Force Be Good

[Kára Morrigan]

Their room was large, and located in the upper city. Far below dwelled the dredges of society, as well as the second group of pirates. Beyond the wide window that was set in the eastern wall loomed the shipyards. The building they were in had once been a weapons manufacturing plant, and in the levels above and below the remnants of the previous owners remained in great crates of blaster parts and power cartridges.

Kára didn't know why the hooded man with the skull-face had deigned to kidnap [member="Aurelia Volcata"], and she didn't care to. The kidnapping itself had been a stroke of genius. The mercenary pirates he'd comissioned had occupied the senator's guard while she and the armored man had boarded the senator's ship. Kára remembered thinking, upon meeting the senator, that she would've made a fine Sith. She was haughty, and commanding; even intimidating, for someone unable to touch the Force.

Now though, stuck in a room with her, accompanied by three of the mercenaries, she wished she could just kill the woman and be done with it. The pirates too.

"D'ya have a nine?" one of the pirates said. He was a trandoshan, as ugly as he was deadly.

"Go fish," said the other. She was a Zeltron, beautiful and treacherous and a capable hand with her blastsword.

"Yer a bloody cheater," said the third, a Shi'ido currently imitating an ursinoid from Lujo, with thick brown fur and a snout filled with sharp teeth. "I know you gotta nine. I saw'r it with me own eyes."

The three dissolved into bickering, and Kára's desire to kill them reached its peak. She decided to taunt the senator instead.

"So... Senator Volcata, are you enjoying yourself?" They'd tied her to a chair with durasteel cables. Kára pulled a chair over from the table in the corner and plopped down in front of her, studying her face. Her voice was soft, almost intimate, each word a gentle caress. She leaned forward and said, "What's it like, knowing that you're going to die, and being unable to do anything about it?"

The pirates' bickering grew louder.

"Chuta!" cursed the Tradoshan. "I'm gonna skin you, you lying cu--" He cut off as the Zeltron woman punched him in the face. The Shi'ido jumped to his feet, growling. Kára had had enough.

"Quiet, all of you!" she shouted. "Unless you want to die?" At the sight of her burning yellow eyes, the pirates quieted down. The trandoshan took the opportunity to leave.

"I'm going to check up on the others," he ground out, voice little more than a rough growl. He left the room, and just like that, Kára put him from her mind.

"Now, Senator... where were we..."

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Cronos Aegir"]

(Morgana, the Trandoshan is all yours. He's your ticket to discovering the senator's location.)

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Senator Volcata was testing the strength of her binds as she listened to thugs bickering, her pale eyes tracking the movements of @Kára Morrigan as she bellowed at the others. To her question, Kara received a pleasant smile. "Speaking of people who want to die." She canted her head to the side thoughtfully. "And people who are going to be skinned alive, come to that," she added with a little giggle. "You're going to be very dead soon. Unless, of course, you untie me and deliver me to safety immediately."

They had struck quickly, abducted her without so much as a how d'you do, and now she was here.

"And you might even come out of this with a few credits," the Senator continued quietly, glancing sidelong at the others in the room. "If you do the right thing."

 

[Kára Morrigan]

"Oh, you are a brave one, aren't you? And feisty too... it's a shame I can't keep you.

"Just so you know, I don't care for credits. They don't scream, and the don't bleed." She leaned forward and flicked the senator's nose, a giggle bubbling up out of her throat. "People though... they scream, they bleed, they cry, they beg, they shit themselves. You'll come to understand, in time.

"I'm not in this for the money! I'm in it for the chaos."

She settled back against the chair. "Oi, you two...go check up on your comrades. I'll keep the senator company." They showed the slightest hint of hesitation, inflaming her rage. "Go!"

And so they went. She'd forgotten how segregated the levels of Taris were; three aliens in the upper city would be noticed by anyone searching for such anomalies.

"You threatened to skin me." She pulled her lips back from her teeth in a caricature of a grin, delightful madness shining in her eyes. "I'll hold you to that."

