The Rebel Faction

Is this it? DAMMIT! Another dead end. In hind sight, just diving into the side tunnels was a really stupid ideas. Most of these were uninhabited and leftovers from when the asteroid was one of the asteroids being mined. Irtar scratched his chin as he looked about. Everything just looked the same!

Suddenly, an idea popped into Irtar's head. He grabbed his lightsaber and in a crackle the brilliant blue blade came into being. Irtar looked about, and it didn't look like a slash would cause any sort of cave in. But really what did he know of geography? Irtar took a swing and made a distinctive gash into the rockface.

"Alrighty, now I know where I've been." Irtar said to himself as he made his way down the path and made intermident slashes. It took about a good five or ten minutes, but eventually Irtar heard the sound he was looking for.

Blaster fire.

Irtar began to make his way along the tunnels towards the sound of the fighting. It was obvious that he was approaching another one of the major sections the stormtroopers were making their way along. Maybe he'd be lucky enough to get into some kind of flanking position. At least he could distract a couple of them! Maybe find another of those troopers with all the charges on them.

In a couple of moments, Irtar came out of a tunnel that had instead a balcony to it. A small thing but it was obviously just so some poor guy wouldn't come running out of the tunnel and go splat on the streets bellow. This was obviously the main street.

Corpses strewned the street on both side as both had barricades set up. The defenders were holding out by sheer numbers. The street here was huge, and had to have at least eight stories between the ground and the roof. Irtar's awe of the scene bellow were interrupted by a shout this time.

"It's the Jedi! Blast him!" Irtar heard shout from one of the stormtroopers. Irtar heard a wooshing sound and dived back into the tunnel. The hairs on Irtar's neck had to be fried by the fire from the rocket. But that wasn't the worse part of the matter. The tunnel had obviously been made unstable by that explosion!

Irtar grunted as he took off down the path as fast as he could. This time take a different turn in the last fork. This time the path went down so maybe it'd come out on street level? Hopefully Irtar thought as he heard the rubble falling behind him. He didn't dare look to see if that was just from the tunnel he'd come out of or if this tunnel was collapsing to.

Irtar shuddered slightly at memories on Dantooine. So much the same. A sith, a cave-in, and the innocent being killed for no reason at all.

Damalis took her time getting her breath back since the Sith seemed inclined to let her do that. Really, she wasn't so sure she'd be allowed such a luxury in the time to come. There was no question in her mind about her answer, she'd say no without hesitating. She'd always assumed that when confronted with the choice of good or evil a person would really be tempted and find the glories of all that was evil and cruel to be appealing, at least for a few moments. But apparently she was too simple a person. There was no shades of gray in the future she could see, only dizzyingly bright whites and deep consuming blacks. She had but one choice and now that she was facing it, it didn't seem all that bad.

It brought to her mind a question. Why was death always the ultimate threat, when it was really the best escape? Oh, she could admit that the time leading up to it wasn't going to be pleasant, she had no illusions about that, but when confronted with the options of death or complete perversion of her soul, death seemed the more pleasant of the two.

"Sorry, but I've had training before." Why couldn't she just say no and get it over with? Damalis decided not to worry. She had a feeling she needed to stall, drag things out just a tiny bit longer. It was just a hint of the force power she could employ, the only one she had, and it was just a tickle on the senses of those who could feel such things but Damalis had trusted the feeling before and been rewarded. She was hoping for the best this time as well. "And it wasn't all that great.. so my answer is still no."

Irtar was heaving breaths as he came out unto a catwalk overlooking the wide street he had viewed from the balcony shortly before. Irtar's first instinct was to flop down and hope he wasn't spotted by any of the stormtroopers keeping watch. But unfortunately, that wasn't his luck, there was a short shout and motion from one of the troopers.

Irtar huddled down when the lasers started flying around him. Thankfully, whatever they used for the metal on this thing seemed to be pretty resilient to the blaster fire. Then Irtar heard a tinging sound behind him. And a whirring sound.

