"Don't forget to give us an update on enemy locations just before we go into the hangar," Mireska reminded Ker'see.

She definitely didn't want a repeat of the arachnoid incident.

Camouflage calls out "Clones! The Jedi will lead the way, we'll back them up. Leave the assassin to them, we'll keep the supers off their backs. Make double-sure of your targets, we can't hit that huttlet."

He gets a chorus of confirmations from the troopers, who all hold their rifles a little higher, tensing like a coiled spring for the combat to begin.

Chee'Okee follows the troop movement of clones and informs Camouflage of her intentions. "Lieutenant, I will be aiding the other Jedi in their fight, but from a safe distance. I am not as combat-oriented as they are, but will focus my efforts on guiding them through the Force. I will be among you and your men and provide a cut-off point should the others be unable to capture our target."

She had faith in the gunships being able to destroy or disable their target's transport, so Chee'Okee didn't even bring up that possibility. If her fellow Jedi were unable of defeating their foe in combat, then the only way to leave would be through her and the clones.

Reaching out through the Force, Chee'Okee found young Jorin's presence and connected to him through the Force so that his senses would be more attuned to the fight ahead. Likewise, she held in reserve the rest of her power over the Force in order to keep herself safe while fulfilling a support role.

Jorin gripped his lightsaber hilt, hoping he was prepared to face the dark woman again when he felt the Force flow through him. He took a breath, adjusting to the flow, he looked to Chee'okee and nodded his thanks. Odd sensation, feeling the Force flow through you from an out-side source..

Calling on her force to give her sight extra power Ker'see feels the darkside creeping in. I will not take the easy path!

"I can't get a lock on the hanger, we're going in relatively blind."

The sniper activates her bow, the energy string crackling.

"Jorin, can you get the Huttlet away with your powers?"

" Bad Kitty , Lucky Lekku , what targets do you see in the hangar?" Camouflage calls over comms in a low voice as they approach the doors.

Jorin nodded, I will do my best Master Ker'see!

Already using the Force to be aware of her surroundings, Mireska slowed a moment to kick it up a notch.

I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me ...

As they get closer, Camouflage talks quietly over comms, "Careful, move quietly, no chatter. We may still be able to surprise them..."

When they get in sight of the doors, he waves for them to slow to a walk. He creeps up to the open door and looks in, marking the super battle droids, then waves the Jedi in.

The doors to the hangar bay open and Chee'Okee quickly feels through the Force what is about to transpire in the room. She looks to Jorin and nods, giving him an unspoken guidance to try and secure Rotta at all costs. She has girded Jorin in the Force as best she could, now it was up to him and his training to complete the rest.

Mireska checked that her portable plasma shield was functioning, then stared through the gap created by the opening doors and tightened her grip on the new lightsabre.

"Incoming!" is the correct term, I believe. Priority one, rescue the child. Priority two, drive off the CIS forces, she reminded herself.

Jorin took a breath and prepared to charge to the Huttlet. Lieutenant, be prepared to cover me while I try something...

"We got your back Commander. GO!"

"Remember to trust in the force!"

Yes Master! Jorin called as he made a mad dash straight to the ship. When he reached it, he grabbed the droid and did his best to haul the heavy droid out of it's seat with absolutly no luck. It simply looked at him and seemed shocked such a small organic humanoid was trying such a feat. HNNMM, Jorin grunted, I should've just stabbed you...

"Oh dear," Mireska muttered to herself when she saw Jorin's lack of success. "Maybe we should have asked Chee'Okee to retrieve the huttlet instead? Or I should have done it myself?"

Taking careful aim at the enemy force user Ker'see pulls back on her energy bow and lets loose with a shot. The blast is true and seems to be aiming true but Ventress manages to reflect the bolt back at Ker'see with only a minor ricochet hitting the enemy.

The blast streaks back at Ker'see and without her blade to reflect it she is getting ready for the blade before Mireska manages to deflect enough of the blast to mitigate the damage. The armour seems to be useless for the remaining energy and she takes the blast into the arm the force scattering her senses.

"The Duchess get in front of me, please," gasps the Jedi sniper.

Camouflage dashes around the corner and the clones behind him drop into firing position...

Mireska sighed briefly, then let herself sink into the Force, allowing herself to see its currents and threads.

Still following the eddies and currents of the Force, she moved forward in a motion designed to make herself harder to hit. Mireska advanced several metres, then wrapped some of those Force threads around that strange pale woman with the red lightsabres and yanked her towards herself. Less than an eyeblink later, the unknown Sith was right in front of her. Mireska struck her with her teal-bladed lightsabre.

And was parried.

