2009-04-11 - Leprus' Opus

Thyferra: Tefa City – Spaceport
The spaceport contrasts dramatically with the rest of the planet. Where Thyferra is generally a rural and leisure environment, the setting here is hyper-modern and the pace frenetic. During all hours and seasons, there is a need to ensure that the planet's main export, bacta, makes its way to the rest of the galaxy. A special barrier has been erected around the entire spaceport to muffle the roar of commerce.
Bacta is the primary export of Thyferra and it is evident here. Local and galactic merchants are found here buying, selling and loading bacta. The spaceport stinks of bacta. Most of those doing the laborious work are not Ishi Tib, but beings from off-world. On occasion, an Ishi Tib administrator armed with a data pad is seen.
There is little in the way of creature comforts for the recreational traveler. The Thyferra spaceport is in essence little more than an export processing zone. At regular intervals new starships land in the central hub, but it is rare the terminal is not occupied by a ship involved with the bacta merchant fleet.
 The spaceport is tense today. It's a new sort of tense, made worse by the landing of Republic troops. They gather and congregrate to the south, visible even from here.
A lone figure in the spaceport is Jayce Sand, hood of his robes pulled over his head. He looks a touch restless, really, hands clenching and unclenching as he paces the rounds rather aimlessly.
 Like an ill wind the silhouetted figure returns to Thyferra. Out from behind a handful of fuel canisters it flits with nary a rustle, its drawn hood locked on Jayce Sand; Leprus does not forget, Leprus will not forget those that raise hand against it.
The creature rushes into the open, the hot buzz of a lightsaber flaring from low to high as the weapon is drawn and laced toward the brown-haired man's exposed back.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus ignites his red lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Jayce Sand!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand tries to dodge, but Leprus's red lightsaber strikes and shreds him, destroying Jayce Sand's White And Blue Tunic.
 And lace it does-- shredding his robe into tatters and exposing flesh that's burned, suddenly. Jayce spins with the movement, a loud cry -- pain! -- cut off suddenly as he ducks and manages to bring himself up to a knee. Unsteadily, though a knife appears in his hand.
"You! Put down your weapon and surrender," he calls out, half-naked as he is. "There's no cause for more harm, not here on a peaceful planet."
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand wields his Throwing Vibro-Knife.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand throws his Throwing Vibro-Knife at Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand's thrown Throwing Vibro-Knife hits and seriously wounds Leprus.
 A large vessel takes down on one landing pad, engines steaming and metal cooling down with a clinking sound. The door opens and Bothans step out, guarding the gangplank for a blonde woman. Felicia's green eyes scan the area when she steps into the Thyferran air, attention turning to someone who is with her.
 Jayce Sand is. . . Well, gosh, he's on one knee and half naked, clothing in tatters. A wound is evident on his back, cauterized already, and a look of pain is on his face even as a knife is released from his hand-- BLURRING into the air and toward Leprus in kind.
 Behind Felicia a pace is Anakin, features unreadable save a grim set to his square jaw.
 Leprus's heels skid across the tarmac as he makes his initial pass before fluidly revolving. His weapon spins once while changing hands with an accentuated whirr of red.
FWAT!
A knife buries into the creature's shoulder in a burst of bright red blood. Oddly it neither slows him nor elicits any cry.. something isn't quite right about Leprus!
Low to high once again. The buzzing saber cuts a deadly arc toward Jayce's most reachable asset: his extended hands.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Jayce Sand's arms!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand dodges Leprus's red lightsaber.
 "I'll never get used to the hustle and bustle of public spaceports," Felicia says quietly, strolling down the gangplank. She glances at the youth at her side. "So many people... though it seems as if some commotion is happening over there."
Her dusty-green gaze turns to the fight; a thoughtful hand moves to pat at the bun at the nape of her neck.
 Blurring once more, Jayce ducks down into a tumble, hands withdrawing into the tattered remains of his robes once more to pull another knife out even as he's suddenly feet away from the glowing trail of the deadly weapon.
"Stop. You attack wounded women and unarmed men, but I won't let you leave here without me."
It's a flat statement writ in the pain evident in his voice, even as the next dagger is flung out and toward the Duros. "Lay down your weapon and speak with me."
It's an oddly strong statement for one with a new, black scar up their exposed back.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand wields his Throwing Vibro-Knife.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand throws his Throwing Vibro-Knife at Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus raises his hand and catches Jayce Sand's thrown Throwing Vibro-Knife.
