Private Strength and Fury

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
TAG: Saahar

Jutrand.

The Sith Capital.

Gerwald was loath to leave the confines of orbit while Naedira was recovering from her return. It had been violent, more so than Gerwald had accounted for. He often wondered if Srina had thought the same as well. She had told him it would but, but even she could not have known just how difficult or different the woman would be after releasing her from the damnation and torment his she-wolf had known.

It forced a sad smirk to pull at Gerwald’s lips. Naedira had not been a wolf before her death. Now that she lived again, free from the Sith Spawn she had been bound to in the Nether, she was something new. While they still had no answer to satisfy the question of how to help her through a shift she could never make, there was still the amulet to keep the wolf inside the woman calm when Gerwald was away.

Or so he hoped.

Today he did not intend to go far. Tsis’Kaar loyalists had decided to capture one of the critical spaceports on the capital planet. The Wolf would not stand for it. Word would eventually reach Empyrean, but by the time it did, the Emperor would also know his Wrath had already dealt with it. Gerwald’s recent ambition would not allow anything else. His request to be placed in a position of power had left him still wanting, even if a new ship had been commissioned as a result.

Local authorities and Sith Soldiers had already been mobilized to address the situation, but by the time Gerwald arrived many had found themselves dead. They were dealing with force sensitive assassins after all and were ill equipped to deal with them. His attention turned to what few survivors remained.

“Stand down before the rest of you get killed,” his gruff baritone barked.

He surveyed the damage which had been done to the unit which had been dispatched. It had been nearly decimated. Of those that remained many were injured, and…

…Gerwald felt something.

The Force.

The Darkside.

His eyes turned to look at the source of where it was coming from. A young girl with dark pigment like Darth Metus had boasted pulled his curiosity her way. Each step was deliberate as the massive Lord moved her way. His face was stoic, almost ready for battle. He pointed at her.

“You, with me.” His voice then got louder even though his gaze stayed on the girl. “The rest of you go home.”

The lupine grinned.

“We are going to get the spaceport back, and you are going to show me just how strong you really are.”

Gerwald did not leave any room for rebuttal. It was not a request, and his tone would make it clear.

 

[Saahar]

Distanced from the rest of the unit like a leper, Saahar scraped the crusted blood off her saber with a neutral expression.

Deployments like this weren’t unusual. Jutrand was as close to a home an orphan Sith could get and she’d long learned to take the trifecta of war, devastation, and loss the planet seemed embroiled in with tired obligation. Bruises peppered her skin a splatter of dark maroon, dried blood painting her face. It clearly didn’t matter, not when there was more war yet to wage. Sure, her unit was battered, limping; dying off like starved, cornered wolves. But there was an undeniable want to exact revenge still palpating through the survivors’ arteries. Frenzied in the way only a pack of Sith could manage to be. Yet as their situation grew more and more desperate no one seemed able to stem the tide.

“Stand down before the rest of you get killed,”

An immediate hush fell upon the stragglers as they turned to Gerwald, his authority as clear and blunt as his words. Without fully meaning to, Saahar stared. He was a large stone wall of a man, enormous even by her standards, and betrayed nothing of himself outside a sense of tempered frustration. If a man like him was calling- no, ordering them to stand down, they’d listen.

It was then he turned his attention to her.

A spike of adrenaline coursed through the girl; momentary panic made all the worse by the fact he was actively on the approach. Despite her wounds, Saahar found herself subconsciously straightening as a finger was lifted her way, reading it like a challenge. The next words out of his mouth she never could’ve predicted.

There was a reason she was out here with the scraps. She was strong, yes; but only physically. Most of everyone had dismissed her lackluster force sensitivity since day one. There couldn’t be a single reason Gerwald would single her out and yet...

The girl regarded the Lord, refusing to let a shred of self-doubt manifest in her expression. She had to recognize this for what it was. An opportunity.

“It would be an honor.” She gambled for a plainly diplomatic answer, still wildly unsure what exactly Gerwald expected of her. “Though how exactly do we plan on going about that?” Her eyes tracked the scattering remainder of soldiers as they skirted past the two of them before returning to Gerwald’s steady gaze “Infiltration?”

It made the most sense to her. How else were you supposed to topple an operation with two people other than from the inside?

Gerwald Lechner

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
TAG: Saahar

Infiltration was one way to attack the problem, but it was not what Gerwald had been thinking exactly. He wanted inside, but the wolf was rarely the kind to cause a distraction. Usually the lupine just walked in through the front door. These were assassins holding the spaceport, and they would likely fail as quickly by staying the shadows as they would if they remained in the open.

“We will pick them off one by one,” he answered the question simply.

Gerwald motioned for the woman to follow as he released a drone into the air. Whether he was using it or making the assassins think he was mapping the location was the only misdirection he needed in the moment.

“Do you know why these rebellious hold outs have managed to decimate your unit?”

His eyes turned to the ebony skinned girl and bore holes wondering if she would have an answer of reply. All of it was a test. The wolf wanted to know how smart and intelligent she was. Could she think on her feet? Did she have the skill to assess a situation on the fly and adapt to the circumstances in front of her? These were skills that could be taught, but those already possessing such affinity made for a more desirable student.

Gerwald did not wish to teach what a wolf should already know instinctively.

Whether he answer was correct or not, the Sith spoke.

