Here we are, once again, on the bi-weekly schedule of OAC... Yay! Thanks to those who've reviewed the previous chapter, and please, enjoy the next! ~F
Chapter Ten
Advance and Retreat
Fury watched through a protective viewing screen as Yihdâ, the half-sith apprentice of Skarok-Nur slowly returned to consciousness, even as Lord Diábolis entered the prison chamber of the ship where the rogue sith was held.
"Finally awake I see," the Devaronian said leisurely, taking his time as he drew out the interrogation, "excellent. We can begin quickly then…"
Fury could see that despite Yihdâ's apparent look of defiance, there was a touch of true fear lingering as he tested the strength of the restrains holding him flat to a metal slab while the Sith Apprentice walked slowly around him.
"Your people decried the superiority of the sith-hybrids over other races, and their ability to channel and endure the Dark Side," Diábolis stated, slowly turning to face the bound figure, "if you don't wish to truly find out the limits of your supposed endurance, I would suggest you tell me everything I wish to know…"
"You will get nothing from me!" Yihdâ sneered in retort, but immediately regretted it as the Devaronian lashed out with bolts of blue-white sith lightning.
The light flashed off the screen spectacularly, and Fury had to turn away momentarily to avoid being blinded by the glare. Their captive held on surprisingly well, merely grunting as the painful bolts of lightning splayed across his form.
"Your stronger than I gave you credit," Diábolis stated, examining how his victim had hardly reacted, "but no matter… no matter… we have all the time we need as we return to Coruscant…"
"Coruscant," the prisoner replied, showing genuine fear at the thought of the Sith master waiting for them back at the Imperial Palace.
Diábolis smirked, "Yes, Coruscant… whatever you do not tell me, my master will extract from you before you're reduced to a gibbering mass that will not live much past that point…"
"You're lying!" Yihdâ retorted, even as his voice quaked audibly.
"We shall see, until then shall we resume?" Diábolis retorted, electricity jumping between his fingers as he approached once more.
Fury was finished however, turning his back on the screen as it lit up once more with flashes of light. Diábolis was not lying, as they had been summoned to bring their prisoner back to the Emperor, and to make sure that he was alive and in one piece for the Sith Lord to interrogate.
Personally, Fury felt only a small amount of pity for the fool that would end up being used as nothing more than a tool to lure his master into the open, and then discarded in the most brutal manner.
In the meantime as they sailed through Hyperspace toward the center of the Galaxy, he was already planning his next personal move. Diábolis had given him the orders to keep on the movements of the rebels as they took care of these rogue Darksiders, as well as keeping an eye on the movements of the military of the Empire.
Why the Sith Apprentice wanted that, Fury was not thoroughly sure, but he would do so regardless, as Diábolis spoke with the voice and authority of the Emperor. The fact that Fury knew that the Sith existed to betray and kill each other was not foreign to him, having learned these lessons so long ago at the knee of the Jedi teachers.
From that information, he could guess that each Sith Lord wished to use Fury against the other, and regardless of his own usefulness as a tool to them, he had a measure of power decided and aiding the one that may end up the victor of their personal shadow war.
It was an interesting position, and one that the Marauder was not certain of the outcome, but he intended to enjoy each moment of it, spurring his own glory along in the process. He held no imaginings that he was strong or wise enough to overthrow either of the Sith, it was clear long ago that he had his limits in strength and power, and while he still strove to break those chains, he would never catch up to the likes of Veneficus and Diábolis in any lifetime.
Still, he had his goals, and Calamity was not part of that. The troll had grown from the experience of battle, and taken a new effort in increasing his connection to the Dark Side, as well as his combat agility, which for the massive creature would be a feat of the greatest strengths.
Nevertheless, Fury had to take his time to encourage the troll as he could, and that was his intended destination even now. The massive training room on Lord Diábolis' ship had been opened to them, and he had set the droids within to train his apprentice for the time that Fury had overseen the beginning of their prisoner's interrogation.
Arriving back at that room however, Fury was surprised to find a great deal of metallic wreckage, the Troll lumbering around as more droids appeared, blasters and sabers ready and attacking.
