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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Apr 21, 2011 5:06:49 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Apr 21, 2011 5:06:49 GMT -5
With a swift smack on the Sith guard's right forearm as his hand held onto his blaster, while simultaneously the assailant's other hand smacked the guard's blaster at the blaster's forearm in the opposing direction of the assailant's other strike. The two swift, unforgiving strikes twisted the weapon out of his hand's sending it flying to his right down the corridor he now finds himself ambushed within by one of what was supposed to be their captives but now turned infiltrators within the large Sith capital ship. Immediately upon being disarmed he swung a punch at his assailant, but she moved at speeds that were simply too fast for the human eye as she was little more than a blue before him. As he swung, she ducked under it while stepping past him, yet as she stepped past him she brought down her right fist on his chest like she were slamming her fist against a wall though it was directly over his heart. The strength behind the strike was like being struck powerfully by a hammer, but the effects caused his heart to stop immediately -- his body shut down and he limply collapsed to the floor.
As Rin watched the Sith guard fall flat on his back on the cold metal floor of the capital ship. The Sith guard's lifeless husk of a body lying at her feet, Rin nonchalantly stepped over it and continued on her way.
When scouting the surrounding the systems of Abron, she expected at worst to discover a Sith scout ship... if even that. But this Sith capital ship came right out of hyper-space right on top of the Vigil, and that very second she and Jia found themselves being pulled into the capital ship's hangar by its tractor beam. The capital ship had clearly been waiting for them, but oddly while the dark side is strong within the vessel as would be expected within any Sith capital ship -- neither of the Jedi could sense the presence of a practitioner of the dark side.
The moment the Vigil was taken aboard the capital ship, the plan became Rin would serve as a distraction while Jia would make her word make her way to the generators for the tractor beams and shields to sabotage them so they could escape. Given Jia's curiosity for tech either repairing it or haplessly destroying it, either way it will serve their purposes and made her the best candidate for the task. The second the hangar doors closed once the Vigil was taken captive aboard the capital ship, the capital ship immediately went into lightspeed to heading to another system. Which left Rin deciding while working as a distraction for the Sith personnel of the capital ship to focus upon, she would make her way to the bridge to attempt to stop the capital ship from reaching its intended destination.
Which is why now, Rin has struck down yet another Sith guard, this one patrolling the halls leading to the bridge like many others. But -- before attacking he was in the middle of speaking with other guards in the area over his com to coordinate with them, Rin specifically waited for that moment to strike to alert them and further keep their eyes on her and away from Jia's position. Since she charged her way out of the Vigil slashing and cracking skulls to keep as many Sith eyes on her as possible, eliminating one Sith soldier after the next is all she has primarily done thus far as she steadily makes her way to the bridge. Though, she would be lying to herself if she did not concede to the fact that... she enjoyed it... which on several levels concerned her.
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Apr 22, 2011 4:04:06 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Apr 22, 2011 4:04:06 GMT -5
Move fast. Move quietly.
Those were the main thoughts which Jia was trying her hardest to focus on. The longer Rin and her were stuck here, the more likely it was that their escape would become even more difficult. This ship that had dragged them in was already moving again, where to was unknown. The last thing they needed was to be taken into Sith territory. At that point even if they managed to make it out... Escape wasn't guaranteed.
Oddly enough, the young padawan was doing a decent job of keeping herself concentrated. Even though she and Rin had ended up right in the heart of an enemy vessel, she was nervous but she wasn't afraid.
Jia was doing the best she could to remain unseen by any guards. Rin was in another area of the ship, making her presence very known in an attempt to draw attention to herself. It would have been completely oppositional to their plan if the girl made a scene on her way and managed to negate that. She had no desire to cause confrontation if it could be avoided. If she had to fight, it meant someone was going to get hurt or even...
She didn't want to think about that.
She didn't know a whole lot about this specific type of ship. She had a general idea of where the generators for the tractor beam and shields would most likely be kept based on knowledge she had of others, and that was the direction in which she headed. She just hoped that the information was accurate for this starship. This was a big vessel and there was no time to waste running around searching. Though in a less serious situation, she would have actually enjoyed the exploring.
Creeping quickly but silently down a corridor, Jia paused just before rounding a corner. Voices. She stilled, her back against the wall. She couldn't hear everything they were saying, just bits and pieces of the conversation. They were looking for her? Maybe? She wasn't sure. One of them was speaking into his comm device, asking for an update. There were... four of them, if her senses were accurate.
The speaking stopped, which allowed her to hear the approaching footfalls of the group. Her body tensed as she started to sidle away along the wall and back the way she came. Her hand rested on her lightsaber.
The footsteps stopped. Jia kept moving back. Slowly and silently. She heard one of them speaking into his comm again. It sounded like he was repeating a name, as if requesting a response. There was a pause, before a shouted order, "Move!" Which they did. Jia slipped around another corner, the one she had been backstepping toward, which lead into the corridor she had come from. She held her breath as she hoped that they would not head her way. She slowly sighed in relief as she heard the stampede of footsteps continue down the far hall rather than turning toward her.
Jia carefully slipped around the corner again now that there was no danger of being seen. She waited even after the sounds of movement no longer reached her ears, listening carefully for signs of any other possible danger. There was nothing, and she was satisfied. She continued on into the now empty area, moving more quickly than before, confident that she was safe for the moment.
She couldn't help but be concerned for Rin though. She had been from the start. Obviously her master could handle herself. She knew that. Yet she couldn't shake the worry. Especially now that there were more guards likely heading toward her.
I hope you're ok Rin...
The girl's focus had faltered. She was about to pay for it. Her normally honed senses failed to warn her before she went to turn into another hall and slammed right into another body. Neither of them expected it and both stumbled backwards. He was a large man, dressed in the typical clothing of a Sith soldier, a blaster rifle hanging at his side. A straggler from that group? A patrolling guard? It really didn't matter at this point.
They were both visibly startled. As Jia reached quickly for her lightsaber, the soldier scrambled to grab his rifle. Being smaller and lighter, the girl had staggered further than the much larger man. He raised the weapon, pulled the trigger and fired off a single shot.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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May 3, 2011 16:09:01 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on May 3, 2011 16:09:01 GMT -5
As she continued her way through the ship, trying to reach the bridge while attempting to bring as much attention to herself as possible to draw away any possible focus on Jia, Rin has not outright struck at groups of guards. Viewing striking at the groups to be too big of a risk, she instead has been going after stragglers and pairings waiting only for when they are in the middle of communications with the other groups. In other words, she is striking at the scouts rather than the patrols themselves as it were.
In this moment, it proved no different to the next as she rounded a corner as two Sith guards approached. Her action was immediate and without any hesitation, otherwise it would prove her demise, for even a master Jedi should be aware -- even a stray blaster bolt can bring down the mightiest wielder of the Force should their guard and perceptions be dropped or dulled for even just a split second. Before the guard on her left could react to her abrupt presence before him with the sudden near blinding speed she moved at with as she enhanced her physical prowess and speed with the Force, she struck his neck with a strike too swift for his simple human eye to follow.
The blow to his neck was directly to his vagus nerve, and with the strength and swiftness behind the strike from Rin enhancing herself through the Force, the signals from the struck nerve sent to the brain caused it to believe the heart was swelling. Which in turn made his brain to compensate by slowing his heart-rate enough for him to collapse, though because Rin's physical strength by itself is above that of the average human via her peculiar hereditary, by her amplifying her strength and speed through the Force, her strike was severe enough so the struck nerve was so damaged it lead the Sith guard's brain to react by slowing his heart-rate so much... it stopped.
As the guard to her left fell lifeless to the ground, she drew the vibroknife sheathed at his side, while the guard to her right was drawing his blaster pistol. Unfortunately for the guard -- human reaction time is no match for a lightsaber duelist Jedi Watchman empowering themselves via the Force. Just as his hand was extended about to take the shot at his Jedi assailant, Rin grabbed his shooting hand by the wrist with her left hand, and with the vibroknife in a reverse grip in her right hand, she stabbed him just under his armpit directly into his axillary nerve. If struck hard enough being struck in the axillary nerve can cause the human body to shut down and collapse. Though in this regard do to being viciously stabbed by Rin, and then being followed up by torquing the blade in his arm slicing the tendons in his arm at the armpit, his arm became little more than a limp stick attached to some flesh on his body.
The guard fell limp to the cold metal floor while his right arm that still held his blaster pistol may as well have been completely severed from his body as it was of no use to him at this point. Leaving the blade still skewered in the guard, she left him screaming in agony over his headset while she continued onward running down the halls of the vessel to make her way to the bridge.
Her only thoughts during this time was hoping Jia was safe and undiscovered...
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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May 6, 2011 21:05:17 GMT -5
Post by Dee on May 6, 2011 21:05:17 GMT -5
Jia thanked the Force as the shot fired at her flew over her shoulder, past her head and into the wall directly behind her. She darted forward as the blade of her lightsaber ignited, and with a precise swing and the impressive speed of a Mirialan, the barrel of the soldier's rifle was sliced clear off and fell to the floor. The man was left holding half of a weapon, which he only took a quick moment to react to... and not the way Jia was expecting.
Rather than trying to put distance between them the soldier lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Jia and shoving her against the wall. The force of the attack knocked the girl's lightsaber from her hand and it clattered against the floor, turning off as it slid further down the hall. She was momentarily rattled, allowing the man to connect with a vicious right hook to the side of her jaw. It stung, and the desire to not get punched in the face again pushed her fully back to her senses. Before he could take another swing Jia's arm shot out, the palm of her hand pointed directly at his chest.
She didn't physically strike him. With the position of her hand helping her to focus the power, she hit him with a strong force push which immediately knocked him back and sent him sprawling to the floor. She reached out her hand, focusing to draw her lightsaber back to her. It began to roll slowly back down the hall before shooting through the air toward her hand. The man meanwhile was quickly getting back to his feet and drawing his vibroknife.
As the hilt landed back in the girl's grip the soldier lunged at her again, this time weapon in hand. His mistake was that she was expecting it this time; and she was faster. While pushing off the wall she easily leapt to the side dodging his attack and while still in the air, swung the hilt of her lightsaber with both hands. There was a loud crack as the metal handle connected with the side of the man's skull. Jia's lack of strength meant little when it came to such a direct blow to the head with a heavy, metallic lightsaber hilt. The guard collapsed to the floor with a loud thud. The padawan stayed alert even as he laid there, waiting for a moment to make sure that he was down for the count. She clipped her lightsaber back to her belt and began to turn to continue on her way.
She paused as her gaze focused on the fallen soldier. She immediately felt guilt at the sight of a large, bleeding gash in the side of his head where she had hit him. A head injury like that could cause some serious damage... She stepped over to his unconscious form and knelt down next to him. Her hand hovered over the wound as her eyes slowly closed. She focused on letting the Force flow through her, on using its energy to help her heal him. She was not the greatest at the art of healing, but she was capable of enough to at least spare this man from any long lasting damage. She knew she was leaving herself dangerously vulnerable... but she couldn't leave him like this. When the man's wound appeared healed enough to no longer be an immediate threat to him, Jia retracted her hand and stood up straight again. With no further hesitation she turned and continued on her way.
She stuck to the stealthy approach. There were a couple more guards on the way that she had to sneak by. Luckily for her it was not too difficult. With the trouble Rin was causing elsewhere things were likely a little chaotic in their ranks right now, which was definitely a plus for her. From the look of her surroundings and some of the rooms she passed while on the way, she was able to determine when she was getting close to where the generators should have been. Thankfully she was right. Unfortunately... there were two men standing guard right at the door she needed to go through.
