RPG Star Wars: A New Sith Empire (M-VLS)

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]?There?s something coming up on our radar, sir,? said the Republic soldier, viewing the computer console.

?What kind of something?? asked the Commander.

?I?m not sure, sir, we can?t get a proper reading. Oh my God!?

?What??

?It?s breached our outer defences! No, it hasn?t just breached them, it?s completely destroyed them!?

?Can we get any kind of idea what we?re looking at here??

?Wait a minute, I can see it!?

?What is it? What kind of an army is it? What kind of weaponry do they have??

?It?s not an army, sir.?

?Then how many of them are there??

?Just the one, sir,? replied the soldier disbelievingly. He swivelled his chair around to look at the Commander.

?One?? said the Commander, ?How can one person destroy our outer defences??

?Well, we?re about to find out.?

?What do you mean??

?Whatever it is, it?s moving towards us.?

The Commander gasped, then ran to the intercom. He pressed the button, and spoke into the mouthpiece. His voice was broadcasted across the entire military complex.

?Ready weaponry, and all soldiers to battle stations!? he shouted, ?We have an unidentified threat moving in from the outer defences, and we need it eliminated!?

All across the complex, soldiers ran to their stations, and readied all the heavy weapons along the walls.

The Commander strapped on his armour and ran out to the front line. Soldiers there were ready, with the heavy weapons all loaded.

?Open fire!? boomed the Commander. All the heavy weapons fired, blasting green laser bolts across the field. They went streaking towards their foe, and exploded into showers of grit and dirt as they hit.

The smoke cleared as the weapons stopped firing.

?Did we get him?? asked one soldier.

?We?ll have to wait and find out,? said the Commander. The smoke cleared gradually, and a single silhouette could be seen through the dust clouds.

?Target has not, repeat not been eliminated. Open fire with all weapons!? shouted the Commander again. All weapons, both heavy and hand-held, opened fire on the single target. Bright green streaks of laser blasted towards it, but a small red light appeared in the figure?s hand. It deflected all the blasts back at the complex, blowing holes in the walls.

?What the hell is that thing?? shouted the Commander, now surrounded by the bodies of his men.

The figure leapt into the air, and flew to the top of the wall. His black cloak flapped in the breeze behind him, and he landed, slashing with his weapon.

?A Jedi?? said the Commander disbelievingly, ?Why would a Jedi attack a Republic stronghold??

?I am no Jedi, Commander,? said the figure, striding over to him. He raised his lightsaber and plunged it into the Commander?s chest.

The entire complex had been taken apart by one man.

Darth Kassius.

[CENTER]-------------- [/CENTER]

Jedi Master Kaith awoke from her meditative state with a jolt. Something had happened. Many people had died. She got to her feet, feeling the pain of those who had died, and nudged Master Jedoth, also in a meditative state.

?Did you feel it, Jedoth?? she asked.

?Yes, Kaith. I felt a great disturbance in the Force. Many people have died today, away in the Outer Rim. We must alert the students.? The small, grey-skinned figure got up and jumped down from his seat, walking alongside Master Kaith. They reached the mess hall, where all the students were gathered for a lesson from Jedi Master Fargal, and took their position at the lectern.

?Students,? began Kaith, ?Some of you may have felt a disturbance in the Force a few moments ago. This is due to a large-scale slaughter of troops on a Republic stronghold in the Outer Rim. According to early reports, there were no survivors. I believe that as Jedi, our duty as keepers of the peace is to travel to the Outer Rim and find out what happened. The students I will be taking with me are as follows??

(OOC: This is where you come in. All of you have been chosen to accompany the Jedi Masters to the Outer Rim to investigate the remains of the Republic stronghold. Remember to tread cautiously, there is no telling what might happen?)[/SIZE]

[Grunt Salesman]

"My god. Ohmygod! We got picked, this is awesome!" shouted Jassk, with an almost boyish excitement about him, " We're going on a mission to the [i]rim[/i]!"

"Oh, shut up. The rim isin't that amazing," replied Alask, his cousin, " And besides, people died out there. Do you think that this is going to be fun and games?"

" Well, you're pumped up. I sure hope that whoever attacked the complex isin't scared by your energetic demeanor!"

"Just go get your stuff and meet up with Master Kaith," said Alask. She turned about and strode off cooly to her quarters.

Jassk looked after her for a moment, then began walking to his room. He padded around past his bed, and snatched up his satchel, which had some extra robes in it. Tightening his lightsaber belt, Jassk left the room to meet up with the Jedi Master.

(OOC : I'm really sorry that this is so short, but I don't have a lot to work with untill other people post a little. I need to see some action from the other characters. ;) I'll definitely make up for it next post.)

[Havoc88]

Kel smiled slightly as he listened to the two Bothans talking. [i]I have to admit, I'm a little bit excited myself.[/i] he thought, [i] Going on a investigative mission with the masters and all...[/i]

He slowly stood up and stretched, reciting some formulas to keep his mind in shape. He took one last glance around the assembly hall before taking off at a rather sedate pace towards his room. He exchanged greetings with a few of the other students as he passed, some wishing him good luck others expressing their wish that they had been the ones to get picked.

