[SKIRMISH] Rematch on Tanaab

[Black Noise]

In an unassuming and ruined enclave on the planet a Dark presence has begun to show itself. At first it was intermittent, weak and otherwise ambiguous. Over the past few weeks, it has grown and begun affecting the animals in the area, nearby inhabitants and even the plant growth; deforming them.

The site of a grievous loss at the hands of the Sith, the Jedi are commanded to return and acquire the object that is creating these disturbances. The Sith are well aware, and each faction knows the other will be looking for it. Time is of the essence.

Unknown to each group, however, is the fact that deep within the ruins of the enclave is a sealed room with the long forgotten holocron of Belia Darzu. While these secrets may not be so secret as they had in the past, there may be something that can be gleaned from it. The Sith wish to research the artifact while the Jedi seek to hide and cleanse it. Possibly to simply destroy it.

The Jedi shuttle shuddered as it set down near the enclave on Tanaab. A dark, evil, almost demonic Force presence permeated the planet, distorting and transforming all life around. Something was terrible wrong inside that enclave, and thus, the Jedi had been sent. They were to purge the enclave of the dark presence and leave as soon as possible. The Jedi Knight Aurelius A'kazz, the Jedi Knight Tach Enarai, and Jedi Knight Tsume Razorclaw, have all been sent as the recovery team.

Unbeknownst to them, not far away, a Sith strike team has also landed. They are hellbent on retrieving the dark item inside for study. The Crusader Vhalanestilliegan Crewellunstestry, the Acolyte Kaiburr, the Acolyte Arcturus, and the Acolyte Kadlen, have all been selected by the Sith to retrieve the item.

"Glory to the Mighty"


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

Tach Enarai stepped off the shuttle, or, rather, three Tachs stepped off the shuttle. The Stoic Jedi had felt the disturbing darkness in the Force and decided to step off the shuttle with the preparedness needed to meet opposition. One of these, or perhaps neither of them, were the real Tach. The Knight, being a master of Force Cloak, could perhaps already be hiding. Unseen, unheard, a silent killer.

The two other Knights, Aurelius and Tsume, could speak to the illusions as if they were real and the illusions would answer. But that didn't change the fact that the were illusions. They had all assigned names to each other, T1, T2, and T3. Anyone of them could be the real Tach. In fact, Tach could phase as one of them and appear as an illusion and be the real thing.

T1 turned to*Aurelius and spoke.
"Watch out, some of these plants have been distorted by the dark side. It may be safe to say that some animals are corrupted. We best be on our guard."

 

[Master Maverick]

Making some final preparations aboard his ship, the impressive Trianii made his way out of the cockpit, stalking through the corridors that were almost too small for him. On his way he passed his small astromech droid, TM-43. The little thing beeped as it passed on its way to the cockpit. Aurelius gave it no acknowledgement as he was getting mentally ready for the trials ahead. The Darkness would certainly try to taint him, but he wasn't about to allow it to get any foothold within his mind.

In the main hold of the freighter, he stopped in the middle and began putting on a few pieces of his rather bulky armor. Only covering his torso, thighs and forearms, he left everything else exposes so he might be able to move a bit easier in this jungle. Looking down upon each of his battle droids that he had acquired over the years during his service to the Alliance and the Jedi. They had served him well, and he took a moment to decide which one he was going to bring with him.

"Argron," His voice's deep bass reverberated off the metal of the ship, creating a hum within the air. "Stay with the ship. Let's go Mythos." He pivoted and strode off with no hesitation.

The Knight, Tach, already made it outside he found, looking at the scenery. The Darkness of this place made everything more alien than it should have been. However, there was still a sort of enchantment to the whole thing. Off in the distance was the abandoned enclave. Aurelius couldn't help but think that might have been the one where the previous battle had taken place, but this one had been long since abandoned.

The Alliance's foothold on this planet had significantly weakened since that fight. For all intents and purposes, the Imperium pretty much controlled the system.

Mythos clanked its way out of the ship, striding smoothly, practically human-like. There was a lightsaber locked into each side of its hips, ready to be used. Aurelius didn't want to have to do too much of the fighting of whatever creatures they would undoubtedly encounter while on planet.

Striding forward, moving closer towards the enclave which was a few miles off in the distance, he stopped several paces ahead of Tach and took in a deep breath.

"Where's that Tsume kid? We don't have all day." The rough growl in his voice made him seem more angry and impatient than he really was. Overall, it was just intimidating for it perfectly matched his hulking frame.

