Jedi Insurgency 182

After dropping Omega & Triss off, Corvus had followed the sound of explosions, and reached the smoking ruin that was Gora's palace. AA guns tracked his every movement, but thankfully, Tech had shared the code, and his approach was smooth. 

Landing the Falcon inside the blown out front door, he disembarked alongside Jax & Yon. Bodies were strewn out everywhere, and dull red emergency lights barely lit up the hall. 

“Wish I was here for this.” Yon whistled, and toed a Rodian who had been sliced from his ear to his throat. 

“It's cold here.” Jax remarked, a misty breath leaving his mouth. “I sense the Darkside.” 

Corvus narrowed his eyes. 

“I fear we might face a Dark Jedi Master…if we are truly unlucky, then Maul also awaits us.” Corvus said in a cautious tone. 

“Then it's a good thing you decided to bring a few of the Revanite elites, Master.” Yon grinned, and pointed backwards with his thumb. 

Emerging from a handful of shuttlecraft, 300 Force Pike wielding Ongree cultists shuffled onto the scene. They formed ranks, and followed behind the trio of Jedi like a silent honor guard. According to Cenk, these warriors fought one another nearly every day in preparation for The Revan Crusades. Although he didn't like exploiting their religious beliefs, Corvus wouldn't say no to genetically enhanced super soldiers. He'd seen a short demonstration of their abilities, and if he was to put his money on one of these elites, or a Clone Assassin in a 1v1, he'd bet on the Ongree. Their CQC was unmatched! 

Now, if it came to mass warfare, or a battle requiring tactics, then the clones would probably win. But in the human wave battle style of the Clone Wars, he gave these melee specialists a decent chance. Besides, each of them carried a service blaster, shields, and armor, they weren’t as defenseless as a clone trooper who wore the equivalent of plastic armor. 

Igniting his twin lightsabers, Corvus buffed himself, and his allies. Then, using them as a light source, waved the blades forward. 

“Revanites! Follow me!” 

Enhanced by [Speed] & [Valor] & now [Inspiration], both moral and their physical attributes had been amped to the max. 

Leading the column of warriors forward at breakneck speeds, a few of the surviving mercs, or looters who had escaped the Bad Batch were absolutely mowed down, and trampled upon. Their stampede was unstoppable, like that of a cavalry charge! 

Corvus felt exhilarated leading an army of men once again, however, as they drew near to their target, he received an update from the Bad Batch, and saw the pictures of the dead Hutts. His stomach flipped, and he now knew without a shadow of a doubt that shenanigans was afoot. 

“Faster.” Corvus commanded, and then he picked up the pace. 

Jax & Yon struggled to keep up, whilst the warriors were left in the dust, trying to catch up from several corridors away. 

He burst through the broken inner sanctum's door only to find that his worst fears had come to pass. 

“Well.” Maul said smoothly, his voice edged with amusement and menace. “How considerate of you to join us.”

The darkly lit room was filled with the stench of corpulent Hutt corpses, and the whine of a shuttlecraft's engines met his ears. Yet despite the opulent backdrop of precious metals, and jewels, none of it mattered in the face of the cloying suffocation being emitted from the pair of Darksiders. 

Corvus slowly-and sneakily-began to work his Jedi Shadow perk skill, and began to siphon some of that malevolence away, transforming it into his own energy. 

At the same time, he made sure to project an aura of confidence. Standing tall, and resting his hands at his side, he stepped past the men of the Bad Batch, clapping Hunter on the shoulder as he did so. Stopping before he reached the dais, Corvus chuckled. 

“It seems every time I lay eyes upon you, Maul, you are reclining on a throne. The only thing missing is some tart feeding you fruit.” Corvus joked, trying to ease the tension. 

“Yes, I believe I'll have to try that next time.” Maul lazily drawled, kicking a booted foot over the armrest with disinterest. “But you, my Jedi friend have played this charade long enough, no? Even now, you wear the mask, and play games before me. Your dishonesty is so blatant, so childishly obtuse, why, you've driven me into the very embrace of the man you wished me to kill!” Maul gestured wildly to the silent Hutt by his side, and grinned at Corvus with a mouthful of sharp teeth. 

Yon couldn't help himself, and let out a derisive snort. 

“Does the Jedi youngling have something to say? He might as well speak up. Go on, tell us how you were tricked by this shadow.” Maul drawled. 

Ordinarily, Corvus would wave Yon off, as the short tempered-often volatile-teen could say the most outrageous things at times…but this time, he needed to buy time to siphon more of their energy! At the moment, a minute had passed, and he'd already stolen what felt like an entire percent from Beldorion! 

Slightly inclining his head, he gestured for his apprentice to speak. 

“Ignorant Sith, earlier today, my Master had his face, and biometrics scanned by an ancient civilization. They recognized him as Revan, and swore eternal servitude to him. My Master is so great, he has millions of people willing to sacrifice their lives for him. What are you in comparison? Some Zabrak held back by his matriarchal society, I imagine.” Yon scoffed, and pointed a finger at Maul, talking down to him as if he were a disgrace to all Force Adepts everywhere. 

Maul's eyes popped wide open, and the Force began to form a small storm around him. Fallen jewelry lifted from the floor, and cushions rose & fell across the room. It almost looked like the tattooed Zabrak was going to lunge at the kid, when suddenly, deep, billowing laughter echoed throughout the chamber. 

“Oh-hoh-hoh! Taka-weekie nak'a pudeng.” Beldorion slapped a meaty fist on his muscular abs. 