For a long moment, Fury just watched as the troll leapt through the air, landing heavily with a crash on top of several blaster-wielding droids, his massive lightclub sweeping out to catch several approaching droids, cutting a few in pieces and knocking the few that blocked backward.
It was eerie, as Fury knew what grace and prowess in battle was supposed to look like, but the troll had a manner and style all his own, determined and required to accommodate the troll's size and bulk.
It was something almost glorious to behold in and of itself. Nothing that Fury would ever attempt to use himself, but he decided right then and there that all Calamity needed was to learn the basics of Djem-So, and adapt it to his unique circumstances on his own, and the rest would flow.
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Feyd watched the forces of the Empire sweep through the city according to his plan, routing the imposters from their streets and driving them out of the residential zones without mercy. There would be a great deal of repairs and sorrow for the populace after this, but they had their lives, for the most part, and they knew that their government would stop at nothing to protect them when they were under attack.
However, the power grid was still a location of heavy fighting, which was why the Supreme Prophet had taken a collective group of soldiers and Adepts to flush out the fools that thought they could cripple the capital of their enemies so easily.
Landing just outside the massive building, Feyd ordered the soldiers into three squads. One would secure the perimeter and drive away the guards of their enemies, while the other two would head into the structure, locating and securing each massive generator that powered the entire city.
If they failed here, there would be major setbacks in bringing the city back under control, as well as defending it from the encroaching jungle or other intrusion, which Feyd was certain, was the plan of these black lightsaber wielding fanatics.
Therefore, he unleashed the full might of his dominance over the Dark Side upon every knot of foes that they found, without mercy or remorse for the deaths that he caused, or that his warriors caused under his command. These enemies of the state would suffer his wrath, and by extension that of the Emperor.
That power carried him through the complex, carving a path through droids, corrupted soldiers and what few cloaked saber wielders he found, until he felt a distinct change in the Force. There were others among the troops that he butchered, the actual workers of the plant, and from what living ones he encountered, he could sense a certain amount of persuasion guiding their tasks as they started to sabotage the plant where they had worked, as well as fought against the Imperials that came to stop them.
"The fools, they even took command of our own people to do their dirty work," he seethed to the commander of the troopers.
"What are your orders Supreme Prophet?" the man replied, clearly hoping that there was away to spare their own citizens.
"We have no choice but to kill everyone in our way," Feyd ordered, shattering the hope, "they will resist us even if the Force users who control them die, and we cannot afford for this generator to be disabled. There are far too many more lives depending on its power than those here."
"I… I understand, my Lord," the commander said, turning and giving the word for his troopers to shoot on sight rather than subdue anyone of Imperial citizenry.
It was a hard choice for the man, Feyd knew this, but loyalty to the Empire was prided far more than courage or morality in war, and that was exactly what this situation had devolved into.
Finally, they managed to push to the massive control room for one of the pair of massive generators, where the heaviest resistance was kept. The engineers were still at work tearing apart the systems and hacking into the power grid to cause a city wide surge of power, which would kill many, as well as leave the rest without power for days.
Guarding them were half a dozen troopers, and a handful of black cloaked Force users. Feyd wasted no time ordering his force to attack, and leapt at the enemy lightsaber wielders with rage in his heart, crimson blade flashing in his haste to engage them and pull the leaders away from their hostages so that the troopers could open fire without worry.
Each of the combatants he faced were significantly more skilled than the guards he had encountered previously, but in the face of a true master over the Dark Side, these fools failed to challenge him. They're only saving grace were their numbers. Feyd was prevented a killing blow several times purely by being forced to withdraw his saber for a hasty block.
Soon enough however, their plans were frustrated as a grenade from his own people detonated, throwing static electricity across the room and shutting down temporarily all electronics in the area, including blasters and lightsabers. Then Feyd was truly in his element.
Harnessing the raw power of the Dark Side, he started to hurl his enemies bodily across the room with telekinesis, their own meager shields doing little to prevent his power from taking command of their forms against their will.
His troopers charged in, fists and feet flailing as they subdued every being that they encountered, and even though he had ordered death for these fools, soon enough they had a large collection of unconscious prisoners for their disposal once electronic power returned.
