By the light of the stars [OPEN]

[Alin Proko]

The twinkle of the stars took Alin's attention away from the barren wastes of Tatooine, he had always enjoyed the seas of Dac, the planet where his species came from. When his father had had time off work, his parents would take him the see his aunts and uncles. Even though the night was not young, Alin could feel the twin Suns, stuck in the sand swirling around the cliff top he stood upon. Down below his own position was a large camp, with fortifications on either side of the canyon. A way in, but no way out. Alin couldn't risk his cover with light, so he would have to find his way down into the Tusken Raider settlement by the light of the stars.

 

[Jorin]

It had been a long time since he'd been here, he'd been younger, less wise, but Typhus' mission remained the same; kill the fething Sith. He'd been tracking this one for some time, albeit from a distance. A brown ragged robe was draped over the GUNGNIR MKIII armor, which had it's fair share of dents and burn marks. Across his chest were two blaster pistols, around his waist were force breaker grenades, on his left shoulder a vibroknife, each wrist had a vibroknuckler and the left forearm had a shock cord. He was a bonafide Sith hunter, plain and simple. So much better than a damn desk job.

Typhus reckoned [member="Alin Proko"] was bound for a tusken camp, it was the only thing for miles out in the dune sea. The Sith didn't seem to be as much a monster as the last one he'd tracked on Tatooine, then again most One Sith were a step or two down from child-murdering cannibals like Shinju, but he wouldn't put the slaughter of a tusken village past the man. As Alin continued to move, Typhus rose from the sand and moved silently after him, but keeping a fair distance between them.

 

[Alin Proko]

As Alin made his way down into canyon by repelling lower and lower, he saw a man crouching near him, as if tracking him, out the corner of his eye. He dropped off the rope and fell on to his back in the sand. He slapped his right hand down to his lightsaber, unclipped it from his belt and dove towards a hide barrier only he edge of the camp. The man would soon meet Alin's blade, just as Bailis had.

 

[Jorin]

The dips in his helmet for eyes began to shine red as thermal vision activated, he hadn't lost sight, no far from it. One hand drew a blaster and the other drew one of the anti-force user grenades and thumbed the switch to arm it and hurled it right towards where [member="Alin Proko"] had descended. The Sith would have to move, if he tried to redirect the grenade in any way shape or form with the force it would detonate and spell his end. Quickly utilizing his second to further steady his pistol he continued moving towards where the Sith had run. Keeping his eyes on motion sensors, Typhus kept his wits about him, he knew better than to get cocky when facing Sith, he'd lost too many men like that, good men. This was for them.

 

[Alin Proko]

The hide barriers were set up all around the camp, with small gaps a few feet apart. Alin used the force to lift a sharp wooden stake out of the sand and launched it toward @Typhus. He ran around he canvas and into the camp to escape is persuer. The Sand People would be on them soon enough, so if one of them was caught, he hoped it wouldn't be him. He forced around some hide walls on tents to wake the savages. A good diversion was the best offense and defense. Alin would have to risk his life if he wanted to return in one piece to Darth Eron. Even though the Sullustan was old and trailed by the dark side, he could snap Alin in half with a flick of his wrist. He remember the words of his master, 'You will be the one to kill me, for it is tradition!' The old coot gave Alin the chills. Snapping back into focus, he turned to see he had made it all the way across the camp to the other wall of rock. He yelled at the top of his lungs "Come get me and you'll be Bantus fodder! THe Sand People don't like trespassers!"

 

[Ibby]

[member="Alin Proko"] [member="Typhus"]

Ah, Tatooine. Tipau loved the sand, the warmth, the barbecued womp rats... and the soon-to-be barbecued Raiders.

As of late, the Ruferalahuin had been spending more time on Tatooine than she had before, and a curiosity as to how the Tuskens tasted had begun to gnaw at her. So, frolicking in the sand, she managed to track a camp into the desert and was now hiding on top of the canyon. Of course, when she attacked she was only going to go for one that seemed elderly; she wasn't a monster. Just hungry.

Noise from across her caught Tipau's attention, and she looked up. However, her night vision wasn't that great, and as such she simply shrugged it off. Now, for a real meal...