He keyed the door to his quarters and it opened with a swoosh noise. He setpped inside, the door sliding shut behind him. He began collecting stuff he woudl need. HIs personal datapad, some changes of clothing, some personal hygine items...his lightsaber.

Kel lifted the lightsaber, weighing it in his hands and twirling it. He had completed it a few months ago and done training with it. It was made of smooth, untarnished metal that had a faint brass color to it. The griip was a piece of black leather wrapped around the center of the handle and the activation button was recessed into the metal. He set it down on his bed and changed out of his jumpsuit and into his robes, stowing the jumpsuit away with the rest of his gear.

Kel clipped the saber to his belt, then slung his bag over one shoulder. He keyed the door again, heading for the hangar bay.

OOC: Hope that works.

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=Orange]Alask rolled her eyes. [i]Cousins...the whole mess hall probably heard that...[/i]. She stalked gracefully back towards her room, glancing over her shoulder to see her cousin practically skipping with excitment. She shook her head. [i]He's acting like a child...[/i]

Hiowever, once she was in her room with the door closed, she allowed herself to smile.

"YES! Finally, something INTERESTING!" She began grabbing robes, data chips and other necessities, shoving them into her duffel pack. The Rim...everyone was interested in the Rim...the Yuuzan Vong had come from beyond there, as had the Ssi Ruuk...but she, in no way, could imagine that the two bloodthirsty races were the [i]only[/i] life beyond...she grinned, picking up her lightsaber...she hit the power switch...the sunny yellow blade shot out, humming with power. She shut it off, clipped it to her belt, and picked up her bag, heading to meet the others.[/COLOR]

[DuoMax]

Jureel hummed softly to himself as he walked towards the hangar, duffel bag slung over one shoulder. The bag held essentials. Spare clothing, some snacks, a datapad. He was dressed in his simple Jedi robes, and at his belt was his light saber. The weapon he had slaved over for months, sturggling to perfect, to make it the best weapon. If he made it incorrectly, it would not do. He needed to get ti right, the first time. So he had taken a long, precise route in making the weapn. And it was finsihed, and it worked. Excellent.

He turned, hearing foot steps behind him. Alask was walking up the corrdior behind him. When he had come to the academy, he hadn't liked training with the alien students, but he had grown used to them, and even made friends with some of them. Secretly, he rather admired Alsk for her ability to hide her emotions. He smiled at the Bothan waving, and recieving a slight, neutral nod in return. He paused, waiting for her to catch up before continuing down the corridor.

"Off to the Outer Rim, exciting, huh?"

"I suppose so."

Jureel smiled.

"Remember though, 'excitement, adventure, a jedi craves not these things.' " he said in a fiar imitation of the small Jedi Master that instructed them from time to time.

[4815162342]

[COLOR=Indigo]Mimishi sat through the explanation that came from the teachers on what she and others had just felt, then headed out of the mess hall and towards her room, passing the Bothans, Alask and Jassk as she did so. She smiled at Jassk's excitment. But was soon lost in her own thoughts. [I]That isn't right. Nobody should take that many lives.[/I] She entered her room and picked up her pack. [I]I feel honored to be chosen as one of the Jedi to investigate this.[/I] She took most of her spare clothing out of the drawers and then walked over to the special case she had for her lightsaber. Taking it out of the case she fastened it to her belt, left her room carrying her sack, and headed towards the hanger.[/COLOR]

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Blue]Cedrax entered the Jedi compound after recieving word he was picked to go to the Outer Rim.

"Hmph..A nice long trip away from this place. I'm glad.." Cedrax told himself as he passed by some students. Cedrax turned the corner to the student quarters, made his way to his own room and entered, which was un-lit except for the small glow of a desk-lamp. Cedrax flipped the light switch and the lights flickered on with a bit of difficulty.

"Fierfek! Stupid lights." Cedrax said aloud as he began gathering supplies such as spare robes and small knick-knacks he would need on a trip away from the safety of the Jedi compound on Kashyyk. Not soon after starting Cedrax was done packing his gear, but he felt there was just one thing missing; his blaster. Cedrax popped open a small plasteel alloy box next to his bed and removed a small DH-17 Blaster Pistol, quickly looked it over and stuffed it into his robes. In an about face Cedrax faced the door and made his way out of the room, grabing his lightsaber and turning the lights off as he left.

"Alright, lets see who I'm going with. Nobody important, I know that much.." Cedrax said as he clipped the lightsaber to his belt and peeked into his robe for his pistol, just to be sure it was there.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Kaith met the assorted young Jedi in the hangar. She looked up and down the ranks with pride. These were the finest young Jedi in the galaxy, all discovered and nurtured by her and the other Jedi Masters.

And now she could be taking them to their doom.

She shook this notion out of her head, and moved them all on board the ship. It was an enlarged version of the old Jedi Starfighters used in the Clone Wars. It was a long vehicle, of a triangular shape, with weapons under the wings, in case they needed them.

