Let the Hunt Begin (Open Challenge to 2 Dark Jedi)

[Alpha]

A streak plummets through the sky, ripping it with three sonic booms, as the thing slows. Satine, behind the controls of the Black Star, activates the retro-thrusters, braking steadily. He flips te comm on, speaking into the mic.

"Je'gan, we're here. Landing in thirty seconds."

With the flip of a switch, Satine switches to landing mode, the wings sweeping back, to cover the engines built into the leading edges of the wings. A hum fills the cockpit as the repulsor-lifts engage, and the landing gear drops. Satine brings the thing down on a flat plain, smiling slightly at the almost flawless landing.

Spinning his chair around, Satine gets up, activating the landing ramp, and then heading to the small armory near the back of the cockpit. Grabbing a heavy leather trenchcoat--both as a light armor and to protect from the slight winter chill on-planet--Satine puts it on, slipping bracers on his lower arms. Next comes the weapons belt, two lightsabres--including the one newly recovered from Je'gan--and two SOCOM slug-throwing pistols attached to it. Nodding in satisfaction, Satine grabs the last two items, strapping the two ultra-sharp and ultra-tough scimitars to his back.

Stepping out, Satine nods to Je'gan, who was sitting at the bottom of the ramp.

What an odd team we must make, Satine thinks. Out loud, he says, "The town is about a klick out. I figure we might be able to find some information out there."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Ooh yes, we do make a fine partnership. Je'gan repressed a chuckle as he unknowingly echoed Capashen's thoughts. He stood and stretched, following the Jedi Master out of the ship's shadow and into the fresh air.

The Sithling was reasonably well outfitted himself, if nothing to the sheer amount of weaponry Capashen bore; besides his old dirk and a thin steel rapier, Je'gan had Kurai. The lightsaber wasn't quite as apt to a fencer's hand as Capashen's other one had been, but overall it wasn't terribly different as far as balance went. That difference, though, and his relative unfamiliarity with his new weapon, had prompted him to bring the rapier.

"A klick, hm. How are we going to do it, then? Walk, run, or do you have a speeder buried somewhere in your ship?"

[Alpha]

"It's not too far. If ya want, I do have a speeder in the back hold." He chuckled. "But we can run if ya want."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan blinked; he'd meant the speeder remark to be facetious. Apparently the vessel housed more cargo space than he'd come to believe.

"Running's fine," he said, then took off at a full clip. He didn't enhance his speed with the Force, not yet at any rate.

[Gav Mortis]

From behind the sprinting pair came the sound of an engine, it whined away, getting louder as the speederbike drew nearer. It carried one man who straddled the vehicle quite comfortable in his new grey cargo pants and black boots. The vehicle moved between the two runners and slowed to match their pace, the rider looked to both of them on either side and smiled pleasantly.

"Good day, sirs!" He called out over the sound of his speederbike's engine. "I'm a local from around these parts and I don't wish to be imposing but you seem to be in a bit of a rush. Anything I can help you with at all?"

[Alpha]

Satine easily lopes after Je'gan, hearing the engine of the speeder. Smiling, he replies, "No, we're just heading into town. We're looking for some information."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan's eyes flicked over the man on the speeder as he held his pace, noticing the relative newness of the man's attire. It didn't seem quite like the look one would expect a citizen of a backwater to sport. Nevertheless, he held his tongue; there were plenty of reasonable explanations, after all.

[Gav Mortis]

"Some information, you say?" Gav chirped curiously. Then, perking up, he accelerated a bit and swerved to a halt in front of the two men thus blocking their way momentarily. He held up a hand to stop them. "Well, ask away! Where do you want to go? Who do you want to meet? What do you want to see? Anything and I'll sort you out!"

He brought a hand to his chest and crossed his heart. "Scout's promise."

[Alpha]

Satine raises an eyebrow, and considers for a moment, what to say.

"We're here to hunt some...let's just say, unusual, game...We figured that they might have information in town..."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

'Scout's promise'? This really is a backwater!

Subtly, the young Sith began to draw on the Force to ease the first little pangs of fatigue.

[Gav Mortis]

"A hunt?" Gav repeated with glee, his eyes practically sparkling with excitement. "Oh, I do enjoy a good hunt, what ho! I'd love to join you, I could be your guide and assist you both in your spot of hunting."

He saw the look in their faces and waved off their doubts light-heartedly.

"Pfft! And you needn't be concerned about my wellfare, served four years in the forces and not a scratch on me. So what do you say?" He asked, then pulled a curious face then added. "What exactly are we hunting?"

[Alpha]

"I doubt you could keep up with us in this hunt." Satine says, shaking his head. This guy seemed too nice.. "We're hunting Darklings." Darklings were Satine's nickname for Dark Jedi, just as Sithlings was his for Sith.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"They've become quite common lately," Je'gan interposed. "Almost to the level of pest, but they're still viable game. So we're going for the excess."

[Gav Mortis]

"Yes, yes, that's very true. Quite a menace they have become, those nasty types." Gav mused thoughtfully with evident dampened spirits. He sat upright on his speederbike and looked at the two men, his eyes narrowed and his convictions seemed to steel.

"I must join you both, it's my civic duty and I refuse to stand idly by while to strangers risk their necks for the wellbeing of my home." He turned his speeder and invited the men to resume their running. "I wont get in the way but I will help in whatever way I can. Let's get the blighters!"

[Alpha]

Satine amost smiles. Almost.

"Glad to have you with us. Do you know where any of them are onplanet?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Now extremely suspicious, Je'gan kept his mouth shut and his face impassive.

[Gav Mortis]

"I haven't the foggiest to be honest." Gav replied offhandedly, the engine on his speederbike hummed patiently while he took the time to think. "Although, there is a couple of Force Sensitives who live in the city outskirts, they're involved in the same trade as myself and it just so happens that I was about to pay them a visit anyway. They should be able to tell you about the whereabouts of these...Darklings."

[Alpha]

I appreciate the information. But, now that I think about it, hunting Darklings is something that is safer for someone with me and my friends certain...skills. We don't want to endanger you. We'll be on our way. Know that you have our thanks."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Indeed."

[Gav Mortis]

"Well, if you insist." Gav said, bowing with slight melodrama, gesturing for both men to take their leave. He strided his speederbike patiently. "Then be on your way, good sirs, and if you meet any of those nasty types give them what for!"

[Alpha]

"We will." Satine says, inclining his head a bit, before turning to Je;gan. "Let's go."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Sithling blinked and continued to run towards the town.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav sighed as he watched both men run off once more, he sat and watched for a while until they were almost out of sight then stamped down upon the accelerator and sped off towards them. The speederbike was remarkably fast and he was almost on top of them when they reached a dried-up, old well on the town outskirts.

Full throttle, he headed straight for the younger of the two men and leaving the engine on he leapt from his vehicle, soared overhead and landed in front of the Jedi while his partner had a speederbike to deal with. Looking at Satine, Gav smiled cheerfully, showing off his pearly whites which were quite a contrast with the red markings painted down the right side of his face.

"Beg your pardon, I just have a habit of being a little theatrical every now and then." All traces of his previous accent were now gone and there was evident amusement of the malicious kind in his voice. He gave the Jedi a wink. "Something wrong with your sense of smell, son?"

[Alpha]

Satine, without thinking, draws both his scimitars. "I thouight you looked a bit familiar. I take it you have a death wish?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan's danger sense practically exploded in the back of his skull, and he swiveled instantly while dropping into a crouch.

Bad move. The speeder was coming straight for him at a very, very fast rate. He'd more or less run out of options.

He threw himself backwards and a faint hope saved him; a Force-push, not something he was good at in the slightest but fuelled by desperation, accelerated him into the dirt. His bones rattled as the vehicle passed over him and rammed itself into the old well.

Shaking himself, he stood and his rapier leapt to his hand. Trivialities of battle etiquette were easily put aside. Without saying a word he advanced on Gav from behind and slashed at the older man's sword arm.

[Gav Mortis]

"A death wish? Yes I do now you mention it. I wish you were dead." Gav answered before sidestepping Je'gans attack from behind. He pivoted on his left foot and now with a lightsaber in his hand, he activated it, the red blade sprung to life and parried the aggressor's thrust forwards, sending him straight for the Jedi.

"Now there's need to rush into things. Let's take it nice and slow, that is unless you both want to die sooner than later." Gav gained some distance between himself and the odd couple, the burning tip of his weapon perpetually pointed right at them. He looked at Je'gan. "Something tells me you're not much of a Jedi Knight."

