The Needle in the Nerfsteaks (Open challenge)

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

The warehouse districts of Coruscant were havens for the poor and powerless. Impoverished communities banded together within the often-deserted storehouses, nucleating their whole existence around the barren stockrooms. Some even took to setting up camp within still active stores. One particular example was the Rupture Farms refrigeration depot. Three stories high, it was used by the company to enough nerfmeat to feed an entire planet. It was harvested cheaply, and often illegally, and then packaged as a gourmet meal and sold off at extortionate prices. What made this practice even more detestable was the fact that a band of waifs and vagrants had taken to living on the first floor, in the main storage hold.

The district was quiet and any security measures erected by Rupture Farms had long since decayed or been bypassed by the vagabonds. Shooting fish in a barrel would be an apt phrase. There was no gain to be main from the wanton culling of the drifters, by Arriana Rezner was going to do it anyway. A chill swept over her as she entered the front door of the warehouse, greeted by the sight of tower-blocks of boxes of meat pilled to the roof. The machinery used to grind the meat was inactive – the redhead had an amusing thought about what she could do with the bodies of her victims once (or perhaps before) they were dead.

She strode through one of the isles that split the boxes, following the blip in the Force that would eventually lead her to a small group huddled around one box of meat. The tore at the steak, ripping away the flesh and swallowing it down raw. At Rezner’s appearence, they looked up in vague shock for a moment, their grubby hands lingering over the ripped crate. Their eyes were wide, as guilt claimed them, and they fought with the idea of fight or flight. The cold air hissed, with the smell of o-zone and burnt something. Things were warming up.

Somewhere in the warehouse district of Coruscant, five lives vanished off the radar.

[Alpha]

Satine slowly steps into the nerf-storage buildings, pulling his leather duster closer to his body as he feels the cold. He had no idea why he was here, actually. He had decided to go cruising on a speeder bike, when he found himself wandering here.

Sighing, he wishes the Force could be a bit more specific as to why he went places...

"Anyone here?" he calls out, looking around.

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Somewhere in the warehouse district of Coruscant, five lives vanished off the radar. Five might have gone, but one had arrived, and it alone made up for the others. The Kalish Sith quietly stepped backwards away from the bodies as she heard the call of a voice. Her saber drew silently back into its hilt. Who would be here in the middle of the night? It had to be a Jedi. You couldn’t go anywhere now without running into some peace-preaching tool. With an internal sigh, Arriana turned and began to walk slowly into the boxes. She didn’t want a fight – just some fun. Perhaps she could loose the idiot in the maze of crates.

[Alpha]

Satine closes his eyes, letting the Force guide him. Reaching over his shoulders, Satine's hands close on the hilts for his two scimitars. Drawing them out, the room rings with the sound of metal and leather rubbing against each other. With a start, he realizes a Dark-sider's signature...And it was moving away from him...

This was not acceptable. Speeding up, Satine tries to follow the Force-presence.

"A Dark sider?" he calls out, his voice dripping with scorn. "A Dark sider running away?"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Her destination was reached. Ahead, the door to the lift to the above floors lay open. Arriana smirked as she strode in, hearing the voice of the Jedi echoing off the cavernous walls. Apparently, she had been found out. It didn’t matter. The doors in front of her slid shut with a hiss, and with a push of the button the turbo lift was moving upwards with a soft hiss. When the doors opened above, she used the force to call one of the smaller boxes across to her feet, and kicked it into the opening of the two doors. What kept the doors open was a break in the beam of light between two panels at ground level. The box did this, and ensured that the lift could not be called back down to the first floor. Eyes searching ahead of her, Arriana continued out into the labyrinth.

[Alpha]

Satine makes his way to the turbolift, hitting the button to ascend. Waiting for a few moments, he begins to wonder where the 'lift was...After a minute, he knew something was screwy. Sighing, he sheathes both his blades, and uses the Force to rip the doors open. Looking around the shaft, he spots the ladder they had for maintenence. Jumping across the gap--and not looking down. Alpha didn't want to even know how deep this shaft went--he grabs the rungs of the ladder, starting the climb up. Searching again, he finds his prey again.

Smirking a bit, he sends a Force message her way. What's the matter? When something that can actually fight back comes to call, you flee like a little rodent?.

Seeing the lift, on the floor above where he was, he raises an eyebrow. He knew where it was now...But why was it stationary?

Bringing out his lightsabre, Satine thumbs it on, the black blade extending from the hilt with a hiss sound. Bringing it up above his head, he cuts a hole into the floor of the lift, hugging the wall as the metal piece he cut away falls downr the shaft. Replacing his sabre on his belt, Satine gathers the Force around him, and jumps, landing in a crouch in the lift.

Kicking out the box that was blocking the door--now he knew what happened--Satine strides into the building, stopping to get his bearings.

