"Like what you see?"
Zack couldn't believe it. As he stood alongside L'ezz, his lightsaber held up, sweat dribbled down his brow. He was panting, heaving, wearing the usual red headband around his eyes, covering his vision, his hair died white once more as Finn stood nearby, struggling to stay up as well, whilst Poe was nursing a very bad wound to the side, which Omarosa was trying to tend to.
Or at least…she had been when that FANTASTIC set of armor had manifested. This powerful warrior had transformed the sword she'd wielded into something that seemed almost impossible to believe, but…before their eyes, her face was now shielded in a sharp, t-split helm, with spiked shoulder pads, thick gauntlets, and armor around her knees and her elbows too, with powerful, thick-looking boots. All of this was colored in a shining ebony metal that hummed with the power of the Force as Finn glanced at "Darth Mendax", aka Zack, whilst L'ezz held up his fancy-pancy high-powered hand cannon of a gun.
"They're bluffing. It may LOOK nice, but that armor doesn't impress me." Finn insisted. "Count of three, Gomorrean." He proclaimed as he quickly held up Poe's fancy pistol that his friend had tossed to him a moment ago.
"I HAVE A NAME." L'ezz snapped, but he held up his weapon. "One, two…"
"Oh, THIS'LL be good." The armored woman said, her Asian features showing off a clearly "suuuuure" look in her eyes as she rolled them so hard it was amazing that her eyeballs didn't pop out of their sockets from the sheer velocity of her sarcasm.
Finn and L'ezz both fired, powerful beams of mighty laser energy cascading through the air, shooting right towards the armored woman and with a KRAKKA-SCHA-KOOWWW, smoke coated her whole frame. They all stood there, watching, as a hissing noise rang through the air, the smoke clearing before…
"Not even a scratch…?" Omarosa whispered, eyes wide as the armored warrior groaned.
"Really?" she inquired. "THAT'S the best you've got?" For a somewhat short Asian woman, the armor and attitude she had exuded malice and fury.
"Okay then, how about THIS?" Zack proclaimed as he held up a hand and thrust it out. He focused hard, manifesting his Force powers to try and, well, FORCE the armored warrior up against the nearby steely wall of the compound! She cringed, feeling the weight of the Force cascading against her, but though she was slightly pushed back, she held her out gauntleted hand out!
"HRRRAAAAAGGGGHHH!" She roared, Zack cringing. The harder he tried, the less he seemed to be doing. It wasn't working! She wouldn't get pushed back. The armor appeared to severely dull the power of the Force due to its unique composition, even basic Force spells weren't working as well as they should! "See how you like a dose of THIS!" She said as she thrust BOTH hands forward and his force blast began to be redirected, right back at him! SCHAA-THWOOOSH! Now HE was thrown back, slamming into the wall, groaning as the armored warrior held her fist up.
"Your Force powers won't work on the unique sword armor I've got. I'm immune to the best you can throw at me! Nobody can surpass me!"
L'ezz frowned darkly and he tossed the gun to Finn, taking up a fighting stance as he took in deep, long breaths before he clenched his fists tightly. The armored warrior looked the Gamorrean up and down, snorting. "Seriously? You're going to try and take me on with sheer weight and strength alone? You think that you're going to…what, exactly?" She inquired. "PILE DRIVE me into submission?"
"Even a moron like me who barely can grasp the force can still fight in the name of justice!" L'ezz proclaimed proudly.
"Oh give me a break, did you learn that stupid trash from SKYWALKER'S teachings?" The armored warrior inquired, shaking her head back and forth as she dismissively waved her hand.
"What is your deal with Skywalker? I'm not even that big a fan of him myself, but your hatred of him's so…vitriolic." Poe said as Omarosa finished bandaging up the very nasty, oozing wound on his chest with some bacta. "It's like you're obsessed!" He said, noticing Omarosa was blushing slightly.
"You ask why I hate him? Simple. He…was my father's enemy!" Rose Tico said, her eyes going wide with hatred as she clenched her gauntleted fist tight.
"…father's…?" Zack said, staring in confusion at Rose. "What're you talking about? Luke Skywalker would never attack an innocent man."
"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't you know who used to control this colony?"
Finn DID, as a matter of fact. He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yes! Of course, it was controlled by my mistresses, Darth Raize and Furiosa."
