human, but

as many people know, the Jedi Master has a powerful ally. Doing a simple sommersault through the air, the Jedi

Master retrieves a small grappling hook from his belt. Then, one

of the latter explosions rocks the wall of the domed structure

such that a huge hole is blown through the inner and outer walls.

Through the fire, Luke comes soaring in at a brisk freefall,

followed by smoke and rain as his cloak catches fire. His left

hand throws the grappling hook into the air, which latches onto

the rooftop and aides in slowing his fall. Down he goes, right

into the middle of the senate floor, where the platforms are

crashing down, many of them ablaze, others torn asunder. He whips

the cloak from his shoulders, releases the grappling hook from

his hand, and draws the lightsaber from his belt. It is ignited with a snap, the green blade illuminating

his face as his eyes take in the carnage that surrounds him--two

blue eyes of serenity and focus.

Davyd speaks into his comm, a faint smile crossing his face. This

all hidden by his helmet of course. Soon Guard personell begin to

converge on the pods whisking Senators out of them. The rest of

the Guards pull weapons and form a perimeter around the senate

floor, obviously protecting the Senators. Davyd is slammed

against a pod as one nearby goes off.

Rook is just touching the toggle-button on her headset, to

explain as much as she can, when her hearing abruptly vanishes

under a sound too loud to be anything but man-made in origin: an

explosion. She doesn't see what happens immediately... It's a moment later, between the blast itself and the sound of

the last platform hitting the floor, that she finds herself lying

on the floor of the viewing balcony, slightly dizzy and with a

muted roaring in her left ear. She manages to sit up, then roll

and get to her feet. Above and around the massive chamber, the

structural damage is obvious, and steadily getting worse. The

building, built to withstand the impact of heavy bombs from the

/outside/, is decidedly less sound from the /inside/. Parts of

the ceiling have simply ceased to exist, with support members

scattered all over the chamber below. Platforms, or what's left

of them in some cases, litter the chamber floor. And the platform

where the Governor of Coruscant once stood simply /isn't there/

anymore! The tall woman's eyes widen, and she looks around

frantically for her former employer. "LEIA!!" The scream sounds muted even in her own ears... her hand finds a

thin trickle of blood coming from her left ear. But the startled

squawking from Zulu Command is still coming in loud and clear in

her right. She takes a breath and tries to take stock... "Zulu,

this is White Tiger! Upgrade to Code Skyfall, repeat, Code

Skyfall! Explosion in the Senate Chamber! We've got many

wounded... get medical support in here on the double! And

somebody get Civil Defense on the horn and get us some heavy

lifting floaters in here... this place could come down on top of

us! Marines, sound off if you're still functional, and get

moving! Get these people out of here! Assist rescue personnel as

you are able." She starts to lift her personal comlink to her lips, but finds

that her hand is empty. As she looks down, she spots it on the

floor... broken beyond any usefulness. "Frell!" For the moment,

she doesn't see Luke's entrance. Vengan's head is snapped clear backwards. He hits the

ground so hard he bounces, and for several moments rolls back and

forth, mumbling incoherently to himself. < Raider Team...Raider

Team.> He slams his head against the ground again, trying to

clear it.  The Marine struggles

to his feet, finding his rifle still in his hand. <

Work....evacuate all Senators from the auditorium.> He struggles

to one knee, then lurches forward, moving with a clumsy jog to

Rook's position. < Raider Team, evacuate all Senator and civilian

personnel.> He lurches, dives at the next set of blasts, watching

the blast holes appear in the ceiling. He looks down at the

security control point.  He flicks his microphone over to the Marine channel.  He leans over the edge

of the balcony, screams downwards at Major Johmac. "Major! Raider

One needs medical backup! We have no medics present!" He shakes

more of the cobwebs out, continues towards Rook's position.

"Tiger One!" he shouts. "Tiger One, what the fark is going on?

You still with us?"

Having been prowling the 'catwalk' above many of the

pods as is her usual habit while keeping an eye on the Senatorial

population at-large, Snarl finds herself taking a very long and

unexpected downward plunge as the flooring beneath her paws seems

to throw itself upward and then collapse away into nothingness.

The massive feline's yowl of surprise and outrage is lost in the

deafening cacaophany of explosions as she flails wildly in an

effort to coax SOME kind of landing out of her ridiculously long

plunge that won't leave her with a broken neck. Or limbs,

hopefully. Not that she has any chance in the seven hells of not

hitting something hard on the way down. Her impact with the

rubble below is not gentle. Neither is the debris that lands

ontop of her. It's said that Horansi have hard heads. Some mean it as

an insult, but the fact of the matter is that it's true. Despite

getting slammed in the head with something unidentified but very

solid, Snarl is down but not out. Once the world stops swimming,

she'll see what parts of her anatomy are still functional. After

all, she's not dead. Right?

The platforms slow until Leia can leap to the floor with

something akin to grace. She races toward where the other

platforms should land, her gaze steady and fixed. Ahead, an empty

platform careens from the floor sending sparks dancing about.

