Karufr

Kr’Tal System

34 ABY

“Jac, have you betrayed us?” Zoron was horrified to see the system defense sensors light up as additional Iron Legion ships entered Taldryan space. He could hear other voices around him, as if it at a great distance, shouting their own shock and fear. The surprising revelation broke his years of training and left him standing there, frozen, as he stared at the image of Taldryan’s greatest Son.

The old man was nearly vibrating with hatred, but when he spoke, it was in the same calm tone that he used when rendering Justice upon those brought before his court. “I have not betrayed Taldryan. Taldryan has betrayed the Brotherhood.” Zoron felt his breath go out of him as Cotelin spoke that. He knew that statement was a judgement from the Justicar. Such a statement heralded only one possible sentence.

Cotelin continued on and Zoron couldn’t be sure if he was imagining the feeling of hate coming from the man, or if he was just projecting it upon the actions and stern visage of the implacable Justicar. “The Jedi are the sworn enemy of the Brotherhood, and you have given them purchase within our home. You have betrayed me.”

The last sentence hung in the air as the comm link cut out abruptly, leaving Zoron’s gaze transfixed on the now-blank holoprojector. He realized that his mouth was hanging open and he quickly closed it before turning to the room. As he spun, he was hit by a wave of noise as his senses released their focus from the transmission. The rest of the Taldryan leadership cadre and some of their Elders were in the room in addition to the various aides and communications specialists.

Zoron’s gaze flashed amongst the Elders, hoping that one of them would let him in on this horrible joke, but they all had the same looks of stunned disbelief. Suddenly, he heard a sensor operator shout out: “They’re opening fire on the planetary defense platforms!”

While the personal betrayal from Jac had stunned him and pushed past his combat reactions, this palpable threat finally shook him fully back into the moment. He began barking orders, relieved to see that the cadence and command of his voice was also serving to bring others back to reality.

“Send a priority message to all Taldryan fleet assets that we have been betrayed by the Iron Legion and Grand Master Cotelin. Orders are for them to make their way to –“ He was cut off by a communication specialist.

“Sir, we cannot get a signal past the Iron Legion fleet! They’re jamming us on all bands!”

“All planetside assets are to immediately muster for evacuation!” Zoron replied turning towards a lieutenants voice.

“They are setting up a blockade around the planet! Our ships would never make it out in time!” Came a voice from behind the Proconsul.

“Sound every alarm, alert all of our people to head for the bunkers!” The Proconsul’s heart rate increased under the stress of the situation.

“Sir, there are enemy ships entering our atmosphere. They’ll be landing within the next few minutes.” A female Lieutenants voice pierced his mind.

Dread filled Zoron’s heart. An invasion could only mean one thing at this point.

“This isn’t just a show of power. They mean to eradicate us.” He turned to face the Elders with a solemn expression. “You all need to find shelter, or make your way off planet now. You are Taldryan’s history, and we cannot afford to lose you. Go now, please.”

“Taldryan does not flee in cowardice. We stand our ground.” Keirdagh responded, looking almost insulted by Zoron’s request.

“This is not about cowardice!" Zoron slammed the palm of his hand down on the conference room table, the sound reverberating in the closed room. "This is about the future of Taldryan! Without you the Clan will surely fall. Now go!”

Howlader and Halcyon nodded, acknowledging and accepting the request before turning to head to safety, with both men forcefully guiding Keirdagh from the room. Taldryan’s Proconsul turned back to the screen and looked at the destruction Jac’s assault was causing. “Jac," he whispered, "someday, you will pay for this betrayal.”

“Sir? What shall we do?” A nearby female Human officer asked. Zoron looked around the room. All eyes were on him. He could feel the weight of an entire Clan bearing down upon his shoulders. These next few hours would decide Taldryan’s fate.

“I need everyone to stay calm. We need to start a planet wide evacuation of our Clan”, Zoron heart thundered in his chest as issued his orders.

“Zoron, Sir, our craft may not break through their firing lines. We would be sitting ducks as it stands.” A bespeckled Chiss responded in a methodical, calculating tone. “An evacuation attempt, right now, would not be ideal.”

Zoron took a few precious seconds to let the information sink into his brain. They were in a most disastrous situation. There seemed to be no safe, or clear, course of action to take, Casualties would be high, no matter what. Taldryan lives would be, and were being, lost on all fronts.

The Proconsul didn’t hesitate, “We have the underground bunkers for a reason. Have all remaining Taldryan forces get to the bunkers. Once there we will come up with an exit strategy. We must save as many lives as possible.”

“Sir, we cannot hide for long.” A Zabrak officer inferred.

Taldryan’s Proconsul placed his fists on the table before him and made eye contact with the adjutants around the room, “You are most certainly right. And we won't hide for long. Just long enough to regroup. Now, I need three of you to stay here with me to help coordinate the evacuation. Everyone else, get to safety. There will be danger coming for us.”

The room broke into a resounding affirmatives as they agreed to Zoron’s orders. Only three officers remained; The Chiss, the Zabrak, and the Human officer.

“Ok you three, it’s up to us now.” Zoron looked over to the Chiss, a Major named Rylance, “You monitor the stability of the planet. All this damage cannot possibly be good for it, and keep track of the enemy forces, we need to know when to escape without detection.”

He looked to the Zabrak, a Lieutenant named Yaruh, “You keep broadcasting across all planetary channels. Find out where everyone is heading, and keep the updated on the situation.”

Zoron finally stopped with his gaze on the Human Lieutenant, “Find a way to fix our interplanetary communications. We have a large amount of our forces off world, and they need to know what's coming their way. Also, I have, a friend, that I need to get ahold of.”

“Yes sir!”

“Good, now let’s save our Clan.”

