Search and Distress

The 6th Great Jedi War had been hard.

And Tarentum didn't want another. Atleast, that's what Droveth had been told, to coax him into scouting the unknown regions. He, being overall nice guy that he is, accepted. As he left Tarentum space, he prayed he wouldn't encounter any rouges. Droveth wished to be a Knight before he died.

Searching through the unknown regions, he passed by star systems he remembered, and he nearly abandoned the search and turned around. But some force was keeping him going. His tie fighter glided smoothly through space, as Droveth sat and read. he had been reading most of the time, but now it seemed important not to. But he ignored those feelings and continued.

Suddenly, an energy caught hold of the ship and sligshotted it around, turned towards a large, desolate planet. The Rodian did not correct his path, for he wanted to know what was there. As his ship entered the atmosphere, the power shut off. He was alone in the dark, 1000 meters above ground.

Meanwhile on another patrol route, Illian Syn was heading out on a routine inspection of a coded message originating somewhere in the system. Nothing unusual in Brotherhood life, and since most of the Equites were busy with their own tasks, journeymen usually ended up with the ‘ghost runs’ as these sorts of missions were affectionately called.

As Illian stared at the uninspiring data screen, looking for any traces of the message’s origins, he noticed something a little strange. Another signal had been detected more recently, coming from LT4356, a rock world of little interest apart from its frequent ion storms.

“Just my luck,” Illian cursed, “an ion storm was exactly what I woke up wanting this morning.” Signing, he reprogrammed his transport shuttle to intercept the newest signal. As he got closer to atmospheric entry he took over manual control, wishing to avoid any bolts of the electronically disastrous lightening that arced through the upper atmosphere of the planet. The first two bolts flashed harmlessly past, Illian only slightly adjusting his course to avoid them. He was not so lucky with the third. It hit full on the front, with no chance of maneuvering out of its path. A stream of ionized particles lit the ship in a halo of blue light, sparks flying from control panels throughout the ship.

“DAMMIT!” Illian tried frantically to re-boot the system to no avail, his ship still hurtling towards the ground. Luckily for Illian, this model transport still had a manual release ejection system, and though the life-support systems on it would be fried, it was better than being atomized in the impending crash.

Hitting the ejection lever with all his strength, he went catapulting through the roof of the transport, an arcane fabric air-brake flying out the top to slow his descent. From his still relatively high position he could make out signs of another crash, recent too from the smoke still pouring from its hull. Guiding the chair towards it, Illian slowly made his descent to the crash site, ignoring the explosion behind him signaling the end of his ride.

“This is turning out to be a great mission. Just great,” he muttered as he watched the ground rise to meet him.

The smoke billowed out from the downed ship, flames reaching up to lick the sky. Droveth rolled out of the wreckage, mentally strained from the crash. He tried to recall what had happened. His ejection had failed, he was certain...the ion storm had knocked out all his controls, literally super-charging his ship. And...Ah...he had used all of the force power he had to keep himself from becoming aquainted with the other side of Tarentum's clan power.

He stood, coughing and sputturing. But he noticed a parachute hovering to the ground nearby. The distress call? Couldn't be..They would have already need to be on the planet. But it's not like the Rodian could double check, with his fighter laying in bits all over the planet. He figured not to dawdle and find a way to the origin of the distress signal.

Although, it did surpise him that some else was on the same desolate, abandoned planet as him. Droveth whipped around his cloak and pulled out his force-fan, just for precaution.

Illian saw the red spark of a light-weapon moments before landing, his training saber ignited in his hand quickly severing the harness that held him to the seat. Leaping forward he brandished the blade in a standard offensive stance and prepared to meet his opponent.

What came next could have been taken from an absurdist comedy had the combatants not been so deadly serious. Illian took several moments of stunned silence to recognize and process that his opponent was not only Rodian, but the very same Rodian he had encountered and nearly attacked not long before, in the Brotherhood drinking hall. Droveth Vectivi on the other hand, having identified Illian by his long black hair streaming out above him as he descended, had taken several steps towards his aggressor already. Determined to kill the upstart human psycho before he killed him, Droveth brandished his fan and attacked.

