[GJW XI] Clan Plagueis Bravo Team Run-on

This is the Run-on thread for Clan Plagueis Bravo Team a.k.a. Callus’ Angels.

Callus Bo’amar #4195
Taranae Rhode #13721
Octavia Morgan Obrie #10075
Kultak Drol #13819

Civil War has befallen the Brotherhood. The Clans have split into three factions: the Loyalists, who have rallied behind Grand Master Ashen; the Rebels, following the banner of Jac Cotelin; and the New Order, led by the mysterious Sith Lord Esoteric. Each faction has stormed the surface of Korriban, establishing impressive fortifications and moving towards the Valley of the Dark Lords. Loyalists, Rebels, and the New Order clash across Korriban’s surface, all three attempting to gain control of the Valley of Dark Lords and the secrets it holds.

The Valley of Dark Lords has erupted in carnage, forces from every unit in the Brotherhood streaming into the ruins and temples, establishing makeshift defensive positions behind virtually every wall. Blood is spilled over every inch, each of the three sides gambling the lives of thousands of Jedi in an attempt to put an end to this conflict once and for all. The Loyalists, following Ashen’s command, seek to break through to the Tomb of Marka Ragnos, where the Disciples of Ragnos once sealed a chamber with writings on the Rite of Immortality. To open it, Ashen has sent three of his most skilled advisors in ancient dark rites and alchemy, but the way is not yet safe or clear for them, as the One Sith were originally entrenched in the Valley and still maintain a strong control over most of the area. Esoteric’s forces have a base of operations at the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, a fortified location that allows them a great deal of mobility throughout the Valley, which they use to harass any operations by the other two sides. The Adept Dantella Novae reluctantly commands Esoteric’s forces in the region, though she seems more interested in stealing the secrets of Marka Ragnos than in defending the Valley itself. Cotelin is seeking to contain and control whatever the Tomb of Marka Ragnos holds, through any means necessary… and before Ashen’s forces can reach it.

You and your team have found yourselves just outside one of the few entrances to the Valley of the Dark Lords. You know that inside the Valley, death and destruction have overtaken the ruins, but you also know that ultimately, victory for one side of the other is likely to come within the walls of the ancient tombs.

Korriban… Callus had been here once before in his life, to see the tomb of Darth Bane, he had been underwhelmed. Even today with the Valley of the Sith embroiled in war, the very thing the sith loved, it was somewhat lacking in Callus’ eyes. He wanted there to be more, he wanted to feel more from this place. It was just dust and bones to him.

The drop ship lifted off behind them and swirled the coarse red sand around the small team of Plagueians. The Quaestor turned to face his team, it isn’t a team he would have picked under normal circumstances but it seemed like a competent one none the less. He removed a small holoprojector from his datapad and held it in front of them as a three dimensional representation of the valley appeared above his palm. A flashing arrow indicated their present location on the outskirts of the valley. Several locations were marked and others flashed on and off as they were updated in real time. One location was consistently highlighted.

“I know you’ve all seen the mission briefing and know that our goal is the Tomb of Marka Ragnos. Looking at this,” he ran his fingers through the mess of indicators in the valley between their location and their target, “it’ll be a hell of a fight getting there. There won’t be many friendly faces along the way. We may also die.”

He glanced at the faces with him, grim, but not without purpose. Some of them may actually survive.

“We should move,” he closed his hand over the hologram and tucked the projector away, “try not to die yeah?” He said with a grin as he tightened up the straps on his combat armor, unslung his blaster rifle, and headed off into the valley.

It was his first time on the desolate red planet, but already Kul’tak could see why it was spoken of with such respect and awe amongst the Sith. Or, more importantly, he could feel why. His gaze took in the abundance of sand around them and he suddenly felt small in comparison. The team had landed some distance away from the main combat area, but the presence of the Force was undeniable—he wouldn’t have been worthy of the title of Sith had he failed to notice it. It soaked the dune fields of Korriban like a wet blanket, almost physically weighing him down. A small gust of wind blew some of the loose silt into his face, causing him to cough involuntarily. Looking back to his teammates, he realized Callus was reviewing their mission details. The Equite had just finished outlining the basic battlefield lines on his holo unit and was leading them forward. Reaching a tattooed-hand back the Zabrak lovingly caressed his war sword, the two halves connected for easier hauling. At his side hung his armory saber, hidden within the folds of his flapping cloak.

