Corellia

[Skye Organa]

“Hello, my name is Lux. I am a representative from the Core Bank of Coruscant. Who are you?” Skye had watched as the Thyrsian came towards her. She was about to respond when Tenebris approached and introduced her to Lux, she inclined her head towards the dark woman though had a friendly smile on her face. Lux was striking to say the least but there was something… a sparkle appeared in her emerald green eyes as she shifted her gaze back to the Coresec Agent as he finished his introduction. “Pleased to meet you Lux,” Skye responded.

 

When Tenebris gestured to the warehouse, she shifted her gaze, letting it follow through to see the speeders. "If you please, let's be on our way. Lux will be our first point of contact with the estate. As the bank's representative, I believe she affords us the greatest likelihood of evading detection by pursuing a legitimate means of interfacing with Relmis." Skye gave a quick nod as he spoke then said to Lux. “If you have any hint of danger, we’ll be right there. Choose a safe word, and if you want us there, use it.”

[Lux]

"I take it I'm on point then?" Lux asked. Her tone hid the slight pain building at the base of her skull. It finally started to set in. She was promoted yesterday and now she was in the field. No pressure. Right?

 

"As far as a safe word... Maybe 'durni' will work. I read somewhere that they are the common rodents of Corellia, so it shouldn't be that hard to put it into a conversation." Lux postulated, looking out into the distance as if trying to find one hopping along the plains. The Thyrsian checked the fit of her armor once more and tightened the strap that held her vibrosword in place. One tug to the left, three tugs to the right. One tug to the left, three tugs to the right. One more tug and your harness is tight.

 

Lux took a deep breath, ignored the thin sheen of sweat on her forehead and mounted the nearest bike. It took her a moment to acclimatize herself, but without a word she kicked the bike into gear and revved the repulsorlift engine, slamming on the throttle and shooting off toward the manse. With the casual way she sailed off on a random speeder bike, Lux felt years of memories swishing past her mind. She ignored them. She had a job to do. Her expression hardened, and during her swift egress, she let her renewed anxiety follow the memories that continued to drift away.

 

When she arrived a few feet from the main portal to the estate, Lux dismounted and instinctively checked her sword again. When she was one-hundred percent certain that her sword was perfectly set, she walked up to the front door and knocked.

[Tenebris]

The tension in the air dropped in barometric pressure as the Thyrsian woman disappeared across the wooded island's landscape on her speeder bike. With a sigh of relief, Tenebris turned back to his assembled team as they moved through the warehouse, the Jedi Master in tow, to select a speeder. His comlink twittered, and he took the moment to answer it. The missive was short and to the point: by order of the Commissioner, given his attention to detail in the attacks on Coruscant General, he was being promoted immediately. Major? he thought with a flicker of surprise. But he wouldn't question it. It had no effect on the mission at hand, and he had plenty of time to ask questions and reorient once he returned to Headquarters.

 

Once they had chosen a speeder and were well on their way, Tenebris cast a shrewd glance at the Jedi, who now appeared to him in a different light, clad in armor rather than a doctor's garb. "Master, if I may," he began cautiously, "can I inquire as to the nature of your relationship with this Relmis?"

 

The question sounded forward in his mind, so he quickly amended it. "Rather, what do you mean when you say that he fell to the dark side? I have heard Jedi say this many times as a way of excuse or explanation. Is there an evil nature to this power you wield?"

 

------

 

The door to the Relmis estate remained firmly closed, but a voice spoke in some foreign tongue from seemingly all around Lux.

 

"Enpresa ez daukazu hemen, Atzerritarra. Utzi! Utzi!"

[Lux]

Lux’s apprehension didn’t cease. The sweat on her head increased in volume as she approached the door, but with conviction, she held to her approach. She had already knocked, but it took some time to see any evidence that there were people home and her efforts weren’t wasted.

"Enpresa ez daukazu hemen, Atzerritarra. Utzi! Utzi!"

 

The voice was harsh and loud. The Thyrsian’s nerves were bound up in the wrinkles on her forehead. But she wasn’t deterred. She got the gist of the message without translation. However, curious to confirm her wayward supposition, she lifted her wrist mounted datapad and plodded away at it for a few moments. With the flick of a finger, her small device played the message back in galactic basic.

 

“You have no business here, foreigner. leave! leave!"

 

The message was almost exactly what she figured it was, and it was amplified from indirect or not immediately traceable sources, which made it oddly ethereal. The residents were clearly irritated or seemed to be so, and they were attempting to chase Lux away before she could get started on her investigation. That would not do.

 

Lux sighed for a moment and moved her data pad closer to her mouth. “P2P-TA << Point 2 Point – Translator Application >>, please translate this for me: I do have business here. I am a representative of your bank. I am here to investigate claims made about this estate. If you do not let me in, I will freeze your assets and foreclose this property. Your physical assets will be seized and you will be forced to surrender to CoreSec custody. I am offering you a chance to plead your case. Please cooperate or I will be forced to rely on more extreme measures.”