While Illian’s training saber was no match for a real lightsabre, it appeared that the strange fan-like weapon Droveth was using emitted a much lower energy frequency, as the human guardian parried attack after attack of the frantic Rodian. The battle raged on, both participants hell-bent on the other’s destruction. As he fought Illian found he was slowly losing control, images of his torture at another Rodian’s hands long before, when his sanity was thin, flashing through his reddening vision. Somewhere at the back of his mind he knew that soon that same insanity that had taken so many years of his life before the Brotherhood would engulf him again unless he either killed the insect quickly or find another way to resolve the situation.

By this time, both Droveth and Syn were covered in wounds, panting, and clumsily fending off each others’ just as clumsy attacks. Illian’s eyes were glowing bright green, and Droveth distantly wondered what caused the reaction. It was apparent to him that Illian’s attack both here and at the bar was not related to anything personal, but from a strong dislike of his species. There was madness there too, something that ran deeper than just hatred. But for now, the battle was all that was important.

Droveth parried a blow and rolled out of the way, gasping for air and sighing as he flipped up and lunged. It seemed odd that he had run into Illian, the one who killed the Rodian in the bar and nearly killed him, on a desolate planet such as this. It seemed the fates were against him.

Illian flipped over him, bringing down his saber to meet the force-fan. Droveth recoiled, bouncing out of the way towards some low brush. He was mentally and pyshically exausted, so the force could only sit back and watch the battle. He had no doubt Illian would be the victor, but he had begun to notice something. A few of his opponents attacks began to become raged, or off the handle moves.

Droveth believed that if the battle didn't end soon, something very bad was going to happen.

" What's your problem?" Droveth grunted, dodging and attacking forward. The attacker gave no response, so he tried again.

What is wrong with you?!" He yelled, lunging at the silent opponent.

“What’s wrong with you?” The words came to Illian as if from a great distance, and he wondered if perhaps he had already gone mad. The battle was surreal, like he was watching himself fight. He was not aware of moving, his blade writhing of its own volition, parrying and thrusting like an angry snake. What was wrong with him? What WAS wrong with him? And then he was back again, returning to the world of sanity like a diver coming up for air. Parrying another blow from the fatigued Rodian, Illian landed a solid blow to Droveth’s midsection with a gauntleted fist. The alien gasped for air, winded by the force of the blow. Illian did not follow up his attack however. Instead he de-activated his sabre and put it back on his belt.

Droveth recovered quickly, and as he prepared for his next attack he wondered what strange tactic Illian was using now. He leaped forward, his fan sweeping down towards the other guardian’s head, realising moments before impact that Illian had no intention of moving. The human was in fact watching the arcing blade descending on him with hollow eyes.

Droveth realized a few seconds before impact. Using all remaining energy, he used the force to hold himself in the mid-air position long enough to deactivate his fan. The resounding crash the occured as he went face-first at the feet of Illian would have made Equites laugh crazily.

The Rodian rolled away and stood, getting his bearings straight. he stood for a second, looking into the humans eyes, trying to discover what had happened. Giving up, he returned to his sitting postition and clipped his force-fan back to his belt.

" Well, i'm not one to walk away from a fight." Droveth sighed, looking back up to meet the eyes of the fellow Obelisk. " So, unless we find some kind of resolution, we're never going to get off of this planet."

"You could have killed me Rodian," Illian said quietly. "Probably should have... I'm a mess." He lowered himself to the ground, eyes still on Droveth. "Dont think this means you're safe alien, I just dont feel like getting stranded on this rock today." Illian looked out across the barren landscape as the sun slowly sank over the horizon. He felt a mixture of relief and shame; relieved that he had stopped fighting before the madness had overwhelmed him, shamed that his enemy had seen him in such a weakened state. He still felt the pain and fear of his past when he looked at the insectoid dark jedi, but for the moment they were in this togeather and Illian was going to have to start controling himself if he wanted to get through the ordeal alive.

"Sun's going down," Droveth murmered, "and I'm not sure what kind of indiginous life-forms inhabit this planet. Perhaps we should get to some cover. I dont know about you, but i dont feel like becoming a snack for some nocturnal predator." Droveth stood and walked over to the wreckage that had been his ship.

"Looks totaled. Anything salvagable left?" his human companion asked as he walked over to stand beside the Rodian. There was still a great deal of disturbance in the force around Illian, the same kind of disturbance Droveth had encountered at sites of great dark energy resonance. Another piece of the puzzle, Vectivi thought as he scanned the crash site for usable materials. "I think we should make the shelter here... I can already see enough parts to serve us for the night." Droveth nodded.

