Spring Cleaning

[Darth Inheris]

Beyond Korriban, Saorise had visited few worlds that had such storied histories in the Force, and now in short order she found herself visiting two. Just as the Jedi returned to the galaxy, raising the 'light' from the 'darkness', the Sith were primed to reassert themselves in the face of it, reclaiming lost halls, striking the Jedi's history. Both locations felt like ones the Sith Empire should have simply seized long ago. But when the Empire could often be so inward to itself, they had been overlooked in the centuries. Wrongly, in Saorise's opinion.

While neither were strategic locations in the galaxy, their control was more than symbolic, their presence would be felt in the force at large. And a foothold in the Deep Core was not a foolish addition, should the Rebels ever deign to strike it. And tempting targets for them too. Planets that could be lost with little loss of resources. Ones their enemies would need to waste valuable resources on, while to the Empire it was a drop in the ocean.

It seemed then Saorise and her companion, Eriana, were here as an advanced party. They, alongside a small scout force, were to sweep the area and leave it safe for reconstruction. That was, assuming there were threats. Whether there was or not couldn't be said just yet, though the rumours stayed about this place, and even after five hundred years one could not be certain.

So many unknowns in the galaxy. For Saorise this was a chance to open a few, bring them to the light. And snuff them out again if need be,

"I don't see anything living" she called across the ruins to her partner, voice bouncing from the walls.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

With so few systems in the Deep core, Eriana was surprised to find she had yet to visit Prakith. It was an obvious choice to ignore the planet, as it had been done by Sith long ago. The world was in crumbles and was now nothing more than a graveyard of downed ships and burnt skeletons. Although teeming with the Force for all the Darkness brought to the planet, Eriana couldn't bring herself to go. Maybe she was afraid of what she would see. Plus, she had no reason to go there and to her, that was the Force telling her she didn't need to waste her time.

Now things had changed. Prakith had been spotted by a fellow Sith to Eriana, a man named Wes Thul-Dras. She'd joined him, or rather he assisted her, on a simple prisoner exchange that got hairy as the Sith broke free from his chains and stole a police cruiser. Of course the man didn't get very far with two trained Sith on his tail, but the adventure gave a valuable lesson to Eriana: never underestimate another Sith, no matter how old he may seem. The second time she'd met him was on her own little mission for the Force. Ilum had been brought before her sights and she felt she needed to claim it. Wes and his trustworthy friend scouted several caves for the blind Sith and ended up killing two Jedi Padawan and their master down in the cold caverns of Ilum.

So now, she was here to return the favor. She'd come with a new companion, the first female Sith Eriana had worked with in some time, Miss Saorise Kallig. Eriana Fox knew almost nothing about the girl, only what her file said about her. She was rather surprised that they were both the same age. She wondered if she'd ever met the girl in passing, but then again she blocked out most of her childhood. Being blind, she was easy pray to the boys at the academy who felt like their mere name alone allowed them rights to behave as bullies. This would cause her to go through her entire schooling with not a single friend to mention. It was no surprise she didn't know Saorise; she didn't know a lot of people from back then.

She thought of this from the ride over to Prakith. It kept her mind off the fact they were flying, something Eriana could not stand. Being blind was such a toll on her anxiety when in the back of a passenger hold and not anywhere near the controls. At any moment they could crash into something, or something into them. She didn't like the thought of being swept out into the cold dark space with no oxygen, slowly dying while her body froze. The thought of it made her shiver and clasp her hands -which her folded in her lap- tighter together making her knuckles turn white.

Eriana was glad to finally be planet side and was the first one out of the shuttle after it landed. The relief washed over her face like it had been a godsend. She did a silent prayer to herself in thanks to the Dark Force; she'd been praying the entire time she was on the ship too. This was another reason a lot of other Sith chose to ignore Eriana. She was far too religious for their taste. But Eriana believed the Force was not some weapon to use, a gift to squander. She believed they needed to give back and say thanks, else it would lead to their inevitable deaths. She'd even begun building a church to this very belief on Ilum, the very reason she'd sought out the Force dwelling domain in the first place. Perhaps she should have done Prakith...it would certainly be warmer.

