A New Enemy (Sith Assassins)

[Darth Ophidia]

Her little guinea pig had poisoned itself, how clever yet wasteful. She found herself quite amused at this new enemy, and as such she decided to get out of bed. Her mouth opened in a soundless yawn while she stretched her hands to the ceiling. Her lightsabre flew into her hand, and as her fingers curled around the curved blade, she swiped her hands down to a neutral position. She exhaled while blinking herself awake. The Pale Assassin had woken. Her black left hand gripped the thin blanket she had slept under and tugged it from the bed, she slung it over her shoulder and slipped out of the door with barely a sound. Armed with her lightsabre, the Force, and a blanket.

Her once pale-grey eyes were now alight with red, glowing like embers in a lingering fire. She stalked the halls for opponents, the balls of her feet near soundless on the floor. Her mind probed every corner of the shadows for another opponent.

[member="Nox"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Darth Veles"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Xavka Duquo"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"]

 

[Aidan Moonrunner]

By the time they got to her room, Nox was beside her door, blade in one hand, crossbow in the other. The assassin scowled as she heard the scraping of metal on metal as her hunter drew their blade, and prepared herself for a fight.​

Her door was blasted open by a wave of Force energy, and Nox paled as she saw who entered.​

A Reaper.​

Nox recovered quickly, and sprang into action.​

She fired a bolt and swung her blade at the Dark Master's neck, hoping to catch her by surprise.​

​

A moment later, Nox flew down the hall, slamming against the wall and gasping as the breath left her body. The Reaper approached her once more, a smile on her face.​

"Did you think you could get away, heretic? That we would not find you?"​

Nox desperately reached out with the Force, hoping anyone would find her, and save her from death.​

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Even among the Sith, there exists a peculiar phenomenon that emerges the moment one takes on an apprentice; a bond is forged between master and apprentice. -even if said apprentice is given to you quite forcefully- Ophidia could feel the danger surrounding [member="Nox"] and immediately darted off in her direction. She dropped her playfulness in an instant, her face becoming a stone mask of concentration. She could also feel [member="Xavka Duquo"] fighting, but the threat against him was nothing, but healthy. What Nox faced was something far more serious.

Coming close to Nox' position, Ophidia's presence became naught. She would like to use [member="Darth Veles"] specialty, but had yet to master it to such a degree where she could effectively employ it for a prolonged duration of time without facing exhaustion. Considering the house was attacked in force, she would need to conserve her energy for the long run. However, suppressing her presence had become second nature and it gave her a certain chance of getting the drop on foes.

Coming around a corner she halted and extended her left hand. Through the Force she gripped Nox by the hip to pull her away from the Reaper. Ophidia's eyes burned with a protective hatred as she saw the figure threatening her apprentice. While pulling Nox towards her, she stepped forward with her right leg, presenting her right shoulder to the opponent. Her sabre was deactivated, but it still represented a thread as it rested in her right hand.


[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Another wave of assassins came to attack them. Xander could sense the Pale Assassin awakened now. Her anger was filling his entire home. Someone had made a mistake. Why had they been foolish enough to house three of the council members under the same roof. Xander was not pleased with the sudden surprise by which they had been attacked. This was the second time, and so soon after the last. What was it about their foresight. As much as Sitara hated it when he painted, perhaps it was time for Xander to return to the arts of his divination to avoid these attacks in the furture.

There was no time to answer anyone as the attacks came. Igniting his purple blades, Xander joined the hilts to create a staff weapon. He sliced through two assassins in one blow, and cut through three more in a flouris as he ran for a what appeaed to be a dead end. The others could follow, but after they killed the rest of the assassins, for now, Xander wanted the element of surprise. He'd find [member="Darth Ophidia"], and her new apprentice [member="Nox"], and take them to the walls with him. They would move about undetected in the passage ways.

Vizios emerged from the wall where Nox had been thrown up against. The reaper was now surrounded by two Knights of the Sith. Blades were poised and ready, hilts detached once again. There was something Xander did which was rare, but he deferred the kill to Ophidia. This was her apprentice they had come for. It was clear this was all about Nox... this time...

