| Logs |
2002 June 11
| These Shattered Stars |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: These Shattered Stars Logs |
Chapter One, Part Four
Roakkana has recommended sleep and rest for Quiet, Freyja, and Colburth, since it's nearing the midnight hour and the next day is promising to be very troublesome. Freyja is quite willing to take advantage of the down time -- she's been pushing herself hard recently. However, she does have one visit she has to make first... she wants to see how Talmon is doing, and maybe offer him a bit of calm and reassuring lack of fear. The apothecary allows Freyja some limited time with Talmon. Meanwhile, Colburth seems up for some walking-the-perimiter with Quiet.
Quiet finds, on his tour of the Temple grounds, a small seismic sensor. The kind used to detect troop movements. He arches an eyebrow; they are not Republic make. Glancing down the grounds a few dozen yards, he finds another. And another. Turning the first over in his hand a few times, he reaches back to throw it against the Temple wall... then pauses. A better idea occurs to him. He begins gathering the devices up.
Colburth takes up one of the devices himself, frowning at it. "It's Sith," he says to Quiet. No markings, but I've seen similar before. How in the Corellian hells did they get this on-planet?"
Quiet says, "The same way they smuggled their dog assassin dirtside, I would guess."
Colburth nods slowly. "Yeah... but how? The Lindecrantz and other cruisers have been keeping an eye on this planet for over a year.
Quiet says, "Perhaps they've someone on the inside. Someone with access to the sensor net? Or better still, perhaps they know something about stealth systems that we do not. It would certainly be in keeping with their character."
Colburth frowns. "Yeah. On both counts, that fits their profile." He looks up, then shakes his head. "Damn. Digging out the rot from within a planetary government is hard enough as it is, without it being Sith-influenced."
Talmon is half-meditating, half-lying awake looking at the cieling. At her approach, he glances over, and rouses himself. "Oh... Padawan Freyja...."
Freyja smiles and moves over to sit next to the bed, "Hi. How're you feeling?"
The Trandoshan grimaces slightly. "I have... been better, I think. The apothecary tells me I shall have to go to a hospital at some point. The lanvarok severed my spinal cord and I cannot walk. It is nothing that cannot be repaired. Physically, at any rate.
Freyja nods quietly, "I'm glad to hear it, Talmon." She watches him silently for a moment, then says gently, "Don't be afraid, Talmon."
Talmon closes his eyes. "I don't think I'm afraid right now. Just... really, really not looking forward to when the Sith come for me, or the tribunal if the Sith don't."
Freyja nods again, "That's an improvement, then." She reflects for a moment, then adds thoughtfully, "Are you familiar with the Bendu order, Talmon?"
Talmon opens his eyes a little, looking at Freyja, then nods, closing them again. "Oh, yes," he murmurs, sighing. "I certainly am. And it was much to the embarrassment of my Master that I did."
Freyja looks puzzled, "Explain, please?"
Talmon, opens his eyes; for obvious reasons, he doesn't try to sit up. "Jedi don't like talking about the times before the Order came about. I don't think they even like talking about the times before a few thousand years ago. Twenty thousand years and all we have to show for it are lightsabres instead of Echal steel."
Freyja rests her chin in her hand, "What's Echal steel?"
"It's an alloy of steel. I'm not sure just how they make it, or of what metals. You will find it in many of the early Jedi swords. You even find it in Sith swords, too." He watches her carefully as he says this.
Freyja looks, if anything, even more thoughtful, "How do you know? Hm... for that matter, why did you have a Sith sword, Talmon?"
Talmon shrugs a little, but he winces as he does it and doesn't shrug again. "They gave it to me. The Sith. Mostly because I know how to use a steel sword better than most converts do, and I didn't have a lightsabre to bring over with me. As for how I know, they told me that, too, and the blade... handles like Echal steel." He shakes his head a bit. "It's hard to explain...."
Freyja nods encouragingly, still listening with fascination.
"The sword -- a physical sword -- is heavy. You have to feel it, you have to work with it. It isn't as easy to wield as a lightsabre. It also isn't as lethal, so you aren't all but garaunteed a good cut." He sighs a bit. "Aesthetic reasons aside, they're just very different. And I could tell the sword they gave me was Echal steel. It's the way the blade carries through the air, the weight for it's length... under the blade-black and the darkside alchemy, it's Echal steel."
