The Birthright of the Weak

[Cinder]

Yavin 4 - After the Conquest

The transport ship trembled as it entered the atmosphere of the jungle moon. Cinder sat, unmoving in his seat as the ship pushed further through the thick atmosphere of Yavin 4. the Dark Side was palpable in the air, radiating from the planet itself and resonating with the people within this very ship. An elite group of Sith and operatives sent to quell the rebellious Massassi. Naught more but powerful brutes native to this planet, only good to serve as slaves, but their link to the Dark Side made them powerful they were hardly more intelligent than beasts. And when pet tried to bite the hand of its master, it was punished; if it did not learn it's lesson then, it was put down.

Cinder found it hard to contain his excitement, he breathed loudly under the helmet of his armour, the scars of his burnt body ached in anticipation. The hatred and violence of the indigenous people below permeated the air. The Sith could taste it, and invisible to all others, under the helmet a feral grin transfixed his face.

Eventually the ship finished piercing the atmosphere and stabilized before dropping down towards the landing point. As the crew and passenger disembarked a middle age human with short cropped blond hair and the countenance of a bureaucrat wearing an imperial officer uniform, surely one of the ones in charge of the slave camp, greeted them. "My Lords, we have been expecting you. I am Commander Arol. The savages are truly becoming an issue, the ones in the nearby camp have been getting more and more violent. Speaking nonsense about this moon being the birthright."

Cinder walked passed the Imperial Officer. "The weak have no rights." The fully armoured man said he stepped down the dirt path towards the jungle. He could feel the aggression and hate of the Massassi as clearly as a compass could detect north, the slave camp would not be hard to find. "Their only birthright, is the dirt."

@Cainhurst Crow

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

Within the Transport, a Twi'lek had sat on his knees with his double-bladed saber resting before him. His eyes were closed, blue skin and black tattoo markings down the left side of his face, and burned flesh on the right of his face as he sat in contemplation, hands brought together in what one might assume was prayer.

Thelemy Oronays could feel the force in the air, and felt its cold embrace washing around him as they drew closer to their destination. The Twi'lek sat in quiet contemplation of the mission ahead, and of the things to come. Surviving the massacre of Korriban had wounded him, and worse yet, had forced him to replace pieces of himself. He felt the emptiness of these parts, of his new eye, and it made him feel not anger, but solemn regret. So much death, and yet nothing had been achieved. Surely the force was displeased with such an outcome.

And now they were here to enforce order, and restore the proper balance the force demanded. Those with Force Sensitivity had divine providence to rule. This was obvious, for the force had granted them greater connection to it then others. Making the Massani realize this was key to stopping this revolt. And yet, Thelemy could not stop from feeling sorrow of their plight. A people too weak to stop themselves from being reduced to brutes, where once they had been as worthy as the sith purebloods of old. Such a fate almost made Thelemy want to tear up, with how pitiful it was.

Once the ship had landed, Thelemy opened his eyes. His left eye black and natural, his right eye red and cybernetic, the Twi'lek lifted his double-bladed lightsaber with the force and secured it to his waist, before disembarking with the others. He was dressed in the light robes of other such sith, small armor plates on his arms and legs the only protection as he joined his comrade, a individual in armor and robes, as thelemy took in a moment to breath in the fresh crisp air of yavin 4, eyes closing as he let out a sigh of contentment.

Hearing the situation from the approaching bureaucrat made Thelemy open his senses to the force. He could feel it as well, the emotions roiling through the force. It was sweet, hanging in the air as the twi'lek put his hands in his pockets and went after his comrade.

"The whole planets made of Dirt, and Rocks, And Trees..." Thelemy chimed in with a smile on his face, looking down a moment at the dirt path they walked on, "If the dirt is their birthright, well they've a point then." The twi'lek was smaller then his companion, by a margin in fact. He was a near a foot shorter then the man but still looked at him with a grin as he spoke, "It is not that this world belongs to a race, but that all planets belong to the force. For the force is all, and we sith, its true heralds." He said in a almost sermon like fashion, his devotion to the force evident as he extolled its virtues to his companion, whether he wanted to hear it or not.

 

[Palas Devrix]

Palas Devrix began observing his surroundings once entering the atmosphere of Yavin 4. It reminded him a lot of the rainforest planet he had been abandoned on, and even though that was now just a memory it made him closer to the force with every descending mile to the planets surface.

