Skirmish on Sarka

[Prancing Yawn]

On the planet of Sarka, deep in the lush jungles, a lowlife thug is claiming posession of a trade federation leader's daughter and son, demanding major shares of Nova ruby mining operations there. Secretly, the federation leader has requested Jedi aid. For the Jedi, this would represent a crisis averted and a family saved. For the Sith, this would represent major infultration; since, if the Sith defeat the Jedi here, they would be able to trade those children for the shares and gain major infultration into this particular money supply for the Alliance..

The forest looks like a generic forest. The tall trees make a shallow canopy, blocking a fraction of the sunlight, and there are a few branches scattered about the forest floor. For miles the scenery is generic, until the ground becomes steeper and steeper, forming into something of a hill. Carved into the side of it is the mouth of a small cave, its entrance characterized by a loose rock formation.

The Acolytes, after arriving on Sarka first, have got a head start to getting to the cave, but the Padawans have now landed and are tracking them through the Force.

 

[Orphen]

Snikch, had increadible control over his emotions. Amongst his peers he was made to take point. The Jawa, who hadn't showered in a while. His emotions were emitting hormonally through him, as was the way of the Jawa. FEAR, was the big one emitting from the Jawa, he looked from left to right, scared, and alone, spinning occasionally when he heared a quick sound. Seemingly seperated from the group he was once with. He continued to walk in the open, calling out for help as he moved...

"H-helloooo? A-a-anybody theeereeee?" He stepped on a branch and span with a flinch as he was psyched out by a nearby tree. The autumn leaves crunching beneath his feet. He was jittery and afraid... though he was still alert, moving slowly and carefully, though it was more out of deep seeded paranoia.

The Jawa's small frame was slouched, and unimposing, his voice shaky and afraid. Even his body was producing the pharimones the Jawas produced when they were afraid. He looked not unlike a child roaming through the forest looking for his parents.

"I-if soeone's there they should come out noooow..! Pleaaase!" He called out once again. He was even beginning to cry under his coat. He'd been out here for a while before the others he was with suddenly disappeared. Something was wrong out here, but he couls see smoke raising from a ledge on a rise a few kilometers away. All of his emotions of fear, paranoia, terror, and sadness were all at the front of his mind as he walked soft paddedly through the wide forest.

 

[ajd11690]

Ajtony was just coming back to the order. His time home had left his skills mostly untrained. He knew that his lightsaber combat was nothing to brag about, but his time at home offered many opportunities. When the council asked for volunteers to rescue a captive on Sarka, he was one of the first to volunteer. He felt it was his duty to serve and protect the innocent in the galaxy. He would do whatever he could to rescue this girl.

The canopy of the jungle allowed for the rays of the sun to penetrate. Aj had brought along a flare gun in the event that his companions needed to locate him. He wouldn't have any use for it in this jungle during the early hours of the day. He had sensed the presence of others on the planet . . . Sith to be precise. He hadn't gone toe-to-toe in a lightsaber duel since his younger days back on Corusant. He was kept on his toes by the bounty hunters who tried to periodically collect the price on his head, but few ever used vibroweapons proficiently.

Grabbing his lightsaber from his belt, Aj felt an apprehension. He knew that this mission was dangerous, but he didn't know that Sith would be involved. The shadows were playing tricks on his eyes. He stretched out with the Force trying to feel the life around him. He opened himself up to everything around him. The trees, the birds, the small insects within the soil. He felt alive. Moving at a faster pace, he begun his search for one of the Sith, not to fight but rather try and reason with him or her.

 

[Kazuya]

The Elomin looked up for a moment at the canopy of tree branches with a scowl, pulling his cloak around himself tightly. Put simply, Melhi hated forests. Compared to the worlds that he had been accustomed to living on, hot, dry things, the greenery of this planet did nothing for him. The only good thing was the fact that there were better spots to conceal oneself.

He’d been on planets like this before, but he always left as soon as he could. Bloody waist of space, planets like this were. He’d sooner burn it all down, than remain for long. Wrinkling his nose under his mask, he turned his gaze back to Snikch who seemed to be wandering around aimlessly a few layers of trees away from him, rolling his eyes. Melhi could almost feel the fear emanating from the Jawa counterpart, and it fed his lust for it.

