Star Wars Star Wars: Depths of Madness

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Star Wars: Depths of Madness

It?s been decades since the end of the Sith Wars and the start of the Republic?s Golden Age. Worlds and whole sectors of space that had once been cut off and shattered by Sith warlords and the Brotherhood of Darkness have been reunited with the Republic and now experience the prosperity of this new age.

It is as we feared. The balance is in danger, stagnation on the horizon.

Ever since the climactic battle on Ruusan and the following reformation, the Republic and its citizens have been able to view a new, everlasting peace that is hoped to last for the next hundred, perhaps the next thousands of years to come. With the sudden absence of war, the factories and workers have left behind their ideas of new and more powerful war machines behind in favor of materials to benefit the lives of those who can now rest and of those who will preserve the future.

For while the Republic regains once-lost territory, it is reaching out to worlds that have yet to be found such as the recently-discovered Belkov.

The beacon has sounded. With ignorance they expand and evolve unchecked, gathering knowledge and power that will ultimately destroy them.

The Jedi, once warriors that had known the most of war and its costs while battling ancient foes, now seek to better themselves in this time of peace. Armor and titles of lordship have been cast aside while their very structure shifts. Rules and regulations have been placed so that, no longer, will a Jedi ever fall prey to the dark side. Instead, the future of the Jedi will be cemented with duties as guardians and peacekeepers.

The harbingers of the prophesized chaos. Cursed and tainted with a power that has proved to be all-corrupting. With their suppressants having been removed, their taint will run wild. They will act as the vanguard of the coming darkness.

The galaxy-spanning conflict that has plagued the Republic has now been reduced to smugglers, pirates, and other petty criminals that hardly require the extreme measures of great fleets and Jedi Lords. With the new Jedi Knights and other policing forces, the people are protected from even these offenders of the law and can rest easy, their concerns allowed to focus on the prosperity of the future rather than the conflicts and madness of a present that is no more.

The cycle shall start again. Like before, the Chosen One will restore balance in order to prevent the galaxy from falling into utter darkness.

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The Story

The year is 975 BBY, taking place twenty-five years after the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, the destruction of the Brotherhood, and the following reformation that was established and put into effect in order to preserve the new found peace that now spreads throughout the galaxy. No longer having to worry about the next patch of Republic space that is to be invaded by an enemy fleet, the next Republic world to be invaded by an enemy army, all with the next Sith warlord at the head of these forces, the Republic and their Jedi guardians now only have to worry about reunification of scattered worlds and the rebuilding that is to take place.

One such world is Belkov, the latest to be found by Republic scouts. Found in the Outer Rim, Belkov had managed to remain untouched despite the constant galactic-wide wars between the Republic and the Sith. A mapping ship having accidentally stumbled upon the world, the Republic had nonetheless grown interested upon hearing the reports of mountain ranges, blue oceans and lakes, green and healthy plains and forests, all that can only be blessed upon a world that has not seen one ounce of war or interference by outside forces.

Despite such a healthy world, there has been no sign of any intelligent lifeforms. There are animals - your standard mammals, reptiles, predators and prey - but no signs of any kind of civilization. With a recovering Republ

 

Alrighty, so it's been exactly one day since I posted the opening and already I have character sheets coming in to snag the characters that I have laid out. And those that have written these character sheets are going to be competing with one another as I have two people that want to take on the role of Jedi Knight while the other two have written character sheets for the Sith Apprentice.

Now the character sheets are awesome. The writers really have something to be proud of themselves for and I will show you why in just a moment. For examples, I will be posting the character sheets of the two players that want the Sith Apprentice. Their names, for now, will be anonymous.



Name: Rosha Fel'luk
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Class: Sith Apprentice
Appearance: Zabrak/Human
Your Character:


Rosha liked the darkness. It was the one thing that was absolute, and always there. Oh, they might fool you into beliving it ran away with the light, but it didnt. It simply was biding its time. Like her. It would be far too easy to say that life was hard. She was lucky to draw breath at all. Born of a Human mother, and a Zabrak father, she was immediately tethered to poverty. Born with a headful of dark hair, that sat wild on her head when not tethered. Enough so that it hid the pitifully small horns she was born with. Her dad must have been dissapointed, cause he didnt stick around. She learned quick not to ask about her father, unless she wanted a beating. Thought she looked human enough, unless a horn peeked through, or folks got close to see her eyes were purple, not brown. Dark skin and small, she had been sick at birth, and perhaps her mom hoped that she would not make it. But she did, and grew strong. But the looks her mom would give her when she wasnt looking, spoke more than her actions. The harder she would try to earn her acceptance, the more the woman would seem to hate her. So she stopped trying. Five years later her mom found another man. And he didnt seem to like her either. Rosha ran with the other street kids, and would sometimes get scraps by stealing from the older kids. She learned that lies and acting could feed her belly at night. Stealing was last resort. But she would sneak home to sleep. She took care of herself. Then, her mother got pregnant by her supposed new father. But the woman died, when she went into labor with the new baby. Somehow, it was HER fault. That was the first time she had seen death up close. Sure, she had seen it in the streets, but never up close. And truth be told, she already hated the new baby. Hated her mom for wanting to replace her with a new baby. And absolutly hated the man. And that feeling was mutual, for he had no love lost on her either. The Next day, he sold everything in the house - including Rosha. She had no idea what had happened, when another stranger showed up in the home, and immediately clamped some wierd cuffs on her, till she saw the credits. Some of her street friends had told her about it. Slavery. It wasnt supposed to be done on this world, but that didnt seem to matter. She did have the pleasure of taking a chunk out of the man, before she was dragged away from all she knew. She never saw her homeworld again. Not that it mattered. Nothing there anyway.

Next three years were of nothing but darkness, beatings and starvation. Nothing she was not used to, but now it was from stupid people, wanting silly things. If she could get away from stealing it from them, she did. But she now had access to other beings. And so she watched them. Studied everything that she could. She learned to read and write, and most importantly, to listen. She quickly found that people would let the most powerful things slip from their lips. Some things, that others would pay dealy to learn. And all she had to do was listen. It was enough to keep her belly full. She learned to hide her meager funds well. She learned to trust no one, and that everyone wants something. It was all depending on how much someone wanted to pay for that something.

Another year

 

And GM approved. Reposted, so to say . . .

Name: Morden Szorn
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Class: Sith Apprentice
Appearance: [image=http://www.sith.pl/www/bots_pl/dziedzictwo/zwolennicy_sith/pliki/komari_vosa.jpg] [image=http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/3/3e/Komarivosahead.jpg]


Bio: Morden was born to hate the galactic civilisation. Her very first memories were those of pain and loss. Her mother´s scream of pain, her father´s weeping and begging for their survival. The first time she felt the warmth of blood on her skin it was her fathers, as the Twi´leks slit his throat and laughed. He tried to protect her by holding her close to his chest. And through this desperate attempt she was baptized in his blood.

