We should have force pikes for this job," Korra grumbled. "They've got twice the juice of these kriffing stun rifles."
"Force pikes can kill if you're not careful," Raven reminded her, though she was only half paying attention to the conversation. "Kay wants her taken alive. Besides, you'd never get close enough to use them."
They were inside the secret mansion of Valeska Eclipse, secret in that few and far between even knew of this place's existence. Valeska had cut ties with Governor Xur more than a decade ago, and rumour suggested that the mansion had once belonged to Valeska's master, an unknown human male trained in the ways of the Sith that neither Palpatine, Vader, nor any of the inquisitors belonging to the former were aware had even once existed. Like her master before her, Valeska had covered her tracks well, hiding her true identity behind layers of middle-beings and go-betweens and making it virtually impossible for anyone to find her through normal methods… well almost. Notwithstanding all her careful preparations, it still couldn't guard against the fact that someone within the Governor's circle, an informant tied to Raven had known something.
"How long till she gets here?" Korra wanted to know.
"Soon," she replied. "Tell your team to get into position."
Her intel had suggested that the house would be empty when they arrived, and that the owner, as per her usual habits, would be returning this very same night from the place in town which during this time of the week she always frequented during her stay on this world.
"Can you be more specific?" Korra asked. "Twenty minutes? An hour? Two?"
"If my sources are correct, and don't worry they usually are, Valeska should be arriving soon," she muttered absently, her eyes picking out locations for them to set their trap.
She had already scouted out the estate in detail, committing every room to memory as she had gone through and disabled every alarm and anti- intruder system on the grounds. Once she was done she had signalled for Korra and the others that it was safe to come in and begin their preparations.
"Are we set?" Korra asked.
"Almost," she replied. "Just looking for places to set your team up."
Along with Korra, Kay had offered her twenty well trained mercenaries for the job, and she had been as good as her word: twelve men and eight women, all with prior military experience, had accompanied Raven to the world.
Technically, the mercs answered to Korra, though she, in turn, answered to Raven. That was fine by her. Mercenaries had been known to cut and run if things went bad on a job, but if they had worked with Korra in the past they were more likely to stick with the battle plan right to the end.
The front entrance to the mansion was open and spacious. The door opened onto a large foyer, which flowed into an oversized sitting room furnished with two couches and a large glass table.
A spiral staircase led off to one side, curling up to a balcony that overlooked the sitting room.
"We should try to take her here, when she first comes in," Raven said. "She'll sense that something is wrong right away, so we need to hit her fast."
"Set up a pair of sonic detonators on either side of the door," Korra said into her radio. Instantly two of the soldiers ran over to comply with her orders.
"I haven't dealt directly against the Sith before, but I have dealt with Dark Jedi who think and act alike. No matter how much she denies it, your employer was once a Dark Jedi and it was then that she met me and for some time I actually respected her," Korra told her as Raven turned slowly in place, scoping out the rest of the room. "And take it from me, she's very much going down the dark side path all over again with wanting to exact revenge on her aunt."
"Agreed, Kay acts very unlike the Jedi. She may be in denial, but she is clearly aware from your past relationship with her that you know how dark Force wielders think, hence probably why she sent you along on this mission," Raven replied absently.
"Kay has become a lost cause with no turning back, clouded by her obsession to hunt down Valeska," Korra noted. "And then there's her obsession with Alara. If there's one thing that useless girl understands, it's Dark Jedi since if it hadn't been for her, Kay would long have been cooked. But of course she'd never send her on this mission."
She cares for Alara, Raven thought. She knows how dangerous this mission will be. She's not expendable like the rest of us.
Out loud she told her, "Position two of your team with the stun rifles up on that balcony at the top of the stairs. That should give them a clear shot down here into the foyer."
"I wish we had carbonite guns," Korra lamented. "Freeze her solid."
Raven had already considered and discarded that idea.
"Same problem as the force pikes. You have to get in too close for them to be effective. And the carbonite will only freeze her for a few minutes. What are we supposed to do when she thaws out?"
"The tangle guns aren't any better," Korra countered. "A lightsaber will slice through the webbing like it was made of flimsi."
"They aren't meant to hold her," Raven explained. "They only have to slow her down long enough for me to administer the senflax."
She held up a long, thin blade to illustrate her point. The edge was coated with the potent neurotoxin. According to Kay, any wound deep enough to draw blood would get the poison into her system.
"After the toxin is introduced, we'll have to keep the pressure on," she reminded Korra. "If we even give Valeska a chance to breathe, she'll recognise that the drug is in her system. She might have some way to recognise that the drug is in her system. She might have some way to counter it with the Force."
"How long after you cut her before that stuff starts to take effect?"
"Forty, maybe fifty seconds." Assuming Kay knows what she's talking about.
"That's a long time for a bunch of soldiers to go toe to toe with a Sith."
There really wasn't anything Raven could say to reassure Korra, so she didn't bother with an answer.
