Chapter Fifteen
The planet Sarkhai, itself, was a beautiful world of serene forests and tranquil woodland paths, roughly fifteen hundred kilometres greater in diameter than Alderaan once was. Roughly one hundred forty-nine million kilometres distant from the star it orbited, the planet was of a temperate clime that was slightly on the warmer side. As her warship approached the planet, she nodded to Aerla and initiated a hail to the planet, which was soon answered by a male from the planet with white skin and a dark powder blue face-paint that looked as if it were of the permanent variety.
"Welcome to the Sarkhai system… Admiral Vurkoth! Apologies, I am Tanis Llon, emissary of King Savar, we had not been expecting the leader of the Ven-Shimu Order to personally answer our call for assistance," said the emissary, a man who looked to her to be about forty-six, though she couldn't tell his height or weight based on a face and a pair of shoulders. He looked as if he was in exceptional good health, however, which spoke well of nutrition on the planet Sarkhai, at least in her opinion.
"I have been instructed," continued Tanis, "to extend our sincerest thanks for the Ven-Shimu Order deciding to come in answer to our request for assistance. We found ourselves in need of a strong military force familiar with engaging enemies of a Force-sensitive nature."
"The Ven-Shimu Order takes all requests for assistance against Sith uprisings with extreme seriousness, and the great gravity of your situation demanded immediate aid. Even though the Ven-Shimu Order is young, and we are still in the process of attaining our balance, it will be our honour to render the best assistance we are able to muster on behalf of Sarkhai and her people," said N'Lola in answer.
"Our planetary defenses have been relinquished in a sector large enough for your ship to pass through safely," replied Tanis with a nod of understanding, "Transmitting coordinates now, Admiral." Less than an hour later, the ship came to rest on one of the largest expanses of level meadow at Sarkhai's Duskan spaceport, where a delegation soon approached. As they approached, the disembarkation ramp lowered underneath the ship, between the eight enormous landing beams, each of which ended in a monumental square support that was one hundred metres on each side. The beams, themselves, were nearly ten metres thick, and one hundred metres long, producing a spacious gap between the ventral plate of the ship and the ground it landed on. Even as the welcoming party arrived, the royal emissary with an escort of twelve of what could only have been royal guardsmen, N'Lola walked down the disembarkation ramp, herself accompanied by three Iktotchi and eight Zabraks. Each was armed identically to herself, though for the Zabraks, they had replaced lightsabers with phrik-alloy vibroswords, having the same arrangement as her own: two tonfa-style and one long-handled.
"My Lady, the Ven-Shimu Order makes an impressive entrance," said Tanis as he came to stand in front of her, about two metres distanced, and bowed respectfully. He had a ponytail of shoulder-length white hair, lips of a sort of dark pastel grey hue, and an impressive stature at six feet even and two hundred pounds of well-corded musculature. Tanis wore a shirt of ivory-coloured cotton and dark blue leather breeches of ankle-length, with a dark blue greatcoat of soft leather that was knee-length. This ensemble was accented by a black leather belt around his waist with a nickel buckle, and ankle-high boots of the same nickel-buckled black leather style. He was himself unarmed, though each royal guard who accompanied him was armed with a heavy blaster rifle and a heavy blaster pistol strapped to one hip, which she found to be a light but admirable level of armament.
"The Royal Guard of Sarkhai makes an admirable arrival, as well," she replied, "Please, lead the way."
"As the Lady commands," said Tanis in answer, "I lament that the King will not be able to come today, but the presence of Darth Radox and his attempts to claim our world for himself has resulted in considerable unrest in the city of Galrost. King Savar was compelled to travel to the city personally to assure the people steps were being taken, and an experienced military force had already been summoned to quell the attempted Sith invasion." As he spoke, the royal emissary led the path toward the palace of Duskan, the current capital city of the planetary monarchy.
"Your King is a wise and noble ruler, to take so personal an interest in the condition of his people," observed N'Lola in response, "I do not mind that I may not meet the King during my visit."
"Thank you, Admiral. I am grateful you understand the situation here so readily," replied Tanis graciously, as they approached the impressive structure of the palace.
