Umgul City

Entin and Orlov Residence - Front Entrance


UPD SWAT Officer Saral Rhee looks up when he hears the sound of a ship passing overheard as he and the two SWAT officers with him are rounding the corner of the estate nearest to the front entrance. The distant thunder of the ship's cannons firing precedes the panicked shouts of the SWAT team that he had sent to the rear grounds of the estate by a fraction of a second, and Saral curses Entin and Orlov bitterly when the sharp crackle of blaster rifles firing at the ship ends all too soon. No groans or other sounds are heard when the ship ceases firing, and Saral knows that the other team has been slain even as he shouts for them to report in.

Shaking his head when only silence greets his attempt to contact the other team, Saral motions for the officers with him to continue on to the front entrance. The scene that greets them once they are approaching the entrance is a dispiriting one, their commanding officer's lifeless body laying sprawled on the ground, with the Rodian detectives dead next to his partner, who looks as though she has been terrified out of her wits, and the Sector Ranger wounded and curled into a ball. Motioning one of his officers towards one of the speeders parked outside, Saral says, "Cover the doorway. Check your fire, there's still some Jedi unaccounted for." Nodding when the Sullustan Jedi tells him to help the Sector Ranger, Saral waits until the officer has knelt behind the hood of the speeder and has his blaster rifle trained on the doorway before he goes and, with the help of the third SWAT officer, lifts Madieke up and, with each taking one of her arms over a shoulder, starts moving further away from the front entrance towards where the sounds of sirens are approaching.

After taking a moment to warn the reinforcements about the armed luxury yacht that has entered the fray via his shoulder mounted comlink, Saral asks Pakwa, "What the frell happened? I thought there were just two suspects? No one said anything about droids in the briefing, how many hostile droids are there here? Where are the other Jedi?"



Enroute to Entin and Orlov Residence

As his platoon's LAAT/i speeds over Umgul City, UDF 2LT Nalbandian, a beardless Thisspiasian, leans over the back of the pilot's seat to tell his pilot, Enyo Gabris, "There's a hostile ship in play. Be ready to go evasive if . . ."

"I'm always ready to go evasive, the Zabrak says with a predatory grin accompanying an almost excited tone, and then reaches for the internal comms to tell her gunners, Eyes open and fingers on the triggers guys, we might have to scuttle a . . . she looks over to Nalbandian and asks, What kind of ship is it?"

"Luxury Yacht 3000, armed with . . ."

"An armed Luxury Yacht 3000, Enyo finishes without waiting for the specifics. Once her gunners have all declared their readiness, Enyo asks Nalbandian, Are we issuing a warning, or going in shooting?"

As the ship has already fired on and killed members of the UPD SWAT team, Nalbandian sees no need to warn the ship, and so says cooly, "No warning, terminate with extreme prejudice."

"Sweet, Enyo says, checking her boards to see how near they are to the estate that has become a battle ground and, hitting the button to turn on the main cabin's red lighting to let the other members of the platoon know they are approaching their target, announcing over the LAAT's comms, Three minutes out."

Entin and Orlov Residence

“Obviously they were prepared. . .” Came Ayla’s voice after Saral asked those questions to Pakwa. Looking briefly over her shoulder hearing Atlantis’ voice, not that she didn’t heed his instructions, for she did, as at the same time she pulled out some bacta patches from her utility belt and looked at the wounded they were transporting. “Apply this to her wounds until EMT gets here.” While with certainty she could have, and probably could perhaps heal her wounds, for the time being she was just going to provide the first necessities until the whole conflict is over. Sometimes I wished. . .

“I know, and tonight is not the time.” Replied Mace to that unspoken statement made by her cousin. Eyeing Nazani, who currently was being helped by one of the Jedi, Mace frowned briefly before reaching her awareness to the Force and projecting some peace of mind to the inspector, at least some semblance of peace. But she knew that she wasn’t exactly the ideal, or perfect candidate for some lightsided peace, she was far from entirely light, which was why she turned to look at her cousin. “Ayla, purge the darkside from their minds.”

