Clean

[Stephen]

The Wayward Light pulled along side the station silently, and lusterless grey column extended and locked on to the side of the ship. Janus sat in his cockpit, staring at the brown and sea green orb of Nal Hutta, waiting on the indicator light to tell him that docking had completed. His Green robe was freshly pressed and dwarfed his figure, hanging less than an inch off of the floor. The red light clicked over green, and Janus shot to his feet slapping his belt and holster around his waist. He paused a moment in indecision before grabbing his saber and tucking it away under his robe. He walked across his ship to the loading bay.



Two armed men were supervising a small team of dock workers as they moved plasteel shipping crates on to lift pallets. Each one was opened and counted in full on The Wayward Light before disappearing down the grey tunnel into the station. After the cargo check, Janus was escorted down into the station by the two armed foremen.



They moved smoothy through the station, following the green arrow on the floor. Red and Blue arrows labeled engineering and personnel followed in parallel for the start of his journey, but made breaks into other sections. The silence was overbearing, and Janus found himself bracing for ambush after he passed every door. They walked for five minutes before breaking off into an unmarked room.



The spartan room still had all the earmarks of module habitation. The barely furnished look, the musty smell of a freshly turned on ventilation system, the uncovered harsh lights. A tall, well dressed woman stood up as he entered and walked to meet him in front of the door. “Hello Ma'am” Janus said in a voice just above a whisper. She shook his hand firmly and waved her arm toward the large black carrying case on the table. She then left without saying a word. Janus emptied the case on the table counted his pay nervously, making small practiced piles on the metal tabletop. “Huh,” Janus said aloud, “It's all there.” The payoff was always the most nervous part of the job, too late to back out and run, it firmly glued your feet to the ground.



He glanced around the room one last time, his two man escort team had disappeared, leaving him alone. Janus repacked the peggats slowly. He ran his fingers across the vinyl interior searching, then finding a bump. Janus dug at it for a moment with his nails before digging out miniature transciever. He stared at it a moment, trying to decide what it meant. His train of thought was cut short by siren wailing over the intercom. The bright white overhead lights turned an ominous red.

[Poludnica]

The soft hiss of opening doors greeted Cassius once his shuttle docked. Nestled in the station's belly, surrounded by the unknowns. The message was short, terse and raised a demand for him to be alone. The alleged stranger had information regarding Danica, details on her Korriban whereabouts, rumoring her fall and ill fated child to be born. The Force whispered warnings, sensing a trap. Carefully laid, methodical trap in which Cassius would have never stepped into if it wasn't so personal. Whoever dared to exploit his blood ties simply had to pay, one way or another. One hadn't lived this long in the underworld without making enemies, plethora of them. He didn't know which one were those that crafted this place nor what they were ready for but too often arrogance and pride won over good judgment. Especially now when barely held rage crept just under the surface, stirred by recent developments. The wretched Sith finally stomping over his dreams woke up something dark, something that slumbered before. Soothed by the old master's teachings and almost compulsory principled morality. Now this spine began to break, slowly letting out the ravaging beast from its cage. All consuming hatred.

He stepped out, not even bothering hiding his true skills. Black robes only added couple of inches to already dominating height. Saber hung in the open. High boots and dark gloves hinted Cassius didn't come there for peaceful negotiations. The Force spilled from him, pulsating around, trying to pry the nearest thoughts only to find...nothing. The docking station was filled with droids, the only creatures he couldn't read. Verdant eyes narrowed when a servant droid came closer. It's metallic surface catching artificial lights spread overhead. ”Cassius Liviana.” The android chirped. ”I was instructed to escort...” A crashing noise interrupted the machine that was pushed away with relentless force. It rammed into a wall. Two limbs unceremoniously fell off the droid and head began to move in a jerking motion as the electrical blowout from torn wires sent all the wrong signals.

