Destinies: Convergence

[James Prent]

Her hands were shaking. The Jedi looked down at her slim hands, and extended her fingers outward, studying them as they trembled. Her dark brown robe was pulled up over her short hair, concealing her face in it's shadows. Many people wore similar robes; sturdy clothes that were suitable for long journeys.

Yet people still looked at the young woman and mouthed the word "Jedi" behind their hands at each other. She hoped there wasn't an altercation on the transport. She did not want to have to step in. She needed time... time to prepare herself for what was coming.

Unfortunately, there was no privacy on this very public transport. Meditation was nearly impossible, with the distractions, and her distracted thoughts.

I'm goin' t' die. Her bleak thought was almost immediately replaced by a scolding one. If that's what you think, then you won't even have a chance. There is no try. Do, or do not. And if my "do" is "I'm goin' t' die." then I'm frelled already. Of course, meditating on her trembling fingertips wasn't exactly encouraging.

First, what was she heading towards? James Prent, a city girl who'd only been off of her home planet less than five times? Duros was an unknown to her. She'd never been on a space station, let alone an alien space station metropolis. The Duros as a species were tall, hairless, green skinned, and had oversized almond shaped yellow eyes. The person she was trying to find was short, tow headed, and blue eyed.

Five year old Jax Tondry was depending on her to find him. From her visions, she knew that much. Heading off alone... somehow that was right too. It had to be.

James stretched, and got up from her seat, taking a slow walk around the transport to get the kinks out of her body. If she was heading into what she thought she was heading into - she needed to be ready to go at a moments notice.

Her lightsaber bounced lightly off her leg as she walked towards the dining area, yellowed lights giving the transport a dingy, used glow. She didn't expect the food to look appetizing. Back to 'first.' I'm heading towards Duros, a woman who has kidnapped her own son, and a powerful Dark Jedi. I am heading towards what very well might be my death. It had played out that way nearly every time in her visions. Last time, she had not been killed, and a few times before that... It seemed to be random. As though the Force could not decide what it was going to do with James Prent.

Whatever it was she was heading towards, it was her destiny.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Come on, Jax, eat up. We have not much time." She smiled encouragingly at her son, who was still screwing his face up over the tray in front of him. The food was foreign, she'd give him that much. But he was wasting time, and they were on a schedule. Silus was expecting them in a certain amount of hours, and if they didn't get under way soon they'd be off schedule.

Not that Xilarian couldn't wait a bit. But, she didn't want to make him wait. Not this time. They'd been apart for almost three weeks, and she was ready to head home to Onderon.

To head home, with her son. Lilaena De'Ville forced one more smile at the obstinate child who was now poking his plate with his fork, pushing it away from him. "You are going to spill your tray if you keep shoving it like that, Jax."

"It's yukky." He crossed his arms and glowered at her, looking a lot like his father.

Lilaena set her face, using as little emotion as possible. "If you are not going to eat, then you will not get any desert." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. Opting to blend in as much as possible, she was wearing clothes that blended in with their surroundings. A simple blue jumpsuit with boots. Her lightsaber was resting in her bag, which was set on the chair beside her.

Impatiently, the Dark Jedi looked around the food court. She was surrounded with green tables and white chairs, all bolted to the floor. Taking Jax shopping for some new clothes before they left had been amusing, however, the 'food' court gave a new definition to the name. The word 'inedible' came to mind.

"Never mind, Jax, you are right. The food here is horrid." Lilaena scooped up his tray, and twisted in her chair, dumping the entire thing, tray and all, into a nearby garbage can.

He grinned. "Can we go back t' the Temple, an' get some real food? Dad can cook, y' know, and James makes me grilled nerf cheese san'wiches sometimes."

Gods, he is so beautiful. The only good thing Pierce gave me. "No, we have talked about this before, and I am not going to go over it again here." Wait, who is James? He hasn't mentioned him before. "Is James one of your Dad's military friends?"

Jax shook his head, his face starting to set back into his stubborn look. "No, James issa girl an' she's a pana- pandawan. Like me." He stuck his thumb proudly at his chest. "I am gonna be a good Jedi."

If I hadn't been so afraid for his saftey, I would never have left him with the Jedi. "I know, and Mommy is going to teach you how to do that." She leaned forward. "You want me to help you learn about the Force, don't you? So you can be strong like your daddy?"

He nodded, "Yes!"

She smiled tightly. "Well then. We have to get going, I have a friend I want you to meet. His name is Silus, and I have told him all about you, and he really wants to meet you too." Hopefully Jax would soon stop asking to return to Pierce and that awful 'Temple' on Coruscant. He was still young - only five years old - and could be molded and trained.

De'Ville picked up her bag and slung it across her shoulders. "Come on then." She put her hand out to Jax. "We have a long way to go." And I never want to come back to Duros again.

[James Prent]

Well, you're here now, James. The Jedi knight looked around the spacedock, trying to figure out which direction to head in. There were hundreds of signs, all in garish neons, some blinking, and all advertising different transportation agencies, or hotels, or entertainments.

Think.

James closed her eyes, a small bag slung over her shoulders. She'd only packed enough for one night. No, concentrate on what's in front of you. Jax. But if she had to stay more than a few days, she'd be in trouble. Anyway, it wasn't like she had money for a hotel. At least, not a nice one.

Quit it! Concentrate, you! Sighing, James opened her eyes, and headed for some seats that were molded out of one piece of thick plastic. Plopping down in one, she blew out her breath, and closed her eyes again. She had managed to concentrate enough to meditate on the transport over. Slipping into a Jedi meditation was simple, and something that she'd done many times. However, there had been no visions, no advice from the Force.

Her stomach growled, and James' eyes popped open. I'm not going to get anything done unless I get something to eat. The Jedi pushed herself up to her feet, and stretched for a moment, making sure her legs were nice and loose. She didn't want to have a cramp while she was walking around after spending so much time on a transport. She'd slept for a lot of the time, meditated for a few hours, and spent the rest of the travel time trying not to freak out.

The Jedi Knight walked up to an employee of the spacedock, and inquired about food. She was told there was a nearby shopping center with a more than adequate food court. James headed in the direction she was pointed, following the signs that she found. It was within walking distance from the dock.

First some food to clear my mind from my stomach, and then I find you, Jax.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Everything was going well. No one suspected that she was on Duros, so close to the Corellian system. Why would she risk getting so close to her old enemies?

It was the perfect hiding place.

Everything was going well. Until...

"James!" Jax was pulling on her hand, and pointing eagerly to the side. "James, James!"

Who?! Oh, the padawan friend? Instantly alert, Lilaena located the female her son was straining to get nearer to. Short, covered with a dark brown robe, the padawan certainly didn't cut a very impressive figure. "We cannot talk to her right now." Her words were muttered between clenched teeth. A Jedi, here?

Lilaena yanked on her son's arm, pulling him back towards her. A small application of the Force pressed his teeth together, and sealed his mouth closed. Tears instantly sprang to his eyes, but it was too late, the Jedi was already looking around.

De'Ville pushed Jax to her other side, out of the Jedi's sight, and put her hand in her bag, closing her fingers around the hilt of her lightsaber. Jax stumbled on a chair and fell down, crying silently as he was still held up by her grip on his hand. Here it comes.

"You! Stop it! You're hurtin' him!" The Jedi's hood fell back, revealing a young woman in her early twenties, with short dark hair.

"Then I guess this is going to be the hard way." De'Ville let go of Jax's hand, turning her head to talk to him. "Get under a table Jax, I'll be back to get you. I won't let her take you away from me."

[James Prent]

It was happening too fast. She didn't feel ready! One minute she was walking to get lunch, and the next thing she knew Jax was only twenty feet away from her calling her name. Tears threatened to overflow as she heard his voice.

But, the woman standing beside him... James shrugged out of her cloak, letting the brown fabric slid to the floor. Her lightsaber went into her hand, and she took a few steps forward, shortening the distance between her and who she could only assume was Lilaena De'Ville. The other woman muttered something, and Jax crawled underneath a green table, peeking out from between the white chairs. He seemed to be crying, but he wasn't making any noise.

"Let him go!" James was standing in a wide open space, a huge hallway in the middle of the shopping center. De'Ville sneered at her, and dropped the bag she was holding to the ground. There was a lightsaber clutched in her fist as well.

The newly knighted Jedi took one more step forward, her lightsaber held in front of her. With a flick of her thumb, the blue blade ignited with a snap-hiss. The Dark Jedi had yet to say anything, still standing facing slightly to the side, her arm stiff and holding her lightsaber hilt away from her body.

As James settled her stance, her lightsaber in front of her body slightly diagonally and pointing up, the other woman turned her head just a bit. Just enough to look at James in the eye. The shorter woman swallowed hard as the green eyes glaring at her radiated hate.

"Let. Him. Go." James tightened up her stance, leaning slightly forward.

[Figrin D'an]

Streaking lights reduced to a vast starfield as Figrin's ship came out of hyperspace at the edge of the Duros system. The Azure Starfire glided smoothly into planetary orbit, and as the primary orbital station came into view, the large public transport he and Pierce Tondry had sought was present, docked on the outer ring.

"That's it," Figrin pointed out. "It's markings match the ship that left Coruscant just before we did. Let's just hope that we're not too late."

With clearance granted, Figrin guided the ship to an open bay, it's landing gear clanking against the floor just after he fired the manuevering thrusters to slow the decent. Once he secured the computer and control systems, he looked to Pierce.

"Let's go. James is probably already on the main promenade."

The two Jedi moved swiftly out of the docking bay and down a long hallway toward the central ring of the Duros station. Foot traffic was heavy, the station's main shopping court was overflowing with every sentient species imaginable.

Figrin sighed, dismayed.

"This isn't going to be easy."

[Pierce Tondry]

"Maybe not for you. It's my son we're looking for." Pierce shut his eyes and bowed his head.

Two Jedi closely related to one another often shared a bond in the Force. This bond could serve as a monitor of their mental state and a homing becon in times of need. Pierce intended to apply the latter capability to this case.

Hopefully.

His concentration began expanding outward, but sorting between the tangle of emotions became difficult before Pierce even reached ten feet. Whispers of thoughts grew to murmurs, then to shouts trying to holler over each other for attention. Hee gritted his teeth and forged on, pushing past inner fears and sadness, through screaming base instincts of need or lust, trying to find the single little spark of emotion that would be his son.

Then he encountered something else, something far more telling that gave him his son's location even as it gave him pause for thought. His eyes snapped open and he pointed. "That direction."

"You sensed Jax?" Figrin asked.

"No. Collective terror. The kind of response I get when I ignite my lightsaber in a crowded room."

"James must have already found Lilaena, then," Figrin mused, then he straightened. "We need to get to them, fast."

