Weekend Treasure Hunt 10: Lore of the Dark Side (open)

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, heading to Main Weapons Control room

Reine made her way down halls and through corridors. Occasionally she found more armed crewmembers blocking her way and dispatched them accordingly. So far, she had found none of the mysterious Sorcerors of Rhand that supposedly resided aboard, though she felt they must be nearby. From the Force she felt on board the ship, a great many individuals were on board ranging from novices to masters of various abilities. It was a strange thing, she felt.

The Force was, when compared to the galaxy as a whole, entirely rare. One could often go through entire villages, towns, and cities and find merely a bare handful, if any, who could feel the Force. Of those, perhaps one could use the Force with any real degree of skill. Here, however, she could feel dozens, perhaps scores, of Force sensitives. Which were 'friendly' and which were foe, she could not sense, but for her, it mattered little. They were either an obstacle to overcome or something that would get out of her way.

For now, however, she had more pressing matters. The main access to what appeared to be the Main Weapons Control room lay ahead. Lightsaber in hand, Reine approached the doorway and keyed the access hatch. What lay ahead, she knew not, but power and knowledge were at the end.

 

[Arage Bao]

Hangar Bay​

Holocron Repo.​

A few things happened at the same time the moment the shuttle settled itself into the bay, and the doors opened them to allow its passengers to depart onto the cold and clinic surroundings of the ship. One of them was the even colder, shearing touch of the Dark stabbing right through Ovmar’s very being, then the signatures of a lot of Rhandites popping up onto his proverbial mental HUD, thirdly Dissero’s upraised eyebrows which asked him a silent question.

Jared quickly collected himself from the foreign sensation and gave his companion a quick nod, he had indeed felt it, multiple it’s for that matter and he wasn’t really sure he was liking their chances here. These weren’t some half-witted Stormtrooper Stronghold they were infiltrating, not a Obsidian Knights’ fortress protected by a few snipers and amateur users of the Force either.

This was something else.

And that else made the Sith Lord’s blood pumping, the adrenaline coursed through his veins and Jared discarded the option of running immediately, this was what life was all about, taking chances and living with them. (or not)

A grin formed itself on his face, and it was then that everyone involved (mostly Di) knew that the Ovmar was back, and that action would soon follow.

They rolled, keeping to the shadows and purposely avoiding any patrols that might come around. It probably wasn’t necessary, the Current would probably protect them and hide them from sight, mind and the Force - but why take any more chances than you had to?

Not soon before long they found an unmanned console in one of the hallways of the command ship, they crept closer and Ovmar touched the side of the installation, but before jumping into the electronics he looked back to [member="Dissero"] and said to him.

‘Keep an eye out, Di. I won’t be able to throw out a punch while immersed in the software.’

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, Main Weapons Control

The door opened easily and on the first try, something that both pleased and alerted Reine. An open door either meant lax protocols or an ambush. Considering what she'd had to deal with to get here so far, an ambush seemed far more likely. Upon entering the room, she realized something very important as the door closed behind her.

She was right.

A lone figure stood before her. Its body was hidden by robes, its face concealed by a mask. It did not speak and its stance and movements gave no telltales to species, gender, or intent, but Reine knew why it was here. It was here to deal with her. There seemed to be no one else in the area, telling Reine that they had moved to secondary control rooms instead. It seemed that the Rhandites intended she stop her foray into their ship here and now.

The snap-hiss of a lightsaber broke the silence and filled the room with an ominous hum. Responding in kind, Reine activated her own lightsaber and brought it up in a two handed grip, the phrik metal feeling cool against her hands. The two gazed at each other, knowing only one would survive. With an unspoken word, a silent challenge, the dual began.

The Rhandite leapt forward, the Force carrying them up and over in an attempt to gain the high ground. Reine reacted, slashing up and around as she used her torso as the force behind the blow, her limbs simply the fulcrum the lightsaber rotated around. Plasma met plasma as the two sabers collided, the Rhandite falling to the deck as they swung. Reine spun and the lightsaber rotated to swing at the Rhandite's midsection. Again blade met blade in a ringing blow as the Rhandite blocked the attack once more.

Reine shifted her stance and bulled forward, her shoulder low and her lightsaber pushing her opponent's away. The Rhandite tried to dodge, but Reine caught them before they could. She slammed into her opponent's abdomen and shoved up and back, lifting the Rhandite duelist off the deck and pushing them back. In a fluid follow up, Reine brought her lightsaber up and then down, stabbing at where her opponent lay, but they had already moved. They had used the Force to flip to their feet and away, taking the moment to gain distance on their Miraluka opponent.

Reine stood calmly and ignored the red-hot gash in the floor as she circled her opponent. The Rhandite responded in kind, stepping as Reine stepped, keeping the distance and watching, waiting. This was not a fight to determine the better duelist.

This was a fight to see who would make the first, and last, mistake.