[member="Lord Ajihad"] | [member="Xavka Duquo"] | [member="Darth Ferus"] | [member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

“For the Shadow!” a dozen or so voices cried out as their owners rushed to slaughter in a desperate attempt to complete the mission, foolish hopes of defeating the prepared and experienced Sith group bound to crash into the unforgiving wall of reality and shatter into thousands of razor-sharp pieces that will cut through their hearts and pour all bravery and confidence out. Maybe if these men and women had been in the first wave instead of sending the less-experienced assassins, it might have worked. Had they all attacked at once and executed a flawless plan instead of dividing their power, the chances of slaying several Sith would have been significantly higher. The river of fate flowed against their favour though and they have made a grave mistake that guaranteed each and every one of them was going to die in the next few hours, most likely. One had to wonder if their commander was simply incompetent, wished to test the trainees, or perhaps this entire attack on the One Sith Assassins served as nothing more but a distraction. From what, the Mon Calamari could not say.

The assassins’ battle cry gave away their intention of launching another attack, betraying their positions as well. The moment the Force warned Veles just as their shouts, the Mon Calamari cloaked himself in shadows, disappearing like a ghost hunting the building. Two figures clad in black, armed with short blades among other low-tech trinkets appeared shortly after, rushing up the stairs, only to be stopped by invisible hands grasping their throats in a crushing grip and lifting both up. The shock and surprise dancing in their eyes were replaced by hatred and fear alike as the Sith Lord decloaked himself, offering the two a glimpse of the man who had defeated them. Veles’ strong arms rapidly brought the two assassins closer to each other and made their heads collide before tossing the two, now unconscious, bodies towards another group approaching him. They clashed and fell, bodies becoming ragdolls, slow to get up, so miserable to look at. Veles did nothing, standing still, not even retrieving the beautiful curved lightsabers from his belt. Whether it was out of sense of honour or just mockery; Avreet said nothing, waiting for the two to attack, small smile curling his lips.

The first to attack tried to stab the Sith Lord, resulting in the Mon Cal’s cybernetic hand grabbing his attacker’s sword by the blade and violently yanking it out of the assassin’s fingers, disarming him. Quickly, the Sith capitalized on the man’s surprise and spun him around after his other hand grabbed the assassin’s shoulder. One more grab, a push, and the disoriented man happened to be in the way of the second conscious assassin’s attack, a poisoned needle intended for merely scratching the Sith Lord pierced the neck of a wrong victim. What followed this turn of events was a cybernetic slap that sent the last standing assassin down.

And so Avreet finally had the prisoners he so desired.

[member="Xander Blackmoore"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Nox"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] [member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Ferus kept to himself at this point, silently pounding the armor these people had on. As they charged him, his form became but a blur. Golden blade lashed out, burning through cloth and flesh alike without discrimination, leaving bodies torn asunder within his wake. No longer was he raged or quiet, just a happy medium. His true strength was that of his dance, and it was a dance he knew all too well.

Once his dance ended he called out, his voice unusually soft. He too felt [member="Nox"] 's distress, and the slight familiarity between her armor and these was becoming far too much of a coincidence. "[member="Darth Veles"] , find the one named Nox. I fear she is the true target of all of this, and if so she'll hold far more information than any of your prisoners." With that, his golden eyes would fall upon [member="Xander Blackmoore"] [member="Lord Ajihad"] and [member="Xavka Duquo"] . "You three, with me. We're clearing this place up. Any hostiles you find are marked for death."

 

[Darth Veles]

One large eye swivelled towards [member="Darth Ferus"] when the man addressed him. With no need for words, the Mon Calamari responded with a simple, yet firm nod. Nothing else’s been said by the amphibious Sith as he quickly strode down the stairs, occasionally meeting another assassin intending to claim his life. Veles’ cybernetic fist a firmly greeted to their face, his crimson lightsaber springing to life and finding its target in their knees and wrists. His movements were fast, precise, removing the threat his assailants posed in both lethal and non-lethal way. Whether the defeated men and women committed suicide to spare themselves the shame of being defeated by their target, Avreet cared little – if they wished to die sooner and escape the terrible fate that awaited them at hands of other Sith, Veles could not really blame his downed opponents for killing themselves.

