Corrupted Matrix [Sith Mission]

[Steel]

Blasterfire illuminated the dark vent, yet from his position in the back, Kaata could not tell what was going on. Then he heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting, which was soon followed by a series of noises that suggested that Ark and one of the droids were involved in some sort of struggle.

Light poured into the shaft as it was ripped open, and Kaata saw Magrektor jump to the ground after Ark. This prompted the Kaleesh to inch forward so he could finally see what was going on.

Beneath Kaata, a droid and the two acolytes were locked in what appeared to be a close combat melee to the death. Judging by the droid's weaponry, Kaata determined that it was probably the close-combat droid. The Sith should have tried engaging in from afar instead of up close. Tactical mistake.

Kaata was hesitant to simply throw himself into the struggle. What if the other doids were nearby, waiting for the optimal time to strike? Kaata was tempted to use the Force to thro the droid down the hallway, but it had a pretty tight grip on Magrektor. Plus who knew where that blade would end up...

As Kaata was frantically thinking, Magrektor forced the droid's blaster upwards, forcing Kaata to lurch back to avoid being hit. The sudden movement put too much strain on the vent. Kaata felt himself slipping as the entire ventilation shaft began coming down.

"Ah Kriff".

Kaata tumbled out of the shaft and landed directly on the droid. As Kaata landed, he managed to bring his own mechanical fist to bear down on the back of the droid's head.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark, was on his feet, but his lightsaber was down the hall, and any attempt to grab his lightsaber may prove too late to help the man within the droid's grasp. Ark's force powers reach out in a prying motion to release the man from its grasp. The knife slowly releases from the droid's grasp. Thankfully, by the time the other Acolyte leap into the fight to deactivate the droid was just in time for the blade to fly form the droid.

The ventilation system seemed to have collapsed when he leapt out of it. Ark force grabs his lightsaber as the droid falls limp and disabled. He spits out a glob of mucus-like blood that formed in his mouth when he initially fell from the vents. Ark replaces the blade to his belt and approaches to inspect the droid, "This was the close combat droid. It was waiting to ambush us. I had to act before it acted on us first. These things are incredibly clever and strong," Ark can still feel the aching in his muscles.

Ark continues speaking while he inspects the level of damage done to the panel at the back of the head. It reveals that the hit was perfect, and damaged only what was behind the panel, "It seems it won't be active without some repairs. We need to be careful, this thing was able to out power a Kushari, which I assure you is no easy feat. The other two escaped while this one waited to ambush us, so we can certainly expect the other two to ambush us while we follow. They have escaped ouside," Ark looks up into the destroyed ventilation system, "And it seems we won't be folioing them out the way they went out, but I know exactly where the exit will be."

Ark leads them through the maze of halls to a door leading outside, all while expelling to his comrades, "They are heading somewhere, possibly to escape the planet. We need to stop them before they manage to escape, and we need to survive whatever they have in store for us. We need to keep our eyes open, and alert the rest of us if you see anything at all, a footprint, a droplet of blood, even a drag mark."

Ark is a bit doubtful in their tracking abilities, and he assumes that they will largely rely on him to do the bulk of the tracking, but when the time comes, and he springs their trap, he will have to rely on them to take them out before they take him out. Ark isn't used to relying on others, but in this case, he has no choice really. Ark has always known that to do something right, you must do it yourself, and teamwork is a rather untouched topic, for him, though he knew how to give orders, and his tactical mind gives him the idea that he deserves to.

Ark nods at them to gain their approval of readiness before they exit out the door. Once he receives indication that they are ready, he opens the outside door on the opposite side of the facility in which he had originally entered to be greeted by a brisk gust of snowy wind. Ark's feet land in a thick layer of snow, as he scans the perimeter with his yellow blade protecting him. A snowstorm is well within the creation of a blizzard, and the darkened sky, makes it rather difficult to see, but his naturally gifted night vision allows him to scan the perimeter without missing a detail.

When the coast is clear, Ark waves his hand for the other two to follow. Ark makes sure the blaster is still hooked outside his clothing, and he returns his lightsaber to the belt underneath his coat. He flicks up his hood, and the wind largely disappears from beating ice onto his whiskers. The only exposed part go Ark is his tail which sways around, indicating that Ark is clam, yet prepared for anything.

At the top of the building, a vent grate hangs on its hinges, clanking against the side of the building as mall streams of heat melt the snow in the air, and causes ice to layer the wall of the building below the vent. That is certainly where the droids had left the building. Ark notices the prints in the snow where the two droids had landed upon leaping form the building. Long, sweeping strides in the snow indicate a fast paced hike into the depths of the blizzard. Snow is filling the foot prints fast, but Ark is able to make them out regardless. Quick glances in the distance of the trail make sure they aren't walking into a trap just yet, but he makes a fast paced pursuit of the droids, since the snow and wind is causing every other print to disappear almost as soon as he sees it.

 

[Miz]

As the blade slowly started to pierce his chest, he suddenly got the energy to push the droid aside; to come to the realization that kaata had jumped up on top of the droid and subdued him. I guess magrektor had to thank Kaata for that one.

