Ask Blood Hunt

[Darth Invictus]

To be honest with himself, Ender had secluded himself for some time from the Sith Order. After witnessing the events he had with the mask, his faith had been shaken in some way that he couldn't describe. But he knew his role and duty, which meant he couldn't simply drop off the face of the galaxy. For the past few weeks, as an unspoken punishment, he had been retrieving communications from officers and others to clean up loose ends and such. Finally, they had given him a task that seemed at least somewhat more interesting than the typical assassination.

Ender found himself on some backwater planet, one that he didn't even take enough time to learn the name of, as he landed his ship in the middle of a swampy landscape. With a few hisses, the ship finally sank into the earth and the exit hatch opened, letting him jump out and land with a sort of squelch. He was dressed in a typical Sith robe that tightly fit his figure, allowing him movement over protection. Ender checked his comm-pad, rereading over the intel before eventually deleting it.

There were reports of a healer, a sort of mystical one that seemed to be able to heal any damaging properties someone suffered. It wasn't the biggest lead but the rumors began to keep growing and growing in frequency and it was to the point that the Sith didn't want to leave that stone unturned. Ender was supposed to meet a contact that was unknown to him but was told he was similar. He presumed that meant a Sith as well, which meant there must have been some credence to the rumors they were going to investigate.

After a few hours, he eventually ended his trek and arrived at the rendezvous location that was designated for them. When he didn't find his counterpart after a quick inspection, Ender made himself comfortable and leaned back against a tree. It was hidden enough that a random stranger could just walk right past him without noticing. It was just a precaution as he crossed his arms and waited calmly.

 

[Asminys]

Life had become quite eventful since claiming his freedom from the Cadre. Fighting a Jedi over Ryloth and then the subsequent crash landing in the jungles of Ryloth. The swampy landscape in which he found himself now reminded him of those jungles in some ways. Teeming with life, vegetation and likely predators. Everything was a bit shorter however.

Dressed in his usual attire, black pants, combat boots, a sleeveless shirt with a blast vest thrown over that, he didn't look the typical Sith. With the tattoos visible on his upper arms and bald head, some might assume he was more a common gangster than a Sith, though if one was in the know they would recognize the Sith style of the tattoos along with his burning red and yellow Sith eyes.

He had been assigned this mission, though he wasn't sure if it was one well suited to him. A healer was said to be hiding in the swamps here. Whether that meant they were to abduct this healer or eliminate them was yet to be seen. Likely a judgement that would be made in the moment of discovery. Asminys was more suited to elimination in his mind.

Approaching the rendezvous point, Asminys knew he wasn't alone. He could sense the presence of another wielder of the Darkside nearby. His eyes scanned the treeline, eventually spotting a boot that stood out among the foliage. He stood there however, waiting for his contact to make his presence known. There was no hurry in his mind.

@Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

It wasn't long before the two took notice of each other. Both of them didn't attempt to mask their signature and when Ender felt the newcomers, he used his elbows to push off the tree and faced him. The man fit his description of his tattooed appearance and it only took him a moment to recognize the Sith characteristics throughout it. "Asminys." He doubted the person he was supposed to meet would be more tattooed than him. "My name's Ender. There is a village a few clicks from here to our north. Apparently, despite their primitive nature, they have found a healer that can heal all wounds."

He peered in that direction before returning his attention back to Asminys, "We infiltrate the village, see if there is any truth behind these rumors, and leave." Ender gave him a shrug, "Simple." There wouldn't be much to talk about until they actually reached their objective and he bent down to lift his backpack and sling it over his shoulders. "Night is approaching." With a slight nod, Ender started to walk towards where the village was reported to be, keeping an even but brisk pace to get there.

Both of them would navigate through the jungles but it felt more like a swamp. They would find their feet would more often be submerged under the ground than on top of it. It wouldn't be long till the two Sith arrived at their destination and Ender wanted to make sure that Asminys knew everything. "It's said the healer has a student as well. Hence, the two of us." Two Sith would be extreme overkill, especially for just a simple healer but there was most likely the reason the two of them were sent to investigate the rumors and not typical soldiers.

