Tircolas Flow Vic had two options. Ignore this situation, make a stealthy escape and let the Bounty Hunter die. Or...save him. For a Jedi Knight, such decisions are no decision at all. Within a fraction of a second, Vic was springing into action. He leaped out from around the corner, using the Force to propel himself within fifteen feet of Neesa. He thrust his hand forward, sending a surge of Force energies toward his foe. She was sitting by the stream, and the push caught her square on the chest, sending her flying backwards out of her trance, and into the water. The Imperial Knight's eyes opened wide with shock as she flailed against the current and tried to crawl back onto land. To Vic's surprise, however, Rosencrantz remained held in the air, clutching at his throat helplessly. And it was then that the two other Imperial Knights emerged from the shadowy doorway of a nearby hut. They had concealed their Force presence well, but now seemed happy to reveal themselves. The first was young, lithe and beautiful. Samantha. The second was fierce, imposing and tall. The leader and captain of the squad, Guildenstern. It dawned on Vic that Neesa was not in fact the person gripping Rosencrantz by the throat, and as the two new arrivals approached, lightsabers in hand, he realised he was in serious trouble. Tag: nemisis Snowfly Forest Kara watched almost dreamily as the insects followed their predictable pattern; first they swarmed around her head, then at the tree and off into the forest, and back again. Pretty, she thought detachedly. They wanted her to follow, that much was obvious. And well ... why not? Without really thinking about it, Kara followed the snowflies. They led her deeper and deeper into the labyrinth forest, occasionally flitting too far ahead for her to see and then returning to her to guide the way. Their light was hypnotic and compelling, and Kara began to lose all awareness of her surroundings. The trees, the grass, the snow...all vanished and blurred until there was only the light- the darting, shimmering, magical light. The Zeltron's natural empathic ability only heightened her trance, for the snowflies seemed to have feelings of their own. The further they went, the more calming and soothing they became, letting her drift off into a sort of waking sleep... And then suddenly they disappeared, flying off with disconcerting speed in all directions, leaving her stranded and disorientated. To Kara's horror, she realised she had been led directly into the middle of a...situation. She was standing in the centre of a large clearing. On one side stood the Imperial Knights Grissom and Duane, their lightsabers ignited and in hand, clearly ready for battle. On the other side stood Sydney Losstarot, unarmed and alone. The two Knights seemed confused and startled at the sudden appearance of the Zeltron. Sydney, on the other hand, seemed perfectly unperturbed. "Hello there," he called to Kara. "My little flies appear to have done their job. Welcome to the party, Master Dysar." Tag: Xan
Vic could not believe he had been so easily tricked. Once he looked back and saw that the bounty hunter was still scratching at his throat, he knew he had been deceived. As he thought about it, Vic thought even less about the Imperial Knights than he already did. These brutes had used their companion, one of their own people who they had fought and trained with - a friend - as bait to lure the Jedi and his companion out. It was a dirty trick, one the Jedi would never use. Now, Neesa was flowing with the current away from the group, possibly heading towards her death. The Jedi Knight, only one of his lightsabers blazing, turned to face the two new Imperial Knights. A sense of danger came to him, but that was expected. These two were not very friendly looking - though the female was fairly attractive. Vic recognized the other one, the leader of the squad of Imperial Knights, Guildenstern. Great, he thought. I'm suppose to stay away from the Knights at all cost, and now I am up against two of them, one being the leader! The Council would not be happy. That is, if he survived to tell them about it. Vic did not even indulge his visitors with a single word, he had no time if he wanted Jan to survive. His hand greeted them in an attempt to bring the hut that they had just came out of on top of them. That would hopefully distract them to free Jan of his near death experience that he was now experience. If only he had not separated from the rest of his Jedi team.
