Private The Black Marsh Files: Ego Never Pays [Complete]

[Katarine Ryiah]

Enemies to lovers but you'll never own my heart​

Location: Canto Bright - Basement of Club Nosh (dance club)
Objective: Escape
Tags: Dash Ryken

The cold, damp air in the basement clung to her skin, sending a shiver down her spine as she struggled to breathe against the chain that was tightly secured around her neck. The metal was rough against her skin, its unyielding pressure making each breath shallow and labored. Her pulse throbbed painfully in her temples, and her body felt heavy, like every movement was an effort she could barely summon. The dim light from a single hanging bulb cast eerie shadows across the bare walls, the silence around her almost suffocating. She tugged weakly at the chain, but it didn't budge, its cold, cruel grip tightening with each futile pull. Fear gnawed at her insides, but exhaustion was close behind, her mind fogged and her limbs trembling with the strain of her confinement. The feeling of being trapped, both physically and mentally, was suffocating, and every passing second felt like an eternity.

She ran her hands over the collar around her neck and felt a wave of dizziness overwhelm her. The edges of her vision blurred, colors bleeding together in a haze. Her limbs felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive, as if they no longer belonged to her. Her thoughts were clouded, sluggish, and distant, like trying to think through thick fog. She let her fingers fall away from the collar and groaned, trying to sit up but the room was spinning. She was vaguely aware of someone else in the room but she couldn't see them. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"Did you drug me?" Her voice was weaker than she imagined it would be and that was concerning.

"In a manner of speaking."

Katarine reached for the Force and tried to pinpoint where the poison in her body was but she was so weak it was hard to concentrate. The small chuckle from the other side of the room made her open her eyes again.

"That won't work. You see Master Ryiah once I realized you were hunting me I made it a mission of mine to know as much about you as possible. That knowledge gave me access to the one drug you cannot fight."

Katarine ran her fingers over the collar again and closed her eyes as understanding swept through her. "The darkside."

"Yes. Finding that collar took some doing. The witch wasn't happy to part with it easily. Apprantly it contains a pretty powerful darkside spell. But all's well that ends well. I want to have a little chat with you."

She felt his hands on her as he drug her into a sitting position and pushed her against the wall. She smelled him before she could see him clearly. The musky scent of aftershave, fine cologne, and blood hit her nostrils and her suspicions were confirmed. Her host was Dr. Roderick Wells, also known as the Butcher of Lambs for his penchant for dining on children. He had escaped Black Marsh during the cataclysm on Naboo and Kat had been looking for him ever since. She opened her eyes and sure enough his balding visage came into view.

"Now my dear. How did you find me?"

Katarine smiled slightly and closed her eyes again. The room was spinning and it was difficult to keep him into focus.

"I didn't. You found me. I was about to leave this planet and chalk it up as a dead end."

His chuckle made her open her eyes slightly again. He looked amused as if fate was playing him. She knew him to be an educated man so it was no surprise he was reading more into this.

"Well that is unfortunate. It seems I could have let you be."

"You still could."

He chuckled again and picked up his wine glass, crossing his legs in the stiff wood chair he'd brought down to her basement dungeon. Though now that she looked at it properly she saw it was fashioned as more of a bedroom than a real cell. She supposed he was too classy to have a true dungeon in his home.

"Don't be silly. You and I both know you are undercover. It will be a long time before anybody misses you and even longer before they figure out where you went."

Normally he'd be right about that but Katarine hid the smile playing at her lips. The other night she'd broken protocol and called her friend Connel Vanagor. Her location would have been leaked. She hadn't been worried about it since she was planning to close this assignment as a lost end anyways but now that phone call might be the one thing that drew someone to her location.

That is if she was lucky. But so many people on Canto Bright were hopping for luck and never got it. She just hoped luck would be a lady for her this time.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

"Why are they sending us instead of SIA?" he asked, running a hand through his hair. "Seems like rescuing Jedi would be more their thing. Or better yet, send a Jedi to rescue a Jedi."

"I don't ask questions when I'm given an order," Sergeant Higgins said, from his position at the front of the transport.

