Legendary Sith of the Apocalypse (Hera)

[Evil Hobgoblin]

It was the third time in two weeks.

Hera DrenKast awoke from her sleep at ShadowFaene fortress feeling- needed, was the word. There was somewhere she was supposed to be, someone she was supposed to meet with.

It was a vague feeling, one that disappeared after the Sith Mistress was fully awake like fog in direct sunlight. Where it came from was a mystery, for there were no words attached to it, nor dreams to make sense of it. It was just there.

But of course, without a source to attribute to the feeling, there was no way to investigate it. Which was why, around midday, the letter arrived.

It was a simple note, written in ink on a piece of parchment. It came delivered to ShadowFaene with the other datacard mail and looking very out of place among them.

Hera DrenKast-
Please come to Bast.
Old Hob has news
to hear, if you choose.
If your interest lies
in finding supplies
for your data vaults, then
COME SEE ME NOW.

[DarthHERA]

"What do you want!?"

She yelled abrassively, scaring the protocol droid half out of his circuitry after he'd called to her timidly from the doorway.

This was the third time in two weeks that she'd woken in a bad mood - a mood that had gotten progressively worse each time and had lasted in length, so that it was honest to say, the past 2 weeks had been a misery for all who had had to deal directly with the Faene Mistress.

Something was bothering her, it was obvious. It was more than just her usual agressive manner or impatient nature. That was always just a given. But something was not right and she had been brooding and brewing with agitation, setting her employees on edge.

"A letter....for you Mistress." The droid shuffled in apprehensively holding the unusual delivery out ahead of him like a flag of truce.

She glared ill-temperedly and snatched the letter from its deliverer. A cloud passed over her face as she did not recognise where it could be from. Taking her dagger from its sheath inside her boot, she slit the heavy paper and read..

Looking up, she noted the droid was still there, waiting silently for its dismissal. She looked at him, and the droid tilted its smooth sheened head in a questioning motion, detecting immediately the shift in Hera's mood.

So it was the Hob Goblin who had been invading her psyche this past while. She knew it immediately in her instincts as she read his words on page.

She got up immediately, letter still in her hand, and brushed past the droid. "We're going on a trip." And then left the room to prepare.

As she walked the corridor to the turbolift to her personal suites to get a few items, she thought to herself.. Vjun....what a hole.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Vjun was a turbulent system these days.

For the last month, it had been this way. The storms had changed- now they were lightning and swirling clouds, although acid rain still fell occasionally. The system's sun also had a dark red spot on it that seemingly kept track of the planet at all times, although at times it seemed to be focussed on something on the planet rather than the sphere of rock itself.

Bast Castle was now different, as well. It was sleeker, shinier, seemingly still run down, but with an energy and vibrancy to it that had not been there previously. There was also a lingering malevolence that greeted visitors to the castle gates.

It was to this place that Hera would be coming, and the being behind the summons waited just inside the gates for her arrival.

[DarthHERA]

The trip to Vjun was uneventful and Hera had made good time.

But she could not get there soon enough.

She debated as to whether or not she would throttle the crooked little imp when she saw him for all the aggrivation he had caused over the past two weeks. On the other hand...he had piqued her curiousity with his odd little memo like nothing had in a good while.

She approached the castle gates...Bast itself looming over her in its enormous dark proportions - its menacing and daunting structure testament to the distorted beings that resided with in its walls.

She pushed open the gate, which moved more easily than she had thought. She was expected, obviously.

And then she realised she wasnt out here alone.

A slight shuffle to her left and what she had taken at first glance as a shadow or boulder, stood and detatched itself from the wall and scuttled toward her.

It was him. The dwarf himself.

Hera growled at him in greeting.

"This better be good."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Good?"

Hob was a blur of motion, hard to pin down to a shape and form.

"Good, you say?"

Something sped by the bottom of the stairs.

"Be good, it had better?"

The same something leapt up onto the guard wall beside Hera, just as quickly leapt over her to the guard wall on the other side of the stairs, then leapt up into the air again.

"Of course it is good. Better than good."

The last statement came from the doorway, where Hob had been standing all along. "Knowledge, Hera DrenKast, is priceless."

The dwarf reached in among his robes and withdrew a small pendant. The material that made the pendant was black and twisted, but at one time it had doubtlessly been straight and true.

Its' appearance would have belied its Sith nature.

Hob stared at it. "It is a curious thing I have stumbled on, Hera DrenKast. A very, very curious thing. A wealth- a treasure trove- of artifacts of the Sith way. I divined the location from this little bauble, but unfortunately had to destroy it in the process."

The dwarf's gazed lifted to Hera's face. "Unless I am sadly mistaken, you control sufficient means to cart such items off of the planet they are on, and evade or disarm the traps in place."

"A trade, Hera DrenKast, is what I propose. Together, the two of us can find this planet and its' wealth of knowledge far quicker than either of us alone. In return for your help, we shall split our find evenly. What say you?"

[DarthHERA]

The way he was flitting around all about her - or rather, the illusion of him doing such - only served to irritate her. If she could have snatched him from the air by the throat, she would have, and squeezed unmercifully to let him know his parlor tricks were not at all amusing.

Instead, she strode toward his voice at the doorway, toward the bauble he dangled before her like a carrot on a stick.

Her luminiscent blue eyes locked onto the pendant as it dangled, from Hob's gnarled fingers, dimmly reflecting the spartan light of the planet from off its twisted form.

She plucked it from his hand, the Dwarf allowing her such liberty, confident in the knowledge that she would be unable to resist the proposal he offered, and looked it over carefully. It didnt look of Sith origin...but it felt it.

Shifting her gaze from the pendant to the goblin. "You are a resourceful imp, arent you."

She had worked with Hob Goblin on a couple of occassions. Once at the bidding of their Master, together with two other disciples, in the destruction of Talasea, another in her own quest to obtain the Iconic Ring. Both times, they had shared a like mindedness of purpose, and both times had proven a combined force to be reckoned with. Despite all his trickery and deceptions, Hera trusted Hob probably more than any Sith, with exception of her Master and her commrades at ShadowFaene. Still, it was not a blind trust - she was never so foolish as that.

Handing the pendant back with a rough shove, Hera grabbed the Dwarf by the shirtfront with her free hand and bent forward to look him in the eyes. She was about to lay down her terms, her little spiel about double-crossing blah blah, but what she saw reflected in his mischieveous eyes stopped her mid-stride. She saw her own reflection - which was relatively natural - but it was much more than just her own image. It was herself she saw. It was a very strange sensation.

