Grinding Glass Into Wounds

[Qhorin Solas]

Cronos had meant what he said. It hadn't been a taunt, or a threat, but a fact. This madman had made a mistake, one that might very well cost him his life.

Saber and vibroknife clashed in a deadlock. Cronos pulled strength from the Force, and yet the man resisted all the same. Was it his armor that augmented his strength, or was his strength from bio-mechanical, or even biochemical augmentations? There were more than a few species across the galaxy that were considerably stronger than baseline humans, but from the face he had seen before the madman donned his helmet, this one was human.

His foe dropped his blaster and unsheathed a second knife, the wicked blade arcing out to carve into Cronos' stomach. The Jedi knight let up on the pressure in their deadlock, allowing himself to be pushed backward and freeing his saber. The second knife carved a thin line through his shirt, just scraping the flesh.

The man drew his leg back and launched a kick at Cronos' knee, no doubt intending to break it. The former Inquisitor didn't bother trying to dodge; he angled his blade between his knee and the encroaching foot to cleave it in two, the motion punctuated by a telekinetic tug on his armor to set him off balance.

Cronos was equal parts impressed by his foe's ferocity and disgusted by his insanity. If the knight had been any less of a warrior, he'd likely have been dead.

But he was a warrior, and for the innocent people his foe had killed here today, he would not lose.

[member="Cody Jorin"] [member="Mayumi Kochi"] [member="Aaran Calfan"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

The fight continued between the two men. Mayumi couldn't get a good shot and was hesitant to fire for fear of hitting Marcus.

It took less than four minutes for members of her crew to file into the cantina with blasters raised. The made a semi circle around the men and waited for their captains orders.

"If the blonde goes down fire on the one in armor," she instructed. The battle seemed personal so she only intervene if Marcus started to lose.

[member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Jorin]

Force tug sent him off balance, his leg kept sailing, and the blade made contact. GUNGNIR was strong armor, a hit from a saber wasn't instant loss, but it wasn't going to stop the blade. He had a fraction of a second to save his foot as the blade plowed through armor. Jerking backwards, small thrusters on his armor fired, slamming him back against the bar with a now burned foot and compromised armor.

The kid was good, very good, and that wasn't a term Jorin threw around lightly. But to him, the kid was still out of his depth. The honor of being the second clone army's template hadn't been simply given to him, he'd earned that. Flipping the blade in his left hand so he held the tip, he hurled the blade into one of [member="Mayumi Kochi"]'s men's chest, wretched a smaller blaster from it's holster and shot two others in the blink of an eye. The best thing for the woman and her remaining comrade to do was hide while this finished.

With several feet now between them the soldier leveled his blaster with [member="Cronos Aegir"] once again, squeezing the trigger rapidly and raining scarlet blaster fire on the Jedi Knight.

"The death of innocents fuels you," Began the dark armored terrorist, pushing himself off the bar and back into a standing position, steadily firing on Cronos as he did. "But how many have died in your holy war?" He questioned angrily.

"How many have you forgotten?"

 

[Qhorin Solas]

The madman evaded having his foot cut in two by applying the thrusters that were attached to his armor. He threw a knife into the small crowd of encroaching men, pulled a second blaster out and fired two rounds into the crowd. What a waste, Cronos thought, that so skilled a soldier would give into madness.

Then he leveled the blaster at Cronos. The former Inquisitor snapped his blade up to catch the hail of bolts, sending each careening back towards their sender. Some crashed into the wall beyond the bar, scorching the wall and shattering bottles. He kept his elbows tight to his body, falling into rote movements that jedi younglings across the galaxy could replicate, his golden saber flowing from left to right and right to left to catch nearly every bolt. Those that weren't redirected were sidestepped, with quick, deliberate movements. The madman would need more than a blaster to see him fall.

As if summoned by the thought, a single bolt slipped through his defense. He jerked his head to the side and the super-heated gas emission singed his ear; a second slid past his side, burning through his vest and leaving behind a thin line of scorched flesh. The pain was sharp, but not unbearable. It only served to feed his mounting anger.

