Sleeping With Lions

[Valar Dohaeris]

They had the codes from their previous battle with the pirates and they had the location of their commerical-grade space station and that was cool. It was amusing to him that they had gotten the codes to land as if they were allies though.

Bringing his shuttle in on approach vector, he had his droids actually flying the ship as they continued to give the requested codes. They would proceed into the hanger, where they would land the ship and he would spill out of the back ramp, lightsaber at the ready, to tear through the enemy.

His allies for this mission, Uhtred and Sabrina, were in the back of his shuttle as well. All of them were kitted out and ready for battle and that was exactly what they wanted. They wanted to make sure they started together to concentrate the force they could bring to bear on the pirates.

Made sense.

"Alright - we need to kill every single pirate on this damned station." he declared with a happy little grin, "Now we could do that the fun way... but that would probably take a long time."

He tapped his temple.

"I say we play it smart - we fight to the environment control area. Lock the place down and vent the atmosphere. Who's with me?"

@Korvo @Sabrina

 

[Sabrina K]

@Valar Dohaeris @kovo

She was making sure her armour fitted well, she did not like it very much. Though it was the best she could get a moment. To her it was too bulky, and restricted her movement. She had no idea who her employer was, though he did speak with Courasantie accent. She put that to the back of her mind, as she was here for money. She needed cash, to build her own house on Serenno. That was why she was here, and that is all that mattered to her at the moment. He was telling his plan, she liked it apart from one thing, if they vented the atmosphere, then they would be vulnerable too. The Plan is sound, but what do we breath, once we vented it? This was rather important matter, as sure it would do the job quickly, and she liked that alot. Though she wanted to make sure that it was not a suicidal plan. He might have rebreathers, or bottles of oxygen for that will prevent them from suffocating too. As she asked she began to clean the trainsteel, on her helmet. She used spit, as it helps to keep it clear from mist. As if she started to perspire, during combat this prevented it. She waited for the answer on his plan, as long as he planned them surviving the atmospheric free zone, then the plan was ago.

 

[Uhtred Wardruna]

Uhtred disliked stations. It was an old, tired grievance, but it still rang true. His helmet was sealed and Uhtred had no intention of undoing it for a more organic view or direct conversation.

"Hver skal syngja mig, í dánartíðni, sveifla mér, þegar ég er á leiðinni til Sviðíbein? Og þetta lag er ég kalt, kalt, svo kalt.

Þegar þú sérð eldsvoða Dæmhrot, getur enginn gefið þér frelsi en verð dæmisins. Nei, ég mun fylgja þér í gegnum deyjandi þokurnar, til Úlfarhöll

Ég mun vera laus frá brennandi sem veitir mér, við munum vera laus við brennandi sem veiðir okkur."

It was quieted, hushed so that one could not hear him clearly, but singing an old melody brought back to Uhtred memories of Bandomeer. Of more joyous times, where worries never weighed on his mind. And for what was going to be upon him, that was enough. That was all he needed; a distraction. At least it was, until Valar came to the duo at the back of the ship with his plan.

"Well that's not much fun is it?", Uhtred remarked sarcastically. "But, the sharp mind stands above a brazen one. I take it you have a plan to either get us off this iron tomb in time, or else isolate the locations being vented?"

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

Valar had to admit that Sabrina raised a good point - and Uhtred just spoke to his own mind rather well. The plan was almost bloodless and let it never be said that Valar Dohaeris liked to keep things bloodless. He chuckled a little bit before pointing to Sabrina,

"Environmental control rooms are, by their nature, fully capable of being sealed entirely with air supply contained within." he told her with a grin, "We should just need to get there, shut the door, turn it off outside and wait a minute or two."

He shrugged slightly.

"No fun once it works." he corrected Uhtred with a wink, "But anyone who stands between our entry point and the environmental control room...? Well we don't need them alive."

The shuttle landed inside the hanger and the droids reported what they could see outside.

"Five pirates confirmed in the hanger." he grinned as he ignited his crossguard lightsaber and held it at the ready, "Lower the doors when you're each ready and let us unleash hell upon our foes!"

Yes.

Yes he was, indeed, having fun with this.