The two Sith, along with their raid party, followed along into the ruins of the once proud Sith temple. Eriana was dressed in Sith maurader armor like many other of her kind, only she'd tailored hers to be more of a sadistic and domineering look. The shoulder plates were removed, so the only actual part of her armor was her chest plate that came down to her waist like a corset. She did keep her arm gauntlets and shin braces though should she end up in combat. But her shoulders weren't technically bare however, not that they could be seen under her long black trench coat with the Imperial Republica insignia on both sides. Under her coat, and under the corset, she wore a long, skinny body suit that was made with thick leather to stop any cuts or bruises she might receive say if she were to fall from a great height or from a moving speeder.

Her female companion would call out to Eriana that she could not see anything living. Eriana concurred. The room was pitch black, and only slowed the troopers down who would each light a helmet bulb to see ahead of them. If Eriana were curteosy, which she was not, she could have ignited one of her two curved lightsabers which would give a red hue across the walls and light their path. But Eriana was oblivious to their plight for she walked across the broken terrain like it was the middle of the day.

"Just because there are no physical bodies, does not mean we are alone," she would call back over the wall. "Keep your senses tuned to whats ahead. I fear our enemies will present themselves soon enough. There is...something here watching us for sure. Not even my eyes can see where it is at though. The fog is too thick."

The fog she was referring to was the Force itself. So many lives had been claimed here. The planet was soiled with bad emotions of pain, death, and sadness. It was perfect place for a Dark side user to call upon the power they trained with, but also a place for something spiritual to be born. Something was here. Something had been born in this temple out of all the darkness and the two Sith were there to exterminate it.

 

[Darth Inheris]

"More than agreed, Ms Fox" Saorise concurred with what Eriana said, her eyes falling from side to side as she scanned the area, opening herself to the force energy that smothered the place and dulled their shared feelings within it. It was not a feeling she particularly enjoyed, she had to say. To often was such a sixth sense beneficial, when sniffing out the ideas of an opponent or the feelings on a negotiator, there were times where her connection had made all the difference to the outcome of her goals.

Here, now, when they felt so caught? She wasn't sure. And yet, the pull of the dark side was greater here, like she could so clearly grasp it within herself with the weight of it, the thing that stifled her senses also filled them, kept them charged without the need to dip so deeply into her feelings.

Deeply uncomfortable, it made her feel, one so often tied to certainty, who so disliked the chance of failure.

Waving the soldiers to fan out, she ignited her own blade, sweeping it round to see more clearly. The deep red of her lightsaber and the sickly light of the soldiers torches criss-crossed and flickered about the hallways and arches, shadows cutting across in unfathomable shapes warped by the very energy around them.

And then the sounds.

A chittering in the darkness, a rattle on the walls as she whirled about to spot the thing. Or things. But as they strayed deeper into the ruins it only made it harder to keep track of her companions,

"Eriana, do you see it? Do you see anything?"

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

Around her, the soldiers would begin separating to cover more ground, doing a routine scan of their surroundings. While the troopers could not hope to stand a chance against a trained Sith, they were more than capable enough to take out a few monsters. Or so they hoped. They had been trained to fight against fear and work as a team, but still, exploring a ruined temple with no light whatsoever was a frightening experience. And then the whispers came.

"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!"​

The sound at first was not too recognizable, so it could only be heard by the more cautious of ears. Eriana would stop where she was, listening to the ever growing sound coming out of the walls. She couldn't tell what it was that was talking, or why she was hearing it. There shouldn't be anything alive down here, let alone something that could speak Basic. Were there pirates or bandits that had taken refuge in the ruined rock? Or something far more worse that had been born there?

Her colleague would call to her again, asking if she saw anything. Eriana slashed her hand outward like she were using her blade to cut down a foe, only her saber was not lit. It was her way of silencing anyone. Her hand then raised up in a manner similar but not too alike to a fist; her fingers were spread open and her pointed finger extended as if shushing a person. Not being too familiar with how soldiers would hold up their hands to stop their teammates from advancing. She'd never have to do it before and so it was only natural she didn't know the official signs.

