So, aside from my little trick about no deaths yet in the previous chapter, everyone felt it was good enough... or so the lack of death threats tells me. It's alright, the endgame has begun, and from their point on, things will begin to spiral devastatingly well for those who crave blood. Still, even if it is still rapidly approaching, the end itself is a few chapters away still, and there is much ground to cover between then and now, so we shall proceed. Enjoy... ~F
Chapter Fifty Nine
The Poisoner
Diábolis reeled back as the Republic's finest vessel suddenly blazed crimson, and self destructed in the midst of their assembled force. "Shields at maximum!" someone yelled, even as great pieces of the hull and a powerful wave of energy flew out at them from the wreckage of the ship.
Anything within the tightest ring of ships nearest to the Hope's Radiance was instantly vaporized from the devastating blast, and even the Dauntless rocked from the force of the explosion. Alarms rang out instantly, and critical systems started failing. The Sith Apprentice swore loudly. Lovegood wouldn't have sacrificed herself for such a lackluster cause, he had been so certain.
That was of course if she was on board in the first place. "My Lord, we have taken severe damage, and most of our shields and weapons are gone…" the commander said hesitantly, slowly approaching the seat where Diábolis himself sat.
Straining valiantly to control himself, the Devaronian spoke slowly, "Was the hull breached?"
"Some sections, primarily supply and troop garrisons, but nothing overly critical." The commander replied, face still grim at the event.
Diábolis stood, slowly approaching the wide viewport and looking out across the ruin that had once been the ship he had hounded across the Galaxy. "So they had the last act in our little game after all," he said bitterly, knowing that his force was more or less out of this fight from here on, and it was up to the Emperor and his fleet to push the rest of the way through the orbiting fleets.
"Send all fighters and shuttles with every troop we can spare to the planet, then," he said, changing plans and turning back to his commander. "We shall begin the land invasion, as we cannot assist any further with the space battle. Any ships unharmed are to push forward and create a defensive barrier between us and the Republic forces, who will be sure to try and capitalize on this."
"As you command, my Lord," the human commander swiftly replied.
Diábolis returned to his seat, fuming in anger at the turn of events. He had been so sure that Lovegood wouldn't permit such a strategy as to destroy her own ship, but clearly he had underestimated her. For the last time, at the least, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.
Repairs would take a great deal of time, and once this battle was finished he had a mission to undertake, so he would not be present regardless. Even from where he sat, he could sense that his Master was occupied with something, and his focus would not be swayed to speak with his apprentice, even for the briefest of moments to consult their strategy.
He was on his own for the time being, with half a crippled fleet and in the midst of his enemies. And like any injured animal, he would lash out at anything that drew too near.
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Veneficus gazed almost idly at the confrontation in front of him, sensing the straining of both his hated foe, and her own student as they fought, one to slay her, and the other to slay Veneficus himself. It was poetry incarnate to him, a pure form of expression written in hatred and emotion, corrupting all that were involved, and strengthening the Sith Lord immeasurably.
And yet, even his mind was already wandering to other things. He had sensed the shattering of Diábolis' advance on the other front, and the elimination of the massive hulk of a ship that Granger had cobbled together.
While it was a disappointment that his apprentice had not taken into account that possibility, there was little difference, as the Emperor of the Sith could sense the Devaronian already moving to the next stage of the plan, leaving the space battle to Veneficus' forces while he made his own way to the surface of the planet.
It was a suitable change in the plan, given the circumstance of an ever shifting battle, and one that fell easily into Veneficus' concept of how to proceed. Keeping his eyes focused on the duel in front of him, and constantly pricking and poking at Lovegood's ever failing self control, Veneficus slipped into the power of the Dark Side, and began his own Battle Meditation, controlling and inspiring his soldiers to spur them on to victory all the quicker.
Lovegood dodged around another of Leon's rather pathetic strikes, a side effect of the boy only recently receiving his lightsaber back, but the boy was doing remarkable for having gone so long without practicing the art.
