Family Troubles

[Kahlil Noble]

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THE BONEYARD, LEGO​

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It was odd being in such a desolate place. Death was everywhere, but it was a natural part of life. Everything died. Everything returned to the Force. It was why he was here. Kahlil wanted to learn more of the natural cycle, to be comfortable with death after so long of fearing it. The young Jedi wandered through the wastes, glancing over the bones with respect for the creatures that came here to die.

They must of been beautiful, when they were alive. There was no way for him to know. What ever these were had died off some time ago, leaving behind only their fossilized bones. He reached out to touch one, letting his mind drift to touch the Force. A cold chill went up his spine. The Dark was strong here.

No, not here. There was someone close.

Slowly he pulled his hand away, setting it on the smooth cylinder of his lightsaber.

A Sith was here.

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"]

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

Iego. Some said it was a spacer myth.

But no, it was real. Iego was, however, very difficult to reach and worse yet to leave. She had learned where it was when she travelled in service of the Ember, in her search for the lost Vahla fireshaping arts. The Boneyard had made an impression on her then, and it thrummed with importance in her mind even now. This was where great things had come to die, where their bones rested for eternity. The planet was a prison and this was it's mass-grave.

She knew no better place to bury a corpse.

She had not brought her troops, it was not their fight. Even her ship was hidden among the debris in the sky. Joycelyn herself was not attempting to hide; she let her presence shine like a beacon of malice as soon as she knew that the man she wished to meet was there.

Encased in the black armour of Darth Vornskr the Second, she was kneeling. Her helmet was drawn back to reveal her head. Her hands wrapped around a long blade, forehead resting against the guard of her weapon. Her lips moved quietly as she whispered to herself. She looked as if she was in prayer with her sword as a conduit.

She was waiting for her kin.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNkQMtZAMAw​

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Who ever it was, they weren't coming closer. Were they waiting for him? A trap? Regardless of what, if they had made him, he wasn't going to be able to hide and get off world. He stepped through the boneyard, his brown eyes darting around for any threat. There were none, save for the source of the darkness he felt. A cold sweat formed on the back of his neck as he stepped around one final skeleton and saw one of the people he was most dreading to see.

"Hello, dear sister."

[member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] , she who was named successor to their father. She, who would have been his master had he stayed. The young man took in a breath as he took hold of his lightsaber, thumbing the blue blade into existence. If she had come all this way, in all that armor, it wasn't to talk. Nevertheless.

"Is there a chance for peace here, or have you come for my head?"

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

As Kahlil spoke, Darth Vornskr II rose to her full height. Her left hand rested on the pommel of Zaudraka as she looked at her fallen brother. Her face was locked in quiet resentment, disappointment, and the unmistakable tint of sadness. Whether she was sad for what she was about to do or what she felt he had done to her, one could only guess.

"Peace is a lie, brother."

Her left hand then gripped the hilt properly and pulled it up. She leaned it on her shoulder and moved her hands into the proper two handed grip for a sword its size. Flames licked around her gauntlets and embers shone in her eyes as the hatred of Zaudraka fed her.

"You should already know that."

She turned her shoulder to him as she stepped into a deeper position. The blade rested on the shoulder furthest away from Kahlil. She raised the hilt and twisted her body like a spring. Zaudraka's curved tip almost pointed all the way back her opponent. It was a strong position, especially for an armoured combatant, even though her intended attack was easy to see.

"You spit on everything we've bled for."

Any experienced fighter would realise, knowing where a strike could come from did not mean one could stop it.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I had a feeling that might be your response." Kahlil forced himself to smile. He had to smile, to fight back the fear that was encroaching on his mind. [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] was the best of them. The strongest fighter, the best spell caster. At least, in his eyes she was. Their father, the God King, was untouchable. But Joyce was someone he could aspire to. Someone he once wanted to be.

Wanted to beat.

But that wasn't him anymore. No, it was never him. A lie he told himself to try and be a better Sith, to appease his family. "I do not want to kill you sister. I chose my own freedom from our father, and I will defend it if you force me to." It was his last warning. He did not want to fight his sister, but if he had no choice he would. He readied himself much like she did, spreading his feet and lifting his lightsaber over his head in the classic Soresu stance.

"Please, turn back now."

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

"Freedom from our father?" "And yet, you carry the name our family gave you."

Her face curled in a snarl as she wrung her hands on the grip. The metal and leather creaked and settled in the tension of her grip. Her words were bitter in her mouth, and as she spoke them they spat like boiling oil.

