A massive cataclysm has struck the universe, and destroyed most everything in its wake. The survivors are now trying to pick up the pieces, and figure out exactly what has befallen them. Gather together, lightsiders!! The darkness has shattered the peace and calm of the galaxy...and they will do anything to stop anyone from finding out exactly what has been done! This is our first sitewide RP plotline. Lightsiders, you are looking for the source of this massive event. Clues must be found, lackeys tracked down, and bits of memory discovered. Darksiders, you guys don't want that to happen....because of the one behind the whole thing is furthering his ultimate goal. Mandalorians, and non-force users, you guys can decide where you stand on this line....do you side with the Jedi, and try to discover the reasons behind the ruined universe, or will you side with the darkness, and protect those secrets. Will the secret of the cataclysmic reaping be kept under wraps? Or will the Jedi and their allies find out the truth? Your RP and writing will decide the outcome!
BATTLE ARENA
Welcome to The Saga Continues. We have a section called the Battle Arena. Here you can use your characters to fight other characters. Hone your skills and see what you are made of. Don't worry, anything that happens here, does not effect your characters in posts, so if your character dies, you can still use them over and over. Have fun and check it out!
The Saga Continues is the product of the mind of ADMIN ADI; all contents are copyright their original owners. All characters belong to their original creators, and may not be used or replicated without permission. All images are copyright their original owners. This skin Operation Mindcrime was made by pharaoh leap of Pixel Perfect and put together by ADMIN KRYSTAL
The Galaxy cried out in agony. Those sensitive to the Force were made violently aware as it reeled and writhed, desperate to be free of the wicked grip that had taken it. It was a depraved and parasitic bond, one where the Dark Jedi placed his enmity and malice into the world, and the Force itself burned.
Inversely, as agony took the Force, it also took Alkor. He felt the heat rise in his blood, bringing his body to uncomfortable new levels of warmth. His skin glowed an orange-golden color as he commanded the pillars of flame to rise and twist, spiral, and flow outward. They ignited new areas of the building.
The serpentine flames billowed outward, expanding as he exhaled. Breath like a dragon dried out his tongue and burned his lips. His eyes glowed a deep red color. Darkness took its toll on his body, as it was wont to do.
Really, we're throwing shuttles now....what is this a pissing contest with the force? she thought to herself with a slight sigh. Her eyes turned to watch as one of the people who had been in the lab jumped up onto the the shuttle as troopers poured into the area from transports that set down after the grand entrance of the sith lords. She always forgot that she couldn't hide herself from thermal scopes since most people she worked with didn't really use them. There was s slight bit of surprise as the Cathar troopers fired a salvo towards her position, only to see the one on the shuttle save her ass and cast the grenades back at the troopers who had fired them. Well if the troopers knew she was there then others would know soon enough so why not have change tactics and harass the sith lords for a moment before helping clear out some of the troopers.
Detaching her sabers from the mount on her lower back she sent one unignited hurtling through the air in an arc from behind the rubble towards Abbadon. She followed the the saber using a burst of force speed along with strength to propel her at the troopers the saber still in hand igniting as she started to deflect the blaster fire coming at her and dodging what she couldn't deflect. The saber spinning towards Abbadon ignited moments before it came into potential striding range not that she expected it to hit him.
She had managed to dash up the troopers who had just taken their own grenades and was cutting down the ones still standing. The purple blade in her hand cutting through them and their armor. The smell of molten metal and rapidly burned flesh filling her nostrils causing her face to scrunch up a little bit. The smoke from the grenades stung her eyes causing them to water a little bit blurring her vision slightly. She never had gotten used to fighting large groups of enemies but there was always a first time for everything. This trial by fire would be just that and she hoped she could make it out of this alive though her chances were dwindling the longer this fight was drug out.
All Knowledge is valuable, you just need to know who to offer it to.
