Cyrus Knight

Hanging out in space and waiting for the YT-2400 to leave, Cyrus was sure to get the jump vector when it finally did. During the wait, he'd had to endure a curious attempt to make him think there were spiders aboard his ship. He concluded very quickly that there was a Sith Master in the area, apparently attempting to discourage people from leaving. He didn't apparently count on trying to trick people that had Cyrus' skill set. Without going into too much detail, he had the mental training to resist a dark side Force attack, learned from the Sith Order's most historical enemies. The attack withstood, Cyrus hit the hyperspace levers, following Brina's vector toward her destination and using his navicomputer to make the necessary calculations to figure out where it was she was going.

Cyrus continued to watch Brina carefully as she turned and left. She seemed pretty unconcerned about the bounty and confident in the Link's security to keep her safe, but if he knew her type well, it was just a show. She realized that what he'd said made sense, and that she was putting her people needlessly at risk by staying in a place where every bounty hunter in the galaxy knew to find her. That meant that she was probably going to be leaving, but she was going to do it on her own or with a small group of trusted security men. Cyrus had been hoping to be one of those men, but clearly her trust for him had dimmed over the years he'd been away. Oh, well, he thought. It just made all of this more difficult. Cyrus checked himself back out through security, reclaiming the weapons he'd brought with him, and made his way back to the Protector. Soon later, he had lifted off and left the Resort. It was time to start again, almost from scratch.

Knight immediately recognized Brina Thalin when she came into the area. It seemed that his business with the tiresome security officer was now superfluous, and he couldn't be more glad. For the sake of closure, he looked at the man and sighed. "I didn't provide that, either, but it doesn't matter. As far as you're concerned, I'm here as a guest." He pushed past the man, heading for Brina even as Faust finished speaking to her and apparently headed for the bar. He drew near and spoke directly to her--what he'd been trying to get all along. His voice was filtered through his helmet as he said, "Ms. Thalin. Perhaps you remember me--I'm Cyrus Knight. Though I haven't worked here for a while, my loyalty to the Link has never wavered." Knight knew he'd have to choose his next words carefully, as they would shape for many people how the rest of the bounty hunt would go. "There's a sizable bounty on your head, and a lot of dangerous people know about it. Everyone knows you're here, so if you stay, more and more will arrive, and some of them will go in with blasters instead of words like Faust. Though this place might seem safe, it's not. "Security is something I do particularly well, Director," he said. "I can take you somewhere where they'll never find you, just to lay low for a few days until it all blows over. Although the bounty states that you're to be alive, it says nothing about what the man who placed it will do to you." In his experience, that was usually the point of someone being taken alive--so that the bounty could be tortured for information or killed later, so that the man who placed it could do it personally.

Cyrus Knight simply shook his head. "I never submitted to fingerprinting when I worked here before, so you can't possibly have them on file," he answered. There was a lot going on behind the statement, but none of it mattered right now. Characters such as Cyrus Knight wore helmets not just because of their functionality, but because of their identity. Particularly as a security agent who worked for multiple organizations over time, he made a lot of enemies who were quite willing to carry grudges. Being able to lose himself in the galaxy seemed like a great idea. As a matter of fact, Cyrus didn't even have fingerprints these days, having had them removed, though he wasn't sure if that had been the case back when he'd worked here the first time. Thankfully, it was moot. "Look. You scanned me, I'm unarmed, and it's only loyalty that brought me back here. Please--let me see Ms. Thalin instead of trusting the word of Faust."

At one moment there was empty space, and in the next there was a ship. Its transponder identified it as the Protector, and it was registered under the name Cyrus Knight. He hadn't shown his face around the Link for quite some time, but he'd been busy over the years, and now he had access to the right information to bring him back here with an urgent message. One thing that was a hallmark of his career was that once he'd worked for an employer, he maintained his loyalty to them. He requested a landing berth at the resort, received it, and was soon on his way toward security, wearing his custom black stormtrooper armor, cloak, and a helmet that was both protective and functional when it came to things such as enhancing his perception. He checked his weapons at security, leaving some of them at his ship but handing over his double-bladed, spring-loaded sword and blaster carbine. It didn't take him long to notice that none other than Vladimir Faust was checking in not far away, and he cursed under his breath. That was going to make this so much more complicated. Cyrus approached the security man that looked like he was in charge and said, quietly so that Faust wouldn't overhear him, "My name is Cyrus Knight. I used to work security here a few years ago. I have it on good word that that man--Vladimir Faust--is here to capture Brina Thalin. I request an immediate audience with Thalin concerning her safety, and I recommend that you immediately move against Faust to keep him from succeeding." And that was it. Cyrus didn't forget his old contracts to old employers. He had served as Brina's protector and escort in the past, and he was doing it again now.

