Clash of The Titans On Rhen Var

[Darron Wraith]

With Velok at his back, the GrandMaster still stood calmly. Attack me from behind if you must, the Force provides.

Yet the Whipid was no coward himself, instead he kept verbally assaulting the Jedi. Yet there were some truths to his words, half truths at best. Velok managed to give purpose and meaning to them though, so as to only subtlety bend what he wanted and make whoever was listening more pliable. It was a tactic not used by many Sith, truth be told most weren't given this much of a chance to talk. Darron's heart broke a little at the thought of how aggressive his brethren were at times, and how he had been like that at one point. He may have mastered Vaapad to counter his own weaknesses and flaws in his spirit, but to see the problem Order-wide was disheartening. The Sith was hitting close to home, but still missing his mark.

"The Sith seek the same respect the Jedi have earned? They why not sacrifice for it, give up your need for control and you will get it. The people will never respect that which ones to take away from them. How many of your brethren was see their numbers dwindle to extinction to accomplish a goal? How many innocent lives would they take to do a task...one, a hundred...a million?"

The GrandMaster turned to face the Whipid, blue eyes looking up into the dark pits that towered above him.

"Respect is something that can't be quantified, you say you are blue collar and yet I see wide spread massacre and people forced into imperialist regimes. You can't quantify the people's love, it must be earned, not taken. You want the people to justify your cause, then you must give and sacrifice for them. The Order I serve is loved, I am respected because I would lay down my life to protect one innocent life your Order would throw away."

 

[Rosa Gunn]

As the icicles rained down upon him Rosa had a brief moment to delve deeper into the force and gather her strength. She could sense the battle of the masters coming to an end, and knew she needed her waning strength to last a little longer. She itched to look over at Darron, to reach out to him in the force to make sure he was ok but to do so would be to reveal everything they were working so hard to hide. Focus! she chastised herself, the lightsaber humming in her hand.

She shifted to a front guard stance as Mikhail rose, bringing the ice shards with them and launching them at her. Her saber moved guided by the force to catch the larger shards with a loud hiss and melting them with a small cloud of steam. The smaller slipped through her guard slicing through robe and skin like shards of glass.

She ignored the sting, pushing it from her mind like it was little more than a nuisance. Reaching towards Mikhail with her hand she wrapped the force around his helm and began to squeeze. If she couldn't cut through his armour she would crush him inside it, perhaps he would remove it then.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"But oppression had many forms, Grandmaster. Imperialism has many forms. It wasn't so long ago that you assimilated Hapes, was it? Nor was it so very long ago that the Jedi Order travelled to the world of the Zeison Sha to evaluate whether their order should be allowed to continue to exist. Nor was it so very long ago that the Iron Knights were declared heretical, or the Gray Paladins marginalized, or half a dozen other Force traditions assimilated from a high-handed position. Working-class uprisings happen, and I make no excuses for that, but the Jedi have always been closely affiliated with the upper classes. You think Chancellors and Senates will so easily give respect to gutter-folk like me if we toe the line? No...I think not."

 

[Darron Wraith]

"No, I don't think they will because people and society are flawed at their core. Such is the nature of all life forms, and it will be as such for a long time."

The GrandMaster dropped the x formation he had been holding and allowed the tips of both blades to nearly touch the stone floor below. Blue eyes continued to stare into the black pits that the Whipid had for eyes. There it was, that subtle little cackle of energy that they both had been anticipating. Their talk, the briding of the gap if you would have it, had also just accomplished it's secondary objective. Both Masters of the Force had been allowing themselves the chance to refresh and recharge, though if they would need to use it would be seen. It certainly did help ease the burden on Darron though, dueling a Whipid that was nearly eight feet tall and twice his strength wasn't an easy proposition with the Force. Weaken him even further and it sounded downright awful.