However, content to remain hidden away from sight, Melhi obviously had no intention of ‘coming out now’ to rescue his frantic, much smaller, and younger counterpart. He leaned against the tree and then another almost lazily, moving quietly every now and again as Sniktch moved so that they wouldn’t get too far away from each other. Should he need to he would help the sniveling thing, he would, but for now he was just content to watch, concentrating on the trees around Sniktch and relishing a chance to destroy them. Melhi placed the tips of his sharp nails together concentrating while they moved on gathering the force in a large amount.

Melhi’s mind wandered a little to what that had come there for while their group slowly made their way through the forest. It would be interesting to see how they would… rescue the children when the man who had kidnapped them. The children that would insure the opening of a trade. A good prize for what they were doing when they had recently been alerted of the new presence of Jedi in the general area. They could sense them. From what he could tell, they were making good progress towards the cave, though they had slowed their pursuit because of Sniktch. Oh, the thrill of the possibility of battle against those who followed the way of life that he had abandoned in his childhood. This would be fun.

 

[Nevermourn]

A beast stalked through the tremulous shadows of the thick undergrowth and vibrant foliage, massive and terrifying, yet barely making a sound, if any. It crouched down in a feral position on all fours, ready to pounce and rip through flesh with it's powerful claws and gleaming ivory fangs. It's monstrous form was covered in a deep coat of soft, ragged fur the deepest color of black, making this demon like beast seem forged by midnight itself. And its eyes were quite striking, despite the horrific scars that were his facial features. They were the color of liquid roses and burned with a sincere determination to destroy all who threatened him, and his order.

Alas, it was Tsume, the Shistavanen and former Sith, now a respected, and feared senior padawan of the order. His master was Ayva, and if you didn't know Ayva, then you don't even know the definition of magnificence. To him, she was a clear picture of beauty in the galexy. I wont let you down master. Ill make you proud. Ill bring back a real catch! The hunt is just beginning.

A scent touched his nose, familiar and dark, and he pricked his ears, listening, his senses alert. Reaching out for the force, he spotted them, three acolytes making their way to what was supposed to be his destination. His face dropped into a scowl, and he raised his head and parted his jaws, letting a fierce roar echo through the trees. Animals scattered, fleeing for their lives. And then all was silent once more, and Tsume lept up the nearest tree without a sound, steadily making his way toward them, his prey.

 

[Lumen]

A ghost walked through the forest in the marginal, pale twilight created by the obstructing canopy above. A ghost walked both silently and swiftly through the underbrush, secure in his cause and cautious of his dangers, shadowing the movement of a smaller figure that padded along. A ghost clung to the beliefs of an order that’s ancient ancestry extended far beyond the minds of the galaxy, and a ghost prepared to emerge victorious, or fade into the shades of the world in defeat. Lumen’s black cloak clung closer to him and the hood shrouded his pale, ghastly face. His unmarked alabaster skin faded into the pallid hue of the surrounded wood and seemed to blend with the very calm that ruled the atmosphere. The forest was tranquil and everything appeared to be in harmony with discord having been banished to the farthest reaches of thought.

The ghostly figure moved swiftly and with confidence through the underbrush paying close attention to every step and keeping both his mind and his senses keen and constantly searching for any sign of intrusion upon his mission. A recently constructed lightsaber clipped to his belt rattled against his thigh with every rhythmic step he took. A hand reached out from the folds of the robes, pale and smooth, to grasp the hilt in nervous anticipation. The presence of his tightly wound combat vestments were a comfort to him, as was the weight he felt on his right thigh. An unobtrusive looking blaster was restrained in a holster on his right thing, small and yet powerful enough to stun a living creature. The hold out blaster was to be used for emergencies in the event that both his lightsaber and the ancient force failed him. It was a precaution that Lumen hoped would prove ultimately unnecessary. His custom dagger also stayed at his hip, a simple weapon with a simple design for a simple purpose. Beyond these armaments all he had to rely on was his training, and the force.