Corvus read the subtitles, and also let out a chuckle. “Yes, he is compensating for something. Were you aware that he was cut in half by a Jedi Padawan? Bisected from the waist down, as a matter of fact.” 

Beldorion glanced at Maul, and his wide mouth stretched to an impossible length as his eyes moved down. 

“Yes, yes, very amusing.” Maul barely masked the absolute inferno boiling underneath a dry laugh. “But such petty words shall not win you this day, Revan.” 

Corvus raised an eyebrow. Besides buying time for the drain, he was sort of trying to turn them against one another, or maybe even call a truce all together, after all, he did have an absurd Persuasion stat, right? 

“And why not? Although this is a well thought out ambush, I must confess, this event was not entirely unforeseen. For you see, I did not come alone.” Corvus snapped his fingers, and the sound of marching boots began to stomp their way forward. 

Flooding into the room, a semi-circle of the 300 surged around him, and rhythmically slammed their Force Pikes onto the palace floor. A wordless chant picked up, and their unyielding faith seemed to stir up the Force, and latched onto Corvus, unknowingly giving him a small boost. 

Corvus smiled at the pleasant surprise. Although he wasn't entirely confident in taking on Maul, this boost in power was easy for everyone to sense, and only enhanced his position in these ‘negotiations.’ What had seconds ago been a spine twisting, gut wrenching dread at facing what was likely a [Jedi Master High] in Maul & low to mid in Beldorion, suddenly didn't appear quite as frightful. 

Make no mistake, he still didn't quite like his odds, but now at least, there was a chance. 

Being the ‘Heart of the Force’ definitely had its upsides. While he wasn't as OP as The Chosen One in raw power-at least not from the start-his potential, especially in group settings, was kind of broken. 

At the arrival of the Revanites, Beldorion’s deep laughter, and amusement suddenly cut off. 

“So it's true.” The muscular Hutt reevaluated his surroundings, and seemed to reassess the situation. 

Corvus internally nodded. If anyone would take the reemergence of Revan seriously, besides the Sith, it would be other Darksiders or long lived species. Beldorion had reigned over a planet of slaves, using the Darkside to practice mind control. This sensation of shared power no doubt ignited his curiosity, and his greed! 

The cold malevolence that he had so wantonly been spreading had withdrawn, his mind became like a steel trap, not allowing anything in. As soon as he did that, the Hutt seemed to notice something, and snorted. 

An invisible, psychic tendril drilled itself towards Corvus’s mind. Thankfully, he was buffed, protected from energy, physical, and Force attacks. A dull green light shimmered around him, blocking the attack, however, the barrier rippled, and threatened to break. The Hutt's mind was incredibly powerful, almost as strong as the Anzat's that he had faced deep within Galactic Bank! That same psychic attack spread to everyone else nearby. 

The boys, and Revanites were fine, however…the Bad Batch were unshielded! One by one, they dropped to the floor, screaming in pain and terror. In one move, Beldorion fully showcased the horror of a Master Darksider proficient in the Force. His attack wasn't meant to incapacitate like a Jedi, or even cause suffering like a Sith…no, he intended to kill! And kill he did! 

Malevolent energy squeezed the clone commandos brains, instantly turning them into mush, murdering them on the spot! Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, each one of them died instantly! 

Upon their collapse, Corvus retaliated without a word. 

Pressing both of his hands forward, bountiful arcs of blue [Force Lightning] scorched forth. The Hutt corpses in the path of this ionic destruction were vaporized, and several support beams made of metal began to ooze. 

Maul rose from his seat, and met the burst of energy with one of his own. Green lightning dropped down from on high, clashing with his own. 

“Yes, yes!” Maul savagely crowed as his lightning-enhanced by the strange magicks of Dathomir-began to steadily push Corvus’s back. 

Caught on the backfoot, worry gripped his heart. Corvus could [Shadow Hop] out of the oncoming storm, but where would that leave the Revanites? The boys? Or even the Bad Batches’ corpses? Without an intact body, they would be lost forever! 

During this moment of worry, Jax & Yon solemnly stepped next to him. 

“We're with you, Master.” Yon took a deep breath, and then exhaled a sharp gale full of vicious power. 

A storm of wind gathered in the Force-and unlike a [Force Push] carried with it the concepts of ebb & flow, give & take-this whirlwind added itself to Corvus’s lightning in a complimentary fashion, whilst also taking away parts of Maul's attack, feeding back into Corvus's. 

The beam struggle changed sides, and slowly started to push back towards Maul! 

“Beldorion!” Maul snarled. 

The muscular slug closed his eyes, and held out his hands. Dozens of psychic spears began to pound his shields. They rippled, and a small tear penetrated his mind, making him bleed from his eyes. Hands faltering, he almost dropped to the floor, when a steady hand from behind caught him. 

A vast, majestic howl rocked the entire super structure. 

For a brief, infinitesimally small second, Jax's piercing blue eyes of winter burned themselves in his psyche, they flashed, and were gone in an instant, yet were no less potent than staring straight into the eye of Sauron from LOTR or directly into the sun. A minty fresh taste entered his mouth, and his entire everything became refreshed. The assault upon his mind ceased, and he snapped his eyes open to see Beldorion quivering next to Maul. 

Standing tall, and no longer on the backfoot, Corvus drew deep upon his own aura, and upon the faith that these 300 warriors were amping him with. 

Shadows coalesced at the edge of his robe, and an endless stream of darkness flooded into the chamber. 

“MY TURN.”