"Agreed. Perhaps in the morning we can..." he trailed off as he saw Illian stiffen up and look to his left, gauntleted hand moving to his blaster. Then Droveth felt it, a strange life force moving parralell to their position. It left an odd sensation in the force, an almost bitter taste to the two jedi. Looking at one another they saw the same thought reflected in the others' eyes. instantly they set to work with a grim determination, erecting a shelter and piecing togeather a make-shift defence point. As they worked they felt more and more of the perculiar contacts till their force senses were buzzing with the activity. Hudled in the cover, Illian glanced at the still wounded Rodian, suppressing a surge of anger, and remembered that he himself was just as scratched up.

"You should go into a healing trance. Ill wake you halfway through the night and then I will heal. I dont know what those things out there are, but we should be at full strength before we find out." With that the human wrapped his cloak tighter and faced the entrance-way, blaster in his lap, his back to Droveth.

Illian stirred as a scent wafted underneath his nose. The smell was similiar to some kinds of meat on Antei, but had a distinct difference. He opened his eyes, leaving his trance and entering the desolate rock-world once again, only this time to be greeted by early morning sunlight and a tired Rodian.

" Ah. Finally. I hope your not in the mood to fight." Droveth sighed, using his fan to slice the meat and portion in on a make-shift plate. " I never got any healing done last night." Though something in his mind told his that Illian wasn't in the mood for a fight.

"In the time that you so helpfully slept through, I managed to bag some sort of creature. Quite appetizing, actually. But food none the less." He handed the plate to the human and sighed. " I found some salvagable items, but if you could take me to your crash site, I might find some useful items aswell."

Illian grunted as he took the offered food.

"You didnt happen to see any of those life-forms we sere sensing last night?" he asked as he ate, slightly annoyed that the rodian hadnt taken the valuable rest time to get himself in a more useful condition. Nothing to be done now though, he thought finishing his meal.

Setting aside the make-shift plate, he got up and headed to the entrance, pausing a moment once he got their to look over his shoulder.

"Thanks for the meal," was all he said, then he was gone. Looking out across the dawn-lit rocks that stratched for miles, Illian was unable to detect those strange creatures from last night. Probably a good thing he thought, checking over his weapons.

"Any idea where you crashed?" asked Droveth from behind him. Illian thought for a moment, scanning the horizon.

"No idea. But i was carrying a lot of spare fuel cells on board. Even if i knew where the ship went down, it would have been vaporised in the explosion. Looks like your salvage is all we got. Run me through what you managed to recover."

" Well, let's see.." Droveth sighed, reaching behind him and pulling up a box. " I got a half-empty fuel rod, a steering wheel, a holodisk of my eighth birthday, and a Magazine tht I'd rather not have the Elders hear about."

Illian was frustrated with the Rodian, leading him to believe he had gotten anything interesting. But he supressed it into a grunt that blew away the remaining meal.

Droveth stood and threw down the items, all but the fuel rod.

" I think if we find the place of the Distress call, we might find another on the planet, maybe even enough to get us off this rock."

He looked towards the sun's position in the sky and then back to the Human.

" If we want to make it before Sunset, we should get moving."

Illian glanced at the sky. Droveth was right, the sun was rising fast, and they had no desire to get caught in the darkness.

"Now, we obviously both heard the distresss call, and we both came in from different vectors, and since we dont have any equipment that can lead us to the beacon, were going to have to rely on our force-sense and logic," Illian said as he checked his weapons and re-teid his hair so it was out of his way. "What was the last point you remmeber trianglulating the source of the signal to?" Droveth squinted and scanned the landscape for a moment, before pointing to a spot on the horizon.

"That way i think. Its hard to tell, the crash disoriented me." Illian nodded, experiencing the same problem.

"I wasnt looking at the view-screen when i was hit, but i do remember one set of the co-ordinates my nav-computer was reading out at the time. 556.4. Now if we only had a way of deciphering what that means to our position..." Illian kicked a rock in frustration. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes. "Well looks like that way it is," he said following Droveth's directions. "Lets get going." With that the two Guardians set off in silence, both not entirely at ease with the current situation.

The horizon was a blur of colors as dark crept up on the two darksiders. They had been walking for hours and made virtually no progress. Something seemed wrong...


"I think something is screwing with our force sense." Droveth blurted out, stopping and turning to Illian. " I mean, we have been following it forever and not found a single trace of anything."

" Yes, I agree. It could be those things we sensed last night." Illian responded.

