Cause and Effect

Doran System
Tipool City, Dandoran.
39 ABY

Crouching on a partially destroyed roof, cloaked in the Force and hidden from sight, Xendar watched and waited.
He and several other Revenants had volunteered to act as a rearguard detail By ambushing and delaying the advancing Principate troops, which would allow the other Revenants to retreat deeper into the city and hide.

As he looked about the ruins of the city in front of him, his mind recalled the last words of a long-dead general from ancient times
For once more unto the breach, my dark warriors! For here we stand, as the need for spilled blood is nigh insatiable. And as the enemy draws closer, the anthem of battle beings again. For the opening notes of the song of war have just been struck!

A chirping in his ear brought his train of thought to a halt. Reaching up, he tapped the earpiece on his headset.
"I read you, Tors. What's up?" Xendar asked.
"Nothing good. I just received a distress signal from the base. We need to haul it back to the Depot now. As it stands, the Principate forces have Yadar, Hawee, and several other Revenants pinned down in one of the buildings. One of the comms officers put out the call. One of the other Revenants commanders is trying to put together a rescue team to go in and get them out of there," Tors said.
"It sounds like we have our work cut out for us," Xendar replied.
"Yeah, and as bad as that is, that's not even the worst part," Tors stated.
“If half of what I'm hearing is true, the whole planet has gone to the Darkside in a handbasket. Apparently, you have some competition in the fear and dread persona. They're being called The Freak and The Blur. Real nice sorts, just the kind you want to take home and meet your family," Tors added in a sarcastic tone.
"Perhaps I should be flattered," Xendar said as he jumped off the building and started heading toward the rendezvous point.
"Don't be." Tors fired back. "To call them animals would be an insult to animals."
"Indeed," Xendar distractedly replied.
Something was out there. Xendar could sense it through the Force. Whatever it was, its strength was incredible.
"Hey Xendar, you there?" Tors asked.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'll meet you at the convoy," Xendar replied.

* * * *
"Out of the way! Edgend and Shi'Anna yelled as they helped a wounded Revenant soldier onto awaiting transports.
"I need to go back and help Uncle Tors!" The young Togruta female shouted as she struggled to stay on her feet.
"Teja, do you think that your uncle would want you fighting in your condition?" Shi'Anna asked. "If I know that stubborn Iridonian, he would put you on this transport himself and order you out."
"I would not worry about Tors. He's one incredibly resilient person. I have seen him take some pretty nasty wounds, and he was on his feet within a few hours," Edgend said as he and Shi'Anna laid Teja down on the last empty Med Unit beds in the transport.
"Okay, you are fully loaded!" Edgend shouted to the driver as he and Shi'Anna got out of the transport. "Get this thing out here!"

The driver turned in their seat and gave Edgend a thumbs up before closing the entry ramp and racing off as fast as safely possible.

