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| - Fear. Joh has lead Danik down the path on controlling his fear, where he hopes to ultimately learn to manipulate it to his own ends. For now, though, that fear may be too much to control. The Leviathian - the abomination born from Sith alchemy - has decided to drop the party and ruin Kreldin's plan. So close, yet so far. The entrance to the Temple itself becomes blocked off as the Leviathian arrives, and Kreldin is quick to react, forming up between the protective layer put together by his elite stormtroopers of the 501st. Oh, what he'd do for a lightsaber right about now. It's a shame he's at Johanna's mercy here - can his stormtroopers even so much as scare this monstrosity? It's very appearance repulses Kreldin, and he's quick to bring his HM-100 from around his shoulder and into his hands. Though he's not sure just how effective a riot gun is going to be against it. What he needs are Jedi. And Johanna is the only real Jedi here - he is but a mere learner. He does, however, take a lesson from Johanna, insofar that he doesn't open fire on the beast yet. No, he's going to guage it and learn more about it before jumping the gun - and he snaps a quick look to Master Sergeant Cantrell to inform the Mandalorian to do the same. "Steady, gentlemen, steady... Johanna, any idea what we're up against? What we should -do-?" he asks, his eyes gazing over to the Jedi woman. Hopefully she has a plan. Hopefully. Because it doesn't look like this Leviathian is going to wait for them. The arrival of the lumbering, snarling Sith abomination is enough to make Johanna gape for a second, both horrified and intrigued by the bizarre apparition that seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in them. "I have no idea," she admits, hand straying down to her side to grip her weapon, "I have no damn idea. Just don't make it mad." Not that the Leviathan, with its hide strewn with blister traps, seems to have any compunction about attacking them without provocation... because it doesn't. It lunges for a nearby trooper, monstrous jaws snapping and clawed feet making the ground shake. "I'd say it's mad!" the pilot hollers quite unnecessarily as the blade to her weapon ignites and she springs out of the way before it can crush her underfoot, "Best bet is to kill it!" As much as she hates the idea of slaying native creatures on Ord Trasi, she's not about to become a beast's dinner. Well...this is interesting. Cantrell has never seen one of these Leviathans before, and hopefully tonight will be the last time he'll ever get the pleasure to see one again. The Master Sergeant backs up a bit, throwing a glance to the uneasy Private. "Easy, Private..." he gestures back for the group to tighten up. "Better not make that thing mad..." Just as he finishes the sentence, the Leviathan throws himself onto the hapless Private, it's teeth cutting through the armor like a vibroblade through tissue paper. The private's screams of pain gurgle, blood flowing from underneath his helmet. He reaches for Cantrell in vain, perhaps thinking the Mandalorian could somehow be his savior. "You stupid, silly, piece of Sith shit..." Cantrell growls, his comlink seething with venomous anger as he levels his rifle to it. "You don't scare me.." He continues to taunt the creature forward, gesturing everyone to move back. "Yeah...come on big boy..." "You want a snack...snack on THIS!" The Master Sergeant unleashes a merciless flurry of red blaster bolts onto the creature's thick, scaly hide. Don't make it mad. Don't provoke it. Sounds like the best course of action. Danik lowers his HM-100 slightly, figuring the sight of the rifle might convince the creature it's in danger. However, all that changes when the abomination eats one of his Privates. Just a little bit too close for comfort. As the poor, helpless private becomes food for the monster, Danik is on the move - backwards, of course, hoping to find better cover behind more and more of his white armored stormtroopers. "Blasters won't do much good here, gentlemen!" Danik says, watching as red blaster bolts merely get absorbed into the beast's thick hide. Its vicious roar sends a shiver up Kreldin's sipne, and he nearly loses control of his fear - but watching Johanna, maintaining her calm, allows Kreldin to slip back into control. However, the Leviathan has apparently satisfied itself with its meal, and has gone one step ahead - a far more cruel means of killing its prey. Two stormtroopers flanking Cantrell are the first to suffer from the attack - the beast's eyes fall upon the two stormtrooper clones, and their life energies - their very soul - are sucked out, and find their way into the blister traps along the back of the beast. The two stormtroopers fall lifeless to the ground, their armor still in prestine condition as they weren't even touched. The Leviathan sends out another roar, heard all the way back where the Whipping Star was docked, and Kreldin, for once since his time as Johanna's prisoner, finds himself thinking today is the last day he's going to spend alive. His hand reaches for his headset, as he considers calling for reinforcements - or for the ship itself to try a desperate, impossible rescue. Hopefully it won't have to come to that... Johanna herself is in no mood to have her soul taken from her body YET AGAIN. That first time with Vadim had been quite enough! When the Leviathan lets out another ear-splitting roar after having killed not only the Private but the two other troopers, she darts to the side as the beast exhales over his latest prey and sinks her weapon into one of the creature's hind legs, the blade a blinding swath of white that parts the leg from the body proper. A foul and horrible shrieking roar emanates from the Leviathan. It hurtles its body around to deal with the newest attacker and the blaster bolts from Cantrell and his men sizzle where they hit the creature's flesh. "Hi," the Jedi chances, light on her feet and prepared for those great snapping jaws, "Sorry about the leg." As if in reply, the monster lunges. While Johanna is spared falling victim to its teeth she is clipped by the side of the creature's hard skull. It smashes into her right shoulder in a manner most painful, knocking the lightsaber out of her hand and sending her sprawling onto her rear. Perhaps it's time for a change of tactics. "Damn..." Cantrell grunts, looking down at his ST-II as the blaster bolts fail to do any damage. The Jedi was right; mere blasters weren't going to do the trick. Slinging it aside, he begins to unsling his ZCF when a thought occurs to him. "Too many friendlies..." Cantrell thinks to himself. A stray grenade blast is too risky for everyone else in such a tight area. Spotting the Jedi woman being knocked over. Then another thought dawns in the Mandalorian's mind. This time in the shape of a round cylinder. "Jedi!" The Master Sergeant roars, throwing the thermal over towards Johanna. Maybe she'll get the idea where and how to use it. A cold voice pierces the back of Tyler Damion's mind as a cloak figure etches to the edge of his perception, a figment of his imagination or the man who has haunted him since Vadim awoke him to the power of the Sith. "Darth Malign, you've come back here, my own blood." A one armed Sith stands before him for only him to see. Malign grits his teeth as he slips