The Umbaran had recently completed his basic training under a master and had been sent on his first assignment in the name of the Sith order. The anticipation of the initial announcements still lingered in the back of his mind and he pondered the situation thoroughly. From the moment he requested to be sent on this mission to the moment he had exited the transport his mind had been turning all possible scenarios. He had dealt with danger before, yet nothing was quite like this. The Jedi were a force for good in the galaxy, an order devoted to preserving balance. Despite the hatred the Sith held for such erudite warriors Lumen could not help but feel the residue of fear within him. Power was something that all Sith respected, and the Jedi were amongst the most formidable foes in the galaxy. No silver-tongued words or charming personas could save him in this upcoming battle, and no amount of forethought could predict the outcome. The time for lurking in the shadows was over. The ghost had risen from the darkness to contend with the warriors of the light.

As his feet moved with swift assuredness, Lumen recalled his days on the shadowy world of Umbara. Sophistication and culture were two things highly imposed upon all members of that world, yet each member of the wraithlike knew how to walk swiftly and with silence. Stealth, though not a practiced skill of Lumen’s, was in his nature. His eyes were sensitive to light, but in the ashen light of the woods they were performing quite well. His acute sense of sight was an evolutionary adaptation of his species that lived in the evening world of Umbara, along with his slight ability to sense heat. The cold, calculating stare of the sith acolyte pierced the woods as he passed tree after tree, following from a safe distance the tiny Jawa that was wandering the woods. His other companion lurked nearby, but he was sure he was keeping his eye on the Jawa as well.

How pathetic and weak it looked, struggling about as if a child flailing and screaming for his mother’s attention. If he had been a humorous being Lumen surely would have laughed at such a sight, but the cold nature of the acolyte kept his mind focused on the task at hand with his own hands slipping to grasp the lightsaber hilt every so often. Here lay opportunity and here lay the first steps for the trials of Lumen. Power was what he sought, and power was to be gained within the forest. Try as he might, the future remained a wall that obstructed even his clearest vision, and no amount of concentration could pierce the veil of what could be. He did not know if he was to die today, but he had already resolved that this was not the case. He felt the impending weight of destiny bear down upon him, with a sense of self-importance that bordered dangerously close to arrogance. He had come this far to achieve his goals of power, yet now he sought more. The ghost walked through the forest gripping both his corporeal and ethereal weapons, the ghost walked through the forest prepared to deal death to his foes and bring glory to the sith, the ghost walked through the forest prepared to die in search of power and control.

 

[SoloWing]

The atmosphere here wasn't quite right; Nuala didn't like that. It put her on edge. While the jungles of Sarka weren't as kind to her senses as the skyscrapers of Teth, her instincts were still at the top of their game. There was too much tension in the air. Too many emotions. The Jedi and the Sith hadn't even mixed yet and already tensions were running high.

From the moment that they had realized there were Sith on this planet, Nuala had known, deep down, that a fight was inevitable. It was akin to the gang wars back home. If you put two rival gangs in a tight space then the blasters were going to come out. Now you had Jedi and Sith in the same area and heading in the same direction. This was not a recipe that would end well.

As Tsume set the atmosphere with his howl, Nuala squatted low and examined the tracks before them. She was no forest scout, but she knew how to read a trail. The Sith were in front of them, but not too far off. If they were smart, then these Sith would know that they were being followed and would be preparing an ambush for the pursuers... only time would tell in that instance.

Nuala withdrew into herself, content to rely on her street-smarts and instincts over the force. She rose and followed after Tsume and Ajtony, eyes sharp and wary for any traps.

 

[Orphen]

"Eep!" Snikch jumped! The howl reverberated around Snikch, and it scared him to his core, two beneficial things came from him being afraid now that he knew there was a wolf about. One, the pheremonal scent given off by the Jawa was potent enough to those keen of nose to completely mask the other two. It was simply unignorble. Panic stricken, Snikch ran in a direction his instincts told him to run in.

Still staying out in the open out of fear of the enclosed spaces of the bushlines, simply for what might be in them he was moving 'toward' the Jedi now. Tripping, his face met the floor. His arms streatched out before him. He cringed a little at the impact. Slowly, with the time of an injured child he found his footing again. he looked around, still spying no-one, until someone came into view...

"H-hellooo...?" He squeaked at first, his voice catching in his throat causing him to squeak a little... fidgeting with his fingers before clasping his hands together for a sense of courage. "Who's there..!?" he spoke louder, darting eyes looked around him as he shuffled slowly in their direction.

