Messenger of Death

[Bryna Belargic]

Bryna flattened against a bulkhead to avoid the ball of fur that was hurtling towards her and Master Tarkin. Flush against the wall, she gaped at the sight of the Sith as the Whaladon itself seemed to rail against him, snaring his legs in a tangle of warped durasteel.

A rational part of her mind began to cycle through the words of the Jedi Code, knowing that the mere thought of Vega Van-Derveld was enough to bring out the darker emotions in her, let alone the sight of him trying to tear even more of her world apart - but it was no use. Cold fire burned through the Jedi Padawan as she shoved her way past Akasha, shouldered through an unfamiliar Alliance soldier and sprinted at Vega with her lightsaber held high and ready to swing like a club.

“You frakking monster!”

[Navaria Tarkin]

Calm eyes met the fury of Van-Derveld's and the Jedi Master felt the Dark Side attempt to penetrate her own defenses. His hatred for her had not diminished over time, only grow into such rage that it was a mere facet of his emotional state.

Though her sense of danger alerted her to a threat that did not make any sense at all to her. She felt the emotional upheaval of Charlotte twist and focus into rage. Rage directed at her.

But there were other matters to attend to firstly.

With a quick wave of her hand, Akasha was halted in mid-flight after passing by Bryna. "My thanks," she said and placed the Orryxian onto the ground. Sadly, she couldn't deal with Charlotte just yet because her newest ward had lost all sense of control after seeing her Uncle in the flesh.

"Bryna, no!" And with that simple command, the young Belargic was forcefully halted in her tracks by the Jedi Master's will. Charlotte was still recovering so there were only scant moments to get Bryna under control.

Walking right in front of the Padawan, Navaria kept her hold on the girl as she spoke. "By whatever fates brought you here, you did not come to loose yourself in rage and hatred, to loose who you are despite what that man has done to you. You are better then this. Better then him."

She would not allow someone else falling close to the Dark Side because of him. Never again.

[Charlotte Tur'enne]

Prey was in her sights, locked on, targeted...

And then something was upon her. It was unacceptable. There were no thoughts behind each savage slash of the blade that was made, even as she and the new black-furred quarry were hurled by the force of their impact.

She became vaguely aware of someone else shoving past her, of the fact that Tarkin was still present, but this new challenge stood before her and would not be denied.

Charlotte's recovery to her feet was quick, as if she was experiencing not even the slightest ache from their heavy impact. She eyed the Orryxian with an intense, maddened stare as she flipped the knife end over end, catching it by the hilt before lunging again as if unconcerned for her own safety, purely driven by the need to rip open flesh at whatever cost.

[Akasha Khan]

Akasha leapt to her feet as the flaxen-haired woman rebounded and shifted her death-grip on her combat knife. With the sabers still hissing and crackling mere meters behind her back, she felt as though she were trapped between a vornskr and a boma's nest. But her Echani fighting staff would be as useful against sabers as a an umbrella against the fires of Mustafar. She had to trust the Jedi knights at her back to protect her from the greater menace while she dealt with the stab-happy psycho lady.

First principle of combat: your strength against her weakness. All Charlotte needed to do was close, and the reach of Akasha's staff would go from an asset to a liability. The Orryxian turned her staff toward her enemy and wielded it like a spear, careful to keep the end in motion so it could not be easily grabbed, and the moment Charlotte came within range, Akasha stabbed at her solar plexus and then levered the staff sharply into her chin.

[Ilias Nytrau]

The moment they exited the maintenance crawlspace, Akasha had tumbled immediately into the fray and as much as deeper animal instinct begged him to join the fight, the sensible protector, the Jedi Healer, knew the better and slipped away from the fracas to tend to the evacuation of the more defenseless younglings from the nearby vicinity of their living quarters – a commune of doors about a central, larger open room. His presence in the fight at this time would only leave the situation crowded.

His first instinct was to garner the help of his own padawan, Kala’ndryl Ryj and implore her to aid him in keeping the remainder of the padawans and other force-enabled youth calm and silent as they quickly began to evacuate them out a different maintenance crawlspace, more central to the living commune. Kala took the point in leading them out, with the end purpose of coming out the other end on the far end of the Whaladon’s hangar bay, much closer to the medbay and much further away from the harm of the intruder.