"No." Pierce gazed quietly at the throngs of sentients whose thoughts whose needs he'd felt. "Alerting station security and making sure the innocent bystanders are out of harm's way is the bigger priority. I can take care of that better than you can. You go on ahead; I'll catch up."

"Are you sure?" Figrin's brow furrowed with concern.

Pierce swallowed. "If you promise me you'll watch out for my little boy, then yeah. I'm sure."

[Figrin D'an]

Stunned, Figrin responded the only way he could... accept the responsibility placed upon him.

"Your son will come to no harm," he said calmly, giving a slow nod of his head, indicating that he understood what it took for Pierce to say what he had. "I promise."

With that, the Jedi Master headed off in the direction Tondry had felt the disturbance. He moved quickly, at a jogging pace, but not a full sprint. There were simply too many people, and Figrin found himself weaving back and forth, between groups of bystanders and bustling shoppers. He looked around, searching for signs of an impending conflict, or perhaps one that had already begun. If Figrin had weakeness with the Force, it was sensing the emotions of others. He had a danger sense that would spark when something was imminent and closeby, but it often didn't work well in crowded areas.

"Where are you?" he murmored to himself. "James... Jax..."

Just as frustration began to set in, he overheard a passerby mention he had spotted a woman with a lightsaber near the food court. Acting instantly, Figrin hurried in that general direction, not knowing the battle had already begun.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Her body turned slowly to face the foolish girl who was threatening her. "Let him go? I do not think so, girl." De'Ville's saber ignited, and the Jedi took one step backwards. "That is what I thought."

Smug, the Dark Jedi started to turn back to Jax, but the girl surprised her. For a padawan, she seemed awfully sure of herself, step back or no. "You won't get away with this, De'Ville." The blue lightsaber swished through the air, the hum instensifying as the smell of ozone filled the air.

There were people around them, Duros natives, and visiting aliens, but it all seemed to fade away as De'Ville faced the Jedi once more. I am through with words. She put her hand out in front of her, throwing the Jedi backwards with the Force. Sprinting forward, she followed the girl's fall, ready to split her in two with her lightsaber.

[James Prent]

Had she had time to think, James might have thought she was in over her head. As she was tossed backwards with the Force, she heard the screams of those watching. Jedi were supposed to protect the innocent, not get their rears handed to them by the evil-doer.

I'm not goin' t' get the dren kicked out of me. James felt her feet brush the smooth tile flooring, and tried to get her legs underneath her before she hit the ground. No such luck. A decorative potted plant caught her behind the knees, and she crashed painfully into it, breaking the container and sending dirt everywhere.

She gasped for breath, and heard the hum of a lightsaber near her. Green eyes blazed down at her, and she saw De'Ville smirk. "I think you left the Temple a little early. And without backup. How... foolish." The amethyst lightsaber flared over the Dark Jedi's head, and came down on her. James remembered the saber in her own hand just in time, bringing it up and around to block what could have been her death blow.

With a grunt, she kicked her leg up, catching De'Ville in the stomach and pushing her away. The lightsabers disengaged from each other, and James rolled off of the broken pottery, getting to her feet. De'Ville was still smiling, a cold, calculated smile.

James straightened in her defensive stance, lightsaber held at the ready. Her beige leggings and tunic were comfortable, and allowed as much movement as she needed. De'Ville did not wait to attack again, her movements swift and sure as the purple lightsaber spiralled in towards her. James blocked, and blocked again, taking a few steps backwards as the Dark Jedi advanced.

They were about twenty feet away from Jax, in the main promonade of the mall. The Jedi Knight looked at him, and could barely make out his small white face from underneath the table. He was still silent - she hadn't heard him cry out at all. I can't let her get me too far away from him.

But she'd allowed him to distract her. De'Ville found an opening in her defenses, and lunged in, piercing her shoulder with the tip of her blade. Her tunic disintegrated at the saber's touch, and her flesh froze and burned at the same time. James cried out in pain, but batted De'Ville's saber away from her body as the weapon retreated from her shoulder.

"Feels good, doesn't it." De'Ville's eyes flashed evilly, but James didn't stay around to find out what the rest of the sentance was going to be. She turned, and ran towards Jax's table.

[Lady Vader]

LV and her group of Sith existed the non-descript yatch onto the landing bay of the Duros space station. They had "borrowed" the yatch from a couple that had been vacationing in the sector. It was deemed a better plan to come in a ship that could not be traced back to the Sith Order, and thus it was decided to take one of Order's Corellian Strike Cruisers and commandere a vessel at the edge of Duros space, well outside of Duros' sensor net. The Strike Cruiser had at that point remained at the edge of Duros space while LV and the three other Sith that accompanied her had made their way to the space station.

All four of them, herself, Vega, Je'gan, and Dalethria, were in civilian clothing, with additions to change their physical appearances. They were too well known in this Galaxy and had to take precautions that they would not be recognized. Even so, they would also be masking their Force presence so as not to be sensed by their target.

They'd moved steadily from the landing bay into the space station, mingling with the other dozen species that were walking the hallways and milling in stores, keeping their eyes and senses open, searching for their target. They'd only been there a few minutes before LV's steady steps slowed to a stop. Her head slowly turned, much like a radar would, looking down a small hallway to her right that appeared to spill into an open area. She sensed anger and fear. And it was wafting through the Force at a strong rate.

She looked momentarily at Vega before walking down the hallway. At the end, it opened into a large shopping area. There were several balconies that extended above and below them. Scanning first the balconies above, her eyes moved downward until they stopped at the lower level.

Down on the main floor, in the center, was a large food court where countless of aliens converged for various delicacies. Except at this moment, they were getting a show with their meals. There was a young woman with an ignited blue lightsaber, a Jedi by the looks of it, opposite an older woman with her own ignited lightsaber, a woman LV knew all to well.

She took out a commlink, bringing it up as she looked at Vega.

"Make your way around to the other side. We'll have to corner De'Ville. See if you can find a way to get her to surrender. Anything. Beat her senseless if you have to." She narrowed her eyes. "And keep your eyes open for Jedi. Where there is one, a young one at that, there are more."

She looked about, noticing some security guards beginning to show up to try to disband the commotion below. She added one last thought. "Best to make it as quick as possible."

She then gave her attention to the comm, switching to a secure and encrypted channel. Her message was brief and intended for Darth Vader. "We have located the target. You may begin your course to the Duros main space station."

Switching the comm off, she pocketed it once more, and went the opposite direction Vega had gone, heading towards the lower level.

[Figrin D'an]

His legs carrying him as quickly as possible, Figrin following the arcing outer edge of the promenade. The crowds seemed to be thinning out, less people blocked the path of his anxious search. He still wasn't sensing anything, and afraid he had gone the wrong way, the Jedi Master stopped to get his bearings. He was on the first level, the food court extended to both side of the main footwalk. People were still present, and there seemed to be no alarm among them. There was nothing to indicate any concern or disturbance.

They have to be here, Figrin thought hurriedly. Pierce said they were in this direction. And someone saw a woman with a lightsabre...

His danger sense flashed at that moment. A ripple in the Force; but it was centered anywhere. It was a general feeling of discomfort. Figrin looked all around, yet nothing or no one stood out. He continued to move along, scanning every open restaurant and shop.

Just then, screams were heard, echoing from around the continual arc of the promenade. People were hurrying away, moving in the direction from whence he had come. It had to be James and Lilaena.

Figrin took off again, and as he rounded the bend, he saw bright elongated flares of colored light. They were already locked in combat. Security guards were just begining to arrive on the scene, and busied themselves herding bystanders away before interviening themselves. He pushed his way through the crowd, against the grain, all the while hoping, somehow, James was still alright.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

“Move, move!” A young Rodian was swatted aside as Vega ran the perimeter of the first-floor walkway. As he moved, he kept close to the railing that overlooked the plaza below and watched as the ripples of chaos and panic spread outwards from the dueling pair. He found himself slowing his pace long enough so that he could get a better few of De’Ville, and for a moment felt the smallest pang of guilt at the thought that he might be a proponent of her destruction. It was a fleeting sensation, however, and as he looked away, his eyes caught those of his Master and he felt a sense of urgency returning.

Ahead was a staircase that wound neatly down into the food court. While some civilians had done the smart thing, and headed for the complexes exit, others had made for higher ground. Most had lost their bearings and logic, because of the panic, though a still lucid few were simply after a better vantage point from which to watch the unfolding drama. Vega seized one such rubbernecking half brain by the collar, as he took the steps two at a time, and launched him back down into the food court – knocking others left and right like human bowling pins.

Emerging onto the food court proper, the Lupine halted. If his previous display of ferocity had not been enough to mark him out as dangerous, then his next action made it crystal clear. The disengaged hilt of a lightsaber leapt into his right hand, the sight of which sent people fleeing from around him. Ahead, the conflict raged on. Soon the other Sith would descend onto the far end of the court. Not long after that, he expected, other Jedi would arrive. It was always the case that wherever there was one, a handful more were following in tow.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Instinct born of long training missions in the past prompted Je'gan to follow his Master. A perverse sort of humility countered: he'd be less of a liability to two Masters - Mistresses, that was - than to a single Lord. The memory of being tossed around by many people with De'Ville's strength was still fresh, even though Videl, Sorsha, Mortis and so forth had all been encountered almost a year ago. More recently, he had had the experience of being thrown around like a toy by Liam Jinn. Not pleasant.

So he stayed close behind LV and Dalethria, rather than follow Vega. He felt a touch insignificant in all of this.

The guards, though...once the 'all clear' to drop Force-masking was given, he could easily take control of a half-dozen of them. In controlled circumstances he could do twice that, but this was anything but controlled. Smiling grimly under his new beard, the young Knight contented himself with observing the situation below.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The fool had turned her back on her destruction. James was running towards Jax's hiding place, lightsaber still on, although seemingly forgotten in her pain. De'Ville ran after her, determined to finish her off.

Suddenly, James halted, whirling on her pursuer, blue lightsaber flashing across horizontally. De'Ville countered roughly, their sabers crashing together with enough force to make each woman take a step backwards. "I am going to kill you for trying to take my son away from me." She shoved James off of her, and slashed brutally inward, attempting to take advantage of the wound she had already dealt to the Jedi.

"I know." James grunted painfully as she blocked again, and again. De'Ville frowned to herself. The Jedi was not overcome with fear, even though she seemed to know that she could not win this fight.

And then there was another distraction. Some people went tumbling down the stairs leading from the first floor down to the food court. James flinched, and De'Ville drove inward again, battering ferociously at the young Jedi's defences. I thought you came here alone, Jedi... She hadn't felt anything to indicate -

She lost the advantage, momentarily, at least. Her eyes caught sight of the man who'd emerged in the food court, and she so very nearly lost all control that the small gag in Jax's mouth was dissapated instantly. Vega?! But Vega was dead!

