The Darkest Pits of Nar Shadaa

[Adriana Fortemps]

​

[member="Darth Abyss"]​

​

"We will be landing in the Undercity soon, my Lady." Jorryn's eyes opened as the pilot's voice came over the intercom as she finished her meditation. The smuggler's moon was like a beehive in the force, billions of minds creating a constant buzz in the force. She opened the door to her chambers as she turned to look out of the window towards the cityscape. Tall towers rose up, covering the horizon. She put on the outer layers of her outfit as she made her way towards the exit ramp, watching as the view turned from beautiful glass towers to the rustic metal buildings and dimly lit streets that encompassed the slums of Nar Shadaa.

Her shuttle made a soft landing on the base of a landing dock run by the local Hutt Cartel, they owned a considerable portion of the Undercity rivalled only by other gangs and organisations such as the exchange. Light filled the hallway as the ramp lowered, showing the pristine building that stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the rusted building that surrounded it. Her servant, Chance, came down the corridors of the ship, giving her a small bow as he passed her and made his way to the Weequay who had come out to collect the landing payment.

Jorryn made her way down the ramp as she looked out to the rest of the surrounding area. Much of it had been beautified, an attempt by the Hutt Cartel to draw more customers, but there were cracks where you could see the true face of the Undercity. "The Hutt's say that they will allow you to journey through their lands unhindered, though they recommend against going outside of the protected areas." Jorryn gave her slave a dismissive nod and he made his way back inside the shuttle. The warning wasn't anything but a formality, the only people that the Hutt's let inside their docks were lucrative business deals and those who could pay enough credits to cover themselves.

She had come to Nar Shadaa after hearing rumours of a cult that dedicated themselves to the dark side of the force, rumours of a Sith leading them. The details were few and what had surfaced was only rumours inside a few remnants of what was left of the One Sith. It hadn't been long since their fall from power, but Jorryn knew that she needed to align herself with a new dark side faction and this is what she had come here to do. The cult sounded suspicious, drawing mostly lunatics that sung praises of the gifts that the dark side could offer. Another red flag was the base of operations, it seemed unlikely that a Lord would choose to conduct themselves in a slum unless they desired absolute secrecy or had darker tastes than many of their peers. It was still worth checking out however, if for nothing but to satisfy her curiosity.

The first thing Jorryn noticed as she left the landing dock was the decrepit smell of poverty, causing her to immediately gag and shield her nose and mouth with her wrist. The streets smelled like a rotted rancor compared to the landing docks, presumably another attempt to hide the disgusting side of the Undercity. Her brow furrowed in disgust and she continued her pace down the dim streets of the Undercity, looking for anything that might lead her to the cult. It didn't take long before she could her a man shouting about the dark side, butchering the Sith Code in an attempt to appeal to the homeless and desperate that littered the alleys of this place.

"People of the Undercity, would you forever doom yourselves to rot in the deepest pits of the galaxy? The Hutts claim to have us in their favour, but all they do is exploit us for money and use us in their wars against the other Swoop gangs! The only way to free yourselves is to gain the power to do so! My master teaches us in the art of the Sith, how the Dark Side can allow us to gain power and lead us to true freedom!"

The sincerity in his voice surprised Jorryn as he continued on to recite the Sith code, passion filling his voice. The masses ignored them, most zoned out on spice, others had already given up on improving their lives. As she neared the preacher he stared at her, a light filling his eyes as he saw a possible new disciple. That hope turned to fear as she pulled him from the box he stood on and threw him into an alley filled with trash. "You have ten seconds to start telling me everything you know about the Sith cult before I start cutting." Her crimson saber ignited to emphasise the point.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Sith cult? The .. the Children of Korriban are no sith cult. We on ... only follow the words of the dark prophet. I .. I can take you to them."

The man glared at the red lightsaber with fear and surprise. Sure the man that taught him the things he believed in had one, but he, like most of the children, had never seen it. Darth Abyss made sure to not show to openly what he actually was, using altered words and symbolism in his preachings. After the first initial children had been created in an process of mid scale brainwashing, his now loyal followers had been send into the slums to teach their newly found religion to those who had lost all hope, while the sith knight himself could return into the shadows.