And finally looked back to Alpha. "So why aren't you hunting him?"

[Alpha]

Satine jumps away from the redirected thrust, landing a few feet away.

"The same reason I don't hunt Miryan no Trunks. They aren't average Sith. In fact, if you ask me, they seem almost Jedi-like...Unlike you." Satine eyes almost glow with light as he says this, and he smiles, bringing his scimitars to their sheathes, and lighting up one of his sabres, the blade casting a silver glow on everything nearby.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan hissed as his rapier lost a third of its blade to Mortis' lightsaber. The older man's parry didn't send him forward or off-balance, though, as it would if he had held a lightsaber, and that was something. He took a cautious side-step to avoid the man as Mortis backed away.

The rapier was now pretty much useless, save for close-in work. He slid it back into its sheath while unclipping Kurai and igniting it.

"Something tells me you're not much of a Jedi Knight. So why aren't you hunting him?"

"The same reason I don't hunt Miryan no Trunks. They aren't average Sith. In fact, if you ask me, they seem almost Jedi-like...Unlike you."

At another moment Je'gan might have questioned Capashen about the other Sith he'd mentioned...now, though, he was focused, and slightly annoyed.

As Mortis tried to get the two of them in front of him, Je'gan circled a quarter of the way around him with several careful steps, widening the space between himself and Capashen and attempting to pinion the older Darksider between them.

[Gav Mortis]

"Oh! But we've only just met, at least wait until you get to know me." Gav sneered, then glanced across to Je'gan as he tried to circle him. "Back off, sparky."

The youngster was pulled from his feet, like there was a large elastic band tied to his waist, he was thrown through the air for a bit and landed a reasonable distance away. Gav turned his attention back to the Jedi once again.

"You shouldn't be so quick to judge - if it weren't for self-righteous Jedi like yourself, there wouldn't be anyone like me. You have yourselves to thank for me."

Gav closed in on Satine, his lightsaber in his right hand, then made a lunge, short and sharp, for his abdomen.

[Alpha]

Satine snaps his blade into a parry, spinning and landing a kick to Gav's chest, throwing him back a bit. As Gav recovers, Satine presses the Sith, swinging his blazing sabre first at the Sith's head, then at knee height, and then at waist level, his attacks coming in blindingly fast.

"Which means it's up to me to kill the ones I created then, isn't it?"

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The Force throw didn't catch Je'gan entirely by surprise; he was used to such tactics from those he fought. What did surprise him was the relative weakness of the throw. The last time such a thing had happened to him, it had mashed his arm almost beyond repair, such had been the force acting through it.

He hit the ground running and accelerated towards Mortis, circling around to attack from behind again just as the older Darksider attacked Capashen. Kurai burned black in his right hand, came up and chopped down at Mortis' shoulder.

[Gav Mortis]

"You're so sure of yourself, aren't you?" Gav asked while parrying Satine's barrage of attacks. He ducked and swept under the Darksider's attack from behind, bringing his lightsaber around, he pivot and shoved one of his attackers blades into the other using his own to guide it. While Je'gan had his blade sandwiched between Gav's blade and that of his Jedi partner, the Sith took the opportunity to sweep the youngster's legs from under him.

"When you in fact have very little idea what you are doing and why you are doing it. Trust me, dying is the greatest thing you have to offer to society." Gav continued, gaining distance from the Jedi and his younger partner. All the while, Satine could feel the once cold, metal cylinder in his hands becoming increasingly warm. He glanced across to the Darksider. "How many times do you want to fall on your backside before you run off like a good boy does?"

[Alpha]

"I'll fall until I can't get back up again. you know that. And as for dying...not gonna happen." Satine says, feeling his sabre increase in heat. He frowns slightly. It wasn't suposed to do that. Shrugging, he wades back into the fight with an overhand slash.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan bared his teeth at the older Darksider's taunt. Slowly, but getting rapidly faster, he sent Kurai through an intricate and highly useful defensive pattern. His last slash morphed into an upward flick that batted Mortis' blade high, and with Force-enhanced speed and Teras Kasi technique, Je'gan swept Mortis' own feet out from under him.

[Gav Mortis]

Which sent Gav into a backwards handspring, he wasn't going to give the youngster the pleasure of seeing him fall that easily, as he did so he aimed his foot for the Jedi's lightsaber and kicked it back at the hilt so that he wasn't sliced down the centre. His manouver had also given him some distance between the two and he refocused; Satine's weapon was now quickly becoming hot to touch. Gav smiled.

"You have some speed, I'll give you that." He nodded in the Jedi's direction. "So why do you hang around with him? You're young, there's a great deal you have yet to learn and there a things which he cannot help you understand. Such as the reason as to why Darksider's and Lightsider's will never live happily ever after. It's a fallacy, a farce."

[Alpha]

Satine hisses a bit and then tosses his sabre to the ground, his palm burned. Grabbing his second sabre, Satine activates it, and brings the black blade in a side cut in one fluid, quick motion. If nothing else, the Jedi was at least Gav's equal in combat.

A spin, and a sweep with the blade to his lower legs put the sith on the defense.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan spoke over the sound of Satine's blade.

"Neither I nor he have ever implied that he was my teacher."

[Gav Mortis]

Slap. And the Jedi's discarded weapon came to Gav's hand, once again cold, as metal should be. It came to life as Gav parried Satine's low attack and their sabers locked, Gav used the Jedi's own lightsaber and stabbed at his unprotected shoulder.

"Neither did I, Darksider." Said Gav with mild irritation. "Now stop beating about the bush and tell me why you're hunting down others in study of the Dark Arts?"

[Alpha]

Satine jumps hbackwards, the tip of the sabre eating through his coat's heavy shoulders. He growls, and flicks a finger out, using the force to throw Gav backwards, and then comes back into a fighting stance, looking at the two of them...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

He shrugged. "Forgive me for inferring wrong, then.

"I've got a Master, a Sith. The reasons for this side trip are many and varied: for example, because some of my worst enemies have been Darksiders, one or two of them Masters, and I desperately need these experiences. Another example: I've been kicked off Corellia to rebuild my 'Sithly ferocity', after a couple of incidents in which I came off looking very much the Jedi-lover. I need something to do as I lay my plans.

"All in all, I'm quite happy with myself. If I survive this, I continue with my plans, and eventually return to Corellia to finish my training. The only thing that can go wrong is that I might die, here and now...which I concede is a possibility."

He extended Kurai, bringing it into a blocky but mobile guard that gave him a full range of motion over the front half of his body. It's grey-black blade hissed and flashed as he probed with rapid jigsawing thrusts, careful each time to avoid parries with retractions or little dips of the blade's end.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav climbed to his feet; the Jedi's attack having caught him off-guard and sent him crash to the dusty ground, he held up a finger to the Jedi, asking for a temporary ceasefire. He regarded Je'gan with bitter contempt and stared at him with half disbelief and half amusement. He laughed boistrously.

"Oh please, you're telling me you're from the Order on Corellia? You think they are Sith?" He asked, wearing a broad grin he approached the youngster. "No, Darksider, they aren't Sith and that is why I left them. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Gav Mortis; one of the founders of your precious Order."

Still at a fair distance from Je'gan, Gav opened his hand and pushed, the result launched the Darksider off his feet; this time with unrelenting force and brutality.

"Run home to Mistress Vader and inform her of your actions here today." He snarled, turning back to Satine.

"Kids! What can you do with them?" Gav shrugged with a laugh. Then activating his own weapon once again, took the Jedi's weapon in his left hand and cut it in half. He threw the pieces aside.

"You wont be needing that."

[Alpha]

Satien growls as he sees his weapon destroyed, and turns his sabre back on, getting into a fighting stance. Something told him he shouldn't have shut the thing off during the little discussion...

"Oh, and why am I not going to be needin that wepaon?" Satine asks, raising an eyebrow.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

'Off his feet," certainly. Je'gan had learned, after being slapped around with Knight- and Master-level Force-pushes, that one doesn't stand there and wait. One moves. Taking his cues both from his danger-sense and from Mortis' gestures, he bent his knees and leapt straight up into the air. The edges of the blast caught his trailing feet and jerked him horizontal; he landed hard, with a quick roll that helped dissipate some of the impact.

He came to his feet and, without warning, attacked Mortis' mind. Je'gan was a decent warrior for his age and level, and an accomplished fencer, but it was in the field of mental combat that he really excelled. With no gesture, no sign outside of a slight narrowing of his eyes, he slammed into the older Darksider's psyche with an unending stream of thought-construct blades.

