Disclaimer: I don't own Jedi Outcast or any of the Jedi Knight series or its characters. LucasArts does.
"Where are you going, Jedi?" asked a cold, drawling voice slithering into Kyle Katarn's ears.
"The hell away from you, that's for sure," he silently retorted.
Holding his lightsaber aloft, the Jedi Outcast circled around his opponent, attempting to scour for any weakness in the enemy's defenses. He stopped in mid-step, apparently noticing a loophole.
Coming out of Cairn Installation's main levels and hangars, and battling it out with an army of Stormtroopers and guards, he wasn't going to let a little Reborn prissy get in his way. The Doomgiver was his only incentive.
"Come get me, Jedi!" the creature laughed with a note of hysteria in its voice. A gloved hand beckoned forward, calling for the person that would hopefully shed his blood upon the master's red blade.
"As you wish."
Kyle struck forward at breakneck speed, aiming a swing at the thing's unprotected head. He blocked an incoming riposte and sent one of his own, which was just as easily parried. The inhuman warrior attempted fast, twirling acrobatics; spinning, slashing, and stabbing in a flurry of blows.
The Jedi Knight simply shook them all off, aiming a swing at the Reborn's throat. Barely managing to dodge, the deadly Reborn feigned an attack towards Kyle's midsection, and then struck forward to slice through his neck. Kyle parried just in time, sparks flying from the point where the two swords met.
Grunting slightly, Kyle shifted his weight to his right foot, then with a forceful movement, sidestepped past and pushed the Reborn forward. He went for the kill, swinging the lightsaber in a beautiful backwards arc that would have severed the Reborn into two pieces.
"Sithspawn!" Kyle swore.
Indeed, the attack had connected perfectly, although it did not reach its intended target, rather only managed to snag on something even more dangerous. The Reborn had stuck its lightsaber blade behind it just in time, throwing Kyle's swing off guard.
With a trickle of terror running down his spine, Kyle realized his rear was wide open.
"You will die!" the Reborn screamed madly, stepping forward to swing the lightsaber towards Kyle's spine. Sensing the attack, Kyle also stepped forward in order to evade as much as possible.
Too late.
Before he even noticed the pain, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, and then he found himself screaming in agony, clutching desperately to his right arm. His blue blade clattered noisily to the ground and rolled away. Behind him, the Reborn stood and grinned triumphantly.
Sweat poured down Kyle's forehead in streams. He lay there helplessly, trying to quell the pain with the Force. He could feel the Reborn walking closer, circling its prey like a hawk.
Squinting through his sweat and tears, Kyle reached out desperately with his left hand towards his lightsaber hilt. He attempted to slow his heart rate and nullify the throbbing in his right arm with the Force, concentrating on only the dropped weapon in front of him.
"Concentrate, Kyle. Concentrate," he murmured. Slowly, the metal hilt started to twitch, then roll forward-
SNAP-HISS.
Everything seemed to happen at once. Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle had saw the Reborn raise its hands over its head, then swing downwards in a blow that would have split him crown to navel. He had rolled out of the way just as the lightsaber plunged into the floor below him, hissing angrily at its escaped quarry. Thinking quickly, Kyle gathered a handful of the Force, and piled it onto his enemy, catching it off guard and knocking it to the floor.
He made a superhuman leap over the Reborn's head into the darkness, landing among a pile of boxes. Quickly, he dragged himself over to a dark corner, waiting with baited breath for footsteps. He pressed one ear to cold metal next to him, listening for any sign of the Reborn. Nothing except the dull drone of the room's florescent lights greeted him.
For the first time, he noticed his surroundings. He had leapt farther than expected, into a maze of crates and boxes. The whole room was one giant storage area, filled with stacks of cargo piled up on each other. It was a long way to the other side.
Shoving a hand into his pockets, Kyle searched desperately for a spare Bacta canister he could use. He found one and popped the seal off the top, checking the amount of Bacta still left.
"Only half-full. That's not good," he frowned worriedly.
