Knight in Matte Armor

[Darth Parox]

Dathomir, 1829 local time​

Sometimes to advance, you need to do things you don't particularly like. Such as associate with people you don't particularly like. One of which stood right next to Milo as their shuttle barreled over the landscape of Dathomir, coursing through its blood-red sky. They were a few hundred meters above ground and descending toward the forests of dead trees, seeking to land far enough from the village that their approach would not be too on the nose. It was clear that the witches would have noted they were coming, but marching into their village to demand something from them was disrespectful, and the Empire needed to be on their good side for the time they chose to finally swoop in and seize the planet. Mandalorian conquest of a dark side-aligned nexus was almost painful for those that liked to train on such worlds, but there was nothing the Sith could do but bide their time.

This was, perhaps, a favor as well. Milo had gotten the bounty removed off Victress, and he supposed she might be feeling indebted to him. If that was the case, he was perfectly fine with giving her the opportunity to pay off the debt. Besides, there were not many powerful alchemists among the ranks of the Sith nowadays, and she was likely the only person that could get him what he was seeking—a set of dark armor, rumored to be imbued with the Force to provide a weightless effect. It was a small upgrade to something he wore and used daily, so Milo was eager to get it.

Their shuttle had left from the hangar of the Violator, which awaited in orbit with its engines revved up just in case something were to go wrong. Commander Varo was in charge of the frigate in Milo's absence, but he trusted the man. It was good to have a capital ship watching them, though the Crusader had also brought it out to show the Dark Councilor that he was no simple foot-soldier. Milo was devoted to the cause and powerful enough to have the ear of the Emperor. It was a symbol of status as much as it was a weapon.

As their craft slowly hovered to a stop in a clearing, he turned away from the window and cracked his knuckles, stretching before they ventured out. "Ship has landed," the pilot's voice droned in his ear. "You are free to exit." Milo walked out, Victress at his side. An unlikely duo, to say the least.

"What's that Jedi saying? 'May the Force be with us'?" he asked as they stepped out onto the pink-hued grass. "It very well may, I suppose."

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

It was true, sometimes in life, you had to let personal feelings aside and decide on what would be most beneficial. It was a statement that resonated in the past as much as it would in the future. Victress had known about the bounty and the effort that Milo placed to have it removed, slaying a friend of his for the better cause of the Empire. Sure, Nor'baal was foolish to try and threaten a Dark Councilor, though even behind that mask, she understood the value of friendship as she too had lost many in the wars that came. It was the natural course of progression for the Sith, loyalty would be tested every day, and thus far, even the Darth had to admit that the Crusader was ascending rapidly.

The search for Dark Armor would be difficult, a daunting progress, but out of the Crusaders who had earned the ability to ask for her assistance, she supposed that Milo would have been near the top of that list. Certainly, a force augmented battle suit would even further enhance his ability in combat as the ancient dark lords before them did so, these blessed armors would undeniably make a return. She stood at the Crusader's side and slowly embarked from the shuttle as the Droid spoke. The ghastly aura of Dathomir had changed since she had last visited, likely the stench of Mandalorian influence. "Indeed, the Force already calls to us...beckoning for us to shape it to our will.." She spoke, in reply to Milo's statement.

As they descended from the Hangar, she utilized a scanner designed to trace certain signatures as well as ornate metals imbued with such powers. It was not simply technological but also part alchemical, as the sorceress was seen imbuing it with a hint of her own force energy. Green flames seeped from her gloved hands to empower the device as it swirled and almost flashed to life. Her armored figure slowly turned to the side as the scanner seemingly navigated to the nexus and the location of what they sought. "This way.." She said, her voice robotic almost and definitely corrupted by the force as it exited from the ebony, duraplast helm. "Tell me Crusader, how did you hear about the existence of these blessed armors?" It was an intriguing question, as the Sith Lord was curious herself. It was a secret only few knew and most of those were Sith who were inclined to the dark arts of Sith Sorcery.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

His eyes fixed on the scanner as he watched her use it while they walked, examining the green flames that seemed to flicker from her hands to the device. Milo would be lying if he said he didn't have a special sort of respect for sorcerers—their unflinching dedication to the dark side was inspiring. Milo was silent as he observed, snapping out of his thoughts when she spoke up and began walking toward the alleged location of the nexus. The Crusader was listening to the soothing silence of the forest when Victress asked him something, but he replied instantly.