Releasing him, disconcerted, and standing again to her full height she stated simply.

"When do we leave?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob smoothed his robe down, then gestured. "Whenever you like, Hera DrenKast. I have everything I need for such a trip with me."

From somewhere beneath his robe, Hob produced a satchel, which he slung over one shoulder. "We go to the planet of Galinas. It is a Sith tomb and a dead world. Only the perverted live there now."

Hera's eyes narrowed. "Never heard of it."

Hob laughed. "If you had, it would mean the planet's location was general knowledge. No, I will need to astrogate our course personally. That is why I am along on this trip, hm? That, and my knowledge of what we will find there? Yes?"

Hera's face took on a vicious look. "And what will we find there, exactly?"

The Trickster grinned, which was, in its' own way, more frightning than his laugh. "The Legendary Sith of the Apocalypse," he told her. "Now come. We waste time."

[DarthHERA]

They boarded the "Wolfsschanze" and Hera was more than happy to leave Vjun to its inhabitants. She had to wonder however just how bad this "Galinas" was for the dwarf to refer to it as a dead world, a tomb. And she had always thought that all the "perverted" lived right here on Vjun.

She did the pre-flight routine and looked on as Hobs gnarled fingers programmed co-ordinates into the navigation grids.

With in a few short moments, they were away and the swirling mists and rain enveloped the Imps homeworld and soon it was lost to sight completely in the maze of stars.

"Ive never heard of Galinas"

Hob was quick to quip that she had already mentioned that.

"And.." she continued irritably for being interrupted, "Ive never heard of these 'Legendary Sith of'...what was that again?"

"Apocolypse!" Hob made the word dance the way he pronounced it and his hands and feet fluttered with mischief.

"Yes, the 'Apocolypse'. What the hell is that exactly, and why do we want to find such Sith?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"The Apocalypse," Hob said. "The onrush of judgement in the form of the complete and total destruction of all life, and all traces of life's existence. Most religions have a figure, or figures, that are at the head of this tide of death and destruction. You, as a Sith, should be able to appreciate that."

The accompanying grin the dwarf gave her, however, suggested there was something behind his comment. But then the glint in his eye faded, and he was all business again. "Anyway," Hob continued. "Galinas was part of the ancient Sith Empire. Some of the more zealous of that ancient order found it hard remaining among their lesser brethren, so they adopted a nearby planet as their home. On this planet, they delved into Sith arts deep, dark, and terrible, and the secrets they learned stayed hidden in their relative seclusion. During the war between the Sith and the Jedi, the Galinasi Sith were rumored to be constructing the ultimate weapon against their brethren of the Light."

"The Galinasi called the weapon 'Harbingers of the Apocalypse', or 'Sith of the Apocalypse' in today's language. It was supposed to be the pinnacle of the Sith war effort- indeed, of all Sith effort anywhere. It would have fought, and conquered, and destroyed until nothing could possibly oppose the Sith. But no one let on as to what it actually was. Secrecy was needed, in order for the weapon to truly decimate the Jedi ranks."

Hob fell silent, and Hera eventually prompted him for information again once she had recovered from that lapse of concentration all story listeners suffer from. "So what happened to this great weapon? How come it didn't get used?"

"It took so long to create that most of the Sith off of Galinas devoted themselves to other efforts. At some point, contact with the planet became disrupted and eventually lost as the other Sith failed to put resources into re-establishing contact. When the Jedi sent a team to investigate Galinas, they found no living Sith there and hid the planet using the cloak of ignorance."

"That," Hob said, smirking at the viewport. "Is the short form."

Hera digested this information, then asked another question. "So what's there now?"

"What we can expect to find there, I think, is simple. Sith tombs, Sith spirits, possibly some tomb guards, the biggest collection of untouched Sith lore and artifacts- and possibly, somewhere, the ultimate Sith weapon."

[DarthHERA]

She thought on that response a moment.

"Sith tombs, Sith spirits, tomb guards..." Where had she heard that before..

But she knew the answer - and knew it well.

Memories of her adventure with Garrett Blade on Korriban flooded into her mind. That little jaunt had almost cost her life three times over, she remebered sourly. She still had scars from the attack of Blade's "dog" and remants of the effects of the spellbinder's blood still swiming in her veins.

It had been one of the most gruelling escapades she had ever been on and still they had come up empty handed. The Sorcerer had managed to get himself and her to saftey when the old tomb collapsed in on itself and its Bradel guardians - but it was all at the cost of the peice he had been after.

Yes.. one of the worst adventures. But at the same time, one of the best. And Blade, he had been interesting and enlivening company to say the least. She somehow thought this trip with Hob would be no less adventurous.

Hob noticed Hera's lopsided grin and he jarred his inquisitive face inches from her own.

"My story amuses you?"

Hera pushed him back a little so she didnt have to be cross-eyed whilst looking at him.

"No...just the prospect of what awaits us on your "Galinas" Master Hob."

The dwarf didnt seem convinced, but Hera continued on.

"Its odd I have never heard of this before..though you have lived much longer than I and I'll grant you know a great deal more about these things."

"Thankyou" Hob bowed magnanimously.

Hera refused to be distracted. "It would be good to find such artifacts as you mention." She ran her hand along the consol absentmindedly. "But this "all powerful weapon" what makes you think we shall be able to possess it any better than those who went before us. "

She wasn't belittling her or Hobs power in the darkside. Both of them had proven time and again that they had formidable ability, but still, it was a reasonable question.

The Goblin gave her such a look of cant give away too much, deary and Hera knew he would tell her no more at this point.

Moving her hand from the consol to stroke the Sith Talisman she always wore at her throat - a gift from her Master, given her years before - she settled back with her own thoughts, the dwarf with his, and the "Wolfsschanze" continued its silent glide through the great void of space.

********************

She awoke to the rough and insistent shaking of her shoulder and she struggled to focus bleary eyes on what was Hob's toothy grin.

He announced in his merry rhyming manner that they had approached the planets orbit and it was time to be "Up! Up!"

With a groan, Hera straightened stiffened limbs, unfolding herself to sit straight once more in her pilot seat. Her head felt thick and full of wool - she never slept like that unless it was preceeded by a hearty indulgence in rum. Trying to shake her thoughts clear she quizzed the dwarf.