"I won't sit here and pretend that some of what you say isn't right. The difference between us is that you try to install and enforce your opinion. I firmly believe the Jedi can show an ideal to strive for while being the beacon of hope and shield that society needs. Whether you can appreciate that or not is up to you, I know that the change I hope to instill in society can't be reached today, or maybe in my life time. But I do believe that they will eventually happen, and that I am doing everything I can to make sure they have the opportunity to have that chance one day."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"That whole last part of your diatribe, Master Wraith...I might have said that myself. Our cases are exactly parallel. I, too, wish to be the change I need to see in the universe. But I lead by example before imposition...as I said, exactly parallel."

His hand rose, and a storm of red lightning closed around Darron like claws.

 

[Darron Wraith]

Deflect.

That's the initial defense taught to every Jedi when learning how to face against energy weapons, or powers per say. It is ingrained in every Younging, Padawan, Knight, and Master's training. Yet what Velok had just pulled broke every defense protocol taught to Jedi, and it was what Darron had called a "training buster." A tactic so foreign that nothing but experiencing it could prepare you for it. With only milliseconds to respond in kind, several options flashed into his mind. He could try and leap away, but the arc was to wide in all directions to do much. If he tried to kill Velok, he would risk his own life in the process, and endangering the mission. There where no suitable materials to help him ground the strike into the ground through him, and nothing large enough to block the energy flying at him. So he instead improvised, the best he could.

Within his sphere of responsibility, there where a few stones of medium size nearby. Darron pulled them to his right side while pulling his left blade up just in time to absorb the first strikes as the converged on him. Energy knocked him back a step and as he went to pull his right blade up in time to absorb the red streaks flying at him, except the rocks disintegrated. While Darron was a great duelist, and amazing in combat, he wasn't that good: no one was. That was the point he realized, as he felt the energy travel straight into his chest. Pain shot through his entire body, yet he managed to hold on to his focus. It being the only thing keeping him from dying from the initial blast.

Fething Velok...only he would do this.

Once more dropping to a knee, the GrandMaster refused to scream in pain, no Velok wouldn't get that satisfaction. Instead every muscle in his body tensed, and it took all of his might to keep his left blade up keeping the energy off of him. Agony coursed through every fiber of his being, interrupting every function and making rational thought nigh impossible. As the red streaks coursed over his body, Darron struggled to raise his right hand the necessary inches to block the influx of energy. Time seemed to stand still, but there was progress as the blue blade started to turn. All of the GrandMaster's focus was on blocking that energy while maintaining his blade position on the other side. More time passed, and Darron's vision was starting to close in on itself until..

He deflected the energy.

Sweet relief passed over his body, even as he was struggling against the energy flowing towards him. Yet with the relief came clarity, and with great pain the Jedi rose to his feet. "I wonder what happens when this energy is compressed into a small space?" The words left his voice weakly, as smoke was still rising off his body.

With those words, the Jedi Master crossed the distance between the pair, and aimed to bend the lightning in on Velok himself.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Crushing Phrik was a ridiculously hard task, even for an experienced Force user. Mikhail felt a small pressure build on his helmet and raised an eyebrow. The Jedi should have gone for a Force choke if she wanted to crush something. Flesh and bone broke easier than a helmet made to resist explosions and lightsaber blows.

"You disappoint me, I thought Wraith taught you better..."

Shorn made a claw-like gesture and grabbed Rosa with a Force choke. He began to lift in the Force, aiming to levitate her off the ground. He pushed down with the Force, constricting, seeking to cut off the flow of air through her trachea and squeeze shut the carotid artery. Seconds would pass and she would be unconscious if he kept it up. But Mikhail sought only to distract. He flattened the claw into a palm and slammed Rosa with a wave of the Force, hoping to send her flying into the wall behind her.

He then bounded forward, violet blade humming gleefully, and attacked with his lightsaber, swinging it to cut lightly and debilitate. Economy of motion and strength. Precision. Elegance. Footwork. She would grow tired soon. And then Mikhail would end her.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Mikhail's words hit home, whether they were intended to or not, she had little time to contemplate them though as she felt the pressure increase on her own throat. Damn she released her hold on Mikhail's helmet and desperately tried to counter his choke as her lungs began to burn, a hand went to her throat, an instinctive reaction but one that would do nothing. Her entire body began to scream for air as the edges of her vision began to darken and Mikhail picked her off the floor.

