Death of a Salesman

[Meira]

It had all happened so quickly, the vision, the movement, the sound of lightsabers igniting. Vesta simply didn't have the mental capacity to process it all at once. So it came to her in pieces.

The vision, well, that still caused the fear to course through her like a fire. It held tight around her lungs, causing her to only be able to take in short, insufficient breaths. They came quickly as she gasped for the oxygen she needed.

Then she moved, not of her own will, but was pushed by the Force. Under calmer cicumstances, Vesta might have been able to comprehend that that was what had indeed happened. But she was not calm. The Vahla woman was in hysterics and the sudden movement induced a dizzying vertigo and caused all sense of balance to fall away. This caused Vesta to fall flat on her rear, still chocking for air.

The lightsabers, blue and yellow, were enough to draw her eye. But this did nothing for the woman's fragile mind. The sight of the dark jedi brought back the burning sensation in her feet, as if the scars were being cut anew. But why? Her brain couldn't handle the question. Luckily, a voice intruded and Vesta had a reason to turn away.

Sam was at the gate calling for her to follow. Vesta tried to shake off the images and the burning sensation. She tried to stand. And in a way she succeeded. She was on her feet and moving with Sam. They were through the gate.. but Ryn! She had turned her head and the vertigo set in again. She stumbled, trying hard to maintain what balance she had. She was trying to keep her mind in the present, with Ryn and Sam... trying not to fall back into that dark chamber full of fire and pain. She could hear movement around her, someone was close, and it wasn't just Sam. She caught images of arms, feet. She lashed out to keep whoever it was at bay, but she couldn't focus.

[Dire Wolf]

Fortunately this Dark Jedi knew nothing of Ryn or his abilities, or the attributes that came along with his blindness. While, granted, he couldn't quite see the features of anyone's face... he could see that bright aura that made up their life essence and their force aptitude. He could, of course, see through the first state of matter. Though if something was liquid, gaseous, or plasmic it would retain its visiblity. So, when this Dark Jedi sped into under the starship like a scared beetle would a rock, Ryn could see him plain as day. No. It was almost as if the Dark Jedi stuck a flashing blaze orange neon sign the size of Nar Shadaa on his back reading "I. AM. HERE." and tried to hide from Ryn during the darkest hour of the night. The sharp pull nearly caused the tall man to fall on his ever lovin' arse, but he did not. No. His legs were strong enough to stand up to the sudden pull.

This twitchy creature thought that it would be the hunter. Oh no. Ryn would be the hunter during this engagement. It took but a sigh for the man to fold his presence in the Force up into a tiny ball within his chest. After that, it was fairly easy for the man to simply disappear within himself... that tiny sphere in his chest winking out of existence on his mere whim. Keeping his Sauron-like gaze on his prey all the while, he threw himself upwards on top of the star ship in a powerful Force-augmented leap. A normal person would have simply retreated from the battlefield with Sam and Vesta. But not Ryn. While, granted, he had no small amount of honor when it came to women... he trusted Vesta enough to protect Sam. That, and this DJ was likely to chase them.

So, he watched from above as the Dark Jedi moved and meandered, and just when the man reached a point low enough for his dual-phased saber to fully pierce through (to the ground), the man sent an impulse of air to one of the ships. This impulse was more than enough to make the thing bend down, as it used repulsor lifts in place of landing struts. Not only did this move, but it made a distinct creaking sound that was attractive to the ear.

Just as the man's attention was drawn, Ryn pressed Sol's emitter into the hull and ignited the second phase of the lightsaber from ignition. The furious blue star winked into existence instantly, and unless the Dark Jedi moved... it would have winked into existence right where his brain would be. Just to be sure, Ryn swirled the blade around in concentric circles around the man... hoping to turn his body into sushi.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

((side note: please try to leave the DJ alive. I’m likely going to revisit him for Aunna cause I’m cruel like that, so once sam gets picked up I think I’mma have him skitter away laughing manically))

Poor Ryn…he didn’t seem to realize that his opponent was far from stupid. A bit insane, certainly, but far from stupid. Skittish wasn’t the correct word for the man either…though he undoubtedly moved in a ‘skittish’ fashion, the man had learned to take his insanity and make the most of it. The more people underestimated him the better. True, he had not a clue as to what the tall blind man could do, but the young arkanian hadn’t escaped from the mines without being at least a bit clever. He knew well enough not to underestimate people…he was just…obsessed with finding a good fight…finding someone or something that could make him FEEL.

Even as Ryn lept up upon his designated ship, the other had just finished clambering about on it and landed with a soft thump on the ground. Standing, the silver eyed man put his hands on his hips and tapped a foot impatiently. The sound had caught his attention well enough, and the dark jedi whipped around and sped off in the direction of the sound like a moth to a newly lit glow stick. He skidded to a stop, however, upon hearing the lightsaber flicker to life behind him. Jumping and spinning around, the man giggled quietly and battered the ship Ryn was on with his own waves of force, doing this nearly endlessly even as he sped toward the ship, saber ignited and trailing behind him lackadaisically. Zipping beneath the ship, past Ryn’s flashy, shiny, saber and to the other side, that yellow saber sliced…fairly easily…through one of the landing struts making the hulk of metal tilt dangerously.

