With the Rock and Bone
* AS events unfold out, and inside the Temple on the surface of Vjun, Lord Erustacus and His arsenal of Escape pods come screaming in from lower orbit, leaving a now visible plume of thick smoke behind them, they come in unison headed in a circular direction around the Temple as instructed by the Lord of Decay and plague himself, In the midst of battle, the Republic troopers and remaining jedi look up to see the incoming danger and instead of charging in after Famine and finishing off angle and the reborn Kako, they shift their attention and positions to face this incoming threat.*
" Lads ... quickly set up square's now every ten yards a square, sharp shooters in the center with the jedi and medics, the rest form two lines deep of the square take careful aim and let the first line unload every once of laser they can then signal the reload and order the second line to fire i want no dereliction of duty, hurrah?"
*The elite republic troops yell in agreement with their commander, Jedi knight Tavrick, his electrifying blue eyes burning with a fury after the loss of his former mentor Yorolanda, his wavy blonde hair whipping violently in the harsh wind, he stood resolute and determined to kill everything that came off those escape pods no matter what the cost. He knew his order to dig in around the temple entrance and cave in was a good idea to use all his men against the few that were approaching, he had numbers on his side and hoped to use them correctly to his advantage, no matter what the skill of his opponent. He gave one last look to the sky and sprinted to his allotted square at the base of the cave in.*
*Meanwhile , within Lord Erustacus's Escape pod, Entropious, Captain Petrov, and 56 are prepared for impact and battle, as are the rest of the legion. They all remain silent and prepare their separate coarse. Erustacus was going to land right near the entrance to the temple and fight his way to the cave in to secure the temple itself from any further infiltration and assault, he was then going to knit together any strangler groups from around the temple that survive in order to hunker down, if non survived from those outer landings then he would simply push and wave out with the twenty or so legionnaires landing in close proximity of him. Petrov would head to the pod to their right containing the upper elite of the legion and head into battle securing the right flank. 56 would take whatever troops he could find early enough and charge head on into the center spear head formation, then Erustacus would swing left around 56 with his group and secure both entrances, whilst performing this swing Entropious would also have the opening to enter the temple and reach famine.*
" Calm and collective in mind, but fierce and with abandon on that field of battle. Fear profits man nothing, so be sure to instill it in your enemy, die with your hands around someone's neck, or a blade through their gut, but most of all enjoy the screams!"
*With this statement the Pods crashed hard into the ground of Vjun and some pods having gone slightly off coarse actually landed within a square formation of the republic troopers causing the impact to kill multiple victims and with the plague aura exploding off the escape pod from the sudden shift in movement, others began to fall like flies grasping their throats and coughing hideously, in one case an outer landing pod crashed into the square formation and exploded altogether from sheer impact, causing twenty republic troopers and a jedi to go flying to their deaths, not to mention the wounded from shrapnel and flying debris.*
"Goddamn it men hold your formations, jedi brethren hold firm to your beliefs clear your minds lead these men , KILL THE SITH SPAWN!" Tavrick bellowed out in rage at the initial loss of men, he was searing with anger over the fact he had taken such losses before he could even engage his enemy, he gave the order for all units to fire in rhythm at the opening escape pods.
* Erustacus after recovering his senses from the impact quickly reached out in the force to all that could listen, jedi and sith alike, in a chilling myriad of tones and ghastly voices Erustacus projected " I'm here, I'm back for you." after this was telegraphed, the bloody business begun.*
* The Plague legionnaires burst forth from their escape pods, with one legionnaire ripping off the main hatch/door to use as a absorbent shield against the onslaught of laser fire that was flying all around and over them, a few legionnaire were caught off-guard and hit critically, going down hard or running into the square line and bursting into plague clouds, causing the lines to falter in their rhythm and mounting the number of republic injured and dead. Not only this but their visibility was then blocked by the dense cloud and the second line and sharp shooters were firing blindly into space. This was the key the legionnaires needed to start the brutal counter attack. *
"Now Lads , Now!" Hollered Petrov from behind two bulky legionnaires, His enormous chortosis mace in hand, uplifted into the air, he signaled the counter measures.