Guards. Of course there were guards. There were two Jedi running around their ship. They wouldn't leave something like their power generators unwatched. She sighed to herself as she carefully peered around the corner to take another look at them. They were talking to one another and had yet to notice her presence. Jia had to get past them, and sneaking by was not an option this time. There was another quiet sigh from her as she realized she was going to have to go through them. How exactly to do it was the question.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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May 17, 2011 16:27:44 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on May 17, 2011 16:27:44 GMT -5
At last Rin had reached her intended destination, the bridge -- but something was not right, not in the least of ways. It was entirely empty, not a soul in sight -- no one at the helm, no one working the grand vessel's systems -- no officers on deck to command. Nothing. The silence within the bridge was eerie -- she had never heard silence like it before it in her life. There was nothing, no sound what so ever, not even emanating from the ship itself despite it being operational, just utter stillness. But one thing she could feel was the dark side, it was stifling within the bridge. Oppressive. It was as if all joy and life within that section of the vessel had been violently torn away from it leaving the area in nothing more than surreal deafening stillness.
Cautiously, Rin walked deeper into the bridge crossing its length to the helm. She glanced about for a moment suspicious of the emptiness of the bridge. But, a task had to be completed, so she pushed onward and ceased the vessel's continued path stopping the vessel altogether from its helm. From there she transferred the vessel's current hyperspace coordinates to the Vigil's, but only before unclipping her lightsaber from her belt, igniting one of its blades and driving its humming brilliant glowing blue blade of plasma into helm's console. Not a permanent solution to preventing the Sith vessel from being piloted, but it will stall them if nothing else, if only briefly at the very least.
The second she motioned to turn to leave however, darkness within her overwhelmed her. As if a hand of darkness reached out with its clawed hand and gripped her heart with an unforgiving squeeze, Rin clenched at her chest as she took deep breathes as she had finished running numerous marathons consecutively, she even suddenly found herself breaking out in a dripping cold sweat. Enraged crimson eyes is all she saw in her mind desiring nothing more than the destruction of another, she knew those crimson eyes -- and whom they belonged to, and the visage she saw of whom those crimson eyes loathed and desired to kill was her own corrupted visage of the dark side.
Rin fell to her knees in dismay as she still clenched at her chest with her free-hand while laboring for breath. She shut her eyes tight trying to wish it all away, but when she opened them again, all she found herself surrounded by were corpses of Sith soldiers and guards slain by a lightsaber -- the bridge crew of the vessel. Rin's eyes went wide with terror and dread, she did not understand how any of that happened. Yet, nevertheless, visions -- glimpses like a dream or a forgotten memory flashed in her mind of her cutting them down with her blade. But when? How?
The young Watchman did not understand, yet gradually an understanding begun to creep into her mind. The Sith guards she fought and killed along the way to get here, small cruelties -- coupled with acts of cold-blooded killings to accomplish her single-minded goal to reach where she is now while keeping their eyes off of Jia. But worse yet -- the measure of enjoyment and satisfaction she felt and kept suppressed deep within the dark reaches of her heart when doing these acts of violence and vengeance. Her deep-seeded desire for vengeance and silent rage feeding the darkness within her with every act. Rin stared off into nothing in her dismay, did she at last fall again?
"No! I fought for survival -- to keep Jia safe!", Rin exclaimed aloud with her voice shaking in fear, "If they were simply stunned or unconscious they would have woken up and would have been far more numerous at our heels! There would have been too many! We would die! They had to die!"
"Of course...", uttered a soft, pitying matronly voice within her mind, comforting in its every way.
The dark grip upon Rin's heart begun to feel even tighter, the young Watchman cringed at its grasp she slumped over scarcely holding up her torso with the hand the still held her now deactivated lightsaber, planting it on the cold durasteel floor of the bridge. While Rin's other hand clenched at her chest still in reaction to the pain beneath her breast, both in the physical and metaphysical. The young Watchman begun to break down into tears in shame and fear as she whimpered, "I can't... I just can't... have fallen again... not again... I tried so hard... Why...? Why am I failing?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
The soothing motherly tones of the voice crept within Rin's mind once again, "You know about the light and what its path entails... But is that the same as walking it? Maybe, that path was never meant for you. You know who you are -- what you were -- and the path that is the most clear to you, but keep running away from it..."
"But...", Rin whimpered in her fear, "That's... not who... I want to be..."
The young Watchman could feel a motherly, tender embrace from someone behind her kneeling down with her, and rather than the voice creeping and crawling within her mind was no being whispered into her ear -- she could even feel the individual's breath lick against the skin of her ear as they spoke so warmly to her, "Who we are and who we want to be are two separate identities. One is the reality and the other is the fantasy. A time comes when we all must let go of our childish fancies and dreams, and accept who we truly are."
"I can change--"
"Let it go--"
"No!", exclaimed Rin in outrage as she ignited her lightsaber forcing herself onto her feet, backslashing at whomever it was beside her. Though her eyes widened when she saw no one there. But an amused chuckle came from her far right in a corner of the bridge, slightly behind Rin from where she currently stood. As Rin's gaze gradually turned in the individual's direction, her eyes slowly begun to grow wider in awe...
((Edit: Fix'd typos. (or at least some)))
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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May 25, 2011 4:50:38 GMT -5
Post by Dee on May 25, 2011 4:50:38 GMT -5
The two men spoke quietly among themselves. They were alert, but maybe not quite as much as they should have been. They had heard no mention of either intruder being near their position and it had been very quiet, so they were not exactly on edge. That might have changed when a small figure darted around the corner and toward them at an impressive speed.
Their full attention was on Jia now. Their weapons were raised and the two of them fired off a few shots at the approaching girl, all of which were deflected by the ignited blue blade of her lightsaber. Most of the blasts were sent toward the walls and the floor, but one in particular was reflected back toward the men and right into the side of the one of their blasters. It sparked and got a surprised and annoyed exclamation of "Son of a-" out of the man holding it. Jia was fast and had closed the distance between herself and them quickly, so they would not have the chance to fire on her again. At least not without the danger of hitting each other.
Her lightsaber had been dropped once she was close, intentional on her part. She held out both her hands, palms facing the two guards. A force push directed at each of them sent them both stumbling backwards. With practically no pause in between, Jia once again relied on the Force, this time to pull the men back toward each other, much quicker and much more strongly. The first push had been to ensure that the two would be off balance and more vulnerable to the second. As telekinetic energy shoved them into each other their heads smashed together and they both toppled to the ground. Jia readied herself for what was to come when they got back up... but neither of them did. She stared for a few seconds as she realized that they were both out cold.
"...I can't believe that actually worked." She spoke out loud as she looked down at the unconscious soldiers and scratched her head. After a moment she shrugged and crouched down to retrieve her lightsaber. With it back in her possession she headed into the room that had been her destination this entire time.
It was empty, and quiet save for the sound of the generators working. She had expected there to be someone here. She was glad there wasn't. All she could figure was that as long as the generators were running the way they were supposed to then there was no need for someone to be watching over and manning them every moment. It was always possible that any non-combat personnel were no where in sight as to not get in between the Jedi and the soldiers searching for them as well. She didn't think too long on it, either way it was good for her.
She made her way further inside. All she had to do was make sure that the power to the tractor beam and the shields was cut off long enough for her and Rin to get away. It sounded easy enough... She was constantly breaking things without even trying, so how hard could it be to do it intentionally? Of course, knowing her luck, this would be when she managed to make things run more efficiently... This wasn't the time to be second guessing though. Rin was counting on her. Focus.
Powering down the generators was pretty straightforward. Messing things up to make the Siths' lives difficult was just as simple. The systems weren't as hard for her to understand as she thought they might be. After getting into one of the control consoles she found her way around in them fairly easily, and she had a field day changing settings and "adjusting" what had been precisely created systems to keep the generators running smoothly.
They wouldn't be down for good. Someone who knew what they were doing could fix the problems she had caused. But Jia had done enough damage to ensure that it would not be an easy or quick fix. Definitely enough time for the two of them to make their escape, and that was what mattered.
Now all that was left to do was to find Rin and get off this ship. Simple enough. Yet something didn't feel right. Jia felt a sudden tightness in her chest. Her brow furrowed in confusion before she felt it: Fear. Dread. A lot of it. She had been fine only seconds before, yet now the feeling washed over her completely. Something was very wrong.
We... We have to get out of here... The warning echoed in her own mind, pushing her to hurry. She needed to get to Rin. She had to find her, and they had to leave. She didn't know the source of the sudden urgency, but she couldn't shake it off or push it aside. So she did as her feelings were telling her to do, and quickly exited the room to find her master as soon as possible.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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May 31, 2011 6:23:20 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on May 31, 2011 6:23:20 GMT -5
The visage of the fallen Jedi before the young Watchman in this moment was not unknown to her. She knew it undoubtedly in the same way others within the Jedi Order may know it, which is the Jedi Master who betrayed and attempted to kill her own padawan. The former Jedi Master Elysis who was believed to be living in exile. But Rin was especially aware of her not necessarily for Elysis' extensive record of being a very active Jedi, but primarily for the fact that her padawan was a Miraluka -- thus suspected of coming to the Abron system should she have a mind to search for her padawan there for any number of reasoning.
But, there was an insurmountable reality that Rin found herself facing by finding herself standing before Elysis: this is a foe she cannot overcome. Engaging in battle with Elysis, Rin understood plainly she could not defeat this opponent and hope to survive. Elysis has Rin beat in power, ability, and experience in spades, which is to be expected of one who had not only obtained the rank of Jedi Master; but did so several decades ago and was regarded as a highly active and potent one at that. Why Elysis was here now among the Sith, Rin could only guess and suspect she had joined their ranks.
But just as Rin opened her mouth to make the accusation of Elysis having joined the ranks of the Sith Order, it was silenced by Elysis' utterance, "I serve no one but myself. My sole reason for being here is simply acting in place of a very old associate.", fear and confusion was experienced blatantly in Rin's eyes, and just as the young Watchman was about how Elysis knew what she was about to say -- Elysis interjected once again with her cool tone and smirk, "Telepathy has always been one of my greatest strengths within the Force. As damaged and lost as you are with your own ability in the telepathic arts as feeble as they are, it is really a small matter for me to walk the library of your mind filled with the books of your life. Walking from one row to the next, I can run my fingers along their spine and read their titles as blatantly as if they were written upon your brow as you stand before me now. But to actually take a book from the shelf and crack it open for a nice read, will require a bit more focus, but not much... and not as much as your former master did to do the same."
"Xy--", Rin attempted to defend her master, but Elysis once again interrupted her before she could say anything.
"I was not speaking of that old Miraluka.", Elysis stated, "I mean, Acalya... or Vorxere as she calls herself now... You know her as the 'Dark Jedi Master' who maladjusted your mind leading to your fall to the dark side to which you still struggle with today. While it was lead to believe that my own 'fall' was only a couple decades ago... Truth be told it was a decade before even that. Hence why I remained active and often distant from the Jedi Order as a whole. To blind the Jedi to your true nature and conceal what you are through the Force takes time and much focus, even for the exceptional in the telepathic arts. There are hidden encampments of 'Dark Jedi', I found one many years ago, and met Acalya there -- the rest is history, we exchange information from time to time. We act in mutual benefit for one another. She is currently bound by a deal made with an interloper, preventing her from acting to further lead you to your true path. But I am not bound by any sort of deal, and am free to act -- as I please."
Rin's breathing was heavy, and fear plagued her mind, uncertainty of what to do halted any sort of action or decision as what to do. Her mind she found becoming increasingly more and more clouded and unfocused, and defiance is all she knew how to respond with, "You sound like her servant..."
