Between the chaos of the firefight and the bombings, the Hutt Cartel was not going to remain uninvolved forever. Following the sounds of explosions and blaster fire, several squads of Cartel mercs began to descend upon the alleyway, from both angles. It only further served to complicate the situation. Granted, the mercs were hardly in the most organized state, given that their headquarters was the target of the Believers’ bombing. For the moment, they lacked communication with their higher-ups, if they were still alive. However, they still had their squad commanders, and their orders were to comb the streets looking for any trace of who was responsible.
Although Alix and Marrik had not been at all involved in the bombing of their headquarters, that did not much matter to the squads of mercs that were now descending upon the scene of the skirmish. For that matter, no one in the alleyway was free of suspicion, but it was those two that their attention was firmly on at the moment. The squad leader of the merc group coming in from the north side of the alley, a Weequay, widened his eyes in disbelief of what was before him. “Is that...a Jedi?” He exclaimed, though he only froze up for a second before raising his blaster. Given the reputation of the Jedi, or what he perceived to be a Jedi, it was easy for him to believe that the force-user before him was responsible for it all. “Kill them!” He ordered.
There were two squads of mercs moving in from the south side of the alley as well, though Alix was quick to begin addressing that issue. Meanwhile, Marrik was practically growling through his menacing teeth towards the Weequay. The notion of being called a “Jedi” by itself was enough to enrage him. “No, I am no Jedi. You are not so fortunate.” With his pulsing yellow lightsaber in one hand, he deflected the first volley of blaster bolts fired at him, while with the other, he lifted up some of the larger pieces of rubble behind the group of mercs. They were grouped in a tight formation, which made it all the more effective when Marrik pulled the rubble into them from behind. Whether immediately lethal or not, it did not matter, as none of them were in a position to return fire as Marrik unleashed his anger through the lightning that he poured over them.
Tarion, who had been investigating the remnants of a battle outside the arena, including the bodies of those fallen during the battle, when he felt it. The familiar creeping sensation of chill darkness as the Darkside was focused on unfortunate souls who had angered the wielder. And, as he focused in on it, the user was close. Turning from his investigation, he leapt to the top of a nearby building with the aid of the Force, sprinting across it and leaping to another. After several minutes, he stood on a roof overlooking the remains of what used to be part of the industrial area, a Sith wielding a yellow saber with twin blades, though far from traditional for one, was blasting some of the Hutts’s muscle with lightning. Pulling a small rock from a nearby pile of rubble and, with a Force Enhanced throw, flings it at the Sith.
”You willingly endanger the Balance, Sith. I can’t allow that to go unchallenged.” Pulling his twin tonfa free of their clips, he activates the twin silver blades, their lengths going along his forearms as they crackle. ”I can only hope you’re as good with that blade as you think you are.”
Marrik felt it just shortly before the rock landed near him. The power, the energy of the Force. Even for one such as him, it was momentarily startling, given the rarity of those who could even feel it. However, he needed only look up to see that his senses did not deceive him. Upon seeing the lightsabers, his thoughts of the Pruidii Verda, and of the irritants that were the Cartel mercenaries, fled from his mind. Regardless of the importance of their mission here, it was this Jedi that consumed his attention.
Marrik gripped his lightsaber tightly, scowling at the force user above him. “Jedi!” He growled, not caring to give any eloquent response. It could only have been the strange machinations of the Force that brought him to this place. For what purpose, he was unsure, but it would undoubtedly be a challenge for his strength. Marrik gave no hint of hesitation before he unleashed another storm of lightning at his new target.
As the lightning surged toward the Guardian, the ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. He strode forwards the crackling Force energy with confidence, the Sith unable to see the beginnings of Lightning at Tarion’s fingertips through his own storm. ”You think me a Jedi?” His left hand shot forward, the blade deactivated and his own storm of lightning clashed with his opponent’s, the two forces cancelling each other out after a brief struggle. The deactivated lightsaber tonfa sprang to life once more, their hum joining in filling the alleyway. ”That would be your first mistake, Sith.”
For at least a moment, Marrik was caught off-guard by the force-user’s response, though not for long. A fight against a Jedi would have been one matter, but this man being a dark force-user cast an entire different light upon the battle. The Jedi, though more worthy opponents compared to the more common denizens of the galaxy, followed a foolish code. This man, however, was not so restricted, and therefore more dangerous. It also made his motives less clear, though it was possible that he too sought the mantle of the Sith. That was something that could not be allowed.
