Topic: RPG - Stolen Bride

(Looks good, but...looks like there's a little controversy over the Hutts/Black Sun.  The way I see it, Tussok knows what's going on with the dead Hutt, he's trying to factionize and pretend the Hutt is still there, pretend that he's working for him, while Black Sun is trying to replace the Hutt, ie, soon to come all out faction war between Tussoks "loyalists" and the Black Sun faction of clan Gherilijic.  Tussok has hired HUN, Kane, Moa, and Tal Rith to kill the Forcers ie, both the interfering Jedi, the Masked One, and the Fist. And since Arcuse/Sathik are currently with the Jedi...
Tussok is going to hire some lowlifes to throw at the Masked One, and may eventually try to kill him himself.)
(And plus, there's that one "drunk" guy back on Ryloth, I think.   I'll be posting tommorow.  And I'll try to make it good.)

(Sounds good to me.)

( Excellent. Looking forward to it. )

The Masked One must die.
The command had spread quickly throughout the whole of Sadask'ha, announced in the vidfeeds on the giant holoscreens in the upper district.  Pontiffa, the face of clan Gherilijic to the populace, had called for the head of the Masked One.
The bloated Hutt's face filled the holoscreens, spittle flying from his blubbery mouth as he spoke.
" Kajidic Gherilijic will offer the substantial bounty of 150,000 credits..." The holoscreen cut to a feed from the Exchange battle, showing the Masked One force his lightsaber through a Rodian's chest...
"For this foul crimminal, an individual known as Hu'Deka Sol...The Masked One! Dead or alive!." 

From the ramshackle cantinas and abandoned streets, every manner of sentient being, garbed in ragged clothing and bearing improvised weapons, began to rise. 
The alleyways were soon filled with bounty gangs, clusters of haggard aliens and greedy eyes.  Blasterfire rung out where mistaken individuals exchanged fire with red-cloaked sentients, yet the dark tide continued to rise....

HUN and his compatriots stood on the edge of the third level, staring down at the districts below, superimposed against the Smugglers Moon filling a quarter of the twilight sky. 
Moa gripped his Vibro-Pike closely, and turned to face Kane. "So...it seems our assignment has changed."
Kane did not reply, instead reloading his weapon and keeping his eyes on the streets below, slowly filling with the bounty militia.  He turned to face HUN.  "Why are the Hutts opening the bounty for everyone?  I thought we were exclusive."  He cocked the weapon loudly for empathis. 
"The Masked One---signed his death warrant by crossing Tussok.  We still have exclusive rights to any other Forcer in Sadask'ha."
A sudden wind rose, billowing HUNs trenchcoat out behind him.
"Well...as long as they don't get in the way."  Kane replied.   
Moa grabbed Kane by his arm and pulled him off to the side. HUN and Tal Rith did not move. 

"Look," Moa growled, jabbing his finger into Kane's chest for empathis.  "I don't like being left out of the circle here...how exactly are we getting ANY closer to finding our bounty by following this guy around?" 
Kane sheathed his weapon, and was silent for a moment.  Finally, he replied.  "Moa, something's not right with the Hutts...there's something much, much bigger going on."
"Huh...look, I understand why we're working for Tussok."  Moa spun his Vibro-Pike casually. " But...krif, why are we hunting Jedi when we should be focusing on finding the bounty?" 
Kane stared out towards the distant spaceport docks, barely able to make out the shape of their vessel. "Hmm...right now, we don't have the slightest clue where she is."  Kane thought for a moment. "...I guess it's time for Glith and Tanuka to earn their shares."
He pulled a holocomm unit out of his jacket, and dialed for the ship.  Moments later, a Verpine visage flared to life, glowing faintly blue in the darkness. 
Glith sighed.  "Finally...we were beginning to worry about you.  Te'dac is recovering well, he should be up in a day or two. What's the situation?" 
Kane replied. "Alright...This bounty is going to take longer to pin down than we thought.  There's some kind of...faction war or something going on with the Hutts, behind the scenes.  Nobody on the streets seems aware, but...it could get ugly pretty soon.  At least, that's what my impression is."  He paused.  "Right now, Moa, Tal Rith, and myself are working with HUN to....more or less, gain favor with the Trandoshan.  And possibly pick up some good credits on the way."  He grinned solemnly. "right now, you and Tanuka need to use your connections here and figure out what the krif is going on.  Figure out who actually has our bounty." 
Glith laughed, a harsh, alien sound. "So much easier said than done, Kane.  But we'll get right on it.  I know a few people....who know some people...heh.   Give us a while.   Glith out."
The hologram sputtered and dissappeared. 

Tal Rith stood on HUN's right, his mask dissapating vapor into the cold night.  They both watched the slowly growing crowds below, fanning out across the city in search of the Masked One.  Tal Rith sighed, turning to face HUN. 
"I hope you don't mind me asking...but what exactly are you?"
HUN slowly lifted his head, and Tal Rith felt a cold shudder as two faintly glowing photoreceptors turned to face him.  "You---are not the first to ask.  And will not be---the first to know."
Tal Rith was persistent.  "I have heard rumors about you...that you slew 12, well-trained bounty hunters that had you cornered, that you...killed dozens of mercenaries in Kubba's Palace."  He grew sober.  "That you could kill all of us so very easily."
HUN punched in some characters.  "Appearances---can be decieving, Kel Dor.  Yes I am---very much capable of rending you---meatbags apart, but I am not---invincible." 
Tal Rith stood silently for a moment.  "...are you a droid, then?"
"---What?" 
"You called us meatbags...heh.  So you're a droid. An assassin droid, I would guess."
HUN turned to face him fully, towering about the Kel Dor's masked face.  "You cannot even BEGIN---to understand what I am. Do not---so quickly rush to conclusions, bounty hunter.   You are so very, very limited in your knowledge of this universe---be content to know, that there are things beyond---what you see.  Spirits.  Unseen darkness.  Ghosts.  The things that go bump---in the night.  Angels.  Daemons.  War and destruction on higher planes---dimensions of thought, of space, of reality---the nature of the Force itself."
Tal Rith stood silent.
"You are limited.  You know nothing---of the universe."  HUN turned away, and approached Moa and Kane. 
"It is time---I have found our targets." 

Even amist the growing chaos of the bounty militia, the roaming gangs of hunters taking the opportunity to settle old vendettas, the violence filling the streets...everything stopped for the four Bounty Hunters. 
They walked down the avenue side by side, HUN's dominating form, Kane's cool detachment, Moa's bloodhungry eyes, and the grim silence of Tal Rith, forcing the gangbangers and scum aside.  An epic sight, with the moon still superimposed against their intimidating outline...four hunters with Jedi in their sights.

