Post by Lady Zahra/Jules on Dec 3, 2005 9:05:08 GMT
NOTE: Please read the 3rd chapter before starting this one so you can understand the events unfolding.
Damien finally made it to the medical wing only to find Arael in the throws of another contraction. A staff member held her hand as she was bent over and using breathing techniques to lessen the pain. Her reddish locks were plastered to her forehead as she turned to see him walk into the room. She outstretched her hand urging him forward. Damien did not hesitate as he dropped his cloak on a nearby chair and took the hand of his wife. He kissed her forehead and spoke softly in her ear helping to encourage her as the contraction passed.
“Glad…you could make it.” She smiled at the joke as he held her hand tightly and brushed her hair off of her brow.
“What can I say? Traffic was hectic.” They both laughed as his look of concern passed over her face. “How are you doing?”
Arael shrugged as she shifted her weight on the bed a little and smiled at him. “Not too shabby. Your son seems to pick the perfect time to make his appearance. He waits until you’re pulled away from me.”
“I’m here now.”
Both turn as the doctor walked back into the room. He smiled at the couple before moving to check to see how far along she was. “Looks like Daddy had the perfect timing. I’ll go and get things ready.”
Damien nodded his head to the doctor and turned back to Arael kissing her forehead again. “Did you hear that?”
She nodded her head and then her face scrunched again in pain as she cried out a little. Another contraction had struck her and this one was stronger than the ones before. Her hand squeezed his hard.
Selae leaned against the door to the listening to the footsteps in the hallway. It was only when he had moved close to it that she moved away and used the Force to jump up. Catching herself on the ledge, she watched the door closely. All around the room were books...various collections from all his years as a Master and back to the times of Tamir's reign. From above she watched him enter the room like an owl watching a mouse in the darkness.
His steps were being silenced as he walked upon the fine red silk as he walked through the many hallways that formed the books of the library. The tapestries floated backwards with the breeze his walking created adding a slight rustling sound.
His slow, almost calculated movements stalking into the shadows of the study as would a predator, his eyes scanning ever corner of the room finding nothing but the darkness. He knew better then to believe she had escaped. Even through his rage, his clarity was astonishing and focused, as always. The emerald eyes she knew so well reflected the light of the lightning as she looked at him. All of his senses remained alert through the oppressive silence of the room and the raging chaos outside. The calm beating of his heart was loud in his ears. Ranka also heard the beating of another heart within this same room, the heart of Selae from which he so pleasantly thought of removing from her. She will realize her mistake of having re-opened wounds from the distant pass in such a repulsive manner. He could hear her heart accelerate as well as hearing every single one of her thoughts. They were thoughts of the suicidal thrill that had driven her here to torment him in such a manner.
In all of his life he had loathed the Sith. He detested them. Now just like them he hated her, and her only for this moment from which words could not describe the depth. Serpents of red energy circulated around the hands of the Dematri, gradually enhancing its intensity as he walked closer to her. Finally, when she thought she had been detected, he turned his back to her.
"Know this, Selae...this Universe isn't big enough for you to hide from me. Where ever you run, I will find you and put your destiny to its inevitable end - " He turned around with the dark claded firearm aimed at her just as the lightning betrayed her presence into the darkness. She held her breath as she realized the power he was about to use against her. "Sith!"
He fired, and unleashed the immense energy held within his arm. The electric current flowed through the weapon and into the bullet, heating it until it became another shooting-star within the night. It was followed by a trail of crimson lightning. Its color, which had been changed under the influence of his willpower, manifested all the hatred he felt for her. All of this was condensed into a single projectile that would prove to be her death if she were close enough to be touched even by the nearby threads of the raw, red energy. She would either live or die by her own decision. The force that once had filled the room seemed to have been sucked dry so she would receive no help this time.
Hearing his words and feeling his hatred was one thing. Seeing the projectile heading towards her and knowing the force behind it she knew he meant to kill her quickly and viciously was completely another. If she didn't jump down to face him, then she would meet her end here. Simply running down the ledge wouldn't get her far enough away from the impact. She did the only thing she could have done at that point, leaped off of the ledge; she landed heavily on her two feet with one hand down on the ground to steady her. Her other hand held the lightsaber, which had been lit mid-flight. The shock of the jump reverberated through her legs as she felt the pain in the bottoms of her feet and her joints. Once steadied, she rose up from the ground. The bullet hit the wall along with the lightning as a flash of crimson light and the scent of scorched paintings and stone filled the air. Debris from the wall and tendrils of burnt fabric fell down around her dusting her cloak and hair with white powder. The humor in her eyes was now gone. Instead they were filled with a deep seated hatred for the man standing in front of her and astonishment.
