The Escape from Celanon

[Atraxis Aburay]

Sith Training Facility #43

A small training facility located on the Planet Celanon, just outside of the Sith controlled space of Yavin, had come under attack. The facility was very small, begging the need for Stealth in such turbulent times with the Mandolorian uprising. It housed no more than a few Sith Crusaders to act as instructors and guardians as the dozen or so Acolytes that rotated in and out finished up their final stages of combat training, until this day that is. This day would be the last for this Training Facility, bringing with it death and struggle with a desperate sprint for survival. Yet it did not begin this way, let us observe the events leading up to this.


Atraxis awoke this day early, his senses were on edge this day for some reason as a chill worked its way down his spine. Rising from his bed, his pale flesh illuminated by the dim red pyramid lights upon the walls. The light illuminating deep burns and heavy scars from both the whip and the lightsaber, giving a testament to the suffering its owner had endured during both his life and training. He looked across the room, seeing five other acolytes-to-be crawling out of bed as well as they approached the showers. Within a few minutes Atraxis had finished his own shower and made his way over to his own storage unit, pulling out his training gear he donned it with an bubbling sense of excitement, it was the day of the final test. After this test, he would be an official Sith Acolyte, able to be taken by a Master and trained in the finer ways of the Sith.

Within the hour, he found himself standing alongside his bunk-mates staring at the Crusader in front of them, the warriors face hidden behind the engraved mask, the marking showing his experience and accomplishments for his masters. He was a powerful warrior with many kills, his experienced served well to teach these trainees how to properly use the saber. The warriors saber was responsible for more than a few of Atraxis's new scars, and for the reduction in the amount of a few of the trainees. Atraxis squeezed down on his saber, a simple and plain saber serving only as a training saber for now. Once he passed this, he would be able to obtain a warriors saber. He eyed his fellow trainees, in all likelihood they would be his test and he was already appraising their threats.


The Crusader brought forth three Containers, these held the Armor of a Sith Acolyte and a Saber for the victors, yet they did not know that yet. The Crusader stared them down, looking at each and everyone of them as he appraised this batch of recruits. The First 6 had been less than stellar, they would make passable Acolytes but he did not suspect they would live long enough to become crusaders themselves. Hopefully, someone among this batch had a moderate bit of potential and would make his time on this planet worth it. There was a pure blooded Sith in this bunch, so he had hopes for this one at least. "Break into three groups of two, you will be facing yourselves in this test. You obviously know this is your final test, failure.....well that isn't going to be good for you. Claim the lives of your opponent in single combat. Only the Strong can become Sith, the weak shall serve to feed their betters. You have 10 minutes, to reduce your number to three. Or I kill all of you."

The words of the Crusader rung in their ears with the same ferocity of a roaring Rancor. They parted quickly, 6 sabers igniting almost instantly, yet 5 of these trainees were still contemplating their possible opponents. The 6th however, had already done so, and came down on his choice in a heavy smash. The Lightsaber crushing down onto his bunk-mates with all the savagery of a Loth Wolf. Atraxis was not about to put himself at risk any longer than needed, he would stain the grounds with his enemies blood. "You have always been a thorn in my side Atraxis! I am glad you chose me, lets finish this!" was the response of the trainee, a pure blooded sith named Draser, and easily the most notable among the trainees. His aggressive return to Atraxis's own crushing overhead was notable. This spurred the other 4 into action as they began attacking each other ferociously.


Just 2 minutes into this and one Trainee had fallen, culled by his partner after making a disastrous mistake when he over committed to an attack and threw himself off balance and right into a beheading strike. Atraxis was seemingly withering under the punishing blows of Draser, yet he never broke his silence. His eyes however held a steel to them as they followed Draser's movements a bit to quickly, his pupils darting around following the movements of Draser's arms and torso and diverting his blows at the last moment to imply his state as 'struggling'. His ears twitched slightly, hearing Draser's heartbeat continue to grow faster and faster as his breaths got heavier and heavier as his own relentless assault began to wear on him. Draser continued to press his 'advantage', pushing Atraxis further and further back that is, until he was distracted. The wet thump of a body landing to his right caused him to swing his lightsaber to his left, only to have it bury itself into the recently slain body of one of his other Bunk-mates. The second battle had reached a far more violent conclusion, leaving one trainee unleashing a force push at such close range it crushed all the bones in his opponents body.