The palace, itself, sprawled across four acres of land, constructed of massive stone blocks with great pillars, rising thirty metres into the air with six floors. It was at the end of a long boulevard through the heart of Duskan, with beautifully constructed buildings of wood and stone throughout the city. Indeed, all of Duskan was of an outstanding loveliness to look at, speaking architecturally at least, and people marvelled a bit at outsiders, as none had ever seen a Bpfassh, Iktotchi, or Zabrak, in their lifetimes. As they entered the palace itself, Tanis remained on the lowest floor in the structure, leading them to what was quickly evident as a military wing occupied by the royal guard. The guardsmen wore striking uniforms of white and dark blue, matching the combination of their own complexion and face painting. Finally, they walked into what was obvious to N'Lola as a war-room, having seen several of their like previously, and having one aboard the Explorer, as well. Here waited a man slightly shorter than Tanis but slightly heavier in muscle mass, older and more clearly of military background, a career soldier.
"My Lady Vurkoth, this is General Ephraim Trott, chief commander of the military and personal commandant of the Royal Guard," said the emissary as he crossed to stand between them, "General, this is her N'Lola Vurkoth, the foundress and… my Lady, what is your title?"
"Lady Marshal," N'Lola supplied.
"Foundress and Lady Marshal of the Ven-Shimu Order," concluded Tanis, and Ephraim blinked then nodded, moving forward to greet her more personably than prior.
"I had heard that the foundress of the Ven-Shimu Order was a beautiful woman of misleading youthfulness, although I must confess I did not expect to meet you in person, nor for you to be quite so young in appearance," said Ephraim, "It is an honour to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise, General, it is an honour to meet the premier officer of the royal military forces, and you look quite hale and fit, yourself," she replied graciously, and he smiled.
"I am sixty-eight years of age, Lady Marshal," he replied informatively, which put him at roughly twice her age, "Alas, my species ages far more briskly than yours. Perhaps, someday, you might tell my great, great, great, great grandchildren, that their forebear was a man you knew, and possibly, thought well of."
"That may be a distinct possibility, General," N'Lola admitted, "For now, however, let us the matter of where this Darth Radox has made his stronghold, and what is known of him."
"Of course, my Lady," he said, returning to the great war-table in the centre of the room, activating it before then touching a few points on the touchscreen control console. In response, a three-dimensional holo-image appeared, in the shape of a broad, fortified area over an underlying grid, spreading twenty squares long and sixteen squares wide. The walls themselves looked high enough, curving smoothly at the edges to prevent angular corners, maximizing the defensive value of the parapets, in a way.
"This is Fort Mazz, formerly an archaic history museum; daily tours for schoolchildren, collegians studying archaeology, architecture, history military or otherwise. The insurrectionists aligning with the Imperial Remnant took the fortress by force in the night, likely to minimize the difficulty associated with conquest by minimizing the number of people they would need to eliminate. Killed were three hundred civilian guard personnel under the employ of the Royal Institute for Historical and Archaeological Preservation, lightly armed. We must presume them deceased, under the circumstances, though we have yet to recover any bodies, the fortress remaining occupied," General Trott said at length, "The fortress retains military defense shield generators, preventing any attempt at aerial strikes. However, the shield generators do not prevent the compound from a terrestrial military assault; they have no defensive emplacement, which allows armoured vehicles to be rendered functionally nonessential. The King has authorized the use of any level of force you may deem necessary to reclaim Fort Mazz and eliminate the Sith Lord and his underlings."
"Excellent information General," N'Lola nodded, "Now, what of this Sith Lord, Darth Radox?" In response, the General touched a few more items on the control console's touchscreen. Instantly, the image of the fortress faded, and the image of the Sith Lord, Darth Radox, appeared in its' place, standing upright, his hands clasped behind him.
"Darth Radox, a Rattataki. He has chosen to forsake the typical metallic ornamentations worn by his people, and has likewise abandoned their penchant for black tattooing. As you can clearly see, he has instead opted to employ facial and body painting in an electric crimson colour, in a style similar to some of the face painting we use ourselves," continued General Trott, "I don't think he realized it, but during his communication, we were able to scan his armour, what there is of it. It is of a metal called ultrachrome, resistant but not impervious to blaster bolts and lightsaber blades, woven into a thick, multilayered mesh; we believe his apprentices are armoured similarly."
"Do you know how many insurrectionists, or how many apprentices?"
"Long-range sensors would indicate sixty-one sets of ultrachrome armouring, suggesting sixty apprentices, as we know even the insurrectionist officers are not armoured in such. As for the number of insurrectionists, our scans indicate there are four hundred and one Rattataki, and seven hundred Sarkhai, in the fortress," the General answered.