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

If it was possible, this floor seemed much busier than that below. The vagrants had not begun tearing into it yet, so boxes were still in place and intact. Arriana strode through them, the message from her pursuer ringing in her mind for a brief moment before she discarded the thought – pressing on towards her destination. She would reach it soon, and Alpha was bound to follow. Bringing her saber into one hand, she turned to a halt upon reaching the opening in the boxes she had been looking for. Soon, Alpha would arrive too. Then, she thought, he would be in for a wonderful surprise. Within the very close vicinity, something wicked lurked.

[Alpha]

Soon, Satine reaches the opening, his hands automatically going to his weapons. Something was telling him he wasn't the smartest sentient in the galaxy for letting his opponent select the battlefield.

With an internal shrug, Satine continues forward, bringing out his pair of scimitars, and looking around...

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: A boot taps the Jedi on the shoulder from above, and kicks him in the eye socket ::

"Hello, Satine."

:: Sorsha looks down at him, and smiles ::

"We need to talk."

[Alpha]

Satine hisses in pain as he sprawls out on the floor for a moment, blinking and shaking his head slowly to clear the fog from his mind. His eyes focus on the familiar face, just as his ears focus on the familiar voice...He hadn't seen or heard from Sorsha in a long time.

Slowly getting to his feet, his guard up, and more cautious then before, Satine simply looks at Sorsha, his silver eyes seeming to blaze in the dim light.

"Hello again Sorsha," he says, his voice almost dripping with the intense dislike he felt for her. "Talk about what?"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

With a smug smile forming on her lips, Arriana strode a few paces forwards toward Alpha. She glances a moment at her master, before fixing her brilliant cyan gaze onto the lightsider.

“Silly, silly Jedi…”

[Alpha]

Satine turns his own metallic silver gaze on Arriana. As she is about to take another step, Satine, seemingly without effort, erects a Force wall before Arriana, causing the Dark Sider to stop in mid-step.

Shaking his head, Satine says, "You go no further...Tell me...Did you plan this?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"When I think of lack of focus, Satine, I think of you. She led you here because I wished it so."

[Alpha]

"No lack of focus here, Sorsha," Satine says, sneering slightly. "I went where the Force willed me."

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

“The Force didn’t will you anywhere. I lead you here, Master Jedi. You wouldn’t have come here if it were not for me. You follow any scent, any trail, like a blood hound, eager for the fight. I know you Jedi, not as pious as you would have the world think. You do live up to one thing, however – lack of foresight. Always running bull-headed in that which you don’t understand, that which you can’t understand.” She shakes her head, looking then to Sorsha. “Fools.”

[Alpha]

"Do we really need to understand more then the simple fact that if there is evil, it must be stopped?" Satine asks. He shakes his head. "No, we don't. Our job is to protect and safeguard the galaxy. That also includes wiping out evil such as you."

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"There is evil within you, Satine. The blood of innocents was shed by your hand, on the day they were to be wed. It was you who stole their lives, killed their dreams, and it is you they cry to when you lay awake at night. Would you throw yourself upon your sword and pierce your own heart to give them peace?"

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Arriana listened silently, chuckling beneath her breath. It wouldn’t be long before the real fun started.

[Alpha]

"There is evil within you, Satine. The blood of innocents was shed by your hand, on the day they were to be wed. It was you who stole their lives, killed their dreams, and it is you they cry to when you lay awake at night. Would you throw yourself upon your sword and pierce your own heart to give them peace?"

Satine winces as Sorsha begins to dredge up old memories...Memories he had long tried to bury.

"I would gladly fall upon my blade...But, only after my job of hunting down the others is complete...And, unless I'm mistaken, you still are one of the ones on the top of my list..."

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"It feels so good to be wanted. I've missed you too."

[Alpha]

Satine barely hides a small shiver--one he always got when dealing with Sorsha. "LEt's cut to the chase...Why are you here?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"I hunt, therefore I am. You ought to know that better than anyone."

:: Sorsha hops down to stand face to face with Satine, her gold eyes trapping him her gaze ::

"You would fare much better working with me than against me. You and I team up, and the Culling grows that much closer. Don't let an old grudge cloud your vision."

[Alpha]

"Hmmm...As tempting as that offer is...I don't trust you, Sorsha..."

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"The last time I saw you, I watched Videl beat the hezmana out of you. Did you enjoy that?"

[Xazor Elessar]

"And if I do recall correctly, the last time I saw you was when myself and a band of brothers drove you out of town." A quiet voice that had a gentle quality surfaced from the shadows. Not but a few seconds following was the one to whom it belonged. Clad in beautiful white robes that seemed quite angelic was a young woman who Sorsha, and even Satine, were well acquainted with.

