Naboo

[Exodus]

Metamorphosis

 

• ”œIf I have seen farther than others, it is because I've stood on the shoulder of Gods.”

[Mephisto Dracul]

Mephisto, though possessing an unrefined mind, caught the symbolism of the sudden mental attack as it struck him in mid swing. Relying on his strength and cunning for centuries, his contempt for the parlor tricks of Force users burned in the back of his clouded, fogged mind. It was taking his full will power to shrug off Exodus' mental attack, though part of him wondered how much power this being had: stretching the force to run, dispearse the flechettes, and then launch a mental attack of that caliber. Then again, this was no ordinary wanna-be Sith Lord or fallen Dark Jedi that plagued the order since the battle of Russan and the supposed extinction of the Sith there, this was the bonafied successor to Darth Bane, a Dark Lord of the Sith.

 

The thoughts and memories vanished in a second, racing through his nerve linked body, realizing that Exodus not only eluded his blow, but was ready to cleave him in twain. With again, a split-second decision, the Dragon makes the choice to let the Dark Lord cleave his body in two. Even as the searing bite of the blade cut through his armor and the quickly seperating rolls of nerves and muscle, Mephisto concentrated his all into spinning the hilt of his axe around, pressing it firmly against the Dark Lord's body just as he activated the miniature blaster concealed with in, sending out a charge of hot plasma.

 

The pain of being seperated hurt, but sometimes pawns, even one's own body needed to be sacrificed to achieve a mark. Sometimes, the risk involved was worth gaining a critical advantage over one's foe. This time, Mephisto intended to take and overturn the entire board in one move.

 

Over the roar of his own snapping nerve fibers and tendons, over the sound of the firing blaster, Mephisto shouts out one word.

 

"Checkmate!"

[Darth Furion]

Heartbeats rang aloud in his ears over the sound of the ensuing battle just around the corner. With every fiber in his being he knew what had to be done if he had any hope of salvaging any part of his past, but there was something frightening that ran deep, holding his body in place when his mind screamed to be set free. This level of fear was something that he had never experienced before, at least from what he could remember. It took a long time for him to even realize his breathing was out of pace. He closed his eyes, forcing him to control his breathe as need drove fear away. Breath after breath, he could feel the fear ebbing away, only replaced by something hotter.

 

Damn this man. He wants to take the only thing I have away from me. Well f*** that. He's not taking anything from me, not while I stand.

 

He spun around the corner, not really sure it was him that willed the action. He fired before thinking, the shot flying before he realized what was even happening in the alley, aimed at the hunter's hand brandering the viscious axe.

[Exodus]

What is this?

 

The core of Exodus' moral fibre and mettle clutched his weapon with absolution and tore into the heart of the creature. He drove the weapon hard and firm as it carved the battle armour from the hunter and burned fast into the scores of tissue that unfolded as he did so. He could feel each tear as the incalculable tendons almost resisted his dexterous heave. Transcendence howled as it feasted upon the microscopic cells and sealed up its meal all in the same instance but there was a detail that remained unsolved about this creature.

 

It was too late; the handle of the axe was now headed for his whole as he passed the creature in mid-air. The concentrated plasma would splash and burn into his battle armour and then his flesh. He would be fine, but the wound would lessen his offensive responses. However, from his retrospection in that same instant, another shot fired from the depths of the darkness below and clashed with the weapon that was now pointed towards the back of his arm. It was a cluster of factored movements that built up within a span of a second and even still it seemed as if it were but minutes.

 

The supposed shot deflected the other and burned passed the armoured shoulder of the Dark Lord. The blast wrought sizzle onto the tip of the shoulder pad but died out immediately after. Exodus now descended from the skies and landed upon another structure of similar height than the last and watched as the corpse of the hunter fell in two pieces. A chunk of his upper torso flew and landed to the west while the majority of his of his body was eastbound.

 

”œIs this”””

[Mephisto Dracul]

Mephisto flew through the air, feeling more pain, more heat as the stray blaster bolt disrupted his final attack, sending the plasma breaking apart in a wide rush. He could not tell for certain what affect it had on his target, other than the fact Exodus certainly survived.

 

The stray shot could not have come from Exodus. Someone else entered the fray. The Dragon twisted his severed upper body around, catching the glimpse of the attacker, another snarl on his face behind the mask. In the two seconds before he collapsed to the ground, Mephisto strained his arms, his wrists giving way as from the depths of his body, emerged a concealed vibroshiv. He had one last attack to take down his prey, then flee and pray that regenerating his wounded body did not take overlong.

