Private Stranded

[Coren Starchaser]

All there was had been white. White in the darkness. Then…

Then there was darkness. Surrounding him. A floating feeling, disconnected.

There is no death. Not for you, Starchaser. Came the crackled voice of a Jedi fallen. Jedi Marshal Omai Rhen. An old mentor of Coren who hadn’t had the chance o go to the Underworld of the Force. Why was he hearing the voice?

C’mon son. Its going to take more than that. After all you’ve been through? That was his father. A soft groan as Coren could feel rock underneath him. He could feel the planet, the darkness that was around him. Trying to move his right arm and that failed. He opened his eyes, he could tell they were sore, red and flash damaged from the blast. In his left hand was the hilt of his lightsaber. At least that was here.

A deep breath and the Jedi Master tried to pull himself into a meditative stance, a healing trance. See if he couldn’t touch to the arm, or clear his vision. No time, kid. Gotta get movin’. That was definitely Davik Starchaser. Coren looked around and nodded. A second and he called upon the Force to help enhance his senses, there was a ringing in his ear, but pushing past that tinnitus, he could hear them.

Sith spawn.

Bleary eyed, he could still see, and the Force made it easier. He was exposed. Not the place to affect any healing. The temple… where was it?

That gaping crater of smoke? Came his father’s sarcastic voice. Move, kid. MOVE.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Blinding white.​

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Noise and terror.​

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He transcended such earthly things, his eyes adjusting as the ringing dirge subsided in his ears to behold what remained of the temple. Rubble and ruin, the fate of all such tangible structures in this galaxy, to be dismantled and demolished. Carnifex paid no heed to what had been lost, but he rather looked to what had been gained.​

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Coren Starchaser, alone and on the run. ​

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His eyes could see the path that Starchaser had made in his flight after the explosion, his mind calculating the course he would have taken to put as much distance between himself and his adversary as he could. Eyes narrowing, Carnifex approached a section of the ruin where the print of a boot had been left clearly in the disturbed sand. Kneeling down, Carnifex reached out to grasp the sand in his right hand as the power of the Dark Side pulsated around him.​

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Materializing from the shadows, multiple tuk'ata answered his silent call. He held up his hand, sand clutched tightly in his fist, and he opened his fingers. The sand cascaded through the air, all of the dark hounds raising their muzzles to sniff the air as it did.​

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"Kojasi."​

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Snarling in unison, the pack turned and ran off into the distance.​

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To begin their hunt.​

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Coren Starchaser ​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He still hadn’t pieced together how the Force had gotten him out of there. A number of his trinkets were bound with the Force, and he could fold space. But he wasn’t really in the head space to think of that at all yet. In his left hand he held his lightsaber, the one with the gold blade. As he moved he was looking around, the hunk of metal that served as his arm still had some feeling, and some control but nothing that was nearly capable. As he found a small minute of cover, he took the part of his cloak and tore, fashioning a simple sling. At least then he was more stable.

His father’s voice out there, in the Force told him to keep moving. But where. A second to look around and try to orient, he knew where there was a military port around here. It was just a matter of getting around the ruins of that temple. A brief reach into the Force, Coren sipped from the well spring to try to fix himself and right his head. It was helping, but he couldn’t do it for long.

When he reached out, he could feel it.

Darth Carnifex . But more importantly…

Hunger.

And it felt him. He was suddenly the prey, in the predators turf. Looking, he saw a hallowed out building. Running in, he used the Force to throw debris into the way. Up one, two flights of stairs, he found himself a room. He knew it was coming.

He needed to be ready.

