Sith Fortress

Central Tower

Weiss grunted irritably as they scaled the final flight of steps, blowing a drop of sweat off of her nose. Her armor's internal cooling system had been struggling vainly to keep up with her physical exertion, but there was no way she was about to remove her buy'ce inside aru'ela territory.

In typical Mandalorian fashion, she sucked it up and pushed on.

Panting over their audio circuit at her side, Pyrrha hefted her carbine before skidding to a stop next to the door at the top of the stairwell. The crimson-armored woman nodded wordlessly, whether because words were unnecessary for an action they had taken innumerable times or if she were too out of breath to do so was up for debate. Weiss nodded back, kicking the door open and rolling inside, blaster pistol held at the ready.

The semicircular corridor was empty. They were on one end of it and the hallway stretched out before them in ominous silence.

Pyrrha eased out from where she had leaned around the corner, blaster carbine out and probing. Weiss hurriedly flicked through her HUD as she rose to her feet again, noting their position. "Let's go," she murmured tersely.

"Lek." Her partner was at her side once more, the pair of Mandalorians moving forward quickly but cautiously. As they passed first an elevator, which Weiss gave a wordless glare at, and then another doorway, they paused as the sounds of running footsteps caught up to them.

Both armored women moved apart but were still taken by surprise when the door burst open. An orange-haired, white-armored figure collided with Weiss, the both of them going down in a tangle of clanking limbs and weaponry.

"Ooof, Nora, you utreekov, get off of me this instant!"

"Weiss! Pyrrha!" The Republic Trooper scrambled to her feet, enveloping the redheaded Mandalorian first in an enthusiastic hug before tackling Weiss as she regained her footing, almost knocking her back down again. "Didja see Yang yet? We split up, she's supposed to be-"

Weiss clamped a hand over the babbling woman's mouth. "Nora. Shush."

"Ohhhh, right," she mumbled around the armored gauntlet. "Covert."

The Echani woman sighed gently as she withdrew her hand. "We have not seen Yang as of yet. What about Jaune and Ren? And where's your helmet? Penny has us in comms now but we couldn't reach any of you."

Nora pulled her assault cannon out as they continued to walk forward, succinctly bringing the others up to date. Weiss blanched slightly at the mention of Ren's wound and wondered if her Jedi lover knew about his situation somehow.

And then that just got her worrying once again over the Cathar woman.

Before they had gone much further, though, the familiar sounds of lightsabers clashing were picked up by her audioreceptors. She held up a hand, halting their progression.

"Up ahead," she murmured. "I'll take a look first, lek?"

Both Nora and Pyrrha nodded solemnly, weapons at the ready as they backed her up. Another twenty meters or so around the bend they came to a partially-open set of double doors. The Echani woman took a quick peek before pulling back with a renewed sense of urgency.

"Yang and Blake," she reported tersely. "Pin down the tall Darjetii at the rear and I'll get Ruby."

"Troch." Her redheaded partner gave her shoulder pauldron a thump with a gauntleted fist. "K'oyacyi, vod."

"K'oyacyi," the Echani woman returned. And then she was off.

The pale-armored woman barged through the doors, blaster holstered, as she darted into the room. She paid no mind to the furious lightsaber battles she raced through, emerald green and amethyst blades clashing against crimson and orange-red ones. She also pushed out of her mind the perplexed curiosity as to how the shab Yang was in possession of a lightsaber, not to mention adroitly using it against a Sith, just as firmly as she shunted aside the relief over Blake's survival so far. Even if she had no idea how the Cathar woman had gotten ahead of her.

A rain of blaster fire from behind streaked across the chamber to pelt the bone-white-skinned woman who stood at the top of the steps. The obvious Sith Lord snarled and raised her hands, somehow managing to absorb the attacks with one while dishing out a burst of dark lightning at the sprinting Mandalorian warrior with the other.

Weiss came to an abrupt halt, dodging the attack, but her momentum had already been interrupted. With a growl, she drew her sidearm and added her fire to the others as she continued forward cautiously, wary of another attack that she'd not be able to adequately block.

The Sith ahead drew her lightsaber and ignited the brilliant red blade, utilizing it to bat away the increased firepower. Emboldened, Weiss started to dart forward again to where she could see her ad'ika secured against the wall when she came to yet another halt. Blake stumbled back into her path, falling gracelessly as she clutched at her side where a bacta patch could be seen oozing fresh blood.

The Mandalorian let out a growl as she switched objectives briefly, popping the nozzle on her flamethrower and firing off a blast at the raven-haired Sith who'd delivered a kick to her Jedi lover. The woman leapt back out of range, still in-between her and Ruby and too close to the slowly-recovering Blake for her comfort. Pale blue eyes narrowed behind her visor, she lifted her blaster pistol once again and fired off four shots.