"How bad are we hurt?" A familiar voice called out.
Edgend and Shi'anna both turned toward the sound of the voice. They found Tors walking up to them.
" Not good. About a quarter of the unit sustained casualties. Another voice stated.
"Brayj," Tors said as the older-looking Zabrak walked toward him.
"Sir," Brayj said as he came to attention. "Blaiditch's Brigands may have taken some hits, but we are still ready to fight!"
"Blaiditch's Brigands?" Tors asked in an incredulous tone.
"Yes, sir. When we joined the Revenants, we renamed the unit in your honor," Brayj stated. "All able-bodied personnel have been loaded into the transports and are ready to move out.
"That might happen sooner than you think. Because if you don't, the only thing that is going to be left here is corpses." A recognizable eerie voice stated.
"Nightmare," Shi'Anna said as the familiar black-cloaked and armored figure walked over to them.
"What do you mean?" Tors asked.
"Ensign Teja Prelse was kind enough to lend me a comlink tuned into the Principate frequencies. And those com channels have been full of panicked voices and screaming troops. They were going on nonstop about something ripping apart the Principate troop like they're nothing. The last message I heard before everything went silent was that it was heading our way."
"What?!" Brayj stated incredulously.
"One of the soldiers was screaming something about a convoy that had some special high-value items that the thing would want and went on to tell the thing our location before they were ripped apart, " Nightmare stated.
"How would the Principate know where we are?" Edgend asked.
"I can answer that. Come with me," Brayj said as he started walking toward a clump of trees. Sitting beneath the trees were ten Principate soldiers with their hands on their heads. 
"Say hello to our informant," Brayj said, reaching down and hoisting one of the soldiers into the air by their collar.
"Alright, Serc. Start talking." Brayj ordered.
Serc just looked at Brayj with a look of smug arrogance. "Go ahead. I know your types. You may talk tough, but when it comes down to it. You haven't got what it takes."
"Brayj, could you put him down, please?" Nightmare asked.
Brayj reluctantly set Serc down.
"What are you? A reject for the local Hutt freak show? That mask you are wearing is pathic! Serc fired off with a sneer.
Nightmare did not say a word. Turning toward Serc, he let his gaze fall on Serc.
At first, Serc defiantly stared back at Nightmare. But as the seconds dragged on, Serc seemed to change. His eyes shot open, and his breath began to quicken. "Wha...What are you going to me? Serc said in a quavering voice as a feeling of terror set in.
"I find your lack of conviction of your own superiority to be quite amusing." Nightmare stated as he watched Serc start whimpering and curl up into a ball.
"Make it stop! I'll tell you what you want to know! Just make it stop!" Serc pleaded.
As sudden as it came on, the feelings of terror had seemly vanished with a whispering sigh.
Serc told them everything, from how the Principate had placed him into Revenaties to his last transmission to the Principate, stating his progress into the convoy for the crystals hidden in one of the vehicles.
"There are crystals hidden in one of the vehicles of the convoy," Edgend stated incredulously.
"And that thing, I believe it is the one they are calling Blur, wants those crystals. And it is on its way here," Tors stated.
"Which means you need to leave and rendevous with the other Revenants," Nightmare stated.
Then turning toward the prisoners. " Get up." Nightmare ordered.
The prisoners slowly got to their feet.
"You prisoners have been a drain on our people and resources, But I will not condemn you to die a death at the hands of that thing. So, run," Xendar said as he turned away.
"So you want us to take our chances with the wildlife with no weapons," a haughty voice stated.
Turning around slowly, Xendar started to walk back toward the prisoners when Tors stopped him.
"I'll handle this one," he said as he walked up to the prisoner who had spoken.
"Jergin Rekdriss," Tors said as he hit Jergin with a vicious right cross that dropped Jegin to the ground.
"You should consider yourself fortunate, Rekdriss," Tors stated matter-of-factly. "If it were up to me, you would be dead. Now get your worthless skin out here!"

The prisoners needed any further prodding. They took off at a full run, not once stopping to look back.
"The rest of you need to leave as well. That thing could be here any minute." Nightmare stated.
Tors caught something in Xendar's voice. "You not planning on taking that thing down alone, are you?" He asked
"Xendar gave a single nod.
"I would say that you are crazy, But I have a feeling that you can pull it off. Tors said as he extended his hand to Xendar.
Xendar clasped Tors hand with his own in a gesture of friendship.

Xendar watched the convoy as it drifted out of sight. Then opening himself to the Force, Xendar drew it around himself to conceal himself in the Force and vanish from sight.

The Crystal Ascendant rushed through the forest at breakneck speeds, heedless of damage that he was causing to anything that got in his path.
Find more crystals. I need more crystals. The words of the Seer echoed in his head.
Bursting into a forest clearing, the Ascendant found it to be empty.
Looking at the ground, he could see in several places that there cuts in the earth.
Crouching down, the Ascendant closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He could see two people loading wounded individuals aboard it and the vehicle speeding off in the direction of the Imperial Depot. As he was concentrating, he felt something hit him in the back of the head.
Shooting to his feet, the Ascendant whipped around, trying to find who threw the item at him.
To his left, by a clump of trees, a figure became visible. The Ascendant could not see them so well as the sun was in his eyes.
The Ascendant then let loose a blast of Force Lightning at the figure, who seemingly disappeared again.
The Ascendant gave off a snarl of disgust. He knew the figure was out there. But could not sense where. The Ascendant scanned the treeline. He thought he saw some movement high up in one of the trees. Rushing forward, the Ascendant let loose another torrent of Force Lighting as he came closer to the tree.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the back of the figure's fist smashed into the face of the Ascendant. The sound of broken bones blasted through the Ascendant's head.
The Ascendant staggered back a step. The figure had caught him off guard. And before his eyes could even clear, the Ascendant let loose a scream of pain as something sharp rented deep long runnels in his stomach and chest. Then came another burst of pain and light as the figure's boot smashed into the Ascendant's face with the power of a wrecking ball.
The Ascendant glad to feel the pain lessen as the Biochip began to administer the coagulants and pain killers.
"Are you afraid to face me?" The Ascendant asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he walked about uncaring about the wounds he had sustained, knowing in time that they would heal.
"Are that much of a coward that you refuse to fight me? The Ascendant said in a mocking tone. "If you come out now, I make sure that your death is a quick one."
A blast of force lightning shot past the Ascendant, barely missing him. The figure had reappeared out in the forest clearing.
 Its face was nothing but a black void of darkness that even the brightest light could not dispel. Its cloak was of the darkest black, and as the wind fluttered around it, revealing the dark armor beneath it. Its hands seemed to be its favored weapons, as each finger ended with a bird-like sharp talon and another set of long blood-red claws that seemed to appear from around its knuckles.
"Cute costume," the Ascendant derisively spat out, As he watched the figure come at him in a full run. As once again tried to blast the figure with Force Lighting. And once again, the figure disappeared.
The next thing that the Ascendant knew, that he was knocked off his feet and to his back. And a heavy weight began to crush his chest as the figure appeared over the top of him. The figure drove both sets of his talons into the throat of the Ascendant, nearly decapitating him.

