For the Empresses eyes only (Astren, Closed)

[furionqeurel]

It took an extremely talented individual to make their way into the personal retreat of the Empress without much issue, then again, few were prepared to stand in the way of a Jedi Master and his three Padawan learners. In fact, Furion didn't lift his hand the entire time, he just walked, adorned in full Jedi Master Robes, hood covering the top half of his head completely, making his way about with his high ability to sense what was around him via the force. His Padawan's got a nice work out dealing with the guards, but they knew to stay outside once he have the signal and moved towards Astren's study.

The door was blown off the hinges as he approached, confidently and powerfully he made his way into the room. "You'll have to forgive me, Empress, I don't have an appointment, but I have some reading I believe you'll want to see." he informed from under his hood, hands tucked into his sleeves at his front. Close to his lightsaber, once he would need it.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

She faced the large window, looking down at all that was hers to own and to rule while the turquoise-haired girl in the corner bit her lip, fighting the end of a fit of sobs as she bandadged her left arm. She, clumsy by nature, had dropped one of her Empress's light sabers by accident and thereby evoked her wrath. It had merely been her own silly mistake to put her hand out to block like that. In an attempt to keep her head safe- she was quite defensive of her remaining eye after losing the other one- she'd accidentally been set on fire. The flames had been extinguished but not in time to save her arm. It had only hurt at first, admittedly, and after a while it was only the panic that had kept her screaming. She exited after she finished wrapping it to throw away her shirt, bodice, and jacket and get another set from the closet in the room next to the study.


While she was gone, Astren continued to look. She didn't feel bad, she had no reason to. She actually hadn't intended to set the girl on fire- her plan had been, admittedly, to beat her with fists instead of the force- but her temper had gotten the best of her and suddenly, woosh, the sleeve of her jacket was on fire and she was screaming bloody murder. As she changed, Astren turned. There was someone or something coming. She couldn't tell what or who, but something was. Precognition, in combination with her being a slightly paranoid individual, She turned around completely, facing the door as she retrieved her light sabers from the case to her right- the two purple ones, that is- and stayed fixated on the door.

In a moment, it blew off its hinges, revealing a man fully outfitted in Jedi garbs. She smiled broadly once she saw him. Ooh! How fantastic! How utterly, mind-blowingly wonderful that she should get to meet a Jedi Master here of all places! It was rare for her to enter into physical combat with anyone because of her rank and this... Oh, it was just too much! Ha! She was made nearly giddy with his presence and his oh-so-demanding tone.

"You'll have to forgive me, Empress, I don't have an appointment, but I have some reading I believe you'll want to see."

And she couldn't help but feel the urge to giggle at him. She lifted one arm out to her side, leaving the one holding her light sabers down at her side. "Oh, dear stranger, to think that any Jedi would pay attention to things like appointments? Don't take me for a fool: I'd never go so far as to overestimate your kind by so much." and she placed her palms down on the table in front of her, leaning forward so that some of her weight was on them. "Now, what, exactly, would a member of an endangered peoples want me for?"


At this moment, Evelyn entered again, quiet and cowering near the edge of the room where the broken door had evidently spooked her. Her newly-bandaged arm was left down at her side, apparently temporarily made useless. Her only good eye widened as she moved towards a corner, not able to dare to desert Astren. Even she could tell: a man dressed such as this one was a Jedi. A man such as this would probably be executed by Atren herself.

[furionqeurel]

"I am here, Empress, to personally deliver a message to you, which is also being mass printed to be handed out to millions of people across the galaxy." he informed, one hand rising from its position as his front to reveal a rolled up piece of paper. He folded it out, held in position so he could see it. "I am here to give you our official declaration of Rebellion."

He took a moment to let it hang in the air, to let her know what was coming.
""We, the beings of the Rebel Alliance, do this day send forth this Declaration to Her Majesty, the Empress, and to all sentient beings in the Galaxy, to make clear to all the Purposes and Goals of this Rebellion. We firmly acknowledge the importance and necessity of the institution of Galactic Government. We accept that all must subjugate themselves to that Government, giving up certain rights and freedoms, in return for peace, prosperity and happiness for all.