Droveth un-clipped his fan and ignited it, crouching down and scanning the horizon. Illian did the same, feeling the exact thing the Rodian had.

" I think it's pissed that we figured it out." Illian said, igniting his training saber and holding out a hand. Illian was healed more and a better choice to use force powers.

" Why do I feel like we're outnumbered?"

" I got it! Mindtrick!" Illian shouted, then frowned. Droveth did the same. They both knew what that meant.


" Jedi."

"Dras!" The human Guardian swore, his senses already picking up the delicate deception that had been woven into their force patterns. As aggressive as Illian was, he knew he was no match for Skywalker's Jedi, and his companion was in exactly the same boat. Despite this, something stired in Illian, an anger he thought had been quelled long ago. His betrayal at the Jedi Academy many years before was a wound he had forgotten, and now in the presence of their new threat, he felt it as if it were yesterday.

"We should try and make it back to the camp. Surely they can sense were not powerful enough to warrant immediate action," The rodian said, his huge eyes scanning the surrounding twilight, searching for any signs of danger. Recieving no response from his companion, he glanced across at Illian.

The human had begun to change, subtly at first, then increasingly more, his eyes glowing with a fierce green fire and his hair beginning to rise around him like a shadowy halo. Droveth noticed that the strange gauntlets Illian never took off were glowing as well, and a huge concentration of force energies could be felt flowing in and around them. "What in the name of the dark lords are you doing?!?" He hissed. "With a force signature like that youll have them down on us in a second!" A smile slowly spread across Illian's face, his eyes now totally obscured by the green glow.

"Stay close enough that they wont be able to detect you're signature, but keep away from me. I'v got an idea." The voice that came from the now-floating guardian was different to usual, calm but crackling with energy. "And Rodian, when they come, dont use you're fan. Fight with only your martial prowess. Hopefully they will think we are in fact more powerful then they assumed, and were simply hiding it." Illian glanced over his shoulder, fixing Droveth with his in-human eyes. "I need you to do something for me, Rodian. When its over you have to knock me out or kill me. Either way I wont be able to contain this power unless you do." With that he rose even higher, arms outstretched and suddenly the force-energies spiked to incredible levels.

"I hope you know what your doing Syn," Droveth muttered, sotwing away his fan and preparing for the attack. He had a feeling that once it started he'd be on his own. Alone with sith-knows how many Jedi and an insane Obelisk. This was going to be an interesting fight.

What happened next was what could be considered a blur, yet it wasn't. Droveth had been within Illian Syn's power range, but too close to be safe. The enraged darksider nearly exploded with force power, knocking down the Rodian.

The Jedi within the brush were startled. but not for long. They knew exactly what to do: Run. And they did, oh they did. Amazingly fast, but not fast enough. The human was in front of them in an instant, not even un-clipping his saber. His force energy whipped around him, lifting the light siders off there feet into a whirlwind.

At that moment, however, it appeared that the Rodian had dropped his force fan. he ran up and grabbed it, but he wasn't fast enough either. A shrapnel that had been lifted off the ground went careening into Droveth's forhead, knocking him clear unconcious.

Through a haze of red Illian watched the battle, watched as his body moved to intercept the two running Jedi. Watched as his hands coordinated jagged bolts of red energy to lift and tear the two Jedi limb from limb, their blood soaking through his clothes and spattering across his face.

He knew he had lost control, that shortly madness would drive away all other thoughts and send him all the way back to his days as a gibbering lunatic. There was nothing he could do, no way to stop this.

“Hurry Droveth. Kill me for the love of night, I don’t want to go back there…” he whispered into the maelstrom of his own rage and anger. As seconds slipped by, each feeling like days, it slowly became apparent that there was going to be no help form the Rodian, and as Illian turned around he saw why; the Guardian was lying unconciouse on the ground. Despair flowed into his mind and he was vaguely aware of screaming as the raging torrent of farce energy surrounded and engulfed him.

A short distance away two robed figures watched solemnly as the tendrils of power slowly subsided and the screaming character in the centre fell to the floor in silence.

“He just killed Maru and Genti’sho. Should we not fetch the others and end this?” The shorter of the two asked.

“No my young padawan. He is no longer a threat. His rage has consumed him, I can feel it. He lives, but in what condition I can not know. We will secure him, and then take him back to master Katarn at the campsite. He will know how to proceed.” With that they approached the prone form of Illian, not noticing Droveth a short distance away.

