dyvius
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Post by dyvius on Jun 9, 2014 14:49:32 GMT -8
The corridors of the Ardent Fast Frigate Keth and Zak infiltrated were empty...at least this close to the hangar bay. The two Jedi had already defeated the security troopers and personnel in the small hangar itself, and it seemed that back-up had not yet arrived. But, as Keth ran on, lightsaber lit and humming, he began to think that this Sith had heard plenty about the last time Keth participated in a battle against the Sith. In that case, the Sith Lord had remained on the bridge of her capital ship and tried to slow or stop Keth throughout the ship with her men...it had ultimately led to the destruction of the ship and the loss of her life.
This Sith had already rewritten the playbook by switching to a minor ship in the battle, and now Keth was getting a feeling through the Force that the rules of engagement were about to be altered as well...
"Zak."
Keth said as they continued sprinting ever farther aft and ever upward. The bridge was their target. He spoke between breaths of air, keeping his breathing measured for most efficient movement.
"Yeah, General?"
Zak was breathing in the same way. They were side by side and covering ground quickly. Still, not even a few crew members could be found. There was an occasional mouse droid rolling through the corridor.
"Do you get the feeling we'll be getting a surprise when we reach the bridge?"
Comprehension dawned on Zak and he said.
"That's where the other security is. Waiting for us; defending the bridge."
Keth nodded mid-stride.
"That's my bet. We're going to have to crack open the bridge like the hardest nut you've ever found."
Zak opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly the Dark side surged and danger sense raced up both Jedi's spines. They skidded to a halt as a bulkhead door ahead of them opened up, revealing a presence cloaked in all black with matching body armor underneath. The figure wore no hood, and it was plain to see that this particular being was a Chagrian, distinctive with his horns and head-tails both, like a Twi'lek with more dangerous lekku. The Chagrian was grinning maliciously as Keth and Zak brought their lightsabers up, not sure what to expect. It was only a moment later that Keth yelled.
"Zak! Retreat! You've got to find a way to the bridge!"
With the slightest twitch of his head, the Chagrian sent a Force blast at the pair of Jedi powerful and unexpected enough to send them both sliding back down the corridor on their heels. Keth was now completely certain the Sith Lord had come to them, keeping the bridge of his craft safe while also moving to nullify the threat of the intruders at the same time. It was tactically sound, and it told Keth this being was far superior to the Sith woman he had fought over Bespin.
Keth advanced either way, wary of another Force blast, and he told Zak who was preparing to follow.
"I'll hold him off. You find another way to the bridge and get this ship disabled."
Zak was not sold on the plan.
"But General---"
"No questions, Commander. I order you to break onto the bridge and stop this vessel."
Keth had switched to his military bearing in order to impress upon the other Jedi that he was not going to debate the merits of taking on the Sith together. While the numbers advantage may exist theoretically, Keth knew that his combat style would not do well with a partner fighting alongside him in an enclosed space like this corridor. That, and it would only play into the Sith's hand to stall long enough to bring in other soldiers to flank the two Jedi and trap them between the anvil and the hammer. Sending Zak off was tactically sound on Keth's side.
Recognizing his place, Zak turned and ran back the way they had come, aiming for the intersection they had passed some way back. As he did so, the Sith raised a clawed hand and released a bolt of Force-lightning aiming past Keth for Zak's exposed back. Keth, moving even as the Sith's arm shot up, was able to leap in front of the attack and block the energy with his lightsaber.
Zak, looking over his shoulder, put on a burst of speed and zipped out of sight, realizing the mistake he nearly made. Keth, on the other hand, did not have long to wait before the Sith gave up his lightning attack and take another step forward. He spoke, still not drawing a lightsaber.
"I admire your courage Jedi, but your confidence is misplaced. Darth Vitiion, whom you slew over Bespin, was an overly ambitious Lord given a command to fill a gap. She could not hold a glowstick to me."
This confirmed for Keth immediately that the Sith hierarchy had heard of him and his battle. Keth presumed the two ships that had escaped the battle were responsible for that.
"Seems to me you're just as overconfident as you say Darth Vitiion was, Sith."
Keth was walking slowly forward, closing the distance between him and his foe. The Chagrian had not moved from his spot right before the bulkhead opening. The Jedi could feel the small spike of anger rise up inside the Sith at his insult, but the Sith did not appear ruffled from outside.
"You'll understand your judgment error soon, Jedi. I am Darth Deixar, the last opponent you shall ever face."
The Shistavanen jumped as the Sith finished, letting out a snarl as he brought his saber up to bring down on Deixar's head. The Sith, hardly caught off guard, rolled forward underneath Keth's leap and came up facing the Jedi as he landed, their positions now juxtaposed. But Keth, as he turned around, was unable to stop the Force blast Deixar unleashed from sending him through the bulkhead opening and into the next section of corridor beyond. Sliding on his back, Keth used the momentum to backflip to his feet.
As he shook off the hit, Keth squared his shoulders once more as Deixar stepped through the aperture, drawing a lightsabers finally and twirling the crimson blade through the air. He smiled wickedly.
"Die, Jedi."
The Chagrian jumped this time, twirling like a corkscrew, and Keth whirled his blade once at his side, gathering momentum to the blade. When the two connected, the clash was fierce and it sent both combatants stumbling back a few paces, but Deixar was the first to recover, if only a split second sooner, and he pressed the attack, coming in with a sweep at Keth's knees. The Jedi rotated his blade down to block, but was still back pacing as Deixar reversed his attack and swung his blade up and over, swinging for Keth's neck. This two Keth blocked, but only barely. The speed of the Sith's attacks was nearly overwhelming. Keth's power style was not well-suited to this very quick attack pattern.
But he held on. The fate of this battle depended upon it.