The parry was immediately followed by a riposte from the unknown woman, which made Mireska feel slightly dizzy from the pain although she did manage to twist her blade in such a manner that the other woman was slightly off-balance herself.

"Who are you?" Mireska gasped as she tried to keep her focus. "And who taught you?"

Chee'Okee wasn't keen on engaging a dangerous foe, but her training and duty as a Jedi overruled her natural instinct for self-perseverance.

Moving forward, she pulled her lightsaber from its mount on her belt and ignited it. A brilliant, orange-colored blade of light appeared and the Jedi master rushed forward to attack. The attack missed and set her at a disadvantage, but the attack also left Ventress exposed and would possibly allow one of her allies to take advantage of the opening.

Staring past her orange blade at Ventress, Chee'Okee tried to calm herself again and stood in a classic Niman stance.

The pale woman smirked evilly at Mireska.

“Asajj Ventress,” she purred at her, and then gestured around herself with the lightsabre which she hadn’t used for the riposte.

All at once Mireska, Chee’Okee, and the nearby Ker’see and Camouflage could feel a phantom grip on their throats. It tightened immediately, and Mireska heard a clatter on the hangar floor as she dropped her lightsabre in an instinctive attempt to pry those phantom fingers away from her neck.

Force Choke! Mireska remembered vaguely reading about the ancient Sith and their abhorrent practices. Hadn’t there also been something about how to resist such an attack? Focus and mental discipline, that’s it!

Desperate to get out of Ventress’ Force Choke, Mireska closed her eyes briefly - no loss as she was starting to lose her visual focus - and sharpened her mental focus instead. I am with the Force, and the Force is with me; I am with the Force, and the Force is with me ... Distantly, she could hear an odd warbling hum from Chee’Okee, one which gradually became louder. Maybe the ayrou had remembered the same thing herself.

Somehow that sharpened focus was enough to force away those tight phantom fingers and Mireska drew in a gasping breath of air. Close by her, Chee’Okee was making similar sounds. Further away, Ker’see and Camouflage weren't doing as well. They seemed to be trapped in place by the grip around their throats, effectively immobilised, Ker’see more than Camouflage - although he was moving a bit oddly too.

Camouflage gasps as he's lifted off his feet. He struggles against the grip and feels his vision start to black out to the point where he can hardly see straight, and he feels blood start to fill one of his eye sockets, stinging and blinding him. In spite of the circumstances, he keeps a cool head and sticks to the original plan. "Do-hk- mind me... Scrap the super- GAH!" He shakes off enough of the grip to get his voice back and starts barking orders as he opens fire on the droids. "Take cover, watch that crossfire! They're moving to flank!" Even though he can hardly see, he can make out enough to predict the droids' movements, drawing on his years of obsessive study.

"You heard him boys!" Poe yells, opening fire himself. "Charge!" Varactyl Squad and Poe's troops all rush forwards to a stack of crates, firing as they run. Camouflage's attack manage to take out a couple of the droids, but the bulk of the work is done by the clones, who manage to destroy most of the droids before they are even able to get a shot off. As they reach the crates, a remaining cluster starts to return fire, killing two of the clones and badly wounding a third.

In the cockpit, Jorin is distracted by the clone's scream and turns to look, relieved to realize that it wasn't one of Varactyl Squad, but still grieved to see one of his soldiers fall. This distraction gives the droid pilot the chance to draw his pistol and fire at Jorin, striking him in one of the concealed plates. That brings his attention back to the matter at hand.

(Post deleted because it was out of sequence.)

Her strikes were not getting anywhere. Chee'Okee realized this was a superior foe while using a lightsaber, so perhaps it was time to try a different tactic. Once her allies were recovered, she would survey the field of battle and try to come up with a solution, even if it was only to rescue their target while this... Ventress was distracted.

Circling herself back into a guarded stance, the Jedi waits for her opponent to strike.

Mireska winced when she saw how Ventress’ riposte slashed into Chee’Okee.

Time to be a Healer, not a hitter ...

A twitch of her fingers called her lightsabre back to her hand. Her feet, arms, and the rest of her body continued in the evasive patterns common to those who had mastered Niman’s Centre of Being katas, and the re-ignited lightsabre was ready to parry and deflect as needed, including in the defence of the wounded Chee’Okee.

But her mind ... Mireska reached out into the Force around herself, picking up the brightest threads that she could find. She quickly wove them into both her own body and Chee’Okee’s, knitting bone, muscle, nerves and tendons back together and soothing away pain and fatigue.

It’s only a quick fix, but it’ll do for now ... We need to keep her distracted until Jorin gets away with the huttlet, after which I hope that she’ll see no point in remaining here ...