Dash knew that was code for the shut the flip up and just go with it, so he shrugged and slammed a power pack into his rifle. Still seemed odd, their being assigned to rescue a Jedi in Canto Bight. This was typically a sort of low profile type of thing. Sending in a fire team seemed heavy handed. But who knew. Maybe they were up against some big organization. If a Jedi had been captured it seemed likely there was something fishy going on. Still seemed like SIA work.

The transport came to a stop and the Sarge looked them all over.

"Helmets on, ladies," he said before putting his own on. "The word we got was that the Jedi was supposed to have left days ago. Intel tracked her, but a cam caught a glimpse of someone hauling her off. They tracked them to this building, but we don't know who or what is inside. Lippy, you're on point."

"Shit," he said before sighing and putting his helmet on. "Always on point."

"Brute, you follow him, then Zero, Fuse and I."

Dash grumbled as he stood and opened the transport door, snapping his rifle up to his shoulder and scanning the immediate area. Satisfied that it was clear, he exited and moved to the wall of the nearby structure. Seemed relatively nondescript, perfect place for some scumbag to hold up. Who knew what was inside. Regardless, he approached the door and reached to open it, but it didn't move, meaning it was locked from the inside. Couple ways to get through that, but that's where the Sarge came in.

"I'll slice it. That doesn't work we'll have to blow it," Sarge said as he plugged into the door controls. "Keep an eye out."

"Nothing else to do but keep an eye out and wave at all the people staring at us," he said, his eyes scanning the crowd. "Bad guys will know we're here any minute now if they don't already."

"Well, prep for a firefight, Lippy. And don't get shot."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Cause suffering in silence is better than suffering with you​

Location: Canto Bright - Basement of Club Nosh (dance club)
Objective: Talk Her Way Out of This
Tags: Dash Ryken

Katarine could feel her stomach churning and dry heaved. The only thing in her stomach was the wine she'd drank while she was on the comm with Connel, which was unfortunate considering she had nothing to spit up just now offering no relief from the nausea the collar was causing her.

"I hope you aren't ill. I was just about to prepare dinner."

Katarine smirked and let her head roll to the side, pressing her cheek into the cold wall. Hearing a cannibal talk about making a meal was never a fun time, especially since the one in front of her had a deviant appetite even among his true peers. "Aren't I little old for your dining pleasure?" The words and the thoughts they brought made her heave again but she still couldn't bring anything up.

He chuckled again. He seemed to be in a good mood, enjoying playing with her. "Don't knock it until you've tried it."

The realization that his criminal signature was feeding his victims flesh before he killed them did bring bile up this time. She coughed and sputtered, spitting the contents on the mattress beside her. She heard her host get up and walk towards her. A moment latter he was pulling her hair and holding it away from her mouth. His touch was tender and soft and sent shivers down her spine. He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and wiped her mouth, and then pinched her cheeks forcing her mouth open. He then stuck his finger in her mouth to feel her canine teeth. The taste of his fingers in her mouth made her want to vomit again. She opened her drowsy eyes, looking into his own cloudy ones. He was chuckling again.

"You are a vegetarian aren't you Katarine? Your cuspids are dulled with lack of use. Such a shame. We should change that.... OUCH!"

He pulled his fingers out of her closed mouth, suddenly cursing and dropping his elegant accent. Katarine smirked and spit his blood next to the bile on the bed. "Be careful what you wish for." He took his cloth and wrapped it around his own fingers, and for a moment he look like he might strike her but a chirp in his pocket distracted him.

"WHAT?"

"Uh.. Sir... We are at location B... the abandoned factory..."

"I know where you are! What do you want?"

"Sir... someone has just breached the door. A silent alarm was tripped. Should we move the kids?"

Katarine snorted at the look on his face. Wherever he was keeping his other hostages must be some abandoned building and it sounded like he had some lackey watching over hostage children. If the unwanted intruder could gain enough leverage of the lackey they would find the Doctor hiding below the nightclub Nosh where he was holding Katarine. Or maybe he crossed the wrong person and this had nothing to do with Katarine. Either way it was nice to see such displeasure in the doctors eyes. Hopefully whoever was breaking into his other location would set those children free.

