Private Acolytes of Korriban

[Naniti]

The Togruta dropped to a knee and her arms fell limb at her sides once the holocron, the shelf, and the dark spirit were eviscerated by Lysander's own lightning. Air was noisily sucked in and quickly expelled from Naniti as she knelt there. Slowly her chin lifted as her eyes started to focus. She hadn't even noticed the particulate that still fell to the floor from her partner's outburst.

"Yeah," a brief beat to breathe, "I see why that trap... is so effective... normally." Naniti could easily visualize someone getting struck by that caught unaware, and how painfully they might die from it. Even aware it was coming, she couldn't absorb or harmlessly redirect its currents. Wasn't even the strongest iteration of that trap either.

Which is why it'd been beyond stupid for Naniti to have interfered. She'd only a glimpse of what had been coming when she 'decided' to act. Not that there'd been any conscious thought behind her movement. There'd been no way to know if this was just designed to make someone suffer, die, or be turned into a pile of ash. Fortunately, not so strong she couldn't bear the brunt of it long enough for Lysander to... well, from what she could see, annihilate the source.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti
​

Lysander was keenly aware of how tense his muscles felt as the chaos around them began to settle, the adrenaline still pumping in his veins. His pulse remained elevated, equal to that of an anaerobic threshold from training. He was conscious of the intensity, how instinctive the eruption had just been.. and how it was triggered only under extreme pressure, which had nothing to do with his own safety. Controlled, sure, but on the edge.. nearly slipping away from his hold.

He wasn’t so sure it was guilt he was feeling. That word rang hollow here. But there was an undeniable pull for self-assessment, a way to account for what just happened.. and why. Of course, it wasn’t something he could do now. A quiet meditation when no one else was watching would surely be easier.

Even more pressing, was the thought of how he could have endangered her. He'd been a little reckless.. but this was different. Consequences were more than just marks on the body; they were on the mind too, and he already carried plenty of those.

A long breath was drawn through the hold, held, then released slowly. His emerald gaze fell upon Naniti while waiting for the adrenaline to ebb. To apologize or thank someone for help might automatically be seen as weakness in their shared dark path. And not only that, but he’d yet to fully understand whatever it was that lied between them.

Both hands unclenched. “We should still take the rest in. I’m sure there’s more than what already tried to kill us.” He let his awareness sweep to a far corner of the chamber before extending a single hand toward Naniti. “It would appear that.. I’ve already accumulated knowledge here.. more than I might have elsewhere. This place doesn’t allow ignorance for long.”

 

[Naniti]

Her fingers twitched at her sides, not that she could feel them. Wouldn't have even noticed if her blue eyes hadn't fallen down to look at one of them when it happened. Good, she thought. So they were just, hopefully, numb. Temporarily. She just needed to draw in the Force, channel it through her body, and allow everything to recover from a massive shock by some long dead Sith Lord's booby trap.

Slowly her fingers started moving as she focused on drawing in deep breaths. Their movement was coming back pretty quickly; soon they'd curled up into fists. Sensation was still lagging behind, but long as her limbs could move there was cause for hope.

Still a damn foolish thing for her to have done. A quick glance up at Lysander checked to see if the man thought the same. Others might have. Stepping in to potentially 'take one for the team' wasn't a part of Sith education. There were no special medals or accolades for it. In fact, her Master would have chewed her up one side and down the other if they found out. Thankfully, while Lysander's body language was a bit stiff, he didn't seem to be scowling or shaking his head as if pitying her.

A soft grunt followed Lysander's call to action. "We didn't come all this way to stop at a little pain," she agreed. Lot of pain. Fire. Lightning. Still a few elemental traps left, not to mention all the more 'creative' types.

Her grasp of his hand wasn't up to her usual strength, and it still felt more like a memory than actual physical contact, but Naniti didn't protest at his offer. That too was... out of norm, but in the moment she didn't mind the gesture. Legs were fine though. Even her ability to breathe had gotten stronger -- just a little of the stray zaps from a surge she couldn't quite manage in its entirety.