Nodding, and understanding she knew that her cousin, even Atlantis and his cousin would all make sure that she wouldn’t be interrupted, she sat down and crossed her legs building up the Force to cleanse the people’s mind that had been affected by the affliction that they seemed to have been subjected to.

“Something tells me that Serrin is inside and about to engage either Lyov or Helaine. . .” Said Mace thoughtfully as she kept looking at that luxury yacht that had been hovering there.

Entin and Orlov Estate

As I turn my head and upper body to look behind me for the source of the sharp crackling sound that broke the silence of the darkened room, time seems to slow in the familiar way that it slows when Ashla lends Her swiftness to my movements; even the gentle humming of my lightsabers seeming to slow in tempo. The explosion of glass radiating around the vase that has crashed into it expands slowly as, having turned enough to see it in the soft green glow emanating from my lightsaber and shoto, I find the source of the splintering, tinkling noise that continues to sound forth. I see, too, in an unbroken corner of the shattering mirror, the tall, humanoid figure emerging from the shadows behind me.

My right arm is already moving to protect my eyes as my mind, racing yet still not able to keep pace with my instincts which, gently guided by Ashla, have put together the events I have seen quickly enough to generate a response that has a chance of preventing the trap which has been sprung from closing its jaws on me, still works to process the sensory information that has been gathered. Several shards of glass, moving too fast even with my perception of time seeming to slow them, embed themselves painfully in my forearm, and one buries itself in the left side of my face below my cheekbone as I begin turning to face the figure I had glimpsed in the shattering mirror.

Bringing my left arm down so that Foteini's green blade intercepts the red that is stabbing towards me, I watch as a shower of sparks explodes from the blades as they meet, keening and wailing as they clash. Sound and vision begin to move more swiftly as, following through with the motion of my turn, I launch my right arm out and up, angling it on a diagonal to try and use the shards of mirror that Lyov, for it is he that I see when the light from our weapons illuminates things sufficiently to enable me to see who I am facing, sought to blind or kill me with to slash at his chest or drive him backwards. . .



Pakwa, trying to get Nazani to her feet when the SWAT team and Mist Order arrive on the scene, does her best to answer all of the questions directed at her as she helps the detective, "They must have been warned we were coming, the Sullustan tells the SWAT officer, glancing towards Ayla as the woman's efforts to dispel the Darkside effects that have been afflicting the minds of the initial arrest team begin to make resisting the fear and panic that she had been struggling against easier. Looking towards Atlantis when he is the next to question her, Pakwa tells him with a saddened shake of her head, No other injured, no. One of them, Entin or Orlov, engaged the troopers that approached the home's rear entrance. Trusting that she will not need to spell out that the members of the SWAT team sent to the rear grounds were all killed, Pakwa answers the other questions Atlantis and the SWAT trooper have asked, I think Serrin and I dealt with all of the droids, and then frowns as, looking towards the sound of the shield that has ominously begun to shimmer over the front door, she explains, Serrin stayed inside to search the house."




Percival's wariness of Helaine despite her attempts to sound and appear innocent are great enough that, despite the slowness he can feel spreading through his mind and body like an infection, even though his attention is briefly drawn to the ship that slaughters the SWAT troopers, he reacts quickly enough to the flickering of motion, glimpsed from the corner of his eye, accompanying Helaine's movements to avoid being run through by the blade of her lightfoil.

Sliding his right foot backwards to sidestep and avoid the stab of Helaine's lightfoil, Percival, abandoning further efforts to reason with the Darksider, lifts his lightsaber into a two handed grip and, stepping forward and pivoting around so that her flip and his movement should bring him behind her, swings it down to try and cut her in half from her right shoulder to her left hip . . .

Entin and Orlov Residence

Lyov counters Serrin's riposte with simple distance, kicking backwards with his rear foot to generate momentum so that he performs a reverse jump lunge that takes him out of the range of Serrin's upward swing of her arm. Disengaging his lightfoil from Serrin's lightsaber by moving his right, attacking arm out to his side enough to separate their weapons, Lyov then bends his elbow so that his lightfoil is in an en garde position.

