Shattered Tears Run On.

RULES FOR THIS RUN ON

{General Rules}
1. You might be a Dark Jedi. You might even have your lightsaber. But you are not a god (or goddess). Even Elders are not gods, but they can certainly do a whole lot more than any Equite or Journeyman. In short, godmoding is strictly prohibited and can result in your post being deleted or even death (see rule#2).

2. You are mortal. Death is a viable option for your character. Yeah, you’ve got the Force, but that didn’t really help Qui-Gonn, Darth Maul, Obi-wan, Palpatine, Order 66 casualties, or any other Force user who met an early end, now did it? You put yourself in a hole and you might just end up staying there.

3. Stick to the setting and scenes. As expansive as the Star Wars galaxy is, we’re not running/flying around all over it (unless the story calls for it).

4. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Yes, the Golden Rule applies here as well. Respect other characters and don’t write them doing something stupid or terribly out of character. Consult the wiki, their character history, or better yet, the member themselves.

5. Following rule #4, never kill another member character without their permission. In the event of serious injury, let the other member character either tell you what to do, or let them write it themselves.

6. What happens in this run-on is permanent for your character. Whether you lose an arm, adopt a herd of banthas, or anything in between, you’re stuck with it and must deal with it.

7. The unit is the character in this story and you are a part of the unit. Aim for continuity in the story; get advice from others on where to take your post.

8. Avoid excessive details where you can. The paint job on your own personal ship (that you somehow have) is not a valid subject for the run-on.

9. Once your post is made, do not go back and edit anything except for grammar and spelling. Otherwise, you stand a good chance of screwing the story up. It also helps to proof read your post before you post it.

10. Finally, posts that excessively detract from the storyline or contain large amounts of godmoding will be marked for deletion and ignored. It is not our goal or desire to keep anyone off the playground, but we will if we must.

{Specifically for this run on}

1. Only a selected few can participate in this run on, the Volunteers:-
From Cestus: The House Summit, Welshman, Sato and Jaron.
From Gladius: TBA

2. Your character, barring special circumstances, will always be at the same rank as he/she was when you started off.

3. Posts of 300 words (about half a page) and above are a minimum to be counted towards posting. Word count does not stack. A minimum of three posts are required to be eligible for placing in the run on.

4. You are allowed to use Necromancy, and the powers that you will use are to be in accordance to the Necromantics page of tarentum.org. Some of you may have concessions from the Clan leaders so as to be of a higher level than what your awards give you. Please inform the Summit beforehand.
Check this page to know which level you are in, and which Path you wish to follow.

5. You may call a post, but since this is a very fast run on, the maximum time you will get is 1 hour, after which the next poster will be allowed to post without your permission.

6. This run on will go on for seven days, the last day being reserved for the conclusion written by the Summits.

7. There should be at least one person between your own posts, though two or more is highly preferred.

8. Have fun!

"It would seem that the explosion Trevarus caused bits and pieces of his tower, and the few items still in it, to be scattered. Among those items might be shards of the Crystal of Tears," said Anshar to the Quaestor and Aedile before him.

"How would they survive such an explosion?"

"The Force works in mysterious ways," replied Anshar. "Being that the Shroud is an entity of the Force, it may have played a role. Regardless of how it happened, a small piece has showed up. The Republic scout who found it while scouting for the Vong in the area around Antei took it."

"How do we know this?"

"Never underestimate Oberst's spies," said Anshar. "Your goal is to try and ascertain if more of these exist. If they do, collect what you can. If you do find any, ensure that they go to the strongest members of this mission. If not, use the mission constructively to train yourselves, and possibly report anything you may learn of the Yuuzhan Vong presence. Oh, and take only those that volunteer to go. I will not leave us so defenseless."

"And his special spies also report that the planet just outside the Vong belt, Samur, harbours at least one of these pieces. Priceless as they are, the most able of your warriors will be allowed to endow the power of this shard as his own. This is not just a test of your scouting, but also a test of your preparedness."

The Summit of Cestus bowed in unison and left the room.
--
In another hall, the Proconsul had already given the same orders to the Gladians.
"If this is too daunting of a mission for you, you may back down," Dranik said, but the Quaestor and Aedile shook their heads.
"Anything that may strengthen us, we'll do."
"You must remember the consequences. This is dangerous territory you are embarking on. You must arm readily, with the appropriate volunteers. Your most able warriors shall claim the shards as their own, to grant them power. This is a test of your scouting and how you can be prepared. May you do well."
The Summit of Gladius bowed in unison and left the room.
--
A twisted idea forming in their heads, the Clan Summit had arranged for the same mission to both the House of the Sword and the Gauntlet. A simple competition that they believed the House Summits would handle well, for the Force resounded perfectly with them.
--
As Kazarelth and Ronovi trudged out, they nodded about each others' choice of volunteers, using the Force's mellow tendrils to talk to each other. Kazarelth's mind already forming the plan of attack. It would be a dangerous mission, but if done right, would be as simple as ever.
--
At the same time, Apollo and Scion discussed volunteers of their own. No doubt this would be a daunting task, but Gladius was one of the sword, aggressive, defiant, and always triumphant. Scion remembered his work as Colonel, while Apollo smiled at the image of the shards. It was a mission they would emerge stronger than ever from.
--
I was no secret that Tarentum was preparing for war daily. Drills and simulations, continually searching for ways to improve the starships, and so forth: the Consul had ordered all these things be done.

In particular, orbiting above Yridia II lay the Mon Calamari cruiser Renegade. She was being rebuilt, though somewhat strangely. Many turbolasers and ion cannons had been replaced by warhead tube launchers. Extra thrusters, really nothing more than short burning thrust rockets, were being welded onto the ship. Inside, all non-essential systems were being removed. What Tarentum could not reuse was sold on the black market.

What the Consul and his aide had planned was anyone's guess, though pieces were quickly falling into place. For now, however, he had sent the house on their mission, one with potential rewards, but also potential great risk.

The events of the past twenty-four hours have been grueling for the members of House Gladius. The task at hand was one that could serve Gladius very well in the near future, and every member knew it. They had worked hard at gathering the supplies needed for this mission, with that alone taking a lot of resources and a lot of determination to see the job done. For the first time in a long time, you could see the pride in the eyes of the Gladius team. They were eager and ready for what would come next.

Knowing that it could prove too costly to bring the B/CR Cocytus in close, QUA Apollo instead opted to take his personal Escort Shuttle along instead to sneak into the system and onto Samur itslef. Though the larger ship would stay close incase it was needed. The team had a bumpy ride going into the system, and making the approach to Samur itself wasnt exactly a picnic. But the shuttle had made touchdown over three hours ago. In that time a small basecamp was established and the team set out on thier mission as quick as possible.

Apollo shook his head a little bit and took a deep breath and just couldnt help thanking the Force that he had prepared his people as best he could. For what he seen in front of them will surely test them, and himself, to thier fullest extent possible.

The team members of House Gladius kept thier defensive positions as KAP Apollo and JH Scion Altera, both members of the Gladius House summit, stepped out from behind a large boulder. Standing directly infront of the two leaders were the last thing anyone in Gladius expected to see.... several members of House Cestus who seem to be just as perplexed as they were.

"Knight Kazarelth and Jedi Hunter Ronovi." Apollo said as he gave a nod to the two of them. "I have to say its rather odd to see you here."

The four exchanged very curt pleasentries with eachother before getting right down to buisness.

"Archpriest Apollo, If I may.. Why are you here? On this planet of all others." Ronovi inquired, a slightly concerned look on her face.

"I'm sure we can all figure it out." Scion stated with a scowl. The hopes of secretly gathering whatever shards Gladius could find silently drained from his eyes.

"Apollo, I'm guessing you had a meeting with the Clan Summit recently.." Kazarelth began.

"And I'm thinking you did too." Apollo finished.

A third member of Gladius joined them.

"So whats going on?" ask Dark Adept Troutrooper. The large bulbous Mon Calamari eyes taking in everyone at once.

"We are all here for the same thing, Dark Adept." Scion added, his face stern.

Troutrooper looked at the members of Cestus then back at Kazarelth and Ronovi.

"It would be a shame if you would come up empty handed. Especially since we've been here for a few days." Troutrooper smiled a bit and patted the lightsaber on his hip. Turning partially away from the Cestus team, Troutrooper made a very small gesture with his eye towards Apollo, giving his Mon Cal equivalent of a wink before turning back towards the others.

Observing the reaction, however slight it might have been, from Kaz and Ronvoi confirmed exactly what he dreaded.. House Cestus was on the same mission as Gladius and now they all knew it. Apollo knew the next few days will be a trial for his House. But he also knew how dangerous it will be for his team. Now instead of worrying just about the Vong, he had to worry about Cestus too.

Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed he thought to himself as the tempers flared around him.

Ronovi had seen this coming, but she still could not help feeling miffed to see Gladius out for the same thing that Cestus sought. Being a recent ex-Gladian, she focused on the familiar people, some of them higher-ups, who formed the Gladius team before looking back on her own. Though the Cestians' group was smaller, Vai Azexel, Welshman Corsair Erinos Tarentae, Jaron Kai, and Sato Tarentae, along with a few others, nodded curtly at the Gladians and kept a defensive position.

She was not amused by Troutrooper's little trick to get a reaction out of her and her Quaestor, and from what she could tell, neither was Kazarelth. She knew that despite Trout's words, they had obviously come at approximately the same time as the Cestians had. But now that both sides were revealed, she was eager to irritate them a bit.

"So I suppose you guys are determined to get to these shards first," Ronovi said as she took a step toward Apollo and Scion. She could sense the tempers igniting all around her, as hot as the blade of a lightsaber.

"Yes," Scion said, "just like anyone would typically be. Like you, for example."

"What makes you think you deserve them more than we do?"

"You've certainly gotten cocky," Apollo said, clenching his teeth. "And what makes you so confident in your own House's merit?"

"That's enough out of both of you," Kazarelth interrupted, stepping into the tense conversation. "If we're here on the same mission, then that means the clan meant something beneficial out of this. Something for all of us."

As he spoke, Ronovi could not help but feel her adrenaline rushing. She placed her hand against the hilt of her lightsaber and furrowed a brow at the Gladians. They all gazed at Cestus with the same fury that was placed on them, and she decided to play with it.

"If we're here on the same mission, I suppose a challenge isn't too outlandish," said Ronovi. "What do you say we make a game of this?"

"A game of finding these shards of unknown power? You're joking," Scion retorted.

"If we're here for a few shards, that means only a few of us can get them, right? Let's make it a contest. We'll see which team can get the shards first and keep them the longest without being intercepted by the other. After all, if you truly want something, you'll go to lengths to get it."

"The last thing the clan wants to see is a vendetta for these things!"

"I would hardly call Ronovi's request a call for bloodshed," Kazarelth said. "Perhaps some tests in strength or mettle will suffice. A bout with one another for such a worthy prize is not a bad idea in my book."

"I have to say, a challenge like that will sure get me searching," Guardian Balia Donos interjected, the Sith commander jumping loyally to his House Summit's side.

"It certainly shouldn't cause a problem if in the end we succeed in the mission," Sato added.

As everyone came to a hesitant agreement, even Scion began to falter in his reluctance. "If it means we do not dismay Tarentum by smearing our own blood on this planet's surface, then I will be up for it. A race to the prize, Cestus!"

"Excellent," said Kazarelth. "Then it is agreed. Cestus, we shall go one way while Gladius goes another. The Spires are vast and await us in our search for these crystal shards. If any of us shall meet on the path, standing over the same prize, be warned - we will all be put to the test."

"I await it eagerly," Apollo said, gazing at the Omwati with a sneer on his face.

Scion's eyes also fell on Ronovi, who returned the look with intensity and attempted intimidation. Everyone seemed to pick a target, and despite the Gladius team's advantage in size, the Cestus team matched in malice and power. Ronovi nodded to Vai and Kazarelth before they led the team in one direction, while Gladius went in another. They would all meet in the middle, divided up or together, in their mission.

The Gladians walked smartly away from the point where they had encountered their Cestian counterparts. Small rocks and dust kicked up behind them as the marched across the barren landscape; alien mountains and dust in front of them and the same behind.

The oppressive sun beat down on them, sweat beading down all of their faces; especially that of Windos whom absolutely refused to remove his heavy robes. He hastened his pace to fall in step beside his Quaestor.

“Can you sense anything on this rock, old man?”

“Indeed.”

“I do hate it when you do that, Windos,” injected Scion.

“There are very prominent echoes in the Force coming from the Spires of Sumar.” The Krath pointed in the direction of the massive rock forms that were just peaking over the horizon.

“Anything else?”

“Some slight whispers from a mining facility, but I can't be sure what it is.”

“Let us head for the spires, that would undoubtedly be where the Cestians will head first and it would be such a shame to let them claim a shard without a challenge.”

Windos grinned slightly, “I will keep working on that whisper, sir, it may prove to be a valuable ace in the hole.”

The group picked up their pace and marched into the early evening before stopping to make camp. They made crude sleeping holes and lay under the stars. A distant screech echoed from far off in the distance then a few moments later a pair of Vulture Droids shot over head.

“Those machines still patrol this dust bucket?” Scion asked of no one in particular.

“I suppose they will keep going until the sun erupts,” replied Apollo.

“We'll have to watch that.”

“Indeed.”

“Windos!” grumbled Scion.

Apollo awakened early the next morning. He propped himself up on an elbow and looked around, blinking the sleep and the sand from his eyes.

"Donos, report," he said. The Battle Team Leader had drawn last watch, and was dutifully standing near his sleeping companions and looking out for trouble.

"Nothing, Sir. Seems pretty quiet. Those vultures keep flying by every half an hour or so but that's it. I don't think they've seen us."

The two proceeded to wake everyone else. After a quick breakfast, the group was on its way. The morning air was cool and dry, but soon the suns would rise higher in the sky and the heat would become oppressive.

Several hours of hiking passed, with the Vulture droids patrolling every half hour. The group hid each time the patrol passed. It was easy, because they could simply set a stopwatch to warn them right before the next patrol flew by. However, now they had come to the crest of a ridge, beyond which lay miles of desert with no cover whatsoever.

"We've got to cross this," Scion remarked, "but it's going to take us several hours. I guess this is where we find out how much the Vong care about us being here."

The Aedile paused for a moment, safely watching a pair of the droids fly past from where his group had taken cover.

"We know we were sent here as a test of our preparedness. What we don't know is if the droids will attack when they see us, or just call home."

"Ok people, here's the plan," Apollo continued. "We're going to hustle as far across the desert as we can in half an hour. We'll dig into the sand when the next patrol is on its way. If we can manage to avoid them seeing us, it'll save us a lot of time. If not, we should be able to take out two of them, but then we'll have to get moving again as fast as possible. They'll send more to investigate, and we don't have enough firepower to take them all out. We're home free once we get across the desert and into some better cover."