 But where Felicia is thoughtful at the spectacle, Anakin's eyes widen. His green eyes then narrow on the assailed Jayce, and Anakin dashes --the Viceroy all but forgotten-- booming out in a clear voice, "Jayce! Get out of the way!" A steel cylinder snaps into his right hand.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker ignites his blue lightsaber.
 "Mr. Skywalker, be careful. This is the same assassin as bef..."
But Anakin is gone. Felicia sighs. She brushes a prim hand down the cloth of her impeccable skirt and strolls toward the fight.
"Young people nowadays," she muses to herself. "Always in such a hurry to get injured. And whom do they expect to patch them up, after? I just ask!"
 This time the Duros is ready: he reaches out and snatches Jayce Sand's dagger mere inches from planting into whatever lies beneath his cowl. Now, with blade in left hand and saber in right, Leprus streaks forward to finish the man off, yet.. something snags his attention for the quickest of moments and his shrouded features flit toward Skywalker's charge. Something in the creature's stance tells of uncertainty or perhaps even surprise.
Nevertheless, Leprus is still rushing forward like a black breeze. Upon closing the distance between he and the stunned Jayce, he slides beneath the man's right arm, slips the knife against his kidney, and brings his saber about to hover beneath his neck from under a naked right arm. The movement is completed in a breath and Leprus is left peering from behind Jayce's left shoulder.
 
	"Sssssstay back!" it hisses hatefully.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus tries to terrify Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker does not fear Leprus.
 It's a wounded Padawan that finds himself suddenly held hostage by the Duros; Jayce isn't quite up to snuff, with several organs nearly protruding from his posterior, blood dried already onto the tattered remains of his cloak.
He looks toward Anakin, as well, though his look isn't one of forceful dissidence. Instead, he manages to speak, "He doesn't smell so terrible, Anakin, but I can't hold him off here forever by myself. He has two weapons, after all, and if he sprouts another hand or arm I think I may be overcome. . . "
 Still, Anakin stands tall, but his pace does slow when Leprus holds Jayce at saber and knife-point. He stops where he stands, his green eyes now shining like cold emeralds behind a stone face of subdued cold fury. "You aren't getting out of here one way or another," he says, voice icy. "Your options are simple: surrender or be struck down here."
 Felicia stops up at a safe distance from the scene, looking alert and watchful. Her attention shifts between the three; gaze settling finally on Anakin.
 Leprus's weapons draw dangerously closer to the man's vitals, his breath coming hot over his shoulder and dripping with lividity and rage.
"His life is in your hands, boy. This is your decision- apprehend the attacker at the cost of innocencccccccccccce, or stand aside to save it," comes Leprus's voice like a whisper; a whisper venomous and unnaturally audible to those nearby.
"What will it be?!" Anger, fury, hate- all the emotions associated with an almost tangible darkness extend from the shrouded creature like a deadly cloud.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus tries to terrify Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker does not fear Leprus.
 Jayce Sand suddenly smiles, just a touch, looking over at Anakin. It's to his captor that he speaks, though, green eyes sliding to the side. "You hesitate. Who taught you to use a lightsaber, my friend? You should put it down and rethink your path in life. There's much power to be found in helping others and finding balance, though of a different sort. Control over oneself is the ultimate form of power, after all," he adds, almost conversationally, his body shifting just enough to really require some amount of attention--
Though hopefully not so much attention as to need decapitation.
 While the deadly cloud extends, it would appear to be stayed, as a dam might against roaring waters, when they slither to Anakin. In that split second window of opportunity that Jayce moves, the Knight's eyes glitter in decision, and he takes a half-step to the right, and then lunges forward, a tan blur.
To Leprus, it would be the telltale hiss of a lightsaber that indicates a blow aimed directly for his arms. "Duck, Jayce!"
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>ABILITY CHECK:</FONT> Jayce Sand attempts a difficult feat of Force_Speed ... <FONT COLOR=#FF0000>HORRIBLE MONSTROUS BOTCH!</font>
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his blue lightsaber at Jayce Sand!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jayce Sand tries to dodge, but Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber strikes and vaporizes him. Jayce Sand collapses, critically injured.
 ". . . And your grip on the lightsaber is exceedingly poor!"
