"Sithspawn", Draylin whispered again. He would bet his last credit there were Force-users in there. Urgently, he turned to Joran and Ean.
"Whatever they're looking for there is going to be bad. We have to incapacitate the Stormtroopers quickly so we can bring our full might to bear against whoever's inside...I have the feeling they're not going to go down easy."
"I suggest that Joran and I draw their attention with some sniper fire from an appropriate location near here while the Jedi sweep left and right. If they follow standard procedure, they should send some of the troopers toward our position. This will allow the Jedi to come at them in a pincer movement, taking out the remainder and then flanking those who are moving toward us."
Thel maneuvers west northwest away from the origin of any shooting.
That seems a decent tactical plan to you, Ean.
Here is what we will do.
You will get a Surprise Round. Everyone roll initiative as well. Assuming they go with your plan, Temil and Draylin will spend their turns getting into position. There are enough trees that anyone who wishes to may use them for partial cover.
Anyone with a ranged weapon may make an attack. Indicate whixh Stormtrooper you are firing on; two are west, two are east, one is center.
Irina will move to where Ean and Joran set up (assuming they go to roughly the same area) and will aid Ean.
Draylin moves into position, waiting for the ranged attacks to go off. When they do, presuming the Stormtroopers move as predicted, he will move and attack one of the ones that does not move to investigate.
As soon as the attack starts, Kon steps around the tree he's hiding behind in order to come from one side of the group of stormtroopers, and he reaches out and rips the blaster carbine from the hands of the nearest trooper.
Irina, your Aid is successful. Draylin, we'll resolve your action once it occurs.
Temil moves in the underbrush, as his back rests on a tree. He takes in a deep breath as he waits for the blaster fire to commence. It's... odd. I should be more stressed, shouldn't I?, a thought creeps in his head as he closes his eyes to listen.
"Now people, just like we practiced. Everyone acts as a unit...Kon Laan, you were supposed to wait until they passed you, not draw attention to yourself. And where is Thel ducking off to. That kid is going to get himself lost in the woods. Keep it together people."
In the Surprise Round you may take one action; move, swift or standard. Also please make an initiative check, Ean. The Jedi are currently in your line of sight; the Stormtroopers have yet to notice them however.
Sure, that's fine.
Oh gosh! Oh gosh! Oh gosh!..... Thel's anxiety is through the roof as he moves carefully from thick brush to thick brush.
So far you're just fine, Thel. Once Joran takes his surprise round action and rolls initiative we'll be in proper turn order.
In position, Joran trains his sights on one of the stormtroopers on the right. He exhales slightly, then pulls the trigger.
- Initiative
- Temil
- Thel
- Kon
- Irina
- Ean
- Joran
- Draylin
Joran squeezes of a shot, dropping one of the Stormtroopers!
Due to your tactical plan, if you have an initiative before the Troopers, I will assume you ready actions to attack or use Force powers.
The one in the center is quick to react, and orders two of the troopers to group up and go seek out the enemy. The center trooper also squeezes a shot of at where it saw Ean and Joran's blasters.
It aims at Ean, and a blaster bolts impacts the tree right below Ean's body! If not for your cover, that may have gone poorly.
Several of your turns go by, but after Irina, the Troopers move. They make ready to shoot, but before they do, your ready actions go off!
Kon, how exactly are you using your Force power? Draylin, use your attack roll for your attack on your turn; make your charge attack now. Irina, since your initiative was before the Troopers, you may ready an action, as may Thel.
With a snap-hiss, Draylin's blue lightsaber ignites. The young Jedi rushes out of the trees, moving towards the lone Stormtrooper and attacking with his lightsaber. His move is not particularly graceful; he's not going for finesse, but efficiency.
Understood, Thel.
Draylin, your charge attack hits, and your lightsaber cleaves through the Stormtrooper, incapacitating them. They are badly wounded and unconscious but still living.
