Vjun

[Gren Sairdonga]

Learning how to walk again he been the hardest, the young man surmised. The mix of balance, strength and co-ordination, and that it had been the first thing he tried had made it next to impossible... For a while.

 

It had been some time since the young man had awoken to the creature standing by his bed. Now all was different. The Master, As the man could only refer to him for he had no name he told the man, was once again standing before him. This was much different though.

 

He was about to be released. He was no closer to remembering who he was bar the disturbing flashes of his past. Mostly of battle, some against the creatures, some were giant dogfights from the cockpit of a fighter. Those that weren't about battle were about a man, older then him, radiating calm sitting behind a desk or on the bridge of a starship. Or of a young woman, beautiful yet dangerous. Something about her strange.

 

The young man had spent many hours contemplating these visions. BUt was no closer to his answers. Nolw here he stood. In the armour that was supposedly his... It fit like it was his anyway. Half his body made of metal and machine.

 

A ship stood behind him. Its computer to take him to some place called Coruscant. Then to return here. How it worked the man had no idea. But his time in rehabilitation with the master had taught him not to question. His knowledge of weaponry, fighting and the force was all he needed to survive.

 

The six empty sheaths on his armour pointed to something missing though. The man felt naked unconciously with them empty too. A feeling he couldn't explain.

 

The master was explaining something to him. About how he should do what his heart told him to. The man nodded, agreing with this thinking. Suddenly the master nodded once. And turned, leaving the man on his own.

 

Knowing what this meant he turned to. Boarded the ship. And activated the auto-pilot. A few minutes later he was in hyperspace.

[Exodus]

• ”œThrough passion, I gain strength.”

[BLACK1]

A small shuttle lands on Vjun a short distance from Exodus. A small squad of storm troopers emerge, at their head a formally dressed man, looking generally jovial.

 

"Master Exodus, you're presence is requested. His Majesty the Emperor would like to discuss the current Arach'tar situation. We're prepared to take you there now, if you're ready, or your R.S.V.P. for when you do expect to meet with him."

[Exodus]

Exodus made no movement to broaden a resourceful hand towards his impeccable blade but instead studied the vessel as it pooled around his presence and landed to reveal a selection of storm troopers. The one who led them however, expressed a different nature than the men that followed him. Exodus didn't bother to dip into the pathetic minds that each of them possessed and therefore the undressed fibers of the force slithered between the clutches of his fingers instead, ready to erase them all from his presence and cast himself into solitude once more.

 

Just then, the man clad in ridiculous costume spoke forth.

 

”œGeki”¦?”

[Valar Morghulis]

The Wingless Seraph winked back into existence above Vjun, circling the sickly green planet like a vulture searching for prey. The red Firespray might have had a worn appearance, but it was a reliable and well-armed ship. The Seraph had passed down from owner-to-owner until it landed in the arms of a world-weary Sullustan trader. After one long and tragically unlucky game of Sabacc, though, the ship had been passed along to one Riktor Hess, half-Kiffar human, potential Sith acolyte, and- as of this very moment- current inhabitant of Vjun's atmosphere. Leaning forward on his control console, Hess surveyed the world before him with wary eyes. All through his hyperspace jump, he had wondered whether or not that droid back in the Coruscanti bar was even reliable. Hess had entertained the possibility that some jerk had rigged it up as a prank, or that it was some kind of pirate scout leading him into a nasty trap. Yet just from the look of this planet, Hess could tell he hadn't been fooled.

 

Vjun looked- unnatural.

 

Everything about the planet seemed distinctly wrong somehow. Hess had heard ominous- yet tantalizing- whispers of the Sith being able to twist the natural processes of life to their will in order to create horrible monsters. Could the Sith have created this entire planet? Hess reached up and placed his head on his palms in an attempt to organize his thoughts. Dismissing his idle speculations, the half-Kiffar punched in the landing coordinates from the droid's datapad and reclined back in his chair, staring at the growing figure of Vjun's skies. Although his hands were shaking with fear, Hess also felt a sliver of excitement. Destiny awaited him.

 

When the half-Kiffar next opened his eyes, he could hear the thumping of rain against his window. The sound was strangely soothing, especially to the nervous Hess. Looking around, the half-Kiffar realized that he had briefly fallen asleep...and, more to the point, had finally touched down on Vjun. Abruptly, Hess gathered his supplies- making sure to arm himself with both blasters- and walked out onto the Seraph's docking ramp. Without making a sound, Riktor Hess sat down on the docking ramp so that he himself could not be seen from a distance.

 

And waited.

[Darth Dominus]

The coordinates Hess had been given landed him near a ruined castle. It was of ancient structure, but the damage looked recent. This had been the home of Darth Dominus. Before the Sith and his followers departed, they had destroyed all that they had been left behind. Now the Master was coming back. Faceless droids were at work rebuilding what had been abandoned.

 

A storm raged as they worked. The few people who lived on Vjun were used to constant rains that seemed to fall on the planet. But even they would not deny that the home of Lord Dominus seemed unusually tempestuous.

 

As one the droids, stopped their work and faced the initiate. Water dripped from their metallic forms.

 

"Our Master is coming. Before he will train you however, you must prove yourself."

 

One of the droids cartwheeled at the young Sith, wrist blades springing forth. Another droid pulled a sword from beside the tools he had been working with. A third picked up a heavy repeating blaster. The bladed droid's arms wheeled at Hess.

 

There was no doubt their intent was lethal. This was not an exercise Hess would survive unless he was a strong combatant.

[Valar Morghulis]

"Our Master is coming. Before he will train you however, you must prove yourself."

