660. Earning Their Title - Raezyr

They hurried across the roof tops as quickly as they could, with Raezyr and Trychon assisting Reed and Schyrt with a little Force push when the leaps from one building to the next were too wide for them to attempt on their own. The first couple times were nearly disastrous as it was a feat they'd never attempted before, but they quickly got the hang of it.

The biggest trouble came not from having to assist the two non-Force users, but from Raezyr himself. The jumps were easy enough, and even though he did his best to cushion the landings, it was quickly taking a toll on his knee. He wasn't the only one noticing, either.

"You know, Raez," Trychon said between pants during a momentary breather, "we would have had a pretty rough go of things as it is without your knee holding us back."

Raezyr looked at his half-brother. "I'll make it. This isn't a problem."

Trychon gave the big man a skeptical look before they continued on their roof-top flight toward the city gates.  They weren't exactly sure of any plan of escape at this point, their primary plan having fallen through, and that one thought up on the spur of the moment as it was. Despite the fact they had the so-called 'water sockets,' they didn't relish the thought of trekking by foot across the deserts of Meisos. On the journey here, it had usually taken them most of a day to travel between the villages located at the waterholes and oases, and that was by beast. They could only guess how long it would take them on foot; a day and a half was their optimistic guess, and they weren't sure they even had the water for that. At this point, all they could do was wing it.

As they neared the city gates, they noticed from the vantage point of one of the higher buildings a large wagon with a domed cover being pulled by a team of the four-footed "Meisos nerfs," as they referred to them, lumbering toward the city gate. "I might have a plan," Trychon said. "Stay low and out of sight when we get close to the street."

They angled their approach so as to reach the main boulevard about 50 meters ahead of the on-coming wagon. They hunkered down in a prone position, just back from the edge of the building. From their position, they could also see the main city gate about 150 meters away, along with the ten or so guards on duty there. Luckily for them, the main street didn't seem to have much traffic on it. They assumed most of the natives were probably searching for them in back alleys and side streets. Apparently they had yet to look up.

"Alright, here's the plan," Trychon began. "I'll jump down first as the wagon approaches and try to sneak into the opening in the back. Reed, you go next. Then Schyrt. Don't worry, we'll cushion your landing by using the Force. Raez, you bring up the rear. Move fast, one at a time. It's a big wagon, so hopefully we can sneak out and Force willing, we can ride for a long way before we're discovered."

Trychon gave them a moment to offer any alternative suggestions, but there were none. In a moment or two, it was time, and Trychon launched himself over the edge, dropping the 10 meters to the ground below and behind a stack of crates. Despite the Force, the landing was still rough. It was one thing to learn to levitate other people or objects, but doing that to yourself wasn't so simple. It was like trying to pick yourself up: Impossible without the Force, and difficult even then.

The others in the group watched tensely as Trychon pulled up the hood on his tunic and strode out from behind the crates and into the street. As soon as he reached the rear of the slowly moving wagon, he leaped inside. They looked around for a brief moment to see if any of the natives had noticed, then Reed slipped over the edge.

By the time it was Raezyr's turn, the wagon was much farther down the street. He ran along the tops of the buildings to shorten the walking distance between him and the wagon. Both Reed and Schyrt had made it flawlessly, and Raezyr had every confidence that he would do the same. He stood up and stepped effortlessly out into the open space.

When he landed, there was a loud 'pop' and his knee buckled. The excruciating pain shooting through his leg elicited an involuntary cry, which he immediately stifled. He tried to stand up, nearly cried out a second time and clutched at his knee. Suddenly he looked around, remembering where he was.

Every native within ear shot seemed to be looking straight at him. It dawned on Raezyr that the pain had momentarily distracted him from masking his presence with the Force and now every Meisosian knew where he was. They hesitated only a moment, then a fierce yell went up almost simultaneously.

He began hobbling and hopping as fast as he could toward the wagon.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered to himself.

659. Earning Their Title - Trychon

Trychon waved for the rest of the group to hurry and follow him as he cut open the lock and swung the corral gate open. They had been fairly lucky so far and had very little resistance, all things considered.

