Out With The Old, In With The New.

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Sith? However did he (correctly) guess that? Perhaps he would take her word at the matter, though likely not. People like him oft found their skull density to be too great to take in new information, though she was delighted to find him capable of tracking her accurately. Still, even with Empathy, her exact form and dimensions would be difficult to discern, if only from lack of further sensory input. Though for the moment this was the last of her concerns, as his lightsaber was brought to bear against her in a vicious upwards swing. It didn't take a genius to realize that she wouldn't be able to force back the blade, and so instead she let her sword be swung upwards, and even added the Force to the motion to let the weapon fly high into the sky.

In the same motion, she bent backwards, letting the man's jab swing through the air her head had held but moments before. Oh such speed and grace... it made her concentration quiver in excitement. Her ability to hide her presence was only recently returned, and such intense delight was making her returned ability waver. So, as she continued the bending motion over, her hands planting on the ground as she rather nimbly moved out of striking range of the Dark Jedi Master, she released it, and her Cloak as well. Her purple regalia and cape, the latter of which was being calmly removed and handed off to rest safely aside from the fight forming, shimmered in the ever fading light, contrasting somewhat against her revealed presence.

Dark, oppressively so, unnatural, hungering. She did not belong, here, or anywhere. "Sith? You flatter me... I am merely Amelia Voidhart, a Dark Jedi Padawan. Though I must say, you intrigue me, one of such darkness standing in the light. You make a greater Jedi than those who bear the name, I must applaud you for that, and for staggering my concentration. Well then, I shall treat you to a duet! I dare say, your song will be delectable to hear!" She laughed again, this time the melodic voice tainted with darkness.

Obbligato, to me! Your Mistress calls! She thought to herself, her right hand raised into the air. The Sith blade would fall into her hand comfortably, resting as she brought the tip lower, and began to count in her head. One, Two, Three... yes that would be the time. This man deserved nothing less than her finest dance. Now, to greet her opponent honestly, and in full! Her violet eyes leveled on the man's as she began a new rhythmic approach, keeping time with her feet. A subtle cue, and one easily missed as she lifted her free hand. A bolt of blue lightning sprang from her fingertips at Atheus, followed shortly by her last few steps into range. She brought the weapon around into a Juyo stance, and started a heavy overhead swing. However, half a beat into the swing, she pulled it back and instead thrusted at his left side.

[member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Kei Raxis"] | [member="Tin'tinag"] | [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] | [member="Dacian Jeth"]​

 

[Zak Amroth]

"Intriguing," clad in an ebon cowl shrouding flexweave armor underneath, a lone figure stood close to the base of Mount Meru. A fresh explosion sent more shards of the Jedi Enclave above careening down a smoking mountainside, "Most intriguing."

Veil's pilgrimage had only brought him to Deneba a few weeks ago, he did not know much about the local Jedi institution or its relationship to its neighbors, so he could not say the cause or perpetrators of such a brutal assault. He grinned lasciviously to himself at the thought of witnessing it first hand. Opening his mind to the Force, he called to several nearby Pawns. After all, it was the neighborly thing to do.

Normally he would have been reluctant to set up for any length of time on a Jedi world, but this particular brand was excruciatingly non-violent and tolerant to a fault. As long as they didn't set fire to the streets, Hieronymus and his retinue could get away with murder, and had on several occasions. But the primary purpose of this venture was recruitment, so they had set themselves up in a cave system not far from the base of the mountain, and begun preying upon those cast away by such a notoriously selective Order.

They had left Rhand and its relative safety within the depths of the Unknown Regions to preach their Way of the Dark, and while on a rational level Hieronymus understood that they stood to gain nothing but unnecessary additional risk, his morbid curiosity had gotten the best of him. This was another opportunity to study Jedi in their natural environment, this time while facing severe adversity. Another opportunity to probe for weakness.

Three duraplast armor clad warriors wielding vibro-arbir blades crested the ridge line several meters away, they were his Pawns. Each one had Nihil smokestone surgically implanted into their brain stems, leaving them significantly more susceptible to mental influence by Sorcerers like Veil, enough to allow him to project his own consciousness into their minds and control their actions. Being split into three perspectives was a disorienting experience, but the Dark Jedi Knight had trained to adapt long ago back on Rhand.

Let us see what our neighbors are up to.

As one, the three Pawns marched towards the base of the mountain, and began to climb.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

[member="Tin'tinag"] | [member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Mentyor"]​

Deneba​

853 ABY​

​

​

​

Veiere knew.

Veiere knew that he was unsure. Veiere knew that he was unsure of himself. Kei agreed with Veiere, that's why he was unsure. He agreed with Veiere, agreed with what Veiere said. The Jedi were as bad as the Sith, they had fallen so far from what they used to be. They used to be the great protectors, fighting the influence of the darkside and the influence of The Sith. The darkside as a whole wasn't an issue.

