Malachor V

[Valina]

The battle had been as bloody as any, many of her fellow Sith had fallen, either by luck of a blaster shot, skill of a Jedi or over-confidence. Regardless many were dead and Tari was the lone Sith in sight with only footsoldiers around her. She was by far not the most experienced but felt she was better than any around her even the highest ranking soldiers due to her power and prowess with the blade. She had a violet single-hilt lightsaber which seemed to draw others to her on each side. Some following her others trying to kill her.

Power was a seductive drug and while initially she had been a Jedi apprentice, Tari was swooned by the promise of higher rank and a promise that she could freely use her emotions to aid her which she believed they did. The Jedi were stale and fragile, she had never felt so strong as she did now. She however wasn’t so vicious as other Sith and didn’t revel in the kill. Often she would leave unarmed soldiers to her comrades, the same with the wounded. She’d killed many but not as many as she could have. Her braided blonde strands were stained with blood as was her robe and skin. There was no way to avoid that in such a brutal conflict.

Fighting became almost mindless after one did it for so consistent a time. Each blaster shot that came towards her seemed to come in slow motion and she easily directed them back at her enemies. Though something broke her concentration on the fight. The sense of the force, though it in her unconscious seemed restrained, which told her a Jedi was not far. She would need to be ready as surely the Jedi sensed her as well. Her crystal blue eyes searched the field of battle but had yet to find where the Jedi was.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh Koth was a highly experienced and battle-hardened Jedi Knight. He knew how to lead his men, and he knew how to fight. More importantly, he knew the ways of the Force.

The Battle of Malachor V has been a bloody and gruesome battle so far, and it seemed far from being done. Of the two hundred some Jedi who had amassed to take on the Sith, few remained. Those that still lived were spread out across the planet, both on it and above it. And Aagh was the only Jedi within that sector of the planet. But he wasn’t alone. He had a company of battle-hardened Republic shock troopers behind him. And then there was a Sith, also in the area. The Force told him that there was, just as the Force told the Sith of Aagh’s presence.

Grime covered Aagh’s gray skin, and dried blood caked the horns on his head from when he had head-butted an opponent. His robes were cut and torn from the battles he had fought; a blaster burn marked one of the few pieces of armor he wore.

Aagh scanned the battle field, but saw nothing, save for the ruins of both armies. He then focused on the terrain, analyzing it for tactical purposes. The Sith was bound to have soldiers with him, just like Aagh had soldiers with him. Aagh had decided that he would sit and wait for the Sith to come find him, for it is easier to find someone who is looking for you when you sit still.

Aagh spotted a perfect location for the battle to come: a small lake bed that had dried up in the fighting. It was deep, with sheer rock walls. And leading into it, was a river channel. The Sith was bound to come through there, for that was the direction that the Force told him the Sith was in. Aagh deployed his troops along the river channel’s top; they would deal with any soldiers that accompanied the Sith. The Sith himself would manage to escape the ambush, intent upon dealing with Aagh.

And in that lake bed, Aagh would be found, sitting with his lightsaber on his belt, meditating and waiting.

 

[Valina]

Tari grew tunnel vision as the sensing of the force got stronger, she knew the Jedi wouldn't be alone but also knew he was waiting for her which meant his soldiers would allow her to pass. They always did have that sense of honour. She opted to spare the lives of her soldiers and told them to head back to the rally point.

She took to running, becoming a blur to all who she passed and as she made her way through the channel she knew that she had made the right decision about her troops. They would have been ambushed from above and would have no chance.

She slowed down to a simple walk as she saw the Jedi, her lightsaber remained in it's holster though her hand hovered near it, ready to draw if needed.

"Jedi." She whispered with a mixture of hatred and respect.

"Are you not all dead yet?" She asked mockingly as she came within a few meters of him.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

The Sith drew near quickly; he was obviously using the Force to enhance his speed, so that he might avoid any attacks. It would only be a matter of time now before they were engaged in battle.

“Jedi. Are you not all dead yet?"

