Acceptance and Other Things(Complete)

[Teynara Jeralyr]

The sarcasm was interesting, but it was a shield, a screen designed to throw off her real feelings, though naturally there was no fooling the sense she gave off in the Force: the girl's presence was clear enough to him, but rather than possessing that simple self-assured clarity that so many Jedi aspired to, that calm purity of spirit that was the ideal, her presence was tainted by distortion, waves of emotion that chipped away at that conditioned serenity and threatened to find it's way into true expression. Such a fragile thing, these emotions, Tirdarius thought reflectively, eyeing the girl calmly. At a moment's notice, they can overwhelm, become a torrent of psychological chaos that was far from tranquil, disturbing even the most composed of minds.

She had to be aware of the danger she was in simply by having this conversation and drawing a weapon on him - it took courage, courage and conviction. You have to feel truly right in your cause to act like that, even knowing what it might cost you, the Sith Lord mused. To an extent, he admired her, but that wouldn't stop him from snuffing out her life if her resistance seemed likely to interfere with his goals. She threatens me, but she's no true threat, at least, not in the sense that she was likely to cause him harm. I think her own inhibitions would prevent that. She's no killer.

"Put your weapon down, girl," he instructed with a touch of weariness in his tone, gesturing with one hand that she should lower her lightsaber. It wouldn't do her any good anyway. "Don't let yourself be killed over something you don't fully comprehend," he continued. There were few enough good reasons to sacrifice your life, and fighting a futile battle against a Sith Lord in order to match up with a set of misguided perceptions was certainly not one of them. "Killing you would offer me no pleasure, and there would be little point in it," he observed softly. "Unless you insist on interfering. Then you graduate from potential nuisance to an obstacle," Tirdarius observed with a very slight touch of menace punctuating his otherwise polite voice.

He took several steps forward, moving towards the girl but careful to stay just outside the range of her lightsaber - she would need to take a step or two herself in order to be able to strike at him, and that would avail her little anyway. Tirdarius knew he wasn't in any true immediate danger from her, and there was still that sense of hesitancy. If she'd been smart, she would have simply attacked and placed me on the defensive from the very beginning. It would have gotten her killed, but she'd have had more of a chance. The delay at the start of this...confrontation had all but swept that away, or so he felt.

"I am not evil, though I can do evil things, it's true," he continued softly. He half-turned and waved a hand back down towards the smouldering remains of the Power Generator Room, indicating an example. "To kill is evil, though perhaps a function of nature for all that. Why did I act that way, then, if I am not evil?" He turned back to face the blonde girl, nodding towards her. "If you kill me, is that not an act of evil, though you do it for a cause you feel to be righteous? Do the Jedi not teach, then, that life is sacred?"

Oh, he knew more than enough about what the Jedi taught, it was true: peace of mind and body, the ability to remain objective in the face of chaos and adversity, acting as a conduit of the Force, to be moved by it, but never to move it directly. And to teach that all life was sacred, for through life did the Force exist, and from the Force did life spring into being. A lovely little interdependency, he thought, without a trace of irony. Perhaps the girl had indeed swallowed the brochure: certainly she had done with regards to the nature of the Sith. Yes, we're all very, very evil people. We'd far prefer just killing you than talking to you, he mused.

"I didn't come here for evil purposes. I came here because I have a plan that will help us to establish a little order and peace in a chaotic world," he intoned with a little more force than he had before. "The Order here has always been complacent, assuming that sweeping away the violence of others and placing themselves in the middle of every battle that peace will come of it's own accord", he remarked, shaking his head dismissively and scowling softly. The naivete of it all... "True peace will never exist unless it is imposed, the gift of insight we receive through the Force available for all to witness, and not merely the providence of the few." He wasn't entirely sure why he wanted to persuade the girl of this, but still, it seemed an appropriate time, despite the urgency.

"Remove the Sith, wipe us from the Galaxy, and you will have peace, do you think?", he asked quietly, again arching an eyebrow questioningly at the Padawan, wondering if she truly believed there would. No doubt many believe that. "Sentient beings thrive on chaos: it is their sole escape from the boredom of a tranquil life. There will always be those who use violence to achieve an end, or seek ascendency over those less willing to fight back," he remarked, having well seen the truth of it on the streets of this very planet: those with muscle able to take what they wanted from those too timid or too weak to fight back to protect it. And the Jedi think to be the shield between them and such scum, Tirdarius thought.

