2008-12-06 - Good vs Evil and Aurra Sing disappears

Cloud City: Sublevels - Access Tunnel 04A
Branching off Circumference Road, Access Tunnel 04A grants access to Cloud City's droid repair facilities, Bespin Industrial, and Market tower. The tunnel itself is rather non-descipt. It is dimly lit with orange overhead lights. From time to time they flicker as some large piece of machinery in the refinery powers up or powers down. Also, there is a deep rumbling. Just overhead are Bespin's main power generators - or at least a subset of them.
This hollowed out tunnel beneath the Norad System's primary industrial hub hosts a variety of sentients of many professions; it's also a great place to beg for a few credits if you don't mind the flicking overhead lights and the constant buzz of Bespin's generators.
Huddled among a knot of beggars is a slight, cloaked creature with bowed head. Unlike those squatting or lounging on either side of him, his hands are in his sleeves; he is motionless, possibly even serene.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah reaches out with the Force and feel...
A powerful competing will very close to you is attempting to mask its presence.
 
There is a slight hiss of smoke and gas along the dark walkway where the light is flickering and there are many shadows cast along the path. There is an armored shadow that emerges out of the smoke and walks further along the tunnel. The armored figure has a tinted visored helmet that reflects the images that it looks upon. The being is walking with wounds along the armor and would possibly appear as easy prey to any predators lurking about. There is a presence of evil about this figure though and possibly the being are sensing it and keeping their distance..
Nashtah has seen a vision earlier this time quarter and has beeing sensing a powerful competiting presence faintly, this has lead her to bespin and the lower levels. As she limps with her body slight hunched over from her injuries, she senses the power greatly in these lower tunnels of the facility. Nashtah moves down the tunnel slowly and turns her head once she reaches an area where there a some lower lifeforms huddled about. The huntress stops some yards from them and the cloaked figure and her tinted visor looks at them..she stands staring from each sentient with a hidden expression behind her mask..
Something startles the cloaked creature, eliciting a semi-sharp cant of its head. Easing back its cowl and tilting the rim of its hat, it glances toward the eastern entryway.
"Hmmm... malificence.. callous.. iniiiiiquity," near-whispers what appears to be a Bothan male with a few flaring sniffs of his fox-like nose. "Not quite as delicious as 'fear', but palatable nonetheless."
A cheshire-cat grin tweaks the corners of Kalkadesh-Katesh's lips.
Nashtah eyes the cloaked presence and the bothan muzzle which utter a whisper that travels the damp air of the tunnel. Nashtah senses the competiting dark force amongst the area, it is as thick as the wafts of smoke. Nashtah takes of her helmet and reveals her powdery white skin and thin metal antennae from her shaved head. Her red hair in a ponytail is messy and falls along her shoulders and back...her dark sinister eyes hold a deep power and evil not easily ignored..
Nashtah's voice is low "reveal yourself...I can feel you as I am sure you sense me.."
Kalkadesh-Katesh's grin deepens as the woman reveals herself.
"Reveal myself? Ahh.. I see. You may call me Katesh... but I already know you, Ms. Sing," replies the Bothan with a soft chuckle.
The other force user rises and sheds his cloak; one of the nearby beggers swiftly snatches it.
Nashtah holds her position and stands up a little straighter as to not wishing to reveal how bad the extent of her wounds are affecting her. Her sinister blue eyes which have a hint of red creaping amongst them study this figure and then stop at his visor over his eyes. Her blue tinged lips move and she replies "You have me then at a disadvantage...I know not of you. I seek a dark force..a dark being who can make me stronger and who can aide me in ridding this galaxy of the...Jedi. I sense you are not this being, but you maybe linked somehow.." RD
"Is that so? Why.." returns the Bothan with a glance to either side, "I haven't smelled something so delictable. Are you certain your distaste for Jedi is not getting the better of your senses?"
Kalkadesh-Katesh crosses his arms and licks his lips. His fingers drum on the inside of either arm.
"Perhaps you ought to have a drink."
Nashtah shifts her eyes slightly to the shadows and the beings around here..then she refocuses her sight on the bothan. She steps a little closer to him with with a slight evil expression on her face and her low cold tone is spoken response "My senses are just fine. There are many reasons to hunt, I have my own. The jedi will fall and I will have a hand it." Her words come with a hint of distaste as she sizes up this being and then she asks "What your story, you sent me a message if I am not mistaken...you name matches the one given to me. Go ahead and speak your business, bothan" 
"Ahh yes... so I did," replies Katesh, suddenly stroking his chin-beard.