"Do I?", Elysis replied amused, "As I said, I am bound by no such deal... I maybe acting for her benefit in regards to you... But if you prove to be too much of a problem, I have no problems with ceasing you from being one. You are a bonus to me, nothing more. I am more interested in your padawan than you, to be perfectly candid. But, having you under my sway and leading you willingly right back into Vorxere's dark embrace... then she would owe me... quite a lot -- and I intend to collect."
"She would turn on you.", Rin stated knowingly, "She would never willingly honor something that places in debt to another."
"She will not have a choice.", Elysis replied plainly.
"Why?", the young Watchman questioned.
Elysis grew a sinister smile, "Find out for yourself."
"I am not walking the dark path again, I--", before Rin could say any more she found herself interrupted by Elysis' interjections once again.
"You will not have much choice -- I never grant many.", replied Elysis sternly, "What even you understand despite your repeated denials and why you are so deathly afraid of yourself is because you know -- you understand perfectly well how easy it will be for you to fall once more. The Jedi Order is filled with tests--"
"I passed the trials, I proved myself after my fall, I can follow the light--!", Rin stated with a defiant, harsh tone interrupting Elysis for a change.
"Which means what exactly?", questioned Elysis unamused by the interruption, "The Jedi Order tests and tests time and again. But what do they mean? What did you get out of any of them? Please, you cannot stand there and tell me that even after passing these tests you still question what your true affinity is within the Force. Otherwise you would not be so terrified of 'falling' once again. The Jedi Order's every decision and action is a test. Stepping up to become a Jedi Watchman is a test. You possessing a padawan is a test. It is always a test, you either succeed or fail. Each of these tests are for walking the path of the light in accordance to the Jedi Code. Leaving you to see and acknowledge your own ability in walking the path of the Jedi in way of your successes and failures. Why is it you only see failures in yourself?
"The Jedi Order's tenets and Code can carry one only so far, but what it continually fails to recognize is just as there are those who have a strong affinity to the light, and there are those who have an affinity for the dark side, and just as there those who have an affinity for one of the two sides -- there are those who are detached enough that they possess an affinity for neither, losing themselves within the gap between light and dark. The Jedi Code is a doctrine that is an articulate, refined 'how to' in walking the path of the light; but as you said you know the path of the light -- you can walk it. But why are you struggling so much to walk it? Why is it so hard for you? You know it well -- but walk it as clumsily as a drunk stumbling out of a cantina. Why is your every compulsion, intuition, and instinct one of aggression and vengeance? Everything against what it takes to walk the path of the light, why is that?"
"I'm trying!", Rin thoughtlessly screamed in blind fury.
"There is no try.", Elysis replied placidly, "And no doubt Xyse taught you the same... And yet, think back to a time when your thoughts and actions were in synergy with the Force. A time when you were not trying, you were just being. What path was that?", Rin's lip curled into an enraged sneer out of frustration as her eye narrowed, and Elysis only smiled in response -- all that was left was another twist of the knife and Elysis knew it, "But of course, minds at the age of when you 'fell' are quite malleable, and affinity to the Force often quite fluid in comparison to those who have walked a set path for decades. It would be far easier to bring your young padawan low to my feet than you..."
Rin's eyes flashed wide with rage at last as she charged right for the fallen Jedi Master. The blue blades of her double-bladed lightsaber singing through the air she slashed viciously with nothing shy of the intention to crush Elysis with as much might as she could muster. Losing herself to her own rage with the facade having at this point long been stripped away from her, all there was laid bear upon Rin was a vile dark rage with nothing more than the desire to slaughter her opposition. An lightsaber duelist as she is, one relying highly upon speed and agility, her movements were blurs a with bright sapphire trails of light in the air as she moved as blurs in her assault against Elysis.
By the time Rin was before her, Elysis had already drawn her blade -- a sword with a hilt with a semblance much like a lightsaber in a way by design; but instead of retractable blade of plasma -- it was a glossy exceedingly keen, non-retractable blade forged from phrik. Despite Rin's strength and speed, Elysis was able to match it with every step and attack. But now with Rin enraged as she is while her mind was being clouded, both of which preventing her from being able to focus her mind, she could not utilize her greatest asset in when in combat as a lightsaber duelist -- that being the technique Battlemind; and further lending even more of an edge to Elysis than she already had, so she could control the ensuing battle.
Abruptly Elysis darted out of the bridge in a flash of speed down the halls, but even as filled with blind rage as Rin was, she knew where Elysis was heading: for Jia. Rin continued to push herself even harder to keep up with Elysis, and as they moved with tremendous speeds down the halls of the Sith vessel -- they clashed blades. But as they clashed moving at great speed, Rin was quickly beginning to find herself struggling to keep up with the veteran fallen Jedi Master Elysis...
As the young Watchman clashed with the fallen Jedi Master, a familiar woman's matronly voice crawled its way into the skull of the young padawan seeing to sabotage the vessel, "You shouldn't be doing that, little Jia... You don't want to cause another accident, do you?"
((Edit: Fix'd typos.))
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Jun 1, 2011 0:21:18 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Jun 1, 2011 0:21:18 GMT -5
The emotions continued to swirl around Jia. Strong feelings of dread, and now anger, that she felt surrounding her and weighing her down but could not directly pinpoint the source of. The young padawan was extremely unsettled by them, and didn't know how to handle them right now. All she knew was that she wanted to - had to - find Rin, so that was what she was trying to do. Despite a now rushed pace through the corridors of the ship, she had not yet gotten very far.
"You shouldn't be doing that, little Jia... You don't want to cause another accident, do you?"[/color] She stopped in her tracks as the unexpected voice echoed in her mind. She had heard it so clearly that for a moment she could have sworn someone else was present nearby, and she even looked around to see who had spoken. It was only when she saw for certain that she was still alone that she realized it had been in her head. The thought occurred to Jia that she might be hearing things.
No, someone was communicating with her through the Force, telepathically. Someone who knew her name and apparently more. A woman. The voice she had heard didn't sound outright malicious. The tone was calm, and even seemed somehow familiar to her. Yet all that thought did was heighten the nervousness the girl already felt. There was nothing friendly about the voice or what was said either. It was taunting, and threatening despite its inflection and that realization caused her body to tense in fear. She knew it obviously wasn't Rin, the only other force sensitive that she knew of aboard this ship, so... who was it? Jia knew nothing of the intentions of whoever was projecting to her, and she knew that replying could be dangerous... But she had to know.
Who... Who're you?[/color] The young Mirialan cautiously reached out through the Force, trying to connect with whoever it was who had 'spoken'. Even with her grasp on telepathy it was difficult, and took more concentration than she would have normally needed. She had nothing to focus on, it was like searching for something while feeling around blindly in the dark.
She had no way of knowing if her thoughts reached their intended target or not. She didn't want to just stand around and wait to know for sure either. She had to keep moving. In all the uncertainty she felt right now, she could still only see one goal, perhaps now even more than before: Find Rin. So she pushed herself to continue moving forward, fear and confusion clouding her mind and making her completely unaware of what she was running into, and what was fast approaching her.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Dec 7, 2011 22:47:34 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Dec 7, 2011 22:47:34 GMT -5
Sparks ignited and flew as the brilliant blue blades of plasma of Rin's double-bladed lightsaber clashed against the shimmering silverish hued phrik blade of Elysis' sword. The almost feline-like pupils of Elysis' violet eyes dilating and contracting with each clash of hers and her opponents blade from the bright light flashes. The pairs speed proved to be incredible as they practically flew down the metal hallways of the immense starship.
Their blades clashed even as they ran along the halls walls even ceiling, but the chasm of power and ability between the two is not something that Rin no matter how deep she reached into herself, even if she were to utterly indulge the dark side rather than merely victim to Elysis' twisted manipulations as Rin currently finds herself in the position of now, it would not matter. The young Watchman simply does not have Elysis' decades of experience and knowledge, honed ability and talent, and decades of cumulated power within the Force.
It was abundantly clear to Rin as the fight raged onward that there was no chance in victory, because it was more than obvious to her as she fought Elysis--that the fallen Jedi Master was merely toying with her. But just as Rin begun to find her calm once more--find her center and focus, it was in this moment that she suddenly found lightsaber flying out of her hands from a deft disarming move from Elysis. All Rin had in that moment was to rely on her ability in Broken Gate against Elysis' deadly skill with a sword. It was no secret to Rin in this moment that Elysis will kill her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
But her ability to prevent inevitability was not her goal--for a goal based on futility in Rin's pragmatic mind would not help Jia in any form. For that is what this fight was truly about, irregardless of all the pretense about whatever deals and machinations of Elysis and another dark being, Rin not only could feel it but see it within Elysis that what the fallen Jedi Master was most interested in was Jia. Thus it was not Rin's goal to prevent inevitability, but instead to delay the inevitable from happening long enough for Jia to make her escape.
It was almost like a dance with how graceful the two fought, and with an amused smile of how this unarmed Watchman engaged her as she was armed with sword with a phrik blade. Elysis merely smiled at this as they fought, but such a was not last, and it was more than evident to Elysis what Rin was attempting to do.
Albeit, as a smile grew on Elysis' visage, a look of dread grew on Rin's, for they both could feel it--Jia's approach as she sought out Rin. Momentarily distracted by her fear for Jia, she failed to evade the tip of Elysis' blade as it cut across Rin's chest. Added to Rin's expression of dread was both shock and pain. Before she could do anything else she suddenly found her back slammed against the metal wall of the hallway behind her, which the force of the slam knocked the breath out of her. In the next instant Rin cried out in agony as Elysis' blade ran right through Rin's right shoulder. The blade sank halfway into the young Watchman exiting out the back of her right shoulder blade and straight into the wall. The shear power and force that Elysis put behind the thrust continued run straight into the metal wall, which effectively pinned Rin to the wall.
The pain was incredible as she grabbed at Elysis' hand and arm which she used to wield the sword to try to stop Elysis from running the blade further through her shoulder. Elysis only continued to smile at Rin's disposition, and rather than attempt to run Rin through further, or even pull out the blade to take another stab at her--instead Elysis simply twisted the blade.
Hearing Rin's screams of pain while able to feel through the blade Rin's cracking and popping bones with the tearing and cutting flesh and muscle as the blade continued to twist--it only brought a smile of delight to Elysis' face. The twist was purposefully slow and torturous all for the sole purpose to make Rin scream... and it worked. She cried out as loud as she could with her voice, through the Force, the excruciating pain that Elysis was able to manipulate and control through such a simple action could only be discribed as vile. All Rin could find she could do in response is writhe in agony under Elysis' mercilessness. It was not just the blade that was causing her this pain, it was more, it was Elysis' expanding upon the pain itself through her own twisted power and ability to enfeeble Rin with the sole intent of causing her torment.
Elysis' gaze turned down the hall--for she could feel the presence of the padawan nearing them, she looked back to severely weakened and wounded Rin. With yet another smile, she uttered to the young Watchman, "It was ever the pleasure, young Jedi. But our business will have to pick up a little later."
"Jia...", Rin reached out to her padawan with her mind, "Please... ru--"
Before Rin could reach out with anymore telepathically, Elysis violently the blade in Rin's shoulder in the opposite direction she had been making Rin cry out in pain yet again. Her cry echoing through the halls, but only before at last passing out unable to take anymore, "That's enough out of you, girl.", Elysis uttered having sensed Rin's words through the Force to Jia. The blade was twisted to be horizontal with the metal floor of the ship so it could prop up the young Watchman without her own body weight to cause the blade cut right through her shoulder, and keep her pinned to the wall.