through the darkness well behind those in front of him getting mauled by the creature that guards these hallowed halls the Corellian hisses, "Why do you haunt me?" his voice was low and to himself, the mere presence of Darth Palladus was enough to send shivers through his entire body and a cold sweat that beads even now from his face. The specter smiles, "To guide you, you must not interfere with the happenings ahead of you, do not save them or all is lost. Your blood will protect you from the monster it will smell your essence it guards these halls for you." Malign grimaces it was probably another trick, his black gloved hands running along the wall as he continues to stalk forward, 'I can't believe that." The man growls now louder, standing to his full form, his ancestor smirks, "Suit yourself, but I need you alive, remember that." And with that he fades away. Caution was Malign's medicine, he slips forward now pushing himself deeper to find and observe Danik and his expedition, something wasn't right about this, quickly he wraps his essence around himself and hides himself in the veil of the Darkside that covers this entire world, keeping it from the eyes of those not loyal to his faith. A small blade is pulled from his utility belt and he cuts a small cut down his arms forcing blood to spill out of his new wound and drip behind him, maybe his guide was right, maybe he can mask himself from the monster ahead with his mere presence and whatever secrets are hidden in the blood of those who follow the ways of the Sith, knowing his luck it was all metaphor and this literal expression would solve nothing. Danik watches in amazement as Johanna jumps into action, her lightsaber igniting and making quick work of one of the beast's legs. Her skill and sheer will fill Danik with confidence - confidence that he's going to survive this after all. But, it also fills him with dread - dread that she's not on his side. That once this whole ordeal is over, and her child is back in her hands, she'll be looking to kill him yet again. Perhaps he just won't hand Etiel back. Perhaps he'll just hand Johanna over to Vadim. Perhaps. As the beast reacts to its leg being sliced off, in the process hurting Johanna and sending the lightsaber away, rock and debris begin to rain down upon the group, the beast banging its body and arms against the walls. The stormtroopers, for the most part, are fine - their helmets protecting them, though it does send them for cover against the more larger rocks that fall. One rock is large enough to completely squash a poor stormtrooper. Danik is happy he wore his Espo armor again - the armor is good enough to protect him from most of the debris. But he does go for cover - incidentally behind another stormtrooper - and he can only look on as Johanna struggles against the beast, and gets some much needed assistance from Cantrell in the form of a thermal detonator. What would he do without the Mandalorian? The beast, enraged by the lost of its leg, intensfies its attack. One stormtrooper finds itself within the stomache of the beast in only a few mere moments, while three more lose their souls to the blister traps. Blaster shots continue to ring out, absorbed by the beast's armor, though it does provide for a distraction. Danik, however, grows tired of simply hiding, and as his men continue to die around him - for him, no less - Danik is filled with the conviction to do something. So he raises his HM-100 and trains it upon the Leviathan, and mere moments before pulling the trigger, he stops. Something is different. He can sense it in the air. It feels like Johanna - in fact, he can almost swear it is. But it's different, in subtle ways. And in not so subtle ways - it's much darker. Something is different, and he honestly can't say if it's good or not. She catches the thermal just as the beast swings around once more, Cantrell's quick thinking probably the thing that will save them all. "Open wide, shithead," Johanna snarls, waiting for the beast to roar again and plotting to chuck the explosive down its greedy gullet, "I've got a tasty morsel for you." As if able to understand, the Leviathan snaps its jaws at the Jedi again, but not long enough for her to toss the thermal in. She can't risk having the thing go off anywhere but *inside* the creature. The Leviathan is an ornery, vicious abomination and makes a meal of yet another trooper before it opens its maw to howl another victory. This time, Johanna is ready. She throws the thermal, convinced the Leviathan will swallow it and then douse them all in its gooey innards as it explodes. Alas. The beast has no such plans. Its jaws snap shut and the thermal bounces off of its snout, the Leviathan moving its head in such a manner that sends the explosive scuttling towards an impressive piece of statuary that dissolves into untold numbers of chunks upon detonation, the debris raining down on all assembled. "Shit." You paged Johanna with 'Danik should probably run up the stairs and leave you guys to fight ;P' A smile crosses the Mandalorian's face seeing the Jedi catch the thermal and knowing exactly what to do. Just like clockwork. The Master Sergeant watches as Johanna waits for her moment, that moment unfortunately being the demise of one of his comrads. A small price to pay for victory, he supposes. The throw is made.... Uh oh. Cantrell watches the thermal miss its mark and hits the beast's snout, sending the now armed and ready to explode thermal from its course. Cantrell's helmet seems to frown as the thermal so happens to fly away, the Master Sergeant's body tensing a bit. This does not look good. "Stupid Jedi..." Are the last words before the thermal explodes with a deafening roar, sending the Mandalorian's helmet flying in the air and throwing the trooper down for cover. Another explosion shakes the world around him. Malign was still cold, unnaturally so but it strangely felt soothing and allowed him to relax his already tense muscles, he could feel what was ahead an ancient evil bent on the destruction of all those around it. The sensation was strong, and almost inviting to the Sith. He slips forward keeping to the shadows, keeping himself hidden from those around him like a phantom he finds his target. It was now only a few steps forward, exploding debris and the chaos around was more than enough to cover him and to allow a stealthy entrance to the area. Quietly he steps behind Danik placing a gloved hand on the Grand Admiral's shoulder, "You are trembling, Danik Kreldin." He says quietly leaning forward to whisper the words into the man's ear. He lets out a light sigh, air that would normally be warm from being within the body escapes his lungs with a chill; the moisture collects and escapes condensing quickly into a light mist in the colder atmosphere. "If you do not give into your fear and your hatred you will die here my old friend." Damion smiles stepping back into the shadows nearby simply watching and paying little attention the beast, rather focusing his perceptions on Danik to see how the man will react to his words. Ah, the thermal detonator - one of the galaxy's finer weapons. When used properly. Unfortunately for them, the thermal bounces against the snout of the ugly beast - and finds its way towards Danik's area. This is enough to send the old man diving for cover - and just in time, as the baradium charge