Ask Medicine Man

[Darth Invictus]

Ender moved through the house without hindrance as he swung open doors to continue on. When he went into a new room, there were droids waiting for him but they were barely operational. He immediately drew out his lightsaber, both of the blades activated as they came out from each initiator on the ends of his weapon. With a quick flick of his wrist, weapon spun in a circular motion as it deflected two bolts back to the first droid, the bolts easily melting through the metal. He sidestepped out of the way from the second barrage and deactivated his lightsaber at the same, the force building in his one free hand as he wrapped it around the droid and slammed it into the ceiling and then into the floor.

Sparks ejected out from the second droid and out of commission. Ender simply stepped over the droids, opening the next door that led into the living room of the house. The old woman stood there with a blaster of her own and was about to pull the trigger on him. But her age was against her and he simply used the force to whip the gun out of her frail fingers and continued walking toward her. She pulled out a knife next when there were only a few feet between them and he simply slapped the blade out of her hand. There wasn't anything else for her to grab and she was slammed against the wall roughly with the force, suspended in the air a few feet as she held onto her throat.

Ender stared into her eyes, his own turned back into the stark gold. "So, we remember each other." She practically hissed at him, "You'd attack an old woman like this?" Her words made his lip quiver in anger slightly, "Don't try to disguise yourself into something you're not." She was a monster, one that had no inkling of love or care inside her. The force around her throat constricted as she gagged but then he heard a shuffle behind a nearby door. He let go of the force around her as the woman fell to the ground and gasped for air.

The shuffling went quiet as he approached the door and when he opened it, it revealed a group of children huddled together. Ender slowly turned his gaze away from the children to look at his old caretaker, "You have more?" He quickly stepped into the room and grabbed the nearest child and turned them around to lift their shirt and see if they had any scars. When he checked a couple more and saw they didn't have scars as well, the old woman finally spoke, "No, you were the only one."

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak snorted as the woman tried to pass herself off as a frail old woman. She might have been that, but she was far from innocent. She may not have known Talak, but after what he'd seen in Ender's mind, he felt like he knew her, and not for the better.

If even a fraction of the things that he had seen in Ender's mind were true, she deserved everything she got, and Talak wouldn't stand in his way.

He watched as Ender went over to the far side of the room and opened a door to find terrified children huddling in the corner. He didn't want to imagine what horrors she had subjected these children to. She claimed he was the only one that she ever found, and Talak couldn't help but find himself curious as to what it was she had in mind and who she worked for.

Why are you doing this? Who do you work for? he decided to ask. It wasn't like she was going to survive to think he was an idiot, and he was frankly involved in something he didn't fully understand. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

The old woman whipped her gaze at Talak, as if noticing him for the first time since he been there, "Why do you think? They pay me credits and I give them who they want." Ender's fist clenched together once again as they shook slightly. "Do you realize what they did to me? To us?" She grabbed onto a nearby bookshelf and helped herself up so she was standing, "Oh yes, I saw the and I wouldn't change a thing. All of you were runts or abandoned by your parents either way. You either fish here or you die and I plan to live comfortably until I can't anymore." He didn't know whether to believe her as everything she had said before was a lie but the more she spoke the more she revealed she was just an old crone.

"What happened after I escaped?" The woman laughed, it sharp and ugly. "She was actually quite happy, despite what happened to her. I was quite surprised and was interested if there were more of you." Ender stared at her for a few moments as he jutted his thumb to the door, "You're still collecting. That means you have a way to contact her." The crone gave a sort of smirk before dashing for the door. He simply grabbed her throat and slammed her back up against the wall, this time while he held onto her. "Where is it?" She hit his arms with full force as an attempt to break his grip but there was no use. She was fighting pretty hard and that must have meant it was close.