"Thanks," Mag said under his breath as he reached for the stab wound and wiped the blood off his dark skin.

The droids were extremely strong, stronger than he was which made engaging in close quarters combat impossible.

"It seems it won't be active without some repairs. We need to be careful, this thing was able to out power a Kushari, which I assure you is no easy feat. The other two escaped while this one waited to ambush us, so we can certainly expect the other two to ambush us while we follow. They have escaped outside," Ark said, as Mag walked over to grab his slugthrower and dufflebag.

He wasn't too thrilled about setting foot outside, knowing that he had ditched his fur coat from earlier getting inside that god forsaken vent.

Following Ark outside, he felt the rush of the cold air hit his skin. He decided to keep his discipline; not showing any weakness as he slowly froze from the cold. When Ark waived his hand he steadily followed taking not of the opened gate, cursing it under his breath.

He was not eager to get into that situation again, preferring to engage these targets in the open.

"We should camp out here, I can recover from my injury and bait them to come out and attack us directly. I prefer we don;t play into their game." Mag said as he ripped a piece of cloth from his tank top covering the lower portion of his neck in attempt to stop the bleeding.

 

[Steel]

Kaata followed the other acolytes outside, wincing as the cold air cut through his clothing and licked his skin menacingly.

"Kriff, it'z cold".

The Kaleesh heard the masked acolyte mention something about setting up camp. At first, Kaata wanted to shoot down this idea. The sooner they caught the droids, the sooner the acolyes would be off this rock. Plus, what if the droids planned to escape off-world? A camp immobolized the acolytes, which was never useful during a hunt.

Kaata was just opening his mouth to suggest they continued into the frozen snow when a sudden blast of icy wind caused him to close it. It was simply to cold for the reptile to hunt outside. He was used to arid deserts and lush forests, not this frozen hell.

"I don't care what you do, but I am heading to my ship. I'll hunt them from the air and broadcazt their position to you".

Instead of instantly heading to the hangar, Kaata waited to see how his companions received his idea.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark is confused, but more angry at his fellow Acolyte's hesitation to venture into the blizzard. Ark wasn't very pleased by this, but seeing how they chose to dress gave him a bit of perspective. how do you come to a planet of ice without anything to keep yourself warm? Either way, the path is only moments away from being covered by the blizzard, and he has to make his speech fast.

"I don't know how much you know about tracking, but the length of these strides means that they are moving very fast. If they're moving that quickly, they know exactly where they're going. My thoughts is that is because they are planning on leaving the planet with whomever downloaded the virus to them. We need to catch them before they manage to do that. If we set up camp now, they could be off the planet in a matter of hours, but following them now, we can finish our mission," Ark explains as he carefully removes his own coat and tosses it at the human, "As far as traveling via your ship, I don't know how well you'll be able to do that in this storm."

The snow blows almost horizontally and the gusts force Ark to shout in order for his companions to be able to hear him speak. The snow makes it impossible to see much farther than the found below them. The storm has certainly picked up, and Ark can already feel himself feel the need to lean in order to keep standing in it. He certainly doesn't relish the thought of traveling in the deepening snow, even less now that he donated his own coat to the mission, but failure was not an option for him. It's times like these that make him think that he should get a surgery to replace the fur on his cars, but apparently, looking menacing is more important, and in some ways it is.

Ark continues to explain, "Your ship may be a huge waste of time. The chances of being able to see anything from your ship is slim to none with all this snow. Your sensors would be useless up until a very close range anyway. Everything form thermal imagine to sonar pings would be disrupted by the snow. To be honest, you'd be best closer to the ground .If you have a personal speeder, that would be much better than your ship."

The thought suddenly occurs to Ark that the laboratory most likely has speeders somewhere inside of it, though he seriously doubts how much a speeder would help anyone considering the fact that the visibility is next to nothing.

Ark glances down to find that the footprint he was examining had completely disappeared, "Look, the trail is disappearing, and I need to find these droids, with or without your help! You do whatever you need to do, but I don't want to hear any excuses from whoever is wearing my coat. We just need to keep moving to stay warm. Finding these droids is my first priority!"

Ark is dismayed by the circumstances, and annoyed by the cold's effect on his team, but he turns to march into the depths of the blizzard with or without them. Should they choose to follow him on foot, Ark would certainly need them to cover his back while he searches for them. The blizzard would make tracking them much more difficult, but it's the best bet they have. Ark would normally take the speeder or even the ship option, but he wouldn't be able to follow the trail with either.

Ark's whiskers, and fur begins to layer with ice as he ventures further into the snowstorm without his coat. He is really only as cold over the carried marking due to the fact that the wind breaks at the inconsistency in his fur, and gets underneath his layer of fur. The conditions are certainly not ideal, but the droids are certainly doing what they were meant to do. Harsh environments are what they were built for,and this is the ultimate test of harsh environments.

Ark couldn't hep but to compare himself them, but his mind continues to wander. They are stronger than them. They can withstand this harsh environment better than himself. They are better marksmen. They are excellent at all they do, but Ark's advantages outweigh their own. Ark tell himself that he's fast, more agile, smarter, and a hunter. In this situation they are the ones running, not himself. This is proof that he is the hunter and they are the prey.