We believe that the Galactic Government derives its power and right to rule from the consent of the governed. We believe that, should the rights of free beings be willfully and malignantly usurped, it is the unalienable right of said beings to alter or abolish said Government.

We believe that the Galactic Empire has willfully and malignantly usurped the rights of the free beings of the Galaxy and therefore, it is our unalienable right to abolish it from the Galaxy.

We do not take this course lightly. Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes, but when a Government displays a history of usurpation, abuse and moral atrocity, displaying a clear design to subjugate totally and absolutely beings born free under the auspices of nature, it is our right—our duty—to depose of that Government.

The history of the present Galactic Empire is of repeated injuries upon its members, with the direct objective of establishing you, the successor to Emperor Palpatine, as absolute tyrant over the Galaxy:

You have disbanded the Senate, the voice of the people;
You have instituted a policy of blatant racism and genocide against the nonhuman peoples of the Galaxy;
You have overthrown the chosen leaders of planets, replacing them with Moffs and Governors of your choice;
You have raised taxes without the consent of those taxed;
You have murdered and imprisoned millions without benefit of trial;
You have unlawfully taken land and property;
You have expanded the military far beyond what is necessary and prudent, for the sole purpose of oppressing your subjects.

We, the Rebel Alliance, do therefore in the name—and by the authority—of the free beings of the Galaxy, solemnly publish and declare our intentions:

To fight and oppose you and your forces, by any and all means at our disposal;
To refuse any Imperial law contrary to the rights of free beings;
To bring about your destruction and the destruction of the Galactic Empire;
To make forever free all beings in the galaxy.

To these ends, we pledge our property, our honour, and our lives."

That was it, the official Declaration of Rebellion, as he finished he made one small move, a little force push to carry the paper to Astren. Paper might have been old fashioned, but is was much easier to drop ten thousand paper pamphlets from the air into the streets of Coruscant then it was to drop Data slates, that was rather dangerous in fact.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

The Empress Astren watched and listened with an expression that slowly- incredibly, painfully, astonishingly slowly- changed from sadistic glee to pure, untainted disgust. Her expression darkened exponentially as the man read, partially from the knowledge that these things would be spread throughout her city and partially because of what they said. She was convinced that this information was wrong. It absolutely had to be, there was just no way to get around it. He was horribly misguided, as those who followed him must have been to agree with anything written there. As he finished, she breathed deeply, heavily, in such a way that the servant girl in the corner covered her own head in fear.

This... Slander. This blatant, open defamation of the Empress... She could never let him go without punishment. She grabbed the paper out of the air, softly, delicately, as if it would dissolve to ashes at her touch, and looked it over in silence. Those words... Libel. She hated those words. So much so that, if she hadn't been intelligent and self-disciplined, she would have burned it and had it's deliveryman burned in turn.

“Ah.” she said, her voice strained even to her own ears as she uttered the too-curt sound. “I see. This is most certainly,” and Astren paused, looking for the correct word as she looked down at it. “Unfortunate.” and with that, she looked up to the man before her. Though her expression was greatly displeased, she posture was not aggressive. Not yet, anyway. “It seems I have contradicted myself greatly in assuming that you- or those that lead your or those that follow you- could create a document without filling it with falsehoods and misinformation.” she shook her head, disappointed in this. “But to think that you would spread these lies throughout an empire in the hopes of insulting it's leader... It's a joke. Even under the guise of an announcement of rebellion, this is nothing but a child's joke.” and she set it down, stepping in front of her desk after she filed it way in a drawer.

“You, Jedi, claim to be here in the name of peace, prosperity, and happiness for all. This is a blatant lie, and not one I will stand to have fed to me. You, Man of the Rebel Alliance, have shown not one honest act in the interest of peace, or prosperity, or anyone's happiness but your own. Rather, you, the rebels, attacked my temple. You killed my men. You let your own die, all in effort to help one man escape. Now, honestly, I have no way of knowing whether or not you were involved. Rebels are popping up all over these days, what with all the anarchists and weak-minded masses who will look for anyone to blame their problems on, but you're the same as they are, whether you're involved or not.