In this blood Morden was born.

Years later she would hear the whole story. Trembling, bloody lips of a tortured and desperate man would tell her of a Governor of the republic who had paid of his gambling debts by selling colonists to the slavers. He sold children, to be precise. Including those of his own family to which Morden belonged. They were collected to work in the low and small tunnels of Ryloth mines where human children were perfect in size and strength. Their parents were only unnecessary witnesses.

The man who revealed that treachery died ? after the long hours of his torture ? by a swift strike from a dagger. It would be the last time Morden ever showed mercy. Because by then she had been introduced to a power that allowed her to take revenge. It was a power far greater than anything the corrupt Republic could wield. The Power of the Dark Side of the Force was at her command.

Slavery was a short and even the murderous Twil´leks feared the five year old child with the glowing eyes. She was brought to Ryloth in a cage with four other victims. And once she was unloaded, in the cage of five only she was alive. The four others had beaten her and abused her and she had simply killed them. Driven by fear and anger, it had just happened. Not with her little bare hands but with weapon much more potent. Her pure will had taken their lives. She had wished them to die and they had simply died one by one.

The slavers would surely have killed her ? shot her like a savage beast that had befallen their flock -if her saviour had not arrived and intervened. The man had appeared as a merciful trader who had offered to buy her freedom from the brutal gang. But the Twi´leks had been to bold in their demands. Too insulting. And in flash of red light and dark power the trader wiped them out, like bugs crushed under his boots. Soon Morden would learn they were even less to him than bugs. The man had taken her - the only survivor of the massacre - with him and adopted her into his seemingly perfect family. She was taken care of and had been brought to a small trading outpost on the planet of Korriban. Their she found out her savior was far more than a trading family man. His wive and children were nothing but slaves of his will. She learned the truth behind his perfect deception and soon she kneeled on her weak childish knees and called him Master.

Her training was harsh, brutal and murderous. Lessons of history and philosophy were the most peaceful lessons to learn. The physical training in contrast was painful and demanding. And soon she was send out into the wastelands of a fallen Empire of Darkness to hunt. Every day she had to kill a more dangerous creature. And soon the desperate battles for survival were no longer something she feared but they had turned into her greatest joy. No longer her Master had to give her the tasks, but a hunger inside of her carried her from one kill to the next. She killed the most vile beasts and darkest creatures the planet had to offer. Morden killed and killed and killed and killed. Everything that breathed and was alive and some things that were not even alive anymore became her prey in her nocturnal journeys into the tombs and caves of the planet.

When she turned twelve her Master send h

 

Name: Haru Mura
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Class: Jedi Knight
Appearance: [image=http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/080/f/1/Jedi_knight_I_by_dywa.jpg]

Your Character: Being a Jedi is about being an example for righteousness and justice. That was what his father taught Haru a long, long time ago. His father, his master. Sometimes haru wonders, if he knew what was expecting his son, when he begun his training. It was against the Jedi Code to train a Padawan without the councils permission and it was also against the Codex to father a son. To train your own sun was therefore controvesial at best. But the Jedi tolerated it. They tolerated Haru for all his life. Nothing more and nothing less.

His father had seen the late days of the Sith War, the pockets of resistance and crazed, brutal Dark Siders fighting ot the last man to defend their dream of galactic domination. Sith were not good in accepting defeat. But the Jedi had seeked them out and destroyed them one by one. Haru could later only guess it had most likely been one of these campaigns where his father met his mother. A republic soldier, pilot and an impressive woman she had soon begun an affair wirth the Jedi Knight. A love affair none of both should have entered. If she fell in battle or died in labour . . . Haru never found out. When he asked he just saw an infinite sadness in his fathers eyes and usually dropped the topic. Hoping ot ask one day and get an answer. He never got one.

The Council did neither approve the relationship, nor the child born from it. But they tolerated both in their need for Jedi and force sensitive children. It was the beginning of a long line of "toleration" that shaped Haru´s life. And also the beginning of a difficult bond to the Jedi Council. His father trained his son personally. Again something tolerated. And he trained his son like a Jedi Master his Padawan. Not like a father his son. Maybe it was because Kami Mura never had a father himself, that it was the only way of "raising a child" he knew. But many years later Haru realized, that he too never had a father. Only his Master. There was no bitterness or sadness in this realisation. Only calm understanding. Because his father had been a good Master. His training had been no worse than that of any other Jedi and in many ways probably even more intense. Driven by the wish to make him a Jedi Knight his father had taught him all he had known. Soon his son was more skilled than the aging Jedi Knight in many ways. Not an exceptional talent, but a talent nevertheless. Someone who under other circumstances would probably have earned respect and recognition from the Jedi Council. But not Haru "the Jedi trained without permission" by his own father. He was tainted in the eyes of the senior Jedi. And no matter how insightful he was in arguments with other Jedi, or how superior he was in lightsaber duels or concentrated in meditation he was . . . they never truly accepted him into their ranks. When his father send him on his trial, a deadly a mission to bring down a criminal with a reputation for killing Jedi . . . he succeeded in that task, too. Barely making it out alive from the hideout of the criminal gang, but delivering the murderer alive and well to the authorities he made his Master proud. Many questioned if the task had not been to demanding for a young Jedi, but in the same breathe these Jedi denied to accept his fathers decision to make him a Jedi Knight. The Council joined both critique and denial and left Haru Mura without any official status.

Angry and frustrated Haru began to challenge the Jedi and their views. His father, an old man now, did little to stop him. They were equals now. Jedi Knights. Brothers. No longer father and son. When he finally went to the Jedi enclave on Alderaan and confronted the leading Council of the Academy Haru could no longer be ignored. He ranted for hours about the shortcomings of Jedi. How "proper trained jedi" had basically been the bulk of any Sith threat for centuries and how it were fallen Jedi who turned into threats for the Galaxy.

 

GM Approved!


Name: Brandon "Bran" Teralyn
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Class: Republic Trooper
Appearance: Bran looks like a human out of a military recruiting poster: tall, broad-shouldered and blond-haired, with bright green eyes and an easy smile.
Your Character:

"I always wanted to be a soldier. It was my dream, you know? Ever since I was a little kid. My uncle - he fought on Ruusan, came back with all these stories, and I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do. That's what I want to be. My parents didn't like it, of course. I mean, Dad was a doctor. He'd seen what wars did to people, he said - he was a military surgeon for a bit, and he said if you didn't die outright you were scarred for life and had years of PT and prosthetic reconstruction and whatever. But that happens to civilians too. I have a friend back home, he's got a fake hand and a fake half a leg from a speeder crash. You'd never figure it out if he didn't tell you, though. They do great things with cybernetics nowadays. And anyway, I figure it's better to live a short life that means something than die old and boring.

