Click here for lightsabers
  • Home
  • Help
  • Login
  • Register
Pages: 1 ... 9 10 [11] 12 13 ... 18   Go Down
Author Topic: Schisms: The Vhal'Dan Civil War  (Read 77425 times)
Karmack
Forumverse Loremaster
Master of Ceremonies
SaberForum.Com Moderator
Knight Commander
************

Force Alignment: 1152
Posts: 5602


Light side points please.


« Reply #150 on: October 15, 2018, 03:59:48 PM »

So..     Valens is in fact playing his own game after all.  Somehow I don't think the survival or health of the Vhal'Dan is on his mind...

Keep going, my friend!  The tides of war ebb and flow.  I loved the description of the tanker, about to fire...  and then a brief awareness of damage, the death of his comrades and his own impending death...  Perfect.

My only quibble might be that the pacing is a bit slow, but there's a lot to tell and it might just be my own attention span is to short.  LOL 

Looking forward to more!

Logged

signature picture by DarthScrub

Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

Lord_S_Gray
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 428
Posts: 1903



« Reply #151 on: October 15, 2018, 09:36:58 PM »

So..     Valens is in fact playing his own game after all.  Somehow I don't think the survival or health of the Vhal'Dan is on his mind...

My only quibble might be that the pacing is a bit slow, but there's a lot to tell and it might just be my own attention span is to short.  LOL 

Surprise the xenophobic psychopath who’s own kinswoman Ari warned you not to do a deal with can’t be trusted…or rather can be trusted to do what is asked, but nothing more nor less and it won’t stop them pursuing their own agenda along side…. Poor Kazic he has moments he can almost see what is going on but just can’t quite get over that threshold.


Personally I like the more drawn out narrative of the war, sometimes large engagements only get a chapter or two, this way you really have to trudge through it much like the characters.  But yeah I can see both sides.

Anyway that is how Force users should fight –walk up to conventional military and just smash them telekinetically – how much easier would the clone wars have been if the Jedi fought like that- get a dozen knights together and unleash a torrent of lighting on the droid armies – problem solved, or against sentient just twist their minds to fire on their own or at the least cause utter confusion.  Some Jedi did this but not nearly enough or the war would’ve been over in weeks.

And still more details on the different people that make up the Vhal Dan, Niyo and Kio in some kind of poly-group which seems different culturally from Inyak in the prior chapter, makes sense though Galtea is home to lots of beings….Was home to lots of beings….

There was also something in Ansons response…”Anson was used to being one of the most powerful Force-users; in fact, he was—had been—second only to Arkady Cyne”  Is that…Jealousy/envy, that his enemies are doing what he cannot to turn the tide in mere days when he has failed despite his numerical superiority for months?   And where is the traitor Ryshhk K’rrmerii…..and the artefacts he absconded with….

PS cool new profile pic embroidered Vhal Dan insignia! AWSM!
Logged

Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Taegin Roan
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 2066
Posts: 6245


Lord of the Force


« Reply #152 on: October 15, 2018, 10:13:41 PM »

Another great chapter. I agree with both LSG and Karm about the length. I like the more drawn out like LSG said (and for the same reasons), but this particular chapter almost seemed to drag. Still very very good. I liked the part with Niyo and Kio a lot. That was a great scene.
Logged

"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

TheDutchman
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 1106
Posts: 4131


Avatar courtesy of For Tyeth


« Reply #153 on: October 16, 2018, 06:46:33 PM »

Thanks for the feedback guys  Smiley

I also prefer showing different facets of the war, specifically the disparate views of the different people within the two factions.  These people who belong to the Vhal'Dan Order (and, in this time, the Galtean Union) are from MANY backgrounds, beliefs, etc.  Sure, the war is about two differing ideologies but the people who fight it are so much more than that.  And the last thing I want is to have them come off as cardboard, straw-stand-ins  Wink


PS cool new profile pic embroidered Vhal Dan insignia! AWSM!

Thanks LSG!  This is an example of the Vhal'Dan Order's device on their ceremonial tunics.  The badge has different colors according to rank/sect:

teidowan: yellow
gray knight: gray (duh  Wink)
koawan, silver knight, maenowan (undeclared/no sect): black
maenowan (fire warrior): red
maenowan (water warrior): blue
maenowan (ice sage): white
maenowan (wind sage): green
gray jedi master: purple
Speaker: copper
Arbiter: silver
Kage: gold

As soon as I have my wife's costume taken care of, I'll post pics of her Vhal'Dan badge as well  Wink

I'll be posting some pics with the full ensemble soon   Smiley
Logged

Sig courtesy of DarthScrub

Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Lord_S_Gray
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 428
Posts: 1903



« Reply #154 on: October 16, 2018, 09:58:22 PM »

Thanks for the feedback guys  Smiley

I also prefer showing different facets of the war, specifically the disparate views of the different people within the two factions.  These people who belong to the Vhal'Dan Order (and, in this time, the Galtean Union) are from MANY backgrounds, beliefs, etc.  Sure, the war is about two differing ideologies but the people who fight it are so much more than that.  And the last thing I want is to have them come off as cardboard, straw-stand-ins  Wink

They certainly do feel different, like a untied nations multicultural force rather than homogeneous army...which is a strange contrast to the enemy they now face....

Anyway look forward to the pics! If i could afford enough Vantablack (according to wikipedia...Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is the darkest substance known, absorbing up to 99.965% of radiation in the visible spectrum.) maybe I could make some Aethan Armour....
Logged

Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Karmack
Forumverse Loremaster
Master of Ceremonies
SaberForum.Com Moderator
Knight Commander
************

Force Alignment: 1152
Posts: 5602


Light side points please.


« Reply #155 on: October 16, 2018, 10:11:49 PM »

They certainly do feel different, like a untied nations multicultural force rather than homogeneous army...which is a strange contrast to the enemy they now face....

