DragonRage

Seeing as the enemy went down fast, Mirri quickswaps "Meditate on the Lost" for "Force Lightning", and fires a bolt to deal 3 damage to the fleeing Shadow's constitution. Hopefully, the non-physical nature of this attack will bypass the Shadow's evasive action. However, thanks to her building rage, she's going to need to stop and recover next turn.

Mirri seems to relax as the obvious enemies approach. No complicated philosophical dilemmas or social minefields here. Just her and something that needs a good killing. Seeing as she's already revealed she has it fairly publicly, and she has the sneaking suspicion Darth Vader can't find her here, Mirri draws and ignites her lightsaber, casting a pale green glow over the area. Then, she uses both modes of Lightsaber Duelist, to slash at the Heartless Soldier for 2d6+essence pure damage and set herself to block or reflect the first attack aimed at her before her next turn.

Samantha jumps guiltily, producing a spike of poorly suppressed energy, and turns to Liliya. "Ohmigosh I am so sorry I didn't hear you before. Uh, the battle went well I guess? I didn't really get hurt much, but some of the others got pasted pretty bad. We won though, and that's what counts, right?"

"Ha! We all could do to be a little more like you, Isobel," Lexiel chuckles, "Humble, aware of our own limits, and willing to take advice from others? If only we were all so blessed. Let us give thanks for reinforcements, and hope that they follow in your fine example."

"A lack of good support and medics made things harder, but our real problems was a lack of attacks with a large area of effect," Lexiel shares, "I had both one of our strongest healing abilities and our best attack for clearing out the swarms of weak enemies we faced. This made it exceptionally difficult to defeat our enemies in a timely enough manner to prevent us from taking casualties. I believe we may have overspecialized our squads. There's nothing wrong with preparing to face the enemies at hand, but sending so many of our heavy suppression experts to fight the assassin left the rest of us with insufficient anti-infantry firepower. Additionally, based on what I heard about the assassin fight, as I suggested before we assigned teams my anti-magic abilities would have been extremely effective in that battle. We should strive to create more balanced squads in the future, to prevent these situations from being repeated. Training more medics would also probably be helpful, but many of our comrades seem too... prideful and macho to learn the healing arts. Doesn't make me any less badass to be able to heal (and I still can't get over how awesome it is that I can say that without getting censored), but try telling them that."

"Heartless... because they have to act that way. Can they be saved?" Mirri fiddles with the shot selector on her blaster rifle, "Or is a mercy kill the best option? Can they even die, if they're stuck between worlds like that? Fighting something immune to conventional weapons would be... inconvenient. Are there any abilities common to them that I should watch out for?

"I'll watch your back, Frigus," Mirri volunteers. She'd still kind of like to hit something, and to feel useful again. Not that she knows what Heartless are, but they're probably no match for blaster bolts.

Lexiel sighs, abandons her nice, quiet spot, and goes to talk to LOTUS. Samantha, on the other hand, cautiously approaches the Gabriel/Snow/Perlita group. "Hey, new people! Er, hello? I'm Samantha Grey. It's nice to meet you?" Any of them with even the slightest bit of magical or extranormal senses can likely feel the cosmic fire radiating off of her, carrying a distinct sense of anxiety along with its implacable, starkly beautiful power. Because stealth, subtlety, and fine control are not things that intersect with the concept of a Phoenix host in any meaningful way.

"As you wish," Mirri tells Satomi, standing again. She'll just have to make amends some other way. She turns off her helmet's speakers, and comms R2-P14, telling the droid to cross-reference Satomi's garb with local cultures and his own databases, and start a preliminary draft for a suitable armor design, before turning the mic back on.

Samantha stands around awkwardly in the courtyard, looking for someone to talk to. Lexiel looks for a quiet place to meditate on her mana bonds, and feed Nobunaga as much mana as she can before the next conflict. However, before she starts, she radios LOTUS a report of what she can remember of the battle, lingering on enemy capabilities and tactics. And how we probably all would have died without Nobunaga's intervention.

