Private Ancient Cults And Ruins

[Iris Arani]

Sulfiric oceans. Ancient ruins and rubble. What could be better to explore? It'd been in passing that Iris picked up on a lead deep below Malif Cove. According to the archives, the Sith had used it as some kind of base, blown sky high when they were found by the Jedi of the Republic. Before her time, but that wasn't what she caught wind of. The Seyugi Dervish. An ancient force cult of assassins long lost to time. Apparently one had woken up and was killed trying to do something.

No one knew what exactly, and apparently it was forgotten. But the Malif cult hadn't faded. Their activity seemed to pick up in the far reaches of the Holonet. The 'Awakening' or such. Whatever it was, the one who awoke had proven to be pretty deadly by all accounts. And if there were more, and this cult group was planning to bring them back, that couldn't be allowed. A mission fitting of a Shadow, though she didn't expect to find her way through the ruins herself.

"How long do you think you'd have to live here to get used to the smell?"

She glanced towards Starlin Rand , giving a brief smile. A joke, or at least her attempt at one. She'd of asked Miri to come along, if only to try and keep building the bridge that was there from the last tomb dive, but the girl needed time to heal. Should focus on that, anyway.

And an active cult probably wasn't the place to bring a Padawan.

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin placed an enormous cigar in his mouth and lit it up. Miri Nimdok waved the resulting cloud of smoke out of her face irritably. “Look, if you’re going to indulge in a lethal habit like smoking, can’t you at least do it in a classy way?” she asked, pinching her nose.

“What, like with a cigarette holder or something?” Starlin laughed. “This is the longest, fattest cigar I could find, little lady. I call that pretty damn classy.”

Despite Iris’ attempts at letting the Padawan rest, Starlin had invited Miri along. The young woman had of course agreed—she never could resist anything to do with archaeology—making the partnership of two into a party of three. Starlin was also excited about the mission. He’d never heard of the Dervishes, and while he knew next to nothing about them, he was eager to learn more.

"How long do you think you'd have to live here to get used to the smell?"

“I don’t see how you could ever get used to living on a planet where everything smells like rotten eggs. Just move.” Starlin removed the cigar from his mouth and savored the fragrant smoke. It helped to mask the stench of sulfur, though not by much. “Speaking of which, shall we go?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris stared blankly. Between the two. The Knight she invited, smoking a cigar.

And the Padawan he chose to bring along.

By the colors alone she could see why. The smugness from him was practically oozing. Fine. "Fine. But if she gets hurt after getting healed, I'll make sure you pay for it." Free health care or not, Starlin was going to be paying in some way for any injuries Miri might get with the whole assassin cult they were investigating. She gave a brief smile to Miri though. Brief. She was happy to see the woman.

Just not in danger like this. Getting married or not, she was still a Padawan.

"There's been rumors of the cult being here. Nothing concrete. I'm thinking they have some kind of entrance they dug out after the place blew sky high. So, where would ancient cults have secret entrances?"

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

"Fine. But if she gets hurt after getting healed, I'll make sure you pay for it."

"Girl, I will personally heal her myself," Starlin replied, resting a hand over his heart. "I am a man of many talents, and Force healing just so happens to be one of them."

Miri shrugged. "Oh, I'd say you're passable. Barely."

"Barely passable might still save your life."

Their affectionate sibling-like bickering was interrupted by Iris.

"Good question," Miri said, crossing her arms. "I have no idea." Ignoring Starlin's giggling, she continued, "Would it be possible for us to wait and see if one of these cultists shows up? They'd have to use the secret entrance to get in or out. Assuming there even is a secret entrance…"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"That's not exactly what I meant, but alright." Nope, she wasn't going to go down that rabbit hole. Not with Miri there also adding onto it. Iris just took a breath. Relax. Stop treating this so stressfully. Just some assassins. Ancient force cu- No, stop. Focus instead on the whole secret entrance idea. She glanced around, narrowing her eyes. Scanning through the colors. Could she even see the colors of people trained to be unseen?

She blinked as she saw someone poke their head out of the rubble. It was brief before they went back down.

Then a rifle.