With flip of a very small switch on the hilt the blade detached from it. The hilt still in hand, Elysis casually walked down the hall to meet with the young padawan. As she walked she flipped another small switch on the hilt, and from it ignited a green blade of plasma easily recognizable to any Jedi or Sith. With Rin severely wounded and bleeding a little ways behind her, pinned to a wall--Elysis waited for the young Watchman's apprentice to arrive upon the scene.
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Dec 10, 2011 4:33:00 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Dec 10, 2011 4:33:00 GMT -5
Jia hadn't faltered in her goal despite the heavy veil of dread that still loomed over her. She had not been able to shake it off, especially not with the words of that unknown woman still echoing at the back of her mind. Whoever had telepathically projected to her hadn't bothered to do so again. Not yet anyway. Which only unnerved her more. Whoever it was could have been anywhere, with any intentions... Though the girl was pretty certain at this point that they weren't friendly.
But she had to keep moving. She couldn't let the fear stop her. She had to...
The girl was startled by the sudden sound of a scream of pain that traveled to her ears from the corridors in front of her. She stumbled and slid to a stop as it was followed by a sudden surge of stinging agony that sliced through her shoulder. She cringed at the unexpected sensation as she grasped at the source of the pain. Though it had only lasted for a second, she could still feel a dull aching as the distant screaming continued. Jia's entire body tensed. It wasn't that far from her...
The physical pain had only been momentary. The sensations assaulting her mind were constant. She could feel suffering, despair, fear... and an unending agony, all which kept her frozen as she tried to overcome them. The muscles in her shoulder tightened. The screaming trailed off and stopped, and for a short moment Jia was left standing in silence, her heart pounding in her chest and still clutching at her aching shoulder. She already realized that the pain she felt had traveled to her through the Force, and was not her own. She knew what that meant. "Rin..." Her voice left her mouth as little more than a whisper. It was then that she heard Rin's familiar voice in her mind, pleading.
"Jia... Please... Ru--"
Jia's eyes shot open wide as another agonized scream echoed through the halls ahead of her. There was no more questioning who it belonged to. Suddenly she was running, blindly bolting forward through the corridors at an amazing speed, heading for its source. She couldn't remember the last time she moved this fast, if she ever had at all. The blade of her lightsaber, now ignited and held at her side, looked like little more than a trailing blue blur at the pace she was moving.
She turned a corner and came to a quick, abrupt stop as her eyes focused on the woman now standing in the hallway before her, blocking any further advancement. Confusion was easily read on the padawan's face as she looked upon her. For a short moment she seemed stunned, unable to speak or act, before finally a look of recognition came to her features as she managed to utter, "...Master Elysis?"
She knew this woman. Not very well, but she did know her... and what she had done in recent years. She had been a mentor to her former master. Jia rarely interacted with her for long moments, but Qi used to go to her often for advice and guidance. She was... his friend. Was. Jia quite clearly remembered the moment when she found out from him that Master Elysis had betrayed her own padawan and the Order, and fallen. She remembered him not showing much of a reaction as he shared the information with her. He told her as if it was just another mundane fact his padawan needed to be aware of. He was ever the traditional Jedi, refusing to let emotion overtake him and moving on. Jia could tell easily though. She was too in tune with the emotions of others, especially a man she saw every day of her life, to not see his pain. No matter how he hid it.
"What're you..." Jia started to question, but her quiet voice trailed off. It would have been a silly question. What else would a former Jedi master who had fallen to the dark side be doing aboard a Sith vessel?
It was then that those blue eyes of her's snapped to the nearby form of her master; unconscious, severely injured, bleeding, and pinned to the wall by a blade through her shoulder. Jia's eyes immediately widened in horror at the sight. "Rin!" The girl cried out her name, the tone of her trembling voice enough to give away the fear and distress it caused her.
It was enough to overwhelm her. Her grip on her lightsaber tightened. She lunged forward in a burst of speed, trying to reach Rin. She didn't care that Elysis was in the way with weapon in hand. There was no way she would be able to make it past the former Jedi master, whose speed and skill dwarfed her own in every way, but logical thought played no part in her actions. Her body moved forward driven by pure emotion before her mind could catch up and cause her to reconsider. It was a bit too late at that point.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Dec 15, 2011 4:46:05 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Dec 15, 2011 4:46:05 GMT -5
"...Master Elysis?"
With ever the affable demeanor, Elysis merely smiled warmly and welcomingly at the young padawan.
"What're you..."
"Me? I'm just visit--", the fallen Jedi Master went to answer, stopped from saying more noticing Jia's distraction upon seeing her unconscious master several meters behind her, "Ah... no need to worry about her, she's merely resting. She's had a hard day--"
"Rin!"
Swiftly turning off her lightsaber as the young Jedi attempted to run past her. It seemed as though it were one blindingly fluid movement--a wrist was grabbed, a shift of momentum was done, and the simple step altering the balance of motion and momentum--all of which in this seemingly single unseen fluid motion launched the young padawan in a one hundred-eighty degrees.
"Deja vu?", Elysis said with a smile with tossing Jia right back where she started before trying to get to Rin. Despite what Elysis did or may have done, she still maintained a quite affable and at least seemingly amicable attitude, "I told you, your master has had a hard time of it, let her sleep for a bit. Meanwhile, you and I will chat. No doubt you and I can remain amicable, yes? It's been some time after all and we have spoken only so little, though your former master kept you away from me--always concerned that you would be a pest to Magdalena and I."
Elysis paused for a moment, her expression a little pensive as though she were reflecting upon something, and within a trice it was articulated when she off-handedly remarked with an almost somber and regretful tone--even her faint smile was not there, "Even to the bitter end he was a staunch traditionalist who refused to think within reason..."
Her gaze slid back to Jia, her right brow arched a little with a dash of a head cant in response to Jia before her. It was then that faint smile grew back on Elysis' visage, a faint smile of amusement and faux pity, "Oh--you didn't know... I suppose they thought it maybe adverse to your training--be a distraction... cause you pain. Perhaps that is why they kept it from you."
It was almost as if Elysis refused to just say it outright, and instead drag it out like slowly peeling off a band-aid to make the experience all the most agonizing, "I don't even suppose they told you the entire reason why he left the Order, did they? Such a shame. Likely believed a padawan was not ready for such information. Make you dwell in places within the heart that may cause discord within otherwise peaceful being of the Force is not ready withstand within their training just, yet."
She took a couple steps closer to Jia, "You see, he was to be sent out with several Shadows to deal with a problem of a small group of padawans who had fallen to the dark side. The concern was they were far too gone to return to the light, the crimes they were committing as they were drunk with dark power were quite vile in any manner of view. While it was not policy for the Jedi to execute prisoners, that was looking like the only option there was available as they learned more about the situation of those padawans.
"Your current master knows this better than most having been on the receiving end of it--there are... techniques within the telepathetic arts when using the dark side that turn ones innermost self against them. Every insecurity, every hatred, have desire for spite is rooted out and pulled up to the surface to the point that is all the victim knows how to feel. It's like an outer body experience for them--they are controlling their own body and mind, but their conscience is like a separate self and is utterly baffled as to why they are doing what they are doing--it's all emotional compulsion they have lost any level of control over within themselves. That is what the padawans suffered under.
"Qi knew this, so did the other masters, it had been seen before... such as through who is your current master being one of its victims years prier to then. But options had to be weighed with such a thing, if the padawans were ignored to seek out the master dark side practitioner causing the padawans to involuntarily fall against their true will, then while they search for this dastardly master--the fallen padawans would be able to cause more pain and suffering to helpless. Thus, the dark master's proxies had to be dealt with first, and when under the grip of a strong dark master within the telepathic arts--returning those padawans to the light could not be done with reason, and without knowing where the dark master was--they could not be freed from the dark master's grasp. Thus, the possibility of a mercy killings were introduced. Weighing the lives of many other innocents that padawans hid among verses the padawans themselves. A difficult situation.
"Qi was incensed by the notion, he wanted to risk going for the dark master. But the situation at the time, doing so the Order felt was too great a risk. Qi chose to turn his back on the Order, and instead hunted down the master who was at the root of the problem. In the end, everything he sacrificed proved to be for naught--the padawans were still killed--many innocents still died--as well a couple of the Jedi selected to deal with the padawans, and he was unsuccessful--"
If the question ever arose within Jia's mind how it was possible that Elysis knew of this when her disappearance from the Order occurred sometime before the events she described--it was answered by faint smile and look in eyes filled with a terrifying darkness but lacking in deception entirely, "...he would have lived had he just listened to reason."
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Dec 24, 2011 6:01:09 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Dec 24, 2011 6:01:09 GMT -5
She almost made it. She almost got to Rin. At least, that was what the girl thought. She was taken completely off guard and had no chance to react as her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and in a blur of motion she felt herself flung and flying through the air. The next thing she knew she was slamming into the metal floor of the ship, right back where she had started. Her lightsaber had escaped from her grip, and clattered loudly behind her as it slid away from her fallen form. She cringed in pain as she looked back over at Elysis from the floor.
"Deja vu?[/color] She spoke mockingly, with a smile on her face. Jia narrowed her eyes at the woman and slowly got back to her feet. She should've known that couldn't have gone well. Elysis had been a Master. There was no way a young padawan was faster.
"I told you, your master has had a hard time of it, let her sleep for a bit. Meanwhile, you and I will chat. No doubt you and I can remain amicable, yes?"
Amicable? She had her master pinned to a wall. This woman was insane.
She wanted to talk. Why Jia didn't know, but there was no doubt that she had sinister intentions. The last thing she wanted to do was have a chat with Elysis... but it seemed like she had little choice in the matter. That remark about Qi keeping her away for fear of her being a pest stung, but she did her best not to show that. Her gaze once again drifted to Rin, and all that fear and horror came rushing back. She had to help her, somehow... But Elysis... She wasn't going to let her pass.
As Elysis began to step toward her Jia tried to move, to keep the distance between them. Her feet wouldn't leave the floor. She was terrified. Her skills were no where near Elysis'. If the fallen Jedi really wanted, she could have killed her with no effort. She clenched her fists in an attempt to stop the obvious trembling of her hands. She was literally shaking in her boots, but she wouldn't let Elysis see that. All the girl could do was watch the fallen Master as she moved closer, and listen to the words she spoke as she revealed the events that led to Qi leaving the Jedi. And what had happened was nothing she could have ever envisioned.
That was what he had been doing. Those missions he went on without her, that he refused to ever speak about or even consider having her join him on. That's what he was doing? That was what the Council had assigned him to do? Now it all made sense... Why he was in so much pain, why he felt so disconnected, why he had to leave... It was more heartbreaking than she could have ever imagined. How could the Council ask that of him? How could they ask that of anyone?
She looked stunned. Her gaze sank to the floor. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could that have been the solution the Council came to? This wasn't how Jedi were supposed to solve problems... This was all wrong. Yet she knew in her heart that it was true. Every bit of it. It all fit together, and there was not a hint of deception in Elysis' voice. She had no reason to lie, not when the truth was this twisted on its own.
She kept going. There was more, and Elysis was delighted about it. As she revealed exactly why Qi left... The pieces only continued to fall into place for Jia. He left because he had no other choice. He couldn't continue to be a part of that. He left behind everything to do what he thought was right. To stop the killing. To save those padawans. It was... One of the most heroic things she had ever heard of him doing.
"In the end, everything he sacrificed proved to be for naught--the padawans were still killed--many innocents still died--as well a couple of the Jedi selected to deal with the padawans, and he was unsuccessful--"
Her head snapped back up, eyes locked onto Elysis.
Many innocents still died... He was unsuccessful?
"...he would have lived had he just listened to reason."
Wait, he... He would have lived? Qi was... What Elysis was saying finally sunk in. What her part in all of this was. What she had done. And in that moment, Jia snapped.