He fell back to stand between his old master and Veneficus once more, and the Emperor laughed again, knowing how it grated on the female Jedi Master's nerves.
"The longer you fight, the closer I get to victory in the battle around us, little Jedi… are you so sure you can achieve victory here?" he mused aloud, tapping into her mind as she let her guard down. The visions of her companions supposedly swarming over the systems of his flagship and disabling them was pulled from the depths of her mind, and Veneficus chuckled again.
"If you think you are simply buying time for your allies, I would think again…" he said, catching her off guard. Veneficus smirked wickedly, "Oh yes, I am well aware of your pitiful little band of Jedi and soldiers, and they have already been neutralized by my own elite guards. Did not you wonder why it seemed this room was so little defended?"
Realization dawned on the woman, and her face hardened into a scowl so fierce that Veneficus could almost taste the barest hint of the Dark Side forming within her. It had started…
"Yes… I can feel your anger…" he said, leaning back in his throne and enjoying the small sparks of fire that were forming in his hated rival. "You have no idea the power that that little emotion can bring…"
That did it. The damn over her emotions cracked, and Veneficus felt the landslide of hatred and anger swarm over the room. Lovegood batted her apprentices' blade aside, spinning out of his path and charged Veneficus directly, and he refused to even move from his throne as she approached him, saber raised to run him through.
But, drawing upon her own hatred of him, and his immense power, Veneficus yanked something between them at the last moment, something that shocked all others in the room as Lovegood's blade drove through it, stopping inches away from Veneficus.
Leon stood there, transfixed at the betrayal by both his mentors as the violet lightsaber was quickly removed from his chest. Veneficus laughed, long and cold as the boy slumped to the floor, already dying due to the strike of his own master.
Lovegood crumpled to the boy's side, even as Veneficus stood, moving away from the pair and taking out one of his weapons, preparing for the vengeance that was sure to come once she learned the truth.
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Luna stared down at horror at what had happened. She had given in to the Dark Side, and the vile Emperor had dragged her beloved Padawan between himself and her blade, so that her own stroke of vengeance only succeeded in cutting down that which she had fought so hard to save.
"Leon…" she said, trying to rouse the dying boy to at least open his eyes and look at her.
They did, the yellow tinted orbs glowering in both pain and anger. Each was like another dagger in her soul. The boy couldn't speak, his lungs pierced and each breath shallow and clearly immeasurably painful, but his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
He blamed her for this, not the Emperor that had used him. So far into the path of the Dark Side had Leon been dragged that he couldn't see even in his own death. The eyes slid closed again, and the breathing slowly stopped, and Luna felt the life force of her Padawan depart, amid the grinning smirk of the Emperor, standing several yards away and looking on with his vaunted dominance.
"So ends the connection you fought so long and hard to preserve. How tragic…" he mocked her, his words dripping with the same poison as was his own chosen name. "Surely it would just be easier to slink away, crawl into some hole and life out your days as a failure and a hermit, isn't that what you Jedi do in times like these?" he taunted.
Luna slowly stood, her hands clutching both her own and Leon's lightsaber hilts. "There will be time for mourning and exile…" she said slowly, fixing her determination and collecting herself, drowning out the darkness in her soul and scattering the desire of revenge, bathing it in the need for justice and peace for the Galaxy. "But I am a Jedi, and I have a task to go about first. Eliminating you!" she said, activating the twin blades in her hands and charging, having them both intercepted by the crimson weapons of the Emperor, who only could grunt as she rammed into him with all the force she could muster.
"Then I suppose, it was destined that we would cross blades at long last," Veneficus said as they struggled for the advantage, "And this time there is no escape for you…"
With a lightning quick shove, the Emperor sent Luna staggering back, even as he advanced, twin blades starting to spin in quick motions that were designed to confuse and distract the opponent while planning a subtle tactic. Luna was not fooled however, and parried the incoming stab that was attempting to be slipped into the myriad of feints.