…

Dragostae City,

Karufr

34 ABY

The initial barrage from the Iron Fleet left the landscape of Karufr scarred and pitted by fire. The city of Dragostae was no different than anywhere else. Buildings from the commercial district now lay in heaps of rubble. The thousands of lives residing in the residential have been mostly decimated. The once bustling entertainment district is now a crumbling mass of ruins, left to burn into cinders. The large homes in the playboy district have been flattened. The city has fallen, with few survivors.

Outside the city limits, in the middle of a large grassland, several dropships have landed and several battalions of Iron Legion Stormtroopers, adorned in their shining white armor, march onwards. They have only one goal, the complete eradication of any and all life forms on the planet. What few beings had survived the star destroyers' onslaught, looked to the troopers for help, finding only crimson death. A trail of bodies were the only thing these troopers left behind them.

The Dark Jedi of Taldryan attempted to fight back, and their efforts were valiant. Though they destroyed many of the stormtroopers in their path, they too succumbed to the nigh-infinite blasters of the Iron Legion. The troopers moved with purpose, and once the city was finished, what troopers remained alive, returned to their ships.

“Sir, Dragostae is in ruins. Sanitation is now advised.” One of the troopers spoke, sending his message to Jac’s personal ship.

Fire again rained down upon the city, this time leaving nothing behind. The once great city of Dragostae was gone. Destroyed in Jac’s rage, wiped from the face of a forever changed Karufr.

…

Masters Keirdagh, Howlader, and Halcyon moved down the corridor towards one of the fastest ships in Taldryan’s arsenal. If there was any chance of their escape, it would be on that cruiser. The floor beneath them shook, as the bombardment of the planet continued. Dust fell from the ceiling with each collision and the lights began to flicker. Sirens continued to ring loudly, with an ear piercing scream.

“Iron Legion Troopers have entered the base! I repeat, Iron Legion Troopers have entered the base! All personnel report to safest escape routes!”, alarms klaxoned and the PA issued an endless stream of orders and updates

The three Elders could hear the sounds of blaster fire heading in their direction. This group seemed to be making their way to them.

Master Halcyon slowed, “An extermination squad?”

“It seems Jac wants us out of the way”, Howlader Pandala nodded slowly to his friend, “We have to keep moving.”

As Howlader and the green robed Halcyon turned to continue towards the ship, Keirdagh turned towards the sound of the blaster fire. A look of burning rage was plastered across his face as his gaze never faltered.

“Yacks, it’s time to go!” Concern showed on Halcyon’s face.

Master Keirdagh didn’t move, his shoulder moved up and down slowly with his deliberate breathing, “You two get the hell out of here. I’ve got this.”

“Now is not the time for your self sacrificing crap. We need to stay together!”, Howlader took a step towards the former Consul

“I said go!” Keirdagh’s voice was no less powerful for the obvious age and weariness that rang out with it. “We wait too long and that kill squad has all of us. You two need to leave. I refuse to leave Karufr to the mercy of Pravus. I have fought for our home for too long to see it end now. Jac will have to take Taldryan from my cold, dead hands! Now, GO!”

The remaining two elders looked to one another in apprehension. Keirdagh was a stubborn man, and they knew that no argument would sway him today.

“You had better follow us shortly, old man, otherwise we will come after you. And trust me, that is one conversation you will not enjoy”, Halcyon turned, suspecting he’d never see his friend again.

Howlader turned and followed closely behind. As a door closed behind them, Keirdagh reached into his robes and pulled out an Emerald Dagger, and a blade made of Sapphire. With a thought the two blades rose into the air, twirling slightly with the Sith’s concentration. He also pulled out a hilt, and a golden blade burst forth and he activated his lightsaber. As the first of the troopers entered the corridor, the two floating blades shot forward and impaled themselves into their chests.

….

“Lieutenant, situation report”, Zoron’s eyes were bloodshot and his robes were disheveled.

“Sir, evacuations into the underground bunkers are underway.” The nearby female Zabrak answered as she monitored several screens.

The Proconsul wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands, “And above ground?”

“Civilian casualties of Karufr are near total. I predict that at least 95% of the planet's population have already fallen to enemy fire”, she responded cooly.

Zoron took the information with a heavy heart. The Force seemed to cry out around him at the loss of life. He glanced around the control room. Few of his unit remained at their stations, the rest had already evacuated, “Have any of our ships broken through the blockade?”

“No sir, and most of our fleet has been eradicated”, the Chiss officer looked up briefly from his station as he reported.

The Proconsul's knuckles went white with rage as images of Jac flashed in front of his eyes, “Ok everyone, it’s time to leave. Head to the underground bunkers. There is nothing more that we can do here.”

The two Lieutenants, and the Chiss Major stood up, and made their way towards the door. As they exited Zoron gave one last look around the room before bowing his head in defeat. Above all, he hoped that Taldryan would not be lost on this day. As the Gray Jedi made his way towards the door, he was blinded by a flash of light. His vision went dark as pain surged throughout his body. The room became enveloped in searing flames as an explosion detonated in the former command center.

….

Welcome Taldryan to the First Round of Breaking Point. This Event will last a total of 30 days, and in that time I hope that you all work to make effort in making this a successful step in our Clans history. We as a Clan will finally have a fictional direction, and you as members will be responsible for setting on that path.

Your Summit's plan is to get you, the members, into the clan fiction, and good participation and effort, are more likely to do so than placing in the competitions we have launched.

Here is a list of all of the Round 1 Competitions.

Round1:

Fiction 1:

Graphics 1:

Flash-game 1:

Code-Breaker 1:

Trivia 1:

Event Long

Battleplan:

Gaming:

Good luck to all of you. and member to DO ALL THE THINGS! Once more, Breaking Point!