With his saber buried in the cooling body, he realized his mistake and tried to turn back to face Atraxis only to find his vision suddenly changing in two different directions, falling sideways. Atraxis had taken advantage of his opponents dropped guard and immediately responded, using the force to empower his body he rocketed forward in almost a blur as his saber dug its way down Draser's body vertically, leaving his slain foe to slap against the ground in two pieces. It was a sad conclusion to their fight, and not at all what he had intended to do, but a weakness was meant to be exploited. Atraxis turned to face the other two, they all stared at each other silently as their hearts all thrummed in their ears.

The Crusader came back shortly after, seeing the results of the duels he nodded. "And I had such high hopes for Draser, for him to die from such a stupid mistake is pitiful. You all did well, claim your armor and prepare for the ceremony. You have 15 minutes." he finished before leaving the room again. Each of the Trainees stared at the cases, Atraxis made his move first quickly opening it up. Dropping his Training saber to the ground, leaving it to roll into the pool of Draser's blood that had begun to pool around his feet. A man he had spent over two years training with, Draser was not spared a second glance, after all.....who regards the stones they stepped on to cross a river after they passed them?


Putting his mask in place, he looked down over his armored arms and down the smooth black and red of his cloak to his hand which held his new saber. It felt good, all the suffering and pain in his life finally led to something worthwhile. His scars had meaning, his struggle gave him purpose and the blood he had shed had bought him a future. Or at least, the beginning of one.

As the acolytes made their way deeper into the facility, it was soon rocked with an explosion, the attack alarm went off for the first time in 'ever'. The Crusaders pointed to the back of the facility, directing the new Acolytes to go through the back paths. The 6 new acolytes all stared back, they had just become Sith and they would not give that up for anything. The Crusaders returned, 2 members short, the Commanding Crusader bearing more than a few blaster marks and scorched armor. "We are leaving. Now." he said simply before he began to run down the dark roughly made pathway to the fields towards the mountains. The Acolytes running with him, yet Atraxis could sense the ones behind him. They were growing closer, it seems Jetpacks were useful tools for keeping up with Force users.

This was not gonna end well.​

 

[Atraxis Aburay]

Armored boots crushed grass underfoot as the Sith made their retreat, the force aiding them greatly as they held a stride no normal being could match. Looking to be blurs, moving across the plains of tall savanna grass, their black forms standing out solidly against the golden stalks, yet despite this they knew if they were to let up they would be overran in moments. The sounds of burning engines and blazing Jetpacks echoed through the air as a near battalion of fully armored hunters came over the hill. Hover Tanks carried heavy troops, hoping to outflank and gun them down even as the cannons atop the vehicles let out thunderous blasts of red light. The lasers causing explosions of soil and grass, fires starting to spread from the sheer downpour of firepower.

Atraxis did not look back, but his saber flashed out every now and then, diverting a blast that grew to close for his liking. His fellow acolytes were doing the same, if albeit in a clumsier way, their defensive technique having been largely ignored in favor of pure offensive skill. A choice that was now coming back to bite them, and while it was not the Sith way to be passive such a skill set is more useful than they would have thought, given that they were on the verge of being gunned down by what appeared to be an organized Bounty Hunting Squad. He did not stop to try and see if they were someone more notable, or if they were simply a kill squad out to prove themselves to the Mandalorians in nearby sectors, perhaps the bounty on them was well worth the risk but no matter what the answer truly was, they were doomed if they caught up with them.

The Crusader cursed his luck, first for being sent to train such a disappointing gaggle of new bloods, and second for being pressed so by such a amateur group of hunters. Among their number, perhaps two or three stood out as true elites and that is what was causing such an issue. It seems they had brought their new bloods to hunt his New Bloods in order to get some experience under their belts with some easy money to pad it. If they hadn't struck during the rotation, their would have been nearly 12 Crusaders at the Facility instead of the three there had been, but perhaps that was their plan. Perhaps they had been under surveillance for a while now and they had realized it was the prime time to strike. His lightsaber flashed out, diverting a heavy laser bolt back into the rookie hunter that had decided to take a shot at him, burning a hole through the unfortunate souls helmet. Of the 12 Acolytes that he originally had left from this morning, only 7 stood still.

