A Death in the Family

[Ellion Corsair]

Ellion moved. Diving forward he knocked into the table flipping it and putting the obstacle between himself and the barrage of blaster fire. Concentrating he focused on the handcuffs and the mechanism keeping them locked. A little pressure and he twisted his wrists letting the cuffs fall to the ground just as a blaster bolt ate through the table and grazed his left shoulder.

Ducking lower he focused again on the far wall and, using the force, flipped the light switch throwing them into darkness. The sporadic fire from the blasters gave momentary glimpses of the room which left a lingering after image on the retinas.

Again Ellion moved.

His hand gripped the knife which moments before had been used for cutting the steak and rising he ran forward launching the blade through the site which struck a guard in the chest. But body armor deflected the deadly missile. The slight impact however was enough to their off the guard's sum.

Ellion barreled into the man and the two hit the ground with Eli on top. A swift elbow to the face shattered the guard's nose, loosening his grip on the blaster, and Ellion swiped the blaster rolling from the guard as several bolts hit the prone man killing him.

Now armed the Jedi Knight let the force fill him as he began firing, each shot perfectly aimed. Behind then Flynn fled while sitting in his comlink for reinforcements.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine had found the key to the restraints in her foes pocket and was out of them when the lights went off. She picked up the blaster and together she and Ellion had downed the guards in the room.

Katarine came out from behind the statue and walked towards her former Palawan, whose outline she could barely make out in the dark. On her way she scoped up the two lightsabers and handed his to him when she was next to him.

"We need to get out of here before the Sith show up. Whatever you came to do we better do it fast. "

Katarine did not want a fight with the Sith. Sources had already confirmed they were bigger , more lethal and organized than any Sith before their time. It wasn't a fight two Jedi could handle on the Sith capital world.

[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

He reached out to take his lightsaber, his fingers lightly brushing hers. That spark, that chill down the spine, or was still there. So much he wanted to say, so much to go into but he knew she was right. Wrong place wrong time.

Trotting over to one of the dead guards he unbuckled his gun rig and pulled it free. Riding he whipped out around his waist, cinching it tight then securing each holster to each thigh. "Mine." He dropped to a knee and rifled through the guard's pockets again as he spoke over his shoulder.

"You have no idea princess ... I thought I was in this hell dimension by myself ..." He stood with a datapad with a cracked screen. "Wish you weren't here." His fingers flew deftly over the screen but he could find no mention of the location of the slave market place. Instead he found the location the datapad was used most frequently and synced it with his own datapad, marking the location.

Dropping the cracked pad he turned to look at Katarine. "You should be home, where everything makes sense, well as much sense as it ever made. Here everything is different. But there is still evil and so here I am trying to make a difference."

He smiled his scoundrel smile as he clipped his lightsaber hilt to his belt. In the force he felt several points of active hostility closing on their current location. "Let's go love. Still have to find Flynn, find the location to the slave market, and free as many slaves as possible. And all that while trying to avoid Sith."

He showed her his datapad with the schematics and locations before trotting to a side door and easing out into a side alley to move in the direction of Flynn's base.

He was excited and nervous to see his former master but was not sure where they stood considering everything they had both been through since last time that had seen one another. But the mission of helping innocents hung in the forefront of the moment.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was standing, watching him with her mouth slightly open as if she was still stunned to see him. He was looking up information on the guards data pad and her instincts were screaming for her to drag him out of here, but all she could do is stand there and stare. He called her princess and she felt her cheeks flush but still she was staring at him as if he were a mirage that might disappear. It wasn't that far fetched, considering when she usually saw him he did disappear. Katarine had been abusing a very deadly drug to keep herself from feeling the loss of this man, and she wasn't quite convinced she hadn't overdosed and was imaging all of this.

He said he wished she wasn't there and she frowned. Didn't he realize that Kat would prefer living in the fires of hell if it meant she could be with him? This galaxy, the other dimension, some other galaxy, it didn't matter. All she had ever wanted since he'd first kissed her was to be with him.

The flutter of darkness she felt drew her attention away from Ellion. She glanced towards the door and seemed to realize she was letting her emotions getting the best of her. Perhaps this is why the Jedi used to preach against them?

"Lead the way handsome."

She followed him out into the alley as they continued to track Flynn. The closer they got the more the Force felt clouded with despair. Katarine frowned.

"Do you think he headed to the market?"