Is was when darkside users became angry, they became Veiere. It was when they became violent that they became a danger. If people chose to practice the darkside, Kei wouldn't stop them. His family, Ra'a'mah chose to practice the darkside and Kei didn't even try and stop her. Kei didn't care that she practiced the darkside. She wasn't using it for violence, she wasn't using it to commit genocide or other acts of violence.

Veiere had chosen that path.

He had chosen genocide, to burn down every single thing that he had made. He had chosen to burn the path, murder every single person who had once trusted in him. Everyone had faith in Veiere, all of the members of The Jedi Order had put their faith in Veiere had had a chosen to slaughter them all if they chose not to follow him. He had chosen to slaughter all of them to get what he wanted, to get members of his new Order.

"Veiere. You don't need to do this. You don't need to slaughter those who once had faith in you!"

His yellow lightsaber was in his hands, the yellow blade projecting from the metal hilt. He glared at Veiere, trying to keep his balance. Everything hurt, everything in his body hurt but he refused to give in. He refused to give in to the pain that was shooting from his body. Torture hurt but he had to focus on the here and now, forget the pain shooting through his body. He had to focus on Veiere.

"Please, you don't have to do this"

 

[Tin'tinag]

Things looked to be going south and fast, she knew for a fact non of the Jedi here would follow [member="Veiere Arenais"] as he was now, not with the sinister looking lady at his side ad that ungodly looking skull face man with no force signature, more some with a array of storm troopers surrounding the enclave. If anyone was to look at this from afar it would look more like a death squad wanting to recreate order 66 then someone trying to get others to join some new force order, a fight was going to break out no matter what, 'guess now would be a good time to leave'.

Tin went to activate her comm link, about to inform the others to start making their way out through the escape tunnels (that ones [member="Kasca Fen"] was currently using), that had been built in case of another Sith attack which left the enclave a ruin in the first place, "Things are heating up time to-". A loud bang sounded of a weapon being sided, Tin looking up just in time to see the force dead horror looking being charging at her, with speed great speed and a crossguard sabre, an interning weapon, but one with exploitable weaknesses, "who are you calling a queen"?

Performing a small back flip Tin's deep orange blade sprung to life, herself going into a defensive stance, if the other Jedi where smart they would know to run at the sound of blaster fire, but it looked like she was roped into combat, herself standing in the enclave main entrance, the sole thing guarding the entrance as of now. "My you have a ugly mouth", spinning her blade the Twi'lek took a defensive stance, awaiting the strange force dead being to attack.

[member="Mentyor"] (engaging)

[member="Cassius Droma"] l [member="Dacian Jeth"] l [member="Kei Raxis"] l [member="Ariealla Vareldi"]

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

Dacian grunted internally, listening to his master telling him to engage and fight. It was their first combat scenario functioning as a team, and admittedly they hadn't discussed how a fight should progress between the pair working together. So, if Master Arenais wanted to be left alone, and to do his thing, who was Dacian to question it? Besides, the Padawan had only sought to provide support, reluctant to admit it was out of a need to survive and stand a better chance against the formidable opponents they now faced. But he had been given orders, and he would seek out an opponent from the throng of Jedi arrayed before him to--

"Whoa!" Dacian reacted instinctively, his green blade catching the second green blade, before twisting the lock and pushing the attack back with a grunt. This opened the space between the pair. "Come on now... trying to hit us while we're talking tactics?"

Turning to his opponent by default, though Dacian didn't know his name ([member="Cassius Droma"]), he began weighing the individual up. He looked fit, capable with a lightsaber, that swing had been aimed really well and would have clipped both Dacian and Master Arenais, had it not been redirected. Still, the Dark Jedi Padawan was more than capable of handling a lightsaber, and he promptly dropped into another Form V stance, holding the lightsaber hilt up even with his shoulder height, the blade itself angled forward toward his... enemy?

"We don't have to fight, this whole situation can be avoided," The young man said, eyes locked on his opponent, watching his movements. "What's your name? I'm Dacian... and if you give what Master Arenais is saying some thought, you'll see he's right about us needing to strike a middle-ground. Jedi and Sith, they're both flawed. The best position is between them, where we can do the most with what's available."

Not sure if the words he was saying were making an impact, Dacian began to walk slowly away from Master Arenais, giving the Dark Jedi Master some room for his own fight. If things went well, perhaps Dacian would be able to talk his opponent down, reason with him, make him an ally rather than an enemy. But it all depended on what the other young man would do next, and whether he was even willing to consider alternatives to a purely Jedi existence... and if he chose to fight, Dacian would begrudgingly agree.