"First hand experience. Nothing quite like it. Do we know where we're headed next?" There was a brief pause and then Naniti added for levity's sake, "Think I should try grabbing that saber?" Yeah, probably not.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti
​

Lysander nodded only once at her words. Pain was one word for it, definitely; but even in his own mind.. the definition was thin. After two years in the Outer Rim, you’d think exposure would build up some kind of tolerance.. or shell. An ability to tune it out. But that wasn’t the case. The Nexus pressed in like something that knew exactly where to make him fold. Like it recognized him in ways he didn’t wish to be seen. Korriban had always been generous like that.

He didn’t realize he took Naniti’s hand until he felt her palm register. One moment his fingers were flexing, the next they were laced with hers. Maybe his body made the decision without informing the rest of him. He wasn’t even sure why he did it.. instinct, maybe. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t even awkward. In fact.. it was great. Not like they were going to walk hand-in-hand through the entire Gate of Graush anyway, right?

The silhouette of the saber in the far corner drew his gaze.. the one he’d eyed earlier. Could be a promise or temptation depending on the angle! Even the Nexus bent around it.. whispering its own interest.

“Yeah, actually.. I do.”

When his tone shifted, one of those truths that slipped out was dressed as something lighter. A familiar pattern. He wondered if Naniti would recognize it. “The odds of someone grabbing it before we leave seem pretty slim. I’ll snag it for you on the way out.. even if it’s while we’re running straight for the exit.”

She asked where the path might lead, and he answered only with his steps. He kept her hand in his, because the thought of letting go just never arrived. The Nexus gnawed at the edges of his focus again. The contact kept it from getting too deep. or.. maybe that was just wishful thinking wearing the shape of practicality. Hard to tell in here. Hard to tell in many places lately.

The next door loomed ahead of them.. older than the one they’d passed earlier. The smell hit first. Old rot. Rot that had sunk so deep into the stone it couldn’t be scrubbed out. Something metallic beneath it too. That meant blood. And beneath that, something chemical like? Refusal of the dead to stay dead.

The chamber beyond opened wider than expected. Cages lined the walls. Some were still intact.. others twisted. Shapes shifted within. Too many joints where there shouldn’t be joints. Too many eyes too. Not enough faces?

“I think this is going to get worse before it gets better.” He always did love pointing out the obvious.

The creatures didn’t hesitate. Not long after crossing the threshold, they came at them, bodies jerking with sharp and unnatural speed. One of them lunged straight for him, claws scraping across the floor. Lysander’s saber was in his hand before he thought about it. The red blade snapped to life with a harsh hiss, and he cut through the first in a single strike. It fell in two uneven pieces at his feet as charred flesh wafted through the air.

More were pushing in.

 

[Naniti]

Naniti looked over at Lysander with widened eyes. Did he really think they should...? She'd fully expected him to agree it was a good joke, but not to tempt fate. No risk, no reward though? Alright. After the feeling in her arms returned, maybe. Which was about as much as Lysander himself thought as he spoke about them grabbing it on the way out. Not a wise idea, but if they had the power to do so why not? "Do you really think anyone is following us in here?" Was this Nexus a 'popular' place people visited? Didn't plenty of visitors go insane for their trouble?

As for their hands being entwined, the Togruta hadn't he looked down at them. She could steadily begin to feel the way he held her hand, but even then she didn't think about telling him to let go. No particular reason one way or the other, right? Wasn't a big deal to hold hands. Though it was a new experience to feel it this way. It might even be nice.

A grimace flashed across the Togruta's features before she tried to squash the reaction. Mold? Mildew? No, something fouler. This was the sort of thing she'd expected to find in an abandoned tomb focused on the undead. A truly noxious presence that made her want to be elsewhere.

Lysander struggled with the way the Nexus tried to crawl into his thoughts. Naniti felt the pressure as well, but it was only going to piss her off; its little whispers were nothing she hadn't already lived through or thought before. Some of them -- most of them -- things she'd put behind her in embracing the dark side. It did try to find a chink in her armor there in questioning if she were a monster. To that, she had no answer, but compared to before she'd been trained? Yeah, no, being here, now, was where she belonged.