The way there it seemed the trio of Sith had all gone into a deep meditation in preparation of what was to come. It was a nasty business but the Massassi slaves needed to learn what the word order meant and the empires response to their inability to grasp such a concept was to send three fully capable Sith to end any kind of rebellion, once and for all.

The ship finally landed on the surface of the planet, Palas turned from the porthole he had previously been looking out to get a glimpse of his comrades. He recognized Cinder from there time on Mustafar, it would be interesting to see what he was truly capable of. The other was a Twi’lek with what appeared to be some kind of cyber genetic upgrades. Both of them seemed capable enough to the eighteen year old acolyte, who was now standing on the ramp to the transport ship, also taking his first breaths of the Yavin 4 air.

Palas quickly checked his gear, he wielded a sister set of cross-guard lightsabers and was wearing his typical Sith armor. Enough armor to protect himself without impeding his movements to much. Everyone seemed ready to go, as the imperial officer approached them.

"My Lords, we have been expecting you. I am Commander Arol. The savages are truly becoming an issue, the ones in the nearby camp have been getting more and more violent. Speaking nonsense about this moon being the birthright."

Palas watched as Cinder brushed passed the imperial officer and he quickly caught up with him. ”Ah Cinder it’s nice to join you in combat.” Palas said as he gestures back to the imperial officer. ”Lets at least get the information we need, before going blindly into slaughtering a whole village.” The imperial officer quickly started talking, obviously a little fearful of the Sith.

”The village is just to the north, there are several defectors that have grown in numbers over the past month and now they’re more like a small army.”

That was all Palas needed to hear and he was also headed in the direction of the village. They would end the rebellion, no one was to escape the village alive.

@z0pu @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cinder]

Cinder gave a quick nod at Devrix. The man he had met back on Mustafar, had left an impression on the large Sith, insofar that he remembered the man at all which was more he could say of most the people he met. The weak were not worth remembering. The bureaucrat who trailed along with the trio of Sith down the path towards the slave camps was one such example of those not worth remembering. Obviously desperate to rely on the power of his betters to safeguard his own position. Had it been up to Cinder alone this man would be dead already, was it not his responsibility to keep the slaves in check? But the Lords and generals had not seen fit to kill or throw the man in slave camp yet, therefore Cinder would not question the decision… yet.

As the group walked through the jungle path, the Twi’lek Sith began deblaterating about the slaves point of view and religious platitudes regarding the Force and the Sith Order’s place in the galaxy. While Cinder agreed with the general view of the cybernetically enhanced Twi’lek, the large man felt his companion overcomplicated the whole thing. “It is much simpler than that. The rule, belongs to the strong. The Dark Side has made the Sith the most powerful, therefore we rule. Nothing more, nothing less.” Cinder spoke without turning to face his companions, still walking forward. After a few more step the armoured man felt almost compelled to add one last bit, to add power to his point. “Through Strength, I gain Power. Through Power, I gain Victory.” Cinder took a few more steps before actually stopping and turning towards the Twi'lek. "What may we call you brother?" Devrix had revealed Cinder's own name by addressing him earlier. Which meant only the blue skinned alien Sith was left unnamed as far as Cinder was concerned. Whether the other two cared to introduce to each other the large armoured Sith could not have cared less.

It would take a good standard hour for the group to reach an overlook atop a cliff, giving a clear view of the slave camp. The camp was composed of a mass of rudimentary shelters that the Massassi must be using as housing. A few metal blocks marked buildings that must have been used by the Imperial Agents in the camp before the uprising. The whole perimeter of the camp had been barricaded by the Imperial troops when the camp was established to prevent slaves from escaping. Now it served the Massassi, preventing the Imperials from entering. Altogether there must have been over a hundred fully grown Massassi slaves in that camp, it would require some subtlety to deal with them.

Trailing behind the group, obviously exhausted and out of breath from the walk up and stifled by the hot and humid climate of the jungle moon, Commander Ariol caught up to the trio. Gasping for hair the waste of space he was, spoke. "My Lords! *heavy breathing* May I *deep breaths* May I inquire as to the plan?” Cinder looked only at the man with contempt, resisting the urge to choke him. Cinder was not the most gifted of tactician, he was smart enough to understand a simple frontal assault would not work, not with the numbers involved at the least, but beyond that this was not his forte. He would defer to his companion for now, opting to comment on tactics they would come up with instead.

