Keldor rose slowly, his exoskeleton's joints clicking against each other . He was not known for courage, espechially when he had a blaster pointed at the middle of his face , so he complied with Don's orders . Rorn backed away from the Auqalish thug , that his blaster was covering and stood back to back with Wik . Don motioned for Keldor to back towards the nearby rent-a-hangar shop and into a run-down doorway . Wik and Rorn backed out of the group of thugs, leaving the various weapons laying on the ground . As they got about eight feet from the crowd of scum, Wik pulled a tiny projection device of some sort out of a pocket and threw it onto the ground in the middle of the goons . A momentary flash of light left the thugs blinking and then as one, they dove for their respective weapons . Rorn ducked instictively as a flurry of different colored energy bolts shot toward them . Wik remained standing and smirked as the enery darts struck an invisible force field and were directed right back at their sources .The motley assortment of aliens was decimated by their own fire .Rorn looked up at Wik with an obvious question in his eyes . Wik smiled as he deactivated the device ." My own invention . Combination of lightsaber and shield projector technology . Very effective ." he said . Rorn grinned and said," Next time, tell me before you pull something like that ."
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Keldor sat inside the small freighter as it lifted up off of the ground . Reaching inside the tiny tool-belt he carried, his skeletal fingers caressed a button, call ing a small fleet of fighters . He scanned the inside of the cockpit anxiosly, trying to see if there was anything that might aid his escape , but the only weapons were those that were strapped to Don's belt . He began to shuffle forward and then dived back into his seat as a warning trill came from the small droid now entering the cockpit . " Do not even think about it . My weapons are fully charged and cocked ." Keldor recognized a pair of Blastek DL- 60 blaster pistols, modified to fit the droid's tentacle arms and pointing right at him . Keldor slumped and shook his head in defeat while inwardly he was plotting his hanging of Don's head on his wall .
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Rorn watched his sensor scopes. Merely seconds ago he had caught a signal going out on a coded transmission . It could'nt be good . He flipped the switch that released his blade-craft from the larger ship , and eased it away . On his long range sensors , Rorn finally spotted a small cluster of fighters heading toward the trio of ships . " Bogeys to the left ." he called into the comm as he angled his fighter toward the incoming fighters . Wik's Vorsoth V-43 gunboat swung around and accelerated to Rorn's side . Rorn hit a small button-panel and linked all four of his laser cannons to fire at once . He then shoved his engine power controls all of the way forward, accelerating to insane speeds . Wik hit a special fuel injector's activation switch and his gun-boat came up and flanked the blade-craft .
The first of the fighters came up, firing red blasts at Rorn's engines . Rorn twisted his controls and felt his blade-craft respond, diving around and beneath the bearers of death . His black-gloved hand gently sqeezed the firing controls just as the enemy fighter flew into his cross-hairs . He blinked at the brightness of the explosion and flew toward the next fighter . Rorn reached under his seat to the newest addition to his fighter and pulled hard on a lever .
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Wik gasped in surprise and stared as ahead of him , Rorn's blade-craft shimmered and dis-appeared , leaving nothing, not even a blip on his sensors . He gasped again as red darts lanced out from nowhere and impaled another fighter . " Your not getting all of them ." He muttered, gritting his teeth as he pulled a trigger, activating twin rapid-fire blaster cannons on each wing of his gun-boat . The furious assault of blaster fire destroyed three fighters in a row and damaged a fourth before Wik let up on his trigger .
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Rorn realized what Wik was doing and grinned . He switched over to proton torpedoes aand let out a pair of glowing projectiles that slammed into the remaining two fighters, mere milli-seconds before Wik's laser fire struck them down .
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Keldor moaned as he realized that his last means of escape was gone . " Yeah , I figured you did that ." Don said, glancing back over his shoulder at the captive Givin . " Now you are going to answer some questions, before we see how long you can breath in vacuum , and your Givin vacuum powers don't work if your stunned ." Don grinned, pointing his blaster at Keldor .
Don stared into the makeshift holding cell at the captive Keldor ." You can make everything easier on yourself , if you tell us what you know . " he said quietly . Keldor looked up, noticing for the first time Don standing there ." I know nothing of your missing Jedi ." he said in a coarse whine ." But if I can interest you in other information? I know of a top secret Imperial Project . Out on a outpost beyond the Outer Rim, they are working on new shield technology . Nigh invulnerable . Also weapons, of a caliber not known in our humble militaries . " Don shook his head in exasperation ." If you would just tell us what you know, we would release you back on Nar Shaddaa ." he said sadly .
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Rorn lay beneath his blade-craft, hydro-spanner in hand . He always thought better when his hands were busy . Saraan , Kyp and Jarlath had all three dis-appeared , taking the strange Sith girl with them . The girl did not seem to be Sith to Rorn , who had compared her to Ric Gronard and Slintronius , whose evil seemed to have no end . Rorn shuddered at the thought of what he might have become, if he had stayed with the Sith . Could it be that the three missing Jedi were en-ticed the way Rorn had been ? Drawn into the Dark Side by outside influences ? He rose, wiping oil off of his hands onto a small rag and then tossing it onto a pile of similar cloths . Neat he was not .
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Don stood just inside Saraan's room . Much like Rorn had done, some days earlier . Also looking for clues, but in a different way . Certain Kiffar had a psychometric ability allowing them to read the tenuous psychic imprints left by living hads on in-animate objects . Don had never dis-played much skill with the talent, but he could do it . Touching the small pile of crystal shards, he concentrated and winced as his mind connected with the pyschic imprints, un-leashing a tummult of thought and memories . Don gritted his teeth as he sorted through the torrent of psionic energy . One memory in particular caught his attention with its sense of discovery and triumph . Don released the mental guards and let the memory implant itself in his mind . He was standing in hell . All around him was filth, heat, creatures sitting in chains, cages or working at various grusome tasks . From the signs and the armed guards he deducted that he was in fact standing inside a prison .He looked down and grimaced in dis-taste, moving hi boot away from the heap of offal . The source of the strong Force sense was here . He could feel it . ................................ He walked into a long room, labeled WARD . In a dirty bed along the far bed was a young girl . He reached out in the Force and touched her mind . Strong enough in the Force to push his touch away . He smiled and walked up to her ." Hello, would you like to get out of here ?" The girl looked up at him, dirt smudging the round, pretty face . " Who doesn't ?" she asked, defiance lining her tones . " I can get you out of here, if you wish to go ." he said quietly ." What is your name ?" She gazed at him for a long minute, obviously deciding whether to trust him or not ." Saraan Loees . And yours ? " He smiled ." Dart Heaths, Jedi Knight and Corellian Security ."