Striding forward he caught up with his shorter master and set his steps to match her. With a respectful nod he removed his hood to speak unhindered, “Master. I can’t help but wonder…what are our chances of coming out of this intact?” His slight emphasis of the word ‘our’ made it clear he wasn’t referring to just the team itself. He managed to catch the twitch of her emerald eyes as she gave him one of those silent reprimands he had come to loathe.

“Really, Kul. You should know by now that Plagueis is made of tougher stuff. No matter what may come, we will emerge from this stronger and as a Clan.” She allowed a small grin to brighten her face, “Besides, they sent us in. What have I said about failing, my Apprentice?”

Callus stopped them with a raise of his hand and directed their attention to the first rung of the ladder they would be climbing this day. Before them lay the plain leading to the Tomb of Marka Ragnos. As well as hundreds of combatants from the triumvirate of forces meshing into one bloody tapestry of death. Octavia and Taranae looked to Callus for orders while Kul took in the anarchy below them.

“I remember it well, Master. Plagueis does not fail.”

Callus’ experienced eyes probed for any signs of quick entry and exit through the melee. Thrusting a tightened fist forward, he led the team down a sloping dune, where their armor would stick out against the crimson sand even if they tried to hide. Fortunately, the first soldiers they encountered were some of Esoteric’s One Sith forces. The squad of troopers were currently trying to press forward against soldiers of the Odan-Urr. With the possibility of combating Jedi, Kul removed his war sword and drove one end into the dirt with eagerness.

The Equite grabbed one of the senior troopers by the shoulder. “We need to break through, Sergeant. Can your men help us cut through?” At first the soldier thought the enemy had gotten behind them, but he noticed the Plagueian sigil. Unwilling, or perhaps terrified, to refuse an Equite the trooper quickly saluted and barked some orders. Without further ado, the now larger group stormed across the open dunes, surprising the Jedi and their own troops with their audacity. Blaster bolts sped from both sides, dropping ally and foe alike. Still, not wanting to lose the momentum, Callus and Octavia burst ahead with their sabers, quickly engaging the Jedi while Taranae and Kul’tak began mincing the fodder troops. It never failed to impress the Zabrak at his Master’s prowess. She swung her saber with lethal accuracy, literally disarming one soldier to pause a brief second and blast a hole in another some meters away with her DL-44. Not wanting to be outdone, Kul’tak drove his blade into the soft joint of an Urr trooper. Pulling forth his anger, he pushed an electric current down the blade, frying his victim inside his armor. The smell of scorched flesh arose amidst an increasing stench of death.

Turning from the corpse, Kul’tak saw Octavia dispatching the last Jedi, Callus ripping his own saber free of another’s prone chest. In the distance, he noticed some more “Rebel” troops seeking vengeance heading their way. Unhinging his blade, he grasped both halves separately and welcomed the coming fight.

Octavia turned to Callus as she pulled her blade from the chest of a Jedi who tried to charge her. “Your student isn’t too bad. He might actually make it home.” Her senses were tingling as she looked around the battlefield. She could feel the Jedi coming at them from the north, and knew the Plagueis troops were clearing the path for them, but she wasn’t even sure what exactly they were going to get out of securing the planet, or what was left of it.

Callus snapped Octavia out of her thoughts by giving orders to keep moving towards the tomb, and for once in her life he was grateful she wasn’t the one giving orders. She watched the youngins run ahead and proceeded to catch up, running past them at a speed even she was surprised at. A smile crossed her lips as she met the first group of Jedi trying to defend the Tomb.
Her blade quickly cut through the first Jedi as she lost herself in the battle. She could see the entrance and knew that they should be able to take it on their own. She was proud of her group as she heard them using what Plagueis had taught them to reach their goal. Octavia knew her group was very skilled, and had a very capable leader. As she caught her breathe she was able to watch the scene unfold and feel the energy around her.
Quickly Octavia Turned to strike and was able to see Taranae grip her blade and begin a battle with a Jedi woman. Octavia was truly impressed with the girl’s strength and form, and nodded in approval before letting out a battle cry and charging deeper into the group of Jedi who had charged them. Deciding to allow herself get lost in the moment she focused on ending the lives of those who stood in her way, she could think about everything else when their job was done.