Freyja says, "Hm. So... why did you go with them, Talmon, if you wanted to come back home here?" She wonders thoughtfully if there's some way to... negate? shatter? melt? destroy? that particular steel.
The Trandoshan closes his eyes. "I didn't want to come back. No... that's not right. I just wanted to get away from those Sith. But I couldn't. When a Sith Lord claims you, you belong to them, them and no other."
Freyja says, "I... don't understand, Talmon. That's not what you said before. You said you wanted to go back." She regards him quietly for a moment, then says slowly, "What did you really mean, Talmon?"
The Trandoshan sighs, and looks up at the cieling. "I saw the Sith as being able to offer me something that I couldn't have in the Order. Mine is not a long-lived species, Padawan Freyja. Master Mynas may be able to live a couple hundred years, and would be willing to train a student for half that time. Padawan Talmon cannot, no matter how willing. But I have enough strength in the Force that the Order cannot just expel me; it is a double-edged sword -- do you know what that phrase means? One side of the blade cuts: I have a place in the Jedi Order. The other side of the blade cuts: wether I want it or not, I have a place.
"The Sith offered me a way to reach my full potential. What were the Sith, anyway? They were just the enemies of the Republic, a victorious enemy, and theirs was just another Force tradition, based on things that the Jedi have taught us to suppress. If that was all, then why not convert? Why not acknowledge that which was in me anyway, wether I was Jedi or Sith?"
"But these Sith are different, Padawan Freyja. Do you understand me? They are not Naga Sadow's Sith. In the Hierarchy, even Naga Sadow knows little about them." His voice raises a little, as he begins talking quickly. "Their secrets are barred to even him by seventeen gates, by an oath of fire! They know things, things that only the most ancient of Lords interred on Korriban know! They know the why of the swords! They know...." His voice fades a bit, and color starts returning to his scales. He lies there, taking deep, calming breaths.
Freyja watches calmly, waiting until Talmon feels better. Once his scales are a more normal color, she says softly, "Talmon... will you talk to my Master, please, and tell him what you've told me?"
Talmon looks over to Freyja, quietly, and nods a little bit, shakilly.
Freyja says, "Thank you." She pauses a moment, then sends a quick telepathic request for Master Roakkana to come to the infirmary. She doesn't want to leave Talmon alone, especially now that his story seems to be changing -- very strange. "He'll be just a moment, I hope."
It takes a few minutes, but shortly Roakkana comes in, his usual good humor a little subdued. "You seemed uneasy, child," he says congenially. "Ah, talking with our friend Talmon, I see."
Freyja nods to the Wookie, "Yes, Master. Talmon has some things to tell you, I think." She looks unhappily at the former Padawan, adding quietly, "Things are... different now, apparently." She doesn't clarify further, leaving it up to the Trandoshan to explain.
Talmon glances between Roakkana, then Freyja, then back to the Wookie. He sighs, and looks upward. "The Sith that took me in," he says quietly, almost whispering, "are not the Sith I thought they were."
Roakkana's answer is to rap his cane lightly on the floor. "Come, lad, the time for kibitzing with the truth is long over. Speak plainly."
That seems to startle Talmon a bit, and he nods. "Er... yes, Master. Ah... the Sith whom I joined... they belong to a group known as the Oath of Fire. They... they aren't like the other Sith, Master. They aren't trying to just win worlds for the greater glory of the Sith Empire. They're hunting Jedi. And Jedi either convert or die when they meet a Sith of the Oath of Fire."
Freyja looks faintly relieved. She feels much the same, but didn't know how to say it without antagonizing the Trandoshan.
Roakkana's expression goes from mild humor to blank, to stark frown. "I see," he says quietly." He looks to Freyja. "Would you please go and get Quiet and Jedi Colburth, please?
Freyja nods and trots swiftly out, searching for the two humans. Once she finds them, she asks them to return with her to the infirmary.
Roakkana turns as the others enter the infirmiry. He ensures that the apothecary is not present, then gives a rumbling chuff. "It seems we now see why at least some of the Sith are on this planet. Jedi Colburth, you may be gratified to know that your controversial theories are proven correct, and that there are packs of Sith seeking to kill Jedi." He briefly recounts what Talmon said, adding, "It seems that our past as an Order has caught up with us, as some have feared it would. The Sith seem to be derived from ancient Jedi heretics -- or at least persons declared to be heretics -- and while our mutual history has been forgotten by most... it seems that for these particular Sith they have not only not forgotten, but are seeking vengeance."