@Cainhurst Crow @Bacon

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

"Ah, I've not introduced myself, have I? Where are my manners..." The twi'lek said as he gave a nod to Cinder's question. He brought a hand up to his chest, giving both men a simple bow and a smile as he spoke, "My name is Thelemy Oronays, and It is a pleasure to work with you Cinder, and you as well, Devrix was it?" Thelemy remembered from the small dossier on their mission and those involved, though the twi'lek didn't really feel like it mattered. The force would provide, as it always had, and always would.

"I must say I am surprised you find the issue so simple. The Massani are slaves, but managing to put up such resistance means something is likely afoot. And besides, not all of them may be blaspheming against their slotted place in life...." The twi'lek had a lot of time to walk, and thus a lot of time to contemplate the issue. And Thelemy was always one who enjoyed vocalizing his thoughts, "Should some be willing to go back to serving us, they would be living within the will of the force. Those who don't will obviously be purged, but there must be something inspiring such heresy to be afoot. If all of them merely decided they could just brute force their way out of servitude..."

Thelemy chuckled, his eyes looking almost closed as he pleasantly smiled, looking up to the sky with an exuberant warmth as he spoke next, "Well, should that be the case, I guess we'd just need to kill them all, wouldn't we? Oh what fun that could be, indeed..." Thelemy hummed to himself for the rest of the journey, a happiness and carefree nature covering a very true and very tangible bloodlust within. His eyes, though narrowed, had been gleaming at the mention of full slaughter, and it was clear by his joyful tone that he somewhat hoped such would be the case.

As thelemy and the others came to the camp, the situation seemed more evident to the situation at large. The Massani had taken defenses and structures belonging to the Empire, and the imperials in charge. The twi'lek glanced back to the group with a raised brow as he asked, "It seems the Massani have taken defensive positions. Did you let them have those, Commander Arol?" The question was asked innocently enough, but there was something chilling in the twi'lek's eye as he asked. A glint of a threat as he stood with his hands casually behind his back, bringing one forward to brush one of his Lekku behind his shoulder. "Have they made any demands? Or shown any individuals they take orders from?" The twi'lek asked, looking away as if he had lost interest in his previous question.

@Bacon @z0pu

 

[Palas Devrix]

Palas had been silent most of the walk to the slave camp. Carefully looking out for traps or an ambush set by the Massassi, it wasn’t to Palas’s surprise that there were none. The warrior race was possibly as old as the Sith, they derived from the same planet and even fed off the dark side together. However, somewhere along the lines the Massassi had lost there intelligence, they now were nothing more than beasts who simply existed to serve there empire.

”That’s it!” Palas spoke aloud, while observing the camp with his comrades. It had occurred to him that maybe his previous thought of killing everyone in the camp wasn’t there best solution but what was? He hadn’t figured it out until Thelemy started his questioning of the imperial officer.

”You’re right. They must have a leader and they must have demands.” Palas said quickly while he took a step towards the ridge to get a better look at the camp. They were occupying several imperial buildings, and some appeared to be armed with makeshift weapons and even blasters which were obviously stolen when the camp was overrun.

”We hear their demands…” Palas paused for a moment, letting his thoughts catch up with him. He remembered a fork in the road not far from there location. ”But not here. We offer negotiation at the neutral zone, let’s say the fork in the road.” Palas was now grinning as he finished what he thought to be quite a clever plan. ”There leader will come and bring his best warriors with him as protection. We strike them in the woods and return with there heads.”

Palas quickly looked back and fourth between his comrades before continuing. ”I will be in charge of drawing the leader out and me alone. One of us is a lot less threatening then two or three.” The young acolyte began pacing back-and-forth, just out of sight of the camp. ”They’ll underestimate me because of my age and you two will wait to ambush at the fork in the road.”

Palas spoke with sheer confidence but he knew there was a major flaw in his plan. There was of course the chance that the Massassi would attack him on sight and he was not in anyway strong enough to take on a whole village alone. That’s when Palas turned to commander Arol.

”I’ll give them you for collateral to assure they follow me to the fork in the road.”

Commander Arol let out a whimper as Palas grabbed him by the collar and motioned towards the camp. ”Unless the pair of you have a better idea?”

@z0pu @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cinder]

Cinder listen to the other two Sith’s opinions and ideas. The logic that some of the slaves must have leaders that guided their actions was not lost on the man. Oronays questions regarding the possible demand of the Massassi was probably the most sensible one. If the savages wanted something, it could be used to lure them out.