Indeed, one might rather simply look at him than hear his voice.

 

[Nevermourn]

Tsume growled softly as he exited the ship, walking down the ramp with uncanny silence. His massive form, which was not as buff as Aurelius, was just a couple inches taller then the trianii, but only when his ears were pricked. They were now, of course, as he looked about, marveling at all the sights and smells. But there was a darkness about this place that prevented him from relaxing. The Shistavanen fingured the lightsaber at his side and scowled as his armour clanked rather loudly when he accidently took an extra large step down the ramp, not paying attention.

He was clad in shining, freshly polished, heavy chainmail from neck to toe. His shining helmet was in his left hand, and he fitted it to his head now, fitting his ears into the small cut holes in the side of the helmet. A black cloak wrapped around his shoulders and fastened at the neck, flowing down his back. It matched his fur, which was also jet black, but could barely be seen under all his armour. However, his bright red gaze was quite distinct, thanks to the slit in his helmet. The chainmail had an odd black tint to it and could easily stop a blaster bolt, thought a lightsaber may very well slice right through, if the bearer was strong enough.

It was very possible to be silent despite the chainmail, but it shined when he light struck it. Of course, that was the very point of his cloak, as well as the cloak's hood, which he slid over his helmet. Tsume pricked his ears at the large feline when he mentioned him. To Tsume, who's voice was equally deep and menacing, he didn't feel offended or intimidated at all. He understood the knight wasn't actually trying to be rude. "I'm here." Tsume growled to the feline, stepping to his side.

 

[Mr. Teatime]

(Since no one else is posting, off I go..)

Background Music with an appropriate name.

From the void of space emerged a Shuttle given a sleek, reflectionless black exterior to aid with stealth. Arcturus' Sunrider approached the planet like a malevolent shadow. He himself wasn't piloting; He was busy meditating, extending his Sight outwards across the surface of the planet. It was covered in Darkness, and he had to be careful not to get too close to it. It wouldn't do to have an episode before they even got to the fighting, after all. Something else was there, though... Something not permeated with the Darkness like the rest. He saw an impression of a ship, vague due to the distance, but there nonetheless. He didn't recognize the model, but that was irrelevent. It shouldn't be there at all. It's a farming planet.

Dex, take us down to land. Stay away from coordinates ---- And stay low. I don't like the look of this. His voice was actually being projected through speakers in his helmet. He was wearing customized Chiss Immortal armor, distinct despite it's changes. It was given a different overall silhouette, with a mixture of smooth and sharp edges to give it a menacing air. The helmet was quite different; Slits resembling nostrils, no obvious mouth, and and plain, round, goggle-like a quarter inch larger around than the average human eye, sunken in an area that were shaped like the markings around a cat's eyes. And on the top and back of the head, dreadlock-like tendrils spread down just past the shoulders, actually an external sensor array. Instead of ordinary gauntlets, the fingers were pointed and clawlike. The armor was a mixture of a dark, stormy grey-black and mercury silver colours, though it could change. Overall it was a Predator's attire.

He stood, and went over to his armoy, clipping a Charric pistol to his left leg holster, his saber staff on the back of his left hip, his normal saber, front of the right. Three grenades were added to the front left of the armor's belt. He thought he was ready.

He got on the ship comm. Strike team, prepare for landing.

Not a minute after, the ship gently touched down far out of sight of the other ship's location, but a small bit closer to where he felt the source of the spreading darkness. He was taking no chances. The ramp lowered, and he stepped down it, disembarking. Infantry Alpha and Beta, keep watch. Keep the anti-infantry guns primed. We may need to leave in a hurry. [/COLOR The soldiers in the ship saluted and got to gunner and guard positions. He turned back towards the ramp. I just have one question... Who is actually in charge of the strike team? Dex followed him out, metal feet clacking softly against the metal ramp, then silent on soft grass and dirt.

 

[The Shiznit]

Tanaab, that was the destination. It's not a planet on people's list of places to visit, but the planet wasn't a bad place. Quiet, and not one to call attention to itself Tanaab was the Kadlen of planets, plus the planet seemed to attract trouble too. First there was the battle of Tanaab, a great victory for the Sith, and now there was this. Whatever this was. Some sort of disturbance apparently, and a dark one at that.