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, Main Weapons Control Room

The two continued to circle, both watching, waiting. Each was determined to destroy the other, neither was willing to back down. It would come down to who moved first, who launched the first attack. The attacker would easily set the pace, but the defender had the advantage. They could shift the field in any direction they wished, it wouldn't take much. Reine had to watch, wait, and decide. Did she attack? Or did she wait longer?

A moment later and the answer was made for her. With a flourish the Rhandite charged forward, lightsaber at the ready. Reine brought up her own, preparing to recieve the attack... but stopped. The charge was a feint, the attack a ruse. She could feel the Force swelling and humming in the air around her, pulsing behind her turned back. Without a glance, she dove to the side, deactivating her lightsaber in the process to avoid self-injury as one of the dataterminals that had sat behind her smashed into the floor where she'd been standing nary a moment before.

Reine rolled to her back, but was prevented from leaping to her feet by the weight of the Rhandite. The lightsaber her foe attempted to bring down in a bisecting slash was stopped by the phrik hilt of Reine's 'saber. The Miraluka felt her opponent put their full weight upon the lightsaber, pressing the attack slowly but surely. She felt the heat of the lightsaber as it pushed closer, the beam of light inching closer to her face as more and more pressure was added. The muscles in her arms ached and she focused upon them, pushing the power of the Force into her limbs. It only served to slow down the Rhandite who responded in kind.

The blade was closer now, the heat beginning to sear her flesh. She pushed more Force energy into her limbs out of desperation, but the Rhandite's blade kept coming. With the heat growing stronger and the Force unable to save her, she felt her desperation turn to fear and fear quickly becoming despair as the realization was met that all was lost.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, Main Weapons Control room

A spark. A single, lone ember cast against the winds of the soul. Born of the steel claws of terror striking against the flinty hide of survival and cast down into the very reservoirs of the living psyche. It fell down, kept alive by the burning desire of willpower and fed by the breath of life common within all beings. At the very depths of the soul it resided within it found something, a sea of emotions vulnerable to its touch. The very moment it contacted that sea its glow seemed to die, the little spark of heat snuffed out in an instant. In a moment, however, it was apparent that such was not the case. The sea it had touched began to glow, the light growing brighter. The glow soon turned to more embers and sparks. Each spread and gave light to more and more of the sea until the endless stretch of human emotion was alight with sparks and embers. Soon, the very ocean was aflame, the flickering blaze reaching high and higher. The blaze soon became an inferno that rose ever higher, driving the icy hand of terror back as it clasped its frozen hands around the heart of the soul. From there, it flowed ever outwards, a raging, seething inferno of raw emotion.

Reine channeled this sea, she funneled its waters. She felt her despair spark anew into frustration and, from there, to hate and anger. Hatred of her foe and their seemingly unstoppable strength. Anger at herself, for failing to defeat her foe, for failing herself.

But as the power of her own emotions rose within her, she knew that to fail was to die, to become nothing. She refused to become as nothing.

Raw emotion fed her powers and gave her strength. Her limbs pushed back against the lightsaber and the Rhandite behind it. It gave by millimeters, then by inches until her arms were nearly outstretched. She wrenched the hilt to the side, shoving the Rhandite's blade away and knocking them off balance. As the foe fought to regain their balance, the Miraluka leapt to her feet. Gone was the desire to combat with elegance of the lightsaber form. A lightsaber blade would not satiate her anger and rage now. A casual flick of her wrist and the lightsaber hilt in her hand was reversed. Another flick of her thumb deployed the phrik spikes at the pommel.

With a feral roar, she charged the Rhandite with the spiked, phrik morning star in her hand.

The Rhandite lifted its blade to deflect, but Reine battered it out of the way with a heavy blow. Before her foe could block once more, Reine swung her closed fist, catching them along where their jaw should be. Her foe now stunned and stumbling, Reine brought the lightsaber hilt into play. The first blow caught the Rhandite across the opposite jawline, sending them reeling. The second slammed into their midriff, doubling them over as their lightsaber rattled to the ground. The Rhandite's desire to win now turned into desperation to survive.

Reine had no such mercy in her heart. Not now.

The phrik handle clubbed into the back of the Rhandite's skull, sending them to the ground. Reine followed her foe to the floor, straddling the seemingly unconscious body. Again and again she struck with the club, the spikes biting deep and each impact sending a jarring shock up her arm. She didn't notice the blood nor did she notice that it sprayed and coated her with each mighty blow. Her rage was flowing, her hate unstoppable. The Rhandite had dared to try and take her life. They would pay in blood as the phrik club struck like the tolling bell of the damned.

As the rage ebbed from her limbs, she realized slowly that the juddering impacts no longer came from the Rhandite's skull, which now appeared to be a pulped mess upon the deck plating. She had been striking the floor behind the red, bloody pulp instead. Tired, but strangely satisfied, she shakily rose to her feet and stood. She shook the blood and tissue from the lightsaber hilt in her hand absentmindedly and turned to gaze at the room she stood within. Now was the time to search and look, to see if anything was of use here.