A swelling of righteous fury swarmed her mind, clawing at the darkness that surrounded her, and Luna felt power within her conviction. She may have almost slipped, and caused the immediate death of her Padawan, but it was all laid at the feet of this madman, who in his evil had twisted all that she had cared about to ruin around her.
The hilt of Leon's weapon grew warm in her hand, and she knew that his spirit, his true feelings of the Light and loyalty for the Jedi that had caused him to save her once before were with her, and she attacked. Gone was the need for Soresu, this was a time for a torrent of attack, and while she was not a master of the other Forms, she knew enough that Ataru came almost naturally to her, spinning to build momentum and rotating the blades in her hands to create a whirlwind of death.
The Emperor naturally kept pace, and the sparks that flew as they clashed over and over shone in the gloom of the chamber. Spinning out of the way of another attempted counter attack, Luna felt the light and strength of the Force backing her, and even as she looked upon the sickening form of the Sith Emperor, she saw the shadows retreating from her gaze, outlining the vile man in all his terrible glory, lamp-yellow eyes glaring back at her through narrowed lids, as though trying to shield out the Light that she represented.
There were no words that she had for this man, who had taken everything from her, and would do the same to anyone that stood in his way if given the chance, and she pressed her assault, battering away at the defenses of the Emperor. It was clear that the man was unaccustomed to being on the defensive in lightsaber combat, as his blade work, while effective and precise, was not as elegant or pointed as it could have been, and Luna capitalized upon this fact, hammering away at him with all the energy that the Light granted her, dancing around his attempts to outmaneuver her, and drilling the weapons of justice toward him time and again.
Even if she fell now, the Light Side of the Force granted her a clear vision of the Emperor's eventual defeat, his fall. It would come to pass eventually, as all servants of darkness fell, and great would be the repercussions of it. But even as she fought, struggling with all her might against him, slowly Luna came to the realization, and her mind, now free from the gloom of the Dark Side and burning brightly that it even caused her pain, could see that she was not the one destined to defeat him.
Almost in her imagining, she could see Leon as he once way, young and cherubic with a smiling face, warning her that it was not her time to fall here, and that she would be needed to give aid to the failing remnants of the Republic, and train one who would in time rise to defeat the Dark Lord of the Sith and return the Republic to its golden era of peace and prosperity once more.
She dared not challenge such a vision, and trusting in the Force, she drew its magnificent power around her as the Emperor rushed her once more, fire and death in his eyes.
She may not end him here, but before she fled to follow her vision of the Force, she would do her part in marring that overwhelming high statue of a Sith, humbling him in a way that he would remember until the day he finally did die.
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Yoda sensed something in the Force, from the direction of the Apex, even as they battle to cripple the outlying ships that had surged forth from its flank, and prepared upon the planet for the oncoming shuttles and swarms of fighters that were arriving from the Dauntless.
Giving the order to destroy the Hope's Radiance had not been an easy one, with so many that viewed the ship as their true savior, but Yoda knew better than to trust in a machine to do what sentient beings must in order to achieve victory over the Dark Side.
Crippling half of the invasion force in exchange for the one ship had been more than necessary, but with Luna's attack on the Emperor unknown as to the outcome, he was unsure how to proceed in their defense.
A bare whisper in the Force told him to give her more time, even if the idea seemed dire, but he would follow what he was compelled to do, and gave the orders to hold out to the end for his troops, entrenching themselves deep into the fortresses and cities of the planet, and preparing for the ground assault.
Shuttles soon were visible in the distance, and their anti-air cannons started to fire at them, hoping to ground as many as possible in order to hinder their amassed forced from mobilizing quickly.
"General, the fleet is slowly breaking apart under fire from the Apex," one of the commanders reported, appearing on screen in Yoda's command room, "We're not sure how much longer we can reasonably hold out, even with what time you've bought us."