"You are a lying thief!"

She made a gathering step forward: The back foot stepped into the place of the front foot, while the front foot passed forward. As her foot hit the ground, she had summoned the Force to make a small, yet effective push towards Kahlil's feet. Her intention was to bring him off balance or force him to jump.

The sword remained on her shoulder as she made the distance smaller, testing measure, probing his defences with her movement. She felt the rage lingering just on the edge of her consciousness, waiting to be released. Not yet. She had to wait for the right moment. He was a traitor, but she was not so foolish as to underestimate him. He was her apprentice once, after all.

Now he was her enemy.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Zambrano is a name this galaxy fears. While I still live and breath, I will change that." What was he saying? He had kept the name to stop himself from lying to those he cared about. To show he accepted his past and was willing to move on from it. This was the first time he had seen his family since he had left. Even now, as the overwhelming lethal intent emanated from [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] , he spouted a new conviction.

"I will make Zambrano into a name that inspires hope!"

It was a silly idea, really. The Sith side of him that still remembered the Dark laughed at such a childish idea. But it didn't show on his face. Instead, he stared at her sister with a raw determination to make his words into reality. And if she was going to stop him, he was going to stand his ground.

Without a second thought he had jumped back, pushing himself away from the blast of energy that was sent to knock him off balance. It was only in the air that he realized how foolish of a move this was. His body had reacted on instinct from the Force, and now he was the perfect target for his sisters attack. He knew it was coming, but would that be enough for him to deflect the strike?

Not at all.

Kahlil's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to get out of this. Defending wouldn't work, not enough for what he needed. But she had telegraphed what side she was going to strike by how her body twisted. He could use that. He twisted his own body midair and readied himself for the strike. He wouldn't use his lightsaber to defend, he would instead use a similar blast of the Force she had done to send him out of her weapons range.

He had to time it right though. Too soon, and she'd just follow him and attack. Too late, and well. He'd be in half.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

Oh yes, she had telegraphed. She had spun a story with her posture and her position, and a convincing one as well. That was why she had entered the position so early, rather than enter a more relaxed position and then slip into Wrath before striking. When Kahlil reacted to her little push with his jump, she turned her blade. Rather than the cleaving sweep she was telegraphing, she turned her sword into Key for a thrust.

"Hope?"

Leading with the point of the sword, she made a passing step to close the distance. Her gait and long arms gave her reach; strength and good form drove the tip of the blade with the full power of her body. While driving the point with her body, she did not over commit. Her feet were like the roots of a tree, stabilising her. She thought she had him.

Had he not propelled himself away, then she would have had him too.

His push parted around the Sithsword and rushed along the black plates of her armour. It challenged her form, made her stand strong against considerable opposition, but in the end she stood as she had. Her blade retracted from its trust to a low guard, tip pointing to the ground.

"Our enemies fear us! As they should." she sneered. "Our people trust us to protect them, and we do."

Barks, snarls, a choir of deep and menacing growls. Glowing eyes made themselves visible. Two vornskrs flanked Kahlil's position against Joycelyn. The sound made it seem as though more creatures like them were lingering nearby, waiting, hiding. The shadows around the clusters of bones seemed to move all the more readily. Vornskrs hunted through the Force. That was why their father, and why Joycelyn, had taken the name. They coordinated to Darth Vornskr, their master.

Alk lashed out with his stinger while Ilke made a lunge for Kahlil's leg. Joycelyn took a step in herself, lifting her blade to bat Kahlil's sabre away and engage with the melee.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

A trick? If Kahlil hadn't already prepared to send himself away he'd of been impaled by the massive sword. Even then, the blade bit into flesh, leaving the faintest line of red across his stomach. A second later and he'd of been trying to regather his insides. It stung, but thankfully that was all it was. A stinging pain. He kept with his retreat, making as much distance between he and [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] as he could.

"They trust nothing more then a lie. Our family is built on lies and blood!" Wait. She didn't charge right after him. She wasn't afraid of him getting away? Then he heard the growls. He didn't have to turn to know who they were. Alk and Ilke. Her Vornskrs. He was surrounded. All three of them closed in, each striking a different part of his body. He had to stay calm, had to trust in the Force.