Flitting around the ship, that dark jedi…surrounded by a disgusting aura of red, brown, orange and green…lept up on the wing opposite Ryn and rushed the man again. A wicked little grin formed on his face, as that saber flickered about his body, twirling around in an almost festive way. Surely THIS man would be able to give him a good fight?

~~

Sam started as Vesta stumbled. Taking a great breath, she tried to calm herself long enough to get through the ordeal without making things worse. Things were worse, however, and Sam never got the chance to calm before there was someone else with them. The smell of alcohol and sweaty man reached her nose and she spun around just in time to see the pirate from before (and one of his goons no doubt, considering there was a second man there now) send a fist flying at her temple. She didn’t even have the time to duck as it connected and she staggered sideways into the waiting arms of gangly man accompanying her attacker.

Some part of her dazed mind recognized Vesta swinging wildly in the direction of the pirate who had…just knocked her out. Sam’s vision had blackened as she’d been hoisted up and toted away, her mind fading swiftly with her sight.

[Meira]

she swung, kicked, did everything she could in her dizzy state. Her vision was failing, falling more and more into black, no matter how hard she fought against it. She knew they were there, he fist had grazed against one of them, but was ineffectual at best. Indeed, the Vahla woman was all but ignored by the pirates. If her hearing had been functioning properly, she might have heard their laughter. As it was, the only thing her broken mind would allow in was the slow fading of their footsteps... and the silence that they left behind.

Sam?..... SAM!

Vesta threw her arms out, using every last bit of her will to keep from slipping into the darkness that pressed on her, blocking out all but a narrow tunel of vision. She was gone. They'd taken her! This thought ended Vesta's resistance, and the darkness came over her like a wave, knocking her to the ground where she curled around her legs and rocked. Tears flowed from the woman's eyes and soft sobs escaped her lips. She was alone, entirely alone in a darkness that would only allow the hellish light of those fires in. Each lined scar on her feet burned and pulsed with every beat of her heart. And she continued to sink, no longer resisting the pull. And then she felt nothing at all.

Such a change from the fires that had clawed their way up from her feet to her calves might have been a blessing. But when the last fire seemed to blink out, and the pain faded to a cold numb, a new fear gripped her heart. Not only was she alone, but now she was nothing. What else could she be if she couldn't see, couldn't feel. Nothing existed around her, she had become part of that nothing. The chill of this realization washed through her, turning her once boiling blood to ice. When the sensation reached her feet, she finally relaxed and accepted her fate.

And then, as if to torture her further, light filled her vision again. Clashes of blue and yellow danced before her, but seemed so far away. She was drawn to it, but afraid to move. Some part of her knew that to approach would bring back the pain, the fire. But hte light grew around her. No longer was it simple flashes of blue and yellow, but more colors came into focus, and then sound, and smell. She could feel the ground beneath her body. Could taste the dryness in her mouth. Then the fire again, and she tried to retreat into the darkness once more, she reached for the cold numb. But it was gone. Her easy escape had been denied. There was nothing to do but to face the pain, the fire.

As the world came into focus around her, Vesta stood on shaky legs. Sam was gone. She needed help. But where was Ryn? The groan of metal caused Vesta to turn her head back towards the gate that she and Sam had attempted to escape through. Through the open doors, she saw them. Ryn, atop a tilting ship, his bright blue saber lit, and confronting him was the dark jedi. Again at the sight of the man, Vesta felt a wave of vertigo, and the fires licked at her feet. Her lip trembled, but if she was going to find Sam, she'd need Ryn's help.

One foot moved forward, followed and exceeded by the other, and then again, and again. Soon, Vesta was running at the back of the dark jedi. Steeling herself at just the right moment, Vesta leaped forward, one hand a stiff plank driven into the base of the dark jedi's spine. She landed directly behind him in a kneeling position just as her hand struck his back, and then quickly rolled to the side for fear of his yellow blade.

[Dire Wolf]

Ryn cursed quietly in Corellian as the skittish Dark Jedi sprinted off after phantom that wiggled the starship about. He couldn't retract his blade fast enough to hide his presence, however, as the wild man spun around and saw that gleaming blue blade searing through the hull of the starship. It took the blink of an eye for the DJ to fling himself up on the wing and begin to twirl his sick yellow saber about in an over eccentric fashion.

A single twitch of his hand later and he had his lightsaber in a slightly modified Djem So stance, the lightsaber held in a high guard, but angled to the left slightly. The Jedi Brute was about to hurl himself at the enemy combatant when, all of a sudden, he saw the unmistakable aura of Vesta flash in and deliver a stunning blow to the base of the man's spine. Good.

The Force rushed into Ryn's muscles like some kind of steroid, building up their strength to supernatural levels. His mind grew keen with the augmentation of raw Force Power it was exposing itself to, like a sword being sharpened by the stone. His hand shot into his pocket and quickly slung the other half of Sol from its grasp. The cylinder flew at mind numbing speeds, tumbling over itself more times than one could count... even with the Force's augmentation. At the very last moment, Ryn activated the blade and straightened out its course... impaling the dark Jedi just before the emitter slammed into his chest.

He quickly enveloped the creature within a pocket of malevolent air, but not one that was meant to crush the creature... or cause any real discomfort. It was intended to hold it enough to cast it far away. And, with the deft flick of his wrist, Ryn ordered the pocket of increased air pressure to fling itself up through the air at a forty five degree angle. Everything inside, minus the lightsaber, would have the distinct via-physics urge to move. Fast.