"I see. This will require an assault of considerable magnitude; glad the King granted me discretionary leeway here," N'Lola replied thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes intently on the image of the Rattataki Sith Lord, "I will need to return to my ship to plan and prepare for the assault." In answer, the General nodded his understanding before he made any verbal response.
"Of course, Lady Marshal, naturally," said General Trott, without much in the way of hesitation. As a career soldier and a lifelong officer, he was more familiar than most with the intricacies of the command structure and a need to plan an assault, regardless what they said about the best-laid plans. The fact that things rarely went according to the plan, didn't mean it wasn't still wise to have a plan: those who went in without a plan, oftentimes failed to come back out, unless it was in a box.
For her part, N'Lola excused herself and then returned to her ship, whereon Ambassador Mellison requested permission to attend the mission briefing.
"As a means of better understanding the Ven-Shimu methodology," he explained, "I would also like to ask, should it be at all practicable, that my padawan and I be permitted to accompany you in this mission. My padawan is moderately skilled with a lightsaber, and I am more than adequate in the matter myself." As he made his case, N'Lola considered it for a moment, before shaking her head.
"I do not take moderately skilled or more than adequate into battle, Ambassador. You and your padawan are welcome to accompany Raid Team One, conditional to two specifications," she answered, "First requirement: both of you are to remain behind the combat line and observe. Second requirement: both of you are to consider yourselves as under my command for the duration of the mission until all objectives have been accomplished. You are to follow my instructions without hesitation and without argument." The padawan's eyes widened a bit at the austerity of her tone, and the firmness of her assertion of authority over a member of the Jedi Order.
"Understood," replied the Jedi Ambassador tranquilly, "It is your mission, ah… apologies, my Lady, but if I may ask, what is your title of rank?"
"Lady Marshal," she supplied with courteous warmth.
"It is your mission, Lady Marshal, and you must make command decisions that are militarily wise," finished Master Mellison, in a tone of comfortable assent that further surprised his padawan, to whom he looked following one brief moment of silence, "We are here as the Ven-Shimu Order's invited guests, Norman. Indeed, we are here at the specific request of the Lady Marshal, and it is her prerogative to regulate as she sees fit our potential participation, or the lack thereof."
"Of course, Master, but it feels as if she does not hold your skill with a lightsaber, or the training you provide to me, in high enough regard," responded the young padawan truthfully, at which N'Lola offered a warm half-smile.
"There is no emotion, there is peace," the Jedi Master reminded his padawan, "Do not let your heart govern your mind or your thoughts. You must remember to exercise self-control, and to see all things with an objective eye. I have no doubt that by comparison to the Lady Marshal, who has trained extensively with her weapons and who has survived only because of that skill, I am indeed likely a neophyte at best. There is no shame in this fact: my skills lie elsewhere, and that is why I am an ambassador, and she is a warrior."
"I wouldn't mind testing your definition of more than adequate sometime, Master Mellison, but for now, that is a luxury we haven't the time for. Presently, a Sith Lord on the planet is attempting to usurp control over it from the royal family, and align it with the Imperial Remnant."
"What's the plan?" queried Nuav, as he and his twin stood with her at the war table, examining the layout of the fortress that General Trott had transmitted up to them for precisely this purpose.
"I will lead Raid Team One personally. I will take Naith Ward, Sarden Taul, and Votan Jaa, along with Kale Hann, Dane Samson, Emily Ro, Morris Tiel, Timot Zurr, K'Lara Shauren, Tz'Lena Manth, and Kestus M'Karlu. Raid Team Two will be under your command, Nuav, and Xuax will command Raid Team Three. Raid Team Four will be commanded by Tenat Noore, Raid Team Five will be commanded by Lucian Marr, Raid Team Six will be commanded by Ella Tann, and Raid Team Seven will be under the authority of Terla Marcu. Raid Teams Eight, Nine, and Ten, are to be captained by Janz Parth, Seamus Cross, and Alanthia Vonth, respectively," N'Lola began, to which both the Jedi Master's eyes and those of his padawan widened a bit. She concluded that it surprised them that she intended to make an attack from ten directions, though as she mentioned each team, she made a clear indication of the trajectory of their assault path into the fortress.
"Egress Team One will be led by Aerlas'enuia, Egress Team Two will be led by Zivvac, Egress Team Three by Vindac, and Egress Team Four by Ketar Maire. Egress Teams Five, Six, and Seven, respectively, will be under the authority of Ulic Thrax, Talann Zarc, and Steve Wallace. The final three Egress Teams, numerically, will be captained by Votrik Lantz, Kava Hier, and Cecil Hueller," she continued, then concluded, "Each team leader is responsible for selection of their respective teams, and will report to me when the team is set. Each Raid Team is to be twelve members with three Force-Healers and each Egress Team is to be twenty-four members with six Force-Healers."