 

[Asminys]

"Ender." He nodded in return, the name filed away in his memory. He watched the man as he explained the mission more clearly to him. The information that he had received had been insubstantial. He was glad that the other Sith had a clear outline of their objectives but irritated that he had not been trusted with the full scope of the mission before hand.

"With the two of us I have no doubt that we could take this healer with us when we leave." He said aloud. Perhaps he should have kept the thought to himself, but the idea of trekking through a swampy jungle just to look at a village and then leave seemed a bit boring and a waste of his talents. There was no doubt about Ender's words though, the mission as intended was simple.

Following his fellow Sith through the muddy jungle did nothing to change his mind. With each sinking squelch of mud under his feet his opinion on the matter only grew firmer. To walk through the mud and gunk for just a peek, it didn't settle well in Asminys' mind.

"What need is there for two Sith to just take a look, regardless of the numbers?" He asked his companion on the mission. The jungle stunk and so did the mission. Asminys' eyes scanned the jungle surrounding the village. Something was off about the whole thing. "Something is not right." He said, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender thought the same as Asminys. With the two of them, he doubted anything could really stand in their way but he didn't want to count his successes too early. "That's how it should work." But in this galaxy, nothing was ever that simple. They only continued on for a little bit before his partner asked another question, it a good one as he had thought of it himself, "Then I guess it's not about numbers." The only reason that he wasn't asking questions like Asminys was because they were about to approach and found out themselves.

It wasn't long before the two could hear the sound of speeders and people, some laughter and some shouting. Ender glanced behind him to the fellow Sith before he slowly crouched down and blended himself in with the foilage as best as he could. He pushed forward until the plants and bushes would clear and give them a full view of the base. It wasn't just a typical village, it was a small forward operating base. There were Republic security forces patrolling around and inside, speeders lined on the walls of the camp to provide a fast exit if needed.

Ender's eyes scanned the location slowly as he noted everything he saw. When his gaze reached about the middle of the camp, two hooded figures exited out from a nearby tent as they spoke to soldiers or other personal. Even from where he was, he could sense the light side that corrupted the air rancidly. "I believe we found our two healers." Ender commented before taking a step back, letting Asminys get his chance to take a peek at the camp.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys caught Ender's eye as the sound of voices drifted to the pair through the brush. He gave the man a nod before following him as quietly as he could manage through the undergrowth. The voices grew louder and more numerous as they approached. It was soon clear that this was no small village, or at least not anymore. While there were the various smattering of small buildings that Asminys had come to associate with villages, there also appeared to be some prefab shelters of the type soldiers used and even a larger prefab building that could only be described as a "command center".

"Indeed. It appears that the Republic got to them first." He replied as he peeked into the camp. Spotting the hooded figures, feeling their presence within the force he could tell they were wielders of the light. Backing up from his peeking spot, he thought for a moment.

"I believe the situation has changed. Our original mandate was to observe and report, but with the presence of New Republic forces..." He trailed of for a moment as he mentally tallied the numbers he had spotted in the camp. He assumed that the men who were visible were only a portion of the force, there were likely men in some of the buildings or on patrol around the camp as well. "More decisive action might be necessary." He finished.

His thinking wasn't entirely pragmatic. Their leaders might simply want them to report what they found, that the healers had been scooped up by the Republic and they were of little importance. But that was boring. There was opposition here, a real force to challenge his skills... what little challenge a New Republic garrison might be anyways. And then there were the hooded and robed healers who reeked of the light. "Do you think they're Jedi?" He asked his partner. The intel said they were healers, not Jedi.

@Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender remained crouched as he let Asminys get his peek of the camp. If the two weren't Sith, this would have been an extremely difficult task. With the force, however, they had some flexibility on how they wanted to proceed. After the fellow Sith got enough of a look at the camp and suggested that decisive action was necessary, he gave a nod to him. "I'm glad we have the same line of thinking." The two had found the "healers" they were supposed to find. Both of them were powerful enough to take the healers and get to the truth without having to cut through red tape.

When he was asked if he thought the hooded figures were Jedi, he shrugged in response, "We're about to find out in a few minutes." Ender's gaze went to the speeders and the soldiers throughout the camp and started to formulate a plan. "I'll take out the speeders and remove their exit." He then gave a nod towards the small campfire in the middle of the camp, a small squad of soldiers there, specifically one with a heavy blaster rifle. It could lay down enough fire to keep them both pinned and once it was taken out of the field, both of them would be able to move much more freely.