“Tell me, Jedi, in the name of who's happiness was it that my temple was destroyed? Who was made prosperous through the deaths of hundreds- nay, thousands- of your own men!?” and by this time, her voice had grown to the point where she was nearly yelling, voiced raised in authority. She calmed herself once again in mere second before continuing. “What sort of a peaceful action was it to destroy my temple? It stood fine, and strong until you and your soldiers arrived here and opened an attack against my men. The only anomaly is you: You were the only thing not familiar to the situation. The destruction of the temple was, most likely, your own doing. Yet, you stand here before me and tell me that the goal of those who have heartlessly slaughtered for their own gain want “Peace?” “Prosperity?” “Happiness For All?” Do not lie to me, and do not mock me. The only objective you're kind are interested in is happiness and that happiness is none but your own.

“You “firmly acknowledge the importance and necessity of the institution of Galactic Government” and yet you seek to abolish the current government for my supposed “atrocities?” You elect, then, to allow anarchy to befall this empire? To allow brother to slay brother, to allow man and his fellow men to act on their own devices against one another or in any other way their waxing, waning hearts might fancy? I'm disappointed, Jedi.” and she paused very briefly to make direct, unwavering eye contact with the Jedi before her as if to embellish her statement- “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity. Regardless of how horrible you may label me- regardless of my brand according to you as a “tyrant,” regardless of my name as a “morally atrocious” woman, regardless of whatever you would like to name me- the people of this empire and the next will be far worse off without a leader.

“But perhaps you intended to lead them yourself? Perhaps a man you admire, or follow, would take control? And yet you're assured that I am the problem? A wise man once said that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Another has said that, “any ideal system is its own worst enemy, because as soon as one starts to implement these visions of grandeur, they just fall apart and turn into a complete tyranny.” Oh, but perhaps this would suit you more: “of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” ” And she looked at him in what may have been able to be called disbelief. This poor, obtuse man. He was too many years to young to win out against her. But this... To present himself to her in such a manner as this to show to her a mere piece of paper with no value and insult her so dramatically. It was like a nightmare. There was absolutely no way he could have been serious. “Your hopes, your ideals, your plans for the people of this galaxy and others... It would end in no better condition than the state it is currently in.”

“You go further to claim that I have disbanded the senate, did you not? This, potentially one of the most insulting falsehoods on the entire declaration, is something that needs to be corrected most certainly. As a Jedi, it's disappointing that you're so poorly versed on events in recent history: I disbanded nothing. Palpatine before me disbanded the Senate. I will not take credit for the things that man did regardless of who agrees or disagrees with them, myself included. And racism? Ha! You, a Jedi, dare to speak to me of Racism? Of genocide? Again, I feel surprised that you're unaware of the histories of your own people. It was the Jedi who created the Sith by ostracizing them; by casting out my ancestors to die in the vacuum of space, your people exhibited one of the oldest acts of bigotry. Yet you chastise me for punishing those races who pose a threat to my people and making an example of what happens when you cause problems for an empire? Is it possible that Jedi's, in addition to being a weak-minded lot with unfulfillable fantasies of the perfect Utopian society are also hypocrites? How rich. How quaint” and the words had a sharp edge to them that would have cut like a knife to any loyal to the code of a Jedi.

“Even supposing you'd deny this despite evidence against you... He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” and she allowed the words to speak for themselves. Hopefully, as dense as this man seemed to be, he would understand anyway.

“I have murdered and imprisoned millions without benefit of trial. Is that so? You chastize me for this and yet, once again, your own organization has acted in the same way. Any reasonable person would admit that, left to gain power, they would act in the same manner in which I have been accused. You say that I've expanded my military far beyond what is reasonable and necessary... How would you define those terms? If you're going to make an announcement, you ought not to use relative terms.”

“I find it funny. Jedi, that you present yourself under the name of a Jedi and yet you are so involved in your emotions...” She paused, laughing softly in her disgust, “You're more like me than you'd like to admit. Peace is a lie; there is only passion. Correct? Through passion, I gain strength. Isn't this right? Through strength, I gain power. And this is so. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The force shall set me free- and isn't it you who wishes for freedom to himself and his people?”