"True…but do you know WHO they used to take control of this colony?" Rose inquired.
"Yeah, that was the weird part, it was…" Finn trailed off as Poe looked confusedly at him.
"What? You remembered who was in charge here of the colony stabilization efforts?"
"You DIDN'T? It was kind of a big deal in our briefing on the place."
"I always sorta miss those little details." Poe nervously smiled. "I'm more of an…idea man?"
"More like you were busy looking at that magazine you snuck under the table. Geez, Poe, you've GOT to start paying attention in the mission briefings!" Finn moaned. "They were anacondans! The snake aliens!" He remarked. "Remember NOW?"
Indeed, now Poe DID remember, and the others in the room understood. The Anacondan race looked like, indeed, giant anacondas with rather sharp, needle-like teeth, very expressive eyes with lids, but no limbs whatsoever. Their scaly skin came in a variety of colors, and their eyes ranged from yellow to blue. They could speak Galactic basic perfectly well, and what they were VERY good at was getting into tight spaces no other sentient race could easily get into. After all…snake.
It was because of this that the Dyad had asked them to take control of what had been an insurrectionist colony that had split off from Nar Shadaa and taken control of the planet decades ago. The Dyad had sent some of their soldiers to do a normal "Either come back right now with all the stuff you took or else" shakedown since the escaping Nar Shadann folks had stolen quite a lot of VERY nice spaceships and supplies.
This hadn't worked out well. The soldiers had arrived to find the colony folk had learned really quickly how to take advantage of the elaborate, ancient compounds that made up the colony and they got picked off easily. So…the Dyad sent in a species that could easily be mistaken for just pests and animals…who could crawl into small cracks…and DEAL with these insurrectionists.
It worked astoundingly well. Within minutes the insurrectionists were being slaughtered, and as the Anacondan army was making its way through the rubble of the various broken-open rooms and looking around, THAT…was when he'd found her.
R'ohrs Tey'koh had been slithering through the wreckage of one room when he'd found, VERY oddly, nestled behind some rubble to the side…a baby in a broken-down crib! The kid was still alive, a cute, adorable little tubby girl with soft round cheeks and a tuft of black hair. "Looks like this one was just abandoned by his parents." R'ohrs Tey'koh remarked as he looked around. The room was a bedroom, there was a bed CLEARLY made for a couple there, but…there was also a clothing drawer that had been basically ripped open and quite a lot of clothing taken out of it. A closet nearby had been opened and was missing several items too, yanked out from the collection, with a small box that had held some weapons lying nearby too. They'd just grabbed what they could and ran…and left the kid behind. The sheer audacity!
"Sheesh, the Dyad were right, these people are awful." R'ohrs muttered as he shook his head back and forth and carefully used his tail to wrap around the babe, sliding him out of the crib. Oh dear, the kid was wailing! He had to do something, though. He carefully rocked the kid back and forth, softly whistling, and…sure enough, the kid calmed down. The girl seemed to like his whistling and he toothily grinned as he carried the lass out of the room.
It was lucky for him that he was the strongest and had the best kill record of the platoon. This meant that their commander had, begrudgingly, agreed to let him keep the lass.
"Can you say my name? R'ohrs Tey'koh?" He'd asked the kid about a day later after he'd managed to get her to eat some fruit and some juice, as she looked up from the little makeshift chair he'd set her in, the others in the army looking on. "Come on! R'ohrs Tey'koh!"
"Rows Teekuh."
"Almost! Come on, sweetie. R'ohrs Tey'koh."
"Rrrrrooooosseee…Tiiiiccooo…" The little lass stammered out as R'ohrs Tey'koh chuckled.
"You know what? That's a nice name. I'll call you Rose. Rose Tico. Rose!" He said, poking her in her little belly. "Rose, Rose, Rose!"
"Daa daa!" She cheerily said. R'ohrs Tey'koh deeply blushed at his, a big grin coming over his serpentine features as he happily picked her up and rocked her back and forth.
"For all WE know you might have EATEN her real "Dada"." One of his compatriots remarked as they brought over a nice, yellow and blue rubber ball for her and R'ohrs to play with. "We are a LOT of people last week, after all…"
"Yeah, that's a distinct possibility…" R'ohrs confessed as he gently pushed the ball to Rose, who pushed it back to him as the anacondan platoon leader sighed. "If that IS what I've done, I'll just have to make up for it by being the best parent I could be to Rose, here."