 

"Sonova-"

 

Faster than he could think, Hess jumped into a crouch and levelled his pistols at the bladed droid. No way would he go down this easy! Hess squeezed the triggers as hard as he could, nearly crushing them in as he fired relentlessly into the oncoming droid. Crimson bolts slammed into the droid at nearly point-blank range, decapitating the attacker and jerking its ruined body down to the ground. Hess clumsily swiveled to shoot at the other two droids, aiming most of his shots at the gun-wielder. At the same time, he inched backward, trying to give himself some much-needed cover from the droid's blaster shots. Due to the rain, Hess couldn't really tell if he had scored a lethal hit on the gun-wielder or if his shots had just glanced off. Hopefully he had at least disabled it from shooting him down, but if not he had the docking ramp as cover. In this contest, Hess had the high ground.

 

The gun-wielder was returning fire, but Hess could tell that he had at least damaged the thing, as it now seemed to lurch forward with a protracted limp. Sparks flew as the droid's shots hit the docking ramp, almost blinding the half-Kiffar and forcing him to scrabble even further backwards. "Damnit damnit damnit" Hess swore as he nearly lost his balance, still firing off his blaster pistols at whatever was in front of him. Hopefully the droids would be stupid and blindly rush into his line of fire, just as the last one had. Even better, maybe the gun-wielder would accidentally shoot its sword-swinging comrade. After all, these things couldn't be too intelligent, right?

[Darth Dominus]

The droids of Darth Dominus were quite intelligent. In fact, as the third droid saw his comrades go down, he had enough sense to find with his sword into the darkness. The other droids continued their work as if nothing was happening.

 

"Excuse me young man," a voice called from the darkness. It was old and raspy, the voice of a man barely clinging to life. Soon, the source of the voice emerged from a sheen of falling rain. He was stooped and carried a cane, indicating he was quite old. But with a dark cloak and hood it was impossible to be sure.

 

"I am Nurgle," the man said. "I couldn't help but notice you were doing it all wrong. Guns are for smugglers and pirates. This is what Sith shall use."

 

He tossed Hess a crimson lightsaber.

 

"I will loan it to you. Be warned, the droid's sword is able to deflect it."

 

The droid sprang from the darkness swinging his blade at Hess's head.

[Valar Morghulis]

The gun-wielding droid had either succumbed to its injuries or been felled by Hess's last volley of blasterfire. Only one left, but this droid may have been the most dangerous- mainly because Hess was backing up into a space where he would be most vulnerable to close combat. When it came to brawling, Hess preferred to keep his foes at a distance and fire on them with blasters. Well, in theory...he hadn't seen many brawls and few of them had even gone his way. Desperately, madly, Hess leapt from the docking ramp, using the shadow cast by the Wingless Seraph to cloak himself as he hid next to the ramp. Good thing the other droids seemed oblivious to his presence. For now.

 

"Excuse me young man," came a voice from the darkness. Himself hidden next to the Seraph, Hess drew in a sharp intake of breath. His eyes narrowed. With the way he was hiding, Hess strongly doubted that a regular person- albeit someone as aged as the voice sounded- would be able to point him out so quickly. A slight tremble began to act up in his fingers again, so Hess clenched his teeth and focused on the droid. He could hear its clanking footsteps as it ambled around in the darkness, but now Hess felt rooted to the spot. Perhaps, instead of tossing more droids at him, these enigmatic Sith would finally reveal themselves. He was certainly doing well enough in dispatching the automations, especially considering all this rain now pouring down onto his head. Then again, Hess thought with dread, perhaps this test had only just started.

 

Then a figure materialized from the gloom. It wore a black coak and hood that covered its whole body, with merely a walking cane visible through the rain. From what Hess had seen and heard, it certainly looked the part of a Sith Lord, but its crackling voice and ambling movements were less than impressive. In fact, the figure seemed barely alive. Hess could probably kill it with a single shot. " I am Nurgle. I couldn't help but notice you were doing it all wrong." Hess grimaced as the man continued. "Guns are for smugglers and pirates. This is what Sith shall use." The figure tossed him something and Hess, without even thinking, caught it in one hand. As Hess caught the object, he involuntarily convulsed, as if an electric shock had passed through his body. What was this thing, poisonous? Hess looked down and saw-

 

A lightsaber. A Sith lightsaber. Hess traced his fingers across it, the hint of a smile dancing across his face. All of a sudden, the Sith had became tangible; not the fleeting nightmares Hess had been dreading. As he held the lightsaber, Hess could feel a newfound confidence coming over him. It was as if the cylindrical object in his hand had become a trusted friend. Fleeting imagery flashed into his mind: visions of a crimson lightsaber wielded by a hand that was not his own. Visions of the weapon cutting through flesh and bone as though it were passing through water.

 

"I will loan it to you. Be warned, the droid's sword is able to deflect it."

 

Droid? Oh. Oh crap.

 

As the droid sprang from the darkness, Hess brought the flame-colored blade-when had he even activated it?- around to parry its killing strike. He'd taken fencing lessons about a year ago and had been practicing with his vibroblade, yet Hess still felt out of his element in close combat! The droid struck again and again, trying to push the inexperienced Hess off his feet and nearly succeeding. Hess stumbled back, barely percieving the lunge of the droid as he fired back with a stronger hit. He had to survive, he had to push forward! He was tightening his grip on the lightsaber; and as he did, Hess's strokes became more powerful and more strategic. All of a sudden, he was the one pushing the droid back into the wall, only it wasn't him, it was him wearing the countenance of a hooded man, and now the demon he was hammered and hammered with a hideous strength on the droid's sword and then twisted his whole body to effortlessly bypass the droid's defenses and strike-

 

And strike off the droid's hands, sending the sword clattering to the ground amidst mangled metal. Hess blinked, finding himself facing "Nurgle" with a lightsaber held aloft and a literally disarmed droid. "What," said Hess in a flat tone. He turned his gaze to the lightsaber in his hands, staring at the weapon in sheer disbelief. "That wasn't me. That was..." He looked back to the (presumed) Sith Lord, then to the still-standing droid warrior. Almost as an afterthought, Hess brought the weapon down through the droid's torso, hacking his former opponent in half. Then, taking a step away from the smoking remains, he faced the Sith once more. "That was you. I...I used you. I used your imprint on the blade. Your...your memory."

 

After all, that was the gift of psychometry.