[JJK]

For a moment the recognition in the Jedi's expression had made Joelle question her belief that they hadn't previously met. Now, though, she realized that must have been due to something else because his reply left no question: She had never met him, which meant her intuition had somehow suddenly grown into something much stronger in the last twelve hours!

 

Even with Jedi Givrah's calming presence, Joelle's thoughts and emotions continued to be in minor turmoil. Excitement at her possible future fought against anxiety of what that same possible future could include. His mention of the Force and her experiences only increased both. She was so caught up in trying to sort out her feelings that she nearly missed the polite question at the end of his introduction, "My name is Jedi Knight Kro'Roene'Givrah, what's yours?"

 

"Oh, I'm sorry! Please forgive my manners, or lack thereof!" Joelle blurted in a rush. "I'm Joelle K'smet." She extended her hand again for a more traditional greeting. "I've had quite the morning, and our meeting has only added one more layer to that…" The end of her sentence trailed off a bit as she continued the attempt to gather her thoughts and control her emotions.

 

Taking a deep breath and glancing around to ensure no one was especially near, she mustered the courage to continue, "I think us running into each other could turn out to be rather fortuitous, though, at least on my part. I was actually heading to the spaceport in the hopes I could find a transport to try to reach the Jedi. The things that made me refer to my morning as 'interesting' have me questioning something that's been a major aspect of my life for almost as long as I can remember, which I thought they, um," remembering mid-sentence that she was speaking to a Jedi, "or… should I say you…? Anyway, I thought the Jedi might be able to give me some insight and direction about what to do from here."

 

Realizing that, between her nerves and the effort to avoid mentioning either what actually happened that morning or wanting to be tested for Force-sensitivity, she was using a lot of words to not say much, Joelle cut herself off. "As you might be able to tell, I'm not completely comfortable talking about this standing here in the middle of so much activity. And I'm sure you aren't here to be talking to a babbling girl who isn't making sense, either! I don't want to completely distract you from what you came to do, but would you have some time to talk more privately? It wouldn't have to be right now if you need to be getting somewhere quickly… I mean, you were running incredibly quickly a few minutes ago!"

[Tenebris]

Silence reigned over the exterior of the Relmis estate, the challenge from the dark Thyrsian woman going unanswered for a space longer than would be considered polite or even reasonable. Then, the voice echoed again.

 

"Enpresa ez daukazu hemen, Atzerritarra. Utzi! Utzi!"

 

The edifice remained as staunch and unassailable as it had when she first approached. The grounds of the estate were silent, daring intrusion, taunting Lux to make the first move. The message was clear:

 

You and what army?

[Roene Givrah]

Her eagerness and anxiety were refreshing. Too few worried themselves with the Jedi these days. Some viewed the Order as a threat. Others viewed them as a trifle; not but milling herd beasts that grazed endlessly on the great plain of life, hiding when the rains came. But Roene missed the days where the title ‘Jedi’ meant something. He missed the mysticism that arose when someone thought of them. After all, force users were the great philosophers of history. To lose them was to lose centuries of knowledge. Now, Roene wasn’t here on Corellia to make a grand impact on the galaxy, but the slow decline was visible and disconcerting. Their presence was the only thing drawing a balance. If the Sith saw that the Jedi’s presence had declined, it would bring blood to the galactic waters. They would fly out of hiding and upend the natural order. At least, that is what they did time immemorial. But Roene’s minds were running away from him, each on their own tangential spree, when Joelle asked a very simple question.

 

“I am unsure of the urgency with which I am needed. I only know that my grandmother is here and she is sick. Also, that she asked for me to arrive and attend to something.” Roene said. His voice was low. The concern manifest in the subtle lilt to his statement. “She doesn’t leave Cerea. So, I believe the matter is grave.”

 

Roene’s thoughts ambled about on two fronts, calculating two different sets of odds simultaneously. But even with effort, he couldn’t conceivably decipher the problem with the parameters he had. He needed more information. The Cerean’s brow furrowed in concentration for a moment, but it softened and his mouth spread into a pleasant smile. Concern still marred the creases of his cheeks where his smile ended, and his tone was still mingled by trouble. But his words were brighter and his inclination was positive.

 

“If you would like to discuss this further, or to explore this subject more thoroughly, I am headed for Coronet General. You can accompany me or meet me there if you wish. They may have an office or some place that we might speak with more privacy. If not, meet me outside the eastern city limits at sundown tonight or sunrise tomorrow morning.” Roene said. He let his open suggestion drift in the space between them, awaiting what came. A sliver of his own excitement lingered in the blue of his pale eyes.

