Slave to the Grind [Dar'rak Training]

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Mission Name: Slave to the Grind
Mission Location: Tatooine
Mission Difficulty: Medium
Mission Objective: Rescue captured slaves

Tattooine ​

Debris and her body went flying. With the gust of wind that came with with the blow, Kiskla's lithe frame twisted and she landed on her feet, both of her lightsabers pointed behind her.
So far, they had only exposed strips of flesh on the monster's body and not done any damage. Well, other than the defeat of infiltrating the ring.

She thought this kind of thing only happened on Geonosis, but half a week into their investigation, Kiskla and her Padawan had determined otherwise. And now they were knee deep in the mess of the outskirts of Tattooine. Or maybe it wasn't outskirts, she was having trouble keeping track of all the sand.

She could taste blood in her mouth, and feel the hot stick of sweat against her brow. Her attention was divided between the massive adversary, and the well-being of her Padawan learner. This had been their first venture, the two of them, chasing down an ambiguous league of slave traders that lead to an undercover gladiatorial arena; and here she was almost getting him killed.

"@[member="Dar'rak"]!" Kiskla called above the noise of the frustrated creature. Once she had his attention, she released her grip on one of her blades, sending it in the direction of the dragon. It was not the dual blade he was used to, but it would have to do for now. His was too shaky to use against an adversary like this, and would be of little use.
Problem was, Kiskla didn't know what this creature was. Or, how these slimy dealers had got their hands on it. It was at least three times the size of a gundark, and three times as deadly. Her not knowing what is was, gave her little advantage on knowing how to render it incapable.

Again, Kiskla moved. Diving to the side of one of the Gorog's limbs. Quickly, she jolted upward, scaling the creature's leg and jumping until she was at it's shoulder. With a powerful twist of her shoulders, she brought her blade downward, penetrating the first layer of the gorog's skin, and grazing it's skull beneath. Other than giving it a blip of irritation, her attempt was futile and only meant the creature was now more agitated. It reared it's head back, and Kiskla clutched to the hilt of her buried sabre to maintain her position. But it's shaking was difficult to counter, and even with her determination, the blonde bounced from her position to the creatures back, where she frantically grabbed at stray pieces of hair. Successfully, she gripped a patch, and swung her weight backward against it's body with a grunt.
She tugged on the hair, as she shifted her weight to her toes and used her abdominal strength to lift her legs upward, and flip backwards to the sealed plate that she assumed had once restrained the creature.

From this vantage point, she could see the arena. Most spectators were scrambling for their lives -- those that had organized the arena were all a flurry -- and they had been the objective of the mission. She couldn't see her Padawan, but she hadn't felt him die either. With all the white noise around them, yelling instructions would be useless. So, she reached out to the dragon's mentality, something that she had yet to have done in their time together. Dar'rak she began, so as not to startle him. Her voice was still distinctly coated with her accent, even in the celestial realm Get the gladiators to a safe vantage place. This arena isn't going to last much longer. The gladiators were, unfortunately, slaves. And illegal slaves at that. There were hundreds of them, one she'd need reinforcements to transfer -- and her poor Padawan was going to have a heck of a time with the guards.
Then get back here, and help me deal with the organizers. As much as she may have wanted the ring's cartel dead, they were to be prisoners of the Republic and stand a proper trial. Besides, she had to set an example these days.

No mention of the gorog. She figured it best not to mention the elephant in the room. Plus, she wanted to measure his obedience in the face of excitement.

 

[Dar'rak]

Dar’rak did not know what to think of the creature that towered over him. He was well into the heat of the battle when he realized his temple training sabers would not be of much use here. They had a very low power setting to prevent serious harm to a Padawan’s sparring partner. Something that Dar’rak really wanted to do right about now to aid his master.

Dar’rak deactivated his saber and managed to clip it onto his belt when one of his Master’s was flung towards his direction. As he scrambled to get it the creature picked him clear off the ground with a simple flick of its large wrist. Dar’rak barely had enough time to wrap his clawed hand around the hilt of Master @[member="Kiskla Grayson"]‘s lightsaber before he found himself airborne and crashing into the wall of the arena.

