Silver Jedi: With A Vengeance

[Minna]

Valtryx's strikes went through nothing but air, causing her to fall through where the Jedi had stood seconds ago. Her rage was only building, and in it she turned her attention to the first thing she saw; the Twi'lek. She rushed forward, flicking one of her blades behind her to bat away Connor's attack and keep moving. Now spinning both of her blades, the Sith charged for the Knight who stood protecting her friend. There was no mercy in her eyes, this was to be a lethal attempt. It didn't take her long to get within range of the Twi'lek, at which point she unleash a barrage of strikes, from both left and right, in an attempt to overpower her defense. Such an attack relied solely on the speed and consistency of her strikes. She did not, however, forget about Connor, and eagerly awaited him to try and strike again, at which point she would be ready to turn and unleash her fury upon him. Her battle plan did not include the Padawan at all; she saw no threat from such a weakling.

[member="Nima Tann"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stood up and paced right like a wild animal stalking prey, fingers flexing on the hilt, exhaling quickly as he moved forward with no urgency. Nima could hold her off enough. He snapped his head to his Padawan.

"Sy – keep your guard up!"

As expected, his voice turned the Sith’s head, and Connor gave her a wicked grin.

"Acted a little rash didn’t you – 3 to 1. I’d give up now and be gone."

After speaking, Connor pulled back his left arm and pushed it out with a swell of Force energy from the terrain around him, hoping to push the Sith back away from Nima and for them to congregate together as one force to take her down.

[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="James Gabriel"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Nima Tann"]

Oh, now that just wasn't fair in her opinion, three against one was just asking for her to intervene. She could deal with Connor, maybe even have a pleasant chitchat with him, see how he was feeling recently.

Starting with a light laugh that would echo around the area, she was still cloaked after all within the Force, she said aloud, "Now that just doesn't seem fair, Connor Harrison. What's it been, five years? Six? Not one single com call, normally a girl would feel a bit insulted by that. Luckily, I'm not any girl, but how's that reduced Sith magic doing within your head? Oops, did I reveal something you didn't want to talk about? Sorry!"

It was in a teasing and amused tone, yes, but it was also to distract Connor and lure him to her. She really wanted to have a nice pleasant chat with him, it had been awhile after all.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor hadn't even pulled his arm back when he heard the voice. An all too familiar voice that made his eyes dart around the cold cavern they were in, and he fell back a couple of steps, his blue blade pointing towards the wild Sith before them.

"Watch yourself Nima - there is a Dark Lord here."

He winced at the Sith Magic being brought up, but was more disturbed by what she was doing here. She. Darth Arcanix. Taeli Raaf - the Sith Lady resting on his subconscious like a mynock.

"No time for games, Arcanix - you come out here and call your hound off right now or I will kill her and ask questions later!"

This was a horrid situation to be in. If Arcanix joined the battle, Sy or Nima would bear the brunt of her display of power to protect her Sith and stop Connor.

[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Nima Tann]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="James Gabriel"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Darth Arcanix"]

Evading the quick attacks that the Sith was trying, she was lucky to be trained by the Grandmaster, else she would be dead by now. And then, she felt a friendly Force, coming through them, pushing the woman far away from him. It was Connor's work. She smiled, but didn't let her guard down.

"Thanks for the assist."

But he was now disturbed about something, she could sense it, his Force signature got wavy. And he was talking about a Dark Lord, well, things were going a bit more interesting. And he was a little angry, she wondered why. Maybe someone he met before? Well being a Jedi Master you would face a lot of Dark Lords. But this seemed personal.

"This... Arcanix? I got the impression that you know the Lord. Should we be worried?"

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="James Gabriel"]

Taeli sighed heavily as she heard them refer to her as a Lord. Honestly, she had already explained, twice to Connor, that the proper honorific for her was a Sith Lady. Some people just never showed proper respect.

"What have I told you about being called a Lord?" her voice echoed around the cavern they were in. She didn't want to reveal herself just yet. "As I'm quite clearly female, the proper honorific to use is Lady. I'm going to have to send an anonymous message to whoever currently runs your Order and tell them to step up their etiquette and grammar classes. But I do love the new look, Connor, very avenging Master of the Light motif going there."

"Valtryx, stop for now," she ordered. "I wish to speak with the Jedi Master and fighting will be counter-productive to such. Entertain the kids for now, but no fighting. Verbal sparring is fine, debate and all that fun stuff, but no more fighting unless it's truly called for. If you want to see me Connor, I'm further in the ruins studying them. Mind your step, there are a few traps that I haven't disabled yet."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor held his blade high, eyes on Valtryx and the cave, waiting for a trap that never sprung. And the voice came again as Connor was about to speak. He smirked to himself, shaking his head - still had a big chip on her shoulder about that Lady title.