@Korvo @Sabrina
DICE

 

[Sabrina K]

@Valar Dohaeris @Uhtred Wardruna

She looked at him, as he said the environmental control room would be safe. Then thought, I hope your right. As she did the shuttle landed, and the droids reported that there was five pirates, in the docking area. That was going to be hard to deal with, and if they can keep them, only fighting in piecemeal then pirates would not have much of a chance. She put her face mask on, as she wanted to keep her looks intact. Then moved towards the shuttle doors, she did ignited her lightsaber. The Crimson Red blade sprouted out, it buzzed as it did. She then took up stance, ready for shuttle doors to open. She was already using the force, she was feeling a head to the pirates weapon. She was going to pull the trigger, on one their blaster, so he was shot in the leg, the second the door opened. She was feeling the handle, her eyes where closed as she was doing this. She was getting everything correct in her mind, all she needed now, was doors to open.

 

[Uhtred Wardruna]

A sound plan was a beautiful thing. It calmed the nerves, readied the mind, and grave perspective. Battles were disastrous without one, and when the odds were so naturally stacked against one side than the other... well, reflection on where one stood did much to steel the soul in anticipation.

The sight of the lightsabers ignited was almost surreal; for most of his life, he disliked the weapons for what they represented. Even now, many from both sides of his family would think ill of him for fighting alongside the Sith. But Uhtred could not help but respect the legacy of strength they had. And if nothing else, they were worth learning from, and that alone earned them his comradery.

Pulling his lockbow into his arms and priming it, Uhtred loosened, then tightened, his grip around his weapon.

Sáldœm, sjáðu mig núna, Uhtred mused to himself, slamming his fist onto the door panel, lowering the door.

As soon as the door opened, as luck would have had it, two pirates had come about while on patrol, facing Uhtred directly as the doors opened. Both sides acted immediately, as Uhtred fired a violet-blue blaster bolt from his lockbow, striking the first pirate square in the head, knocking him back. As the Deucalian reaver turned to the second pirate, the two combatants moved almost as if in sequence, with both firing their weapons at the same time. Uhtred's aim struck true again, blasting into the second pirate's neck, although a glancing blow from the second pirate's own blaster struck Uhtred's abdomen.

The pain was instant, sharp and far from pleasant, but it was more superficial than threatening. Things had only just begun, and there would be plenty more killing to do.

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

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[Valar Dohaeris]

Five guards on the outside and Uhtred was already in the thick of it, fighting off two of them and taking a hit to the stomach. Valar, who was behind the Deucalian, pulled the man back inside the shuttle to give the man cover for him to recover from the blaster bolt he'd taken to the stomach. Even with the armour, the man would need a second or two to recover where he would be vulnerable to attacks by the remaining three pirates.

Bleed through was a witch.

Valar ignited his shotosaber in his off hand and surged forwards out into the hanger as well. He caught a blaster bolt on his crossguard lightsaber, flinging it back into the throat of the shooter with unerring accuracy even as he deflected a second shooter's attack harmlessly into the ground. With his crossguard lightsaber as defence, Valar flung his shoto forwards, impaling the second shooter through the chest from a distance before calling the blade back to his hand with the Force.

There was only one man left in the hanger and he was all for Sabrina.

@Korvo @Sabrina
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[Sabrina K]

As hangar bay door opened, she used the force to reach out, and grab his blaster. As she did she pulled the trigger, while he was still trying draw it, A flash of blue came from the barrel, and shot him in the leg. He fell over and screamed in pain, but she spent so much time focusing on the attack, she was not fully aware of everything else. She was shot in the hand, by a stray shot. The shot struck the phirk plate, and the jolt made her drop her lightsaber. This made her lightsaber, go off as it fell from her hand. She grabbed her with the other hand, to check it was alright instinctively. It was fine, she looked around and the was one left on the ground, she was going to kill for the first time. She reached out and grabbed her saber, as it came back to her hand, it did not feel quite right. The shot had broken one her bones in her hand, it will heal in time. though right now his time was nearly up.

She began moving towards him, and he was trying to get his blaster while in pain. He could not get up and run, due to blaster shot in his leg.......

