Ilum

[Sithslayer]

((Before the action started...))

 

Vrean headed into the depths of the frosty cave, His senses peaked, His energies focused. As he strode deeper into the cave, his glowrod casting a pale yellowish light on the walls. The ice reflected the beams of light, casting brilliant light throughout the cave, much beyond what a glowrod could usually produce.

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

Hou-Jo, satisified that Fett could not pursue him, Hou-Jo went into the cave, along the trail of Vrean. Even though he had constructed his own lightsabers in the past, he had no memory of ever going into the caves of Ilum. Hou-Jo spoke to Vrean from a distance through the Force.

 

"The crystal is the heart of the blade.

The heart is the crystal of the Jedi.

The Jedi is the crystal of the Force.

The Force is the blade of the heart.

All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi; you are one."

 

Hou-Jo walked through the cavern, in search of a crystal that called to him through the Force. He continued on until he saw one that caught his eye. It looked odd to him, though almost familiar. He touched it, and suddenly, had a vision.

 

"I hope you like it, they were those who could have bid higher then I, but I pulled a few strings so that it never went on the auction block."

 

A man gave a woman a necklace, which bore a striking resemblance to the crystal Hou-Jo had chosen.

 

"It's beautiful! I love it, darling. How did you know --"

 

"That you would like it so? Your son helped me pick it out. Son, your mother does like it. I knew I could count on you."

 

Hou-Jo's eyes opened very widely. He knew the couple in his vision. "Mom? Dad?"

[handofthrawn]

ShadowFett was nothing, nowhere, drifting, wandering, lost, helpless...no, not helpless. All was dark around him. He could not feel, see or move. But the battle was not over. He would not give up any fight, and never had a challenge arisen in such form to him.

 

There was a way out. There had to be. He didn't know what had happened to him, but he suspected that the Dark Jedi had done it to him. Never would a true Jedi Knight manipulate one's mind in such a way--Fett knew this from the research he had done on the Jedi Order.

 

The Force was an energy field, and in this case it had cut his mind off from the rest of his body, debilitating him. He felt no pain that was physical, but his head hurt more than it ever had before. It didn't matter. He would still think. Years of mental and physical training were not tossed aside by a single energy field created by life, which this planet had little of.

 

ShadowFett thought about his appendages. He couldn't tell whether they had been physically damaged, for he could neither see nor feel them. But they were there. Fett knew they were there. He was not dead, only temporarily debilitated.

 

A Mandalorian was not lost until dead. He fought until life was sucked out of his body and mind. And, most importantly, the most dangerous part of a Mandalorian was the latter. It had not been physical assertiveness that had won the Mandalorians so many wars, although that had helped considerably--it had been their mindset, their lust for glory and the calculating effectiveness of their mentality.

 

And now Fett called on that mentality. That with which he had outsmarted opponents that should have been far greater than himself: his mentor, another infamous mercenary, and even a Jedi Master similar to the one that had put him in this state.

 

With his mind he reached for his body, as if it were detached from him. Nothing. Willpower strove for dominance over the Force. The Force had no power in his body, Fett said, believing. It did not belong, nor would it stay. It would not.

 

Suddenly ShadowFett felt cold. He snapped open his eyes. Only white was there to greet him, and no matter what visor setting he activated, only a single color greeted him. He slowly realized that he was laying down, but he still could not move. But could he not move because his mind had not regained control of his body, or was something else holding him?

 

He moved his lips and blinked. There was something outside his body that was disabling his movement. Snow. Lots of snow.

 

There was a part of the Mandalorian that wanted to dispair, but he shunned it. There would be no failure, only success. He took an inventory of what he had at the moment--or at least what he should have. Locating his arm, he uttered a word into his mask that was too quiet for him to hear even himself.

 

Voice-activated, his flamethrower activated. It had little oxygen, so it only fired a short burst of fire. That small amount of fire went a long way, and Fett could move his arm. He didn't want to set off any explosives, as they would likely hurt him just as much as they would help him get out.

 

His jetpack. The thought came to Fett only then and he realized that he still wasn't thinking even a tenth as clearly as he should have been able to. He cursed his own physical limitations and swore that he would improve, transcend what many thought possible and reach the point where nothing could slow him down--nothing.