"There is a rogue force-user hot on your trail who seeks to fill the bounty on your head by the name of Fiero."
And there ends the report, oddly enough. The Bothan leans backward, resting on the curved wall of the tunnel, still grinning, still pulling on his facial hair. Digitized lines continue to cross his visor intermitently.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah experiences a cold feeling, but cannot imagine why.
Nashtah listens to the bothan and when the name Fiero comes up her eyes flare a moment with anger and her words are cold as hoth's surface "He will die soon enough.." Nashtah pauses and sudenly feels a cold feeling within her body..she turns her head from the bothan and scan around the tunnel...with her eyes, her bio-computer and the force..
The hair at the nape of Kalkadesh-Katesh's neck stands on end; perhaps he too felt what Sing felt.
"We will all die soon enough," purrs the Bothan with a soft snicker.
"Some will never die," a low voice hisses--where it comes from, it is not clear.
Nashtah doesn't look at the bothan but instead tries figure out where the voice is coming from, she scans the shadows and allows the force and Orm computer in her head to try and pick a clue to where to find the being...her voice finally speaks out and she says "I can sense you...I am Nashtah Sing.."
The Bothan reaches inside his tunic but does not withdraw his hand. With a flick of his free fingers, he cocks his hat and glances around; he and the pale female appear to be the only ones who have noticed the strange interjection.
"Odd.. I sense only you," says Katesh, smile fading.
"I can sense you both ..." purrs a low, dark voice. "You will soon learn that you have a new mission -- a new purpose -- and a new calling. My Master is gathering the spirits to him ... and you are spirits."
The Bothan continues to glance about skeptically, hand still within the v-cut of his tunic.
"Is this some sort of joke, Sing?"
Nashtah listens and looks over to the bothan "Are you thick or just slow...I don't play games..." She eyes him for a moment and then looks away into the shadows and says "A Spirit?...I am fighting jedi's at every turn and the one Obi-Wan is powerful...I need help, guidance..." her voice fades at that in hope of a response..
Soft, gurgling laughter rings out ...
The Bothan's grin returns. Slowly.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Sing.. because I -do-."
Two lightsabers sprout from each of Kalkadesh-Katesh's sleeves, one red, one yellow. The fractured, digitized lines flitting across his visor speed faster. "I think you would be a much healthier person if you would learn to watch that tongue." Darkness oozes from the Bothan's very being.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh ignites his yellow lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh tries to terrify Nashtah Sing!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah Sing does not fear Kalkadesh-Katesh.
Fiero arrives from Cloud City: SubLevels - West Circumference Road.
Nashtah's battered form shifts to alertness once the figure the sabers are ingited in each hand of the bothan. The huntess sinister eyes brighten from the light emitted from the sabers and she unclips the shaft of a lightsaber from a hidden compartment in her armor...her voice echoes in the chamber as the sound of here purple blade igniting is heard "PZZZZZZZT"..."My tongue always gets me in trouble, but my saber shall show you what real trouble can bring.." She strikes at the being with a low growl...
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah ignites her purple lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah swings her purple lightsaber at Kalkadesh-Katesh's head!
 
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh parries Nashtah Sing's purple lightsaber with his yellow lightsaber.
All the roads you have to walk are winding, and all the lights that lead you there are blinding, especially in Bespin. But Fiero's guided by the Force. Two dark presences can be seen, or felt. And he waits, as he approaches what seems to be commotion.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah experiences a cold feeling and receive a vision: a hissing snakelike voice in the shadows
Telepathic message: "Fool. I have brought you and the other here for a reason, to serve the Master."
Nashtah cannot tell where this vision comes from.
The Bothan swings his lightsaber skyward, just in time to dissuade Sing's blade from slicing through his head. The two weapons sputter and crackle as they meet.
"My, my!" cries Katesh as he rebounds from his attack and takes a few steps back to guage the former bounty-hunter. He glances over her shoulder, still smiling softly, but pauses.. his head cants to the left, then drifts back toward Sing.
"Your mind-tricks will not help you, Nashtah," he warns. The force-user's voice, however, betrays his lack of conviction. He does not attack for the moment.