Most of the small number of learners tailed Kala off into the crawlspace with haste and without much of a hitch, save for one who was not at ease with such enclosed spaces. After much assurance, he convinced her that he would be right behind her, that nothing would happen, that as a healer and a warrior he would keep her unharmed and safe, covering their escape with a masterful veil as he kept watch to ensure no-one was going to interrupt the effort to whisk them away to some form of relative safety. His hand went with caution to the saber hit dangling from his hip as he listened to every little directionality, yell, clang, and bash of the clash and watched intently for any movement that might head in his direction.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Blood-red blade alive with a snarl, the Sith hacked at the warped durasteel as if it were little more than a tangle of weeds. As his blade burned through the grating, it bit into the calf of his left leg, releasing the smell of burnt synth-flesh and circuitry into the air. There wasn't time enough to cut himself free, not before the old Jedi reached him. He rose as much as he could out of the durasteel, the screech and groan of the metal seeming to come from behind his clenched, rotten teeth. Then, with a downward sweep of both hands, Vega lanched himself into the air – crashing with hunched shoulders into and through the ceiling panelling of the corridor and into the crawlspace above. There was a clatter as the Sith scrambled through some unseen space on all four, hands and feet scrabbling like some over-sized arachnid.

[Bryna Belargic]

As she watched Vega vanish - listening to the sound of him scratching through the Whaladon's innards like some hideous parasite - Bryna thrashed against the invisible hands that held her in place. Soon, however, it was Navaria herself who held her. Stood right in front of her, forcing Bryna to meet her masters gaze. Even still, she pressed forward, her eyes wide and full of fear.

“He's getting away!”

[Carré Inirial]

It had been a matter of being in the right hangar at the right time as the klaxons had reached the Challenger's bridge and sent the entire fleet into a state of alarm. Volunteering without a second thought, she'd taken to the controls of the shuttle and pushed the small craft as quickly as it would go.

One group had already been transferred over to the safety of the Challenger, and Carré had come back for another. And tried not to think too hard about the panicked descriptions about what was happening aboard the Whaladon. Clad in typical off-duty olive drab cargo pants and a tank-top, her black boots made a rhythmic sound as she paced by the end of the ramp. Her DC-15s was still in its holster over her right hip, waiting.

It was all she could do to not go racing down the unfamiliar halls of the ship trying to find Chrys' two daughters - the woman had been in a state of sheer panic at being unable to get word of them from anyone. Both were Force-sensitive, and both had come aboard the Whaladon only that morning to be introduced to the Jedi and the other younglings.

Up ahead a flash of silver and blonde caught her eye in the spaces of a ventilation grate. Kala soon stuck her head out and looked infinitely relieved to find her there waiting. Younglings soon piled out of the now-open vent, Emma and Brianne among them. "This way! All of you, quickly!" Carré said, catching Brianne up in her arms as she rushed forward to help.

[Charlotte Tur'enne]

The hit to her chin with the staff knocked her back onto the ground and stunned the small blond woman for a moment. A hand came up to her mouth, wiping away the blood that flowed from where she must have bit herself when the blow struck.

She looked from her bloody fingertips to Akasha, keeping the Orryxian in focus as she smeared the blood across her face, a maniacal grin plastered under the crimson streaks.

The girl didn't bother rising to her feet for the next move, it was driven by pure instinct and she screamed again as her hand shot out, fingers twisting into a cruel grip on the air... as the motion was echoed in a sudden tightening around Akasha's throat.

Charlotte's gaze intensified as she rose to her feet, again the movement echoing as Akasha found her own feet leaving the floor, her airway still clamped shut as the Dark Side rippled through the Corellian.

[Zem Vymes]

Vega made no attempt at stealth and Zem made no attempt to draw him out. He followed with a determined pace, lightsaber held low before him as everyone in the corridor gave him a wide berth.

"Running? And where to, you mongrel? There's no sanctuary to be found. You'll face me, and I will put you down."

He could feel the influence of his pupil on the deformed Lupine, and his jawline set as he walked along with the clatter above.

"I'll send your severed head back to her. I'll give you the courtesy of not having to explain your failure personally."

[Navaria Tarkin]

As she watched Vega vanish - listening to the sound of him scratching through the Whaladon's innards like some hideous parasite - Bryna thrashed against the invisible hands that held her in place. Soon, however, it was Navaria herself who held her. Stood right in front of her, forcing Bryna to meet her masters gaze. Even still, she pressed forward, her eyes wide and full of fear.

“He's getting away!”

"No. Vega is no longer our fight. There is a time and place for everything Bryna and right now our place is here." Navaria forcefully turned the girl towards Charlotte. "Akasha needs our help."