As he was addressed commander Aroal answered to the best of his very meager abilities. “Some of the bigger brutes appear to be in charge my lords. As for demands, beyond that we all be gone from the planet and leave whatever has been brought here behind us. Nothing” That was not a possibility of course, and while it seemingly showed the Massassi wanted nothing beyond the Sith gone, it indicated they understood the value of the technology the Empire had brought to the jungle moon.


It was then that Devrix added his own part of a plan. To bait Massassi leaders out of their fortified positions with the lure of negotiations and ambush them. The idea had plenty of merits as well, and to the other human Sith’s credit it placed most of the danger on himself. That is assuming you excluded the waste of space Arol was, which of course Cinder did.


The large armoured Sith Acolyte sat on a rock and looked on in the direction of the slave camp, his back to the group. “Your plan assumes a willingness to negotiate on the part of the savages. They seem most intransigent to me. Why shouldn’t they? They believe themselves in the right and in a position of strength. Perhaps instead of negotiation, we should offer…” Cinder let a long pause pass to put weight behind his next words. “Our unconditional surrender.”


To anyone simply listening to the conversation or someone that lacked any cunning it would sound like Cinder had either given up already or gone mad. It was not so, the man oozed of the Dark Side, trepidation from the thoughts of coming battle making him almost shake. The other two would most surely feel it.


Commander Arol seemed most shaken at the turn of the conversation. First one Sith offers him up as a sacrificial pawn, then the other suggests giving up. The bureaucrat jittered and fussed about trying to figure out if he was missing something. “Surely you jests my lords!? You cannot mean to give me to these… these.. Savages!? Not only that but Lord Devrix would put himself in great danger! Surely there are other ways than that or sur-” Cinder cut off the rambling of the man by reaching with the Force at the man’s throat and began to lift him off the ground. He would not kill the man, but he would make sure he understood his life was all but forfeit. “Do not worry Commander. We will make sure to avenge your most noble sacrifice.” Added the armoured Sith before dropping the man back on the ground and turning his head slightly towards his fellow Sith. “Do we have a plan?” If the others agreed, the group would likely move on from the overlook. Otherwise, by his own admission Cinder was not the greatest of tacticians and was willing to hear more ideas on how to deal with the Massassi.

@Cainhurst Crow @Bacon

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

"Both plans seem interesting. Either lure them out of their base, or trick them into letting us into their stronghold. The Massani are physically strong, and quite durable. They won't go down easily..." Thelemy pondered for a moment as he rested his fingers on his chin, contemplating what it was that they could do.

It truly was a vexing problem, with the enemy controlling such a stronghold, Thelemy could not help but wonder if there was perhaps another way, though it would be more of a risky approach. "Perhaps...If the Massani truly believe themselves to be rulers, that could play into our hands. We could perhaps, challenge their leader to a Kaggath..." The twi'lek offered, looking between the two.

"Not a true Kaggath of course, we'd all jump the leader at once the moment the battle begins. But, if we feigned acknowledging them, and challenged them to a fight to the death, as the sith of old have done...That may make them leave their taken fortress. Because I'll be honest...I've little desire to fight them in their own grounds." Thelemy commented with his arms now crossed, rolling his neck as he mulled over the plan proposed.

@Bacon @z0pu

 

[Palas Devrix]

A Kaggath? No, Palas didn’t believe the Massassi would fall for that and if they did, the Sith would lose the element of surprise. ”I will get them into the forest. Be ready to attack, I will signal when the time has come.” Palas spoke as he hurried away with Arol, looking back at his comrades one last time before saying, ”please don’t get me killed.”

The acolyte and imperial officer, left the overlook and headed down the steep embankment. ”Don’t worry Arol, we aren’t going to leave you to die in there.” Palas said, reassuring him not because of any kind of moral obligation but because Arol also had to play the part. The man had heard his whole plan, if he had half a brain he would simply tell the Massassi about the ambush. ”You do this for us and you’ll be a hero to the empire, you may be even deserving of a promotion.” This gave a little life to Arol, who’s face had become quite grim during there walk to the camp.

“Really? I will do my best, my lord”

That’s all Palas needed to hear as he arrived at the front gate of the overran imperial camp. ”I come in peace!” Palas yelled through the front gate. The walls stood about ten feet tall around the camp, while that were at the overlook he was able to see over but now he had no visibility of what was beyond the gate. He heard some whispering and then the sound of the lock disengaging, Palas responded by pushing Arol to his knees who now sat next to him.

The gate slowly opened and six Massassi warriors left the safety of there compound. Five of them lined horizontally in front of the gate, while the sixth stood in front. Presumably that was there leader, who like his counterparts behind him bared crimson red skin, yellow eyes and stood between eight and nine feet tall. “We do not wish to trade! Leave our home.” The leader of the camp spoke and Palas gave him a chuckle.