_______​

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] (More tickets to lead you to the senator) [member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

The undercity was dark, bleak place. The air stank of filth. Everything was covered in a layer of grit and grime. People watched the ground when they walked, as if they were afraid to look up.

Cronos would've expected to find the pirates in such a place, but alas, he had seen little sign of them, and felt even less. But that absence of feeling was a clue in and of itself. The longer he was here the more he was certain that a Sith had facilitated the kidnapping. The why continued to elude him. Aurelia Volcata was relatively new to the Republic, and her planet, New Holstice, wasn't anything special as far as he knew.

He avoided the various pubs and cantinas, wary of running into another [member="Cody Jorin"]. The thought brought him up short.

The kidnapping of a senator was serious enough to warrant a response by the Jedi. And that madman wanted to kill the Jedi. All Jedi. Could all this simply be a ploy to further his crazed desire for vengeance? To bring Jedi to him?

"Morgana," he said into his com link. "Be careful. I have a hunch as to who might be behind this. If you sense a hole in the Force, run."

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Morgana's searching had brought her to a disgruntled looking Trandoshian, who she avoided being spotted by right away. She remembered her time on Zeltros when they had to do battle with a group of Trandoshians involved with kidnapping younglings. Usually they were connected with one scheme or another, meaning there was a good hunch as to where he would lead her. Just as she followed [member="Cronos Aegir"] had said something over the comm. Unfortunately a passing speeder had made it hard to hear him. The most she could tell was something about a hole in the Force. She shrugged before continuing after the Trandoshian. She was careful to blend in while shadowing him the entire way, waiting to see where he went first before actually telling Cronos where he'd gone.​

​

[member="Kára Morrigan"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"]​

 

[Jorin]

And there, there was the hole.

Gyros whirred as Cody Jorin flexed the new metallic arm on his right, DB-08 hanging loosely in his hand. Cronos had been close to right, Jorin did want to kill all the Jedi, but he didn't stop there. Jorin wanted all force users to die, good, bad, or otherwise. [member="Morgana Forceborn"] fell somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. Shouldering the rifle, the void in the force placed it on his back, and the poor padawan would have no warning of what came next, precognition only worked so well.

Maybe Jorin wan't behind this incident, maybe he was, maybe it had been [member="Kára Morrigan"], and she would die too if Cody had the chance. But as Jorin stepped onto the street, blade in hand, he didn't blink as he cut the Trandoshan's throat. Blood sprayed onto his armor as the lizard collapse, leaving the black armored man staring down Morgana, painted in another's blood.

Staring into the young Jedi's eyes was the visage of a skull, carved into his helmet's visor, boring into the girl's very being. Very little scared Jedi, they were trained to overcome fear and block it out, but something told Jorin the girl was smart enough to know what was trouble, if not she was in for quite the surprise. If his hunch was true, then she was one thing for sure:

She was afraid.

[member="Cronos Aegir"]
[member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Kára Morrigan]

People screamed and ran, calling frantically for law enforcement. The Trandoshan died quickly, in a gurgle of blood. His comrades came around the corner of the concourse just in time to see him fall. The Zeltron, Ida Thorn, immediately sent a message to the rest of their crew, all six of them, who were down in the undercity enjoying the facilities. "That fething skull-faced freak just killed Fang! Get your arses up here, now!" Then she and the Shi'ido, nicknamed Shift, fell back around the corner, palming blasters and slugthrowers respectively.

While Ida Thorn had messaged the rest of the crew, Shift was messaging Kára. "The armored man just killed Fang! What the feth! I thought he was on our side?!"

"He was," Kára replied. "Just kill him." Then she cut the link. Shift, in his massive ursinoid form, stepped around the corner with two slugthrowers that matched his size, shotguns with explosive ammunition, and opened fire.

______​

"He was. Just kill him." Kára closed the link.