Just on cue every one left following Apollo and Scion at a sprint to get as far as they can before the Vulture droids got there. Sweat rolling off on there brows some haveing more troubles then other’s at running in this heat.

When Donos looked back he saw his friend and Mentor Windos laying in the Desert. “Apollo stop for a second.” was all Donos said as he ran to the Arch Priest. Once Donos got his friend he checked him over and decided they had to take a quick break to Windos out of the Heat.

Apollo and the rest of the Gladians that was there started to dig a hole seeing as they all needed a break from running. As the hole was dug they all made a small shelter like for Windos to get him out of the sun.

With Windos now awake and drinking water what little color he had now returned to his cheeks. “ Donos go and see if the Vulture Droids have left yet.” Apollo Commanded As Donos got out the hole he looked around with his hands covering his eyes looking for any signs of the Driods.

“It is all clear Apollo.” Donos aid as he kept watch for the skies. “I will stay in the back of the group to make sure Windos doesn’t pass out on us again.” said Donos as every one started to Follow Apollow and Scion to the Spires.

As they were walking for what was like twenty minutes and they only saw a couple of sand lizards just soaking in the sun. Every now and then Donos would reach into his pack that was situated on his back perfectly packed with fruit and water for the trip he would grab some water and give it to Windos to drink.

As Windos gave Balia the water bottle to put back into his pack the Alarm went off and told them they had to start digging a hole. Once the hole was dug and every one went in The droids flew over head making there runs over the area. Once they have left and noone heard anything they got out and started there way again.

Ronovi chuckled to herself as the Cestus team trekked their way through the sand. They had dug a hole easily to hide from the Vulture droids as they slept for the night, and now with the morning sun blazing on them, she walked alongside Kazarelth and Vai as they timed each moment the droids swooped by. There was enough people on the team to dig two of three decent sized holes to hide in, but as the Spires grew larger in the distance, the time between patrols seemed to lull. Members of the team noticed.

"You think the droids only patrol certain areas in particular numbers?" Ronovi asked Kazarelth as she brushed grains of sand away from her cybernetic eye.

"Perhaps. Normally not a lot of people will travel Korshin. The sinkholes to the east are obstacles enough, and the Spires do a good job of concealing any travelers," Kazarelth replied. He was doing marvelously in the heat despite the weight against his thin frame.

Vai was busy on Ronovi's left, a datapad in his hand to calculate time lapses and miles. "How are we doing there, Vai?"

The Firrerreo furrowed his brow. "According to this, we've been traveling for a good six hours."

"Any signs of the Gladians?" Ronovi asked the team. After seeing them shake their heads, she sneered. "Good. They're probably close, though. If they passed the same crest we did, they should be close behind."

Though the sand was heavy, the Cestians marched their way through as the view of the Spires still taunted them. However, Ronovi could not help but feel a great Force presence in the distance. She knew others felt it, too, as she extended her Force feelers to detect whether or not it was of a Gladian or other sentient being. However, as the sun began to sink in the blazing sky, Kazarelth stopped and extended a hand.

"My friends," he says, "I sense a great amount of power. It should take about two more hours to get to the Spires, but I think we've found ourselves a shard."

“Stop!”

The group of Gladians stumbled to a halt from their near sprint.

“What is it Windos?” Apollo looked at the Krath with a puzzled face, then stared back across the expanse that separated them from the spires.

“There is a void under the surface about one hundred yard ahead of us.”

“You can sense that?” Donos asked, almost startled.

“Of course, though it helps that I took the time to study thermal and infrared maps of this planet before we arrived.” He grinned and tapped his temple smugly.

“Head around it, Windos lead the way and make it smart; I can see sunlight shimmering off something metallic over there.” Apollo gestured off into the distance.

Scion took a moment to look for himself and confirm what his fellow summit has spotted before falling in with the rest of his house.

They continued to eat at the distance between them and their objective, even as the sun went down. “How far do you think we are from the spires?” Someone asked as they decided to make camp.

“One and half to two hours, at a guess,” Windos announced as he studied the data pad he had in an internal pocket of his robes.

“Should we not just get there now, we can rest after we claim that shard for ourselves,” Donos asked as he bit down on a peculiar piece of fruit.

“No, we’ll go at first light. I don’t know what to expect and I’d prefer we are all sharp and rested when we get there,” Apollo commanded. “Did anyone else notice that we only encountered two patrols since noon?”

“Indeed. I’d assume they don’t consider this area very important or impractical to effectively police.” Windos mused.

“Set you alarms for and hour before sunrise, we WILL get there before our Cestian brethren.”

Jaron followed a few strides behind the House Summit, feeling the anticipation grow in her fellow Cestians as Kazarelth announced that they would soon be nearing a shard. Every time she thought about the shards her head swam. She had learned so much in her short time with Tarentum, earning her promotion to Protector shortly before they set out on this mission, and the potential of the shards enticed her like few other things. In spite of this, she was still hanging slightly back, gauging her own reaction to the long hike. On the whole, though, she was pleased, whatever she had been up to during those five years she couldn’t remember, at least it had included staying in shape. Since Kazarelth had mentioned the shard, she could feel the slightest tingle in the Force as well, but it was frustratingly weak, and honestly, it could have been an unhappy bantha for all she could tell. “It will come back,” she grumbled to herself, “my power returns every day.” She looked up, almost reflexively now, but the sky was still free from droids.

The sky was continuing to darken, and Jaron could sense a question growing among the team, but she wasn’t about to ask it. Just as the last light was disappearing, Sato spoke up from just behind her. “I have a hunch that Gladius has stopped behind us, I can’t sense them anymore,” he announced, directing his comment to the Summit.

Kazarelth nodded and Ronovi smirked, “Then the advantage is ours Cestus, we continue on.”

The members of Cestus pulled out their night vision equipment and continued on with renewed vigor. As they approached a ridge on the edge of the Spires, Jaron felt a surge of excitement and those light tingles in the Force resolved themselves into throbs of power. She followed more closely now, eager to be one of the first to see the shard. She could hear the Summit whispering to themselves just ahead.

As they crested the ridge, Jaron was struck by the Dark Side, and looking down into a small valley, she could see something glowing gently in the dirt, partially buried. She sensed something else as well, very briefly. A Gladian behind them? It couldn’t be, Sato said they had stopped. She followed the Summit down the gentle slope and bathed her spirit in the aura of the shard.

"What's on your mind?" Apollo stopped for a moment from unpacking his gear for the night. He had noticed Trouttrooper staring towards the spires and scowling. Everyone else had kept going about their business because a Mon Calamari scowl bears little resemblance to the human expression, but Apollo knew it well from his years of friendship with the Dark Adept.

"The Cestians haven't stopped for the night. They will get the first shard before we do."

"And by tomorrow morning they will be tired while we will be rested." Apollo interrupted. "We will need only find the Cestians to find the shard."

"It's a bit... unorthodox, don't you think? Tarenti stealing from Tarenti?" The Mon Calamari's expression had not changed.

"All's fair in love and war," quoted Apollo.

***

An hour before dawn, Apollo and Scion began waking the team up. After quickly packing their gear, they were once again on the march. This time, the trail was much easier to find as Trouttrooper stretched out to the Cestians with delicate tendrils of the Force. The Dark Adept had no trouble locating the younger members of the team, who were not sophisticated enough yet in their use of the Force to hide themselves from him.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as the Gladians drew near the Cestian campsite. They stopped before they could see it clearly, wanting to avoid alerting whoever was on watch. Scion closed his eyes and searched his thoughts, thinking of his old friend Ronovi. He smiled as he remembered their friendly competition to earn the rank of Jedi Hunter. They both had a competitive nature, and they fed off each others' energy.

Slowly, the Force entered his mind and his thoughts wandered closer to the Cestian camp. He could see the sleeping Tarenti... and Ronovi standing guard. Her electronic eye caught a glint of the sunrise as she turned to face him. Startled, Scion opened his eyes and returned to reality.

"Ok," Scion addressed his team. "Their camp is over there on the horizon. They're all asleep except for Ronovi, who is standing watch. We've got to get in close without her seeing us, and without waking any of them up."

Apollo continued with the battle plan. "We're going to stay low profile. Hustle in single file, straight towards her so there's less chance she can spot us. There's a group of rocks between us and the camp, so we'll head for those and hide out behind them."

"Brimstone," Scion turned to the newly minted Knight. "When we get close, we'll need you to set your rifle to stun, and take Ronovi out. Once she's stunned, we'll all go in real quiet and grab the shard. If all goes well, we'll be in and gone before any of them wake up. If not, I'm guessing we'll have a fight on our hands. Be ready."

The team nodded and shouldered their gear. Running in single file, they made their way quickly across the desert to the outcropping of rocks. If Ronovi saw them, she showed no sign of it. Brimstone dropped his gear, set his rifle to stun, and took aim. He fired a single shot, but the Jedi Hunter was too quick. Sensing the incoming attack, she dropped to the ground and out of view.

"Charge!" Apollo shouted.

Ronovi's yell as she dodged the rifle shot was enough to wake every Cestian from his or her slumber as their Aedile dropped to one knee on the sand. She cursed the team's ill luck. It should have been obvious that moving ahead would invite an ambush, but fortunately the Cestians had had a good night of rest and should not be too disoriented against the attack. She heard cussing, most likely from whoever failed to shoot her, before getting to her feet.

"Cestians, let's have a little fun!" she shouted as she saw the members of her team quickly arm themselves with their lightsabers and blasters. She saw the purple blade of her Quaestor's saber spring to life as the group moved toward the charging Gladians. They may have been in single file, but they were still a dark mark in the desert sunrise, intimidating but not invincible.

The Gladians fired first, meaning to stun their oppoent, but the Cestians were quick in their response. Vai even made a move to defend Jaron as he dodged a blaster bolt, as the latter was not as attuned to the Force to react as quickly or defensively. After that barrage of fire, Ronovi pulled her trusty SSK-7 out of her pocket and fired two shots as other blasters bolts sang through the hot air.

That did it for a reaction. Ronovi and the others were smart enough not to aim directly at any of the members, instead watching as they darted behind a row of large boulders surrounding the border of the camp. Ronovi put her SSK-7 and activated her lightsaber, and the Cestians fired only a few more shots at the rocks before Kazarelth raised a hand.

"That's enough! Let them show themselves," he said.

As the Epicanthix had been roosting on a separate stone when on guard, she quickly jumped back onto it so as to gain height and attempt to look over the boulders. Extending her Force tendrils, she could hear the Gladians murmur among each other as they planned their next move.

"Way to mess up that shot, Brimstone," she heard Donos whisper.

"I did the best I could! Why don't you try?"

"Quiet, both of you! Concentrate!" came Windos's voice.

Ronovi smiled. "I think you should stop quarreling with each other if you want to deal with us," she called, "though I find it surprising that you were audacious enough to plan a surprise attack on your fellow Tarenti."

As Vai and Kazarelth flanked her, the Cestians behind them began forming a defensive against their humble camp. The Spires rose high to the sky just behind them, a dramatic sight for the showdown. Roaming those Spires in the darkness had been quite an adventure, but the aura of the shard could not be ignored. The Cestians had found it nestled in a fissure in one of the spires' stone, or perhaps bone if the Ruurian fable were true.

The Cestians had gathered around it briefly before Kazarelth plucked it out of the stone, holding it against his palm. It was a beautiful thing, despite looking like melted silver against the Omwati's pale fingers. It was also a wonder to think about how it had gotten here, scattered across the Antei system only to be found in such a dry, hostile place as Korshin. Of course, the team knew what effects that a remnant of the Crystal of Tears could have, and through the night, they had passed it off to each Cestian strong enough to handle it. Sato had carried it back to their camp, then Welshman as he was the first to stand on guard, then Vai as he maintained the post as well.

Now, as they waited for the Gladians to emerge from their hiding spot, Ronovi knew they could sense the aura as well. And they would certainly know that it was coming from the Jedi Hunter herself, as she had concealed the shard within her robes while she was guarding the camp. She felt the energy of the shard pulsed like her own blood and smiled as she waited for the next strike from Gladius.

Brimstone was furious at himself for allowing him to miss the shot so wildly. "if you would have gave me proper time to set up instead of rushing into this, I would have gotten the shot perfectly, but no, you had to be in a rush to attack" retorted the chiss to Donas.

Donas had no reply back as Scion mentally told him to be quiet.

The Cestians were alerted to the ambush now. The best they could, the Gladians, was an overpower assault now. Being that they did outnumber their fellow bretheren, it should be no trouble.

As Troutrooper and Apollo got ready, Brimstone, still looking through his scope, motioned Apollo over.

"I think the ex-gladian, Ronovi I believe her name is, found a piece of the shard we seek" said Brimstone.

"How can you be so sure, I would have sensed its power" Apollo replied.

"Because I just saw her pick up a silver object off the ground in my scope and hide it in her robes. She also has a smirk on her face and I believe she thinks no one else saw it."

"Then that is who we go after first" replied Trout as he was listening in.

"No, then they would protect her if she says anything about it" replied Brimstone, "We have to make them think that we didn't see it, and have them drop their guard of protecting the prize."

Apollo was amused. For once, he was in agreement with the new dark jedi knight. "Then Brimstone, I suggest you stay back here and use your rifle to concentraite on each one of them" commanded Apollo. "If you get a clean shot of Ronovi, then take it. I want no casualties, do you understand?"

Brimstone gave an affirmative as he sinched in the sling of his rifle and targeted each of the members of Cestius. Scoping out the members, he targeted the inexperienced first. The rest of the gladians decided to double flank their opponents and get them from two different sides.

As they ran into battle, with their lightsabers lit, Brimstone fired the first shot at one of the journeymen. He didn't stand a chance of deflecting or detecting the blue beam as it hit him in the neck. He just slumped to the ground and dropped his lightsaber which deactivated upon release from its owners grip.

Kaz realized this immediately and saw the body slumped to the ground. "They got a sniper that is to pick us off while we engage in this fight. Someone has to get the that chiss and take him out, or we will lose this little contest" yelled Kazareth to the others.

"Leave him to me" Ronovi replied. "I think we have some unfinished business berween me and the chiss before I left Gladius." Ronovi dove behind a rock formation and looked to find her way fastest to the location of Brimstone. She held out her senses t try to pin point his location and to find a way to get to him in cover.

Brimstone looking through his scope was looking at all the targets engaged. As he counted them, one was missing. "Sithspit" cursed Brimstone under his breath. "She knows I know she has the shard."

Brimstone reached out in the force and with enhanced senses, detected her coming from the east side, using the cover of the rocks and the rising sun to blur his vision to catch him off guard.