The pressure on her throat released giving her a split second to suck in sweet air before she was thrown backwards, she did her best to soften her impact with the wall behind her but she wasn't fast enough, her head cracked against the wall but she at least managed to land on her feet and bring her saber up in time to catch Mikhails first strike. Their blades cracked loudly as she held it there lifting her eyes to meet his, acceptance of the fact that she was outmatched etched in her face.

There was no fear though, and accept it she might, she was not, under any circumstances, going to give in to him so easily. She pushed him back, with the aid of the force before spinning forward once more, to unleash another flurry of attacks, before leaping again over his head to strike at his back. She could feel her energy leaving her and opened herself up completely to the force for strength.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Purple blades zapped and hissed as they collided again and again. They struck faster than any blade forged of metal, inordinately lighter and nearly impossible to wield without the Force. He glared at her through the helmet visor. Sweat ran down his face. Perspiration trickled along his back as well. He could feel his hair matted to his head beneath the helmet. Mikhail's visor imaging system switched to night vision, feeding off the light provided by the lightsabers. Thermal was too distracting. He did not need to see her body heat. The Force told him where she was.

Sore from the icicle avalanche, Mikhail's body ached as he moved to deflect the incoming blows. Yet, his exertions had been far less than hers. She attacked furiously and without pause. One could only have so much fuel in the tank. The problem with Ataru was that if the fight lasted long enough, the Ataru practitioner would inevitably be more exhausted than their opponent. Thus, death. What was more, he still burned with an intense will to fight, eager and full of the inner anger which gave the Sith their power. He was beyond this Jedi in power. She couldn't match him, not with the level of power he wielded in Abomination. He turned around as Rosa flipped over his head.

The phrik and duraplast armor felt heavy, bulky, and unwieldy. Mikhail was unused to wearing it. It weighed him down, made his reactions just that much slower. Slow enough that he was unable to turn in time to meet her blade. Rosa's purple lightsaber slashed along his back as he turned, scoring a deep, black furrow in the armor. Phrik was lightsaber resistant, but not lightsaber impervious. His back arched at the sudden contact, but enhanced concentration washed out unnecessary thoughts of irritation at the attack. Mikhail moved for an immediate counter. He finished his turn, violet blade coming up. Shorn's eyes stood wide beneath his helmet, pale blue gaze focused, but intense as he struck.

Rosa's connecting swing and consequent follow through left her saber off to one side of her body, leaving the other open. Mikhail threw a vicious gauntleted punch toward her face. He then drew the attacking arm back and thrust with Abomination, aiming for her shoulder. Immediately following, a sudden right roundhouse kick struck at her knee.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

The punch caught her hard on the side of her face, pain spread like fire as her teeth cut into her cheek filling her mouth with blood. She took half a step back and twisted away from the lunge at her shoulder but her concentration was lipping and the kick to her knee connected with such force she dropped to the floor. she rolled away from Mikhail, out of range of any more strikes unless he followed her and came up on one knee, her palm snapping forward to send a telekinetic wave at Mikhail to put some distance and time between them.

She was breathing heavily now, her breath creating great clouds of steam and seat ran down her back. She deactivated her lightsaber and spat the blood from her mouth. Her eyes flicked to Darron who was currently deflecting red lighting back at Velok, she would receive no help from him yet. Pushing herself to her feet she reactivated her saber, she could no longer attack, she didn't have the energy to, so she merely raised the saber in a front guard and waited for Mikhail's attack to come.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Mikhail smirked as the telekinetic wave hit him. He jumped back, trying to flow with the power as it carried him through the air. His armor hindered him, making him look less graceful than he otherwise might have, but he quickly righted himself in the air and landed with a thud. Heavy boots smashed into the icy floor of the cavern with a crunch, he bent his knees low, hand coming out to steady himself. Then he stood, raising himself to his full height.

Blue-grey eyes regarded Rosa from beneath his visor. Even using nightvision he could see that she was haggard. He could feel it in the Force. She would not last much longer. He glanced from Wraith's fight with Velok, back to Rosa. His helmeted head cocked slowly to the side. Didn't she remember how this fight had started out? The opening moves? What made her think this time would be any different?