“How could one so young have killed two Jedi Knights Master?” The Jedi apprentice asked his superior.

“The dark side is powerful as it is alluring, but this to troubles me. We shall morn for our lost brother and sister later, but first we need answers to these questions.” The two Jedi bound Illian physically and suppressed his force connection, before setting off into the night.

Droveth shifted and sighed, leaning up into the gleam of the two crimson suns setting on the rock planet. He had no clue as to how long he had been out, but his force energy was fully restored. He frantically searched around for his enraged counter-part, but he was nowhere to be seen. However, Droveth did find the mangled bodies of the two Jedi.

" Illian! Where the hell did you get off to?" The young obelisk called, grabbing his force-fan lying on the ground nearby. " You better get down here right now!"

No response. The Rodian wondered whether there could have been more than just two Jedi. Walking over to the deceased enemies, he noticed both there sabers were gone. The only conclusion was that Illian had been captured. He grabbed the robes of one of the Jedi and quickly scanned the area for scents of others. Droveth soon caught on to a new scent, one of a strong light sider, probably a master.

He followed the scent for a short while, discovering exactley where the distress call had come from. The Jedi seemed to have set up a force outpost, spying on the Brotherhood and capturing stray dark jedi to study. Although, he could not see nor hear and Jedi around there. But, there was a rather large building, and it seemed to be shaking.

" I'll bet there trying to deal with the human in there." Droveth chuckled, stalking down the hill and towards the building. he looked into a window and saw a rather large group of Jedi standing around Illian. he appeared to be unconcious, but his force energy was destroying everything around him. Droveth figured the Jedi coulnd't pick up his own force power because Illian's was so huge.

"I guess it's time to make my move."

( Illian, do you expect us to beat Kyle Katarn? or is it an different Katarn?)

(OCC: yep this is the Kyle Katarn, and no I don’t expect us to beat him… but should make for some interesting plot development –he was my old teacher back at the academy )

Flashes of past and present, good deeds and bad, roared through Illian’s head in an introspective nightmare of deep unconsciousness. He would slip in and out, always getting dragged back under by the current of dark-force energy that was using his body as a conduit. Faces of his victims flashed before his eyes, and when he woke they would turn into laughing jeering faces of those that tormented him in the past, till he was screaming so loud the laughter was drowned out and merciful darkness could engulf him again.

Kyle watched with a heavy heart as his one-time apprentice writhed and twist, the taint of the dark side pouring off him. Illian had once been so promising, so talented, until the fateful day at the academy. They had tried to find him after he fled, the blood of four apprentices on his hands and his mind completely gone, but he was faster and try as they might they could not retrieve him. It had been like the shadows of the universe had wrapped him up and taken him from sight. In a way this entire operation had been about Illian, Kyle thought. Setting up so close to an area of reported Dark-Side users to draw them out and try and find a way to save them had been his idea, inspired by Illian and other apprentices he had lost over the years.

And now here he was, watching the monster his padawan and friend had become. A tear found its way down Kyle’s cheek.

Illian opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings with the abstract though processes only the truly mad can understand. Lots of robed figures, but wouldn’t they look nicer inside out? Illian giggled at the thought, and lifted a hand to point at one of the Jedi guarding him. The man jerked once before his entire body tore apart showering entrails across the floor. Soon, more Jedi flocked in, adding their own power to the force-suppression. Little ants with pretty lights, dancing in circles Illian thought before he felt a tugging at his feet.

“I hate this river. It’s filled with dirt and blood and I can’t taste the sea,” he said looking disgustedly at his feet, and the imaginary water rushing up to drag him under.

Kyle saw Illian’s eyes go wide and he began screaming again, before falling to the floor once more, quiet in a rage of dark-side.

(OOC: Your not making it very easy for me to post...maybe you should do a filler post next and then your action post, so I'll know what to write...anywho, this ones gonna be short....)

Droveth sighed, leaning against the window, eyes peering inside. This crazed mood even chilled his bones, but he knew some who would shrug off something like this. Spears Tarentae, for one. But the Rodian at neither the will nor the might to be able to stand up to this. Partially he was glad he didn't have to carry to burden.

His green hand reached and touched the window, and Droveth sent a telekinetic message to Illian. Hopefully it would get through his crazed state.

'Illian....it's Droveth...I'm outside the building your in...I'll try to find a way inside and to you...'