She went to the pilot, checked everything was ready, and told him to initiate take-off. He saluted to her, and began take-off procedures. He checked all systems were ready and took off, into the stars.

"Now, I know for many of you that this is your first trip off the planet, but don't be afraid. This is just another routine observation mission, trying to find out a reason why the base is gone. We are not expecting to be doing any fighting, but I hope you have all brought your weapons, just in case." The students all nodded and held up their sabers.

"Good. Now, at the current speed we are travelling at, we should be there in approximately two hours. That gives you time to get in some last-minute practice, whether it is with your lightsabers or the Force, use the time well."

----------------

Down on the planet, Kassius felt the oncoming presence of the Jedi, and he smiled viciously from the darkened corner he was waiting in...[/SIZE]

[Grunt Salesman]

Jassk shook off his nervousness and checked to make sure that his safety harness was secure. Turns out it was, just like the last four times that he checked. Jassk then looked to his surroundings. To his left, sat Mimishi, either asleep with her eyes open or lost in thought. Jureel sat to his right with a faint smirk on his face.
Cedrax, who sat across from him, seemed to be surveying the interior of the dropship like Jassk was. Alask also sat opposite of her cousin.

Master Kaith stood towards the front, in the cockpit door, leaning against the doorways rim. Past her, and through the transparisteel cockpit window, swirled the blue cascade of hyperspace travel. "Alright, students. We'll be arriving shortly. Run a quick check of your gear, and make sure that you have everything together. We make dirtside in fiften standard minutes," she said over her shoulder, " I want this to go without incident."

[I]Oh man.[/I] thought Jassk, [I]Last time someone said that, it was my dad, just before we took a family trip. Our ship lost power halfway there, and we drifted for four hours before someone responded to our beacon.[/I]
"Hey," began Alask, " Remember that family trip that Uncle Fasra took us on when we were younger?"

[dMage]

OOC: Not sure how to work the Posting of the two characters out yet, but for the time being, I will post both characters, only using different colors to represent them. Also, I know that I have taken some liberties with two of the characters, but I felt that due to the description that you gave of them, the Forms they practice are reflective of their personalities.
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[FONT=Courier New][COLOR=DarkGreen]Exador was quiet as he sat in the ship, meditating over the plans that Master Kaith had given them. The Gand felt honored that his skill had been recognized, and that he would be joining the expedition, but a small sense of dread also gnawed at his mind. He had been in combat with Master Fargal when the disturbance had occured, and the loss of so much life force, in small area, had been dramatic. Fargal himself, a Master who almost never showed any loss of composure had taken a step back as if somebody had slapped him. This more than anything else worried the Gand, but he knew that to walk into any situation with fear and dread overpowering you waws worng. He was a Jedi, and as such, he trusted the Force to guide his life. If anything were to happen, it was because fate had dictated it to be so, and he would employ all the knowledge and skill he had to try and make the outcome be the best he could make of it. Sighing, he got up and made his way to the small room Master Gartrek had established as her shop. Exador knew that his skill in combat was competent, and while he would soon go and practice some more with his Master, he felt that a clean and well maintained weapon was necessary for it to go well. Not just that, but there were a few delicate adjustments he wanted to try on his fencing saber, which Master Gartrek would need to help him with.[/COLOR]--------------------------------------------------------------------
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]Roo's sat, watching his students practice against the remotes. Cedrax and Mimishi were faring well against them, but Fargal could not help but wonder if what he had taught them was enough. He watched as both reflected the bolst coming at them, not letting one bolt through, but each employing the different styles he felt best reflected their personalities.

Cedrax had always been a competent student, very powerful, but also very rash. And this rashness might prove his end thought the Noghri as he watched his student hack and slash with great gusto. Cedrax, with more temperance and patience, would have had the ability to maybe even have followed Master Qel Droma's and Windu's (as well as himslef) in mastering the VII form of lightsaber combat. But his wild temperance meant that he did not have the will and concentration to attempt such a feat. Instead, Fargal had felt that the way of the Krayt Dragon, with its concentration on "peace through superior firepower" suited him better. Watching him now, Fargal knew it had been the right choice. Cedrax could hold his own against the 12 remotes pitted against him, and used his abilities to knock the bolts back at the remotes to control them, and keep them from tagging him.

Looking at Mimishi fight, Fargal could not help but feel a small sense of pride. The Chiss was small and agile, making her defense against the remotes seem more like a dance than a battle. She moved with great grace, and used her speed and agility to keep herself free from harm. Her natural inclination to be protetive, along with her natural grace, had been what had led Fargal to choose Form III as the one which best suited her. While many in the order felt that it is too defensive of a form, Fargal knew that sometimes, with some people, defense was simply the best thing. And if people argued against that, then Fargal would simply have to say "Obi-wan" and most people would shut up. A form that could put up against 3 Sith Lords and still have the weilder come out both victorious and unscathed had to be good. Chuckling lightly, the Noghri looked over at his student once again as she effortlessly blocked every bolt coming towards her.