Still some of his men, the ones that hadn't been created by brainwashing, still remained in the open, mainly to oversee the moves made by their commander. Other than the rest of the children they were no simple civilians, but instead represented what was left of the intelligence branch of the one sith empire. Besides Abyss and his apprentice, only they knew where to find the last knight of the one sith, and they wouldn't give up that knowledge easily.
---------------------
"Lord Abyss, it seems like we have a security breach. One of our priests has left position unannounced. We are still waiting for further Intel of the incident. "

Part of being an organisation build on the skills of intelligence work was to have eyes and ears everywhere. Normally something like leaving post wouldn't be something special, but a brainwashed slave wasn't able to do it without instructions or force. Abyss walked up and down in the backroom of an abandoned warehouse, his thoughts racing. Someone found him. The jedi? No he wasn't important enough for the jedi to search for him. The hutts or another criminal group? Unlikely, after the creation of the underworld, he and the others worked besides each other without conflict. A bounty hunter or merc? Possible, he had many enemies after all.

"Stay alert. If someone comes looking for me, I command you to send them directly to me."

Abyss spoke, his expression stoic and emotionless. Whoever was searching for him would have the pleasure to meet him personally. He had no doubts that he could strike down anyone who would oppose him, or even form another being slaved to his will.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"] (Whoops sorry about that, thought he'd be preaching Sith)

A gust of energy shot the man of from the trash that he lay in to his feet, an action that only furthered his nervousness. He had already gone against his master by leaving the compound in a fit of religious fervour that told him he needed to preach to the masses, and forcing him to give up his master's location only increased his regret. The only sense of relief he had was the thin hope that the woman accompanying him would eagerly join his master. "It's just a few levels down, it shouldn't be too long. I'm sure the prophet would be eager to meet someone with your attitu-" A sharp glance caused the man to cease his rambling immediately, swallowing back the overwhelming nervousness he felt.

Jorryn followed closely behind him, her lightsaber turned off but still lingering behind of the back of the zealot. I hope that the one in charge isn't as irritating as this one. She had come searching for a proper Sith order, but instead it had the appearance of being a dark side cult that offered itself to the poorest. This held little promise for her save that this one man wasn't an example for the rest of the organisation, many Sith Lords had recruited en masse and it was much safer to operate as a Sith in less patrolled and open areas to gain a small power base before reaching out to the rest of the galaxy. Nar Shadaa was a good place to find many civilians who were down on their luck, many looking for an escape whether it be through spice or religion.

After an enjoyably quiet journey they had finally reached the sublevel that the preacher had been talking about, excitement took him over as he ran out in front of her and motioned in a general area. "We are finally here! If the prophet wishes to see you he will send out one of his chosen to bring you in, otherwise I doubt you will be able to find it." Annoyance shot across her mind as the zealot talked, upset at the fact that he hadn't led her to the actual are. This didn't surprise her however, it seemed unlikely that they would let someone as loose-lipped as this man have free reign of everything.

Jorryn's eyes glanced around the street that they were on, looking down each alley and at every passerby. Many of the locale had a suspicious air to them, presumably mercenaries hired by the Hutts to keep some form of peace on their way back from a battle against another gang, others were possibly smugglers coming back from a spice deal. She placed her lightsaber back on her hip, clasping it to her belt. It didn't seem like she had any other choice than to wait if she wanted to find where the cult was operating out of.

 

[Darth Abyss]

Out of seemingly nowhere a man walked past the woman, his ragged and dirty clothes blending in with the homeless that inhabited the lowest levels of the smuggler moon. From a distance he was impossible to distinguish him from the others, and only when observing really close one would notice that his skin and body looked a bit to healthy in comparison to the others. He Abyss best agent for infiltration and covert ops in urban areas, being skilled in acting and staying in a role close to perfection. For surveillance he had someone who offered an eye from above, but it was also important to have an eye inside. The man didn't stop as he moved behind her, talking to her without looking at her all.

"Follow me. And don't look like you follow me or I will lead you nowhere."