(And yet, nobody told me)

Glith stepped through the crowded streets, letting Tanuka use him as a shield in order to make it through the traffic. She was at least worth bringing, the half-mask she wore seemed to work as a visual interface. Making her capable of hacking into whatever terminal she deemed fit. With all the comotion, he wasn't so sure about the arms he'd brought. An E-11 and a Tusken Cycler while Tanuka had a hold-out blaster. The basic equipment for recon in his opinion, but this was turning into a frenzy. And his informant might already be dead or used, Glith started walking a little faster.
Pushing beggars out of the way as they stepped down into a little hovel cut into the lower sector. Down to the last detail upon entering, he could already tell they'd be the first ones to enter in quite a while. The rust colored Protocal droid, an LOM series with a bad habit of stealing your wallet when you weren't looking. It wasn't rust, just a scheme to make this look like a filthy hovel owned by a broken droid trying to stay active.
"I'm here to buy some parts, a droid memory core."
The Rusted LOM turned its head towards them.
"What model?"
Glith took another step inside, motioning Tanuka to do the same.
"An A2 accounting droid's. The newest you have would be preferable."
The LOM scuttled off, leaving the two of them alone in the filthy chamber. A group of Gands shuffled past, in search for the masked man no doubt. Leaving in there wake a Rodian with a small box. The box was dropped and pushed with his boot into the hovel. Another group of hunters filed past and the Rodian was gone. Glith picked up the box, and walked back into the open.
"What was that all about?"
"Don't ask me how he does it, but, a friend of mine in this sector knows about anything and anyone going on at any time. But, he likes to be secretive about everything. I'm afraid we aren't done yet." Glith opened the box, pulling out a small datapad and a holorecording. "The datapad has the information, but, it's pretty well encrypted. The password has a back-up on it, should I get the password wrong, all the info will be deleted. We have to use the holorecording and hope this little side-quest we just got doesn't take too long."
"Well, let's get back to the ship and play the recording."
Glith nodded to Tanuka, the visible side of her face ernest. Kane would probably pay her out of his share, nobody else was going to do it. Especially not him and they sure weren't splitting the money any more than they'd already done.

------------------------------- 
Shen stretched,  raising his arms into the air. Yawning while he did so. The computer terminal in front of him boring as he expected it would be, financial archives. The data slowly being collected into a datapad, the Infiltrator gloves he was using gone to waste. Low security, a child could break this code. And when the archives finally filled the pad he dropped that into his pocket and began the fun part.
"Alright, here we go."
He rigged the terminal to detonate in thirty seconds, standing up and walking out of the room. The blast radiating through the hallways, no one around to complain about it. He leered and continued into the next room, Black Sun sure seemed to be interested in the Hutt's business, the black clothed slicers ignoring him completely as he stepped in. A moderately poweful member in the chain of command stood watch.
"Black Sun's demolitons expert Shen the Hailfire, your first mission?"
"Second, I killed a couple of Zabraks when I landed. They were about to blow the whole plan, I even scored twenty credits and these gloves in the process."
But the MSD-32 Disruptor he carried caught the man's attention instead, a look of severe longing beginning to boil in his eyes.
"I'm going to head over to the Main Compound. Finish up here and head back yourself."

------------------------------
Glith dropped a credit into a fortune machine and watched as a card came out, a single word written on it. 'Votano'. They'd walked for two standard hours just to get a piece of paper, just for a password. Glith passed it all to Tanuka and sunk his hand into a pouch attached to his belt. Pulling out a comlink with an improved reciever clipped to it.
"Kane, this is Glith. I'll have the info ready when you get back. Don't have too much fun without me."
"Alright, keep the channel open, we might need back-up."

I think we may as well say this thread is dead. Which sucks... :(

Do people want to continue?

I'm always ready...I just don't think it should only be Maltese and I posting...so...if no one else is interested...

The others seem to be busy of late. I miss SciFi... oh well such is life. I'm happy to continue, I just don't want to be the only person carrying the Jedi, Arcuse & Sathik plus Karbil. Makes writing a little uninteresting when the other are unable to add their bit. *sigh*

Always here, I'm subscribed to the topic.

Heri moved as The Fist's presence was fading. She felt Mia nearby and some familiar others she had not seen in a long time.

Heri adjusted her lightsabre as Mia ran towards her. "Who was that?" Mia asked.

Heri shook her head, "I've only heard of him. He's known as 'The Fist', I know nothing else other than he's pure evil."

Mia looked even more unsettled. She glanced back at Kar'bil, "Should we move him to a safer area?"

Heri shrugged, "Where do you suggest?"

From the shadows appeared Sathik looking worse for wear, he shifted his shotgun into view. "No ones safe unless they carry one of these." He grinned.

Heri smiled, glad to see that the battered hunter was still around. She also felt Arcuse's presence although she could not see him yet. "I see you're still having fun." She walked towards him and put a hand of greeting on his shoulder, unfortunately the hunter nearly fell to the ground.

"I see you're in need of my abilities again." She said as she summoned the Force to heal the hunter who was known as a walking plague.

With Heri's concentration on Sathik, it was Mia who picked up on the angry mob heading their way. Their voices chanted in rage seeking 'The Masked One'.

Dash groaned.

A few hours on Nal Hutta and already he’d topped the planet’s most wanted list. Or rather, the Masked One had. I guess that means were safe at the moment, he pondered. Right?

Doubt was a bitch.

The approaching mob rounded a corner up ahead and continued marching in their direction. The companions hurriedly moved out of the way to avoid getting trampled. Their leader, an aged Bothan with one eye missing from its socket, brought the crowd to a halt before them and shot them all a suspicious glare.

“Have any of you seen a man dressed in red?” he growled “Called the Masked One?”

Dash gazed back at him unflinchingly. It was strange being back in the limelight unmasked. It was this identity that would keep him alive, but would Tussok find him eventually.

“Can’t say we have sir,” Mia replied. “You may do well to check the outskirts though.”

The Bothan snorted. He gave a hearty battle cry and punched his fist into the air. The mob cried back and continued their march. Their chants for blood gradually faded as they disappeared into the streets.

“Seeing as though we’ve got no other leads I say we follow this Black Sun’s operative force signature,” Dash remarked to the others when the mob had passed. “He’s certainly radiating enough of it.”

This “Fist’s” person’s presence had been nagging at the back of his mind for some time. He felt like the kind of being who had answers. Dash was intrigued and would not stop the hunt until he’d found him. If anything were responsible for a plot this huge, it was the Black Sun.

Tresh'san, daughter of Oot'ag of Holmesk, sat bound and gagged in a dark room. Sweat beaded on her lilac forehead as she continued to wriggle her wrists in a desperate attempt to escape. She could feel the binding loops cutting into the flesh of her wrists, but the Twi'lek princess was desperate to be free.

She had heard the guards outside talking, they had rebelled against their Hutt master and now she feared that they would simply kill her.

As hunger pangs made her stomach lurch, Tresh'san heard the distant mutter of voices. "The new leader is coming." She heard them say. She strained to hear more but that was all that she could detect.

-

Heri was almost done with her healing to Sathik when the crowd noticed that the dieseased hunter wore a mask over the lower half of his face. "Hey! That could be him." Shouted a rather greasy looking human, who was missing the lower half of his left arm.

Heri was coming of of her trace and as the first thug lifted his blaster she had her lightsaber ignited and deflected the bolt meant to hit Sathik through the eye.

Of course Sathik was already rolling to the side, he lifted his shotgun and fired, he blasted a hole through the nearest enemy. Sathik didn't bother watching him go down, he was already targeting his next mark.

Arcuse was quick to follow suit. It was only then that Heri realised that Dash was beside her. She didn't have time to wonder why, but she was conforted in knowing that the hunter was still alive.