He glanced down at her clothing before patting down her pants and jacket as he was able to feel a datapad. Ender reached into her clothing before he pulled it out and tossed it over to Talak to check. There were Imperial signs on it and he couldn't help but point it out, "It was true." He turned his gaze back to the crone, almost unable to fathom how rotten she was inside to sell children away. She continued to struggle against his grip and it only made him tighten it, "You took my childhood. I'll take your life." For so much pain and torment that had been caused in his life, it was because of her. She gave him away just for some credits and actually put a value on how much is life was worth. That was something he wouldn't forget and something that she would pay for dearly. Her feet started to shake uncontrollably until the sound of her gagging echoing in the room as the air was blocked off from her windpipes. It only lasted a few more seconds until there was finally a snap and her body collapsed onto the ground.

The body dropped to the floor and he turned toward Talak, Ender's eyes still a striking gold. While his friend dealt with the datapad, he made his way over to the closet where the children were huddled together. He bent down as his eyes changed back to normal to not scare them. "Do all of you remember how to get home?" All of them nodded and he stood up and got out of the way, "Go." They all ran out in a hurry and out the backdoor, quickly disappearing from view. Normally he would have worried but life here was different and they knew how to fend for themselves out there. It's how he managed to escape and still be alive.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak had walked into a bizarre and wicked world. The woman's greed and willingness to harm children was - unfortunately - not shocking to him even if it was appalling. He had seen and killed many heinous people in his relatively short life, and she was one among many. But this kill was Ender's. It was his life that she had ruined, and he wouldn't step in his way.

He watched without a flinch as she was strangled. He wondered how many people would have been appalled that he could impassively watch someone's life slip away. Even if she was a cold wretch.

What struck him most wasn't her death, but the kids suddenly running into the wilds. It was what made him realize what a foreign world this was, and he watched them go with alarm. Ender knew this world better than he did, but Ender also may not have been thinking the most clearly.

Ender, those kids... he said, starting to walk toward the door as he watched them run through the swamps without any concern. How far would they have to go to get home? How many would be eaten by swampy predators like on Nal Hutta? Talak was a bit concerned.

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender stopped before he was too far away and turned around to face Talak. He could hear the concern in his voice and knew what it was about. "What Talak? Do we plan on holding each of their hands and taking them to the ship to drop them off one by one to their homes? This is wild space, you either survive out here or you don't, with or without help. They'll make it." That was just the truth, they didn't have Police or Rangers to just call upon for any problems that came up. He had tossed the datapad to his friend but he still just held it in his hand. He made his way over before snatching it out of his hand, "I'm finding the Scientist."

He was different, he was on edge but not because he thought there were in danger but because they were so close to catching up to his real target. Ender knew what he was doing, he was sure of it and they weren't going to be slowed down. It was the only thing that occupied his mind. The datapad was practically empty except for one contact in it. There wasn't a name listed or any information but he could assume who it was. He touched the contact before sending a message, telling whoever it was to meet him and Talak at a location of his choosing.

"I sent the message. We'll see if they'll respond." He slipped the datapad underneath his clothes. Ender glanced at Talak, "Are you ready?" He'd only wait for a second before he would begin to walk towards the destination. He didn't plan on waiting for the actual meeting time and intended to go there early to wait. It was better to be extremely early and prepared then showing up on time and not ready for anything at all.

 

[Talak Rand]

Trys had always told him that he was impulsive, and it was true. But he was working on it. When his concerns were so blatantly brushed off by Ender, his impulse was to simply tell him to kriff off after all he'd gone through the get to this point with Ender. He was a bit pissed, but he was working on his impulse control and simply brushed it off.

Ender was certainly changing, and Talak wasn't sure it was for the better. But he kept his thoughts to himself for now. He didn't stop Ender from taking the datapad, after all, Talak hadn't done much with it. His focus was much more on the children, and he didn't feel bad about it.