She moved to secure [member="Aurelia Volcata"]'s wrists with durasteel cuffs. Then she unraveled the cables that were securing the senator to the chair, and hauled her too her feet. "Come on, dear senator. The chaos has just begun." She pushed the woman in front of her, guiding her out the building and onto the walkway that curled up and down the structure, bridges connecting it to all the other walkways and buildings. People were running past, screaming bloody murder.

Kára smiled at the sight. Hugging the side rail of the concourse, the Acolyte guided Aurelia to the scene of the fight, using her as a meat shield. Shifter was firing upon [member="Cody Jorin"], the same man who'd helped then, and Ida Thorn had joined him. And was that a Jedi? Alone?!

"Who knows?" Kára whispered in the senator's ear. "Maybe you'll catch a stray blaster to the face! Or maybe I'll just gut you now and watch you bleed out." She peered over the edge of the concourse. It was a loooooong way to the bottom. "I have a better idea."

She pressed the senator against the railing. "Let's see if you can fly!"

Then she shoved her over.

______​

Dozens of levels below, the other six members of the pirate crew, including two more Trandoshans, three Gamorreans, and a Verpine, hurried up the walkways to join their comrades. They pushed through the crowds, bullying their way up the concourse, shoving aside some girly looking blonde man.

"Move it, chuta!"

Brik, Brak, and Brok, the Gamorreans, commandeered a transport that had stopped to let off its passengers. Their comrades joined them, facilitating a quick disembarking of the assorted travelers, pushing, shoving, waving blasters. There was a lot of shouting and violent threats. When the transport was cleared, they took off for the upper city.

[member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Morgana didn't respond. Cronos swallowed a curse. He and his padawan were going to have a long talk about comlink procedure. A very long talk. The former Inquisitor tapped his comlink again. "Morgana, respond."

He paused in the middle of the walkway and reached out into the Force. He was swarmed by the many thoughts and feelings of unshielded minds. He pushed through the muck, reached further --

Oh no. Something like dread uncoiled in his gut. He shoved it away, shunting it into the Force. He needed to get to the upper city, and he needed to get there fast. [member="Cody Jorin"] was here. Morgana couldn't face him alone. He was too driven, too skilled. Cronos could still recall the icy burn of the vibroknife sliding between his ribs from when they'd first fought.

Someone shoved him aside, against the walkway's railing. "Move it, chuta!"

How rude, the knight thought. He turned to look upon the men who had pushed him. They were a motley sort, a mix of species, and scruffy looking, all heavily armed. And their thoughts...

Bingo. They were the pirates. He followed behind them, climbing to the top of the transport they had apprehended. He held on tight as they pulled off, going nearly completely vertical in their haste to reach the upper city. He gathered his energies atop the transport, preparing himself to face the Force-dead madman. The Force thrummed through him, enhancing his strength, his speed, his stamina. His senses expanded.

There was something falling through the air. No, not something. Someone.

Force be good. Was that the senator?

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Kára Morrigan"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

A sudden shot had rang out. Morgana had ducked only to see, before the ensuring confusion, her Trandoshian lead had been killed. She gasped as she tried to look around to see who did it, only for the obvious one to stand out being the man with the skull mask and the smoking gun. As confused as she was her attention was taken away at the sight of the other pirates, including the one whom she assumed to be the leader, busting out and basically declaring war on the man who'd killed their partner. She could tell, whoever this woman was, she was a darksider. The feeling grew off her even from where Morgana had taken cover. Once she slipped back in the young Jedi knew the senator had to be there.​

​

Creeping past the pirates as they were kept busy Morgana went inside, taking the holster of her saberstaff out before trying to find where either the Sith or the Senator were. She found both but almost too late. She'd seen Senator [member="Aurelia Volcata"] handcuffed and about to be tossed over the side. She gasped, knowing there was only one way she was going to save her.​

​

Both hands extended out and the Force reached out in the process. Concentrating as best she could Morgana used all she could to catch the senator mid-air and pull her back up before she could meet her end. Her eyes were closed before she felt that she'd managed to snag her in time. A close call to say the least.​

​

[member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Kára Morrigan"] [member="Cody Jorin"]​

 

[Kára Morrigan]

Kára had lost sight of the Jedi girl, but then she used the Force, and it was like she'd held up a giant flashing sign saying, "Here I am, look at me!" The Acolyte peered over the railing and frowned. The senator wasn't falling. In fact... she was flying.