[James Prent]

She was being beaten back, finding that with all her training suddenly it was very hard to maintain even just her grip on her lightsaber hilt. With the battering she was taking, her hands and arms were absorbing much of the shock of impact, and her right arm was starting to go numb from a combination of that and the pain of her wound.

De'Ville was focused in on her, working on piercing her defences. And then... those green eyes tracked away from her, and Jax started wailing. Confused, James nonetheless pressed to the offensive, slashing De'Ville's saber out of the way and using the Force to shove the Dark Jedi backwards.

[Lady Vader]

LV reached the food court shortly after Vega had made his presence known by shoving a dozen bystanders to the side, clearing a path for himself directly towards De'Ville. And shortly after that, De'Ville was flung backwards by the Jedi, coming even closer to Vega.

LV smiled at the irony of a Jedi unbeknowingly helping them aquire their target. She begun to move in when she was brushed aside by a tall man, a man elbowing his way towards the Jedi woman. This would not have caught LV's attention had it not been for the brief touch and destinctive brown robe that flowed past her. He hadn't even noticed her as he b-lined to the young Jedi's aid. She was once again engulfed by the crowd as they tried to reach the nearest exits.

With a Jedi Master in the mix, things would get complicated.

"Incoming." The message was brief and quickly related through the Force towards Vega. She would leave him to take care of De'Ville, hoping that Je'gan would jump in if he required help. She would deal with the Jedi if they interfered.

[Figrin D'an]

He at last emerged from the crowds, getting past the security detachment, only find the beginnings of a warzone. Tables were overturned, chairs scattered and broken, garbage bins overturned and food left sitting by patrons whom had wisely chosen to run for their lives than stick around for the fireworks.

In the midst of the mess, Figrin saw James, standing near one of the tables still upright. She was hurt, a sabre burn on her shoulder that she was intinctively clutching. Jax was nearby, hiding underneath the table, looking terrified and as if he just wanted to go home. A few meters away from them, a woman, clad in black, was getting to her feet; a woman that could only be Lilaena De'Ville. She had an air of anger about her, but for some reason, she wasn't quite as Figrin had originally perceived her.

But, the fourth person in the mix came as a shock, and perhaps represented the greatest danger yet... a being Figrin knew of well... and made him stop in his tracks.

Vega, he swore silently. The rumors of his death were untrue, and how he was an unexpected and volatile addition to an already precarious situation. The only question was... why? What did he have to do with all of this?

Things had suddenly become far more complicated.

[Miranda Tarkin]

For Dalethria, this was merely a sporting event. She would only interfere if required. Across the street and away from the food court, she had made certain to be far away from any Jedi eyes and stayed out of sight. Her involvement would only be necessary if Lady Vader asked for it. Both Mistress' knew of Dalethria's real purpose here and it was only to observe how the situation was handled.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She recovered quickly, in spite of Vega's resurrection. In fact, it actually fueled her more, angry that he had tricked Silus (and her) so cruelly. It was the sort of thing he probably got off on.

The Jedi brat threw her backwards, but she landed it with a roll, ending up on her feet once more. Van-Derveld was nearer, and the Jedi was closing the gap, blue lightsaber flashing as she ran up. "Frell this," De'Ville closed her eyes lightly, and concentrated.

A pressure wave emanated out from her, sending the Jedi sprawling on the polished floor, and even knocking Vega off his feet. The wave was indescriminate, a strong ripple of the Force that got weaker the further it was from her body. She was the rock in the pool of the Force. She was a god, and the Jedi was merely a gnat, waiting to be swatted.

De'Ville advanced on the fallen Jedi, lightsaber held threateningly as got nearer to her prey. James was struggling to get to her feet, the wind had been knocked out of her.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Two Jedi, a Padawan and a Master. Evidently De’Ville had a grudge against the former, as she was bearing down on her with all the fury of hell. The latter, on the other hand, seemed to have gone unnoticed, and stood at the sidelines motionless. Though Vega did not recognize the man, he did comprehend his strength and knew that if he was not dealt with now, he would undoubtedly become a problem later. Mere moments before the Lupine was about to head towards his target, however, he was toppled from his feet and stumbled backwards. He fell into one of the panicked shoppers, but recovered quickly, on the offensive within seconds.

Seraphim crackled to life in his right hand, while the left swept outwards, drawing an arc in midair. In conjunction with the motion, the Force worked through him, as he aimed to throw Lilaena forwards into the Jedi Padawan. With a little luck, the erratic movement would catch the lightsider and she would end up a kebab on the end of her opponent’s lightsaber, while De’Ville herself would be, if not wounded, at least off guard albeit briefly. Already he was moving towards them, his feet hastened by the potent mix of adrenaline and the dark side coursing through his veins.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

At this point, Je'gan had found shelter behind another large potted plant, and had used an aura of uneasiness to clear a bit of space around him so that he could work. Vomit spattered the floor - he'd overdone the nausea part of the trick, or else someone had found the food here emetic enough that even a simple, quick blast of discomfort would send the contents of their stomach all over the floor.

The young Knight wrinkled his nose and tried to ignore the smell. Even though the vomit reeked, though - what did they serve here, anyways? - the maddened crowd was avoiding it.

'Vomit-shield', he commented wrily to himself, casting about through the Force for the disciplined minds that denoted security guards. That's a new one...

Oops.

He'd touched on the mind of what he instantly knew to be the older Jedi, briefly but strongly enough for a Master to pick up on almost regardless of situation. His initial probes should have been lighter.

But now he had solid links to the guards. Mind-control wasn't necessary here; all he had to do was inflate their collective ego and their sense of duty to keep the peace. It was a stretch at times...but now five of them were heading for De'Ville with batons raised. Subtly, Je'gan dulled down Vega's presence in their minds, more than enough so that his Master wouldn't find himself suddenly assaulted by guardsmen.

Not to mention that now the only threat in their eyes was one Lilaena De'Ville.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Go on! Get out of here!" Pierce shoved first one watcher towards the nearest exit, then another. Danger in the form of anger flickered, but Pierce spun around and gestured with his blaster. "Leave!"

The anger quelled itself, and whichever person Pierce had offended thought better of objecting and moved away with the others.

A ball of despair formed in Pierce's gut as he watched the pocket of people go, slapping the emergency door controls and cutting off their way in. Threats of force were all that succeeded in persuading any of them to get to safety. It was a far cry from the instant obedience the average Coruscant citizen gave to authority. Just went to show how different things got outside of Republic territory.

By the Emperor's bones, I feel useless. Scratch that; I am useless. I couldn't save Jax. I can't save these people. I can't stop Lilaena, I can't save James-

Hah. Pierce wanted to spit on the half of him that dared to indulge in self-pity. He had never been useless. Never in all his years of service to the NRI had there been a point where he, Pierce Tondry, was completely and totally ineffective. No, the problem was that he did not trust himself to act. At every point since his son's kidnapping he'd gone the wrong way. What should have been clear divisions of right and wrong, blame and responsibility, were no longer so.

I don't even really care about James, or Lilaena, or Figrin. They all failed in protecting my son. They can all go hang. Jax is what matters.

But if Jax was what mattered, then Pierce needed to be out there with Figrin, fulfilling his duty.

Can I really fulfill that duty now? Can I really do it without failing and costing my son his life?

No, he couldn't. That was proven. His only hope was for Figrin to do his duty for him.

As he began to make his way through clearing crowds to the conflict, Pierce shrunk further into his robe and the concealment it offered.

[Lady Vader]

An interesting move to say the least. LV had seen what Vega had done as she'd maneuvered to the opposite side of the food court so as to catch De'Ville in between them. Definitely very creative. She looked up breifly where she caught a glimpse of where Dalethria was watching. Definitely a point for Vega there.

She brought her mind back to the task at hand, watching as the Padawan toppled neaer still towards De'Ville's saber at Vega's Force command. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Jedi Master move to aid the younger Jedi. Let the two Jedi take care of themselves. Her concern was De'Ville.

With her visage blocked by the Padawan's body and a rapidly thinning crowd, LV moved closer and then crouched bhind a table to keep out of De'Ville's view.

As she scanned the area around the Dark Jedi, her eyes came to rest of a little boy, crouched and curled into a ball under a table just behind De'Ville and in front of Vega. And he had an uncanny resemblance to the Dark Jedi. Could he possibly be...?

LV's expression changed from stone consentration to an evil smile. If he was who she thught he was, then this could work to the Sith's advantage at getting De'Ville.

[James Prent]

Breathe! Breathe dammit! James choked and gasped as she struggled to force air into her lungs... De'Ville was closing in on her and holding her lightsaber out at her, ready to skewer her with the energy blade. James fumbled with her own saber, thumbing it back on as her enemy advanced.

She drew in a breath of clean, fresh air, and then her danger sense flared. Instinctually, James shoved away from her with the Force, and the sudden momentum that De'Ville had picked up halted. The Dark Jedi hung in the air as James continued to push her away from herself. Something was pushing her towards her!

De'Ville creaked under the combined pressure of the two oposing attacks, and then James' faltered, sending the Dark Jedi sprawling on the ground where she had been before. The jaded purple lightsaber scored the floor as De'Ville rolled up to her feet. "I. Am. Taking. Jax. Home!" With each word, James hacked at the woman across from her, their lightsabers clashing in an intricate dance.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville didn't like being interfered with, and it was more than apparent that Vega had stepped in. She parried the young Jedi's attacks, realizing that the girl had some skill with the blade after all. Still, it would not be enough.

And yet, if it had not been Vega who had shoved her towards the padawan (or whatever rank she was), then there was the chance that he had not come alone. De'Ville looked away from her opponent, and towards Jax, making sure he was still where she'd left him. Foolish! What if he was not?

He was. Clinging to the pole that held the cheap green table in place, her five year old son's face was white, but he was not crying out anymore. James lunged forward, and had De'Ville been wearing the robes she favored instead of a jumpsuit, she would have lost a sleeve. The Dark Jedi pushed James backwards with the Force, enough to cause her to stumble, and then leapt over the top of her head. Running quickly, she reached the table and turned around, James close on her heels.

[Darth Vader]

A droid's manipulator arm eased a syringe into a ghastly tumor, lancing it. Whirring machines were the only sound in the sterile whiteness of Lord Vader's inner sanctum. The Dark Lord sat motionless, unfettered by the macabre maintenance done to keep his body functioning. A clear tube pressed against his face drawing away blood and cancerous tissue, until a disturbance caught Vader's attention. With the press of a button, the medical droids were dismissed back into the walls of his sanctum, and his obsidian Death's Helm lowered onto his blanched head.

"What is it, Captain?"

Captain Draanj clacked the heels of his boots together as he began his report.

"M'lord, incoming transmission from the planet Duros. Mistress Vader summons you."

"Leave me. I will take the message alone."

Draanj gave a slight nod. "As you wish, M'lord."

The Captain exited the meditation chamber, and Vader's chair pivoted 180 degrees to view the holographic message.


