Survivors of the Jedi Purge (epic)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The Lupine gave him a puzzled look for a few seconds, then let the binders fall to the ground. She crouched then, pulling her pack from her shoulders and setting it infront of her. The latches were quickly opened, and her sabre was stuffed inside. The vibroknife was snatched from Vymes' hand and placed inside as well.

"No no, no need to go carving me up. I'm too pretty, and this skin is prime real estate."

It was a mild joke, something that helped her to begin dealing with the gravity of the situation around her.

Her shirt was tugged off, followed soon by her boots. s'Il had no shame at this point, and rising to her feet she began to unbutton her trousers. Those too, soon fell to the floor, and she stood before Zem; bare as the day she came into the world.

"Leave the clothes here; we've no time to waste packing them up."

She paused for only a moment, looking up at him.

"I've told you what I am; only you and... " she had to fight to maintain straight features, "... Master Windu know. He's gone now, and so now you're the only one. You've never seen the change though, until today."

[Zem Vymes]

"I can close my eyes."

I offered to assuage her feelings. She'd held her true nature back from so many people, and while I felt honored to be her confidant, I understood that it wasn't easy for her to do.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"No. Whether you watch or not is your own choosing. But I chose you, and so you reserve the right to see with your own eyes."

As she spoke, her normally metal/blue hued eyes took on a strange light, tawny yellow tendrils seeping in.

And then the change began in earnest. Her back arched as her body did as commanded. Shoulders thrown back, and a wet sounding thwok sounded through the lift, heralding the dislocation of her shoulder joints. The muscles beneath her skin could be seen, visibly moving and reshaping themselves as her skeletal structure became a wholly new form. She fell to her knees then, as her legs grew lanky, sinewy muscles shifting and reforming. Her hands grew, fingers becoming thick as they hit the deck. Once dark blonde hair changed to a shock white, growing longer and chasing down the length of her body like wildfire.

A groan, and her body shuddered. Face narrowing, her ears grew and her mouth became a viscous maw lined with teeth meant to tear and rend flesh from bone.

And then she stood tall, shaking her body roughly. Tail lashing lazily back and forth the great white vornskr stood before Vymes, and a tawny gaze was sent up to meet his eyes. Lips parted over sharp fangs in a perverse smile, and the beast huffed in spent energy.

[Zem Vymes]

I made a half move to pet behind one of her ears, and restrained myself.

"Well...I guess it's my turn for my own disguise then."

I stooped down to pick up the helmet from the ground.

"Now how does this work?" I asked as I slipped the confining cover over my mid-length locks.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

An amused whurffle came from the animal's throat, and she bent her neck to where she'd set her pack. Teeth closing around the shoulder strap, she lifted it up before turning to face the lift door. Lowering herself to her haunches, the vornskr waited patiently as they were sent deeper into the lowest parts of the temple.

That's where they would have to make their escape, using the access doors that connected the temple to the underlevels of Coruscant. That's where freedom was; or at least a better chance at survival.

[Zem Vymes]

The doors parted, and we were inundated by a half dozen bright lights pointed at us. Clonetroopers had fanned out around the lift in a half circle, with blasters at the ready. The lights were from accessory pods, underslung on the weapons.

"Hold up."

A clone with a red pauldron waved at his squad with a gloved hand, and the weapons were pulled away. He then stepped forward, eyeing the vornskr.

"What's that?"

He gestured with his gun barrel at Lok.

I didn't have a very convincing answer for him.

"I picked up a pet."

I replied, startling myself by hearing my voice processed through the vox to sound as sterile as the others. To my suprise, a pair of troopers quickly stifled a laugh in amusement.

"Whatever you say. Just get it out of here." The squad commander conceded with a shrug, and cleared the way for us.

I walked along with s'Il in tow, wondering if I was incredibly smart or they were incredibly stupid to allow it.

[Clea Darkrunner]

If life was a holo, this was a SITCOM, Clea decided.

A very BAD sitcom.

They'd literally escaped by falling into an uncovered sewage main. Now she and the others struggled and choked, trying hard not to drown in the accumulated effluent of Coruscant's upper levels.

She was resigned to drowning, and then they went over the falls ....

There is an ocean under Coruscant itself. Deep and polluted, it washes against the shores of the Dirt. Strange things grow down there, live down there, DIE down there. It is as low as you can go on Coruscant, unless you die in it, sinking to the bottom and decaying along with other organic things.

The ocean, the Dirt. They hold the remains of many odd things, organic and inorganic.

She made her way to the stinking shore, shaking her aching head. Reaching the dry portion she paused, listening. The echo of waves crashing on the shore was the only noise she heard. Shrugging, she set off down the gloomy shore.