"I've got an older brother and a younger sister. Archer, my brother, is a doctor like my dad. My sister Selene's studying to be an architect.

"Yeah, I'm an Academy graduate. Got in first year I could apply.

"It's ... not really what I expected. The Academy was intense, but now - we're more like peacekeepers, nowadays, than anything else. We just fight pirates, and they don't put up much of a fight to begin with. I remember three months ago, we ran into a pirate ship, and the battle lasted like thirty seconds. Our gunners took out their engines, and bam, that was it. I was the officer in charge of the boarding party and it was like a formality, putting cuffs on them; they didn't even put up a token struggle.

"They usually have a more senior officer running that, yeah. But the captain said I - er - could use the experience.

"I was commissioned six months ago. Lieutenant, junior grade. Been shipboard for most of it, and it's been quiet. Well, it's been quiet for decades, really. The captain's one of the few left who were actually in the war. He says we're lucky, but I don't - I mean, I'm not wishing for the Sith to come back or anything, but this isn't what we trained for. You know?

"Okay, I have to go. We're shipping out for Belkov soon.

"Good talking to you too. Maybe I'll see you around."

 

Approved by the GM

Name: Nate Carrack
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Class: Smuggler
Appearance: Nate Carrack fits the romantic image of a wild outlaw, his hair unkempt as though blown by the wind, his jaw lined with stubble and a faint scar, his blue eyes twinkling with a playful light. Yet similarly, Nate Carrack is as nondescript as they come: not tall, though not short; rough, but not scruffy; clean-cut, but not military. Nate Carrack's got a winning smile...when he wants it to be a winning smile. He fits in just as easily with a bunch of scoundrels as he does a bunch of dilettantes. Nate Carrack is easy to look past, and he thanks his lucky stars for this day in and day out.
Your Character: There's no real heroic tale behind this smuggler, no romanticized notions of rugged individuality in a world of rules and laws. Nate Carrack wasn't the son of an impoverished factory work, stealing from the rich to give to the poor, or even stealing for his own family. Nate Carrack is - or at least was - a well-to-do young heir to a fine sum. He grew up comfortable - aware of his family's wealth, but not wallowing in it. Of course, that didn't mean he was going to give it all away to charity; poverty was something he'd much rather turn a blind eye to, painful though it could be. After all, it wasn't his fault.

And it wasn't his fault his lucky stars didn't shine as brightly as he'd have hoped. Gambling and the cards got in his mind and he couldn't let go. Before he knew it, Carrack had squandered away a tidy sum and been cut off from family funds. This was difficult, of course, but Nate doggedly continued on in his life, working with his family's company to pay his own bills, to settle his own debts, to find his own road through life. And though the road was difficult, he continued on with it. Gambling became something of the past, though he still enjoyed playing cards for pennies and small change. Many a time Nate could be found betting his daily chores and items from his lunch against those of his family and friends to pass the time.

Gambling was an issue, but he controlled it. It wasn't easy, but Nate got his life back on track. As his savings increased, so too did his confidence in his own abilities. Gambling gave up the ghost, though Nate still enjoyed flying fast ships, chasing after fast women, and generally taking a few enjoyable risks every now and then.

It wasn't one of these risks that bankrupted him, but simply a loan gone wrong. Hoping to help a younger brother, he had lent him some money to settle a debt. Sadly, the debt was with a gentleman whose business was not strictly legal. One misplaced number and Nate was nearly flat broke. Glitches in the banking system had been exploited by this businessman, and Nate lost, badly.

But where most stories then become a tale of revenge, Nate took the lesser risk. Smuggling was by no means legal, but it certainly beat trying to steal his money back from a crime lord. Hell, Dad had been a smuggler before making it big.

Nate now flies the his own ship from system to system, and is little more than a small fish in a large pond. Large ponds have large fish, though, and large fish need to eat. Currently, Nate Carrack looks like a tasty snack. And he needs a crew.

 

So ya! We got our characters! For those who had not been chosen to play the game, don't fret yet! As most will know, whenever you start an RP...people sometimes don't stick around. So for the first leg of the game, you may be called upon to take the place of a player who has decided that he or she cannot play; whether its work, family business, school, whatever. If that becomes the case, I'll make sure to give the role to the competitors if they're still willing to play.

Anyway, let's get this game started!


Ambria
Unknown Settlement

The world was called Ambria. Upon hearing the name of such a world, a flash of memories of lessons with her Master flashed through the mind of the apprentice known as Morden Szorn.

There was a long and vast history behind the world; an especially dark one. No doubt having once been a beautiful world, that all changed when a powerful Sith sorceress, trying to command powers that were beyond her comprehension, conducted dark rituals that ended in catastrophe. Not only destroying herself, her ritual had caused a cataclysmic wave of dark side energy to sweep across the world, destroying nearly all life on Ambria. Plant or animal, it did not matter and the world became a barren wasteland.

A taint had settled upon the world after the events and the Jedi had once tried to cleanse Ambria of it but the concentration of dark side energy proved to be too much for even the vaunted Order. Instead, the Jedi had concentrated and confined the dark side to a single source: Lake Natth. Since then, Ambria had been going through a slow, steady recovery. Imported animal life has started to adapt to the world and settlers, though few in number, that had been repulsed from the planet-wide taint have now come to make homes on the planet's surface. Making sure to keep away from the dark waters of Lake Natth, this small population have made a living to either farm from the healing land or make what credits they can from the salvage of the many wars between Jedi and Sith that have been left behind.

Darth Bane had visited this world on occasion. Supposedly, on the words of her Master alone, Morden was led to believe that this was where the creator of the Rule of Two had planned the destruction of the abomination that was Kaan's Brotherhood. This was also where the creator had died, slain by his apprentice in order to live up to the very philosophy that he created.

And now this was where Morden was to conduct her hunt.

"I have been having unusual...premonitions as of late," her Master spoke to her as he paced before her knelt form, his own hidden behind his long, black robes where the hood shadowed his face. "An orange world of violet rings, where the dark side has forever scarred it."

Morden knew the world to be Ambria and her Master knew that she did. After all, it had been one of his many tests and lessons that he had expected her to memorize and keep to heart. There were consequences for any kind of slip, any gap in her knowledge that may cause her to come up short, and her body and mind had experienced the kind of pain and torture that he could inflict upon her if she did not keep to his expectations.