Kadlen was pacing around the ship, it just didn't have the same feel as his ship so he was having trouble getting comfortable. His droid wasn't present either, but that wouldn't make the situation any more bearable it would actually make it worse. One more droid, one more head, one more worry, and one more person to blow his cover. Group work was never his thing, nobody worked like him, and nobody thought like him so others would never be of help to him. That is at least what he always thought.

An announcement came over the ships communication system and Kadlen did as it said. He grabbed the lightsaber on his hip to make sure it was secured, added two thermal detonators to his belt as well as his holoprojector, and then pulled his hood up a little more. Kadlen always came into battle light, having a bunch of armor and weapons only hindered ones movements plus this was just to find out whatever was causing the great darkness in the force that the planet was emitting.

Touching down only moments after he got ready Kadlen walked straight to the exit, only to find Arcturus already there with his droid giving commands. When the other acolyte asked about the leader of the team he remained silent and just stared off in the direction where the source of the darkness was coming from. The leader was obviously not going to be him so there was nothing for him to say, plus the source of this darkness in the force intrigued him more than determining a leader. It was clearly strong, and it would enhance his connection to the force the closer he got to it, and the more he allowed it to channel through him. The source might even be of personal interest to him. What if it was about Maul? A source of his powers that could help Kadlen further his skills in the force? He would soon find out...

 

[Dmitri]

Vhalanestilliegan Crewellunstestry had finally been entrusted with leading an operation. For years, he had been a peon or second-in-command of numerous operations, many under Geist Weiss. However, after taking down the Imperial Knights' Harrowing at Cyrillia during Operation Twilight (a campaign orchestrated by Weiss) when he accompanied a strike team led by Darth Exilis into Alliance space.

The operation gained Vhalanestilliegan the prestige which brought him to the present. Planning out the operation with the supervision from Geist Weiss, Vhalanestilliegan formed his main unit. Artacus, Kaliburr, and Kadlen. He hoped they were up to the task. If they failed him, they better hope the Jedi kill them first, otherwise Vhalanestilliegan would get to practice the techniques he learned from Geist.

"Make sure the holocron is retrieved," said the holographic phantom of Geist Weiss in the communications room of Vhalanestilliegan's ship. "We don't know what's on it, so I want to research it. However, since we don't know what's on it, we can't risk the Jedi obtaining it. Destroy it only as a last scenario. Remember, the holocron takes priority over the Jedi. Destroy them if the opportunity arrives, but focus on the holocron.

Vexation filled Vhalanestilliegan. Geist was treating him like a kid. "I know what I-"

The door opened. An imperial technician named Barrel, informing Vhalanestilliegan that they landed. Anger displaced, Vhalanestilliegan's anger overloaded and the Twi'lek unleashed Force Lightning upon the technician. Barrel was electrocuted to death. The Twi'lek blinked, then realized his mistake. He immediately heard the sigh from Geist.

"Dammit. There goes another one," the alchemist said. Geist logged off.

Vhalanstilliegan left the cooking corpse alone and stormed out of the room. He left the ship and found Artacus and Kadlen. Artacus was issuing orders. How dare he! Vhalanestilliegan was the senior officer. He was the leader.

"Know your place, Artacus," said Vhalanestilliegan snidely.

 

[Crim]

Kaiburr was sitting down, tweaking his arm. He knew some Sith looked down on him, thinking he was a machine. Others respected him for being an ancient being. Either way, he had a place and he dared not attempt to step out of it. A light in his chest glowed yellow out of excitement when an officer was killed by lightning. It glowed for a few seconds before dimming down to its neutral state of inactivity.

He stood up and pivoted his arm. It spun at an incredible speed. Kaiburr then pivoted his torso joint. His upper half spun around quickly a few times. He glowed green out of happiness and sat down. He was ready the battle that would be happening. "I'm ready," he said to his superior.

 

[Black Noise]

((Moving the thread along a bit))

T1 drew out his Tanto while T2 and T3 drew out the VibroKatanas.*Leading the way, T1 began trudging through the thick and dangerous*undergrowth. Occasionally, one of the illusions would stop and focus*on something, only to continue moving a few seconds later. They
reached the Enclave fairly quickly without encountering any*resistance, but the closer they got the more obvious it became to be
that the Dark Side was very strong. T1, holding up a hand, entered the*enclave. He came out seconds later with something that looked*obviously like a Sith Holocron. Tach's illusions were very extensive,*even to the point where one could appear to 'hold' an object. The man,*who could be the real Tach, tightened his grip on the holocron and*spoke.
"We should get back to the ship as soon as possible."