Iris's blade snapped to life as she smacked aside a blaster bolt. Powerful. She winced as she just about lost grip on her blade, but at least there wasn't another coming. Her deflection sent that right back. "Look at that! Bet there's a secret tunnel there."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“What exactly do you mean, Miss Iris?” Miri asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

But the subject was abruptly dropped as someone with a rifle started shooting. Miri ducked into cover, while Starlin activated his lightsaber to deflect any shots that managed to get past Iris’ defenses. He quickly realized just how powerful the blasts were, however, and instead erected a Force barrier to protect them.

“Very convenient!” he replied, grinning. “Miri, come with me!”

Miri stepped out of cover, now wielding her two pistols, and followed close behind Starlin as he brought them closer to the rifleman’s position. Iris served as a distraction while they crept in, waiting for just the right moment…

Well, not really. Starlin simply plucked the shooter from their nest with the Force, kicked their gun away, and knocked them out with a blow to the back of the head with his cybernetic fist. Starlin operated quickly and efficiently, as much to prevent Miri from simply killing the enemy as to avoid dragging the confrontation out. He loved her dearly, but he also knew she was a bit trigger-happy.

“Now, who wants to go first?” he asked, nodding toward the revealed secret entrance.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Alright, maybe the cult wasn't as dangerous as she thought. The powerful blasters, yes. The people?

The one here seemed vastly untrained. Iris's frown deepened all over again as she joined the other two, paused just over the entrance. A hatch, leading down. "Me, I suppose."

Then started to climb her way down. It was a long, long way down. Minutes of rung after rung, descending deeper and deeper into the earth until finally, they reached the floor. Iris hopped down from the last couple of steps in silence, her eyes scanning around. No other guard, not yet anyway. Weird.

"Clear, for now."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Both Starlin and Miri promptly stepped aside to give Iris room, before Miri descended, followed by Starlin.

“Holy chit,” Starlin muttered, as the climb continued. “Is this the longest ladder in the galaxy? Miri, can you even see the bottom?”

“No,” Miri replied.

By the time they reached the end, Starlin was drenched in sweat. “Good,” he muttered, swiping soaked hair out of his eyes with his hand. “Just… just give me a few minutes to catch my breath…”

Miri appeared unaffected by the strenuous climb, but she did take the opportunity to sit down and rest while they waited for Starlin to recover.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris just raised a brow as she watched Starlin. It wasn't that bad of a climb, was it? .. Maybe it was. She was used to a lot of physical activity as of late. Shouldn't he be though? Wasn't this part of tomb diving or.. Whatever it was archeologists did?

"Sure. Breath. .. They don't have any guards here." That was.. Weird. Very weird. There was the one who shot, but why weren't there more?

"Something's off."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin cracked his back and drew upon the Force, restoring strength to his limbs. “Aw yeah, that’s the stuff…” he muttered.

“It is strange that there are no guards,” Miri said. “Perhaps they already know we are here, and are now about to spring a trap.”

“A trap?” Starlin shrugged. “My thought was an ambush.”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't see anyone close. Though I guess they might be able to hide themselves." Right, that was something she still needed to figure out for herself. How to hide in the Force. "I guess we just keep our guard up?"

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Yeah,” Starlin muttered, palming his lightsaber and shoto. “I guess…”

Miri followed Iris’ lead deeper into the structure, with Starlin trailing at the rear. Apart from the guard they had encountered outside, there seemed to be nobody around. It was very weird.

“Hey Iris,” Starlin began, tired of the silence. “Are you into music, by any chance? ‘Cause, you know, I’m part of a band. We call ourselves the Bright Knights.”

“What a silly name,” Miri muttered.

Starlin shushed her. “It wasn’t my idea, sister. Anyway, Iris, I was wondering if you’d like to come and see our show?”

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"What, like a date?"

Iris raised a brow, glancing back briefly towards Starlin, then back to try and figure out where this whole cult was or what in the world they were doing. Even opening the door to stare down the hallway. Empty. No, colors deeper in. Bright? .. They weren't hiding, and they didn't seem to notice there were a trio of Jedi here.

".. Why not. Zak wants me to learn some more music anyway."

Zak Dymo would be proud, right?

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

"What, like a date?"

Starlin blushed. "What? I mean, no. I wouldn't, uh, take a girl on a date to a concert where I'd be performing. I'd be too focused on the show and wouldn't be able to pay her any attention."