After a minute or so of light jogging into the snow, he picks the trail up again to find that it is slightly curving. His knowledge of the landscape or landmarks is severely limited, but he knows that the direction they are heading has no temples, no buildings, not even any sort of camp.

"Where are you going?" Ark asks himself beneath the roaring of the blizzard.

 

[Miz]

Ark's will was amazing, but he'd quickly succumb to the droids if not to the elements for very long. Mag decided to trudge along with Ark to get this mission done as fast as possible. His discipline allowed him to brave the blizzard for a good amount of time, but he was only Zuguruk, more or less human. He lacked the hate that required him to put one foot in front of the other like his Massasi brothers. Camping out sounded like an excellent idea, if only Ark suspected that the droids were getting ready to travel off world.

Even though he liked Kaata's idea about scouting the droids, with his own ship. It was quickly shot down by Ark who reminded the group about the raging snow storm and the abilities of a sensor in these conditions. Something he himself hadn't thought of.

"Come on, Ark is right," Mag said, reaching over to Kaata for a pat on the back, as soon as Ark decided to finish the mission with or without him.

Looking down, he saw that the snow had already covered the entirety of his boots. Giving off a brief sigh he cursed the planet under his breath and quickly caught up to Ark, wishing to complement him on his perseverance. Though, this time he decided to keep his mouth shut.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark plunged into the depths of the freezing snow storm whether he had back up or not. His pace was quick, but not only just to keep up with the quickly disappearing footsteps in the snow, but also in order to help keep him warmer. If he hadn't gotten any of the scars through his fur, he wouldn't have the issue of being so cold, but that simply isn't the case. he is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions and he regrets them. It is a valuable lesson not to alter a perfect body, but he was young when he received them, and he could, should he choose to, surgically replace fur on those locations, but they serve purposes other than intimidation.

He did, after all come prepared to the frozen wasteland, he was merely forced to give up his readiness, ironically, for the sake of his own safety, but for the sake of the mission as well. A swift glance behind him showed him that the sacrifice certainly wasn't in vain. Magrektor seemed that the risk wasn't unnecessary and he decided that finishing the mission was a necessary coarse of action. Thankfully Ark wouldn't being going in to track the robots on his own. Not only is it foolish, but it is nearly suicide to face off against the two of them with the attempt to capture them both unharmed.

Ark's arrogance would never admit that though, but regardless of what he would or wouldn't admit, he would have still ventured into the snow storm with the attempt to track the foot prints. Ark's concentrations were mainly focused on the slowly vanishing footprints and his high pace was to give him more and more time to examine each foot print. Any difference would alert him of the plans or location of the droids. Ark didn't like the circumstances in which they were to track these highly prepared droids, but he really didn't have much choice in the matter. Whether he was walking into a trap or not, he would have to rely on the fact that Magrektor had his back in some way.

Ark tried to stay just enough ahead of him that Ark would stay in his sight, but not close enough to him that Ark would reveal Magrektor's position a well as his own should he trigger a trap. Ark needed to keep his back up safe, and for that he needed to look alone, exposed, and most of all armed. Ark repositioned the blaster at his hip to a more visible position. He hopes that whatever the droids find out, it would be, and only be, that ark is following them with a blaster at his side. Ark never really liked blasters, but for now it was necessary, whether or not he was planning on using it or not.

The footprints were becoming fresher and fresher, but the amount of fresh snow filling them was still less than satisfactory. Slowly, though, Ark began to notice something incredibly disturbing about the foot prints. They weren't exactly right the way he looked at them, they seemed off, but he couldn't tell what it was about them. Ark throws his fist up to warn Magrektor to stay back a few paces. Ark bend over and gets his face as close to the foot print as possible. He breathes on the foot print, and the most recent and exposed of the resting snowflakes that had only recently appeared within the print melted away. The flurries bashing into his face has slowed now that his face is close enough to the ground.

The edges of the print seemed to be slightly wider than those from ahead of him, and upon the closest of inspections, he noticed that there is a double edge on the inside of that footprint. Ark knows exactly what that means and he rushes back to check the foot print by Magrektor's feet for any similarities. The snow had filled the print a bit more, but it was the same. he paces back until Ark finds exactly what he was looking for.

Several paces back, he finds a print that is actually angled deeper on the outside of the left print. he hadn't noticed before because of the snow filling it, but it seems that the droids are far smarter than he originally gave them credit for. that is saying a lot now, because Ark never thought they were stupid in the first place.

Ark stands to warn Magrektor of the situation he'd only just discovered. Ark looks around in all 360 degrees for any sign of danger, "At least one of them had back tracked over his own footsteps and leapt off of the path. He's somewhere in that direction," Ark points out to the left of the foreword facing trail, "But the other may have back tracked further ahead and jumped to the other side. We're about to be ambushed."

