Private There's No Room For Fear In This Order

[Vazz]

"Come along Acolyte. We've got some Jedi to hunt."

That was how it started. Vazz had grown used to living as a shade of the Sith, helping to hunt down their enemies and kill those who posed a threat. Internal, external, it didn't matter who they were. The Defel killed them all the same. Sometimes that meant enlisting the help of others. This was one of those times. The Acolyte Saahar . He didn't know her at all, but that didn't matter. He needed some fodder to make it easier for him.

And now they were here. She had no place to argue, and it wasn't like he was one for serious conversation. He wouldn't explain much at all on what they were doing, only that they were here to help the betterment of the Sith and deal with their enemies.

Once the ship landed, their purpose would be much clearer. The Defel stepped down the ramp, pulling up his hood as he stared at the raining sky. Jabiim. A muddy, rainy world. There were Jedi here once, under the Silver Jedi. And because of that they were here now. Jedi. Not the Silvers, but others that had come to help stabilize and keep the peace after the fall of the Silvers. Stabilization was a problem for the Sith.

A Jedi was at their strongest when they were at peace.

"Jedi have made this planet quite peaceful. We're going to ruin that. There's a town close by. The people there are already full of doubt on if the Jedi could truly protect them. We're going to to ruin their faith until the Jedi arrive. Then we're killing the Jedi. Any questions, Acolyte?"

He didn't wait for her to ask, instead stalking forward towards the town in the distance.

Saahar | Makko Vyres

 

[Saahar]

Right. Saahar couldn't help but blink as Vazz wrapped up his frankly disquieting spiel. Clearly the Defel wasn't a firm believer in sugar coating things. Not that you could exactly sugarcoat terrorizing the morale out of a small, unassuming village. It was a pretty morally unambiguous thing to do. So no, she didn't have any burning questions. Just a slight nauseous feeling in her stomach that refused to go away.

If she had a credit for every time some sleeze bag picked her out of the bunch to act as an accomplice to their war crimes, she'd have an astounding two credits. Which wouldn't be enough to pay her way out of this situation to begin with but... well whatever. Suppressing a grimace, Saahar raised her own hood as she followed the canine out onto the water-clogged streets.

"Should we be expecting any resistance?" The girl asked, eyes scanning the horizon for any hidden turrets. She expected the answer to be no. The closer they got, the more the village appeared to be exactly what she feared anticipated. Defenseless and utterly oblivious to the danger set to walk straight in. In hindsight maybe it shouldn't have been such a shock that the Sith didn't plan on operating on an even playing field.

Vazz Makko Vyres

 

[Vazz]

"Not at first. They're celebrating. Find your way to the center, kill the announcer. I'll handle the rest, mm?"

People were at their most vulnerable when they were happy. Second so when they were focused on one tragedy and failed to see another. The Defel smirked rather coyly at the thought. This would be fine. Once the people were in chaos, the Jedi would be easy to handle. He tugged on his hood, making sure it better covered his face.

Not that he needed to be necessarily hidden. He could turn invisible after all.

"Now go. I'll be right behind you."

Then he was gone. Defel were naturally capable of turning invisible, and he certainly did so, fading into the background of the rainy, dreary night. This was going to be a fun one for him.

Saahar

 

[Makko Vyres]

The nearest city...


Makko was trying to keep his eyes open. A room of trade moguls was pouring over fine print with a representative of the Alliance.

He suspected that Valery suggested these diplomatic missions so that he could travel a little more, see some more worlds. Unfortunately Jabiim had been under the Silver Coalition, before being punished by the old Sith Empire.

The diplomat had decided that Makko sitting through the proceedings with his robes and saber on show was an important statement to make.

"Two percent is the standard tariff even between Alliance worlds, it is hardly..."

Makko gave in and just closed his eyes. They would think he was meditating anyway.

He opened them immediately.

The Dark Side of the Force. It was a subtle thing. A slight ripple. A discordant shift in an otherwise peaceful flow. Quiet enough that he did not suspect a trap.

Makko stood up to excuse himself.

