Betrayal Most Foul (Murra vs. Moonrider)

[ravendarkrebecca]

The Storms were worsening on Naboo. No one now living on the beautiful world could remember a more powerful storm troubling the city of Theed. And even though - at least for the moment - the rains had lightened to a soft drizzle, the sky overhead was dark with a pallor of clouds that no heavenly light could peirce, and strangely intense lightning crackled across the rooftops of the city. Flight to and from the city's spaceports has been rerouted to bring ships to land several kilometers outside the storm's violent wind and lightning cone, and then have them coast along the ridgeline until they reached the space port.

New shield generators has been installed within the capital city to shield it from any damages due to intense lightning strokes, but even then, the city remained a fortress underseige. Celebrations had been curtailed, jubilance and play kept indoors. The city itself was growing Darker.

As for the palace - darkness had already claimed it. Heavy tapestries has been drawn across the tall windows that looked out onto the rising sun, and the incredible lightning system had been deactivated and replaced by dim, muted lighting in the form of candles and burning oil lamps. Slowly, the staff the palace had been replaced by Moonrider's own servants and retainers, his personal Jedi students and knights, a handful of trained servitors, and no others. And as guests were ushered into the Palace Throne Room, they discovered feeling a sense of oppresive, stiffling silence, as though a thousand eyes were consantly upon them at any moment, and more than one voice had imagined - or thought they had - hearing the quiet giggling of a young girl echoing from the depths of the palace.



Jedi Murra Tekal
She had been brought to Naboo via means of a transport under the command of someone she hadnt known before. They had been sent to Corellia to retrieve her, and to bring her back to Naboo for a meeting with Master Moonrider. What she found on her arrival was only a clearity. Certain things had changed, and it was not just the appearnces themselves. Everything felt darker, tactile sensations felt laced with a black inkiness that only aided in portraying that ever present shadows within the Force. Whatever had happened, had happened swiftly in her absence. She was begining to feel sorry that she had left. The thoughts of wether or not this would have happened, should she have stayed, broke into her mind as she made her entrance into the palace, pulling back the heavy earthen colored fabric of her cloaks hood. The silence was oppresive, every clip of her boot heals brought itself to her ears as if it were a scream, echoing within the depths of some long abandoned grave yard. Death, the only way she knew how to describe the sensations to herself was death. It was like walking through an expansive grave. The coldness that had swept the city was setting into her bones, having found its way beneath her skin via means of the Sith markings on her neck and above her heart. She shivered, eyeing the steps of the student who was leading her futher and further through the palace. The world, itself, seemed to have melted into a paradox of itself. Where once bright lights, catching the rays of the sun as they shone through the large windows, there were now small little oil laps and heavy darkly colored tapestries. It was disturbing that such a thing could have occured during her absence. Before too long, the student had bowed, moving off to the side so that she would be able to enter through the large throne room doors. The echoes of the child-like laughter that issued from the room caused her to pause. The sound itself was like somethign taken from a nightmare of her childhood. If not for the sound itself, then for the fact that no owner of the sound would be, or could be, felt through the Force. She entered, returning the bow with a small nod of her head. Here, it was all so much more heavier, every last sensation seemed to be weighed down more and more with each footstep that she took into the room.




If the throne room, and by extension the palace and the city about them, were plunged into an ever-thicekning darkness, then the slender, and almost impossibly young-seeming figure seated upon the throne of Naboo was darkness itself. The back of the high seat was draped in dark satin, much like the hangings upon the pillars and over the windows, a doleful decadance for the dead.

And as for the current occupant of the throne, his flesh was the sickly hue of alabaster white. His eyes were violet like the darkening sky before night. Dark hair and thin black eyebrows framed his features, and gave the pale skin an even more frightening sense of sickly pallor. But his voice was soft and seductive, like the whisper of a warm wind on a cold day. The cast of his facial features was impassive, but his presence in the Force as he rose from the throne - draped in a flowing dark shirt with wide cuffs and loose, soft dark pants that went down to the heels of his black boots -was warm and welcoming against the cold reception of the city itself. "Murra," the soft voice called out, as the gathered Jedi loyal to Moonrider seperated themselves into two thin columns on either side of the dark carpet leading to the throne. "Welcome home."




