The Mines of Jabiim [Ash Worlds Trilogy Flashback]

[Intratec]

Recap

Jabiim, a world known for its rich mineral deposits, had been targeted for said deposits, and pre-existing mines. The icing on the cake in this endeavor is also the presence of a band of mercenaries under the thumb of Malak Arpha, the butcher of the Moff/Dark Council. While he is personally not upon the world, his interests there are evident. Led by "Happy" Draask, a Trandoshan of some ill-repute, this central mine is quite literally the lynchpin of the operation to take Jabiim's valuable mineral wealth. And so it was that the Empire dispatched the self-styled Red Witch, Alexia Morr, and the Inquisitor Caduceus Rhade, a daring pair of up and coming Sith to ensure the smooth 'Transition' of ownership for the good of the Empire.

Insertion had been achieved through the usage of a ventilation shaft and duct work. Not soon after Happy Draask's mercenaries would meet the duo. With a four man kill-count suddenly under their belts, Alexia and Caduceus stealthily made their way toward their intended target. The mine's communication hub. Thanks to Miss Morr's usage of the Force, they avoided walking into a nest of half a dozen well-armed men guarding the entrance to said Hub. It was here that they stopped, hiding behind the very corner in which they needed to turn in order to reach their final destination.

It was obvious, a plan must be made lest they trip a very obvious organic alarm, and security system and thus Draask send a message for reinforcements. If so, the mission was lost. As quite possibly the very lives of such a contrasting pair of Sith.

​

@Valen Pelora

 

[Valen Pelora]

Alexia kept her breathing steady. She let the Darkside wash over her, pushing her anxiety aside. This was what she had wanted. This was what Ashlyn had pushed her confront. She had to fight again, to put her life on the line. She would not be afraid. She could not be afraid. The possibility of failure pulled at her soul, her chest tightened. She saw Venator again. Plunging his Lightsaber into her back, pain erupting through her body. White. Hot. Unending pain. A shiver shot through her spine.

She yanked herself back to the present. She could feel anxiety rising in her stomach. Her heartbeat pounding faster and faster. She took a deep breath. Alexia pulled deeper on the Darkside, diving into the sweet embrace. The Darkness spoke to her and her breathing slowed. Her heart calmed. This was who she was. An Imperial Priestess of the highest order. She lived to serve the Darkside. She had been unable to serve for too long, this was changing. The life forces still pulsed around the corner. A dozen waiting mercenaries. She looked at her partner. She kept her voice as low as she could. She wouldn’t give away their position on accident.

“I sense 12 around the corner. It’s unlikely we can kill them all before the alarm is sounded, it would all be over then.” She ran a hand through her hair. She was trying to think of a solution but was coming up painfully blank. “Ideas?” She was hoping her partner had a better idea of how to take out the mercenaries before the alarm was raised. They could not risk failure.

@Intratec

 

[Intratec]

It was always something. He felt like letting forth a long, laborious and definitely audible sigh. Blast them into the doors? Well. It was certainly old school. Nothing says 'Hello' like unleashing a hellish wave of Telekinetic power to thoroughly mulch them all it was the person on the other side of the door that they had to worry about. Chain Lightning? Required a bit of concentration. Mind Tricks? Too. . . no, he would not dignify that one. A number of ideas continued to rattle off. One of which included illusions, and using young Miss Morr as bait. She wouldn't like that one. He hated this cut and dry work. Everything was always so much simpler when you could flat out murder someone. Sod it.

Getting to his feet, he would casually pat the Witch on the head, lightsaber in one hand, the other free as he left the thing to rest comfortably atop said head. As he did this, Caduceus seemed to slowly deteriorate from sight. When he was indistinguishable from the very air, he made his move. Long, quick strides, his footsteps making the barest caress of a whisper. What he planned was audacious. Cocky, insane. And it required split-second timing and concentration. The tall Inquisitor got his first good look at the motley crew, twelve, as Alexia had said. Each in varied attire and armor. All were armed, well armed. And blessedly close enough together to make the next part a viable option. He'd never had been able to get at a comfortably close distance without raising all sorts of hell. The alarm being one of them. Within feet of them, he raised his free hand and drank deeply of the wellspring of the Force just as he took a lungful of air. Molding it, refining its purpose. His arm, his hand was its outlet.