 

In that same instant, the bounty hunter's legs nearly crashed, acting on one last neural impulse before Exodus' axe severed the Gen'dai's body in two. It steadied itself, and with reflexive practice, bent its knees and hurled itself backwards, stretching wide, the limbs intent on throwing themselves at the Dark Lord: To trip, entangle, and ultimately ensnare in conjunction with Mephisto's final attack.

 

With a flash, the vibroshiv flies out of Mephisto's hand. It is not aimed at the mystery attacker, or even the Dark Lord, but the belt of concussion grenades on his own body. The lone knife buries itself into a solitary explosive, the metal in the blade setting off an explosive chain reaction that detonates the grenade. Mephisto feels his torso hurled through the air, propelled by the force of the blast. He curls up, extending his arms out and rolls along into the open street, aiming for an open sewer to slide down and hide in.

 

He abandoned his lower extremities in a tripartate attack: to create a smoke screen of concussive force to throw off his attackers, to slow them down with the force of the blast, and to hopefully to take out his foe once and for all.

 

Either way, Mephisto was prudent, and would take up the bounty again, to confirm the kill or finish the job, after he licked his wounds and regrew his legs.

[Darth Furion]

Julio spun on his heels as the force of the explosion, staying on his feet only because of the protection the corner of the building gifted him. It took him a second to check himself over before he remembered he wasn't the only one there. He spun around the corner, dropping to Exodus' side.

 

"Um...brother...you...alright?"

[Exodus]

• ”œThis is new.”

[Mephisto Dracul]

While the rest of Mephisto's body made its escape, drawing into the underside of Theed to rest up, the burnt, detached legs, being pushed towards Julio, acted on one last spiteful impulse. Perhaps just because the legs somehow sensed the person who thwarted their hunt was before them, or for some wild, unknown impulse, the legs made a final, hard kick at Julio.

 

The resulting shot from Mephisto's body landed with a solid, nut crunching, shattering blow on Julio, whom though soulless, felt his voice rise up at least two octaves from the debilitating impact, coming out in a forced, involuntary scream Underneath that, a single, solitary *pop* is heard, giving a low testament to the force of the Gen'dai's kick and the damage it dealt to the Sith.

 

Their last attack done, the legs drop to the ground, twitching and still very much alive.

[Darth Furion]

"Gen'dai? But why would a unguh!"

 

Julio fell to the side zealously cupping his groin. He didn't know how, he didn't know why. All he knew was galaxy shattering pain coursing through him like an uncontrollable wildfire. It seemed like a for an eternity he just laid on the dank alley floor, begging whatever god would listen to just make the pain go away. When the pain finally did fade enough to allow him to have a thought, the first and only thing he could do was grab the blaster rifle at his side. Shot by shot he poured every ounce of pain into the still kicking set of legs, reveling in the expended wrath. Still on the ground, he spoke to Exodus between heavy gasps.

 

"I...I think...it went up inside me."

 

He struggled to his feet, his breathing heavy and staggered. He took a few steps up and down alley, stopping back where he started. He sighed, then took a heavy breath, pausing to prepare. With one quick jump, the impact from falling forced the missing extremity back to it's place. He clasped his groin to check for damages.

 

"One...two...three. All here. Let's go."

[Exodus]

• ”œFurion, there is little time to explain, but we must move.”

[Mephisto Dracul]

The carnage past, Mephisto's severed legs slowly ooze away from the battleground, disappearing like the rest of the hunter into Theed's sewers.

 

The Gen'dai beckons to his limbs, unconsciously sensing their presence from his upper half. Connecting his lower half took a minute as the neural links reached out and entwined with each other. The sensations struck him as unusually painful, especially as his regeneration dealt with the painful, cauterizing wounds from the young Sith's blaster volley. Grunting, the Dragon stood up, rising to his full height and examined his body. The damage done was all but healed, though his armor was in need of repair and he needed to restock on his ammunition. The damage to his axe would take more credits and effort to repair, but he could write this off.

 

Mephisto had a few guesses who sent this bounty now. He felt less determined to collect his quarry's head now that he knew the stakes, as well as the game being played. That said, if he could collect with minimum effort from here on out, he would not flinch either. It was a wide galaxy, and even if he failed to collect on his first attempt and bring down the Dark Lord of the Sith, he walked away, figuratively speaking, and for a brief while, held his own. Satisfactory in its own right, but still a failure.

