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Sept 22, 2009 19:41:03 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 22, 2009 19:41:03 GMT -5
Movement…not close, but there WAS movement.
She turned her head, looking to see where exactly it had come from when his voice echoed into her mind. Purple blade hit her palm solidly as she saw the eruption of red bolts aimed at the speeder. A shock of fear twisted her gut as she saw the first streaks of light blaze outward. She sped toward the place her padawan sat, her mind already wrapped around the tree that stood near to the speeder, bringing it down in the way of those bolts. She wouldn’t have gotten there in time, but with the trunk of the large tree absorbing them she had a bit more time.
Makiro, I’m returning. The dark jedi is here, and I need you with me now.
The thought was narrowed, shrunken down, folded and refolded as much as possible so that only the boy would hear. She allowed that speed to drain from her as she skidded to a halt beside the tree, glaring in the direction of the source of the blaster bolts. It was likely he would have moved by now…those senses stretched outward once more. Finding him was like trying to find a shadow without a body. That purple saber hilt rested, still unlit, in her hand as she tested her grip on it once, then twice, and a third time.
Theron…they’re here, at the Borgonia residence…both of them are here.
All she could do was hope that the chiss had half a mind to listen. She expected he would be, but since the unexpected was already happening…who knew what else ‘unexpected’ might happen. Sihara felt Makiro’s presence grow closer and she tested her grip on her saber once more. She had made consciously sure to stay out of the light as much as possible, folding in on herself to dim her presence…but she was far from skilled at THIS particular kind of shielding…besides, now that her padawan was with her, it would do little good to hide herself.
You have my attention Praetor….but that will hardly curb my curiosity. Why are you so insistent on helping this woman? She isn’t much use as a traitor...she won’t be much use even if you manage to clear her name.
“Why”…the question that the universe revolved around. She had pointedly ignored his statement about their presence causing the woman harm…she knew very well that it would…and she hadn’t denied there was a possibility the woman’s name COULD be cleared. Speaking of the woman, she’d moved…she was between levels now…well, it seemed as if she too knew they were there, but something was holding her up.
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A®heim
One does not just make a dreadnought.
3,801 posts
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last online Sept 16, 2018 19:37:00 GMT -5
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Sept 22, 2009 23:13:34 GMT -5
Post by A®heim on Sept 22, 2009 23:13:34 GMT -5
Ayer bore the brunt of Aunna’s icy reply with stoic indifference. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but some information is best left out of the memory cores. Don’t want it getting too full…yeah… He did, however, catch Vex’s mention of their discussion. Aunna’s expression both perplexed and amused him. She had a point: it wasn’t like they had ever spoken civilly to one another in her presence, but still, they were both still in one piece. The bird nodded at the Jedi’s next statement. You need not to remind me of that. Logic doesn’t work for everything, especially when you humans are involved. There is still far too much to learn in this Galaxy than I will ever know, but….at least I’ve been gifted with the ability to try. When the rebreather was replaced, Ayer didn’t give it a second thought. That was logical, sensible. In fact, Ayer had been wondering just how he had managed to keep it off for so long. He had gazed past the robes and studied his wounds before; they were horrific and no doubt crippling. Ayer harbored a lot of fear and respect for that man. Mostly fear. Then the unthinkable happened: he almost complemented the droid. Almost. But coming from Vex, occasionally useful was practically getting on his knees and praising Ayer with arms spread to the heavens. And probably about as hard for him to say. Ayer just stared at him for several seconds then shook his head. Wow…talk about Does Not Compute… He muttered quietly. Sarah stood causing all present company to stiffen. As Aunna followed her mother from the room, Ayer’s photoreceptors fixed upon her. Sarah hadn’t brought off a very good first impression from Ayer’s point of view and he was no where near close to trusting her, emotional trauma or not. Still, the King of Paranoia made no movements to stop them, so Ayer consented himself with begrudgingly turning his attention back to Kuvos. That would be most appreciated, Lord Kuvos. I apologize for lashing out at you. You are a better man than I originally concluded. The subject of the true story came up and Ayer became one with the inanimate and remained still and quiet while he allowed Vex to say his part. He was prepared to give his own account of the tale, complete with audio/visual recordings and data files if need be, if Kuvos were to be dubitable of a Dark Jedi’s story. You know, like most people in their right mind would’n’should. However, this he nearly forgot as he listens to Vex recount the tale. Several details were new to Ayer and the droid was amazed at the number of connections that suddenly sprung into place, there was a moment then were he felt a little irked at being denied such valuable information. But then again, that’s exactly what it was: valuable information that could easily be used against them by their enemies, and not necessarily those amongst the Republic. In addition, it wasn’t like Ayer wasn’t holding anything from them. Republic war plans, controversial secrets, the details behind his own background, the list went on as far as his memory banks could sort. At the mention of his partner, Ayer hung his head and mumbled nearly inaudibly. He did what he had to do. As did I. You owe that man your life just as much as myself…and he is not my “owner.” After all this and you still have no idea… The irritation and contempt in that mechanical voice was difficult to pick out, but it was there. Ayer returned to his vigil and sulked in silence for the remainder of the conversation. He hadn’t known Andrew or the atrocities he had apparently committed. He had only just woken up at the aftermath. It was horrific… Ayer sighed. …but probably necessary. Ayer began to wonder as he had many a time what the point of it all was. It was at that moment that Vex gave his snarl and ripped apart Kovus’ mind. At least, that’s what Ayer assumed he was doing. However, Kovus quickly recovered from the ravaging with no more than a slight headache it seemed. He seemed relaxed compared to Vex. In a moment he had barked his orders to the now very confused droid. His photoreceptors narrowed. PROXIMITY SCANNER ACTIVATED.
INITIATING SPYGLASS PROGRAMMING… In Ayer’s vision, the room flashed several times and went dark as the data from the two programs compiled into his signature ability. Suddenly there was the room again, but in a slightly different light. Oh, and every large, moving object in a 90 meter radius was visible to him as shining silhouettes. Spyglass was yet another of Familiar’s miraculous innovations. Augmented by almost all forms of artificial vision including infrared, LE, and radio-optical telemetry as well as AI targeting systems and proximity sensors, nothing could hide from it. It was unmistakable: two figures, moving in from the grounds. The Republic would never send a mere two soldiers for any threat, not to mention that of a Dark Jedi. Everything that left wasn’t pleasant to think about. Ayer HOPED they were Jedi. At least they were merciful bad guys. Ayer armed his self-defense emitter and extended his feathers to their full length. He gave Vex a curt nod, hunkered down low and warmed up his thrusters. REPUSLORS ONLINE. FULL IGNITION IN 5 SECONDS.
WARNING, ENERGY LEVEL DANGERO- OVERIDDEN [/center] A hum emanated from droid, slowly crescendoing to a whine. A loud bang and he was gone leaving a room full of shattered glass behind him. Hallways passed in a blur, stairs became ramps, Aunna went from 8 meters away to 8 millimeters away in 0.094 seconds. Crap! Ayer rolled right at the last instant tucking his wings in as he did to avoid slitting Aunna in two. Continuing his bank to the right, he reextended his wings letting the feathers dig into the wall to slow and turn him. The result was 1 mechanical seagull making pace with Aunna Borgonia and 1 gash the size of a Krayt Dragon in the wallpaper. Ah well, priorities. It would seem you are at least semi-aware as to the immediacy of the current situation. Vex is distracting them, we’re leaving. Now. Ayer flew ahead a few meters and clung to the wall with his talons. His sensors indicated a high energy conduit just on the other side. TARGET ACQUIRED. DISCHARGE: 15% AUXILLARY ENERGY STORES. [/center] Stay close, Aunna. There was a snap, a crackle, and a pop (OCC: Rice Crispies! ^ v ^) as several nearby lights exploded in a shower of sparks. All other lighting in the building flickered and went dark. Ayer’s vision shimmered for a moment before taking on a greenish hue. Other than the change in color scheme everything looked the same to the droid. Aunna likely knew the building better than most of its current occupants and Vex was…Vex, so no worries then! Perfect… Unfortunately, his antics had a less than desirable side-effect: there were proximity signatures everywhere from the panicked residents of the manor. He was having difficulty remaining focused on the offender’s genera; location and soon even that much would be impossible. BATTERY LEVEL: 81% [/color] Good, there was still enough for one last trick… INITIATING IFF DECODER. ACCESSING GALACTIC REPUBLIC PERSONAL DATABANKS.
MILITARY FILES CRIMINAL FILES CIVILIAN CENSUS OFFICIALS DO-
EXTRACTION COMPLETE. NETWORK ESTABLISHED. IFF DECODER ONLINE. The turmoil of silhouettes sorted themselves by color. That is to say, they all turned a light green. Except 3 of them. Just outside the manor, a blue signature stood facing off against a red. Ayer felt a moment of habitual dislike for the red signature while at the same time a sense of concern for the blue. That is until Ayer remembered whose side he was on. In the distance, almost out of sensor range, a second blue blob remained still and sure enough, as Ayer check on Aunna, her visage was overlaid by a sheet of crimson. The droid fleetingly wondered what color he would appear as….my how his world had been turned about….
