Star Wars: Aftermath

Aftermath

Following the discovery that Chancellor Palpatine was in fact a Dark Lord of the Sith, a group of Jedi led by Mace Windu confronted Darth Sidious and were defeated by the Master and his new Apprentice Anakin Skywalker, renamed Darth Vader. Darth Sidious then issued Order 66: a standing order for all clone troopers to turn their weapons on their Jedi commanders and kill them. Meanwhile, Darth Vader attacked the Jedi Temple on Courescant with a battalion of clone troopers.

After battling the Sith Apprentice, Jedi Knight Valuri Sa'rea feigned his death and later escaped the temple with his new Padawan, Terri Hria, to the planet Aldaraan. On the distant world of Felucia, Jedi Knight Sephara Na escaped the clutches of her clone troopers with a group of five young Padawans, now orphaned from their masters, after witnessing the deaths of Jedi Masters Aayla Secura and Barriss Offee. The group was intercepted by agents of Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and led to the seantor's home world to rendezvous with Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the recently arrived Valuri.

After deliberating, the de facto council decided to take the unassigned padawans to Yavin IV, where Master Obi-Wan and Yoda would help them deal with their loss while Sephara, Valuri, and his padawan Terri prepared to depart for the Jedi Enclave on Telos IV in hopes of finding more survivors of Darth Sidious' devastating suprise attack...

OOC: Geco, if you want to change your character's name, I'll edit the above post accordingly

IC:
Valuri always admired the architecture of Aldaraan. It felt soothing and secure, despite the system's general lack of military. The Knight escorted his padawan to a guest room. She didn't have the oppertunity to get much sleep the night before. Recently promoted to Padawan and then the attack on the Temple... Valuri was amazed she managed to stay alive. He followed her in to the room and sat on a lofty chair while she dove face-first onto the bed. Smiling to himself, Valuri crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.

"Terri," he said. His padawan rolled over and sat up to give her master her attention, "Tell me what happened back at the temple. How did you survive?" The questions might cause her some distress, but if the experience was as tramatic as he thought, she needed to deal with it soon, or else it may affect her mentally. The last thing the Jedi needed were padawans who had trouble understanding the Jedi Code.

"I don't really know myself, Master," she replied, absently stroking one of her lekku. "I was sleeping for only about an hour when I heard the fighting. The other younglings that shared my room didn't hear the footsteps and stayed asleep. I didn't know the temple was under attack until the clones started firing on the rooms next to ours." She grew quiet, her eyes narrowing, "I sealed our door, but they hacked the console. The others hadn't made their lightsabers yet..." She trailed off; the following events clearly painted on her face. Her hand went from her lekku to her bandaged waist. "I ran to the trial grounds to hide. I knew much of that area was sealed and needed the Force to enter. It took them a while to blast through the first few rooms, but eventually they made it to me." Her face brightened, "Then you came. I thought you had been killed with the rest."

Valuri leaned foreward and pressed his hands together, "You survived because the Force guided you to safety, just as it guided me to you. You acted on your feelings, just as you did over Courescant. That trust in the Force is what will lead us through this crisis. Loss and death are a part of every living being's life. All things that die are reborn in the Force, just as the Code says. Even the Sith recognize this truth as the Jedi do."

"If the Sith know this, Master, then why would they kill so many?"

"The Sith believe strength is power. Anger and hate fuel their strength and give them more power, but at a very high cost. They would do anything for more power, even slaughter innocents and Jedi younglings. Without the Jedi, there are no forces to oppose the Sith. That is the ultimate power for them."

"But it failed," she declared, clenching her fist, "and the Jedi will bring them to justice."

"In due time, my padawan. For now, get some sleep. We'll leave for Telos in the morning, and I'll need you fully rested."

Valuri left his padawan to her rest and made for the hangar, as instructed by Obi-Wan. They were lucky one as wise as he survived. Hopefully, other Masters of the Council sensed their danger and were able to escape. The search for them would begin soon enough, but first, the enclave on Telos had to be assessed. Before the Jedi moved to Courescant, Telos was the Jedi headquarters, and a secondary council was kept there for contengencies such as this. The enclave wouldn't remain secret forever, though. It was only a matter of time before the Empire broke the encryption on the Jedi archives and discovered the small planet's secret.