 

Finished on Naboo, Mephisto takes off in his ship, going after his next bounty.

[Arclight]

Arclight's and Tiana's ships fizzled out of hyperspace over the gorgeous planet of Naboo, with Arclight still relatively asleep...

 

As his ship began to land for him, and as it had stopped moving forward and was now moving down Arclight couldn't help but notice as the feeling fluctuated in the pit of his stomach...

 

He rolled over and plopped with a big thud on the floor of the ship and was quickly awakened by the rush of cold now flooding to his face, courtesy of the ship's metal floor...

 

"Wha?!?..." Arclight made out weakly as he attempted to prop himself back up and saw out of the cockpit where he was now...

 

fzzz bubump... as the landing gear deployed Arclight again rolled back down to the floor as the ship met the earth, but this time the floor caught the back of his head. He immediately sprung up from the floor as the sensations climbed up and down his spine like a prairie dog from its hole; he did manage to avoid falling over again though....

 

"Whoa, what a landing" Arclight brushed himself off, looked around, and then pondered to himself... Would it be so bad if I left my armor here? would anyone steal it if it was in this ship? Yet why would I want to lug that suit around with me everywhere... He thought as the smell of no suit reached his nose again... Especially when it makes such foul odors!!!

He had to fight to maintain consciousness so that seemed to answer his question... He quickly gathered up his swords as soon as he got some clean clothes on and then walked out of the ship closing the door behind him...

 

His rather large muscular physique now visible, standing at about 6 feet with sweaty greasy black hair... Wearing fairly simple clothes, waiting for Tiana to get out of her ship...

[Arclight]

When Tiana didn't move from her ship for quite some time, Arclight became worried that something bad happened that must be holding her up. He hadn't wanted to piss her off though so he avoided going in after her, but it had been a whole 10 minutes since they had landed and she apparently landed before him...

 

What's wrong?

 

Arclight poked around Tiana's ship and realized there was some damage. Apparently someone had came by and sliced the life support systems while they were on board the Kuat Drives base, judging by the noises inside though it had only recently run out of juice... Arclight rushed inside to help Tiana and had come to find her unconscious ((I had to find some reason for you not posting)). Apparently not all of the landing had been as successful as they had planned...

 

Arclight quickly got her outside and resting on the grass so she could have access to fresh air and a calm cooling atmosphere. This way she wouldn't risk further injury, but...

 

Umm, what to do now, what to do? Well I could carry her around, but what would people think?

 

Yeah, probably not good to go into a city anyway as we are right now... Well we'll do what we can, in the meantime I should probably help Tiana...

 

Well, Arclight did his best to lock up the ships and carried Tiana to a clearing nearby. He set her down gently on a large rock with a few cushions so at least it wouldn't be a total pain to wake up from it... and Arclight with his swords stood vigilant making sure she would stay ok...

[Tiana Calthye]

"Well, that was a hard la--ah...nd... um..." Tiana's ghost poked at her body. "Well, Forcemuffins! I guess that there was a leak in my ship after all. Um. Hey? Hey there?" She attempted to poke at her body from her now spectreral form. "Helllooooo there? Anyone home? Uh."

 

She leaned against her ship and promptly fell back through it.

 

"Well, then," she declared. "Fiddlesticks on a Forcemuffin! Um." She got back up without somehow falling through the planet and poked at her body again. It didn't respond. Chances were, because it was unconscious and she was outside of it.

 

"Excuse me! You're not dead!" She kicked it.

 

Her foot went through it.

 

"I swear I fixed that oxygen leak. I'm better than this! I am! I am!" She flopped down onto the grass and sulked, staring at Arclight's back. "I know it. Gahhhh. Forcemuffins!"

 

Naboo suddenly felt a lot darker. The... the... whatever the hell Tiana was... wraithly skulked in a non-skulky way, behind her body, glaring at it. "Wake up. I'm getting tired of sitting here without being visible."

 

It was bright and sunny, but it felt dark and the hairs on her non-existant back were standing up.

 

But if they'd been standing up before, they hit an all new high when her body's eyes opened. Tiana gawked at it. "Excuse me. Hello. Hellooooo?" She waved her invisible hand in front of its face. "Hellloooooooooooooo?"

 

It stretched out. To her, its eyes were the eyes of a creature possessed--but she knew in reality they were just her own blank eyes. Oh, that was what was wrong with this. She could see here. The body probably couldn't, but walking around like this--if she could call it walking--she could see.