[Darth Dominus]

"Not my memory," Nurge responded. "I am a dream-thing. A shade of what your lord Darth Dominus was before he took his current incarnation. The memory you used comes from Dominus himself."

 

What little ability Hess had to sense through the Force indicated Nurgle was a living man. This was an illusion. The hunched figure took down its Force defenses, allowing Hess's untrained abilities to sense deeper. Nurgle was a droid, the same as those he had faced. He was encased in flesh and blood flowed through veins, giving him access to the Force but his core was metal and circuitry. He had no soul.

 

"You must realize that was only a droid you faced, albeit a deadly assassin. To destroy three of them is no small feat, but compared with a real Sith, you would be no match. Even I, a dream thing, could best you in a duel."

 

Nurgle limped forward.

 

"But should you survive the training, you will be great. No apprentice taken on by Darth Dominus has been anything less. Yes, that's right. Dominus will take you on. You have passed."

 

Nurgle turned toward the ruined castle. The faceless droids, still oblivious to all that surrounded them, continued their work.

 

"Have you anything to say before I show you to your quarters?"

[Valar Morghulis]

Riktor Hess looked to the ruined castle and the faceless droids repairing it. He was still dumbfounded that Nurgle was actually some kind of machine, like a reverse cyborg. It may have had flesh and blood, but it was still, at best, a simulacrum of what Darth Dominus had been. Nurgle wasn't even truly alive; not in the sense Hess was familiar with. He probably should have felt a twinge of revulsion after learning what Nurgle was, yet Hess was already becoming familiar with the unnatural. Like the rumors had told him, twisting life in this fashion was the way of the Sith. Perhaps Hess would have to revise his definition of "natural" after becoming one of them.

 

But none of that mattered now. Not now, after he'd passed the test. The tremor in his fingers was completely gone, replaced by an eagerness to meet this Dominus and learn how to harness the Force. There would be pain, sure, but pain with a purpose; the same pain felt by a larva shedding its skin. Maybe he wouldn't be Riktor Hess anymore, but that was a life he had never truly loved. As long as he had the Force in the end, it didn't even matter; the half-Kiffar was ready for anything.

 

"Yes, I do have something to say." Hess looked down to the still-ignited lightsaber in his hand. "Um, do you want this back?"

[Darth Dominus]

Nurgle shook his head,

 

"You may keep it for now. Consider it a loan. It will aid you in your training."

 

Nurgle looked up feeling the rain fall on his face. Yes, he did feel it. Cold and wet, it dripped down his chin. Nurgle knew he was a dream-thing. He knew this because he could feel himself here, and he also felt himself talking to Haphaestus on Almas. He felt himself on Falleen, hidden in a secret lab beneath the earth. He felt his true form, his first form buried beneath the floors of the castle. The true Darth Dominus was aware of these extensions, but he felt himself apart from them. This was not true for the android Nurgle. He wondered if there weren't repercussions for this action. To shatter himself in this way, was a dangerous game.

 

In the end though, Nurgle was a mere shadow. He could not dwell long on these topics before his programming forced him into the proper course of action. As obedient as a slave, Nurgle spoke to Hess,

 

"Tell me of your history. What is your name? Where do you come from? Tell me your story."

[Valar Morghulis]

Hess deactivated the lightsaber- easy, really, just the press of a button- and clipped it to his belt. He took a deep breath, allowing some of the stress from the fight to pass out of his system. Already he was becoming accustomed to the steady rainfall, which was cooling him down nicely. As the tension in his body died down, though, Hess started to feel an ache all the way down to his bones. He felt for his pulse and was somewhat relieved to find that it had slowed down, since the raging throb of his heartbeat had been near defeaning as he fought the final droid. Then he faced Nurgle once again.

 

"I'm...Hess. Riktor Hess, of Eriadu." He rubbed his face with both hands, reluctant to go any further but knowing he had little choice. "What you just saw, the gift I have...it's essentially defined my whole life. Probably the only decent thing my father did was pass it down to me. He was a Kiffar, you see. Only one in a hundred Kiffar have this ability, and for an...offshoot like me to have it is even rarer. My mother was Human, so the tattoos are my father's." As he continued, Hess unconsciously reached up to trace his facial tattoos: two jet-black U-shapes directly under his eyes, which gave Hess's eyes a sunken quality; as well as three parallel lines on his right cheek like scars from a claw. "Make that two decent things, counting these. But anyway. My father preferred running around the galaxy to spending time with his family, so he was never around. He was the only one with some knowledge of what the gift was like, although he didn't have it himself.

 

"He wasn't there when I first experienced the gift. I was seven or eight when I found that when I would touch certain objects- it started with some worthless valve at a public water supply- I would see things that weren't there." Hess scowled. "Of course, nobody around me could understand my ability aside from it being some 'alien' thing. That's the climate I grew up in. My father wasn't around for long enough to make a difference and my mother...well, she tried. But as I grew older, I realized my ability was a gift and I realized that it put me above my peers. At first I hated them for ostracizing me- you must know how most people are when they percieve something different, even when it's better than they are- but eventually I came to look down on them." A cruel smirk illuminated the half-Kiffar's features. "They might not have appreciated me, but I knew I was better and I knew that they were nothing. By the time I ventured out into the world, I realized that most people were like that, period." Uncomfortably, Hess looked down at his hands. "I can't say I remained confident. That's the thing. The more I exposed myself to the galaxy at large, the more I came to realize that I really wasn't unique. I...began to feel worthless, disgusting. It was like my whole life had been one giant lie, and none of it even mattered. I hated all things and I especially hated myself." He paused, unwilling to continue on this subject, and shifted gears. "I found the Force, though, and that changed everything. I...I was walking down a crowded street and through the height of my depression I realized that I could feel them, somehow. It was like my vision had been corrected; I went from feeling like I didn't even exist to percieving everything in such...clarity. That was when I realized I'd been right all along."