Mia and Kar'bil moved to the opposite flank and worked together in perfect unison to bring down a large Bothan that had threatened to behead them with a vibro axe.

Blink stayed in the shadows, but had other abilities that could aid them.

-

Tresh'san was fighting her drooping eyelids when she heard the heavy footfalls in the corridor outside her cell. There was a large group heading in her direction. Her blood chilled as she heard them stop outside her door.

She blinked as the door opened, light streamed in and almost blinded her. She'd become accustomed to the dim lighting. The sudden brightness made her feel as though she were looking at a sun.

A figure stepped into that glare, he was tall and handsome for a human but there was a residing cruelty in his eyes and evil seemed to eminate from his very form. "So you are the Princess causing so much chaos."

Tresh'san knew it wasn't a question, for she couldn't answer with the gag in her mouth.

The human leaned in closer and took her chin in his hand, making sure she looked him in the eye. She tried not to flinch at the coldness she saw there. "The Hutt is dead. You are now in my custody." He dropped her chin and walked to the tiny window in the opposite wall. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I am know only as The Fist. But you shall address me as Master."

Tresh'san shuddered, a Twi'lek of her breeding would call no one master. Every part of her being defied the idea. She would not yield to such a horrid creature.

The Fist smirked as if he knew her every thought. "Your will may be strong, Princess. But it won't last. Believe me I have ways to make you obey."

He walked to stand before her again. He knelt down to eye her on level ground. "I'll leave you to ponder my words." With that he stood and left.

Tresh'san chewed her gag and wished that someone would save her. She also hoped that she'd see Kar'bil again. The thought of her betroved kept her strong, but even so Tresh'san knew the boundaries of her strength were growing ever closer.

Kar'bil took down another of the minions attacking them. Mia was a great partner in battle. He wondered if her link to the Force helped her time her movements with his.

It was through the dying crowd that Kar'bil saw a party heading towards the Hutt's place. He hadn't even realised they were that close.

Kar'bil turned to look at Mia and shouted, "Let's get closer to the Hutt's home. I think this is merely a distraction."

Mia nodded and the two made a path to the Hutt's residence.

Kane kept on walking, randomly firing the stolen blaster into the crowd as he went. Not even aiming, they were all the same kind of scum. His compatriots did the same, slowly but surely, thrashing their way towards the goal. Finally breaking through the horde, bodies littering the streets. Their prey had had fun before running off, big haul of skin right there. Moa caught a glimpse of them running towards the Hutt's abode.
"Do we know about any other entrances? Obvious exits?"
HUN nodded, or that's what it looked like. Typing.
'Four others' the message was more optimistic than he'd hoped. He threw the fire arm away. Loading his 05, snapping the action closed with a sickening grin. You always got such a nice rush from hunting Jedi. His comlink blinked on.
"Alright, I just got done proccessing the info. We're heading out as auxilary, don't die before we cash in."
"We're at the Hutt's residence, yes, the obvious one."
He flipped the link off, hurrying to catch up with the others. Just a game of tag was all it summed up to, just a dark sadistic game of tag.

Too long... HUN thought to himself... Since I have felt a Jedi's skull crumble beneath my claws.

The crowd of vigilantes thinned out, various survivors fleeing into the alleys away from the Jedi and their companions, dropping their crude weapons and dissappearing back into the dark streets.  The few that stood against them fell quickly to their lightsabers and blaster bolts. 
Sathik put one last round through a thin Weequay's chest.  "Ah...good warm up.  I wonder when the real show starts." 
"What do you mean by that?"  Heri deactivated her lightsaber and turned to face him. 
"Only that...if the Hutts want us dead, they wouldn't use scumbags like these to do the job."
The group fell silent as they continued towards the Hutt Citadel towering above the city.  The sun was beginning to rise, yet a thick bank of yellowish Nal Hutta fog was settling on Shadask'ha, blotting out all light from above save for the glowing lights of the citadel. 
The streets opened out into a large open area dotted by tall signal towers jutting out from the cracked duracre, surrounded by thick walls that created a large basin...its purpose ambiguous at best.  The party was about to round the edge and continue towards the Citadel, when Mia, walking at the lead, stopped suddenly in her tracks. 
"What?  What is it?"  Asked Dash, an expression of concern on his face.
Mia was silent.  A cold wind came out of nowhere, twisting strands of the yellow fog into wisps that stretched out across the basin and into the darkness at the far edge. 
"He is coming."

Out of the darkness and yellow fog...four faint sillouhetes approached slowly. 

Foolish Jedi...have you forgotten the legacy of Naga Sadow so quickly?

HUN's eyes glowed a cold, blue flame.

Mia blinked, her whole body crawled at the overpowering darkness. Such evil had to be removed from the galaxy, yet she felt an impelling need to run.

As the thought entered her mind, The Fist appeared. He grinned evilly but said nothing, instead Mia felt herself being lifted off the ground. Her throat constricting as she struggled, she tried to free herself with the Force but it made no difference.

Heri threw her lightsabre at The Fist, he moved with such speed, his blood red sabre was ignited and deflected Heri's without a second though. He even managed to slice the handle in half, rendering the lightsabre useless.

Heri felt Dash's hand in hers, "Take my lightsabre." He whispered. She took it with a nod of thanks.

Sathik and Arcuse were already circling around their new apponent seeking the best way to attack.

Blink suddenly appeared beside Kar'bil. "Get inside the building and find your love. We'll try and hold off this beast while you do so."

Kar'bil nodded and moved out of sight from The Fist, his attention was still targeted on Mia who suddenly became limp as her lips turned blue.

Name: Tog
Race: Jawa
Wepon of choice: Modified Rocket Launcher
Second wepon: Small pistol
Grenades: Two Thermal Detonators
Apperance: Like all other Jawas in the brown cloak

Villimar, it's a little late to join this RPG, but thanks for the enthusiasm.

Awwwww

Dash rolled to the side and drew one of his two remaining weapons. The battered DL-44 BlasTech. Funny how a gun was like his best friend at certain times.

His actual friends weren’t doing so well at the moment.

Fear was overtaking Mia; Dash could see the hands gripping her weapon trembling. Heri walked up and gave her fellow jedi a look. In the few seconds that passed between them, Mia somehow seemed to regain strength and inspiration from her master and straightened up to stare defiantly at their attacker.

With a triumphant battle cry, the Fist leapt into action. Heri quickly sidestepped the lunge and parried the assailant. Mia stepped in and rapidly made cuts at the enemy from the opposite side. The dark agent was able to fight them both off with seemingly no effort. His lightsaber was a swirling blaze of fury. Heri's face revealed nothing but deep concentration. She moved Dash’s saber expertly around her person in a purely defensive stance.

Clever girl, thought Dash helplessly. She’s finding a weakness before taking the offensive.

Dash ran over to where Sathik, Arcuse were standing.

“Where’s Kar’bil?” he asked frantically.

“To rescue his dearly beloved no doubt,” rasped Arcuse not completely familiar with the concept of love.

“He just had to be a hero,” put in Sathik shaking his head.

“We can’t let him go in there alone,” Dash remarked distress apparent in his voice. “C’mon! Let’s go after him!”