Dash slid falling backwards, feeling the heat of the molten durasteel wash over his face as it narrowly missed him by inches. He was up in an instant a second saber unignited in his, it flared to life, its brilliant emerald blade shining and humming next to the gold. "Cheap tricks, I expect nothing less from the Sith." Dash muttered moving quickly to behind a pillar as the area was peppered with grenades his charge interrupted for now. "Kirwin! Take him!" Dash roared as he ran down the side of the atrium behind the pillars towards where the shuttle had flown from and once more into denser fog. He could see blaster shots and the glow of fire in different areas but not much else, his force sense was clogged by the power of whoever had thrown the saber. Dash took a breath and focused. He cleared his mind, and reached, he could now feel the different troopers on the left side of the room, and he waded into smog, sabers flashing, moving quickly from one trooper to the next, but only on the edges. Avoiding the palpable eddy of darkness that stood in the center. Close at hand the being he had first felt was surging in power, Dash wondered vaguely how many of these bastards there could be.
I am nothing but Shadow against Shadow, for that is my path and my way.
For most battles, the outcome often waged on who would make the first mistake. That and the awareness of what was happening around oneself at every moment. And that included foreign objects that entered the area. Much was taking place right now, but little of it effected the Sith Lord that remained within the veil. Around him, there were multiple soldiers that remained, and of those there were still the 23 of his men and far more from Andor.
Abaddon kept his senses about himself and kept himself aware as his aura pulsed outward more and more savagely. Nothing escaped his senses for any disciple of the Force was taught to hone those each and every day they lived. It did not matter whether you followed the truth presented through Bogun, or the misguided righteousness of the Jedi, this was the core of everything the Force had to offer. As such, the explosions taking place were not without his knowledge. The deaths of each soldier, he felt and their pain fueled his rage for that is the very fuel that stoked the flames that were rage.
As the events commenced, the matches seemed to still be undecided. There were two warriors of the galaxy's will against four such beings that sought than more than to obstruct that present within the crumbling atrium. On the outside yet another bringer of the galaxy's justice had begun their own mission of delivering the galaxy's and the Force's will. But still . . . these that fought to protect their great lies were confused and disorganized. And it showed. The indecision was clear and Abaddon could taste the fear that emanated outward from the four, though each would deny it. It was their way to live a life of denial. To preach about the horrors of fear and emotion, yet live in fear of the power and strength such emotions brought. Their hypocritical nature was a bane on the galaxy and one of the very reasons the galaxy and the Force has retaliated so. Hypocrisy was a tool of the weak to attempt to place the blinders over the universe's eyes of the truth.
A smile creased the face of the dark lord behind the mask known simply as Nirwos, a creation of sith alchemy whose power in its own laughed at those without the power or will to conquer it. Bright red-orange orbs flashed in a fiery blaze through the slits cut for one's eyes to see. And a low, malevolent laugh erupted from behind its veil.
(1) "Muri," the dark lord said in his native tongue, his voice cold and deep.(2) "Ri iroi iw nyâsh titi dotrus an ani qorit dzis ri skysosûtas waria satai woi ri tutsi." The language was dark and cruel. It was of a tongue known by only a few that still walked in the galaxy. The language of his people and his ancestors spoken softly as the hilt of a single lightsaber hurled his in his direction.
It took Abaddon no time at all to react as he simply reached out with his right, palm open and extended his grasp through the Force. It took little effort for him to catch the foreign object obviously intended to kill him, and using the Force crush the weapon and render in nothing more than a pile of scrap parts. Even the crystal would be damaged due to the immense pressure placed upon it through the masterful use of a Force Crush. Immediately after he released the fragmented object by tossing it to the side. But, the one who'd made the feeble attempt against him was pressing close, even being as brazen as to into his realm of shadow.
He stood there. Ready for this unknown to be revealed before his eyes with the soldiers of his own force continuing to surround him while unleashing what seemed to be a never ending volley of red bolts. (3) "Dzi tsiu ani tuti. Tadti' an drarina."
(1) "Good."