In the back of his mouth every now and then voice would escape but it was a wordless string of 'm's heightening at almost his own footsteps. The tension welling up within him that if anything were to suddenly happen, he'd probably die of freight. "A-anybody..?" he spoke hopefully more than anything else. More than ANYTHING, he just wanted to see a person. Bury himself in their leg, and cry.

 

[ajd11690]

Aj heard the rustle in the bushes ahead. His eyes darted between Tsume and Nuala. Tsume howl even caused Aj to shudder briefly. He refocused on the mission at hand. He knew that there were three Sith present. That made the odds even. He didn't know their skill level, but he knew that they had to work as a team. Aj thought of the reasons that the Sith would be present. The Ransom. They want the ransom. They need the kids alive just as much as we do. This made things a lot easier. They didn't come to kill the kids.

Looking to Tsume, whistled to get his attention. Turning to Nuala, he began to formulate a plan. He hoped that Tsume would come down and discuss the situation. He would hope that the others would work together and not go off on their own way. The Jedi had suffered greatly in the past months and this time the Jedi needed a victory.

Forgive me for not having introduced myself before. I am Padawan Ajtony, but please call me Aj. We need a plan and to work as a team in order to rescue the children. We can't all go off on our own way. We need to work as a group. We need to go over what we know about the situation and adapt accordingly.

 

[Kazuya]

Briefly, Melhi glanced in the general direction that he assumed Lumen was in. He couldn’t see him at all, the line of sight between them was almost completely broken. Even if someone were to climb the trees and try to see down into the forest, because of the canopy, they wouldn’t be able to. He and Lumen were completely hidden from sight of every one. Of course, it didn’t bother him that he couldn’t see him because they had agreed to stay close to each other as they followed Snikch in the first place, and he trusted that his fellow acolyte would do just that.

At the sound of the roar echoing through the forest Melhi’s scowl deepened and crossed his hands across his chest and leaned on a tree again, watching the progress of Snikch. He hated creatures that roamed forests, and if that howl was from some non-sentient beast, he was not going to deal with it well. He would kill it before finding the nature of the creature, weather it was friendly or not. He glanced around himself slightly, paranoid that some daft creature was on the prowl, rather than it being one of their padawan enemies.

Finally deciding that he had watched the Jawa for long enough because now he was mostly hidden by trees, Melhi again moved to follow. However, this time instead of staying on the ground he grabbed a branch, and used it to propel his flips through the forest, sometimes landing on more branches, sometimes on the ground, still concentrating on being as quiet as he could be.

When the Elomin stopped he was doing a handstand and he watched Snikch from that position for a few moments. He had to restrain his urge to snicker at the spectacle that was Sniktch when he fell in his haste to move. The kid was so amusing, and easily frightened. He loved the feeling that he was getting from him, the whole. Melhi kept wondering why he had wanted to become a sith in the first place, ever since he had initially met him on that mission with Ichabod Jace. It was slightly exasperating for Melhi to be on another mission with the Jawa, but it was heartening that he hadn’t died. At least Sniktch wasn’t a complete weakling. Though, from the ruckus he was making it was a miracle that the Jedi hadn’t rushed to his aid yet.

 

[Nevermourn]

A whistle brought him out of the trees and back to the forest floor, where his fellow padawans were waiting. He sniffed. The acolytes were getting closer. Now wasn't the time to devise an attack plan. Now was the time to attack. If they were spotted, his first attack would be ruined, and he always had the first attack.

"Its fine. Stay together. Ill attack from above." He growled, insisting that they didn't linger here for long. "They aren't far now. I can see them with the aid of the force. Their headed towards us." He said in a low, brutish tone. He towered over them, blanketing their small forms in his shadow. He wondered if the acolytes were as large as him, but his sight told him they weren't and he frowned. Would this even be a challenge?

 

[Lumen]

Shadows hide many things. A terrible roar echoed through the forest, reverberating through the trees and reaching the ears of Lumen. Immediately the twilight of the forest became something dangerous; immediately the twilight of the forest became something deadly. His cloak was pulled ever tighter as he dropped to one knee and opened his senses to the force. He could discern that he was being detected by a lifeform ahead of him, and with this having been perceived; Lumen returned to the shadows that he knew so well. He reached out into the depths of the force to mask his presence. The force moved and slid with ease obscuring his signature and removing him from the eyes of the enemy.