After the Dark Jedi was gone he called his lightsaber back into his grasp and attached the halves together. It didn't take long for the man to scan for the familiar aura of Sam, but it wasn't there. It was no where. Fear struck his heart just as he looked back at Vesta and asked, "where's Sam?"

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

With the dark jedi dead, there was little else for them to do but follow (if they could) the pirates that had taken Samantha.

As for the woman herself, for the time being she was (quite luckily) unconscious as the two men hefted her off through the streets of the city. Oddly enough they were headed for the one place that most people would never think to look for a pirate ship...the royal palace. The question now was...with the only pirate they'd had in their grasp not only dead, but flung away by Ryn......

....how were they going to find the former blond?

One answer to this question might be the zeltron man that was currently going through the pre-flight checks of one of the ships he typically would have meant to sell, but was now about to try and use as a get away.

[Meira]

The moment of bravery, or stupidity perhaps, had passed as soon as Vesta's blow landed on the dark jedi. So while Ryn finished him off, Vesta fought off the urge to vomit as the vertigo returned. She had had about enough of it all. Why was this happening to her? She'd never felt this way, especially in a combat situation. She'd managed to narrow down the source of her sensations to the dark jedi. It was an easy enough assumption. As soon as Ryn flung him away, her senses began to return with her balance. But she didn't have time to ponder the reasons behind what was happening. Sam was in trouble.

She's.... gone. They... they took... her.

Vesta managed to pant out the words as she slowly got back up to her feet. With every second clear of the dark jedi and his malevolent influence, Vesta's mind was becoming more clear and focused. Just then, the sounds of a ship engine starting up could be heard. Vesta's head swiveled to see the Zeltron man, who'd been talking with the pirates, frantically trying to get the ship started and off the ground.

Ryn!

Vesta shouted the man's name as she grabbed his arm and motioned toward the ship. Not a second later she was rushing in that direction, leaping for the ramp, which was beginning to rise up. Not hesitating, she shot through the ship to the cockpit and came up behind the red skinned man. Reaching out, she grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed his face into the control panel before pulling him back again and wrestling him out of the pilot seat. She'd have him good and ready to talk by the time Ryn appeared in the cockpit.

[Dire Wolf]

At that very point in time there were a vast multitude of important things happening in the galaxy. On the far away world of Coruscant there stood thousands of men and women, each one deciding what the fate of the galaxy would be in the form of new laws and amendments. In the Jedi Temple 12 of the wisest and most powerful beings the universe has to offer were conversing about various strategies for helping the people that called the galaxy "home," both rich and poor. Possibly even deciding on new methods of dealing with apostates such as Ryn. Yet, all of those thigns seemed to bear little consequence to the tall, blind brunette man as his mind tried to process the words that Vesta uttered an eternity ago.

"They? Who's they... where did they take her?" his confused mind suddenly allowed his mouth to splurt out. While he did not love her, he could not while he was still grieving for his lost love... his first love... the only one he had ever cared about so deeply that, if presented the opportunity, he would endure the deepest, most painful torture and death just to see her face one last time. Though, it seemed like he was enduring just that with the knowledge that he'd never see her face again... so perhaps it was a poor trade. Ryn knew that anything he could have possibly felt for Sam was an illusion, borne from his alone and bereft mind as it fumbled in the darkness of despair. Which is why he did not act on his feelings, but instead viewed her as something of a ward. Something that needed to be protected, no matter what the cost.

He had failed. Now was the time for vengeance, which would rain down on all those that took his ward as swift and sure as a volley of arrows fired from the archaic bows held in the arms of armored archers. It seemed that Vesta acted quicker than he did, however, as she already aprehended the man that was responsible for all of this. His jaw clenched tightly as he turned towards the ship that was previously preparing for a hasty take off and began to walk a slow pace. While time was of the essence, Ryn feared that if he allowed himself to run the immense anger would overtake him and he'd become something of a wrecking ball. While he would allow that to happen in the near future, becoming little more than a killing machine was not advisable in his current position.

Upon reaching the man that Vesta subdued oh so easily, he lifted his gaze up to this loathesome husband's face. "So, you kill a woman... your wife... and then you allow another, her friend, to be taken by a band of brigands. Honor is obviously lost to this wretched planet," he uttered the last part to himself rather than to the man he was about to beat the living tar out of, "tell me were she is and I make your death quick. I will abstain from plucking apart your mind like a child's plaything." It was, of course, a bluff... Ryn was never skilled at telepathy, nor its more offensive disciplines. After no answer came, the aphithiri pulled out his lightsaber and flicked his wrist just as the blade activated. The searing blue sun dragged across Roth's gut, searing a line that would spell his demise.

It would not be quick. It would not be painless. Quite the contrary, in fact, Roth's death would be slow and indescribably painful.

"Tell me where they took her and you will be forced to endure no more pain. I will inflict no more suffering upon you, and release you from your worldly bonds. I promise you that, for I have honor that you do not... cannot know." The blind man's voice reflected the rage that built up within his chest, a fire who's intensity grew with every beat of the baleful heart within the inferno. It rolled off of him in waves, so powerfully that even one such as Roth could feel it. "I-i... I just wan-," he was cut off by a quick slash of Sol's searing blue blade across his bicep. The slash seared the muscle apart, making that arm worthless and causing incredible amounts of pain. Before Roth could react, Sundar slammed his boot into the wound and leaned all of his two hundred pounds on it. "I do not care for the requests or reasons of a dead man. All that I care about is where you took the woman. I will hear no bargains, nor will I hear any deals."