 

Hess looked Nurgle right in the eyes, tired of giving his life's story. Every second he spent on Vjun meant that his former life mattered less and less, which was the way Hess liked it. "Anything else you want to hear?"

[Darth Dominus]

Nurgle did not answer. Instead, he seemed to respond to some unspoken order. The cyborg faded into the night, leaving Hess alone in the rain. The faceless droids ignored him as they continued their work. A few came down from the scaffolding long enough to clean up their fallen brethren, but otherwise they showed no sign of being aware of their surroundings.

 

Above the planet, an old resident was returning. The New Sun burst out of hyperspace. Darth Dominus piloted the ship toward the surface, landing beside Hess's vessel. It had been three years since he had set foot on Vjun.

 

Darth Dominus dropped from the ship's hatch to the wet ground. To Hess, he would appear a humanoid of shimmering silver, cloaked in black, and carrying an obsidian staff that exuded a strange Force aura. Dominus odd appearance was a mark of his experiments with genetics, combining human and Defel DNA when he grew himself a new body. The old, crooked creature called Nurgle was a reminder of what his old body had been.

 

Dominus went immediately to his ruined castle. A faceless droid descended from where it was working and conversed in a strange tongue. Then Dominus faced Hess.

 

"So, you are my knew apprentice. I will tell you first off that I am a part of an unpopular sect within the Sith called the Alcazarins. You will not be a part of this sect. You will be trained separately. But I feel you should be warned. Your involvement with me may cause you trouble in the future. You may choose to find another master now, and if so, I will allow you to leave freely."

[Valar Morghulis]

Hess watched as Nurgle disappeared into the night. I guess he isn't much of a conversationist, Hess thought to himself. All around him, the faceless droids kept working on rebuilding the abandoned castle. A couple of them crawled down in order to pick up their shattered comrades, but none of them touched Hess. Just in case, though, he let his hand drift to his lightsaber. He felt as if he should have been afraid, but he felt more annoyed than anything- at least until a new ship touched down next to the Wingless Seraph.

 

The being that emerged was like nothing Hess had seen. It had a curiously ornate appearence, clad in a black cloak and holding a great staff. Something about the staff seemed ominous, but Hess couldn't place what was wrong about it. Perhaps a Force-based weapon of some sort? In any event, Hess could tell upon first glance that that this being was the Sith he'd been waiting for. Darth Dominus; the one Nurgle had described. As the Sith Lord drew near, one of the faceless droids scuttled over to it and spoke in a language Hess had never heard. He looked from Dominus to the droid and then back again, wondering if he should feel nervous or excited. Then the Sith faced him, commanding Hess's attention.

 

So, you are my knew apprentice. I will tell you first off that I am a part of an unpopular sect within the Sith called the Alcazarins. You will not be a part of this sect. You will be trained separately.

 

Sith politics. Interesting. A little more of their mystique faded away.

 

But I feel you should be warned. Your involvement with me may cause you trouble in the future. You may choose to find another master now, and if so, I will allow you to leave freely."

 

Hess hesitated for a moment. Would that be a good idea? This Sith certainly looked like the teacher he was looking for. Perhaps his next master, assuming there was one, would be less powerful or less effective. Quite frankly, he didn't give a damn about what other Sith thought of them. All the power he had ever wanted was just too close-

 

"I'm not going anywhere. Not after waiting my whole life for this moment. If any other Sith want to look down on me because I was trained by you, then let them. Once I have all the power I need," Hess felt a swell of bravado he never knew he had, "then I'll just have to kill them. I'm nobody's fool. Not anymore." Hess looked down at his hands, as if he could feel a hidden power running through them. "I have something of a unique talent. Something tells me not too many people in your Order know how to use it, am I wrong? That...that could be their downfall, if that's how it all goes down."

 

He looked back to Dominus. "But I'm not here to start any fights. I'm here to learn from you. Once I have the Force, we'll see how things play themselves out."

[Darth Dominus]

"Very well," Dominus said. He'd given Hess fair warning. In truth, he did not believe the danger was so great as he'd implied. But Dominus had big plans, and anyone involved with him would have to be a part of those plans. Dominus was a Sith, but not an unfair man. Hess had to know danger could come to him when Dominus made enemies.

 

He has courage. And it doesn't seem to be blind stupidity. He knows the danger, and still wishes to go forward.

 

The Sith Master looked at his knew apprentice intently, trying to gain a measure of the man. Hess was full of naked ambition and raw talent, a combination that would serve him well in the Sith, if he had the proper Master. Hess's answers had pleased Dominus, and the Alcazarin was determined to make sure Hess had a thorough training in the ways of the Dark Side. After that . . . Dominus would decide whether to offer him a place among the followers of Rivan.

 

"I should warn you as well, that this will not be an easy path. I've never lost an apprentice, but once you are trained I can't make any guarantees. The galaxy is full of death and war. I've trained ten apprentices, and christened them Sith Lords. Only three are still living."

 

Dominus had tried to get a measure of Hess through the Force as he spoke to him. Surprisingly, Dominus could sense very little. Hess had strong natural defenses. The various scanners Dominus had hidden on his manor explained why. Hess was part Kiffar. Dominus knew very little about the species, other than the vague notion they possessed psychic abilities. Let's hope Hess could be taught to tap into that reservoir.

 

"Your training will begin here," Dominus moved through the rain, his skin shimmering as it struggled and failed to stay camouflaged in the constant rainstorms of Vjun. He stooped to pick up a small rock.

 

"Your first task is easy," he said, holding the rock in his palm. "Use the Force to lift this pebble. Remember, the Force is not connected to any physical part of your body. Novice Jedi and Sith will stretch their hands out to use the Force, but that is as silly as stretching your arm out to add two and two. The Force is a presence you must feel."