His rushed footsteps remained soundless, partially due to the Sith Lord’s mastery over bending sounds. This allowed him to catch several would-be assassins by surprise and terminate the threat they posed to anyone. Before their limp bodies hit the floor, Avreet was already past them, swiftly pacing into a hallway that took him to [member="Darth Ophidia"] and [member="Nox"], master and her apprentice facing a foe stronger than the ones who have attacked before. It took Avreet only a moment to glance over the scene and analyse the situation, sight briefly stopping at the woman some used to know as Saiah. Truth to be told, Avreet did not recognize her at first, glowing infernal eyes being at stark contrast with her usual ice cold gaze. Furthermore, even after Avreet recognized his student, he believed her to be naked at first; the Rattataki’s pale skin blending in with the blanket’s colour, the mental image in Veles’ head further supported by many shadows obscuring Ophidia’s body. Keeping his cool, the Sith Lord calmly looked away to face the enemy.

On the other side, the Sith spotted one [member="Xander Blackmoore"]. The enemy was surrounded. Two Knights, one Acolyte, one Sith Lord. Things didn’t look so good on their opponent’s end. Upon closer inspection of the enemy, Avreet's amber eyes recognized her as a woman, her posture more confident than that of other assassins.

Marching forward, Darth Veles made his way in front of the female Sith Knight and her apprentice. The amphibious Assassin’s form radiated power and strength that flowed through his veins, demanding the unknown woman’s attention and respect as he threateningly pointed the tip of his crimson blade at her chest, free hand clutching into a fist. Two more steps closer, filled with determination and purpose to show he wasn’t afraid of her, and the Sith spoke, firm tone mixed with thick Imperial accent going against the Mon Cal’s usual sweet and soft way of talking.

“You are under arrest for assaulting agents of the One Sith. Drop your weapons and surrender, witch.”

 

[Lord Ajihad]

He loosed several more arrows, dropping an opponent with each perfectly aimed shot. Copses soon littered the floor, courtesy of the Sith. He looked to [member="Darth Ferus"] for answers, only to be instructed to help with clean up duty. He shrugged. Any killing was good killing. He kept his bow out, and checked to make sure all of his equipment was still intact. After being satisfied that his items were secure, he followed the Red Assassin out the door.

[member="Darth Veles"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Nox"] [member="Xavka Duquo"]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Withdrawing his hand after the dart on the end of his whip had caved in the skull of one assailant, Xavka made the whip curl around his arm in preparation of further use. Turning to the Red Assassin, the Zabrak sketched a quick bow and made to follow, a couple of steps behind Ajihad, while a simmering rage began to burn brighter within his gut.

These people had assaulted him and those that were his allies, an unforgivable crime in the eyes of any who originated from the Iridonian Clan of Uiging, like Xavka Duquo. But, another fact that had caused the simmer to start in Xavka was the whips the attackers were using, they were almost perfect copies of the one he used. To Xavka's limited knowledge, he did not believe that the design was common, in fact the only place he had ever seen the design was on his homeworld, among fellow members of his Clan and Sister Clans.

Regardless of the burning anger he was feeling and using to fuel his movements, Xavka kept silent and followed Darth Ferus, knowing that if he did so he would be able to began to quench the hunger of revenge by ending the lives of the scum who were assaulting the base of the Assassins and sending their souls into the embrace of Vysh.

 

[Aidan Moonrunner]

Surrounded. She was surrounded, with the heretic so close, with her mission so close to completion.
The Reaper growled as she felt the auras of her Initiates and Blades snuffed out, a few falling wounded. Through their link in the Force, the Reaper commanded them to activate the poison hidden in their teeth, knowing that it was imperative that none survived long enough to give information to these infidels.
She glanced over her enemies. A Rattatakki, at least as powerful as her, with a deactivated lightsaber blade; a human, a Knight, with two. She snarled. Why would those who claimed to be the true heirs to the Dark Side use such cowardly weapons? It reinforced the idea that these were cowardly pigs, unfit for her to kill. But she must, for the Shadow demanded it. As the Mon Calamari burst in, demanding she surrender, the Reaper stared at him for a moment.