Yes, the Noghri weapons master thought silently to himself, I have done almost all I can to prepare these Knights for the trials ahead.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Yoda]

[I]There is no emotion; There is peace.[/I]

Jodo sat silently in his chair, eyes closed, meditating. His hands were clasped and lay across his lap, and the only movement he made was the slight convex and concave of his chest as he breathed.

[I]There is no ignorance; There is knowledge.[/I]

Jodo's mind was an open window. He saw nothing, for his eyes were closed, but he felt the presence of everyone on the ship, they were as beacons on a dark night to him. Some carried an anxiety; a tension that eminated through the Force. Perhaps this was because many expected a battle. Some carrried an anticipation; almost hoping there would be a battle ahead. They were as lightning; jumpy, aggresive.

[I]There is no passion; There is serenity.[/I]

Jodo let his mind wander further still. He felt the pilot's, the bulkheads, the engines. Outside, he felt the cold recess of space combat with the warmth and energy of the stars. Then, his focus reached the planet... and he felt emptyness. It was as a void... and it gave him a feeling like a convulsion of the lungs. But... that was not all. He felt as if a veil had been thrown over the Planet, like it had been cast in shadow.

[I]There is no death; There is the Force.[/I]

Jodo's eyes opened suddenly, he felt a presence before him. Opening his eyes, he beheld Master Jedoth staring at him solemnly, his mouth perched into a compassionate smile. The two Whill were silent for a moment, then Jedoth reached out, placing a hand on Jodo's shoulder.

"Hard to see... The dark side is, young Jodo."

Jodo gave a single nod, and his ears drooped into a look of concern. He was not scared of the threat itself, but was afraid of the symbol it represented. A Sith ready to challenge the Republic publicly meant one thing; that the Sith were now in a position powerful enough to cause the Republic serious threat.

[DuoMax]

Outwardly, Jureel was calm. But inside, he was taught as bowstring. Hee he was, preparing to investigate a planet where someone, or something, had slaughtered and entire Republic garrison. [i]But wait![/i] he thought, [i]I'm a jedi Knight for the orce's sake! I can handle this![/i] He tred to alleviate his nevousnes by listening on the two Bothans. He was envious of Alsk. So calm and so ready to face whatever it was that was down there. That kind of determination was almost attractive, ina weird way. [i]hey![/i] He jarred himsel back to reality. [i]Stop thinking about that and concentrate on the task at hand![/i] With a slight mental grumble, he surendered to the little voice in hsi head and began doing breathing exercises in oder to enter a mediative state.

[Havoc88]

Kel had been practicing with his lightsaber, twirling it around experimentally and deflecting some bolts from the drone. He had wroked up a light sweat and had decided to do some meditation.

He went to one corner of the ship nad sat, mentally reciting mathematical formulas to strengthen his mind and keep concentration. Plus he just enjoyed doing it.

[i]A squared times B squared is equal to C squared...X over T is...[/i]

He gradually fell away from the ship, from the hum of the lightsabers and chatter of conversation. He was at peace. He felt his mind stretch out, joining the galaxy and examing the living force. He felt the other students on baord. Some were jumpy or nervous, others calm. He could feel the Jedi masters, beacons of light inf the void.

He wandered further, towards the planet that they were coming towards, feeling...an void. An empty, dark spot on the force. He frowned...Powerful. THe dark sider was powerful. So much anger and hate was balled into this planet and shrouded it from the force.

He felt something touch his own mind...He retreated from it, coming back to his own body. He opened his eyes, a cold sweat on his brow. So much hate. So much anger....He shook his head nad cleared his thoughts.

[i]There is no emotion...there is peace.[/i] he recited to himself. [i]Control your emotions.[/i]

He stood and walked back over to his chair. "I need a moment to collect myself." he muttered under his breath.

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Blue]Cedrax had sat, stood and even trained on the long journey to the Outer Rim but something bothered him as they continued onward. A presence. The kind of presence that eased his mind and made him feel as though he was in fact going to the '[I]right[/I]' place. Cedrax quickly shook the thought off and paced around the interior of the ship, eyeing each Jedi student as he passed a dozen times over, some gave him a slight glance or an occasional wink but most just stayed still and clear-headed. The ship lurched suddenly, and Cedrax took to his knee to stop from falling over.

[I]Bah, only dust particles in space..[/I] Cedrax thought to himself as the ship straightend itself out and continued on. Once on his feet Cedrax looked about to see how everyone else was faring, and then plopped down in his seat across from Jassk. Cedrax nodded towards Jassk and spoke.

"Nervous at all?"

"A little anxious to get off this ship and into the fray, if any fray at all." Jassk answered.

"This shouldn't be tough. Just some routine scout mission, I'll bet what hit that Republic Base was just some off-world weapon. I mean, what else could do that?" Cedrax said with confidence and arogance.

"Yeah, well, I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Jassk replied, folding his arms across his chest and letting out a sigh of intolerance at Cedrax's arogance because he knew it wasn't some 'off-world weapon.' Jassk knew it was something big, and so did Cedrax, the only difference was that Jassk was willing to admit it and Cedrax just wouldn't.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[4815162342]

[COLOR=Indigo]Mimishi finished up her training, throwing in one last block before turning of the remote and heading over to sit beside Cedrax and Jassk who were talking about their mission.