Originally posted by Lady Vader
She then gave her attention to the comm, switching to a secure and encrypted channel. Her message was brief and intended for Darth Vader. "We have located the target. You may begin your course to the Duros main space station."

Closing the message, Vader switched immediately to the bridge holo, just as Draanj returned to the command deck.

"Yes, Lord Vader?"

"Move the Maleficant to the station orbiting Duros. Alert your men for attack."

"It shall be done, m'lord. Draanj out."

The Captain bowed deeply, and his hologram faded from Vader's sight.

[Figrin D'an]

It quickly became clear to Figrin that Vega, the Lupine with seemingly endless lives, was determined to affect the outcome of the clash between De'Ville and James; to what end, he did not know. But James was in greater danger with Vega abilities now a factor. The Jedi Master desperately wanted to get James out of the line of fire, and handle De'Ville himself, but now that was impossible. There was only one choice... do what he could to make sure she could battle De'Ville uninterrupted.


A flicker in the Force told him that Vega wasn't alone... that others lie in wait, but it could not be of consiquence now. Giving himself completely to the moment at hand, Figrin projected an aura in the Force that was so strong, all Force users would know of his presence, and perhaps think twice before acting against him. His sabre lept into his hand as he charged headlong at the Vega Van-Derveld. The blue blade sparked to life, and was brought up high above the Jedi Master's head, prepared to strike it's target.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The Jedi Master, now with an almost visible aura of the Force about him, was hurtling towards Vega with saber held high. It seemed his collision with De’Ville would have to wait. While the power balance between Lilaena and James continued to shift, Van-Derveld readied himself for battle. Rather than charging towards his opponent, he set himself in a strong defensive stance, both hands firmly planted on the hilt of his saber. It had been some time since he had fought an actual adversary in battle, but he was no less confident consequently. The madness all around them only further fuelled his conviction.

[James Prent]

James stumbled backwards as De'Ville flipped up and over her head. She struggled to hold her anger at bay, keeping herself in a quasi-meditative state as she concentrated on the battle she was involved in. The Knight turned around as she regained her feet, a part of her noticing Master D'an as he charged towards a tall man with a lightsaber.

But, it was not important. Master D'an could take care of it. James wasn't sure she could take care of De'Ville, but she was going to go out trying. Do, or do not. The Jedi Knight ran after the other woman, blue lightsaber firmly in her hand.

De'Ville whirled as she reached the table where she'd stashed Jax, fury etched in her face as she locked eyes with James. Green eyes. James shouted as she attacked, not words, but simply a verbal push behind her motions.

Green eyes. De'Ville countered, their blades sparking and sizzling against each other as they turned a tight circle by the side of the green table. Jax was shrieking again, but as long as he stayed put., he would be safe. Couldn't think about him, not now. Green eyes. De'Ville was excellent, almost perfect as she parried and slashed, her purple blade marbled with jade green. Can't make a mistake.

Sweat poured down the sides of her face, and drenched the front and back of James' tunic. Emptiness. Nothingness. The Force. She strove to be even better than she was, flowing from one form to the other, dueling to what was surely her death. Green eyes. De'Ville was focused on her. And then...

De'Ville shouted something. Deep in her near trance, James barely heard it. But she saw the Dark Jedi leave herself open to attack as her head turned to the side, towards some overturned tables. James moved to take advantage -

Green eyes.

The eyes looking down at her were green, and full of love... and fear. Beautiful green eyes.

The chance was lost. James stumbled backwards from the vision, gasping as she snapped out of the meditative state she'd been cultivating. The wound in her shoulder sent pain shooting through her arm and up her neck. The table was at her back, and her death, with green eyes, at her front.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Jedi wench was not a padawan. She was good, or at least, good for a half-trained Jedi. And yet, no anger in her hazel eyes, merely concentration. De'Vlile pushed the Jedi's skill, nearly finding an opening to slip her saber in, and then the Jedi would block.

They dueled at the expense of all around them, paying no attention to anything else, concentrating only on each other. De'Ville saw the sweat pouring off the young Jedi's face, and felt a bit pleased at her own cool and dry skin. Enough playing around, now I finish you, Jedi. And then...

Lilaena felt a familiar presence. Not Vega - another Jedi had run up to take care of him. She was familiar enough with this other presence that she would never forget it. Never forget the betrayal. Never forget the pain.

"VADER!"

De'Ville amplified her voice with the Force, sending it echoing down the promenade. Her head twisted to the side, to some tables that were knocked over from the altercation. There.

Her danger sense flared, and her head snapped back to James, only to find the Jedi stumbling backwards, looking a lot worse than she had moments before. But Vader is here. It changed everything.

[Figrin D'an]

The distance between he and Vega closing rapidly, Figrin allowed nothing into his mind other than the battle at hand. The Dark Side warrior was en guarde, waiting for the inevitable clash with all the opposing force he could muster. As Figrin closed to within a few meters, he focused all his might on a powerful downswing. No tricks, no sudden change in momentum or attack position, it was to be strength against strength in a game to see who would break first.

Figrin's sabre struck with such speed and power that only Vega's well-prepared blocking stance saved the Lupine from being sliced in half. The two blades screamed with the clash, and almost seemed to adhere together for a brief moment before finally seperating when their owners compelled them to do so. Vega stumbled backward a bit, but remained well guarded. Figrin followed through after his downward strike, with a spinning horizontal slash. The Jedi Master would push the attack, keeping Vega occupied completely.

The playing field was balanced again. Now only fate could determine what James immediate future would be.

[Lady Vader]

She knew eventually De'Ville would sniff her out. She could only imagine how much the other woman hated her. And that hate alone would never allow her to hide from De'Ville again.

The Jedi Master had gone for Vega. That would hinder Vega's chances at getting at De'Ville. But LV had another idea.

She waited a moment after De'Ville's outburst. The minute De'Ville's attention was turned away from her position, as she snapped to look at the faultering Jedi woman, LV launched herself into a high Force jump, sumersaulting over James and De'Ville, landing on the opposite side of the table where the boy hid.

Faster than lightning could strike, she reached under the table and grabbed the boy by the scruff of his shirt, wringing it through her fingers for a tight grip, and placed the extinguished end of her saber firmly against the boys side, the switch set to dead-man. If at some point she lost grip of her saber, it would automatically ignite, impaling the boy.

He had let out a cry of surprise and fear... a cry that stopped all movement in the promenade. Everyone was watching her. LV made sure to keep all Force users accounted for in her line of site.

De'Ville had snapped around at the sound, and a full blaze of anger met LV's eyes. The attachment was there, as LV had suspected. LV returned the gaze. No words were spoken for that moment between both women. No words were needed.

It was either the boy or De'Ville.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Even the guards under Je'gan's influence stopped - after he hastily deflated their self-estimations and introduced compulsions of immobility to their pathetic minds. He himself watched the play of events with a great deal of interest. The guards were in position. As soon as the situation resolved itself - as soon as De'Ville reacted - they'd leap on her to their certain doom and her inevitable distraction.

That was the plan, at least. Like so many before it, subject to change at any time.

[Pierce Tondry]

The hum and crack of lightsabers carried over the heads of the onlooking crowd, motivating Pierce to hurry through the throng even faster. He caught a quick glimpse of Figrin fighting determinedly with an opponent he couldn't see just before reaching the crowd's edge, and in that moment he desired nothing besides a better view. Ducking past a particularly tall Selonian, he strained to see and froze as he got what he wanted.

His son, his precious little boy Jax, was being held captive by a lightsaber pressed against his side.

Pierce's hands twitched reflexively.

He'd believed that he was done being afraid, that he'd worked through the brunt of his pain and was now moving towards normal. But the sight of Jax held captive by someone with no compunction about killing him threatened to bring back all the initial anguished emotion he'd experienced from his son's kidnapping. He would rather see Jax in Lilaena's misguided care than in Lady Vader's sick hands.

But what was there to do? He couldn't trust himself to act, yet he could not risk inaction's consequence. None of his Jedi training to date gave him any tools to intervene, and all his previous experience with Sith told him the situation was exactly as bad as he adjudged it.

Lilaena wasn't moving. Lady Vader just stood there, grinning that disgustingly sick grin. Figrin was engaged in mortal combat and James was injured; no one else even seemed interested, just morbidly curious at the conflict's outcome. They didn't even seem to care for their own safety. Didn't they understand? This was someone's child at stake! This was his son! Why was no one doing anything? Why did no one care? Why did it have to be Jax? Why why WHY?

Why couldn't that damned lightsaber just go away? Why did it have to endanger his son?!

Why?

Pierce's hands clenched tremblingly tight and his vision went black...


######

An audible crunch brought Lady Vader's attention down, where she found her weapon sparking uselessly into the captive child's clothing. Her eyes widened and she returned her attention to Lilaena's face where she found only a gathering storm of hate.


######

Pierce gasped and stumbled back a step, touching a hand to his temple as though it might relieve the pain in his head. Tension blackouts weren't something he'd ever experienced in combat. He must have been so completely overwhelmed by his fears for Jax that he'd lost consciousness for a second.

Jax! Pierce jerked his eyes back to his son-

-and found relief. Somehow Lilaena must have used the Force to shatter Lady Vader's weapon.

A strange sensation began tickling his temple. Pierce pulled his hand away and looked at it.

His palms were bleeding.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

No... Lilaena froze in fury rather than fear, furious that Vader had managed to penetrate her defences so thoroughly, and without even raising a hand to her. James, the padawan, or knight or whatever she was, was conflicted, trying to decide whether to take her eyes off De'Ville and see what was going on behind her, or not. De'Ville's eyes were wide with fear and anger, and as the Lady Vader smugly toyed with the switchplate on her lightsaber...

...something snapped.

Not in her mind, but outside of it. De'Ville's eyes narrowed imperceptibly, and as Vader's lightsaber began sparking madly she poured all her concentration into two simultaeneous telekinetic acts. Vader was starting to look down in amazement at her lightsaber pommel as De'Ville threw her backwards with the Force. Jax squealed as the Force yanked him forward, and back under the table. His shirt tore where Vader's cruel hand had held him captive.

James finally decided to glance around as Jax thudded against her legs under the table. "What -!?" Her lightsaber disengaged as she dropped to her knees, trying to gather the boy up into her arms.

"FOOL!" De'Ville knocked James aside with a punch to the temple, and snatched her son into her arms. Jax, I am so sorry. We're going now. He couldn't hear her thoughts, but his crying stopped as the Dark Jedi took off running, shoving her way through the few bystanders that remained.

Only a few meters to the outside, and then three blocks to the spaceport. And then... home free.

[Figrin D'an]

There was little in Figrin's mind except keeping Vega occupied, but even his own limited perception could tell that the dynamic of the situation had suddenly changed. He pushed Vega back with a series of strikes, and chanced a quick glance.

Jax!