Cronos had had enough. In the slightest breath between trigger squeezes, he cut towards the madman with a single slash, as if to cleave his shooting arm off at the shoulder. The man might've thought him mad, as the blade wasn't long enough to reach --

Until in mid-swing, he activated the second phase of his saber, and the five foot blade leaped to fifteen in the blink of an eye.

"I have no war," he answered finally. "Holy or otherwise. No one and nothing has ever died for me. But you will."

[member="Cody Jorin"] [member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

Now killing her crew was a low blow. It was true that the pirate captain had killed plenty of her crew but she was allowed to.

"F*** it," she said turning to the crew member next to her and taking the box that he was holding. This was this one crew member's sole job on the ship; bring the bomb. She walked over to what remained of the bar area and opened the device. Hitting a few buttons she activated the detonation sequence and pushed it behind the bar so it couldn't be reached easily.

"Everyone's got twenty seconds to get out or get blown sky high," she said with a smile walking out one of the holes in the wall. Her crew shuffled out after her quickly.

12, 11, 10, 9.....

[member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Cody Jorin"]

 

[Jorin]

Double phase, uncommon, but he'd trained for the eventuality.

Turning his body so the blade didn't cut clean through his arm he gritted his teeth, watching the golden blade melt through the armor, cutting deep into his arm and despite Jorin's best effort, severing it. But it wasn't in vain, instantly his thrusters fired and he plunged his knife at the Jedi's ribs.

With pain blurring his mind, there was no guarantee it would strike the heart, but if it hit at all he'd have essentially leveled the playing field. Blood loss was just a debilitating as a severed arm if done right, and at the speed Jorin was going things would be hard to stop.

"Jedi, every war is your war. My sons just victims." He hissed angrily through gritted teeth, the eyes of the skull on his visor meeting those of the Jedi's for a moment. If the blade struck that would be it, the fight would be done. He'd head to a safehouse with his message sent and another Jedi brutally aware of what his convictions led too.

"They should've never existed, but because of you my sons, millions of them died. Only two are left serving your false Republic." The man, no monster spat, anger burning in his veins.

"I will avenge my fallen, Jedi."​

[member="Cronos Aegir"]

Oh and he totally missed [member="Mayumi Kochi"]'s message, badass fight scenes were distracting.

 

[Qhorin Solas]

His cut struck true, melting through the armor to reach the arm inside. Cronos felt the satisfaction of a well executed attack, even as a sliver of pity wormed its way into his heart. Mad fool, he thought. He pulled back, saber returning to its standard length --

!​

The madman came at him too fast to dodge. He jerked back, out of alarm, or perhaps instinct, and felt the icy burn of a knife slide between his ribs. The pain was maddening, almost, and a growl escaped him, feral in its ferocity. His knees buckled. Only furious will kept him on his feet. He felt the dark side licking at his mind, trying to find purchase.

Give in, it said. Rip him in two and feed him his entrails. Kill, kill, kill.

He pushed the urges away, teeth clenched so tightly that they might break, and stared into the deathly visage painted onto the madman's helmet. A fitting image, Cronos felt. His lightsaber flickered off. He angled the emitter towards the madman's chest with a subtle twist of his wrist. "You will join your fallen," he ground out. "And then your sons will truly be dead."

Then he activated the saber.

However quickly the saber might activate, however painful being stabbed through the chest might be, Cronos fully expected him to survive, should the attack strike home. This one would need to be beheaded, he thought. The madman was too determined -- too driven -- to be killed by anything less.

The madman made to leave, and Cronos was in no position to stop him. Not without giving in to the dark whispers. And there were greater concerns; Mayumi had set off a bomb.

Feth. I liked this Cantina. He followed behind Mayumi, hand pressed to his leaking wound. The Force could mitigate the pain, and the blood loss too, but that required time, and focus; focus enough that he didn't think himself capable, at the moment.

"9...8...7...6." He reached the hole that had been blasted in the wall less than a minute before. "...5...4." He stepped through, wincing with every movement. "...3...2." He accepted the pain, embraced it, pushed himself to run -- "...1..."