She wasn't sure they should just barge into a stronghold. She could feel several very sad people up ahead.

[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Riggs]

When the others went into the warehouse Bjork had went on perimeter duty. Circling the block which the building stood on he eliminated the sentries with his vibroblade. Quick and silent kills in the shadows.

Reaching an alley he paused seeing a fancy speeder waiting. "This must be Flynn's ride", he muttered to himself. The driver was standing next to the speeder with a blasterblaster bulging under his suit jacket.

Sliding along the site of the building he slipped down the alley unnoticed until he was within ten feet. Then a small gesture with his left hand trusted the vertebrae in the driver's neck severing the spinal cord.

Walking over he picked up the man and tossed him into the shadows , but not before pulling the blaster from the shoulder holster. Then he waited for Flynn.

He didn't wait long.

Within moments Flynn ran from the warehouse toward the speeder only skidding to a half mere feet from Bjork. " Cut off the head and the body dies. " With that statement Bjork put a blaster bolt through Flynn's forehead.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"] [member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

Down a long dark alley he jogged tracking Flynn by the emotions the man was radiating. Frustration and anger with a hint of fear. But as Ellion and Katarine finally came into view of Flynn the slave leader's editions flickered from triumph at arriving at his speeder outside his base and the protection it offered to abject fear.

Then Flynn crumpled as a blaster bolt went through his head. Pulling both his blaster he trained then on the armored figure who was radiating a determined shadowed aura and yet felt oddly familiar as well.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Had some vigilante beaten them to the punch? Katarine glanced over her shoulder while Eli trained his weapon on him. The last thing they needed was a Sith vigilante who had decided the two Jedi were better sport than Flynn. The man didn't feel dark however. He felt like something she had sensed before. Perhaps in the alley where this all started?

"Well you've done us a favor but to whom do we owe the pleasure?" Katarine called towards the shadowy figure, then glanced back over her shoulder. She had a bad feeling.

[member="Ellion Corsair"] [member="Bjork Corsair"]

 

[Riggs]

He looked at them together. They found one another. Good for them. But he didn't have to congratulate them. Stepping into the light from the speeder he looked them over.

"Bjork Corsair, misplaced Jedi. Much like the two of you. Haven't found my place yet and I'm just doing what needed doing. I'm done. But if you two want to save the slaves you're in luck. Three blocks down you will find the pits. But cut your losses. It's crawling with Sith, the one who run this planet. It's suicide."

He turned and began to walk away.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

With the feeling of familiarity that had resounded in the force it came as a smaller shock that his brother had made it here in this dimension as well. But the odds of the three of them being in the same place at the same time, well the academy taught that coincidences were sometimes born through the force.

"Bjork, wait. You say you're a Jedi like us. How can we turn away if we can make a difference?" Ellion looked at Katarine for support but even as he did he felt the over whelming power of the dark side which saturated the planet.

[member="Bjork Corsair"] [member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine's eyes went wide. She had never met any of Ellions family. Ellion seemed to recognize him though so he must be telling the truth. When her former padawan looked at her Katarine pursed her lips, her eyes full of understanding. Sometimes the galaxy was complicated. Even famous Jedi like Qui Gon had not been able to free all the slaves they wanted. But how could she explain that to a man who had been forced into a type of slavery as a kid? Did she even want to explain it? Truthfully she didn't want to die, at least not now that she knew he was alive, but the look in his eyes made the decision easy. Katarine would die to make him happy. She'd known that all along.

"If you want to do this then I'm doing it with you. Our best bet is to do it from the inside. We go back and take the uniforms of the guards we downed in Flynns dining room. You bring me in as a slave. Simple. Routine. We get in and figure out what we are dealing with and then by some miracle we might pull this off. "

[member="Ellion Corsair"] [member="Bjork Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

He watched his brother walk away. They had only recently become reacquainted after both were in the same Jedi order. To lose him early in life only to find him again as an adult then to lose him with the dimension shift. Now to find him in this realm only to watch him walk away almost broke his heart.

Closing his eyes he calmed his mind. Each chose their own path. Opening them he looked at his Kat and gave one of his rare, genuine smiles. She knew his heart and knew he had to try.

"You know me too well love. We have to try. But I'm not losing you so soon after getting you back." He had reached out to her through the force earlier and felt his anchor, but he had sensed something else. She wasn't herself. Something was off. Of course everything is off here.

