Campaign Retribution | Jedi vs. New Sith | SGHW

[Thalia Senn]

Tags: Arlo Renard | Iris Arani

WHAT DO YOU SEE?
​

Creatures born of the Dark - not metaphorically, but physically. Pain, anger, chaos. The other Sithspawn could see it if they wanted to, the horrible process in which maybe not this hound as they could breed on their own, but its progenitor likely faced. The snuffing out of life, the soul ripped from the clutches of the Unifying Force itself, bent and twisted and shoved back into an amalgamation of its former selves. That was a Sithspawn. These were the things that only a practitioner of the Dark could see and find and pluck like the strings of a harp.

Animal friendship was a power that Jedi and Ashlan witches used to coax living, non-sentient beings into their charge. To help them. It occasionally worked on the old warbeasts of the Sith, but those had rarely been truly manipulated and changed by the darkside. Those had simply been trained like a circus nexu and conditioned through pain. A Sithspawn though, especially ones with minds as pliable as this, were not so. These were made for one thing only, and truly, a Jedi using the Force as these two seemed to be doing to block her truer connection to the beast and willing it into an environment that would only cause the beast to deteriorate and decompose as a rusted unused blade would inevitably, were ironically, if unknowingly, imposing their own will on a beast that was literally not meant to touch the light. Again, Solipsis' words echoed in her mind. If she could still muster and stomach the ability, the beast would burn at a touch from Force Light. Yet these two unknowingly were filling the beast to bursting with the same intent.

She would save the beast from its demise. She pulled at the beast's mind again, this time bringing with her the feeling of returning to the pack. To purpose. To freedom from the perverse light that shone between the two that threatened to corrupt the very physical fiber of its being.

 

[Dagon Kaze]

RETRIBUTION
THE GREAT ERROR vol. III
Issue #2 vs. Adriana Fortemps

​

Dagon chose to ignore her words, opting to focus on the offensive and the ground he was gaining. She was lithe and nimble and the lapse in her conviction was filled by gut-wrenching resentment rippling through the Force. But sapping her zeal had given him the edge to press onto her until there was no quarter. He knew it and she knew it - it was only a matter of time. And as the facility's entry drew nearer and nearer, the swings and slashes of the blades abated to secondary priority - merely actions of the two force user's muscle memory. It was all about the next step. Who would predict the other's move; who would capitalize on the opportunity first; who would outplay the other.

Blue eyes pierced through the crossing of blades into the sulfuric gaze of the Sith as if they would reveal her next move. The strength behind his swings grew the closer they drew to the entrance, seeking to bat the blade off her hand. She conceded no iota of despair on her face, this wouldn't be her first time pressed into a corner. Probably wouldn't be her last, too. Inches away now from the entrance and there was a slash or three left before the inevitable conclusion of the duel. Any moment now and she'd have to act... but how exactly.

The Jedi's blade came down from above into a high block only for the cerulean saber to cut through air and locks of argent hair. This was it. His free hand snapped instinctively to grab her wrist but again his only contact was the putrid air of the quarry. A numb pain jolted into his stationary, rear leg and a moment later he tumbled backward landing hard on his back. His hilt tumbled away from his hand and in a quick defensive reaction, Dagon sent his other leg to sweep the Sith off her feet, too.
​

 

[Dimitri Voltura]

TAG: Darth Ptolemis | Zaka

ENEMIES​

I. am. not. you.​

The verbal statement balked Dimitri momentarily, his eyes snapping from the Jedi toward his apprentice.

The Dragon was speechless while Ptolemis engaged the Lightsider.

<Since when do young apprentices talk to their masters like that?>

In the heartbeat that the two apprentices clashed, the Snake chose the moment to haggle the Dragon once more. Darth Anguis, the eternal master in his head. <Do dragons bow to sheep now?>

His old master had been silent for the longest time, finally appeased with the path Dimitri was on. Yet now, he chose to speak up once more. They didn't always see eye to eye, but in this moment, he spoke true.

In answer, the tunnel around them darkened considerably as the Bogan stepped in, the only light the sabers clashing and the Dragon's crimson gaze burning bright as the age-old anger lifted its scaly head.

"No. You are not me."​

With voice hauntingly even, the blast of Force was immediately flung at Darth Ptolemis with vehemence.
"Learn your place, Apprentice." Although his voice was even, there was no mistaking the weight of it.