[Valar Morghulis]

Hess was undaunted by Dominus's warnings- well, mostly. It was quite telling that only three of the Sith's apprentices were still alive. Why had they died, Hess wondered. Perhaps fault lay in this being Dominus, or perhaps the fault had been their own. Or maybe they were just unlucky. Like the Sith had said, it was a dangerous galaxy out there. Dangerous and unforgiving; Hess had seen and heard many examples of promising individuals being brought to ruin by circumstances beyond their control. A ship crash, a bar fight gone wrong, an ambush, collateral damage from war...there were so many ways to die in the galaxy. So far Hess had gotten lucky.

 

"Your training will begin here," said Darth Dominus, seemingly undeterred by the heavy rainfall. Hess had been observing the being for some time now and still couldn't place its- his- species. The Sith's skin was reacting poorly to the rain, as if it was trying unsuccessfully to camoflague itself. Interesting...and irrelevant. Apparently Hess wouldn't have any time to get cozy, assuming it were actually possible to get cozy on this strange planet. He cracked his neck and exhaled, allowing stress to pass away from his body. It was time to learn the Force.

 

Dominus picked up a pebble and turned back to Hess. "Your first task is easy. Use the Force to lift this pebble."In an unintentionally comical image, Hess glared at the stone. This didn't sound easy at all... "Remember," continued Dominus, "the Force is not connected to any physical part of your body. Novice Jedi and Sith will stretch their hands out to use the Force, but that is as silly as stretching your arm out to add two and two. The Force is a presence you must feel." He waited expectantly.

 

Riktor Hess thought, Oh. That had been the key word: 'Feel.' Tell the truth, Hess had been feeling all sorts of strange sensations in his time on Vjun, but he'd put them out of his mind in order to focus on trivialities. He had felt a distinct wrongness upon sighting the planet; he had quicker reflexes than normal when fighting the droids; he had somehow known that Nurgle was actually an android merely by looking at him for a long time; he had sharply realized the presence of Dominus and a similar sense of wrongness about his black staff. Hess hadn't even noticed, but what he'd been feeling was similar to that sensation when he'd first felt the Force in the crowded street. All thi time he had thought it was just insight, but Hess hadn't been thinking. He had felt those sensations through the Force; just like when he felt the crowd, as if he and they had all been part of one greater organism. 'Feel.' That was the key to his inner power; a power that was all around him and all around everything else. It suffused his every cell just as it suffused every molecule of the rock.

 

It was just like tapping into his gift.

 

Maybe it was the same thing.

 

Hess lifted his eyes, and the rock lifted with them. It hovered in the air for a moment, shaking as it it were afraid. The half-Kiffar's stare was resolute and unwavering. He seemed perfectly immersed in concentration, as if his entire existence was defined by the hovering pebble. All of a sudden, Hess blinked and the pebble fell back into Dominus' hand. The half-Kiffar stepped back, as if dazed. "Woah," he sputtered. "That...was interesting." He rubbed his forehead a little. "I tapped into the Force's power, but it was brief. I don't think I have enough skill to maintain a longer...connection than that. It wasn't just willing really hard," Hess explained, "but it was like I could feel the stone. It was like the rock was part of me and by... stretching myself, I could force it to lift. I'll have to get better at that..." He scratched the back of his head and looked up at Dominus, hoping the Sith would give him more instruction.

[Darth Dominus]

Dominus remembered being in Hess's position once. His training at the hands of Darth Neo had been quite intense. The Sith Lord had plunged Dominus into dangerous situations in the hopes that his powers would awaken in a time of great need. Hess had commented on how difficult it was for him to make the connection. Dominus would have to strengthen that connection, perhaps in the way his master once had.

 

"It is expected that the first time you use the Force in that way, you will struggle."

 

Hundreds of pebbles and rocks of various size rose in a swirl around Dominus. For the Sith Master, the maneuver was effortless.

 

"However, in time, you will need to feel that connection the same way you see with your eyes or hear with your ears. It will need to become second nature."

 

While still holding the rocks in the air, Dominus used the Force to life his old lightsaber from Hess's belt and hold it in Hess's field of vision.

 

"Take the weapon. You will need it."

 

Several of the rocks flew with blinding speed toward Hess. Dominus continued sending wave after wave of pelting stones toward his apprentice. They would not kill, but hundreds of tiny projectiles could cause painful wounds after a time, if Hess was not able to learn rudimentary deflection with a lightsaber.

 

"This will help you feel the Force in even the smallest object. Imagine if these were blaster bolts. They would be going ten times the speed I am sending at you. Allow them to strike you at first. Learn to ignore the pain and feel them. Each has their own Force signature as strong as what lies within you and I."

[Valar Morghulis]

"It is expected that the first time you use the Force in that way, you will struggle. However, in time, you will need to feel that connection the same way you see with your eyes or hear with your ears. It will need to become second nature." Hess watched in increasing shock as many different stones rose into the air around Dominus. Had he been under different circumstances, Hess might have found this demonstration petty and childish; the equivalent of comparing ships and saying "Ohhh, mine's bigger!" This was, of course, before he realized the true purpose of the leviatating rocks, as evidenced by the lightsaber now hovering in front of his face. "Take the weapon," said Dominus. "You will need it."

 

Then the rocks started flying at him.

 

Hess snatched the lightsaber and swung blindly at the projectiles, managing to miss completely and look idiotic in the process. He swore, staggering backwards as the stones pinged off him. He looked back at Dominus to realize that the Sith was speaking again. "...help you feel the Force in even the smallest object. Imagine if these were blaster bolts. They would be going ten times the speed I am sending at you. Allow them to strike you at first. Learn to ignore the pain and feel them. Each has their own Force signature as strong as what lies within you and I." Hess grimaced, letting the next wave of stones ping- sharply!- off his body. He gritted his teeth, trying to steel himself as more of the projectiles began hitting him. Looking at Dominus's blank face would just make this worse, so Hess closed his eyes and concentrated. He began forming a mental image of the incoming stones in his head, although it seemed blurry and- strangely enough- filled with a kind of static. Presumably the pain would be his way of forcing his mind into focus and punching through all this...'static.'