Another unbidden reaction followed as her lips peeled back for a second. It wasn't the cages. It was the shapes in them, and that they weren't all contained. What manner of foul Sithspawn were these? Failed experiments? Amusements? Perhaps she could force the Nexus to answer through her, but she wouldn't remember it afterward.

"Sounds about right," she replied with a sharp nod.

Her saber spun out at her side as it ignited. Naniti stepped wide to the side of a slash to dismember the outstretched appendage. Her blade rose and fell again as if to decapitate it, but there wasn't any singular head. Deep wounds, but not enough to fell it. She spun to evade another creature where she hacked two limbs off. "Force abilities?" she called out curious if Lysander agreed. It seemed like they'd be there for hours hacking at these creatures; and they were at a numerical disadvantage as well.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti
​

Lysander pivoted hard as another of the creatures lurched forward, joints cracking in directions that made even the Nexus seem merciful. The crimson blade carved a downward arc, slicing through limbs that defied anything he believed himself to know about anatomy. Not dead.. could these things even die? Ok.. disabled enough to stagger back apparently.

Naniti’s question hit him between breaths. Lysander thrived in melee; that was where his control felt absolute.. which was why he rarely leaned on the Force unless he had to. But now? The chamber was closing in on them, turning into a cage with every form spilling out of the shadows. Stepping back several paces, boots skidded over the stone as the first creature he’d cut through twisted unnaturally.. the body birthing another grotesque angle of limbs reforming into something.

From a blind spot, something slammed into his side hard enough to knock a breath out of him, and he knew instantly it wasn’t the Togruta. The weight was wrong. And Bogan help him.. it totally did not smell like her! Not even close. The Nexus was pressing harder, carving at the edges of his concentration. Every thread he’d tied down over the years.. discipline, patience, that calm.. felt like they were being tugged loose one by one.

History suggested that every time someone or something put pressure on Lysander, they never liked what spilled out, and this was starting to feel close to one of those moments.

“Force it is!” The words came out rough but they were still a signal to agreement.

The curved hilt felt perfect in his grasp though. Force abilities were useful, but the blade promised clarity when nothing else did. So, Lysander's brain gravitated to that simplicity like it was oxygen.

He turned just in time to see one of the creatures reaching for Naniti, its long limbs stretching toward her with a hunger that felt intentional, as if the Nexus had singled her out. Pressure rose from the marrow of him and coiled upward into his chest in a surge of rage. There was no warning.. only a violent truth erupting through him. Before the thing could close the distance, he leapt. All else around him blurred as his blade cut clean through the creature mid-air, bisecting it..

​

 

[Naniti]

Naniti had taken to circular kicking and hopping away from limbs as her saber sliced through offending, grotesque appendages one after another. There were so many of them all she could do was to keep moving so they were as uncertain where she would be as she was.

When Lysander agreed to more overt uses of the Force, the violet woman started with something relatively minor, but flashy in its own right. The saber left her hand, but instead of being flung out into the wider room leaving her unarmed even for a moment, it hovered by her side. Echo location might not paint in colors, but the Togruta didn't need color; just knowing where the montrosities were was enough for her hands, feet, and spinning severing blade to strike back.

But as much as she felt they had managed to keep up at the start, Naniti couldn't help but notice the monsters kept coming. Even a Sith Lord had to run out eventually, right? There wasn't time to take count how many were left, however, as she continued to dodge, deflect, and dismember.

As her foot touched the ground, her blue eyes swung upward at the presence of something... bigger. A single second passed as she registered a truly thick blob of flesh with its Kashyyyk tree-like limb. The lightsaber snapped back into her hand in time for her to spin away from the thunderous trunk. Even through the weightless blade she could feel the saber twist in her hand; her other hand joined in as she forced it upward as the limb crashed down upon it. The blade sailed upward in an arc and the breath held in her lungs burst forth. It had felt like cutting through a blast door.