OOC: Tsk tsk...none of that. IC: Knight nodded. "I would be more than happy to find out such a thing while I'm gone," he said. "I'll be ready if you should need me. With your leave, then." He inclined his head briefly and turned away, heading straight for the hangar bay. He kept all his things on his ship, and carried everything else (his weapons, armor, mask, cape, etc.). It was almost amusing--the Link would never allow armed persons not under their employ free reign of the station. But, at any rate, he was back at the Redawn before five minutes were up and aboard a second later. He had something he needed to do before he got on to the bulk of his expedition, and that was a quick stop by a world on which he had perished. However, since he had no intent of letting the Link know where that is, he did a thorough but inconspicious check for homing devices and laid in a couple of false jumps to throw off any means of tracking his hyperspace vector. It was time to take off his mask and put on another one.

Knight paused when he saw Zara. "It just so happens that I was, ma'am," he responded. "I was thinking about asking you for a little time off work, to pursue something personal, though it occurs to me that these times are dangerous and you may be unwilling to do so. "Be that the case, perhaps I could take a little time off at a slightly later date, once you feel that the Black Dawn's threat has ended?" There was something that Cyrus Knight liked about Zara Nargal, just as much as there were certain things he disliked about her. She was (or had been, or was partially) a Dathomir Nightsister, a witch of the Force. She was a warrior to a respectable extent, and she could be intimidating if she so pleased. But he disliked certain people that she had associated with in the past, and he had gotten a sort of ill perception of her through the scandal that had occured some time ago. At any rate, there were few persons he disliked more than Ronin Wartide, who had worked with her before. Now here he was, officially employed under her. Her qualities, he thought, outweighed her flaws. It was an extremely critical way to look at her, but if Knight never admitted to himself a given outlook, he could never critique and improve himself. He was an honest person, honest with himself and honest to everyone else, though he often chose to remain silent instead of speak the truth.

Cyrus Knight had the station in good order in little time. Its defenses were already solid, and he found that very little actually needed remedy. He wasn't an experienced leader, but he knew that this duty Roshan had put him on had helped him by making those aboard a little familiar with his appearance and voice. They would be able to recognize him as someone that meant a little bit of something, a leader to them if not in his own mind. It would never do to have a leader you would never recognize if you found him on the battlefield. Once again, he was thrust into a state of having nothing in particular to do, no especially prevelent use of himself or his abilities. Maybe he would take a little time off, find something to do elsewhere in the galaxy, pursue a person interest for a short amount of time. He wasn't sure what the Link's policies were on leave of absences, and he wasn't sure his employer would want him to leave this site at such a time as this, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Knight began making his way back to where he had last seen Zara Nargal, not with any real haste or apparent purpose.

Knight was smiling grimly from behind his mask when he saw the report. It seemed that the Black Sun was still at large, even larger than before, in fact. He wondered idlely where they got the resources to come up with a fleet that large, but didn't pursue the thoughts. Now was not the time. Suddenly thrust into taking charge of the Casino's security, Knight had work to do. He knew from past experience how secure the space station was already from a technological standpoint, but he also knew many of the tricks to getting around security. He had infiltrated strongholds before, and he had also prepared them against attack. The warrior first set about completing Zara's direct order by sending a station-wide announcement to all that wielded the Force in combat. He instructed them to begin training that specifically increased their ability to fight without the Force, training in the parts of the station that were enveloped by bubbles in which the Force did not exist. He then started going about the ship, making sure that everything was in combat efficiency, making adjustments here or there but none of such significance that it would change the whole scenario.