Don pulled away from the memory, tears running down his cheeks . Obviously, this had been a very touching moment in Dart's life . He began sort through the memories again and discovered the last . Saraan , crying , trying to mend the crystal . He pulled away from the crystal shards and walked over to the rack of lightsabers . He ran his fingers over the weapons gently, careful to not connect psychicly yet . Saraan's first attempt at a lightsaber was here , along with her second . And then the blue-bladed lightsaber she now used , and beneath it, Dart's lightsaber . Don clasped the shining metal cylinder that was currently her weapon and connected his mind to the memories wafting around it .THe last, full of anger, sorrow,revenge and hate, was the only one he connected to .
She walked into her room , running her fingers gently over the remains of Dart's memory crystal ." Soon, you will be avenged, my teacher . Soon the blood of the one who murdered you, shall boil at the touch of my lightsaber ." she said, quietly . She crossed the room to her closet alcove, and pulled out from under a heap of clothes, a small box . Opening the catch , she lifted the lid and drew out a black and silver, evil looking weapon . She then slipped into all black clothes, and donned a hooded robe of the same color . Don sifted through her thought as fast he could, and lighted on a set of coordinates . She reached to her belt and removed her lightsaber and crossing the room once more , she set it upon a stand . Then she pulled from the back of her belt, the wooden handled lightsaber of Dart Heaths , which she set into the small rack from which hung her weapons . Picking up her own from the stand she placed onto the rack also and the Sith lightsaber onto her belt .
Don flinched as the memory ended . He straightened up, and rubbed his temples . Don had forgotten what kind of headache this ability left him with . HE remembered the coordinates, now burned onto his brain and knew he had to tell Luke , but not yet, not until he and Rorn investigated .
Luke SKywalker sat at the top of the jedi temple. The very top. He was thinking, and meditating, about the recent events. Kyp, Jarlath, and Saaran dissappearing, reports from the prison guards that the dissappearing Sith girl had been rescued by other Sith warriors, and the whole war with the empire, but most of all, he thought of the failed rescue attempt of Wedge. Everyone was shocked and saddened by the fall of the mighty warrior and cunning general. More than the loss, however, he puzzled over the Sith Woman who had bested himself, Mara, and Corran all at once. She was Chiss by her blue skin and red eyes, and the Imperial heralds had called her Supreme Commander Sev'rannce Tann. She matched Jaina's description of the Sith on Thyferra who had nearly killed her. Luke wondered where she had come from, and why she had been so quiet before. He also wondered if she was the same Chiss Sith from Krant, that had ambushed Kyp and Jarlath. As he thought, he drifted deeper into the force, searching for the answers, trying to catch hold of the threads of time, to see what was happening. Looking out, he saw snippets and flashes of what was to come. Star Destroyers, with broiling wavefronts of TIE fighters moving at attack speed. The creis and screams of a tortured girl. A jedi whom he did not recognize cut down. Lines of battle droids sweeping over a field of victory. And behind it all, a powerful force, one which he felt he ahd seen somewhere, at some time, perhaps even recently. And then it all faded into the white lines of hyperspace, and was gone
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As she walked down the corridors of the capitol building on her way to yet another council meeting, Leia Organa Solo thought of all the factors that had combined to cause this emergency meeting of council and security personnel. Foremost among those reasons was the thourough drumming Bel Iblis and Kre'fey had recieved in their attempts to re-take Thyferra. Then, also, was Luke's warning that three of his jedi, including Kyp Durron, had gone missing, and that a Sith prisoner had been freed by her compatriots. It seemed the galaxy was spinning out of control, and just as the Federation was recovering from the devastating Yuuzhan Vong war. Already she could feel an air of foreboding, as if things were about to break open(as if they already hadn't) very soon.
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Even though he was distracted with trying to pierce the mental defenses of the Elfin Sith girl, Jarlath still had some part of him in the present. While msot of his power went into the driving attack on Mwynin's mental shields, a small piece of his consciousness remained alert. It was this bit that allowed him to feel the ship move as it jumped into hyperspace again Ah, good. That hyperjump randomizer is working. No one will find us now that we are making such random moves across the galaxy. Part of him wondered if maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing, to be caught. Part of his mind thought that maybe, just maybe, Kyp was wrong in this call. Perhaps Luke and the others knew what they were saying when they had wwarned of the use of jedi power for coercion. Already he was convinced that Saaran was in the wrong. Yes, her master may be dead, and Mwynin might even be responsible for it, but it seemed that all of the physical and mental tortures Saaran had detailed to Kyp, while he eavesdropped, as Kyp had arranged, were wrong. Even Kyp had been taken aback by some of the ideas Saaran had come up with. He had gone as far as vetoing some of the more savage ones. Jarlath wished that he had been the one in charge. He would have vetoed even more than that. The thoughts that had once been in the back of his mind now were the foremost and of the highest importance ot him. Now, only enough of his power that Kyp and Saaran wouldn't grow suspicious was pressing against Mwynin's shield. The rest of his moind was in turmoil over what to do. He knew one thing for certain by now: he would do everything in his power to keep Saaran from being alone with the captive. He realy did wish she had cooperated. Poor girl, maybe I can shield her from some of what Saaran has planned.
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"I really don't think that is too serious. After all, all of thema re full adults, and fully capable of taking care of themselves." Leia answered Fryor Rodan's malicious questions. She had thought the council might be a little unnerved, maybe slightly concerned, over the missing jedi, but Rodan was throwing a fit! An absolute fit!
"It's not them that I worry about. Goodness, I can't remember the last time I ever worried about a jedi's health. I'm worried about all the people those three could hurt if they let themselves loose. Especially with that Kyp Durron with them. I ahve no idea whatever possessed the senate to pardon his crime at Carida. If i was Luke Skywalker, not that I'd ever want to be. but if I was, I'd have used my power for some good and chopped his head off!!!!!"
"Calm down councillor Rodan. Everyone here with a sane mind knows all of the good that has come out of the jedi, and all of the help Jyp gave us, especially in the YV war." Leia almost found it humorous, her being in the somewhat unusual position of defending Kyp Durron and his marginally legal actions. Nevertheless, Rodan was going to far an deveryone here seemed to notice. Thankfully, Traest Kre'fey changed the subject.