"Peace can only be achieved when the strongest force it upon those who would otherwise overrun the galaxy," Tirdarius professed fervently, his voice gaining a little of the passion that was so rarely observed in his mannerisms, banishing the icy-cold exterior that he so often presented to the world. "You intervene, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, but you never get to the root of the problem: the bully always comes back. But put a person of strength over them, and they dare never step out of line, because they know there is always a bigger fish. There's the lesson you've failed to teach, girl," he concluded.

Pushing aside the long fold of his cloak, the Sith Lord drew his lightsaber from the tight sash at his waist, his weapon a slender cylinder of silvery-metallic metal and moulded black plasteel, fitting into the palm of his hand as though fashioned for it, a mere extension of his arm and not something crafted seperately for his use. He held it there at his side, the obvious threat present, though he personally had little wish to pursue this battle. Force me to, however, and I'll have no choice but to leave you here in pieces, he thought.

"Were it possible that peace could be achieved only through peaceful means, there would be little difference between us, girl," Tirdarius remarked, his expression returning once more to the colder, dispassionate facade he preferred, concealing what feelings he might have otherwise revealed upon it. "The path to peace lies only through those ruthless enough to take responsibility for all," he asserted. "The Sith take it upon themselves to rule, not because we wish it, but because we must, for our gifts grant us insight and the power to be the ones who stop the bullies, the thugs, the depraved. You are not among that number, so I need not use force on you unless you make me." He raised his right hand and pointed the hilt of his lightsaber towards her, activating it with a brief depression of his thumb. "Now stand aside, or I will be forced to act against you. Make your choice," he ordered.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa let his words was over her, her stance unchanging.

"It's not my intention to kill you." she replied with an even tone "I would be a fool to think I could. My intention is to become an obstacle."

His speech made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end it rose a thousand questions in her mind and for a moment, a brief moment her resolve wavered. What he said made sense, in a very disturbed and strange way, and she knew that here uncertainty would showing. She closed her eyes reaching out for Darron, seeking to feel his calming presence, just for a moment, just to be reassured. Then she opened her empathy up to the saber in her hand, allowing its memories to fill her mind as she opened herself completely to the force.

"Is that so?" she remarked opening her eyes "and there was me thinking that the first line of the sith code was 'peace is a lie'. I know a few politicians like you. A wonderful ability that you have there, to make your cause sound just." she met his gaze properly, unwavering, determination settling on her.

"I'm not moving."

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

He had to give the girl credit: in addition to her courage, she was a realist, and knew fully well her limitations in this particular situation. Such a pity that she allows herself to be still limited by her Jedi training, but I suppose I can empathise with where she's coming from, Tirdarius thought. He remembered being much like her: an idealist, willing to give it all up for simple belief that even your death might make a difference. Simple to think so, but dying for a cause is such an easy thing, he thought. It's living for that cause that's hardest - and one reason why being a Sith was always such a burden. Doubtless, this one would never learn that hard reality. A pity, really.

"Peace is indeed a lie, girl, as is that ridiculous notion that emotions are a critical weakness," he remarked calmly, making an observation that tended to be shared by Jedi who really just didn't understand that, like a lightsaber, one's emotions could cut both ways, for good and for ill. "Peace is an aspiration, something to work towards, something to maintain when you can, but it does not truly exist within nature. All sentient beings ultimately come into conflict. Whether to save them from themselves, as the Jedi do, or to simply suppress the will to chaos, as the Sith believe, we all understand that true peace can only be found in a single place: in a dream. One to be sought, but a dream nonetheless."

Oh, once he had believed otherwise, of course, but even those Jedi who claimed to be wholly at peace with themselves and the galaxy around them were liars - even if they didn't realise it. Every time you come into conflict with yourself about the best course of action, or whether you should feel the way that you do, your peace inside is broken, Tirdarius reflected, knowing fully well that once, he had thought as they did. And how can you be truly at peace with the Galaxy when you observe it as a place where true darkness exists, always feeling that you wish that to change? As long as that was the case, that true inner peace was as much a lie as any other.

And as for true peace, that elusive concept that was held as the cornerstone of civilisation...well, that could only exist where it was imposed. Yes, you can have your democracies and your senates, providing peace through the rule of law and the tacit agreement of your people, but how fast that peace deteriorates when someone disagrees with the way things are done... If history had shown anything, it was that peace could only be established when enforced: even the constant warfare proved that much. Eliminate the dissent through force, whether by killing them or removing their ability to make strife, and then will you see peace. There was no other way, none whatsoever.