[Gav Mortis]

"You don't need a lightsaber when you're-- Argh!" Gav clutched the sides of his head and his face became a visage of agony. He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the pain but it was impossible; on his lips was the metalic taste of blood. He lruched forward and used his remaining shards of concentration to keep tabs on his enemies. The feeling of defenselessness was infuriating and to think, someone so inferior as Je'gan had exploited his weakness.

"Tedara uvelliteda uchir pehocum es, ecum dayorte uchir sherre." He growled angrilly, shaking his head and smacking it hard with his free hand. His nostrils burned and his stomach was reeling. Then suddenly he cried out and outstretched his free hand and induced a burning sensation in the Jedi's chest; at first it resembled a terrible heartburn but quickly zeroed in on one place, the Darksider's heart which now felt like it was on fire.

"You've naffed me off, now it's your turn to have your blood boil." He heaved, keeping his lightsaber up in defense of any possible attack from Satine.

[Tear]

With the battle that was being waged between the three Tear wasn’t surprised that they hadn’t sensed him coming. His footsteps were soft and silent; the only real sound he gave off was the steady tack of a metallic saber hilt swinging on a short leather strap against the black armor on his thigh. He watched their ballet of tangible and intangible attacks dancing amongst the trio.

He had received a message from a concerned civilian telling of how a “scuffle had erupted between two folks with lazer swords intent on frelling this one lad up.” Lazer swords, Tear repeated silently, recalling the civilian’s transmission. Light sabers, a Jedi’s weapon. Much like the old pro verb where there is smoke, there is fire. The same could be said with a light saber and a Jedi. Thus attracting the attention of the Colonel and his elite Inquisitoriate squad.

A soft puff of chilled air plumed from Tear’s lips as he glanced back over the chilly landscape to his men perched on a hill a small distance away. Red flashes of targeting lasers flickered briefly, his men having sniper rifles at the ready. An Iquisitoriate squad was literally the best of the best in the Empire. Used back in the times of the old alongside Lord Vader to hunt and pacify rogue force users and Jedi alike. They were heavily conditioned and trained to meet any threat to the Empire, especially that of jedi. Some of the squad members were even force apt themselves.

Tear’s soft blue eye’s wandered over the three assessing the situation. All three were indeed adept force users. The two must be Jedi and the third…the third, Tear repeated in quiet contemplation. He wasn’t…Tears eyes would see something ordinary beings wouldn’t, an aura of swirling darkness enveloping the man.

The dark one had just shot his arm outward toward one of the two in front of him "You've naffed me off, now it's your turn to have your blood boil."

Tear walked up within a few feet of the three. Casually reaching down to unclip the metallic cylinder that was hanging from his hip, giving it a quick spin over his palm before clasping his fingers around it firmly. He gave the dark one beside him a quick glance accompanied with a grin before looking to the Jedi that was unoccupied at the moment. Tear brought up his hand raising to fingers toward the Jedi before bending them in a ‘come here’ motion, taunting the Jedi.

“For too long you Jedi have had your way with the Galaxy since the days of the old Empire. The time for that is at an end…” Tears soft words fell upon the battle field for all to hear as his legs spread into a defensive stance his arms following suit, saber in hand but not ignited…yet.

[Alpha]

Satine raises an eyebrow at the small speech the newcomer says, before clipping his sabre to his belt, and bringing out his two scimitars, flipping a switch on them. A magnetic field envelops the two black blades, giving it the ability to deflect lightsabres. And, they looked cooler to boot.

"Oh, and how are you planning on stopping us? you're just a worthless Darksider..."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Oh, the pain...

The young Sith had never actually been on the receiving end of a mental attack before. If this was the kind of pain that Mortis felt was tit for tat, then in a better time and against a better man Je'gan might have actually felt sorry for his actions.

Now, however, nothing so altruistic entered his brain. If he didn't do something and fast, he was going to die. Vaguely he registered that his knees hurt from their impact with the ground.

Using every bit of the anger he possessed, every scrap of experience he'd gained from numerous mental fights, and more importantly every erg of power he could channel, he lashed out. The stream of blades increased tenfold from his earlier, spur-of-the-moment effort, and curved towards the parts of Mortis' psyche that controlled the Force.

[Gav Mortis]

"Sir, have your men fire at this young one here. Let's not waste anymore-- ARGH!" He howled in agony, deactivating his lightsaber before bringing both hands to his head. He had been able to withstand Je'gans mental assault until now; this time he arched backwards with such force that he came from his feet and came crashing down. His eyes streamed and stung and blood trickled freely form his nose. As if the pain wasn't enough, he realised that he had released his hold on Je'gan, who had exposed his greatest weakness and was exploiting it for all it's worth.

"You're not-- going to-- win." He gasped, clambering to his unsteady feet. His vision was blurred and the world around him was spinning and worst of all, the Force was not with him. He had to break Je'gans concentration and dropping to one knee, reserving his strength, Gav unholstered his blaster and let loose, along with a couple of Tears men, a volley of laser fire straight for his opponent.

[Tear]

Without turning back to his men that were perched on a hill a short distance away, Tear gave a short gesture toward the young one assaulting Mortis’s mind. Almost instantly small red targeting beams began painting over Je’gan’s body foreshadowing what was coming as a ripple of flashes erupted on the hill, showering high yield blaster fire onto their target.

"Oh, and how are you planning on stopping us? You’re just a worthless Darksider..."

“Worthless Darksider?” Tear asked rather curiously, “I don’t know about that…everyone has their worth even you. I’m sure there are some imperial scientists who would be very eager to see how a Jedi’s insides look.” A soft smiled swept its way over Tears lips at the very thought. Gradually changing stances as he and Satine squared off, making sure the Jedi facing him had no way to take advantage of Mortis’s state. Tear’s saber was still clutched tightly in hand…waiting for the first move to be made.

Tear’s eyes widened slightly as a flash of foresight hit causing him to ignite the brilliant orange blade of his saber. He glanced at Je’gan briefly before looking back to Satine.

[Alpha]

Satine's Force senses scream danger. Oddly, they weren't directed at him, but at his young friend. Tapping into the Force, Satine forms a Force shield around Je'gan, blocking a good portion of the blaster bolts, giving him a chance to get the rest of them. His concentration elsewhere, he doesn't notice anything else. Hearing the sabre ignite brings him back to the present situation.

The Jedi War Master just sneers, and then jumps at Tear, bringing one blade to bear, the other held back in a defensive posture.

"No one's going top be looking at my insides..."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

His danger sense shrieked as Mortis unholstered his blaster, and dropping the mantal assault Je'gan started to deflect the bolts. Something wasn't right, though...proven by the materialisation of a Force shield around him. He spun, still deflecting the odd bolt from Mortis' weapon, and picked off the few sniper shots that got through the shield.

The shield dissipated and he dashed sideways, putting Mortis in between himself and the mystery attackers.

"I know your weaknesses, Lord Mortis," he said softly, "and you know mine. Shall we make this blade against blade?"

[Gav Mortis]

"That all depends--" Gav growled angrily through clenched teeth as he fought to get to his feet, dizziness setting in. His vision was still a little blurred and he was most definately disoriented which would no doubt become a hinderance to him during a lightsaber confrontation. He winced at the sharp pain at the back of his head. "--how quickly do you want to die?"

Whatever happens, Gav has had far more experience in lightsaber combat so despite his dizziness and poor condition of current health, he should fair well enough to take on one as young as Je'gan. If only he could catch him off guard with an all-out attack with the Force before the Darksider could touch his mind. Casually, he tossed his blaster aside and activated his lightsaber.

"Let's see how far along your training with the Sith-wannabes has brought you."

[kyle dark]

natalus seeing alpha and reconising the danger he still silently sneaks up and with a flick of hes rist lightsabers the frist troopers.


"tear you should know by now that you can't catch them well i'm here to help"

pulls out his other lightsaber and actavtes it.

"now run along with your little troopers and tell who ever you work for that i am lol at his atempts capture theese two"

*sniggers* well run along now i'm waiting

[Tear]

/ooc Uh..ok then. Im going to ignore Kyle's post. If anyone wants to know why i can send you a private message. dont want to clutter this thread up :)

/IC

"No one's going top be looking at my insides..." The Jedi snarled as he leap toward Tear blade drawn with his other at the ready.

