A mission to Fresia (OPEN)

[Aela Talith]

The droid walked with heavy clunking steps through the entrance of the ruin, blood dripped from its metallic fingers leaving a slight trail of deep red as it moved. The archway above it seemed to sway slightly, as if near being pushed over by the wind and the ages of time. The Droid payed it no mind, not caring in the slightest if it were to fall.

The ruins weren't why it was here today.

Several dead guards now lay at the entrance of the temple. A few had been killed by Quinn upon her entrance to the ruins, the rest had been slaughtered by Nigh when it had come upon them after its trek from the beach. It had seemed that none of the guards were well too pleased by the presence of a mysterious droid, and they had almost immediately fired upon sight.

In the end four more troopers had joined their dead brethren on the floor of the ruins, though there was no doubt within the droids memory core that more would come along soon. There was no concern within it however, any of those problems would be dealt with.

With quick unrelenting steps the droid continued towards the center of the ruin.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Hytiix Mizgar"] [member="Zatten Black"] [member="Marek S'hadar"]

I'm not one to brag but when I came here and saw not one but several ships that didn't have republic transponders I knew my work was going to be a lot easier. My bosses like information, they liked shiny things and I liked not having to dance in a cantina to pay for food.

My simple black jumpsuit, a collapsed grappling hook, a sleek backpack, and my infiltration gear were all I needed. I moved the opposite direction from just about everyone I possibly could and into the facility. First order of business holo-camera's. I gave brief controlled force flashes at the cameras as I moved and was willing to bet if I was careful the other mooks would get pinned for the heist. It didn't take long for the remaining guards to go looking for their buddies and for me to slip into the control room and begin cutting camera feeds to the inside of the building. I didn't need to carry much out but making sure no one saw what I was going to do was paramount. The others could have the ruins. The republic outpost and its network were worth more to her employer.

 

[Mornhun of House Marr]

[member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Zatten Black"] [member="Marek S'hadar"]

The creature slid back, heels scraping across the ground as the Master and Padawan Riker got in his way. This was an unfortunate event but he would have to suffer it for now.

Thakan'dar was held calmly to the side as he stopped sliding and the pink bearded man uttered something that he would expect a pink man with a beard to say. He looked at them through the force, the place where his eyes should have been nought but pale flesh. He moved to the side like a viper and began to try and make a circle toward the other two. The Master and apprentice no where near being his goal.

"You know nothing of this." He hissed, a sound that even he didn't know he could make. He had been a simple struggling writer who taught fencing on weekends until the Sith came to Coruscant and the Girl's Master enslaved him. Even he wasn't sure just what he was.

"Come boy," he said to Ryan who may or may not hear him over the beating Quinn was trying to give, "Come let me take the life that Odium wants for himself."

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

The voices of the others were as shouts in the desert to Ryan's ears, lost. He heard only her panting, frustrated breaths, saw only her confused, determined eyes, and felt only the tremors in the Force as she attempted to harm him yet again. Korr moved with an easy grace, not flippant or disdainful, but calm and purposeful. He swept his other hand up and used the unlit lightsaber hilt to push against her wrist, redirecting the trajectory of her strike so that it hit the empty air beside his cheek.

Ryan opened his mouth when a sudden slimy presence slithered across his senses. Another arrival, dark and eel-ish and... a terrible trepidation came over Korr, threatening to consume him. What if Quinn wouldn't stop. What if he had to kill her? What if- He turned toward the source of the newcomer, its hissing words sending a shiver down his spine.

His eyes fell on a black-cloaked being, unnaturally pale and full of residual hate, though not directed at him - what

Crack

The Jedi Knight, attention diverted, had failed to notice Quinn retrieve her bow. The length of wood still sat in her hand, shivering from recent impact against Ryan's thigh. The young man fell to one knee, muscles in his leg deadened.

"Quinn, don't-".

[member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Mornhun"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Mornhun"]

The cold feeling at the base of her spine expanded. She jerked back from the radius of heat she felt from Korr, the adrenaline still buzzing in her blood. It was one word so charged with revenge that made her hesitate.

"Odium?"

Eyes narrowed on the new threat. This one's emotions threatened to pull her in and consume her into a state she'd never felt before: paralyzing fear. With each step it took closer, she felt herself tugged closer into its riptide.

With fingers she didn't know were trembling, she pulled an arrow from her quiver, straightened the bow away from Korr, and fired for the monster's chest.

 

[Zatten Black]

I had to duck to avoid getting an arrow in the back of my head. That would have been annoying to take care of. The arrow whizzed towards the monster, instead, and I relaxed slightly.

"Finally, one of you idiots woke up. Now, let's kill this thing before it goes ripping through the other Jedi."

