Star Wars KOTOR: Counterplay

[Writer]

For a moment, Arai could do nothing more than stare at him in amazement. Wrong with him? What could possibly be wrong with him? But her mind refused to cycle through a catalog of possible illnesses he might have contracted that would give him these symptoms. The anger with which he'd replied to her put her on the defensive. Now, she had to defend her argument.

 

"How can you say that?" she asked sharply. "Pauel even said that the only form the stuff isn't toxic in is a gas, which by the way, I can't quite wrap my head around." Her eyes narrowed as she snatched his hand up and stabbed a finger into the tattoo. "And this is not a gas."

[Tysyacha]

((Is it just me, or has this RP crossed over into "epic" territory for the DTC?))

 

"Mica!" Perdante practically dashed toward the Republic officer. "Thank the Force! I was this close to hurling myself into the central pit, and all because of Force projections caused by that--woman!" She gnashed her teeth again. "I know she was only trying to throw me off of her trail and get herself and her hot little boy-toy off this wreck of a so-called planet, but did her projections have to go in there?!" She pointed at the yawning dark maw. "I was almost killed, and I would have been if I hadn't come to my senses in a fraction of a second!" She snorted disgustedly. "Back to Geeda's. I swear, if Sal and Zen don't have Pauel in their custody, I might seriously rough someone up."

[ForceFightWMe12]

((I might have to agree Anyway, JP with Writer))

 

He snatched his hand back from her, standing up and glaring hard at her. "The only form of reinforcement that isn't poisonous!" His hands turned into fists as he marched out of the cockpit. "This is a weapon!"

 

Arai glared daggers at him. "What part of "all forms" isn't getting through to you, Travesty?" That was trouble. In their past, she had only ever called him by his last name alone once, and she had been so angry at the time that her Master had sprinted from several blocks away to intervene. "I swear, your head's gotten thicker in our years apart."

 

The sound of his name alone was enough to raise his hackles. "I don't see why I should be any different." he growled, whipping around to face her again. "You certainly haven't improved at all."

 

This time, there was no Master to intervene and Arai was far closer to the Dark Side than she'd ever been back then. Sparks flew across her fingertips as she growled, "I guess you're in for a real shock then..."

 

He squared off against her then, only a yard and a half of empty space between them. There wasn't much to be offered in the cramped confines of the cockpit.

 

"Don't you dare."

 

"Call it a test," Arai challenged. "If you stop me with your... weapon and are none the worse for wear, then we can entertain the unlikely chance that your illness has nothing to do with it."

 

And with that, she thrust her fist toward his chest, lightning crackling over its surface.

 

He caught her fist squarely in his right palm, the tattoo glowing faintly as it devoured the Force energy flowing between her fingers. His fingers closed tightly around her fist and twisted sharply to the right. Waiting a moment to allow the first wave of pain to cease, he shoved her backwards.

 

"Don't do this, Raia." he said, sliding backwards into a fighting stance and raising his fists. He hadn't actually expected her to attack him...

 

"What's wrong, Dom?" she asked, rekindling the sparks on her fist. "Beginning to question your initial certainty that it's not the ostanovium causing your little episodes?"

 

Seeing her like this cleared his anger and replaced it with worry; this was the Dark Side working in her, and he had promised to help relieve her of that plague. All he had done now was encourage it.

 

"I'm beginning to question the wisdom of this discussion. C'mon, Raia, this isn't you."

 

She laughed sharply. "If this is the only way to open your eyes, then this is me." Both fists lit up with sparks and she pushed both hands outward toward him.

 

The one downfall of his tattoo was that it was only in one hand.

 

He was forced to sidestep her second fist, pressing himself up against the wall and sucking his stomach in to avoid the sparks. But by sidestepping the blow, it meant she overstepped and her weight was unbalanced. That made it really easy for him to lock his arm around her other elbow and throw her against the wall.

 

Grabbing both of her wrists, he pinned her with arms stretched wide to the durasteel, getting right in her face. "God damn it, Blondie," he hissed, using his body as an extra assurance against her escape by pressing his chest close to hers. "Snap out of it! It's me!"

 

Gasping, Arai blinked rapidly several times. The cold, cruel light that had dominated her gaze during this entire exchange drained completely away, leaving only astonishment and fear.

 

"Force, Tink," she murmured. "What have I done?"