 

Activating his jetpack with another uttered word, Fett felt the warmth of fire and found he could move his legs. Deactivating the jetpack, the bounty hunter attempted to pull himself out of the snow. He was still unable. No...not unable.

 

ShadowFett, Mandalorian bounty hunter, Jedi slayer, attainer of glory through battle, freed himself. Such was the strength of his attempt that snow flew through the air in all directions around him. He stood, triumphant in a way that he had never been before.

 

Even the power of the Force which, as he had learned the hard way was quite an opponent, could not stop him. He found some of his weapons detached in the snow and rearmed himself. He couldn't find his vibroblade and decided that it would be beneath the avalanche, though not unattainable by any means.

 

Presently, his head hurt too much for him to retrieve it. But as long as he was trapped outside the cave, the Dark Jedi would be as well. Using his rocketpack again, Fett lauched himself towards his once-again functional YT-2000, the Night of Vengeance.

 

He boarded her and made his way towards the passenger area, which was reduced to little due to his modifications, and plopped himself down on the bench, taking off his helmet. His scarred features were unknown to any other man save one, and that man didn't even remember it anymore.

 

Taking deep breaths, Fett willed away his headache as powerfully as he had willed away the Force.

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

OOC: May I say now, to clear up the confusion, that a Mind Shard is a Force move unpartial to either side, it is a power that can be used by Sith or Jedi, like a Force push. Look it up on the Force.net if you don't believe me.

 

IC: Hou-Jo shook the vision from his head. Why would the crystals in this cave give him a vision of his parents, especially from so long ago? He could tell from this vision, that he was meant to have this particular crystal. He picked it up and sat down with his legs crossed. He could sense that the Mandalorian had saved himself from certain death, and was now recovering.

 

Hou-Jo pulled several pieces of metal out of his robe and layed them down on a mat in front of him. He remembered the words he said to his padawan earlier. The coverings of his lightsaber were different from the sabers he had before. This was going to be an Electrum lightsaber. He placed the crystal in the appropriate container and placed them inside of the hilt he constructed on his way to Ilum. The hilt looked roughly as so.

 

 

He ignited the lightsaber and a green blade sprang to life. Hou-Jo smiled. This was the last thing he had to do so that the transformation could be complete. He was now truly, Jedi Master Hou-Jo Poleb.

[Avion Chassis]

The Gladiator emerged from hyperspace and streaked towards the icy planet below. Avion had no idea what had transpired down there, but he hoped he could lend a bit of a hand to his fellow bounty hunters.

 

 

Following the coordinates that were listed on the computer terminal back on Dubrillion, it didn't take very long for Avion to find Fett's ship.

 

The Zabrak bounty hunter quickly exited his own ship and ran towards Fett's, hoping he was still alive. Avion ran towards the entrance ramp and found that it was closed. He did the only thing he could think off. He stretched out his arm and knocked on the metallic door as hard as he could, hoping someone in there would hear.

 

OOC: I could have posted Avion just entering your ship and seeing you without your helmet, but I decided not to. Just be warned Ian, when I get the chance, I won't hesitate next time.

[handofthrawn]

OOC: Oh, I believe you. Fett wouldn't if you told him, but I think it's possible that that could be a neutral move. Part of RPing is saying what your character, and not necessarily yourself, would think or do.

 

IC: ShadowFett's headache was greatly reduced, enough at least for him to think. Placing his helmet back in place atop his head, the Mandalorian headed to the boarding ramp, let Avion inside, then headed to the cockpit and lifted his ship a few feet off the snow-covered ground.

 

"Good to see you, Avion. Sit back and try not to get too curious before this is all over," he instructed.

 

Turning to face the barricade, he aimed towards the center of the rocks and snow and fired his two quad laser cannons. They tore through the snow and debris, shattering rocks and melting snow with excess heat. Satisfied, Fett stood. "Wait here," he told his droid and Avion both.

 

Lowering the boarding ramp, the bounty hunter waded out into the snow and recovered his vibroblade, almost surprisingly still in one piece. It could still come on handy while he was here, so he was glad it was still usable.

