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At the word "decapitated," Taras turns slightly to Cardis and asks a question through the Force. Attack? Deep down, he suspects it may not be the best plan of action, but he's growing tired of these servants and their arrogance. Cutting them down would be immensely satisfying. And while the group was supposed to leave Poppara alive, there was no mention of Zonnos... and revealing his treachery could even levy them an audience with Poppara.
"How did they speak?" Taras asks. His voice is as quiet and calm as Cardis's. "And why?"
"Better to try and avoid trouble for now. It would probably take longer than its worth." Taras frowns, but he knows it's best if the team goes back into stealthy operations mode. Flexing their muscles a bit--metaphorically--had been a welcome change, but moving openly here would be slow and dangerous.
"We should head for Toydaria. Any chance to find the Hutt is better than failure."
Taras fights the urge to ignite his lightsaber and slash at the console in frustration. It would serve nothing, and probably only look somewhat foolish to the others. "Let's just go. We can always kill Jedi later."
Taras descends likewise, and begins searching as quickly as he can.
Taras stares down at the wreckage for some time, then turns to the others. "We'll find frustration there. I doubt it's the Hutt. And yet... there's something else." He turns back to look. "Cardis, I trust your judgment. There may be something down there, but I doubt very much that it's what we're looking for."
Taras stares down at the site below, contemplating what to do. As logic fails him, with too many factors at play, he reaches out to the Force, his Dark Side powers shaping his probing. Jedi might speak of searching their feelings, but Sith know truly how to let the power of your emotions guide you. Taras, like so many of his brothers, is filled with anger, rage, and a desire for a sense of fulfillment. When he reaches to the Force for guidance, it's a question: Will searching there please me?
"Are we confident our hyperspace route can make up for lost time?" Taras seems more genuinely curious than rhetorical in his question. "We're already behind. Every minute has to count."
Taras wastes little time once the fight starts, although the first blows are exchanged before he moves in. One hand ejects and ignites his burning red lightsaber; the other extends and the fist clenches, drawing the man forward. As he's brought close enough, the saber flashes out.
Taras frowns and whispers to Cardis. "How long do we keep up these negotiations? We're losing time."
Bah, let them watch. My entire purpose in life is to deal with those meddling morons!
Taras glances at Cardis and grins under his helmet. "Are we done kriffing around, then?" With a flick of his wrist, his lightsaber in his hand, and as he steps inside he ignites it--the red energy casting a grim light into the building. "Good."
Taras nods. "Good suggestions."
"Wait!" Taras hisses, a hand reaching out to touch the pilot's chair. "There. See them?" He points to the people and vehicles around the site. "Agents of the DCA. They're sure to cause trouble if we go in openly. Do we want this fight?" Taras's tone is calm, so it isn't clear what answer he thinks is best... if he has a preference at all.
"Let's check the Freight location first," Taras says, peering out the cockpit. "I'd wager the Hutt is most interested in getting offworld. The sooner we find his trail the better. We don't want to wait for anyone to catch up."
Taras waits until the rest of the CSA soldiers are well gone, and when the businesslike man speaks up, he turns his head to look at Noss before stepping forward. "Yes, let's." In a flurry of motion his lightsaber is in his hand, carving up in two swift slashes that hopefully drop the man to the ground in pieces.
So question, since it's looking like we might be coming up to a combat in our game, and we don't want to reveal that we're Sith... How much can I use my Sith sword for, in terms of lightsaber abilities? I know that by base it lets me Block and Deflect, but any chance you'd let it be used for more than that? In particular, being able to use my lightsaber form powers with it would be very helpful. I'd love to have it apply as far as Weapon Finesse and the Ataru talent, but I'm guessing that's a no-go (which makes sense).
I agree--having a fourth to round us out would probably be good.
Taras folds his arms and stands beside Cardis, ready to move if need be. Part of him is still itching for more fighting--it's what he lives for as a Sith, what we he was made for as an Arkanian--but most of him knows it's best if the Niktos make the smart move and take the deal so they can all leave. A prolonged encounter with the CSA wouldn't be beneficial to anyone.
Taras stays calm but ready, his lightsaber one wrist-flick away from springing into his hand and into life.
"I think we can deal with a big lizard." Taras folds his arms and looks to the others to see what they think. "But camping down for the night might be a good idea, too."
Hmm. Honestly I'm very happy with the group we have right now, although a fifth member could provide us with some helpful additions.
Taras, never one to let such an opening stay as such, gathers the Force about him and charges off after the gang.
The Force lends Taras speed, and he leaps on long strides down the street almost half the distance to the gang. At that point he raises his lightsaber and stands ready to strike anyone who comes within reach.
Under his helmet, Taras grins. About time. He focuses his pent-up emotions and rage, and lets the Dark Side move through him, giving him strength and ferocity beyond that of even the Jedi.
Relishing the power the Force gives, Taras reaches out with one hand and focuses his will. One of the nearest gangers is lifted from his swoop bike and comes hurtling toward the Sith, who meets him with another vicious slice of his lightsaber.
As Praxis comes into view, blasting the leader and raising his lightsaber to the CSA pilot's neck, Taras moves forward, ignoring the shadows as he activates his lightsaber. With a sudden leap--empowered with the speed and strength of the Force--he leaps over the swoop leader's bike, a flash of red energy slashing beneath him, and he lands on the other side, spinning to face her with the saber held in both hands.