Combat continues! The Hog is coming for you! Flee the Hog! Contagion covers the first square with a thick cloud of smoke, increasing the dodge chances of everyone within by 10%. Aquila runs the fuck away. Vitor makes a series of complex, graceful gestures, and tiny turrets form from light itself, clamping to Nader and Stelio's armored backs. Vitor's ultimate meter is now at 3/10. Roadhog throws out his hook, and it snakes around the waist of the only person he can clearly see right now: Aquila. Laughing at the warrior's startled cry, the enormous Australian pulls Aquila in, slams him to the ground, and stomps down on his chest. Aquila is Pinned until he succeeds in an opposed strength check against Roadhog, or somebody forces Roadhog move. Alan orders his Doombot to run for it, and then follows his own advice. Leo runs away, leaving his Doombot behind. The Frost Brute shoots a stream of icefire at Roadhog, dealing 3 damage. Though Roadhog is now on fire, he doesn't seem particularly concerned. Sha'Tith runs away, firing off a staggering amount of attacks to cover his retreat. He deals 24 damage to Roadhog. Roadhog barely flinches. Contagion runs for it. Aquila is pinned! Aquila attempts to struggle free! Strength check 12 vs 29! Failed! Aquila is unable to shift Roadhog. The ice fire spreads to Aquila. Vitor runs for it! Freya makes a series of arcane gestures, spawning a massive horde of zombies from the dry earth! The zombie horde has 112 HP, and 28 attacks which each deal 1d2 damage. Ena runs for it. Blue Occultist begins hovering on some eldritch wind. Roadhog takes a look at the hazy area ahead of him, from which zombies are beginning to emerge. He drops his hook to dangle by his size, raises his massive shotgun, and pulls a strange contraption from one of his belt pouches. "It's time to go Whole Hog!" he declares, before slamming the top loader full of scrap metal into place and starting to crank. He fires a massive spray of shrapnel into the mist, which pings off of Stelio and Nader's armor without penetrating (perhaps due to the diffuse nature of the attack), and triggers Vitor's turrets to deal 8 damage to him and remove any other actions Roadhog could take this round. The Whole Hog also shreds all of Freya's zombies, blows a leg off Leo's abandoned Doombot, and deals 12 damage to Freya with a spray of projectiles. Blue Occultist is not struck by anything, as he surfs the storm of metal like a wave, ending up a block further away. Nader thanks Allah for his amazing, blessed, precious armor as he runs for it. Stelio runs for it, and then keeps running. Roadhog discards his empty top-loader, returning his scrapgun to its usual configuration. Status:

Mirri stares at Satomi inscrutably for a few moments, and then drops to one knee, head bowed, greaves clanking against the pavement. "I have done you a grave disservice, Satomi of Clan Crab, one that I do not possess the weregild to repay. So I swear my sword to your service, until the end of time, or you see fit to release me. My cause and life are yours until my debt is repayed, and the shame I have brought upon Clan Av erased. This I so swear."

The hook came crashing through the ramshackle house's windows, before latching onto the windowsill. "Manaiakalani!" A deep, rumbling, slightly muffled voice shouted, and the entire house went flying off its foundations to crash behind a towering figure who slowly advanced toward the group. "Found you." Initiative: Status: Encounter: Survive the Hog Roadhog is coming for you. Fortunately, the effective range of Roadhog's hook is only three blocks; farther than that, you can dodge it with relative ease. By spending an action, you can run 1 block. Get all three blocks away, and you're relatively safe, though you can still use ranged actions to help your allies. Roadhog is fat and lazy, and will not move fast enough to catch up. Try not to die!

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Mirri confirms, "My master was killed when I was still in the middle of my apprenticeship, and all I have learned since has been from experimentation on my own. Most of that dark powers always ascribed to the Sith, and rarely if ever to Jedi. I would not dare take a student when it is so likely that I would only lead them to the Dark Side."

"Redemption? By what means?" Mirri chuckles bitterly, "All the masters are dead. We're stranded in some world more alien than any I have visited. No one here even knows what the Force is, much less how to feel or use it. The only masters of the Force left are the Sith, the very people I would sooner die than become. What part of this brings hope to you?"