It was hard to tell whether she'd calmed or not. Her arguments were at least somewhat logical, though her earlier snap was most certainly one that was emotionally charged. She gripped the lightsabers in one hand tightly, though she didn't turn them on or seem to want to at the moment. Even so, it seemed that something was about to happen because Evelyn, cowering in the corner, was growing more and more unstable as the moments passed

[furionqeurel]

Furion listened to everything she said, tilting his head with concern at one point. "And thus, you are infinitely more dangerous then Palpatine." he informed. "I believe....that you genuinely believe everything you just said. At least Palpatine was aware of his....wicked side. You are so in love with yourself you have justified everything you have done in your world. Your ego protects you." He could see how she had her lightsabers gripped, there was no point in delaying the oblivious.

"You are a Sith and the head of the Empire, I am one of the last of the Jedi and head to the biggest threat to your sovereignty. Let us not delude ourselves any longer, we both know where this is going." he continued rolling his shoulders so his robes would fall off and pool to the ground, revealing now his own lightsaber, held comfortably in one hand, the Jedi Master took the opening stance of Makashi, the green blade appeared.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

She breathed. He was right. She did love herself an awful lot, but that was to be expected, wasn't it? After all, who else could ever be worth her love? It only occurred to her after he'd mentioned Palpatine that maybe he had been expecting one of her other personas. Of course the Empress was concerned for her people. It was her job to be. The Dark Lady of The Sith, Astren Rosalba Chevalier III had been the persona he'd most likely expected to speak with. She didn't have split personalities- of course not- but multiple personas like any other person did. Had a different front be up, she would have likely answered much differently... Regardless, he was still a dirty hypocrite to her and now one that wanted to challenge her. Well, then, so be it.

“Evelyn” she stated, loudly and without room for the young girl to ask why she was being beckoned. Instead, she walked along the wall before finding her place next to the empress in front of the desk while Astren herself walked forward, switching one of the two sabers to her other hand. Her foe took his stance, and prepared himself for the battle. She did the same, taking up a modified Ataru opening stance before both of the purple beams appeared simultaneously. She would have asked for a name if it had not been for the fact that he would die in minutes and it would be worthless to know anyhow.

A second passed, maybe, in the stillness before she advanced quickly. Her ebony wings opened momentarily before closing rapidly, propelling her forward more quickly than usual before she began her barrage of attacks. As she tucked the feathered appendages close to her back, she spun and flipped, swinging with two blades. One was aimed for his head, making a short, quick arc toward his temple by flicking her wrist and the one that followed made a broader slash aimed for his stomach, about where his naval would have been. Another came, this one an overhead swing as she changed axis of the fast, acrobatic attacks she tried to hit him with before hitting the floor hard and stepping quickly back to assess what damage- if any- she'd done to her opponent.

[furionqeurel]

Being a Jedi Guardian, he was a warrior by nature, it was his roll in the old Jedi Order to root out evil and destroy it, when such a thing was required. There had never been Sith, but there was plenty once Palpatine came along, Sith like Dooku, then all the Dark Jedi, so many Dark Jedi. Regardless, Furion was Guardian, fighting was what he did. His use in the force near revolved around it, so when she charged, he was ready.

As always, it was his use of Force Valor & Force Speed that would give him a real edge, Force Enlightment boosting the abilities of his valor to turn an already master of lightsaber combat into an unstoppable juggernaut of the lightside. Her wing carried charge came in fast, but he responded quickly, his battle precognition guiding lightning fast parries and nimble footwork.

When she stepped back to assess, he was unphased, calm in the eye of the storm. He could tell, even from that little performance, her Ataru was very impressive, her stance had been perfect, but she was weakening herself with that off hand lightsaber.

What he did next, did not come from anger or rage, he was in fact, entirely calm and very much in control of his emotions, his free hand launched forward, open palm facing the Lady of the Sith. An emerald lightning, the Electric Judgement exploded out of his hand, he knew with his ability in the power he could easily kill someone if he was not careful, but he was careful and while sapping her of her strength and willpower was an obvious bonus, he was also hoping it would knock her back across the room and out the balcony, in the out doors he could make more use of his own Ataru and his force jump, not in confined room.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

Damn. He was skilled. Very skilled. To block or dodge everything like that... It had been her mistake for assuming it would be easy, really, but it didn't do much to save her from the disappointment of not having landed even one scratch on him. It was alright, though, because she could still try. She Could always try again and, like always, perseverance would pay out.