"The archives of the Academy," Milo said simply, looking up at the crimson sky. It was ominous, and the entire planet felt menacing to be on, but he was strangely drawn to it. The darkness in the Force—the coldness—was refreshing for him as a Sith. A Jedi would like abandon all hope if they were stuck on Dathomir, but Milo certainly could see himself spending a few weeks on the world to more closely study the dark side. "It's truly shocking the amount of information at our fingertips that most do not care enough to examine."

He had been scouring the library for interesting material to read and had settled for a tome on artifacts, which featured the Dark Armor in a few pages, so casually that he almost skimmed right over it. Since then, Milo had thought of the armor almost daily, until he asked Victress to accompany him to Dathomir, where he had read of a village that guarded a set that had been worn by a fallen Sith Lord on the planet. The armor would need the ritual to be done on it, but he preferred to have something more than store-bought duraplast to start with.

A small village came into view, its huts small and made of dirt and wood. A few hooded figures traversed its "streets", some carrying things like roots and vials, while others merely appeared to be on their way somewhere else. The piercing shriek of a foreign bird shattered the silence, and every single figure in the village turned to stare directly at the Sith. A green mist seemed to settle at their feet almost instantly, blanketing the earth as far as the eye could see. A lone figure approached, silently beckoning them to come closer to the village.

"Dark siders!" she harkened, her voice raspy. "You come seeking an ancient artifact, do you not?"

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

So he visited the archives of the academy? Impressive, she thought to herself, it was rare these days to see Crusaders seemingly peruse through the texts of ancient knowledge as many young Sith had simply delegated themselves to being killers for the Empire rather than take interest in the traditions of the Dark Side as the former lords of lore. She utilized the scanner to guide their movements, providing navigation as they slowly made their way into the small village. It was apparent that they were easily identified, unsavory foreigners in a hostile land. Though, the sith had always maintained an uneasy relationship with Dathomir, the dark councilor in the back of her mind knew that they definitely would not have preferred Mandalorian rule.

Arianna tilted her head towards the lone figure that approach, her hand being slowly engulfed with a covering of green fire that matched the hue of the mist surrounding them. If these witches did not know who she was, they would know now. After all, there was only one Sith in the Galaxy capable of wielding Nightsister magicks, she was standing in front of them. The lone priestess slowly nodded her head, "Darth Victress..."

"You have changed since you left our world with one of our own in your grasp. Tell us, how does our sister fare?" Replied the hooded figure. Arianna spoke gently though her voice corrupted and robotic as it released from within the duraplast helm. "She has been a tremendous asset, I am afraid she is growing to enjoy the luxury of the Empire more every day.." she stated. There was a bit of tension between the two, as a few other figures seemingly approached them as well.

The dark councilor however, did not appear to be wilting or hesitating in her stance. "But your perception is correct Priestess, where is the dark armor?" The figure began to slowly chuckled, "As I predicted, but there is something you must do for us.." She said as her cold gaze slowly shifted from the Darth to the Crusader.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

There she went again, rambling about assets. It had become a running joke behind Victress' back—her whole obsession with assets—as many that had been disrespectful in front of her found that she chose to spare them. Why? Because they were "valuable assets to the Empire." Milo had witnessed it on Korriban with Zeven, but it seemed she applied this to every aspect of her life. He simply watched on as she spoke to the nightsister—they had history, it seemed.

"Come," the sister added, beckoning them over. She cast a sideways scowl toward Milo—the witches were not known for their love of men—and began walking back toward the village. "We have spent the better part of a fortnight being pestered by a tin man living out of his metal machine." After piecing together some of the terms, Milo realized she was referring to a Mandalorian. It made sense, considering Dathomir was controlled by the Mando'ade.

"We do not wish to venture out and lose sisters to the beast's technology"—there was venom in her voice—"and have been waiting for an opportunity like this. Kill the child of Mandalore, and the armor is yours." Ironic—the Mandalorians were obsessed with armor and one of them would lose his life because of one. Then again, Milo would not have let the man live either way, had he run into him.