Ark curses himself for involving Magrektor, but he's afraid it may be too late to tell him to back track, because if Ark is right, then both droids probably have eyes on the both of them, and may already be targeting them. Based upon the past record, Ark feels that the last droid is probably leaving the job of taking them out to the second droid. Ark doesn't want to leave anything to chance though, and he looks around in all directions. His hand ready on his lightsaber, because he knows that he will be the one targeted first out of the two of them. Ark curses himself once again for volunteering for the position of being bait, but he figures they are both in as much danger. Ark is just in danger before Magrektor.

Ark finally sees something that makes his stomach rise into his throat. in the distance to the left side, just as he thought, he sees a very faint glimmer of red. it was only a split second, but he caught it. Ark looks down and sees a red dot on his chest. Ark's reflexes tell him to drop while pushing Magrektor out of the way, but his hand is already on his lightsaber, and igniting it would be just as fast should he swing it up at the exact same time as igniting it. The options are few,and they didn't really have many options for catching this droid. Ark's blade would be the perfect distraction for the droid.

Ark would have to distract the droid by taking each hit with his lightsaber, while Magrektor takes him from behind. If Ark is lucky, the droid wouldn't see him coming until it's too late.

*Swhoom*

Ark's lightsaber ignites just in time to deflect a blaster bolt into the snow where it fizzles out. The snow hitting his blade also fizzles in a similar, but constant manner.

"Go!" Ark shouts at Magrektor as he deflects another bolt into the snow. Ark stries to strafe, but determining the trajectory of the bolt was rather impossible while the snowstorm obstructs everything. Ark's reflexes are the only thing keeping him alive for now. Ark reaches into the force to gather a further understanding of trajectory, and the location of the droid, but the snowstorm's battery makes him rather preoccupied, and the task seems just as difficult. Ark couldn't keep this going for too long and he is actually relying for the most part on Magrektor. It is quite obvious that this is the long range droid, and Ark hopes that this means his short range will be lacking a good deal.

 

[TheSilentWind]

Finally a mission that makes me get out of Korribian Kes thought as he got out of Korribian and headed to the world of Ziost. Kes had never been to the world of Zion simply because that was the world used to train acolytes who wanted to be Crusaders and Kes did not prefer that path. The fact that he was a Mandalorian would make people think stereotypically that Kes wanted to become a Crusader which would prove useful to him if he were to reveal that he was Mandalorian. Kes didn't like the fact that people believed that being Mandalorian meant that you had to be part of the honor system. While their was still honor in Kes's philosophy, he often overlooked that as he believed that honor was not accepted by Sith philosophy. While Kes was still attracted to being a Sith Warrior, he firmly believed that being an Assasin or Sorcerer brought the best in a Sith. He believed firmly that being a Sith Assasin would further his own interests while also helping him honing his skills.

As he travelled toward Ziost, Kes wondered what the Sith world was like. He heard that it was mostly frozen landscape and was given some little knowledge on it at the briefing. If Kes were ever to reach Crusader, Kes would go and teach on the frozen world of Ziost simply because he wanted to be familiar with the surroundings of the planet. Kes wondered why Zion was reserved mostly for Warriors. He believed that Ziost should be reserved for acolytes looking to train to become an Assasin as he saw the frozen like planet was perhaps the most suitable planet to train to become an Assasin.

As Kes arrived on the base he was assigned to, he knew from his meeting that the Sith Crusader told him that he had to defeat the droids. He had that the droids had the GAIA-V virus, whatever that was. Kes respected the fact that the Imperium didn't want the droids destroyed and the fact that the Imperium didn't want the droids destroyed showed the intelligence of the Imperium. An idiot would most likely wonder why the Imperium would not want the droids destroyed while an intelligent creative individual thought outside the box and would most likely wonder how to make that virus a weapon to destroy the Jedi which Kes respected. Kes wondered how he would have to defeat the droid unharmed which probably would mean that he needed to shoot the droid at its weakpoint which Kes didn't know. The lightsaber would most likely destroy the droid therefore Kes was lucky he brought his red pistol with him, a pistol that he had earned training with his father.

As Kes arrived at the base, he wondered who was there. "Anyone there!!". he stated in the loudest voice he good make. He didn't hear a word nor a sound, only the cold air of Ziost. He then left the base and Kes sensed another force sensitive outside the base and he went to investigate. He took an educated guess and assumed that it was an acolyte as the force sensitive was strong, strong enough to be an acolyte at least. He had also sensed this acolyte from one of Crusader Nox's classes although he had forgotten his name. Kes went to the base, blending in with the surroundings as he brought a camouflaged suit. He knew that he was well hidden from physical sight but he also remembered that the droids had enhanced sight. He sent a weak telepathetic wave to whoever the acolyte was hoping that he would be would be able to catch it.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark's blade barely deflected shot after shot of the blaster from a distance he couldn't quite tell where exactly it was coming from, but he knew it wasn't going to get to it anytime soon. The worst part is that it was left up to Magrektor to save his *ss, but he went stumbling off into the wrong direction and has likely lost himself in the snow storm. This would create more problems than just leaving Ark to deal with the droids by himself. If Ark's tail wasn't being whisked around uncontrollably by the blizzard, it would have been twitching side to side quite briskly, indicating just how annoyed he was.