Taranae underestimated her opponent. She misjudged a swing and the Jedi facing her gestured, hitting her with a blast of power which threw her backwards and onto her back. Her foe immediately followed up on the attack, leaping with a grace that Taranae knew only too well and thrust her lightsaber toward her fallen enemy. Thinking quickly, Taranae mustered all her power and threw her hands up in defence. The tactic worked, as the female Jedi seemed to hit a solid wall with her weapon and crashed into the barrier that the Warrior had erected in defence.
Rolling out from under her foe, Taranae swung with her lightsaber at the stunned female, and even though she threw up her weapon in defence, Taranae’s attack easily broke through and dispatched her.
Pausing to catch her breath, she looked around at the others battling. Kul’tak held his own whilst Octavia rushed to meet the enemy head-on. Callus could be seen in amongst the greatest concentration of troops, fighting with wild abandon using both his weapon and the Force to aid him as it seemed he had been singled out as the biggest threat. It was only a matter of time before they could see a clear path and looking across the battlefield at each other, they decided on a plan of action together. They rushed forwards, cutting down any who dared to stand in their way. The Force aided them with a few well-placed pushes, helping them to keep the path clear. By the time they reached their objective, they were all out of breath and battle-weary.

“Well done, Apprentice. We’ll make a Knight of you yet.” quipped Taranae as Kul’tak dusted himself off.

She didn’t add that she was bursting with pride at seeing him in combat. He was becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Taranae was sure he was ready to become a Dark Jedi Knight. She holstered her lightsaber and strolled over to Callus, who was once again consulting the map he had shown to them before they began.

“We still have a way to go, Taranae,” he said, “and I have no idea how the difficult the coming battles will be compared to this one. I fear we may have our work cut out for us.”

“If battle we must, then battle we shall.” she replied. “How far left to the tomb?”

She flicked the safety off on her DL-44 as she muttered, “Ready when you are, Cotelin…”

Callus wiped the back of his hand across his jaw and smeared away a splatter of blood from his lip, he’d been caught by a lucky stock strike as he’d closed on a trooper with his blade. He clipped his lightsaber to the small of his back and picked his blaster rifle up off the ground checking it over for any damage. Seeing no reason to hesitate and every reason to hurry he slung his rifle on his shoulder and set out at a trot deeper into the valley without so much as a word to the others. He knew they would follow.

The day was getting long, and the fighting was getting more and more ferocious. The three armies clashed all across the valley as the shadows grew longer. No one force seemed to gain an edge over the other. Where a group of loyalists would carve through a contingent of rebels, across the valley a cadre of Plagueians would unceremoniously end a pack of loyalists and vice versa as far as the eye could see. Callus and his team had done their best to avoid as much conflict as they could but as is the case, most fights are unavoidable. Of course Callus wasn’t really expecting an unwinnable battle, that is until the orbital barrage began.

Callus could feel the energy before he saw the actual turbo laser bolt streaking down towards the surface. Whatever was going on in space above them, apparently someone was losing and decided it was a better option to slag everyone and everything on the surface. One blast struck about 25 meters away and the impact was still enough to lift Callus and his small group off their feet and send them sprawling in all directions. As he slowly regained his consciousness he was aware of a pulling at his neck, like someone was dragging him. He fumbled with his hands and felt for whoever it was pulling at him. He found a hand and tried to wrench it away but to no avail, he still couldn’t focus his attention. The Quaestor shook his head and tried to clear away the grey at the corners of his vision, he coughed twice and reached for the hand again. “I’m alright,” he groaned trying to get to his feet, “I said I’m alright!” He said louder with authority in his voice. He felt the grip weaken on his shoulder and gingerly got to his feet. He exhaled and brushed dirt from his chest as he surveyed the valley.