OOC: Just reserving a spot.

want to arrive in Telos IV in a single-person ship with my char. a brief exchange between him and obi/yoda/valuri before you leave the planet.

OOC: I went to bad last night playing out the perfect scene for this post, and told myself I'd remember it. I did not. Now I have to scrap together what I do remember *sigh*

IC:
The hangar in the royal palace on Alderaan was a modest construct. It housed a couple cruiser-class ships and a number of small, lightly armed, transports and freighters in addition to the clone transport and ARC-170. Scanning the hangar, he spotted Obi-Wan preparing one of the smaller transports for his own journey. Approaching the Jedi Master, Valuri bowed his head lightly in respect. Obi-Wan had been through much more than most other Jedi during the war. Training and mentoring Anakin only to have him turn to the dark side must have caused great deal of mixed emotions in him, though Valuri could sense none of them as he spoke.

"Master Kenobi," he said as he helped him lift a crate onto a hovor cart, "you asked to see me?"

"Yes, Valuri. Please, follow me." Obi-Wan led him into the transport's cargo hold and continued, "It's not yet been confirmed that Telos is entirely secure. Any Jedi with access to the archives and a Great Holocron could have learned of it. This war saw many of the Order fall to the Dark Side, and not so many redeemed. Many of those Dark Jedi are still out there doing the Emperor's bidding." Obi-Wan paused briefly, combing his beard in thought, "Telos houses many Jedi and Sith artifacts. It's been around for thousands of years - since before the Mandalorian Wars - and contact with the base hasn't been established. I hope it's merely a breakdown caused by the chaos of the war and Palptine's announcement, but be on your guard."

Valuri nodded. Obi-Wan would not have mentioned this if there weren't a possiblity that Telos had been compromised, "I will, Master, thank you. I'll make contact from Telos once we arrive."

----------------------

Thirty-six hours later, Valuri and his padawan Terri dropped out of hyperspace in the transport given to them by Bail Organa. In the distance, though it still dominated the view from the windows, Telos hung in space. The solar panels covering much of the atmosphere over populated areas gave it an odd mechanical look, as if the planet itself was part machine. Those metropolises were not their destination, however. Valuri needed his arrival to remain secret, and that mean avoiding spaceports and other civilized areas. Thankfully, the academy on the planet was located in the harsh polar region. Luckily, his transport had been programmed with the coordinates of the entrance.

"Do you think the Jedi here are okay, master?" Terri asked from the copilot's seat next to him.

"It's not that they were here, Terri, but that they might return. The war brought out almost every Jedi capable of fighting or diplomacy. Even the Masters on the council served as generals. Other Jedi were given solo assignments. With the return code dismantled to warn Jedi away, they'll attempt to find safe places to go into hiding until called upon. If we don't find anyone here, then we'll leave a coded message for them."

Terri nodded, understanding the mission, and turned back to the readouts in front of her. It wasn't long before her young mind formed another question. "What about these artifacts? I know there's the holocron back on Courescant, but isn't the information on these just copied over there?"

"No. The Sith made holocrons of their own which describe the teachings of the Sith and how to become stronger with the Dark Side. This information would never be part of the Jedi holocrons on Courescant, but must be kept from the Sith. There are secrets from thousands of years ago that have remained hidden for good reason. There was a time when the Sith ruled an empire that split the galaxy in half, and employed as many dark side users as there were Jedi. They were troubling times of constant war."

"I remember the lessons from history taught at the temple. The Jedi Civil War. Could something like that really happen again?"

"My padawan, it already has."

The transport crossed into the planet's atmosphere; the heat from the friction causing a red hot wake from the ship. As their descent slowed to atmosphereic speeds, the heat dissipated. A short trip through cloud cover over the planet's surface revealed the area was under a light snow storm. Valuri and Terri took turns piloting the ship while the other changed into their arctic clothes. By the time both were ready, the silhouette of the retrofitted irrigation system that now housed the academy came into view. If there was a landing platform, it was obscured by the storm's increasing intensity, so Valuri landed the craft just outside the main entrance. There was no one to greet their arrival, and the doors were sealed tightly. Terri brefly wrestled her lekku around her neck before pulling up her hood and mask. Valuri released the airlock and the sealed hatch whooshed open as a ramp extended.