 

Proven herself right.

 

Now that he was certain she wasn't going to try to kill him anymore, Dominic released her and slowly stepped back. Without the adrenaline of the fight, whatever was poisoning him had free reign; he collapsed once more into the co-pilot's seat, his chest getting tight all over again. As he rolled up his sleeve, he could feel his throat beginning to close up - and suddenly, everything was happening much faster than it ever had before.

 

Without Dom's support, Arai sank to her knees, tears coming to her eyes. "What a pair," she murmured. "I can't keep a lid on my temper, and you're killing yourself being that lid."

 

She crawled over to him and took another kolto injection out of his pouch, pressing it to his neck. "Let's...not do that again..."

 

He lifted his hand to take hold of her wrist, and when his chest began to loosen again, he knocked the empty cylinder from her hand with his thumb and pressed her palm to his neck. "Agreed." he said, his voice still scratchy. "God, Raia, I'm sorry."

 

She let him guide her hand to his neck and clasped her other hand over his shoulder. "Me too, Dom," she said softly. "Me too."

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Mica removed one hand from his pocket as she spoke, silently beckoning her closer with a few movements of his fingers. When she was close enough, he put his hand gently on her shoulder and steered her back the way they came.

 

"She's an outlaw. There isn't much more that you can expect from someone like that." he said quietly, shaking his head. "But, at any rate, I have to say that that was fairly impressive. I just wish that you could have acted with such speed in the very beginning! If you had, they wouldn't have escaped!"

[Tysyacha]

The Jedi Knight gazed seriously at Mica. "Lesson learned. She who hesitates is lost. Although, the main thing I'm wondering now is, why would both of those people that we just met be on Pauel's side?" She had a sudden thought. "As far as I know, the man, Dominic, is still a member of the Found and wants to protect Pauel, but what about the Force-projecting schutta? Did Dom recruit her into their weird, murderous, and Force-inhibiting cult, or what? If not, why would she even want Pauel alive? Is she just along for the ride? Force only knows."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"My initial thought was the same as yours." he said, shrugging. "The most logical thought would be that she was a recruit; he picked her up somewhere and brought her to Pauel to have her initiated - or whatever the hell it is those terrorists do." Lifting his hand off her shoulder, he reaching into his bag again to pull out a pack of deathsticks.

 

"But after seeing her snap like that, I have to wonder. She was quite happily flaunting her lightsaber and Force powers; would someone like that be so willing to give them up in exchange for acceptance in a cult? Admittedly, religion is a very...persuasive mechanism. Even so, the Jedi and Sith have always been the most powerful. What would make them falter now?"

[Tysyacha]

"Maybe the woman doesn't like what she's becoming, or at least what she's becoming when she loses her cool. I was once a Sith Initiate," replied Perdante, "and so I know well what the lure of the Dark Side is and means. I also know how scary it can be when--and if--you are first turning to it. Maybe SHE is scared, and that's why she's seeking out Pauel, Dominic, and the Found."

[Cyborg Ninja]

Zen made no attempt to stop Dominic as he began to move towards him. Dominic had helped Perdante and himself escape back on Coruscant. The honorable thing to do would be for Zen to help Dominic and Arai escape. He allowed the two to run past him and was ready to stand in Mica's path if need be.

 

Zen found himself smiling as Dominic and Arai took off. He watched his former comrade for only a few seconds before he heard Mica's voice. Zen stared down at the human as he informed him that he would be telling the captain of his actions. He did not care what the human did, but he would not take further action to help Dominic. Then Mica told him his honor would be on the line if he screwed up again. Zen took a step forward and glared at the human.

 

"Save your threats for someone who fears them, human".

 

With that Perdante and Mica took off after Dominic and Arai.

 

Best of luck my brother Zen thought as he headed back to the cantina.

 

Zen entered back into the Cantina and through the door to where Pauel was. He was not as calm as he was when he first was here.

 

"My patience is thin Pauel. You will come with us...make any attempt to resist and you shall find yourself without any legs."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Sal was just finishing putting the cuffs on Pauel when Zen arrived. He didn't look up until the second one had snapped into place, securing both wrists behind his back.

 

"I've checked him for weapons, and now that you're here, I'm sure we won't have any trouble with him running." He stood up. "We'll just have to worry about trouble from outside. What the hell happened out there??"