"Shame you can't give her a proper hug like a human."
"…I'll manage." R'ohrs insisted. "…I'll manage."
Indeed, he did. Though Rose was never really allowed to leave the colony, she basically grew up without a care in the world. R'ohrs Tey'koh ended up being a true father figure to Rose, caring for her, making sure she got plenty of exercise, good food, and teaching her how to fight and defend herself. It was the first time Rose had ever felt love for anyone, and the first time anyone had truly loved HER.
In fact, she'd loved him so much she'd made him a little present. "Ta daaa!" She held it up, a lovely, cute-but-crude-looking little necklace with a small silver snake at the end. She slid it carefully around her dad's neck as he chuckled, letting it hang on his scales. "Do you like it?"
"Sweetie…I love it." He lovingly crooned as she gave him a big, fat hug, and he rested his head tenderly on her shoulder. "I'll NEVER take it off." He promised. Indeed, he never did. He wore it everywhere he went, even, yes, when he was taking a shower. It meant so much to him. His little Rose had artistic talent. He couldn't wait to see what happened when she grew up, maybe she could turn into a real, full-time artist!
Then…one day, it had happened. The insurrectionists that hadn't been killed had finally come back, but this time, albeit 10 years later…with help from the New Republic. They'd appealed directly for assistance and to show they took this appeal seriously, they'd asked Luke Skywalker himself to lead the charge. Seeing a chance to directly get at Skywalker, Furiosa herself had arrived there and ordered her forces to prepare!
"Listen, sweetie…" R'ohrs Tey'koh had told his adopted daughter, gently patting her on the head with his tail, his special necklace still around his neck. "I'm the gate-keeper here, it's my job to guard the last line of defense in case they reach Darth Furiosa. There's a really good chance I…I may not come back." He confessed to Rose. "So please, WHATEVER you do, don't leave this place." He said, gesturing at the little hidey-hole they'd made, hidden in the wall not far from the final gate that led to Darth Furiosa's chambers. "Even if I die, at least this way you'll be strong, even if you're alone. Take care of yourself. I'll…try to come back soon." He said gently, kissing her on the forehead before he pushed her into the hidey-hole and she covered it up, making it look as though it was just part of the wall as he joined the forces fighting against the New Republic.
She could hear the loud shooting of guns, the TSSEWWW of laser fire, the screams of the dying and the injured split the air again and again, and many of them, she knew…were the very anaconda aliens she'd been growing up with. Then…
Then that particular, screaming yell.
A woman's yell. FURIOSA'S voice. It was unmistakable. Had Luke struck her down? It sure sounded like it…Rose had raced her way out of the room, barreling down the halls, dead bodies lying left and right before-
Oh no. OH NO.
There he was. Her dad was cleaved almost utterly in two, he'd been thrown violently against the wall across from a destroyed generator. The lights in the hall softly flickered on and off as he moaned, struggling to look up at her. Blood dribbled down from his fresh wounds as he cringed. "…R-Rose…" He groaned, the necklace barely hanging onto him because of the wound he'd sustained. Whomever had sliced him had cut through the silver serpent part of his necklace, Rose feeling the tears swelling in her eyes, her face becoming pale.
"My…Rose…I'm sorry, I…I love you so much, but…but I need to tell you…don't…"
But he couldn't get the rest out. His breath rattled, and he gasped, and then…his head slumped. He was no longer among the living. Rose felt the tears coming freely, she struggled not to bawl like a baby, but her unashamed sobbing led…to HIM finding her. HIM of all people. Luke Skywalker.
"Hey, are you okay?" He gently inquired.
Of course he had no idea who she was. He probably thought she'd been a prisoner caught by the army. But Rose knew. He was her dad's enemy. He deserved to pay.
"And so I promised myself…I'd take revenge on him. THAT'S why I trained under him for the next few years, learning how to use swordsmanship…all to get even with Luke Skywalker!" Rose said powerfully as she clenched her fist tight. "I'll track him down and kill him myself if I have to!"
"I get why you FEEL the way you do, I REALLY do…" Zack said, his voice sounding pained. "I understand that, but Luke's a really nice, decent person, and he-"
"What're you gonna say? "He was fighting in the name of the greater good? For the sake of justice"" Rose asked, holding up her hands to give "air quotes" as she shook her head back and forth. "Even IF the Dyad was wrong to send my father here to his place to begin with, even IF the New Republic was justified in helping the insurrectionists out…it doesn't change the fact my father's life was snatched away. If you say it was for "justice"…then I will be an enemy of justice!"