As she searched, she took care to focus on her work and not upon the body of the Rhandite she had brutally killed. She told herself it was to find what she desired faster, but deep within she knew why.

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, Main Weapons Control room - Heading towards Main Engineering Section

She found nothing of use sitting around the room, per usual. No one ever left their shiny toys or hidden secrets in easily found pigeon holes, unfortunately. The computers, though, might be useful. Reine was no slicer, but she had a decent understanding of the computers she frequented that she felt comfortable attempting to download data. She doubted it would be of use, but one never knew these days. Even the Grand Master's toenail clippings seemed to have some worth in today's galaxy, it seemed.

She set what she assumed was the main database terminal to download into a datachip. She figured out how to screen the data for important tidbits by assigning keywords like 'Sith', 'Jedi', 'Rhand', 'Rhandite', and many others. With luck, she might pick up something soon and with the countdown telling her that it was only a five minute wait, she felt comfortable getting up to rummage some more.

Unfortunately, the only place she hadn't checked was the body of the Rhandite she'd killed. She sat for a moment or two, telling herself that the body on the floor whose head was crushed over multiple floor tiles couldn't possibly have anything of worth on them, but she knew better. Any Force user had at least something of value, if only a lightsaber.

Rising with a sigh, she turned to face the body. She saw the bright crimson trail leading from the neck to the slightly lower points of the deck. As the Miraluka stepped closer to the corpse, she tried to ignore the pieces and chunks of meat spread out from the body. Part of her was still in frozen shock, aghast at what she was capable of doing. The other part tried reasoning with the rest of her mind, arguing that had the Rhandite not spurred Reine into anger, she would have let it live, let it run away instead of dying so brutally. Still, a tiny, whispering voice in the depths of her mind and soul rambled on, speaking to her subconscious of the dark side and how such brutality is but a fragment of the power she could have. Her temples ached with the pressure on all sides, but she knew she was committed at this point, she knew her only path now was to continue.

She stooped near the mangled mess she had made of the Rhandite's skull and attempted to ignore the coppery smell of blood. Many wore jewelry or carried talismans, others simply carried credits or basic tools. She had no idea what the Rhandites carried, but she figured she would be thorough. She would start at... what was left of the head and work her way down. Figuring that any earrings or circlets would have been seen laying around or destroyed in the assault, she started at the stump of the body's neck. Her fingers quickly became slick with blood and body fluids as she poked and prodded around, attempting to find anything of value. After a few moments, her bloody fingers came in contact with something metallic and pliable. Frowning under her blindfold, Reine tugged at the item until it came loose. She shook the worst of the meaty chunks off the chain and inspected her find a little closer.

It appeared to be an amulet of some kind, ornately wrought and sufficiently old looking, though she couldn't be sure. Perhaps it was of value, perhaps not, but it was something. Reine tore a scrap of the Rhandite's clothing to use as a cloth and wiped the worst of the blood off of the amulet and her hands. From there, she kept searching the body, finding out that the Rhandite was both male and very broke, if the small number of credit chips in his pockets were anything to go by. She pocketed the credits and, on a whim, took the Rhandite's lightsaber as well.

From there it was a simple matter to grab her datachip from the terminal. The download hadn't picked up many files and Reine didn't have the time to check them, but as with the amulet, they may hold something useful, they may not. She'd find out eventually. For now, she had to get going and after a cursory look at the signs she could see, she started making her way to what looked like the Main Engineering Section.

[member="Rave Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, heading from Main Weapons Control room, heading to Main Engineering Section

The ship was a maze of halls, corridors, rooms, and signs. On top of this, as if confusing infrastructure wasn't bad enough, some doors were completely sealed up, the opposite side open to the void of space due to catastrophic damage. She could spot those areas for two, main reasons. First, she could see through the bulkhead and door to an extent, often spotting the flashing lights or even the damage in some areas. Second, the big, flashing light above the doors spoke volumes.

Unfortunate and frustrating as it was to navigate, it also seemed to work against the Rhandites as well. Occasionally, she'd hear a repair or search party moving along to another area of the ship for one reason or another. At least, she assumed they were repair or search groups. For all she knew, hot dogs were being served in the cafeteria and everyone wanted one.

She turned down yet another hallway and, noting the only door at the end emitted a flashing light, turned to head back the way she came. Before she could fully move away, however, the light stopped. Curious, Reine decided to creep a little closer to investigate. It was more likely that the light had gone bad or maybe power had stopped flowing to it, but on the off chance that section was safe to navigate once more...

 

[Reine Bisset]

Location: Bow, heading to the Main Engineering Section

Reine moved to the door slowly and carefully, her curiousity piqued. She checked the light as best she could and found that it wasn't burnt out like she originally figured. She checked the access panel and found it unlocked and responsive. Her Sight told her nothing, only that the passage seemed clear as far as she could tell. The question was, was it worth the risk?

