Fiction: Epilogue

Tunnels below Aliso City

The quiet of the caves was almost oppressive, but at the same time welcoming. Most of the fighting had moved away from this section of the tunnel system, focusing instead on the Pinnacle. From time to time the strike team could hear the echoes of combat happening elsewhere, but, aside from a few sentries, their progress had been relatively uneventful. The lion's share of the Plagueian forces were concentrated on the assault on the spaceport, so the Geonosians had done the same with their own. And that suited Selika just fine.

"We're close, my lord," the captain leading the detachment of soldiers stated, viewing his wrist mounted display. "Another hundred or so meters down this tunnel."

Selika nodded. Their chosen point of ingress into the large cavern that housed the queen would be from above. She could already feel the energy of the Geonosians though the Force, their queen dominating the center of the chamber. Alongside was a burning fire of rage that was her Wrath, chafing at his bonds.

As they reached their destination the soldiers began drive their pitons as anchors into the tunnel ceiling, attaching cables with which to make their descent. Selika and the assembled Sith that accompanied her stood in the center of the tunnel, backs to one another, and readied their lightsabers.

"Stick to the plan," Selika instructed. "The queen is our goal."

The others with her voiced acknowledgements, and then each of them ignited their lightsabers. Selika thumbed her own weapon on, and then drove it into the ground before her nearly to the hilt. Each of the others followed her lead, then began to carve their blades along the floor around them. Slicing out a circle that left them all standing within, each member of the strike team reached out with their telekinesis as their cut met that started by the person next to them. Now, all that was holding the circular stone plug aloft was their combined Force grasp. At Selika's signal, they let the stone beneath them drop, slowing its fall as it reached the ground just enough to prevent injury.

The crash of the stone to the cavern floor below scattered the Geonosian soldiers, driving many of them to the ground. The Sith were down from atop the stone and amongst the Geonosians quickly, their blades slashing through the chitinous skin of the enemy. Selika unclipped a second lightsaber hilt from her belt as her eyes sought those of Abadeer Taasii from her raised position. Locking her gaze with that of her Wrath she threw the lightsaber toward him, guiding it just enough with her telekinetic grip to drop it into his hands. The red blade was alight in an instant and slashed through the chains that held him to the floor. The enraged Togruta trust his weapon first left then right, cutting down the two Geonosian guards that flanked him.

The whirring sound of unspooling line sounded from above as the elite soldiers descended into the battle, firing their blaster rifles as they descended. The red bolts contrasted with the green blasts of the Geonosian sonic weapons, painting the cavern walls with dancing lights.

Selika looked to the raised dais to the rear of the cavern that held the corpulent Geonosian Queen, seeing the insectoid ruler screeching at her warriors.

"Stop them! Stop the Jedi!"

Selika stepped down from her own position and began to move towards the queen.

"Hold the doors, captain," she ordered her soldiers. "We don't want to be overrun."

"Yes, my lord," his voice replied, the electronic amplification of his helmet making it audible over the sound of battle.

Selika moved slowly, but with purpose. Slicing her weapon through the enemy warriors, twisting minds to fire on their own compatriots, and projecting the searing fire of pain into their weak minds. Each step brought her nearer to her quarry, the queen's shrieks becoming more and more panicked as the glowing violet weapon came ever closer.

Selika cut down the last of the Geonosian warriors that separated her from the queen and launched herself forward with a Force-aided leap to land atop the dais. The queen screamed.

"We will devour you, Jedi! You will slaughter no more of our children, your armies will burn!"

Selika readied her weapon for a slash through the alien's torso, cutting her in half. Suddenly, as she sensed what was in the queen's mind, she hesitated. Selika could feel what the queen knew, that even with her death the hive at her command would not falter. Their undirected rage would burn itself across the surface of Aliso, taking the Ascendant Clan with it. Beneath that, however, was fear. Not just the fear of her own demise, which of course was there, but below that was a deeper fear. The fear of the demise of her species. It was then that Selika realized what she had to do.

Moving her weapon, Selika held the blade mere inches from the bulbous egg sack of the last of the Geonosian queens.

"No, you will submit," Selika commanded.

"Never!" she screeched back. "We may die, but our hive will destroy you! Our warriors will slaughter your kind, and you along with it. You will never leave here alive, Jedi!"

"And then your hive will die," Selika continued, a dark smile painting her features. "You know that you are the last, that if you die so goes not only your hive, but your entire race."

The queen's eyes darted back and forth, searching for answers that remained out of reach. But, she said nothing.

"You will submit to my will, your highness," Selika commanded. "Or I will finish the genocide the Empire began all those years ago."

Selika moved her blade even closer to the queen's skin, close enough that the flesh began to burn with the intense heat.