Aagh Koth looked up as the Sith spoke; apparently, she had not brought her troops along with her, in an effort to spare their lives. How very un-Sith-like. And then Aagh got a good look at her face. Despite the grime and the changes the Dark Side had wrought upon her visage, Aagh recognized her: Tari, a young Jedi prospect who had been in a class behind Aagh. If she hadn’t run away from the Jedi, she probably would have gained her Knighthood a year or two after Aagh.

“It is a shame that we must meet like this, on the field of battle, young one,” said Aagh. “Master Vandar had spoken highly of your drive to learn; you have let it go to waste. Tari. Or has your Master given you a Sith name that I should call you by now?”

Oddly enough, Aagh’s voice was not filled with anger, malice, or even the slightest hint of hate. Instead, it was filled with regret and sorrow. He remained where he was, not in any rush to start the fight that would most likely end one of their lives.

“As to your question,” continued Aagh. “You surely have fought enough of your former brethren to have realized that we are just as hard to kill as the Sith are. Some more so than others.”

 

[Valina]

Tari didn't recognize him at first but realized who he was after he spoke and a moment of recollection.

"Aagh. It is a shame we have to meet on these terms. I remembered you to be respectful as a Jedi. Though I have transcended the need for your order. I am more powerful now than you could ever imagine. The Jedi hold you back. I sense your power and I sense the restraint you keep it in check with. Make no regrets though, you may be older but I have found true knowledge in the Sith. I am greater than I ever was or could be with the Jedi. I am respected, followed, feared." The last word was spoken with pride and followed by a smile, the force coursed through her like a drug making it's way through her veins.

"I've fought some Jedi. Killed one named Evis-Mer Kuul. I keep his lightsaber close. Don't fret, I've spared the lives of many. Many who deserve the fate handed to them. Why don't you join us? The Jedi are a dying breed, you could truly be a force if you join us. I once believed the Jedi to be great but they are as much corrupted as we are." She walked slightly closer, her hands moving away from her lightsaber. It would be drawn soon enough, but she was thankful for a reprieve from fighting. She was not so far lost in the force that she reveled in the blood bath.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"I've fought some Jedi. Killed one named Evis-Mer Kuul. I keep his lightsaber close. Don't fret, I've spared the lives of many. Many who deserve the fate handed to them. Why don't you join us? The Jedi are a dying breed, you could truly be a force if you join us. I once believed the Jedi to be great but they are as much corrupted as we are."

Aagh Koth slowly stood up and soon he was looking down upon her, being about a tenth of a meter taller than Tari. His lightsaber was now in his hand, but it was not activated.

“This Sith are a dying breed as well, set as they are upon a path of self-destruction. The only way to advance among their ranks is to kill the one above you,” said Aagh. “Is this the life you truly want? To kill others so that you may rise in rank? And it seems you have been deemed unworthy of a Sith name by your masters. Pity.”

“Respect for your power, you may have, but it is worthless when compared to respect for the person. And is it truly a good thing to be feared? One of your followers may just decide to stop fearing you someday, and then you’d wake up to find you’re your throat had been cut,” continued Aagh. “To be a Sith with power, you are both feared by those who follow and fearful of those who may seek your power.”

“You speak of sparing the lives of many; it is more likely that you spare yourself of getting your hands dirty, instead letting your comrades do the dirty work,” said Aagh, the whole time his voice calm, as if in counterpoint to the battle that raged elsewhere on the planet. Then he paused a moment, his face in a curious frown as if trying to remember something.

“You used to have a pretty face,” said Aagh suddenly. “What happened to it?”

 

[Valina]

Tari looked down at a muddy puddle seeing her increasingly pale face in the reflection. She had changed much in a short time, though she always chose not to think about it, as like now with his speech she had no strong argument to retort with. Nothing to explain why she did what she did. He made a good point, too good for he to want to let him continue talking.

"Enough. You are a taint Jedi. Your mind games won't work on me. Sith name or not I am still enough to defeat you. Draw your weapon or I will cut you down regardless." She turned on her own weapon and made solid strides towards him, making ready in a soresu stance, defensive as it was she found it useful in it's efficiency. Other Sith were aggressive but they were mostly dead here like the Jedi, it was soresu that kept her alive.