The pair was immediately blasted with frigid air and snowflakes. They plowed through the fresh snow quickly to the door where Valuri stopped over a console. The academy door was password protected, but Yoda had provided him with the codes. A few seconds later, the door slid open and the two eagerly left the cold behind.

Inside, however, the scene wasn't quite welcoming. The long, downward sloping hallway was sparsely lit and there were no sign anyone had been there in a while. Valuri had a bad feeling about the place. Even with the war, there would still be a handful of Jedi to oversee the artifacts, and corrdinate with the Council. He unhooked the lighsaber from his belt and proceeded cautiously down the hallway. Terri, sensing her master's caution, and feeling it herself did likewise.

"We need to split up here," Valuri said as they approached a branch in the hall. He didn't like leaving her alone, but didn't have much choice. They needed to move quickly in case someone noticed them enter the atmosphere. "Use your wrist communicator if you find something." Terri nodded and headed down the right hand branch while Valuri continued down the opposite passage.

Beep! Beep! ... Beep! Beep!

Eyelids opened, but not to eyes. Nothingness all around, and yet the Force supplied what was required. A man's gloved hand stroked back the hood of his Jedi robe, revealing his shortly cut and pushed forward black hair to the world. Mentally, the man shivered. From Tatooine to the poles of Telos... A transition I hope I don't regret. The small cockpit of the Eta-2 Actis starfighter held few secrets but perhaps one simple modification. With a touch of a button, the beeping ended. Coming out of hyperspace, the ship detached from the hyperspace ring and floated ahead of it. With another button, a small compartment opened, revealing two eyes. Two green eyes, in fact. "Alright, Rand," the man told himself. "They got the temple on Coruscant... Did they know enough of this one to get it, too?" Slipping in the fake eyes, the ships controls seemed to move on their own, but controlled. Blinking a few times at the strange feeling of something inhabiting his eye sockets, his hands went again to the ship's controls.

A few minutes ahead of him he "saw" a strange thin line for a moment, it then disappeared. "Another Jedi, or another enemy?" He questioned, looking to his astromech R2S4. A few incoherent beeps later, Rand smiled. "I'm glad one of us can find humor in the moment. I'm going to put her down and take a look. Do you have any codes I need to know?" Again, the droid beeped for a few seconds and Rand nodded in reply. "Thanks, again. Stay with the ship S4. I mean it. I'll come get you if you its safe or I need you to reboot any systems. That ARC-170 could have a clone or something else in the pilot seat. At least it's no Sith Fighter. I don't feel like fighting something like that today, if I can help it. You know what I mean?"

Again, S4 beeped, this time a little more melancholy in tone. "Yeah... We've had enough of that for now, haven't we?" Rand replied.

-----------

Colder than he would like, the surface of Telos IV whipped his robe about like a flag. Attempting to pull it closer brought some warmth, but he wondered how long S4 would last before being buried on the wing. Looking at the ARC-170, Rand had the feeling that he had come into contact with this particular one before. Walking up to the open door, he felt two presences beyond, just out of range for his Force Sight to catch. That didn't mean there weren't more people inside. Something wasn't exactly right though, as it seemed dark and uneasy within. Walking cautiously down the sloped walkway, Rand kept a focus on things around him as well as his sabers, hanging at either side. Coming to a fork, he lowered his head in brief thought. He would follow the stronger of the two ephemeral presences he had felt when he entered. Walking with a pace he had grown accustomed to in watching from shadows and listening from above, he encapsulated himself in the Force, veiling him from those with normal sight alone.

Soon, he could see the aura of a man. Indeed, there was no fault found in him. He was a Jedi.

"Jedi," Rand said in a normal volume. "Would you welcome a third to your expedition?" Uncovering himself from the man, he seemed to know him, but perhaps only in passing at some point during the war or in a briefing. Most of Rand's own experience was as an advance scout or searching down acolytes of Dooku. Even searching for those within the Jedi Order that might feel sympathetic to the Seperatists or Dooku. A task that had, at times, been ethically and morally taxing. If you cannot trust your Jedi brothers... who can you trust?