Jayce calls this out at the last moment, twisting suddenly out of Leprus' grasp and to the left. It's as if he knew Anakin was going to strike, and an almost mockingly confident sort of look strikes his lips followed by stoic intent. A flash of tattered robes and he spins off, off, blurring--
And directly into Anakin's lightsaber. One out of three weapons, that isn't bad, but it still proves too much for the youth. A look of suprise touches his face and his eyes go wide, focusing briefly on the Jedi before he falls, nearly cleft in two at the right hip and into the dirt.
 Shriveled eyes blink in surprise as Anakin wields his lightsaber and strikes. Fear of a different kind emanates from the cloaked creature who nearly looses his hold on Sands. The vibro knife in his left hand clatters uselessly to the ground.
Leprus takes advantage of the momentary confusion as the brown-haired man is cut down to lash downward with his saber at Skywalker's... otherwise involved hands. Meanwhile his feet are already carrying him away from the grisly scene.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker's arms!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker parries Leprus's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
 But the strike goes horribly awry. Instead of the intended target, Anakin's lightsaber cleaves almost effortlessly through Jayce's side -- yet there's no cry of concern or dismay when the green-eyed Padawan crumples. His face is anything but alarmed; even a cold sneer? -- or a frown. The blue blade lifts up high to parry the red, meeting in a booming crackle. "You're not leaving." He whirrs to the side, a horizontal cut that means to completely cleave off the old, fleeing Duros' legs.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his blue lightsaber at Leprus's legs!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus parries Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber with his red lightsaber.
 Felicia's attention remains on the fighters. She winces when Jayce Sand falls and start walking around the remaining two duelists in a wide circle, approaching the fallen youth.
But she still looks at the others, watchful of Anakin's reaction.
 Jayce Sand is on the ground, but alive. There's, truthfully, a touch of a whimper that's cut off after a moment as he tries to crawl to the side, curling up into a ball even moreso. He almost laughs, mouth twitching into a smile as he sees the two still fighting; vision blurs; his face is a visage of pain again.
He may not be dead, but Jayce Sand is surely out of the fight for now, two large and cauterized lacerations in his torso.
 Anakin's strike is cunning and well placed. As lightsaber meets lightsaber and resulting crackle sharply casts both combatants into a red-blue glow, Leprus's flight is stymied, his legs blocked by the downward hack of the sneering lad. Quickly and with ferocious tenacity he redirects his red blade to trap his opponent's into the ground with a shower of sparks.
 
	"I sense great power in you.. a raw, untapped, feral power better unlocked with the tools of passsssssssssion," snarls Leprus as he strains against his weapon. "Until then.. your mistakes will prove ... FATAL!" he shrieks.
The dark-cloaked Duros slides his blade upward along Skywalker's like a striking snake; the attack is general, for Leprus is already retracting into a defensive posture, blade hefted high overhead.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker parries Leprus's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
 Felicia kneels at Jayce's side and takes a tiny, medical instrument out of her pocket. Little discs of pure metal are affixed to the man's throat and wrists. She carefully presses a few dials and injects liquid into his veins.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Felicia uses her First Aid Kit on Jayce Sand ... But Jayce Sand does not stabilize.
 "You think your taunts are of any significance? You all prattle the same tale." Though Anakin does not laugh, his green eyes dance in almost mocking derision. As the red blade travels up the length of his, he abruptly shifts his grip to neatly block the serpentine strike. Then, the Knight is circling, and his eyes are narrow slits, weighing the openings of Leprus' stance.
 In the middle of all this, a shuttle, the regularly scheduled shuttle lands, and a group of passengers come out, looking owl-eyed when the suddenly sight drawn lightsabers.
Among them is a fellow named Maurice Tregaron, a workingman by the looks of him, dressed in the universal uniform of the mid-level tech: jeans and a lab coat.
 Leprus is a coiled rattler, his bright red fang buzzing high overhead. Sidestep, sidestep, sidestep. Thin, shriveled arms are bared as the folds of his sleeves release and black gloves taper. His feet make no noise.
 
	"Ohhhhh ahhhhh, but you enjoy this. It would be a lie to say I cannot sense the fires rising in conflict within you... and I neeeeeeeeeeeever lie, boy." WooooOOOOOOOOnnng WooooOOOOOOnnng WoooooOOOOOOOnnng
The creature spins his blade overhead as he too seeks a crack in the young man's defense. He juts his lightsaber at a downward angle along the crest of his forehead and thrusts at a point somewhere near the base of Skywalker's neck.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker parries Leprus's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
 Felicia looks annoyed and injects Sand again!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Felicia uses her First Aid Kit on Jayce Sand ... But Jayce Sand does not stabilize.
