Ask Scrub Squad Adventures

[Dash Pavan]

When Dash turned around from the dresser, when he saw the bodies, he almost vomited. He had been so in his own head that he had walked between them, completely oblivious not just to death but to mutilation like nothing he had ever seen. Both staff member and Vari had been pulled to pieces, unmade and hollowed out in a way that left little hope for the soul. The gruesome sight struck Dash to his core.

He struggled to look away, blue eyes transfixed by the horrors in front of him. But he heard Ezra's voice over the fear, the strength and the inner steel he had come to trust when it counted. He managed to turn and look at the other teen properly now, realising he wanted nothing more than for both of them, all of them, to get out of here safe. He had been so stupid.

Dash stepped across the room after Ez, knowing he was right. The mental knot he had tied himself in began to loosen and he felt a relief despite it all.

He had nearly made the door when the world exploded and fire tore through the room behind him. If not for his charged emotions, he would have gone down, but his pent up energy and desperation to get to Ezra made him leap on instinct.

He did not get clear - not by half - and the trailing hem of his jacket was burned to ribbons. But he avoided the worst of it, rolling into a uncomfortable heap beyond the heart of the inferno. He coughed and spluttered, more winded than wounded as he staggered to his feet. The blaster wound on his side was hurting again, but it told him he was alive.

Peering through the dust, Dash saw Ferrin slumped against a wall a little way off. He hurried to him, throwing trivial shit to one side as he tried to lay the Pantoran back and check for wounds, wishing for once he had not given up medicine.

"Afraid you've got me buddy" he shouted over the chaos, willing those golden eyes to flutter. "So just lie still and no quips".

@Zay @Sreeya @Altaris

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The heft of Alton’s blade weighed on his conscience, but as soon as Ezra tried to stop him he knew he’d screwed up. He hesitated for just a second, then made his choice. He turned to follow Ferrin out the door listening as the Pantroan spoke. Leon took Jedi Vari’s blade and clipped it to his belt.

At the same the blade’s clip clicked onto his belt, the room behind them exploded. The shockwave slammed into his back, sending him airborne like a bow pulled to fire. He and Ferrin were intertwined both clinging to one another for protection from the tendrils of flame and pelting debris. Then Leon was alone flying through the air. He felt himself bounce off the ground and then into another person knocking them both to the ground. Leon was dazed and disoriented, but surprisingly comfortable. His eyes opened, and he looked up to see he was nestled on Ezra’s chest.

“Awww my hero,” he managed with a weak chuckle before quickly climbing off his roommate and then offering him a hand up. Leon glanced around and spotted Dash helping Ferrin. His whole body hurt. His ears were ringing from the explosion and everything he heard sounded like it was underwater. His blaster burns were still uncomfortable and if he was honest the dance had really aggravated the one on his leg.

They were running out of time. They needed to bail now before someone could stop them, or blame them for the explosion. Oh and for the dead bodies, which were probably pieces of the grossest puzzle right now. What should they do? He remembered Ferrin saying something and then he had it!

“We need to contact the temple and get to Shaw, at the hotel!” he blurted.


@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

As someone with sensitive hearing, the explosion impacted him far worse than the others. He was bodily thrown down the hall, but he was also curled up in pure agony. His eyes watered and he heard an overwhelming ringing that felt like his head would explode. Heightened hearing had severe drawbacks when it came to this, and he had forgotten to pop in his aural dampeners.

For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything, barely registering that Leon landed atop him. He could see people mouthing, but he heard nothing. He felt sick to his stomach, looking around as the ringing blasted in his ears. His eyes were completely watery, and he clutched at his ears in pain. For a moment, he couldn’t focus on anything, stuck sitting there against the wall.

It took a full minute or more before the ringing began to subside enough for him to finally hear again. Ezra wiped his face off where the tears streamed from the intense pain. His Pops had always warned him about it, and he still neglected to keep the dampeners in at all times. Shaky hands reached into his bag to pop them in.

He finally took Leon’s hand to get up, his arms full of cuts and scrapes. All of it was surface level, so he wasn’t concerned about it. Ezra walked over to where Dash and Ferrin were, “Is he all right?” Ezra asked as he tried to get a look at Ferrin’s face. If he ran face first into the wall, it wasn’t going to be a good look.

