Spirits in the Dark

[Zenya]

The young girl let out a breath of relief as she roughly took the opportunity to handcuff the Sith's right wrist. The woman seemed to have given up. Perfect. The girl didn't really want to kill her... But she would. If it came down to it. At this very moment, she was still considering the option. It wasn't as if her opponent was going to put up a fight any longer, and if she did cut the Sith's life short, it would only be beneficial to her cause. One less Sith in the cesspool of vermin she despised so passionately. Of course, that was not the Jedi way, and to kill for such motives would be wrong. Especially with the other Jedi watching her.

If a Jedi killed, it was to be done respectfully. Solemnly, and silently. Not because of a burning desire that edged itself in the back of the girl's racing mind.

How strange the pull was.

"You're lucky that you're getting out alive. For now. I mean, who knows what the Jedi are going to do with you."

When she noticed the woman wasn't paying her undivided attention, Lanna grabbed the woman's broken, battered elbow, and pressed down. She inflicted the pain as if to ease her desire to just do away with the piece of filth.

"You hear me, lady? I'm getting really impatient with the Sith, and their constant games."

Something in her eyes flickered bitter gold, as her hair fell in front her eyes. She squeezed harder, digging her nails into the wound.

@Prudence Fur U Nerd

 

[Prudence]

After the thrill of combat Kalan decided that it was time to put on some groovy tunes. He flicked through the playlists he had in his helmet until he came upon one he was content with. He continued his stroll over to where the Sith had been apprehended by the younger Jedi. From the devastated portion of the woman's arm he could tell that the girl had let loose upon the Sith. When he spoke his words sounded harsh and mechanized, "Good job kid. You brought her down."

Sith were never truly content to go down quietly were they though? Even now, even as she was cuffed, and her other arm was ruined, she was talkin' shit. Kalan had always subscribed to the principle of talk shit get hit, but it seemed the kid had beat him to it. She was already squeezing the injured section of the Sith's arm, inflicting pain upon the woman. This young girl was in a significant amount of emotional turmoil, and it didn't take the Force to tell that.

Interrupting the banter between the two of them, Kalan seemed completely bored, "Yes yes we get it. Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, cholesterol leads to heart disease, and beans lead to diarrhea. Just shut up, will you?"

The young girl said something about how the Sith was lucky, and Kalan just smiled behind his helmet, "Luck isn't the word I'd use kid." Kalan looked down at her, and then with his left hand he pulled the girl off of the Sith. He feigned care for the prisoner in doing it, but in truth he didn't want her taking any collateral damage, and he wasn't in the mood to be stopped. As he did so he snapped his right hand, already clutching his sunspear, up towards the Sith's forehead. With a single pull of the trigger he let loose a blaster bolt - piercing the Sith's forehead and sending a puff of blood and smoke away from the hole.

"Taking prisoners is a rookie mistake. This is a war, it's best you lot start acting like it." He lowered the pistol and sent another two shots into the prisoner's chest, to be sure that she was completely dead. Double tap to make sure its double dead.

 

[Narsi]

It took everything she had to keep herself from cleaving the Sith in twain, with her own saber no less. How dare a Sith of all people lecture her on how to act, a SITH, THE SCUM OF THE GALAXY. With a hiss, Gren abruptly spun and chopped down a tree behind her, and then immediately chopping down several more. Striking out at anything and everything that wasn't the Sith, it wasn't the Jedi way to strike down an opponent who'd surrendered, even if they were Sith. Deep down, Gren was trying to ignore the little voice that said she was only hesitating because a Jedi General was in the vicinity.

Spinning back and returning to the captured Sith, she was just in time to see their strange benefactor pull Lanna away, and point a gun at the Sith's forehead. A single shot rang out, and Gren watched, stunned, as the woman went limp, dangling limply from her cuffed wrist. For a second, she only stood there, blinking rapidly as the man spoke, and then fired two more shots into the woman, eliminating any remote chance of survival. Then, slowly, gradually, a sharp toothed smirk spread across the young Barabel's face, and soon she was openly grinning at the corpse in front of her. It was for the best, the Sith were a scourge upon the galaxy after all, gutter rats that never stopped hurting others. And besides, while she hadn't been around for it, she'd heard of the past travesty involving some Dark Lord or the other, and the horrors that had been unleashed upon her escape. That wouldn't be happening this time around, and hopefully never again.

Striding forward, Gren swung her new lightsaber in a horizontal arc at the dead Sith's forearm. With a flash of purple and gentle sizzle, the dead woman flopped to the ground, cracking her empty head on a rock as she fell. Gren openly laughed at the sight, what a perfect example of justice, the righteous ganging up to defeat evil. The force had indeed been with them today. She then turned her attention to the arm, still hanging limply from the tree branch, courtesy of her fellow Jedi stun cuffs. Reaching up, she first severed the wrist of the detached forearm, allowing both pieces of Sith to fall free to the ground dismissively. Then she severed the branch, holding it carefully to make sure it didn't land on any of her compatriots as she retrieved the stun cuffs. Tossing the wood down onto the corpse, Gren handed the cuffs back to their owner, offering a supportive smile just in case the girl wasn't ok with what had just transpired.

 

[Valen Pelora]

Valen glided across the open field. The Force guided him forward, pushing him towards the captive Sith. A frown tugged at the corner of his mouth. The Force was in turmoil. Emotions roiled and bubbled within the forest. He pushed himself to run faster. He sensed more than the Sith. Anger, pain, hate poured into the Light. His concern grew as he drew closer. It was not the Sith that worried him. The fight was over, one life lost, and one ending. Gren and Lanna were bundles of emotional turmoil.

