Ask Blood Omen

[Katherine Stargazer]

Music​

Walls of dark granite rock loomed malevolently on all sides. Overhead flickered ill-maintained light fixtures hung by cheap wire. The tunnel was narrow and long; alternate paths split off seemingly at random, leading into the giant mountain, intersecting with one another without a plan. Kat was spitting mad, glaring at anything and everything as she was shoved along the corridor. Her hands and feet were imprisoned with heavy manacles, stifling her movements to a shuffle, much to the amusement of the guard moving her along.

The guard barked something she didn't understand and shoved her forward with the barrel of his blaster, making her stumble. She caught herself before she fell over, and the death glare she gave the guard made the suddenly less confident Weequay swallow nervously. They moved on, emerging into an enormous open cavern ringed with viewing rooms. In contrast to the dingy tunnels, the cavern was well lit, making it easy to judge its length. The various tunnels spat out a diverse group of people; some manacled like Kat and some free and carrying weapons.

At one of the highest, most opulent viewing rooms, Kat could see a group of chalky white figures sitting. She recognized one such figure, who had been the first to arrive when the starliner she was traveling on crashed down onto the forsaken planet. He was wearing armor of gold and led the group of soldiers that had re-enslaved her. She was going to kill him, she thought. There wasn't a doubt in her mind about this fact.

Heavy metal gates slammed down, cutting off the tunnels from anyone trying to escape, and suddenly her manacles released with a beep. She pushed them off and massaged her wrists, glaring around with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Thankfully, she caught sight of the woman she had been chatting with on the starliner, and instantly walked over to her, intent on keeping her as an ally.

Before she could speak, however, the armed creatures around them cheered as the man in gold armor stood. "Ladies andi gentlemen! grotjan tiz sa cauldron! tonight! ainaz hundred warriors fram around sa galaxy Habhjanan kwemanan tiz feuHtanan in sa arena! they Habhjanan kwemanan tiz feuHtanan andi kill until þar remains only ainaz champion amongst them! þar ar ne rules in þat Hallō! Hi's kill aiththau bi killed! feuHtanan! die! kill!"

Kat didn't understand a word, yet that seemed to be the cue to start, and the fighters began circling the arena, getting better angles and eyeing others for an easy kill. Kat stretched quickly, twisting back and forth and pulling one limb after the other. "Let's stick together and kill that bastard in the box when we get a chance." She said to the other woman. Kat hoped that she wouldn't just be stabbed in the back, but looking at the firepower the other warriors seemed to have brought in, she needed an ally to watch her back.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Where the hell had she gotten herself into? Celeste just couldn't stop shaking her head, silently cursing under her breath. "You are going to regret this", she has warned the men who had taken her in a noticeable, dangerous growl, but they didn't speak their language and even if they did, they wouldn't actually care, she presumed.

Celeste let out one last sigh of desperation before she got herself back together. Being pissed wouldn't change a thing about their situation and she had also learned that she couldn't charme her way out of this situation. This...culture here was different. It was not just the different languages, but also their culture which made diplomacy useless in this situation. And so instead of talking and proving herself useful in the arts of persuasion and deception, Celeste knew that her only chance to escape was to fight back.

She obviously wouldn't have any problems with fighting for her way into freedom, but she did contemplate whether it was worth the killing. She figured, however, that those awful men deserved it anyway, as they did not even offer her the chance for any kind of conversation and so she had no choice. She would kill them all.

Celeste had a certain advantage and this was the Force. The captors had literally no idea what she was capable of and the prospect of suprising them soon made her smirk now. The smirk, however, vanished as soon as she perceived a movement in the corner of her eye but it immediately turned out to be the woman she was speaking with earlier. Her tense muscles relaxed a bit while she directed her gaze at the tall blonde, but before they could interact, the announcer piped up.

