Torin

A small space fighter slowed out of hyperspace near Kamino and proceeded to slowly descend to the planet's watery surface. The black ship settled onto a remote landing platform, opened its hatch, and exposed Torin and his wounds to the harsh elements of Kamino's pounding storms. The Sith crawled from his resting place, awakened only moments earlier by the sound of his auto-pilot beeping alerts at him. He still held the black cloak against his chest to supress the bleeding wound. With each second he grew weaker. His legs shook under the weight of his body. It angered him to see his body becoming so frail, but the anger and hatred were lost. It would take time to implement what he had learned during his long trip; with the way blood seemed to ooze from his chest, he hoped the skill would not take too long to master. These were some of his last thoughts before collapsing on the bridge leading to the safe interior. His body stayed in the rain, soaking in the water. Light emerged from a nearby sliding door, broken by a tall shadow. Help for the injured Sith had arrived.

Torin's space fighter exited hyperspace in a black, desolate point in space. In the distance a few asteroids floated indicating a possible field, but other than that no signs of life were anywhere to be seen or detected. The void was of little significance to the Sith who was disconnected from the physical realm. His mind and spirit drifted within the flow of the Force, preserving his existence. Swirls of black matter wrapped Torin's unmasked, fleshy face. In this place he was no longer confined by his deformities. His power felt infinite. From here he could rule the galaxy, bringing darkness to all who opposed him. There would be no limit to power he could weild. "Torin," an ominous voice spoke as lightning flashed through the black clouds. "What are you doing here. You are not dead yet Torin. I have not called you. Are you a Sith or not?" Torin's left brow lifted, puzzeled by the voice. "Yes," he said, unsure of the appropriate response. "Return to your physical body Torin. Even now you feel the pain, but it is deadened. You've silenced your greatest strength. Embrace the pain, Torin. Use it to hold your wounds together. Let hatred bind your blood to your body. Through pain, Torin, you gain strength. You've seen this in action, but there is more to this skill. More than you've been willing to explore. Trust me, Torin." Torin's eyes flashed on, a red light filling the cockpit. His chest throbbed with pain and immediately blood once again began gushing from the wound. He shook with weakness as he felt his end drawing close. But, he remembered the advice he'd been blessed with, and embraced the pain surging from the wound. His anger spilled over, surging through his body in an uncontrolled state. It was a power he could not contain, and as the auto-pilot propelled his fighter back into hyperspace, Torin slipped out of conciousness as a surge of energy dissipated throughout the craft.

[ENCRYPTED COMM: TOBIAS VOS] "Tobias, you are my apprentice. I have left you, and failed you for too long. The first real lesson I'm teaching you now is that Sith do not fail, and I refuse to fail with your training. Leave your current location. Find a way off the planet. That alone will be a difficult task for you to complete, but if you succeed your value to me will be proven. Your directions are hidden in this encrypted message, and you will learn more of your mission as you progress through your training."

Aboard the Inevitable death, fire, terror, and putrid stink cascaded through the labryinth of hallways as men died and fires burned flesh. The Sith had won this battle with very little opposition. Their dark hand had swept aboard the flagship, settled on its occupants, and crushed the Republic foes. Torin's black cloak dragged the floor of the disastorous scene soaking in the pain of the dead as the Sith Lord walked out of the fire. He had accomplished little during this battle and was disgusted with his contributions to the Sith victory. He needed time to focus his talents. Time to build upon his strengths before unleashing his terror on the galaxy. Two large blast doors slid open as he approached, revealing a large hangar bay full of scurrying soldiers and reserve star fighters. Torin ripped a Republic pilot from the cockpit of an X-wing and climbed aboard in his place. A few soldiers made futile attempts to remove the Sith, but before their blaster bolts reached Torin their throats were crushed and they had dropped to the ground. He started up the ship's engines and blasted out of the hangar, firing a few laser blasts as he escaped into space. With the removal of the Republic and Imperial Interdictors he was free to escape to hyperspace, plugging in the coordinates and quietly blinking out of existence.