All four overshot the Sith by a wide margin.

The raven-haired woman smirked at the armored warrior. "You missed," she sneered.

"Did I?" Weiss retorted.

The Sith whipped her head around to spy Ruby, released from the restraints by Weiss' precise shooting, scrambling down the staircase behind her and towards where Nora and Pyrrha stood. But before she could intercept the fleeing Corellian, Blake was back into action, assaulting with an almost primal ferocity.

Both objectives complete, Weiss fell back towards the group at the rear of the huge chamber. There was no question of leaving now, not when those responsible for all of this were present and within reach. The platinum-haired woman noted, as she slid back into position, shoulder-to-shoulder with her partner, that Nora had given the brunette her blaster pistol. Ruby was clutching it determinedly while keeping behind the row of armored women, sneaking in a shot or two at the opponents that her sister and their Cathar lover faced.

Weiss briefly reached back to grasp at the petite Corellian's shoulder, unable to verbalize just how relieved she was to have her back safe again. Fierce silver eyes looked her way as Ruby nodded in wordless gratitude. There'd be time for reunions later.

Right now, there were some Darjetiie who needed to be taught not to mess with her aliit, her family, ever again.

Yang felt energized by the knowledge that, not only had the rest of the group showed up but that Ruby, at least, was safe for now. She pushed that small part of her that always worried for her little sister towards the back of her mind, focusing more fully on the Sith warrior she was dueling.

The blonde pilot still wasn't sure what to make of what was happening with her, the burning in her eyes, the tingling feeling that traveled down her arms, the way she was able to almost instinctually move to intercept each and every strike Mercury sent her way, no matter how powerful or fueled by the anger and hatred flowing off of him in almost palatable waves. It was effortless, like someone or something was guiding her movements, but the Corellian woman was afraid if she lingered on it she'd lose her advantage.

So instead, she kept her head clear and her focus on the grey-haired Sith who was becoming increasingly frustrated with his inability to eviscerate the blonde smuggler.

He twisted slightly and then lunged forward. She batted the red blade aside before swiping at his head with a counter-stroke. He ducked that, aiming a strong kick at her midsection. That she managed to block as well, taking it on her cybernetic arm, but it staggered her nonetheless. Her brow furrowed as she could have sworn she'd heard an almost metallic clang at the contact, but she didn't have time to analyze it further.

Mercury was quick to follow-up with a rapid series of lightsaber strikes, seemingly from all angles. One actually glanced off of her prosthetic elbow, searing the edge and burning a hole in her favorite leather duster. In return, Yang slipped a pair of jabs in that glanced off of his armor, shredding his robes slightly.

The pair of them pulled back, eyes narrowed as they regarded each other.

"Should have killed you right at the start," Mercury growled as he shrugged his robe off, the smoldering dark garment pooling to the ground behind him. He was left in a light grey tunic and pants under his inky-black armor.

"Yeah," she smirked back, dropping her duster to the floor and leaving her in spacer cargoes and orange tank top. "You probably should have."

Snarling, the Sith batted aside a pair of blaster bolts sent from behind them before charging in. Yang braced herself, trusting in her new instincts. While she'd seen the way Blake and Ren fought, the both of them agile and quick, her impulse was to weather the assault on two steady feet like a bastion in the Force.

That's what this is, isn't it…? she mused to herself as her shoulder crashed into Mercury, repelling the charge. Red and green blades clashed once more, staggering the both of them from the intensity of the strikes. The Force, that's what I'm feeling, guiding me, almost like… Huh. Guess it's alive after all. Um, well… Thanks?

Wait, does that make me a Jedi now?

Their faces mere centimeters apart as they struggled against one another for leverage, lightsabers and hands grappling fiercely, Yang let a slow, almost predatory grin creep across her face.

Well, maybe I am, then. And that makes me qualified enuff to take care of this nerf-herder.

She leaned back slightly and raised her knee in an abrupt fashion. Mercury's eyes widened as she made contact with his groin, even armored as it was she'd managed to project enough force through the hit for him to feel it.

And then he let out a scream as her blade slipped past his defenses, scoring a painful cauterized gash across his right arm.

While he was momentarily disabled, Yang spun in place, her blonde mane of hair whipping around her like a tail as she took his head off.

She stood there, panting heavily, and watched her opponent's corpse crumple to the floor.

"Well, I'll be frizzed," she murmured wonderingly, feeling the power drain away. As it did, her once-again lilac eyes rolled into the back of her head as she dropped gracelessly to the ground, the lightsaber deactivating as it fell next to her unconscious form.

"Yang!"