The blades connect with a "ZZIT" and a "ZING". Nashtah steps back as well from the bothan and she pauses, feeling something. She lowers her blade showing the bothan she is withholding her attack. She makes eyes contact with him and says "That is not from me, bothan. It seems we are both here for the same reason...." Nashtah stops for a moment as her implant picks up about bio-reading around the tunnel and she turns her head quickly and spots a familiar figure enter the tunnel...Nashtah eyes Fiero with an evil glare "You!!!!"
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero ignites his green lightsaber.
"Me. Are you ready? I seem to have found two objectives in a row," Fiero says, as a lightsaber jumps into his hand and he slips into an offensive stance. "Though I wasn't expecting to /find you here/."
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah experience a mocking feeling and receive a vision: Fiero slashed asunder
Telepathic message: "Destroy the servant of the Jedi"
Nashtah cannot tell where this vision comes from.
The Bothan shakes his head, his lightsabers droop.
"You are a servant of the Jedi, Fiero?" asks Kalkadesh-Katesh slowly, softly.
The anger and hate within Nashtah's eyes flare as she hear the words of the jedi..Nashtah's holds the saber in her right hand with the blade down and studies Fiero's position. Her armor reflects the flickering lights from above and the huntress turns to stalk her prey. Nashtah lifts the LEFT hand of the suit up where there is a golden brass nuzzle under her wrist and she growls "Let me heat things up for you"
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah fire your Plasma Sprayer at Fiero's head!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero dodges Nashtah Sing's jet of flame.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Nashtah feels a lessening of your wounds!
Nashtah anger rises, swelling into a hateful rage that brings you strength.
But that's to expect. Fiero sidesteps from Nashtah Sing's spray of plasma, and leaps towards her. 
"Jedi? No. I'm very freelance." 
That said, he swings his blade in an arc of green, down at the Huntress.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero swings his green lightsaber at Nashtah Sing's arms!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah Sing shoots at Fiero with her Plasma Sprayer, disrupting his attack but missing him.
Something--/something/--watches, hungry and hesitant, hidden just outside of view.
The Bothan takes a step back from the melee, perhaps as a result of the sudden spray of plasma, perhaps as a result of something else.. he swallows hard, lightsabers still buzzing fitfully in each hand.
"Who... where are you?" Katesh whispers.
The laughter burbles again, terribly soft, terribly low and sweet. "Inside your throat," comes a hiss.
Shade slips out of hiding.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade begins to choke Kalkadesh-Katesh.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh chokes. Asphyxiating spasms seriously wounds him, destroying Kalkadesh-Katesh's .
Nashtah disrupts Fiero's attack and then jumps to the left making it where Fiero now stands between the bothan on one side of him and the huntress on the other side. She eyes the human with discontent to his words and holds for a moment and growls at Fiero "Freelance...HA!. Since the disappearance of Master Tan, you follow the Jedi like a wantant puppy dog begging for a bone...Tell me you wouldn't jump at chance if they accepted you into THIER ORDER..DENY THIS!!!!" her voice rising and echoeing in the tunnel...
"Simple: No." Fiero says, stepping forwards and swimming his blade, full-on at Nashtah. "And I think you're about to expire."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero swings his green lightsaber at Nashtah Sing's body!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah Sing raises her Plasma Sprayer to fire, but Fiero's green lightsaber hits and maims Nashtah Sing.
Each of the lightsabers clutched by the Bothan dissolve with violent hisses. He sinks to his knees, eyes bulging behind their covering, tongue jutting as he gasps for air. The dormant hilts slip up his sleeves and he scratches his throat violently.
"Gaaglglglgack!"
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Kalkadesh-Katesh puts away his yellow lightsaber.
Nashtah doesn't see yet the appearance of Shade, her focus has been on Fiero and as she paused to speak with him, she pays for her act. She attempts to disrupt the attack but Fiero is too fast and comes in and slices her at the body with a deadly wound, her body hunges and she growls "Aghhh, you cut me!" Nashtah turns and lifts the left hand of her armor and shoots a large burst of fire in Fiero's direction..
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah fires her Plasma Sprayer at Fiero's arms!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero tries to dodge, but Nashtah Sing's jet of flame hits and seriously wounds his arm.