“Stang…” He heard Kul’Tak whisper

“That’s not the half of it,” Callus replied with another cough, “Looks like whoever it was decided it wasn’t enough.” He pointed up to the sky at something that looked like a shooting star. “That’s what it looks like when a Star Destroyer is shot down in the grip of a planet’s gravity. I don’t know where it will hit but it won’t be good.”

“We should keep moving,” that was Octavia, “We may just have a chance to make some headway here while the others are still recovering from the blast. Callus where does the map say we are?” Callus dug his datapad from a pocket on his thigh and activated the map. Apparently it had taken a bit of a pounding as the image flickered for a moment before resolving into the now familiar map of the valley.

“Looks like…” Callus said glancing from the map up around at their surroundings, “We are here.” Callus said gesturing with a finger to their relative position. The device then drew a path to their objective. Callus again looked up at the valley their path now lead them through a new geographic landmark in the form of about 20 different craters strewn with bodies and rubble. Getting through there if they weren’t being attacked would be a nightmare. “Maybe we should look for another way.” Callus said running his fingers through the hair on his chin.

“What about the tombs?” Taranae asked as the others turned their attention on her, “We could move through the tombs, they are all interconnected to some degree. All we’d have to do is find the passages or cut our own. That way we would be safe from the aerial strikes and would probably avoid any major conflicts with other forces.” As Taranae finished all the eyes turned back on Callus.

“On the surface it sounds like a good plan,“ he paused hoping that his pun would hit but it didn’t, just as well considering the situation. “I have been in those tunnels and they are a mess, we could get lost down there and never make it back out. That said it sounds like the most proactive thing we could do with the least chance of getting obliterated by another orbital blast or getting chopped down one by one trying to cross the valley on foot. I say we go for it.” Callus indicated the next tomb on his map. The tomb of Marka Ragnos, seemed as good a place to start as any. He tucked his datapad away and led his team to their destination.

The team arrived at the tomb, pausing a moment to catch their breath. Kul’tak couldn’t help but wonder at the simplicity of the tomb itself. He had assumed such a famous dark lord would have had a more intricate design as a sign of his power. No, it was just a seemingly deep cave with some worn-down carvings. Rather anticlimactic if you asked him. He knew that appearances could be deceiving, however. Inside was a veritable trove of knowledge and artifacts.

Callus peered into the dark tunnel, as if something had caught his attention. Upon his own inspection, Kul’tak did not see anything, mostly because it was nearly pitch black further in.

“Is something the matter, Quaestor?”

“Indeed. I sense someone already down in the crypt. They seem to be alone, so we should have no trouble in apprehending them if they are an enemy. Let’s move, the orbital strikes mean we’re running out of time quickly.” With that, he began descending into the crypt, the other three falling into line with Kul’tak as rearguard.

The tunnels seemed to go on endlessly, but Kul decided that was probably just the lack of light to mark the time wearing on him. The tomb surely couldn’t go on forever. Could it? That would be a Sith for you. Just before the Zabrak decided to curse the buried dark lord, he bumped into the person in front of him, his master.

“Oh sorry, Master. Didn’t realized we had stopped. What’s going on?” There was a brief pause before the body responded.

“First time anyone’s called me a master before. I take it you’re here with the rest of the overly loud crowd outside? Name’s Grey, but you can call me gone.” With that the man who was not Kul’s master attempted to skirt around him and retreat down the tunnel. Unfortunately for him, the Zabrak was no fool and spun deftly before applying two quick punches of the Shadow Fist to the man’s left kidney. The shock of the blows dropped him, and Callus appeared over him, his saber glowing a bright blue.

“Well hello there, Mr. Grey. Thought you could sneak by us ,did you? We could sense your presence as soon as we came in. Or at least three of us could. How’d you almost miss him passing you, Journeyman?” Kul’tak felt shame rise inside him as the Quaestor revealed his error in front of his master.

Shrugging, he subconsciously pulled his cloak tighter. “I’m more attuned to sensing fauna than men, Quaestor.”