Soon Torin found the opporotunity he had been searching for. His mag boots had anchored his body to the outer hull of the Inevitable not far from a hangar bay, but even closer was a view port. He made his way to this opening and sliced into the clear barrier with his lightsaber, shattering the dense material and opening the interior hallway to the vaccum of space. An unsuspecting Imperial, a member of one of the boarding parties, was sucked out ahead of Torin's quick entrance. The two switched places just ahead of the metal security doors that soon slammed shut, sealing the inside of the ship off from the harsh environments. Looking up from his knealing position, Torin saw a surprised look on a group of Republic commandos. They'd been caught off gaurd by his sudden penetration of their defenses, but did not have time to stare at the Sith Lord for long. His lightsaber quickly sliced them in half, leaving Torin to search for a safer way off the ship.

As soon as the vaccum of space had engulfed his body, Torin knew he had made the wrong decision. Had his power failed him? No, danger was present. He saw the two bolts of fire streaming towards the ship, but for some reason his senses had failed to acknowledge the capital ship's shields. It was no matter now. He was floating in space in the midst of a mammoth gun fight watching as fighters swirled around the massive ships like bees buzzing an elephant. He stretched out with the Force, grabbing a hold of the captial ship with a dark tendril and using it as a rope, pulling himself in towards the ship's hull. When he got within range, his mag boots engaged, anchoring his feet to the hull and leaving him to search for a way back in...

<> Strong powers were at work aboard the Inevitable, some much more powerful than Torin. It was a simple, humbling fact that he acknowledged, respected, but fought against; his only path to power being conflict. When he was picked up and sped to the bridge, he was not surprised that the dark side power infiltrating his body was greater than nearly any other feeling he had ever felt. His mind was over taken with the thought of killing Onderin Starlisk, and as his lethal body whirled aboard the bridge he took several swipes at the Jedi Master; however, the Jedi proved agile enough to dodge Torin's attacks. The surge of power only lasted for a moment though, soon dwindling and leaving Torin thirsty. Dagon's touch would become something the Sith would crave, desiring more than anything else in the universe. Dagon was at the pinnacle. He had achieved perfection. I will have it. All of these thoughts flashed across Torin's mind in less than a second because as soon as he had landed his body was being pushed and pulled toward the broken viewport. Naturally, he attempted to resist the Jedi's futile attempts at survival, but caught a glance from a sonic wave that threw him off his balance, sending him hurdling backwards towards the vacuum of space. It was at this moment that he felt it. The collective conciousness of the Sith aboard the bridge, and the attunement Torin's warrior instinct had created with their minds sent his danger sense into a rage. He's suicidal. Understanding that the Republic leader had lost his mind and sensing the approaching danger, Torin allowed the suction of space to rip him from the jaws of death, pulling the hood to his vac suit over his head as he flipped out of the viewport and into the raging space battle. It was a risky move, but with approaching turbolaser fire Torin would take his chances with the elements instead of the Jedi's crazed plans. ((Referencing Dagon's post ordering all troops to have vac suits and mag boots. Torin was a part of that attack force and since he followed Dagon's orders would also have geared up. If there is a dispute I can change but will still take the same action of fleeing to space.))

A spinning whirlwind of death swirled through the opening in the wall breaking the stalemate between Republic and Sith forces. Torin's body hurled head first into the struggle, his lekku and lightsaber both acting as a raging tornado of slicing death, cutting gaping wounds through Republic soldiers. The move was a complete surprise to the Republic commanders, never thinking that a warrior would so wrecklessly fling himself into a scuffle, but Torin was not an ordinary warrior. He was, and had always been, thirsty for blood. Many of his brothers would disagree with his tactics, but he no longer cared. He was a warrior for death's sake and would shred his enemy into pieces. The startling move gave Torin's elite force of troopers the opprotunity they'd been looking for, allowing them to rush the room with guns ablaze. Torin's arm stretched out grabbing an otherwise helpless human, pulling the man into his grip. At the same moment his mind reached to the nearest security camera and jerked it to point in his direction. "For who ever is watching this documentary," Torin said looking into the lens, "this is how you gut a squealing pig!" The tip of the Sith's lekku plunged into the man's stomach and quickly ripped out a hole in the skin, spilling guts all over the floor. A bellowing laugh split the room causing the remaining Republic commandos to cower from the inevitable. "If they refuse to give up, kill them! And if they do give up," Torin screeched, "kill them anyways." The Sith Lord grabbed a group of 10 Spider troopers and left the room through a new exit that led to his desired target. The remaining Sith troops were left to finish cleaning up.