After vainly trying to clutch his arm some, Roth looked up at Ryn with a certain kind of hatred in his eyes. But this hatred was not the type that bred defiance, it was the type of loathing that came with defeat. "Royal palace. S-secret entrance. 432-...21. Building 5. In the basement..." he barely uttered the last syllable before Ryn allowed Sol to dig itself deep within the man's breast, searing through his black heart like it was butter. The surprise of the royal family's involvment with corsairs barely struck at the man's heart as he deactivated his lightsaber and turned to Vesta. "Let's leave. We destroy these pirates, and then escape. There is no need to harm the family, I doubt they had any knowledge of the slave trade." He was speaking the truth, most nobles tended to shy away from slave trading, especially the kind that cared mostly for wine and sleezy women that they could get far cheaper than slaves.

With that, he walked down the ramp and towards this building. Not bothering to check and see if Vesta was behind him.

[Meira]

The Zeltron man's struggle was fairly pathetic. By the time Ryn arrived in the cockpit of the ship, Vesta had the man on his knees. She stood behind him, to ensure he didn't try anything stupid. Then Ryn entered the cockpit. There was something definitely different about the sightless man now. Vesta couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt it all the same. He was angry, yes, but it ran a bit deeper than that.

As Ryn began his interrogation, Vesta stood back and observed. The intimidation was heavy, but part of the Vahla woman knew that it must be necessary. Every second that passed wasted could mean another second closer to Sam's death. Vesta was eager to make up for her inability to protect the woman she was beginning to consider a friend.

But her eagerness to save Sam didn't stop Vesta from flinching at the sight of Ryn cutting across the Zeltron's stomach and arm. The sizzle along with the smell of seared flesh caused Vesta's eyes to water, but she held still and silent until the man finally gave up the wanted information. She gasped as Ryn sunk his lightsaber into the man's chest. She couldn't help but stare as the body slumped forward. She heard Ryn's instructions, but it took a moment for her to process the information. By the time she finally unlocked her eyes from the now dead man, Ryn was already off the ship and moving towards the speeder. Vesta had to jog to catch up to him, and she jumped into the speeder just as he started it up.

Like twice already, that speeder moved quickly through the city with little regard for any law or regulation. The quickest route was determined and taken. The structures and people passed by in a blur, and Vesta's mind emptied as they moved. She was trying her hardest to clear away the fearful visions that had surfaced earlier, but it was proving difficult. Part of her knew, but didn't want to accept, that the visions were real memories. They were the stories behind her scars. But what that meant.... that was lost on the woman.

They arrived at the palace quickly enough, and after some time, found the secret entrance. Vesta entered the code, and soon they were descending into the basement level of building 5. She walked closely behind Ryn, unsure what they would face in the basement.

[Dire Wolf]

The angry brunette was barely outside of the gate before he whipped himself around and called that Dark Jedi's saber to his hand. The cylinder was stuffed into his pocket the instant that its cold metallic grip met with his soft, fleshy palm. His stride towards the speeder was one of determination, haste, and anger... those three things rolled off of him in waves. The speeder door barely had enough time to give him clearance before he slid into the driver's seat, and had Vesta not gotten in before so soon he would have zoomed off without her.

Not that he was particularly angry at the woman for any one reason or another, but rather his anger was focused towards the ones that did the kidnapping. It seemed that his mind was elsewhere as the speeder picked itself up with those powerful repulsor lifts and zoomed off, not paying any heed to any form of law or regulation. Within moments the palace was within sight, and they arrived entered via the public entrance. The 'secret' entrance was not exactly hard for the man's x-ray vision to spot, and the code oh-so-generously provided by the now cooling man worked like a charm.

Ryn could already see that there wasn't a single soul in the dark room, as their bright aura in the darkness would have been like a towering inferno blazing during the darkest hour of night. His unblinking gaze shifted about the room until it saw something... peculiar. A hidden door, that lead to a lit tunnel. If his sight wasn't able to see past solid objects, surely he would have missed the entrance to whatever lair these pirates called home.

And their death wouldn't have come.

Instead, however, this lair was going to soon run crimson with their blood and their suffering. They took that which he felt the need to protect, and they would pay dearly for it. The light from a console hidden behind yet another solid object right next to the secret door was apparent to the young man, but without a key or any means to access the said terminal it was less than useless to him. So, instead of trying to get into the secret passage with stealth and guile, Ryn simply ignited his lightsaber and delved the pale blue blade deep into the wall.

His universal cutting tool quickly slagged the stone of the wall, making a hole big enough for a person to fit through easily. Ryn lashed out at the piece of cut stone with a solid kick, one that sent the makeshift door covering slamming into the ground. No longer did he care about sneaking through the palace like some kind of roach. His heart was out for one thing, and one thing alone: Blood.

The lit passage was simple enough, and short, as it lead to the royal star pad. And what just so happened to be sitting on that launch pad like some kind of lazy, corpulent beast? A corsair ship. A small growl rumbled at his vocal chords as he walked out of the door and up the ramp of the ship. There were no pirates guarding the ramp... unfortunate... as they were all inside preparing to lift off.

Ha.