"That's all ver well and good for you, councillor Rodan. I didn't come here to listen to an anti-jedi rant. I came here ot present youw ith a serious problem. Our military epuipment has become dated. One stroke, and everything is obsolete. I think it is time that the army told you exactly why we have lost so badly against the empire. The reason is, they have a new type of droid-armor that keeps their battle-droids safe even against lasers. It took a lightsaber blade to slice through it on Thyferra. In researching what type of armor could do this, I have discovered on old record from nearly thirty years ago. It is top-secret, and details the discovery of a weapon known as the sun-crusher. Most of you are now familiar with it because of the infamous destruction of Carida. However, one important part of this sun-crusher was its hull. Instead of shields, it was guarded by quantum armor. the secret of this armor was lost forever when the Yuuzhan Vong obliterated the facility that the research was taking place at. Only one way anyone could have discovered this was ot have found the scientists who worked on this project. Another problem arises, in that of all the scientists that built it, only Qwi Xux remains living, and she had her memory destroyed long ago. The only possible way for anyone to have found that secret, is for them to have found her and to have rebuilt her emeory. Doing further research, I have found that she was reported missing around three weeks ago, about the time that Imperial troops and some TIE's became nearly invincible. My only conclusion is that someone found her and reconstructed her memory. If it can be done once, it can be done again, and we need that armor. Otherwise, we will stand no match against this reborn Empire. therefore, I submit a proposal for the locating and rescuing of Dr. Xux, and of her memory being rebuilt or picked ot find the secret of this armor." Oh great Leia thought another barely ethical idea that will bounce around here for quite a while. Why did I rejoin the council again?
Ari felt rather bad for breaking the crystal...
She didn't mean to. She was just surpirsed at herself for catching it. She was wondering around out side the Jedi Temple. She was gathering flowers for the girl who had been so mad about the crystal. She had found some very pretty multicolored ones. She looked up into the sky, a face flashed before her eyes and was gone in an instant. Ari fell on the ground and looked up again, she saw nothing but the sky. Who had that person been? And why had she seen it? It bothered her and she began walking back towards the Jedi Temple when she noticed some pink flowers, she bent to get them then another face flashed before her eyes. She stiffled a scream and ran back to the temple. Who were those people? Did she know them? If not why had she seen them? Were the only questions going threw her head. She droped her flowers of in a room on the table with a note that read
"I hope these make you feel better, I don't know your name but I'm sorry for breaking you crystal"
She ran off towards the room Eoghan had led her to the other day when she arrived. She was VERY tiered.
Ul Duo Urshann leaned back in his pilot's seat and scrutinied the distant Imperial fleet . " That flagship is the one we want, my son ." He said into the comm, while looking through the vaccum gap between the twin cockpits ." Ul fortul nodded and brought the formidable warship up on his schematics screens ." It is well armed, but not as well as it could be, Father . The recent wars have kept their production down ." he said, already noticing weaknesses that could be exploited . Ul Duo set his elbows on the arms on his seat and clenched his claws beneath his chin ." Yes, my son . The humans are foolish . All of their assets, they readily bring into war, without any basic strategy beyond out-number the enemy ."
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Rorn gazed through the clear, shielded window opening into the large room where Keldor was being held prisoner . He couldn't help but believe that Keldor just might not know anything about the dis-appearance of his friends , but according to Don, Keldor had a hand in anything that was in the least bit shady .Rorn looked up as the Jedi he had dueled several days before, walked up to him ." Hello, anything from the prison block ?" Dennez Wangzu asked cheerfully and at the look on Rorn's face, answered his own question ." No ." Rorn shook his head in response and walked away toward the mess hall . As he walked in , Rorn saw Luke sitting at a table, having a heated conversation with Corran Horn . Corran stood abruptly and stomped angrily out of the room while Luke sat there with a pitiful air to him ." Whats wrong? " Rorn asked sliding into the opposite bench, just vacated by the revered Jedi Master . Luke shrugged,"I recieved a holo-net message froman arms dealer on Kessel .Supposedly he is concerned as to the safety of the galaxy, with these new ship attacks . He is proposing a super-weapon .Corran was describing all of the different ways a super-weapon would be bad for the Jedi Order ." Rorn shuddered at the thought of a weapon of mass-destruction constructed to decimate worlds ."Also that is against the Jedi's entire way of life . A weapon large enough to destroy the Empire is not something we need .I mean , each Jedi is in his own right a super-weapon . Every Jedi has more power than he deserves, but we don't go around destroying entire fleets . " Luke nodded in aggreement , but answered with ." A weapon of a different note is what the ad suggested . A living being, enhanced by extensive bio-surgeries and conditioning .The scientist suggested a Jedi to undergo this horrendous transformation, but we don't want to do that to somebody .Sure, the conditioning would increase his strength, speed, intelligence, reflexes and even maybe increase his sensitivity to the Force . But there is no way of re-versing it . No way to become normal again . Even though the experts who do this will donate their services, I will not condone this course of action ." Rorn listened in increasing horror and disgust .
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Dennez Wangzu heard the entire conversation from where he was sitting a few rows back . Quietly he rose and walked quickly toward his quarters . Dennez Wangzu would give whatever it took to avenge the loss of his fellow Jedi and friends on Thyferra .
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" You know there are ways other than using an all-out attack . For instance, right after the battle for the second Death Star, you took down an entire Ssi-ruuk battle ship , with only your lightsaber . We could do that . A party of Jedi , two or three to each ship, could bring down the Imperial fleet . " Rorn suggested . Luke thought it over for an instant, and said." Let me sleep on it , but it sounds better than Corran's idea ."
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Three hours later, Dennez Wangzu sat aboard the supply ship that delivered food and stores, weekly to the Jedi Academy . A friend had agreed to feed his minature Gorsoot until he returned for Dennez had decided to volunteer for the bio-conditioning .
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Don stepped forward, swinging his purple blade in a series of cuts and slashes that seemed deadly, each by itself . But then , the watchers eyes would be drawn toward Rorn, whose lightsaber was moving with almost im-perceptible speed . Blocking, evading, deflecting, Rorn was a blur to the eyes of anyone watching . Finally, Don leaped back away from the tornado of lightsaber and alien and de-activated his lightsaber, saying " Enough, lets quit now ." Rorn slowed and stopped , shaking his head in exasperation ." NOw ? We only started three hours ago ." Don waved a hand as he walked out of the training room ." Thats what I mean ."