"So will your death be as well. And now, may you be at peace," Xendar solemnly said as he stood up. His mind went over the extra information he received about the Ascendant as he waited for it to show up.
Closing his eyes, Xendar reached out with the Force to clear away all of the blood on his cloak and armor.
And then he used the Force to pick the corpse of the Ascendant and began to walk back toward the clump of trees where the Ascendant had first seen him.
Clearing away some brush from behind one of the trees, Xendar started to uncover a speeder bike he had hidden there.

Xendar took off his cloak and folded it up. He then stowed it in the storage compartment as he took a black Biker Scout helmet out of it and put it on. The last thing that he did before getting on the speeder. Was to secure the Ascendant's corpse to the speeder.
"Scout Two, to Convoy Lead. Do you read me?"
"This is Convoy Lead. I read you five by five, Scout Two," a voice replied.
"Acknowledged Convoy Lead. Scout Two needs to rendezvous with the convoy. What is your position?" Xendar asked.
"Understood, Scout Two. Sending coordinates now." The voice replied.
"Also Convoy Lead, a Med Bed is needed upon arrival," Xendar stated
"Understood, Scout Two. Are you injured?" The voice asked.
"Negative. But I am transporting something that will require a stasis field." Acknowledged Scout Two, it sounds like something Zyft Yadar will be most interested in seeing."
Xendar caught something in the Convoy lead's voice.
"Is something gone wrong with the rescue operation?" He asked.
"It hasn't gone well. The rescue team has been pinned down and hasn't been able to move forward. And there has been a call for more units to assist. "
" Understood Convoy Leader, I am on my way."

Silken black hair fluttered in the winds of Dandoran as Ejoni's eyes fluttered, entranced by the screen of her datapad as  Expansionist plans for crystal harvesting piqued her curiosities. 

"They would do well to.." her deliberation halted by movement beyond her screen. 

A screech startled her nerves but she was careful not to show any sign of weakness as she saw the shell of a man, his eyes appeared to be deep black pools and jutting from the pierced flesh on his back were red crystal formations. The crystals themselves produced an ominous glow that matched the moaning red lightsaber in his right hand. 

Ejoni's mind quickly processed what was happening. 

She would be attacked, that was obvious. 

The man appeared to be crazed, there was a loss of control. This man was a puppet and something greater was pulling the strings.

His brown hair, hooked nose, rugged features, and roguish attire made her wonder if the bearded man was Corellian in a past life. 

Nevertheless, she would slide her feet together but maintain a solid base for maneuvering. Her verdure right hand flicked upward and she aimed her palm at the snarling husk. 

Her eyelids narrowed until they were completely closed and a hush fell over her. She could feel each footstep of the encroaching threat, each one resonating like a heavy thud within her mind. In fact, if she quieted her mind and listened more closely, she could have heard his heartbeat if it were still there. The thudding became louder and louder until another shriek gave away the distance. Flipping her palm to face the ground, she could feel the Force as she drew it to her with the haste of a gunslinger reaching for their pistol. The energy rushed to her as if it were trapped in a vacuum and as quickly as it built, it was released. In a flash, she slammed her hand into the ground, instantly the energy that surrounded her exploded outward as if she were a meter striking the soil. Rocks and debris created ripples that pierced the soft flesh of the abomination as it was sent crashing back from whence it came. It snarled as it rolled across the ground but there was little sign of agony as it merely pushed itself up and charged again, albeit a little slower.