And as if on cue, all of them seemed to freeze in a shimmering haze. None moved, not even movement of the eyes or a muscle's twitch. The stasis would not last too terribly long. Enough to either slip. Or gut everyone of the men of ill-repute. Letting go of the welcoming embrace of the Force about his person was an exercise in control. It was comforting to have it swaddled around his person, cloaking him from prying eyes. But he did so.

"Come out, darling, pop off from your perch and hop to. Time is a factor," he said in a brisk manner.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Valen Pelora]

Alexia would have growled when her head was patted if it wouldn’t have given away their position. She was no child. She was fierce warrior in her own right, a spike of white hot anger ran through her. The image of her Lightsaber ramming through her partners back flashed through her mind. She banished the thought. Lord Cain would be disappointed in such selfish actions. The Empire could not thrive if they ate themselves alive.

No, instead she watched as the tall slender Sith vanished from sight. Alexia could sense his working of the Force. A clever and sophisticated illusion, to bend the light to ones will. She grimaced. She was impressed. The Force swelled again as she felt Caduceus working. She felt the Darkness trembling with power. A moment later she heard the growling familiar voice from around the corner. She ducked from their cover to see twelve figures frozen in time. She didn’t hesitate. Alexia’s Lightsaber snapped to life and she rushed forward.

She struck indiscriminately, swinging her blade with gleeful abandon. She lopped heads from necks with swift precise strokes. She did not know how long the paralysis would last, and she did not want to find out. As Alexia struck another mercenary head she saw an arm twitch. The paralysis was beginning to fade. She summoned the Darkside and tried to work faster. Her left had shot out and flames poured from her fingertips. The fire of the Inquisition burned hot, bright, and deadly. It was the trademark of the Priesthood, replacing the typical Sith lightning. She sprayed the faithful fire as the paralysis began to wane. @Intratec

 

[Intratec]

To say he felt a sense of amusement at the pang of anger would have been an understatement. But then again he only patted her on the head to let her know he was about to make a move. Best to let her work her anger out on the poor cretins that stood transfixed in stasis. Yet he caught an errant twitch of the eye on one of those dead-eyed brigands. Quick as a viper, one of his lightsabers flew to his hand and promptly severed the head halfway across, leaving the lower lip, and jawline. With a tut of reproach, he looked at a tiny fleck of seared meat and blood had landed upon a cuff. The unassailable urge to quickly wet it with seltzer water and the juice of a lemon so it wouldn't set was palpable. Next time he would definitely not wear a sixty-five hundred credit suit to a murder spree.

Just around that time of hindsight, he felt the warm kiss of heat upon his skin, looking up to see flames scorching the semi-frozen foes as they slowly began to regain mobility. Still lamenting his attire's now spot-ridden disfigurement, Caduceus pulled a second saber from a pocket. With a little *snick-click* both combined into one dual-bladed saber. Either end suddenly erupted in a stream of violet plasma which he began to deftly swirl and cleave into their would be foes. He bisected one right down the middle before the weapon went into a flowing, tight little circle of humming energy struck at the next, effectively slicing another in half. And as if to add insult to injury, the tall Inquisitor extinguished both blades, and in a display of utter cruelty placed one of the weapon's emitters right between the darting eyes of one of the last left alive.

The feel of warm hadrium/dalloran alloy on his skin made what little muscle control at the edges of the wayward Merc's lips twitch and quiver. And it was over. Just like that. The blade erupted, bored a clean, perfect hole through the skull, gray matter, and out of the back of said skull.

A vaguely wistful look crossed his patrician features. He really should've gone with a different set of attire. A small, heavy hearted sigh later, and he stabbed one of the last of those still standing right through the chest, pulling the blade aside to let the flopping mass of a torso hang by a bit of skin, viscera and connective tissue.​

@Valen Pelora