Isard had a look of shock in his eyes as the red bolt of plasma came flying back at him, and lodged itself between his eyes.
Reacting to the sudden violence, the active duty servicemen all went for their blasters, and a shootout erupted within the narrow confines of the meeting room.
Corvus had begun moving as soon as Isard had gotten his first shot off, and had already sliced through four officers.
Knowing that escape was going to be a pain in the ass with how many clones were mobilizing, and it was going to be into a chokepoint, Corvus had to finish this fast.
Deflecting another bolt, and moving through another officer, Corvus was like the flow of water. His twin lightsabers barely required any strength to wield, and he allowed the super hot plasma to take care of the work.
Within seconds, he was upon Tarkin.
The old man hadn't been sitting still, and was taking cover behind a chair, managing to get several potshots off at him.
This impressive feat carried with it the smallest hints of the Force. Corvus raised an eyebrow at how accurate and fast Tarkin's shots were. He knew the old man wasn't Force Sensitive, at least not like a Jedi.
However, according to George Lucas, everyone was capable of wielding the Force. It's just that for the average person, they would never amount to much, even if they honed it. Tarkin's current slightly impressive speed and accuracy, however, weren't unheard of.
Many characters in Star Wars, when they said 'I have a bad feeling about this' weren't talking out of their ass.
Han Solo, and Boba Fett were a pair of examples of non-Force Sensitives, who Corvus suspected could channel just the slightest amounts of the Force unconsciously. Their feats were too legendary not to have the Force influencing their actions.
It was no surprise then, that such a prominent character like Tarkin could shoot just a bit faster and more accurately than the average man.
However, it wouldn't save the famed future Grand Moff, as Corvus's [Energy Resistance] shield tanked the singular bolt that he couldn't block, and he rapidly closed the distance to impale the elderly Admiral in the heart.
Icy eyes stared coldly into his visor, then the light left them, and Tarkin collapsed dead.
[+2,500exp]
Corvus didn't have time to celebrate this gain in exp, because something unexpected, and dangerous happened at the same time.
"HIIIIIIII!" A psychic scream assaulted his senses, and if not for Force Valor, he would have collapsed.
A Force attack subjected his ears and mind to a piercing migraine so sharp, that spots of blue appeared in his vision. He felt his balance begin to suffer due to the damage done to his ears, and he almost tripped on nothing.
Pausing on instinct, Corvus saw the subject of his distress.
It was the pale, bald bitch who stood next to Palpatine during his declaration for the Galactic Empire.
Clad in a voluminous white robe, and staring right at him with creepy yellow colored eyes, and black pupils like dark holes, was Sly Moore.
The Umbaran.
Corvus glared hatefully at her from the safety of Pause. He was so focused on eliminating Tarkin, he had almost ignored her completely.
Playing a mostly forgettable role in Revenge of the Sith, it wasn't until he suffered under her attack that he recalled she was a dark side Force Adept. Kidnapped by Maul at a young age, and subjected to a tomb world filled with Sith Ghosts, she became one of Sidious' devotees.
From what he could recall, she shouldn't be skilled at lightsaber combat, but it seemed she took a page out of Darth Sidious' playbook, and had focused her efforts on becoming a caster.
During Pause, Corvus noticed another aspect of the psychic scream. It had shattered the drinking glasses, and decanters within the meeting room.
As a result, hundreds of tiny shards of sharpened glass were telekinetically headed towards him at the speed of a bullet!
His Energy Resistance barrier would be of no use to him here, as it only blocked elemental attacks like fire/lightning, sonic attacks, radiation, basically as the name implied, anything with energy. However, this didn't apply to the Force. Force Lightning, for example, wasn't run of the mill electricity, and would go right through Energy Resistance. Just like Moore's scream had.
Maybe his lightsaber could be of some use against the glass, but he'd be just as likely as to catch a face full of molten slag from what shards he did hit.
This was the first Force Adept he had ever fought, and it both terrified, and excited him!
What he needed to do was close the gap, and end Moore before she could get off any more attacks. As she fought like a bonafide space wizard, the more time she had to unleash her abilities, the more dangerous the situation would be for Corvus.
The one thing he had going for him was the narrow area. All he had to do was close a gap of somewhere between 10 and 20 feet to reach her.
But first, he had to get rid of this glass, as well as the damage done to his psyche.
Initially, he thought about Force Pushing the glass in front of him away, and relying on Speed/Valor to close the distance. This was a valid strategy in his mind, but it would leave Corvus open to an attack in the rear if he wasn't perfect. This option left little wiggle room, and the margin for error was tiny. He'd rather not risk it unless forced into this position.
At this moment, he could learn Force Barrier, which protected against physical objects, bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing attacks. This would ensure protection against the glass.
That still didn't account for the effects of the Force Scream done to his psyche either. He could Heal its negative effects, but if Moore kept up her scream, then he would do what, spam Heal until he could close the gap? No, that was stupid. Just a second of being off balance could seal his fate. Moving at super speeds whilst also being under threat of moving like a drunk was too risky. Besides, his FP bar (Force Power bar) was of a limited capacity. If he spammed Heal, he would have no room to cast any other abilities.