Leia dives to one side as the platform rolls toward her, then

looks over her shoulder. The panels have fallen from the wall

behind her and the inner workings of the building's wall shows.

Within, a gas main has crumpled and hisses it's deadly fuel into

the air. "Force." It is a whisper, this time. Using that power,

she lifts one of the panels into the platform's way, though it is

clumsy and ineligant. Still, the platform is stopped, though it

continues to spark. Whirling, she races again toward the falling

platforms in an attempt to lend aid to those in need.

The next Series of explosives go off in the ante-chambers

around balconies overlooking the senate floor, this causes the

walls to begin to lose their ability to hold up the ceiling. The

holes begin to grow even larger as massive chunks of ferrocrete

fall, landing and crushing dozens of pods as gravity pulls them

down the inclined sides of the chambers to the floor. Senator Faust rises slowly to his knees. Peeling his blue

robes off he is wearing a suit of anodized red crimson armor

underneath and slips a mask on, the skull face of the mask

ominous looking as he flips his cloak inside out, wrapping it

around his shoulders. The T-4 lays battered on the floor near by

as the darkly clad figure reaches out with the force. He wraps

invisible fingers around a small metallic device bound in the

guts of the droid and pulls, the soft aluminum skin peeling apart

as the droids internal organs are expelled with the cylindrical

form of a lightsaber that slips into his grasp. He stands still

for another moment as he speaks into the comlink integrated into

his mask, "Captain. Initiate plan retribution."

Davyd turns and nods then radios crackle all around the chamber

and the Guards who were 'guarding' now turn thier weapons inward,

most carry ST II's. On command they open fire on the Senators,

some target the Marines as well. Under the concerted fire

Senators begin to fall, pods lurch and smoke as they are hit by

blaster fire.

Hostility was in the air. He could sense it. But one

thing takes Luke's mind more strongly, and that is the presence

of his sister, alive. Lowering the lightsaber to his side, he

goes rushing for her, nimbly dashing to avoid being struck by a

piece of flaming shrapnel that goes careening across the floor.

"Leia," he calls out to her, and summons the Force to his beck

and call. The Dark Side was starting to grow, but he would have

none of that. Skidding to a halt at his sister's side, he sends

her a simple message through the Force, as their telepathic link

begins to strengthen. She would know what to do... he had taught her well. The twins begin knitting their life energies into harmony

with each other, their strengths combining and sending a shock of

pure energy into the Force that surrounds them. It would be

clearly unnoticeable to those who weren't sensitive, and those

who were, they would clearly know that a power of the Force was

piercing the cloud of the dark side. "The Senators," he says,

then turns and dashes toward the circle of Senators that start

coming under fire by none other than members of the Coruscant

Guard. His lightsaber swings up in Soresu fashion, and begins

deflecting bolts that come his way, sending them back into the

chests of the Guardsmen who have opened fire.

The crowd of civilians make their way out, most of them are able

to get out before the ceiling starts to go. Celo, is one of these

that is able to get away rather quickly. He makes his way with

the rest of the group, attempting to get farther and farther away

as fast as he can. Before too long they're finding the exit to

the building and medical teams around to assist. He doesn't

require assistance, so merely takes his leave and makes his way

away and into the city, off to take care of other things and

process what just happened.

As soon as the command is given, Rasi began to help whoever it

was that needed help being harried out of the balcony where he

stood with the others of the Second Fleet. Pushing this person or

that out of harm's way. Of course, that all comes to a screeching

halt when he hears the blasts of the second explosion, and to

make things worse, there's the blaster shots going off. "Holy

", the young man exclaims ducking for

cover and waiting to be told what to do.

Coughing and sputtering, a sharp stabbing pain in

Snarl's left side rouses her from a confusing stupor. It's

difficult to breathe with all the particles of debris floating in

the air and the weight of the rubble resting on top of her body.

Later, the Horansi will realize that the fact that she'd been

buried kept her from serving as a target for 'traitors'. Normally

her massive frame acts like a furry magnet for enemy fire. It is the sound of gun fire where it should not be that

further rouses the Horansi. Snarl struggles to wriggle out from

beneath the heavy pile that landed on her back, finding her

progress to be much slower than she'd like, but steady

none-the-less. As her head emerges into what now passes for open

air, the big Kasa sneezes violently several times. Never one to

pass up any advantage, she uses the convulsive muscular spasms of

the fit to wrench herself free of her temporary prison. Now lying

behind one of the fallen pods, she pauses to catch her breath

briefly. No attention is really paid to her own injuries once

she's ascertained that her limbs will move. "What the hell?" the big cat mutters as she coughs up

one more lungful of dust. She considers drawing a weapon... but

then catches a familiar voice. Luke is here... so perhaps

fighting is not her primary objective. Whatever happened, there

are wounded to get out of here. With the operation switching from

battle to salvage, she begins to painfully creep out of cover on

all fours in search of someone still living.