Anger pulsed through her at his insinuations and that she had no words to say against what he did. She had only joined the Sith under a year ago and had no Sith master of her own not that she wanted one. She was thrown into the army and gladly served, happy that there was nobody above her to tell her what she did was wrong and how she could be better.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"Enough. You are a taint Jedi. Your mind games won't work on me. Sith name or not I am still enough to defeat you. Draw your weapon or I will cut you down regardless."

Aagh immediately recognized the starting stance of Soresu, a very defensive style of fighting developed for use against blasters, but no less effective against a saber. Sith tended to stay away from Soresu, for it was too timid, too passive for the ways of the Sith. It was interesting to see that Tari was using Soresu and not a more aggressive style.

Aagh activated his lightsaber and gave the traditional Makashi salute, lightsaber raised before his face followed by a flourish forming an X in front of him, with the saber ending the Makashi starting stance, pointing down and away from him in his right hand.

And then something odd happened. Aagh started to glow, as if his robes were luminous. The Force could be felt converging upon him, and was apparent that he was preparing to do something. The glow around Aagh intensified quickly, and then it was gone in a blinding flash of raw Force energy.

Aagh had just attacked using the technique of Force Light, which when done properly, sent out a withering blast of raw Force energy in the form of light in all directions for nearly 10 meters. This technique is particularly effective against those who are tainted by the Dark Side of the Force and was only available to followers of the Light Side.

Aagh remained where he was, not taking advantage of Tari’s momentary disadvantage, his face a perfect representation of calm indifference.

 

[Valina]

Tari was stunned by the Jedi's attack but had common sense to keep her guard up, though oddly no attack came. She took a moment to recover from the force attack of Aagh and thought about her next move. Though she wanted to buy herself more time and resumed the talking she had previously stopped.

"If you were wise you would've ended it there. What was your hesitation? Don't tell me you hope not to end this with a death. Or are you one of those who tries to win back Sith? What could the Jedi possibly offer me that I don't already have?" She questioned as she finally recuperated and focusing her energies let out a Force Scream at him before he was able to respond. She didn't go on the offensive however as she was still feeling the affects of his light.

She backed up a couple paces, he was an advanced Jedi and even with her new-found power she had to give him the respect of how dangerous he was to her vitality.

"Any notions you have about me forget them. You cannot change who I am and I won't let you take my power." She lunged forward and cast her blade down vertically at him, knowing it would not be the killing blow but the fight had to start somewhere.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh was stunned by the Force Scream; while the other Sith he had face in battle had also used that technique, it was usually done shortly before their deaths, so Aagh had learned to isolate himself both from sound and the Force before the Sith reached that point. Aagh had not expected a Force Scream so early in battle, so he was caught unprepared, and rendered nearly helpless. He did however have the presence of mind to note that Tari had done as he had earlier; she had not attacked while he was defenseless.

Aagh recovered just in time to react to her attack; he stuck out a hand and pushed with the Force, sending Tari flying away from him. When she landed, he used the Force to pin her to the ground, making seem as if the very air around her had become a solid weight. If she tried to fight against the weight pinning her down with the Force, Aagh would fight back, intent on keeping her still until he had said what he wanted. Aagh then closed the distance between then, still staying out of reach of her lightsaber. Looking down upon her, his expression calm, but his eyes held pity. Pity for Tari.

“I only try to guide back to the Light those who are not entirely lost to the Darkness,” said Aagh. “And you are not lost. I sense the conflict within you; you are angry with yourself because you find yourself unable to rationalize your decision to join the Sith. There is still good in you, Tari. That is why I had not finished the fight.”

“The Light can offer you peace, Tari,” continued Aagh. “Cast aside your anger and forget your thirst for power. Turn towards the Light and embrace it so that you may have everlasting peace. And you are right, I cannot change how you are; only you can. As for your power, I do not seek it, for I am content with my own power.”