* The legionnaires burst forth once again throwing the hatches down and plunging strait into the weakened and crumbling republic formations, using melee and heavy laser weapons such as shotguns and repeater turrets to cut through the lines with devastating efficiency, they hacked shot, punched with abandon, taking multiple shots in critical areas and still pushing onward. Many squares began to crumble either from the devastating plague smoke , and plague effects of the legionnaires or from the fact that they landed right in the heart of their formation and were over-exposed and eaten from the inside out by the great fury of the legionnaires. *
"Fuck! Fire at will men, fire at will engage the enemy do not falter, the fate of the galaxy rests on your soldiers!" Tavrick drew his lightsaber and charged head long into battle with his sharp shooter unit, they easily fell behind him without his knowledge and it was not long before a enraged Tavrick stood alone in midst of the Lord of Plague himself*
* Elsewhere on the battlefield other jedi were facing the same problem, they were slightly more resistant to the plague effects, of the legionnaires, since diluted and not the full power of plague, the jedi only received the mental effects that plague enacted, they became slow, bewildered and found it hard to concentrate on even engaging an enemy let alone leading their troops. This fallout in the chain of command made an enormous mess of things and turned the battle into a massive brawl for survival. A jedi quick to regain her senses paired a barrage of blows from a cortosis axe and blade, she then using her ataru acrobatic abilities was able to maneuver around the Legionnaire and deal multiple deathblows, an arm fell off from the shoulder, the gut was slashed and black vile and organs spewed forth, and his neck was sliced like a pez dispenser, yet he stumbled forward and latched on to the slow to react jedi and nearly squeezed the life out of her wit his remaining hand, yet he exploded into plague smoke leaving only armor and weapon behind. The Jedi was in the heart of the smoke and couldn't shake the effects she screamed out in agony and began the slow process of decaying alive.*
* 56 charged ever-onward into the bowels of the republic's formations, he hacked, shot and used his plague powers to mow his way through the three squared formation that was the central position of the republic forces. He threw already tossed thermal detonators back at the crowd, picked up freshly fallen republic troopers weapons and unloaded them, and then threw them into the crowd, all whilst spinning, jumping, rolling this way and that confusing the delirious and infected troopers causing them to fire wildly sometimes hitting their own men. The battle at all points was an out of control brawl, guns were being used as bashing weapons or close combat tools. This was the advantage the Legionnaires used to make the republics overwhelming numbers count much less than compared to the Legionnaires, an average had totaled to 8 for every legionnaire that fell or exploded. Not one legionnaire gave up, ceased to fight , they crawled to their next victim if needed be, sharp shooters however were severely helping the republic's dying efforts, they picked out the behemoth legionnaires and had to unload multiple cartridges to bring them down but they were achieving their goal.*
" Men fall back to form a position with our Lord, you three with me for the greater darkness!"
