Just as the Force Push left Vic's hand, the Jedi felt a surge of anger flood the Force as Hardin saw the attack. However, the Sith was not fast enough to avoid it, as the Force Push hit him straight on, hurling him off the giant beast. The Jedi allowed a smile to cross his face, just before he had to dodge a stream of fire. Apparently, while Vic was concentrating on the Sith, Kara was concentrating on the beast, and had hacked one of its feet off, sending the giant thing into a sort of panic in which it continually shot fire from its mouth. Vic stood when he felt it was a good time to take a look around without getting charred by the fire-breath. Beyond the staggering beast, which looked as though it would fall at any moment, Vic could see Hardin stumbling towards the edge of the arena. A thought crossed the Jedi's mind, as he yelled out to his fellow Jedi. Whether they could hear him, he had no idea, but he continued anyway. "Throw a Force Push at the beast at the same time!" he screamed, hoping the beast would topple over and crush it's former rider, Hardin. He concentrated the Force energies around him once more, and began to count, "one, two..." He thrust his hand forward, sending another powerful Force push forward, this time at the beast, as he yelled, "three!"
The Arena, Mineshaft "Throw a Force Push at the beast at the same time!" screamed Vic, his intention to topple the dragon over, and crush Hardin in the process. "One, two..." He thrust his hand forward, sending another powerful Force push forward, this time at the beast, as he yelled, "three!" Whether the other Jedi joined him in his attack or not turned out to be irrelevant- the beast was so unbalanced that it required only the smallest of pushes to collapse it. It began falling, slowly and majestically, wrapping its wings around itself, roaring helplessly into the air. Beneath it, Hardin looked up, eyes widening. The cultist, who had been stumbling previously, somehow found the energy to move, darting out of the creature's shadow. "AHCRIMORA!" he yelled, and a strange dark fog appeared in front of him, hanging in the air. He leapt into it, and the smoke enveloped him at once. He vanished. The dragon finally crashed to the ground, and did not get up. The battle was over. The Jedi, though exhausted, were all still standing. The dragon beast lay on the ground, shuddering and trembling violently. The strange misty portal through which Hardin had escaped was still floating in the air, inviting the Jedi to step into it, and pursue their foe. Tag: nemisis, Xan, Trimaj, despised
The Arena, Mineshaft "Come on!" yelled Kara, beckoning her fellow Jedi. As Zeltrons often did, she acted on impulse, leaping into the portal in pursuit of the cultist foe. The smoke wrapped around her legs and arms, and she vanished. Unfortunately, the portal vanished with her. The smoke disappeared completely before the other Jedi could reach it, and Vic, Kimara and Anengy were left standing in the Arena beside the twitching, half-conscious dragon. There was no sign of their comrade, and no apparent option but to head back out of the Arena and onto their previous path. Tag: nemisis, Trimaj, despised Unknown Location Kara felt no particular pull or tug as the smoke wrapped around her. The Arena disappeared, and the world transformed into a void of black and swirling blue light. It felt rather like she had jumped into the air and simply forgotten to land. She hovered, motionless. And then with a harsh jolt she crashed to stony ground, falling heavily on her rear. The smoke disappeared, leaving her with no apparent way back. As she rose to her feet, bruised but not badly hurt, her surroundings swam into focus. She was no longer underground, for a start. She was standing in the middle of an old, uneven, yellowing, cobbled street, lined with withering yet still green trees. Stone buildings stood all around her, houses and halls and huge temples with spires reaching towards a sunny blue sky. She could hear a stream running somewhere close by. A pile of droid parts lay in the shade; a rusty, abandoned speeder gathered dust beside a hut; birds chirped merrily. Hardin was nowhere to be seen, but it appeared that Kara had found her way inside the city proper. She was standing within the ancient walls of Leá Monde. Tag: Xan
Inside the City Kara dusted herself off, and set about exploring her surroundings. Upon closer inspection there was no hope for repairing the abandoned speeder, and the pile of droid parts had long since rusted beyond use. The stone houses were closed up by magnetic seals, though glances through the windows revealed nothing more than deserted rooms, no doubt empty for decades. The young Zeltron wandered down the path through the rather picturesque streets, following the sound of the running water. After a minute she rounded a corner, and saw a stream running through the city, about thirty metres ahead of her. On the other side of it stood a tall tree; underneath it were four humans, dressed in crimson armour, black capes, and with lightsabers clipped to their belts. The Imperial Knights. Kara recognised them from her briefing. Duane, tall and stocky. Grissom, pale, thin and long-haired. Samantha, with her lithe frame and beautiful face. And finally Guildernstern, their respected leader. Muscular, sandy-haired and bearded, proud in his posture and bearing. The only two Knights missing were Tieger and Neesa, who were presumably engaged elsewhere. As Kara drew carefully closer, she noted that the four Knights were currently too distracted to notice her. They were gathered around a young Sith cultist, no older than eighteen, who was slumped on the ground before them. They appeared to be interrogating him. If she was careful enough to avoid detection, Kara would probably be able to move in close enough to eavesdrop. Alternatively, she could attempt to sneak past and continue exploring the city. Tag: Xan
Vic let a feeling of relief wash over him as his Force Push tilted the beast on it's side, rendering it motionless. Though, the Jedi caught a glimpse of Hardin just before the giant beast landed on the ground; the Sith had conjured up some sort of portal like and jumped into it, vanishing into thin air. Vic could only stare in disbelief; he had no idea that such things were possible. The Force was a mysterious thing, but how could it possibly fabricate a means of instant transportation like that? Kara, however, was not stunned by the portal at all. "Come on!" she yelled, running towards the portal. Vic ran after her, attempting to stop her, but it was too late; the Zeltron Jedi had managed to jump through the portal. Vic lunged toward it as well, but was met with nothing but air as the portal vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He fell to the ground with a sickening thud that sent another wave of pain throughout his body, adding to his already aching leg. The only human left within the room got to his feet and took a look around. There was no other exit - the only way out was the way they had entered. Vic looked to his companions, shrugged and began to leave the arena, cautiously walking around the half twitching beast that was lying seemingly unconscious on the ground. As he headed towards the exit, he extended his awareness outward, searching for any sign of Kara. He was not exactly sure where to look, but he had to try, to give him a sense of where she had gone. He remembered briefly that his companions had mentioned another path as Vic headed down this one when he thought he saw his former lover. Perhaps he should try there first.