He didn’t waste time standing around, quickly getting his NalPhone to type up a message to his Master. As a Justicar, he knew she’d quickly network and get the word out to send backup. The downside was that it would be a long time before they had any help.

Ezra could hear shouting in the distance and he knew they’d be in trouble. They had to find an alternate exit out of here, “Come on, let’s get him up!” He said as he walked over to help Ferrin up to his feet.

@Altaris @Zay @Alhon

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin didn’t know why he had tried to bodily protect Leon, but it certainly didn’t do the Pantoran any favors avoiding the explosion. He had been the last one out of the room, was closest to the explosion, and had been flung harshly against the nearest wall. For all the ways he could bullshit himself out of a bad situation, there are no avoiding their near death experience.

Every part of Ferrin’s body ached. While not so pronounced as Ezra, his ears were filled with high pitched ringing, leaving the Pantoran disoriented and thrown off his equilibrium. His back and arms were riddled with bloodied cuts, alongside superficial burns that scorched his blue skin a deeper shade of purple. Worst of all to Ferrin was the cut that ran down the side of his forehead and across his nose - left in the place where his head had struck the wall. He could feel the warm trickle of blood, and knew it would leave scars against his otherwise blemishless complexion.

It took Ferrin a few moments to collect himself - and the only reason he didn’t believe himself dead and one with the Force, was due to the pain he was experiencing. While the others got back to their feet, the Pantoran laid there in a heap - up until the moment Dash began to roll him over.

“Ugh..” Ferrin groaned, blinking up at the Padawan. He didn’t miss the remark to save his usual quips and venom, and it almost elicited a faint grin from the Pantoran. Lying still wasn’t going to be a point of contention. “Think I’d rather be left to the Sith..” He muttered while Dash, though the faint hint of amusement in his voice made it clear that he wasn’t entirely serious. “Thanks..”

As he was helped to his feet, Ferrin glanced over to Leon. “He’s right.. Shaw will be the next target. We need to hurry,” Which was hilarious coming from Ezra, considering how much he had to lean against Ferrin to stay balanced for those first few moments.

Okay, maybe that was a bit intention.

 

[Vizim]

Vizim pulled the mask up over the lower part of his face, only as he entered The Warehouse. Lightsaber hilt in one hand and blaster pistol set to stun in the other, he rounded the corner to finish off the trap he had set. Attacking when his prey was already wounded, disoriented, or even dead had always been his MO, and this was no different.

Aw, they were all over helping up their wounded comrade. Maybe they'd have had a better chance if they had just cut loose the dead weight and focused on saving themselves. Vizim, however, was a vicious and heartless wretch, and as he rounded the corner, the stun shot that he fired was aimed to tear directly into the wounded Jedi's side (@Altaris) as he was helped to his feet.

Make no mistake, it was not out of any mercy that Vizim used a stun round. No, it was the sheer practicality that a stun round dissipated on contact with a lightsaber rather than being capable of deflection.

The blood red lightsaber lit in his right hand and he darted forward, aiming a horizontal slash from his own right to left at gut height at the mass of Padawans (@Sreeya @Altaris @Alhon) who were helping their friend up. Who he hit, he didn't really care, though he'd prefer his main target alive if possible. Dead was almost as good. Collateral damage was unavoidable sometimes.

There was no demand for surrender, that might come later after he'd killed one or two of them. He preferred to negotiate from a position of strength, and nothing said "I'm stronger than you" than killing one or two of the people you were negotiating with.

All the while, he was still aware of the other Padawan (@Zay) at the far side of the hall apparently looking for an exit in case he got uppity, but he'd be very hardpressed to get a shot on Vizim without hitting his friends that were in the way. Vizim almost hoped he'd try because that couldn't possibly go wrong.

 

[Dash Pavan]

Ferrin started to come round, which was a relief. Dash could see he was pretty cut up, but he was alive and his sense of humour seemed in tact. Suddenly Ezra was by his side and the Padawan was relieved to see his boyfriend looked relatively unharmed, though a bit flushed in the face. Together, they helped Ferrin to his feet.

It was only because Ezra was stronger than him now, and could largely manage the Pantoran, that Dash began to turn in time to see the Sith.

The dark figure rounded the corner into the hallway like something out of a nightmare, black clad and radiating death. They had talked of little else for the last few hours, but even without that Dash would have known he was looking at a Sith. A lightsaber hilt glinted in one of its hands and a blaster flicked up in the other.