(2) "The first of many racing toward their end for the weak will perish beneath the strong."
And now it seemed Geir was the only of the servants of the Light that remained back while the others had all pressed what they may have felt to have been an advantage. Dash and pushed early in an attempt that was most likely meant to strike at the Sith before they were given the opportunity to fully formulate their own plans upon seeing the numbers of those that stood against them. Kirwin was rash and jumped straight into action without even a second though as to what may be unfolding on the other side of the downed shuttle, but he only followed his which was clearly in the right place. To protect the innocent and defenseless was their oath and the aggressors here had wasted no time to establish that they were intent on destroying everything they were sworn to protect. However there had been no organization in their efforts. It had all been accomplished on a whim so far and Geir could only pray that what awaited on the other side of the shuttle had not been too overwhelming for Dash and the young exile.
Geir paced forward toward the downed shuttle, circling toward the his right to round the shuttle and eventually bring the Sith Lord (Andor) into view, but to his disbelief, it was only the singular Sith Lord that remained there as both Dash and Kirwin were no longer in the immediate vicinity and to his relief neither lay as corpses on the ground.
The emerald green blade emitted from the large hilt of the lightsaber he carried in hand right now rose with his right hand and angled in the direction of the Sith Lord, though he held his distance to keep a reactionary gap should the Sith Lord launch himself straight into an attack.
You see . . . dueling was the blademaster's strong suit and should he be able to pull the darksider into a one on one engagement with himself, he had the confidence in his own abilities to match and subdue the man. However any assistance from one of the others sworn to defend against this madness would be welcomed greatly.
"These people have no qualms with you; they've done nothing to deserve such butchery. Call off your assault and surrender while you are still able." In all honesty, Geir did not expect the darksider to oblige in the slightest, but if he could draw the man's attention, it would pull his focus from the hundreds of defenseless he sought to slaughter and every second he could afford them in the evacuation efforts, was another second toward another life being saved. The Sith had been a thorn in the side of the Galaxy for as long as they and the Jedi had existed. The dark side of the Force corrupted those that sought to wield it and learn from it. It was a ticket to nothing more than pain, anguish and misery and this was a concept that for as long as he'd had a conscience, Geir had been puzzled by. The willingness of the Sith and those like them to live a life of perpetual pain. A never ending sorrow and rage. Why submit oneself to such torment?
Geir flourished the extended green blade in hand as he rotated his wrist before returning it to the same angle it had been before. He kept his distance, but did not cease his slow circle around the darksider.
And in the blink of an eye, the Zabrak that had so brashly engaged the Lord of Deception was already fleeing, disengaging and running off. Andor's anger exploded, so much so that even the remaining dust and debris that lingered in the air seemed to pulse. "Coward. You can run but Death will still find you." He called out, but remained still. He wanted to run after him, chase him down, and get him. Andor found himself wanting to peel the Zabrak's skin off, one layer at a time, until he got deep enough to analyze how the Jedi had been morphed to such a large size. In his mind, he could imagine the screams, the thrashing, the feeling of a knife gracelessly slicing through flesh.... Goosebumps erupted on the Sith's flesh and he shuddered in euphoric delight.
But his fantasies were short lived as the older Jedi came out from behind the shuttle, emerald blade in hand. Slowly, he advanced upon the Dark Lord. Upon second glance, Andor realized this Jedi was none other than the blade master himself, Master Geir Hammond. Although they had never met in person, Andor had long seen him in various holotapes during the time of the Jedi Order. Geir was one of the many faces of the order and was often spoken of with high regard amongst his peers and the media. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And as all Jedi do, and have always done, he began monologuing, trying to talk him down with "surrender or die" threat. It was so cliched. "Come and make me, Blademaster."
And so the dance began, as the two combatants began to slowly circle one another, neither taking nor giving ground. Andor's blood red eyes never broke contact as he let his blades trail at his sides, still leaving a trail of burning metal. Everything around them had become a dull, distant roar. Blasterfire and explosions seemed to encircle the two as the tension continued to build.......