"Get ready." This would be a much more collaborative process but the two of them didn't have time to discuss. With most of the soldiers armed and speeders being moved; they were most likely packing up the camp to move and that cut the two's time to plan. Ender went right and toward the small vehicle bay as he used the shadows and foliage to keep himself hidden. Most of the guards were too busy to notice as they carried equipment and it easily let him get in position.

When he was ready, Ender reached out in the force toward Asminys, In position?

 

[Asminys]

Asminys listened to Ender lay out the plan, following his eyes to the group of soldiers in the middle of the camp, one of whom carried a much larger weapon than the rest of the troopers. His eyes then went to the location of the speeders, near the edge of the camp.

Convenient, to let Asminys take the brunt of the soldier's attention in the middle of the camp. And the brunt of the blaster fire. Still his thinking was sound and Asminys had yet to turn down a challenge. Giving the man a nod and watching as he slunk off into the underbrush, Asminys merely waited where he stood.

It wasn't long until the slithering of words entered his mind.

Yes. He thought back. Crouching down, he gathered the dark side to his will. And then he jumped.

Leaping high over the heads of the soldiers, only a few turned their heads to where he had jumped from at the sound of twigs snapping, probably imagining that some large predator had tread into their camp.

One had.

"Hello." He said as he landed amidst the shocked troopers before igniting his lightsaber.

Snap-hiss.

The blade sprung forth violently as he brought it sweeping in a wide stroke that cut the soldier and his heavy weapon in half before continuing its arc through another soldiers legs.

The soldiers shouted in alarm, fumbling with their rifles or reaching for holstered pistols.

Asminys grinned.

His blade came overhead to cleave a third man down.

He leapt, backflipping over the heads of the soldiers at his back as their blaster fire cut through where he had been. He took one of their heads as he spun through the air.

Landing in a low crouch behind the last man, his blade swept up to bisect his back diagonally.

His agonized scream filled the camp which was now fully alert to Asminys presence.

He hoped Ender was actually taking care of the speeder bikes and not just waiting to see if he would be able to handle the array of blaster rifles that were beginning to come to bear on him.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Asminys gave the signal and leaped into action, literally. He found himself directly in the middle of the soldiers and cut them down with ease. The noise of blaster fire and screams would easily draw the rest of the attention of the camp. As this transpired, Ender just waited as he walked closer and closer to the bikes. He reached out through the force, able to sense the mass of signatures closing in on the fellow Sith's position.

A large formation of soldiers ran towards Asminys, their weapons up and trained on them. The men started to open fire upon him as they passed tents and other scared occupants. They only made it so far toward him. Out of nowhere, speeders flew through the tents and into the oncoming soldiers. Some of them clanged through the dirt and kicked up small explosions and took out a group of soldiers. Others simply flew past and turned into an inferno and caused small fires to spread through the camp.

If any soldiers managed to survive the avalanche of metal and hit the ground, they would find Ender entered the scene then. He simply walked through the small ensemble and lashed out with his saber if any of them moved to finish them off. Smoke started to rise from the tents and infect the air but Ender glanced around as if it was a typical day. The soldiers weren't the target.

The two healers they hard came for finally revealed themselves, stepping out from further in the camp as they faced the two Sith. One of them removed their hood, revealing a Twi'lek woman as she reached underneath her robes and pulled out a lightsaber. She activated it, a blue blade erupting from it and a stark contrast to the other two. The other ran off in the opposite direction. Ender smiled at the two of them as he faced the lone Jedi, "There you are."

 

[Asminys]

Asminys was surrounded. The amount of blasters aimed at him were quite a lot and he was beginning to feel a tiny shred of doubt in his mind. Doubt that he squashed in and instant, his face creasing in fury as his blade flowed in response to the hail of blaster bolts. He danced and dipped, letting the blaze flow around him as he deflected anything more threatening.

And then Ender arrived. Or rather an avalanche of steel that heralded his arrival as the motorpool plowed through most of the soldiers who's attention had been erroneously focused on the Sith in the middle of the camp.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming." He said with a small amount of mirth in his voice as he watched the man stride in through the destruction, dispatching a few of the remaining soldiers.