And the flames scorch Fiero's arm, but his grip on the lightsaber remains firm and steady. On fire, the Vanixian lets out a yell and steps forward, before unleashing yet another attack at the Huntress.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero swings his green lightsaber at Nashtah Sing!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah Sing parries Fiero's green lightsaber with her purple lightsaber.
The Bothan struggles back to his feet and rubs his throat. Not wanting to stick around to be choked again, the wily creature slips down the vacated tunnel and disappears into the city's industrial sector.
There is a soft, dragging scrape, as of feet scratching across the floor, and a robed shape appears in the deepest shadows.
Nashtah and Fiero's fight builds now as she lowered her left hand and comes around just in time to block the green blade. "ZINNT". The two blades are lock in a combat for a moment as each combatants face is illuminated amongst the surrounding darkness. Nashtah eyes Fiero and growls "Tell me you didn't betray, Master Tan and now work with Jedi!! I have seen you follow them!!" Nashtah tries to use her wounded body to hold her blade against Fiero's strength as the blade hummm connected..
"I didn't betray anyone. /You/ are the traitor, on the other hand. You've betrayed his trust, and assaulted the Viceroy!" Fiero presses his lightsaber's blade against Nashtah's, stepping back as he twirls it agilly with his good hand, ready to unleash another attack at the Huntress- but not right now.
The dark shape glides forward, moving closer, its black robes dragging behind it with a soft rasp.
Phlegmatic laughter fills the air. "Good ... good!"
Nashtah eyes him and the hate in her eyes flare as he calls her a traitor to her master. She eyes him with and growls "Traitor! So you are in league with the republic now? what do you care of DaSH'S HEALTH...WHAT DO YOU CARE HOW I CRIPPLE THE CURRENT POWERS" Her chest heaving with anger..She steps in to Fiero and twist her saber around and brings it downward to his hands.."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah swings her purple lightsaber at Fiero's arms!
 
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero parries Nashtah Sing's purple lightsaber with his green lightsaber.
"You're an animal, and you must be put down." is all that Fiero says, even headed. He glances to the side, at the voice saying 'Good, Good', but since the source cannot be distinguished, he continues the fight. He steps forward, aiming the b lade low at the Huntress. 
"You'll see just what happens."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero swings his green lightsaber at Nashtah Sing's body!
 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Nashtah Sing tries to parry with her purple lightsaber, but Fiero's green lightsaber hits and shreds her. Nashtah Sing collapses, critically injured.
"Good."
The single word is so harsh and cruel it seems to rip the very air.
"You have struck her down. Now call upon your anger. Strike her with your weapon. Hack off her saber-hand. Pierce her belly. Show me the power of your rage and your journey to the Dark Side will recommence."
"I..." Fiero glances at the creature, kneeling before the body of Nashtah Sing to retrieve a single thing - her lightsaber. His is still ignited, and he glances at the Huntress, thoughtfully. He raises his blade, probably ready to strike Sing down. 
But the battle within commences.
"Do it!" the bubbling voice hisses. "Do it now! Every second you hesitate, you merely weaken yourself. The battle is not to the weak! The race is not to the slow! Let the Force flow through you!"
Nashtah drop her Master Boethius' Lightsaber.
Fiero picks up a Master Boethius' Lightsaber.
"Grrr...." Fiero listens to the voice, and there's rage in his heart; from the sniper bolt, from the lightsaber blows he's received. From everything people have done. But he asks himself: does he want this? The tip of the blade nearly rests against Sing's wrist, almost as though eager to sever it... still, it's in there.
"Strike!" 
The dark figure steps forward, its wide sleeves falling back, burnt twisted claws exposed to the cold air. The fingers twitch and writhe. "You puny fool. If you do not strike, I will take this creature and use it. Transform it into a thing of nightmare. Make it my slave and send it back to destroy all those you wish to protect."
Someone says, "Give in to your wrath. You are a messenger of justice."
Nashtah Sing lays on the cold tunnel floor which is covered in darkness, her body wrecked and ravages from the fighting she has done, only so much bacta could fix. There is a slight clink when she landed as to elude the ground she is laying on not entirely solid..Her brestplate only moving slowly now...
"My path to the Dark Side. A creature. I've had that done to me, sir," Fiero glances sidelong at the Dark Figure, and raises his blade to strike again. "I've been to the Dark Side before, and the only thing I saw was uncertainty and unfulfilled promises. Justice is proportional." the charcoal-skinned, former Vanixian shakes his head, "No. But..." Brown eyes scan at Sing again. 