Jedi Murra Tekal
She knew the sounds, the way it felt. The Dark Side had reached out and grasped all that had been pure, pulled it into its vacuum and broken the world that she had defended so very well. The door had been opened, the ghost had been left in. But the question that rose in Murra's mind as the gathered Jedi began to part was who had invited the specter to stay? That was something easily answered within her mind as the voice of Ashton Moonrider broke through the silence, slithering to meet her ears over the clack of her boot heals as she continued forward. Almost out of instict, but more out of defiance, Murra squared her shoulders. Much reminded, was she, of her times spent with Mathar and the man who claimed to be Exar Kun. Their home had not been decorated as the Theed palace was now, but it held the same ambiance. A quick glance was given to either side of her as she moved toward Moonrider, expecting to see a motion coming toward her from any number of students. The proud Jedi was not ever one to expect the unexpected, but this...she had not heeded Ithli's warnings. She hated when he was right. Within a matter of seconds the Jedi Master was coming to a stop before the Dark Jedi she had called friend before her departure. Then, things had been clear enough for her to make it through day to day, now -- now Murra could not even delve into the Force for answers that she needed. It was all shadow, a sickly darkness that kept her mind busy with dizzy spells and a never ending sense of hopelessness. But she smiled, giving a bow of her head to the Dark man before her.

"I wish I could say that its lovely to be back. But, with the way things have changed..." She gave a small motion with her right hand, lifting the fabric of her cloak to reveal a new lightsaber hilt as well as a new set of Jedi garb, fasioned in the same manner of her customary crimson and black, to the room around her as if giving an example to her words. "With the way things have changed I am not sure I am happy to be here..."

[ravendarkrebecca]

PHOBOS
"Changed?" The silken voice of the Dark Lord, soft and beckoning, filled the room. As he stepped down from the dais, his dark hair unbound and falling around his face with a cold beauty, the man's violet eyes reached out to Murra. "Have things really changed, Murra?"

The columns of robed Jedi, knights unfamiliar to Tekal, students devoted to Moonrider alone, widened, taking places along the length of the throne rooms long walls. With hands folded across their chest and dark, hooded heads lowered so that only an empty darkness could be seen beneath the cowls of the garb, the silent sentinels and servants of the Dark lord fed their own ambient darkness into the room, nearly two dozen sets of eyes trained solely on the Jedi standing before them. And as for their master - like a prowling feline, he stalked slowly forward, moving slowly and deliberately toward the Jedi Master, testing the limits of her comfort - and pushing beyond them. His soft, and silky voice, continued to caress the ears of those within the chamber. "Tell me truly... have they?"(done)



Jedi Murra Tekal
Her chin lifted as the Dark Jedi spoke, what discomfort she may have felt only fueled her stubborn-ness, giving fuel to her willfull nature. She was not going to bend, to break before this crowd that easily. Even with the students parting, finding places against the walls around her, just to watch, to stare and to take their engery and feed it into the world around her, Murra wasnt about to give in. But there was a coldness brewing within her, a rage that longed to be released. Slipping, as it did, into her bloodstream from the markings on her skin. She despised the black ink, the coldness that it had brought to her body, the lack of warmth that had only grown since she had stepped into the palace. These things were all second string though, Murra Tekal had bigger things to worry about Then her own failures. In responce to Moonrider's question, she nodded, meeting his gaze once she was done with the simple gesture. "Things have changed Ashton. The planet, itself, the very life of the world we stand on is in chaos. I do not need to focus on the Force to feel that. The life of the citizens here has been compromised in my absence. No one is out in the streets, living their lives. They all hide in fear of the storms within their houses, where the rains cannot reach them. Things have changed, the -Force- has changed..."