"You surprised me with that attack, Ranka." She hated not feeling the Force about her, but it wasn't the first time either. Her time as Adesia had gotten her used to such things, yet her weaving abilities were weakened in this body.
A gentle breeze started to fill the room as if the window had broken. It was then her teeth were bared and she moved towards him with speed brandishing her lightsaber in high guard towards Ranka. He had time to prepare for the inevitable attack as she heard the scratching ring of the blade leaving the scabbard again. Lightning flashed drenching the room with bright white light as the ghost like apparition that was really Selae moved towards him and swung the lightsaber violently towards his chest.
Her blade met his in a clashing hiss from her saber as it sent white hot, thunderous flames around them from the impact. Yet something had gone horribly wrong in her attack. She did not dare to call such a pathetic attempt an offensive move against her enemy as an attack for now her own lightsaber was closer to her face.
Risking a glance to her side, she saw the bright reflection of her oceanic saber in the dark mirror of the blade by her neck. Her struggling hands held the saber before her as the only thing preventing her head from being severed from the rest of her body by the Horiarukon. The ancient blade was being pushed ever closer with growing strength from the Force. She knew she had to get away from him as his blade pushed closer to her neck again. Her attempts to push him away were futile. He was consumed with decapitating her.
She finally gathered enough strength to push away from him as his sword still came close enough to knick the biosuit of Cortana's neck. His blade sunk deeper through to hit her flesh and draw a thin crimson line across the pale skin. The biosuit was displaced atop her head a bit giving a sickly look to Cortana as the face went slack. Backing away from Ranka, she ripped off the rest of the head and let loose her brunette mane of hair. Finally, they were literally face to face.
"Did you treat Cortana with such gentleness as this?" she asked him sarcastically. Her words resonated through deathly silence after the loud clang of battle stilled for only a moment. He saw her goal in this game. She wished nothing more then to torment him as much as he had done to her. Yet, unlike her, he had no use of talking about things he barely knew. She, on the other hand had crossed the line beyond her station and sneaked into his past, followed by making false accusations from things she barely knew. He had heard enough of her words and sarcasm. As an answer, he simply pressed on with his attack.
His silence spoke volumes as his sword made great arcs into the air, slicing throughout the many shelves and tables held within the library. The lightsaber followed suit as it arced around to protect her wielder. Flames ignited the books burning away thousands of years of recorded accomplishments of the Nem'vaah order. The flickering flames mirrored the hate both the Dematri and she shared.
His demonic strength pushed her back, finally she encountered the wall. Having to support the dying strength in her arms blocking his mighty blows, she found herself having to draw upon her reserves to fuel her defense. His attacks seemed only to be gaining in intensity with blow. Ranka broke her guard as he swiped the oriental blade across to her side creating a straight line across her right arm with surgical precision. Raising the blade into the air to hammer it down over her head, he prepares to deliver a death blow.
She lets out a cry of pain as the blade slices into the biosuit and cuts the flesh beneath. Her saber drops to the floor as the creamy skin of the biosuit reforms over the wound. Her eyes look up to see his blade descending towards her head. Selae kicks up with her knee jabbing him hard right in the groin. The move was one she hoped would belay the blade from its descent and give her room to escape him.
The Dematri fell to his knees as if he had been struck by a meteor, dropping his weapon, the pain surged through every nerve of his body. The great Ranka Darkbroode lay at her feet whimpering. Thank the force for the natural weaknesses of men, she thought as she ran as far as she possibly could from the Nem'vaah. Selae ran through the incandescent books and parchments on the stoned floor of the room, trying to put some space between her and the Nem’vaah master before her strength failed her.
The thunder echoed along with her steps and heavy breath as the wounds and fatigue started to course through her being. Running into the darkness, she rounded as many corners as she could to escape the sight of the enraged master and concentrated to reconnect with the Force. It was hard in this place of the ancient Nem'vaah. Pain coursed through her body as she tried to use the ancient sith technique to transcend pain. Even her weariness seemed to fade a little as she had made finally connected to her only lifeline. Ranka was powerful, this she had known for a long time. Yet, she thought herself capable to bring the great man down. He should have been confused in all the torment and not so focused.