Several miles down, she found the body of one of the Jedi, lightsaber clipped to his belt. She dragged it out of the wave wash, and buried it, taking the lightsaber with her in place of her lost blaster.

She never saw any of the others again. All she had left of her past, in an increasingly dangerous world, was a name - Kallea - and a lightsaber she hid.

************ The End - Clea Darkrunner's Story ************

[Terran Starek]

It was pure chaos.

Terran stood from his meditation in the West Gardens as the incredible feeling - and sound - hit him. Confusion. Fear. Death. The Force gathered around him like a death shroud, clouding his vision and his senses. Something terrible was happening - right here in the Temple. He could hear the sonds of battle and feel the surge of conflict through the Force. Blasters and small explosions and cries rose from so many of the chamber hallways.

Everyone around him seemed to be experiencing the same thing. At first, confused looks were exhanged. Estranged glances met nervous eyes, the same question on the each Jedi's mind: What's happening? No meditatior could survive such a disturbance as this. Terran's eyes finally found the turbolift as he decided it was time to act.

Oneri.

Oneri Tul'ada, the bright young padawan, was the only image Terran's mind could focus on. Terran had just been knighted not half a year ago. He was a promising Jedi - 21 Corellian years old. His Master, Jarek Hurone, had always said so to those around him, but never to Terran. He always sought to enstill humility into his padawan. Now, as a Jedi Knight, Jarek's encouraging words had been clear: "Keep that head of yours, Terran. You've got a strong one. It will always serve you better than your lightsaber. Don't forget that."

Now, as a Jedi Knight, he had taken a learner under his own tutelage. They had been together now for about three months. Her name was Oneri Tul'ada, a Twi'lek. She wasn't the strongest with a lightsaber, nor did she have the greatest control of the Force. Terran had chosen her above the others because she had the sharpest mind of all the padawans. He could see it behind her eyes, in the windows of her spirit. Almost anyone could learn to develop their weaknesses, but this was the kind of awareness that couldn't be taught.

He had to reach her.

They hadn't left the temple yet, so they hadn't needed to establish a comm link. Terran silently cursed this decision now that he had no way of contacting her. He would have to reach out into the Force, and only then could he send her a simple message. She wasn't trained well enough to respond.

Oneri, get to my room and wait for me there. Use caution.

The turbolift took him swiftly to the main hall, where he would have to cross and switch turbolifts to the residential wing. He waited patiently as it shot downward, finally reaching its destination. The doors opened as --

CHOO-CHOO-CHOO-CHOOO!

kkkaaaa-BOOOM!

Terran's lightsaber instinctively ignited as a horrific scene broke before him. Throughout the Great Hall, across the pillars and balconies and ornate landings, war had broken loose. Terran hadn't been expecting this. He would've never dreamed that this could happen, not in a thousand light years.

It was their own troopers.

As he tried to wrap his mind around the tragedy, but didn't have time a blaster fire pummeled the lift behind him. He brought his lightsaber forward, tucked close and across his body - a typical stance for Soresu. Jogging across the hall, he could see the lift that headed towards the east wing just ahead. As his eyes scanned the hall, the devestation was unbelievable. Jedi lay strewn across the hall as troopers checked the bodies, making sure they were lifeless. It looked as though Terran had just missed the brunt of the attack.

Soon enough, Terran's movement caught a few of the trooper's attention. The Jedi was single-minded as he picked up his pace. His lightsaber broke in a downward arc, meeting two blaster bolts and deflecting them away from harm. He turned his head toward the source of the shots. Lifting his hand and flicking his wrist, he sent a piece of debris squarely into one of the trooper, dropping him in pain. The other fired another blaster bolt, this time intercepted by Terran's lightsaber and sent directly back into the aggressor's chest.

Terran had to reach the lift. He had to reach Oneri.

[Lamar Starworth]

Peace consumed the life of a Jedi.

Never before had such pain aimed at the Jedi's being. A shadow casted itself through the halls, and a shroud built itself in the streets of Coruscant. Calamity overcame all senses as time dwindled into a negative. The Force beacon the screams and echoes of anguish. Any sober mind lay astonished by the sheer fury across the flow of every being. Not a word could truly parallel or compare the fierce nature which overcame the galaxy at large. Deficits rose from the soil of war and empower itself in absolute demise.

Peril formed in the architecture, painting the Jedi Temple in a crimson and coated the aroma with a roasted stench. Sizzles popped in the depths of the halls as moments transpired. Bolts of all shades splashed in the living, capturing the lasting breathe in a villainous theft.

Even the eyes of fellowship had blended from discretion to disturbance. Perversion engross the world as everything pure contorted into demonic concoction that no hellish imagination could even insinuate.