detonates, causing a nice sized explosion of pure energy that consumes a few stormtroopers and another wonderful downfall of debris. As the smoke clears from the detonation - revealing that the Leviathan wasn't so much as scratched - Danik finds himself standing up admist the bodies of more fallen stormtroopers, decreasing his original team size of twenty-three to a mere twelve. Whether they were killed by the thermal detonator or the Leviathan and its life-energy sucking abilities is unclear - what is clear is that Danik is losing control of his fear. There seems to be no way of stopping this beast. Not even Johanna is finding any luck. Then, seemingly from nowhere, the sensation he felt earlier intensifies ten-fold as a hand rests itself on his shoulder, and all the problems in the world seem to vanish temporarily. Everything is clear: the planet, the dead bodies around him, Cantrell, Johanna, and, of course, the Leviathan. "I'm not dying here, Malign," Danik says as the hand disappears. He pulls his vibrorapier out from his sheath, dropping his HM-100 on the surface in exchange. He brings to bear in both hands, and with that takes off, making a defiant charge towards the creature. It's missing a leg - he should be able to use that to his advantage. As he approaches, Kreldin throws the vibrorapier at the creature's head, in an attempt to impale it. Through the eye would be nice. but anywhere on the head would be just as good. "Ready another two!" Johanna shouts at Cantrell, dodging those disgusting jaws yet again to retrieve her lightsaber, "I have an idea!" Now, usually this is a cause for alarm, as most of Johanna's ideas involve near-suicidal runs on Star Destroyers or getting drunk and cleaning blasters, or Maker only knows what else. But anyway. "Get everyone else out of here!" In Cantrell's mind there will now begin to form an image of just what the pilot has planned. There is the Leviathan, and the figures of Cantrell and Johanna. The Mandalorian stands prepared with two more thermals as the Leviathan howls in rage and confusion from the large airbursts of flame that ignite and flash dangerously close to its foul eyes time and time again, leaving it with no respite and nowhere to run. The thermals roll neatly beneath the beast... Danik's charge is not something she had counted on. "Watch OUT," she hollers, the vibrorapier piercing the animal's hide and sticking out like some horn, "Or you're going to be vaporized!" Her hand grabs at Danik's wrist and hauls him out of the creature's path just as it sets another angry leg down, bellowing to let the humans know just what it thinks of them. Blood spatters are visible on its snout from where it has made puree of those hapless troops. "Vile," Johanna comments with a look of disgust, her concentration deepening and the first of the blue-white flashes, roughly a meter in diameter, flaring to life. As Dareus holds his fire to make sure he doesn't blow a hole in the Grand Admiral's ass; he turns to hear Johanna's cry for everyone to get out of the way. Considering the near miss with the Thermal Detonator, he wasn't about to ignore that suggestion. He immediately begins to run back farther away from the leviathan, occasionally turnining to fire a few blaster shots clear above where Danik is, maybe helping to distract the thing a little longer. A low grunt can be heard from the Mandalorian as he pushes himself off the floor, a small cut starts to ooze out blood from the top of his forehead. Cantrell's eyes glow bright with anger as he stares down the creature before the Jedi woman catches his attention. "Ready us two?" Cantrell at first looks at the woman with a confused look, but then a muse strikes. A muse in the form of a vision of the future. At first Cantrell is taken aback, confused at what's happening. Is the Jedi reading his mind and trying to get his secrets? He comes to grips at the moment; she's showing it how it's done. A faint grin forms on the Mandalorian's face as he gives her a nod. "Aye!" Reaching into his utility belt, he reaches and grabs two remaining thermal detonators. Bringing them up to his lips, he gives each of them a gentle kiss before activating them. "Farewell and good luck, my friends." His face turns into a scowl as he looks up at the creature, having growing tired of the heartless fiend beating away at his comrads. "I'll see you in hell, fiend." Cantrell mutters a curse, and with a heave, he rolls both of the thermals exactly as the vision depicted. Let's just hope it actually works. The emotion bleeding from Danik's aura brings a thin smile to Malign's lips as the old man, sprints out in some hopeless attempt to defeat the Leviathan with his sword. He slips back into the shadow, "To be considered for training he must prove his strength and his worth to us." Was he speaking to himself? Possibly. Fight the beast Danik Kreldin, earn some respect from those who will guide you down the dark path. Then the thermal detonators, Tyler leaps back behind some large stone structures holding they would be enough to protect him. Blinding flashes of light are enough to burn away all shadows for just a moment and the explosion was enough to leave a ringing in the ears of an individual for a few hours. This was getting interesting, could a creature of the old world be capable of standing up to powerful weapons of a new one? Malign falls into contemplation, could these creatures be used again? With Vadim's guidance could he bring monsters like this back into the galaxy to be used against people like Luke Skywalker? Could the methods of evil and darkness be resurrected or was these the devices of an old order replaced over time. He would have to search the halls of this world for the secrets behind those that guard it. Direct hit! Well, it's not the eye. But Danik bets it still hurts. Hopefully it's enough to distract it and force it to keep its mouth wide open long enough for him to lob his own thermal detonator straight in. Unfortunately the beast reacts slightly differently than he envisioned, and before he knew it he was being pulled away by Johanna. Something about being vaporized. Next thing he knows, Johanna is covering him as two mighty explosions erupt nearby. An intense wave of heat washes over Danik as the two detonators explode. Was Johanna really protecting him? Or is it just for her child's sake? Would she have done the same for him if Etiel wasn't in his posession? Somehow he doesn't think so. All Danik can do is watch as the Leviathan faces its final moments at the hands of two deadly warriors: Johanna Siri te Danaan and Wescal Cantrell. He can still feel Malign's presence nearby, watching over the scene - and him. He has to do his best to impress his Master... Cantrell and Johanna work together so well in this instance that one might be excused for thinking they'd been practicing. The thermals land squarely under the beast, who steps on one just as the other detonates, sending a spray of atomized Leviathan-flesh raining down on anyone unlucky enough to be caught nearby. Johanna, for her part, has sought cover behind a sturdy chunk of masonry, having shoved Danik against it and covered him as best she can. She does, after all, need him if she wants to get her son back. The second explosion rips the other half of the Leviathan into oblivion and even before the dirt has stopped drizzling down, the Jedi stands