"How long was I asleep?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"An entire day," Hob told her. He watched her confirm this fact with a glance at a nearby chronometer, then she glared at him balefully. "Ah, ah! Naught had old Hob to do with yer snoozyness. Twas ye an' ye alone that caused yerselfl t' sleep so long, don't y'know?"

Hera scrubbed her eyes and stood up, stretching out. Then she sat back down and began to do some scans.

"Hob already did those," he said, but she waved her hand impatiently. Just like a Sith to not trust him.

And Hob had to admit, given the situation that things were decidedly stacked in his favor. He understood most of the cards in play, after all. "When ye've reassured yerself, lass, an' steered us to the ground," Hob said, standing from the copilot's seat. "Hob shall be waitin' in the lounge."

After a few minutes, Hera followed him, somewhat irritated, and she grew moreso to see that he was ahead of her yet again, having donned a pack that had somehow come with him. "Ready?" he queried, having already felt the bump that indicated landing.

"Just a minute," she growled, going into another room.

When she returned, she was dressed in traveling clothes- far more suited for the task at hand she was, Hob noted. "Ready now?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied indifferently. Apparently, she had decided she would not let his manner get to her.

"Then off we go!" he said with gusto, and walked over to where he knew the boarding ramp to be.

Hera approached from behind him and keyed for the ramp to descend, which it did, and Hob made use of it to exit the ship.

The outside was sand and stone, almost exclusively, and the wind blew hollowly. There were many buildings nearby made of the same material that the ground appeared to consist of and no discernable nearby plant life.

It was very dead.

A hissing behind him announced the sealing of the boarding ramp- a definite precaution, because anything on this dead world needed to stay on it, excepting what Hob and Hera had come for.

The two of them set out towards a large pillar that seemed to be a signpost of some kind. They were almost there when part of the landscape stirred and stood- it was a piecemeal corpse with the unmistakable taint of a Sith guardian spirit. It began to shamble towards them with surprising speed, groaning its' unknown but doubtless unpleasant intentions.

Hob lifted his hand and the zombie was suddenly forced to hover above the ground. It strained against Hob's power, but could not break free, and in the next moment Hob had hurled it against the pillar. The body shattered into dust- what little energy had remained to animate it was now gone, and so was the spirit.

Hera, meanwhile, was looking at the pillar, again displaying indifference at Hob's handling of events. "Well?" Hob asked, coming up behind her. "Does it say where the central burial tomb is?"

[DarthHERA]

Hera was entering the symbols she could make out from the pillars surface into a small data pad.

The time on Korriban with Blade had revealed to her how woefully under educated she was in regards to ancient Sith writ and she had since taken the time to do some personal research. She had some deciphering programms now loaded into her personal files and was accessing them through the data pad. Some of the symbols were familiar, but she didnt really remember what stood for which etc etc and preferred to let the small computer do the deciphering.

Hob scuttled up beside her, impatient to be moving forward and looking at her expectantly. Hera deliberately made him wait.

"Well.........." she said, looking the pillar over once again like she was a tourist and had all day ".........if you're done tossing hundred year-old corpses about the yard, I may have something for you."

Skipping from one foot to the other, the dwarf failed to contain his eagerness. Hera pretended not to notice.

Tiring of her games, Hob snatched the data pad from her hands, the instrument disapearing into his disproportionately large gnarled hand, and ran his eyes over the information displayed.

Hera watched him as he looked over the imformation.

"See about three quarters down? There are names listed. Four of them. They are referred to as the "Knights of Corruption." There is no description or details to who they were, but they are all listed as being buried in the Tomb of the Disowned."

Hera took back the data pad, pressed a few buttons and then held it once again for Hob Goblin to see.

"This is a generic plan of tombs that have been excavated in the past believed to have belonged to the ancient Sith. If we go by this, the main burial crypts would be in the center of the great octagonal design. Down deep, below ground. Thats our best bet."

She grinned at Hob.

"So the question is..." she looked about her trying to judge distances ".....How good are you at math?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob shrugged. "Excellent at math, but not possessing a measuring device. It matters not."

The dwarf set out again suddenly, Hera moving to keep pace with him. It was amusing to Hob to move quickly enough that Hera had to increase her own speed just to match the pace he set. And with shorter legs, too.

It was but another element in the bait-and-trick game between them.

They continued to progress, moving through ancient ruins that belied their crumbling appearance by remaining standing. It seemed to Hob that a single poke would be all it would take to collapse any one of the box-like dwellings that lay scattered about.

Why not test the theory?

Hob walked over to one of the houses and gave it a hard jab with his index finger. Cracks split the wall from where he touched, spreading out widely. Some of the material crumbled off, and Hob could see it was not metal these buildings were made of.

It was curious. Normally, a Sith would have built something and crammed it full of enough alchemy to last until the end of time.

There was another crack, and the house began to collapse. Hob's spirit could feel something familiar- like deja vu, it was. When the rubble had finished falling, Hob could see another shambling corpse, this one with the flesh hanging from it in strips.

With a flash, the dwarf's lightsaber was in his hand. He drew on the Force through the lightsaber, cutting the corpse with a Force-charged blow.

The corpse rocked with the blow, falling into two parts that slowly collapsed to the ground, the decayed presence behind it draining away.

Hob stared at it, uncertainty filling him. The Force-imbued strike should have wrought utter destruction on not only the corpse, but also the animating spirit. How was it possible that his attack had no more effect than a normal lightsaber?

Hera had come up behind him. "Something wrong?" she asked, a snide note in her voice that suggested pleasure at his confusion.

Hob snorted. "Only that the spirit we met previously seems very determined to make our acquaintance," he said, revealing none of the reasons for his worry. "Do be a dear and send it to hell if you should see it again."

"Oh, but of course," Hera said with a mocking bow. "I live to serve."

Hob snorted again and resumed walking, this time not hurrying his pace so that he could better sense his surroundings. If the spirit showed again, Hob would know and be ready to finish it.

The two of them crested a rise and saw a large expanse of flatland surrounded by pyramidal buildings, in the middle of which there appeared to be a hole with descending stairs. Upon closer inspection, the stairs were revealed to be lined with large, eye-catching markings.

This would seem to be the place.

"Ladies first," Hob said with a mocking courtly bow.

[DarthHERA]

"Thats fine, Hob. Stay behind me - I'll protect you."