PHOBOS
"What know you of the Force, Murra Tekal?" The soft voice managed to sound somehow surprised that she would even presume to speak of the Force. "You no longer trust the Force, do you? You no longer trust yourself with the Force... do you?" He prowled slowly around her, his lips passing close to her ear as his eyes found hers. There was a moment there when their eyes locked - locked as they had once, nearly a year ago - when they had met as equals. on this same world, when he had recurited her aid in bringing peace and order to the galaxy. He had lauded her then. He had feigned respect. But now the curling smile at the edge of his lips betrayed his true feelings. He had played her. He had set a trap to bring her here, to seduce her ~ and by extension the weakened Jedi Order ~ into following him blindly. He had decieved her. And she had let him.

That unspoken thought hung in the silence between them as Moonrider's lips twitched in a faint sneer. His soft and mewling voice was hardly a whisper. His eyes taunted her, tormented her with the hollow sound of her own words. She had sworn to him that she would stand against the Dark Side. She had bravely gone into battle to beat back the darkness. And now, all truths were revealed. She had failed. "Your powers are weak... Jedi..." He smiled again, and then stepped away from her, and with a wave of his hand, bulkhead doors slammed in place, shield generators came to life, two dozen lightsabers came to life on either side of the room, and the trap was sprung.

MURRA
The urge to reach outward, and to wrap her right hand around his throat was nearly overwhelming. She was a Jedi Master, though, the refusal of the fire that burned within her only caused it to beckon louder to her mental ears. Murra would refuse that Dark Side call until the very breath that kept her alive left her lungs. She had been fighting it for years, aware of what her failure might bring, her falling had brought to the galaxy. The doorway had been opened so many years ago, the stories of the Empier, the opression that she had fought so hard against. Her years of torment were catching up to her all too quickly s she stood there. Her eyes had never moved from his, even as he taunted her with her own past. Yes, she had sworn alliegence to the man before her, in the way of the Jedi Order. But he had shattered that vow, breaking it with his own downfall to the Dark Side. She was Jedi, aware of her own potential, her own power within teh Force. Her trust in her abilities had never faded. She knew now, though, that she had blinded herself with her own hope, yet another failing to add to the long list that followed in her footsteps. She was surrounded, the numerous blades that belonged to teh students that surrounded her came to life seemingly all at once. She remained motionless, keeping her eyes on Moonrider as the blastdoors slid shut with a very loud bang. If this would be how the Force would end it for her, then Murra was ready. She had grown tired over the years, her fighting having taken a very large and deep toll on her mortal shell. But, while being exhausted from the day to day struggle, Murra Tekal would not go down without a fight.



PHOBOS
"You see it now, don't you?" He asked her. "The hopeless futility of everything you have done this last year. The horrors you have unleashed upon the galaxy. You - You, Murra Tekal, have done this, too." He stepped around behind her, then paused, glanced over his shoulder at her, and purred. "You have done well... my servant."

Slowly, the awful magnificence of the Dark Side, as it was manifested within him, came into focus. As the heavy shielding around his presence in the Force loosened, even the most puerile student of the Force should have been able to detect the pure Power of the Dark Side manifest within his body. He was filled with it. He reverberated it. All across the city of Theed, hundreds, and thousands, and millions of life forms reverberated with the power of this Dark Lord - they fed on it, and never knew it, and in their life cycles - they returned that power unto him in waves of black life. They fed it to him, and he was made stronger by it.

"Do you now see?" He asked her quietly, not unkindly, "The hopelessness of your foolish quest." Pacing slowly around her, the Dark Lord fed the Dark Side into his soft and seductive voice, taunting her with the memory of her failure, teasing her with the ridiculous hopelessness of her predicament, and yet - and yet ... holding out a beckoning hand of friendship yet still. "In all your hopeless life," The Dark Lord asked her, suddenly gentle and caring, apologetic even, "have you ever helped... anyone?" A moment of silence passed, and an apologetic look crossed his face. "I'm sorry... but ... look around yourself. Isn't this why you came to me?" He reached out with his arms and spread them wide, as if attempting to encompass the whole of the Protectorate. "Where there was pain, we brought healing. Where there was grief, we brought comfort. Where there was war we have brought peace. Lawlessness replaced by justice, chaos succeeded by ORDER. We have brought order... to the galaxy." He was nearing her side again, and he leaned over, whispered in her ear, filling his voice with the seductive, rich, tantalizing power of the Dark Side. "Are those things not good?" And then he stepped away from her, towards the dark windows.