He shouted a warning to his friends, still holding Ferrin's arm and yanking him aside, half on instinct and half in panic as a stun shot lanced towards them.

The training they had all undertaken kicked in, adrenaline and a fierce desire to protect Ezra and the others meaning Dash had his saber out in seconds. Breaking from Ferrin, he pulled the hilt from his breast pocket and ignited the blue blade, bringing it up to block the horizontal slash of red, his left hand reaching down by his side for the Force, fuelled not just by fear this time, or love, but both.

He would protect them. He had to.

@Zay @Sreeya @Altaris @Phoenix

 

[Ezra Thorne]

There was no time to think, only to act. As the figure approached, Ezra acted in concert with Dash to yank Ferrin out of the way of the stun bolt. As Dash drew out his saber, Ezra quickly grabbed the hilt from Ferrin in his left hand, knowing the electrosword would serve little purpose against a saber.

Two things happened, one of which the Sith likely didn’t expect. The first was that Ezra focused the Force and used it in an attempt to pierce the man’s mind. The Sith would be caught off guard by how powerful the attack was, well beyond the abilities of a padawan like he would expect. The goal was to disorient and break the man’s focus even briefly. Ezra was not skilled enough to do multiple attacks at once, but his other physical attack didn’t need much focus. He simply pivoted and ignited Ferrin’s saber towards the Sith’s right flank, under his arm while he was engaged in a saber lock with Dash. The goal would be to drive the blade right through his torso.

Ezra called the Force to himself and spread his feet to even out his stance to bear down where he stood.

@Alhon @Zay @Altaris @Phoenix

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Dash’s warning spun Leon around he was across the hall from his friends and, in between them stood the mastermind behind it all. The Sith who’d tortured and killed Alton. The same psycho who set a bomb off in a building. The Force swirled around Leon as he plunged himself into it.

His gun was worthless. Taking a shot was too much of a liability. He was out of striking range, so that left the force. His eyes followed the attack, Dash and Ezra flung Ferrin out of the way and then Dash activated his saber to catch the incoming strike, meanwhile, Ezra went on the attack. Leon’s focus locked in on the gun in the Sith’s hand.

As Ezra pivoted around, Baudelaire reached out with the force aiming to yank the sith’s gun out of their hand and into his.

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin was going to make a joke about leaning into Ezra’s arms.. Only for the sudden arrival of Vizim to summarily dash his sense of humor. The Pantoran barely had time to register his fellow Padawan’s warning before he was abruptly yanked to the side - clear from the trajectory of the stun bolt. He briefly caught a glimpse of the blue ring hitting the floor and evaporating into nothingness, but otherwise didn’t even bother looking back.

Instead, Ferrin briefly felt Ezra’s hand slip down towards his waistband - and while certainly not unwelcome in any other circumstance - couldn’t help but go wide eyed as the quarter-Sephi nabbed his yellow-bladed lightsaber. Requisitioned of his primary weapon and resisting the urge to make a joke about Ezra handling his rod, the Pantoran whipped around to face Vizim, positioned to the side and ever-so-slightly behind Dash. He counted on the blonde-haired Padawan to block the saber strike, and proceeded to call upon one of the many lessons of Master Oola.

One of the many times the old Bothan reminded his students that a lightsaber wasn’t the strongest tool at a Jedi’s disposal.

Reaching out into the Force, weaving tendrils of energy around the chunks and shards of debris that littered the hallway. Vizim had nearly killed the Padawan’s with the bomb, but had indirectly provided Ferrin with the means of conducting his attack. With a thrust of his palm, Ferrin sent a volley of small stones, metal shards and other material hurtling towards the Sith Master directly. His attack was aimed to avoid hitting Ezra by mistake, and would require dedicated focus from Vizim to send the shards back towards himself or Dash.

@Sreeya @Alhon @Zay

 

[Vizim]

They all leapt into action in a rush, but fortunately for Vizim, they lacked the finesse and polished skill that a Knight had, and that was where he would focus his energy: picking apart the tiny mistakes in form as they launched their attacks.

The first Padawan (@Alhon) actually managed to block Vizim's strike, which was unfortunate, but perhaps not shocking. What did catch Vizim off-guard was the blast of psychic energy coming form one of the others, and far more powerful than he should have been able to manage.