Tircolas Flow Vic wasted no time. He threw out a hand towards the approaching Imperial Knights, pulling at the hut behind them. The stonework was old and loose, and took only the slightest tug to come crashing down. Guildenstern whirled around in time, ducked and rolled out of the way, but his partner Samantha was not so lucky. The flying stones battered her arms and head, and she collapsed to the ground. "R-Romeo..." she gasped, trying to crawl onto her knees, and failing. Nearby, Rosencrantz dropped to the floor at last, released from the invisible hol;d. His face had turned blue, but he was still alive. Guildenstern stormed forwards, fury on his face. He strode straight past the bounty hunter on the ground, heading directly for Vic. Within a second he had closed the distance, and lunged violently at the Jedi with lightsaber ignited, attempting to decapitate him in one single stroke. And if that wasn't enough to worry about, Neesa, who had been knocked into the stream, was managing to claw her way back onto land...it was just be a matter of moments before she joined the party too. Tag: nemisis Snowfly Forest "What are you playing at, Sydney?" demanded Kara. "I just came for a stroll in the forest," replied Sydney with a grin, his hands raised in a gesture of non-hostility. "Only to be accosted by these two ruffians." "Enough playing!" spat Duane. "What if we were to execute this little Jedi, Sydney? What happens to your game then?" "I think," replied Sydney with a slight smile, "that this little Jedi may prove more than a match for you fellows." "This conversation is over," announced Grissom. "We will take the Rood from you by force." "Will you just stand there?" called Sydney to Kara, dropping onto his knees. "And let them kill an unarmed prisoner?" "Don't interfere, Zeltron," hissed Duane without looking around. The two Imperial Knights strode purposefully towards the kneeling Sydney, their sabers raised high and their intention clear. Tag: Xan
Vic was glad his plan had partially worked. The building missed his main target, Guildenstern - the leader and most likely more skilled opponent - and landed on top of the female Imperial Knight. The Jedi did feel a hint of regret at having just destroyed a living beings life, but knew that was the cost of battle. Besides, he had no time to think about something like that as he saw the flying body of Guildenstern coming towards Vic. The Imperial Knights lightsaber bearing down on the Jedi fast towards his head in an attempt to decapitate the him. The Jedi Knight instinctively rolled out of the way, tumbling forward and to the right to avoid the removal of his head. At the same time, he slashed outward toward the open lower body of the Imperial Knight. As Vic came to his feet, he managed to catch a glimpse of the river several meters away and saw the Imperial Knight that he had pushed into the river clawing her way onto land. Hopefully Jan would be able to recover in time to help or Vic would be facing a big problem. One Imperial Knight in front and one that would most likely be flanking him in the coming moments.
Tircolas Flow Vic instinctively rolled out of the way, tumbling forward and to the right to avoid the removal of his head. At the same time, he slashed outward toward his foe's open lower body, causing Guildenstern to shift his position awkwardly, only just blocking the strike. The Imperial Knight captain recovered quickly and raised his blade to attack once again- until suddenly, he was thrown aside by a stream of lightning, hurling him several feet into the air. Vic turned with surprise to see Rosencrantz slowly standing up, his face grim, one arm outstretched, energy still crackling around his fingertips. It seemed this bounty hunter was more than he appeared. Neesa, meanwhile, was back on land, but kept her distance from her opponents, clearly too cautious to make the first move. Tag: nemisis
Chapter Three: Showdowns Snowfly Forest With a heavy heart, Kara ignited her blade and stepped in front of Sydney, placing herself squarely in the path of the Grissom and Duane. As she did she felt a strange feeling ripple through her body, strengthening her. She felt faster, more powerful, more alert. She did not know whether the power she was receiving was from the dark or from the light- but it was not coming from within her. And then she remembered Sydney's presence, and she had her answer. Her two opponents did not even say a word as she blocked their path. They exchanged the briefest of glances with each other before launching into an attack. Duane dropped to a squat and slashed low at Kara's knees, while Grissom let his blade fly in a wide arc aimed at her neck. Once again, the young Zeltron found herself engaging two Imperial Knights in combat, and once again, someone was going to die. Tag: Xan