More and more of the troops continued to come in through the wall, like ants out of the mound. First, the troopers that had fired their grenade launchers at the mound of rubble which hid a fourth bogey watched as their grenades casually came to a stop in mid-air. They came flying backwards, but like all soldiers, these Cathars were trained to always be on the move, and therefore had already scattered yet again, quickly moving out of range as the ground suddenly lit up with the five explosions. But then, they three of them were dropped by blaster fire, their crimson armor becoming scorched with black as small craters seemed to appear out of nowhere. But even as the corpses dropped to the ground. those three troops seemed to multiple and suddenly the five initial troops had turned into fifteen, with even more on their heels. Their rifles raised at the incoming assailant (Kirwin) and they open fired, each pull of the trigger creating a three round burst of crimson lasers that screamed forward to practically incinerate the lightsaber-wielding man.
Even more of the troops continued to press forward, and with only four adversaries, who were predominately occupied with the two Dark Lords of the Sith at the helm, it would be no time at all before they reached the far side of the atrium, where they would disburse into the rest of the Red Dawn Medical Center and leave nothing but death and destruction in their wake.
He may have been exiled for a long while but he had never given up practicing with his lightsaber. In fact, the simulation training grounds of Kamino had been the optimal place to train for something like this, the ex-Jedi moved around the pillar and came face to face with blaster fire. Kirwin quickly rolled underneath the initial barrage of blaster bolts and when he finished the roll in a crouched position his lightsaber was in hand and his blaster had been re-holstered and secured. He ignited the golden blade, the click of the hilt extending an extra third length followed by the snap-hiss of the blade coming to life. The lives of these soldiers were forfeit.
Kirwin quickly blocked the incoming fire almost creating a hemisphere of golden light with how quickly he moved his blade to return any blaster fire sent his way. He then dodged quickly, unaided by the Force, away from the soldiers to keep them at a reasonable range. Kirwin’s cybernetic eye identified the soldiers by their faces and clawed hands as Cathar. According to history the Cathar predominantly sided with the Light side of the Force, why these troops had joined a Sith was beyond him. “Soldiers of Cathar, why do you aid the Sith? They will bring death and destruction to your homes. Whatever they promised you they will not keep. They would sooner stab you in the back than help you. Join the Republic, help the innocent, and bring honor and pride to your family names.” Kirwin called out from the smoke and dust he had moved into to try to obscure the sight of the soldiers from his presence.
The blaster fire either meant that the soldiers didn’t want to join or they couldn’t join from the Sith’s influence on their lives. Kirwin stood, back facing one of the large room’s walls to protect it, as he continued his lightsaber defense. The training he had performed in the old Kaminoan Battle Ground Simulation rooms in his off time had helped him hone the ranged defensive skill to muscle memory. He stood there waiting for a reply from any of the soldiers, “Think of your families, if any of you lost them in this plague, think about who would be heartless enough to release such a disease. Join us in removing that heartlessness from the Galaxy and save your remaining families from the destruction of these Sith!” He did not try to influence their minds with the Force, even though that would make his job oh so much easier. Instead he would let them make their own conscious decisions to sentence themselves to their own destruction.
Dash cut down another trooper in the smoke as flames seemed to flicker from down one of the corridors. The seeming leader of this group of Darksiders was speaking a near dead language. Dying where they? Dash internally scoffed, nobody was dead yet, except the Sith's troops. Speaking of which Dash cut down another one, though these had taken him further from the leader. Dash grunted as a trooper grabbed him from behind. Dash rushed backward and crushed him against a pillar, using his mutated strength to snap the trooper spine, but leaving him alive. "They're as tenacious as insects." He muttered as more tried to move on the hulking Zabrak, he didn't think this through and he was suddenly surrounded. "Great.." He muttered, the one with the broken spine was still screaming behind him. Dash turned and ran up the pillar as the blaster fire rang out and he flipping with the force back cutting them down and reflecting bolts as he did so, before running towards where he had seen a saber thrown moments before. Breathing heavily he ducked behind a pillar and decided to wait a moment for his next move.