Weiss whipped her head around at Ruby's shout. Both Mercury and Yang were on the floor, though the former looked to be so in a more permanent fashion as his head was lying a good meter beyond his body.

"Is she hurt?" the Echani questioned over the noise of continued blaster fire.

"No, I think she just passed out!" Ruby returned.

"Lek…" Her HUD was lighting up with new targets as hidden doors to the rear of the room opened, filling the chamber with assault droids and Imperial troops. The Rattataki woman was moving back to shelter behind the newly-arrived reinforcements, her crimson eyes alight with hatred. "Pyrrha, with me. Nora, take out those aru'e. Ruby, keep behind us, cyar'ika, and get ready to grab her."

"Troch."

"You betcha!"

"Got it," Nora giggled darkly, dropping her cannon to the side as she pulled out her other major piece of weaponry. "Come on, Handske, let's introduce them to the party."

She let fly a rapid-fire barrage of grenades. Explosions littered the end of the room upon the raised platform, sending bodies and droid parts sailing out in all directions. The pair of Mandalorian women moved forward, Ruby keeping a steadying hand on her girlfriend's back as they neared Yang's position. It only took a few moments for them to crouch down and for the brunette to grab ahold of her sister under the arms, slipping the discarded lightsaber into her belt first. Then they moved back once more to where Nora was cackling with glee.

"She is having entirely too much fun," Weiss murmured over the shared circuit with her partner.

"Oh leave her be, vod," Pyrrha giggled in return. "There are plenty more aru'e for us to play with as well."

"She concerns me, is all."

"Mmhmm. At least she hasn't tried to stab any of us."

"That was over a decade ago!" Weiss growled indignantly. "I was still learning! And you shouldn't have been standing so close to me, you utreekov!"

Pyrrha giggled once again. "Udesiir, vod."

"Oh, nar'sheb," she replied without any heat.

"Yes, dear."

Blake was trying to ignore the battle raging around her, insofar as it wasn't going to interrupt her duel. No, she had her hands full with the Sith woman from her past.

Orange-red blades whirled and flashed about, causing her to backflip out of the way again. Cinder was physically far less of a threat, physically, than Darth Tyrian or Darth Hazel had been, but with Blake already wounded it was more of a struggle than it should be. Indeed, the raven-haired woman took a particularly dark delight in hammering her wounds whenever possible.

Growling, the Cathar woman was determined to finish this before her injuries impaired her any further. She charged forward with atypical brute force, battering at the dual-bladed defense. In response, Cinder backflipped to land atop the stairs, smirking down at her as she held the high ground.

Her smirk was wiped off of her face as Blake followed close on her heels, and rather than obtaining a more defensible position, she was forced to fall back further. Both blade-wielders had to watch their footing as the ground there was pockmarked with small craters and littered with the remains of soldiers and droids. Several Imperial troopers were still there, sheltering behind the metallic husks of their non-sentient support from the volume of fire still coming from the intruders below.

As they danced about, Blake delivered a high kick to the side of Cinder's head, staggering her. The Jedi blademaster flipped backwards, using the Force to assist her, and slashed through the torsos of a pair of soldiers who were trying to get a heavy blaster cannon mounted on a tripod. She leapt forward once more, clashing blades furiously again with the Sith woman.

Cinder's blade seared past her face, close enough that a few strands of hair from her bangs were singed off. The Cathar woman knew she didn't have a lot of time left, with as heavily as she was drawing upon the Force to both hold the pain at bay and keep up with the darkside user.

The raven-haired human had changed considerably over the years, not for the better, obviously, but Blake had always been the better duellist. At least, until the other woman was given the advantage. And it was one she was all too willing to use.

Were she uninjured and rested, the Jedi Master would have seen the feint for what it was. Unfortunately, Blake responded to the thrust and was caught out of position.

A Force-assisted kick smashed into her bleeding side once again, but this time it was delivered with enough power to send her flying away before landing with a painful thud, curled up in agony.

All thoughts of defense fled from her mind. She could barely grasp the Force anymore, it was like trying to hold the sands of Tatooine in her hand. Panting hard, her ears plastered to her head much as her sweaty bangs were, she got to her knees, one arm wrapped protectively across her stomach while the other held her purple blade before her, the tip wavering slightly.

From several meters away, Cinder laughed mockingly as she idly twirled her lightsaber.

"Not so tough now, are you, Blake?" the raven-haired Sith sneered. "I've come a long way since-"

Her monologuing was cut off by an explosion at her feet. Robes tattered, her body was flung backwards and into the already-crumbling rear of the tower. As soon as she hit, the structure there collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

Blake was also flung away from the concussive blast of Nora's grenade, landing on her back with a pained grunt but otherwise uninjured further. She lay there, staring up at the ceiling while her ears flicked atop her head, trying to clear the dust from the hairs there.