"More time we need," Yoda replied, feeling the guiding effects of the Force, "do what you can, to hold out you must, then retreat we shall, when the planet overrun is…"
Yoda didn't like suggesting that they plan to retreat, but it was quickly becoming a needful thing to consider. But there wasn't time to consider an effective strategy to block the Emperor's advance in space any longer, not with the Imperial forces already planet side.
Drawing a deep breath, Yoda called upon the Light to center himself, knowing that he must now take to the field, even as the war machines of the Sith bore down upon their fortifications. Walking quickly to the outer command post, where the generals and commanders were in council, he questioned the movement of their enemy and the placement of their forces.
"All is as prepared as we could possibly hope, Sir," the commander in charge of their land defenses stated, the various leaders, chieftains and generals under his command nodding their agreement.
"Then now the time is, to activate our next surprise, hmm?" Yoda asked, and the Commander looked somewhat pleased at the prospect, "As you wish, Master Jedi." Turning to an aide that was nearby, the Commander sent a signal, which had the junior officer's hands dashing over the console in front of him, arming their traps and other defenses that would hopefully slow the advance of the Sith and funnel them to one particular part of the fortress here, as well as powering the strong citywide prismatic barrier, to protect them from bombing runs and other aerial attacks.
After the Dragons had come during several previous battles, Yoda was more than certain that the Sith would be eager to try them again, in the hopes of flattening any possibility of the Republic receiving assistance from orbit, not to mention the damage that the fire breathing monsters could inflict before their ground troops even arrived.
Already there was dust flying far off from the advancing armies, and the sky darkened as the great beast rose into the air, just as they had all presumed. "The anti-air defenses, in place they are?" Yoda questioned, and the other generals nodded their affirmation. They had had to carefully place their turrets and defenses to be just outside the radius of the barrier, or it would prevent them from shooting back as well.
As the flying menaces approached, they were met by a literal hailstorm of plasma, as every tower and high rising building exploded into action. Missiles and other ordinance were launched, knocking dragon after dragon from the sky, but the storm was only just beginning. Yoda could sense a very powerful leader in the Imperial ranks, and one that was somewhat familiar, even though it was long strained and hard to place.
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Fury was quite happy to be on solid ground once more, leading a massive army to take control of Brentaal's fortresses and spaceports one by one. The Jedi had already foolishly given away their position by activating their defenses the moment that they made landfall, but it seemed to be part of their selfless strategy to bear the brunt of the Empire's attacks rather than the innocent civilians coming to any harm.
Fury made certain that they were well aware that the Sith were coming for them, allowing his forces to march in the open, and sending the great flying beasts of fire to destroy every settlement along the way, until they reached the outskirts of the massive shielded city that the Republic and their allies had claimed for their defense.
Storms of plasma bolts were flying from the highest buildings, which poked above their shields just enough to be a deterrent for the dragons, but Fury was undaunted, and sent the beasts out to steal their attention as he pulled up artillery. "I want those shields to feel the full brunt of our attack as we advance. And bomb those tall buildings so they have no advantage over us," he ordered, and watched as more ships flew overhead to execute his commands.
When Diábolis had turned to him to lead the ground assault, he had been more than pleased that his effective ruthlessness had been saved for such a moment. The Sith Lord had been infuriated at the devastation of their fleet after such a short battle in orbit, and told Fury specifically to make those on the planet fear the banner of the Empire, and Fury intended to do much more than that.
Tanks, walker machines and other ordinance were put into position, ready to rush the fortified base once the shields had been eliminated, and they set in for a long sieges, even as their artillery fired continuously to pummel the prismatic color shields around the Republic forces.
"Is there any other methods of entry we can exploit?" Fury said, turning to a logistics officer, who was scrutinizing a highly detailed scan of the city.