"Whats the matter? Little Piggies leaving the market?"

He growled at her and wrenched the door open, then slamed it behind him, leaving Katarine swirling in darkside induced fog.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

The door opened without the use of explosives, which was almost a drag. It was a lot of fun watching Fuse make things go boom. But it was probably for the best given there were a lot of civilians in the vicinity.

"You're up, Lippy," Sarge said.

He grumbled under his breath, brought his rifle up, and peeked the corner briefly before moving inside, sweeping the corners of the room they were entering in. Seemed clear for the moment. Their rifles and other weapons, for the most part, were all loaded or set to stun. No sense in killing everyone. This wasn't a military operation, but a rescue and if they started shooting willy nilly they risked hitting any hostages that might be held within the facility.

"Clear," he said as he started forward. "Closed door right. Closed door front."

Moving to the wall, he stopped beside the first door and waited for the rest of the team stacked up behind him. Clearing buildings was pretty routine when it came to formations. Stack on a door, give the go signal, sweep in with one as a backup while those behind covered any other doors in the area. So he waited until Brute tapped his shoulder, then kicked the door in before stepping into whatever was on the other side and beginning the process of sweeping the room.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Used to empty eyes and a two step dance​

Location: Empty Factory
Objective: Show Hostages
Tags: Dash Ryken


Inside the room the team just entered they would see seven small cages. Three of them were full of young children who looked like they were snatched right from the street. Each cage had two or three children crammed in it. Some where sleeping, while others were playing with small toys in a bored kind of way. When the army team entered the room though the small yells of the caged babes would hit their ears. They were scared and wanted out of their confinement.

A broad muscled man with shaved hair was holding a rifle trained towards the door and yelled out for the children to stop their yammering. Behind him was a figure in a dark mask, A Sith whom seemed to be doing the bidding of the Doctor for some reason. He could sense the team entering the building but it was not them he wanted to play with.

"See to it they are dealt with. I'm going to finish the Jedi and find Roderick."

He walked out the back of the room, as four more muscled lackeys came in. All had guns are were ready for the firefight that would come. They were no match for armed forces. They were merely thugs who followed any strong leader who could show them new forms of cruelty or torture. Inside the other room was some paraphernalia from Club Nosh which would give up the doctors last known location. The thugs were going to put up a fight if they could.

"STOP! You are breaking and entering!" The one with shaved hair, Roach as his fellow called him, yelled out into the oncoming team.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

"Holy kark," Dash said as he saw all the kids in cages.

Some of them looked like street kids, grimey and dirty, clothing that barely fit. Others looked a lot nicer. Almost immediately he felt angry, and the guy that yelled at them something about breaking and entering was almost immediately blasted in the chest by a stun shot that knocked him back and off his feet as Dash pulled the trigger. He moved in to allow more of the team to enter, doing what he could to avoid the kids getting into the line of fire.

Brute started shooting over his shoulder. He'd have yelled at the guy for that in a normal situation, but he was utterly blinded by absolute hatred for these guys having put children in cages. Nothing was going to stop him. Probably a good thing he was wearing good armor as the other guys were shooting at him and some of their shots were hitting. Better they hit him than the kids and he didn't feel a darn thing as he continued to finger the trigger happily knocking the remainder of the guys down with blue stun shots. He wished he could kill them.

"Lippy stop!" Sarge yelled.

He was standing over one of the guys, repeatedly shooting him with stun shots, when the Sarge's voice cut through the comms in his helmet. Finger moved off the trigger and he slung the rifle back. Without another word, he started searching the guys for keys, but the guy who'd left must have had them because he couldn't find them.

"No keys. Dang masked prick must have taken them."

"Just smash locks," Brute said as he walked over cracked one off with the butt of his gun. "Easy work."

"Lippy chase the other guy. Zero go with."

Dash moved to the door and kicked it open once Zero had caught up. They moved down a long corridor, sweeping doorways in search of the guy, but they found nothing but an exterior door that opened on an empty alley. Dash looked up and down it, but there was no way of tracking the guy in the mess of it. No sign of him, no sign of a transport, no sign of anything. He kicked a can and then pushed past Zero to head back to the room where the kids were.