A worthy successor of the Sith must be infallible. It only took that one slip, that one oversight, to bring down even the mightiest of Dark Lords. For the Sith Order to survive, its inheritors must never make such mistakes.

"I have also been hearing," her Master continued, "whispers. There is something that is calling out to any who shall listen. It is summoning any who believes that they are worthy."

Morden had not been having such premonitions, of any dark whispers in her ear, but it did not matter. Halting in front of her, her Master turned and pointed a finger down at her.

"You will be the one that will go. A test from not only this mysterious benefactor but a test from me. On this journey you may not only be proving your worth to this faceless entity but your worth to the Sith. And in the end you may, perhaps, prove worthy to continue the Rule of

 

ooc: Been a while for me. I´ll need to dust of my RP-writing skills a bit. So be patient with me.

Haru Mura
Outside the Jedi Council Chamber, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

His lack of tension surprised nobody as much as Haru himself. Summoned by the council. There were infinite reasons for possible explanations to this summoning. Infinte reasons thinkable. The sad truth about the force. Once you fully accepted it, your own thoughts were the only barrier remaining in the galaxy. His hands folded behind his back while he waited patiently. His robes hang loosely to the side, revealing his lightsaber. His eyes remained calm, as they stared down into the Coruscant streets. Life. It was everywhere. Millions of sentinent beings were making trillions of decisions on billions of worlds. All of them connected through the force into one melt of life that was the galaxy. And finally they were all connected to every single being out there. Including him. He did not ownder why he was here. He actually already knew. Because it was the will of the force. And he had stopped questioning that. Or trying to predict it. He simply listened to it´s guidance.

The thing he wondered about was, why the council believed he was here. What was it they needed him to do. He assumed it was something they needed from him. For a lecture the Council´s request of him had been too urgent. There was nothing to debrief him about. Actually he hadn´t reported them too many details about his nightly activities. And he knew the Council had known far too long about his love affair to make it an issue now. His detective senses told him, this was not another case of the council making it clear, he was not a proper Jedi. Through elimination of all other possibilities he came to the conclusion, this was a task they would give him. A rare event. So the question remained . . . what kind of task?

He heard his loved ones words in his mind. Always follow the leads and be patient. Mira said that a lot, but she was actually not the most patient being herself. It was always him advising the cautious ways. Always him to sense the dangers above. His sixth sense she called it. He called it the force. Whatever the proper name was, it was now sending him subtle waves of great danger ahead.

He returned his mind to the enigma of his summoning. The final clue about the nature of Councils request was the Padawan. A young woman, he had sensed approaching. He did not know her. How could he? He had never trained outside his father´s house and the Council would probably let schoolbooks and droids do the training, before they assigned a Padawan to him.
But he felt her presence in the force. A strong presence. Yet not completely shaped, like that of a Jedi Knight. Although he guessed, she could not be far away from completion of her training.
?This will be interesting.? He sighed, as he turned towards the young Jedi woman. A kind smile on his lips, he watched her for a moment. She looked . . . traditional. Like a true Jedi. Young, but probably not younger than he was, when he hunted criminals with his Master to complete his training. With his father.

Haru gave her a slow and respectful nod. Only then his hands released each other from behind his back and he folded them again in front of his belly. His robes fell to his sides once more and his lightsaber was concealed again. As he did not wear the traditional robes of a Jedi little would have revealed he was one. The girl could surely feel it though.

?My greetings Padawan. My name is Haru Mura. May I assume you were summoned to the Council for this meeting, too?? He asked and a smile played around his lips for a second.
He realized he had not identified himself by rank. The Jedi Council would probably love that.

Tag: HS29, Sarge

 

Morden Szorn
Ambria, Unknown Settlement

There is always another kind of darkness. Do not forget Morden. Do not forget.

Death was omnipresent in the remains of the settlement. She could feel it in the force and she could see it with her eyes. Smell it, as the flesh began to rot and even hear it in the absence of sound. The kill had been not very elegant. It had been a massacre. The work of a butcher who used raw power instead of elegance and stealth. Morden kneeled besides a severed arm and allowed her eyes to absorb the scene. From under her hood they were little more than two yellowish glowing points. There was no danger here, anymore. No immediate danger, at least. But darkness. Sweet, vibrating darkness.

Death was Morden´s companion. It had always been death to show her the way. Death whispered to her, wherever she went. But rarely could she heae it so clear as she could here. Or was it the Dark Side itself whispering in her mind? The power she searched offered itself ot her. Power. That was what the whispers promised her. Great power. It was what she desired. Therefore it was the obvious bait to use against her, too. a hunter was always cautious if he saw what he desired. A hunter always kept his perspective. A great hunter considered the perspective of the prey, too. That way he remained sure, he was still the one hunting. Morden wasn´t sure anymore. And this insecurity was sweet. Thrilling. It was what she had hoped for.

A wave of her fingers and the severed arm that lay in front of her slowly rised from the ground. She made it hovering in front of her eyes, as she inspected it. Someone with a more primitive weapon had severed this. A blade, nevertheless. He had left nobody behind. Only bits and pieces. Therefore he had known how to strike to maximize the losses. And he had been brutal. Probably mindless. Powerful enough not to be overpowered by numbers. Morden allowed a thin smile to appear on her lips. He had enjoyed it. She realized that she and the murderer of this place had at least one thing in common. had he been drawn to this place like her? Summoned? Or had he originated from here? Maybe awakened by the dark surge her Master had felt? Or even trained, tainted and coourpted over time by the darkness that called this place it´s home?

And the place itself . . . it seemed to be drowning reality in the void of the Dark Side. It was intoxicating. Much like the whispers, she thought. And Morden closed her eyes to listen to them. It was hard to keep a clear head in this environment. But the will of a Sith was not overpowered easily.

Morden allowed the arm to drop and raised back to her feet. She realized in a deadly cold nod, that her Master had made a mistake. This was a great power at work. A relevant power. It wasn´t subtle, or even sneaky. It was something raw. Something deadly. Something she would use to destroy her Master and become the Dark Lord of the Sith herself, once she had mastered it. Had he known this? Probably.

Morden often had suspected her Master to be tired of his existence. Every Sith trained his apprentice, so one day the student would be the Master and the Master would be nothing but history. But her Master had seemed to accelerate the process. So many things were still to learn. Morden still had to master the powers of the mind and precognition. But she knew she had it in herself. Boosts of skill while meidtating had showed her she had no boundaries in her mastery of hte force. And she also knew the holocrons and ancient tomes would be sufficient teachers. The one side of her training she really needed, the one side she could only learn through practice . . . had been her focus of training since the first day. Her master had made her a deadly weapon. A murderer. A duelist. He had taught her to kill. He had taught her to kill anything. There was only one prey she still had to test her skills on. Her Master.

