| abstract | - Senate Chambers - Government Complex - Corusca City: Coruscant The great bowl that makes up the Senate Chambers of the New Republic is massive, clearly the centerpiece of the whole grand building. The main entrance is situated up at the rim of a huge stepped bowl, a tower in the center for the President of the Senate to keep the huge meetings going smoothly. The steps of the bowl allow small pods holding half a dozen beings to pull in from outside the building and park there as a mobile seating area for the various delegations that take part in the governmental process. The whole is somewhat stark and lacking for decoration, though the lighting arrangement has changed since the days of old, the gray become gleaming white and the whole chamber lit well with soft light. It is early afternoon and the second half of the Senate's session is about to begin. Delegates filter back in from lunch in ones and twos leaving all their homeworld guards down in the lounge provided for them. Only aides are allowed to join the delegation in their boxes and no Senator would be so foolish as to violate that rule as doing so would be an act of war. Marines and Coruscant Guard members check ID and papers before any are allowed into the rotunda. After a few moments, the softly insistent chimes sound signaling the five minute mark. Leia steps forward and her platform floats out toward the Speaker's Point. She means to start the proceedings on time. Davyd stands with a few of the Guards, watching them as they check ID's and papers. Occasionally he has the guards pull a person aside to check them even closer before passig them along or denying entrance. Where the Coruscanti Delegation's platform would ordinarily sit docked a larger platform sits at its dock, looking to hold about 35 people. The Coruscant Government has been invited to this session of the general assembly and have all arrived. The Planetary Governor, Lieutenant Governor and his entire cabinet sit comfortably, small holo-displays giving them a full view of the central spire. Perched beside this platform, a much smaller one is docked. It has room for what looks like 3 people. standing in the center of the platform, Senator Viktor Faust stands clad in long dark blue formal robes. The sleeves extend down past his hands. His face looks aged and tired, as if the current situation on the planet has aged the once sharp and distinctive lines on his face. His hands are clasped behind him as he watches members and guest pour into the observation galleries and senatorial platforms. He looks over and nods briefly to the Coruscanti Governor. The two men had been rivals at one point but the terror attacks had thrown them in the same foxhole lately. His attention returns toe the Red armored figures on either side of him, looking back over his right shoulder he looks towards one of his guards, "Captain. I appreciate the Guard going out of their way to provide a protective detail. Weather the session goes expectedly or not, you will earn your pay today." As the Chief of State approaches the center spire to start the session, the Coruscanti Senator smiles. He reaches down and takes a glass of water from a small stand and takes a sip, setting his glass back down he sighs and waits for the 'fun' to begin. He reaches down and taps another button. This causes a small repulsor droid to power up and begin hovering around his platform, 'T-4' is a standard holo-camera droid that the Senator seems to use to constantly document official business. The small droid's eye irises open and a small red light flicks on to show that it is recording. Beyond the proceedings below, Vengan lounges against a rail, only half paying attention to the Senate meeting. Next to him is a Marine long rifle, propped carelessly against the railing at his side. The Marine takes sips of electrolyte-enhanced water from his hydration pack, more of an eye being kept on the upper levels than on the speaker. He wears no headgear, except for an earpiece and microphone that allows him to stay in communication with other guards, such as Davyd. Jenya and her delegation wait quietly, as the session begins. She looks down to the Chief of State, all quite in her part of the large room. Near the rail around the top of the rotunda, Rook watches the proceedings with a hawk's eyes, one hand going now and again to her headset as something comes in. While she's technically a guest, most of the staff remember her days as bodyguard to Chief of State Leia Organa-Solo, so she has retained her sidearm. A case holding macrobinoculars hangs at her side, and she uses them occasionally to get a better look at something around the huge chamber. Right now she's taking a cue from the Marines and sipping an electrolyte enhanced beverage to keep her mind from growing dull and listless... democracy, unfortunately, is a very dull business most of the time, for all its justness. Her eyes stray to the Chief of State's platform as it approaches the center of the vast chamber. "Here we go..." As the proceedings come to an opening, General Ikihsa Enb'Zik maintains an awareness of many of the goings on around him. His eyes, however, are on a small datapad he carries with him. Most Senate sessions pass without the Sullustan being needed or called upon. Tonight, however, will be different. Well accustomed to public speaking, Ikihsa double-checks his notes and makes certain that all has been committed properly to memory. He is not one to speak with note cards or holographic cues. Breathing deeply, he expels the air from his lungs slowly and looks up. Zik is seated tonight in his own hoverpod. Though Sullust has regained their right to vote, he is not a part of that delegation. Being in their pod would simply be inappropriate. The military's pod, then, gets his presence. And Ikihsa looks the part, too, crisply sporting his dress uniform and decorations, including the Star of Alderaan. Elsewhere in the city, at the secret rooftop apartment appropriated to the Jedi Order after the Basilica was destroyed, Luke Skywalker sits, meditating. So deep he is into the Force, that he doesn't react to the flashes of lightning that score the sky, held in 'safe zones' by the Coruscant WeatherNet. Rain pelts into a protective energy barrier over the balcony on which he sits. As the Force roils and burns around him, that same warning begins to tickle his senses. The elusive warning, the one he can't just pick through yet. Leaning forward, he pushes further into the Force, his breath rate slowing rapidly. Once the delegates are in place and the final chime rings, Leia touches her mic, "Welcome back, gentlebeings