Off the Grid

[Sage Bane]

"Uba kaae ciken!" swore Sage, as Spark somehow managed to wrest her bony body from his men. She swiftly took off, fleeing through the iridescent jellied tubes and translucent pods, and disappearing in the tangled flora of Felucia landscape.

"Idiots!" he screamed at his men, and took off after her. If you wanted something done, you always had to do it yourself. Sage didn't hesitate to use the atmosphere of the planet to his advantage. The surface of Felucia was brimming with the Force, and it didn't take long for Sage to gather up enough Dark Side power to enhance his speed. He could sense Spark before he caught her in his sights. There she was, running like the wind, her long, spindly legs almost tripping over one another to get away.

Sage's arm shot out, his fingers splayed. The Sith Lord sent out ropey tendrils of the Dark Side in an attempt to grab hold of the frightened technopath and reel her in like a fish wriggling on a hook. He turned his hand in the air and curled his fingers inward as he pulled.

"Come to me, girl."

This insubordination would not go unpunished.

[member="Spark Finn"]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sage Bane"]

Heart thudded wildly against her ribs as she sucked in that humid, hot air. Sage's sickly, sweet voice sent chills down her hot, sweat covered back. Boots dug into the moist, springy ground harder, blond-frizzy hair wildly streaming behind her. For the first time in a week, she felt a tingle of warning through the force. It was weak, almost like feeling something through a shadow.

#yaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!! #I'mnotbroken!

She dodged sharply right. Something tugged at her feet and she found herself rolling down a slight decline as her right boot was ripped free from her foot. That boot would go flying backwards toward Mr. Smartass-smirk's face.

#tryagain #emptyline

The springy ground cushioned most of her fall. Mostly. Still fething hurt. Was it so much to ask to just want to sit at a data terminal all day sipping a fair-trade cup of caf?!?!?

CRACK

Back slammed into something hard, stopping her summer saulting tumble. Awkwardly twisting around - still cuffed - blue-eyes blinked up through slightly-smudged lenses. Something with sharp teeth grinned wickedly down at her, moving the gigantic leg that had been her speed bump.

An Acklay that had a wickedness and toothy-grin to rival Sage Bane.

The Sith Lord would probably hear his captive's squeak. "A distant relative of yours, Sage?" The beast roared and she rolled.

 

[Sage Bane]

When his fish did not bite, the Sith Lord let out a frustrated growl, and continued to vault himself through the fungal forest, using Force speed to close the distance, shuffling sideways down a slight decline. Spark, now missing a boot, had fallen and was rolling like a little blonde tumbleweed. Sage was just about upon her when there was a long, deafening screech from above. A hungry-looking Acklay climbed over a hill sized mushroom, pierced the ground with a crab-like foreleg. Technopath met wall of leg with a dull thwack.

A few minutes ago, Sage wanted to strangle Spark, and he wasn’t about to have that pleasure taken away by a grinning Acklay. The creature let out another screech as one of its gigantic claws rose up in the air, aiming for a piercing strike at the Sith Lord. Sage dove out of its path and scrambled to his feet. His lightsaber snapped into his hand and red plasma blade was ignited with a snap-hiss. Attracted by the shiny beam of light, the Acklay ignored Spark and turned all three of its eyes to Sage, snapping at the air a few centimeters away from the Sith Lord.

His hair slick with sweat, Sage began to launch into a flurry of Ataru strikes against the ravenous creature. The Acklay was fast, but Sage was faster. He twisted and turned in a blur around the creature, his blade dragging through the muscle and bone of the Acklay’s legs on its right side. Now lopsided, the gravely wounded animal careened to the ground with long, trilled shriek. Sage was not going to be Acklay chow today.

[member="Spark Finn"]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sage Bane"]

She whipped her head up in time to see Sage turn the Acklay into fresh shushi and get a nice, warm splatter of blood across her face. The creature's severed leg crashed just inches from crushing her prone-form. She sputtered to a stand, unable to completely shake the tremble from her limbs.

Blood oozed down the surface of her glass-lenses, tainting her vision of Sage with his slicked-back, sweat-soaked hair.

She wanted to run but she couldn't move. Shock and fear seized up her muscles as she warily eyed that crimson saber of the sith lord. Or perhaps, she knew running wouldn't do a lick of good now. Too bad she couldn't just power-up like on those holovids.

#needthecheatcode

Blood-streaked face tilted from the saber to the cocky-eyes of the living beast known as Sage Bane.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

 

[Sage Bane]

As the Acklay thundered to the ground, shaking its legs in its death throes, Sage deactivated his saber. His breath came in ragged gulps and there was an audible wheeze deep down in his chest. He used the side of his jacket to wipe his slick, sweat-covered brow. Spark stood there before him, covered with Acklay blood and viscera. A scowl crossed his face.

"Not even a thank you," he grumbled.

His body moving like a blur, the Sith Lord closed the distance between he and Spark. He took his handkerchief and gently cleaned the blood off her face and glasses, an action that gave her obvious displeasure. With the quickness of a snake, he grabbed Spark's arm and, ignoring any kicking and screaming, began to haul her back in the opposite direction. Back towards his men. Back towards the sarlaac pit.

Huttese curses muttered under his breath, Sage brought his quarry to his useless waiting men. Using the Force, he bound her in place, immobilizing her with the gentle pressure of a Force push on all sides. The soldiers yanked off Spark's remaining boot and glasses, leaving them at the edge of the creature's yawning cavern of a mouth.

Sage stared at Spark for a few minutes, studying her as if he might change his mind and feed her to the sarlaac after all. Then, he ordered his men to take her back to the drop ship.

After they dragged her off, Sage stayed with the giant sarlaac for a few more minutes, meditating on its mind-blowing size and the vastness of it. What a magnificent creature. He only wished that he could stay long enough to see the look on [member="Coren Starchaser"]'s face when he found that his beloved had become its lunch. With a smile, he turned on his heel and followed his men.

[member="Spark Finn"]

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Sage Bane"]

Sage's duplicity was like, so exhausting. One minute he was hacking away a beast with the ferocity of a hundred angry nexus and the next he was wiping away blood as gently as a Nabooian hare. It made her head spin. The slicer was determined to keep him firmly planted in her mind as the monster he was.

#nevergettingbacktogether

No amount of tugging or squirming was able to wrench her free from his iron-like grasp. As HER glasses were taken away, the only thing she could do in protest was scrunch up her face like a sour lemon and yelp out an angry, "HEY!!!!" Her world of sharp, crisp lines was turned blurry.

And the only good thing? She couldn't make out the details of that smirking face of his. Eyes blinked rapidly and squinted as she tried to adjust, her feet becoming twice as uncoordinated as they had been.

The soldiers muttered. Feeling a pressure on both her arms, she found herself hauled up completely until her toes were wriggling in the air. Drugged. Humiliated. Glasses-less.

Frickin' Sage Bane was going down.