 

Deciding against opening himself up to another attack through the Force, Fett boarded the Night of Vengeance again and made his way back to the bridge. "Let's kill the Jedi," he said to 2277. "Raise shields, just in case."

 

There was no way he would be caught off-guard against the Force again. Sitting down in the pilot's chair, he solemnly hit a certain button. A trio of proton torpedoes screamed into the cave the Jedi Master was still within, each impacting with walls at different depths and causing havoc, blowing up walls and sending fire and shards of stone everywhere.

 

Fett had to back up his ship a little to allow more room for the expanding ball of fire erupting from the mouth of the cave. As much as he respected the Jedi and the Force they wielded, he knew that there was almost no way the Jedi Master could have survived the proton inferno he had unleashed.

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

The Force had warned Hou-Jo of the impending attack. Luckily for Vrean, he was deeper in the cavern and was safe from an attack. Hou-Jo knelt down and creating a bubble of the Force around him, a shield to protect him. The explosions occurred all around him, and then the inferno ensued. Hou-Jo used the Force to grab a hold of the broken stone and fire and manipulated it to his will. He concentrated it, and he was able to stand up and release his focus on the shield. He used the Force to send out the huge ball of fire, preceded by the broken stone. Fett's ship was first pelted with stone, severely damaging the shields, then immediately engulfed in the huge fireball, knocking the ship back and splitting it in half. Fett's armor was burned, now frostbitten. The huge fireball broke the frame of the entrance and it caved in.

 

Fett was still unable to reach Hou-Jo. Hou-Jo picked up several crystals that now lie on the ground and put them in his pockets. "Vrean. This excercise will have to be cut short. This is not the time to harvest and create. You will have to construct your weapon elsewhere. We're leaving."

 

He sent a message to Thrawn's mind, "Leave now, I do not want to have to kill you bounty hunter."

[Sithslayer]

Vrean, hearing Hou-jo's mental instruction, shortly after the cave floor had rocked with something of immense power, began jogging down the corridor, trusting his feelings as to where he should go. After a short time and many abrupt turns through the cave, he saw daylight. He pulled his archaic .40 cal Glock and stayed just inside the cave. He pulled his wrist up and keyed his access code to remotely access his ship. He powered it up, raising shields and weapons, in case it was noticed. He programmed a course to the present entrance. As the ship lifted off, it projected an electronic cover, of sorts, designed to keep even the most sophisticated radar equipment from locating it. as the ship approached, Vrean readied himself and entered the ship. As soon as he hit the pilots chair, he gunned the YT-2400's powerful engines and rocketed into orbit. Watching his display, there were no ships in persuit.

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

Hou-Jo, with a Force accelerated run, ran to the nearest outside wall of the cave that he could come across. He turned on his comm and instructed the astromech droid in his starfighter and activate the ship and ready it for takeoff. He then activated his new green lightsaber and stabbed the rock with it. It took a few second to get it through and then he had to cut a circle large enough for him to fit through.

 

"Come on, come on..."

 

After what seemed like forever, which was only a minute's time, Hou-Jo was able to cut through the cave wall and jump out. He jumped up and landed by his ship. He could see Fett, still shaken up from what had happened to him. Hou-Jo got into his ship and rocketed off as fast he could possibly go.

[Sithslayer]

Vrean opened an encryped comm to Hou-jo

 

"Lets get out of here then Rendezvous at the projected coordanates..."

 

They punched their hyperdrives and was gone.

[Tarrian Skywalker]

Fett's ship is not destroyed. You can't do that in one post.

[handofthrawn]

OOC: Thanks, Chrissie. Unfortunately, HJP managed to escape while I was waiting for a ruling...

 

IC: The Night of Vengeance was too well shielded to be destroyed by the inferno it had released. Fett had spent too much time on it to allow that. He was, however, a bit disappointed when the Jedi had escaped during the moments of his sensor's recovery.

 

Without a way to track the Jedi Master, there was simply nothing Fett could do. He sighed. Failure did not come often, but he would learn a lesson from it. He was still alive, which he almost found surprising having confronted a Dark Jedi that had the potential to kill him.

