Try and Stop Me (Verrin)

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The Jeid had given him a ultimatum, even if the Jedi had no idea as to what he was truly asking. If Graxin gave up the chip; then he would fail. Failure meant he would be pulled from the program, and then likely hurt in the real world. Possibly killed.

"I can't do that." Graxin said calmly, though his sword shook slightly. It wasn't fear, no, it was pain. He was badly beaten: burned, slashed, thrown, smashed, in a much worse shape than the Jedi.

The datachip was too much to just give away though. It was knowledge of the New Empire's deeds. Only a few in the Republic even knew of the Empire's existence; tedious work of Graxin himself and a handful of other operatives. If the Republic found out about the Empire's military campaign, then they would surely hunt the fledgling government down before it could take root.

Graxin was securing the entire sovereign nation, and more importantly, assuring the lives of his siblings were preserved.

"I'll give you the honor of my name, you deserve that." He pointed the blade toward the man, legs bent as if he were abut to charge. "I am Graxin Rade. Son of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vulcanus."

He did not move a muscle. The duel would be honorable, because for a moment, Graxin thought he may perish. Death had always been an afterthought, something that could not happen to him. He would likely find some way to pull through in the end, but reassurance was nice.

"Yourself?"

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

Verrin closed his eyes, he had feared that the assassin would disagree. He didn't want to kill the man, but it was becoming apparent there wouldn't be any other option. He had to get that information the Duro had died for... and he couldn't let the man just take it. He wasn't sure when reinforcements would come or when a rescue ship would be coming down to pick them up, but he had to get that chip before then.

Pulling the lightsaber from the monster, Verrin stepped off its body landing on the ground with a grimace as it put pressure on the wound on his hip. Honor of his name? Verrin wasn't sure there was anything honorable about their situation, and he regretted that this man's own father, a Dark Lord of the Sith, would force this man, [member="Graxin Rade"], to take this path. Was there truly nothing he could do to help him besides striking him down and taking this information?

Verrin lifted his saber to face Graxin, "Verrin Ris'to, a member of the Jedi Order," he said taking a moment to commit the mans name to his memory. The galaxy... was cruel.

 

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"And so you are."

Graxin wasted no time. Despite his wounded leg; he shot toward the Jedi. His expression was completely calm as his blade sang for the Verrin's blood. "It's a shame!"

His blade came down in an arc to slice from shoulder to hip, only to twist as Graxin adjusted the hilt kid swing. It was slicing to impale itself on the Jedi's midriff. "You would throw your life away for a liar!"

The scene was rather surreal. Graxin's blade cut through the air, a whistling sound following after it as it stabbed for Verrin's flesh. The hum of the lightsaber was all that Graxin could hear. It was as if the entire forest had gone silent to witness the duel.

He reached out the best he could to the force as he attacked. He had heard of people restoring their strength with its assistance, and while he did feel its faintest trickle, the flowing river of power that it was seemed blocked to him. He hadn't been trained enough; hadn't become in tune with it as his father had.

This made him sloppy, and while the Jedi was loosing blood from an open wound, he would likely take a lot longer to slow down that Graxin. The Infiltrator was wounded, and quite frankly, only running on fumes. Still, the Jedi could not have the datachip, and Graxin understood that.p

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

Verrin moved to the side, using his lightsaber to angle the blade away from him as he slid his own lightsaber along the edge parrying it. Throw his life away for a liar? What was he talking about? This man didn't make sense to him... The saber felt warm to him as it passed close to his stomach, moving the tip of the blade away from his body.

He could feel the assassin calling on the force to strength his body, and Verrin was doing much the same filling his limbs with power, numbing the pain of the wound, slowing the bleeding, and filling his lungs with more air and strength then they could normally contain. Verrin lashed out with his saber, pushing off the side of his blade and flicking it at [member="Graxin Rade"]'s chest as he stepped to the right, following through with the saber and his body.

"You don't have to do this," Verrin said trying to reason with him, "Don't sacrifice your life for this..."