Funnily enough, she understood enough of the Rattataki's speech to straighten up and mentally prepare for the said fight, but before she would ensure that no one would get out of here alive, the woman spoke to her. "That sounds like a plan to me. I'm not actually trained in such gladiator shit, but seems like we don't have a choice. I will watch your back", she assured her honestly. An ally was a good idea and they were somehow in the same boat she also sensed that her statement was honest. They had taken her lightsaber and blaster, but Celeste wouldn't need that necessarily. Her plan was, however, to keep hiding her capability with the Force until it was actually needed, rather focusing on getting a weapon at first.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Blaster fire raked across the feel indiscriminately. The shooter cared little for aiming, holding its repeater at its hip and spraying in an arc. Kat didn't dodge; she didn't need to. A Gamorean ran right at her, squealing shrilly, only to have the bolt that might have killed Kat strike it in the head, melting its brains.

That gave Kat the time to nod at the smaller woman tensely. "Call me Kat." She said quickly before rolling her shoulders and taking a fighting stance. A chalky Rattataki ran at her, screaming some battle cry, making Kat wince at the noise. She never did well with crowds or noise, but she'd just have to deal.

She dodged a heavy-handed thrust from the Rattataki man, who wielded a thrumming Vibro-blade, only to grab his overextended arm and retaliate with a fierce uppercut with her left hand. At the same time, her right crushed the delicate wrist bones of his arm, making him scream in pain and drop the weapon. Kat shoved him away, somewhere behind her, and dove to the ground just before a Zabrak woman blasted them both. Kat scrambled forward, getting back to her feet only to watch as some insectoid creature swung a giant hammer, smashing the Zabrak out of the way.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

They had just started their conversation when the turmoil started to erupt. Fighting began everywhere, in every corner of this makeshift fighting pit, and Celeste did not only here blaster sounds, but also battle cries, metal clanging and a jubilant crowd. Wonderful. Just perfect. Could this little trip have ended any worse?

When the woman gave her her name, Celeste nodded curtly while she spun around, hindering the scraggy Rattataki behind her from ramming a crooked knife into her chest. It was truly a blessing that she could read their minds without effort, knowing what almost every last one of those fighters had just planned. "I'm Celeste", she responded while disarming the dark haired men with ease, but she knew that not every one would be such an easy fight.

As soon as she had dealt with the first one, she sensed a blaster being aimed right at her throat, but when the Twi'lek had fired, the laser beam immediately shot back at him, leaving a huge gash at his own throat, making him sink to the ground, fighting for hist last breaths. Chaos reigned in this arena and keeping an overview was getting harder and harder for Celeste, which was why she decided to focus only on Kat and herself, while at the same time not trying to make anyone notice that she was the one using the Force and thereby becoming a bigger target.

Dodging another laser beam, Celeste dived to Kat's left flank, keeping a Rodian from using his metal sword against the taller woman by pushing him back with the Force in one swift motion. She knew she had to be careful, but Celeste knew she was lacking the strength to keep up with the majority of the participants and so so had to rely on her agility and her other capabilities.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat thought about scrambling for the Zabrak's dropped blaster but quickly dismissed the idea. She didn't know how they worked or how to use one. She thought similarly about the Vibro-sword currently driving a furrow into the ground. She might have been able to swing it clumsily, maybe even hurt someone with it, but she didn't know how to use it effectively, making it next to worthless in her hands.

So, fists it was. The same slathering Rattataki came screaming back, hoping to get revenge for his wrist. Kat suffered a strike to the side and whirled on the man just as he was winding up for another attack. She ducked her head, blocking the punch with one arm while lashing out with the other, crushing his nose. He staggered, letting Kat move in close, grappling him and destroying his other wrist. He wailed, and she kicked out at one of his knees, bending it backward grotesquely. Finally, she shoved him into the path of a blaster bolt headed for Celeste.

She let out a breath and looked around for more targets. The Rodian Celeste had shoved was staggering to its feet, so before he could become a threat, Kat quickly moved over to him and kicked him onto his back before planting her booted foot on his neck and twisting violently, breaking the bone.

"Behind you!" Kat yelled, looking back at Celeste. The same insectoid was taking long strides over to the smaller woman, towering over her with its massive club. In a fit of desperation, Kat picked up the Rodian's sword and tried to throw it like a javelin, flying toward the creature clumsily.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The jubilant spectators made it increasingly harder to concentrate. Celeste knew that she had to maintain her focus und try not to loose control over her emotions, as the consequences could be devastating. The ones that had captured the two unalike women wanted an entertaining show and even though she didn't want to offer them this satisfaction, she knew that she had to play along for now. Their first aim was to survive this bloodshed, then they could easily deal with the persons responsible for that mayhem.