“Well you definitely can’t do any more good out here,” Blink said seemingly appearing out of nowhere causing the three bounty hunters to jump in surprise. “And if you’re going to assist the prince I suggest you make your decision quickly.”

Dash gave one final look at Heri fighting with Mia against the Fist. “She’s right,” he said softly more to convince himself than the others. “Let’s go.”

“Agreed,” answered Arcuse starting to follow Dash into the palace.

“Wait-” Sathik called after them making the two stop dead in their tracks.

In the horizon, the four could clearly see the approaching figures of Moa, Tal Rith, Kane, and perhaps most frighteningly the glowing blue receptors of HUN.

Dash screwed his eyes shut as his body began to uncontrollably jerk and twitch. Rage like none other flowed distinctly through his mind. It burned the one answer in his mind: death. Death must come. It was unbearable. The rogue clasped his hands to his temples in pain. Then all was still. He glanced wildly around his heart dropping into his stomach.

It was the hate for the HUN being. Not for the droid’s unfeeling fighting style, but for its ability to destroy something so beautiful. He still clearly remembered the jedi at Kubba’s Palace.

Did that activate it? he thought clutching a sweaty palm to his head. No, it can’t be. Not again.

Thankfully his companions hadn’t seemed to notice his strange movements and fearful expressions.

“Yeah,” Sathik continued. “I think they know one of us is the Masked One.”

In unison, the four unlikely comrades turned and began sprinting off towards the palace firing back at their four comrades. Arcuse with his E-11 sending a constant stream of blaster fire at the attackers. Sathik holding his shotgun that nearly blasted him forwards as he blew shell after shell behind them. Dash firing his trusty DL-44 in deadly spreads that their enemies could barely dodge. And Blink struggling to keep up with the hunters, but consistently reading everyone in the square like an open book.

As they passed the duel between Heri, Mia, and the Fist, Dash could feel Mia’s strength fading. She wasn’t weak; she’d just never known the dark side before. The power must be overwhelming for her.

She’s not weak, he kept thinking to himself as his nails dug into his palms. She’s not weak… she’s not weak… I’m not weak… I’m not weak…

Heri clenched her teeth as she stopped the Fist's hard blows. Their lightsabres crackled angrily as the two Jedi faced off against the Dark Jedi.

Heri could feel Mia's nagging doubt, she could also tell that the Fist was influencing the Force to weaken Mia. Heri used the Force to push the Fist off his feet momentarily, breaking his hold over Mia.

The more experienced Jedi turned to her charge. "Mia, whatever doubts your feeling aren't your own. He's influencing you. Be strong, remember your training and keep a clear mind."

Heri's short speach was interupted by the Fist who slashed at Heri. Her lightsabre moved without hesitation, Heri was so in touch with the Force that she could almost predict the Fist's next move.

Mia used the Force to lift a swoop and throw it at the Fist. He dodged but caught a glancing blow to the shoulder. This seemed to only fuel his anger. Heri could read his next action in his eyes, she stepped back with sabre raised as he shot Force lightening from his hands.

Mia was just as quick to protect herself. Heri was reassured to see that her younger companion's confidence return.

Of the four hunters, Tal Rith was perhaps the most unexperienced in combat...as such, it was necessary for him to take cover behind the towering figure of HUN as the wave of combined blasterfire reached the entity.
Fortunately, the fog cover was still thick and their forms barely visible...but the sun was rising slowly in the distance.  Any advantage of cover would be negated...for either party.  The only refuge in the massive space was the signal towers scattered about, behind which Arcuse and Dash took cover, while their companions moved to flank.

The four hunters did not return fire.  HUN walked at the lead, absorbing any direct shots into his frame, which appeared to have little affect on his movement.  About seven yards seperated them now. 

-----
It's been a long time.
-----

As his compatriots moved for cover, HUN stopped in the center of the arena.  Blaster bolts continued to pour from his assaliants, but each blast seemed only to pass through his trenchcoat, peppering it with holes, while the figure of HUN remained unmoving.

As Sathik and Karbil paused to reload their weapons, temorarily alleviating the bombardment, HUN stretched out his long arms...revealing the durasteel claws on each hand. 

"Valiant warriors---all."  HUN intoned quietly, yet loud enough for all to hear.  "I give you---this honor."
He reached for his tattered trenchcoat with one arm.
"That you should look upon---the 89th body of Hun'ussai---before your lives are taken."

He tore the cloak away.

Karbil found himself shaking.

He was tall...draped in filthy bandages and rusted chains, with armored plates bolted onto portions of his frame.  His arms ended below the wrists, into droid claws stained with alien blood.  And his face...hidden behind a mask, darker than the blackness of space, lit only by brilliant blue flames against the void.   
He flexed his long claws, and slowly walked closer....

(Somebody needs to die...Tal Rith and Moa are cool with me. ^_^)

**Sounds like a plan**

Kar'bil tried not to gasp. He metally shook himself and lined up his blaster, this time he aimed at the HUN's head. Nothing seemed to happen. It was then that Blink appeared, she said nothing but it was clear that she was invading HUN's mind and he didn't like it.

Kar'bil noticed that Sathik and Arcuse took the opportunity to throw a few grenades. Tal Rith took some shrapnel to the shins while Moa remained unscathed.

Tal Rith fell back, Kane didn't even go to the effort of walking to see the body, heading over past the stray shots. Sure enough, his breath mask had been punctured. Dead...Kane took the chance, grabbing a cortorsis trench knife and taking cover behind a stray bunker.
HUN still taking quite a beating, The dark Jedi gone, Kane flipped the back open. Emptying the chamber and sliding in an ice blue shell. The defining click soundless, too much background as it was. In that moment he went partway into the open, firing straight into the air. The dark blue blast seperating and falling back down. Pieces of it floating in the air like blue flames all around them.
It was harmless-Kane had passed his hand through one taking cover- to non forcers anyway. Force perception would be harder for anyone in the area capable of it. Not so much crippling them though, but it was giving him a headache as little perception as he was capable of. It had been the only one in the package the Trando had handed him, Kane didn't even know how long it would last or how powerful it was. Chances are though, it would have been a higher problem they wouldn't do anything, not that he'd even thought about till now.
A lightsaber flashed past his eye, he flipped around. Forcing the trench knife inbetween them, Kane trying with all his might not to let the blade slip off the edge. The blast had slowed them down a little, the difference between speeds would have killed him otherwise.
05 empty...he couldn't very well reload with one hand. Not against a Jedi. He forced the knife down the shaft of the saber, using that to send him backwards. The blade coming down a hair's width away. Keeping hold of the knife, he slid the weapon into its holster, placing a shell in his mouth, grabbed the handle again flipping the action open in the process. The shell falling, barely making it.

Blink struggled to maintain her presence in HUNs mind...a difficult task, even with her innate skills.
Most sentients were easy marks for her...psyche's and subconscious laid bare, nothing to hide. The Force users were a challenge, prepared for such attacks, but most could not anticipate her level of psychic probing.
HUN was different.
And slowly, she began to understand who this sad creature is.

-----
Little one...what do you hope to find here? 
Leave now...before you join the rest.