With a nod, he opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the nightsister. "I did not ask for your opinion, boy. Let the woman speak." She was referring to Victress, quite clearly. Milo frowned under his helmet—he was not used to this blatant disrespect, but he supposed most people would be upset if they were told their opinion did not matter. He suppressed his annoyance and instead shrugged. Killing an entire village of nightsisters would be bad PR.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

It was a common misconception, her benevolence mistaken for weakness; it was a pity, that the Sith would ultimately always resort to their underlying, violent nature. But for those that despised her and those that challenged her, they would be sorely reminded with horror and death as to the sinister powers she possessed. A scowl coming to her face as the Priestesses made their demands, her armored figure merely nodded in acknowledgment and moved away. There was no further reason for Milo to speak to the nightsisters, they distrusted men but the Dark Councilor had a somewhat uneasy respect. After all, the dathomiri magicks were only wielded by a select few and Victress remained the only notable Sith capable of utilizing the abilities.

Their march towards the wooded areas was long and tedious, two of the priestesses guiding them through the treacherous shrubbery and jungle until they arrived at what appeared as a remote opening in the forest. An downed vessel was on the ground, approximately 40 meters in front of them while lighting in the engine hull was still present. To the left of them were two Mandalorian fighters, both dressed in blue Beskar'gam and wielding Shriek Hawk rifles. They were oblivious to the approach of the Sith while their leader was unfortunately no where to be seen. The priestesses chuckled and slowly slithered back into the cover of darkness, whispering as they faded out of sight. "Remember Sith, you must kill all of them if you wish to claim the ancient armor.."

Arianna smirked and shifted her gaze upon the two enemies she saw in front of them. Mythical powers began to summon around her right hand as she tapped into the proximity of Dathomiri bond to channel her dark magics. A weapon soon materialized in her grasp, taking the shape of an ebony spear laced with death and forged with an essence of the force. She snarled as her fingers assumed an overhand grip and her armored form soon moved forwards out of the coverings of trees. "If you wish to fight alongside me Crusader, learn that I do not enjoy subtlety". She remarked, as she suddenly and without warning hurled the Spear towards one of the Mandalorians. The weapon soared airborne, propelled by an application of force telekinesis as it harnessed deadly velocity and struck true in pure surprise at her desired target's back. He let out a roar before blood spurted from the wound as well as from his mouth.

His body fell onto knees before collapsing face first into the ground while the shaft of the spear still stuck out from his spine; his comrade obviously was alerted immediately of his friend's demise as he turned towards the Sorceress and Crusader Duo. "Bloody Sith!" He yelled, lifting his Shriek Hawk and firing towards the Sith Lord. Arianna's lightsaber flew into her right fist as its crimson blade ignited ferociously and all in a moment's notice. The darkness around them now bathe in ghastly red light as the weapon was twirled quickly in counter clockwise motion to deflect the incoming bolts elsewhere. She was confident that Milo could handle himself against other threats as she sprinted forwards to close the gap between her and her adversary.

Meanwhile, the lead Mandalorian decorated in a fallen Field Marshall's golden Beskar'gam landed about 10 meters behind the Crusader. Jetpack trails nice and warm from his flight as he had a pair of Shrill pistols pointed at the Sith. "Bitch.." Was all he said, if there wasn't a more clear challenge, then Milo was in the wrong business.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

The way the nightsister phrased it, Milo felt like they were playing an arcade game. It was a rather simplistic assignment, but he supposed it was better than having the witches force Victress to sacrifice him to the planet or something similar—which he supposed the Darth would not particularly dislike. She seemed twisted enough to enjoy such things. Her lack of appreciation toward subtlety only confirmed the sentiment, and mostly gave Milo a reason to dislike her even more; what was a fighter without stealth? Refusal to operate subtly reduced a warrior to just a brute, but he was not about to try and preach his mentality to someone that ranked higher than him—Milo was arrogant at times, but still intelligent.