The Exarch huffed and turned to the man gripping his side. “You must be this Connor Grey we’ve heard about. A treasure hunter, yes? That must mean you can show us where the tomb is.” He grabbed one of Grey’s arms and hauled him up. “Show us.”

Octavia Post #7

The Battle Team Leader gave Kul a motherly smile and gripped his shoulder gently. “It’s alright. We all make mistakes, my dear. Granted, could have been a big mistake, but we caught him before he could get away, right?” She watched the Zabrak nod and she smiled a little more. “Just don’t make any more for a little while, OK?” She didn’t wait for a response and turned her attention to the man they just caught in the catacombs with them.

The man looked at them all and spat in Callus’ face. “Fuck you. I ain’t leading you nowhere!”
Octavia reacted before Callus could lose his cool.” I know who you are.” The red head said as she looked him up and down. This is was rouge Jedi she had heard about. He was a tricky one, a liar and a playboy, normally someone she would have killed if they tried to get in her way, this time though, he would be of good use. “Connor Grey. Treasure Hunter, Con Man, and a huge liar.” Her smile turned a bit sinister as she looked at Callus and then back to the Platinum Blond haired man standing next to him. “We will make you a deal, Connor. I know you know your way around here. I also know you really want to get the hell out of here, so you take us where we want to go, and you get to leave, alive, and we won’t speak of it again”.
Connor tried to wiggle out of Callus’ grasp and failed. He let out an audible sigh and looked at the mismatched team in front of him. He was pretty confident he could take on the group, but didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He was finally able to rip his arm out of Callus’ grasp and smiled “Fine Babycakes, let’s go.”

Octavia moved quickly and smacked him across the face, the reaction on his face priceless. “ You call me babycakes again and I’ll fucking kill you”.

Post 8 Taranae #13721

Taranae stifled a laugh as Octavia’s hand met Connor’s face with a very satisfying slap. She had been close to doing it herself, but she had been beaten to it. she unclipped her lightsaber and ignited it. Pointing it at Connor’s back, she edged him forwards with the tip close to the back of his neck.

“One false move and I will separate your head from your body,” she said “and trust me when I assure you I won’t miss.” She nodded her head in the direction that Connor had come from and waved her lightsaber. “And if you call me anything, you lose your arms. Not a fantastic situation to be in if you need your hands to fight or procure relics, is it?”

She watched with satisfaction as Connor’s shoulders slumped, resigning himself to the fact that he had no option but to do as this party of Sith asked. He set off with Taranae at his back and the others beside him, weapons ready. They walked in silence for some time before Kul’tak suddenly stopped. He knelt carefully and placed his weapons on the ground in front of him.

“Kul, what are you-”, she was cut short as Connor spun around and kicked Taranae’s hand hard from underneath. Her lightsaber flew out of her hand and he ran, heading into the darkness. The rest of the team were taken by surprise, too, and as he ran, Callus gave chase.

“Callus! I have an idea, stop!” she cried. Callus stopped dead in his tracks and Taranae gestured. The whole team heard a thud and a groan, followed by a softer thud.

“Taranae what did you just do?” demanded the Quaestor.
“Well, you know when you exercise and your body suddenly hits ‘the wall’?” she replied. Callus nodded, understanding beginning to show on his face.
“Well I believe Connor just ran too much and hit that wall.”

They walked to where the sound of groaning was coming from and found Connor laid on his back and nursing a bust nose. The whole team broke into laughter as Callus marched over to Connor and manhandled him into a standing position.

“Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark tomorrow.” he quipped. Connor glared at him as he was taken back to the group. Kul’tak had retrieved his weapons now, and was looking rather sheepishly at Taranae.

“Master-,” he began.
“Don’t sweat it, apprentice. It’s an easy trick to fall foul of, as I have found to my dismay.” She patted him jovially on the back and walked in pursuit of Callus and the rest of the team, Kul rushing along behind and trying to catch up.

A short while after, they entered a huge cavern which seemed to have been hewn from the rock itself. Numerous alcoves were around the walls and Taranae could just make out shapes in the centre of the cavern.