Turning his burning gaze to the Jedi that had put some space between them, he briefly gave the young man a chance to speak.

"Why spare the girl, just to kill countless later?"

"I would not expect a scalding hothead like yourself to understand. Just know I'm not one of the devouring, mindless pawns of the one that currently fancies himself Sith'ari." Dimitri shook his head slightly with a sigh. "I see I won't be able to sway you from your indoctrinated mindset with mere words. So be it." With that, the Hydra struck.

Not with the blade, but with the mind. His title was not given to him in vain. The multi-headed mental attack struck at different parts of the Lightsider's mind, aiming to find the smallest of crevices to sink his fangs into. Not to harm, but to give the Jedi the smallest of glimpses of Dimitri's own agenda regarding the weapon.
<I have seen enough destruction in this Galaxy in my lifetime. I do not wish for more, regardless of my alignment.>

Not that he expected the young man to see reason.

The Dragon did not stand idle, however. He awaited a physical onslaught - not just from the Jedi, but from his own apprentice now as well. He did not expect the Fondorian to take the beating lying down.

The Dark Master was disappointed.

For the first time in 7 years.

 

[Darth Ptolemis]

P U R G A T O R Y

Preventing Jedi from getting to the superweapon, within the bowels of Asog.

Equipment in bio.

Dimitri Voltura Zaka | Tags open!

​

The apprentice leaned hard into the thrust that was aimed at the blinded Jedi's abdomen. His movements carried an added momentum, a brutal weight, devoid of finesse or flair. The Sith's torso bent along the path of his strained and now fully extended arm. Almost convinced of the impalement's success, the Shrouded Sith grit his teeth in anticipation. But the Force was with this young man. And his master's words cut through the fog of combat like a burning arrow.

"No. You are not me."​

The room darkened, reflecting the palpable surge of wrath within the Dragon's chest. Ptolemis' center of gravity had shifted only minutely too far on his forward footing just as his eyes darted to meet his master's furious gaze, yet still it was a mistake that the capable bladesman could instinctively take advantage of. With a mighty downward blow he redirected the straightforward stab, jolting the Fondorian out of balance, and immediately delivering a bone-cracking punch to his face. A snap-crack immediately appeared across his mask. His face and body twisted and followed the path that the heavy impact launched them on. Right as Ptolemis was about to stumble and fall, his vulnerable body was mercilessly blasted back – but not by the Jedi… By his master.

Its force was irresistible. Its strength absolute.​

A series of dripstones broke off as the apprentice's frame plowed through them one by one. His limp body eventually hit the dirt and rolled a couple of feet, leaving the lower part of his mask, as well as his lightsaber, scattered all over the cavern.

"Learn your place, Apprentice."​

Whatever transpired around the corrupted Fondorian, for him there was only silence and darkness. Lying face-down upon the abyssal plane of his mind, he could only hear the whispers of his profaned crystal. Eerie, muffled screams of mouthless souls floated him to consciousness and he eventually opened his eyes.

Then he felt again. Dizziness settled into confusion. Confusion bloomed into clarity. Clarity soon festered into malice. Ptolemis exhaled and pushed himself up on one knee. Then, his arm snapped at his cruel saber, which obeyed his demand and flew into his palm. As the bruised and scorched silhouette at the back of the tunnel stood up, the entire mineshaft began rumbling. The foreboding sound grew ever louder as each and every untethered piece of rock, both large and small, began floating off the ground.

With his free hand the apprentice then sluggishly pointed at the two men in front of him, thick blood oozing from an open gash on his palm. Then, without warning, beneath the tectonic hatred of Lord Ptolemis, all boulders and rocks flew at the two ahead at once. The barrage of stone continued to coalesce into a steady stream of sharp gravel, rock and earth. The tunnel was shaking. Its stability in peril. Yet the apprentice cared not for his life, or anyone else's at this moment.

For him, there was only hate... and madness.​

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

// LORD FORDYCE //
// ASOG, MINING FACILITY //
// OBJECTIVE 1 // ASSIST MINING EFFORTS //
// Dagon Kaze //

---

---

The kick found its purpose, taking the man off the offence as her foot swung into the man's leg. Once again, however, his instinct for fighting prevented her from seizing the opportunity in its entirety. The Sith found herself meeting the metal floor of the parapet as quickly as the Jedi had, her leg being taken out from under her as the foot she planted was met with the boot of her opponents.