 Jayce Sand is injected more. But twitches, once, and rolls over to this side. Eyes are closed!
 The passengers aren't stupid. Seeing what looks like open combat in the spaceport, even if it's mostly just two combatants, and knowing ... that Thyferra IS still a war zone, they scatter this way and that. Among them is Maurice Tregaron, who heads to ground behind some of the many sources of junk the spaceport supplies.
 The Jedi Knight is ready. When Leprus lunges to pierce his defense, he steps to the side to swipe the seeking lightsaber with a flick of his blade. While the creature might be set off-balance, Anakin executes a brutal upward strike to sever torso from waist. As his lightsaber passes in the split second past his face, his visage is strangely shining in the blue shade.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his blue lightsaber at Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus parries Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber with his red lightsaber.
 Skywalker is quick! But so is the other combatant. Whether for flair or to legitimately save his belly, Leprus spins silkily to his rear, lightsaber hovering as it connects with the young man's. The maneuver is made in the instant they separate and once more red meets blue in a spray of crackling sparks.
Unfortunately for the Duros, he now finds himself in a very bad, very awkward position. With only an instant to react, he stretches his free hand toward nearby debris only to sweep his fingers back toward Skywalker.
Leprus summersaults backward in a blur of red and black and again prepares his defense.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus hurls a pile of cargo crates at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker does not move, but Leprus's flying debris misses him and falls to the ground.
 Maurice Tregaron scuttles back, that pile of cargo crates being half of his chosen hiding place, and takes cover in a tangle of parked speeders.
 The pile of cargo crates whistle towards Anakin, and for Leprus, he is distracted for that split-second. He lifts a hand -- and the flying debris suddenly comes to a stop in mid-air, only to be directed right back for the creature!
He once again advances, lightsaber held out before him at a vertical angle -- a neutral stance. "Who's your master?" he hisses, voice low.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker hurls a fuel container toward Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus hacks through Anakin Skywalker's flying debris with his red lightsaber.
 Tuil comes down the ramp of his ship and sees for a moment in the distance flying debris that emerges briefly from behind a freighter! He heads stealthily in that direction.
 The crate careens toward Leprus, but with a devilish squeal he leaps forward like a torpedo and slashes it in twain with an upward hack. Lightsaber now poised overhead with both hands in mid-descent, the Duros streaks downward, robes fluttering. His weapon cuts a high-to low, arm-severing slash toward Skywalker.
"Master? Master? HAHAHA, I have none! I am Leprus and Leprus neeeeeeeeeeeds no master!" cries Leprus.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker parries Leprus's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
 "You take me for a fool?" Yet, Anakin's undeterred strides, his stony face, his icy tone clearly intends it as a statement. His blade angles approximately forty-five degrees, catching the red lightsaber, and they grind with hisses of protest. He lets his blue lightsaber slide up the length of Leprus -- as to be caught in a deadlock, only to disengage suddenly, wheeling about for a lightning-quick thrust at the creature's breast.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his blue lightsaber at Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus parries Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber with his red lightsaber.
 Maurice Tregaron works his way carefully toward a spot somewhat further from the fight, where hopefully his cover won't be thrown around, or his hiding place get hit by flying debris. Safely ensconced just behind the angle formed by a groundcar and a defense turret, he squints at the scene through the opening, in a pose that would only be complete if he had managed to purchase a bag of popcorn.
 Tuil is covered from sight by a shuttle that lies ahead. The Jedi hears the crackle and hiss of lightsabers interacting and slows. Falling to the ground and looking between landing struts, he sees legs moving back and forth. Tuil rolls under the shuttle and gets a full view of the battle!
 "As a matter of fact, I do, boy, for you are foolish to follow the path you have chosen. Foolish to brush aside the untapped potential that wellsssssssss inside you. Foolish to play at roulette with a Master of the Dark Arts!" snarls Leprus. The Duros is a whirring amalgam of red and black as he shudders backward from the connected lightsabers, only to spin and deflect the blade newly-aimed for his chest.