After a few moments of thought, she decided that it wasn't. The air could still be gone in the next compartment, gravity could be turned off, or the air could even be toxic. So many things weren't known that it made the option a death trap. With this in mind, Reine turned to go back down the corridor as she had entered.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

The sounds of what seemed like another search or repair party could easily be heard at the hallway junction. It sounded like a large number of voices and a great deal of moving gear. She was trapped at the dead end of the hallway with no real way to dodge, duck, or defend against a wall of blasterfire as she had when she'd boarded the ship. This left her with two options: Death or potential death. Reine opted for the latter and hit the access panel on the door. With barely a hiss of moving parts, the door slid open and Reine entered. Behind her she heard the door slide closed and seal once more.

She found the air in the previously inaccessible area cold, but thankfully present. Whatever had happened in this area had either forced them to repressurize the atmosphere or had destroyed any heating units. The air was nearly frigid, it seemed. She could easily see and feel the clouds of her breath as she exhaled. The downside of the issue was that she had no idea where she was. The upside of the current situation was that from all the piping and equipment here and there, both sitting around or bolted to something, this was either just outside of or led to the Engineering Section.

She started forwards. With luck, this was a shortcut.

 

[Fatty]

(OOC: Sorry for the wait!)

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Enroute to the Computer Core

"Help me Ric!".

Ric observed Aethan as he halted mid stride and did what he could to slow down their pursuers, and although the situation seem fairly handled, it wasn't finished to Ric's liking. As Ric moved with the movement of a serpent around the volley's using his blade in similar arcs to Aethan's defensive pattern, he waited for an opening (not dissimilar to Aethan's immediate objective) and only a moment after the force was unleashed from his companions palm Ric dug deep into his heart for that reservoir of fear. Ric was always afraid, though he did his best to hide it with humour, and a lack of seriousness, but like an old saying: "Fear is the path to the darkside".

As the soldiers were being tossed about, Ric thrust his body forward as he emptied himself of fear, through the form of electric bands of power running through the atmosphere of the ship and connecting with whatever armor they had. It took the remaining amount of strength Ric had to keep himself from falling to a knee, but luckily the fear of dying was enough to get him on his feet and running again. That little taste of darkside energy should be enough to at least halt the troopers for a while.

But just in case Ric rolled one of two detonators their way.

Mostly out of breath from the pure expression of emotional turmoil, a winded Ric was mostly silent as his interest was peaked at what his ally was suggesting. It certainly wasn't any holocron but the possible promise of Rhandite Prophecies and technological schematics would certainly please his boss. Schematics wouldn't be too bad for Ric either, a nice upgrade should never be turned down no matter what you were looking for.

Ric only hoped foolishly that it was unguarded....

"Not a holocron, but it'll do." He said still recuperating from his use of his limited knowledge of Force Lightning.

[member="Aethan Tannan"]

 

[Aethan Tannan]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship; Outside the Computer Core
Objective: Breach the Computer Core

​

...after Aethan had called for help he'd have observed how Ric had called on the powers of the dark side to create force lightning that would act in conjunction with his own force push against the troopers. A mean one-two punch that should set them on the defensive and incapacitate several of them when they were hit with both attacks one after the other in quick succession. Aethan rounded the corner as intended and continued down an adjacent corridor while Ric followed him and the two continued to move towards the Computer Core of the Rhandite Command Ship. Truth be told his information was limited, everything he believed was an assumption however this was a command ship which gave Aethan a firm resolve to believe many of the items he described did exist in the annuls of the core....

...their journey would take them down the corridors where they'd turn at several junctions onto new corridors that stretched on throughout the kilometers that made the capital ship and its countless halls. There were staircases as well. Staircases that lead them lower rather than higher into the sublevels of the Rhanfite Command Ships decks. Aethan would wait until Ric had begun to catch his breath but he'd want to move quickly so eventually he'd usher him onwards with..."Almost there my friend."...they were allies of necessity but in these times that was almost as good as a tried and true blood brother...

...eventually the duo would come to the end of the corridors. Around a bend was an already sealed blast door that as surprisingly sparsely defended. Only a squad of six Rhandite Troopers appeared to guard the sealed blast doors standing at attention and surveying the corridor as it stretched away from their position and split into several others that extended into various areas of the ship. The Lightsaber that he'd been using was already ignited basking Aethan in its emerald radiance while he surveyed the scene quickly from around the corner and then explained it to Ric..."Only six guards outside. Don't know about the inside. Is that device of yours going to be able to get the blast doors open again?"...that was their best ticket into the computer core at the moment seeing as how anything else would take a lot longer..."Well only one way to find out right?"...he shrugged his shoulders and then whipped around the corner to charge the Troopers standing guard hoping Ric would follow...