"Nothing doing, Sarge. He got away. No sign of the Jedi, either."

"Well, there's a lot of memorabilia in here from a club. If she's not here, maybe they're holding her there. Club's probably a front." The Sarge pulled out his external commlink. "Transport to my location. We've got a pickup of child hostages."

"I'm going to kill whoever's in charge of this, Sarge. Don't care about the orders. Mother karker needs to die for this."

"You'll do what you're told. Get the kids on the transport and then let's get to this Club Nosh."

He muttered more under his breath but slung his rifle over his shoulder and started helping the kids out. They'd head on shortly, but the kids were even higher priority than the lost Jedi.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

All your life you've never seen woman taken by the wind​

Location: Club Nosh
Objective: Escape
Tags: Dash Ryken


Above the basement of Club Nosh was a seemingly ordinary nightclub, the type that littered the streets on a planet such as Canto Bright. The nightclub buzzed with energy, the bass from the speakers thumping through the floor as colorful lights flash in sync with the music. A crowd of people moved in fluid rhythm, bodies swaying and twirling under the neon glow, lost in the beat. The air was thick with the mingling scents of perfume, sweat, and cocktails, as laughter and conversation echo above the pounding soundtrack. At the bar, glasses clink and bottles pop, with patrons eagerly ordering their next round of drinks. The atmosphere was electric, a heady mix of freedom and excitement as the night stretches on and the dance floor pulses with life. Nobody would ever suspect anything dark or sinister was happening here. Sure drugs got passed around but child trafficking? That was a completely different story.

The club scene did little to hold Darth Emras attention. He was being blackmailed by the putrescent doctor who operated the club as a front to furnish the income for a deviant lifestyle. As the Sith wove through the dancers they caught sight of him and gave him a wide birth. His mask stood out to the dancers but they quickly disregarded it to go back to partying. Emras climbed the stairs, hoping he would find the good doctor in his office in the attic. Little did he know the Jedi was the opposite direction.

Down below Katarine tried to loosen the collar around her neck but each time her fingers grasped the dark object she felt so dizzy she had to stop. Whatever curse was upon the dark relic was working its magic. She stretched out her senses, hopping to see if Roderick was coming back but instead she could feel dozens of tiny lights. She must be in a building with several people in it, but friend or foe she could not tell.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

"Alright, load up," Sarge said before climbing back into the transport.

A second transport was outbound carrying the rescued children. Not what they'd been expecting when they went in, but at least those kids would be out of harms way for the moment. Dash followed the others into the vehicle and settled back into his seat. He popped out the used mag from his rifle and replaced it with a fresh one since they were going to be going back into the ringer shortly. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about the guy that got away, too. Something about the way he'd looked.

"You guys get a look at that dude in the mask?" he asked. "Something fishy about him."

"I believe it highly likely he was a Sith or Dark Jedi," Zero said, twiddling with the scope on his rifle.

"Plausible. Someone like that would have a good chance of capturing our target," Sarge said, holding onto a handhold as the transport set off. "Safest assumption would be that he is so we'll go with that from now on. Driver's going to take us to the back of the club. Best chance of us getting in without getting bogged down in people. Lippy on point again, but I'll handle any civilians that cause a problem."

"Come on, Sarge. Why do I always have to be point?"

"Because you run your mouth too much and you're the only one here that isn't a specialist."

He muttered something about someone's mother under his breath, but didn't say anything else. As much as he hated it, being point was his specialty. He knew how to do it well, and he was fast on the uptick, which meant that it was harder for people to get the drop on him. Zero was range. Brute was, well, a brute. Fuse blew things up. Sarge ran the whole show and handled electronics. It was always going to be his job to go in first unless he ended up dead. Or worse: promoted.

The transport eventually arrived at the club, and like before they disembarked. There was a bouncer at the back door. Only took one look at five guys wearing commando armor and he opened the door for them. He didn't want any trouble. Probably not paid for that sort of thing. They secured him in binders just in case before sweeping forward. Back of house seemed mostly empty, but they were quickly presented with a problem.