Throwing all the Force wielders into a large pile on the ground, Feyd tore into them with lightning, frying the whole lot of his foes all at once, giving in further and further to the mad callings of the Dark Side as he enacted his vengeance in behalf fo the people of New Kaas City.
Soon enough, the quivering mass lay still, smoking still from their deaths in a most excruciating manner, and they had command of the room. "My Lord, the generator is secure," a trooper stated, approaching Feyd.
"It's status?" he asked, momentarily fearing that the fight had damaged it beyond repair.
"It appears stable, if not functioning for the moment, with a bit of work we'll have it up and running within the hour," the trooper replied, even as their engineers entered the room and got to work immediately.
"Good, carry on," Feyd said, dismissing the trooper and turning toward an empty holographic display. He quickly typed out several commands, pulling up the display of the local area around the generators, as well as positions of those groups on the same Imperial frequencies.
Throughout the city platoons were pushing toward the entrance of the city, predictably herding out the last remnant of their enemies from the streets, while even more were already surging into the jungle to press back to their landing zone.
"Lord Zhar, this is Supreme Prophet Feyd, come in," he stated, quickly pulling up a communication to the High Prophet.
"I hear you," Zhar replied, seemingly annoyed at the interruption in whatever activity he was currently engaged in.
"The city will soon be cleared; I hope that your forces are prepared to receive these fools as they flee to attempt to escape our wrath." He informed the other high ranking Adept.
"We are more than prepared; they will find amply reception once they arrive…" Zhar replied swiftly, growing more annoyed that he was being questioned regarding his preparedness for their influx of enemy troopers arriving soon.
"Good, we will be cashing them directly to you, expect us within the hour." Feyd said, understanding that the other man was completely uninterested in the update or the fact that the Supreme Prophet was going to steal what thunder he had claimed.
Nevertheless, Feyd would do as he saw fit, this world was his to govern, and therefore any triumph upon its surface was his to claim.
"I am leaving," he announced to the room at large, "continue with repairing the generator, I expect it to be online within the hour."
"Yes, my Lord," the officer in charge responded, even as he took to the streets once more, heaving for the shuttles already landing from the Imperial palace with his fresh platoon of troops to harass their fleeing enemies.
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Ist was in conference with the other Jedi across Ord Mantell.
Overall, their mission had been successful; the leadership of the Republic remnant military was in agreement that their situation was dire, and that withdrawing to a different planet and regrouping was better than dying against the overwhelming force of the Empire.
The problem they had now was that in orbit, the Pursuit of Justice was under heavy attack, and it wasn't safe for their shuttles to try and return to ship. They had also had no word from Commander Flitwick, So Ist had a bad feeling that something might be terribly wrong.
"Master Jedi, we're receiving word that the enemy is advancing once more, what do you suggest?" an officer asked, approaching the portable holographic device that she was viewing, where Knights Dyz and Doususo were going over their options together.
"It seems we have little choice but to go to ground, vanish for a time until we can take to orbit and get back to the ship." Dyz said, the Quarren turning his tentacle-covered head slightly as an explosion sounded in the distance on his end.
"The fighters here are stubbornly wanting to make a break to space to join with the Pursuit of Justice regardless, but if you feel that waiting for a better opportunity is in order, then you are free to do so," the Dug Jedi, Bagrax Doususo, said, "I will be doing what I can to protect these soldiers as we try to support Commander Flitwick and whatever difficulties he is facing in orbit."
"Understood," Ist said, nodding. "We will provide what ground support we can so that you can escape the atmosphere then, before going to ground and waiting out the space battle." She said with a glance toward the officer who stood nearby, looking nervous.
"We need to get moving before the Empire breaks through the last of our defenses," she said, turning off the communicator as the others nodded their understanding.
"I still disagree with this plan to simply hide on world, our shuttles are capable of light speed on their own if needed." Ist said as she turned and walked with the officer toward the main section of their temporary camp.
"I cannot help that command refuses to give up the planet so easily," the officer replied sheepishly.
It was part of an ever complicating issue that Ist had found very quickly once they made contact with the leader of the Republic factions.
What had once started as a unified resistance against the Empire from the former Republic military had fragmented into several factions, each loyal to their leaders alone and not the ideals that they once stood for.