(OCC: mmm fair enuf... kinda of trying to get it back on track lol i was expecting u to knock me out, take the fight into ur initiative lol.. still ill try and "GM" for a moment while i try and detangle myself from this blasted insanity thing -serves me right for having a big character flaw X-) )

The situation seemed hopeless for both the young Guardians. One was in a path of deep insanity while the other stood helpless to save him. But as desperate as the situation was, one comforting thought could have been seen for those who looked: nothing is without purpose, and the force never wastes an action.

Droveth and Illian, two sworn enemies of circumstance, both having pasts of such overwhelming similarity as to be almost ridiculous, and both crashed on the same planet. There was no coincidence here, as Droveth was about to discover. While observing his fellow dark jedi through a window he had caught a glimpse of another figure that had sparked memories of his own tragic beginnings -his former master, talking with another who could only be the famous Kyle Katarn, Illian's former master.

Though they didnt know it, Illian and Droveth were about to be thrown into a battle, not only with their former mentors, but with the past, and it would take all their strength of will working togeather to survive it. The mettle of the two Guardians was going to be tested like never before -Droveth's strong mind mind guiding Illian's shattered one, and Illian's overwhelming power adding to Droveth's already substantial prowess.

As two Jedi rounded the corner and spotted the Rodian Guardian, these events were set in motion, and the battle was begun.

(OCC: ok that might help some? if i got the whole master thing wrong we can edit it, so for now ill do my action post -lol if we survive this, i think we will have achieved our "bonding" intention of the run-on eh )

A voice began to break through the voices filling Illian's mind, somehow familiar, yet undefinable. It was soothing, a pillar of stability and reality to hold on to for a brief moment of clarity. His situation came flooding back to him in a wave of sanity. Using the time as best he could, he sent a message back to his Rodian Companion.

Hurry, not sure how much longer i can fight this... Powerful Jedi here... distraction maybe?

And then the link was broken, Illian using all his will to stay concious. Another voice now, also familiar, but sad and mournful.

"Let go of your anger Illian or it will consume you. C'mon kid, I know you can do it!" His old master, Katarn, bent over him. Illian just smiled, a smile which turned into a laugh and grew until he filled the room with his maniacal cackle.

"Stil... trying to save me.... Katarn? F-forget... it..." Pain laced through his body as more energy found its way through his protective gauntlets and into his fractured mind. The old Jedi Master's face went cold and he walked away shaking his head. Thats when Illian saw a chance - one jedi had stepped closer then his companions unwittingly, the strain of keeping all the dark energy contained taking its toll on him. all it would take was a few more steps, and Illian could grab his foot, allowing him to siphon enough energy from him to regain some measure of control. All he had to do was stay sane for a minute longer...

As he slipped slowly back into the madness he hoped to all the darkness Droveth was on his way.

Had Droveth not already been trained quite a bit in the Shadow Academy, as well as the art of persuasion, the Jedi would have easily overcome him. But, to there surprise, his age meant nothing to his power.

" So, still working for those old windbags, are 'ya?" He questioned, stepping towards the foolish lightsiders. " Have you not realized the full power of the dark side? Take him for an example."

The crafty Rodian pointed towards the crazed human. " His power far exceeds your own masters'. Do you really believe you will survive long with them?"

Thankfully, Droveth knew much in the ways of Jedi mind tricks. Even as they tried to invade his head, he went through loopholes and got right into theirs.

" Now, go inside and forget you saw me. Tell Katarn a Dark Jedi Master is in the vacinity. And hurry!" The Jedi obeyed, almost nonchalantly. He peered through the window once again and noticed one of masters in the room. A sorrow passed over the young guardian.

" Wert' Yan."
_______________________________

Droveth's plan had not come full strength, but did a good enough job for the time being. Katarn and Wert' Yan had left to deal with the problem, leavin to Knights behind.

" Oh, a challenge." Droveth whispered, creeping into the building. He knew his force signature would not be hidden for long, so he made himself open. But first, he sent a message to Illian.

Droveth here...inside building....two knights in here....I'll try to get you out...

" Time for my move."

(OOC: I'm gonna post another action one to make it a little easier for you to post)

Droveth stood facing the two knights. They seemed to silently mock him, disregarding him because of his age and rank. They had no idea what they were in for.

" You Jedi just don't give up, do you? Constantly screwing in our buisness, getting in out ways, trying to fight a battle thats already won." Droveth inquired, stepping towards the Jedi, slowing forceing them backwards towards his ally.