Ender didn't care, though, and Talak wasn't going to argue with him... yet. He was "content" to watch and wait as Ender promptly marched into the swamps. If they weren't taking the ship, the meeting point couldn't have been too far, and Talak followed. He wondered what effect it would have in the longterm once they killed the scientist? Would he switch back to his normal self or continue down the path of darkness that was eating at his mind since whatever had invaded it. Talak wasn't convinced that they'd actually escaped that darkness... he began to wonder if it had just set up camp in a more insidious and invasive manner. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender led the way toward the meeting point, it somewhat located in the middle of the swamp. He didn't know how many of them there were or who they were even dealing with really but if they didn't come in a small force, they would be bogged down by the environment. He didn't speak the entire time, his gaze just locked on the datapad until he would occasionally glance around for a quick reference point and alter their course. He was consumed with his own thoughts about the Scientist and who was going to arrive at the meeting, if someone did, to speak.

When they finally arrived, there was a patch of solid land in the middle of a lagoon. It was where the coordinates were indicating and Ender glanced over to Talak, "This is the spot. Now we just wait." They had quite sometime before the meeting was supposed to start and that would let them be able to set up position.

It had been a few hours later, the massive sun that hung in the sky finally starting to slip away as night came in. Ender waited behind a tree that was thick enough that he could stand there comfortably for cover and could peer through the branches. It would only be a few minutes now until the meeting actually happened and he glanced over at Talak before giving a nod and asking silently if he was ready. Whether he responded or not, it would only be a few minutes until they heard the sound of speeders.

Three of them pulled up to island in the middle and when they all got off, they stood in Imperial armor. It was colored green and was in somewhat bad condition as each suit of armor had scrapes and gashes along with the armor with some dirt. Each of the soldiers had a black shoulder pad on their left shoulder, the Imperial symbol on it displayed proudly. The one in the front stepped up, his blaster held in his arms as he glanced around, "Where's the woman?" He asked as if she would come out herself and answer but when nothing happened, he turned to the next Imperial soldier, "Anything on thermals?"

The one who got asked stepped up, sliding down a thermal reader over one of his eyes as he slowly started to scan the surrounding area. Ender glanced over to Talak, they would have only a few seconds before they were spotted and he slipped out his saber before moving. He had been right, there were Imperials in the flesh. The way Talak had talked about, he was starting to doubt himself but with them actually here, it meant that the Scientist was as well.

 

[Talak Rand]

They arrived at the location of the meeting, and it was apparent they had many hours before the arrival of their prey. Ender seemed in no mood for conversation throughout their trip or their stakeout, so Talak dropped to his knees and began to meditate instead. He let his mind perfuse the trees and the swamps. He felt the animals here and he felt the terrible rage inside his own colleague.

His thoughts turned inward and he began to ponder the evils they had seen done to the children. He knew that for what they were doing he would need that darker part of his soul that wasn't given to empathy or compassion. The beast of darkness that could easily slaughter the men and women who were about to arrive.

His breathing went from slow and steady to far more rapid as he could sense his quarry approaching.

He stood to his feet and his lightsaber slipped easily into his hand. It resonated with the darkness that now emanated from him and he glanced over at Ender as the soldiers began their sweep of the area.

With scanners out and some sort of specialized swampy armor, The Arcanist could just barely make them out through the trees. His eyes caught Ender's once more and he slipped from behind his tree and began to move with a burst from the Force through the woods. His saber activated, but instead of going straight for the trio of men, he leapt over the waters between them and landed near the speeder bikes.

His saber flashed with its characteristic buzz as he swept the blade through the steering vein of one of the bikes to prevent its escape. The Arcanist hoped that Ender would go after the men standing there as they began to open fire. One even managed to hop onto his bike and fire up the engine before the Arcanist's saber swiped across at chest height. The man's own forward momentum made avoiding the blow impossible and he was cut cleanly in two as the bike whooshed into the swamp and detonated against a tree. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

When Talak made his move, Ender would be right behind him. The other went for the speeders and cut off escape for the three soldiers. While that happened, he would leap directly into the group, knocking one down with his legs that was trying to aim at his partner. Another turned his attention towards the new threat and spun his rifle to aim it at him but he activated his lightsaber, one crimson blade coming out as he spun and simply cut the weapon in half. The trooper jumped backward to avoid the next strike and pulled out his pistol to fire.