"But no doubt we can both make our causes sound just, girl," he intoned softly, a faint smile curving his lips. "It's a powerful thing, to be convinced of the righteousness of one's cause. Do you imagine that will provide a comfort to you in death, knowing that you stood by your beliefs?", he asked her, no true threat carried in his voice, just a simple acceptance of a reality placed before them both. "You would suppose that the peace of your home will return once my life has been snuffed out, so perhaps we are not so different as you would like to believe." He shrugged slightly, as if to say it no longer matter. "Alas, you've made your choice: the wrong one, by the by. I can remove an obstacle from my path and continue onward. Once that's happened, what about you? How can you serve the Galaxy if you are dead?"

He shook his head, a touch of regret on his face, but struck out fast with the dark-blue bar of energy attached to the hilt of his lightsaber, a feint that struck out towards the Padawan with no intention of connecting, but close enough that it might give her pause. He didn't need the weapon, he knew that: he could kill her almost as easily as he had disposed of her peers, back there at the Power Generator Room. He hadn't lied when he said it would give him no pleasure to kill her, but she wasn't about to let him pass without making an effort at resistance, so he would have to oblige her that much.

"Best act fast, girl," he remarked gently, advancing on her with his lightsaber held in front of him, pointing directly at her, as though he might simply skewer her on the tip of the blade were he to just continue walking forward. "You're rapidly running out of choices."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

"It will provide comfort to those who know me, that I died for what I believe in." She smiled, a true smile as she regarded the man before her. "If I had met under different circumstances, I might have enjoyed debating such matters of peace and belief with you. Perhaps if you had even found me a year or two ago I would have swung to your ideals. but not today. So I suggest you save your breath."

She brought her saber up to block his feint her breath catching in her throat, a small laugh escaped her. She took a step back as he began to advance. I need help! the plea to her fellow Jedi carried more urgency this time. She could have kept him talking but his advance made it clear that they were done conversing.

She leapt forward and spun, bringing her lightsaber across his chest.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

The parry to the padawan's attack was delivered almost lazily, though lacking the contempt that Tirdarius knew might have exemplified the defensive movements of another Sith in this situation. They would toy with her, instead of offering her the respect of true battle. Certainly he could not fight her for true if he wanted to let her walk away with merely her dignity shaken, but there was no need to be disrespectful about it. To fight a Sith Lord at her age takes far more than a little courage, he thought. Perhaps she thought that reinforcements would arrive before he had chance to finish her. And perhaps that would at that, were it my intention to kill.

Not following through on his defensive parry, the Sith Lord took a step backward, placing a little more distance between them, though that gap would close easily enough if either of them felt inclined. Killing her wouldn't take long, but he wasn't certain that it served any purpose to do so. No, she may yet have a role to play in the grand design, he thought, even though she had already asserted that her beliefs could not be shaken. That yet remains to be seen, girl!, he thought harshly.

"Courageous of you, to take me on alone with such words," Tirdarius acknowledged, nodding to her in an abbreviated bow, over the blade of his lightsaber. "I'm truly sorry that we could not be more civilised with this, but I suppose the conditions aren't truly ideal," he added with a little remorse in his tone. "Still, courage means little if it is not reinforced by strength."

Quickly deactivating his lightsaber, he let it drop to the floor, releasing it as though it were irrelevant to him, though in truth he still maintained a strong Force grip upon it, just in case. Gathering his energies to him, he flung both hands out in front of him, projecting a wave of telekinetic energy ahead of him, a rounded bubble that shaped itself around him, then fired out forwards, rapidly expanding as it moved towards her. Now he would see how strong she truly was - whether her touch of the Force would match the intelligence she had thus far displayed.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Shorn ripped at the Vice-chancellor's blaster in the Force, aiming to tear it from her hands. Without the aid of the Force, holding onto it would be nigh impossible. However, he was suddenly and perilously distracted by the feel of an unfortunately now familiar presence. A Jedi Master who had a very bad habit of trying to talk Sith out of being... well, Sith. Mikhail reactivated his blade, the crimson energy sword humming to life in his hands. He spared a glance for the Vice Chancellor.
"Yeah, totally safe," he said snidely and pointed his holdout pistol in his off hand at her, finger poised to pull the trigger. He smiled tightly at the woman, pretending to whisper conspiratorially, "Hint: he's lying."