A few, like those that were currently with Knight Doususo, were more sympathetic to the ideas that the Jedi had brought with them and the resistance, that they needed to pull up and start again elsewhere, but Ist had landed near one fo the more stubborn of the leaders, who wouldn't give up Ord Mantell, even though the man himself had yet to speak directly with Ist, or so much as reveal his name to her.
It was decidedly odd that for a man of great honor that could command so many, that the Republic leader was acting with such cowardice in the face of a possible escape to fight another day.
Still, they had a job to do, and for the sake of saving as many innocent lives, and soldiers of the old Republic, that they could in the process. "Very well, let's move out," Ist said, more to herself than the soldiers that assembled as she approached.
The officer spread the word of their assignment, and the troopers were justifiably not pleased, as many were of the same mind as the Jedi on the matter, but they obey their commander, trusting in his plan to work out in the grander scheme, and piled into their light vehicles and took to the north, away from the advancing crash of Imperial walkers, and toward where a prime outpost was located with heavy anti-air turrets.
If they could take and hold that position for a time, it would open a clear window for the shuttles to escape the planet, and perhaps more to come for them later on, but it would be difficult, as the place was located nearby to a large Imperial troop station, and unless they took it with perfect stealth, the base would overrun them within hours.
The commander had sent them a plan, as well as the schematics of the outpost, down to the last detail of where they needed to attack to breach the security with the least amount of damage to the fortifications that they would have to repurpose and defend themselves.
Ist worried, even as they started with all haste toward the outpost, that even if they did succeed, that it wouldn't take long for the Imperials to notice that one of their stations had stopped firing, and send troopers to investigate.
From the lead vehicle, Ist spotted Jedi Shadow Guesto leap from the vehicle, dashing forward alongside the road for a few paces, before leaping down to the next switchback, even as they arrived at the crest of a ridge that led down to the location of the outpost.
The plan was fairly straightforward: Shadow Guesto would use his abilities as a Clawdite changling to impersonate a guard and bypass the security on the outside, opening the way for them to drive their vehicles straight inside, while disabling what defenses he could, temporarily. Once they all managed to slip inside, they would take command, eliminate the guards and reprogram the automated defenses, holding out while they could and broadcasting the all-clear sign for the shuttles to get the others off world.
Straightforward, but unclear enough for there to be plenty of disabling contingencies, and far too much reliance on the Jedi, as far as Ist was concerned, but they did what they had to for the time being.
Watching through a pair of magnifying field lenses, Ist saw as the Jedi Shadow made his way carefully through the outcroppings of rock toward the base, subduing a patrolling trooper on the way and shifting to look like the same being.
Continuing the patrol route as though nothing was amiss, Shadow Guesto casually kept his comm. Open so that Ist and the other lead officers could hear everything that happened around him, although it was muted so that they could not broadcast on his end and accidentally give him away.
"Trooper 1-46883 returning from patrol," he said, clearly using the identity code of the man whom the Jedi was impersonating, "requesting permission to reenter."
"Permission granted," the trooper in charge of the gate said, almost lazily, even as he touched a switch on his arm, which had the energy field barring entry disperse for a time.
"And now we wait," Ist said, even as Shadow Guesto vanished from sight into the base.
For a long time they heard nothing but the clank of boots on metal, as the Jedi Shadow walked through the base, speaking to no one and overhearing little, aside from side conversation between troopers and what civilian technicians that they had working in the outpost.
"We need to make sure to free those who are working under duress," the officer in charge of the platoon said, and Ist nodded in agreement, still focusing on the transmission, straining to hear even the slightest noise in order to know what was going on inside the building.
"I've reached the power generators…" Guesto said quietly, and Ist grimaced at the progress that their seemingly hasty plan was moving at. They had devised that Guesto would sabotage the primary generator, which controlled the gate as well as most of the outside lighting, while simultaneous putting a jammer hooked into the backup generator, so that the moment it kicked on the communications out of the outpost would go down, hopefully long enough for them to storm the outpost and take it, but not long enough for anyone outside to wonder what was going on outside of a sudden power loss.