In the heat of the moment, Celeste didn't realize that she was again being targeting from behind and if it weren't for Kat, she might have taken an unpleasant hit. Kat sent the sword in front of her flying, but judging from its trajectory, Celeste realized that the non-intended use of the weapon might not be as efficient as needed. She appreciated Kat's effort, but she felt obliged to correct the flying swords trajectory with the Force, sending it straight through the insectoid's skull. "Seems like I owe you one", she announced with a smirk nonetheless, using the short break inbetween the last and the next fight.

Celeste spun around again, sensing that someone came running at her with a loud growl. Her eyes fell upon a Rattataki woman, not much taller than herself, wo somehow happened to come into the possession of a lightsaber. Coincidentally a crimson red lightsaber, just like the one they stole from her. Could it be? She wondered for the glimpse of a second, but then figured that it didn't matter. What mattered was that she could easily gain a useful weapon. Judging from the woman's grip around the hilt, she had never wielded such a weapon before and so Celeste knew that this wasn't going to be tough.

She rushed ahead, barely avoiding the whirring blade before focing a knee into the woman's abdomen. She sent out a hiss, the air being forced out of her lungs before she dropped the lightsaber, but before Celeste could pick it up, the lightsaber glided away, landing into the grip of another human on the other side of the fighting pit.

Well...that was interesting. Another user of the Force. Now the fighting could actually get interesting. There was just one issue: If he was indeed Force sensitive (and there were no doubts now), he must be sensing her. But why couldn't she sense him before? "Watch that black-haired man in the back", she advised Kat curtly, hoping that this guy was also too involved in the turmoil to shift his attention towards the two allied women.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat watched in awe at her skill as the sword flew straight and true right into the brain of the strange alien! She threw her arms up in jubilation, celebrating in disbelief at the impossibility that she had just pulled off. The other fighters with the wherewithal to notice what was done similarly stared, unbelieving. Some roared with Kat, happy for exceptional bloodletting; others turned to her, treating her like a genuine danger.

Kat didn't notice until the last moment. A human crept up behind her silently and thrust forward with a long fighters knife. Kat tried to twist away but wasn't fast enough. The knife sank into her shoulder, sliding off the shoulder blade, making the man stumble from the momentum of suddenly moving forward again. Kat screamed in pain and anger as another scar was added to her almost striped body.

She gingerly clutched her left arm; whenever she tried to move it, shocks of pain rang all over her body. She spun, using her entire body's momentum to slam her fist into the man's temple, breaking bone and brain alike. She glanced around frantically but was thankfully at the center of a lull in the fight. She grabbed the man's knife, cut cloth strips from his twitching body, and awkwardly bandaged her weeping wound.

She couldn't see how well she did, but things could get significantly worse if she didn't do anything about the wound. She wouldn't die, she knew. Soon enough, the deep gash would stop bleeding all on its own, such was a quirk of her biology and cybernetics, but it would still slow her down massively.

Kat growled like an animal and stomped down again on the corpse, much to the crowd's jubilation. Oddly enough, they seemed like they were cheering for her. She got her bearings and moved back over to Celeste, absently testing her range of motion. "Think we could take him? I saw you reaching for that laser sword." Kat asked, breathing heavily.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

In the heat of the moment, Celeste was forced to dodge yet another laser beam, distracting her just long enough to let the next attacker hit Kat right in front of her eyes. She made a move to deal with him, but with raw strength, Kat had already dealt with him on her own. The gash in her shoulder looked deep at first glance, definitely as though it would hinder her in the near future, but Celeste knew that she could heal it as soon as she would have taken out the other Force user.

The crowd seemed to be delighted by her counterattack with which she had smashed the man like he was nothing. The jubilant chorus slowly seemed to be viewing her as a favourite and Celeste wasn't so sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. A few of the remaining fighters eyed her cautiously and Celeste sensed their fear, but a few others only seemed to be even more eager and thrilled. For now, however, she couldn't help but to shoot her an empathetic glance, giving her a short "hang in there" as a response, hoping that she could actually keep fighting until the very end.