"I got stairs up and stairs down, Sarge," he said, holding his rifle on the stairs down while Brute covered up. "How do you want to take it?"

The Sarge was quiet for a moment, and Dash tapped his finger against his gun as he waited for a response.

"Lippy and Brute go down. The rest of us will hold here to cover up and provide exfil support if needed."

"Copy, moving down."

Dash started down the stairs, rifle up and at the ready. Never knew what was going to be waiting for them. Hopefully they'd get to the Jedi in time and find her alive, but he was worried that masked creep would get to her first.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
​

Location: Canto Bright - Club Nosh - Basement
Objective: Get Rescued
Tags: Dash Ryken

Katarine groaned as she slid off the springy metal bed and down onto the cold floor. The pile of blood and bile on the mattress was making her stomach turn and she wanted to get away from it. The floor was cooler and for a moment she just leaned against the bed and tried to breathe. Her head was swirling and the room was still spinning. Her limbs felt heavy and her head cloudy. She had no real concept of time in this state so when she heard movement in the hallway outside the door she assumed it was the doctor coming back. Her fingers traced the floor behind her, grasping at the air under the bed in the hopes she would find something she could use as a weapon. As she tried to slide onto her knees to better search she realized they were bare. She was still wearing the little black dress from her investigation of the clubs the night before. Where were her boots? They contained her lightsaber hidden inside but she could see no sign of them through her blurred vision. She heard movement right by the door now and pulled herself up in a kneeling position, swaying slightly but trying to focus enough to use Teräs Käsi. She refused to let her final moments in this galaxy be as some distrubed doctors meal, even if she was weak and would be no real use in a fight.

She took a deep breath and held her hands up defensively, ready to strike but her senses told her to wait. The moment the door swung open she was looking not at the balding stature of the doctor but rather at a helmeted individual holding a rifle. She let her arms fall beside her and slumped back against the bed. Her fingers traveled weakly to the collar around her neck, attached to a long chain that was secured into the middle of the floor. She tried to smile, and point out they might be too short to be a stormtrooper, as the old rebellion gag went, but instead all she could do was whisper.

"Please... get it off."

This was probably not the way any soldier envisioned finding a Jedi Master but Katarine had a very specific mutation in her blood that made her extremely vulnerable to the darkside.

Meanwhile Upstairs

Darth Emras made his way through the office and felt rage building in him when he saw the closet door was wide open, the contents missing from inside. It looked as if the doctor had packed in a hurry. No doubt the scum was catching a one way ride out of this town by now. The Sith yelled in frustration and flung the contents off the desk in the room. He stood there panting and looking around the office but there was no sign of the Jedi. She might be the last bit of leverage he could use to reach the doctor.

He'd burn this place down to get to her if he had to.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

They descended the stairs methodically. Dash kept his weapon up and focused, but they didn't come across anyone looking to stop them. This could be a safe location, somewhere they felt was so obscure they didn't need all the added security. With all the people up above in the club it made sense. He could hear the music thumping and the floor moving from them dancing around. At least it looked sound enough that it wasn't going to collapse on them.

"Door right," he said for Brute's knowledge as he stacked up on it.

When Brute tapped his shoulder to indicate he was ready, Dash opened the door and stepped in, sweeping the room from corner to corner before focusing on the woman he saw. She was gorgeous. Easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life and that was saying something considering she looked terrible.

He stood there staring at her for a moment, lost in his own mind, until she spoke.

"What? Oh right. Brute cover the door. Sarge, we have the Jedi."

Slinging his rifle over his shoulder again, he reached into his belt pouches as he walked closer to her. Inside he found a handful of small tools he kept on hand. Normally they were for tweaking things with his rifle or other gear, but he figured one of them ought to work for getting the collar off of her.

"What's her status, Lippy?" Sarge asked over the com. "She mobile?"

"Maybe, give me a second."

He knelt down on one knee beside her and examined the collar around her neck. It wasn't very sophisticated, and he was honestly confused about how it happened to be holding her there considering she was a Jedi. But, it obviously was, so he didn't question it. Probably something he wouldn't understand. But he did understand the clasp on it, and undoing the screws that held it together wasn't exactly difficult. Not the typical sort of lock, but it worked, and he was able to remove it and toss it aside.