He ran faster. He held no love in his heart for the Sith. He no longer hesitated to strike the lethal blow. Yet, he never killed with hate in his heart. He had never struck a Sith down in anger. He had watched families be murdered. He had killed that man, but to protect others. Never to avenge those who died. This was wrong. This was not how it was supposed to be. What he sensed bordered on glee from the young Jedi. They should not have been here. They were not ready for this. Valen burst into the forest. He saw Gren, Lanna, and Kalan. Excitement still poured from the Jedi. The Mandalorian was all cold business.

Death burst into the Force. He skidded to a halt, watching in shock at Kalan shoved Lanna aside and put a blaster bold into the Sith’s forehead. His face fell. He shut himself off in the Force. His mental walls slamming high. He dove into the Lightside, calming his mind. He fought desperately to keep his face neutral. He was a leader of the Jedi. He would act like it. Valen didn’t know what to think, what this meant. It was one less Sith in the galaxy. He would have felt little if the Sith had been killed while fighting. This was different. Unarmed and executed. He took only small solace in Kalan doing the killing. He had felt Lanna and Gren on the edge. He strode up to the small group, watching Gren needlessly cut through flesh. His voice was cold, commanding steel.

“Gren. Lanna. You are both going back to Dantooine. Now.” He looked at both young Jedi. “I don’t know what good you think this did, but I am deeply disappointed. You fought and killed with hate in your hearts. You brought more Darkness into the galaxy.” He looked at Kalan and slapped the Mandalorian on the back. The man had likely saved Gren and Lanna from making a horrible mistake. “Send my thanks to Vesper. I’ll make sure to buy her next album.”

He pressed a button on his commlink to summon the Puddle Jumper. The yacht would arrive shortly to take the three Jedi back to Dantooine. He hoped Lanna and Gren could see the mistake they had made.

OOC: Exit Thread.

@Prudence @Narsi @Zenya

 

[Prudence]

Kalan saw the green Jedi general, the only member of the Jedi strike force that he had yet to see, running towards their position as he executed the Sith. He half expected the man to try and stop him, but he then realized that he man understood what he had done. This General Pelora wouldn't mourn the loss of the Sith at all, and seemed to lack any ill will for Kalan. Instead he was worried about his younglings, something Kalan could understand.

He turned his face towards Gren and Lanna when he spoke, "You're welcome." The comment wasn't purely directed towards killing the Sith for them, but more in what he had spared them from. Blood was not easily washed from the hands, and especially not from the soul, no matter how much the newly deceased deserved it. In response to Valen he simply gave the man a nod and stepped away from the scene, back towards where he had parked his ship.

The image of the Sith's face just before her death was still burned in his mind, the pain stricken across her features and the coldness in her eyes. It was another life he had ended in a personal way. He had ended two lives this day, but to look into the eyes of the being you were killing was a different experience than to pick a target on a display. As the thoughts passed through his mind he passed through the site of the blast, and saw what was left of the corpse. Beside it sat a blackened cylinder of metal, the man's lightsaber. Kalan kneeled down and picked it up, adding it to his belt.

THese Jedi children likely would learn little from this day. The Barabel was still happily playing with the deceased when he had departed, and the young girl had been trying to inflict as much pain as possible. Perhaps though, they would learn. Perhaps they would understand that good and evil, or following orders, doesn't absolve your soul.

 

[Zenya]

To say that Lanna was angry, was an understatement. When Kalan stepped between them, and roughly grabbed Lanna by the arm to yank her away, she had a quick burst of spite. It rose in front of her vision, like black spots, and then vanished just as fast.

She didn't step in, and she didn't give any attitude towards the man. She just stood there, and watched as he brought out his gun, and shot the Sith in the head. The force energy vanished from around her, and whisped into the air like a stream of smoke from a dying fire.

He shot her twice more, and Lanna flinched with each shot. Glaring wide eyed, and blankly.

She met his eyes when he turned back towards her, and laid the back of her palm across his cheek, with a sharp crack.

Twisting around, she instantly turned her attention away from him. Valen stood there, looking ready to lay the hammer of dicipline down on the young knights, which he did. Without hesitation.

Back to Dantooine it was. Timeout for the children who misbehaved.

She stepped forward. "My apologies, Master Pelora." She said it with a bitter tone. "I'm going back to the ship. Meet you there."

With that, she walked.

 

[Narsi]

The disappointment, the cold disapproval, she could see it in the general's eyes. She could hear it within his words and voice, and she hated it. While her compatriot offered up an apology and retreated, Gren did just the opposite, standing tall and proud as she glared at the older Jedi. The defeat and death of a Sith was something to be joyous over, and she would never be ashamed of it or her role.

As if she would ever apologize anyway, such a thing was an affront to her kind and her culture. While the Jedi had taught her a bit of restraint in those regards, and in how to compromise sometimes. But this....never, she was happy and glad of the outcome, an evildoer was gone and the end was just. For the general to admonish her for that, it was enough to re-ignite the flames in her belly, and she had to clench her new lightsaber tightly to hold her tongue.

Taking a few moments to steady herself, Gren turned to the Jedi and spoke calmly, "This One has a ship of her own a short distance from here, she will be retrieving it to return to Dantooine." Giving a brief nod, the only measure of respect she was still willing to give, the young Barabel turned and started stomping away, the force still whipping about her slightly with her annoyance. There was no way she was riding back with the general to get lectured at. Heading towards her ship, Gren glared down at the lightsaber in her hand, what was she going to do with it? The thought of using a Sith's weapon was stomach curling, but then it wasn't the lightsabers fault either.....mayhap she could purify it? Redeem it through usage against the Sith, maybe. The tall lizard disappeared into the undergrowth, her tail the last thing to go, twitching about as it vanished.