 

He would henceforth never underestimate the Force or its wielders, the Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. However, he had also learned that the Force could be overcome within reason. There was nothing a Jedi could do to kill without fail, and a Jedi would not use the Force to attack, only defend.

 

Piccolo had been killed by a Jedi Master that had used the Force to attack, however, and Fett himself had been attacked by the Force through another man claiming to be a Jedi. So which side was really the Light Side and which was the Dark? Or was there no difference after all?

 

Fett turned back to Avion. "Respect your enemies, Chassis. Never forget those words," he said with the cold tone of one that had been through fire and ice to learn them himself. In fact, he had. "However, do not let yourself fear them. Any enemy can be overcome."

 

The hunter sat back and lifted his ship off the ground several meters more. He headed back over to the mountain that Kirlocca's apprentice was apparently still hiding on, or fighting Draj. It didn't appear that much had happened, Draj still climbing towards the apprentice, who was steeling himself and preparing to use the lightsaber of his fallen Master.

 

Fett set his ship down on the bottom of the mountain. "Avion, go out into the snow. Draj seems to be making slow progress, so I need you to go out and fight the apprentice. Do not kill him--we need a capture."

[Avion Chassis]

Avion only nodded as he turned to exit Fett's ship. This might have been the first time in his Black Sun career that he had not felt the urge to speak. It was finally his chance to prove himself; he had never seen any real action before.

 

He wasted no time in leaving toward the direction that Fett had said the apprentice was located. The zabrak slowly trudged his way toward what he hoped was a Jedi. He didn't care much for the snow. It made things awfully cold and left no room for evasive maneuvers. Fortunately, he was only up against a Jedi apprentice. He was careful not to let his guard down though, as Fett said, he had to respect his enemy no matter who it was.

 

I didn't take too long for Avion to find what he was looking for. He spotted the young Jedi standing right out in the open. The bounty hunter also took note of Draj standing some distance away as well.

 

Fett managed to land Avion behind his target, which gave him a small advantage. There was no doubt that his enemy would be able to sense Avion soon, if not already. Weighing his options, Avion reached under his armor and pulled out a small stun grenade.

 

He lobbed it as hard as he could towards his opponent. Immediately after the grenade left his hand, Avion dove behind a rather large rock formation, hoping to see if the grenade met its target from a safe position.

[Draj Haerin]

((OOC: Sorry guys, been gone.))

 

Draj noted all that went on with interest. Fett almost died, a Jedi DID die, the apprentice was about to be stunned, and - The Jedi, stunned. Draj noted that another person, presumably a bounty hunter, had snuck up behind the Jedi. It was a good chance that they'd take this one alive. If not, he would die.

 

The Other Hunter had taken to trying to take down the apprentice with explosives. Draj never cared with explosives, they were to messy. He prefered the accuracy, swiftness, and grace of the honorary vibrosword.

 

That gave Draj an idea. Taking out his sword, he flipped it on and used the vibrations as a melting device. He put it on the ground in front of him, and saw that his plan worked. The vibrations gave Draj some maneuvering room. Draj attempted to distract the apprentice by talking.

 

"Jedi!" he called. "You are trapped. There are three of us, and only one of you! Judging by your actions -" BOOM! The grenade exploded, sending debris and snow all over. The Jedi was launched into the air, doing small flips and moves via the Force, Draj assumed.

 

Giving the apprentice no chance to run, Draj exploded into a sprint, trying to keep his balance on the ice planet. Thinking ahead, Draj immediatly stopped and put both feet forward, sending him into a fast skid. He timed it perfectly, stopping right in front of the soon-to-be-prisoner.

"Stop fighting Jedi. You cannot win." And with that, Draj raised his sword in an obvious will to fight, if need be.

[Wookiee Jedi]

*A wisper through the force spoke to the young jedi padawan Jasyn.*

 

Remain calm, you will be found....no matter what.

[JasonMB]

Jasyn sensed the grenade coming an instant before it hit and dove out of the way, flipping back to his feet. 'Fife' came running up towards him and Jasyn debated between using his blasters or Kirlocca's lightsaber. He would have rather used his vibro axe, but it was lying some distance away half buried in snow.