Stalking closer, her boots actually on her feet this time, Tipau peeked over the edge and picked out her target -- an elderly-looking Tusken who was doing a lot of grunting.

More shouting commenced from the other side, riling up the tribe, so if Tipau wanted a meal she knew she had to act fast.

With a high-pitched screech, the Ruferalahuin leapt off the cliff and slid down the side, using one hand to steady herself while throwing fire balls with the other. Let's make this fast!

 

[Jorin]

Ducking without a noise he went under the flying stake. As the tuskens became rowdy, the cloaked figure seeming disappeared the whirling sand. In actuality he was simply flanking with the sand providing convenient cover. As he neared [member="Alin Proko"] his thermals reactivated red eyes lighting up as cobalt blue bolts surged towards the Sith. The chaos around them didn't distract Typhus, it was war, and one had to keep one eye on the ball and one on their six in war. He'd long since grown accustomed to that.

As a tusken came towards him he swiftly elbowed it in the face, dropping it onto it's back and putting a bolt between it's eyes. It was a momentary distraction, but it would give Alin time to move away from his hunter, or strike at Typhus, though running would be the wiser option. The cries of the fire slinging [member="Tipau"] reached his ears, but simply blended with the chaotic cries of war, his mind was set on Alin's death.

 

[Alin Proko]

Alin squeezed the pressure grip on his lightsaber and as fast as he could flicked the blade lock, then flipped on to a boulder so he could see the action better. It was him, a savage, a soldier and a whole tribe of barbarians. Nothing would save him now except for his lightsaber and his young mind. He would show the others that young man with an octopus head could get off this rock.

 

[Jorin]

Typhus didn't pause, he couldn't afford to stop moving. Keeping up the pace, his view snapped left and squeezed the trigger twice, placing two blaster bolts into the chest of a charging tusken, dropping it instantly. The cloaked figure continued through the camp, he wasn't here to deal with tuskens, local forces and those with possibly defective minds such as [member="Tipau"] could deal with that scourge. The acolyte [member="Alin Proko"] was his one and only target.

The Sith had made the smart move and ran, but the Sith hunter hadn't lost sight. Squeezing the trigger three times in quick succession he again was distracted, a gafi bound for his head forcing him to duck under the strike. His hand shot up and grabbed a section of the staff and jerked it and it's wielder forward.

The tusken who'd gone for the strike's throat made contact with Typhus' fist, and the extended vibroknuckler. The barbarian collapsed and began to heave and emit guttural cries of pain, all of which were ignored by the commando, who primed and hurled another grenade in Alin's direction.

 

[Alin Proko]

Alin slashed his lightsaber out in front of him to block the three bolts of blaster fire that were flying towards him. He jumped off of his perch and sliced the arm off of a Tusken, grabbing its rifle before it hit the ground. Alin swung the gun up and shot as many times as he could before another Tusken tried to knock his head off with a gaffi stick. He ducked under the weapon and kick the raider in the leg to bring him down. He would show [member="Typhus"] and [member="Tipau"] just how powerful this acolyte was. Picking up the still glowing lightsaber from the sand sent a feeling of power dashing through Alin's body. He was ready. He used the force once more to throw a large male Tusken through a tent and then small, sharp rock towards [member="Tipau"], he knew the soldier was his predator, so he would act the prey, just until his hunter was close enough to taste his shimmering crimson blade.

 

[Ibby]

[member="Alin Proko"] [member="Typhus"]

Tipau was growing frustrated.

As she had come down the canyon, the source -- or sources, as it turned out -- of the noises had thrown the camp into a bona fide panic, causing Tipau to lose sight of her prey. So, instead of chowing down, she had to avoid killing and being killed by the other Tusken Raiders.

Then, the two folks fighting -- one a dark sider, the other some guy out to kill him -- began downright slaughtering the innocents, further earning her ire.

Tipau killed and ate sentients. That was who she was and what she did. However, she did it because nine times out of ten, she had to. If one were to look at her list of kills, they would notice an obvious pattern: they were all Force Users. The reason being, if she didn't eat them she'd die. Simple as that.