When Kat asked her about the man, she took a second, focusing all of her concentration on the target, trying to find away into his thoughts, but he had his mental walls up. She didn't know whether he did this as a safety precaution, or whether he was already aware of Celeste and her abilities, but it wasn't good either way. "We can overthrow him, but we need to be strategic. He seems busy for now, but as soon as the crowd clears, I'll give you a signal. Deal?", she responded as fast as possible, but before the last word had even left her mouth, electricity ran threw her body. Looking down, she realized that she was hit by something that looked like a nunchuck, which was now entangled around her legs, sending waves of electricity through her flesh, making her sink to the ground while losing control over her muscles.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat caught her breath while Celeste talked. She rubbed the sweat from her forehead, but instead, the blood dripping down her arm left a dirty red smear across her face. She huffed in frustration but snapped back to the fight when the harsh crackling of electricity got a little too close for comfort. Celeste thrashed on the ground, and a Nautolan stood over her with a bloodthirsty grin. Kat huffed and brought her bloody fists up again, favoring her non-injured right side.

She led with a jab, making her opponent back off, turning his attention to her. The crackling weapon arced towards her, but she swiftly dodged forward, under the attack, and into her opponent. The man let out a shocked breath as her arms wrapped around his waist; he tried to strike her again, but his flailing wasn't enough to dislodge Kat before she could pick the fish-man up and fall backward into a bridge, ending in a brutal suplex. The Nautolan crashed into the ground face first, with an audible snap.

He didn't rise again while Kat watched, so she released him. Breathing heavily once again, she stumbled back to Celeste, speaking frantically, "Hell's bells, please be alright!" She tried to help the other woman up, glaring around at any other fighter who might dare to be anywhere near them.

"You're all pathetic! Fighting slaves for the amusement of a two-bit warlord like cowards!" She yelled angrily at any mercenary that cared to hear, venting her frustrations. "Come on; we don't have to do some gold-plated schmucks bidding. We'll stand a better chance of surviving if we stick together!" She then exclaimed, directing her words to the few remaining slave fighters. Her voice was ragged, and blood covered almost her entire left side.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste realized, once again, that the tall woman's intention seemed honest. She saved Celeste by dealing with the Nautolan who had managed to surprise her with his sudden attack. To her relief, she electricity stopped as soon as the man was tackled away, but even though Kat still seemed eager to fight, Celeste sensed her immense pain. She wished she could have treated her wound right away, but at this exact moment, too many spectators eyed them expectantly.

"Thanks again", Celeste said to the blonde woman next to her after she had helped her up, but what she did afterwards, suprised the Sith Champion. Kat suddenly tried to address all those fighters around her, hoping that they would listen to her logic appeal, but Celeste immediately doubted whether anyone inside this arena would have enough wit to understand that logic. Celeste appreciated the woman's optimism and ambition, but she was sure she knew how this would be answered.

To her surprise, some seemed to contemplate her idea. The slave fighters did focus their attention on the tall woman, eyeing her with both, suspicion and something that felt like hope. In the blink of an eye, Celeste, too, did decide something. She decided to lay more emphasis on Kat's declaration. She eyed the other Force-wielder, blocking him for her own thoughts, while she mingled the others' minds. It was a simple trick and yet effective. She simply helped the others understand why Kat's idea wasn't stupid. It would help all of them in the end, so persuading them wasn't that energy draining.

"Yeah, down with the schmucks!", another human man declared eagerly, raising his club into the air, wild determination in his eyes. Judging by his various scars, this wasn't his first fight and when he raised his weapon, others joined in as well. That was a pleasant turn of events for Celeste, as she did not intend to continue this pointless bloodshed. Her gaze shot back to the Force-sensitive man who kept eye contact for a moment. He knew it was her, she thought, but the man seemed to be more focused on saving his own ass than to fight her right now. You're still handing me back my lightsaber she thought fiercely, but right now, other matters required her attention, because another female insectoid was aiming some sort of crossbow straight at them. "Oh no you won't", she growled angrily, catching the arrow mid air, this time with her hand instead with the Force.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat laughed because 'Down with the schmucks!' as a rallying cry was silly. That, or the blood loss, was making her loopy. She was confident she would be fine; she could feel the blood flow slowing to a stop; however, the lightheadedness wouldn't be going away without rest. She breathed out slowly, trying to get her bearings and reassess what they needed to do.