It felt like being punched inside his skull and caused him to reel back several steps rather than allowing him to simply press the attack. For Vizim, the slash at his side wasn't terribly difficult to block. Even just having had his own attack blocked, Vizim was a very skilled duelist, and the Padawan was using a weapon with which he was untrained and unfamiliar. Speed and experience put Vizim's saber in a block before the strike ever found him, continuing to backpedal away. Still, it did distract him enough that the Padawan down the hall managed to yank Vizim's gun free from his hand.

Karking thief.

Vizim didn't know Darth Raze well by any stretch of the imagination, but he had fought alongside him during the prison break of Tiamat and had taken more than a few lessons away from the former-Dark Lord. One of those was his absolutely love for pulling people into the line of fire of their allies.

Vizim liked that.

Sure, Ferrin could avoid having the shards hit Ezra of Dash, but what none of them was strong enough to do was stop Vizim from simply pulling Dash directly into the line of fire with a yank of the Force. Rather than hit Vizim, the other Padawan would be hammered with a cloud of shrapnel and with the strength in the Force that Vizim had as a Sith Master, he had virtually no chance of actually overpowering Vizim's tug.

@Sreeya @Altaris @Zay

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra thought he knew what he was doing, but he realized very quickly he was way out of his element. Ferrin’s saber ignited right against the red saber that anticipated what he was about to do. However, in his peripheral he saw Dash get yanked in the way of the debris. He felt a surge of emotions whirling through him, and he wanted nothing more than to rush to his boyfriend’s side. He felt nothing but fury at that moment.

The Force surged through him, and it felt dark. And cold. The Sith Master would feel it. It was just the slightest hint of something he felt before. Something he had been in the presence of. Something sinister. However, that was when Ezra recalled Zathria’s teachings and even Dash’s means of handling emotions. They had both redirected their emotions not to focus on hatred and vengeance, but to protect. If he tapped into darkness now, he would let the Sith win. He knew the emotions he felt towards Dash and the others were positive, and he had to pull that thread to empower himself instead of the dark that was buried deep within.

As Vizim began to backpedal, Ezra thrust his hand out to unleash a powerful Force push. It was a burst of the energy he had been pooling and also channeled by his emotions. The goal would be to send Vizim hurtling back into the far wall behind him down the corridor.

Ezra kept his saber up for guard, physically stepping in front of Dash so any attacks would have to go through him first.

@Alhon @Zay @Altaris @Phoenix

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin gritted his teeth, watching in horror as Dash was pulled in front of the barrage of debris. There was no opportunity for the Pantoran to reel back the ballistakinesis or spare the blonde-Padawan, and it was testament to just how outmatched the four of them were against Vizim. All the same, Ferrin refused to back down - watching as Ezra continued the attack by unleashing that powerful wave of the Force.

Reaching out, Ferrin attempted to coil the Force tightly around Vizim - applying pressure down against his body and joints. It was weight that would press down against any attempt to move or defend himself, rudimentary stasis in hopes of keeping the Sith Master exposed.

Ferrin knew that he couldn’t hope to keep Vizim held down long, but only long enough to give Leon or Dash an opportunity to attack.

 

[Dash Pavan]

Crossing blades with a Sith had to be the scariest thing Dash had ever done. But somehow it worked. Blue met red and the Padawan's blade momentarily held their attacker's. His relief was short-lived though as the Sith stepped back and pulled his blade across to make a block of his own, stopping Ezra's attack when it would have had him. No!

Dash tried to feel for what to do next, but before he could act he was grabbed by an unseen Force and yanked to one side, even as he heard a skittering of debris behind him and felt Ferrin lash out with an attack of his own. He tried to keep his saber guard up with his right hand, but felt in danger from behind.

Having been reaching for the Force throughout with his left, he now tried to draw it around him for protection. The Rhinnalian was only a Padawan, but one that had nursed a certain affinity all his life. He called on that affinity now, using everything the Winter Casket had taught him in recent weeks.

Dash felt rather than saw the air shimmer behind him, the beginnings of an icy barrier weaving into being. But it was too little too late. While a couple of larger chunks of debris were knocked off course by the barrier, the rest punched through, tearing into his back and legs. He cried out involuntarily, collapsing to the floor and drawing sharp breaths at the searing pain traversing his body.

He tried to keep his gaze up, gritting his teeth and his knuckles around his lit saber hilt white with strain. They were dancing with death here and death was winning.