[member="Graxin Rade"]

 

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Graxin barely caught the blade as it slid dangerously close to his chest. The sword lightsaber glanced off the cortosis weave of his sword, though Graxin knew the weave wouldn't last forever. Eventually, the sword would break from the strain.

He took two took feigned on uppercut only to step back two steps as his arms extended. He put space between himself and his opponent--the key to this was time. The Jedi was bleeding, and if Graxin was lucky, it would start to effect his fighting style.

Still, Graxin felt the energy slowly draining from his limbs. The sword felt a twice as heavy as it had when the fight had started. "You have no idea what I'm even out here to do." He growled, planting his boots firmly into the ground.

He may not have the energy to attack, but he could at least confidently defend.

It was then that the sound of repulsors rumbled through the dark forest. Something was moving through the trees toward the two, and Graxin could only pray it was who he hoped it to be.

"You're bleeding Jedi. You want to fight me and waste away, or bandage it up and assure that you live?" It was a taunt, but also a partial truth. A means to stall the Jedi while that ship--whoever it was-- approached.

[member="Corvetta Salvo"]
@Verrin Ris'To

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

The pilot had never seen the Shadowlands up close before, and twenty meters above the ground was more than satisfactory for her. This Graxin guy had the weirdest taste in scenery.

The ominous, forever-tall trees stretched out their branches ominously, clawing at the descending starcraft with scythe- and spear-like fingers occasionally scratching against the hull. She grimaced as the portside dipped for a moment while the starboard repulsors pushed off a particularly thick branch. She mentally noted to watch out for that on the ascent. This was not a typical maneuver, and it was taking every last neuron of hers to concentrate on a happy landing.

Five meters between the extended landing struts and the shadowy terrain below, a violent spark flared up and refracted through the starboard side of the cockpit's viewport, immediately catching Corvetta's attention. "Well, frak," she exclaimed, "He wasn't kidding around." She hurriedly allowed the vessel to touch down with an unhealthy thud and sprinted to the extending boarding ramp with her stun gun in hand.

"Graxlerod!" she called. She had come up with that nickname all by herself in her free time. "I don't think this ship has my name on it if you bite the dust."

She hoped one of those guys was Grax...

[member="Graxin Rade"]
@Verrin Ris'To

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

Verrin still had some fight left, his robes were getting stained with his own blood, but he lacked any real means to fix it. The best he could do was to rip off a piece of his robe and use it to bind his wounds, but if he did that, it would give the assassin more time for his own allies to show up. Verrin knew that, sooner or later, the wookies would be sending down some form of transport to get him up as their brief fight on the speeder was fairly obvious and attracted attention.

The sound of a ship snapped Verrin's head up in time to see a ship set down, the only question was... for him or Graxin? When a woman came out, he noticed she was neither Republic, and obviously, not a wookie. When she called out a name that sound like Graxin... with a few additions, Verrin understood that it was for him. Normally, he would try to stop him as well, but he had used up a lot of his energy in attacking trying to over-whelm the assassin; he didn't like his chances against another person.

Verrin lowered the tip of his lightsaber, he would let the assassin go. He didn't have much of a choice.

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Graxin Rade"]

 

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[member="Corvetta Salvo"]'s familiar voice pushed rose over the rumble of the ship. Graxin felt a satisfied grin tug at his features. The Jedi had beaten him, he would admit that, but he would be the one with results.

"It's been fun." He began, slowly backing up toward the ship. "You make sure you get that treated, Verrin." He gestured toward the Jedi's wound, and it wasn't a taunt. An odd sincerity had wormed its way into his voice.

He'll die if the wookies take too long.

"Or come with us and let me treat you. Whatever." Graxin lifted his blade, and slid it into the leather sheathe between his jacket.

He turned and began to limp toward the ship. The Infiltrator was a mess. A nasty burn was traced across his left thigh. His knuckles were bruised and blooded. His whole body ached from the beast's attacks, and a nasty little gash dropped sticky crimson out from his brow.

He made it to the open gangplank and shot Corvetta the most genuine of smiles. "Thank you. The mission went off...almost perfectly." He cast his hazel eyed gaze back to the Jedi and his still illuminated green blade. "I'm afraid he'll bleed out if we leave him here. I'll see if he comes or not. If he does, I'll figure out what to do with him. If not..."

