The Source Of Her Pain

[Connor Harrison]

Watching the Sith suddenly spasm in pain as the Force Lightning absorbed into him and dissolved into the air, Connor was now on bended knee, holding himself up with one arm and staring at the Sith - too rooted to the ground in weakness to do more. He wasn't going to grin in triumph, because he knew he had lost this round already.

The armour was doing little, and the drain had done the damage. As the two forces of good and evil locked eyes, Connor held his vigil and took solace in the fact something he had done had left a temporary mark for the ego-driven Lord to remember him by if this was his final stand.

That was for Sy. Next one is on me.

A weak message via the Force, to save his energy - the next hit came hard, like a knife cutting through his head, spiking pain from the core outwards. Both hands gripped into the soft earth, soil tearing up in his hands as he gritted his teeth and repelled anything and everything - this was NOT how Connor gave up! It felt like a wild piercing screaming inside his head, one that soon came from Connor's mouth.

Eyes burning open to focus on anything until Sage relented, or he passed out, a steady flow of blood trickled from his nose to the broken blossom under his head. Fighting too hard had caused blood vessels to rupture. Connor shook as he lifted his head, blood from his nose running down over his lip and dropping down. His right side of his lip curled up every so slightly. He had failed, but party felt he had done what he wanted to do.

Be that expendable asset so others needn't have to suffer

[member="Sage Bane"]

 

[Sage Bane]

"How does it feel to be on your knees for the Sith?" Sage hissed, clicking his tongue against his teeth. He felt a few cherry blossom petals tickling his collarbone where it met his armor. Reaching up, his hand found that they were not petals after all, but flakes of burnt skin. His beautiful face must look ruined. Ah, well he could always get synthskin.

The Sith Lord circled the Jedi Master who was now folding to his hands and knees. Squeezing his palm as he lowered his hand, Sage cut off the Mind Shard, giving Connor a brief respite from the pain. A touch of disappointment pained Sage's burned face.

"Pity our game is ending so soon," he said. "It's so hard to find good playthings these days."

With a few quick strides Sage was standing over Connor, looking down his nose at his vanquished foe. Using his rich, overflowing power, he plucked the Jedi up off the ground, gripping the exhausted man with invisible hands. Then, a massive Force repulse chucked the Jedi Master into the deep blue river, where he would presumably sink to the bottom and drown.

And if he didn't? Well, then the Jedi would have to live with the humiliation of defeat and being denied the vengeance that he so badly craved. Revenge for his mutilated Knight, Syala would not come today, nor ever. For the psycologically damaged Jedi, living with today's failure could be a fate worse than death. With a self-satisfied grin, Bane made his way back to his drop ship, savoring the exquisite pain that hung in the air and how nicely it mingled with the petals that danced on the wind.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor breathed steady, holding himself against what was to come. The circling of the Sith gave him seconds to imagine what was coming - a blade across to take his head, or a blade through his rib cage. A warriors death at least. The pain had stopped, and the Jedi Master titled his head back, welcoming whatever was to happen with those blue eyes fixed on Sage.

He felt disappointed he had been bested so easily, a slight pang of doubt in his own ability against another more powerful than him. He had tried, and failed, and done nothing but burn the Sith in a strike that would heal in time. Sy's pain would last forever. There were no words, instead he just looked on.

Connor felt the grip of the Force on him, lifitng him for a crushing blow, but there was only a look between the two that somehow meant this wasn't over. The powerful Force blast that Connor claimed as his own power form the drain sent him back off the plateau and down into the river running beside the blossom trees with a deep, swallowing splash.

It took a few moments for Connor to come to, finding himself under the bubbling water and soon thrashing with his muscles to break the surface and pull himself up on the bank of stones and soggy blossom that stuck to his armour and his wet face and hands. He swallowed in the fresh air and turned on his back once clear of the water, leaving his bottom half in the lake and the water ripple over him.

Matted hair clung to his face and flicked back as his chest rose and fell in thankful breaths that meant he was still alive. No physical pain - bar a few bruises and a punctured arm thanks to the Vong armour - but nothing too bad he couldn't work off. The worst pain was knowing he had failed again. He was in no rush to get up, no rush to return a failure to the Order, and to dear Sy and sweet Chastity. What sort of Master would he look to them now? More unpredictable and weak?

A roar of a ship up above on the plateau signified the Sith Sage Bane had taken this as a victory and was heading away. Hopefully, Connor thought as he watched through heavy eyes, the Sith would remember his name and a few others would hear of his encounter. Slowly drip the name of the one who wasn't afraid into the hornet's nest may lead to a greater bounty later on.

For now, Connor lay his head back and closed his eyes to gather his strength as the blossom gently blew around him and the water sounded nothing but peaceful again, and wished that she was with him to make everything ok.

[member="Sage Bane"]