As the attacks came down he jumped, up and over the Vornskrs as they lunged for his back. His blade twisted in a small arc to catch the Sith Sword and form a sort of barrier of movement. All to dissuade the Vornskrs from striking him. He'd land on one of the larger skeletons, but not before carving through a large section and sending it blasting towards the Lord with a quick blast of the Force in a hopes to scatter the three.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

In her mind, she had simultaneously skewered him and seen him slip just outside of her blade. She could feel Zaudraka consume the blood that stained it, and she felt him sustain her in turn as she shepherded Kahlil to her hounds.

"Our family is built on blood and truth!" Their blades crashed as he avoided her vornskrs and barred her attack. "You have been fed the lies of the Jedi."

As the severed bones came falling down, the two vornskrs darted out to the sides. Alk ran right, Ilke ran left, flanking Kahlil's perch from the ground. Joycelyn released a hand from her sword and extended it against the falling bone. It crashed around her, throwing dust up around her form. For a moment she was gone, seemingly crushed beneath the debris he had launched.

The dust began to clear, and Darth Vornskr II stood beneath the biggest debris. Her fingers barely touched the bone, as though it was weightless. No, it was just in suspended. Its fall had been suspended in stasis, and it was then redirected to simply topple over with a brush of her hand.

"We rule because we are stronger." "That is truth."

A bright, orange light swelled in her hand as she brought it around. First she pointed it at Kahlil, but then she lowered it at the bones beneath him. Bones, especially when dry, could burn. So she lit them with the fire of Zaudraka. The fire spread unnaturally, biting and climbing its way up through the pile of bones. She was trying to flush him out by setting a literal fire under his feet.

"And if you cannot see it, then you are not a Zambrano." "You are our enemy."

Jedi. Deserter. Traitor.​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The lie of our father being a god. The lie of our family protecting our people. Have you closed your eyes to what our brothers and sisters do? The people they kill for amusement. Experiment on." Not that he was any better. Kahlil clenched his jaw as he finished spouting his words at [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] , his grip on his saber tightening. How many people had he killed through his experiments? A nervous sweat dripped down his brow as he watched the bones slowly topple. She was so much stronger then when he had left. Father was right to pick her.

The young man lifted his blade, readying himself for her attack. Fire, he hated dealing with fire. Of all the things he had been learning to defend himself against, fire was the hardest. It got everywhere too quickly, in the terms of a flamethrower at least. Yet she didn't target him. She targeted the bones. They lit up like an oil slick, leaving Kahlil coughing and hacking as smoke filled his lungs almost immediately.

Even though the smoke hid him, he knew all too well that the Vornskr's would be able to track him. They probably would know if he took a step. He was outnumbered and caught off guard. So he ran. As the bones began to turn to ash he jumped away from Joycelyn. His saber receded into it's hilt as he did. The wolves would be the first to follow. They would track him. If he was going to get away, he needed to make sure Alk and Ilke couldn't follow.

For now, he ran, hitting the ground a distance away and booking it as fast as the Force would let him. Weaving between the large jutting ribcages of the creatures that had fallen to try and throw off any direct assault, separate the Vornskrs and Joycelyn.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

"They were not citizens of our Empire. So they don't count." She whipped her hands out to her sides as the bones started to burn and crack like kindling. "We cannot protect those who refuse our Empire." The fire reflected in her eyes, hardened with zealotry.

When Kahlil jumped, Alk and Ilke followed, but did not close in. They were still near their master. Joycelyn turned too, the fire dripping from her outstretched hands now. The fire that dripped from her hands started to coalesce on the ground, like liquid drawn together.

"We protect our people. If they do not join us, -If they do not support us, then they are the enemy."

She put the blade horizontal, touching it with both hands, and raised her it up above her shoulders. The liquid fire trickled down in a steady from where her hands touched the sword. The fire formed globes now, which shifted and moved about like living creatures. Alk and Ilke looked at her, expecting results.

"Find him"

They shot off after Kahlil, joined by hounds of the Zambrano kennels. The balls of living fire that gathered around Joycelyn's legs also moved out, accompanying Joycelyn herself as she jogged after her beasts. She couldn't keep up with Kahlil in her heavy armour, nor could her dogs outpace him. But humanoids were never natural run and capture predators: They hunted through extended pursuit. She did not need to be faster, she just needed to keep him running until she could trap him.

Her armour made it easy to hear her coming, and she did not care. The dogs barked and growled as they pursued, lead by the vornskrs.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Stay calm. Chaos, yet harmony. He was still running. Kahlil didn't have much of a choice. The Vornskr would catch up to him the second he stopped. If he was going to survive he needed to get rid of them. There was no other choice, not with their ability to track him. What could he do? [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] wouldn't be able to catch up, not in that armor. Not without exhausting himself. Then, an idea.