”No, no. I’m here to offer the empires surrender, we wish to end the bloodshed.” The acolyte spoke while throwing Arol onto the forest floor, he landed on his stomach looking up at the Massassi. ”This is simply a gift, the man in charge of making you so miserable that you chose to revolt in the first place.” It seemed Palas had gotten there attention, the warriors that were standing in formation now were whispering amongst each other. Palas noted each one them was armed with either a spear or a sword and there leader seemed to wield two swords.

“Quiet!” The Massassi leader yelled back as his followers. “What’s this about the empire surrendering?” Palas knew he had already convinced them, the warriors knew the empire had enough resources to completely flatten Yavin 4, a surrender would be there best bet. Cinder was right about that.

”Well, yes.” Palas spoke while taking a step towards the warriors and taking a quick right turn to begin his pace back and forth. ”We ask that somebody comes with me to discuss the details. We have set up an area nearby where we can begin communications. There is some equipment we may need to recover and war criminals that will need to be released to there families.” This made there faces light up again, they seemed to be buying it.

“I’ll go” the leader spoke as his comrades step forward, they weren’t going to let them go alone. ”And what of Imperial Officer Arol?” Palas said as he stopped at the foot of Arol, who hadn’t made a sound since being forced to the ground.

“Bring him”

So the six Massassi warriors, Palas and Arol all ventured into the Yavin 4 forest heading towards the fork in the road. Arol and Palas stood in the middle of the group, there were two Massassi warriors in front of him and two behind. The leader was up front and the sixth was trailing the. Palas wasn’t going to be able to run to his teammates, he would be quickly struck down.

As they approached the fork in the road, Palas attempted to get a good look at his surroundings, looking out for Cinder and Thallamy but he was unable to see them. He could however sense them, he hoped they were ready because it was time. Palas ignited one of his sabers, before doing a black flip and landing safely next to the trailing Massassi warrior. Signaling the beginning of the fight.

@z0pu @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cinder]

It would appear that Devrix was very intent on his baiting out idea. As the other human Sith walked away with the waste of space commander in toe. Cinder was left with the Oronays and the troops that had come with them. “I do not suppose simply preparing a bombardment of the ambush location would be acceptable?” the armoured Sith half joked. It would certainly be efficient, but the cost of a Sith acolyte would be too large for simply the sake of exterminating some Massassis.


The hulking armoured man stood from the rock he had been sitting on. “Might as well be on our way.” Cinder made his way back towards the jungle and began to cut across the dense wooded area, doing his best to keep himself hidden from view.


If all went according to plan Devrix should be able to lead the Massassi out of their camp. Once out of view of the other savages the trap would be sprung, the Sith would attack and the imperial troops would lay cover fire from the tree line.


Sure enough, after a bit of waiting, the anticipation of the coming battle making Cinder’s blood run hot, Devrix came into view followed by some of the slave rebels.


Once he was close enough to feel the other Siths lying in ambush, Devrix took out his lightsaber and went to attack the Massassi. This signalled the beginning of the assault for the Siths and Imperial troops. Blaster fire erupted from all sides aiming to take down the Masassi would immediately went for cover the best they could. Cinder walked out of his hiding spot, he appeared to be in no rush as he almost casually walked towards the Massassi. The hulking armoured man took his two lightsabers and switched them on, the crimson blades flaring to life. Cinder opened his arms low and to side, almost an invitation, an open to challenge for the savages to receive the fury of Cinder’s Jar’kai take on Form VII Juyo, the most aggressive of all the lightsaber combat forms. It was time for the fun to begin.

@Cainhurst Crow @Bacon

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

Thelemy gave a shrug as Palas went to implement his plan, humming to himself as he made his way with Cinder to the ambush site. He held his double bladed lightsaber in his hand, twirling it slowly in his grasp with its blades inactivated. The twi'lek had hoped that he could perhaps have an honorable duel, but slinking in the shadows would have to suffice it seemed.

He had waited, listening to the sounds of Yavin's forests and wildlife, feeling at ease about the coming violence to come. As he waited, he spotted a small mouse-like creature, just a distance away. It scurried about, cautiously stopping, full of life and going about its life, and suddenly it was gone. A predator snatching it and carrying it off to devour, the Twi'lek watching with a content smile.