and gets away from the old Admiral, disgusted by the role she has to play on Ord Trasi. "You're safe now," she mutters, looking over to see whether the other Imperials have survived (it seems they have), "Where did you run off to just a second ago?" Dareus wipes a chunk of something of his already ruined shirt, as he does he mumbles something to himself as he stands back up fully, "Good thing this was ruined on Coruscant..." He looks to Johanna, "Nothing, just dodging chunks of....nevermind." He leans his ST-I over his right should as he looks at the smouldering carcass, then back to Cantrell, "Nice shot Sergeant.....this would be why I stay on your good side." He chuckles to himself and continues to walk towards the Grand Admiral, "Sir, are you allright?" He realizes that he hasn't been following his orders to the absolute letter, but he (Danik) has done a few amazing things to keep Dareus from being able to stay close to his side at all times...either way he wants to make sure he's not gonna have another trial in the Imperial Naval Courts. Success. "Stupid beast..." Cantrell stands there and watches the explosion consume the Leviathan into a chaotic burst of flame and fury. The immense blast itself doesn't even deter the battle-hardend trooper, watching the chunks of Leviathan flesh and gib spray all over his suit. Just a slight chuckle in response signals the Mandalorian's approval. Walking over to the beast's corpse, he kicks it lightly with his legs, turning his head away from the smell. "Is everyone alright?" He asks, looking around at the group, a frown catching the remains of the Private from earlier. Scoffing, he takes a knee next to him, the horror plastered firmly on the young troopers face signaling his final moments of terror. "Sorry, kid.." The Master Sergeant grunts, brushing his hands over the trooper's eyes. Spotting Johanna, he gets back up and heads over to her, extending a hand. Funny...from what little he's read bout his heritage, Mandalorian and Jedi never really went along, but when they actually cooperate in a rare moment, the damage can be immense. "Good work, Jedi." He grunts out a raspy compliment. Gazing over at Danik, he offers his old friend a faint smile, seeing that he's alright. Cantrell's job's done, the Admiral is safe. As the dust settles, Malign, once again disappears leaving the group behind to search out a few secrets from the world on his own. He was moderately pleased with Danik's attempts to show his power and courage, he would need a lot of training. He was disappointed that the creature had to die, not much left to examine now, he would have to search these halls out for answers of its origins and hope to fabricate or duplicate the procedures to create such a creature, his Master, Vadim would know what to do, he was confident in that. The group seemed more than capable of exploring the world without his help, he would keep an eye on them and would wait to catch Johanna alone for a meeting in the near future. With all that the Sith vanishes into the darkness to lurk the halls of this dark and twisted world. A nice sight to behold, indeed. Danik rubs some dust from his eyes as he gazes upon what was left of the Sithspawn: pieces here and there and lots of blood. It's enough to make his stomach turn. "Well... excellent job, everyone..." Danik says, his eyes darting between the Jedi and the Mandalorian. Danik isn't quite sure who he is more fearful of; Johanna, or Cantrell. It's just best to not engage either of them in direct confrontation. Danik takes a moment to readjust his equipment as he takes a look around; many good stormtroopers were dead. Nine remained out of an original twenty-three. The sad thing is that they were some of the best in the 501st. What a shame. Well, there were still more clones to be produced. Kamino is as active as ever. "I say we continue onward, before we run into another one of those abominations," Danik says to Johanna, pointing up the stairs of the pyramid. "Up." Danik begins the ascent up the staircase, not waiting for the others. He's in a hurry, and doesn't have time to worry about the dead stormtroopers and such. His destiny awaits him. "Quickly, quickly..." Johanna takes Cantrell's proferred hand and shakes it once, eyeing the Mandalorian with grudging approval. "Indeed," she nods, "Though it's a shame about the casualties." A shame as in, Danik isn't among them. Sigh. "Don't be so eager to set foot in the temple," she calls to Danik, "If the horrors that guard it on the outside are of the Leviathan variety, imagine what awaits you on the inside." But it seems that Danik has no worries about any of that... he rushes up the stairs regardless of whether or not anyone is following him. Maybe now is her chance to make her escape! Of course, he still has her son, so she should probably be going after him right about now. It wouldn't do for him to die just now. "Slow down, Kreldin!" Dareus shrugs, insane as it is heading into this thing with what just attacked them; he was still alive, as well as not getting paid to sit on his ass. He begins the run after the Admiral, remembering the orders. He brings the blaster up to hip height, keeping it at the ready as he jaunts just behind Johanna, trying to gain on Danik as they move. Half way up the staircase, he remembers to double check the ammunition on his blaster; then changes the power cartridge, realizing that this would probably not be enough for what was inside this temple; clicking the action as he runs, he has a half stumble on one of the stairs as he's distracted with the blaster, but regains his footing, albeit somewhat embarassed by the whole look of it. The Mandalorian offers Dareus a chuckle at his response, "You already saw the effects of getting on my bad side." Reaching over for his helmet, he continues onward with the pack. "Everyone gather whatever spare ammo you can. This isn't over yet." Cantrell slaps his helmet back on, catching Johanna's comment about the dead. The cold, mechanical rumble of the helmet's comlink bursts to life. "Their death is unfortunate..." He looks over towards Johanna, shrugging. "...but the weak do not survive. Only the strong." The trip through the ancient Sith Temple was exhilirating. So much history, so much knowledge, all within one structure. But Danik had no time to enjoy the Art Gallery or any of the other rooms; the Sith Holocron led him to the Crypts, and that's where the team - nine stormtroopers, himself, Johanna, Dareus and Cantrell, currently are held. Danik takes one of the torches from a slot in the wall and uses it to guide him through the maze. Fortunately, however, he did have a map that would take him to Davin Keldan's tomb, provided graciously by the Sith Holocron, which is now in his palm and showing just that map. "Master Sergeant," Danik says, his eyes glued to the map, "take Ensign Dareus and scout ahead for me down this path, will you?" He comes to a stop at an intersection, his hand with the torch pointing down the right path. "Ensure it's safe and devoid of any traps - our final destination is down that road." He should probably use Johanna for such a task, but he still needs the Jedi alive for the trip out. Besides, he has faith in Cantrell, as always. He gazes over to Johanna and gives her a blank stare. "You best not try anything this late in the game, dear. We're almost done."