and thank you for your timeliness and consideration." She takes a moment to look around, "Before we begin the next round of deliberations, I would like to take a moment to address those of us who have spent time away from this assembly due to the Empire's unlawful and unjust invasion of their homeworlds. It is with great pride in this assembly that I state for the record how delighted I am; personally, that the law keeping you isolated and silent has been abolished." Clearing her throat, Leia takes up a glass and sips once, then sets it down. "In honor of your return, I have selected legislation proposed by Senator Jenya Vala to launch this second session." She touches a button, and the legislation in question appears on the overhead behind her and the screen before her. "Please have The Liberation Incentive Motion entered into the record." There is a soft buzz-beep and Leia continues. "Before we begin deliberation on the relative merits of this piece of legislation, I would like to say how delighted I am to see initiatives that attempt to see the situation from an unlikely and entirely unexpected angle." Her tone is quiet, emotion kept close to the robes. She looks down, "As we have already received requests to speak regarding this particular motion, I will call on those delegates in the order. However, prior to that, I think it would be appropriate if we heard from our Military Liaison. Brigadier General Ikihsa Enb'Zik? If you would be so kind." Looking out of place with all the well-dressed folks here is Rasi, clad in an uniform that does not inspire the confidence it once did, though perhaps that he has cleaned it meticulously and polished his dark boots to a shine might help. He cuts a fine soldierly figure, or so he hopes anyway. The young Fondorian is somewhere, where he's supposed to be actually, wherever that might be. The Fondorian delegation is present, their platform occupying a rather prominent position given the world's importance, or rather, its shipyards. The delegation occupying that section all wears outrageous hair styles, if not outright silly, though do not tell that to a Fondorian. The Senator himself is a rotund man, a human, hair that was once a fashionable blond not a bright silver. Celo files in with the rest of the citizens to watch this new meeting in the senate. There has been so much turmoil in the past that he's needed to come and find out what the political situation was going to be like here in the near future; it was critical to his business. After all, in a war zone not many were interested in buying things one could not normally supply to a place like this. He makes it inside just in time to catch what Leia has to say, the only thing he was allowed into the observation gallery tonight was his datapad, and for that he intended to take some notes. That's all he really carried on him anyway. He gets in and takes a seat a few rows back, but in a place he was able to see all the happenings. His interests on the planet hinge this evening on what is about to be said. He gives a few polite nods to a few beings, keeping out of the way of most. Much like everyone else in the gallery. The Coruscanti delegation sits quietly. They watch the holo-image of the Chief of State on her podium. They Quietly listen as the various groups get up to speak on the Chandrilan senator's motion. The Coruscanti Governor arches a brow as the chief of state allows the Military expert to speak before the Chandrilan Senator is allowed to speak. Senator Faust sits down on a chair as the session is called to order. He opens up a holo-display as well as 'T-4' roams out to focus in on Organa-Solo before going over to take a long shot of the military platform. The Senator's attention is drawn back to the central spire, his arms folding across his chest as he waits to see how the military acts to this... controversial legislation. 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 exactly 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 unacceptable 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." Davyd listens with half an ear to the speeches and barely glances at the display that everyone is looking at. He has other things to worry about. Prowling the perimeter with the other 'Guard' making sure order is maintained. Mitali is seated up on the public balcony amongst a sea of white military dress uniforms, one of which is his own. He remains quiet and simply watches, though Enb'Zik's words get a grave nod of agreement from him. Parked in a seat in the public balcony not far from Mitali, Flight Officer Kesander Beysarus can only smile broadly when he sees that Enb'Zik is going to speak. The actual words that the Sullustan gives to the chamber draw more than mere a cheerful expression. The Corellian applauds. And he is not the only one in the section where he is seated. Aramis nods and adds his applause to Kesander's. He looks heartened by Enb'Zik's words, leaning forward to watch the reactions of the others in the room. Like many of the others around him, he's obviously been waiting for just that moment. 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. Vengan grins across the room at Rook's position, just close enough to catch the female's flushed embarrassment. 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 amendments to the motion. That said, the military is dragging its feet. It's been over a year, and yet the worlds still remain in possession 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 exhortation 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 tirade, 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 mood. 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, and 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. 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 Military 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 super freighter. 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. 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 margin. Turning back to the delegation, 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 boundaries 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 plethora 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 transmitter. He could passively receive, 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 devastating 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!"... 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 acutely 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. 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 receive 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. 