 

- - - - - - - - - - -

 

"You weren't really a Sith, were you?" Mica asked, a look of innocent surprise on his face. One would never guess that he had heard all of this before, so simply did the lie flow from his lips. Why give away his oblivious informant in Salvatore just yet? There was no telling how close he would get to the Jedi woman...and the closer he got, the closer that Mica became as well. "I never would have guessed...I know that it's a part of your life that you're probably not proud of, but if I may, what made you do it? Turn to the Dark Side, I mean." If she was so freely sharing other parts of her past...

[Tysyacha]

Pauel's face blanched as white as a sheet. "I'll come with you," he said, "but do not expect any mercy from the Prophet when we reach him! Master Khristoff will destroy both of you, as he does anyone who opposes the Truth and the Light. I am not the only Apostle he has at his disposal; the rest are stationed on the only Pure World in this entire galaxy! I have been sent here to preach, and preach I shall when both of you are dead and the Found has found victory!"

 

------------------

 

Perdante shrugged. "Why did I turn to the Dark Side? Pure and unadulterated necessity. I was plucked out of the stinking slums of Coruscant by a Sith soldier who saw I had strong potential in the Force, even as a seven-year-old child. I had no other choice except to run, which I didn't because I was so scared. The Sith made me strong--or so I thought, until I met my present trainer, Juhani. She showed me the great flaw in my logic: that such strength is not infallible."

[Cyborg Ninja]

Zen looked over at Sal and thought about whether he should actually tell him or not. Seeing that Mica would tell the captain he would probably be more than likely to tell his own brother.

 

"What is that phrase you human's use?...Your captain is going to give me hell. I let Dominic and his friend escape. Not only is he my former comrade, but he helped me escape with Perdante back on Coruscant. It would be dishonorable if I did not do the same for him."

 

Zen now turned to Pauel and actually laughed at his words. If he wanted to he could squish Pauel's head within seconds.

 

"Much like your prophet you shall find no mercy from me either. When I'm done with you I shall have you on the floor begging for death," he said viciously to Pauel. Zen looked back to Sal. "Are we to wait for your brother or meet him and Perdante back on the ship?"

[Alkonium]

Walking over the still-twitching droid on the floor, Garren entered the control room, and as soon as Carth and Atton followed, he magnetically sealed the door and as an additional measure, electrified it. He then checked the camera feeds from the main chamber. "Perfect. Those projectors will come in handy." He commented. Finally figuring out his plan, he pulled the data disc out of the control terminal, and replaced it with a tape containing all of the evidence he had gathered, along with the HoloNet footage of the report on the contaminated water. Then, to add one final touch, he spoke into the microphone, in an outright damning tone, "If she really cared about the people of Coruscant, or the people of the Galaxy, she wouldn't have allowed this, no, she wouldn't have done this." And with that, Plina Skelch's career, along with at the very least, her life as a free woman, were over.

[Tysyacha]

((Speaking of "over", I really wanted this "Endgame" thing to be a trilogy, and technically, "Checkmate" should be the third installment, not the second. Thus, I'm starting completely over on the story of Perdante et al, and the aftermath of Endgame. Sayonara, and thanks for playing with me this time!))

[Writer]

Good gracious, WHY? Just a few posts ago, you were calling this EPIC, and quite frankly, I agreed with you. You're going to give up all this awesomeness we've got going because you accidentally put Part III second?

[Tysyacha]

((TM Tysyacha here. I'll restart this under 4 conditions:

 

1. Please, no one mention Plina Skelch EVER AGAIN. Her plotline is effectively over, and she was one of my more stupid RP caricatures. She was just my chance to take potshots at Sarah Palin, so no more about her. Creating her was my mistake. Agreed?

 

2. Please, someone haul Pauel aboard the Millennial, pronto, and beat the ever-loving crud out of him so he confesses what he knows about Khristoff. Agreed?

 

3. I'm going to ask a mod to change the title of this thread to "Counterplay", the 2nd part of the trilogy since I intended it to be the 2nd part. Agreed?

 

4. Please, bring back Visas and Juhani. I miss my trainer, and Mica's corrupting me!

 

If you agree, please PM me and I will restart it. Otherwise, it's "checkmated"!))

[ForceFightWMe12]

((I'll volunteer Mica to beat the ever-living snot out of Pauel!))