Her spear slammed into the nearest Mandalorian and through his armor instantly, killing him before he even knew what was happening. Milo charged forward, lightsaber in hand, and slashed a clean cut into the only enemy left, slicing him neatly in two at the waist. The man fell, the bolts sailing toward Victress coming to a stop. Before Milo could begin to head back, another Mandalorian landed behind him, the jetpack's hum alerting him. He twisted on his heel and lifted his blade as the man opened fire from his pistols, deflecting each bolt away. One he even managed to send back to the Mandalorian, and it burned into his armor, the chestplate protecting him from death.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Victress slightly lowered her lightsaber as the threat of the second mandalorian was promptly dealt with as Milo slew him with a vicious slash. The main Mandalorian had seemingly entered the fray, all clad in his stolen golden helm as he navigated with the jetpack in combat mode flying off to the right to avoid one shot while the second slammed into his chest plate armor. He snarled from behind the cover of the T-helm, firing off shots from his side arm pistols. He squeezed the trigger twice in sequence, sending off four shots towards Milo while skirting around on his jetpack defensively to avoid any possible deflections the powerful Crusader may have.

The Dark Councilor gestured slightly with her free hand, wrapping force tendrils into a coil that snug around the Mandalorian's jetpack and began to squeeze inwards. The Mandalorian would feel the pull on his back as his flight mode device suddenly began to crush and send off howling noises. One coattail quickly dissipated, causing him to tumble sideways onto the ground approximately 15 meters away from Milo. Without the ability of his jetpack, he quickly realized the grave danger that he was in now. Pressing a button on the top of his breastplate to disengage the jetpack from his back, he prepared himself for whatever the Crusader would throw at him next. Dealing with two threats was too much for the warrior, and for now he seemed to focus on the male Sith in front of him, unaware that The Darth would likely land a killing blow at anytime.

Victress considered it for a moment, but felt that perhaps Milo would should have some fun first..

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

The Mandalorian took the hit as if it was nothing new, but Milo knew he was hurting. His eyes tracked the man as he flew around, and the Crusader lifted his lightsaber against the oncoming bolts. They were loosely shot and clearly not very well thought out; the Marshal was just trying to get the Crusader off his back while he regrouped. Milo would not give him the chance. He deflected two bolts away and dodged the remainder, charging forward as Victress squeezed down on the Mandalorian's jetpack. By the time the man chose to steel himself and stand his ground, Milo had already reached him.

Plasma met beskar as his lightsaber slammed into the man's beskad, which he'd raised just in time to block the blow. Milo pushed down, keeping the blades locked, only to have the Mandalorian—a dirty fighter—send out a kick at his shin. It made contact, and the Sith hissed in pain as he drew his lightsaber back, then slashed out once more, seeking to bisect the man at the waist. The blades locked once more, but Milo reached out his free left hand this time and sent a few tendrils of lightning out of his fingers and into the man's helmet. The conductive metal lapped up the electricity without problem, and the Mandalorian was knocked out from the jolt. After a few more seconds of pouring out the dark side through his fingers, Milo extinguished his lightsaber and walked away from the crumpled body of the Marshal, who'd had his head cooked.

"Was that all of them?" he asked, professional as always.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

The Darth watched as the Field Marshall was executed promptly by Milo, electricity mummifying his face into a charred crisp as his carcass hit the ground with an unwelcoming thud. As the crusader turned to ask her if that was the end, he would see that Arianna was seemingly pre-occupied, gesturing with her free hand on something behind the Drast. There was a fourth Mandalorian, only now visible as he leveled his pistol towards Milo. However, his image was caught in the Darth's peering gaze as a force hold grabbed him fully and slowly deviated his own pistol hand towards his own chin.

"You have been deceived..into thinking that you could ever be a Mandalorian Marauder.." She said, taunting the young man before forcing his own Strill blaster to take off his head. The headless body crumpled to the ground as well and Victress would turn towards Milo before walking towards what appeared as a cave entrance. "That..was all of them." She replied, as the duo advanced into the thickness of the Dathomiri forests. Their path would be covered with shrubbery and was poorly lit, forcing the dark lord to summon a jet of flame in her fingertips to illuminate their approach. Through the narrow trail, a centralized clearing would occur and several broken stone steps descended downwards into a darkness laced pit. Faint, green glow resonated from the depths and shuddered with a palpable presence in the force. Two of the priestesses from earlier soon appeared several meters behind them, materializing out of thin air with use of teleportation magics.