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
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Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 23, 2009 18:35:32 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 23, 2009 18:35:32 GMT -5
Lo' and behold, the Chiss was listening. His concern and aggravation was paramount as his presence reached back toward her. Get out of there, Sihara. You and Makiro aren't prepared to handle him. I'm on my way. Do not engage him, do you hear me? For all of his general manner and the aloof way with which he dealt with the both of them, he seemed almost...afraid...for them.
Don't speak of things you have no understanding about, Knight. Your Temple-borne faculties are too narrow-minded to understand my reasonings or my purposes. For the sake of your simple comprehension, she saved my life...more than just on Nar Shaddaa. It is reason enough, for now.
Vex had, of course, moved. Such was his penchant. Never stand still...never make yourself a smple target. It had nearly cost him everything once. It was a mistake he would never make again. He was circling his prey now, the pistol tucked securely into his belt. She had some talent, trying to lower her own signature...but she was far from being as proficient as him. Besides..she'd responded as expectd to his goading. She'd gone to the transport and did all she could to protect it. The other one was a youngling...and that one was her weakness.
He attacked from the side...letting his aura burst out like a nuclear blast of dark power to envelope around him and disconcert and disorient. Fed by the rage within him and his adamant desire to protect her had all the power of a black supernova. It was dangerously close to the levels he'd held when he had battled against Ramseye on Nar Shaddaa.
He'd bounded against the front of the transport and used it as a springboard. His arm was cocked back and slammed forward, spearing that emitter forward as the crimson blade flared to life to impale her where she stood. That violet blade also sprung to life, held in a reverse grip and prepared to deflect any counter upon her part.
Success or failure, that Force Speed had him moving again, looping out and away from her, back into the shadows as his own signature dwindled again, dampened back down to an unreadable level as he did all but disappear again into the night.
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 23, 2009 19:16:17 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 23, 2009 19:16:17 GMT -5
Aunna had nearly yelped as Ayer had come screaming up the stairs, barely rolling to the side enough to miss disemboweling her. Even so, she’d flattened herself against the wall with a thud. Without much of a second thought, she’d asked her question and bounded off down the curving flight of steps once more, not even caring about whatever damage had been done. Her parents had enough money to fix it, besides, she had other priorities. Ayer’s words, however, were hardly in keeping with her line of thought.
No, I think not. Vex doesn’t distract, he ki…
She had been ABOUT to say ‘kills,’ however, the force deemed NOW would be a good time to bombard her with information. First came the jedi’s words…she knew the voice, remembered the name, it was the togruta who had questioned her at the prison…the one who had even stated that she believed the woman’s story. She didn’t even hear Ayer as he plunged them all into darkness. Her vision went dark, yes, but it certainly wasn’t because of Ayer.
It was dark, the light of the moon finally coming down from behind one of the larger clouds that had obscured the moon’s rays. Confused, she gazed about her. It was…the orchard? It was the strangest out of body experience to see herself leaned against the tree panting and pale. Where was Vex? What had happened? The jedi? Where was she? Aunna (the real Aunna, not the vision Aunna) turned on the spot, hearing footsteps approaching…it was Vex it seemed, but as she narrowed her eyes to see better through the gloom, her vision blurred again, misting over slightly before everything was dark again
This time the darkness was because of Ayer, and she cursed quietly. There was noise, a lot of it, as people scurried about the house to find what was wrong. The dim glow from Ayer’s photo receptors, then his thrusters as they fired up once again, was about all she could see. It took a moment for the woman to gain her bearings once more and she scampered down the rest of the stairs and started for the front of the house. Two steps and she stopped.
Despite all of her desire to stop Vex’s foolishness…that was NOT the right way to go. She could feel it in her every fiber and, like on Coruscant, it kept her from following that path.
Turning on her heel, she barely dodged a flustered maid as she took off at a run toward the glow of the sitting room fire. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Vex’s words came to her mind once again as she traversed the hall…”Don’t see…feel…let the world open up to you through the force…to help you through.” This was where the fear begged to seep through though she denied it at every turn. With a racing heart, she attempted to do as he had instructed. It was her life on the line once again, and though this wasn’t exactly Coruscant rush hour traffic, every person or thing she ran into was a hindrance and potential threat to her safety. Feelings, feelings…what “feeling” was she supposed to be looking for? Even on Coruscant she hadn’t known…not really…she’d just acted……but she’d done it, and they’d survived. If she’d done it before she could do it again.
Aunna had paused another moment, waiting for Ayer to detach himself from the wall and catch up to her as well as struggling with herself over this new hurdle. As soon as she’d had that last thought, however, it was as if something clicked in her mind. If she didn’t move, she’d never know, and she’d be one step closer to a one way ticket to death row. Vex and Ayer and his sniper…Mu’haro apparently…had gone through too much trouble for her to throw it all away over a doubt.
She didn’t hesitate again.
Almost blind eyes scanned the darkness, the confusion of movement around her as people checked the house for intruders. A weight, almost physical it was so sudden, made the woman halt as two servants hurried across her path inches in front of her. No sooner had they cleared her path than she moved again, darting around a table she could somehow sense before she happened upon it. A flicker of color to her right had her practically leaping out of the way of a guard as he stepped through a door and clomped in the opposite direction. This odd happening had her pausing again, bewildered by the color that had flickered around the man, but she was moving soon enough as another door behind her opened and she sprinted forward, weaving between a hall chair and a baffled maid as she turned around, seemingly lost in the dark hall. Again that sudden ‘weight’ had her stopping and she pulled out her necklace. There would be no time to give Rook the holo recording herself, as she’d hoped, so she would have to give the copy to her father and hope for the best. She barely had the wits to press herself back against the wall as another guard came thundering through the hall toward the sitting room. Fumbling with the badge once as her finger slipped, she managed to get it open, and the chip out, the second time, closing it immediately after and dropping it back under her shirt.
Ayer…come here. Do NOT lose this data chip. It is the holo feed of Samael’s attack on me from Manaan. I need you to give it to my father while I contact Rook. I can’t meet him, so he’ll have to get it from dad…meet me at the door we came in. Hurry.
Her voice was barely above a hurried whisper as she instructed him and turned to slip through another doorway, shutting it behind her. Another dark corridor and she was moving more swiftly this time, at least she was beginning to get familiar with the odd ‘feelings’ she that were her clues on when and where to move or stop. It still caught her by surprise every time a person would come hurrying through in a flash of color, and each time she was certain that glow would reflect onto her, causing her to be seen. Each time she was proven wrong. Aunna didn’t have time to ponder this curiosity, however, and as she slipped into her destination, she found it uncomfortably occupied. Cursing silently, she watched the guard end the transmission and turn toward the door he had heard open and shut.
It was too late for him by then.
Aunna had reacted swiftly, moving into range of the puzzled guard and bringing him down with a swift kick to the back of his knee as she moved around him. A well aimed elbow to the temple and the man was downed completely…he’d likely be out for a while. Her hands swiftly moved over the keys to the com system, the blue glow of the computer in the room bathed her in an almost eerie glow as she brought up the link she was searching for…luckily for her the link hadn’t been deleted, she just hoped he still used it….
Rook,
Afraid I couldn’t give you the information personally, trouble cropped up unexpectedly. Kovus has it now, and apparently there is more information than I originally expected….several data chits worth.
I’m really very sorry for our last encounter, it was a…trying…time for all of us. I’m also very sorry about your family…again, I wish I could have said all of this personally. Perhaps when things have calmed down a bit more...if that ever happens.
I’m sure more can be explained when you receive the information gathered.
Thank you so very much.
~ A
She didn’t dare say more than that in the transmission. It was dangerous enough to have said so little and even so vaguely. Rook knew the military family though, and it wasn’t as if her father were any stranger to him…they’d been over to the palace enough times for military advice under his father’s rule. Aunna sighed heavily at the thought. With a shake of her head, she refocused on her priorities. A moment later and the databank entry of the communication was erased on this end. The former major stepped lightly over the unconscious guard and she hurried back out into the dark hall. There was still commotion, but it was now near the front of the house, leaving her path relatively clear as she hurried down another hall toward the ‘back’ door. Skidding to a stop on the tile there, she glanced around…finally spotting Ayer, she nodded once and reached for the door before cursing quietly. Holding out a hand for him to stay put, she was about to move as another “colored” person came striding toward them. The silvery lit man had her frozen in place as she watched him approach. She desperately hoping he wouldn’t see her, like none of the others had…such was not her luck. Fortunately for Aunna, however, the gruff voice that cut through the darkness nearly had her crying in bitter sweet relief.
Didn’t think you could leave without saying goodbye did you, girl? Besides, you forgot a few important things. Thought you might want them.
Aunna nearly lept at her father, wrapping her arms around him tightly and squashing the stack of papers and her dress uniform pants between them. Tears prickled in her eyes, blinding her further as they began to stream down her face.
Thank you daddy…
It hit her, then, that she wouldn’t be able to return here…not until she was able to actually clear her name, and who knew how long that could take. The thought was more than she could bear, and she screwed her eyes shut against the pain and sadness. Kovus’ feelings were not far off from Aunna’s, afraid for the girl…wanting to protect her, but not being able to…knowing she had to leave, and not knowing when he might see her again. He wasn’t unlike any other protective father, he just had a title attached…and times like these, he both wished he did and didn’t have that title. Pushing her away gently, he pressed the pile into her arms with a huff.