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dyvius
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Post by dyvius on Jun 10, 2014 14:36:40 GMT -8
The Sith, still pressing forward, swung his blade over his head, slicing at the other side of Keth's body; his shoulder. Keth brought his blade along just as well, blocking the attack just as he had done the previous one. The attacks were not overly inventive, but with the speed behind them, Keth did not have the chance to maneuver his own counters even if he anticipated the strikes.
Another step back, and the Sith was looping his blade back only to bring it slicing for Keth's hip and this time he was not in a position to bring his blade down to block. Instead of retreating, Keth lunged forward and to his left, into the Sith's right flank, dodging the saber and forcing the Sith to backpedal to gain some distance again. Keth, taking advantage of the Sith's momentary surprise, swung his blade for the Sith's neck, relying on the Sith's blade being down and at his side after failing the last strike.
It was not so. The Chagrian leaned back, swiping his blade behind Keth's and batting it mere centimeters past his own blue face. Then, with Keth's body crossed up and undefended, the Sith swung his saber back again to try the same maneuver as he lunged back in. This one Keth ducked, rolling to his left and underneath the strike by a foot. As he sprang up, pivoting on the balls of his paws to angle towards the Sith, he struck out with an overhand two-handed slam, trying to cleave the Sith's right arm off at the shoulder. The Sith stepped back with his right foot, bringing his blade up in a horizontal block and stopping the attack with a grunt. The two duelists glared at each other through the shine of their crossed blades and then broke the lock simultaneously, stepping back and readjusting their stances.
Deixar sneered.
"You're not very graceful, Jedi. And they sent you to topple me?"
Keth didn't even register the attempt to unsettle him. He responded.
"Who needs grace when fighting an oaf?"
If anything, this Sith was both disciplined and proud. Keth felt the anger spike, but the Sith made no outward expression of it. Wherever he fit in the Sith hierarchy, it was apparently near the top. Taking that under advisement, Keth steeled himself as he felt the Sith's intent sharpen. Deixar rushed forward and engaged with an angled uppercut from his right hip, aiming to slice Keth into uneven halves across his torso. But the Jedi, instead of giving ground to allow himself room to work, bent his knees and held fast, sweeping his blade upside down and catching the strike, forcing Deixar's blade up and away to the right, where he extended his arms, forcing both sabers over their heads, and then he focused the Force into a point on his forehead and headbutted forward. There was ample distance to prevent a physical attack from landing, but at the apex of the strike, Keth Force blasted forward, performing the equivalent of a telekinetic headbutt which struck Deixar just as a normal headbutt would.
The Sith, having detected the Force build-up right before it occurred, let the punishing momentum flip him head-over-heels where he turned it into two cartwheels, dismounting a fair distance away. The Chagrian grimaced, but drank in the pain of the unexpected attack, and Keth could feel the Dark side pulsing in the corridor. Then, instead of that nearly deafening thrum of dark energy, as if a bowstring snapped somewhere, and eerie perfect silence descended upon the two combatants. Keth, centering himself in the Force, felt that the maelstrom of darkness had been completely internalized and controlled by Deixar. Just as a fusion reactor harnesses chaotic energy to create a completely perfect power source, Keth could imagine Deixar was about to do the same.
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dyvius
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Post by dyvius on Jun 10, 2014 21:39:34 GMT -8
Deixar came at Keth in what could only be described as steadily. But once he brought his blade up, the intensity was poured on. Keth found himself blocking high-then-low-then-high-again in a manic flurry of light that had him moving backwards. The Chagrian was more relentless than he had been just previously, it was no surprise to the Shistavanen that the Dark side was being channeled into Deixar's razor-sharp focus. Keth's training and personal skill was enough to keep him from being overwhelmed, but only just.
The Jedi blocked a slash for his throat, then was already spinning away from a follow up snap-kick from the Sith. Then, even as he landed and brought his blade up, Deixar was hammering away at his guard with short chops from above and the sides, moving into the next attack before the previous attack even had the hope of landing. Meter by meter, Keth was driven even farther back down the corridor the way he had come, relying on his own predatory senses as much as the Force to keep him up with the attacks, just barely saving his skin.
But then Deixar feinted not only a jab at Keth's stomach which he was able to recover from trying to defend, but also the following uppercut to his underarm, which Keth committed to. It was the third attack in the sequence, a cross-body strike to the shoulder that finally struck the Jedi, but even then Keth was leaping away only a fraction too slow. The very shallow burn went through his combat jacket and shirt and left an instantly cauterized shallow slash in the Shistavanen's left shoulder. In desperation, Keth reached out with the now wounded arm, burning with pain, and Force pushed Deixar back only three steps but bought him enough room to leap back a few more meters to put distance between the two.
Deixar wore the ugliest and yet most satisfied of smiles on his blue face.
"You now see how outmatched you are, Jedi. I'll feed upon your despair with relish."
Keth, reining in his emotions and centering himself, dulled the pain when calm descended and he drew the Force in to both calm his mind and his body. The adrenaline helped ease the minor wound, and Keth rotated his shoulder, verifying that the movement was not overly effective, but now he had a weak spot the Sith could aim to exploit. His response was to stare at the Sith Lord with pure determination in his gaze and only determination. If this irked the Sith Keth could not tell, Deixar only paced forward again, bringing his lightsaber up to the ready.
"Now I'm convinced your confidence is folly. You should know when to quit."
The Chagrian closed and he had his blade spinning about his body, intended to make Keth uncertain about where the attack was coming from. But instead of playing the part of a wounded Jedi, Keth pushed the pain out of his consciousness and attacked first, lunging forward with a jab at the Sith's chest and forcing Deixar to stop his flourishes to knock the blade aside. However, Keth used his forward center of balance and stepped into the Sith, attacking with powerful strikes and going on the offensive for the first time in this duel. Deixar easily blocked the follow-up overhand blow to his shoulder, then the follow-up overhand smash to his head. However, the power behind Keth's strikes drove the Sith back a step each and kept Deixar using two hands on his blade, stopping his fancy and fast flourishes from actuating.