Having successfully cleared the public gallery of personnel,

Kesander finds himself separated from his Squadron Commander and,

truthfully, from anyone else he recognizes at the moment. The

blasts that rocked the ante-chamber had, by whatever grace of the

kindly powers of the universe, missed him as he'd sought someway

to descend down towards the floor area of the Senate. Having

commandeered a heavy blaster from a dead Marine, the Corellian's

expression sharpens. Peering through the smoke and fire, the

X-Wing pilot catches a glimpse of someone who's actually alive.

"Vengan? That you?" Asks the pilot aloud.

"Luke!" Sensing her twin's presence before she sees him,

Leia glances up at him. Her gaze is grim, determined and grimy.

Strands of her cinnimon hair have come unwoven from their rolls

over her ears and she steps to his side. After as much practice

as she has done, the Harmony is easy to establish now. Her life

energies weave with his and the connection between them

strengthens. She reaches for her sidearm, but; of course, she

does not have it. Unable to fight back, she darts forward toward

the falling and fallen platforms. She glances toward the

Senators, but sees Luke dealing with it so continues on toward

Faust and Zik's. Reaching the second first, she vaults aboard to

assess the damage. During the leap, she notes a flash of crimson

from Faust's direction and turns from that vantage point to look.

His change of attire is recognized in an instant and a knot of

anger curls in her gut before she dispells it, "Luke! Faust!"

Rook is only just turning toward the young Marine who dashes up

beside her, calling the wrong com handle in his excitement, when

the world abruptly turns upside-down again! The explosion tips

the both of them over the rail and into empty space... When she opens her eyes, she finds herself once again on the

ground and in some degree of pain. Only the ground is one of the

only hover-platforms still clinging to the walls, mercifully

vacant of any bystanders, politicians, or hangers-on. Either the

evacuation is wondrously efficient, or the pod's usual users

weren't present today. This one's about thirty feet down from the

railing she just fell over. Something under her back is digging

in sharply... as she rolls to her feet, she discovers it's the

rail of the seat she'd fallen on top of. The Marine she knows as

Raider One from the com is nearby. Mercifully, he'd not landed on

any seats. "Raider One... you okay..?" And then she sees a blotch of crimson armor on the chamber floor

as she peeks over the rail of the platform... and that familiar

sick feeling comes back. One she remembers from dealing with

Senator Faust. The white remains of robes surround him... and

suddenly the puzzle she'd worked on for weeks has the last pieces

fall into place, far too late. "Twin Stars!" Abruptly she turns to the controls of the platform. Some of the

indicators look familiar, common to any repulsorcraft. Some of

the others, though... With the urgency born of desperation, she

starts trying to get this thing moving, hoping against hope that

her cocky words to a friend on Wann Tsir long ago hold up... that

she really /can/ fly /anything/. "Fingers, don't fail me now..." Thankfully, they do. The pod begins to move downward, toward a

spot near where the red-armored figure stands. Time to face a

monster in Human form...        "Hey, don't forget me!" Vengan shouts at Rook, the

adrenaline clearly pumping. He hops into the cart next to the

woman as it pulls downwards, locking his heavy rifle into his

shoulder and activating the sights. As Rook drops the lift

downwards, Vengan takes aim at Davyd's group and with Marine

efficiency begins firing bolt after bolt into the command group.

Hearing words below, Vengan lifts his chin. "...Kesander? Who the

fark do you think this is? Meet me down there!" He neatly drops

one of Davyd's traitorous guards as the man runs across an aisle,

turns his reticle back on Davyd's group.

In point of fact Kesander has found not one Marine, but two.

holding his heavy blaster in his right hand, the X-Wing pilot,

his dress uniform now thoroughly ruined, moves fast and low

towards where Vengan and Rook are moving as they decend. "Hell of

a day," he mutters.

"Captain, send the word to the legions that Plan

Retribution has been initiated." The Sithlord ignites his

lightsaber, the crimson blade sparking to life as he reaches out

and slices a cowering near-human Senator in half. Vassily Korolov

had spent a long time building up to this moment, training on Ord

Trasi, abandoning Coruscant years ago and making his way back and

into the heart of the Republic to tear it apart from the inside. As Rook launches the platform toward Korolov, he reaches

out with the force and gives it a shove, pushing it further away

than the young pilot might wish. Warlord Korolov strides towards

his Stormtroopers, "Let this planet bleed so that it may emerge

from the cleansing fires of my wrath, pure for his excellency."

Were his face visible under the bone plates of the mask, his

smile has grown as he basks in the carnage that is just begining.

Moving in with rapid speed, Skywalker deflects two blasts

from the traitor Guardsmen back into their chests at point blank

speed, then moves in to slice another one clean in half with his

green blade. A swift bootkick to another's chin, and he has

broken through their defenses and has a clean approach of the man

who was so recently known as Senator Faust. "Korolov!" he bellows

with a surprisingly strong voice, and moves to position himself

in front of the Sith Lord, raising his lightsaber in an arc to

put it in a defensive position. One flick sends a blaster bolt

aimed for him up into the ceiling... he didn't even look at it.