Tircolas Flow, Leá Monde Kara carefully made her way closer, taking cover behind an overturned speeder near the water's edge. On the other side of the stream, the Imperial Knights continued their interrogation of their prisoner. Grissom, pale and thin, led the questioning. He kneeled down beside the young cultist, who (from the sound of it) seemed to be coughing blood. "Answer wisely," said Grissom sharply, "and you may yet live. Tell us where Sydney hides." "Save your breath, knight," hissed the cultist. "You fools think the Dark will bend to you?" "We serve the Emperor, scum," replied Grissom. "We are not here to bend, but to cleanse." Kara heard the sound of spitting in response, and peered over to see Grissom wearily wiping it from his face. It seemed that the young cultist was still defiant even in the face of four Imperial Knights. "Enough of that," snarled Duane, reaching down and striking the young prisoner hard across the face, causing the boy to whimper with pain. "Now," continued Grissom, "There is still time. We may yet show mercy." "...Go to hell," replied the cultist eventually. Grissom sighed. Kara heard a lightsaber ignite, and hum through the air before being switched off. She peered over again, and saw that the young cultist now lay on the ground. His head had been separated from his body. "So end all who serve the Dark," announced Guildenstern, leader of the Knights. "Grissom, Duane- head into the Snowfly Forest. It lies in the north of the City. Samantha and I will investigate the Temple of Kiltia in the south." Grissom and Duane nodded, hurrying away into the city streets, leaving Guildenstern and Samantha alone beside the stream and the dead cultist. "How curious it is," said Guildenstern, peering down at the corpse. "This wretch is as dead as can be...yet at nightfall he will walk the streets once again." "The evil of this city is beyond my imagining," replied Samantha. "What kind of Sith magic prevents men from dying?" "They do die," said Guildernstern. "But it is an incomplete death. Their bodies rot and crumble into decay...but their souls wander the city eternally. At night they take the form of the undead, foul creatures of darkness and sorcery. Trapped between the netherworld and this one, they yearn for life. It is a horrible existence." There was a long silence, as the pair considered this. "...Will that happen to me?" asked Samantha at last. "You will not die here, my love," replied Guildenstern, embracing her. "I promise you." The two kissed, and left. Kara watched them go. She had never met Imperial Knights before, but had heard they were lightsiders, and much like Jedi- save that they served the will of their Emperor, rather than the will of the Force. But their actions in killing the cultist did not sit easy with her. At least she knew more about them now, should she have to face them in combat. The Zeltron barely had time to process all of this when she heard a voice ring out from behind her. "It's rude to eavesdrop, Jedi." She turned to see two Imperial Knights. Both were human, one a dark skinned and tall man, the other a red-haired, violet-eyed woman. Tieger and Neesa. The pair had managed to sneak up to within twenty feet of Kara without being sensed. What she sensed from them now was disturbing- coldness, arrogance...and a burning hostility that could only mean one outcome... Tieger ignited his lightsaber, and Neesa followed his lead. Tag: Xan Mineshaft Vic led Kimara and Anengy out of the Arena, and back on to their previous path. The stunned trio had just fought off a summoned dragon and its cultist rider, met Sydney Losstarot for the first time, and seen their comrade Kara disappear into thin air in pursuit of John Hardin. It was a lot to take in. Nevertheless, the mission continued. They returned to the entrance to the Catacombs. It had been sealed before, but the door now lay wide open. The stonework lay in rubble on the ground, leading the Jedi to wonder who- or what- had smashed it down. At least it made their journey somewhat easier. The route upwards to the City surface was said to lie through the Catacombs. This was the last stretch of their underground trek. Tag: nemisis, Trimaj, despised
Vic could not stop himself from wondering where Kara had transported to. He worried that she was in trouble now - that portal could have taken her anywhere: off planet, straight into the hands of Sydney and Hardin. If the latter were the case, she was most likely...He could not finish the thought as he moved into the catacombs. He had seen this room earlier but payed no attention to it. Rather, he decided to follow the Force apparition that was his wife which subsequently led them to that heated battle, which also led to Kara's disappearance, which could have led...and it'd be all his fault. The Human Jedi shook that thought aside as he approached the open doorway. It looked as though it had been broken through; rubble that had apparently been the door lay scattered on the ground before it. If Vic could remember correctly, the briefing had said that the catacombs would lead to the city. So, their trek through the mineshaft should be over now, but Vic was ready for everything. Hopefully, this would lead them through to the city. Being the optimist that Vic was, he was hoping Kara would be waiting there for her fellow Jedi. Vic looked behind him towards Anengy and Kimara, both who had not said a word about Kara vanishing; it was obvious they were having the same thoughts as he was. "Let's go," he said, stepping over the rubble cautiously, ready to take on whatever was in store for them.