Vega may have been controlling her but Force powers do not miraculous appear. The girl had untapped potential that was now being used against the Jedi. It begged questions that no answers could be found at present. Right now it was imperative to get the Padawan out of danger.

The consuming darkness within her made Charlotte vulnerable, accessible and quite easy to get close to for a hand to grab her shoulder. Instantly a surge of power came from the Jedi Master in efforts to knock the Agent unconscious. She did not want to harm the woman if at all possible because this was not her doing, but Navaria would if it came to that.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The Sith tore through the space between one floor and the next. Though the space there was narrow, crowded by pipes and cables, Vega seethed through it. On all fours, his fingertips and the Force tearing at anything in his path. He slammed one palm forwards and the thick pipe running perpendicular across his path buckled, the old metal splitting like over-ripe fruit and spitting out pressurised steam.

With a hiss, the Lupine flinched away from the scalding heat and punched upwards, furious blows denting the metal plating above him until his fist exploded into the hallway above. As the steam burned against his shoulders, the Sith made a wild grasp upwards and his fingertips locked onto the ankle of someone passing by.

Their momentum halted, they fell face-first into the floor. They squirmed, trying to kick away whatever had snared them, but as they squirmed onto their back – blood pouring out from their broken nose, over ther lips – they saw the Sith rising out of the floor like some demon rising from the pits of hell.

Vega bared his teeth and climbed up and over the fallen crewman. Able to rise to his feet once more, he bent over the bloodied crewman and seized him by the shirt, hauling him backwards with a single swing towards the hole in the floor. Teeth set, he kicked at the man's stunned body and shoved him down into the crawlspace beneath the hallway.

The steam assaulted his flesh with a pain he had never before imagined possible and Vega revelled in the agony that rolled off the crewman in waves. It restored him, gave him strength. As if shaping clay, he gathered up the warped metal around the writhing crewman's chest and bent it in towards him, sealing him in place. The pain would overwhelm him soon, force him into unconsciousness, but for now his ululating screams chased the Sith as he loped off down the corridor.

[Zem Vymes]

Zem paused, listening in the distance for the Lupine's unsubtle movements. Moving to the next deck. His pace quickened, and the Jedi Knight pushed a crew member out of the way as he reached the lift. To the next level then.

Reaching the apex, Zem burst into a sprint, tearing up the distance between him and his quarry. A mauled crewman lay in the threshold between him and Vega. He went ignored. If he was to be rescued, it would come later. Instead...

...Zem called out with the force, snapping a blast door shut in the face of the Lupine.

"Vega Van Derveld!"

SNAP-HISS

[Akasha Khan]

Charlotte's gaze intensified as she rose to her feet, again the movement echoing as Akasha found her own feet leaving the floor, her airway still clamped shut as the Dark Side rippled through the Corellian.

It wasn't the first time Akasha had felt the Dark Side's grip, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. Her eyes bulged and her blood pounded in her ears as she resisted the urge to reach up to her throat and pry away clutching fingers that weren't there. Her staff dropped from her paws and clattered to the floor, but she wasn't out of the fight yet.

With her wicked claws outstretched like butcher's hooks, Akasha swiped at Charlotte with all the bile she could muster. She was woefully short of connecting, of course, but four parallel lacerations split across Charlotte's cheek and began weeping blood. The Orryxian swung again, and now a gash opened up across Charlotte's shirt.

Too shallow! Her focus was waning, and fuzzy darkness was closing in at the corners of her vision. She was going to need to do something drastic, something a Padawan shouldn't know how to do, something that might risk her cover aboard the Wheel once and for all--

And then, gloriously, Navaria intervened.

[Vega Van-Derveld]

The path before him blocked, the Sith turned on Zem Vymes with teeth bared. A way down the hall, the alliance crewman's screams had thinned into the high-pitched keening of a dying animal. His anguish fed the Lupine and he consumed it as readily as raw meat.

Vega's red blade snarled to life in his hand and he sprung forward, hurling himself at the old Jedi with fury in his eyes.

[Zem Vymes]

"What did she promise you, you cursed hodgepodge of a man?"

Their lightsabers clashed in the confines of the corridor. The deference of Zem's Soresu brought their animosity searingly close as each vied for supremacy.

"Eternal life is always a good one. Were you that gullible?"

Sabers clashed together into a bulkhead, showering each combatant in sparks.