He wouldn't have long. He could hear them closing in. But their barking made it easy for him to know just how much time was left until they were too close. He ripped off his shirt. It was already covered in his blood, so that would do. Quickly he set it up by a cluster of aged skeletons, hiding it from view enough that the dogs would at least investigate. The barking grew louder. He needed to be faster.

What came next was probably his least favorite thing. He turned on his saber, clenched his teeth, and pressed it against the sliver of red on his stomach. Kahlil did his best to stay quiet, but the shout of pain still came out. At least he wasn't bleeding anymore though. Good. But the barking was dangerously close. One last bit. He pulled out the reserve ammo pack for his pistol and put it in the pile of his clothing.

With that, he rushed off, pulling free the amulet he had been gifted when he fled the Empire to hide him in the Force. Everything depending on the hounds coming to investigate. He rushed away in another burst of speed, pulling out the Magnetic Revolver. He closed his eyes, letting the Force guide him. As soon as the hounds found his bloodied shirt, he'd turn and fire, shooting the pack to make it explode with a deafening blast.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

The barks of the hounds became more and more distanced as Joycelyn jogged, but she felt her bond with Alk and Ilke stretch out ahead. She could feel them running, sniffing, feeling their way. She could not feel Kahlil. He was hiding from them somehow, but the hounds still had their keen sense of smell.

Shortly after Kahlil planted his trap and hid, the front troupe of the hounds found their way there. They sniffed around, spreading out to cover the ground. Some watched and listened, some watched the rear. A pair of hounds separated to allow Ilke to check what they had found. She stopped short of the pile, ears perking and nose twitching. She took a step back, and then another.

One of the other hounds ran forward and began digging into the pile where Kahlil had buried his shirt.

Joycelyn could feel the tension in Ilke's eyes, the suspense. Her jog quickened almost to a run.

BOOM

She stopped for a moment, then redoubled her run. In her chest, she was feeling for Alk and Ilke both. She felt pain, not in her body, but in the peripheral senses of her force connection. She could feel Alk react as she did, and gave him the idea to flank around with his pack while she went directly there.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil let out his held breath as the explosion went off. He had hit his mark as intended, but he wasn't sure just how well it would of worked. He couldn't tell how many dogs there were by all the growling around them earlier, but it was unlikely that sort of explosion would of gotten many at all. The most he could do was hope. And run. Sweat dripped from his body as he pushed himself to keep running. This wasn't a sustainable means to escape.

And his ship wasn't anywhere close, and who knew what [member="Joycelyn Zambrano"] had brought herself.

Still, his only way off was in his ship. So, better trust that he could sneak one past his sister. He pulled out his com, thumbing the device on. "R6, get a lock on my location. Find me a place you can hide the ship I can meet you in." There was a sarcastic flurry of beeps in response, causing the young man to frown. "I don't care if you're on break, the Empire is here! We need to get off world."

Silence. Then an affirmative beep. Good, R6 understood the gravity of the situation. A couple seconds later, and the coordinants to a nearby cliff side were given. Well, better then nothing. He rushed his way there, painfully aware that he still might be tracked, and that he wasn't going to be able to keep running soon.

 

[Joycelyn Zambrano]

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

Joycelyn skidded to a stop and fell to one knee next to the maimed bodies of hounds. Many were dead. Many were injured. The air was ripe with the scent of dog blood and sharp whines, but Joycelyn kept searching for one in particular. Then her eyes widened; the familiar form of Ilke slinked out from under the body of one of the dead hounds and limped towards Joycelyn.

She cupped the vornskr's head in her palms and placed her forehead against Ilke's, and she rubbed Ilke's neck and ear.

"Are you okay girl?" "Which way did he go?"

The vornskr whined a bit, then shrugged its head out of her hands to point where the trail of Kahlil continued. He had made good efforts to throw the hounds off, but it only delayed them. The hounds still fit enough to hunt gathered around Joyce and Ilke as the vahlacanthix rose back to her full height.

"Show the way, but stay close." "Alk will catch up"

She set off at a jog. The dogs caught up, then passed her, and finally paced ahead. However, Ilke remained a few steps ahead of Joycelyn, showing the way. As the hounds sped ahead, they found ways they could cut corners and move ahead faster. And perhaps link up with Alk and his pack as well. They hunted as a pack, keeping the target running and exhausted until exhausted while conserving their own enegy.

And thanks to Dubiety's little bomb, she was fuelled by further rage.