Both fighters plummeted through the atmosphere, leaving a trail of fire in their wake as they came in fast.
"Jason, I have an idea..." She could practically feel the wheels turning in his head. "Spill it, Calli..."
She grinned. "We blow the canopy twenty feet up, and jump for it. Have the droids take the ships back to the hangar while we battle it out here..." She could sense his next question. "We'll make it, don't worry - trust me."
Their fighters screamed throught the air as they neared the battle on the ground. Callista could see a large cluster of bright blades as the Sith and Jedi battled it out. Callista addressed her R2 unit, "Sparky, hover us over them, and blow the canopy." The droid whined in protest. "Do it." she ordered. The bolts on the canopy blew, and Callista drew her sabers as she was yanked out of the ship by the rush of air.
Her twin blades sprang to life as she landed hard on the ground below. Rolling, she came up to find Jason beside her. He glanced at her, "Ready, sis?" She nodded. "Let's do this!" She could see Spark and Sapharin off to her left, fighting off a handful of Sith. Sapharin's blue lightstaff whirled and slashed as she fought two Sith, her brown hair whipping around behind her.
Spark's green blade seemed a blur in her hands as she fought. She could sense Jason and Callista near her, but she remained focused on her surroundings. They had their own problems to deal with. Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, she bachkhanded the ditracted Sith across the face, putting him out cold. She backed up next to Sapharin, their combined strength effectively holding off the Sith adepts who were fighting them. Spark gave a mental nod, and both women leaped straight up, above the Sith blades that intersected where they had stood a moment before. The Sith were impaled on each other's blades, and went down in a heap.
The women landed a few steps away. Turning to look around them, they saw Steffan and Adi a ways off, squaring off against several Councilmembers. Steffan's silver blade glowed as he held it in a high guard.
"Remember, no need to seriously injure them," Steffan told Adi as two of the other council members started to approach them.
"Agreed," Adi nodded as they both drew their lightsabers.
"There is no need for this to happen," Steffan said strongly as they stood there in front of the others. Kiae and Relan were both closing in on them, splitting up to catch the two off guard. "Another option is possible."
"There are no other options," Kiae said as the two started to draw their own lightsabers. "Steffan, you stand against us, and you are the same as those two are."
"Search your feelings, Kiae, Relan," Steffan told them as he and Adi kept a close guard. "You know that there no sense in this. Why come to the last option, when there are other possibilities?"
"There are no..."
"There are always possibilities," he told them as he finally gestured to the both of them. "And I choose the one that I must. Adi?"
Steffan and Adi moved at the same time, moving between Kiae and Relan away from the others. Kiae came straight in at him, and he let Adi handle Relan as he started to parry Kiae's first attack.
Chris Tien squared off with Ryneas and Scott, her eyes blazing. Ryneas' silvery-green blade hummed loudly next to his ear, the blade held in a mid-guard. His sandy hair whipped about his face in the wind. He felt a shift in the Force, and whipped his blade down at the same time Scott did his yellow one. Both lightsabers crashed into Chris's blue one, sending up a shower of sparks. She sneered. What could two young padawans be thinking, taking on a member of the Council? But together, their strength was reinforced, equal to her own. They steady fought back her attacks, forcing her to give ground. They both sensed the change that came over the Council members following Adi's words. He always has been a gifted speaker, Scott mused to himself.
---------------------------
Adi could feel the anger rolling off the various Councilmembers as they faced off with Adi and Steffan. They felt betrayed. But their minds were clouded. Someone was directing their actions. Steffan and Adi could both sense the dark tendrils of Force energy connecting the members of the council to a dark presence. And a very powerful one. He turned his attention back to the matter at hand, his single green blade springing to life to block a low strike from Relan. He shoved the other's blade away from him, throwing the older Jedi off-balance.
"Listen to me, Relan, all of you! This is not the way! Banishing someone from the order for an act that was done in self defense is not who we are. We should help them find the reason behind it, and to learn from it." His blade crashed into Relan's but the other was slow in blocking; he seemed confused, as if he was waking up from a deep sleep.
The other councilmembers were experiencing the same disorientation. They seemed dazed, but their vision cleared. Relan regained his bearings first, and turned to Steffan, surprised to see the other in a defensive posture. "What's the situation, Steffan?" Steffan relaxed, but still held his blade ready. "The Sith have moved against us, coming after Callista...the others are defending the mines." Relan frowned. "We'll help where we can. You should see to Jason and Callista..."
Steffan nodded, focusing in on Callista's location. Her presence blazed like a beacon through the Force. He could see them now, standing back to back, fending off two Sith, but these were not your everyday Sith Warrior. These two were Sith Lords. He waded into the fight, his silver saber knocking the Elder's aside.