"Any injuries, Princess?" he asked.

Calling her that was by no means condescending, as belied by the seriousness of his tone.

"Can you walk?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

She rules her life like a bird in flight​

Location: Canto Bright - Basement
Objective: Get Out Safely
Tags: Dash Ryken

The moment the metal was away from her skin she felt a rush of clarity. She still felt weak but that would subside in time. The room wasn't spinning anymore and she was able to properly see the two soldiers standing in the room. They wore Alliance armor and she thanked the stars that she had broken protocol and made that phone call last night to get on the radar.

"Any injuries, Princess?"

She smiled at the helmeted man and shook her head. "Just my pride." She nodded as he asked if she could walk and used the bed to pull her into a standing position. She was still weak but her feet would hold her. She let her deep green eyes glance around the room and found her boots sitting in a corner. The Doctor had been so certain the collar would hold her he hadn't bothered to keep her weapon out of the room. It annoyed Katarine that he his stupidity turned out to be correct. She walked over and pulled her boots over her pale calves, stumbling only slightly as she did so. She pulled the lightsaber out of her left boot and held it in her hand.

"Did you find the children?"

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

Stubborn as they came, but for good reason. He wouldn't want to lie down after having been through what she had either. Not exactly fun to be the prisoner of some lunatic.

"We did," he said, as he put his tools away and pulled his rifle back around into his hands. "They're safe now. Found 'em by accident. We were looking for you. Didn't even know some arse bucket was holding kids."

"Status?" Sarge asked.

Dash had forgotten his comm was still on.

"She's up and about, just getting her things. We'll be up shortly. No sign of the masked guy," he focused his helmet back on her. "Names Dash, but they call me Lippy. Big guy is Brute. Rest of the team is upstairs holding the stairs, including the Sarge. Guess someone got worried when you didn't show up."

He didn't know the particulars of the whole ordeal, or why they had been sent. That was above his pay grade. The Sarge knew, and that was all the rest of them needed to know. The goal had been to rescue her, and they had succeeded, which meant the mission was a success.

"There was some masked creep with the kids. He bolted when we broke in. Thought for sure we'd find him here but no sign yet. Dude was wearing a dark robe, too. Very Sith."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

She rings like a bell through the night​

Tags: Dash Ryken

Katarine tilted her head and listened intently as he explained about a masked man in a robe. That was not a good sign. She knew the Doctor had worked with an Imperial Moff before by blackmail. It seemed to be the way the doctor preferred to get things done. She wondered what he could possibly have on a Sith that would cause an allegiance. Maybe the Sith just enjoyed the same cuisine. The thought made her stomach swirl.

"Thank you both for the rescue." She spoke to both of them sincerely. It was a relief to know she wasn't going to end up in a pot. At least not today. The sad fact was her business with the Doctor wasn't over. She wouldn't rest until she got the man back behind bars. Sometimes Katarine was more cop than Jedi and cops always wanted to get their perps.

She bent down and examined the collar that had been around her neck. It had dark runes etched into the side but she had no way of knowing if the curse was still active. It wouldn't be a wise move to leave something this dangerous behind. She picked it up gently, but the moment she did she swayed sideways and had to lean against the wall to keep from collapsing.

"Could one of you carry this for me? It's a powerful darkside artifact and we can't leave it behind. It's dangerous."


Meanwhile Up the Stairs:
Darth Emras had made his way down the stairs and saw the guards standing on the landing. So the Jedi must be downstairs he figured. He came forward and growled at the men.

"I suggest you move out of my way. I have business with the Jedi."

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

Soon as she picked the thing up she nearly fell over. He moved over to her and used a hand to help steady her, then held it out to take the collar. Whatever was with the thing, maybe it was the strange markings that adorned it, it was affecting her negatively. Undoubtedly it was that which had kept her from escaping, especially since all of her equipment, even her lightsaber, had been left in the room with her.

"I got it," he said, opening up a larger pouch and dropping it inside.