Dar’rak was left in a daze trying to figure out if anyone got the number of that drop ship that hit him when he felt his Master reach into his mind and call out to him.

Tattooine ​

With all the white noise around them, yelling instructions would be useless. So, she reached out to the dragon's mentality, something that she had yet to have done in their time together. Dar'rak she began, so as not to startle him. Her voice was still distinctly coated with her accent, even in the celestial realm Get the gladiators to a safe vantage place. This arena isn't going to last much longer. The gladiators were, unfortunately, slaves. And illegal slaves at that. There were hundreds of them, one she'd need reinforcements to transfer -- and her poor Padawan was going to have a heck of a time with the guards.
Then get back here, and help me deal with the organizers. As much as she may have wanted the ring's cartel dead, they were to be prisoners of the Republic and stand a proper trial. Besides, she had to set an example these days.

No mention of the gorog. She figured it best not to mention the elephant in the room. Plus, she wanted to measure his obedience in the face of excitement.

At first he did not know what to think as it was the first time she had ever called out to him in this manner. Still the message came in clear and managed to free Dar’rak of his haze as he started to dig his way out of the rubble that had fallen on top of him. “Yes Master,” he replied to her.

It must have been an imposing sight for the guards to first see a reptilian hand burst forth followed shortly by the rest of Dar’rak’s form. His eyes had been closed to protect them but now that he was free they quickly opened. First his outer lids then a third inner lid passed horizontally over his eye revealing their golden glow to the guards; his vertical slit pupils glaring at them with cold emotionless gaze found only within a reptilian species. On his left cheek now rested three gashes that spilled blood down his face from the rubble and impact the creature had given him.

Dar’rak looked around to see the chaos and screams coming from the stands then over to his master who was now apparently riding the goliath creature like a speeder bike. Dar’rak finally turned his attention to the guards who were now closing in on him. They all had on impressive armor and wielded weapons that sparked and hummed like his lightsaber yet were solid in design.

His lightsaber, Dar’rak remembered his Master’s lightsaber still clenched in his hand. With a flick of his wrist the cyan blade extended from the hilt and hummed to life. His already narrow pupils narrowed even more as the guards spoke in a language Dar’rak did not know before starting to rush him. Letting out a low grown hiss from deep within his throat Dar’rak locked eyes with the first oncoming guard.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla had severely underestimated this mission.
Funny she only realized this as she was riding on top of a non-sentient being that was three times the size of any other adversary she'd ever faced.

With a powerful sweep of its muscular limb, the gorgon took out its final restrains, bringing down a quarter of the beast prison with him. Dust and rubble filled the stadium, momentarily obscuring her vision.

"Okay buddy," Kiskla whispered, gritting her teeth. She wasn't sure if killing this thing was the route to go, so she went with her gut.

Everything was a learning curve.

She'd never fully mastered the speaking to animals lesson, she'd always been too distracted and she cursed herself in this moment. Her lightsaber still hummed hungrily as she pressed her knee against the metal plate of the creatures head, her palms against its slippery skin for support. An outpouring of connections flowed from the young woman, stretching from her fingertips to the creatures mental connections. They were wild, and unwoven, flailing wildly about in her vision. Like a glowing beacon, Kiskla was practically glowing in the light side as she attempted to make a connection with the creature.

And that's where her mistake was. This creature was not a light sided being, and she soon discovered it wasn't dark either. It simply existed. "Son of a murglak," Kiska scowled in frustration.

She didn't have time to dwell on it however, because the creature was hungry and reaching for the box where the organizers of the event were. Her body skipped along his arm as it swung, having been knocked her from her roost. She tumbled into the box, colliding with the lead's frame and pushing him from the creatures grasp. With a spin of her blade, the creature found itself down a phalange. Blood poured into the box, drenching the crime lords and the Jedi equally.
Gross.

"You just won't die, will you Jedi?"

Amidst all this, they were still focused on her and @[member="Dar'rak"]'s death.
Well, she supposed they deserved it considering the mess they'd made of their slave ring.