[member="Veiere Arenais"], [member="Kei Raxis"], [member="Tin'tinag"], [member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Ariealla Vareldi"], [member="Atheus Voidwalker"], [member="Hieronymus Veil"]​

 

[Vora Kaar]

The twi'lek was quite acrobatic in nature with the backwards roll. She had done that a few times before. Likely due to a lack of a weapon when fighting. She knew how to stay out of a weapons range. Oh this would be fun. Sure, she was talented with somersaulting backwards, then coming up into a rather defensive stance. Good for her. Trained enough with a lightsaber to stand the fight. Everyone else seemed to be taking enemies and choosing opponents to fight. Even the one called Atheus fought the woman who turned invisible. Quite surprising change.

I just stood there as she expected me to attack. Simply holstering my blaster and gripped my volatile light saber with my right hand. Left hand out a little in front but still to the side. The woman had asked me if I had called her a queen, or something like that. Then attempting to taunt me. Telling me I had an ugly mouth. I smiled lightly as the metallic skull opened up to reveal a disgusting face that was barely a skull with any skin on it. My long tongue licked what would be assumed of my lips while I smiled brightly. Sauntering over to her.

"All the better to eat you with my dear."

Lashing out from the right very easily, it was quite a wide arc. Yet just before it would reach within the length of her blue lightsaber, it would shut off. The follow through sent the empty blade past her and with a backhand, it activated once more. The orange crackling blade of violent energy would not be a weapon to be tested if she really wanted to try. It had quite the surprise for her should she try and defend against it.

Engaging - [member="Tin'tinag"],

[member="Veiere Arenais"], [member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Dacian Jeth"], [member="Atheus Voidwalker"], [member="Kei Raxis"], [member="Ariealla Vareldi"], [member="Kasca Fen"],

 

[Garza]

She presumed I hadn't felt her presence slip? The Darkness that ebbed and flowed through her? Then she has poorly mistaken me as a fool. Yet the sword she had drawn was quite impressive, I was not quite going to let my own ace out just yet. I wanted to see how well she fought with a blade. If she was going to attempt to gain the upper hand with trickery and illusions, then there is no reason for me to reveal myself. She avoided my strikes with some ease. She had been more adept than a simple acolyte. She knew how to use a blade and fight against one for quite some time. However, I doubt she has had enough training and use as I have. I may look quite young, but I am much older than my perceived appearance.

The weapon she wielded was acting more like an Espadda, yet slightly thicker meant for both slashing, and stabbing. Likely a user of Makashi, and Djem-Sho with the stance she was taking. Those forms would also suit her fighting style well with her smaller frame and elegant sword. I smiled as I took in her form. Sure, my reading was good, but I had faced foes who had pokerfaces. Alkor for one. He was a much better duelist than she and possibly I. Seeing her toe tapping just a mere millisecond before lighting zapped out at me, I simply raised up my left arm. I could feel the pain and grunted slightly as I could feel the nerve endings in my arm firing off.

Pain that began to fuel me further, as well as charge up my arm. Alchemized, it attracted all of the lightning she sent at me, while my armor dissipated the rest due to a faraday cage. I simply rushed forward at her. Crossing the lightsaber from my left to my right to cleave her in half. Lightsabers were weightless, while swords that were imbued with the dark side, which I could feel from the blade she carried, were much heavier than any equivalent that was not affected. Thus, my swings would be much faster than hers, in theory, and the sword would tire her out much faster than a Lightsaber would have.

"You believe me a fool for your skills in the Force? A shame Dark Jedi. I expected more from you."

However, she knew how to use the blade. She would very likely easily blocked my lightsaber. Even affecting it with the force. However, there was something she would not expect from me. Concealed within the palm of my hand was the dark side of the force charging up. Preparing to be unleashed. Sure she may feel that the force was welling up, but would not be able to distinguish the power as my hand concealed the charging particles. Deep within the Dark side, I was more than prepared for her.

[member="Ariealla Vareldi"],

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Truly this man amused her, she would have to be careful to squeeze every sweet, succulent note from his vocal cords before she removed them. Ah but before then, she had best trounce this child with a sword. The poor naive boy presumed her bladework to be comparable to those of the modern era... and though she would admit that bladework had resurfaced as an art form, it ever paled to the days of yore. Alas, naught could bring such swordsmanship back from the grave, and even her own ability had diminished without greats to test herself against. Yet, even so, to her eyes, [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] would be little more than a child with a glowing stick. For instance, his retaliation was to swing from his left, a side she was already striking at, making it as easy as dropping her blade into a low-guard to stop him.

Blades clashed, hissing, screaming. It was beautiful, really.