Colburth shakes his head. "Blast! I knew it! All this time, I knew it...." He frowns. "But about them being heretics... that, I did not know. At least that changes nothing."
Freyja listens in silent fascination. She knows the Jedi is an incredibly ancient order... but she finds carrying such a grudge for so long... incomprehensible. Still... it explains why there are several Sith around, and why some of the Jedi changed sides without real apparent reason. Coercion can be a powerful impetus.
Roakkana glances at Colburth, then looks to Freyja and Quiet for their reactions.
Quiet says, "We may exploit this."
Roakkana says, "Please explain, Quiet."
Quiet says, "If vengeance is their goal, with coercion or destruction at all costs, then we may assume that they will not behave as normal Sith would; through proxies and long-range scheming. They will come to the monastery and try to kill us. This is a problem in itself, but it is quite simple in its ramifications. Once we have eliminated them, we have eliminated the threat, rather than a blind."
Freyja settles cross-legged on a nearby bed to listen... and makes a mental note to mention the, er... Echal steel as well.
Colburth nods excitedly. "Excellent thinking, Satau. They're now very predictable to us, we know exactly what they want."
Quiet says, "We are left with whatever remains of the sect to deal with afterward... but it is, at least, one less layer of complexity."
Roakkana nods, albeit a little glumly. "This does open up a question. Valsha was apparently taken into the Sith by Jiosch, who also brought in Talmon and is apparently now a member of this 'Oath of Fire.' Are either of them redeemable? And what of the Mandragolan siblings?
Freyja looks at the Templar... then at the former Padawan, curious as to his reaction to the Human, "Is that what you think too, Talmon?" She continues to curiously watch the Trandoshan, wondering how he's taking this... and she keeps half an eye on the dog assassin too. If it wakes, she wants to know.
Talmon is remaining studiously quiet, looking strictly at the cieling. The canid Sith, for his part, is still unconscious.
The Trandoshan closes his eyes, finally, then nods. "Yes," he says, sighing. "That's why they're here, to kill Jedi and get away with it. That's why the other Sith on this world don't like it, they want to subvert the world so that their Lord can simply step in and take over when the time is right, and not have a bloodbath in the meantime.
Freyja blinks, "Er... 'other Sith'? How many are there?!"
Talmon says, "I don't know. The group of Sith that the Mandragolans joined: they're... relatively, normal Sith, is the only way I can describe them. And of the Oath of Fire, I only know of Vlasha, Jiosch, Vakkal over there, and... and Qatto Verg. Our Lord."
Freyja murmurs softly, "Holy crap. We're crawling with Sith!"
Quiet says, "He's the tall one? The grey figure from the speeder?"
Talmon says, "No. She's the Mandragolans' Lord. I don't know her name."
Freyja shakes her head a bit bemusedly. Too many Sith... if only they could just get the Sith to fight with each other.
Quiet says, "I see. That leaves three to deal with on the morning... and more after."
Freyja says, "How'd they all get here? Is the Lindencrantz just inept?!"
Quiet says, "Easy, Freyja."
Freyja says bemusedly, "Well, the first question at least is quite valid, Quiet!"
Quiet says, "We have some suspicions about that."
Colburth says, "I've had occasion to look at the security for this planet. The sensor net has complete coverage with military-grade sensors, and the customs and shipping agents, while maybe not the best in the Republic, are reasonably competent and incorruptible. I may be wrong about that, however, I didn't exactly conduct a full mind-probe on them."
Freyja raises an eyebrow, but waits for Colburth to explain his "suspicions."
Quiet says, "It's possible that someone with access to the planetary sensor net has been compromised. This would be in keeping with the character of the Sith that we know. It is also possible that the Sith have developed stealth technology we don't know of. With uncounted centuries to think about it, they've had ample time." He adds to Colburth. "Jedi are also considered 'reasonably incorruptible.' I would not make assumptions."
Freyja covers a smile behind her sleeve.
Colburth doesn't elaborate any more, however, only saying to Quiet, "You have a point there, Zero." Though he admits it somewhat reluctantly.