- Fear. Joh has lead Danik down the path on controlling his fear, where he hopes to ultimately learn to manipulate it to his own ends. For now, though, that fear may be too much to control. The Leviathian - the abomination born from Sith alchemy - has decided to drop the party and ruin Kreldin's plan. So close, yet so far. The entrance to the Temple itself becomes blocked off as the Leviathian arrives, and Kreldin is quick to react, forming up between the protective layer put together by his elite stormtroopers of the 501st. Oh, what he'd do for a lightsaber right about now. It's a shame he's at Johanna's mercy here - can his stormtroopers even so much as scare this monstrosity? It's very appearance repulses Kreldin, and he's quick to bring his HM-100 from around his shoulder and into his hands. Though he's not sure just how effective a riot gun is going to be against it. What he needs are Jedi. And Johanna is the only real Jedi here - he is but a mere learner. He does, however, take a lesson from Johanna, insofar that he doesn't open fire on the beast yet. No, he's going to guage it and learn more about it before jumping the gun - and he snaps a quick look to Master Sergeant Cantrell to inform the Mandalorian to do the same. "Steady, gentlemen, steady... Johanna, any idea what we're up against? What we should -do-?" he asks, his eyes gazing over to the Jedi woman. Hopefully she has a plan. Hopefully. Because it doesn't look like this Leviathian is going to wait for them. The arrival of the lumbering, snarling Sith abomination is enough to make Johanna gape for a second, both horrified and intrigued by the bizarre apparition that seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in them. "I have no idea," she admits, hand straying down to her side to grip her weapon, "I have no damn idea. Just don't make it mad." Not that the Leviathan, with its hide strewn with blister traps, seems to have any compunction about attacking them without provocation... because it doesn't. It lunges for a nearby trooper, monstrous jaws snapping and clawed feet making the ground shake. "I'd say it's mad!" the pilot hollers quite unnecessarily as the blade to her weapon ignites and she springs out of the way before it can crush her underfoot, "Best bet is to kill it!" As much as she hates the idea of slaying native creatures on Ord Trasi, she's not about to become a beast's dinner. Well...this is interesting. Cantrell has never seen one of these Leviathans before, and hopefully tonight will be the last time he'll ever get the pleasure to see one again. The Master Sergeant backs up a bit, throwing a glance to the uneasy Private. "Easy, Private..." he gestures back for the group to tighten up. "Better not make that thing mad..." Just as he finishes the sentence, the Leviathan throws himself onto the hapless Private, it's teeth cutting through the armor like a vibroblade through tissue paper. The private's screams of pain gurgle, blood flowing from underneath his helmet. He reaches for Cantrell in vain, perhaps thinking the Mandalorian could somehow be his savior. "You stupid, silly, piece of Sith shit..." Cantrell growls, his comlink seething with venomous anger as he levels his rifle to it. "You don't scare me.." He continues to taunt the creature forward, gesturing everyone to move back. "Yeah...come on big boy..." "You want a snack...snack on THIS!" The Master Sergeant unleashes a merciless flurry of red blaster bolts onto the creature's thick, scaly hide. Don't make it mad. Don't provoke it. Sounds like the best course of action. Danik lowers his HM-100 slightly, figuring the sight of the rifle might convince the creature it's in danger. However, all that changes when the abomination eats one of his Privates. Just a little bit too close for comfort. As the poor, helpless private becomes food for the monster, Danik is on the move - backwards, of course, hoping to find better cover behind more and more of his white armored stormtroopers. "Blasters won't do much good here, gentlemen!" Danik says, watching as red blaster bolts merely get absorbed into the beast's thick hide. Its vicious roar sends a shiver up Kreldin's sipne, and he nearly loses control of his fear - but watching Johanna, maintaining her calm, allows Kreldin to slip back into control. However, the Leviathan has apparently satisfied itself with its meal, and has gone one step ahead - a far more cruel means of killing its prey. Two stormtroopers flanking Cantrell are the first to suffer from the attack - the beast's eyes fall upon the two stormtrooper clones, and their life energies - their very soul - are sucked out, and find their way into the blister traps along the back of the beast. The two stormtroopers fall lifeless to the ground, their armor still in prestine condition as they weren't even touched. The Leviathan sends out another roar, heard all the way back where the Whipping Star was docked, and Kreldin, for once since his time as Johanna's prisoner, finds himself thinking today is the last day he's going to spend alive. His hand reaches for his headset, as he considers calling for reinforcements - or for the ship itself to try a desperate, impossible rescue. Hopefully it won't have to come to that... Johanna herself is in no mood to have her soul taken from her body YET AGAIN. That first time with Vadim had been quite enough! When the Leviathan lets out another ear-splitting roar after having killed not only the Private but the two other troopers, she darts to the side as the beast exhales over his latest prey and sinks her weapon into one of the creature's hind legs, the blade a blinding swath of white that parts the leg from the body proper. A foul and horrible shrieking roar emanates from the Leviathan. It hurtles its body around to deal with the newest attacker and the blaster bolts from Cantrell and his men sizzle where they hit the creature's flesh. "Hi," the Jedi chances, light on her feet and prepared for those great snapping jaws, "Sorry about the leg." As if in reply, the monster lunges. While Johanna is spared falling victim to its teeth she is clipped by the side of the creature's hard skull. It smashes into her right shoulder in a manner most painful, knocking the lightsaber out of her hand and sending her sprawling onto her rear. Perhaps it's time for a change of tactics. "Damn..." Cantrell grunts, looking down at his ST-II as the blaster bolts fail to do any damage. The Jedi was right; mere blasters weren't going to do the trick. Slinging it aside, he begins to unsling his ZCF when a thought occurs to him. "Too many friendlies..." Cantrell thinks to himself. A stray grenade blast is too risky for everyone else in such a tight area. Spotting the Jedi woman being knocked over. Then another thought dawns in the Mandalorian's mind. This time in the shape of a round cylinder. "Jedi!" The Master Sergeant roars, throwing the thermal over towards Johanna. Maybe she'll get the idea where and how to use it. A cold voice pierces the back of Tyler Damion's mind as a cloak figure etches to the edge of his perception, a figment of his imagination or the man who has haunted him since Vadim awoke him to the power of the Sith. "Darth Malign, you've come back here, my own blood." A one armed Sith stands before him for only him to see. Malign grits his teeth as he slips through the darkness well behind those in front of him getting mauled