"A fool? Most certainly, though not for why you seem to believe. Now then, to our duet?" She hummed happily, before moving towards the clashing blades. With swift, elegant motions, she lifted her sword up under the blade, spinning underneath them to stand on the other side, her blade now aimed up rather than down. One, step forward, two, grab the hilt's second segment under the guarded part. Three, with her arms empowered by the force she swung at Atheus's neck in a counter strike.

One, follow through, re-position... a man like this would be able to keep track with such a simple melody. Two.. that was when she thrust again, the sword singing as it sought to impale the man where she expected him to move, to keep his weapon between them. The upbeat, yes... to the tune that rung in her head. To fight this man she would give the honor of dancing her old heart out, he deserved nothing less for being the picture of a Jedi, darkness or not.

Action summary:

Spoiler

• Moved under the blades to reposition (using her sword as a barrier to the lightsaber naturally)
• Swung at Atheus's neck
• Thrust to Atheus's side to attempt to catch him turning to face her.

 

[Cassius Droma]

His blow was caught by the younger man, who put some distance between them with a small shove. Cassius was somewhat thankful for this – if he was facing off against Veiere, he was sure that he wouldn’t last very long. The first strike from the Jedi Master had nearly killed him. If there had been any more like that, Cassius would have been in separate pieces on the ground. This younger man, though, Cassius felt he could at least face off against him and live.

He took a moment to notice the color of the man’s blade – green. Sad that he was facing off against someone who wielded a weapon not unlike his own. Cassius brought his weapon up as well, nearly mirroring the other man’s stance. He slowly moved around him, like a large feline staring down prey.

Dacian was the name of his opponent, and he spoke peace, of not needing to fight. Cassius’s eyes squinted a little in confusion. Was he really trying to talk him down? After what his master just did? “Middle ground? Look around you. Do you see any middle ground here?” At the moment, there were at least three other intense duels raging around them. So much anger and hatred swirling… one could almost taste it in the air.

“Your master was the one who came here, seeking violence and death,” Cassius said as calmly as he could, his steps slowly keeping the distance between him and Dacian as they made their way further from the other duels. “If you don’t wish to fight, I’d advise you speak to him.”

He dropped his stance, leaving himself completely open. “You don’t want to fight, and neither do I.”

“You’re right about one thing: Jedi and Sith are flawed,” Cassius continued. “Both of them. But that doesn’t mean we should just give in to anger and hatred. My name is Cassius, and I am a Jedi. That means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To me, it means that I try to help the people of this galaxy, and defend them from those that might take away their lives or freedom, even if it means I must raise a blade to do so. If you have the same goal, then perhaps you should rethink what you are doing here and why.”

[member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] | [member="Kei Raxis"] | [member=”Tin’tinag”] | [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] | [member="Dacian Jeth"] | [member="Mentyor"] | [member="Kasca Fen"]

 

[Tin'tinag]

Fighting [member="Mentyor"]

Tin cringed slightly with exaggerated disguised at the was her opponents jaw opened, a horrid amalgamation of metal and skin, its black death like colour just screaming, grim reaper or something. "You know usually I would make a sex joke about a line like that, but something tell me you actually eat people, call it a hunch or what ever", being force dead did not seem to help those types of people where always bad new one way or another, at least it was not a Vong of what ever, that would be a problem.

As the, being (man would be to generous) attack Tin readied her blade, wondering why her opponent would make such a wide obvious and easy to block attack, unless he fought dirty. Her suspicion of him turned true, the enemy sabre switching off, passing her defense before coming back to light, the hot blade just managing to reach her body, glancing across her thigh, the Twi'lek bringing her orange bladed sabre staff back to block if from going any further.

Tin let out a slight sly gin as the blades locked with one another, the slight smell of burning fabric and skin floating through the air. "Oh ho ho, a dirty one are we, well two can play at that game", keeping the blades locked Tin move her right arm towards her opponent, a small electrify blade coming from under ht robes, Ting throwing a punch at the enemies wrist with a Thorn of Ryloth.

Spoiler

l [member="Hieronymus Veil"] l [member="Cassius Droma"] l [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] l [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] l [member="Dacian Jeth"] l

 

[Garza]

She was quite lithe. Agile on her feat to spin around under the backhanded blade and then right herself with a slash to my neck. Tilting my head to the side and leaning onto my left foot more heavily than my right, It passed over me. Just enough to cut the fibers on my mask and cut a portion of the scar on my brow. Just enough to feel the hot crimson blood to leak down the side of my face. However, it was a second of readjustment before she stabbed out. Swinging my own sword in and flicking my wrist, it clashed with the blade, and move it aside just enough to miss my center mass, but the tip cut into my arm. It tore into a part of my flesh. My arm was going to feel very sore tomorrow.