Jedi Murra Tekal
Silence was her answer to his words. He knew all that she did, all that she had done so there was no need for her to repeat any number of instances to him. What Murra did do, though, was finally move. Her right hand, beneath her cloak moved ever so subtly to her saber's hilt. The woman didnt draw, she wouldnt draw unless a direct action was taken against her. She was fully aware that Ashton knew this, and was prepared for it. That was, unless he could get her to move out of anger. But, he should have known better. Knowing her as he did, Moonrider should have thought ahead far enough to see that these tauntings would only make her all the more stubborn in not moving a muscle against him. Murra was a proud Jedi, glad of her heratige, no matter how shady it may have been. She was Corellian, born to face any and all odds that were stacked against her. When the man had finally finished speaking, Murra allowed her voice to fill the room, giving it that strong demanding tone that her students knew her for. There was no comfort, no friendship within it now, though. Only teh cold hard edge of a woman warrior who had faced this same situation time and time again. "-We- have done much for the peoples of this galaxy, that much is true. But -you- Master Moonrider, have destroyed any and all life that this planet may have had coming to it. The peoples of Naboo, the refugees that have taken to living here will not survive under the torrents that your powers have unleashed here. The planet itself will wither and fade, leaving behind only holovids of a pleasant place that "Once exsited. The only thing that you have truly helped me in doing is giving the troubles of the Galaxy a pretty pink ribbon to wrap them up in. Our peace, the safety that we have brought here will not last long. It never does. A balance must be reached, I am sure you are aware of that."

[ravendarkrebecca]

PHOBOS
"Then you are a fool." The Dark Lord murmured, brushing one heavy tapestry aside so that he could see outside the window. "Your skills must be more feeble than I thought. I wonder, do you really merit the title 'Master?'" He glanced over his shoulder at Murra, and then shrugged, and glanced back to the window. "The storms were for one purpose, and that is now acheieved. I have installed new shielding around the city of Theed. I have made the city safer."

He turned back around towards Murra, and gestured with his hands, his manner now that of a caring tutor, trying to explain a simple problem to a... troubled child. "I have made the galaxy safer. With Mekhetu at my side and the Jedi at my disposal, I will protect the galaxy from all threats. I have nearly elminated piracy and slave trading. The Hutts are no more than a vague memory. I defeated Lumiya with my own hands, and even the upstart Ith'li has had sense enough to stay well away from my domain. I have brought improved morale, happiness, health, and standard of life to TRILLIONS." He sighed, a deep, patornizing sigh. "I really thought you would have been able to see that."




Jedi Murra Tekal
A deep breath entered her lungs, and slowly, very slowly, Murra allowed it to escape into the cold dead air around her. She watched the Dark Lord, still, catching every motion from hsi breathing to the last piece of hair that fell still after his movements had been completed. He was lookign to goad her, he had been since she stepped into the throne room. She wasnt giving into the humiliation. She would not be over come. " Tell me Ashton. You have had all of the Jedi at your disposal-- until now. Now, at this moment, though, you seek to eliminate me in such a futile gesture. If I am not a threat, if I am as weak as you say I am, then why all these students? This room? Tell me Ahston, why do you see me as something that needs to be exterminated and no other if I am such a nothing within the Force?"



PHOBOS
"Again you misunderstand," The Dark Jedi sighed. "It's very tiresome. I misjudged you." Folding his arms over his chest, Moonrider tipped his head at the Dark Jedi guarding the chamber. "Even the smallest snake with the tiniest bite has away of slithering away. These men aren't here to destroy you. They're here to keep you in this room." Slowly, the Dark Lord lowered his hand to his side and removed the pair of lightsabers he had clipped their, taking one into each hand. "And as for your first statement. I do have all the Jedi under my control. All save one, that is. You ... are no Jedi, you don't count.."