...the Rhandites would predictably raise their blasters to fire which caused Aethan to weave his lightsaber into a defensive pattern that covered the majority of fire arcs in front of him and allowed him to deflect the blaster fire astray or send some of it back towards the troopers. As he rushed ahead Aethan would use a fairly common manipulation of the force which imbued him with an unnatural amount of speed, transformed him into a virtual blur of motion for a limited amount of time and allowed him to rush into the troopers with his weapon twirling and snapping out to crackle against the various enemies within his reach...​

​

[member="Fatty"]

 

[Fatty]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship; Outside the Computer Core
Objective: Breach the Computer Core

Ric was glad he had Aethan around, this guy made all the difference in this mission. He'd probably have been killed by Mr. Grim and abandon if not for this impromptu-bound-by-necessity ally. Eventually, Ric caught up and followed, recovering fairly quickly after his emotional release at the guards. Of course it looked like there was no rest for the wicked, even when the "wicked" was actually kind of neutral in this situation, and his darkest intentions were fairly benign. Oh well, life has a nice sense of humour in his book so, why not?

They stopped at corner as Aethan relayed his findings of the guards Ric had assumed would be there. It didn't seem defended enough but the Rhandites must have figured Ric and Aethan were too inept to be of much risk to them, and figured they would guard elsewhere. Though Ric had a hunch an Adept would probably be hiding somewhere with a trap...

... a trap Aethan was likely sprinting steadfast into most likely. In his opinion he acted too quickly and would likely suffer for it, so Ric had a choice: continue helping him and continue to receive his reciprocated help at the risk of running directly into the heat of danger, or let him run into the heat of danger to see what traps he may reveal with the downfall being that he will no longer receive Aethan's help as well as the possibility that this was anticipated and now he would require Aethan's help to survive.

Ric didn't like option two, so it seemed logical to keep going, at least for now. He rounded the corner more cautiously than his companion, and pulled out a blaster while he waved his saber around in defensive arcs, deftly firing at the enemy between haphazard swings. Ric wasn't entirely sure if his 'screwdriver' work, it was mostly a chance game and possibly even the intervention of the force, in the sense that sometimes in desperate situations Ric might be 'willing' the strange device to work rather than the device actually accomplishing what it is intended for. It probably acts as a middleman for Ric's sloppy utilization of the force, a mental pathway for him to justify what he didn't believe he was capable of doing.

But as Aethan said, only one way to find out...

Ric would wait until the guards were dispatch and the area was clear before approaching the blast door panel.

[member="Aethan Tannan"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

OOC/ Just a reminder for everyone. Once you consider yourself done, PM me [member="Rave Merrill"] to find out what you got.

 

[Aethan Tannan]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Breach the Computer Core

​

...wielding a lightsaber seemed to be Aethan's forte, he had some talent when it came to specific applications of the force as well but those were limited according to his level of mastery, even as he threw caution to the wind and dashed around the corner to attack the Rhandite Troopers he seemed at home. Weaving his lightsaber, held in his right hand, in what was effectively a tight figure eight pattern that assisted him in deflecting numerous shots from the blasters while his enhanced level of speed enabled him to close the distance in a short amount of time. Assistance from Ric didn't hurt matters either. The Lightsaber deflected the blaster barrage coming at it effectively until Aethan could lunge into action and by that time he'd even managed to send one of the blaster arcs back into a trooper and cause him to slump back against the wall of the corridor...

...his lightsaber crossed over to his left and then swung back to his right in a wide crackling arc which flashed from one side to the other as it bit into the midsection of a trooper and sent sparks flying from the impact before the target body collapsed. That same momentum back to the right of Aethan would allow him to literally split the blaster another trooper was holding in two as it completed its arc and stretched out to the right to contact with the weapon. By all rights it appeared as though Ric had made the right decision in deciding to aid his ally but the battle was far from over yet...

...one of those amazing things about combat and the Jedi/Force Users in general is their ability to both deflect, or block, fire from their enemies, such as the case was proving now, and hold their own in battle. Force Users weren't immortal though. Tight corridors, multiple arcs of fire the deeper he waded into battle and a sheer lack of caution would all work against Aethan who seemed to dive into combat without a second thought. The first time a shot from one of the Rhandite troopers hit him it was a graze across the outside of his left thigh which made him stumble a bit...

...there was a flurry of lightsaber swings, slashes and a wide arc that once again took the lightsaber from Aethan's left side back to his right but continued to curl around until it dipped behind his back to complete a blow which almost reached an entire arc of three hundred and sixty degrees but fell just short. Between that and the deft fire provided by Ric all of the Rhandite troopers would have died but that wasn't enough to stop one last shot from a blaster to plunge into Aethan's stomach leaving a deep burnt mark where it had struck...