I am nothing but Shadow against Shadow, for that is my path and my way.
The world was awash with sensations that served to fuel the swirling coils of flame. They licked at the columns and rafters, eating away greedily at the supports that held the roof in place. A large section shuddered as the foundations collapsed, and chunks of metal began to drip away like teardrops. They streaked the floor molten, leaving a hissing pool of silvery gray.
Alkor reached out toward the hellfire under his command, fingers radiating their own hear as he willed them to expand more. The danger of commanding fire was that there was no reduction- he could only grow the devastation until it ran out of control. It was already well on its way.
A gleam in his eyes hinted at insanity as he manipulated the natural disaster into something that could not be stopped. By now, he was a pulsar radiating in the Force. Luminescent energy lending itself to Honoghr, allowing it to purge a filth that had lingered too long.
If he had not yet been noticed, it would be impossible to miss him now.
Power surged back and forth as though funneled through a circuit. The powerful emotions that permeated the chaos ran into Alkor, and from Alkor into the fire. It grew and ran amok.
The roof began to whine, and columns began to crumble. Safe means of exit slowly grew fewer in number as heat, smoke, and flame barred entrances. Debris from the deteriorating walls fell haphazard.
Soon, the facility would become a hellscape, unbreathable, uninhabitable.
And Alkor continued to feed the Force to itself, burning it out of existence all around him. When at last he was through, the affected area would be barren. Life might one day grow there again, but the Force would never touch it.
The chaos of the grenades being thrown back and the first few being shot or cut down gave her time to loot some undetonated ordinance from the few that had fallen around her, disabling her saber and attaching it to her lower back again. Not much was useful anymore, she picked up two incendiary grenades and one of the blasters along with to additional ammo cells for it. Leaving the blaster set to the three round burst fire for the accuracy she used her force concealment again fading into the smoke easily and waited for the next wave of troopers to push forward into the atrium.
As the next wave pushed in through the smoke and fire she fired into their ranks aiming for the weak points of their armor while they couldn't easily see her not that it would last long. Clearly they could see through the smoke which meant thermal filters on their optical arrays. Most of her shots missed their intended targets after the first one went down revealing the blaster resistant nature of their armor. Casting aside the blaster she primed the incendiary grenades and threw them with just enough time for them to detonate in the closest part of the opening they were pouring through near her. Her saber was in her hand again as she was left without a weapon, flourishing to deflect the barrage of blaster bolts ripping through the newly raging flames she had just added to the area. A wide area was being covered until they could locate their target the flames rendering the thermal filter useless for the moment. The biggest problem would be when the flames eventually died out, she was chiding herself for throwing her saber at the sith who had thrown the shuttle.
All Knowledge is valuable, you just need to know who to offer it to.
The walk outside the RDMC would have been peaceful if it wasn't for the sounds of battle, destruction, and fire that seemed to permeate every frequency my ears can hear.... So really it wasn't remotely peaceful, but a man can hope can't he? Taking the final swig of (If I'm being honest pretty bad) alcohol from the bottle I had brought with me I let it drop from my hands and reach out with my senses quietly. It didn't take much to know that not far away there was a massive clash of Soldier, Jedi, and Sith. Well now is as good a time as any to do something, well I mean I'd sort of been doing something the whole time but the whole hangar thing resolved itself far quicker than I had expected. Reaching out to the shards I had returned to my pockets I slowly brought them fourth allowing the metal to form together into a sphere between my hands.