”I will find it myself.” Cassius said, already waiting for the incoming attack but only the dying's machine's electrical whimpers filled the place. No guards, no living being. Of course... He thought idly. Cowards didn't want to face him but he fully expected a dangerous trick that would replace flesh and blood opponents. Without losing any time the grey master darted toward one of the alleys, feeling adrenaline already waking up the aging body. Pushing it into sprint. He could feel years creeping on him, once swift, flexible muscles straining, aching when not stretched properly. Ignoring pain, the man followed a luminous trail, trying to pick up any living being amid all this metal. Nothing...He made his way to another docking bay from which another cue led deeper into station. There was a lone ship there but no signatures left in the Force. The space station seemed dead which didn't bode well.

A long shadow of a service droid marked one of many doors. Cassius was hesitant to open any of them, expecting the worst. Whoever engineered this probably knew extend of his powers and prepared accordingly. No human personnel in close proximity, no one he could pry information out nor forced to give up the entire plan. Just machines with electronic brains dead to him like any other junk. Suddenly a long wailing sound broke the creepy, breathless silence. A wailing siren call, proclaiming danger. The lightsaber hissed to life, pale blue lighting up penumbra surroundings that now turned into dirty crimson. Cassius prepared himself for the worst. As always.

[Stephen]

Janus's fear doubled with each second. He shot to his feet and scrambled around the room in panic. He could feel something coming toward him, but what it was was lost to just how pissed it was. Janus paced back in forth, kicking waves into the cheap rug on the floor, before grabbing the case and bolting for the door. He got a step further before he tangled with the metal chair he had used moments before and landing chest first on the corner of the metal table. He slid to the floor, out of breath and in pain.

“You let your fear beat you before your opponent ever has the chance.” The Old Man's words echoed scornfully within him. Janus breathed out through his teeth and said “I wonder how many times since you've left I've shamed you.” He rolled to his back and released his nervous hold on the force. The cloak of force he held around him melted, and his senses flooded back to him. Janus sat up and stretched a moment. “Feels like years since I've done that outside of hyperspace lanes.” Janus stood up, straightened his robes out with a few small tugs. His light saber slid up the small of his back and down into his sleeve as he grabbed his case and walked out into the hall. Whatever this issue was, it wasn't going to be solved by cowering.

The hall stunk of harsh chemicals and cheap fragrance. Janus knelt a moment and touched the floor where the guiding arrows had been before he entered. It was wet. He walked a moment forward before coming to a T junction in the station. On his left, a metal framed humanized robot rolled down the hall with long handled mop, his torso perched above a single metal sphere. It saw Janus and stared at him a moment, it's head cocked to the left in a curiously avian gesture. It's wrist twisted jerkily and the metal pole came freely from the mop before it charged Janus. He barely dodged the spears thrust, slamming himself hard into the station wall. The droid turned sharply, it's sphere riding up on the wall as it cornered sharply. Janus let go of his bounty and let his saber fall into his hand. On the second pass, Janus forced the tip of the pike down hard with the force. The tip bit deep into the floor and the Droid somersaulted above him before crashing noisily to the durasteel floor. Janus pulled his blaster with his offhand and fired into it in one motion. Four shots later, it lay still.

Janus looked it over, his hand shying away from the still red hot metal, looking for a transceiver or a heuristic chip. He found neither. He stared into the gutted torso of it, wishing he hadn't done as much damage has he did. He sighed and started forward again. The sound of thin metal slapping on thick erupted all around him. He jumped backwards and ignited his saber in a nasal whine. A long moment of silence followed as Janus stood perfectly still, waiting for the next challenge. He was greeted by a breathy hiss from the ceiling and floor

[Poludnica]

There it was. A spark of life in the vast, hollow emptiness that made this station. Cassius focused, his senses, honing on the fellow force wielder. He registered no malice, no darkness lingering but a pale, indecisive hue his own aura exhibit. Calling for the Force to aid his aging body, the man sprinted toward another being, ignoring any luminous darts that led into various corridors. A fiercely independent creature, Liviana didn't even entrain the idea of complying this random call. Instead followed the Force, on his way passing droids. Silent stalkers that observed him with their lifeless sensors. Whoever hid behind those machines should be dealt with, in time. This place reeked of his doom. Force flared warnings – this place was a trap, a trap he willingly stepped into. Can't live forever... Cassius thought, though certainly didn't want to give in easily.