"Look, the guy after me and the rest of us calls himself Roadhog. He was the most dangerous serial killer in Australia before some lunatic decided to infuse him with the power of the strongest demigod of all. No, not Herakles. That guy has better PR, but Maui would take him to the cleaners," The man hastily explains, "I'm Overwatch Agent Vitor; we have a safe house a few miles to the west. Roadhog isn't exactly fast, and he didn't bring any cannon fodder with him this time, but the guy could laugh off bullets before he got magic and he's got a shotgun that can tear through steel plate. I stabbed him through the heart, and he barely even flinched. Unless you've got something deadlier than impalement through the heart, I don't think this is a fight we can win directly. We need to fall back and figure out how to cut off his supply of mana. He's no mage, and unless someone dropped the ball in a major way there's no Holy Grail War happening around here, so he's got to be getting power from somewhere."

The spear-wielder immediately drops his weapon, causing it to dissolve into motes of light, and holds his hands in the air. "Shit! I didn't- Her magical signature is really, really similar to the thing that just almost killed me! But if you all are still alive, they're probably nothing alike," He clearly considers looking around the corner to see if whatever is wielding the hook is getting closer, but seems to decide against it. "Look, we can talk or argue or whatever later, but we really should be running the fuck away now! He's gonna be here any moment!"

"DOOM'S DIMENSIONAL TELEPORTER HAS FINISHED CHARGING!" The armored man declares, "YOU WILL SUCCEED! DOOM HAS DECREED IT TO BE SO!" Everything goes white for a few seconds, and then visibility returns in a blast of hot air. The group finds itself standing in a dilapidated town in the middle of some kind of badland. The harsh sun beats down mercilessly, and anyone who is not used to the heat would instinctively gravitate towards the shade offered by a nearby, ramshackle house. But, the sounds of marching feet, a brief clash of weapons, and panicked screaming growing rapidly closer would make relaxation impossible. A thin, dark-skinned man carrying a slightly translucent, blue spear and wearing a tight, blue and white uniform dashes around the corner, swearing in a rather higher-pitched voice than he probably normally has. A man in a military-looking, dark blue uniform and carrying a boxy gun makes to follow, but a metal hook on a long chain flies around the corner after him, wraps around his waist like a striking snake, and goes taunt. The chain passes through the wall of the house to do this, but doesn't seem especially inconvenienced by the solid object in the way as it pulls the poor trooper around the corner with a scream of dismay, leaving his gun to clatter to the ground. The spear-wielding man looks at the corner nervously, but when the hook doesn't come after him he breathes a sigh of relief and turns to you all. "What the- What are a bunch of civilians doing? No no no, there's no time. You've gotta get out of here before he remembers there were two of us, and... I..." He trails off, staring intently at Lucine, before going ash grey and leveling his spear at her in shaky hands. "Santa Maria another demi-servant! D-Don't move! Just drop y-your weapons and put your h-hands up!"

"No dark Jedi has ever turned from the Dark Side," Mirri states with a sort of detachment that Jun, with his keen diplomatic instincts, likely find intensely worrying, "Redemption is impossible. The Dark Side is insidious; death or surrender are the only ways forward."