by the creature that guards these hallowed halls the Corellian hisses, "Why do you haunt me?" his voice was low and to himself, the mere presence of Darth Palladus was enough to send shivers through his entire body and a cold sweat that beads even now from his face. The specter smiles, "To guide you, you must not interfere with the happenings ahead of you, do not save them or all is lost. Your blood will protect you from the monster it will smell your essence it guards these halls for you." Malign grimaces it was probably another trick, his black gloved hands running along the wall as he continues to stalk forward, 'I can't believe that." The man growls now louder, standing to his full form, his ancestor smirks, "Suit yourself, but I need you alive, remember that." And with that he fades away. Caution was Malign's medicine, he slips forward now pushing himself deeper to find and observe Danik and his expedition, something wasn't right about this, quickly he wraps his essence around himself and hides himself in the veil of the Darkside that covers this entire world, keeping it from the eyes of those not loyal to his faith. A small blade is pulled from his utility belt and he cuts a small cut down his arms forcing blood to spill out of his new wound and drip behind him, maybe his guide was right, maybe he can mask himself from the monster ahead with his mere presence and whatever secrets are hidden in the blood of those who follow the ways of the Sith, knowing his luck it was all metaphor and this literal expression would solve nothing. Danik watches in amazement as Johanna jumps into action, her lightsaber igniting and making quick work of one of the beast's legs. Her skill and sheer will fill Danik with confidence - confidence that he's going to survive this after all. But, it also fills him with dread - dread that she's not on his side. That once this whole ordeal is over, and her child is back in her hands, she'll be looking to kill him yet again. Perhaps he just won't hand Etiel back. Perhaps he'll just hand Johanna over to Vadim. Perhaps. As the beast reacts to its leg being sliced off, in the process hurting Johanna and sending the lightsaber away, rock and debris begin to rain down upon the group, the beast banging its body and arms against the walls. The stormtroopers, for the most part, are fine - their helmets protecting them, though it does send them for cover against the more larger rocks that fall. One rock is large enough to completely squash a poor stormtrooper. Danik is happy he wore his Espo armor again - the armor is good enough to protect him from most of the debris. But he does go for cover - incidentally behind another stormtrooper - and he can only look on as Johanna struggles against the beast, and gets some much needed assistance from Cantrell in the form of a thermal detonator. What would he do without the Mandalorian? The beast, enraged by the lost of its leg, intensfies its attack. One stormtrooper finds itself within the stomache of the beast in only a few mere moments, while three more lose their souls to the blister traps. Blaster shots continue to ring out, absorbed by the beast's armor, though it does provide for a distraction. Danik, however, grows tired of simply hiding, and as his men continue to die around him - for him, no less - Danik is filled with the conviction to do something. So he raises his HM-100 and trains it upon the Leviathan, and mere moments before pulling the trigger, he stops. Something is different. He can sense it in the air. It feels like Johanna - in fact, he can almost swear it is. But it's different, in subtle ways. And in not so subtle ways - it's much darker. Something is different, and he honestly can't say if it's good or not. She catches the thermal just as the beast swings around once more, Cantrell's quick thinking probably the thing that will save them all. "Open wide, shithead," Johanna snarls, waiting for the beast to roar again and plotting to chuck the explosive down its greedy gullet, "I've got a tasty morsel for you." As if able to understand, the Leviathan snaps its jaws at the Jedi again, but not long enough for her to toss the thermal in. She can't risk having the thing go off anywhere but *inside* the creature. The Leviathan is an ornery, vicious abomination and makes a meal of yet another trooper before it opens its maw to howl another victory. This time, Johanna is ready. She throws the thermal, convinced the Leviathan will swallow it and then douse them all in its gooey innards as it explodes. Alas. The beast has no such plans. Its jaws snap shut and the thermal bounces off of its snout, the Leviathan moving its head in such a manner that sends the explosive scuttling towards an impressive piece of statuary that dissolves into untold numbers of chunks upon detonation, the debris raining down on all assembled. "Shit." You paged Johanna with 'Danik should probably run up the stairs and leave you guys to fight ;P' A smile crosses the Mandalorian's face seeing the Jedi catch the thermal and knowing exactly what to do. Just like clockwork. The Master Sergeant watches as Johanna waits for her moment, that moment unfortunately being the demise of one of his comrads. A small price to pay for victory, he supposes. The throw is made.... Uh oh. Cantrell watches the thermal miss its mark and hits the beast's snout, sending the now armed and ready to explode thermal from its course. Cantrell's helmet seems to frown as the thermal so happens to fly away, the Master Sergeant's body tensing a bit. This does not look good. "Stupid Jedi..." Are the last words before the thermal explodes with a deafening roar, sending the Mandalorian's helmet flying in the air and throwing the trooper down for cover. Another explosion shakes the world around him. Malign was still cold, unnaturally so but it strangely felt soothing and allowed him to relax his already tense muscles, he could feel what was ahead an ancient evil bent on the destruction of all those around it. The sensation was strong, and almost inviting to the Sith. He slips forward keeping to the shadows, keeping himself hidden from those around him like a phantom he finds his target. It was now only a few steps forward, exploding debris and the chaos around was more than enough to cover him and to allow a stealthy entrance to the area. Quietly he steps behind Danik placing a gloved hand on the Grand Admiral's shoulder, "You are trembling, Danik Kreldin." He says quietly leaning forward to whisper the words into the man's ear. He lets out a light sigh, air that would normally be warm from being within the body escapes his lungs with a chill; the moisture collects and escapes condensing quickly into a light mist in the colder atmosphere. "If you do not give into your fear and your hatred you will die here my old friend." Damion smiles stepping back into the shadows nearby simply watching and paying little attention the beast, rather focusing his perceptions on Danik to see how the man will react to his words. Ah, the thermal detonator - one of the galaxy's finer weapons. When used properly. Unfortunately for them, the thermal bounces against the snout of the ugly beast - and finds its way towards Danik's area. This is enough to send the old man diving for cover - and just in time, as the baradium charge detonates, causing a nice sized explosion of pure energy that consumes