Get out of here girl, before you get yourself caught...and mind your back out there.
For all the gruff and grumble the man was right now, it was clearly an act…even Aunna knew better. Especially Aunna knew better.
Yessir…
She shoved the items into the small bag from her mother and slipped through the door, tears still sliding down her face as she sprinted for the back gate.
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Oh, she heard him. Trust and believe, she did NOT want to confront this man…not like this. So far he had the upper hand and she had walked into the mess unprepared…it was about as far from an even playing field as she’d walked into during her fight against the previous Battle Master. Sihara wasn’t entirely without her wits, however. As Theron replied, and that brooding voice washed uncomfortably against her mind as well, the Trogruta caught his movement at last. He was close enough for her to feel through her montal now…and that was bad for him.
That dark aura exploded from him, battering against her and she responded in kind, letting loose her own purple tinged light. To the force sensitives in the area the clash of the light and dark between the two almost seemed as if it would send sparks in all directions when they collided. The movement was not unexpected now as she swept out an arm, turning in a semi circle to keep the dark jedi in front of her and Makiro behind. Amethyst blade erupted outward, barely shunting the would-be crimson skewer to the side as she backpedaled, forcing herself and Makiro out of the way of that second blade as her own flickered out of existence once again.
He isn’t exactly giving me much choice, Theron, and running isn’t exactly an option so far…He’s toying with us.
Golden eyes watched vaguely as he darted off again, her mind already working at the grass, the clods of dirt, that he ran over even as his signature dwindled away. A rough, upward, motion of her hand and she could hear the sod ripping away from its roots in a shower of dirt and grass around the dark jedi just before his signature vanished all together. What she needed was someplace with more ammunition. Grunting, she rounded on Makiro, and without a word hoisted him up as she let the force flow through her muscles. Between the speed and the power it gave her, she vaulted up onto the speeder and over the wall. The blasted guards may have closed the gates, but there was more than one way for a jedi like Sihara to get out of the manor grounds. He wanted to play cat and mouse, fine, but this mouse wasn’t about to let the so called ‘cat’ have the upper hand if at all possible.
On the other side, the blur would come to a halt just a little way inside of the orchard. Here she set Makiro down again.
Theron is on his way, until then, we stay where I can have at least SOME advantage and where you can have more cover. You can use Force speed a little yes? Let’s go. The longer we stand around the worse for us.
Sihara wrapped her signature tightly around her, compacting it, making it like a tight fitting suit. She would still be visible, yes, but far less so this way than if she allowed herself to remain completely uncloaked. With that, she started off into the grove, making sure she moved at a speed that her padawan could keep up with.
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 24, 2009 17:27:46 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 24, 2009 17:27:46 GMT -5
He heard the earth ripping up from beneath him. He dove to the side, curling into a roll that took him away from the erupting ground. A neat trick, but she underestimated him. It was more original than most of her counterparts tended to use...but it would take more than that to get the upper hand from him.
Pushing himself up and onto his feet, he began to move again. Already heading at an oblique to his original direction, he was heading toward the wall when she made her attempt to get her and her padawan out of the way. That worked well for him. The farther she moved from the grounds, the farther she was from Aunna. That served his plans, especially given that he had felt that Aunna was going to be searching for them. Her reaction to his words hadn't been unexpected, but it still angered him nonetheless. The emotions he felt radiating from her, the heartache and loss from her realization, only made his anger burn higher. It reached the point that it crystallized and hardened, freezing into a razored edge.
He used his momentum as he hit the corner of the outer wall. He bounded from one wall to the next, clambering up and over before he dropped down to the ground. Their speed couldn't match his...especially with her holding back to keep up with her Padawan. Poor Jedi...she was making it far too easy.
She had excellent defenses...for her level of talent. He had the proper impetus, however, to motivate him to break through, winding his way into her defenses and latching on there like a psychic leech. She did well to try and hide herself in the Force...but she was radiating around her padawan like a moth to a flame...and by finding him, it had been too easy to find her.
What he found was very interesting.
His laughter filled her head. He's going to die, you know that. Your partner, the blue-skinned one...he will not get here in time. Your padawan is going to die. He's going to die because of you. You brought him here. You might as well help me stab him with my saber. Don't worry though...I won't make you watch him die...not like Kain.
He appeared there in front of them, sabers flaring to life and highlighting his features in a garish, malevolent mask of blood and violet. "Leave, Jedi. Leave now and forget the name of Aunna Borgonia. If you do...you and the child will live. Killing you will disturb Aunna...and I would rather not deal with that unless necessary. The boy doesn't have to be like Kain..."
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 24, 2009 20:15:57 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 24, 2009 20:15:57 GMT -5
((okay, I just really want them to go at each other…can we let Makiro go so Sihara can have her darker moments please? She’s gonna be angling for a fight now.))
Even as Aunna sprinted for the back gate, she caught hints of color, the dim sound of raining dirt, but she didn’t pause to try to figure it out. That wasn’t the way she was supposed to be following. No sooner had she turned a corner of the winding path than she found a rifle in her face. With less than a thought, she had knocked the barrel away from her and toward the sky with her forearm and had been about to disarm the wielder when Robbens’ startled grunt caught her attention. Without a word, she ran past him toward the gate once more. She could hear him following her and as she skidded to a stop once more, he already had his keys out and was unlocking the gate. As soon as she heard the lock click open, Aunna was pushing past Robbens with a nod. She didn’t dare speak, she couldn’t, if she spoke the woman knew she would only end up breaking down and that wasn’t an option.
As she reached the orchard Aunna let out a growl, turning those painful emotions into something that could get her through, solidifying them, crystallizing them into a burning frustration, bordering on anger, that drove her forward. She darted through the trees, weaving between them easily even as a few clouds started to obscure the moon’s rays. Something was changing though…and it wasn’t just the light. There was a subtle pull beginning, something urging her into a new path. At this point, Aunna wasn’t about to ignore that feeling…whatever it was, force or something else, it hadn’t led her astray yet tonight, and she wasn’t about to risk finding herself in MORE trouble because she ignored the guiding feeling.
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Sihara could all but feel him gaining on them. It was a gut instinct and the subtle warnings of the force that there was still danger that kept her moving, eyeing their surroundings. It wasn’t until she felt the thorny, poison laced, vines of his thoughts wrapping about her mind that she knew for certain he was close. Not only did the trees echo their own movement, hers and Makiro’s, but also his. She sped up just a bit more, to be in front of her padawan instead of beside him, as her mental barriers grew molten in hopes of forcing him away from her mind. She wrestled with him for a moment, but his abilities in this area far exceeded her own and soon enough he was attached. So be it. Her own mind latched on to his, feeding off of those thorny links as her own mind wove around them back toward his and battering away at his own defenses…drilling into them angrily even as he taunted her with her past failures.
As he appeared there, moments after she felt him through her dangerously reverberating montral, swathed in the garish glow of his twin sabers, Sihara stopped short and settled herself between her padawan and the roiling darkness that was Vex Praetor. Even as he spoke her own anger and doubt was boiling up in her, her senses lashing around them all as she took in the feel of the area and weaving about the dark jedi, threatening to entangle him in them. He would let them live…HA…no doubt as soon as their backs were turned he’d plunge those violently humming blades into their backs! Golden eyes narrowed as she probed him physically, sensing out those injuries he had sustained, looking for what damage she could do to him there. A mildly startled gasp escaped her as she suddenly realized just what she had happened upon. Flashes, images, rose up in her mind’s eye…memories of the past, memories of a very different, yet very similar person.
The sight of a padawan, forced into Morichro by his master and brought back for treatment. Hours had been spent working with the cyberbiologists to keep the young man alive. Jedi masters, the healers of the temple, the medicorps workers stationed there, herself and her master. Shifts had been taken, precautions, strict rules and instructions had to be followed as they had worked to save a life. It was the worst injury Sihara had ever seen…it still was in most respects. She remembered the face now, the machinery he’d been fitted with...widened golden eyes took in his appearance now, the information her senses brought to her, they all fit together. He was older, but it was the same person.
You…I was right….it WAS you.
It made sense now…at least in part…the scream she’d felt through the force on Coruscant. The name the ‘jedi escort’ had chosen to take on while freeing the former major. Those things now made sense to her. This ‘Vex’, the former Enery Winsliyn, had said that Aunna had saved his life more than once…she didn’t understand why, but she accepted that as fact, the woman’s memories had said as much. What other connection was there that she was missing?
She didn’t have time to think about that now.
Golden eyes narrowed again and her thumb itched to press against the button that would ignite the vibrant purple flame that was sleeping in her hand.
You’ve changed too much Enery. I can’t trust you to not stab us in the back if we turn to leave. Besides…you and I both know it won’t end so easily even if I tried to trust your word on the matter.