"You will bleed along with this planet," he warns, then raises

his lightsaber and feigns an advance, before leaping into the air

with Ataru accuracy, vaulting himself over Korolov's head with

his lightsaber forming an arc of defense beneath him.

Although keeping a wary ear on the Force battle going on

not that far away, Snarl knows deep down that there's nothing she

can do against a Sith, much as she might yearn to. A faint moan

some six feet away draws the big feline's attention, and she digs

through several feel of rubble to reach what appears to be one

very mangled Twi'lek. "Hold on," she tells the semi-conscious

being in a whisper as she carefully uses attachment points on her

harness to secure the man to herself for transport out of this

hell hole. She has room for more though, so the Horansi does not

yet attempt to exit the building with her passenger, although she

feels the urgency to do so. What if he's badly injured? There's

blood everywhere, she notes - some of it is her own. A nagging

feeling draws her closer to the Jedi/Sith battle. Wasn't Zik's

pod somewhere above this area? Where is he?

", Rasi asks of the other

two of the Second Fleet, Vengan and Kesander, even as he moves

towards their position, somehow managing to dodge whatever stray

blaster bolt comes his way. He gets down to the floor after a

while, picking up on the way the weapons of a guard on the way.

Davyd sits against a nearby pod cooly directing the fire of the

erstwhile Guardsmen, taking out more Senators and thier pods and

staff. He notes the Jedi/Sith battle going on nearby, but he has

his job to do.

As Skywalker leaps over him, the sith crouches and raises

his saber above his head, the crimson hue of his blade striking

the emerald green of Skywalkers with the all too familiar crack

of energy impacting energy. Korolov however does not enter a

lightsaber battle without other weapons at hand. He reaches out

with the force and grasps a fallen piece of ferrocrete and flings

it at the high flying Jedi Master. "You and your Jedi Order may

defeat me, Skywalker, but you and I both know what remains

unspoken and is even beyond your vaunted powers. No. You and your

Jedi order will flee once again." He laughs, his voice resonating

in the open chamber as more pieces of the roof and walls begin to

crumble, lightning flashes lighting up the chamber as the

lighting modules begin to fail, at least the ones that remain

intact. rain falling amid the rubble, turning pulverized

ferrocrete into a sickly gray paste that covers everything,

hiding the shining white walls and floors of the chamber.

From Kesander's vantage point near the Marines, the situation on

the senate floor is pretty much a vision of chaotic hell. Rain,

fire, smoke, really big chunks of durasteel and ferrocrete flying

about. Oh, and someone in red wielding a lightsaber and someone

else he vaguely recognizes wielding a green one. And to top it

off, a fair number of those Guards who had turned on the

Senators. "Don't think, just do," mutters the X-Wing pilot to

himself. Which is fairly good advice seeing as a Guard has almost

walked over him. Blasters are leveled and sizzling bolts of death

are exchanged, but one is faster, and more accurate. The Guard

drops with a smoking hole in his chest.

"Hey, jumping on is double-fare, bucko!" Rook calls over her

shoulder to her new passengers, in the manner of an irritable

Coruscani air-taxi pilot. But she's glad of the help... this is

turning into a severe mess. Well, /more/ severe... Suddenly the pot lurches as /something/ pushes it to the side!

Seeing the telltale gesture from the madman in red, Rook bites

back a sizzling Outer Rim oath and draws her Kylan. On the range,

the gun's accurate up to 100 meters... there are about 30 to

cover here. Knowing the Marines (she thinks) with her are keeping

them covered from the traitorous Guardsmen, whom she's now sure

are Stormtroopers in disguise, Rook guides the pod with one hand

and opens fire as fast as she can pull the trigger at Korolov and

the few of his men near him. Probably not very accurate, but at

least she avoids Luke and Leia, and hopefully it'll give the

enemy something to think about other than shooting at the pod as

it touches down farther away than she would've preferred, but

closer than Korolov would probably like. Before the lift hits the ground, Vengan dismounts,

landing boot first on the ground and firing off several shots to

suppress enemy movement. With a suprising amount of strength for

someone of his wiry build, the Marine grabs a piece of pod wall

and upends it to give cover to himself and his fellow soldiers.

"Down here! Grab some cover!" he shouts at his rapidly growing

ad-hoc squad. He juggles his rifle into his left hand and draws

his pistol, firing off close to a dozen wide-flying shots at

Davyd's position in attempt to cover his fellows. "Aramis,

Kesander, get over here!" he bellows at the pilots. He drops the

pistol back into his holster and brings his rifle up, using the

edge of the pod as a steadying point for his long rifle as he

kneels behind it. He puts another guard in his sights and this

time takes careful aim before firing again. "White Tiger, can you

raise any more reinforcements?" Vengan shouts at Rook, before

firing again at Davyd's contingent. He watches what she's

shooting at, makes a throat-cutting gesture at her. "Leave the

Jedi to their fight! Get over here and help us with these damn

troopers!" he screams at the woman, trying to overcome the

blistering fire from overhead. "What I wouldn't give for a

grenade launcher," he mutters through clenched teeth, taking

another potshot at the traitorous guards.