But Tipau didn't kill any more than she needed to, and that was what distinguished her from being a monster. She was not a bad person; she just had very exotic tastes.

But these folks? Nah. They were annoying. But who to kill?

The dark sider decided that when he threw a sharp kriffin' knife at her for no apparent reason. With a cry, Tipau withdrew her hunting knife and ducked, the rock grazing across her cheek and leaving a thin red line. "Oh, come on!" she cried. The Ruferalahuin touched her cheek and decided it wasn't that bad, not really.

Hurling a fire ball at the Force User, she bounded over to the other man. Maybe if she convinced him she was on his side, they could work together in bringing down their enemy. And maybe, if she asked nicely, he'd let her keep the heart.

 

[Alin Proko]

Alin looked around just in time to see a flaming ball flying towards him. He ducked under it and jumped back up and noticed [member="Tipau"] running for the soldier. She was there to kill one of them, and Alin knew it was him. If Miik, his best friend and drall scientest, brought the darn ship to help him, this would be easier. His target was not one of the savages or one of his attackers, but a Tusken idol, a tool of heavenly worship for the Sand People. His master at told him it would be with the shaman. Alin wasn't as bad as the other acolytes, he didn't want to kill the weak or innocent, he wanted to please his master.

At the thought of this weakness and selflessness, he recited the first line of the sith code under his breath, "Peace is a lie, there is only passion," this calmed him. He darted towards the shaman's tent without a care in the world except his mission. Once the idol was in his hands, he would go after [member="Tipau"] and @Typhus. For now though, his mission wopuld carry on.

 

[Jorin]

A sideways glance was all he gave [member="Tipau"], they way she was coming towards didn't suggest aggression, so he didn't treat her as an aggressor. A hand shot into the cloak and tossed another grenade into the tent of the shaman, it would detonate in a fiery explosion, tearing the tent apart and any inside who weren't prepared. For good measure he drew a second blaster and unleashed a barrage onto what was now the flaming remnants of a tent.

The Sith hadn't wronged him personally, but he'd wronged the galaxy by taking up the Sith code, and that was plenty for Typhus. Years he'd fought them and worse, years he'd won and lost in the ranks of an army never given the chance to do real damage with the exception of the crushing of the Sith Empire, and that of course had lead to [member="Alin Proko"]'s ilk coming to power. They'd never had the chance.

But now he did.

 

[Ibby]

[member="Typhus"] [member="Alin Proko"]

Good, he's not shooting at me. That's a plus.

Tipau skidded to a stop beside the man, whom she assumed was some sort of mercenary. She'd also seen the Force User dart into the tent, and joined the merc's barrage with some small fire missiles of her own.

Over the ruckus, the Ruferalahuin shouted, "Hey, I'm Tipau by the way! It's nice to meet you! Do you have a name?" A Raider ran up to them, grunting aggressively, so she growled right back, ears flat, fur fluffed up, and hissing menacingly. Her opponent paused, as if wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to attack, before running off.

She turned back to the merc as if she hadn't just gone all scary on the Tusken. Eyeing the burning tent, she had an idea. "Stop shooting for a moment! I'm going to go into the tent, and I don't wanna get shot!" She didn't wait around for a response.

Instead, knife firmly in hand, Tipau took off towards the tent. Letting loose with a fierce cry, she slashed her way into the firey mess.

 

[Alin Proko]

Alin was launched back by the explosion from inside tent as he approached it. The last left his ears ringing and the smell of seared flesh up his nostrils. He open his eyes to see his objective burning in a giant heap roaring into the night sky. Blaster fire swooshed above him, and as he turned over on the sand, he saw [member="Tipau"] charging for the tent. He crawled on his stomach towards the edge of the camp. Dying wasn't nearly as bad as the consequences of failing this mission. He sat up and use the force to push some of the fiery debris towards his attackers. He could see a small stone totem about the size of Alin's forearm lying in the sand in front of him. He scooched forward and picked it up. For now he was stuck, because he couldn't just get up and run out into the dune sea. A Krayt Dragon would be a fairer fight compared to this one.