Yet just as she thought the door would be in her sight, the horrific sound of Ranka's blade pierced through the air. Holding her breath out of surprise, the blade caught cut a few meshes of her hair as it raised upward, slicing the ceiling in two halves. Outside the lightning echoing loudly in unison with the havoc the blade wrought. The rain began to fall upon them as did rubble from the ancient rock. Spinning around quickly, she brought her lightsaber up to block his next attack as rain and rubble poured down around them both. Her hair weighed down by the pouring rain fell into her face obscuring part of her vision. Selae’s chest heaved with exertion as she pushed back and swung again towards him mightily. A hissing sound and clouds of smoke rose from around the lightsaber as the raindrops were literally boiled to vapor. She would kill him or at least bring him down if it was the last thing she did.
His blade drove itself down into a guard. The blow sent golden sparks in between the blades shining brightly like a sun within the darkness as their weapons collided. Not a single drop of rain met the ground as their blades parted briefly only to resume their onslaught. The intensity of the battle kept rising as each opponent sought to bring down his or her enemy.
Both became blurs within the light of the moon and the mist of rain, which evaporated from contact with the saber and was pushed away by the blade of the Dematri. The raindrops formed a dome over them as if held by some unseen force while elsewhere it fell unhindered. The impact of the blades gradually caused more apparent shockwaves, separating the two masters more so from the wrath of the elements. These same explosions, created by the blade of the Nem'vaah connecting to hers, she could feel within the force. They released a dangerous amount of force energy forcing her to push herself beyond what she physically would have been capable of without her training. She quickly realized his technique was not so different then what she was doing this instant; driving the force into her attacks to take advantage of her foe. The process, however, was tiring. Exhaustion would follow if she couldn't put an end to this battle soon. This did not seem to be a problem for Ranka. She had to admire his well thought way of fighting. While the force did not flow constantly within his movements, he could spare himself the use of useless and tiresome movements within the force. He only unleashed its full energy only when needed and thus, allowed himself a much greater stamina in a fight like this. Selae could not figure out as how exactly someone could gather enough of their spirit into the split second decisions required in an attack. At other times, she could have pondered this, yet now she neither wished it nor cared. She wanted to see the corpse of this being before the first rays of the sun would pierce the horizon.
Now the only thing standing between them was thin air and each others blades as they stood in a dome of rain. Both blades encountered each other faster then an automatic weapon could possibly fire. The weapons fiercely met at the very top of the dome. As they jumped toward one another, both blades locked in the very center of the sphere in a final explosion. The circle of rain dropped heavily like a fist upon their shoulders as they pushed their swords towards one another. The heat was starting to build in between the two as rain evaporated before touching either blade within lock. Both stood face to face, green eyes meeting ice cold blue eyes in mutual hatred as their warm breaths sent puffs of smoke outward in their panting to regain their breath. The blades raked against each other in spectacular sparks and hissing as they both finally pushed the other away and regrouped.
The moment in which the blades weren't locked was not long lived.
Immediately, they both rushed in to meet each other again. Almost a rekindled ferocity possessed them both as grunts could be heard with each thrust of the blade and each twist and turn. She had to admit she was tiring and the Force was the only thing keeping her alive at this point. The two were well matched, yet Ranka, with his years of experience was greater than her and her few. Eventually, he would get the best of her. Both she and he knew it. Another method had to be used if she was to survive.
As she twisted away from him after the crash-hiss of the two blades met again mightily, she felt blade ripping through the suit and into her side. She arched her back and screamed out in pain stumbling away from him. He came forward with his blade. Still his face showed nothing but coldness and utter hate for the woman that had mocked everything he had loved. She was the epitome of all he hated. The sith woman's time had been coming and was well past due. His hand moved to brush the drenched hair out of his face and came back to the hilt to raise it up in a move to behead her as she was bent over in pain. She knew he was coming. Using this time to draw upon the force and gasping through the pain, she waited until he was nearer and raising the blade before turning her face quickly, letting her wet hair swing backwards and reaching out. Erupting from her fingertips were tiny bolts of pure blueish-white energy racing towards him.
His eyes narrowed as he saw it rushing to meet the gap between them.
Pulling one hand off of the blade, he reached out with quick reflexes and issued his own crimson lightning toward her. The two energy sources met with a cataclysmic crack and flash of bright light. Both of them used their reserves of the Force to push the lightning past. A weakened and pained Selae found herself being overcome by the Assyrian lightning. It hit her fully in the chest sending her backwards through one of the temple walls.
“Push!” The doctor’s order was clear as Arael sat up and pushed with all her might. “Come on, Arael. Keep on pushing...” The physician’s hands moved towards the suction bulb as he cradled the head of the babe in his arms and suctioned the nose and mouth out.