"How could you do that?! He was your friend! He trusted you!" Jia clenched her jaw, gritting her teeth. With a sudden snap of her wrist, her lightsaber was drawn back to her, and ignited the second it was within reach of her fingers. That was as far as the girl's anger took her. She remained where she was, blue blade of her weapon quietly humming at her side. She couldn't move. It wasn't only fear, knowing that this woman could easily end her life at any moment she chose. It was also that small part of her that was trying desperately not to give into her anger. Not to let that darkness take over... She couldn't do that. That would spit in the face of everything Qi had tried to teach her, and everything Rin wanted for her.
But this woman... She killed him. She killed Qi. And she was smirking about it? She was amused by all the lives lost, all those Padawans and Jedi killed, because of her? Rin... How could what she did to her be forgiven? She hurt her, the most important person in the world... Caused her so much pain, and thought nothing of it...
Stop it. Stop... Jia pleaded inside her own mind, trying desperately to calm herself. She shut her eyes, bowed her head as she tried to take deep breaths, but anxiety made that nearly impossible. Still, it helped to focus on something else, anything else, even the simple act of breathing a certain way. Distract herself from the anger... After what felt like an agonizingly long moment, the grip on her lightsaber slowly loosened, and the slightest movement of her thumb switched the weapon off.
She'd done it. Somewhat. She calmed herself enough to avoid letting rage dominate her mind. Her anger wasn't gone, it still simmered inside her, mixing with the heartache she now felt as everything truly sunk in. Qi was dead. She may not have been much to him, but to her... To her he was a mentor, a man she respected, and someone who had helped shape who she was today. He gave her a chance at the one thing she had wanted out of her life; to be a Jedi. Now he was gone. Murdered by someone he trusted, after feeling betrayed and forced to turn his back on the Order he'd devoted everything to. Jia's eyes burned as she held back tears, forced them away. Jedi don't cry... She sadly reminded herself.
She raised her eyes again, still shimmering with the tears she wouldn't allow to fall, fear gripping her even tighter as she looked over at Rin. She needed help... and Jia couldn't do a thing. She wasn't strong enough to get past Elysis. It was getting harder and harder to hold the tears back. The realization that she was so helpless, the thought that Elysis might kill Rin too, was the most paralyzing fear Jia had ever felt in her life.
And paralyzed she remained as she again looked at Elysis, her expression and entire demeanor a mix of every single sensation she was feeling. She spoke, her voice quiet and weighed down by emotion, "Why did you do it? I don't understand... You betrayed everyone who trusted and cared about you. The Order, your Padawan, your friend... So many people are dead because of you, and you feel nothing... You don't care. How can you live with yourself?"
The girl just stared at Elysis after that. She didn't know what sort of response she expected. She wouldn't like the answer she was given, whatever it was. She already understood that. Yet she had spoken the words anyway, straight from her pained heart, and demanded an explanation from the fallen Master's own mouth. It wouldn't make everything better, there wouldn't suddenly be forgiveness, even if that was the Jedi thing to do. No. Not here, not now.
Maybe not ever.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Dec 25, 2011 4:55:23 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Dec 25, 2011 4:55:23 GMT -5
"How could you do that?! He was your friend! He trusted you!"
That small smile remained on Elysis' soft lips--her lovely visage that her victims learn to loathe looking upon. It was a source of enjoyment to see the pain and hurt the girl before her violet eyes endured, and those violet eyes lit up as bright as the blue beam of the Padawan's lightsaber when the girl ignited as she burned with outrage beneath her chest. Though, it would not be too much to say that Elysis was pleasantly surprised when Jia switched the lightsaber off and begun to regain her composure.
It revealed an inner-strength within the girl that she did not see very often. Not just among Padawans but Jedi and Force adepts in general. But she could read the girl just as easily as she could the girl's master, and the inner-conflict for keeping herself in check and under control as struggle. It would be a lie to say it did not please Elysis immensely. Elysis knew it would not take much more of a solid push to get the girl to at least step over the edge--even if only slightly.
Oddly, though, Elysis chose to dial it back.
"Yes they do, Jia...", said Elysis surprisingly somewhat solemnly, "Jedi can and do cry... there is never any reason to stifle such a thing... And those Jedi who do--are the lesser for it."
"Why did you do it? I don't understand... You betrayed everyone who trusted and cared about you. The Order, your Padawan, your friend... So many people are dead because of you, and you feel nothing... You don't care. How can you live with yourself?"
"You never will understand, Jia", Elysis stated outright, "Those are not even the worst of my crimes.", Elysis caressed her brow in a moment of contemplative thought, and with a long exhale for what was a short breath, she eventually uttered, "My worst crime was choosing the Jedi Order over something far more precious... And not understanding that until it was far too late. It is a hell of a thing to hold the most wonderful thing in your entire life in your arms... and then give it away... And then afterward to only know regret."
Looking Jia straight in the eyes the fallen Master went onto say, "Qi never told you, and was never the sort to say such a thing, but--he said on numerous occassions that your dedication to becoming a Jedi was impressively rock solid. An extraordinary compliment from an old Jedi like him. The reason why he kept you at arms length was because he did not want your decisions for being a Jedi to be impacted by him directly, he wanted such life committing choices to always remain your own."
Elysis crossing her arms under her chest she continued to say, "Ask yourself this... Of the Jedi of the modern era... How many do you believe truly understand what it means to walk the path of the Jedi? No doubt you have had talks with your peers and contemporaries on the issue, especially in this time of war, yes? And of those you spoke to... ask yourself this--how many promoted warfare over solidifcation? Aggression over peace? Reactionary action over understanding? In each case the former out weighed the latter quite heavily, did it not? Not exactly being Jedi, are they?
"There is the argument that the martial pacificism--aggressive action as the very last resort is best for during a time of peace, but during a time of war--a direct assault and aggressive stance is more prudent and practical. But is that not a logic fallacy? Isn't a peaceful course what is needed the most during a time of warfare? But how many Jedi have proven to have the strength of will and devout piety to walk the harder path? Relatively few as this time of turmoil is proving.
"My thoughts are, if the Jedi wish to become lemmings charging over the edge--falling into the dark rift, then may as well help push them over the edge. What is it with Jedi of the modern era who wish to only indulge death? What is it with Jedi of this era who think there is such a thing as a necessary evil? What is it with Jedi of these times who tell themselves they should aim for a greater good, but ignore if that 'greater good' requires taking questionable actions--there's nothing greater about it. It is just one self-defeating logic fallacy after the next.
"It is as if these Jedi of this era actively seek a foil... just as much as the Sith do. Don't you think?"
It was in this momen there was darkness approaching them--it almost felt like a winter's breeze blowing through the halls of the ship, and it was not stemming from Elysis, but from outside... The Imperial vessel they were within rocked a bit as if another much larger ship had locked onto it with a tractor beam and begun connecting to it to board it. Elysis looked back at Rin, then back at Jia as she remarked, "Surprising... The one who sent me for your master and yourself has choosen to intervene... Well... I'm not about to stop her, she can do what she wants.", glancing away for a moment before turning her eyes back onto Jia, "Going forward, understand--as the Jedi of this era continue to seek foils to face down. There will be more than just Sith who will prove to be willing to face them, and the Sith will take advantage of that--and will pull them into their own ranks.
"An exclamation of what I speak of will be here shortly, coming for you and your master. I was not the only one there as the foil for Qi that day. I was not even the one who planned the events that lead to his death. The more the light expands to shine into even the deepest, darkest caverns--the more the slumbering, dormant monsters within them will awaken... And they will not respond kindly to that light. It is better to just let them sleep."
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Dec 28, 2011 5:03:48 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Dec 28, 2011 5:03:48 GMT -5
"You never will understand, Jia..."
No, she wouldn't. Jia could never comprehend how someone could fall so far into darkness that they would not only lead so many people to death, but turn on and hurt everything and everyone they loved. Or even how someone could pretend to care for so long. At this point she wasn't even sure which was the case for Elysis. Both took a depth of evil deeper than the girl had ever felt herself.
"Those are not even the worst of my crimes."[/color] Jia tensed as the still burning anger inside of her began to intensify. How many other injustices had this woman been the cause of?
Yet as she continued that thought, the teenager's heart softened, even if it was only for a few seconds. As Elysis spoke of regret, of leaving behind the most wonderful thing in her life... Jia didn't fully understand what she meant, but knew that she was speaking the truth. She could see and feel the emotions radiating from the woman as the words left her mouth, and they were completely genuine. For a moment... There was a shred of sympathy.
But Jia wasn't perfect, and couldn't forgive. None of that excused the things that Elysis had done. They were too fresh in the girl's heart and mind.
Her vision was blurred as she stared back at Elysis, her eyes still filled with unfallen tears. Even despite what the woman had said after reaching into the girl's thoughts, she held them back. She was wary of any 'advice' given by the fallen Master, no matter how much she wanted to believe it was true.
Elysis brought up Qi again... Granting the padawan yet another answer to a question she had asked herself for a long time; why Qi had always pushed her away.
Though it was nice to hear, what Elysis said was also confusing. Qi had always expected her to do as he said, exactly as he directed. Maybe it did make some sense. He was her master, he was trying to teach her. Maybe he just wanted to be sure that she truly understood his lessons before she learned how to do things her own way. And he... really believed in her. Was impressed by her dedication. She had always tried so hard to earn his approval. If it was true... then maybe she had. In any other moment and said by any other person, the idea would have brought her some much needed comfort. There was none to be found right now.
Elysis had more wisdom to share with the girl. She went on to point out flaws in the Jedi Order. She spoke of the current Jedi as being Jedi in name only, and stomping all over what it meant to really live like one.
Jia didn't know how she felt. She wanted to defend her brothers and sisters in the Order. She wanted to tell Elysis that she was wrong, that everything she said was a twisted lie painting the Jedi in the worst possible light. And yet, she shamefully knew that she had wondered herself if some Jedi had left behind what it once meant to truly be Jedi. She wasn't extreme or accusing like Elysis was, but it pained Jia to admit that her thoughts might have been even slightly similar.
She had been a part of such discussions, just as Elysis had assumed, including a particularly large one that always stood out more than others in her mind. They always left her just as confused as she was when they started. She knew what she had been taught, and she knew other Jedi were going against that because they believed it had to be done. Everyone just wanted to do what was right, but it was so hard to know what was right in a time of war...
"It's... It's not fair to judge them like that. War makes everything unclear... They're just trying to do the right thing." She spoke up in defense of her fellow Jedi, though she was still quieted by the weight of emotion, and her words held little strength.
"It is as if these Jedi of this era actively seek a foil... just as much as the Sith do. Don't you think?"[/color]
Jia opened her mouth to question what that meant, but her words caught in her throat as darkness suddenly enveloped them. It had come from nowhere... but now it was all the girl could feel. Her eyes widened as she realized it wasn't coming from Elysis. The ship shook slightly. Someone else was coming. Someone dark.
"Surprising... The one who sent me for your master and yourself has choosen to intervene... Well... I'm not about to stop her, she can do what she wants."[/color]
Sent you for us? What does that mean? Who is she? What does she want from us?! Jia had intended to speak the words, but she had no voice.
Even if she had been answered, she wouldn't have known. Elysis was speaking. Jia could hear her voice, but not make out exactly what she was saying. The approaching darkness had consumed her senses completely and overwhelmed her. Everything else was drowned out, far away, and slowly being covered as well.
Elysis' voice faded back in at the worst possible time, "An exclamation of what I speak of will be coming for you and your master..." Jia's eyes widened further in terror. She could only think the worst. Her entire body trembled in fear, which only worsened the more Elysis spoke. It was hard for her to breathe. If they stayed there and let whoever this dark force user was come for them... No. No, no they had to get out of there, now!