..."Ric."...he managed to grunt out before stumbling back to one side of the corridor and the slowly slumping down into a sitting position as his lightsaber deactivated while he muttered out a..."You might want to give your tool a try now."...he really looked like he might have been dying which meant Ric might have to go it alone for the rest of the mission. The Rhandite Priests must have seen this, they must have known but they might have missed one very important thing. Aethan was Firrerreo which meant he had an accelerated healing factor, limited regeneration, he was slumped down but a minor wound like the graze he'd received was already almost healed and the shot to the stomach was slowly and surely healing itself as well. Tipping his head backwards until he could rest it against the corridor wall he'd have taken a breath that was still labored for obvious reasons..."There's probably a Rhandite in there."...who would likely be more dangerous than six troopers put together..."Ideas?"...​

​

[member="Fatty"]

 

[Fatty]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Breach the Computer Core

Damnit it, he knew this would happen.

"Aethan!" He grunted loudly as he finished off the last soldier in response to his allies wounding. Ric picked up the pace to get a closer look at the damage and wasn't pleased. He wouldn't carry dead weight, but if he was salvageable he'd do his best to get his full usage out of him. His stomach was all bloody from the blow. He almost wanted to do more for him, but he was in the midst of battle, and this ship was actually still being bombarded by the Fringe outside; he didn't have much time to waste it over essentially a stranger. Such acts of bravery and chivalry were quite obviously not in his interest.

"Alright, I'll open the door, just stay here..." Aethan reminded him the threat of a Rhandite, and sighed. "I'll handle it, here, take this blaster just in case." Alright fine, he liked the guy. The least he could do was give him a gun from his boot. Ric flipped it in the air so he handed him the weapon by its barrel. "Take it, if I get overwhelmed by the Rhandite shoot him in the back for me, alright?"

Of course, by saying that such a possibility would mean it would have been expected by the potential sorcerer, thereby negating its usefulness. They were sitting ducks as it were, unless something particularly surprising were to happen, and throw off the Rhandite's combat strategy, where anticipating for a blaster shot would be the wrong move.

Quickly, Ric got to the terminal and gently applied his screwdriver into the port and began twisting it in the appropriate patterns, hoping in his mind that he could get it to work just one more- well then. The door opened, but it wasn't because of him. Knowing the worst was likely beyond the door, and opening it willingly, Ric activated his lightsaber, removed the screwdriver, and sliced through the panel. The damage to the door caused the blast door to be stuck partially opened. Unfortunately it had already opened enough for a red cloaked flash to spiral into the room, violet blade and all.

Ric felt that the Rhandite was an adept as anticipated, but he was stronger in sheer power than he was by just enough. He knew the entrance and the outfit was to amplify his fear, and it did a pretty good job at intimidating him. Just enough in fact for a short burst of lightning from Ric's finger tips, which was of course harmlessly absorbed into his opponents lightsaber. Ric didn't like monologues, so he made sure to cut that short before it began, and ran forward lightsaber in both hands for a power attack. The eyes of his helmet switched to thermal in order to visibly see his clear fiery blade more clearly, an advantage his opponent did not have (though, he had a stronger hold of the force). The Rhandite side stepped the swing and parried, before coming back and slashing a piece of leg armor. He didn't have much in terms of armor, but he had various plates barely protecting him in vital areas from blaster shots. Had the saber gone deeper the blow would have been more dangerous, fortunately for Ric however that armor is underneath several layers of tattered cloth, so the Darksight may not have noticed it while knowing the strike would slow him down.

Ric swung backward at the waist of the Sorcerer where again he dodged, and followed it with a force push, which was meet with a force push from the Rhandite, deflecting it at an angle as he moved in for a power strike of his own. Ric barely managed to block, both entering saber lock. The Rhandite was stronger and pushed back at Ric, and whispered that monologue he had been saving.

"Give up worm, you know you can't match me in the power of the force, you cannot destroy me. You are weak, both in mind..." The saber began to press down on the struggling Ric, "... and in body. You have failed the moment you decided to enter this room with your foolhardy friend, who has gotten you killed for sure, I've seen it, and my Master sees it."

"Shut up. Aethan! Could use some help here!" At that moment pivoted his position to shift his saber enough to aim his secret blaster at the Rhandite, and it caught him by surprise as the blaster looked no different from the crossguard on the other side of the blade. The low powered nature of the blaster, stunned his leg, preventing a quick escape. This of course enraged his saber locked opponent and he responded with a wave of lightning, blasting Ric on to his back.

[member="Aethan Tannan"]

 

[Aethan Tannan]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Finish off Rhandite Adept; Breach Computer Core

​

...laying, slumped, against one of the corridor walls Aethan could only look up towards the sound of Ric's voice while continuing to breath with some exertion. They say being gut shot is one of the most painful ways to die and that it can literally take days. Luckily for Aethan his enhanced healing factor would ensure that the wound was completely healed in a matter of hours or if it was more severe than the man anticipated over the course of several days. Looking up Aethan managed to smile faintly before reaching out to take the blaster that Ric offered with a chuckle..."Needed to be just a little faster."...he'd have stated before resting easy while his partner went over to activate the doors leading towards the computer core of the capital ship...