" You have dis-obeyed me for the last time , you insolent scum ." Darth Slintronius thundered, trying to bring the weight of the Force into his words, but too drained to manage it .Ric who was the target of his words, smirked in a way spechially calculated to make Slintronius's wrath over-pour ." And what are you gonna do about it . So, I didn't kill the Korbchek kid . So what ? " he shouted back , thoroughly enjoying the chance to make his Master ( For the time-being ) angry .Slintronius flushed under a new wave of anger ." This is what I'm going to do about it, you Vong whelp ." and a short burst of weak lightening shot out at Ric who writhed in pain for an instant before absorbing the energy and re-building it to full effectiveness, before firing it back at the aging Sith lord . Slintronius felt him-self thrown against the far wall of his war-ships bridge as the lightening flickered over his face, burning one side of it to a black shade . " I've had enough of you, you washed-out bag of bones that might have been powerful once, but sure isn't now . Next time I see you, you're dead . And I hope you're at full strength then, because you are going to need it ." he then added a few sentences in various alien languages, including much of his ill-begotten vocabulary . Slintronius stared at the young Sith's threatening face, and then passed out from the pain . Over twelve hours later, Slintronius awoke, under the care of his pair of med-droids . He had personally stolen these droids over eighteen years ago, and now he was glad he had . " My lord , you have suffered extreme electric shock and I am afraid that the left side of your face shall never regain its natural appearance . Under proper re-constructive surgery however, you shall regain sight in that eye ." Slintronius glared at the cylinderical droid with all the authority he could muster with one eye covered in bandages ." Summon information droid T12-89 now . Tell it, if he's not here in three minutes, he's fragged ." The med-droid shook , its computers struggling to compute and then said ," Yes my lord ." Exactly two minutes and thirteen seconds later the small droid rolled into the med-bay and said ." You summoned me my lord ? " in an incredably dry, crisp voice . " Yeah, where's Gronard ? " he yelled at the droid , loud enough to make a tray of beakers on the other side of the lab shake . " Ric Gronard boarded his starfighter exactly twelve hours and thirteen minutes ago, sir . Destination unknown, but leaving with him were over eight fighter squadrons and four battle cruisers ." Slintronius shook with rage as he realized that his former apprentice had left with over half of his remaining task force .
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" This is the " Mighty Bird ' requesting permission to leave ?" the comm crackled . Luke picked up the microphone wearily," Permission granted, " Mighty Bird ". he said to the supply ship ." Aw Luke don't be so formal . I'll be back in a week, but for now , me and my passenger say BYE !" and the ship's red blip on the sensor screen winked out . " Passenger ? I wonder what he meant by that ? " Luke mused . And then he started ," The bio-conditioning , uh oh ." and ran down the hall, towards the records room to see who had left .
Slintronius stabbed a finger at his control belt, where it hung from a drawer. " El Skeletor come to me ." he hissed in anger . A few seconds later, he heard echoing down the hall, the telltale hissing of hydraulics that indicated to the presence of a droid . Slintronius listened as the footsteps paused at his door, and then the door swung open ." You summoned me , Master ? " the skeletal droid asked, his voice crackling with power and from the circuits that conveyed it . " Yes El Skeletor . Get Gronard . Bring his head to me ! " Slintronius shouted, causing the heart-rate monitors to go crazy ." As you wish, my Lord ." El Skeletor said grimly, as he clanked out the door .
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Far away, aboard the Sith Star Destroyer " Minotaur ", Ric Gronard writhed in pain . His body had been genetically programmed by Yuzzhan Vong shapers to undergo transformations at certain points in his life . This was the second, and the most painful of the two . Along his jaw-line. his two horns that protruded from his chin now were elongated, barbed blades of bone, that reached from his chin to nearly his ear . His claws on his knucles were now twice as long and barbed . The horn/claws on knees and elbows were both longer and sharper . His muscles were mutating at a furious rate, growing stronger, faster, while his brain's reflexes became honed to the point of shattering humanoid brain-waves . The doctors stood by helplessly, not knowing what was happening and powerless to stop it . Underneath Ric's flesh, his bone structure was also changing, becoming almost the exact counter part of steel hardened cortosis ore . No lightsaber could cut through his bones now .
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Senator Leia Organa Solo strode briskly down the hall toward the science labs . A distuingished scientist by the name of G'Fratin Josinel had invented something he claimed would turn this war around . As she walked in, her attention was drawn toward the twisted remains of what looked like some sort of Tie fighter . Curiously enough , even though there was obviously extensive damage to the interior of the fighter, the armor still shone and sparkled, not a scratch on it ." Senator Solo, I am pleased that you made it ." she turned as the voice cut through the air . A Balding man in his mid-fifties, stood beside a heavily modified laser cannon, salvaged from a X-wing from the looks of it . " Yes, Dr. Josinel, I am here . Now what is it you wanted to show me . I'm missing very important meetings ." She snapped. though secretly relieved to have an excuse to get away from the other senators . " I have solved the problem of Quantum armor, Senator . My new ... "" You mean you re-created the formula ?" Leia interupted ." No, I have created a weapon that will destroy it . " Josinel said, indicating the long barreled laser cannon beside him ." This new disruptor weapon rips through matter at the sub-atomic level . Observe. " he said, flicking a control on the key-board beside the weapon . The weapon lit up along the sides, glowing with an erie blue light ." This Tie fighter has Quantum armor, it was destroyed by itself when a concussion missile exploded still in the Tie's missile bay .Now watch what the disrutor does to it after this other laser cannon fires at it . He worked a switch and transparent shields came up around them, while a heavy laser cannon aimed at the wrecked Tie . A long burst of red light out-poured from the cannon, bouncing off of the Tie and into the shields .AS the smoke cleared away, Josinel pointed at the un-marred surface of the Tie's armor ." Now watch this ." he cried gleefully . Leia sighed, thinking This guy spends to much time down here . A blue stream of energy shot out at the Tie, causing the armor to glow red and . . . dis-appear . Leai leaned closer to the shields, as the disruptor ray demolished the Tie's armor ." Thats my answer to Quantum Armor ." Josinel shouted, laughing in exultation .
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El Skeletor walked quietly toward the sleeping Ric Gronard . It had been so easy to sneak aboard this ship after tracking it down in the Force . His lightsaber slid out and activated , its red glow lighting up the med-bay .All of a sudden, the sleeping Gronard dis-appeared . " If you want to play, all you have to do is ask ." A mocking voice said from behind El Skeletor . He whirled to see a tall grey, horned demonic alien . He recognized Ric Gronard from the mental images Slintronius had given him .But this Gronard was different, changed .
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Ric glared at the droid, his new multi-weapon slithering into his hand and its red blade sliding out to full length . He had constructed it in his bladecraft on the way here . He leaped forward lashing out at the skeleton based droid . He was slightly surprised when it dodged with incredible ( for a droid ) agility . After that, it became a contest of strength and speed, each trying to remove the others head from his shoulders . El Skeletor was un-tiring, and Ric was newly replenished by his transformation .Ric scraped a layer of armor off the droids thigh with his lightsaberand hopped over the mis-aimed slash at his own legs . He was fighting fine until an un-expected burst of lightning threw him against the wall .
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El Skeletor limped over to the fallen Sith . He would need repairs . He would enjoy this kill, he decided and swung his lightsaber at Ric's neck .