Striving to maintain control of the tempo of their battle, Lyov has no sooner finished opening distance to evade her attack than he launches his riposte. Beginning his riposte by extending his right arm in challenge, aiming the tip of his lightfoil at the level of her neck, to draw Serrin's attention to it, Lyov simultaneously and carefully brings his rear foot up to his front so that he will gain an additional three feet on the reach of the lunge he intends to execute. Hoping that his footwork has been as deceptive as intended, with the resultant abrupt change in tempo and cadence making it difficult at best for Serrin to counter or evade his attack, Lyov follows the challenge with a full forward lunge. As he lunges, Lyov drops his shoulder as his movement is nearly complete, adding a feint to his attack by adjusting the trajectory of his lightfoil so that it is bound for Serrin's left upper thigh in an attempted shiak instead of her neck.



Laughing as much to mock her opponent as in sheer enjoyment of battle, Helaine sees Percival moving to get behind her as her forward roll ends. Turning her head to look over her left shoulder to better block the strike that she correctly anticipated Percival will make, Helaine lifts her right arm swiftly and bends her elbow so that the blade of her lightfoil is angled at an outward diagonal over her right shoulder that intercepts Percival's lightsaber.

Bracing her wrist so that Percival cannot successfully use his weight to try and drive the blade of her lightfoil towards her, Helaine moves her right arm further behind her shoulder so that the one of the quillions of her lightfoil passes through the blade of Percival's lightsaber. Composed, like the knuckle guard, pommel and cup of Helaine's lightfoil hilt, of cortosis, the quillion will render Percival's lightsaber useless for several moments should she succeed in passing the quillion through the blade of his lightsaber.



Having dispatched the last of the SWAT troopers visible on the rear grounds, the FEG-series pilot droids flying the Conlaed begin maneuvering the luxury yacht 3000 towards the landing pad situated beyond the house and pool.

Entin and Orlov Residence — Front Entrance

Arching her eyebrow perplexedly when Atlantis glanced at her, Mace, soon, enough smirked slightly and shook her head, especially when he asked for a thermal detonator. “And here I thought you were going to suggest something else. . .” Said Mace thoughtfully, she wouldn’t passed it against him, or even Franz, if he came to have that certain idea.

Then again something told her that maybe he would have, especially after the stories concerning Andros and the raceways strategic demolition. Knowing, and hearing that Atlantis had issued the orders to the SWAT officer, Mace looked at Saral knowingly. “If you were brief with the layout of the land, I would assume you’d know where everything needs to be destroyed is located?” Glancing briefly at her side and noticing that her cousin was still working on trying to flush out those unwelcomed feeling from everyone that had been affected, Mace soon looked back at Saral just as Atlantis dropped down on the ground.

“I’ll go with you, if and when you decide to set out in finding other means of transportation, none of us will want any more casualties. . .” Gritting her teeth at the desolation, she knew that there were going to be more bodies in the rear entrance.

Finishing up with purging or at least doing her best in purging everyone’s mind with the affliction they had been feeling, Ayla left them with some sort of benign barriers in case before glancing at Atlantis and then back at Mace, “I’ll assist him, while you go on a destruction spree.” Going for a little humor did not hurt, especially after everything that has transpired here. Setting herself by Atlantis to assist him, Ayla began her own battle meditation, something that she was actually trained in, and was knowledgeable in. . .

Entin and Orlov Estate

Feeling Lyov pushing with his lightfoil against the blade of my shoto, I shift my weight onto my left foot to more firmly counter the attempt to force my own weapon into my side. The pain in my right arm, throbbing even more intensely now after having used it to try and strike Lyov with my lightsaber, is almost so distracting that I am unable to, with Ashla's aid, move swiftly enough to evade Lyov's devious attack when the fortifying support of Atlantis and Ayla's battle meditation enables me to process the sequence of events - the sudden absence of resistance against my shoto, coupled with the cessation of the lightfoil's sinister humming that is followed almost instantly by a snap-hiss as it is reactivated - quickly enough to react to them.