 

[Saahar]

Saahar fought to keep from shivering as the Defel simply vanished. She did not in fact know he was capable of doing that. Hopefully there weren't any other surprises waiting around the corner cause Bogan knew she wasn't ready to handle that.

Just to be safe she steeled her expression, wiping away any trace of that subtle internal tug that told her to run as fast and far away from this place as possible.

As instructed, she moved forward until she found an entry point lining the town's outskirts. Dipping through, she pulled her cloak to just beneath her eyes and slipped into the current of people converging at the town's center. They'd lead her to exactly where she needed to be.

Vazz Makko Vyres

 

[Vazz]

The Defel wandered through the crowd. They were all happy, excited. Celebrating the new year, from what he could overhear. He was still invisible of course, but as he walked they seemed to part for him. The unnatural feeling of fear he was giving off certainly seemed to affect them. A slight chill down their spine, a general feeling of unease. It was enough for them to want to move and find their own spot somewhere safer.

He'd done some research, of course. These types of events needed research to properly ruin and terrorize the people. The village leader was now on stage, opening up a speech about the perseverance of the people. Farming was difficult on such a muddy world after all, and they didn't have the money to build up a proper facility to grow their food easier.

It was a speech full of hope. Vazz grinned as he looked up to the stage.

This was the perfect time to strike.

Saahar | Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

SHIELD | LIGHTSABER | PISTOL​

Vazz Saahar

It had been an awkward conversation. A Jedi Knight wasn't going to be permitted to carry out an operation on the world without a good reason. A bad feeling did not - as it turned out - count as suitable reason to initiate one.

Makko was permitted to head out as long as he wore civilian clothing and kept his lightsaber hidden.

"Where are we taking you?" asked one of the two drivers. He'd been given an official airspeeder.

"North."

"That's it?"

"North. Yeah."

 

[Saahar]

Saahar hated how easy this was. To slip undetected into the sea of bodies, shimmy her way behind the amphitheater, reach a hand down towards her lightsaber. The speaker was right in her line of sight, from this distance it would be impossible not to land a blow. She could almost imagine the aftermath beat by beat. A jet of plasma would breach his chest, the crowd would look on in confusion, then panic, then horror. People would push and shove and stumble and be crushed in the ensuing chaos like a bunch of frighten animals.

That made her feel a certain way. Badly, more specifically. It wasn't something she was supposed to be capable of feeling yet here she was, standing and staring dumbly as her target roused his audience with infectious optimism.

She had to go through with this. Vazz was somewhere out there, eyes probably glued to her, just waiting...

Her grip of her lightsaber tightened, knuckles paling

Vazz Makko Vyres

 

[Vazz]

She was hesitating. That wouldn't do.

Vazz grumbled from within the crowd, his red eyes now glaring at the stage as he came into view. All she had to do was activate the lightsaber in her hand, and they could move on to the next stage of this operation. It wasn't much, it wasn't anything crazy. Take a life. He stared her down as he waited for her to kill the man.

This was as much a test now for her as it was a mission for them both.

Saahar | Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

SHIELD | LIGHTSABER | PISTOL​

Vazz Saahar

He was set down over a mile from where the trouble would begin. Makko did not possess a great insight through time. He was left following a general sense of disquiet through the Force.

When Makko viewed the world through the Force the minds of other people were bright and strong. The physical world faded into greyscale obscurity. He could follow the lines of information between pieces of technology too.

There were so many people it was hard to pick out emotions and feelings. Instead Makko simply followed the weight of the crowd towards it's centre.

 

[Saahar]

Saahar had killed before, and certainly in greater quantities. It was just one man. One man and she’d save her skin from whatever punishment came from disobeying direct orders.

But she couldn’t. Something kept her stagnant, hand hovering over her lightsaber. She sucked in an unsteady breath, lungs constricting. And then her blade ignited.

The announcer's hand, which had been mid gesture, was suddenly cleaved off. A clean, almost surgical cut. A moment elapsed of pure, unrestrained shock before an eruption of screams signaled all hell.