"You have that many healing-trained Force-sensitives available to you, my Lady?" asked Waldo, curiously.
"Every Force-sensitive in the Ven-Shimu is trained extensively in using the Force to Heal," N'Lola answered, a fact that clearly shocked both Master and padawan, alike. She wondered if that meant that the Jedi Order did not do the same, or if it simply meant they had not expected the Ven-Shimu to put such premium importance on the Healing powers available through the Force.
"There are nine hundred eighty-eight Iktotchi Force-Healers aboard the Explorer, Master Mellison, and some Force Healers who are not of the Iktotchi, such as myself," she continued, and he nodded.
"Fascinating and erudite, my Lady," praised Master Mellison, approvingly.
"Now, it is time that we prepare for battle," N'Lola said, and the rest of her summoned officers dispersed all but immediately, to requisition the teams that they wished for themselves, "It will be some while before all teams are prepared, Master Mellison. You may retire for rest if you wish. The battle will not be fought today, or tomorrow. Time must be spent in proper preparation, to ensure maximum performance quality."
"Understood, Lady Marshal Vurkoth, thank you for allowing us to observe your war council," the Jedi Master replied, before guiding his padawan out of the chamber ahead of him. Over the next few hours, she was visited briefly by the both Nuav and Xuax, then by the Jilruans Tenat Noore and Terla Marcu, and then by Aerlas'enuia and longtime Barabel friends Zivvac, Vindac, and Ketar Maire. Before the night's end, the Zabraks Lucian Marr, Janz Parth, Kava Hier, and Alanthia Vonth had visited her, as well as the Chistor male Ulic Thrax and the Chistor female Talann Zarc. It was not until the next morning that the Iktotchi Ella Tann and Votrik Lantz informed her of their teams' readiness, but by the time midday arrived, the Humans Cecil Hueller, Steve Wallace, and Seamus Cross had also reported in. On the morning of the following day, Master Mellison and his padawan joined the three hundred and sixty soldiers on the ground, quickly approaching N'Lola herself.
As the pair of Jedi approached, N'Lola turned toward them and nodded her greeting, attired as ever for battle, accompanied by a diverse selection of personnel.
"Good morning, Master Mellison, padawan Maenner," she greeted, "Allow me to introduce you to the rest of Raid Team One. This is Timot Zurr, and these are Votan Jaa, Naith Ward, and Sarden Taul." At her introductions, the Jilruan Timot Zurr bowed his head respectfully, as did first a male Iktotchi, then a female, and then another male. Each wore a uniform that was identical in style to N'Lola's own combat outfit, though their jackets did not have the decorative buttons, and they had durasteel in place of electrum. Similarly, each of the Iktotchi were armed with phrik-alloy lightsaber hilts of an identical assortment as her own: one long-handled lightsaber and two tonfa-style lightsabers. The Force-insensitive warriors carried vibroswords of the same style, and the same phrik-alloy forging.
Timot Zurr had silver eyes, standing seven foot four inches two hundred ninety pounds in weight, the majority of his skin covered by dark green leather in a style that matched N'Lola's, except in an alternative colour. Similarly outfitted, the three Iktotchi, four Humans, and three other Bpfasshi, made the clear image of an organized, militaristic unit. As Master Mellison and his padawan finished greeting those she had introduced, she proceeded to introduce first the Humans, and then her fellow Bpfasshi.
"These are Kale Hann, Dane Samson, Emily Ro, and Morris Tiel," she introduced, and each one bowed his, or in Emily's case her, head, in response, "And these are K'Lara Shauren, Tz'Lena Manth, and Kestus M'Karlu." The two Bpfassh women bowed their heads respectfully in greeting, as did the Bpfassh male, Kestus, though none of them had the visual appearance of one more than twenty years old in human terms.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, it is an honour to be allowed to accompany you in your battle, today," Master Mellison said politely, and N'Lola nodded.
"Egress Teams, move out and take position," she instructed, and immediately, half of all chosen captains and two-thirds of the collected soldiers smoothly transitioned from standing to moving. In a demonstration of their military precision, the units vanished in a cone of motion into the forest, crossing through to take position, and within less than an hour, Aerla's voice came over the ear-mounted communicator.
"Egress Team One, in position," followed by similar declarations from the other Egress teams, until the last.