Pausing briefly in her search for her beloved, Snarl

looks up and peers at the pod that's being piloted by a crazy

per... oh, wait... isn't that Rook? Damn. Taking advantage of a

couple of downed pods, Snarl half crouches and draws her own

A280, which is fairly decent against body armor. Might as well

help out, the more shooters the merrier, right? "SON OF A SHIST!" the Horansi roars as she opens fire on

the Sith in red as well, her assault coming just after Rook's has

begun. With any luck, the guy in the red armor will find things

heating up more than he'd like.

Leia watches Luke and Korolov battle for a few moments

before her eyes narrow slightly and she shakes her head, "He has

such a good mind. Too bad it is focused on evil." Turning, she

darts across the platform to find Zik lying in a pool of his own

blood, "Oh... Force." Bending, she kneels beside him, looking to

the other delegates from Sullistan. They are coming too, so she

speaks briefly and adds a touch of the Force, "Hurry, now. Get

out of here." Bending again, she tears a strip from her robe to

bind Zik's forehead. There is the sense of impending danger

growing through the Force and she looks upward. One of Korolov's

masonry chunks is falling in a zig zaged path from the ceiling

above. It trails sparking wires behind it and is headed either

for Luke or for her own position. "No..." Lifting her hands, she

tugs it away from her twin's battle even if it puts her in

greater danger. Reversing her hands, the woman struggles to slow

it's decent. At the last moment, she seeks to fling it from the

platform and away from those nearby. Should have thought of that

earlier when it's trajectory would have been easier to guide...

Still so much to learn. The masonry finishes it's modified

course, clipping the woman in the head and shoulder and flinging

her from the platform. Tumbling, she seeks Luke in the fading

light of her vision. A Force message is sent, then she crumples

to a heap on the senate building's floor. Aramis is just behind Kesander again, muttering something

into his commlink before he moves. He follows Vengan's voice,

keeping down, and fires in the same direction the Marine was

aiming to cover a little before sliding to a halt beside him. "I

hate this," he mutters. "I really, really hate this. Tell me what

to do. I just had KT on the comm." The little Twi'lek,

apparently, is a worrier.

With a crack of energy and a vaguely visible shock wave

of kinetic energy, the chunk of ferrocrete soaring towards Luke

suddenly alters course, bouncing back and impacting into the

wreckage on the floor as if some behemoth swatted it like a fly.

Of course, it doesn't strike anyone as it hits the ground, though

a bit of shrapnel may pepper the area. He lands a few meters away

from Korolov, his feet spreading to absorb the impact, and raises

the lightsaber to deflect a few more plasma bolts that come his

way from the guards, sending yet more of them to their deaths. Something distracts the Jedi Master, and he turns his

eyes skyward, in time to see the cracking of the rooftop, which

threatens to collapse and bury the rest of the survivors in

rubble. He ducks down as the platform nearly strikes him, but he

knows exactly why it changed its course, due to his harmonic link

with Leia. He turns his eyes back toward the escaping Korolov.

"You win this round," he murmurs, and deactivates the lightsaber

with a short hiss of energy, before crouching down and launching

himself into the air with a Force-powered leap. Up he goes in an impossible feat, his ascent slowing

until he's landed on one of the few platforms that remains

operational. With the lightsaber now clipped onto his belt, he

lifts his hands into the air and closes his eyes, as a huge

portion of the ceiling begins to crumble and fall. The crippled

ceiling slows to a halt in midair, and there he holds it, as the

survivors below scramble to escape under the cover fire of the

New Republic's marines--survivors that would include Snarl,

Enb'zik, and his sister, Leia. It would only be a matter of time before he had to let

go.

Somehow or other, Rasi dives into the cover that Vengan has

made(apparently, that's twice the man's done something to cover

his behind) for himself and the rest of the soldiers behind him.

The technicalities and semantics of just how he got here really

do not matter, because really, they don't. "Wow. Here I was

waiting to be bored half to death by long speeches.", the phrase

coming out broken in half even as he tries to regain his breath.

He moves closer to the cover wall, and sticking out his head just

long enough to fire the semi-automatic blaster, spraying bolts

towards the enemy guards.

"Get over where!?!" Shouts Kesander in reply to Vengan, the

pilot's words muffled by the fresh corpse of the Guard which has

fallen direction on top of him. With a significant effort, the

Corellian shoves the dead wieght off of him, and rolls over,

trying to get a sense of his surroundings from a prone position

so as to avoid the blaster bolts that still fly fairly thickly

over-head. "Aramis??" Asks the X-Wing Driver, getting a blinking

glimpse of his Falcon Squadron comrade. "Duck!!" Shouts the

Flight Officer to the A-Wing driver as more unfriendly fire comes

their way. Raising his blaster, the blond-haired man returns

fire, squeezing off a series of aimed shots at Guards directly

across the chamber.