Freyja says firmly, "So... do we have anything more concrete than that, so we can stop up the leak point?"
Roakkana shakes his head, "Unfortunately, none. Quiet's explainations seem the only reasonable ones. The Sith came on-planet somehow, either by their own transport or by smuggling themselves in through legitimate traffic."
Freyja thinks about that for a bit, then looks at Talmon, "Do you know how they got here?"
Talmon says, "I only know that the Sith Oath of Fire on Marnaas didn't bring their own transport. We were using a landing pit that had been condemned. The only thing that Jiosch ever mentioned to me was that Qatto Verg once told him that he would be indebted to the person who had 'made it happen.' Which could mean anything."
Freyja looks at the dog assassin, then at the Wookie, "Can we find out from him?"
Quiet sighs quietly, "We have no concrete evidence, yet... and no time to find it. We must prepare for the attack... we have a Sith Lord to deal with in a few short hours."
Roakkana glances at the canid. "The apothecary says that awakening him might be harmful to his health. And to ours."
Quiet resists the urge to find the grip of his vibroblade. "Mostly to his, I promise you that."
Roakkana arches a brow to Quiet, then deadpans, "Oh, I've very little doubt about that, all told."
Freyja sighs, "So... we don't know precisely how they got here, so we can't stop them from doing so again. We have quarreling Sith, and we don't know how to get them to quarrel with each other instead of us. We know one faction will..." She pauses, then says softly, "Oh. That's why there's a brokered, temporary peace -- the Mandragolan Sith Lord must have insisted... which is why she came to tell us... which means... she has something on the other one." She's silent a moment, then says slowly, "I wonder if they'd quarrel if we told her the truce had been broken?"
Quiet mms softly and absently licks one of his canines. "Forgive me, Roakkana. I let my thoughts show, didn't I."
Roakkana smiles indulgently. "That's all right, Quiet. We shouldn't ignore what we are. It's how we act upon our urges that matters, not what we merely feel." He -- rather pointedly -- ignores the somewhat sharp look Colburth shoots him. Instead he says to Freyja, "That might be a dangerous thing, child. Do we know how the other Sith will react?
Quiet says, "They certainly aren't going to listen to anyone in this room, regardless."
Freyja says, "No, but we do know the other will try to kill us on the morrow. Faced with chance or death, I chose chance."
Quiet says, "Freyja. You sound as if you think they'd win that confrontation."
Freyja says calmly, "No. I sound like I understand sacrifice, Quiet."
Quiet says, "I don't see how they can be dissuaded from making their assault, given how much they've already sacrificed by way of arranging it, but if you have a plan, now is the time."
Freyja says, "Not really. I'm simply throwing out options. Personally, I'm a bit stumped, I'm afraid."
Talmon says, "If it helps any, think of the Sith -- uh, the 'normal' Sith -- as being Empire builders. That's what they want. They want land. They want subjects. They want power. Dead bodies and stiff resistance resulting in piles of casualties don't interest them." He looks away. "That's not true for the Oath of Fire, of course, but, still...."
Freyja eyes the Trandoshan with quiet amusement, "Talmon... what do you want?"
Talmon looks startled for a moment, then shakes his head. "I don't know, Padawan Freyja. I just... don't know. And I don't know if I can even think about that, not knowing what's going to happen in the coming day."
Freyja nods, "All right. Let me know when you do know... since I've tangled my life with yours, I'd like to know if you're going to change your mind again." Her tone is more gently teasing than anything else.
Talmon looks embarrassed, and nods quietly.
Freyja looks back at the others, her tone getting more business-like, "So. One group wants us dead, the other wants Empire. What tools do we have against the more immediate threat?"
Colburth says, "A monastery of Jedi. And we know they're coming."
Quiet takes a breath and rubs his eyes with one hand. "This is not how I prefer to go about battle. Fortunately there are only three, and we have the remaining forces of the monastery. I do not like being cornered... but it seems this has been engineered from the start. We have the fortification of the Temple, we have compromised their intelligence by removing their sensors, and yes... we know they are coming."
Freyja nods, "All right. I... guess I don't really have anything else to add. I wish we had a better plan... but short of bombing Bay 18 into a glassy plain, I can't think of anything off the top of my head."