Ardana wasn't sure how long she had wandered out in the cold. Maybe it had only been half an hour, but it felt like a life time. Her shuttle had barely made it to Telos and she had landed too far away from the Academy than she had wished. It had not been a walk of pleasure through the ice-cold weather, but hope had kept her going. Hope of finding someone still alive. When she finally made it to the main entrance she saw that at least someone had made it here.

It was not a welcoming sight that met her when she finally entered, even so she was thankful to finally be inside. Shaking the snow off her shoulders and freeing her lekku before taking out her saber. It was silent and empty when she made it down the hallway, and all she could do was to hope that the owners of the ships were still here. And that they were the kind of people you'd want to run into at a place like this. As the hall finally split up she took a right. It didn't take long until she knew that she was not alone. Quickening her pace a bit she turned another corner and saw the back of a young Twi'lek.

"Psst," she sounded, not too loud to scare but loud enough to make her presence known. As the young Twi'lek turned around she moved her own lekku. "Are you here alone?"


OOC: short, but should get me started... now I may do tons of mistakes, but you'll just have to correct me if I do :)

Valuri proceeded through the academy with a degree of caution. He hadn't expected it to be abandoned. The underground base had been a Jedi stronghold for thousands of years since Master Atris founded it. It had seen many leaders since then, but Valuri didn't know who was directly in charge of it now. It may even be that it was left intentionally vacant; it was afterall well sealed from the outside, and likely drew its power from the polar irrigation system not far from it. Master Atris was very secretive in her construction of the academy. Still, Yoda and Obi-Wan would have mentioned it if there was no one assigned to tend to the facility.

Eventually, Valuri found himself in a main hall with a straight corridor leading out to a catwalk that connected the main hall to a circular room suspended on a earthen platform. The distant room was dark, but it became apparant that the entire academy was built in what seemed to be a giant underground cave. Before Valuri could continue, however, he felt a presence behind him. He turned, lightsaber in hand, to face... nothing. He felt the disturbance in the Force, but there was nothing there visually. As he moved to activate his saber, the form of a human man seemed to appear out of thin air. Valuri recognized the technique to cloak oneself using the Force, but had never seen it done. The man revealed himself in plain sight with his hands unarmed, but Valuri didn't quite lower his guard.

"Jedi, would you welcome a third to your expedition?" Valuri moved closer, but not within saber reach. He didn't know the man, and Dooku had many fallen Jedi under his command. And he knew about Terri.

"Who are you? How long have you been following me?"

-----------

Terri was beginning to dislike the more tedious side of being a Jedi. She paid attention to where she was going, but with most of the temple shrouded in sparse lighting, her mood was quickly becoming as gloomy as the academy itself.

"Be a Jedi they said," she complained to herself, "Travel the galaxy, they said. Search boring - and apparantly vacant - old ruins full of empty rooms and dust, they should have said." Terri sulked but knew she should feel lucky. After all, if things had played out slightly differently, she would be among the bodies of the mass Jedi graves. She shuddered at the thought, but resisted the urge to think about the friends she lost. She had been taught that attachment was forbidden, but the rule itself was superficial. Every Jedi was somehow attached to everyone else. If they weren't, then they wouldn't care, and without care they couldn't have the compassion needed to be a Jedi. Terri knew that dwelling on the loss of her friends would make her sad, and eventually angry. Anger seemed to be a lifeblood of the Sith. She already saw first hand what they called a good day, and wanted no part of any order that threw away and ended lives so recklessly.

"Psst." The sudden unexpected sound caued Terri to jump slightly, and whip around quickly. The snap-hiss of her lightsaber igniting lit the hallway with its yellow glow as she held the energy blade in front of her body, angled slightly away from her chest in the typical Soresu opening stance. "Are you alone?" the other Twi'lek asked.