He continued his movement, taking seemingly random turns every once in while to don't give away the direct path to their goal. Abyss had no interest in any luxury besides privacy, but to keep it he used any tool he could think of. Nar Shaddaa wasn't aligned to any group besides the criminal elements that shared the city, but there always could be an overenthusiastic jedi or mandoalorian with a desire to take out a sith and his cult.

The man stopped in front of an old, abandoned warehouse, but only for a second. With a subtle gesture he lead her towards the building, before blending in with the masses once more.

Inside the main hall of the building stood Darth Abyss, alone as he commanded all his men to secure the outside areas while he would deal with whoever couldn't keep his curiosity controlled. His body was shrouded in a long, and ragged black robe, his face hidden under his mask that only revealed his mouth. He showed no emotion, his stance was motionless and his aura was a cold and heavy mantle of darkness as he waited for the woman to step inside.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

The voice begging her to follow took Jorryn by surprise, it was only a faint whisper from a surprisingly inconspicuous man. A reassurance from the fact the not all of the members of this cult were as loud and up front as the zealot she encountered earlier. still it was a bit unnerving how she hadn't noticed the man as different from the others. She took a closer inspection as she followed him a few meters behind revealed a few tells that she had failed to pick up on; he was much cleaner than the rest of the people, and the way he carried himself differed from the rest of the spice addicts that littered the bottom levels of the Undercity. The nervous looking zealot followed even further back, anxiety radiating off him as he went back to meet his prophet.

Her patience ran thing as she followed the man through a winding path of seemingly random twists and turns, often going onto streets and paths they had already visited. She recognised this as an attempt to lose any possible tail or identify a threat, but it seemed pointless to Jorryn. The precaution took too long and seemed to lose effectiveness after awhile, then again she had no experience in anything covert and attempted to regain her composure as the figure led her to a sublevel containing many warehouses. Her eyes scanned each of the sealed doors, many having been welded permanently shut. The facility had obviously been left behind by some big company or another as the city was built further upwards, leaving it to rust and decay.

Her eyes went back to the figure as he stopped and faced a building that seemed abandoned at first glance, though some traces of recent activity could be seen. Jorryn tried to find the figure again but he had disappeared, blending in with the crowd nearby. A confused sense of both caution and relief took her as she noticed the zealot that had followed her had disappeared as well without a noise.

Turning back to face the entrance that the figure had left her in front of, she tried to see down the hallway and could feel a dark presence that she couldn't recognise. Jorryn walked down the dimly lit hallway, at the end of which was a man covered in shadow. At first she believed him to be a simple zealot like the other two that she had seen, but as she neared him she could feel the dark aura emanating from him. She stopped a few meters in front of him, his mask the only image that she could clearly make out. "I take it that you are the one in charge of this cult then?"

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Oh how smart of you to figure that out on your own. It is quite sad that a promising one like you has made the mistake to interfere with my operations. Surely you understand that I can not simply let you walk away after what you have uncovered."

His voice was loaded with sarcasm as he looked down on the lesser sith in front of him. He wasn't aiming to make a new enemy today if he doesn't had to, but the woman had endangered his operation, and compromised his efforts to obscure his location and influence. That wouldn't go unpunished, and she had either to pay with blood or submission.

"I, Darth Abyss, command you to kneel, lesser one. Swear loyalty or I will force you to."

Not to long ago he would've gone the way of trickery, offering an alliance to her, but these days were gone. He hadn't spend so much time to rise to power to not use it when needed. If she was a true sith she would understand that he stood far abover her, that his power would allow him to crush her if he wanted to. She had made a mistake coming here, and if she was to resist, he would do the same to her he did to anyone else.

He would break her mind apart, reform it into a tool by his design. She would become a daughter of korriban, but it was her decision if she wanted to keep her personality. His right wandered to his belt, and rested on the hilt of his lightsaber, ready to draw it should she make any rushed decision.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Jorryn's face twisted into annoyance as the man talked down to her, his sarcasm mocking her. His aura was oppressive but even Jorryn could tell that it didn't hold the power of a Sith lord, presumably it was a knight that fancied himself to be something higher than he was. She unclipped the lightsaber from her belt with the force, pulling it into her grasp but leaving it unignited.