…
…
…
…perhaps…you may be wondering how all this happened.
It had been a simple enough request from the New Republic. Zack had been asked if he and Omarosa could check in on what had been a taken-back colony from Nar Shadaa. The people there had left the Dyad behind very publicly and denounced them as tyrants, and set up their own colony world on a long-abandoned planet that was filled up with a wide variety of ancient underground compounds that, as far as they could figure, had once belonged to an ancient SITH tribe of all things, based on the language and the tribal art they'd found there.
The colony had been attacked by the Dyad's forces, then re-taken some years back. Now they were calling for aid because evidently a brand new problem had risen up. A new crime lord who remained hidden in fancy armor, who would strike and then hide back into the jungles surrounding the compounds, making it hard to identify who she was! And she also, evidently, was a skilled warrior. She'd actually been able to shoot out the guns from the local sheriff's hands!
The New Republic was currently very busy focusing on a membership drive, trying to encourage other Outer Rim worlds to join them with appeals to economic prosperity, more basic civil rights protections, and above all, a once-and-FOR-all end to slave systems. They didn't want to risk an outright war with all the Outer Rim worlds…but if those worlds, say, VOTED to join, well…that'd be a different story. The Hutts who commanded so many of those worlds could raise a stink all they wanted but Democracy was democracy. So they didn't have the time or resources to send tons of men to the colony world of Aris-5.
But they DID have a few spare Force users. That was why Zack and Omarosa was there, and Omarosa was having HK-47 flying her ship as she and Zack were practicing using the Force to do "Force Persuasion" on one another. Whoever said the most embarrassing things first would win!
It was difficult, though. Omarosa was good with Force persuasion and she kept CREAMING Zack. He continued to end up being forced to say embarrassing stuff.
"My dad walked in on me masturbating over pictures of the holy prophet in my bedroom." He ended up blurting out as he cringed. "Oh, fuckin'…damn it!" He groaned as he clutched his head and Omarosa laughed.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! You just can't beat me at Force persuasion, Zack. Give it up! You can't even get into my mental defenses one bit." She tapped the side of her head and grinned. "I'm like a brick wall that you're feebly trying to punch down." She said whilst L'ezz, meanwhile, was currently looking at the nearby computer screen, cringing as he examined the various stock markets.
"I'm rich! I'm ruined! I'm rich! I'm ruined!"
"Observation: I am astounded that day traders have the wherewithal to last an entire day, given how panicked and terrified and upset you've been in the mere two hours we have been flying." HK-47 intoned as L'ezz wiped his brow.
"S-Sorry…it's a very volatile market when it comes to the korriban crystal trade. If I'm really lucky, I can strike it super rich, and we could afford to create a brand new, proper Jedi temple for Master Skywalker and the others."
"It's really sweet that you want to just buy him a new temple, but maybe BUILDING a new one would have more meaning. After all, homemade gifts are filled with love!" Zack reasoned. "My dad Morgan always treasured the little art I gave him that I made with my own two hands over any fancy item I could save up for."
"I doubt that. I really doubt your, say, macaroni art could beat a nice-looking tie. And this is a tie. The thing all dads inevitably get even if they hate ties." Omarosa sniggered. "Like, what? Did you make an entire bust of your father out of sculpting clay?"
Zack felt it then, a powerful, dark, enormous surge of raw fury rise up in him. He HAD, in fact, made JUST such a gift for his dad one Father's Day and it had been destroyed. A bunch of jerks at school had yelled "We'll teach you, ya f-got" and kicked him in the stomach, then broke the sculpture over him while laughing. And what had been his sin? The reason they'd targeted him that day?
"You ought to be nicer to me, Moh. One day my tax dollars with be paying for your prison cell."
Moh hadn't taken that well. He rarely took that stuff well. Ironically, had Zack stayed on Logos, his tax dollars WOULD, in turn, have ended up paying for Moh's prison cell when Moh was found clutching his father's head while sucking on his thumb, and he'd be dragged screaming to jail that he had to do it cuz his dad was a devil in disguise, and his girlfriend's dog told him so.