Swindled from numerous grand destinies, men and women dangled in the mix of corruption. Braids hung by ears that sound could no longer wake. Robes lay on bodies too cold to care. Weapon strangled in grips that turned too limp to use.

A woman sat in her chambers as lightning impaled existence. The weather had changed, erosion folding reality into a mess. She could only meddle with her imagination at what rested beyond the doors. Blast sprawled the passageways, the foiled toil perplexing her senses. Memories enriched her mind, but her heart had grown impoverished at the seemingly endless loss. Not even a sigh could be forced through the crave for expulsion of such pain. She swallowed instead, settling the fire in her belly as she grabbed her lightsaber.

Aselam Winfield would not lose them all.

The Jedi would survive...

He would not let them die.

[Tieru Ocarre]

Sluis Sector...

Sluis Van...

Starvation engross the land. Nutrients were absorbed by the Separatists base. The calm of the season faded, and little disruption rumble on common grounds. A flux of distraught had overcame all the lively crowds that tour the cities, hush the barrage of festivities and detain the good times. Few privateers venture as deep as Sluis Van any longer.

The Clone Wars had left a definite infection across the galaxy, and Sluis Van was just another victim. Disdain sat unsettled in the hearts of the planet's citizens, while few supported the change. The dwelling of another Outer Rim territory for the Confederation, with the only bustle at the stationed CIS bases.

Sieges ran a wave through the Outer Rim Territories. Pain and anguish doubled throughout, and bouts forged a distrust that would take more than simply time to erase. Futile rebellions struck in the wastelands of many planets, while protest were overlook. Many sought protection against the war, but such enormous scaled events could not be evaded. Invasion pour into the sectors of numerous planets. Explosion spark the skies as the soil was sour with bloodshed.

Sluis Van was not exempt.

The homeland of one sole Jedi was nestled in the unholy battle. No side wield a sense of light, and despite the frontal pull of politics their was no progression on either side of the faction. Citizens and soldiers had no placed to turn. Corruption forged a heavy mold about the galaxy, and that sole Sluis Van Jedi did not walk the path of battle.

Three years had passed since he relinquish his namesake. The war would not effect his status, but reputation at it's inevitable end. Over time it became evident that the warring was far brutal then the sparkling Clone armor could rectify. Bolts flare in red and blue from both frontiers, splashing a scent of demise on all lands.

Wild Space was silent as the galaxy voyaged through for 250,000 years was painted in trepidation. War was a senseless matter, indeed, and the young Padawan saw little purpose in his hands getting dirty in the foul play. Only days previous had drawn his private ship to return to the known galaxy. A breech had been created from his fellow workers in the Jedi Corp. , allowing him a quiet visit to his Homeworld.

It grew into much more than a simple visit.

----------------

"Blasted!"

A main hue of white sprinkled with bits of blue, green, red and yellow ran in a bundle through the plains. Rocks and mantles erected from the crowd as a forest at up ahead.

Order 66 had been called only an hour previous. Tieru was stupid to carry his lightsaber on the little trip back to see ol' momma, but he wanted to show off his trophy. Home was only a little farther away, and he wasn't going to keep her surprise waiting.

The clones were on his tail, and Tieru would have to do more than curse a few words to get them off his hiney. The young Morganian and Morellian mix could do nothing but spit and heave as he thought up a plan. Hidden in the fronts of the wooden forest, he juggle every plan.

One last, eased breathe was given to the world as the trot grew near.

"Man, what I'd do for a Jawa milkshake right now."

And with that, it was on...

[Tieru Ocarre]

"AAAAAAH!!!"

The yelp roar over the echoing call from a blaster. A limb followed the agonizing scream to the ground, seemingly beckoning the body the acts belong with it. The battle raged with fiery alone. Wrath blossom from the demise as white coated armor was dismembered with the sparkling swings of an archiac blade. The symbol of peace and justice had been reformed as an arsenal of death. Darkness shroud the sky as the heavens were remodeled as a plain for soaring star craft.

Danger would find more remote spots about Sluis Van to entangle the Outer Rim planet in distraught, and there was no more room for freedom to roam. In the split seconds that Tieru glanced to the sky, he felt a beacon spark in his mind. Enlighten and prepared, the young Padawan body contorted to a perfected bend; allowing acrobats to save his life from a definitive end by an incoming blaster bolt. Off in the distance sat a small squad running through the plains from his left.

Already two bunches had been handled with ease, but the abscence of languish left his senses in turmoil. Adrenaline could only fuel his movements for so long, and the battle seemed endless on a planet consumed in anguish. This day would not be the day of change, or of halt - it would be remembered as a simple skirmish.

So, without thought, he let instinct throw him into a dash. He would escape this place, find his mother, and leave.

Leave for good...