DICE

 

[Uhtred Wardruna]

"Appreciated", Uhtred said in a stifled, sharply exhaled gasp, breathing heavily from the hit to his armor. He could feel the heat now, as if it were almost a burn, perhaps a sear, but not quite there. If nothing else, by the Andar, did it hurt..

As Uhtred rose back up, he could not help but raise his eyebrow in esteem as Valar entered into the fray with two lightsabers, cutting down another two pirates while simultaneously defending himself in what seemed like the passage of only a second or two. Uhtred never had a fear of Force-users, not like his people did, but this was a perfect example of why he conversely did-have a respect for them. Some of them, at least.

Tightening his grip on his weapons, Uhtred then looked to Sabrina, who had finished off the last pirate with some sort of witchcraft. Uhtred couldn't tell if she was affecting the pirate's mind or controlling his weapon, but in the aftermath of her being injured by a stray blaster bolt, she appeared to have her sights set on finishing him off. Seeing the pirate's weapon, Uhtred drew back his arm and hurled his elduröxi-at the pirate's fallen weapon, destroying it instantly. Better safe than sorry, after all; a weaponless man had no future on the battlefield, but even a wounded hound could still bite.

"I suppose she's opting to take her time", Uhtred said, watching briefly as Sabrina made her approach, before turning back to Valar. "Guess that means it's on you to lead the way and choke a ship."

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

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[Valar Dohaeris]

Indeed, it appeared that Sabrina was going to draw out the death of the pirate who had managed to get a lucky shot in. He couldn't hold it against her. Especially considering he could feel her emotions. There was anger, there was pain but there was a certain measure of apprehension that gave Valar pause. It took him a moment to place it before he realized what it might very well actually turn out to be.

He patted Uhtred on the shoulder and spoke in the man's native tongue - though his accent and word choice was probably poor.

"Fyrsti drepinn."

He nodded to the raider before leaving Sabrina enough time to do what she wanted done. Then, with his lightsabers in hand, he would move to the hanger doors. He stabbed the door's lock with his crossguard lightsaber, melting it to slag and opening the door into the station's main corridor...

And it was empty.

On edge, Valar would gesture for his allies to follow as he pushed on towards the environmental control room. How did he know he was going in the right direction? Commercial stations like this had directions on the walls. Following the directions, Valar was actually rather surprised when they reached the environmental control room.

Literally no one stood in opposition to them.

"Alright - one of you work on opening the door." he urged them before adding, "Remember though, the lock needs to be undamaged. We need to be able to lock this door safely again when we vent the station."

@Korvo @Sabrina
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[Sabrina K]

She was savouring this moment, she was savouring it for too long. She was scraping her lightsaber against the floor, sparking the floor as she was going. She was savouring the fear in his face, as he watched in horror. She forgot the sith code, and how it was universal. This applied to the pirate, as much as her.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion.
Through Passion I gain Strength,
Through Strength I gain Power,
Through Power I gain Victory
Through Victory my chains are broken, and the force shall set me free.

He knew he was in trouble, and that gave him passion. That Passion, have him Strength to grab his blaster. That blaster gave him power to shoot her, and shot hit in chest. That sent her crumpling to ground, as it winded her. That gave him a victory of sorts, as he got up, and started leveling another shot at her. Though he also was trying to escape.

She felt pain of the blast, that struck her flat in the stomach. Though if it was not for her armour, she would have been toast. She had crumpled over, as breast plate smacked her in the stomach. This winded her, and left her vunerable, to a clear shot on her. She somehow managed, not to scream in pain or shock.

@Nefieslab @Uhtred Wardruna

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[Uhtred Wardruna]

When Uhtred was young and raised split between two worlds, two cultures, one of the few constant figures was his uncle, Ysgramor. His hair was grayed and his eyes weary, even all those years ago, but the advice he gave Uhtred still rang in his ears. One in particular flashed into Uhtred's mind as he saw the grounded pirate, seemingly helpless and ready to be slain, pull out an additional sidearm blaster and fired at Sabrina.

Uhtred's eyes widened slightly, but heat rose deep in his stomach, anger and frustration at a man beaten that just refused to die. But... that wasn't the only source. Indeed, there was even something admirable about one that fought until the bitter end. Was angered Uhtred most of all was himself. He'd acted in complacency, he'd underestimated a visibly helpless man, and in turn, a comrade was shot. And Uhtred knew better. 'A cleaved head no longer plots'.