However, she was shocked when Celeste caught a crossbow bolt out of the air like it was nothing. Kat looked from her to the insect and back to the other woman, sharing an incredulous look with the insect. She laughed again as the insect was thoroughly bludgeoned by the man who first spoke up for her. She felt a little bad about laughing at someone's brutal demise, but she couldn't muster up the emotion to care for some reason.

Still, it seemed the slaves were following her and Celeste now, so they'd best use this opportunity. Once Kat was sure Celeste could move independently, she released her with a nod. Her breathing became more manageable, and she started moving around the arena's edges. "Hey!" She called to the slowly grouping slaves that had just started following them, "Grab those blasters," She pointed at a few corpses, armored and not.

They hurried to obey, and Kat turned to Celeste. "Alright, what's the plan?" They were near the man with the red laser sword, dueling a huge lizardman wielding a Vibro-blade. "We might be able to lift one of the gates, or we could drag some bodies to the wall and maybe get the slaves to boost us up to that gold-plated jerks booth?" Kat wasn't a gladiator, and the cheers for her and Celeste were getting louder and louder by the minute. She wanted out of this situation, regardless of what she had to do—leaving unsaid that they could probably kill everyone in the arena and win whatever tournament was being put on here.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The tension filling this arena was growing, but while at first everyone was eager to fight, the mood had now shifted. It wasn't about fighting to survive and winning, it was getting rebellious instead. Kat's words had moved the remaining slaves, admittedly with the help of Celeste's mind tricks, but at least they were now all willing to follow. Even the unknown man with the lightsaber seemed to understand that working together would help himself the most, but Celeste remained suspicious and she would keep an eye on him.

When Kat commanded them to collect the unused weapons, the slaves obeyed. It was obvious that they wanted to break out of this arena, but no one seemed to know what they were supposed to do. They needed leadership and Celeste knew that both, Kat and she herself, were willing to fill this role. She considered Kat's idea for a moment, letting her gaze glide through the fighting pit. The gold-plated scumbag studied the situation critically from above, seemingly realizing that things were about to get out of hand.

"Whatever we do, we have to be quick. Wait a second, I've got an idea", she declared confidently, already hurrying into the direction of the gate. "You will open this gate right now and then shoot yourself with the blaster", she commanded the first two watchmen controlling the gate nearest to them and without hesitation, they obeyed. The metal gate began to lift and the two men collapsed, blood running out of their head wounds. Filthy men usually possessed the weakest minds, she darkly thought to herself. She hated to be that ruthless, but the warlords left her a choice.

"All right, let's go!" she bellowed loudly into the arena, her voice filled with authority, while the first started to run outside. Celeste waited for Kat to come over, stopping her at the exact same spot where no one from above could see them anymore. "Here, let me fix you" she then said in a rush, not actually waiting for a response of the tall woman. Celeste carefully placed a hand on her gash which no longer lost vast ammounts of blood, but even though it already seemed to heal, additional help was never a bad idea. She was suprised about how fast her wound was healing and if they would ever get the chance to talk in quiet, she would ask her about it, but for now she used the Force to mend what still could be mended.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

"Hardcore!" Kat breathed. Celeste commanded and the slavers obeyed. What a world, she thought, that people will just kill themselves if you asked them to. Those guards probably had a lot of problems! The various unwilling combatants scuttled through the gate, including some mercs who came to the sudden realization that this entire situation was quite a bit more deadly than they were prepared for.

She was about to follow, but she stopped when Celeste put her hand on her injured shoulder. She flinched, if only because she was high strung at the moment, and made to pull away. She didn't get the chance however when something cold slithered its way into her spirit. She stood up straight and shivered until Celeste pulled her hand away, and while she still felt freezing, she also felt overwhelming relief from the pain.

Kat gasped, rolled her shoulders, and stretched her arms. She let out a heavy breath and gave Celeste a hug, "Thanks!" She exclaimed because it was never a good idea to piss off a warlock. The unsettling coldness still sat in her like a weight, but it was slowly going away. "Let's move," she said, and started down the tunnel, running to catch up to the others.