*56 knew he would have to devastate the concentrated amount of sharp-shooters and three jedi in the central position, if Erustacus and the legionnaires were going to have any hope of setting up a perimeter and digging in around the escape pods. He plowed on ward, releasing heavier amounts of plague smoke and leaving a trail for his three companions to clean up with their heavy hammers and axes, he pushed onwards weaving in and out, up and around, he was the best legionnaire for a reason, he was the only agile, fast, and serpent-styled member and gained even more reflexes and speed whilst his enemy was under the mental delusion of the plague. The republic troopers were in slow-motion and falling in pain from overdoses of toxin, 56 plowed on forth to the main sniping position, taking a few well aimed shots in his torso and legs yet he still ran onward in zig-zag fashion. His cronies were now long behind him making their final stands amd buying him as much time as possible.*
" Alright lads, the right is conquered leave the dying and wounded enemy to their fates we reform the line at the pods move!" Bellowed Petrov, now covered in blood and human matter, he limped alongside his elite group and some other outer Landers he was able to salvage during the battle, he had taken multiple hits and even a few lightsaber strikes all over his body, yet his armor helped absorb much of these hits, since most of it was now either hanging off or sown into his flesh via the thermal energy of the blaster shots. Upon arrival to his destined position he noticed a change in the air , he couldn't hear sniper fire he looked to the central strike force, which was now just a mere squad of stragglers forming around the pods and falling in to report with Petrov, Petrov leaned heavily on a hatch to support and prop himself up to see and give commands. "Well done 56, well done , I won't forget you crazy bastard hehe" Petrov spit black blood up at that point and winced then looked over his shoulder to his Lord followed only by three legionnaires the rest of his squad was hunkering down by the hatches and pods, and the entrance of the temple, in total Petrov counted the sum of the Legion to be around twelve, he spat up again and new that perhaps soon it would be eleven.*
* the Lord of plague after completely decimating the four square formations around the temple entrance with only five legionnaires as assistants, he was now wrapping up his efforts at the site of the cave in. He hacked with abandon, using his blood red, great two handed saber to clear his way and sever bodies in single sweeping motion, he used his perfected djem so style to effectively take on hordes of troopers , lunging with on hand on his great saber impaling two troopers , and using his other hands to blast immensely stronger plague smoke at incoming enemies, they literally decomposed before his very eyes screaming and then gurgling as they fell into a pile of rot at his feet. He then heaved his blade to the side sending the two impaled bodies flying into oncoming traffic. Erustacus moved with brutal and fluid motion, executing two-four- three combo maneuvers, then back pedaling to access and engage the oncoming group, he used his force powers when things got overwhelming, sending most to the ground in a decayed heap, or by simply emitting a more powerful aura around himself to cripple his attackers to their knees vomiting their organs out. Erustacus used a force wave to clear the remaining resistence and the pile of ammassing bodies, then calmly walked towards an onrushing Jedi whose anger he could feel from quite a distance away.
Erustacus force crush two sharp-shooter behind the jedi, both of which howled before their bodies were crushed into a compact box shape, with their spines and ribs sticking out through skin. Erustacus was now starting to tap into his greater powers, which had stayed dormant for so many years, this battle was a short of awakening for them, he knew he could cause a plague wind that would engulf and kill the remaining troops and jedi, but he didnt feel like exerting himself at this point, he instead chose a much smarter choice , and used dark healing ability , and from each unlucky soul he had physically groped and choked , with his plagued powers, dark healing energy flowed forth, the already near to death survivors of Erustacus's deadly grasp now felt as the last sliver of life was drained out from them and into the greater void that Was Erustacus.*
* Erustacus stored most of this energy but held a very heavy dose of it in his palm, and was channeling it into a powerful and rare dark force power. It was at this point he spoke.*
"Fool jedi look around you, your army is finished or will be shortly, get out while you can and take these infected back to your republic and temple and show them how you were defeated. You are nothing, I feel your anger I bathe in it tastes beautiful just like your men's blood. but thats all you posses, no real skills no wonder they all fell like flies in the heat ."
* Tavrick boiled up in ultimate rage and charged to plague lord with all his might focusing it into a single strike, it was at this moment that Erustacus released his force Blast, a power so old and forgotten no jedi or modern sith would have expected or been able to parry such a strike. Tavrick flew far and fast back through the air and car to a rolling stop atop of his sharp-shooter squadron. he was lifeless, motionless, and had a deep scorch mark on his chest that had eaten away his chest cavity , showing only blacked ribs.*
* Erustacus turned and laughed in his myriad of voices and went to address his men and find famine, for now the main struggle for survival was over, the republic and jedi forces had been extremely devastated and crippled and would not be much of a force if they were to regroup and limp to counter attack the temple one last time. Yet also The Plague Legionaires were practically extinct, Petrov was near death, 56 was no were to be found, and only nine others had survived the ordeal. "The price of progress" Thought Erustacus as he went to the dug in position behind the escape pods and awaited Entropious or Famine to emerge with message.*