This was how Keth proceeded to attack, with simple but strong attacks that continuously drove the more elegant Sith back regardless of how well he predicted and tried to counter strike. Every time Deixar would guess a blow correctly, block opportunistically, and then counter, Keth was able to execute a single strong block that ended the Sith's attempt at gathering momentum, and forced the saber back and then proceeded with his own set of blows.
However, the Jedi was very cleverly working a long-term pattern into his attacks, and he waited until Deixar made it clear he too, knew the pattern. After an uppercut to the hip that was easily blocked away from the body Deixar, instead of trying to go for a jab at Keth's torso as the Jedi had left himself open for, Deixar took a step back in hopes of Keth preparing to block as well and also stepping back, or at the very least going for the obvious overhand shoulder strike.
Keth did neither. Instead, he followed Deixar immediately, letting his downward pointed blade into his left arm exclusively, and rotating into a reverse grip as he brought his arm up. The green blade clashed instantly with Deixar's, but before the Sith could twist his around to free it, Keth was already gesturing with his now free right hand, grabbing Deixar briefly in the Force and tugging him to his right, hoping to pull him into the corridor wall. Too trained for that, Deixar steadied himself after a single stumbled step in that direction, but it was all Keth needed. As Deixar's power base faltered with his loss of footing, the Shistavanen forced his blade farther across his body, dropping it into his open right hand and freeing it as a result.
This left Deixar's blade up and outside where Keth's was low and inside. Moving to correct the opening, Deixar tried to bring his blade down, but Keth was already slicing upwards, knocking the one-handed crimson saber back out and bringing the green blade far across Keth's centerline as well. But finally, Keth lunged in again, bringing his blade across with a backhand, colliding the butt of his saber with Deixar's chin. This snapped the Chagrian's head back and sent him stumbling, Keth already following up on his lunge to pursue.
Going to the killing blow, as Deixar remained momentarily stunned with blood freely running from the gash in his chin, Keth drove the blade for Deixar's heart. But the Sith retaliated through the pain, batting Keth's saber aside with so much Force that the Sith completed a spin, bringing his blade around again for a decapitating swing. The Jedi brought his blade up in both hands quickly, stopping the attack and skidding back on his heels. The two locked blades again, trying to gain purchase over the other by a showing of power.
Just as Keth thought his natural strength would begin to win the stalemate, Deixar relented long enough for Keth to stumble forward awkwardly a single step, opening up his guard as he caught his balance. But it was enough. Moving a hand from his saber, Deixar planted the open palm in the center of Keth's chest and released a bolt of Force lightning, launching the Jedi back through the air trailing smoke from the unnatural blue surge. Keth hit the corridor floor and tumbled even farther, coming to a rest on his stomach, lightsaber having flung loose to land against the corridor wall to his left. Barely able to open his eyes as his muscles spasmed with the after effects of the lightning, Keth tried to push himself to his knees with slow, agonizing success.
Deixar, true to Sith form, was stopped a few meters from him, standing with blade angled towards the floor. His air of deadly elegance was ruined by the wound on his chin and the blood that had poured down the front of his battle gear.
"The Sith High Command wouldn't trust just anyone for this mission, Jedi."
Still unable to get to his knees, Keth managed to grunt.
"What mission is that?"
Deixar smirked.
"You Jedi fell for it so easily. This whole flotilla is a diversion! Did you really think that we'd leave our staging planet open to you like this? No, we wanted you to spend resources planning a strike here. That way..."
Momentarily, Deixar was cut off as the frigate around them shuddered from some hit sustained in the space battle raging outside. He continued.
"That way, you would not be able to respond in time to our real attack. Your Fondor system is about to be blind-sided by the real strength of the main Sith battle force. And once we take it, our route into the Core, and the precious seat of your Republic, will be ours. You'll be fighting to stop us from the outside!"
One could rarely ever trust a Sith to be telling the truth, as natural as lying was to them, but Keth, even as pain racked his body could only so horribly realize that Deixar was not lying. Everything was too logical for the Sith Lord to be wrong. The diminutive size of the Sith fleet defending Korriban the homeworld, the lack of any reinforcements to the Sith flotilla, and the presence of only a single Sith Lord. Keth realized that the Jedi Council had been played for fools, and that it was becoming increasingly likely that Keth would not survive to warn the Republic before it was much too late.
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Post by Stormacht Undom on Jun 19, 2014 8:05:18 GMT -8
*Azoth dropped out of Hyperspace back aways and activated the Stealth generator and seeing the battle he went full speed undetected, heading to the planet. Stormacht needs his ship repaired he thought, not my usual M.O. but necessary he was taking great pangs to not be recgonized and with the battle ahead he thought he can do that*
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Post by Stormacht Undom on Jun 20, 2014 23:16:33 GMT -8
*azoth begins entering the atmosphere as the heat shield spikes in temperature as the ship enters the atmosphere. *
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Post by Stormacht Undom on Jun 22, 2014 20:44:50 GMT -8
*Azoth pinpoints stormachts location and flies there*
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dyvius
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Post by dyvius on Jun 23, 2014 22:18:15 GMT -8
The Chagrian took another step forward and Keth once again tried to rise on shaking limbs. The lightning was powerful and debilitating on more than just a physical plane. That Dark side perversion of the Force had shaken his very core with its strength. If nothing else confirmed it for the Jedi Knight, it was that this Sith Lord was everything he had been alluding to: a powerful Master of the Dark side. It was not easy to take his confidence as something well-backed up with anything more than characteristic Sith arrogance, but Keth could feel no bluff in the Force. In fact, a cold dread had began to settle on him as he looked into the sickly and simultaneously dangerous yellow eyes of the blue-skinned alien.