 

He pulled out his master's lightsaber and ignited it, he was skilled with vibro blades, how different could this be?

 

Remain calm, you will be found....no matter what.

 

The message surprised Jasyn; he had seen Kirlocca die... but, he knew it to be the voice of his wookiee master and he would remain strong, he would not be captured and he would not die. He was just beginning to fight. Gritting his teeth in a feral grin, he swung the lightsaber up and stepped forward, his eyes locked on his opponent but his senses alert for any trickery. After all, there were three bounty hunters now. And one was behind him.

 

Swiftly he struck out, swinging the lightsaber down in an arc of light. If the bounty hunter didn't duck or parry, he would be cut in half from one shoulder to midsection. Jasyn would not be taken alive.

 

You'd better hurry... The force message was short, all Jasyn could manage with his small amount of force training.

[handofthrawn]

ShadowFett would watch both Draj's and Avion's movements closely. This time they were up against someone that intended to kill them, and he would fight all out, cornered and outnumbered. The Jedi would not go down easily, Fett was sure of that.

 

Avion had something to prove, and he would likely be a changed man if success met him. He had always been afraid, timid, and overly-respectful. Respect was good, but only to an extent.

 

Draj's movements were even more important to Fett. Draj--the one who claimed to be a Mandalorian--would not be considered one by Fett until he proved it through battle and glory.

 

For either recruit, however, it was the most important thing of all that they took the bounty alive. It was much more difficult, and only if one of the bounty hunters were killed would he allow such punishment. But if they aimed to please him, they would even still capture then.

 

By capturing this apprentice, the wookie Jedi Master would attempt to free him, coming after them not merely alone--he knew he could not beat such odds--but with other Jedi, Masters hopefully. Only then would they have a shot at capturing the true bounty behind this excursion.

[Avion Chassis]

Foolish Jedi, Avion thought to himself. The apprentice went straight after Draj without even looking behind him. That would prove to be his down fall.

 

The young Zabrak approached his pray slowly as he lifted his feet quite high into the air, using the snow to cover as much sound as possible. The Jedi padawan was now engaging Draj in combat, another foolish mistake. He was a Jedi true enough, but he was not a Knight yet. He would have to concentrate fully on the battle in front of him, he wouldn't be to fully sense Avion's approach

 

The bounty hunter slowly pulled out his blaster, standing only 20 feet away. He made sure his weapon was set to stun before pulling the trigger. Avion's aim was true as his shot flew out of his barrel and hit his target squarely on the back in a blink of an eye.

 

The Jedi apprentice fell to the ground motionless just before his blade reached Draj. Avion ran the rest of the way to the Jedi's position with a giant smile on his face.

 

"Thanks for the distraction," Avion told Draj with the utmost sincerity.

 

Avion searched the Jedi's body and took off every conceivable object that might have been used for a weapon, including the lightsaber. After he disarmed the Jedi, Avion then proceeded in placing tight bindings on the Jedi's hands' legs and feet, making it almost impossible to move.

 

With the help of his Zabrak strength, Avion was able to lift Jason's body into the air with minimal effort.

 

He turned to Draj

 

"We are meeting up with Fett in space, so make your way to your ship."

 

The Zabrak followed his own advice and headed for his own ship. After only a couple minutes of running, the bounty hunter was able to reach his ship.

 

Climbing on board, Avion set Jason down next to him and blasted off towards space.

[handofthrawn]

Well done, Avion, ShadowFett thought.

 

"2277," he said aloud. "We're leaving. Chassis has the Jedi." Without responding, the droid began liftoff procedures, which were relatively few considering the ship had already been ready to leave within a few minutes' notice.

 

The Mandalorian lifted off and cruised into space, changed since his arrival. Here he had killed a Jedi Master and battled another furiously, overcome the Dark Side of the Force in a way that a Jedi would not think of it, and learned a valuable lesson in respect.

 

He headed deep into space to meet with Avion, using a quick burst of lightspeed to get a safe distance away.