He wasted no time and jumped onto the back of the first sauren that he came to, patting it on the neck as he landed. He turned to check on the progress of his friends, knowing that their time was wearing thin by now. The guard calling out was not unexpected and wasn't catastrophic, but it certainly put them on a short time-table.

They were nearly free now though. Saurens were an odd form of travel, certainly. It seemed though that they were the quickest way to travel the planet, and most of the tribes that were represented had arrived on similar beasts. Only a few of the larger retinues came in wagons of some sort pulled by animals that more closely resembled nerfs.

If they managed to get out of the city now, with the aid of their saurens... perhaps they had a chance at getting outside of the influence of whatever sort of mental communication that was quickly making the entire world hostile to them. If they left now, they had a shot at a head start in escaping those who were determined to put them at fault for an assassination.

The Sith was about to tell the group to hurry up and hop one of the animals so they could get going when he was nearly thrown off balance by his own mount rearing to its full height. He instinctively held himself in place through the Force, but the sauren continued to buck and attempt to shake him.

He was prepared to provide motivation in the form of a minor touch shock to catch the beast's attention and regain full control when he got the distinct impression that he needed to let go. He fell backward and passed underneath the a giant rear claw as another sauren traveled airborne where he had just been.

After rolling on his back, Trychon stood and brushed himself off while giving the animals a nasty look.

The two saurens were both staring directly back at him and sweeping their tails back and forth, with a predatory look that the Sith had not seen from them before.

The remaining pair of beasts began eyeing the rest of the group, only slightly less menacingly.

When the distance began to slowly disappear between Trychon and the saurens and they began snapping their jaws, intentions becoming deadly clear, he shot his hand out at the nearest set of gnashing teeth and let loose a fairly strong shot of Force Lightning. Raezyr immediately followed his lead, and the two that were targeted faltered back under the short assault.

It was clearly not enough to dissuade the carnal nature though, as all four reared their heads back and let out a screeching roar before charging. They were quick enough that neither brother was able to get another volley of lightning in, but not quick enough that they were able to get a hold of the brothers either.

"Stay back!" Raezyr shouted to Schyrt and Reed, who were preparing to back them up. "They're too quick... cover the gate!"

They did as they were told, and started by quickly wedging a few objects against the gate and the hinges so as to try and keep it shut as long as possible.

The engagement was quickly turning into a stalemate. The beasts were unable to lash out quickly enough to cause any immediate danger to the Sith, as they dodged or rolled out of the way quickly. Similarly, the saurens were very careful anytime the lightsabers were in reach, and never allowed them to be for very long.

If the noise wasn't enough to attract attention, Trychon thought to his brother as he dodged another aerial attack from the animals then the lightning would have done it. We may as well not waste concentration on hiding our Force Aura while we sort this out. Raezyr didn't respond, but merely complied and gave his full attention to the fight at hand.

Deciding it was time for a slightly different tactic, Raezyr quickly tossed his short lightsaber in the direction of one of the animals. Guiding it through the Force, he aimed for the neck. The animal was able to shift its head's position quickly enough to avoid the attack, but a quick adjustment in the path allowed the lightsaber to score a small gash several centimeters deep into the flesh of the neck right as the saber was being returned to its owner.

At least their skin isn't lightsaber resistant, like the crabs... Raezyr happily mused.

They were quickly running out of time. Already, the gate was becoming a hotly contested area. Schyrt and Reed were only able to keep the doorway mostly shut against the warriors who were pushing on the other side to be let in. They were able to harass the limbs that were poking through with the small daggers they'd stolen earlier, and they had already gained a full length sword at the cost of some unfortunate warrior's arm.

We have to end this now. Trychon noted as he backed up to be as near to his brother as possible. Do it again!

Right as he felt his brother was about to throw his short saber again, Trychon turned to his target and unleashed a few seconds of Force Lightning. It was enough to keep the beast from reacting fast enough to avoid the flying blade, and it fell to the ground, smoke curling up from its entire body, though quickest where the head had been separated from the neck.

One beast had jumped at Trychon during his assault, and had he not released his attack at just that moment to roll, he would have lost blood to go with the gash in his robe.