Death. It was what allowed life to live. For the Sith, that was the ultimate expression of his devotion to the Force. And as the Massani were lured into the trap, Thelemy knew that no matter what, Death would come from this confrontation.

No matter what, the Will of the Force would be met.

The twi'lek rushed out with a deathly silence, moving forward as he held his double-bladed hilt in his right hand. His left hand crackled with lighting as he flung it forward towards the first Massani, cascading the dark sides essence through the rebel as he felt the pain surface. It was both physical pain, and the pain of the past made manifest, lashing into its victim to drudge up their most painful memories and forcing them to relive it.

He stopped only when he'd activated his saber, and the moment the lighting ceased, Thelemy had delivered two swift sweeps, landing 4 slashes of his Lightsaber against his foes back as he felt the Massani's life leave them. A small content smile was on his face as he moved onto his next target, focusing a bit of force to speed to his foe as he plunged his saber towards his foes chest, aiming to impale the rebel massani using Niman to focus the force through his body.

It was as relaxing as a afternoons meditation, as he simply allowed the dark side to guide his hand.

@z0pu @Bacon

 

[Palas Devrix]

Just as Palas predicted the Massassi warriors entered the Yavin 4 forest, hoping for peace but all they found was the unbreakable bond between three Sith’s and the dark side. Upon landing on his feet with both of lightsabers ignited, the acolyte noticed Cinder and Thallamy had already entered the battle. Cinder being rather nonchalant hadn’t struck yet but Thallamy on the other hand was unleashing lightening and an array of offensive lightsaber attacks on the warriors. It was obvious the three of them would have little problems with the six Massassi, it was the village Palas was worried about. Would the head of there leader force them into surrender? Or would there have to be more death to restore order?

Palas had view of the whole battle , he had landed behind the trailing Massassi warrior who seemed to be the first one to notice the obvious betrayal. He drew his spear to be eye level with the under six foot tall acolyte who had seen the attack coming. Leaning back he was able to dodge the spear by only a few inches, Palas followed up with a horizontal slash across the Massassi’s midsection which connected, slicing the flesh of the warrior.

The warrior showed no sign of pain, the attack from the Sith had left him injured but he still had fight left in him yet. He sprung forward with surprising speed, but Palas was prepared with a backwards cartwheel. Moving himself out of harms way from the spear which was headed straight for his throat. The spear collided with the ground and for a slight second was stuck in Yavin 4’s forest floor. That all Palas needed was a second and he had lunged forward with incredible speed, one of his two lightsabers extended on his right side, effortlessly passed through the Massassi’s neck. He didn’t need to look back to know that his life had ended.

There were five warriors left, Thallamy and Cinder looked to be taking on four, but where was the fifth? It seemed in the excitement there leader who was the reason for the assault had fled, going back into the direction of the camp.

He’ll warn the others!” Palas yelled while dashing back towards the camp. He hoped his comrades would make quick work of there foes so they could continue there extermination.

@Cainhurst Crow @z0pu

 

[Cinder]

As if answering Cinder’s invitation, two Massassi warriors began to rush for the armoured man. That was it, let them come, let the excitement and bloodlust build, that was the secret to Form VII, to let one’s emotion and fury be free in combat and let the Force and Dark Side move through you in the erratic dance of death.


The Massassi that came for Cinders were armed with a spear and some sort of a heavy battleaxe respectively. First the Spear wielding one thrusted at Cinder, aiming directly for the man’s chest. It was an obvious and direct attack. Cinder almost casually leaned to his right side and let the attack pass him by before swinging his left blade in an upward strike aiming to cut right through the brute’s spear. To the Sith’s great surprise the metal shaft of the primitive looking weapon did not get severed but intercepted the energy blade, forcing Cinder swing the blade from out under the spear shaft as the Sith spun to avoid a heavy downward strike from the axe wielding slave.


The hulking armoured Sith closed in closer the Massassi again and began pushing forward with wild and powerful swings from his two lightsabers, causing the rebellious slaves to step back to avoid the impossibly hot blades of the lightsabers. Cinder noticed as the two brutes widened the gap that the spear shaft had not completely neutralized the earlier lightsaber blow, the weapon’s shaft was still red hot where Cinder had struck it. Whatever it had been made of was strong enough to resist a few glancing blows but would eventually yield the power and heat of a lightsaber.