Breath escaped her lungs in a grunt as she fell, grip loosening on the pale red lightsaber as she crashed. The pair's proximity to the chasm below threatened to swallow the both of them as they fell, the darkness of the superweapon calling out to them to fall.

The call of the pit wouldn't go unanswered, as the recently freed black hilt of Jorryn's lightsaber rolled free from her hand across the edge of the ramp.

Panic began to set in as she reach over the ledge too late to save the weapon, dark fingertips reaching out to pull nothing from the depths below. The Silver-haired Sith quickly pushed herself to one knee as she realized there was another lightsaber here that had recently been separated from its master. Desperation rang through her bones as she quickly surveyed the walkway for wherever the raven-haired man's lightsaber had gone.

I can't lose here.

Amber eyes reignited as the silver hilt of the Jedi caught Jorryn's sight, a hand quickly reaching out to drag it towards her with the force. She couldn't allow herself to lose here, there would be little comfort for those in the Maw that couldn't hold their own. The Echani could only hope the hilt reach her hands before her enemy's.

 

[Dhalinar Greystar]

Looking for: Blade Ice

The way of the Vornskr was often called the Ferocity Form. Most people saw it as giving in to the dark and pouring it out. In truth it was the most Jedi form of lightsaber combat. Returning the darkness taken as righteous light and using the enemy's own power against you. He was ready to take the strike but the soft thump and the quick sprint told him something was about to ruin his day. He looked down, the red light of the charge timer only a few ticks away.

"Well kark,"

The way of the Vornskr was also a solid way to live your life. He didn't need this kind of negativity in his, that was for sure.

Two.

With the force, he picked up the thermal detonator and chucked it back at the sprinting form of the Sith he'd been fighting. At that moment he realized he had never gotten the man's name.

One.

He tried to throw up a shield between him and the ensuing blast, the detonator exploding about halfway between him and the Sith. The energy from the blast pushed him back a few feet but still, he was no worse for wear. The man was far away now, easily out of the blast radius. Not too far to re-engage if he wanted, but Dhalinar had the sneaking suspicion that the Masters had done their job.

 

[Yula Perl]

Cadere | Del | Hilal Vizsla

Yula ducked out of the way of the telekinetically thrown rebar, narrowly dodging the Dark Jedi's lightsaber thrust to the gut when he rushed her. He'd come up fast, striking at her like lightning through static air. Absently, she reminded herself that real lightning was a possibility, and to be wary of blue sparks.

Again, crimson plasma clashed against golden yellow when the masked one swung his weapon downward in a heavy arc. This time, Yula's footing wasn't as solid. The force behind his strike caused her to bend further, exertion plain in the clench of her jaw. So close, he was so close that she could see her own distorted reflection in the sheen of his visor. Too close—close enough for that same feeling of familiarity to pervade her senses. This time, it was far more potent.

A shout drew their attention, and the Dark Jedi put some distance between Yula. Their attention had been drawn to a heavily armored Mandalorian, distinctly feminine and young from the muffled voice. That…wasn't good. Historically, they'd sided with Sith. Still, splinter groups existed all over the galaxy with their own affiliations and interpretations of the code.

"Toss your Lightsaber to me and put your hands up!"

The blonde—who was Yula's favorite, if she had to choose—held up her palms in defense, trying to negotiate with the interloper. Her own opponent paused. Yula killed the ignition, raised both hands, and let the saber hilt clatter to her feet.

"Don't shoot. Or if you're going to shoot someone, shoot him."

Hands still raised, she pointed aggressively at the Dark Jedi.

Man, what a day. First the Sith, then someone hacks into her eye, and now a Mandalorian.

It still wasn't over, though. Her opponent had lingered and Yula thrust her palms forward, sending an invisible wave of energy rippling at the Dark Jedi. It wasn't graceful, but it ripped through the air with brutish strength. The moment it discharged from her fingertips, she flexed her digits and recalled the saber hilt to her.

Something in her wanted to tear that mask from his face.

