Bad karma

A uncharacteristic laugh that attracted the attention of several of the bars patrons erupted from Viktor's moist lips as if Atia had just finished telling some great joke. In truth, she had told quite the joke whether she realized it or not. It was by far the most amusing thing he had heard out of her mouth since he had the displeasure of meeting the young wannabe Sith girl.

”œWarriors aren't stupid? Oh yeah, you just totally proved that statement false just by saying that! You've obviously got quite a bit to learn. If you want to know why I am not drinking and why I won't be drinking those”¦”

Dominique's sat quietly in the center of the floor, monitoring each person that arrived as well as those that had been here from the very first. She knew the gathering was almost complete and her time to speak was nearing. The air around the ship would surely be far past oppressive and entering the realm of suffocating by now. The Sith would be likely to enjoy it, but she couldn't speak for the crew on this ship. They seemed almost dead to her; something about them was unnatural, so it was likely they wouldn't even notice such a trivial thing.

It was then that she felt a slightly familiar presence approach. She took in a final breath before pulling withdrawing herself from the flow of the dark side and the room at once. A mere handful of seconds passed since Oblivion had addressed her, yet she appeared behind him and glided around his side until she was standing several feet in front of him. Her raven locks cascaded down her back as she took in the appearance of the lead Krath. It had been some time since she had spoken with him, the last meeting being disrupted by Exodus himself.

”œAh, Oblivion...Please, do join me in my chambers.”

Viktor glanced up at her when she mentioned his selection of being an assassin for the Sith order. She wasn't very subtle, just out rating stating something like that in a place like this would have one of two effects. Either people would give you a wide berth, or they'd walk up to you like they had something to prove and start talking smack. In a place like this, on a back water planet like Tatooine it would be more likely that the second would occur.

”œNon-sense. You look just fine after your first, you can do the others”¦or are you too weak?”

Viktor watched her drink the shot, than chase it with whatever was in her hip flask. He was amused at how it had affected her. The man lifted his glass to his lips, pulling in some of the fluid as he motioned for the worker to bring over a few more of the shots.

”œGood to see you enjoyed it, now you can drink a few more.”

Viktor continued eating, occasionally sipping at his drink as he eyed the young girl. In the dimly illuminated bar no one would really be able to tell that she wasn't human, sadly. He was curious if anyone in there would have made a point to call her out about her abnormalities. Chances were, no one would. At least not around these parts in a run down place such as the cantina they were in.

”œYou seem mildly upset. Have a drink.”

These requesting permission to dock were all given permission in turn by the communications tech on the bridge of the specially designed Star Destroyer. Chambers for each person were prepared in the event they wished to have a place to rest before the meeting, or after it if they decided to stay on the ship. Imperial figures scurried around the hangers, preparing places for the ships to touch down and performing special tasks on a shuttle.

Dominique continued her meditation, feeling each figuring in turn from the large, dark chamber she was locked away in.

Viktor glanced up at her dispassionately, chuckling at her appearance. She had definitely seen better days. He didn't even have to offer a seat before she took one, much to his concealed surprise. He had honestly expected her to show him a little more malice then what she was, but either way; he didn't care. He stayed quiet for a while, just eating the crisp food that he had ordered a while ago and occasionally looking up at her. Once the food was gone, though, he spoke up.

”œI'd buy a lady a drink, not a child. Did you enjoy your walk?”

Before Tiana and her apprentice could enter the atmosphere, the Sodom Class Star Destroy dubbed ”˜The Heretic' came into view from around the other side of the planet and sent a comm, notifying her and the ship slaved to hers that they would be meeting on board it and not on the surface of the still barren planet.

__

With the meeting with Macleod complete and Sith already beginning to arrive, Dominique left the secondary bridge and entered her private chambers to meditate and focus her thoughts for the coming meeting of Sith. She knew it wouldn't be easy and that she would need all the focus she could muster.

The girl was naïve; he knew his pseudo-panic had been convincing enough for the girl to believe it. That hadn't stopped her from charging though and he felt pain shoot from his ribs into every nerve along the path to his spine, then to his brain where it was registered. He could tell his cracked rib had been broken. She assumed that the pain would distract him, instead of aid him in this fight as it did her.