She began to make her way steadily down the stairwell. The shaft of light illuminating her progress for a good part of the way. The stone steps of the lower levels of the temple were rough and uneven, but easily traversed.

Behind her, she could hear the dwarf scuttling along, his breathing astoundingly loud because of the echo.

Spinning on her heel she snarled back up at him.

"Why dont you get on a loudspeaker and announce to all and sundry our arrival, Hob! You sound like a bantha behind me for all the racket you........"

The words trailed off and her eyes lifted from off Hob to something just behind him.

"Draw your saber. We got company."

The "spirit corpse" that the dwarf had twice dispatched had risen again from the dead and was moving down the steps behind them.

Though silouetted in the light, it was easy to see that it was not so skeletal as before. Its boney limbs were now covered in a thin albeit rotting layer of flesh and there were tufts of snarled and wiry hair sprouting from its skull. Its wasted form was thin and gaunt, the eyes now peering from sunken sockets harrowed and desperate. And it was steadily moving toward them.

Hera thrust out a hand and projected a powerful blast of force energy that pushed the spectre back through the air and out the tunnel mouth. She thought it resembled the shooting of garbage out the airlock.

In the time it took for the two companions to look questioningly at each other as to explain the reason this creature kept arising, the pest was back. Still looking like a walking corpse, but some how it seemed even stronger for its encouters with the force.

Hob grinned at Hera with a sudden light of understanding. "Might be a good idea deary, if you dont do that again."


Behind them, from out of the darkness came another noise. Hera gave Hob another withering look.

"You got any other helpful suggestions, sparky?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Of course," Hob smirked. "Use what your momma gave you."

The dwarf hopped on two feet, up and down, up and down. The corpse veered his way, apparently attracted by the movement. Where there is movement, there is life energy, Hob thought. There is the Force.

The corpse made a clumsy, shambling lunge at Hob when it was close enough, but Hob had been waiting for just that. With a stronger leap, Hob double-kicked the corpse in the chest. It stumbled, reeling, then collapsed to the floor.

The impact sent it crumbling to dust.

"I feel something else," Hera remarked suddenly. Her eyes were closed as she tried to better hear the whispers of the Force.

"As do I," Hob said. "Each time, I do feel some shadowy presence overlapping that of our attackers. 'tis... ominous..."

For a moment, Hera and Hob each turned to look at each other, but the suggestion that they should leave this place and its' potential treasure stores died on their lips. Pride alone would not have allowed them to admit failure so early.

Hera tossed her hair back, becoming all confidence again. "You gonna sit there all day?" she asked playfully.

Hob's eyes narrowed and he withdrew himself into the folds of his robe. Great danger was here, danger that blended with the surroundings so well he could not sense it. Perhaps Hera could, or perhaps the danger was camoflagued even more from Sith than it was from a Dark Jedi. Whichever it was, Hob had best take it seriously.

"We proceed," he said in all-business tones. "You take the stairs. I will take the ceiling. Do not use the Force- there is something here that feeds on it. It probably guards whatever artifact collection exists."

With that, Hob began to clamber up the wall. It took him longer than it would have had he made use of the Force, but he did manage. Then he began to scramble down the stairs again, using the pits and holes in the old metalwork for leverage and creeping as quietly as a mouse.

[DarthHERA]

Hob scuffled overhead like some giant hairy bat - an image Hera had no trouble in conjuring to her minds eye. She made a mental-memo to be sure to tell him such later on.

She herself took the less arduous path of the stair way. Concentrating on the things around her, the nuances of the force in the great cavern like tomb. They were faint, if present at all. It was like a giant gulf or void. The only signature she could detect was the goblins as he made his way through the darkness.

What she did sense though was something very dark and menacing, but somehow...faded. It was hard to describe, but the only analogy Hera could put to it for expression sake was that of a dangerous prisoner languishing in some hell-hole dungeon. Subdued, but not defeated. Waiting, anticipating an opportunity to seize freedom.

In a nutshell - "ominous".


Hera took a lightstick from a sachel hanging at her hip and cracked it once. Its luminescent green glow casting an eerie light about the crypt.

Three sarcophogous' (sp) were revealed in the light, one broken at the far end. Stretching the stick forward, Hera could see that it was empty.

"Hob" (she called over her shoulder to bring the dwarf over to take a look) "Ive found a new shoe-box for you if you want it."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Shoes?" Hob snorted in disgust, some pebbles falling into Hera's hair from where he clung to the ceiling above her. "Be serious, woman."

Hob gazed intently at the sarcophagus. Something was wrong about it, something very deeply wrong. Danger clung to it in whispered traces.

He reached a hand down from his perch and shoved the sarcophagus all the way open. It was fairly shallow, but wide, meant for one rotund person only. Some Sith runes on the lid caught Hob's eye and he shifted to examine them more clearly.

"What do those say?" he asked Hera.

Hera brought forth the translator datapad and began entering the symbols into it. The two of them stared at it, awaiting its' translation.

Then something shifted, and the back of Hob's mind exploded into danger and he dropped to the floor, seeking to evade whatever it was.

And whatever it was, was disgusting.

It seemed at first to be a large, obese human, but there were flaws in this characterization. It had pointed ears, a flat snout, and clawed hands. The skin of its' body hung in folds- all in all, it was like a large bipedal pig that hadn't been fed in a while, and it was standing from the sarcophagus that had just been empty.

The pig reached out to grab the hand of a surprised Hera, who fought it viciously. Hob had to act, but could not do so with the Force. Any attack he brought to bear against this thing would likely be absorbed as had the earlier attacks against the possessed corpses. So he picked up a rock and threw it.

The rock hit the creature with a sharp slap, but it made no response. Hera, meanwhile, had not gotten the thing to release its' grip, and she seemed to be weakening.

Hob threw a few more rocks, but they had no effect. Hera opened her mouth to insult Hob, but then sagged weakly before the words came out.

With no other options left, Hob pulled his lightsaber from within his robes and ignited it. The blade cast vibrant red shadows into the gloom, piercing the corners and cracks.

Hob lifted it to an attack position, then paused. The creature was staring at him intently, like a vornskr that scented prey.

Hera finally tore free from the Sithspawn's grasp, a black burn mark on her skin from where she'd been held. From the look in Hera's eyes her strength was returning quickly, but she would need some small amount of time at least to recover.