He nodded agreeing to her plan and they backtracked to the warehouse where he stripped down and pulled on one of the guard's clothing. A momentary flush crept to his face as he did in his boxers, but it was nothing she hadn't seen before, scars and all.

Dressed he pulled his gun rig on and belted out down before retrieving a blaster rifle. "Ready sweetheart?" His roguish grin split his face.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She followed him back to the warehouse with conflicting emotions. She wanted to talk about this other Corsair. She had felt the pain in the Force and knew it hurt to have the man walk away. She wanted to comfort him, and backhand the other man for hurting him, but now did not seem the time so she mulled it over in silence.

When they reached the warehouse Katarine was staring again. She had to force herself to turn away from him and go collect the pair of shackles she had been in earlier so he could have some form of privacy while changing. She wasn't a voyeur per say, more like she was scared if she let him out of her sight for even a moment he would vanish and she would wake up sober and realize this was just a prolonged high.

She shook her head and collected the cuffs and walked back over to him, bending to stuff her lightsaber into the portion of her boot with a spring launcher. Her first padawan Mist Mayweather had a few clever ideas and that was one Kat had taken keen to.

"Ready sweetheart?"

She handed him the shackles and tried to smile, a million thoughts running through her mind. Not even slightly.... no I'm terrified I'll lose you.... please don't leave me again.

"Ready though admittedly when I pictured us playing master and slave this wasn't exactly the scenario I had in mind." She winked and held her hands up so he could lock the shackles onto her.

[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

"Did your scenario involve a nice secluded beach and waterfall?" He smiled, one side of his lips uplifted as he eased the shackles on, locking them. At least they weren't force shackles. Holding her wrists so close he couldn't resist the urge and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.

"I ever tell you how cute you are when you're worried? What's the worst that could happen?" With a week he looked her out of the warehouse and to one of the speeders that has brought them there. He opened the door and watched her climb in. Keep your head in the game Ellion. Stop admiring the view ... For now. Anyway who knows how long she's been alone and if she found someone special. The thought hurt a bit but he couldn't blame her if she had moved on. He hadn't and he never would.

He climbed into the driver's seat and brought up the map on the datapad before heading for the pits where the slaves were being kept.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"Something like that." Anywhere with you.... I've missed you so much , please don't leave me again......


She felt her cheeks flush when he kissed the tip of her nose. She could feel the heat from his breath and she clung to the hope that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't an extraordinary trip with her drug of choice.

"I ever tell you how cute you are when you're worried? What's the worst that could happen?"


You could get hurt.... we could fail.... I could lose you again.. you might hate me for using.... you might not be real...

"I'm just worried the blood won't come out of my shirt. It's my favorite one."

She got in the speeder and they were off. When they arrived at the pits the Force was thick with cruelty, despair, and suffering. It made her stomach sick and suddenly. She could see similarly dressed guards watching them and two coming over to see what was going on.

"What's this? I didn't know we had a shipment coming in."

Show time

[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

He got out of the speeder and reached into the back hauling Katarine out. Turning back to the approaching guards Ellion nodded. "Flynn sends a gift. I'm supposed to deliver her to the boss. Her wares haven't been tasted yet, so she is fresh. I was tempted to on my way over, but I like my job and my life too much for that."

He smirked meaningfully before nodding at the massive double doors. "Care to lead the way?" The guard frowned for a moment before smiling. "You have to leave your guns and I'll have to pay down the prisoner myself. Then I'll lead you in to Eric."

As Ellion pulled his blasters and see them on the seat he also dropped the blaster rifle. But his lightsaber stayed tucked into his belt inside his shirt. The red faced guard moved to search Katarine with an evil grin. Eli steeled himself even as he fought the despair, fear, and hopelessness of the pit. Inside he felt a massive force presence not just evil but stepped on sadism.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine cringed when the guard patted her down. He couldn't find a weapon but he sure seemed to be enjoying looking. She was momentarily distracted by the fact that there was no growling inside her mind. She felt a surge of worry and pushed it down. Focus.

"She seems in order. She certainly is a pretty one isn't she." He ran his finger over her lips and Katarine bit him. He pulled his hand away chuckling. "That explains the black eye. She'll be fun to break."

Katarine felt her stomach turn. What exactly where they doing with the people they locked up here?

"Come on."