"I feel deja vu. Don't you? No?... Well, let me show you."

Shorn reached out in the Force and grabbed Rosa, he whipped her toward him with a massive tug. Instead of raising his saber to skewer her, Mikhail aimed to lock her lightsaber with his, keeping hers engaged. Meanwhile, he gathered the Dark Side into him, strengthening his muscles into something unnatural for any mere human. The power surged through him, focused and intense. Just like his mind. He directed it with precision, right into the fast twitch muscles of his legs, filling them with enough of that explosive strength needed to break bone and tear muscle. He lashed out with his right boot in a savage front kick toward Rosa's already injured knee.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Damn him, she thought as he pulled her forward again, unwilling to waste more energy on resisting she allowed herself to be pulled forward. She could sense the power rising within him and tried to pull away from the lock, away from him and the attack but it connected before she could.

A sickening crack, pain exploded in her knee and her leg gave way underneath her as a scream erupted from her lips. On her back she scrambled away, pushing with her uninjured leg until she reached something solid at her back, a great pillar of ice. There were others in the cavern they were in.

It occurred to her that she no longer had her lightsaber in her hand and she scanned the floor for it though it was near impossible to see anything beyond the blinding pain in her leg. She needed to focus, she breathed in some of the pain and wrapped the force around the pillar at her back, pulling at it. It groaned under the pressure before to loud cracks told her it was good to be moved.

"You know something Mikhail." she said through gritted teeth and she tried to push the pain aside. "Your brother, is so much nicer than you." With one last effort in the force the pillar gave way and Rosa hurled it at Mikhail, before sagging back, he energy finally expended.

Darron


There was no emotion in the telepathic call to him, she at least managed to keep that underwraps.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

"What?"

Utter shock rippled through Mikhail. Intense feelings of sadness, grief, and fear filled him at the very mention of his brother. His concentration broke. How could she possibly know Seth? Seth was dead. Confusion crossed Mikhail's features. He frowned in consternation. She knew something. Maybe she had just looked at Mikhail's file and found out who he was and seen he had a brother. That had to be it. It had to be. His shock began to dissipate. No... wait. She had said "is." He cocked his head. And that was when a giant pillar of ice smashed into him.

Precognition blared warning, but it came a second too late. In his state of confusion, he had been unprepared. The pillar drove straight into his stomach. He felt a blinding pain as something cracked beneath the armor - the only thing that saved his entire chest from caving in. The pillar carried him off his feet. His back slammed against the compacted ice of the tomb's floor. The giant ice pillar fell on him with a thud. He blinked rapidly against the pain. He could not expand his chest against the ice, making it nearly impossible to breath. Abomination wasn't in his hand anymore. He gulped down shallow gasps of air and began to panic. His fingers scrabbled against the floor. Where was it? Where was it? He reached out in the Force. A dark nexus. There. The blade snapped into his hand. He felt rejuvenated with focus and will.

Willing the dark side into him, Mikhail gathered it up and released it in an explosive gesture, throwing the pillar off of his body. His chest shuddered and heaved as he drank in the filtered air through his helmet, gasping. Sharp pain lanced in his side with every breath. A broken rib. Evidently, even phrik armor couldn't stop all damage. He groaned and coughed, rolling over onto his knees, then pushing himself to his feet. One hand clutched his side, while the other thumbed the activation switch on his lightsaber. The violet blade snapped to life once more. Dark emotions flooded Mikhail. Vindictive rage. His eyes found Rosa, crawling along the floor, without her saber.

Mikhail walked steadily forward, gritting his teeth against the pain in his side. Before, Mikhail had fought simply because she was a Jedi and he a Dark Sider, but she had given him a cause. She would pay for using his brother against him like that. He wanted his pound of flesh.

He put out a hand to the side. Shattered chunks of ice from the pillar rose until they levitated around him like small planets. He continued walking toward her, rage in his eyes beneath the helmet.

"Congratulations. Now I'm pissed."