The boy was being held tightly by Lady Vader, her lightsabre hilt stuck to his side. James lie hurt a few meters away, while Lilaena De'Ville stood nearby, rage fuming in her. Pierce had arrived on the scene, and both he and his former wife edged closer to the Sith and her hostage.

Vega's sabre arced towards the Jedi Master, pulling his focus back to battle. He blocked and countered. He needed to end the fight, and get into a position to help Jax, but the Lupine was proving to be enough of a challenge to hold him in check.

Another glance showed a remarkable turn of events. Lady Vader's sabre had failed or been disabled somehow, and the cunning De'Ville had taken advantage, casting the Sith backward while grabbing her son, seperating him from his captor's grasp.

But she then started to run. James was immobile, and Pierce would soon have his hands full with an angry Sith Lord. It was up to Figrin to do... something... anything to get to Jax.

Stepping into his next strike, he threw his weight into a downward slash that was blocked, but forced both sabres low. Locked together, both blades nulified each other's usefulness, whining and sizzling as they seemed fused against one another. Figrin released his right hand from the grip, swung it upward, and delivered a fast, devistating backhanded punch to Vega's face. The Lupine's head snapped to the side, stunning him. Before he could recover, the Jedi disengaged his sabre from Vega's, and cracked the hilt against the Lupine's chin. It was a savage blow that knocked Vega backward. He stumbled into a wall, then collapsed in a daze, on the edge of consciousness.

With Vega out of commission, at least temporarily, it was time to finish what James had started. Jax would be gotten back, but in the back of his mind, the secret he had discovered still lingered, and because of that, he could only hope that everyone else would also survive the day.

"Pierce," Figrin yelled across the room, "take care of James! I'll get Jax!"

He took off in the general direction De'Ville had been running, attempting to home in on her presence in the Force.

[James Prent]

James blinked her eyes, trying to see past the blur caused by De'Ville's blow. Her arm throbbed with pain, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to lift her lightsaber again. She scrabbled with one hand, trying to grasp the hilt.

Figrin was shouting something, but she couldn't understand him. Propping herself up on her good arm, James struggled to her feet, her lightsaber hilt cool against her left hand as her right arm hung limply. She felt that she had no energy left. De'Ville was gone, and there was another woman across the table from her who she didn't recognize.

Foolishly, in hindsight, James paid this other woman little attention as she blinked furiously and tried to see where Figrin was running off to.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Everything had gone black. Down and out, his fight with the Jedi Master had begun and ended in what seemed like an instant, a flare of light and energy cut short in a matter of seconds. Slumped back against a wall, his saber laying still ignited at his side, Vega remained motionless. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of his mind, a little voice could think of no better thing to say than “bugger”. It would not take long for him to come back to the land of living, it never did (something which he subconsciously attributed to his notoriously stubborn nature), but until then he was a sitting duck. Luckily, for him, however, everyone else’s eyes were currently on another prize – Jax Tondry.

[Lady Vader]

It was a combination of power and will. Whether Peirce and De'Ville knew it, they had teamed together to successfully rid LV of her playing pawn... and her lightsaber.

What left her somewhat astounded was that De'Ville hadn't even bothered doing anything to her. No punch, no swing, nothing. She just grabbed the boy and ran.

LV grit her teeth and stared at LD's retreating back. Coward.

It was at this point she saw Peirce move at the corner of her eye, heading towards the fallen Jedi in front of her, while the other Jedi Master was able to get rid of Vega and pursue De'Ville. She'd been left unattended and forgotten.

Je'gan... see to Vega.

She made a decision and set forth after the Jedi Master. No one was going to get De'Ville. She was too close in the grasp of the Sith Order. LV would be damned if she let her slip away again.

As she sprinted after the tall Jedi she concentrated on a pillar in the hallway they had entered. It was just ahead of the Jedi and to the side. It's base cracked in several places before ripping out and lunging towards the Jedi at full force.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan...see to Vega.

But Je'gan was already in motion; had been, in fact, for the last three and a half seconds. To this particular Sith Knight, that approached an eternity.

He cast the guards free to mill in confusion. They'd taken the brunt of Je'gan's generally less-than-subtle style of mental manipulation, and would suffer spurts of amnesia and perhaps psychosis in later years.

As he cleared the last few metres and skidded to a halt before Vega, he delved into his Master's mind and gave the Lupine's returning consciousness a tremendous jerk. Vega awoke in an eyeblink - he'd have a bit of a headache later (the sole consequence; unlike the guards, what happened to Vega afterwards mattered), but he was now fully functional once again. The Jedi Master had made it about fifteen, maybe twenty metres in the intervening time; scrambling back from Vega, Je'gan turned and began to sprint at full Force Speed towards both Figrin and De'Ville, flanking LV as he did so. His spare lightsaber, a generic Sith weapon, found its way to his left hand; should LV end up desiring a weapon, there it was.

[James Prent]

Master D'an was chasing after De'Ville and Jax, but the woman with the skintight suit was heading after him, as well as another man she'd not seen before. James' hand tightened on her lightsaber as a support pillar broke, but she couldn't worry about Master D'an. He could take care of himself.

The man caught up to the woman, and James saw he was holding a lightsaber hilt out towards her. Suddenly fearful for D'an, she picked up a knocked over chair with the Force, and hurled it at the retreating pair. The chair slammed into the young man's side, knocking him into the suited woman, and sending them both sprawling.

Out of the moment, James could feel her shoulder throbbing once more, and switched her lightsaber pommel to her left hand. She was, of course, terrible left-handed. The knight began to back up.

[Lady Vader]

LV was sent to the side, where a wall caught her from falling completely. She slid partly on the wall, catching her balance once more, though Je'gan wasn't so lucky. He went down where LV's body no longer was to support him, his hands flailing to find something to keep him from continuing his fall. He found LV's leg and for a split second held on before he knew what he was holding on to. He then let go opting to fall the rest of the way.

LV paid no attention to where Je'gans had come dangerously close to, and intead turned her head towards the one who had sent the chair in their direction. The young Jedi.

The pillar was doing it's job fine on it's own now without LV's help, so she turned her attention towards the Jedi, walking back in her direction.

"Your chances were better off with De'Ville, young one."

A chair behind James left the floor and slammed into the Jedi's spine. An eye for an eye...

[Pierce Tondry]

James tumbled to the floor, catching herself awkwardly with one hand and ending up on her back. The world eventually reoriented itself, however, and the first thing she saw was the hand.

It was rough and calloused, with fingernail cuts in the palms that had slight bloody smears to them as though they'd been hastily wiped on someone's pantleg. The hand led to the sleeve of a robe in a forboding brown color; slightly worn, but none the worse for that wearing. Attached to the robe, naturally, was a covering hood that stood proudly, subbornly, stiffly upright (possibly involving a rinse cycle with too much bleach). And inside the robe stood Pierce Tondry with a small smile.

"You alright?" he asked.

James took another look at the cuts on his hand before accepting it. "Yeah," she said. "Are you?"

The small smile got a little smaller. "Don't know."

James' brow furrowed. If he came with Figrin, then- "Where were you?"

The smile disappeared. "Thinking."

"And?"

Pierce's eyes slid away from her face. "Got tired of it. Dad once said, you can only stew in your own juices for so long; then you have to take action. Seemed like it was about time for some action to happen."

He punctuated the remark with a sudden back-kick into the chair that had attacked James. The hit struck solid, sending the chair harmlessly spinning away from where it had been hovering. "Not sure how good a fighter the guy beside her is," Pierce said as he swung forward into an unarmed combat stance. "But I know the ones he's with, and if I had to guess, I'd say he's the small fry of the group. Might be an easier opponent for you than-"

Pierce cut himself off abruptly. "Hurry," he said tightly. "I think our time just got cut short."

With an outstretched arm, he beckoned to Lady Vader. This time will be different from the last.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Behind her she could hear everything - screams of bystanders, combat noises, the crack of a pillar breaking - everything blended together into white noise. Jax squirmed in her grasp, and she hitched him higher under her arm as she ran.

There was a Jedi following her. She had hoped that Lady Vader would be distracted by the Jedi, but apparently they had not been distracted enough by the arrival of the Sith. She poured her concentration into powering her legs and quickening her feet. Jax was crying, she could feel his tears on her arm. His little hands dug into her arm, holding on for dear life.

People scattered out of her way as she entered the spaceport. It wasn't until later that she realized that they were already scattering. Her enhanced run was halted abruptly with an incredible telekinetic push, and Jax went flying out of her grasp. De'Ville landed with a thump on the ground of the spaceport common area, gasping for breath.

As her eyes cleared, she saw a dark shape approaching. No - not this, not now!

[Lady Vader]

LV was torn. Go after De'Ville and finish her mission, or face that bastard Jedi Tondry. The thought had barely left her mind when an all too familiar and imposing presence was felt.

And then she laughed. A gleeful laugh full of menace and hate. De'Ville was done for and she hoped the other woman had heard her laugh. It was full of gloating and sheer mirth at having finally caught the witch in a vice grip. How deliciously sweet.

And what made it even more sweet was the fact LV was no longer worried about De'Ville and could concentrate on the insufferable Jedi beckoning to her.

She didn't wait for Je'gan. She didn't bother to see what state Vega was in. Hell, she didn't care about the injured Jedi woman. All she cared about was Tondry, her vision tunneling towards him.

With a primal hate she had not felt in ages and a scream that would raise the dead, she launched herself at him, kicking the girl out of the way as she did, and smacking into Tondry, claws fully extended, intent on tearing his arteries at his neck apart.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The floor provided little traction as Je'gan skidded aimlessly with limbs tucked in. Somewhere in there he'd lost his spare 'saber - and now, as a planter dealt him a nasty blow to the head, he found his other hand empty as well. Ah well. At least his momentum had been halted, no matter how painfully.

He picked himself up and shook his head. De'Ville was his first thought, but a moment's Force survey told him that she was already being confronted, by someone a good bit more dangerous than he. There was little he could do, and -

Lady Vader launched herself at one of the two Jedi - both Knight level, or thereabouts - and Je'gan decided to help. Magor's presence hummed in the back of his mind; his limited telekinesis pulsed and the curved hilt found its way to his hand. He snapped his wrist, then his neck, and moved towards the one that LV wasn't tying up. Practiced eyes noted the girl's inefficiency in attempting a left-handed grip. Amusement crept through his mind as he circled around to the left, trying to get to James without the possible interference of LV or of Pierce. He lit the blade of his weapon belatedly, almost lazily. This one looked half-beaten already.

[James Prent]

The woman in black, the Sith shoved her aside like a rag doll, hitting her already injured shoulder. James was not skilled in pain control, and had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as she regained her balance.