"Quiet!" she'd hiss in a hushed tone.

The troopers stopped behind her and like dominoes they stopped moving in the rest of the hallways. The chittering that was being heard grew louder, and so did the whispers. Eriana strained her eyes and pursed her lips as if to focus all of her muscles on hearing; a mute point because it wasn't something she could just tune like a radio.

"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!"​

Eriana could feel it. Something awful. Something truly evil and malevolent. Her senses lit up like a starry night suddenly coming into view as clouds passed out of the way. In front of them a large circling entity came into her view. She couldn't see what it was per se, because her vision looked as if some tornado had begun to form and was moving at her slowly. The soldiers saw something very different. And all of their fear they'd been trained against to fight was suddenly boiling inside them and rising as if being pulled out of their souls completely. They began to scream giving Eriana such a fright of her own she nearly jumped out of her skin.

There were a total of ten soldiers on Eriana's side of things and six of them turned tail to run. Cowards! The blind Sith would see to it that all of them were stripped of their rank and imprisoned for the rest of their pathetic lives. But Eriana would have wished all ten of them left her to fight whatever this monstrosity was because the other four would raise their guns and begin firing blindly. And Eriana was in the way.

Dodging as quickly as she could the Sith rolled out of the way and ducked behind a small rock that just barely covered her. She could feel the heat of the blasters sailing past her giving her no room to move whatsoever. Her feet just barely stuck out the bottoms and if she weren't wearing her shin guards she'd likely have taken a burn or two from the bolts. She tucked herself in as tightly as she could to the wall and cursed at the soldiers who were firing her way.

"Hold your fire! she screamed; they did not listen.

And then another one appeared. This one in full view of Saorise and her team. The ground began to shake as the wind picked up to some object in the darkness not yet touched by the light of her saber. Bones and rocks and flames made of pure shadow circled together forming a misshapen skeleton in the shape of a bug. It had two large legs collected of skulls and armor plates from dead soldiers past. It's four giant arms were long femur bones all tossed together like woven thread and the spines of some humanoid for fingers. And then its head, that was the worst thing altogether. More armor from dead soldiers was molded together and a gross slime was leaking from the open head pieces that would have been the had piece of this bug monster. All in all, it was only a few feet taller than the girls, but it was wide enough to completely block their path in the hallway.

"INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!"​

 

[Darth Inheris]

What madness made these creatures? It was the question that first came to her mind the moment the horrid things appeared, broken and misshapen these things were, collections of things that were far cleaner than them. This was what she feared in the Old Empire, what she worried she would have to reign in if events came to pass as she might have expected them to. This putrid side, that thing that warped that which had value in the galaxy, that would as soon devour its own kind as it would those its creators had deemed enemies, that were very antithesis to its nature.

She could hear the screams and shouts of her soldiers as they fired up at the thing, their blaster bolts merely bouncing of the things bones, scorching patches but seemingly failing to cause any real damage.

The being was different to what she had faced before, some esoteric thing from beyond thought. And yet, it would not be beyond her blade. Igniting her lightsaber with a flash she called out to Eriana,

"Look after yours, I'll look after mine" she said, a fierce determination in he voice as she took her blade in two hands, and charged at the thing, one of its hulking arms swiping across as her as she sprinted across the roughshod walkways and toward the beast, moving under the limb and slicing up toward it, her blade searing through its metal exoskeleton. And yet, it didn't seem to feel a thing.

This was going to be a rough day.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

Over the shouting and blasters she'd hear the other Sith say she'd handle hers if Eriana could do the same. Eriana growled with a hiss and would call back, "Easier said than done!" her men were still firing blindly at the beast and Eriana was couched as tightly as she could to the wall. She would call again in hopes of stopping them, "I said quit firing you kriffing cowards!"

Whether it luck or by chance, they would all stop. Then Eriana heard the clicking of the guns and realized they were still shooting, but the power packs had run out. Eriana took this chance to finally get up. She kicked her legs out and pushed off from the wall with her hands. Getting to her feet she ran at her troopers while raising her hands. Reaching out with both palms she felt the Force connect with two of the four blasters in their hands collectively. Eriana then snatched them from the troopers as hard as she could and the guns went flying past her. She continued running past the guns as they would now land behind her.