Quiet says, "If we had the ordnance available...." He sighs again, "I would do it myself."
Roakkana nods, "And considering that the Republic Guard would probably refuse to do that, no matter who asked them and how nicely, that isn't an option."
Freyja nods. She can't help but look curiously sidelong at Colburth, however. If anyone would have the ordinance... it'd be the undercover Templar.
Quiet says, "How many Jedi remain besides ourselves?"
Colburth, taps his chin. "I don't think destroying Bay 18 would do much. I somehow doubt even a Sith Lord representing a secret society would be caught slumming in a condemned landing bay."
Freyja grins quietly to herself. Looks like Colburth doesn't have it. Pity, in a way.
Roakkana says, "The seneschal and the guardian, Master Mynas Molburth and his padawan, the apothecary, four knights, and a Bothan Master who was in meditation with his padawan earlier today, whom I do not believe you have met: Master Thar'wel of Bothwi.
Quiet says, "Then we will need to post a watch while those of us who can fight rest. Then we will simply have to post patrols."
Freyja says, "So... 14 of us, and... now three of them? There must be more of the Fire Sith than we know... or they have some unknown advantage."
Roakkana says quietly, "They have the Dark Side, child." He adds with some of his usual humor, "And quite a rage from their grudge against us, from what Talmon's told us."
Freyja nods, and says no more. She's got a lot to think about.
Quiet says, "Colburth, whom in the monastery would you pick out as the most capable fighters?"
Colburth blinks. "Well. This was a very quiet monastery, and it tended to attract consulars. Jedi Kuuna and two of the other knights are guardians. Master Thar'wel is out of the Academy, and is a scholar, otherwise I would recommend him.
Quiet says, "I see. Then I must suggest that between myself, yourself, or Master Roakkana, two of us concentrate on the Sith Lord when the assault comes. Kuuna and the guardians will have to hold their own with whomever remains against the other two Sith until then. I prefer to cut the head from this particular snake before it has a chance to sink its fangs any deeper."
The hours pass. A watch is kept. The knights pair up and walk the perimeter of the monastery. Dawn soon breaks, slowly, agonizingly slowly. It is about an hour after dawn, however, that there is a faint disturbance felt in the Force by those able to feel it.
Chaos, confusion. Agony. The epicenter is about two miles down the road, and shortly after it is felt there is a distant, heavy crashing sound in that direction.
Freyja is resting in the Infirmary. As a Padawan aiming for Consular, she doesn't want to get in the way of the fighting, so feels she might as well make herself useful defending the healing area -- and being ready to kill the dog assassin, if necessary. She sighs, sitting up wearily at the pain she feels in the Force. Useful way to build Force power -- hurt the innocent. Damn them.
Well... Dark Force power.
Talmon opens his eyes as the disturbance is felt. "They're here," he says softly. Then he frowns. "They're not... close, though. Padawan Freyja... what's going on?"
Freyja settles cross-legged and centers herself as she calmly replies, "I imagine they're trying to build fear, Talmon. I intend to deny them mine, at least." She pauses long enough to eye Talmon, and smiles faintly, "Would you care to join me in that endeavor?"
Talmon blinks, then smiles quietly, and nods, closing his eyes and visibly calming himself.
Meanwhile, the canid Sith stirs, a little restlessly.
Freyja visually checks the Sith's restraints, and makes sure her borrowed lightsabre is neatly tucked where she expects it -- in her sleeve. She looks around thoughtfully, considering backup weapons to use against the Sith, if necessary... an overdose, perhaps?
Quiet hears the crash from the ramparts, and draws his blaster, looking out down the road. He nods to the knight on patrol with him. "Time. Put the rest on alert, I'm going to report to Roakkana."
The knight, a young man of some species that needs a breathing mask to survive in Marnaas's air, nodes quickly and calmly, taking his position as Quiet goes to Roakkana.
Roakkana takes the news stoically, and nods. "Then let us prepare. And may the Force be with us all."
Quiet takes off his cloak and throws it aside; it's only going to get in the way. He glances sidelong to Roakkana as he checks over his web harness, "Someone I should know?"
Roakkana blinks, almost missing a step as he walks with Quiet. He smiles a little, then. "Hmm? Oh, nothing, lad, nothing. Come; I doubt they will make much of a song of this battle, but we should make sure that it's at least not a dirge!"