Damien looked down at the face of his son with excitement in his face as he encouraged her as well. Arael pushed hard one more time and then lay back on the bed exhausted. The doctors suctioned his mouth and lungs out again as the sound of the infant’s crying filled the room. Arael laughed with joy as tears fell down her face. “It’s a boy,” the doctor told both parents happily.
The nurses wiped his face and hands gently before wrapping his tiny form in a blanket and handing him to the waiting arms of Arael. She held him close to her and looked upon her precious son’s face before looking up to see the reaction of her husband.
Damien found himself unable to speak as he simply moved his hand to take the tiny hand of his son and then moved down to kiss Arael’s forehead again. The infant’s eyes winked from the sudden flood of lights still as they darted from his mother and father. Each time one of them spoke to him, his eyes moved toward them.
Arael’s gaze stayed upon him as she spoke between her cooing. “What shall we name him?”
Damien looked at the blue eyes of his boy and proudly uttered the name. “Kieran.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Kieran. I like that.” Her gaze turned back to her son as he seemed to be drifting into sleep tired from the ordeal.
She fought against losing consciousness as the dark figure of Ranka moved forward yet again. He stepped over the rubble as if it were nothing beneath his boots. The emerald green eyes looked to and fro in the room to see try to find any trace of her. The darkness hid her form until a flash of lightning illuminated the room. Like a hawk, his eyes turned towards her quickly as she raised her hand up again and used the Force to pick up one of the large, heavy chunks of stone wall and hurl it at him hoping to send him backwards. If she could get him away from her, she could make a break for the opening and run towards her ship. It was her only hope now. She was not going to defeat him this day.
A loud groan was heard as the wall struck the figure bearing the eyes of pure emerald, shattering and burying the Nem'vaah under an impressive amount of rock. She knew that this would not hold him very long. Using what time was given to her, she ran through the hole she had just made in the temple using all of her remaining strength, both within the force and in her weakening self, to escape to her ship.
Rain caressed her cheek again as she nearly flew out of the old structure. The tears from the sky poured down heavily upon the plains of the peaceful planet as the storm was reaching its climax. The rumbling of the thunder and lightning became a glass shattering series of blasts within the clouds, as if the very hate the Dematri inspired the clouds with his evil intent. She did not care as she simply wished to put an end to this eternal confrontation she had bared with him over the course of the past years. Rage filled her thoughts as she knew well that there were no problems she could solve through an act as she tried here. He had prevented her to rise as the Dark Lord in a fateful confrontation on Korriban and humiliated her beyond contempt; and, he had been a spoiler to all of her plans. Neither her words, nor her acts had been strong enough to remove him from the chain of these events. His words had put Kyra in an inability to continue her own plans against the galaxy, thus slowing ultimately even Selae’s. Now, her plans had failed again as he proved to be one of the most, if not the most dangerous of her adversaries. Shrouding himself under a veil of shadows, she had never expected such things from any living being. He was able to manipulate her schemes against her all but through sheer will.
Another blast roared across the field, a blast which did not belong to the vengeful skies above her. This blast was one from a murderous weapon. Her reflexes being slowed from the fatigue, another sharp pain pierced through all the muscles of her body. She could feel another of the damned projectiles inserting itself in her flesh. Nearly losing her balance, she finally arrived at her ship, jumping right into the cockpit unceremoniously to turn on all the systems through the force as she knew them by heart. Selae had to get away from this place immediately.
Loud bangs resonated against the durasteel as she lifted off into the atmosphere only to finally cease as the ship slowly drifted off the orbit of the planet. Her torment receded, bringing her back from the precipice of madness. Pain was her only companion in the cold infinite space.
Entering the hyperspace coordinate, she saw her location appearing on her holoscreen as the planet of Nem'vaar. She stood silently as her finger stopped above the delete command. Taking a deep breath she pushed the button erasing all data files of the strange world. Only then did her ship disappear as it entered hyperspace. Finally, she was allowed to rest. Fighting the best she could the vision of the Emerald eyes out of her mind she fell into a deep sleep...
The dark silhouette stood within the pitch of night, glaring long at the few stars that pierced through the black clouds in the weakening storm in hopes to have a last sight of the person he hated with such passion. Somehow, he knew this was the last of their encounters...this having been both at once the pinnacle and the end of their confrontations. He turned back into the darkness of the temple walking through the destruction both of them had caused in their wake. Arriving at the central hall, he realized he still held his weapon in hand. Sheathing it, a grim satisfaction ran throughout his face as he sat upon the center of the dome. She had lost...