"Besides, he's taken a vow of celibacy," Miri added with a nod.

"No, I haven't," Starlin muttered through grit teeth. "But really. You're cute and all, but that wasn't what I was thinking. It's more just a fun little event where everyone can hang out and play some tunes."

Despite the misunderstanding, Iris readily agreed to come.

"Perhaps I will also sing," Miri remarked. "Provided you pay me well."

"I paid you in drinks last time. Now that was a night to remember..."

She shot him a mild glare, only for her eyebrows to rise as she heard something hit the ground ahead of them. The object rolled toward them, emitting a beeping sound.

"Grenade!"

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

"I don't play tunes."

Huh. He blushed. Iris watched him for a moment, more curious as to why. People were all like that, blushing over the idea of a date. It's not like she was asking him to do anything more or such. Something to figure out another time, though. The soft beep pulled her gaze down. Cause her eyes to widen. Her hand whipped around, throwing the grenade out the door as she quickly pulled it shut. Only for the door to be blow off it's hindges and send her flying back.

She hit the base of the ladder, wincing for a moment before opening her eyes. A blaster revved up. She didn't see this one in the colors. It wasn't like the colors she saw deeper in it was-

One of the frozen. One of the assassins.

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Iris' quick thinking saved them from being blown up, but the door she hid it behind was launched into the air, becoming a projectile. Starlin narrowly managed to grab Miri, pulling her into cover around the corner.

Iris wasn't so lucky. She was blasted back against the ladder in what looked like a painful impact. Starlin darted back out, deflecting a high-powered blaster bolt with his lightsaber.

"So that this problem I might rectify, Ashla, hide me from the Outer Eye…" Starlin growled out the words to the spell. Blue flames seemed to engulf his body, before he vanished from view both visually and in the Force.

And then he was off, plunging into the smoke and dust. A slash of his invisible blade deprived the shooter of his hand, and another sliced open his leg, driving the assassin to his knees.

Another assassin shot at Iris. Miri returned fire from her position of cover.

Starlin Rand​

 

[Iris Arani]

Pain dulled her head for a moment. Had to. Was Starlin praying? No, no wa- Oh he was gone. Iris squinted after where he seemed to just fade, not that she could think on it long. Another shot went her way, prompting her to reach up towards the railing she'd hit. Pulled herself up, out of the way of the shot. And winced. She'd definitely bruised something on impact. Not enough to stop her.

She swung from those very rungs, bringing her legs up to springboard off and towards the one who'd shot at her. Miri's shots were enough to keep them from focusing on Iris, especially with how fast she was moving. A flash of her saber brought them down.

"Seems they woke some up. Be on your guard, they could be anywhere."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin continued to terrorize the assassins, giving them a taste of their own medicine. He cut off the arms of one woman, and impaled a man in just the right spot to leave him incapacitated.

Miri was less careful. She shot indiscriminately, with her only aim being to neutralize the enemy. Whether they survived their injuries or not was none of her concern.

But she couldn’t sense it when one managed to come up behind her. An arm wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air, while another knocked one of her weapons from her grasp. One pistol clattered to the floor while she kicked and struggled, trying to bring her other gun around to shoot at her attacker. But they had her pinned in a chokehold.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

So there was actually a trap, she just couldn't see it.

Iris cursed under her breath for not noticing it sooner. She brought her blade through another of the hidden assailants. They were outright invisible, until they went to strike. Lethal intent always dyed the colors in a darkened shade. Just dark enough for her to notice. And another. Her gaze shifted to where Miri was struggling. She took off, rushing back towards her. Thrusting her blade out right beside her cheek and into the throat of her attacker.

He fell flat. Unconscious. She'd never use her lethal blade this close to her.

"You okay?"

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Miri fell on top of the assassin as he collapsed. She suffered a coughing fit, but otherwise appeared uninjured.

"Fine," she rasped, staggering to her feet. "We've got to get the rest of them!"

Starlin reappeared nearby, his form materializing amidst a gout of mystical blue flame. "I think that's the last of this round," he said, deactivating his blades. "These hallways are like a maze... Which way should we go?"

Iris Arani​