When Durose and the others returned, Knight did his part in putting away what he had grabbed and brought with him aboard the Redawn. He didn't say anything for the duration of the process, and followed Durose up towards the room Brina and Zara occupied when all was finished. He simply stood outside once they got there. He would be on hand if needed and if he wasn't needed, then he would just stand. So be it.

One instant, there was only empty space. In the next, a flicker of pseudomotion marked the arrival of the YT-2000 Redawn, its pilot Mr. Cyrus Knight and its passenger Miss Brina Thalin of the Link, rushing back at Zara Nargal's request. The Redawn had made almost record time from Myrkr, giving Brina the kind of impression of it Knight had hoped it would. Landing clearance was received in simple, short sentences and the Corellian Stock Light Freighter was docked in minutes. As soon as it put down, Knight turned to Brina. "You're clear to go, ma'am," he said simply with a slight wave of his hand. He himself would collect what he had brought from Myrkr and probably wait for Durose to reappear and supervise where exactly it was put.

Cyrus nodded and headed towards his ship with haste, taking with him what he was carrying. It was the least he could do to at least contribute to the transportation of what had been brought along. Some of the things were rather heavy, but he didn't let them slow him down. Brina was able to keep up, and the two reached the Redawn in moments. Making his way to the cockpit, Knight wished he still had a droid copilot to help him out. His previous ship wasn't technically destroyed, so his droid was likely to be intact, he just had to find the time to go back and collect him. As it was, he had to run through the pre-flight checks single-handedly, though Brina knew what she was doing and aided him as well. It took only a minute to get the YT-2000 off the ground and headed for deep space. Knight's piloting was refined and experienced, and it was clear that he had been flying for quite some time, even flying in combat. In fact, he had fought members of multiple factions in space combat before, including Imperials and Jedi and the Black Sun. All that mattered now was that he could fly. Seconds later, the stars stretched into lines, then whirled into the luminescent, purple, black, and blue tunnel of hyperspace, without which the Galactic Empire would span no more than a single system of planets.

Knight was the first to stand when Durose did so. He wasn't necessarily eager to leave, but neither was he loathe to. Passivity was looked down upon by many, but the only true way to clear one's mind and truly concentrate was to be without conviction. Of course, conviction was just as essential to a warrior's life as discipline, for a warrior without cause was a warrior without spirit, but when conviction became so deep-rooted that it no longer required conscious thought, it was not the distraction it could be and it's effects were maximized. Cyrus Knight no longer needed to analyze each action he took. He did each thing according to his code of conduct, his honorable standards, and never thought twice. It was as much a reflex to act according to his code as it was reflex to get some sleep when he was tired and had the time. Starting to gather things that needed to be taken back to the ship, the warrior that was far more than one waited patienty for everyone else to get ready to begin the trek back.

Cyrus was, as usual, sitting completely still. Little was happening, and he was almost frustrated by that fact. He didn't like it when nothing happened. But he would never say so aloud, and he would never truly convince himself that it was a bad thing. Yes, he would rather be in action, in combat, but where combat was not, preparation for combat was. So he sat still, practicing true control of his body and mind. If he could teach himself to never flinch or twitch when he didn't want to, he would also be able to move exactly as he needed to in a situation where the slightest movement could mean life or death. Not that even death was a bad thing. Death was the final destination, a place of glory. Knight didn't move.

One of Cyrus's eyebrows raised beneath his mask, his own amusement mirroring that of Brina and Durose. He didn't say anything, nor shift his posture, so it appeared that he had no reaction at all, for none was visible. If that was how they would think of him, then so be it. He was beginning to be under the impression that they at least trusted him--had he been looking for a time to turn on them, he had had plenty already. They would just have to be satisfied with what he had told them. His history was only something he could not say as of now. Telling the truth would be counter-productive, even if the Link did not see it as that way. No, they could accept his true past. But he still did not intend to reveal it, for his alias was not to hide from the Link, but to alter himself in the eyes of the galaxy until they realized the galaxy was empty without who he had been. He did not mean that arrogantly, of course (he didn't want to suggest that the galaxy relied on his true identity's presence), but there would still be something missing. They would see.

