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."
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