The small bumbling Jawa echoed throughout the immediate vicinity, and far beyond him Lumen knew what awaited him. A third sith was prowling the shadows, preparing to strike at those who unceremoniously affronted the sith ways. The trees took on a silent vigil as they observed those who had come into the forest to do battle. Lumen’s pace quickened, and his feet moved sure and steady. The lightsaber which had once clung to his belt had appeared in his hand, and Lumen followed the lead of his two companions.

 

[SoloWing]

It looked like she'd been right, judging from the attitude of the other two, this thing was going to escalate to an all out conflict. Nuala's gaze flicked from Aj to Tsume and to the woods at large. On a certain level, it irked her that the core mission had been tossed aside so readily. They were here, primarily, to rescue a few kids. But, on other levels, they had to deal with the immediate threat before they could deal with the far off one.

And, besides, if they managed to take the Sith down here, then that meant that there was much less likelihood of things devolving into a hostage situation. Hostage situations were never a good thing.

"There's not much time for a debate." Nuala threw in her two credits. She made sure to keep her voice low and even as she spoke. "But Tsume's got the right idea. He can move the best, hit the hardest, and strike the fastest of the three of us. I say we let Tsume go all Republic Commando on their posteriors while you, Aj, and I hit them head on from the front."

Her thumb came to rest on the activation switch of her lightsaber. She was ready and willing to use it at a moment's notice. She turned her gaze in the general, indicated direction and studied the shadows for any sign of the Sith.

"The only other advice we can give is to forget about being fancy and just get the job done. Time's not on our side, here."

There. She could see a ruckus in the undergrowth. It was time. "Let's rumble."

 

[Orphen]

It was about at the time she said Let's that Snikch managed to come out onto their conversation. He'd been heading in their direction for a while now. When he saw three Jedi, his eyes lit up with hope, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. He ran toward them moments before he saw the GIANT WOLF. In which, quite simply petrified with fear he stopped. His glowing eyes wide with shock...

"Uh, uhhhh..." Escaped his mouth as he was speachless. The shock of the seven foot carnivore daunted the three foot Jawa.

He froze suddenly to the point where if he fell one could sware he would shatter into tiny crystal like fragments. Though after he saw the lightsaber at the Wolves' side. He realised it too was one of the Jedi, and not some sort of behemoth from the world below. Snapping out of his current situation he looked behind him and lowered his voice.

"P-please, h-help me, th-there are people in the forest. D-d-dangerous people. They've tried to a-attack me twice now. P-p-protect me please!" And that's where he smelt it. The unmistakable scent of Jawa on one of the three. So familiar a scent. Though it was increadibly subtle, as she had most likely showered a few times since then, it was there. "I-i don't know where they are... But I-i think they're following me... P-p-please, give me Sssanctuary!"

He looked over his shoulder, he didn't even realise that one of them had suddenly dropped from the radar. As he was so lost in this persona, as far as even crusaders had attempted to sense through him they had undoubtably failed. Because this guise wasn't a lie. As far as snikch was considered, he was feeling these emotions, he had fooled his mind into believing that this situation is the case. More like a hyper advanced fantsy, than a lie.

One he was seemlessly good at.

 

[ajd11690]

At the sight of this Jawa, Aj was so surprised that he sprung into action igniting his saber. He listened to the Jawa's pleas. Something wasn't right. Aj could feel a darkness within him, but the fear was above all else. Perhaps he was a Force-Sensitive who lost his way. Sensing the Sith nearby, he knew he had no need to take his saber off guard. If this was a trap, and there was a possibility, he would not be fooled. He had learned from his days back home that nothing is at it seems.

"What are you talking about? Are you hurt? Aj kept his distance but the concern in his tone was noticeable. He kept his saber ignited at his side without any sort of battle posture. The saber offered him light to his surroundings. The breeze of the jungle, along with his alignment with the Force around him, allowed him to sense the other two Sith in the area. This was the reason his saber was still drawn. Though the Jawa was scared and apparently pursued by the Sith, Aj was as always skeptical of trusting him without good reason.