Jedi Murra Tekal
His last statement brought a smirk to her lips and she shook her head, watching him unclip that saber that he had in his hands now. Jedi? The definition of the word was one that was a gaurdian of peace, of justice. A caretaker of those who were oppressed, those would had no way of defending themselves. Murra had done all of these things in her life. By deffinition, Murra was a Jedi. Even through her past was riddled with failures, Tekal had taken some of the heaviest burdens onto her shoulders, solved some of the most dangerous of issues and had still managed to come out without a vast number of lives hurt. She was a hero in the eyes of some, looked up to and loved. Her gaze on Moonrider hardened and she shook her head, the only movement to come before her words as they once again fell strongly from her lips. "I am more Jedi then you will ever have the pleasure of knowing in how ever long you will continue to exist."



PHOBOS
With a violet snapp-hiss! the lightsaber in Moonrider's left hand snapped alive, and a purplish-white lightsaber blade extended from the business end of the weapon. "A Jedi?" Moonrider mocked scornfully."A Jedi so plauged by her dark side that she can't even sense the Darkness all around her until it's too late. You - you, Rilan, all of you. You're all fools. Half trained wizardlings with lightsabers calling yourselves Jedi and each running around answering to a code of honor that may ... or may not ... always apply." He hefted the activated lightsaber, twirled it around once, and glanced at the blade. "The woman who bore this weapon was a Jedi. She had control of her fear. Her arrogance," He glanced at Murra, emphasizing the word, "her pride, and her anger." Suddenly, the second lightsaber came to light - a glowing dark violet blade that matched the color of the Dark Lord's eyes. "She's the last Jedi. The rest of you are my servants. To employee as I see fit, and to punish when you disobey." He stepped away from the wall then, pacing slowly towards Murra, both sabers held out before him - the one in the left held at his waist shielding across his torso, and the one in his right held back, slighty above and to the right of his shoulder, the blade hovering above his head. "Shall we demonstrate?"




Jedi Murra Tekal
There was a difference between arrogance and cocky-ness. Murra had learned that difference through the course of her life. She did admit when she was wrong, no matter how hard it was to do. She was not above any one, but she was capable of bettering herself when need be. She had control when she needed it, when it was of the upmost importance. Even with the light from the silverish-purple saber shinning outward through the dimmness, soon to be followed by the shadows of violet, Murra was keeping her emotions at bay. This was a practice that she had employed many many times through her years. She may not have had the best knowledge available to a Jedi, the old ways of the Galactic Republic Jedi having been lost long before her birth. But Murra had done well with what she had been taught. She was accomplished with her own abilities, capable of handling most situations that came to her. Tekal still hadnt drawn her own weapon. The face off could continue, he could move as close as he wished. Murra would not draw until she was sure of not being able to avoid it. As he began closer to her, she shook her head once again, hte light from his weapons casting shadows across her face in a demonic manner. "I am no man's lap dog..."

[ravendarkrebecca]

PHOBOS
"No, you are wasted effort," The Dark Lord sneared, deactivating the silver-purple blade and dropping it to the ground. "I don't think I'll need this one." He crushed the focusing lense of the weapon beneath the heel of his boot, and then smiled brilliantly at Murra, brandishing the dark, purple weapon before him. "And the name is Phobos, my dear." With that, he lifted his free, left hand, and purple toungues of coruscanting lightning errupted from his outstretched fingers and enveloped the Jedi. (done)




Jedi Murra Tekal
That smirk had remained on her lips, not having faded as he insulted her once again. It ment nothing, the tone and the meaning behind everything he had said died away as she prepared herself. There was no fear, no cocky-ness within the Jedi at the moment. She was fully aware of every single student around her, of the man before her, Murra had returned to the clearity, the embrace of hte Light Side. She felt as if she were breathing a-new, coming to find that her dizzy spells had been due to the fact that she was ignoring what the Force had been tryign to tell her. Her own stubborness had cost her oh so much. But no longer, no longer would Murra allow it to hinder her life within the Force. She opened herself to its embrace, welcoming the warm flow that filled her like the sun in the middle of the Corellian spring and early summer. She loved the feeling, she had missed it and was glad to have it back. her joy was short lived, for as Phobos' lightening hit her form, Murra turned her thoughts to embracing this new energy. The coldness of it was what hit her first, then the pain. Both were short lived as she surrendered to the warmth of the Light Side. The lightening was soaked in, her eyes shutting as it did so. Every last ounce of energy that he was expelling, Murra was pulling into herself, forming it into her own body, using it for fuel. It was giving her hightened senses, hightened movement. He was defeating his own purpose with hitting her with this energy. It was not harming her in the least.