The sound of the arena was still generally positive from the spectators, for they simply wanted a good show, and this little adventure was most certainly not expected. Down the tunnels, the sounds of fighting started picking up as guards were encountered, surprised at their posts.

The man wielding the laser sword watched us warily, absently removing the arm of a Rattataki, but the rest of the escapees were looking at her for some kind of guidance. As luck would have it, she had some experience with these kinds of escape attempts. "Alright everyone, here's the plan. Anyone in chains, you free them, anyone shooting at you, you kill them. We're heading for the booths to give that golden bastard our opinion of his hospitality, and from there we're taking this mountain!" Kat roared, throwing a fist in the air, and the slave soldiers roared back.

"I know the way!" A spindly Rattataki woman said in stilted common. Lashes and electrical burns covered her body, and she wielded a scavenged heavy repeater, which was probably half of her body weight. Around her neck was a simple iron collar, and dragging behind her was a chain.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste surely realized that Kat had seemingly no idea what the Sith Champion did to her. However that was neither the right place nor the right time for explanations and so she pressed on, forward into the direction of the tunnels, answering her unexpected hug with a warm smile. She surely seemed thankful, but Celeste could sense that she maintained a certain level of respect concerning her powers and her abilities with the Force. It was a good thing though that Celeste knew how to Force heal despite the fact that the ability originated from the Light side of the Force, otherwise she hadn't been able to help the tall, determined woman.

As they went on, the Sith Champion realized that she and Kat actually made a good team and she hadn't had this feeling in a long time. They didn't know each other for long, but Celeste knew that she could trust her and rely on her for now. When she declared her plans, most of the slaves agreed with a load roar, but some remained suspicious and seemed to be in need of some more persuasion. "You've heard the woman! Let's move and overthrow the gold-plated bastard who did this to all of us!", Celeste bellowed loudly, with an immense emphasis, the Force supporting every word.


When the Rattataki woman claimed she knew the way, Celeste immediately ran an insight check, proving whether her intention was pure but it indeed was. She felt the rage inside her that was building up since the injustices had started. With a short nod, she signaled Kat that they could trust her for now, but right after she did that, Celeste's gaze shot back at the man who still carried her own lightsaber. He was also still on their sight, but she could not only sense it, but also see it in his eyes: He would run away as soon as they were somewhat free, which was no problem per se, but Celeste wanted her lightsaber back as soon as possible and she would reclaim it, no matter what...

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat felt more than saw Celeste's approving nod. Good enough for her! "Lead on then! We've got slaver scum to kill!" She said with a bloody smile, which the Rattataki returned with full viciousness. She spun on her heel, aimed her cannon down a seemingly random tunnel, and began marching, full of vim and vigor.

"Clear rooms as we pass, and capture some alive if you can. I don't want anyone coming up behind us with a blaster!" She ordered because she felt like she should be the one doing so. Kat then followed the Rattataki, cautiously watching the intersections of tunnels. The rest of the group scrambled to obey, and while Kat would have loved to believe she was just that charismatic, she was starting to suspect that Celeste had used her Magic powers somehow.

Kat was no Warlock, but she had seen the effects of magic tyrants and their oh so melodious voices. She was simply glad it wasn't targeting her anymore. Further down the tunnel, the rhythmic blasting of a heavy repeater rang out like hammer strikes. Kat could hear the Rattataki woman laughing maniacally, cursing in her native language just under the noise.

Kat moved at a swift jog, putting her in just the right place to tackle a flanking soldier as he came out of one of the spiderweb-like tunnels. He was surprised and tried to bat her away with the butt of his rifle. However, he didn't have a good angle, merely glancing off Kat's side.

Quickly, she ripped a knife from a sheath on the man's belt and started stabbing him wherever she could. The man cried in pain, crumpling under Kat's assault. She stood up, bloody from the chest down, and let the man bleed to death on the floor. Perhaps she was losing it, and the pressure of this whole situation made her crack because she would never want this kind of fate for anyone, but she started laughing as well.

Regardless of what happened, it wouldn't make sense to die grumpy, after all.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Kat's suspicion have not gotten unnoticed. Celeste sensed that the tall woman was maybe at least a little unsettled by her use of the Force, but as long as Kat wouldn't actually fear her, Celeste figured that it was all right. She had literally nothing to fear from her, but those damn slavers did.

