A cool wind whistled through the elevated canopies, the shaking of leaf and limb forming a song with the chatter of the wildlife of Kashyyyk, framing the seemingly enchanted upper levels that hovered above the lower settlements. An air of mystery consumed the entirety of the Wookie ghost town, clouding the man who quietly traversed the bridge that joined two of the wooden canopy platforms together. The wooden boards creaked, and the bridge shook a bit as the brown-haired human traversed the perilous plane, trailed by a black astromech droid.
“We should be getting close, R3.” Saal Kesyk kept his volume to a whisper as they continued around one of the abandoned Wookie huts. The fixture, along with many of the other structures in the trees, was worn and weathered, some damaged and in ruin from years of neglect. Most of the native Wookiees dared not even enter the old town, fearing the legends of old that the clan elders would pass down to them as pups.
The man’s droid compatriot let out a series of beeps and whistles, its motorized wheels humming a mechanical whir as they pulled the droid along the bridge. Minutes went by as they ventured further, the woods growing thicker with each. As the Sith walked by one of the disarrayed huts, he noticed a group of tach had taken up residence. They were dining on berries, their nervous eyes studying the pair closely as they moved further, passing and eventually ascending higher up and coming to another bridge.
And then there was quiet.
Even if Saal hadn’t sensed the shift in the Force - if he wasn’t Force-sensitive, even - he would have been able to tell that something had changed immediately. The birds stopped chirping, and there was no stirring of creatures in the trees. The only audible sound was that of the wind blowing and the subsequent shaking of the growth around them. The pair stopped on the bridge, examining the area.
“This place is crawling with life. Too densely populated to scan, huh R3?”
Suddenly, he felt it. It was getting closer; the presence in the Force was like a heavy shadow that loomed over him, threatening to snatch him away and pull him into the darkness. It felt as though he were being stalked by a malicious specter, one that was getting ever closer. In fact, it seemed to be closing its distance at a frightening rate. The realization set in for the Dark Jedi.
“We have to get off of this bridge right now.” He snapped into it, turning to cross to the other side, but it was too late. As he turned, there was the ignition of a lightsaber. Quickly, his followed suit, and he clasped it in his hands as he blocked a strike from above.
KRZZHHHKSH
Two red blades interlocked, illuminating the face of this new enemy for a brief moment. The alien was reptilian, its sharp teeth and prominent protrusions framed upon its hairless head.
The Sith released the lock and made a passing attempt at a strike, which was evaded, before leaping backwards for safety. As he landed, he shuffled to regain his balance as the bridge shook underneath him. Upon a closer look at his foe, he realized what kind of being he was dealing with.
“I’ve never fought a Dashade before,” said the Plagueian. “There aren’t many of you left.”
Rak’vhul said nothing, only standing there, holding his weapon at his right side. The Sith assassin towered above his human opponent. His gaze was menacing, staring deep into the reaches of Kesyk’s soul, and burning with an intensity that could only be found in the eyes of one who was about to kill.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” Saal readied his weapon. “Then I suppose you probably aren’t going to tell me who sent you.”
“Probably not,” responded the Dashade, raising his left hand.
In but a moment, several cords of searing lightning came flying from the tips of his claws. Saal raised his own free hand in response, anticipating the attack and summoning a translucent blue aura. The lightning collided into it, dissipating until the energy had been absorbed. The shield itself dissipated as well, shrinking until it was gone.
“Gonna have to do better than that.”
The Sith raised his blade and at once dashed towards his opponent, the bridge shaking chaotically as he closed in. The Dashade smiled an evil smile, laughing as he readied his own weapon.
Lightsabers collided in a frenzied explosion of red as the two warriors went to battle. Saal attacked aggressively, walking Rak’vhul backwards as he hacked away. The hunter evaded each strike, weaving and blocking as he allowed the Plagueian to exert himself. Saal struck sideways, and the Dashade stepped back before delivering a counter strike from above, which Saal raised his lightsaber to defend against. With their blades locked above, the assassin kicked Kesyk in the gut, pushing him backwards as he grunted in pain, and then using the Force to send him flying back.
Barely catching himself as he slid backwards on the still shaking bridge, the young warrior straightened himself. R3 beeped erratically behind him as the Dashade began approaching. Saal turned to look at the astromech, and his eyes wandered to the large wooden platform further behind them.
I can’t fight him on this bridge.
Saal stretched his hand out forcefully towards the droid, and it too went flying back, emitting a robotic wail of distress as it soared to the platform. Quickly, Saal turned and slashed the bridge underneath him, then leapt into a backflip, amplifying his jump with the Force as he joined his droid on the platform. He pressed a button on his comlink, which began flashing in response. R3 beeped in annoyance as he steadied himself back up.
Realizing the severed bridge would fall beneath him, the assassin broke into a run, as he too amplified himself and leapt towards the duo, his lightsaber clasped high in both hands, preparing to strike down at his prey.
“R3! Get back!”
As the droid retreated to safety, Saal reached out with the Force to grasp a large Wroshyr branch, sending it flying towards Rak’vhul. The alien’s blade sliced through it, the branch splitting in two and the segments flying behind him as he landed on the platform and continued his slow march towards Kesyk.
“Your essence will be mine, human,” growled the Dashade as he sent a series of strikes at the Sith. “Consuming you will be the ultimate victory.”
“If this is just because you don’t have enough credits for food, you should have just said that,” replied the Sith, readying his weapon once again. “I can get you a bite to eat.”
The Dashade laughed maniacally in response, unleashing a flurry of strikes, wearing down the already tiring Sith by putting him on the defensive. Sabers clashed and sped through the wind as the fighters struck and countered in turn. The battle was like a choreographed dance between two beings, each moving in unison with the other. To the surprise of both Sith, they mirrored each other almost perfectly, both assuming the stances of and alternating between the attack forms of the Djem So and Juyo lightsaber forms.
As the battle raged on, R3 moved to a nearby canopy hut for shelter from the danger. With a buzz, his holoprojector activated, and the image of an IG-86 series assassin unit hovered into the space in front of him.
“Where is Saal, R3?” The IG unit’s mechanized voice rang out through the transmitter. “I received the signal from his comlink. What could possibly be wrong now?”
The droid emitted a series of boops and beeps in response. The assassin droid groaned.
“It can’t ever be an easy job. We’re on the way.”
