Welcome to the Gala!

[TAC]

Larik reached the door in little time, paying careful attention to still keep his presence within the force masked in the way he had prepared. Giving his lack of force sensitivity for the last few months he was a bit out of practice, and it took concentration instead of being sustained almost naturally. As he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a young man wielding a igniting lightsaber.

The Jedi Master backpedaled, his own lightsaber snapping to his hands, the recognition in the boy's voice stopping him from igniting and attacking. The man caught his breath, regarding the young fellow. He recognized him, from his days as Shadow Keeper - but he wasn't a Jedi. 'What's his name?' the man thought to himself, staring oddly at the boy. He had been a Jedi sympathizer and had run supply missions with his family, primarily to Anoth, never to Arbra. Larik had never met him, but he had kept records on everyone who went in and out of the Jedi bases during his tenure.

"Tal?" the man inquired, nodding after he asked. But, why was the boy equipped with a lightsaber? While the form was a bit sloppy, it was about what Larik would expect out of a more advanced Padawan. Good control, posture was a bit lacking, but that might be either fear or confusion or some combination of the two. Probably the first, as the boy breathed heavily, a reaction Larik was glad he had contained enough that he hadn't tried to cut the Jedi into two.

"What is this place, and how did I get here?" the man followed up, almost immediately. He allowed his presence to extend beyond the ripples around him, picking up the many artifacts around them. Something in the distance, around a corner, moved - Larik's eyes shifted from the Jedi in front of him to the dark blackness of the hallway. Of course, he couldn't see a damned thing. He had seen, or rather felt, the movement through the Force. It was a bit overwhelming to once again and suddenly exposed to the many reactions of the Living Force. His stare into the darkness did not invite the Padawan to speak, the Corellian's brow furrowed as he concentrated.

Suddenly, the doors ahead of the two Jedi erupted. Larik spun, putting himself between the explosion and the Padawan, and he threw up a quick barrier that pointed like two side of a triangle. The debris slide across the barrier, safely passing both of the Jedi. Once it had subsided, Larik took a deep breath, his lightsaber unlit and in hand as he regarded this new threat. Realizing he would need his full attention to the battle, as he was somewhat out of touch from the long months of exile, he dropped away the facade that masked his presence.

Quicker than the room had filled with the passions and rage of the new entry, the force around them exploded with light, as Larik called upon the Force to flow around and through him. For the Jedi Master, it was like breaking the surface of the water which had held him captive for months, and those around him would feel the beauty of the Force as it gave the man . His body felt limber, his reactions and mind acute to what was going on around him. His lightsaber snapped to life in a defensive position, the longer, gray blade flickering and sputtering as it extended.

"So. I assume there is a reason I woke up naked and force sensitive, surrounded by a bunch of Sith and Jedi sneaking around an old museum?"

 

[Black Noise]

@Vulpes

Asger spun as the Codru-Ji fell to the ground, facing her, he could have immediately sprung upon her, vicously and mercilessly tearing her apart. But Asger was no Sith, and he was more than willing to jeopardize a combat advantage to keep his honor intact. Flipping his blades back up in a readied position, both vertically ignited, the cyborg began speaking.

His voice was now very clearly mechanical, so much of him had been replaced by machine, it was often a jarring experience to remember his body outlasted his vocal cords. He dropped his facade and gave his pitch, all the while keeping very much attentive to both the jedi and the newcomer. Should either attack while he spoke, he would be prepared. He didn't know who this person was, but he spoke to them both as he gave his words. "If it is one thing I know, it is battle. It is a knowledge I have painstakingly aquired over the many years I have existed. I have always expected I would need these skills, but there was once a time I could never see myself turning them on my fellow Jedi.

The remnant order is a dying, misguided sect. For too long, we have watched the galaxy suffer under the rule of the Sith, now is the time we stopped! In order to create peace, we must first create a sustainable civilization, and in order to create such a civilization, we must have Justice. For too long, the jedi hace run from their crimes. They must be purged, Jedi and Sith alike, in order to bring Justice to the galaxy.