Just a few feet from the Dark One, the Lost Jedi came to stop. Her face was veiled with the shadows cast from the hood of her cloak atop her head. "So nice to see you again." The cyan eyes of Xazor held steady on the face of Sorsha as she offered a humble bow before rising to stand as before. There was a certain calm and peace about the Jedi Knight as she stood, her identity hidden well for she kept a strong mental lock on her aura. It would take Satine a bit of time before he realized that the hooded figure was his sister.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha hisses in suprise at Xazor. Her presence here was unexpected, and unwelcome ::

<center>"You ..."
<img src=http://panic.hopto.org/swf/sorsha/g/albums/userpics/pics2/roc/roc98.jpg>

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

The arrival of the Jedi Knight was unexpected, but the Kalish Sith had no doubts that Sorsha was capable of dealing with any number of opponents who arrived. They were just more lambs to the slaughter, more blood on Vicet’s altar. “How nice of you to join us,” Arriana said in a drawling tone of voice, entirely uninterested in Xazor as she stood by, twirling her saber hilt idly in her hands.

[Alpha]

Satine almost visibly winces at the reminder of hiw last encounter with Videl. "Even I, amazing as I am have off days," Satine says, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Even yo--"

He's cut off as a vaguely familiar voice sounds off from the shadows.

<font color="blue">"And if I do recall correctly, the last time I saw you was when myself and a band of brothers drove you out of town."</font>

Satine notices his original prey does not react to the newcomer's arrival. Turning his full attention to the hooded figure, Satine tries to determine where he knew the person from. She had a familiar signature--from what he could read through the Force. She must have herself closed off quite well right now.

Then it hit him. Could it be...? He hadn't seen her in a while...

Hazarding a guess, Satine sends a Force message to the newcomer, more feeling then any actual words, but he had a hunch that if this was who he thought it was, then she'd understand. It was short, and could be construed as:

Xazor?

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor smiled beneath the hood of her cloak as she chuckled quietly to herself. The same old accusing words of Sorsha touched her ears as she eyed the woman. "Who, me?" The Jedi Knight questioned in a mocking tone as she gestured to herself with her open hands.

It was just then that she could feel it, or rather -- him. Satine was attempting to uncode her identity, and suddenly, a mass of feelings swept over her as she felt his question in her mind. Her eyes fell to the ground for a moment before her own feelings touched her brother as if to say an answer in return. "My brother..." The Knight smiled to herself, wishing to stop and speak with him in that instant, to wrap her arms around his neck as she had done so long ago, but she could not.

"So, Sorsha. Looks like you were planning on having a party without me. To think, I haven't seen you in such a long time." The Garou grinned to herself as she wondered what the Sith's intentions were. One could never tell with Sorsha.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha sneers in disgust at the Lost Jedi. So bold and foolish. Marcus was not here to protect her ::

<center>"Anál Nathrakh!!! Urth Vas Bethud!!! Dokhjel Djenve!!!"

<img src=http://panic.hopto.org/swf/sorsha/g/albums/userpics/10004/2004_roc%2005.jpg></center>

:: A shadow is plucked from the Garou's mind, a blood stain on her soul. It takes a form that only she can see, of one she calls friend. One who's clan she slew on Cysaria, when she was Sith. The chimera grins at her, come to collect it's karmic debt.

The cuts of a blade unseen by the others cause Xazor's white robes to turn red. Xazor fights the ghost, panic stricken in a dance of death. The final cut comes, and Xazor's head falls from her shoulders. A look of astonishment frozen upon her face. Her lifeless eyes gaze up at Satine as a pool of blood forms beneath her body. And now, the reflection of Xazor's slayer can be seen, laughing as it returns to the abyss ::

<center><img src=http://panic.hopto.org/swf/sorsha/g/albums/userpics/10004/shadowsoolin%7E0.jpg></center>

[Alpha]

A cry of pain and loss splits the air, almost causing Srsha to jump, Falling into a kneeling stance, Satine keeps back bitter tears, looking at his sister's corpse. The Jedi Master looks up at Sorsha, his eyes blazing with barely controlled feelings.

"you did this somehow...I'll kill you..." he says, his voice shaking, and deadly quiet. "I'll kill you!"

Grabbing his lightsabre from his belt, he ignites it, the black blade coming out of the hilt, with a low, drawn out hiss. A second sabre--silver in color--jumps to his other hand, and he stares at Sorsha...

[imported_Arriana Rezner]

Arriana watched with a mixture of awe, glee and adrenaline fuelled anticipation. The grim incantation that had drawn out whatever vile specter had killed Xazor had vanished. Her white robes were now sullied red, filling Alpha’s eyes with an apparently barely restrained anger. The grin on her face only grew as she flicked her hand into the air, calling the decapitated head into her palm. It stared with glassy eyes up at her, in sheer horror. Striking a look of mock sadness, she proclaimed…

“Alas, poor Xazor - I knew her well!”

… before prompting dropping the head onto her waiting foot, booting it off into the shadows of the warehouse.