"Dark-Siders! It seems you have slain the tin man.." One of them said, the other priestess slowly came up to Milo and traced a nail along the course of his chest seductively. "Tell us male, what is it that you desire with this armor?"

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Milo would be lying if he said that he wasn't half expecting Victress to spare the Mandalorian on the account that he was a "valuable asset to the Empire." He watched in mild amusement as she forced the Marauder to shoot himself with his own pistol. The two strode through the freshly created clearing and down a sinister-looking stairway into the darkness beyond, the Crusader using the red beam of his lightsaber to light up the way. A priestess approached and spoke to him, but he found himself somewhat turned off at the prospect of being referred to as "male." Then again, it was an interesting path to go down.

"I seek to imbue it with the essence of the dark side to serve me in battles to come," he replied, in true Sith fashion. He sounded like one of the villagers already. His eyes lowered to the woman's surprisingly well manicured nail, then back up to her hooded face, which he couldn't see through the impregnable darkness.

It was a rather idiotic question, but he held his tongue; what other use could he have for a set of armor? He wasn't going to sell it to a thrift shop on Nar Shaddaa for some credits on the side. He had already gone to lengths he had not imagined he would need to go to for the artifact, though the challenges thus far had proved to be surprisingly easy. Too easy, if anything.

And indeed it was. He was trying to look at the priestess' face when her hood fell back. Her head had no face or facial features. It was simply a pale sphere of flesh. The nail that had been seductively dragging across his chest turned to a claw, the nail now black, long, and ragged, connected to a white hand that retreated into the long sleeve of the robe. The creature before him said nothing, instead digging its claw sharply into its chest. His armor resisted, buying him enough time to lift his already-raised lightsaber and behead it. The body slumped to the ground, the head rolling away into the darkness and out of sight. A piercing scream rang out from within the black void, and he turned to Victress, who would be dealing with a creature of her own.

"These aren't nightsisters," he remarked. The creature had startled him, as had the sudden silence through the dungeon.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

The dark councilor glanced at the priestess for a few long moments, a bit startled with her question as well. However, it soon turned to surprise as the true form of the creature was made apparent when the nail turned into a claw and slashed towards Milo's armored chest. Another howling sound wailed from within the depths of the dungeon, shattering the once silent dungeon. Moans of pain and agony resonated shortly after as glowing orbs of red lit up the abyss of the cave in front of them. Arianna concurred with Milo's sentiment, "No, seems they are not." She said, her crimson lightsaber hissing to life in her hand as a horde of creatures rushed forwards from the cave opening.

Snarling, her scowl soon manifested into an evil laughter as dark sided corruption washed over the vile sorceress and her piercing gaze seemingly pinned her enemies' location for effective slaughter. Gesturing with her free hand, a tidal wave of force energy slammed forwards and smacked three of the ravenous minions in the chest. Their forms flung back and onto the unwelcoming stone terrain; they were dazed and momentarily stunned, leaving them open and vulnerable for Milo to finish quickly while the Darth rushed forwards into the incoming fray. Capable of dividing her force energies, she applied a burst of speed to her movements while the force wrapped defensively around her body, encasing it within a ghastly dark red glow. Plasma saber seared in a multitude of sharp angles, as she cut her path through the adversaries approaching.

One of the priestesses had managed to sneak behind the Crusader, elongating her claws as she suddenly leaped for his backside. Razored teeth attempting to dig into his jugular; it was clear that these were creatures of the night and perhaps the Armor had been used as a prize to lure powerful dark siders into their lair.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

More of the creatures seemed to appear out of thin air ahead of them, charging the Sith without even walking. They seemed to float above the ground, though their feet were covered by black robes, making it impossible to actually see. Then again, there was a slight chance that there was nothing underneath the robes. The creature that had died in front of Milo had vanished, leaving behind only its clothing, similar to how Jedi did when they died. Then again, these were not light siders. They were likely manifestations of the dark side itself, or the pawns of a more sinister spirit deep within the tomb. Milo had not thought this armor would be so well guarded and important, and it was somewhat annoying, truth be told. He could have come better prepared.

