Advancing on Aldera

(So I just found out that Revan IS still alive at this point in the timeline. Plans are changing hehe.)

It barely took us two minutes to encounter the first scouting team. I glanced towards Satele and she held up a fist. Before starting, the two of us devised a signal to communicate how many Sith there were in a group of enemies. The fist she just held up signified that there were no Sith. Each finger would increase the quantity. If it was more than five… Well, let's not think about that.

I nodded, feeling relieved that there would be no Sith involved in our first encounter. I pointed at Satele and then held up two fingers for the rest of the squad to see. Satele nodded in reply and started moving forward slowly. She was accompanied by Tomas and Viktor.

The scouting team only consisted of three troopers. Thus, I sent three people to take them out. Since it was getting dark and we also wanted to be quiet, we would need to take them out with our bare hands. Of course, Satele would use her lightsaber. I'd honestly love to use the one that was clipped to my belt but I hadn't even ignited it since its acquisition. Regardless, I was not trained in its usage.

I watched in silence as Satele unclipped her double sided lightsaber from her belt. Tomas and Viktor also took out vibroblades. Every trooper was equipped with an 8 inch vibroblade in the case of their weapon becoming non-functional. It was also useful in cases such as this.

The three of them got into position, just a few feet from the Imperials. The three of them were chatting away, having no idea that this conversation would be their last.

Satele held three fingers up and started counting down. Once all her hands were down, all three of them moved in unison. Satele merely held her lightsaber up to the man's head and ignited one of the blades. It pierced through his head without a shred of resistance and he dropped to the floor like a rag doll.

Viktor and Tomas, at the same time, lunged towards their targets. In what resembled a choreographed routine, they both grabbed their enemy with their free hand, covering their mouths. Their blades then smoothly stabbed into the Imperials' chests before being pulled out, and then sliced across their necks.

All three bodies were gently lowered to the ground. The two troopers laid them to rest with their arms while Satele caught her target with the force and carefully set them down.

I nodded, waving two fingers forwards. We all started moving again after relieving the scouts of their possessions as Viktor and Tomas fell back into the formation.

This whole process of eliminating and looting took less than a minute. I was quite satisfied, to say the least.

From the position that we started, it would take approximately 30 minutes, without any delays, to reach the city limits. Sadly, delays were commonplace in the form of Imperial scouting teams.

Ten minutes had passed since our first encounter and we had already eliminated an additional two scouting teams. On the bright side, each of the teams only had a few troopers so they were easily dealt with.

Our luck wouldn't last for long. The dog began to grow restless behind me. We were all spaced out with about 8 feet between everyone so it wasn't hard to hear the subtly quickening breath of the animal.

I glanced back at the best handler and nodded. He quickly tapped the head of the dog twice and it became quiet again.

However, I would find out, and quite quickly at that, what the source of the restlessness. Ahead of us was a scouting squad of 15. I immediately noticed that they were coming towards us so I gave a signal. I raised my right hand in the air and waved it frantically to the sides.

Our entire squad immediately scattered, hiding behind trees as quickly as we could while remaining quiet. They would run into us within the minute.

I was confident that the only reason we hadn't been seen by them was because we were all equipped with camouflage armor rather than the usual white. Looking around, my squad was hidden well. They wouldn't be able to see us until they had passed.

I looked at Satele, who was a few trees over from my position. She must have felt my gaze as she immediately looked back at me. She then held up two fingers.

My expression immediately sank. Two Sith? What kind of shit luck is this? Hopefully Satele would be able to take care of them because I wasn't counting on getting lucky twice.

I pointed at her, and then held up two fingers pointing in the direction they were coming from. She shook her head before pointing at me and then at her.

Fucking hell. I didn't know the reason, but I would have to take care of one of them. Satele was a powerful Jedi. I doubted that she didn't have the strength to become a council member. She definitely had the wisdom and mentality. Was she not strong enough to take care of them both?

My thoughts mattered not, as they were to be upon us in seconds. Each one dragged by like hours, making me feel as if I was aging at a visible pace. As they passed, we all shifted around our respective trees to avoid early detection. Luckily, they somehow all passed between us so we were now surrounding them. Despite this, they still outnumbered us by five.

Since they were so close, I couldn't afford to make any noise or unnecessary movements. Thus, I had to use an impromptu way of counting down. I tapped my comm three times, each one separated by a second.

On the third time, we all emerged from our cover, raising our blasters.

*BBBYUMMM*

Ten shots fired off in unison, illuminating the darkening forest. Fortunately, the sun was still in the sky. Otherwise, the entirety of Aldera would be able to see the muzzle flashes.

Satele emerged from her tree and ignited both sides of her lightsaber. She had a look of apprehension on her face as she stared down one of the Sith.

That particular Sith pulled back his hood. Unlike the other Sith, this one wasn't wearing a mask. He was wearing the most disgusting smirk I had ever seen in my life. He was a human male with brown skin. His hair was tied into a bun and it made me want to chop mine off. His yellow eyes shook with excitement as they bore holes through my Jedi companion.

He started laughing maniacally while blaster bolts flew past him. "AHHHAAHAHA! Look who it is! Satele, did you miss me, darling?"

Satele snarled and hissed a sentence with extreme venom. "Valent, you will pay for what you've done."

Valent shivered as he giggled. "Ohoho, those younglings… their fear was so delicious. Shall I send you to join them?"

It was at this moment that a blaster bolt raced towards his head. Valent quickly raised his arm and caught the laser with the force. His head snapped towards our sniper. He waved his hand to the side, sending the laser into the ground. Then, he reached out towards the sniper and started strangling him with the force.

Satele noticed this and roared, dashing forwards. She left the ground, barreling towards Valent with a controlled rage. Her landing was clean and led right into her swinging her lightsaber at the Sith.

He easily blocked it with his saber and smirked. "Oho, confident, are we? Let's play."

I then watched as the other Sith that was standing behind tried moving past the two that were dueling to take care of my squad mates. It was understandable that they would want to make a move since we had quickly turned the situation. We had already taken out eight of them, with only seven remaining including the two Sith. They wouldn't last long.

Looking down towards my belt, I paused for a fleeting moment on the lightsaber as some thoughts raced through my head. Was this a "fuck it" kind of moment? Yes. Yes it was.

I put my blaster pistols away and unclipped the lightsaber from my belt. I then charged out from my cover and stood before the approaching Sith.

*Bvvvvvvvvvvv*

The crimson blade ignited in my hands, dying my figure under the ambient red light. I felt a power course through me, a confidence I had never felt before. It felt like the universe had been waiting for this moment, it cried out in joy and I could feel it.

I had no idea how to describe this feeling. What I did know, however, was that it was absolutely amazing. These feelings, I would have to process them later. Right now, there was something more important to do.

I glared at the Sith, drilling right into the yellow eyes that were glowing behind their mask. "Your opponent will be me."