She couldn't concentrate on what Pierce was doing with the woman. She wouldn't! She had to focus on her objective, which had shifted from getting Jax back to staying alive. The young man who was walking towards her had the lazy grace of a big cat, and seemed intent of making her the mouse. James struggled for a moment more, trying to get the saber to feel right in her left hand, and turning to keep him in her sights.

Behind her she could hear the battle between Pierce and the Sith woman heating up. In front of her, the other Sith was almost smiling. James saw his size (he was easily a foot taller than her), and his obvious confidence, and had to bite down hard on her lip again to keep her focus away from fear.

The Sith ingnited his blade, and she responded in kind, feeling clumsy with her left-handed stance. As he closed in to strike, she managed to deflect the blow, and then another one. His smirk grew, and she realized he was only playing with her.

Determindly, James transferred her weapon to her right hand, and thought calm. She counted backwards quickly from five, slipping into a calm, meditative space as the Sith circled a bit more. The pain didn't lessen, but she felt that she would be able to defend herself anyway.

She offered the Sith a smile of her own, although it was marred by the trickle of blood her teeth had brought from her lip.

[Darth Vader]

<font size=-2><font color=990000>hohhhh....pahhhhh


hohhhhh....pahhhhh


hohhhhh....pahhhhh</font></font>

"I have been expecting you, De'Ville."

The Dark Lord made no aggressive moves. He needed none. His very existence permeated the evacuated spaceport promenade with palpable malice.

A shrill cry rose over Vader's breathing mask. It was from Jax. Vader's death's head turned in the babe's direction.

"Ah yes, the child."

He returned his eyes to Lilaena.

"Your maternal bindings will be your undoing. Now, both you and your son are mine."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Jax had hit an information booth, and was clutching his five year old arm, literally screaming in pain. De'Ville allowed herself one moment to panic, worry about him - and then she focused in on Darth Vader.

She'd faced this man once before, when pregnant with Jax. He had been asked by Jedah Lynch to test her to see if she was ready to be called a Master of the Force. "Your clone madness will be your undoing, Anbiraa."

Her voice was steady, which surprised her, and she was getting to her feet, which didn't surprise her. Even as a padawan, De'Ville had always been ready to fight to the death. As she got older, she had learned restraint, and how to cut and run when needed. But Jax's life was on the line, and she would not live while he died.

She ignited her purple lightsaber, locking eyes with the deaths head mask. Lilaena concentrated with the Force on a small space just to the side of her body while circling around the Dark Sith Lord, distracting him from the shrieking child.

The spaceport was empty.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

What Vega woke up to was a totally new playing field to the one he’d previously seen. The area was much quieter now, with only the Force users and a few stragglers remaining. He saw his apprentice, Je’gan, squaring up to the Padawan that De’Ville had previously been hell bent on destroying, while the Dark Jedi Master herself was now occupied with…

Vega made a double take. For a second, before he’d looked at who Lilaena was facing, he felt the figures presence – and it felt like someone he did not want to see. Anbira. Relief washed over him as he saw that it was none other than Lady Vader’s husband, Darth Vader. He recalled vaguely how this clone had come into being, at the hands of Jedah Lynch, and understood then how it was that he had confused the man with the Jedi Hicchoru.

Up onto his feet, he saw finally Lady Vader herself, as she launched herself full force at a man who Vega could only assume was a Jedi Knight. Calling Seraphim up into his hands, he moved towards the pair quickly.

[Figrin D'an]

The snapping and cracking of permacrete drew the Jedi's attention, diverting it from the pursuit of De'Ville. The tall pillar was already sliding from it's perch, tipping into Figrin's path. He made the split-second decision to outrun it's fall; he couldn't be hindered if he was to catch up to De'Ville and Jax before they found their way to a ship. His pace quickened, as did the fall of the pillar to the floor. As it neared impact, a small burst of Force Speed propelled Figrin beyond it's looming figure and to the safety of the open area beyond. The floor cracked itself with the collision, shaking as the permacrete shattered and spewed gray dust all around.

Figrin paused only briefly to see the destruction. The hall was now partially blocked, preventing secruity personal from following. Anyone attempting to follow, even Jedi or Sith, would be slowed significantly.

His attention turned back to the matter at hand as he took off in long-stride run, following the flicker in the Force that he felt from who he assumed was the Dark Jedi. It seemed to get stronger as he made his way through the station. Must be getting closer, he thought. Of course, catching up to and cornering De'Ville was going to be the easy part.

At that moment, a high-pitched scream, like that of a child, echoed through the hallway.

Jax!

De'Ville wouldn't do anything to harm her own son. Figrin sprinted towards the source of the scream, feeling a powerful, evil presence ahead of him. Something was terribly wrong.

[Pierce Tondry]

In contrast to his opponent's feral demeanor Pierce remained deadly cool. He sidestepped the initial rush but caught one of Lady Vader's hands at the wrist. With a jerk, Pierce pulled his opponent off-balance, swung one leg up slightly to trip her, then grasped her neck from behind and drove his opponent facedown into the floor.

Lady Vader moved to right herself, but Pierce thwarted her with another jerk to the wrist. Planting one foot on his downed opponent's shoulder blade, Pierce hauled her arm backward in a hold that would be first painful, then numbing. Debilitating the enemy Sith was just as effective as killing them, but far less risky. Too much was on the line here to take undue chances.

A sharp indication from his danger sense pulled his attention away from working Lady Vader's arm. He shifted the foot already on her back to her side and used it to shove her away into a cluster of chairs and focussed on the charging Vega.

His enemy's lightsaber was out and on. Moving quickly, Pierce took hold of a nearby table by the central leg and levered it as a battering ram with the flat surface out. Before Vega's blade could slice through it, Pierce fell backwards to the floor and at it's new angle the ram became a shield Vega needed to adjust his grip to cut through.

Before Vega could make that adjustment, Pierce kicked him squarely in the groin.

With a footsweep, Pierce sent Vega back-first to the floor. He rolled from beneath the table and did a quick push-up to get his feet back under him, sprinting a few feet before turning back to assess the situation.

Lady Vader had extricated herself from the chair pile already and was back to her feet. Vega would be back up momentarily as well. Pierce's attacks had surprised, stunned, debilitated, maybe even humiliated a tiny bit, but they had not killed or crippled the Sith he was facing. They would not be taken out easy, Pierce knew, and surely his opponents were similarly aware that he could not be brought down with the usual tricks.

Which begged the question: what would the Sith try next?

[Darth Vader]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
"Your clone madness will be your undoing, Anbiraa."

"That name no longer holds any meaning for me."

The Dark Lord replied to De'Ville's saber with his own, coming to life with an evil hiss. Raising the blood-colored blade in front of him, he remained otherwise motionless, like an onyx statue moving only to make itself known.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

No longer willing to wait, she leaped towards him, lightsaber flashing as she engaged the Dark Lord in combat. Darth Vader he was not, although the similarities were enough to cause her heart to beat a little faster. It was almost like fighting Freedon Nadd, or Exar Kun come back again.

His strength was greater than hers, in terms of his body, although the Force strength he held... she did not want to test it. They danced a quick circle, Vader the center of their death waltz. De'Ville cried out in rage, hacking away at his lightsaber attacks, defending desperately for her son's life. She would not realize it until later, but her only thoughts were for him, and not for herself.

She'd learned how to cut her losses and run to save her own life, but she could not leave Jax there with this mad clone. The air beside her crackled and coalesced into a shimmering ball of Destruction, which she launched at her opponent.

[Lady Vader]

There was pain in her arm, back, and neck. And thanks to the shove into the pile of chairs, her hip was hurting as well. She was not the young woman she was once.

This angered her. Her body may not have been accepting to the abuse it used to handle, but her mind was clear and her strength in the Force even more so than years past.

The insufferable Jedi was caught in between vega and herself. But going at him individually would not suffice. Both Sith needed to work to tegther to cripple the Jedi and bring him to his knees.

It was like an old western holovid, a stand-off between the white hat and the black hat. No one was moving, each opponent breathing heavily, muscles tense, waiting for the next move.

LV, while keeping attention on Tondry, moved her eye to lock with Vega's. A quick plan needed to be formed between the two. A plan to dispatch the Jedi once and for all.

[James Prent]

The young man smirked as he spun his lightsaber in a lazy arc, bringing the point up before attacking again. Once more they danced, her feet taking her in a backwards circle as he toyed with her defenses, never really trying to hurt her. He was separating her from Pierce Tondry, however, and she spared a glance towards him.

Mistake! James jerked backwards, nearly tripping over a chair, as the Sith's lightsaber nearly took off her nose. Her brain was starting to feel fuzzy, and she recognized that the Sith was taking down the blocks that Salemn had taught her how to build in her mind. Her eyes widened, as did his grin as he came at her again.

Lightsabers clashed, and she couldn't help but cry out in pain as the stress on her shoulder flashed fire across her chest and down her arm. Like honey to an ant, her pain drew him in, and she felt so sleepy... Shouldn't she be attacking Pierce?

No, no, he was her friend. Her movements became even more sluggish as her mind blocks fell to the mental onslaught of the Sith. He brought his lightsaber up and grasped it two handed as James stood nearly completely still. She felt powerless to move, and even questioned why she should want to move. The Force screamed danger! to her as he started swinging the blade, aiming to decapitate her.

In that long moment, she heard something else. A child screaming. Her pupils dilated as she refocused on the situation. The touch on her mind was gone, the young man already confident that he had her under control for this last moment.

James exhaled, throwing herself backwards quickly enough so that the blade passed harmlessly over her chest. Expecting resistance to his blade, the Sith was caught off balance and had to follow his arms around. The Jedi Knight rolled up to her feet and saw his back to her. With a motion of her hand, she called on the Force and an empty food tray flew through the air and slammed into the base of his neck.

The young Sith went down to one knee from the unexpected blow as James came up behind him. Her lightsaber hilt in her left hand, she cracked him behind the ear with it as hard as she could. His lightsaber fell out of his hand, the blade disappearing as it clattered to the tiles. Fearing he would still get up, James wrapped her arm around his neck, holding it tight with her other arm as she pressed against his trachea.

He gurgled with what sounded like surprise, and she pressed her face against the back of his dark hair to hide her eyes from his groping hands. The Sith grabbed a lock of her hair and yanked in his sudden desperation. James gasped as the roots gave way. His struggles threw them both about on the tiled floor, but as he finally relaxed into unconsciousness she loosened her hold on his neck a bit.

Lying on the ground next to the unconscious Sith, James shuddered with adenaline, her arms shaking as she untangled herself from her would-be assassin. Taking a moment to get her bearings, she found that she was about thirty feet away from Pierce Tondry and his attackers - much closer to the destruction of the pillar that had almost taken out Master D'an.

She got to her feet shakily, trying to straighten her robes and look for her lightsaber hilt. It had skittered underneath a table, and she cautiously recalled it to her hand, clipping it onto her cockeyed belt. James tugged her obi back into place as she walked towards the broken pillar. Something told her that Master D'an needed her.