She didn't expect, however, that he would use an electrical attack on her and, as expected, found herself blown backward, though she did not quite make it to the balcony as he had hoped. Evelyn squeaked in surprise and ducked away from her mistress's form, covering her head in fear until she looked up, a surprised expression at the discovery that she had, somehow, not been hurt. Astren, too, yelped, surprised at his attack when it hit her and hissed under her breath as she looked back up at him. The light saber that had once been held in her left hand was now gone, knocked off to the side somewhere, though the other stayed, held in a tighter grip by her dominant hand.

She lifted her now free hand and suddenly, Evelyn gasps before starting to claw at her throat, eyes closed tight as she struggled for a breath. He was a jedi, wasn't he? If that was the case then watching a person suffer may have been a weakness. Even if it wasn't, it didn't matter. That was not her objective, to use this servant against him in such a way. She raised her hand more, and Evelyn followed until she was held a good six inches aloft. She mouthed the words, pleading “Stop! Please! I'm sorry! I can't...” several times over and in no particular order as she kicked aimlessly, searching for ground to stand on, while her hands groped at her throat, trying to relieve the Force Choke the Empress had inflicted. Tears welled in the only eye she had left as she tried to plead with the Empress to forgive her for whatever it was that had caused this punishment. In a moment, Astren swung her arm forward, watching through angry eyes as the teal-haired girl was tossed through the air like a rag-doll at her opponent, acting as a shield, distraction, and weapon in one while Astren stood and righted herself, leaving her other saber on the ground while she watched to see if the young girl had hit him like planned or if, somehow, he'd managed to dodge or catch her.

[furionqeurel]

Furion enjoyed that for once it was the Jedi who had used lightning to batter the Sith, as opposed to the other way around. It was all the more satisfying since he wasn't stepping into the Dark Side to do it, although his opponent didn't seem to be too concerned with that, it was good to see he could catch her off guard. Most satisfying indeed.

With her next movement however, he found himself at something of a block, if he leapt in to stop he her he risked that she would simply snap the girls neck. Instead, the Jedi Master closed his eyes for a moment, the hand that had a moment ago blasted the electricity, now acting as a focusing tool as he tried to sever her connection to the force, it did not appear to work however, as the one eyed girl was hurled towards him. Furion had the time to switch off his lightsaber and catch the girl, but he was ill prepared for the weight that had been thrust onto him, as he fell backwards, hitting hard as he landed. "My my, I remember when the Sith used to actually try fighting more then once before dirty tactics like that." he announced, before gently moving the girl off him, carefully sitting her down before returning his attention to the Sith.

With a quick force jump he brought himself towards Astren, still empowered by Force Valor and Speed, he exploded into Ataru, leaping and twirling around in a constant barrage of assaults, it was constant as he flipped between cartwheels and somersaults to lay down constant attack. His Ataru was a misleading assault though, he had seen her opening stance, he knew she was an Ataru practitioner, and as soon as he goaded her into using it also, well as a Master of Makashi and almost a Master of Ataru, he was more then aware of all the weaknesses he could exploit in the acrobatics, one precise stab to the kidneys would end it quickly. The Contentious Opportunity, as the Makashi practitioners called it.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

Evelyn scrambled away, seemingly more afraid of the Jedi than the woman who had done far more in an attempt to injure her. She didn't bother standing, but stayed on the ground once she'd gotten a safe distance away from the Jedi and Astren. Astren scoffed at the man's words, not really offended at his attempt to insult her. The Sith fought in whatever way suited them, dirty or no. She didn't think there was a Sith out there that would hesitate to use whoever was at their disposal to win a fight, even if it meant distracting the opponent for a moment.

She was still surprised, though, when he came at her so quickly. It must have been force speed. It absolutely had to have been. Either way, she fought back, slicing and parrying, dealing no damage and being dealt none, though he did come close to causing her small injuries a time or two, before she shot herself into the air, using her wings to hold herself aloft outside the room on the balcony. He wasn't very good with Ataru. He was fast, she'd give him that. And he wasn't absolutely horrible, she'd also admit that, but his Makashi was far more effective. So why would he have switched? It didn't make any sense... Unless, of course, he had something planned and that thought was enough to make her want to put decent distance between them.