KABOOM!!!

The wind knocked him from his feet. The flames came after, a wave of thick, scorching heat. Then came the debris: duracrete, wood, metals, body parts. He ached everywhere. There was nothing to it; he had to call on the Force. Lying there against the concourse, as flames raged mere feet away, he reached for the Force.

[member="Cody Jorin"] [member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

"Well, at least it got them to stop fighting," she said as she bent down next to [member="Cronos Aegir"]. He was badly injured but he would survive. They were not in the best of spot. Flames were licking up around them and the authorities would be here soon.

Using unusual strenght for someone her size, she hauled him up and put one of his arms over her shoulders. "Let's go crazy Jedi man. I owe you a debt and I doubt that your friend perished in that explosion. We need to leave here," she began moving forward quickly bearing most of his weight. Her crew had gone ahead to prepare the shuttle they had taken here. You can't exactly just land a star destroyer.

"Don't die on me. That means I would still owe you," she snapped putting as much distance between them and the flaming cantina.

[member="Cody Jorin"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Mayumi helped him to his feet. In that moment, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He winced at the movement as she helped him up, sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth. Slowly, flames reaching ever closer, she slipped his arm over her shoulders and started walking. With every step, the pain eased, but the danger hadn't passed. He was no healer; he could mitigate his pain, but he could do nothing to mend it.

"Yes, I believe..." He sucked in a breath, grimacing. "Leaving might be in our," he winced, "best...interest."

She bore the bulk of his weight, surprisingly, hurriedly leaving the scene of the explosion. Policing forces on Nar Shaddaa were the worse sort, little better than thugs. No, it would do no good to remain at the scene.

The smell of smoke and fire clung to him. His breath was labored, devolving into a sort of dry wheeze. The madman might have punctured his lung, he was starting to think. He turned his focus inward, closing his eyes to better concentrate. He couldn't geal himself, but he could certainly help himself, stemming blood flow, reducing aches...

"I have no intent to die," he told her, voice steadier now. "Not here and not now. And my name... it isn't Marcus. It's Cronos."



[member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

"Good, dying is really such a pain," she said sarcastically. "I figured you were someone else, that guy back there gave me the impression that you aren't some do-gooder Jedi . Now, I can take you to my ship if you want. I have a infirmary and the docs there can fix you up. If you have somewhere else you want to be then direct me there," she hoped that this would not be a offer she would regret.

They were almost at the shuttle which could get them off the planet so hopefully he was okay with the offer. Turning around did not sound like a viable option at this point.

[member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"I wasn't always a Jedi. And that man... I've never seen him before in my life." His tone took on a quality to indicate that he was thinking aloud. "He mentioned a war, and sons... I think he was the original from which the Republic's army was cloned." That was the only thing that made sense. Cronos hadn't been a member of the Republic during their wars; he had been trapped in a Vong worldship, forced to fight in its arena. He knew nothing of the Republic's sins. Only his own.

"And thank you. For saving me. And for offering me use of your doctors." He reached out with his senses. The fires had been put out, and already men were combing through the wreckage and questioning the bystanders. He felt more than saw one of the witnesses point down the concourse in their direction.

"I have nowhere to be. Nowhere important." He thought over her offer for all of a second. More than anything, he needed to be stitched up. Telekinesis could only hold the blood vessels closed for so long.

"I will accompany you to your ship," he said, pulling even more from the Force, unconcerned with exhausting himself. "But we must hurry." Assisted by the Force, he was able to handle more of his own weight, and thus move all the faster for it.

He heard feet pounding against the walkway behind them. They didn't have much time...

[member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Jorin]

He wasn't dead.

The fallen son of the Republic, battered and hurt, fueled by rage clawed his way out of the rubble.

He and [member="Cronos Aegir"] would meet again.

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

Footsteps were coming up on the two of them. If [member="Cronos Aegir"] assailant had survived then he would be after them too. It was a good thing they were at the small ship that would convey them to the Juniper. "Don't worry, I'll have us out of here in a jiff," she said helping him onto the small ship where her crew members were waiting.