"So I can stay in the slums with you and the other crazies, I appreciate the offer but I have other places to be."

His tone of voice and the works he spoke told her that he wasn't going to simply let her leave the compound. His black robe covered most of his figure, leaving her clueless as to the type of weapon, though a small shuffling under his gown told her that he was ready to use it. Reaching out with her left hand she attempted to push back on his right hand in an attempt to slow the speed with which he would draw his weapon.

Running towards him, Jorryn ignited her crimson saber as she brought it in an upward feint aiming for his face. She didn't put all her force into the strike, instead planning to prepare a defense against whatever weapon the knight would reveal. She needed to make certain what weapon the man was using before she could properly fight him.

 

[Darth Abyss]

What an ambitious but misguided attempt. Sure he was no master, but his power was still above hers, so charging into battle was a dangerous and short sighted approach. Abyss was not one to underestimate the strength of a power hungry upstart, as he himself once gave a Sith Lord a pretty good fight long before he claimed the title of Darth, but even back then he understood the worth of being smart instead of strong, or being cautious and reactive instead of going all in.

Abyss made no move to reach for his saber, his right still resting on his belt without movement. The pressure on it was noticeable. How stupid of her, wasting her focus on a single hand. Other than many sith he was ordinary swordsman, his skills when it came to combat were of a far more dangerous and unpredictable nature. As the blade moved towards him, he played through the scenarios for each of the weapons he carried, and which would be the most effective counter to her attack.

His decision fell on the cortosis knife that was hidden on his lower back, ready to be drawn with his left. Her attack suggested that she was skilled or at least depended on the art of swordplay, so taking out her main weapon would end this fight as fast as possible. The simple, inconspicuous looking knife danced through the air resting upside down in his left, the blade stopping right in position to catch hers. If she wasn't quick enough to react her saber would short out as soon as it touched the metal.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Jorryn's expression gave away the surprise she felt as the man suddenly pulled a knife out with his left hand quickly, she stopped her dash towards him in an awkward half step that caused her to stagger a short distance. She had assumed the man was preparing to draw a weapon with his right from the shuffling under his robe, her arrogance caused her to miss the possibility of the man using his other hand to draw a second blade.

Reactively, Jorryn lowered her position and correcting her blade to deflect the oncoming knife by grabbing the hilt with both her hands, hoping that it would leave an opening for her to get a strike in. Looking towards the figure, she attempted to size him up and determine if he had any other weapons or bulky armour hidden beneath his robes

Her examination, however, was interrupted by the sudden silence from her lightsaber. The blade that the man held was made of cortosis, quickly and violently deactivating her weapon. Another expression of shock was replaced by a look of determination as she quickly readjusted her position, dropping her left hand from the hilt in an attempt to grab the man's wrist before his blade could make it's way any further. Fearing that his right hand could pull another weapon, Jorryn would wrenched the man's wrist downwards in an attempt to drop his knife and to force him into a position where he couldn't draw as fast with his right. She knew that she had to gain distance from the man or at least make up enough time for her lightsaber to reactivate.

 

[Darth Abyss]

The amusement in Abyss expression was subtle but obvious. Like so many she had made the mistake of trusting her eyes instead of her senses. He was a sith, black robe and mask, he called himself prophet of the darkness, so she simply assumed that he would draw a lightsaber, and his hand movement made her believe it would come from his right.

The decision to throw her saber away on the other hand was a respectable move, probably the same he would have used in her situation. Clinging to his blade when it wasn't working was the severe mistake that had brought many of the younger sith a ton of deaths, scars and injuries. The idea to twist his wrist on the other hand was once again a mistake. She had already seen the he didn't needed a saber to fight, and her best bet would have been to gain some distance and plan out her next move. Pain was simple to ignore, and anything different than a live threatening wound wouldn't get more than a pained, almost silent grunt out of him.

Instead of drawing his weapon, Abyss pushed his fist towards her nose with all the force his muscles had, using the fact the she had brought herself in his range. He had quite some experience in unarmed combat, and based on his size he had the advantage. His arms had more range, and also could give him more cover from hits if used defensively.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

With only limited options for movement, Jorryn released her grip on the man's wrist and used both of her arms to block the man's punch. His fist landed hard against her forearms, but prevented him from landing a significant blow to her face. She took another moment to analyse the man again. Both of his hands were not uncovered, removing any possibility of a second weapon from his waist, leaving him with only the cortosis dagger.