Celeste no longer cared whether anyone would see her use the Force, as every last witness would soon be dead anyway. She therefore deflected blaster beams with ease or choked someone here and there every now and then if she needed too. Everyone who dared to stand in der way was soon brutally removed.

For the champion this all didn't feel like fun. Like satisfaction maybe. The slavers were clearly injust and cruel and so everyone who followed them willingly had to be eliminated. But as the Rattataki women and soon also Kat began to laugh like a bunch of maniacs, a shiver ran down her spine. Was is a good idea to let Kat lead? Or was she yet another danger that had to be dealt with sooner or later? Celeste was contemplating for a moment while she rammed the vibro-knife that she had just picked up into a mercenary's throat, but she could sense that Kat's intentions were actually rather noble, or at least more noble than the ones of the local superiority.

However, before she could reconsider her choices concerning Kat further, she suddenly felt a vehement presence behind her and already saw the glowing crimson lightsaber blade in the corner of her eye. Immediately she rolled forward, just to see the lightsaber hit into the wall where she was just standing a moment ago. So her suspicion was appropriate. The man couldn't be trusted. Without further ado, she lunged forward, kicking him right between his legs. A dirty, simple trick and yet effective and unexpected. He hissed in pain while Celeste had already grabbed the hilt of her own lightsaber, yanking it out of his grip, turning the blade and pushing it right trough his throat. His head fell to the ground in front of her while his body collapsed and without looking at him she spun around and sprinted towards the rest of the group.

"Are you okay?" she bellowed as she had reached the turmoil once again, but her question was clearly directed at Kat and Kat only, even though a few former slaves responded at once.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat wasn't a big fan of violence. Well, that's a lie; she loves fighting, but she doesn't love killing. However, she was doing alright, and if anyone said otherwise, she would punch them. She cut off her laughter with a sudden intake of breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, I'm doing great!" She lied because she wasn't. She also wasn't going to tell the truth in a fight like this. "We need to keep going; the faster we move, the faster this gets done!" She hollered.

"Nice job with the laser guy, by the way," She said to Celeste because if Kat was any judge, it was a pretty masterful fight. She wasn't going to lose sleep over the man; he had a look about him that said 'not a very cool guy,' and he tried to stab Kat's friend. So as far as she was concerned, he was better off dead.

She pushed off the wall she was leaning on and moved down the tunnel on shaking legs. The Rattataki woman was perfectly unharmed; the thirteen assorted slavers were not. Blaster bolts covered the corridor, comically outlining the small woman with a silhouette of carbon scoring. She wasn't laughing anymore, but there was undoubtedly satisfaction in her gaze. One particular corpse seemed to have received the brunt of her attention, which indicated a history Kat didn't feel like she should dig into right now.

"How many guards are usually in this mountain?" Kat asked, sidling up beside her.

The other woman thought, "Less than this, but this is tournament season, so there would be more. There shouldn't be much more than this, though." She rasped in stilted Basic. "We just need to get to the elevator, and we can get to the top booths, so it's a good thing I cleared the way, Eh?" She smirked.

Kat laughed and clapped her on the back, making her lurch forwards. "Seems like!" She said with a smile. "Take a rest, hand off the cannon to someone fresh, and direct us from the middle of the pack." The Rattataki looked fraught for a moment, clutching her blaster tightly, but she did as ordered eventually. "You'll get it back," Kat assured, and the woman nodded.

The next man with the cannon took the lead, but thankfully they didn't meet any more resistance before they reached the aforementioned elevator. It was a large contraption built into a large shaft. It looked like it was used for moving freight, if Kat had to guess.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste let her gaze wander through the dim lit cavern like room, studying the remaining former slaves' conditions. Some had already taken a few hits and Celeste felt slightly obliged to help them, but she knew that if she would Force heal anyone else, her powers would be too drained to continue their quest. Reluctantly she had to accept that they would have to survive without her help for now, as there still were other pressing matters to attend.

She had reached Kat in the exact same moment of her response, sensing that she was obviously lying. Was she trying to prove that she was strong or rather lying to herself in order to not let her body even think of collapsing? Celeste's quizzical gaze landed directly on the tall women, demonstrating a hint of suspicion. Would she manage to go on like that? Time would soon tell, Celeste figured while giving Kat a satisfied nod concerning the comment she had made about the man who took her lightsaber.