She sat Cronos into a seat and handed him a med kit. "The purple shot helps stop internal bleeding and the green shot fights infection," she instructed while performing the take off procedures and getting the ship off the ground. They were soon well into the atmosphere. Well, that planet hadn't changed. Opening up a com, she signaled her ship. "Jeffry be there in ten. Have a med team waiting," she said to her first mate who was waiting on the Juniper.

Turning back to her bleeding guest she said quietly "I shouldn't have to tell you that if you try to kill me on my ship my crew and I will not hesitate to kill you. Then again, you are not in much of a condition to fight right now." Sure she had saved him, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

 

[Qhorin Solas]

There was a small transport waiting for them. Mayumi helped him aboard, surprisingly strong for so slight a woman. The crew watched him warily as Mayumi passed him a med kit. Purple for internal bleeding, green for infection, she said. He took both, and as the medicines took effect, he was able to ease his telekinetic hold on his blood vessels. Such minute telekinesis had required a great deal of focus; he had a headache building, the pain radiating from behind his eyes.

He settled back into the seat, hand still pressed to his side, and let out a sigh. He wanted to sleep, but now wasn't the time. He hadn't forgotten why he'd originally approached Mayumi in the first place, and after such heavy use of the Force, he hadn't the focus to delve into her mind and read her thoughts. And if she knew how to shield her thoughts, such efforts would be useless anyway.

Besides that, she had saved his life. That meant something.

"Your caution is wise, but you need not worry," he told her, eyes half closed, the slightest of smiles on his face. Oh, what a fight that had been! "You saved my life. I would be a poor guest indeed to try to murder you after this. I'm more likely to kiss you." He sighed again. "But I heard disturbing rumors regarding a woman that matches your appearance. Rumors of murder, of torture..." He shifted up to look her in the eyes. "But I am not a man given to rumor. You saved my life. That's all that matters."

[member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

"Murder and torture," she repeated. "Yeah I did that." It wasn't like she ran around and did horrible things for fun. Well sometimes she did, but lately it had been for a purpose. All she wanted was to go home. Back to where she was the pirate queen. Back to where she controlled all the territories. But no, instead she was stuck here in this new place where nothing was the same. The pirates and Sith she interrogated hadn't been able to help her get back but their information very valuable.

"Don't worry though. The people I got ahold of were other pirates and some Sith apprentices, not regular citizens. Killing people willy nilly is bad for business," she piloted the ship farther into space and she could see the astroid that the Juniper sat behind. "When we get on board please don't stare at my first mate Jeffry. He is self conscious," she told [member="Cronos Aegir"]. Soon they were boarding the massive star destroyer and landing in the hangar.

She led them off the ship towards the Jeffry and the med team. "Thought you were just going out for a whiskey Cap'n?" Jeffry's badly disfigured face smiled at his captain's appearance.

"Shut up Jeffry," she snapped while the med team inspected Cronos and then took them all down to the infirmary.

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She didn't bother to lie, confessing to both crimes. She had a code though, or at least guidelines to follow: she'd only killed other pirates, and the occasional Sith. Cronos couldn't judge her for her crimes; he had done much of the same. "Right," he said. "Bad for business." She mentioned that her first mate was self conscious about his face, but the Jedi couldn't be bothered to wonder why.

Then they were entering the hangar of her ship. Her Star Destroyer. He quirked an eyebrow at Mayumi upon the sight, wondering just how the little slip of a woman had gotten her hands on a Star Destroyer. And such a dedicated crew, for that matter.

There was a med team waiting, along with a man who could only be her first mate, given her warning. His face was horribly disfigured, but he was no uglier than some of the aliens Cronos had seen. Verpines came to mind, and Gands, for that matter.

The doctors checked him over, prodding at his knife wound. He had used the Force to mitigate the pain, but he hissed at the contact all the same. "Easy," he warned, barely keeping himself from smacking their hands away.

The team of doctors led him down to the infirmary and set him up on a table. Gingerly, the former Inquisitor stripped of his tattered vast, his torso a portrait of scars, and the doctors wrapped his abdomen in bandages wet with bacta. The knife wound would be another scar added to the collection, with one glaring difference, in his mind. The men and beasts that had given him his old scars were all dead... but the madman still lived.