Then she began to laugh.
"Do you honestly expect me to surrender to such cowards?" She demanded through her mirth, her corrupted eyes burning with hatred. "Perhaps you will kill me, but I will never surrender to you, filth!" With that declaration, she moved.

With Force-enhanced speed, a rope dart shot out from her sleeve, straight at [member="Darth Veles"]. Sith Lightning arced from her other hand, the electricity crackling through the air at [member="Darth Ophidia"] and [member="Xander Blackmoore"]. Perhaps she would die here. But she would ensure that it was not easy on these filthy infidels.

 

[Darth Veles]

The amphibious Sith Assassin did not respond to the woman’s words, knowing battle was imminent. The amber gaze of his briefly locked with the enemy’s eyes glowing in sickly yellow. If nothing else, the Dark Side dancing within her pupils positively revealed her as an active practitioner of the Dark arts of the Force. Her ability to bend the Force to her will further showed the small group of Sith Assassins faced an experienced and skilled adversary, one well-versed in combat and martial arts, two facts strongly hinting a perfect body hidden beneath her armour. In a way, the Sith Lord truly regretted having to fight the woman; the Dark Jedi’s strength of will was apparent from her words and displayed by her claim she’d choose death before surrender. Avreet respected that, he truly did, making this fight significantly harder for him as his eyes saw the waste of potential should the woman perish today.

Before his mouth opened to shout an order, the “Reaper” unleashed her first attack towards him, possibly to distract the greatest threat to her in the room. The lightning speed of her moves turned the dark-clothed woman into nothing but a blur. Avreet swiftly sidestepped to the left in order to avoid the incoming projectile; too late. Whistling as it cut through the air at incredible speed, the rope dart caught its target as it buried into his right arm, right above the elbow. Hopefully it hadn’t been dipped in a poison… but it mattered little now, the threat had to be taken out first.

The Sith Lord’s cybernetic hand grabbed the cord, the pointy end still stuck in his arm, and yanked the rope towards himself in hopes of pulling the enemy closer of ruining her balance. The weapon hand pointed the lightsaber down, aiming the tip at the floor and bathing it in crimson to avoid impaling the enemy – instead of killing, the Sith attacked with an elegant upwards swing seeking to pierce the female opponent’s hand.

“Focus on defence! Go for disarming attacks!” the Sith Lord shouted at his comrades, obviously intent on capturing this woman alive. She had made the mistake of coming to their lair, it was time for the assassins to prove their strength and defeat her without killing her – that would have been too easy, leaving nothing but a dead end.

[member="Nox"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"] [member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Xander tossed up a force barrier as the lightning came for him. He quietly put his lightsabers away and watched as this reaper was still outnumbered. A smug look wiped across his face as he thought to teach this one a lesson. There were four Sith Assassins and just one reaper. She was dead, and she knew it. Though, it seemed Avreet had plans for her, and so, Xander nodded. The Aspect of Conquest knew exactly how to disarm her. Use her own attack against her.

Xander stood in a pensive position as he sought to redirect the lightning. Dropping the barrier, he took the lightning in on his right side, channeled it through himself, and pressed it back at her. A sick grin twisted his face as the thing she had attacked Xander with was now coming for her, and with three others able to attack her, Xander knew it was a matter of time before she would surrender. They always broke.

[member="Darth Veles"] [member="Nox"] [member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

As the lightning shot forward, Ophidia activated her lightsabre to work as a lightning rod. She expected some of the lightning to hit her, but as she felt nothing, she noticed what the White Assassin had done to give them the chance of attack. She would not waste this chance and darted forward with a cut against the Reaper's leg in an attempt to disrupt her foundations. The more attacks were focused on her, the more likely it was that one of them would strike true. She made no comment to Veles request of taking the intruder alive. Ophidia's focus was entirely on protecting her apprentice and hurting this presence. Teaching had made her a little protective over her apprentices, perhaps it was her pride that fuelled it. In any case, she carried a wrath few had ever seen in her before. While anger was burning inside her, she still executed her Makashi with clinical precision and expert fluidity, which granted her a certain element of speed as she cut away every unnecessary stop in her attack.