The Sith gathered themselves and gave an imperceptible nod to each other, as much through their bond as through physical action. Trychon reached out with both hands and let loose lightning one last time, targetting two of the remaining three rather than just one. Rather than finish the attack on those two saurens, Raezyr waited for the one who was free to lash out at his brother, who was as immobile as his prey.

The last sauren did indeed jump to aim its claws at the Sith, but rather than finding its targets, it found Raezyr's blades in midair before falling harmlessly to the ground.

One by one, Trychon relented on his Force attack as Raezyr approached to unceremoniously cut down the last two.

To their credit, the non-Force users had done a very valiant job holding off the aliens as long as they had. The gate was about to give way, but not to the fault of their defending it. There was a small pile of injured and dead that partially blocked the way into the Hohkhae. They now each had a long sword and a shorter blade for their offhand and they backed away from the doorway knowing that it was becoming a lost cause and they would be reinforced within seconds.

As the gate collapsed inward and the warriors started climbing their way through the mess that Schyrt and Reed had created, the first few through met the same fate on their swords. They began to give even more ground to the advance until the Sith stepped between them and the entrance. A few quick strikes of the lightsabers was enough to free up all four of the group for the incoming rush.

They fell into an unrehearsed and unspoken formation. The two Sith stood at the front, with a couple of meters between them. The warriors that came through the bottleneck split evenly between them. When one managed to slip between them, the other was able to clean up quickly. When one was forced past their outside shoulders, they had to choose between keeping their focus on the shining blades of the Sith, or the native blades that were wielded behind them, spaced even further to the outside.

Either decision meant death for the outmatched natives.

When the bodies were numbered too high to count and the incoming aliens paused momentarily, Trychon and Raezyr took the carnage that surrounded them and maneuvered it through the Force to create an indescribable wall of limbs and torsos.

Satisfied that they had time to regroup, they huddled together to decide on an escape. Schyrt and Reed breathed heavily, regaining their stamina while they watched the Brothers discuss their situation through a number of knowing glances and nods.

Finally, they came to an agreement and Trychon closed his eyes and clipped his weapon to his belt. He held his hands out to the sides, not seemingly targeting any one thing.

Raezyr turned to the others, also clipping his weapons to his belt before closing his eyes as well. "Hold on to your shirts, guys..."

The wind began to whip around all four of them, gently at first, but with increasing intensity for every second that passed. The dirt and gravel from the Hohkhae began to pelt their faces and bodies, though it was rapidly forming some sort of cyclone around them, and the worst was not affecting them.

Their visibility was quickly disappearing, but in the last moments Schyrt saw some warriors attempting to make their way over the large fence and pile of bodies, only to be blown back by the gale winds and debris.

Raezyr opened his eyes and reached out towards Reed first. "You'll want to cover your face!" He yelled over the deafening sounds of the unnatural weather. Reed nodded and did as he was suggested as he began to lift into the air as the Sith's hand raised. Schyrt could not see what exactly happened to him as the visibility was slim above them as well.

Still, he didn't need instructions as Raezyr pointed at him next. He covered his face as best possible and felt the invisible forces lift him into the maelstrom above.

After landing or being set down on one of the high rooftops next to Reed, he did his best to cover his face while keeping an eye out for their masters.

Shortly thereafter, Raezyr appeared through the storm, not covering his face, but obviously concentrating strongly. After he landed on his feet, he turned and faced the ground and gave a quick nod. Within moments, Trychon was the last to join them, his eyes still closed.

The deafening sound of rocks pounding everything in a large radius amplified for a few seconds, then died off rather suddenly, leaving only screams behind.

Trychon opened his eyes and sat down. "That should buy us a few minutes."

658. Earning Their Title - Trychon

The four quickly formulated a plan and set out to through the alleyways as swiftly as they could trying to get back to their domicile the previous night.  They couldn't even expect the servants there to be helpful at this point, as their own guide had turned on them and the general populace as a whole seemed to know instinctively not to trust them.  They weren't being attacked outright by everyone they passed... yet... but they had been getting some very suspicious looks and a few pointed fingers.