...What are you?  Blink asked the ancient void.

The final legacy...of Naga Sadow.

I don't understand.

An instrument of chaos...harbinger of ahnilliation...a sword against the Jedi...wandering the stars until fate deems it fit to extinguish this cold, blue flame.
-----

Blink's connection was abruptly shattered.  HUN was still standing where he was before, dominating against the rising sun in the distance. 
"You had best---flee while the opportunity remains."  He whispered loud enough to hear.  "Or I will not hesitate to reveal my full potential...you  which I was designed to purge, Jedi.

---
The Fist grinned...observing from the distance.  His only intent was to test the Jedi's abilities...indeed, the younger one had proven herself resourcefull.  But he would not hesitate when the time came.
Still...this HUN creature threw a wrench into his plans.  Working in the service of Tussok, as Black Sun informants had reported...his smile turned grim as he observed the Jedi he had quickly eluded run towards the tall figure.
Let's just wait and see what happens here...

Heri clenched her teeth as she struck hard at the Fist. Mia was coming at him from the other side and the Dark Jedi was starting to lose ground.

Mia had continued to use the Force to throw objects at the Fist, he'd deflected some of the objects but more had hit him. A trickle of blood had slowly dripped from the corner of his lips.

Heri used the Force to shove the Fist backward, again Mia threw an object then she parred.

With her next strike, Heri took the Fist's right arm at the elbow. He dropped to his knees, but he wasn't about to be defeated. He called up his Force lightening and this time Mia wasn't ready to deflect it.

Mia screamed before bring her lightsabre before her protectively. Heri took the moment to attack the Fist. This time she took his head.

Mia dropped to the ground, her clothes smoking as she panted. Heri touched her young charge on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Mia nodded, "I'll live."

Heri smiled gently, then retrieved the Fist's sabre. Helping Mia to her feet, the two Jedi went to assist their friends.

The sky was aflame, breaking into a thousand different pieces. The pressure contuining to increase, slowly pressing down on their heads. He couldn't imagine anyone that couldn't feel this, even non forcers.  Mistake, dumb mistake firing that.  His temples beginning to ache. Still, didn't stop him from aiming at the Jedi.  Holding the handle in both hands, leering.
"What was that you just fired?"
Kane shrugged, The figure holding a hand to his chest for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember the face. Scarlet blade and all, Sith Warrior...what the hell was going on? They were after a bunch of Jedi, not some wannabe Sith. Trying to save some Twi'lek or kill someone. It all ended up blending together. Kill someone to save someone, save someone to kill someone. Roll the balls in one hand to make them look better, toss them around till they're in your perspective.
He fired, blowing away all the doubts. Black wave cutting into the man, knocking him backwards, lightsaber blowing apart. Ripping into a thousand pieces. Eight shots left...
The 05 was burning, four minutes before it'd be of any use. Over heated. He made sure to hang onto the knife. Rushing around collumns towards the west side, two women walking away from a man's corpse.
The suppression was getting ridiculous. A dark blue sky set alite cutting away the haze above that. He tapped his chest for a second, breathing in deeply. He'd never seen a blast last this long, and it was getting stronger while it was at it. A small blue torch coming ablaze beside his head as he waited.

Mia and Heri stopped at the edge of the psychic field created by Kane's attack, inside of which their Jedi senses could see little...only the outlines of attacking forms, and the burning sky within.
Arcuse and Sathik approached quickly, weapons still in hand.
"What the krif is going on here?" Sathik muttered loudly after clearing the distance.
"Some kind of anti-Forcer weapon...." Mia contemplated.  "I can't make out anything."
"Who's still in there?"  Heri asked, a look of concern on her face.
"Gaaagh...the prince, Dash, those other bounty hunters...and Blink."  Arcuse replied.  "It looks pretty bad...and HUN hasn't even attacked yet.  It's as if he's....trying to hold back, but can't do it much longer."  Arcuse grew solemn.  "...We need to get them out of there."

Heri stood tranfixed and unsure what to do. She'd never seen anything like it. Mia stepped forward and Heri caught her arm before she could move any closer. "I think we're much safer staying here." The senior Jedi stated.

Mia stopped, "What about the others?"

Heri tried to hide her concern but she'd always had a soft spot for Dash. "We can't do anything for them if we step inside that zone."

Arcuse pulled a thermal detonator from his pocket. "Do you think this will help?"

Heri shrugged. "Somehow I have the feeling that violence will only beget violence."

The dome was unlike anything Dash had ever experienced. The ten meter radius was all that Dash could sense. Beyond that it was as if the Force was being suppressed somehow.

He stepped to the side just as a vibro pike was jammed into the air where he'd been standing a second earlier. He turned to face Moa who was spinning the pike shrewdly in one hand.

Dash rolled his eyes and held his DL-44 at shoulder height. Had he ever been this cocky? He fired a spread of six shots at the insectoid and immediately plugged in a new powerpack.

The Blood Carver rolled to the side to easily avoid Dash bolts. A self-righteous grin immediately appeared on the assassin’s face.

The rogue took the opportunity of the pause for a facial expression to rush towards his adversary faster than one would have though humanly possible. He gripped Moa’s surprised head in both of his hands and slammed it down into his knee completely shattering the insectoid’s skull.

He released the unfortunate being and let the body fall limply to the ground. It’s limbs still jerked and twitched around feebly. Dash couldn’t be sure if he was dead.

All the same he hefted his disrupter pistol in his left hand fired it at the fallen form. Any trace of the being known as Moa was completely obliterated. Dash slowly turned on the spot to face the beast. He holstered both of his weapons and cracked his neck. He was determined to extinguish those blue lanterns if it was the last thing he did.

He spread his arms out and gave in to the burning sensation in his brain.

In fact he expected it to be the last.

Kar'bil tried to hold his nerves in check as Dash started upon HUN. Kar'bil already had his blasters in his hands.

Blink was holding her head in pain. Whatever she'd be doing seemed to be affecting her badly.

Outside the dome, Heri stood with feelings of overwhelming dread. Sathik and Arcuse were trying to find a way into the action but so far they hadn't.

With baited breath, Mia charged the dome.

So...surreal...

Through tilted vision, Dash approached HUN.

He activated his ligtsaber...refracting darkly in the twisted light, a supernova of color against the growing void.  HUN's monolithic form superimposed against the dim sun rising...a blackness punctuated only by two cold, blue eyes, flames in the night. 

No words spoken.  Only the wind blowing across the sparse expanse, the sounds of Kane battling for his life...HUN cocked his head, almost increduously, at the approaching figure.

With a sudden burst of speed, Dash attacked.
HUN stretched backwards to avoid the swinging blade, unnaturally twisting his body to the side and coming up on his metal claws, pouncing forward with his long legs.  Surprised, Dash brought his blade back quickly to defend, but not before one boot firmly placed itself against his face, throwing both combatants backwards.  Dash stumbled, then quickly righted himself, spitting a bloody tooth out to the side.
HUN balanced upon his arms again, legs outstreched in a defensive pose.   
...What is this thing? Dash muttered under his breath.  He charged again, preparing to bring his blade down in a violent arc.
Unexpectedly, HUN flipped forward to intercept the blade, turning aside at the last second...close enough to sear a few of the bandages that covered his torso...and caught Dash in mid-run, completely off guard.  The blow to his stomach was hard, strong enough to lift him off of his feet and leave him in the dirt a yard away, coughing faint traces of blood.  Undettered, he climbed to his feet.
HUN stood motionless, eyes blazing still in the growing light.

