Fallen Angels, I seek. (Complete)

[Jared Mriad]

There was a certain complex, set at a certain spot upon Coruscant. Within the hollow and decaying rooms of that small complex, there was a certain room upon the top floor - a retching stench seeping through the floors to the roof above.

It was diluted by the hefty breeze, so was the blue smoke coming from the end of a cigarette. A cigarette stuck between lips of one red-headed sith - Jared Mriad. Blood was upon his hands to his elbows, stained across the black shirt and equally black clothes he wore. A simple single-edge sword on his right: a sleek, two-hand, part polearm, part sword "Warbrand" from a long ancient Maciejowski Bible. The blade, too, was stained with life-fluids - playing bright red in the light and dark art in the night. On his left, duet of sabers.

He drew one knee up to his chest, puffing out a cloud of blue smoke before climbing leaning his head back to the stars. One of THEM hopefully would be here, one of THEM who would deem aggressive.

One of THEM.

[Gav Mortis]

There came a tapping. A steady, rythmic tapping from outside the room. At first it was quiet and distance but slowly grew louder. Then there was whistling, a light-hearted tune accompanied the tapping of a cane and the gentle thud of black, leather boots. There stood the source of the noise, in that certain doorway, leading into that certain room in that same certain complex. A man, dressed smart in rather exquisite clothing.

"Why hello there, I must admit I admire your handywork, sir." He smiled, then a gloved hand cast his hat casually to one side then he tugged at the cord around his neck. A velvet cloak with an interior of red silk fell to floor behind him. In he stepped.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, then chuckled. "Of course you don't. I do have one question though: Why did you do it?"

[Jared Mriad]

Jared measured up the noble-esque figure, from the soles of his boots to the tips of his scalp. Was he worthy of an answer, a reply?

"There was a reason, isn't there? Was it a choice, or a demand? No, I did it to thin out the potentials. The husks, blessed beings they were not, could have posed a threat in the future," He took a lengthy drag from the cigarette, the glowing red end cascading further down the ivory length.

"There was several potential, none that could manafest the desired requirements to be taken notice of - at this time."

[Gav Mortis]

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Gav walked across to a control panel, he stepped in a spot of blood and stopped, he checked the underside of one of his boots and pulled a face of distaste. Then, pushing a corpse from it's seat at a control console, Gav sat down. He stared at the man for a moment with curiosity. Then opened his mouth to speak.

Then studied his fingernails for a bit, prolonging the silence. Finally, he looked up once more.

"Another question, if you don't mind. What desired requirements were you looking for in your potentials?"

[Jared Mriad]

Jared chuckled softly.

"No, not my requirements, those of the Jedis. There are more of them now than flies about a garbage dump," He waved the hand with the cigarette tucked between middle and index finger, "But, those with the correct motives in life took my notice - sadly none of them survived long enough to earn respect."

Ineed, some of those slain carried weapons of crude make - several with cheap blasters, some with knives, and two-so with wooden clubs. Those few too held deep lacerations and even deeper lightsabersaber burns.

[Gav Mortis]

"Ah, I see." Gav said with nod. He steepled his fingers in his lap while he scrutinized the red-headed man further, his index fingers tapped together again and again.

"Then I wonder, if you would fit my requirements. Mister--?"

[Jared Mriad]

"-Mriad. Jared Mriad," He finished, "Now that you know my name, I have two questions for you: What are your requirements? Sir-?"

[Gav Mortis]

"I am looking for someone not too unlike myself, actually. Someone who is in opposition of the Jedi, has talent with a lightsaber and some skill with the Force. A spot of intelligence wouldn't go amiss either." He answered casually before standing. He pressed down on the cane in front of him, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"Some of those requirements you may fit, Jared, the others we can work on. oh and my name is Gav Mortis." He gave Jared a grim smile. "But you can call me Master."

[Jared Mriad]

He gave no immedate response, rather, turned his gaze back to the corpses and took yet another huff. Gav Mortis... Jared had not heard of that name.