But she wasn´t ready yet. Not quite yet. She still had to grow ... to become more powerful ... more deadly. And until

 

IC: Bran Teralyn
Te Rya City, Belkov

"We're on duty," Bran reminded Milo.

There was no heat in that rebuke, though. It was hard to insist on full discipline when things were routine and quiet, and things were always routine and quiet. Sure things were technically bad enough that a curfew had been placed and squads sent to patrol the streets, but Bran privately thought that this was a gesture meant more to reassure the populace than actually catch criminals. It wasn't like gunships were exactly quiet. You could hear them coming from at least a block away.

The sandwich did smell good though.

He sighed and shifted a bit in his seat, peering out a viewport. "See anything?"

TAG: Sarge

 

Nate Carrack
En route to Coruscant, aboard the Wombat

The sleep was still in his eyes as his body jerked awake. Nate hated that feeling. Sudden, uncomfortable, no warning - all things he despised, though he'd also be the first one to say that he thrived in such situations. It was refreshing, at least in the real world, to be thrown in the deep end now and then. This dream was something else, though. Had he even seen the woman before? Maybe she was an old acquaintance, or...something. Psychiatrists would be able to iterate on that in a much better fashion than he could. The idea of necessity was haunting him more and more these days.

And speaking of necessity, there was a matter at hand that needed tending. Merchandise to Belkov - god, he hoped it wasn't narcotics - and money. Money to buy food, money to hire a crew, money to keep flying. He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Almost there. Almost."

The idea of exhaustion was also haunting lately; he needed some sort of pace he could keep that wouldn't leave him wiped out at the end of the day. At least a crew could have a night shift.

An alarm sounded - he'd arrived at Coruscant. The ship's hyperdrive started making different noises and the blue void of hyperspace became filled with stars and a great shining planet. Coruscant. He punched in coordinates and took the helm, letting the ship cruise gently towards the atmosphere.

He ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Almost there."

Almost.

Tag: Sarge

 

ooc: Usually I try to avoid making the 13th post, but it doesn´t happen so often I sit in front of my computer and actually do have time.

Haru Mura
Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Haru couldn´t help but allow an amused smile to play around his lips. Not because it was so funny this girl was worried about the Council. No, it reminded him so much of himself and his endless hours of waiting to see the Council. His keen ears heard her murmuring about trouble and his look turned to the still closed doors of the Council´s chamber. They had asked for him him and a Padawan. Surely they did not do this to lecture the Padawan. Haru was not an obvious, likely or even acceptable choice of a bystander when the Council shared his wisdom. And if there was any kind of agreement among the Jedi than it was probably, that Haru´s job on Coruscant was important. They cdid not call him back from his hunt, lightly. They had summoned them for something else. And the urgency of the summoning pointed to an obvious reason for him to be there. A mission.

But why the Padawan. Probably his words on their last meeting had greater effect than he had thought, if they send a Padawan at his side on a mission. More likely it were her skills needed for this task. Or he should serve as a bad example of something to her. No, no. The urgency. The sort notice meant something was happening and the Council wanted to do something about it. Whatever they did in the times of peace, they were Jedi. All their differences with Haru meant nothing to any of them, if his skills were needed to do the will of the Force. It would be no great crisis, or greater more accepted Jedi would have been called. But something was happening.

"That might depend on what you consider to be trouble, Kalyn." Haru said to the girl, turning back to her. His hands returned to his back. "I am sure you did nothing wrong. My presence is more than unusual in matters of training." He gave her another calm smile, hoping some of his patience would transfer to her. It was a dim hope at best. "You might find out, that there are many ways to be in trouble, though." Haru felt with her. Obviosuly she had not dealt too many times before with the Council. It had to be a lot of pressure. He wondered what they expected of him and had to grin a boyish grin, when he realised what a proper Jedi might have done. "And if they hoped I would lecture you on patience, while they keep us waiting . . . they did not know me. It is the only healthy and natural reaction from a Padawan to consider a summoning like this to be . . . what did you call it . . . nerve-wrecking?"

Haru nodded assuring to the girl and turned his face to the large doors. "But we won´t have to wait any longer. I actually assume they just waited for both of us to arrive."


Tag: HS29, Sarge221

 

Ambria
Shores of Lake Natth

On her way to Lake Natth, Morden had not seen any sign of who could've been responsible for the butcher at the settlement. She had, however, noticed the increasingly oppressive, dark presence that started to make the air thick. For any normal person the change would've been most uncomfortable. For the weak-minded, it would drive them insane.

What Morden now felt was the dark side; pure, concentrated dark side the likes of which that she hadn't experienced at such magnitude. Other then a failed dark ritual, the concentration of dark energies that has permanently scarred Ambria are also said to contain the spirits of not only the failed Sith sorceress but of other Sith lords that had been drawn to Ambria, passed away, and had their spirits remain to bathe in the dark side for all eternity where they would welcome followers of the darkness...or tear any servants of the light limb-from-limb that would dare brave the surface of Ambria.

Being so attuned to the dark side, it was the voices of the departed that spoke to Morden; the maniacal laughter and boasts of power that they had achieved during their path to greatness. Within her very mind she could see brief flashes of defeated foes slain at her feet, scores of Sith Knights and troopers kneeling at her feet, prisoners that were cut open either as sacrifices or simple entertainment. What she was seeing were memories of conquest and other dark achievements that these dead Sith Lords had accomplished in life.

But that could not dissuade her from her hunt. Despite the images of glory that had been accomplished in the past, it was the whispers of the present that kept her on point and the promises concerning her future that led her to a certain point on the shores of Lake Natth.

And at that point were three figures. While one was knelt right at the edge of the shore, hovering over the dark, poisoned waters of Lake Natth, there were two that stood on either side like some guardians. When Morden approached, the two guards immediately turned to face her.

Their clothing were fairly nondescript; black robes, complete with flowing capes, similar to what your standard Sith would be attracted to. However, their faces were bare and that was where things got interesting. The red skin, tendrils that hung down from high cheekbones, and small horns that poked out from their cranium. They stared at the intruder with glowing yellow eyes, their lips pulling back in a snarl that showed rows of pointed teeth.

They were Sith, but not in the way that Morden was. These specimens were of the actual species that had been the rightful owners of the Sith name. The same Sith that a group of Fallen Jedi had discovered before enslaving and using them to create what would be known as the great Sith Empire of old. Between factors such as the Fallen Jedi interbreeding with the Sith and the wars that had seen so many of them dead, any pure-blooded Sith had been considered to be extinct long before Kaan had established his Brotherhood of Darkness. The only reason that Morden would recognize these two as Sith would be the detailed descriptions that her Master had given her during one of her first lessons; like the species, any pictures or holograms of them are nearly as extinct.