To make all matters worse, he was foxed to stand still or at least make subtle dodges. If he simply disappeared, the droid would be lost and likely be able to notice Magrektor's approach and all of this would certainly be for nothing. Suddenly, as if the storm itself was whispering to him, but he knew that wasn't so. The reach of the call was quite distant, and he could barely receive it, though that may have just been because of the storm. Really, how deep were they in the storm? Had they barely made it into the storm? Who could possibly be calling him? He knows d*mn well it wasn't Magrektor. This was someone different, someone new.

With the excess amounts of concentration he could spare and in between deflections, Ark sends out his own message to the unknown voice, "Arkteleus Krayzen..."

He deflects yet another bolt and then lets out more information. He wouldn't normally let out such sensitive information out, but he was in a pinch and this is a Sith world, "Droid firing..."

he is forced to break off to deflect yet another bolt, "Get behind him and..."

ARk dodges a bold and returns his lightsaber back into a defending postiion. The shots seem to be coming more frequent and more precise. There is a limit as to how long he can last, so whoever is out there will have to help him fast, "and disable it via shooting or striking the compartment directly at the back of its head."

With that, he is finally able to return his full concentration to the mission. It was a desperate move, but Ark's abilities are nearing its end. If he can hold off the blaster fire until the other individual could help him out, he would be able to save this droid from being sliced open, which is what Ark is about ready to do at any moment. All he would need to do is leap into the depths of the storm and do what he was born to do and hunt it down.

 

[TheSilentWind]

Kes continued walking into the storm. He knew pretty well that he was at a disadvantage. Luckily for him, his further trained him in a stealthy way. Kes moved slowly, his camouflage suite blending well with the surroundings. He began hearing blaster shots from a far. It took a great amount of strength to move into this snow storm. He always hated snow and cold weather. Kes went and moved slowly, his muscular build allowing for some movement to occur. As Kes moved, he could see some grey thing. Kes thought that was the droid and he wasn't going to take any chances with it. He saw the grey thing shoot at something which was odd to him.


Kes stayed in the position he was in. The reason why was because Ark was sending telepethatic messages repeatedly. It took some moments until Kes finally heard what Ark was saying and for him to process itSo I have to hide and shoot them on the back Kes thought in his mind. The droids surely were well trained if they were keeping Ark on the defensive. Luckily for both of them, Kes was trained in the martial art form K'tara, a form in which the user attempts to strike an opponent with maximum effectiveness but with minimal noise therefore it focused on stealth.

As he continued to move closely toward whatever he was looking at, he realized he needed to take a closer look on the back. Kes therefore decided to change his approach. He moved upward, attempting not to distract the droid. As he did that, Kes blended in with his surroundings therefore not being able to be seen.I am close to the droid that is shooting you. Hang on there for a bit Kes stated in a telepathetic message to Ark. The names Kes FYI added. Kes then decided to move in a horizontal path as he still was blending in with his surroundings. Due to what he was doing and also the fact that the snowstorm wasn't allowing him to move at his full mobility, it took some time until Kes was able to be behind the droid. Kes slowly then grabbed his pistol and he was about to tap into force reserves as a backup. He grabbed his pistol and prepared to display his marksmanship skills. The snow storm was definetely a big hurdle in attempting to shoot down the droid. As Kes moved into position, he was being moved slowly into the left. Kes then decided to use telekinisis to create a weak opposing force on the right to counter the snow storm for a few seconds, maybe 5. Kes quickly shot at the back of the droid's head and it deactivated. One down, more to go he thought as he used force speed and went into a camouflaged position hoping that another droid didn't see him.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark's blade deflected bolt after bolt that was slowly speeding up to an almost automatic speed, but he knew that the weapons haven't changed based on the large punches he was taking with his blade. If the droid wasn't actually aiming at him lethally, he would be rather happy at getting the extra practice in with his Shien form, but he wasn't much good at it in the first place and the bolts were starting to ricochet uncontrollably turning his style into a sloppy replica of Soresu.

The telepathic message reached him through the snow storm that the unknown force sensitive was making progress, though a blaster shot that he missed with his blade shot past his ear followed by another that would have struck his chest if he wasn't still focusing on the shots coming at him.

Suddenly a shot spun his sword off the the side where he felt like he was losing complete control over his ability to deflect, and his deflections were random and wide swings barely being effective. Finally the shooting stopped abruptly. Nothing but the now seemingly gentle breeze of snow pelted him as there was nothing, and he decided that in order to prevent himself form freezing over into a block of ice, that he'd better get moving again.

Following the direction of where the droid had been firing from, the wind made it rather difficult to find out where he was going and he easily got disoriented, and he knew he must have been traveling in the wrong direction. With a bold attempt to get a better vantage point of where he was, he empowered his legs for a very weak force leap that would keep him low enough to see through as much of the storm as he could manage, but strong enough to cover some height. Once in the air, he gazed down as he let the wind carry him some distance that was actually toward where he wanted to go.

Landing, he made a quick dash to where he had seen the fallen droid body in the snow. The movement was exactly what he seemed to need to keep himself from freezing, and though his upper bod was already warmed from the upper body movements of the fight wight eh blaster, his legs were bare and quickly gathering a thick layer of ice that hung off of him like it belonged there.