Marrik gripped his blade tightly and barred his teeth. “Even worse…a rival.” With no further hesitation, Marrik charged forward, swinging low towards the man’s waist.
The right hand tonfa lashed out in response, catching the yellow blade on it’s silver one and then spinning, deflecting the blow into the ground off on Tarion’s right. This allowed the Guardian to slam the blunted side of his left tonfa into the Pau’an’s face. ”And still you mistake my identity. I am no rival either.” The left and right blades spin in an intricate pattern, putting the Sith on the defensive with blows coming rapidly from both sides.
Marrik recoiled briefly, though only from the force of the strike itself. The pain only served to fuel his anger. “It does not matter what you call yourself; you are my enemy, for the rest of your short life.”
Despite the Sith’s threats, he was clearly being pushed back by Tarion’s sudden aggression. He was quick and precise, and though he would not like to admit it, more practiced in lightsaber duels than Marrik ever had the opportunity to become. He needed to end this quickly.
Marrik just barely managed to parry the incoming strikes and could not find the opportunity to counterattack with his blade alone. After one of Tarion’s strikes came close enough to glance through his armor, Marrik pulsed forward a push with the Force to try and throw his opponent off-balance, then committed to a thrust straight towards his chest.
The pulse knocked Tarion back more than off balance, but rather than trying to counter the overly committed thrust, the Guardian opted to leap up and over the Darksider, landing behind him facing him. ”I see you Sith still lack a code of honor. Pity, I had hoped you’d be different.” After focusing briefly, Tarion unleashes his own Force Push into Marrick, sending him flying through the shop window in front of him. However, before he can follow up, a pair of brave Hutt employed mercs wielding vibroswords moved to engage him, slowing his momentum in his attack.
The Sith was unable to resist being thrown through the shop’s window. In fact, he ended up flying near to the back of the shop’s front room, over the counter. He started to pull himself back up to his feet after a moment, only to have the sudden sense of imminent danger come over him. He raised his blade on instinct to deflect a blaster bolt from, of all things, a commando droid only a meter from him. Why there was not one, but two relics of the Clone Wars in the shop with their weapons trained on him, he did not know, but they would be no match for a Sith. For the nearest one, he used the Force to pull it directly into his blade, and for the second, his lightning wreaked havoc onto its electronics.
It took only a moment for the Sith’s eyes to scan across the small shop. There was a Givin fleeing out of the front entrance, though the window he had been thrown through. However, closer to him were two others: a Togruta and a Mirialan.
Delni was beyond terrified. She and the others had been hiding in the shop…behind the very same counter that the lightsaber-wielding man had been thrown over. The droids did exactly as they were programmed to deal with an imminent threat, but they were not much of a match for him in close quarters. The rest of them had tried to run, but Delni had hardly got beyond the counter before tripping over a disassembled droid in her path. The Givin kept running out of the shop, but Boqo had stopped to try and get her to her feet. Unfortunately, the Sith was a bit too quick in dispatching their bodyguards.
Still on the ground, Delni frantically drew her blaster from its holster. She had looked it over after Sirka had given it to her, though she could not remember if she had left it on the two-burst setting, or four. Boqo tried to stop her and get her moving, but regardless, she aimed the blaster shakily at the Pau’an.
“No! Wait, let’s just…” Boqo began, but Delni had already pulled the trigger. She was surprisingly accurate for her panicked state, but still, Marrik needed only deflect one shot of the burst.
“Insignificant wretches.” Marrik growled. “Out of my way!” Extending his free hand, Marrik lifted Boqo into the air before he could even draw his weapon and slammed him into the nearest wall, all while stepping forward closer to Delni on the ground. She aimed at him again, but again, he telekinetically pulled the blaster straight from her hand. With the other Force-user just outside, she was hardly a concern for Marrik, but for daring to attack him, he could take an extra few seconds to execute her. As he started to walk past her towards the exit, he raised up his blade over her and swung down towards her neck.
Fear was all that Delni was capable of feeling. She had hardly even been able to hear Boqo’s warning, despite him shouting it right next to her. She was acting on nothing but instinct to get herself out of danger. It did not occur to her that the man likely would not have even cared about them had she not threatened them, because her instincts had been telling her to at least try to fight back once running failed. “Please!” Delni had shouted as the man walked up to her. When he raised up his lightsaber, she closed her eyes and held up her hand. “NO!”