My adrenaline would keep the pain at bay for now. Not the worst I had felt before. Remembering the pain of my entire left arm being crushed. Keeping the blade out of her reach, my body pivoted on my left food. Pushing out with my blade in an attempt to keep it away from me, while thrusting my left hand to barely reach her chest as I spoke.

"I don't sing."

The welled up force energy in my hand exploded out. A force push was an instant use of telekinesis. A force Blast was a charged wave of energy that when used much like I had, at such a close range, could make people fly much further than a force push, or if concentrated into a very small surface area, could punch a hole through the persons body. However, I do not wish to kill today. I wanted to keep these floors clean from blood. Nor did I want to ruin the relations I may have with Veiere if I wanted to turn him from this idea of destroying the past. I needed to show that restraint is key.

Summary:

• You knicked my eyebrow and made a nice cut into my right arm.
• I pivoted to close the distance into your blade.
• I unleashed a force burst.

[member="Ariealla Vareldi"],

 

[Vora Kaar]

A dirty one is very true.

Mind or action. I am quite dirty and "evil" according to others. Just because I enjoyed causing pain and killing and feasting upon others, does not make me evil. Just makes me different. However, what made me smile even more brightly was her comment of me being dirty. Since I had opened it up to fight and punch below the belt, I had a feeling she would attempt to return the favor. While we had our blades locked down by her thigh, She forgot that I had used my right hand to swing at her left side. She punched at me with her right arm. With the lightsaber in her left hand defending herself, and the right hand lashing out, She was contorting herself to be all on one side of me.

A sidestep that was more forward movement into the locked blades would let the hidden blade sling out past my head. My let hand reaching up and simply pushing upon her elbow would keep it well away from me, and prevent her from back handing me. She thought she was fighting dirty. Last I remember, she wore no armor. I did. I knew what was going to happen next.

"You have yet to see dirty child."

With a very loud snap sound, the lightsaber I had been using shorted out and completely turned off. However, the orange plasma that had once filled the blade was now spraying everywhere upon her and myself. My armor was lightsaber resistant. So I began to feel the heat as it sprayed me with orange glowing drippings of plasma. Her? I doubt she would have much of a better time. Capitalizing on this, Using the much heavier lightsaber, I aimed to slam it at her kneecap.

Summary:

• Sidestep your Thorn
• My saber shorted out and sprayed plasma everywhere without taking you to dinner first.
• Taking the butt of my lightsaber hilt to slam into your knee.

Engaging - [member="Tin'tinag"],

[member="Veiere Arenais"], [member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Dacian Jeth"], [member="Atheus Voidwalker"], [member="Kei Raxis"], [member="Ariealla Vareldi"], [member="Kasca Fen"],

 

[WolfMortum]

[member="Cassius Droma"] managed to evade Veiere's attack, and soon his Apprentice [member="Dacian Jeth"] was set upon him, the two removing themselves from Veiere's path before the second blade of his hilt could be released in his attempt to finish off the Jedi. Dacian was a new associate of the Dark Jedi Order, the strength and might of the Darkside of the Force flowing across the Planet of Rannon still new and gradually taking it's form, yet the boy was proving to be easily like-able. He carried his own personality, rather than following to Veiere's every whim like a dog; even in the face of fear, Dacian fought for their cause and yet sought not to kill needlessly. For one whom had turned his back upon the Sith, he was showing traits that were almost perfect for the title of Dark Jedi. Veiere's only concern was that he did not become too influenced by their opposition. As such, the Dark Jedi Master's concentration would remain split. Both upon the battle and upon his Apprentice, ever watchful, ever studious.

"Veiere. You don't need to do this. You don't need to slaughter those who once had faith in you!".

[member="Kei Raxis"] was at a loss, his emotions clouding his mind from the very attributes of the Jedi Code that Veiere had once spoken so faithfully during their lessons in the past. Starting the approach towards the Jedi Knight, Veiere's eyes crossed the fighting that was happening around them, the anger, the desperation, the anguish and fight for survival. They had come upon Deneba by the first of their great Assault Cruisers, it alone held enough firepower to devastate the Enclave from low orbit yet blind slaughter wasn't the objective, it never had been. Veiere had come to educate, to undo the heresies that he had brought upon these poor Jedi faithfully following a broken code taught by a broken Order of the past long since dead and buried in the soils of Svivren.

