Burn it Down - 9.342

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Bothawui was not a planet that Lilaena De'Ville had ever visited before joining the Alliance. Since then, however, it had become her home between missions. She was even beginning to appreciate the musky odor of the Bothans' fur that permeated the atmosphere. Smelling it had come to signify down time between missions, relaxation, and camaraderie with her team.

Her team. She took a deep breath as she left her cramped but familiar quarters, leaving the enlisted apartment housing and heading toward the officers' homes on the other side of the military base. Fourth Fleet was in a state of flux, and Loklorien s'Ilancy was currently residing here, with her husband.

The Alliance had been her mission, but now it was time to move on. But not without proving something first, for her master. Darth Callidus had had his reasons for wanting her where she was, and now he wanted her to do this final thing before leaving the Rebellion for good. De'Ville would be lying to say that she had not grown comfortable as part of SpecOps. What she and her team had been through - it had created a bond between them despite her best efforts to remain aloof.

She wore a basic uniform, an olive drab suited for everyday wear. De'Ville had left the commendation letter and medal that she'd earned during the Ssi-Ruuk invasion on her crisply made bed. She would take nothing with her. Sentiment was for the weak.

Outside the Jedi's temporary housing, De'Ville used the Force to pick the lock, easing herself in the backdoor. Her lightsaber was deactivated in her hand, senses alert, her body taut with internal tension.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The early morning hour had brought with it no sleep, and with a groan Loklorien s'Ilancy pulled herself from the bed that she and her husband - her master - shared. Such sleepless nights had been expected, though that did not make them any less easy to bear.

They'd been away from the Dauntless for a week now, and the Lupine found herself missing the familiar trappings of 'home'. It was not to say that she was ungrateful, it just wasn't... normal. The Alliance had been kind enough to provide furniture, but still she silently bemoaned the fact that it was simply not the same. Even Teagan, who had at first been excited to be in such new surroundings, was beginning to grow tired of the difference. It was at least a comforting sign that she was her mother's daughter.

And of course there was the other matter; the one that showed itself unabashedly. 'Great with child' was the term that a Cather had once used when s'Il was pregnant with Teagan, and now moreso than ever did the term apply.

A slight groan in effort as she rose to her feet, and pulling on one of Dan's robes, she tightened the loose belt as much as she dared. Despite her own nightclothes, the Lupine found herself chilled. She knew the cause, but still the matter remained - she was cold.

Padding across the master bedroom on bare feet, s'Il stepped out into the hallway. A short trek later and she turned out into a spacious dining area that connected with an equally spacious front room.

And a guest.

As if she'd expected the intruder, s'Il pursed her lips. To show any amount of surprise would be folly, and she hid it well. Still though, one hand went to partially encompass her belly.

She spoke quietly, as if beginning a conversation with an old friend.

"It is rather early to be roaming about the houses of strangers, don't you think?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Conversation was to be expected. In her condition, the so-called Jedi would try to use her words to diffuse the situation. The Jedi council, according to Akasha, was certain that Loklorien s'Ilancy had turned to the dark side.

Salem wanted her taken out of the equation.

De'Ville smiled. "Oh, you know how it is. The early avian gets the annelid." She turned her body slightly, offering a side view to the much shorter woman, her lightsaber held in her far hand. "This isn't personal. I have orders."

She thumbed the switch of her lightsaber and it thrummed to life, casting a purplish glow behind her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The blonde gave a raised brow in answer.

"You have orders?"

The saber's glow cast all around in an ambient purple haze as shadows sprang up into being.

"How quaint if that is the case."

A moment later the Lupine stepped to the side and forward, continuing her original trek to where the thermostat controls were. Passing by the intruder, she angled her head to afford the other woman a scrutinizing gaze. She smelled off, yet there was familiarity - bred from service to the same military beast that s'Il herself served - intermingled throughout. Peppered within all of that was something so well known, and it cause a knowing smile to flit across her face.

"I think that you have made a mistake, friend."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

As s'Ilancy walked past her De'Ville yanked the other woman toward her with the Force, twisting and bringing her lightsaber across in order to simply cut the Jedi in half.

[General Dan]

A sound so utterly familiar to Dan roused him from sleep, and the General fumbled in the relative dim light of early morning that filtered through the window shade, reaching to the bedside to palm a small blaster that was sealed in a biometric vault in the bottom drawer. Priming the weapon, he carefully lowered his bare feet to the floor, the adrenaline that suddenly surged in response to that sound dispelling any notions of sleep from his brain.

Wordlessly, he followed the sound.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It was a move that she half expected, and bringing her arm up and around, s'Il drew deeply from the Force. Her own blade was nowhere nearby, and though she cursed inwardly at her unarmed situation, she at least knew that she possessed strength enough to hold her own. She felt the Force as it swirled around her in eddies, and even as she fought to retain her own balance, a powerful blast of energy was sent at her attacker.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville was buffeted by s'Ilancy's push as the pregnant woman stumbled, and her lightsaber arm was shoved back, sending her off balance as well. She recovered quickly, boots scuffing hard lacquered floors, and pulled a chair from around the kitchen table with the Force.

She sent it sliding across the floor and into Lok's legs, leaping up and toward her to follow through with a stab through her chest.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

With her resolution set, s'Il centered herself, making no indication of pain as the chair hit her legs. She was as an immovable statue, and though her current state did not allow for the range of motion and movement that she was normally used to, she set herself squarely against this threat. The Lupine scowled deeply at the sight of the oncoming purple-hued blade, letting the other woman drive ever forward.