Brimstone waited till she was near him, from his senses and set his rifle on overload. The blast would temporary stun her long enough for Brimstone to use the time to ignite his saber and to hopefully subdue the jedi hunter. As she got with in striking range to leap onto the spot of his, he hurled his rifle at her, which caught her offguard. She slashed down onto the rifle with her lightsaber and relized it was a ploy. The blast threw her backwards and into a rock formation, where she hit her head soundly. Ronovi's last glimpse she had before she passed out from the concussion was the blue-skinned chiss walking over to her.

Brimstone, with lightsaber in hand, watch the jedi hunter go unconscious. After probing she was indeed incapacitated, he searched through her robes and found the sliver shard. The power was immediatly sensed by its touch. After a few seconds admireing it Brimstone stuffed it into his cargo pockets. He then settled down next to her, tending to her head wound.

The others continued to fight each other.

**(( Vai's post needs to be deleted due to him logging off for the night.))**



Troutrooper made a smirk as he watched Ronovi race towards the brim of the hill where Brimstone was perched. The powerful Force suggestion made the Jedi Hunter believe she was ordered by Kaz to take down the sniper. The reality was much different. Apollo smiled broadly as he watched Ronovi leap from her position to engage Brimstone, all the while Kaz screaming at her to return to her position. Troutrooper gave a Mon Cal smile as he mimiced using Ronovi as a marionette doll.

"Dance baby, dance." Apollo chuckled. The Cestus AED was all he needed. She has the shard, and with that came victory.

***

As Brimstone reached over to grab a flask of water from his pouch nearby, the blow from Ronovi came all too sudden. Catching the Knight offguard with her elbow, she quickly repeated the move again leaving Brimstone teetering on the edge of conciousness. Grabbing the shard from Bimestone's pocket she was about to give him another swift kick in the stomach when she heard a lightsaber ignite behind her. She attempted to quell the immediate fear that welled up inside her at being caught so offguard just like the chiss that lay at her feet, groaning. She knew she couldnt fight long because Brimstone would awake out of mist clouding his mind. And there was no way she could face two on one.

"Now now, Ronovi. Didn't you know you do not kick people when they are down? I thought we taught you better than that. A pitty Cestus has curbed your sense of Honor." Scion said with this lightsaber burning brightly in the early morning sun. He pointed it at her chest.

"Lets see if you remember what it means." Scion said as the duel between the two Aediles began.

***

Apollo looked to see Kaz in a small panic but attempting to keep his composure. Welshman continued to take pot shots at the Gladius team when he could. Apollo remembers how good a fighter the man was. Turning to Trout and Windos he nodded to thier belts.

"Concussion grenades. Deploy in 3 second intervals. We have 6 between us three. Should give us enough time to disengage and grab Ronovi then get out of here."

"Good idea, boss." Trout said as he grabbed two from his belt. Apollo motioned to his team to stop firing then turned back towars Kaz.

"Seems like you lost your AED, Kaz. Though you stole her from Gladius anyways. Looks like we got her back!" Apollo boasted loudly to his counterpart. He could feel the anger welling up inside Kaz, but to the man's credit he didnt crack.

"You have no sense of honor Apollo! You take what is not rightfully yours! Why dont you take your pathetic band and return to your cold rock before you wont be able to return at all!" Kaz screamed at his enemy.

"Maybe we'll leave now. Or maybe we wait till you sleep next and give you a proper greeting you small twit! I'm surprised they let you lead a one man operation let along an entire House!" Apollo shot back, purposely trying to anger the Cestus Quaestor with anything he could think of, true or not.

Kaz stood and took a shot at the bolder Apollo was hiding behind. The three Gladians knew it was thier chance. Pulling the pins they let the grenades fly one at a time. The flashes blinding the Cestans, giving Gladius time to disengage from the battle.

The only thing anyone could hear as they made thier escape was as close to a Mon Calamari laugh as they will ever hear.

Ronovi could feel the blood still trickling from her head wound as she parried a strike from Scion, but with the flashbang and the Cestians drawing back, she knew she had little time. The glow of Scion's lightsaber blurred her vision, as the taunting words of her rival echoed in her ears. It would be another ten seconds before Gladius intercepted her, and it would be a shorter time for Brimstone to recover. For one brief moment, she wished that she were not Aedile of Cestus but still a Gladian so she would not be subjected to such an embarrassing defeat.

But she still had time to speak. As Ronovi felt the shadows of the Gladians fall upon her and heard Brimstone finally shuffle to his feet, she called out to Scion. "Scion, please, make sense of this! This is just a game!"

"Not anymore, Ronovi," Scion murmured.

"IT'S JUST A GAME!"

But her screams for a halt in the battle were useless; the House of the Sword would have none of it. In the next moment, Ronovi felt herself being tackled and lifted into the air by Troutrooper. She screamed and pounded only for a while before she felt as if all her strength were leaving her. Instead, all she could feel was humiliation as Troutrooper appeared to be using a mind trick to force her into unconsciousness and Gladius disappeared from the wrecked camp, leaving nothing but kicked up sand behind them.

The Mon Calamari's laugh was mocking in Kaz's ears as his sight slowly returned to him and the other Cestians reoriented themselves. The aura of the shard was receding in the distance as Gladius disappeared into the blurry desert horizon. As Vai, Sato, Welshman, and Jaron approached him while injured journeymen hobbled back to their tents, it was all Kaz could do to keep from mentally cursing the Gladians, knowing that his own anger at Apollo's words had only been part of their opponent's plan.

"Well," Sato said, "They won the shard, fair and square."

In anger, Vai turned to look at the former Quaestor. "Fair? Fair?! You think capturing their own fellow Tarenti for something like this is fair? I ought to bloody their faces with the true fist of Tarentum!"

"Enough, Vai," Kaz said, his own fury subsiding. "Sato is right. Ronovi, in a way, was asking for it. After all, she recommended that this would be a contest between the Houses for these shards, and it's not like we're playing a game of Sabacc. She had the shard. If Gladius wanted it, they would take her, too."

"So what do we do then, Quaestor?" Jaron asked. "Do we follow them?"

To her surprise, Kaz shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Gladius is known to go out for blood, but Ronovi was and still is one of their own. They may revel in submitting her to this sort of failure and mockery, but they would not hurt her."

"But is it wise, Quaestor, to let them get away with this?"

"Only for now," Kaz said, smiling, "before the consequences occur."

Vai blinked. "Consequences? What consequences?"

"The same consequences I was aware of before taking on this mission," Kaz replied, his brow furrowed. "These shards are powerful. Very powerful. You all can sense its aura and feel its pull. It can draw in those who are in close proximity to its holder, twist their minds against their ally. That kind of mental reaction is the only one I am really sure of, but it is a strong one. After all, it's known that we destroy each other for power."

"But if we each held the shard, why didn't we have the same reaction?" Vai demanded.

"Simple. We knew better," interjected Welshman. "Why do you think we kept passing it off from person to person? Each one of us had the chance to hold the shard. It staves off temptation if it is constantly handed off. Like a hot coal so it doesn't burn our hands."

"So what do we do, then?"

"Simple: We let Ronovi fend for herself for a while," replied Kaz. "She's capable of it, and capable of giving a tongue lashing to her new rivals as well. They're all still bitter about her departure from Gladius, I can sense it. But while the essence of the shard bends them all and contorts their thoughts, she'll do her job of telling them off. If only I were there to hear the bickering." He chuckled.

"And the shard, what about that?" snapped Jaron, growing slightly impatient.

"Stay calm, Jaron. As far as I know, there are at least two more shards of the crystal near the Spires," Kaz said. "Gladius, being so quick to disengage, have gone the opposite direction. But they'll be back for more, so we must be quick."

"To the remaining shards, then," Sato said. "But first, some rest. Some Journeymen are quite injured, and I myself need to lie down before this whole conflict drives me mad."

Kaz nodded. "It'll be done, then." Then, turning on his heel, he led his injured, wearied Cestians back to camp to tend to their wounds and plot their next move.

Windos eyed Brimstone as their party made their hasty retreat. He had seen the Chiss lift the shard from the Cestians robes during the scuffle. He didn’t think the others knew but he would make it public knowledge soon enough.

“We will have to deal with this situation and get back on the move quickly, there is bound to be more shards where this one was,” said Troutrooper, bouncing the girl on his shoulder.

The group stopped several miles form where the Cestians had made their camp and Troutrooper set the captive down against a cluster of rocks.

“Search, then bind her,” commanded Apollo.

“It’s gone!” Scions bellowed.

“Where is it?” Apollo yelled as he tried to shake Ronovi back to consciousness.

Windos just stood back, keeping one eye on the miniature scuffle and the other on Brimstone. The Chiss was standing back too, a smug look on his face obviously sure that no one suspected him of trying to keep the prize for himself.

The hilt of an elongated saber hilt slammed into the back of Brimstone’s head and the Knight dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks.

“What are you doing?” Apollo demanded.

“Check his pockets.”

“Traitorous Chiss!” Donos murmured as Apollo pulled the silver shard from one of Brimstones pockets.

“Bind him and put him with the turncoat.”

Windos dutifully moved to obey his Questors command, kicking the unconscious Chiss in the side once the dead was done. “Shard shared is mine, and you will do well to remember that.” He whispered into an ear that paid him no heed as he bend to sling the Gladian over his shoulder.

Brimstone landed with a thud next to Ronovi when Windos hefted him off of his shoulder. The commotion jostled the new Cestian from her daze and she struggled against her bindings.

“You really have no limits do you, Scum,” she snarled at her clansmen.

At the sound of Ronovi's voice, the Gladians stopped to look at her. Despite having her hands and legs tied, the Epicanthix still attempted to be intimidating, her teeth clenched and her one real eye blazing. Apollo and Scion could not help but look at each other and smirk.

"Scum?" Apollo repeated. "You weren't saying that when you were one of us."

"You weren't calling me a turncoat, either, when I was there," Ronovi retorted, struggling against her bonds. "What is the crime I've committed? Is it wrong to follow a Consul's request to help a House in need? I am Aedile of House Cestus, and don't you forget it."

"My God, you've become quite irritating," Apollo said, his eyes narrowed. "I bet Cestus has put such frivolous confidence in your head, boosting you up as if you were one of the Equites or Elders."

"And all I see in you is bitterness for my departure from Gladius!" Ronovi shouted. "Did it stunt your ego too much to see me go? Did it just break your heart to see me picked up by another House? Or can you not bear the idea of one of your own taking an opportunity and running with it?"

"Enough!" Apollo barked. "Scion, gag her. I don't want to hear her pestering us with feeble insults."

Though Scion looked upon Ronovi with some regret and kindness, he would not disobey his Quaestor and his master. While Ronovi was his friend and rival, a contest was a contest, and he would do his best to make Gladius the victor no matter what. He took a spare rag from his robes and was ready to tie it between her teeth when Ronovi spoke again.

"One more thing, before you subject your fellow Tarenti to this humiliation."

She saw Apollo roll his eyes as he folded his fingers over the precious shard. "Make it quick."

"You've got your prize," Ronovi said. "Why not let me go now? Let me return to my team. If this is a game, you've sure done a good enough job of making me feel like a fool, so you may as well finish your mockery and be done with it."

Next to Apollo, Troutrooper smirked. "No, I think we'll keep you for a while longer. It's only better."

Ronovi's eyes widened. "Why keep me when you have what you wanted? Just let me go!"

"Why keep you? To attract your fellow Cestians, of course," Troutrooper said. "Surely your team will be looking for you, and if not, they'll be searching for the other shards first. Better to catch them while they're fair game."

"That's right, and we wouldn't want to see you run back to your team and strengthen them, anyway," added Windos, those his eyes were focused on Apollo's closed hand.

Ronovi noticed, and she smiled thinly. Despite being only a Jedi Hunter, she knew along with her Quaestor what sort of consequences came with the shard. As Scion came at her with the gag again, she interjected once more.

"I'd be careful, if I were you," she called out. "Better keep an eye out on that shard, Apollo."

Apollo frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I have it right here. The shard's mine and no one else's."

At this, the Gladians turned suddenly at their leader, who blinked as if confused. "What?"

"Your shard, Quaestor?" Donos asked, his eyes seeming to be glazed. "Wasn't it meant to be ours?"

"Yes, Apollo," Troutrooper said, eyeing his own friend with suspicion. "What's gotten into you?"

While the effects of the shard were not acting upon Troutrooper with as much strength as he was an Elder, Gladians on the team even as high in rank as Apollo seemed to grow carnivorous at the sight of their Quaestor holding the shard. Windos appeared most keen on it, approaching Apollo.

"Perhaps it would be better, Quaestor," he said, sneering, "if the shard were in better hands, wouldn't you agree?"

"It was only a slip of the tongue," Apollo stuttered. "You must believe me. A lapse of reason."

"We can't risk any lapse of reason, Apollo," Windos whispered, extending his hand. "Give the shard to me."

In response, Apollo ignited his saber, pointing it at the Gladians who were now encircling him. "That's enough! No one's getting the shard yet. It's the House's for now, and I shall keep it!"

"Why you, master?" Even Scion was affected, igniting his own lightsaber. The power of the shard's influence was growing stronger, and Ronovi, even when bound, had to fight hard to resist it herself. "If I'm the Aedile of Gladius, shouldn't I keep it protected in your stead?"

"Bah!" Windos said. "Never! I'll take the shard!"

"What about me? Let me have it!" Donos shouted, joining.

"Enough, all of you!" Troutrooper snapped.

"Let me have the shard!"

"No, I shall have it!"

"No, the shard belongs to ME!"

The quarreling was growing stronger as more lightsabers were activated and more shouts of possession echoed in the vast desert region. As the tension grew, Ronovi planned her escape in the midst of it. All she could hope that they were only distracted to bicker, not to kill one another, as she pressed her hands against the sharp edge of a rock and rubbed the ropes to shreds as hard as she could.

---

In the meantime, enough hours had passed for the heat to be sweltering again as the Cestus team explored the Spires again. There was no luck so far discovering more shards, though Kaz continually sensed an aura now and then but never seemed to find the proper direction. Vai walked alongside him, perusing the magnificent landscape of rising stone, and yet it seemed that they had forgotten to time the daily patrol.

Above them, a vulture droid clicked and whirred as it connected with its ship. As it processed the intruders, it was given one command alone: Terminate.

The droids circling the spires activated their laser cannons and prepared to fire.

With vulture droids buzzing overhead, the Cestians hurriedly went into hiding. They find a crater near the spires and jump into it in attempt to elude the vulture droids and prepare for battle.

“Keep low and quiet” the Quaestor commanded as the vulture droids flew lower. The members readied their weapon and took aim for the droids.

Suddenly the droids stop and head directly towards the crater and the Cestians. As the vultures get closer, red laser beams start coming down from them as they fire at their targets. Leaving blast marks on the edge of the crater near the Cestians taking cover.