 

[Haro Harend]

The unlikely duo took off at a trot to unite the Padawan with her Master. They had fell into somewhat comfortable silence, broken by Xarielle's occasional directions as they maneuvered through the facility. Haro had surreptitiously attempted to radio the Temple for clarification, using ever comm channel he could...to static. Hells, he even used some from back in the Rebellion. 'Is it this planet? Why can't I reach Yavin?'

His brooding was broken by Xarielle's question:

"Uh, just out of curiosity. Master Haro, was it? Um, who- who's Emperor and who's black bones? I mean are they really black and also why are they black?" The tone of her voice paired with her question as she navigated her way through the facility feeling out with the Force for Master Noble.

Haro chuckled. "Well, as to who, it depends on who you ask. For Jedi of my generation, it's a reference to Emperor Sheev Palpatine- Darth Sidious." He made sure to project nothing but disgust. "He masterminded the Clone Wars, the opening salvo of the Purge, founded the Empire. But, Vader...killed and usurped him as Emperor, so a lot of folks refer to him as well. But they were both plenty bad. Evil so refined, so pure, it blackened their souls to the bone."

They continued down the path, led by Pavanos with unerring accuracy, until they came upon her Master, Valery Noble , with a young lady flung over her shoulder.

"Master Noble!" It wasn't hard to miss Kaiah Nihl slung over the Jedi's shoulder, Xarielle walked beside the Jedi Master and gestured with her thumb toward the slung over woman, "uh, you know on Balmorra we normally carry sacks of grain or potatoes like that, she gonna be ok?"

"Oh and uh, this is Master Haro." Xarielle introduced the other Master.

He stifled a snort as he bowed. "A pleasure, Master Noble. And I'd like to say, this young lady is a credit to you as a Master- she's more then held her own in all of this", he said, making a wide motion in the general vicinity. "She's also been a help since I crashed here, but I can't seem to get a comms out. Do you know how to reach the Grandmaster? A lot has happened in the last few hours- I need to reach him."

Xarielle Pavanos Valery Noble

 

[Hilal Vizsla]

Mandalorian Armor

What kind of Sith has a malfunctioning Lightsaber? She's either the most incompetent Sith Lord in the entire galaxy or the more likely scenario she's trying to trick Hilal! Yeah that's right! It's a clever ruse devised by the Sith to make Hilal FEEL in control while she tries to go in for the kill. Clever girl but it's not going to work on a Mandalorian like Hilal! However, as Hilal's advanced HUD scanned the woman's Lightsaber it turned out it was legitimately broken...... "Wait what?!" Hilal said still holding the blaster cannon towards the young woman. She looked to be no older than Hilal was. "Who the hell are you?!" She demanded. "J-just toss your Lightsaber to me Sith!"

Hilal tried to maintain some semblance of control. It's just that this Sith Lord wasn't what she expected, she looked pretty..... awkward like Hilal is. The most frustrating part though was that Hilal couldn't tell if she was putting on an act. "Just get on your knees!" Hilal said. "I don't know if I can trust you! For all I know you'll just back stab me with your magic! You think I'm stupid huh?! You think I'm going to fall for your innocent act?!"

A voice was then heard from afar..... so she was right again...... interesting. The voice did sound familiar as well, who was that woman. "Just a minute!" Hilal shouted. "I'm just handling a Sith at the moment!"

Del Cadere Yula Perl

 

[Katherine “Kitti” Fiorencia]

OBJECTIVE ONE - EYE OF THE STORM
Judah Lesan Spindle​

Kitti gritted her teeth as his saber met hers with a violent clash. Her eyebrows furrowed as her saber was knocked away, and then she let out a grunt as the force push was levied at her stomach, sending her flying backwards and smashing into the rocky wall behind her.

She moaned as she fell to her knees, then glared accusingly at Spindle as she let out a growling sound between her teeth,

"Some help you are!" She snapped, pulling herself back up to her feet and stepping forward again towards the Jedi. She brought her violet blade up in front of her, but did not attack, instead waiting for her supposed ally to make a move. It was apparent that she was being used as bait, and that didn't sit well with the Acolyte.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?!" She spat as she motioned with her head towards Spindle 's saber. "Perhaps I leave you to fight the Jedi on your own! I have very little invested in this fight beyond my own amusement!" She reached back with one arm and cracked her back, letting out a slight groan at the bruising she had received from the force push. Then she turned her attention back to Judah Lesan , her motivation for engaging him slipping further and further away, knowing she stood little chance alone against him.