The Sith gestured toward her. Ice flew. The chunks hurtled toward her, accelerated to a bruising, if not bone breaking speed. Mikhail continued to plod toward Rosa. His hand moved to hold his side. It felt as if someone was repeatedly driving a small shiv into him. Over and over. With every step. Shorn focused. Abomination gave him the will to overcome the pain. It gave him the mental acuity to drive through it. To win. To kill. And, oh, how he longed to kill this Jedi now. Suddenly, he stopped. He didn't want to slice her to bits. He wanted this to be intimate. She had made it personal. He would see the life drain from her eyes. Slowly.

He raised his hand from his side, extending it as if to choke air. Only he did not choke air. The Force grip wrapped around her throat and he attempted to lift her into the air, then pull her along until she hovered just in front of him. He reveled as he crushed down on her throat. Dark pleasure washed through him. He enjoyed this.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

A beam of crimson light slashed into Velok's vision, his own lightning compressing and returning to him as Darron bounded close. His outstretched hand caught the beam, and his mastery of energy manipulation shunted away a portion of it. Stray voltage scarred the floor.

But he had put too much into that attack to control it when it returned. The remaining voltage threw him back with a crack like thunder, and slammed him into a wall. Something tore inside him. He staggered away from the wall, lightsabre raised, and coughed heavily.

"@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]. Time to withdraw."

 

[Darron Wraith]

The impending explosion knocked Darron back a few feet as well, but he hadn't been hit by the lightning any further after that. Instead, he slid back a few feet and let both of his blades deactivate as he felt Velok slam into the wall. Through the Force, the GrandMaster could feel something had changed in the battle. The Sith wasn't afraid, but he was trying to run away. Think this is over so soon Velok, that you can just run away after revealing so much? Oh no we aren't done. His brow furrowed as he stood up to his full height, and he quickly started to head over to the Whipid. The Force began to coalesce around the Jedi, his power was starting to come back in full, and it was time to demonstrate to the Sith Master what had made him the Jedi everyone was talking about. Energy began to flow throughout him in earnest, and Darron was going to fully show Velok his capabilities until....

Rosa called out for him.

A pang of urgency struck him, he wasn't going to lose her to Mikhail. Sensing that a tone of finality was in the air, the Jedi Master simply closed the distance between himself and Velok. Still gripping his electrum plated hilt, he pulled his arm back and with the Force enhancing his speed and power, he fully threw his hip into the blow. A resounding crack echoed throughout the cavern as he the remaining kinetic energy went through the floor and the adjacent wall. A few pieces of snow and ice fell from the ceiling as Darron unleashed his power, then he turned his attention to the Sith Knight. "Nice chat Velok, we aren't finished though."

One down, one to go.

The Jedi quickly broke into a sprint to make it to where the other pair of Force-user's were currently dueling, and he knew that Mikhail had heard the entire exchange. Instead of focusing on him though, he noticed Rosa struggling for breath, and that urgency increased even further.

"Hey!, if you want a true challenge. Why not me?"

It was a taunt, plain and simple. Either goad the Knight into a battle with him, or have to attack him from the back and risk losing Rosa. Either way, this wouldn't end with a simple conversation. Not after the events at the temple on Coruscant a few months ago, Mikhail wouldn't cause an extra loss of life this time. Instead, if possible Darron would bring him in to justice unless the boy ran. Which is a high possibility given the volatile stay of the cavern we are in, I don't know how much more this place can take. Blue eyes scanned the area, and noted all of the fault lines starting to show in the rocks and ice, a few extra impacts and the entire place would come down. Of that he was most definitely certain.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

The shards of ice, sliced through her skin like glass and Rosa raised her arms to protect her face wincing at every blow, dreading the amount of bruises she was going to have. She was powerless against his attack and though her body was exhausted her mind was still working well enough. She had hit a nerve talking about his brother, she had felt his confusion and greif and it didn't take much to put two and two together.

As breathing became more difficult she closed her eyes and reached out to Mikhails mind. Seth is alive Mikhail. This isn't a trick. I'm a Jedi not a sith, I don't play tricks. She emphasised the fact as best she could with her memory of her brief meeting with him on Dxun. It had been the eyes that had given it away to her. She hadn't had the chance to speak to him, but she knew that he was an intelligence officer for the republic.