 

"Ughh. I'm sorry about that, Arclight." The Darksider smiled blindly. "I think my ship's having some problems. I feel so hazy. Oxygen loss, I think... I'm all right now."

 

"Hey! You can't have my body! That's MINE!" Tiana folded her arms and glared furiously at it. Evidently, though this was the Force, it wasn't letting her effect the real world.

 

At all.

 

She ran her fingers back through her hair, before pulling it back into a new braid. "It feels so bright here.. anyway..." She stumbled back to her ship and pulled out her weapons again. "Shall we walk?"

 

((I like IC justifying whatever happened when I had an absense in whatever way I can. Hence, Tiana being insane. She passed out from depressurization in her ship, and her three personalities split off. Darksider will be given that tag, or Sith, or whatever, as well as indigo narration. Lightsider will be given green narration, as well as the tag of either the Jedi or Lightsider. Tiana's default personality is currently seperated from her body. She can do absolutely nothing but be a snarky ghostly narrator, though I suppose a Force-user who'd been trained in that sort of thing could see her or hear her, possibly. To Arclight, the only change will be that his friend woke up. She will still respond to Tiana, or any other variation of her name, as any variation of her person. The difference between her three personalities is as simple as the tags--the Sith follows the teachings of the Sith and is lawful evil, the Jedi mentally follows the teaching of the Jedi and is lawful good. Tiana herself is lawful neutral and doesn't agree with either faction. As any of the three, she remains a Sith Lord, with the respective abilities of a Sith Lord, however, the Jedi will be far less inclined to use those powers for evil and is thereby more limited in her actions.

 

OMG. I'M BACK.))

[Arclight]

Arclight had been standing vigilantly for about an hour until he heard some stirring coming from behind him. It tensed him up a bit due to the sudden sound, but as he turned around he realized it was just Tiana. It was good that she wasn't dead; Arclight had grown to like her company, but in all seriousness there would have been no point in guarding a dead body...

 

Arclight Sighed deeply as he sheathed his swords and went to see if Tiana needed any help to her feet or anything, but otherwise just stood stock still waiting for her to get to her feet...

"Ughh. I'm sorry about that, Arclight." The Darksider smiled blindly. "I think my ship's having some problems. I feel so hazy. Oxygen loss, I think... I'm all right now."

 

Arclight recalled the damage to the ship he had seen earlier, but was happy to see she was ok..."That's good to hear, I would've hated losing a traveling partner so quickly" Arclight replied back with a coy smile spreading across his face...

 

Arclight's muscles moved rather chaotically for a moment reminding him that he was still rather sore from the fall he had on the ship, but after the momentary impulse it subsided for a bit leaving behind it a rather ringing sensation of lingering discomfort. He rubbed the sweat off his head that had gathered there, and did just a mild sweep of his brow to get his hair out of his face. After that Arclight rested his hand on his shoulder trying to massage the kinks out and he stretched a little as he tried to get used to moving again...

 

It feels so bright here.. anyway..."

 

" Yeah, it is pretty bright, but liveable all the same... " Arclight watched her move to her ship and back with a rather blank but expectant look on his face..

 

"Shall we walk?"

 

"Sure" Arclight said making sure to keep pace with Tiana as she ambled off into the wilderness...

[Tiana Calthye]

((You don't have to color my dialogue, don't worry, it's just for my own specifications. Think of her as Tiana and treat her as Tiana. ))

 

 

Tiana glared at their backs. "Hey! That's mine! You can't leave without me!"

 

She ran after the body, tripping over a rock that technically she didn't even need to trip over, seeing how she was a ghost and uninfluenced by the real world, and ghosts don't trip over things. Especially if they can't do anything.

 

"I never did get to find out what you wanted. Training or anything." She kept pace with him as they headed into Naboo, letting her thoughts float out into the beyond. It was colorful, brilliant, but somewhere there was a lurking darkness.

 

Maybe that was just herself.

 

Tiana straightened up and stalked after them. "It's not faaaair. Why can't I hover if I'm dead?"

"Did you want me to train you?"

 

The Sith took his arm to let him lead. It was hard to walk in a forest without her eyes, even if the life that was so very everywhere made it visible when she tried. But she didn't want to risk trying.

 

"I don't think the repairs to my ship will be that hard, some space tape should probably do it," Darksider joked, "though it'd probably be a better idea to pick up a bit of plating and weld that over. I think I took a mini-astroid in the side."