"Darth Arcanix is a Sith...Lady. Very cunning, powerful and dangerous. But, complicated. I can't read her even after this long."

As her instruction came, Connor stood taller and kept his saber ignited as he made light of the situation.

"Be worried. Do as she says. I'll go into the mouth but no further, I'm not being snared into something with two of them here."

Connor slowly killed the blue blade, piercing eyes moving between them.

"You hear her, Valtryx - play nice. Nima, Sy, keep your guard up. First sign of trouble, attack. I'll e just inside and hopefully have something on the Grandmaster."

With a sigh, Connor quickly hopped over the rocks toward the eerie cavern mouth, peering inside and feeling around with the Force. It was, indeed, tainted with the Dark Side and he felt like his breath was colder the more he stepped inside.

"Alright, Arcanix. Play nice now. I haven't forgotten what a snake in the grass you can be. Come on out. I'm not going any further."

Truth is, he wanted to, but he needed to stay on the upper hand with this Sith Lor...Lady.


[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="James Gabriel"]

"I'm hurt, Connor, truly," she said, reappearing into the visible spectrum right in front of him, her lightsaber nowhere within sight. "I didn't think I earned being called a snake in the . . . hold on, are you still going on about that incident on Nar Shaddaa with the girl and crystal? Let that go already, and don't tell me you didn't enjoy it at the time before the weapons were drawn."

She was curious why he would risk coming here as it was incredibly risky. One, there were Blackblade guards all over the planet, and two, that Sith Magic, while reduced, was going to be perking up and enjoying the oppressive dark atmosphere that was Panatha. He really did like to tempt fate when he went about his day.

"It's a rather impressive tomb, don't you think?" she continued, looking around at the place. "Built for a Dark Jedi in the distant past that served the Inquisitor Jerec and his Reborns, so not as grand as the tombs on Korriban, but impressive enough. So, you've disturbed my studying the tomb so I guess we best get why you are here out of the way."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor rested a boot of his on a large boulder in the mouth of the cave, and smirked as he saw Arcanix again after many years had passed since they parted company on Nar Shaddaa. Ever so silky with her words and movement; one of most deadliest and alluring Sith he had even confronted.

He glanced left out of the cave to see the trio in a stand-off outside, the darkness swirling around them all. Sy looked ready for action and Nima stood with a firm defensive posture against the prowling Valtryx.

Connor ignored her spell, he’d fallen for it before as she made out she was always doing something that HE had stumbled in on and deserved his punishment, but now he was here for something totally different than help or relics – answers.

"I have no care for this tomb or the history, I guarantee you that Arcanix."

Stopping for a moment, he felt it something had just frozen his insides, and his breathing stopped for a good 3 seconds, before bursting out again in a laboured breath. The sides of his head throbbed and felt heavy, and he his body gently jolted with the stabbing pains in his head.

He held his breath to try and swallow the pain, looking around away from the Sith and feeling the tightness inside his head that made him want to wince.

"I need answers."

It was sore to even speak. And he pulled his hand to his head and pushed into the temple with a low groan – he knew just what this was and he should have been more prepared.

"God dammit - why are the Sith here – why did they kill Iella?!"

Connor shouted to Arcanix without looking, his eyes closed pushing away the dull ache in his head, his words already a little confusing.

[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="James Gabriel"]

"You really do like to tempt fate," she said, using the Force to stop him from crossing a beam of light on the ground. "Sorry, there is a blade trap there that I can't seem to disable without it resetting after a few moments. I understand your need to find answers, but coming to Panatha in your condition couldn't have been a more foolhardy thing to do. That Sith Magic is going to be reacting and trying to re-energize itself from all the dark energies within the atmosphere."

She could see the struggle already, this Iella person must have meant a lot to Connor. For a moment, she felt a flare of jealousy, but she quickly suppressed it. The name did strike a chord in her memory though . . . and that's when it clicked. She remembered how a Jedi Master from the Silver Jedi had attacked Kaine within his own fortress. Admirable, but also extremely foolhardy as well. A trait of the Silver Jedi perhaps?

"Well answer number one is easy, this is Darth Vornskr's personal fiefdom as his right as Emperor of the Epicanthirx people states," she said, ticking off the answers on her fingers. "Myself and Valtryx are exploring, so that explains our presence here. As for why this Iella died, I couldn't really say. All I know is she came to Panatha and confronted him about something and it ended up in a fight. Sorry if I can't provide clearer answers, but that's all I know."