It was a tense sort of wait, where Ist could feel the Force coiling about her in apprehension, watching the base for the first sign of the loss of power.
"Jamming system attached, going to cut primary power now," Guesto said, "prepare for loss of communication, and I'll see you when you get here…"
There was another moment of silence, followed by the ignition of a lightsaber, and Ist, watching through her scope, saw all the lights in the base cut out.
"Go!" she said, and quickly the vehicle convoy started forward onto the switchback at full speed, forcing the Bothan Jedi to sit ot lose her balance, even aided with the Force. A moment later, the lights within the building returned, a deep red of emergence lighting, and the communication burst into static as the jammer activated, prevent all communications within the outpost from escaping.
"We're on the clock people, let's get in and take that outpost quick!" the commanding officer shouted, even as several troopers stood in the light vehicle, bracing themselves against railings and seats, in order to properly aim their missile launchers at the front gates, where Imperial troops were scrambling to prevent their approach.
Fortunately, their aim was true, and the missiles rocketed away, the jets of propellant creating distracting spirals as the ordinance careened toward their destination. They slammed into the ground just short of the gate, sending up a hail of dirt and stone, which caused the front line of guards to flinch away at the last moment.
The vehicles did not stop however, and bowled a few of the recoiling guards over as the sped past into the outpost grounds, the occupants ducking to avoid a few stray blaster shots once the guards recovered from the blast.
Leaping from the lead transport, Ist ignited her saber, and steeled herself for yet another desperate fight. Their teams were already decided upon, and she would be claiming the grounds with less than half of the troopers, while the rest stormed inside, escorting their technicians and meeting up with Shadow Guesto to take command of the gunnery.
However, none of them were prepared when a massive alarm started to ring out, seeming to bypass even the jamming and ring through the lowered valley that the gun emplacement was hidden within.
Several of the troopers cursed loudly, and Ist couldn't blame them for their anger. There was no chance that the troop garrison did not hear that alarm, and were mobilizing to defend the outpost even now, putting an even tighter bind on their timetable.
"We need those shuttles in the air now!" an officer was shouting into his communicator, clearly speaking with the other forces who were preparing to evacuate the planet, and Ist moved to deflect a stray shot that was heading at the man, who flinched at the sudden movement but nodded his thanks to the Bothan before returning to his hasty conversation.
Turning to join the line of troopers who were huddled behind the vehicles, holding off the last few Imperials outside while they waited for the power to return to the gate, Ist found many of them turning to her. "Do you think we'll survive, Master Jedi?" one brave trooper asked, his helmet obscuring Ist's vision of the man's face, but the tension in the human's voice was unmistakable.
"Force willing, we'll all make it out of this…" she replied quickly, knowing that her words would be hollow, considering what they were about to face.
But face it they would, as any good soldier of the old Republic, and if a way presented itself for them to escape alive, Ist hoped that many would be willing to take it, rather than the death that awaited them otherwise.
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Zhar snarled as another pair of black armored troopers appeared from the trees, firing like mad to try and break through his lines to their precious shuttles. Batting the bolts aside with a vicious sweep of his blade, Zhar smirked at how his plan was working too well.
He had left a few of the shuttles intact, just as bait to lure their enemy to their own deaths, but unbeknownst to their foes, the shuttles were inoperable, simply standing there idle, with most of the guns from the Basilisk overhead aimed straight down upon them just in case some engineer managed to get to them and reroute the power.
Although, that was unlikely, the High Prophet mused, even as he slew another pair of soldiers, ripping them from their cover with the Force and impaling the pair with a single stab of his crimson saber.
But, of course, Supreme Prophet Feyd had to boldly announce the plan to Zhar, even though the other Council member was more than aware, and had in fact created part of it himself. Just arrogant enough to establish the fact that he, Feyd, and not Zhar, would be claiming the credit for saving the capital of the Empire for all the populace to fawn and adore.
But that was fine, Zhar did not care for the accolades of the people of the Empire, and the less in view of the Emperor that he and his apprentice were, the better. In the long run, it would be he and Euka, not Feyd, that would topple Veneficus' plans for the Galaxy, to run it into the ground, and settle the Empire into its perfect working order.