Comparing the sizes of them clearly left the man in front of her with an advantage in addition to his sturdy punch, leaving her at a disadvantage. Fortunately she had practice in her people's natural martial art and, despite her lack of mastery, could help her shorten the gap in the advantage his size gave him. A quick movement with help of the force allowed Jorryn to regain proper footing as she held her arms up in a defensive position, still waiting for the hissing sound her lightsaber made to cease.

She attempted to make a swift kick with her right leg to behind the man's knee, hoping that she would be able to force him out of position. Jorryn was attempting to force the knight's figure downwards, to allow her more room to swing at his head and chest. Her plan was to bring the man downwards and bring her left knee into his jaw, the only part of his face that was left unprotected by his mask, and cause him to stagger backwards.

 

[Darth Abyss]

The kick to his knee to him by surprise but the attack that followed up to it didn't. After he lowered his body to counterweight the kicks momentum he realized roughly what was coming for him, yet he allowed her attack to succeed without any resistance. It was a simple way to get arrogance up, and it gave him the option to bring distance between the two, so he could switch to the next trick he had up his sleeve. Literally.

As her knee meet his jaw, he stumbled backwards, pretending to disorientated and in pain as convince as he could as someone who more than once acted his way outside of a dangerous situation. It appeared like he only barley found his balance again, staggering around like he was experiencing nausea. She probably thought that would attack her with the knife in his hand, or make an obvious move to draw his lightsaber. An average fighter was skilled with one weapon, a good one always had a trick up his sleeve. A brilliant one had at least two in each of his sleeve and at least on his boot.

In a quick and swift movement his right moved inside the sleeve of his left arm, and in another fast twitch of his arm, a throwing knife was send flying towards her chest. He didn't used the force to guide its way, he simply had learned how to throw them properly.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Jorryn's cautious mood was thrown to the wind when she felt her knee connect to the man's jaw, she felt the crunch of bone meeting bone as she let go of the man's wrist as he stumbled backwards. She had been worried that the man had close combat skills, moves that he could use that used other abilities that his size. Relief came when she realised that he was only a common brawler, giving her faith that she could take him in close combat with her Echani martial arts.

As arrogance began to fill her mind, her thoughts began to wander. Ideas of taking over the cult after she had killed him and thinking of if she could remodel the slum so as to not be so unappealing. Her attention was swiftly brought back to the man as he reached for something in his right pocket, causing her to take a defensive position. She expected him to pull out a melee weapon, such as a lightsaber or stun baton, due to the close range and rolled her hands into fists in preparation for a close combat fight.

He had moved quicker than she expected, no longer was his hand above the robe than the knife was released from his grasp and flying towards Jorryn. An instinctual wave of her hand caused her position to bow downwards to her side, throwing the knife to the side directly into the wall beside her. In an attempt to fix her position and get an attack in she did a dexterous movement with her right leg, intending to bring it down upon the forehead of his mask.

 

[Darth Abyss]

A dark laugh moved out of his lungs, filling the air with a sound so inhuman and dark that it was easy to forget that there was simply a man under his mask.

"Silly acolyte. Is that the best you can do."

His right was still extended from the throw of the knife, and he made neither an attempt to move it towards a weapon nor use it to defend himself from her incoming leg. Instead he summoned his hate, his passion, all the darkness he had within, and channeled it through his right arm. He didn't cared if she would give him another kick, pain was something he had long ago stopped to care about. A kick was nothing compared to the feeling of fighting a superior enemy with only one leg left. She would suffer for her arrogance, for fighting someone that was certainly stronger than her.

From his hand a wave of blue lightning was shoot at her, the molecules of the air loaded with the power he had called upon. She had one leg up in the air, so her chances to defend herself without a lightsaber or dodge the incoming strike were rather slim. He felt her feet meeting his head, but instead of stumbling he simply moved his left leg back to redirect his weight and keep his balance, while keeping his focus on the blue energy that emerged from his right.