[B]"Yeah, well, I suppose we'll find out, won't we?"[/B] Mimishi supposed that they were discussing what had killed all of those people, and joined in.

[B]"And that whoever they are, they will be brought to justice so that they are unable to do it again. Senseless killing should not be tolerated."[/B] Her point spoken she turned to watch as the others around them meditated and practiced against the remotes, as she had just finished doing. Then she turned back to the window and slowed her breathing, soon reaching the calmness that came with meditation.

[I]You will be able to help, do not feel useless...[/I]

How?

[I]You will know... listen to those who teach you...[/I]

I see.

Mimishi slowly came out of her meditative state and went back to looking at the stars moving past. [/COLOR]

[dMage]

[FONT=Courier New][COLOR=DarkGreen]The Gand moved slowly, taking small steps, but always ensuring that he had a firm connection to the ground as he shuffled around the pratice mat. Master Fargal had accepted his invitation to a spar, and the Gand knew that in this situation, his Master would put much more emphasis and concentration into defeating him, rather than instruction.

Watching his opponent, Exador dropped his gaurds and let the Force flow fully through his body. The feelings that came from letting oneself drop fully into the river of life that the Force represented were more intoxiacting than anything else anybody could ever feel. As he let his mind and body fuse with it, he felt his vision change. No longer was his Master just standing before him, rather he saw a myriad of images, each an avenue of attack that the Noghri could use. While the Force enhanced his senses, and gave him a bit more warning time, Exador knew it was his own manipulation and judgement of what he sensed that would allow him to challenge his master.[/COLOR]
================================

[COLOR=DimGray]Master Fargal stood , saber at the ready, in a defensive posture that allowed superior manueverability. His young charge was ready, full of the Force and confident in his abilities. The Gand would prove to be a great swordsmaster, and the knack and abilities he showed now promised much to Fargal. The only thing the Gand lacked was open offensiveness. While he was a great dueler, the Gand tended to prefer patience and defense, he would rather riposte than attack. It was the only bad tendency that the Noghri weaponsmaster had ever noticed the Gand to be weak of, and it was one that he was ready to change. While he almost never allowed himself this luxury, the Fargal kept his defensive posture, waiting for Exador to make the first move. [/COLOR]
================================

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Exador felt it strange when his master did not attack outright. Fargal never let an opponent attack first, constantly telling Exador that to do so was to allow the enemy to dictate the battle, something that was never good. As this thought crept into his mind, the Gand's mandibles formed into the equivalent of a smile. Well, if his master wanted him to dictate the battle, he would.

Once again immersing himself into the Force, the Gand switched his handling on his blade, and attacked.[/COLOR]
================================

[COLOR=DimGray]Fargal stepped into the oncoming blow. Sweeping his blade in an arc, he blocked the Gands looping blow and shifted his grip, stabbing straight to where the Gand stood. He was surprised when the Gands blade appeared diretcly opposite to where he had placed it, and watched as Exador effortlessly blocked his attacked and swept back to a neutral gaurd. It took him longer than he thought necessary to realize what had happened, but when he did so, his feline features blossomed into a [I]very[/I] toothy smile. The Gand had simply rotated the blade, using the curved haft in a way that made the block come out from nowhere. He berated himself silently for forgetting his opponents weapon, and the advantages it would give him. Yet the battle wasn't over yet, and by the way Exador was standing, at the ready he knew it was his turn to attack.[/COLOR]
================================

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Exador felt excited that he had been able to pull off the block succesfully. It was one of the minor adjustments he had made with Gartrek, and it was most definitely worth the time he and the blade-builder had spent on it.

When he was sure that his master had recovered, he swept in again, putting his Master again on the defensive. The II form of lightsabre combat relied on sweeping slashes, and Exador employed all the tactics he knew. He came in towards the Nogrhi in a sweeping mid-blow, that his master easily blocked. Using the momentum gathered from the counter-blow, Exador redirected his blade into a low cut meant to severe the Noghri from his feet. Yet, quicker than anyone ever could, the noghri twirled into the air and brought his blade into a fast blow meant to take Gands head. Exador shifted his wieght and brought his own blade up to parry the oncoming blow. Yet as he moved his head back up, he felt a sudden weight hit his head, dizzying him momentarily. Looking up, he saw his master stading in the neutral gaurd, clearly waiting for him to recover. The gand shook his head and sqaured his shoulders, clearing out the stars the Force-blow had caused. When he was ready again, he nodded his head towards his master, signalling his readiness. [/COLOR]
==================================

[COLOR=DimGray]Fargal waited patiently as his student recovered from the his attack. Exador was proving to be a very worthy opponent, but he woul have to remember to be ready for all attacks, not just those that came physically, but also those that emanted from the Force. He was about to lunge into another attack when suddenly, the ships comm system blared.