And at the last moment, s'Il moved. Her body twisted to the side, turning in a tight circle alongside the length of the saber as one hand reached out to grasp at the chair's backing. Using her circular momentum, she hefted the chair up, letting her twirling motion pull the piece of wooden furniture up and on a path to smash into the back of her attacker's head.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville's lightsaber stabbed into the floor as the other woman twisted out of the way. The chair smashed into her upper back and head, and she sprawled on the ground as her sight went white for a moment. She didn't lose her focus, however, her grip on her lightsaber was firm and she deactivated it to free it from the ground as she struck out blindly with her leg, sweeping Loklorien off her feet.

She shoved herself up off the ground, shaking splinters out of her hair.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Though she fell, it was a controlled fall as s'Il sought to land as gently as she possibly could. While certainly not a graceful landing, it was enough to keep the life she carried safe, and with a prayer to the Bloodline she scrambled backwards.

"I can feel it in you," she growled out, "... the darkness."

Pulling inward of the Force, the Lupine drew upon each tendril of power that swept over, through, and around her. It seemed to cause the air all around to pulsate with a life of its' own, to pound with the never-ending beat of a war drum.

With her back to the utilitarian sofa that rested along the back wall of the den she'd found herself within, s'Il let her features screw into a disapproving glare.

"You're too young to understand this power you wish to harness, girl.

"If you value your continued existence, I would suggest that you leave."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The Jedi knew nothing of her, so her words meant nothing. Just distractions to obfusticate. De'Ville was clear of purpose as she stalked into the den, the Force snapping around Loklorien's neck and cutting off her airflow as she reignited her lightsaber and drew near.

[General Dan]

Dan's approach afforded him a view of the fight taking shape before him. Lok fought an unknown woman, who was obviously some kind of force user. That was the last thing she needed in her situation. Taking cover behind a sofa as he entered the room, Dan lined up a shot at the intruder's back, and fired.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

There was a warning through the Force, and De'Ville twisted, spinning her lightsaber up and deflecting the blaster bolt harmlessly away. The pressure around Loklorien's neck did not relent.

[General Dan]

Rising from his cover, Dan emptied the blaster at the saber-wielding woman, intending on making her break her focus with s'Ilancy.

"You unhand her this minute and get the hell out of here!!!"

Some shots were off, but most were on. He knew what he was up against, but still pressed on. There wasn't any alternative.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Irritated, De'Ville was forced to put more of her attention toward defense as the general drained his blaster's power cell at her. "I have to admit, I expected more from a Sith than hiding behind the protection of an old man," she bit out as she released Loklorien's neck and deflected the bolts, the last five or so bouncing directly back at the general.

[General Dan]

Dan saw the blaster bolts coming and was already on the move, but not quite fast enough. One winged him in the shoulder, sending him spinning and sprawling to the ground. He lost his grip on the blaster, now empty anyways, which clattered to the floor.

"No!"

Struggling to right himself, the General looked around the room, knowing where a few weapons were kept, but suddenly doubting his ability to get to one in time.

Nevertheless, he tried, scrabbling to his feet to make it to a book case on the nearest wall. While he knew Lok could hold her own in a fight, perspective tended to change with the life she was carrying inside of her.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

When she was younger she would have pounced. She would have hooked her fingers around her adversary's throat and cautioned their actions with an acute application of pressure; not enough to kill, but to dangerously warn of the oncoming ramifications if certain actions were seen to their end. She had been a fierce and jealous protector of her husband in the past.

Now, though her jealousy remained, her quick action had come to be replaced by a silent methodical anger that simmered below the surface and only hinted at the power held contained within. Where before she had been so raw and wild, now she was calm and in control of every facet of her being. It was a decided advantage to the actions that she had taken so long ago. There was so much more purpose to her anger now.

There was a tinge of yellow that creeped in - then back out - of her eye. It was a fleeting sign of the controlled emotions held in check within. They were focused. They were bent to her will. They were fed by her desires and that which unfolded around her.

Without moving, the Lupine narrowed her eyes at the sound of Dan's cry. At this delicate moment in time, only she knew that he was so much more capable of handling himself than the facade that he put on, but those old stirrings still could not be held back. So many years spent at his side. It was a habit that would never die, and though she knew so much more than she did those many years ago, her instincts could not be denied.

But, they could be contained and collected into a single entity. An entity of malice and hate.

This entity she held over the intruder's head. She let it pause for only the barest of moments before driving in deep through the other woman's distracted mind.

Like a spike she pushed inward, allowing no quarter. She was a merciless torturer, callously shoving her way in deeper with no intent but to harm all that her ethereal fingers fell upon.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville could feel the weakness in the old man as he dove toward a bookcase, pain radiating from where a blaster bolt had struck his shoulder. She took a step toward him, reaching her empty hand out and using the Force to tip the entire bookcase -

"Nnnngh!" De'Ville's teeth ground together as a massive migraine bloomed behind her eyes. The dim, early morning light in the room was suddenly too bright, and she knew that s'Ilancy was to blame. As the bookcase slowly tipped over, already unbalanced enough to complete it's journey to the ground, and books began to rain on the General, De'Ville turned and backed away, keeping both opponents in her sights as she fought for focus despite the headache. They made a triangle: the General and the bookcase, the Jedi/Sith woman at the couch, and De'Ville with her lightsaber still held in a defensive posture.

[General Dan]

There was a tremendous crash, the sound of books tumbling, fragile trinkets shattering as they hit the ground, and at last the clap of the bookcase falling...

...only it didn't hit the ground at all. Instead it rested a scant inch over its intended victim, only to be hurled like a child's plaything at De'Ville.

Dan rose from the pile of books and detritus, without the frantic urgency of before. From the rubble strewn about, he picked up an ornate metallic object that appeared to be a stylized serpent, about ten inches in length. When his eyes met the intruder, they were now different - tinged with yellow.

Dan smiled.