Tears body shrunk down in a crouch, low enough to slip under Satine’s first raised blade. Slashing into the dirt with his saber sending a spray of sizzling dirt to meet Satine in midair, blinding him long enough for Tear to pounce. Ducking under Satine’s first blade their chests collided hard, using an arm to hook around that of Satine’s locking it into a straight position, his other free hand striking up to grab Satines wrist. Tear had dropped his saber before the pounce see'ing Satine had kept the other blade up in reserve.

Glaring eyes met briefly before the flat of Tears forehead struck down toward Satine’s nose. Tear kept his head down…so he couldn’t be head butted back…he glared up at Satine. “Your move Jedi…” A small red dot shifted over the both of them before settling on Satine’s exposed forehead.

[Alpha]

Satine, ignoring the pain, taps into his abilities with telekinetics. With a powerful throw, he rips Tear's grip off, and tosses him backwards, before rolling away, narrowly avoiding a blaster. Rolling to his knees, he quickly pulls one of his pistols, taking quick aim, and catching the soldier who just fired at him dead in the forehead, the metal slug ripping through the bone easily. Putting the weapon bac up, he recalls his sabre, in time to catch a slash from Tear.

With a sidestep, Satine disentangles his blades, quickly kicking out, and sending his opponent backwards.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

"Just far enough."

He advanced slowly, lightsaber extended, and for all intents and purposes he appeared intent on fighting the older man blade-to-blade. This was apparent, too, in the level of concentration his Force-sense showed.

But he wasn't too much of an idiot to realize that he was one ofa bare handful of Sith to whom honour meant anything.

Mortis could probably best him in single combat, but that wasn't the style Dark Masters tended to have. Regardless of the cost, they used big impressive displays of their skills in the Force.

So deep in his mind, sheilded from prying eyes, Je'gan prepared one of the only Force-based attacks he'd ever learned, and it was a doozy. Containing the power of a normal Force-push (normal for a high-level Apprentice, at any rate), it was focused across an area no wider than his thumbnail. He'd puverized ferrocrete with this technique.

And now, leaning forward as if to begin a stab, he brought up the mental construct from the depths of his soul and released it on a path for Mortis' chest.

[Gav Mortis]

The twinge at the back of Gav's mind alerted him to something was amiss and he dived backwards and erected some form of telekinetic shield in front of him; it wasn't something he ever did so Je'gan's attack pierced his defences with relative ease. Before he hit the ground, Gav suddenly howled in pain and was launched further backwards through the air.

Now on his back he came to his knees quickly and gasped for breath, then choked and spluttered before coughing violently and wiped the blood from his mouth. Whatever Je'gan had done, it was something he'd never came up against and quickly realised the attacks potency. This time, Gav wasn't angered or frustrated but after climbing to his feet he smiled and spat some blood to the ground. His chest ached but that was far from sufficient to keep him down.

"You have some interesting tricks. I'll give you that." He smiled, teeth now a slight crimson now. Then shook his head, amused. "Do not attempt to out do me with the Force, boy. You have no idea what you're up against and not even your brain daggers will help you."

To emphasise his point, Gav raised his lightsaber once again and pointed it straight at Je'gan, beckoning him forward.

[Tear]

Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of his men slump backwards as the slug struck the soldiers helmet dead on. He felt the force of Satine’s kick his armor taking the worst of it leaving Tear to deal with the inertia. Falling into a backwards roll then pushing into a handspring he flipped back to his feet, brushing his chest free of any dirt that stuck from Satines boot. Eye’s filled with rage fell upon Satine, fists clenched at his sides before opening and calling his saber to an outstretched palm. Tear stood silently, listening to his men report the situation.

“Sir Sulesk took a hit dead on. His helm deflected the majority of the slug before shattering…I don’t know sir, I think Sulesk might have a concussion maybe some cerebral hemorrhaging. Naomi is pulling him back to take a better look now.” The small near invisible earpiece in Tears right ear relayed the message with a crystal clear clarity.

“Understood, fall back and reposition out of the Jedi’s gun range.” Tear spoke with purpose, although everyone around him would have believed he was talking to himself if his troops hadn’t already made their presence known.

A smirk curved over Tear’s lips as his attention once again settled on the Jedi. “I’m going to make sure you pay for that Jedi. Not only you…but everyone you care about.” Before the last words of his sentence fell from his lips Tear reached out with a black gloves hand. Tear’s greatest talent in the force was telekinesis he had spent many years in training learning to manipulate objects not only from a superficial view point but also from within. Seeing through Satines chest that rose and fell rhythmically an invisible hand wrapped itself around his windpipe, squeezing it shut as Tear’s hand snapped closed into a fist. He waited until Satine realized he couldn’t breathe anymore before making his move.

Tear’s foot kicked the ground sending up a spray of dirt into Satines face, releasing hold of his windpipe a second before the cloud of soil rushed toward him. Hoping that the Jedi would instinctively gasp for air and receive a throat full of dirt in the process. The snap hiss of a saber igniting permeated the air briefly before being replaced by the low hum of a swinging blade. Tear’s golden blade came in hard and fast from the side, aiming at Satines mid section.

[Alpha]

Satine, feeling a warning through the Force brings one of his scimitars around to block, the specially crafted weapon meeting the blade, and batting it away, at an angle. Satine spins away, taking a breath of air away from the dirt, gasping slightly. He smiles grimly.

"I have very few I care about anymore. But be wanred. You touch any of them, and I will skin you alive..."

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Oh no...he wasn't going to fall for that again. Nevertheless, he took a step as Mortis indicated.

Back, widening the distance between them. Fast and well-practised at Form II he might be, but he knew better than to engage a Master blade-on. Mortis, if he truly wanted to fight with lightsabers, would have to make the move himself. He calmly prepared himself for this eventuality, even as he guessed that the true attack would come via the Force.

Very well, then.

He conjured a two-pronged attack and let fly. The first was a series of mental whips that resembled razor wire, aimed to cause great pain but little real damage to the function of the older Darksider's brain. The second, launched at the same time, was a telekinetic grab for the twelve inches of steel that had initially been chopped from his rapier. It lay slightly behind Mortis and to the side, somewhere around the blurred edge of where his field of vision should be. Now it levitated and flung itself like an arrow for Mortis' side.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav had been prepared for another mental barrage, he had expected it considering it was an exploited weakness and Je'gan would've been a fool not to take advantage of it. Nevertheless, there was still no way for him to avoid these mental whips that Je'gan had lashed out and instead used the Force as best he could before his mind was assaulted once again.

He dived to one side and the severed piece of rapier blade suddenly doubled in speed and shot towards Je'gan, it gained speed and headed straight for his thigh. But that was when his mental whips struck and the mental onslaught lacerated his concentration and he would simply have to trust in timing and accuracy to guide Je'gan's rediverted projectile to it's target.

"Blast you to hell and back, boy!" Gav growled, clutching his head, enraged.


OOC: Sorry my reply took so long. I haven't been able to roleplay for the best part of December due to the mad Christmas rush and what have you.

[Tear]

"I have very few I care about anymore. But be warned. You touch any of them, and I will skin you alive..."

Tear sneered at the Jedi’s words while he lowered his saber in a casual demeanor. “Skin me alive? That doesn’t sound very Jedi like…” Soft golden light accompanied by a dull hum sifted over the Colonel’s features as he spun his blade at his side in an amused fashion. “But the skinning alive part does sound interesting…I’ll be sure to tell those you love who gave me the idea while they’re writhing in agony.” The corners of Tears lips pulled back into a large grin, lasting only moments before his lips slid back down over his teeth as his attention wavered to a voice echoing from his ear piece.

“Sir, we are repositioned out of the Jedi’s weapon range and we have reacquired targets.” The voice of Ylor, Tears second in command of the elite Imperial unit, reported with confidence.

Soft blue eyes blinked before glancing quickly to his side where the dark one dove to avoid a projectile, opening up a path for his snipers that had previously been cut off. Tear quickly centered his focus back on the Jedi he was engaged with, bringing his saber to bear. “Take him out…”

There was no sound, only the dim flashes of light as his troops opened fire, raining precision high yield blaster fire down onto the other Jedi unknown to Tear but known to his friends at Je’gan.

[Alpha]

Satine saw the flashes, knowing that, this time, there was nothing he could do to help his friend. Growling, he simply jumps at Tear, his blade making an odd figure in the air as he slashes repeatedly.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

With a tight smile, Je'gan brought up Kurai's blade and vaporized the metal fragment as the distant snipers began to fire once more. He wasn't terribly worried-at least not more than challenging a Master would account for.

Mortis, faced in his direction and in pain, was directly between him and the snipers. The first shots were more accurate than that, but Je'gan simply began deflecting them at Mortis, putting the man under fire from opposite directions. He put as much concentration as he could into sustaining the mental attack.