Jumping into the air she did a flying kick extending her boot into the middle man's chest. He was thrown off his feet and hit the ground hard. Eriana didn't wait for an explanation to give to any of them and would do a spinning move to bring her other foot up and around, connecting it with the chin of the last trooper still holding a gun. He too would join his unconscious buddy on the floor. And, just to be sure the first two wouldn't go about picking up their guns or switching to pistols, she pushed both hands outwards while dropping into a slight crouch. A Force wave of powerful kinetic energy hit the both of them in the chests and squashed them against opposite ends of the wall.

"Cowards. Pitiful, useless cowards."

Turning around Eriana would cross her arms once to grip her sabers on opposite sides of her hips. She then faced the skeleton bug and uncrossed her arms which now brought her blades to the other side of her torso. Igniting each of the curved blades two red beams lit up the hallway, not that either Eriana or this Force demon needed it. As she watched the being made of some unknown power come at her slowly, Eriana took a moment to calm her thoughts. She'd gotten so angry at her troops, but maybe that had been careless. Did she really need to knock them all out? At least they were out of the way.

"Come at me, demon," she would say to the beast. "I will show you no fear."

And with that she darted from her standing position and raced for the beast; her arms hanging behind her as she ran. The light of the sabers lit a small glowing trail behind her as she moved. Eriana would move up into the bug's reach and it extended a long makeshift claw at her. Eriana jumped suddenly to the left and flipped as she did so. While upside down she crossed her blades over one another and the tip of the claw separated from its wrist and landed on the floor. Purple-ish **** poured out of the wound. Eriana would land on one knee, her arms crossed still with her blades on opposite sides.

The beast seemingly not at all bothered by the wounded arm would then reach at her with the second. Eriana scoffed and jumped forward to run between its legs. Aiming for its right leg, she turned slightly and uncrossed the blades tearing a good gash into the thigh of its bone. Now she was facing the beast from behind and it still didn't seem bothered by the wound. If it wasn't so thick she might have severed the leg all together. She'd have to try again from the other side. This was going to be bothersome indeed.

Turning after her to its left, the bug would hide its bad leg to Eriana. Smart. But it was also the only other arm it had there too. It would again reach for her and Eriana was about to jump again when suddenly her leg wouldn't pull up. She tried moving it, but it was stuck to something. Looking down out of instinct she tried to visualize what had grabbed her leg but there hadn't been any time. The claw grabbed her and pinned her arms to her sides. She could feel the heat of her sabers burning into her armor and setting her cloak on fire. Eriana screamed as the creature squeezed her and lifted her off of the trail of purple ooze it had been emitting. This is what stuck all the pieces together. Like some sort of slime made out of skeletons and old armor.

Eriana tried her best to break free but she couldn't do much of anything and with her arms trapped she had to disengage her sabers so as to not burn herself alive. There wasn't much she could do about the slightly melted armor or the cloak which was now heating up the back of her armor and legs. If she didn't put it out she'd catch fire soon enough herself. Not having any better ideas, she'd toss her sabers forward with the idea in mind to control them from afar. If she didn't pass out before then that is.

 

[Darth Inheris]

Even in her little fight, she could hear the shouts and calls from Eriana's part of the ruins. Just as petrified and worrisome as those on hers, but they seemed to continue a lot longer, for whatever reason Saorise couldn't be sure. For the time being though, it was probably best to not think about it, and focus on her own dark enemy,

"Oh come on, you are not that tough!" she cried at the creature as she hopped right, quick stepping out of the way of another swipe that lunged for her as she narrowly avoided it. The thing was manic and mad, driven by whatever dark side magicks that had willed it to life. She herself harnessed the same energies at times, but whatever they were in this were far less controlled, and that made them dangerous.

As much as she trusted her and her partners abilities, it seemed to her now that she started to fight the damn thing, that they actually support eachother. How quickly one could change their mind. But with Eriana clearly indisposed, it meant she'd be bringing herself and her monster to her ally.