“They latched onto what they sensed through the force. A skill that seems so basic, and yet when mastered by those intending to bring harm, it becomes a weapon, a knife in the hand of a killer.”

As a demonstration Gerwald closed his eyes. A moment passed before he spoke again.

“There are three laying in wait at the north gate, six on the west gate, but if we come at them from the south, how many?”

Regardless of her skill or strength, this was something the woman could do if she concentrated.

 

[Saahar]

“Do you know why these rebellious hold outs have managed to decimate your unit?”

Saahar searched his gaze for a moment.

“There’s no hiding from them.” She answered, her mind stuck replaying how easily her fellow soldiers had been cut down from right beside her, as if their every movement was somehow foreseen. “They know our numbers and location even with blockades keeping any traditional intel from getting in.” Her eyes settled on the mayhem surrounding them, a twinge of unease spreading to each limb. “Through the force if I were to guess.”

After all, everything managed to boil down to that in the end, didn’t it?

He then asked her a question. One meant to test her ability to replicate the enemy’s own strategy. Her brow creased in a moment of self-doubt. It was one thing to use the force to lift a heavy rock or weasel into someone’s mind, but this level of projection wasn’t something she’d ever tried her hand at. Regardless, the girl shut her eyes and focused, trying to stabilize her nerves enough to conjure something from the abyss. A moment passed and then another, and Saahar could almost feel her resolve cracking under the weight.

And then the force delivered.

“Only two.” She answered, a bit stunned, “Snipers I believe, they’re definitely not on ground level.” Fighting to keep the shakily drawn outline of a pair of soldiers fresh in her mind, the girl continued, “Our attacks have been mostly frontal, they must be redirecting the bulk of their soldiers in response to that.” She noted, letting the image slip.

So essentially the backdoor was wide open. That certainly had to be the best news she’d heard all day.

Gerwald Lechner

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
TAG: Saahar

“Precisely,” came the direct answer. “You are not dealing with trained soldiers, but rather these are force trained assassins of the Tsis’kaar. They will not be defeated by traditional means or military might and strategy.”

He smiled, because the wolf was very aware that he suggested they go in, alone. She held something raw within the force. It was undefined, but strong. What others often viewed as weakness, the wolf saw as potential. There were many in the order which were truly weak, but this one simply did not know what she was capable of, yet. Gerwald would show her, and she could determine her path afterward. It had been far too long since the hound had taken a student, personally, and never had he adopted an apprentice. The idea of pouring his life and knowledge into another…

…Naedira would have to approve.

It was not just anyone that could enter his life in such a capacity. The Lupo simply did not know how the she-wolf would react to someone taking such a place in his life. Everything about moving forward was a mystery to him now, and much of it rested with solving unexpected consequences of using his essence to bring Naedira back to life, to wake her up, and fill the gaps in her memories.

More importantly it was to keep her from reliving her death, over and over.

“Two of them, and two of us. Now to deal with them without being detected. Keep in mind they will sense you before you can get anywhere near them.”

The wolf grinned. It was a wicked smirk. He already knew what he would do, but he wanted to see what she would suggest or come up with. They would movie soon, but first another test.

 

[Saahar]

His approval (or at least the confirmation she'd been right) felt... empowering. It wasn't something the girl was often extended. The rare occasion she felt any amount of confidence in her abilities was always undercut by a dress down from some superior. It was never enough. The Sith demanded everything and more.

But right here and right now, Saahar's usual pessimism failed to crop up. Replaced instead by a steady interest in Gerwald's game. It was easy enough to visualize their position. Two against two. One on the attack and one defending from above. They needed the attention off of them if they were to pull this off smoothly.

"We need a distraction." She gambled, "Clearly, they don't see the back entrance as a priority so if we can pull their attention away just long enough, we may be able to slip in." Her eyes raked across the slowly dwindling encampment around them in debate, "Say we detonate some sort of explosive? Make them think we're attacking from the other side"

Gerwald Lechner

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

WEARING: xxx
WEAPONS: Ferrum Solus | Blodmåne | Strømafbryder
TAG: Saahar

A distraction… an explosive. Her mind was still set on what was tangible. For her to embrace what the force could offer, she needed to expand her thinking beyond what many commonly regarded as laws. While the wolf was seen as a brute by many, he was also a hunter, a predator. In this case Gerwald could allow that to be their advantage. It was not often so early into meeting someone that could potentially be a pupil that he allowed them to see beyond the man. In this instance it may prove helpful.

He would have to weigh it out.

“An explosion would draw any who hear it. We need to kill them, and quickly. Based on your answer I am going to assume you are not a trained sniper?”

It was a valid assumption and question. If she were then a ranged attack may have come to mind. Perhaps she was like the wolf and liked to be near her kills. There was something about it, an intimacy between the hunter and the hunted, which appealed to the Lupine.

He waited for her answer before continuing.

“The force allows us to neutralize a target in various ways. Stealth, distance, even a direct attack, are all available. It can speed your movements, and force these to react when they would rather be set.”

He smirked.

“I do not sense the force in them, they would be much too slow for me alone. I could take the one at the top while you run out to the one below? You would have to be swift, but you would be undetected long enough to succeed.”

Gerwald did not wait for her to answer this time. He simply leaped into the air, his crimson blade alive, and in one motion relieved the first guard of his head.