Ejoni gracefully slid back into a standing position and flourished her arms, this time, however, her left hand whipped out and her right curled to a resting position behind her back. 

The abomination snapped its jaws as if it were a beast, wildly slashing with its weapon. Ejoni ducked and with that elevated left hand, her call to the Force progressed as she latched onto its ankle with an invisible grip and tugged it off balance, ever-so-slightly. It stumbled enough to reset its follow-up strike and with Ejoni's right hand, she equipped the lightsaber which was strapped to her lower back. 

A magenta blade slid from the palm of her hand and stabbed forward with one smooth motion. The torso of the vile creature remained standing, even as the blade burned through his torso, it lashed out, smacking away the Ejoni's blade. Her wrist sent the blade into a flourish and before the sanguine furt could connect with a secondary attack. Ejoni maneuvered in such a way to avoid the strike, this time clasping and tugging the wrist with the Force. The creature ducked down, but as it did, her blade sliced and recoiled. Another thud met the brief battlefield as the severed head of her foe hit the silt, followed by the twitching cadaver. 

She summoned her patience and took in air through her nose. She knew there would be more.

Attacking the Clone.

The Middle Of Nowhere
Dandoran
Doran System

Senth looked around at the ruins around him, amongst the empty wasteland, and sighed. He was not supposed to be here. He was an officer of the Orian Warhost, who whatever the actual members of Naga Sadow were up to, were not involved in this matter. Had it not been for the urgent need to speak to the Consul he would not be. It should have been a fairly easy journey, and it was until his shuttle had been shot down by whichever of the opposing forces had taken a disliking to a ship without the right recognition signals. Having bailed out before it crashed at speed, he was now stuck here. Wherever that was.

The clone commando tried his communicator again. There was no response. The range on them was limited unless there was a relay station nearby. After a few minutes studying the datapad he began to walk. Then he stopped. A figure could be seen in the distance. They were stood still. Senth ducked behind a block of ruined masonry and focused on the figure. He, she or it was armed, with a blaster rifle, and seemed to be wearing oddly damaged armour. Much of the basic shell was in place, but here and there were odd distortions here and there, like some sort of crystals had pushed their way through it. There was no way of knowing whether it was an enemy, neutral or ally. Senth reached to his back and unhooked his Relby V-10, checking the grenade launcher was loaded. Then he watched. The figure was still stood still, then slowly they turned, the head moving in each direction, and then it seemed to focus on the ruins Senth was crouched in, and began to walk forward, quickly but with a strange gait.

Senth trained his sights on the figure and studied it. As it drew closer he could see that the odd crystal formations appeared to emerge from its flesh, though whether they were grafted on or grown from within he did not know. Senth kept his sights on the figure, not wanting to draw attention to himself. I was possible whatever it was had decided to explore the ruins and had no idea he was there. Or maybe not. Then as he watched the figure suddenly sped up, and a blaster bolt scythed over the clone's head, followed by a second one. Senth pulled his own trigger and a shot hit the enemy square in the chest, where a gap in the torn armour revealed a patch of crystal. The enemy rocked back slightly, but kept running, still firing towards where Senth was crouched. A second shot from the clone took it in the chest again, with no discernable effect, and a shot at its head caused it to stumble slightly, but it continued, still dumb firing towards him. Senth sighed and aimed at the figure, and with a loud crack a grenade left his weapon and hit the enemy, the resulting explosion shaking the rocks around them and engulfing the strange trooper in flames.

When the smoke cleared the clone gave a quick nod of satisfaction, and stood, walking slowly towards the figure. It was sprawled flat on its back, smoking and patches of the crystal were burned away. Cautiously the clone approached it, blaster held ready. He stopped, studying the thing with a morbid fascination. There were still traces of humanity left in the creature, but only in small patches between the crystals and the torn armour. If there were more of them then this needed reporting back to the Summit, if he could find them. If he had a vehicle he would have taken its body back for analysis, but he did not fancy dragging the thing to civilisation. He removed one hand from the weapon butt and reached for his data pad, raising it up. An image would have to do. It was at that point the creatures left hand moved and a blaster bolt from one vambrace scorched towards the clones chest.