"Contact front!" Sarge called through the comms. "I don't care who, or what, you are, but you aren't getting through us. Surrender."

"Oh shit," Dash said. "Sarge and the others have just confronted the masked guy, I think."

He motioned for her to follow and then went and gave Brute the push to get going. They left the room and started back up the way they'd come, ascending the stairs slowly. If this guy was a Sith, there was a good chance he had a lightsaber, which meant their blasters wouldn't be all that effective on him. Slinging his rifle back over his shoulder, he drew his sidearm and made sure there was a round in the chamber. Lightsabers were great against blasters, but dismal against projectiles.

"Coming up the stairs, Sarge. Jedi is with us."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Love's a state of mind​

Location: Upstairs Landing
Objective: Stop Sith
Tags: Dash Ryken


There was a commotion on the landing and they headed that way, where the rest of the team was. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for utilizing an entire team because she was dumb enough to get herself captured. There was no time to wallow in the guilt however because as soon as they were up the stairs they were face to face with the masked Sith. All rifles were pointed at him as the one called Sarge ordered the man to surrender.

"I don't care much for your boyfriends Jedi." He growled at all the man standing in front of her with their weapons trained on him.

"A girl has to have her suitors." Katarine smirked at the masked man. She could feel his energy from here and it was bleak. "If you are looking for the Doctor we don't have him. I assumed he'd be with you."

This seemed to upset the Sith because his growled and tightened his fists, then pounded the stairway banister. The next moment he turned on his heal and sprinted back up the stairs. Katarine wasn't sure if they should follow him. That seemed like a fight for another day but she'd let the team decide that. She knew by now the doctor would be in the wind. He was a smart man and she doubt he'd stick around with The Alliance sniffing around for him.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

A Jedi and a whole fire team facing him down wasn't going to make it easy on him. Dash had his pistol out and aimed as well, aware that if the Sith drew a lightsaber the bullets in his pistol would make it through his saber defense. The guy said something about boyfriends and he smirked inside of his helmet. Poor sod thought they weren't as dangerous as she was.

Either way, after a moment of anger, the man turned and ran back up the stairs.

"Sarge?" he asked, moving to the stairs, pistol aimed upward.

"Let him go," Sarge said, his visor facing towards the Jedi, who didn't seem in a hurry to go after him. "Orders were to secure the Jedi, not chase down a scumbag."

"Come on, Sarge," Dash said, feeling the itch. "That guy was holding CHILDREN. We can't just let him get away!"

"Orders are orders, Lippy."

"Kark orders!"

He charged up the stairs after the guy, completely ignoring the Sarge on this one. Yeah, he was going to get chewed out all to hell for ignoring orders, but he honestly didn't care. This one was personal. People like this guy, who yanked kids off the street to do horrible things to them, was just too close to his own childhood. He'd seen kids disappear off the streets with no one to care for them and he wasn't about to let one of the people responsible for it just get away. Hopefully at least the Jedi would back him up on this one.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

when the sky is starless​

Location: Heading Upstairs
Objective: Stop Private Lippy BBQ
Tags: Dash Ryken

Katarine was not one to go chasing down a Sith when she was this weak, and there were innocent people all around them. She knew the powers of the darkside all too well and like any Jedi she knew when to be patient. Unfortunately sometimes passions ran high and one of Alliance troopers seemed particularly upset by the situation involving children. She understood this was an emotional trauma to have to witness and didn't blame him for wanting revenge, but she also knew it was reckless to follow a Sith that clearly wanted to be chased. She didn't know the man, Dash he had said was his name, but she doubted he knew the full power a Sith could muster when backed into a corner. Dash was in danger and it was Katarine's fault for putting him in this situation.

The other army men would likely hesitate, waiting for orders to follow like good soldiers, so Katarine was able to get ahead of them. She bolted while they were still figuring out the chain of command and headed up the stairs, using the Force to push her legs faster than should have been possible. She was on Dash's heals in seconds, moving at an inhuman speed.