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Ric's vision cleared from the pain and he saw a crimson blade arcing toward his neck . He tried to close his eyes, not wanting to witness his own end but couldn't . Ric winced as the blade touched his skin and with shock, saw it flicker and de-activate just as it touched his neck-bone . With a flash his multi-weapon flew to his hand and its crimson blade shot upwards into the depths of El Skeletors armor . Ric stood slowly, feeling overcome with pain from his neck wound, and then with just as great a shock as before he looked in the mirror accross the room and watched the gaping hole in his throat, heal,shrink and dis-appear . He rubbed his throat gingerly, feeling for the wound but felt nothing but smooth skin . Something had drastically changed this time , he thought .
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While it had been severed from its mechanical body, El Skeletor's head remained functional and sending holo-images via inter-hyper-link to the watching Slintronius . Slintronius watched as Ric stepped toward the dis-embodied head and said ." You pathetic old man . I have always been more powerful than you, and now I have twice the power I had before . I will come for you, that's a promise ." and his foot came down, crushing the metallic head , rendering it in-operable . Slintronius shook with anger as he sat back in his chair . Gronard would be a hard one to destroy , but he must do it, before Ric destroyed him .
The " Asteroid Skipper " shot through hyper-space, racing to reach Coruscant before the " Mighty Bird ", the supply ship carrying Dennez Wangzu to a horrible transformation . In one of the two cargo-bays, three Zabraks ignited lightsabers and commenced to duel . Dorna lunged forward with her purple blade , aiming for Rorn's torso . She and her twin brother Vorn, both had been members of the Iridonian Honor Guard with Rorn, and were both honorary masters of the blade , but were still not accustomed to the lack of weight to a lightsaber blade . Rorn had been practicing for months. and was used to it now, and was able to block her strike with ease . Vorn moved in, his yellow energy blade moving like a snake, and then struck at Rorn's head, while Dorna sliced at his back . Rorn sensed the incoming attacks, and released his lightsaber into the Force . The doubled-bladed weapon spun in a blur of blue light deflecting both blows at the same instant . Dorna hissed in annoyance, and feinting to the side, kicked Rorn in the face, following through with a well-aimed blow from her lightsaber . Rorn flew backwards from the force of the kick and slumped when he hit the floor . Vorn laughed in glee." We got him . We finally beat him ." Dorna didn't answer, looking worried when Rorn didn't get right back up ." Vorn, you did set the lightsabers to training mode, didn't you ?" she asked, anxiety sneaking into her voice . Vorn stopped laughing," Of course I did, at least I think I did ." he said, his own voice in a worried tone now . They slowly walked up to Rorn's slumped body, where they could see the burned skin on Rorn's chest .SNAP-HISS, Rorn's lightsaber came up, past Vorn and Dorna's de0activated weapons and struck both of them in the mid-torso . Rorn flipped onto his feet, laughing at the looks on their faces . The burn-wound on his chest dis-appeared and the slight-look of concentration on Rorn's face dis-appeared . Dorna realized it had been a mind trick and she flushed in anger .Rorn always found a way to beat them .
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In the cock-pit Don smiled from where he had been watching the fight on the view-screens . Rorn had used that trick against him, several times, and Don always fell for it .
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On Coruscant, G'Fratin Josinel put the finishing touches on a gleaming star-fighter . From where she was watching, Leia had to admit, it was a beatiful ship ." Now for it to be tested ." Josinel cried, a manic tone to his voice . A test pilot climbed inside, and shut the hatch . From the outside, no sound could be heard as the hatch sealed, near-invisible seams marking the out-line of the hatch . A quiet roar filled the hangar as the fighter's engines warmed up ." Activating repulsors ." the pilot's crisp voice said over the intercomm . Leai glanced to her side and saw Han walking into the hangar , as always with his blaster at his side .Leia smiled, remembering the two or three times she had been able to make his take his gun off . It had been quite a fight . She turned back to the testing and gasped as Josinel fired a concussion missile at the now far-off fighter . Han stepped up beside her," What is this ? The mad scientists convention ? " he asked, his crooked smile lighting up his usually grim face . Leia shook her head and pointed at a screen with the fighter's shield read-outs . Han gasped as the missile struck the fighter, and the shields flickered for a second and re-gained full strength ." Their're called vidrion shields . Re-generating in all aspects ." Han was still staring at the read-outs ." I want some of those for the Falcon ." he demanded .
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Dennez Wangzu sat in a meditation position . He was sure that the Republic would need him to do this , to help in the crisis that was sweeping the galaxy . He had a few doubts, because the Force was trying to push his mind away from this decision, but he would sacrifice his own well-being for the sake of the galaxy .
"General Tann, our spy is ready. He reports everything is set, his mission is finished, and he needs extraction before his condition is compromised." Admiral Kirkosh spoke in a swiftly, his voice quick and excited.
"Excellent, Admiral. Prepare a team. I will take them to finish our mission. You stay here with the fleet and inform Pellaeon that his plan has struck gold." Tann's voice radiated a readied calm as she prepared to strike a blow at the morale of the republic.
It was only two hours later that a force of SithDroids and Imperial Intelligence Commandos were assembled on the deck of the Imperial Destiny. Sev'rannce Tann looked at them and spoke. "Soldiers of the Empire. Today we are embarking on a dangerous mission into enemy territory. We have a task to accomplish, and each of you will play there part," The men awaited expectantly for the plans while the droids sat impassively, always ready for action. Tann outlined a plan to the commandos that seemed simple, yet effective. The ideal assault. Then all of them boarded a freighter and launched through hyperspace, bound for Coruscant.
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At the Coruscant spaceport, Rorn, Vorn, and Vorna disembarked from the Asteroid Skipper. In the force they could feel Wangzu and the Mighty Bird coming closer. It would be in about three days that they would intercept him as he landed. For now, Leia Organa Solo had invited them to stay in the spacious Solo mansion. They normally housed the jedi on Coruscant at their mansion. The three Zabraks were eager to stay on the capitol. They had been their only briefly, once, before the Imperial war. Han greeted them
"Hey, hornheads," he greeted jokingly. "How are you?"
"Alot better than the last guy to bump heads with us." Rorn joked. "Vorn, Vorna, meet Han Solo, hero of the Rebel Alliance, New Republic, and Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Han, meet Vorn and Vorna, jedi twins of the Iridonian Honor Guard."
"Nice to meet you, now, would you all like a VIP toiur of the old Imperial Palace?" Han asked.
"Sure." Vorna answered for all of them.
Han led them from the spaceport to a hover-limo and they went to the palace. On the way, Rorn thought he felt something odd in the force, as if someone had just used it, but it dissappeared must just be jumpy and Wangzu he thought, and then promptly forgot the whole thing.