Cinder had to resist the urge to laugh at the pitiful display of the would be free slaves. The huge red beast of creatures they were panicked as they watched their primitive weapons being cut and dented into red hot messes of metal until there were so little left they had to drop them before the molten metal burned them. No disarmed and with nowhere to run Cinder could see the panic and fear in the Massassis eyes, he could sense their intent to lay down and demand surrender. They would not get the chance, the rabid hound that has rebelled against its masters does not get mercy.


With symmetrical fell sweeps to each of the red brutes’ necks as he passed between them, Cinder separated the heads from the bodies.


Dervix’s shout regarding the coward fleeing was enough the snap Cinder away from the glee of battle and centre himself on the mission. The feeling Massassi was too far for Cinder to try and use the Force or throw his saber at the creature. Running it would have to be, with the help of the Force the Siths should be able to catch up to the fleeing slave before it could be in view of the camp.

@Bacon @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

Thelemy had finished off his own enemies as he heard the call of one fleeing. He turned and saw Cinder giving chase, a simple logical check making it clear that he was in no position to catch him with force or saber either. Still, in case Cinder could not catch his foe, Thelemy would go to assist.

The twi'lek took off alongside Cinder, channeling the force into his legs to give chase, and feeling the cold course through his chest as he channeled its power throughout his body. He could not catch the Massani, but Thelemy saw an opportunity ahead, remembering the environment he'd seen when coming through this area to lay the ambush.

With a stretch of his hand and a bit of concentration, he felt his target. A large and mossy rock shook and rolled from its place buried into the ground. It rolled and came to rest in front of the Massani. A trick the Twi'lek had learned was a simple principle, which seemed to hold true for all races. Rarely, did they look up or down, when focused on a task like running or searching.

The Massani's foot caught on the rock, throwing them off balance as they stumbled forward. It would be enough to give Cinder the opening he needed, to lay their foe to rest.

 

[Palas Devrix]

Palas came upon the fallen Massassi leader first, the hulking creature had already gotten to one knee when with his left hand he applied a quick blast of his force energy which sent the last warrior face first in the dirt.

”Now heel!” The acolyte shouted while a burst of electricity surged from his fingertips and coursed through the body of the Massassi leader, Palas disengaged his lightsaber while holding the lightning for a few more seconds. Eventually he stopped and the warrior let out a small screech while a cloud of dark smoke rolled off of his armor.

Palas could not keep up the lightning due to his own limitations, the Massassi leader was still very much alive and even though that was not part of the plan it could be beneficial for the trio of Sith. Palas glanced back at his comrades and Arol who somehow managed to survive the ambush, the three were coming upon the scene of the incapacitated Massassi leader when Palas spoke.

”Do we keep the coward alive or stay with the plan?” Palas hissed while walking a half circle around to the warriors head, which suddenly rose from the dirt and spoke.

“My tribe will never surrender”

@z0pu @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cinder]

Cinder hurried along the road that led to the slave camp. The hulking armoured Sith eventually rounded around a thicket and saw Devrix holding down the fleeing Massassi with the tip of his lightsaber.


Cinder pondered the situation as the human Sith asked what they should do with the captured leader. There were certainly many possibilities but before any discussions could be made they would have to make sure the captive brute did not do anything… reckless. Cinder stepped up to his fellow Sith and the cowering slave. With a sift sweep of his right hand lightsaber Cinder chopped off one of the legs of the Massassi. “Now we can talk freely. It won’t be able to run.”


Cinder deactivated his lightsabers and placed them back on his belt. “I believe we have a few options. We could simply behead the wretched thing right here and bring its head to the camp, hoping the fear would cull the rest. We could do it in public view of the camp, this might rile up the rest into leaving their defensive positions. Or we could even put on a little show, torture, dismemberment and the works to really get the point across.” Cinder paused for a second glancing at the Massassi now writhing in pain on the ground. “And I suppose we could retreat back with this in tow and extract information from it.”


The scorched Sith turned back to his companions. “Do either of you have a particular preference of alternative suggestions?”

@Cainhurst Crow @Bacon

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

Thelemy had caught up with the others, and seeing his ally slice off the potential prisoners leg made the sith frown. The creature had been a heretic, but dragging out its existence any longer seemed unnecessary. He held his saberstaff at his side as he looked between his allies.

"Let us just dispatch this wretch and be done with it. If the others do not break at the death of their leader, then they will simply be put down as well..." Thelemy suggested. It seemed the three of them plus the forces they'd brought would be enough match for the Massani. Between Cinder's strength and Palas's cunning, he doubted they would have trouble toppling the other slaves, should they even still wish to resist.