Darth Emras had made it to the roof and left the door open. Kat reached it just as Dash was entering and knocked him sideways, out of the line of fire she knew would be coming. She suspected this might be a trap as the Sith might think she was the one following him. Sure enough it was. The next second a bolt of lightening struck her. She screamed as pain engulfed her but she was quick to pull the energy into her hand and send it flying back at the Sith, who dove sideways out of the line of fire.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

Holy hell she was fast. No way would one of the others have caught up to him at a full run. Out of all of them, he was the quickest. But she smashed into him, even though he was wearing full armor, and knocked him to the side. Then she got hit with lightning from out of nowhere, her scream radiating through his head, even though she sent the electrical blast firing back at him. How she did that, he didn't know, but she quickly made him realize he'd made a huge mistake.

"Don't do that, Princess," he said, grabbing the door and using it as a shield between them. "Don't get yourself hurt for me. Believe it or not, I can handle this."

Maybe not the electricity. His armor wasn't rated for that. Other things, though, it could handle, and he wasn't afraid of a fight with the Sith. Maybe he shouldn't have taken this on, but he was committed. He was a commando, not a regular grunt. Fighting extremes was their specialty. And since the Jedi had followed him, the others weren't far behind. She was, after all, their charge.

"Lippy you're gonna be on latrines for years for this," Sarge said through the comms.

"Yeah, whatever. I probably won't live for years anyway," he said, allowing the Jedi to hear him. "Point men never do."

He shoved the door open and leveled his pistol on where the Sith had jumped off to. This wasn't a blaster. He could try and deflect those shots, but a slugthrower was something he knew the man wouldn't expect. He fired off a full magazine, making sure that if he missed, his bullets would harmlessly impact the building behind him so that no one else would be injured by them. As soon as the mag was empty he dropped it free and was slamming another in.

"Everyone just stay back. Keep the Jedi safe."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

And who will be her lover?​

Location: Club Nosh - Roof
Objective: Stop the Madness
Tags: Dash Ryken

"Don't do that, Princess," he said, grabbing the door and using it as a shield between them. "Don't get yourself hurt for me. Believe it or not, I can handle this."

Katarine had no doubt the team ran like a well oiled unit but this madness was her fault. She was the one who stupidly made a call while she was jonesing for her drug of choice and gotten so wrapped up in the conversation with Connel that she let her guard down resulting in her capture. If one of these team members got hurt it was on her head. She couldn't let them handle a Sith by themselves. She didn't want blood on her hands.

Unfortunately she was their assignment and they closed rank around her, protecting her while the Sith dealt with the slugs being thrown his way. His lightsaber was no match for slug rounds so his best chance was to use the Force to dodge the rounds. He was able to dodge several of the rounds but eventually he did have to turn on his lightsaber and deflect, which melted the rounds and sent them spraying at his face. The mask took damage and his vision locating system scrambled. He growled and threw the mask aside, revealing deep yellow pus like eyes and face full of marks from the darkside.

He growled again and used the Force to pull the metal floor of the roof up, shielding him from the rounds. He then sent the metal flying towards his attacker, lighting it on fire in the process.

 

[Dash Ryken]

ATTIRE: Lionheart Armor
EQUIPMENT: Service Rifle | Pistol | EMP Grenades | Frag Grenades
TAGS: Katarine Ryiah

The sith was a problematic one. He managed to avoid a lot of the rounds until using his saber to try and stop them, resulting in him taking molten metal to the face, damaging the mask. Yeah, served the prick right. Though Dash would have certainly preferred if he had taken a few rounds to the chest and then succumbed to his wounds. Some people just had to make it hard on him.

Really hard, in this case.

Sheets of metal were ripped up, set on fire, and thrown at him. Instead of standing there and taking it, he ran forward towards the Sith, lowering his shoulder, and taking the hits in stride. Yeah, the Rough Rats weren't your ordinary commando unit. They were very good at what they did. It also helped that his armor was really good.

The last bit of metal knocked him aside, and even though his armor kept him from severe injury he was starting to feel it. There would be some nice bruises to nurse. But he kept going forward, bringing his fist back and aiming to slug the guy right in his exposed face. Didn't matter that the guy had a lightsaber. Heck, he'd probably, stupidly, try and use the saber against him. His armor was highly saber resistant.

He was so beating this guy's face in.