PHOBOS
"Nice," The Dark Lord smiled as he thrust outward with his palm, using the Force to create a cushion of air and slamming that pressure down upon the Jedi Master, intent on slamming her across the room. "Most impressive."



Jedi Murra Tekal
The indirect use of the Force was not somethign she could have blocked any way she would have looked at it. It was air, the breath within her lungs. Her eyes opened as she felt the cusion hit her, and within that instant where she was air born, Murra brought her arms closer to her chest, hugging them against herself to help in cusioning her fall. When impact occured, Murra used the momentum of the backward thrust to put herself into a kind of roll, her body was turned, controled by the muscles within her arms. The landing, with how she had pulled it off, would be much softer then if she had simply landed on her back. Atfer about three rolls, Murra felt the coolness of the marble floor beneath her left cheek. She had stopped moving, and Ash...Phobos would need to cross the room some <C>
Jedi Murra Tekal ways to get to her. She brought her knees up beneath her, repositioning her hands to be beneath her shoulders. From there, the Jedi would push herself to her feet. A moment would be required, though, the push back had taken a bit of breath from her lungs and they were now burning. But that would be dealt with all in good time.




PHOBOS
The Dark Lord stalked slowly forward, taking his own time. Around him, the Dark Side swelled, feeding it's rich and abundant power into him. Anger was stirring within him. Deepset anger. And hatred. Had he really been so weak at one time? Here he had been so generous ... he had offerred the Jedi a seat at his side. The Power of the Dark Side. She had power, but it was weak, unfocused, filled with the sickening emotions of the lightside of the Force. Defend yourself, he thought as he watched the Jedi climb to her feet. Because I no longer need to hold back. With his left hand, Phobos shot an arc of dark lightning into the column above Murra's head, showering her with heavy peices of marble and choking the air with dust.

Then, snarling with hatred, the fallen Jedi Master eached out with the Force and clamped a fist of Dark Power around the woman's throat, slowly closing the distance between them. (d)



Jedi Murra Tekal
Murra had pitched herself foward, ignoring the sensation in her lungs. The burning would fade, but not before it got worse. Pain was absolutely nothing, it made no difference to her what her body was feeling. She had a goal, a need to survive. That would carry her through this pain, the lack of air, and any other pain that would come to her. She dove forward, avoiding some of the bigger pieces of column that were falling toward her, all seeming to occur in the nick of time as she had been in the midst of rising when he had launched this new attack. The stubborn Jedi gasped for a moment, taking in a lung full of dust only to become aware that the air would not make it much further then a knot within her throat. She focused on the knot, knowing full well what it was. She pushed outward,<C>
Jedi Murra Tekal expanding her concentration on that small section of her body, as if prying away at the invisable fingers that had wrapped around her air passage ways. Every Force move had one to counter it, one was always capable of defending without using a physical weapon. It was up to that person to know which to use and when to employ it. Even as she was struggling to get a bit of air into her lungs, a small whisp broke through his defense, she was breathing, feeling the energy she had taken in from his Force lightning fading away as she used it in this small manner.

PHOBOS
Moonrider sneered as he felt Murra trying desperately to struggle free of the choke hold the Dark Lord had on her throat. When she broke free, Moonrider gathered the power of the Dark Side thickly around him, drawing on the web of Dark power strung throughout the city of Theed, and with a dismissive swat of his hand through the empty air, threw a wall of pure Force pressure outward, compressing the air and using it to try to hammer at her, intent on driving her back. Disdain and loathing dripped from the Dark Master's voice as he swatted the air with the pure ~power~ of the Dark Side, "You're no match for the power of the Dark Side, Murra. Even in your most glorious darkness, you just don't - have - what - it - takes."

"You never have."