Still, they had no better option of where to turn for an attempt at gathering a few supplies, and maybe even grabbing their reptilian mounts for swifter travel back to Vathka Rodas' village.

After weaving between various buildings as stealthily as they could for nearly an hour, they arrived at the ornate building where they'd slept the last night.  They would have gotten there slightly quicker, but for Raezyr slowing them down slightly, and Trychon taking them down a few wrong paths.

"Hey, they all really DO look alike, don't they?"  He kept repeating to the rest of the group.

Regardless, they had arrived, and Trychon assured them he was positive this time.  They watched for activity for as long as they felt comfortable they could before moving from the shadows to the inside of the building.  Once inside, they found that they were alone, at least for the moment.  They wasted no time looking throughout the rooms for anything and everything they thought would help them survive their current situation.

Unfortunately, it didn't amount to very much at all.

They were able to scrape together a few water sockets, as well as a couple of short blades for Reed and Schyrt, but that was all.

"It's ok, Masters."  Schyrt noted.

"Yeah... we'll get our holdouts as soon as we're outside of the city and we'll be good to go."  Reed added.  "Wish we had our explosives, but we'll manage."

Raezyr shook his head.  "If we're lucky, there may be one holdout left out there.  Someone fired a blaster in the meeting, and that's what started this mess.  If I had to guess, it was one of yours."

Schyrt frowned a little as he shrugged.  "We'll manage."

The Sith was about to give the boys a bit of a tongue lashing for being unrealistically positive in a nearly impossible situation, when two of the serving girls came storming into the room  The first stopped at the entryway and blocked it with her arms crossed.

The second charged past and right up to Trychon, grabbing onto his arm and unleashing on him in her native language.  He shook his arm free and began to walk around her when she gave him a shove to grab his attention.

He stopped to look at her in shock, at which point she began yelling at him again.  He shook his head and held out his finger towards her lips, motioning for her to be quiet.  She did, but she continued to stare daggers at him.

He held his hand in position inches away from her mouth before gesturing up slightly and lifting her through the Force, which caused her to begin frantically grasping at air.  "Let's not pretend to understand each other now, of all times."

With that, he launched her through the doorway, bowling over the other female.

"Time to move on, guys."  He called back as he jogged through the door.

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

Thankfully, it was a straight shot to the fenced in corral where their saurens were kept.  Trychon kept up his jog for the entire half kilometer, followed closely by Schyrt and Reed and trailed by Raezyr.  They seemed to go unnoticed until their arrival.

The main gate had one guard standing alert blocking their entrance.  The fence was too tall for all four of them to launch over quietly, and even then they would need to take the creatures out through the gate.  The older Sith gave up on his attempt at stealth, and walked up to the alien directly, igniting one end of his dual-sided blade with a snap-hiss.

The guard pulled out his sword and pointed it at Trychon as the gap closed between them, yelling frantically.  The Sith assumed he was calling for help, but considered it an unavoidable eventuality.  Trychon simply finished closing the gap and brought his black blade downward towards the alien's skull.

The alien blocked the attack and parried to the side before pressing his own attack.  The Sith simply let the attack come, pushing each attack to the side while maneuvering to his advantage.  


When he felt he had the warrior sufficiently trapped against the fence, he attacked once more with a downward swing.  It was easily blocked, but Trychon grabbed the alien's wrist with his right hand and locked him into the block as he pulled himself within inches of touching faces.  The alien's breath stank heavily of some pungent meat, but the smell was quickly overtaken by the melting of the resistant blade.  


The warrior's eyes got wide at the last second and he began to shout for help one last time before he was silenced.

657. Earning Their Title - Raezyr

Raezyr's hand inched toward his lightsabers, but Trychon put a hand on forearm to stop him. "There's too many, brother. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor." The angry emotions of the crowd swept over them like a wave, and both warriors realized that soon it would be Meisosian bodies sweeping over them instead if they didn't move. Already the crowd was starting to sweep toward them, and they could see armed guards which had been stationed all over the coliseum were now hustling toward their position.