 

Reflexively, Hess gripped the lightsaber more tightly. Although his eyes were closed, he could see flashes of a cloaked man swinging the blade. Hess knew that he'd only be able to use this borrowed strength for so long, but it seemed to help his Force connection. Truthfully, so did the irritating pangs of pain. His posture shifted, as if Hess had been using the lightsaber for a long time, but he held still. More rocks hit him, drawing much sharper pain this time. Paradoxically, as the pain increased, Hess found that his mental image of the rocks grew equally sharper. In response, he sank his teeth into his lip hard enough to draw blood. Pain ebbed from the bleed, racing through his body like sparks; and then he could see the rocks without seeing them! They burned in his perception like meteors, as if given life and sight by Hess's own pain. He could feel their fire without touching it; to swing the hooded man's lightsaber and deflect more of them with precise strokes now seemed almost simple. The hooded man coiled and struck and now the stones went flying back, slamming back into the ground and their fire simmering down to a mere glow. He twisted, almost spinning on his foot as the last glimmers of flame sped past him. The hooded man turned, facing his reflection. Or was he the reflection-

 

No, wait. That wasn't right.

 

Riktor Hess turned, facing Darth Dominus. He laxed his grip on the lightsaber and bowed his head in a gesture of supplication, disguising any remaining confusion that his sudden shifting of identity might have brought on.

[Darth Dominus]

"Be careful," Dominus warned, "The mind is an easy thing to manipulate, especially when that mind is an untrained Force-user. Be aware of yourself at all times, or you may lose yourself."

 

Despite his remonstration, Dominus was pleased with the pace Hess's progress. Throwing him into the fray had unleashed his latent abilities, as Dominus had hoped. But there would need to be many more of these sessions before Hess could control his powers. And then there would be the final tests. The trials that could kill Hess, as they had killed countless Sith hopefuls. Dominus remembered the road Hess was walking. He knew the man didn't have any idea of what was ahead.

 

"I'm a solitary man by nature. That is why I constructed my home on Vjun and my home . . . elsewhere."

 

Dominus was referring to his secret base on Almas.

 

"But you are a member of a larger order. I think perhaps it would be wise to meet the rest of this order. If you feel you are ready that is. You will be under my protection, but anywhere where Sith are gathered is not a completely safe place."

 

Of course, Dominus had his own agenda for visiting the Sith as well.

[Deton]

It was as sudden as it was quiet and in the depths of space, everything is quiet. It started at first with the appearance of a single ship. The proper protocols were followed, and soon following a massive eruption of mass made the transition to space. Raging suns made no more noise than the slightest whisper in the surrounding volumes of emptiness that the galaxy rested in. Even as the arrival of a fleet made no more noise than a breath in a vacuum. The deployment seemed rough. Spaced out, as if the commander, had no idea what a decent formation was. Upon closer scrutiny, the deployment did have a bit of order to it. The same kind of order one would think of if perhaps two fleets had appeared in battle formation instead of one. Instead, the formation seemed too loose, and perhaps disorganized. Yet that all quickly shaped up, as a massive surge forward, up and away from their plane of entry. So they were in the tight knit formation that one would expect of a fleet. The brief trails of after burns flared up and to the people of Vjun, any observers would have briefly wondered what the extra flashes were. It was as if there were more ships up there, than what they could see or detect. It mattered very little however. As the people of Vjun had nothing to fear from the arrival of the rather sudden fleet that had appeared in their space.

 

After all they had been granted the clearance to use the air space as needed.

 

Punisher fleet:

4 Imperious-class Star Destroyer

3 Cal-class battleship- asteroid weapons

20 Qektoth attack cruiser

9 Aramadia-class thrustships - frigate (military and intelligence officers spent hours pouring over scans and holos of Aramadia to gain an understanding of Yevethan technology.)

2 The Bakura-class destroyer (interdiction)

9 Ranger-class gunships

 

Imperial heavy troopers

Dark novatroopers

Glory-class dark trooper

Phase III dark trooper

Imperial incinerator troopers

Shock troopers

Zero-G assault stormtroopers

novatroopers

 

Missile Boat

 

 

Precision deployment: The commander can use the interdictor to redeploy units exactly where he needs, allowing him to strike the most vulnerable areas of the enemy.

 

 

Rapid Deployment: Advanced deployment methods allow a commander to deploy virtually his entire ground force in the middle of an orbital combat zone.

 

The commander a man known as Admrial Yewash quietly stood at the the view port, his hands clasped behind his back.

 

”œAre you sure everything has gone according to plan?”

[Valar Morghulis]

Hess bristled a little at Dominus's reprimand, but he understood the nature of the complaint. He wasn't used to using the gift so much in these combat scenarios, and a Force user as powerful as his Master would leave equally powerful echoes. Hess had to rely more on his own Force abilities as opposed to borrowing the combat skills of another. After all, that's why he was here.

 

"I'm a solitary man by nature. That is why I constructed my home on Vjun and my home . . . elsewhere." Hess briefly wondered just what that 'elsewhere' was. "But you are a member of a larger order. I think perhaps it would be wise to meet the rest of this order. If you feel you are ready that is. You will be under my protection, but anywhere where Sith are gathered is not a completely safe place."

 

A lump rose in Hess's throat as a familiar chill trickled down his spine. He was familiarizing himself with Dominus, but he knew little to nothing of the other Sith. Dominus had mentioned how unpopular he was. Perhaps these Sith would try to use Hess as a proxy to strike at Dominus. However, his own eagerness still outweighed his fear. He was just learning how to use the Force, but Hess figured that he had been making good progress so far. He had already tapped into its power enough to not only feel the presence of other objects, but to percieve them in a way far more advanced than simple sight. With much discretion, perhaps meeting the other Sith would be a good idea, if only so that Hess could make observations. He had to know if they were truly worthy of being his equals.

 

"I'm ready. I'll need to meet them sooner or later, and I'd prefer sooner. That way, I know who I'll be dealing with in the future. Don't worry," said Hess, "I've learned how to keep my head down. But one question. Should I be worried about any...specific individuals?"