"Slaying unarmed and poorly trained individuals hardly shows full talent with a blade," He exhaled the smoke, "What drew you here, Master Mortis? The stench of decay, or the flavor of a dark aura?"

[Gav Mortis]

"Neither, you did." He answered plainly. "And I never claimed you had any talent, yet."

Discarding of his cane, Gav removed a lightsaber from his belt and closed in on Jared. He stopped and ignited his weapon, an angry, red blade leapt forth. Gav angled it at Jared's throat and stood still. "Now it is your turn to prove yourself, Jared. And then we'll go from there."

[Jared Mriad]

Jared stuck the end of the cigarette between his lips and stood to his feet. Outstreaching his left palm to accept one of the duet of sabers, he ignited the ebony black blade with a simple flick of his thumb and flourish of the wrist to posititon the blade infront of him - Both hands clasped around the hilt, feet spread and knees bent.

The ruby saber remaining angled to his throat.



"Very well."


Thus, it begun. Jared struck the red saber from hard right - lashing out with a level kick follow-through.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav used the momentum from Jared's lightsaber blow to pivot on one foot and turn full circle to one side, avoiding his incoming kick and dropping low to sweep from under him the one leg upon which all his weight rested. Perhaps by some miracle Jared would not hit the floor but in the likelyhood that he did, Gav readied himself at a safe distance to lunge for a killing stab at the heart.

[Jared Mriad]

Jared landed hard on his side and rolled into a tight crouch, saber diagonally across his body. He called the other of the duet, another ebony hued blade just seconds before Mortis's lunge.

With assistance from the Force, Jared dodged away from the blade and the wall, rolling up into a stand. Both sabers held before him.

[Gav Mortis]

"Well aren't you the resourceful one?" A corner of Gav's mouth upturned in a half smirk after he'd stood upright. Again, his weapon was pointed directly at the Darksider, Jared. Giving his opponent an impressed look, Gav nodded approvingly. "Two sabers? Now that does require some skill, in the hands of a novice they'd probably remove your own limbs before doing your enemy any damage."

Gav moved in close once again, a smile. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Suddenly, half a dozen random objects took flight; there was a discarded blaster, a blade, a monitor, an officer's head, a datapad and a boot with a dismembered foot still inside for Gav to have fun with. They started circling Jared but Gav was content to keep him waiting. "Well?"

[Jared Mriad]

The emotionless mask Jared wore liquified into a smirk as well. His eyes tracked the debrise rotating around, for a moment, before locking back upon Mortis.

"Is anyone sure of their actions? To pull a trigger is to take risk, to open the door in the morning is to take risk, to take a challenge. I am sure of what I do."

He rotated the left-hand saber so it was held in a reversed position - the blade pointing to the floor.

[Gav Mortis]

"I'm glad to hear that."

Gav smiled at Jared's manouver, he could never manage holding a lightsaber in reverse, especially in his left hand and was intrigued to see how well Jared coped. First came the boot, from behind, it came in fast but not as fast as the datapad from Jared's left.

That was when Gav leapt forward and swung from the right horizontally at Jared's waist, hoping to separate his opponent's legs from the rest of his body.

[Jared Mriad]

Jared "locked-on" to the datapad, moving hard left torward the flying device and lashing out with the right-hand saber vertically down as he spun on his left foot. As the pad was bisected and destroyed, the boot missed completely and continued on with a kamakazi-sque assault directed torward Mortis.

But was sliced apart by the backswing of the Master's attack, which was intentionally aimed for Jared. As Mriad finished his turn upon his left, he used the same right-hand saber for a upperhanded vertical slash - aimed to sever Mortis from left stomach to right collar-bone.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav had used the momentum from his previous attack which had inadvertedly protected him from the airborne boot and he pivoted half circle on one foot so that he had his back to his opponent. There was a crack and a hiss as his weapon, now held upside down in his right hand, intercepted Mriad's assault.