Vengan grabs the front of Aramis' destroyed shirt,

pulling the man towards him so he can shout in the pilot's ear.

"Tell her to get a hold of the Marine Commander! We need all of

Alpha and Bravo down here, right now! Get a hold of the combat-"

he winces and ducks as a stray blaster bolt pings off the top of

the pod wall. "-get a hold of the local garrison, we need

everyone we can get down here!" He watches Aramis fire off a

shot, grabs the pilot's wrist and jerks it to the left. "Aim to

the left, Cen! You keep jerking the trigger! Aim a little to the

left!" He grins hotly at the pilot, grabs the back of the pilot's

head and bumps his own forehead against Aramis'. "WHOOO! OOHRAH,

Cen! Let's farking blow these guys back to the nethers!" His

green eyes fairly blaze with emerald light, brilliant in the

intensity of his hot battle-lust. The Marine releases Aramis and

brings his rifle back up onto the pod wall and starts firing

again, trying to knock out every one of the traitors he can. As Rasi and Kesander slide into place next to him,

Vengan screams in a nearly-hysterical voice at the two, face

alight. "Hey, boyos! Glad you could make it to my party! Hope

you've been practicing on the range, because this time, it counts

for good!" The Marine grabs a small fragmentation grenade from

his belt, one of his only, and hurls it with a powerful arm at a

nearby makeshift fortification occupied by several of the rebel

guards. Before it even lands he starts firing again, actions

growing remarkably more precise and rapid despite his rapid

firing.

Although her warrior's blood is boiling, Snarl is not

completely unaware of the family members present. Out of the

corner of her eye, she sees the huge chunk of durocrete flying on

some sort of possessed arial attack. The Horansi does not miss

the fact that her adopted cousin is sent careening from a heavy

impact. Not only that, but she's noticed someone else over there

as well. All of this is registered while the big cat is still

firing at the lunatic in the scarlet ensamble. It takes only a second for her to realize that her

efforts are mis-directed. Snarl shoots a quick glance at Luke,

and then a second upward at the ceiling, for she hadn't missed

the ominous rumble of more structural damage occuring overhead. Although she is not in tune with the Force, Snarl's seen

similar situations before even though they weren't quite on this

scale. "Oh *CENSORED*" the Horansi screams, her frustration

boiling over at the same time as her concern and fear for her

loved ones does. Putting her weapon away, the Horansi dashes over

to Leia and finds her cousin out cold. Without a word, she simple

secures the Chief of State gently to her harness and then lopes

awkwardly over to her mate to duplicate the manuver.

Unfortunately, three is all she can carry right now. Her own

strength is seeping away along with her blood.

The incoming blaster fire comes a lot closer than either

Rook or Snarl might have thought possible, but the Sith Lord

steps out of the way of one both and sends the rifle blast back

towards it's owner with a quick flick of his wrist interjecting

the red lightsaber between himself and the shooter. Hi gaze

catches Rook's as he smiles evilly. Reaching out with the force

again he touches her mind, projecting a thought, "It was good to

see you again, Lieutenant, I am sure our paths will cross more

before this planet is mine." With that he strides out of the

Senate chamber through a hole in the ferrocrete as more chunks

begin to fall, the senate's dome completely open to the sky. The

storm is picking up as he looks back towards Davyd, "Captain,

order your men to fall back, First Century has secured the

Palace. We will make it our headquarters."

Davyd nods as he hears the Warlords command and almost instantly

the Stormtroopers begin to fall back, increasing thier rate of

fire. Davyd rolls to his feet and pulls back limping a bit.

Aramis doesn't seem to mind the instruction and returns

fire again, hitting his mark this time and adding another scream

to the chaos. He's about to speak into the comm again when he

winces and mutters. "I hate this," again. "So much." He

obediently fires one more time with less luck and then drops down

to mutter into his commlink.

The Corellian also apparently enjoys a good fight. The DY-255

that Kesander is employing must have had a full power pack on it.

Because the X-Wing pilot seems intent on emptying it as fast as

he can. From his prone cover near Vengan and Aramis, the pilot

squeezes of a rapid series of aimed shots at the now-retreating

stormtroopers. "I got your planet right here, you dung eating

bantha molesters! DIE!!!" So bellows the blond haired pilot along

with a string of far more colorful Corellian curses.

Rook ducks and tries to get somebody on the horn. "Zulu, this is

White Tiger... we need help BAD! This place is gonna come down

around our ears anytime, there are Imperials that look like

Senate Guards /everywhere/... never mind /how/! Get some troops

to the outside on containment detail /yesterday!/" She turns back

to firing at Korolov. "How in the name of Empress Teta did this

get by us?!" But a twinge in the back of her mind alerts her to the problems

certain friends of hers are having... As she looks for the

source, she sees a piece of rubble tumbling to rest on the

chamber floor, and Leia collapsed nearby. And fortunately, a

great streak of fast-moving orange dashing towards the fallen

Chief of State. Snarl! "Thank the Force..." She snaps a few more

shots after the retreating Korolov, then turns to cover the

Horansi in her dash for safety. "You're right, /Senator Faust/...

we'll definitely meet again..."