Once the last shard had fused itself with it's brethren my work began. Reaching out with the force through the shards I let my presence slip out from me and begin to give me a feeling for the nearby battle. Troops and Jedi clashed, I felt two familiar force signatures begin to square off, one and old friend and mentor, the other a foe from what seemed like a different era. In other parts of the room less familiar force signatures moved about doing what they do best, including a powerful darkside presence with the unmistakable stink of sith alchemy all over him. What finally drew my attention however were the nearly 300 soldiers marking from the outside in, their blaster fire adding chaos to an already chaotic situation. In that moment I knew where I could do the most "good" the most quickly. ("Good" being singled out because there was definitely a philosophical debate to be had about how good ending a life (or a few hundred lives) actually is, thankfully that was a debate to be had with myself at a later time... assuming I was around to do so).
You see, I've always had an affinity for machines and technology in general and after decades of working with it in minute detail I'd gained a sense of it through the force that few others had matched. Although not living it was still possible to find the individual pieces of the puzzle that made up the soldier's equipment andin particular their spare blaster packs. It didn't take much energy to do what I wanted to do, but it did take focus. Thankfully the mildly inebriated state I was in managed to help me relax into my work as I used the shard's imbued focusing aide to reach out into the hangar and pull the Sturm Dowels from hundreds of spare packs on the soldiers. The now overcharging packs should begin to explode in small miniature grenade-like explosions.
With everything hopefully going my way I started to make my way forward once again, making a fist to shatter the sphere who's shards then began to flow up my arms and solidify around my torso as a thin layer of armor over by jumpsuit, but under the tattered remains of my blue robes. Reaching out once again through the shards I begin drawing the force to me, allowing the calm light to fill me with warmth and focus as I begin to make my way through the smoke of the explosions toward the new entrance in the side of the building courtesy of Sith. For the first time since the Sith had appeared I was actively drawing on large amounts of energy drawing attention to myself for any force sensitives in the area. I wasn't exactly trying to make a grand entrance (although my tattered blue robes swirling through the smoke of what had once been a large portion of their troops did have that nice side effect) but mostly I was trying to distract and misdirect. Drawing on just a little of the energy I had gathered I amplify my voice just enough to carry to Andor from behind. It's good to see you again. If my presence didn't draw his attention I hoped my voice would cut through into those old memories. Flashing my usual half smile, I stand in the Sith's own entrance way amidst the blackened carnage of their own troops, deciding that despite the fact that I was very likely about to be slaughtered mercilessly by something I had missed, well at least I had made one truly epic entrance first.
Choas reigned in a glorious fashion across what little remained of the city of Nystao. The outer walls of the Medical center continued to crumble and wave upon wave of fighters strafed the area. Small tremors threatened the already failing integrity of the complex further. It would not be longer before the facility was no more than a pile of rubble. A memory of a bygone age to be replaced by the ideal future.
The fighters made deliberate efforts to part souls from bodies whenever another was seen about. This included those passing by the remnants of the facility.
It seemed now that the one who'd thrown the lightsaber so deliberately at the Dark Lord would not follow their blade. The would not seek to retrieve that which was an extension of one's own self. An extension that had been so easily shattered before. Pity. The Lord of Ruin had been anticipating the opportunity allow his blade to feed upon the blade of the weak as he wrenched their pathetic lives from their insignificant corpses. It seemed now, though, that he'd have to wait awhile longer to snuff out the weak and cleanse this place of its vile plague.
His eyes flashed through the dust and debris that continued to settle around him now, making the previously thick cloud more of a translucent tone instead. One would be able to see through the shroud, yet only be able to make out the faintest of silhouettes. Blaster fire still reigned supreme through the cloud, illuminating it in an array of reds and greens. Each of the 23 remaining forces that had accompanied the Sith Lord formed a tight wedge to the front of the hulking sith and continued their march forward, firing off the last rounds of their final packs. When the packs were exhausted, they re-slung their rifles across their backs and pulled their secondary sidearms. .48 Caliber Enforcer Pistol - crude slug throwers that provided a new element to the insanity the flourished within the area. Their shots were a concussive force as the hurled slugs toward various silhouettes barely visible through the translucent cloud of debris and smoke.