"Oh c'mon, you think your pets are gonna stop us?" Her light eyes flashed and she brought her blade up diagonally across her torso, deflecting a blaster fire from one of the guards. Unlike most Jedi, Kiskla held her lightsaber so the blade pointed downwards.

The guard was about to take another shot, when a massive fist hammered down on the structure. Immediately, the stone building began to crumble and the guard lost his footing, hollering as he slid down the slanted stone toward the creature.

Roar. Chomp.
Swallow.

Repeat.

Now the creature had tasted the flesh and blood it craved, and it knew there was more. At least this time, the guards were shooting at it, rather than her.

 

[Dar'rak]

Dar’rak had intended to sever the first guard’s combat arm much like he did to the training droid in the temple however things did not seem to be going so well in that department. Avoiding the guards’ swings was easy enough as Dar’rak was pulling on the force he felt inside himself to guide his movements. It was when he finally made contact with his Master’s blade that he knew something was off other than the limb of the guard he just tried to sever. The armor on these guards seemed to repel lightsaber blades. Every time Dar’rak managed to get within one of their offences and try to strike them down the blade was met with resistance from their armor.

The guards just laughed at him as they took turns coming at him. Dar’rak was left completely on the defensive as it seemed his weapon was rendered ineffective against them with every successful swing. Dar’rak was hoping that his master was having much better luck with the creature she was facing. Dar’rak turned when he heard the roar of the creature and looked in the direction of the sound to see it devouring one of the guards followed quickly by another. Dar’rak was distracted long enough one of the guards to make contact with their weapon followed by another guard and their weapon. He could feel burns over his body and a pain from electricity from each contact point the guards staff weapons made on his body.

Dar’rak could feel primitive emotions and desires pooling to the surface from deep within him somewhere. This was different than the feeling he normally had when dueling but somehow felt more like it came from him and less like an outside source. With a battle roar echoing over what remained of the walls and almost matched that of the goliath creature Dar’rak gave into the desires for battle he now had. They were stronger than what he was use to and while different somehow blended with his usual feelings for battle.

As the next guard took his turn it would be his last. Swinging at his believed helpless target his weapon was stopped by Dar’rak’s hand as it clenched the weapon firmly within its clutches until it snapped in half. The guard was left speechless as he traded glances from his weapon to Dar’rak and back. “So you like to play with lightning do you?” Dar’rak spoke to the guard with his teeth fully bared and a continuous reptilian hiss emanating from within his gaping jaw.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

This mission had it's objectives, and Kiskla had her morales.
The objective was the liberate the slaves, and as a Republican officer, she had a duty to put the slavers on trial. And as a Jedi Master, an onus to spare their lives.

The high road was an empty one.

The arena quivered as the gorog took a step forward, it's knees knocking the hideaway apart. The slavers and Kiskla all fell with the stones. Within seconds, one of the ring's leaders was snatched up for dinner. Acting quickly, her long legs worked from stone to stone like steps, until once again she was on the creature's wrist, the wind whipping through her hair and spittle raining against her.

"Nobody's allowed to execute you except the Republic." She offered as an explanation to the slaver, who was looking between her, and the gaping jaw of the gargantuan beast with wide eyes. The blonde master hitched a ride all the way to the tipping point. The criminal cringed as the mistress of The Force concentrated on her nearness to the creature, unleashing a sorcerous charge of electricity from her palms. The alien recoiled, dropping both the Jedi and the slaver as it clawed at its own face. Lightning tore through the creatures body, searching for ground.

Kiskla's body rolled against the sand, and she twisted quickly to use it's distraction to her advantage. Once again, she used the Force to reach out to the creatures existence. Internally, it was a network of muscle and frayed connections. And, she discovered, it had two hearts.

Immersed in her concentration, the blonde analyzed the hearts on a physical level, hearing, feeling, and seeing each palpitation. Slowly, like conducting the descending of an orchestra, the hearts' beating became more and more irregular. The creature stumbled backward, it's vision clouding as it's bold stopped flowing. As it was on the brink of unconsciousness, a searing pain ripped through Kiskla's shoulder. Her frame lurched forward as the gorgon collapsed, and on her knees, she twisted to send a powerful blast toward her attacker.