The mass had taken so much effort and was such a distraction, Naniti hadn't felt the longer tendril coming. She started to turn when Lysander shot forward. Naniti complete the turn with her right foot stepping back at the ferocity of his swing down at the creature nearby. He'd managed to cut it down the center, which was... impressive. These things didn't die easily and that would have taken... Well she didn't know what. A mountain's worth.

"Sithspit." As the saber retracted, Naniti threw out both hands to either side. Lips pressed together, her hips twisted slightly and then twisted back just as suddenly. A jerk that caused a wave of the Force to spiral around them in the crowd. Not a linear Force Push, but nearly fluid as it crashed in upon itself and over the odious creatures that plagued them.

"Let's end their misery," she cried. They needed to end it and soon; this chamber and everything before it really was designed to sap them of energy. Which made her wonder what lie ahead, or maybe this was just designed to weed out those not up to a dead Lord's standard.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

A tremor across the stone, felt in his sternum.. Naniti’s wave unleashed and hurled the Sithspawn backward. Limbs flailing, bodies slamming against cages. For a heartbeat, maybe two, the trajectory stopped dead. Bought time… barely, but time all the same.

Rage wasn’t something Lysander reached for; it reached for him.. always. And here, surrounded by things that wanted to consume them, it found a perfect opening. Falling into the flow state meant the body was moving faster than his thoughts. His saber lifted in a smooth arc, red light curving like a hunter’s crescent. Another creature lunged too fast, so he stepped inside its line, pivoting on the ball of his foot while cutting across the midsection. The heat of the strike pressed across his cheek.

Then another came for him, so he slid in low, a violent hiss carving diagonally. They were piling at their feet now, twitching in their refusal to die. Something about the patterns suggested they were still hungry.. not done. Not even close.

The Dark was pressing at the edges of his sight as he heard Naniti's cry. By the time he looked forward again, a weight slammed into him from the left. Claws hooked under his tunic, tearing through the side and dragging him down with strength that was unnatural. The rot hit his senses immediately. Teeth clenched, his left arm snapped upward, punching his blade sideways into the creature’s neck to sear through cartilage and whatever malformed anatomy resided in there. The thing shrieked and reeled, throat glowing red.

Another opening would not be wasted. Lifting a hand, palm forward, like he was ready to grasp a throat, he felt the dark coil. That menacing pressure had nowhere else to go, so it just waited for Lysander to give it shape. Something ugly and honest hit him then.. he’d spent so much time perfecting form and bladework, timing, everything except raw Force that would have made this easier. Dueling was discipline. And this… this was survival.
The Dark roared as a Force Blast detonated outward on will alone. The first creature was obliterated. Another had a limb or two blown off from the radius of the blast. Lysander exhaled, his voice feral. “Keep pushing!”

The chamber wasn’t emptying fast enough.

 

[Naniti]

Pushing? Naniti dodged another monstrosity's limb as the roar danced in the mindscape of the Acolyte. It hadn't even struck her that Lysander sounded angry, or enraged. They were Sith, not Jedi. Rage was completely normal. It was expected. Maybe not by those that knew him his whole life, but from someone trained since day one what it meant to harness the Dark Side? Naniti wasn't scared because he was laying in to his enemies.

Though she was a bit concerned about these things.

She reached out with her hands and the Force responded. Several cages bent and twisted, broke and snapped outward. One of the malformed beasts knocked a leg out from under her, which caused Naniti to drop to the floor. Doing everything at once was exhausting, and their circumstances would push anyone to their limit.

However, just because this was a good trial and just because they were an army of monsters did not mean the Togruta was going to lay there and accept death. A wave of the Force moved through the room designed to shove the creatures back toward their alcoves of depravity -- toward the broken, bent, and shattered ruins. To skewer themselves in part of whole. To suffer indignities to which they were well accustomed in their cages.

Naniti got back up to her feet, ready to pound them again if need be with her teeth clenched and heart pounding. To crush them against the walls of the twisted labyrinth in which they found themselves.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti​

A chorus of straight up wrongness surrounded them. Lysander’’s breath caught, and an instinctive flare surged through him. Hot and univited. That would be a mistake. For another second, his view narrowed to the image of Naniti on the ground, as those things that didn’t deserve to exist kept pressing in. Giving into panic would’ve been a gift to a place like this and wouldn't save her. So, he forced himself to see properly. Fortunately, she recovered quickly.