"Listen…" She said solemnly, "I don't want to return to the Netherworld, so just… let me pass. You can go destroy the weapon for all I care, just…" She then motioned with her hand for him to step aside so that she could pass by him without further incident.

 

[Iris Arani]

Arlo Renard | Thalia Senn​

Force Light, Sithspawn.

None of that mattered to Iris. She wasn't trying to purge the darkness around them. She wasn't trying to attain a state of being Jedi strived for. She was reaching through the colors. The haze of emotions, all that any living being experienced, to try and drag Thalia Senn from the darkness of the Sith that lingered in the shadows. Until she felt the pain from Sophie through the meld. She blinked.

"Wha-" A moment of hesitation was all it took. Whatever she was trying to do, faded. The meld between her and the wolf, broken. Why had what she done hurt Sophie?

She panicked.

 

[Arlo Renard]

It wasn’t Iris’ doing. It was Kai’s.

Sithspawn faced Sithspawn, their bodies aflame. Both were in terrible pain. Tears streamed from Kai’s eyes, his vision blurred. His insides felt like they were melting, burned away by the light within. His tainted blood boiled.

Kai had always been something that shouldn’t be able to exist, yet did. He was a contradiction, dual natures in one being. Something pure inside something corrupted. Now his body was a cage, keeping him from doing what he should. Keeping him from what he wanted to do, who he wanted to be…

He slumped forward on his hands and knees, trembling. He was not a hero or a knight. Those dreams felt far away, a hazy mirage over the fire in his veins. He was just a Sithspawn who had tried to use the Light, and wound up hurting himself and others.

Sophie whined and howled in pain. Kai reached out and tore down the tendrils of darkness through which Thalia sought to do harm. The Warghest raced over to him, her canine tongue licking the salt of his tears as he wrapped his arms around her neck, burying his fingers in her fur.

<Iris, I can’t,> he said, his mental “voice” obviously weakened. <You can’t reach her. No one can fix her but herself. Fight her and defeat her for Domxite. Kill her if you have to. Domxite is what we came here for.>

Iris Arani Thalia Senn​

 

[Thalia Senn]

Tags: Arlo Renard | Iris Arani

​

There was a feedback loop, a snap, and a flash. For an instant the sea was calm, the bright sun warming her face. Thalia raised a hand to block the sun from her eyes. Tempest was curled up in a ball, screaming. Thalia had never known a scream to be so wonderful to hear. Maybe it wasn't the Jedi way, but she basked in the minor victory. That is until the scream began to morph into the cry of a Drake. Tempest's body spasmed and grew and as she grew the storm returned. The Dark Drake rose from the remains of Tempest, turning its beady eyes on Thalia.

"Jump," Came the familiar voice of Khefiir . "Jump Thalia!" The Drake stumbled forward, beak snapping. Its wings sent splinters into the air as it made its mad dash.

Thalia jumped and the cold water embraced her.

Tempest stumbled back and glared at Iris. That was it. This child needed to die. She took a step forward and realized for the first time that she was shaking. Shaking? Tempest looked down at the lightsabers gripped in her fists. Shaking. Looking up to the shaking Sithspawn and the panicked Iris she tried to take another step forward but couldn't. She cursed, deactivating her lightsabers. Was she afraid? Of what? She committed the scene to memory and dashed away, snatching her helmet along the way.

It wasn't until she put the helmet over her head that she could hear her own breath coming out in short, panicked gasps.

 

[Leon Gallo]

Erion Justeene​

This was how he liked it. No words were said in the exchange, no pauses to tell one’s foe their life story. This was a dance of blades and death. Each blow met by the opponent’s parry or dodge, moving in time to the rapid beat of a warrior’s heart. In one strike, Leon had come dangerously close to ending the fight, off by barely a millimeter.

Briefly the partners separated, and lightning filled the gap between them. Instinctively, Leon’s sabre rose to block the attack, catching the full force of the first blast. Sparks filled his vision, light flashing and blinding him for a moment. A moment was all that was needed for the next blast to find it’s mark.

“Gyah!”

The Jedi could feel his skin boil and burn, each volt filling his mind with more pain. Then a third blast of lightning caught him completely unguarded, sending him to his knees. Struggling to stand, Leon forced his head up, staring down his opponent, waiting for the strike that would surely come.