I can help you find him again.
Despite it all, Rosa had a good heart and she did not like to see people in pain, and if there was any ounce of goodness in Mikhail then he would let her live, at least for the chance to see his brother. Whatever had happened between the two of them was none of her business but this was her only shot.

Everything sounded strange to her now as if she was underwater she could hear Darron's taunt but she had unintentionally made this personal and she would be surprised if Mikhail took the bait.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

"Shut up and wait your turn."

Velok's warning to leave fell upon deaf ears. Abomination empowered Mikhail's confidence. It made him brash. He would stay and fight. He would kill them both. He felt the power within both the blade and him. It hummed darkly in unison with his lightsaber. Such power served only his rage. And right now, it was focused on crushing Rosa's wind pipe.

He squeezed down brutally, entirely remorseless. She dared to use Seth against him? He would end her. He would- she touched his mind. He saw images. Seth on a planet, wearing a flightsuit. Utter bewilderment filled Mikhail. This was impossible. The images showed Rosa seeing Seth. That couldn't be replicated, could it? No, no it couldn't be true. Seth would have found Mikhail. Rosa said she would help him find Seth? Mikhail didn't know Jedi to lie. But...

Pale blues narrowed. He did not trust her. He trusted no one. False images and memories could be created, but only with great skill in the Force. He didn't think she was capable of such a feat. Still, it was within the realm of possibility. He longed to kill her. He could feel her trachea giving in. It was truly amazing that she managed enough concentration to send the telepathic message. Remarkable.

"It seems you've created a bit of a morality crisis for me, Jedi. Do I light your pants on fire and rip your throat out? Or do I let my 'better' side give in and spare you so we can search together for my dearest brother. Choices, choices... of course, you forgot something."

A sudden smile slid beneath the helmet, terrible and wretched. "I don't need you to look for my brother." Mikhail's internal struggle dissipated as he fell to darkness. The cimmerian power consumed him. "Thanks for the daily dose of existential crisis. Your time's up." He crushed down on her throat with dark, focused might.

 

[Darron Wraith]

To the human side of Darron, the current situation was devastating to witness.

The only woman who had managed to make him feel anything, who had gotten his heart to beat again, was being choked. Her life force was beginning to flicker, like a candle's flame in the wind. Beautiful, flush cheeks where now as white as the ice around her, and panic threatened to rise in his chest. Mikhail, the Sith, was wearing lightsaber resistant armor. He was also drunk on some power that was ancient, far older than anyone in the cavern. There where multiple paths, and all of them ended in Rosa dying before his very eyes. Though he couldn't look at the Sith Knight's face, he knew an arrogant smirk was on there as everything was going his way. A guttural scream wanted to escape his throat, every muscle in his body wanted to move, yet no actions presented itself to the man in him.

Luckily, Darron was a Jedi and that was how he was viewing the situation.

Reaching through the Force, his physical inaction was actually him planning. Feeling the threads of the Force, he searched for answers. If he charged with his lightsabers, the phrink would negate the lethality of the blows. Even if he managed to get past his guard in two to three strikes, Rosa's esophagus would be closed in and her life lost. A saber throw aimed at his neck, might work but the probability of success wasn't good enough to warrant potentially losing his weapons and Rosa's life. Any telekinetic, pull or push could help or hinder Darron. If Mikhail's focus, or emotions shifted he could either lose his grip or it would tighten as he panicked himself.

Then a plan struck the GrandMaster.

"I'm sorry, Mikahil. I tried to deal with you, and save you. You've left me no choice."

Through his field of responsibility, the Jedi Master could feel the ice above him. All of it's faults, and the way the water had frozen together could be felt. Too often, many Force-User's would make the mistake of trying a broad stroke telekinetic pull. While it would work in most cases, it could tired out a novice Force user, or take too long for the desired effect. The last flaw in the approach was that it could do collateral damage as well, a mistake most Padawans and Knights would easily make. As the head of the Jedi Order, Darron wasn't allowed to make mistakes. Instead he found the three fissures with which he could pull on that would buy Rosa some time to escape. Wrapping his will around the cracks, he started to pull the ice apart at those points. Feeling the desired effect, he brought his hand up...