[Draj Haerin]

Draj noticed the Other bounty hunter move up behind the Jedi. He needed time to do something, and fast. Draj did the first thing that came to mind: He grabbed the Jedi's lightsaber. His mind had comprehended the fact that Fett had tried to intimidate the other Knight with the fact, and Draj had used to his advantage.

 

The Bounty Hunter stunned the apprentice, thus taking him hostage. Draj was disappointed he didn't get a chance to prove himself, but there would be many other chances.

 

After Draj had made sure Chassis had captured the Jedi safely, he returned to his ship. He started up the hyperlift engines, sending them into a deep, high-pitched whine. While they spent time to heat up, Draj ran an ignitions check, making sure that everything ran fine. It did.

 

The engines fully functional, Draj sat down in the familiar seat and took off, heading for space.

[Piccolo]

The Howling Runner, a compliment of A-wings, a Star Destroyer, and a Nebulon B Frigate emerged from hyperspace. The small Black Sun force seemed out of place in comparison to the ice planet of Ilum that glittered below. Piccolo couldn't help letting his mind wander, envisioning this serene planet in chaos.

 

One step at a time Piccolo. Your vengeance will come naturally, no need to force it.

 

The hunter landed on the planet's surface. A small troop of Black Sun operatives in winter gear joined him. The hunter ordered the capital ships and fighters to move into the planet's darkside. They would only reveal themselves if necessary. Though Piccolo made sure the operatives knew to jam comm signals as soon as an unknown ship emerged. Preliminary tasks completed, Piccolo began scouting. They walked for several hours, distributing small probe droids, and recording what they saw. It was sometime before they located a small cave.

 

"This will be base camp. Set up while we wait for Avion and Will. Once they arrive the hard work starts. I want to see this Jedi crystals in person."

[Avion Chassis]

The Gladiator streaked out of hyperspace in front of the all too familiar planet of Ilum.

 

Why do Jedi have to make their lightsabers on such a cold planet, Avion thought to himself as he landed his ship.

 

The bounty hunter stepped out of his vessel and onto the icy surface of the planet. It seemed a puff of somke emerged from his mouth at each new breath.

 

Piccolo wasn't hard to find considering he left a path of technology for Avion to follow.

 

He entered the cave and immidatly cought sight of the half-trandoshian.

 

"Avion Chassis reporting for duty Sir."

[Piccolo]

"We'll have to get started without Will, I'll catch him up when he arrives."

 

An operative handed him the readouts from the probes. The planet was large, so normally it would be difficult to find crystal caves. But the Black Sun had an advantage. Piccolo had landed around the area where they had found Kirlocca. There was no question there were crystals somewhere in the vicinity. Piccolo spoke to Avion.

 

"You were on the operation to capture that padawan. Do you remember where exactly Fett found them?"

[Darex Trevelian]

A Republic shuttle linked with an X-wing pops out of hypersapce above Ilum. "Welcome to Ilum," Darex announced, grinning at Shy. "Better bundle up, it's a cold place. There are coats in the back."

 

He settled the linked ships down smoothly as she headed to the back. Shutting down, he joined his apprentice in the back.

 

Pulling out a heavy coat and handing it to her, he spoke. "This planet is one of the few planets in the galaxy that grows lightsaber crystals. I've decided that it is time for you to make a lightsaber of your own. This is one of the major steps that you will take before becoming a Jedi Knight, and it is a great honor to weild a lightsaber.

 

"Go into the caves and seek out your crystals. But be warned--while you are in the caves, you will be haunted by spirits. They will speak to you or show you things. Overcoming these is part of the journey. When you have succeeded, meet me here."

 

He looked at her intently. "If at any time you feel that you cannot continue, that the visions are too much, or that you are in real danger, I'm only a thought away."

 

His serious tone was replaced by a lighter one. "Now go."

[Jidai Geki]

*The Imperial/SEED fleet drops out of hyperspace and assumes a blockade position around the entire planet. Nothing will get in or out of the system without the Empire saying so. Interceptors are deployed and begin patrolling, and Emperor Jidai Geki proceeds to the surface with a team of 1,000 stormtroopers, Governor Vadrieriand, and any Sith that elected to join them. They head straight for the Crystal Caves.*

 

'Search every corner. I want any Jedi here.'