He paused in his ramblings, and gave Corvetta an almost searching look. "Then we break atmo and figure out from there. I'll meet you in the cockpit, okay?"

He wrapped one bloodied hand securely around the gangplank's railing, and stared at Verren; curious as to if the Jedi would take his offer.

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Corvetta simply stared at the mess that was [member="Graxin Rade"]. He had mentioned something about running into trouble a few hours ago, but she was not prepared for this scene. She was no medic, but whatever had happened to him looked serious. His pursuers must have really done a number on him.

As he disappeared further into the ship, she turned her attention towards the other man and held her hand against the boarding ramp switch. With a welcoming but perplexed look on her face, she waved at the stranger--who seemed to have run into the same gundark that her captain had. Was he the old friend Grax had told her about? "Hey, you!" she yelled above the whine of the idling repulsorlifts, "Ya coming? 'Cause I think you're in a really baaad place out here."

@Verrin Ris'To

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

The assassin had a certain... tone in his voice he lacked before, but if the offer was true then he would appreciate the aid, but at the same time, going onto the ship could be a trap, and more then that, it would be a constant reminder that he failed to protect the Duros and recover the data. Which was more important? Logic or Pride? He wasn't sure he would be able to forget it, and he would have to push himself harder after this to ensure he didn't fail again.

When the woman spoke to him, he deactivated the saber, "I will come. Just drop me off at the village."

Moving forward, he stepped onto the ramp and walked to the top, stopping by the woman who seemed... so out of place, "Thank you, my name is Verrin," he said moving further in, so she would be able to shut the ramp.

The bleeding kept going, and Verrin moved a little to the left to give himself some space from the woman and the assassin. If he had stayed out there, he had planned on using his saber to burn the wound close which would have been... painful. It should take them too long to get him to the village. Putting his hand on his hip to stop the bleeding, he leaned against the durasteel wall content to wait it out.

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Graxin Rade"]

 

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Graxin slumped down into the pilot's chair. He had tied a thin strip of gauze over the gash in his forehead, and made sure nothing was too out of place. A thin white strips had been placed over the burn; the strip being coated in bacta. It would help the wound heal much faster, and it certainly gave Graxin a much needed sense of relief.

To his surprise, the Jedi had taken his offer. There was no reason to just leave him in the Shadowlands. Real or not, he was only doing his job--Graxin could only hope the same would happen to him were he ever put into this kind of situation. The gangplank drew upwards as he entered the shuttle, and the ship veered off toward the sky. It was a slow pace, but it certainly beat crashing through the trees and possibly destroying the ship in the process.

Good child. Good. You will recover our...asset, and then return to the fleet.

The Infiltrator fought back a wince as the rough, gravely voice of his father ripped through his mind. The Graug overlord had made sure that Graxin would always be open to his perusal, no matter where he was in the galaxy, at any time.

It is time I taught you to embrace your talents.

The shuttle veered off to the left; skirting dangerously close to one of the massive trees. Graxin cursed under his breath and corrected the course. He cast his gaze back over his shoulder, through the narrow hall, and toward Corvetta. "I think you're a much better pilot than I am." He began. "Is our passenger alright?" He added before turning back to see where he was going.

Ahead, one of the unaffiliated wookie villages came into view. Graxin drew the shuttled into a subtle hover over one of the vacant landing pads. "If he's okay to move, this is where he gets off." The Infiltrator's voice was a bit strained as he kept the ship level. They had little time. "Then we dust off."

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Verrin Ris'To "]

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

The girl nodded at Verrin as the boarding ramp shut behind them, guiding him to a seat on the floor. The starship shunted roughly as it released its weight from the landing gear, but she had been a spacer all her life and it caused no falter in her steps as she made haste to the kitchen. Making sure to grab the towel she had not previously wiped her grease-soaked hands on, she returned to the wounded Jedi's side and handed the cloth to him. "I'm Corvetta. You must be Grax-man's buddy."