"After you, my very confused friend." The Jedi Blademaster had nothing more to say to the Sith. He knew they only dealt in absolutes and that the Sith had already made his decision well before the question was ever asked. Geir felt compelled, nevertheless, the offer the man a final chance to resolve things as men, in a peaceful manner.
You see, there is good in everyone. The only thing that separated the good men from the bad men is the will to act upon the good nature inherent within. A jedi accepted these things and as such were the protectors of peace throughout the galaxy. The Sith rejected this notion and sought only to create havoc and destruction. To see others writhe in pain and suffering as they, themselves were elevated. They did not see the harm they did to themselves as they committed such atrocities. They did not see the fragile balance they threatened to destroy at every turn. There were no consequences in their eyes and without a moral foundation they had no reason to think anything else. The Sith were a confused people that had allowed the Dark Side to corrupt and manipulate them. Turn them into a slave, carrying out actions they would never understand the consequences inherent to them.
Geir flourished the emerald blade once more, allowing the hum to resonate in tone as it cut seamlessly through the thick air. It was now that he would wait for the Sith's first attack. And the Sith 'would' be the first to attack.
Blaster bolts both red and green streaked the dim and cloudy air. Screams and yells barely audible were barely audible over the cacophony of destruction. Andor's troops continued pushing into the atrium, and now, those in the front that had evaded engaging any enemies were now sweeping through the far door ways and into the hallways beyond, gunning down any civilian, medical staff, or any other unfortunate, weak soul that happened to cross their path. But for those that were still presently occupied in the atrium, dealing with the remaining Jedi who were desperately trying to solidify their defense, they became the target of a new adversary.
As Andor and Geir circled each other, neither one at first choosing the make the first move, the Lord of Deception picked up a new presence approaching.... A presence that was familiar to the old Sith's memory, prodding at the recesses of his mind, yearning to be identified. The presence of the incoming jedi drew closer and then, there was a swell in the force and Andor felt the atrium fill with the man's presence.The Sith's eyes widened as a name surfaced in his memory.
Mike.
Nearly a decade ago, or perhaps longer, Andor and Mike had crossed blades before after the Sith Lord had undergone an undercover operation and infiltrated the Jedi Academy on Corellia. Their duel had been aggressive as they had dueled in the Academy's courtyard after Mike had discovered Andor's guise. It had been legendary. And now, Mike was only one of the two Jedi who had ever crossed blades with Andor and had lived to tell the tale. In the months that Andor had spent at the Academy, he had grown to know a lot about Mike: his experience as a technician, a swordsman, and most notably, a drinker. This Jedi was more powerful than most gave him credit for, and although the Lord of Deception had an idea of what Mike would do, there wasn't enough time for him to warn his troops.
As the troopers continued to open fire on Kirwin and Melania, Mike's swift maneuver through the Force quickly removed the sturm dowels from eighty spare blaster packs. But there were no immediate explosions as the dowels clattered to the ground, their noise obscured by the overwhelming sounds of blaster fire and debris falling from the collapsing building. The blaster packs, now with the one device that prevented them from overheating, began to blink like a ticking bomb as the power cells began to slowly build heat. The Cathar troopers pointed and yelled, most of them receiving a message of warning and hastily unclipping the compromised power cells. Armed with improvised explosives that were to detonate at any second, they hurled them, in all directions: some at Kirwin, some at Melania, some at Dash, and some at the walls and pillars of the reception area. Then, the first blew up in orange flame, quickly followed by the second, and then the chain reaction as eighty power cells all blew up in the span of about three or four seconds from one another. The soldiers that had not loosened their packs in time were incinerated on the spot, turned to ash and dust in the space of a heartbeat.
The building shuttered under the sudden concussion and pillars fell, the ceiling began to fall in, ever so slowly dipping down lower and lower. Andor and Geir had stopped their rotation, and Geir's words were lost in the noise. Andor's ears rang from the sound of the explosions, but even that did not stop Mike's voice from penetrating the Sith's core.