A backward step was given, pushing herself and Makiro away from the fallen jedi. It would appear she was backing down from the older opponent…for now. Sihara, however, wasn’t about to turn her back on the foe, he was far to close for her taste, and her desire to protect her padawan kept her from outright attacking the man in her anger. It seemed they were, thus, stuck at an impasse. Had Makiro not been there, or been able to defend himself more easily, there was little doubt that the togruta woman would have attacked outright. Her earlier anger, however, had been tempered with sadness and a mild disdain for the man before her…he had been given life, she and many others had worked hard to save it, to give it back to him, and THIS was how he used that life?
What now Enery?...no…I suppose you aren’t him any longer are you? The man I worked to save is dead. So, Vex, how is it going to be? I don’t want you do injure my padawan, and you don’t want me to take Aunna. I cannot leave for fear you will harm him as we turn, you can’t leave for fear we might still follow, and we can’t both stand here all night.
You let my padawan go without injury, and I’ll say the major got away from me…you and I will stay here and glower at each other until they are both safely away. Is this something you can live with?
Sometimes you had to choose your battles, sometimes you couldn’t avoid one, and sometimes you just had to try and make a truce. Sihara knew she wasn’t about to get out of this unscathed…not even if she had decided to leave…the subtle hints that the force was feeding her had led her to this conclusion long before she’d actually spoken to the man who now stood before her. If he knew this or not, she wasn’t sure…she didn’t think she wanted to know if he did.
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 24, 2009 20:58:54 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 24, 2009 20:58:54 GMT -5
"You are allowing yourself to give into hatred and anger, Jedi. They are tools of the Dark Side...wouldn't your former Padawan be disappointed in you. First the slaughter after you failed to save him...now this. Be wary, lest you fall as I have..." Chuckling, he flipped his blades around almost playfully, letting the light scintillate around him in a play of lethal festivity. He felt her battering at his own defenses. An admirable display once again...especially bolstered by her own rage.
She would feel the walls bend and begin to buckle underneath her assault...cracks appearing to allow her in. Once she did, they shifted...the walls closing around her presence and imprisoning it. He held her like that...even as she tried to turn the tables and use her own realizations against him. He did not remember her...there had been too much pain and unconsciousness then. Even if he had...he wouldn't want to. He hated that he lived from all of this. He would have rather died.
"Enery Winsliyn died long ago, Jedi. He was dead long before he ever appeared upon your work table. He never made it off of that planet. You wasted your time. You created a monster."
He matched her pace for pace, not letting them get farther away. As she spoke, he shook his head. As that twirling of the blades continued, the violet winked out and was smoothly clipped to his belt. His hand transferred over and found that blaster, drawing it up...keeping the action obscured by his motions with the other hand. His thumb tagged the selector switch to STUN and he fired at them, letting the larger, concentric rings issue forth. So very hard to deflect...and she couldn't move, lest her padawan not be fast enough and get hit instead. The blasts angled in a blast radius, fanning out to cut out the ability to move to either side.
Seven blasts and then the cell was drained. Even as that last blast left the barrel, he was dropping the weapon and launching himself forward. It hadn't even hit the ground before his second weapon was back in his hand. The Force sung through him even as he spoke.
"The problem, Togruta...is that it is not something you can live with."
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 24, 2009 22:56:04 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 24, 2009 22:56:04 GMT -5
(there's an attachment at the bottom with Vex and Sihara's stats for easy reference. Also, a KA song for this fight: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9mun3gGdCk )She heard his warning, she accepted it as fact, and then she ignored it. The vortex of red and purple color around him did little to phase her even as he stepped toward them again. He had trapped her, perhaps, but this didn’t stop her from utilizing the cracks he had allowed to open and close around her. She was further in than she had originally expected to get and she wasn’t stupid enough to put all of her focus on getting through those walls. Part of her was still attempting to extricate him from her own mind, her thoughts a whirlwind of intents and possibilities that even he would have difficulty sorting through. As soon as he could latch onto one she was on to the next. Sensory, vibrations, memories, training, more sensory, abilities, possibilities, it would slip around him like a torrent of wind and water…she could make sense of it, but it was unlikely anyone else could make much out of the jumble she had created in her own mind. The rusty skinned woman didn’t even hear his would be mocking of her. She’d already played the scenario through her mind for him, long before he’d said anything to the effect. Potentially harmful words fell on deaf ears. The walls around her presence, the part he had trapped, reverberated with intent and her saber flickered on. She was expecting the sabers, not the blaster…but that situation was easily resolved. Her mind was already a whirlwind and so she simply brought it into being, the dirt and leaves, rocks, gravel, twigs, it swirled around her and Makiro, absorbing the bolts in the flurry she had created before blasting the debris into his face, the strength of her desire to retaliate as well as keep her padawan safe creating a wave of force that sent the branches of the trees around them shivering and the smaller ones snapping. Once more his words fell on deaf ears as she allowed the force to flow through her like the mighty mountain rivers, a flash flood of power and speed coursing into and through her muscles as she picked Makiro up once more, darting away from his attack. Blinded or not, she wasn’t going to get into the way of that. Swift as thought, the togruta pulled up the roots of several of the surrounding trees, twisting them about and making them dance as she sought to entangle his feet in them. The commotion had the guards coming out of the gates to search the surrounding area. The had seen the red glow of the lightsaber and the two purples…they knew one jedi and her padawan had entered, but they didn’t know about Vex or Aunna having been there. In their duty to protect the estate and its inhabitants, they had gone to see what the commotion was and if the jedi, who had recently vanished over the wall with her padawan, needed backup. Go to the guards Makiro. Hurry.With a new wave of determination, she brought the dirt flying up around the dark jedi even as she still focused on those tentacle-like tree roots. She danced around him, keeping herself out of his reach, yet still between him and her padawan. She had to keep his mind occupied, however, to keep him focused on avoiding her tricks and traps. He was fast…fast as herself…but she had other ways to counteract that speed. She hadn’t lived through a confrontation with an insane battle master for no reason. The striped female was still…uncomfortably…conscious of his presence in her mind. He could easily attack her at any time, and she knew it. He could read her, but not all of her attacks were ones a person could simply avoid like one could a lightsaber. Even so, she didn’t like having him in such a vulnerable place…so she burned away at those linking, thorn ridden, vines of his thoughts and presence, hoping to sear him out. Attachments:
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 26, 2009 13:40:10 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 26, 2009 13:40:10 GMT -5
Her intent made the attack simple enough to anticipate. The power of that push was impressive...the wall of detritus rising up to defend and then blasting out to assault. He couldn't get above it...he hadn't the talent. Even his speed wasn't fast enough to dodge to either side. He went under. Those sabers winked out and his form tilted forward and dropped with surprising fluidity. The cloak was drawn about him as he rolled, protection enough against what bit of the wave's contents did glance against him. Though the roots tried to coil about him, his speed did not allow them the chance to gain purchase and he simply rolled over them. The push itself slowed him as the edge of it washed against him, but that counter force helped him still and push to his feet before he brandished his weapons once more.
Even as Jedi went, she was exceptionally strong with that telekinetic gift. He was good at leveling the playing field against such an opponent, but she was more creative than many of her ilk and thus he had to be more careful with her. She was going to be a challenge...moreso perhaps than Ramseye Novak...but she didn't have a sniper waiting in the wings, poised to assist with a near-lethal strike. He moved again as another root tried to tangle him up, severing it with tip of a saber as he moved away, dancing with sure feet around her improvised caltrops.
"You shouldn't get attached, Jedi. Attachments lead you down a dangerous path. They make weaknesses...make you vulnerable. Such attachments can be used against you by those with a mind to...or devastate you if they are lost. You are spending more time ensuring that the youngling is safe, instead of dealing with the threat." Reaching in, he felt another...brief memory as she flitted around trying to circumvent his presence within her mind. Latching onto it, he held it...her first intereactions with the Chiss Jedi...minor thoughts held when she caught scatterings of his. Oh, what a dysfunctional partnership indeed....and then the vision hit.
It slammed into him after the catalyst of that memory...the two of them...Chiss and Togruta... tangled up together in a mess...of sheets? It was a rather...graphic and unexpected vision as the reasons for why the were like that became very apparent. It was there, flashing in his mind and then gone again....his movements barely hiccuping, though he did pull back from another attempted attack and instead dodged around her artfully woven distractions.
Very interesting...Togruta... if you do survive this...you might wind up being a very naughty Jedi indeed. I wonder, who then...will come after you when that happens... He let the vision bleed out into his unguarded thoughts, showing her just what he'd strangely drawn depths of the ether that was the future.
He would see if that caught her off guard and off balance for a moment, using that split second to ride along within her mind as her furious defenses paused in their desire to draw him out of her consciousness. There had been something else about that initial memory he'd taken from her as well and he allowed his mind to spear the nerves leading to that scar and the sensitive point there. He could not distract her with such displays as she had...but he would distract her with her own body...its own weaknesses and pain as he sought to stab into that weak point while keeping her defenses at bay.
Launching himself forward, he sidestepped with a hop. As the ball of his foot touched down again, he twisted it and allowed his knees to bend, the momentum coiling with him before he sprung forward, blades arcing out to attack at her flank.
Even as their sabers crossed he spoke. "I will not allow you to cause more unwarranted harm on her, Jedi. She is mine..."