Quiet grins lopsidedly, with the undamaged half of his mouth. "I'll settle for getting paid afterward." He fingers the trigger guard of his blaster. "But you're right. Let's show them who they're dealing with."
The disturbance lasts for perhaps two minutes... then, oddly, dies away. And nothing happens.
Freyja takes advantage of the respite to quietly put together enough anesthetic in an air hypo to put down a Bantha. Then she returns to meditating... although she does wonder thoughtfully if maybe the Sith factions did end up arguing with each other, and that's what they heard.
It is perhaps fifteen minutes later, that Roakkana and Quiet see a figure coming up from the road. More accurately, a figure dragging themselves up the road. It is a Mandragolan; from the look of it, the brother.
Quiet raises his blaster. "Shall I end this one before it starts?"
Roakkana actually looks at Quiet for a moment, before turning back. "Without even knowing what happened?" He sends a brief,effortless telepathic message to Freyja, for her to join him and Quiet.
Quiet lowers his blaster slightly. "I thought you might say that. I had to ask."
Freyja takes a moment to smile at Talmon, "Stay calm, my friend. I shall return." She paces swiftly and quietly out to join Quiet and her Master on the ramparts.
In that time, the male Mandragolan -- Dhaasul -- has come closer into view, about twenty yards from the monastery... where he promptly collapses. He says something unintelligible, then with more volume, "If you call yourselves Jedi, in the name of the Force, damn you, come out!
Freyja says, "Hm. Shall I, Master? I've got some healing ability... and I can be sure to leave Quiet a clear line of fire?"
Roakkana glances to Quiet. "If you think you can get that clear shot, Quiet, then yes, please, Freyja."
Quiet hms. "I wish I had a rifle now... but I can hit him from here."
Freyja nods to Quiet, then runs quickly downstairs. She's careful to make sure at least two of the Knights are at the door, to keep it from being kicked in, and to keep the Mandragolan from overwhelming her just inside the door... and then she steps quietly and cautiously out. Softly she says, as she paces forward, "I am a Padawan, not a Jedi... I will have to do. Why do you call for our aid?"
Quiet kneels down on the rampart, taking careful aim.
Freyja does not come within a long lunge of the wounded Darksider. Instead she stands warily out of the line of fire, waiting for the Mandragolan to reply. She backs up a bit more, and looks around carefully. She's familiar with the cultural analogue story of the Trojan Horse... and also of distractions to hide ambushes. She doesn't want to be surprised by more Sith.
The Mandragolan looks up at Freyja, and that's when the padawan can see some extent of the Mandragolan's injuries. A gash is along the side of his face, and his eye is not there. The wound was cauterized, as if with a lightsabre blade. Slashes, some cauterized, some bleeding, cover the rest of him. His arm is accross his chest, concealing most of what is apparently a vicious, bleeding wound there as well. The smile he gives Freyja is rictus. "I don't call for your aid, Humanling." He winces, and takes in a painful gasp. "Hope you're satisfied," he says, his eye glazing a little, even as he visibly fights to remain conscious. "No, that's not right.... Just... we tried. Oath of Fire.... They tried to attack. But Methel-ssa is... Lord of her word. When a Sith has nothing, they only have their word, understand? Besides...." He pauses to spit out a gob of whitish-green blood. "Besides... didn't want world going to them...." He starts to slip out of consciousness.
Freyja nods and starts to step forward to aid the Mandragolan, pulling out her medpac... then pauses to glance up at the ramparts, to see if Roakkana thinks that would be a bad idea.
Roakkana seems to actually hesitate for a moment, then nods. "Quiet... do you think you'd be more help out there, or up here? You're the expert."
Freyja steps forward to kneel by the Mandragolan, although she's still careful not to block Quiet's line of fire.
Her voice is calm and conversational as she starts working on the wounded man, "Don't give up on me, please... so, you believe in honor and you don't want our aid... what do you want, then?"
Quiet says, "I'm the only one here with a blaster. If melee breaks out, you're more use down there than I am... I can't block a lightsabre with my vibroblade."
Roakkana nods quietly. "I understand. Jedi Colburth?"
"I'm there." The knight is down the stairs quickly, and out the door, walking towards Freyja's position.