Callista glanced up, and saluted him with one of her sabers. Her and Jason squared off against the younger Sith, spreading out the flank him. Moor grinned at finding himself battling both of them. He sprang at Callista, his crimson blade sweeping towards her head. She dropped under the strike, and planted her feet in his stomach, throwing him.
He landed and rolled, coming up to charge her. Jason intercepted him, his twin blades crashing against the dual blades of Moor's saber. Moor moved his dual blade with such speed and ease that Jason was starting to feel the preasure in trying to keep up. Jason thought - 'Where are you Calli?'
'Right behind you, Jason - look out,' Callista warned as she leaped over Jason, her twin blades crashing into Moor's and throwing him off-balance. Moor stumbled away from Jason, Callista staying on him, her blades a violet blur as she forced him away from Steffan and Elder Malus. Jason steadied himself after Callista's timely intervention. He knew this was going to be difficult from what Calli had told him, but this guy fought like an animal.
Callista continued to force Moor back away from the others. His stregth had grown since she had last encountered him, and it was all she could do to block his strikes, let alone fight back. She got distracted by a feint, and payed for it dearly as the lower blade of his saber bit into her leg. She crumpled, her leg giving out as she fought the pain.
Hearing Callista scream through the Force brought Jason's attention back to the fight. Launching himself at Moor's position whilst he was distracted, Jason spun both of his blades at Moor's weakest point. In one sweeping motion, he sliced Moor lightsaber into two seperate blades. One appeared to be flickering in and out of phase.
Callista struggled to sit up from where she had fallen, and focused her attention on her injury. 'Hold on, Ja. I'll be right with you.' She put up a Force sheild around herself as she worked on her injury, the pain lessening as the wound shrank and healed over.
Moor's mood changed from one of amusement to pure driven anger. Jason sensed he did not like beeing beaten. Callista looked up at the sudden coldness that rippled through the Force. 'I'm coming, Ja!' She sprang to her feet and waded back into the fight, her blades swinging.
Moor was bearing down on Jason, when all of a sudden he stepped back. Jason thought, 'Calli's back,' feeling her presence in the fight again. Through the force Jason said, 'Lets finish this!' Calista nodded once, and stepped up the speed of her attack on Moor. Her blades became a solid wall of violet light as she forced him backwards.
Jason, seizing the moment also pressed forward. Moor began to break under the pressure of the attack. As both Callista and Jason were relentless in pushing Moor down.
"Give up NOW Moor, and answer for your crimes!" Jason said.
Moor sneered. "Never!"
Jason looked across to Callista. Jason took step back with one blade in a defence posture and the other ready to strike it's final blow.
Callista raised one of her blades in final salute.
With every last ounce of strength left in his body, Jason swung his blade down towards Moor. He looked up from his beaten position. At the last moment, Jason changed the angle of his blade and severed Moor's fighting hand, sending his fully working lightsaber crashing to the ground.
"Don't make me kill you!" Jason screamed.
Callista looked at Jason in shock. "Jason..."
"I was gonna kill him. But that is not the way of the Jedi!"
Moor brought himself to his feet. As Jason and Callista's attention was focused on each other, Moor reached across and grabbed Jason from behind. Jason dropped his blades to the ground.
"Jason!" Callista took a step toward the man she had considered a brother for as long as she could remember. Moor's arm held Jason tightly to him, while his other hand kept his last functioning blade steady against Jason's neck.
Jason closed his eyes and Callista could hear in her mind 'Trust me?'
Moor looked at Callista. "Drop your weapons and get on your knees. I want you to watch as I take his life from you!"
Callista looked at Jason, tears shining in her eyes. 'Trust you, I would die FOR you!'
Callista dropped her blades and sank to the ground. Moor reached out with the Force to push them out of the way.
"Now you will die, Jedi!"
Jason closed his eyes and reached out to the Force one last time. Finding the nearest lightsaber, he called it to his open hands. As Moor was looking at the shocked and scared face of Callista, he did not notice Jason had become armed once more.
Turning the blade backwards, Jason ignited the lightsaber agianist the side of his stomach. The stench of searing flesh permeated the air. Moor fell to the ground with a hole where his stomach would have been.
Jason let go of the blade as it turned itself off and fell forwards. "That hurt!" as he slumped to the ground.
Callista rushed to his side, helping him up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm gonna need to see a tailor." Jason tried to laugh. "It's ok, I used the fatty part of my stomach. Good thing I'm shorter than Moor!"
Jason surveyed his injury: a small chunk of fatty tissue had been burned from his side. "Think I might need a night in a Bacta tank for this one...Ouch. Get me up to Adi and Steffan. I got an idea..."
She nodded. "You won't need a bacta tank, you got me..."
Jason smiled then coughed a little blood. "That red is gonna stain. At least I still got my smile."
She grinned. "Come on, bro."