Ender used the force to pick up a rock and fling it towards the back of the soldier's head. He pulled the trigger but the rock hit him at the same time and the bolt went wide left instead. With another quick slash of his blade, the soldier was cut down easily and when the other finally stood up, the other blade of the lightsaber was activated and it pierced through last one's chest before he could react. All the soldiers were dead and that left one working speeder there for them. "Good work." Ender murmured to Talak, staying quiet for the time being.

He deactivated his lightsaber before approaching the nearest body. With the force, the helmet was flung off and revealed a human underneath with a typical military haircut. They didn't seem to be pirates or raiders who at least just found a random stash of arms for them to use. The Imperial Signia was still on their shoulder pads and he gave Talak a pointed glance, "What are your thoughts on this?" Maybe they were regular people instead of pirates who found the weapons? Were they actually Imperials as recorded in history books before them? Either way, this was something different then he dealt with before.

Ender walked over to the remaining speeder and hopped onto the seat. He didn't start it but he turned on the console embedded into the body of the vehicle. A map was pulled up on the screen and after a few moments, it showed when the speeders were started and where they took off from. "We have an actual location now Talak." Could this be it? Anticipation that he never experienced before flooded through him. The Scientist had tortured his mind for weeks and took his childhood from him. He had been waiting for this moment for years without knowing it.

 

[Talak Rand]

It took less than ten seconds before the fight was over. Three enemies and three dead. Talak couldn't find it in himself to feel even a moment's pity for them, and he didn't feel bad about it at all.

He flipped off his saber and replaced it on his belt as he bent down to look at the dead man. The smell of burned flesh assaulted his nose, but it wasn't anything the Sith was unfamiliar with.

His gear is certainly Imperial, he said. There was no denying it, but even as he looked at the man he couldn't fathom that they actually considered themselves Imperial. None of them would have even been old enough to live in that era, but more radical things had happened before.

Could be that they found a cache of old gear or they might really think of themselves as some Imperial Remnant, he said, standing back up with a shrug. He figured their questions would be answered when they found the base. He had to admit, though, that his curiosity was piqued.

He walked over and looked at the holodisplay and quirked an eyebrow. They had their location all right. That meant the final leg of the journey was close at hand.

We might as well not leave her waiting, he said, taking a closer look and hoping they weren't too far away. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

"Couldn't agree more." Ender replied to his comment about not leaving the woman waiting. Examing the map for a second, he plugged in the coordinates before glancing to Talak, "It's a few clicks away. Hop on." If he scooted up enough there would be enough space for the both of them to ride it. When both of them were on it, the speeder lifted into the air with a subdued screech before they pulled away from the bodies and shot off into the marsh.

The journey was maybe a half an hour or a little over that until they would be a half a click outside of where the coordinates designated. Ender shut off the speeder before swinging one foot over and stepping into the muddy ground. He reached out with the force and wasn't able to sense anything that stood out or was waiting for them. "Not that far. Keep an eye out." The soldiers they dealt with blended well with the environment and had thermals, they could be hiding anywhere if they really wanted to.

He led the way to the destination, occasionally checking the datapad to make sure they didn't deviate from the course. They would arrive deep in a swamp, it mostly water than solid land but nothing too treacherous. But nothing stood out, it was just trees, plants and whatever creatures swam underneath the murky water. He didn't know much about Imperials but he knew they liked to grandstand but there was nothing here.

Ender just stood there for a few moments, confused as to what was happening and why it would lead them to here. When he took a step further into the swamp, suddenly both of them would hear metal clicks around them. He froze at the moment, believing he had activated a trap or some defense system but nothing happened. Slowly stepping back, the pair would hear the clicks again and Ender glanced over to Talak with a questioning look. Only one way to find out and he walked forward a couple of steps this time. The clicks were louder and there was a hiss of air before a hatch in the ground suddenly revealed itself and opened.

At first the thought this meant that whoever was in there was waiting for him but when he pulled out the datapad, it showed on the screen that the I.D matched and it let them gain access. Red and light lights descended down the tunnel as there was a ladder for people to climb up and down. Ender approached the edge before asking Talak, "Me or you?"