Though time seems to slow, and my movements are granted the preternatural swiftness that Ashla can lend to them for those able to work in concert with her, I realize that I will not be able to entirely avoid the clever attack even as I spring nimbly and briskly to my right to try and move out of the reach of Lyov's lightfoil. Hissing as the red hued blade of the lightfoil bites into my left side just below my rib cage, slicing into tissue and muscle but fortunately penetrating no deeper, the smell of burning cloth and flesh accompanying the sudden, sharp pain shaking my concentration enough that time's flow seems to suddenly rush along with brutal swiftness, I raise the index and second fingers of my left hand from the hilt of my shoto as much from near panic as from conscious planning, sending a Force push out towards Lyov to increase the distance between us so that I have a moment to regain my footing.



Percival grunts in pain as the blade of Helaine's lightfoil punches into his stomach, shock all too briefly sparing him the agony of his torn and burned flesh and internal organs. His lightsaber hilt tumbles from his trembling, nerveless fingers as Percival instinctively reaches out to capture Helaine's wrist in both of his hands to prevent her from moving the lighfoil and doing any more damage than has already been done, and he tries to take a few steps backwards on his quivering legs to free himself from the lightfoil.

Crying out, almost as though his first quaking attempted step backwards brings an end to the shock that had spared him the brutal torment that surges through him now, in agony, as he tries to force Helaine's wrist back towards her to remove the lightfoil's blade from his stomach, Percival can feel his strength beginning to bleed from him as the sensation that his insides are ripped, torn and on fire begins to threaten to blot out all conscious thought . . .

Entin and Orlov Residence

Helaine kisses Percival's cheek, already beginning to cool, after he succumbs to death and collapses against her. Unigniting her lightfoil, Helaine shoves Percival's body away from her as casually as a child would cast a broken toy aside, and looks towards the Conlaed as the Luxury Yacht 3000 descends through the mists and sets down on the landing pad several yards away.

Smiling as she begins striding towards the landing bay, thinking that taking the Conlaed and leaving Lyov to his fate is a deliciously contemptuous and cruel way to make it known to him that she has learned all she needs to from him and has no further need of him, Helaine makes it only a few steps before another thought occurs to her and causes her to stop in her tracks. The thought that, upon further consideration, causes Helaine to turn around and begin darting silently through the mists and back towards the rear entrance of the house is how much more satisfying it would be to dispose of her Master now that his usefulness has reached its end and to watch the life leave his eyes as she had watched it leave the eyes of the Jedi now laying dead behind her. Flush from her triumph against all opposition that was sent against her, Helaine never once stops to consider the possibility that Lyov might not prove to be as easy to dispose of as she believes.



As injured as she may be, Serrin is still a skilled enough duelist that her counterattack very nearly costs Lyov his hand, only the instincts and reflexes he has honed throughout the course of his life enabling him to recognize the threat presented by her shoto as well as to react quickly enough to it. As Serrin's shoto is moving from its original position, Lyov ceases the inward swing of his arm and bends his elbow to pull his arm back enough that the knuckle guard of his lighfoil is in the shoto's path rather than his wrist.

Whether or not his response to Serrin's counterattack succeeds in disabling her lightsaber, Lyov retreats several paces backwards to disengage from their duel when he receives an unexpected telepathic message from Atlantis. The fact that there is no threat intentionally carried in the telepathic message Atlantis sends enables Lyov to receive it where the innate mental shielding that some members of his species possess would have otherwise prevented the intrusion. The feeling behind the message Atlantis sends, more so than the words themselves, strikes a chord in Lyov and dampens his fury, if only for a moment. A furrow appears between his brows as Lyov struggles against the desire he has to accept the chance to cease the hostilities and try to explain how, in playing the role of a philanthropist, something awakened in him that has caused him to question his beliefs and even his sense of purpose.