It was an act of utter panicked desperation. There was no longer any other option. The padawan suddenly launched herself forward with incredible speed, the blade of her lightsaber again shooting to life. It was a moment of fight or flight... but the girl couldn't do one without first doing the other. She needed to get to Rin... and that meant going through Elysis.
She was completely out skilled, but that didn't matter anymore. There was no other choice. The most she could hope for was to get the upper hand. Yet this woman was in her head, knew everything she was thinking, and would see anything she planned. There was no hope. She couldn't win. But it didn't matter.
Elysis had already closed the distance somewhat for her. As soon as Jia was close enough she raised a single hand to focus a force push right into the woman's chest. She hoped that at such a short range it would make it more difficult to avoid, and maybe, just maybe, cause Elysis to stumble or even lurch backwards. Anything that would give her a moments opening. In that same moment she also swung her lightsaber, still held in her other hand, in a low, fluid swipe from the side, her goal to catch the fallen Master's leg with the blade.
If it worked, then her and Rin may have had a real chance at escaping. If not it left her entirely unguarded and unprepared for any sort of counterattack. If she missed... she was completely vulnerable.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Jan 2, 2012 18:25:33 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Jan 2, 2012 18:25:33 GMT -5
This darkness that was approaching--it was familiar--known, Rin knew it well... she could never forget it--it was always in her mind. Scarred there for life it seemed. It was the nightmare that had plagued her for well over a decade now--it was the very thing she has fought within her inner-most conflict. It terrified her to extremes at times. It is what left her as a broken figure...
And it was here... now!
Rin snapped out of her unconsciousness grabbing at the blade left her pinned and hanging from the wall within the hall they stood in at the moment. Screaming in pain as the phrik blade cut her hands as she grasped onto it tightly pulling it out of her shoulder with every bit of her strength she could possibly muster. Every bit of her will is what it took to withstand to endure what it took to pull that blade out her severely damaged shoulder. In a way she fed on the pain to propel her forward as the blood dripped from her wounds on her hands, and the vastly more grave wound in her right shoulder; but the pain from the wound across her chest could not be ignored as well. It was something to be confronted and pushed through as she pushed herself onward.
Elysis looking over her shoulder at he sight furrowed her brow a little bit surprised and impressed Rin was willing to go to such extremes. Then again, she understood at this point Rin was fighting for hers and Jia's survival--there was little other option. As she told Rin when they first encountered one another, she never granted many options.
Whether it was purposeful or by chance--then again, something happening simply by chance within the Force is rare--nevertheless, it was in that moment Jia used the Force in an attempt to knock Elysis off of her feet. Though, Elysis' perceptions were sharp enough to catch it, but in her unguarded moment she was not swift enough to defend against properly. She reacted quick enough to responded with a small telekinetic push of her own--and the two energies collided negating one another in a sense. But it was still enough to make Elysis stagger backward a several paces.
Simultaneously within that trice Rin threw the phrik blade that had been lodged within her shoulder at Elysis. It was this that Elysis was most concerned about as it was the most fatal, and it was that with a quick lean backward she narrowly dodged. The clanging of the blade could be heard echoing down the hallway as it bounced off of the metal walls and floor for a ways.
Rin wasted no time in going on the assault against Elysis, for both she and her Padawan understood well at this point. Survival meant getting away, and they had no chance in dealing with Elysis and the darkness that was steadily approaching. Their only chance of escape was through Elysis, and that in of itself was narrow chance at its best.
It cannot ever be ever overstated just how dangerous Elysis can be when she chooses to be. But in a brief unbalanced moment like this there is a chance--there is hope.
Within the Force, Rin's greatest strength is augmenting her physical capabilities, and that she had to fall back on immensely in order to surmount her wounds and the pain they caused her. With her swiftness and talent in hand to hand combat, Elysis found herself having to take steps back in attempting to avoid Rin's precise jabs, elbows, and knees. Rin was not looking for a massive knock out, simply quick shots to keep Elysis on her toes.
Concern begun to seep into Elysis' mind, because she could tell that Rin was beginning to notice it too--Rin is a better hand to hand combatant than she is. The few attempted strikes by Rin and the narrow evades by Elysis all occurred with only a second or two time as they moved as little more than blurs do to both enhancing their speed within the Force. Elysis' saving grace at the moment being she is a dash bit faster. The lightsaber beam of Elysis' hilt fired, but before she could do anything a quick strike to wrist abruptly knocked it from grip. Before Elysis could even react to the loss of her lightsaber a solid, unforgiving elbow strike embedded right into her sternum knocking the wind out of her briefly as she staggered backward a couple steps.
Rin paused in that moment--utterly out of disbelief, she never in a million years suspected she would be able to actually land a hit on Elysis. Elysis herself looked a bit surprised as well, but for a different reason entirely--she did not think Rin would be able to muster enough moxie to push herself this far.
However, Rin was not about to give the likes of Elysis any more reprieve than Rin's own disbelief gave her, and went right back onto the assault. Rin lead in with a right jab doing her best ignore how much pain doing so caused her with that shoulder. The result made it slower than it could have been, slow enough for Elysis catch Rin's right wrist with her right hand. Elysis immediately followed up with by grabbing onto Rin's right shoulder with her left hand, and sinking her thumb into Rin's shoulder wound. The additional pain from Elysis' crushing grasp made Rin drop to one knee.
Yet again, though, Jia proved to be a saving grace in her distracting Elysis causing her to lift her hand off of Rin's shoulder in order to defend herself. In reaction Rin wasted not even a fraction of a second to strike at the back of Elysis' right knee, which caused Elysis to lose a little bit of her footing, but Rin took it a step further by litterally pulling Elysis's leg out from under her. Being as off-balance as she was Elysis fell flat on her back while Rin at that same time was rising back up to her feet.
Elysis' eyes widened in dismay as in the next instant the second she hit the ground was heel of Rin's coming down at her face. But just as it got a half inch from her nose--it was gone. Elysis turned her eyes to her right side only to see Rin slammed against the cold metal wall and splayed out against it while cringing under the telekinetic tension that held Rin in place there.
A little chuckle passed through Elysis' lips just how close that one was, and the individual--the darkness that had been approaching remarked, "That was a close one. I told you they could prove to be a handful."
"So you did.", replied Elysis as she stood up and begun brushing herself off. Elysis then turned to the Sith Lord who now stood among them who bore an uncanny resemblence to Rin herself, "So, I take it you have the information I wanted for having done this favor for you. Yes?"
"Sith Military Intelligence states that the vessel you are looking for was last spotted in the Corellia system.", Vorxere answered as she released Rin from her telekinetic grasp, who in turn fell clumsily to the cold metal floor.
"Then I'll be on my way.", Elysis stated as she moved on as her lightsaber flew back into her hand before clipping onto her belt, forgetting about the blade fixture she has for it. After all, she could always get a new one--it was among the least of her concerns at the moment.
As she casually walked away from the scene with a nonchalance as though it were just another event to be forgotten. An all too familiar whisper slithered its way back into Jia's mind uttering, "What lead to Rin's fall in the past was being separated from her master, while Vorxere assaulted her mind... I wonder what the results would be if Rin's padawan continued to remain by her side in this confrontation."
At which point Elysis suddenly stopped in her tracks and then held out a hand toward Jia, "Your best hope for survival Jia is if you come with me, you know.", Vorxere looked back at Elysis with an arched brow a bit taken aback. Though, she wanted them both--at the same time--she did not want to oppose Elysis, especially if Rin and Jia were take advantage of the situation. Elysis' power easily rivals her own, and did not want to contest it in a moment like this. There was a bit of worry in Vorxere in that moment, because she knew that Elysis knew this as well and was taking advantage of it; but for what aim she could not tell.
"Come with me, Jia. Or rather would your pride allow you to choose death than be alive in the company of your master's killer? I have no interest in making you fall to the dark side. I could always use a bit of aid in searching for one particular individual, what you do in the meantime is up to you. I have been honest with you thus far, why would that change now? What do you say? Stay and die, or come with me? Choose now."
Elysis smiled as she could see the hope draining away from Rin's visage. However, was that even Elysis' intention with this proposition to begin with--or was it more to do with something she whispered into Jia's mind...
((Permission to use Vorxere in this thread was asked and given.))
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Jan 3, 2012 19:41:38 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Jan 3, 2012 19:41:38 GMT -5
Jia was knocked backwards as the force push she had directed at Elysis clashed with another, a burst of energy channeled through the Force by the former master herself. Jia managed to stay on her feet despite being pushed back a good distance, her boots sliding against the metal floor as she came to a stumbled stop. She hadn't been completely successful with what she had tried to do, her lightsaber never even came close to hitting its target. It hadn't been a complete failure either. Just as the girl had hoped, she had left Elysis slightly unbalanced.
It allowed a now awakened Rin to go on the offensive. Jia's eyes followed the thrown blade as Elysis narrowly dodged it, causing it to clatter loudly against the wall. Jia stopped herself from rushing back into the fray right away. Still tightly gripping her lightsaber, she watched as her master managed to keep the upper hand over Elysis, who had been forced to do nothing more than dodge the Miraluka's fast paced attacks.
Jia panicked for a moment as she saw the blade of Elysis' lightsaber ignite, but the threat of it was ended quickly as Rin successfully knocked the weapon from the woman's grasp, and in the next instant struck her hard in the chest. Jia might have cheered out loud if not for the severity of the situation. Instead, she felt hope return to her. They could do this, they could survive.
That hope was almost instantly crushed again as she watched Elysis counter Rin's next attack, and bring her master to her knees by manipulating her wounds. Jia dashed forward to help, thinking very little of strategy at that point. She leapt into the air to bring a strong swipe of her lightsaber down onto Elysis from above while she was distracted. Things didn't go exactly as the padawan intended. The former master saw her attack coming and raised her hand, again knocking the girl back with a force push.
This time the teenager wasn't graced with a smooth landing. She landed on her side, hard against the floor quite a few feet away. She grit her teeth and immediately looked back over in Elysis' direction, expecting some sort of follow up attack. Instead she saw Rin manage to knock the other woman to the floor. Jia thought for sure that they had won this as she watched Rin bring her heel down onto Elysis' face.
The blow never landed. An unseen force sent Rin flying away from the fallen former Master. Jia's eyes widened as her master's form was smashed against the wall and held there. It was only then that Jia's senses felt consumed with darkness again, and her gaze snapped toward the source of an unknown voice, "That was a close one. I told you they could prove to be a handful."[/color] Those blue eyes of her's widened further in terror. They were too late. This was the woman Elysis had spoken of, who had come here for her and Rin. She was so strong in the Force, so filled with darkness. Jia had no idea who she was beyond that... but she looked so much like Rin.
Whoever she was, she began to talk directly to Elysis, and released the hold she had on Rin. As her master crumpled to the floor Jia hurriedly scrambled to her feet and rushed over to her, dropping to her knees beside her. She dropped her lightsaber next to her and reached out to help Rin sit up. Her eyes drifted back to the two extremely powerful, dark women as she heard Elysis speak, "Then I'll be on my way."[/i]
She was leaving? Jia's eyes frantically darted between Elysis and the other as Elysis began to walk off down the hall. The girl had no idea what awaited her and Rin with this other dark woman, but she knew that she was completely terrified, and her whole body trembled to show it. She didn't know if they were going to get a second chance to get away. They had been so close...