Aiming carefully with his SoroSuub GLX, Vai waited for the call from Kazarelth, as do others with ranged weapons.

“Let them have it” called out the Quaestor and with that Cestians began firing at the droids as they come closer.

The sound of metal hitting the desert floor was a welcome sound as the Cestians successfully hit true on the droids, but it wasn’t enough as more vulture droids arrive to terminate the intruders.

“We need to move out of here” said Welshman in a heavy voice. “Agreed, we need a better position” said Kazarelth as he begins to look for better shelter.

“How about the Spires?” questioned Sato. “They should provide good cover if we can get to them which will also get us closer to the shard” replied Kazarelth. “It’s imperative that we get out of this crater. I have a bad feeling about...” Before Welshman could finish his sentence the ground started to shake and the sand of the one-time crater flowed rapidly into a quickly opening void. The crater collapsed from the weight of the Cestians who fell 10 meters into a narrow dark void.

Vai cracked his head against a sharp rock at the bottom of the void and is left with a laceration of the left side of his face. As his firrerreon blood flowed from the wound, Vai fell unconscious. His master, Sato, rushed up to him and used a form of necromancy to heal the simple wound on his apprentice's face leaving a small scar. He then shook Vai pulling him back into consciousness. “What the frack happened” said Vai. “We fell” says Kazarelth. “Question is how are we going to get out of this” pondered the Dark Jedi Knight as he looked up to the edge of the void.

“Ok, I want options, how can we all get out of this?” asked Kazarelth as he looked at the weathered Cestians. He knew that a force jump would be an option for the equites and himself, but the journeymen would be left behind. This was not an option.

After exploring the void, Welshman commented “looks like there is a small cliff on the far end of the void nearest to the spires.” “Sounds good as anything, we need to get out of here” said Kazarelth.

As night falls on Korshin, the Cestians make their way to the far end of the void and slowly climbed up the loose rock of the cliff and reached the surface as the suns set on the spires.

As Kazarelth emerged from the void his head turned toward one of the spires. “I can feel it, so much power. We need to get the shard before the droids come back” said the Omwati. However the droids were closer than thought, Welshman shouted "here they come." Kazarelth turned towardsWelshman and then begins running towards the spires with his house close behind.

“Head for the spires!” Kazarelth shouted. The first laser blast hit the ground moments after the Omwati ran away, as the vulture droids careened into action. The cannons continually tracked the offenders as they ran like mad towards their stony cover. Welshman alerted his House of the incoming laser cannons in front of them with a cry, immediately deflecting them with the Force that continually spiraled him.
Sato swerved away, forcefully shoving Azexel and Kai with his extended powers, as Kazarelth erected a Force Shield about them, absorbing the laser bolts temporarily.
“They will not stay in one place for too long, the Vong will know!” He cried to the two Tarentae in front of him, motioning them to assist his battered spell. The Vulture Droids were constantly in motion, out of sight of any Vong battleship that might be in the vicinity and caught sight of technological contraptions in the system that had only recently fallen into their hands.

“Walk towards the stone closest to us, we’ll dig for cover there.” Sato advised as the party quickly moved towards the spire that gave a half-hearted, yet solid protection against the attacking droids.
“We’ll set up a quick camp here, Jaron and Vai, start digging.” Kazarelth barked as they neared the spire.

With make-shift shovels and the aid of the Force, the two Journeymen speedily burrowed a cavity for the lot to rest in. The relentless badgering of the Vulture Droids starkly dulled as the last three were orbiting away from the team’s location – only to return within fourteen hours.
‘We’ll be long gone by then’ Jaron thought to herself. Vai nodded at her, as they kept digging under the protection of the umbrella-shield that their seniors were holding up for them.

It was then that Kazarelth’s mind was assaulted by an explosion of emotions, violent in their portrayal and subtle in their essence. As the outermost shield distorted with his vicious mental convulsions, so did the other two shields that were intricately connected with his web. As the two Tarentae, in a desperate bid to save the falling shield, extended their impulses on the shield their minds tried to save the Omwati, they completely forgot to increase the resistance to two key areas in their shield. At that precise moment, the Vulture Droids struck their last two blaster bolts, one blowing a gash near Talismarr’s feet, flinging him into the air, while the other blew a hole on the ground, letting fly a minuscule shard shaped like a brilliant cone, that grazed the Omwati’s neck cleanly and landed near Welshman’s feet; three crimson droplets of blood ornately clothing its beautiful body.

All thought of shield was forgotten as the rest of the party rushed to their Quaestor’s aid.
“Kazarelth!” Vai screamed as he saw a stream of blood distorting the desert landscape in the most horrifying manner. Sato of the Tarentae let loose his brand of Necromancy, as did Welshman, undoing the brunt of the damage with a spoonful of their own Life Essence each.
As Talismarr shakily sat up and opened his mouth to speak words of gratitude, he couldn’t. The tiny shard had ripped his vocal cord without so much as an angstrom of an incision to his neck.

He blankly motioned towards his attacker. It lay with an essence of power emanating from it; deadly but dim.

--

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Windos' deep throated roar caught the entire Gladian party by surprise. Even Troutrooper raised an eyebrow as the old Krath turned towards all of them and spoke in a low voice, "This shard is cursed."
"Cursed?" A murmur of voices picked up from the party, mostly embroidered with ridicule.
"Don't you see the way it twists our minds, Gladians? It wants our minds. Give it to her!" Windos put the Force's legion in his voice.
"Why her, Windos? Because she's simpler to nullify and you can have it all for yourself?" Apollo angrily questioned.
"Yeah, he wants it for himself...!" Scion seethed.

"Windos is right." Troutrooper's voice came out of nowhere and hit the Gladian party, "we will be saved from its essence only if we give it to her. We can direct our anger at her, but we can restrain each other from damaging ourselves... or her."
Apollo snarled, but held back, assessing the gravity of the two older Krath's words.
"Fine, give it to her. But if she escapes, you two will be in trouble." He said.

Windos grinned, but said nothing as the Quaestor dragged his feet towards the Epicanthix.
It was then that Tavisaen's work bore fruit, and the bonds tying her wrists tore free. Stifling a smile, she waited for her ex-Quaestor to come closer to her.

As Apollo gazed upon Ronovi, the tension in his own body grew as he fought against the pulse of the shard. He knew that his team's eyes were boring into him, all glazed and ready for him to make a bad move so that they could throw themselves on him and take the shard. It was risky no matter what, whether keeping the shard or giving it to Ronovi. But the Epicanthix stared up at him weakly as he forced himself to extend his hand.

Ronovi acted fast, kicking up her right leg and sending the shard careening into the air. In a flash, she was on her feet, catching the item in one hand and activating her retrieved lightsaber with the other. As she jumped on top of the stones that she had been propped against, she faced a large group of angry Gladians as their own lightsabers sprang to life with a menacing hiss.

"I wouldn't try leaving, if I were you," Scion growled. "We'll come right after you for that cursed shard."

Ronovi chuckled. "Cursed? No, not cursed. Powerful, maybe. Very powerful." She pocketed the shard and twirled her lightsaber. "If you know what's good for you, you'll back off and let me leave with the prize that Cestus rightfully had in the first place."

"Ha!" Windos snapped. "And what makes you think we won't run you down?"

Ronovi knew she was fighting against fire, a helpless case, but the timing of it all couldn't be more perfect. For as she was about to speak again and Apollo looked ready to stun her, she heard a low buzzing from above. Looking up and beyond the approaching Gladians, she pointed her lightsaber at the sky and shouted in a horrified voice.

"VULTURE DROIDS!"

The Gladians at first did not move, thinking it was a trick, but Trouttrooper knew better. He turned around fast enough to dodge a bombardment of fire from the approaching droids as they spun towards the group, approaching quickly as if from the spires just overhead. Ronovi's heart pounded as she fearfully surmised that these droids had gone after Cestus first.

Ronovi moved quickly, leaping off the rock as she dodged the shot and plotted her next move. Running back toward Cestus would be dangerous, but it was all she could do to escape the barrage of fire from the patrolling vulture droids. In a flash she took off toward the spires, kicking up sand and stumbling as she did so.

It didn't take long for one of the Gladians to notice. Donos had been firing at a droid with his blaster when he saw Ronovi disappear into the desert haze. "Apollo, Scion!" he shouted. "Ronovi's making a run for it, and she's got the shard!"

"Damn!" Scion spat as he successfully shot down a droid. "Well, we can't all just go after her. The droids will take us down as we go, we'll just be a moving target."

"We'll find a way to distract them and get Ronovi as well," Apollo said. Then he made his order. "Gladians, go to the nearest crest and dig a ditch for us to hide and fire in! Scion, I'm counting on you to get Ronovi back. Take Windos and Donos with you, it should be enough to subdue her."

Scion smiled at that. The duel against Ronovi back at the Cestus camp had been subpar in his book, and he was eager to take her up in another fight. "Will do, Apollo."

"Good, I don't care if you come with or without Ronovi. She can run back to her team with her tail between her legs. Just get the shard."

Scion nodded to Windos and Donos, who stopped shooting and swatting at droids and followed Scion down the slope where Ronovi had taken off. They could see her silhouette as she ran, following her as she staggered toward the spires.

Scion's smile faded as he noted how fast Ronovi was running. His 40 year old body was fit and the Force could lend him a substantial amount of strength, but the last day had been grueling and the old injury in his knee was starting to ache. He wasn't sure he could catch her through speed alone.

"Windos. Donos. Stay put for a moment." The Aedile took only a moment to formulate a plan. He leaned over where Brimstone was tied, and began to loosen the knots. "This really isn't necessary. Brimstone. Give that stun another try. Just making her have to dodge should buy this old man enough time to catch up. We can handle it once we get close."

The Chiss nodded, picking his rifle up from the sand and bringing it to bear on the Cestian Jedi Hunter.

"I won't miss this time," he promised.

"Alright. Windos, you take the center. I'll go right, Donos goes left. Take care not to obstruct Brimstone's sight. Let's head out."

The trio began to run. Astonishingly, Windos managed to outpace the significantly younger men. A few moments later, Brimstone's first shot sailed over his shoulder. He saw it hit Ronovi in the shoulder, and she toppled over, disappearing into the sand.

When they finally caught up with her they found her crouched in the sand, waiting for them with her lightsaber clutched in her fist. Donos noted a scorch mark on her shoulder where Brimstone had hit her. She seemed to have shrugged off the stun through sheer stubbornness and determination. Her body was shaking with anger.

The three Gladians surrounded her, lightsabers ignited.

"Give me the shard, Ronovi," Scion said, trying hard to keep his breathing under control. Her gaze was fixed on him, her artificial eye's unblinking stare almost enough to make him feel sorry for what he and his team had done.

"I expected better from you, Sith. You just don't know when to stop."

"Now, wait just one minute," Scion stammered, searching for a way to explain himself without admitting any guilt.

"You want a competition? You want to win this shard?" The Cestian interrupted, furious. "Well, here you go."

The Cestian Aedile lashed out suddenly, jabbing at Scion's heart with her lightsaber. The Colonel, taken by surprise at the speed of her attack, hesitated a moment too long in his parry. The tip of Ronovi's saber seared an angry red burn across his chest. He pushed her saber up and over their heads into a lock, their faces close now. The red of their lightsabers flickered in her real eye, as white sparks from the touching blades danced across their faces.

"Nothing personal, Cestus," he spat. The Force welled up inside him, its blackness drowning the shred of remorse he had just felt. It intermingled with the fibers of his muscles. It fed off the sting of the new scar on his chest. With a mighty shove, he threw the epicanthix backwards and off balance.

Scion pressed his advantage, grasping his crude armory saber in both hands and attacking with repeated powerful overhand blows and strength fueled by the Force.

The remaining cestians did not hesitate for a moment longer as anger and action fueled by the force set it. The remaining vultures circled in for another pass at seemingly helpless foes as Vai swung his rife from his back and aimed at the deadly machines.

“Sato, Welsh” Vai called out, “grab one of those bastards and show it how powerful the sith are.” The two equites knew what the firrerreon guardian meant as they held their arms out and grabbed one of the vulture droids with the force and slammed it into one of spires destroying it.

At the same time Vai carefully aimed at the other vulture droids power system. With his accuracy augmented by the force, Vai fired one blast at the droid hitting his target destroying it in the air. “Nice shot Vai” called out Jaron.

As the moved back towards the spires, Welshman bent forward and picked up the silvery shard and placed it into one of his pockets. Vai saw this and momentarily questioned his elder’s action. “Don’t worry Vai, just to keep it safe” said the warlord to reassure the guardian he meant no harm.

As the night sky fell upon Korshin, the cestians huddled around their injured Quaestor who spoke to them through the force. Through the mellow tendrils of the force Kazarelth alerted his fellow Cestians that they needed to recover Ronovi, with or without the shard. Sato closed his eyes for a moment and then said “I sense she is near, but in a great struggle against ones who should be allies.”

The Cestians came to their feet and with renewed vigor moved towards the south.

It took all of Ronovi's dexterity to deflect the overbearing blows as she tumbled across the sand. Scion's shove had left her floundering to get back on her feet, but as Scion's shadow fell over her, she could only roll from side to side and wildly clash her lightsaber with his. The red blades hissed in the hot air as Ronovi saw Donos and Windos approaching as if to subdue her.

"Stand back!" she screamed. "This is between me and him!"

With a final effort, Ronovi braced herself with her right elbow and spun out her legs, a technique she had used before. Her right foot caught the Colonel's legs, tangling them up as Colonel stumbled and fell onto his side. Ronovi took the time to struggle to her feet, twirling her lightsaber and bringing it down on Scion as he brought up his saber just in time. Kicking out his own legs, the Gladius Aedile was able to leap to his feet and use the Force to push Ronovi back, swinging his lightsaber in a horizontal cut.

As Ronovi ducked from the swing, Scion swung his lightsaber in a downward stroke just as the Epicanthix deflected it with an uppercut. With an effort, she parried another blow, pushing Scion back as she aimed for his torso, a typically vulnerable spot. In response, Scion stabbed at Ronovi, only to be blocked as the two brought their sabers into a fierce deadlock again.

Ronovi thought fast as she remembered her martial arts ability. In a feint, she pulled her lightsaber back, and as Scion made ready to strike, she delivered a sharp punch to her rival's face and sent him careening to the ground. As he nursed his bloody nose, he saw Ronovi aim the red hot tip of her lightsaber at his throat. He smiled, waiting for Windos and Donos to approach her, only to be surprised by Ronovi's words.

"Get up," she said.

Scion smirked. "It's still three against one. You think our intensity will keep back my allies for long?"