 

Tiana grumbled and lurked behind them, listening to her body converse with--well--Arclight, she assumed he was her apprentice, he didn't really look like lover material, and anyway, she couldn't REMEMBER kissing him.

 

For that matter, what could she remember?

 

"Hey!"

 

She jumped back up and kept following them.

 

"Erghhh."

[Arclight]

"I never did get to find out what you wanted. Training or anything."

 

"well, I don't recall letting you know, so now that we have time, what training did you have in mind?" Arclight kept his pace fairly well as he walked and talked, but something caught his eye... There was something about Tiana that wasn't necessarily the same. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she wasn't nearly as kooky as she was before. Not that that was a bad thing, but Arclight did notice a little change...

 

He returned his gaze towards the lush green lands of Naboo and basked within the fresh air that he was deprived of in his tin can. The sounds, the smells and the atmosphere was enough to put a smile on his face, but at the same time something was poking at the back of his mind...

"Did you want me to train you?"

It was as if Arclight was trying to take a comfortable nap yet something kept poking him int he back of the head. He figured it was nothing though and just let it go. If this wasn't Tiana then who was it? It isn't like somebody just came and hijacked her body. That's impossible... ((lol - I just wanted to write this in for no reason - I think he should have a feeling like its not you, but he dismisses it and the last line was just a joke))

 

Any feelings of discomfort disappeared though when Tiana grabbed his arm for support. Her touch dissipated any uncomfortable thoughts in his mind as they kept going...

 

"Yeah, well... I mean the only thing I really know is sword wielding.... Well, that and how to survive in a scrap fight, but that can only get me so far. Sure I'd like you to train me..." Arclight was stumbling over his words now as he tried to maintain Tiana and his own walking pace...

 

"I don't think the repairs to my ship will be that hard, some space tape should probably do it," Tiana joked, "though it'd probably be a better idea to pick up a bit of plating and weld that over. I think I took a mini-asteroid in the side."

 

Arclight chuckled a little to the joke but replied, "well that would definitely be a start. Do you know anything about welding though? Cause me personally... Never welded in my life..." Arclight had no real trouble focusing on the road, but he did his best to make sure Tiana was still gripping his arm and maintaining balance because then he wouldn't be serving his purpose as of right now...

[Tiana Calthye]

She gestured vaguely with her weapon, which was deactivated and currently only dangerous as something to smack people over the head with. Fortunately, as Arclight wore armor and she wasn't trying too hard to smack him with it, it wasn't really all that dangerous. "Hey, I made this, didn't I? I know something about metal and the Force. My Master was a sorcerer, a Krath, who forged armor and weapons. I learned something of that as his slave."

 

She glowered at Arclight. "You totally know I'm here, don't you? You're just ignoring it. Just like people these days. You don't recognize anything that can't POSSIBLY exist..."

 

"Aw, it's okay."

 

Tiana started. "Who the hell are you?!"

 

She stared at yet another ghost of herself.

 

"No, seriously, who the hell are you?" Because this was a self that wore Jedi clothing and floated cheerfully in the air as if everything was all unicorns and gumdrops and candy corn.

 

"I'm your good side," this one snarked. "You know. The one who doesn't attempt to torture people and use their blood to enhance their power in the Force. Not like the one who's driving."

 

"I AM nuts!" Tiana waved her hand, and the floaty Jedi version of herself vanished, and she was left to chase after the solid version of herself that was actually capable of, y'know, talking and acting and all that.

 

"I'm sure we talked about this before," Tiana considered. "Training and all that. You know I'm a Sith, and I can train you to be a Sith--like I tried with my last apprentice. For that matter, I can probably teach you to weld," she joked.

 

It was easier to walk now that he had her arm, and she didn't have to try look around.

 

Something about Naboo creeped her out. It was like there was someone walking behind her and continually poking her in the back of the head.

 

It was damn weird!

[Arclight]

Arclight wasn't wearing armor as of right this moment so the lightsabre hilt hit his left arm as she pointed with it, flesh and all. The cold metal met with his skin with a veracity that caused bone chilling sensations to creep up and down his spine. This caused a slight shiver, but he managed to keep the muscle spasm to a minimum as to avoid smacking things in the air for no reason...

 

"Hey, I made this, didn't I? I know something about metal and the Force. My Master was a sorcerer, a Krath, who forged armor and weapons. I learned something of that as his slave."