[Gav Mortis]

But Je'gan would quickly pay the price for splitting his concentration; his mental assault had weakened significantly now and Gav quickly rolled to one side, avoiding the oncoming fire as diverted by his opponent.

Fuming with rage from the mental attack, Gav's anger fuelled within him the Dark Side and caused a sharp, burning at the base of Je'gan's spine. Then in that moment, Gav caught the younger man's eye and with clenched teeth sent the burning sensation up his spine like a flaming arrow. The white heat shot up through his opponents spinal nerve until it reached the point where his medulla oblongata connected to his brain and there it remained; blood vessels started popping and neves crackled from the heat while Gav took a page out of Je'gans books and attacked his brain. By incinerating it.

[Tear]

Instinctively Tear fell backwards at the sight of the Jedi leaping toward him. Giving him time to react before the Jedi would come into striking range. An outstretched arm shot out and Tears hand snapped shut then wretched off to the side, Satines body lurched to a stop in midair then was flung off to the side in unison with the movements of Tears arm.

Rolling to his feet, Tear pointed toward the jedi he had just thrown and the sniper fire from his troops was redirected toward their new target. The soldiers poured concentrated fire down onto Satines position, cutting him off from the other three.

Tear’s body suddenly blurred and shot forward at a fierce speed toward Je’gan. The colors of his golden saber and black armor melding together into a streaming blur of color, bending and shifting as rapid footprints drummed over the cold hard ground. The sharpness and clarity of his form reverted suddenly, mere feet behind Je’gan. The tell tale sign of a lightsabers hum rang through the air behind Je’gan as Tear brought his saber down in a diagonal slash toward his targets back.

[Alpha]

Satine calls on every ounce of his power in the Force, pulling out a second lightsabre. With blinding speed, his twin weapons meet and parry most of the weapon fire, being able to dodge what was left. Except one. A bullet slices in, hitting Satine in the shoulder. Wincing slightly at the pain, before shunting it away. Using the Force, he erects a wall about a foot out from his position, catching the next round of weapon fire, before turning his attention back to Tear.

Putting away the sabre, Satine recalls his second scimitar, running after Tear.

Je'gan, watch out! Satine sends through the Force.

Satine gathers himself for a leap, covering the distance in one bound, and sending his twin scimitars at Tear.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

The last bolts zinged away at Mortis as the snipers' fire switched to Capashen. About to redouble his mental assault, Je'gan frowned. The first burning sensation had just hit. A look of shock came over his face as it increased, and he crumpled to his knees.

A deadly hum.

Je'gan, watch out!

Even with the pain he was in, his reflexes were still top-notch. Kurai spiralled around to behind his back and stopped Tear's strike dead. Within an eyeblink he straightened his elbow and switched to the third setting, the longest. The tip of the rapidly elongating slate-grey blade stabbed directly through Tear's upper thigh.

Seeing the descending arc of Capashen's dive from the corner of his eye, a sense of relief took Je'gan as he pitched forward. Breathing was very much a conscious decision. The pain, already unbearable, was getting worse. This was unlike anything he'd ever faced, in any spar, in any fight. For better or - no, definitely for worse - Mortis had his deep respect.

Thinking, too, was difficult, but something awoke. The Dark Lord had delved too deep into what Je'gan's protective instincts were tied to. His main weapon had always been his mind. It wasn't something he was willing to lose.

His chin came forward even as he hit the dirt. First one eye, then the other, cracked open. Both focused on Mortis.

Every erg of power he possessed was channeled into a single blast, designed to forcibly rip consciousness from its target. It wasn't elegant, but it was as strong as anything he'd heretofore generated, and it hit all the right spots in the older man's psyche on it's way to the soul.

Curse you...Master...

EDIT: OOC/ Gav, assuming Je'gan survives this encounter, would your attack result in permanent nerve damage, on top of the brain damage?

[Gav Mortis]

OOC: Well I have no intention of having Gav doing any permanent damage on Je'gan; so no lasting effects unless you'd want your character to be damaged, be it temporarily or permanent.

IC:

Gav's jaw locked and his eyes were wide. He wore a manic expression on his face due to the perverse pleasure he was experiencing from doing so much harm to his younger opponent. Then in that moment of black ecstacy, he found the world tipped itself upside down and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Je'gan's face in the dirt. And Gav joined him.

[Tear]

Surprise was the first feeling to hit Tear as the Jedi had stopped his powerful swing even after doubling onto his knees in pain. Then there was the pain…a searing paralyzing pain that reached out from Tears thigh to his hips. Growling in pain through clenched teeth, it was the most he could do to remain standing as he backed off from the blade, the entry hole emitting a slight trail of smoke and the smell of burnt flesh. Slipping one hand away from his saber hilt, Tear reached around to his opposite thigh, pulling free a small throwing blade. There was a glint of steel as Tear tossed the blade into a throwing position then, with force infused strength, flung it down through Je’gans heel, pinning it to the ground.

Je’gan’s eyes…they glanced away from him to something…

Tear reeled around just in time to meet Satines Scimitars with a defensive swipe of his own saber, locking blades. The sharp motion was too much to maintain on his leg, which was numb with pain. Tear stumbled backwards taking Satine with him into a deadly tumble...

[Alpha]

Satine realizes in a flash that this could very well be one of the most dangerous portions of the fight. So much was happening that he could get skewered without even realizing it. Satine manages to twist around and land on his back, heaving with all his strength. Tear, surprised at the unexpected reaction, goes flying backwards, landing on the ground with a dull thud. Satine gets to his feet, noticing that he did not emerge from the tumble without a scratch.

He smiles grimly, seeing the fairly long cut across his left arm. It hurt, true, but, using the Force, Satine blocked the pain, and was ready for another round.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Another fiery lance, this time through his foot, but at least the pain had stopped increasing.

Je'gan hovered on the edge of unconsciousness. He tried and failed to regain motor control as Capashen crashed into Tear. He tried again as Tear went flying, and this time he succeeded.

Over his shoulder the two men were fighting. Ahead of him lay Mortis, unconscious. Je'gan felt a flare of satisfaction.

He crawled to his knees and, yanking the blade from his heel, tossed it aside. Kurai lay nearby; he picked it up and clipped it to his belt. Then, stumbling away in a curved path that kept Capashen between himself and the two Darksiders, he headed for the Jedi's vessel.

Kun, was I lucky...

[Tear]

/ooc Alpha and I were unsure of if you were gonna post Gav cause your unconcious :p so im just gonna go ahead if you wanna change anything feel free too.

Tear landed hard on his back as he found himself staring up at the sky. Weightlessness was an odd feeling, especially when you weren’t prepared for it…Tear rolled over slowly, trying to catch the breath that had just been knocked from him. A jolt of pain arced its way up Tear’s leg causing him to wince slightly as he rose slowly to his feet. Stern blue eyes flashed up to the Jedi who was already on his feet and inspecting a gash over his arm.

Tear exhaled, having gained his breath back along with the certain satisfaction of striking a blow against his opponent. The smile that was over had appeared over Tears lips faded somewhat as he realized a short groove that had been etched into his armor by one of the Jedi’s Scimitars, thankfully though it was just his armor. Canting his head to the side slightly Tear watched the Jedi as the pain in his features suddenly relaxed and washed away numbly. A Jedi technique to push back the pain? Tear thought curiously. A technique like that would be a very dangerous double-edged sword to wield. Being able to fight on through pain but to ignore too much would be like the candle burning to hot and extinguishing itself in the wax that held it up. Tears theory got another point added to it as he noticed the blood dripping down Satine’s arm to the cold ground, from a bullet wound left by one of his snipers.

Their weapons were meant to kill in anyway possible. If you were lucky or unlucky enough to live through the first shot the projectile left an anti coagulant around the wound, leaving you to bleed to death, unless of course you received medical attention. The Jedi probably couldn’t even feel the wound and wouldn’t notice his body draining…

Tears blue eyes shifted quickly to a figure moving behind Satine… it was the other one, wounded and limping away. Growling to himself, Tear made an almost unnoticeable gesture that his troops in the distance picked up…tracing beams began working themselves over Je’gans body the tell tale sign before the rippling pop of several shots being fired. These shots weren’t the same as before, these bolts were blue and rippling with energy meant to stun or incapacitate.

Twirling his lightsaber in front of himself in a defensive manner, the low hum masking Tears words as he whispered into the micro transmitter to his men. “Ylor…warm up the boat incase they try to make a run for it. Oh…and bring that other Jedi down.” Tears earpiece crackled as his second confirmed his orders.

