Trial by fire

[Clayton]

Darth Whakairihia reached for the controls of his J-15 Aethersprite as the craft reverted back to realspace. Ahead of them hung a planet in the blackness of space, one known to all wookiees, many slavers, and slaves themselves. Being a Darth had benefits, such as access to restricted space. As Trandosha grew in size as they approached, Rook looked over to his new apprentice. He knew Yusanis had been a slave at one point and had killed his former owner to escape. As such, going to a planet known to be home to a great number of slavers would drive the young acolyte to hit his limits in skill and resourcefulness. Important knowledge for both of them to know.

The High Judge motioned to the planet with one paw, and formed a telepathic link to his apprentice. It was time to truly begin Yusanis' apprenticeship. "Before I instruct you in everything you need to know to be a powerful warrior crusader, I need to know what you are capable of, and what you aren't. The best way to do that is to put you against a compound occupied by a slaver group. We are going to kill everyone there, free any slaves, and destroy the complex. Trandoshans are formidable fighters in their own right, you may be a Sith, but they will still be a challenge for you. So don't make any dumb mistakes." He'd hate to have to find another apprentice so soon.

There was another purpose to the attack, one Rook did not feel the need to tell Yusanis of. He was certain that the Imperial pilot sitting in the back of the craft was an object of curiosity, but no mention had been made of him. The truth was, a slaver complex as large as this had large stores of supplies and freeze-dried consumables on hand. Even slaves needed to eat, and it was hard to sell a slave that was almost dead from hunger. Such a large amount of consumables though was of interest to him. He did not need to say why either.

"This will be your trial by fire. Any questions before we land?"

 

[Pyromaniac]

Yusanis was in the co-pilot seat, excited on the inside, but cold on the outside. He was glad that he found a formal master, and had been adamantly surprised when it turned out to be Darth Whakairihia, the High Judge of the Sith Order. This Sith next to him was known for his warrior prowess, if the rumors were true. He did his best to not seem overeager, but it was hard to contain. When he heard of their destination, however, his enthusiasm dropped.

For a while, he had very badly wanted to maim someone. Trandosha, where the famous Trandoshan slavers came into the galaxy. The thought of slavers, or slavery in general, made his skin crawl to the point he was almost violent. When he came face to face with a slaver, he did become violent- just ask his old master. The Hutt was a rotting corpse with a child's sharpened leg bone sticking out of his brain.

His new master looked to him, and established a mental link. Yusanis had only experienced this a couple of times in his life, and it still felt strange when it happened.

"Before I instruct you in everything you need to know to be a powerful warrior crusader, I need to know what you are capable of, and what you aren't. The best way to do that is to put you against a compound occupied by a slaver group. We are going to kill everyone there, free any slaves, and destroy the complex. Trandoshans are formidable fighters in their own right, you may be a Sith, but they will still be a challenge for you. So don't make any dumb mistakes."

Yusanis nodded slowly, and thought his response- hoping the link was two way so his master could read his thoughts, even if Yusanis could not project them like the Darth could. "I will accept all you have to teach, and slaughter every slaver I come across without mercy or remorse... Master." Despite being a Sith, Yusanis disliked calling anyone 'master', even if that was the correct term in this circumstance. It brought back bad memories, ones that made his blood boil even today. He knew that he would not overuse this term with the High Judge, but it was best to test it out on his tongue while he had the chance.

"This will be your trial by fire. Any questions before we land?"

The Acolyte thought for a second before saying out loud, "Where do we begin?"

 

[Clayton]

Rook could detect Yusanis' surface thoughts, but only because he was paying close attention. "And I will have to teach you telepathy so you can communicate effectively like this." The craft entered the atmosphere smoothly, and a holodisplay popped up, showing a flightpath to the compound. "Get up, and tell the pilot back there to get in the co-pilot's seat. We're not going to land the fighter." Rook flipped a series of switches, warming the weapons up and activating the targeting systems. This was going to be fun.