I'm sorry for being so suspicious. It's just we have reports of several Sith in the area. Would you remind removing your attire down to your undergarments? I need to make sure you are not a threat to me or my companions. Although Aj even thought this was an unusual request, he felt it necessary given the circumstances. If there was a serious threat, the others could come to his assistance. Aj kept his lightsaber drawn and out as the situation began to unfold around him.

 

[Kazuya]

That the one that was tracking them had a similar signature to a Sith, and Melhi was surprised. A sith had become a Jedi? He always knew that it went the other way, but he hadn’t heard of many Sith joining the Jedi side. Floored by the fact that he could feel his opponents were tracking him so easily, Melhi and immediately implemented force conceal as he had been taught. Darth Umbra had taught him the ability in one of the last classes he had taught before he had died, and it had been one that he had taken to like a fish in water. To his opponents, it would be as if he suddenly just vanished.

Melhi had been fine with the Jedi knowing there general direction from the force, but being tracked was another thing. As Melhi had no wish to be tracked by the force or any other way, he knew that Lumen had the same wish, because he couldn’t feel his companion any more. He didn’t bother to look in the direction of the man, but moved swiftly around the four people so that he was no longer in front of them, but behind them watching and listening what went on with Snikch.

The horned demon watched Snikch greeted the Jedi, grating his teeth together as he circled his way back quietly taking both of this lightsabers in his hands. Bloody little scaredy cat, Jawa. But he did wince at the words that the Jedi talking to Snikch uttered. He knew the different prides of different species. And asking a bloody Jawa to remove his clothes so that they could search him? The Jedi might has well just asked him to die. It was like being asked to cut off his horns. He watched Snikch carefully after this, wondering what the Jawa would do.

However, watching Snikch wasn’t his main concern at the moment. The trees were. From his position behind the Jedi he advanced to two hulking trees, that were near each other. These trees had to take at at least eight arms to completely circle them, but he didn’t bother to attempt it. All he cared about was that they were extremely wide, and incredibly tall. Even in his distaste for the trees he wondered how old they could possibly be, before relishing in the fact that he would be the one to end their long lives.
It was time for excitement.

The Elomin ignited his contrasting green and red blades and sent each one of them into each of the trees, felling one almost immediately, before spinning within the next few seconds and completing the diagonal slice through the other. Concentrating on the falls, Melhi force push to quicken the time it took them to reach the ground, and the manipulate where they fell a little bit. He didn’t even bother to care whether the trees would hit Snikch. After all, what would be the loss of such a pathetic worm?

The trees fell with an almighty crash among the Jedi, one cutting the large wolf like one off from the other, while the second tree feel aimed directly at the other two jedi. Melhi hoped that it might crush one of them and eliminate them from the fight that was about to ensue. As they hit the ground, the Elomin was grateful he was back where he was safe from the splintering branches and sharp bits of bark that flew around. It wouldn't be too fun to be in that mess... and it would be hard to stick together.

The acolyte made sure his mask was secured, grinning, he advanced towards the wolf as chaos reigned. Cutting down a few more trees as he relished in causing all the more chaos for the Jedi, not bothering to drop his force conceal just yet as he danced through the forest to his opponent. This was going to be great fun.

 

[Nevermourn]

Tsume's ears twitched. Something was coming towards them. Growling, he turned away from the other jedi padawans to find a tiny jawa in his path. He seemed quite scared, but Tsume was suspicious. Why the heck would a random Jawa be wondering about for absolutely nothing, and then suddenly get chased? He realized he could no longer sense the acolytes and he growled, not of worry, but of annoyance.

As soon as the other padawans had finished addressing the Nasa, he leaned down with a cruel smile. Let him be afraid. Tsume wasn't buying it. He moved his muzzle closer until it was just inches from his face, and snapped his teeth.

"You know what's good?" He asked. " Your small enough to fut in my mouth." He sneered, teeth flashing in the low light. "Hey, I never said it would be good for you." He snickered, raising himself up again, staring down at the tiny man with his crimson eyes.

Another sound reached his ears. Footsteps. He uttered a low warning growl to his companions. He couldn't sense a thing. The acolytes must be cloaking themselves. Scowling, he turned just in time to hear the familiar hum of lightsabers. Something cracked, and two large trees came crashing to the ground in a loud mess of splintering wood.