Tear gave a slight wobble, almost losing his balance as he took a step forward. Unlike the Jedi, Tear welcomed the pain; his master once taught him…where there is pain there is life. If you ever stop feeling the pain, you’re dead. Pain shot up from his thigh to his hips, snaking his way through his entire body as he took step after step advancing on Satine, feigning an overhand strike to spin on his good heel, using the momentum to deliver a hard upper cut strike with his saber.

/ooc wake up gav.

[Alpha]

Satine barely manages to block the actual attack, seeing the feint for what it was. Even so, he still lost a weapon. With a sharp hum, his much-abused scimitar's magnetic field shorted out, allowing the sabre to cleave through the hard black metal. Growling, Satine jumps back, throwing the remains of his scimitar at Tear much like one would a throwing knife. Grasping at his sabre, he ignites it, bringing it around.

This is when he notices the bullet wound. Frowning slightly, Satine sees the thing leak more and more blood, not stopping. Almost as if on cue, he feels a wave of dizziness. Countering this by drawing on the Force, Satine realizes something is wrong with the wound. Bringing his sabre's tip down the wound, he cauterizes it, stopping the blood flow. The pain was intense, yes, but not crippling. A warning from the Force causes Satine to fly forward, landing hard in a roll a few feet away. Coming up on his knees, he brings his weapons around, the sabre swinging out behind him.

Tear blinks, unsure of the tactic being used. After all, the blade was too short to reach him there.

Satine grins, and flips a switch on the sabre hilt, switching the blade into its second mode, the blade doubling in length. The blade swings toward Tear.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

This was starting to get old.

Wearily, Je'gan surrendered to the Force once more, even though he wasn't sure of how long he could keep this up. It was rare that he called on the Dark Side this often. He'd much rather have dodged the incoming blasts, but he could barely move let alone perform acrobatics.

Kurai flew from his belt and began dancing back and forth. All his movements were slow, and made the best use of energy possible. Nevertheless, keeping this up was going to be a problem. His arm was aching, and he wasn't that good with his left hand. And Form II hadn't been designed for blocking incoming fire.

Perhaps it was time, a voice said, to go a step farther. He knew that he had some intuition, and his danger sense had always been very good indeed. And how long did it take a blaster bolt to travel the intervening distance?

Wouldn't hurt to try. Hopefully.

He stepped to the side fluidly, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in his ankle. A half-second was all he really had to work with...

There. Time up. He stepped again to the side as blaster fire bit into the dirt where he'd been standing.

Right or left? he taunted mentally. Right led back to the fight. Left was Capashen's starship. He'd chosen left twice. Surely now he would choose right. Repetition, both he and these snipers probably knew, would get him killed.

His danger sense didn't flare as he stepped left a third time, and two metres off his right side blaster bolts hit the ground. Tiny flashed appeared; the next wave of bolts, with none of the side-to-side elongation that said they were off-course. These fellows really were quite good. They'd get him eventually.

His head felt like it was starting to clear, and he began casting his gaze about for a rock to hide behind. None were quite the right size, and there weren't any dips that he could see.

Unless they were behind him.

The acolyte licked his lips as he anticipated and sidestepped the next series. He tried to put the momentum of the movement into a spin, but he'd done it on his bad ankle. His entire leg collapsed, sending him into the dirt in an ungainly sprawl. Kurai powered down, the lightsaber more of a hindrance now than a help.

Somehow or other, even as his danger-sense was shrieking and he was rolling frantically from side to side to evade the incoming fire, he spotted it. The perfect rock; three feet tall, roughly four feet wide, and rounded from the top so about that thick. It was less than twenty metres away.

He rolled sideways one last time and crawled to his feet in a sort of odd spin that brought him again to face the snipers. A few near misses splashed dirt in his eyes. His lightsaber flamed to life and began deflecting.

A step back...come on, Je'gan. You can do it. One step back, on your bad ankle.

And somehow, he did it. And again, and again, and a few mroe times again, until he was beside the rock. A quick dive took him into its shadow, where he powered down his weapon once more and sat to catch his breath. He didn't dare let go of the Force, though, and began calling up every negative memory he could. Those snipers would either blast away the rock or move to a better angle, in which case he was going to have to move again.

[Tear]

The large arc of Tears saber hummed deeply through the air, missing the Jedi as he rolled forward into a crouching position. Instinct drove the Imperial like a predator to bleeding pray as he limped painfully toward the prone Jedi. Satine suddenly sprang to life swinging his weapons behind him, the tip of his saber pointing directly at the Colonel.

Tear blinked puzzled by the move. The Jedi was out of range when he struck out and he knew it. Why would he leave himself so open to a counter attack? What was he-

Tears widened suddenly at the epiphany. Time slowed and stretched into a blur as Tear wrenched his body into a twisting motion. Every sound echoed clearly through the still air from the click of Satine’s saber and the building up of energy that resonated into a louder hum until finally it burst and stretched outward. The Jedi’s blade seared over the surface of Tears chest armor, hissing as it spewed forth smoke and sparks in the process. Clenching jaw tightly, trying to embrace and work through the burning sensations trying to work their way through his chest armor, Tear followed through on the twist, bringing himself along side the Jedi’s open saber side, the smoke from his chest trailing behind like a gray ribbon. The Jedi had made a mistake, using a move Tear had already fallen for, only this time it wasn’t successful and left the Jedi open. Tears saber swung low, halting abruptly mere inches from Satines neck, reflecting a brilliant orange glow over the Jedi’s fair skin.

“Fool me once…shame on you…fool me twice Jedi, shame on me. Drop your weapons and maybe you and your friend will get off this planet alive.” Tears words were a mixture of anger and pain as he hissed them to Satine. The Imperial operative kept his eyes on the Jedi like a stone gargoyle, watching and waiting for any flinch of movement…

[Alpha]

Satine was almost completely exhausted, looking straight into Tear's eyes, his own silver eyes seeming to bore into his opponent's skull. He was a Warrior. He had prepared for something like that.

The sabre was close, true, but it was far enough for Satine's last trick. Forming a small Force blast, and also a Force shield around his neck, where the sabre was likely to hit, Satine makes it look like he is about to drop his sabres. At the last second, he flings the Force blast into Tear's midsection. With a whump, the Sith goes flying backwards a few feet. More then enough room for Satine to bring himself up, and his weapon into a defensive position.

"I think we'll get out of here quite fine on our own," Satine says, trying not to let his fatigue show.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Je'gan could hear the fatigue in Capashen's voice; knew, too, that without the Jedi Master around he wasn't going to survive this, even with Mortis out cold for the next few hours at a minimum. Marshalling any energy at all, though, seemed nigh unto impossible.

Cold logic cut through the chaos in his mind. He, Je'gan Olra'en of Varunda IX, was the weak point of this 'team'. Tear would be a fool not to simply take him out now, rather than wait for the Sithling to recover a useful amount of energy.

Although the mental procedure itself hurt, Je'gan continued to tap into the Force for guidance. The snipers didn't seem to be moving around to a better angle, which worked just fine for him.

Those unpleasant memories did the job. Granted, he had to let fester every foul emotion he'd ever experienced, but he could finally have gotten to his feet if necessary. Not fought, not without losing pitifully...but that would come with time. If Capashen could just keep Tear occupied for long enough...

[Tear]

Tear’s body skidded ruggedly over the cold ground, hands clenching the soil as his body slowed to a stop a few feet away from Satine. A soft finger of smoke snaked its way up from the still red sear mark over Tears chest piece. The soft column of smoke danced and swayed in front of cold blue eyes that rose up from the firm ground to glare angrily at the standing Jedi.

His head should be rolling in the grass! Tears thoughts raced through his mind, fueled by the rage he was feeling at having lost the chance to end the Jedi. Tears hands clenched into the soil that was uprooted from his body, tightening them into fists as he once again rose up onto his feet to lock eyes with Satine.

"I think we'll get out of here quite fine on our own." Satine moved into a defensive position, still holding his saber with his one good arm.

The Colonel couldn’t help but respect the Jedi’s determination for holding his ground. But determination wasn’t a rare trait on this battlefield. Tear again began to advance on his opponent, albeit slower then before, his legged still throbbed painfully and the heat from his armor was only now dying down. Orange light bathed over Tears features as his raised his blade above his head, readying it for a powerful swing. When suddenly his advance halted in unison with a chirp from his ear piece. Tears eyes flashed over toward Je’gan direction briefly before turning back to Satine. Spreading his feet, Tear winked at the Jedi who stood in front of him and spread his stance, bracing himself for something.