" Now, you are of rank of Jedi Knight, am I right? Do you think you can beat me? Or, possibly, stay on this planet for much longer unnoticed? I seriously doubt it, seeing as a message has already been sent to our masters."

" Your lying! You Dark Jedi scum can't touch us! We are invulnerable to your-" The Jedi started, but his sentence was cut short. Droveth flew towards him, kicking him in the chest and sending him flying backwards towards Illian. The other knight quickly struck, but the Young Obelisk wasn't a warrior for nothing. He anticipated the move and lashed out, nearly severing the Jedi's arm from his body. He fell back, realizing what had happened.

Droveth had never meant to actually fight. He had done exactly what he needed to do with the first of the two. Illian, still holding onto the Light sider, drained nearly all of his life force and energy.

Illian grabbed the chance Droveth gave him with all his remaining strength, channelling as much of the dark force energy into the light-sider as he could, while draining the hapless Jedi of all his life energy. Recuperating quickly, he got up, looking around the room at the remaining Jedi, still holding his damaged arm. Shock registered briefly on the man’s face moments before Illian sent a gauntleted fist straight through his chest and out his back. The guardian turned to his rescuer, eyes blazing still, and a slightly insane lopsided grin across his face.

“So… you f-finally…made…it,” he gasped. “I t-think we… need… to leave…now…” Droveth nodded and pointed to the way he had just come.

“We can leave this way. Are you alright to walk?” The Rodian looked sceptically at Illian, who was now leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

“Don’t… worry about… me. I c-can take care… of my-myself…” Shrugging, Droveth set off down the corridor; senses alert for any more Jedi. Once outside he turned back to Illian who had somehow managed to keep up.

“We made it! C’mon we have to hurry!” He began to run towards the edge of the camp, stopping when he realised Illian wasn’t following. “Illian, MOVE!” he yelled at the human.

“Its too late Droveth. There here.” The guardian’s voice froze the Rodian. Looking back he saw two robed figures standing several feet away, hoods up and hands clasped in front, standing stock still. Without having to search the Force Droveth knew who they were: Wert’ Yan and Kyle Katarn. The two former masters faced their two failed pupils, tension building palpably. The guardians knew they couldn’t defeat the two powerful Jedi, but they may be able to create a chance for escape.

Wert' Yan paced side to side, staring down both Droveth and Illian. It took him a second to recognize the young Rodian.

" Draven Keshilla? Is that you?" He questioned, lifting his hood so he could get a better look. His eyes went wide and looked shocked. Droveth just shook his head and laughed.

" Well, you didn't even recognize me. Such a waste, really. Hoping you'd remember me. But, I figured you'd find out soon enough. But I'm not Draven anymore." He removed his outer cloak and laid it on the ground. " After you left me to die on Yavin 4, a few Dark Siders found me and welcomed me to their home. I discovered a holodisk from my father and found my true name."

" But, your father was a murderer!"

"NO! My father was a hero! You are the murderer. It seems evil comes in pairs, as Katarn is with you."

Illian looked up at the mention of his old master. Kyle Katarn also looked up at his name, eyes having been on the human the whole time. Droveth stepped behind the Young Obelisk and whispered something.

" If you have any tricks up your sleeve, now is the time to play 'em."

Illian chuckled softly.

"Tricks? I... think i... used up... all my tricks... before," he whispered, the effort to talk becoming more and more difficult. "Looks... like we're... in a bit of trouble... Drov." The Rodian nodded grimly, flexing his wrists and gazing levelly at the two Masters before them.

"Well then, I'd like to say it's been fun but this hasn't exactly been a cake-run." Illian laughed weakly as Droveth put a hand under his arm to stop him falling over.

"It hasn't at that. Still... for a... Rodian.... you're not... so bad." The two Guardians laughed for a moment before returning their attention to their opponents. Katarn stepped forward, lightsaber in hand, and stared coldly at Illian.

"Apprentice Syn I charge you with the death of five academy students and the betrayal of the Light by joining the ranks of the Dark Jedi. You are bound by law to stand down," he paused for a moment, a flicker of saddness crossing his face. "If you're old enough to Join these sith-kissers, then you're old enough to be accountable for it kiddo. I'm sorry Illian, but I have no other choice." He ignited his blue sabre and held it forward, Wert' Yan did the same, his face still registering the shock of seeing 'Draven' again.