...the door opened more easily than anticipated which is when Aethan would turn his head to the side and notice Ric slashing his lightsaber through the control panel and the Rhandite proceeding through the opening in a flash of red, violet blade in hand. He was coming for them. As the battle commenced Aethan only remained slumped down against the wall of the corridor noting the ferocity with which the Rhandite and Ric appeared to be battling against one another. Lightsabers flashed and the combatants danced around one another with deadly precision seen only in the peripheral of Aethan who remained largely still...

...when he heard the voice of the Rhandite, barely audible as he locked his saber with Ric's, Aethan seemed to jar back into the present. His stomach was still filled with pain but the bleeding had slowed and movement wasn't quite as tight signifying that he'd already begun to repair himself. Then Ric would call for help and Aethan looked up in time to see the Rhandite struck in the leg with a blaster bolt before unleashing a barrage of lightning that sent Ric onto his back...

...raising the Blaster that Ric had given him earlier he took aim while the Rhandite prepared to continue his assault on Ric and then he squeezed the trigger. The Blaster fired over and over in concordance with the number of times that Aethan would squeeze the trigger. As blaster fire streaked towards his backside the Rhandite, who was caught between both men, would take the first shot and stumble then the second, which followed in quick succession and burnt a mark into him and begin to fall to a knee. Aethan didn't stop firing he would pour on the pressure until the Rhandite turned on him and forgot about Ric...

...much the same as Aethan had earlier the Rhandite would turn and deflect the shots from the blaster using his lightsaber, a quick motion of the hand wrenched the blaster from Aethan's own and sent it flying down the corridor but the Rhandite was focused on him now and not Ric. The Rhandite was weak now managing to hiss out a..."Fools I've seen your death!"...before gripping his lightsaber in both hands and raising it for the killing blow giving Aethan the chance he needed. Whipping out his right hand Aethan exert the small amount of focus he could muster to create one last force push which extended from his palm to slam into the Rhandits chest..."You're only one dying today friend."...his callous response to the Rhandite as he was shoved backwards....

...the force push hit the Rhandite, weakened from the battle, in the chest and forced him backwards and off balance with his back open to Ric and his defenses down..."Finish him!"...Aethan called out...​

​

[member="Fatty"]

 

[Fatty]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Kick the Rhandite Adept's Corpse; Breach Computer Core

For whatever reason, lying on your back smoking made you think that this is what must bacon must feel like if it knew that it was bacon. For a few moments you didn't seem capable of seeing... and then realized it was because of your helmet. The electric overload switch shut the thing down to prevent damage to its circuits. It started to kick up again, and he heard the plasmic discharge of Aethan's weapon. Suddenly the weapon stopped firing and he heard his companion say something.

Ric was already on the move.

Still smoking from the electric barrage, Ric stumbled to a knee as silently as he could and observed the room. He saw as the Rhandite was about to slay Aethan, and Ric nearly jerked in his defense, before the Adept Sorcerer was sent flying. The Rhandite wanted a piece out of Aethan though, but Ric wasn't about to let that happen if he could help it. There was one thing on his mind right now: survival, and revenge. He wanted to hit that Sorceror back so badly it nearly made him reckless with adrenaline. He wanted to jump with all his might and send his head rolling... so badly... soooo badly.

A second later and Ric was across the room coming down on top of the Sorcerer, saber ignited in hand at double length. Ric wanted to make sure he got him, and he imagined his lengthened blade putting a gash through the floor of a bisected Rhandite. Ric's foolishness must have surprised the Adept, as for a solid moment it appeared as if his enemy could hardly believe his eyes at such a crudely brash attack. The moment was not long enough though, and the Sorcerer was able to stumble back to give him the distance to block in time. Ric wasted no time in his efforts to finish off the adept, with a fresh second wind, fueled off his next wave of emotional imbalance.

As the tip of the blade struck powerfully in a cackling fiery manner (sending sparks into his opponents face to his pleasure) Ric landed, and he landed running. He forced the blade forwards and up, there by pushing his enemies blade with it, imbalancing his posture just as Ric at that moment activated his cross blade (also at doubled length). His intentions were clear: Ric was going to behead him with his crossblade as his enemies blade was pushed away, preventing him to bring it back to block (and even if he did, his main blade would just plow through him).

The sorcerer knew this, and a face of dejection came over his face as he saw his death play out before him should the inevitable be continued in this way. Recognizing defeat for him was imminent now, he did the only thing he could do to ensure that at least one of them would face the death he planned for them. The Rhandite somersaulted, causing the crossblade to slice through his legs... but not without Ric's consequence. The Rhandite as he leapt over the main blade relieved his secondary hand as he shot forward a metal flash that embedded itself deeply into Ric's chest. It was not immediately noticed in that moment.

In the moment that the Rhandite lost his other half, writhing in pain on the ground just moments before Ric might deliver the killing blow... he got a very dark impulse inside his head. Before the Rhandite could pull another trick, Rick quickly slashed through one arm, and then the other, viciously without remorse and every bit of satisfaction. Seeing the Adept as now apprehended... it was time for revenge.