The precognitive ability that came along with the force told him to protect his face and he did just that; at the last moment a barrier saved his eyes from being filled with sand, but he still raised his hands and began to try and rub the grains out of his eyes. For several moments that was all that happened as he let his pain flow evenly throughout his body. He knew that his next tactic would be made all the easier since she had no true sight.

Through the force, Atia would see two shadow figures suddenly split out of Viktor's body and run in a semi-circle that would end with them hitting her from both sides. Sand was kicked up in their wake, foot prints left where they stepped then just as they both lifted their weapon to attack her simultaneously Viktor's hilt collided with her chin from the front, jerking her head up and leaving her unconscious. She wouldn't be out for long, so he took the few minutes he had to plunge his weapon into the dash of her ship to insure that it couldn't be used in the atmosphere either, then strip her down, take her lightsaber and hop into his ship to take off; leaving her for dead.

He made his way into Mos Eisly, touching down in the space port and finding his way to a cantina where he would see if she could make it out of the desert alive.

The thrill that Viktor derived from suffocating the girl was like none other he had ever experienced. To stare into her milky white orbs as he felt her struggle, felt her blood trying to squeeze past his grip”¦it was breath taking. For a brief moment he held her life within his grasp. Always he had sought to end another as quickly and as efficiently as possible, never dwelling nor pausing for reflection.

What have I been missing?

Then it was over. He was flung backwards, his grip being forced to release her. A growl of frustration and rage was heard from deep within his throat. Sand bellowed up around his feet as he landed in a crouched position. His ribs groaned in protest, letting him know which of them had been cracked as a result of Atia's attacks. He could feel her anger brush over his mind as she tried to shake his composure, but to no avail. Even after feeling the potency of her anger, knowing it was directed straight at him, he couldn't help but find it nearly impossible to fear the young girl. After having seen a figure like Kakuto Ryu in person, how could he fear a fifteen year old blind girl?

”œNo, we will not see. I know my words to be truth”¦why else would Dominique send me here to slay you?”

I do agree with Omega,

 

A sniper in even the most simple military basics never clears the room, A sniper rifle usually doent have much ammo, or is bolt action. If he gets in a firefight the sniper is screwed.

 

And a sniper rifle is usually far too long and heavy for house clearing...

 

Then there also is the risk of over penatration of a sniper bullet, and the risk of killing hostages, allies, or wanted targets.

Snipers normally carry a side arm though. The rifle is for range, but they need something in case someone gets the drop on them as unlikely as that would be.

Zeke offered an understanding smile, glad that she had actually admitted to it part of what he knew she felt. Things were always more difficult when a person couldn't even admit that they were a problem, or that the feelings were there.

”œWe all have those people we once loved.”

In dreams we enter a strange world. A world filled with forgotten hopes and hidden perils, a place where nothing is as it seems, and the "good guys" don't always win. It is a place where our darker nature is revealed to us, a nature we aren't always ready to accept.

This place is the forgotten world. Forsaken by the gods we have lost many of our morals in order to survive. And now, in order to survive, we must forsake more.

We must forsake that which we hold most dear in order to wake from our dreams.

What we forsake will never return, we must choose carefully. To live in sin or to die in hope, what a terrible place waits for us when the fantasy ceases to be; what horrible things we do when dreams can only breath in slumber. There are only seven of us left now and our sole objective is to survive the winter.

"Which did you like better, Empire or Return of the Jedi?"

Once I recoiled from the sheer stupidity of the question, I gathered myself and replied, "Empire, I'd rather have a dysentaric yak crap in my eye sockets than believe that a universal super power could be taken down by muppets." Said Ezekiel, while he huddled for warmth, waiting for my inevitable defense of Return.

"But Return is the ultimate conclusion of the series and reunion of the characters; surely for the sheer value of its happy ending, it must be the better movie," comes the anticipated parry.

"Yes, but what of the sheer idiocy of the 'Yub-Yub' song?" chimed a third party.

It took me a moment to take in the other's responses before I quickly added, "It may be the summation of the series, but when that summation includes the death star being blown up not by the main character but instead by a space pimp and a chemically altered monkey, it still makes for a totally crap movie."

"Leia has a bikini, that obviously fixes it all, now go start the damn fire!"

Ezekiel sighed, as it was his turn to tend the fire, he put another log into the 'furnace' and suggested "Where does a New Hope come in then?"