"Make sure your unit remembers that this is a two stage attack," Raven told Korra. "The first stage needs to distract Valeska long enough to give me an opening. After that, hit her with everything we've got."
"I've never doubted your judgement Lama. But this one is Sith?" Korra said after passing on her instructions to the team.
"I admit that this is by far the most ambitious mission I've ever undertaken."
"Are we going to get out of this alive?"
"Some of us might," she replied, "you're experienced enough to know how it goes Korra."
Valeska could see her mansion on the horizon as she approached on her airspeeder, where several minutes later, she eventually brought the airspeeder in for a landing and climbed from the vehicle. With slow, heavy steps she approached the front door of the mansion. She opened the door and stepped inside, letting it swing shut behind her.
And then she suddenly froze— someone else was in the mansion. She could feel the intruders everywhere: hiding around corners in the hallways, crouched on the stairs, ducking behind the furniture, perched on the balcony above.
All this flashed through Valeska's mind in less than a tenth of a second— just enough time for it to register before the sonic detonators on either side of her went off.
Their earsplitting shriek staggered Valeska, causing her to stumble forward into the room and away from the door and possible escape. Her hands instinctively flew up and clutched at her ears, and then the enemy fell upon her.
They poured out like a swarm of insects, bursting into view from every side. Four soldiers armed with stun rifles sent a barrage of bolts raining down from the balcony; Valeska— still reeling from the sonic detonators— barely had enough time to throw up a protective barrier to shield her from the assault.
As she did so, she felt something fighting her. Some power was trying to block her ability to call upon the Force to shield herself. It wasn't strong enough to stop her, but it did hinder her efforts just enough so that a flicker of energy passed through the barrier.
Her muscles seized as she was hit; her back arched and her arms and head were thrown back.
Every nerve in Valeska's body lit up as if it were on fire. The pain lasted only an instant, but it was enough to knock her to the floor in a crumpled heap.
She didn't stay down, however. She sprang back to her feet, simultaneously drawing her lightsaber with her right hand as she sent a blast of lightning out from the fingertips of her left. The violet bolts should have incinerated all four of her targets on the balcony, yet again the strange power interfering with her ability to draw upon the Force hindered her efforts.
Three of the victims were electrocuted, dying before they even had a chance to scream. The fourth, however, managed to throw herself back from the balcony's edge, evading the deadly attack.
Valeska never got a chance to finish her off. A pair of soldiers emerged from a hallway on the left, and three more appeared from the hall on the right. They opened fire with tangle guns, sending out long streams of sticky, synthetic webbing.
The soldiers were smart; they coordinated their efforts. Two fired at her feet, looking to glue her to the floor. The others aimed for the chest and torso, looking to pin her arms to her sides with the viscous strings. But Valeska wasn't about to let herself become immobilised.
Leaping up, she grabbed onto the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, holding herself with her free hand. Swinging her legs to build momentum, she launched herself up over the railing and onto the balcony, giving her the advantage of higher ground.
She came down with a heavy thud, the inexplicable power that still impeded her connection to the Force robbing her of a graceful landing. The bodies of the three dead soldiers were scattered about her. To her right were the stairs leading back down to the foyer; straight ahead was a long hall leading to another wing of the mansion.
A female dressed in all black, whose face was completely covered stood at the far end of the hall, a long, thin knife held in each hand. She grinned at Valeska, and in that moment she knew who was interfering with her ability to use the Force.
Raven broke into a run, charging down the hall toward her. Valeska dropped into a fighting crouch to meet her attack, knowing her knives were no match for her lightsaber. It was only then that she noticed the flash grenades lying by the dead bodies at her feet.
They exploded with a burst of intense light and chemical smoke that blinded Valeska. Disoriented, she fell back against the balcony's railing. An instant later she felt the sole of Raven's boots strike her hard in the chest, sending her tumbling backward over the banister to the marble floor four metres below.
Valeska hit the ground hard enough to knock the breath from her body, leaving her gasping for air.
The impact jarred her lightsaber from her grip, sending it skittering across the floor. An instant later her prone form was enveloped by the webbing from the tangle guns, pinning her to the ground.
Blind and immobilised, Valeska Eclipse's fury saved her. Years of training allowed her to focus all her pain and rage in one single instant, drawing on it so she could unleash the full power of the dark side. Once again she felt the fully clothed woman's barrier opposing her efforts, but this time she tore through it like it wasn't even there.
For a moment it was as if the world around Valeska was frozen in place. Though her eyes were still suffering the effects of the flash grenade, the Force rushing through her body gave her an otherworldly awareness of her surroundings— the scene was burnt into her brain in exquisite detail.
The soldiers were scattered about the foyer, scrambling to take up new positions in preparation for the next stage of the battle. They were well trained, but she could still sense their fear: they knew the fight was far from over. The woman in black had leapt over the railing in pursuit of her. She hung poised in the air above her, her twin blades held out to either side as she braced for landing. Valeska could even see herself lying on the floor, buried beneath a thick, wet blanket of rapidly drying chemical adhesive.