Before Keth could choke out a reply, he felt the Dark side surge and he was lifted into the air. It was all he could do to hold the crushing power at bay from causing his body lasting harm with his own tenuous control of the Force. Deixar sneered again, not caring to rein in his emotions with how decided this battle between them seemed to be. He launched Keth into the left corridor wall, eliciting a pained grunt from the Shistavanen collided hard and fell unceremoniously to the floor once more, remaining crumpled on his right side...his left now burning with bruises. Deixar was truly the embodiment of Sith character, however, always causing as much pain to his victims as possible to siphon as much of that pain as Dark side fuel. It would help Keth buy some time to muster some sort of counter attack. Such a maneuver was definitely his only hope at this point.
"I'll tell you why you haven't run up against some second-rate Lord like Vitiion."
This was Deixar, closing in slowly, lightsaber waggling in time with his gait. He was exuding nothing but contained anger and supreme confidence. It was a very unsettling combination.
"It matters not to you, but the Sith Council is comprised of the very strongest of our Order. They command respect and therefore are effective leaders by their strength and cunning, nothing less. I, you'll be dismayed to know, am next in line to join those hallowed ranks of the Council. They left me behind and away from the invasion force to ensure the Jedi strike force here now fails. And then, I am to rally our Outer Rim forces and meet them at the Core, closing in around your Forces like a vice and strangling them. No one less than a stellar Sith would be trusted with such a task, where inevitability of success was required."
All while knowing Sith were expert liars, Keth could tell by the pride radiating through Deixar's aura that he was telling the absolute truth. And why not? It was seemingly assured by Keth's diminutive presence in the Force that he could kill the Jedi Knight freely and nearly guarantee the swing of the tide of battle in favor of the Sith flotilla.
Yet, taking a page out of the Sith's book, Keth was deliberately projecting his Force aura as weak and weakening further by the moment. He was hoping it would make the Sith take a long, slow killing blow that he would relish and that would be Keth's last chance to strike. Truly, times were desperate, given how full strength the Sith really was by comparison. To finish selling the deal, Keth feigned another attempt to get his feet under him and at least rise to a kneeling position, only to allow himself to give out under the "strain" and collapse to the deck, looking up defiantly at the Sith Lord.
This had the desired effect on Deixar, who gloated further.
"You were no match for me, Jedi. And you'll pay for this wound to my face with your life. Here, and now."
The Chagrian raised his blade with both hands, pivoting it to bear down on Keth for a strike right at his apparently pathetic form. As Deixar reached the apex of his thrust, Keth suddenly let his Force aura explode outward on a manifestation of kinetic energy, blowing Deixar back and upwards, throwing the Sith's lightsaber from his grasp and sending him crashing into the far wall, stunning him as he also crumpled to the deck. All the while, riding the sudden sense of euphoria at the gathering of the lightsaber into every pore of his being, Keth half-crawled and half-tumbled across the deck to his own saber, activating it and pivoting on one knee to face Deixar as the Sith rose, radiating nothing but waves of raw, black hatred off of his body.
The Lord hissed in the most menacing tone he had used yet.
"You'll pay for that, Jedi."
He flung his hands out and arced vicious bolts of lightning at Keth, who, given his superior bracing from his knee, blocked the attack with a slight groan as waves of Dark side power threatened to crush Keth aside from the physical danger of electricity. Holding resolute, the Shistavanen slowly adjusted the angle of his blade under the strain and began directing the lightning into any direction away from him. The bolts fanned out, hitting every surface at random and leaving the space between Deixar and Keth scorched and semi-melted.
Another blast shook the frigate. It was enough to cause Deixar to stumble and he abruptly stopped the relentless torrent of lightning as he regained his balance. In that moment, Keth, who had been well-braced, leaped up with predator's bloodlust at seeing an opening and grabbed for Deixar's errant blade as he did so. With two lightsabers whirling, Keth came down right in front of Deixar's place and swung at two different angles, hoping to at least nick him and slow him down. But the Sith was still well-entrenched in the hate-fueled Dark side, and was acrobatically leaping away from the two-pronged assault, even as the Jedi followed with urgency, trying unsuccessfully to swipe from a multitude of impossible angles in a passable execution of Jar'kai fighting style, trying to strike the unarmed Deixar once and for all.
But the Chagrian's command of the Force was absolute. Using it to its best potential, he kept his acrobatics just a hair's breadth ahead of Keth's maneuvers, and even though he was consistently retreating, the Shistavanen was unable to land a single blow against him. Finally, when Keth tried to just double-strike Deixar from above when they both landed simultaneously, the Sith batted the Jedi's own blade aside at the hilt while grabbing the hand holding his crimson blade by the wrist and squeezing with almost unnatural strength. But even as Keth necessarily released Deixar's blade, hoping the falling saber would force the Sith to reposition.
Instead, Deixar, looking straight into Keth's face with only bright shining rage in his eyes, stopped the saber from falling any farther than some the space between them, holding it aloft and immobile with the Force. He prepared to twist the blade around and drive it into Keth's heart via his left shoulder. But even as Deixar was focusing, Keth was already executing the next option. His now ignored right arm and its accompanying saber were completely free, and Keth pointed the viridian blade into Deixar's torso and thrust without abandon, piercing the Sith's abdomen on the left and driving the blade all the way through, missing spinal column and kidney all by a centimeter on either side of the hot blade. The sudden, inexorable pain was enough to break Deixar's concentration, and this caused the floating saber to leave the air, and luckily deactivated as it clattered down between the combatants.
The Sith Lord's grip on Keth's wrist also went slack, and now with a free hand, Keth placed it onto Deixar's chest and Force pushed with all his might, forcing Deixar painfully off of Keth's blade and sending his limp form tumbling down the corridor like a rag doll. He fetched up against the lip of an open bulkhead door and stared up at Keth from across the distance, not bothering to hold the wound which was now seeping blood and other fluid from his punctured organs and tissue into his robes.