Willam stood up to state his opinion, with a sly smark, "I'll tell you where A New Hope comes in at: it comes in at IT'S BLOODY COLD!"

Everyone mumbled an agreement at the last statement, and Ezekiel quickly stoked the fire while everyone gathered around. But as everyone gathered close to the warmth, no one noticed in the swirling snow beyond them: a pair of glowing red eyes. Suddenly the swirling snow began to take shape, rising up to form a snowman with glowing red eyes and a charcoal frown.

The banter continued, obvlious to the present danger lurking just beyond the group. After Ezekiel tended to the fire and responded, "Doesn't being in the cold remind you of the Hoth Scene with that scary Yeti thing?"

"It's a wampa...get it right," Phillip sighed.

"Wampa, scary yeti thing... what's the difference? They both eat meat..." Edward retorted.

Then, when no one expected, the snow man attacked.

One of the fire-mongers, thinking fast, pulled a piece of wood out of the fire, and said, "If you want to kill us, you'll have to get past this fire!" He swung around the flaming stick with a furious, deadly expression leaping onto his face.

The snow man paused, as this obviously presented a melting dilemna.

The snowman desperately needed some friends to help him get through this most difficult trial. Then, at his most desperate moment, three more snowmen burst through the door and were like "RAWR" and he was like "RAWR"; they were totally in sync

He could feel the rib in his chest crack, but not break, when she took the shot at his chest. The surprise and pain of that attack apparently left him too surprised to deflect a scorch to his upper left arm, but it didn't matter. As he was projected into the air he regained his composure and twisted around. His lightsaber was directed at the ground, forcing her to knock it away rather then attack.

”œ”¦petty little girl”¦”

Viktor stood, chuckling at how she thought her comments would seem witty. She would have to work on them before facing down any real opponent, less they merely laugh in her face. He walked around to the front of her ship, leaping onto the cockpit window and driving his lightsaber through it. With a mere shove of his weapon her ship was made incapable of space travel. He chuckled and waved at her, a taunting expression on his face.

Leaping down he moved around to the entrance of her ship, then towards the cockpit. Tendrils of the force wrapped around Atia's throat and carried her past him, then flung her out of the ship and twenty feet threw the air. Her landing was hard, leaving her rolling in the sand several times before coming to a halt.

”œ”¦There is just one more thing before we go”¦”

Viktor could feel the emotions welled up inside her; they left him with a feeling of both accomplishment and amusement. Apparently toying with young girls was more entertaining then he had originally predicted. The man stopped when he arrived at the wall they had to scale to get up there, waiting for Atia to arrive next to him. He glanced at her for a moment, than suddenly the force hit her back and forced her forward. He stepped forward, leaping down casually and landing on his feet in front of where she landed; not even bothering to look back.

”œYou seem upset Atia, are you suffering from mood swings because you seemed rather cheery while slaying those Sand people. I bet your stomach is cramping too.”

For all the lean, powerful muscles that Viktor possessed it was made quite obvious that his real strong point lay in his flexibility during combat. His skin was taught over his body, pulling even tighter as he ducked, twirled and sliced away. His primary form had been switched to that of form IV and from the way he moved so gracefully with his blade, he clearly knew how to utilize it even at such a young stage in his training.

He made short work of the remaining guards, several of them falling down without even being hit. Their bodies shook violently for several seconds before their hearts ceased beating. The burning huts consumed the remaining women and children, with Viktor pulling one of their rifles to his hands after clipping his weapon to his belt; several were trying to run.

Cowards

He pressed the weapon's butt against his shoulder, firing two shots and taking down the two runners. The weapon felt good in his hands. He let the butt drop to the ground as he wrapped his pallid fingers around the barrel of the still smoking weapon. He licked his lips as he stared at the two distant bodies, flickering flames illuminating his face as he stood stock still.

He looked sideways at Atia, noticing the blood dripping off of her clothes and covering her hands. Lightsabers didn't leave blood; she'd been hit by one of those shots. A hint of a grin came to his face as he turned to face her. A devious, light chuckle came from deep in his throat as he let the rifle fall to the ground. His left hand's fingers fanned out, wrapping the force around her body and pinning her to the ground. He closed his eyes and used his right hand to conduct the removal of the slug. It quivered inside her body just before being ripped free in a spray of blood.