Anyway look forward to the pics! If i could afford enough Vantablack (according to wikipedia...Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is the darkest substance known, absorbing up to 99.965% of radiation in the visible spectrum.) maybe I could make some Aethan Armour....

LOL

Um....   I'd settle for some nice flat-black Krylon paint.  :-)
Logged

signature picture by DarthScrub

Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

Taegin Roan
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 2066
Posts: 6245


Lord of the Force


« Reply #156 on: October 16, 2018, 10:43:57 PM »

They certainly do feel different, like a untied nations multicultural force rather than homogeneous army...which is a strange contrast to the enemy they now face....

Anyway look forward to the pics! If i could afford enough Vantablack (according to wikipedia...Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is the darkest substance known, absorbing up to 99.965% of radiation in the visible spectrum.) maybe I could make some Aethan Armour....

That would be awesome. Maybe sometime when you are rich and famous. Cheesy

teidowan: yellow
gray knight: gray (duh  Wink)
koawan, silver knight, maenowan (undeclared/no sect): black
maenowan (fire warrior): red
maenowan (water warrior): blue
maenowan (ice sage): white
maenowan (wind sage): green
gray jedi master: purple
Speaker: copper
Arbiter: silver
Kage: gold

As soon as I have my wife's costume taken care of, I'll post pics of her Vhal'Dan badge as well  Wink

I'll be posting some pics with the full ensemble soon   Smiley

Looking forward to the pics. Grin
Logged

"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

Golden Fedora
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 564
Posts: 1565


The Grey Prophet


« Reply #157 on: October 16, 2018, 11:39:58 PM »

Anyway look forward to the pics! If i could afford enough Vantablack (according to wikipedia...Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is the darkest substance known, absorbing up to 99.965% of radiation in the visible spectrum.) maybe I could make some Aethan Armour....

I'm not sure that would work, but if you did, it would be awesome!
Logged

"Easy is the path to wisdom for those only not blinded by themselves."

-Broadside

TheDutchman
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 1106
Posts: 4131


Avatar courtesy of For Tyeth


« Reply #158 on: January 26, 2019, 08:39:43 PM »

OK, two things: 1) I'm continuing to improve  Smiley BUT more importantly 2) SPECIAL thanks to LSG for his EXCELLENT writing!  This chapter is more his than mine and is certainly amongst my favorites!
***********************************

Chapter 22: Tempus Belli, part I

The Speakers stood around the holoprojector, each in various states of confusion, frustration, and anger, their Kage epitomizing all of those emotions.  From the onset, the disparate opinions of the Speakers were one voice, positing that the war that they’d been waging was no longer the war they found themselves currently fighting.

“Analyses all concur: we are no longer facing the strategy of the false Kage.”  Pytir’s wet voice betrayed his shock and not all of it was as a result of the violence he’d personally witnessed when his tank contingent came up against one of…them.   “I…I now realize that we need to completely overhaul all of our previous strategic and tactical assumptions as it was all previously based on Kazic’s, Saani’s, or even Corvus’ previously known tactics—”

J’Nessah’s voice suddenly cut in, uncharacteristically perturbed.  “I’ve reports from the enemy camp verifying that Kazic was talking with one of the shadows.”  Not knowing what else to call the armored apparitions, the Speakers had adopted what the few survivors had called them in whispers of dread: shadows.  The dark human Speaker’s eyes hardened.  “I believe that it is in fact Kazic who is taking instruction from the shadow, not the other way around.  And with the Anzat no longer marshalling his forces, that would account for the radical change in enemy tactics, of which…”  J’Nessah’s voice trailed off, her eyes unfocused as memories of the violent massacre of her own troops replayed in her mind.  Never in her life had she seen so much carnage and she’d seen what a crazed Wookie could do to a body…  

“They are…idiosyncratic, seemingly counter intuitive, yet brutally efficient…” Laq’Uil Parsa, one of Anson’s replacement Speakers said, her normally detached monotone tinged with amazement…and apprehension.  Her solid yellow Siniteen eyes looked glassy as the veins in her bulbous seemed to pulse.  “As it stands, we are attempting to develop a working model of their new general’s plans and tactics.”

“…Of which, you still have been able to discern nothing.”  Although he spoke softly, Anson masticated the last word, the muscles in his neck bulging and corded.

“That’s correct, my Kage.”  Messer Subiah Fuqua, also newly elected as Speaker, had lost almost all of his incredulousness, having personally survived an attack by one of the shadows, if completely by accident: as the enemy shadow had advanced on the Jedi squad that Fuqua had insinuated himself in, they were initially arrogant.  Surely, the reports must have been exaggerated.  Fuqua had been committed to seeing firsthand if the rumors surrounding these “shadows” were genuine or if they’d been embellished.

Everything he’d heard was completely irrefutable.  And more…  The entire squad had been systematically decimated, the last two that Fuqua had been standing beside had erupted in a grisly cloud of blood, viscera, and offal, drenching the fat Speaker and knocking him unconscious.  Fuqua could only guess that with the amount of gore covering him that the shadow had mistaken him for dead…

“Are there no similarities in the archives we can consult…?” Ansons seethed, fists clenched.

“The only parallels we found are from the Early Draggulch Period of the New Sith wars…a forty page section on a conflict between Sith Warlords and some bizarre insurgency in the deep core…”

Anson rolled his eyes.  “1200 or more years ago in the Deep core, a useless coincidence.”  It frequently happened that commanders in different times and planets came up with similar strategies and tactics independently of each other in a process of Convergent military evolution.  Grunting he moved to the next disaster.  “What have we learned about what destroyed our fleet?”

This time Pytir answered.  “Our vessels have recovered micro fragments of an…unknown mineral of some kind mingled with the debris…unfortunately further analysis is difficult due to the small quantities and contamination of the black box data but feeds from nearby satellites indicated most ships were destroyed by some kind of kinetic weapon…our current hypothesis is that some form of projectile was hurled at tremendous speed into the ships reactors and drive cores…”  The Mon Cal fell silent again lost in violent memories.