As Temil hears the sound of a lightsaber turning on, and the shouts and scream of the stormtroopers, he leans away from the tree. Raising his palm forwards the stormtroopers, they start staggering backwards as the Force pushes them away. "Hello there.", he says, as his lightsaber buzzes on, the blue blade lowering to the ground in anticipation.
"One."
Joran calmly swivels his sights onto the apparent stormtrooper squad leader and fires again.
Kon, how exactly are you using your Force power?
Looks like it'll be sending one of the troopers up into the trees.
@Irina- that was your surprise round action. Your initiative is before the Stormtroopers so you may take another turn. You can ready an action or Aid Another once more (that would be most appropriate to your plan).
"Irina and Joran, once the Jedi engage with the bucketheads up close, we should move to the side. Maybe while they are distracted we can recon those shuttles, figure out who they represent. One of the Warlord Moffs, if I had to guess. Keep it tight everyone."
Flennic points his blaster in the general direction of the approaching stormtroopers, squeezing the trigger in an attempt to continue drawing their fire and attention. Through sheer luck, or perhaps the Force, his shot hits.
Flennic waits for the other two to react before he moves away.
Here is what happens;
Joran had already dropped one of the Stormtroopers. Two were approaching, one was giving orders, and one was sort of by themselves.
Temil popped out from behind a tree, using the Force to pound the Stormtroopers. They are taken down and knocked unconscious immediately.
Draylin, you charge the lone Stormtrooper, dropping them with a single blow.
Kon, you essentially levitate the Stormtrooper that seemed to be giving orders up into the trees. They shout into their comlink (which you are all helpfully hooked into thanks to Thel) "Contacts! Jedi and soldiers! Men down!"
As it does so, two more Stormtroopers come rushing out of the temple, and they take shots at Draylin and Temil, the closest targets;
The attack at Temil misses; Draylin, yours hits, and will deal a savage 18 points of damage. You may attempt to Parry the bolt.
After their brief attack, they are immediately gunned down. Joran, your shot spins it around and it crumples, though you think the Trooper still lives. Ean, you take aim and calmly place a bolt right between the eyes of your target...there is no doubt that they have been slain.
Current status; 5 Stormtroopers incapacitated, 1 dead (the one that Ean crit), 1 inactive (held by Kon's Move Object).
However, we are not out of combat.
Draylin, you are the closest to the Temple, so you are the only one who hears this...but from within the complex, where the extra Stormtroopers emerged from, you hear two distinctive sounds...two snap-hiss noises...what do you do?
Draylin sees the bolt flashing towards him and senses it's about to catch him center mass. Out of position from his charge attack, he desperately swings around his lightsaber, attempting to bat the bolt out of the air;
Draylin manages to send the bolt away, and before he can follow up, his companions have brought his enemies down.
Hearing the ignition of lightsabers from with the temple, he will call out to his companions.
"They're coming! Don't let them get close; I'll hold them off!"
Draylin moves to stand directly in front of the entrance to the Temple, though he remains four meters away from the actual entrance...he wants whoever is inside to have to come to him. He concentrates, centering himself. This will be his first time facing another lightsaber-wielder with deadly consequences, but the Force is his ally; Draylin trusts to it, losing himself in it's eddies.
Draylin, you are able to deflect the blaster bolt, avoiding damage.
As you wait, from within the Temple, two figures emerge. They seem humanoid, but are cloaked and hooded. Their cloaks are a rather distinct shade of orange, and they wield crimson lightsabers.
They approach you, lightsabers drawn, and stand shoulder to shoulder, each slashing at you.
Your ready action goes off; make an Attack Roll!
You sense, now that they are close to you, that they are calling on the Force to guide their strikes, to devastating effect. One of them fails to activate their Force Power, and misses you with their attack. The other, however, thrusts cleanly, and will catch you in the gut for a horrific 24 points of damage unless you can block their attack!