 

*The stormtroopers, all 1,000 of them, move in...*

[Trith]

*From the depths of the SEED flagship, four hundred Elite SEED troopers prepared for combat and loaded into five dropships. Their advanced armamants and training would allow them to subdue or kill the Jedi The transports blasted away and approached large openings in the rock. The Troopers fastroped down onto the icy surface and posted chalks at eather side of the large entrances. The advance teams prepared for their strategic sweeps of the caves the commanding agent commed up, reporting their readiness.*

 

 

"Governer Vadrieriand, Advance teams ready for entry order. No sign of the Jedi yet."

 

"Very well... Maintain current positions until I order otherwise, If possible capture the fools. If they are smart they will surrender themselves to you."

 

*She opened a broad spectrum comm channel*

 

"Jedi, This is Governer Vadrieriand of SEED. You are in violation of several Imperial laws, the first and foremost being the illigal harvest of imperial crystals, punishable by death. Surrender now, and you will be spared."

_______

 

*The Third dropship Reported spotting a landed X-wing class starfighter and a republic shuttle. Trith ordered them to proceed with their mission and ordered a full squadron of figters to proceed to the sector and wait for the jedi to be flushed out. The said dropship posted at the nearest entrances. They would be ready should the jedi attempt escape.*

___

 

*Trith turned to Geki.*

 

"Lets Kill us a few Jedi."

[Jidai Geki]

'Yes, indeed.'

 

*The stormtroopers search the caves quickly and efficiently. Within an hour of beginning their search, they close upon Shy-ree's position. Thirty stormtroopers converge upon her immediate location, with several hundred more ready to back them up.*

 

'Throw down your weapons. You're under arrest.'

[Jidai Geki]

(OOC: Darex, since you haven't posted yet we'll assume my troops haven't spotted you so that you can retaliate, if you wish.)

 

*Shy-ree is bound with stun-cuffs, searched for all weapons and other devices, and frog-marched to Geki. He regards her coldly.*

 

'The Jedi base. You will tell me where it is, and your death shall be quick.'

[Darex Trevelian]

Sithspit! was all Darex could think. Every decision he made lead them from bad to worse. He knew that they were most likely coincidences, but he couldn't stop himself from mentally berating himself.

 

Okay, Darex, think. He forced himself to slow down and remain hidden from the troops. You can surrender, and probably die in the hands of the Empire. You can run and abandon your apprentice again. You can try and fight...and fail.

 

At that thought, a sinister whisper trickled into his conciousness. You don't have to fail...with the power of the Force, you can defeat your enemies...

 

He instantly pulled back. I will not turn to the Dark Side. I am a Jedi Knight.

 

Finally, he decided. He pulled out his commlink and set it to an emergency frequency, calling for aid on an untraceable link. All the Imperials would be able to tell was that a message had been sent, destination unknown. He then switched it to R6's channel and quietly told him to unlink the X-wing and be prepared for anything.

 

That accomplished, he surrendered himself to the Force. //Shy,// he spoke into her mind, //don't give in to the Dark Side. There is still a chance for us. Stay strong...and trust in the Force.//

 

He then sauntered out into full view of the troops. Before they could react, he spoke, holding out his lightsaber before him. "I surrender. Do with me what you will."

[Jidai Geki]

*The Jedi is bound with stun cuffs, disarmed, and brought before the Emperor. Geki is informed of the message the Jedi sent.*

 

'We return to The Emperor's Fist.'

 

*The small landing party returns to the SSD, leaving a detachment of stormtroopers behind, and the two disarmed and searched Jedi are flung in the highly secure brig. Geki proceeds to the Jedi who appears to be the more senior. Darex is bound to an upright steel cot with perforations dotted through it, and a doctor close by in case of accidental death. Several stormtroopers enter the room with Geki.*

 

'Let's not waste each other's time, Master Jedi. Two things; the location of the Jedi sanctuary, and the content of the message you just sent.'

 

*Below, several thousand stormtroopers continue to search the crystal caves whilst high-powered sensors rake the planet's surface. Communication jammers are activated, and several tech ops crew are executed for their failure to block the Jedi's transmission.*