Cstacombs, Sanctum of the Dead Vic led the way into the Catacombs, Kimara and Anengy in tow. The three Jedi were quiet, contemplative and clearly shaken by their experience thus far. Fortunately, their current surroundings seemed devoid of any foes, save for a few annoying bats. They walked carefully through the first few rooms without incident, peering through the cobwebs and the darkness. The path was rather linear and straightforwards, until they came to a particularly large chamber where the ground had been split down the centre, presumably because of the earthquakes. An enormous chasm had formed, preventing the Jedi from reaching the other side of the room and progressing. It would perhaps be possible to leap it using the Force- but none of the three Jedi present had ever attempted a jump of that size before. Far more interesting, however, was the man who was standing on the other side. Clad in dirty-yellow armour from his shoulders to his feet, he had clearly just landed using the jetpack that was strapped to his back. He cradled a large repeating blaster in his arms, and a deadly assortment of grenades were attached to his belt. His face was thin, and bearded. "Greetings," he said, smiling thinly. Despite the fact that he stood on the other side of the chasm, the room carried the sound easily, and he did not need to talk loudly to be heard. "The Jedi investigators, I presume? I had heard your number was four." Tag: nemisis, Trimaj, despised
Tircolas Flow, Leá Monde "I suppose," began Kara, stalling for time, "it's not worth pointing out that it's hardly eavesdropping if you're talking in the open." "You're right," replied Neesa, slowly advancing with her partner Tieger. "It's not worth pointing out." With her eyes on the two Knights, Kara wasn't properly able to scan her surroundings, but noticed one or two things. Firstly, she was being backed towards the stream. The water was running quickly, and it would perhaps be possible to ride downstream if she could find a suitable platform. The overturned landspeeder behind which she had been hiding before had a few fairly large, loose panels that could potentially serve that very purpose... Alternatively, she could attempt to distract the Knights. Neesa stood in the shade of a hut with crumbling stonework...indeed, the walls of the building looked so ancient and battered that another quake would cause it to come crashing down. Another quake- or a firm push from the Force. Before she could consider one of these options, the young Zeltron felt a sudden, fierce pressure on her throat, making it difficult for her to breathe. Her natural empathic senses were overwhelmed by ugly waves of anger and hatred. Both Tieger and Neesa were using the darkside to try and choke the life out of her. Tag: Xan
The three Jedi walked quietly and cautiously. Fortunately, there was not much standing in their way, only a few bats that Vic had to bat out of the way with a swinging arm. Eventually, the group of Jedi came to a large room with a giant hole in the center, a crevasse of sorts that mirrored that on the surface - the one that prevented them from directly entering the city forcing them to go underneath through the mineshaft. It was much smaller than the other one and it seemed like it might be possible to jump across. However, Vic never jumped that far before, and he would bet that the others had not either. Though, his attention was quickly taken away from the chasm. On the other side, a man was standing in yellow with an assortment of weapons strapped to his armor. Vic could still see the trail of smoke that had come from his jet pack. This had to be Jan Rosencrantz the bounty hunter who had expressed interest in the mission of saving the boy. Though, obviously he was in it only for the pay, and could care less about the boy, or anything that stood in his way of his money, including the Jedi. "Greetings," he said with a smile. "The Jedi investigators, I presume? I had heard your number was four." So, the man had done his homework on the mission. Vic wished he knew more about the man, but the briefing did not give any clue to who this man was besides his name and the possibility he had a military history with the Empire. Besides that, this man was a total mistory. "Indeed, we decided to...split up," Vic lied. "And you must be the bounty hunter called Jan Rosencrantz?" The Jedi did not want to have the small talk - he wanted to hurry and get across in order to find the boy and then find Kara. "We need to get across."