Frakking Jedi. Kára unclipped her blastsword from her back, palmed her lightwhip in the other, and fired off a hail of red-tinted blaster bolts at the Jedi girl to break her concentration. No way was she going to let her save the senator so easily. No. Frikking. Way.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Cody Jorin"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Aurelia's eyes widened when she realized what this psychopath was going to do to her. She flexed her arms in her bindings, trying not to panic as she was pushed up against the railing. "You wouldn't dare," she muttered through gritting teeth, but by the time she had said it, the woman had not only daired, but had done it. Aurelia grappled with the railing, her fingers gripping, sliding, loosening, until she at last grasped the vertical metal pole. It was shiny and polished. "No, no, no-no-no," she whispered to herself, struggling to keep her fingers engaged. "You can't do this, I'm a Senator!" she screamed, but what was done was done.

The heavy robes of state she wore pulled her down, a metaphor for government if ever there was one, and she felt her fingers loosening. She just couldn't hold on. So she let go and took a breath, preparing for what would surely come next -- her death -- and went plummeting through the air --

Until she stopped. The landing wasn't hard as she thought. Perhaps there was a god, who had given her mercy in the last moment of her life by dulling her senses. But then she pried one eye open, then the other. She wasn't falling. She was ... floating? She clawed at the air with her bound hands but couldn't move. "Help me!" she shrieked, not sure who she had to thank for her salvation, but hoping they could hear her. "Please! Help!"

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Cody Jorin"] @Kára Morrigan

 

[Jorin]

Close the gap

Thrusters fired and propelled the supersoldier at blinding speed as he darted forward. Explosive shot tore the duracrete behind the man to pieces as he sped towards the ursinoid, quickly jabbing it in the throat then leaping into the air spinning so he'd be facing the Shi'do form's back. Wrapping a cold metal hand around the snout he jerked upwards, the form's eyes turned to the sky as Jorin cut it's neck in one swift motion.

As blood spattered onto the ground, Jorin whipped around, palming a small blaster and putting two shots into the Zeltron woman without pause as he moved towards the one and only [member="Kára Morrigan"]. The small blade folded up and was tucked away neatly, the pistol returned to it's holster, and out came the assault rifle.

Jorin didn't hesitate, his weapon cracked over and over as the man steadily advanced. In a few moments his team would be here, the mercs who were just as committed to his cause as he was. After all, it wasn't always bad having an army of your own sons, or yourself, whichever term was preferred.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]
[member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Kára Morrigan]

The Force dead soldier tore through Ida and Shift like wet paper. Kára didn't stand around idle while it was happening. She'd seen the slugthrower shells and blaster bolts have little effect on his armor, and as wicked as she was, she wasn't very much of a fighter. Ferocious, yes, and devious, with some modicum of speed, but not much skill. She was only an acolyte, an apprentice, and she knew, having seen him fight, that she wouldn't be able to stand against him for long.

He turned towards her, engaged his thrusters, and shot of towards her like a blaster bolt. He grabbed hold of some sort of rifle, aimed, squeezed the trigger.

Kára dived over the edge of the rail as slugs whistled past. She passed the floating senator -- frakking jedi -- and a transport with some blond fop hanging off the top of it. Another jedi, she thought scathingly. Her descent slowed about four levels down, slowed enough that she reached out and grabbed the railing with ease, hauling herself over in the same breath.

Let the Jedi and the pirates deal with the soldier. She had better things to do. Like collect explosives.

_______​

The transport leveled off, and the trio of Gamorreans dived out to tackle the skull-faced soldier. The two Trandoshans followed after, both wielding punching blades, leaving the Verpine to actually land the transport.