"No one here has to die, today Kei..." Veiere spoke aloud, others might have heard him were they able to distance their ears from the clashing of blades and aggression posed to one another in the midst of conflict and confrontation; "It is my fault you have been misled, it was I whom misled you...Deneba is a testament to my failure, a place of false teachings and arrogant idealism. I've come to offer you all a way out, away from this wretched purgatory of distant hopes and inaction..." His lightsaber thrummed against his right hand, the double handed hilt low to his side surging with power as darkness surrounded him, controlled by his will, mediated by his sight upon the future. "This day as as much about your re-education, as it is a statement to the Jedi in the Galaxy. Peace does not come to those whom turn their noses to the cries of society, nor those whom falsely accuse their own of dissent. Nothing good will ever come from an Order that cannot support it's own and you, Kei...-You know this. Don't give your life for a path you do not believe in anymore".

The Enclave could not remain, that was a fact that stood out larger than anything else around him. Veiere saw this place as a reminder of all that he had tried to achieve following false hopes and a vision of self righteousness. To believe that he could bring Jedi together, to promote peace and only to face resentment and further prosecution. The Politics of the Jedi Order were a disease as poisonous as those of government. That poison needed to be bled from the flesh of this world.

"Free yourself, Kei...-They're not worth your death".

[member="Cassius Droma"] | [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] | [member="Kei Raxis"] | [member="Tin'tinag"] | [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] | [member="Dacian Jeth"]​

 

[Alkor Centaris]

He had no faith left to place in anything.

How long had that been true?

When his last living Brother pleaded with him to leave behind the Mandalorian way and seek truth in the Sith, Alkor humored the man. He watched as the man who reconstructed himself as Metus destroyed all semblance of his own honor and continued to betray any cause but his own. There was no fault to be found in that, no cause for contempt- it simply validated the only truth Alkor had ever known.

Humans were self-indulgent creatures, and trust was both fragile and fleeting. Titles such as Sith, Jedi- they denoted ideologies, but offered nothing tangible. People clung fast to the notion that words meant more than the precious seconds it took to form them. The truth was such a hard thing to swallow, no one found comfort in it anymore.

The difference was, Alkor was bored with being comfortable. He was tired of watching the stagnant denizens of the galaxy slough past like bloated corpses in a sea of waste. When he left the Sith behind, he did so from a position of obscurity; thus, Alkor faded from recent memory and assumed his former life as an assassin.

It was only recently that the chaos called out to him, and the conflict drew him toward the shadows of Deneba.

It was scant hours before the conflict erupted that he pressed the rounds into his rifle and reserved a single shot for every Jedi defender and their ilk that would fall in the name of death and rebirth.

In the narrow corridor between light and darkness, Alkor Centaris cast a long shadow and shone brightly, all at once.

And the sonic grenades he tossed down, into the warzone that was once a Jedi Temple? They shivered, then reverberated as he raised his DMR and took aim.

"The weak will die first," he recited the first words of an ancient text, one he alone remembered, "and their blood will strengthen the foundation."

[member="Veiere Arenais"] / [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] / [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] / [member="Kei Raxis"] / [member="Tin'tinag"] / [member="Cassius Droma"] / [member="Dacian Jeth"]

 

[Zak Amroth]

Ascending Mount Meru by hand was exhausting physically, but Hieronymus could not feel it. Lost in meditation, the Dark Jedi saw through the eyes of his Pawns, dictated their every action, but he was for the most part immune to their discomfort. Nihil smokestone's innate properties were fascinating, and for Rhandites extremely useful, but they had their limitations. For one, range was a factor, but he was close enough to their proximity that he felt confident they could move anywhere throughout what was left of the Deneba compound.

Scalability was another, Veil had heard of Masters back home able to control as many as a dozen Pawns at a time. He could only manage a few more than these three before he lost complete dominance of will. Especially now, out here far from home and the chance of resupply. Foot soldiers for the Dark were easy enough to come by on Rhand, but out here where the Force sensitives were rare and smokestone even rarer, his Pawns were quickly becoming a most precious resource he was loathe to sacrifice needlessly.

At last, his warriors reached the Temple itself, by now already beginning to resemble ruins more than a proud institution of the Jedi.

"You there, halt!"

They had crested near the main hangar, one of several remaining parts of the Temple still under Jedi control for now. Through his Pawns eyes, Hieronymus could see non-combatants lining up to evacuate via transport, while Temple defenders both Jedi and otherwise held off an advancing squadron of stormtroopers. A Jedi warrior had been the first to spot them, Knight level by the look of him, and called out the warning while he advanced on their position.

"Identify yourselves! This is neutral ground!"

"There is no neutral ground," each Pawn spoke as one, but the words were Veil's.

Vibro-arbir blades flashed to the ready, forcing the Jedi Knight to adopt both a grim expression and defensive posture. They marched towards the man in sync until they were within a few meters, then two split off to flank simultaneously, and soon after each one's blades slashed out. Electro-plasma filament struck the Jedi's plasma sword, holding against the intense energy field as sparks rained down upon them. The Dark Jedi's adrenaline spiked, even so far removed from the action in a strict sense. Battle had been joined, an exquisite expression of the entropic Dark, and he would not relent until he had tasted this Jedi's blood on his Pawns' lips.