The guard lead them through the doors and down a long hallway. Katarine could feel the presence they were heading towards and it chilled her blood. Sadistic.... dark.... powerful. She shook her head slightly. Not now. The darkside.... the abusive substance ... it was like leading a spice addict into the spice mines.

Get your head together or your going to get Ellion killed. She took a deep breath and tried to focus.

[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

Watching the guard pat her down was difficult to stomach. He didn't need the force to sense what was on the guard's mind. But then it was over and they were being led in down a long corridor. Doors on either side of the hall were locked from the outside. And each room they passed echoed with screams of pain, cries of torment, or the soft sobbing of the broken. It turned his stomach and reminded him off times past when he was a slave and gladiator. Blood and tears. And scars.

Gulping to keep the bile down he followed as he felt an evil nearby, an evil they were rapidly approaching. Suddenly he felt a lance of pain in his mind from a swift probe that disappeared nearly as soon as it appeared.

And then the guard, the fat leech, reached a gilded, golden for and pushed it open while scrambling back. Ellion looked at the guard then squared his shoulders and entered.

On a raised dais sat a marble throne, as a massive man over seven feet tall and weighing in over three hundred longed there in black robes. Shaved head and face he smiled, teeth filled to points and black eyes with nary a pupil.

"I am Eric the Terrible. And you Jedi are in over your head." A casual wave of the hand closed them in, a lock slamming in place. The rim was massive and made of marble. Columns rose twenty feet into the air to support a domed ceiling.

For all it's glory the horrors over shadowed it. Each column hung a chained man whipped to the bone, flayed alive. All around the room, every five feet, a woman was chained to the wall. Each were missing limbs that were cruelly hacked off. The worst part was the chains dangling from the ceiling holding captive children. Some had been skinned, others tortured, still others carried no external wound but madness burned in their eyes.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

As they walked Katarine felt a sharp probe at her mind and snorted. It tried again but failed again. It wasn't as easy to break into Katarine's mind as it was most others. Unfortunately this would identify her as a Jedi to the man they were going to see. Man... more like monster.

It was like a scene from a nightmare, or a really graphic video game where you met the final boss and your skin crawled the whole time you were playing. She felt like she might vomit at the scenes around her. She didn't want to be here. At all.

The doors shut and Eric spoke to them, saying the Jedi were in over their head. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if he meant that for her or for the pair of them. With any luck Ellion's cover wasn't blown. Hers had never stood a chance.

"I am Eric the Terrible. And you Jedi are in over your head."

"How interesting to meet you Eric. I would say it's a pleasure but given the circumstances I see no reason to lie." She smiled politely at him, though she felt like running away from him.

"I think you need to hire a new decorator."


[member="Ellion Corsair"]

 

[Ellion Corsair]

Eric turned obsidian eyes onto Ellion. "You are dismissed. You will be handsomely compensated for this gift. Tell Flynn he's still my preferred choice, especially if he sends delectable morsels like this to me."

Ellion have a half bow. "Thank you my lord, but she put up a fight and several of my brothers in arms fell to her. With your permission I'd like to stay and watch." He projected a sense of anger and disgust mixed with a desire for a death. Eric glanced at Eli and again he felt a sharp probe, but the surface feelings were believed. They were true emotions, just not directed at his green eyed Jedi but rather the Sith lord.

"You may stay. You might enjoy the festivities." Turning back to Katarine he stood and waved a hand shattering the shackles which fell from her wrists. "I can show you immeasurable pleasure or unimaginable pain. Choose Jedi."

Stepping from the throne he pulled loose a giant broadsword ringing with Sith magic and etched with runes. Heavy chains hung round his neck, each adorned with jewels that rang with Jedi stains. Trophies of lightsaber crystals.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Ellion was safe, for now. She breathed a little easier. But she still had a very big problem.

"I can show you immeasurable pleasure or unimaginable pain. Choose Jedi."

"Could you just show me the door? That's really all I'm interested in right now." She felt the shackles fall off and rubbed her wrists. She started backing up as he stepped off his throne. She'd have to avoid letting him touch her. One hit of the darkside would make everything way more complicated. You couldn't give a junkie her fix and then expect her to survive a fight.

"So how does this choice thing work? I just pick one and you give me my door prize on the way out?" She felt a probe at her mind again and blocked it out like it was a toddler poking her in the leg. She smirked at him when she felt his annoyance, but was careful to keep moving, keeping as much distance between them as possible for the time being.

[member="Ellion Corsair"]