The thing struck her in the side, stinging hard and winding her in an instant as she was thrown to the side, stumbling across and into the wall that didn't seem likely to stand another blast.

Just what she needed,

"Look at me" she called to the creature, shooting out a light burst of lightning at its armour to draw it to her, make it mad. And force did it work, the thing beginning to charge like a bull toward her. For a moment she held her ground, until finally the thing closed in at high speed. Saorise dove to the side, crashing into the floor and more than certainly leaving a bruise as the thing burst through the wall to Eriana's side.

They could fight them together now. And bring these things down.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

Eriana heard a painful crunch as something inside her snap. Her screams were cut off for a moment as the pain radiated through her so much that she couldn't move. Then the adrenaline kicked back in and the pain resumed. She tried squirming around but the beast was too strong. Her arms were pinned so tightly against her torso she felt like she was going to pop, and that wasn't including the snapping sensation she'd already felt.

As luck would have it, the wall then crashed into pieces beside them making her bug monster stumble back in confusion. It's grip over Eriana loosened slightly. She was able to get a breath in. This was her chance. Pushing past all the pain like she had been trained to do, Eriana felt her sabers within the Force and pulled them with all her might. She focused carefully on the hilts, but more specifically the ignition switches. Eriana had never thrown her sabers before, but this was basically the same principle. With a do or die mentality, she willed what she wanted to happen into existence. The beams ignited in her hilts as they crossed up and through the arm in an "X" angle.

The beast then would drop Eriana, as the muscles had been severed. She fell to the floor and lost focus on her blades which would land somewhere behind her in the rubble; the beams dying out since she'd also stopped holding down the triggers. Hitting the ground she awkwardly collapsed with the claw until managing to pry herself free. The bug -which had no sense of pain- was already advancing on her once more. Since both arms were taken from it, it would try to crush her in its mandibles. Those would be Eriana's next target.

Freeing herself from the armored claw she dodged backwards with a desperate dive. Twisting in the air she landed on her stomach, cushioned by her breasts, but still hit her ribs against the cold, stone ground. She cried out again as the reminder of the broken ribs came back to her. Eriana curled on her side and tasted tears come past her lips. The pain was excruciating. But she would persevere. She'd not give up against some creature. How humiliating.

The ground shook from the footsteps of the heavy monster trying to feed on her for dinner. Eriana didn't know where her sabers had ended up so she'd have to use her greatest asset. The sabers were merely convenient. They were play things to a sorceress such as herself. But maybe she was being a little too arrogant for her own good. Sitting up slightly she'd lean into her hip and hold out one hand while balancing herself with the other on the ground.

"Oh spirits who dwell within the Dark side. Hear the voice of your humble servant. Grant me the power to vanquish my enemies. Bestow upon me strength so I might continue to serve in your name. In your name I pray."

Calling upon as much power as she could muster, Eriana began to cry out in angry fury. The wind would pick up out of nowhere, carried through the tunnel and cracks within the stone. The wind would channel itself around the bug demon and cause it to start sliding its feet. Not being able to hold its footing, the beast would fall to one knee and curl into its chest of a shell. Rocks and bones and other debris from the stone would start lifting from the ground and become ensnared within the cyclone.

"Push it into the vortex!" Eriana cried out to her Sith partner.

As she screamed, she would lift herself up some and use both hands now to focus the power of the tornado forming in the stone walkway. It was already becoming more than Eriana could handle and starting to lose form and speed. If Saorise would be able to push her monster into the way then they could bring their powers together and trap them both within its devastating path. Already Eriana could tell her plan was working because some of the outer bones that made up its "flesh" were already being torn from its body and joining the other pieces of the rubble. She just needed some help to finish them off.

 

[Darth Inheris]

Now that, that would do the trick it seemed.

As she continued to hold off her own beast, taking more than a bruising doing so, she had avoided using the force on the creature, unsure if something created from it would be so susceptible to it. And yet, looking over to her partner, she saw the effect her fellows force use was having on the thing, tearing its stolen, metal flesh from its form and throwing it to the wind.