MURRA
The air, cold and stale so as it was, seemed only to grow a bit more colder. The smell of death, decay and sickness filled her awareness. The energy that Phobos was calling on was nothing more then that. The anger that he was using, she had known it at one time. The failure to realize just how much power one had when believing in the good things in life, the hope that struggle afforded, had at one time been lost to her as well.

Even so, with her standing there before the Dark Master, Murra had felt that pull of hopeless-ness welling up deep within her heart. She tingled, her body felt as if tiny little needles had been set aflame then pushed past her skin into her muscles. This all was the side affect of Dark Side use. The lack of breath that had been imposed on her due to the absorbed Force Choke was only hightened with the vise like grip her own past had on her body.

Murra felt herself pushed backward, her boots skidding across the marble floor with a light squeal. She kept her mind centered, her eyes on Phobos. She pulled at the origins of her own power, the momentum of his push had lifted her, tossing her backward in a matter of moments.

But that was the dark side, aggressive and forever angry. When her landing occured, Murra would be hitting the floor on her back. The push was not something that she could have absorbed, even with all her abilities, Murra was not good enough to "soak up" indirect use of the Force when aimed at her. But everyone had their weaknesses, Phobos was just taking the time to remind her of her own.



PHOBOS
"Fool," the Dark Jedi Master muttered under his breath, soaking in the power of the Dark Side as it coursed through him, deadly anger building up in him as he contemplated the wretched failure of a Jedi 'Master' before him.

Reaching out with the power of the Dark Side, the fallen Jedi grabbed the damaged, broken pillar above Murra and ~pulled~ on it. The loosened stone tore free from it's remaining supports with very little encouragement and dropped down towards Murra. "Now pay for your foolishness!"

[Murra Tekal]

Reaction had always been something that was swift for the woman. Wether it was just a quick retort or something more physical, Murra was always in action just in the nick of time. Now it was no different.

From where she lay, Murra heard the soft craking of the pillar, as well as felt the tremmor running through the floor beneath her. She tilted her form, bringing herself to an angle, and from there she allowed the motion to continue, rolling her out of way of the falling pillar. This would not be enough, though, there would be debris to contend with.

The structure of the pillar had been cracked previously, and with the damage that Phobos was inflicting by use of his power, Murra would have large chunks of marble to contend with. She took this into account, reaching outward with the Force to the air around her. In very much the same manner that Phobos had used the atmosphere to push her back, Murra used it to turn the marble chunks away from her, tossing them to the right of her form.

Unfortunately, should no student move out of the way, she was certain there would be blood splattered across the walls due to this move of her's. This was not something she would have wanted. Perhaps that was why she still had yet to draw her lightsaber against the Dark Lord beating up on her.

[ravendarkrebecca]

Several lightsabers crackled throughout the hall as the Dark Jedi knights and students who followed Phobos deflected the fallen rubble that scattered around the room, while the Dark Lord himself stood alone in the center of the room, alone in body.

One with the Dark Side of the Force.

The sheer, incredible power of that Darkness surged through him, revitalizing his youthful and powerful body, eagerly feeding him with greater power than even he could begin to imagine. Sharpening his mind, quickening his reflexes, filling him with almost limitless energy - with the essence of ~power,~ itself.

And in counterpoint to him was the weakened and bloodied figure of his ... well, you couldn't even really call her a foe, really, could you? Certainly not one worthy of his dark power. The Dark Lord was rapidly growing disinterested with toying with the woman, and the notion of simply killing her and having an end to her meddlesome interference in his empire was quite tempting - almost too tempting a notion to ignore.

"What should I do with you, Jedi?" the Dark Lord quiered absently, raising his fingers towards the weakened marble walls above the Jedi and raining black lighting of his Dark power down upon the weakened stone. Heavy chunks of stone rained down on the Jedi from above. And the wall behind her began to creak and weaken. Phobos had no fear the palace could take the punishment he was doling out - durasteel super-thick, blastproof supports laced every wall and structure of the palace - nothing short of all out devastation would truly harm it.

But there was a limit to how much punishment a Jedi could take.