Illian stood up straight, flicking his hair back and flexing his gauntlets. Behind the two Jedi, he had seen something that looked like a ship. Maybe it was nothing, but something about it said help was close at hand. He just needed to keep his opponent talking.

"Drov, keep Wert' Yan talking. I think help is near," he paused to wink. "Lets make sure they know where we are." The two shared a smile and turned back to the Jedi Masters.

Droveth nodded, thinking back to any time when he had needed to keep a conversation going. ' Great. Adlibbing. I never passed that Exam.' Droveth thought, then chuckled at his remark.

" Well, what do you charge me with? Aggravated verbal assualt? I think that's hardly the basis for a Jedi 'Trial'. Unless, you really are murderers, then you wouldn't have a second thought about killing me."

The masters looked uncertainly at each other. What had they planned to do, after Illian was delt with? " Well, I suppose when we give Illian his 'Trial', you will fight aswell. And that would make it okay." Katarn looked over at Wert' Yan, who had just given the stupidest response in history.

Droveth turned to Illian, then nodded back. Droveth had noticed that the Aegis, a Tarentum ship, must have recieved his distress call and come to the planet. It was deadly close, and looked as though it was going to land right on top of them. But as the Aegis neared, it slowed and trained its sights on the planetsiders. It checked to make sure it knew who was who, then it opened fire on the Jedi.

Droveth grabbed Illian by the arm and round around to the side of the building, preparing to make the force jump onto the platform. The Rodian prayed to the gods that this would work. In a split second, He was off, leaping mid-air onto the descending platform. It quickly reversed and sped upwards, back into the ship.

Some crew members came over the check on us, but otherwise we were unharmed. Oberst walked over to us. " Welcome back, Droveth. And Illian, even though You are Taldryn, we will give you a Pod to return to your sector in. But I expect Taldryn to return it." Oberst smiled, then left the two to converse with themselves.

" Well, that was...fun." Droverh said, energy low from that huge jump.


( I thought when you said a ship behind him, you meant in the sky. If you didn't, sorry for messing up the storyline. Only about 1 more post to go then its done!)

* * *

The crew of the Aegis were hospitable enough to Illian, and gave him the necessary aid to make a full recovery. In a matter of days he was well enough to borrow a fighter and head backk to Altur. Standing on the flight deck, securing his suit, he sensed another's presence behind him.

"Hey Drov. Didnt think they'd let you out of duties to see a Taldrya off," he said with a smile before turning to see his friend. The rodian smiled back.'

"Well there are always errands that need running down here, and since its not out of my way..." The two guardians shared a laugh as Illian checked the rest of his equipment. After a minute it was done and he was heading towards his TIE Interceptor. He stopped at the ladder leading to the cockpit and turned to his companion.

"Strange week huh? I never thought I'd be saying this, but... thanks. I'd be rancor-fodder back planetside if it wasn't for you." Illian held out a hand which Droveth took energeticaly. "And you know what?" the guardian asked mischevously as he climbed into his cockpit, "if you ever feel the need to go and pay another visit to Wert' Yan and Katarn, send me a transmission. Once we become knights, I'm sure it would be a different battle altogeather." Droveth stood back as Illian initialised his launch codes and shut the canopy. He saluted once before launching out into space.

The Rodian stood watching the fighter recede for a moment before returning to his duties.

Illian soared through the stars, the modified Interceptor's hyperdrive making good time. Kyle's words still echoed in his mind: the murder of five students... one of which had been his lover Nareid. Droveth had an interesting past as well, the two of them sharing Yavin 4 as the commone site of their respective betrayals. All in all it had been an interesting week indeed.

Droveth turned around, leaving the hangar bay and back up to the control center. Oberst looked over at the young Guardian, who was unusually cheery for a rescuee.

" What happened back there?" He inquired.

" You would not understand If I told you." Droveth responded.

"Try me."
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W00T! Done! Well, overall, that was fun. Considering all of the fights, Insane stuff, being stranded, ect. I think we handled that Nicely. So, now we can go in the Lounge without killing each other. Heh. So, Seeya around?

(OCC: yea i was impressed with how it all turned out... perhaps left room for another story some other time thanks bro, that was a laugh -speaking of which, did you get macron's PM? he liked the run-on very much, so it looks like we attracted an audience lol! yea i rekon i can control myself in the lounge see ya round Drov)