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 26, 2009 17:15:40 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 26, 2009 17:15:40 GMT -5
She didn’t see his movement, but she felt it sure enough.
Through all of the reverberations her actions were causing, it was fairly easy to distinguish an inanimate object from a moving one.
He was good…most would have been downed by that, well, technically he was also but only so he could avoid the brunt. Smart man. What she didn’t feel, however, were acrobatics. She didn’t feel him push back to counter her, she didn’t feel him leap up to avoid, all she felt was a constant pull of force into him…so he really couldn’t use the force for more than that, eh? Well…he may not have been able to do that, but he could certainly do enough damage to her even if he couldn’t get close enough to strike at her physically. His comments were vaguely heard, the words reaching her ears, but their meaning left relatively unprocessed. He thought she wasn’t dealing with the threat? She almost laughed at that. She was dealing with the threat…just…one threat at a time. Priorities were to keep her padawan safe, THEN deal fully with her adversary…priority three? Get out of this alive. So far priority one was at least mildly tended to, so she could turn more attention to priority two…who knew if three would happen.
He seemed to hold back for a fraction of a second after he grabbed hold of her first meeting with Theron, and she took the opportunity to entwine herself around a set of trees near by. His words cut around her mind and she huffed loudly. Moments later, that vision he’d had crept into her thoughts and that whirlwind of her mind froze in place. What the HELL was that?! Unfortunately, that moment of utter confusion and consternation allowed the dark jedi the time he needed to send pain shooting along her scar.
Sihara recoiled out of instinct, biting back the sharp cry so that it came out as only a muffled groan. She’d dealt with pain before, especially this pain, and she knew how to numb it as a healer…so she did. One weakness under control, she was still reeling and knew she wouldn’t have time to counter his attack. With a thought she pulled down those twin trees to fall on either side of him, in front and behind, to slow his progress enough for her to gather herself together. Sure enough, he was at her just as she’d gotten back up, their sabers clashing against each other as he spoke to her. For a moment she pressed against him, the lights reflected oddly in her eyes.
You like to chat, don’t you?
In a flurry of leaves and fruit pulled from the branches of the fallen trees, the togruta manipulated the force around them to fly at, and cling to, her adversary as she vaulted over him in an acrobatic show of skill, only to be followed up by a light thrust of her saber toward him before vaulting off again in a new direction…the direction she could feel the other woman, Aunna. Sihara didn’t go far, just far enough to get his attention.
—Yours you say? Just why is she ‘yours’?
She would let him feel her preparing, building up that force speed into her limbs, draining it from the air around them. She would also let him see one thing that she could quite easily do to him…she already knew that system attached to him, she could easily grip it through the force and rip it out of him if she chose. She also let him know, let him FEEL, what she felt…the presence of Aunna bringing her closer to them every moment they fought.
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Makiro
I have to say, you always do come up with the most interesting posts, Makiro. Thanks - assuming the word ?interesting? wasn?t meant sarcastically, of course.
404 posts
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I can has first Galactic Empirez, for safes and sekyur sossi... soca... pplz?
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last online Jul 15, 2010 16:48:09 GMT -5
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Sept 27, 2009 7:27:58 GMT -5
Post by Makiro on Sept 27, 2009 7:27:58 GMT -5
Makiro ran as fast as he could manage towards the location at which he remembered he had seen the guards. The past few minutes were a complete blur in his mind. First he had sat for what had seemed like an eternity, waiting for his Master, feeling for any minor changes in the ebb and flow of the Force. Then he had heard her mind, desperately calling out to him, warning him of the presence of the prize.
Then the battle had begun. He had not been prepared for the confusion and chaos that had constituted that brief skirmish, and what had probably lasted less than a minute in real life, had seemed to him a year or more. After sparring with the Dark Jedi for some time, his master had finaly ordered him to retreat. He had hesitated only briefly, before remembering her words to him at the beginning of their mission: If I say run, you run and you don’t stop to think about it.
He had done just that. Turning a corner, he saw the guards looking about frantically for the source of the commotion. Seeing him, they panicked and opened fire, but, drawing his sabre, he deflected the bolts easily, remembering his lessons with Sihara.
"Don't shoot! I am Jedi Padawan Makiro Variyas, and my master needs help!"
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 27, 2009 14:09:03 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 27, 2009 14:09:03 GMT -5
He didn't have the same acrobatic advantage that most Jedi had when they could augment it with the Force, but he was still far more capable than most humans. The falling trees were but a nuisance, as she no doubt knew they would be. He'd slipped under the first before curling up into a twist and quickstepping over the second to make him airborne as he came down with that strike.
She vaulted over him and brought that flurry of detritus around him. While she summoned speed, he lived in it, those arms staying in close as he twisted about, his sabers flaring around him like a strobe of lethal light, frying away the annoyances as he moved to face her, deflecting that thrust of hers out of happenstance. It was too typical of a move for him to be caught off guard with. It was a staple of the Jedi...
Her movement garnered a reaction, of course. Fear...through that link he still held on her, it slid through, cold and glittering and painful to him. It was a realization...fear for her safety...as with that connection to him, the Jedi would clearly see he held no concern for his own. On the back edge of that fear came his anger, stirred up by that emotion.
Her threat, empty or not, did not even phase him. Do you really think I care if I die. Death would be a release....but not until she is safe. And then...as she drew power from the very air around them...he drew it from her...leeching it from her. His resolve became carbonite then...the intent clear. She would not get close to Aunna. He might die...but he would take her with him.
That power he drew from her fueled him and he drew off that mask. Tucking it into his belt, he looked at her, seemingly calm...poised...still. Then the volcano erupted and he moved. A penumbral blur...contrailed by amethyst and blood.
He removed the mask so he could scream.
Every nuance of rage he felt...every bit of fear...it poured out from him and made the moment on Coruscant seem like a gentle song. The power of it looped back on him and fed him, rippling out like a shockwave and she would find it slamming her with the same force and intent that she'd thrown at him to protect her padawan made tenfold. A heartbeat later found him on her too, battering at her defenses without a moment to think or even attempt to go towards the major, forcing her away from the approaching fugitive woman.
He wasn't telling her why he called Aunna his.
He was showing her.
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 27, 2009 17:38:33 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 27, 2009 17:38:33 GMT -5
Even as she followed the new feeling, Aunna knew it was a bad idea. She halted, after a while, debating the intelligence of her actually going further. She could feel something going wrong, something…she wasn’t sure what exactly. The warnings, the feelings she was getting, they were conflicting…one telling her to continue, the other warning her away. She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the ship and Coronet, then back in the direction she had been heading…the direction she could hear the fight ensuing. Torn between her better judgment telling her to just go to the Consul to wait there and her more noble side, Aunna took one step in the direction of Coronet before stopping.
Sighing, the woman lowered her head and knew she couldn’t follow that path. She couldn’t turn a blind eye, she couldn’t just walk away like nothing was wrong…nothing was happening, she couldn’t ignore what was going on behind her, and she couldn’t allow Vex to do what she was quite sure he was going to try to do.
Through all the turmoil in her heart and mind, Aunna forced herself to calm down…she couldn’t afford to go into this mess blinded by emotions. She’d be fighting for her life against a jedi if it came down to that, and she would be changing sides and fighting against the man who’d saved her life if she had to…right now, she was the neutral between the two, and she was the weakest of them. Despite this knowledge, the former major lifted her head once more and turned back around to face the direction of the fight between Vex and the togruta jedi. With a narrowing of her eyes, Aunna took the first step in the direction of the fight…it was one of the more difficult things she’d had to do in a long time, but after that the motion came more and more easily until she was once more in a flat-out run.
Even as she drew closer she could see the maliciously glowing weapons of the two force users in the distance. That wasn’t what caused her to halt once more, however. No. That shock of physical and mental energy, the snapping and cracking of wood…the scream…THAT was what stopped her once more. For a moment, a fraction of a second, she felt the tail end of the blast press against her like a short gust of wind and the edge of that mental battering. The anger…the fear…in it had her moving again. She’d only seen Vex use that once, in the prison, and she’d not liked their odds then…nor had she liked the drain it’d had on him. Her fear echoed his own, spurring her on. Things weren’t going well and no matter which direction she went, forward or back, the consequences were going to be ones she didn’t like…she would prefer to take the consequences of being closer to Vex rather than farther, especially considering her own fear for his safety. He didn’t seem to care about his life, and was willing to sacrifice it, she didn’t want that and if her presence could change it…she’d take what ever repercussions followed.
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Sihara had expected him to rid himself of the debris she caused to fly at him, and she’d expected him to avoid or block her taunting prod at him, what she didn’t expect was the fear that she felt ripple through him as she moved in the direction of Aunna, placing herself between the dark jedi and the former major. Golden eyes blinked once, startled by the almost physical pain that fear conjured up in him…the man was seriously concerned for her safety in a way that…well it almost crossed the line into the concern she’d felt between lovers, even followed by the unadulterated rage that accompanied the emotion. Rage caused by the threat to a loved one.
