Dark Crusade: Prologue Team 8

Welcome to the Dark Crusade Prologue. The following rules are in effect:

1. 250 word minimum per post.
2. 1 post per player, per phase (this will be a three phase run-on separated conducted in 7 day intervals). If a member fails to post during a phase, the team will lose points.
3. Edits may occur on a post until a follow on post has been made (follow on posts include "reserving" a space).
4. Members may reserve post, but no posts can occur until after the reserved post is written.
5. The event will be graded by Raken, Sarin, and Muz using a rubric that focuses on creativity, plot development, realism, and grammar.

Event Timeline:

1. 1-7 January - Signups, Set up starting posts on 7th
2. 8-14 January - Phase 1 posts, 15th = Sarin post, start new phase.
3. 16-22 January - Phase 2 posts, 23rd = Sarin post, start new phase.
4. 24-31 January - Phase 3 posts, and the joys of grading.

You will find the details for phase one here: http://wiki.darkjedibrotherhood.com/view/Dark_Crusade_-_Prologue

Good Luck!

The compartment dimmed to emergency lighting, quashing all conversation, and not for the first time. This was their second complete power down, an unavoidable consequence of having pissy luck. Finding the ship hadn’t really taken long. The behemoth was cumbersome, and unwilling to test its shields against the more significant members of the planetary bone yard by challenging any speed records. The trouble was in coordinating when every boarding craft had to spread out for the initial search, and then take a drastically circuitous route to position itself. Disruptions from the Shroud, and the inherent need for radio silence, only made matters worse. Still, the attack force had set a time; no one ever said Dark Jedi were reasonable. If you couldn’t carry out your assignment, someone else would. Lightning to the face makes you work faster. Words to live by.

They were now skirting the enemy’s rearguard forces as they attempted to flank yet stay in visual range of their massive prize. It was no simple task as Vessicant’s intent peering into the void and Gaius’ curt admonition to leave the cockpit over an earlier request for a status update proved. The men out there were Sith as well, and strong enough to be bothersome, few without the Force at their command would risk leaving line of sight with their base ship in this instrument-killing soup. Asteroid fields and nebula, in general, tended to dissuade the ungifted. Halfway out the door the Wroonian had reassured him that the most powerful would be up ahead, helping the Avenger II pick its way to freedom. What he’d left unsaid was that even a Knight stumbling across them would be disastrous. Getting vaped, however, would be considerably more merciful than facing the Grand Master as the one who tipped off the enemy, or the one who got lost trying too hard to avoid them. The lights came on again, and Silent checked his chrono passively. Obviously they hadn’t been detected either time, since nobody with training would dismiss a repeat hunch or news of another’s.

The copilot flipped the last of his overhead switches before half turning to the seat of power. They still had time to position themselves for the synchronous attack, and every reason to keep their alternate plan the alternate plan. It was a shame the sluggish evacuee officer had been too resilient to give the Council the identification codes on such short notice, though his ship and its IFF transponder had potential. If need be they would pretend to be little lost troopers struggling home, their officer dead, accepting of as heavy a guard as you please. It meant a hell of a hard fight from the get-go, but it got their boots on the ground, which beat getting blasted to atoms outright.

As it stood though, they hadn’t been detected, he and Vessicant’s combined situational awareness giving them ample warning to hide from lesser men's probing. It also helped that the enemy was primarily looking for capships, since no one would be crazy enough to pursue an Executor without support. However, the delays this batch of fighters was giving them were starting to be an irritant. Things picked up for them as they moved parallel with the enemy, with no fighters present, and a friendly even coming into view distantly ahead and above for a few minutes. It was the calm before the storm. The minute digit flickered, and Caesar keyed the intercom.

Avenger II continued blasting away at the space rocks threatening it, heedless of the comparatively microscopic threats entering its cleared zone. Some of these began suddenly accelerating as they neared, changing course, entering hangars instead of cooperatively disintegrating against the shields or missing the ship altogether. Detection, interpretation, and alarum came too late for Auxiliary Hangar 44.

The Exarch, now an invited guest in the Siths’ little world unto themselves, took a quick survey of the scene racing toward him, determining where the first blows would be struck. They even had a nice convenient landing site. An autolaser strike buffeted the intensified forward shielding, and was rebuffed with Caesar’s own pulled trigger. Time to go. A second burst before he’d reached the door told him that the hangar forcefield was gone, the blast door racing shut. The cage was closed, and they were all in it.

Anger rushed through Silent like a matched dropped on gasoline. Everyone on board could feel it whirling around the Exarch, but mostly they saw it with their own eyes as the Shi’do was rapidly morphing from one species to the next. Silent took a calming breath, no weakness will be seen on his many faces, and no one will hear the taunting of a Dark Lord ringing about in his head.

The Obelisk relaxed allowing his two minds to be one with the force, reaching out feeling what lay beyond the shuttle doors. One….two…..twenty…..forces users. Opening his eyes once more, calling his lightsaber to his hand he turned and addressed everyone else.

“Troops, armed throughout the bay, and two powerful Dark Jedi maybe Plague ridden, their power seems to rise and fall.”

“So what is the plan?” JC said

“Divide and Conquer, we split up taking up different points and we conquer. Kuro and I will take on the meat working our way to a better distraction so Telum can set up a snipe squad and keep some rockets from burning our ass. Find a point that works for you I do not care if you are on top of this ship. Evoroth and another troop squad bring up our rear, I have a feeling Telum might miss today.”

“Me and Vess?”

“You got a ship blow the rest of them up we don’t need others hoping in a fighter gaining an advantage.”

The Exarches body finally settled on a Munn figure, figuring Plagueis had a say into it the obelisk decided that the extra arm reach would not be such a bad idea. Silent took another calm breath looking each and everyone into eyes. Fire burned in all of them, this was not just about revenge, no this fight was for Honor and honor they say have.

There is no turning back.

Death descended along with Caesar and his team, and now the plan was in action. His mind was cleared of everything and his hands moved swiftly, guiding the controls of the turret. The ground party was quickly being deployed, and with their immediate success being imminent, Caesar pulled his triggers, decimating one of the empty star fighters in Hangar 44. Blaster fire began to rain down upon the Exarch and his partner.

"All forward teams are out, time to do your work Guardian. Sergeant Limsa and his squad will join you in providing heavy cover fire. You will take heavy casualties, but you cannot allow anyone near that bomber," the Prelate spoke into his comlink.

He gathered focus upon a new target, a group of enemy troopers taking up a position near a far star fighter. Quick red flashes indicated a lightsaber was leading them. Caesar locked on to his new target and fired the blasters once more, striking just behind the fighter. A few seconds after the flash, and it was apparent that the missed shot still seemed effective. The ship was not destroyed, but there were plenty of bodies nearby. The red light of the lightsaber was present once more, and this time headed towards Silent and Kuro.

"Kuro, heavily armed enemies on the other side of those star fighters. Once Evoroth and his troopers get in position they should be able to put a dent, but it looks as if you guys will be seeing some dueling action," Caesar barked.