Nobody made her bleed her own blood.

Her light eyes immediately soaked in the situation. The gorgon had been rendered unconscious, and had brought down half the arena with him. The corpse was partially covered in rubble. The ungrateful slavers had fled during her distraction, leaving one firing at Kiskla, who had just saved him.

Snap hiss.

Her cerulean blade ignited, and with a very relaxed display of Soresu, easily deflected the oncoming blasts back to the weapon that had fired at her. Shards of black metal exploded from the impact, falling into the sand as the slaver clutched his mangled hand with a yelp.

"Unwise." Kiskla commented, with a scolding shake of her head.

@[member="Dar'rak"]

 

[Dar'rak]

Dar’rak grabbed the guard with his free hand and placed his claws into the guard’s chest before lifting him into the air and with a force push launching him into the air like a rocket. The guard bouncing like a rock over a pond several times before he finally stopped. Their armor may be able to repel a lightsaber but apparently not Dar’rak’s own claws. That was fine by him, the roar of battle echoed through ever muscle fiber in his body augmented by his connection to the force. They wanted to play with lightning that was fine by him he would give it to them in force. Reaching out with the force Dar’rak yanked one of the weapons out of the hands of another guard only to plunge the charged blade into another.

Dar’rak looked around at the devastation of the arena and found his true objective locked behind a steal gate. The slaves they had come to liberate were on the other side of this crumbling place and currently out of Dar’rak’s reach. He could feel their screams through the force as they wanted freedom as much as Dar’rak wish to give it to them. His body still being fueled by his connection to the force Dar’rak called on his master’s Lightsaber that had up to this point be left forgotten on the sand at his feet. As it flew into his open and waiting grasp Dar’rak pushed on his connection to the force and flew through the air and over the remaining guards who had been at that point overpowering him.

Dar’rak made his way to the location of the locked gate and several guards who were standing sentry there. Unlike the ones he had been facing these carried with them blasters and not electrified melee weapons. As they fired on him Dar’rak activated his Master’s Blade once more to his defense and repelled several of the bolts until they were sent whizzing back to their source striking the guards and incapacitating them. “Fly true,” he said just before throwing his Master’s active blade into the control conduit that held the cage door locked. As the blade sank into the panel on the wall the door’s seals unlocked and the cage was forced open followed by an on poor of slaves into the arena floor.

Now that they had been freed from the cage what was Dar’rak to do with them?


| @[member="Kiskla Grayson"] |

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

A master of telekinesis, Kiskla exerted her mentality like a hand. The Force's fingers curled around the body of the slaver and Kiskla dragged him toward her.

"You're going to lead tell me where your friends are going."

"No, I'm not." He growled in response, indignant as ever. To this, Kiskla only narrowed her eyes and tapped into his mentality. It was resolute on his objectives, but he could be manipulated. She repeated the command once more, and like an echo, he told her he would tell them where they were. Then, he proceeded to so with some additional influence.

Time was of the essence. She snapped to attention when a chorus of energy flooded the sandy arena, and she immediately deflected her gaze toward the unconscious gorgon. She was worried, however, that it wouldn't remain so, and rallying that many gladiators would be difficult.
"Come on." The blonde hissed, encouraging the slaver to follow her while holding him in a bind with the force.

"@[member="Dar'rak"]," The Master called out to her Padawan, amplifying her voice over the excited chatter of the freed slaves. She found him, although it was rather difficult considering he didn't appear to be the only reptile in the bunch.
"Designate a slave as the leader to get them to our ship." She glanced over her shoulder. They had come with a large Republican vessel, thankfully, with a hull enough to support these beings. It was a vessel that wouldn't activate without either Dar'rak or herself present, however. "We've got to get to the slaver's hangar and stop them before they get off planet." If they left the slave with the former prisoners, he would be ripped apart.

"He'll lead the way." Her piercingly blue eyes flashed in the direction of the Tattooine native. "Won't you."