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In space above Coruscant, Tann called to the pilot. "Go ahead and land at the spaceport, no one will notice us." She had already planted the thought in the controllers mind that they were harmless and were cleared to land. And she had crushed the curiosity coming from the Zabrak jedi. This was going to be easier than she had thought with the Zabraks in the palace. The ship landed and Tann gave quiet instructions. "Platoon Alpha, go to the weapons lab and secure the formula for the new weapons. Platoon Gamma, go to the starfighter lab and steal the proto-type. Platoon Beta, get to the computer core and take all you can. Platoon Delta, go blow something up in the city. I'll distract the guards." As she probed the area with the force, she realized that a full-blown council meeting was in progress. This will be easier than shooting down Wedge Antilles she thought. Tann cloaked her presence in the force as her teams moved swiftly and silently off on their various jobs. With a mix of SithDroids and commandos, nothing would go wrong. Tann walked through the halls of the Palace, moving towards the council room, squelching the curiosity of everyone their. As she entered the grand hall, she dropped the force-cloak and shot a bolt of lightning at the security guards. They guards fell dead as alarms blared.
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As Han was leading them through the Grand Convention Chamber where the senate met, Rorn, Vorn, and Vorna all felt the dark presence at once. Alarms began wailing and a voice called though the intercom. "All security guards to the Grand Hall. All security guards to the Grand Hall. We have an Alpha-1-Theta in progress. We have an Alpha-1-Theta in progress."
"WOW!" Han whistled, "An Alpha-1-Theta, that's like impossible. Lets go." The Zabraks drew their weapons and ran after Han, whose blaster was in his hand. They arrived in the Grand Hall to see a scene of mass choas. Already about fifteen guards lay dead. A black-robed Chiss woman with a yellow lightsaber stood on the opposite end of the hall. Lightning flew from her fingers as the lightsaber blocked every blaster shot. Han ran forward shooting wildly. "She'll reach the council chamber!!!!! We have to stop that madwoman!!!!!" Rorn charged with him. "Vorna," he called, "go around behind her. get her with your lightsaber." Vorna took off running around in parrallel passageays. Vorn and Rorn had to stop occasionally to block bursts of lightning as they ran at Tann.
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Her lightsaber blocking every blaster shot, Tann was wreaking havoc on the defenders of the Hall. With part of her mind she monitored her teams. Already they had the proto-typea nd the schematics. The computer download was going well. She could also feel the Zabrak trying to sneak up on her. fool, I'll show her Tann thought. She fired off another burst of lightning and the last blaster-wielding enemy fell to the ground.
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Rorn heard Han's scream as the Sith lightning struck him. He was still alive, but in great pain, writhing on the ground in agony. Already ground troops from the nearest base were moving swiftly into the palace. just a little longer he thoguht. Already Vorna was halfway there. Suddenly, the entire palace rocked as several thermal detonators went off at once. He had no idea what had happened, but it didn't sound good.
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The las Imperial team had exited the palace's lower halls when the thermal detonators ahd gone off. The Weapons labs and hangar bays down there were no more.
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Out in the streets of Coruscant, people gaped wide-eyed as the main terminal at the spaceport was reduced to ash and flame. Someone was causing alot of trouble. A strong column of troops was darting for the palace when suddenly blaster-fire swept the walkway. Soldiers fell dead as their comrades moved to defensive positions. Suddenly, several SithDroids appeared and struck down the last troopers. Then the Imperials moved towards the Federation Navy base to steal a ship. The other Imperial teams joined them as they burst into the base, guns blazing.
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Tann felt the missions complete and the teams running for the starbase. EXcellent, now to deal with these Zabraks!
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All of the sudden, Rorn saw Tann do a backfil high in the air. Vorna managed to slow up so s not to run into the other charging Zabraks, but no reflexes were sharp enough to block the lightning blast the smashed into her back. She screamed as Tann handed, and fell to the floor, unconscious. Vorn roared and chraged, swinging his blade. "You will pay, Sith scum!!!" he yelled. Tann's lightsaber glowed as the two clashed weapons. The yellow blade moved faster than any ey could track. Vorn's weapon was struck at the handle and fell. Lightning drove him to the ground. Tann then fired at the ceiling, and Rorn had to run to avoid the falling metal blocks. When the dust settled, there was no Sign of Sev'rannce Tann.
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As soon as she got into the Star Destroyed her men had stolen, Tann ordered a take-off. They streamed through the atmosphere, firing random turbo-laser shots into the upper district of Coruscant. They easily beat the pursuers into hyperspace. Tann went over the mission. they ahd all the computer data from the Federation computers, the new starfighter their spy had told them about, and a Star Destroyed, all for free. Not only that, they killed around 250 enemy troops and Tann had beaten up on the jedi. All in all, a very successful mission. Shje thought. The Road to the Core was open for the taking.
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Back on Coruscant, Rorn asisted the medics in helping Han and his cousins. The entire fight had been a disaster. At least we saved the council he thought. At least we saved the council.
Near the Maw Cluster, Grand Admiral Pellaeon's Special Task Force lay in wait. Sev'rannce Tann had just arrived, and reported a success on the Coruscant version of the attack. Now to see if Sybl's vision had indeed been correct. Tann and Pellaeon were taking no chances. This was far too important to ignore. He watched anxiously as the seconds ticked off the chronometer. The convoy would be there any minute.
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On board the Mon Calamari Star Cruiser Protector, G'Fratin Josinel eatched the lightyears tick off the mile-counter. Only 10 lightyears and they would be at Leia's secret base. Then the new Samuri-class fighter would be safe. They had recieved holo-reports of the Imperial raid on Coruscant. He was worried. Around two-hundred and fifty security guards had been killed, and Han, Vorn, and Dorna were in critical condition after being burned by the Sith Lightning. He was relieved that they had left when they did, because one hour later and he would have been caught. Already he was afraid the Imperials had gotten what they wanted. Unbeknownst to anyone, he had not erased the data. He was paranoid about losing his work. Now he was mentally berating himself because Tann's engineers would have his lovely inventions. At ;east they had gained something in this mess. The Samuri was safe. Suddenly the deck jolted beneath his feet. They had been pulled from hyperspace earlier than expected. He looked out of the viewscreen to see his worst nightmare coming true. They were surrounded by Imperial ships. TIE's were screaming towards them. Immediately he ran for the hangar bay. He jumped in the Samuri and flew out to do battle. Now he could show the power of his fighter in real combat.