The frozen tableau lasted only a fraction of an instant, but it told the Sith trained warrioress everything she needed to know. And then the instant was gone, and everything became a blur of motion again.
Raven landed just as Valeska unleashed a wave of crackling electricity that burnt away the webbing of the tangle guns. She dropped to one knee and tried to stab her knives into her as she lay on the floor, but through the Force Valeska saw her coming. She managed to roll aside, escaping with only a long, deep cut along one of her forearms as she scrambled back to her feet.
In response to her call, her lightsaber flew up from the floor and into her waiting hand, but Raven was already retreating. Now that Valeska was no longer helpless, Raven was eager to fall back and let others step in.
Several more flash grenades exploded around her, but Valeska was unaffected; she was no longer relying on her physical sight to guide her. Fresh streams of webbing arced across the room toward her, but this time she incinerated them while they were still in the air. Half a dozen concussion grenades tossed in from every side clattered on the floor at her feet. As they exploded, Valeska simply enveloped herself in the Force, creating a protective cocoon that absorbed the impact and left her standing completely unharmed.
Two men popped up from behind a nearby couch and fired at her from point-blank range with their stun guns. Valeska slapped the incoming bolts away with her lightsaber, then thrust out a hand to send the couch slamming straight back into the wall, crushing the men who had been using it for cover.
Then she was on the move, bearing down on two of the soldiers carrying tangle guns. She sliced them both in half horizontally with a single blow from her lightsaber, carving a perfect line just above their belts. Another volley of stun bolts came too late to save them; Valeska was already gone.
A single flip and she was back on the balcony again, face-to-face with the woman dressed in all black.
"You can't escape," Valeska told her.
"I wasn't trying to," she hissed back at her, lunging forward with her knives.
She was quicker than Valeska expected, coming in low and fast. She didn't have time to simply chop her down; instead she had to spin out of the way.
Valeska tried to take one of her arms with her lightsaber on a counter-thrust as she slipped past, but Raven anticipated her move and managed to contort her body so that her blade caught nothing but air.
They had switched positions from their first engagement; she was now the one standing with her back to the balcony railing. Valeska thrust out with the Force, the impact sending Raven hurtling backward over the railing as her kick had done to her less than a minute earlier.
Somehow Raven managed to turn in the air so that she landed on her feet. Because of this, she was able to spring to safety when Valeska sent a blast of lightning hurtling down toward her.
Instead of her charred corpse, it left only a smoking circle on the floor.
Soldiers were firing their stun guns at her again from the stairwell. Valeska didn't even bother to strike back at them; she simply dodged their attack by vaulting over the railing and dropping back down to the floor below. The soldiers were nothing to her; it was the woman in all black she was interested in now. She was the only opponent who posed any real threat. Eliminate her and she could deal with the soldiers at her leisure.
She landed on the floor in a crouch, absorbing the impact. And then everything went black.
Raven couldn't say how long it had been since she'd carved her senflax coated blade through the flesh of Valeska's forearm, but the neurotoxin had to take effect soon. With at least five soldiers already down, Valeska was focusing her efforts on her.
Raven knew she couldn't beat Valeska. She was too strong. The tricks she had used in the past against the Jedi had slowed her down at first, but now they had no effect at all. The senflax was her only hope of surviving.
She saw Valeska leaping down from the balcony, coming after her. She hit the floor, turned toward her, and collapsed. The woman whose face somewhat resembled that of Kay Eclipse lay on her side, eyes open and seeming to stare right at her. The pupils were bloodshot from the chemicals in the flash grenades.
Raven waited until she blinked. Then, seeing no other signs of movement, she held up her hand and shouted, "Cease fire! Cease fire!"
She thought briefly that her paralysis might be a trick, then discarded the notion. This warrioress trained in the Sith ways didn't need subterfuge to win the battle; it was obvious she had them overmatched. The only explanation was that Kay's drug had finally worked its magic. According to the instructions she had been given, they had four hours before they needed to administer the next dose.
Korra and the hired soldiers were staring at her, waiting for their next orders.
"You three go bring the airspeeders around to the front of the house," Raven barked. "The rest of you gather up the bodies. That includes you too, Korra."
Korra and the survivors hustled to follow her commands.
She didn't bother to tell them to hurry; they were already moving as fast as they could, eager to get away from this place where so many of their comrades in arms had fallen.
On an impulse, she bent down and retrieved the now extinguished lightsaber from where it lay on the floor beside the fallen Valeska. She turned the handle over, inspecting it carefully.
She ignited the weapon and was surprised by its weightlessness.
Infatuated with her new toy, she made a few slow, experimental swings with the unfamiliar weapon before extinguishing it and secreting it away in one of the pockets inside her robe.
Five minutes later they had the prisoner and their casualties in the back of the speeders, and they were heading to the drop shuttle that would take them back to the Dead Moon of Antar.