Following his saber's natural, reflecting arc, Leprus spins again and brings his weapon streaking downward at an angle toward Skywalker's clavicle.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker parries Leprus's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
 "The house always wins. And I am the house. Your destiny will be to fall here." declares Anakin, smiling coldly. To Leprus' whirl of red and black, Anakin is a blur of blue and tan -- his thrust forces him to step back a pace to parry the threatening red blade. But even if he falls into an awkward position, there is no further words from the Jedi Knight, and even boldly, unwisely audacious, he charges forward to aim a vertical strike at the creature's shoulder -- a strike that if gone without contact, will leave Anakin wide open.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his blue lightsaber at Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus parries Anakin Skywalker's blue lightsaber with his red lightsaber.
 Tuil is braced by his arms under the shuttle as he watches and listens. He glances around as Anakin works furiously to subdue his foe. Something meets his eyes and he nods with satisfaction as a hand is aimed at the object. Tuil then pivots his arm at the elbow, pointing his hand from the object to Leprus... And as if by an invisible extension of his hand, the object goes along toward Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Tuil calls upon the Force.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Tuil hurls a junked freighter parts toward Leprus!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus tries to parry with his red lightsaber, but Tuil's flying debris hits and vivisects him, destroying Leprus's Black Silk Fur-Lined Robe. Leprus collapses, critically injured.
 Maurice Tregaron continues to watch the scene from behind the vehicle parked by the turret. Perhaps he's wise enough to know not to involve himself in a sorcerous battle. Perhaps he doesn't know which side he's on. 
Perhaps he's the sort who would, if there were a vendor, buy some popcorn and watch. Be that as it may, he stays out of view.
 Just to add to the commotion one of the regular shuttles that comes back and forth lands in the spaceport. 
 
Its ramp lowers and passengers begin to disembark among them a dark-haired woman in shabby clothing. Wisely Melody chooses to hang back until the spate is over. 
 
 Leprus is again repelled, yet he uses the stronger lad's aggression to bolster his defenses; the incoming attack is a hair awry and the Durosian male pushes Skywalker's blade harmlessly to the side of his head with a lateral thrust of his vertical red blade. Leprus steals himself and, with saber still poised against the other, he prepares to slide it down toward the youth's vulnerable torso.
Just before doing so, however, the creature's senses are too-late tickled by the rumor of an incoming crate headed straight for his head. He retracts his blade in an ill-fated attempt to cut through the object, but Leprus is too late. The sickening sound of a metal edge striking a skull resonates along the tarmac as the creature unceremoniously slides, rolls, is tossed backward in a spray-arc of blood.
For a moment there is only a hint that Leprus lives by the shallow rise and fall of his abdomen. Dark, strangled laughter trickles from its throat, however and it slowly rises as if lifted by the neck by an unseen hand. His head lolls uselessly to one side, then rights itself eerily. Its lightsaber reignites.
"Now... now do you sssssssense it, my pet? The POWER of the Dark Side! HAHAHAHA!" cries Leprus, his weapon spinning from hand to hand as though his grievous wound was but a momentary scratch.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus can no longer feel his wounds!
He embraces the Dark Side of the Force without thought of the future!
 "Stay back," Anakin growls. Whether to the unseen helper, or the strangely resilient Duros, is anyone's guess. "Your power doesn't outweigh mine, foul spawn." He takes a half-step back, resetting his lightsaber in front of him at a slight angle, so as to minimize exposure. His narrowed eyes warily weigh Leprus.
 Tuil watches the Duros crumple and then rise again! He watches the head loll to one side and then straighten along with the red lightsaber. He feels the disturbance in the Force, his mouth forming a thin line as he watches and waits... waits...
 Certainly not something that is seen everyday. 
 
Gasps and murmurs rise from the disembarking shuttle passengers, and suddenly the usual push to be first off the vehicle becomes a push to be first back on it, though a few remain in the relative safety of the ramp and doorway. Melody among them, a small hand raising to cover her lips which part in shocked regard. 
 
 Maurice Tregaron is still watching. But he's also noting how the spaceport officials are equally frozen into inaction, and at the dangers accumulating ... a fuel tank leaking fuel, junk crumpling a speeder, a disorder that's not yet led to a stampede of people out of harm's way, but that could happen. It's really not that far from a panic out there.
 Leprus's blade spins; left hand, right hand, spin-spin-spin. He takes a step toward Skywalker, then another and another until he is near-gliding across the pavement. The circle of onlookers meanwhile grows until a wide, irregular swath has been cut for the combatants.
