Become One With All Things
S W O R D _ O F _ T H E _ J E D I
GALACTIC ALLIANCE
NEW JEDI ORDER
Strike Team Skywalker
ARMOR | LIGHTSABER
RIP AND TEAR
Ryv watched as Coren continued his fight with Carnifex, the Jedi Master unphased by Ryv's declaration. He looked to the exit and ground his teeth together in frustration. They failed today. The Ritual was complete, Asmundr could no longer maintain the meld, and Korriban's power stood at the Sith's disposal. The two former Sith'ari were strong enough before, but now? Ryv knew he couldn't beat them. He wasn't strong enough to face such evil, even beside the Grandmaster in Exile. It left him with a choice. Fight or flight? Staying likely meant dying. He wouldn't be able to keep up with Coren. And if he slowed him down, that meant the former Grandmaster wouldn't make it out of there either. But if he fled, surely he would doom the Corellian all the same.
With a sigh, Ryv turned back to the trio in time to catch Vulcanus' words. The Sword tilted his head in confusion, eyes locked on the fist thrown forward. Ryv braced himself. He expected a wave of telekinetic energy or another surge of black flame. He hadn't expected the very stone around him to suddenly combust. Cracks appeared in the rock as flame pushed through. Explosions of varying size ripped through the air all around the two Jedi, each burst of energy sending waves of light outward. Shrapnel raced after the heat. Tiny stones slammed into the kiffar's body; the individual impacts were enough to tear through flesh and bruise his already battered form.
"Argh!" Ryv's foot slid back as he lifted his hand and erected a barrier between him and the majority of the room. Stone still fell behind him, the Seventh Day Emperor's power enough to shatter them as well. The Jedi Knight tucked his chin and steeled himself as dozens of shards collided with his back. He felt some of them tear through his jacket and embed into skin and muscle beneath. He fell against the wall and used it to hold him aloft. "Coren... we can't stay."
He pulled the barrier tighter until the dome encompassed only the Jedi Knight. Small fissures spread along the barrier's surface, growing larger every time stone collided against it.
"Ryv. The bomb is armed."
Shaka's voice came through clear as day. This was it. Ryv knew he couldn't stay. The Temple was maybe a minute away from turning to rubble, and he had no intention of being buried alive beneath it if he even survived the force of the explosion. He offered one last glance at Coren. The Jedi Master had survived worse; the stories were clear on that. Still, guilt gripped the kiffar's heart.
"I'm sorry, Coren," Ryv turned, dropped his barrier, and dashed down the corridor they'd arrived through. His chest burned, his body ached, and every step felt like it would be his last. But the Jedi Knight would not falter. He had a promise to keep.
He summoned the Force to his aid. It carried him faster through the forlorn halls of the Temple, the ethereal power a strong wind at his back. His body blurred as the Temple itself faded into a splash of gray, brown, and black all around him. The earlier details were lost on him as he raced for the exit. There wasn't enough time to take in all the sights a second time.
Ryv burst out the towering Temple entrance and looked to the sky. Above him, Shaka passed overhead as he cleared the gap between the Temple's roof and the dropship ramp. Next came Oceiros. Ryv grinned through the pain, ignorant of the blood and grime that caked his body. His friends escaped. Now all he had to do was catch up.
"Shaka, Oceiros," Ryv activated his commlink as he hurried parallel to the canyon's sheer wall. "I'm coming in hot, but I'm gonna need a bit of help. ETA thirty seconds. If I don't make it, leave me and get gone, quick."
The Sword leaped atop a rocky outcropping some ten feet above the planet's sandy surface. He didn't slow as he moved along the precarious perch, his attention focused solely on his only way off Korriban. Another leap carried him higher. He threw his arm out and caught onto another ledge, this one smaller, maybe a few inches wide. Hot pain shot through his arm, but he did not relent. He took a deep breath and pulled. The Force propelled him higher up the cliff face. Another perch met the Jedi Knight, this one about chest level. Ryv threw his arm forward and grunted as his body slammed against it. He felt the breath escape his lungs. Hastily he threw a leg over it and scrambled up.
Fifteen seconds...
Ryv hurried up the sloping path. He pushed himself harder, his pained grunts and heavy breaths deafening. It didn't matter. He couldn't slow down.
He crested the top of the arching path up the cliff's side and approached the ledge at breakneck speeds. He braced himself, pressed down with his leading foot, and jumped with all his might. The one-armed Jedi Knight soared through the air. The dropship grew closer, the ramp extended and waiting for him. He could make out Shaka and Oceiros both, though neither of them displayed concern. Ryv met their stoic gaze with one of his own, the danger of his position lost on him. It was do or die time, and there would be no regrets.
The world slowed around him as he inched closer to the ramp. It took him only a second longer to realize he wasn't going to make it. The ship had picked up too much speed, and he'd taken too much time. Had he only been a bit more decisive within the Temple. He threw his arm forward in a futile attempt to catch the edge of the ramp. His fingers glanced off the cool metal, but he could find no purchase.
Ryv closed his eyes as he felt gravity finally takeover. The world pulled him down, the darkness waiting for his return.
Strong fingers suddenly closed around his wrist. A second hand dropped and pulled up on the Jedi Knight's arm before a second pair grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him up and over the ramp. Ryv opened his eyes to see both Shaka and Oceiros bearing his weight as they propped him up between both of them. No words were spoken at that moment, but the kiffar felt what they probably wanted to say. They had him. He was okay. He made it.
"Thank you," Ryv muttered as he finally let out a breath he'd been holding since his mad leap from the cliff.
Dropships all over the Valley ascended from the planet's surface and raced upward. The Jedi came to Korriban to strike a blow against the sith. In doing so, they discovered a great evil that delivered Korriban's power into the waiting hands of those who'd misuse it. The Sith Brotherhood hadn't given up the war. They may have been beaten at Bastion, but it wasn't enough to smother their resolve. The Jedi's age-old enemies weren't done yet. There was still work to be done. Dromund Kaas, Ziost, Ession, Malachor V, and countless other planets still beneath the Crimson Shadow would know freedom. It would only take time.
Though battered, the New Jedi Order wasn't out of the fight. Their foray into enemy territory offered an insight into the shadow's machinations. Despite the Sith Empire's baleful power, the Light would rise to meet it.
In the face of that evil, heroes were born. Sacrifices were made in the greater struggle for victory, and the Jedi who fell would not be forgotten. The New Jedi Order would return to Korriban for those they'd left behind.
The fight would continue.
Until they break.
ALLIES | NJO | NIO | Coren Starchaser | Shaka Sunstar | Oceiros Sunstrider
ENEMIES | TSE | ELDER COMPACT | Other Space Kaiden | Darth Carnifex
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