Cyrus, not even sweating or breathing hard, sat down near the fire wordlessly. Moments of action were best followed by moments of peace, and this was the calm that both proceeded and followed great tempests. He could now review his performance in detail, find his mistakes, and analyze any weaknesses he had shown. He was somewhat satisfied mentally that his mistakes had not been large enough to yeild injuries, but there were always opponents that were far more powerful than vornskrs, who could exploit his weaknesses and even kill him because of them. He had fought such opponents, and they had taught him to overcome weaknesses and ignore pain. That was the victory in any loss.

((Due to the possibility that combat could become uninteresting, the following post will abridge the possibly extensive sections thereof.)) Knight continued to walk alongside the group for some time, but halted on his ire and released the cage with the vornskr already inside, holding on to the other three and taking a small side quest off into the thick underbrush on either side of the animal path the group was using. His goal was to capture three more vornskrs before returning again to the path. Sure enough, his instincts had told him right. He released the three cages and pulled out his warsword upon sighting a small pack of four dark beasts. Kepar kidos, he thought as the double blades snapped out with a quiet click accompanied by the sound of metal sliding along metal. ------------------------- Seven minutes later, Knight was hauling the last vornskr's stunned but living body into the last of his four cages. He remained unscratched, a testiment to both his skill and his improvement since his last journey here. Blood had marked his warsword before he had cleaned it off, and his carbine had been discharged more than once. More importantly, he had used other resources. Weapons themselves were not the core of combat. Knight, weilding the four cages with the aid of their repulsor systems, rejoined the rest of the group at the campsite and noticed that Roshan had also been able to make his captures, though his injuries were as numerous as his victories. It did not make him any less of a warrior in Knight's sight, however, he was simply learning a lesson that could only be taught through negative experiences. It was slightly ironic that Durose sought still to maintain Knight's loyalty through acts of skill and simple, constant commands. It was a legitimate way of keeping order among the ranks, but Knight was truly, fully, beyond all doubt, loyal only because of his own decisions, and there was nothing that could happen to further ensure or tear apart his loyalties but a decision made only and exclusively by himself.

Knight was alert and aware of the situation and the now continued threat of the vornskrs, but he still carried his blaster carbine in a relaxed position, lowered towards the ground. With the addition of his mask, it was impossible to tell that he was looking around at all, but for the slight alterations in how he angled his shoulders. As he watched Durose, he saw the man receive two injuries from as many vornskrs, including a nasty bite that perhaps should have taken the arm clear off. If that was the extent of his prowess, then perhaps he would require Knight's more direct aid during the upcoming mission to capture vornskrs. He himself was also half-actively tracking another predator that was stalking him, if the static-ridden reading from Knight's scanner was correct. He knew it was taking its time to get in leaping position, as these beasts seemed rather fond of doing. More enhanced than his vision was his hearing through his half-helmet. Oftentimes he could pick up a single footstep, while amplified sounds that would be unsafe in volume were dimmed. Almost, he thought, biding his time. His blaster carbine was set to stun, but stun settings were only effective at extremely short range. He would need to wait until the last possible second to pull the trigger, and he could only affort a single burst. Not yet.... He still appeared to be completely unaware of the vornskr when its movement suddenly halted. That was the moment in which Knight spun, dropping the cages. As he did so, he beheld the nightmarish black form, in the air as he suspected, stretched for him with its bright claws extended, cutting through the night as would a Jedi lightsaber. His carbine snapped up in a motion the eye couldn't follow, and a blue wash of light erupted from its barrel, catching the beast full in the chest. Knight dropped into a crouch as the vornskr's limp form finished its arc and hit the ground heavily. You won't be needing that anymore, he thought as he used his warsword to remove the creature's tail, also removing most of its natural aggression. Finally, he shoved the heavy form into one of his cages, which was now fully too heavy to carry. Did Durose have a plan for after they caught a vornskr or two? All it would take was a hoversled or something of that manner.