Use the pain! Get up and use that pain to fight harder!

The voice came from within, urging him on. It was his only option.

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris gritted her teeth as Arlo Renard 'spoke' to her. He was hurt. Sophie was hurt. Her hand reached out to pull over her saber, flicking the blue blade back on as she moved between the fallen and the Sithspawn. Ready to fight if she had to. But.. Fight and win? For Domxite? The Padawan was filled with uncertainty. Kill Thalia Senn ? No. Domxite wouldn't want that.

Then Tempest ran. Iris blinked, for a moment tempted to run after her. But.. She didn't. Not hesitation. Behind her the pained whine of Sophie, felt the pain of Kai and the wolf.

".. No, we leave. Sophie, can you carry Kai?" She turned off her blade, looking back to the injured two.

"We go back to the ship and leave."

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

Destroy The Superweapon
Fight The Maw
Survive
Darth Kalyptos
Ishida Ashina

Rather Die Than Give You Control

​

The Knight watched as the lightning skimmed past the creature before coming in contact with its purple blade.

Blue sparks were collected within the lightsaber, the energy building up within it. At first it looked as if the electricity would overcome the blade. That was until he saw the bolts being directed right back at himself. He was not prepared for his own power to be used against him. Bright bolts of electricity struck into his chest, piercing through his light robes. The pain offset him even more than he already was.

Looking up, he watched as the same violet blade that deflected the lightning begin to strike downward. The Knight tried to back step out of the way, yet the burning saber still struck his upper right shoulder. It wasn't a deep enough wound to sever the limb, but it could still be felt through the immense amount of pain. A cry of pain exited his mouth.

Bringing up his saber in some attempt to stop anymore attacks, he was surprised to see the beast staggering backwards. To shurikens protruded from its shoulder. It didn't seem to last for long though. The pain from the weapons did not affect him like the others.

Unfortunately now the Knight would have to go on the defensive. His robotic left hand held onto the saber strongly while his right loosely gripped it, still in serious pain from the saber wound.

With Maw soldiers still coming by the hundreds, the Knight just prayed to the force that the superweapon was being destroyed.

 

[Zaka]

RETRIBUTION
BLACKFANG - THE (NEW) JEDI vol. II
Issue #6 - Retribution: Jedi Strike Back
Objective 2: Strike Team Skywalker
Dimitri Voltura Darth Ptolemis

He felt something beneath his metallic forearm give way, before he sent the Shrouded Sith sprawling to the side somewhere. Zaka was already moving, but his brows shot up when the bladesman's force push blasted his apprentice across the cavern. By then, his eyes were watery, and he was reahcing up to wipe at them. He could use the Force to see for as long as he needed to, but eventually he'd have to trust in his eyes again.

Best to be prepared.

Their exchange continued, and while he was privy to it, he could only think as to how odd of a pairing it was.

The Master proclaimed righteousness and morality, and the other clearly hadn't a shred of care for the lives of bystanders. He suspected that whether they were slaves, mindless drones, or droids, the Shrouded Sith's opinion would be the same. The Sith he expected. And the one who managed to unnerve him less than the former.

"I would not expect a scalding hothead like yourself to understand. Just know I'm not one of the devouring, mindless pawns of the one that currently fancies himself Sith'ari."

What was inaction if not reluctant acceptance?

Zaka's upper lip curled in disgust, but before he could snap back with a ready reply, he felt an overbearing presence penetrate his mind. There were no defenses he could put up in time to stop it. Recoiling physically as much as mentally, he sensed the apparent honesty behind the Sith's words all the same.

<I have seen enough destruction in this Galaxy in my lifetime. I do not wish for more, regardless of my alignment.>

A thin lip made up his mouth once he heard the Dragon's voice in his mind. Unfamiliar, but haunting g all the same to hear another's voice, Zaka's features tightened into a visible grimace.

<Then help me.> His hand tightened on the lightsaber hilt. Some Sith speaking honestly wasn't about to stop him from doing what he came here to do. <Say what you want. Deny it if you want. But the actions you take, those are the real truth. And if you stand by and do nothing, digging up this weapon like every other pawn, you're no better than the monsters you claim morality over.> He leveled his lightsaber up in front of him, angled in the direction of the Dragon.

It was simple in his eyes.