Vic swore to himself when the Imperial Knight managed to somehow block the strike. It seemed like a sure thing, but this just made Vic even more cautious. He had known that Guildenstern was extremely talented, but the captain of the Imperial Knight just proved he was an exceptional duelist, able to position himself to block unexpected moves. As the Jedi came to his feet, a sense of danger crept up his back like it normally did. He instinctively rose his blade but was met with only air, rather than a sizzling energy blade. He was even more surprised as to why there had been no attack. Guildenstern was no longer in front of him. Instead, the Imperial Knight had been thrown aside by blue-white bolts of energy that Vic recognized instantly as a Force Lightning attack. His stomach instantly dropped, thinking that Sydney had managed to show up. However, when Vic traced the lightning back to its origin, he was surprised to see that it was Jan Rosencrantz who was hurling the lightning. What the... Vic thought. Who was this guy? Obviously, the man wass very talented in the Force, having been able to conceal his affinity for the Force in the presence of Vic and his Jedi companions. The fact that Jan was a friend of the Bardobas made a little more sense than before. Perhaps he had trained under Sydney as a Sith. Soon, the Jedi realized that he had no time to dwell on these thoughts. He would return to them once he was clear of the Imperial Knights. Vic thought on what he should do next. He saw Neesa return to land, but staying too far away to attack. Romeo Guildenstern was not too far away, and he was injured from the Sith Lightning. If Vic attacked fast, perhaps he would catch the Imperial Knight off guard. The Jedi did just that, lunging with blinding speed. With both sabers ignited, he sliced down upon Guildenstern, keeping his other blade back in case the Knight managed to avoid and counter. Vic did not aim for a killing blow however. The attack was aimed to incapacitate the man by slicing removing his legs, leaving him without any lower limbs on which to stand.
Tircolas Flow Vic was confused by the...electrifying...intervention. He now had even less idea than before of who Rosencrantz was, but figured that it was possible he had trained as a Sith under Sydney. It would explain how he knew the Bardobas, as well as his startling strength in the Force. But, as ever, there was no time to dwell on these thoughts. He decided to attack Guildenstern instead of Neesa, lunging forth with blinding speed, both sabers ignited. The attack was made with one blade, a slicing strike designed to remove the legs of his foe. But the leader of the Imperial Knights was a difficult opponent to incapacitate. The man had seemed stunned, but recovered enough to roll backwards and flip himself onto his feet, narrowly avoiding Vic's attack. The saber came close enough to burn through the armour at his right thigh. Guildenstern immediately adopted a defensive stance, backing slowly away. The sounds of blasterfire rang out nearby, followed almost immediately by the sound of a lightsaber humming through the air to block the lasers. If Vic had a moment to glance around, he would have seen Rosencrantz engaging Neesa in combat, attempting to shoot the Knight down while she redirected his attacks. "We need to get out of here!" Vic heard the bounty hunter yell. The exclamation was followed by more words, but these ones rang out inside the Jedi's head... My jetpack has enough to get us both clear if we move fast Meanwhile, Samantha had woken up, and was struggling to lift herself from the ground... Tag: nemisis Snowfly Forest Kara saw the attack as if in slow motion, the sign of an experienced combatant. And certainly the young Zeltron had been through her fair share of fighting during her brief time in the City. Duane, on her right, dropped to a squat and slashed low at her knees, while Grissom's blade arced at her neck. Evidently they meant to catch her between them, but the Force showed her a way out: there was about a metre to spare between their blades, space which she could make good use of. As their blades swept in, the Zeltron Jedi launched herself forward between them in a clever but ambitious maneuver. However, Kara was a practitioner of Ataru, and her experience of that form's acrobatics certainly assisted her in this case. The leap was perfectly executed, and she landed a couple of metres away, rolling up and back into a combat stance. She saw that she had managed to wound Grissom on her way through, cutting a long gash through the armour at his stomach. At first it seemed as if the attack had not reached her opponent's flesh- but then she saw the grimace on his face, and knew that she had drawn blood. Duane seemed to sense his partner's pain, as he stepped in front to lead the next attack, launching a series of quick jabs at Kara's upper torso. Grissom seemed to be simply hanging back, but soon Kara felt pressure being applied upon her throat, trying to lift her off the ground by her neck. Sydney, meanwhile, had backed away slightly, and was busy drawing some sort of circle on the ground with his fingers. He was chanting to himself. "Varo-rohm-sha-meleth-tara-sath-dahn-veleth..." Tag: Xan