Another abomination surfaced through, claws raking forth as he met it head on. Instead of cutting through, he cut down, severing what passed for a spine and then kicked the mass aside.

When Naniti flung them back into the cages, he noticed a shift. The Nexus didn’t like what was happening, groaning in response to the wave. Instead of slaughtering everything in the chamber.. maybe it was meant for containment? From what he gathered, they weren’t hungry there.. just protesting. Maybe they were the leftovers.. waiting for some foolish Sith seeking trophies?

Well, that sat fine with him. Maybe survival was about putting things back exactly where they'd been locked for a reason.

A look was shot to the Togruta. “Keep herding them. I think the Nexus likes its monsters where they belong.” Absurd, maybe.. but the stone groaned again. So did Lysander, blade flashing as he pressed the flank harder to force the horrors away from their space and buy her time.

 

[Tatiana Sah]

wrong account

 

[Naniti]

The Togruta turned her head aside to stare at Lysander. Hands out before her, her full body leaned forward into the assault. Keep herding them? Just push the boulder a little further up the hill was it? Well, Sithspit, what else was she going to do? Surrender? Flee? Not a chance. Not when Lysander was there. She had her pride.

It was too soon for her to let them have it. By this point Naniti hadn't confessed to having a deep seated rage carefully bottled away waiting for an excuse. Popping that top probably would have made quick work of this mess, but probably best not to do it inside a Nexus trying to eat away at her mind as things were.

Her arms sagged as the Force let up. Then they lifted to pull on the beasts already set in her direction one more after the pressure on them let up; and immediately turned back the other way again. A Force means of using their inertia against themselves. Weaken their resistance to being flung back. Naniti clenched her teeth and growled under the strain. Her foot took a slow, but firm step forward. Their effort to push back could be felt through the invisible limbs between them, but none of that mattered. They needed to keep the difficult to kill monsters at bay and if those cages prove useful then so be it.

"Do I need to lock their door too?" she snarled between breaths. Normally her gaze was awash in images, but in that moment it was beginning to turn red. Or perhaps it was merely dimming from the pressure of forcing so many inhuman beasts back.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti
​

The shrieks never quite lost their wild edge.. but at least they weren’t spilling from every direction at once. Or so it appeared. That ugly resonance in the air led him to believe the Nexus was resisting.. but wasn’t thrashing? Not that either was desirable, but enough he could detect even a tiny shift.

Nanit’s words reached him, but he didn’t answer immediately. Another mass lunged from the left, so he met it head-on, blade angling across. Momentum finished the work. He didn’t even have to step from his position, just gave a pivot here and there, trying to make sure they were covered from all angles.

Sweat finally broke across his skin then; first it was at his temples.. then sliding along the line of his jaw. Both forearms were burning, causing him to adjust his grip. Mentally, he was unaffected.. just something to register, a weakness in the body. But experience told him to tuck in the elbows when allowed, a modest effort to conserve what strength remained.

"By all means, leave the doors open. Clearly, that strategy's worked wonders so far."

Survival here was weird.. strange to think it meant respecting why Sithspawn had been put there in the first place.

More bodies split under the blades.

Only then did he steal a glance toward Nanit; sweat was stinging his eyes, vision blurring. "Any time you're ready, Naniti!" The edge in his voice sharper than intended.

Still, the creatures were few in the space.. strange how the chamber could still feel so heavy. Sweat dripped freely, soaking into the fabric of his tunic.The Nexus wasn’t clawing blindly at his thoughts.. but it felt like it were watching. Lysander knew they were close to victory. And if that was a lie, then it was one he'd keep repeating.. because betting against yourself had never kept anyone alive.