[B]"Attention Passengers. We will be reaching our destination point in exactly 1 minute and 30 seconds. All passengers, please ready yourself for our drop out of hyperspace."[/B]

Looking over at Exador, Fargal watched as the Gand faced his master, and then bent down on one knee. Fargal nodded, and reached over to pull his student up. "You have done well Exador. Soon, your people shall recognize your prowess, and have you pass through the rite of Individuality."[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Kaith readied herself for the drop out of hyperspace. She hated it. It always made her feel nauseous and ill. She closed her eyes, felt the feeling of sickness wash over her and concentrated on not throwing up. After a few seconds, she felt the sickness subside, a feeling which told her they were in normal space.

She stood up, saw the perfect, graceful landing the pilot made and turned to the students.

"Now I hope you're all prepared for your first mission. I understand you might be a little nervous, but that's natural. I was nervous on my first mission too. But once we get out and into the base, we will be splitting into three groups. Going with myself will be Kassaen Jartuck, Jodo Rade and Jureel Dartan. With Master Fargal will be Cedrax Selus, Kel Lenan and Mimishi. With Master Jedoth and Gartrek will be Exador Quyr'gg, Alask Fey'lya and Jassk Fey'lya. We will split into these groups once we are out there. My group will be tracing the perimeter, trying to find out how the enemy got into the stronghold. Fargal's group will be trying to find any survivors and get them out of there, and Jedoth's group will be trying to find security footage of what happened here. Does everyone understand?" she said.

The students nodded.

"Good. Now, let's move out." They walked slowly off the ship, moving into the base. They split into their groups and went to their individual positions.

------------

"Excellent," said Kassius, "The Jedi are here." He took his lightsaber out and kept it ready. Then he walked out towards one group of Jedi...

(OOC: I'm not going to tell you which group Kassius is heading towards yet. It will be revealed in my next post. For now, just do whatever Kaith has told you to.)[/SIZE]

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Blue]Cedrax turned to Master Fargal and spoke aloud for all to hear

"What makes you think there even ARE survivors out here? Honestly, Its all flora and fauna, creatures and monsters. Nothing more. The base is fried and so are what survivors there could've been." Cedrax said, walking alongside the small group of Jedi.

"We don't know that for sure, so thats why we are looking." Master Fargal responded, unwavering in his voice.

"C'mon Cedrax, don't be so negative about it, you can't always tell." Mimishi said to Cedrax, rolling her eyes at his negativity.

"Think of it this way; if you can't sense presence with the force then there is NO presence!" Cedrax was getting irate with the enthusiasm of the whole group and let them trail ahead of him as he took to the rear, glancing around at their surroundings.

[I]I'm telling you all, there is NOBODY out here...Guess they'll find out the hard way when we really don't find anyone. Pushovers...[/I] Cedrax thought to himself, pulling his lightsaber off of his belt and spinning the hilt around in his hand, continuing with the other Jedi students on their futile search for survivors. Cedrax heard a rustle in the bushes and he instantly thumbed his lightsaber on and looked in the sounds direction. A small creature emerged from the bushes and then retreated as quickly as it came.

"Whats wrong Cedrax, scared of small animals?" Mimishi laughed out as they continued onward. Cedrax thumbed the lightsaber off and shook his head in shame, he was a bit antsy but he was just being cautious unlike the rest of the group who had high hopes of a flawless mission. Cedrax knew something was out there; waiting for them and Cedrax wanted to be the one to say 'I told you so'[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Kamuro]

Jedoth was silent as he was assigned his duty. He was familiar with the students he had been given. Although young and inexperienced, he felt each had a special power within them that had yet been unleashed. He made it a habit of constantly checking each student's force alignment and power and he was quite happy he'd been given these three, as well as Gartrek to accompany him in their mission.

As Jedoth walked through the silent base he observed his surroundings. He didn't notice much out of the ordinary. [I]Maybe this corridor had been left untouched?[/I] he thought to himself. However, he couldn't think of a reason for the someone to take a base and not examine it fully. They were almost to their destination when Jedoth heard a loud crash. His lightsaber quickly flew to his hand and ignited the dark hallway. As he spun around he saw that Jassk had simply knocked something over "Heh...sorry." Alask shook her head. "No matter young one, but next time be cautious you must" Jassk nodded and they continued. At the end of the hallway they reached a large empty room. The lights flickered as they walked in. Jedoth closed his eyes and tried to feel the force...nothing.

[Yoda]

Jodo walked along silently, his hands lulling at his sides as he monitored the surroundings. Jureel was a few paces ahead of him, and seemed to be paying particular attention to the increasing amounts of unsettled earth that all seemed to move in the same pattern; a classic sign of mass blaster fire. Jureel had always held Jodo with some air of caution, he seemed to have some trouble getting on with creatures alien to his own species. No matter... Jodo was aware that their relationship had, if slowly, been developing over time, and was certain that it would continue to progress positively. Master Kaith was behind the two, and walked some distance close to the base itself, while Kassaen was further back again, seemingly starting to get frustrated at their apparent lack of results.

Jodo's attention was caught suddenly by a series of black marks singing the grass and floor, around a very concentrated area. Blaster scoring, which all seemed to concentrate into an area, and suddenly stop in a circular perimeter untouched by any scoring. Jureel seemed to have noticed it also. Jodo turned towards Kaith, whose attention was still directed solely towards the base itself.