The Sith Apprentice tread on very dangerous ground. Darron was a powerful Force User, one who could eliminate him swiftly if need be. Mikhail's only real hope for survival was to hold the Chancellor in a hostage standoff. Unfortunately, those rarely ended well. "How about you stay where you are, Wraith, or I'll give her a few new holes."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa frowned as he deactivated his saber, a wholly unexpected move, but she felt the shift in the force and her eyes widened as she deactivated her own lightsaber. She brought her hands up as if to catch the bubble coming towards up, she pushed back as hard as she could trying to root herself to the floor beneath her.

She slid backwards several feet, but she dug deeper into the force eventually coming to a halt as she managed to root herself. With great effort, she pushed the wave apart and let it pass behind her, not looking to see what damage it was causing. She moved forward closing the gap between them once more, grateful for Darron's ruthlessness in his training.

The effort however had tired her, and she fixed the sith with a cold stare. "Are you done?" she asked him, her lightsaber still deactivated in her hand.

 

[Kiara Alanna Decoix]

All that could be heard was Kiara's hands clapping as she came from the shadows. She didn't worry about the blaster as she'd deflect any deadly shoots and heal from any other with the force. The shadows still clung to her clothing as she stepped down from them the air around them would suddenly feel cold, she wore a smile on her face as she continued to clap looking at the red haired lady before her.

" You had a choice, you could either risk helping someone who was obviously waiting at Death's door or end the problem before you grew detected by an enemy." When she said that she walked closer to the Jedi one thing about the Jedi their aura was so annoying to a dark sider that she knew she'd feel any attack. However, this one's aura had the stains of taint already growing with her. Kiara sung the spell of corruption around the young lady of the jedi. All of her darkest impulses and thoughts would be brought to the fore-front of her mind

Her smile was in great contrast to the darkness that only grew darker in their area by the seconds. She found herself surprised by how little security she had ran into, and now she had her information and a knew apprentice who unlike the other ones would learn all her secrets. Call it biased but the Sith needed more females in power in her very biased opinion but oh well she had the strength to back up her bias.

" I know you've felt this darkness inside of you before. Well I represent those who interests would see your freed to be anything you wanted. Plus I know you feel the power that could be yours if you took a darker route. Come we can both gain untold amounts of power together or will you stay as a servant to these fools that let me very easily find and get to you?" She said running hair hands through her locks of red hair.

 

[Hanna Ike]

The blaster was ripped out her hands, but she had tried to keep it granted. Hanna wished she could do more. she felt so helpless. " Shoot me, their are hundreds who would replace me. you will not make a huge wave in the Senate, or the Republic you will just so yet again that the Sith will stop at nothing to end the lives of whoever they can get their hands on. So go ahead shoot me... I have been shot once already for my position, is that what makes you all feel better, will it help you show the world how angry you are? That your are full of hate? Then sure .. show the galaxy that you are just another sith with a chip on his shoulder against the galaxy. " She said smugly she was shaking inside, the outside was a facade. Hanna just wanted for once to have a normal visit.. to somewhere... damn sith.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Shorn's own anger had nothing to do with the Vice Chancellor, but he had zero empathy at the moment. Zero. And her little jabs weren't helping that any, despite their misdirection. He just wanted to get out alive. If he had to kill her to do so, he would.

Mikhail snorted. "Your speech was adorable. Now shut up and let the guys with the lightsabers talk."

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

@[member="Val'Ryss Zankarr"] @[member="Davin Jusik"]

The woman taunted Jaxton, saying he had given in to anger and hate. She was right too, but mostly Jaxton felt grief. Grief and sorrow for the Padawan's corrupted by his failure to act. She lit her lightsaber, but instead of a blade a whip emerged. This would be problematic. Jaxton had never fought a lightwhip user before. He figured the best way to combat it would be block it with a lightsaber then attack with another, but Jaxton held only one blade. He would have to block for the Soldier's attack.

"I'll play defense." He said to the soldier, and slowly creeped closer to the woman, before telekinetically throwing a stone to her side.

 

[Ventasia Terana]

Ventasia's blood reached a biol as the woman sauntered from behind the corner, clapping her hands as she made her approach. She felt as if she was being mocked. The slow applause ringing in her ears, seemingly increasing in volume as each moment passed. While it took her a moment, she realized what type of predicament she had found herself in. The still, cold air. The silence of death. Ventasia had come face to face with a Sith for the very first time. It was not fear, but belief that crossed her mind. The belief that she could outsmart this one. And with all her being, she was going to attempt.