The air whipped behind him, and he whirled around just in time to bisect one of the creatures. It had lunged at him teeth first, though its claws would have soon followed. Now, it merely crumpled to the floor and vanished, the lightsaber surprisingly rather useful against these creatures. A massive horde suddenly zoomed out from the darkness in front of them, their silhouettes illuminated by the red orbs. The group charged the two Sith, and Milo raised his lightsaber, completely ready to defend himself. Instead, they all disappeared as they got in range. He glanced around at the new empty corridor, red light covering him. One by one, the orbs ahead extinguished until they were plunged in darkness, save for the beams of their lightsabers.

From deep within, a growl echoed down the hallway. Milo could hear something slithering in front of them, though it was impossible to tell what it was until it came closer. Slowly, it came into view, and he lifted up his lightsaber to cast more light on it. The creature that was slithering toward them looked to be a raththar, though Milo had only heard of them in scholarly reports. They were known to be among the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, and generally lived in swamps—not unlike the swamp above them.

It howled as it came closer, and whipped a 6 foot long tentacle out at Victress first, aiming to slap her off balance. Another tentacle came at Milo, but he raised his blade and sliced it off, to the creature's great surprise. It shrieked and approached, appendages preparing another attack.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Arianna scowled as the creatures suddenly vanished after crawling into range, their departure resonated with a stench of vile witchcraft, one that was familiar to the sorceress but also native to the world of Dathomir. If indeed these were obstacles placed in front of them towards their goals, she had no hesitation into believing that the nightsister priestesses they met in the village were at fault. The lightsaber twinkled in her grasp, palpating with an unseen aura that coincided with the ghastly red light that emanated from the weapon; As the tentacle came whipping towards her, she gestured with her free hand and cast forth a force slow towards the creature's extended appendage. The tentacle caught in the force attack's epicenter, its movements seemingly halted and broke free with a encumbered crawl. Responding in like, she twirled her weapon clockwise and hacked off the tentacle as it drew into melee range.

Moving quickly to her left side, she aligned herself perpendicular to the Rancor and lifted her free hand upwards. Cackles of green energy whistled across the surface of the dorsum before erupting out in a cone of green lightning at the monster's exposed mouth. The Rancor shrieked in pain and withdrew, squirming backwards several meters and seemingly afraid of re-engaging. "It's afraid of us.." Victress said, snarling with an evil grin as she pressed forwards into the darkened hallway in pursuit of the beast. Behind Milo, a singular nightsister priestess had manifested through use of her teleportation magics, her cruel smile wide as possible from the sides of her cheek. She slowly dropped her cloak, revealing her naked figure before him. "Are you tempted, male?" She asked.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Could a rathtar even feel fear? All scholarly accounts of the creature only spoke of one emotion that it was familiar to: rage. It was fueled by it, though the source tended to vary. It was sometimes angry because of its hunger. Other times, it was angry because it had gotten hurt. Now, Milo and Victress got to face the latter—it felt pain from the nerve endings of its tentacles, which had much more neurons than found in humans. It was likely that the creature felt much more pain than another being might feel when cut, and it showed. It rolled back, but Milo could feel its emotions through the Force, and it was most certainly not afraid.

"That's not fear," he replied, stepping back. "That's rage." He stepped back again, but stopped when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A white shape was asking for his attention, and Milo turned his sights to see a nightsister there. Behind, he could hear the creature roll forward and lash out at Victress with three tentacles from the right, left, and above, roaring in pure wrath. He was safe from the rathtar's clutches, but it seemed the cave was not giving up.

With one swift motion, he slashed the nightsister in half at the waist. This was the second time they tried this trick, and Milo had just barely fallen for it the first time. He shook his head. "No."

He was not tempted. Milo was not a creature of pure emotion. Sure, he had feelings, but he knew to prioritize them, and arousement was low on the list when he was fighting.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Victress snarled, perhaps her overconfidence had claimed the best of her and she misjudged the wilting nature of her adversary. The creature was merely waiting, building up its pent up anger and frustration to unleash upon her when the time was necessary. As Milo stepped backwards, that left the Darth vulnerable as the only point of attack for the monster. The tentacles came lashing towards her, she simultaneously moved to the side and snapped her saber in a clockwise motion. Its arch caught the top tentacle and the right tentacle, severing them before they could come in contact with her torso.