Walking forward, T1 suddenly stopped.
"We are too late."
T1 directly handed Aurelius the holocron and charged forward. The other two followed immediately. T1 leapt into the forest and flung the Tanto at a red skinned Twi'lek. The other two charged from opposite sides, swinging their VibroKatana's at both of the Sith's side.

 

[Dmitri]

Vhalanestilliegan noticed the approaching triplets. Or to be more accurate, a triad of illusions. Vhalanestilliegan had spent time with Geist Weiss and had been around illusions to notice some. If the triplets had outfits dissimilar to a degree, he might have been fooled, but they were too perfect.

The blitz from the 'triplets' didn't give Vhalanestilliegan the time to sense for the real opponent through the Force. Instead, he would have to move the nemeses away from them. He used Force Wave in order to push them away. He immediately followed this up with Drain Life. Illusions could seem real, and even mess up senses, but they didn't contain life. His attack would be aimed at all three, but only one would provide harvested energy.

"What are you doing?!" Vhalanestilliegan barked at the Sith acolytes. "Fight! Capture them if you can." The Twi'lek turned to Tach. "Surrender, and you shall be allowed to live. My mission is that holocron, not you."

 

[Master Maverick]

The cumbersome holocron fit neatly in the palm of the Trianii. Mythos only a few feet away moved forward, towards the forest slowly, the lightsabers it carried already ignited and moved in front of Aurelius before the Knight would move forward. Tach, at this point, was out of view, but the ruckus of battle was clearly heard. However, this Jedi would stalk his prey for now. Having possession of the device didn't allow him to jump right into battle as he might have wished, but his eyes, ears and snout were all engaged to their fullest, as they usually were, and scanned the dense tree-line not far away.

As it was, Aurelius was a touch more than 100 feet away from the dense jungle, a perfect distance to react to anyone who might jump out. His body ready, the Force flowed through him, ready to explode from him in a variety of ways should he need to. For now, Mythos before him, he waved his free arm to urge Tsume to ready himself as well before grasping his saber and igniting it a moment late, the hum of its idle position indicating he would wait, holding back his primal instinct to chase his prey.

Sometimes it was better to allow one's prey to come to him, though.

 

[Mr. Teatime]

Arcturus was not exactly visible at the moment. He was actually using his armor's stealth generator to remain unseen, as Dex was using his own. He had already engaged his battle meditation. His mental network connected directly to the crusader and two other acolytes that were a part of the strike team. Through it, he gave them a sense of confidence, suppressing arrogance, gave them courage in the face of fear, and forged their rage into focused fury. At the same time, an aura of ill fate emanated outwards to the jedi. Though it would likely effect them less can common soldiers, a sense of dread and impending doom regardless would fall over anyone not connected to the battle network. His active meditation kept them in synchronization. And through it, he was able to give them the occasional glimpse of how he saw things. Through his sight he could see the connection between Tach's illusions. Things of the force manipulated by another being, they had to be actively controlled or they would fade, which meant they would lead him back to the original like a trail of breadcrumbs. Although not as clear as his own, being more like a 'feeling', hopefully the crusader could follow it. He himself could not, as this level of meditation kept him from multitasking as much. He did, however, have a very firm fix on the holocron and it's holder. Having stayed back behind the others, hopefully a good sneak attack would remove the troublesome droid.

On his helmet comm he gave his instructions. "Dex, stun shots only unless maximum lethal force is necessary. Move within thirty feet, and fire upon that droid. While Dex moved he also moved closer, keeping watch on the rest of the fight as he did. He unclipped his Charric blaster and set it to stun as well, disabling it's Maser functionality, but with the ability to at least partially pierce metal armors with a green EM charge tuned to neurological patterns. Dex and himself moved silently to block any escape into the jungle, and then he sent a message through the meditation that he was engaging the holder of the holocron. And then he gave a verbal signal on the comm to Dex.

While Dex was not quite as well armed as his YVH counterparts, he still had two microcannons per arm that were added aftermarket, a retractable two vibro shortswords, and extensive combat programming. All four microcannons fired a barrage of bright blue stun fire sufficient to shock organic or droid into submission directly at the droid from a diagonal angle, from the right, while Arcturus fired three shots from his Charric at the jedi. Both of the droid and the sith de-cloaked just after the firing began so as to divert power to other things. Arcturus activated his suit's sensor equipment since his force sight was preoccupied with meditation.