Whose trap was it? A rival crime boss? Exchange toward which Cassius harbored only one feeling, mutual one. He had built his power among Hutt Cartels, earned favors for getting rid of the Exchange operatives and gangs. To make important friends, one couldn't avoid creating dangerous enemies. Cassius knew it, yet anger made him reckless. Restless. Prone to foolish mistakes. From a perspective, showing up at this station could have been a fool's errand. Cursing under his breath, Cassius took another turn, feeling the disturbance in the Force even before he saw it from afar. A flash of the saber, a hiss of a laser weapon and droids crawling from the ceiling and floor. Their mechanical, spider bodies – long limbs, thick torsos and mounted weapons. Among them mangled corpse made of metal and a human man, at least what looked like one waiting for the inevitable attack. This was the Force user, his powers not intimidating but considerable.

It didn't take long for Cassius to decide the side, nor had he time to pry any information from the other man. Friend or foe, he wasn't a droid at least. The aged master prepared himself as his presence already alarmed the machines that turned to find him. The warning came from the Force and Cassius deflected the first blaster's bolt that came his way but that was a mere prelude. The droids opened fire, showering the two men with heated blasts. Cassius danced his way through them, dodging and deflecting but the tight corridor didn't allow much acrobatics. When an opening presented, the grey master pulled one of the machines toward him and jumped forward, cutting it in half mid air. Metal pieces fell to the ground, catching some bolts – a stray one managed to graze Cassius shoulder.

Burning pain in his arm stirred anger, Cassius winced, the Force around him thickened easily resonating with growing fury – exploding in a crushing wave, aimed to push the machines away. Forcing them to recalibrate, hopefully giving him some reprieve to finish off the last ones. ”Dodge!” Cassius ordered, for the first time acknowledging the other human presence. Behind the young man another droid appeared only to be met with a ignited saber thrown its way, taking off its robotic head. It wasn't enough though, it would never be enough as more of the machines ambushed them.

”There is too many of them!” Cassius shouted, already looking for a way out, finally discovering the doors neatly melted with the wall. He couldn't get them open, pinned down by the swarming droids.

[Stephen]

“Right” Janus thought, “I can open a door surely.” The din of blaster fire rang hot in his ears, filling the hallway with smells of singed metal and sweat. He absently swatted down a few blaster bolt shots, but the majority of attention was focused on the other man. He flared large within the living force, making a separate but equal racket inside Janus's head. The distractions had to stop if he was to get any work done. A decision clicked in head.

His lightsaber flicked off with a nasal whimper. He let the handle slide into the wide sleeve of his robe as his two hands met in front of him. The noise around him went out, as did the spectacle. One by one Janus shut out obstacles between him and the eddies of the force. A roaring pain shot through his left forearm and was immediately silenced. He felt the edges of the room in his mind, looking for a good grip. He found it.

“Be Still.” He said to the Sun flare standing ten feet to his left. Janus raked his hands out of his sleeves to each side of him. Tides of force surged from him down each side of the hall as he breathed out. He diverted around his counter part neatly, and droid and debris floated quickly down the halls, crashing into each other and the walls in grinding protest. Janus reached the last of his lungs, and gasped for breath, and the ocean returned to him. This time, he focused forward, slamming headlong into the superheated door. His arms pushed out as he exhaled, his palms parallel to the wall. Steel screamed and warped. The ceiling and floor buckled, making ridges and tears. The walls however, bent inward, leaving a tunnel into the next room.

Janus's senses turned back on. His arm began screaming again, a clean hole burned through his ulna. Dark spots danced in front of his eyes and he gasped for breath as the force took his strength for collateral against the loan he just used. His left arm pressed to his chest, he walked through the breach.

[Poludnica]

The machines pushed forward relentlessly, for every one decimated two more emerged. Cassius deflected the blaster bolts in a protective whirlwind but watching every flank quickly became tiring. The onslaught, stealing any time he could muster to call on greater powers. The pile of mangled metal grew, making it difficult to move. His step had to be careful, another thing to worry about. After all those years many things that came with the training turned into automated responses: keeping his posture, measured breathing, deflecting heated bolts of energy. It let Cassius to conserve enough energy so he could do it for hours to come but whoever designed this trap had probably days worth supply of the relatively cheap combat droids.