The lightsaber. Right. Celeste immediately deactivated it, thereby extinguishing the glowing red light source which had wrapped Kat's face into a shade of crimson. While Kat engaged the thin Rattataki women into a conversation, Celeste leaned back for a second, collecting her strength and her concentration while simultaneously reaching out with the Force, trying to already locate the bastards in the upper booths. They were still there but she could clearly feel them getting agitated. However, it felt as though they were not necessarily expecting an attack right now, so there chance to strike was now.

The Sith Champion pushed herself away from the cooling wall again, heading right back to Kat who had just discussed plans and already reached the fright elevator. "All set? We should get going then, before anyone tries to flee. For now, those warlords still seem quite convinced of their own victory" she informed her with a dark grin. They had literally no idea what was coming for them and this prospect felt a little satisfying.

@Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat listened intently as Celeste spoke and returned her grin. "Let's show them how wrong they are!" Kat proclaimed dramatically and slammed her fist on the button for the elevator. She waited a moment for the doors to open so they could all run through; however, all she could hear was the slow grinding of the ill-maintained platform slowly descending to their level.

Kat wilted, feeling a little foolish. She consigned herself to waiting and leaned against a wall for a short rest. The slaves did the same, seemingly taking their cues from her, much to her confusion. "So... you guys play any sports?" She asked the room and received incredulous looks in return. The Rattataki woman who formerly held the cannon finally snorted and then laughed. This was quickly followed by more laughter and suppressed chuckles from the rest of the group, amused by the absurdity.

*DING*

The doors opened with a pleasant chime, and we all piled in. There was no cover, just an open platform. Kat sidled up to the Rattataki, dragging Celeste with her. "What's your name?" Kat smiled at the malnourished woman. "Stetti," was the exhausted but happy reply. "I'm Katherine! And this is Celeste!" Kat replied, wrapping her bloody arm around the aforementioned woman.

The elevator ground against something, stopping for one fearful moment before lurching back into motion, bringing them upwards. Scenarios ran through Kat's mind against her will. A heavy repeater set up just outside this door, ready to mow them down; some giant cave monster wreaking havoc and eating them. Another Warlock, stronger than Celeste. They were all equally frightening, but she steeled herself with deep breaths, and just before the door opened, she spoke with passion.

"We're going to win! Some say it's better to fight and die than to live in chains; I say it's best to fight and live! So Fight and Live!"

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste was eager to enter the elevator, thereby preparing for the upcoming battle that was probably harder than the once before, but the elevator sounded as though is was neither the newest model, nor otherwise trustworthy. One could literally her the rust being abraded by the descending platform and it made her shiver internally. However, Kat's optimism and energy was not only amusing and entertaining, but also somehow contagious and so she started to smirk.

When Kat popped her next question, Celeste couldn't help but to scoff. Was she still that loopy because of the bloodlust? Or did she find a bottle of whisky in some of the rather dim lit corners? Whatever it was, it somehow lightened the mood, which was a good thing at first, but as soon as the elevator introduced itself through a sound, Celeste's severity was back at once. She knew she had to concentrate once again, as they did not no what possible threats might await.

She entered the platform while suddenly being dragged away by the tall blonde. She was about to let out a warning hiss, but Kat seemingly had a plan, which was to familiarize themselves with the rest of their little entourage, and so Celeste kept quiet for now, even when Kat almost crushed her chest by wrapping her strong arm around her in a friendly gesture. Celeste gave Stetti a warm nod, or at least she tried to smile warmly, while her muscles were starting to tense up once again as they were already ascending.

While the platform covered the last meters, Celeste prepared for everything. She had to plan for a worst case scenario and so she got ready to stop whatever would be fired at them. And then Kat yelled another seemingly motivating battle cry and while the others joined in eagerly, Celeste could merely smile. Yes, she was confident and optimistic herself, but she knew that she couldn't loose focus. Celeste did not fight with brute, uncontrolled strength but with wit and concentrated focus, so she couldn't get carried away right now. "Yes, we will", she still mumbled to Kat with a grin while the doors flung open.

@Shax