Taras narrows his eyes at the comments he's hearing. Jedi? A woman with a red lightsaber? There wouldn't be any other Sith here... would there? After a moment he casts the thought from his mind. Foundless rumors. We can use them to our advantage. He probes out with the Force once more, touching Praxis's mind with a brief sense. Ready. He looses his lightsaber into his hand and slips into the plaza, counting on his silent steps, his poncho, and Praxis's Force haze to conceal him.
Taras crouches down at the edge of the alley and looks on. He glances up as the man points, but unless he sees the fighters in question--doubtful--he just narrows his eyes and focuses on the scene before him. Having the CSA on the group's tail would be unfortunate at best, but it could be managed... a fight with a swoop gang, on the other hand, would bring trouble. Taras is certain he and Praxis can defeat the criminals, but he isn't sure they could do it quickly enough to prevent any from escaping--and while it's better than nothing, the sith sword at his hip isn't nearly as graceful as his lightsaber. He moves his gaze to Praxis's position for a moment and sends out a thought through the Force, a question. Attack? Wait?
Taras moves off to shadow Praxis's movements once he contacts the others, his shroud helping to keep him hidden as he flits from shadow to shadow.
When Praxis gestures to the gang and indicates their number, Taras nods and moves to an alley where he can get eyes on their group, to assess the possible threats and prepare for a fight.
While he and Praxis split off to begin their search, Taras also activates his commlink to contact Noss at the ship. "Jerricko, it's Colvin. We're going to be a little longer here than we thought, but we've made contact. Things seem potentially fruitful. Be ready to move on our signal."
Shadowing Cardis and the Nikto, Taras does his best to pick up on the conversation, and he can't help but smile when he realizes a fight seems imminent with the goal of a speeder. He opens his mind to the Force for a moment, reaching out to touch Cardis's mind with a simple message: Call me. Assuming Cardis responds by contact him on the comm, Taras taps Praxis and falls back to enter an alley. "We can help find a speeder if you need one. A fight is no issue. We won't leave any witnesses." If that sounds fine to the nobleman, Taras turns to Praxis and taps his fingers on one thigh. "Split up or stick together? I'm sure it won't take too long to find someone to get a speeder from."
Taras follows Praxis's nod and nods himself, and when he glances back to see the togruta putting those stealthy talents to good use, he decides that it's not a bad idea. He pulls his camouflage shroud from his pack, drapes it over his armor, and begins moving after the Nikto and Cardis, the shroud flickering to life and making it harder to pick him out from the surroundings.
"Who?" Taras has barely finished the question when he realizes the answer. "The CSA, of course. Yes, they likely have medicine. If we could get some discreetly... We should speak with the others about it when they're finished."
"Good to hear it." Taras taps his fingers on his arm and looks at Praxis again. "For what it's worth, it's good to have you on the team. Salacious and I are warriors, and Spectre's good with people, but we need someone with skills in infiltration. It would be a damn shame to lose you on this." After a pause he chuckles. "I like that. 'Motivated to do it faster.' The Sith way."
Taras nods. "The Hutt gave us a dose before we came here. I'm assuming he didn't slip in anything else. But if you've caught it... Well." The Sith frowns. "I don't know if we could synthesize our own antidote or vaccine from what we have. The suite aboard the ship has some medical equipment, but." He trails off and shifts his weight, folds his arms. "You know we'll do what's necessary to complete our mission, yes? We all knew what we were signing up for. Losing an agent would be a shame, but we'll do what we have to."
Taras nods and gestures for Praxis to follow him to the door, where they step outside. He walks a few meters from the bar and takes up a spot leaning against the side of one building. After a few moments of silence, he turns to look at the togruta. "It is just the dry climate, right? Dust in your throat?"
"What does it matter? We're here now." Taras comes to a stop close to the others and folds his arms. "What's going on, Spectre? What have you found?"
Taras leaves the piloting to Praxis, and when the trio reaches town, he slips out of the ship and into the settlement, moving quickly, quietly, and from shadow to shadow where people aren't paying as much attention.
"Indeed." Taras opens the comm up again. "Will do, Spectre. We'll meet you there." He folds his arms for a moment. "Let's set down closer to the town, still out of the way but close enough. Lock up the ship and make this meeting quick."
"It sounded like Cardis was with someone," Taras comments. The sun is rising and the trio of Sith agents have come out of their meditative rest. "Perhaps it's wisest to let him contact us." Taras looks at Praxis with concern for a few seconds as the togruta starts coughing, but once it's cleared up he shrugs it off.
Well actually, since I rigged it with the detonator rather than just chucking it in, there are a few more rules on it. My Mechanics check was a 33, which means that the explosive in question ignores damage reduction and deals double damage (I was close to triple, but ah well). That means 16d6 damage going straight to the engine block with nothing to stop it. On average that's 56 damage. I don't know off the top of my head just how much that damages an engine, but it seems like a fair amount.
Cool. Sad to hear that the Jedi are disappearing, and that we'll never get to have our super-awesome Imperial Showdown of Doom, but I fully understand.
Taras blows his breath out slowly, then nods and opens the comms again. "Alright. Hunker down, Spectre. We'll find you tomorrow." When the comms close, he removes his helmet and looks to Praxis and Noss. "Looks like we're setting down for the night. Let's find somewhere a little ways off and get some rest. I assume you can both enter trance?"
"Spectre, it's Dashwind. Negative on finding the Hutt, but we got some other information. Figured it would be good to regroup. Where can we find you?"
"Somewhere near the city, but not too close, I think. Keep checking for him every few minutes, on and off to avoid detection." Taras frowns at the lack of contact with their teammate, but there isn't much to be done at the moment.
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