Trychon was instantly on his feet and moving despite the pain and grogginess. He scooped up his fallen lightsaber and flicked the switch. Instantly the blades hummed back to life. He didn't need to look to know his brother was moving in the opposite direction to flank the old Meisosian. Both of them were doing their best to keep out of sight, using bushes and columns as cover until they could get into position. When they did, they'd cut Rodas down and take the crystal that was owed them.
"Big mistake, old man," he heard his brother say from across the courtyard.
It elicited a cackle from Vathka Rodas. "The only mistake was you two coming here. Now you'll die here as well," he said, the contempt thick in his voice.
Simultaneously the brothers charged from their cover. Aided by the Force they covered ground quickly. Their Force bond and time spent together made them acutely aware of what the other was doing and wordlessly they could coordinate their attack, already knowing what the other was planning.
Before they could reach him, however, Rodas flipped into the air and landed on the back of his stone chair, crouching there on all fours as if he were a spider. The Sith warriors were stunned at the nimbleness of the old man. The red-skinned alien stretched his hand out and once again lightning shot forth from his fingers.
This time Trychon and Raezyr were ready for it and dove opposite directions, hitting the ground and rolling to their feet. Rodas sent another burst of lightning toward Raezyr who flicked his blades up at the last second. Despite his lightsabers being able to absorb the electricity, tremendous pressure still surged, threatening to toss the big warrior backward. Crossing his blades, Raezyr set his feet and strained against it, holding his ground.
Rodas had to desist quickly as Trychon charged. Rodas launched himself into the air once again, coming down ten meters away while Trychon's blade sliced off a corner of the stone chair where Rodas had been just an instant before.
The two brothers quickly flanked the old man again. "Jump around all you like, but you're unarmed. Pretty soon we'll catch you and cut you to pieces," Raezyr said. "You're no match for the Sith."
"'Sith?'" Rodas asked mockingly. "You call yourselves, 'Sith?'" He let out a long laugh. "I'm the only Sith here... a true Sith. Not like the rest of the peons on this planet with watered down blood. I am the last remaining descendant of the real Sith in the entire quadrant. Whatever dirty moo'blah weaklings thought to 'teach' you and tell you that you could call yourselves Sith were as deluded as you are. Even more deluded than my forefathers who thought to settle some slave planet and mix blood with them."
The red-skinned Sith vaulted over Trychon and his overhead strike, and with a Force shove, created plenty of room for himself. "But no matter... You'll soon join my mislead relatives in the red sands of the desert, or as fodder for my pets. I have not decided." Which he followed by more cackling as he launched continued lightning strikes at the columns the brothers used for cover.
In union, they stepped out into the streams of electricity, with their weapons the only barrier between them and the wrath of the self-proclaimed 'True Sith'. With both of them trying to advance, there was a slight drop in the physical exertion the attack put on them, so they were able to hold their ground. They were still unable to advance more than small portions of a step at a time.
Then Rodas began to spread the Force tendrils out from their main targets. It wasn't clear to Raezyr what he was doing at first, as it was only weakening his attack. He realized too late what was happening.
As the lightning spread out beyond the grasp of their blades, it began ricocheting off the stone floors and columns next to the two Sith. Within seconds, they were being bombarded by superheated shrapnel from multiple directions.
It wasn't so much Force abilities or heightened reflexes that drove them behind cover as it was natural reaction.
It also wasn't enough. The lightning strikes continued, and the hailfire was relentless. Time slowed for the brothers as they silently communicated and formulated a rough plan. They acted in mere seconds, though it felt like minutes.
Raezyr jumped forward from his momentary cover, over what burning rocks he could, and cutting the distance between himself and the source of their onslaught. He imposed his blades into the stream of Force energy and rooted himself in the Force.
Trychon sprinted behind him and into the small window of safety his brother was temporarily affording him. Closing his eyes, he extended his arms. He did not have to dig deep to draw on the Dark Side, grabbing hold of the miniature missiles and redirecting them at Vathka Rodas.
The elderly alien folded over slightly, but made no scream of pain as he was pelted with the burning shards. He flipped backwards and away quickly, but the red borders surrounding the smoldering holes in his robe confirmed that he was not unscathed.
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