“Their weapons and armor?”  Anson prompted.

J’Nessah responded immediately.  “We haven’t obtained any samples to study, but our long range analysis indicates it is an ultra-dense mineral of some kind…based on the physical strength required to even stand up in such an outfit…we estimate a 45% probability they are Gen’Dai.”

Anson slowly shook his head stroking his angular jaw.  …Gen’dai…that would explain the physical abilities they display…but… “Gen’Dai are not known for force sensitivity…” Anson retorted.

The dark Speaker’s lips pursed; she hated having to deal with so many unknowns.  “Apart from that they may be Anzat, they would have the strength and sensitivity…Kazic may well have called on his kinsmen.”

Once more Anson found himself irritated by their stupidity; they were grasping for explanations now and understood nothing of Anzat culture as he did.  “Anzat do not form into armies, they do no tend to come when called, and rarely work together unless in feral packs…if Kazic had such a feral pack we would’ve seen it by now…”  …A feral pack…months ago he would never have imagined Kazic using such a hideous weapon…Kazic was too decent to do such…yet now…it seemed he had allied himself with something even worse…

He desperately needed answers.  “Speakers…convey to all of our commanders to pull back to secure rallying points and consolidate.  I do not want any more of our forces to attack these shadows unless they do so en mass.”  …Not at least until I have answers…  “Arbiter, once our armies have finished regrouping, notify me at once.  I shall be in my Meditation Vestibule.”  Brushing off the questions he knew would arise, Anson left the room.

He needed answers.  And he knew how to get them.

            <<<<< >>>>>

“…Saani…”  Kazic’s voice sounded distracted but she could tell that his attention was razor-focused.  “…I think I can see Valens’ endgame.  There are several threads that still are confusing but…”  Suddenly blinking his red eyes, Kazic turned to his wife.  “Kanp’a, I need for you to do me a favor: I need ‘Eyes-on’ Intel confirming that Anson’s forces have re-activated the interplanet spaceport to Lus’Phor.  Not Vhal’Ulhadv’s, the old Galtean ‘port.”

Saani’s purple eyes stared deep into her husband’s.  “…You really think that Anson would retreat back to Lus’Phor?”  She knew that for him to pull back and give up the city would be a mistake, even now with Anson’s forces in disarray he still had the numbers.

Moving nothing but his eyes, Kazic lowered his voice.  “I do.”  If he was right…

And with alarming alacrity, he suddenly noticed the daen nosi almost undulating in the periphery of his gaze.  Had they always been there?  Or had he deliberately been ignoring them?  Castigating himself, Kazic had to fight his urges, his baser nature…  

“Of course, K’ompo.”  No one was better at stealth than Saani, her Buried Presence technique was beyond compare.  At least with the Vhal’Dan, Kazic stoically reminded himself…which reminded him…

If he was right…then he could see Valens’ true motives…a frightening and disturbing combination of military genius and childish pouting…

“Be careful, Kanp’a.  I love you.”  Kazic said, a quick smile playing below his flared nostrils.  He saw her mouth the same before she disappeared.  Turning back to the various ‘feeds, the Anzat tried not to dwell upon the daen nosi as they undulated across his vision.

            <<<<< >>>>>

Once more he sat in the Mediation Vestibule, gently wading into the stream of time, intent etched across his face.

Anson needed to see…where these Elite warriors of Kazic’s the harbingers of the Abyss of the Vhal’Dan he had seen; their armor and weapons suggested it more directly than he could’ve ever envisaged…or was there more, was there worse…

There was death on the horizon, red and scarred across the false sky of his inner eye draining to black on the faux soil he walked upon, his mind interpreting the current of the Force as visual images…and that was why he was uncertain that the interpretative function of his mind on the Force left room for...distortions, like dream connections and metaphors were fluid and unstable.  Abyss did not necessarily mean Black Armored beings.

He walked further ahead trying to pass the fury of the immediate battles, looking for the paths that would save the Vhal’dan and destroy these creatures.

<<<<< >>>>>

A sharp stabbing pain that had nothing to do with the two maenowans he was facing struck at the edge of his consciousness.  Valens rolled out of the sweeping downward strike of the sabre staff that severed the cat walk of the communications array upper levels.  Someone was pushing into the future, looking ahead…  …Anson, it has to be…Aresaea warned me he did such… Valens thought.

Rising back up he hurled a blast of energy towards the wrong foot of the second maenowan coming up behind him.  They were twin sisters of some kind or rather assigned to protect this facility, each carried a double bladed sabre of striking green that looked queer in the red glow of emergency signals.  Time foremost upon his mind, Valens inadvertently and momentarily dedicated one level of consciousness in recollection…

His infiltration had been easy at first, but after so many assassinations they were beginning to get wise to his current suite of methods—in a way this was exactly what he wanted—to test his tactics and see how competent warriors adapted…now he was getting just what he wished for…albeit a little too much at once.

As they recovered and charged from either side he was forced to retreat, leaping up and half flying to an upper-level beam around the vast cylindrical center of the communications array, a brass container for fiberoptics and transmitter cables parsing signals from the dish high above to the analysis consoles below.

The pressure was growing: Anson was moving deeper into the future…he would have to devote at least a full level of consciousness to make this work.  The twins hurled their blades in cartwheels of light…this would not be easy.

<<<<< >>>>>

Shadows lengthened as he bestrode what his mind told him were ruins…the buildings distorted yet familiar…it was ‘Any-district Vhal’Ulhadv’…figures raced along the shattered ferrocrete road…to something or from something…?  He needed specifics…he needed…

A blade like silver slashed into his mind forcing him back to his own body…he was under attack!
 
<<<<< >>>>>

He was under attack…the Twins were slicing apart the support struts to force him down; he could levitate near indefinitely if needed but that would do little good once the jump-pack troops arrived.

His first blow against Anson on the metaphysical plane had struck home but not been a knock out...this Anson was as strong as reputed.

