suitably_heroic | The Ebon Hawk, Shortly After Last

Atton	There was a lot about this that felt familiar. The desperation in the face of a stronger enemy - that one was all Mandalorian Wars. The hordes of Sith, he'd once been a part of; being on the other side, watching them pour in, injected Atton with this weird combination of nostalgia and dread. The Republic troops standing staunchly behind them? Oh, that brought back the worst kind of memories. Especially since they'd just be back-up to Team Exile's blaster bolt sponges. He looked around. They were missing a couple of their members, too. Mira was there, fiddling with her grenades. Mical, looking doe-eyed still but determined as he settled into a stance with his lightsaber. Brianna, ticked off and ready to go, her Echani training shining through brightly. And Visas, her mouth pursed with worry, her double-bladed lightsaber coming alive in her hands. Then there was Meetra. And him. And a moment later, the Sith. Atton reached out, bypassing fear and anger to find a core of himself he could use-- blasting lightning into the approaching forces. A couple of them fell, but not enough - and then they were close enough that he had to draw his lightsaber. He waited for chaos to come, but it didn't. Instead he cut through the first Sith like butter, then the second. Whatever strength had come to him on Dxun might have faded, but it had left another, quieter kind in him. He had always been a gifted fighter and a tactical thinker, but now it felt elevated; the lightsaber in his hand had become a part of him, the flow of the Force around him. He was deadly. To his side, he watched Visas' lightsaber flashing. Mira leaped over a Sith and struck him straight in the back, not even bothering to look before she moved on to the next. They looked deadly, too. When had they become this? This unstoppable force? When had they stopped looking like a rag-tag band of idiots and become more like... like an army of Jedi, like Revan's army-- A blow skimmed past Atton's side. He twisted, burying his lightsaber into his attacker's heart without a single hesitation. The woman's body hit the floor with a loud thunk... and then there was silence. Atton blinked. He looked up. "...All gone."
Meetra	"Not all of them yet," Meetra said tersely. She deactivated her lightsaber and looked up. "Mandalore? Mandalore, you there?"
Mandalore	"I'm here." A set of doors opened to their right. Mandalore stepped out, and with him were two other heavily armored Mandalorians. "We will join you in the assault now," he said. "These rank-and-file soldiers won't do you much good on the Ravager. Let we Mandalorians lead the charge into battle and into victory." He looked at his two compatriots. "Kelborn, Zuka, you're with us." Then he motioned to Meetra. "We can't take every one of your people."
Visas	Perhaps not, but Visas would not allow her new Master to fall to her old one. She stepped up immediately. "You will not face this alone," she said. "I will go with you and be by your side."
Meetra	Meetra nodded. "Good," she said. She glanced at Atton. "I'll need you to take the others back to the Ebon Hawk," she said. She knew he wouldn't like it, but...
Atton	Yeah, he didn't. "Hey, hey," Atton said. "Where you go, I go, all right?" Onderon had been frustrating enough.
Meetra	Meetra shook her head. "I need you in the air fending off any fighters that come near," she said. "We might have to make a quick escape after we hit the Ravager."
Atton	"No way--" Atton started, but she ignored him and stepped aboard the shuttle, quickly followed by Visas. "Meetra!"
Mira	"Atton," Mira said pointedly, "Stop whining like a lovesick bantha. She needs us." She clipped her blaster back to her belt, but kept her hand lingering over it.
Atton	"Oh, what do you know," Atton growled, but he turned around and stomped back towards the hangar bay. Might as well get the Hawk up in the air quickly if they had to. He didn't like this. "I have a bad feeling about this," he muttered.
Mira	"No, really?" Mira said, smacking him upside the head. "And here I thought taking on a Sith Lord was going to be a good time."

Atton	Getting the Hawk in close to the Ravager wasn't as much of a problem as it had seemed at first. Largely because a Republic fleet had just shown up out of nowhere. They'd gotten a brief transmission from the guy in charge - Admiral Carth Onasi - and then the fighters had mostly left them alone. Which suited Atton fine. Being up this close to the Ravager... it reminded him of where he'd seen the ship before, and where they'd be going sooner rather than later if everything went well. He watched as the Mandalorian shuttle Meetra was on pulled up in front of indent in the outside of the ship.
Mical	"Ah," Mical said. He sat forward. "There would be our Mandalorian friends. I believe they will shortly infiltrate through the service door over there - perhaps they will even let the Sith come to them. After all, that is a good choke point--"
Atton	Atton glanced over his shoulder and shot Mical a dry look. "You're expecting subtlety from the Mandalorians?" he drawled. Idiot. A moment later, an enormous explosion took out a fair chunk of the Ravager's hull, hurtling a ton of debris into space and setting the escaping oxygen on fire. "See? Mandalorians."