The Jedi kneels, and fell into the Force.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

They appeared from the shadows, like sickly wraiths they circled the building that Starchaser had holed himself up in. Clawing at the debris did nothing to remove the obstruction, so they continued to circle and growl menacingly down below.​

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Waiting for his arrival.​

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A shadow appeared over the horizon, growing larger as the once-Emperor came into view. Power crackled around him as if barely constrained by the limitations of his physical form, arcs of electricity sparking across the ground to turn the red sand to glass. He looked up towards the decrepit building, cold unfeeling eyes scanning every inch of its facade as if scanning for weaknesses. There were many, the structure was old and it had been neglected to the wiles of the elements for far too long.​

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"Must we play this cat and mouse game, Starchaser? Accept your fate."​

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Carnifex reached out with his right hand, seizing the structure with the invisible tendrils of his insidious will. Slowly closing the fingers of his hand to make a fist, he compressed the stones of the building with the power of the Force. The structure began to shake violently, the walls giving way as if a literal hand had seized the building and was beginning to squeeze it tightly.​

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Crushing it and the Jedi Master inside, if he was too slow to act.​

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Coren Starchaser ​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Another moment longer, he could feel the Force here, everything in it was trying to push him away, to hunt him down. To kill him. But he still needed to do what he did best, he pulled on the Light, bringing energy and vitality to his body. The shade in his head, and the misfocus in his eyes was vanishing, slowly. He knew that calling upon the Force in this way was going to make a beacon of himself, almost as much as if he was calling on the Light of the Force to push back the Sith.

He felt the hunger.

Any plans, kid? Came the voice from his father and Coren grinned. Stepping out from the healing meditation as the booming voice of his foe came. He wasn’t going to go lightly to Carnifex. The Concord or the Alliance would realize he wasn’t home and would come. But until then? He had to make sure to survive.

As he had reached out in the Force, he felt the structures around.

And with a twist of his will, a snap of his concentration, three bubbles of Force energy, barriers and repulsive energy exploded around Carnifex, all becoming small beacons of the Light as wind began howling and three Coren Starchasers stepped into the clearing from the debris, each with a golden blade lit.

“I’ll accept my destiny of ending the Sith.”

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Carnifex's iron grip on the building melted away as the explosions of light surrounded him, his focus shifting from crushing the building to protecting himself. His armor was designed to withstand the attributes of Force Light, but he still reflexively protected himself against the attack on pure instinct. When the smoke from each explosion cleared in a gust of wind, the Sith Lord found himself face-to-face with, not one, but three Coren Starchasers.​

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Three golden blades ignited at once, bathing the red sands around them in an angelic glow. ​

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A single red blade ignited in response, again casting a hellish pallor over the land.​

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"Your destiny is the dirt, Starchaser. To be a banquet for worms."​

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Carnifex knew that these extra Starchasers were not the real thing, though he couldn't yet discern which was which just yet. Fortunately, he was not alone either. Surrounding him and the building was a small army of the tuk'ata he had used to sniff out the fleeing Jedi Master. They now came to his side, snarling and gnashing their teeth at the images of the Jedi Master. ​

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For a moment, the only sounds which passed between them were the snarling of the tuk'ata, the howling of the wind, and the hum of their lightsabers.​

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Eyes locked, brows knit in determination.​

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Carnifex made the first move, pushing forward with the speed of the Force behind him as he swung from high to low at the nearest Starchaser. Crimson blade smacked against gold, sparks flying, before Carnifex spun around and swiped his weapon at Coren's legs. The Sith hounds were not idle either, for they charged at the other Corens the moment that Carnifex moved to attack. ​

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Coren Starchaser ​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Sith always spoke so absolutely, but the Jedi, at least this Jedi did as well. Coren was running on the Force, pulling what he could from the life on this world, to try to use it, however regretfully as a battery. It wasn’t quite a drain so much as a borrow. The power was world’s but it wasn’t sipping from the darkness, nor the light, just… power. It was helping to keep him grounded and hopefully under the radar from too many dark siders.

Darth Carnifex aside, for the obvious.

Seeing the Dark Lord move to the apparition nearest him, that was Coren’s hope, it would keep the Dark Lord away. He wasn’t the farthest, but he was the center. The illusion moved to engage Carnifex, albeit in a very practiced form, one that Coren wasn’t fond of but one he had learned. The other apparition did its best to dodge the tuk’ata, keeping them at bay as the true Coren moved with the practice and makeshift style the Jedi Master was known for, moving to dispatch the creatures before turning towards the other apparition engaged with the beasts, which slowly melted back into the Force.