Chapter 4 - The Vicious Circle of Joy and Hate
Written by: Kelly (Kyra) and Ranka
Written by: Kelly (Kyra) and Ranka
Damien finally made it to the medical wing only to find Arael in the throws of another contraction. A staff member held her hand as she was bent over and using breathing techniques to lessen the pain. Her reddish locks were plastered to her forehead as she turned to see him walk into the room. She outstretched her hand urging him forward. Damien did not hesitate as he dropped his cloak on a nearby chair and took the hand of his wife. He kissed her forehead and spoke softly in her ear helping to encourage her as the contraction passed.
“Glad…you could make it.” She smiled at the joke as he held her hand tightly and brushed her hair off of her brow.
“What can I say? Traffic was hectic.” They both laughed as his look of concern passed over her face. “How are you doing?”
Arael shrugged as she shifted her weight on the bed a little and smiled at him. “Not too shabby. Your son seems to pick the perfect time to make his appearance. He waits until you’re pulled away from me.”
“I’m here now.”
Both turn as the doctor walked back into the room. He smiled at the couple before moving to check to see how far along she was. “Looks like Daddy had the perfect timing. I’ll go and get things ready.”
Damien nodded his head to the doctor and turned back to Arael kissing her forehead again. “Did you hear that?”
She nodded her head and then her face scrunched again in pain as she cried out a little. Another contraction had struck her and this one was stronger than the ones before. Her hand squeezed his hard.
***********
Selae leaned against the door to the listening to the footsteps in the hallway. It was only when he had moved close to it that she moved away and used the Force to jump up. Catching herself on the ledge, she watched the door closely. All around the room were books...various collections from all his years as a Master and back to the times of Tamir's reign. From above she watched him enter the room like an owl watching a mouse in the darkness.
His steps were being silenced as he walked upon the fine red silk as he walked through the many hallways that formed the books of the library. The tapestries floated backwards with the breeze his walking created adding a slight rustling sound.
His slow, almost calculated movements stalking into the shadows of the study as would a predator, his eyes scanning ever corner of the room finding nothing but the darkness. He knew better then to believe she had escaped. Even through his rage, his clarity was astonishing and focused, as always. The emerald eyes she knew so well reflected the light of the lightning as she looked at him. All of his senses remained alert through the oppressive silence of the room and the raging chaos outside. The calm beating of his heart was loud in his ears. Ranka also heard the beating of another heart within this same room, the heart of Selae from which he so pleasantly thought of removing from her. She will realize her mistake of having re-opened wounds from the distant pass in such a repulsive manner. He could hear her heart accelerate as well as hearing every single one of her thoughts. They were thoughts of the suicidal thrill that had driven her here to torment him in such a manner.
In all of his life he had loathed the Sith. He detested them. Now just like them he hated her, and her only for this moment from which words could not describe the depth. Serpents of red energy circulated around the hands of the Dematri, gradually enhancing its intensity as he walked closer to her. Finally, when she thought she had been detected, he turned his back to her.
"Know this, Selae...this Universe isn't big enough for you to hide from me. Where ever you run, I will find you and put your destiny to its inevitable end - " He turned around with the dark claded firearm aimed at her just as the lightning betrayed her presence into the darkness. She held her breath as she realized the power he was about to use against her. "Sith!"
He fired, and unleashed the immense energy held within his arm. The electric current flowed through the weapon and into the bullet, heating it until it became another shooting-star within the night. It was followed by a trail of crimson lightning. Its color, which had been changed under the influence of his willpower, manifested all the hatred he felt for her. All of this was condensed into a single projectile that would prove to be her death if she were close enough to be touched even by the nearby threads of the raw, red energy. She would either live or die by her own decision. The force that once had filled the room seemed to have been sucked dry so she would receive no help this time.
Hearing his words and feeling his hatred was one thing. Seeing the projectile heading towards her and knowing the force behind it she knew he meant to kill her quickly and viciously was completely another. If she didn't jump down to face him, then she would meet her end here. Simply running down the ledge wouldn't get her far enough away from the impact. She did the only thing she could have done at that point, leaped off of the ledge; she landed heavily on her two feet with one hand down on the ground to steady her. Her other hand held the lightsaber, which had been lit mid-flight. The shock of the jump reverberated through her legs as she felt the pain in the bottoms of her feet and her joints. Once steadied, she rose up from the ground. The bullet hit the wall along with the lightning as a flash of crimson light and the scent of scorched paintings and stone filled the air. Debris from the wall and tendrils of burnt fabric fell down around her dusting her cloak and hair with white powder. The humor in her eyes was now gone. Instead they were filled with a deep seated hatred for the man standing in front of her and astonishment.