"This is what it means to be sith. One last chance lesser one, kneel."

His voice and eyes were filled with obvious madness, his mind intoxicated by the might of the darkness that flowed through his blood and veins.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Jorryn was unable to feel the impact of her leg connected to the mask of her opponent, it was lost in the blinding pain she felt caused by the blue streaks of lightning reaching out towards her from the man's right hand. She had been caught in a compromising position and was unable to properly block the strike at all, the lightning slamming into her side causing her to fall backwards and collapse to the floor of the room. The only thing that kept her from screaming out in agony was her anger and arrogance, refusing to let the Sith knight see any hint of weakness. She clenched her teeth as the muscles around the area began to tighten rapidly, causing immense pain in her side before she fell to the ground.

"You haven't seen the best that I can do."

The words came out mumbled as the muscles in her side began to loosen and repair, pain still freshly embedded in them. She slowly climbed to a standing position as her right hand held her side tightly, trying to use pressure to numb the pain she felt. As she rose, Jorryn noticed that the hissing coming from her lightsaber had disappeared. Jorryn straightened her posture and took up a defensive Makashi form, her left hand wrapped around the hilt of the blade as she ignited the crimson saber. Her right hand still held her side tightly as she lifted the lightsaber to her face, lighting it up with a red glow, waiting for her opponent to strike first.

 

[Darth Abyss]

Slowly his left moved to his back, storing the knife where it cam from. The cortosis had been a nice trick, but it rarely worked more than once against the same opponent. He would rather fall back on what else he had in his repertoire, something more surprising and dangerous than a knife. Just not yet, she only recently was able to reignited her saber, and she did the smart thing for once. She waited patiently, her stance showing him that she would favor form two in this duel like himself. Makashi was the most advanced form when it came to a duel one on one, offering a fast offense, and a deadly defense build around ruses and counters.

"You should have stayed on the ground when you still had the chance. It will be a waste to take the live of someone with so much potential."

Without moving his right, his blade was pulled into it by the force, the cold metal hilt resting in his hand. He moved his legs, mirroring her stance, as the crimson red blade came to live. Yet he made no attempt to mobe forward or set a strike at her. Only an idiot would give her the opportunity to counter an incoming strike, the thing she was clearly preparing for. Instead he simply stood there, his yellow eyes watching every breath of her, ready to react with deadly precision.

"If you want to play a game of patience, then so be it. I could stand here until mustafar is frozen and hoth is in flames. The real question is, how long until your nerves break?"

He could see that she was already injured, and by now she probably realised what she had gotten herself into. All he had to do was push her in the direction he wanted to land the one deciding strike.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Another feeling of surprise came as the man decided to mirror her position, another practitioner of the second form. The surprise was soon replaced by relief that he had decided to use a form dedicated to balance instead of one that relied on a brutal offence, such as Juyo or Vapaad. She was in no position to defend against a brutal attack and being matched in a similar style gave Jorryn confidence that she had the ability to match her opponent in terms of swordplay. It was apparent that he refused to be the first to strike and his lack of movement tempted Jorryn to make a sprint back for her ship, but a voice in the back of her head told her that she could defeat the knight in front of her.

She lifted her right hand from her side, wincing at the pain from her muscles contracting again, and placed it beside the length of her blade as she shut her eyes. Concentrating on balancing herself and her movements, she attempted to channel the force between her and her blade before opening her eyes.

"If you wish to stand idle for your death, then I will allow it, cur."

Ignoring the pain coming from her side, Jorryn dashed towards the man in front of her. She intended to strike for the right hand so that she could quickly disarm him, but she also centred the force on her grip as a precaution if the Sith had thought of a similar strategy. Stabbing towards his right, Jorryn kept her vision of his hidden left arm. He seemed to be a tricky man, pulling out objects that could suit any purpose and she refused to be caught off guard again.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"That was even faster than I had expected."

Abyss mouth twisted into a small, cruel grin, as he watched the acolyte moving at him. She had done what he wished for, she had allowed herself to be pushed and now had to live with the consequences of her actions. She was skilled with a saber, maybe as he good as he was himself. She was an exceptional acolyte when it came to swordplay, and he was lousy with the blade compared to others of his rank. So the obvious solution here was to not engage her in a real fight blade to blade, one that would actually test the skill of both.