She stood in silence for a moment. Valuri had warned her to be cautious, even of those who appeared to be allies. The Sith were masters of deception, and the lightsaber in the other woman's hand hadn't escaped Terri's notice. "No," she said confidently, "Master Sa'rea is here with me." He wasn't technically a Jedi Master, but he was Terri's master. Besides, there was nothing in the Code that forbid half-truths. "Who are you?" Terri countered with her own question.

OOC: Sucks... I lost my post to the internet heathen gods again... It's not the best doppleganger, but it'll have to do.

IC:

"Who are you? How long have you been following me?"

Rand grinned. The man had stepped forward with lightsaber at the ready, but didn't ignite it. Rand expected nothing less from a man who moderated his emotions like a Jedi. "My name is Randaar Dalak. I have been following you for about three minutes, since I felt you two split at the fork. I saw you enter the atmosphere just ahead of me." Crossing his arms, Randaar's robes swished silently. "I'm a Jedi Shadow. I was fortunate enough to be outside of Republic space when I intercepted the message about the temple on Coruscant. I had hoped to find someone in this relic... I suppose in a way, I was successful. Heh."

"You can call me Rand, if you wish. I can tell from your Force Aura that you walk the path of light. At the moment, anyone of the light is a friend."

There was a ripple in the force and his head turned to where it came from. "In lieu of such, I should tell you: we're not alone. The Force works in mysterious ways in places like this..." He looked at his companion and uncrossed his arms. "What is your name, Jedi? I have a feeling that your associate has met someone else for whom I cannot vouch for." His arms uncrossed and he turned around. Taking a few steps, he then stopped short. It is no longer my concern. My concern now is finding those who can rally. This foe must be overturned... "Perhaps in times like these, we shouldn't forsake our gathering together so easily."

Ardana lowered her yellow light saber as an act of trust as the girl turned around, extending her own light saber. However she was not yet confident that it was a smart move to put it away all together. Even if the girl could be trusted one could not be sure that any dark surprises did not emerge from the shadows.

"My name is Ardana Vrei," the Jedi Sentinel said in reply to the girls question whilst she moved her yellow lekku. "I was on my way back to Coruscant to report from my last mission when I lost contact."

On her way here she had been able to put some of the pieces together, but the puzzle still lay unsolved in front of her.

"I came here in hope to find answers," she continued. "Tell me. Can you take me to your Master. Master Sa'rea?"


OOC: I'll probably keep my posts in this thread fairly short... hope that is ok.

OOC: Short is fine, SoHee.

IC:
Valuri relaxed his guard as bit as the stranger gave his name. He'd heard mention of a Randaar Dalak and read some recon reports by him. He was a Miralukan. Valuri always wondered what would cause a species to evolve away their eyes. It was clear they once had something in those eerily empty sockets. This Miralukan, thankfully, chose to fill his with at a rather decent fake eyes. Of course, they still looked not quite right with no muscles to move them, but at least it was better than staring into a blindfold or mask. Something inexplicably caught the Shadow's attention and he turned to face it.

"What is your name, Jedi? I have a feeling that your associate has met someone else for whom I cannot vouch for."

"Valuri Sa'rea, Knight of the Jedi Order." Valuri pushed out through the Force to find Terri. She seemed somewhat distressed, "The other is my padawan."

"Perhaps in times like these, we shouldn't forsake our gathering together so easily." He was now looking back the way they'd come. That Force sight was indeed something comparable to a life sensor. Anything in which the Force resides would be visable to him, and Valuri was inclined to believe him, but Terri had a communicator. If she ran in to trouble... Valuri would hope she were wise enough to use it. Still, best not left to chance.

"Come. We split up not far back." Valuri led him back down the hall and around the corner to the passage Terri had taken. It didn't take them long to come upon her and the stranger with her. Terri's active saber was immediately noticable, and Valuri activated his own blue lightsaber.

"Master! I was about to call for you. She just popped up out of nowhere. I think she's a Jedi, but you said to be cautious... Says her name is Ardana Vrei." Terri eyed the other Twi'lek suspiciously.

Valuri, however, did not sense the dark side in her, but two impromptu arrivals in as many minutes in a secret Jedi base on an Outer Rim world was more than Valuri would call coincidence. Still, the blade of his lighsaber slid back into the hilt as he motioned Terri over. She crept along the wall, saber still lit, and didn't relax until she was at her master's side. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she dactivated her own saber.