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In her Defender leading the TIE attack, Sev'rannce Tann laughed aloud whenb she saw the awkward and clumsily flown fighter leading the enemy fighters. This was the feared Samuri? She flew towards it, easily dodging the first blast. She watched as the clumsy ship fired again, this time catching one of the Quantum Armored TIE's. The laughter died on her lips as the disrupter cut cleanly through the armor and killed the pilot. Reaching out in the force, she clouded the pilots mind, confusing him. The fighter's flying grew less and less precise as the piolt got drowsier and drowsier. Soon, he came to a complete stop as Tann stopped his oxygen until he slumped forwards, unconscious. Easily she lifted every thought and drop of information from his mind. Then she neatly snagged the fighter in her tractor beam. She looked up in time to see the last Federation ship fall burning into the Maw Cluster. With the Samuri in tow she landed back in the Chimaera's hangar bay. She watched eagerly as Imperial engineers inspected the ship. Indeed, this was the Federation's new fighter. Already she was brimming with ideas for this one. It was just like she had seen in the vision, down to the coloring and even the score marks on the hull from a lousy take-off. After looking carefully over the new fighter, she turned her attention to the scientist. Without further ado lightning flew from her fingers. She brought up a cleaning roids to remove the charred remains of the mad scientist and weapons engineer G'Fratin Josinel. Then she brought up a recording droid and recorded all of the secrets she had obtained from his mind. The Task Force returned to Bastion with the new fighter and weapons designs. Once again, Sev'rannce Tann and Grand Admiral Pellaeon had outsmarted the Federation!
Leave this line be for now. I will finish it in good time.
Ric stood out side the tall structure and a wry grin twisted the corners of his mouth slightly upwards . Slintronius had really under-estimated him this time . Even before his recent transformation, Ric would have been able to infiltrate this base .He flexed his hands slightly and his grin broadened as the short claws on his knuckles, elongated, sliding out, a drop of blood squeezing out at the source . Stepping up to the wall, Ric slammed his fist into it, driving his sharp claws deep into the metallic armor . Twisting them , he began to scale the tall outer wall .Ric snarled in annoyance as he came to a shielded window , touching it, he felt his skin sizzle . Ric pulled his hand back, and let the burned skin heal , before stabbing the steel/bone claws back into the armor plating and avoiding the window . As he finally cam up to the top of the wall, Ric paused and telepathically scanned the area for guards . There were several but all could be persuaded to look in another direction , it only took a little bit of manipulation .He grabbed the edg of the wall and flipped over . Landing in a crouch, he immediately noticed the one danger the Force had not alerted him to the presence of . A sentinel droid awakened as Ric flipped into its sensor field and began to turn its head to see the intruder . Ric sprinted forward and using his knuckle-claws, ripped into its head, causing the visual sensors to wink out . Ric glanced around warily, checking to see if any guards had noticed . He took a quick second to cause a memory lapse in a suspicious guard and then dropped into a crouch and moved toward the nearest guard .Ric stealthily moved along the top of the wall, easily avoiding security cameras and sensor scans . Moving up, he grabbed a guard and tossed him over the outer edge of the wall , after he knocked him unconscoius .The next was easily killed by a cut to the head from a throwing star from Ric's belt . After stealthily , taking out all of the guards in such a fashion, Ric moved to the inside of the compound, finding a few more guards . He blasted one with a ball of Force lightning and on another he used a Force choke . Ric took a thin knife from his belt and propelled it through thr back of a commando who seemed to be out for a smoke . Ric growled under his breath as he recognized the insignia on the man's uniform .Slintronius had brought out his best men to protect him . He grabbed the commando's Force-pike, utility belt and his blaster rifle, deciding to use every option he had to bring down the Sith Elite Guard .They were they equivalent of the old Imperial Guard .( The guys in red robes who protected Palpatine .) He walked around the corner and came face to face with a commando wearing a ysalimiri nutrient frame on his back . Ric brought up the blaster rifle and shot twice, killing the commando and the ysalimari . He bent and grabbed the automatic blaster, dropping the rifle as he did so .He could use the added firepower . Ric had his new multi-weapon, but wanted to prove to himself that he was deadly with no matter what weapon, he chose . He could feel several gaps or holes in the Force ahead, so he paused and pulled a explosive grenade from the arsenal he had took from the commandos . Pulling the pin, Ric tossed it around the corner as he jumped out and begin to fire at the commandos . Four men, fell under his furious onslaught, and the others were killed by the grenade . He dropped the empty auto blaster, and raised the Force-pike, ready for combat .
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Star Destroyer Commander Titoner Hellgivin sat in his command chair, viewing the droid before him . Before he had left, Commander Gronard had asked him to find the best, most agile droid in production and secure several units for inspection . Hellgivin knew he had done good with this droid . The Q14-D12 ground assualt droid was the best of its type . It was capable of moving with faster reflexes than humans, and was used as a gladiator droid among the wealthy . It was capable of swamp, desert , snow and forest travel along with just about any city . He stood and gestured for the two techs controlling the grav-cart to push it into the turbo-lift and followed it .
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Ric clenched his hands around the Force-pike, its long , vibrating handle feeling foreign in his grasp .He could feel the guard droids around the corner, their sense of deadliness radiating outward, even though their presence was un-touchable . Ric slid along the wall slowly and glanced around with one eye . Immediately, he was rewarded with the whine of blaster-fire, as the deadly bolts streaked through the place where he had been just an instant before , but he wasn't there . His Force-pike was thrown into one droid , while Ric kicked another's weapon toward the next droid, blasting it into nothingness . The Force-pike flew back to his hand and its quivering blade sliced through a droid's power pack . Ric spun back toward the disemboweled droid as he heard a rising whine . He cart-wheeled backward as the droid's damaged power-pack imploded, destroying the remaining droids . The alien Sith peeked back around the corner, marveling at the destruction wrought by a single power-pack .Suddenly, he felt a rising danger in the Force and ducked , feeling a large hairy body pass completely over him . Ric jumped up and stared at the large animal rising from the floor where it had landed . He recognized it as a nek battle dog, bred for its savagery,durability,strength, speed and cunning . IT by itself would be a formidable opponent, capable of killing normal men , but Ric was the best of the best and a Sith . His multi-weapon slithered slowly down his arm and shaped itself into a short spear , Ric's head rose as he sensed more nek's behind him and ready to strike . He felt a dog jumping at his back and he leaped straight up , flipping and cutting at the beast as it passed beneath him . Ric landed in a crouch and immediately went into a sweep kick, releasing the blades in his boot toes at the same instant . The dog he kicked at whimpered as the blades cut into its legs, but then it leapt at him, baring its teeth in a savage howl . Ric raised his multi-weapon and let the nek dog impale itself . Pulling his weapon out of the body, he turned to see no less than five re-maining nek dogs, one wounded, and all angry . Ric commanded his multi-weapon to change and dodged as the dogs began to attack . He cursed himself as his weapon flew to the other side of the room, knocked from his hands by the dog's furious attack . Now he was really ticked off . Ric went down in a poised crouch and let out his knuckle claws as far as they would go, baring his own teeth, he snarled in the same feral way as the neks . AS one the dogs lunged at him, and he at them . He knocked aside swipes of clawed paws for the most part and then as the last dog, the wounded one leaped past him, his claws reached out and sliced deep into the dog, cutting it nearly in two . Ric back-flipped and landed on top of another dog and snapped its spine with a twist of its legs , then leapt at another and locked his fangs in its back , while driving his claws home in its body . The last two dogs, he grabbed in the Force and slammed their bodies together and tossed them out of the window . Ric stood panting, his claws, teeth and clothes splattered in blood . He winced as his wounds closed up and healed and then summoned his multi-weapon to his hand . Time to kill Slintronius .