I am Commander Asger of the Brotherhood of Light, and we are the fire that will purge this galaxy. The question is, will you burn with us? Or will you be purged?"

 

[Alphonse Cunningham]

The Anzat rolled his eyes. "Fellow Jedi." Had they shown less combat experience in the little duel they had, the Sith would've challenged the Codru-Ji to a duel, but two Master-level Jedi would definitely kill him. Rubbing his chin, the Acolyte considered leaving to find the other Sith. Argh, confound it, he thought. The anger in him was already collecting, slowly boiling into a rage, but he couldn't possibly win the fight. The most he could do was maim them both. Stretching a little, he looked at the droid and spoke. "Yeah, uhh, you know, I think I should make myself scarce." With that, Alphonse began walking away, admiring the lopsided paintings.

The Anzat did not enjoy fighting hand-to-hand or sword-to-sword. He always preferred having an advantage over his enemy, and stealth was always fun. Of course, he did get out of his comfort zone every now and then, but now was not the time. Yawning, he left their field of vision. They'd have to chase him if they wanted to fight him, and this compelled him to hide behind a pillar. He waited, hoping the Sith wouldn't have to fight.

 

[Vulpes]

@Black Noise

The Jedi Master coughed as she got back up, feeling her heart rate slowly settle down. It had been so long since she actively engaged in real combat, with a lightsaber. Arikka refused to let the adrenaline overwhelm her, as she had always been taught. Her opponent had given her a second chance, and she internally questioned his ulterior motive. She had not yet professed her commitment to the Jedi to Asger, but she also had not concealed herself within the Force.

But was she really committed to the Jedi? Arikka felt dumbfounded, this was one of the first times in over a decade she questioned her loyalty, but his speech gave her time to contemplate it. She had strayed from the code, bribing mercenaries to fight for her, and the actions she committed in order to be initiated into the Ona'bak Retrade, and eventually Hutt Cartel. A thought came back to her. It was one she had buried a long time ago, thinking she was at peace with it. She was on Tatooine, and she wasn't much past a pup. Her father's slugthrower was in her hands, the moment she was taught to shoot by him. It was also the first day she had ever killed anything. A womp rat. It was unexpecting, unaware of the two Codru-Ji on the ridge. She remembered her vision tearing up, and poor trigger discipline caused her to jerk the trigger. It was a miracle it hit, or a misfortune. The would later eat it. The day after, Arikka had committed to a vegetarian lifestyle.

Arikka was shocked this memory rushed back into her mind. It was the sinister pull of light and dark in the artifacts around her that brought this doubt into her mind. It was repressed. It was the first time Arikka had ever felt like she committed a sin. Eventually joining the Jedi Order alleviated this, and her life felt back on track. She went under the apprenticeship of Larik Novan, unbeknownst to her who was in the same building. The Shoto, which slid down the hall, a remnant of her training under him.

The relapse in memory had clouded Arikka, and she knew it was no time to continue thinking about it. She did her best to repress it as she clasped onto her dual-bladed hilt, twisting it to cause part of it to detach into an individual, single bladed lightsaber. Without igniting it, she spoke out to her robotic enemy; "The Dark Side has clouded your view of the Jedi. I can help mend your connection with the Light, Asger."

 

[Beta12]

When you make an entrance, make it big.

It only took moments for the shock wave to reach his end of the hall, sending grout, tile, and pent of force energy loose into the exhibits before him. Glass shattered, pedestals shook, and ancient artifacts flew from their assigned locations like priceless trash swept up in a heavy breeze. Though the stone corner had kept him sheltered from the brunt of the attack, the rage that tore into his empathetic link made his whole body burn with a twisted new energy. Rage like that could only have come from Brother Joe, the man who would try his best to kill Master Larik Novan. Though the idea of murder had made his skin crawl moments earlier, the emotions surging through his being made him regret his former weakness.