The Aethersprite streaked through the Trandoshan sky like a very deadly bird pf prey as Rook guided the agile ship on an attack heading. Red sandstone colored buildings sprouted out of the ground, growing larger in size as they Sith drew near. A tall watch or control tower stood out in particular. Rook eased back on the throttle and pointed the nose of the craft at the large room at the top. With a gentle squeeze of the trigger, a combination of light and heavy laser blasts spat out from beneath the fuselage and struck the tower. Plasteel and duracrete imploded inward sending a large cloud of dust and smoke into the air.

He banked the fighter and turned into a strafe, squeezing the trigger several times more as he passed the other side of the tower. Chunks of molten metal and broken duracrete poured down into the ground below. With that taken care of, Rook angled the fighter's nose down and send a volley of laser blasts into the motorpool. Several speeder bikes and hoveryachts blew up or caught fire. Rook motioned for the co-pilot to take the stick and switched control over to him.

Rook strode over to the door and opened it. Dry air blew in with a rush and carried with it the scent of fire. He looked down, the ship was a good twenty or thirty meters above the surface still. Without another thought except beckoning his apprentice to follow, Rook jumped. The massive wookiee plummeted to the ground before using the force to slow his descent enough to safely land. Smoke from the motorpool twisted around him as he stood up, lip curled. A pair of Trandoshans, looking disoriented but angry were headed his way. Time for the Apprentice to earn his keep.

 

[Pyromaniac]

Yusanis did what his master wished immediately, getting up to tell the soldier what his master ordered him to relay. Afterwards, his mind thought of dropping from the ship to land in the heart of enemy territory, like a shock trooper. He grinned, and returned to his master- only to watch the buildings rapidly grow before his eyes, signalling they were getting very close.

When the High Judge open fired, Yusanis actually became giddy. Wholesale destruction like this was something he missed and craved, and he could no longer hide his excitement. When the Wookie took out the motorpool, he actually cheered with a, "Yes!", before he could catch himself. It was embarrassing.

He followed his master, and when the doors opened and the Wookie jumped out, landing safely on the ground below. Before him was a scene of pure mayhem and destruction, complete with a few charred corpses dotting here and there. Oh, this was perfect!

Yusanis jumped without a second thought, attempting to use the Force, with little avail, to soften the landing. He landed hard on his feet, and the pain ran up his legs for a second before he saw the Trandoshans. Yusanis pulled out his weapons, took one look to his new master, and ignited both blades, taking a rapid ready stance for Soresu, though it would not help him end their lives. It was simply to get him focused on the task at hand.

The two lizards open fired upon his robed frame, and Yusanis used his Form III to his advantage. Using tight, precise movements with both weapons he blocked incoming bolts, sending them away harmlessly. That training that done it's job, it appeared. Yusanis drowned the emotions raging inside him, keeping himself focused on the beams of energy flying at him. With careful steps, he moved forward, not giving any room for a trip up in footwork.

The pace was slow, he knew, but he was relatively unscathed. A few got through, one on his shoulder that grazed his armor, and a hole in his robes, but nothing damaging. When he was close enough, he called upon the Force, using it lash out at the two aliens in a Push. They stumbled a bit, long enough for him to dash forward, and swing both blades outward, decapitating both of them at the same moment.

Bodies falling to the dirt, Yusanis turned to his master, weapons still hot.

 

[Clayton]

Rook watched his apprentice without a word. Any emotion, any thought that might give hint to his opinion was hidden behind a mental barrier. Above them the Aethersprite peeled off from its position as its powerful ion engines whined. The fighter began a wide circle around the compound to suppress any heavy defenses, and to prevent escape. Smoke rose high into the sky now, the compound was fairly isolated and not all slaver operations were government sanctioned, but a distress call might be made at some point. Ideally they would have to operate on a tight schedule.

The High Judge strode forward past the dead Trandoshans without paying them any attention. Such scum deserved none. A metal doorway was set into the wall, solid construction around it implied reinforced duracrete. Such installations were focused on keeping people in rather than out. This heavy door and the two guards were likely a token defense. Most of the security would be on the inside, so entering the compound would take only a minute at most for those with lightsabers. Of course the guards might have access cards, too.

Rook motioned towards the door silently, the message was clear enough however. Yusanis was expected to gain them entry.