No man ever caused harm with his head severed or his guts spilling out. Uhtred was already headed over to the downed pirate to retrieve his axe, but now he ran. With his beskad-in hand, Uhtred swiftly rose his sword overhead at the end of his charge and plunged the Mandalorian blade into the pirate, piercing him deeply through the heart. The pirate gagged on his own blood as Uhtred forced the blade even deeper, before slashing it through the man's upper torso; both to hasten the retrieval of his beskad-as well as insuring the pirate was dead now. No more uncertainties. No more doubts. Just the blood-price.

"You know, I almost didn't understand you, at first", Uhtred said, following Valar as he proceeded to sheath his beskad- and mount his elduröxi-onto the hook at his waist. "You know Deucalic—that's a rarity for your kind."

Forcing his own disappointment earlier out of his mind, Uhtred returned to his former demeanor and looked to the door.

"I'm not much of a slicer, but I know a thing or two about hot-wiring. Give me a moment", Uhtred said, kneeling down to the doorway.

It was always the same with these electronic doors. Small access panels, screen-less terminals that allowed one to interface with the nearby system. Ordinarily, this was for the benefit of service and astromech droids, but in order to properly maintain them, the interior parts of these panels were typically made to be accessed simply by local technicians and workers. Pulling his dagger out, Uhtred carefully used the tip of the blade to force the top panel of the terminal off, and off it popped. Inside was a cluster of wires and cords, so mingled that they appeared almost like knots. An overwhelming sight to some, no doubt. But to Uhtred, this was similar enough to when he had to hack open exterior doors on freighters during Deucalian raids on merchant ships.

With a few wires discretely cut, specifically the wires responsible for alarms signaling unauthorized access, as well as the wire conduit that signaled to the main computer that the door opened at all, Uhtred bypassed the first hurdle; being unseen on the electronic level. With that, Uhtred severed another wire and sliced away the sheathing and insulation, exposing the metallic components.

"And here we...", Uhtred said, bringing the exposed wire to an active power conduit, filtering power into it. "...go."

Immediately the door opened, and Uhtred sheathed his dagger, placed the access panel back over the opening and stood upright, ready to proceed. Now, their goal was practically laid bare and before them.

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

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[Valar Dohaeris]

Valar hummed a little bit at Uhtred's words before shrugging slightly. The man had a point - not many Sith would have known even that tiny amount of Deucalic. Valar himself had learned of the language, to start with, with the same intention that every young man in a strict household learned another language; he learned it to curse his parents during his rebellious phase without having his hide tanned for insulting them in a way they could understand. Afterwards he had learned a little bit more for an entirely different reason and one he was certain Uhtred would not appreciate.

Which was, naturally, exactly why he went ahead and told the warrior.

"I enjoyed studying history when I was younger." he told Uhtred with a smirk and a wink as the doors opened, "Dead languages of old cultures were interesting to me."

Moving into the environmental control room itself, Valar wasted no time in moving right up to the control panel and tapping away at the display. It was... well it wasn't too hard to figure out right? It was a civilian model so it wasn't anything that Valar knew very well but there were crossovers with military technology.

He hoped there was, otherwise he was about to do something to the air in a station where none of them actually had breathing equipment.

Hmm.

Glancing at the Deucalian, he was reasonably sure that Sabrina could hold her breath with the Force like he could and the warrior? Well... if he didn't have something like that in his armor then that was really, if you thought about it, his fault, right? Didn't matter in the end.

"Sabrina - get into cover, you too Uhtred." he told them over the com line, "This might set off an alarm..."

His fingers danced for a moment longer before the process began. The door to the environmental systems center began to close but it was inching down incredibly slowly as each and every display screen on the station began to tell people that the only safe place was going to be the center they were currently in. He was able to see that their stock of environment suits were... in the same room as the controls.

"Alright so they'll be coming - all we have to do is hold them off." he told his allies with a grin as he locked the console before taking cover behind it, "Who's ready for the inevitable pirate onslaught eh?"