@Zay @Sreeya @Altaris

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon felt the gun land in his hand, and his infuriatingly mischievous little smirk made an appearance. He let the emotions broiling within him galvanize into purpose as he allowed the force to take control. Dash cried out, Ezra attacked with a powerful force blast, Ferrin sought to restrain, and Leon took aim. As Ezra unleashed his attack Leon would track and fire three times at The Sith's center mass.

The gun he’d stolen was still on stun, and The Padawan wasn’t worried about changing that right now. Everything in Leon wanted to jump in and join the fray, but he had to move at the right time. He’d never forgive himself if he got one of his friends hurt. Instead, Leon stayed where he was keeping his aim leveled on the Sith, and began to draw The Force into him. He could already tell he couldn’t compete with Ezra’s explosiveness, but with a little cooking, he could still hope to pester this masked interloper long enough for someone else to land a hit.

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Vizim]

Vizim saw the attack tear up the Padawan, but he had little opportunity to savor the moment or drink in the man - or boy's - pain and suffering. The others were lashing out, the Force flowing around him in a variety of ways.

The first attack came from the klepto: shots from his own blaster pistol. Vizim's saber swirled around to block the first one, dissipating it smoothly against his lightsaber.

Unfortunately, classifying that - correctly - as the greatest threat, meant that he missed his opportunity to defend against the Thorne kid's attack. The blast of energy that actually managed to catch the Sith by surprise for its ferocity was filled with rage and darkness that might have made Vizim smile were it not so harsh in its impact.

The blow of the Force slamming into him did, however, work in direct contrast to the grip that blueboy was trying to gain on him and while the blast from Thorny sent him flying backwards into the wall, it also prevented blueboy from getting any kind of actual grasp on the Sith.

Sending him flying back also meant that Vizim was no longer where the final two blaster bolts from his own gun - again, rude - would strike. Both misses based solely on that.

Still, that wasn't to say that Vizim was having a great time. He slammed into the wall at the far end of the hall and he had broken bones often enough to know what broken ribs felt like. He didn't know how many, but the fact that breath came with a sharp pain was telling enough.

Still, the Sith Master was no stranger to pain. He had likely experienced more pain in his life than all four of them put together because he was just that edgy. But also, really, Sith upbringing.

Rather than press the attack, Vizim did something that none of them would likely be expecting: he hit the button for one of the side rooms and darted inside, moving to grab one of the workers who had taken cover inside of her room. Because, you know, in an active shooter situation you're told to "shelter in place."

When Vizim appeared from the door a moment later, he had his lightsaber to the throat of one of the employees, so close that she'd have a new throat sunburn when he was done. Close enough that trying to wrestle them away from each other with the Force would almost certainly mean her head.

Let's all just take a nice moment to put our weapons down. Blueboy, icey, and klepto can piss right off. "Mr." Thorne can come with me, and everyone walks away, he said, his voice laced with nothing but pure malice.

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

Ferrin expected yet another attack from Vizim, and readied himself for that reality. The Force gathered, and he was prepared to either defend or push the offense accordingly. What he couldn’t predict - not in a million years - was the hostage that the Sith would grab. The Pantoran grit his teeth, understanding know what the man was after - and the people he was willing to go through to get it.

Would the Sith even live up to his word, or was the woman already dead? Could he actually watch Ezra be captured and taken by the Sith? A thousand different thoughts when through Ferrin’s mind, and he was not entirely sure what drove him to step forward and in front of Ezra, raising his hands as if to present himself not as a threat.

“You’re wasting what time you have,” Ferrin said, his voice smooth and flat, neutral despite the nerves that he buried down. “We contacted the Jedi Enclave the moment Garbo’s gang told us Sith were involved. They’ve already landed on Berchest, they know where we are..” Ferrin briefly glanced over his shoulder. “And I would wager so do the authorities. How long do you think it’ll take them to get here?” It was a stretch of the truth. Ferrin knew that the Jedi wouldn’t arrive for quite a while, but Vizim didn’t know that. As for the authorities? Even in the blue district, an explosion would draw attention.

Ferrin had demonstrated - multiple times - his ability to seamlessly lie and bullshit his way through the situation, and he hoped this would be no different. Vizim would detect nothing but sincerity from the Pantoran, no hint of nervousness as he spun the tale.