 

[Jorin]

Typhus complied, his fingers relaxed and the blaster fire ceased as @[member="Tipau"] rushed in. Ominously he slid his blasters back into their holsters beneath the cloak before wrapping a hand around the hilt of the vibroknife and wrenching the blade free. He strode calmly towards the flames. He knew the Sith could evade, move, and somehow escape explosions and blaster fire, but he wouldn't escape a blade in his gut. @[member="Alin Proko"] could crawl, but silently walking behind him was Typhus' cloaked figure, blade gleaming in the light of the starry night.

"It's over."

His voice was cold and synthesized, metallic and inhuman, just the way he'd wanted it to be. It went with the imposing figure he cast. Typhus could have killed Alin there, a quick flick of the wrist would have flung his blade into the back of the Quarran's neck, but he stayed his blade and watched. It was peculiar, this one Sith Acolyte, so driven to complete his mission. It reminded him of someone he'd known.

So Typhus would wait, simply to see what the kid would do, and then he'd pass his judgement.

 

[Alin Proko]

"It's not over, it's never over." Alin said rolling over onto his back to look up at @Typhus. Alin shivered even though the night was still hot as day. "I... I don't know who you are or what you want but we've just slaughtered an entire village of Sand People, so I think we have something in common. "I'll tell you a bit about myself! My name is Alin!! A... Alin Proko. I've been a sith since I was 6 years old, and I know it makes me bad person that I've been lying and stealing and cheating and killing for 13 years of my life! So... Who the hell are you?"

 

[Jorin]

"Judgement."

The tuskens were dead, but he'd been after Alin, they attacked him and for that he killed them. Turning his wrist he shot a cable from a the gauntlet around his forearm. Presuming it connected, which was rather likely considering the condition he was in, it would do nothing until he mashed another button, sending a high, but non-lethal amount of voltage into the Sith. Though the lethality could be adjusted quite easily. Typhus looked on the Sith with a degree of pity, and he from his own experience he knew that those forced into the dark often were the best to combat it. "Go to Ossus. Contact Marek S'hadar. Tell him your story." Typhus ordered, deactivating and retracting the cable and sheathing his blade as he looked onto @[member="Alin Proko"].

"If you don't-" He began, pushing aside a part of his robe, where a pair of lightsabers, Sith in origin hung loosely. Typhus said no more, the display showed his meaning far more than any verbal threat.

 

[Ibby]

@[member="Typhus"] @[member="Alin Proko"]

Tipau clambered out of the tent, a little bit disappointed and a whole lot embarrassed. Turned out the dark sider really wasn't in the tent, meaning she'd hated all fierce-like for nothing.

Letting out a huff, she sheathed her knife and clambered out of the smouldering remains, not noticing a patch of her tail was on fire. She walked over to where the merc and the dark sider were at, just in time to catch their names. "What kind of name is 'Judgement'?" She asked. The Ruferalahuin then looked down at Alin. "And you... I don't really like Sith." She nudged him with her toe. "You guys just kill for fun. Completely disrespect the idea of a food chain. I mean, look!" Tipau held out her arms, gesturing at the carnage. "Everyone's dead! If it were up to me, only one would have died."

She looked back at the mercenary man. "Can I eat him, Judgement? Before he goes to Ossus or wherever, I mean. If not, I guess I can always take care of one of the carcasses..."

 

[Alin Proko]

"Ossus? You don't me the ancient jedi world, do you judge? I guess I've got no choice do I?" Alin said standing up. He turned to Tipau and stared deeply into her eyes and said "I don't take kindly to being bitten apart, chewed, swallowed and digested. I also can't really imagine that I'd taste good, but I assure you I'm no Bantha steak. Speaking of Banthas, you could probably eat one of those!" He joked pointing towards one of the docile beasts on the other side of the camp. "I'll be on my way... to Ossus… goodbye." Alin stuttered as he started walking out into desert. He took out his holocron and a Male Drall wearing a lab coat appeared. "Miik, get the ship down here! The sun'll rise soon and I wanna get of this rock!" He yelled. "I'm on my way Alin!" Miik shouted back loudly. He knew that it was going to be a long day.