[member="Quinn Vos"]
[member="Ryan Korr"]
[member="Mornhun"]

 

[Mornhun of House Marr]

[member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Zatten Black"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Nigh"]

His hand was a blur as he raised the blade. The black metal made a swoosh noise as it streaked to meet the arrow mid shaft and split it in two. His face a mask of expressionless stoicism as he continued toward Quinn and Ryan. He wanted Odium to know he would not have peace, and he would do anything from killing his prized enemy and his precious lover to locking them both away and forcing his hold on her to break. Anything, absolutely anything for vengeance. Sharp teeth bared as he drew near, viscous saliva clinging to them as another hiss issued from his throat. He would have them, somehow he would send a message to the Sith Lord, that he would not fade into darkness.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

The slimy presence continued to fill the air, sliding and slipping across Ryan's senses like a growing pool of black ooze; an oily substance in which he drowned, full of dark, untapped potential. It whispered his name as he fell beneath its surface, senses reaching like hands toward any source of light, but he felt none. All around him was the darkness, in the light strokes of air caressing his skin as would a lover, in the gentle beating of the waves, slowly pounding the earth beneath them into oblivion, and in the sinister beings around him. The oppressive presences pressed closer, stifling out the light... and with it all fond thoughts of flashing emerald eyes and mocha skin.

Snap-hiss

Ryan's blue lightsaber sprang to life in his hand. His features twisted oddly, a mix of confusion and anger. The pupils of his grey eyes, normally so implacable, dilated oddly. With a simple gesture he seized hold of the nearest source of darkness, [member="Zatten Black"], and yanked him toward the now extended azure blade, fully intending to impale this embodiment of evil on his saber.


[member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Mornhun"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Ryan Korr"] [member="Mornhun"]

Korr's attention shifted away from her like the flip of a switch, the darkness swirling around him matched the darkened sky above. Rain splashed onto the small group gathered, marring the spots of pristine sand. Jaw tightened at the eyeless one's skill with a blade.

The darkside swirled at her feet and she used the invisible power to suck away at the earth in his path, making bumps, holes, and uneven ground as she retreated - further away from Korr, further away from those on the surface, and deeper into the ruins. The thing she needed the most for Odium was inside. It was her primary target.

She would face the eyeless one if he followed and any other that got in her way.

 

[Mornhun of House Marr]

[member="Zatten Black"] [member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Ryan Korr"]

He moved like the thing he was, black boots glided across the stones and ground of the ruins as he darted for the woman the Odium kept so close. The ground rippled and churned beneath him and he pitched forward onto the hard ground. The pale flesh of his face creased as his lips pealed back again to bare his generous canine like fangs. The guttural growling hiss that escaped him may well trouble him later but in the moment it expressed all that filled him. Odium had broken him, ruined all hope of a simple life and he needed to pay and if he was absent the woman would suffice.

His gloved fist struck the ground as he pushed back to his feet and moved to give chase. The black blade hungered to taste the flesh of a darksider and which one it fed on would matter nought. He followed deeper into the ruins, into the dark and dank passages, into hunting grounds he was well suited for.

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Mornhun"] [member="Ryan Korr"]

Down she went, into the twisting and shallow, partially water-filled passages of the sandy-ruins. Patches of grey-sunlight filtered through eroded holes in the roof from above, casting the area in shifting pinpricks of light reflecting off the water's surface. She heard the hiss from behind but did not look back; she looked up.

The Kiffar found a driftwood beam just below the ceiling. Tattooed-face remained in the shadows as she grunted and pulled herself up. Calloused-fingers gripped the edge of the beam as she waited for the creature to pass below. She readied herself to swing down and kick the heels of her feet into the back of his shoulder blades.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Foes defeated or fled, he ventured deeper into the ruins. The darkness which had so suddenly come upon him seemed to dissipate, as if a shaft of sunlight had broken through the fog about his head and let clarity sneak into his thoughts. Farther in he ran, desperate to catch up to them, to save her whether she liked it or not!

[member="Quinn Vos"] [member="Mornhun"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

She waited and waited and waited. Fiery-green eyes narrowed in the darkness. Another shadowy-form moved beneath her perch. Tightening her grip on the beam, toned-arms swung her down through the murky shadows as she went to tackle the unknown foe from behind.

Mid-swing she saw a flash of coppery-hair in the shafts of clouded-sunlight that filtered through the tunnel from above.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

The attacker struck from behind.

His only warning came from two rigid arms wrapping around him, preceding the shoulder that took him in the spine and knocked him into the dirt. The side of his head slammed against the ground and he uttered a muffled protest as he felt another, smaller body sprawl atop him. Imagining the bite of a dagger in his back at any moment, he strove to twist around, moving from his hips and attempting to buck his would be assailant off even as he reached to grab a strangely slender wrist.