[Tysyacha]

Agreed! (BTW, could you please change the title of this thread to SW: Counterplay?)

[Writer]

If our former player of Visas and Juhani has vanished, I'd be more than happy to take them on. Me taking Juhani especially would make it easier for us all when Perdy decides to ask Juhani about Arai

[Tysyacha]

((As far as I know, the former player of Visas ONLY has vanished, so you may take them on. I also appoint you co-threadmaster so it can continue to be epic instead of not!))

[Writer]

((Both of them? If I read you right, Juhani's player hasn't gone MIA? ))

[Tysyacha]

Chevron says he's still RP'ing, he just hasn't posted in a while. EDIT: Someone needs to respond to Chevron's character, Juhani. Preferably Visas, if you'll take her over, Writer.))

[Writer]

((Done and Done.))

 

Cargo Hold, Millennial

 

"Thank you, Niera," Visas said softly. Then, her head turned slightly, sensing Juhani's approach. As Juhani knocked, Visas was already moving toward the door. She keyed the door open and then took a step back.

 

"Juhani," she said, nodding her head slightly. "Have we heard back from your apprentice? Or the rest of the strike team?"

[Cyborg Ninja]

Zen picked up Pauel and draped him over his shoulder. Zen wanted to hit the speaker with every fiber in his being but something held him back. Pauel had come without a fight showing he was a coward. If he were to torture Pauel it would bring him not honor but shame. He knew he had to focus on killing the Prophet of Truth, for it is he who caused all that happened on Coruscant. It is because of him that Adeline and so many others had to die that day.

 

"I shall place this scum in the brig where he belongs," Zen said to Sal as he left the cantina once more.

 

Zen wasted no time getting back to the Millennial. He was certain that he would have to deal with the captain once they left, but that wasn't his main concern. What mattered now was finding where the prophet was. Zen dropped Pauel in one of the cells and turned on the field to keep Paul in. Zen glared at Pauel one last time before leaving him to his fate.

[Chevron 7 locke]

"Have we heard back from your apprentice? Or the rest of the strike team?"

 

Juhani shook her head. "To the best of my knowledge, no. But I have faith that my apprentice will be able to acomplish her mission. She is both strong and capable."

 

"But my apprentice and the strike team are not the reasons I have come to see you. I came to you because I wish to speak to you about Revan and the Exile. Lately I have been having distrurbing dreams."

[Tysyacha]

ABOARD THE MILLENNIAL, IN THE BRIG

 

Pauel's skull was positively reeling, as well as his mind. Here he was, the Apostle of Truth, second only to the Prophet Khristoff himself, stuck in the cold, smelly brig of a Republic warship! His cell only contained three things: a rusty sink, an even rustier toilet, and a cot with only the barest of mattresses and blankets. How old was this vessel, anyway? He thought he could barely discern the word MILLENNIAL upon each of the three items in question, but with his vision still blurry from having his head smashed into the table at Geeda's Cantina, he wasn't quite sure. One thing of which he was sure, however, was that they all would pay, every single one of them: his captors, the two thieves who had stolen his own frigate, the Standard, and everyone in the galaxy if they didn't manage to "shape up and ship out". Once Khristoff came down from his Celestial Tower upon the Pure World, the final reckoning would take place! Pauel smiled and licked his lips. He couldn't wait.

 

NAR SHADDAA, IN THE DIRECTION OF GEEDA'S CANTINA

 

"By the way, Mica," continued Perdante humbly, "if it turns out that we won this battle and captured Pauel, what are we going to do with him aboard the Millennial?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Mica put his hand confidentially on Perdante's shoulder. "You just leave that to me." he said.

 

When the two returned to the cantina, they found Sal waiting for them with the report that Zen had taken Pauel back upon the secondary transport sent to them as a secure transfer squad. From there, the three returned to their own transport and lifted off to return to the orbiting Republic frigate. Upon arrival, Captain Fara Starr was waiting for them.

 

"Welcome back, gentlemen." she said, nodding to the twins who exited the craft first. She turned then to Perdante, who trailed behind them. "And to you, Jedi. Zen has already returned with the target, and for that you have my thanks and congratulations. I have debriefed him, and it sounds as though you had some secondary trouble on the trip." Her eyes lingered now on Mica and Perdante. "I understand that there were other fugitives present when you found Pauel?"