 

[Nevermourn]

Tsume gave a growl as he sensed the sith, his nose twitching with disgust at their all to familiar scent. Something tingled in the back of his mind, a dreadful feeling, but that was an emotion he had dealt with his entire life, and it was his former master and teacher Ayva that had help him to overcome it. Though the dreadful feeling did bring back a horrid vision of himself standing over a bloody, mangled corpse, red saber buried in the small human's neck. Tsume often had visions, kore prominant now that he was a knight, and terribly obsessive. When he was a padawan,he was often to busy to focus on something else, but the visions had always been there,cans always would be. It was his life with the Sith that had brought him to such insanity. Why the Council didn't just retire him was beyond Tsume, but he welcomed knighthood. The former Sith had fought so hard for it. He wasn't about to give it up that easily. His mental health would have to wait.

With a deep breath the vision faded, though his crimson eyes momentarily flashed with bloodlust, Tsume managed to push the dreadful feeling away and fight against it with more positive feelings, then, searching the area for whoever was sending out such horrid feelings, he began a counterattack, pushing against the mental attacker with thoughts of confusion. His hand went to his blue saber, and he flicked it free, unsheathing the glimmering blue blade, though he was to focused on shielding himself and the other Jedi from mental attack to physically pick out a target and attack himself,he would break away to defend himself at a moments notice.

 

[The Shiznit]

Kadlen had been hiding in the bushes nearby when the first Jedi launched it's attack. It was no surprise that the Twi'lek was the one attacked as his red skin stuck out like a sore thumb, just as Kadlen would had it not been for his black robes. He was somewhat surprised when the other Jedi did not attack the droid/organic/Sith that also was quite obvious in the jungle but then again Jedi were weaklings always on the defense for fear of using true power. While assessing the situation Kadlen felt a warm tingling sensation fill him up inside. A feeling of good fortune, one that almost told him he would be successful in this mission, and that the holocron would revel something of great importance to him.

This feeling it seemed to push him forward, compel him to fight, and fight hard. Choosing the large dog-like Jedi to attack Kadlen did something he wasn't accustomed to doing. He leapt up from the bushes, grabbed his lightsaber from his belt with his right hand, and ignited it, wincing as the orange blade sputtered to life and bits of molten lava leaked from the blade onto his hand. Kadlen charged at the large Jedi and brought his lightsaber down in a quick slash at the dog's left shoulder. It wasn't a big move, it wasn't even skillful but it would attract his attention, and it could be accompanied by the other Sith-Droid to make for a strong attack, one that would put the Jedi into a place he didn't want to be, near death or injury.

This wasn't his normal way to fight, it wasn't even close to it. Normally he would creep around, stalk the Jedi, and ambush them hoping to get in quick and end it quickly stealing the object before running off but this feeling made him confident. He could take this big Jedi in open combat, plus they were outnumbered, it was almost too easy for them. Or so he thought...

 

[Black Noise]

As the Drain Life reached out it's dark tendrils at Tach, T2 and T1 instantaneously disappeared. Tach could not uphold three illusions and Tutaminis, which he immediately gathered to himself to absorb the influx of energy from the Drain. Tach gained a minor amount of strength from the absorption, but only enough to compensate for the energy gathered for Tutaminis. As the Sith revealed his purposes, Tach shook his head.
"Surrender is not an option for me, forgive my stubbornness."

Tach suddenly leapt at the Sith in the classic Ataru style. Leaping far up into the air and striking down at the Sith's head. Tach also kept the Force gathered to himself, should the Sith attempt to strike him with anything other than his blade mid-air.

 

[Crim]

Core glowing red, Kaiburr readied and activated his two lightsabers. The crimson hue of the sabers went well with his glowing red core. He scanned the Jedi for one to strike down. His photoreceptors caught onto a Jedi. Something dark was about this wolf-like character. Kaiburr pondered for a minute before making his attack. He made sure he wasn't seen. He jumped over the head of the Jedi, landing behind him. Kaiburr landed swiftly and silently on his feet. He then concentrated his momentum towards the Jedi and used Force Speed to dash towards the Jedi.

Saber out, cape fluttering from the speed at which the Sith was moving, Kaiburr picked up speed. He intended to run the Jedi through with his saber.