This time there was no series of flashes on the horizon, no warning, until the last moment. Anyone who had been on a battlefield would recognize the sound and feel the panic and terror that accompanied it. The high pitched scream of artillery fire resounded around Je’gan mere seconds before the explosive impact, kicking up shrapnel, debris and the clouds of dirt in the process. The first shots missed by only a few meters, leaving Je’gan with few options to either move or be gathered up and put in a bag after the battle. Under the cover of each roaring explosion, two of the six snipers made there way on rumbling speeder bikes on an arcing path around the battle. When they settled down they would have Je’gan flanked from both sides as well as the troops remaining at the original position. An electronic green hue filtered out the smoke and debris being blown into the air as a heat signature remained behind the large rock, Ylor grinned as his strategy began to unfold. “Be sure to pick him off if he tries to make a run for it. Keep the artillery rounds going. He’ll either pop his pretty little head up or have it blown apart.”

The ground rumbled violently with each hypersonic shell that slammed into the ground with enough concussive force to jar a rancor off his feet. Tear, even though he had braced himself for the explosions, staggered and wobbled painfully trying to keep his weight off his wounded leg. Even through the quaking, Tears eyes kept on Satine, waiting for the moment he would lose his balance. Lunging at his opponent, Tear flung a handful of dirt he had picked up moments before into the Jedi’s face and gripping his saber in both hands swung the blade in a powerful over hand arc down against his opponent.

[Alpha]

Losing his balance, as it turned out, saved Satine's life. Blinded by the dirt, Satine tried to step backwards as an artillery blast hit the ground a dozen feet away from the two combatants. Falling to one knee, Satine instinctively rolls to the side, avoiding the sabre slash. Coming up to his feet, his feet spread apart for better balance, Satine sends his sabre in with a quick stab, followed by a slash. He knew he had to get out of here somehow...But, with the artillery, trying to run would be suicide, and he couldn't very well fly his way out. Cursing to himself, Satine begins to wish he had brought his bio-tech wings with him on this field trip.

With the steady drone of shells hitting the ground in his ears, Satine focuses on his opponent, knowing that one slip up could very well cosat him his life...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

Even this immersed in the Dark Side of the Force, even with a danger-sense this attuned, Je'gan barely got out of the way in time. His life was directly threatened by these shells - and by the humming repulsorcraft whose noises he could hear in the gaps between shell impacts - and that was enough to give him the last erg of energy needed to make a decisive move.

The next shell arrived, but he was already moving, using the Force to enhance his speed - with mental assaults, his one great strength. He ignited Kurai and began stopping blaster bolts wildfire.

He entered the town and deactivated the saber, turning several corners at top speed. At this hour, not much was happening; there was nobody around to be startled by his sprint.

A house like any other presented itself. He hurtled through the door, locked it behind him, knocked out the residents with minimal violence, and sat down at a table with Kurai in front of him. Only then did he allow himself to relax, and take a minute to rest. The Force never left him, though; the danger was too near for that. As he began to relax, however, his anger and his hatred drained away.

He was calling on the Light Side.

All, he knew instinctively, would be well.

[Tear]

Dirt and debris rained down from the sky around the two fighters locked in combat. Fate it would seem was being kind to this Jedi as he had managed to stumble out of the slash to safer position. But Satine wasn’t all fate it seemed, as the Jedi’s coat fluttered behind him, his arm striking out in a stabbing motion. Tear sidestepped the stab the blade missing my mere inches to then have Satine spin around and slash at him again. The hissing crackle of sabers colliding resounded through the air mixed with ground shaking booms of artillery fire. The two stood momentarily glaring at each other, sparks randomly jumping from their blades until, Tear pushed forward, slapping Satines blade away.

The sound of multiple speeder bikes fell silent on the edge of town. The two snipers had watched the Jedi flee into the city and were joined by a third Inquisitoriate trooper at the towns edge. A gloved hand swept over the dirt, fresh foot prints of someone moving very quickly leading into the town. The trooper stood raising an arm to the two men behind him, his hand conveying multiple silent signals. The soldiers moved quickly and silently, filtering through the town like predators as they stalked their prey to a homestead. The hinges had been broken…and dirt was still fresh on the door, bearing a smeared footprint. The armored figures moved silently around the house planting small devices on the windowsills and any exits that could be seen. A woman sleepily stepped out onto her porch, giving a wide yawn before her eyes caught one of the soldiers. Her lips parted gasping shock before a firm hand cupped over her mouth and dragged her back into her home. The soldier moved a single finger up to where his lips would be, signaling silence. The woman nodded shakily, afraid of what might happen if she did not comply. “We are here for your protection ma’am. We have tracked a murderer and it seems he has broken in and taken refuge in your neighbor’s house. Please gather your family and seek safety elsewhere.” Releasing the woman she immediately ran into the various bedrooms and gathered her family up and fled into the alleyway behind her home. The soldier gave a signal to the rest of his men as they slid inside the home opposite of the one Je’gan was inside. Various clicks and clacks of switches and ammunition echoed through the room until several weapons were leveled on the windows facing out toward their target’s shelter.

Trained to be the best of the best, then selected and conditioned under the toughest training the empire had to offer, these troops were made for the explicit purpose of taking down force users and other high priority targets. This target was a resilient one. Injured he managed to evade sniper fighter and escape an artillery bombardment. But this time…this time the window and exits had been rigged with explosives and the area surrounding remote turrets had been placed. Ylor was ordered to take this Jedi down and his troops were going to do just that. The hiss of pressurized air spilled from various vents of the Merr-Sonn PLX-2M shoulder mounted missile system. A dull ka-chunk as a single Malaise canister smashed through the glass of the home. The gas canister split into three separate pieces each providing a constant discharge of the gas which afflicted those unlucky enough to come in contact with an overwhelming nausea combined with a burning sensation over the subjects skin and eyes. As the room filled with the gas the trooper’s helmets buzzed and hummed, filtering out the chemical from view, while the shoulder mounted missile launcher was loaded again this time with something more explosive. The other two men opened up on the house, sending repeating laser blasts ripping through walls and furniture alike.

A primal growl roared up from Tear as his blade savagely slammed against Satines repeatedly. His opponent was raising his saber up in time only to have it swatted away. Lucky for the Jedi his training with duel sabers allowed him control with a saber balanced by only one hand, anyone else would have been cut down by the Imperials aggressive attacks. He could taste it, his prey was wounded and tiring, like any predator his blood began to burn with the scent of a faltering prey. Tears onslaught against Satine raged on.

[Alpha]

Satine silently thanked his heavy involvement in the Warrior sub-class of Jedi, as he brings his sabre up yet again into a one handed defense. Tear was relentlessly pushing the Jedi. Drawing on the Force even more, Satine gains a burst of energy, sidestepping a strike, and countering. Due to Tear's reflexes, the blade only burns the skin of his left arm, it doesn't cut into it. Spinning away from his adversary, Satine hears the whistling of an artillery shell, and instincively jumps, the shell impacting between the Jedi and the Imperial...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

A quiet, sad smile whisked over the Sith's face as his danger-sense gave a warning. Cautiously, taking care so that his touch wouldn't be noticed, he brushed his mind over the situation.

The life-signs had moved about the outside of the house, pausing here and there. At a guess, they'd planted something when they'd stopped, at locations that roughly corresponded to the windows he could see. That accounted for about half of the pauses. Naturally. There were more windows.

His danger-sense went haywire in tune with the sound of shattering glass. Instinctively, he dove away from the sound, duck-rolling to avoid the explosion. When it didn't come, he poked his head up.

Oh...

Gas. Whatever it was, he wasn't in the mood for it. He stood and took an extremely deep breath before the cloud reached him, then moved determinedly through the living room, down the hall opposite the snipers, and to the door of a small bathroom. Behind him, blaster fire turned furniture to kindling. A terrible itching began to creep over his skin. Desperation began to claw at him again, but he beat it down and continued to hold his breath.

There. He couldn't see it per se (mainly because after the first sensations of stinging, he'd shut his eyes), but his finely tuned sense of danger was intent on keeping him away from that one point. He grinned without opening his lips and teeked the toilet seat straight through the window, taking cover behind the 'fresher's door.

An explosion blew apart most of the door, leaving Je'gan with several fresh if minor wounds. That detonation, however, meant that there was nothing there anymore to stop him.