But now was not the time for such thoughts, not with the forest now crawling with black lightsaber wielding maniacs and their Force-commanded underlings willing to fight and die for a master that had, as far as Zhar understood, never bothered to even reveal himself as of yet to anyone.
It was a strange and odd tactic of the Sith, one that he had read about but not quite understood. The idea that Sith of equal ranking would fight each other, not one on one as combatants, but through proxies and by means of their underlings, was astoundingly self-centered, and utterly prideful.
Granted, he ought to have expected such a thing, given the radical changes he himself had witnessed in Veneficus over the decades, but to see it in another Sith so arrogantly thrust into their view and openly challenging their Emperor, albeit unseen and unknown in the process, was astounding.
Was it not clear, even upon this battlefield, that the Emperor's forces were more than a match against this fool of a foe? What could be hoped to gain, even if this Skarok-Nur managed to take one world, when Veneficus ruled the majority of the Galaxy, and managed the affairs of his Empire from multiple locations at once, with a government that spanned the whole of the central portion of Sith Space.
And it was true, not only did Supreme Prophet Feyd have his own apprentice to take his place should he die, but if the pair of them were eliminated, an entire set or orders were in place for another planet's High Prophet to ascend, once a replacement for that planet's leadership was selected.
The government of Veneficus was very thought out and meticulous in its redundancy, not that any of the Dark Council truly hoped it would have to be put into use… yet. But the fact remained that the Empire had to outnumber these others at least five to one in terms of Force users alone, so what did the half-sith Darksider think to accomplish by attacking them here?
Even as Zhar redirected a missile with the Force, he widened his eyes in realization. Skarok-Nur wasn't fighting by the rules of honorable combat between two powerful Sith. Therefore, if he was expending his troops in such a wasteful manner, then he was likely trying to eliminate the Emperor directly, through assassination or through a challenge for his power.
Whether the Emperor fell or not was not a concern to Zhar, as it was unlikely that such a force of nature as Veneficus would go down without taking half of the Galaxy with him, but the importance of this realization was that, in the meantime, he would be blind to the movement of the Empire, and those within it.
Therefore, Zhar and Euka could progress their movements to prepare an escape from Veneficus when the madman finally snapped and went on a rampage throughout the galaxy on his own followers. Unfortunately, they were likely to be prevented from enacting any of their plans as of yet, due to the battle here on Dromund Kaas, as well as any number of other things that the Dark Council will demand of them, but inevitably they would have time to go about with their own scheme.
Pushing his thoughts aside for the time, Zhar refocused on the task at hand, with energy now devote to ending it as swiftly as possible, and he launched himself forward to the line of trees and foliage around the clearing, cutting down everything that moved toward the landing platform without mercy.
The fools thought that they could use their numbers to any sort of effect in the jungle, and they were supremely wrong on that account. The foliage on Dromund Kaas was thick, and deliberately left that way so that any army moving on the ground was hindered and forces to fracture in order to pass the terrain; the perfect defense for the capital of the Sith.
Therefore, they were forced to emerge to their precious landing platform in ragtag groups less than twenty strong at a time, only to be met by barrages of blaster fire from the troops that Zhar had called down, with more reinforcements being brought in from orbit as the fighting intensified.
Even the black lightsber wielding adepts were of little use, as Zhar had arrayed his forced well away from the woods, and only the strongest adepts were permitted to venture out and attack, which made the line between his troopers and the trees into the perfect killing grounds.
That was until the vehicles started to appear. Ancient things, but still functional, the tanks and hover-vehicles navigated the undergrowth well, and swept out onto the open grasses, nimbly dodging the obstacles and opening fire upon Zhar's forces.
The High Prophet started toward them, intent on shattering the rusty contraptions, but a cry from behind him spun the human around, as a massive, hulking monstrocity lumbered forward, a double bladed jet black saber clutched in its grasp.
The black body armor and helmet shrouded any feature that the massive figure held, but it could have been a droid for all Zhar cared, even as he dodged backward of a massive overhead strike, which severed a fallen tree into pieces with its passing.