The sheer power of the force eventually ebbed, unable to be sustained, but the murky blackness that lingered behind it seemed to make the broken artifacts scattered around him hum with a new found energy. Fear and second thoughts had been washed away. Even if he ran, he would have little else to go in a world plagued with war, chaos, destruction and death. There was no one left to him that he cared about, and the only way that could change was if the galaxy began again. Dyson took a deep breath and stood, igniting both ends of his light saber with the flick of his wrist. Novan was saying something as he moved to round the corner, but his words were lost to the Zeltron as the screech of saber combat began to fill other portions of the greater rooms.

"Stand. Down." Dyson was surprised by the authority in his own voice as he stood at the cusp of the hall, the lower end of his double bladed saber digging into the floor underneath him. Illuminated in the bright green glow of his blades, the Zeltron spoke up once again. "You do not want to die here today, none of us do." Whether or not that was true, Dyson's own voice softened, his violet eyes focused on the blond Padawan near Novan instead of the Master himself. The Zeltron took a few cautious steps forward, fully aware of the fact that his partner would still be on the offensive. The tile and grouting that had remained stuck to his end of the hall puffed and spat as his blade drug along it. "You, and others like you, are the future of the Jedi order. But what is that now? A broken shell of what it use to be. So many died in the years after the fall, because the Jedi were to weak to stop the Sith. They abandoned the galaxy, and they abandoned me."

He paused then, closer now to the two, taking the moment of respite in battle to move partially into an open doorway, now leaning against the opening. "I doubt you are old enough to remember, but when Coruscant fell, it fell without the protection of the Jedi. They had abandoned it days earlier, choosing to save their lives and hide in caves like rats, content to ignore the needs of the galaxy for years. Now, after all this death, they choose to appear and make use of push created by those who were brave enough to fight." He shook his head in disgust, one emotion that he didn't need to fake during this speech. "The order is broken, this galaxy is broken, our lives are broken. The only difference is that I will continue to live after today. However, you will not if you choose to fight with Master Novan. Toss your saber to the ground and get out of this museum while you still can. You don't hold the weight of the Jedi's failures on your shoulder like he does." It was his hope that as a Zeltron, his empathy and pheromones alone would convince the Padawan his way was right if his words did not.

@TAC @Raydo @Lucid

 

[Black Noise]

@Vulpes
Asher did nothing as the woman moved, he made no movements as she spoke. When she was finished, he retained his previous posture and replied. He was resolute, and he could sense her faltering. It was gentle, not some life changing doubt, but strong enough to grab her attention. Either Asger would break her here, or she would come out more hard set in the old ways.

"Has it? Or has the order lived so long under the fog of war that they do not remember what it was like to see clearly? Don't let sentimentality blind you. Jedi, Sith, Light and Dark, all must be burned away to allow for a pure foundation for justice. As long as we continue like this, we can never establish a stable civilization."

Preparing to attack, once more Asger stepped up and prodded at the Codru-Ji's defenses. Stepping forward with his right foot, he thrust his right blade into a prodding stab. All the while, he kept his shoto prepared to defend should the need arise.

 

[Joshu Pladata]

He stood across from the stranger as he responded that it was "good". Joshu felt that there was something wrong though. a feeling of foreboding hung over him, and he couldn't bring himself to take his hand off of his lightsaber hilt. The stranger then leaned to the side to look behind Joshu asking "Is that it?". The Padawan felt himself lean with the man in front of him to obstruct his view but before he could answer the man question he was told that it didn't matter. He was told that the stranger was taking the device and that he should move.

"Not a chance" Joshu responded still and stony faced. His removed his lightsaber from his belt yet did not ignite it, not yet. He gathered his focus as he would need to be ready for a fight and began to study the man in front of him. The man was thin, of average height, but he carried a lot of weaponry, weaponry Joshu would have to take note of having only his lightsaber. Before anymore movements were made Joshu said "You do what you have to" Resigning himself to the battle that was about to unfold.

@Kibagami

 

[Kibagami]

"Not a chance"
This guy was either a colossal fool or a lying coward, the fool would follow through with his conviction and take the full brunt of the devastating Souba head-on and get crushed, the liar would go back on his word and retreat to a safer condition. It was up to the padawan whether he really believed his own rhetoric or not. Whatever he chose, it would have zero impact on what was going to happen; taking that artifact.