Better a hand than his life she reasoned, returning her lightsaber to its side. Vazz certainly wouldn’t be happy, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. Meanwhile she had to get out of the surge of panicked citizens.

Vazz Makko Vyres

 

[Vazz]

She struck. But she didn't kill. Hesitation, cowardice. Vazz certainly wasn't happy in the slightest. As the chaos and panic started to flood the crowd, he let those emotions of disappointment and anger wash out from him. And with it, terror. It heightened as if a cloud had rolled over the people here, filling them with the most primal of fear as he stood tall and pulled his hood down.

Ignited his own blade as he glared at Saahar.

He cut down the first person that was close to him. An afterthought by appearances as he didn't look away from the girl, and the terror reached it's breaking points. Screams, cries, sobbing. People were tormented by some of their worst fears born from the aura of terror that Vazz gave off, and now with a dead body collapsing people were rushing and running away. Trying to escape.

Climbing over one another to escape death.

"I said kill him, Acolyte."

His voice cut through the crowd's panic, sounding as if he was speaking from all around the girl.

"Cut him down, now."

Saahar | Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

Makko closed his eyes. Ahead of him, the crowd was a sea of white lights. A blanket of bright stars, the minds of all those people connected by the Force. The panic was a ripple of red. He heard the screams, felt them rushing in his direction.

He hadn't heard a blast. If this was not a bombing then there was a chance that he was not too late to make a difference. Makko might have doubled down on his studies because of his personal life falling apart around him, but he genuinely wanted to use what he had been taught to make a difference to normal people. The kind of people who were failed by the systems around them. Fractal State, the gang that had raised him, might have been a sham but he still believed in some of those principals.

He glanced around him, drawing the Force around him like a blanket. Three quick steps and he used it to propel himself upwards as he jumped. Practise on the obstacle course of the Tangle paid off as he landed lightly on a building above the streets. It was hard to keep his footing as he raced to get sight of the danger, but it was easier than running into the crowd head on.

Two red blades. That was all he needed to know.

Sith. On my location.

Backup would take time. It might come in the form of a gunship and armed units, but a sith could cut through half of the crowd by then. The Sith also relished the challenge. From the rooftop overlooking the crowd, he drew his saber.

Snap-hiss

 

[Saahar]

She almost didn't hear Vazz over the blood pulsing through her ears. Once her senses returned to her however, his order was clear enough. Finish the job or face the consequences.

Steeling her expression, her lips pulled into a tight, indifferent line. "The goal was to create chaos was it not?" She asked, packing every last ounce of faux resolve she could muster behind her delivery, "I think having your town's leader helplessly flail around like a headless bird does more than an effective job at that wouldn't you agree?" She didn't know where she got the audacity, but she desperately hoped it wouldn't abandon her now. So long as he thought her disobedience didn't stem from the mortal sin of empathy, she felt she could skirt the worst of the backlash.

It was then something brushed the edge of her awareness, punctuated by the snap-hiss of a lightsaber. Her eyes darted up to the roof tops before landing on Makko. Well shit.

"Besides I think we have a bigger issue."

Makko Vyres Vazz

 

[Vazz]

Vazz bristled only for a moment as she spoke against him.

Then, let out a sigh as he looked to the crowd. There was chaos here. Panic, fear. He took a deep, deep breath. And at once the aura of terror he'd crafted got noticeably stronger. Fear. He could use it, not just his own but the absolute terror of the people running and trying to escape around them was a feast for him to consume.

And, he didn't care about sparing Saahar from the unnatural terror. She made a choice, a wrong one, and the fear she'd feel as he let his aura seep into every corner of the plaza would be her punishment. Her worst fears. She'd either succumb to them or overcome them. At least if she did, she'd be stronger for it.

But his gaze turned up to the Jedi that had arrived. She was at least right that they had a bigger problem. He lifted his saber, haphazardly cutting down another terrified civilian.

"You got here quick, jedi. But you're not the one I was looking for. Are you going to stop me?"

Makko Vyres | Saahar

 

[Saahar]

Just when she spotted the Jedi, a sudden overwhelming paranoia seized her chest, her vision almost blurring under the weight. Fear. Choking unapologetic fear. It surrounded her, a sprawling field of black keeping her isolated. Alone.