"Egress Team Seven, in position," reported Captain Steve Wallace, "Apologies for the delay, Lady Marshal."
"A complication, Captain?" queried N'Lola.
"Negative, Lady Marshal. Encountered an unexpected ravine, it presented a slight challenge to get across."
"Understood, Captain," N'Lola replied, "Raid Teams, move out." Immediately, the remaining teams set into motion, circling in many cases to move around the fortress then looping back to come in behind the egress teams that had already secured phase-one positions. Quickly, the Jedi Master and his padawan broke into a run to keep pace with the precise military gait that N'Lola and Raid Team One set, until they reached the impressive twenty-metre walls that encircled the fortress. At ten separate locations, there were massive metal gates that rose the full twenty metres, while soldiers walked the walls, some of the seven hundred Sarkhai, each one armed with a heavy blaster rifle. Once every Raid Team had taken position, twenty metres behind their associated Egress Teams, N'Lola touched her ear-mounted communicator once more and issued the order that would launch the attack. Simultaneously, two hundred forty of her soldiers moved forward and cleared the walls with shots that demonstrated precise marksmanship and timing.
"Acquire targets," N'Lola commanded, "Fire in three… two… one… now!" Her orders a harsh whisper into the communicator, shots were fired simultaneously in a curve-cornered rectangle around the fortress, and all at once, every soldier on the wall was permanently silenced, each struck by multiple blaster-bolts.
"Raid Teams, move forward; walk, don't run," N'Lola instructed, and then drew her long-handled lightsaber, activating it as she moved into a smooth, disciplined advance toward the massive metal gate. To each side of her and four metres behind her, each of the Iktotchi Force-Healers mirrored this action, while the Force-insensitive fighters in her group drew their long-handled vibroswords and blaster carbines. As they approached the gate, Aerla looked over her shoulder, then back toward the metal barrier that blocked the advance.
"Switch to heat beam, clear the hinges." As one, the members of Aerla's Egress Team One switched blaster carbines to their heat beam setting, and three beams of bright blue converged on each of the gate's six stabilizer points where it connected to the stone wall. As they approached, N'Lola and the three Force-sensitive Iktotchi with her raised their free hands, and ushered a wave of Force that knocked the gate two metres backward. Then, it fell backward away from them, landing with a heavy metal thunk on the grass and dirt as the four of them drew their own blaster carbines. Immediately, the Egress Teams moved through the gate and took up a defensive position to fortify the gates themselves and hold the exfiltration points of the associated Raid Team. Blaster carbines thumped loudly as shots were fired, and enemy patrols were engaged and silenced while the Raid Teams moved forward in an inexorable and uniform advance, behind which the Jedi Master and his padawan followed.
"Master, look," whispered Norman Maenner, motioning toward the other Raid Teams they could see, from their positions, advancing with identical pace and uniform smoothness. The young man's eyes were wide, more than a little awed by the demonstration; as he looked the Jedi Master's eyebrows rose, as well. He did not know the exact reason they were walking instead of running, but when he sensed the spike of fear from the enemy's soldiers nearest, he understood immediately: intimidation. Even as they approached, some of the ultrachrome-armoured Rattataki Sith apprentices raced up onto the castle's outer parapets, converting their fear and anger into power.
Deep blue lightning arced from the hands of an apprentice ahead and above her, and the dark violet blade of N'Lola's lightsaber hummed in an arc. Lightning struck the blade, and her eyes flickered with the use of Tutaminis as she absorbed it, her other hand rising as she brought her blaster carbine up and fired. A loud thump, a dark violet pulse of blaster energy, and it slammed into the apprentice's throat, scorching a hole clean through as it flung him backward from the parapet, slain instantly. The appearance of apprentices on the wall, launching attacks of Force Lightning on the advancing raid teams, delayed them only slightly, as the targeted Force-sensitives used Tutaminis and blocked the attack with their lightsabers. Even as they did, the Force-insensitive soldiers on each team opened fire on the Rattataki apprentices, uniformly flinging them from the wall and killing twenty of Darth Radox's finest in seconds. Then, their inexorable advance resumed, and N'Lola holstered her blaster carbine as she approached one of the large double doors that provided access to the castle interior.