Instinct was what ruled Delni’s mind in the moment, and what guided her actions. It was her instincts that reached down into the core of her being, tapping into something that had always been there, but that Delni had never recognized. All of her luck, her natural aptitude, came from a place of power that, in her most desperate hour, allowed itself to be unleashed. When Delni extended out her hand, Marrik found himself being pushed straight out of the shop’s other window, and back into the street.
“You know, we had the target, we could have simply leave.” ZD-6R commented as he continued firing at the pursuing forces with his free hand’s built in blaster behind them with the former Imperial General slung over his shoulder. “But you had to investigate. You had to try and find out what was going on. We should have simply left once we found an opening. Sometimes I wonder why we stay together.” Strakisssh turned and glared at the droid as he threw a grenade behind the fleeing pair and heard the satisfying sound of shouts of panic at the appearance of the explosive device. “We stay together to avenge our comrades.” The droid’s optical sensors began to flash repeatedly as a familiar sound filled the area. “I believe our Sith friend may have found us.” The droid spoke up a moment later after the sound was identified.
“Does he still have his lightsaber?”
“It sounds like he does.” ZD responded as the Sith suddenly appeared in front of them after being apparently launched through a shop. Please don’t tell me we’re dealing with another Force-user… The Trandoshan thought as he took in the sight of the Sith and his lightsaber. ZD’s scanners were running as he picked up life-signs as he let the out-cold general hit the floor and powered up his weapon systems. The droid’s sensors caught a quick glimpse of movement from who or what had launched the Sith towards them and he felt the droid equivalent of shock.
It was the Togruta from Paradise
She was force sensitive?
“You know...I never did like Imperials.” The droid said in a surprisingly pleasant tone as he began to channel all of his reserve power to his built in blaster cannon. “Strakisssh, I will handle the Sith. Please try and get his intended victims out of here.” The droid’s sensors immediately began to pick out possible weak points. The droid’s optical sensors flashed once as the built in blaster cannon began to fire at a rapid pace. “Redirecting all power to weapon systems.” The droid intoned as the rate of fire began to increase even further.
Willoh had her optics trained on the street after having dealt with the incoming TIEs. She had noticed some commotion between her target and another lightsaber user earlier, but was too preoccupied to do much of anything. Unfortunately they had disappeared after entering a building, and while she was on the lookout for them, she heard commotion nearby. Begrudgingly she shifted back to her normal form and used her perch to take a look at the loud commotion coming from behind the area. She saw some cartel forces combing through the area behind her, it was about time they had arrived! But them Willoh was sure that they would probably see her as a threat considering she had been scavenging the area beforehand.
“I’d better… move. Maybe find that sith guy and get a bounty before leaving.” Willoh said to herself, moving through buildings but keeping her distance from where she knew the force users had disappeared. As she made her way through the buildings, only crossing otu of cover when she had to, she saw one of the force users having been thrown out of a building, and inside the building was a familiar face. That sister to that lizard lady on paradise. What was her name… Delni? What was she doing here?
But there wasn’t much time to think about that as the force user was right there, and the other was probably nearby. At least Willoh was still a good distance away, but not a snipers range like before. She formed her other arm into a rapid fire weapon alongside her scattergun. The introduction of Delni into this situation made things a bit different. After all, that sith may or may not have had a bounty, but Delni most certainly means favors. Plus she was fun.
The duel with the brave mercenaries was relatively short, as despite their skill with the blade, it was clear they’d never faced someone wielding tonfa before, and the Jedi hadn’t been seen in the greater galaxy for over twenty years, so the tricks and techniques for countering Force powers were no longer as well known. The first merc was quickly downed by a well timed use of Force Fire, the flames engulfing him and cooking him in his armor. The second was still locked with Tarion’s blades with the Sith flew between them, locking eyes briefly with the Pau’an as he flew into a wall. The distraction was all it took to finish the fight, the left hand tonfa spinning counter-clockwise to disarm the mercenary before the right one slice through his neck, beheading the man before he could cry out.
However, instead of heading after the now likely dazed Darksider, Tarion looked towards the shop that he’d previously knocked the Sith into. A rather powerful Force presence had risen inside it just moments before the yellow-lightsaber wielding brute had flown back out the way he’d come. Moving inside, he found a Togruta woman staring at her hands in disbelief and an unconscious Mirialan male. Needless to say, he knew which of the pair to approach quickly. ”Judging from your look, that’s the first time you’ve ever used a Force Push then?”