Then Aagh released her, stepping back, ready to fight if need be.

 

[Valina]

Tari was pinned, his control over the force was superior and she was forced to listen to him. Anger flowed through her as he spoke and added to her own conflict. He was right in some ways but she wanted to deny him any pleasure of knowing it.

Once he released the hold he had she slowly rose to her feet. She breathed heavily, pushing her breath through her gritted teeth as she rose her saber once more and started forward in a more aggressive stance. She swung twice at him, both near misses before she used a Force Push of her own, though she only pushed him back a few steps.

"Parlour tricks. I can feel you trying to invade my mind, I am not so weak that you can forcefully persuade me. I don't need your peace. The Sith gave me what I wanted. They told me about my parents which the Jedi would not. They gave me solace, showing me that my parents had died. At the republics hand no less. I was shown the truth of the Jedi, that they are passive and allow people to die while they... contemplate... wait... regress... ignore the plight of others." With each of those four words she struck at him, her attacks clashed against his own blade and she became ever more angry. As she did she changed, her complexion slowly drifted further into the blackness of the dark side. A black vein became visible on her neck, her eyes flashing from their natural blue to a sickly yellow then yielding back somewhere in between the two hues. She felt even stronger and yet something in her was nervous, afraid, there was a loss of control. She lashed out at him again to create space then backed up, her gloved hand going to her forehead as she felt light-headed. She staggered back a few steps trying to rationalize what was happening to her. It was as if there was another voice inside her, not her own.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh slipped quickly and smoothly into the Soresu style of fighting when Tari’s attacks became more aggressive. Soresu was better suited for dealing with aggressive fighting styles than Makashi was.

"Parlor tricks. I can feel you trying to invade my mind, I am not so weak that you can forcefully persuade me. I don't need your peace. The Sith gave me what I wanted. They told me about my parents which the Jedi would not. They gave me solace, showing me that my parents had died. At the republics hand no less. I was shown the truth of the Jedi, that they are passive and allow people to die while they... contemplate... wait... regress... ignore the plight of others."

And then things began to change. Aagh watched as Tari succumbed to the Dark Side right before his eyes; she had let her anger gain control of her, and now the Dark Side was beginning to consume her. But there was hope yet, as she appeared to be fighting the Darkness.

Aagh did not pursue Tari as she withdrew; instead, he stepped back into a more relaxed defensive position.

“That is the Dark Side you feel trying to take you, Tari, not me,” said Aagh. “Look at what it’s doing to you. Trust your heart. Let go of the anger inside of you and fight against the Darkness. Remember your training from the Jedi; clear your mind of all emotion and find peace within yourself.”

“If you let the Dark Side take you, you will be lost,” continued Aagh. “It will eventually destroy you; the path of the Dark Side is one of corruption and self-destruction. Do not submit to it, Tari. Remember your training!”

Then Aagh switched tracks; apparently, the subject of her parents was important to her.

“Think about your parents and how they lived, not died!” urged Aagh. “Think of the love they had felt for you. Imagine the pride they must have felt at having such a wonderful daughter who seemed destined to do great things. Now look at what you’ve become, what you’ve done. Do you think your parents would be proud of that, of what you’ve become, of what you’ve done? Turn against the Dark Side, let go of your anger, and return to the Light, Tari. It is what your parents would want.”

 

[Valina]

Tari barely registered what he said, her mind torn in two. Now she writhed in pain and collapsed to her knees, she saw her face once more in the mud puddle beneath her. The blue of her eyes was gone and now they were completely yellow. The black veins becoming more predominant.

She splashed water on her face but couldn't make her appearance change back. Slowly she rose to her feet and looked around, a little disoriented and lost. She then looked back to the Jedi.

"You did this to me. You've poisoned me. You will die for it." She gripped tightly to her lightsaber, and drew the other one she had retrieved from the Jedi she had killed, wielding both now she leaped into the air and came down at him unleashing a flurry of strikes, though they weren't calculated and were clumsy her technique gone by the wayside in return for speed and vengeful strength. Each time he blocked she grew more and more frustrated.