Quiet was the only sound heard from Ventasia as the woman's words reached her ears, commending her on the actions she had just taken. No response, however, crossed her lips. As the scarlet-hued haired woman spoke, and seemingly sang, Ventasia was busy plotting her escape. In a matter of moments she went over each and every scenario in her mind, and the outcomes as well. Raising her blaster to fire at her; shooting at the woman from the hip; firing shots into the air draw attention to their area. No matter course of action she went over in her head, the outcome was the same. She wouldn't survive. At this point, survival was Ventasia's number one priority, but that proved difficult as she now stood faced this challenge. Her attention was finally brought to the woman before her as she applauded herself.

"Don't flatter yourself. First off, my mind isn't a blank, open canvas as some you may have encountered in the past. Second, I don't desire power so greatly that I'd bow to you. Last, and not least, I'm a servant of no one. Not Jedi, and not Sith." Her arm rose, extended, blaster in hand as she took aim at the female's heart. He finger resting on the trigger, and ready to pull at a moment's notice. "My life is my own. And no one else can ever tell me otherwise." The fire within her heart had once again betrayed her. The slight rage she had been sent into from the woman's words had taken her mind from calm and calculating, to disshoveled and murky.

"She's going to have to die if I'm to live..", she thought to herself as she locked eyes with the one standing before her.

@[member="Kiara Alanna Decoix"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

A soft laugh came from the Sith at the girl's question, conveyed as it was with what he felt was annoyance. Yes, she doesn't like the idea of being toyed with in combat. He could well understand that, but she had chosen to stand her ground, and it seemed appropriately symbolic to at least make her move, if only to prove that he could do so if he wanted to. Even so, he was relatively impressed by her ability to counter his attack - not as well as a Master might have done, but sufficiently so that she remained standing. That speaks to a considerable level of skill. Given time and experience, this one could prove to be really dangerous.

Returning his lightsaber to his belt, the Sith Lord offered a faint smile, acknowledging the girl's abilities, though he could certainly offer more if he felt it appropriate. The only reason she hasn't been crushed into a wall yet is because I'm being nice for the moment, he thought. The rest of the wave that the Padawan had so skillfully deflected had crashed into the surrounding walls, causing a slight shudder and dislodging a little dust, but causing little of consequence beyond that. Good. I'd hate to have the Temple collapse simply because I was here, he thought. Much though the Jedi were misguided, he really didn't think it necessary that they all die for the Sith to achieve their objectives.

"Now then, shall we say that we've had our ritual battle, and move along?", he asked politely, his tone calm and his expression utterly relaxed. In truth, he didn't feel tense at all, which was odd, given where he was standing, and the potential danger that he was in. Still, as far as he was concerned, the two of them were finished here: the girl had made her stance quite clear, and Tirdarius had similarly shown that he wasn't about to let her stop him, so neither had anything to gain by further battle. "You can report to your superiors that you intercepted me and tried to stop me with your valiant little effort, but you failed to do so. I doubt any will offer you blame for that," he remarked, suspecting that the Jedi would at least be fair in that respect.

"Stand aside, and I'll be on my way, with no further harm to your or your fellows, provided they do not try to stop me," the Sith Lord said. He was rather surprised that he had kept his calm thus far, given how much the girl kept trying to provoke him, but he wasn't about to simply surrender to that emotional discord merely because a Padawan kept trying to get in the way. "Don't push me any further, however," he warned her, shaking a finger in her direction. "I've enjoyed our little chat, but if you persist in being an obstacle, I really will have to hurt you," the Sith Lord concluded.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Rosa gave him a sad smile. With no weapon in his hand she wouldn't attack him, though she had very little doubt that if she did, he would be more than capable of defending himself. She toyed with the idea of standing aside, of letting him go but the faces of those he had killed flicked to her mind and she closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. If only it were that easy that she could just let him walk away, but there were questions that needed answering, like why they had come here in the first place to attack them.

Opening her eyes again she regarded the man before her, he was calm and collected, nothing like the apprentice Darron was dealing with. It was...incredibly unnerving to know that a sith could be so calm, it went against everything she had learnt and heard about them. Her thumb shifted to the activation switch on the lightsaber and she shook her head at him.