Hob backed away, waving the lightsaber tauntingly. "Heeere, piggy, piggy, piggy," he said softly, menacingly. "Come an' let old Hob slice ye t' bacon."

[DarthHERA]

Weakly, and with infuriating slowness, Hera uncliped her blaser from the holster at her side.

Hob had engadged his lightsaber (about time, Hera thought sarcastically, it would have been tragic had he run out of rocks). For now, the pig-like creature was eyeing Hob hungrily and it seemed to Hera that the dwarfs blade seemed not quite as brilliant as it had been just seconds before.

Sending off two quick laser rounds into the soft belly of the strange being, Hera was amazed to see that they had far from the desired effect.

Instead of sending it reeling backwards in squeals of pain, the being stood strong - its belly showing no sign of entry wounds of any sort, (and Hera had seen the laser hit) but rather it seemed to swell and grow in size.

Hob was yelling something at her, but the pig-creature had let out a terrible call and she could not hear him clearly.

Her wrist still sent burning sensations up her arm and into her shoulder and looking down on her datapad, she noticed that it was completely dark and out of power. Clueing in to the fact that this opponent seemed to draw in and thrive on the energy of the things around it, she groaned unhappily.

"Not the lightsaber, Hob! Go back to the rock strategy!"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"Oh, shut yer piehole, wench," Hob yelled back. He'd already deduced what was going on and had deliberately revealed an energy source in an attempt to distract the pig's attention. What he hadn't counted on was such a quick drain of his lightsaber's power. He'd counted on its Force attunement to provide it with some resistance, but it seemed to have made things easier for the creature instead.

Cutting the weapon off, Hob stashed it beneath his robes. The pig bellowed in dissatisfaction and began to charge at him. Whether it would have drained him dry, or merely bowled him over, Hob was not keen to find out. He leapt into the air, getting a firm grip on the ceiling even as he barely avoided his attacker. The pig tripped and fell to the floor with a crash, and Hob scurried back several feet.

With a roar, the pig got to its feet, attempting to grip the dwarf by jumping up and down. Each time it missed, Hob sneered at it and made faces. The creature was just too bulky to effectively get that high.

The creature then stopped, glaring at the food that was just out of reach. Then, it spun and charged into a nearby wall.

Hob felt a surge of the Force and then the entire cavern shook with impact. The dwarf himself was shaken from his clutch, nearly falling straight on his face as gravity took over.

Hob groaned and shook bits of ceiling and rock off himself. Behind him, he could hear tortured inhalations with snuffles and snorts between breaths. He rolled over to see the creature towering over him, and grinning with a satisfied look in its piggish features.

Then it reached for him.

[DarthHERA]

Hera felt as well as heard the tomb shake as the pig-monster
crashed against the wall.

She glimpsed the dwarf as he fell from the ceiling, but didnt bother to wait to see him smuck out on the ground..satisfying as that would have been. Serves him right for yelling at her like that, she thought sourly.

Hera picked up a large slab of the broken sacophagus and coming up behind Hob's assailant as it reached for him, she slammed the solid peice of crypt across the side of the pig-creature's head.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The creature's eyes bulged out of their sockets. It reeled forward, then tipped and fell with a crash. Dust and debris flew into a cloud, and it lay on the floor squealing and pounding.

Hob got to his feet. "Nice last minute roll away from crashing tubby here," Hera noted.

The dwarf's nose flared and he regarded the pig. "A most curious guardian, this is. It knows techniques that- ?!"

The pig had apparently come to its senses. How anything could have survived Hera's blow was a matter worth investigating, but the pig had begun to jump up and down. First dust trickled from the ceiling, then pebbles and rocks.

"Out!" Hera ordered.

Hob frowned, backing away from the raging creature. "The artifacts-"

"There are no artifacts here," Hera said. "I took more of a look around after I hit that thing. This may look like a tomb, but it's a trap. The real site must be somewhere nearby."

Abruptly, a huge chunk of ceiling gave way and crashed into the floor in front of them. Hera and Hob turned and scrambled for the stairway, Hob leaping off the floor and walls and Hera speeding close behind. They sped all the way to the top of the stairs and then some, pausing to catch their breaths only after the rumbling of shifting rock had ceased.

The two unlikely partners looked at each other. "Glad I'm not down there," Hera said.

"Indeed," Hob replied. "But where from here?"

Hera scanned the city around her. "Wherever the palace is," she said, starting forward. "And it will probably be worse than booby-trapped. Come on- follow me Hobby."

[DarthHERA]

It felt much better to be out in the fresh air again - the stiffling and murky air of the tomb had a distinctly smothering effect and Hera was glad to be free of it.

They moved forward, each of the two casting a gaze about their surroundings, suspicious and mistrusting of everything around them.

Hera stopped walking a moment, and Hob scampered in a sort of hopping motion about her, looking up to her and out around them again, searching for the reason for the halt.

A sharp strike to his head with the flat of her palm brought Hob Goblin to an abrupt and insulted stop.

"Knock that off will you - Im trying to concentrate"

The dwarf rubbed his forehead with a gnarled hand and glowered at his companion. Opening his mouth to release his beratting protest and probably a few choice and ancient expletives, Hera hushed him with a waved hand in the air and a sudden tenseness in her bearing.

"You feel that? Come on Hob, use your senses...Hear it?"

She turned luminous blue eyes, clear and exicted to her diminutive friend.

"Hear it calling?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob stopped scampering and stood still, closing his eyes and bowing his head in meditation. He felt...

Nothing. He felt nothing.

There was no call, no yearning for his presence. The dwarf was about to withdraw his senses, but then he heard a slight whispering.

It was nebulous and vague, and the murmuring of its words hinted at a total corruption Hob instinctively shied away from. The dwarf didn't like the idea of its existence one bit. But where it was, was likely to be where any other artifacts were, too. Perhaps Hera would take the corrupt thing in her share.

"This way, sparky," Hera said. Hob stopped meditating and began to follow, on the watch for anything suspicious.

The two of them eventually came upon a structure set low off the ground. It was not vast and grandiose, but it had all the trappings of egotism a palace owner would enjoy, including two huge statues of dog-like beasts. The span of the roof also indicated a large structure beneath the soil.

Hera continued, seemingly drawn by the siren's call of the artifact. The entryway was as dark and mysterious as the one to the crypt, but it seemed to hold a dark promise that compelled her forward. She walked in between the guardian statues and stopped, staring down a grand staircase and into gloom.