Thinking back to that day made Zack clench his fingers into tight fists on the chair he sat on, his eyes going slightly narrow, and then he used the power of his Force Persuasion. It was as if Omarosa forcibly had her mouth opened and the darkest, most unpleasant memories in her head forcibly dragged out FROM that mouth by a spectral figure, reaching right down her throat as it came tumbling out, an odd expression coming to her face. "I slept with a bed liner because I was a chronic bed-wetter until I was 15." She found herself saying before she clapped her hands over her mouth, looking mortified.
"…well." L'ezz clucked his thick tongue. "…that's embarrassing, alright."
"How in the flying fuck did you just DO that?!" Omarosa inquired as Zack cringed and looked down at himself.
"I…thought back to a moment in my life that got me super, SUPER pissed." He cringed. "…I…took a dark side shortcut." He realized aloud as he shook his head back and forth. "Hoo boy. I need to be careful."
"I've used the dark side for years, dude, it's not a big deal, really." Omarosa said.
"No offense but…the color of your eyes kind of says otherwise…also, I hate to tell you this but…" Zack cringed as he pointed at Omarosa's neck. "You've been kinda…growing, um…veins? Like, weird veins on your neck over the past month?"
Omarosa gaped as she felt down to her neck, and then raced for the bathroom, shrieking at such a high pitch only dogs could have heard. "Oh CRAP!" She cried out. "It's already happening?!"
"Mara DID bring up how using the Dark Side over and over again and for long periods of time made your bodies physically corrupted. It took her years of not touching the Dark Side and immersing herself in the light to bring her eye colors back to normal." L'ezz remarked nonchalantly. "I remember that very clearly from her lessons…didn't you pay attention?"
"…no, I…thought I had more time." Omarosa grumbled. "…shit. This is gonna suck…I'm gonna have to get surgery to cover this stuff up!"
"Yes, it's why Darth Vader and so many other Dark Side users were "more machine than man". The machinery helped keep the physical degradation at bay. The Dark Side doesn't just eat at your soul, after all. I can't believe there's idiots who actually think you can just use the Dark Side over and over with no consquences at all. What do they think, that the Dark Side's the exact same as the light but just with LIGHTNING? What sort of moron would forget the consequences of using it?"
"Are there consequences to the Light side of the Force?" Omarosa defensively inquired, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head.
"Well…no. As far as we can tell, there's never been any demonstrated physical consequences to the Light side of the Force." Zack said with a shrug. "Believe me, I looked into it, I asked Luke, I asked Mara, I asked Leia, I looked into the ancient texts, and all the books on the Force we had…but I can't find ANYTHING. And if there were downsides, believe me, I'd be happy to admit it. I prefer to be informed about all the nasty little catches that power gives. I'm not the most trusting type."
"Man, the Light side is too damn…PERFECT." Omarosa kicked a nearby chair as she cringed.
But at long, long last, they'd finally arrived at their destination and were meeting the person who was supposed to be their contact. Her name was Rose Tico, a woman with her black hair tied up into a slightly messy bun, a plus-sized woman with a cute pair of cheeks who wore standard Rebel jacket and jeans attire as she shook Zack's hand, taking notice of his face as "Darth Mendax" smiled back at her.
"Leia said she was surprised to hear you called her back. Evidently you once had a big fight with her brother?"
"All in the past." She remarked. "I'm surprised she was willing to speak to you after what you supposedly DID to her brother!"
"Well…I like Leia." It wasn't a lie, technically. "I trust her immensely. More so than the Dyad. So I agreed to do this favor for her." Zack said in his disguised voice. He was getting VERY good at lying.
"Well then. N doubt you want to know about the new crime lord." Rose said as she led them out of the docking bay and into her office in the very down-to-earth, slightly-overgrown-with-moss place that was the capital city's ship yard. "Well, the people here don't exactly have the money and resources to overcome him on their own. We've undergone such huge problems with the changing authoritative hands that all the money's gone, gone, gone, basically."