Mirri takes a deep breath, and begins speaking to Jun. "For longer than recorded history, the Republic has existed, and the Jedi Knights served it as peacekeepers and guardians. Jedi are trained to draw upon the Force, an energy field that is generated by all living things. It grants them... Us... powers beyond what our bodies should be capable of. However, the Republic gradually grew more corrupt over time, and eventually a group of corporations and nations split off into a separatist movement. The separatists were led by a powerful Sith Lord, one who wields the Force with anger and hatred in their heart. Sith are far more powerful than all save the strongest Jedi, but their twisted powers inevitably bring destruction upon everything they touch. The Republic responded by raising an army of volunteers and cloned soldiers to fight the Separatists' armies, and they asked the Jedi to lead this Grand Army of the Republic, as no one else under the Senate's command had as much military experience. "So we did. Though it broke our hearts and minds, we cast aside the mantle of the protector and became warriors again, to preserve and protect the Republic we swore to serve always. We defeated the Separatists. And in our moment of triumph, the Republic ordered its clone troopers to turn on us and strike us down. They left our bodies to rot like soulless animals. Men, women, children, elders, it made no difference. They went on to enslave or execute everyone who didn't fit their definition of acceptable human. They declared us as less than animals and slaughtered us thus justified. And when I captured one of the clones and asked him why they'd so betrayed us, do you know what he said? 'Sorry, General,' He told me, without a shred of remorse, 'I was just following orders.' And when I heard Satomi justify that exact same, bloody-minded philosopy, in the exact same way... "Fear leads to anger, anger to hate, and hate to suffering. Once you begin down the path to the Dark Side, it will shade your destiny forevermore. These are the core tenents of the Jedi Order, which must be followed observed lest your lack of self-control lead you down the path of the Sith. And I have lived in fear for so long. I watched a twisted empire, filled with hatred and xenophobia, rise from the ashes of the Old Republic. I watched the Emperor's most trusted enforcer, the Sith Lord Darth Vader, strike down everyone I knew and loved with his lightsaber the color of the blood he spilled. I know not why he failed to find me, but I have lived every day since then with the fear that he might come to finish his task. And when I heard Satomi speak as though her people believe without question in the same ideals that left the Jedi all but extinct, fear turned to anger. Anger turned to hate. And now, the suffering for us both." Mirri stares down at her lightsaber with a sort of weary contemplation. "Clearly, I have already advanced down the dark path, and was simply blind to how far I had walked. Perhaps it would be better to end things here, while I am still aware enough of myself to recognize the darkness."

"DOOM POSSESSES A DOZEN DOCTORATES! INCLUDING ONE IN GEOGRAPHY," Doctor Doom declares, pulling a rolled up piece of paper in a thin metal tube from a compartment in his throne, and throwing it before the group. Presumably a map is inside. "DOOM SHALL SEND YOU TO THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, WHERE THE LAST OF YOUR NUMBER IS ATTEMPTING TO PREVENT WHAT LITTLE LAW AND ORDER PERSISTS ON THE CONTINENT FROM BEING UTTERLY DESTROYED BY ANARCHISTS AND MADMEN. YOU SHALL PREVENT THIS. SO DECLARETH DOOM!"

Mirri doesn't turn to face Jun, but she does start talking. "Yes. My lightsaber. Many of my clan have taken them from our fallen enemies, but this one is mine. The weapon of a Jedi Knight... and a weapon I am no longer certain I am worthy of. No Jedi would act as I have."

The dome of earth forms around Mirri with ease. She doesn't even attempt to dodge it. All is quiet for a few moments. Then a brilliant blade of incandescent green punches through the rock and soil like a hot knife through butter. It rapidly carves a series of disorderly, glowing lines through the dome, Mirri continuing to swing her lightsaber long after she'd cut herself an exit, before eventually falling to her knees, blade extinguished, in the center of the pile of rubble. Unmoving, not making a sound, she kneels on the pavement. The aura of rage is mostly gone, but the grief underneath all the more apparent for it. So much so that even non-sensitives nearby might get hints of it.

As Satomi continues to gasp for breath, it suddenly occurs to her that even after all that shouting, breathing shouldn't be this difficult. Then Mirri steps into her field of view, right hand raised and empty, fingers slowly clenching into a fist. Fury roils off the armored woman, thick and choking (Ren, Proditor, Lucille, and Lilly might pick it up if they're in range), and when she raises her hand, Satomi lifts of the ground with it. "Did you just say," The Mandalorian begins, her voice betraying none of the rage she's feeling, "That my clan lacks souls because your government tells you it is so? That you condemn them as animals to the void because some emperor tells you to? You dare belittle their sacrifice so because you're just following orders?" By now, Mirri has lost her control, and sounds decidedly furious, but she finally seems to notice that Satomi is having a bit of trouble breathing. She throws the samurai back to land on her butt with bruising force, and fires a blistering bolt of Force Lightning just to her left with a wordless scream of grief and fury. Mirri's visor pans from the glassy blast point left in the sand, to Satomi, to her own smoking fingers. She lingers on her own hand for a few moments, before stomping off, still radiating rage and a sense of loss. She's looking for someone she can justify venting at, and doesn't much care if they survive the experience.

IGNORE ME.