There was a scratch behind her, and then the unmistakeable hiss of a lightsaber being activated. Hera whirled around, hearing sounds of scuffling and cutting behind her-

- and found Hob standing beside the crumpled form of one of the dog-beasts.

For good measure, the dwarf decapitated it, then stowed his lightsaber beneath his cloak. "The eyes moved," he explained.

"Come on," Hera said. "We're wasting time."

The two of them continued on, once again leaving the sunlight to vanish into gloom.

[DarthHERA]

Her hand slid against the surprisingly smooth surface of the palace wall, doing so to aid her balance in the darkness, as she made her way down the staircase. Though made from stone and mable, the surface had been buffed to a smooth polish. Passing her hand unintentionally over a domed glass sphere inbedded within the marble, the heat of her touch triggered a circuit within and suddenly the great hall they were entering was illuminated in a soft yellow glow from an artificial light source which ran in circumference around the walls.

Looking back over her shoulder, she shrugged at Hob, and then continued on - her pace quickened by benefit of the light.

The "call" was intense, and her fingers twitched down to their tips in anticipation. She could feel a power, dark and dangerous, that was waiting to be taken. It was like when she knew she had the winning sabaac hand and it was only a play away from taking the pot for her own. A strange glint came to her blue eyes. She couldnt tell if Hob felt it the same as she - but he was every bit as eager to claim that which he had come here for. They were close to their prize, she was certain. The desire was palpable.

Descending the last step, she held her hand up in a gesture for Hob to tread carefully, quietly. And she did the same.

Now standing side by side, Hera and Hob, were a flesh and blood incarnation of the statues before them.

A woman and a dwarf, made from the same marble that lined the wall, stood sentinal before an archway that led to a small alcove. They watched, but didnt see - their faces devoid of eyes, even sculptured ones. The images were not Hera and Hob Goblin. But the longer the two stood there, the more alike their stone counterparts seemed to take on the Sith and the Dwarf's resemblence.

"Whats this? More trickery?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

"As evil does, so evil is," Hob said quietly. He lifted a claw-tipped hand and ran it quietly down the side of his counterpart. "Cold. Hollow. Uncaring. But strong."

There was a whirl and a flurry of Hob's cloak, and abruptly the Hob statue exploded into a thousand pieces.

The dwarf withdrew his lightsaber, burning far brighter than a lightsaber should have been, and cut it off. "There is more to find than this," he growled softly. "Come."

The two of them continued onward, down further into the depths. Eventually, they came into a much large room than anything they had seen thus far. Larger, and grander.

Statues lined the walls, arched doorways with spiderweb Sith inscriptions crawling on them, a towering dais the length of a shockball field, and a spectacular throne carved from the very rock of the far wall. It was Sith in every way.

"A final challenge," Hob murmured. "The treasure chamber, we must find."

He looked to Hera for the answer.

[DarthHERA]

Hera was not standing where Hob expected her to be when he turned toward her. In fact, Hera was not standing at all.

She had taken a seat in the ornate throne, rubbing her hands along the cold armrest and grinning imperiously at the dwarf.

"What do you think? Looks good on me, huh?"

Her voice echoed in the great hall.

"This must have really been something, back in the day. Just imagine it. The power.." Her voice held a sense of awe. And a sense of desire, a lust for that same power.

Scanning the encripted walls, the statues, the grandeur of their surroundings, her voice became a low whisper. Her eyes glinting.

"What could possibly have gone wrong to leave this place such a tomb?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hera had transformed.

The woman sitting in the throne was no longer the leader of a mid-sized criminal organization. She was now a Sith Queen, possessed by a vast lust that epitomized the Dark Side. Her body was sitting up straight, strong, regal, powerful, as though trying to appear sensual and dominating all at once. Her hands rested lightly on the armrests, her fingers curled around the circular stones at their ends. Her lips were drawn back in a grin and her eyes were staring intently around the room, objectifying everything they saw.

Hob scurried to the side of the throne. And gazed at it in the Force. It did not appear to have any special properties about it. Perhaps the view from the throne would inspire anyone with such an attitude, or perhaps it was simply Hera's inner nature coming forth.

And perhaps Hera's natural assumption of the role could be turned to their advantage.

"Be still," he whispered. The dwarf leapt onto the back of the throne and leaned over to Hera's ear speaking quietly, soothingly. "You are Hera DrenKast, queen of this planet and pinnacle of the Sith tradition. You are Mistress of all you survey, and this palace is yours, built to your instruction. You have a treasure chamber, built so only you can open it in times of need. You know how to open it and you want to open it. You want to open it. You need to open it. Open it."

Hera's expression seemed to relax. She slowly looked at the throne and her hands caressed the stones at the ends of the armrests. Her fingers suddenly became claws and she clamped down. A glow appeared around her hands and Hob heard the sizzle of Force Lightning.

Slowly, lines and similar stones around the chamber lit. They were arranged in some obscure pattern Hob did not recognize and would easily have overlooked. They blended with the features of the throne room well.

Hera jerked once, momentarily, and from each stone around the chamber a bright beam shot forth. The beams coalesced and illuminated one of several symbols in the floor of the throne room.

Rock scraped against rock and the symbol sank into the floor then slid aside revealing another passage, one Hob could see the end of. From the room below came a golden glow.

The sizzling stopped and the chamber dimmed again. Hera looked tired and satisfied, and still regal. Hob gave her shoulder a nudge with a claw and she jolted. "Come on, sparky," she said. "Let's go have a look."

[DarthHERA]

It was like having her own personal devil sitting on her shoulder. And it was not far from it. Hob Goblin was as wicked and devilish as they came. His jaunty little face lit fit to ignite when he saw the force lightening flash and the great passageway open up before them. A hearty cackle as the dwarf voiced his pleasure.


Hera, too, felt the exhilaration of closing in on the prize they had come for and the two unlikely adventurers descended the stone stairway.

There was still a lingering glow coming up from the cavern below and Hera's level step was echoed by the Imps capering one.
He looked like he may begin a jig and his eyes beamed brightly.

"Still have a care, little gremlin." she cautioned, trying to curtail his exhuberance to a sober level. "The door is open, but the way may not be welcoming."

"Bah!" Hob knew no fear or reason to be circumspect. His force sense was strong and he, as did Hera, felt no imminent threat. He scooched past her down to a long ornate sarcophagus laying center to the room.