"We're happy to help, it's no trouble." L'ezz insisted cheerily.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that." She said as she opened the door to her office, letting them inside. "I have to admit to you, though, I got a VERY good offer of help from the Dyad as well. They said they could get rid of the crime lord AND they'd send us their own Sith to fight. And on top of that, they said they'd pay for the rights to set up business here. They need all the trading spots they can ever since that unfortunate business on Naboo and Tattooine…"
"I can imagine. The New Republic's happy to give you money you may need to get you on your feet in exchange for a trading treaty as well." Zack suggested. "You should speak to Leia once she wins the election on Nar Shadaa. It'll be a whole new era for the New Republic. Imagine it! The SEAT of criminality in the Outer Rim turned into a shining city on the hill for the New Republic. Pretty amazing, huh?"
"Sounds like a crock of shit, no WAY are the Dyad gonna lose the election."
THAT was when Finn and Poe walked in. They moved in quickly, lightsabers held up and "Darth Mendax" and L'ezz drew their own weapons. Now Zack was wishing he hadn't told Omarosa and her helpful but bloodthirsty droid to mind the ship and guard it in case this was a trap. Cuz it sure looked like a trap!
"What're THEY doing her?!" L'ezz demanded.
"Like I said, the Dyad made a deal too. So I wanted to hear what you both have to offer." Rose commented. "I think that's fair."
"…okay. I can be civil about this. We can ALL be civil about this. Isn't that right, L'ezz?" said "Darth Mendax" as L'ezz frowned but he put his lightsaber down, as Finn and Poe did the same, Poe the last to do so as he cringed then turned to Rose.
"Do you know where this crime lord hangs out?"
"As a matter of fact…yes." Rose said. "You see, there's an ancient temple…a stronghold not too far from here, about twenty clicks north. Now, I couldn't take it on my own, but…I'm sure two well trained force users teams…" She remarked nonchalantly.
Zack noticed the way she was speaking. It was VERY carefully done. A faint humble appeal to their egos, with juuuust the right amount of self-depreciation. She clearly wanted them to do this for her. VERY badly.
"A contest, then!" Poe laughed as he picked up his laser gun from his side holster and twirled it expertly in one hand. "First to bring back the crime lord's head gets trading rights with the world."
"You don't have to treat it like a game…" Finn remarked. "…but I suppose a "challenge" wouldn't be such a bad way to put it."
"Fine by us." L'ezz proudly remarked. "My tusks may be round and my face may be "cuddly"…but I'm a proud Gammorean warrior! I can do this as easily as any of you."
"Let's get it done, then." Said "Darth Mendax" as he nodded firmly. "Ms. Tico, if you could be so kind as to lead the way to this facility?" He politely inquired as he bowed at her, Rose blinking in surprise at the chivalric gesture. Wow, hardly ANYBODY had ever BOWED to her. You didn't see that every day.
"And they say chivalry is dead!" She chuckled. "Sure, sure. Just make sure you stick by me on the path. And, uh…whatever you do, do NOT stop to smell the blue flowers."
…
…
…
…needless to say, Poe couldn't resist. The big, enormous blue flowers that drooped down juuust at head level on the natural pathway to the ancient temple were so appealing! An entrancing blue color, with a lilting, exotic smell that wafted lovingly through the air, and the way they wind moved through the jungle made them softly bounce about, as if alive! So he went in to sniff it.
"…I REALLY shouldn't laugh but…" L'ezz was struggling not to burst into loud guffaws. Poe's face was so swollen up that he could barely see out his eyeballs. His lips were big, fat and pursed, and he was red as a beet! He muttered angrily as Finn gently patted him on the shoulder, whilst looking nervously over at Darth Mendax. There was something oddly…enticing about him. He wondered what color eyes this dark force user's eyes were. He currently still had that wrap around his eyes and enough was plain to see that the eye holes were sunken in…nothing in the sockets, but…still, Finn couldn't help but wonder and he was sure Mendax kept looking at him. Because he kept furtively glancing in their direction.
Zack, indeed, had had to pretend his eyeballs WERE sunken in. He'd snuck them out of his sockets when nobody was looking and was now following L'ezz's force presence along the path. He'd stumbled a bit over several tree limbs in the ground and whatnot, but he was doing a good job all the same. The more he tapped into the natural Force that flowed around him, it was as if he truly COULD see. And L'ezz's presence made it even more clear. It shone like a sturdy little lamp light in the dark.
At last, they'd arrived at the facility. Rose gestured for them to follow her inside, wielding a VERY impressive sword that had a super fancy, bony-esque scabbard on it that looked as though somebody had taken a giant's ribcage and wrapped it up in a nice, neat package. What was truly impressive was that it looked astoundingly heavy, L'ezz could tell from the design. He KNEW weapons, and he could tell that if she could wield such a thing one-handed like she was as she gestured with the sword…damn, she was quite the woman!