Move it, kid. Cassius thought, a moment before he sensed the Force gathering in a ferocious storm. His companion was about to show his true potential and the older man steeled himself against any backlash. They were strangers, maybe there was no direct ill will from the boy but flimsy alliance like they had just forged didn't matter when it came to saving own skin. The directed blow washed over him in but a breeze, betraying considerable skill behind it – focused, directed, powerful. Cassius offered the young man a quick glance in which faint gleam of pleasant surprise flickered before fading into a cold determination. The aged master was an opportunist and used the offered window while his companion tended to doors.

In a short reprieve in which the droids danced around them, caught in a crushing wave, Cassius let his own power loose. Like a rising tsunami tide, a deadly wave formed and swept through the metallic ranks, crushing them. Sound of tearing , bending metal filled the air with its unpleasant screech. Before another group of droids emerged the two men were gone, vanished into another room. When on the other side, Cassius turned to face the doors and once more called in for the Force to aid him. Doors protested with a tired wheeze but the opening sealed into an ugly mess but one that did its job. The droids didn't go through and the even when the doors tried to rise, they got stuck – too damaged to betray the two men behind them.

A long exhale left Cassius lips. He looked around, while rolling his shoulders, reliving tension that gathered there. The aged muscles felt the strain but that would pass soon – that had been a proper work out. The interior was bathed in a red light, an office of some kind. Empty. They were safe, for now. The Force didn't send any warnings, only the subtle mutter that came from the boy. The young man was wounded. In the dimmed, capricious light Cassius could see him gripping the hand in an awkward gesture, protecting it gingerly. This fight had cost his unlikely companion a lot more than him. Cassius crouched next to the youngster – he could feel the boy's distress, almost taste it. A creature of no empathy, but cold calculation, the grey jedi rarely complied to natural, altruistic instincts but he wasn't a monster. A firm code of honor guided his action, beaten into him but a former master – for the longest time Cassius understood only brute strength before appreciating social subtleties.

”Hold still. I can offer you no healing.” He said, voice soothing and calming. His hand rest on the young man's shoulder. ”But I can take away your pain.” With those words came a quiet impulse that traveled along the boy's nerves – a small, electric current it washed over the pain receptors, damping them. Dulling their response. By now, Cassius navigated those networks with pure instinct. At the same time betraying the power he often kept hidden, an ace ready to be used on an unprepared foe. There weren't many masters in a difficult art of telepathy that required as much discipline as sacrifices. Some of the other man's pain echoed in his own cortex, like a mirror that caught a twisted reflection. Cassius winced slightly, but that was just a pang in comparison to what the boy had just gone through.

[Stephen]

Janus stared dumbfounded at his arm for a moment, his eyes the only proof that it still existed past the elbow. He clenched and unclenched his fist a moment, trying to think how he would have done that to someone. He came up blank. “Oh, that's what unfathomable power feels like. I always assumed it was a turn of phrase.” He thought, “Oh!” he echoed, more desperate. His eyes shot to his new companion, wary and bright. Janus' breath caught in his throat on the exhale, a half hiccup. Leftover shock and new found fear mixed, tumbling in his chest. He closed his eyes tensely for a moment, his head drifting to the side slightly. He finally sat on the ground, chewing air in an attempt to return water to his mouth. “So I suppose we need a plan now eh?”

He scooted on the floor over to a service panel, and pulled a hydrospanner out of his utility belt. He shifted it to his offhand and started on the bolts, “You here for a reason other than a food dropoff?” He asked to behind him, “Because you'll have me beat if you do.” The hydrospanner clattered to the floor. Janus frowned and picked it back up, only to have it slap back to the floor immediately. “Uh, right.” He murmured, slipping his hydrospanner back into his belt. He put his right hand back on the panel, and the bolts quietly spun in off their pegs and fell onto the floor. The panel slid aside.