A quick glance at Eriana showed she was a little worse for wear, and no doubt any look back at Saorise would reveal the same.

While Eriana had fought and lost her lightsabers to the beast, Saorise had tried to close the gap after the beast charged through the wall, hoping to attack from the rear with a clean shot and end the thing. But things were not quite so simple. One of the mosters rear legs lashed out, whipping back with speed far greater than one would expect its size to allow, catching Saorise in the chest before she could raise her blade to block it, throwing her back to the ground as she had been not long ago, the taste of blood in her mouth.

They needed to end this thing quick, as she pulled herself to her feet she raised her blade again in a defensive stance, ready to take on the thing as it moved to charge her again, like a bull gone mad. But Eriana's plans had changed hers. Only with quick thinking was Saorise able to drop her blade and instead splay her hands at the oncoming beast, sending a blast of concussive energy at the thing that threw it back as it tried to move up to speed.

it would never get the chance. Instead, its legs were thrown back with its body, skidding across the ground as Eriana's whirlwind scooped it up, Saorise running in toward it to throw another blast at the beast before it could regain any ground. If things went right, they could end this damned fight here,

"I don't know if it will hold it!" Soarise cried out ot her companion as she added what strength she had to the whirlwind. Their corporeal forms might be caught, but if these were creatures of the darkside she was unsure if such an attack would finish them for good.

They would find out soon enough.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

Doubt would always see through to failure. Doubt brought on mistakes. Doubt bred misfortune. Eriana would not have it. Saorise would do as Eriana instructed, sending her bug creation into the vortex with the other one. The two were back to back facing their opponents who flanked them on either side. Pieces one by one were being ripped out of the mesh and joining the ever flowing torrent. But Saorise was beginning to question their own strength.

Over the loud gusts of wind she'd shout as loud as she could. "Trust yourself. Trust the Force!" And then, Eriana dared to multi-task for a moment and send a mental note through the Force itself that would sound in Saorise's mind."Believe in your power. Do not give in to doubt."

She hoped that would be enough and she cut off the connection on her end. Bringing her attention back to the tornado she continued spinning the wind around and around as fast as she could. She'd let the centrifugal force do what it was meant to do, pulling everything inside to the outside. Eriana had never used so much power and once like this. There had been times when she used the Force for extended periods of time, like in battle for example. But she never physically strained herself as she was doing now. She wondered how long she could last.

Chastising herself for doubting her powers, her inner voice would begin scolding her, "What are you thinking? You can do this! You are a servant of the Dark side. Call upon its power and destroy this false demon."

Yes. That was right. Doubt had no place in battle. She was a fierce warrior. Not some arrogant soldier in over her head. Eriana clenched her jaw tight and visibly strained every muscle in her body in some hope it would make the connection stronger. That's not how the Force worked, but her simple will over the fact brought on results. The wind picked up even faster now. It helped that Saorise was joining in as well. That could have been all it was; neither of them would ever know.

The beasts would chatter as they tried to break through the barrier when just like that, a crucial piece in one of the bug's torso would come undone. The entire thing crumbled and was sucked into the cyclone. As the pieces came around they knocked into the second one dismantling it in the same manner. The tornado in front of them was now completely filled with debris, rocks, bones, and scrap metal circling around and around like a dirty vacuum.

"Now smash it!" Eriana's voice would ring out in Saorise's mind once more.

Raising her arms, she prepared for one all out finish and then dropped them as hard as she could. The bones and everything inside came crashing into the floor. Dust filled the air making Eriana cover her mouth to not breathe it in; pebbles and other small pieces of bone and rock would nick them as they passed. It wasn't enough to break through her leather clothes, but she would get a small scratch across her cheek that started to rise up and bleed slowly.

Eriana fell to her knees, barely holding herself up with her arms. They'd done it. They'd taken down whatever awful monstrosity the Force had brought to life from the darkness. And as the adrenaline wore off, the pain began to return ten fold to Eriana. She suddenly realized how difficult it was to breathe. She struggled to get a good breath and groaned loudly. The pain was beyond what she thought she could withstand. Cuts and bruises and burns were all temporary. She'd never had a broken rib before pushing against her lung and preventing it from expanding fully.