As saber-molten chunks fell from above he directed them at the left-most twin who expertly deflect them back up creating a push and pull…and now…

Anson was back, the infinite space of the Aether filling with his presence primed to fight mentally…

Valens should retreat back from the physical battle…but to do so would undermine the reputation of invincibility he needed to build among Anson’s forces…he was already down to five levels of consciousness, one in a rest cycle…that left two for each battle…and one for emergencies…

<<<<< >>>>>

He had fought battles like this before…but only “Like.”  His mental barriers were strong, the shock of the first blast mostly worn off as he surged back into the stream of time to face the enemy.  

The temporal distortion in which the enemy was situated was what made this battle different: they were fighting across Time

The mind he encountered was vast…complex…Anson’s brain interpreted it as an obsidian clockwork monstrosity of near infinite portion, millions of tiny cogs and mechanisms in perfect synchronicity…he had to see more clearly…there was illusion there…no being was so infinite…nor overtly complex…

Anson struck out with thorns of blazing red shattering the glass of falsehood to reveal a more streamlined obelisk-like structure.  Towering, yes, but Not invincible.

A bladed counter-attack assailed him from the sides, a welling of energy in the metaphysical ‘down’ rising up to consume him…no it had already risen…!  Anson was trapped in its fold…about to be crushed…

…“about” implies linear time…we are flow walking… He realized.

He “dived” away from the attack—not Now but Before—his mind reaching back in the flow of time to avoid the encirclement.  It was like a river…there was a general flow “forward” in Time driving them both as they sloshed fighting within it…but he could still move upstream…and release weapons that flowed down upon his enemy…

<<<<< >>>>>
Logged

Sig courtesy of DarthScrub

Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

TheDutchman
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 1106
Posts: 4131


Avatar courtesy of For Tyeth


« Reply #159 on: January 26, 2019, 08:43:43 PM »


Chapter 22: Tempus Belli, part II

Taking the blade on his gantlet he twisted his wrist around with beyond human range of motion to grasp at the finger holding the hilt just below and squeeze in crushing the bones beneath the synth-leather battle gloves.

The twin screamed as Valens ducked under a decapitating blow; he kicked backward but she caught it and tried to spin him.  Underestimating his weight she failed but still dislodged him enough to force a somewhat sloppy riposte from the now one-handed sister at his left.  He came out of the lock to shoulder her toward the edge of the gantry.

Anson was learning quickly how to fight in a Flow Walking realm, he was adaptive, clever…just what Valens wanted to test himself against.  But still all-too human.  They surged down the river of time, Anson adeptly hurling boulders as hammers from upstream then surging downward to place an island for the anvil to smash Valens against…Valens pushed backwards tearing the metaphysical foundations of the island just a little so it eroded in the relentless stream of time into sand-sized shards of metaphysical energy…

As Anson tried to scoop up the sand to create a quagmire of mud Valens “blanked” the images along the river…Anson was yet to see exactly what Valens was doing—his focus was on the fight in the river of Time; Valens was on blocking his vision of the events around the fringe of the river—the ever-changing threshold where free flowing item met reality to possible eventualities, denying Anson any easy view of future events.

Once more the Sisters pushed forward…a screech erupt above as the comms dish whined, falling to the side and allowing the roof to open up and allow the jump-pack troopers in….

<<<<< >>>>>

In all his sessions of Flow Walking with Master Varel’Zo, Anson had never experienced anything like this…yet he felt he was comporting himself well…he understood the rhythm and flow of such a battle now…yet it was draining: he had to both pre-empt and post-realize his attacks and the others.

His greatest concern was how long he could last in this state…he was “far” from his body in both mental connection and “time”…he risked having a damaged—or dead—form to come back to…  In his usual ambiguous way, Varel’Zo had warned that “In the Flow, one might remain for Great Time while one’s form remains in little time.”  In other words: you could become trapped longer than you thought.

As he pushed up a barricade of energy his opponent changed tactics…accelerating the river into a rising wave to crash it down up on…. Anson tried to pull back and drain the flow to deny him much mass but it was too late, the flow struck him full on and carried him faster down the river, spinning his “eyes” in the non-reality to see all around the expanse of time, people, places shifting at the fringes…but then…

A few suddenly blacked out before he could make them out…he directed his tail spin “upstream” where there were more such blank-outs…

…the whole battle…it’s a distraction…he’s keeping me from looking at things he doesn’t want me to see…

Anson found a new level of respect for his enemy…he was ingenious and deceptive in addition to remarkably powerful…no wonder Kazic had turned the tide so rapidly.

An image at the fringe of large tower, a small vehicle upon it…a woman stepping out…was that J’nessah?...it suddenly blanked and a torrent of “sand” peppered him trying to grind him down…Anson jolted upstream to “unwind” the sand attack and tried to breach the blackened image on the river bank his enemy wished to deny him…

He felt the resistance of the blankness…a springy strange feel that molded around the bladed knife Anson tried to cut it with…instead of slicing it drew him in…

A frothing whirlpool in the river ahead meant he had to retreat…Anson had to refocus, he did not have the capacity of his enemy, did not have the expertise to breach his blocks of future events…but perhaps he could make his own…

He allowed himself to get dragged into the whirlpool, the rapid spinning disorienting as images flashed, he pulled in on himself waiting for just the right time…then sprung forth back up the stream like a gravity slingshot.

<<<<< >>>>>

Teeth gritted in irritation as Anson backed out of the trap and Valens was backed into one.

His saber worked furiously against the rain of fire from the jump-pack troopers above as the Sisters tried to stymie his motion with force barriers, one having abandoned her saber after Valens had rent it in two.

Irritated, he hurled his Blackstone sword straight at one of the sisters, she avoided being skewered but took a gash to the side only partially compensated by her armour.  His second hand now free he hauled a bolt of magnetized Aetheric lighting not at the jump-pack troops but rather the high dome of the comms array.