“I think I can tap into the power feed from here” Janus said, “If we wanted to find control center for these droids.” He pulled his datapad out and plugged it into the conduit. He quickly closed the VI assistance program before she could talk and thumbed through readouts. “Are you any good at sabotage?” He turned backwards toward his companion reaching out his good hand, “Name's Janus, by the way.”

[Poludnica]

The young man looked confused which wasn’t a surprise. Pain from physical wounds could be a poison that lulled mind into stupor. Once Cassius felt the youth suffered no more, he rose to his full height. Cunning, verdant eyes scanned the room. There was a console but no good for him - Cassius had no skills regarding hacking so the only information available would be whatever their enemies wanted for him to find. ”A plan would be nice, yes.” He confirmed, focused on his senses that still couldn’t pick a soul other than the boy in the room. ”You should tend to this wound, I shut down your pain receptors but they won’t stay like that forever.” The older man remarked indifferently, before walking to the console. The thing was dead, lifeless like the rest of the ship. Cassius sighed from building frustration.

The young man asked about his reasons for being here, in this lighthearted, semi serious sarcastic tone that reminded him of another Corellian he knew. Only because this pleasant association the grey jedi decided to humor the boy. There was no harm in sharing this insignificant detail. ”I was told someone I have a score to settle with is here.” Cassius offered while the boy fumbled with a piece of equipment. Apparently what the young man didn’t have in the Force, made up by a savvy, electronic skill. ”Aren’t you a lucky find?” The older man summed up, observing his young companion doings. Instead of pursuing more practical technological skills, Cassius focused entirely on the Force, arrogantly believing it would be enough to crush his every enemy. Oh, how hubris led everyone astray…

”Define sabotage?” Cassius asked. ”I can certainly break things if that is what you ask.” He shrugged, realising that not even four decades of harsh training couldn’t prepare him for such situation. Droids, computers, hacking…An empty space station, a maze without a single live soul he could drain for its knowledge. ”It’s Darek.” The name wasn’t a lie, jt was his infamous alias - as true as the other one. After years strolling through Nar Shaddaa underbelly created this mercenary identity to be equal with the legitimate one. Maybe darker one, less pleasant - ironically more real because of that.

”The best plan is simply getting out of here.” Cassius looked around, this time even more vigilant. He put a long finger on his lips while the Force sought connection to Janus’ mind. They may be listening. The telepathic message was short, concise but not too offensive, only gently licking the young man’s mind, without being an insistent attack. Don’t be afraid. He immediately calm Janus who could be alarmed by this sudden development.

[Stephen]

“That makes sense.” Janus thought, “Although it stands to reason that we could still use talking if we are clever.” Janus groped blind within the wall looking for cables, his good arm lost up to the shoulder. “Yeah.” He said out loud, “I can't find anything in here.” Janus fingers wrapped around a bundle of textured wires. “ I found it” He thought. He quietly tugged the cable to the opening in the wall and sat against the opening.

“I think we should stay here for a bit, see if we can't formulate some type of plan.” Janus said aloud, wiping his face in dismay. “But I don't have a lot of hope as it stands.” His thoughts, however said “Do you think they are buying it? I haven't had a ton of practice at this to be honest.” Janus put his hands flat on the ground to hide his excitement. The edges of a plan nibbled at his thoughts and he had to concentrate to compose them. Intermittent images flitted out of order through his thoughts before he carefully put them right. Janus had never felt self conscious about his thought patterns before, and it was strange to him to be laid bare. Like lying on an exam room having someone watch your heart beat with a judgmental smirk on their face.

“Okay so here is my thought on this situation.” Janus began silently, “These droids have no heuristic processors that I was able to find, so they have to be controlled locally. We can disrupt the power from here, and set the station on back up power, which should disrupt the droids long enough for us to make a break for either the control room or my ship.” Janus' shoulders hunched in preparation. “If that plan works for you, I'm ready when you are. And I suppose I should say something out loud now.”

He stared at his left arm for a moment, and noticed he could see the floor it. His stomach clenched at the sight and his head swam for a moment, a dim refelction of the actual shock he should be feeling. “I'm not sure I should use this anymore” He said out loud to the keyhole view of the floor. He tucked his elbow into the hook of his vest and looked up to Darek.