Vengan comes over the pod wall one more time. He whistles

sharply at Snarl, beckoning her over to his temporary firing

position. "Over here!" he shouts at the orange-furred female.

Motion catches his eye, the Sith Lord retreating with his retinue

in tow. Vengan growls and lifts his rifle, taking aim at the

retreating Troopers. The Marine's eyes narrow. See Captain rank.

"Oh no you don't, you piece of Bantha poodoo." Vengan takes a

slow breath, exhales, and puts his aiming sights on Davyd's

retreating back. The Marines eyes narrow, flare green once more,

and he depresses the firing stud. With that, he spins around,

hearing familiar Marine boots behind him. "Captain!" he shouts at

the company commander, spotting the man. "They're on the retreat,

but we still need to secure the building! There's fighting in the

palace, and I think they've taken it on as their primary

headquarters. They've got a foothold down here, sir!" The young

Marine goes from shooting to traffic director in the blink of an

eye, maneuvering units around the Senate until the senior

leadership has enough of an idea of the battle situation to take

full command.

"Damn, missed.", the young man growls under his breath, and he

ducks back under the wall-cover just in time to have a blaster

bolt take off his cap. A hand shoots up to check that his head is

intact...and that his haircut is not ruined. A nonsensical growl

is given, and he switches his blaster to single fire, aiming once

more at one of the retreating soldiers. And...he even hits.

Except, it's not him he hits, it's another Imperial, and this one

on the back of his thigh.

Although she'd never admit it willingly, the load of

three dead weights is severely difficult for Snarl to carry at

the moment. Only anger and desperation are fueling her adrenaline

levels right now. This is what is keeping her on her four limbs

and moving. The whistle from somewhere off to her left catches the

Colonol's attention and she turns slightly cloudy golden eyes in

that direction. Right... that way. Good. Staggering briefly,

Snarl forces herself to hurry toward cover and a way out for her

injured and herself, actually pushing into a trot.

Davyd keeps faling back, firing mostly cover fire, keeping the

rebels heads down. As he turns to make sure the exit is where it

is he takes a blast high in his chest, stumbling two troopers

grab him and drag him out with them. look

Vengan growls, seeing the Captain stumble but not go

down. "Damn!" He sees Snarl struggling with her load. He looks

from the retreating Guards to Snarl, back again. With a loud,

annoyed growl, Vengan runs towards Snarl, grabbing part of the

carrying harness with a suprisingly strong Marine arm and helps

her limp along. "Come on, you're almost there!" he shouts

encouragingly. Once they get back to the temporary cover, he goes

back to picking of Coruscant Guards one at a time, until the

Marine reinforcements sweep in front of him and around, pushing

the remainding guardsmen out of the Senate almost entirely. Only

isolated pockets of resistance remain, finally allowing Vengan

and his small squad to take a breather. Vengan looks at Aramis

and Rasi, to Rook and Snarl. "Everyone who's dead, raise your

hand," he states with a ragged grin. He beckons over medics,

gestures at the heavily injured Snarl and her load of injured

bodies. "Some service, here?" he asks. With a sickly grin, he

slides to the ground with a sodden thump, landing on his rear and

letting his head loll backwards against the pod exhaustedly.

Only semi-aware of what's going on at times, Snarl

continues to plot along until the sharp rubble under her paws is

replaced by sidewalk outside the crumbled Senate building.

"Someone get this Senator off... before I fall on him," she

mumbles, apparently meaning the Twi'lek she'd first secured. He'd

been riding under her belly. Leia and Zik are strapped securely

to her back.

"Not me. Hands down." Aramis pats Vengan on the shoulder.

"We should get to the Reprisal. Rasi? ...Maker, I hate this." All

the pilot wants to do is get back into the air. He gets to his

feet cautious and straightens, offering Vengan a hand up. "My

A-Wing's waiting for me. And I really never want to do that

again." He makes a face and shakes his head, then wipes his

forehead with his sleeve.

Rook fires up the repulsorlift on the pod. "Get on board, people!

This taxi's movin' out before the roof falls on all of us!

Standing room only..." Blinking hard in the still-settling dust,

she pauses only long enough to grab the back of Kesander's dress

tunic and yank him over the rail, tumbling him onto his backside

inside the pod. "This means you, flyboy! And we'll make an

exception to standing room this once!" She watches as Snarl gets closer. "GO, Snarl!! Come on, you're

almost here..." Combat cheerleader, that's Rook. But she still

stands ready to help her big friend over the rail... the Horansi

is wounded and laboring. And vanishing into a tunnel that leads

to the streets outside. Well, that'll have to do... Fortunately, there's Raider One to keep things loose on the

battlefield... Rook bites her lip to keep from laughing. "Come

on, Raider, and get in! We're /leaving/! /Now/!"