Tsume didn't flinch, not even when the tree crashed down just inches behind him, showering him in wood and leaves alike. His heavy chainmail protected him from most of the debrees, but a few bruises were obtained. Snarling, he flopped behind the jawa so he could see both him, and the approaching acolyte, and flicked his saber from his belt, igniting the shimmering, sapphire blade.

 

[Lumen]

It was amazing how watchful the shadows were. They seeped outwards and they spread in all directions as they sought to encompass all life. Lumen was no different than shadow as he stood behind the jawa, and watched the events unfold. His eyes were vigilant and his resolve was firm as he stood back and used every ounce of his stealthy nature to evade detection. He looked and he observed with the rush of excitement lapping at the edges of his conscious mind. He calmed himself by breathing deeply and feeling the rhythmic pulse that such controlled measures brought. The air sailed into his lungs and out in a manner that suggested the most controlled of all calms. He moved both silently and swiftly until his companion stopped before the three figures in the distance. Lumen took the opportunity to move stealthily into position to view what was happening. The source of the roar was immediately identified, and from his position he could examine every facet of the horrible beast.

The minute his eyes were laid upon the horrid creature Lumen’s mind immediately began processing information. The beast was clearly a brute, and from that simple observation he drew several possible conclusions. Lumen was a man of calculation and analysis and had a great degree of success in determining the true nature of sentient character. Though Lumen did not have much to go on, he knew that the creature clearly was strong, fast, agile, and most likely bloodthirsty. Such beast-men were prone to having violent tempers and raging issues, and if not it was better safe than sorry. He assumed immediately that a provocation of combat would entice the creature to perform better in an arena that its physiology had primed him for, but the one thing it most likely lacked was intellect. Though the pale ghostly Umbaran was a speaker and not one of strong body, he held two weapons, his mind and the force. Strength would lie in his ability to think quickly and to act with the force. Precision would be his ultimate sword and his wisdom his shield. The two distasteful aliens before him, the jawa and the beast, exchanged meaningless words when from behind the wolf-man Lumen heard the familiar sound of a lightsaber’s hum and the altogether new sound of two trees falling down to the ground. The other acolyte had snuck around behind the jedi to work from behind. The distraction would be enough to allow Lumen his chance to strike and his one chance to defeat the enemy.

A cold winter settled on the heart of the Umbaran. Time had seemed to slow and the moment he was in seemed his prison. He held his lightsaber tightly in his hand as if the grip of a firm weapon would assure him. Once that first tree fell he needed no further assurance. The cold and freezing claws of duty gripped him and the strength of his resolve inflamed him. It was as if his mind was a bustling city and in one fell stroke all fell silent. No more did his mind dissent against him nor did his fears betray him. All was calm and strictly regimented and he once again heard the siren song of the darkside. How far he had come in such a short time to hear it calling to him. It was not simply a mere force in the galaxy, it sang and it breathed and it acted just like any other entity. In fact it was the most powerful entity, and those who saw it as lifeless and inactive were blind to the true potential. The true nature of the force was not clear to the sith at the moment, but its mysteries would soon be unveiled. For now the undeniable and unmistakable thrill of power called out to him and Lumen summoned as much of the power as he dared. He emptied his own mind of all distractions, of all hope, of all mercy, and instead filled it with the darkness that emanated from the origins of the force. Hesitation and morality were stricken from his mind as his darkest thoughts reigned upon their thrones. Thus he could see clearly that path that he was to take, and the force spoke to him in its sweet, soft, and seductive tones.

The wolf leaped in the air in an attempt to position itself behind the jawa and facing both of the other two sith. The wolf had made the fatal mistake of ignoring the position of Lumen, and that the creature had left his back wide open to the sith. It was the moment when the creature began his flip that Lumen activated his lightsaber, the dark red blade humming with energy. This was the first time it had been drawn against another force user in true combat, the first time that the ancient sith weapon hungered for the flesh of a jedi. Lumen hoped he would not disappoint. As the creature was in midair Lumen summoned as much power as he could and extended his hand. He sent as large of a blast of the force as he dared directly at the creature in the air, hoping to catch it off guard. He aimed his attack to try and send him in the direction of the other two jedi and over the jawa. As soon as he had launched his force attack he moved quickly in an attempt to intercept Tsume in the air after his force attack had hopefully made contact. The red blade hummed with energy, and Lumen’s darkened mind was focused on one thing alone, sending the red blade straight into the heart of his enemy

 

[SoloWing]

Nuala couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Aj wanted the Jawa to strip? Tsume was all about bite-size? What the nerfhide was wrong with these two? Nuala had never quite considered herself a saint, but, still, the attitude of these two was just flat out worrying.