[Darth Dominus]

OOC: Sorry, I don't know how I missed your post

 

IC: "Everyone," Dominus replied. That was the truth. The Sith were jealous and fundamentally unpredictable. It was always dangerous to tread where they gathered.

 

"We'll take your ship. Fly us to Trulalis."

Edited July 24, 2010 by Guest

[Valar Morghulis]

"As you wish," replied Hess automatically. If every other Sith was a potential enemy, Hess would definitely have to be on his guard. Hopefully this new planet, Trulalis, would have a less...soggy climate. Granted, such a moody backdrop suited the nature of the Sith, but damn if it wasn't getting uncomfortable out here in this rainfall. Hess shut his eyes, allowing himself to feel the pouring rain as though it were a part of his body. Through his Force sight, the raindrops were less than sparks; merely blips, as if he were viewing a radar screen. While insignificant to his larger goals, viewing the world through the lens of the Force deeply fascinated Hess. These glimpses of a whole new reality were infinitely tantalizing; Hess couldn't help but want- need to learn more.

 

"I'm not familiar with Trulalis, but I've got a reliable galactic map. I update it whenever I get the chance and I last updated it before seeking the Order on Coruscant. Punching up the coordinates," said Hess to Dominus as they walked to the Wingless Seraph, "won't take long. We'll disembark momentarily." The docking bay slid shut and Hess headed to the cockpit, booting up the ship and opening up his galactic map. True to his word, Hess was able to locate Trulalis pretty quickly once he knew what he was looking for. Some Outer Rim world. Hardly an interesting place...and hardly a place anyone would suspect to find Sith Lords. Crafty, thought Riktor Hess with a grin.

 

In moments, the Wingless Seraph took off, disappearing into the sky like a phantom. Soon, even the sound of the ship's engines faded away, leaving only the faceless droids of Darth Dominus to soullessly labor on.

[Valar Morghulis]

The Wingless Seraph screamed out of heaven, plummeting all the way down to the darkness below. Riktor Hess was fully silent, his thoughts focused totally inward, his expression unreadable. When he stepped foot on this world again, his final training would begin. Up until this moment Hess had merely tasted the edges of the Force. He had lived with it all his life, manifested in the psychometric Gift his personality had formed around. Through Dominus's teachings he could now percieve far beyond himself, perhaps to the point where his glare pierced into the heart of the Force itself. He had experienced terrifying visions of pure darkness and felt the tendrils of blackness enveloping his body. Perhaps his perception had become perfect; perhaps, in that respect, he was a prodigy.

 

It mattered little. Perception was important, yet merely a building block for the true power Hess would attain. Manipulation was the true power of the Sith. To see the Force in all its splendor was incredible, yet to exert one's own will upon that Force and manipulate its contents was beyond exhilarating. It was beyond any concievable action Hess could ever attempt as a mortal; this was the path to divinity, to rising beyond flesh and bone and into a higher, greater realm. To wield the Force in such a way was to bend the very fabric of the universe to one's whim. Power beyond measure. Power that had slept in Hess all his life, just waiting to be unleashed and to sweep away all the years he had wasted without purpose. Power and control and purpose; all of it beckoned to Hess and he was just so close...

 

And he would not fail. Nothing could stop him now. This was the eve of his ascension.

 

Riktor Hess walked onto the surface of Vjun, and without words he waited for Darth Dominus to remake him.

[Darth Dominus]

Dominus exited the craft, and led Hess back to his fortress. By now, the industrious droids had nearly completed the castle. The landscape had been remade, and now it would suit Dominus as a false base of operations, to mask where the Alcazarins truly dwelt. It was still raining, of course, and Dominus pulled up his hood against the never-ending storm.

 

"Most of what you learn about being a Sith is discovered during your trials. You will need to summon every reserve of power you have, and learn to utilize your abilities in new ways. It is believed the crucible of your trials, where death is the alternative to failure, is the best way to force an apprentice to become a Sith Lord."

 

Dominus was not being melodramatic. Hess was very far from being a Sith Lord. In a very short time, he would have to increase his abilities, or his mind would be shattered in the attempt.

 

Dominus led Hess into the castle walls. A room had been prepared for them. It was dark, lit only by a fire pit that was burning in the center of the room. A pile of wood sat beside it, to feed the flames. Scrap metal, silver, black, and red, lay piled on the stone floor. The only sign of technology was a collection of circuits and wiring that had been placed on a wooden table. It seemed out of place in the medieval surroundings.

 

"Your first task is to create a forge that will allow to make your lightsaber. This will not require meditation, and physical strength, but you will not be permitted to use the Force during this first stage. The droids will provide you with any tools you need, but the tools must be primitive, hammers and the like, nothing technological. You may begin at your leisure."

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

The Black Heart descended from the sky above, the sith lord knonw as Lucifer knew the reputation of this planet...long had there been a history of the sith here, routes ran deep and thus he felt at home or as at home as one could get considering he had never visited before.

 

It was strange that he ahd followed a simple feeling one that led him to the far side of the planet or more specifically to the Chateau Malreaux. The feeling was sharp and akin to a thorn prodding into the kiffar's back yet he followed it never doubting it. Scanning the atmosphere Lucifer let a grim look take his face...he was not surprised to be informed of acidic rainfall or the fact that the Chateau was heavily armed.

 

Protecting himself accordingly the sith lord descended from his ship's rampway before making for maingate. It was eerily quiet...too quiet for his liking. Cloacking himself in the force the kiffar moved cautiously forward knowing he would face his greatest challenge, for he ahd heard of the tales of horror...of what the man whom owned the chataeu had done to his people and of how he himself had descended to madness, history spoke well of the nightmares of this planet and of it's residents.

 

And now it was he whom would make history by being what appeared to be the first visitor for years unto such a unholy place.

[Meqwis]

Meqwis stepped onto the streets of Bitter End and into the dismal climate of this planet. This entire place was a cesspool, even the environment. There was nothing here that made it worth anything to anyone that couldn't be found much easier on other planets.