He grabbed the sticks once more and took aim at the last remaining fighter. Channeling his thoughts, he quickly unleashed a flurry of repeater rounds at the craft, resulting in a growing cloud of fire and smoke. As the fighter was being destroyed, the fight continued around it, and with a few seconds past, an explosion was felt. He had hit the core reactor, thus rendering the ship to nothing more than a pile of fiery metal.

Vessicant turned back to his copilot and nodded as they heard boots pound over their heads. Telum was setting up, able to provide cover fire for his two remaining teammates in the shuttle. Caesar quickly gathered his gear and headed toward the escape ramp to join the fight. There was no turning back.

Hard yellow eyes surveyed the unfolding advance as Vessicant, fresh from completing the pared down emergency landing sequence, loitered for a heartbeat before following Caesar. Why this Stigaryl character had been separated from his Master was beyond him, as was sending a mere Guardian on such an important mission in the first place. It was a hell of a way to earn a name. Half the squad lay dead in no-man’s land, unassisted by Force enhanced speed and skill enough to block bolts as Silent and Kuro had been. It was a hell of a liability to his command. The Sith shook his head in disgust as he turned away from the viewport and broke into a jog.

An NCO screamed his last breath as he turned to address them, sprawling out in front of the decelerating pilots like a morbid welcome mat. Two emerald blades hissed to life in unison in response, deflecting a smattering of bolts from the unexpected gaggle of stormtroopers rushing their northern guard. Some welcome. “The body,” Vessicant said with an edge of annoyance, having remembered too late that his compatriot wasn’t telepathically inclined. The duo maneuvered clear of the blaster fire for a moment, combing their efforts into swiftly lifting their former servant off the floor and hurling him into the spearhead. The remaining enemies died swiftly under the gauntlet, one of the snipers calling down from above that all was clear. An infantryman rolled the burden off his legs, shaking his helm from the conking the man had given him with a rifle butt before he’d been blasted by someone else.

The first of the four survivors to approach got an immediate field promotion upon greeting, an honour neutralized by fresh, firsthand experience of the retirement package. He continued after a pause, telling them of the unusually swift appearance of responders up the elevator. The Plex operator had suffered a misfire they were told, and had just gotten the launcher working again when the new threat appeared. Fortunately, the enemy had no cover and was torn between catching sight of the tail end of the Guardian’s diagonal to them, the point blank rocket launcher and hastily forming line pushing off from the transport’s hull behind, and the snipers above. It was the few moments it took to really thin their numbers before they broke into a mad charge at what was closest. The Wroonian set aside wondering why they’d sacrificed so many so stupidly, and how they’d been mustered so quickly. “Kill that Sentinel now, Corporal.”

The enemy landing craft across the way groaned like a wounded Whaladon, smoke billowing from its gaping wound and shattered windows at the torpedo’s touch. No one could transform it into a fortress on him now. That deed done, finally, Vessicant ran his eyes over the portcullis flush with the polished floor. No. Too heavy for he and Caesar alone to pry open, and too exposed for the moment. The elevator had escaped to ferry more men to the surface. “Hold here,” he ordered before suddenly leaping to the transport’s roof, soon followed by Caesar. The sniper from before paused in mid-draw of his sidearm before grabbing the reload he’d been initially going for. Vessicant strode past him unperturbed, taking a knee to study the hangar from this better vantage point. Silent’s earlier estimate of Force users was rough and rushed, coming as it did while the ship was swinging around forcefully before plopping down, but there was an awful lot of resistance in general for an auxiliary bay.

He saw that Silent and Kuro lay at the end of a trail of slaughter behind the southernmost fighter, the latter presently slashing his yellow saber through a momentarily doubleteamed and disarmed Knight’s flight suit. There were two others like him on the ground already. Telum put a bolt through an officer chancing a better view past the burning hulk of a fighter, so he was fine were he was. Evoroth had moved around the bomber, and was directing his men to lay suppressing fire against the force starting around the far side of the laden cargo elevator.

These Zoraanite’s were a ceremonial send off, unless he missed his guess. Damn the luck. Where the two higher Equites he could feel moving toward them with quickening pace were planning to go was anybody’s guess, probably a reassignment to one of the Super’s pickets, though they certainly didn’t have a transport now. That meant the fighters were somewhere in the fuelling process before the Plagueian arrival. The pump’s reservoir was full. He keyed his commlink to the fledgling Sith. Perhaps Stigaryl would have his uses after all. Now all he had and Caesar had to do was move up to reinforce Silent, and the hangar was as good as theirs.

Landing Platform
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

Echoes of Footsteps on the durasteel floor and his teammates yelling out orders to the rest of the squad filled the bay. Kuro and Silent, and old friend whom he actually killed a few years back, were once again working together, but was pinned down momentarily behind the southernmost fighter. Kuro was scanned the area for his next destination, seeing that it was just a few yards away, he got a little excited but after further investigation, his excitement grew seeing that it was surrounded by a decent size squad of Stromtroopers as well as about 4 Dark Jedi Knights and two rather out of place looking men and seemed to be just observing. They must be the ones I heard about, This will be fun.

It was just a thought but Silent known Kuro far too long and can pretty much read Kuro’s expressions every time. “Dont do anything hasty, We have a team and need to work together” Silent ordered. The look Kuro gave his friend could melt steel, but Silent had grown immune to the beast. “Ive killed you once, careful...friend” Kuro spoke tough but he was actually that Silent was here.

“Damnit!” Silent yelled out just as a turret blaster just nearly grazed him. “we cant stay here forever. I know we’re skilled but you and I cant hold off that many....” Silent was cut short due to the much need snipers who just set up their nest on top of a stack of cargo crates and another on a destroyed fighter. “Its about time, looks like we have our distraction. what do you want to do? Go for it?” Kuro said as he started to tap into his Berserkr mode, His voice became rough and his eyes started to turn solid red with blood lust. His grin would frighten even the meanest Nexu.

Evoroth stood, surveying the events unfolding before him. It was the first time that he had been given an assignment without the watchful eye of his Master, Teylas Ramar and an opportunity he was going to use to prove himself to both Ramar and his brothers-in-arms.

It’s now or never.

Igniting his saber, he moved forwards, leading the remaining troopers around the bomber meeting a small pocket of men unloading another salvo of blaster fire into the advancing Brotherhood forces. Evoroth lept up high into the air, coming down in the center of the group and plunging his blade through the closest target before pulling it out and dropping it into the man behind him, filling his nose with the scent of burnt flesh.

Two down, two to go.

Before the limp carcasses of the two men he had just cut down hit the ground, Evoroth executed the final two of the group with one cleave of his ruby colored blade.

“Sergeant, move up, set the charges on the pump,” the Zabrak ordered.

It would be only a few moments before the bomber and its connected pump were in pieces. The explosion would take out the blockade of men holding the elevator, the last bastion of resistance before the Brotherhood could make there way to the next part of the ship.

“Charge is set, sir,” the trooper’s rough voice sounded over the radio, “Ready to go on your command.”

His blade extinguished, he nodded to the trooper, hearing him call out to the other men in the squad to take cover with Evoroth in tow.