Keth, realizing the duel was finally winding down, felt much of the adrenaline begin to flee in a rush. The scorch-wound to his chest began to throb and his breathing became more difficult. His shoulder seared with the pain from the cut even more...and his fractured left wrist from the force of the Sith's grip ground as Keth tried to grab the Sith's saber from the ground. Instead, Keth kicked the hilt as far away down the opposite end of the corridor as possible to make sure Deixar had no chance at retrieving it telekinetically. Slowly, not out of confidence but caution, Keth approached the Sith Lord, who was roiling in Dark Force energy as the pain of his own injury waged a dual purpose of sustaining him and sapping him of strength. It was clear from the way Deixar's blue skin paled that the pain was doing more harm than good.
"I'm sorry, Deixar, but even the strongest Sith stand little chance against the Jedi."
Defiance was very obvious in the dying Sith's eyes. He looked straight into Keth's furry face and growled,
"I think you well over-estimate your chances, Jedi. It is too late for your Republic."
Keth, knowing that despite his injuries, still had a battle to finish and an army to warn, did not mix any more words with the Sith Lord who had done much damage to him. He did not have the time nor the strength to give the Sith any chance at a last retaliatory act. So, without ceremony and certainly without emotion, Keth stepped up to Deixar and decapitated him. There was no vengeance or anger in the stroke. There was no feeling at all. Such was the way of the Jedi: to strike without emotion and maintain peace for one's self and for all. Instead, Keth turned his attention away from the Sith's corpse lying before him and thought about the state of the bridge and Zak.
Returning his lightsaber to his belt and summoning the Sith's saber to join it, Keth found hi comlink and hailed Zak, hoping the young Jedi remained alive and well.
"Sir, I've taken the bridge intact. The frigate is ours."
Relieved to hear this good news, Keth was already fast-forwarding to what the possession of a damaged enemy frigate would do for the battle here. In the mean time, he assured his Jedi compatriot.
"Good work, Zak. I've downed the Sith Lord in command of this flotilla."
The reply was fast in coming.
"You sound injured, sir. Can you make it here?"
Keth grinned wolfishly, He was already walking gingerly in the direction of the nearest turbolift according to the wall markings.
"I must make it to you, Jedi Caranthyr, there is no question. Don't worry about me. Make sure you switch over our transponder so that our friends don't blow us out of space, and I've got a plan to end this engagement quickly..."
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dyvius
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Post by dyvius on Jun 24, 2014 10:54:37 GMT -8
While Zak and Keth had been engaged in their respective battles aboard the Ardent frigate they had infiltrated, the overall space battle had progressed to a point where both sides were taking heavy losses. The three Ardent frigates still engaged with the Stinger and Dragon's Heart were now inoperable derelicts, having succumbed to the superior fire power and positioning of the two larger craft that engaged them. But at the same time, the Stinger had sustained enough damage to both leave it hobbling along on half-propulsion and leave it's shields as nothing more than a formality. Luckily, the Republic starfighter squadrons were doing well to keep enemy ships from making runs on the damaged craft even though they were slowly being worn down as the starfighter battle waged on evenly. With the stunning loss of Jedi Knight Avei, it was not overall surprising that the Republic starfighters no longer had the tactical edge.
The Matrix and the Comet, still trading blows with the vast Inexpugnable battleship, were beginning to realize the chance of both sides ending the battle at a complete standstill and possibly destroying all capital ships in the process. But there was still one able-bodied craft that, originally having been warned off by Captain Io of the Dragon' Heart due to the immense damage that Acclamator had sustained, was now accelerating towards the port side of the battleship that was altogether too hardy to fall quickly. Initially, the Golden Bell's captain, Petrolin, was preparing to fire everything at the final Ardent fast frigate positioned in the trajectory of the Acclamator, but almost on cue, the friend/foe designator for the craft on the Golden Bell's tactical net changed to friendly. Confused and wondering if the captain and crew aboard that frigate was attempting to catch them off guard and flank them or perform some other trickery, Petrolin was well prepared to ignore the designator swap and gun the wounded craft down regardless.
That was until the frigate hailed him. Wondering at the purpose, but realizing that it was no form of open aggression, Petrolin ordered to his comm officer to accept the link and give him full hologram mode.
The figure that appeared wore the unmistakable uniform of a Jedi pilot, and the face that looked dirty and scratched and right at Petrolin's gaunt features was familiar too: Jedi Commander Zak Caranthyr. He started talking immediately after he identified Captain Petrolin.
"Captain! Please don't attempt to gun down the frigate, I'm maneuvering us forward and out of your line to the battleship as we speak."
Petrolin, always holding the military bearing ingrained in all naval officers, straightened his shoulders as he replied.
"Understood, Commander. I take it you and your strike team have captured the frigate?"
Zak, despite the dire circumstances of war all around, smirked.
"If by strike team you mean myself and General Agrav, then yes. We were the only ones able to make it on board."
Petrolin raised an eyebrow. He could hear some astonished mutters of awe from various crew members on the bridge who were still going about maneuvering the Acclamator past the frigate as it slowly accelerated forward. Even being in the service of the Jedi during this entire war and at various times in the past, the average person was still astonished at the feats the Jedi could accomplish.
"How exactly are you controlling an entire warship on your own?"
Zak gestured outside the visual range of the hologram. He supplied narration anyway.
"Given the damage to the frigate, I was able to manually trigger the emergency auxiliary command suite once I commandeered the bridge. I have sole control of the craft while General Agrav works his towards me."
This struck Petrolin as even more unbelievable. He could not help but burst out.
"You stormed the bridge alone? And where was General Agrav?"
Zak was glancing off screen as he replied. Presumably, he was checking some diagnostics.
"He was engaged with the Sith Lord commanding this flotilla. Apparently, the Sith wanted us to believe that he was aboard the battleship so that we would end up chasing a red herring. Luckily, fortune would have it we infiltrated the right frigate to catch his switch. Also, General Agrav has slain the Sith and we expect little resistance from the crew. I've given them the option of either escaping via escape pod or simply surrendering to us once we get more forces on board. It seems many of them have decided to find their way to the brig after I locked out the hangar bay to prevent any stunts to depressurize the ship."