Dash slowly approached, calling upon the Force to focus his mind as he slipped into a battle trance. 
Time to get serious...  He grinned darkly.
His form blurred with the speed of his redoubled assault, crossing the distance to his opponent in less than a second.  A fiery blaze of lightsaber sweeps, blurring into themselves in a web of energy, fell upon HUN.

So....surreal...

The battle slowed to a crawl before Dash's eyes, the world around them dragging to a halt.  All that existed...was him, the creature, and the blade that stood between them.  Yet for every blow, HUN moved...just barely enough...to avoid, to dodge, to twist beneath, to bend each limb in impossible directions away from the coming blades.
One searing pass appeared to fall against the dark mask his opponent wore...Dash noticed...yet left no trace.  This same mask suddenly plunged forth from the blades to meet his face.  Dash managed to pull his head back fast enough to avoid a skull-shattering blow, yet stars still danced before his eyes as he stumbled backwards. 

HUN had not moved an inch.  Smoke rose from charred bandages and burning flesh.
And finally, he spoke.

"You have...skill, Forcer."  He craned his neck back again, as if observing the light growing above them in the fog. "But you are no...match for me."   
Dash grimaced, clutching his chest.  "...I have to try, don't I?"  He grinned faintly.   
HUN was silent for a moment, then replied by jutting one clawed arm out towards his enemy.
"Sever this arm...and I will let you live, Jedi."
Dash smiled openly. "All too happy to oblige."  He rushed forward to attack once more.

HUN did not move, did not swerve, twist, or dodge to avoid the falling blade that cut swiftly through his metal arm at the elbow.  He did, however, bring his other arm down upon Dash's neck as he completed the blow...the last thing Dash saw before blacking out was the smoking arm of his enemy falling beside him, and faintly, the burning eyes of HUN against the brilliant sky...

"An eye...for an eye." 
Dash felt nothing as his right arm was removed by HUN's serrated claws, as the burn was cauterized by his own blade, as HUN lifted the lifeless arm....and in the darkness, took it for his own, burning it against his dark form in a twisted glow of ancient Force magicks...flexed his new, human arm, sheathed the lightsaber on his form, and moved away.

(Sorry I took Dash's arm....*sheepish*...just don't forget that that character needs to get a droid arm at some point.)

((No worries, I dig cybernetic arms. BTW, can we say for continuity that the saber you took was Dash's spare. I gave it to Heri a few posts back.))

((Gaagh...didn't notice that. Thanks. ^_^))

Heri charged after Mia, somehow the two Jedi were able to penetrate the dome. Heri's attention was diverted from Mia as she watched Dash crumple to the ground and she screamed in rage as his arm was taken like a trophy. Heri swallowed and centred herself. She would not give into hatred or rage. But her heart pounded and bleed with agony at the damage done to Dash.

Heri felt Mia's hand touch her arm. She nodded at her fellow Jedi. Mia ignited her lightsabre and Heri ignited both the blades she had, the one borrowed from Dash and the other taken from the Fist.

"How could you do this?" Heri demanded, her voice more commanding then she realised.

HUN looked up. "It's what I am."

Heri took a deep breath, "Can't you simply leave?"

"I wish I could." The HUN replied.

Mia spoke out, "Can there be a peaceful resolve?"

Both Jedi waited with bated breath.

Kane rested outside the blue mass, watching the man's arm fall through the haze. The barrel had cooled a minute ago, he hadn't gotten around to going back. The 05 was loaded though. He rotated around a column, running behind HUN bursting back into the heavy atmosphere.
"Can there be a peaceful resolve?"
It was difficult to breathe in deeply, but that was about it. Kane more interested in hearing HUN's descision than cleaning the C02 out of the depths of his lungs.
(Yes, I'm still here surprisingly.)

Finally, the dome barrier had begun to dissolve...whatever strange energies had propelled its unnatural size and power began to fade away against the sun, lighting the arena in the green-tinted glow of Nal Hutta.

HUN stood motionlessly, watching the combatants slowly come together before him; on one side, Heri, Mia, Arcuse, Sathik, and Kar'bil...Kane slowly moved to HUN's flank, and to everyone's suprise, the bleeding figure of Tal Rith...broken, but still standing.   Between them lay the unconscious Dash, one arm less than he had the day before.

Mia repeated her question forcefully. "Can there be a peaceful resolve?"

With smoke still rising from his burnt torso, HUN replied.  "And what...do you have to offer?" 

Heri scowled.  "You've taken enough, monster.  Are you unsatisfied with the arm of our comrade?"

HUN looked down at his new hand, clenching it firmly, slowly wrapping it in the burnt bandages that covered his body, until it could barely be distinguished.  "You make...a good point."

He grabbed the coughing Tal Rith by the scruff of his neck, carefully hoisting him onto his large shoulders.  "I had hoped...to face the one you slew tonight, Jedi."  He almost seemed to laugh behind the mask.  "Be grateful that this warrior has slated my bloodlust this morning." And finally, he did laugh...a cold sound, ancient and full of memory. "We will meet again soon." 

And slowly, with Tal Rith clinging onto his back, with Kane at his side, the trio walked off into the dense fog that had yet to rise from the arena, leaving the unconscious Dash and mutilated form of Moa on the duracrete behind them.

(Oh, Oh, Tal Rith is dead. It'd be Moa because Tal needs a breath mask to breath. It was punctured.)

((I think they're both dead, no worries))

Dash slowly got to his feet wincing and breathing heavily. His charred stump uselessly flopped at his side.

Beads of seat collected on his temple. His remaining fist was clenched so hard that blood had begun dripping from the palm. Heri took a step forward to steady him, but she was shoved back roughly by a surge in the force.

"This isn't over you kriffing sithspawn!" Dash screamed into the fog. "I'll find you! I swear by the stars that I'll kill you. I'll kill you! Do you hear me?"

His companions just stood a few feet behind him not quite knowing what to do.

The warrior's mouth began foaming and his body started seizing up with uncontrollable convulsions.

"I-I'll kill you!" he hissed and sputtered. His voice was barely above a whisper now. "Do you hear me Hun? You're d-dead..."

He turned to Heri and she released the lightsaber allowing it to fly back to his hand. Dash began stumbling and coughing into the fog.

"Don't follow me," he called back to the others through the unbearable burning in his head. "I beg of you don't follow..."

(yea, that's probably true)

((Moa is definetely dead, he was "obliterated"...but I want to work with Tal Rith's character a little bit.  He's hurt bad, but it's not impossible for him to have jury rigged a simple solution to a punctured breath mask (plugging it somehow).  Sorry that I seem a bit out of continuity, I'd just like to build up this character some more before he dies.))

(Alright, fine with me.)

Heri stood and watched Dash go. She wanted to follow, but took his advice. Instead she closed her eyes and called upon the Force. She sent soothing waves out to Dash, but was unsure if they'd affect him or not.