"Ooh, fast!" He said light-heartedly, and the blade, once hovering above the pair with the other objects, soared down at Jared's calf from behind. Gav quickly pushed against the black saber with his own as they were locked so that he didn't leave himself open to Jared's second weapon for two long. Following through, he turned now to face Jared and swung his lightsaber overhead straight for a decapitation.

[Jared Mriad]

The left-handed saber switched to the correct position one would hold a blade-

-the flying knife nipped his calf-

-and intercepted the elevated strike. At the same moment, the right-handed saber deactivated and jabbed into Mortis's open gut. His thumb threatening to activate the saber.

[Gav Mortis]

There was a moments silence in which both Darksider's stared at close quarters; Gav could feel the prod of his opponent's deactivated lightsaber hilt against his abdomen, the feeling was exhilerating, while the cold touch of a blaster barrel carressed the side of Jared's forehead. Gav grinned.

"A stalemate. Not bad, Mriad." He glanced at the blaster floating next to Jared's head, he could feel the trigger and it was so tempting to unleash a volley of red laser into his opponent's brain. But this was going nowhere.

"I'll back off if you do." He said with all the sickening sweetness of a child at play.

[Jared Mriad]

Jared's eyes narrowed in response.

"I would honor your terms, if not a barrel stuck at my head. As soon as I backed off, you may have the desire to still shoot me as I stand."

[Gav Mortis]

"You're not as stupid as you look." Gav smirked and the blaster pistol slowly moved away from Jared's head while the deactivated lightsaber in his hand suddenly became hot to touch and increasinly would feel like a stick of fire in his opponents hand.

"Now drop it."

[Jared Mriad]

Jared released the saber, watched as it fell to the ground. He backed away slowly about half-dozen steps until the heel of his boot nudged a dead corpse. He the extended his right hand and called the saber to it, but halted it's advance mere centemeters from his open palm.

[Gav Mortis]

"You can take your weapon, it's cold again." Gav assured Jared, gesturing a hand at his levitating lightsaber. In a surreal and perhaps eerie way, the decapitated head of one of Jared's victims continued to circle him in the air. Droplets of blood dotted the floor all around from the officer's neck open neck.

"You're well skilled, Jared Mriad." Gav said honestly, returning to his seat, he siezed his cane once more and leaned upon it after returning his lightsaber to his belt. He made eye contact with the Darksider. "Who trained you?"

[Jared Mriad]

Jared snagged the hovering saber and clipped it to his belt along with the other.

"Initially by Darth Snack during the Empires days, then by Cherice St Hilare."

He moved over to his original position, fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit the end with a long puff.

"Lost track of Master Snack, and Master Hilare's been dormant for many a month now."

[Gav Mortis]

"The Empire, you say?" Gav perked up with interest. "I never took to that lot, Rama Sha and the like. Back in the day, I was alongside Itala Marzullo and Jen Katrina. She was my master."

Feeling comfortable again, Gav took his seat once again and stared intently at Jared. He wondered how long he had been in training since years had passed since the demise of the Sith Empire. The wheels in his head turned.

"Jen Katrina died just as I was beginning to advance through the ranks of the Council. I had to figure out the rest for myself and I think now, looking back, that was a mistake."

He pointed at Jared and nodded in agreement with himself. "You need a master."

[Jared Mriad]

Jared turned his head at the pointing finger and it's owner, the end of the cigarette dangling from between his lips. How long was it since his last session with Hilare? Seven - eight months, maybe longer?

"Yes," He replied shortly, stooping down to pickup the warbrand and using the handle to lean upon,"I do."

[Gav Mortis]

"Good." Gav answered, satisfied, and stood. "You're coming with me."

[Jared Mriad]

Finding no reason to object, Jared stuck the warbrand into his belt. A final glance around, more-so to check to see if he left anything behind, and he fell into line behind Mortis.

"Alright. Where to?"

[Gav Mortis]

"Into the wild." Gav answered plainly, had he been facing Jared, his malicious smile would've been visible. He turned back and smiled reassuringly.

"You'll see. No point in spoiling the suprise."