The first man walked around the corner to see a rather tall, muscular blind man towering before him. What was the result? Pain. A single hand shot out and latched around the pirates throat like a steel vice, applying incredible amounts of pressure as it did so. Those sinew like muscles below Ryn's flesh tightened as he bade them to provide the power to lift the pirate up off of his feet... and soon enough the pirate was being choked like a rebel in a time not yet come.

This pirate, in a flash of intelligence, drew a knife and jabbed it at Ryn's face... but he would have none of that. Using his free hand, the powerful man simply batted the knife aside... not taking any notice of the blade as it dragged across his face from chin to upper cheek. Soon enough he ripped the knife from the pirate's hand and plunged it into his body more times than one could care to count, faster than one could blink.

In a single, non-chalant toss of the dieing man the Greyish Jedi eased his arm of the needless burden. For he had much work to do. The two halves of his lightsaber quickly met, spun, and locked together in mid-air... then ignited as his hand shot out at the middle of the hilt.

Now the fun begins.

[Meira]

The two had descended into what appeared to be an empty room with no other exits. Vesta's appraisal of the room was short, and she turned to leave back the way they'd come. They had either been fooled by the Zeltron man, or the pirates were already gone. In either case, they didn't need to linger.

But as she had turned, the sound of Ryn's lightsaber igniting, a sound that was becoming increasingly familiar to Vesta, pierced through the silence. Turning with arms up ready to defend, Vesta found only the sight of Ryn cutting into the wall. She had been about to voice her lack of understanding as to why Ryn felt like redecorating when the section of wall he had cut was pushed.... into the wall?

Soon enough, Vesta would realize what had happened. Ryn's eyes saw what hers could not, a secret passage. Glad that she hadn't made a fool of herself through words, she continued to follow the man along the secret corridor until they came upon a landing pad with a ship preparing to take off. She followed Ryn further, up the ramp and into the ship, keeping an eye on their backs as they progressed.

Their first encounter was unfortunate... for the pirate that came around the corner. Vesta could do nothing but stare at the way Ryn handled the man. What she had felt to be a cold determination from him before was bubbling into right out molten rage. He had torn the man's neck from his body! Vesta looked away from the bleeding corpse, but Ryn seemed ready to move on, assembling his two lightsabers into one deadly weapon. He moved one way, probably in search of more people to kill in increasingly creative ways. But before Vesta could move to follow him, she felt the ship rumble. It was going to take off.

Not wanting to be a passenger on the ship's voyage, which would most surely take them someplace with even more pirates to deal with, Vesta took off towards the cockpit. Luckily, she found it quickly, and was soon standing behind the two pilots. But they were lifting off the ground, she had to act fast. She planted a swift kick to the back of one man's head, but it didn't incapacitate him. Instead, he turned and called out an alarm, and soon, a man was behind Vesta, trying to subdue her arms. Wanting none of this, Vesta brought her foot down on her attacker's foot, causing him to cry out in pain, giving her a moment to slip out of his grasp.

It was good timing. The pilot she had kicked was drawing a blaster while the other continued to guide the ship up into the air. Vesta barely had enough time to bend her torso around behind the man who'd tried to hold her. Thanks to her cartilage skeleton, she'd managed the move in the close quarters of the cockpit and had moved out of harms way just in time. The shot from the pistol entered her attacker's torso instead. Vesta was revealed a moment later as the large man slumped to the floor. Kicking again, she managed to remove the blaster from the pilot's hand. She then followed it up with a quick strike between his ribs, knocking the breath from the man's body.

He stumbled backward, falling onto the other pilot. This sudden invasion caused the pilot to lose his grip on the controls, and the whole ship tilted to the left. Vesta was thrown against the left wall of the cockpit, striking her head against a hard panel of controls. She could feel the hot blood on her forehead, but didn't have time to worry about it. The two pilots were moving to stand and attack her.

Luckily, the loss of balance had affected them as well, and so Vest quickly moved to incapacitate them. But the ship was still teetering. With the two pilots now knocked out on the floor of the cockpit, It was up to Vesta to take the controls, lest the whole ship fly straight into a building, which it was about to do.

Vesta wasn't much of a pilot, at all, but she knew the basic concept of staying away from large objects. She grabbed the controls and righted the vessel. It was a bit fast and jarring, but at least they' weren't tilting anymore. Now to land. Well, she'd never really been all that great at landing. As slowly and steadily as she could, she brought the vessel down. But she'd forgotten one key part... landing struts. they'd been tucked away into the hull of the ship during lift off. The collision with the ground was accompanied by the screech of metal on duracrete and completed by another sickening lurch to the side. When it was over, the ship was on the ground, at an odd angle yes... busted yes... but it was on the ground.

Vesta took only a moment to breath, thankful that she was still alive. She then wiped the small trail of blood from her forehead and made her way to find Ryn again. En route, however, she was almost slashed by the vicious claws of a Maalraas, which was feasting on the throatless corpse that Ryn had so kindly prepared. The shock was only doubled by the growl of another not far away, stalking in through a busted doorway. Beyond that door, Vesta could hear the sounds of creatures threatening each other.

Moving quick, Vesta dashed past the Maalraas and down a short corridor. At the end of it, she could hear the sound of Ryn's blades, and screams.

[Dire Wolf]

((Themesong to the post: www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#Five%20finger%20death%20punch%20white%20knuckles Now, normally I don't listen to this death metal stuffs... but its pretty ossim for angry, brutal posts.))

