Reports of attacks by Emerald Squadron and a Jedi who had been dubbed the Dawn Knight had reached the ears of most, if not all who called themselves Sith, or who were affiliated with the Sith. Even those who fit into neither category had probably heard the rumors by now. Keiran Trace, more commonly known nowadays as Darth Nyx, was no exception to their rule. Of course, she rarely stayed in one place for long, and her movements were sporadic at best, so she was unlikely to be the primary target of any such attacks in the near future, but that didn’t mean she was careless.<br/><br/>She had to visit various bases periodically, for one reason or another, whether it was to resupply, to deliver a captive, obtain information, or something else entirely. There was always a chance that she might happen to be present during one of these raids, even if she wasn’t actually the target. With that in mind, she tried to make her stops as efficiently as possible, to keep the number of necessary stops to a minimum, and she was generally vigilant whenever she had to make a stop, and this time was no exception.<br/><br/>She had recently completed a couple of missions for the Dark Council, which had landed her a couple of prisoners and some sensitive information, all of which needed to be delivered sooner rather than later. It was about time to resupply, and she needed to handle a few things, anyway, so she’d found set her sights on the nearest base where she could accomplish all of her tasks at once, Chandrila. Even as she’d made that decision and punched in the coordinates for the system, she felt something in the Force. Whether it was good or bad, she couldn’t quite say, but it was undoubtedly there.<br/><br/>This feeling she’d had only grew the closer she’d gotten to the base. It wasn’t exactly a warning to stay away, nor was it calling her, exactly. If anything, it almost felt like the Force was simply trying to alert her, to tell her to keep her guard up, because<span style="font-style: italic">something</span>lay ahead. She wondered briefly if this might be where she would encounter this troublesome squadron, but there was no sense in wondering. Regardless of what lay ahead, she continued to Chandrila, where she dropped off the prisoners and delivered the intel she’d obtained. Then, while new supplies were being loaded onto her ship, she took the chance to contact the Dark Council.<br/><br/>She had been speaking with them for some time when they were interrupted. “This kind of thinking is precisely why we’re in this mess, to begin with,” she pointed out matter-of-factly. As she opened her mouth to continue, she stopped. “We’ll have to continue this discussion later,” she said calmly, smiling lightly at the confusion and annoyance written clearly on the faces of several of the Dark Council members. “Why-?“ one had spoken up, only to be cut off when the base’s warning sirens began to sound. “That’s why,” she answered before giving them a wave. “Toodles,” she added as she shut off the transmission and turned around just in time for the door to open as a soldier came rushing in.<br/><br/>“Sorry to bother you, ma’am,” he began, but Keiran gave a dismissive wave of her hand to tell him to get to the point. “We’re under attack,” he explained. “Yes, I gathered as much,” she replied in a calm manner that belied the slight impatience she felt. “we think it’s…” he explained, only to be cut off by Keiran. “The Emerald Squadron,” she finished, getting a nod from the soldier. “I assume that if you’re here, you would like my assistance,” she added, getting a fervent nod from the man. “Very well,” Keiran replied after releasing a soft sigh.<br/><br/>She might have dismissed the things she’d felt in the Force as some sort of warning about this attack, but something told her there was more to it. The feelings had grown stronger over the hour or so she’d been here, and she’d felt the arrival of the ships before the alarms had even sounded. But even now, the feeling grew stronger, as if telling her that something else was going to happen. Closing her eyes, she reached out with the Force, sensing everything around her, each and every pilot, soldier, Sith, and beyond. “That can’t be right,” she muttered to herself as she opened her eyes, feeling a familiar presence in the Force.<br/><br/>Without another word, she began to walk towards the place where she felt the Force drawing her. She pulled the dark hood up to cover her ash-blonde hair, her grey-blue eyes narrowing as she continued forward, towards the battle. For the moment, it seemed as if the Emerald Squadron and their fighters had the upper hand, but the battle was far from over, and the tides could turn in an instant. “Commander,” she called over the comms, waiting for a reply. “Yes, milady,” came the accented voice of a man from the other end. “Have your troops fall back,” she ordered.<br/><br/>“But if we do that, they will reach the center of the base,” he began, only to be cut off. “Do as I say,” she warned, her tone calm, but commanding. “Right away,” she heard the man’s voice before the transmission cut and he began to follow her orders as she approached the center of the base. She took a meditative pose on the floor in the center of the base, where the troops were moving to converge, and closed her eyes, reaching out with the Force to find each life within the base. Opening herself up to the Force, she also drew on its power, gathering it, waiting, preparing.<br/><br/>As she sat there, seemingly meditating, the very air around her seemed to grow dense, rippling ever-so-slightly, whether due to the barrier that she created around herself or from the power she was drawing in. She waited until the moment that felt right, and then, as the troops began to surround her, she raised her arms and opened her eyes, smiling a bit as she did. Moments later, the air itself seemed charged for only a moment before lightning could be seen above her as if a storm had appeared. Before anyone had a chance to react, the lightning leaped out in all directions, striking anyone within its reach, and forming a chain of lightning that extended beyond them, jumping from person to person until none were within its reach.<br/><br/>“Now then,” Keiran said in an almost nonchalant manner, “That’s better.” She then stood, as she surveyed the area, both with her eyes and through the Force. As expected, there was at least one who remained standing, untouched by the lightning. Everyone else in the base, friend or foe, lay on the ground, unmoving, unconscious, but alive. Stepping over the unconscious bodies, she made her way towards the familiar presence, her lightsabers remaining clipped to her belt, even as she drew near to him. She would draw them only when they were needed. After all, she wasn’t looking for a fight, although she would certainly give him one if he gave her no choice. She couldn’t help but wonder how he would feel, seeing her again. Would he be happy to see her, or would it just cause him pain? Would he want to embrace her, or attack her? Either way, she was about to find out.<br/><br/>“Well, well, if it isn’t the Dawn Knight,” she spoke with an almost sing-song tone as she greeted him, using this title rather than his real name. “I was beginning to wonder when we would finally cross paths,” she added, not making it clear whether she was referring to seeing her old friend again, or the confrontation between the fabled Dawn Knight and the Sith Lord known as Darth Nyx. In truth, she had a lot of feelings vying for control beneath the surface, so it was all she could do to keep a calm facade, to avoid allowing that dam to break and those emotions to gush forth.<br/><br/>She had pictured this moment a million times before, in a million different ways. She had so many things she wanted to say to him, so many things she thought she would say. Yet now that the moment was here, she couldn’t. She could feel that it wasn’t the right time to say anything, and it wasn’t a good idea to actually approach him, either. So, for the time being, she managed to keep herself rooted in place and keep herself outwardly calm as she faced him. “So, how does this work? Are you planning to kill me?” she wondered, tilting her head a bit, almost like a curious puppy.