The Mandragolan grimaces against great pain. "Had to tell someone," he growls out. "Knew they were moving on monastery. We ambushed them, knew you had taken out the Trandoshan and the Sith-dog. That left three. Thought we could take them, but... bah!" He doubles over a bit. "Ssss.... down the road, three kilometers away. Right on your Force-forsaken doormat. They're gone, but they'll be back...."
The Mandragolan goes unconscious, but Freyja manages to stabilize him. He's no longer in danger of bleeding to death right there.
Freyja murmurs quietly, "Well, foo," as Dhaasul's one remaining eye rolls back in his head, but continues working swiftly, staunching the bloody wound in his chest and doing her best to keep him alive. She doesn't look up as Colburth comes up, simply murmuring, "Don't block Quiet's line of fire," and continuing her work.
Roakkana has several knights bring the Mandragolan into the now-crowded infirmiry, and then gathers Freyja, Quiet, and Colburth. "Good work, child, in keeping him alive. I do not know if he can be redeemed, but that isn't important right now. What do you think?"
Freyja says, "I'm not sure he wants to live, Master." She carefully repeats his gasped words, then adds, "In a way, I would guess he's fulfilled the obligations his honor called on him to perform -- stop the attacking Sith, and inform us. Now... it would appear he has nothing." She sighs, adding a bit wistfully, "Now would be an excellent time to attack the violent Sith... if only we knew where they were."
Roakkana nods slowly. "I'm forced to agree. Quiet?
Quiet says, "I don't trust them. I'm reluctant to divide our forces... but if a preemptive strike is going to be made, now is the time. I recommend we attack Bay 18... if they've moved on we may find some clue as to where they've gone, or report back to the monastery as the situation warrants.""
Freyja nods quietly, then adds, "We might search the ambush area for clues also? and to see if there are any other wounded?"
Colburth nods. "I agree, Master. We should go forthwith. Jedi Kuuna and the other guardians, you and your padawan, and your... pilot." He casts a grin towards Quiet.
Roakkana hmmms, then nods to Freyja. "A good idea. Let us four go there now, meanwhile I will have Jedi Kuuna prepare for our drive into town."
Freyja says, "And... a heavy watch kept on the Sith in the infirmary, yes?"
Quiet grins crookedly at Colburth's specific emphasis. "I'll go see to the speeder."
Roakkana says, "Indeed, yes. We'll arrange for that as well. Two sith in a Jedi infirmiry, who'd have thought?" he adds, chuckling.
Freyja's face remains concernedly grave as she looks up at her Master. She says only, "We... should not take too long, yes? I think Quiet is right, and splitting our forces is not a good thing to do long-term."
"I know, child, I know. We must work with what the Force gives us. We shall take only a bit of time, to go into the spaceport and see if we cannot find the Sith, then return, ere they see us and attack the monastery."
Freyja nods, and takes only a moment to clean the blood off her hands -- then she's ready to go, standing impassively at her Master's side.
The battlesite is depressingly easy to spot: a wrecked landspeeder is smashed against the hillside. A being of a species neither Quiet nor Freyja has ever seen is up on the branches of a tree, apparently impaled; another, apparently the Mandragolan sister, is a smoking pile by the side of the road. The rest of the area is a blasted wasteland in miniature, with trees splintered or rocks pulverized or cut apart, gouges carved into the earth.
Quiet says, "Well. Apparently our enemy lacks subtlety."
Freyja looks puzzledly at the impaled being, "Who is that, Master? It... must be part of the Empire-building Sith... I guess?"
Roakkana steps out of the landspeeder, not answering Freyja right away, looking around, looking very subdued. After several minutes, he sighs heavilly, and looks to Freyja. "Witness the devastation wrought when one gives in completely and without mediation to the Dark Side, child."
Even Colburth seems stunned by the view. At Freyja's words, he looks up into the tree. "Massassi, yes. One of the subject-races of the Sith Empire." The being is red-hued, with vaguely catfish-like whiskers, pale eyes, and a strong but lithe build. It is clad in dark robes.
Freyja looks faintly nauseous, looking around and taking in the extent of the devastation. She firmly reminds herself that she's a Padawan, darnit, and will not be embarrassing her Master. She closes her eyes and centers herself for a moment, then opens them, letting her senses extend outwards, trying to glean any possible clues from the scene.