"You have crimes to answer for. You killed my friends and destroyed the power grid. Even if I step aside, someone else will try to stop you and you will kill them. The longer I keep you here, the better chance they have at surviving. I might even survive too, if my Master doesn't take too long to get here." She activated the lightsaber bringing it up before her.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

[OOC: Changing targets so us Sith can finish off our Main Objective]
@[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

Val’Ryss’ frowned and hissed, “Woefully predictable, Jedi” As the stone rushed to met her side, she spun her body and with her light-whip cut at the stone. Continuing her moment she spun even further bringing her other hand to force push the remnants of the stone aside, scattering the stone pieces in a wide arc. Finishing her spin she focused the force into her feet and force flipped side-ways to an open space that led down the corridor. Planting her foot firmly she slashed her whip about removing it from her path. The whip cracked and resting beside her burned the earth it rested upon. Feeling the voice of her masters who had now also infiltrated the temple, she was given a new order. “As you wish” she hissed.

Raising her arm parallel to the floor, the large sleeves of the monk-like robs of the Jedi dangled below her wrist. Now she would use the “instruments” she had smuggled with her. Using the force a silver ball with red lights and mechanical platting floated out. The ball began to beep, with the interval between the beeps getting shorter and shorter. Val’Ryss smiled and the ball was launched into her opponents- the ball was a grenade! Turning away from what would be a sizeable explosion Val’Ryss hurried towards Mikhail and the Vice-Chancellor. Along her rapid run she could feel a bright flame, stronger than a usual Jedi candle- this would be interesting.

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"] @[member="Darron Wraith"]

Coming across her fellow Sith, she saw him holding the Vice-Chancellor against a Jedi, who she recognized as the pocessor of the strong light-flame. A Master indeed. Pushing against the floor she flipped in several loops landing between Mikhail and the Master. Slowly raising herself, her golden eyes met his. Darkness cascaded from her body, a black aura circulated around her. This was no petty show of emotion; this was pitch black horror- plain and simple. The master would be up against something more corrupt than a usual warped Sith.

“Mikhail” Val’Ryss hissed, “Take the Chancellor with you. This one shall deal with the bright flame ahead” her words slithered from her lips and crawled into those around her. She gazed at the master with some fascination, “Now, Jedi.” She whimsically growled, “To business. No doubt you sense it…The anger, pain, sorrow and fear. The plant shall grow stronger for every ounce of light it devours. The choice is the Jedi’s alone. “she finished with a point of her black-gloved fingers. “Let my comrades depart and you shall gain the key to the end of the plant’s growth.”

 

[Darron Wraith]

"You don't want me to move Mikhail? Are you sure that was the best choice of words in this situation boy?"

Darron was stalling for time, and everyone knew it but the Jedi Master. In his mind he could see a thousand possibilities, and most ended with the Vice-Chancellor's brains all over the wall next to her. The Sith Apprentice had done an admirable job up to this point of getting to what seemed to be the Sith's primary target and pulling Darron along the way with him. This is my fault he got this far, I should have taken his lightsaber and not held out hope that he could be saved. Kicking himself, the Jedi kept a calm expression on his face as he analyzed every probability and mulled the situation over. Blue eyes shifted over the Sith before him, and he couldn't help but notice how cold Mikhail was to the Vice-Chancellor. "Whatever ruined your soul to the point that it is boy, I am truly sorry. This is not the way though, you shouldn't want to take a hostage just because of her political position. She has a family who loves her just like everyone does."

It was a plea, a halfhearted one at best and both parties knew it. The Jedi Master was done trying to save Mikhail's soul, his last attempt had gotten six people killed. Guilt was the emotion he was most wanting to feel at the moment, but he knew it had been there time. The Force was a mysterious creature in how it worked, but everything was for a reason. To try and fight against it as against nature itself, to try and bend the very force of creation against itself was the way of the darkside. During his training he had struggled with the concept, and even now he felt responsible for the deaths of the guards. After all, had he stuck to one course of action and done what procedure dictated with Mikhail, they would still be alive. Don't kick yourself over this Darron, save the lives you can. You can't be there for everyone, and every choice won't always feel right or be what you were supposed to do.