As Raid Team One halted a dozen metres from the door, she lifted her free hand toward the door, and soldiers sheathed their swords and switched to their blaster carbines. A low hum of the Force filled the air as they dropped to one knee in preparation to fire, and then a sphere of Force launched out of her hand a metre in diameter with a resonant whoosh as it swept forward and slammed into the door. The hinges snapped and the double-doors flew a dozen metres inward before clapping heavily down on the stone floor, and the eleven members of her team fired instantly on those defenders who stood in the open, staring in shock. Their poor reaction time got them killed, as N'Lola brought up her hand once more, focusing on the two doors on each side of the hall, two at twenty metres and two at thirty metres. She concentrated, and released a wave of Force between the two doors with a loud hum, once again flinging doors free of their hinges. As soldiers raced out of the rooms in question, the other members of Raid Team One struck them at once with their blasters, killing them with an ease and smoothness that both Jedi and padawan found impressive. They felt the oneness of mind, the unity of cause, that was shared by N'Lola and those she had chosen to bring with her on this assault. The uniform calm they sensed from every member of the Ven-Shimu was something wholly unfamiliar from a military unit.
For twenty minutes, they proceeded into the fortress, clearing every room they encountered and killing any enemy that stood in their path. Finally, they reached a covered central courtyard with elevators at the four corners, and N'Lola waited a moment until she heard reports communicator through her earpiece. It had a ceiling four levels up in height, with balconies surrounding it, though the fifth floor sat above that ceiling, in what must have been the fortress' central chamber.
"Raid Team Ten, west sextant secure," came the voice of Alanthia Vonth, followed by reports that the eastern sextant was secured by Raid Team Eight, northwest and northeast sextants secured by Raid Teams Four and Six. The southeast and southwest sextants were soon reported secured, by Raid Teams Five and Nine, respectively, while Raid Team One was joined in the courtyard by Raid Teams Two, Three, and Seven.
"Ascend the elevators, now," N'Lola instructed, and the four remaining raid teams moved to the second floor, in which they spent more than an hour, ensuring it was clear and any other elevators were inoperative. Room by room, floor by floor, they cleared the fortress of the insurrectionist intruders, until they reached the top floor, and proceeded with the clearance until there was a single enemy remaining, in the centre chamber of the entire fortress, Darth Radox, himself. As they approached the doors, an entire team securing each door into the centre chamber, N'Lola blasted the north door from the hinges and announced her arrival, striding in alone.
"Remain at the door," she instructed as she looked over her shoulder at the Jedi Master and his padawan, the former of whom nodded.
"As you command, my Lady," he replied evenly, unbothered by the instruction as he had agreed that he and his padawan, alike, would observe her command structure respectfully. In the centre of the room, the six foot six inch Rattataki stood, chalk-white skin covered in electric crimson body paint and face paint in designs that were clearly of Sarkhai inspiration, clad in ultrachrome. His armour took the form of a multilayered mesh with a metallic silver glitter to it, a sleeveless shirt and thigh-length shorts that clearly showed off muscular thighs. This was accented by a circlet of ultrachrome with temple-guards and cheek-guards, horns on the top but no protection to the top of his head, itself, wrist-length gloves and calf-high boots. His shirt was formfitting, demonstrating the muscular physique of his chest almost as clearly as bare arms showed their own muscle mass, which was impressive. The Sith Lord who had chosen the name of Darth Radox could have been a handsome man under other circumstances, and was impeccably athletic, armed with two red-bladed lightsabers, already activated as she approached.
"So, you are the leader of the Ven-Shimu Order. I have heard many stories of you, I was not impressed!" As he spoke, he launched forward in a lung, sweeping a slash with both blades toward her, though she blocked these with the blade of her long-handled lightsaber with one hand.
"You must be Darth Radox," N'Lola replied tranquilly, "I was expecting someone stronger." His eyebrow-ridges knitted together with consternation, as she rolled her shoulders, then brought her free hand forward and struck with a wave of Force that threw him a dozen metres backward to land on his feet.
"I am more than strong enough to defeat you, girl," assured the Rattataki Dark-sider, who looked as if he was in his mid-forties, though his voice was considerably older than that, speaking further to his good health.
"I had the privilege to sense the tremendous power of Darth Vader and Darth Sidious at the Battle of Endor. I could never have defeated Darth Vader, and Darth Vader could have never defeated Emperor Palpatine if those two had fought one another," she assured him, "If you had even a fraction of the power in the Force of Anakin Skywalker, I would be impressed!" As she spoke, she leapt forward herself, bringing the blade of her long-handled lightsaber in a two-handed chop powerful enough that Radox was forced to block with an X of both of his own blades, feet sliding backward across the stone.