And the Dark has the upper hand in his inner battle, thus far.
Horrible laughter. The shadowy shape raises its claw-like hands. "You fool. Spare her and I will turn her into a creature of the Dark Side of the Force. Spare me, and I will destroy you all."
Someone says, "Aren't you FURIOUS?"
"You must be put down," Fiero says, and closes his eyes, swinging down at Nashtah Sing, Huntress of the H'rashi Guild and lightsaber duelist. He holds his breath.
Horrible laughter fills the air as the dark shape watches, its clawed handsd writhing in the air.
The grate that held the huntress was straining to hold her constant weight in the armor she wore. The creaks sounded and as Fiero Blade is about to strike the huntress they finally give out and her body falls down the shaft at a rapid speed. Where does this shaft lead, who knows..there are thousands of these along the entire facility...and the huntress known as Nashtah Sing..disappears death grasp once again..
And the dark, hooded figure waits, arms outstretched, looking upon Fiero with mocking, inhuman scorn. "Now you will meet your destiny."
"I presume," Fiero says, and turns to the creature. His expression is stern. "I'll accept my fate, whatever it is."
"You belong to me now," the figure says with quiet scorn. It holds out a clawed hand. "Give me your weapons, warrior."
"I belong to no one," Fiero replies, keeping his blade close to h imself. His eyes are intent on the figure.
"You are mistaken," the shape purrs. "When you chose to strike, you became mine. Now you must bear the consequences of your choice."
The hand curls into a fist. "Your puny resistance is futile."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade begins to choke Fiero.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Fiero calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero chokes. Asphyxiating spasms mildly wounds him, destroying Fiero's .
Air escapes Fiero, and his free hand clutches against his neck, "No." he says, between fruitless gasps for air. His eyes close, then open abruptly, as he launches himself against the shape. "You will die!"
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero swings his green lightsaber at Shade!
Air escapes Fiero, and his free hand clutches against his neck, "No." he says, between fruitless gasps for air. His eyes close, then open abruptly. They glare at the creature, and he holds his lightsaber firmly, "No! ..."
"If you will not strike me down, then you will follow me."
The bare, clawlike hands rise up, and brush back the hood. Burnt skin, twisted, seared, shiny flesh, folds of scar tissue mass on the head and neck and hands. "Kneel before me as I kneel before my Master."
One claw points to the ground.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade begins to choke Fiero.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Fiero calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero does not choke.
Concentration. Fiero opens his eyes again and the deadly grip around his neck suddenly is neutralized. His brown eyes widen in realization to the seared flesh. Horror incarnate. He steps forward. Once. Then again. And once more.
There is a strange quiet. It has a suggestion of finality to it.
"If you will not kneel, then you will make a very poor apprentice," the gurgling voice murmurs. "You have already abandoned hope to turn away from the Dark Path. Will you die where you are, or join me? Make your choice."
Who has any trust for Fiero nowadays? Not the Jedi, not the Vanixians, not anyone. "There is. ... no death." A firm step forwards. "Only the Force." Hesitation fills his mind, what is he to do? Is he going to throw away all that he's worked hard for and dive into murky darkness for unknown time, or is he going to stand and die a martyr? Confusion fills his mind again. "Why?"
A familiar presence, great, powerful, peaceful, moves down the tunnel toward the main power generators.
Familiar armor forms a silhouette against light and vapor while trusted boots bring Obi-Wan closer to Fiero and Sing. He lowers a gauntleted hand while he draws near.
Obi-Wan Kenobi slips out of hiding.
"Fool."
The word is imbued with contempt. "There is nothing left for you. You belong to me now. In life or in death, there is only ... the Dark Side of the Force for you."
The burned head turns toward the armored silhouette, and cracked lips peel back in a hideous smile. "Ah yes."
The presence is felt, and it constrasts, somehow, with the eeriness of this room. Fiero's eyes close again, lightsaber still ignited and held in his hand. "In life or in death. Are you sure?"
Obi-Wan continues walking, watching the figures in front of him.
"Don't make a habit of speaking to my students," he counters. "Fiero, don't listen to it. Your destiny does not determine who you are. You know this."