“Blow it,” the young Sith commanded. The trooper pulled out a remote detonator and pushed the button beginning a five second countdown signalled by a beeping that grew faster as it counted down to the blast. Evoroth counted down to himself along with it. 5...4...3...2...1. A brief flash of light preceded the hellfire of the ensued, enveloping the bomber and the remaining men around it.

SSD Avenger II

The sizzling scent of ionized atmosphere was all but intoxicating to those with a sense of smell; except for the Telum. The Sith Weapon could see the battle, could hear the explosions, and could feel the waves of emotionally charged energy wash over the boarding team, but he could not smell it. The parties that had concluded where they would go and what they would do flashed before the Ascendant Knight, and yet he did not like this one bit.

Times were changing for Plagueis, and this once Ghorfa could see the horror about to be unleashed. They were here to take an Star Destroyer. What could he do with such a Ship? If it was his? He could bring fear and terror to those who had done this to him. Had taken and made a monster out of a simple Force Sensitive Human. A human. Was he even that anymore? Could he even call himself that-

A hand grabbed the front of his combat armor, flashing him back to the present. "Telum!" It was Kuro. His once commander of the once famed Blade of Plagueis, and another one that had made his this way. "I swear you spend more time off in Space than the Stars! Wake up and MOVE!"

The violent eyes of the enraged man reminded Umbra that now was not the time. He was needed here and now. Even though he may not actually care about a single one of these people he would never say so. Instead he allowed their betrayal of Plagueis; which he blamed everyone for. Everyone except himself. He could not be at fault. For he brought help to save them, and this is how he is repaid. The Emissary in the flesh.

"Let's not terry here Commander," Telum's use of the old title was one of respect and not sarcasm. Kuro had no idea that it was used spitefully to fuel the rage now flowing withing him. The Force curdled with the coming storm of chaos summoned within his Soul.

The elevator within the hanger which had been oddly in the downward loading position rose up revealing more enemy soldiers. A couple of those had on packs that gave them flight. The snipers brought by the invaders opened fire, but were quickly spotted and killed. Taking with them only three of the five flying soldiers. Around the shuttle craft the guarding troops opened fire. Blaster fire was exchanged at such a high rate that numbers and casualties became hard to calculate. Telum had sprung to action deflecting bolts, and doing so attracted the attention of enemy soldiers.

Telum grabbed for one of his ally grunts. The hand in the soldiers collar piece pulled him off balance, and he began to struggle. The Sith could not let this man ruin the plan. A swift aimed stab through his side armor ended the struggles. Telum began walking towards the elevator full of soldiers that rained havoc on the Team. His Lightsaber hissed as it blocked blaster fire, and more shots were absorbed by the body shield. At the last moment he pushed the dead body forward and with a little pull with the Force activated one single grenade. The resulting explosion disabled the the elevator from working and killed all the remaining enemy troops. The cost was great for it only left the team of Force Users.

One too many explosions in a short time, even true masters of the force can only handle so much. The ringing slowly lowered into annoying buzz in the Exarches ears, the battles that raged in such a short time calmed Silent into a final transformation into a blood red purebred sith. Tendrils hanging from his forehead, cheeks, and chin. Abyss black hair, crimson red eyes, the Obelisk took a deep breath looking toward the exit door as the smoke cleared the path to the true enemy in waiting.

Two identical twins Dark Jedi, they seemed to rely heavily on the force judging by the pale skin, a shame for how young they look. It must be the Plague, always the young and eager willing to show such power but never do they see what it does to the body. The Exarch would look so much like them including now in his 100 plus years using the force, being a Shi’do did have its advantages.

The Silver blue lightsaber extending from Silent’s left hand as he walked toward the middle of the hanger, cutting through any dead bodies still piled to high. The rest of his team were throughout the hanger, Kuro fueling his rage, Telum near his old commander at the ready, Vess and JC at the rear making their way to the old Obelisk. The Dark Jedi ready themselves igniting finally their sabers, red and white. They may be powerful but Silent has not lived this long (even with being flashed cloned) without knowing a few tricks himself.

Raising his right hand toward a half of one of the exploded starfighters, the Exarch slowly lifted it through the force with a bead of sweat and a smirk on his face. Then he threw it fast and hard. Without even a blink of an eye the two Dark Jedi stopped it mere feet from them and tossed it back toward the Obelisk. Ducking and missing the starfighter by just the length of a pinky finger Silent smiled at their power, Vess and JC on the other hand had to force jump over it as they came to join in the fight. The two Dark Jedi looked at the Exarch with a burning desire, in unison the raised their hands at Silent and lifted him.

Their power amazing the Obelisk thought as he was slammed back 20 feet into the arms of Vess and JC knocking them all down. “I think we need to divide and conquer ladies.”

Vessicant pushed off from the Exarch’s latest incarnation, rolling free of the entanglement and coming to his feet with a scowl at the obvious tactical appraisal. The two women were giggling and whispering of all things, and he knew that this was going to get very aggravating very quickly. They had held back until all their peons were dead, not even attacking Silent and Kuro in mid-battle with the Jedi sent to distract them from the flanking force and its cover firers Evoroth, the sole survivor of that venture, had dispatched with sword and flame. Neither had they attacked Silent and the Guardian when Kuro had run off to collect Telum and been embroiled in the briefly renewed hostilities back at the ship. These wenches were over-confident in the extreme then, and that would be their downfall. He surmised that he and his men would need to be the one’s to administer it, since nobody would intentionally infect themselves with the virus without a way back. Likely they had prisoners who’d already been cured.

He caught sight of Stigaryl hunkering down behind the cargo bins in passing, spurred to a wise retreat by the display of their opponents’ power. He was now at the end of his usefulness here. Telum and Kuro linked up as the three heavy hitters made their way forward at a walk, the five forming a united front as they closed on the twins. The Warlord quietly assigned their targets, seeing no disadvantage to how they were already formed up. He would take the one on the right with Caesar; the left would face Silent, Kuro, and Telum. The men separated at a jog, Vessicant and Kuro placing their lightsabers back on their belts in favour of a DH-17 and Westar 34, respectively. There would be no tandem calling on the force now for this obstinately immobile foe.

Reaper smiled as toothily as her sister as they batted away those bolts that actually threatened them, charging with a pistol not being the most accurate system, but enough to keep them from pooling their concentration. “It looks like we shook them up a bit, doesn’t it, Frost?”

“Poor babies. We’d better be careful not to break them too early. I want to have some fun with them.”

The shapeshifter leapt toward Frost expectedly, she simply sidestepped and tucked into him with her blades. The old man didn’t look like the jumping type, so Reaper was well prepared to accept his telekinetic assault, crossing her swords and flipping them around as brakes once the initial energy broke against her defense. The Wroonian gunslinger discarded his Navy issue pistol roughly now, green blade twirling free before her view was obscured by that of the geezer. She wrenched her weapons free of the wounded floor, returning them to the forward grip. The blue man was the one to kill, the most powerful, the leader by the lack of dirt on his hands up to now; and, unless she missed her guess, the pilot. Even if they somehow got by Death’s Handmaidens, as they affectionately called themselves, they would never be able to get off the Avenger II and through their little Shroud. There were far worse things for them beyond this insignificant hangar; things any sane being would want to turn back from.