Rage. It curled around inside the cage of the tall man's chest like a throbbing python, constricting his heart. His heart, gripped fully by this serpentine emotion, did its best to beat freely against the iron grip of this powerful and ugly monster. The feeling received was one that caused one side of his face to twitch like a feral dog, it caused his lip to curl up past his teeth... almost as if he were an angry hound bareing them to the object of its fury. Eventually the cage of his chest, no longer able to contain the enraging heat of the serpentine monster, allowed this emotion to radiate outwards in waves as numerous and perilous as the sea.

These waves held with them a malevolent presence, one that obviously wished nothing more than the utter destruction of almost every single living being on the ship. Ryn's anger was so prevalent and his will so strong, that the anger and ill intent he radiated from his heart actually blackened the area around him. Much like some ancient evil in the days of swords and shields. Perhaps the deep, deep snarl that rumbled his vocal chords marked him as such... as the bulk of the pirates on the ship had just ran into him. And backed away.

Or, maybe it was his image that struck fear into the corsairs. His tall, muscular form was heaving up in down in a complete rage, Sol was held casually at his side as it burned a pale blue, and the blood from his facial cut ran down his snarling face and onto his neck. Perhaps it was the fact that he paid absolutely no heed to the wound is what frightened some of the men. Those stark white eyes burned in his skull once more, the dull throbbing only serving to throw him into a further state of fury rather than stop him.

Swiftly. Suddenly. Powerfully. Like a bolt of lightning he moved, angling his lightsaber so that it would sweep off a brigand's leg. A blood curdling scream launched its way out of the man's vocal chords as he fell, only to be silenced by the blazing white-blue blade of the angry man's lightsaber.

After revealing to the gaggle of brigands that he was not an angry statue, they seemed to react most harshly. Most of them grabbed for their blaster pistols... though some were not fast enough. One man noticed that the store of the galley's knives (as they were in the galley at the time) slowly floated out of their sheathes and upwards to about chest level. Each knife gleamed as it angled itself so that the point of its blade would plunge into a man's chest... should it decide to propel itself forward. A small smirk creased Ryn's previously snarling face as he merely flicked his wrist towards the pirates... who by now were simply gazing at the man (and the knives) in a certain kind of wonderous fear.

Willpower was an amazing thing, but in the hands of a Force wielder... one who allowed himself to be overcome by emotions... it was a terrifying noun. His will power exerted itself out on the pressurized air that held the knives, propelling each one forward at incredible speeds. Each knife hit its mark, though most were a bit off. Seven knives, six men. Each one had been skewered in the chest, throat, eye, or skull. Each one caused a river of crimson to flow from the pirates. Each one caused each hit pirate to crumple to the ground. Each one caused the deck of the galley would soon be running red with their blood.

Ryn's vocal chords rumbled deeply once more as he walked towards Sam's aura, stepping on one man's chest in his passing. But it seemed that the blood stained deck beneath his feet did not want him to save his ward just yet, as it churned beneath his feet. The man was quickly thrown off balance at this new development, but luckily his hand managed to latch onto a bolted down table with an iron grip.

It didn't take particularly long for the ship to stop tilting about, but the crash of the craft landing belly down without struts nearly made the man crumple to his knees. Rage was a powerful emotion, however, and it made him more than strong enough to keep his legs straight. After taking care to ensure that the ship was done moving for good, Ryn stepped towards the door once more... not noticing the blood curdling screams of the remaining 'men' being slain by the wild creatures.

The man was only just a few moments from opening the door when an incredible weight slammed him into the metallic object and dragged him down to the deck. He barely got his bearings and realized that a feline creature pounced on him before it started to rake its deadly claws at him. A trio of those claws managed to get passed his defenses and carve three straight lines diagonally down his chest. The bandoleer that held his dead love's feather was shredded ot pieces... but fortunately the feather itself was unharmed. A roar of renewed anger quickly forced its way out of his throat as he sent a fist into the creature's throat, stunning it long enough for him to throw his forearms into its paws, barring them from killing him.

He was just about to throw out a telekinetic wave of air pressure when, in a blaze of yellow and black, the maalras was thrown off of his now bleeding form. Those stark white eyes blinked in confusion as they scanned over to where the blurr had presumably landed. He saw a pair of tiger like creatures simply shredding their teeth into the barely struggling lanky feline. It really couldn't have stood a chance against one of them... let alone a mating pair. Soon enough his rage overtook him once again, and (after grabbing the shredded bandoleer) he entered the holding area with the swipe of his hand.

There was another being in the cell with Sam... and that being was about to have one bad day.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

From the time she’d been carried off to the present moment, Samantha was living a nightmare. This went beyond a normal fear of pirates, the woman had a phobia of them stemming back through the majority of her relatively short life. It had started with being held by them as a child, then the various (less than comfortable) interactions with them in her teenage years and culminating in the setup that resulted in her father’s death. This was just the icing on the many layered cake, so to speak.

The pirates themselves were like nearly all of the dogs she’d come across in her life: dirty, raunchy, threatening and just generally terrifying. Her impression of them wasn’t helped when the crew began pawing at her like she was the next best thing to come along since the hyperdrive, and tasty as a pile of whipped cream on a high class hooker. They’d tried to strip her down like one too...the tears in her clothing said as much. Patches of skin shown through her pants, her shirt had become an unwanted V-neck with several attempts to cut the thing off marring the material in other places. Lucky for her, however, the captain…oddly enough a nearly deaf man…had stopped the would-be ‘pillaging’ of her and slammed her into a cell.