Three Acolytes had fallen during the escape out of the back tunnel from the facility, the narrow space having been a massive disadvantage for such green Acolytes. They had been unable to maneuver their sabers in a way to protect themselves while also ignoring the compressed walls with another 2 falling during the pursuit so far. The Crusader tossed out his hand as he slowed down enough to let the Acolytes pass, a wave of blue fire rushing out and igniting massive stretches of the field to discourage the pursuers on hover bikes. Yet it would do nothing in the long run as the tanks simply barrelled through it after the group. Yet the Crusader had bought some precious time, giving them less immediate threats on their tail and forcing over half the pursuit group to find another way around. The Forest however was coming up quickly, and despite the dying screams of another Acolyte having a hole the size of a watermelon created in his chest from one of the Heavy Turbolasers on the tank, the crusader dashed between the thick trees making his way towards the hidden air fields.

Their hunters were forced to disembark their vehicles and proceed afoot after them, using their packs to fly after them while the acolytes struggled to cope with the new terrain in their own way having their speed rapidly reduced. Blaster fire soon began to echo in the air even as sabers burnt through it in response, the sounds of battle and chase were all that was heard.


An acolyte crashed down against a curved tree trunk, his spine snapping and killing him instantly as one of the elite hunters began to target others. As soon as he was about to come down on another victim, he was forced out of the way by a bolt of fire splashing against the tree like water, clinging to everything it touched. "You will have to try harder than that if you wish to hunt me fool." the crusader scoffed at him even as he took his stance. His lightsaber flashing through the air deflecting blaster shots, before grenades began to bounce down the trees behind him forcing him to evade. The battle was quite fast, both sides making moves in response to their opponent. Yet the acolytes were forced to deal with the other two elites on their own, their numbers being the only thing keeping them from immediately being overwhelmed.

Atraxis began to eye the hunter, watching his movements and his body language using that as a means to determine how he would move and act, using it to guide him to the best solution. Fleeing. He hopped backwards, using the trees as cover and the thick brush to prevent the grenades from going off near him as he proceeded back towards the air field. He knew he would not be able to best the hunter like this, their was simply to much of a gap to necessitate the risk of combat. But fleeing would only get him so far before the hunter caught on and tried to cut him off, so he did what was necessary and made sacrifices.


He led the hunter around, as another Acolyte came close and proceeded to bait the hunter with the easier target, and the acolyte seemed to catch on to what he was doing as he tried to follow after Atraxis as he made his disappearance into the brush. The sounds of cursing and blaster fire was all that reached him though. Atraxis had found the path, hidden marks in the forest aiding them showed him the way. Disengaging his saber, the light died as he began to flee towards the ship. Two other acolytes had done the same it seemed, leaving the others to battle and distract the hunters. The airfield was hidden beneath a layer of cloaking shielding as they suddenly came face to face with a Fury Class Interceptor.

A rather decent sized ship, and quite easy to see it belonging to one of the Crusaders if not all of them if they were part of the same mission. The acolytes got to work, prepping the ship for departure as Atraxis boarded and began to boot up the engines and hyper-drive systems. The personal Ship Droid was immensely helpful in this task, even letting him know when the ship had been fully prepared. When he could feel the other two acolytes coming, he decided a bit more bait wouldn't hurt.

He met them on the loading ramp, letting them pass him as he kept an eye out, right before he turned around and gave them both a heavy dose of lightning to their backs. Leaving them stunned and shocked, he pushed them off the ramp as the droid began its final procedures. The ship rising up softly, before with a kick it broke through the canopy and gave him a very personal view of an approaching Heavy Cruiser breaking through the clouds. Atraxis gave one last look at Celanon before he walked onto the ship with the ramp closing behind him. The Crusader could only stare up as his ship began to leave him behind, even as he clutched the useless arm hanging at his side. With that, Atraxis had left Celanon and his doomed fellow trainees.

You had to be strong enough to survive in this universe alone, those that depend on others will only be dragged down in the end.​