Each Sith carried a double-bladed sword and it was these swords that they brandished against Morden as they got into a combat-ready stance; feet spread, blades crossed protectively against their charge, ready to engage Morden if she approached. Even at this distance Morden can make out the blood on the blades of their weapons; blood that had not yet dried.

It was only when the individual that remained kneeling, his back turned to the scene, raised a hand. Apparently a silent command, the two red-skinned Sith eased and then stepped aside to their original posts with one blade of their swords planted into the ground, their yellow eyes staring forward. Having been staring at Morden with such vicious intent, they now ignored her completely and were as immobile as statues. After

 

IC: Bran Teralyn
Belkov

Bran's heart thudded just a little bit faster as he stood up. Action, at last. After nights of nothing, they were finally going to have a chance to use their very thorough combat training. Even if it was just some crazies who had taken too many drugs or something, anything to break the monotony was a good thing.

No need to tell his men to hook up; they were already pulling hooks from their belts and reaching up to their rappel lines. Bran did likewise (and was pleased to see his hand was steady; he didn't want to show nerves or excitement).

"Set rifles to stun," the young lieutenant ordered rapidly. "Let's not have any civilian blood on our hands, even if they bite. Standard night sweep, quick and easy, stick together and stay in the floodlight. Milo, you're point." Might as well; Bran'd bet a week's pay the trooper would be charging out in front, and if he was going to do it anyway it might as well be incorporated into the plan. "We'll sweep through the alleyways until we find 'em."

"Three...two...one! Go, go, go!"

As predicted, Milo was first. "Go, go!" Bran waited a heartbeat until the other two had jumped - you always went last, if you were in charge - and then swung out after his men. And then it was just like in training: a few dizzying seconds of free-fall, then a thump as his booted feet hit the ground. Sink into a crouch to absorb the shock of impact. Unclip, pull rifle out, click the safety off (a glance at the power setting: yes, stun). Around him Bran could see the others doing the same. Good.

He signalled Milo forward.

TAG: Sarge

 

Morden Szorn
Lake Naath, Ambria

He eyes could not leave the faces of the three red skinned men. They were actually as she had imagined them. The Sith. The true Sith. The original carrier of the name. The visions that had tried to distract her, had already hinted at something ancient. And something less subtle. Cruelty. Power. She had been right, actually. It was a raw form of the Dark Side. The atavistic origin of her Order. And she had actually found three of them alive.

The warriors seemed eager at first to kill her. How she would have loved to cross her blades with those men. Their ancient mastery against all the things she had learned, these Sith could not even have dreamt of. But she was not here to hunt. Not yet. Power. It was power she was after and the third, the small one . . . he seemed to be pure power. A being made to wield power. Power for it´s own sake. The power only Empires wielded. He was different from her Master, different from most Sith who had raised and fallen over the many years of galactic history. He was meant to rule by birhtright. A relic. And he was also the result of a failed reign. He was proud, he was mighty. He was blind and ignorant. He was the most rewarding prey she could imagine. These Sith had been the beginning, the first step down the path Kaan had finally lead their heirs. Strength in numbers. The opposite of the Rule of Two.

Wrapping her mind in a shroud of dark energy, shielding her thoughts Morden allowed a grin crawl on her face. She knew what to do. She would take every bit of power they had to offer and then she would use them, kill them or get rid of them in another way. She would be there doom. Not a Jedi. It would be her. But first. Power.

"Many things have changed since you once roamed this galaxy, Ancient One. The Sith of your age are no more. Some say, the Sith are a thing of the past indeed." She lay her head to the side. Her grin freezed on her face. Now that she had pointed out his weakness, his handicap . . . his lack of knowledge . . . she had to lure him in. "I am not the one you called. But I am the one who came. Who dared to come." Her head returned to the upright position. She would not identify herself as Sith. The Rule of Two had to be protected, even from other Sith. Especially from them. The Sith might guess it, but she had to be a strange creature for him, too. He had probably never met any Sith outside his Empire. "I am the only one who dared to face you and I am the one you will share your power. Or it will be yours alone, always." And that´s not why you summon people, is it?

A ressurected Sith was a dangerous ally. He could kill her, if she was not vigilant. Her best chance to kill him had already passed without her doing anything. It would have been, when he stopped his guards. The moment of hesitation, would have been perfect for a quick strike. She needed him.

Resurrected enemies were always dangerous. They were powerful, or they wouldn´t have come back. But they were always incompetent, too. Or they would not need to be resurrected. So whatever stasis this Sith had been in, she would make sure she did not share his fate in the end.

Looking to the two warriors she snarled. "But if you don´t believe me, you can sacrifice one of your remaining servants and I will proof my worth. Wasn´t it done that way in the old days? Back when you ruled a galaxy?" Her cold eyes turned to the central Sith again. "So long, so very long ago?" She added, almost mocking.

He would need her. He would need her understanding of this age. She had to teach him that. Even if it meant, she had to provoke him.

Such a dangerous game. She loved every second of it. And with a deep breath she allowed the power of the Dark Side to flow into her. Absorbing Lake Naath´s cold and deadly aura. As she closed her eyes she felt and they opened again transformed into the sickly yellowish eyes of a snake.

Tag: Sarge221

 

Haru Mura
Jedi Council Chambers, Coruscant

The door opened just as he had expected it to be. And the absence of the Council seemed to strengthen his point. A mission, not a disciplinary measure.

With an encouraging nod to the Padawan Haru entered the chamber. His look passed the empty seats and ended up on the only being present. The Grand Master himself was handing them their task. A surpise, although just a little one. "Grand Master." Haru bowed his head not anymore than he had before the Padawan. His respect did not show in gestures and it never had. Then his eyes fixed on the Jenet and soaked in every detail. Even Jedi betrayed themsevles in the details. Or as the Corellians said, it was where the devil was at home.

"Knight Mura, Padawan Frey. You have both been summoned here for a task that the Council believes that you will be fit to take on." The Grand Master looked straight at him. His eyes met hers without any hesitation or hostility. "One of my most esteemed colleagues, Master Majan, had spoken with much favor in your name Knight Maru...despite the opinions of the other members of the Council. Nonetheless, I agree with him that you are the perfect candidate." Haru simply nodded. Master Majan. It had been a long time since he had seen him. "I hope the Master is fine." He therefore simply replied and did not expect an answer. That he would accept was a given. The Grand master would know that.