"Master Kaith"

Kaith turned and looked at Jodo with an air of mild surprise, and found him standing perfectly still, pointing towards the mass blaster scoring, which Jureel was already advancing towards.

"Found, we have, the beginning of the battle."

Kaith nodded as she joined Jodo, and together they walked towards the markings on the floor. Kassaen was jogging behind them to catch up, and Jureel was already down on one knee, examining the untouched circle.

"This is very strange Master Kaith..."

"What's that Jureel?"

"Well, this untouched perimeter here... if it was some kind of shield or force field, then it's barely big enough for one man to stand in. Plus, we've found no other evidence of this in this area."

"So that means, either there were several attackers coming from adjacent angles... or..."

"Or there was just this one..." Kassaen finished.

Kaith's demenour bacame suddenly more grim. She paused for some moments, staring blankly at the untouched perimeter. The students seemed far more on edge, and had subconsciously taken up a perimeter of their own around their master, all very cautios of their surroundings.

"It's no matter." Kaith suddenly announced. "Whatever it was, it's long gone now."

"This place... strong in the dark side of the force..." Jodo commented.

Kaith nodded once, and then drew in a long breath, before turning back to her companions.

"Okay, lets move out, see if we can find any thing else that arouses suspicion."

[Blayze]

[SIZE=1]Kassius came out from his hiding place, and drew his lightsaber, igniting the blade. It sparked up with a sharp hiss-crack, and lit his face with a deep crimson colour. His eyes blazed through the light as he saw the group of Jedi advance through the burnt-out base.

He walked out of the shadows, and called the Jedi.

"If you are looking for what destroyed the base, you've found it, Jedi!" he shouted. His voice echoed through the hallways of the building. The young Jedi spun round, drawing their own lightsabers, igniting them with similar hiss-cracks to Kassius'.

"Who do we have here?" he said, taunting the Jedi, "Two Bothans, a Chiss, and Jedi Master Jedoth. Oh, and of course, the wannabe Jedi Master Gartrek. Did you know, students, that she is so awful in her use of the Force that she couldn't even become a real Jedi Knight?" Gartrek turned bright red, and drew her pearly-white lightsaber.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"He is a former student, Gartrek," said Jedoth calmly, "His name is Katan. He was removed from the academy due to violent conduct."

"My name is not Katan!" he shouted, "You shall not call me that! There is nothing of the man you once knew inside me! I am Darth Kassius!"

"A new name does not disguise your cowardice, Katan."

"You shut up! To prove to you that I am stronger, you shall have a taste of my power!" he shouted. He chose one of the young Jedi from the crowd, a young Bothan, and drew him from the group, using the Force to move him.

"What is your name, child?" he asked.

"J-jassk Fey'lya," the Bothan stammered.

"Well, Jassk, do you feel ready to face me in lightsaber combat?" Kassius asked coldly.

"No!" shouted Gartrek, "Jassk, say no, you're not ready for this!"

"I am stronger than you realise, Gartrek. I can fight him," he said.

"A courageous decision, young Jedi," said Kassius. He held his lightsaber up, ready in his stance. The young Bothan did the same. Kassius smiled darkly, then charged the young Jedi, his lightsaber swinging. It buzzed through the air, and Jassk hardly had time to block it. The sabers crashed together with a hiss, and Kassius looked down on his opponent, and laughed. The Jedi ducked out of the way, and slid between Kassius' legs, slashing upwards. Kassius blocked, and threw the Jedi into the air with the Force. He came crashing back to the ground with a thud. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth, and Kassius charged him again, using his skills in his own unique combination of lightsaber Forms II, IV and V to batter the young Jedi almost into submission.

Jassk jumped to his feet, and slashed at Kassius, who blocked easily. The Jedi's strength was waning. Kassius smiled, and as the boy made his charge, he simply stood, ready with his lightsaber. The Jedi caught him off guard, however, and sliced through the flesh of his arm, leaving a sizzling black trail. Kassius looked at his wound, and turned to the boy. He snarled, and charged.

All the helpless group of Jedi saw was a flash of red, and then came the smell of smoking flesh.

They looked at their classmate, and saw that Kassius had pulled off an expert combination of [I]cho mai[/I], [I]cho sun [/I] and [I]cho mok [/I] lightsaber wounds. This meant that the child's weapon hand, weapon arm and left leg had been hacked off with expert precision. Kassius stood and shut down his saber, holstering it and walking away.

The Jedi ran over to Jassk. His arm, hand and leg lay on the floor, a few feet away from him. He coughed a few times, and his cousin Alask held him. She seemed optimistic, though.

"Don't worry, cousin," she said through tears, "We can replace your limbs with bionics. If we can just get you back to the ship, then you'll be fine."

"I don't think so, Alask. I'm sorry, but it seems Kassius performed a [I]shiak[/I] technique on your cousin as well." Gartrek opened the dying Bothan's robe, and revealed a stab wound in his chest. Tears fell from Alask's eyes, and dropped onto her cousin's face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, cousin," Jassk gasped, his every breath now gurgling as the blood filled his lungs.