Then, the insectoid pirate leveled his shatter gun -- a sniper rifle loaded with durasteel ball bearings -- at the armored man and let er' rip. Shatter guns were a special sort. Like rail guns. Faster than slugthrowers, and capable of shooting just about anything. None one of them paid attention to the floating lady, focused as they were on the soldier.

They didn't notice the blond man either. Or the Jedi girl.

[member="Cody Jorin"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

The senator wasn't falling. She was floating, as if weightless. Cronos recognized the feeling of the power holding her up. Good job, Morgana. As the transport reached the appropriate concourse, he plucked the senator from the air, pulling her atop the transport. He pressed a finger to his lips, indicating that she should be silent. He doubted they would be heard over the cacophony of battle, but caution had never hurt anyone.

There he was. [member="Cody Jorin"]. The madman. The Pirates had him busy for now, but the former Inquisitor wasn't sure how long that would last. The Sith he'd sensed was gone, probably having fled.

"Don't move," Cronos whispered to Senator [member="Aurelia Volcata"]. As the Verpine landed the small ship, the Jedi knight used his lightsaber to free her hands, exceedingly careful not to burn her. "Morgana!" he said into his com, voice a harsh whisper. He could just see her across the concourse, half-hidden and well out of the line of fire. "I want you to take the senator to my ship. Quickly. Then hunt down that apprentice.

"Respond."

He turned his eyes to the senator, even as he followed the fight with his expanded senses. "Are you hurt, senator? My name is Cronos. My padawan and I have come to rescue you." For a moment, he forgot decorum. "This is more of a clusterkark than I imagined," he said, voice soft, as if he was speaking to himself. "And you are prettier than I thought you'd be." His voice rose, barely, when he said to the senator, "Hide behind the transport. My padawan will come for you."

After he'd helped her down, he turned his attention to the madman, lightsaber hilt almost thrumming in his fist.

[member="Kára Morrigan"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Jorin]

Turning about he smashed an elbow into one gammorean, sending it stumbling back as he shot the other at point blank twice, then shot the stunned triplet in the head. As the third and final of the brothers charged Jorin surged forward, basing the fat, pig like alien back into the trandoshans as he dropped into a crouch as the verpine rifle fired, barely missing his helmet as he put two bolts into the alien sniper.

Slapping the rifle onto the magnetic plates on his back, Cody pulled a curved, machete-like vibroblade from his back. Even in a species as fierce as gammorean's, the skull faced man could still see fear in its eyes.

The alien squealed as it and the trandoshan's pinned under it painted the ground with their blood. Brilliant sprays of red splashed over the soldier's blade as he hacked away, killing the low lives without mercy. Without looking back over his shoulder Jorin stood quietly, shaking the blood off the kukri's blade.

"Back for more, Jedi?"

[member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Kára Morrigan"] [member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Aurelia landed with a jolt on the transport and clung to it as best she could. The terrifying ordeal of her unplanned flight was over, but just who was this into whose clutches she now fell? He pressed a finger to his lips when she looked up at him and she nodded to indicate that she understood before clambering to her feet. She murmured an almost-silent thanks as he cut her wrist bindings, then flexed her arms and hands experimentally. Satisfied that she was in mostly working condition, the Senator shed her unwieldy and heavy robes of state, revealing a pair of simple pants and a sleeveless shirt underneath. That would help her to move more freely.

"I'm not hurt," the Senator answered quietly. "I don't think so, but I should look, anyway." She busied herself with checking her person for marks and bruises, a simple enough maneuver to allow her to pretend not to have heard his remarks to the side. "No, I'm all set," she responded firmly. "Thank you for -- thank you," she said, a lump rising in her throat. It was not easy for Aurelia Volcata to be in someone's debt, but here she was. She took his hand as he helped her down and then stashed herself behind the transport. "How will I know who is your padawan and who is some lunatic thug?" she asked, her voice only slightly hysterical.