"You surprised me with that attack, Ranka." She hated not feeling the Force about her, but it wasn't the first time either. Her time as Adesia had gotten her used to such things, yet her weaving abilities were weakened in this body.
A gentle breeze started to fill the room as if the window had broken. It was then her teeth were bared and she moved towards him with speed brandishing her lightsaber in high guard towards Ranka. He had time to prepare for the inevitable attack as she heard the scratching ring of the blade leaving the scabbard again. Lightning flashed drenching the room with bright white light as the ghost like apparition that was really Selae moved towards him and swung the lightsaber violently towards his chest.
Her blade met his in a clashing hiss from her saber as it sent white hot, thunderous flames around them from the impact. Yet something had gone horribly wrong in her attack. She did not dare to call such a pathetic attempt an offensive move against her enemy as an attack for now her own lightsaber was closer to her face.
Risking a glance to her side, she saw the bright reflection of her oceanic saber in the dark mirror of the blade by her neck. Her struggling hands held the saber before her as the only thing preventing her head from being severed from the rest of her body by the Horiarukon. The ancient blade was being pushed ever closer with growing strength from the Force. She knew she had to get away from him as his blade pushed closer to her neck again. Her attempts to push him away were futile. He was consumed with decapitating her.
She finally gathered enough strength to push away from him as his sword still came close enough to knick the biosuit of Cortana's neck. His blade sunk deeper through to hit her flesh and draw a thin crimson line across the pale skin. The biosuit was displaced atop her head a bit giving a sickly look to Cortana as the face went slack. Backing away from Ranka, she ripped off the rest of the head and let loose her brunette mane of hair. Finally, they were literally face to face.
"Did you treat Cortana with such gentleness as this?" she asked him sarcastically. Her words resonated through deathly silence after the loud clang of battle stilled for only a moment. He saw her goal in this game. She wished nothing more then to torment him as much as he had done to her. Yet, unlike her, he had no use of talking about things he barely knew. She, on the other hand had crossed the line beyond her station and sneaked into his past, followed by making false accusations from things she barely knew. He had heard enough of her words and sarcasm. As an answer, he simply pressed on with his attack.
His silence spoke volumes as his sword made great arcs into the air, slicing throughout the many shelves and tables held within the library. The lightsaber followed suit as it arced around to protect her wielder. Flames ignited the books burning away thousands of years of recorded accomplishments of the Nem'vaah order. The flickering flames mirrored the hate both the Dematri and she shared.
His demonic strength pushed her back, finally she encountered the wall. Having to support the dying strength in her arms blocking his mighty blows, she found herself having to draw upon her reserves to fuel her defense. His attacks seemed only to be gaining in intensity with blow. Ranka broke her guard as he swiped the oriental blade across to her side creating a straight line across her right arm with surgical precision. Raising the blade into the air to hammer it down over her head, he prepares to deliver a death blow.
She lets out a cry of pain as the blade slices into the biosuit and cuts the flesh beneath. Her saber drops to the floor as the creamy skin of the biosuit reforms over the wound. Her eyes look up to see his blade descending towards her head. Selae kicks up with her knee jabbing him hard right in the groin. The move was one she hoped would belay the blade from its descent and give her room to escape him.
The Dematri fell to his knees as if he had been struck by a meteor, dropping his weapon, the pain surged through every nerve of his body. The great Ranka Darkbroode lay at her feet whimpering. Thank the force for the natural weaknesses of men, she thought as she ran as far as she possibly could from the Nem'vaah. Selae ran through the incandescent books and parchments on the stoned floor of the room, trying to put some space between her and the Nem’vaah master before her strength failed her.
The thunder echoed along with her steps and heavy breath as the wounds and fatigue started to course through her being. Running into the darkness, she rounded as many corners as she could to escape the sight of the enraged master and concentrated to reconnect with the Force. It was hard in this place of the ancient Nem'vaah. Pain coursed through her body as she tried to use the ancient sith technique to transcend pain. Even her weariness seemed to fade a little as she had made finally connected to her only lifeline. Ranka was powerful, this she had known for a long time. Yet, she thought herself capable to bring the great man down. He should have been confused in all the torment and not so focused.