"There may be something, a network of tunnels and sewers beneath the city, but it is difficult to tell from what information we received," the man replied, gesturing at the subsections of the city, "It could also be that they are heavily defended, and would take just as long to infiltrate as it would to simply bombard our way in…"
"We must consider all options," Fury said, turning away, "I will lead an expeditionary force of Dark Adepts and Commandos to this place, and if we can break in and get those shields down sooner, we will do so, otherwise we will return and wait them out."
"As you wish, my Lord," the officer stated, backing away as Fury signaled for his personal strike team to assemble.
He had been slowly working on this particular force for some time, grooming select individuals with like mindsets to his own, for the express purpose of a fighting force that knew no fear, and would obey every command of his without question.
Even now, it was finished, and the Wrathguard was complete, as he had so named them. Ready to drop all active duties and heed his orders at any given sign, they came rushing to him from all parts of the army, their armor or robes all bearing his personal sigil in addition to their usual ornaments. A blackened skull with saber and blaster crossed behind it.
"We go to take out their shields, by infiltrating a network of sewer tunnels and pipes beneath their precious fortifications," Fury explained, and the Wrathguard listened intently, none daring to even breathe too loudly and miss even a word of his instruction.
"Their forces may be entrenched there, so expect heavy resistance, and if not, then it will still be a battle to the shield generator once we enter the city properly. Move out!" Fury commanded, and the entire force yelled their approval, turning toward the location that had been outlined for Fury by the logistics officer, and began the trek to their mission site.
Luckily, due to the location the city was built upon, the entrance to the underground network was partially covered from the high rise buildings, probably by design of whatever use they originally had, and therefore granted the infiltration force some measure of secrecy as they made their way into the tunnels and sewers.
Fury took the lead as they went, frequently consulting the map he had been given via his datapad, and constantly sweeping the area with the force, just in case there were any ambushed prepared by their enemies.
For the first few chambers and long tunnels it seemed clear, but at the same time this made Fury only more suspicious. The Jedi wouldn't dare overlook such a gaping opening in their defenses, it was not in their nature. Therefore, still on high alert, they were more than prepared in the next chamber when the trap that Fury suspected was at last sprung on them.
Even as the volley of blaster bolts and other projectile were launched at them, Fury and his Dark Adepts were already in action, sabers activating and deflecting, while several leapt ahead to attack and a few more used the Force to deflect missiles and thrown grenades from their troopers, who took cover and opened fire, relentlessly returning the attack that they were given, regardless that their allies were in the midst of the enemy forces.
Fury himself was in the thick of the fighting, already cleaving a Republic soldier in two, and blocking the hastily shot projectiles of a pirate soldier, even as the ambush turned into a rout of the Republic, their forces far too skilled and unafraid of their surprise to be shaken from their goal.
Even as the enemy fell back to regroup, Fury demanded that they follow in hot pursuit through the tunnels, spying from his datapad that they were all heading back toward the city itself, and therefore likely the exit that they sought.
The Wrathguard were quick to take up the task, charging heedlessly of the danger and cutting down every knot of Republic soldiers that they found. Fury was surprised that no Jedi had as of yet been discovered, but in the end he figured that they would not have wanted to dirty their robes in the muck and mire of the sewers, the pompous fools that they were.
He would deal with them once they made it topside once more, and the battle would be glorious. After dealing with some traps with the sewer lines and disabling some gas leaks that had been allowed to happen in the attempt to poison his forces, eventually Fury found the main chamber of the sewer control system, which had a lift up to the surface, and the largest collection of their enemy waiting for them.
The Republic had dug in quite well here, and even managed to hold them off for a time, war droids making a large additional help to their forces, while several Jedi did finally make their appearance, focusing on their Adepts when they tried to charge, before withdrawing behind their lines when the attacks failed.
It angered the Marauder, and he knew that his mission's success determined the swiftness of their victory here, and the fall of the Republic. He could not fail now, not when they were so close to their goal.