Frost sidestepped the now ancient Sith’s landing, containing his rising strike with both blades before hammering it away with her right, pursuing with a six-strike combo, and turning to meet yellow with white. Then blue with red a heartbeat later. Her weapons protested as the enemy pressed in on her. She kicked the second attacker on his shin with the broadside of her foot suddenly, crossing and lifting her lightsabers to deflect the shapeshifter’s subsequent gore. A scissoring motion repulsed that one again, and brought her left hand back toward the Templar. He sprawled backward under the strike, mirroring what had happened before by taking the straggling Knight down with him. She laughed derisively as she parried three of the cobalt saber’s blows, ducking under an attempt at decapitation, and trying for the Shi’ido’s legs before springing skyward with a call of “slowpoke”.

The Karanan used Makashi from the start, trying to tax his opponent with variety in focus and energy expenditure. If she bore down too hard, she could overextend herself and lose a weapon, a wrist, or, if he was inelegant, an arm on his riposte. Conversely, she had to pour strength into her other arm, where the overbearing Shii Cho user lurked. She was very intuitive he found. Caesar took over fully for a moment, twirling low as she tried to scissor kick him in the jaw, then calling out in surprise and anger at the boot to his backside. The Sith backpedaled under the furious barrage, secure in the fact that while trained she was by no stretch a master of her form, and that none of her taunts were as sharp as her blades. There were just a lot of hits to counter. A lot. A lot. A lot. Where the hell was that mothball-smelling son-of-a-bitch? Ah, there he was. She spun to deal with the second emerald threat with a burst of increased strength, deactivating that lightsaber when she’d pushed him far enough. Caesar’s compensation put him off balance for a second, and she moved to capitalize, spearing her reignited saber toward the Sith she felt and foiled with her other blade.

Vessicant followed his instincts, delivering not the overwhelming downstroke he would favour to maximize a distraction for his ally’s recovery, but a hard counterclockwise rap to her extended blade. This allowed him to both flip his weapon overhand to ward off the gore to his throat, and grasp the woman’s right forearm. His first thought was to pull her forward and ram the handle into her forehead until he could see brains through the hole he’d made, but something nagged at his perception. He settled on squeezing her hand hard enough to make her drop her sword, turning and giving her hip a rearward boot for spacing.

Kuro and Telum rolled for their lives as the twin blades sparked flat against the once pristine floor. The Knight was slower to rise, having just had a man flung on top of him, and that made him the object of her full attention. He roared what looked to be his final defiance as she brought both blades crashing down against his one with wild abandon, quickly ripping the precious cylinder from his grasp. But then something unexpected occurred. A single green blade soared across the short space between the parties, diverting her for the crucial instant needed for more substantial help to arrive. Her hiss of mild infuriation as she shunted Silent’s stroke and retreated would last with him for a long while. He watched Vessicant reclaim his telekinetically guided weapon just after the sister behind him plucked her second from the ground. The Prelate behind her swung, forcing her response on that quarter. When she turned back to the Sith, he met her in a lock, and she too retreated in a mile-long cartwheel after glancing Telum’s way and saying something that made the Warlord flash the Knight a “get your lightsaber, shithead” kind of look. He complied.

“Aw, that’s so sweet. Got a girlfriend?” The Sith repeated under his breath in a mock feminine voice.

Turbo-Lift
Bridge Deck
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

“We must be getting close, Listen” Vessicant said to this team, referring to the chatter of some trooper-droids getting closer as the lift approaches the floor. “ Roger Roger” “Terminate on arrival” some broken dialogue and lack of life was all they needed to hear to determine in fact that there were going to be droid on the other side of the door when it opens.

Kuro glanced to Telum, and even though Umbra is wearing a mask, Kuro still could see the look of pure loathing. Umbra was not found of droids at all. “Show no mercy Umbra” Kuro snarled to his teammate.

As the squad of Jedi made it to their destination, they could hear what sounded like the commander droid call out an order. “Weapons down and hands up!” which was then followed by another droids voice. “Sir, the intruders cant hear you yet” As the doors open a small object came rolling in. The clanking of the metal object on the metal floor drew the teams attention to it just as it went off.

The blinding flash and the ear shattering explosion from the flash-bang grenade brought the team down, but only for a moment. Those who could, called upon the force to enhance their sight and although still a little blurry, Vessicant and Kuro was the first of the team out of the door and with their blasters took out a few of the droids. Taking cover to the left and the right of the hallway that was directly in front of the elevator room, The two veterans kept the droids distracted long enough to allow the rest of the team to compose themselves.

Now, able to see clearly, the large number droids surprised the men. “Vess!” Kuro yelled out as his lightsaber came to life. “on the count to three, you, me and and Umbra combine our push to toss these droids back against each other” The look on Telums face showed approval of the idea. in between the oncoming blaster fire, Kuro reached the number three and all at once, Kuro, Vess and Umbra threw a large burst of energy at the droids and all but one flew back and slammed into the wall and shattered. the sound of pieces of metal hitting the floor was music to Telums ears. “well look here guys, one more” Telum said with a grin as he ignited his saber. The commander droid had a shield to protect him from force powers but not saber blades. Telum looked at the droid and hate radiated off of him. The droid pointed up his rifle to fire but it jammed. “Work you stupid machine” The droid said as he shook and pounded on the weapon but it did not mean anything because just in a matter of seconds, the young sith was behind the commander and his saber positioned in front of its neck. Before the droid could react Umbra removed its head from its body and the droid fell to the floor. “oh that was fun” Telum said as he rejoined the group.

“ok once we go through this hallway, We can expect to be met with alot of resistance. Does everyone remember their jobs?” Vessicant said as he addressed the team. Everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgment.


Commons Area
Bridge Deck
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

As the two, three men teams reached the end of the corridor, They were met with yet another large number of droids mixed with several auto turrets from the ceiling. The eruption of blaster fire that rained down on them, forced them to take cover. “Kuro!, you Telum and Evoroth, Go to the security room and shut down those Turrets! If you can, lock this room down so we won't have any more surprises. Myself, Silent and Caesar will hold the line and cover you.” Vessicant ordered. Telum, Evoroth and Kuro broke away from the team, Dodging Blaster fire on the way, Meanwhile Kogarasu overheard one of the droids speak. “Send in the guard” Not sure to what it was referring to, they kept going, moving from cover to cover.

It had at first looked like a thermal detonator the metallic hand had flicked around the wounded durasteel of Evoroth’s circular cut, but as it rolled among them the realization dawned that it was fortunately less atomizing than he would have gone for himself. A double tap to the torso from his DH-17 brought the scrapheap grenadier low as the duo crossed the threshold and set into the others. Deafened, disoriented, and fumbling to maintain their hastily erected lifelines to the Force the Warlord and Templar had managed to repay the leading droids for their hospitality. The rest had fallen together neatly enough to make up for their graceless entry. He knew then that the choice to put Kuro in lead of the second team to strengthen it had been correct. It was a good omen.