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak wasn't thrilled about having to both ride on the same speeder, but such was life. He climbed aboard and they shot off shortly thereafter. Luckily, the distance they had to travel wasn't too far. After a half an hour they dismounted and started taking the path on foot.

Ender checked the datapad repeatedly, but it didn't seem like they were in the right place... then he heard the clicking. At first he thought it was some sort of landmine, but neither lost a leg or worse. No droids came out to shoot them, there was just... nothing. Then they clicked again and again and it was followed by a hissing that opened a "trapdoor" with a ladder to climb down.

He could make out the bottom thanks to the red and white lights, but it was certainly a long way down. He frowned and pulled the lightsaber from his belt once again as Ender asked who should go first.

Might as well be me, he muttered before plunging over the edge. The descent wasn't anything like a normal person's drop, and his "terminal velocity" was almost more of a float toward the ground. A decent speed, but nothing like a free fall. Within seconds, his feet hit the ground and he looked up and down.

The tunnel was massive like an underground bunker or perhaps a runway. He didn't know how long it went on or where it was supposed to go to, but he was surprised they'd been able to keep it here under the swamp. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

Talak offered first and jumped down the hole. Ender joined him a little after, giving him enough time to step away so they didn't crash on top of each other. With the help of the force as well, he descended at a nice pace before landing gracefully on his feet beside the other Sith. It was empty at least for now and thankfully they weren't greeted by a squad of soldiers waiting to fire on them. Well, at least where they were, things could quickly change in this place.

The tunnel had been carved out, the walls made out of the natural rock. It extended for a quite bit until it would end in a massive metal door that was familiar with Imperial design. Ender glanced around one more time before he took a step forward, his saber slipping out and into his hand in case anything happened. He stayed silent again, this time listening for anything out of the ordinary. When they finally reached the door, the datapad didn't seem to work as it did with the manhole. "What do you think?" They could use their lightsaber but that would be quite obvious and they didn't know what was on the other side.

But as the two stood there, a camera in the corner turned on as the red light began to blink. It caught Ender's attention and he turned to look at it and wondered who that could possibly be. "You've returned home." A womanly voice came through an intercom before the door slid open in front of them. There two soldiers, both nearly the same height as Ender as they appeared more heavily armored then the last squad they dealt with. Both of them held a sort of glaive, electricity crackling along the edges of their blade. They lunged at the two Sith and immediately his saber activated as a blade came out and he used it to catch the glaive that was meant for him.

 

[Talak Rand]

The two of them continued on through the tunnels without any sign of the enemy. Talak couldn't decide if that was a good thing or something that made him even more unnerved.

When they reached the far door, Ender tried to open it with the datapad, but Talak couldn't push aside the feeling that something was wrong. His fingers traced along the hilt of his saber as a voice suddenly sounded from above them, watching them through a camera.

And of course when the door slid open there had to be enemies. Nothing else that would have been simple was an option. No one ever wanted to "have a chat" anymore.

Talak's saber lit immediately, blocking a swipe directed to him as well. It was clear these weapons were designed to be able to fend off a lightsaber, and Talak quickly found himself dodging back out of the way of another strike. The weapon had greater reach than his lightsaber, but like most situations, Talak's lack of armor gave him better maneuverability.

Oh, and the Force.

The two of them weren't untrained children, they were Sith. And Sith who knew how to kill. The switch seemed to flip in his mind as he entered into a far more focused, murderous mental state.

Lightning leapt from his fingers and cut straight through the armor. Metal armors were great for stopping melee weapons and blaster shots or even slugs, but it conducted lightning oh so well. The man screeched and cried as he was fried within his own defensive suit. The Arcanist's eyes swung around to Ender, seeing if he had either taken a cue for the same maneuver or had already dispatched his soldier.