One way or another, this was not amusing in the least. She landed on the edge of the balcony, balancing before she held one hand out, aimed for the Jedi. In a matter of seconds, her control over Friction Fire manifested, trying to fulfill her own desire to burn him into submission. At the same time, she and Evelyn made eye contact, causing the small girl to carefully shuffle her feet in a hurried manner in order to get to her Empress's side. If nothing else, she was an excellent defense against Jedi- so damn them and their messiah complexes straight to hell.

[furionqeurel]

Furion saw her hand raise, unexpecting her technique, it wasn't one he was familiar with, he felt the shaking of his body, heat against his skin, on his robes. It took a moment for his to recollect his peace, not an easy feat when one was being burned but with effort he was able to raise a hand, calling on the light side of the force as he used his Force Protection ability. It eased the pain as he was shielded by a field almost visible with the light side of the force.

He'd need a cold pack after that, and a new set of robes, no matter, now was the time to catch her off guard. Once again calling on his Force Speed and Force Enlightenment he rushed towards the balcony she was perched on, his thrust one hand forward while still quite some distance away, but with a careful button press his weapon revealed itself for what it really was, not a lightsaber, but a Force Pike, a spear like lightsaber based weapon that thrust out with the incredible momentum of his speed enhanced movement, hoping that his Shatterpoint technique would guide his forcepike and find that weakness in her stance and end the Sith Empress once and for all.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

No. How was this? How was it that this strange Jedi could waltz into her space, and battle her so effectively? She would not lose. She absolutely would not lose here. And yet, it was looking worse and worse as the moments dragged on. Pale pink eyes widened, If only slightly when they rested on the Force Pike that was sudden thrust her direction, too fast to dodge. This Jedi... In that moment, she was sure she hated him, but that was to be expected. What was not, however, was the reaction of the one-eyed servant. She had Force Sight, a genetic trait from her Miralukan background, and had been aware of what the Jedi had wanted to do. Even so, she hadn't been able to muster up the courage to get in his way until seconds before he did and by then it was too late. She lunged at him, latching onto his arm with a frail grip just as soon as the pike left his hand. She'd yelped out a quick “No!” that was loud by her standards. It was still too late. Too late for her to stop him, too late to help her Empress. Her remaining eye went wide instantly as she looked up at his face before she looked quickly over to where her Empress had been.

Astren had jerked away, an automatic response to flee instead of fight the thing flying at her in a split second, but still felt the full force of it on her right side just a few inches above her navel and to the far left. She felt her form tilting backward and in an effort not to topple backwards and several stories down, she jerked a second time, this time forward as one hand clutched her stomach and her wings ruffled forward, shifting the center of balance forward. She stumbled down, catching herself loosely on her feet before the reality of the weapon now lodged in her side brought her to one knee. Blood dripped from the wound, following several inches of the pike before falling in drops onto the balcony beneath her. The smell of her own blood reached her quickly, that irony, metallic smell that made her dizzy.

Evelyn immediately released her grip on the Jedi, holding her hands closer to her chest as if he would try to cut them off if she hadn't done so. She stared for a few seconds at most, an expression that screamed one word:

“Monster.”

The fear she'd shown of him increased exponentially as she stepped back two or three steps before rushing to her Empress's side. It was funny, wasn't it? Funny that she should feel so unnerved in the presence of someone capable of the only person to really ever show her any ill will. She was no more than a shield to the Empress, a stress reliever to be hit and burned and cut and subjected to inhumane acts of all sorts, and yet here she was, looking at the man who could have easily freed her from this torture as if he had just set a small crate of kittens on fire, dismembered a baby, and raped her mother. It was funny, wasn't it? Not funny 'ha ha,' of course, but funny ironic.

Astren seemed to ignore Evelyn and tried to laugh dryly, but the sanguine fluid gushed at her attempt and she grimaced instead.
“How ironic.” She started, her voice softer and more airy than the stern tone she'd had before. “You're just as cruel as I am. To inflict such a wound... You should be proud, though. Not a man before you has been able to bring me so effectively to my knees” and one hand wrapped around the pike just in front of the point at which it entered, as if to test that it was really there. She frowned at it, feeling it certainly beneath her fingertips. He was awfully good. She'd have to give this Jedi that much. He was very, very good.