"You will call me queen," Selika demanded sharply.

Selika could feel the resignation washing over the proud Geonosian as she realized what she must do.

"All right, Jedi," the queen hissed, "you shall be Karina."

Selika nodded, knowing the Geonosian title for the ruling queen. "Your forces will stand down."

"Yes, Karina," the queen replied, then launching into the clicking language of her species. Around them, the Geonosian warriors stopped their resistance, the Ascendant Legion soldiers doing the same while keeping their weapons trained on their adversaries.

"Captain," Selika called, "Get a signal to General Benzayn. If he confirms that the fighting has stopped, tell him to send a detachment down to relieve us here."

Read the full epilogue HERE

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Week 3 Event Results

Week three saw a number of strong entries from all comers across the skill events, and there were some hard decisions between the placements in graphics and fiction this go round. Graphics especially stood out across the board, as it seemed like a lot of people put more effort into their work this time around than in weeks past which is great to see! With the Great Jedi War on the horizon, I'd like to advise everyone to follow one of the mantras of the DJB Art Club: "Draw. Practice. Get better." Fiction, on the other hand, was as close as I've ever seen it. Second, third, and (sadly) fourth place scored exactly the same on the grading rubric, with ties being broken on judge's preference. It was as tightly contested as I've ever seen one of these competitions contested in all of my time on the Plagueis summit. Great work, everyone!

As far as the individual placements shake out for week three, they are as follows:

•	Puzzle	•	Cryptogram	•	Wiki Hunt	•	Flash Gaming 1	•	Flash Gaming 2	•	Graphics	•	Gaming	•	Fiction
	1. Azmodius		1. Ronovi Tavisaen		1. Teylas Ramar		1. Furios Morega		1. Azmodius		1. Furios Morega		1. Furios Morega		1. Ronovi Tavisaen
	2. Furios Morega		2. Teylas Ramar		2. Misium		2. Azmodius		2. Misium		2. Azmodius		2. Azmodius		2. Pollus Paratus
	3. Vanessa Rhode		3. Azmodius		3. Laren Uscot		3. Kul'tak Drol		3. Laren Uscot		3. Taranae Rhode		3. Silent		3. Kelly Mendes

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Overall Team Results

Team Odd and Team Even finally drew even (I know, terrible…) on placements, with each team claiming 12 of the 24 possible top three placements across all 8 events this week. However, as has been the case for the first two rounds, it was participation that carried the day in the end:

The team numbers are all well and good, and let's make sure to congratulate the members of Team Odd on their hard fought win. They all were amazing when it came to participation, with only four members of their team not entering at least one event and six submitting to all twenty-four possible events.

However, all that being said, there are two numbers up their that I think everyone should be proud of: 409 and 26. Remember that no matter what divides us for a friendly competition, be it Houses, pin numbers, or team selections (#ProBowl), at the end of the day we are all Plagueis. Over the course of three weeks and 24 competitions, Plagueis put out four hundred and nine competition entries. That works out to just over 9.25 entries per member of the Clan total, spread out over our 44 members. More importantly, we saw 26 unique participants for this event. That's just a hair under a 60% participation ratio. I know that there are other units out there that would kill for that level of participation and that number of entries, and you've all made me very proud to be your Consul.

Adapt. Ascend. Avail.

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Overall Individual Results

In the individual results, things got pretty insane in the final week. Two people topped 200 points, and were tied at the end of all the events with 202 total points each. To break the tie, we first went to total top three competition finishes. Those two participants were still tied, with 9 placements each. So, we went to weighted placements. The participants were STILL tied, each earning 6 first place finishes, 2 second place finishes, and a third place finish. We had to eventually make it all the way out to total points earned from placements alone (excluding the participation value of all events) to crown our final champion. Scoring 49 placement points to 42 placement points, our champion Ronovi Tavisaen just eeks out the narrowest of narrow victories over our second place finisher Furios Morega. I hope the both of you bring your newfound rivalry with you to the Great Jedi War. In third place, just missing the 200 point mark himself, is Azmodius Equesinfernum with 193 total points. Congrats, everyone! I'd advise that everyone read the final fiction update in its entirety on the forum, as our three conquering heroes make their own appearance there.

The total top ten breakdown can be seen below:

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In Closing

This event was an absolute blast for those of us on the summit charged with running and grading it. I know that Arden, Abadeer, and myself could not be more thrilled with the level of activity that each and every one of you were able to bring to the table over the last three weeks. From the person that did ALL THE THINGS to those that found time to get an entry or two in around their busy schedules, the summit and I would like to express how thankful we are to each and every one of you.

Now, let's keep it going for whenever it is that Great Jedi War appears!