"You dare to insult the magnificent Darth Radox, child? I am decades your senior, decades your superior in the Force! Allow me to show you the true power of the Dark Side!" He leapt backward, deactivating his lightsabers, and then sweeping his hands forward as his boots clacked firmly onto the stone floor. As he leapt backward, N'Lola deactivated her own lightsaber and holstered it, and as vibrant white lightning surged across the gap towards her, she brought her left hand up in response. Her left hand became a lightning rod, absorbing his electricity through Tutaminis, and he blinked with surprise before his features contorted with a surge of hate and fury. His lightning brightened and strengthened, but N'Lola continued to absorb the strike into the pool of her serenity, calm and unflustered by his fury and loathing. Soon, Radox poured even more power into his assault, empowered by his hate, his wrath, and a disbelief that her mastery of Tutaminis could overwhelm his mastery of Force Lightning. Finally, his attack abated, and Radox heaved for breath as he was forced to break off his assault for a moment to recover and claim his second wind.
As soon as his attack stopped and he hunched slightly over to catch his breath, her right hand rose, and N'Lola released a counterassault. Brilliantly luminescent, verdant lightning surged from the palm of her hand and each of her fingertips, arcing across the distance to slam into his chest with enough strength and concentration to fling him through the air. He slammed into the corner a further twenty metres distant from her, before her lightning ceased and N'Lola let him drop to the floor a metre below him. As he dropped, he grabbed his lightsabers anew and activated them, and she drew and activated her own long-handled lightsaber once more. He leapt immediately toward her, sweeping across a distance of nearly thirty metres with his blades upraised, preparing for a double overhand chop. As he sliced through the air, she brought her right hand up and released a cannon-like blast of the Force, instantly stopping his movement forward and hurling him backward against the wall a second time. He slammed into the wall with a heavy thud and a grunt of irritation before he fell onto his feet, and charged toward her once more.
"I will end you, and your impertinence, girl!" shouted the Rattataki, enraged, lashing out at her with one and then the other of his blades as he neared. A master of Soresu, she blocked as many as she dodged, slipping out of the way time after time, evading thrust and blocking slashes. When he attempted to slice twice, she deflected one and then used the force of impact and a touch of the Force to leap over him and drop down behind him, countering with a cleave of her own and forcing him onto the defensive. She gave ground and took ground, pressing him back, allowing herself to withdraw casually, without fear or frustration as she moved backward, without anger or agitation as she pushed him backward.
"You only delay the inevitable, child! You die today!" declared the Sith Lord, pressing in on her once more, increasingly aggravated by her calmness, and stymied her confusing combination of the tactics of the Third and Fourth Forms. She could sense his annoyance and vexation climbing as someone decades his junior endured his assault while remaining utterly unbothered by his continued attempts. Even further, he was enraged when she countered, imposing with sufficient forward force that he had no choice except to withdraw, and his burgeoning wrath was starting to make an impact on his fighting. As he swept at her legs, N'Lola leapt into the air and rotated her body utterly, until her feet landed on the ceiling five metres above the floor, and stuck. He looked for her at floor level, then blinked as he looked up to discover her standing on the ceiling, and leapt back as she sliced at him with her long-handled lightsaber faster than he would've been able to block given his surprise. At the same moment, Master Mellison's eyebrows rose, while his padawan blinked wide-eyed.
"…when do I learn how to do that?" whispered the padawan to his Master, where his query went unanswered.
"Tsch!" snarled Radox in response to her switched position, leaping toward her to make another slash with both blades simultaneously, though she evaded his attack simply. Her feet moved across the ceiling, remaining on it, even her hair in open defiance of gravity's pull as it remained near her back, and she brought her blade across, blocking another slice attempting to reach her head with a loud hum. She twisted easily out of the path of the other blade, before spiraling her wrist and flinging one of his lightsabers out of his hands. Then, N'Lola seized it with the Force, her free hand using telekinesis to control the blade with the Force, and Radox leapt back in surprise, dodging the initial slash. His blade hummed against his other lightsaber's blade, as he blocked a subsequent attack, the spectral hand that held his seized lightsaber taking a powerful offensive.