She’d never been so glad to be behind bars.

Curling herself in the corner, she’d waited as she’d heard the sounds of the crew busy themselves with the pre-flight. Slowly she began to hear the muffled sounds of footsteps approaching her cell and sure enough, there was the captain. It didn’t take a force user to figure out just what was on his mind. That, of course, was just about the time that she began hearing shouts and cries from throughout the ship, the sudden motion of it and the fall…not that she had much time to consider these things as she fought off the pawing hands of the aging pirate captain. By the time Ryn would reach her, she had been pounced on and had binders slapped about her wrists to keep her from struggling so much. Hooked to the wall now, the captain had finally turned from his prize to go and find out just what was going on when the door opened, shedding more light into the dim room.

Samantha wasn’t certain if she wanted to cower or struggle more at the sight of the backlit form, unable to see just who it was or the color of the saber he held. Memories of her rescue from pirates when she was a child flickered through her mind distantly, but the feeling from this one made her want to melt into the wall and become invisible. The captain wasted no time in moving. For an older man, he was actually rather swift, darting around the woman and pressing a blaster to her temple so that she whimpered and struggled to keep her feet in her fear.

[Dire Wolf]

The side of Ryn's face twitched in a certain kind of lupine snarl as he saw the sick yellow aura of a pirate forcing himself down on the handcuffed aura of Sam. Nothing was happening... yet... and Ryn would ensure that nothing would happen at all. He moved to a standing position in the doorway, blackened by the light behind him and the malevolent aura that clung to the air that hung about him. The fact that the pirate actually shot around behind her, placing a gun to her head, only served to enrage the man further.

His voice box rumbled in a feral growl as he stepped closer to the bars slowly, almost yelling at the man to release her so that his life may be ended slowly. But even Ryn knew that there was no way that his anger would be quenched if he ended the wretches life like he did Roth's. So, instead of trying to barter with the brigand, Ryn's hand simply swept around in a flash of movement. His will ordered the very air to pressurize around the pistol, wrenching it about within the brigand's hand until the barrel was pointing off into the wall.

The air that wrenched the pistol around soon enveloped the weapon, wrapping it and the man's hand in a pocket of warm... but not comfortably so... energy. Ryn's fist clenched. The pirate squealed in agony. His pistol crumpled in on itself, enclosing the man's now crushed hand within a ball of metal and flesh. "You now realize the price for what you've done. If only you could have realized it sooner," that hand unclenched, and then swished about in the air... forcing the man off and away from Sam. The hand with his lightsaber moved towards the lock, clenching the muscles and the mechanisms within. Soon enough the metal was crushed and useless, and Ryn flung his hand to the side... flinging the door open.

Oddly enough, the downright evil tone that his voice held grew warm and soft while he addressed Sam. The tall man was sure not to allow her to feel that same malevolent aura that clung to him, she'd see it... but would feel nothing of it, "are you alright?" Naturally, he was stepping into the cell as he spoke to her. After his little query was finished, Ryn slowly turned his face towards the man... who's aura now held a certain kind of angry fear about within it.

The malevolent air that prickled at the man's skin would feel like millions of tiny needles just barely poking into his flesh. Hot needles. Ryn's fist clenched. With it, he collapsed a pocket of air and Force power that surrounded the man's formerly good arm... pulverizing the bone and crumpling the arm into an unnatural and sick angle. His anger and will continued to crush the man's limbs until all of them were sick and twisted. "THIS is the price that you pay."

For a brief moment, Ryn mildly considered leaving the man just as he was... a twisted and deformed stump of a man. No amount of healing or technology would ever bring his aging body back to its original state... and he'd live with the consequences of hurting women for the rest of his life. But then... such a loathe some piece of trash would only harbor mal intent towards him, and likely try and cause even more pain and suffering than before.

"Fortunately, I am not you. You would seek to hurt her," he motioned back towards Sam, "no. Cripple her psyche. Just as I have your body. And then cast her aside... leaving her for slavery or death. I am not you." With that, Ryn brought his hand up, lifting the man even higher in the air. A single finger pointed upwards, ordering the man's chin to lift ever so slightly.

At this point, Ryn considered simply beheading the lecherous piece of Papa-Tango. But that was far too quick for that Pirate Trash. Instead, his fist clenching bade the pirates skull to implode. Blood, skull, skin, hair, and grey matter soon became one tiny ball of crumpled up material at the height of the man's neck. After that, Ryn's bicep quickly clenched, bringing his fist towards his shoulder... and the man's body acted in kind. The now bloody mess twisted about, the Force crushing its bones into nothing.

With a deep, weary sigh Ryn's muscles relaxed... dropping the now destroyed pirate on the ground with a heavy thud. The blood flowing from his corps would soon fill the cell. That black and malevolent aura that clung to the air around Ryn soon dissipated into nothing as he finally snuffed out the inner flame of his anger. His voice, formerly harsh (towards the pirate) and cold was suddenly warm yet again... though very weary, "sam... I'm sorry you had to see that. I'll never hurt you. Under any circumstance." With that, he clipped Sol to his belt and slipped out of that jacket of his. He slowly placed the warm coat over the woman and moved one arm to sling under her knees, then the other to support her back.