 
	"You must learn, boy, that power is not weighed by strength of hand, but by cunning and duplicity- one's mind," he grins slyly, black, crusted blood smearing lines down the left side of his face, "one's mind is the source. Feeeeeeeeeeeel it. Emotion is the key; desire, a lust for power. HAHA!"
Perhaps the discourse is but a distraction, perhaps not. At any rate Leprus leaps forward in a downward hacking feint only to retract and thrust violently toward Anakin's gut.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus swings his red lightsaber at Anakin Skywalker!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker tries to parry with his blue lightsaber, but Leprus's red lightsaber hits and shreds him, destroying Anakin Skywalker's Tan Robe.
Thyferra: Tefa City – Spaceport 
The spaceport contrasts dramatically with the rest of the planet. Where Thyferra is generally a rural and leisure environment, the setting here is hyper-modern and the pace frenetic. During all hours and seasons, there is a need to ensure that the planet's main export, bacta, makes its way to the rest of the galaxy. A special barrier has been erected around the entire spaceport to muffle the roar of commerce.
Bacta is the primary export of Thyferra and it is evident here. Local and galactic merchants are found here buying, selling and loading bacta. The spaceport stinks of bacta. Most of those doing the laborious work are not Ishi Tib, but beings from off-world. On occasion, an Ishi Tib administrator armed with a data pad is seen.
There is little in the way of creature comforts for the recreational traveler. The Thyferra spaceport is in essence little more than an export processing zone. At regular intervals new starships land in the central hub, but it is rare the terminal is not occupied by a ship involved with the bacta merchant fleet.
 Silly shuttle passengers, and unfortunately, that means stumbling into this. And so it happens that Lysette stumbles in to see some sort of battle going on as well. She suddenly pauses, blinking, and starts to look on towards the scene.
 Maurice Tregaron frowns as he watches the scene. Lot of people at risk out there, what with pieces of the spaceport being tossed around.
 Jayce Sand is still, alas, on the ground nearby the feet of the two combatants. If there are more, alas, he may not be aware; the Tatooinian youth's mouth is in a grimace of pain, set still, green eyes watching.
He's nearly nude, clad only in tattered remains of his robes, and two neat clefts can be seen in his torso.
 Despite the apparent...action, going on in the midst of the spaceport, the public shuttles continue to run. Vanissa slips out after Lysette, keeping close to the other woman as the gray eyes sweep over what's going on.
 There's no words of retort from Anakin, only a sharp, strangled gasp when the thrust pierces through tan cloth and deep into his gut. But his eyes do not widen. They remain narrowed, and he manages to rasp through gritted teeth: "You have nothing to teach me." 
Through obvious pain and agony, and spurred by bubbling rage or puzzling audacity, he lunges forward -- further impaling himself -- at the cost of grabbing Leprus' lightsaber hilt. With his other arm, it drives savagely down at the creature's elbow to loosen his grip and disarm him.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker lashes out at Leprus's arms with his fists!
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus tries to dodge, but Anakin Skywalker hits and moderately wounds his arm.
 The C-Word comes in hot, sweeping over the battlefield and looking for a place to land. At the helm, garishly-dressed Elvis Russel squints at the ongoing battle with deep interest writ large across his hawk-like features. "Flexxxtro, looks like we're gonna have a hard time findin' a berth..." he mutters to his companion. "Then again, looks like that Sith found a berth in that Jedi's gut easy enough."
 Gand trundles on out of it's space-craft, flanked by a swarm of mean-looking thugs armed with funny looking blasters. Noting the violence, the gand rasps, "At the ready!" and draws it's own weapon.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Gand wields his Experimental SAVRA Flechette Pistol.
 Feist follows Gand's lead.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Feist wields his BlasTech AD2 Custom Blaster Pistol.
 "Holy shit, that's Anakin Skywalker," Flexxxtro blurts out, face pressed against the viewport of The C-Word luxury space yacht. "Elvis, get this ship on THE GROUND right now, son!" He barks at the ship's captain. Pulling out a videocamera, he stands up and runs towards the landing ramp. "C'mon, robos, let's get his shit on tape. The Holonet is gonna BLOW UP."
His gang, the Crazy OG-88s, turn and follow, space uzis in tow.
 Tuil frowns as Skywalker is slashed and his garments rent asunder by the red lightsaber. Rolling out from under the shuttle, he looks from the Duros to Anakin, urgent questioning written upon his face as a hand strays to his belt inside his robe.