Vengan propells Aramis and Rasi onto the pod, grabbing a stray

Senator who somehow survived the firefight and pushing him onto

the pod as well. With one last look around, he grabs onto one of

the side rails and hangs onto it like a monkey, slinging his

rifle and drawing his pistol, one-handed. "All right, Tigress!

You get us outta here in one piece, and it's a week on a resort

moon on me!" he shouts up at Rook, a wild grin on his face as his

green eyes light up again with another rush of adrenaline. "Up

and out, Marines! Let's get out of here, this whole place looks

like it'll come down around our heads!" He nods at Rook,

gesturing for her to take it up and away.

Contrary to Aramis, Porth...Rasi does raise his arm, "I think I'm

pretty dead right now.", the young man says, and he definately

sounds the part. But as soon as Rook's words are heard, he gets

up to his feet and jumps on the pod, only when he is about to

move, he's pushed by someone, and he falls face-first into the

place. "Will you watch out! It's not like we're about to die from

a collapsed building after we survived that mess!", he says as he

gets up, rubbing at his forehead. Famous last words those are.

Aramis hauls Rasi up off of the pod floor. "Whoa. Can't

have that. We'll get pay docked for you sleeping on the job." No

bitterness there at all as he lurches a little and steadies

himself and Rasi against the side of the pod. "They can't dock

you for dying, right? Just living?"

"Hey!" Vengan barks at Aramis and Rasi, grinning broadly. "No

one's given you permission to die yet, soldiers! You die before I

give you permission, and I'll smack you like a baby bantha!"

"I'll /hold/ you to that, Marine!" Rook replies, equally

fiercely. The roof's about to come down, she's dustier than a

cold moisture bottle on Tatooine, and she really doesn't know how

to fly this thing... but she hasn't felt more alive in ages.

Under deft fingerstrokes, the pod leaves the ground with only a

little wobbling from the landing-damaged repulsorlifts. "And

/awaaaaaaaay/ we go! Hang ooooon!" The pod steadily gains speed and shoots through a hole in the

wall that's barely wide enough, scraping sparks and paint off one

edge as it clears and shoots into the open air outside.

Meanwhile, a certain bedraggled orange and black mass of

fur and blood manages to crawl successfully about two feet once

the Twi'lek senator is removed. Then she just sags onto the

ground without a word, still carrying Leia and Zik. It'll be up

to the medics and the other Marines to get them the rest of the

way out.

"Since when does a Marine give us orders?", Rasi says with a grin

to Aramis, but his words are cut short by the sudden movement of

the pod, and he holds on to whatever there is to hang on to for

dear life. Though he does glance back at the senate building, or

what's left of it, an unreadable expression flashing across his

face.

"Holy farking gundarks!" Vengan yelps, flattening himself

against the outside of the pod as he hangs on for dear life. Once

cleared of the building he chooses to clamber hastily into the

pod itself, looking pale. "Ok, that was a little -too- close,

Tiger!" he shouts at the woman, though he's still flushed and

grinning with adrenaline, his brilliant green eyes fairly glowing

emerald. "WHOOO!" he screams into the air, the adrenaline getting

to him. "Come on, let's go hit the palace! I bet we can take out

a Century!" he shouts at Rook. He looks below, seeing medics

converging on Snarl to relieve her of her burden and tend to her

fierce wounds. The Marine takes advantage of his momentary

vantage point, relaying some minor commands and directions to

several Marine units below him to direct them out of the Senate

ampitheatre and after fleeing Guards. "Sarcasm, Veng," Aramis points out over the noise, trying

not to fall right over as Rook takes them roaring out of the

destroyed Senate. "It's in the... wordy book. Nevermind." Marine,

right. Good gun, bad vocabulary, usually. "Too many women left

out there for me to die." He looks over his shoulder as the

Senate ceiling starts to fall in with a rising roar. "I need to

get to my ship, though. We are not taking the Palace in a pod,

Vengan." Oh. If only you could just point his enthusiasm at the

enemy.

The escaping repulsor pod makes it out just as the walls

decide they can't bear anymore and begin to crash to the ground,

leaving the formerly grand Republic Senate building a shell of

it's former self. The while floor covered in debris from the

collapsed roof and walls. Even the central speakers spire has

snapped in half from a particularly destructive impact with a 25

meter section of the roof weighting several hundred tons. The

littered organic debris is not so easily contained. Hundreds of

bodies litter the floor, Coruscant Guard corpses intermingled

with many times their number in unarmed Senators and their

staffs. Though all is not lost, many senators were able to make

it out of the building alive and even now, stragglers make their

way down the grand causeway leading away from the Senate. The

Night sky still under the cover of the thunderstorm has been

joined with booms of a different nature. Explosions and the glow

of large fires can be seen on the horizion. The bringer of war

has come to Coruscant, the months of waiting are over.