Unaccustomed to communicating telepathically when the intention is to engage in a dialogue rather than to manipulate or attack in some way, Lyov's reply to Atlantis is not as concise, coming in a fragmented fashion as he tries without success to keep pace with his racing and obviously tortured and conflicted thoughts. Count for anything? You tell me, Atlantis. Umgul has two less crime lords than before. A corrupt lawyer that sheltered those criminals and others can do so no more. Charities in need of credits to do their work have been provided with those credits in an abundance they only dreamed possible. And what do I receive in return? Suspicion and now open attack. Is that just, Grandmaster?

Lifting his free hand, keeping his dominant arm held out with his lightfoil pointed downwards rather than at Serrin, Lyov says to the Twi'lek, "Hold. There may be a way to end this peacefully." There is no deception in Lyov's words or actions, both intended to make it clear to Serrin that he wants to cease their duel, if only temporarily. Similarly, Atlantis will be able to sense that Lyov is truly seeking to be understood.



As she nears the rear entrance, Helaine sees the shimmering of the energy shield that protects the door and takes a small device from a pocket that enables her to lower the shield and proceed into the house. Using her command of the Force to conceal her from sight as and to hide her presence in the Force from those within the house as well as from those without, Helaine stalks through the dimly lit halls and rooms until she reaches the main living area just as Lyov's Tràkata nearly claims Serrin's life. Watching Lyov and Serrin continue the duel, Helaine continues stealthily into the living area, stopping once on her way closer to the combatants to bend down and pick up a lightfoil hilt dropped by one of the the ASP-19 battle droids that was destroyed earlier.

Watching the battle between Serrin and Lyov continue for either an opening to turn the tide against her Master or, should he emerge victorious, to kill him as he lowers his guard when the battle ends, Helaine nearly sighs aloud when Lyov bafflingly lifts his hand and pauses the fighting. Determined not to alter her plans despite Lyov's actions, Helaine tilts her head to the side and squints as she lifts her unignited lightfoil in the palm of her right hand and moves it so that it is pointing at the base of Serrin's neck. Lifting her left hand, Helaine repeats the process, aiming the ASP-19's lightsaber hilt towards Lyov's heart.

As he waits for Atlantis to reply, Lyov staggers suddenly as the thermal detonator explodes, opening a narrow crack in the wall that might permit one person to enter at a time. The explosion understandably casts doubt on Lyov's belief that any possibility of reaching an understanding with Atlantis is possible, and he feels foolish for having even entertained the thought that it might be possible to change his path now that he has begun to question it. Furious with Atlantis for what seems to him to have been only a tactical deception, and with himself for having falling victim to it even if only for a moment, Lyov shuts his mind from further intrusion, lifting his dominant hand to point the blade of his lightfoil at Serrin in challenge to make her aware that there will be no peaceful end now.

Helaine steadies herself after the explosion, a delighted smile appearing on her face as she looks at Lyov and sees that his thoughts and attention have returned to his battle with Serrin. Telekinetically sending the lighfoil hilts towards their targets, Helaine ignites them with a thought an instant later as they speed away from her open palms and towards their targets.

Concealing herself in the Force and from sight requires all of Helaine's focus to maintain, and so when she shifts to telekinesis she seems, from Lyov's perspective, to materialize from thin air. His initial confusion, readily apparent on his face, upon seeing Helaine appear with her arms outstretched before her almost proves fatal, Lyov's eyes drawn to her and not immediately registering the pair of red lighfoils that hiss through the air, one towards him and the other towards Serrin.

Lyov's confusion makes his response to the unexpected attack slower than ideal, and while he dodges to the side in time to avoid being struck through the heart, the lightfoil pierces his right side, puncturing his lung and driving him to his knees. Reaching up with his free hand to keep the ASP-19's lightfoil from doing further damage, Lyov unignites it and looks over to where Serrin had been to learn whether she fell to Helaine's attack, and then searches for Helaine as her intention to kill him is undeniably clear.