He once again inhaled his pain and guilt, and calmly looked over to the Vice Chancellor. As he exhaled, acceptance and the Force filled him and left him clear. His senses fully attuned and in the moment, Darron's plan formed. Mikhail had smartly wrapped a grip around his saber and the blaster as well, yet he was looking at the trap in the wrong way. The Jedi Master extended his hand of durasteel towards the Vice Chancellor while keeping his eyes on the Sith Apprentice. He subtly wrapped his will around the younger man's throat and squeezed it like a vice for only a couple of seconds. It was just a well designed distraction as the majority of the Jedi's focus shifted to the Vice-Chancellor, and in one powerful pull she was quickly in his arms. "You are safe my'lady, please go to the storage room nearest us and stay there until I come and get you."

A smile formed on his face as he looked at Mikhail, daring him to make his way to the closet, his lightsaber hum sounding like a threat. As the other Sith approached the Jedi Master regarded them both before taking his hilt in both hands. "If either of you try to take the Vice-Chancellor, or another innocent one in this temple I will end both of you."

 

[Hanna Ike]

Hanna bolted towards the nearest closet, She was terrified, and wished that the jedi master saved her life. She took this moment to reach out to the government on her comm, " This is Vice Chancellor Lissiri, We have Sith attacking the Jedi Temple, I am their target, and currently just one Jedi master stands between me and two sith. " She knew that should bring some help for the Jedi, what was a few religous folks aganst the republic army right? She cringed as she had hurt her still healing shoulder more, She just hoped she would get out of here again, She now had second thoughts to visiting the Jedi temple.. save her arse.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Mikhail couldn't breath. Something held his throat in a massive grip, crushing down, constricting the blood vessels and cutting off his windpipe. Pale blue eyes widened in shock and terror. Futile fingers dropped the holdout pistol and scrabbled helplessly at his neck, trying to stop the attack. His vision began to blur. His capillaries screamed in agony. Desperation filled Mikhail. The same kind of desperation and fear a drowning victim gets after slipping under the surface; choking on water and clawing desperately for air. He felt his trachea beginning to give way. Mikhail watched helplessly as the Vice Chancellor was pulled inexorably into Master Wraith's arms. Suddenly, the pressure realized. Mikhail swayed on his feet, coughing and weezing as he slaked in air. It filled his lungs with sweet relief.

The sound of running feet alerted Mikhail as another individual entered the room: Val'ryss, fellow Sith. Blue-grey eyes turned from Val'ryss to glare at Darron. Hatred rose from them like steam from dry ice.

He let out a weak chuckle, his voice hoarse. "Look at you go! Good cop, bad cop all in one." Mikhail extended a hand and the blaster pistol snapped from the floor into his palm. "I'll skip the taunting and get right to the-" Without any emotion save a smile and a need for pointless vengeance, his finger depressed the trigger twice. The blaster barked. Two jets of plasma shrieked toward the fleeing Vice Chancellor's back. He knew the Jedi would probably jump to deflect them. But that was the point. Distraction and/or death.

Leaping forward with a snarl, Mikhail closed the distance swiftly and lashed out in a thrust aimed to take the Jedi Master in the shoulder. He followed up with a series of feints and jabs, crimson blade a blur, flowing smoothly through Makashi forms meant solely for the purpose of single combat. His movements were fluid, like a flowing forest river trickling through stones in its current.

 

[Darron Wraith]

The beauty of the Force was that two seconds of knowing what would happen before it did, that burning in your spine that hinted at possible danger. It was the gift of precognition, and it was beautiful when combine with experience. He hadn't even heard a word Mikhail had spoke, the Sith's face clearly taught with anger and rage, possibly embarrassment at how the situation had just changed? Blue eyes never even glanced towards the Vice-Chancellor, his senses perfectly keyed in on her movements as she shot towards the closet. Instead he was staring directly into the pale blue pair before him and admiring the color of them while simultaneously seeing his movements in his mind's eyes only a moment before they came to pass. Well not exactly see, the Jedi Master didn't even know what he was doing, he just did it. The Force always provided for those who opened themselves to it and allowed themselves to work through it, and it work through them. It was perfect harmony combined with skill and experience, and Mikhail got to see exactly what that looked like in the following seconds.

Muscles fired, as his will unconsciously wrapped around his lightsaber hilt. The trigger had yet to be pulled on the blaster, yet Darron was already spinning and launching his lightsaber blade on a path that would perfectly intersect with the incoming projectiles. After all a laser was light, and to beat it you had to get in the way before the assailant even put his thumb over the trigger. The Jedi Master heaved his hilt, all the while keeping his senses wrapped around it as it spun like a blur of energy, his will firmly planted on the activation switch. He made sure to account for the flight of his blade as the energy bolts connected with the bar of energy as he made sure to keep it flying straight even though it deflected the pair of shots. As the Jedi Master's shoulders turned back to the Sith, his blade immediately flew back to his hand, but the apprentice was already on him. That was when Darron truly came to his senses and he acted.