He took a quick glance through the snow, but saw nothing at first until a figure was barely made out. The clothing he wore was camouflaged enough to keep his keen eyes from immediately spotting him, though at a closer range he was able to be made out quite easily. At least he was smart enough to actually bring appropriate wear for the environment. Magrektor seemed to have lost himself in the snowstorm, so Ark guesses he won't be seeing that coat anytime soon. He gets right up next to the figure and shouts through the howling wind that still pelted them with larger chunks of ice, "Kes. It looks like I owe you one. It seems that my other two partners have abandoned me, but thankfully the Sith sent you as well. Better late than never."

The blizzard must have been making it rather difficult for him to communicate, so instead of wasting his breath, he conveyed his messages to him via telepathy while he began to reposition himself for tracking. There weren't any foot prints any longer, but he had a good idea that they would be continuing in the same direction they were previously heading, and so he pushed on into that direction which happened to be against the strong push of the storm. His fur waved back as if it were truing desperately to flee his body, but still he pushed on while filling his new partner in on the mission.

"Magrektor got lost, and Kaata hadn't followed me into the blizzard. For all I know he could have fled back to Korriban, but thankfully, you got here just in time to save my *ss," Ark realizes that he might think it would be the right thing to do to go back for Magrektor, but he would soon quell that thought, "We don't have any time to go back for Magrektor wherever he is in this blizzard, because we need to catch up to this last droid. They have been taking us by ambush one by one. The one you've taken out was a long range version of the droid. The one left now is an anti-force sensitive droid. This one will likely be the most difficult to take out. They seem to prioritize taking out armed enemies which is why I've been sporting this blaster at my side. These droids were heading somewhere, and wee need to catch them before they disappear from our grasp. Any questions?"

 

[TheSilentWind]

"Don't worry about it Ark. We do this for the glory of the Imperium." Kes replied to Ark telepathically. As Ark spoke, he heard a former acquitance of his was in the mission, one known as Kaata."So Kaata was here? Well that is certainly surprising. I have some questions in mind. What was the original plan between you and the other two acolytes? The reason why I ask this is because I believe this information will be key on this mission and I was briefed that their were other droids but it seems you, Magrektor, and Kaata did most of the work therefore you must have had some sort of strategy to shut down the droids. Also, I want to ask if you believe we need reinforcements, I personally think we can take them down?" Kes stated to Ark telepathically. As Kes walked toward Ark, he could see that he was a Kushari of massive size. If the Imperium didn't need the droids, he was sure that the Kushari could easily take each of them down.

The blizzard was growing stronger as the two acolytes walked toward a direction. Kes couldn't sense the droids because they were machines, not lifeforms but he believed that they should divide and conquer, at least one of them be a distraction and another the killer."I suggest we separate. I can tell that you are exhausted which is understandable. I on the other hand can still take a few battles. I suggest we divide and conquer. What I mean is one man be the distraction and another be the person to deal the blow to the droid that shuts it down. The droids may have an advantage to us however we have something they don't, we can speak telepathically. If you wan't me to deal the killing blow toward the droid, I will but that is only if you can survive some few shots. Kes stated telepathically.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark was indeed tired, and Kes' plan was nearly identical to the plan Ark had going with Kaata and Magrektor, though this one involved keeping separate and communicating telepathically. Ark wasn't used to communicating telepathically, thgouh this was great practice, and by how easy the skill was, he was bound to have no issues with it by the end of the mission. Ark's recent skirmish wight he droids and constant fighting against the blizzard's winds leaves him heaving rather heavy breaths of icy air that only freezes the back of his throat.

The only thing keeping him warm now was the fact that he was constantly moving. After this mission, he would certainly look into surgeries to replace the hair on his body so that he has a full coat of hair to protect him form such weathering. This is one of the advantages of these droids is that they were designed specifically to handle extreme environments like blizzards. Ark's full intentions are to locate and take the last droid out as soon as possible, though this droid being anti -force sensitive might prove to be much harder to take out than the other two. Not that the other two were easy to take out, though this time, he would be faced with a new and more difficult problem to solve. How do you fight something specifically designed to combat your every strength?

Before separating, Ark reluctantly removed the blaster from his side and places it in his partner's hand, "I was acting as the distraction you speak of before you got here, because of my skill in SHien, though i think that the bulk of the blaster using is over with. Because I am tired, I will... Allow, you to be the bait."

Reluctance to take the target off his belt was relieving, but it doesn't change any of the danger that could befall him. Ark and Kes separated as they walked into the blizzard keeping each other's locations in mind through some version of Force Sense, and communicating via telepathy. They could cover more ground to see if they can pick up some sort of trail or hint as to where the droid had gone. Trying to keep his lightsaber hidden by carrying it in his hand so that his forearm blocks it from view, Ark's nakedness has caught up to him in more than one way.