"I don't suppose you two are together. It can't be mere chance we've all found ourselves here at the same moment. It's been less than twenty hours since Emperor Palpatine issued his order. It seems the Force has brought us together. I suppose I have soem filling-in to do for you two..."

OOC: Valuri will basically tell about Order 66 and how its now an Empire, etc etc. Basically everything in the first post XD

Rand allowed Valuri to lead him onward. If it were Rand that were the padawan, he would rather see a familiar face come around the bend than another. They came upon the two quickly enough, and could almost feel the anxiety of his padawan as she kept her guard against the adult Twi'lek until being at his side.

"I don't suppose you two are together. It can't be mere chance we've all found ourselves here at the same moment. It's been less than twenty hours since Emperor Palpatine issued his order. It seems the Force has brought us together. I suppose I have some filling-in to do for you two..."

------------

"So... That's how it is... is it?" Rand said, when Valuri finished speaking. "If I didn't know that every other Jedi missed seeing the Senator as the Sith Master, I think the word 'shame' would describe it. I wish the loss of life wasn't so drastic..." Randaar's hand went to his forehead, "I felt a disturbance... A massive loss all around me. Who would have known something like this... betrayal... lived inside of the Clones?"

Rand's sight passed to Ardana and the rest, "So then what shall we do with this place? It must remain secret, but with Jedi who know of it, there is bound to be a traitor that knows of it and wants to exploit it. What was Master Yoda's decision?"

Ardana spun around at the sound of a drawn lightsaber, holding hers in front of her whilst placing herself in between the newcomers and the padawan. However she felt no darkness residing inside them and as soon as the padawan called out for her Master she relaxed. She followed suit and deactivated her own lightsaber.

"Master Sa'rea I take it," Ardana said with a graceful nod of the head. The Miralukan soon introduced himself as Randaar Dalak, but their introductions were brief as Valuri started to retell the events that had led them all to this place.

It took a moment for it all to sink in. She had felt a great disturbance in the force but to find out the truth about it all. The tragic loss, the betrayal. She closed her eyes for a moment to gather her own thoughts, to find her inner peace.

"I wonder how many of us that are still left," she said with a low voice, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Did Master Yoda say anything about the Guardians?" she asked. "I haven't felt anyone but you since I arrived here." Had they fled, or were those who guarded the enclave in hiding somewhere? After all, such an important place couldn't have been left without guardians, could it?

"The Dark Lord hid himself well. By the time the Jedi became aware of his connection to the dark side it was far too late. Masters Windu, Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin confronted him, and he killed them all." Valuri paused as a shock of realization fell over the group. One Sith killing four Jedi Masters was not easy news to hear. "Terri and I were at the temple when Darth Vader attacked," he continued, "After we escaped - barely - we rendezvoued with Yoda and Obi-Wan on Alderaan."

Valuri seperated himself from the group and moved down the hall. It seemed they led to storage and housing areas. "We were sent here to assess the academy and the state of the council here. Aside from us this place is empty, and has been that way for a long time. I'm not sure what happened here, but we must get to the sealed storage areas," he turned back to face the others, "Part of our mission was to recover a number of artifacts and bring them back with us. Among them is a Sith holocron reportedly recorded by Darth Sidious himself. Needless to say, it is imperative this holocron does not fall into Vader's hands. Vader is beyond redemtion, but he is far more powerful than Sidious and the information in that holocron--"

Valuri cut off turning sharply back down the hallway. His blue saber flashed to life, which he held cautiosly in front of him. The disturbance he felt... greed... malice... danger. Behind him Terri reacted to her master; igniting her own saber and moving to his side. "Master, what is--"

Valuri held up his hand for silence. They stood in silence for only a moment before Valuri dropped to a knee. The world around him slowed as the Force surged through his body and a bright stream of plasma soared inches over his head and into the wall. Reacting purely on instinct, he thrust his hand foreward, sending a wave of Force energy into a plasteel crate. The crate sailed across the hall and struck thin air. Flying back from the impact, a man's body smashed against the wall as his cloaking device failed. He slid down the wall, and just as his knees hit the ground, the hallway lit up with red blaster fire from both directions as a dozen other men decloaked and opened fire.