...and literally brought the ceiling down only on Mikhail.

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Precognition senses blared and the hair on Mikhail's neck stood on end. He could feel the massive flood of power that Darron sent toward the ceiling widening the cracks until the entire slab of rock and ice began to fall. Shorn desperately wished to finish crushing Rosa, but she would have to wait. Abomination's effects gave him the mental clarity for self-preservation. He released Rosa from his choke and she dropped to the floor. In this fight, there would be little she could do. He had most likely broken her kneecap, or at least torn her ACL. No more Ataru for a while, that was for sure.

Mikhail's eyes snapped to the ceiling and his helmeted head tilted back. He reached up with both hands as the giant chunks of ice and rock began to rain down. The rubble smashed the floor around him with a sound like incessant thunder. The roar of the collapse came to a crescendo while he sustained a circle of telekinetic shielding above his head. Bits of ice and rock sprayed pinged off his armor, but the phrik and duraplast held. At last, the roar fell silent. Shorn was reminded of when he had collapsed the tunnel on to Darron and Rosa, yet they had survived. History repeated. Only the actors changed.

"You do realize," Mikhail said, his voice terribly calm with a cold fury. "I came up with that trick."

The dark side raged through him, fililng him with a sickly-sweet strength that felt as though he sought to control both a fiery wave of lava and the unrelenting power of an avalanche. They roared within him, quaking for release. Ice and rock hung suspended above his hand, large chunks from the ground rose as well. With a great effort, Mikhail lofted them all into the air. He wielded great power in telekinesis. One of his true abilities. Wraith will defend innocence with his life. Let's see just how far he goes for his beliefs.

"You don't understand me, Wraith. You keep trying to save me. But you never will." Shorn's conflict of emotions quaked beneath his nonchalant surface. Wratih kept trying to help him. Yet every time he batted the hand away. How could he accept help? He was too far gone. No one could save him. Not even the Grandmaster of the Jedi. "I like being bad." Mikhail lied.

Mostly.

Mikhail pushed forward with both hands, extending them toward Rosa. The ice and rock shriekd through the air. Enough to kill her. But Mikhail was not finished. He sent a blast of telekinesis at the icicles just above her head. Just enough so that they would break off slowly before their massive spearlike forms would crash into the woman beneath. Mikhail didn't wait for them to fall. He attacked. He leaped forward, the Force carrying him, and landed near Wraith. His violet blade swung with precision and skill in an upward diagonal swing coming up at Darron's left hip to his right shoulder.

 

[Rosa Gunn]

Fro a brief moment, Rosa though she had gotten through to him, that she had reached the small bit of compassion that remained in Mikhail, but as quickly as she felt that flicker, it was gone, engulfed in darkness by the saber in her hand and the force on her throat tightened. She was no longer wheezing for breath, she simply couldn't breath. Consciousness began to slip away from her, her body went limp as she tried to clutch on to noise in the cavern to keep her grasp on the world around her.

There was a crack, and a deep rumbling and suddenly she could breathe. The fact that she had hit the floor disn't matter, she didn't feel the pain, for the oxygen had long left her limbs, but she could taste the sweet air as she sucked it in in great gulps, coughing and spluttering as she did. Slowly her vision came back and she flexed her fingers, she reached out with the force searching for her lightsaber, but as she found it in the force a warning flashed at her.

She didn't look up at the falling icicles, she could sense them as she could sense her lightsaber. her hand snapped up above her to catch only those that were bound for her body. The other smashed around her, their shards slamming into her already bruised and broken body. her hand trembled with the effort of holding those few icicles and with a moan of effort she pushed them aside, before pulling her lightsaber to her. It rattled across the floor to her fingertips. Its hilt cold but comforting.

She needed to get up, she needed to move, to crawl out of harms way so Darron could end this. With great effort she rolled onto her front, her body screaming in protest as she did. Slowly she began to crawl back, away from the fight.