The pure energy exploded across the curved durasteel sky, looking to enliven every inch of conductive metal, arcs began to strike the jump-packs and blasters, seeking the charge within.  Power cells burst apart and gyroscopic stabilizers went haywire sending them into spins, freeing Valens to leap from his perch on the Comms core tower back at the sisters, lighting-charged fist first.

Anson was slowing his escape just as Valens pursued backward to the “nearer” future Valens’ tidal wave of accelerated time had been designed to draw him from seeing.  

<<<<< >>>>>

There…now he saw…here there was more clarity on the liminal of time and space…more likely and hence more ‘soon’ events…many were blanked to him…but perhaps the trick was not attacking the blank…but moving around it…

He sent probing thoughts around the edges were the emptiness phased into other pictures…

Places…faces…movements of me n and materiel’s just before or just after the events his enemy wished to hide…

…I can use this…use his own game against him…!
 
Anson focused on the movement of forces just before a blank…the retreat just after another…and “scratched” it out.

The resultant effect on the future possibilities was not anywhere near as neat as his enemy had managed…instead of outright blank Anson’s attack left tattered and twisted rags of possibilities…but that was fine he was denying his opponent the clarity he had previously enjoyed.

He managed to do this another four times before his enemy caught up with him, clearly something else had diverted his attention allowing Anson to create precious breaches.  

Brutal and blunt, a hammering Force Thorn struck toward him.  Anson “smiled” he had obviously annoyed his opponent, his mental shield took the brunt easily…but…

Thin needles wound around him, seeking the “back” of his mind if such a thing would be said to have dimensional positioning.

The first struck painfully…Anson couldn’t match the raw power any more…he had to retreat back…slithering into a more “liquid” form, he sought to dissolve out of the Flow Walk…

His enemy seemed to have no compunction about letting him go, a stalemate of sort forced them both backwards, the river of Time churning onward soon forgetting the interlopers presence…

<<<<< >>>>>

The punch was brutal enough shattering the breast plate, but it was the arcing of Aethric lighting that entered the newly formed gaps that incinerated the flesh below was what killed her.

The backwash rfom Anson’s retreat…and in all honesty his own…washed around his head…they had both done damage, as to who got the better or worst of it…that remained to be seen.

Her sister raged fiercely…Valens could empathize: if anyone had struck Jarys so…she clawed ferociously with a combat dagger into his shoulder as he spun round to meet her.  Together they had been a true challenge, alone the last sister was hopelessly outmatched, she was so used to having her sibling there to cover her weaknesses and exploit the opportunities she created it was over in mere seconds: her blows were stern, her resistance admirable, she got a knee into his chest and a final elbow to his shoulder join…even managed to summon up her sister’s fallen sabre and cut a divot into his thigh plate.  

A rapid and efficient hook-jab-jab combination rendered her head a broken mess of metal and bone oozing blood.

The whole sequence of battles had taken 4 minutes….but the intensity was more than he had anticipated…he could hear the relief forces arrive on the main floor below…he hadn’t the capacity to deal with their whole number…instead he lifted the bodies and tossed them off the catwalk swiping the sabers for their crystals later, then in rapid Aether-enhanced leaps exited the way the jump-troops had entered.

<<<<< >>>>>

“GGGhhhAAaahhh…” Anson struggled for breath as he flopped drenched in the river’s water…

No, not the river of time—that had no water—this was his own sweat.

He was somehow in the corner of the vestibule splayed out oddly, there were a number of small cuts on his hands and feet, blood marks on the wall…his body must’ve “Attacked” the room as his mind was fighting.

Slowly he regained a steady rhythm of breathing and focus enough to reflect on what had happened.  Kazic’s new “allies” were skilled manipulators of Time—and the Force—but not completely overwhelming…there were gaps.

And he had just created a number…

The images of the future he had distorted were clear in his mind…he had created opportunities, found the moments where he could alter things to gain an edge…

Now to exploit them.
Logged

Sig courtesy of DarthScrub

Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Lord_S_Gray
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 428
Posts: 1903



« Reply #160 on: January 27, 2019, 10:44:06 AM »

Thanks to Dutch for trusting me with his characters!  Anson’s flowing walking has been crucial to all his decisions leading up to the civil war…and of course he seeks answers to this problems there as well…but it is fraught, imprecise…and now…haunted by others with far greater ability and far less concern for collateral damage. 

Having said that arguably Anson got the better of the battle for the experience and additional knowledge of his enemy’s methods. Love the psychedelic pics too - hard to imagine just what that kind of experience would be like.

Anyway Anson is a great character, determined, intelligent, and capable as shown here, he adapts fast – few other Jedi would’ve escaped that situation alive – but few other Jedi would be using flow walking as Anson does and for the reasons he has in the first place....- glad I could do justice in Dutch eyes with him!
Logged

Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Karmack
Forumverse Loremaster
Master of Ceremonies
SaberForum.Com Moderator
Knight Commander
************

Force Alignment: 1152
Posts: 5602


Light side points please.


« Reply #161 on: January 31, 2019, 08:23:30 PM »

Nicely written guys!    I have so many RL things going on right now that I can't really process this, but I will echo LSG: Anson is a great character!   As is Kazic, but the flow-walking was amazing!   I don't think I would have had the guts to put Karm into combat in that environment!  Very cool indeed!

And what exactly did Anson see?  And how decisive was it really?   The problem with seeing the future is that if your opponent knows you saw it ... and changes his own tactics...   