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

Some of the Force powers and attacks being used in the area were astounding. Dacian had witnessed powerful beings, of course, but never in such dire circumstances. This was literally life and death, as each side fought to win and to claim the prize of survival. It was chaos. Blaster fire from the Stormtroopers peppered the area, deflected bolts spraying through the melee, lightsabers twirled and hummed deadly tunes, and the punches and kicks and flips were everywhere. It was a lot to keep track of, a lot to take in, and the young Padawan knew that if things kept going how they were, then chances were very few would make it out of the combat alive. Yet, in the midst of the fighting, the anger, the calm, the rage, the serenity, the confusion and the determination, there were two who seemed willing to speak.

The lowliest of them all, the least experienced, the ones who ought to have the most to prove.

Ironic.

"Cassius, huh?" Dacian repeated, having listened to the other man's words. "Yeah, I get it. I really do. I used to be a Sith, but I didn't want that fate, I didn't want to become what I was made to be."

A blaster bolt whizzed by Dacian's head, causing him to blink and look toward the trooper who had fired. Lowering his weapon, but keeping it activated solely to defend against any further near misses, Dacian continued, his brows furrowed and his voice barely making it over the sounds of battle.

"You see, I think the problem is that there's become too much emphasis on what a Jedi or Sith is or isn't. It's become so muddied that both sides are seeking a simplification and just giving in to what the galaxy thinks they are... for the Jedi? Self-righteous heroes who need to be loved. The Sith? Evil monsters incapable of basic thought and only want destruction." Dacian motioned to the battle around, raising his eyebrows. "You see? And yeah, I know my Master has his stance on how things should go... but think about it for a second. Even though Master Arenais made the ultimatum, he didn't make orders to open fire, he didn't move to stop anyone, and he didn't attack first."

Dacian pointed to Amelia.

"She did."

And then turned back to Cassius.

"I think deep down, Master Arenais wanted you all to leave. Or join him. I don't think it's about the people so much as it's about ending his connection to this place, the physical location, because it's causing such an imbalance in his path for walking that middle-ground. It's like two parents pulling on your arms, asking you to go with one of them." Dacian glanced to his right, deflecting a blaster bolt, sending it harmlessly toward the nearby building wall. "And what he needs is for those parents to let go and stop trying to control his own path."

"Now, I've grown up around Sith, and I know when the dark side is being channeled and used to manipulate... and I'm telling you, Cassius, something isn't right here. Everyone is so hostile, everyone is out for blood. And I don't just mean from having a threat arrive at the door, and throwing down demands," The young man looked around, eyes narrowed. "This reaction... it's not natural, I think something - or someone - is doing this, encouraging this."

Dacian looked back to Cassius. He wondered if he was making sense.

...and then the world exploded in sound, vibration and concussive force, as sonic grenades began going off throughout the combat area. Dacian was knocked from his feet, sprawling in the dirt as he dropped his lightsaber and felt ringing in his ears and blood from his nose.

"W...what?" Pushing slowly to his feet, Dacian looked around. Dust and smoke was hindering vision. "Master Arenais? Master Arenais!?"

[member="Veiere Arenais"], [member="Kei Raxis"], [member="Tin'tinag"], [member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Ariealla Vareldi"], [member="Atheus Voidwalker"], [member="Hieronymus Veil"], [member="Alkor Centaris"]​

 

[Tin'tinag]

Tin gave a slight grunt of frustration as her attack missed its mark, passing just above his head, herself placing a foot slightly forward, pushing back to put distance between her and the demon looking person in case he tried to slice her arm off. Her hand reaching for a on of the many secondary weapon attached to her belt, now knowing her opponent would use anything to try and win this fight, though it did pose and interesting challenge, "pffft, I have seen plenty dirty, you don't know what my life is like".

With distance put between us the sudden burst of plazma from the blade did not hit her as much, but she was far from being unaffected, some sparks landing against her legs and arms, giving her slight burns, along the lightly armored parts of her body. "Gah!! your going to pay for that", with your light saber off and a few meters distance Tin quickly draws her side arm, firing several shots at her opponent before reaching out her arm, sending a force push through the entrance passage way.

"Men, why do they always shoot when you lest expected, ahhhh that stings", the burns would not hinder her combat ability, but at the same time there were unbelievably annoying. Picking herself up a small echo sounded from the hanger bay, the sound of combat, "Fuck". She was not sure how the enemy ([member="Hieronymus Veil"] pawns) got into the temple but this was bad, but if she left her position the clearly blood thirsty and corrupted member of [member="Veiere Arenais"] new group would be able to enter and wreak havoc.