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Slintronius cursed vibrantly as he felt his killer nek dogs fade out of the Force . Gronard was coming for him and would not hesitate to run his multi-weapon's lightsaber through Slintronius's mid-section . A lightsaber flew to his hand from a long case of shining weapons .Trophies, Slintronius had taken everyone of the weapons from a fallen foe, and he knew that Ric would do the same with his own lightsaber . He gasped as the metal on the blast door suddenly grew two rows of four gleaming metallic bone claws . The claws dragged down slowly and cut through the heavy metal . As Gronard came slowly through the door, forgetting his multi-weapon's lightsaber mode in his rage , Slintronius felt a arm pull him back .He stared at the red-skinned arm , holding him in a vise-like grip and looked up to see the cloaked figure of Darth Rakar, former ruler of the Sith . Awoke from stasis, Slintronius had inserted a Force-mind control nexus in the Sith lord's mind . If Darth Rakar refused to do Slintronius's bidding, his abilities and his Force sensitivity would leave him, forever .Rakar shoved Slintronius toward a waiting turbo-lift on the far side of the room . Slintronius frowned as he watched the black-clad figure move toward the door, and then he had another thought, Maybe Rakar would kill Gronard ! " Kill him and I will release you, Darth Rakar ." Rakar acknowledged this with a curt nod as the blast door buckled under the abuse of Ric's claws ."
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Ric Force-pushed the remains of the blast door from the frame and the first thing he saw was a hug black cloak, its dark folds hiding the face of its wearer and behind him, Slintronius, ducking into a turbo-lift . Ric flushed in rage at the sight of his enemy and leaped forward, his mulit-weapon trans-forming into its lightsaber mode ." Coward, come back here and fight !" he screamed futilely as the black cloaked man moved in front of him with a sliding motion and the turbo-lift doors shut with a resounding clang, obxcuring Slintroius's smirking features from view . " I am Darth Rakar . Prepare to meet your doom ." the Sith in front of Ric said as he dropped the cloak, revealing a torso that stopped at the waist and was connected to a sort of repulsor setup . The disk shaped mini-speeder was attached to Rakar's body in place of a normal man's legs . His skin glowed red, revealing him to be of another species . The floating Sith reached beneath his arms to a set of holsters and pulled out matching lightsabers with curved handles . Crimson blades ignited and the battle began . Ric gasped as Rakar's hand glowed and a sphere of crackling energy began to grow from his wrist, and then firing at Ric , who jumped to the side and rolled away from the growing energy sphere, which destroyed much of the wall behind Ric with a large explosion . Rakar shot toward Ric on his repulsor unit, his lightsabers lowered and ready for the kill .Ric's multi-weapon came up from where it had fallen and propelled by the Force , flew toward Rakar .Rakar batted it aside easily and came after Ric, who began to leap to the side, trying to avoid the slowly gaining eminent death . Ric moved torward a wall and ran along, when reaching a certain part he leaped and flipped over Rakar, who sliced upward with his lightsaber, and landed next to his multi-weapon . He scopped it up, activating the blade and lunged back at Rakar . A smile played briefly across Rakar's lips as he blocked , sliced, blocked and struck out again . Ric was is full Sith mode, his multi-weapon moving as a snake , flexible, writhing, his hands moving deftly up and down, regaining his grasp after each blow .Rakarshoved Ric back and flew up to the ceiling where he slashed into a large pipe revealed during the explosion .Hot water poured through, covering the floor with a rising level of the boiling liquid . Ric flipped out of the water and slammed his claws into the wall, holding himself out of the rising water . Darth Rakar laughed, the sound echoing hollowly off of the walls and fired a long blast of lightning at Ric, carving canyons in the duracrete walls . Ric caught the crackling energy on his lightsaber blade and deflected it to the side . With a visible effort , he vaulted up and over to a cat-walk near the ceiling . As he landed he twisted to the side, his mulit-weapon coming up in a defensive position as Rakar flew slowly, directly throught the stream of boiling water coming from the ceiling ." Nothing like a hot shower !" Ric shouted, firing his own lightning at the water, shocking the Sith from another time into near-unconsiounsess . Rakar gasped in pain, knowing he could have thrived on the heat from the water, but the electric shock had taken him by unawares . Ric leaped toward Rakar, his multi-weapon up and preparing to cut into the other Sith's body, trying to kill, while the other was still un-ready . At the last instant, Rakar's lightsabers lashed out at the same instant and sent Ric's multi-weapon spinning into the water . As the crimson blade struck the water, it shorted out and sank to the floor . Ric used the Force to hold Rakar's lightsabers out away from his body and jumped at him, kicking with both feet aton his chest and back-flipping away . Rakar was thrown into the water by the force of the kick, but as his lightsabers hit the water, they only sizzled and didn't short out . Rakar grinned nastily at the shock on Ric's face ." My own invention, new flux inhibitor ." he said, rising out of the water . He tossed one of the lightsabers at Ric who caught it in a surprised manner ." I am not without honor . I can not kill a weapon-less opponent ." Ric activated the curved-hilted lightsaber and said " You should have killed me when you had the chance . Your sense of honor will be your downfall ." Rakar grinned and said " It has not failed me yet ." Ric felt the mind control trick that Slintoronius had used on Rakar and said ," I can free you from Slintronius, but if I do, you must swear yourself loyal to me .Loyal but not a slave ." Rakar's mind leaped at this chance to be free and he answered," Upon my weapons, I will be loyal ." Ric knew this was the highest oath that Rakar could give, his life being of no conseqeunce to him . He felt around the nexus of whirling Force energy inside Rakar's mind and began to twist and pull . Finally with a last wrench, the sense of Slintronius's control faded in Darth Rakar's mind . Ahh, it feels so good to be free , Rakar thought . Together, the two left to find Slintronius . . . and kill him .