*cracks knuckles*   Bring it on!  :-)
Logged

signature picture by DarthScrub

Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

Taegin Roan
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 2066
Posts: 6245


Lord of the Force


« Reply #162 on: February 08, 2019, 03:49:17 AM »

Just finished reading these, and I've gotta say, that was amazing. I think the only other thing I've seen with such great writing and design for how things work in that type of situation would be in Young Justice, the various times they actually go into peoples heads and either piece together the past or rebuild a psyche. Absolutely amazingly done guys, looking forward to what you've got in store for us next.
Logged

"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

TheDutchman
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 1106
Posts: 4131


Avatar courtesy of For Tyeth


« Reply #163 on: February 15, 2019, 08:00:15 PM »

Again, special thanks to LSG for large contributions to this chapter  Smiley
*******************************************************

Chapter 23: Cause and Effect, part I

The old Galtean spaceport wasn’t exactly dilapidated although it was clearly in disrepair: a thick coating of dust, dirt, and grime was ever-present and even some of the machinery had seized up.  Still, the Galtean engineers had made it to last: even despite those problems, Anson’s forces had been able to get the majority of the spaceport operational in record time.  The first transports had been prepped to make the Galtea-to-Lus’phor transit, the latest already rising through the lower troposphere, backlit by the flowing green auroras.

And while the spaceport was a hive of activity, no one took notice as it was located in the Underworks of Vhal’Ulhadv.  Or rather, that had been Anson’s hope.  Even as Jedi patrols scrutinized every nook, cranny, and shadow around the spaceport, they failed to notice one particular shadow amongst the darkness, the figure not even disturbing the dust.  And as the latest patrol disappeared down the industrial hall, pipes obscured by clouds of vapor, their voices were soon drown out by the droning hum of reactivated machinery.  As the figures retreated, shaded purple eyes witnessed their departure with deliberate intent.  Silently, a lithe form entirely in black materialized among the pipes, speedily making its way deeper into the spaceport.

Landing silently atop one of the freight elevators, Saani began to scale the cable leading to the Control Room.  She’d seen enough to know that Kazic would need further intel as to how many of Anson’s forces were heading to Lus’phor.  She knew that Valens had been pushing them, pushing them hard…but the “why” still eluded her.  And all Kazic had been willing to share was that it had “something to do with Ari.”  Almost unconsciously, Saani clasped the small, hard black orb she wore around her neck closer to her breast, momentary thoughts of her daughter drawing a small smile upon her lips.  But all too fleeting; while Kazic’s words hadn’t exactly put her off, something in his tone had.  Of course, that could be as a result of numerous things, many of which still sat uneasily in the back of her head.

She’d seen some of the tactics that Valens had used.  Saani was practical enough to know that terrible things happened in war.  That didn’t mean that she had to like it though.  Through the ‘feeds, she’d seen Valens’ strategies to terrorize and their results: brutal traps that, when sprung, became a melee free-for-all that often times devolved into the enemy attacking their own Jedi.  Or feints that seemingly served no purpose only to lead entire battalions to nonsense locations, causing them to retreat…right into a killbox where Kazic’s forces had every centimeter pre-sighted.  But that wasn’t the worst.

At one point, Anson’s forces broke when the severed heads and limbs of their comrades were catapulted back at them.  Many fled in horror and disgust while many attacked immediately, all rational thought gone.  She was still surprised at the vivid reminder of just how much blood could come from a single body…

Mentally shaking her head, Saani focused upon the mission at hand.  Reaching the top of the shaft, Saani sent her Force-senses outward past the closed doors.  Again, there were the regular patrols consisting of four Vhal’Dan Jedi but she doubted that any posed a threat to her.  Timing it just perfectly, she exited the lift shaft, quietly closing the doors as she silently made her way down the hallway leading to the Control Room, using the exposed ductwork to help further obfuscate her presence.  Having already felt the three beings within, she prepared herself.  Strike hard, strike fast.  Even among the Jedi Shadows, Saani was a legend.  And amongst the Vhal’Dan, she was the best Blademaster within the Order.

Subtly flooding the Control Room with Force Suppression, Saani still maintained her Buried Presence in the Force as she attacked.  This time, she had the luxury of mercy: within seconds all three of Anson’s Jedi were soon unconscious.  Keeping her senses open and flowing outward, Saani approached the computer bank and perused the datanode as she accessed the database.  

…Excellent…this is precisely what Kazic needs… She thought as she scanned over the information.  However he’d come to his conclusions, Kazic had been right: all of Anson’s forces were transferring to Lus’phor.  Out of the corner of her eye, Saani noticed that one of the datafiles stubbornly refused to open.  Determinedly, she began to write an exploit that would allow her to access the file.  Finishing quickly, she distractedly keyed the “Enable” option.

She stiffened as an industrial needle slid into her back, injecting a potent compound into her spinal nerve.  And while the effects were almost immediate, she called her lightsaber to her hand…only to have it fall to the floor through numb fingers.

The final thought that went through her head was just how anyone could have known that she was coming…

               <<<<< >>>>>

Kazic was almost certain now: Valens was driving Anson to Lus’phor.  It made sense: without a foothold in Vhal’Ulhadv, Anson would be at a grave disadvantage given the planet’s lack of industrial complex, at least compared to Galtea’s.  Yes, the crystal processing manufactories were spread throughout the small planet but the small mined shafts mitigated Anson’s dwindling numerical superiority.

Grimly, Kazic couldn’t fault Anson’s choice to retreat to Lus’phor.  Given everything that had befallen his armies, Anson was probably counting on the same fact that the tunnels would help negate Valens’ strategies of misdirection, trap, and terrorization.  

And against any other opponent, Anson would be right.  But, as Kazic had finally concluded, Anson was being baited, lead to Lus’phor for a reason.  And—again as Kazic had finally deduced—the Anzat Kage finally knew the “why.”  Not for any strategy (although Valens had shown plenty of that, their numerous victories testament to such), but rather for a…baser reason.

He could see Valens and his kind now…truly see them…

Valens was going to punish Anson.

They were animals, so controlled by their instincts they were almost beneath the threshold of true sentience.  Oh they appeared sentient outwardly, but so could many an animal if you anthropomorphized their behaviors, attributed conscious agency where there was in reality only primal reaction to stimuli.  

Kazic understood now, Anson trying to arrest Ari had never been forgotten by Valens; Anson had threatened one of the females under Valens’ protection, he had to be punished.  It was not optional, it was a subconscious need that Ari’s people were incapable of suppressing with higher cortical functions.  The higher functions they did possess in abundance were always in service of such base motives, they were not neurologically able to override them as other sentients might.