Freyja winces a moment later, and murmurs, "Master Roakkana... the Massassi is definitely dead. It got beaten on with some sort of bladed weapon, before being thrown forcefully into the tree. There's a broken Sith lightsabre below it. Um... and... well, it's really nasty here. It feels... ungood, like there's a serious blight here after what happened. Uh... can that be done by the Dark side?"
Quiet takes a few careful steps around the perimeter of the battlefield, narrowing his eyes as he tries to follow the flow of the battle as best he can from the tracks and blaster marks. "Concussion mine, there... that's how they took out the speeder." He shakes his head. "Definitely lacking subtlety. Might not want to get too close... could be more lying around." He circles around toward the smoking corpse, and kneels, picking up a lightsabre. "This one looks like one of yours," he mentions to Colburth, tossing it to him as he moves toward some bushes. "Something else here, too."
Freyja wrinkles her nose -- that lightsabre's not one of theirs.
Roakkana says quietly, "When enough rage has been expended like was apparently here? Oh, yes, child. I daresay nothing will grow right here for many years."
Colburth catches the sabre, frowning at it. "Looks like Khaasa's. Yeah, it's hers." He looks at the smoking body. "I... guess it's hers." He frowns, looking around, as if there's something he can't quite put a finger on.
Quiet pulls a cloak out of the bushes, wrestling it out of the bushes. "You recognize this?" The cloak has some sort of brooch still attached.
Freyja murmurs bleakly, "Must be really upset Sith..." as she looks around at the mess. She adds a moment later, "Where's the Sith Lord? The Mandragolan wouldn't have abandoned her, would he?"
Roakkana nods, and his humor is a bit shallow as he says, "I'd say that twenty thousand years or so hasn't lessened their irritation." He looks around. "A good point, child. I don't see her body anywhere."
Colburth comes over to Quiet, looking at it. "Looks like a Sith Lord's seal of some kind. Crossed sword and flail, with a flaming eye superimposed on it. Uhm. But which Sith Lord?"
Quiet says, "A flail... who actually uses a flail?"
Freyja wanders around cautiously, looking for where the ambush was set. There should be some sort of vehicle for the other side... and they're missing a body, unless the angry Sith took her along.
Colburth shakes his head. "Not any Sith I've ever know. Fortunately."
Quiet says, "Fire motif. Likely one of our new enemies."
Freyja wanders back with a faintly confused look. Not only does it seem icky here... it feels like something's missing. She wanders over to take the cloak from Quiet, and examine it... and the broken lightsabre, to see if there's anything to learn from them.
Freyja quietly passes on to the others the information that the lightsabre is Sith in make, and very similar to the one used by the canid. The cloak is black, of very fine cut and make -- from her experience, something minor nobility would wear, not just some minion. The brooch is blackened steel, with no hint of any precious metal.
Quiet circles around to the far side of the battlesite. He kneels down, looking at something in the road, then down toward the spaceport. "Jiosch and someone else got away. Looks like a speeder took after them as well."
Freyja looks up, "Took after? As in followed them? Hm. Maybe that's where the other Sith Lord went?" She pauses, then says quietly, "Poor Mandragolans... abandoned when they weren't useful any more."
Quiet stands, brushing the dust from his gloves, "They headed back toward the spaceport. Jiosch and his companion are wounded."
Freyja nods quietly, then looks up at the Wookie, "Shall we follow, then?" She blinks, then says puzzledly, "Wait... only two? Jiosch and one other? Where's the third?"
Quiet says, "Only two sets of tracks."
Freyja says, "So... they're leading her into yet another ambush?"
Quiet says, "Or being pursued."
Freyja nods, and simply heads for the land speeder.
Colburth snorts softly. "Darkness feeds upon itself. Why aren't I surprised?" Roakkana looks at him briefly, but then turns away, saying nothing. "If we're to find the Oath of Fire, we... should head into the spaceport quickly, I imagine."
Quiet says, "Good. Let's finish this."
The landspeeder returns to the monastery, there to pick up Kuuna and another Jedi knight. A little on the crowded side, it is still well within it's capacity. Under Quiet's hands the vehicle leaps down the road, towards the spaceport, with Roakkana being particularly quiet and withdrawn throughout the trip.
Return to THESE SHATTERED STARS
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