@Korvo @Sabrina
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[Sabrina K]

She was still gasping for breath, when the mandalorian killed him. She picked herself up, she was relieved not to been shot in the head. She was still winded, and tried to keep up with the others. She got her breath back, as the other two talked. As she did she leaned against the wall, and her hands on her hips. She was taking big deep breaths, and listened to them talk about slicing, and other things she did not understand, nor at this moment did she care. She watched him mess around with the wires, and eventually the door opened. At this time she had her breath back, she owed the mando for saving her life. Not something she like to admit, but still nonetheless, she would have to get him something, as she did not want to be in his debt.

Then Valar told them to get in cover, she then took cover behind the frame of the door. This was if any did come, she stab them in the back. She smiled as he said who ready for the pirate onslaught, she was obviously having an off day. So she was not ready, but she had little choice, she had to get on with this. She nodded, and started to feel her hand throbbing. She wonder if it was broken, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She waited for this onslaught to start.

@Korvo @Nefieslab

 

[Uhtred Wardruna]

Uhtred looked around the control room as he entered, taking it all in. It was surprisingly... base. Much less than he had expected, if he were to be honest. He wasn't looking towards Valar as he revealed the reason for his knowledge of Deucalic, but he'd definitely heard it. It was ironic; not long ago, Uhtred had felt the exact same way. So did his Mandalorian father, and his family on his father's side.

"Oh, I'm not surprised. My people haven't done much to defy the galaxy's expectations of their own self-destruction. Unless some change happens within the next few decades, I doubt there will be any true speakers anymore", Uhtred said, shooting a passing glance toward Valar as he pulled his lockbow's strap from around his back. "If not dead, it is certainly a dying tongue, isn't it?"

Moving behind an extended wall fixture, Uhtred took cover and reloaded his lockbow, taking aim towards the corridor. Sure enough, metallic bodies began clamping their way down the corridor, and without missing a beat, five mercenaries fired down the way. In short order, the area between the hallway and the control room became the scene of a firefight. Uhtred fired one blaster bolt after another, more as a form of suppression fire than anything else. After all, he needed only to delay them, not outright shoot them all. The environment alone would soon take care of that.

However, as he traded blasterfire, a stray bolt struck the side of Uhtred's lower thigh. It was a glancing blow, but the heat still burned, sending a surge of pain through his right leg. Another burn would he would need to treat later, but in its own way, it proved beneficial; Uhtred hadn't realized before that part of his body was exposed. Pulling further behind cover, Uhtred reloaded his weapon, readying himself for another volley of fire.

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

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[Valar Dohaeris]

They had to hold the room.

That was all they needed to do - hold the room, the door especially, against any and all of the attackers who came their way. They had some medical kits inside the room so they could patch themselves up if they needed to but it was going to be a bit of a bugger to hold. They had to hold this place indefinitely, even if the progress bar was giving him some hope.

"Not much longer!" he called out to his allies from behind cover, "Quarter of the way there!"

Which sounded better than telling them they were only 25% completed on the process he thought. Popping up out of cover, Valar raised his blaster pistol and fired three times, killing two of the guards and forcing the others into cover for a moment to avoid him.

He used the Force to drag the rifles of the two guards into the room so that Uhtred and Sabrina could use them if they needed to.

"Come on!" He roared at the enemy, "Come and take me! TAKE ME!"

@Korvo @Sabrina
DICE

 

[Sabrina K]

She got ready to do a move she had been practicing heavily, force bellows. This was going to be her signature forcepower one day, though for now she was still working out the nicks in it. She took a sharp intake of breath, and then focused inwards towards her lungs. She then looked at her opponent, a pirate about to put his head over the metal drum. This would be fun, the blast will hit him, and smack him with the drum. As she put her head out to unleash it on him, he shot at her head. She ducked back into cover, and as she did she accidently let it go. The blaster bounce of the wall, and straight back her. All went black, as her body fell to the ground. She knocked herself out, and by not controlling it she damaged her vocal cords. She will need a medical attention afterwards, as they tore during it. Though for now, she was incover, but knocked out completely cold.

@Nefieslab @Korvo
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[Uhtred Wardruna]

Well, this all went to karking hell real fast.