"Where'd you learn to wield a sword like that?" He found himself asking as they entered into the facility and walked along cracked walls.
"Well…I did gain some teaching from my father but in general, my sword techniques are modified lightsaber techniques. Were you taught under Luke Skywalker?" She asked L'ezz as he nodded. "I suspected as much. I would be one of the first he taught alongside his sister."
"Well, that's impressive." Zack complimented as Rose shrugged. "But why'd you have a falling out?"
"Well, we could talk about that later…" She shrugged again. "…buuuuuut you ain't gonna be around for that." With that, she whistled sharply, stepping back from where she was as KRAA-SHUDDA-THRRROOOOM! Out they came, bursting from the ground, rising out like the undead beasts they were…skeletal remains of humans and aliens alike, wielding nasty-looking swords! None quite as impressive as the one Rose had, but still…
"I had a FEELING something was up!" Finn proclaimed as Poe had already whipped out his pistol and was blasting the beejebus out of any skeleton that came near. Loud TSSSEW TSSSSEWWW sounds rang through the air as the skeletons were knocked back, but there were SO MANY of them! Rose smirked as the group was becoming quickly overwhelmed, Zack and Groth slicing and slashing at the skeletal soldiers with their lightsabers, Finn trying to use his force powers to force them all back.
"Darn it, they just keep coming and coming and COMING!" He yelled.
"Okay, you know, I'm beginning to think the head-slicing thing ain't working!" L'ezz yelled as the skeleton warrior closest to Zack angrily glowered in his direction, its head having flown clean off its shoulders. It picked it up, then stuffed it right back on its head, rubbing it in. Despite the hot sizzle lines left behind…the head just popped back on. "I don't think just slashing these things is doing anything at all!"
"And my blaster sure ain't working!" Poe angrily yelled out. "I can barely even SEE these things!" He added, as the skeletons were snorting and sniggering, deliberately kicking his rump, making him bounce across the floor a bit before they kicked him in ANOTHER direction, or prodded his leg or his thigh or butt with their swords, CLEARLY enjoying the fact he was rather incapacitated from the flowers. Why oh why had he stopped to smell those roses?!
"You're approaching this wrong, you dummies!" Omarosa insisted, her voice ringing through the air. Rose BARELY dodged in time as Omarosa suddenly came barreling forth, and she body-checked one of the skeletons! With a KRAKKA-SCHRROOOM it broke apart into chunks, as she crushed it's skeletal skull beneath her boot. "You gotta grind their heads into dust! Break them down with sheer force!"
"Oh, now THERE'S an idea!" L'ezz said as he leaped through the air, and "sharpened the saw", right on another skeletal warrior, landing with a horrible crunching noise right on the thing's back. It screeched in sheer agony as it crumbled on the spot, L'ezz then slamming his elbow right into its head as it broke apart! CRRUUUNNNCCCH.
"Okay! We'll break them apart!" Finn focused his force powers, ripping chunks of the wall off, and using them as blunt instruments, striking at the skeletal monsters as Poe cheered in delight, whilst Zack had grabbed one of the skeletons and was swinging it around and around, smashing it into its compatriots! Rose could see she was losing, a dark glower coming to her face as she held up her scabbard.
"Well…I can see I'll have to use THIS." She remarked.
And THAT…was when the scabbard expanded outward, extending around her entire body as the last of the skeleton monsters were broken apart, and the group looked on, mortified and stunned…
And THAT, dear readers, was where we last left our gang…losing to Rose Tico.
""What're you gonna say? "He was fighting in the name of the greater good? For the sake of justice"" Rose asked, holding up her hands to give "air quotes" as she shook her head back and forth. "Even IF the Dyad was wrong to send my father here to his place to begin with, even IF the New Republic was justified in helping the insurrectionists out…it doesn't change the fact my father's life was snatched away. If you say it was for "justice"…then I will be an enemy of justice!"
"If you hate Luke Skywalker, why are you trying to kill US too?" Finn asked.