Now there were two, the one engaged with Carnifex, holding its own in a traditional Shien while the other Coren moved to dispatch the remaining tuk’ata. All without a word.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He could tell soon into his duel with Starchaser that the one in front of him was an apparition, there were subtle deviances in his movement that distinguished him from the real Jedi Master. Not eager to draw this farce out with the after-image, Carnifex moved to quickly overpower the illusion with a series of ruthless strikes. His knees shot up to catch the illusion squarely in the chest, doubling the image over before a slash from his lightsaber decapitated the facade. It quickly dissipated into nothingness the moment Carnifex shattered the illusion.​

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All that remained were the once-Emperor and Starchaser, who had quickly dispatched the remaining Tuk'ata. Gusts of wind blew across the red sands, a long-drawn-out howl rising above the cacophony of battle which raged high above them. Starfighters pivoted through the atmosphere, occasionally spiraling to smash down in a blazing inferno.​

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For several moments, those were the only sounds that passed between them.​

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Then, an explosion of movement. Carnifex launched himself towards the Jedi Master, the roaring hatred of the Dark Side leeching the life from all around them. His scarlet blade flashed like a viper's kiss, whipping out to ferocious batter the Jedi Master's defenses with an unrelenting assault. The once-Emperor was no longer playing around, it was obvious that he was going for the kill.​

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And he would stop at nothing.​

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Coren Starchaser ​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There was a difference, for sure, between how Coren Starchaser actually fought, and how he taught people to fight. And it was clearly displayed in the apparitions of himself that were out in the field now. Coren fought in a sort of clumsy, no-form way of a street brawler and pirate. Mishel and Phalsi, two of his students would clearly see that the illusions of Coren were fighting how he described, while the true Starchaser fought in his own manner.

As the illusion shattered, Coren stood, staring at his foe, the Once-Emperor, the self-styled Sith’ari, with his own legacy, that equally matched Coren’s or surpassed it. Standing, the cybernetic arm still malfunctioning, and the saber in his hand, the Jedi Master allowed the wind to rage, not reaching for the Force, that would light up the darkness on this world. But he could sip from it, to prepare.

Coren had his own set of tricks ready and waiting, and while he went through his mind, knowing the tricks he could pull on this world while keeping hidden in the darkness, he was going to have to eventually get off this rock.

The gold blade moved as Coren sidestepped and rolled, the Force enhancing his movements. The blade extinguished as Coren called on the Force at the proper moment. Carnifex fought in a strong fashion, and Coren relied on his smaller size and speed. The Force swirled and the red sands were being directed in a barrage towards Carnifex, his face, and his whole body.

Another sidestep, and the golden blade returned, slashing in for Carnifex. Coren felt he could tire him out, but he was going to have to use the Force as a crutch.

Darth Carnifex

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Red sand whirled around them, kicked up by their ferocious struggle. Scarlet slashed and stabbed at brilliant gold, sparks flying whenever the two blades connected. Carnifex was massive, imposing; his entire form revolved around his immense physical strength and the power of the Dark Side, each strike delivered with enough strength to shatter stone. Starchaser was less of a duelist, that much was obvious from the very moment their lightsabers traded blows. He was also smaller than the once-Emperor and was thereby more agile and maneuverable, though the Sith Lord's command of the Dark Side was considerable enough to close that gap in speed.​

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The very air around them seethed with the power of the Dark Side, strengthened by Carnifex's connection to the very planet itself. The tomb-world of Moraband had housed the bodies of dead Sith Kings and Dark Lords for thousands of years, their mummified bodies seeping dark energy directly into the planet itself. The death and destruction wrought from the Sith's battle with the Jedi and the Alliance only fueled that dark power, flooding the entire planet in a miasma of darkness and despair.​

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Carnifex fed off that miasma like a ravenous beast, his body acting as a conduit and an open circuit for the power of the Dark Side. Whereas Coren's strength in the Light was diminished by the oppressive weight of the planet's dark power.​

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It was becoming readily apparent that Carnifex was gaining the upper hand with each passing moment, and unless Coren could undermine the power of the Dark Side which so easily surrounded them then it would only be a matter of time before he fell to the Sith Lord's blade.​

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Coren Starchaser ​