Jia's brow furrowed as she heard Elysis' familiar voice whispering in her mind again, "What lead to Rin's fall in the past was being separated from her master, while Vorxere assaulted her mind... I wonder what the results would be if Rin's padawan continued to remain by her side in this confrontation."[/color] Vorxere? Was that what this other woman was called? Elysis had mentioned Rin's fall being caused by her mind being manipulated. This woman, Vorxere... She was the one responsible?
Elysis stopped suddenly, holding her hand out toward Jia. "Your best hope for survival Jia is if you come with me, you know."[/i] Jia gave the former Master the most incredulous look. ""Come with me, Jia. Or rather would your pride allow you to choose death than be alive in the company of your master's killer? I have no interest in making you fall to the dark side. I could always use a bit of aid in searching for one particular individual, what you do in the meantime is up to you. I have been honest with you thus far, why would that change now? What do you say? Stay and die, or come with me? Choose now."
Jia stared at Elysis in stunned disbelief. She couldn't believe she was even trying to give her that choice. As if she would ever willingly follow her, after all the things she had done.
She looked aside to Rin, and saw the hopelessness on her face. Jia felt her heart sink. Was Rin truly worried that she would go? That Jia would leave her there alone, at the mercy of Vorxere? No, she could never do that. She would never consider it, never even dream of it. She would never do anything that would hurt Rin. She couldn't even imagine what she would do without her anymore. Rin was so important to her. She was...
Everything. Rin was everything. Jia felt a tightness in her chest as the uncontrollable thought echoed in her mind, followed by the heavy thumping of her heart. She'd been denying what she felt, afraid of it, but she couldn't anymore. She loved Rin. She wasn't supposed to feel this way. Not about her master. Not about anyone. But she did. She did, and there was no point in lying to herself about it now.
She held back her tears and the fear that attempted to cause them. At least for the moment that she raised her gaze back onto Elysis and spoke, "I'm not going with you, Elysis. It has nothing to do with you, or pride. I'm not leaving Rin. I'd rather die at her side than ever leave her." Her voice was stronger than it had been before as she spoke those words. They were the truth, from the bottom of her heart.
Jia had said all she was going to say to the fallen Jedi. All that remained now was to see what fate the Force had in store for her and her master. To find out if they still had a chance at survival, or if this was really the end. She looked away from Elysis and Vorxere, and turned those tear filled blue eyes back to Rin. She looked to her for guidance, for affection, for comfort... For any sign that she shouldn't give up believing that they would survive this. For anything that wasn't despair.
(( Edit: Missed some typos. ))
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Feb 6, 2012 1:22:31 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Feb 6, 2012 1:22:31 GMT -5
Elysis' brow furrowed a little in reaction to Jia as if taken aback, even though within it was precisely the response she expected from Jia and even hoped for, "Oh. I see.", whereas Vorxere glared at Elysis, her expression one of distrust in Elysis' motives, and Elysis could see it plainly. "What are you playing at, Elysis? Why are you doing this?", she questioned within Elysis' mind, which only earned a smile from Elysis at first, "Why are you getting in my way now of all times?"Elysis' smile only grew a little more, "What did she teach the two of us so many years ago?... Ah yes... It is never about the reasoning it is about the opposition... I guess, you forgot about that lesson, too much time spent awaiting the proper moment to crush your master. Too much time spent seeking to end your legacy in just the right fashion--", Vorxere's eye widened in response to hearing those words within her mind by Eysis, and Elysis chuckled in reply as she continued, "Ahhh... you see it now.""Stop this now, Elysis! I demand it! This isn't the time for these antics.""No... I think it's the perfect time", replied Elysis and then stated aloud, "I just realized... I don't have ship to leave with...""Don't you dare...", Vorxere seethed through her clenched teeth as her rage begun to boil knowing precisely what Elysis is up to at this point, she can feel it. Elysis grinned widely, "I'm not the one you should be concerning yourself with right now...", Vorxere's eyes narrowed while arching a brow in response to Elysis, but then her eyes went wide with realization... ***** Relief and a level comfort Rin had never really knew she could feel before washed over her. A smile came to her as though she could at last relax at last, it was difficult for her to articulate the litany of feelings she had to herself, but she understood perfectly where they all stemmed from and why. They all stemmed from being with the young girl with her, and the why was simple--she loves her. Love. Despite that Jia was in more danger being with her, still perhaps out of a bit of selfishness, she rejoiced that Jia chose to stay by her side; because she needed her by her side--she needed the strength that Jia's presence gives her. With Jia at her side, she had hope for something better, something worth fighting for beyond simplistic survival. As she watched the two master dark side practitioners appear to have some sort of dispute between one another, Rin whispered quietly to Jia at her side, "In a moment... I'm going to strike at Acalya... as I do, run for the hangar... but not to escape in the ship... that will be useless. It will be to fight. When you get there, prepare to face her. She is going to run for there. Up close, she is not as strong or fast. The hangar she will have an advantage, we could provide a challenge within the hallways, but... I do not relish being crushed against a wall again... So while the hangar will provide her with the range she needs, it will provide us with freedom of mobility we will need to... attempt to... avoid her... Or more accurately, for you to more easily avoid her, while I engage her directly."As Elysis continued to serve as a distraction to Vorxere, "I... I can't defeat her alone, Jia...", Rin uttered vulnerably, "I need you... by my side... I... just... can't do this by myself.", she looked at Jia with a soft smile, the weakness and honesty upon was plain to any to see in that moment. The stoic fascade stripped away, and the insecure young woman behind it laid bare. With her back against the wall, Rin wabbly pushed herself up it with her legs to a standing position. By the few labored breaths she took just to stand on her, even while using the wall behind her to brace her, it was obvious--she was physically and mentally drained, beaten, and broken by this point. But, Jia gave her an inner-strength, a will to keep pushing herself what was now well beyond her limit. With Jia, her light would not be extinguished by this darkness, and continue to shine. Still whispering she said to Jia, "When Acalya and I reach the hangar... watch our movements, and wait for the opportune moment to knock her off-balance. Feel it out, you'll know when the time is right.", with a few labored breaths to prep herself, she pushed herself off of the wall, and whispered, "Alright... Go now! Run for the hangar as fast as you can!""Don't you dare...""I'm not the one you should be concerning yourself with right now..."Rin was moving as little more than a blur, Vorxere for all her power what she lacked was speed enough to keep up with a lightsaber duelist to Rin's calibre. Had Elysis never said any thing, it is possible in that unguarded moment Rin would have taken Vorxere's head clean off of her shoulders as Rin ignited her lightsaber just as she when she started to backslash. It was all in one fluid movement, that proved to be all for naught in the next instant. Vorxere's back was to the wall figuratively speaking as Rin went on the assault. She was refusing Vorxere a moment of clarity enough to concenerate her deadly telekinesis in a focused manner. Her only saving grace in the moment was her narrowly being able to draw her own lightsaber, and the two clashed blades. The only thing that was saving Vorxere in their clashing of blades was Vorxere's technique was far more practiced and honed than Rin's, it was the only thing she could fall back on to stave the onsault of the speed Rin was pushing and even over-taxing herself to move at such a pace. Elysis was no where to be seen at this point, and it only made Vorxere sneer in frustration at situation she found herself in largely because of Elysis. But it was just as Rin predicted, Vorxere needed open space, and it was to there that the two headed to as swiftly as possible to. The very second they entered the vast spacious hangar of the vessel, Vorxere pushed away from Rin leaping back as far as she could. Just as Rin attempted to move in on the Sith Lord with as much speed as she could muster--she was hit. What struck Rin she never saw, but even as she crashed and tumbled for several meters and slid across the cold metal floor fo the hangar for several more, she knew what it was. Nothing more than the classic technique merely called 'Force Push', but being struck by one of Vorxere's... it felt like being hit by the bulkhead of a freighter moving top sped. Everything that Rin had been able to scrounge up and muster within her felt depleted in that instant--just wiped away as though it were never there to begin with. Vorxere merely smirked haughtily as she coldly walked toward Rin who laid there taking deep labored breaths clearly utterly exhausted, "You fought hard, dear. I'm proud of you. But now is the time to give up fighting and acknowledge inevitability of who are meant to be."
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Feb 18, 2012 15:29:54 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Feb 18, 2012 15:29:54 GMT -5
As Jia looked at Rin, desperate for some sign of hope, she found it in the smile that formed on the older woman's expression. In that moment she felt weightless. As if there was nothing at all to ever be worried about. She couldn't help but smile herself in reaction. Despite how grim their situation seemed, that small gesture brought her so much comfort. They wouldn't give up.
"In a moment... I'm going to strike at Acalya..."[/color] Jia glanced quickly over at Vorxere. Rin must have meant her. "As I do, run for the hangar... but not to escape in the ship... that will be useless. It will be to fight."[/i] That quick moment of fearlessness was gone as she heard Rin's words. Jia looked very unsure of herself as Rin explained further. "When you get there, prepare to face her. She is going to run for there. Up close, she is not as strong or fast. The hangar she will have an advantage, we could provide a challenge within the hallways, but... I do not relish being crushed against a wall again..." She had a point. That didn't sound very enjoyable... Still...
"So while the hangar will provide her with the range she needs, it will provide us with freedom of mobility we will need to... attempt to... avoid her... Or more accurately, for you to more easily avoid her, while I engage her directly."[/i]
Uncertainty consumed Jia and worry was the emotion most clearly read on her features as Rin explained more of what she had planned. She didn't want to leave Rin alone with not just one, but two powerful foes. Elysis and Voxere seemed to be having some kind of disagreement, if the look on Vorxere's face was accurate, but things were still too unpredictable. What if Elysis joined the fight when Rin went on the offensive? There was no way she could handle both of them. Jia swallowed as fear for Rin caused her entire body to tense. This was too dangerous... She couldn't leave her.
But... She had to. As Rin turned to her with that smile and spoke, vulnerable and genuine with her words, any chance Jia's stubbornness had of protesting melted away.
"I... I can't defeat her alone, Jia... I need you... by my side... I... just... can't do this by myself."[/i]
Rin needed her. She had a strategy for their survival, and whether or not it worked relied on Jia doing as she was told. Rin knew what she was doing. This was their best chance, and the Padawan had to trust her master. Luckily there was no one Jia trusted more than Rin, and that trust was absolute.
Another slight smile of her own was offered to the Miraluka. "You don't have to." She whispered back simple, honest words of reassurance. She would stay by Rin's side, just as she said she would. Nothing would change that.
Rin began to struggle to stand and Jia slowly rose to her feet as well, her back pressed up against the wall behind them, and allowing her master to use her body as something to lean against. "When Acalya and I reach the hangar... watch our movements, and wait for the opportune moment to knock her off-balance. Feel it out, you'll know when the time is right." She nodded to show that she understood what she had to do. She readied herself, waiting on the signal from Rin and doing the best she could to not let her fear overwhelm her.
"Alright... Go now! Run for the hangar as fast as you can!"[/i]
As soon as Rin launched herself toward Vorxere, Jia took off running as fast as she possibly could. She rushed through the corridors back to the hangar, using every ounce of her willpower to not look or turn back. When she reached the wide open area she took a quick glance around, and saw that she was alone and hadn't been followed.
She slipped behind some nearby crates of cargo, crouching and taking the moment to catch her breath and prepare herself for what she was about to do. She took deep breaths as she silently tried to overcome her fear and convince herself that everything was going to be ok. They were just about to fight a woman who she was pretty certain was a Sith Lord, or at least almost as powerful as one... No big deal...
The girl could feel their approach. They were getting closer, very quickly. As the two women appeared in the hangar Jia pressed her back against the metal crates she was hidden behind and carefully peered out very slightly around the corner, to get a view of what was happening.