 

That is, unless you were seeking to become a Sith. Apparently, from what he had heard and read, the dark side was fairly powerful here. The Sith had occasionally come and gone from here for whatever dark reasons they alone knew. That meant that it was of interest to him. He had been travelling for the past three months seeking knowledge of the Sith, the dark side, and of the Force in general. He had been to a few places reputed to be centers of dark side energy and now his travels had led him to Vjun.

 

He knew that this planet hadn't always been this way, but he could still not understand why anyone would want to live here. Perhaps, he assumed, they were unable to leave due to poverty or their own stupidity. He had run into plenty of beings that were too stupid to save themselves. It had not taken him long to learn to leave them to their fate; only the strong survived and only they deserved to survive.

 

Now, he thought, where to go? One could not just go up to a travel agency and inquire as to where the best places for touching the dark side were. For one, there were no travel agencies on Vjun. The other, far larger, reason was that it was generally not a good idea to let people know you were seeking to learn about the dark side. Too many beings would become very timid and clam up, but some would actively try to stop you. Especially on Republic or independent worlds, it was very unwise to announce yourself as a Sith aspirant.

 

It wasn't like he couldn't feel anything. Even with his untrained senses, he could feel something about this planet. It was like someone brushing your arm only close enough to touch a few hairs, but never enough to make contact. There was a constant edginess that Meqwis felt here. It was difficult to decide if he liked it or not, but he had to feel more. Even wandering the streets of Bitter End were better than most of the places he had visited before.

 

A few people scampered around the mostly abandoned streets, but Meqwis paid them no attention. He didn't care about these pathetic beings and unless they became a threat, he would pay them no mind. This was a nasty place, somewhere he would have never gone before and wouldn't have visited except for the fact that it was steeped in the dark side. It was hard enough to hire a spacer to take him here and wait for a day to take him away, but it would be worth it if he got one step farther along in his journey to understand the dark side.

[Vossus Malek]

Like a soundless imitation of a phrik dagger cutting through a piece of dire white-stained zeyd cloth a small silver starcraft suddenly appeared in the Vjun system, having just jumped out of hyperspace. For minutes it hung in space, not moving, its sensors working furiously as they scanned the stellar body that hung equally impassively in front of it. Then, without any ado, the vessel was on the move again, its ion engines trailing an invisible path through the black void of space, heading for the planet ahead.

 

Accompanied by a sonic boom that echoed loudly across the bare landscape, the small ship entered the atmosphere of the inhospitable planet. It blazed across the skies at an astonishing speed, its course taking it past acid-drenched desert plains and mountain ranges untainted by vegetation of any kind. Within a few minutes the elegant transport had reached its destination and folded its peculiar downwards-facing wings skywards.

 

Well, well. This must be it. Disgusting.

 

Those very thoughts crossed the mind of the vessel's pilot as his purple gaze found itself taking in the environment surrounding his regal ship. It was as bare and unwelcoming as the desertscape he had just spied from his cockpit viewport, the only difference being the man-made structures and stone walls surrounding him, indicating the location's function as a spaceport. A hint of surprise would have crossed his facial features - had he not been born into an aristocracy where showing any kind of emotion was very much a non-desirable trait - this because he noticed the docking bay was an open-aired one and the acid rainfall of the planet was enough to kill most beings.

 

It had now been minutes since he set his ship down within the confines of the bay and yet the skyward entrance hadn't sealed, which probably meant it wouldn't. Or couldn't. Snorting mildly at his discovery and the apparent stupidity of the architects, he hoped this kind of mind-numbing brainlessness wasn't representative of the general population of Vjun. With this hope in mind he left his ship, making his way towards the streets of the city in which he had just arrived, taking his first steps into the future he knew lay ahead of him... one that incorporated the Sith.

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

Upon stepping inside the gate the kiffar was quickly met by the pungent smell of death and the sight of corpses littering the premises. Moving yet again cautiously forward the sith lord followed the feeling that had led him here....it seemed to be directing him into the chateau itself and far beneath it's surface level....perhaps to an ancient site of some sort.

 

The thought was quickly interrupted when Lucifer made his way inside the main building, it was eerily quiet but yet the sith kenw better than that, he ahd heard of the tales of this place and of the lengths it's owner went to protect it's secrets. Silnetly moving his footsteps made no sound as the kiffar walked the empty hallways...or so it seemed to be but yet the sith lord knew better for more often than not the silence came before the storm.

 

His suspicions were confirmed when four turrets activated upon his next step, two from the ceiling and two from the floor not including the two E-webs that activated at the far end of the corridor, it seemed that they were heat or motion activated as was what he could gather from the way they activated when he moved slightly. Quickly activating his sabre Lucifer let the crimson red of both ends set to work as he almost effortlessly deflected several of the blaster bolts back to it's source albeit gaining a slight burn to his left shoulder and left leg in the process before he dived into a alcove that jagged outwards from the wall providing temporary cover. The sith used the pain as he had been taught as a source of strength using it to increase his resolve before he peered out of the alcove for but a second to locate the turrets.

 

After he had found them Lucifer set to work disabling the minor annoyance peering round the corner again he focused upon the E-webs outstretching his hand to rip one from it's placing and throwing it into the other. After he had done this the sith lord proceeding to perform a forward roll out of the alcove, leaping upwards as he exited the manauver he deflected the blaster fire from the farthest turret into the two near him in two quick spins of his blade before pushing forward with the force to send the last remianing turrets crashing into the far wall.

 

It seemed this was to be no picnic afterall. Stretching outwards with the force Lucifer followed the stream of dark energy it appeared to be leading him to where the E-webs had previously been before he had unceremoniosuly ripped them from their holdings. The sith wondered why he was led here...for what reason, this train of thought continued to bother hi mas he made his way further into the chateau...the place was fast becoming ever more interesting.

 

((Darth Fluffy and Malek for now just find each other and interact until Lucifer is done with his task and makes his way towards the city to pick you up.))