At either end of the sarcophagus were carved great muscular beats, with horns on their heads and sharp clenched jaws. They faced one another across the length of the tomb, yet had no eyes. They had leather-like wings on whose end were clawed fingers that stretched toward each other and clasped one another.

Dangling from their intertwined fingers was an ancient amulet suspended above the sarcophagus on a heavy gold chain. In its center was an amber crystal with a broken swirl encased within it.

Hob darted forward...his hands lovingly roving the length of the tomb muttering gleefully.

He clambered up onto the sarcophagus and tugged at the amulet danginlg there, but it would not come loose.


Hera came up behind him and touched his gnarled hands away.

"Perhaps it needs a woman's touch."

She was joking, but there was much truth in what she said.

Hera barely put her fingers to the amulet before the great beasts moved, swivelling their massive heads as if waking from deep sleep, and then with a thunderous growl, opened their claws and released the chain to fall into the center of Hera's palm

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob was instantly cartwheeling backwards, leaping, spinning, and then landing upright on the floor. He stared at the gigantic creatures and took another step back.

His foot bumped into something.

Without thinking, Hob snatched it up with a tripod grip, did another cartwheel, and produced his lightsaber. The object he'd taken hold of had disappeared into his robes.

Both of the beasts roared again, stomping towards him. Somehow, they seemed not to notice Hera at all.

The dwarf became a flurry or robes as he leapt into the air again. The great beasts thrust their heads forth, each's twin horns threatening to impale the limber being, but never quite achieving that end. Hob bounced from the floor, to the ceiling, to the very backs of the lumbering creatures where he attempted to stab one. That quickly revealed itself to be ineffective, so Hob took to the air again, darting off behind the two great watchcreatures.

Both beasts turned around, completely ignoring Hera again. Hob cut off his lightsaber and spread his hands as if to say "So what's the catch?"

[DarthHERA]

For her part, Hera's attention was consumed by the glimmering trinket in her hand. Oh, yes, she was quite aware that Hob was darting and scampering and dodging for his life, and she found this vaguely amusing. She was not in any danger however - the creatures seemed not concerned with her in the least - and so took the opportunity to inspect her newest aquisition.

She moved off, head bent over her the item in her palm, to seat herself on a stone ledge that rimmed the room. Sidestepping the dwarf as he scurried frantically by and flipped himself airborne with an indignant "hrmmp", she all but ignored his predicament.

Instead, she peered intently into the gem, seeing within its dazzling core a dark violet cloud..

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hera continued her absentminded study of the artifact she'd just acquired, to Hob's great disadvantage. All his attempts to grip these creatures with telekinetic powers failed- the Force around these creatures seemed smooth, and Hob's efforts slid off like water down a drain.

A Sith sword in the chamber did not throw Hob's efforts to manipulate it, and he drew it to him with his power. His clawed digits gripped its handle firmly and Hob tested it with an experimental swing. In spite of being metal, it was as light and wieldable as any lightsaber.

Hob bounded forward and attacked again, ducking beneath one of the creatures and cutting at its exposed underbelly. The sword did actually cut the rock skin of the creature, but no apparent damage seemed to result.

Scooting out the other side, Hob leapt into the air and took refuge in the only place in the room that seemed at all safe: behind Hera's seat on the ledge.

[DarthHERA]

She held the crystal gem up to the light, tilting her head from side to side to examine it, but neither angle afforded her any insight more than the other.

She brought it down to drape it against her chest (a noisy clang of a sword from the direction of the Dwarf/Monster scuffle barely registered an imprint on her attention).. and she opined inwardly wether the violet of the stone suited her coloring or not..

A sharp jolt against her back and the hairy midget was behind her, squeezing his knobby body around her in order to gain some form of safe haven. Couldnt he see she was occupied right now? She twisted and shoved Hob Goblin out from behind her, sending him to half-hop half-skip an imbalanced retreat to avoid a leathered talon down his rump.

"Hob, mighty Dark Jedi.... (she half mocked him as she nonchalantly brought the artifact and draped it now over her wrist like a braclet) havent you killed that thing yet?"

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob's feet scrambled, then found purchase. He came to a stop and glared at Hera. "Oh, no dearie," he cackled. "Old Hob was just savin' some o' the fun fer ye."

Working his hands in a circular motion, Hob caught Hera in a telekinetic grip, lifted her bodily into the air with the Force, and threw her in the direction of one of the watchkeeper beasts.

The second beast had managed enough cleverness in its stone brain not to be fooled by Hob's constant motion tactic. It had hung back while its' fellow approached on the last attack and now it was easily in striking range.

With a two-step, Hob began cartwheeling towards his enemy. In mid-cartwheel, his feet latched onto one of the watchkeeper's gigantic tusks. Hob spun, flipped, and landed the neck of the great beast. With a twirling flourish, Hob drove the Sith sword point-blank into the beast's neck, releasing an explosive shock of energy through the blade as he did so.

The watchkeeper shuddered and convulsed once, then exploded into chunks of stone beneath Hob's feet. The dwarf was flung into the ceiling, where his claws and feet latched on to keep him hanging there.

[DarthHERA]

Hera flew quite gracefully backwards through the air - given the circumstances. Her arms flailed a little, more in an effort to not inadvertantly let go of her treasure than anything else.

She landed heavily against the second Watchkeeper with an oompf and the two tumbled to the ground.

The beast now began to snarl. Up until now, it had paid no mind to Hera as she had not been at all agressive toward it. But now, she had attacked (the beast not knowing a creature such as her does not normally attack backwards) and the Watchkeeper clawed at her with his talons.

"Aaaaah!"

The sharp shooting pain as her soft flesh was opened down the length of one arm by a jagged claw prompted Hera into action.
She twisted awkwardly and slipped out from underneath the Keepers leathery wing. She stood quickly and sliped the artifact chain around her neck with her good hand. She reached for her lightsaber and ignited it.

Hob was giving the coup de grace to the second keeper behind Hera and the awful screech reverbated from the creature, echoing about the tomb like a screaming banshee, so loud as to hurt the ears.

The crystal dangled forward and strangely the Keeper infront of Hera became suddenly still. Its breathing still came in gusts, but they were calmer now. His eyes looked not on the Sith standing threateningly infront of him..but soley on the violet gem.

Looking down now, Hera could see the crystal illuminating in brilliant color. Hob from his high position could not get a clear view of the gem, only the effect it was having on the beast.