"I said get up!" Ronovi roared. "We're not finished. Here's my ultimatum: I win round one of this fight. If you should be able to hold your blade against me just as I do now twice, you win the shard. If I do so next, I win the shard."

"So we're not playing dirty anymore?" Scion asked. "You want this sort of thing to be professional?"

The setting sun reflected off the blue surface of Ronovi's eyepatch as she grinned. For as she stood there, she could sense others approaching, as the shard hidden in her robes began to pulse wildly as if in rhythm with another shard. Cestus was approaching, and fast. And from the looks of it, Gladius would be approaching soon, too. She had to gamble.

"I figured it's about time we stop beating each other to a pulp. There are more shards we need to find, it's ridiculous to tire each other out too much," she said.

"Fair enough," Scion said. Wiping the blood from his face, he jumped to his feet and got into an offensive stance. "Again, Ronovi."

But as they circled each other, Scion, too, felt the presence of the approaching Cestians. Knowing another two rounds of fighting would take too long, he extended his Force senses to his allies. If the Cestians get close, be sure to overwhelm Ronovi. We'll take her back if we have to.

He intuitively sensed his allies nodding at the order just as he rushed at Ronovi again.

With Scion charging at Ronovi having there blades meet both with a glare in there face. All Donos and Windos could do was watch as the two Aedile’s go at it just for one shard.

“Why don’t you be a good girl and give me the shard, eh Ronovi?” Scion said through each swing of the blades.

“Why don’t you just stick to what we agreed too.” came Ronovi’s reply.

As the battle keeps waging on between the two Donos and Windos saw that the Cestians have arrived and that they have a strong prescience about them. But when they turned to watch the fight they heard some blast coming towards there way. They looked up at the sky to see two vulture droids firing on the running Gladians.

Through the force Kazarelth gave the command “Take those Droids down”.

Just then shots were being fired from the weapons of the Ceastians. Once the last of the two droids came crashing down all the Gladius people were there and they did not look to happy at all. At the same time there came a shot that missed Balia’s shoulder by a milometer’s but close enough to leave a stinging mark.

When Donos looked to see where the shot came from he saw that Vai Azexel. Once Donos saw this he grabbed his lightsaber and ignited and started to run for the Other Guardian. While Donos was running at him he quickly grabed some stars with his left hand and threw at Vai.

Ronovi and Scion went at it still after the droids blew up. They were going at it blow ofr blow. When scion saw an opening he took it. Scion swung his blade in a circle to knock Ronovi off balance and then he kicked at her only for her to doge. Once she dodge scion droped down and did a leg sweep which made her fell to the ground as she lost her footing.

“Well that makes it a tie last one to see who gets the shard, now GET UP!” said scion.

Vai barely had enough time to dodge the throwing stars and ignite his red lightsaber and had it meet with Donos’s blue one with sparks flying every where.

Jaron caught most of Scion's shout as Vai rushed past her to engage Donos. She stopped, hanging just behind Sato, Welsh and Kaz as they sized up the situation. She nervously held her lightsaber ignited, although it felt awkward in her hands. She had only had the thing for a few days, but it was comforting to wield it again.

She watched Ronovi come to her feet, entranced by the rage surrounding her Aedile and Scion, but then something else caught her attention. Windos, moving in on the left. Ronovi took notice of her fellow Cestians and called out "Stand back, I'll finish him and then the shard is ours!"

Jaron and Kaz reached the conclusion at the same moment, it was obvious that whether Windos interfered now or after Scion was down, he had no intention of honoring whatever agreement the two Aediles had reached. The Quaestor nodded to Sato and reaching out with the Force strongly suggested that Windos not be allowed to further besmirch the honor of Gladius by getting in the way. Sato lit his own saber and moved to mirror Windos, letting his anger bristle eagerly, making it clear to the Archpriest that he was ready for a fight.

Jaron moved up beside Kaz and Welsh, and looking to her Quaestor she smiled. "Seeing as how the shard was ours in the first place," the Protector said quietly, almost under her breath, "I don't see how it would affect Cestus's honor if we were to... reallocate the prize should Scion catch a lucky break."

"I agree completely Jaron," Welshmann replied, also keeping an eye on Vai and Donos, "I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be the honorable thing for Cestus to leave here with the shard and send these Gladians packing with their tails between their legs."

Jaron traded out her saber for her trusty E-11, figuring that she could cause considerable more chaos in a series of lightsaber duels with random blaster shots. She stood between the two senior Cestians and waited.

With the droids mostly taken care of and the two Houses pitted against one another again, it was unclear which team had the upper hand. Just as Gladius had plenty of Journeymen attempting to stun others, Cestus had plenty of Journeymen backing them up as well. Everyone seemed to be pitted against the other besides Ronovi and Scion. Vai and Donos were in a fierce stalemate, the two Guardians' lightsabers flashing in the dim dusk. Sato and Windos were also evenly matched in rank, though the Battlemaster and Archpriest had different techniques as they dueled. Even Jaron, being flanked by Kazarelth and Welshman, grinned at the idea of handicapping Gladians around her rank as she aimed and fired at the arms and legs of her opposing Journeymen.

With two shards on the premises, the aura they harbored was taking a toll on everyone's mentality. Regardless of who held it or how it was held, everyone was hellbent on garnering the prize. As Apollo and Troutrooper calmly manuevered their way around the disarray, just as the Mon Calamari eyed Welshman.

"Ah," he told himself, "Here's an opponent with a prize for me."

"You enjoy yourself in this fray, I've got a target of my own," he told Apollo as he activated his lightsaber. Apollo eyed him cautiously.

"Going after the Warlord, aren't you?" Apollo asked. "Don't you think that's a bit...unbalanced?"

"He'll provide enough of a challenge," the Dark Adept replied, "as well as some fun." With that, he beckoned a finger toward Welshman, challenging him through the Force.

Welshman looked at Kazarelth. "Can I trust you with the spoils?"

Kazarelth nodded, and Welshman smirked as he brushed past his Quaestor in order to approach Troutrooper and slipping the shard into the Omwati's robes as he did so. His lightsaber sprang to life as it made contact with Trouttrooper's, and the intensity of their battle grew with each clash of the sabers.

It was then that Kazarelth saw Apollo approaching him, the Gladius Quaestor's lightsaber in hand. He chuckled at the side of the mute Omwati. "Here, now, how about we join in? You're not afraid to challenge me, are you?"

Kazarelth did not reply, only considering the drawbacks of a Dark Jedi Knight with a shard against an Archpriest. Apollo noticed his silent hesitation and laughed.

"What's the matter? Can't give me a witty retort?" he asked.

No, replied Kazarelth, his words channeled through the Force and causing Apollo's eyes to widen, but I can do this.

In an acrobatic leap, Kazarelth let his lightsaber blaze as he brought an overhand stroke toward Apollo. With the aura of the shard within his robes intensifying, the Omwati only caused his rival Quaestor to become more fierce as he deflected the strike.

Everyone had a target, and no one seemed to be faltering. Ronovi could sense this as she blocked Scion's aggressive slashes, as the shard in her robes pulsed violently in response to its counterpart nearby. There was only one she could do now.

Let's finish this, once and for all! she thought to herself. Perhaps, once either she or Scion won the final round, an accord could be made. It was possible with two shards; if not both for one House, there would be one for each as they could possibly work together to find any shards remaining.

She kept this wishful thinking in the back of her mind as she felt herself repelled by another Force push by Scion. She twirled her lightsaber and came at him again, just as the skies around them darkened and cast a heavy shadow upon the conflict.

Apollo panted as he found the Knight’s increased prowess match, and in some ways surpass his own. He keenly observed a wreath of light surround his neck and being sucked into an incision in his neck. The bluish-grey light stressed out from his mouth as he opened and closed it, without any sound but with terrible words and horrible curses spewing from it. And with each new word, the Cestian Quaestor pounded his Gladian counterpart with a malicious light that dimmed the brilliance of Apollo’s eyes.

Although he could deflect the lightsaber strokes with some difficulty, Apollo’s eyes widened as his mind was clouded with a menagerie of emotions that broke his concentration. Whispers echoed instead of cries from his House-mates and instead of an electric hiss from his lightsaber, cold moans of despair elicited. He was dazed as he saw Kazarelth countering each of his strokes and attacking every open position with perfect movements.
With an evil grin he pointed at the Gladian and beckoned him to come closer.

--

Ronovi’s lightsaber gleamed in the dusk, challenging Altera’s retort. The Epicanthix shoved away the Colonel twice with her bare hands, without much effort, but Scion would not give in so easily. Studying her style on-the-fly the Gladian Aedile ducked just as she was about to land a third blow with her legs, and hit her solar plexus with the combined might of his fist and the Force.
As Tavisaen lay, groaning, Scion smiled, laying the tip of his lightsaber near her neck. She knocked it off Scion's hand, wiping the triumphant smile on his face immediately as they both grunted and looked into each other's eyes.

--

Vai Azexel continued to fight Balia Donos. The hardy Rollmaster could not even get a foothold as the evenly matched Guardians as they dueled in a unique way. As they came closer, they took out their lightsabers and fought it out, but as they landed farther and farther away, their hands instinctively reached for their ranged weapons, shooting at each other with extreme force.

--

Apollo’s body was wearied, yet he pressed on, trying to do the same with his opponent, who was notorious for having very little stamina. Talismarr, though, was as fresh as a cucumber, as he continually assaulted the defensive Apollo, his purple blade accelerating with every stroke.
Just as the Omwati was about to strike the Gladian Quaestor, Apollo let out a cry and fisted blindly at his opponent, with practically no strength in the blow. His fist met the Omwati’s forearm and he immediately let out a howl of pain, without a sound, – a gash forming with his flesh plainly showing. To Apollo’s surprise, he found the Omwati backing off with his hand limply at his side, apparently broken.

“So that is this shard’s flipside…?” Apollo grinned as he felt the knuckles of his fist.

Lying on the sand as the moonlight settled over the group, Ronovi knew had been defeated. The challenge had been set and lost for her, and as she stared at Scion, his triumphant smile faded as she had knocked his lightsaber away out of anger, she knew she could not falter from it now. With the conflict still going around them, Ronovi watched as Scion retrieved his lightsaber and placed it in his robes.

"You're good, Ronovi," he said.

Despite her loss, Ronovi managed to grin. "I should've known you would've used my technique to your advantage."

Scion laughed. "What technique? Anyone can improvise." And as he spoke, he extended a hand to her.

Ronovi took it eagerly and Scion pulled her to her feet, the two Aediles gazing at one another before looking at the other duels taking place. Troutrooper clearly had the upperhand against Welshman, but Sato was proving himself a worthy opponent as he dueled the wizened Windos. Scion smirked and shook his head as a blaster bolt whizzed past him and nearly hit a Cestian Journeyman.

"Looks like this is going a little too far," he said.

Ronovi snorted. "Like capturing me and tying me up for the shard wasn't going too far, huh?"

"Now, now, we're on a mission that can force us to break the rules of courtesy once in a while," Scion said.

He then watched as Ronovi reached into her robes, pulling out the shard and handing it to Scion. Scion took it eagerly, placing it in his own robes and patting it into a secure place.

"You won. This shard is rightfully in the hands of Gladius," Ronovi said. "But I believe that the second shard rightfully belongs to Cestus."

"So I hold it for the House, then, and not myself?"

"The shards' influence on all of us is enough to prove Anshar's point," replied Ronovi. "He wants us to give them to the worthiest in our Houses, the ones who can handle their qualities and powers the best once this mission is accomplished. And if that's so, then you and I may not necessarily be the ones worthy enough to be endowed with whatever the shards hold."

"I believe Kaz has already exploited the power of the shard he's holding," Scion said, watching as Apollo pointed his lightsaber at the Omwati who appeared to be nursing a broken hand. In the meantime, Donos was now grappling with Vai, their lightsabers suspended dangerously close to each other's heads.

Scion and Ronovi stared at each other as the moon rose higher in the desert's night sky. The teams could not afford to fight each other much longer; if they fought into the night, they would be too weary to progress in the mission once the sun rose, and it would make both Gladius and Cestus vulnerable to the remaining droid patrols and to any other forces they may face in the system. If that was so, despite the rivalry, it would mean a failure for both Houses and the clan if the mission was not completed.

"Gladius has one shard, Cestus has another. I know there must be at least a third out here," said Scion. "And I'm betting it'll take both Houses to get it."

Ronovi looked at him. "What do you propose we do, then?"

"Simple," Scion said, watching as Kazarelth attempted to wield his lightsaber in his opposite hand and approach the waiting Apollo. "We compromise."

“Halt!” Altera shouted at the fighting Gladians and Cestians, and he thought he could see the shard flare up for a moment as the words escaped his mouth.
A hush spread as the Tarenti realised that whatever they were fighting for had passed. They looked at the eyes of their foes, and amidst all the hostility, found familiarity. They scowled at each other and backed away… except the two Quaestor’s. Sato shook his head and grimaced at Windos. The two old Bruth’Kothae looked away, embarrassed at having fought the way they did.

“Stop!” Scion called out to Apollo and Kazarelth. The two looked at the Gladian. Apollo’s face showed the cheer of knowing a weakness of his enemy, as well as the exhaustion of a warrior who has waited for a long time to know said weakness. Kazarelth’s contorted face showed the pain of losing a lot of flesh as well as the determination win.

The two circled each other, ignoring the calls of their teammates. Talismarr growled and snarled at his opponent, with his lightsaber pointed shakily at Apollo who laughed derisively at the Omwati’s stance. As the tired Archpriest observed the Knight, he could not help but notice that blood had dripped from the hem of his robes and formed a pool that looked unflattering at best.

“Oh, look; you wet yourself, Kaz.” He laughed as he leapt towards the injured Cestian. With tears of pain in his eyes, Talismarr shrieked ‘—OFF!!’. The shard’s power multiplied with his own anger let loose an audio-chromatic explosion, sending the Gladian and a lot of sand flying.

“ENOUGH!” Troutrooper’s voice ordered the conglomeration of Tarenti.
Apollo groaned for a few minutes before getting up and looking at his triumphant opponent. Talismarr coughed and spluttered before clutching the bit-off portion of his forearm. The abnormal wound had been caused by a blow that was mildly intense, at best. He could not fathom any object that could cause such a weird effect on its holder. As he kept thinking of its origins, he felt himself sinking. An involuntary ‘help’ escaped his mind as Sato rushed to his aid.

--

“We could go towards the path chosen by Troutrooper, he’s the oldest amongst us …” Scion suggested, as the debate’s relentless appetite for altercations grew.

“It’s not just about the path chosen by our older members, Scion. Donos and Vai feel the influence is coming from a path that is at least twenty degrees away from the direction given to us by Trouty.” Apollo said, as Ronovi nodded.