What now, Callus?” she asked. “What should we do?”

Connor turned and grinned, not saying a word.

Callus felt a tingle on the back of his neck, an imminent sign of danger. He turned on his heel, grabbed Grey by the collar and dove forward down a side passageway. Immediately at his heels he could feel rubble and dirt collapsing in the tunnel behind him. His grip tightened on the fabric of Grey’s shirt as he struggled to pull away from the Quaestor. A sharp pain radiated up Callus’ arm as Connor jammed a knife into his left forearm forcing the Exarch To release his grip.

Callus scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible, drew and activated his lightsaber in one smooth motion and stared down Grey. The treasure hunter threw back his cloak and brandished his own lightsaber, ignited it and turned a grin on Callus.

“Shall we?” The rogue asked lunging at Callud with his blade.

Callus parried the first strike and shoved Grey back a few paces.

“Where did you get a lightsaber?” Callus asked incredulously.

“You can find all manner of things among the dead if you look hard enough and are willing to take some risks.” Grey remarked with a twisted grin as he flourished the blade.

“You know I’m going to kill you right?” Callus inquired readying his weapon.

“I know you are going to try.” Connor said lashing out with his ill gotten weapon. Callus intercepted the overhead strike high above his head and rolled the strike to his left lashing out with a side kick aimed at his quarries midsection. The treasure hunter skipped back deftly from the stike. Callus used the forward momentum to turn on his right toe and windmill his lightsaber in a furious diagonal strike that Connor again hopped away from.

Callus pressed the assault and engaged in a few quick testing blows against Grey’s defense. The rapscallion was good but he wold be no match for Callus in the long run.

Everything happened so fast it took Kul’tak a moment to steady his focus on what was before him. The dust from the cave-in clogged his nostrils and he attempted to wave away the fragments. With little room in the passageway it took longer than he would have liked, causing him to become irritated. When he could clearly see (for being in a deep, dark cavern anyway), he realized Callus had been cut off from the rest of the group; Taranae and Octavia stood not too far off from their attempt to escape the falling debris. The Zabrak didn’t even bother trying to feel Callus’ presence with the Force. He knew it would take more than some wily treasure hunter to bring down the Equite. He turned to take in the cavern before them. It was more highly decorated than the entrance had been, detailed carvings from some past generation he’d never know or understand.

“Is this the tomb, Master?”

Taranae strained her emerald eyes trying to pierce the veil of darkness.

“It’s some sort of tomb, at least. Whether Ragnos’ or not we’ll soon discover. Stay focused, Kul, we’re not alone in here.” Octavia nodded in agreement and rested a hand on her saber.

Kul’tak made a mental note to practice more at becoming one with the darkness. After concentrating and focusing his willpower, he managed to sense the other presences in the tomb with them. There was a small group of them near the center. From where they were it was possible to make out a small glow that was most likely what they were using to see what was in the center. The three Plagueians used their awareness of each other to make their way towards the other group as clandestinely as possible.

When they were close enough to get a better view, they attempted to spread out. That ended abruptly when they were suddenly bathed in a blinding flash of light. The three blinked away the pain as they realized they were now the center of attention of the group they thought they’d been stalking. To each of their flanks stood royal guardsmen, and beside the desecrated tomb of Marka Ragnos stood a sneering Muz Ashen. He placed his hands behind his back as he gazed upon the intruders.

“Ah, guests. And Plagueians, no less. The scum of the Brotherhood. Welcome to the day of my ascension.” He waved a carefree hand to his guards. “Kill them.”