She lifted her hand from the pike and looked through the curtain of bangs that covered her eyes from the angle she held her head at the Jedi as pale lightning shot from her fingertips at him, able to kill him if he was lucky and knock him into unconsciousness of he was not. Simultaneously, just in case, the hand keeping her from falling over tightened into a fist as she concentrated, trying to Force Choke the man in front of her if only to keep him still while she attacked him.

[furionqeurel]

The girl was becoming something of an annoyance, but she hadn't done anything to put her on his bad side, not like the Empress that was. Although he may have to employ a mindtrick on her, should she get in his way again. There was too large a chance here, Astren was on the ropes.

"That's a difference between you and I, I'd never take pride from injuring someone. But I am a Guardian, and I shall do what I must." he replied, using Force Pull to bring his lightsaber back to himself, holding it firmly in one hand. When she sprang into the offensive, blasting the force lightning at him, he raised a hand to use his Force Absorb technique, but her lightning was much too powerful, and though he managed to save his life with the quick act, he was still blown back into her office and before he could even respond he felt his windpipes become tight, to the point in couldn't breath. After a moment, the Jedi Master struck out a hand (while his other pawed at his throat, trying to aid in some manner) and hoped to give himself a brief respite to catch his breath, aiming at Astren a quick, cheap Force Stun.

[Astren Rosalba Chevalier III]

The sensation of the weapon being violently torn from her was heavily delayed. It wasn't until he had used his force stun against her that it really took it's toll. The sharp sting from his attack distracted her long enough to release her grip on him and after that she doubled over, one hand clamped over a wound while the other went to her mouth. It was a combination of two things, honestly, that put the nauseous spell over her. The pain, for starters, was everything short of paralyzing. And then the smell... The pike had acted as a sort of stopper, keeping most of the blood in her body where it belonged- in her body. As soon as it was removed, more was free to drain from the wound and fill the air with the all-too-familiar stench of it. She stood, resisting the sudden urge to empty her stomach of contents as she walked swiftly into the office, following the man who had dealt her this injury.

Her features had been pale to start with, but as she walked and as the blood drained from her, she began to become slightly paler than before as small red puddles formed on the floor, creating a trail as she walked. Less than a minute after he had been blown back- though, to Astren, time warped and bent as her perception on time changed in reaction to the wound inflicted on her and the agony it caused- and she was after him again, employing another Force Choke as her hand (which had been at her mouth) fell until it pointed in his direction, red lightning shooting from the fingertips at him, Draining him in order to repair the wound he'd inflicted.

Meanwhile, Evelyn stayed on the floor, awe-struck and horrified at the scene before her. Her empress looked... Scary. She was scary. Definitely, undeniably scary. The expression she'd had, combined with her blood-stained hands and injured body... Astren was, at this moment, one of the furthest things from human that Evelyn could have imagined.

[furionqeurel]

He was able to recollect himself, quickly getting back on to his feet, prepared for what came next. When Astren tried to grab him with a force choke, he launched forward a hand, using his Force Protection to hold it off, his other hand coming out to send a bolt of Emerald Lightning to counteract hers.

He was, however, unprepared for the next attack, the force drain that hit him....deep inside. It was a horrible sensation....like your very being was being torn out...kicking and screaming. A gasp and cry of pain escaped his lips as his body jerked from it. It took his breath straight out of his mouth. He could feel something on his face, a little movement. When the Jedi Master put a finger, just below his nose, he realised it was bleeding. All of this was starting to take a toll. It had to end soon.

He held his Force Pike in one hand before Force Jumping towards her, breaking into his personalised Makashi assault, an unorthadox manner of using the form, modified to suit the weapon. Aiming careful jabs and thrusts he hoped too not kill her (although that would be an added bonus) but to set up a fake attack, to draw her into a bluff so he could aim a strike that would just graze her. To break her confidence, fight economically to conserve energy, dwindle her reserves, that was his tactic.