The tanks would have to wait. Zhar leapt back into combat, his saber weaving a powerful dance of destruction, Djem-So matching well against the brute's physical strength, even as the far larger being, about half the size of a troll, executed a highly rough version of Juyo.
Sparks flew at the two blades collided again and again, Zhar reeling back often with his age and less than kept up skill in bladework starting to show against the far stronger opponent.
How he wished that Euka was there at his side, her finesse and agility working so well when paired with his straightforward attacks. Alas, he was alone, and had to rely on other skills to see him through this fight now.
He blocked another strike, and that was a mistake. The strength behind him threw him from his feet. He flew back twenty feet and struck a tree trunk, and even cushioned by the Force it still hurt quite a lot. Zhar fell to the base, his weapon still help loosely in his hand, even as the giant figure charge, double ended weapon swinging high overhead.
"Enough of this!" Zhar cried, throwing all his strength into a telekinetic shove, making the hulking figure stumble and skip to a halt, the massive creature physical strength seemingly matched with Zhar's command over the Dark Side.
It was impressive to say the least, but not enough by Zhar's standards. The beast was little more than a hammer; a blunt instrument meant to destroy but never craft, much like Fury when he was newly formed into a weapon for their Sith Masters. Unlike his first apprentice; however, this one would never know refinement, as Zhar dodged to the right, slamming his telekinesis upward and allowing the brute to surge forward once more.
The head reared back, even as the figure crashed into the tree bodily, not expecting the resistance to dissipate so quickly. And that was when Zhar struck, leaping into the air and plunging his saber into the upper back armor plate of the monstrous figure while it was stunned.
The being screamed in agony, dashing the thought of it being a droid instantly, and flailed for a time before sagging to its knees, even as the last of its lifeforce drained away in death. Zhar sighed heavily, unhappy about the energy he had had to use to defeat such a foe, and turned back to the tanks assaulting his line of troopers.
They had held out for the time needed, and he rushed back to aid them. Although winded, Zhar coacked back his arm and threw his saber forward with all his remaining strength, before sprinting after it.
The crimson blade spun in a tight spiraling arc, directed by the Force to scathe through the lines of troopers rushing to back up their tanks, and sliced right through the rusted armor of the nearest one, causing a glorious explosion, before zooming back to Zhar's hand, even as he launched himself into the arm.
The enemy did not have a chance to turn and face him, even as he landed in their midst, plunging his saber into the ground and channeling the Dark Side into the weapon, allowing lightning to surge up all around him. The troopers all cried out in sudden surprise and pain as they collapsed in the explosion of electrical torrents, allowing Zhar to rise and face the next knot of soldiers head on.
Several of Gaze Squadron flew overhead just then, laser fire decimating the ranks of troopers just arriving at the treeline, and rupturing another set of vehicles, and to that backdrop Zhar charged, his gleaming blade reflecting the bolts thrown by his enemies as he closed the distance between himself and them.
Muscles screaming for relief, Zhar denied them, allowing the hatred of the Dark Side to flow freely through his body, jumping and twisting to the side to cut down another trooper that stood in his way, before snapping a high kick to the helmet of a second, stunning the being and sending them sprawling back.
The foolish pawns of the Empire's enemies would learn true fear at this point, even as the High Prophet of Korriban bore down upon them, blade and raw strength in the Dark Side countering their efforts to survive. Zhar picked the troopers off one at a time, conserving his energy so that he could recover from the effort he had had to use in defeating the behemoth earlier, but through the Force he could sense that reinforcements at last were nearly there, which would allow him a reprieve as others took his place in the no man's land.
Indeed, as he cut down the last of the troopers that had come with their vehicles, he turned to see Euka flying out of the trees, the apprentice of Feyd at her side, and several armored Force users pursuing them, their black blades cutting a path through the foliage.
Where and how the two had gotten ahead of not only their own contingents, but intercepted a large group of enemy Force users together was anyone's guess, but Zhar was not in the mood to ponder reasoning at the moment.
Striding forward with determined steps, he batted aside a pair of stray blaster shots, before quickly returning his saber to the ready position, even as he marched toward the new arrivals, eyes set grimly on the black armored helmets of the other adepts.
There would be no survival for any of these traitors; Zhar would make sure of it.