"Help me destroy this weapon. Prove that you speak honestly." He pleaded. He had no need for guile, no need to trick the Sith. Hotheaded, outnumbered, outclassed -- Zaka didn't care. He may not have liked Sith, they were the exact reason for the shit state of the Galaxy, but he still had to have faith. Faith that there was a future that he could help bring forth.

He'd already stopped bothering with trying to clear his eyes of the dust particles. His watery gaze shut, and he slipped inward. The violet blade shut off between them, even as the Sith readied themself for an attack.

"Or kill me, and keep being a bystander to Darth Solipsis ' machinations."

Once more particulate and stones rose into the air, these ones larger than the last. From pebbles to boulders, but Zaka did not move to intercept them. Did not react with any more than a glance as they steadily grew larger, pelting his frame, shredding the exposed parts of his bodysuit with their Force enhanced velocity.

Rocks, shattered earlier in the day as evidenced by the slaves that had been present and their tools rose up, closing in, and still, he did not move.

 

[Vesta]

Whore​

She supposed that she should have been surprised when he caught her blade, supposed that she could have been concerned by the way that he appeared to try to reinvigorate the world even as she consumed it. His posturing was the sort of lecturing she loved to hate, the kind of preaching that ignored her own choices, her own desires, and tried to trick her into thinking that she could place all of the blame for her own decisions on someone else. She never could figure out of this was a genuine line of thought, the de facto frame of mind that every Jedi defaulted to whenever they encountered someone with even a modicum of understandable life choices, or if this was just a talking point they had been coached in to get the people like her to sway over to their side.

Vesta, however, didn't care.

What he said to her wasn't something she hadn't heard before, it wasn't even something that hadn't occurred to her, herself, first. Every bit of pleading, urging, and hollow understanding was muted by the overwhelming weight of missing context that he wasn't privy to. "It's easy for you to tell me that all it takes is stopping." She said through clenched teeth, abandoning the use of her lightsaber as she poured every ounce of the raw, chaotic, emotions that twisted and turned within her to demonstrate just how far she had chosen to go for a cause that she was incapable of abandoning. "Some of us have no choice left." She added, bitterly, while the fog of her presence that hung over them receded into her - condensing the metaphysical existence that shared her state of being and joining it with the physical body that he fought against.

Her lightsaber disintegrated in her hand as she thrust it towards him, the force pulling into her like oxygen out of an airlock, and from the tips of her fingers she unleashed an explosive burst of telekinetic force that pushed her backwards with the thunderclap of the sound barrier being crossed. "I chose this life for myself, I did what our family would not, could not." She insisted, her voice raising to a shout so she could be heard as the ringing from the sonic boom set in. The ground beneath her feet dried and cracked as life, moisture, energy, was sapped from the very foundation they fought on. It was evident by the misplaced empathy the man tried to have with her position that he didn't know anything about her at all, probably heard whatever he had from rumors or talkative council members.

Skin flaked from her hands as she let her anger consume her, her hunger reaching its zenith, and a lifted hand forced the laws of nature themselves to bend at the knee to her rage - the ground rippling towards him like concrete and soil during an earthquake, the air pulling back towards her with a whistle of fear. Beneath the façade of flesh that she masqueraded in was the shadowy existence of something horrible, the raw darkness, an emptiness, that felt as hollow as her black heart, and with each stitch of flesh that peeled away with her rising temper more of it was exposed to the naked eye. "I became a monster so I could kill the rest of them, because this galaxy will never be at rest until none of us are left and the light - the Jedi - is too weak to do the job right."

The self-loathing in her was palpable, perhaps even the source of her connection with the dark side itself, and the further she walked towards the inevitable the more that hatred grew. The pain of payment for choosing to do what she had done, both to herself and others, was soothing to her where it was unbearable to anyone else - self-flagellation to remind herself that her existence wasn't one worth enduring despite her need to continue living long enough to see her plans through. Kahlil Noble thought he understood her well enough to urge her to back down, but in reality he made her feel vindicated in the caricature she made of those like him in her mind whenever she expressed her displeasure at the ineptitude of the Jedi in cutting people like herself down.

"I won't stop until I see that through, and you can't stop me unless you kill me."