 

Arclight's face swiveled toward Tiana's as she recounted her experiences; eyes making contact with her empty lids... "Well, by my standards your the first person I have ever met with that description, and I am always in to learning new things" Arclight said, eyes unquestioning; smile somewhat unflinching...

 

"I'm sure we talked about this before," Tiana considered. "Training and all that. You know I'm a Sith, and I can train you to be a Sith--like I tried with my last apprentice. For that matter, I can probably teach you to weld," she joked.

 

Arclight acknowledged the joke with a slight chuckle and then affirmed his most recent request to train under Tiana. His face remained set on hers, "Tiana, I don't believe we talked about what training specifically, but the idea had definitely crossed my mind. I would love to train with you... I'll do whatever it takes" Arclight said, slowly moving his gaze from her eyes to the rest of Naboo as he maintained her grip and kept walking with Tiana steadily in tow ..

[Tiana Calthye]

It was like they were being stalked by ghosts.

 

It had to have been the planet. She was well aware that planets could have lives of their own, minds and thoughts and memories. Yes, that was it--it was Naboo, something about Naboo, maybe something had happened here once upon a time, a long time ago.

 

"Perhaps that's it, then," she reflected. "You'd thought about it, maybe I heard. Sometimes I hear things. One of those silly side effects of the Force--and I know you're Force-sensitive, at least. And welding. Welding is a good thing to know about. And weapons and all that. I can't say I'm an amazing Sith, but I can train you to use the Force, at least. Tell me--what do you know about them--what do you know about the Sith Order?"

 

((You were Force-sensitive, wanting to be a Sith, right? Augh, it's been too long.))

[Anilara Kadav]

((ignore this post please))

[Arclight]

Arclight had already surveyed the horizon, taking note of the trees and hills on the cusp of his vision, but barely noticed the buildings starting to poke their way into his line of sight. Apparently they had gotten close enough to a town to start seeing hopeful marks for civilization...

 

Tiana seemed to be letting Arclight have a few liberties with her balance, ones of which Arclight had no intention of taking advantage of and he continued at a stead calm pace towards the city.

"Perhaps that's it, then," she reflected. "You'd thought about it, maybe I heard. Sometimes I hear things. One of those silly side effects of the Force--and I know you're Force-sensitive, at least. And welding. Welding is a good thing to know about. And weapons and all that. I can't say I'm an amazing Sith, but I can train you to use the Force, at least. Tell me--what do you know about them--what do you know about the Sith Order?"

 

"Well, the only thing I know about the force wielders of the universe comes from my knowledge of the jedi that my parents once worked with. I liked them at the time because I thought they stood for good and righteousness, but that's before I watched a family friend die in front of my eyes because the Jedi had higher priorities... Higher priorities? Is there anything higher than a person's life?" Arclight took a few moments to try and prevent himself from crying all the way and then went right back to telling his story, "So, as for the Sith, I don't really know much about them, but I can only assume that they are better than the Jedi in some way..." Arclight looked away and in his mind's eye could see the face of a middle-aged zabrak with a horrified look upon its face as a blaster bolt whizzed clear through it ... It sickened him to the core, but he looked back towards Tiana with some confidence and kept pace to what started to look like a town..

 

((yes))

[Stormhelm]

::Comm to Theed Security::

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Subject: Bounty on Sarei Meinos

 

This is Bounty Hunter Genesis Kenshi. I am on my way to your planet for more information. Have a representative standing by. I will be arriving from Coruscant within a few hours.

 

~Genesis

 

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::End Comm::

[Deton]

Imperial garrison commander Rain strode into his office with the air of a military man. He had been on yet another tour of Theed since he felt he couldn't do his job unless he knew the lay out of the city both on paper as well as visually. Returning back to his office he received a priory two call.

 

A bounty hunter”¦

 

He switched on his comm. Unit in order to receive the call. As the head of the Imperial forces Garrisoned in Theed, this was part of the nature of his job.

 

::Comm to Theed Security::

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Subject: Bounty on Sarei Meinos

 

This is Bounty Hunter Genesis Kenshi. I am on my way to your planet for more information. Have a representative standing by. I will be arriving from Coruscant within a few hours.