As Zak relayed this information to the Captain, a figure hobbled into view in the background. The lupine features and distinctive jacket told Petrolin everything: the General had arrived on the bridge. The lieutenant Jedi stood aside with a glance to allow Jedi General Keth Agrav to take the stage.
"Captain, please engage the Inexpugnable at its prow, decimate the bridge. There is no individual worth capturing exclusively from the battleship any longer."
Petrolin nodded at the order, relaying the course adjustment to his tactical officer before returning his attention to the Shistavanen.
"As you wish, sir."
Keth nodded with weariness in his expression. Petrolin was no expert at Shistavanen body language, but most of it was comparable to human gestures.
"Thank you, Captain. I shall be helping Commander Caranthyr move this craft to a safe spot away from the engagement. We may have use for a captured enemy frigate."
The Jedi glanced off screen once more before looking at Petrolin seriously.
"May the Force be with you, Captain. End this battle quickly."
Petrolin saluted and replied.
"Thank you, sir. I shall, sir."
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dyvius
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As if a ghost from the past, the veteran from those old days remains watching.
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Post by dyvius on Jun 24, 2014 11:27:28 GMT -8
In just under ten minutes, the Inexpugnable battleship was nothing more than fragmented sections of deck and trails of debris slowly stretching out in the orbit of Korriban. Any enemy starfighter with a hyperdrive had left the battle as soon as the massive warship had lost its bridge to the Golden Bell bringing all of its orbital bombardment weaponry to bear on the forward decks. Any enemy starfighter without a hyperdrive was given the option to surrender and power down all systems with the exception of life support or be destroyed. The result was not a single functional starfighter of the Sith flotilla was left near Korriban. Trying to Ta final set of suicidal attacks on the capital ships, the starfighters were cut down by either Republic starfighters or the capital ships' point-defense laser cannons. The carnage was not preferred but no one had a muddied conscience due to the necessity of the act.
Now, regrouping and preparing to exit Korriban space, the two Acclamator-class assault ships flanked the remaining pair of Nebula-class destroyers and the Venator-class star destroyer. With the exception of the Golden Bell, the other capital ships had sustained heavy damage. Even the flagship, the Matrix, was limping along with only a percentage of its sublight drives intact and much of its ventral hull armor either melted or missing. The shields, as rudimentary as they were at this point, were the only thing keeping the atmosphere largely intact on the flagship. To Keth, still on the now-skeleton crewed Ardent fast frigate riding at the rear of the formation, this was only partially a success. While the Republic strike force had emerged victorious from the engagement and even killed a high profile Sith Lord, they had sustained so much damage that even jumping in to supplant the already alerted Republic forces to the impending invasion of Fondor and the Core would prove useless, because the ships would be destroyed almost instantly.
Even beyond that, Keth was definitely not in the greatest shape of his life. In addition to a broken left wrist, Keth had a hairline fracture in his hip and was certain his left ankle was at the very least sprained. Not to mention the various bruises on other parts of his body from his tumbles and the scorching wound on his chest, Keth was in desperate need of a Jedi healing trance, a bacta tank, or both. But the grizzled Shistavanen would not lie down until he had reunited with the main Republic forces and relayed even more detailed information to the Sector High Admiral than what he had sent before them as a short Holonet message. With there always being a danger of an interception, the encrypted message was short and sweet but did not shy away from warning the Republic High Command of imminent danger.
Now, Keth stood with most of his weight on his right foot, arms crossed, and looking out of the forward viewports of the frigate's bridge. Zak stood next to him, running over some diagnostic reports with the provisional captain of the captured vessel whom had been transferred over from the Matrix. The frigate was now being flown by just enough crew members scavenged from the other capital ships to keep the craft running long enough to get it to Republic custody despite its sublight drive damage and damage to its weapons systems. As the captain turned away to address the skeleton crew manning the bridge on the procedure for jumping, Zak looked at Keth without hiding his concern.
"You're not looking too great."
Keth growled. It was not menacing, but was the Shistavanen version of a snort of humor.
"I don't feel too great either, Zak. I've now faced two Sith Lords. Not even the legendary Luke Skywalker could emerge from such duels unscathed."
The human Jedi added.
"You've done well, Keth."
The Shistavanen shook his head, rippling the fur on his head.
"Not well enough. We lost a Jedi in this battle. And we're losing Jedi and other innocent lives across the galaxy. All of us have to try that much harder to end this war."
The conversation was lost as the captain used the ship-wide comm to signal the hyperspace countdown, and then the wounded Jedi strikeforce jumped to hyperspace leaving behind a destroyed Sith flotilla and racing against time as the Sith prepared to strike deep into the heart of the Republic.
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Post by Lord Sarthon on Jul 26, 2014 15:51:48 GMT -8
The CUF Katana Class Scout then entered high orbit as Kyja entered the coordinates to hyperspace. Having done so, he waited until he had the green light and Kavika engaged the hyperdrive. The stars became lines as they entered hyperspace.
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Seleevan Khar
Adventists of the Eye
Posts: 161
Affiliation: House of Khar
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Post by Seleevan Khar on Aug 1, 2014 12:22:21 GMT -8
Three TIE Defenders entered from a hyperspace lane, and at once engaged their twin Ion engines. Their Ion cannons and tractor beams had been refitted with sensors instead, and they seemed to speed towards the closest Hyperspace lane, while gathering immense amounts of data.
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Post by Jensin Kal on Aug 25, 2014 19:39:54 GMT -8
A single infiltrator appeared from out of hyperspace, the Inquisitor continued towards the planet Korriban.
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Darth Malvus
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Posts: 823
Affiliation: Resurgent Sith Conclave
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Post by Darth Malvus on Aug 26, 2014 14:19:28 GMT -8
A transport fell out of hyperspace a ways from Korriban's orbital space. The vessel was a Helot-class Medium Transport designated Red Star. The vessel began to maneuver as its trajectory was adjusted for the spaceport of Dreshdae. The pilot manually steadies the flight pattern as it moves for the barren world of Korriban.
