The first thing you remember is the last thing you see.  Well, at least, that was what grandfather used to say.  As the coils poured from his heart, seething down his arm and setting fire to every nerve along the way, Muz wondered if the first thing a droid remembers was power, of electricity.  The storm bounced down the narrow passageway, virulent arcs of lightning snaring into the droids.  They ambled slowly, listing as the power overran capacitors, gelling lubricants and scorching circuits.  He lowered his arm, the dull bass throb in their ears subsiding as his focus returned, stepping forward.  

It wasn't the first time that Qormus or Xolarin had seen lightning, but neither had seen a full tempest in action.  They shot each other brief looks before stomping forwards, the fading energy returning the chamber to darkness only abated by their lightsabers. golden light bathed the antique stones as they stepped over ruined technology.  

Xolarin chuckled to himself at the alien nature of it.  Ruined droids adding to the debris in these old places, crypts, or bases or whatever the scans had decided it was originally intended for, it didn't much matter.  The holocrons and crystals in their pockets and packs were all that they were there for, Bentre's scans notwithstanding.  

The alarm going up had inspired a lot of nervous chatter on the channels, multiple teams all exploring different wings of what probably was all interconnected parts of the complex.  There was a fear when the tired sirens rolled across their ears for a few moments, the droids slowly shuffling awake like the half-dead and taking their shots.  Qormus snorted to himself, the fear of seeing that many droids gaining on him replaced by annoyance as the Lion laid them all to rest and denying him the battle.  Green eyes considered the man, and Qormus returned the glare.  "Yes?"

"Plagueis, I presume?"  Xolarin asked.  

"Qormus Aquila, Knight of the Dread Lord." A half smile crept up his face. 

"I am Xolarin." He paused, scratching his bearded chin.  "Seeker of the Ancient Empire, and Aedile to the ..."  

"I  of course know who the Lion of Tarthos is..."  Qormus interrupted him. It was all half the journeymen would talk about upon seeing Sadow forces here on this broken little backwater planet.  There were conspiracy theories, hushed legends and rumors, and a couple highly motivated nitwits trying to find a way to impress the man and curry some sort of favor with him.  He had muted the channel an hour ago, but the blinking light on the datapad told him that the talk was still ongoing.  He shrugged off the thought, focusing on the twists and turns between where they were and the exit.  At least he would be able to turn the experience into a few free drinks from the impressionables back at the base.  

Another batch of B2s congregated ahead of them, Qormus bounding back for a moment to avoid alerting them to their presence, his head doing the math.  There were fifteen, maybe twenty of them up there.  The Ragnosian summit were a few steps behind, and he could just imagine the dismissiveness when the Krath Lord would turn the corner.  Qormus half smiled, raising his saber and darting forward, carving wide arcs in the air with his saber before catching the first two a few paces forward.  The blade separated the plates, tearing odd half of one droid's torso and through the hip joints of the one next to it.  He tucked himself into a roll, bowling over the next one, bringing himself up into a crouch in the midst of the droids.  He swung the blade wide, cleaving legs and hands from the droids in a powerful arc.  

He saw the Grand Master and his Aedile turn the corner and see his battle just as the flush of exertion started to reach his heart, pumping his rage into his muscles as he drew his blade skyward, the heavy droids sheared in half and off balance.  There was a crack, the sound of the B2 arm blasters engaging, then a dull thud followed by brightness.  It poured over everything, washing away the droids, the stone, the darkness.  Qormus felt the cursewords try to make their way from his head to his mouth, but the sound never registered.  

---------

Qormus blinked, the light fading to reveal details of a medbay, his Proconsul and a medical droid standing next to the pair from the tunnel.  He looked down at his body, half expecting a gaping hole, limbs missing, or his robes charred from lightning.  

"...And once he cut the b2, it fell forward."  Xolarin explained to the Epicanthix, pausing for a second to compose himself.  "Guy got brained by the halves falling on him.  Couple hundred pounds, straight to the brainpan."  

Qormus groaned as he realized what happened and the resulting lack of heroism.  

Ronovi pinched the bridge of her nose as she listened.  "Well, thanks for dragging him out of there."  She turned to the droid.  "How bad is it?"

"The knight will recover nicely.  There will be scarring from where the molten metal hit his face and shoulder, but with our treatment, they will fade."  The medical droid explained in its mechanical tones.  

"No, leave the marks."  Ronovi muttered.  "It'll remind him next time."  

Xolarin raised an eyebrow, then looked at Muz.  Muz's head rose in a half nod, his hand vanishing behind his belt to retrieve the small steel and glass flask, the embossed symbol of the Clan Naga Sadow shining in the medbay lights.  He raised it, making eye contact with Ronovi.  She masked a smile before nodding, following him out into the landing zone.   

Xolarin smiled at the knight, rocking forward on his feet as he searched the man's face for an expression.  "You thought that was it, didn't you?"  

Qormus twisted his face as the Droid poked at his side.  "Only kinda.  Something seemed off."  

"Oh?"  

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to have your life flash before your eyes or something?"  The Journeyman tried to sit up before the dizziness washed over him.  

"No, that's just your brain trying to find something in your experiences that it could use to get out of dying."  Xolarin chuckled, straightening up before turning to leave.  "And thankfully for you, even your subconscious knew that your dumb wasn't going to be fatal."

Qormus shot him a cruel look as Xolarin turned to join his Quaestor.  He nodded at the Plagueian, his eyes narrowing as he continued his words.  

"This time."