She heard the warrior hiss the words, and Raven rose an eyebrow in amusement, until she saw that an audience had gathered around them, most of whom were Vong, like the the one standing in front of her.

Raven's own senses were on high alert, and the ring around her was unreadable, as if they didn't exist, but, there they were, as if to spite her. Only the humans running around them she could sense.

She never would've believed what she read in preparation for the mission earlier, that there was an actuall race that were capable of such a feat, until she was surounded by a whole group of them.

And, the uncertainty she was experiencing now, was combined with the confusion at her master's reply to her last comment. It just didn't seem like the Leia she knew to dismiss something like that.

And the challenge, after all, was directed towards her, not both of them. So, for the time being, she was on her own.

"You say that like it's a bad thing? What did we do to deserve such hatred?" Raven asked, pulling her lightsaber at last from her belt, igniting one end, the hissing sound her sole comfort in her uncertainty, the violet light creating deap shaddows on her face.

She didn't want to fight, but it appeared that if she didn't, she would either be captured, or killed. This mission could very well become her last, if she didn't succeed.

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> The larger tatooed figure let out a blood curling roar like none ever heard by the Jedi. Leia was forced back out of the circle, and had her own Yuuzhan Vong trying to deal with her, while the refugees made a daring dash for the Carrack Cruiser. Meanwhile, the Jedi Knight and the Yuuzhan Vong warrior were left to their own private duel.

His snake like amphistaff was the first to swing at the activated abomination known as a light saber, that she easily parried, but he stooped down low as she returned the swing toward his head, and battered her with the butt of his weapon. With her inability to sense his actions...this was going to be all too easy. He lifted his amphistaff high over his head and brought it downward.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

She was fighting a brick wall, well, a fast-moving brick wall. Unexperienced in this kind of fighting, she was already caught guard.

Raven stubled from the blow, but didn't fall, and charged back in. She had to learn how to do this, and fast.

What she wasn't expecting, was that overhead blow, which hit her on the shoulder and sent her to the ground with a thud.

She was now not in the best of moods, and managed to get back to her feet again, and attempted to return the favor by nailing him with the butt of her own lightsaber.

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Taking the hit directly in the chest, not even wincing, his armor suddenly jerked slightly. It then meshed and molded, trying to pull her light saber inward, but she managed to pull it back out. The armor was alive!

The warrior's staff was the next to go on the offensive as he lunged it forward at the Jedi, which she easily parried once again, seeing it come inward and slapping it asside was even a newbie technique. But there was <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> another<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> surprise. The staff hissed its fangs and transformed from a blunted staff to a ferocious snake and began entwining around the violet laser blade.

The warrior then jerked with all his might, trying to remove it from her hand...he was very strong.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

The Dark woman grinned.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Good... that floundering Padawan will be of more use than I thought...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Not stupid enough to break out in a run or even think of finding cover, the Sith simply manuevered out of the crowd and walked away. No Vong in the crowd followed her, the duel was far more important, and their confidence in the security of their base was much.

So, Leia lurked around the general area unhindered, though watched.

Not expecting the staff the warrior was using to become a snake, Raven was suddenly dragged along the ground.

Noticing that her grip was slipping, the snake was inching closer to own hands, Raven didn't want to know if the snake could actually bite her, and cause more damage.

Tightening her grip with one hand, she formed a fist with the other, and slammed it into the snake coiled around her lightsaber.

She wouldn't give up her blade if she could help it, and Raven admitted, that staff of his was rather interesting, and wondered where she could possibly get one of those with being nearly dieing for it.

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> His hideous maw of teeth snapped open and shut like a predator breaking a prey's bone. The Yuuzhan Vong warrior lifted his opponent off the ground with the staff, and then proceeded to slam her smaller body into the ground not once, nor twice, but four times, leaving her with at least one shattered rib, but it was doubtful that she suffered only one. <!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"Do you like the pain <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> jeedai<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->?"<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> the warrior tried hard to say in the basic tongue, but it seemed he had to twist his mouth quite a bit to actually say it. The amphistaff uncoiled itself around the woman's light saber and he thus thrusted again, but this time with the blunt of the staff, scoring a blow in her belly, before he managed a spin kick to her jaw. The warrior was displeased, he was convinced <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> jeedai<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> were worthy foes.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"Yun-Shamo has sent one of his minions to me this day."

Raven hated having the warrior quickly find that she was such an amatuer.

Of course, leaving her own belly exposed long enough to nail her that much didn't help matters any.

Hearing him ask if she liked the pain, it sounded as if he were actually discusted with how it had actually turned out so far.

Raven had tried to stand up, only managing to hunch over at the result of the pain she was going through, finding a companion in her own jaw a few moments later.

As luck would have it, only a rib suffered the worse, perhaps one was broken? She didn't have enough experience to know for sure.

And, her lightsaber was too far away to make a difference.

Oh Cripes, this isn't good.

Answering his question, Raven managed a sneer on her face.

"No more than you do, maybe even less. Sometimes, a bit of it is worth the price."

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> With the mechanical failure out of her hand, the warrior was able to proceed further against her, smashing her face yet again with the bunt of his staff, and then jabbing her again in the torso. It seemed as though the warrior was beginning to enjoy this...making a mockery of the poor young Jedi. He let the snake coil up his arm and he grabbed her by the neck, bringing her face down into his knee now shattering her nose and spraying her crimson blood across the ground.

The circle of warriors began hooting and calling in excitement as he was about to go in for the kill. Only one sentence was capable of coming out.<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> "For the glory of Yun-Yuuzhan!"<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> as his staff came plummeting down for her, there was a sudden yelp of pain, and when Raven looked up, that one Twi'lek was there, holding a large sword of some sort and howling.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"Go now!"<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> he yelled to the young girl as he rammed the blade of his sword into the Yuuzhan Vong's open, taunting mouth, killing it off.<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> "GO!"

The roar of the crowd around her was all she could hear, the only sensation she could register except for the pain in her shattered nose and that darn rib.

She was tempted to cry, but, that would've made the warrior laugh at how weak she seemed to him even more. Instead, she closed eyes in resonation. Raven didn't want to die, but was willing to accept it as a sacrifice which was making.

The only one still free was her master, and Raven hoped that the force would help her.

"For the glory of Yun-Yuuzhan!" was what Raven barely heard out of the over-excited crowd.

Well, this is it. May the Force help you, Master.

She knew what was next: the weapon would soon be coming down, and soon, her worldly troubles here would be gone.


A stirring came in the crowd, then she heard a howling, and Raven's eyes snapped open.

Raven rolled out of reach of the warrior, hitting the ground painfully, finally ending the roll when she hoped up into a crouch, the best that she could despite the pain, seeing a Twi'lek bearing a huge sword in front of the warrior.

"Go now!" he yelled to the young girl as he rammed the blade of his sword into the Yuuzhan Vong's open, taunting mouth, killing it off. "GO!"

And Raven couldn't agree with the Twi'lek any more, and she ran, stumbling every now and then, surprised that few got in her way at all.

Once she got far enough away, Raven stopped to catch her breathe. She knew that the one who saved her was soon to take her place under the chopping block.

Reaching into a pocket of what remained of her robe, She smiled sadly.

What the Vong didn't know, was her own lightsaber had a remote self-destruct.

Pressing the button, Raven nodded sadly.

"Thank you. May the Force be with you, friend."

Raven dropped the small switch, and turned away only after hearing the explosion some distance away.


A short distance further, the rest of her strength gave out, and unconsciousness overtook her was she hit the ground.