As Kenobi speaks, the dark figure gestures coldly with a burned and twisted claw.
"Be silent."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade begins to choke Obi-Wan Kenobi.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi chokes. Asphyxiating spasms moderately wounds him, destroying Obi-Wan Kenobi's .
"Why?!" Fiero exclaims, or questions, or does both, louder. His voice, filled with torment and doubt, echo in the hallowed halls of this humble tibanna mining facility's tunnels.
Kenobi reaches up to his throat and grits his teeth. He breathes evenly, fighting the influence.
"No," he objects.
"Fiero, get out. You're too young to know the price of darkness."
He raises his hand..
The dark shape laughs flatly, its claws gesturing again at Obi-Wan. "Be still." Then, to Fiero, with the same dismissive scorn. "Not for you to question why; your destiny is to do and die. You have already chosen anger. Now choose betrayal. Strike -him- down," he sneers, pointing his clawed hand at Obi-Wan, "and your journey will be complete. You will no longer need answers; you will be enlightened. I will take you to my Master and you will learn the secret Plan and bring Order to the Galaxy. You will abolish weakness, corruption, and decay. You will show them what you learnt; you will show them -why- you were burnt. You have but to strike down one meddling fool. Or are you frightened of him?"
"NO!" Fiero cries, but why? Why does he shout? And repeats the same, simple, monosyllabic word, over and over again? "NO!" His lightsaber is at his hand, and he brings his free hand now, to claw at the side of his head. The battle rages. "Kill me!" He pleads, or is it demands? Whatever it is, his voice is filled with pain. 
From the corner of his eyes, a dense, black fluid, starts to leak...
The shade's lip curls in a twisted sneer. "-Kill- you? You are already dead."
 
"He has no Master, Fiero," Kenobi argues. "He is nothing but a shell of shadows.. A master that will twist your talents for his own designs." He breathes evenly, lowering his hand.
"I will not kill the boy I trained," he explains afterward. "I refuse." He looks at the Shade, then raises his hand. In the distance, something begins to shake.
Whether it is irritation or contempt that guides its hand, the shade makes a contemptuous swatting gesture in the direction of Kenobi. "You are not suitable for training. Kill him, boy. Kill him as you would have killed the bounty hunter."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade begins to choke Obi-Wan Kenobi.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi chokes. Asphyxiating spasms lightly wounds him, destroying Obi-Wan Kenobi's .
Dust unsettles from the ceiling above the trio while Kenobi's face begins to turn red.
"Your confidence is your weakness," he growls, raising his other hand. Cracks begin to form above the Jedi, within the duracrete, while small debris falls around him.
Seizures! Small, controlled, like a bizarro orchestra of uncontrollable movements, and Fiero's body starts to shake. He is weak on the knees, the elbows, just about any joint. The finger on the pressure button holding the lightsaber blade together slips off, causing it to extinguish, and now it's just a lifeless hilt in the hands of its currently less-than-functional wielder. Agony. His feet move, as though there's more to it than just a battle of will within his soul. There is the thing inside. Does the Becoming start now? The symbiot running in his veins, the /thing/ within each and every fiber of his body seems to want to take control, finally, and wrest life from Fiero. His balance is compromised. 
But the thing is fought off for now, or it allows a truce.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero puts away his green lightsaber.
Raziel arrives from Cloud City: SubLevels - West Circumference Road.
"Follow me," the dark shape growls to Fiero, making a gesture of cold command with one of its claw-like hands. It steps forward, moving toward the black doors at the head of the tunnel, which open as if spring-loaded with a -boom-.
To the red-faced Jedi, the figure says only, "Your weakness is yours."
Ugnaughts scatter from the scene, those that have not left before; droids continue onward, merrily cleaning and servicing the maintenance hatches. Seemingly unaware, perhaps, of any altercation going on, Raziel moves through the 04A access tunnel with a lazily meandering sort of gait. The Falleen nobleman's green-and-red-flecked yellow eyes are studying the infrastructure of Cloud City, his chin raised faintly and a look rather utterly devoid of emotion sans the tiny halfsmirk on his lips.
Kenobi sighs with relief, raises a hand, and lifts a solid chunk of duracrete. He thrusts it swiftly, a trail of air following behind it with a deft rush. The object turns end over end, heading straight for the departing shade.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi hurls a durasteel chunk toward Shade!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade ignites his red lightsaber and tries to parry!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade tries to parry with his red lightsaber, but Obi-Wan Kenobi's flying debris hits and moderately wounds him.