“Ezra isn’t going anywhere willingly, and you will have to fight to get him. We’ll follow and chase you across Berchest.” Did Vizim have that time to burn? Could he afford to waste it fighting Padawans, when the Knights were on their way. “If you hurt that woman, we will fight you until the moment they arrive.” His voice was deathly serious, eyes narrowed They couldn't beat Vizim. But they could slow him - longer then the Sith Master would likely be able to tolerate.

“Let her go and walk away - because that is the only scenario where you are able to get out of here unscathed. Walk away and we go our separate ways.”

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra knew his Force push hurt the Sith, and it brought him a moment of satisfaction. He thought they were finally making some headway when the Dark Sider did something entirely unthinkable. Ezra’s eyes widened as he looked at the hostage, kicking himself for not factoring that in. He had been told about these scenarios by Zathria, but he still couldn’t have foreseen such an abrupt shift from fighting.

When the Sith spoke, he felt sick to his stomach. Ezra was focused entirely on himself for most of his life. He didn’t care about the hostage woman, and he preferred to save his own life above hers. However, he looked around at his friends, his hurt boyfriend, and they did matter to him. He knew the Sith was toying with them and could make things much worse.

Ferrin stepped out in front of him and began to speak, and Ezra sighed. He put a hand on the Pantoran’s shoulder, stepping out past him to look at the Sith, “I’ll go,” He said, his tone bolder than he felt, “Let her go,” He said as he started walking towards the Sith.

“Don’t do anything stupid, guys,” Ezra said, turning to glare at Leon and Ferrin. He couldn’t bear to look at Dash, knowing his courage would collapse completely if he did. The fear he felt was palpable enough for them all to sense.

Ezra had contacted Zathria frantically, and he trusted in his Master. As Leon always said and it always made him roll his eyes - He trusted in the Force.

@Phoenix @Alhon @Altaris @Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

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The malicious hum of The Dark Sider’s saber intermingled with The Chiss woman’s whimpering. Her glowing red eyes were wide with fear as he tried to move her head as far away from the crimson blade as she could but with each movement, The Sith brought his blade closer and closer until, she cried out in pain. The smell of burnt flesh added it’s aroma to the smell of flame and char.

Suddenly there were eyes everywhere. Leon kept his focus on the Sith, but from his periphery, he could see the shell-shocked survivors of the past few minutes peering behind half-opened doors or heads popping out into the hall with bewildered and terrified expressions. If he wasn’t mistaken, several were recording what was happening on their NalPhones.

Finally, the Sith spoke.

Baudelaire couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He was ashamed to admit his first thought was just to open fire and not stop pulling the trigger until the sith and anyone in the way was out of commission. Everything within the Padawan demanded that he brazenly defy this psycho, but he didn’t move. He continued to draw the force to him, to call upon it’s power in a way that he’d never dared before. The light side of the force seemed to blow through the hallways as if a summer breeze had blown in from an invisible coast. A stark contrast to the hellscape that was laid out before them. He had to believe, he had to have faith in the force.

Leon heard Ferrin speak, he was ready to corroborate the Pantoran’s story, when Ezra just gave up. Leon tried to speak but the absurdity of it, the unfairness of it, gutted him. He looked down at Dash and wished he hadn’t. Was this the will of the force? Was this their only choice?

“Jabs, d-don’t be stupid. We can do this,” he tried but as their eyes met he knew Ezra’s mind was made up. Leon’s brow furrowed as tears stung his eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t in the game plan, they didn’t have a single trick up their sleeve for this, but then there was peace. Resolve burned in his eyes as he met Ezra's glare. The same one Leon had seen hundreds of times, the one that hid the fear he felt. Telling Leon not to do something stupid was the fastest way to ensure that he would in fact do something stupid. He could feel the force swirling around him, he continued to draw it inward. He was only going to get one shot at this, I breathe in the force having faith that it will be there to fill my lungs, and it does, he thought steeling himself.

Emotion sluffed off The Padawan, like a snake shedding it's skin. He still held the stolen blaster, aimed at The Sith and his hostage. His expression was indifferent. He would either succeed or he would not. All would be as the force willed it. The moment there was an opening Leon would go into action. Now, it was only a matter of time.

@Alhon @Altaris @Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash's back was on fire. Still crouched on all fours, he could not see how many shards of wood, rock and metal peppered his body, but he could feel them. They had been thrown with force and had bitten deep. He held his breath and pulled a jagged spear of wood from his leg at least six inches long, the pooling blood making him gag. But there was no time, he had to try and move, even though the wounds screamed at the slightest twitch, like cheese graters raking his skin.