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 complies. Around the periphery of the great dome time still seems to have hit the emergency break. Another flash is followed by the shriek of ferrocrete 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 ornate 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 amphitheatre, detonations on one platform causing debris and fragmentations to shred 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. Mitali steps out of the Chambers via the main entrance at the lip. Mitali has left. "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 somersault 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. Enb'Zik has disconnected. Snarl has connected. Davyd speaks into his comm, a faint smile crossing his face. This all hidden by his helmet of course. Soon Guard personnel 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. "Raider Team, this is Raider One." 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. "Zulu Control, do you copy?" He flicks his microphone over to the Marine channel. "I need ACE reports, and scramble medical. Coordinate with all sector security and supplementary forces." 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 cacophony 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 on top 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 inelegant. 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." Faust unconceals his Lightsaber. Faust wields his Lightsaber. Davyd turns and nods then radios crackle all around the chamber and the Guards who were 'guarding' now turn their 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. Davyd wields his ST-II Blaster Rifle. 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 (funny, but horrible insult)", 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 cinnamon 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 platforms. 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 dispels 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... Jenya steps out of the Chambers via the main entrance at the lip. Jenya has left. "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 reticule back on Davyd's group. "All friendly units, all friendly. This is Raider One on an open frequency. We require immediate assistance. Senator Faust and his delegation have turned against the Republic. Repeat, Senator Faust and all his friendly units are -now hostiles-. I require immediate backup!" Vengan takes sight at Davyd's group and fires another shot, though the lift jerks and sends his shot wide. 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 descend. "Hell of a day," he mutters. "Captain, send the word to the legions that Plan Retribution has been initiated." The Sith Lord 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 beginning. 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 boot kick 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? "Cen here, need some help?", the young man 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 coolly directing the fire of the erstwhile Guardsmen, taking out more Senators and their 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 Skywalker’s 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 surprising 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 Sullustan. 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 zagged 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 comlink 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 directly on top of him. With a significant effort, the Corellian shoves the dead weight 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 aerial 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 ensemble. 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 occurring 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 simply secures the Chief of State gently to her harness and then lopes awkwardly over to her mate to duplicate the maneuver. 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 Warlord’s command and almost instantly the Stormtroopers in disguise begin to fall back, increasing their 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 comlink. 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, and see the Captain’s 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," Rasi 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 Colonel’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 falling 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. 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 surprisingly 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 remaining 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!" Johmac steps out of the Chambers via the main entrance at the lip. Johmac has left. Vengan propels 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 definitely 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 amphitheatre 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. Thankfully, the New Republic marines had drawn the fire from Korolov’s guardsmen, and as they were retreating, the undefended Luke Skywalker went unharmed. However, even with his advanced power as a Jedi Master, he couldn’t hold the debris up forever. With sweat beading on his face, Skywalker grinds his teeth as he pushes forth a Herculean effort to maintain his grip on the Force. Weakness is setting in, and he buries himself deeper into the Force in a last ditch effort to maintain his hold. So powerful is the energy flowing through him that his body actually lifts off the ground an inch or two, his arms and shoulders quivering. Much longer and he just might have expended the last of his life energy, dissipating into the Force itself, never to return. At the last possible moment, he can’t help but let go, and the section of the ceiling he was holding up begins crashing down around him. Huge pieces of ferrocrete scatter about, crushing bodies on the floor, banging into the slanted walls, and putting a terrifying amount of stress on the walls. Luke hunkers down and disappears in a cloud of dust that forms around him as the debris scatters in every which way… if there were any people left inside to watch, they would likely expect him to have been buried alive. The Force is still his ally, though, and he manages to scramble from beneath a falling chunk of ferrocrete, tumbles through a hole in the wall nearby, and rides the scree down to a landing pad outside, with rock, dirt, and shrapnel following him all the way. 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 horizon. The bringer of war has come to Coruscant, the months of waiting are over.
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