A task that required his skills meant there would be some sort of criminal or investigative part to this job. In other words, the enemy was unknown or dangerous. when Haru had been younger he had wished to face the Sith. to proof his worth in combat. Only nowm, years later he had learned how dark, sinister and ovrly complicated the life of criminals as. It made them unpredictable. And Jedi were vulnerable, when they failed to predict the future. It was part of the way the viewed the world. aware of the force and it´s motions. These skills often failed, when criminals were involved. And the younger they were, the more vulnerable they would be.

A little more concerned than before he turned to the young Padawan at his side. "As for you, Padawan Frey, you have been chosen to assist Maru in this latest case. I have been watching over your training with great care and, if what I'm told is true, it seems that you've been making great strides in your training. With that, I believe that you could use some real experience." It did not escape Haru that the council had called it a case. But that almost got swallowed by his surprise. Was he assigend a Padawan? Even a temporary assigment was a surprise to him. Send a young Jedi with him on a mission was a surprising show of trust from the Jedi Order. Then again, they probably knew he would not allow anything to happen to her. No matter what the cost. He couldn´t help but show his surprise about this twist anyway, as he looked at the Master. Then he turned back to Frey.

Haru just nodded in agreement. A nod with which he was showing her they would do this together. Radiating it into the force, he breathed out. He fought down a smile, as he realized how very hard this would be to sell to his girlfriend. Her Padawan/Master jokes were legend. And would probably now backfire all at once.
He turned his full concentration on the task at hand. Grand Masters did not hand out unimportant missions. This was something huge. Something dangerous, probably. And surely something important. It was the kind of task he had hoped for for thirty years. An irony that he was handed it now, that he felt no victory about it. Irony? No, he realized. It was just now, that he was ready for it.

"So what is it the Council wishes us to do?"

Tag: HS29

 

Ambria
Lake Natth

"Your knowledge is...impressive," the giant, black Sith allowed and he nodded his head in a way that seemed to imply as if he was confirming something for himself. "Your knowledge of both the past and the present. However..."

Silence was all that Morden received for a long, slow minute. During that time, the Sith stared at her with a gaze that was not broken even by one little blink. But blink he did at the end and his eyes narrowed at her. One hand was raised to his head and with one finger he tapped against his own scalp.

"You think knowledge alone can prove your worth to me? Especially when your knowledge is incomplete? In a time when the entire galaxy had been one, when it had been ruled by a single faction that had only been known as the Builders...there was one world that had resisted. One world that had fought back. One world that had managed to win.

"A world that had been mine. With an empire that had been mine. An empire the likes of which will never be seen again. You may know this but what you don't know..."

The hand at his head came forward and one finger pointed to Morden. "...is that you have destroyed everything. You and your patron have started a cycle that will see the destruction of everything. You have disrupted the very balance itself! And for that...he has returned to restore it."

The Sith started walking forward towards Morden, one hand clutching the hilt of his battle-axe but not making any move to use it. When he did stop, at least five meters of distance separated the two but Morden could get a clear view as to how big he was. He towered over her easily and his broad shoulders and gigantic frame hid everything else from her view such as the two Sith guards and the entirety of Lake Natth.

"No," the giant Sith spoke. "Knowledge alone will not save you. It will not prove your worthiness to gain not only my knowledge but my power. We shall see how much your power measures up."

The Sith raised his axe but did not move to attack Morden. Instead, the black-skinned Sith stepped back and motioned to his guards with his weapon. During one particular giant step back, Morden was able to see one of the Sith guards reappear, already resuming the combat stance that he had taken up before.

But she only saw the one Sith guard still standing at the shore of Lake Natth.

Behind Morden came the sound of something landing only a couple feet behind her.

Behind her, the second Sith guard swung to take the head off her shoulders with his sword.

TAG: SirakRomar







Coruscant
Jedi Temple

"I'm sure you have heard the world known as Belkov?" Master Coven asked but the question was more for Haru rather then Kalyn as the latter had probably been too engrossed with her training at the Temple to become too involved with news of the Republic. "It's one of the latest worlds that the Republic has discovered and despite such recent discovery there's already a colony of half a million people that is currently established. Untouched by war and, indeed, untouched by any kind of previous civilization, Belkov is a fresh world with an abundance of resources. It's these resources that the Republic wish to claim in hopes of finally repairing and wiping away the damage that over a millennia of conflict with the Sith has caused. It's why they're investing so much attention and hopes on Belkov."

The Grand Master frowned. "While initial colonization efforts have gone smoothly, there have been a recent spike of unsettling activities; kidnapping, sabotage, smuggling of unauthorized material and equipment. It's the latest issue that you will be looking into. Though our information is still sketchy at best, the Council believes that a source of those smuggling operations is stationed on Coruscant itself due to reports and investigations that have been issued by the Coruscant Police Force. It's your ties with the police force that makes you a prime candidate for this assignment Knight Mura."

Her hands having been concealed in the flowing sl

 

Morden Szorn
Lake Natth, Ambria

Morden did not move as both of them tried to get into attack position with style and grace. Too much attitude. Too little knowledge of her abilities. She had the advantage here and was very aware of that. These men could hardly have any knowledge of her abilities, while she had at least an idea of their reportoire. So her hand stayed on her lightsaber and waited patiently. It were splitseconds, but with all of her existence accelerated by the adrenaline in her blood and the Dark Side pouring into her . . . it seemed like ages she waited. The feet of the man behind her set down. And already he was swinging his weapon. A weapon, that other than her would have considerable weight. He tried to surprise her with a quick strike to kill her. Obviously a reckless, aggressive fighter who had sacrificed a great advantage because of his anger. The moment the air began to shriek from the blade cutting the air, Morden forced her body down and fell to her knees. she half turned meanawhile, charged with as much kinetic might as she could summon in these short moments. And finally - after an endless half of a second - she extended her arm and released the wave of it right into the man. As she felt her wave hit him, she was already leaping back up to her feet. Turning back to the second attacker and without having ignited or revealed her lightblade yet stared at him.

Balance. They were worried about balance of the force? Morden allowed a mocking smile to appear on her face, despite the mortal danger of three ancient Sith she was in. She enjoyed this. It was a hunt. One worthy of experiencing. Her hands already felt like they charged again, ready to release the next wave of energy. Against the man behind her or the second guard. Whoever dared attack first. She would keep her lightblade back. Not because of arrogance. She tried to lure them into her trap. Provoke them. Anger would lead to mistakes. Because anger had to be refined and controlled. These Sith would never understand that. It had been their downfall once and it would be once more.

And if all failed, Morden was pretty sure there were a lot of things that had developed over the last few hundred years, these Sith had never seen when it came to duelling technique . . . no need to reveal it to early.