Delni, at the moment, was dazed into a veritable stupor out of adrenaline and fear. She did not quite understand what had happened, or what she had even done. Indeed, she was not even currently aware that she had done anything at all. “Force...what? No, no I’m not a Jedi. I...you saved me, right?” She began as her eyes finally opened. Though, upon seeing Willoh just outside the shop, she looked even more confused. “Wait, you’re that droid...what’s going on?”
Meanwhile, Marrik was slowly recovering and dragging himself to his feet as ZD took aim and began to fire on him. However, it was hardly able to fire but a few shots before a startlingly well-aimed blaster bolt struck its built-in blaster cannon from the side. A short distance down the alleyway, Alix had returned to the fray, holding his spear under one arm, and a freshly-fired blaster in the other. Behind him was an alley full of injured or dead mercs, while he appeared unharmed. His helmet hid his features, but Marrik could feel his eyes on him. “It is time to go.” He said tersely, pressing another button on his wrist. Seconds later, a shuttle flew from nearby to land further down the alley. Pursuit would be possible as the pair retreated to their ship, but it would be risky.
Willoh wasn’t too sad to see the sith retreat. She was debating shooting a few slugs his way, but considering she was in her actual form, she decided against it. That and there was the cartel forces approaching the area, and unless she cannibalized a cartel droid, she doubted she could sneak out that way. Now, Willoh wasn’t so sure about this other force user around Delni. But considering he wasn’t straight up killing Delni unlike what that sith was up to, Willoh was tentative. Plus, she doubted sith would fight each other out of the blue without some serious history. She gingerly approached the shop, forming he rother hand into a scattergun as well.
Staying hidden far out of lunge range, Willoh observed this force user and his interaction with Delni, making sure to get a good angle on him so that her scattershot was very unlikely to hit Delni if she had to open fire. If these two looked like they got along, Willoh would introduce herself in kind. But if they took too long, she had a plan to get out of this place before the cartel descended upon them all.
Tarion shook his head, offering his hand to the young woman. ”The misconception that only Jedi and Sith use the Force is frustrating, but regardless, no, I did not. I was in the alley way until recently. But we must depart and do so quickly, the Cartel is cracking down on the area due to the explosions. Is the Mirialan a friend of yours?”
ZD’s optical sensors flashed in rapid succession as his sensors attempted to keep tracking his two targets as he analyzed the damage done to his built in blaster cannon. The damage was extensive, he was lucky it could be repaired but it would take quite a bit of time and credits. The shot had hit in the worst possible spot. He analyzed the area around him and his metallic footsteps were barely audible over the sounds of chaos that seemed to surround the area. He stood in front of the Togruta and pointed his optical sensors towards her and quickly scanned her. “Are you alright?” he asked simply as Strakisssh appeared walked up to him with their bounty thrown over his shoulder. “We need to leave.” The Trandoshan hissed. “It seems the Cartel isn’t too happy with what happened here.”
When the man mentioned a Mirialan, Delni’s attention finally focused on Boqo on the ground near to her. He was not moving, and for just a moment, Delni feared that he was dead. Frantically, she crawled over to him, but was relieved to see his chest rising and falling with his breaths. “Yes, but...we need to get him to a doctor. He looks like he needs help.”
As Delni was coming more and more back to her senses, she also finally recognized the droid that was with the Trandoshan that had suddenly approached them. It was now the second droid from Paradise that she recognized, and it was starting to seem like more than a coincidence. “Wait...you too? I recognize you. Really, what is going on?”
Unfortunately, the situation unfolding around them was prohibitive to any sort of long-winded explanations. Just as soon as Delni finished speaking, a loud, artificial voice boomed through the district, playing from speakers, screens and even advertisements commandeered by the Cartel. “A lockdown is now in effect. Everyone without specific permission is now required to stay indoors until told otherwise. Cooperate with our enforcers and turn over anyone associated with the terrorist group, the ‘Believers’. Anyone found on the streets will be detained for interrogation.”