His mastery of the Third Form did not rival her own, and on three occasions he was forced to use the Force to leap backwards fast enough and far enough to prevent the loss of an arm. Finally, he channeled his infuriation into a lightning strike with his free hand, and forced her to relinquish her control over one of his swords. As she absorbed the brief strike with Tutaminis, he yanked his lightsaber back to his hand with the Force, then used the Force to shield his grasp on each lightsaber to ensure that would not happen again. As he launched into a high-arc leap to slash at her, N'Lola released her connection to the ceiling and dropped like a stone, rotating in midair to land on her feet, bringing her own blade up as he came out of his arc. The tip of her dark violet blade slammed into his mesh-armoured stomach, holding him in the air too far from her to counterstrike, and she whirled about, flinging him across the room yet again, adding a Force Blast to hurl him to the wall. As he landed, her free hand moved up, drawing her blaster carbine, and as she activated it, she used the Force to switch it from blast mode to heat beam mode.
As his eyes moved to the carbine and eyebrow ridges rose, she swept forward with a leaping overhand strike, forcing him to bring up both blades to defend. Even as he blocked with both blades, her blaster carbine lifted in front of him, and as she pulled the trigger, a beam of dark violet blaster energy erupted from the barrel and struck the plane of his ultrachrome mesh. She maintained the pressure, augmenting her physical strength with a massive amount of the Force to prevent him being able to move his blades away from their deflection without her blade striking his head and circlet. Meanwhile, the concentrated beam of heat at close range made his armour start to warm and then glow, causing his face to contort from anger to pain as the shirt became painfully hot. Finally, he channeled all of his pain and rage, using a wave of Force to push her back and allowing him to catch the heat beam with his blades until the power cell died. Even so, his armour was red-hot and his pain was so severe it had become the most potent emanation from him that any Force-sensitive in the area could feel. As he caught his breath, he used the Force to release a pulse out of his skin that flung the pieces of the near-melting ultrachrome away from him.
His skin had a scorched pattern of burns that matched the pattern of the lowest layer of the ultrachrome mesh he had been wearing. As his rage carried him forward, launching at tremendous speed in her direction, N'Lola leapt a second time, rotating to land in a braced crouch on the ceiling as he whipped past beneath her, then dropped back onto the floor and whirled. Her turn was accompanied by a thrust, and when Radox turned and went to launch toward her once more, he impaled himself on the length of her lightsaber, passing through his navel and out just above the small of his back. His eyes widened as he stared at the blade puncturing his scorched flesh and severing his spine, and with a last gasp of rage and anguish, he attempted to cleave into her with both blades. Even as his arms moved, she dropped the carbine and released a powerful Force Blast that catapulted him across the room and slammed him against the far wall with a crunch of bone before he fell to the floor, dead. Then, she hovered the carbine back up into her hand before holstering it while deactivating her lightsaber, and taking a deep breath, using her serenity to refresh herself from that exhausting battle.
"My Lady, your talent and cleverness are impressive," said Master Mellison from the doorway, before giving a nudge to his padawan to break the awed stare, "I have never seen one use the ceiling in such a way, and it is clear to me you have mastered both the Third Form, and the Fourth."
"Thank you, Master Mellison," N'Lola replied, then touched her earpiece, "Casualty report." Over the next few minutes, she listened to reports of several dozen injured, though each team captain reported zero fatalities incurred.
"Amazing," said Master Mellison as the report ended audibly, "All through the entire battle, and none dead?" On their return, it was learned that the prime reason none had died was the smoothness of teamwork and the presence of multiple Force-sensitives on each team who were trained in the healing arts. It had allowed casualties to be healed more-or-less on the spot, allowing injured soldiers to return to the fight within minutes of injuries that might otherwise have been life-threateningly severe. Over the next few days, they met with the King and received a personal expression of his gratitude, as well as a considerable investment of Sarkhai themselves. Keeping with his promise of a worthwhile reward, the King permitted two thousand Sarkhai commandos to join the Ven-Shimu Order, as well as one thousand members of the royal engineering corps, who provided the ship with considerable upgrades to the defensive hardware.
"A Fortress of the Ven-Shimu Order will be constructed, as well," the King promised, "And when it is done, we shall send a communication to inform the Ven-Shimu Command Council that we are ready to receive a delegation to take possession of it." It would be the sixth Ven-Shimu Fortress in known space, when it was completed, though it would undoubtedly take a few years to build. N'Lola observed it would be a few years before there would be another person ready to take on the responsibility of serving as Commandant of a Ven-Shimu Fortress, and thereby there was no particular rush to complete it with any urgency.
Then, bidding farewell to their friends on Sarkhai, the ship rose from the atmosphere and soon departed the system, entering hyperspace in the direction of the planet Serenna. From there, they set out into the Unknown Regions, and the expedition began in earnest.