"Don't worry, Jassk. It was too big a responsibility to dump on you. I'm so sorry, cousin," said Alask. She held her cousin as he convulsed, and passed away.

Tears ran down Alask's face as she held her deceased cousin.

"Now I have a reason to fight Kassius," she snarled...

(OOC: Grunt Salesman has left us. He has a virus or something, so he will not be feeling up to posting for a while, so I have killed off his character)[/SIZE]

[Kamuro]

As Kassius walked from the cindered body parts Jedoth spoke "Leave, you will not." Kassius stopped in his tracks and turned "Your a fool Jedoth, just as your student was, you can't defeat me, with one arm or no arms at all, you produce no challenge." Jedoth grabbed the lightsaber from his belt "See, we shall."

Jedoth quickly ignited his lightsaber and jumped towards Kassius slashing repeatedly. Kassius regained balance and blocked each of Jedoth's blows returning a few of his own. He used the force to knock Jedoth back and again to strick with lightning from his remaining palm. Jedoth caught the force attack and negated it. Both fighters gasped for breath and stared each other down. Kassius made the first move striking the ground with force power where Jedoth was standing. Jedoth jumped, bounced from the wall and sliced downwards. Kassius side-stepped and struck with all his might knocking Jedoth off balance. He continued to slash mercilessly as Jedoth blocked. The lightsabers crackled as they struck echoing like thunder throughout the base.

Both Jedoth and Kassius used force power at the same time knocking each other back. Kassius stumbled to his feet "We will finish this later." He jumped back into the shadows and disappeared. Jedoth rose to his feet and returned to his group. He examined Jassk and shook his head, he removed the lightsaber from his belt and attached it to his own. "Remember him always, we will..."

[DuoMax]

At the moment of Jassk's death, Jueel stumbled, crying out as he felt the other Jedi's life become one with the Force. The other Jedi looked at him, also having felt the tremor the young Bothan's death had caused in the Force.

"Someone...someone died..." Jureel stammared, looking at the others, "Should we go help them?"

"No." Katih said, "We must complete our mission."

Jureel nodded, but felt sick to his stomach. He hoped it wasn't one of the Bothas, especially, since he'd been so rude to them when he had first entered the academy. he had been aloof and not trusted the aliens, but he had come to like them. "Please, let Jask and Alask be alright..." he whispered softly as the group continued it's sweep of the perimiter.

[Havoc88]

Kel stared. He felt rooted to the spot. Jassk...was dead. A routine mission had gone horribly awry. Dead. He was dead. And Kel had done nothing to interfere he had merely stood there and watched as one of his friends was cut down by Kassius.

He sobbed once and fell to his knees, gripping the earth with his hands.

"No...No...This shouldn't have happened. What went wrong?"

He stared down at the ground. He suddenly realized he was crying. He slumped back against a wall, sobbing. This couldn't happen. He slowly felt his sorrow beginning to turn to rage. Rage at Kassius for destroying a young being.

[i]No! I am a Jedi! There is no emotion! There is peace![/i]

He began sobbing again. He kept asking himself over and over again what he could've done to stop it.

[silpheedpilot]

[COLOR=Blue][SIZE=1]Cedrax stood near Kel but hadn't bothered him...yet. The sight of Kel crying like a child just angered Cedrax even more then losing a fellow Jedi, even if he didn't care for him. Cedrax turned and started towards Kel at an alarming speed and spoke loudly with aggression in his voice.

"Get up! Get up, Kel and face this like a man! You can't change anything if you sit there sobbing like a baby! Now get up before I MAKE you get up!" Cedrax stood over Kel and spoke loudly, with crossed arms.

"Leave me alone..." Kel answered with anger in his voice, slowly starting to rise from the ground.

"Yes..MAKE me leave you alone...Come at me!" Cedrax said to Kel, removing the lightsaber from his belt and taking a step back.

"I told you Cedrax, leave me..ALONE!" Kel dashed towards Cedrax, igniting his lightsaber and swinging it furiously at Cedrax. Sparks of light flashed as the two lightsabers collided and the two Jedi pounced around taking swings at eachother, it seeming like a draw.

"You can do better than that! How will you ever defeat what killed Jassk if you can't even best me!" Cedrax taunted Kel with all his might and took a stab at him with a powerful thrust from his lightsaber, it was easily defended by Kel and reversed but blocked. The two Jedi lashed out until Master Fargal stepped in and halted the fight.

"This is not the way we mourn our fellow Jedi. Keep collected and stick to the mission, and Cedrax you need to be more tactful in dealing with other students. Some may not want to go down the path you've chosen thus far in your life." Master Fargal said to the two tired, but not beaten Jedi.

The group continued after a while of rest, Kel and Fargal led the group while Cedrax hung back as always.

[I]I should've killed him. He is weak and will end up bringing us all down with his pitiful feelings.[/I] Cedrax thought to himself as the group went forth, deeper into the planet towards the Republic base.

[I]I WILL kill him the next time he slows us down with his sorrow[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]