He ordered Silent to cover the south, while he and Caesar swung wide out to the north. Batting a bolt into the face of the B1 that fired it brought a little smile to his. It broadened as he ushered the lesser trio past him to slip northward through the distraction just before the rearward droid reactivated that section’s high-intensity forcefield. The final two of the advancing automaton reinforcements were cut in half vertically in its panic. He pulled his men back into cover on the instant.

The B1s now stranded in the cage looked around in confusion for a few moments, some still trying to draw a bead on the second group of enemies through the veil of pulsing ruby energy behind. All was silent now. The four closest ceiling mounts cooled their rapid fire muzzles, locked on the mouth of the adjoining corridor where their targets again stood just out of sight. The OOM lowered its head slightly as it began calculating the best course of action to the best of its processor’s capabilities. The called for organic forces would be there shortly, it had to keep the enemy under pressure until then. Some of the first command unit’s last transmitted data said that a flashbang had been successful. There was no reason that couldn’t work again. Now that the elevator wouldn’t be collaterally damaged it was free to use more potent arms. Yes, that would work well. It lowered its vocabulator volume to minimum, sending two of its subordinates to creep forward quietly; one priming a proper grenade while the other led with its rifle.

Suddenly, the enemy Jedi broke cover, and before the commander could verbalize a general shoot order regardless of the two leading units falling to friendly fire, things went very awry. The rifleman squeezed off two shots which were deflected harmlessly enough into the walls, but the grenadier was jerked forward slightly. The explosive must have hovered in midair for a moment based on the droid’s vain attempt to grab it back. The grenadier turned, locking photoreceptors with him as he looked up from the telekinetically launched sphere now bouncing to a stop at his feet. It just didn’t compute.

The two isolated forerunners exchanged a hurried glance as the Jedi again withdrew, wisely deciding to run their servos off. Not that there was anything left to run back too. Three of their brother units were still technically active, but if they’d had compassion in their programming they’d have quickened the trip to the scrap yard for them.

Vessicant closed his eyes, concentrating on the forces gathering beyond the southern forcefield, as he breathed the air of what he now assumed to be some sort of laboratory. It was somehow more sterile than the average section of a Star Destroyer. It also must have been a very important one to be located in the command tower. There were a handful of Jedi here, manageably endowed with the Force. One was decidedly different, however, though he wasn’t about to risk getting his head blown off at this stage just for a potential peek at the opposition. There was no safely bypassing a force like this. No incoming DGM to scare them off as with the Twins. He shook his head as he recalled that he’d sent the Knight and Guardian off to conquer the control room and open the blast door a crack for Raken. He was going to make those two too big for their britches if he wasn’t careful.

He turned his eyes to their entry point as he thought about the new Deputy, then took in his two companion Equites. He hadn’t told a soul about the priority message, and had immediately erased it. As far as they knew the datapad had only contained a list of the names and faces of the more substantial members of Zoraan’s forces. The ones the Lion would really like to sink his claws into. A briefing on these targets of opportunity given before they’d departed Antei, delivered once more on their so rudely interrupted ascent. The device lay on the floor of the turbolift at the moment, scoured and shattered by his proto-lightning.

They would have had a credible reason to speak the “t” word on a high stakes operation like this. The lack of specificity was incredibly troubling though. Was it another group they suspected? Was it someone in his? He wasn’t sociable enough to say he really knew these men enough to vouch for them. The thought of telling Silent, at least, came to him, and not for the first time. There was no way a man he’d known since the days of Satal Keto would turn to Zoraan, especially with enough conviction to surmount the man’s death. There was the problem though. Even with Silent there was no real certainty. He carried it well, but there were times when the Shi’ido looked troubled for no reason the Warlord could discern. A guilty conscience or the start of good old fashioned Dark Side fueled insanity; neither boded well. Not for the first time he also wondered about the Guardian suddenly transferred into his care, a possible Enaias Two. The Sith grunted softly, leaving the future to unfold as it would. His lightsaber would do the rest.

It was just as well since there really was no time to sit back and launch an inquest. The sound of success, of the nasty ceiling guns powering down and retracting opened his eyes once more. He stepped around the corner, calmly putting the upright droids down for eternity within a couple of shots. His commlink chirped as he holstered his pistol a moment later, telling him the obvious. The first security points had been taken without much fuss. In addition to shutting down the nasty automated defenses, at least in the north, this had allowed them to seal all the blast doors leading into the ship proper, starving the occupants of the lab of reinforcements. He told them to cleanse the north of remaining security before they dropped their forcefield; no sense letting anything turn the damned turrets on again. After that they were to get their tails to him. Apparently, they were unable to override the second forcefield or any of the southern defenses. This was no doubt because it was an assault from outside rather than some horrific lab accident. The path would open when the enemy was ready. It looked as though that time was at hand.

An Umbaran female met him scowl for scowl through the second obstacle as Silent and Julius joined him. Dantella Novae: Zoraan’s lead biotechnician. She moved toward the rear of the dozen very professional looking soldiers, who sported full life support armour, leaving them at the command of two Warriors. The Plagueian’s ignited their blades as one. “Take her alive if you can.”

Breathe, fill your lungs with emotion, and exhale with the force. Power comes from within not without. You are vessel, immortality is not without its limits, and your body has them.

“I know my limits, now unless you want to give me your force essence instead of your advice Darth Plagueis, let me fight my way.”

Your Hopeless if I aimed right I would be in the body of your old AED Raken, now there is a true force user.

“True but at least I can still fight while I am drunk.”

Take her alive then

“No”

The Warlord and Prelate still at the ready puzzled by the one-way conversation from Silent. Vess turned his head slowly at the Exarch “No?” “We don’t need her when we have found a cure, she can only cause more problems if left alive, and it is bad enough we don’t know when the twins will make another appearance.” The Warlord let out a soft grunt, to Silent he knew he did not agree with his answer and will still try to capture her but also that the Obelisk would not stop until he or she was dead.

“Shall we wait for the rest of the group to take on these soldiers?” JC asked

The Obelisk did not answer as he let the force run out his mouth, intertwining with the air, turning and twisting heading for an armed soldier in the middle. With that, he lifted in the air in a whirlwind of the force with his finger on the trigger, shooting off his clip at all the unprepared soldiers. The closest to the trigger-happy soldier, were not the lucky ones, the others spread out to behind counters and rolling carts. Finally snapping the neck of the soldier as he came to a stop.

The Exarch raised both his hands out in front of him, feeling the force through his body, through the essence of Plagueis, and through his Housemates. Focusing himself body and mind, he disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the room. The soldiers turned their attention to the Exarch and opened fire. Silent’s saber was quicker then light speed, spinning so fast it looked like a tornado with a lightsaber blocking and returning all the blaster shots. Those who were not killed by their own shots threw grenades. The Exarch in turn kept it flying across the room.