Which is why he would learn Force Resistance, which would protect him against Force abilities.
Fortunately, Corvus had held onto 5 floating Force Power points from earlier for just such an occasion. It was even better though, because since he took out the clones at the prison, and leveled to 18, he had a total of 9 (1 extra point every 3 levels).
Mind made up, he dropped a point into each, then un-Pausing cast [Force Resistance I], [Force Barrier I], and [Heal], leaving him with 6 floating points.
The spots of blue left his vision as the green light of Heal suffused his body. At the same time, Corvus bulldozed his way through hundreds of shards of glass whilst he rushed towards the Umbaran. His shield began to buckle and cave, almost breaking down into nothing.
Corvus's FP bar was running low at this moment, and he wanted to conserve some energy just incase, but a warning in the Force let him know the barrier was going to pop 5ft before he reached the Umbaran.
Casting [Force Barrier] again, Corvus brandished his twin blue lightsabers, and moved to dice Moore with a cross slash.
"HIIII!" Moore maintained her shrill shriek, and kept staring at him with her creepy eyes.
There wasn't any look of fear in her, as if this didn't matter whatsoever.
No warning in the Force came, but Corvus, having experienced no warning in the Force earlier when Tann had dropped from the rafters behind him, felt suspicious.
Acting on this paranoia, he Paused.
Analyzing his surroundings, his Awareness was screaming at him to look down low. It wasn't until he looked underneath him, that he saw a black ghastly being manifesting out of her shadow, and reaching up to impale him!
Taking a closer look, Corvus recognized it for what it was…a Force Wraith!
The damned Umbaran was sitting in her seat like a noble holding court, knowing that she had everything within the palm of her hand all along!
Corvus was shocked, but not for long, as this was a close confidant, and long time follower of Palpatine. Something like this would be as threatening to the Dark Lord of the Sith as a small dog nibbling on a grown man's shoe. But to the average Jedi, this woman was terrifying!
Immune to physical attacks, the only way to deal with something like this was with a Force attuned weapon, or the Force itself. Possibly lightsabers could be used as well, but only if they were attuned to the wielder. Corvus had felt a stirring in his lightsaber when he awoke in the Jedi Temple, however that feeling had been fleeting, and his lightsaber couldn't be considered viable at the moment.
Fortunately for Corvus, he had Force Lightning within his arsenal. Unfortunately for him, he had just cast 7 different abilities within the last 30 seconds. He was absolutely squeezed dry until his FP bar refilled!
The only solace in this situation, was that he had taken the Regenerate Feat, which enhanced his FP's regen by 25%.
What he had to do now, was stall until he had enough energy to unleash Force Lightning.
But that carried with it great uncertainty. Every second delayed was a second that countless clone troopers could be using to reinforce their positions. Pulling upon his meta knowledge, Corvus knew that Sly Moore wasn't the only Force Adept under Palpatine's employ at the moment. If this situation dragged on, he might really die here!
Wracking his brains, Corvus recalled one of the signature abilities of the Jedi Shadow. To draw the darkness out of another!
From what he remembered, it wasn't any named ability in his system, and when he tried it on Tann, it didn't seem to cost any of his energy…this could work!
He could draw the darkness out of the Force Wraith, and then, while it was weak!!!
Corvus liked this plan very much.
Emboldened by the fact that the cloak of [Force Resistance] still covered his form, Corvus knew what had to be done.
Un-Pausing, Corvus didn't shift his stance, or jump back, but instead, went all in.
Shifting his left hand downward, he focused on the wraith, and siphoned away the dark energies that bound it to the mortal plane.
The black ghastly being turned slightly grey, and somewhat resembled smoke as its corporeal form became more and more translucent.
Corvus felt as if he could absorb this energy, and he did, restoring a quarter of his FP bar.
This act seemed to startle the Umbaran, as her eyes went wide.
"HIIIIAAAAA!!!" The intensity of her scream increased, and it shook the entire room.
Light fixtures swayed, and the [Force Resistance] barrier coating his form rippled like a jacket in a storm.
Corvus was forced back a step, and his defenses were crumbling, however, he wouldn't relent!
Shoving a hand forward, Corvus unleashed [Force Lightning].
Bright blue forks of lightning spread from his fingertips, and collided with Moore's head and chest.
The bald pale lady convulsed, and frothed at the mouth. She stared daggers at Corvus, and he could feel her hatred pulse through the Force like the fires of a furnace about to explode. She seemed as if she was trying to do something with all this hatred, but Corvus whipped out the forbidden technique.
Two handed [Force Lightning]!
With the additional power added to his attack, Corvus fried the Umbaran from head to toe so badly, he could see her skeleton. Slumping forward, Moore's scream ceased.
She was dead.
[+10,000exp]
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AN: Read up to ch 42 at patreon.com/KarpQQ
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