"How did you manage to get your hands on a Star Destroyer?" he asked Mayumi.

[member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Kenrath]

[member="Mayumi Kochi"] [member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Cody Jorin"]

Aaran watched the ensuing battle between the two men desperately trying to move through the pain while freeing the other man from under the rubble of the first explosion. He had started to make a little head way no longer amused by the little spat between the two men. Aaran missed the days when a bar fight was simply that a bar fight. He cursed himself for not paying more attention to the queen Bee's lessons only able to move the rubble a small amount in his physical condition. That was when he heard it. The little pirate had set a second thermal detonator. He started to yell.

"Are you out of your fethin................................"

Aaran never had a chance to finish his statement before it detonated. Everything seemed to move in slow motion and just for a moment he thought he saw his father. But that couldn't be possible his father had died two years earlier. What was this.........................................

Aaran's body broken into over a dozen pieces as everything went black his last living memory being his torso bouncing off of what was left of the far wall.

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tmc8rJgxUI

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

Doctors fussed over her but she pushed them away. Just a few mine scrapes and bruises, nothing severe. She was going to steer clear of cantinas for a while. Even though she had met a few nice people....oh sh*t that guy in the hood. Had he left before the bomb went off? Musing to herself, she was sure that he was fine.

Turning her attention back to [member="Cronos Aegir"], she let out a small laugh. "You know, stealing a star destroyer isn't as hard as it looks. Now mind you I did have the help of a Jedi master who had amnesia at the time. She was working as a cab driver at the time and came along with me. The Empire didn't even know what hit them," she smiled thinking back to the past. "However, I did not anticipate how hard it would be to run this large of a ship with thirty crew members. I had to recruit a lot and now I have over twenty thousand on this ship."

Spinning around on one of the doctors stools, she said to Cronos, "now can you start explaining some things to me. That guy back there clearly hated you and yet you claim you don't know him. There are somethings that aren't adding up."

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"I would say things are adding up just fine," Cronos returned. "He didn't know who I was -- he couldn't have. He only knew I was a Jedi." The knife wound in his side itched something fierce, evidence of the healing that was taking place. He mercilessly crushed the urge to scratch it. "And I didn't know him. But I know who he is now." He pushed of the table to land on his feet. The lance of pain that shot up his side was dull and weak. Between the bacta and the Force, he'd be right as rain by the morrow.

"He was a soldier for the Republic, from back before I joined the Jedi. There was a war, a Great War, and like the Republic of old, the Senate and the Jedi Council called upon clones to fight their battles. Clones of him. Whatever sort of man he used to be, he's mad, now. Insane. He's as driven by hate as any Sith I've ever encountered...

"He wants vengeance against every Jedi. And that's all I was to him. Just another Jedi." The former Inquisitor clenched his fists so tight that he left crescent shape marks in his palm. "Not all Jedi are as... martially inclined as I. Some of us won't survive an encounter with him." He sighed. "I have to tell the Council. Put out a warning." His eyes narrowed. And prepare myself for a hunt.

"He might come after you too. For helping me."

[member="Mayumi Kochi"]

 

[Mayumi Kochi]

She listened to his explanation. He seemed to know so much compared to her. It made sense though, she had only been here a month. It was like she was learning a new language almost. She knew of clones of course but had never encountered any before. "This dimension is so confusing," she muttered under her breath.

Looking back at [member="Cronos Aegir"] who was getting off the table. "I can get you wherever you need to go if you wish. I owe you still and I don't want to be in debt," she picked piece of rubble out of her hair. "I'm not worried about anyone coming after me. I have people try to kill me on a weekly basis so one more enemy isn't going to make a difference." That last part was a lie. It made a huge difference. Back in her dimension it would't have, she had more allies than enemies. However, here she had no allies, no safe houses, no places to seek asylum if it came down the worst. She and her crew were isolated in a strange dimension.

"You can use my communication system to contact your council too if you wold like."