The togruta hand little first had experience with the emotion, except when it came to Kain (and now Makiro), but she’d felt it from others in various experiences through her limited knighthood and previous padawanship. His words lanced through her mind and she knew the full brunt of the storm was about to hit her…she prepared herself, pulling that force he’d been trying to drain from her back toward her like the moon does the tide. She gazed knowingly at the dark jedi and nodded once…he was going to kill her and they both knew it…and she accepted it. At least, now, she had the truth.
Theron, Makiro is with the guards. I’m calling off this hunt, dark jedi and traitor or not. If you hunt them, you do so on your own.
Even as he moved, even as that scream battered against her, sending her backward, she crouched, one hand on the ground to steady herself as it slid her backward even as it stabbed at her mind, clouding and fogging it. She gazed up at him, saber flickering out for a moment so the heated blade wouldn’t injure her, every inch of her the predator her people could be, were born to be. Without a second thought, she was up, that saber coming to bare once again as she matched his speed, dodging around his blows, countering the double blades as she got hold of the cloth of his robes through the force and twisting them, manipulating them, to wrap around him and bind him up.
She flowed with him, allowing him to batter against her for a few moments before she slipped away from him only to allow him to batter against her again. She was reading him, getting a feel for him even as he broke against her Makashi defenses. Suddenly he would feel an almost bestial strength gripping at, and pulling on, that violet saber as she worked to rip it from his hand and call it to her own. Already she was moving away again, slipping backward and leaping into the trees, cutting branches as she lept from one to the next, that rending pull on his saber unyielding in its urge.
Finally she dropped down a few feet away from him and launching herself at him in a counter attack. Sihara wasn’t about to be kind…no, she wouldn’t be so cruel as to tear the life support system from the man, but she wasn’t about to fight nice either. A flash of crimson seared past her, slicing into her arm painfully…she shut the pain down.
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 27, 2009 20:00:40 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 27, 2009 20:00:40 GMT -5
Theron was nearing the home of the Borgonia's when he heard her words. What? Sihara...what do you mean? We can't. I'm almost there... He was shocked by it...he couldn't understand what was going on in that woman's mind. She was...infuriating...in that way. So confused was it that he didn't catch the warnings in the Force quick enough. While he was able to swing the speeder's nose somewhat...he couldn't do enough to complete miss the other that was coming through the intersection. It slammed into the nose of his own, spinning the vehicle around. He was knocked around a bit, but there were no injuries. The speeder, however, was dead....the engine mangled enough. Dragging himself out of it, he took off on foot, calling upon the Force to hasten his movements.
He feared he wouldn't get there in time.
They were evenly matched. He was burning power hard and bright in an inverse conflagration...the fact that she was able to split her attention enough to continue to harry him with her power was impressive, but he didn't dwell on it. The only thought that had catalyzed in his mind was one thing:
Protect Aunna.
She was more powerful than the Dark Jedi he'd faced on Nar Shaddaa...more intelligent as well. Creative. Able to adjust on the fly. In another world...another time...he would have respect for her. Another time, he would have broken off from this battle out of that respect. He hated the Council and the Masters for what they would not let him do...for keeping him from knowledge that could help him become whole. Not all were the Council, however...most were simply misguided misinformed, as he had been.
Like the other Dark Jedi...he only hated them when they were in his way.
He managed that strike in, just past her defenses, but it cost him. He couldn't get full power into the strike and lost the follow through as he finally lost the battle against her wrenching the blade from him, leaving his hand open. It brought him on the defensive now as he had to backpedal against her renewed counter strike. He pulled into that defensive form, crimson flickering around him in a Soresu wall. He wouldn't be able to keep this up...and he felt Aunna getting closer. So he did the only thing he could do.
The defenses dropped, allowing her blades in as he surged forward, twisting, snarling as the violet of his own blade seared against his hip and the other speared through his shoulder. He gripped her tunic, seemingly paused in that rictus of pain from the wounds, faces so close to each other, black pits staring into those golden and emerald eyes. His fingers tightened more, pulling her closer even as it caused him more pain.
Then he released the power he'd drawn in, letting it crackle forth from his hand, pouring out from his palm in a rushing stink of ozone as blackened, cerulean lightning pulsed from his palm directly into her. The force and power from it crackled and blackened his palm, searing the flesh on it as he poured it into her.
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 27, 2009 21:15:01 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 27, 2009 21:15:01 GMT -5
Sihara had to admire Vex…if she’d known him better as Enery, she had little doubt that they could have been friends…or at least gotten on better than she had previously thought. This, however, was not their reality. He was fighting to protect something dear to him as she was fighting for the same…and now her life. Even as Theron’s thoughts reached her she had closed in on Vex, his saber flickering to life in her hand as she batted away that blood doused weapon, her saber slipping through defenses that had dropped completely and searing into his shoulder as she brought his own violet weapon against him, burning into his hip.
His fingers gripped at her tunic as she could feel the pain radiate from him in waves that battered against her. They gazed at each other silently for a moment, golden eyes boring into his, softening only barely around the edges as she allowed her saber to die out, her hand already moving to push him away from her. She would leave him there and not go looking for them again…already the woman was almost on top of them. Even as she allowed her understanding of the situation to echo around that potentially crippling link he’d forced upon her, he pulled her closer.
Those golden eyes widened for half a moment before she accepted the inevitable. It had been foolish of her to think he would allow her to leave this way.
--Get Makiro and go, Theron, for once just don’t ask.-- So this is it then. --Makiro, Theron is close. Go with him when he arrives.--
She had addressed each one individually; however, her words to Vex were, perhaps, the most painful to her. Sihara could sense him drawing in the force even as he held her there. Her heart raced in her chest even the millisecond before that lightning was unleashed upon her. The entire exchange had only lasted a matter of moments…barely enough time for any normal person to react, and even as a jedi she’d only barely had enough time to speak to those three people, never mind try to get away.
The searing pain that came next was near unbearable.
It shot through her, lighting bones and flesh on fire from the inside, ripping through her injured back, along her sensitive lekku and montral, coursing through her blood. Despite her will, her attempt, to bite back the pain, to shut it down, she couldn’t…he wouldn’t allow it…and so she started to sink in his grasp crying out in her pain as she allowed his saber to fall, the hand previously holding it reaching to grasp at his own robes as she still sought to defy the pain and remain standing.
She didn’t want to die on her knees.
This was how Aunna found them.
The violet glow of those sabers had died from existence only to be replaced by a far more menacing blue. A threatening crackling of electricity, that cry of pain, it wasn’t from Vex. She could see his back, the red hand that grasped at him and a glimpse of black and white horn as the jedi sank in pain. Aunna could feel the death coming…it was slow, painful, it twisted at her heart and made her stomach churn as she skidded to a halt.
…No…--I’m too late.--
With a sharp shake of her head, the woman hopped back a step as if Vex might round on her next. Dismayed, and wounded in more than one way emotionally, she turned and darted away from the scene feeling cold and more broken now than she ever had before. Only two minutes later she found herself at the place she remembered from her childhood, leaning against the tree Jade and she had marked so many times, just as the moon began to appear from behind the clouds.
I knew before that he was a murderer…why? Why does this hurt so badly then? Why did I give everything up for him? WHY?!
She slammed her palm against the trunk of the tree she was leaning against, her head bowed, tendrils of her hair hanging about her face after coming loose from that controlling bun. Aunna was pale, she felt sick and shaky, a horrible mixture of anger, pain, and fear wrestling for dominance in her gut.
Ayer…go back to the manor. Now. I’m leaving soon and I don’t want company right now…I have a lot of thinking to do.
Her voice was cold and hollow, and it was obvious she wasn’t about to take ‘no’ for an answer. Somewhere behind her she heard footsteps…and honestly, she didn’t care who’s they were. She didn’t turn, she didn’t lift her head, she didn’t even open her eyes. If it was someone come to take her back to prison, so be it.
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
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Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Sept 28, 2009 20:58:06 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Sept 28, 2009 20:58:06 GMT -5
Satisfaction.
He had drawn her into his trap, playing her like he would a Dejarik game. Toe to toe...they were too even...the unstoppable spear against the unbreakable shield, destined to clash against each other until the end of time. In order to win, he had to drop the shield and allow the spear to strike. So he had, drawing her in...and binding her in strands of death.
He had played the round perfectly, drawing it into the end game. Though sacrifices had been made, the outcome had been inevitable. The play had been perfect. Aunna was safe.
So why didn't he feel satisfaction?
He felt death curling its fingers into the woman as she gripped him and screamed out in agony, slowly sinking and giving in to the pain and demise that was overwhelming her. It reached the point that he was holding her up...the grip upon her robes the only thing keeping her from dropping down completely. He slowly let her down, easing her to the ground as the power tapered off and stopped pulsing into her. His pain rocked through him from that shoulder and hip, but he reached into himself and closed off those receptors. He had more important things to worry about.
He draped her on the ground, his free hand behind her head, surprisingly gentle as he laid her down. He felt her drifting away, losing connection with the physical body as it started giving up. He reached out with his mind, grasping onto her, pitting his will against fate and pinning her there.
No...Jedi... now is not your time. Death is inevitable, but not today. Your intention toward Aunna is honest...and you saved my life once. I will do the same....but I will not leave you crippled and dependent on machinery for life.