"Simple. The Dyad pretty much abandoned me to my fate!' Rose snapped angrily. "I tried to contact them over and over again, and it would have been less insulting to have my calls to VOICE MAIL. No, when I got through to them…"
"…I'm sorry…WHAT?" Rose said, her mouth agape as she stared at the floating vid-screen in front of her.
"We're not interested right now in picking a fight with Luke Skywalker. You're on your own. Good luck with that." Darth Raize commented as her wife was currently in the next room, nonchalantly making a martini.
"You're not going to help at all?! My father and his men fought and died for you!" Rose insisted. "You didn't even send anybody to collect their bodies!"
"Well, they failed really miserably." Darth Furiosa spoke up as she walked into the shot and gave Rey her martini. "I mean, evidently they didn't even WOUND Luke, and then we get into your miserable failure of a father." She snorted. "Totally worthless!"
"WORTHLESS?!" Rose screeched out as she angrily gripped the vid screen so tight she BROKE it, snarling as she kicked the now-useless vid screen as it flopped to the ground. She crushed it into pieces as she angrily clenched her fists. "WORTH! LESS?! I…the NERVE! The AUDACITY! I! I!"
"So I was the only one who could avenge myself on Luke. I failed the first time, admittedly, and that's a shame…I WAS going to use THIS technique when my benefactor gave me the sword, but since you evidently killed him, I guess YOU'LL have to do." She held her sword up high, and strange, pulsating energy swirled around it, cascading out from it like a flower unfolding in the morning sun. A strange whining noise rang through the air as the energy then burst forth from the sword, and sailed right towards Zack!
"Oh crap…" Zack murmured right before it struck him right in the chest, sending him soaring, flying out of the facility, and so…SO much blood oozing all around him as he fell down…
Down…
…Down…
And remembered nothing more.
…
…
…
… "What can you tell us about him?"
They sat around the table, shrouded in shadows, the light barely allowing any who walked in to catch a glimpse of their forms. But…one form was distinct. A blue-furred form with powerful yellow/golden eyes…and a red lifeguard-style cap atop his head.
"You gotta understand, I only take jobs I feel like. But I'll take this one. This Darth Mendax guy sounds like a real good fight, dudes." Frequency spoke up as the figure to his right guffawed and laughed.
"Keh ha ha ha ha! Well, well, well, aren't you fun? I can see it in your eyes, you're itching for a challenge just like me. Maybe we'll actually get along despite your stupid accent." The deep-voiced being intoned. He had a distinct, passionate, almost vicious tone to his voice as his head flared and blazed…or rather, the skeletal skull that WAS his head. His whole body felt unnatural…unsettling…
"My, my, my, such a hotheaded response." A faintly hissing voice rang out as a pair of deep black eyes gazed across the table. "Do calm yourself." The serpentine Sith insisted as he waved a clawed hand in the air, the bangles on his wrist jangling slightly.
"This is our new benefactor's decision." The white-furred, almost rabbit-like alien intoned, her face briefly visible in the flickering light of her skull-headed compatriot.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh."
Such surprising, creepy laughter rang out from the cloaked and hooded being at the far end of the table. You could only see softly glowing eyes of a color that never seemed to stay the same when you looked at it, as IT rose up from the table.
"It speaks! How unusual. You can go a decade without speaking." Said a rather short and young-looking being as they adjusted their necklace they had on. "That's new."
"It's understandable to be frustrated. But the Wise's word is absolute." The cloaked, hooded being insisted.
"…of course. His word is absolute." Said the last one as he steepled his hands and sighed a bit. He had one, big, enormous cycloptic eye and he gazed out at them all as he spoke in his distinct, synthetic tone. "And it's our place to abide by the wisdom of the Wise."
"Still…I don't like the idea of just a mere human really being the one to do it!" The burning, skull-headed being insisted. "I mean…no offense, kiddo, but even YOU'VE become something more than that stupid fat little worm…she's a pushover."
"Her being human makes her a great choice, actually. For you forget, that worm you look down on has a most special technique nobody else has beaten…" The cycloptic being said as an almost faint chuckle came to its voice.
"Yeah…well…" The one with the burning skull for a head nonchalantly flicked a finger as a single burning flame popped up on the tip. "…I suppose…" He commented as he then rose up from his chair, and walked out of the room.
"But if I get the chance…I'm going to separate her head from her body. A weak HUMAN of all things trying to get credit for what I should be doing? Not in a hundred years…I don't care what Plagueis the Wise says…"