He dove through the hole where the window had once been, releasing his breath violently and taking another. He was on the opposite side of the building form the snipers, and outside of their line of fire.

The man smiled again, a bit less cheerfully yet, as screams came from the burning, gassed and demolished house. The inhabitants were in the process of being blown to bits, gassed, and otherwise traumatized. He wouldn't be in their shoes for anything.

He took off at top speed through twisted alleys, making sure to stay out of sight of the building in which his attackers had been holed up.

[Tear]

The sound of hissing fills Tears left ear as he looks down to see the armor on his left arm with a searing red slash etched into it. Releasing his grip on his saber with his right hand Tear quickly reaches up to unclip the buckles and straps holding the piece on. The smoldering armor is quickly shed away like a scale, leaving Tears arm bare and red from the burning sensations that made its way through his defenses. The Jedi spun away… The Colonel’s blade twirled briefly in his hand while his body prepared to lunge at the Jedi when a sudden tingling wave swept over him, a sense of foreboding between him and his prey. The whistling sound of an artillery shell barreling through the air quickly followed. Tear quickly changed his course and dove toward the hard cold ground. The roar of the deafening close impact shook the ground violently and sprayed deadly shrapnel up into the air along with a large plume of dirt and rock.

The Jedi had obviously never been on a battlefield. He had made a very unforgiving mistake. Jumping into the air as the shell hit the ground. Only one type of man made this mistake, a dead one. If the Jedi had survived the explosion, Tear was sure he would find the man a few feet away riddled with shrapnel and anything else the explosion would have spat out at a terrifying velocity. Tear remained flat to the ground with his hands clasped over his head while dirt and pebbles continued to rain from the sky. After a short time Tear unclasped his fingers and looked up. The area was a brownish haze and some of the dirt refused to settle and preferred to linger over the field until the wind decided to usher it onwards slightly. The Colonel’s ears were ringing from the blast as his eyes wandered over the large crater made by the artillery shell.

Inquisitoriate troops-

The pulsing blasts of weapon fire ceased, leaving a house filled with scorched hole marks and a thick gas sneaking through every open hole and nook until it found a free path toward the dull blue sky.

“Always running.” One of the troops grumbled as he removed an orb from his side pocket and gave it a flick. The orb hummed lightly before lifting off from the mans gloved palm and into the sky above.

“Remember that time you told that one force user if he kept running you were going to nail his feet to the ground?” The trooper with the missile launcher spoke slowly as he hefted his weapon up over his shoulder and pointed the barrel into the air.

“Hehe…the look on his face was great when he found out I wasn’t joking.”

“Tell me about it. He was all Aahh” The trooper raised his voice and did a feign stagger as he tapped various commands into a beeping wrist pad. The floating orb hummed while he sped through the air, taking in its environment through various instruments, scanning, testing, analyzing, tracking, the small bundle of circuits cruised over the little town hunting down an elusive target. A trace of malaise gas, residual heat signature, indentations in the soil, the orb sped through the air as it homed in on its target, locating it and transferring information back to its host. A smirk slid over the Inquisitoriate trooper’s lips as he then coordinated the orb scanners and targeting systems to his comrade’s missile launcher. A hiss of air pierced the air until a short burst of flame erupted in unison with the missile being spat straight up into the air. The missile continued straight for a moment bet then began gradually curving down, guided by the targeting orb as it swirled through the air toward its fleeing target. It roared through the air at a blistering speed until suddenly exploding, releasing a shower of searing hot plasma spheres that would explode on impact and splatter its superheated contents over the area.

“Ready second shot.” The Trooper kneeled down as his comrades helped him reload the missile launcher when suddenly their Comm links chirped. New orders gave them a look of slight bewilderment before shrugging it off and following it like the elite soldiers they were. The three gathered their equipment and slipped from the town on the reverberating sound of speeder bikes cruising back to the field of battle.

[Alpha]

Satine manages not to cry out from pain as he hits the ground, his arms and legs cut and sliced from shrapnel. Surpressing another groan, Satine looks up, seeing nothing but dirt in the air. figuring this was as good a time as any, Satine manages to stumble to his feet--the pain almost making him retch. Gasping for breath, Satine tries to bring himself into a defensive stance...

[Je'gan Olra'en]

With a somewhat resigned air, the running Sith stopped and turned to see the missile approaching. Poised to evade it at the last moment, he was caught off-guard by the premature explosion, and his leap was so far past belated as to approach clumsy. He shot through a window with his right leg on fire, shattered two chairs and skidded to a stop.

Je'gan couldn't help but notice that he was burning, of course; it just took a little while for the pain to register through the adrenaline haze. Almost instantly, he was rolling around on what was left of the chair and scraping frantically at his pants leg with a large splinter.

The flames died, but not soon enough for his liking. Oddly, this coincided with a cessation of his hyperactive danger-sense. By now he'd learned to trust that sense with his life; still, it was some time before he hobbled out of the house and headed for the edge of town at right angles to the last known location of the snipers.

[Tear]

Sparks exploded in front of Satine in a brilliant and sudden flash as Tear emerged like some sort of nightmare from the dirt filled air. The hard slash was meant only to knock Satine off his defensive stance as the real attack came in the form of an armored fist, connecting hard with Satines jaw. The Jedi staggered briefly before collapsing backwards.

The dirt in the air kicking away from his body as it hit the ground. A soft yet cold breeze filtered gently through the grass, blowing the dirt in the air down the field of battle, leaving the two combatants in the clear once again. The black armored figure of Tear stood sorely, his thigh shooting fingers of pain through his body, his arm burned as if it was on fire and his armor reflected the feeling of his body, worn, cracked and dented. Victory over the Jedi had paid its toll. Satine lay, wheezing weakly for breath, his body shredded by shrapnel and debris, his arm slashed and his other baring a seared hole through his shoulder, a trickle of blood dripped from his nose and lip. The toll for being defeated had also been calculated and dealt.

A drum roll of repulser engines echoed through the landscape. Signaling the return of the troops that had been in pursuit of the other Jedi. Slowing to a gradual stop near their Colonel they dismounted and looked over their superior’s handy work. “He alive?”

Tear hunched over on his knees, his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed sorely and gave a nod.

“Want me to finish em off?” The same soldier continued as he raised his rifle at the prone Jedi.

Still trying to catch his breath, Tear shook his head, as the blade of his lightsaber was sucked back into the hilt. “No, he’s coming with us.” Tear straightened up with wince and tapped his wrist, opening a comm channel. “Ylor come in.”

“Yes sir?”

“I told you a while back to warm up the boat where is she?”

“On her way sir. She should be cresting the hill in five to 10 minutes.” Ylor responded dutifully as he glanced behind him with a pair of electrobinoculars for any sight of the ship but instead catching a glimpse of something else. “Do you guys still have the tracking probe locked on the second target?”

One of the returned snipers perked up and clicked his comm link to respond, “Aye sir…why?”

“What’s his position?”

The trooper quickly raised his forearm and tapped a view buttons over the small keypad. “Hmph..sneaky lil..hes on his way toward your position.”

“Ylor pull back to my position and wait for extraction.” Tears command was labored between heavy breathing as he sat back onto one of the speeders his expression clearly showing pain as he did so.

“Sir what about that one.” One of the returned troopers lifted the barrel of his weapon toward the Dark Jedi that had been knocked unconscious or killed.

Tear sneered at the laying body of the Dark Jedi. He couldn’t sense if the Jedi was indeed alive or dead. “Leave him. If he’s dead he deserves a warrior’s death and should be left on the battlefield to rot in peace. If he’s alive…we aren’t nurses I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

/ooc Er I can see how you might be confused since i didnt differentiate all my troopers. The guy saying "Hes on his way toward your position" Is one of the troopers that arrived next to Tear. The one that previously tried to blow you up. Hence him tracking you. Sorry for that my fault.

[Je'gan Olra'en]

OOC/ He's moving at right angles to the last known sniper position...meaning, unless I missed something, that he's not heading towards Tear.

IC/ All but the last of the danger he could feel was gone. Stress drained from the young Sith as he limped through the streets, helpful in more ways than one. His Force reserves were depleted, but just because he couldn't bend the Force to his will didn't mean that he couldn't listen for its promptings - and that took relaxation.

At a specific house, no different from any other, he entered and found it empty. A quick search of cabinets gave him a first aid kit.

He hobbled out into the streets again, wounds quickly if efficiently bandaged and several food pills ingested. The water from the faucet had tasted like sheer heaven.

He was beginning to hope that he would survive this...