Yet just as she thought the door would be in her sight, the horrific sound of Ranka's blade pierced through the air. Holding her breath out of surprise, the blade caught cut a few meshes of her hair as it raised upward, slicing the ceiling in two halves. Outside the lightning echoing loudly in unison with the havoc the blade wrought. The rain began to fall upon them as did rubble from the ancient rock. Spinning around quickly, she brought her lightsaber up to block his next attack as rain and rubble poured down around them both. Her hair weighed down by the pouring rain fell into her face obscuring part of her vision. Selae’s chest heaved with exertion as she pushed back and swung again towards him mightily. A hissing sound and clouds of smoke rose from around the lightsaber as the raindrops were literally boiled to vapor. She would kill him or at least bring him down if it was the last thing she did.
His blade drove itself down into a guard. The blow sent golden sparks in between the blades shining brightly like a sun within the darkness as their weapons collided. Not a single drop of rain met the ground as their blades parted briefly only to resume their onslaught. The intensity of the battle kept rising as each opponent sought to bring down his or her enemy.
Both became blurs within the light of the moon and the mist of rain, which evaporated from contact with the saber and was pushed away by the blade of the Dematri. The raindrops formed a dome over them as if held by some unseen force while elsewhere it fell unhindered. The impact of the blades gradually caused more apparent shockwaves, separating the two masters more so from the wrath of the elements. These same explosions, created by the blade of the Nem'vaah connecting to hers, she could feel within the force. They released a dangerous amount of force energy forcing her to push herself beyond what she physically would have been capable of without her training. She quickly realized his technique was not so different then what she was doing this instant; driving the force into her attacks to take advantage of her foe. The process, however, was tiring. Exhaustion would follow if she couldn't put an end to this battle soon. This did not seem to be a problem for Ranka. She had to admire his well thought way of fighting. While the force did not flow constantly within his movements, he could spare himself the use of useless and tiresome movements within the force. He only unleashed its full energy only when needed and thus, allowed himself a much greater stamina in a fight like this. Selae could not figure out as how exactly someone could gather enough of their spirit into the split second decisions required in an attack. At other times, she could have pondered this, yet now she neither wished it nor cared. She wanted to see the corpse of this being before the first rays of the sun would pierce the horizon.
Now the only thing standing between them was thin air and each others blades as they stood in a dome of rain. Both blades encountered each other faster then an automatic weapon could possibly fire. The weapons fiercely met at the very top of the dome. As they jumped toward one another, both blades locked in the very center of the sphere in a final explosion. The circle of rain dropped heavily like a fist upon their shoulders as they pushed their swords towards one another. The heat was starting to build in between the two as rain evaporated before touching either blade within lock. Both stood face to face, green eyes meeting ice cold blue eyes in mutual hatred as their warm breaths sent puffs of smoke outward in their panting to regain their breath. The blades raked against each other in spectacular sparks and hissing as they both finally pushed the other away and regrouped.
The moment in which the blades weren't locked was not long lived.
Immediately, they both rushed in to meet each other again. Almost a rekindled ferocity possessed them both as grunts could be heard with each thrust of the blade and each twist and turn. She had to admit she was tiring and the Force was the only thing keeping her alive at this point. The two were well matched, yet Ranka, with his years of experience was greater than her and her few. Eventually, he would get the best of her. Both she and he knew it. Another method had to be used if she was to survive.
As she twisted away from him after the crash-hiss of the two blades met again mightily, she felt blade ripping through the suit and into her side. She arched her back and screamed out in pain stumbling away from him. He came forward with his blade. Still his face showed nothing but coldness and utter hate for the woman that had mocked everything he had loved. She was the epitome of all he hated. The sith woman's time had been coming and was well past due. His hand moved to brush the drenched hair out of his face and came back to the hilt to raise it up in a move to behead her as she was bent over in pain. She knew he was coming. Using this time to draw upon the force and gasping through the pain, she waited until he was nearer and raising the blade before turning her face quickly, letting her wet hair swing backwards and reaching out. Erupting from her fingertips were tiny bolts of pure blueish-white energy racing towards him.
His eyes narrowed as he saw it rushing to meet the gap between them.
Pulling one hand off of the blade, he reached out with quick reflexes and issued his own crimson lightning toward her. The two energy sources met with a cataclysmic crack and flash of bright light. Both of them used their reserves of the Force to push the lightning past. A weakened and pained Selae found herself being overcome by the Assyrian lightning. It hit her fully in the chest sending her backwards through one of the temple walls.
*******
“Push!” The doctor’s order was clear as Arael sat up and pushed with all her might. “Come on, Arael. Keep on pushing...” The physician’s hands moved towards the suction bulb as he cradled the head of the babe in his arms and suctioned the nose and mouth out.