He'd carry her out, and there was no need to get her all bloody from his wounds.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

--Oh goddess, I’m gonna die…if the pirate doesn’t kill me the dark jedi will…goddess please help me…--

Grey eyes watched horror struck, as she pressed back against the wall attempting to become one with it, while that menacing growl issued forth and the pirate’s gun was twisted away from her. The sick sound of metal and bone crunching sounded beside her ear and the cry of pain from behind her had her yelping and struggling against her bindings futiley. A blast of (what felt like) air from behind her had the pirate captain tumbling away as the figure in the doorway spoke. Those eyes widened in considerable fear and surprise as she recognized Ryn’s voice. Voicelessly she whimpered as he crushed the lock and flung the door open (how THAT worked she didn’t know). The dark air around him was like a shadow that seemed to cling to him like a cloak and she backed against the wall at the sight of it. It was because of this that when he spoke to her she was so VERY confused.

R-Ryn…Ryn please…please get me out of here. Let’s just leave. Please can we just leave now? Please?!

He didn’t seem to hear her panicked pleadings though. All she wanted to do was get the hell away from these pirates, to just get free of these binders and leave this man to his fate, whatever it might be. She just wanted to get out of there…NOW…but it seemed Ryn would have none of it. He’d turned toward the captain again and the sounds of agony and crushing bone could be heard. It was all she could do not to be sick as she felt herself growing light headed. Now, typically Samantha wasn’t one to be overly queasy, but considering she’d been through a hell of a lot of emotional trauma that evening…well, she was just about at her limit. What happened next just pushed the poor woman over the edge. In a sickening, cracking, crunch blood, brain matter, and all manner of other fluids that might be found in the human head found their way into the air as the pirate’s head imploded under Ryn’s direction. Even as Ryn turned and spoke to her, she felt the world spin around her and her vision blacked out.

Poor Sam had fainted dead away.

[Meira]

The ship was like a jungle. That was how quickly the animals had taken over it. The difference was that this jungle was much more dangerous. Any jungle on a planet often spanned miles, giving all the dangerous critters plenty of room to themselves. But here, the jungle was confined to a relatively tiny ship. Most of these animals didn't like being within a day's distance from each other. One could imagine what it was like when them all shoulder to shoulder.

Vesta couldn't even make it to the area where she assumed Ryn had gone to rescue Sam. Two giant tiger-like creatures blocked her path. The room in which they sat was relatively quiet, none of the other beasts seemed brave enough to take their chances in there. The two giant cat's lounged near the door Vesta needed to get to, blood on their faces from the quick meal they'd made of the maalraas. They didn't seem to pay her any mind, unless she ventured too close to that door. It was like they were guarding it or something.

Wanting to keep her life, Vesta stood on the other side of the room. Here, she was at least somewhat safe from the other bloodthirsty animals on the ship, and well enough away to not bother those two in front of her.

Ryn? She called out with a shaky voice. Ry...

But there he was, carrying Sam in his coat and cut and bloody as all get out. But he was there, and he had Sam. Vesta breathed a sigh of relief, only to gasp in air as the approached where the two giant cat's were lounging.

Wait! There.....

But the oddest thing happened as Ryn entered the room and passed the two beasts. Rather than growl and glare at him, as they had at Vesta, the two stood, one even rubbing it's head against his leg as he passed. And was that.....? Yes, they were purring!

Oooook.....

Vesta backed up to let Ryn pass, giving as much space for the two creatures that now trailed behind him. It was all a bit much to take in, the whole thing, and she was just ready to be out of there. If that meant those two beasts came along too, well... their claws and teeth were enough to convince her that that was just fine. Just fine indeed.

[Dire Wolf]

A grey haze hung over the man's vision as he stooped down to his knees. No small part of the large man wanted to keep his body planted where it was, and simply let his body die of blood loss. Ryn's eyelids grew heavy as he looked down at the fading woman, who was unconscious on the floor infront of him. Suddenly, his weight slumped to the bulkhead and he was left with barely enough energy to breathe. Let alone pick up the weight of another human being. Slowly, he let his weight slip to the deck... which had since grown slippery with blood.

"No, Ryn," his mind whispered. No. He couldn't fall. Two other people's lives depended on his ability to muscle through the pain and exhaustion. He couldn't fail. But... Ryn's flesh protested his mind's orders. "Get up, Ryn. You don't have a choice." "Just... let me die," he mumbled in return to the thought as his head rolled over onto Sam's stomach. "They'll survive without me. Just... Tal is gone. Let me join her," he mumbled into the soft flesh of Sam's stomach. "Get up. You're better than this. If you're gonna die, die on your feet, not laying face down in your friend's belly."

He shook his head slightly. The little voice in Ryn's head was right: he needed to get up. At least to get Sam to safety. With a hefty sigh, the man lifted his head off of the woman, picking her up in the process. "Ugh. Sam... lay off of the donuts. Please," Ryn half mumbled to himself with a small smirk on his face as he struggled up.

With the nigh herculean task of standing accomplished, Ryn set his mind to the door. Each and every step was a struggle, one that even Ryn wasn't sure he'd win. But he did. The man's mind barely registered the affectionate nuzzling of the female bha'lir as he passed through the plane of the door, nor did he notice Vesta. He had one thing on his mind: Get. To. The. Ship.