Soon enough, though, her vision was filled with the delightful view of a grinning, silver-eyed brunette and a platinum-haired Echani beauty.

"You just gonna lie there all day, Blakey?" Ruby inquired humorously.

"Mmm." The Cathar smiled softly. "I was thinking about it. Especially if the two of you would join me down here."

"Come on, utreekov," Weiss laughed, standing back up and offering a gauntleted hand. The other was occupied with her helmet, tucked under her arm. "Let's get our shebs back to the ship, lek?"

Blake accepted the help up, standing with a wince and swaying slightly as she clipped her lightsaber to her belt once more. "Did we account for them all?" she inquired with a breathy murmur.

Her brunette lover sighed as she slid into her uninjured side, draping the Jedi's arm across her shoulder. "Salem got away. That's the big bad lady. But sounds like we took care of everyone else."

"Elek, and both Jaune and Ren are waiting for us near the hangar, keeping our route open," Weiss confirmed, tapping her helmet idly. "I've already let Coco know that they can prepare to break away. I don't know if she will or not, from the sounds of it they're having a rather kandosii time of things."

"Very well." Blake surveyed the remains of the battle. Nora and Pyrrha stood by the exit, weapons at the ready, while Yang leaned against the wall nearby as well, her shoulders hunched and head hung in exhaustion. But she looked uninjured, even if she were slowly rotating her cybernetic arm, wincing at the movement from her elbow.

She knew there was a conversation that needed to happen with the blonde woman, sooner rather than later. But for now… For now, they were all alive and victorious.

"Home, then?" the Cathar woman inquired softly as she limped along, drawing upon the Force to begin healing her wounds.

"Home sounds good to me," Ruby sighed with wholehearted agreement.

"Lek," Weiss murmured, offering them both a warm smile. "Let us return to our yaim and leave this place behind us."

"And then maybe to bed?" the brunette giggled mischievously while blushing nonetheless.

"Ruby!" their Mandalorian lover chided without any real heat, the tips of her ears pinkening. "She's been injured, how could you possibly think of-"

"Maybe, but I gotcha thinking about it now, too, right?"

"I… you… I don't…" Weiss sputtered incoherently for the span of their walk to the door. "K'uur!" she finally exclaimed, the rest of her face flushed with embarrassment.

Blake grinned as she passed the others, all three of whom were shaking with silent laughter.

Home. It's definitely time to return there with my loves.

And Ruby and I can work on Weiss while on the way there regarding our impending rendezvous in the bedroom...

Dramatis Personae (in order of appearance):

Yang Xiao Long - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, talented pilot, and droid tinkerer.

ZW-31 - Yang's custom astromech droid.

Ruby Rose - Human female from Corellia. Smuggler, skilled mechanic, and gun nut.

P3-NY - Ruby's astromech droid.

Lady Salem - Rattataki female. Sith Lord and advisor to the Emperor.

Lady Cinder Fall - Human female. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Darth Hazel - Sith Pureblood male. Sith Lord Warrior.

Darth Tyrian - Zabrak male. Sith Lord Inquisitor.

Emerald Sustrai - Twi'lek female. Sith Marauder.

Mercury Black - Human male. Sith Warrior.

Weiss Schnee - Echani female from Eshan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Pyrrha Nikos - Human female from Alderaan. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Jaune Arc - Human male from Mandalore. Mandalorian bounty hunter trainee.

Hei "Junior" Xiong - Human male from Tatooine. Gangster and information broker.

Melanie Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Miltia Malachite - Devaronian female exiled from Devaron. Bodyguard and assassin.

Blake Belladonna - Half-Cathar female from Cathar. Jedi Master.

Lie Ren - Mirialan male from Makeb. Jedi Apprentice to Master Belladonna.

Master Ozpin - Human male from Coruscant. Jedi Master and Council Member.

Nora Valkyrie - Human female from Ord Mantell. Republic Commando.

Neptune Vasilias - Devaronian male from Nar Shaddaa. Migrant Merchants' Guild.

Sun Wukong - Zabrak male from Nar Shaddaa. Grifter, middle-man, thief.

Coco Adel - Human Female from Coruscant. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Fox Alistair - Miraluka Male from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Velvet Scarlatina - Mirialan Female from Nar Shaddaa. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

Yatsuhashi Daichi - Human Male from Balmorra. Mandalorian bounty hunter.

A/N: Whew! So that's the action, then, all wrapped up. We have one final chapter to go where most things will be explained to the satisfaction of the readership (or not), and then an epilogue.

Stay shiny!