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Darth Flvin
Member
Posts: 163
Affiliation: Blackguard Reborn
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Post by Darth Flvin on Oct 1, 2014 16:12:01 GMT -8
The stars began to slow, almost standing at a halt. The Sith ship stood idle, drifting towards the planet's atmosphere. Lord Flvin quickly tapped a few buttons, directing the ships directory towards the planet's terrain. It altered it's trajectory, and made it's way down to the planet's surface.
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Lillith
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Affiliation: For Hire
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Post by Lillith on Oct 6, 2014 12:56:16 GMT -8
Lillith looked down on Korriban from the bridge of the Warden. At this distance the planet was little more than a red-brown ball of dust, hanging suspended against a backdrop of infinity. Even so she could feel the darkness emanating from it, a black current straight from Chaos. Her heart leaped at the dark side's gentle caress, her skin breaking out in goosebumps despite the heavy cloak draped over her. One white hand fell to the hilt of her lightsaber and gave the metal cylinder a gentle squeeze. The feel of the weapon seemed to pull her back somehow, and a brief smile crossed her features.
The Echani shook her head and turned away from the viewport only to be confronted by a tall but reed-thin man in olive fatigues. "Ilam."
"My lady." His avian features grim and unsmiling, Ilam touched a hand to his breast in salute. "I came to see if you might reconsider this folly."
Lillith couldn't hide her amusement. What a brave man, she thought to herself. Their arrival had lifted the Echani's spirits, however, so she simply said, "I have been called."
Ilam knew better than to argue when his mistress began speaking of her visions and the force, so he just scowled. "You'll find naught but bones and sand."
"And you'll find your way out of the airlock," she warned, voice suddenly icy. "Unless you curb your tongue." The older man met her gaze with his own and then nodded, shoulders slumping in almost imperceptible defeat. She turned her back on him, watching the planet once more. "Ready my transport."
"Aye, ma'am." He sounded tired. Subdued. "And the fleet?"
'Fleet' was too grand a word for her ragtag group of ships. The Warden was the only real warship among them, and it was a Destroyer of archaic design. The handful of frigates and cruisers she commanded were no more advanced. Still, they were crewed by the best and had proven themselves time and again. "Keep tight formation and remain on standby. I may have need of it."
"Aye." Ilam said again. Then he departed.
The transport that shuttled her down to the planet was a blocky gunship with peeling paint and innumerable dents and scorch marks. A dozen men rode with her, garbed in fiber armor and carrying rifles over their shoulders. A few cradled heavy repeaters and wore belts of spare ammunition, and one man was tinkering with the scope of a sniper rifle nearly as large as he was. No one spoke as they descended.
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Post by Jensin Kal on Oct 9, 2014 21:46:30 GMT -8
A transport vessel appeared in orbit above Korriban not long before it vanished into hyperspace.
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Darth Malvus
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Post by Darth Malvus on Mar 22, 2015 19:59:47 GMT -8
The Red Star rumbled through a little wind turbulence before becoming a free bird within the space over Korriban. Through the main view port, the planet looked desolate and dead as it had been for many centuries. Malvus's eyes glanced back at the planet for a moment, remembering the last time he awoke on its surface. The ship was set on autopilot for now as the Dark Lord stood up. Sarah was situated next to him in the secondary pilot's seat.
You know, its been almost a few hundred years since I last was on this planet. When I awoke from my long slumber to see the galaxy having changed once more as it always does when one sleeps for too long. Yet out of them all, Korriban remains the same. A relic long since plundered of its treasures and worth.
Malvus was over at a small station where he was calculating the jump for Eriadu manually. He was also doing a sweep of the ship for anything that might be unwanted besides the cargo he knew of and his apprentice. The Sith turned his gaze back to the main pilot's seat as he walked over to sit down again.
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Darth Saress
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Student of Sith Magic
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Post by Darth Saress on Mar 24, 2015 22:27:53 GMT -8
From my vantage point aboard the Red Star, Korriban appeared as a lifeless ball of sand and rock, perfectly suspended in space. It was difficult to fathom that this sandy ball of rock gave birth to the Mighty Sith Empire that threatened all of the galaxy at the height of its glory. As Malvus took us up through the planet's atmosphere, there was slight turbulence, but not enough to cause any real alarm. Once the vessel broke free of the planet's grip and was burning out into open space, I felt a great weight lift from my shoulders. For many solar years, I planned to leave Korriban behind and plot a course which would take me to the stars. But because of my training with my master and my self training after he passed, I was forced to stay surface-side and hope for the best. But today, my freedom day, was finally here and I allowed myself to enjoy this major personal victory. As the Sith Homeworld sank farther into the distance, Malvus stood from his chair and and addressed me. When he stated that it had been nearly a few hundred years since his last visit to Korriban, I couldn't help but have a dumbfounded expression on my face. Just a few hundred years? Exactly how old was this Sith? If he wasn't jesting with me about his comment, there would be a lot I could learn from his years of wisdom.