Reaching out with the Force, and gathering the rage and hatred he felt, Fury hurled a massive piece of loose stone into the ranks of their enemy, flattening several droids that hadn't moved out of the way, and clearing a momentary opening in their ranks, soon filled with his battle hardened soldiers.
The Republic soldiers and their allies turned as one to try and drive out the newest attack on their line, and that was when Fury himself launched into battle, using the force to throw himself well beyond their lines and at the Jedi commanders of their forces, twin blades clashing heavily with two of the four as he began his duel.
The remaining Jedi took the time to try and counter the approaching Adepts that were supporting the commando's attack, but the forces under Fury were emboldened by his personally taking to the front line, and engaging the enemy, and pushed with all their might into the ring of Republic forces.
Fury ducked, dodging a hastily swiped blow to his head, and kicked out viciously with his foot, hearing the telltale snap of broken bones as one of the Jedi fell screaming to his knees, and brought up his sabers to fend off the other's counter attack, deflecting the offending weapon high and charging, ramming his head and metal shoulder into the torso of his other opponent, winding them and opening the Jedi's defenses for his weapons to pierce her back as the woman collapsed to the ground.
The other Jedi couldn't reach his weapon in time, with the broken leg dragging behind him, before Fury reached him, stomping on his struggling hand that was straining for the Saber Hilt, and ended his protests with a cruel removal of his head from his shoulders.
All around him, the republic soldiers and their mercenary allies were meeting similar fates, the two Jedi left protecting them from his Adepts having fallen to the overwhelming numbers against them.
"This is Fury," he said, taking out a communicator and opening a channel back to the command center, "Stage one is completed, proceeding to stage two of our plan, intensify bombardment."
"As you command, my Lord," came the quick reply before Fury stowed away the device. They had achieved entrance to the city, and now just had to find the shield generators and destroy them, so that the oncoming barrage of artillery could flatten the defenses and buildings for their armies to enter properly.
As they crowded the lift to take them up, Fury smirked. This was the sort of battle that he lived and breathed for, and it pleased him to be a major part of the fall of this world.
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Gor-lak watched the commander received his orders to intensify their invasion of the planet, standing apart with his own forces. Fury may have been something of a brute, but even the human-clad ork could find a sense of kinship between his old race and the Marauder. Their skill in battle were rather similar, and there was a certain trend in their vigorous battle-sense that was appealing to Gor-lak's sense of conquest.
Still, with their fleet out of commission, Diábolis had sent all available ground forces to take the planet, and that included the pair of powerful commanders. Gor-lak was already thinking that there would be very little for him to do until Fury had knocked out the shields protecting the Republic's main stronghold, but he, like many of the other generals and commanders, had neglected to think that the many smaller bases would be of any great concern.
That was, until fighters started streaming overhead, preparing the way for a wing of bombers that were making a line toward their rows of artillery. "I want Anti-air cannons, now!" the commander demanded, raging as their own beasts took to the skies once more, trying to outmaneuver the oncoming defenders.
Even as the bombers were inbound, there was a torrent of movement on the ground, and Gor-lak turned to observe a column of Republic and Mercenary forces storming their position, tanks and other light vehicles among the rows of infantry, and even Jedi.
He smirked widely behind his mask, knowing that his time had come. "Commander you need to send our forces to guard the rear, I will take the lead and keep these mongrels away from the artillery," Gor-lak stated, already moving away as the man turned to relay the orders to his subordinates.
Rows of troopers turned and opened fire on the approaching forces, and Gor-lak gladly summoned his blade of emerald fire, rallying his magical powers to do battle once more against the foes of the Sith.
Rushing ahead along with several Dark Adepts, their lightsabers glowing madly as they spun to deflect the plasma throw at them from the Republic warriors, they charged headlong into the fray, and Gor-lak used his magic to shimmer and blur himself, making it far more difficult for his opponents to line up a shot of any worth on him.