OOC: Who is 'the merc'? And is he accompanying us or Brina's party? IC: Knight nodded in response to Durose's orders. So it was to be basically a solo mission, working with Durose but not close enough to him to cover his back. Knight didn't like the idea of giving up the guard of the others, but going solo against numerous vornskrs in an attempt to stun and not kill was just the sort of test of skill that he was looking for at the moment. The experienced combatant grabbed ahold of four of the cages, finding holding them to be rather difficult. They were very heavy, made of a material dense and strong enough to hold a vornskr inside the cage. The grip was also difficult. At least he wouldn't have to try to fight without tossing them aside first. He then began trudging along side the others to accompany them to the peak, apprehension not among the infintessimal number of emotions he was feeling. He was, in fact, perfectly passive, exactly what he wanted to feel during combat. It was what he was used to feeling.

Knight grunted as the pair of vornskrs leapt at him and Durose. He pulled the trigger of his carbine again, holding the weapon solely in his right hand as his left grabbed a flatish cylinder from his belt. The energy bolt lanced out and struck the vornskr indirectly in the shoulder. It appeared to be largely unfazed, but the bolt put if off-balance and altered its trajectory slightly to aim more towards Knight's right shoulder. Just before the predator would have connected with Knight, the warrior jammed one end of the cylinder in his left hand into the side of its neck, then quickly thumbed a lever. A pair of blades spit out from either end of the cylinder, one of them plunging through the vornskr's neck. The suddenly lax weight of the beast caused Knight to exert a little force to remove his blade from it as its corpse narrowly missed still connecting with his shoulder. I still require something more, he thought. I've been triple-teamed by these things before and barely came out uninjured. Perhaps if the same situation presents itself to me again, I will come out a more clear victor. Still, he wasn't foolish enough to run out into the main pack and seek glory against numerous odds, even though he didn't doubt he could rise to the challenge just as he had risen to countless others--Jedi and Sith Masters, warriors with similar training to his own (if not quite the same), and even a former mentor who had brought Knight a long way. He accompanied Durose back out of the tall grass as was suggested.

Knight shook his head when Durose spoke to him. He claims to know my heart, but fears that I will betray him. He is no better than the rest, nothing more than a mercenary with the Link for money and what he would consider glory. But Knight's bodings were turned to bemusement when Durose threatened to kill him if he decided to betray them. Did the other man really think he could kill Knight? Regardless, as Durose rattled on about his own past on Cathar, Knight began getting a few scrambled sensor readings that seemed to indicate that there were several living creatures approaching them. It wasn't a clear read, but Knight drew his blaster carbine just before Durose indicated that he, too, was under the impression that attack was iminent. The Link officer suggested retreat, and while Knight was opposed to the idea, he found little reason in refuting Durose simply for the sake of doing so. "I do indeed have access to a suitable viewplate for darkness, though it removes a certain amount of the challenge this fight presents," Knight said in response to the Echani combatant's inquiry, making his way over to the inferior warrior Mr. Proc and the others. Proc was saying something about his misinformed view of life and death and pain, but he ceased that and asked a question about the vornskrs, apparently to no one in particular. "They hunt through the Force," the warrior answered, "and thus tend to target those with a Force sensitivity. They are also extremely adept at using scent to locate their victims, so don't consider ruling that out." Three vornskrs was hardly a challenge at the moment, as it was not even yet dark (darkness helped the black-furred predators keep hidden), but Knight took the initiative to make sure that no one got too seriously hurt. He was loyal to the Link and therefore took responsibility for the health of its members--his ego or cynical outlook on the views of the other members would not affect that. Directing his blaster carbine with practiced aim and efficiency, he fired once and put a blaster bolt in a vornskyr skull, right between the eyes. They were tough, but not tough enough to survive without a functioning brain.