 

[Naniti]

Endure an endless flood of monsters. Monsters that seemingly couldn't die or took almost all your effort to kill merely one of them. Coral all of them and shove them back into their cells. Don't forget to lock the door. Naniti found the entire chamber infuriating and Lysander's snippiness was not helping! How was this a trial fit for an Acolyte? If it weren't for Lysander being over leveled as a 'mere' Acolyte, and her cheat code -- which wasn't endless as she neared exhaustion! nor was it terribly helpful in a flood situation -- she might have been a smear on the floor by now.

"Any time I'm ready? I don't remember waiting," she snapped as the pressure continued to build. The cages began to visibly rattle and shake where they stood while the monsters thrashed inside them. The room was practically awash in the Force as it ground into the horrors all around them. On the edge of collapse, the Togruta reached out for the darkness there -- for the anger of the moment, and even a piece of the resentment and anger within. Under the strain, vision faded, it was safe to use, she told herself. It was necessary. Anything to fuel the crushing pressure used to hold the monsters at bay.

Then Naniti let out a shout, slid her back foot forward inline with her other foot, and snapped her clenched fists down to her sides. There should have been an audible pop with the way the pressure simply ceased to exist. Cages bent and contorted to fasten their doors shut in a single moment.

One gasping breath. Two gasping breath. Three... Naniti drew in a deep breath before her foot stomped forward. Her lips peeled back as she channeled power into the floor of the chamber in an effort to split it down the center. Only then did she feel remotely satisfied and could let go of the anger that whispered softly for her to hold on to like a live wire and ride out the current.

"What now?" The words were clear, but the weight of recent events could be heard in her voice.

Lysander von Ascania

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Naniti​

The chamber stopped feeling like a room a while ago. Lysander’s shoulders burned from the exertion. Sweat gathered at the small of his back and along his collarbone, pooling beneath the tunic.

Naniti's words cut sharper than the creatures did. Well, he hadn't been cut by one, but he assumed it was close... just pressure being vented sideways. His jaw set. Just a means of trying to correct himself. The last thing this place needed was a fracture between them.

He didn't answer her.. he couldn't. Words felt heavy.

Another grotesque shape, another lunge. Badly timed. This time he didn't even break the eye line from the space ahead. Stepping into it, the blade flashed up in a tight arc. Heat washed over his arm as the thing fell apart in pieces that refused to stay still.

Anger threaded through the air in a way he’d come to recognize easily. The same way Nightstar recognized a whetstone. The Dark was answering his violet partner. What he hadn’t expected was what began pressing into his own chest, then the spine. Not his rage.. hers. An unfamiliar sensation it was, and Lysander’s teeth grinded together from the pressure. A temptation to lean harder into his own anger quickly arrived, a dangerous door that he forced to stay locked.

One second the chamber was fighting them, the next it recoiled. Lysander caught it out of the corner of his eye.. the way it all happened at once. His head turned enough from a side glance, cutting to Naniti as the last of the monsters slammed home.

The saber was humming against the awkward silence; again, he didn’t answer right away. His shoulders were just rising and falling as he pulled air back into his lungs.. the hard way. Deep pulls through the nose, and even slower ones through his teeth. Each one scraped. Sweat slipped from his hairline and along his temple. At least they were still here..

His attention darted from one corner to the next as though he believed the Nexus was preparing the next lesson.

Finally, it rested on her.

There was really only one direction left.. forward.

“Right now? I say we stand here long enough for our bodies to remember they’re still ours.”

Probably sounded absurd..

“The Nexus feeds on panic. Let’s not give it free meals.”

Something about this moment conjured memories of hand to hand combat. The ring lights. The moment between rounds when the bell had just rung and everything hurt, but not enough to stop you. Just one minute where you got to kick back, suck in air, wipe sweat from your eyes, and let conditioning do what panic could not. This chamber was one more brutal round down.. they just needed a quick window to recover.

His conditioning was good. Better than good. Naniti had put in the same hours; he figured she matched him.

Slowly, muscles began answering, and focus returned.

"I've had worse warm-ups," he quipped, surely another sign of recovery. "Adrenaline's a terrible liar. Breath is..it's actually pretty honest. When you're ready, we move."