 

[Connor Harrison]

The brunt of the Force energy from Arcanix stopped him, but he didn’t realise it was her and put it down to the twinges in his head. Connor stepped back and crouched down, one hand on the cold rock and the other spread over his brow.

She was right – he shouldn’t have come here, but his ego had taken over and his lust for vengeance. He breathed slowly, as if stopping himself from being sick even though he didn’t want to be. TH nauseating feeling he felt was a combination of everything - embarrassment, anger, ego, exhaustion – he just wanted to sleep, and rest.

However the words Arcanix spoke started to spike him, and his thread throbbed.

”Vornskr, take me to him," he growled.

Right now he would move mountains to slay the Sith responsible, but ironic there were two Sith immediately preventing him. Sith – was it destiny for Connor to constantly be plagued by them one way or another?

[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Um, well, hmm, this is awkward to say," Taeli said, an apologetic look on her face. She could tell he needed these answers, and that his personal problem was starting to muddle his emotions and thoughts. She never thought she would see a Silver Jedi so torn between vengeance and justice, it was interesting to say the least. She actually pitied him that he just kept stumbling into bad situations that fed the darkness.

"Vornskr was killed during the Nether event," she explained, "Kiskla Grayson, the former Jedi Grandmaster for the Republic Order killed him and destroyed his fortress. I'm truly sorry to say, you won't be able to get the answers from him unless you know how to summon his spirit from the Netherworld. Highly ill-advised mind you, he might take advantage of what is lurking in your head."

She personally disliked Vornskr greatly because of his rather sadistic nature when he had been alive, and she felt really bad for Connor. Still, she felt being on guard might be the best policy. He was already highly on edge, she could see it in his body language that he was close to striking out at anything or anyone for what happened to his friend.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Nima Tann"] [member="James Gabriel"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

As Arcanix spoke, Connor looked up at her and stood gently, rolling his shoulders and lolling his head back, looking up at the vortex of stone and ancient sculpting above their heads. He drew his hands down the sides of his face and sighed.

”Thank you, Lord Arcanix."

The reply was hollow, and distant. Connor closed his eyes and turned, rubbing the nape of his neck and hopping over the stones a little wobbly on his feet until he cleared the mouth of the cave. His face was solemn, devoid of emotion but a thousand feelings raging behind the cold blue eyes.

Loss, anger, frustration - failure.

”Valtryx, this is one fight you are not going to win - I suggest you run back to your Master before I take your head. And I swear to god I will."

His hand moved to his lightsaber hilt and he pulled it from his side, standing before Nima and Sy.

”Whatever happens here, stays here, do you both understand?"

The coldness bit into his words, and he turned his head to look into the cave, to see Arcanix standing there, looking at him. He met her gaze and said and did nothing; this wasn't over between them, and certainly not over between Connor and the Sith.

[member="James Gabriel"] | [member="Nima Tann"] | [member="Syala Daivik"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Nima Tann]

"Whatever happens here, stays here." She repeated his words, giving a small nod. He looked much more angry, something went wrong, she knew him that much. And that something... She could predict. The thing that she was certain was trouble was coming for them. And they needed to stand ready. "Syala, be ready. For whatever happens. " Then she moved towards him, taking a defensive stance not to fire the tension between them. "Is something wrong?" She asked whispering, but she knew the answer already. Angry? Yes she was. So close, yet so far, that was exactly how she was feeling right now. Without thinking for a second time, she talked, preparing herself for a possible duel. "Just give me the signal." Then she looked to the Sith, now the Lord, or Lady, as she clearly wanted to be called, that he was talking about was there too, looking with a worried look to the man. Sith, being worried? This little confrontation would be more exciting than she seemed.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="Darth Arcanix"] [member="James Gabriel"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Nima Tann"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Syala Daivik"] [member="James Gabriel"]

Taeli sighed as he once again called her a Lord. Why was he soooo frustrating sometimes, but then again, maybe she sorta liked that he could be so stubborn and snarky. No, she was shutting down anywhere that train of thought was going. She was interested in fighting these Jedi, she had given Connor his answers, or the best answer she could have. He didn't seem to like them and his companions were a bit concerned about why he was so angry and cold, although the Twi'lek also seemed a bit . . . on edge.

"Valtryx, we shall let them be," she said, her voice carrying to the group while she observed them. She had a feeling they would all meet again in the future. "We need to finish going over the ruins and the Jedi have what they came for, no need for any of us to fight."

Turning, she started going back into the tomb, but she turned and added, "Jedi Harrison, and those that accompanied him, I'd recommend leaving this world before anymore darkness effects your emotions and thoughts. Panatha is a dangerous place, maybe not as dangerous as Korriban or Ziost, but it is still . . . corruptive."