a few stormtroopers and another wonderful downfall of debris. As the smoke clears from the detonation - revealing that the Leviathan wasn't so much as scratched - Danik finds himself standing up admist the bodies of more fallen stormtroopers, decreasing his original team size of twenty-three to a mere twelve. Whether they were killed by the thermal detonator or the Leviathan and its life-energy sucking abilities is unclear - what is clear is that Danik is losing control of his fear. There seems to be no way of stopping this beast. Not even Johanna is finding any luck. Then, seemingly from nowhere, the sensation he felt earlier intensifies ten-fold as a hand rests itself on his shoulder, and all the problems in the world seem to vanish temporarily. Everything is clear: the planet, the dead bodies around him, Cantrell, Johanna, and, of course, the Leviathan. "I'm not dying here, Malign," Danik says as the hand disappears. He pulls his vibrorapier out from his sheath, dropping his HM-100 on the surface in exchange. He brings to bear in both hands, and with that takes off, making a defiant charge towards the creature. It's missing a leg - he should be able to use that to his advantage. As he approaches, Kreldin throws the vibrorapier at the creature's head, in an attempt to impale it. Through the eye would be nice. but anywhere on the head would be just as good. "Ready another two!" Johanna shouts at Cantrell, dodging those disgusting jaws yet again to retrieve her lightsaber, "I have an idea!" Now, usually this is a cause for alarm, as most of Johanna's ideas involve near-suicidal runs on Star Destroyers or getting drunk and cleaning blasters, or Maker only knows what else. But anyway. "Get everyone else out of here!" In Cantrell's mind there will now begin to form an image of just what the pilot has planned. There is the Leviathan, and the figures of Cantrell and Johanna. The Mandalorian stands prepared with two more thermals as the Leviathan howls in rage and confusion from the large airbursts of flame that ignite and flash dangerously close to its foul eyes time and time again, leaving it with no respite and nowhere to run. The thermals roll neatly beneath the beast... Danik's charge is not something she had counted on. "Watch OUT," she hollers, the vibrorapier piercing the animal's hide and sticking out like some horn, "Or you're going to be vaporized!" Her hand grabs at Danik's wrist and hauls him out of the creature's path just as it sets another angry leg down, bellowing to let the humans know just what it thinks of them. Blood spatters are visible on its snout from where it has made puree of those hapless troops. "Vile," Johanna comments with a look of disgust, her concentration deepening and the first of the blue-white flashes, roughly a meter in diameter, flaring to life. As Dareus holds his fire to make sure he doesn't blow a hole in the Grand Admiral's ass; he turns to hear Johanna's cry for everyone to get out of the way. Considering the near miss with the Thermal Detonator, he wasn't about to ignore that suggestion. He immediately begins to run back farther away from the leviathan, occasionally turnining to fire a few blaster shots clear above where Danik is, maybe helping to distract the thing a little longer. A low grunt can be heard from the Mandalorian as he pushes himself off the floor, a small cut starts to ooze out blood from the top of his forehead. Cantrell's eyes glow bright with anger as he stares down the creature before the Jedi woman catches his attention. "Ready us two?" Cantrell at first looks at the woman with a confused look, but then a muse strikes. A muse in the form of a vision of the future. At first Cantrell is taken aback, confused at what's happening. Is the Jedi reading his mind and trying to get his secrets? He comes to grips at the moment; she's showing it how it's done. A faint grin forms on the Mandalorian's face as he gives her a nod. "Aye!" Reaching into his utility belt, he reaches and grabs two remaining thermal detonators. Bringing them up to his lips, he gives each of them a gentle kiss before activating them. "Farewell and good luck, my friends." His face turns into a scowl as he looks up at the creature, having growing tired of the heartless fiend beating away at his comrads. "I'll see you in hell, fiend." Cantrell mutters a curse, and with a heave, he rolls both of the thermals exactly as the vision depicted. Let's just hope it actually works. The emotion bleeding from Danik's aura brings a thin smile to Malign's lips as the old man, sprints out in some hopeless attempt to defeat the Leviathan with his sword. He slips back into the shadow, "To be considered for training he must prove his strength and his worth to us." Was he speaking to himself? Possibly. Fight the beast Danik Kreldin, earn some respect from those who will guide you down the dark path. Then the thermal detonators, Tyler leaps back behind some large stone structures holding they would be enough to protect him. Blinding flashes of light are enough to burn away all shadows for just a moment and the explosion was enough to leave a ringing in the ears of an individual for a few hours. This was getting interesting, could a creature of the old world be capable of standing up to powerful weapons of a new one? Malign falls into contemplation, could these creatures be used again? With Vadim's guidance could he bring monsters like this back into the galaxy to be used against people like Luke Skywalker? Could the methods of evil and darkness be resurrected or was these the devices of an old order replaced over time. He would have to search the halls of this world for the secrets behind those that guard it. Direct hit! Well, it's not the eye. But Danik bets it still hurts. Hopefully it's enough to distract it and force it to keep its mouth wide open long enough for him to lob his own thermal detonator straight in. Unfortunately the beast reacts slightly differently than he envisioned, and before he knew it he was being pulled away by Johanna. Something about being vaporized. Next thing he knows, Johanna is covering him as two mighty explosions erupt nearby. An intense wave of heat washes over Danik as the two detonators explode. Was Johanna really protecting him? Or is it just for her child's sake? Would she have done the same for him if Etiel wasn't in his posession? Somehow he doesn't think so. All Danik can do is watch as the Leviathan faces its final moments at the hands of two deadly warriors: Johanna Siri te Danaan and Wescal Cantrell. He can still feel Malign's presence nearby, watching over the scene - and him. He has to do his best to impress his Master... Cantrell and Johanna work together so well in this instance that one might be excused for thinking they'd been practicing. The thermals land squarely under the beast, who steps on one just as the other detonates, sending a spray of atomized Leviathan-flesh raining down on anyone unlucky enough to be caught nearby. Johanna, for her part, has sought cover behind a sturdy chunk of masonry, having shoved Danik against it and covered him as best she can. She does, after all, need him if she wants to get her son back. The second explosion rips the other half of the Leviathan into oblivion and even before the dirt has stopped drizzling down, the Jedi stands and gets away from the old Admiral, disgusted by the role she has