The emerald blade wafted with flame as he swung it, cauterizing every stroke it made in the flesh of his foes, and leaving the searing pain of cursed Ork sorcery in its wake as Gor-lak moved through the field, seeking an opponent worthy of his skill.
A row of war droids appeared, their cannons blasting large quantities of shrapnel and plasma in all directions, and Gor-lak called upon the power of his magic to shield him, raising the emerald sphere that absorbed and deflected many of the shots, before resorting to his power of lightning, allowing the torrents of green bolts to focus down one droid at a time, overloading its circuitry and detonating the main parts of the automaton one by one.
It didn't take long for the Jedi to become aware of the threat that Gor-lak poised to their ranks, and appeared, green and blue blades of their weapons blazing to life. Many were quickly taken into combat with the Adepts, who had been waiting for such opportunities, but it still left a pair for Gor-lak to engage.
The fire of his sword clashed heavily with the energy blades of his foes, and the pair of Jeid fought with extreme caution, possibly knowing even a small amount of what they faced in Gor-lak.
The Ork spirit wasn't sure how much knowledge of him was spread about the Republic, even this late into the war, but it was clearly enough that the Jedi treated him as how dangerous he truly was, which would prove to be a most effective distraction while he awaited Fury to take down the shield of the Republic command base.
Roaring in delighted rage, he attacked, flames leaping off his weapon as the magic intensified, forcing the Jedi to dodge more than block his weapon for fear of being burned from the raging emerald inferno that he held.
He knew that the pair had to be planning some sort of strategy, even as they kept playing defensive, one blocking while the other attempted to flank Gor-lak, using their advantage in numbers to the uttermost, but it was hopeless, as Gor-lak was far faster to alternate his path of assault, and only their skill in the Force, and heightened reflexes allowed them to scuttle back with little harm when he did this.
Gor-lak attributed this little assist to the mask he was given so long ago. It seemed to have some ability to counter the Jedi's irritating power to foresee his movements, and returned the split second advantage to him. Knowing that the Emperor had foreseen such an event where the Ork would need that advantage, Gor-lak was grateful, if not a touch insulted that his own skills were viewed as insufficient, but only once he saw what the Jedi were capable of had he settled into accepting the power he was given.
And it was a good thing as well, as when the Jedi started to resort to their telekinesis and attempted to hurl him backward, Gor-lak only barely managed to escape several vicious counter attacks as they tried to finish him.
His weapon was still knocked from his hand, the magic ending and reverting to where the magic summoned it from, but Gor-lak wasn't even close to finished at this point.
Resorting to finally showing more of his powers to these formidable opponents, Gor-lak reached into the blackest part of his sorcery, calling forth a beast of emerald fire and giving it a semblance of life, setting the massive cat-like beast upon his foes, while in his hands sprung a glaive of the same material, the longer weapon allowing him to more easily fend off the blades of the Jedi.
While one of the Jedi, some beings with many long tendrils growing out of its head darted back to lead away the beast Gor-lak had summoned, the Lord of Cruelty faced off against his human counterpart, the glaive of fire whirling quickly in his hands. Gor-lak had been a master of weaponry in his youth, and such skills rarely diminished with the orks. Even if his new body was rather unaccustomed to moving about with such a weapon, the years that he had taken to painstakingly train it to fighting form, even if only a fraction of what his original body possessed, it would serve him well enough for this foe.
The deadly blade of flame danced and darted, ever seeking his foe's heart, the glowing blue blade his the lightsaber doing all it could to fend off the enchanted flames. Gor-lak said nothing, barely even allowing grunts of exertion betray how hard he was fighting to maintain the offensive, or betray that his magic was split between powering the beast and attacking this foe.