That Valens had shown restraint before was simply because a united Vhal’Dan was a “pack” too large for him to risk antagonizing…a primordial fear response overriding the vengeance need.

Even so, sooner or later he would’ve returned to punish everyone who threatened or offended Ari the innocent cub.  A knife in the black of night then parading Anson’s head as a warning—and death effigy—to all others who would dare contemplate even the slightest insult to another of Valens’ pride.

But Kazic had provided Valens with far greater opportunity: to punish Anson by depriving him of what he held most dear, namely the safety and unity of the Vhal’Dan.  Kazic had been so caught up in the war, so twisted by his grief for the split with the man he once called brother he had ignored the most logical and efficient way to end the war.  Anson was well guarded and a very capable warrior, but against a surprise strike by Valens, Jarys and Kiraea together…even Anson could not win that fight—indeed, the whole Collegium would barely survive—the Civil War could’ve ended in a matter of hours instead of decimating the Vhal’Dan over these last weeks if they chose.  

Kazic pinched the bridge of his nose, eyelids firmly closed.  If he had chosen…had really taken the time to think.  Instead now…?  The ramifications of what he’d unleashed ran through his head, an indictment of his own failings.

They were proving their dominance on a galactic scale, Valens’ thinking primal but even more dangerous for it.  They had beaten down the Jedi on Coruscant, with Odjina gone and Vyth destroyed the Mak’Tor had hidden away, now Valens was smashing the Vhal’Dan, the only faction currently large and knowledgeable enough to threaten his Pride, honing their weapons and tactics…ensuring they came out the untouchable apex predator in the known galaxy.  It was as shocking as it was simplistic…and to Kazic’s everlasting shame he had not seen it sooner.

There was a similarity he now saw to the Anzat who turned feral after tasting the soup, for a time all their cognitive and physical grace was dedicated to getting more and more, and for centuries they could succeed as cautious hunters…but in the end the hunger was too great and in their impatience they became haggard, desperate to feed.  Kazic’s own biology was a constant threat to his morality and sentience, and he had struggled at times, Maker knew how he’d labored under such strictures!  But Valens and his kind did not struggle; if Ari had suppressed her innate drives while she lived with them on Galtea it was because of her obedience to Saani as the materfamilias, an instinct that overrode the others.  

And that was why he could not condemn them as weak or deficient for “giving in” to such impulses.  He had felt such ravenous hungers in himself too many times, they did only what was natural.  The difference with Anzat were they were incapable—in Kazic’s opinion—of anything greater.

Kazic had been played for an utter fool, not by Valens who was merely an opportunistic predator—outside of any moral condemnation of his actions—but by himself.  He had lost sight of so much in his efforts to win the war, to prove to those like Kasah that he was right, to show Anson…his followers…the galaxy…that his was the best way…  Unconsciously, his flared nostrils exhaled, the crushing realization that for all his excuses…he was wrong.

He had done this, he had set the animals loose from their cage, dazzled by their prowess, he was willfully blind to their horrifically childish, amoral behaviors…and he had set them loose on those he once called brother and friend.

The only thing worse than what he had done already…was to allow it to continue for another minute.  Squaring his shoulders, Kazic simultaneously felt better and worse: he knew what he needed to do.  He’d been wrong about so many things—maybe not in opposing Anson’s totalitarianism, but certainly in the way that he’d reacted without compromise—and that was where he should’ve steered the Vhal’Dan.  Even though his gray face was impassive, Kazic’s eyes watered.  That was where he should’ve directed his energies: to conciliate with his brother Anson, instead of being intractable.

Instead of…this.

Slowly inhaling, Kazic felt and heard Corvus enter the Command Room before he saw him.  The Devaronian Speaker looked worse for the wear, proof of his presence at the front line.  Saluting casually, Corvus face looked grim.  “Kage…Anson’s forces ‘r on th’ run.  They’ve all pulled b’ck.”

Kazic nodded.  “I know.  Moreover, I know where they’re headed.”  His deep voice was quiet, deliberate.  “Corvus…I…I have to fix this…mess…all of it…”

Corvus laid a red hand upon the taller Anzat’s shoulder.  “Kage…Kazic…I dinna ken what y’r sayin.  Are y’ OK?”  The two men paused in the dark corridor, Corvus intent on his Kage’s face.

Kazic sighed, crossing his arms.  “Sorry my friend.  I’ve…just been thinking.  I need—”

The only warning that Kazic had was seeing Corvus’ eyes widen, the Devaronian Speaker violently pulling the Anzat to the side with enough force that the floor came rushing up the meet him.  At the last moment, Kazic tried to tuck and roll himself into a defensive posture, his blue lightsaber at the ready.  Unfortunately, even in doing that, he’d struck his head a glancing blow on the floor, disorienting him.  He had to focus!

Not two meters from him, Corvus lay prostrate upon the ground, unmoving.  Above him stood a shadow all in black.  …No… Kazic thought …Not “a shadow” but a Jedi Shadow… Even as surprising as Corvus’ throw had been, the realization of what the presence of the Shadow entailed hit Kazic like a physical blow.

…Assassin… Kazic realized.  Even now the Anzat had a hard time accepting that Anson would have sent one.  …Focus, dammit…!  Even looking upon the figure, he had a difficult time seeing the Shadow.  …Must be a Buried Presence technique… But even as the thought occurred to Kazic, the Shadow moved.

Igniting a shoto, the teal light of the blade cast shadows across the figure’s body, legs, and arms.  Kazic finally saw that within the Shadow’s other hand was a wicked-looking vibroblade which, even now he saw, dripped with liquid which covered the blade.  Only moving his eyes, Kazic could see the spreading pool of blood coming from beneath Corvus.  If the Davronian hadn’t reacted as quickly as he had…

The Shadow’s sudden, ferocious attack interrupted Kazic’s ruminations, his own blue blade working furiously as he attempted to keep the assassin’s blades at bay.  He worked his lightsaber in an attempt to create an opening; he had to end this quickly.  Along with his head injury, the Shadow was a better swordsman than he.  Even as he parried, a stray thought went through his mind.