"Take it back! Release the curse you beset on me. Take it back!" She screamed at him. Never giving a chance for reprieve as she kept striking.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Tari saw the changes the Dark Side had wrought upon her visage as she dropped to her knees in pain. She splashed water upon her face in what appeared to be a futile attempt to remove the changes, but the changes were there to stay until the Dark Side left her. And she blamed Aagh for the pain she was in, claiming that he had poisoned her.

She drew a second lightsaber, the one she had taken from a Jedi she had slain, and attacked with ferocious abandon, all thought of technique gone, only the intent to batter away at Aagh’s defenses remaining. But Aagh was Soresu, which would allow him to continue blocking Tari’s infuriated attacks almost indefinitely, and block them he did.

"Take it back! Release the curse you beset on me. Take it back!"

“I have done nothing to cause this to happen to you, Tari,” said Aagh, putting the Force behind his words in an effort to ensure she heard him. “The power of the Dark Side is responsible for this; you have let your anger gain control of you. Cast your anger aside and return to the Light and then you shall be cured, Tari. Remember your training from the Jedi! Clear your mind of all emotion.”

Aagh had the feeling that she could hear him, but she didn’t believe him, or at least she didn’t want to. If that were the case, he knew what to do, but he wanted her to free herself before resorting to that. All he had to do was get through to her, convince her without trickery, and then she would find the strength to break the hold of the Dark Side. But that was a problem with Sith, they always distrusted everyone, even if others spoke irrefutable truth, the Sith would think they are being tricked and lied to; such was their nature. Aagh hoped that Tari was not like that, for she had shown earlier that she wasn’t like other Sith.

 

[Valina]

What he said might have been true but Tari couldn't bring herself to believe him, maybe deep down she did. Though a voice inside her told her he was deceiving her and even though that voice didn't seem to be her own. It came from within her but felt foreign, external.

Realizing her attacks would not penetrate his defense she backed off and began to pace. She tried to temper her emotions not to satisfy him but to be able to properly contest with him.

"The light side is weak. The Jedi offer me nothing, I want to love and hate and feel joy and sorrow. Emotions were never meant to be swallowed, when they disappear so does the person and then you become just another pawn of the failed republic. I will not be a pawn. Now attack, your mind games won't take me." She prepared in a stance, feet spread apart and her two blades at the ready, one held high above her head with the tip pointed to him, the other in front of her across her chest in more of a defensive posture.

"ATTACK ME!" She yelled out at him.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Tari backed off and started pacing like a caged animal when she realized that she couldn’t penetrate Aagh’s Soresu technique.

"The light side is weak. The Jedi offer me nothing, I want to love and hate and feel joy and sorrow. Emotions were never meant to be swallowed, when they disappear so does the person and then you become just another pawn of the failed republic. I will not be a pawn. Now attack, your mind games won't take me."

Tari then took up a rather unique stance, utilizing the two lightsabers. Aagh analyzed her stance, and eventually determined that she could very well be using the Jar’Kai style of combat. How well she could use Jar’Kai, Aagh didn’t know, so he decided that if she proved to be rather proficient at it, he could always slide right back into Soresu.

"ATTACK ME!"

Aagh shook his head, even as he moved into the starting stance of Makashi, his lightsaber at his side, pointing down and away.

“If the Light Side is so weak, then how is it that I still stand against you, especially with the power of the Dark Side raging through you, corrupting your thoughts and actions?” asked Aagh. “I wonder how your parents would feel if they were to see you now, Tari. I don’t think they’d be very happy; no parent would be.”

 

[Valina]

"Stop it!" She screamed at his mention of her parents and what they would think. He had no right to make any comments seeing as how she was stripped of her parents as a youth by the Jedi. She didn't notice her eyes start to well up and a tear drip from them, running down her pale skin and falling to the soil beneath her.