Ric circled him for a moment.

The Rhandite laughed, "Congratulations, the Computer Core-" Ric shut him the hell up with his screams of agony, as tendrils of pure pain escaped from the exaggerated and tensed hands of Ric in the form of rage induced lightning, before it ended again for him to continue. He breathed heavily, blood trickling down his mouth, "...is yours.... huh... but you..." New screams occupied the vacancy of voice, and Rhandite was fading fast, but Ric didn't care. "... are a dead man... walking." The Sorcerer threw back his hand in laughter, and struggled to maintain that laughter as a powerful surge of the force exploded from Ric's hands, longer than the other instances, and more intense as well. So intense in fact that the arching back of the Rhandite's torso caught fire... and the man was no longer laughing or screaming... he was already dead.

... And Ric caught a phantom blade of Sith Poison embedded into his heart, and such a blade was also thrown at Aethan in the same moment it was thrown at Ric, whether or not it struck is for him to know.

[member="Aethan Tannan"]

 

[Aethan Tannan]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship
Objective: Download Information/Data from the Computer Core. Stay Alive.

​

...so it came to this. A deadly duel that concluded between Ric and the Rhandite after Aethan had given his companion the means to recover and distracted their enemy in turn. Truth be told Aethan was happy that Ric was back in the fight because had this proceeded any other way it likely would have ended in the the Explorers death. After sending out his last force push Aethan had almost been ready to turn his head and accept his fate if the Rhandite started back for him but Ric was there attacking with ferocity and a brashness that even alarmed Aethan himself...

...he remained slumped against the corridor wall while Ric engaged the Rhandite in the second half of their short but lethal duel until he stretched a hand out to brace himself and started to climb back onto his feet slowly. Aethan was still injured and wouldn't be an exceptionally proficient opponent at the moment but his wound was transforming from lethal to aggravated. Looking down he saw the burn mark where the blaster had struck him and punched through the thin layer of armorweave beneath his visible clothing. No blood was present, the wound was primarily cauterized but the pain remained, lingering in his mind and physically, as he came back to his feet and braced himself with his left hand while the right clutched his lightsaber...

....out of his peripheral vision he saw something flash between the Rhandite and Ric towards him and Aethan answered by whipping his lightsaber out to his right defensively. The Lightsaber would tilt outwards at a forty-five degree angle and try to swat at whatever the Rhandite had thrown. It was mostly successful. Mostly. When the lightsaber made contact with the blade it didn't deflect it so much as it shattered it into smaller shards of steel some of which caught Aethan as he completed his maneuver. He barely felt the cut that was visible on his cheek where a shard of steel had cut across his features, even now it was beginning to heal, a thin trace of blood leaked freely but the sith poison would have introduced itself into his body even by this shallow wound...

...the words of the Rhandite came next and then the smell of his smoldering ruins as his body caught fire. Aethan moved to Ric's side, his left hand suddenly tense for an unknown reason, where he would offer his support..."Ric."...it wasn't until he was actually at his side that he noticed the knife embedded in his allies chest and he reached out to help the man while deactivating his lightsaber. As he reached out Aethan was careful, he'd try to take Ric's arm so that he could support some of his weight if it looked like the man might be unsteady on his feet..."We made it Ric. Now don't die."...

-------------------------------------

...the Computer Core was an enormous room filled with terminals used to access information and different types of data and a room that that stretched into an arced ceiling. A massive holoterminal occupied the center of the room where the Computer Core was housed with the core itself contained within that terminal and beneath the durasteel panels of the room stretching down into the Command Ship extensively. Likely everything went here in some shape or form...

...unless Ric could walk on his own two feet Aethan would help him into the room while stating..."This is our payout my friend."...taking the both of them towards the massive holoterminal in the center of the room. Producing a datstick that would likely only be able to hold a fraction of the information on the terminal Aethan would have looked for a port he could insert it into and punch in a search on the controls for anything important he could download. Prophecies, schematics, teachings, anything...​

​

[member="Fatty"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Location: Rhandite Command Ship, en route to small hangar
Objective: Obtain lightsaber components (crystal or otherwise)

"There is a bit of the dark side in all of us..." Nefertari had once said, looks like this was true. After boarding the command ship by way a borrowed starfighter, she makes her way toward the smaller hangar. Hopefully she can find what she's looking for.

"That...thing I came in was a piece of junk. I really need to recover the dove." I whispered to myself, the dark side was strong here...almost intoxicating. In the corridor, an aged Rhandite bladesman stood in my way.

"You shouldn't be here, little girl" he said "The Dark and the wisdom of nearly 90 years has made me quite the formidable blademan" After that, he took a metal tube from his waist. "I'm sure you know what this is"

Our blades ignited, his in a bright yellow and mine in magenta. As he was dashing forward, I struck a Makashi stance. There we were, locked in combat.