“And now, I feel, it’s just quite away from both of theirs. And it’s very profound, not as weak as Troutrooper says.” Welshman spoke.

“Then, I guess we should go the way Welsh suggests…” Ronovi proposed.

“Just because he’s from your House doesn’t mean he is right, Ronovi.” Apollo flared.

“Hey, I never meant that!” She retorted.

“Apollo…” Scion interjected, to no avail.

“Sure, you didn’t mean that. And I’m sure--”

As the furious exchange of words ensued between Ronovi and Apollo, Kazarelth stirred, trying to open his eyes. Sato had given him a vial of the Life Stuff Talismarr was so good at making.

“It took its time in healing you.” He spoke quietly to him.

‘I guess it’s the shard.’ The Omwati managed a weak smile, ‘did you use my stock?’ he questioningly looked at the empty vial.

“No, this was mine. It’s a little more concentrated..”

'So it worked well on the gash.'

"Oh no it didn't. It did not stop the screams of pain from your head or the gash's shape. Nothing at all." Sato smirked.

Kazarelth looked at his forearm in surprise. It was perfect, without a gash or anything at all. His wrist also seemed to be well.

‘…and… how?’ he gestured at the absent gash.

“I put some Life Grail stuff on the shard. Funnily enough your gash started healing. And your Force-vines regained their original composure."

‘Funny as all hell...' Kazarelth's ethereal voice did not hide his surprise.

"And yet, there’s something different. You could control it, couldn’t you?” He gestured towards the part of Talismarr’s robes where the shard lay.

'Oh it’s very easy. You’ll be able to do it within seconds, Sato.’ Kazarelth sat up and smiled again.

“Oh no. I couldn’t. I played with it, you see?” Sato winked. “It seems that you’re the only one who can control it to some degree. Or at least you and that Donos fellow. He tried speaking while touching it, like you did. He let out a few images into the air – would’ve given nightmares to an Yridian, but nothing like what you conjured up.” The young Battlemaster chuckled.

‘Heh, funny.’ Kazarelth’s eyes observed the shard, that now lay in his hands. ‘ And it had no effect on the others…?’

“We all had a go. It seems like the shard opens up preferentially. With a little more Force, though, any lock can be broken.”

‘Hmm. And what’s all that noise?’ The Omwati suddenly heard the blend of words in the background, and looked at the rest of their party.

“We have multiple signals from the remaining shard, or shards. Troutrooper and Welshman are of the opinion that, at most two more shards may exist. However there are five or six signals that the higher Dark Jedi are picking up. Our beloved leaders, except you, are deciding on which one to go for. And if you ask me, Windos and Welshman have the best signals, which are separated by about a degree or so.”

‘I don’t pick up anything. Although that might be just because my mind is still woozy.’

“Here-” Sato extended a hand and pulled Talismarr onto his feet. They trudged towards the crowd.

Kazarelth slowly walked over to Apollo and extended his hand to the gladian quaestor as a sign of truce. They both knew that if they continued this battle, one would end up dead.

Hesitantly, the krath archpriest agreed that the bickering between the two houses was not in the best interest of anyone as he looked past himself and towards what was best for his house and the clan.

“So what next?” asked Vai as he clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt as he looked at his counterpart who was slowly doing the same.

“First, before we continue” stated Trouttrooper, “we need to agree to no more infighting."

"The shards are obviously very tempting, however at the same time they are tearing apart who we are."

"Their power is creating fluctuations in the force which is affecting our minds.” The dark adept continued to lecture the Tarenti.

“As we use them, they are causing dangerous side effects that need to be understood."

"Lets work together, find these last shards, and then get out of here before the Vong detect us here” finished Trouttrooper.

A quick realization came through the minds of all the Tarenti that they were inside a Vong controlled area. They needed to get the last shards and get off the planet before they were detected. They all recognized the consequences of being detected would be dire and none wanted to feel an Embrace of Pain.

As the sun fell into obscurity, the members of house Cestus and Gladius worked together to dig in for the night and some much needed rest before the unified trek the next day. Welsh took first watch, as the others rested.

Ronovi did not rest well, waking just as the sun was beginning to shine over the valley of sand the groups rested in. Despite being worn out from yesterday's events of being captured by, escaping from, and dueling rivals, her mind was active while her body was exhausted. She propped herself on her elbow and watched as Sato stood guard as the rest of the group slept. She stretched and got to her feet just as she heard shuffling from next to her.

"Ready to start moving already?" came the groggy voice of the Cestian Rollmaster.

"Nah, just woke up and can't go back to sleep again."

"Here, take Sato's place for me. I think we got a couple more hours."

Ronovi nodded as she pulled herself out of the ditch the groups had dug, poking Sato's shoulder and allowing him to get a bit more time to rest. As she perched on a jagged rock and extended her Force tendrils, Ronovi could sense a faint vibe from the desert boundaries. If a shard was nearby, perhaps they were closer than they thought, and if so, it was a ways away from the spires. And so many miles away, what she could not sense was walking through the sand, searching for something on its own as it traversed the Korshin continent.

It felt good not to hold the shard. It had certainly fueled her appetite for fighting. She would never have fought Scion with such intensity without such influence, and she was lucky to have passed it off to Scion quickly else she would have attempted to impale him with her lightsaber. Even the Gladians had held themselves better than she had when the shard was right in their eyes, arguing but never striking. She sighed and tried not think about what she would've done had she been the one to hold the shard in her own hand.

The two hours seemed to pass abnormally quickly as Ronovi turned to see the Gladians and Cestians wake and collect their things. She hopped from the rock to join Kazarelth before the groups prepared themselves to travel once more, keeping an eye on whatever vulture droids were left to patrol the area.

Apollo stood at the edge of the camp gazing off towards the approaching sun. Taking a deep breath slowly, he cleared his mind of any lingering thoughts of yesterday's events. Things had transpired that he wished would have not. Actions and words spoken that he could retrieve from the sands of time. But, that was the past. And this was now. He turned and cast a cautious eye on the Cestans rising around him. His gaze fell on Kaz and his eyes narrowed, observing the sightly wounded Quaestor. Shaking his head he turned his attention to his Gladius members. Moving towards them he motioned them towards him.

"Gladius, on me!" he shouted.

The members of his team quickly assembled on thier leader, all of them wiping sleep from thier eyes save for a few.

"Ok, listen up. Troutrooper and Windos have both been leaning towards a general area to our North - Northeast. Since both are just a degree or two away, we're going to split the difference. We will be traveling on a course of 021 degrees. Hopefully we will land right on it. If not, we can adjust as we go."

"Is the Cestus team coming with us?" Donos asked.

Apollo shook his head.

"No. We're splitting up. There could be two more shards out there. We can cover more ground if we split up." he answered.

Apollo sensed the hesitation in a few of the Journeymen on his team. He slowly let the sense of urgency flow through the Force. Everyone needed to know they were on a time table. The elder Quaestor looked at Windows and pointed to him.

"Your on point. We leave in five minutes. Police your gear and be ready." He ordered. With that the small meeting was over. Apollo made his way over to Sato and nodded.

"We'll be going in a few minutes."

"You won't be traveling with us?" asked the slightly older Tarenti.

"No, it will be better if we split up. Tensions are high right now and we will make better time if we go our seperate ways." Apollo replied, extending a hand to Sato. Sato took it and they shook.

"Take care Sato. Keep your people safe." And with that, the two parted company.

A few minutes later, the Gladius team parted camp with the Ceastans. Though this time they kept in perodic communication with them to ensure accuracy. Or atleast to see if one or the other found the shard first. Scion moved up to walk alongside his Master.

"Apollo, is splitting up with Cestus really such a good idea?" he asked quietly so the others wouldn't overhear.

"Yes, Scion. Have you ever gotten into a fight with a bully when you were a child?" he asked his Apprentice. Scion sheepishly nodded.

"Did you ever ride the speeder bus home with him?" Apollo continued. Scion shook his head, then understanding the meaning.

"Too much bad blood between our two houses right now. We will fight again if we stay. This is for the betterment of us all." Apollo added.

Troutrooper, in all his infinite sarcasim added for the rest to hear: "That, and Kaz reeks!"

The rest of Gladius chuckled aloud to his comment. Spirits were boosted as the talk of the shards spread from person to person. The thought of gaining a second shard become the topic of the day. Windos' ever watch eye continued to scan the sky, looking for the next wave of Vulture droids, or if thier luck had turned for the worse.. the Vong.

Time would tell.

Time held the stringent, tense breath between the two parties and let it flow through a stop-cock as the distance between them increased. The dense, viscous flow of time caught the Cestians in a daze as they saw their Clan-mates walk off. They paused in contemplation, and came together for an uncalled meeting.

“The Gladius team is heading for the source that was locked on to by Troutrooper. It is very faint to my mind, and it’s barely visible for Welsh as well. It can be a shard. Welshman has caught a better signal, but the Gladians are going that way.” Sato spoke.

“And in my opinion, they must be left alone. Too much damage has been done already with this… ‘competition’…” Welshman continued.

“And so, we are going the way Vai has suggested. I have a strange feeling about this, but we cannot stay here forever.” Sato concluded.

Ronovi looked at the gathering, then to her Quaestor, who showed no expression on his face.

“What if we find something else where Vai leads us. It might be something we do not want to meet.” Ronovi eloquently put forward her point, making everyone remember the dangers of the planet they were in. The Invaders were a constant threat to their presence on Samur. Although the Vong had nothing to do with the ores that were found in Korshin, the continent was a perfect place to set up base.

“Ma’am, I would not advice such a course of action if it will lead to undesirable effects. I maintain that it was just an impulse of the Force. I can gather nothing else from it.” Azexel spoke up, his eyes showing nothing more than the fact that he did want nothing else but the betterment of his House.

“And none of us would like to face the Vong. I, personally, would not like to.” Jaron piped in.

‘For all that we know, Vai’s signal can be anything or nothing at all. But what we do know is that it is separated away from the Gladian team. And for all we know, it could also be coming from Site-17. What we know is that it is a potential shard, or some other item of power that bares itself to no one but our Rollmaster. We all knew this was a risky mission. And I am ready to risk ourselves to certain death and investigate. Who is with me?’ At length, Talismarr spoke.

The Cestians would take time to get used to their Quaestor’s ethereal voice, but they murmured to themselves, weighing their options.

“And what if we do find the Vong, Quaestor? What then?” Jaron apprehensively asked.

“We call for help, Jaron.” Sato replied before anyone else, and flashed a weary smile at her.

‘I have that much trust on our Gladian brethren, or at least a couple of them.’ Kazarelth managed a smile as well, ‘So, are we ready to leave?’

Hesitant, yet continuous whispers of approval came to Kazarelth’s ears as they packed their gears in the hot, equatorial sun.

--

Windos walked ahead of the Gladian team. The Krath’s renewed love for a mission had enhanced his physique considerably, while his senses were firing at the tiniest of movements in the desert’s sands. As the Gladians worked their way through the spires, Helkin raised a hand.
“Halt!”

The party stopped, and a couple of rifles were raised.

‘I feel it here.’ Windos thought, as he murmured in various ancient tongues, asking the Dark Side to come to his aid.
“More, I sense more” Windos murmured, as Troutrooper walked towards the old Archpriest.

“What do you sense, Windos?” He whispered.

‘... everything.’ His tone had become borderline fanatical.

The Gladians watched as Windos weaved his way through the grandiose spires, their shadows casting over him as he knelt toward a spot of rougher land. At once the glint of silver caught everyone's eye as a familiar pulse coursed through their Force senses. Windos knelt down where the shard lay and prized it from a rougher piece of ground, scraping the dirt off of it with his fingers and quickly placing it within his robes.

"Mustn't hold onto it for long," he said. "We have to be careful this time."

Apollo nodded as the old Krath walked back to the group, though he seemed to quake feebly as he did so. The Quaestor then turned to the group. "Gladians, we have found another shard, quite possibly the last on this planet. Now does anyone sense anything else?"

"Another signal," Troutrooper replied, "Just in the opposite direction we came. It's not too strong, but it's something powerful."

"You think it could be another shard?" Scion asked.

"Perhaps, or something more dangerous." Apollo grinned. "Best to take the risk, though, right?"

"As long as we don't deal with those Cestians again," grumbled Donos, remembering the fight he had had with their Rollmaster.

"Nonetheless," said Apollo, "we have two shards over their one shard. May as well overshadow them if we can find another, can't we? Forget the Cestians for now, we'll get this mission over with and emerge the rightful champion."

"We'll see," Scion said, as he remembered the shard he held in his robes, remembering Ronovi's words to him as she had given it to him. "Only a few of us will be worthy of keeping them, after all."

"It's for Gladius, nonetheless," Apollo smirked. "Everyone, let's take a walk."

---

Ronovi had difficulty keeping pace with the rest of her team. Being captured by, escaping from, and dueling her Gladian rivals were not things that could be eased off with one night of sleep. She was sore and fatigued, even limping as she struggled to stay beside Kazarelth. If the group were not going at a slow, cautious pace, keeping an eye out for more droids, Ronovi may have been far behind.

She stumbled for a moment and Vai noticed, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "Come now, what's the matter with you?"

"I'm sorry. I need rest."

Vai looked at Kazarelth, who had stopped to look at Ronovi as well. "She's not the only one, y'know. We've been moving for quite a few hours, you think we should take a break and help ourselves to some rations?"

We can't afford too much relaxation, came the Quaestor's reply, but a brief break is fine. Cestians, let's move under that nearby crest and get in the shade. In fifteen minutes, we'll be walking again.

Ronovi smiled as Vai helped her to the shadowy spot and let her sink to the ground. She sighed as she brought her canteen to her lips, letting the water cool her throat. At the same time, Welshman and Sato did not seem to relax, instead drinking from their flasks and pacing while Jaron Kai watched them.

"They look uneasy about something, don't they?" she asked Vai.

"Always good to be uneasy about something - to be carefree is to be meat for the enemy," said Vai. "Best to be on the look-out."

It had been about ten minutes when Ronovi stood and walked around a bit, attempting to stretch her legs. Her head was still heavy, but the break had served well for her. She was just about ready to keep going when she saw Sato staring into the haze where it appeared that shadows were forming.

"That can't be Gladius already, can it?" Ronovi asked as she approached Sato.

It was then that Sato's eyes widened as he turned to Kazarelth. "We've got company, Kaz, and it's not good."

Kazarelth eyed the former Quaestor. It better not be what I think it is. But he rose nonetheless. Cestians, let's move. Before anything dangerous hap--

Ronovi did not hear the rest of his Force communication as something whizzed by her ear. It caught Vai in the shoulder as he staggered to her knees, and then she ducked as a barrage of the same objects attempted to overcome. Suddenly it all felt familiar, and she was reminded of a time she was on Karideph, facing the exact same threat.