My yellow/hazel eyes followed my Master as he moved to a station and worked on it. I assumed he was plotting our course to Eriadu from the tactical information on the view-screen. Turning my head back to the bow of the cockpit, I glanced out into the beauty of outer space. I had longed for many years to travel among the dark heavens and now with Mavlus, I had that chance. After the events of today, especially with that whole ordeal with the Sith King, I decided to close my eyes and get some rest before reaching our destination. But as I was just moments from drifting off into a peaceful sleep, I picked up the faint scent of dead human remains and gagged painfully. I quickly stood up from the co-pilot's chair, grabbing my bag along the way, and excused myself to go and search for the guest quarters. In the corridors of the Red Star, I followed the markings posted up on the way which pointed the way to the guest chambers. When I finally made my way into said quarters, I couldn't strip my clothes off fast enough. I wasted absolutely no time as I stripped down to my bare skin and nearly ran into the bathroom. With a quick flick of my right wrist, I shut the sliding doors behind me with a gentle application of the Force. It wasn't long before I had a steaming hot shower running, creating a fog within the bathroom as I washed the events of today away. As the soothing hot water ran down my face, I thought back to Shadow, the creature whom invaded my life recently. Ever since I acquired the ancient Sith Tome, Shadow had been quiet and did not attempt to make contact with me. Even though it brought a period of peace, I was cautious to see if this was the calm before the storm. Maybe with the guidance of Lord Malvus, I could be able to suppress Shadow's mental invasions, but then again, how do I go about telling him about it? Perhaps Malvus already detected a foreign energy signature within me. Would he act on it and try to remove Shadow's presence? And what type of effect would Shadow's removal have on me?
I bit down gently on my bottom lip as I thought about the last time I spoke to Shadow. He had revealed so much to me with his mental implantation, but there is still so much I wanted to uncover. What was Shadow's real name? Who was he in his time within this realm? And why did he make plans to bring himself back to life in the case of his death? I heard rumors of certain powerful Force Users that had the ability to cheat death and return to the world of the living. So if that was the case here, why choose me? And my mother...how did she know Shadow and what was their relationship? I couldn't be angry with her....I didn't even know the woman. I'm more curious than anything else. After my session of heavy thought came to an end, I turned off the shower and stepped out to dry myself off. A shower literally made the events of the day seem like things of the distant past as I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped into the main section of the guest quarters. Within minutes, I was dressed in a fresh pair of black undergarments, black tight cargo pants, and a matching t-shirt. As I made my way back to the cockpit with my black bad hanging over my right shoulder, I took a moment to restyle my hair. It took a bit, which I always found annoying, but it proved to be fruitful in the end. Upon stepping into the cockpit area, I set my bag down by the door and took my seat in the co-pilot's chair. I turned my attention toward Malvus and nodded"Ready when you are, my lord."
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Darth Malvus
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Post by Darth Malvus on Mar 25, 2015 8:41:24 GMT -8
As his apprentice departed, Malvus returned to the pilot's chair. His eyes lingered upon the world of Korriban, wondering what it may have been like before this time and when he was born. He had never known of his Sith heritage save what was taught to him by his father in Tund. His mind reflected upon those days when the Sith was but a peasant, a simple and average person living on the planet ruled by the Sorcerers of Tund. He remembered challenging any in his village and becoming the strongest of his area. Malvus would close his eyes, using the force to amplify his memory as it was replayed for only a few moments. His rise to the apprenticeship among the Sorcerers of Tund, the murder of his mother and death of his father, the escape from the planet for a more civilized place...all leading up to this time.
His mind then wandered to what he had witnessed on Korriban; a spiritual resonance within his apprentice that was not herself. Malvus knew of such malevolent spirits that slumbered within the mortal vessels of persons. Remaining an unknown shadow of their personality till something causes them to awaken from their sleep. The dark energy within the Sith King's tomb must have had something to do with Sarah's personality change and the appearance of this spirit. For now though, the Sith Lord would watch its development carefully and study up on these spirits. Perhaps something in his personal research may lend a hand or even the library of tomes left by his Uncle Cygnus as a wealthy source of knowledge.
He heard the voice of his apprentice, causing his eyes to slowly open. The Sith would glance at Sarah before turning back to the control panel as Malvus keyed the remaining protocols for their ship to launch for hyperspace. He gripped the lever for the hyperspace drives and moved it forward. Within the blink of an eye, the ship vanished into hyperspace.
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The Shepherd
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Post by The Shepherd on Jul 30, 2015 21:20:05 GMT -8
On the far side of the system, a CR90 Corellian Corvette emerged from the bright void of hyperspace, flanked by twelve Skipray Blastboats. They wasted no time in moving; all their sublight engines kicked back on and the flotilla moved several hundred kilometers out of the way. The Skiprays fanned out to form a defensive perimeter while the CR90, designated Spearhead, began scanning the system...
...and found absolutely nothing.
On the bridge, Rutil Iorek and the crew of the Spearhead couldn't believe it. He was looking at the planet through the bridge's wide horizontal viewport. He was darting to the scan results, insisting that the operators double and triple-check. He was reaching out with the Force, finding nothing but the planet's inherent darkness. This was insane. This was true. And he knew it. Rutil would never be able to explain just how he knew the Sith's ancestral homeworld would be devoid of any military presence, but somewhere in his very soul he knew this would be the sight that greeted them all. Of course, he wasn't stupid; he would keep the Spearhead's guns at the ready and he would keep the scanners running, but the nagging sensation in the back of his head told him that he could take a small shuttle down to the Sith Academy itself and be greeted by nothing more than a small rodent.
Korriban was abandoned. Ripe for the picking. His.
"...orders, sir?" Captain Marris finally got out, still trying to piece together the situation.
"We land," Rutil replied, his tone at once hungry and venomous, like a webweaver savoring the sight of an insect ensnaring itself in its silken trap, "and we brief the Blades when they arrive. Until then, keep the scanners going; if something so much as sneezes in this sector, I want to know about it."
With a nod, Captain Marris began relaying orders. The Spearhead angled itself and a series of holographic rectangles splayed out before the vessel as the pilots began their landing procedures. The Sith Academy was not difficult to locate; there were only so many buildings on Korriban's wretched surface, and as the Force didn't build in straight lines, it did not take long at all to find a few that matched the descriptions Rutil had heard over the decades. Wearing a grim smile on his lips, Rutil drew the hood of his saffron-colored cloak over his head, making his way to the boarding ramp.
"Sir," the captain began as the Jedi Guardian neared the threshold of the bridge, "what are we doing?"
"Simple, Captain Marris," Rutil said, stopping and turning his head slightly to respond over his shoulder, "we're lighting a fire."
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