The smoke did not have time to clear before random bolts of green and red energy began to dart around the hallways. Torin flicked his wrist, swinging his weightless blade through the air to intercept and deflect a shot that had nearly found its mark. "Cover the left and right flanks with Drake troopers. Use your shields as a barrier. Venom troopers progress up the middle. They're coming, and we've made them mad," said Torin, grunting a crude, synical laugh. His dark tongue flicked the air, tasting the environment just before a wave of Republic troops appeared ahead. "Kill'em all..." The elite class of Imperial troopers moved slow, acting like a plow, inching their way forward through fallen flesh. The large numbers of Republic troops were useless in the tight corridors of the Inevitable. They were skilled soldiers with fair capabilities, but matched against heavily armored, close-combat specialists ten fell to every one Imperial. And that was only until Torin joined in the fun. He stretched out with the Force, calling on his supernatural connection to grab hold of a Republic grunt's arm, pulling the man toward him, and impalling him on the red lightsaber. The soldier dropped, the first of many victims. The Sith Lord leapt into the air, diving forward with incredible speed, landing in the middle of the Republic ranks and proceeding to hack away at their mortal bodies. It was a dangerous position, putting himself in the line of his own mens' fire, but Torin fed off of the pain. Every bolt that grazed his skin, every punch from a helpless trooper only fueled Torin's rage and pride. He could take the pain, he could move fast enough to kill and keep from being killed; he felt like a god. There was little stopping the Sith and his allies from cutting through the corridors, that was until he came upon a dead end, but even then the Spider troopers supplied by Darkwatch kept the march progressing. "Placing the charges sir," said RX-1 as he prepared to blow a hole in the dead end. A loud bang ensued, and a cloud of dust spread through the air. "What the hell!" shouted a voice from the other side. Torin switched to infra-red vision and knew immediately that he had stumbled upon the motherload. In the room stood hundreds of Republic troops prepping for battle, some ready and some still shoving on their pants. The Sith and his men would be outnumbered five to one, but they were odds Torin would take. Blaster fire erupted, and Torin's lightsaber cut through the air sending hundreds of bolts back at their senders. He was only a few hundred feet from his target, and would make it through the sea of refuse to complete his goal.

Launching across the void of space surrounded by faceless, fearsome warriors, Torin had stood still, one hand holding a railing and another his lightsaber hilt. Darkness and quite had shrouded his figure and the array of troopers seated around him. The shuttle had shaken and rocked as it narrowly dodged enemy blasts, but there was no stopping the inevitable. From beneath his hood, Torin stretched out with his feelings, searching the minds of his pilots, reaching beyond the hull of the shuttle, through space, and into the Inevitable's hallways. Anxiety, impatience, and fear flooded the flagship's depths making its idealistic peons weak. The scene he had felt was a polar opposite to the one found aboard each of the boarding craft as they had plowed into the Inevitable. The troopers aboard were void of emotion. They were accurate soldiers prepared for only one outcome, victory. As the boarding craft had plowed into the hull, breaching its outer layers and sending a jolt throughout the tiny vessel, a rush of anger and hatred had spilled out of Torin's dark shadow stabalizing his frame and exciting the troopers. Like a pack or wolves excited at the sight of fresh meat, Torin's powerful emotions gave the men around him the jolt they needed before heading into combat. A moment of almost peaceful silence seperated two key moments of action, the time of the shuttle ripping into the Inevitable, and the moment the shuttle doors slid open. During this brief second white smoke and fog drifted into the hallways where the shuttle had come to rest, spreading evenly around the Republic troopers that had died as the shuttle crashed into them. The few who had survived now took position waiting anxiously to see what would spill out of the shuttle. The doors opened yet the action progressed slowly. An impromptu bolt of energy darted from a nervous Republic trooper, bouncing off the shields of Drake Troopers positioned in front of the opened doors. The reaction to this initial blast would later be viewed by some as obscene and excessive, for incendiary explosives were accurately tossed deep into the adjacent hallways melting any survivors and filling the halls with a fowl stench that would repel even the hardiest of crewmen. Torin walked past his men into the opening, allowing the black and white smoke to drift around his shrouded body. Through the haze a red beam slowly slid out of its hilt, splitting the fog as its master would split the Inevitable.