Somewhere, likely the twitching remains of her conscious, the notion that this was a test suddenly rose. And so did a quiet feeling of rage. Vazz clearly had little concern over needing backup, so giving her a little spook came a relatively no cost.

It must've looked quite strange to the onlooking Jedi, as she seemed to be fighting an unseen battle rather than focusing her attention on him. Still, she made steady work climbing out the mental pit Vazz seemed to radiate, clearly not intent on being rendered defenseless in front of an armed Jedi and spiteful Sith. There was no guarantee Vazz would do anything to protect her after all, she'd already proven herself a nuisance.

Makko Vyres Vazz

 

[Makko Vyres]

But his gaze turned up to the Jedi that had arrived. She was at least right that they had a bigger problem. He lifted his saber, haphazardly cutting down another terrified civilian.

"You got here quick, jedi. But you're not the one I was looking for. Are you going to stop me?"

The overwhelming fear had the opposite effect on Makko. It blunted his concentration.

He narrowed his focus, closing off some of his natural empathy.

He was being baited, but he had no choice in the matter. Makko rushed down from the rooftop. A telekinetic wave - not his strength - was enough to part the crowd and give him a direct line.

Yet as fast as he moved through the crowd, he slowed down as he approached the Sith. He had been told off for rushing and compromising his footwork too many times. He would help no one if he was dead.

With the other sith staying where she stood, Makko closed on the one who addressed him.

"Who were you hoping to see?" Makko asked as he placed himself between the sith and the crowd behind him. If the sith wanted to turn his back and go after the other half of the crowd then Makko would take advantage of the mistake.

He wouldn't normally indulge in conversation, but that seemed an important piece of information.

 

[Vazz]

"Does that matter?"

Vazz's image flickered. It was an easy swap, an illusion of himself dropped right where he was standing while his true form sunk into shadow. The Force was all he truly needed to obscure himself. The fake smiled, looked towards the stage where the Acolyte was certainly facing her fears. "Once you're dead, I'm certain they'll come themselves."

Then he moved to strike one of the other civilians that had been frozen by their fear. Nothing would happen to them of course, but that was the distraction. The real Sith had made his way through the crowd so he might strike Makko from behind.

Makko Vyres | Saahar

 

[Saahar]

Something was happening. Right in front of her for that matter. And if she didn't want to risk getting her head lopped off by a rogue Jedi, she'd have to focus on it. With her mind tightly wound in knots, the girl fought wildly against Vazz's influence until her vision begun to clear, just in time to hear Vazz's last statement.

With deep stabilizing breathes she regarded the Defel and Jedi, slinking into a defensive position. Hadn't Vazz just wanted to kill indiscriminately? Since when had they been looking for a "one?" The girl grimaced deeply, a sting of betrayal clear on her face. It was wiped away a moment later however when the Defel's blade harmlessly sliced through a civilian. She thought back to how casually he'd disappeared before, slipping behind her like some ghost.

"He's behind you," She blurted out, dumbfounded by her own words as soon as they left her mouth. Regret came like a punch in the gut. Why in Bogan's name had she done that.

Vazz Makko Vyres

 

[Makko Vyres]

"Once you're dead, I'm certain they'll come themselves."

They were not messing around. A trap for a jedi, who themselves would be a trap for someone else.

Makko had never been alone facing a sith. Two sith. He steeled his nerves and held his ground. He had to make a quick, logical decision. Pushing his emotions down he didn't rush forwards as the sith swung as a civilian frozen in fear.

It would have been reckless and he would have died. Then no one would protect anyone else.

He would question the cold logic he had to embody as a Jedi after the work was done.

"He's behind you," She blurted out

For an instant, he thought this was strange trickery. Then Makko turned sharply, trusting his instincts and throwing up a sharp block.

Saver clashed. They wailed and hissed and a myriad of sparks were sent tumbling across the floor.

An illusionist. Makko slid one foot back, disengaged their sabers and swung low.

"A cheap trick," he muttered.