Knight kept himself from sighing. Every time someone asked him about his past, he had to be extremely careful in what he said. He would not lie to her, nor would he lie to anyone else, even for the sake of keeping his true past a secret. Forging an identification and writing a past had been as close as he would get, and he only did those things because they were absolutely necessary. Since then, the science of what words he chose to use had been his safety. The warrior wondered passively what the response would be if he actually revealed his true past and former identity. He did not, of course, consider granting them such a revelation, but the thought was curious. "My past, Miss Thalin, is largely unimportant to my current affiliation with the Link," he decided to say. "My records hold a telling of my past, but I'm sure you've read those. All that you need to know of me is that I value morality, honesty, loyalty and honor, despising their opposites--baseness, deceit, betrayal and cowardice. "My loyalty extends first to my code of honor, if you will. This is as much a warning to you as anything--there are certain things I will not take part in, and I have killed my code's violators simply because they exist," Knight finished. It seemed like just the right amount of information to give out--only what was truly relevant and nothing beyond that. Once again, his final statement was to show that, although he was loyal to the Link, he was not to be taken as a thug or mercenary. He was a powerful individual, and that was that.

Knight raised a concealed eyebrow. He didn't know how comfortable he could get with these people just yet, them being his employers and nothing more, so breaking formality wasn't his favorite order at the moment. In his opinion, when employees got too comfortable with employers, bad things started to happen regarding respect and loyalty. The most effective way to keep a mercenary happy (not that Knight was, per se, a mercenary) was to maintain clear rules of authority and simply give orders that were able to be followed. There wasn't any problem with carrying things from the Mynock, of course, and Knight immediately grabbed a load and began to hike as instructed. Carrying equipment easily beat out doing absolutely nothing or something as pointless as standing guard to a trash compactor. Even those things, Knight had taught himself, could be usefull in self-discipline, but it was not the sort of thing one signed up for. More than anything else, Knight desired battle, for only through it could he grow stronger. The experienced combatant made the hike with his eyes scanning the trees around him, searching for ysalamiri or some hint to the presence of a dangerous predator. Vornskrs were pitch black in coloration and hunted at night (which was not long off), making them difficult to spot. They were intelligent and cunning, formidable foes. His last hostile encounter with them had left him with a deep scratch in the armor he had been wearing at the time, but he had slain many of them with prowess. He knew that he would not leave Myrkr without combating at least one. In truth, he looked forward to it.

A little annoyance was Knight's prime internal emotion for a second before he cut it off. He had managed to track them down and proceed with due haste to this forsaken, tree-covered rock only for them to be prepared to leave just as he found them. Still, there was nothing that could be done about it, and he had been as prompt as possible. He was here. More important things took the annoyance's place and Knight inclined his head briefly in a slight bow before he shook Brina's hand. "Greetings. I am who you suspect," he said. "How may I be of service?"

The Redawn, the personal ship of Cyrus Knight, arrived from hyperspace over the heavily forested planet of Myrkr, where few breaks from the trees existed and among the trees almost nothing was safe. There was a very interesting ecosystem on Myrkr, one where the primary predators hunted with the Force and the primary prey generated bubbles in the Force that disallowed the vornskrs to use that sense to locate them. It was almost curious that the vornskrs had not lost touch with the Force as a species, for it was barely useful to them in most parts of the jungle, for the ysalamiri had a curious exponential effect on the bubbles of others, effectively able to engulf the planet as a whole if they gathered in a single location. But they didn't, and that was what kept the ecosystem alive. Knight was still uncertain as to why the Link needed ysalamiri--their common use was to aid in defeating Jedi Knights or Sith Lords. Knight himself preferred to fight Jedi or Sith at their full potential and ability, but he could understand why most operatives wouldn't feel the same. Still...why would the Link need to fight Jedi or Sith to begin with? The warrior attempted to locate Durose and Brina through the tracker that he had been handed, but shook his head at the stupidity of whoever had the idea of using a tracker. The trees of Myrkr contained a surprising amount of metal that easily threw off such a signal and disallowed any effective use of scanners. He really didn't have any way to find the pair except through visual sighting. Knight simply headed straight in and followed the most direct course to the planet, hoping Durose had done the same thing. Sure enough, Knight found the Crazy Mynock after only a few minutes and landed beside it. He exited his ship and send a comm to Durose, not having any other way of locating him. "This is Cyrus Knight," he said through the commlink. "The trees of Myrkr have proven somewhat of an obstacle in any attempt to locate you. I managed to find your ship. If you wish me to join you, a certain amount of instruction would be helpful."