Small ships lifted with haste off of the surface spewing dust clouds across the landscape. Torin looked on, feeling out the situation. A lot had happened in the past few moments; a lot was left for Torin to try and process, but he could sense the anticipation and haste with which his masters had moved and knew excitement was brewing. The twi'lek turned, glaring at Lucifer, and pounced onto a shuttle as it lifted from the ground closing its hatch as it went. It was a small transport filled primarily with droids all synchronized with the small Sith fleet now leaving Trulais. Torin found a quite corner to occupy and meditate, allowing the droids to follow his Sith Masters.

Torin's transport arrived just a few moments before the ceremony began, leaving just enough time for him to jump to the ground and join the circle of chanting Sith. He had never witnessed anything like it before, was not entirely surprised by the proceedings, but did find himself being drawn into the ritual almost unwillingly. There was a greater power than his at work in the midst of the ceremony. Thousands of souls welded together through the Force with some appearing as brighter souls, stronger links in the chain, and in the center Julio soaked up power from oblivion. The ritual consumed Torin's mind forcing him into a delirious, desirious state. Never before had he felt the collective power of the Sith having only been in the presence of one or two brothers at a time, but now he knew, for the first time, that his ideas of life were correct. Julio's ritual stripped nature down to its simplest form, revealing the source of true power and stunning all onlookers. At the peak moment of the storm an electric wave washed over the whole group of slaves and Sith, consuming the slaves as a sacrifice and filling the Sith like batteries. Power surged from the ground into Torin's feet and through his legs, pushing his mind to realms he had never explored. With the lightening bolt sent into the sky went Torin's feelings and thoughts as if being sent into space on a journey. Revelation, the ritual was a moment of enlightenment for Torin showing him a piece of his true destiny and the path to ultimate freedom. As a Sith Lord his potential was unrealized and fruitless. Without a product his power meant nothing, and without meaning he was not free but still a slave like those dropping around him. Julio's product was evident; his power displayed; the display of a true Sith and a warning. Awakening to a field of melted flesh, Torin contemplated his next approach. The Force had touched him during the ceremony, making many suggestions, pushing him in several directions, but leaving Torin's destiny to his choosing. It had shown him paths, and now it was his time to take control of those visions to determine his own will. The apprentices were called upon by Draken, Julio was preoccupied with new comers, and two powerful presences lurked around the planet. One stood near Julio, and the other, more familar gradually approached. It was the same man from the mountain, and he was bringing Lucifer. Opprotunities presented themselves in mysterious ways, and Torin would remain in his place to see what advantage he could gain from the approaching visitor. ((Sorry for being away. Work's been crazy and this vague post is all I could come up with))

The Sith Lord's unnatural eyes dimmed to nothingness as Lucifer and the other man turned and walked away. It was probably a surprise to his other students when Torin did not react. Instead, the Sith Lord silently held his ground. The exercise was over. Lallu had won, but not before her victory had been rudely interrupted. Master, thought Torin, reaching out to Julio, Someone interesting just presented himself and has taken one of the hopefuls, Lucifer. Apparently Lucifer was an apprentice to the unknown man... The warrior in Torin longed for the cool steel of his lightsaber hilt in his strong hand, but with the future of the Sith resting upon him, he turned to his students. "Go back to the mud pit. Those of you still here have done well." A comm device quickly sprung from Torin's pocket, and before the hopefuls had walked a few hundred yards, a personal transport lowered to Torin's location and lifted him into the sky.