@z0pu @Bacon

 

[Palas Devrix]

The Massassi warrior was going no where thanks to Cinder, which was probably for the best as it seemed the beast was more interested in running than negotiating for his people’s freedom. “Pathetic” Palas spoke in response to the leaders whimpers after his leg was cut off.

Nonetheless it seemed unanimous that he was to die on the forest floor. It made no difference to the acolyte, his lightsaber quickly came to life and Palas continued the dismemberment, this time it was head which came cleanly off with a swipe from his saber.

“Carry the head” Palas spoke while nodding at Arol who quickly retrieved there trophy. ”To the camp then?” He said while looking at his comrades. The final part of there mission could get bloody, and a part of Palas kind of hoped his plan would fail and they could exterminate the whole camp. Maybe even wipe out all the Massassi.

The three Sith continued down the path back to the camp. Warriors were already waiting outside the gates to greet there now decapitated leader. Palas waved Arol forward and quickly the growing crowed of Massassi fell silent.

”This! This is the result of treason, treason not only against my empire but yours!”

Palas begun speaking to the crowed, he was taking no chances so his lightsaber was engaged and pointed with the tip in the faces of the Massassi.

”Our empire! The empire that has provided you safety, that has allowed you to take full advantage of the resources Yavin 4 provides. The same empire that sent us.”

Palas waved his hand, motioning to the other two Sith. “And instead of slaughtering your village we prepared for negotiations. Negotiations that were futile due to the ambush your ambassador planed.” The acolyte was on a roll, truth be told Palas’s main weapon was his words. He was pacing back and forth with his lightsaber still pointed at the crowed which seemed to consist of about twenty to thirty Massassi warriors. “Now we have a choice. Either you surrender to the empire and vacate this village.”Palas was now grinning, it was a sick and twisted grin as he finished his speech.

“Or, you all die.”

@z0pu @Cainhurst Crow

 

[Cinder]

Cinder walked alongside his companions and the now severed head of the Massassi leader. Once the group arrived at the entrance of the slave camp the armoured Sith observed the defences and fortifications. It would indeed be difficult to get past the high walls guarded by the brutish creatures. The only way in was the single entrance gate that lied at the end of the path. Unless the slaves opened the gate themselves from the inside the fight to get in would just be brutal.

Cinder watched as Devrix gave his whole surrender or die speech. It was not bad, the other human Sith certainly had a flare for theatrics, perhaps he should try and pursue imperial politics instead of being a Sith Acolyte.

Utter silence followed Devrix's speech, it seemed for a moment the Massassi would not react at all, that would have been the worst possible outcome. However such fears were quickly quenched as the countless roars of enraged slave rebels rang out from within their stolen compound.

The gates opened wide and a hoard of enraged Massassi brutes came running out the camp with the singular purpose of avenging their fallen leader and slaughtering every Sith in their sights.

Cinder took out his lightsabers and switched them on, the crimson glow reflecting off his armour. "Slaughter it is then."

@Cainhurst Crow @Bacon

 

[Thelemy Oronays]

"Oh..." Was all the Twi'lek could think to say as the Massassi, at least those who had desired to fight, came running out of the gates to attack them. The sith could only say as such as truth be told, he had been hoping they would choose to do anything except immediate retaliation.

While his ally Cinder seemed assured in their fighting power, Thelemy knew this fight would be difficult to say the least. The Massassi were incredibly strong, and a life of servitude meant bodies which could stomach pain and push through injury. From Thelemy's perspective, this meant that if they were to get close, while they could fight a few of them as they had earlier, against much more superior numbers, without the element of surprise, they could find themselves overwhelmed.

"Don't stand and fight, Move and Attack!" The Twi'lek barked to his comrades as he activated his saber, moving to the side in a roving fashion as he spun and lashed out with his two blades, hitting one attacker in the eye but running as the one behind came at him with a makeshift club. "Keep moving and don't let them Overwhelm you! Make them have to come to you!"

He stopped talking as he force shoved a charging foe aside, knocking his comrade down, only for another to come at him. Along with being large and strong, they were fast enough on their feet to force the sith to sweep in front of him, walking backwards as the blade slashed through the opponents arm and gave him pause, and enough time for the ones he pushed to get back on their feet.

There was little time for tactics, they had to simply keep moving and never give the enemy and opening to attack them. Thelemy kept running, relying on Niman to guide him as he recalled the basics of Ataru and the mental focus of Shii Cho to guide his hand and footing, working to keep alive in this surge of foes.

@z0pu @Bacon