Trychon guided the ship through the canyon until he had covered
enough distance that he'd be hard for the Jedi to pick up with
instruments alone. He knew his brother would keep the Jedi from
following him, but all the better that they don't know exactly where he
headed. If they were able to send reinforcements at him, it would slow
him down and keep him from getting back and maybe getting a shot at
taking out a Jedi himself.
He had a way to go to get to
the backup facility now, but as he lifted the Jet Razor out of the
giant crevasse and into the blowing winds and snow of Hoth, his sensors
showed there was no ships even close enough to notice him, let alone
give chase. He increased the power to his repulsor drives in case the
low visibility tricked him, then he put the remaining power to his main
drives. He wanted to be able to help out his brother as soon as he
could.
Must go faster, must go faster...
--------------------
The
Sith vaulted to the top of the Nal's fighter as she pulled herself from
her restraints. She was barely able to jump out and flip over the
engines and away from his sizzling blade before he landed.
There
was a soft crunch of the snow covered ice as she landed, but it wasn't
audible over the howling of the storm, even for her. She was not
equipped for the climate of this hellish planet, let alone a storm. She
centered herself briefly as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt
and pulled the Force around her to guide her as well as keep her warm.
The
Sith was on her again within seconds, but she was prepared. She
ignited her weapon and parried his first attempt easily. He was either
being lazy and sloppy, or he was testing her. She decided it was likely
the latter, and remained on her guard as she swept aside his next few
swings before he pulled his blade back into a guard and smiled at her.
She
had to yell to be heard over the wind and ice whipping around them.
"You need to give in! You can not win dis fight and escape. Let go of
da hate before it destroys you!"
A voice echoed in her head, somehow forced past her defenses. I don't think so.
Then the Sith lit a second blade and began his attack again, with twice the speed he'd displayed earlier.
Nal
let the Force guide her arms and her body as she began retreating with
every blow from her opponents blades. Though she could not see it, she
could feel the evil grin on his face begin to grow. He was still
holding back.
---------------------
Trychon
pulled the throttle the rest of the way back to set the ship to hover.
As he calibrated his sensors to give him a clear look at where the
covered entrance should be, he could feel the ship drifting to the
side. Swearing to himself, he made a minor adjustment before zeroing in
on his target and letting loose several blasts from the forward
cannons.
The smoke blew away quickly, revealing what remained of a duraplast grate.
After
setting the ship down nearby, he gathered the charges he needed to
plant, and prepared himself for the nasty weather outside. That was the
one thing he'd miss the least about this place.
He
grabbed a heavy jacket and slung it on, pulling up the hood before he
finally punched the control to lower the loading ramp. Despite his extra
clothing and insulating himself with the Force, the cold still hit him
like a wave, sucking the breath from his lungs and freezing his
nostrils. He leaped from the bottom of the ramp anyway, landing knee
deep in the snow and trudging toward the entrance.
It was cold inside, but not nearly as cold as it was outside. The
cave-turned-bunker was heated, but only just enough to keep the
equipment inside from freezing up. Still, it seemed worlds warmer.
It took only a minute to place each of the charges in strategic
locations to ensure total destruction of the bunker and the redundant
data stored within. Trychon paused for just a moment in the entrance
that was already filling up with the snow being driven by the howling
winds, steeling himself against the extreme cold he'd have to endure on
the short trip back to the Jet Razor.
Suddenly he felt the presence of another life form. It wasn't
sentient, but his sense of impeding danger caused him to draw his double
bladed lightsaber anyway.
It was a good thing he did. He barely had time to get it ignited
when the white-fur covered arm tipped in sharp black claws seemed to materialize
out of the blizzard driven veil of snow.
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