Vic could not believe that the Imperial Knight had recovered so quickly. He did not know personally - and hoped he never would - how painful Force Lightning was, but had a feeling it was not a good feeling. Add to that that Imperial Knights usually wore armor, which would most likely amplify the pain, how quickly Guildenstern recovered was even more impressive. The sound of blasterfire came from behind the Jedi and the leader of the Imperial Knights. Vic did not look to see the source of it, he knew that Jan had gotten involved once again - looking back would most likely cost him his life. But, why had Jan decided to use his blaster? Surely he knew that blasters were practically ineffective against a lightsaber. The bounty hunter continued to show his mysterious nature. "We need to get out of here!" Vic heard Jan yell over the sound of blasterfire and ignited lightsabers. My jetpack has enough to get us both clear if we move fast, the bounty hunter continued. Though, this time, it was more clearly heard over the sound and it took Vic a few moments to realize that Rosencrantz had spoken those words through the Force, only heard by Vic and no one else. Vic nodded, and decided to press the attack while Guildenstern was on the defense in hopes to catch the man off guard in order to make a move towards Jan. The Jedi sent his right blade up high in a feint attack. The real attack was with his right leg which was soaring towards the mid-section of Guildenstern. His left blade held back for defense in case the Imperial Knight had sensed the feint attack. If this worked, Vic would make an attempt to lunge towards Jan in hopes of escaping.
Tircolas Flow Vic decided to press his attack while Guildenstern was on the defense in hopes to catch the man off guard in order to make a move towards Jan. The Jedi Investigator sent his right blade up high, and Guildenstern adjusted his position to guard- only to be caught in the midriff by Vic's real attack, a plunging kick to the gut. It smacked off his armour but was enough to send the man falling onto his backside. Vic, meanwhile, seized the opportunity to race towards Rosencrantz, seizing the man's leg just as the jetpack blasted violently into life and the bounty hunter rose from the ground. "Hold tight!" cried Rosencrantz, still firing his blasters downwards towards Neesa, who continued to deflect them away from her position at the stream's edge. Suddenly Samantha, who had been crawling along the ground, managed to push herself up and into a jump, grabbing hold of Vic's foot. She still seemed dazed but kept a strong grip as they began to fly, meaning that there were three people soaring into the air, dangling by arms and legs. "Get her off!" yelled Rosencrantz, clearly having problems keeping steady. Tag: nemisis Snowfly Forest Once again Kara faced Imperial Knight tactics as one engaged in combat while the other attempted to grip her neck using the Force. With no huts around to collapse, the Zeltron was forced to think fast. She swept her blade down to block a particularly nasty slash, locking in with her opponent for the briefest of moments before shoving forward as hard as she could, both physically and with the Force. As she did so, she once again felt Sydney's dark touch flow through her, strengthening her at the crucial moment- And her attack was even more powerful than she expected, hurling Duane off his feet and into Grissom so hard that both of them were knocked to the ground. As Kara stood there, arm still extended, she felt a strange tingling in her fingers and forearm. Sydney was in her head, empowering her...encouraging her. She had seen Force lightning in practice before, even had it directed at her...and now she felt as if it would be the easiest, most natural thing in the world just to let an arc of electricity stream from her hand and into her two foes. They were stunned- she could have them at her mercy within moments. As the young Jedi decided whether to fight or succumb to the urge she felt, Sydney continued to draw his shapes in the dust... Tag: Xan