Uhtred was scarcely even aiming anymore, just firing for the sake of suppressing the level of opposition coming his way. The doors were closing and even a quarter of the way there, but any observation of the actual process was just irritating to watch. The closure was blood-boilingly slow.

"I'd imagined this going a lot better!", Uhtred yelled out, finding at least some level of amusement in what felt like an impending catastrophe.

Two mercenaries were shot dead by blasts that came from behind Uhtred, no doubt Valar firing back. Three men were left, but before Uhtred could revel in the satisfaction of their dwindling numbers, six more grunts appeared.

"Where do these groups always find all these guys?!"

Glancing down, Uhtred noticed two blaster rifles that were suspiciously 'dragged' down the hallway and within grabbing distance. Telekinesis, no doubt, Valar's doing. Having back ups was always an ideal, but as Uhtred looked at the now nine-mercenaries clogging up the hallways and seeking to force their way inside, he reached out for both of the blasters, kneeling well below cover as he did so. He needed something bigger than a blaster. Something... stronger—if nothing else, then for psychological purposes at least.

Grabbing both of the blasters, Uhtred pulled the power cell clips out of each of them, removing the casing of the cartridges until all that was left were the power cells themselves, and ripped off the shoulder strap on one of the blasters, using it to wrap both power cells together. Inhaling deeply, Uhtred turned and broke cover, throwing the two bound power cells as far down the hallway as he could, right at the center of the group. Then, taking his lockbow and risking enemy fire from his exposure, Uhtred took aim as carefully as he could, exhaled... and fired.

The bluish-violet blast struck true, and the hallway illuminated in a sudden burst of chemical flames and screams. Two of the mercenaries died instantly, and another two were set on fire, fallen and rolling on the ground in attempts to put the flames out. Unfortunately, they weren't dead, but they were out of the fight for the moment. Only five mercenaries were in fighting shape now.

"Don't suppose they'll fall for that one again?", Uhtred said, ducking behind cover again as the blaster bolts again began to fly.

@Nefieslab @Sabrina

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[Valar Dohaeris]

Oh.

Well this was both bad and good.

Grabbing one of the medical boxes from around the edge of the room with the Force, Valar threw himself across the room, rolling into cover beside Sabrina's prone form. Grabbing some kolto injectors, he injected them straight into Sabrina, one into her throat and one into her chest. He accompanied this with a shot from an adrenal that would wake her up but would not, regretably, boost her due to the Force burning through it too quickly. Still - it would be enough to get her back up and running.

"On your feet soldier!"

Seeing the flames that Uhtred had managed, Valar too a deep breath before leaning out from behind cover - The Force surged forwards from the Sith and he used it to connect with the flames. From there, he merely turned up the heat. Flames that had hurt but not killed before were now burning the men alive where they stood and even those not on fire had to deal with the heat - the only downside was the rogue blaster bolt that hit his armored shoulder, spinning him back into cover and burning him even through his armor.

@Korvo @Sabrina
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[Sabrina K]

She was out cold, she was dreaming of things she wished. Her mind was shielding her from the pain was in, her vocal cords have split. She was in need of surgery, before she could ever speak again. Then her beautiful dream was interrupted, with a sharp spike being thrusted into her. Then came a second, she no longer dreaming of laying on a sandy shore, relaxing with her children around her. She was back into the sharp reality, she was on a pirate space station, and being shot at. She staggered back to her feet, as her comrade in arms asked her to. She winced in pain, as she tried to reply to him, and few tears came down her cheek. She could not talk, and she found breathing painful. She needed to end this fight, so she could get proper help, or she never be able to say I love her children to be.

She grabbed her lightsaber, and aimed it at the pirates, and then throw it at them. The crimson blade span round and round, towards them. The blade decapitated one of them, going straight through the drum, they had as cover. The blade started coming back towards her, but she lost control due to pain in her neck. She began coughing in pain, which hurt even more. The lightsaber hilt hit the door frame, they where stood behind. Then clattered to the floor, just out of reach from her. She would have to stop coughing then try retrieve it using the force. Though she would have to stop coughing first, before she did anything else.

@Korvo @Nefieslab

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