Summary [member="Mentyor"]
-I dodge back, get hit with plasma a bit
-Shoots you while you sabre is short circuited and send a force push down the entrance
[member="Dacian Jeth"] l [member="Hieronymus Veil"] l [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] l [member="Kei Raxis"] l

 

[Cassius Droma]

Despite Dacian having a darker presence, Cassius felt something of a kindred spirit with him. They were talking rather than fighting. It also wouldn’t be the first time he connected with someone who practiced the darker arts – Srina sprang to mind. He agreed with him on the fact that the terms of Jedi and Sith were used to categorize Force users in a way that was restrictive. Sometimes, Cassius felt he was neither Jedi nor Sith, but more certainly a Jedi than Sith, if that made any sense.

Still, the young man still tried to pretend as if this wasn’t their fault. He pointed to the woman that had struck the first blow. Cassius raised an eyebrow.

“She still arrived with your group,” Cassius said, “a part that reflects on the whole.”

“Veiere is here for his own selfish reasons. If he truly wanted peace, for us to just leave, he wouldn’t have pulled me to him and tried to cleave me in two just now. Your master needs to kill people and burn down a building in order to have some type of spiritual stability… what about that seems middle of the road to you?” After all, they were surrounded on all sides by stormtroopers and dark side users, ready to kill them.

Just as Dacian was explaining some sort of theory about how all of this was possibly the doing of some greater, evil force, a dull thunk sounded in between them. Looking down, Cassius saw a small, metal sphere. A sharp whirring sound began to emanate from it. Without much time to react, the young Jedi snapped his eyes shut and flung his face into the crook of his elbows. The grenade detonated, and he was thrown back, the loudest sound he’d probably ever heard smashing his eardrums.

He hit the ground hard, and he tucked his body inwards as he rolled so as to lessen the injury his body would sustain. Everything was a dull roar as he tried to sit up. The sides of his face were wet – blood from his ears. His eyes stung from the dust as he opened them. Doing his best to reach out with the Force, he tried to feel the battlefield.

This would be an opportune time to make an escape, to get back to the Stardust Melody. Someone had to know about this – he needed to reach the Silver Jedi, and the CSA, as this was technically their territory.

[member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] | [member="Kei Raxis"] | [member=”Tin’tinag”] | [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] | [member="Dacian Jeth"] | [member="Mentyor"] | [member="Kasca Fen"]

 

[Amber]

Posted wrong account

 

[Kasca Fen]

The energy of the area was palpable. The tension between the Jedi and the others was equally so. While Kasca could understand [member="Veiere Arenais"] wanting to lay waste to his old life so that he could be fully reborn anew, she didn't understand why the other's were here. She didn't think Veiere really wanted to kill his former Jedi comrades, but she did think some of the others that came with him did. On a purely observational level, she found this to be conflicting. Did Veiere know of the intent of his entourage? Did he come here thinking perhaps they would do his killing for him? If so, Kasca thought it was a coward's way. However, looking at the man, she had to think that wasn't his style. She could be wrong, looks are often deceiving, but Kasca did not think she was.

Just watching several of his group attack first and with obvious thirst was enough to tell her their intentions for the fight. They wanted death. It was written on their faces. [member="Atheus Voidwalker"] was engaging a woman he called a Sith though she wasn't exactly owning up to it. There was a niggling feeling in Kasca that made her feel uncomfortable when she watched this woman. [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] seemed rather pleased with her fighting partner. Perhaps she liked a challenge. Perhaps Atheus would be a match for her. The Twilek was fighting a massive monster, the likes of which Kasca had never seen. [member="Tin'tinag"] seemed to be well matched at frustrating the giant @Mentyor. Kasca had to smile at that knowing she sometimes fought the same way. [member="Cassius Droma"] and [member="Dacian Jeth"] were talking more than fighting. Veiere was busy with [member="Kei Raxis"] who looked more confused in expression than prepared for battle with someone he used to look up to.

Kasca had none of the history that made this conflict so personal to so many. Perhaps that was why she could look at it so coldly and analyze the situation as she did. She watched from her hiding spot. If anyone approached her, she could fight as necessary to protect herself, but she was rather keen on understanding her vision more than getting involved in this conflict. To that end, she kept herself open to the Force and ready to use her defenses as needed. She never felt much loyalty to the now defunct Jedi Order. It showed in her lack of defense of the Deneba Temple and its inhabitants as well as her indecision to join Veiere and his people in the fight to overtake it.

She did feel a pull to the old Jedi Master that she had once felt when she first understood her ability with the Force. This puzzled her and caused her to remain where she was, watching and waiting.


Decisions, Decisions