[member="Quinn Vos"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

A hiss escaped clenched teeth as the man's body rolled beneath her thighs. Muddy-brown hair fell across the scowl on her tattooed-face as she felt rough fingers warp around her wrist. Her free hand snapped forward as the side of her body tipped onto the sandy-ground next to the man, her own digits going to grab a fistful of his hair with every intention to slam his head back into the ground. The curve of her exposed knee snapped outwards, toward his gut.

A shaft of light lit-up her prey's face.

And she faltered.

"Ryan?!"

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Recognition came too late to spare him the blow to the stomach. He winced at the contact, though the awkward positioning made her attack less effective than if they had been upright. Blinking away dirt from his eyes, he glimpsed the figure of [member="Quinn Vos"] standing over him. He could feel her fingers wound tight in his hair and watched her movements with apprehension, briefly wondering if she was about to take his scalp. But no, genuine surprise stood in stark relief on her sun-kissed features.

Something dark in Ryan pushed him and he capitalized on her moment of shock, grabbing the other wrist and rolling on top of her, attempting to pin her to the ground. He wouldn't let her escape. He wouldn't let her butcher another innocent soul.

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

Unbidden memories trickled through the patch of flesh against flesh. A mixture of Ryan's lightside influence surged through her senses and through psychometry, lighting the darkness in her veins from Odium's blood like fire. Eyes glowed briefly and she growled as her back slammed into the earth, a fistful of coppery hair pulled from Ryan's scalp as he latched onto her other wrist.

Her body was like polished-stone, unyielding beneath his hovering bulk.

Naturally, her tribal survivor instincts took hold and cut through her surprise. Head whipped forward, going toward the bridge of his nose. Arching her back, her hips bucked against his followed by another knee.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

A surge in the Force swept through her, Light against the Darkness. He could sense it, just as he could sense her wildness, like a she-wolf trapped in the brambles, opening her jaws to snap at him. The Jedi tucked his chin and grit his teeth as her forehead collided with his skull rather than the fragile cartilage of his nose. His head pounded as though a whole village of drummers had decided to take up residency within. He felt a trickle of blood running from the absent patch of hair on his scalp. He hadn't felt her rip it out.

Uttering a short grunt at the sudden twinges of pain in his head, Korr pushed against her unyielding body to keep her still, his knees kneeling on either side of her. Her hips bucked and her knee slammed into his back, but it was as stone against stone. She couldn't win this one with raw power alone, though his head still rang from her attempt.

Grey eyes like steel bored into her.

"Quinn, stop! Stop fighting! Listen to me!" His voice lost its pleading quality and became that of an implacable man who wouldst expect obeisance when bidding the wind itself to still. "Listen!"


[member="Quinn Vos"]

 

[Quinn Vos]

[member="Ryan Korr"]

A mirrored bruise was already forming beneath wild strands of mud-brown hair. Eyes darted rampantly around and her fingers curled into fists, the bones and tendons of her wrists moving beneath his unyielding grip. Her anger swelled and simmered like coals stoked of a fire. Flecks of glowing-gold began to take over the jungle-green of her eyes.

But the lightside continued to burn through her veins through Ryan's contact. The Kiffar was very aware of each foreign digit that pressed and wrapped around her skin.

A strangled cry left her lips as the flecks of glowing yellow began to recede, the internal war raging within her senses - within her blood - within her very being. Her head whipped to the side as her chest heaved in deep gasps. Just as quickly, her head straightened and she locked her gaze with his overcast eyes.

"Get. Off."

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Every fiber in Ryan's heart yearned for him to let her up, to ask if she was O.K., to tell her he never meant to harm her, but hands shackled to duty continued to press her to the dirt. He watched, jaw clenched in frustration and pain, as the molten gold tone to her eyes faded, leaving fierce embers of emerald behind. Those were the eyes that had stared right back into his on Korriban. The same eyes that had-... he scowled.

"No," he bit back, granite in his voice. "Stop being so damn stubborn and listen."

He let out a short, bitter sigh. Trying to get her to stop struggling was like telling a wild nexu to be tame. She'd only ever known struggle. How could he expect her to understand? Did he even want her to? Korr grew up under the rigid structure of the Jedi Temple. They were from two very different worlds, but as he searched those tenacious green flames for some hint of understanding he felt the shift in her aura. The taint of the Dark Side was retreating. Maybe there was hope, but he wasn't about to let her go, not after what happened last time.

"I want to help you. Just... stop killing people and help me understand. Please."

Warily, he opened his mind to her, his intentions, his thoughts, bare for her to see. He prayed he was not making a mistake.

[member="Quinn Vos"]