 

[Mr. Teatime]

Arcturus' droid Dex had swiftly disabled Aurelius' Mythos, and was now engaging Aurelius himself. Minincannons were certainly distracting. Arcturus for a short while noticed someone trying to suppress his battle meditation's negative effects, but through his meditation encouraged the other two acolytes to attack the source of that disruption, making sure to keep them in sync so they wouldn't disrupt eachother. They were more of a threat that way. He then began running towards their Twi'lek commander who was battling Tach. Approaching diagonally he sent an impression of moving slightly right to their commander in order to get a better opening for the both of them. Optional, but preferred. Arcturus himself holstered his charric and used the force to leap off the ground and propel him along it to intercept the jedi. Unclipping and igniting his staff with a flourishing series of spins, he landed next to the general, one of his blade moving in front and above him to block the blow. If the crusader had done as he suggested by now, he would step left and let the jedi through whilst bringing the other blade of his staff to swing against his right arm, whilst the general would be able to do something similar on the other side. If not.. Well, he'd be blocking a lightsaber blow with no countering involved. Hurrah.

 

[Dmitri]

The doppelgangers vanished and the real Jedi charged. The display of Ataru suggested the Sith would need to fight afar. Vhalanestilliegan used Force Push. He then followed this up with Force Lightning combined with illusions, having it appear that the Force Lightning was approaching Tach at multiple angles. It would almost appear as if lightning was enveloping the Jedi's surroundings. The real lightning was in fact coming from the upper left.

The lightsaber was still primed in his hand, ready to deflect a move if necessary. His mental wards were still up as well.

 

[Black Noise]

Tach grunted as his sword was blocked by the arrival of a second Sith, so, they would tag-team him. He rode the Force Push as it came at him, not attempting to resist it in any way. He was carried back a few meters away from the Sith, so, they would fight him from a distance to eliminate his two best sword forms. That wasn't going to work. As the Lightning came at him, Tach began gathering the Force heavily. He focused a little bit of his power into Tutaminis in his swordm in which he flourished in a circular motion as the Lightning came at him.

If the Lightning really had been coming from all sides, then Tach's flourish would have centered it into the Tutaminis, although Tach would have had to use all his gathering power to block it. Thankfully, it was only coming from one side, the rest appeared to be an illusion, thus only a minor amount of Tutaminis was necessary. He focused on gathering the Force even more, actually stepping back a few steps from the Sith.

 

[Mr. Teatime]

Arcturus certainly wasn't going to give him a chance to recover. Vhal now somewhere on his left, he gathered some power and leapt forwards after the Jedi who had apparently absorbed the lightning. He had limited force ability with meditation active, but he wasn't one to be left out of a fight if he felt he could handle it. He still had his Sight. A series of saber spins built up kinetic energy, and then a whirlwind of blades fell towards the jedi at the end up his jump. The real idea was to distract him and open him up for one of Vhal's force attacks, but if blade fell upon flesh he wouldn't complain. To him, the jedi had made the mistake of bringing a sword to a lightsaber fight; The vibroblade was of little threat to him in his Immortal armor, and so his attacks were relentless and without fear.

OOC: I guess each fight will just keep on going on it's own, since that's what seems to be happening. .-.

 

[Nevermourn]

He knew it had to happen. There was no escaping a fight here, when the stakes were terribly high. There were two of them, both moving toward him, their gaze intent, their objective obvious. Tsume knew their intentions,he could sense them from the depths of his mind, the deep, dark crevice he hid in. His eyes glowed like fresh blood reflecting pale moonlight, and glimmered with something quite unusual for a Jedi, yet common for such a feral looking Shistavanen such as himself. Bloodlust, unsatable, forever corrupting. It filled his mind and compelled his limbs to move, with a vicious snarl torn from his scarred, pronounced jaws, the chainmail clad canine humananoid swung his broad head around to face the first of the acolytes that dared to challenge him. His muscles rippled as his feet moved with unusual grace and unison, and the Knight turned, his crimson saber humming in delight of the action as he brought it up to crash into Kadlen's molten hot saber.

With little effort and a great display of strength and superiority, the Shistavanen forced Kadlen around and into the path of the charging, second sith acolyte. Tsume gave a maddened laugh and stepped swiftly around the first acolyte, bringing his saber up above his head and crashing hack down again to the place he knew momemtum would carry the second. His mind reeled in childish delight at the thought of victory so easily achieved, though each thought was a struggle as his calm thoughts were constantly assailed by the growing insanity that nearly caused him to choke. For now, he could push it down. But what if things got to rough? To hard?

{Sorry for the delay, I finally managed to get on my phone to post.}