Mical	Mical winced. "One of them just died in that blast," he said, looking to his right for someone equally sympathetic.
Mira	Unfortunately, all he found was Mira, who shrugged. "Yep," she said. "But hey, it worked."
Atton	Atton took some comfort in the fact that, well, they might've all stepped on a life path somewhat resembling that of the (ugh) Jedi, but to an actual Jedi wannabe like Mical the rest of them still looked like a bunch of assholes. Anyway, it wasn't like the Mandalorians were the only ones who'd taken a hit. In fact, he could already feel Sith lights winking out left and right in the Force. Good.
Mira	"So," Mira said, after a couple of minutes of that. "That is one beat-up ship." Being on guard duty was boring, as it turned out. Not that she minded. Completely.
Atton	Atton debated whether he wanted to say anything. He hadn't really confided in anyone besides Meetra about his past, and Mira already suspected something... ...ah, who cared. "Nihilus salvaged it from the Battle of Malachor V," he said casually. "A lot of ships got stuck in the gravity well."
Mira	Mira did not look particularly surprised, no. "How do you think he got it out of there?" she said. "Because that sounds like suicide."
Atton	"Going by what Visas has told me," Atton said, "I think he was on it. I think whatever made Meetra the way she is at Malachor V... it also did something to him." He shrugged lightly. "As for the ship-- Space, I don't know what something like Nihilus is capable of, but it should've fallen apart and burned up ages ago."
Mical	Mical's attention drifted away from Atton's words as something suddenly struck him about the battlefield. "I can sense..." He frowned. "...She's about to face him. Darth Nihilus."
Mira	Mira had been trying to play this off for a while now. She was worried, but not that worried, you know? ... Now she was. She was that worried. Their leader was facing off against this... this thing, this freak of nature that ate planets. "We're out of our minds," she muttered.
Atton	Atton found himself saying, "Have a little confidence." That weirded him out. But not as much as the next feeling that tore through him, twin forces beating upon one another, a sudden flare of weakness, the sense of some wave crashing upon something dark and deep--
Brianna	"What was that?" a formerly quiet Brianna snarled.
Mical	"I... I don't know," Mical admitted, his eyes big as saucers. "She is still alive, but I cannot conceive of what just happened... it feels wrong, and yet..."
Atton	Atton rubbed his temples, sorting through it all in his mind. "I told you," he muttered. "Something happened to both of them on Malachor V - but she cut it off. He didn't. I think..."
Mira	"What?" The entire front end of the Ravager had turned into this weird knot in the Force. It was giving her a headache and a heartache and her stomach felt like it'd been ripped from her body.
Atton	"He eats Force users," Atton said. "She's a void in the Force." He paused. "...I think she just gave him indigestion."
Mical	"That might be it," Mical said slowly. "If she is like a... a black hole, of sorts, an inversion of the Force... then attempting to devour her would weaken him, instead."
Atton	Atton reached out for another, slightly less familiar presence in the Force... and frowned. "Visas," he muttered, "What are you doing--"
Brianna	"Nihilus," Brianna said sharply, interrupting him. "He is bound. He is dying. I can sense it."
Meetra	The com crackled an instance later. "We're done here," Meetra said. Her voice sounded strained. "Get ready to grab us by the entrance point. We're about to blow this ship apart."
Atton	"Ah, poodoo," Atton muttered, pushing through his own headache as he snagged the controls again. "I guess this is a story we'll figure out later. Hold on!" He pushed the throttle, covering the space to the Ravager's side in moments. It was harder than their original approach, because debris from the nearby space battle kept floating into their path - but he made it. He jammed the button to open up the ramp to the outside.
Meetra	Meetra's boots hit the ramp almost immediately, quickly followed by Visas, then Mandalore. Their remaining Mandalorian friends had their own shuttle, or at least she hoped they got to it - she didn't have time now.
Atton	"Okay, getting out of here," Atton snapped, shutting the ramp as soon as he was sure nobody was going to lose any limbs if he did so. He smashed the throttle again, blasting through space, away from the Ravager. Just in time, too. The inside of the ship blew apart in a violent explosion. Soon, the front end followed. More debris shot off into space around him. Made the ride a little rocky.
Meetra	Meetra stumbled into the cockpit, grabbing onto one of the consoles for stability. "Just get us to Citadel Station!" she said.
Atton	"I'm working on it!" Sorry, Meetra; Atton wasn't going to start breathing again until they cleared this debris field. A chunk of space ship thunked off the aft and flew back into space. He just hoped it hadn't taken anything with it. "Okay," he muttered, "Okay, we're clear."
Meetra	"Okay." She sank into the co-pilot's seat. "Hail Admiral Onasi," she said. "Tell him I finally have time to talk to him."