"You don't know anything. I'm strong, my parents are dead. They mean nothing now. Nothing." She couldn't be less convincing if she tried, she didn't even believe herself as she realized she was crying. She thought being Sith would make her invincible, make everything easy but it hadn't. She couldn't kill endlessly without remorse, she couldn't forget a single face of anyone she'd taken down. She had never killed before joining the war and as a Sith she was supposed to be able to gain strength with each kill not become more weak.

She couldn't take his words, the way he looked at her. She had to end the stand still, even as her control over herself lessened, she commenced once again her attack. Her two blades swinging fiercely but not as wild as before, though her attacks were half-hearted and she wasn't going for the kill so much as attacking for him to block. Tears flowed freely from her face and even he would be able to feel the lack of force in her strikes.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"Stop it! You don't know anything. I'm strong, my parents are dead. They mean nothing now. Nothing."

Even as she said these words, Aagh knew he had gotten through to Tari; he knew that she was at a juncture in her life. All that was left now was for her to choose which path to follow; down one path was redemption in the Light Side of the Force, the other path led to destruction in the Dark Side. Her anger was quickly changing to grief and sadness, emotions that were contrary to the path of the Dark Side; emotions that would lead her to the Light. The power of the Dark Side was leaving her.

Then she attacked, but there was no power behind her blows; she was attempting to distract herself from the truth that lay before her.

Aagh blocked her half-hearted attacks with ease, blocking first one, then two, and then three blows. On the fourth, he let the Force guide his blade as it slid down one of Tari’s blades towards her hand. But before it reached her hand, a flick of the wrist stopped its forward motion, instead directing it to sever the top inch off of the saber, rendering it useless.

Aagh then stepped away, disengaging from the fight, after effectively disarming Tari of one of her lightsabers.

“I don’t believe your words, Tari,” said Aagh, his expression calm, but his eyes filled with compassion, even as that compassion was in his voice. “And neither do you. You know deep in your heart that your parents meant everything to you. And you also know that the ways of the Sith are not for you, that to follow them is wrong.”

 

[Valina]

She was breaking down fast, she no longer wanted to fight and the war for at least a moment was a distant memory. Swallowed whole by her internal conflict. She dropped the now defunct blade and took her saber in both hands, with the tip pointing upwards in front of her. She wiped the tears from her face and taking some deep breathes tried to focus. Tried to block out what he said.

“And neither do you. You know deep in your heart that your parents meant everything to you. And you also know that the ways of the Sith are not for you, that to follow them is wrong.”

"SHUT UP!! Shut... up!" She pursued an attack once more, barely able to strike and only got three swipes off before collapsing to her knees at his feet. Full out crying as she bowed to him her blade falling idly to the ground and switching off.

She remained on the ground beneath him, the pain of all those she killed suddenly rushed back to her. As if she had been gone and returned to herself, the other voice in her head had receded but wasn't gone. She finally worked up the courage to look at him, her face still pale but her eyes had switched back to their natural blue hue.

She had so many questions, what would the Jedi do with her? Where would she go? What was she to do? How would she ever be trusted? Her time with the Sith seemed to be at an end. She lost her final battle but it wasn't with the blade. For all the power the Sith had given her she had one weakness, herself. Aagh had been right she wasn't meant to follow the dark path and it wouldn't take long for a Sith behind her to usurp her power for themselves.

"Since you're a Jedi I know you won't kill me. What are you going to do now that you've won?"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"SHUT UP!! Shut... up!"

Tari attacked, only getting in three swipes that Aagh easily avoided before she fell to her knees, crying. Her lightsaber fell to the ground at her side, the blade extinguished. Aagh turned off his own saber and placed it on his belt.

Aagh picked up her saber as he crouched in front of her. He waited in silence as she cried, letting her recover enough to speak. When she looked up at him, he found it a reassuring sight that her eyes had returned to normal.

"Since you're a Jedi I know you won't kill me. What are you going to do now that you've won?"

“Well, first off, we are going to leave this location and head back to my ship,” said Aagh, placing emphasis on the ‘we’ to indicate both he and Tari. “From there, we return to the Jedi, where the Masters shall determine what is to be done.”