Hera seized her chance in the lowered defence of the Keeper, and a lightening quick flash of brilliant blue was the only indication that she too had dispatched the Watcher as had the Dwarf.

But this Keeper made no sound like the other, he simply fell forward against the ground, and then he also, shattered into stoney peices and disintegrated to dust.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob dropped from the ceiling and cast a shrewd sidelong glance at Hera. "Well done, lass," he said. "Ye've a few tricks up yer sleeve, it appears."

The dwarf took another look around the room, gazing at gleaming treasures that had been there for thousands of years. It would require a lot of work to remove them from the tomb and get them to Hera's ship.

"We've much work ahead of us now," Hob said aloud. "Can ye bring yer ship to the palace entrance by any sort of remote?"

"Yes," Hera said, suddenly all business. "But I don't know if the temple will interfere with the homing beacon. I'd better go back to the entrance to be certain it will transmit. I'll head there now."

Hera disappeared up the stairway, leaving Hob to eye the treasures again. The sight brought to mind his retrieval of some object during his engagement with the watchbeasts, and he fished around inside his robe to find it. Eventually, his claws closed around the object and pulled it into the light where he could see it.

It was the pyramidal form of a Sith holocron.

Hob stuffed it back into his robes, casting a backward glance over his shoulder to be certain Hera was not watching. A Sith Holocron from a place so deeply steeped in the Dark Side as Galanas was worth more even than the collected lore of Korriban. Certainly, it outrated any of the trinkets in this room.

"Sparky, get up here!"

Hera's shout and the sudden prickling of danger at the back of his mind sent Hob scampering up the stairway, Sith sword still in his hand. He could see Hera at the top, her hands tautly clenched. Leaping the last few steps, he reached the upper floor to see the large pig creature from the previous tomb-

-and a gigantic black war droid.

The machine was easily as broad as Hera was tall, and twice that in height. Its armor had a bright burnished sheen to it, and each of its limbs had a nozzle or weapon attachment of some kind. Beneath a black armor plate resembling a helmet, its optical sensors glowed redly.

"We'll have t' destroy them iffn' we wish t' take what we came for," Hob said to Hera.

"You want the pig or the droid?"

"Ye can have the pig," Hob said. He twirled his weapon. "The War Golem do be mine."

[DarthHERA]

So, she had been relegated the bacon brigade. Well that was just fine by her. She liked to be able to make her oponnents bleed..and a droid, no matter how big and nasty, would never quite give her the same satisfaction as could a squealing, oozing pig.

"No dilly-dallying" she warned the Dwarf as the pair sprang forward each to their respective foes, both eager to dispatch the threat and leave this place and its witchery.

The pig had anticipated her attack. All that rock and debris that previously had been brought crashing down on his thick skull seemed to not have deadened his sense of self-preservation any.

He opened his huge arms in order to receive his attacker and scooped Hera up to himself in a steely embrace.

A vague glimpse to her left and Hera saw Hob Goblin cavort passed her toward his own opponent, but then her attention was fully arrested by the slobbering, snorting tomb watchkeeper.

A fresh memory of the earlier encounter with this being reminded Hera using light energy could work against her as much as for her, and so, bypassing her lightsaber, and gripping her dagger from its hilt at her hip, with much effort she brought its razored edge to bear against the solid frame of piglet. The Pig squeeezed his solid arms about her, and the Faene Mistress felt her breath being forced from her body. Her head felt light, but she was driven by a more base instinct that was automatic and needed no real though in function.

A horrendous screech...that sounded much like a childs scream..issued forth out of the Pig creature as Hera drove her dagger deep into his fleshy side. The warm blood oozed over her body and yet she pushed deeper. Pulling her wrist around, she sliced the length of the Pig creatures side, opening up the layers of lard and spilling a thick clear gel mixed with deep green blood onto the floor around them..

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob's small frame suddenly crashed into Hera's, sending the two of them tumbling along the dais.

His encounter with what seemed to be a Sith War droid had gone far less well. Aware of the pig-creature's energy-draining effect Hob had restrained from using his lightsaber, which made dealing with the blaster-wielding droid far more difficult. He'd brought his constant-motion tactic to bear again, but realized as he closed in on the war-droid that he had nothing to really throw at it. So he'd sought to pry it's head off and slice at some wiring or some such, only to find out that the droid's armor was somehow sealed and impenetrable.

The war droid had then taken hold of Hob and sent him flying.

As Hob disentangled himself from the blonde Sith Master, he saw the droid once more coming after him with loud, thudding strides. The dwarf got to his feet, twirling his Sith sword again. Though the thought had occurred to him that whatever created this droid might have made it invulnerable to the weaponry the general populace might use against it, there was precious little else for Hob to try.

Dodging around the pig faster than it could respond, Hob sped for the droid. He slid beneath it's massive legs, stopped into a stance and swung at the knee joint with all his might.

The sword that had just pierced the skin of a Sith beast broke in two.

The war droid used Hob's shock as an opportunity to knock him into the wall, where he keeled over in pain. Then it turned a pair of arm blasters on Hera and began firing.

[DarthHERA]

"Blast and damnation!"


Hera tried to twist free of the fine tangle Hob had managed to get her, him and the pig-guardian into, but she kept slipping in the green slimey blood that continued to pulsate out from the latter's gaping side.

A squirm, and the dwarf popped free and scampered off to fight the droid, leaving her with one leg pinned beneath her squealing, flailing opponent.

Hera brought her arm around the creatures enormous girth and stabbed reapeatedly at him with her dagger - sprays of more green blood bursting upwards with each blow that fell. The pig lunged forward as best he could, screeching and trying to bite her - it was about all he could do, now.

A terrible noise, terrible. The whole deed was a disgusting brutalsing event and was taking way, way too long to complete.

Hob had disappeared beneath the war droid and a sharp, jarring clang rang out as his sword glanced off its metal leg joint.

Hera looked up in time to see the machine lock onto her with its sights and bring up its weapon to fire.

Flinging away the dagger, Hera grabbed the pig-creature with both hands, pulling the twitching, shuddering, bleeding mass forward with all her might. Hauling back as hard as she could, Hera disappeared beneath its massive bulk as four red laser bolts thudded into his back as the war droid opened fire.

An expulsion of vile gas, the last of the pigs breath, was forced from his lungs and out his wide nostrils, waving over Hera in a hot wind and making her wretch.