 

[Ishida Ashina]

THE WHISPER OF A WEAPON

LIGHT TRAVELS FASTER THAN ANYTHING
OBJECTIVE TWO | HEART OF THE BEAST | STRIKE TEAM SKYWALKER
LIGHT THINKS IT TRAVELS FASTER THAN ANYTHING
BUT IT IS WRONG
NO MATTER HOW FAST LIGHT TRAVELS,
IT FINDS DARKNESS HAS ALWAYS GOT THERE FIRST.
AND IS WAITING FOR IT.

ARE YOU READY TO DIE​

Breath whooshed through her as Ishida arched away from the downward strike meant to behead her. She yanked her sabre back with her, re-poising it horizontally for the follow-up defence for an upward attack. The wielder had crushing strength, but she’d trained well mid-range weapons with a deadly end. Master Sardun’s hammer was likened to the weapon here in the hands of the Battlemind.

The arrival of the second attacker, specifically honed in on Ishida within the swam, went almost unnoticed save for the clamping noise of its weapon. It shrieked above the din of conflict. It was wholly unattached to the alarm system she was so intimately dependent on, The Force.

She was in a swarm of sun-deprived sycophants with exoskeletons that caged in their mutated bodies, crosshatched with scars, that could take advantage of the lack of information she could receive on her surroundings. On top of that, she realized, almost too late, that telekinetic attempts would not work here. Powerful blasts of Force energy would die in the void that filled the tunnel. A waste.

Only the hardness of the environment and physical attacks could be used against them. She tightened her grip on her sabre and adjusted her defences to be more aggressive.

“Enough.” She hissed through the teeth of her mask as if she was able to inherit the strength of the drone she’d slain and now stretched across her mouth. Before the end of the day, broken bones from a Vong would be added to her panoply.

With smallness as her advantage, Ishida contained the Force to her own benefit. Muscles imbued with its life breath made her stronger and faster, and she twisted again from the incoming chomp of the metal jaws. It captured pieces of her hair, and she reached up to intercept its trajectory. With a forceful grip, with strength that didn’t belong to one of her stature, she yanked it toward her and down, closer to the Battlemind behind her. Hopefully, it would draw the neophyte into the range of the Battlemind and they’d inadvertently take care of one another’s slaughter.

But time was not on her side. She did not remain in proximity to see through the outcome.

She maintained the momentum of The Force’s blessing, disengaging the tell-tale glow of her white blade, and planted a foot on the sloped shoulder of the tri-armed assailant. Her step was ephemeral, using him only as a kickstart to leap to the next group of shoulders. She had already shifted to look to her next target in this deadly game of leapfrog. What had been lilly pads back home on Atrisia were now children of the void, mutated bodies that had been carving through the walls to get to the same superweapon she intended to destroy.

Tinier than many within the caves, the white-haired atrisian dared to hop, weave, dart, whatever it took to get through the crowds and closer, closer to the weapon they’d been digging for.

Assuredly, her hyperfocus on closing in on the target would be interrupted — but hopefully, by then, she’d come up with a plan to overcome the Force-dead creatures she’d involved herself with.

---

NJO | SKYWALKERS/GROUNDCRAWLERS | Okkeus Dainlei

| Zaka | Iris Arani | Arlo Renard | Silas Westgard | Jorah zos Darnus
BROTHERHOOD OF THE MAW | Darth Kalyptos | Thalia Senn | Darth Vow | Dimitri Voltura | Darth Ptolemis

 

[Dagon Kaze]

RETRIBUTION
THE GREAT ERROR vol. III
Issue #2 vs. Adriana Fortemps

​

Dagon found himself in a situation where the tables had turned after being a mere inch away from disabling the Sith. Now, their standoff partially recalled the eons-old idiom of don't bring a knife to a blaster fight. She held his blade, he held only his fists. Any other adversary and the Knight wouldn't have been worried over the odds but a Sith?

When the playing field is uneven -- break the field.

"Don't hate me too much." he gave her a cocky smirk before the empyrean surged around his right fist and Dagon hammered the walkway with a punch that's sound resounded through the air. The walkway broke, split by the strength of the Force and both force users fell into the chasm. Sliding uncontrollably, they eventually tumbled into a dimly lit tunnel where previously Kalyptos' servants had been.

Gritting his teeth in pain, the raven-haired Jedi picked himself up with a slight stagger. He couldn't count the newly opened wounds and broken bones. His contingency had been thwarted. All that remained was him and the Sith.
​