Damien looked down at the face of his son with excitement in his face as he encouraged her as well. Arael pushed hard one more time and then lay back on the bed exhausted. The doctors suctioned his mouth and lungs out again as the sound of the infant’s crying filled the room. Arael laughed with joy as tears fell down her face. “It’s a boy,” the doctor told both parents happily.
The nurses wiped his face and hands gently before wrapping his tiny form in a blanket and handing him to the waiting arms of Arael. She held him close to her and looked upon her precious son’s face before looking up to see the reaction of her husband.
Damien found himself unable to speak as he simply moved his hand to take the tiny hand of his son and then moved down to kiss Arael’s forehead again. The infant’s eyes winked from the sudden flood of lights still as they darted from his mother and father. Each time one of them spoke to him, his eyes moved toward them.
Arael’s gaze stayed upon him as she spoke between her cooing. “What shall we name him?”
Damien looked at the blue eyes of his boy and proudly uttered the name. “Kieran.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Kieran. I like that.” Her gaze turned back to her son as he seemed to be drifting into sleep tired from the ordeal.
*******
She fought against losing consciousness as the dark figure of Ranka moved forward yet again. He stepped over the rubble as if it were nothing beneath his boots. The emerald green eyes looked to and fro in the room to see try to find any trace of her. The darkness hid her form until a flash of lightning illuminated the room. Like a hawk, his eyes turned towards her quickly as she raised her hand up again and used the Force to pick up one of the large, heavy chunks of stone wall and hurl it at him hoping to send him backwards. If she could get him away from her, she could make a break for the opening and run towards her ship. It was her only hope now. She was not going to defeat him this day.
A loud groan was heard as the wall struck the figure bearing the eyes of pure emerald, shattering and burying the Nem'vaah under an impressive amount of rock. She knew that this would not hold him very long. Using what time was given to her, she ran through the hole she had just made in the temple using all of her remaining strength, both within the force and in her weakening self, to escape to her ship.
Rain caressed her cheek again as she nearly flew out of the old structure. The tears from the sky poured down heavily upon the plains of the peaceful planet as the storm was reaching its climax. The rumbling of the thunder and lightning became a glass shattering series of blasts within the clouds, as if the very hate the Dematri inspired the clouds with his evil intent. She did not care as she simply wished to put an end to this eternal confrontation she had bared with him over the course of the past years. Rage filled her thoughts as she knew well that there were no problems she could solve through an act as she tried here. He had prevented her to rise as the Dark Lord in a fateful confrontation on Korriban and humiliated her beyond contempt; and, he had been a spoiler to all of her plans. Neither her words, nor her acts had been strong enough to remove him from the chain of these events. His words had put Kyra in an inability to continue her own plans against the galaxy, thus slowing ultimately even Selae’s. Now, her plans had failed again as he proved to be one of the most, if not the most dangerous of her adversaries. Shrouding himself under a veil of shadows, she had never expected such things from any living being. He was able to manipulate her schemes against her all but through sheer will.
Another blast roared across the field, a blast which did not belong to the vengeful skies above her. This blast was one from a murderous weapon. Her reflexes being slowed from the fatigue, another sharp pain pierced through all the muscles of her body. She could feel another of the damned projectiles inserting itself in her flesh. Nearly losing her balance, she finally arrived at her ship, jumping right into the cockpit unceremoniously to turn on all the systems through the force as she knew them by heart. Selae had to get away from this place immediately.
Loud bangs resonated against the durasteel as she lifted off into the atmosphere only to finally cease as the ship slowly drifted off the orbit of the planet. Her torment receded, bringing her back from the precipice of madness. Pain was her only companion in the cold infinite space.
Entering the hyperspace coordinate, she saw her location appearing on her holoscreen as the planet of Nem'vaar. She stood silently as her finger stopped above the delete command. Taking a deep breath she pushed the button erasing all data files of the strange world. Only then did her ship disappear as it entered hyperspace. Finally, she was allowed to rest. Fighting the best she could the vision of the Emerald eyes out of her mind she fell into a deep sleep...
The dark silhouette stood within the pitch of night, glaring long at the few stars that pierced through the black clouds in the weakening storm in hopes to have a last sight of the person he hated with such passion. Somehow, he knew this was the last of their encounters...this having been both at once the pinnacle and the end of their confrontations. He turned back into the darkness of the temple walking through the destruction both of them had caused in their wake. Arriving at the central hall, he realized he still held his weapon in hand. Sheathing it, a grim satisfaction ran throughout his face as he sat upon the center of the dome. She had lost...