Mia went to check on Kar'bil and Blink. Both seemed okay but Blink was pretty shaken up.

Arcuse and Sathik were grumbling about missing the action, however they noticed that Tal Rith was struggling away. "Shall we put him out of his misery?" Sathik asked with glee.

Arcuse shrugged. "Seems a waste of time."

Sathik sulked. "Damn, didn't get to shoot anything."

Mia turned to them. "I wouldn't worry too much, I'm sure you'll get your chance."

"In the mean time can we please find my fiancee." Kar'bil stated.

Sathik slapped his forehead in mockery. "I'd forgotten about her."

By the gods...that was a close one...

Every cough brought another sanguine tide up Tal Rith's throat, clogging his already damaged breathmask in a crimson flood...he did not have much time yet.  Needed...his spare,  stashed away back at their ship.

The streets became blurry in his vision as he found it harder and harder to breathe...already black dots were dancing at the edge of his vision.

Must...keep.....walking....

Ahead, a group of ragged street thugs began to converge on his position...the leader, tall and thin with a long scare across his neck.  Vultures....ready to pick off the dead... Tal Rith thought bitterly to himself.

And as the leader approached, indifferent malice in his eyes...the Kel Dor could almost see his life, such as it was, flashing before his eyes.   Growing up on the streets of Eriadu....the speederbike accident that almost cost him his legs....leaving his homeworld for the first time, with the dream of becoming a bounty hunter....All cut so short.

As the blood began to visibly drip from the corners of his mask, and the leader's eyes flashed with confidence...Tal Rith gave a harsh sigh, and stopped in his tracks.  Slowly looking up to face the scar-necked thug...and suddenly gasping with astonishment. 
Memories...come flooding back to me.... Tal Rith clenched his fist, struggling to remember... the pit...abyss...Tunnel beneath the Sun...by the gods......by the GODS!!.....
And now, he began to smile beneath the bloodied mask. 

And as the street thugs reached him, rasing various improvised weapons into the air...lightning crackled beneath Tal Rith's outstretched arms, framing him in a halo of deadly Force energy that struck his offenders with deadly results, thunder echoing throughout the empty streets....
Now...I remember.

Blood and lightning tore the air.

The Hutt's home was vast, but Heri knew the way to the holding cells. She'd used her "bug" to get the layout of the building. The Twi'lek princess was in one of the lower more secretive levels.

Kar'bil's anxiety was plain to see, he was figetting with his weapon as Mia tried to calm him. Sathik and Arcuse took the rear.

Heri lifted her hand in a stop gesture. She sensed an ambush, a few mortars sat hidden in the shadows. Heri ignited her lightsabre and threw it, with guidance from the Force she destroyed the mortars. As the last one exploded a party of twenty emerged.

"Great," Sathik grinned, "Fresh Meat!"

Kane sat quietly leaning against the wall of the vacant cantina that sat across from the dock. He'd raided the stocks and poured a glass of the ever pleasant ice blue sensation, Tonjin still had it. HUN busily working in the corner, on something or other.
Ignoring that though, when the other two arrived he could at least play cards. Get his mind off the thought of this last experience. They'd probably lost the bounty...not that it seemed to matter to anyone anymore. He laughed in a slight drunken stupor. Wondering if they'd still get paid if the prince was dead but they brought the girl back. Thankful he wasn't actually sitting in a chair he could fall out of, it was more of a little indent in the wall next to the bar with a table pulled up to it. He layed his head agains the smooth suface of the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. Not quite drunk but not all there, did he even have the will to be a bounty hunter? After this incident he wasn't so sure...his weapon wasn't quite up for it though...
"You have killed Jedi before?"
HUN had switched back to his little display, Kane barely noticing it at first.
"Three...or so that I can remember...It was one on one though."
"Positive?"
Kane stood up. Placing the bottle back in the stock.
"No doubt in my mind. They weren't padawan either!" Counting that Sith scum it was probably closer to four.
Maybe he'd lost it since then, the Empire laying their hands in everything he had slowed down a bit trying to be smarter about his way of doing things. Just barely working anymore he hadn't thought about it for a while. Maybe it was time to grow a new backbone...
"Well, I'm going out. Don't expect me for a few days in the very least. Have fun with them."
Truth be told, HUN would probably be busy that long anyway. Kane grabbed his coat, flinging it on.  Off to deal with an old problem. Walking into the streets, asking Tanuka to walk with him as he met her at the door. Te'Dac slipping by them inside.
She'd armed herself with a  heavy repeater, admitting she'd stolen it from a bloodied corpse that'd been shot several times in about every part of it's body. She hadn't recognized, the body mutilated beyond that.
"We're going after an old mate of mine, care to tag along?"
"I can't see why not."

Dash hobbled over to the red mist of blood. Through the haze he could just make out a smoking figure. It wasn't HUN, so the rogue continued on his way to pursue his quarry. His lightsaber was gripped tightly in the sweaty palm of his remaining hand. It gripped the metallic blade tighter as his mind supplied him with gruesome scenarios of him punishing his enemy.

"Stop..." said a voice through the smoke.

Dash came to a halt and slowly turned on the spot.

"I... sense... force... in you..." the voice said in between gasps for air.

The figure stepped forward from the gloom to reveal the grinning face of Tal Rith, the breathing mask hanging uselessly from his mouth.

"I... found... force... in me..." said Tal Rith raising a pair of shaking hands. "Prepare... to die..."

And for the first time Dash saw the circle of blackened, mangled bodies surrounding Tal Rith. Then without warning, the bounty hunter's body was rocked by a surge of force lightning. Dash raised his eyes and arm to the heavens as the hate and energy overtook him.

As Heri cut her way through the attackers she felt Dash's anguish then rage. Arcuse and Sathik were having a great time, both hunters were trying to out do each other in kills.

Kar'bil and Mia were once again working as a team, it was almost as if their fighting styles were blending into one.

"I'm going after Dash." Heri shouted to the others. Mia nodded her understanding as Heri departed.

Heri ran through the streets, her sense honed on Dash's life force, he wasn't well but he wasn't about to go down quietly. As Heri rounded the last corner and saw Dash enraged and lashing out at Tal Rith, it became apparent that Blink was also there.

Heri had a feeling that perhaps the petite female had been fueling Dash's inner rage. But Heri didn't have time to think of that. She rounded on the fighting pair and flung Tal Rith across the alleyway with a push from the Force.

"I told you to leave me be." Dash said between clenched teeth.

"I will not leave you to die, not while I can help you." Heri replied. Her diverted attention gave Tal Rith a moment to slash at her with a broken bottle. She felt the bottle nick her upper arm but it was not enough to do any real damage. "Back off." She growled at Rith.

The old man stood at the edge of the chasm...a massive hole in the cavern wall that plummeted into grim darkness.

"This is your new home, Kel Dor."  The old man grinned, the wrinkles on his face spreading out to reveal his rotting teeth.  "Not an easy road to follow...but then, no one ever said becoming a Forcer would be simple."

"Master...I feel afraid."

"Good!" The old man exclaimed.  "Do not turn from your fear...from which the Force stems, Kel Dor.  You must trust me here..." The darkness seemed to grow deeper.  "Embrace your destiny."