OOC: They're armed with blasters and an assortment of vibro weapons. SoHee, vibro weapons are like any normal sword or axe, but are resistant to a lightsaber. A prolonged swordlock with a lightsaber will eventually destroy the vibro weapon, but it is plenty capabe of parrying a lightsaber. These guys shouldn't be too difficult for seasoned Jedi to kill, however.

At Valuri's words, Randaar's eyebrows tensed, and he shifted his head uneasily downward. Some things disturbed him. A holocron from Sidious? So recently? Suddenly, his voice cut mid-sentence and Rand's own head popped up, alert. He swiveled his head side to side, but seemed unable to pinpoint the source of disturbance. Blaster fire came, which Valuri deftly evaded and countered. A moment later, the bolts were flying around them, lightsabers deflecting them in seemingly random angles to an outsider looking in. Few understood, besides the Force-sensitive, just how much control it took not to send the killing missiles into your allies, or to outright slice them in half in such close quarters. Indeed in less than a blink of an eye, all the Jedi's sabers were up to bear. Rand's blue and green sabers illuminated the corridor, blurring on the edge of sight in the form of shotos. Taking his chance in a lull of blaster fire volleys, Rand vaulted over Valuri and his padawan. It was unsafe for all that they were clumped so tightly together, a mistake they had all overlooked in a careless moment. In these crucial hours following this second Jedi Purge, there were no moments that allowed carelessness.

Extending his sabers to full length, Rand sped forward with help from the force. Blaster bolts ricocheted around him, hitting the walls and being sent back at his enemies when the opportunity presented itself. He saw them backing away as he drew near but it was too late for them. A couple of the men dropped their blasters and pulled out metal blades. Rand jumped, spinning; his sabers flying out on either side. One of them was too slow, as he fell in two pieces onto the ground from neck to chest. The other attempted to block the attack, with partial success. The blade struck saber with a sizzle. Rand was nearly in the middle of them now and a man fired. With his free hand he deflected the blast back into its owner, and saw him somersault back from the explosive impact. Cortosis alloy vibroblades and cloaking! Expensive toys... Force-pushing the swordsman and a couple men behind him into the wall, Randaar turned, blocking individual vibroblade attacks with either saber and countering. The one on Randaar's left losing his blade hand, his sword clattering to the ground while he yelped in pain and fear.

"Valuri! Ardana! They have cortosis vibroblades!"

The hallway became quickly heated with the residual energy from deflected or missed blaster fire. Scorch marks peppered the walls and various crates and furniture about the narrow space. Valuri motioned for his padawan to retreat to a nearby room. She begrudgingly obeyed her master's wish. She didn't like hiding, but Valuri couldn't afford to have her in the middle of the hallway with so many deflections and very little room to move. She was, after all, still quite inexperienced.

While Rand vaulted over Valuri, the knight himself leapt backwards, spinning to face his enemies. Rand's dual blade advantage gave him ample means to deal with the ambushers in close quarters. Valuri and Ardana were more capable fighting together. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder and advanced down the hall, carefully deflecting attacks back to their origin. Before long, the men abandoned their blaster weapons in favor of various vibro constructs. Not a moment later, Rand's warning about their cortosis properties echoed over the noise of battle. Valuri jumped, aided by the Force, over all the men to cut off their retreat. A brief moment of tension paused the fight as the enemies between Valuri and Ardana split up to face their now separated opponents.

Valuri went on the offensive first, raising his saber overhead in Djem So style to better combat melee weapons. He came down hard and fast on the first opponent before he could raise his vibrosword to block. The blue lightsaber blade flickered briefly as it cut deeply into the man's shoulder and further on into his chest. The next attacker charged, but his skill at fencing left much to be desired. Valuri easily parried his attacks and took off the man's head. Time and again the men attacked the Jedi Knights in the close quarters to be felled by their better trained foes. After some time, the only sound in the hall was the familiar hum of lightsaber blades and the soft moaning of someone who managed to survive.