[Poludnica]

There was something very intimate in such close, telepathic contact and Cassius limited it as much as he could. He used to knowing what other thought rather than sharing a space in his own mind. Janus wasn’t appalling and could be counted among humans, Corellians no less. It all made contact with him much easier. The young man quickly picked up the idea, without any inhibitions and used it rather cleverly to build a ruse. Good. The grey master thought and added out loud. ”I reckon we can wait here until something changes. Cassius feigned agreement. His voice unshaken and confident, used to exaggerated lies.

You are doing well. A faint smile ghosted across the older man’s thin lips. Cassius rarely gave positive feedback or flattery, so it was the only encouragement Janus would get. Still, the Corellian had certainly a gift to hide truth, even if it needed some practice. The grey master silently watched the young man working, from time to time admiring his pleasant appearance. Cassius had no clue about what Janus was doing. He was schooled in the Force, politics, economy and art but technology remained outside his grasp. To Cassius dismay, one human couldn’t know everything so now the aged man had to what he never liked: depend on another being.

The boy focused and showed a series of images. Cassius closed his eyes: arranged and changed those loose thoughts so that his cognitive systems made sense of them. The things like heuristic and droids off line mode were lost on him but he got a gist of it. The plan was risky but might work - as far as Cassius guessed. It was unnerving, to be left so helpless despite so many years invested in building own power. What about the life support system? The man asked silently, worried about the very basic thing: power meant oxygen and temperature.

The Force changed briefly when an echo of previous suffering returned to the Corellian. Cassius shook his head. ”I can’t do anything more for you.” He confessed this time with own voice. Do it. The grey master added wordlessly. Preferably before you faint. They were losing time and the droids still swarmed at the doors. Cassius could hear their annoying buzz.

[Stephen]

“Right” Janus said. He pulled the force back within him, letting it course through his body. With one last look at his left arm, he shut it off from the force, leaving the wellspring in his core. He gingerly put the buckle back on his holster, no use keeping that open with only enough hands for a saber. Janus sighed, “At least it's still works as a counter balance.” he thought. Uncomfortable tension vibrated behind his teeth, and his eyes narrowed. His heart raced as his jaw set, tangy iron on his tongue. His saber slapped against his palm angrily and ignited behind him, a hazy green tail.

Janus rolled forward to his feet, sawing through electronics and wires behind him in the wall. The station shuddered and shook before plunging into darkness. The room glowed verdant, like dying dusk through canopy leaves. Janus ran forward to the ruined door, his angry tail dragging behind him, leaving an ochre trail, evil and hissing. He swung his arm in a circle around him, scarring the mutilated door from floor to archway. Force, shapeless and furious blew the door into the hall in two pieces, bowling over bewildered droids. Without transmission, they spun idle on their chassis, and moved in small circles. Janus sprinted between them, severed limbs and heads skidded along the floor behind him, as if pulled to his orbit before lazily dying out.

The station shivered again, and dim blue light crept ashamed from the corners of the square hallways. A trail of tiny yellow pinpricks appeared, leading forward. “Engineering” Janus shouted, not looking back. His mind burned black inky coal behind his brown eyes. He absorbed information as he ran. He had taken 2 lefts and 3 rights so far : left, right, right, right, left. A familiar smell filled his nose as he ran. Rancid trash and cheap booze, most likely an olfactory hallucination, but one he had had before. “Dark Jedi ahead” He yelled again. Large double doors stood ahead, hinged to swing outward. Plasteel screamed in panic as he hit them as he saw them. They tore themselves free and dove for safety in the room, bowling into two loose robed figures. Janus followed them into engineering.

[Poludnica]

Helplessness was a terrible feeling. Cassius was used to having control, he was used to manipulating reality, not the other way around. Whoever created this thing probably new his powers and that they worked on the living. He was renowned for driving the opponents insane before any blows could be exchanged. Machines around them had no though to steal, no fear nor deep, dark cravings to abuse. The Froce around him was silent around him, which made Cassius wary, uneasy and even scared. He would never admit it, not even to himself but the gnawing pangs of worry slowly grew into simple fear. Hopefully the kid knew what he was doing, Cassius never planned on dying in a hollow, metal giant. Crushed by stupid droids.