With both sides of the lab full of dead bodies or on fire, three soldiers still stood with the Adapt at the far side of the room. The guards ran toward the middle of the room where the now motionless Obelisk stood. They were brave soldiers taking but a few feet from Silent, pointing and aiming their blasters and firing. Only to their surprise, the blots went through the Exarch then shortly back and hitting them.

Silent lowered his hands, Vess and JC still standing behind him. Three soldiers dead on top of the ones killed by the whirlwind shooter, the others now spread out throughout the lab. Novae slowly stepping back taking in the fight that was now about to begin.

“Illusion?” JC asked

“On more than one person it takes a lot out of you, but three more dead, gents I’m taking a breather care to kill the rest before the big fight happens? Oh and the others are close I can feel them. Oh and to bad you blocked those blaster shots back at them, i wanted to see JC scream.” Silent replied

Bridge Forward Viewport
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

Standing in front of the forward Viewport of the Avenger, explosions and muzzle flashes illuminate the cloudy space that is the Shroud. Although he enjoyed the sight, Grandmaster Nacar turned his attention to the last surviving crew member laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, gasping for air. Nacar looked at the poor being and raised his hand and made a fist and with a big smile on his face, he brought his arm down and smashed the mans head to just a puddle of bits and goo.

“Oh? what's this I hear? More guests. Are you ready for seconds my pets?” Necar said as he looked up towards the entrance to the sound of Vessicant and his team.



Outside the entrance to the Bridge
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

Battered, Bruised, Tired, in desperate need of a rest, Vessicant and the rest of the team stand just outside of the door to the bridge. Unsure of what they will find on the other side of the door, the men were able to take a breath.

“Listen men” Vessicant said. “We cant stop now, not even to rest. We have too much riding on this...” Kuro glares at the door and then turns to the team. “I dont care whats in there. Lets just get in there”

“As much as i admire your enthusiasm, We cant get reckless, Zorran was not alone. Reports say Nacar is here and he cant be to happy with his master death” Everyones eyes got wide, This madman made Zorran look sane. “Oh thats good news” Kuro said in a sarcastic tone. “theres only one way in and one way out right? Well lets get in there. The grandmaster may be strong but he cant take all of us at once”

“Well we wont know till we find out” Silent said.

Kuro used what he had of his strength and pried open the doors with his bare hands. As the Team slowly walked in they saw the man himself, Surrounded by the bodies of the entire crew. His clothes and robe had blood splatter on him but not as much as he should. “Easy my pets, You will feed soon enough” Necar said.

“huh? what is he talking about?” Evoroth asked. Before his question could be answered, It was as soon as they passed the doorway they saw the “pets” that Necar was talking about, two large Terentateks.

After a eerie cackle, the crazed grandmaster spoke. “Im glad you are here, Watch this.” Necar slowly walked over to the main control panel and started to shut the engines off, but left enough on to stay in orbit. “Are you mad!?” Kuro yelled out “Your going to bring this thing down!” “yes, I know, Exciting isent it” Necar said. “Well we wont let that happen” Telum said. “Try it” Necar teased.

The hermitic Warlord watched in horror as what should have been the crowning glory of his resurgence began collapsing under the weight of the universe’s typical mockery of his efforts. Outside, an asteroid easily three times the size of Avenger II loomed, slowly drawing hundreds of thousands to their ruin; inside, the deck slick with the blood and viscera of the hewn, treacherously stabbed, Force-bludgeoned, and half-eaten. To what purpose? The ship was still more than contested on all fronts, and from the look of things the enemy had been marshalling a strong enough response to the spearhead aimed so audaciously at the bridge. Hell, Necar could and would wipe the floor with them fully by himself. “Insanity” didn’t even begin to cover this response. Vessicant and Kuro again raised the weapons they’d had at the ready while crouching at either side of the door.

“What the hell are those things?” Caesar asked.

“Do I look like a damn Krath? They’re some kind of Dark Side mutants. Shoot them!” Silent responded, turning the last on his commander with more emphasis than was strictly wise.

“We’re just pissing them off. Swords!” Vessicant roared as his third hit practically fizzled against the tough hide of the beast cresting the ramp into the port crew pit. He tossed his almost dry pistol aside for the final time. “Silent, Julius, on me.”

Darth Necar crossed his arms as he settled in to watch the newest batch of pathetic worms get ripped apart by his beautiful creations. What a lucky find they had been. How lucky they were to be found by Zoraan’s forces, and enhanced, perfected, by his Apprentice’s alchemical genius. How long had they slumbered in that cave, waiting for the Force to shift into shadow? They were hungry after their beauty sleep. He vaguely recalled that he didn’t actually have control over their actions, he’d just released them and lured them here with his own flesh. Yes, they wanted that. Oh how Kraltho had been surprised by their arrival at his heels. Necar had played his part well, betraying nothing of the coming carnage as he positioned himself behind his old and trusted friend, waiting for him to expose his back. It was a shame he couldn’t slake his primary weapon’s thirst, but unsheathing it could alert his target, and he didn’t want to prolong suffering in this case. He gave a few parting words before switching off the amethyst blade skewering the Devaronian, then watched with mirth as the Ailon Guard flung themselves futilely into the battering arms, poison claws, and snapping teeth. He also knew that he’d been debating whether to fight his terentateks in one last glorious struggle, or simply let them rend him as they saw fit. No, it was clear now that he had to live to the end to make sure Zoraan’s demise wouldn’t benefit those other Sith. The pretenders. The usurpers. He was the Master now, he could choose what to do. No. He was Master of nothing. Half of him was missing. Gone. Destroyed. Stolen. He burned. He had to share the fire.

The three upper Equites came shoulder to shoulder, lashing out with the same potent display of telekinetic might that had finally overwhelmed Novae and bashed her wicked brains against a bulkhead. To their profound, mutual shock it did about as much as his blaster had this time. The group retreated through the doorway in a frenzy of self-preservation, giving up the foyer due to a lack of range and firepower to employ the bottleneck, and concentrating on the mobility afforded by the more expansive analysis room. As the first of his team took cover behind the main tactical holomap and holonet pad Vessicant reached out to the nearest display, ripping it from its wall mount in a blinding shower of sparks, and hurling it at the lead creature. It staggered for an instant before sloughing off the bent frame and shattered glass, opening its fearsome maw and giving them all a good view of the future it had in mind for them. Kuro, who had been more reluctant to give up his blaster it seemed, closed it with a shot to the chin. The Karanan returned the prophecy with one of his own even as he backpedaled, a curt twirl of his blade.

Bridge
SSD Avenger II
The Shroud

Huffing and Puffing, Kuro leaned back against the support wall of the Holomap, Hearing the beat pace back and forth. The blaster bolt he released into the chin of that monster gave him an Idea and the rest of the team knew what Kuro was thinking.

“Dont do anything stupid, Kogarasu” Vessicant ordered

Kuro just squinted his eyes and get his own sinister smile. “Im not going to be a meal for some..monster. Kuro pulled out two of his Westar pistols and stood up. “Kuro, No!” Silent yelled out, but it was too late. Kuro Yelled out and got the attention of the nearest beast, As soon as it looked at its possible lunch, Kuro aimed his two blasters, concentrated and squeezed the triggers. Each round hit the monster in its face. This made the beast let out a scream of pure pain. Necars face went from enjoyment to slight shock and surprise.