"Your turn." Morden hissed. And readied herself, without moving her lean, hooded body.

TaG: Sarge

 

IC: Bran Teralyn
Belkov

Bran was not, as a general rule, someone who got afraid easily. Which is not to say he was fearless, in the way that really meant reckless - he was as cautious and careful as anyone - but in any given situation he was likely to be the guy still carrying out his duties and issuing orders in a calm voice after everyone else had fallen apart. He'd even earned a commendation in basic for 'calm under fire'.

But there was something deeply horrifying, on a primal level, about the state of those suspects.

They didn't - they weren't - they didn't look human. Bran's logical mind scrabbled at that: he'd been taught, since he was very young, that humanity wasn't a base standard upon which to judge beings. That other species were no less for looking different. But this was not the same thing at all - these people were human, recognisably so, and thus their gray skin and shambling gait made them reprehensible.

His mind shifted to a more recently-ingrained instinct: it was the commander's job in any search-and-apprehend situation to order the suspects to halt. He was the commander. Bran opened his mouth to shout the words that he had been taught -

- and the first suspect let out a strangled cry and charged.

Milo fired first. The stun bolt hit the suspect square in the chest - and he kept running.

Fierfek!

"Open fire!" Bran yelled. He squeezed the trigger, the stun bolt leaping around Milo towards the lead suspect, and beside him the other two did the same. He kept firing, one stun bolt after another, in the general direction of the half-dozen beings running towards them.

TAG: Sarge

 

Nate Carrack
Private Hangar 43A

Nate smiled as warmly as he could, given the circumstances. "Uh, pleasant enough. Obviously some...nerves? About this whole situation, I should say. Never really had any jobs quite as, uh, upscale." He paused, searching for the right word. "Nothing quite so professional. In my line of work, it's often a...luxury to experience this, ah, level of professionalism."

For an instant he was hit with the worried notion that he hadn't shaved, then remembered.

"It's...it's an interesting change of pace. Not that it's bad! Change is good."

He rubbed the five-o'clock shadow on his chin, blinked twice, and let a grin settle on his face. "But business first. Shall we discuss the job?"

Tag: Sarge

 

ooc: snaeaked in a short one to make sure we can move one.

Haru Mura
Council Chambers, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

The young girl was eager to take the mission. He could feel it. Something he had been betrayed of by his father. The thrill of a first mission. he was raised "on missions" and trained in practice from his early days on. Nevertheless, he felt she might be to eager. He hoped it did not blind her for the purpose of their mission.

Anyway, he had been assigned to track down a criminal and so he would.

"Grandmaster, I think the many questions remaining are now for us to answer. We will report as soon as we have found anything substantial."

He nodded once more and then gestured the Padawan to leave. "Grandmaster." He only said as a goodbye and followed the girl out. Only when the doors outside were closed he turned to her and smiled. "I assume this is your first mission, right?" He asked. Actually he had guessed the answer already. "An interesting choice of the Council to assign you to such a first mission, actually." He mused, trying to get a feeling for his new partner.

On their way down he already contacted Mira. they had to talk. Had to find Mr. Shadow and his whereabouts. And he had to try and explain to her his new partner.

Maybe she would even be happy to see him hanging around with fellow Jedi. Hanging around . . . yeah.

Tag: Sarge, HS29

 

OOC: SILLY BOARDS ARE SILLY!


Belkov
Te Rya City, Alley

Bran didn't need to tell the others that. Before he had finished the entire sentence the dark alley was filled with blue stun bolts that were fired at the approaching suspects that are clearly proving to be hostile. Just like Milo's first shot, however, the stun bolts seemed to be hardly affecting the people as, at best, they stumbled upon getting hit but refused to stop. It was only when the lead man had been hit with several of the blue bolts that it stumbled, fell, and, thankfully, didn't get up again.

By then the small mob had already closed in on the troopers. One of the others - a woman who had clumps of blond hair falling off her head - finally succumbed to the stun bolts as well. Unfortunately, that still left four individuals; more then half of their numbers.

And two of them overwhelmed Milo. Right in front of Bran's eyes he saw how two of the hostiles practically pounced on the younger trooper, bringing him to the ground. Milo's terrified screams echoed in Bran's helmet but that was hardly as distracting as one of the hostiles that was now coming for the lieutenant. Up close, Bran could see how the gray flesh of the man was not only breaking out in boils and weeping, bloody wounds but it was practically disintegrating. The man's nose and ears were missing, the cartilage having been removed.

One of his cheeks were missing as well, leaving him half of a permanent grin of cracked and broken teeth. And yet the man still managed to make a hissing sound from the back of his throat as he approached, his hands reaching out, his fingers curled as if ready to slash at Bran's neck.

TAG: DarthXan318





Coruscant
Private Hangar 43A

"There are no complications with this job," the Twi'lek known as Mr. Shadow assured upon hearing Nate's uncertainties. "It is a simple assignment and one that I'm sure will not deviate from your comfort zone. Your ship is to be loaded with a shipment of merchandise that is to be delivered to Belkov. We will load the ship for you, you will pilot to Belkov at a designated landing zone, and the merchandise will be taken off your hands as easily as that with you walking away with a large sum of credits."

Pulling a datapad out from his jumpsuit, brown Twi'lek punched a few keys. "I have already authorized the transportation of the shipment and it will be here momentarily. As you know, the only requirement that we have asked about this deal is that the merchandise is to remain anonymous; you will not know what you will be carrying. This is not a problem for you, yes?"

TAG: Penguinator-176




Ambria
Lake Natth

Morden?s blast of energy had sent her opponent flying back upon being hit. Despite her attack, the Sith was hardly out of the fight. Though flying and tumbling to the ground, the red-skinned warrior rolled and leaped back up at his feet. Dirt and a couple tears in his robes were the only visible signs of any damage that Morden managed to inflict upon him.

Both he and the other Sith raised a hand at Morden. From the guard that had yet to engage her, Force-charged lightning leapt from his fingertips, bathing the surrounding darkness in a sudden eruption of white and blue light as bolts of electricity shot at Morden. Instead of standard Force lightning that shot in a stream, these bolts twisted and turned in mid-air, stretching outwards in a shroud that sought to trap Morden. From behind her, from the opponent that she had blasted away, the first Sith launched a blast of Force energy similar to what Morden had sent his way.

But just like the lightning, this push was stretched out. Powerful but encompassing several feet across in an attempt to make it more difficult to dodge. Both of the Force attacks ? one of lightning and one of pure, kinetic energy ? sought to close in around Morden from front and back to put her in a painful, Force-filled embrace that sought to both crush her bones and possibly sear the flesh from her body.

The leader of the