Slowly, they began backing away toward the entrance which was luckily right behind them. From down below, one of Seiriss' assistants began shrieking something in his native tongue. The brothers didn't need to speak the language to understand the alien was calling to stop them from escaping, or maybe calling for their heads. Either way, it was the same to Trychon and Raezyr. They spun on their heels and sprinted.

They could hear the angry roar of the mob behind them as they sprinted down the corridor and through the exit. Trychon turned upon exiting and threw out his fist, releasing a burst of telekinesis and pulling the heavy wooden doors shut behind them. Unfortunately they barred from the inside, and would only slow the angry mob down momentarily.

A Meisosian guard jumped into action, drawing his sword and charging the two brothers. A short time ago, this same being had seemed friendly toward the off-worlders, but now he was clearly bent on stopping the Sith. Neither brother had time to wonder at the attitude change despite not having communication with the inside as they were immediately thrust into combat.

Raezyr took the lead and lunged forward, his dual blades springing to life mid-swing. He made his attack with little heed to the primitive sword his opponent wielded, fully expecting his energy blade to pass through the metal as if it were flimsi. He was shocked when the weapon halted his attack short of it's mark. With swords that could withstand a lightsaber, these guards suddenly became more than a minor obstacle. Raezyr found himself thankful he hadn't tried to take on the numerous guards which would momentarily be descending upon them.

The big Sith did notice that his opponents weapon wasn't completely immune to a lightsaber. A large notch remained where the two weapons had made contact. He quickly changed tactics, allowing the red alien to make it's own series of attacks. Each time Raezyr aimed his own parries to connect in the already weakened spot on the guard's weapon.

The Meisosian noticed what was happening, but too late. Raezyr made a vicious attack which finally cut through the primitive weapon, pausing only slightly as it did so, before slicing cleanly through the guard's torso. The upper half of the body fell to the ground with a wet "thud" as the bottom half crumpled into a heap. Raezyr turned to assist his brother who had been occupied with holding the doors closed, keeping the pursuing mob bottled up during the brief encounter.

Reed and Schyrt had been standing outside, waiting with many other servants who were not allowed into the great arena. Neither of them questioned what was happening. They knew that Raezyr and Trychon would fill them in on what they needed to know when there was time. Right now action was called for, and they fell in behind their employers as they sprinted down the street.

Eventually, Trychon was forced by distance to release his hold on the coliseum doors, but within a few blocks they were able to duck into a narrow alley or side street and take a bit of a breather, but not for a moment did any of them think they had gotten away. There seemed to be some sort of collective empathy among these aliens as even the peasants, servants, and street performers had become immediately hostile toward them. It wouldn't be long before the entire city was after them.

"We could try to hide," Reed offered once the situation had been explained. "Wait until the heat is off a bit and then sneak out of town and call down the ship."

"No good," Trychon countered. "These aliens are Force sensitive. Raez and I are currently doing our best to mask our presence, but they may figure it out. If it were just us, we could mask our presence indefinitely, but it's taking a lot of effort to mask you two as well. One slip up and they're on us.

"We're going to have to get out of town, and do it now," Raezyr explained. He winced and worked his bad knee. It had never healed properly after taking a slug to it back on Tatooine. "Anyone have any stims?" He asked.

"I wish you had gotten it replaced back on Den Var. Don't you?" Trychon asked. The worry was clear in his voice.

"I'll be fine, brother," Raezyr replied a bit testily.

"Can't we just call down the ship now and have it make a couple strafing runs by remote? You can do that kind of stuff from your datapad, right Master Trychon?" Schyrt offered, bringing the conversation back on topic.

They were all silent for a few minutes, waiting for his answer. "Well," he began and paused. "Well, that would be ideal... if my datapad weren't packed with the rest of our gear back at Vathka Rodas' place."

656. Sith Hunt III: Revenge of the Fish - Raezyr

Anya Tachi watched her scopes as a full squadron of snub fighters joined the two Jedi star fighters in their attack and harassment of the small assault transport she and Tyr were currently on. She had ordered Tyr to separate from the Nefarion Wraith as soon as the attack had begun, leaving them aboard the bulkier, but more heavily armored of the two ships. Frantically, she fired all the ships weapons at the nimble fighters, but most were dancing in and out of effective range, doing their best to harry their target and keep it from exiting the planet's gravity well.