Kuro saw his opening to unleashed a barrage of blaster bolts into the face of the beast, this could possibly be one of its weakness. “Distract the other, I got this one!” Kuro yelled out as he continued to fire.
Telem, Silent Vessicant and Evoroth all stood up and each started to toss anything and everything they could at the other beast. Necar went from having his arms crossed and watching the show to arms down to his side and sight fixated on the intruders.

Shot after shot flew into the monsters face, but the long battle has taken its toll on the Templars weapsons. Kogarasu was running out of ammo. The beast dropped to one knee, Holding its face, Kuro saw his opportunity and took it, In a flash Kuro had his blasters re-holstered and freed his Echani blade from its home in his belt. "Silent! Saber, Now!" Silent looked away from the other beast and saw the one that Kuro had weakend and knew what Kuro wanted him to do. Silent boomeranged his saber, slashing the unprotected neck leaving a small gash, wounding it slightly.

Before the monster could recompose itself, Kuro used yet another burst of speed and slid right up under the the monster and jabbed his blade into the throat of the monster. The sudden sharp pain caused the beast to grab at Kuro, Its long claws swipped at the Templar ripping a large chunk of meat from Kuro's arm. Kogarasu cringed in pain but he managed to control his pain for the moment and jabbed his blade back into the neck of the monster. Getting it thru the tough skin was hard but using his strength, Kuro managed to tear a rather large hole in its throat.

The beast fell on the ground and using its last breath, it let out a gurgle sound. Kuro, Holding his arm turned his attention to the sudden shift in the force. Necars face was in rage, Before Kuro could react, The GrandMaster force gripped the Templar, Tossed him against the wall, then slammed him to the floor and in a final move tossed the limp body of Kogarasu across the room, flying into Telum and Silent, knocking them onto the floor.

With a critically wounded Kuro, The team retreated back behind the holomap projector. “What the hell man? we told you not to do anything stupid” Vessicant told Kuro as he held him. “Well...(cough) I took one of..(cough cough) them...down” Kuro said as he slowly passed out.

“So you did,” Vessicant growled, checking the wound briefly, “too bad it cost me a sword.” Something with an oily sheen made him draw a finger beside the gash, smelling then touching the blood and unknown to his tongue. His eyes widened as he spit and turned to the others, informing Caesar and Telum in particular, since they were now busy staving off the other beast, that the claws were poisonous. There was no helping Kogarasu now, whether he lived or died was in the hands of Fate. The rising Wroonian turned to the Guardian, so out of place, still miraculously alive. “You’re useless to me here. Break for the bridge and close the blast doors behind you. Make it look like you’re taking care of Kuro first.”

“Are you ready to dance, fearless leader?”

“Let’s go do something stupid, Silent.” The verdant blade screamed to life anew, twirling absently as its wielder charged toward the most deadly foe he’d ever crossed.

Darth Necar merely chuckled as he swept into the room, raising his hands to send off staccato bursts of white-blue energy at the strongest of the interlopers. How disappointing. Not even Elders. Not that anyone could stop him at this point, but what was Ashen thinking sending these flies to harass him? Was it one final insult to usher him out of Antei, or had they really expected him to be absent from the bridge when they got there? Did they actually think they could seize a Super Star Destroyer? The fools certainly had a good sense of timing. A few hundred of the Brotherhood’s better fodder would be welcome additions to Avenger’s glorious death.

The two evaded his probing long-range attacks well enough, but they had to commit to a straight path now. He unleashed the full fury of his lightning in that moment, hammering them both to an instant halt with the ceaseless two-handed assault. He laughed openly at their pitiful straining to maintain their blocks, and the Force-paupers’ surge of defiance at the sound. Lay down your weapons and die, worms. You aren’t fit to wield them anyway.

The contest had been grinding on for several seconds when he noticed someone even more insignificant breaking from the far side of the first terentatek’s corpse. Were they trying to outflank him? Or were they trying to sneak someone onto the bridge? The Journeyman? Perhaps the one he’d tossed around was dead then. The poor thing must be scared. He’d ease its pain. Lord Necar let his left stream die, giving the Wroonian a quick telekinetic push off balance. It would only take a moment to deal with the runner, and it would draw the blue man lethally close. The loss of three, their leader screaming in agony before the end, would smash their morale nicely.

Evoroth ran for all he was worth, which wasn’t much to the monster looming to his left. Necar’s back was turned, and he was in a standoff with the two best fighters they had. It had kept him from noticing Evoroth sneaking across to the body. It would be better if they were fighting sword to sword, but who knew where that would lead their footwork. He had to move while he had a clear path. He suddenly stopped as if encased in amber, falling to his knees, hands clawing feverishly at his throat as the life ebbed out of him. It was a sobering experience. Thankfully, it was not his last.

Vessicant reacted swiftly, charging and leaping without hesitation. The Guardian was destined to fulfill his lesser purpose it seemed: that of a distraction to get the Warlord close enough to maybe, Force-willing, do some damage. The electrical and telekinetic barrages continued until the moment his feet touched the ground, sword arcing in a bid to decapitate the top-knotted human in passing. His saber met air on all but the third attempt, when its swing was arrested by a vice grip on his forearm, and a telescopic punch to the face. Silent took his turn, a Sith Sword drawn from a back scabbard parrying. The Shi’ido took an elbow to the jaw, and a rude telekinetic blasting for his trouble. The Karanan found himself besieged again scarcely before he’d regained his stance, pressed to the fullest of his swordsmanship for all of three strikes before Necar managed a high kick that sent him sprawling.

Their leader’s screams hung like incense in the air as lightning lanced forth again. Not enough to kill or even maim instantly, mind. He was careful of that. Yes, very careful. This was going to be his last battle after all. He wanted to savour it. The Wroonian’s lieutenant tried to intervene, getting the same dismissal as before. The screaming started afresh, even sweeter now that hope of a reprieve had been dashed. He laughed long and viciously.

Evoroth, still clutching a windpipe moments away from being crushed, got to his feet at this point. What could be done against such power? He wouldn’t admit to wanting to run, but his standing orders were an attractive escape valve. Save the ship, then deal with the unstoppable terror. He started off again. He was trained as a pilot, but never for a starship of this size and complexity. The best he could do was get them off their collision course; the Shroud itself would have to wait for Vessicant or Julius, if either lived. The Force warned him as he crossed into the bridge and mashed the door controls. Necar wasn’t having any of it. Vessicant’s discarded blaster! Salvation! He grabbed the weapon, squeezing off a trio of shots that just managed to keep the rabid Sith Lord busy long enough for the doors to slam shut.

“Fierfek!” He called out to the commiseration of innumerable dead ears.

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

Silent’s mind
----------------

A once sterile lab now covered in blood. The rest of her guards killed off by the others, the force once a whisper in his ears now screaming for him to stand. Novae taking on light sabers on all sides. To Silent, he could see the force in a whirlwind of blackness all around her, going faster but thinning. She was weakening, keeping up her focus and throwing everyone around with the dark arts. It was too much, the Old Obelisk had a plan but it would take more than him. Nudging Vess and Kuro back to him through the force.