 ... And when Anakin is impaled, his hand loosens on the grasp of his steel cylinder hilt, and it clatters to the floor, deactivated.
Anakin Skywalker puts down an Anakin Skywalker's Lightsaber.
 Melody continues to watch the passing of blows from her place among the shuttle crowds. Her dark gaze slips to regard first the inert body on the floor with widened eyes before she studies the duelling pair...and then the third figure to enter the arena. 
 
 The C-Word's captain grumbles, but manages to find an undamaged bit of spaceport upon which to set down the Horizon Star Yacht. "If this baby's paint gets scratched, /you're/ payin' for the repairs!" he shouts after the departing Flexxxtro. "I /just/ bought her!" Still grumbling, he pulls what is probably an illegal weapon out of a gun rack and rushes out to crouch on the cargo hatch.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Elvis Russel wields his Twi'lek Murder Rifle.
 Despite his cowl, Leprus, by his body language, appears stunned: here is a lad thrust upon by a lightsaber further impaling himself to disarm his opponent.
	"Impreeeeessive. Most impressive," coos the Duros. He spins, takes a few steps back within the maneuver, and stretches a hand toward the deactivated lightsaber upon the ground. He calls upon the Force and snaps it into his grasping claws.
Blue light coldly glitters upon Leprus's blood-streaked skin. His posture is defensive but he moves slowly toward Skywalker to finish him...
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus ignites his blue lightsaber.
 A SA-2100a come into for a landing in the spaceport, a little distance fromt he fight, and as the pilot brings in the ship, he loosk at the scanners, "Great," he says to himself as he looks on and lands his craft. "Why do I always arrive at fights like this," he adds as he stands up. "I swear the FOrce is telling me omething," he mutters as he looks and thinks grabbing the five guards he has, just in case they are needed. After he lands, he heads and gets his guards and they all exit the ship, but they stand near the boarding ramp.
Additionally the guards are not the normal guards but five IG series guards and they all stand around Richard Tan as the battle goes on.
 Jax'un steps off the shuttle into the crowd. "What the." the battle raging on a bit away. The captain looks to the two he traveled with possibly remembering words he heard he reaches to his back pulling a gun into hand.
 Lysette looks almost horrified at what happens, though only for a moment. "I've... only seen that happen a few times." She says towards Vanissa. "Erm... so much for this." And just to be safe, with weapons out... well, she hikes her skirt and draws a wickedly curved Jaymbai Dagger from it in a blade below the fist grip.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Lysette wields her Jaymbai Dagger.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Jax'un wields his Krisnan Flechette Gun.
 Gand gestures with it's claws, and the human troops with the strange looking blasters fan out on the spaceport, boots thudding on the plasticrete as they spread out. They don't fire just yet, but they certainly look serious.
 Elvis Russel says, "Well I'll be damned, that /is/ Anakin Skywalker." He raises his amazingly-named MURDER RIFLE and takes aim.., but can't seem to decide whose side he should be on. As a future Senator, these decisions can be agonizing. "This is gettin' serious," he mutters, watching the exchange of weapons. "Real serious."
 Flexxxtro Brown storms down the ramp of the star yacht, fur coat flying behind him. "Damn, I missed the good part!" He snaps, lifting up his videocamera and recording what he can of the wind-down of the Force-wielders' battle.
"Sith, Jedi," he mutters for the camera's sake. "I don't believe in that shit. Man's good with a laser sword, so what? If I had a laser sword, I'd be killin' tons of people, too." His IG-88 droid entourage sprint with mechanical whirrs to keep up.
 Maurice Tregaron frowns when he sees the Gand and troops spreading out. But for now he simply maintains his position. He scans the area, his eyes narrowing when he sees some of the figures milling in the crowd. But for now ... he watches.
 Either Anakin doesn't feel the excruciating pain, or he makes no indication of it, because he wrenches the red lightsaber --still impaled--from his gut. His green eyes are burning. "Die," he sneers, breaking forward in a head-on charge to decapitate Leprus' head, even while the old creature slowly advances.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker ignites his red lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker swings his red lightsaber at Leprus's head!
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Leprus moves with enhanced speed.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Leprus parries Anakin Skywalker's red lightsaber with his blue lightsaber.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>FORCE:</FONT> Anakin Skywalker angryly calls upon the Dark Side of the Force.