There is a flash of red, and the falling chunk of duracrete is hacked apart as it falls. Still it strikes the burnt, robed shape, battering it to one knee.
It rises, horribly twisted, its shoulder clearly dislocated, and the burned face twists into a smile. The left hand comes up to the right shoulder and gives a sudden jerk.
POP. The shoulder slides into place and the right hand comes up. A finger twitches and curls. 
"As you wish ..." the wet voice burbles, and the ceiling above Kenobi begins to collapse.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade hurls a durasteel chunk toward Obi-Wan Kenobi!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade's flying debris hits and moderately wounds Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The sounds of flying durasteel bring the Falleen nobleman back to the present, and a slight flicker of annoyance crosses his features for the briefest of brief moments before being replaced with a flat look on his flawless features as he glances over. Espying the source, Raziel's head cants three degrees to the left as he watches, pausing his light steps and shifting his weight from one hip to another, his right foot to his left. Fingers meet behind his back and twine together as the vaguest look of interest slides its slick way onto his face.
Not doing what any quite sane, life-fearing sentient would do, and -leaving-. . . Raziel does not quite approach, either, making sure to stay some ways down the cold, dank tunnel.
Obi-Wan grits his teeth and raises his hand. The debris flies and collides with his chest. It sends him onto his back, sprawled backward.
He lands with a thud and remains on the ground for several seconds. Like vapor rising during the morning mist, however, he gets back to his feet.
Another piece of debris is lifted and thrust at the opposing figure.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi hurls a durasteel chunk toward Shade!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade does not move, but Obi-Wan Kenobi's flying debris misses him and falls to the ground.
The dark shape gestures, and the chunk that speeds toward it reverses course, shedding chunks of metallic debris as it drives back toward Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Fiero's been probably getting some debris hits from all of this, as he shuffles first towards Shade, then back, his feet shuffle erratically at times, going one direction and turning around for another.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade hurls a durasteel chunk toward Obi-Wan Kenobi!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi does not move, but Shade's flying debris misses him and falls to the ground.
JUDGE: An unfortunate occurrence seriously wounds Fiero. Reason: 'Scene'.
Kenobi forms his hand into a claw, muscles straining, while he matches the shade's attack with a counter of his own. Gasping for breath, he lets it fall.
"I cannot hold him off forever, Fiero! Even the day is subject to the sun's whims." He closes his eyes and raises another piece of debris, letting it flip end over end toward shadow.
Fiero takes a blunt hit from the flying debris, and is knocked to the ground. Black blood leaks from his wounds, and Boethius' lightsaber rolls towards Kenobi. "Go..."
Fiero gives his Master Boethius' Lightsaber to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi hurls a durasteel chunk toward Shade!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade does not move, but Obi-Wan Kenobi's flying debris misses him and falls to the ground.
As Fiero falls, the dark shape looms over him. Durasteel hurtles toward the figure, crashing into the wall beside it. It leans over the fallen one, smiling hideously, its warped face sneering as it lifts its smile to regard Obi-Wan Kenobi with a monstrous smirk. The clawed hand reaches out for Fiero ...
Kenobi watches the shadow while it looms over Fiero.
"No!" he declares. Igniting the saber that is thrown to him, Kenobi charges the fallen Padawan, igniting the blade, and leaps!
A swift strike descends toward Fiero and the claw the gropes for him.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi ignites his purple lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi swings his purple lightsaber at Fiero's head!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero ignites his green lightsaber and tries to parry!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi's purple lightsaber meets Fiero's green lightsaber with a crackling hiss. The fighters struggle for the upper hand ... 
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero's green lightsaber is struck from his hand and deactivated.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Fiero hatefully calls upon the Dark Side of the Force.
A murmured bit of Falleen sibilance, and the young nobleman's head is craning out a touch more now. Interest is quite clearly writ on Raziel's features, for once, emotion breaking through at the subject matter as he leans up and around a pipe outcrop. "Ssthra ssa nrssa!" Quiet voice, over here.