[member="Nox"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"] [member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Aidan Moonrunner]

The Reaper was beginning to realize that she had gotten herself into more trouble than she could handle. If it was just [member="Darth Veles"], she could take him. If it was just [member="Xander Blackmoore"], she could take him. If it was just [member="Darth Ophidia"], she could take her.​

But all three infidels at once was a fight she wasn't sure she could win.​

​

The lightning that was returned to her forced a hiss of pain, and marred her concentration.​

The Rattataki's strike slashed her leg, crippling that limb.​

The Reaper, knowing she could not block the actual lightsaber blade, aimed her parry at the hilt, clashing in a shower of sparks, the plasma slicing a chunk out of her hood.​

​

Her next move was to attempt to move her rope dart back, and force it at Ophidia, while trying to disarm Veles.​

​

Elsewhere, an Initiate whimpered as he hid in fear, shaking.​

But then his form was flooded with pure darkness, and something else took control of him. His eyes clouded with corruption, his sickly veins popping out of his pale skin as his hands took a master grip on his blade.​

This form would not hold his power for long. He would have to act quickly to sate his curiosity.​

His mind stuck out it's tendrils, seeking [member="Darth Ferus"], the only one here that interested him.​

​

As the Sith Lord hunted the Hands, he would find one sickly, contorted, no longer under his own control.​

He would point towards the source of the newest presence, further down that hall.​

"Come. . . Face your better. . ."​

That that Hand's eyes rolled into his head, and death met him as his body gave out, leaving this source of dark and Ferus alone in the hall.​

 

[Darth Veles]

Like wolves, the Sith Assassin trio surrounded their prey, their attacks proving to be impossible to block. It became clear that their opponent, while lacking neither in skill nor experience, simply could not defend herself against the three – definitely not before she broke through their siege, which itself would be a nearly impossible task given her now wounded leg. Each successful hit subsequently decreased her chance of winning – yet the warrior within the woman burned brighter as well, each wound adding to her hatred and pain, very powerful weapons if wielded by a Dark Side user.

Had his opponent been an ally, the Sith Lord would have praised her precision and quick thinking – blocking his lightsaber by the metal blade of her sword to stop it from completing its arch was a move worthy a skilled Makashi practitioner, demonstrating the Reaper was more than a competent duellist. Naturally, if Darth Veles fought against a lightsaber wielding enemy, the Mon Cal would have reacted differently to avoid his weapon being hit by a column of pure energy. This situation remained in his favour still, as even though the sharp edge of his opponent’s blade clashed against the round cylinder of his, the woman’s saber has been effectively locked into his hilt while the crimson beam of plasma rising out of the Sith Assassin’s weapon had a clear path to her entire body. There was not much the woman could do except for trying to parry the next strike in the exact same manner; and nobody guaranteed the same trick was going to work again.

The attempt at setting the rope dart free and using it again did not succeed; the grasp of Avreet’s artificial hand on the cord was strong, unwilling to let go. In a way, it allowed him to keep his opponent on a leash unless she cut herself free on her end. Fully intending to exploit this lack of mobility and manoeuvrability of his opponent combined with the fact she could not effectively block his strokes, the Mon Calamari gave his opponent an apologetic smile, locking their gazes as if mentally telling her his sorry – and finally pushed his opponent’s blade to the side, doing so effortlessly thanks to the cybernetic augmentations of his before twirling his own lightsaber’s blade to the left and downwards in a blur of red wave to cleave off the woman’s weapon arm right below the elbow.

[member="Nox"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Xander Blackmoore"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

A hollow golden gaze watched the controlled man, nothing but a thin line of his lips shown from under his hood. His better? Someone was awfully cocky. But before he could ask where, he watched the Hand die before him, contorting onto the ground. The golden lightsaber within his hand shut off, and Ferus couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"If you can still hear me, disembodied voice, you never told me where to go! How do you expect to face me if we can't meet up!" Continuing to laugh, the Iridonian would wipe a tear from his eye. Someone so casually challenges him, only to fade off before leaving a location! Once he was done with his laughing fit, the man collected himself, and the golden saber came back to life.

He had others to still hunt.

[member="Nox"]