[member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"All the lunatic thugs are dead," Cronos began, "save for this one," he finished, gesturing towards [member="Cody Jorin"]. "My padawan has long brown hair and carries a saberstaff. You'll recognize her." Then he stepped off the edge of the transport and floated almost gently to the concourse. There was a snap and a hiss, and his lightsaber flared to life. Golden light splashed across his face.

"Back for more?" he echoed. "I could ask the same of you."

Neither had escaped unscathed from their last battle. Cronos didn't think today would be any different... only now, his foe wasn't such a mystery. He had scoured records and minds alike for knowledge of Cody Jorin, the "father" of the Republic's clone army. The information he discovered had only loaned credence to the conclusions he'd reached after their brief and bloody battle.

The collateral damage from that fight had cost lives. Cronos would have to move the fight away from the senator until Morgana could collect her, lest she fall victim to the destruction the two foes would surely wrought. Slowly, he circled around Cody, eyes never wavering from his armored form.

The walkway was completely clear of people, save for the dead pirates slumped in a bloody pile. Cronos suspected mere minutes before the planet's security forces arrived.

[member="Aurelia Volcata"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Jorin]

"You have kids, Jedi?"

Suddenly the madman sounded far more human, the syntheszation ceasing as the man turned around. Jorin was a monster, a murderer, and he was also a hero, once.

Standing amidst the corpses, brilliant splashes of color from alien blood smeared across the armor, Cody turned about kukri hanging loosely in one hand while the prosthetic hung at his side. Oddly enough the man seemed relaxed. "They're everything to you, you'd never make them do anything you wouldn't. In that aspect I guess I wasn't bad. But they wouldn't have been wretched into this life if the force was erased, light, dark or gray."

"Every conflict in galactic history boils down to a Sith and a Jedi, light and Dark."

Jorin smiled beneath his helmet, his grip on the kukri tightening and the prosthetic wrapping around a small cylinder, very similar to the one he'd had on Nar Shadda. Yet Jorin didn't move, he didn't engage as he waited for [member="Cronos Aegir"]. "Like it or not. Your kind is guilty for more death than I'll ever be. Including the one where my children were butchered while they served alongside them. But who remembers them Jedi? Who but me?"

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Confusion stilled Cronos' tongue. He was slow in answering, still circling around his foe so that [member="Cody Jorin"] stood between the Jedi and the transport. "No," he said finally. "I have no children of my own."

For a moment, Cronos could have mistaken the soldier for a sane man. Cody's bout of wisdom was short lived, his speech devolving again into a spew of hatred against the Jedi, as if war and death was exclusive to those who could touch the Force. Cronos made no attempt to defend the order, or turn Cody's madness against him. It would have been a waste of breath, he thought.

Best to kill him and pray for his soul.

"I certainly don't remember them," Cronos said.

A head on attack would be foolish, he thought. There was no telling what tricks the soldier had up his sleeve. He swept out with a hand to send the pirate corpses careening towards the soldier, angling them to flash passed his face and block his view for the span of a breath. The Jedi advanced in that instant of blindness, zipping forward as if he had thrusters of his own, golden blade poised to skewer the soldier through his chest.

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Morgana had opened her eyes, only to see she was in hotter water. Her hands were full with holding senator [member="Aurelia Volcata"] before realzing that [member="Kára Morrigan"] was arming herself and ready to cut her in half. But now THAT situataion seemed to be trader for a greater one as the soldier [member="Cody Jorin"] flew in and began firing. As the sith ducked awya so too did Morgana, only to realize her grip on the senator was gone. She gasped and ran over only to see that her master [member="Cronos Aegir"] had managed to save her in time. She looked back only to see the Sith getting away. But her master now had the soldier to deal with. What could she do? Go after her or help? She was conflicted for the longest time before graoning, reaching an anseer.​

​

*****​

​

Running out next to her master, saberstaff drawn, Morgana looked to the soldier and said "The only guilty one is you. Now stand down!" ​