Tears mixed with the blood as she tried to remain conscious. But she could already tell she wasn't going to be walking out of here on her own. She tried to focus on what happened to Saorise, though her connection to the Force was sketchy now that she couldn't concentrate properly. The world around her would start to disorient and blur. She'd shake her head trying to get a clearer picture, but it wasn't doing her any good. She was too busy trying to not pass out from the lower amount of oxygen she was breathing in.

 

[Darth Inheris]

she felt the force surging through her body as she and Eriana worked hard to maintain the whirlwind that would tear these things apart. It was quite the display, if any of the soldiers had stuck around to watch they might have been impressed. Too bad so many of them had fled. But still, this wasn't exactly territory for blasters and bolts, this was something altogether different.

Hearing Eriana's voice in her head she let out a rather primal shout as she joined with her ally and smashed the vortex into the ground, scattering what little remained of the strange creatures into the ruined floor, dust and debris scattering across the stone.

She could feel the exhaustion within her, her body stumbling as whatever wounds she'd suffered came to the surface. But looking over to Eriana, she realised hers were little in comparison,

"Vaykaris! Up here! Get a medic over here" she called back to her squad. Running up from the rear they joined her as she fell over to Eriana, looking over her wounds. What she could do personally was minimal, but this wasn't the place for the woman to die. She wouldn't die at all. There was plenty of strength in her yet, she was certain, given her display just before,

"Come now Sister, this isn't the time to go" she said, lifting her as much as she could. But in all honesty she needed attention as well, one of her own men looking to her as they began to move from the field.

But in the force, one could feel it, the ruins were clear of these creatures. The soldiers could take it from here.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

The fellow Sith came to assist her, and Eriana was ever thankful for it. Some of her brethren might not be so kind. They had a habit of only looking out for one's self. Being hurt meant weakness. And right now she wasn't in the best of health to try and defend herself should her fellow Sith decide she should be put down for failing. But she did feel a sense of debt to the girl. She'd helped her on the mission, fought with her in battle, and was now trying to save her. Eriana was most grateful.

Slowly getting to her feet with Saorise's help they were able to then move forward to get out of the battle ground. But Eriana would stop her for a minute and struggle to gather her words.

"...Wait......My...sabers..."

Eriana's head was still too unfocused to try and see the world around her. So she'd have to be totally dependent on Saorise to get her out of there. Someone would come and bring her the dropped metal hilts, and she'd hold both of them tightly to her chest since her other hand was being wrapped around her partner. Clutching them gave her a much more emotional clarity than just having them on her hips.

Putting her faith in the girl, they would continue onward into the light. All the blind Sith would focus on would be trying to breathe and not pass out. The pain wasn't dulling at all, but she was able to push it aside a little. Once they got out of the immediate area a medic was able to come and assist them. They'd sit Eriana down which she was more than happy to oblige. She lowered her left arm which had been holding her sabers and now struggled to clip them with one hand to her belt.

"Tha....than....."she'd try saying 'thank you' but couldn't find the words again.

The medic would cut her off as he began looking at her torso, "Try not to talk. I need to inspect the wound. We're going to have to take those clothes off of you."

Eriana made a gasping, wheezing, giggle and then tried to speak to Saorise, "I knew....you couldn't......wait to get....me undressed." It was a poor joke, and literally pained her to say it. But in that moment she felt it was totally worth it.

"Lady Fox, please don't speak."

She made another soft chuckle and rested her head back against the stone wall behind her. She would drift in an out of consciousness for the next couple hours. Each time seemingly waking up in a new place. The temple. Outside somewhere. Some transport. A medical bay. She obviously couldn't see where she was, but each time she came back to being awake she could tell her body had moved and that the room smelled different. She didn't truly relax until she took a painful whiff of the medicine-smell odor of just about any med bay. Eriana knew she'd be ok then. They'd completed their mission. And she was alive. What more could she want?

~END THREAD~
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