Senth reacted immediately, dropping the datapad and hitting the button on his belt in one moment. As his jetpack fired he surged upwards, gripping his rifle once more as the creature fired again, a jet of flame following his ascent and scorching the legs of his armour. Senth felt the heat from beneath the sealing as he fired his weapon back at the creature, flying backwards to create some distance between them. His shots hit the creature once more and he saw it twitch as the blasts hit its crystal armour. Senth felt an impact hit his armour but not penetrate. He landed amongst the ruins, ducking behind a column. He saw the creature continue to aim and fire at him, moving forward and holding its rifle one handed as it reached down for a grenade. Senth fired towards it, several shots striking it and knocking it back slightly but not deterring it. As it raised the grenade and threw it in one smooth motion, the clone fired his jetpack again. It stuttered slightly, raising him up, but not enough to be fully clear as the impact of the blast shook him and as his arm hit a pillar he dropped his weapon, sending it bouncing across the stone below. He landed and ducked behind cover, drawing his pistol.

He raised his head out. The creature was walking towards him, blaster rifle still in hand as its mutilated head looked left and right for him. Glancing down at the light pistol in his hand, he knew it would take an incredibly lucky shot to do any significant damage to the creature. He could not see his larger weapon and unless he managed to stumble over it, it was lost to him for now. Slowly he reached for his belt, feeling for an alternate weapon. Drawing his sword in his right hand, his left pulled a grenade from the other side. He took a deep breath, and then flicked the grenade towards the creature. He braced himself as the seismic weapon exploded, feeling the shock himself of the blast even outside its epicentre, but as the creature gave a peculiar screeching noise the clone leapt out from cover, sword thrusting forward and slicing across the crystals before finding a patch of human flesh and biting in. The creature lashed out with its rifle and Senth dodged, angling his body away and slicing the sword down the creatures left arm, finding another patch of clear skin and biting in deeply with the sword. The creature gave another screech and dropped the rifle as its an involuntary spasm caused its fingers to open.

Senth dodged again as its right hand swung towards him, a blade emerging from the vambrace and scraping along the clones armoured side. Senth backed off, watching the creatures hands for more surprises as it made towards him, closing the gap quickly with a burning intensity. Senth kept his sword held loosely, looking for another gap, and then thrust the weapon forward. This time the creature was ready, and moved incredibly quickly, blocking the strike with an out flung arm and jarring the clones grip and sending the sword skittering away across the ground. Another blow from its weakened but still strong left arm aimed at Senth's helmeted head. Senth instinctively reflected the strike, and aimed a punch at his opponents own head, which was like hitting a rock. He backed off, adopting a stance as the creature moved towards him.

Senth dodged the next attack again, and spun his body round kicking at the creatures side as it flashed past him. He heard a grunt of expelled air from the creature and a loud noise as some of the crystals snapped under the strike, but a second later the creature reacted and spun around, still driving at him. Senth backed off once more. He knew the thing was as fast as him, if not as well trained in martial arts, and was a lot stronger. Despite his training he would be immensely lucky to beat the thing one on one. He needed a new plan. He watched the creature, until it dove at him, and then quickly moved aside, a hand jabbing at its side and grabbing at its belt. The creature swung at him, a fist smashing at the clones armoured head knocking him back and Senth fell, hitting the ground hard and rolling.

As the clone looked up wearily at the creature, it gave a roar of triumph and moved forward. Then it stopped as a growing beeping noise sounded over its own voice, and it looked down at the devices hanging from its belt. Senth covered his head with his arms as the explosion rocked the area.
Slowly he got to his feet groggily. The creature was sprawled on its back, its armoured skin smoking at much of its crystal skin was burned away. The clone shook his head in amazement as the creatures arms and legs twitched, trying to gather itself enough to rise. His hand reached down and he gripped his last weapon, the thin tube like device. He flicked the switch and the almost invisible blade emerged. As the creature continued to struggle the clone leaned over it, pinning his knee against its chest. With a deep breath he raised a hand, and then as the creature looked furiously at him he drove the thing blade down into one eye socked, feeling it drive into tissue beyond and the thing screeched again in agony. Slowly the clone pushed deeper, the hilt nearly disappearing into the head as he twisted it back and forth. The creature gave a final twitch, and then was still. Senth rose and drew the blaster pistol from the creatures holster. Looking down at the head he emptied the entire charge slowly into it at point blank range, ripping into the armoured flesh and penetrating its skull. Finally he stood and took a deep breath. Then with a last glance at the corpse, he set off to find his discarded weapons.