Irtar turned his head slowly and saw it. A GRENADE! Irtar took off with a start down the catwalk towards what could well be a hanger or something. Irtar wasn't quite off the catwalk when the grenade exploded, and he felt the metal beneath his feet start to slip away. Well, if Irtar was a normal person his adrenal induced jump would've easily allowed him to clear what was left of the bridge and then some.

BUT a Padawan that has only recieved slight formal training is capable of many things in an adrenal state that normal people can only dream of!

Irtar went right up through the air. It was like the Gungan incident all over again! Irtar flinched expecting the hit the wall, but he had made it through the doorframe. And past the staircase from it that lead down in the commercial hanger designed for large transports. Given the situation he was in now, he would've preferred the wall.

Gravity beginning to take effect like it often did, Irtar looked about for something to avoid a painful fall to grab unto. A chain! Irtar grabbed unto it with full might of self-preservation. Irtar held unto it tightly, breathing. And then he felt it. Irtar looked down and saw a man holding a green lightaber, giving him a look that'd kill him if it could.

The Dark Jedi Irtar had sensed earlier! It was then he saw the emerald blade going through the air, spinning towards him. With a yelp Irtar dropped from the chain. He heard the clinging sound of the saber hitting the chain, and then a whirring sound as pulleys and otherwise gave way to the wieghts they were supporting. At the other end of the hanger, a loud clanging sound was heard.

Irtar had been expecting a hard collision with the floor. He closed his eyes and waited for it, but something else happened first. He hit harder, yet more hollow surface. Irtar grunted, it still hurt and all, but it wasn't enough to break anything. He opened his eyes, and found he was on top of someone's personal transport. Thank the Force! He looked about for where the shouts were.

Apparently, someone had been bringing a shipment of durasteel rods unto the station. Likely for reinforcing the tunnels and for being fit for scafolding. The rods now free rolled out upon the hanger floor, upon the nearby stormtroopers. It would provide a convenient enough distraction that Irtar wouldn't have to worry of them AND the Dark Jedi.

Oh crap! The Dark Jedi! Irtar hurriedly pulled out his lightsaber and turned just in time to catch the Dark Jedi who was jumping through the air, a mask now hiding his features. Irtar just barely managed to parry the swing he threw at him.

"Uhhh......." What happened thought Necros. One minute he had been, what, prepared to kill the foolish woman who had rejected his advances, his apprenticeship, and then the next? He looked around himself, he was lying not quite flat on the ground, shards of glass surronding him. No, not the ground, but a stack of crushed crates, crushed by his body. As he circled his head around pain returned to his brain, and so he stopped, and stared skyward. That's when he saw the hole in the glass wall, the office that he had fallen through, five stories above his current position. Then he remembered.

He had been prepared to kill the girl, when a commotion off to his left had caught his attention. It was a jedi, a JEDI!!! Suprised that he had not felt his presence earlier, he had immediatley swirled to confront this new threat. He had thrown his lightsaber, only to miss, and then he had jumped through the air to land a crushing blow on this scum, but the jedi managed to get his lightsaber up and time, and parried the attack, leaving Necros falling through the air and into, and out the glass wall, falling down to....his current position. How embarassing thought Necros. He would immediatley get up, go back up there, and kill the jedi scum himself. Calling upon the powers of the dark side, he began to sit up, when he began coughing. Bringing his hands to his mask, he felt his mouth, where a wetness had formed when he coughed, and brought his hand up to his eyes. There, on the glove bore the crimson liquid, indicating that he had suffered internal injuries in the fall and landing.

And that meant, that he would have to withdraw. Yes, withdraw. Again, drawing upon the powers of the dark side, he forced himself to his feet and found the nearest stormtrooper, engaged in a blaster duel with some of the rallied spaceport defenders. He whispered into the stormtroopers ear that it was time to withdraw, and to take measures as necessary. One squad of stormtroopers, the other squad having been cut down by now, withdrew, covering their leader to the shuttle. Moments later, they were back in the docking bays of the Victory star destroyer. The capitan met up with Necros in the medical lab, and requested his orders. The ship had been damaged in an exchange with a Commonwealth patrol cruiser, although the smoldering wreckage the latter now filled the spacelanes of smuggler's run. They would withdraw, repair, heal, and then come back and crush, kill and destroy. For now though, Necros rested.