They weren't children indeed. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

The glaive was heavier then Ender's weapon and he couldn't hold it for long. Able to see the lightning spill from Talak's fingers and cook the other one inside his armor, he took his cue. He deactivated his lightsaber and stepped to his left, the glaive slamming down into the ground and sinking a few inches into the rock. His foot came down on the shaft of the glaive and lightning flicked amongst his fingers as he aimed the blast directly at the soldier. The electricity connected right to the soldier's chest and sent the soldier back into the corner from the ferocity of it.

"Capture them." The woman's voice came through the intercom once more, an alarm blaring soon after as the entire base was now alerted of the pair's presence. They were not going to be captured again. The Scientist thought that she had locked them in there with her but really she was locked in there with them. Ender strolled forward with his lightsaber activated again, more Imperial soldiers in coming out to greet them in their traditional white armor but scuffed and dirty. They opened fire on the two and Ender swiped his blade at the bolts to deflect them back. One of them found their mark while the rest just scattered and he sent out a force push to break up their formation and giving Talak a window to leap into the fray.

Hopefully, he saw it when it was opened because Ender turned to find another one of those glaive soldiers charging at him, the weapon coming in overhead like an axe. He dodged to the side as the glaive cleaved a console neatly in two behind him. Jumping back up onto his feet afterward, the Sith shot another blast of lightning but this time the soldier charged through it, grabbing onto the hand and lifting it up so he could kick him in the stomach. The kick made him stumble back against the wall and before he could recover too much the glaive was already being swung directly for his chest.

Ender was sick of this fight and ducked under it just in time as it barely grazing his head. He stood up afterward and grabbed onto the soldier's face, lighting spewing out directly into his mask. With his foot behind the other's, he pushed with his hand and slammed the man into the ground, the helmet completely charred and black. Ender glanced over to Talak to see how he was doing and reached out with the force, searching the base for the woman.

 

[Talak Rand]

The base slammed into lockdown and she ordered the pair "captured." She really should have learned something by this point about the pair's capabilities. What could she possibly want them for anyway? What a psycho...

Stormtroopers came out in a rush, blasters fired, and Ender created an opening that Talak capitalized on. In a hail of gunfire, the Sith charged forward. His saber deflected gunshots and his feet dodged aside of others. He didn't bother trying to deflect the shots back at anyone, but instead tried to keep himself alive.

He slid past one of the white armored troopers, jerking him with the Force in the way of oncoming fire. The shot struck squarely in his chest and knocked him back as Talak continued to move. His saber swept down and through the torso of another soldier as a blaster bolt passed so close to Talak's face that he could feel the heat.

He saw Ender look over and the only response he would get from Talak was Go find her! shouted across the way. There were only four more troopers, but they weren't much to write home about. Talak had killed more men in a single fight before.

 

[Darth Invictus]

With checking on Talak, his response was for him to go find the Scientist and end this whole thing. Ender hoped that he would be fine and bolted, honing in on the woman as he jumped over the squad of troopers and other sith. He rolled once he landed and sprinted down the large room, able to see a sort of control deck at the very end with tinted windows. She had to be in there, he could feel it. Two doors on the side of the room opened up, one pair of soldiers coming out from each entrance as they aimed their rifles at him before opening fire.

Ender activated his second blade, twirling it around him to deflect the bolts away from him at least and make them take cover. Once he ran past them, he wouldn't be able to guard at his back and they would have an open shot. When he was about to cross the two doors, he instead called the force to his legs and leaped to the control deck. With the force amplifying the move, it was fast enough that the four troopers couldn't track a clear shot and he crashed through the window and into the control deck in a crouched position. The Scientist stood in front of him and changed from how his mind had depicted her as she now had cybernetic implants throughout her body. It seemed how they escaped is what actually happened and she suffered intensive injuries.

"You insufferable piece of shit." She hissed before flicking her hand up in the air. Two more soldiers came out from behind a couple of consoles, each holding a stun baton as turned to run. Ender wasn't going to let her escape so easily. He stood up and advanced toward the two, easily ducking the first swipe at him before plunging his blade through the throat of the first guard. The next tried to stab at his open shoulder but he used the blade to pull the first guard's body in the way to absorb the blow for him. He kicked the corpse off the blade and into the other man before shooting a blast of lightning directly into the man's face, practically melting him from the inside.