The pace of the march quickened as the group progressed. Torin pulled his minions along neglecting the weak that fell to the side. Several seemed to be slipping away. Tobias, Thule, Pein, Lallu: all of their footsteps seemed distant and slow compared to two that remained. Lucifer had already been dealt with, although Torin sensed something strange about his current thoughts. Someone had spent some time with the boy, but his understanding of the Force was flawed and weak. It infuriated Torin that the arrogant child seemed to be the most worthy so far. There is another. A newcomer to the group, Samuel, held pace with Lucifer, the defiant son. Torin had not noticed Reily at the beginning of the march, or at least not until he showed respect to Torin's first victim. At first, the Sith Lord had brushed the display off, assuming Sam would die soon afterwards, but he was proving stronger than previously perceived. The climb had only just begun though, and far too many acolytes had fallen away. Torin wondered for a moment if he was to blame, were his teachings not connecting with his pupils? No. He would not blame himself for their failures. It was the way of the Sith. The strong survive by taking what belongs to them. If these few did not want to reach out it was their fault. In an attempt to get his pupil's attention, Torin stopped on the hillside. Grey, rocky mountains rose up behind him leaning towards the group as if at anytime they would crash down like a monstrous tidal wave. "I sense a lot of pride in this group. All of you feel you are superior to the person standing next to you. I feel it. I know it to be true. Some of you here feel your experience and knowledge makes you worthy, and yet others of you take pride in your principles. Pride is a good thing. You should know you are strong and exhibit what makes you so." Torin paused for a moment. His audience could not see his twisted face, and his voice flowed ominously out of shadow. "However, how can you exhibit your stregenth if you are never given the opprotunity?" As he spoke an invisible energy had been surging up behind Torin, unnoticable to the apprentices. The power rose up, mimicking the shape of the distant mountains, and as Torin finished asking his question he released the wave of Force power, dropping it on the group and throwing them to the ground. "Fools!" he bellowed as they crashed into the dirt. "This is your opprotunity. The conflict facing you is climbing this mountain. It is by testing yourself that you grow and evolve, discovering your true power and freeing yourself from your bonds." His words echoed off of the hills. "Instead you are all sitting back like Jedi, refusing to grow, and if you're not growing, you're dying." A dead slave, who had finally given in to death upon the crashing of Torin's force wave, rose into the air and hovered over the group. "Rise up! Look!" "This is what happens when you refuse a challenge. You are refusing to grow. You are refusing to learn." "They say old dogs can't learn new tricks. I say old dogs die! Rise up, see the task ahead of you, and conquer." Torin suddenly disappeared from their eyesight only to return to their vision several hundred yards away, running at a great speed into the mountains. His quick legs finally stopped a half mile away, but his booming voice cascaded down the hillside. "Be the first to reach me and be the first to take a step towards freedom."