Octavia practically growled when she saw Muz standing before them. She never liked the Grand Master, and now that she knew he was a greedy, bastard who ran the Brotherhood into the ground, she wanted him dead. His words enraged her as she realized what they were up against. She knew between the three of them there was so way they could take on Muz. It made her even angrier when he couldn’t even be bothered to fight them himself, and instead sent his guard to take them on while he kept looking for whatever relic his was after.
She quickly looked between her groups mates and spoke softly enough so they could hear her. “We need to work together here, because honestly, Muz it much stronger than we are and-- “ Kul quickly cut the Dark Jedi Knight off, “And he’s gone crazy.” The Zabrak looked a little worried as he spoke. Taranae nodded in agreement and ignited her Lightsaber, “We’ve got this. Let’s go!”
Octavia Let her saber and charged the first guard that came her way. She was very relieved to see that there were people she didn’t know. She had braced herself for a few familiar faces, but in times of war, it seems everyone was protecting themselves. She smiled as her blade make the familiar noises of it connecting with another blade.
She locked eyes with the fighter as she practically danced around him to slice into his shoulder so she could move on to the next guard. She looked over to make sure her team was still up and was startled by Muz’s maniac laughter. “Immortality is mine!!!”

post 12 Taranae #13721

Pulling her lightsaber from the corpse of her fallen foe, Taranae whirled to see Octavia dispatch another enemy. They were gradually winning the fight against Muz’s guardsmen, but Muz himself just stood there, laughing maniacally. Another guardsman came at her from her rear, but she sensed his approach and ducked just as his weapon swung a wide arc above her head. The attack was meant to remove her head from her shoulders, but she was ready for him. As he overbalanced after expecting his attack to strike its target, she brought her weapon around and sliced into his legs. His knees didn’t stand a chance. The blade passed straight through, severing his legs from the rest of his body, and he hit the floor, screaming in pain. With another taken care of, Taranae turned her eyes to the Grand Master. Octavia and Kul had taken it upon themselves to attack Muz alone, and Taranae knew they would not live to see the days end if they continued. As she watched, Muz easily blocked every one of their attacks with little use of the Force, but by his own Skill. She knew she had been up against a Grand Master before and she silently seethed. This was not the one she wanted to be here; her quarrel was with Jac Cotelin and revenge was on her mind.

As she started towards her comrades, she came to an abrupt halt. She had seen something, no someone in the shadows to the rear of Muz. Deciding a distraction was needed, she called on the Force and wrenched a segment of the rock away from the wall with a gesture. She waited until Octavia and Kul were in the midst of battle with Muz and threw the rock at him. The Grand Master saw the attack coming and as he gestured, pushing the rock onto a different trajectory, kicking out at Octavia and Kul as he knocked them backwards several yards. Muz somersaulted backwards out of the reach of Kul’s lightsaber swing and landed a short distance away, smirking.

Taranae had accomplished what she had intended and Callus stepped out of the shadows. He had obviously defeated Connor, and had found an alternative route to the area. Muz had all his attention focused on the party in front of him and he raised his hand in a gesture, grinning defiantly. His grin suddenly transformed into a look of utter horror and he began to say something. His speech gurgled as if he was in pain and he turned a pale white. His head slowly swung down as his hand came up to almost touch the glowing blade protruding from his chest as it slid backwards and out of his body, leaving a small hole where it had entered. Slowly, Muz turned to see the angry face of Callus, staring back at him, lightsaber held in battle posture. The Grand Master collapsed onto one knee as Callus muttered.

“It all ends now, Ashen!” he said as he brought his lightsaber down on a parallel with Muz’s neck, severing it completely from his body. The body knelt for one last moment before toppling forward of its own accord, landing with a soft thud as the head came to rest against the wall.

Taranae walked over to the body and rifled through the remains, finding an ancient scroll on the body.

“I believe these are what we were looking for, Callus,” she remarked. The sounds of voices came from somewhere up ahead, and running feet could be heard approaching., “and I suggest we beat a hasty retreat if we wish to retain them for longer than a few minutes.”

Callus nodded his assent, and quickly but quietly, they made their way out of the catacombs, following the way the relic hunter had shown them to begin with. Emerging into the sunlight once again, they noticed the battle had moved location and was now being fought more towards the other side of the catacombs, which would explain the voices coming from before them inside. They hastily made their way back to the rendezvous point and called for their transport.

The team had accomplished their task, the writings now in their possession. Grand Master Muz would never achieve his immortality and it looked like the war was swinging in favour of Plagueis. The battles were still being fought on Korriban, but who would eventually win over all the odds stacked against them? Only time would tell.