The next syllable out of the man's mouth triggered Jubei's hips to twist, lifting his body only to gain momentum for the fall as his right foot slid back, both in tandem to generate the raw torquing power needed to wield the mammoth weapon in such a manner. The dim lighting, and the fact that the man couldn't possibly see the actual weapon or even what it was, would make it difficult to know the exact moment the twin blades broke free of the double-wide scabbard. Jubei would take advantage of this measure of uncertainty the moment the overarching swing reached it's apex, the very moment when any warrior worth his salt would have already put up his strongest defenses. In that moment, when all focus was aimed upwards to the impending downwards crush, when any inclination of survival rested on a successful barricade on high, a Force-sped horizontal slash from (my) left to right came seemingly out of nowhere aimed to eviscerate and disembowel the man squarely between the ribcage and the navel. Far faster than the swing of the twin-blades, as Jubei had spent nearly his whole life mastering his Nukiuchi (or Nukitsuke depending on who you ask), so much so that it's been known to go supersonic.

Misdirection, ill-lighting and psudo-feint were employed in order to take any attention away from his right hand reaching for the laser-sharp katana at his left hip, poised to rend flesh. It's been said that being cut by this blade was something like being tickled with a feather.

The follow-though continued, the Souba came crashing downwards at a slight angle, aimed to slice into the man's right Trapezoid on downward. Of course, if the man decided he was a lying coward, the glass casing would surely suffer.
@Joshu Pladata

 

[Joshu Pladata]

The stranger wasted no time, Joshu had barely opened his mouth when a he noticed the man's hips twitch. His right foot went back, probably to create a strong base for what would undoubtedly be a heavy strike. This wasn't the young man's first battle and being so close the stranger afforded him a number of opportunities to soften the incoming attack and buy him time to raise his own defenses. Joshu threw a kick towards the stranger's left leg in hopes of weakening his base, ideally this would send him crashing to the ground, though the more likely result would be a softened blow. A blow soft enough for Joshu to defend against as he was now raising his ignited lightsaber with both hands to block the heavy strike, which, even if his kick was inneffective, would ensure Joshu was safe and with the weight of the weapon, it would be near impossible to change trajectory effectively. To ease the strain that would be put of him by the weight of his opponent's weapon, Joshu would attempt to deflect the blade when blocking the attack, to do this he took a side step shifting his weight left. At this point the Padawan felt a warm sensation at his stomach, despite his action, Joshu had failed to notice a second attack, which thankfully only managed to pierce the skin slightly, the attack hurt and would no doubt affect how the Padawan would fight but it wasn't fatal, not on it's own.

It was painfully obvious now that Joshu would have to do more than simply be reactionary in the battle. Continuing his sideways motion from before he opened up more space between himself and the man. He had left the artifact open but hopefully the stranger was ready for a fight and not willing to simply snatch the item and run.
@Kibagami

 

[Vulpes]

@Black Noise

Arikka parried away the probe on her defenses with relative ease, opting to rely purely on defense for the moment. She was uncertain if she would be able to convince her opponent to lay down arms, but these passive prods gave her an opportunity to try; "I have helped several who strayed into the darkness. Give me a chance to help you."

She sidestepped clockwise around him, keeping her lightsaber infront of her, with her hand on the one still on her belt. She felt uncomfortable standing motionless in combat.

 

[Raydo]

"A museum, I thought I was alo...." the young man was cut off as everything around them seemed to erupt with commotion. Gavin crouched low and was protected by Larik's barrier.

"I don't know what the reason is, but I am sure glad you are here" he said seeing the second figure emerge around the corner.

Gavin trained his lightsaber and the newcomer as he began to speak. He made sure to keep himself between the Zeltron and Larik. Gavin thought the Jedi Master would have a much more experienced foe than this arrogant fool walking down the hallway.