“Together force push and don’t stop pushing.”

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

Awaken Exarch your foe is stronger this time around, he has been trained well.

Plagueis it seems today will be the last day you and I share a body

Only if you fail to see what the force has shown you, look around not with your eyes but with the knowledge of a true fighter. Seek your advantage, that is way in the rule of two the student always surpasses the master.

I find that funny coming from a man who cannot fight drunk.

Open your eyes and fight.

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

Pain, a small word. This word however might so much, burned, fatigued, fragile, sore, and weak. All of the above was how he felt, Silent looked around the room, Telum and Caesar still fighting the other beast, Kuro knocked out. One dead beast off to the side, Plagueis was right he had an advantage, the Terenatateks. They may have been resistant to a light saber but it still managed to cut into the throat of one.

Getting on his knees, the Obelisk reached out with the force pushing the light saber from Kuro over to the dead beast and activating it on its hand weakening the skin for Kuro’s Echani’s Blade. Necar let out a roaring laugh “I think you missed me little one, a shame for someone who has lived so long in the force to not be stronger.”

“Funny was just thinking you master wasn’t strong enough either.”

Time was what they needed, Focusing on the Echani’s blade cutting deeper and deeper. Soon the hand will be completely cut off and the poison will be the victor of this match. Lighting arched across the room blowing into the Exarches chest, that small word once again became a major burden, raising his saber up to take some of the heat off him Vess saw a moment to rush in.

The room was becoming a blur and spinning, Silent knew he had to focus; he was strong in his own way, if the force had kept him alive this long then he must have been destined for this fight. Calling on the force as he was trained to do as a paladin he finally made the claw free from its owner. The Exarch called Kuro’s blaster and the claw to him, picking himself off the ground, the fighting in the background had become sharper in his ears. Necar was finally done playing with Vess as he pushed him across the room and into the wall.

Silent rushed forward popping off shots at Necar, saber left in tow, this was all or nothing for the Exarch. Necar easily blocked the shots, not even trying to redirect them at the Obelisk and when Silent was in reach Necar's blade went through him like a hot knife slicing butter. The two stood face to face both with smiles on their faces. “Didn’t the force warn you of this moment, the moment I knew that was coming?”
“Yes.”

Silent raised the claw and struck it across the face of Necar, it was unexpected.

“What is the matter Necar? Didn’t your master teach you how to stop poison?”

In raged Necar threw the Obelisk across the room, Silent hit the wall hard and slid down. Blood oozed out of his mouth and nose, the room once again started to spin. The hole in his stomach though not big was still enough to kill him.

You are a fool Silent; maybe your actions might save the day

Plagueis not all who use the Dark Side are evil; we use our emotions to make us stronger. Mine even though never said aloud, the one that makes me stronger, the one that makes me always push forward, that emotion was and is Love.

The Exarch passes out.

Lord Necar shook the blood from his steel as he watched his monster continue to battle the two remaining nuisances. There was neither time nor reason to get involved there, he decided after a moment. Death was coming for all of them very shortly anyway. He’d be generous and let them have the opponent of their choosing, something they could actually handle; one last brilliant nova of life before the void closed around them. He wiped the temporary blur from his eyes, sheathed his sword and drew both lightsabers as he turned. The blast door squealed as twin lances plunged into the heart of it, incandescent chunks collapsing to the floor as metal yielded to cobalt fire. Perhaps he would simply disarm the Journeyman attempting to spoil his plans, hold him aloft and let the screams of impotent rage and terror accompany him on the final plunge.

The helmsman, face skyward, limp fingers still tucked into his collar in a relatively disturbing mirror of Evoroth’s former lot, tumbled roughly from the chair. The Guardian sat and began tapping furiously at the keys, biting his lip as he periodically turned to the display flashing a red proximity warning, and the discouraging sight out the viewport. In two minutes more nothing he did would have mattered; the destroyer would have been fully ensnared by the gravity well and that would be that. The ship turned ponderously to starboard, like a brick with wings, engines revving up as the ship started along its new course, his course, for the least populated patch of sky he’d seen in his rushed appraisal. The enemy gunners would have to deal with the results. The others needn’t know of his hesitation upon seeing the state of the bridge. Only success mattered. The muffled voice on the crewman’s downed headset didn’t seem to think so. He continued ignoring it, glad his ears were nowhere near the thing. Yes, the rest of the ship would definitely be aware that something was wrong up here now.

He turned to the door, mouth drying as a spot of orange appeared there and began growing ominously larger. The commlink Vessicant had tossed him remained as quiet as the tomb he’d been sent headlong into. Definitely Necar then. Wonderful. He looked around frantically, trying to decide what else he could do to save his skin or aid anyone still alive outside. The Plagueians hadn’t smashed any cameras going in. That seemed like a good enough place to start. He picked his way back across the field of dead Ailons, crew, and Jedi toward the weapons control stations.

Not good. The only ones not apparently out for the count or dying were the Prelate and Knight, and they were still in the process of whittling down the beast strike by precious strike. He switched to the outer corridor feed just in time to catch a glimpse of a pile of angry defenders before the screen went black. Not good. He keyed in a general lockdown command just in time to thwart their entry, at least until they cut or blew their way through. He needed a damn miracle. He needed to calm down. A few deep breaths found his center again. Auto defenses? They were ubiquitous throughout the rest of the ship, so it only stood to reason that there’d be something guarding the command center. Rifling through the security options turned something up in short order. His mouth was still like a desert.

Necar had been prepared for the possibility of this; it was his ship after all. It brought a smile, knowing that his little yellow friend was giving it the old college try in there. That left more for him to break. The Sith Lord dodged backward as the ceiling turrets dropped in tandem, lightsabers flashing in an almost effortless defense. Within short order the first turret shuddered under a returned bolt, listing dejectedly and on fire. Exploiting the opening, Necar rolled into the clear, thrusting out one hand and telekinetically crushing and tearing the remaining gun downward. It had taken longer than it should have, and he knew that the poison was starting to take a toll. He looked into the nearest camera, smiling impishly and drawing a finger across his neck not so innocently before setting back to the business of retaking his bridge.

Evoroth practically bounded out of the crew pit, backing away from the besieged door, and nearly tripping over what was left of someone who’d gotten too close to one of the creatures. His gut tightened as his mind churned out one last desperate bid for survival. They were going to die anyway, all of them, everyone. There was no jeopardizing the mission. If things went south he’d at least be a prisoner of war, a slave or convert to their cause, which beat death in the vacuum by a narrow margin. His rushed over to the communications hub, putting himself on the intercom despite raging consternation over how his superiors would react to what he was about to do. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Attention, this is Guardian Evoroth Stigaryl of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. The bridge is now under our control, but Darth Necar has gone insane. He has killed the bridge crew and attempted to send this ship on a collision course. A group of your soldiers is attempting to gain entry as I speak. I’m letting them in to assist us in dealing with this mutual threat.”