Valuri knelt next to the survivor deactivating his saber in the process. "You did very well to hide yourselves until now," he remarked to the conscious man.

He responded with a grunt, "You Jedi are so arrogant. Your precious holocron is gone, well on its way to Courescant. You think the Emperor didn't scour your pathetic archives for all your dirty little secrets?" He smiled a wicked thing of yellow, misaligned teeth, "The Empire will hunt and kill you all."

"From where I'm standing, I'd say you're off to a bad start." Valuri stood and folded his arms, "Where does a group of poorly trained mercenaries get cortosis and personal cloaking devices, hmm?"

"As if I'd tell you, Jedi. The Sith reward those loyal to them," He smirked and managed some kind of coughing laugh.

"And destroy those that fail them," Valuri turned away before the horror struck the face of the mercenary. He began to crawl away, clutching his side with one arm as he dragged himself across the floor with the other. Terri rushed to stop him, but Valuri held out his arm to stop her, "We don't have the time to take prisoners."

"Prisoners? He tried to kill us! If we leave him, he will report back to the Emperor."

"The emperor has what he sent them here for." Valuri turned as he heard hurried footsteps shuffle down the hall towards the facility exit, "Besides, if he goes back, Sidious will most certainly kill him. That's not my biggest concern, however." He turned back to the group, "There is little of interest to the Sith in a Jedi's holocron, but if Sidious' holocron ever reaches Vader... The Sith advance by killing their master and taking a new apprentice. Sidious would want to keep that holocron from Vader at all costs, and so should we. If Vader gets it, he will have access to all of knowledge and power of his master and all the Sith Lords before him."

Valuri clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt and ran his fingers through his hair. It was clear the mercenaries were trained by the Sith. They were able to mask their life signs with the Force and successfully kill or drive off any Jedi that may have been here. Had they been fully trained in the dark side and lightsaber combat, all the Jedi - present company included - would have most certainly been killed. It seemed the Emperor was training an army of Force-sensitives to carry out his will. A dozen mercenaries here meant hundreds across the galaxy at all the other enclaves and academies.

Valuri turned back to the group, "Come on, we need to head back to Master Yoda. He needs to know of this. Terri, go on ahead and check the ship for tracking devices. Make sure that merc didn't leave any parting gifts." She nodded and jogged off down the hallway, "If you two have any other issues that need addressing, I'll do my best to help ease your concerns."

The battle was short, but lively while it lasted. They were new to combat of this type - some more than others. As the Force flowed through Rand, he could feel that rush of battle, the old familiar tugging that kept him from the front line. The control of emotion, the stretching out of one's feelings, the release of the body to the will of the living Force - that was the true battle. When one practiced Juyo, it touched every action and thought thereafter with the same intensity. It was a concept beyond a saber form, one that Master Windu was rather familiar with. More familiar than some said was healthy as he developed Vapaad.

Valuri spoke to a man injured and left over, then spoke of the Holocron after sending Terri away. Like a drug, Rand could feel his senses dulling back to the norm, his muscles relaxing along with his mind. The pressure release itself in a constant stream, rather than an explosion. "Grandmaster Yoda is where?" Rand asked, his sabers returning to their clips on his belt.

"Master Yoda is on Yavin IV," Valuri answered.

"Very well. I have something else to report to him. Albeit with what's going on right now it falls to insignificant." Rand looked at either of the two of them and nodded, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, both of you. I'll see you in the Yavin system. I'll stay behind here and make sure we aren't missing anything of importance while you go on ahead. The honesty of one touched by the Sith goes about as far as his siding with the Light. I think there's more to be found than that fool said." Walking past the two of them, he stepped nearly out of the light of the dim hall but stopped.

"I do have one question... Usually, Force-sight can reveal at least a sign of cloaking devices. We were lucky they have no control of their emotions, like real Sith do. Has anyone encountered cloaking devices powered by the Dark Side of the Force? I've heard of Mechu-deru before, but never applied to cloaking devices." Randaar cleared his throat. "No matter... Perhaps Master Yoda in his wisdom might have some enlightenment for us." Waiting for no response, he walked into the darkness of the nearly unpowered station.

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