Hatred and ambition seeped out of Lucifer, drenching the pure world around them with dark taint. Torin's electronic eyes stared straight into the eyes of the young apprentice, soaking up the feeling as if it fueled his own power while reminding him of a former experience. The thick juicy steak tickled and enticed Torin's taste buds drawing water into his mouth to the point that saliva leaked out of his lips and dripped off of his grey, fleshy skin. He looked up at Oblivion nearly smiling. This task would be too easy. He never wanted to stop eating this meal. The last morsel of steak disappeared into Torin's gullet leaving a bloody juice on the plate that Torin quickly slurped up. "Good," said Oblivion, "have another." Another juicy steak appeared encouraging the apprentice's quick disposal of the cooked flesh, yet as soon as it too had disappeared, another just like it took its place; full of the same great flavor but not surpassing its predecessors, the third steak was just as enticing. The carnivore meant to consume this third piece had lost his appetite however, and he nearly refused to provide the same consideration to this third piece of meat as he had shown to the first. Looking into his host's eyes reminded him of his duties as a guest, and with a hesitant hand he sliced into the steak forcing a tiny bite into his mouth. "No!" shouted the Sith Master, "Your feeble mind misunderstands!" Suddenly the piece of meat in Torin's mouth turned rancid, urging him to spit it out, but a force kept the slimy flesh swishing in his mouth. "EAT!" a voice screamed, and before Torin appeared a mountain of food and arms that pulled his jaw open. He would consume forever. The sound of Lucifer's scream did not touch Torin's mind while his memories hurled him back in time. Instead, his former master showed him precisely how to deal with this slave. Lucifer had demonstrated a form of power, yet he had only tapped the surface of the dark side's riches, and he had failed to use his senses to test his foe. Torin's biomechanical ears had quickly shut off at the beginning of the scream's escalation. A true Sith would have known his enemy's strength, and minus a few scrapes and dusty robes, Torin stood ready to teach this lesson to Lucifer, the hard way. "Most impressive," Torin said in a condescending voice, "but there is much for you to learn. Not only did you fail to recognize my strength thereby determining my weaknesses, but you held back. How sickening! When you have an opportunity you take it, you consume it." Torin's hand quickly stretched out towards Lucifer sending an invisible arm out to wrap around the apprentice's neck. Torin did not squeeze however; he wanted Lucifer to be still, nothing more. Instead of the predictable force choke, Torin released a surge of frightening power from his changeless face, sending his thoughts and feelings through the already established connection and likewise sucking Lucifer's deepest fears from his mind. In a way, the Sith Lord was linking himself to Lucifer, sharing a secret, private knowledge of each other's past and present, yet being selective about the powers he revealed to Lucifer. It was a particular memory that he made accessible to Lucifer's mind; a terrifying memory of pain and destruction. Teeth were ripped one by one from a useful skull, and as each one ripped away from the flesh the pain surged through Lucifer's body filling him with the experience. I know your weakness, said Torin, speaking into Lucifer's mind. It's inexperience. A witch broke and jerked Lucifer's jaw away from his body, splitting tendons and muscles, leaving the ligaments dangling in cool mountain air to drip blood onto Lucifer's boots. See how I exploit your weakness? See how I'm forcing you to feel something more terrifying than you've ever imagined? Take it! Drink it! Feed off of it!" Another tooth pulled away from Lucifer's gums and then a thin, ice cold hand wrapped around his tongue and yanked it out of his throat as if in an attempt to pull his bowels out through his mouth. The pain would have collapsed Lucifer's mind had Torin not willed him awake to face his foe. You will swallow the pain because you must. You will consume because you must. Am I holding back now even though I know you are inexperienced? Am I holding back because you're a Sith apprentice? No. If you die you are simply another life I've consumed; you're an addition to my power, a boost to my ego if you will. I keep you alive to make you learn. Not because you have potential or power, but the ability to learn how to consume, and then use what you consume against your foe despite his strength. You had the opportunity to embrace gluttony, killing me and consuming my strength, but you refused. It is for that hesitation that you now suffer. Now the dark tendril squeezed Lucifer's aching neck as a piercing tool split his eyes in two, screwed into their meaty tissue, and then plucked them from his skull. Torin felt his desire to scream and soaked in the slave's struggle, only releasing Lucifer after he had sucked the apprentice dry. "Physically, you are unharmed, but remember my words. You do not have power. Even if you graduate from the rank of apprentice you will not have power. Not until you learn to act without hesitancy will you even begin to feel power." Torin beat Lucifer in the head with the word power, leaving him hungry for the feeling, but too weak to strive for it immediately.