…Where is everyone…?  There were no Sentinels, no technicians, no civilians even.  No one.  Had Kazic been so preoccupied with deducing Valens’ plans that he’d become so oblivious?  As he retreated further down the corridor under the Shadow’s onslaught, he got his answer.  

Tripping over an arm that had been hidden in the shadows, Kazic landed hard upon his back, knocking the breath from him.  From the corner of his vision, he saw a…collection of bodies that had been surreptitiously deposited in one of the innocuous nooks in the hallway…almost as if it had been done deliberately…

Before he could act, something hard clobbered Kazic across his temple, further disorienting him.  The sudden pressure of cables wrapped around his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the floor, kept him somewhat lucid.  …How…?  But even more importantly, Kazic fought to clear his vision as well as his head, knowing whatever he did was ultimately futile.

Slowly walking towards him, the Shadow closed down his shoto, deliberately hefting the vibroblade.  Even as he fought to use the Force for something—anything—Kazic was still too stunned by the repeated blows to his head.  Fighting off waves of nausea, Kazic focused on the Shadow as best he could.

Standing above the Anzat, the Shadow finally spoke.  “Anson sends his regards.”  

The Shadow leaned in, the blade centimeters from Kazic’s heart…

               <<<<< >>>>>
Logged

Sig courtesy of DarthScrub

Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

TheDutchman
Knight Commander
*

Force Alignment: 1106
Posts: 4131


Avatar courtesy of For Tyeth


« Reply #164 on: February 15, 2019, 08:01:22 PM »

Chapter 23: Cause and Effect, part II

Saani regained consciousness with violent, crystal clarity courtesy of the hard slap she received across her face.  In the space of a millisecond, she noticed she was seated in an affixed chair, her hands secured behind her.  

“Wake up, tralk.” It took a moment for Saani to recognize Pytir’s wet voice.  Using only her eyes, she scanned the room.  There were a couple of guards to either side of the lone door in an otherwise unremarkable room.  And someone else behind her…

“Have you searched her yet, Pytir?”  It was J’Nessah’s voice that came from behind her.  She should have known.

“Of course you’d be here, Raanh.  You would never let Pytir waddle out of his pool unattended.”  If Saani’s rebuke had had any effect, neither of the enemy Speakers showed it.  Instead, the Mon Cal stood to the side, absently hefting one of Saani’s lightsaber hilts, content to let his wife do…whatever it was that she wanted.  …How did they know…?

As if reading her thoughts, Saani heard J’Nessah laugh.  “Anson knew you’d be slinking around.  But don’t worry: the Kage made certain to deal with your traitor husband as well.”  Her voice dripped arrogance.

“And what is this...?” J’Nessah grasped around from behind to grab the necklace circling Saani’s neck, tearing the handwoven cord Ari had made painfully against her skin.  

Saani couldn’t repress a slight smile: despite her strength J’Nessah couldn’t snap the cord Ari had woven from naturally growing long reeds found at the mouth of the Koly’Mma River during a summer trip.

J’Nessah, embarrassed, took out a small ornate knife and cut it instead, weighing the Orb in her hand.

“The same material as their Elite soldiers’ Armor…” Pytir noted.

“So it seems…” J’Nessah gently probed it with the Force…

Almost immediately she felt her mind drawn in, her mouth stretching wide as her head leaned forward as if being sucked into the tiny but exceptionally heavy marble…as it tugged at her Force presence she dropped it as fast as she could.

Pytir rushed beside her but she brushed him away as Saani laughed out loud.  Saani might not fully understand the communication device but she was certain anyone other than her and Kazic trying to use it would activate some kind of alert.  J’nessah quickly realized the same.

“Switch those damn suppressors on NOW!” she screamed still cradling her head before rounding on Saani.  Another meaty slap resounded across the interrogation room stifling Saani’s laughter and darkening her blue skin instantly with the sting of what would no doubt be the first of many such blows.

“Is his how you talk to them? How you control them…” J’nessah seethed.  Saani said nothing, her purple eyes burrowing into the dark Speaker’s brown.  “No matter,” J’Nessah intoned.  “Our own technicians will soon find a way to weaponize it against your fiendish creatures…”

…They won’t live that long… Saani’s eyes lit maliciously – the Force Suppressors may be on now, but that brief moment would be more than enough she suspected for Ari or the others to realize she was in danger.  And where she was.  Taking a moment to really focus upon her surroundings, Saani could feel the subtle differences in atmosphere, in gravity…

…By the Maker…I’m on Lus’phor…!  Her face showed nothing of her shock.  But she felt panic rising: if Saani was afraid it was less for herself than for her husband and daughter…when they found out she had been captured…what would they do to save her?

Before she left the room, J’Nessah gave Saani a backwards glance while speaking to the two guards.  “The Kage wants her alive…but you can be…inventive in your questioning.  See to it.”

But even as the dark Speaker turned to join her husband, J’Nessah saw that Saani’s lips still held the ghost of a smile and a knowing look within her eyes…

               <<<<< >>>>>

After everything that she’d witnessed, J’Nessah had come to her own breaking point: it was clear now that Anson was less likely to win; these Elite soldiers had tipped the balance.  Whether they were harbingers of a larger force or just a commando unit made no difference, their impact was undeniable.

She needed to understand them, to work out their motives and how to play them, they served Kazic for now—why?—what did he have to compel or to offer such beings?

And slowly, her plans began to change, incorporating all of the new information that she’d collected, plans in which she would—as always—emerge the victor.
Logged

Sig courtesy of DarthScrub

Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Pages: 1 ... 9 10 [11] 12 13 ... 18   Go Up
Send this topic | Print
Jump to: