Angels

[Itash Mecetti]

VORZYD V​

​

The Gambler's World was a nice locale Itash supposed.

Endless parties, women (and men if that was where your tastes ran), booze and drugs flowing through the planetary city-surface. It was... familiar to Zeltros, but without the rapey feel that place had with all those pheromones raging around in the air. No, this was most definitely better as far as Tash was concerned. He had recently acquired Corondex Arms (rebranded it to Corondex Industries to move away from the ancient, stagnating brand) and many of its operations could be found within the Vorzyd sector. Any other businessman would have stopped there or at the very least just focused on the corporate-side of things.

But this was Lord Itash of House Mecetti.

He had already received a taste of black-market profit from his dealings on Ord Mantell. Who knew that having a deep smuggling ring in your pocket could be so profitable and above all useful in certain situations?

It was for this reason that a covert meeting had been established with one [member="Enyo Typhos"].

Why her? Because covert research underlined that she had some connections to the Sith Empire, which gave them a mutual associate (if not ally), the fact that the woman was making moves on Vorzyd for the past few months sealed the deal. Tash had no interest in directly leading any criminal ventures, that seemed... gauche and unnecessary. Instead it seemed far wiser to simply offer his tacit support to one who was already on the inside.

Unlike most meetings set in abandoned warehouses, this meeting was set in a rather different environment.

An abandoned amusement park.

They had agreed to meet at the Ferris wheel.

How romantic.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


If meeting at a Ferris wheel for a clandestine rendezvous was romantic, Enyo was sadly thoroughly in the dark about this. Her Archangel-funded (and monitored and controlled) education had been comprehensive, but only in those fields her handlers deemed useful. Thus her knowledge of popular culture was quite limited.


The thought of riding on a big wheel for no reason other than fun was alien to her. Indeed, she had some trouble understanding the concept. Why did people go on rides, stuff themselves with candy that was bound to make them go obese and get health issues, drink liquor that would mess up their liver or go for leisurely strolls in the park while holding hands with their loved ones?


Perhaps it was because they knew they were going to die, and so they had to use their time quickly - and find something to distract themselves from the unfortunate fact that their time was finite. Preamble aside, it was appropriately dark when she approached the big wheel. She moved economically, remaining alert despite the quiet.


At her side was a tall blonde with short-cropped hair, wearing a black leather jacket over a light combat suit, lightsabre at her side. Two pistols were carefully concealed. This was Alexia Zarides, one of Enyo's lieutenants. More importantly, she was Enyo's 'sister'. Not in blood, but in all the ways that mattered. Though their interactions were completely professional in public.


A certain Itash Mecetti had requested a meeting. He was a Tapani Lord, but Enyo was not impressed by noble titles, no matter how ancient and illustrious. No, what aroused her interest was that he ran a merc business that had been making waves over the past few months. The tech was nice, too. One of the business entities he controlled had operations in the Vorzyd sector. In the light of her own ambitions in this corner of space, he could be an asset or a potential problem.


A few wasp droids were in the air, monitoring the area. Vorzyd's reputation as a sin pit full of backstabbing mafiosi was well-earned after all. She could not judge too harshly. She was one of them, after all. Just better at it than many of them. At least this was her opinion on the matter.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Didact had their own surveillance and back-up in the area.

Some might have considered it paranoia, but Didact Defense Solutions didn't deal in chance.

Just in success.

Itash walked calmly through the abandoned amusement park, reflecting on how... creepy it was in reality. There was something about the carousel just spinning on its own a fraction that could make a grown man shiver for a moment. Luckily the Ferris wheel was already coming into view, allowing the Mecetti scion not to reflect on his own personal sense of mortality and instead embrace business as it were. Enyo was already in attendance, punctual, that was gratifying. It would have been rude of her to make him wait.

That already put her above most common thugs and criminals.

"Miss Typhos, I presume." Tash greeted calmly once he was halfway towards her with two of his Words trailing behind him from a distance. For someone like Enyo she might have noticed the subtle way their movements synchronized with one another.

No gaps in their approach.

Her companion received a mere nod, before his attention solidified on Enyo. "Lord Itash of House Mecetti." Even here, even now, the Tapani nobleman underlined his blood. This was simply who he was and Mecetti would not hide that from the world. No, in fact he'd shout it off the rooftops for every last breath he took. Such was the value he poured into his own heritage.

"I contacted you to discuss a potential... partnership as it were."

No time was being wasted.

Itash was quite amendable to chit-chat, but by reputation Typhos seemed unlikely to respond positively to that. This would be better.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


The giant wheel spun and spun. One moment this cabin was on top, then that one was on top, but it spun on and on. Unless it experienced some sort of mechanical failure. In which case it either remained static or there was an unpleasant accident when a cabin tumbled out of the sky and its passengers died. That was truly unfortunate.


It seemed like an apt metaphor for power structures. Jedi, Sith, Republic, Empire, Mandalorians...they were all part of a wheel. One moment this one was ascendant, then this one. Their conflicts were a never-ending cycle, for though here and there players were eliminated, the game continued - and they always returned. What applied to the wheel on the galactic level could easily be applied to the machinations of potentates on a planetary one or beneath that.


Enyo's eyes fell upon Itash as the Tapani approached her. She could feel an aura of the Force surrounding him. She took a moment to assess the two minions accompanying him. The pair moved in perfect sync with their master. Even their minds felt like they had been synchronised. It was similar with many of her own minions, though in her case she achieved the effect through cybernetics.


"Yes," she responded when he mentioned her name. If she were her mirror, there might have been a long-winded list of titles. Possibly recited by a Herald. Enyo did not have a long list of titles. Moreover, she disdained such pompous behaviour. Ok, maybe this one is being a bit unfair to Sio, but this is an Enyo thread. Parody is required. Alexia stood at the side, nodding towards the Tapani, but saying nothing.


He mentioned a potential partnership. True. "Elaborate." Second time in a row that Itash got to thread with one of this one's alts and it turned out to be another awfully stoic woman who considered minimalism in dialogue to be a virtue. Poor fellow.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

At the very least Itash didn't have to visualize pink word vomit with sentences reaching up to the heavens every time Enyo opened her mouth.

Things could have been worse.

"You are making your waves, I make mine." Tash elaborated through a round-about way. "I have no direct interest in the Vorzyd underworld, but I do have an interest in having a strong ally there." If there had been direct interest they wouldn't be having this talk. Well, perhaps there would be a talk, but there would be a sniper six clicks out already lining up a shot to her head. The Tapani were known for a particular kind of honor and it didn't often extend to possible rivals.

Something told him that trying a thing like that with Typhos would end badly... for both of them.

A good thing this was a mission of peace then.

"I propose a partnership. I help you shorten your schedule on taking over-" The assumption, of course, was that she had interest in taking over. It didn't truly seem as a stretch so Tash simply went with it. "-guns, gear, Didact is capable of supplying all manners of things."

At a stiff discount anyway.

Itash didn't run a charity drive.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


Just for Itash, this one shall write wall of text monologues in italicised pink. They will reach out to the heavens like the Tower of Babel and consist solely of random observations that are not even of tangential relevance to the actual story. Such as the way the grass bends with the wind and how this has a deep, philosophical meaning. Anyhow, on with the plot.


Enyo's expression remained stoic. Being a Terminatrix she was good at that look. She neither confirmed nor denied that she intended to put down roots on Vorzyd and cow the local underworld. It was quite obvious. If this had not been the case, they would not be having this conversation.


"What can you offer, beyond the standard?" As in special gear and all that. "And what would you want from an 'alliance'?" Beyond credits, of course. Neither of them ran a charity drive. Enyo did not see much point in charity. For the rich, it was a way to gain publicity and puff up their ego. For the poor, assuming it reached them, it was a way to avoid putting effort into their lives because they simply lived on the largesse of others. He claimed he'd support her takeover, but the question was how far that would go - and what the catch would be.


Meanwhile, a good deal away, figure were moving in the shadows. It was unlikely that they wanted to go for a ride on the Ferris wheel...

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Now that was the million credit question, wasn't it?

Tash shifted, transferring the leaning of weight from one leg to the other and in response those behind him did the same thing. Perfectly synchronized with only the delay of a single breath's worth. "Bodies holding the guns." See, that was worth something immeasurably more. It was one thing to give gangbangers and other street ruffians guns and then pointing them towards a target.

Something entirely else to get access to privatized military.

Those rare souls that had been through war, could breach military installations and more without breaking a sweat. That would get Enyo far more of a boost than simple hardware ever could.

"Potentially training yours, if requested." The ones skulking around in the dark were good if anything. Anti-sensor coating, dark unmarked armor that blend, sub-dermal voice communicators. They knew exactly how to slip through the little fringes that both sides had left open and wormed their way in. They didn't immediately assault and instead opted to wait.

Watching for the moment.

They'd know when it would appear.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


Enyo's expression remained stoic, but she didn't seem overly impressed. "I already have good, disciplined bodies," she said calmly. The Iron Fist Consortium was smaller than the big syndicates that had made waves in the Galaxy, but it made up for this with discipline and organisation.


To all intents and purposes, it was a privatised military. Otherwise it would not have been a useful private contractor for the Sith Empire in that power's various expansionary ventures. It could field Force-using phantoms, cyborgs elite troops, durasteel warbeasts and so on. Many of its officers were ex-soldiers or had served in this or that paramilitary outfit.


Backup for her forces from another private army could be useful and accelerate her time table, but she was pretty insistent about being the one with the puppet strings - and possibly somewhat paranoid. "Do you have equipment that could be of use? And you sidestepped the question of what you'd expect in return."


Alexia had been watching the talk without comment. Unlike her 'twin' Amara, she was not a talkative sort. Her attention was elsewhere, for she felt...something. It was but a vague warning. There were no threads that she could follow to trace the source of the disturbance, but the feeling of unease was strong. Empathy was a skill she and her twin shared. Trouble, she whispered into Enyo's mind.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Did she now?

Itash wasn't impressed and to a degree that was his fatal flaw.

The one thing that one day would send his house of cards crumbling. His arrogance, the lack of regard for other people's abilities. Oh, Tash was certain that Enyo was capable enough - they wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise - but compared to his men? Surely that was an exaggeration. The truth or facts didn't factor in, all that mattered was his view on the matter.

It was an absolute.

"Of course. From heavy shields to strong weaponry, automation..." Tash frowned just an inch. He looked past Enyo and her escort, searching for something, but not being able to find it. Those behind him were less obvious about their searching eyes. "Air support too... and as for what I want- as I said before, I have no interest in controlling the Underworld, but there are interests I do have. Supply-"

The first slug punched straight into the shield around his head.

The bracers absorbed the kinetic force, but send him stumbling backwards regardless. Motion did what motion wanted to do.

"Contact."- More bullets and blaster bolts started to fill the air as the trap closed around them.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


And there was violence! On the bright side, bloodshed was always a good way to bond. The shooters had chosen this moment well and their gear had allowed them to escape detection until the moment they sprang their trap. Suddenly, the staccato of bullets and the whine of blaster bolts filled the air. Being automatic weapons fire, it was more difficult to dodge.


Enyo did not have enchanted bracers that absorbed the kinetic force of fast-moving projectiles. But she had a phrik endoskeleton. Projectiles ripped holes into her coat and were blocked by said skeleton, for the most part. A bolt connected with the side of her face. It shredded synthflesh and exposed metal plating.


Undaunted, Enyo ignited her lightsabre. A salvoe of sizzling bolts rocketed towards her, but her blade moved in a wide arc and, in a flash of purple, she deflected them away. There was a cry of pain when two goons was struck. Her other hand held a gun. A small, cylindrical object sailed through the air. Her sensors picked up on its trajectory. "Grenade," she called out, seeking cover. Her tone was as bland as ever.


The grenade connected with a bubble of the Force that sprung up around them. Boom. This took the brunt of the explosion, but it still slammed her back. Shards of shrapnel cut into her. Alexia needed no orders. A look from Enyo was enough and the clone, who had been taking shots at mercenaries with her shatterpistol, activated her cloaking device and vanished. Invisible to sight, shrouded even from detection with the Force, she would sneak up on the goons as they had done on them and then strike. Enyo, meanwhile, was advancing forward.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Sadly the shrapnel wasn't as fast-moving as a slug shot from a verpine shatter-rifle.

The bracers remained silent as they flew through the air.

Tash crouched down to make himself a smaller target- his armor deflected the pieces of metal away from his vital organs, but they still tore through fabric and skin and meat without much issue. The Tapani hissed in pain, but... that was about it. He had never had the same kind of relationship with pain and agony like others. It was a thing he discovered early on.

It was rather helpful.

His own lightsaber reared up, radiant white light ignited, bouncing back blaster bolts as the Didact personnel returned fire as best as they could. "How rude." Tash retorted impassively as he caught a glimpse of Enyo's face. "They seemed to have messed up your make-up." Dryly, before his presence in the Force magnified and he started searching out the life signs of those far away.

They had been covered by the background of the day, but once they started firing?

Their intent made them flare up in kind.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


Pain was rather annoying. Enyo did not feel it anymore since her makers had been so kind to transplant her brain into a jar without asking for her consent. Consent is important, kiddos. In all fairness, she did not always ask for her minions' consent when she decided to mechanise them.


The firers had chosen the spot for their ambush well. Their specialised gear had allowed them to get close. However, that camouflage vanished once they opened fire. Through the Force, their life signs flared up. Not being a mentalist, Enyo was less adept at Force sense, but she could track them well enough. It helped that she could see in the darkness.


Witty banter came from the Tapani Lord's lips. Sadly, Enyo was almost as stoic as a certain popsicle. "We need to break through. What skills do you have?" Aside from absorbing kinetic damage from enchanted bracers and using a glowstick. Her own glowstick was in motion, causing bolts to bounce off it. Crouching made her a bit more difficult to hit. Having left her phrik armour at home, she only wore a light combat suit beneath her clothes. However, she had a phrik endoskeleton that was good at absorbing the shards of metal that ripped through fabric, armourweave and flesh.


A jolt surged through her skull, as she received a silent ping from Alexia. Her 'twin' was getting into position, ready to strike from the shadows while big sister took the opposition head-on. She sent a ping in return. The Force gathered inside Enyo. The goal was clear, break through, find out who the shooters were, then regroup, pay their boss and make them understand that Enyo paid her debts.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Most of Tash's attention was focused on those distant life-signs, rather than Enyo's face or lack of humor.

So in truth he didn't even notice that his wit was wasted.

"Breaching of-" Eyes closed and his fist clenched in kind as his presence flooded through the closest of the assailants. They were good, yes, skilled and tactical in their approach against them. But they weren't forcers and they hadn't been trained to deal with them. They were hardened killers. "-mind." All of a sudden three or four of the roaring rifles stopped in their tracks.

Their holders gasping and then eyes darkening when their control slipped.

The second surprise came within the span of two breaths.

Enyo's sister would suddenly see how some of the assassins broke off from attacking their group, instead shifting gears to fight those that were their allies. A ping of understanding shifted between Enyo and Tash as the Tapani rose up, intent on abusing the sudden chaos in their ranks.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


Itash played with the minds, turning them into puppets. Alexia perceived the mental strings when some of the would-be assassins suddenly broke off from the attack and opened fire upon their comrades. Chaos ensued. She could work with that.


And so she struck, needing no encouragement or instruction. One mercenary died when she suddenly manifested behind him. The only headsup he got was the trademark snap-hiss of a lightsabre igniting, then the sizzling purple blade ran him through the back. It emerged through his chest. He fell to the ground. Reaching for something in her outfit, she produced an adhesive grenade and lobbed it into the fray, hurling it towards mercenaries who had not fallen under the spell. Abruptly, a thick, sticky covered the ground, freeting them to it. Intense blaster fire came her way, she bolted, seeking cover behind a tree. A bolt graced her and she felt a strong burn, breathing in deeply. As grenades her lobbed away and projectiles flew, she activated her cloak.


Into the mayhem strode Enyo. The Cyborg could not manipulate minds the way Itash or other mentalists could. This was one of the things the clone and her template had in common. She preferred more straightforward solutions to hostilies. Such as pummelling her opponents to death. So she began her process of elimination. One hand held a lightsabre, the other a pistol.


Seemingly able to split her concentration, she moved, fired and reflected blaster bolts. Clubbing, shooting, kicking or slashing those who got in her way. One attacker, able to block her lightsabre with a cortosis blade, she simply rammed and stamped on his throat. There was a gurgle and he was dead. Blasters opened up and they glanced off or struck her, further messing up her 'make-up', as the Tapani Lord would have put it. An ion detonation forced her to the ground, but she arose.


Dropping her pistol, she made a motion with her damaged hand, lifted the mercenary who'd tossed the ion grenade off his feet and slammed him into a tree with such force that his skull was popped like an overripe melon, causing brain matter and ichor to splatter.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Itash was less eager to dive head-first into battle.

Mostly because contrary to Enyo, the Tapani nobleman was not made out of strong metal and instead was quite the squishy individual. Oh, his supposed mortality didn't truly bother him, it simply motivated him to be alive. Part of that equation meant knowing the few limits he did possess. As Enyo waded into battle, Tash's steps slowed as he weakened resolve, strengthened theirs and caused general chaos amidst the mercenaries coming for their heads.

There were quite a lot of them, of course.

Neither Enyo nor Itash's enterprise would have suggested to them that a small taskforce would have sufficed. Whoever they were... they had been smart, adding numbers to their stealth so they had a fallback.

A blaster bolt grazed him -- low-grade and less rapidly moving than the verpine shatter rifle -- the vembraces didn't do much against it.

"Hrm." Tash grunted as the force almost send him spinning, breaking his concentration- it would cause a daze in those he was controlling first, enough that Enyo and her sister might have enough time to kill a few more. The pain was lacing through his left arm, but it only made him curl his fingers tighter around the casing of his silver lightsaber.

"Fine then."

Setting his jaw and gritting teeth he pushed himself off the ground, sending himself into speed to join Enyo's assault the old fashioned way.

Tapani blood... it ran hot.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


Murder lust reigned. Even with the weakened resolve and mental manipulations, there were plenty of goons, though their numbers were thinning. Three lightsabres cut a bloody swathe through their ranks. The chaff died. They were dismembered, stabbed, punched or some by some of their mentally confused comrades. However, some of the task force were made of sterner stuff and had been equipped to deal with Force-users. They sported fancy weapons such as flechette launchers and sonic blasters. Cheap stuff, but effective. A hailstorm of flechettes came their way.


A sonic blast thundered into Alexia's skull, causing her to drop to her knees as an agonisingly loud explosion of sound blew out her eardrums. The noise was stupefyingly loud. The sonic assault hit the young clone like an iron bar to the face. Her lightsabre dropped out of her hand. Seeing her weakness, shooters moved to congregate around the weakened clone. But then Enyo was there, putting herself in the line of fire. A blast caused her to reel, ere she cleaved the shooter from shoulder to belly. A goon cut into her left shoulder with a vibrosword but Enyo removed his head from his torso and yanked the blade out. Finesse and calculation were abandoned in favour of sheer ferocity as she slew.


While all this was going on, Alexia forced herself to focus, having gained some breathing space. The hard sound gun had messed up her head. Blood was trickling from her earholed. She needed to focus. She tried to reach out and grasp her lightsabre with her mind, but it refused to rise. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion - and without sound. Finally, the rattling sensation inside her skull subsided somewhat.


Seeing an attacker come at Enyo from behind, she reached out and pulled her sabre into the air. Sending the hilt flying towards the mercenary, she caused it to ignite just before it reached him. He went down with a howl, ere his vibro-axe could make contact with the Cyborg's skull. But then, amidst the whine of blasters and the endless staccato of gunfire, the hiss of lightsabres igniting was heard, lighting up the darkness with the flash of lethal of energy. Not the glowsticks of our morally dubious protagonists, but of armoured goons who seemed to have been elected to serve as boss enemies for this section of the thread. Presumably they wore melodramatic masks.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

Halfway through the battle Tash was bleeding from multiple wounds.

Flechettes turned out to be nasty pieces of work as they ripped through any weak portions (joints, gaps, armor-weave) at rapid speed. Some were light, others heavier, but Tash was still deep in the taste of blood. It overrode any sense of pain (the little that Tash did experience) or the good sense to just drop down. Might have done that if not for the thick haze in his eyes.

His lightsaber came down and rose up, heavy cuts, using his weight behind it.

It was a far cry from his usually more... focused and pulled-back fighting style. Makashi replaced by something less focused on the prettiness and more on destroying their opponents in as small a time-frame as possible.

Until the fething end-boss came around.

"Oh you gotta be karking with me." Tash murmured as he brushed some blood away from his mouth, he spit next- blood coming free, someone had punched him in the face with an armored gauntlet during the drama. Luckily it was that same drama that gave them a moment of respite. After all, they wanted to make an impressive entry before moving in to kill them all.

"How's your partner?" He'd ask as he readied the lightsaber.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


"Dandy," Alexia grunted, spitting blood as she got up. She was still a bit shaky on her legs, but she stood. Her lightsabre flew back into her hand, glowing with a fierce purple light. More red ichor dripped down her chin. She fed on her pain, stoking the fire inside her, just as Talsir had taught her.


"Use your anger. Forge it into a weapon. Like a thermic lance," Enyo ordered Alexia. It was the closest the Cyborg came to a pep talk. "Go for the weakest," she added quietly as the three enemies came into view. After all, it would not be much of a fight if our three villain protagonists did not get to face a mid-level end boss. Or three.


The three adversaries in question were a racially diverse bunch. One was a Whiphid, another a Wookiee and the third - how boring - a human. All three wore dark coated armour, even the walking carpet. Our three protagonists could thus surmise that their mysterious attackers adhered to the principle of equal opportunities evil. So they could rule out space nazis. Dark auras enveloped them. Indeed, they seemed to grow as the life energies of their dying goons faded away, as if they were feeding on them. How comradely.


Meta musings aside, the three attackers struck rapidly. Pulling air into his lungs, the Whiphid roared loudly and unleashed a thunderous Force Bellow. Scalding arcs of electricity left the fingertips of the Wookiee. The Force Lightning assault was largely directed towards Enyo, much like how the talking Warthog had decided to abuse Itash's eardrums. Others might be hit as well though, given the broad range of both attacks. As for the human, after the passage of the shockwave, he launched himself towards Alexia, aiming to cut her down with his blade, powered by his fury.

 

[Itash Mecetti]

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

"Delightful," Tash replied to the sister's answer, before his attention focused solely on the three of end bosses.

As was often the case when dramatic theatrics called for it they split each other up. One obstacle for each of them and coincidentally each one was effectively tailored for their opponent. For instance, the Whiphid's sonic attack turned out to be very effective against the Mecetti scion. Itash managed to take one step and then the sheer strength of the shockwave -- amplified with the darkside -- caused him to be flung back against a nearby metal support beam.

A groan escaped his lips as his back connected with the beam and he slid down.

Blood, wet, red, violent trailed in lines from his ears and another muffled groan could be overheard as Itash tried to rise again. He had managed to keep hold of the lightsaber though, so that was something at least.

"Feth's sake." Tash grunted, before spitting out blood to the side.

The warthog grinned and the tusks gleamed.

This reminded Itash that he hadn't had any ivory products in his household yet and that this should be rectified immediately.

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Itash Mecetti"]


And so battle was joined. Sadly, Enyo was not wearing her Phrik armour. It would have been just a little indiscreet, not to mention suspicious if she'd turned up at a business meeting wearing a +20 kg suit of armour. Her endoskeleton was highly resistant to lightsabres blows. Sadly, the electronics were vulnerable to electricity. Hence armour.


...Which, as mentioned above, she was not wearing. Forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred surged towards as the Wookiee unleashed a scalding blast of electricity. Enyo braced herself against the storm, raising her glowing purple blade in a defensive stance and calling upon the Force.


Bolts of lightning coiled around her blade in a serpentine manner. Some were reflected by her power, back towards the electromancing, walking carpet or the human who was rushing towards Alexia. Their cries of pain gave her some satisfaction. However, the blistering energy still struck her, overcoming her shield.


The energy crawled over her, she was damaged and circuits exploded. Momentarily, her HUD was overwhelmed and she twitched badly. One of her eyes had suffered in particular. But she stood her ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Enyo could see that the reflected lightning had struck Alexia's opponent, giving her some breathing space. However, the Wookiee did not give her much of a reprieve. Though in pain from the reflected lightning, he'd crossed the distance. Using his immense strength, he began to batter Enyo's defences.


Both traded heavy blows, each seeking to dominate the fight. Their lightsabres crackled as they clashed. It did not take her Logic Processors long to figure out that the Wookiee had a strength close to hers. It may even be a match. He suffered cuts from her blade and the air was filled with the scent of burnt flesh, but he kept coming at her, using his rage to fuel himself.


At one stage, she forced him into a blade lock when he launched a massive blow, then used the chance to drive her fist into his helmet, delivering a thunderous punch. Such was the force of it that she shattered his mask. He was driven back by the powerful blow. When she lunged towards him, he managed to grapple her to fling her about. The ground trembled as she landed. Gathering the Force inside him, he let out a massive roar, producing a shockwave that sent her hurtling into a tree.


In mid-flight she produced an invisible push of her own, manifesting it behind him. It rammed him inside his back and pushed him into his own shockwave. When he got to his feet, blood dripped down his fur-covered face. It gave her some satisfaction. The tree she'd made contact with had not survived the impact. Seeing him coming at her again, the Cyborg decided to alter her approach.


Rather than engage him head-on, she evaded direct collision. He was strong - perhaps even a bit stronger than her when fuelled by the Dark Side. But she was the more agile one. When his blade came crashing down in a massive overhead blow, she had long vacated the space and so his weapon only burnt grass. Being deprived of her armour was something of an advantage because it made her faster. The next blow she parried. He came at her like a bull, she parried, side-steeped or cart-wheeled.


All the while wearing him down with quick cuts and jabs. None of them would bring him down. But each time her burning blade touched him while she danced around, it would frustrate him. To a point where he made a critical mistake. Organics got tired and emotional. The Machine did not.


Meanwhile, Alexia battled the human Sith who'd charged her. He'd decided to be unorthodox and use a lightsabre-pike. Maybe he'd played a hologame featuring the not-so-Eternal Empire and picked the Knight of Zakuul character class as his favourite. Regardless, his weapon was almost as tall as her and outreached her lightsabre.


He attacked her aggressively, slashing at her before trying to bash her with the handle. Alexia, ears still ringing from the sonic assault, was forced to step back, using deft acrobatics. When she moved to block a stab her blade was almost ripped from her hands by the force of the strike. Still, the opening stage was helpful, yielding some information on her opponent.


He launched a savage chop towards her head, aiming to cleave through and cause her brain matter to splatter across the ground. Anticipating the attack, she ducked and slashed at his legs. But the haft of his weapon came sweeping down to mitigate her assault by pushing her blade away ere she could score more than a minor cut and deliver a heavy smack. She mostly avoided it, but it left a bleeding cut on her forehead. She needed a different approach. When he riposted with a powerful slash, she leapt over it, too fast for him to strike her legs. Rather than jump backward, she leapt over him...