The Zeltron actually broke out into a speech. Gavin felt the putt on his mind as the man spoke. It still made him almost laugh at him. "I am a Jedi, I listen to boring lectures all day, and your speech right there was just about the biggest load of garbage I have ever heard." Gavin said as he pointed the blade at the Zeltron "If you must fight to continue your little pity party you have going on here, so be it."

He suddenly lunged at the Zeltron, closing the gap between the two in a single Force assisted jump. He swung hard downward towards the Zeltron's head. Gavin was strong and with the force of momentum would most likely push past any direct defense.

The hall way they were in was narrow at only 6 feet across, and the walls were bare. It would not give either of them much room to dance around. Any type of acrobatics would be of limited use in this place.

@Beta12

 

[Black Noise]

@Vulpes

"Give me a chance-"

Asger cut off the woman right there, blasting out a powerful telekinetic shove aimed directly at the Codru-Ji's abdomen and pulling his blade back towards himself. He was done talking, if she did not see the light, then she would die blind. Immediately, regardless of the success of his shove, he twisted his feet to face the woman and swung outward with his main blade in his right hand.

His strike intended to bisect her at the waist, simultaneously he kept his shoto back and prepared to strike, either to defend or counter, whatever was needed. Asger's augments in his arms made him far stronger than the average man, if the woman attempted to one handed block him, she would likely fail.

 

[Beta12]

I am a Jedi, I listen to boring lectures all day, and your speech right there was just about the biggest load of garbage I have ever heard. If you must fight to continue your little pity party you have going on here, so be it.

Dyson couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and snort at the younger man's comment. It was surprising that he was somehow able to completely ignore his Zeltronian pheromones and empathy, being a baseline human, but there was little time to focus on that considering the fact that the blonde now had his light saber pointed directly toward him. From the looks of it, the man had quite a few muscles, but nothing frightening compared to what Dyson had seen on Korriban. A life in acrobatics, training with the Jedi, training with the Sith, and training with himself had kept him remarkably in shape as well.

"I would reconside-" The blonde man lunged forward with little warning, using the force in an attempt to close the gap between him. Though he surely meant to come into his attack with surprise and strength on his side, there was little that could be accomplished from an attack with Dyson still halfway inside of a doorway, especially when the Padawan had both hands wrapped around the hilt of his lightsaber . With his duel bladed saber already ignited and held upright, firmly in his right hand, the Zeltron simply tilted the top of his blade inward and to the left, parrying the attack brought on by the Padawan. Both the blade and upper wall surrounding the doorway assisted the Zeltron in his defense. However, with his left hand free, the Zeltron had simultaneously directed his left palm toward the incoming Padawan, letting loose a powerful burst of force energy meant to send the blonde man flying back toward the direction and master he had come from.

@Raydo @TAC

 

[Kibagami]

With most of his body weight firmly grounded on his left leg in combination with technique honed over decades of hardened practice versus a hastened, snap-decision kick thrown out of desperation rather than purpose(You didn't state what foot you kicked with but since it's my left leg it's safe to assume it's your right foot), Jubei's stance stood virtually unmoved and his attacks all but unaffected. While the man may have prepared a defense for a hopefully faulty, softer over-head attack, he would find it not so, the Souba would retain it's full power, undoubtedly smashing through whatever hurried, ill-prepared defenses. The weightlessness of a lightsaber blade would have a truly difficult task trying to stop such a mass of sharpened Cortosis-plated Quadanium infused with kinetic energy and assisted by gravity.

The kick didn't go completely unnoticed however, as it had caused a flash of sheer annoyance within Jubei. His rebuttal was to further extend the reach of his left arm to make damn sure the katana cut as deeply as he possibly could before the Souba fell.
@Joshu Pladata

 

[Vulpes]

@Black Noise

The Codru-Ji sensed the incoming wave of energy and stuck her two lower arms out, creating a telekinetic push of her own to counteract the oncoming one. Almost immediately after, she saw the blade of Asger's lightsaber swinging at her, and she gripped her lightsaber with both arms, attempting a saber-lock with it. With her free, lower right hand, she unclipped the upper portion of her lightsaber and ignited it, to reveal the faded golden tinted blade. With it, she took a quick, one armed swing at the cyborg's midsection, coming in from his left.