"When you get a hint of his location, or see him, I need you to allow yourself to be seen and slow him down as much as possible in order to allow for myself to get behind him and take him out. Be careful though. This last droid, we've been told, is designed specifically for combating force sensitives. Though I have my doubts about how well a droid can fare against any Sith, though, I underestimated these droids once before, and I soon won't make that mistake again," Ark hopes his telepathic warning goes heeded. he expects that Kes wouldn't be nearly as arrogant as he is, though it is alway helpful to give a warning. Information is peer after all. Ark cannot find the spare strength within himself to do much saving of anyone but himself. It may be quite likely that he'd end up being saved again. He knows that he has endured far more before, and he knows just how much his endurance extends.

The question of reinforcements was indeed necessary in a situation like this, but Ark's arrogance always seems to get in the way of making such decisions effectively, and the fact that Kes' arrogance is all the same doesn't help at all, "I believe that it would take too much time for them to arrive. They would likely ruin the element of surprise we currently have. And our plan will allow us to manage just fine on our own."

Ark' arrogance was in part fueled by his own greed to take as much glory for the mission's eventual success as possible. Ark's frozen stare falls upon the remnants of some partially filled footprints forming in the snow below him. using another telepathic call he warns Kes, "Adjust your path about 5 degrees to your right. I've found some footprints that look like they belong to the droid. He isn't too much farther ahead of us." Ark adjusts his own path and he allows their path adjustments to be able to allow kew to be the one following the foot prints, "I've adjust ed your path so that you should come upon them in a few dozen meters. Keep an eye on the ground so that you may be able to follow them."

When Kes finds them, they will readjust their paths 5 degrees back tot he left so that they are once again traveling parallel to each other. After a few more moments of travel, Ark begins to feel the wind dying down a bit, but not because the storm is getting weaker, but rather that they were coming close to something. If Ark had to guess he would say its some sort of cliff wall. The droid may be traveling along the cliff wall or into some sort of crevice. They would have to get creative now.

 

[TheSilentWind]

Kes heard Ark what he wanted to hear, that he was going to be the bait. He knew that Makashi wasn't exactly a going tobe effective considering the fact that the footwork element of Makashi was impacted however he also knew that Makashi had some elements of Form I:Shii-Choo blaster training which could prove useful however Makashi was designed for lightsaber combat which would make Kes somewhat ineffective in defending himself if the droid had a blaster although if the droid had some kind of other melee weapon, Kes could defend himself against it although that was highly unlikely

"I am fine being the distraction. Just remember this time, its all on you, not me. Be aware of your surroundings and do this in the name of the Empire." Kes replied to Ark telepathically. He then separated with Ark even though he could feel his force presence a little. Kes then heard what Ark stated about the droid.

""When you get a hint of his location, or see him, I need you to allow yourself to be seen and slow him down as much as possible in order to allow for myself to get behind him and take him out. Be careful though. This last droid, we've been told, is designed specifically for combating force sensitives. Though I have my doubts about how well a droid can fare against any Sith, though, I underestimated these droids once before, and I soon won't make that mistake again,"

"Copy that Ark, I will be vigilant but remember that you are equally important toward the plan succedding and you are perhaps the most important asset to it. I know the lesson of underestimating my opponent and I payed the price with my arm, I will not make the same mistake again. Kes replied to Ark remembering the hatred of the Jedi that cut of his arm. Kes wanted to repay him back and he would soon. The fact that Kes remembered this only fueled his rage and anger and therefore fueled his determination for this mission to successed. Ark then sent Kes what would be their last telepathetic communication before the battle telling Kes to adjust his path five degrees which Kes did although mathematics wasn't exactly his suit. Kes wondered if the adjustment was precise enough. He continued to walk where he saw the droid's footprints which led toward a crevasse. Kes wondered how he would fair against the droid because despite the wind dying down, Kes's feet weren't exactly prepared for the footwork of Makashi in snow and most likely, Kes would be going with an ujnury if he didn't figure something out.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Sure enough, he was forced to look along the cliff until they parted into an opening. The foot steps lead directly inside, and Ark, though not unpleased by the fact that they were approaching and possibly cornering the droid, he felt unweary. The very fact that the droid went into this cliff meant he was either nearing his destination, or he knows that his fellow droids are not going to make it to him and that he needed to finish this one fast.

The thought was rather disturbing, and he felt that his lack of energy amy not prove to be very useful in such a situation were a cornered droid is willing to fight back, though that was just it. It is a cornered droid... not a cornered beast. I won't be willing to do anything just to live, but you can count on it that it was doing everything it could in the first place to take them out, and that is nearly as frightening considering what the other two droids were capable of nearly killed if not seriously injured him.

The opening was much like a tunnel, and Ark didn't much enjoy that. it was ideal for ambushes, and the very fact that Ark's strategic mind told him not to enter, he did so anyway. A tunnel wasn't very nice as far as ambushes go seeing that the victims had no where to go apart from forward or back. Either way, it was a straight shot one way or the other. The only benefit here was that, unlike a tunnel, you can go up.

Ark bent to his knees and placed a hand on the ground as he let the Force power through his unused legs. His eyes were closed, but his target was in mind. It was high, and seemingly untouchable. Finally the power welled within him making him seem to teem with the very energy, and with a final release, his legs uncoiled and sent him flying up the side of the cliff. At first, he didn't think he would even make it up, but the power of the force bolstering his already natural talent for incredibly high leaps allowed him to shoot into the highest reaches of the cliff wall like a rocket.