 Melody moves silently through the the throng until she is behind the one named Jax'un and tiptoes to whisper over his shoulder. 
 
"Watch out for the girls..." she notes a finger rising to point towards Vanissa and Lysette, "This could get ugly real quick." 
 "People gotta be causin' trouble everywhere..." Vanissa mutters. A hand falls to the holster at her hip, pulling free the blaster. The weapon is pointed downward, kept in the folds of her coat. At the chiming of her comlink, she reaches for it with the other hand, snapping it open. She speaks a few words into it, before slipping it back into her pocket, moving her stance to cover Lysette's other side.
<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00>COMBAT:</FONT> Vanissa wields her Masterwork BlasTech DL-42 Blaster Pistol.
 <FONT COLOR=#FBB917>COMSYS:</FONT> (single channel) Vanissa says, "Gotcha, we'll be careful."
 <FONT COLOR=#FBB917>COMSYS:</FONT> (all channels) Richard Tan says, "This is Richard Tan, does anyone need assistance at this fight? 
 Feist stands about next to Gand.
 Maurice Tregaron has slipped out of his position for a while, moving south carefully under cover, though why isn't clear. But he makes his way back to his original position pretty much unnoticed and goes back to watching.
Though for now, it's that Gand he's putting most of his attention on.
 A predatory shadow conceals itself behind a bacta pump near the perimeter barrier of the spaceport, watching the flash of lightsabers with shadowed eyes.
 As the man yanks free the lightsaber in one of the more gruesome maneuvers this side of the galaxy has yet seen, Leprus raises his blade to deflect the brunt of Skywalker's attack. The powerful youth's stroke is well-aimed and heavy-handed, however, and the Duros is forced to make an ungainly side-step to avoid being severed by the follow-through.
WwwwwwwOOOooooooowwwW rWwwwwwwOOOooooooowwwW rWwwwwwwOOOooooooowwwW
Leprus spins his blade one, twice, a third time in his right hand, makes to attack, but pauses at the last moment. Something in the lad's eyes captivates his attention; the flicker of anger on Skywalker's sweaty face or the menace in his voice, perhaps.
The cloaked creature takes an uncharacteristic step back. Then another. After executing a most elegant bow with blue lightsaber angled to one side, he straightens, salutes Anakin with his own blade, and ... disappears. His robes, gloves and hood sag bodiless to the ground in an empty pile. Leprus vanishes.
 Tuil hangs back, his body poised for instant action as his right hand is around his lightsaber though it is still at his waist. The Jedi Master's expression is one of great calm, unnatural calm, especially in the face of such circumstances. It flows across him as if imposed by a great force of will.
 Richard Tan is standing near his ship, the SA-2100a Silverback and there are five IG series droids around him, guarding him as he watches the two sabers go at it. "I swear the Force does this to me to be mean," he mutters as he spots Gand and his troops and waves to the Gand as the two dual it out as the guy in black disappears. "I hope it is over," he comments.
 Elvis Russel is just about to make an attack-- against whom, the galaxy may never know-- when the Sith vanishes. A few moments pass in silence. Then a few more moments pass. Elvis licks his lips, opens his mouth, closes it again. He lowers the rifle, slinging it back across his back. A free hand reaches up to scratch at the back of his head.
 
	Finally, the long-awaited words come. "What in the /hell/ was that."
 Flexxxtro Brown squats behind some crates with his camera. "DAMN, that alien just /vanished/!"
 Jayce Sand is still by Anakin's feet, and the crumpling robes nearly land atop his eviscerated body. Jayce flutters his eyes open a moment, twitching and then gasping in agony, rolling to his side to crouch into a ball.
 Lysette joins the blinking crowd as Leprus vanishes. "What the heck?" She says, and looks to Vanissa. Though then she starts to look around the crowd again, just in case more craziness is going to erupt.
[Game System:] Angelus Caeli slips out of hiding.
 Marbo exits seeing the lightsabers flashing back and forth on final approach. The hutt comes down flanked by security personnel. He takes a closer look and sees the Duros and then looks to see Anakin. He watches as the knight moves in powerfully, but then sees Leprus retreat and practically vanish. He looks about carefully and motions for the others to be careful.
<FONT COLOR=#33CC00>ESCAPE:</FONT> Leprus manages an interstellar +escape from Thyferra: Tefa City
Category:April 2009 RP Logs