to play on Ord Trasi. "You're safe now," she mutters, looking over to see whether the other Imperials have survived (it seems they have), "Where did you run off to just a second ago?" Dareus wipes a chunk of something of his already ruined shirt, as he does he mumbles something to himself as he stands back up fully, "Good thing this was ruined on Coruscant..." He looks to Johanna, "Nothing, just dodging chunks of....nevermind." He leans his ST-I over his right should as he looks at the smouldering carcass, then back to Cantrell, "Nice shot Sergeant.....this would be why I stay on your good side." He chuckles to himself and continues to walk towards the Grand Admiral, "Sir, are you allright?" He realizes that he hasn't been following his orders to the absolute letter, but he (Danik) has done a few amazing things to keep Dareus from being able to stay close to his side at all times...either way he wants to make sure he's not gonna have another trial in the Imperial Naval Courts. Success. "Stupid beast..." Cantrell stands there and watches the explosion consume the Leviathan into a chaotic burst of flame and fury. The immense blast itself doesn't even deter the battle-hardend trooper, watching the chunks of Leviathan flesh and gib spray all over his suit. Just a slight chuckle in response signals the Mandalorian's approval. Walking over to the beast's corpse, he kicks it lightly with his legs, turning his head away from the smell. "Is everyone alright?" He asks, looking around at the group, a frown catching the remains of the Private from earlier. Scoffing, he takes a knee next to him, the horror plastered firmly on the young troopers face signaling his final moments of terror. "Sorry, kid.." The Master Sergeant grunts, brushing his hands over the trooper's eyes. Spotting Johanna, he gets back up and heads over to her, extending a hand. Funny...from what little he's read bout his heritage, Mandalorian and Jedi never really went along, but when they actually cooperate in a rare moment, the damage can be immense. "Good work, Jedi." He grunts out a raspy compliment. Gazing over at Danik, he offers his old friend a faint smile, seeing that he's alright. Cantrell's job's done, the Admiral is safe. As the dust settles, Malign, once again disappears leaving the group behind to search out a few secrets from the world on his own. He was moderately pleased with Danik's attempts to show his power and courage, he would need a lot of training. He was disappointed that the creature had to die, not much left to examine now, he would have to search these halls out for answers of its origins and hope to fabricate or duplicate the procedures to create such a creature, his Master, Vadim would know what to do, he was confident in that. The group seemed more than capable of exploring the world without his help, he would keep an eye on them and would wait to catch Johanna alone for a meeting in the near future. With all that the Sith vanishes into the darkness to lurk the halls of this dark and twisted world. A nice sight to behold, indeed. Danik rubs some dust from his eyes as he gazes upon what was left of the Sithspawn: pieces here and there and lots of blood. It's enough to make his stomach turn. "Well... excellent job, everyone..." Danik says, his eyes darting between the Jedi and the Mandalorian. Danik isn't quite sure who he is more fearful of; Johanna, or Cantrell. It's just best to not engage either of them in direct confrontation. Danik takes a moment to readjust his equipment as he takes a look around; many good stormtroopers were dead. Nine remained out of an original twenty-three. The sad thing is that they were some of the best in the 501st. What a shame. Well, there were still more clones to be produced. Kamino is as active as ever. "I say we continue onward, before we run into another one of those abominations," Danik says to Johanna, pointing up the stairs of the pyramid. "Up." Danik begins the ascent up the staircase, not waiting for the others. He's in a hurry, and doesn't have time to worry about the dead stormtroopers and such. His destiny awaits him. "Quickly, quickly..." Johanna takes Cantrell's proferred hand and shakes it once, eyeing the Mandalorian with grudging approval. "Indeed," she nods, "Though it's a shame about the casualties." A shame as in, Danik isn't among them. Sigh. "Don't be so eager to set foot in the temple," she calls to Danik, "If the horrors that guard it on the outside are of the Leviathan variety, imagine what awaits you on the inside." But it seems that Danik has no worries about any of that... he rushes up the stairs regardless of whether or not anyone is following him. Maybe now is her chance to make her escape! Of course, he still has her son, so she should probably be going after him right about now. It wouldn't do for him to die just now. "Slow down, Kreldin!" Dareus shrugs, insane as it is heading into this thing with what just attacked them; he was still alive, as well as not getting paid to sit on his ass. He begins the run after the Admiral, remembering the orders. He brings the blaster up to hip height, keeping it at the ready as he jaunts just behind Johanna, trying to gain on Danik as they move. Half way up the staircase, he remembers to double check the ammunition on his blaster; then changes the power cartridge, realizing that this would probably not be enough for what was inside this temple; clicking the action as he runs, he has a half stumble on one of the stairs as he's distracted with the blaster, but regains his footing, albeit somewhat embarassed by the whole look of it. The Mandalorian offers Dareus a chuckle at his response, "You already saw the effects of getting on my bad side." Reaching over for his helmet, he continues onward with the pack. "Everyone gather whatever spare ammo you can. This isn't over yet." Cantrell slaps his helmet back on, catching Johanna's comment about the dead. The cold, mechanical rumble of the helmet's comlink bursts to life. "Their death is unfortunate..." He looks over towards Johanna, shrugging. "...but the weak do not survive. Only the strong." The trip through the ancient Sith Temple was exhilirating. So much history, so much knowledge, all within one structure. But Danik had no time to enjoy the Art Gallery or any of the other rooms; the Sith Holocron led him to the Crypts, and that's where the team - nine stormtroopers, himself, Johanna, Dareus and Cantrell, currently are held. Danik takes one of the torches from a slot in the wall and uses it to guide him through the maze. Fortunately, however, he did have a map that would take him to Davin Keldan's tomb, provided graciously by the Sith Holocron, which is now in his palm and showing just that map. "Master Sergeant," Danik says, his eyes glued to the map, "take Ensign Dareus and scout ahead for me down this path, will you?" He comes to a stop at an intersection, his hand with the torch pointing down the right path. "Ensure it's safe and devoid of any traps - our final destination is down that road." He should probably use Johanna for such a task, but he still needs the Jedi alive for the trip out. Besides, he has faith in Cantrell, as always. He gazes over to Johanna and gives her a blank stare. "You best not try anything this late in the game, dear. We're almost done." From SW1ki, a Wikia wiki.
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