Now, Geir stood so that his back was towards the opening to building, with Andor's back facing the way the Jedi had entered. And over the blade master's shoulder, he could see Mike's figure, hidden in a silhouette from the light coming in from behind him. Andor smiled and let his tongue glide over his lips in anticipation. "Master Frantz, i've missed you. Even though its been a while, i'm glad we can start off right where we left off. Please, come join us."
The Dark Lord then charged forward, rushing Geir. As he fell into striking distance, he would thrust out with his left blade, left foot forward, in an effort to pierce the Jedi's stomach. But it was a feint. At the last possible moment, as Geir would most likely be moving to intercept, Andor would rotate his wrist counterclockwise, bring the blade up and around to slash horizontally across the man's chest.
The continued blaster fire was response enough for the young Jedi exile. He was about to advance and cut down the soldiers les than ten paces from him when some of them began yelling and motioning to their weapons. The feeling of something bad struck the bottom of Kirwin’s gut and he instinctively jumped to his right, tucking into a roll. As his feet made contact with the floor, he shoved off into the same direction sending him into another roll as the explosion erupted where he had first stood. The ensuing shock wave pushed the man further than he had calculated for his roll and he stumbled somewhat ungracefully to a stop. There was a small lull in the relentless attack from the Cathar soldiers, and Kirwin monopolized on it.
He stepped forward behind the pillar he had finished his second roll behind which happened to be two pillars from where the explosion had occurred (about twenty feet). Instead of looking around the pillar this time and chance being seen Kirwin reached up with the Force and grabbed ahold of the slouching ceiling, aiming to pull it down on top of a large portion of the remaining soldiers that had signed their death warrants. He struggled for a moment, flexing his muscled as if he was trying to pull an invisible bar down to the ground. Then he heard it, just barely audible above the sound of roaring blaster fire and explosions, one would have to be paying attention to hear it: the sound of durasteel structure snapping and duracreet cracking. Then the bar Kirwin was pulling on suddenly went slack and he felt a massive section of the ceiling give way and begin to fall.
Kirwin breathed a heavy sigh as he waited for the coming destruction to send a wave of death through the Force. But before the crash of durasteel and duracreet sent another shock wave through the earth beneath him he heard the unmistakable sound of lightsabers clashing. He didn’t have time to think of who was fighting, maybe the giant of a Zabrak had attacked the cackling Sith. Or did he just run by and yell something that Kirwin hadn’t picked up on? Paying no more attention to his pondering Kirwin looked down at his lightsaber the extended handle felt good in his grasp, the gold blade reminded him of the Temple Guards and their mission to protect others. That was his mission here. He would protect those who could not protect themselves or he would die trying.
CRASH!
Kirwin had all but forgotten about his work until it slammed into the ground and shook it enough to make him lose his balance. He quickly regained it and rounded the pillar lightsaber extended in a defensive posture. He then realized his slight mistake, he came face to face with ten Cathar soldiers. Kirwin wasted no time, he leapt forward swinging his blade from left to right in order to cut down as many as he could. He then proceeded to leap, attack, dodge, strike, parry, and move until he had wiped them out. Kirwin then turned around to see that the Sith who had thrown the shuttle stood on a small mound of rubble to elevate himself above his surrounding troops, not that he needed to as he was already a head taller than them.
The Jedi quickly prepared to block any potential fire from the soldiers that encircled the Sith. The Cathar looked like they were giving the area the large Sith stood in a decent birth, enough to keep them from attacking the lone exile. Kirwin couldn’t tell if the large armor-clad man had noticed him, or chose to ignore him, but the exile was sure his troupes wouldn’t for long. He may have just finished a couple skirmishes, but through the repeated exercises and training he had committed himself to, it hadn’t worn him down too much. The young man knew the possible fight with this Sith wouldn’t be an easy one, but it had to be done, to try and stop the madness and destruction he brought to this peaceful planet. And so Kirwin quickly caught his breath and waited to be seen and acknowledged.