He watched her body react to the pain for a moment before pulling his lightsaber forward and igniting it. He leaned close as the blade lit up the area between the two of them; just before pressing it to the wound he whispered, ”˜don't move a muscle,' then let the blade touch her flesh and sear it closed. The stench of burnt flesh and boiling blood touched his nose again and a shiver ran down his spine as he smiled. Then the blade's light was gone and she was left lying on the ground, her wound sealed shut at the price of some pain and burnt clothes.

Viktor began walking back towards his ship, after having picked up the rifle to take with him.

Viktor noticed that Atia had decided to begin entering the huts, rather then focusing solely on those capable of defending the homes. It was foolish to go after the easy prey when there were armed men outside, but then she was only a young girl and he couldn't honestly expect much from her. He moved across the field in a display of grace and agility as a thin sheen of sweat covered his exposed chest muscles. The glow of his vermillion weapon flashed all around in the evening sky of the desert planet.

Then he heard three sounds, one right after the other. Crack, crack, crack!. It was like three cracks of thunder, yet storms like that didn't occur on this planet. The sound was from the projectile weapons that the sand people used. He heard the first slug whiz by his ear, but nothing of the other two. He could only assume they were aimed at Atia. As he began rushing towards the position the trio of sand people had taken up, he wondered for a moment if she'd realize they weren't using blasters and that she couldn't deflect projectiles..

Viktor kept his hazel eyes on the village, rather then glancing at Atia when she spoke. The suns of the planet were setting and he could see the beginnings of a large fire in the center of the camp. The desert could get awfully cold at night and with them having been around here as long as they were, they knew just how harsh it could be. He began walking towards the village, expecting her to follow.

”œWe've orders to eliminate the entire village”¦”

Viktor watched the shuttle touch down, leaning back against the Hull of the Tie Defender. Had it not been for his cloak, the hull would have scorched his flesh beyond recognition. He didn't make a move towards the young girl as he watched her approach. He knew if her eyes could perceive the world as his did, that she would be shielding them from the setting sun. Just entering the system and going from the darkness of hyperspace to the blaring light of this system was nearly enough to blind a person.

For a brief moment he thought of plunging his lightsaber into her eyes before ripping the smile off of her face, but then decided against it. She was merely trying to be pleasant this time, or at least give off the appearance of being pleasant. He could hardly care, either way.

”œ”¦anyway, we've got things to do.”

A Tie defender cruised towards the Dune Sea. If sound could be heard in space, the engines would be screaming their protest at how hard the pilot was pushing them. Energy had been diverted from both the weapon and shield systems, leaving his ship to be pushed to its limits. He didn't particularly care; the ship belonged to the Empire. He had merely borrowed it for the time being and if he happened to not return it, he honestly doubted anyone would say something about it.

The ship suddenly slowed as power was directed back to the shields so he could safely enter the atmosphere. The small fighter raced over the Dune Sea until his sensors picked up what he was looking for; a settlement not to far away. There wasn't another ship in sight, thankfully, so he wouldn't have to deal with any morons that decided they wanted to test their skill on him.

He popped the hatch open after shutting the ship down. The only thing left active was a tiny beacon that Atia's ship would pick up once she entered the system”¦

A comm arrives on the same frequency that Atia used, merely a reply from her Master.

”œGood, you are to travel to the Dune Sea on Tatooine now. You'll know what to do when you get there”¦”

Dominique offers a nod in return to Faust's short bow. The man's stare would make a lesser figure quiver in fear, but even with his reputation she kept his stare with her own light blue eyes. She pulled her comm from her hip and listened to the message that Atia had sent. She sent one in return, then one to Viktor, before looking towards Macleod to see if their meeting was to be concluded now.

Dominique glanced towards the man that entered the room. His trench coat covered armor told her exactly who he was. She had never met him face to face, but had heard of him and his adventures, if you could call them that. She offered him a nod when he acknowledged her. His advice was true, but she felt confident in her own abilities to quell any uprisings that might occur.

She had been at Mon Calamari when the place was decimated by Darkwatch, but she hadn't been on the ground fighting. The woman had been beneath the waves seeking out the real reason they had been there. No one save a few knew of her past affiliation with Darkwatch, not that it mattered. She preferred they didn't anyway.

”œLord will suit me fine for now, Admiral. Send some shuttles to these coordinates.”

rawrdelete