 

[Raydo]

Gavin's lightsaber strike was battered to the side, the goal was to keep this one off of Master Novan for as long as possible.

He was then flung backwards by the Force. He flew backwards ten feet, but when he hit the ground, he used the momentum to roll backwards. His roll minimized any chances of being injured when hitting the ground.

He came up on his feet. His lightsaber held out in front of him ready to defend himself.

@Beta12

 

[Kibagami]

The pitched sounds of shattering glass filled the high ceilings of the museum showroom, shortly followed by the light patter of dripping blood. His stance became passive as the Katana retreated back into it's place of rest. A light pull of the Souba wasn't enough to dislodge it from the man's broken Clavicle, a foot was shoved into the man's chest with a violent heave, and with it the momentary audible scrape of bone on metal. He fell and slumped over, red wet his clothes, his lightsaber rolled on the ground. Jubei knelt down to gather his foe's saberhilt, this was when he noticed the man still breathed.

With out hesitation he brought up the Souba, blade tips pointed straight down at the man's heart ready to plunge and end whatever suffering was being experienced, but in that moment he remembered something his once wife had said years ago during his zenith as a Jedi: "It's your compassion that I love, you care so much about this world, it's people. Don't ever lose that." His head tilted at the internal conflict within him and scoffed with disappointment at himself. Even now she still held his heart firmly in her hands.

The twin blades were sheathed and again Jubei knelt down but next to the bloodied man. "If you live, and you still feel raw about it... Come find me." And tossed the saber, rolling into a widening puddle of sticky crimson liquid. "If not..." said as he stood and pulled the chonin-gasa atop his head. "...may the Force be with you." The words spat mockingly.

The item the man may die protecting was put into the canvascloth satchel, he didn't care what it was but if it's in a place like this then it must be important in some way or another. He went on, smashing and taking whatever trinkets, baubles, curios and anything else small enough to stuff into his satchel.
(pillage & plunder! Ima pirate! aarrrgh!)

 

[Black Noise]

@Vulpes

Without hesitation, Asger snapped his shoto up and swung for the Codru-ji's hand on her double bladed lightsaber. He aimed to catch the blade in the middle, and while he did not know what the hilt was made of, he was confident that he could hold it back and maybe take a few of her fingers in the process.

Regardless of that, once he blocked the blade at the hilt, he would begin using his machine-like strength to push against the woman, aiming to back her up towards the wall.

 

[TAC]

Behind the Master Jedi, the Padawan clashed with his equal. Larik had broken a bit of a smile when the Sith Zeltron launched into his tirade. It was even better that he had tried to use pheromones on them. The Correlian had elected to not reply, although it would have been interesting to hear what the being had to say about Larik staying and fighting on Coruscant. Bringing his attention to the task at hand, he pushed the thoughts and memories out of his mind, with a note that perhaps it would be worth it to have a conversation with the Sith Zeltron. The Sith obviously wanted blood in the moment, however, and Larik found little trouble in allowing them to spill their own.

Not waiting for his opponent, the man jumped up meters towards the high ceiling, using inertia to give him strength in his opening overhead strike. His style had never really been strength, though, and he immediately erupted into a three-pronged flurry once his feet hit the ground - left, right, right. While the overhead strike would have gotten the Sith's attention, it was the precision of the strikes that followed that would pose the largest threat to his opponent.

 

[Raydo]

After making sure his opponent wasn't going to press an attack attack, Gavin ran forward again, closely the gap quickly. He swung in a right-left horizontal slash and side stepped to the right bringing him in front of the doorway.

His Force skills were not as practiced as his blade skills but he readied to defend himself against Force attack.

Immediately after his first attack, he thrusted his blade forward. The blade would pierce the Zeltron’s chest. The doorway would confine the Zeltron and make it difficult to dodge or parry either of his attacks.