[Murra Tekal]

What got Murra stumped wasnt the irony of the situation, it was the fact that Phobos was drawing on so much dark energy and it was not breaking him down. The Dark Side had reprocussions to its power, a price that everyone paid for tapping into its energy. Ithli Shaon had paid that price, so had Palpatine back in his day. Even Murra, herself had grown pale and sickly from using the Dark Side for her own means.

But Phobos, the only thing she could see from the man at the moment was a dim pallor to his skin. Then again, it could have been the lighting from the energy he was throwing out toward the ceiling above her, as well as the walls behind her.

She pitched herself forward, pulling on the Light Side once again to roll forward. Her right hand dropped to her saber, but didnt pull it from its clasp. Her left, though, had slipped behind her back, unclipping the vibro blade she always carried from its specialized sheath. When she came to meet the floor, Murra tucked and rolled allowing herself to come up on one knee.

Again, with the kind of attack that Phobos was doing, Murra would have to worry about rubble, not that it would be much of a concern. With the marble begining to fall, Murra sought that out, as well, with the Force. Using it as she had been trained to all so long ago, she worked on splitting her attention with it. A piece of it would go toward her own body, enhancing her movements, while another would go to keeping the marble at bay for the moment.

When she came out of the roll, her left hand snapped forward, loosing the vibro blade toward Phobos. Through years of practice with the little weapon, her aim had become as good as it would have been if it were her lightsaber in hand-to-hand combat. She never really missed her mark. Tekal had aimed for his heart, but knew it would probably get deflected, or tossed back at her. At the moment she was buying time, time enough to deal with the marble being held within the Force from falling on her head.

[ravendarkrebecca]

A lightsaber leapt into firey existance in the Dark Lord's hand, catching the vibroblade along the length of the weapon's power and severing the power connections as it slapped the useless blade to the ground. The broken peices clattered harmlessly to the marble floor as the Dark Lord stalked forward, the blade of his lightsaber held out before him, the hilt gripped in both hands, the tip aimed at Murra's throat.

The Dark Lord watched her, bloodied, bruised, staggering under the weight of the suspended marble, and he scorned her. "I could kill you," he contemplated softly, "Or make such an example of you that none of the Jedi would ever disobey me again."

But the moment passed, and the Dark Lord shrugged, stepping back, and he waved his hand in the direction of the throne room's massive door, which opened at his command. "You may go."

[Murra Tekal]

Her chin rose,a pure reaction to having the business end of a lightsaber pointed at her throat. It was, as usual, a reaction born from defiance. Her eyes lingered on his form, her mind still holding the weight of the marble up behind her. It was a heavy load, but nothing that she was not capable of handling.

His words brought questioning to her mind. What would he do to make more of an example out of her then he had already tried? Little consequence this was to Murra. She was learning a lesson that she had so long ago forgotten in her mortality. Much like the lesson she had learned about both the poisoning and reliefe that hope could bring. The dissillusionment was one paved more or less on a road of failure. To her, to her kind, whatever that may be, there was no failure.

The Force, as it was, held only one thing within it: Truth. Whatever occured during one's life time was simply that. It mattered not the judgement that others placed on one during that time frame, but how one saw one's own life that mattered truly the most. Every faltering step that she had taken was ment to happen, all the "wrong" choices she had made had been ment to occur. It was all the whim and fancy of the Force, and she like the good little solider she was, was doing everything that she was ment to do in her own span in the Galaxy.

It was on shaky knees that the woman rose, the Force buffering her mody against the weight of the stone she was holding up behind her. She left the pieces go, one by one to fall to the floor. Her mind was in control of this. Each piece was directed, her control within the Force now having the time to move slowly and to place each piece with great care. None would get hurt in her release of the debris. She would make certain of this.

When the last and final piece had fallen, Murra turned and began toward those large doors that had kept her within the room. There was nothing left for her here on Naboo. There was nothing truly left for her anywhere within the Galaxy. So, why did she continue to exist? Only the Force held that answer.

Her awareness remained high, every part of her being was watching the world around her. If a surprise attack would be mounted, she would be ready and she would defend. But, she doubted it would come down to that. Even still, with the way things were going, Murra wouldnt have put it past Phobos to take cheap shots at her while her back was turned.