They needn't have bothered. "What do you mean, 'don't bother with the nav-com?' If we don't get coordinates, we can't safely jump to hyperspace!" Anya shouted at Tyr, who was valiantly doing his best to avoid the incoming ion cannon fire, which would disable a ship rather than destroy it.

"That first big blast took out our hyper-drive. We can't go to light speed," Tyr replied, his voice strained with the effort of some of the most desperate piloting he'd ever done.

"Why didn't you say something before we undocked from the Wraith, you moron?" Anya screamed vehemently.

"I tried, but you told me not to argue and just go, my love," Tyr replied as the ship took another hit due to his distraction. The ships lights dimmed for just a second and returned. "We can't take too many more of those, baby."

Anya fumed.

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

The Jedi named Nal Talla watched the energy spark in waves across the hull of Sith vessel as she passed by it. She knew it wouldn't be long now. Within moments, they'd be disabled and then the Unity would tractor the ship aboard. They might have a brief fight, but there would be no way the Sith could hope to survive as long as she and Val were in place and ready. She knew that one way or another, this was almost over.

Suddenly her long sought after quarry turned toward the planet and began making it's way into the stratosphere of AXV-0092. She stared dumbfounded for a moment, trying to comprehend why they would want to land on an uninhabited world. Then it hit her: they'd rather live out their lives marooned on a remote planet than surrender.

Panic set in and her heart was suddenly in her throat. She was too close to bringing the her friends murderers to justice. No way could she lose them now. "Hunter Leader, dis is Firaxa1," the Jedi said, speaking to commander of the Republic fighter squadron, designated Hunter Squadron. "Take out dat ship. I repeat, do not let dat ship land."

"Copy, Firaxa1."

"Hunter Leader, this is Peacemaker," came another voice across the channel. It was the male Chiss Jedi, Val. "Belay that order. We need them alive. Continue to harry them. Stay above them, just don't let them escape."

"I copy, Peacemaker," returned the voice of the squadron leader.

"Firaxa1, private channel," Val voice said, and she complied.

"What is it, Val?" she asked.

"We still need them alive, Nal. I know you don't want them to get away, and they won't. This might just take us a bit longer than we thought," the big blue Jedi said. "Relax. Clear your mind of your worries. We'll get them."

The Jedi continued firing their ion cannons at the fleeing Sith vessel, scoring another hit or two. The good news was that it became quite clear the Sith had no intentions of trying to lose the pursuit. They were indeed going to land on the forest planet despite the fact there was no sentient life forms which inhabited the world.

The bad news was that the Jedi were unable to set their own ships on the ground any closer than about five kilometers away. They were going to have to travel the distance by foot. Val commed Captain Wash Moklam, commander of the Republic hammerhead class war-ship as the Jedi Knight began his landing cycle. "Captain, it appears this chase is now on foot, planet-side."

"I'll drop two platoons immediately," Captain Moklam said from his command chair on the bridge of the Unity.

"Negative, Captain," Val replied. "I don't want to get anyone hurt or injured unnecessarily. We have time on our side. Let Jedi Nal and I approach them on foot. Maybe we can reason with them and talk them into surrendering."

"What would you like us to do?"

"If you could keep Hunter Squadron patrolling the air, and help us by providing sensor readings, should they leave their ship, that would be more than enough," Val said.

"Consider it done... and Val?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"May the Force be with you."

Val and Nal climbed out of the cockpits of their respective fighters, sealing the ships behind them. They took no supplies other than their lightsabers, and set off through the forest at a dead sprint, aided by the Force through frequent bursts of speed.

Within 15 minutes they arrived at the small assault transport, only to find it deserted. A quick check showed the hyper drive had been burned out and the axillary power converters had been fried by the ion blasts. It was clear the ship wasn't going to be taking off without major repairs.

Two sets of footprints lead off eastward into the forest, possibly toward a mountain range many kilometers in the distance.

"We can have supplies dropped to us at our first camp," Nal suggested. They both knew that this wasn't going to be over quickly.

"I concur," Val replied. Side by side, they set off into the forest.