After their turn, we are now in normal initiative! Draylin, you may roll your Attack as well as a Parry check; after that, your group initiative rolls as normal.
Draylin lashes out with his lightsaber at one of the enemies in front of him, hoping to drop (or at least damage) them before they can work in concert against him;
As he does so, Draylin exposes himself to his other foe. He is new to this, and seeing vulnerabilities in his method of attack even as he successfully strikes. As Draylin retracts his attack, he twists his wrists, snapping his blade downward to parry the thrust that will surely pierce him otherwise.
Draylin, you are successful in blocking the thrust! You manage to swat the encroaching lightsaber to the side, protecting yourself from a vicious attack.
Temil raises his eyebrows as the stormtroopers fly back, then turns around just in time to see Ean's magnificent shot. It seems my initial doubt in the Imperial might've been misguided., he ponders for a moment, before seeing the two Reborn rush out of the temple and charge Draylin. Them? I'd have thought them extinct. And I almost believed that studying the old forms would be a purely academical exercise. Rushing to the padawan's side, he leaps out of the underbrush, his saber's blade pointing downwards. "What is it that you hope to accomplish here?", he asks, as he lunges forward to attack the other Reborn. "Surely you realise that the Jedi Temple has been warned of your presence by now?", he continues his tirade at the weapon wielder. "And besides, you are hopelessly outnumbered."
That is a hit, Temil. It does a bit of damage as your lightsaber slices into the arm of the Reborn in front of you, but it is still threatening you.
You all have a turn before they do (Temil excluded as he already went). Both are in melee with Temil and Draylin, so unless you have Precise Shot, ranged attacks will be more difficult.
Thel keeps sneaking toward the ships.
"Two."
Joran turns his rifle to the saber-wielding assailants as they emerge from the temple, observing as they engage in combat with Temil and Draylin. Come on, give me an opening, just for a moment...
Soon enough, he sees what he's waiting for. Draylin's blade parry creates a bit of space between himself and his opponent for a split second. It's not much, but it's enough time for Joran to draw a bead on his target and fire once more.
"If we could manage to keep one of them alive for interrogation that would be preferable. Those look like Reborn, soldiers who were artificially given Force powers in an attempt to combat the New Jedi. They were thought to have been wiped out."
Ean fires at one of the Reborn, Draylin's first or Temil's if Draylin's is down, in an attempt to distract him.
Then he scrabbles over the tree trunk and moves cautiously toward the lightsaber combat.
Irina nods as Ean opens fire in an attempt to disrupt the combat, she follows suit. From there she will follow the Imperial closer to the combat.
Both Suppress attempts succeed; however, Draylin’s opponent falls, a smoking blaster bolt scoring through their unarmored body.
Kon and Draylin have actions.
For a moment, Draylin is nearly distracted by the blaster bolt passing mere inches from his body. However, he had felt no threat, and Joran’s aim is true, felling his foe. Draylin turns his attention to the one facing Temil. Irina was doing a fine job of harassing the Reborn, and Draylin leaped into action. Summoning the Force to bolster him, he made an incredible jump, flipping over Temil and the Reborn, twisting in midair to land facing towards them. As he landed, he struck in a powerful two handed blow, hoping to catch the Reborn by surprise.
Kon keeps his arm outstretched in a languid gesture, with the stormtrooper officer held in the air. He remains close to the tree, near cover, as the other Jedi deal with the lightsaber combat.
Kon, you keep the Stormtrooper held defenseless.
Draylin, your blade slices into the Reborn, and he falls, slain by your attack.
Thel, you are making your way to the ship, when suddenly, at the same moment that Draylin kills the last Reborn, the shuttlecraft explodes! Thankfully, you are fare enough away that you are unharmed by the explosion. The exterior of the temple is a bit damaged, but it's mostly minor.
At this point, you are out of combat. As long as you maintain your power, Kon, I'm going to rule the Stormtrooper as helpless.
What do you all do?