With a grunt of pain she began to ascend the rubble, trying to get to the other side.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ Absolutely perfect and miles better than what I would have done.

IC/ Je'gan battled the darkness with everything he had, fighting physically, trying to batter at the Jedi girl's mind - and failing miserably - and doing his level best to will air through his windpipe, blood through his carotid. His mind was still in shock, though. None of it worked.

At last, his consciousness collapsed in on itself. His last impression was of his own hands scrabbling at the floor, wound about with hair and daubed in a bit of blood - hers or his, he didn't know. His last thought was to thoroughly curse himself for his own stupidity.

The darkness, of course, was all too willing to claim him. Desperate, irritated at himself beyond measure, Je'gan passed from consciousness entirely.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Unlike Lady Vader, the Lupine refused to believe that a single Jedi Knight could be anything near strong enough to contend with two powerful force users. Tondry might have been resourceful, but if push came to shove, the Sith would have the upper hand. You could squirm and dodge and play all the games you want, but when it came down to brute force… the saying does after all go ‘you can run, but you can’t hide’.

“Enough of this,” Vega spat. They weren’t here for Pierce, and being delayed from his true target was beginning to irritate Van-Derveld. For a brief moment his eyes met those of the Sith Mistress, and the pair set about their attack. The silent plan they exchanged was simple. Whilst Lady Vader moved in directly to attack the Jedi, Vega would perform some diversionary tactics.

In the wake of a falling pillar there was a mountain of rubble, with chunks as small as a fist and big as a boulder. Thanks to focused telekinesis training, Vega was able to lift these pieces. Levitating no more than two or three at a time, so that he could keep a tight hold on them – negating the chance that Pierce could turn them to his own purposes – the Lupine set about hurling the rocks both towards the Jedi and any civilians still trapped within the maelstrom.

[Lady Vader]

The exchange had been made and the plan formulated in less than a second. LV activated the other half of her lightsaber that she still had attached to her belt, the red blade glinting off of the dus still floating in the air, giving the surrounding area an eirie red glow.

She moved quickly towards the Jedi, saber coming down to dislodge the Jedi's torso from shoulder to hip. His own saber came to meet hers, but at that moment, she put a magnificant force into her downward swing, causing the Jedi to stumble as his saber intercepted hers.

As he caught his footing, she again came at him with her saber. Each blow the sabers gave let out a crackle, sending the light particles of dust swirling in a chaotic whirlwind. Lunge, parry, swing, backstep, advance... it was like watching a ballet set in an elaborate stage.

A small "tap" to her mind from Vega warned her his attack had been set into motion. She kept with the Jedi, however, battering him with swing after swing of her saber. At the last possible second, she swung her saber at the Jedi, again hard, but the Jedi was prepared this time. However, she fiened the swing, and brought it around as his saber almost met hers. This caused him to stumble off balance, the force of his swing taking him forward. Taking advantage, she swung with her leg and caught his ankle, kicking it out from underneath him. She vanished away at that instant as the hurling rocks came into his field of vision.

[James Prent]

James struggled to find footholds, pulling herself over the top of the mound of rubble. Her foot shook involuntarily as she extended it over the other side, searching for a place to put it. Before her she could see one of the exits, and beyond that hopefully she would find Master D'an.

A security officer shouted in Durosian, and pointed his blaster at her. Two more officers rounded corners to join him, their green skinned heads glistening with sweat. James fumbled with her hands, trying to show that she wasn't armed while still trying to keep her precarious position from becoming even less stable. "Don't shoot! I'm a Jedi! Jedi!"

"Jedai?" The security guard looked suspicious, and the other two kept their weapons trained on her. Another long sentance was rattled off at her, but she couldn't understand him. The guard frowned, trying Basic. "How... do we know you... are Jedai?"

James grunted, slipping down the last bits of the debris and scraping her arms as she did so. "I am a Jedi Knight - there is a little boy in danger!" As if to punctuate her sentance, a thin scream echoed up from beyond the exits. "I have to go!"

[Darth Vader]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
No longer willing to wait, she leaped towards him, lightsaber flashing as she engaged the Dark Lord in combat. Darth Vader he was not, although the similarities were enough to cause her heart to beat a little faster. It was almost like fighting Freedon Nadd, or Exar Kun come back again.

His strength was greater than hers, in terms of his body, although the Force strength he held... she did not want to test it. They danced a quick circle, Vader the center of their death waltz. De'Ville cried out in rage, hacking away at his lightsaber attacks, defending desperately for her son's life. She would not realize it until later, but her only thoughts were for him, and not for herself.

She'd learned how to cut her losses and run to save her own life, but she could not leave Jax there with this mad clone. The air beside her crackled and coalesced into a shimmering ball of Destruction, which she launched at her opponent.

The Dark Lord met the destruction sphere with a broad and robust swipe of his lightsaber. Vader's broad frame squared itself, delivering his full strength to the swing, which diverted LD's attack to a second-story catwalk, splintering metal and masonry into a maelstrom of fire. A shower of grey dust rolled through the promenade like a fog, and the Dark Lord withdrew into it, deactivating his lightsaber in an instant.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Coughing, and furious at her weakness, De'Ville followed Vader into the dust cloud, also deactivating her lightsaber as she was enveloped in a murky semi-darkness. She could sense the Dark Lord in front of her, and she kept a tight grip on her lightsaber.

Wait, there was something else... To the side there was another presence intruding, this one also sensitive to the Force. Her first thought was that Lady Vader had come to claim her son, and she darted for the edge of the dust, lightsaber igniting as she jumped forward and into the open.

[Jax Ivanrue Tondry]

Pain! Jax shrieked at the top of his lungs, holding his arm with his other hand as he sat with his back to the wall. His arm was in a weird position, and it hurt! Mommy was being bad, she tried to kill his friend James, and that had made him sad, but now his arm hurt and Dad was there but he wasn't here and James was hurt and Mommy was fighting with her lightsaber again and the big guy in black had made his arm hurt!

The little boy flinched as his mother's energy attack was deflected to the high ceiling, and his screaming stopped for a moment. He breathed in ragged breaths, panting as his mommy and the man in black disappeared into the dust.

After a few moments of surprise, however, he looked down at his arm, remembered his pain, and began to wail again.

[Figrin D'an]

Out of breath and desperate to reach the screams of young Jax Tondry, Figrin emerged into a more open area, only to be met by a billowing plume of dust and debris that blanketed the entire room. Like a growing storm, it seemed to envelop him even as he stood in place, pulling him into it's mists and impending danger. The Jedi Master clutched his sabre hilt tightly, having it at the ready. He could feel that combat was imminent, and remained en guarde even as he moved towards the crying Jax, in pain and terrified.

De'Ville was near... she had to be with Jax so closeby. But she was being hunted, tracked through the smog by a yet unseen enemy. The Dark Jedi was now the least of his worries, Figrin thought.

Jax continued to wail, but for all the pain and anguish the boy was experiencing, the continous noise from him acted as a homing becon, leading the Jedi Master though the dust directly to him.

The boy had cowered against a wall, curled up as tight as his body could make him in an effort to shelter himself from all that would harm him. He almost lept out of his skin when Figrin approached, but quickly recognized the Jedi as someone that could help. Figrin crouched down next to the boy.

"It's okay... I'm going to get you out of here," he whispered. "Can you walk?"

Jax nodded, grimicing as he got to his feet. Though he was still undoubtedly scared inside, Jax seemed more calm that he had a friendly face that was helping him. Figrin led the boy out of the dust, which seemed to continue to plume as if artifically induced.

"Are you alright?," Figrin questioned. "Anything broken or bleeding?"

[Darth Vader]

An invisible hand caught LD mid-leap, jerking her back into the stifling dust with enough force to jar the saber from her grasp.

As her head clanged against the deck, she could make out an arc of deep crimson, snaking down upon her with an electric hiss.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She choked as her breath escaped with a pop as she hit the ground, her lightsaber skittering away on the floor as it fell from her hand. De'Ville's head slammed against the deck, and she saw through dust smeared and unfocused eyes the line of scarlet slicing through the dust above her. She forced her body to roll over towards her lightsaber, the Dark Lord's saber barely missing her and scoring a firery line in the floor.

Dazed, she rolled away again and scrambled to her feet, calling her lightsaber back to her hand and igniting it.

[James Prent]

The security guards still watched her, blasters trained on her chest. James felt hot and sweaty and her shoulder was burning with a slow fire where De'Ville's saber had pierced her. "Listen, I don't mean you harm, but I have to get past you."

They didn't seem ready to budge, but two of the three started to fidgit. James put her hand on her saber hilt and they all three tensed. This is no good. She tried a little persuasion, "You know a blaster is no defense against a lightsaber. Let me past."

She felt a little guilty for trying to bully them, but it worked and they backed up, reluctantly lowering their blasters. "Thank you." James started jogging past them, heading for the mall exits and the spaceport.

[Darth Vader]

The moment De'Ville's blade burned back into existence it was swatted aside with heavy force, from the Dark Lord's own weapon. He held the high ground, and drove his assault at her with oppressive power. It was clear to De'Ville that she would have to find purchase to regain her footing, and that meant she had to temporarily backtrack.

The two darksiders clashed blades again and again in the foggy dust, the coronas of light casting an eerie glow that extended far beyond them. Vader drew close with De'Ville and locked his blade with hers, tying her up long enough for a chunk of duracrete to be flung from the floor behind her, striking behind her left kneecap.

Vader gave her no room to breathe, pressing upon her with all of his strength, trying to break her balance.

[Pierce Tondry]

The rocks came fast, like waves of bullets across an open field. Someone screamed a warning, and then the first wave pelted into him, knocking arms, chest and shoulders about in random flails.

Then the second wave came, rocketing in early on the heels of the first. They pinned him down, they battered him as thoroughly as the first wave and more, and then they let up.

Pierce made a show of an injured quick recovery. He saw the incoming third wave before it hit him and smiled. This was almost too easy.

The smallest fragments of each wave were non-threatening, unimportant and so Pierce let them hit where they would. The larger ones of fist-size could do damage and so Pierce acted to mitigate their impact, twisting his body just so to deflect them with minimal injury. Then there were the ones of headsize- the most dangerous because they could take out an arm or leg. These he sought to cut down at range with his lightsaber, succeeding on some though never failing badly enough that he took a disabling shot.

And every so often, there came a real boulder, as nearly as big as Pierce. Those deadly ones he avoided at all cost, even if he had to take a hit from something else to do it.

The telekinetic scenario was one Pierce had taken trouble to prepare for during his Jedi training. Between the protective vest beneath his cloak and his dodge/block system, there was an even chance that his attackers would get overconfident and keep up the pressure without resorting to overpower tactics he had no ability to counter.