Setting it down beside him, he gingerly stretched out his right arm in front of one of the florescent lights, twisting it slightly to get a good view of the wound. He winced slightly from the pain and a little from seeing the long, burnt gash streaked across his forearm. He half-wanted to scream out in horror or vomit from the sheer shock. Luckily, he did neither. The lightsaber had only grazed his arm, but nonetheless made a lasting impression.
"Agh, this thing is definitely going to scar with the amount of bacta I have, but it doesn't look too bad. I'll have to remind myself to fucking pack some extra canisters next time. That dirty little sithspit," Kyle thought as he took off his leather gloves.
Tilting the flask, he poured the creamy, sticky liquid into his bare palm, and then rubbed it gently on the wound area. He could barely resist moaning in pleasure from the tingling, soothing sensation coming from the bacta traveling over the burnt flesh, patching the cuts and repairing severed, burnt blood vessels. Trying to move his right arm again, Kyle winced as the pain crept back up into his shoulders.
"Should take about a few minutes for it to heal…" he grunted, massaging his arm. "And a few minutes is all I need to become a dead man."
"Where are you hiding, Jedi!" a voice hissed from over the crate barrier.
Instinctively, he crouched low and pressed his back to the crate, hearing the scuffling of boots on the cold tile floor. The sweat was still warm from his head as he wiped his hands off on the floor, crouching down to listen.
"I sense you, Jedi. You are a coward!" the voice gloated.
Gritting his teeth, Kyle quickly pulled his gloves back on and shuffled to his right, his back still pressed against the crate. Poking his head forward, he could see a small opening in between the crate wall. He inched a little more until he could see around the corner. He kept his knees bent, ready to surprise his foe. "Come on, you wannabe Sith. Give me your best-"
THWACK!
He felt himself flying backwards, and then felt a painful jolt down his spine as his back impacted with the wall. Stars exploded before his eyes. He remained in a state of delusion until he noticed one of the stars was glowing bright red and emitting a strange humming sound. He cried out in alarm, adrenaline pouring into his veins and his instincts shoving his body out of the way just in time before the blood-red lightsaber could impact with his chest.
Kyle balanced on his feet, his lightsaber drawn and rapidly deflecting a barrage of blows from his assailant. He doubled back as the Reborn almost made a fatal swipe, although it cost him some offense.
"Do you fear me?" the Reborn cackled maniacally.
"Enough of your games," Kyle spat. He raised the lightsaber high above him, leaving his midsection wide open. The Reborn charged. He stepped out of the way, the Reborn's back now facing him. His lightsaber arced out, only to clash with another blade.
Sparks flew as the two energy blades grinded against each other, seesawing back and forth. Nevertheless, the red blade started to gain the upper hand, slowly pushing against forward with an unnatural will. The pain from his wound trickled back through his nerves from the stress. Kyle was forced back onto the wall, the lightsaber inches from his throat.
"Can't…lose to this…" Kyle groaned from under the pressure.
With a mighty yell, he shoved the Reborn off him, his brawn taking over this time. He slashed and spun, his attacks making headway on the enemy, battering against its defenses, until finally with one powerful swing, he knocked away the weapon from the Reborn's hands. The metal cylinder rolled away into the darkness. Wasting no time, Kyle gave one final thrust of his lightsaber into the Reborn's chest.
The Sith's eyes widened, seeing his own flesh and fat sizzle. With one final gurgle, he slumped to the floor motionless.
For a long moment, Kyle stood there, gasping for breath, the sweat now exploding from his body, his heart rate through the roof. With a final nod, he shut off his lightsaber and kneeled down next to the body.
"I do fear you, buddy. However, that doesn't mean I can't hand you your own ass on a silver plate. I hope your other Reborn friends keep that in mind," he said with a wink.
Footsteps echoing softly through the storage room, Kyle walked over to where he had dropped the empty Bacta canister, picked it up, and tossed it over to the Reborn's body.
"There's a parting gift for you, buddy. You'll definitely need that more than I do," Kyle smirked.
He found his way out of the maze of crates and rode the elevator at the other side of the room to the top, where the entrance to the Doomgiver awaited his arrival.
It was just another day at work for Kyle Katarn.
THE END
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