((Working on getting caught up. Finally got the inspiration back.))

Irtar looked around, as he sat up from the hard ground. His back was sore and… man did he feel just flat out bad after that whole thing. And the Sith? Where was he? Why wasn’t he charging at him? He saw a broken window. Did the Sith over jump? Irtar sat up and looked around and the stormtroopers fell back.

He… won?

He was taken out of his puzzled daze as the woman on the ground coughed. Oh crap! The girl! Irtar ran to her side and took her hand, trying to bring her attention to him. To bring her to him as he tried to check her pulse to see how strong it was. It was weak and fading and only he heard was some unintelligible gurgling.

“Come on ma’am… I just nearly got fried by stormtroopers and a Sith… Don’t make it for nothing…” Irtar mumbled as he tried to pick her up as carefully as possible and make his way in the hallway. He made his way towards the nearest cheering of the local militia as they seemingly had thrown the Sith back and out.

“MEDIC!” Irtar yelled out as he ran towards the sounds of talking. “I NEED A MEDIC NOW! I’VE A WOMAN WITH ELECTRICAL BURNS!”

Irtar charged his way down the hall as fast as he could and he came upon a familiar group. “The fucking Jedi!?! You’re alive!” Called out the soldier he saw earlier in a half-laugh. “Holy shit! Who’s the chick?”

“I don’t know, but there was this Sith and… Bah! I’ll tell you afterwards! I need a medic! She’s fading fast dammit!” Irtar begged of the soldier. He could feel through the Force the ever longing ebb of her heart fading. Of her life fading. It was the first time he had ever felt something like this through the Force and it chilled him to the bone.

“Well, because you helped save our collective asses back there, I’ll put her before one of my troops. But you be damn thankful I’m putting a civi before one of my boys.” The soldier said as he motioned for Irtar to follow. “We’ll stabilize her until we get the docs out of the bunks. Field hospital is over here.”

“I won’t forget this!” Irtar said, quite thankfully as the soldier guided them through the broken streets. They made their way through the rubble and craters caused by the attack. Corpses of both sides littered the streets. Soldiers made their way through the living to find the survivors. Irtar shivered as he looked about. The death combined with the dying woman in his hands just caused this… cold to encompass him.

The field hospital they have set up was in a meeting hall of some sort. They had brought tables, beds, pretty much any surface that they could put casualties on for the medics they have to try and plug the bleeding. After a bit of looking they found an empty table as the soldier headed off and grabbed one of the medics.

“Do what you can for her Saw. I owes this sumbitch one and he wants this girl to live.” The soldier said in the gruff way he said everything so far. “Now I’m going to go and see how many those Imperial fucks killed of my men.”

As the soldier left, the medic ‘Saw’ gave her a once over. Irtar kept a careful gaze on the man as he went to work. “Hrm… severe electrical burns. How’d the miss manage this? Power overload?”

“Something like that….” Irtar muttered, not wanting to worry the populace about there being a Sith leading the force that attacked them. “Just do what you can right?”

“Well, I can’t do so much for her other than a bacta shot. Should tide her over until we get the doctors out of the civilian bunkers.” The medic said as he took a syringe with a long needle out of his medical kit and drove the thing into the middle of the woman’s chest. Irtar cringed and looked away while he did this.

“Pretty girl. Well, despite the burns and all. Your girlfriend?” Saw asked as he began to put the stuff back away before heading to another of the wounded.

“What? No!” Irtar said, looking at the still beautiful woman and then away while blushing slightly. The medic snickered slightly and walked off while Irtar grumbled and sat next to the woman.

Who was she?

Why was that Sith so interested in her?

He took her hand and squeezed it slightly, looking at her. Praying to whatever would listen that she lived. That even with a light so dim, it still burned with a more pure light than most in this dark place. It’d be horrible for such a thing to be snuffed from the galaxy….