With a flick of wrist his red blade danced through the air, trying to redirect the incoming strike to her left side with a quick movement upwards. The angle was strange, slightly of compared to how most people would have set the movement, in an attempt to catch her of guard.

While his right moved his saber, his left moved to his back once more, this time aiming for the small slugthrower hidden there. With a swift draw, the weapon was aimed in her direction, but Abyss had no time to set a precise shot. Instead he simply directed the shoot towards her, hoping that in this short range his precision wouldn't matter as much.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]

 

[Adriana Fortemps]

[member="Darth Abyss"]

Her brows gave away what the rest of her features would not, folding into an expression of annoyance. Despite attempting to follow her master's advice, she couldn't help but feel like she was being toyed with by the knight. She was, however, confident in her swordplay abilities, the one thing that she had reliably practised with. She noted as the Sith's blade came upwards in an attempt to redirect hers, keeping an eye on what angle the man seemed to prefer. As he pushed to her left side, she allowed her blade to fall with it. She wasn't expecting to defeat the knight with her saber prowess, rather she would find a way to steal the victory from him with one swift move.

As both their blades fell leftwards, she tightened her right hand into a fist and prepared to swing into the smug grin of the man in front of her. However, she paused her strike as she saw the left arm she had been watching make a suspicious move towards his belt. A feeling of both nervousness and relief came as she pulled her punch and readied to dodge whatever he had, smiling with apparent smugness at predicting his move. With a surprising amount of speed the man pulled a holdout blaster from his hip, firing before he could gather proper aim.

Her smile faded as she attempted to dodge the strike by ducking beneath it, the last remnants of the pain from the Sith's lightning raced down her left waist ceasing her movement. In a last ditch movement, she dodged the blaster bolt by throwing herself against the wall nearest to her. The pain of her muscles was increased by the impact, causing a small outburst of pain from her mouth.

"You disgust me, no real Sith would use a weapon made for lesser men."

Her hand raced down to her right side again, cradling the pain as she slumped against the wall in an awkward position. She attempted to draw up her saber for defense, but the position she was left in only allowed for a sloppy and weak protection form.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"If that was the case acolyte, why am I not the one with his back against a wall? The path of the sith is not about honor, but about victory."

His blade in his right again loosely hanging at his side, and the slugthrower in his left aimed at her, Abyss stood without twitching any muscle. He could simply kill her, take her out of her misery and let her pay the price of her arrogance. But what would there be to gain from this waste of obvious potential? Nothing, the sith couldn't allow themselves to turn on each other right now, the order hsd suffered to my since the one sith fell. Taking the live of a promising acolyte would only serve his enemies, and not himself. She was lucky, under any other circumstances he would have not allow her to live.

"You have three options now lesser one, at least the way I see it. You can run and survive, so you can one day be strong enough to beat me, you can kneel and I might even let you live, or you can try to fight until your unavoidable death."

A dark laugh emerged from his lungs once more as his yellow eyes wandered over her. How much would he enjoy it if she would decide for the last option. Yet he knew that this was not the time to give in to the rage and hate that burned inside him like a dieing sun, this was the time to be wise, not strong. Still she had to understand why she failed and not only that she had. To do so he had to break her will to fight, so he would do his best to accomplish an old art of the sith: Dun Möch.

"Your arrogance is what brought you here, and it is also what brought you to your knees, lesser one. And from the fire in your eyes I know how much you desire to bring this to an end. Before you make any rushed decisions, consider this: There is no reason for you to fight me, other than your arrogance. Nothing to gain. My men would not give you their loyalty if you beat me, the children of Korriban will not follow you if you kill me. If you are so keen on throwing away your life to satisfy your petty arrogance, than I have greatly misjudged your potential."

As his monolog was over, he looked at her with a hint of curiosity. Yet even in her weakened state she could be dangerous, as any sith pushed in a corner. It might seemed like he already assumed that he had been victorious, but in the inside he was ready to answer should she try to attack him.

[member="Jorryn Fordyce"]