He was biding his time, gathering what reserves he could spare, for the right moment when the Jedi tried to come to the aid of one another, and exposed a fatal opening. He needn't wait too long. The Jedi being chased by his beast ran by, flipping over the heads of the combatants, clearing in the attempt to make Gor-lak's own beast collide with him from behind.
But the Sorcerer Ork Warlord was aware of the position of his creation at all times, and as the Jedi attempted to flip overhead, he abandoned his attacks at the human before him, and quickly swung upward, catching the other off guard, and severing the Jedi's weapon arm at the shoulder.
The Jedi collapsed in a heap, surprised at the swiftness of the counterattack and the awareness that Gor-lak expressed. And that was all the time that the beast needed to close in and execute its vicious assault on the downed form, teeth and claws of fire slashing and ripping and burning both cloth and flesh.
The remaining warrior, knowing that his companion was dead, took the opportunity to turn on Gor-lak, malice forming in his youthful eyes, and Gor-lak could sense without their vaunted Force the newfound power that dwelled therein. The Jedi attacked, a new concept that Gor-lak reserved for the Dark Adepts and the Sith of their own forces.
But such it was, and Gor-lak recognized the weakened state of the Jedi's defenses as a result as the man attacked, slashing in a near wild frenzy of anger and passion, that it was almost child's play to bat the attacks aside, and Gor-lak felt the desire to taunt this fool swelling inside him.
He resisted however, knowing that to antagonize the already distraught and ever increasingly unpredictable foe was a foolish move. Instead, he chose to capitalize on the weakness before him, cutting and stabbing deeply with ever powerful counter-swing that he employed, immobilizing and arm here, hobbling a leg there, until the Jedi was merely staggering about in his rage, scarcely able to move, let alone fight back.
Finally, Gor-lak disarmed the human, sending the saberhilt, and a great portion of his hand, clattering across the grass and dirt of the battlefield. The anger wafting off such a one was palpable, and Gor-lak understood in that moment a great many things.
He, among many others, had secretly questioned why the Emperor had drawn out the war for so long, when he could just as easily destroyed the Jedi and their Republic through stealth and superior firepower, but watching this half blind, crippled Jedi floundering about in the very anger that they professed to cast away from themselves, he saw the poetic justice that it was.
Veneficus sought not to simply destroy the Republic and rule the Galaxy, killing the Jedi Order and wiping them from existence. He wanted their memory tarnished forever, so that even in the event that they returned, they would have a darkness cast inside them, a shadow that haunted their every footstep. He wanted to humiliate his foes to the point where they dared not rise up against him again, although they inevitably would.
Gor-lak could attest to the stubborn ferocity of enemies, they did not know when they were beaten, but in that event, he saw that the Emperor wanted it known through the eons of time that he had thoroughly destroyed even what it meant to be a Jedi, and that the key was through war.
The rage and anger that built up in times of constant conflict were power to the Sith, and the Dark Adepts, Gor-lak had seen this, but to Jedi, it seemed that the same state was a poison, which corrupted them from within, and made them weaker by far than any blade or assassin's dagger.
Veneficus simply was doing as his name professed, Gor-lak spotted with amusement. He was poisoning the Jedi, and the Republic, letting hem reach a depraved and helpless state before he delivered the final blow, which would shatter them utterly.
It was… glorious to understand at last, Gor-lak realized. But his mind had to return to the present, and the slowly dying Jedi before him, who was crawling ever so slowly to his fallen weapon.
Gor-lak would follow his leader's example, and he strode over to the fallen form, planted a heavily booted foot onto the Jedi's back, pinning him in place as he delivered the death stroke.
The Jedi fell quietly, just as the Republic would, in silence and unmourned, forgotten as though it were nothing more than a distant memory. Gor-lak turned away from his dead foe, looking for others that needed his personal attention to protect their great war machines. It was a simple and beautiful thing, what their Emperor was accomplishing, and Gor-lak was pleased to be privileged to understand more than most of their servants and warriors in the grand design of it.