The young man initiated his lightsaber and Cassius suddenly realised what Janus was about to do. ”Are you sure it’s a good ide…” A storm of sparks and tremor that followed cut the ending of the sentence, silencing Cassius whose body tensed. The station went dark in a span of moments. Darkness never bothered the tall man who relied on Force to guide him among physical obstacles. This said…droids didn’t need light at all. The kid furiously rushed toward the doors, despite his deep injury. The Force gathered around him, screaming and bellowing until it was released toward the doors. They were torn from their frame, thrown back, crushing any droid in its wake. For a moment Cassius watched the spectacle, impressed by the young man’s braver that borderline foolishness. Ah, had he not been a hot headed youth like that once?

Refusing to leave Janus with all the mess, Cassius followed swiftly, sprinting after his companion. They cut their way through the confused robots until…something revealed its presence. Peered from behind a thick cloak. Disgusting darkness spilled from the farther corner of the base. Cassius sniffed it out even before Janus screamed the warning. Like a hound stalking a bloody trail, the old master darted toward the main engineering room. Finally a living being, finally something to vent frustration on. The way they masked from their sight betrayed skill, but Cassius didn’t care. He just wanted to kill something. To defeat it and dominate. To regain control this place forced him to relinquish.

”Leave them to me. You are wounded.” The grey master shouted out, knowing the boy’s injury could cost him his life in this fight. Not that Janus had to listen and Cassius would understand the hot headed recklessness. Two dark jedi of certain skill would be a problem even for him, but the old Liviana for the first time in months wanted to test the true extent of his power.

[Stephen]

The long ovoid octagon of the engineering bay was just as sterile as the rest of the ship. 100 yards in length, it was tapered and narrow at the entrance and nearly as wide as it was long at the back It's steel tiled floors and walls were dull matte and well lit by the emergency flood lighting. Two sections on the long side walls were raised six feet off the ground, with another three feet of metal railing circling them. The left side had a large bay of computers with utilitarian metal chairs at each work station. The right side held long work benches and complex robotic fabricators, their metal arms still. The back looked mostly empty. A yellow and black striped square was indented into the floor, cut through the center with a split marking them as a massive hatch or door. The two dark Jedi lay at the edge of their raised platforms.

Darek's newfound angry confidence bleed into Janus mind, mixing with his own frenetic madness. He watched the two robed men stand up and and dust themselves off, seemingly nonplussed. Janus' mind flooded him with information and conjecture.

That one on the left is taller than the other one. The fractal tattoos in their bald heads aren't quite identical as there is in error on the parietal fusion of the shorter dark jedi. If corrected, they formed a basic Julia set. The shorter man is hunching in his robe, trying to hide his actual reach with his posture and stance. They both are wearing plated armor under their robes

Janus shook his head, clearing it from the semi useful clutter. The taller man gestured at Janus with the top of his head inquisitively. The other responded with a quick negative jerk and walked toward Janus. The taller man shrugged apathetically and strode toward Darek. At the ten meter mark, they both pulled lightsabers and charged. “So much for staying out of it.” he murmured under his breath.

Janus's opponent struck quickly, letting his weight and momentum carry his horizontal stroke through any guard Janus might attempt. Janus instead rolled forward, on the opposite side of the swing. Janus stopped, face pressed against his right knee and twisted to his feet, swinging his blade in a warding blow, cleanly deflecting an overhand blow.

Shii-cho. It's unnatural for him. He's holding back, testing you.

Janus swung his head back, and felt the heat of a missed swing. He sidestepped the next stroke, ducking and spinning under the follow up sweeping his blade at his opponents knee. The force flexed and his opponent jumped backward several feet. His jaw tensed as he rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder. Janus simply watched, his head cocked to the side. His opponent breathed out slowly and pushed his right foot forward and opened his stance into the Soresu form.