The snow beneath him shattered in a miniature snow storm, where the circle of snow left the ground bare, but quickly filling from the excess snow from the storm. His hands reached the ledge quite easily, and he thought he'd need to pull himself up the rest of the way, but the power from his jump only allowed his hand to further direct his landing. He touched the ledge where upon looking down, he would be able to make out what's around him, like an eagle looking down upon its kill. He decided that since he'd gotten there before his partner that he should scout up ahead.

Dropping down to all fours, he decided to use his superior balance to hop from ledge to ledge further into the path where he'd look down in order to see if he could catch up with the droid. If he was lucky, he'd actually be able to spot the droid before he attempted to ambush his partner. He looked a ways back to find that Kes had finally entered. The end was in sight now.

 

[Flamjetxx]

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[TheSilentWind]

Kes continued to walk for a long time on the crevasse. Despite the snowstorm dying down, he was drained in terms of force reserves and mentally as despite getting used to snow, Mandalore was what you can call "weather-balanced" as they wasn't really any a dominant season, they were times when it was hot and they were times when it was cold and that was how Kes was able to survive on both Korribian and the planet he was on now. He survived because in Mandalore, every day he would go and train whether it was hot or cold, whether if the sun was shining or when it was snowing, it didn't matter to Kes's father, a Mandalorian had to have strong discipline and that was how Kes was.

As he walked, he wondered where Ark is and if he was even close to Kes. Kes couldn't waste the energy of sensing Ark cause it would be a waste of energy and he wanted to see if he could come and use the same tactics Kes used before. As he continued to walk, Kes had a beeping not far away from him. It was just up ahead. When he reached the noise, he activated his lightsaber wondering if it was the droid and after that, he was attacked by a rain blaster fire in which Kes tried to deflect not at the droid but at a different direction as he would live the disabling of the droid to Ark. Kes was getting tired quickly and sooner or later, he would get injured.

Kes began to try and move around employing Makashi's footwork but a planet full of snow wasn't exactly the best place to train if you were a Makashi dueler. As Kes continued to move around, the droid continued sending blaster fire, one which hit Kes's knee significantly reducing his already terrible mobility. Where the hell are you Ark? Kes wondered while he kept deflecting blaster fire. If Ark didn't arrive, Kes was most going to have to destroy the droid as he wasn't planning on dying.

 

[Flamjetxx]

Ark began to race ahead farther into the walls of stone, scanning the ground the whole way through. In the distance he could make out the winding path, though nothing of gray detail stood out to him due to the distance to the ground. He was able to pick out a few decent places that would have been great for an ambush, though upon searching them, he didn't find a trace of the droid he was looking for. Nothing. Where was the droid?

Suddenly, a sharp sense of warning shook Ark's mind and caused him to leap off of the stone platform he gazed down from. A hail of blaster bolts scattered across the location where Ark's face was once placed. It was sudden, but Ark had somehow managed to miss the droid's location, and thankfully it had fallen into their trap. Ark was already tired from the journey up until now, and he only needed to accomplish one last task.

He meticulously, and as silently as feasible, he dropped from one ledge to the next, using his natural balance and climbing ability to guide him down without a single audible sound. His eyes were also on the lookout for the bolts that seemed to be magnetized to him, though he was fast enough to avoid them while still managing to maintain a surprisingly predatory level of stealth.

His landing allowed him to make the rest of the way down the side of the cliff, which landed him directly behind the droid, without making an ounce of noise due to the Force assisted landing he utilized. Without yet activating his lightsaber he crept up behind the droid as to best direct his lightsaber into the back of the droid. Just before activating his lightsaber, a sensor must have gone off on the droid, causing it to turn its head abruptly, though with the swelling of the force already building in his legs, his body flowed every last ounce of connection to the Force he had left to make a dash with inhuman speed in which activating his lightsaber and directing it behind the droid in a flash of his blade became unavoidable to the droid's sensors.

It dropped with a clank into the snow, while smoke bellowed out of the small compartment precisely picked for its disabling of the rest of the droid with minimal, and acceptable, damage to the rest of the droid.

"Finally," Ark managed to mutter while he felt weakness in his knees, and wanted to drop into the shallow floor of frozen water at his feet. The cliffs blocked out the majority of the snow coming down on Ark and his comrade Kes, though it was still present, and it made him slip on the smooth granite floor of the crevasse.

Ark wanted to groan, but he didn't feel like wasting his breath, instead he wasted his breath conveying a final message to Kes, "Thanks for the help," he felt the thanking was necessary after saving Ark's *ss, and then risking his own to finish the mission. "Now all we need to do is clean up...," he looks around, "...after we drag this droid out, I think we can pick them all up with my ship."

Ark begins to drag the droid, by the leg, out of the rocky sandwich. Upon exiting, he finds that the skies had finally cleared up, and the snowstorm left a snowy plain to be able to easily pick out the location of the second droid they disabled. This was going to be a rather smooth ending, Ark thinks to himself.

/END THREAD