He leaned over her, pressing his palms against her chest. He was tired, already so very tired from all that he'd put into their battle...but he had to find more....Aunna's reaction had not gone unnoticed by him...even after she fled, she all but broadcasted out to all nearby. He closed his eyes, shaking his head. He whispered softly to himself, "Why, Aunna? That is a question I wish I could answer..." He growled low in his throat before turning his attention back to Sihara and pumping every ounce of mental persuasion into her words. "Stay with me, Jedi. Look at me...concentrate on me, not the pain. Look into my eyes. This will not be pleasant."
Once again, darkling energy crackled between his fingertips, dancing between his hands and her flesh once again. The unfortunate fact was that, compared to this, the Force Lightning was a walk in the park. That fire raced through her...from her toes to her fingertips, up through her heart and head and down through those lekku and montral, searing with fire and freezing with arctic ice at the same time. Through that pain, that rare gift worked. Through that pain, he began to undo the damage that had been done. Through that link, he dragged her back from the Force and slammed her back home into that corporeal form.
As always...it wasn't perfect...it wouldn't make her miraculously whole...but it was enough. She would live and the damage that was left could be healed naturally enough...faster with kolto and the use of the Force.
She would not die today.
He slumped over her, the whole of his being feeling drawn and stretched out...utterly hollow and empty. He was shaking, trembling from the exertion. The pain was leaking through cracks caused from the exhaustion. He forced himself up, hand curling around that saber she'd dropped. His saber. As that hip screamed in pain, he forced himself up, saring down at her form.
"Goodbye, Jedi."
He slid that rebreather back over his face. He slowly moved away, dragging his leg, shuffling away, his wounded shoulder slumped forward as he pulled away and sunk into the darkness and shadows that had been his comfort and solace for the longest time. He moved through it...searching for the only beacon of light left in his life.
Nearing her, eventually, he saw her there by that tree. Stopping an arm's length away, he gazed upon her slowly, taking her in...reading her thoughts...her signature in the Force. Finally, he spoke, moving past her, toward the Consul "Come, Aunna, We must leave."
He didn't know what else to say.
Theron heard her words...his gut and the Force had him fearing the worst. He pushed himself, finally getting to the street when he felt it...when he knew he was too late. He felt it and it staggered him, her pain bringing him to his knees.
"No..."
Pushing forward, he drew closer and found her body there, alone...with no sign of her adversary. Theron reached her side and dipped down to a knee. Sihara...he reached out a cerluean hand, brushing it against her cheek. He slid his arms under her, hooking one behind her shoulders, the other behind her legs. He still felt her...in the Force. She wasn't dead yet.
He didn't know what Vex had done, but he knew she wasn't dead yet. "Stay with us, Knight Horula. It is not your time to die."
He stared out into the darkness for a long moment, searching for the Dark Jedi...he couldn't find him...no trace. Yet he vowed to himself, silently...Sihara may have chosen to give up that hunt, but he was all the more determined to finish it.
He turned on a heel, carrying her back toward the Borgonia estates. They could help him get her to medical care....
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A®heim
One does not just make a dreadnought.
3,801 posts
6 likes
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last online Sept 16, 2018 19:37:00 GMT -5
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Sept 28, 2009 22:54:01 GMT -5
Post by A®heim on Sept 28, 2009 22:54:01 GMT -5
I suppose she must not have heard the “stay close” part… Ayer had jumped from the wall, reengaging his thrusters as he fell. The soft, shimmering glow of the repulsors was one of the few things visible now; that and the now greenish hue of his visor, adjusting for the Spyglass program. Aaaand Aunna was nowhere in sight. Well, standard sight at least. The pulsating, red silhouette was blindingly obvious from Ayer’s point of view, blundering around the corner and down another hallway. It was chaotic at best. Everywhere, frightened guards and servants ran amok: a confused and dangerous stampede. The droid dived forward, weaving his way through the panicked crowds to appear back at Aunna’s side. No time to waste, we’ve got to get out of he- Ayer was cut off as Aunna took off into the grounds. The repulsors whined back into action taking the droid up and after her. Rising to an altitude of just about 10 meters, he stayed close to Aunna as she fled… …towards the clashing of the red and blue blurs. Aunna…I don’t believe this is what Vex had in mind when he told you to flee. Aunna? Aunna you’re going towards the people trying to kill you! His voice was apparently lost amongst the wind and turmoil within the woman. Ayer spread his wings wider and shot ahead towards the commotion. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he felt he had to do something.He could see them now: Vex and the Jedi- REPLUBLIC JEDI KNIGHT CENSUS ACQUIRED ASSESSING DATA…
MATCH FOUND: SIHARA HORULA – DOWNLOADING ADDITIONAL DATA… -trading blows in stunning flashes from their sabers that blinded Ayer’s receptor’s. Remembering he still had his Light Enhancement vision activated, he hurriedly cut that as well as the thermal imaging, but he left the other Spyglass systems online to better keep track of the chaos before him. He would need it. Vex screamed. Ayer heard it: a cry devoid of hope, engorged with despair and misery. If Ayer could’ve, he’d be shivering. All the same, a queer thing did happen then. While at first Ayer heard the scream only from his audio receptors, several other systems started going berserk as well. It was as if a new variable had been detected but nothing knew how to apply it. And it was. This variable was one that no machine could ever hope to comprehend (and even the few that tried paid for it with their stability). It was life and death. Joy and sorrow. Everything that racked his frail chassis from that attack would continue to haunt him for years to come. He tore his attention back to the duel below. Vex was a skilled warrior, one of the most Ayer had ever known, but this Sihara was proving her worth as just as lethal an adversary. For every mental lashing Vex could dish out, she could unleash an equal amount of raw physical energy in creative ways to disrupt him. It seemed as though the very orchard Ayer found them in was on her side. ( swrponline2.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=kuat&thread=6704&page=1 ) She had gotten her opening. Vex was losing…going to loose…lost. Ayer glanced away as her blade sizzled its way through his skin, but he didn’t perceive that nearly crazed twinkle in Vex’s eye as it did. In a moment, the air was literally buzzing with a sound 100 times more sickening than that of the lightsaber. Vex was killing her…slowly…painfully. It was too much for Ayer. He had been torn over his allegiances for months but this is what ripped him. Stray signals disrupted his altimeter, he couldn’t fly straight. Finding the nearest tree, the bird droid perched unsteadily amongst its branches and lowered his head down. Before him, the red silhouette who had sworn to protect Aunna was killing a blue silhouette. Blue. Ally. An ally of the Republic, the galactic power Ayer had given all he was for, was being killed horrifically by someone he had just started to think of as “friend”. There was no choice. Aunna had to be protected, but there were costs that were too high. Ayer couldn’t stand by any longer. He rose unsteadily, but determined, and those feathers extended to glimmer in the shine of Vex’s lightning. He would do what he had to do. Not as promised to an individual, but as what he promised to a galaxy. That narrow beam of infra-red light passed across him causing him to pause before his intervention. He knew it well. All too well. The invisible shaft paused for a moment, then swept down and alighted on the Dark Jedi’s back. Ayer laughed. It was so befitting for him. Vex let himself slip and had shown Ayer his true nature and now he was going to pay for it in a way oh so familiar to him. The darker part of Ayer’s programming was elated. Until Aunna cried out and Vex stopped. Ayer’s near-maniacal laugh caught in his vocabulator. What was I thinking?! I’ve spent more time in that man’s presence than most can say they survived in, and yet I’m so quick to wish upon him such demise? He isn’t doing this for some sick enjoyment, he is doing this because it is all he has left to protect the one he loves. [/i] The beam burned slightly brighter as the marksman on the manor rooftop locked on to his target. Sometimes the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. This was the last complete thought Ayer processed as he dove from his perch into the beam. He was still nearly 50 yards away from the skirmish, far out of notice of any salvation. Not Vex, Aunna, or Sihara would have heard the muffled crack as Ayer put himself between the very action he had first condemned himself with. The trajectory had been perfectly calculated, energy refraction simplified to the nearest three-hundred-millionth of a millimeter. The shot returned parallel to it’s first course and struck the marksman in the upper arm causing him to cry out and drop his rifle. However, the heat, kinetic force, all that was unable to be reflected was instead inflicted upon his frail body. He was done for. And you know? He was happy with that. Even as he fell shattered to the grass, circuitry crackling and smoking, he couldn’t help but feel a vast amount of contentedness at his performance. He had been right: his use was at an end, the life of Aunna Borgonia was in more capable hands now. His job was done. Those photoreceptors blinked their last and died away just as Ayer did. …but then, droids can’t really die, can they?