As Fiero's lightsaber spins end over end away, struck from Kenobi's grasp, the dark figure, standing a scant two meters away, reaches out a claw and catches it. "You have done well, Jedi," the burnt creature sneers. Its other, empty claw extends toward Obi-Wan Kenobi--and a single bolt of purple lightning instantly connects the Jedi and the robed, burnt, bent creature, filling the air with the hiss of electricity.
Shade picks up a Fiero's Lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade launches bolts of energy at Obi-Wan Kenobi!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi absorbs Shade's lightning.
 
Kenobi is struck by the bolts of electricity. They illuminate his body, making his metal breastplate shimmer with red heat.
However, he does not pause.
The purple lightsaber descends toward Fiero's head once more, the Jedi ignoring bolts of energy that flash and arch across his body. Intent, deadly, he persists.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi swings his purple lightsaber at Fiero's head!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Fiero blocks Obi-Wan Kenobi with his bare hands -- and Obi-Wan Kenobi's purple lightsaber vaporizes his arm.
The being, whatever it is, that is not Fiero anymore, raises his arm, and it watches, impassively, as its limb is cut off. Black liquid oozes from the resulting wound, ever aching, ever painful. ...
An arm is cut off, black blood flying and spurting and splattering the walls nearby. Ichor drips. Raziel continues to watch quietly, face having become impassive once more, slowly, over the course of his viewing. The only interest left is in his red and green flecked yellow eyes, still lit up as they watch the scene.
"You continue to improve him," sneers the hideous voice. "Every strike makes him more perfect. Cut off his leg next."
The robed figure steps forward once more, burnt, clawlike, twisted hands coming up again. No single probing tongue of lightning bridges the divide now; no, now the air is filled with searing, hissing energy which crackles and roars and burns. Stray sparks scar the durasteel walls and floor.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Shade calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade launches bolts of energy at Obi-Wan Kenobi!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Obi-Wan Kenobi calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Shade's lightning crackles over Obi-Wan Kenobi and evaporates him, destroying Obi-Wan Kenobi's Master Boethius' Lightsaber. Obi-Wan Kenobi collapses, critically injured.
The creature crawls, armless, to the door. Leaving behind a trail of black ooze ... which corrodes the very floor.
Kenobi raises his hand up towards the broad, arcing lightning. This time, however, he is overcome.
He drops to his knees, squeezing the lightsaber hilt until it breaks in his hand. Screaming in agony, his clothes burned, he looks up at the figure.
"Damn you," he curses. Rising slowly, he moves to leap off the railway.
The dark figure throws back its wrinkled, burned, cancerous head, laughing mockery, its yellow eyes full of malevolence and pity, the same combination of kindness and malice a philosophical cat might turn on a chick with a broken wing. "Your weakness is your weakness," he repeats in his bubbling, pneumoniac voice, and turns, limping away toward the black doors. "Crawl, you wretch," the shade purrs down at what seems to have been Fiero. "Crawl across the floor. You are a painfully slow learner, my verminous friend. Wriggle."
The creature's movements start slowly, as it heads to the exit, in dragging steps. It hisses, brown eyes reflecting nothing. Nothing, but pain.
As the armless, blackened horror that is Fiero continues to worm its way toward the exit and across the floor -- toward the Falleen -- Raziel finally, finally steps out from behind the pipe to stare down emotionlessly at the slightly recognizable Vanixian. "You look dreadful," he notes quietly, hand on the hilt of the scabbarded crysblade at his side.
Then there's another figure heading toward him, and the young nobleman glances up with the same vague lack of collected calm on his face. It is, however, a touch belied by the splotching of red spots on his skin becoming evident.
Fiero, or what's left of him, follows after Shade, no more than a being borne out of hate and destruction - it is death manifest.
 
Kenobi falls over the railing. He descends into the clouds below, a charred, lifeless figure among the pearls set in a sky of blue.
The shade itself seems somehow more prosaic. As it raises its cowl, some might even mistakenly assume it to be a badly disfigured, burned, chalky-skinned old man who once may have been very handsome.
*** CUT SCENE TO BESPIN DARK TUNNEL ****
The beaten and burnt body of Nashtah Sing lays on the damp cold ground with some trash under her broken body. The bespin shaft she fell down propelled and spit her out in this dark chamber. Has it be an hour, day or week that she layed here? Suddenly, one of her finger twitch and then her eyes suddenly open.
OOC: Aurra “Nashtah” Sing is being retired back to the EU universe..
Category:December 2008 RP Logs