So, apparently this force user wasn’t an aggressive type like that sith was back there. A few more people came out of hiding, one of them being another droid.and his master. Considering the speech coming from where Willoh saw the cartel forces advancing from, there wasn’t much time to really verify much of anything. Turning one of her hands back to normal, she approached the group from her hiding spot. “Hiya Delni. I’d like to say more, but we’ve gotta get out of here. That cartel force is a lot closer than you think and they aren’t all too happy.” Willoh said. Willoh’s method of escape would be to use the sewer system or maintenance tunnels and just float down them as goo or consume a cartel droid for its codes or what have you.
Considering those options wouldn’t work for these guys, and they all needed a way out, she said. “So… do any of you have an escape plan, because if not,.I can probably come up with something, but I don’t know how well I can carry 4 people.” Willoh said. She was sure the force user could take care of himself, but the injured person, Delni, and the other mercenary were an issue. If it was only Delni, Willoh could easily carry her away. But the others…
Tarion didn’t immediately reply to the droid, instead turning towards the fleeing Sith and Imperial Guard and drawing his blaster. ”Don’t think I’ve forgotten you, Sith.” He squeezed off three quick shots, on at the guard and two more at the Sith, one for his right shoulder, where he would have to move quickly to get his saber up in time to deflect and one lower at his right thigh, which would be easier to block. He would have to choose one way or the other.
Tarion’s voice was enough to alert them before the shot, even without considering Marrik’s senses. The Sith reacted predictably, turning and bringing up his saber to deflect the most immediately threatening shot towards his shoulder. However, Alix was more surprising. He shifted his upper body down to duck under the shot flying towards him, but he did not stop there. Though they had only been in proximity to one another for a brief time, Tarion would not have been able to sense any trace of the force within Alix, which made it all the more unbelievable that, on his reactions and skill alone, he intercepted the blaster bolt aimed at Marrik’s leg with his spear. Moments later, they were around the corner of the alley, and out of sight.
Delni gave no attention to the Sith; she just wanted to get to safety. She did have the presence of mind to grab some of the belongings she had dropped: namely her blaster and the datapad onto which she had downloaded the information on the Prudii Verda. However, her next priority was to try to pick up the unconscious Boqo, though she was hardly the most well-suited person for that task, out of everyone present. “I…don’t know. We have to get out of here, but I don’t know how we would get to a ship without getting noticed, especially if the mercs are getting closer. Maybe…well they said that they want people indoors, so maybe we can just duck into one of the buildings nearby? You know, get inside, give ourselves more time to think, and plan, and…stuff?”
Willoh wasn’t that surprised that the force user took a few shots at the escaping sith, who blocked them fairly easily. She figured he’d do this. After all, he stopped a sniper bolt going at over 100x the speed of sound from an assailant he never even knew existed. “I could’ve told ya that would’ve happened.” Willoh said casually. She noticed Delni’s frantic pace. What happened in here to get her so rattled up? From the look of the destroyed droids around the area, that sith probably did something pretty bad.
Willoh moved over to pick up Boqo, considering Delni was having so much issue with it. Hoisting him over her shoulder, she said. “So… We could move from building to building or something like that out of their eyes, or go down a few levels and find an escape route that way, or something. Worse comes to worse, I’ll just eat their droids while you guys deal with the security force. Hiding won't do much since we don’t have credentials. Either way, that star destroyer overhead that the sith is escaping to will give us some time.”
Tarion takes a moment to look outside before turning to the group he suddenly found himself with. ”I think the Togruta has the right idea. They’re only searching the streets for now, so finding a place inside and away from here is a good idea. However, perhaps leave shooting anyone as a last resort? We are trying to be stealthy.”
With Cartel mercs closing in, there was little time for debate. Everyone present might not have known each other, but they would all become targets of the Cartel if they remained out in the open. If there was one single advantage they had, it was that the escaping shuttle the Sith had boarded provided a useful distraction while they slipped away. The shuttle was immediately targeted by the Cartel’s fighters and anti-aircraft emplacements as it tried to leave the district. Regardless of who was piloting it, there would not have been too much of a chance of an escape were it not for the fact that they were able to call in TIE fighters to cover their retreat.
Fortunately, they did have some luck in being able to find a usable interior space, even if it was not particularly glamorous. In fact, Delni was not entirely sure that the abandoned apartment building they had hidden themselves in was safe to even be in. It was falling apart, with no power, and had the faint, but constant sounds of vermin scurrying in the walls. But, it would at least keep them out of the open for the time being.
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