With a final small show of staggering to his feet, Pierce laughed aloud. "No wonder you could never defeat Anbira," he shouted raggedly. "If that's all you've got, Van-Derveld, I'm surprised the Sith still let you throw in with them."

He grinned a grimace at Lady Vader, who stood some distance away and to the side so as not to get hit. "Scuse me," he amended. "Sith-wannabes."

[Lady Vader]

"Tisk tisk. Throwing insults like a newly released Padawan from the school yard?" She sneered at Tondry. "How quaint."

The rocks continued to pound their way towards the Jedi under the direction of Vega, but things needed to change, preferably with the Jedi dead... but unconciousness would do for now. They're main objective was getting further away and this diversion was not aiding their cause.

As Tondry concentrated on the rocks amidts his little insult, LV readied herself, waiting for an oportune moment. The moment came as Vega assailed the Jedi with a large boulder. Predictably, the Jedi tensed, ready to dodge the boulder.

But at the last moment, LV used the Force to smack him from behind, an invisible and unyeilding wall coming into contact with Tondry's back. It threw him off balance and into the oncoming boulder he had been readying to dodge.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville gritted her teeth as the duracrete hit the back of her leg, causing her to buckle and start to lose her balance. Vader beat down on her, their blades locking, and he pushed down hard to take advantage of her position.

She wasn't going down, not without a fight. De'Ville shifted her weight to catch her balance, and shoved with the Force, throwing the Dark Lord back enough to disengage the lightsabers and allow her to regain her balance and position. "You know something, Vader? I hate you."

[Darth Vader]

"Your words fall on deaf ears. You must show me this hatred!"

Suddenly, the Dark Lord's helm turned away from De'Ville. He had sensed something.

"The child!"

Disengaging from LD, the Dark Lord pressed through the dusty aftermath in pursuit of Jax and his rescuer.

[Figrin D'an]

He had begun to move Jax further away from the mayheim when a powerful shift in the Force, the same dark presence he had felt earlier, triggered the Jedi Master's danger sense. It was coming for them. The path behind was blocked by the destruction caused by Lady Vader. Before them was an unknown evil. Figrin had no choice but to stand his ground, and fight.

"Stay down, Jax," he said calmly, turning away from the boy and focusing on the haze before him. "And stay behind me. Whatever happens, you must stay away from what is coming."

Bringing his sabre upward, he ignited it in anticipation of combat. Tense moments passed, accompanied by an eerie silence. Vague movements could be seen from within the haze that had now enveloped most of the room, but they would disappear as quickly they become visible.

The attack came from the side, but the Jedi was ready. The massive obsidian black figure of Darth Vader emerged, slashing downward toward Figrin with his red sabre. Jedi blue met Sith red, sparking and whining as the blades locked together.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Tondry had struck a nerve. Vega’s history with the Jedi Master Anbira was painful, a wound that would not heal. The Jedi’s words were like salt in the open gash, and all thought of coordination between himself and Lady Vader was cast from the Lupine’s mind. Unable to contain his already incensed temper, the Sith Lord throw one hand outward, fingertips spread apart. Beginning in his palm and quickly curling around each finger, a deadly arc of zigzagging lightning leap across the air towards Pierce – the electricity flickering in Vega’s eyes.

[Jax Ivanrue Tondry]

Jax squeaked in fear, scrabbling backwards as Master D'an gave his instructions and turned away from him. His broken arm hurt so much he barely felt it anymore - a dull throbbing pain that engulfed nearly his whole left side.

Out of the swirling dust, the Black man came, the dust sticking to him and moving towards Master D'an and Jax. The boy coughed as the dust surrounded him, but found he could still see fairly well. Master D'an and the Black man's lightsabers were flashing around. Jax had seen lightsaber spars before, but even he could tell that this was different. He felt fear, as though the eyeless helmet that the Black man wore could see right through him.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Her chest squeezed tightly, and inexplicably, as Vader turned his attention away, and disappeared into the smog. With a wordless cry of rage, she threw herself after him, chasing him even as he sought her son. He could not - would not - lay another hand on Jax as long as she drew breath.

De'Ville struggled to keep her head about her as she ran after Vader, her lightsaber disengaged but in her hand. She could hear another lightsaber being ignited in front of her, but as she wondered about it she broke into a clearer patch of air. Vader had his back to her, and was attacking a Jedi. Instantly her eyes tracked to Jax, who was frozen in fear. She imagined his expression relaxing as he saw her, but she had no time left to spare.

The darkside master threw herself into the air, leaping onto Anbiraa's back and clinging like a limpet. She grabbed at his helmet and tried to screw it off.

[Pierce Tondry]

Electric death surged around the blade of his lightsaber, the sheer force of the shock pushing Pierce back another foot along the ground before he came to rest against a broken slab of metal. For several precarious seconds, the blue-white energy crackled and hissed against the energy that held it back from Pierce before falling silent.

Force Lightning meant anger, and anger meant the tandem work between Vega and Lady Vader was faltering. If he could just force Lady Vader further out of the picture, he might be able to take Vega in a one-on-one fight.

And it could start raining dandelions. Who am I kidding?

Pierce sighed and shut his eyes. He was all that stood between two hate-crazed, Force-experienced psychotics and his son. He could not be the shield to their sword and expect to live.

And if he died, who would care for Jax?

That thought sobered him. The blizzard of tactical considerations in his mind disappeared, and in the new quiet of his mind he felt rather than saw incoming danger. He scrambled to the side and to his feet, bolting wildly out of the way. Danger again came for him and he broke into a slide, snaking under whatever it was into a perceived zone of safety.

Pierce opened his eyes and looked up. He now sat on the safe side of a large structural support pillar, the kind that brought down entire sections of ceiling when collapsed. Hopefully that would be enough of a deterrent to his attackers to prevent them coming after him with everything they had.

A large crack sounded in his ear as something struck the pillar and he scrambled a little farther behind it. Apparently deterrence wasn't something he could count on.

Guess I'll have to think of some other way to do this.

[Darth Vader]

"NOOOO!!"

The Dark Lord's protests were too late. The pneumatics and hermetic sealing on his helmet protested audibly, but with a hiss of compressed air, the swept helm was torn from the mask and jaw guard. The mask itself fell forward, revealing the Sith Master for who he really was.

De'Ville was thrown violently from the Dark Lord's back, still clutching at the helmet as she struck a load-bearing pillar. The obsidian-armored Sith turned to face her, and the face she stared at was far from the one she expected. His skin was pale and jaundiced. Cancerous tumors traced lines down the right side of his face. His eyes were sunken, with dark circles around unnatural yellow orbs. What hair he had left was purely vestigial, whisping about on his head like grass on a wasted battlefield.

[Lady Vader]

LV wanted nothing more than to be rid of the Jedi and to get back to her objective. With Vega throwing lightning at Tondry, and her keeping the rain of concrete steady, the Jedi had become pinned behind a pillar that had been laid to rest earlier.

She would bring half this building down if she had to, and with that thought, she stopped the concrete hail, and focused on the ceiling above where the Jedi now lay hidden. With hands outstretched and fingers curved upwards, the ceiling cracked and splattered, buckling in on itself. It took part of the promenade that had been precariously supported by two cracked pillars and came down with forced speed coaxed by LV.

[Figrin D'an]

Taken by surprise at De'Ville's bold move, Figrin stepped back in shock as Vader struggled to free himself from the vice-like grip the woman had on his helmet. The Jedi's saber remained ready, but he knew not what to do. It seemed that fate had now pitted him in a defacto alliance with the Dark Jedi to curtail the intentions of the powerful Sith Lord.

The seal on the Sith's helmet popped loudly, revealing his true form. De'Ville had been cast off of Vader's massive form, lying in a crumpled heap several meters away. Figrin was again alone against the dark lord.

"By the Force...", Figrin gasped upon seeing the near inhuman face of the man behind the mask. The man appeared as though he was near death, being kept alive only by the mechanics of his suit and his will over the Dark Side. He was Hate incarnate, a destroyed form that was now the punishment for his past misdeeds. His aura was black as a starless sky, and seemed to sap the Living Force around him. Yet he seemed familar, beneath the decay his face bearing a resemblence that the Jedi could not quite place.

Vader spyed Jax, then focused in on Figrin, who stood inbetween the Sith and his intended prey. With the slightest of movements, Vader lifted his hand and brought his thumb and forefinger close, commanding the Force to crush his target with a powerful choke. Figrin could feel the grip, like a vice slowly closing on his throat. The Jedi fought back, pushing outward with his hands as if bracing himself against closing walls. The two locked eyes, neither yielding to mind games or to each other's ability with the Force.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena hit the pillar and fell to the deck of the space station, the breath knocked out of her. She gasped, trying to re-inflate her lungs, eyes fixated on the hideous visage of what was once Anbiraa. The clone stared at her, and then turned his attention back towards her son.

The Jedi who stood between the child and the monster... Lilaena sucked in a ragged breath, but it wasn't enough. The Jedi was her only hope.

De'Ville's eyes hardened as she managed to get her arms underneath her, pushing her battered body up off the floor. The Jedi was locked in invisible combat with Anbiraa, both with arms outstretched. Depend on the Jedi? She would protect her own son! Bleeding from a deep cut on her forehead, De'Ville stood to her feet, out of line of sight from Vader.

Leveling her eyes at the back of his hideous head, she lifted her hands towards him. The Force obeyed her, sparking electricity from her fingertips and arcing towards the Sith Lord. She gritted her teeth, face twisted with hate, and intensified her attack.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The lightning had ceased. With Pierce retreating for a moments respite behind a backbone pillar, Vega paused only for a moment. The Jedi Knight had counted on his opponents being rational, and seeing that their own safety hinged upon maintaining the fragile structure of the building. This was a bold assumption to make, given Tondry’s earlier goading of the Lupine – the mention of Anbira and his apparent supremacy of Vega having sent the Sith Lord into a kind of frenzy.

While Lady Vader appeared to have a clear method to her attack, Vega had descended into something akin to an animal madness. Even as the Sith Mistress had begun to tear apart an already precarious walkway, Vega was moving towards Pierce, breath hissing through gritted teeth. A brilliant tactician, the Lupine was not – however when it came to brute strength, Vega was a juggernaut. Ceaseless, unerring and unfalteringly tenacious, even the threat of death could not dissuade him from his goals when whipped into such a fury.

As he rounded the pillar behind which Pierce had hid, already dust and debris had begun to fall from above – and yet in spite of this, his saber still hummed to life as he struck out at Pierce with all the righteous, bitter anger that filled his being.

[Darth Vader]

He could feel her anger! It was rich, palpable, and sharp as a knife's edge, terminating at his very being.

Relinquishing his hold on Master D'an, the Dark Lord leapt skyward, over the Jedi Master's head. He was no longer the path of least resistance for her hatred - Figrin was.

Vader landed firmly on black-booted feet, his back turned to both LD and Figrin. Let them destroy each other!