The penumbra of the darkside was terribly difficult to navigate, especially for a user of the lightside of the Force. Yet Darron had mastered it, it was why he was such a devastating warrior. All of Mikhail's aggression, and anger where being pulled into the superconducting loop that had been formed from Darron's own refusal to lose and the need to succeed. Inside he was a storm of power, and he was only drawing more intensity from the man charging at him with the crimson blade. The Jedi Master simply allowed all of his aggression in, and turned that darkness into a weapon of light. His face remained calm, never betraying the barely contained storm within his soul. Darron deftly sidestepped the stab at his shoulder, and as the boy fired Makashi's parries and feints, he simply would duck, twist and outmaneuver his opponent.

As his own hilt returned to his hand, another strike was aimed right at Darron's heart, and he simply kept one hand on his hilt and quickly knocked it back, every muscle in his body begging to counter-attack. Such was the nature of Vaapad, the staccato form, known for it's power and blinding speed was begging to be released. Yet, Darron was a Jedi Master, and a master of the form. The Vice-Chancellor was safe, and he was going to give the man before him one more chance to save his own skin before truly fighting back. His voice loud and deep, it carried through the massive hallway over the hums of the blades presently activated. "Mikhail, other unnamed Sith. Last chance, back away or I will end this."

Darron's tone remained even as he put both of his hands on Rolf's lightsaber hilt, getting into a Djem-So stance to throw off his assailants should they try to press him. He doubted they had ever seen Vaapad before as he was the only living Master of the form, but discretion was the better part of valor in this situation. Please boy, be smart and turn and run, his inner voice pleaded.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Tirdarius nodded acceptingly of the young woman's comments - she was certainly correct insofar as protecting the lives of her fellow Jedi were concerned, but truth be told, if he killed her, there was still every chance he might have to kill again in order to escape the Temple, and that would something he would have preferred to avoid. He wouldn't hesitate in killing again if he had to, but it was always a thing he found distasteful, the resort of beings lacking imagination or the ability to find an alternative. Yes, there had been those two, well, children back there, but had he taken the time to try and simply neutralise them without harming them, other Jedi might well have been alerted to his actions before he could deal with the Power Grid. And that would have been a failure. He couldn't abide that.

Alas, this one was proving stubbornly persistent. One of the others would have killed her for her insolence by now, and likely offered her a slow death. He had little doubt that others were dying within the Temple even now, eliminated by other members of the Strike Team, but that had always been a risk. But we always knew that might be the cost, he reflected. The Jedi weren't about to let us walk in here and simply complete our mission. Small wonder that the Sith had elected to cloak themselves in an illusion before walking through the doors.

At this point, though, he was starting to find his patience fraying a little. She won't kill me, won't stand aside, won't relent. She was perhaps more like a Sith than she knew, but had he said as much, she would certainly be quick to deny it. No surprises there, though. All the same, it was a pity that the Jedi had gotten to her first, and this was neither the time nor the place to take opportunity to attempt to reverse their conditioning on another of their people, as he had done once or twice in the past. Perhaps that opportunity will arise another time, though. The Force is always full of surprises.

"The only way to answer for my crimes is to submit to the judgement of the Jedi, and I long ago stopped believing that to be infallible, girl," the Sith Lord said softly, his voice having dropped a notch and become barely more than a whisper, likely only just about audible to her. "Death is merely part of a cycle, a step on a journey that all must take. I regret sending your friends on theirs earlier than they might have otherwise, but they fell doing their duty. Among the Jedi, there are few ways more honourable," Tirdarius noted, remembering well the times when the Jedi would gather to remember one of their brethren that had died doing their duty. I can only hope those two are honoured as they deserved.

He waved a hand back towards where those two bodies lay, just outside the smouldering remains of the Generator Room, their still corpses utterly silent in death, testament to his resolve and the ruthlessness that was oft-required of a Sith. "You would do better to see to your comrades, and take care of their remains. Simply adding your own death to theirs is hardly honourable, is it?", he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've no wish to cause further bloodshed, but the more you test my limits, the more inevitable that outcome seems." He shrugged slightly, as if to say he would accept that reality if necessary. "You have better things to do than be an irritant to a Sith Lord, though, don't you think?"