Then he felt it, the flow of the light approaching them. Two presences. One was pure and clean. The other was muddied with fear.

The fearful one bolted as the Twi'lek revealed her face and blade, the blue glow in sharp contrast with the twin crimsons of the Sith.

"Where do you think you're going!" Asminys shouted as he reached a hand out at the runner, telekinetically grasping their cloak with a harsh jerk that sent their legs out from under them as the fell flat on their back.

The Twi'lek Jedi moved to position herself between the Sith and the fallen Jedi. "Here I am." She said with defiance in her voice as she held her blade at the ready. Asminys peered past her at the other as it clambered to its, no his feet. There was almost a plea in the Jedi's voice to focus on her and let the other leave, and now he saw why. The second Jedi was young, a teenager.

Just a padawan.

And he reeked of fear.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender simply watched the scene unfold as the padawan tried to make a desperate escape. Asminys quickly solved the problem as it developed and tripped the young kid. It only stopped him from escaping but it left the knight right where she was. He spoke through the force to his partner, hit right, and secure the kid. The moment his message was sent, he shot his hand forward and the force responded in kind as it surged forth and into a blast.

It connected with the Knight but she was braced for it and it only pushed her back a few feet. It was enough however and Ender launched himself at her, his saber activated mid-air and made into a makeshift spear. He thrusted the weapon forward but the Knight was trained well enough and stepped to the side as she deflected his blade to her left as well. Ender landed on his feet and stepped to the side and stood between the Knight and the padawan.

The padawan wasn't just a statue during all of that and had gotten up to run once more. This time, he lifted one of the mangled speeder bikes and flung it towards Asminys. "Run!" The Knight shouted as she used the force to whip up some dirt to Ender to blind him before dashing in and striking with her saber.

Whatever soldiers were still left alive, they formed up after the kid and started to give chase. They wildly shot towards Asminys, anything that would slow him down.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys didn't wait to act as the telepathic message crawled into his brain. He hit right, hard. His hand scooped upwards, a telekinetic blast that furrowed the earth and sent a plume of dirt up into the air to the right of the Jedi. Dashing forward on the other side of the impromptu obscuring wall, he passed the Jedi by while Ender engaged her in battle.

He wasn't happy about it. He would have preferred to face the Jedi over chasing down some snot-nosed padaween. He took his frustration out on the chase, slashing through the speeder that came at him and clearing the main body to the side with the force, sending it to crash into a pair of soldiers closing in on his right. He locked his eyes on the padawan's back for a moment, locking onto his prey.

Blaster fire came in from soldier's who ran to the Padawan's left and right, fired almost randomly but in the direction of the pursuing Sith. His blade flicked up once, twice, to catch a pair of bolts that actually posed a threat as he bounded through the jungle, closing on the padawan and his slowing protectors.

The soldiers on the right flank slowed and Asminys pounced. Jumping forwards at a tree that stood in his way, he passed it by on the right while kicking off of it with his left foot to send his hurtling forward momentum towards the soldiers. Diving at the soldiers, one of them turned their head and saw him. He tried to raise his blaster and was rewarded with a crimson saber splitting the arm down the middle to his other shoulder as Asminys sailed past him to roll up to a tree and kick off from it. Leaping past the soldier's partner, he took the mans head off as he passed by, his course corrected once again to pursue the padawan as he sprinted through the jungle.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender simply dashed back and let the Jedi come to him as she burst through the dirt. Her same came down vertically to cleave him in half but he raised his saber in time to have them both interlocked in the air. The Twi'lek didn't wait and she sent a kick right into his ribs in order to throw him off balance. He simply ate it straight on with a grunt as his free arm wrapped around the limb and kept it by his torso and her off balance. Ender spun around and flung her to the ground a few feet away from him as she rolled in the dirt.

He leaped forward and came in with a slash, enough power in it to push away her blade as he shot his other arm forward as lightning sprung forth and connected to her. It spread throughout her whole body and she was sent back from the ferocity of it as she crashed into some crates. By this point, Ender's eyes had fully transformed to bright and predatory gold, the dark side radiating off him in waves as it seemed to corrupt everything as even the air seemed to react differently to him.