 

~Genesis

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

::End Comm::

 

”œHmmm”

[Krissi Kenobi]

Buried away in the countryside of Naboo, in a place an ancient manor surrounded by a deep wood and vast meadows Krissi Kenobi lead a happy life. She had three beautiful children. A marvelous assistant and companion. Faithful servants. Excellent defenses, both natural and man made. And miles upon miles of stunning beauty. Beyond the meadows was the land of waterfalls and lakes, closing in on the resort region. But here in her cozy little niche of the world, of the galaxy, Krissi could live in peace and prosperity being what she loved most: a mother. Far from the force battles, the epic struggle of good and evil, she and her children simply were.

 

They knew no father. There had to be one. At times little Domi would ask her mother, who would become very grave and sad. Then she would not ask her mother any more. The two darling boys did not seem to care. They had no mind for their father. As long as they had their devoted mother all was well in the world. As for Goldberry, as long as her mistress could live in peace she cared little for the affairs of the outer world. So it was for many years they lived in a serene, ideal enviroment. But you can't run from the past forever. And sooner or later, the war comes to your door....

 

* * *

 

It was early evening. Krissi had just put her two sons to bed. Domi was fast asleep already and Krissi was enjoying a mug of tea under a clear, flawless sky filled by the stars. It was a beautiful night. Goldberry took her place beside her.

 

"Domi should begin her training soon," she remarked quietly.

 

Krissi frowned. "I know... but I am--reluctant--to--"

 

"Begin training as it could cause a disturbance. I know," Goldberry said.

 

"It may bring unwanted attention." Krissi took another sip.

 

"Do you intend to hide forever mistress?" Goldberry studied her master.

 

Krissi glanced at her, disapproving. "Perhaps." She paused. "As long as I can anyway. I prefer the inevitable later rather than sooner." She sipped her tea.

 

Goldberry sighed. "You might find allies."

 

Krissi frowned, "The world has changed. It's become a darker place. Even among old friends. They could not protect me. And what would I tell them? No. It is better to stay."

 

"It you wish mistress," Goldberry sighed. They sat in silence a long while, evening drawing on and eventually deepening into night. Suddenly Krissi shivered and frowned. Goldberry sat up, concerned. "Mistress?"

 

Krissi gazes into space for a moment, then says quietly, "He--he has called me."

 

Goldberry tensed, frowning thoughtfully. "You do not have to respond."

 

Krissi shook her head. "No.... He--he has sought me out. After all this time...." Her voice becomes a whisper, "I knew he would. I have suffered much by his hand, and yet I am bound to him. He could not leave me in peace forever."

 

"Then the time has come? You will go to him?" Goldberry asked.

 

"Yes." Krissi stood. "Prepare the ship. The children are to know I am on an errand. Keep them safe here. I will return when I can... and be in touch when it is secure to do so."

 

"Yes mistress." Goldberry stood and bowed. "I shall make the preparations." She disappeared inside.

 

Krissi lingered a moment longer, gazing into the endless void of the sky which lead to other worlds. Her brow furrowed, then she turned and packed a few things. She summoned her faithful R2 unit Dain. With several more commands the two got into a hover craft and set out on the long journey to the captial city. It took several days in an attempt to obscure the trail. Once there she bought transport on a ship and set off for her destination.

[Tiana Calthye]

"But!" She clapped her hands. "That's where the lie is. Both the Sith and the Jedi believe they're better than each other. Which one is right? What's the truth, anyway? Are the Sith better? Are the Jedi better? How do we define better? Jedi are morally better than Sith, you could say. But their priorities are frequently the universe. But then, the Sith's priority is also the universe..."

 

She paused midstep. "Oh, here's good." They were in the middle of the swamplands, near where they'd landed, probably fifteen minutes away by now. The ground was damp and slightly mushy. She sat down on a mossy stone, dropping her weapon across her knees. "Let's sit for a while, shall we? Sith, you see, desire to control the universe. Jedi do, in a completely different way. They claim to preach peace and justice and happiness, but in the end--we're both warriors fighting for the universe. Sith tend to be crueller, but Jedi tend to look at the big picture. Sith enjoy the small picture, and though I wouldn't say they'd ever be nice, they don't let the big picture distract them from temporary amusement. You have to understand, the Jedi fight for the safety of the universe, deciding that if the Sith were in command, things would be bad. I don't think it'd work if either side was in control. It's the fighting between them that lets civilians live their lives on their own... without Force-users dictating based on some hokey energy shield."

She leaned forward and grinned.