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Sept 29, 2009 0:04:13 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 29, 2009 0:04:13 GMT -5
She almost wanted to beg him to keep her standing, but she refused to do that. Even with the pain she refused to allow that. He held her up even as her muscles failed her in the end and on some level she was mildly thankful. Soon enough she couldn’t even feel the pain, all of her nerves had absorbed so much of it that the information was too much for her mind to handle and she couldn’t feel anything any longer. At that point her screaming had stopped, and she could feel herself slipping away, almost into a thick fog that welcomed her with cold, misty, fingers. Sihara didn’t even notice that he had stopped his attack on her, and she could barely feel him lowering her, his hand cradling her head to keep it from falling back limply. The shells and metal of her headdress tinkled lightly against each other and the ground, giving the moment an oddly serene and ethereal feel. Honey and clover eyes gazed up at him, half lidded and almost unseeing as they shifted in and out of focus. A small, flickering smile drifted onto her face for a moment as she almost welcomed the death that was coming for her. She had regrets, but not so many that she didn’t feel she could let go of her life. He was doing…something…though. His grip on her mind shifted as he settled her completely against the ground and his words found their way into her thoughts…what few there were. She attempted to focus on his face, to make better sense out of what he’d said to her, but everything was so difficult to do now. Save her life? What was he talking about? He said something aloud, quietly, and she attempted to comprehend. It was something the woman had said…those half ‘heard’ thoughts she’d sent out that had been clouded over by the pain of the lightning he’d used against her. His hands were pressed against her chest and he spoke again, this time it was directed at her, barely comprehended through her failing systems. He wanted her to do something, they were commands, this much she could gather by the tone of his voice, but she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind the words. They were unintelligible to her by now and all she wanted was to sleep. She had done her job, she had protected her padawan, he was safe…alive. She’d put all of herself into their battle and the toll on her body was already great enough from that…the death creeping up on her only made her want to close her eyes more and give in. No sooner had she started to be able to feel something more than numb than a new pain rose up in place of the subtle cold that had been clawing its way over her body. That pain made her muscles constrict, her throat closing against the new cry of pain that wished to escape her. Unintentionally she grasped tightly to one of his arms, her nails digging into the cloth that surrounded it. Why, why couldn’t he just stop? She’d been so blessedly free of pain and then he had inflicted more upon her, and he called it saving her life? Even as the pain began to fade away, she felt more pressure against her and felt that welcoming fog slip away once more. Sihara could feel him trembling and the healer in her wanted to help him…even after all he’d done, right down to nearly killing her, she still wanted to help him. She couldn’t though, and she knew it. The hand that had gripped his arm slipped from it to land against the ground heavily as she tried to draw in enough of the force to begin healing herself…but she just couldn’t. Her mind, her body, even her soul was too weak and strained to be able to get enough of that energy to put any of it to use in even the smallest of ways. Through her montral and the earth below her she felt him move before he began to lift himself up once more. His words made more sense this time and she echoed her understanding back to him, tinged with her gratitude…but she was just too tired to formulate anything remotely close to what that gratitude should have been. Under it all was a new sense of confusion on his actions, and a mild hope that maybe…just maybe…he wasn’t completely lost like she had thought during their battle. She wasn’t certain how long she lay there, alone, drifting in and out of consciousness. While she was, she could vaguely hear the guards outside the orchard. They hadn’t come in after the battling jedi, it had sounded like a two person war zone in the orchard and their job was to make sure everything OUTSIDE of the orchard around the estate was safe. Robbens had seen that Makiro stayed with them near the front gate, listening to whatever the boy would tell them about the situation. They had also seen that blue demon looking personage blur along the road and into the orchard after the commotion had died down, and they didn’t dare go in further lest he be another dark jedi. They had heard the screams of the woman…twice…and though they intended to go get her body, they weren’t about to risk their lives to find it if there was still a chance that there was going to be another fight. Sihara had guessed that would react that way…even with her diminished senses, she could feel their fears and uncertainties. She didn’t blame them. It wasn’t long after she had started hearing their movement around the edges of the orchard that her mind faded into blackness again. When she came out of it again, back into the waking world, it was to a renewed wave of pain as she felt an arm slip under her shoulders, lifting her up as another worked its way under her legs. The presence was familiar and even more so the voice. It was a struggle to open her eyes, but the followed her command slowly, barely, the blue visage that entered her dimmed sight earned a wave of welcoming and grateful emotion (weak as it was) from the woman. Theron. Blasted man was late, but at least he was here. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Only after she’d spoken did she realize that the familiar sound of Ayer’s thrusters was absent. Confusion rippled through her even as she heard that limping step draw closer. Aunna tensed, wanting to shy away from the man who stood there gazing at her. What would keep him from turning that same horrible power upon her when he felt she was no longer worth the trouble she caused him? She’d been lucky so far…he’d been lenient with her, even kind to her at points…but he was still a dangerous man. He was still a killer. Aunna could hear him breathing, feel him close by and hurting, probing her gently…searching her…she didn’t know why he was. She wanted to turn to him and tell him she still believed in him, to check his injuries and make sure they weren’t life threatening even though she somehow knew they weren’t, she wanted to heal him…heal him of the pain he was feeling physically and…perhaps…emotionally, but she was conflicted. It was like being in close proximity to a wounded animal…without even looking at him, without even opening her eyes she could see that baleful gaze of his, the ebony mane coming free of its restraints, the alabaster skin…she could almost feel the pain he was in physically, in her own form as it radiated from him. The problem with wounded animals was…sometimes they bit the hand that tried to help. Right now she couldn’t decide if she should be more afraid of the animal, or more concerned for it. As his words reached her, she nodded slightly and stood straight again as she heard him move past her. Yes, of course.She would follow after him, silently, as they followed the same route back to the Consul. Down the less used country roads, into the Blue district, over walls and through alleys…she never strayed far from him, but she never got too close either, still seeing that wounded and dangerous animal. Upon reaching the ship once more she allowed him to get the rest she knew he needed...if he required her help with bandaging himself up, she wouldn't hesitate, but she wasn't going to offer either. He knew where the medical supplies were, and he knew where she would be. Starting the flight sequence, Aunna brought them away from Coruscant once more. She wouldn’t be back for a long time…she knew. She tried not to think about it. ((Vex and Aunna: swrponline2.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=spaceyspacey&thread=6705
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Vex
A Self-styled computer geek that moonlights as a G.I. Joe.
1,014 posts
2 likes
Proud bearer of the "Polish Stalker Badge".
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last online May 21, 2018 17:30:54 GMT -5
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Oct 6, 2009 17:07:39 GMT -5
Post by Vex on Oct 6, 2009 17:07:39 GMT -5
He moved into the Borgonia estates, holding her close. Bloody red eyes caught the first guard, pinning him down with that stare. "Transportation. This Jedi requires medical attention immediately." When the man remained still for a moment, Theron's voice dropped three octaves and thirty degrees in temperature. "Now!" That got the man moving.
He knelt down, gently laying her back on the ground. Looking around, he saw Makiro. "Padawan, get in contact with the Temple. Let them know what has happened."
He rested his hand over her heart...ironically in the same place that Vex had placed his own...both to try and kill her and then bring her back from the brink. Drawing the Force into himself, he let it pulse out from him, the light reaching out from his palms as it poured into her. He'd called upon the Force to heal her...to help draw her farther back from her unstable state and help her body piece itself back together.
His connection with the Force linked with hers, twining around her own. Dark silver...much like the blades he carried, wrapped up with hers. He wasn't going to let her die...it wasn't her time. He could feel that. He let his presence infuse with her...letting her in to that imperfect soul, his words echoing in that connection as he worked to heal her. -Come back to me, Sihara. You don't get to give up that easily....I've barely managed to have time to torment my new partner.-
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last online Jun 4, 2023 4:58:38 GMT -5
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Oct 6, 2009 18:12:31 GMT -5
Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Oct 6, 2009 18:12:31 GMT -5
Her entire body felt heavy, like weights had suddenly been made of her bones, pulling her down and keeping her own body from following her commands. She could feel Theron’s anxiety as he moved, heard his words (barely) and the tone he used. Though her eyes had slid shut again, she could only imagine that he was looking like a devil with his red eyes, blue skin, and a glare that could turn a heart to ice. For some reason the thought amused her. Before long she felt him laying her down again and speaking to…she thought he said ‘padawan’ but she still couldn’t be certain with how foggy her mind was.
A hand pressed to her chest once more…for the third time that night (apparently it was a popular place for hands that evening)…and she felt a sudden flow of warmth into her chilled body. The togruta took the energy gladly, slowly directing it in the correct directions to heal the most damage. That was the beauty of being a natural healer…she could, even in this state, mold and direct the force to heal where the most damage had been done. It was a talent that not many had, not this way, but Sihara had always been an adept healer, and though she didn’t have the strength to call the force to her as she normally would have, she could still use what Theron was pulsing into her. That link he sought, the dark silvery light that reached for her own lavender, she allowed it, welcomed it, wrapped her own around it, willing herself to use him as an anchor to life.
-I…gave up?...-
There was a trace of amusement to her thoughts as she replied dazedly to him, resisting another wave of pain just before redirecting his healing to the injury that had caused it.
-…but why…why would I want…to come back…to such an…annoying man?-
Unbidden the memory of that vision Vex had shown to her came to the surface, stunning her again and making her lose what little focus she had, allowing Theron’s healing to be bent by his will alone. Her natural reaction after that stunned loss of focus was to cut herself off, bringing up mental and emotional barriers against the foreign uncertainty and, if she was honest with herself, fear and curiosity she felt and keeping him out save for that one link…just enough to communicate with him and no more. She wouldn’t allow it…not after that memory.
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