And there was only...the abyss.

------

The world was twisted between colors, edges shattering into each other and the ground replacing the sky, over and over again...in the eyes of Tal Rith, breathing mask now gone...all energy provided by the wellspring of Force that had erupted in him, which broke out from beneath his fragile alien skin in sudden bursts of blood-red lightning that cut across buildings and tore any unwary sentient limb from limb in a sanguine explosion.

Jedi...heretics... Tal Rith could barely discern the form of Heri in his twisted vision, yet...felt her presence within his newfound Force.  Harnessing the energy, the pure hatred and pain growing within, he opened his alien mouth...erupting into a massive bolt of Force lightning. 

Heri barely managed to twist and avoid the blast, the electricity burning past her arms and face.  She rolled, picked up speed, and activated her lightsaber, zeroing in on Tal Rith's position. 
A second bolt blew past, singeing her hair and leaving a choking ozone taste in the air, yet she still maneuvered closer...close enough to strike out at the dark creature.

Tal Rith summoned another burst of lightning...yet this energy remained static in his hands, glowing eerilly against the nearby buildings.  Small bolts occasionally burst out to meet the ground and nearby objects, and Tal Rith advanced to face Heri, a painful grin across his burning mouth. 

Blade and claws met, clashing against each other in tiny explosions.  Heri swiped vertically, Tal Rith grabbed the coming blade with one arm, punching hard towards Heri's face with the other. 
Heri dropped the blade, falling on her hands to kick out at Tal Rith's undefended chest...sending him reeling backwards, allowing her to draw her lightsaber back into her hands with the Force. 
Tal Rith's glowing eyes became furious.  "You.......will burn, ......Jedi."
With an angry roar, he charged once again.

In and out of consciousness, Dash observed the ensuing battle.  Both were equally matched...Heri more skilled in combat, but unexperienced with Tal Rith's unique abilities.  Bursts of lightning, Force blows, cutting into buildings around them and creating a pile of debri that grew beneath them as they continued to fight.
Claw met blade, and blade met claw. 
It seemed as if Tal Rith was getting the upper hand...one blast of lightning winged her, sending the Jedi spinning into the alleys below, while Tal Rith jumped after her, arms extended in a deadly embrace.  Heri met the ground, rolled, and brought her lightsaber up...
...to intercept the alien.  Tal Rith had no time to avoid it. 

The blade dug a few centimeters into the Kel Dor's chest, sweeping upwards across his face vertically.  Tal Rith fell backwards, Force energy glowing within the deep wound. 
"Jedi......."  Tal Rith managed to choke.  "It is.......not over....." 
Slowly, Tal Rith rose to his feet.
The cut had torn him open from navel to nose, a deep, cauterized gash...yet the alien still lived. A random burst of lightning cut through the skin of his cheek, cutting across to Heri, striking her on the face.
Heri staggered, caught completely off guard...yet quickly composed herself and turned to strike....but the alien had dissappeared. 

Lightning faded in the distance as Tal Rith ran back to the shadows from whence he came. 

Heri deactivated her blade...feeling the side of her face.  A burn, zigzaging up the side of her cheekbone and into her hair...
Slowly, with her heart still beating a mile a minute, Heri approached the recovering form of Dash.

Dash attempted to lift his head as Heri approached his fallen form, but he barely had enough strength to stay conscious. He felt calmer for some reason, but it took him a second to realize why.

A few years ago he’d purposely defibrillated himself hoping to knock himself out in order to protect everyone. Unfortunately he stayed conscious despite the enormous voltage, but found that the shock had jolted the mechanics of the berserker chip enough to delay its effects. It worked, but after actually shocking himself once he had no desire to double the feat.

The lightning must’ve worked the same way. The chip was still active though, he could feel its horrible purpose creeping up his nerves.

“Kill me,” he coughed to Heri who was bent over him.

“You know I can’t do that,” She gave him a sad smile that held not the pity that he was expecting, but more of a calm concern. Her eyes reflected more than understanding. It seemed like infinite wisdom was within his grasp when he looked upon her. Despite the pain, the comforting gaze felt like an eternal sanctuary from the world he was in.

Dash chuckled. He hadn’t really thought that she’d do it.

“Then you’re condemning me to a fate worse than death,” not without effort, he raised a gloved hand— his only hand— to stroke her face fondly. “Hun’s the only one who can end it.”

Heri bent her head closer to him. “We’ll find a way.”

And just like that he kissed her. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t short, and neither was embarrassed afterwards; it was just something that needed to be done. When it was over the two held a gaze in an exchange of thoughts that the city of Nal Hutta had never known and never would again.

Finally Dash spoke.

“Go save the princess jedi,” he said grinning. It sounded awfully cliché for some reason. “I’ve got business to attend to.”

She returned the smile.

“See you around bounty hunter.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Hunwhachamacallit!” Dash called out into the empty street. “I believe you owe me an arm and my dignity!

The entity in question stepped slowly and menacingly out of the deserted-looking cantina across from the dock.

“I thought you not so foolish forcer,” said HUN. “If you truly understood what I am than you would have not chosen to pursue me. I am the finally leg—”

“Yeah yeah,” the hunter interrupted impatiently. “Naga Sadow and all that. Big admirer by the way; I read your holocron. I found the plot to be a little redundant though.”

“I tire of your mockery Masked One,” the immortal being replied with a shake of its head. “I spared your life, yet you badger me with nonsense.”

“Sorry about that,” Dash apologized. He really meant it. Sathik’s sharp-tongue had rubbed off on him over the past couple of years and he sometimes couldn’t help the exchange of witty banter. “But you see, you cut off my arm. And even if I didn’t hold a grudge for slicing off one of my appendages like a sausage, a bunch of your fanboys implanted a little chip in my head quite a few years back that’s broiling up my brain unless I kill you. So in the next few minutes, I expect an epic lightsaber duel to ensue because, well, one of us has to go.”

HUN took a few steps forward and straightened up to its full height. The result was an adversary who stood quite a few heads above Dash.

“You speak bravely warrior,” started Hun. “But you forget you only have one arm. Even with your… companion, do you really think you could come close to defeating me?”

Dash turned to look behind him at Blink who was attempting to mentally mask her presence in the shadows. The he glanced down at the space where his right arm would have been not long ago. Even more recently he’d taken an AT-AT’s worth of force lightning to the face. It didn’t take a medic to tell him that he was in no condition to fight. Maybe Hun was right, maybe he hadn’t planned this out very well.

He shrugged. No use worrying about it now. Usually he relied on the aggressive capabilities of the Ataru style of lightsaber combat. But with only one arm he should rely on the more elegant Makashi style. Maybe now that he’d calmed down a bloody rage wouldn’t get him killed. Without so much anger he might be able to discern the danger of Hun’s four oncoming limbs. Then again, Hun had a lightsaber now.

“My saber,” he whispered. Then without warning, he ignited the weapon and bent his legs as if to leap into a lunge and attack.

Hun instinctively jumped forward to meet him only to have a nearby crate thrown at his face with the force. His enemy was knocked backwards giving Dash the opportunity to slash one-handed gracefully as the battle began.

((I'd very much like not to die or lose my other arm if its alright with you))