Rin was attacking fast, not letting up for even a second, and keeping Vorxere busy. It didn't last for very long. Jia watched, mouth agape as Rin was sent flying across the hangar, landing and sliding across the floor before coming to a stop and stilling. That was when panic hit the teenage Mirialan. Rin was still awake, but she looked exhausted and weak.
Panic turned to anger as Jia saw Vorxere stride across the hangar and stand over Rin with a smirk on her face. "You fought hard, dear. I'm proud of you. But now is the time to give up fighting and acknowledge inevitability of who are meant to be." That woman had twisted Rin's mind, caused her to feel pain and fear that stuck with her even now. Now she stood over her broken form, smirking victoriously. Jia could barely control the anger burning beneath her chest. She had to act now. Vorxere was distracted. Now was the right moment.
Jia rushed out from behind her cover, no longer hindered by her fear, and charged straight for Vorxere. As she closed the distance between them she focused on channeling the Force through herself, weaving it into one point. She thrust her free hand forward, using it as a way to direct the power and send it right where she wanted it to go. The invisible force crashed against Vorxere like a wave, stronger than the woman would have expected, distracted as she was.
Jia didn't stop moving. The blue blade of her lightsaber flared to life once she was close and regardless of Vorxere's reaction she didn't let up on her offensive, following up with multiple quick swings and strikes. Jia did everything she could to keep herself close to Vorxere, giving the Sith woman as little room as possible to use her own strengths.
Trained as she was in her preferred form of Soresu, swift, close movements were not difficult for the girl. Considering the gap of age and experience between herself and her opponent, she didn't know how long this would last, but she was determined to at least give Rin enough time to recover and stand again. She would defend Rin and herself to her very last breath if that was what it came down to.
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Apillis
Poonikins
1,153 posts
108 likes
Cotton candy, sweet and low, let me see that tootsie roll!
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last online May 10, 2023 15:20:37 GMT -5
Master
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Feb 26, 2012 15:19:15 GMT -5
Post by Apillis on Feb 26, 2012 15:19:15 GMT -5
The smug grin on Vorxere's visage could not be more blatant even if she tried. Looking down upon as who remained motionless as she was laid out upon the cold metal floor of the vessel's hangar. Just as openned her mouth to make another statement she found herself knocked to the ground--flattened and sliding for several feet. She knew she had been struck by telekinetic push to the ground--someone who possesses her level of ability within telekinetic arts within the Force, it was a simple deduction to say the least not just from feeling it physically but through the Force.
There were many thoughts that went through Vorxere's mind at this moment, such as: what the hell just happened? Or, how did I just end up on the ground? And, oh how many ways I will crush this persons skull with my brain. But most of all, it was wondering why Elysis is causing her problems yet again. The rage she felt was nothing shy of extraordinary.
The blue flash of a lightsaber coming right at her she could feel through the Force and it was a quickly blocked. When her gaze finally fell upon her assailant, there was a bit of surprise to her eyes. The padawan. Rin's young padawan. That is who knocked her to the ground with telekinetics was little more than a teenage pupil. Someone who has dedicated their entire life to mastering telekinesis to the point she could easily be seen as one of the foremost authorities within the galaxy--to be sent to the ground by a novice--a NOVICE[/b]. Humiliating. Insulting. The utter impudence of this child before her daring to assault her, and with telekinesis no less. The audacity of this child[/b].
With those crimson red eyes of hers wide open filled with shear hate as she blocked Jia's incoming attacks. Her lightsaber in her left hand, and a solid step into Jia's swing of her lightsaber--Vorxere locked her blade with Jia's. The corner of Vorxere's upper lip curling into a vile sneer as she pulled back her right hand preparing to unleash her hate for the girl before her. The Force that Vorxere channelled to her hand was thick and immense--the density becoming thick to every preception. The darkness within the Force that Vorxere channelled held a vicious chill to it--almost suffocatingly so.
A searing pain shot up through her forearm, and all the power of the dark side she had gathered to unleash upon the young girl before her she found she no longer had within her possession. Vorxere glanced to where right hand used to be only to see it in mid-flight sliced off a few inches above the wrist near the middle of her forearm. The culprit being the flash of another blue lightsaber blade, and before she could even do a thing, a right knee was swiftly embedded into the right side of her ribs. Knocking her backward and stumbling on her feet until she fell to the ground.
Quickly she scrambled to her knees with her stump tucked under her left arm as she seethed and hissed in pain and rage. Nearly blind with utter vehement ire as she saw Rin standing before her lightsaber in hand. If Rin had eyes they would have widened quite a bit given what she sensed coming, moving as fast she possibly could as she deactivated her lightsaber, she snatched up Jia while utilizing the Force to leap as far as she could.
In that moment it was as if time slowed to a crawl as multiple pulse waves of the Force stacked one on top of the other expanding with tremendous power. Rin failed to escape the full radius of the pulse waves of raw telekinetic Force power. The Watchman crashed and tumbled over and over to a clumsy slide across the hangar.
Vorxere in her rage let out a roar of absolute fury, but it was not simply wrought from her voice. It was monstrous and unrelenting with no restraint, it was just the vehemence of hatred and ire in all its purity conveyed through the Force. The roar itself rippled through the Force with a darkness that otherwise could never be articulated through the limitations of words. Within that span of her roar, the metal floor, crates, and nearby walls creaked and screamed under the tension of an unseen power pull at them. The weaker spots of the metal rend and bend to the dark will of the power that weighted within the hangar. The crates begun to crush under the will that held them as they abruptly lifted into the air.
Rin knew what was going to come next as she hurriedly rushed to her feet as she pushed Jia away from her, and a moment later dove in the opposite direction. The crushed metal crates with their jagged edges of rended metal hurled through the air at frightful speeds. The Watchman could hear the large smashed metal crates whiz right by her through the air. But something else abruptly earned Vorxere's notice, and Rin not only could feel but see it through the Force.
As best she could augment her physical kinetics through the Force, Rin moved at blurring pace. She came to sliding halt right in front of Jia, while using her lightsaber to block the explosion of lightning emitting from Vorxere's fingers right in their direction. Further augmenting her physical prowess to strengthen herself, it was all she could to withstand the immense pressureof the lightning that Vorxere was able to unleash as she channelled the dark side.
With her teeth clenched tight as she fought to withstand the power of the dark side that Vorxere was able to channel, against Rin's own ability to manipulate the limitations of her own body. As she tried her best to grit it out, she uttered to Jia, "Whatever you're going to do, do it now...!"
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Dee
I am Error
128 posts
1 like
Ah, I see you've decided to go psycho. Godspeed.
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last online Dec 8, 2020 21:57:17 GMT -5
Padawan
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Mar 8, 2012 23:40:17 GMT -5
Post by Dee on Mar 8, 2012 23:40:17 GMT -5
Jia was acting too quickly for her mind to catch up. For once, that was exactly how she intended it. If she stopped to think for even a moment about what it was she had just done, who she was fighting... Well, that probably would have been the end of any composure she had. Right now she had mental tunnel vision as she engaged Vorxere. A one track mind: Protect Rin. Protect herself. Get out of this alive.
Her lightsaber clashed loudly against Vorxere's, in just the right way to prevent her from swinging it again. She struggled to push through for a moment, but just didn't have the strength. Her eyes uncontrollably met Vorxere's, and exactly what she was afraid of began to unfold. There was so much rage, so much hatred in this woman's eyes, and it was all directed at her. Jia's body locked up as the terror of her situation hit her hard.
She couldn't move or react beyond the outward showing of fear on her expression. She couldn't do a thing as she felt this Sith woman begin to channel all of that anger to unleash it upon her. The emotion and the dark power it fueled was intense and overwhelming. She cringed, trying to prepare herself for the pain that was to come.
Then suddenly, all that power she could sense was gone. But... there was no pain. Her eyes shot open in time to see Vorxere's hand flying from her body, and Rin kneeing the Sith woman in the side, knocking her away. Rin had just saved her from what for all she knew would have been an indescribable amount of pain. She didn't need words to show how thankful she was. Jia looked at Rin as if she was the greatest hero the girl had ever seen.
Vorxere wasn't too pleased with how this all unfolded. Jia could still feel the anger, thick in the air and baring down on them both. She heard the Sith woman hiss and glanced over quickly to see the fury contained in her features, twisted and corrupted by darkness, and seeming to only become more so with every passing moment. It reminded her that now still wasn't the time to let their guard down.
Jia saw the blade of Rin's lightsaber deactivate, and her own was turned off as well in reaction, though she was unsure why exactly. Before she could react further or even give a questioning look, Rin grabbed her and leapt away from Vorxere, carrying the teenager along with her. The girl barely had anytime to react before they were struck by an unbelievably powerful force and knocked through the air. They tumbled clumsily to the ground, landing hard and rolling for quite a few feet.
Jia winced as she scrambled back to her feet, trying to ignore the aching of her body. She heard a furious roar from Vorxere, and soon after felt the intense telekinetic energy all around her. The air itself was heavy with the sheer power radiating from the Sith woman. Her eyes darted all over as the sounds of creaking and crushing metal filled her ears from every corner of the hangar.
She felt it coming. Her senses warned her in advance, though it wasn't quick enough. Her head snapped back forward in time to see the pieces of those cargo crates, now nothing more than twisted, jagged metal sailing toward them. Rin was her savior again, shoving the girl away before diving aside herself. As Jia stumbled from the shove and fell again, she heard the sounds of those destroyed crates zooming past them, right where her and Rin had been seconds before, and crashing to the ground somewhere behind them.
Jia had to remind herself to breathe, and ignore the ridiculously fast paced beating of her heart. She quickly got back to her feet again and glanced across the hangar at Vorxere. They couldn't stay where they were and let her keep launching objects at them from her safe distance away. Like Rin had said, this was her strength and if they let her keep the upper hand, then they were as good as dead. She had to do something.
Quick glances were given to the side and then over her shoulder, to some of those malformed crates that had been thrown at her and Rin. She reached out and focused her mind through the Force, trying to hone in on them and take a hold of them through her own telekinetic ability. Unfortunately, she needed to use her hands to help her stay focused and make sure they ended up going exactly where she wanted them to. Which made what she was doing fairly obvious as she stood there, arms out and toward the objects she was attempting to lift.
Jia may have been skilled with telekinesis for her age, but large, heavy objects were in no way simple to manipulate like this. She was struggling, and it took a lot of her concentration. So much that she couldn't sense what was coming, and wouldn't have been able to react to it anyway. Rin was there yet again, blocking the burst of lightning that Vorxere had channeled at her with her lightsaber. For a moment the girl's eyes widened, her focus faltered as she worried for the Miraluka's safety.
Yet Rin was holding out against Vorxere's power, refusing to let up or give in. She always showed so much strength. Through gritted teeth Rin spoke to her, "Whatever you're going to do, do it now...!"
There was no greater motivation. Only a second or two later she felt the connection clearly, and the strain was gone. With a quick wave of her hand, followed by the other, both hunks of metal were sent hurtling toward Vorxere, slicing through the air at speeds that may have even surprised the girl who was responsible for them. With any luck, the Sith woman wouldn't be able to react to them with any efficiency at that point.
Jia left the safety of her cover behind Rin, probably against her better judgement, if she had taken another second or two to think things through. But she had decided that she needed to keep Vorxere busy and on the defensive no matter what happened. With a quick burst of speed and strength, granted to her from her meager skills in honing her physical abilities, the young Mirialan leapt across the hangar and at Vorxere, lightsaber on and ready to slash down across the dark woman's body.
Even if this accomplished nothing, even if Voxere fended off all her attacks, at the very least she had interrupted her focus and been a distraction. She could only hope that was enough to achieve something.
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