But Ezra was there, racing in to cover him and doing an amazing job throwing the Sith across the room. Dash was so thankful and so fucking proud. His boyfriend was fast becoming the best of them. All Dash wanted was to get up, to be by his side protecting him back, but he knew Ez had given him a breather. Boy did he need it.

He tried to work through the shock to his body, conscious of Leon and Ferrin following up on Ezra's attack as he did. But the Sith was too big, too strong, too experienced. He seemed to anticipate them all. Then suddenly he had the female hostage in his hands, that sickly red blade hovering near her neck.

When the Sith made his demand, Dash lost his grip on his own saber and the blue blade guttered out. He did not want to take it in.

Why? Why Ez? Why not just kill them all? Kill them, that's what he had come for surely? A part of Dash could have prepared itself for them going down today, together. But not alone, and not Ez. If his boyfriend went with the Sith he was as good as dead. For a moment, Dash blotted out his physical pain, blue eyes searching desperately for something to salve the panic swirling in his chest.

"No, no no no" he was speaking to himself at first, to the unforgiving bloodstained floor beneath his fingers. "No way, no". Ferrin was talking, trying to persuade the Sith to back down, but Dash could barely hear him. He was working himself into a frenzy, subconsciously trying to drown out what he sensed was about to happen.

"I'll go".

"NO!" Dash shouted, pain and fury bursting forth. He would not allow it. He would not.

Ezra slipped past Ferrin, walking towards the Sith. Towards death. Dash felt the beginning of despair.

"NO EZ! STOP-" Dash's voice broke and he tried to stagger to his feet instead. He made it two steps before a shooting pain in his leg brought him down again, tears of frustration and loss on his cheeks.

He twisted, trying to keep his eyes on Ez as he walked away, clawing the hard floor with his hands. Frost trails raced across the ground between them, but petered out into nothing. "EZ NO, PLEASE!" but his boyfriend would not look at him. "I LOVE YOU".

Dash had felt it for a while, more a feeling than a thought. A sense of contentedness and perfect fit that made every else matter. The truth of it erupted now, white hot and without warning, but what did he care. He loved Ezra and he wanted him to know it, needed him to know it, whatever was going to happen.

He glared at the Sith over Ezra's shoulder, cold fire in his eyes even as his back spasmed again in agony. He would have the Sith know it too. If he touched Ez, touched him at all, there was no power or protocol that would hold Dash back. He would make sure the man was fucking destroyed.

@Phoenix @Altaris @Sreeya @Zay

 

[Vizim]

The eyes that shown from below Vizim's hat and above his mask were eyes of sheer intensity, cold, calculating, and completely indifferent to the life he had in his hands. The woman was whimpering now, worsened by the Padawan's desire to argue with the Sith and put her life further in danger.

Blueboy (@Altaris) only made it through his first sentence before Vizim interrupted. Shut the kriff up, he spat. He had no interest in hearing whatever line of idiocy the Padawan was spraying around.

It seemed the Throne kid (@Sreeya) was the only person with a lick of sense among them, deciding that the woman's life wasn't something that should just be tossed aside.

I'll let her go as soon as your friends piss off. I have no reason to kill her after that, he said. It was a glimpse into just how the mind of a Sith operated. Vizim was a pragmatist, and he almost wondered to himself if the Jedi just taught that all Sith were psychotic killers out for a laugh.

He didn't miss the way klepto (@Zay) seemed to shift, the intent practically flowing off of him.

Don't even think about it kid. You're nowhere near that good, he said, almost as if reading the Padawan's mind. Could they level Vizim? Almost certainly not and his odds were worsened when he had a human shield. Even if by some miracle he managed it, would he do it before Vizim took her head? Absolutely not.

That's close enough, he said to Ezra before the Padawan was within striking distance. Vizim was many things, but an idiot wasn't one of them. He seemed to give no attention to the emotional outburst of Icy (@Alhon) as it had no real bearing on Vizim's goals.

Oh, and leave my blaster when you go, klepto, he said, leaving a big question mark in the air whether or not Vizim would kill someone over a blaster.

The ball was still in their court. Vizim had told them to leave once, and they hadn't done so. Vizim could be patient when the situation called for it, but this was not one of those situations.