The Knight leaped to him once more, the blade in a piercing angle as she thrust for his chest. Ender ducked underneath and slammed a knee into her stomach as she lurched back. She went with her momentum and rolled back to avoid his next strike as she kicked him in the chest to force distance. "He will escape." Ender could only smirk in response to her statement.

The padawan sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him as he cut through bushes and other vegetation. He didn't even look back as he would wildly wield the force to destroy trees and other things around to create obstacles for Asminys. The Sith would have to deal with falling logs, branches, and other assortments of life. The padawan was clearly running toward something but it wasn't visible yet. But when he crossed over a hill, that's when Asminys would see it, a small starfighter in the clearing. It was his exit.

 

[Asminys]

Continuing his pursuit, Asminys nearly took a branch to the face, barely managing to duck under it as the fleeing Padawan started to toss obstacles behind him. This only made Asminys grin as he embraced the challenge. Ducking under branches and jumping over flying tree trunks as he ran, the Sith silently thanked the Jedi for the cover as a blaster bolt sparked off a tree trunk that otherwise wouldn't have been there.

Dodging a flying tree trunk in a spin, he caught the projectile with the force and continued his spin to fling it at the remaining pair of soldiers who were barely keeping pace on his left. A scream sounded out behind him as he continued on past and a small smirk lit his lips as he broke into the clearing after the Padawan.

The padawan had just reached the small starfighter and was frantically climbing the rungs to the cockpit when Asminys reached out for him from the edge of the clearing. The Padawan would feel a strong grip on his ankles as he popped the top of the cockpit before he was viciously yanked from the ladder, smacking his head on it as he was forcefully dragged to the ground. Shakily regaining his feet, he turned to Asminys and ignited his green lightsaber. "I'll... I'll fight you." He stammered fearfully, as if that meant anything to the Sith.

 

[Darth Invictus]

This fight was drawing on and there was no need for it by this time. Asminys and the padawan would have been far enough by then that the Jedi wouldn't be able to catch up to them. The Twi'lek readied her stance and Ender simply started to walk towards her, only one of his blades still active. Without waiting for him, she dashed forward and slashed with her lightsaber toward his head. He lifted his in response to deflect back before the two entered into a dance of blades as their weapons screamed in resistance to one another when they touched.

Ender simply deflected most of her strikes and did prodding attacks to try and find an opening in her guard. The Twi'lek was offensive and after she finished one of her flurry of strikes, she raised her saber above her head to do an overhead strike. That's when he saw his opening. When she brought her saber down, he raised his to meet her's in the air. The two blades connected and held together as both of them pushed against each other.

They were held there for a few seconds but then, he simply deactivated his blade and spun out of the way. The Jedi's lightsaber would just drop straight to the ground and Ender would activate his second blade mid-spin. He would end up around the flank of the Jedi and slash cleanly across her thigh, severing it completely as she fell to the ground with a scream. Ender didn't wait for any words and stepped over her before impaling his saber straight through her heart.

With the Jedi finished, he deactivated his blade and walked over her. By that time, Asminys should have killed or whatever he wanted to the padawan. He reached out with the force to him,

Time to go.

 

[Asminys]

Asminys almost pitied the kid. Almost. The sniveling Jedi padawan didn't even deserve the chance to clash blades with him as a voice echoed in his head.

Time to go.

Reaching a hand out at the Jedi, he squeezed his fist. An iron band of hate would snap down around the Padawan's throat, squeezing the air from him and starving his brain of blood. He dropped his lightsaber as panic lit in his eyes and clawed at his throat, gasping for even a shred of oxygen.

Asminys counted down quietly in his head until the Jedi went limp. Releasing his hold he let the Jedi collapse in a heap. Calling the Jedi's lightsaber over to him, he ignited the green blade. He swung it twice. It felt sluggish in his grasp, the kyber in it trying to reject his grasp. Deactivating it, he clipped it to his belt before walking over to the Jedi. A quick hog-tie of the Padawan's hands and legs using the Jedi's boot laces provided him with one secure Jedi. Looking up at the pair of Jedi X-wing fighters, he grinned.

He had been needing a new ride.

/End Thread