 

"The Jedi fight for law. The Sith fight for chaos. But if there's no chaos, there's nothing for the Jedi to keep in order, and if there's no law, there's no reason for people to rebel against it. The Jedi and Sith are a purposeless, endless loop that bounce off each other to keep the entire cycle going. A Sith would go out of their way to make sure you're trained well--by making you nearly die over and over again. A Jedi would make sure you're well trained by keeping you safe. Neither side is right.

 

"That's why I'm not a very good Sith." Her hands stretched ouf for a moment before she leaned back, eyes closed and hands tucked in her hair, behind her head. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. And that is where the Jedi go wrong. They value blank-slated beings and often lose track of sentient life in the process. They should rework the code to include Jedi value life over all else, and then maybe they'd get somewhere, instead of letting beings be slaughtered for the greater good, and mercilessly cutting down Sith. Hey, some of them hold true to that--that the greatest good of all is serving, rather than directing people to mindlessly obey their not-so worthy code. That is a worthy cause, you know. To serve and protect. That should be the Jedi code. But I'm a Sith." She grinned, eyes closed. "A Jedi once. A Sith once. And maybe just a Force user now. Sith, at least, don't try to obscure their purpose through pretty words. This is the Sith code. Remember it well. I won't be repeating it.

 

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

Through passion, I gain strength.

Through strength, I gain power.

Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken.

The Force shall free me.

 

Those are the words Sith live by. Ironically, so similar to the Jedi's, but much more accurate to sentient life. There is passion, there is strength, there is freedom. You won't find freedom by meditating on little rocks. You'll find freedom by breaking yourself down again until there's no fear left in you, and then you can be rebuilt, strong, and free. Maybe you'll lose something with that fear. No victory is free."

 

Civilization seemed close, but she had no intent on moving. Not yet, anyway.

 

"What are you afraid of?"

[Arclight]

Struck almost dumbfounded by her testimony, Arclight found himself sitting there musing as to her inquery. What indeed was Arclight afraid of? The answer seemed elusive, almost not there, but wuth closer examination it seemed faint. He saw the pictures of his family leave him and he saw the pictures of his friends dying away and he realized his greatest fear of all was of loss... He realized he wasn't really afraid of jail, becuase he didn't really lose anything, but it was ultimately loss that pained him to recollect on the barren wastes of Tatooine seeing his friends and family gone. He had lost his life... Lost his identity and therefore wasn't technically a person anymore... He wasn't Fuh anymore. He was Arclight...

 

after a few minutes of mulling over this newfound discovery, Arclight finally wheeled his head around and said, "loss, I am afraid of loss"

 

He looked at Tiana rather plantively while sitting on a stumb next to her, but he was utterly serious in what he said. The emotion intently stuck to his face, never quivering...

[Arclight]

He was enjoying the calm breeze playing across his face instead of his crude armor and actually rather enjoyed sitting on a stump in the open wilderness. He was watching the wind blow by and brush a few of the trees and vines. Granted this wasn't one of the more scenic places on Naboo, it still had it's own charm...

 

Arclight had just spilled out practically his only fear to Tiana and was still waiting for a response. He had wondered if she had just left her mind to wander, but it was quite interesting to stare at her in silence anyway...

 

He felt just pleasantly occupied roaming through her eyes, or lack there of...

He often could tell a lot by staring into someone's eyes because they were the most emotional part on their body, but the interesting thing was he couldn't see them. It was almost as if she were hiding his true emotions from him...

 

Yet as was his luck most of the time. He had had a crush on a girl a great time ago, but she was gone now. To where he had no clue, but all he knew was that he'd never see her again...

[Tiana Calthye]

"Then you will learn to lose."

 

She'd taken forever to reply, with good reason. Just one more loss... the loss of replies.

 

I lost my family... my friends... my master... my teachings... my beliefs, my eyes, my lover and my soul.

 

"You will lose, if you follow the Sith path. Your freedom, your rights, your soul. Is that what you want?"

[Arclight]

Arclight didn't really care honestly. The only thing of the list that really gave him pause was his soul yet he could see no sarcasm in her eyes. He thought of the emptiness it would leave and the hole forever left behind. Yet he would have to learn to get over that. Did he care about dying as he broke from the prison. Did he care about dying when he braved the harsh winterlands that were Hoth? No, because ultimately he had a purpose... He had a goal and he would follow it despite the sacrifices, no matter how dire...

 

He took a few moments before answering though, sitting there with a rather puzzled look and simply said, "yes, that is what I want..." I have seen the dark now show me what true darkness is...

 

What have I to live or feel for when there is nothing much for me left in this universe except myself?