"Sheesh." She began, frowning at the other two. "Try to have a little decency, would--?"

The snap-hiss of whirring lightsaber blades interrupted her. Nuala swore, spun around to face the sound, and almost immediately set about running for her life. Nice work, Sith, nice work. Two peaceful trees had been turned into a killer trap.

As the deat-trap-tree fell towards her, Nuala began her bid to avoid it. A quick spring forward transformed into a low roll, which ended with Nuala uncurling with bursting leap in an effort to get clear of the assault. No dice, she wasn't going to fully get clear in time. Her lightsaber snapped on as she added a twist to her flying jump. The blade sang through the air, bisecting the falling logs and branches that were trying to crush her.

The good news was that she managed to get clear of the massive tree trunk before it imbedded itself in the ground. The bad news was that she wasn't quite so fortunate in order to escape the tumbling branches. Her lightsaber managed to slice enough foliage that she wasn't crushed on impact, but not quite enough to spare her a lot of bruises and getting pinned beneath the weight of the giant cyprus.

Her lightsaber flared to life once more, severing branches and leaves, to sever the weights holding her down and to cut a path for her to escape. Nuala pulled herself free of the tree and cast her gaze around the area, trying to get both her bearings and a picture of what was going on. Things had just taken a turn for the ugly.

 

[Orphen]

Enter Snikch,
Snikch was taken back by the request, never, had he ever been more shocked in his life, Tusken Raiders, would beat you, stab you, torture you, and leave you broken, bruised and starved in the desert... but at least they let you hold onto your identity. Jawa percieved themselves through thier scent, their emotion, their history, their personalities were in their robes. Snikch was speachless. until there was a humm of a lightsaber...

A signal, in which like the click of your fingers to a hypnotised person, something happened...

In a picosecond the thoughtprocess went throughout Snikches mind... A visualisation of himself standing there, then the shatering of himself as if her were an intricate stained glass window. Behind it, was the cruel, calculating assassin-in-training that he knew he was was reborn. His natural dexterity and slight of hand activated, and everything sped up to slow motion.

As the trees came down Snikch threw two cold orbs with increadibly short fuses with the force to their no doubt shocked opponents, not so much at the Sith, but the death trees. The incendary grenades would explode, literally the moment the trees hit the ground whie Tsumes' back was turned, as he masculinely tanked the branches for the young Jawa in his shadow. There would be a flash of magnesium brilliance and plumes of white flame, intending to further cut of the aid of Tsume, and create a nice warm napalmic bed for him to sleep on... later. Though, Snikch was a busy Jawa right now... and his actions did not end here, this was a set up. He turned to see one of his accomplaces use force-push on the large lupine numbskull.

Rolling under the flightpath of Tsume to guard their weaker flank, The roaring erection from the Jawas' raw but powerful volcanic crimson saberstaff flourished beneath the wolf while he jumped. An intercepting strike to sever the wolf's spine at the center of his mass. Given enough leeway for upward motion. The wolf was also moving quickly enough that were he to block, the force of his movement would bring the second blade of the saberstaff up... though it would probably miss as they were heading in opposite directions.

But at the time. The third Sith being right under there nose. Though they had suspected him. The sudden attack from two angles would have been enough to psychologically distract even Snikch of the lowest threat on their long current list of things to worry about. After the attack. Snikch threw his last incendary bomb well behind them, to begin to catch the dry autumn forest alight.

"Thanks for the help..." Snikch scolded sarcastically with a smile after coming out of his jump before Lumen. Though the sequence of attacks seemed coplicated, it could be simplified in retrospect. First distraction, lob force pushed grenades in direction of other two Jedi-BOOM, force-push/rolling-slash combo on Tsume. Done. The fact a Jedi would be momentarily tied up as the incendary grenades would explode in a shower of flame was unfortunate.