Takeoff was a little shaky as one could expect, though there were moments when Corvetta's face contorted strangely as her captain was cutting things a little close. She chuckled uneasily when he acknowledged that she was probably a better flight operator than he. She could not help but agree with that. She also could not help but anxiously gesture for him to turn his head back so he could look where he was flying and volunteered some illustrative advice: "Kiss the window, sport."

A minute later, they were finally clear of the Shadowlands and gradually declining in altitude as they approached the village. Readying the gangplank for Verrin's exit, she patted him on the shoulder rather indelicately in a friendly manner before retracting her hand suddenly as she remembered his extensive injuries. "Frakkit, sorry about that," she apologized, now placing both hands against the Jedi in order to steady him. "We good?"

[member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Verrin Ris'To"]

 

[Verrin Ris'To]

Corvetta. An odd name, but it fit her. He wasn't sure buddy would even remotely fit what he and Graxin were, but he didn't want to dampen her spirits. She was odd, but it was almost endearing. She had a certain light about her, and he wasn't sure why she was helping a man like Graxin. Was she being paid? Or was there more to Graxin then he had yet to realize? But the man already seemed to have so many problems with his mind, could there really be even more?

Verrin pressed the cloth against his side using it to help staunch the blood flow. It worked far better then his hand, and it was easier to hold it against then trying to cup his hand against the wound to stop as much blood as possible. It was times like this that Verrin bemoaned his kind having two hearts. It was extremely difficult, even with his skill in Force Body, to slow the blood flow down in his body.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the ship jerked here and there before finally steadying out. Verrin opened them when he heard footsteps and turned his head to see Corvette as she lowered the ramp. She patted his shoulder which sent his side down and his wound to twist itself creating a very unique and intense flash of pain across his face, but her quick apology told him she hadn't meant it and it was just an accident. Strangely, doing something like that fit her. Perhaps with someone like her near Graxin... he may change, or whatever was happening to his mind would slow until Verrin could figure out what was going on.

"It's alright, Corvette," Verrin said offering her a shaky smile, he extended to her his hand not covered in his own blood, "You did nothing to make me angry at you," he paused thinking over who her traveling companion was... he seemed honorable at times but extremely unstable at others, "If you find yourself in trouble and need help, you can find me on Coruscant. The Soggy Gungan in lower Coruscant is a good place to find me."

[member="Corvetta Salvo"] [member="Graxin Rade"]

 

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"Consider it kissed." Graxin grumbled as he seemed to get a hang of keeping the shuttle steady.

Not my fault, no one ever taught me to fly the damn thing.

The Infiltrator let his gaze slip down to the control console. It seemed that the Republic was certainly on its way; given the order to set the ship down and have the crew exit with their hands up that was sent. He chanced a look out the rear cams, and caught the faintest glint of light breaking through the trees from just above where they had come.

"Alight, off Jedi. We need to go." Graxin set his hand over the thrust controls. He felt no guilt over his actions--it had to happen. He had saved the Jedi, which meant he had done something right, and the world hadn't ceased to exist. Somewhere down the road, he'd made the right choice.

"No freeloaders!"

[member="Corvetta Salvo"]

 

[Corvetta Salvo]

Corvetta smiled as the passenger offered his parting words. "Keep it tight, Verr," she said, keeping in mind not to offer any physical contact this time. "I'll look you up sometime. You seem like a fighter; you'll do great in rehab." She maintained her stance in the boarding corridor, watching Verrin walk gingerly towards the Wookiee village, until the opening to the hatch had condensed into a mere slit before locking completely.

The first mate sauntered back into the cockpit and plopped into the seat by Graxin. Her face betrayed an unusually serious expression as she mulled over something her ears had registered while dropping the man off. The event had been quite interesting, but she had kept mum in the moment. After some thought, she eventually shrugged it off and her easy-going composition returned. "Jedi, huh?" she remarked, "Guess we all have some lapses. But he was OK."

Corvetta turned to check the full extent of Graxin's wounds and noticed he seemed to be very eager to get this ship out of here. "Sure you don't want me to take over? You look like ya got run over by a bantha."

[member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Verrin Ris'To"]