Aagh stood up then, and offered his free hand to help her up right. He then got the attention of his soldiers, who formed up on the rim of the lake bed that Aagh and Tari were in, and lowered a rope so that the two of them could climb out of the steep walled lake.

 

[Valina]

Tari took his hand and rose, they headed for the shuttle but their presence of the force was joined by another, a masked Sith had been watching from well above and had seen enough to know it was time to join the fray. She came down in silence, strong in the force enough to keep herself 'cloaked' to them until she hit the ground far below her perch. When she landed she was right behind them and quickly struck, her lightsaber impaling Tari just under her ribs on the right side. Tari collapsed to the ground and screamed in pain, the blow had not yet been fatal. The Sith then turned to the real challenge. Her jet black hair covering half her face and matching her dark robe. The dark side emanated from her and so did confidence.

"Jedi. You are strong to persuade her back. I had her deeply entranced, it was fun to play with her mind. So young, so easy. A pity you took my toy from me. Oh well you look to be much more fun." She brought her blade to bear it's red light made her face look all the more sinister.

"Shall we begin the real fight Jedi?"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh and Tari had barely made it to the wall of the lake bed when the signature snap-hiss of a lightsaber sounded behind them. Aagh spun around, his lightsaber instantly in his hand and activated, but he wasn’t fast even to prevent this new threat from impaling Tari from behind. The fact that Tari screamed in pain was a good sign; the blow hadn’t been lethal.

"Jedi. You are strong to persuade her back. I had her deeply entranced, it was fun to play with her mind. So young, so easy. A pity you took my toy from me. Oh well you look to be much more fun. Shall we begin the real fight Jedi?"

Aagh sized up the woman before him. This one is a Sith through and through, determined Aagh. Only one of us will walk away from this fight, and it won’t be her because she had just made her first and most important mistake: she didn’t strike me down first. Had she attacked me first instead of Tari, she could have easily killed me and then make short work of Tari. But because she attacked Tari first, she now has a very tough fight in front of her.

Aagh didn’t know how much of the fight between him and Tari this Sith had seen, so he wasn’t about to start the same way. Instead, he started to move away from Tari with the intention of drawing the Sith away from her, and after a few paces, gave the traditional Makashi salute and moved right into the starting stance, waiting for the Sith to strike.

 

[Valina]

The Sith had a constant smirk spread across her lips and in traditional Sith fashion held nothing back. She blinked and her blade became three, two of which floated around her. A dark steam shrouded her and with her still gripped blade she took a stance with one hand raised above her head, lightning crackled and danced along her fingertips while her blade pointed towards him.

She took one step forward before swinging her free hand, sending a ball of lightning hurling towards him then quickly followed it, slashing with controlled abandon.

"You annoy me, you Jedi. I have a fun toy and you take it away. She was so young, so fragile and her mind was manipulated as easily as a Wookie rips a droid into pieces. I will have her back and I will have you live long enough for her to kill you." She laughed maliciously as she tossed another ball of lightning at him.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Aagh was amused by the display of raw power on behalf of the Sith, but he wasn’t impressed. He had a feeling that the two new blades the floated around the Sith were just for show, a show intended to distract Aagh from defending against the real thing. But Aagh didn’t have long to dwell on her display as the Sith quickly went on the offensive, hurling a ball of lightning at him, followed quickly by her lightsaber.

Aagh side-stepped the ball of lightning, and proceeded to block each and every one of the Sith’s attacks with his lightsaber, using not the Makashi style, but Soresu, which was perfectly suited for use against aggressive fighting styles.

"You annoy me, you Jedi. I have a fun toy and you take it away. She was so young, so fragile and her mind was manipulated as easily as a Wookie rips a droid into pieces. I will have her back and I will have you live long enough for her to kill you."

Aagh didn’t bother responding to the Sith, seeing as how she had just hurled another ball of lightning at him. This time, Aagh didn’t dodge it; instead, he grabbed hold of it with his free hand and then spun around. Had there been more space between the two of them, Aagh would have just hurled the ball back at her, but due to their proximity, he instead shoved the ball of lightning right into her body.