Her cry simultaneously matched Vai's as he looked at the wound on his shoulder, then the object that had struck him on the ground. "Thud bugs!"

That got the Cestians riled up in both panic and determination, igniting their lightsabers and preparing their blasters as the silhouettes of eight of so warriors approached them. With their distorted armor and amphistaffs, Ronovi felt her heart pound with terror as she saw the most prominent foe of the Dark Jedi once again, staring into the bloodthirsty eyes of eight Vong soldiers.

"We're under heavy attack by Yuuzhan Vong! Atleast eight warriors! Need assistance!"

The comm device in Apollo's hand went to static for a few seconds before sounds of battle could be heard. A few screams echoed off the nearby walls of a spire the Gladians had rested under. He furrowed his brow for a moment, then looked at his team.


"They deserve thier fate." Brimstone said near Windos' side. Apollo glanced around at his team, taking in thier thoughts through the Force. A number silently agreed with Brimstone's comment.

"Trout, how far away are they?" he asked the Mon Calamari.

"Honestly? We've been quite close to them for awhile. We're not more than four hundred yards." Trout said, glacing at a datapad.

Apollo chewed on his lower lip for a moment before looking his team in the eyes.

"We have forgotten something over these past few days. Something, that both Cestus and us used to hold very dear. If there is one truth in Tarentum is that we are one Clan first. We have come here from our pasts to join something much bigger than our own self. We are, in a sense, a family. Yes, we may have been engaged in combat just a few hours before. But now we must realize that Tarentum will loose many members of it's family if stay idle and do nothing."

Apollo's face fixed itself into a scowl.

"And by the Force I will not loose any more family than I have already." he said sternly. Gathering himself up to full height.

"Gladius! Prepare for battle!" he screamed. Some cheered, the others just nodded approval. Gladius was going to war.

---------------------------

The battle was as fierce as any in Cestus have seen in many a year. Several Cestus journeyman lay dead or dying on the scortching barren soil. The flow of blood turned the soil into a red clay. The rest of the Cestus team were barely holding on. A number of them were already wounded, some seriously.

Kaz desperately held his ground against a large Vong Warrior. The Vong weilded his amphistaff with increasing force as if he wanted to bludgeon the Knight to death with it. Vai was faring much worse. A deep gash in the Guardian's right thigh was continuing to bleed profusely, soaking the clothing around it. The journyman could feel himself getting weaker. But he had to hold on, he must hold. He knew that everyone else was strained to their limit. If he fell now, someone would have yet another warrior to fight and that could prove catastrophic.

Ronovi cried out as an amphistaff slashed across her chest, cutting deeply into her tired flesh. The wound was just short of life threatening. The enraged Jedi Hunter kicked the warrior fiercely into the side of his knee, buckling him over instantly. Though the sting from her wound was piercing, she continued to fight the wounded warrior, wondering if this would ever end.

The air around the battle crackled loudly as it seemed like lighting had struck close by. Suddenly, the second warrior fighting Sato dropped to his knees, a large blaster burn on his neck revealed what had happened. Risking a glace in the direction of the blaster bolt, Kaz eye's almost dared not believe it. Standing on the brim of a small incline was House Gladius, lightsabers and blasters in hand.

"For Tarentum!!" Apollo screamed as Troutrooper, Windos, Scion, Donos, Brimstone and himself rushed towards the Yuuhzan Vong. The younger members of Gladius attempting to land good blaster bolts into the enemy's armor when they could. They at least would try to distract the warriors enough to aid the others in dispatching them.

Apollo used the Force to hurl a large rock at the Vong warrior fighting Kaz, striking him in the lower back. The distraction was all Kaz needed to impale the warrior through neck with a strong downward thrust. The warrior quickly fell on his back, quite dead.

"I thought you guys could use some help!" Apollo yelled at Kaz as the two Quaestors went to the badly wounded Ronovi's aid. The three Tarenti began to block the amphistaff blow by blow, beating back the Vong warrior one step at a time.

I thought you hated us, Apollo. I never expected to see you here. Kaz relayed through the Force.

"Well, Tarentum is a family Kaz wheater we like it or not. Besides, just think of Gladius as the distant relative you hate to invite for dinner." Apollo jested. Kaz smirked a little as he blocked high and the Apollo blocked low, giving Ronovi just enough time to thrust her lightsaber into the stomach of her vicious enemy just below his crab armor. Yanking it out to one side the dying warrior almost fell in two as it dropped to the ground.

Let's help the others! Kaz relayed to Apollo. With a quick nod, they quickly moved in seperate directions to engage the enemy.

With the Gladius members and the Cestus members split off to help anyone that needed help. With Vai Azexel laying on the ground with a Vong standing over him Donos with the some help of the force jumped and did a front flip stand in front of the Vong Solder.

Donos dropped his pack and grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it with a blue blade coming to life with a snap and a hiss. “Vai in my pack there should be a first aid pack look in there and find some gaws and wraps to help stop the bleeding” Donos said to his fellow Guardian.

With the amphistaff in the Yuuzan Vong’s hand he made a swing at the two Guardians which Donos blocked with some effort not to get overpowered by his enemy. With Donos and the Vong fighting Vai found what he needed and started to wrap up his legs to help the bleeding.

---------------

With Apollo, Kazarelth, Ronovi, and Sato running to go help the others with the last six of the Vong. Scion, and Windos was tag teaming one Vong as The Dark Adept Troutrooper brought down a third Yuuzan Vong. Jaron and Brimstone was taking off shots at the other Vong trying to get them distracted long enough for there felloe Clansman to land a hit that kills.

Welshman was fighting the last Vong gaining grounds on it. When a shot went to by the Yuuzan Vong’s head it made a move were there was an opening to strike and kill the solder.

Ronovi saw that her counterpart was fighting and went to go see what she could to help. In the mean time both Kazarelth and Apollo saw a Vong fighting the Young Battle Team Leader. With Donos losing the fight with the Vong he got knocked down hard enough to hear a small snap in his left arm.

The vong went and kicked Donos’s right hand and send his lightsaber flying. Apollo saw this and noticed that the Vong was about to make a killing blow and he jumped with the force to cut the time down and blocked the amphistaff with his lightsaber. Apollo taking over the Fight with the Vong and both the quaestor and Donos helped Vai to get a safe distance from some of the Fights going on.

With five Vong left, it seemed as if the battle were growing more difficult than easier. Despite the fact that three Vong had been killed, one by the expertise of Gladius's Dark Adept of the team, the remaining Vong seemed to become more violent and stronger while the Tarenti were merely growing weaker. Besides, with so many killed or injured, quantity was not serving as a proper advantage any longer.

Gritting her teeth from the pain in her chest, Ronovi stumbled over to Scion, who was attempting to fend off a Vong warrior while trying to assist a wounded journeyman from Cestus. Ronovi was barely able to block the amphistaff, just as it sprang to life and wrapped around the red blade of her weapon.

"Damn, damn, damn!" she screamed as she instinctively shoved the coiled amphistaff against the Vong's as its head attempted to dig its teeth into her cheekbone. The Vong in response wrenched the amphistaff from her lightsaber and had it harden again, aiming to decapitate her.

Scion, being free from the Vong's gaze, deflected the swing of the amphistaff just in time to save Ronovi's head, and as Brimstone and Jaron barraged the Vong's armor with blaster fire, the two Aediles had just enough time to run. Ronovi quickly aided Scion is carrying the wounded journeyman just as she saw Apollo help Donos and a wounded Vai over before the Archpriest returned to the fight.

"Thanks, Scion," Ronovi wheezed as they propped the hyperventilating journeyman against a rock as he clutched his arm, split open by the blow of an amphistaff.

"Don't mention it," replied Scion, "always here to help a sister." He then saw in horror as Ronovi inhaled sharply as a crimson runlet trickled from the gash in her chest and stained her robes. "Ronovi, you're bleeding!"

"Don't worry about it," Ronovi said, then watched as Donos stumbled toward them, a limping Vai held up by him. The Cestus Rollmaster's leg was heavily bandaged though blood still soaked through the gauge. However, he smiled at Ronovi as Donos sat him down took a pack from Vai's grip, running over.

"Hold on, Ronovi, let me get my first aid kit," Donos said as he rummaged through his pack. As he handed the Epicanthix the gauze, Ronovi breathed deeply and looked at Scion.

"We're running out of energy fast, Scion. You look well enough, though, so you go ahead and help out. I'll help the wounded."

"Are you sure? You're hurt yourself," Scion said as Ronovi turned from him and applied the gauze on her chest wound.

"That doesn't matter, I can still walk and run if I can," said Ronovi. "I just can't afford fighting any more without getting killed."

"I trust you, then," Scion replied as he watched Apollo dodge a spray of venom from a Vong's amphistaff. He retrieved his lightsaber and ran off, calling, "Good luck, Ronovi."

Ronovi chuckled slightly before seeing a journeyman getting his stomach cut open and roll to the ground. She looked at Vai and Donos, who was ready to go back into the fray.

"Donos, leave me that kit. I'm going to be busy if this fight goes on any longer."

Jaron looked up and saw Apollo dodging a spray of venom, she fired off a trio of shots at the offending Vong. It was hard to tell if she was hitting anything between the pace of the battle and the dust everyone was kicking up. Brimstone was having a little bit more luck, but of course Jaron could tell he wasn't ready to just run until he ran out of Korshin desert. Jaron took a deep breath and channeled the fear into anger, trying to steady her aim. One of her shots caught the Vong Scion had just engaged, taking him slightly off balance for a split second. Jaron smiled as the Gladian Aedile resumed his attacks with new vigor. Brimstone's shot had a similar effect on Kazarelth's opponent, and it looked as though, for at least a few moments, the Tarenti might be able to hold a line against the five remaining Vong.

Jaron took that moment to breathe. She had never encountered the Vong. Of course she had read about them, but it was one thing to hear that they were outside the Force, and it was another entirely to be standing there, fighting them, trying to wrap your mind around the blood, venom and disturbing holes in your usual consciousness. Something about them was fundamentally disturbing to Jaron, and it was deeply affecting her ability to fight. Brimstone could tell that the Protector was in a bad way. An injured Gladian journeyman was approaching them, limping badly, clearly no longer able to defend himself.

"Take him back to Ronovi and the other wounded," Brimstone said evenly between shots. "I can cause plenty of trouble from here, you make sure that no one gets past our sabers to the injured."

Jaron nodded, and stood. She wasn't unscathed herself. In a moment of brash confidence and stupidity she had lit her saber against a Vong amphistaff, not fully understanding the power of the living weapons. As a reward she was bleeding heavily from her right forearm, and as a lesson, she had resolved to stick to her blaster for the rest of the mission. She met up with the Gladian, and the two of them headed back to Ronovi, clearly relieved to turn their backs from the front lines.

By the time they made it back, Jaron was mostly dragging her charge, but Ronovi had bandages at the ready. "Lay him down there Jaron, and then why don't you set up on that boulder over there," Ronovi tossed Jaron a share of the gauze, "patch up that arm and use the boulder to support your rifle." Jaron nodded and followed her orders, her will steadied by the Aedile's confidence.

She was ready to go none too soon. The Vong that Vai and Donos had engaged was slipping past them, clearly intent on reaching the growing collection of wounded at her position. She could hear someone shouting "Hold the line!" and saw the two Guardians renew their attack along with a few others. Jaron lined up and took her shot, the first one landed on the Vong's knee, buying them all a little more time.

Windos and Kazarelth fought alongside against a Vong warrior that was scarred by what seemed like an infinite conglomeration of whiplashes over its body. The older Krath was taking the brunt of the amphistaff’s strikes, relying on the Omwati to jab repeatedly at the crab-armour, in a bid to kill it. As the two man team continued their duel against the Vong, they felt the heat of the battle close in around them.
The Dark Jedi were weary, and most had never met the Vong in battle. As another Journeyman fell to the serpent-weapons the Children of Yuuzhantar carried.

‘We need something else, Windos. They just won’t die.’ Kazarelth’s thoughts came through to the Archpriest as if from gritted teeth.
“Well—ugh—you just—argh—wish you knew the Emerald Lightning’s intricacies, don’t you—ach, got you!” he replied, fighting and speaking at the same time as he thrust his saber at a weak point in the armour.
It died, taking with it the crustaceous warrior with it.

“Well, so much for that…” Windos murmured as they backed away from the dead warrior, only to find themselves looking at two more of his kind, bathed in the blood of younglings.

Kazarelth’s teal eyes glinted as his purple blade violently ignited. As he raised his weapon, he heard Windos call him softly.
He looked at his old friend and saw him turning slowly back at the warrior. The Omwati’s eyes widened as he saw the coiled amphistaff baring its fangs at them, ready to spit the deadly poison that excruciatingly killed its victim.
In a split-second Talismarr leapt towards the head of the serpent, bringing down his blade across its head. Yet, he was too late as the venom it spat found its target in the Gladian Archpriest’s eyes. With a deafening howl, Windos fell to the ground, as Cestus’ Quaestor threw stones at the snake’s head, killing it with the last he could find.
Then, when he turned, he knew he should have assisted his old friend.

The two blood-bathed warriors had fallen upon the Tarentae, raining blow after blow and emanating a sadistic happiness that thwarts expressions and the Force and reaches their opponents. Their coiled amphistaffs hissed and spluttered as they guarded the make-shift torture chamber. As the enraged Omwati strode towards the warriors, to certain death, an eerie glow sprang from his hands. He knelt just within the range of the amphistaffs and touched the ground.
--

“Call down the bloody shuttles, Ronovi!” Sato shouted from one end of the battlefield as he and Welshman parried the amphistaffs of a Vong warrior. It was taxing upon the Tarentae as they intricately bound their tendrils together, becoming perfectly synchronised. A strike here, a retreat there and a switch of enemies there again, the two Cestians were wildly confusing the hideous alien.

Ronovi nodded as she wheezed and took out her communicator. She knew Apollo’s Escort Shuttle might not have enough room in it for everyone.
Her lungs burned with the fiery shot as she called it down, and she wheezed again as she segregated the severely wounded from the rest, just when she noticed two of the Yuuzhantar piling upon something, and a disheartened Kazarelth kneeling near them.

As she saw, five dead people miraculously came to life* and started walking towards the Omwati. She saw them flailing wildly at something and trudge towards the pile again, clawing at the two Vong. She saw them pile up on the warriors, while stamping at things on their feet.
And she saw their necromancer slowly get up and walk towards the mangled thing that was left by the crabby fighters.
--

The pilot of the Escort Shuttle reacted instantly upon Ronovi’s words. His gunners were manning their KX5 laser cannons on the ready as the shuttle plunged into the brown planet’s surface. When they saw the fight, and their foes, their eyes widened.
Hisses of laser bolts escaped from the turrets as the shuttle landed. The two Vong had almost unclasped their oppressive dead foes as the Escort shuttle repeatedly shot at their armour

Ronovi quickly came to them, shouting over the war-cries as she let the injured board it when she saw Talismarr walk up to her with a mess of a corpse in his arms.
As the Krath Archpriest Windos Helkin Bruth'Kothae Tarentae’s remaining eye looked up at her blankly, Kazarelth reassured her.
‘He is not dead.’ The glint in his eyes pressurised the Epicanthix to let him board the shuttle.

“Go to Yridia. Come back as soon as possible. Send for reinforcements. And… god speed.” Ronovi murmured as the shuttle took off.

"At least they are safe..."
**

*[OOC Note: Power- Kingdom of the Dead. See this for more information]

Vai stared blankly at the bulkheads of the shuttle as it left the surface of Samur and crossed through the shroud as it headed for Yridia. His mind was racing, what could he have done better in the battle and at the same time wishing he was able to fight next to his brethren.

The large gash on his right thigh and his wounded left shoulder was a clear indication to him that he was not yet strong enough to fight the Vong. He looked to his left to see Kaz holding the nearly dead Windos in his arms. The Krath Archpriest fought valiantly against the Vong, however it had cost him dearly.

Suddenly, Vai felt cold as he looked down at his wounded thigh and noticed that the bandages had broken loose and his blood was flowing onto the floor of the shuttle and fell out of consciousness.

In his unconscious mind, Vai felt himself on the surface of Samur again. However it was different, as he felt himself weightless and moving quickly across the surface. Day became night, night became day as his ethereal spirit moved uninterrupted. He saw the desert turn into canyons and canyons turn into crags with fissures. Between these crags, Vai saw Site 17 and deep within it was the shard that had been calling to him before the Vong attack.

“Wake up Vai, wake up” a loud voice came into his vision from someplace. Then again he heard it, then felt a slap on his face. Vai’s eyes barely opened to see Dranik standing over him. “Medics, we have another live one” said Dranik, “it’s good to see you still alive Vai.”

In the background Vai could hear others. Anshar was speaking to Kazarelth about Windos as others were tending to the journeymen still alive.

Anshar was walking heavily on his cane and said “this was supposed to be a quick in-and-out retrieval, what happened?”. Kazarelth said through the force, the Vong were there. The consul paused for a moment and his eyes went wide, who then asked where the others were. Vai said in a weak voice “still fighting the Vong.” Anshar turned and looked at Oberst who nodded knowing exactly what the consul had in mind.

As Kazarelth carried Windos off the shuttle, the shard that he had recovered fell out of his robe. Seeing this, Anshar picked it up, then closed his eyes and said "we will have vengence."

Vai laid on his back, barely able to move as he is carried off to the medical center. Those around him could see the anger and hatred swelling inside him. He thought himself "Those bastard are going to know what pain and suffering is."

(Per the orders of Ronovi and Vai, I am ignoring Brimstone's post and picking up where Vai left off)

Jaron watched the shuttle depart, taking with it the gravely injured from both Houses. She sorely felt Kazarelth and Vai's absence, as did the other Cestians who had noted his departure. She turned back toward the remaining wounded and got a reassuring nod from Ronovi.

The fight was not going well, there were still 5 Vong engaged, and the two Houses were down several of their stronger warriors. Sato, Welshman and Troutrooper were holding their own against two Vong, and Apollo and Scion ahd paired up to tackle another, and Kaz's corpses were still managing to bog down yet another, but Donos and several other journeymen were losing the battle against the fifth Jaron leaned forward against her boulder, adjusting her aim. Oddly enough, what caught her eye was the curious pattern her blood was making on the rock's surface...

"Someone help us!" The shout from Donos snapped her back to reality. With most of wounded stabilized or evacuated, Ronovi stood up and ignited her saber once more. As she ran past Jaron's post to reinforce Donos Jaron could hear her shout "Reinforcements are on the way, hold on Tarentum!" She leapt into the battle with little concern for herself. The others took heart, and their combined vigor drove the Vong back a few steps. Jaron fired at the Vong's crab armor, and watched it shift in response, maybe this one was weakening. The Gladian Dark Adept saw it as well, and leaving Welsh and Sato for a brief moment, he joined the fight, stepping in beside Ronovi. The Vong's amphistaff coiled itself around Donos' lightsaber, and he dropped his weapon, but in that instant, Jaron, Trout and Ronovi all struck at once, and although Jaron couldn't tell exactly how, a Vong was laying dead at their feet. Trout lifted a large boulder with the Force and dropped it on the head of the staff, finishing it and allowing Donos to retrieve his blade. The three moved back into the battle cautiously, and Ronovi seemed once again aware of her wounds.

The effect of their victory was small. The fourth Vong had escaped the range of Kaz's corpses and was now rejoining the fight, and although they returned to the fight, there was a creeping sense of resignation and fear spreading among some of the trapped Dark Jedi, especially Jaron. She wanted to run, desperately. For all it had taken to down just one of those beasts, they could never hope to bring down the remaining four, and what if they had reinforcements of their own?

Suddenly, behind her there was a noise, she thought it was a ship overhead, but her ears were ringing and she didn't dare give into her own insanity and look. She refocused on the battle in front of her, even though it was started to shift in an odd fashion. Jaron took a few more wild shots at the nearest Vong and heard Sato shout "Watch your fire!" between blocks and slashes. Jaron thought maybe now would be a good time to sit down for a minute. She draped her rifle on its sling ungracefully around her neck and turned her back to the battle. The last thing she saw was a very fuzzy assault transport and some lightsaber blades dancing around the exit ramp. The last thing she thought was "I should have done a better job on that arm."

-----

Sith Bloodfyre approached Kazrelth, who appeared deep in thought. "You summoned me," he offered as he approached.

Kaz turned, the strain of the battle showing in his face. I need you to do a favor for an old friend. What remains of Windos Helkin Tarantae is in the next room. Move him into the lower levels of the Castle and prepare your necromancy, tonight you must perform a delicate task.

If the Dark Jedi Master was in any way shocked by Kaz's sudden lack of vocal communication he did not show it. He simply nodded and swept from the room, his mind focused on the ritual ahead.

As Ronovi pulled away from the Vong's corpse, she felt the sharp pains of her injuries again and stumbled as she moved while the four Vong only seemed to become more vicious with each death. It had taken many journeymen's lives and more to be wounded to take our half of the enemy's group, and from what she could tell, Windos would most likely never be able to fully operate his body again.

She reminded herself only briefly of the shards as she went to help Apollo and Scion against a Vong warrior, as another journeyman screamed and clutched the stump that used to be his right leg. One of the shards had been on Windos's person, the other on Kaz, and both had gone in the escort shuttle. Ronovi suddenly remembered the third shard when she sensed it pulsing from Scion's robes as he vigorously blocked an attack from the Vong's amphistaff.

"Use that shard's power wisely, Scion!" she shouted, as Scion jumped back and Apollo began striking at the Vong. He then grinned.

"What power?"

For the first time since the battle began, Ronovi laughed even though it hurt. She then suddenly heard the sound of engines as two or so shuttles landed nearby. Thank God, we're saved! she thought before seeing Jaron collapse on the ground. "Damn, Jaron!"

She raced toward the Protector, ready to defend her if any Vong attempted to strike, as troopers appeared and raced into the battle, shooting at the Vong and retrieving more injured. Standing at one of the shuttle's entryways was Oberst, along with Korras and Frosty who both smirked at the idea of a good fight. Two of the troopers them rushed to Ronovi, who was busy scooping Jaron up in her arms.

"You, there, move quickly! We'll get you to the shuttle!"

"About time we got out of here," Ronovi mumbled as she followed the troopers to the first of the shuttles, moving hurriedly so that she would not catch the attention of the Vong. Jaron seemed light in her arms, and as she looked at her, Ronovi thought, Unwise of her to fight so hard with such a wound. Though perhaps she'd prove to be a good apprentice if she were to channel that strength even further... before she disappeared into the shuttle.

In a flash of excitement and movement, the other Tarenti did the same as more soldiers came to retrieve them. The four Vong all attempted to kill whoever was not fast enough, then resorted to attacking those already on the platform. The troopers were quick, firing upon the Vong and holding them back. When one Vong got through, Oberst, Korras, and Frosty dexterously spun their lightsabers in a chorus in the weaker spots of the Vong's crab armor, splitting the beast in half.

Apollo and Scion put up a good enough fight to make it to the transport after Ronovi and Jaron. Then came Sato and Welshman, bruised and bleeding but still in good enough shape to not need too much medical help. Donos rushed on next, a soldier aiding him as he limped from a small wound to the knee. As the Vong attempted to get close again but with everyone finally on board, the pilot of the shuttle ordered the gunners to fire at them to hold them back as the hatches to both shuttles closed and shut the Cestians and Gladians off from any more immediate danger.

With a hard shake the engines of the assault transport came to life as it lifted the survivors off the blood-stained surface of Samur. The Vong warriors behind the transports engines ignited and burned as the assault transport gained speed. As the transport flew low over the surface as it accelerated the pilot noticed something out of him window and said “Sir, I think I see a lightsaber down there.” “Where?” Oberst said as the pilot pointed at the surface. “Adjust heading” commanded Oberst.

Oberst looked out the side windows of the ATR and noticed a red lightsaber ablaze in the middle of two Vong warriors with more on the way. Oberst turned to the cabin and said “Who’s missing, I see a lightsaber on the surface.” The two respective leaders looked amongst their members and then Apollo said “Brimstone.”. Oberst had a stern look on his face and said plainly “he’s lost, it’s too dangerous to retrieve him now.” “Understood” said Apollo as he looked toward Ronovi. With that, the transport flew through the atmosphere and into space.

The look of relief was on several faces, while the look of agony and pain was on the wounded. For a moment Ronovi let down her strength some as she looked at the wound on her chest, others were doing the same as deep breaths and the stress of the situation set in deeply. Some journeymen collapsed from exhaustion as the transport made its way through the shroud and headed toward Yridia space.

“Welcome home Cestus and Gladius volunteers, your sacrifices are appreciated for the clan and your brethren” Governor-General Rekio Corsair’s voice came through the transports com. “You are cleared to land at Castle Tarentum” The words were appreciated, though nerves were rattled by the experiences on the planet.

The transport flew into the atmosphere of Yridia II and came upon the castle and landed. The hatches came open as those on board who could walk were anxious to get off the transport. Those less fortunate were carried off by gurney by medical staff. The consul and proconsul were at the hangar congratulating everyone for a job well done, as well Vai who came out limping with his right leg all bandaged up eager to see his brethren. “Thank you everyone. You all volunteered for a very risky mission and most of you came back alive which I am pleased to see. Now go get treated and relax you’ve all earned it” said Anshar.

Epilogue - House Cestus
Four weeks later

The hum of the lights on the VSD Corsair relaxed Ronovi's aching head as she watched Kazarelth quietly sit at his desk in his quarters. Even after so long, the newly promoted Dark Jedi Knight was still getting used to Kazarelth's ways of speaking through the Force. From what they all knew, Kazarelth would never be able to use his vocal cords again.

Ronovi had had her share of action since her return to Cestus, especially after her chest wound had healed. After all, going out to find her master in Corulag had not been an easy task, but it had been a successful one, as now Doni Tzu Tarentae was going to be a member of Cestus himself soon. She sipped from a glass of brandy she had brought into Kazarelth's quarters before he nodded his head and turned around.

I've thought about it, he said, and I think it's time we've spoken to Apollo and Scion again.

Ronovi furrowed her brow. "Any particular reason?"

Kazarelth smirked, and most likely he would have chuckled had he been able to. Can't forget Samur on me, Ronovi, it's only been four weeks. Done a great deal to me and you. After all, your apprentice --

"I know, I know. She impressed me a great deal, back at that barren place." She sipped from her glass again and smiled. Jaron Kai was most likely training somewhere on the ship before they had their usual meeting in one of the conference rooms. Like her own master, Ronovi attempted to stay in contact with her new apprentice as much as possible. "Still, being tied up, dueled against, and cut up by Vong isn't my idea of a joy ride."

My goodness, a Knight and still expecting this to be fun? That's progress Ronovi snorted at the sarcasm she sensed in Kazarelth's Force communications. And the shards...there's still the matter with those.

Ronovi nodded as she sensed the pulse of the shard wrapped in a black cloth on Kaz's desk. He had absolutely gotten used to its pull and did not eye it too much. "That's right. Gladius has the other two."

Doesn't necessarily mean they'll be able to keep them, just like we may not keep this one, Kazarelth replied. Like Anshar said, we must give them to the worthiest of our Houses. And as we've been holding it off for quite a while, I think it's time we actually presented the prizes to the right people.

"We'll see who exactly those people are," Ronovi murmured as she saw the glow of the shard through the black cloth. It could even be her, or Kazarelth. But as the sun set, they'd have to wait and discuss it before the final honors were given.

Sword's Sheath, House Gladius
Four weeks later


Apollo gazed at the datapad in front of him, though he wasn't reading it. Scion sat across from him in the Quaestor's office, reading a pad of his own. Apollo tossed it on his desk before he stood up and started to pace the floor. Scion rubbed his eyes for a moment then sat back in his seat.

"Any word on Windos yet?" Scion asked, letting the question hang between them for awhile. Apollo turned around to his Aedile and shook his head.

"Nothing definitive. He's not out of the woods yet. I believe it will take some time. I just hope it wont be too long." Apollo took a deep breath and pointed to the pile of datapads on his desk.

"Everyone wrote a pretty good report of thier actions on that mission. There are a few I think should be awarded for thier various actions." the Quaestor said as Scion nodded in agreement. Apollo glanced at the two shards held within a locked transparasteel case. Scion followed his gaze.

"What are we going to do with those?" the Aedile asked.

"Our Consul will know what to do. But they would be something to study for awhile. I would love to know what powers they posses." Apollo replied. He raises his right arm rotated it a few times as some of his joints still seem to be a bit stiff from the last battle. Scion could help but smile.

"Your getting old." Scion grinned.

"Your not exactly young either, Colonel." Apollo chuckled a bit as he sat back down behind his desk and gathered an empty datapad out of his left desk drawer.

"Okay. We need to write our final after action report to the Clan Summit along with our recommendations for our people." Ordered the Quaestor.

"And for the Cestus?" inquired Scion. Apollo pondered that for a few seconds and nodded.

"Aye, for them too. The Consul needs to know that neither house would have made it out of there alive if we didnt work together. We helped them, and they helped us. And I believe everyone needs to know that. It should serve as a reminder to all of us in the future. We can either stand together, or fall apart."

With that, the two summit members nodded at eachother and went to work, hopefully forging a new alliance between Gladius and Cestus that would last the ages.