Ender didn't waste a second and kept on the move and headed deeper into the command deck. The Scientist managed to exit and shut the door behind her but it was only a hallway that led to a dead-end, the only rooms being information centers connected to it. He stabbed his blade through the top of the door and began to drag it downward, melting through the metal easily until he finally reached the bottom. The door simply fell forward and revealed the Scientist at the end of the hallway, having her hands against the wall as she realized her mistake.

She would turn around to find Ender standing at the doorway, his golden eyes glowing and his saber basking him in red. He put one foot forward after the other, each step a loud thud that echoed in the tight corridor. "You really think you stop anything?" She pulled out a small blaster, squeezing the trigger and firing off multiple shots but each one deflected either into the wall or ceiling. "There are more bases just like this, we will not be ruled by the Sith again." There were only a couple of feet between them now. "I should have killed you when I had the chanc-" His lightsaber went through the air like a spear and pierced through the woman's mouth, cutting off her words as the blade came out the other side of her head. "But you didn't."

Ender flicked his blade upwards, slicing the woman's head in clean two as one side was flesh and the other was robotics and wiring. Her body collapsed onto the ground as deadweight and he stared down at her for a while. It was done, the devil that he had been forced to make a deal with had finally met her end. It's done, he messaged Talak through the force.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak still had a quartet of targets to deal with, but he wasn't concerned. Another shot went wide on the left as he darted forward. Two more fired but a lightsaber found both shots in the air. One of the shots flew back and hammered into the chest of man 1.

A pirrouette evaded another shot as his saber swung around and chopped through the chest, carving a buring path through the screaming man's chest. Lightning streamed out and caught the third man, sending him into the wall and spasming. The blade followed through in a slash that turned into a graceful deflection of the final bolt into the man's chest.

And then it was over. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins and he turned his attention to finding Ender, only to hear his voice ring out.

We should go, then. More guards might come, he said. He wasn't sure that they wanted to fight the whole facility if the head had been cut off. He wasn't feeling suicidal. @Orbit

 

[Darth Invictus]

Ender stared down at the body, almost admiring the sight of seeing the woman cut down before his feet. It felt as if a weight that he hadn't known about was lifted from his shoulders and made him feel lighter and like he could run for miles. He almost wished that he could have just prolonged their encounter and drawn out the amount of pain as she did to him when he had been younger and less powerful. But when Talak responded through the force, even through his own bliss and elation, he knew his friend was right and it was time for them to leave.

Turning away from the body, Ender made his way down the hall and back into the command deck that he entered through the window. Before he left, however, the woman spoke of more bases that were apparently throughout the galaxy. If it could be true or it could be a lie but either way he was going to find out. With the datapad still on him, he plugged it in a console with its credentials and downloaded whatever it contained.

Using the same entrance, he landed gracefully on the same level as Talak before he stood up and noted the cut down guards. Their window to leave the base was brief and he gave his friend a nod before beginning to head out the way they came. It turned out, with the news of two Sith invading the base and killing the outpost leader, it caused fear to spread throughout their ranks wildly. The pair would even be able to see guards and soldiers running away and taking different exits.

They were about to reach the ladder to the hatch and nothing seemed about to stop them from escaping. Ender stood right under the hatch and sent a blast of force above to force the hatch open and let him see daylight. The force built around his legs next and he launched himself from underground and all the way to the top of the tunnel as he barely cleared above the hole. When he landed in the grass, he turned and waited for Talak to come out of the hatch next.

 

[Talak Rand]

The deed was done and there was no more reason to stay around here longer. He returned Ender's nod and they both started heading toward the exit. Talak ascended after Ender and they broke out into the swampy world again. He wondered if his friend felt better now or if he had simply gone further off the edge.

The difficult part was done, now it was simply a matter of leaving this world far behind. It wasn't anywhere Talak was eager to return to soon.

He looked forward to the return to the Nomad, a bottle of wine, and some rest to recover.

//Thread