However, she was not fast enough to counter the left sided one as it smacked against the armored left shoulder and the force of its blow knocked Victress' lithe figure several meters into the air towards a crashed landing. The cavern floors were most unwelcoming, as she scowled from the hit and slid to a stop near a wall; rolling towards a knelt position, she glanced back at the creature and briefly towards Milo. "Help me hold it.." She said, dark magics twirling around her left hand ferociously as they manifested into a greenish mist and took the shape of another void spear. She gestured with the fingertips curled around the hilt of her saber, invoking a partial grip on the mouth of the Rancor. Her plan was simple: Smash that spear right into the throat of their enemy, but it was evident that her force powers alone were not enough to hold the creature's jaws open.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

As his enemy crumpled to the floor and turned to nothingness seconds later, Milo turned toward the rathtar, who seemed to have faced a minor victory against the Dark Councilor. The creature was focused on Victress, ready to land the killing blow—when its tentacles were stopped in the air by an invisible force. Milo's hands were both extended, and he was focusing the Force around them, holding them in stasis in the air as the Dark Councilor regained her bearings—and hopefully threw the damn spear already.

The creature shook and roared, fighting against the grip. There was nothing more than pure rage in its voice, its mouth wide open and showcasing dozens of rows of teeth. Milo had read somewhere that it had a common ancestor with Sarlaccs, and he could certainly see the resemblance. It was, to put it simply, a tinier Sarlacc, capable of moving about. The creatures were generally impossible to tame, but he knew nothing was impossible for the nightsisters. The dark side of the Force was a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. Taming the untamable was only the mildest of them.

As his grip started to loosen and the creature started regaining its gall, Milo put in one last burst of strength into the stasis. Sweat was beading across his helmeted face, but he didn't relent.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Victress waited for the creature to submit, the force in Milo's hand bending and shaping to his will as it lashed out and held the creature at bay. She realized that conducting a grip on such a beast would drain the Crusader quickly and that they only had a few seconds at best to slay it. Lifting the void spear upwards, she waited as it slowly fought against Milo's grip and opened its mouth in an attempt to engulf the male Sith. It was at this time at since its movements were slow, it would not be able to resist the attack as it came quickly and without warning.

Spear hurled from her grasp, augmented with a boost of force speed to heighten its velocity as the weapon seared through the air and right into the oral cavity of their adversary. It shrieked in horror as the spear tore its way through the palate, brain asunder, and out the skull on the other side. Vile and acid stench blood seeping from the gashing wound as the creature collapsed to the ground lifeless. Whatever anchor it fed upon also released with its demise, unbinding the priestess by the dark magics they used to oppose them. Lights suddenly flickered on in the cavern, illuminating the pathway into a distant door approximately 25 meters in front of them that glow with a ghastly, green hue.

She sighed for a moment of relief and slowly rose to her full height, "Their defensive contingencies were bound to it and now...I can feel them seep away.." She said, moving towards the room.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Had it even been the priestesses guarding the tomb, or something more insidious. Milo did not much care—he was done dungeon crawling. He just wanted to get the armor he had come for and head toward whichever planet would be next on their road trip. From what he'd understood, they would be going to Mustafar. It worked well enough with Milo's agenda—he was set to be meeting with the leader of the planet's government in a few days anyway.

The creature roared as it died, but neither Sith was feeling very threatened by it at this point. As the life withered out of it, the lights came back and Milo stepped forward. The rathtar's body slowly disappeared as if melting into the ground below it until the corridor was now empty. One would think that a scuffle had not just occurred right where they were standing.

Milo walked forward the 25 meters and did not hesitate to open the door, pushing it with the Force so he was not forced to touch the ancient stones. He wanted a new set of armor, not some old Sith plague. The door opened and he strolled through, the green mist gathering up to his shins and spilling out into the corridor behind him. In front of Milo was the set of armor, propped up on what seemed to be a sort of drying rack. There were a few other sets scattered around, but this was clearly the center piece.

Stopping a few feet in front of it, he reached out and grabbed the armor, feeling the rugged duraplast. It had clearly seen much combat. Good. "This will do."

@Faded Truth

Fin.​