Edited March 29, 2017 by Guest

[Skye Organa]

As Lux headed off, Skye kept a light touch on her through the Force so that if she did get into trouble it wouldn’t take her long to take action. It also wouldn’t matter if the safe word was used or not, the Jedi would know. The Healer chose and started her speeder, heading off with the rest of the team.

 

"Master, if I may," Tenebris began cautiously, "can I inquire as to the nature of your relationship with this Relmis?" He paused a moment before adding, "Rather, what do you mean when you say that he fell to the dark side? I have heard Jedi say this many times as a way of excuse or explanation. Is there an evil nature to this power you wield?"

 

Skye took a breath before answering the Coresec Agent honestly, “Fynn… or rather Kern, used to be my Padawan. I trained him to be a Jedi. He was also a good friend.” She paused a moment before continuing, “A Jedi regards the Force with respect and responsibility. We view the Force as a power to merge with in order to further the cause of good. The Sith, on the other hand, learn to unlock the power of the Force in a completely different way. Rather than accessing the Force through inner peace, they tap the power of the Force by giving into extreme emotion. They use anger, hate and fear to channel the Force. They believe the Force is a tool to be used however they wish.” Again the Healer paused as she sorted through her thoughts. “When a Jedi falls to the darkside, they have given in to anger and fear. In a sense, they have been corrupted. In some of these cases, there has been an outside influence, a Sith who ‘encourages their fall’. I believe there was something or someone influencing Fynn’s fall and I would like to know what it was.”

 

When Lux arrived at the Estate, Skye kept the light touch on her, subtly reinforcing her. To Tenebris she said, “Be ready… Lux is there.” A smile crossed her face, “She’s a feisty one…”

[Lux]

Kern's estate possessed the uncanny ability to mock her, admittedly limited, assault. But, at times like these, she borrowed a line from her administrative contemporaries: 'there were weapons that even the fabulously wealthy could comprehend, the Power of Bureaucracy'.

 

With subtle strokes and casual swipes, Lux queued up a 411Y0URB4534R3-BTU form on her wrist pad and signed it with her thumb. She sent a copy to Tenebris and several copies to the Core Bank of Coruscant and the requisite subsidiaries. Then, with all the grace that she could muster, she stuck her tongue out at the front door; as if to say: "That one!"

 

Her expression remained slightly petulant when the other speeders arrived; with her lower lip thrust outward and her eyes staring daggers at the inert manse in front of her. In response, the dreary wooden opulence loomed over her, in an ironic attemp to threaten her. Naturally, the inanimate object, no matter how large, failed to achieve any perceivable level of intimidation. But, a shadow of sensation tickled her hands, causing minor tremors in her fingers.

 

Weird...

 

A shiver ran down her spine, but she ignored it and approached the group of Officers led by Tenebris and Skye.

 

"So, it turns out the peaceful solution didn't work. I would still like to represent the bank's interest on this case, but it's your show from here on out Sergeant. I have forwarded you a very specific requisition form. I have also forwarded one to your boss and my boss. The whole process should take about thirty minutes, but the form essentially signs all of Mr. Relmis' assets on Corellia over to the authorities. Allowing you, or anyone else you authorize, to enter the premises without the need of a warrant." Lux said. A small smile painted her face, but the disappointment she felt in her own diplomatic ability, poked at the back of her head like a nagging toddler.

[Tenebris]

Listening in silence as the Jedi Master spun him a tale of powers he did not begin to comprehend, Tenebris' thoughts turned inward. If what she said was true, that light and dark or good and evil was simply the difference between working from a grounded sense of inner peace versus from an emotional self-interest, it was no wonder that so many Jedi ended up falling astray of their true ideals. It was a rare sentient that operated from a true sense of justice and peace. Most who claimed to do so were deluding themselves at best.

 

With a measuring look at Master Organa, Tenebris found himself wondering as to the manifestation of her special abilities. What would it be like to spar a Jedi, hand-to-hand, in honest combat? Ancient weapons and other scaffolding of combat aside... a flicker of amusement entered his eyes. To defeat her in such a match would be bragging rights, indeed.

 

"Be ready, Lux is there," Master Organa said, with a note of teasing in her voice. "She's a feisty one."

 

He scoffed, but nevertheless found himself stifling a grin. "She's got guts, that's for sure. For her sake, I hope it doesn't get her killed. My people don't look highly on impulsive individuals who can't take orders."

 

Minutes later, they had arrived at the compound, where Lux was waiting to meet them. The news she brought was welcome, though, he reflected, it would certainly have been easier for Relmis to simply surrender his holdings willingly. Despite what he may have told the Bank Liaison, he genuinely wished for a non-combative result. Tenebris nodded gratefully. "I am obliged to your efficiency. Now I must ask that you remain here while we conduct a thorough search and investigation. It may be dangerous, and your limbs aren't covered under CoreSec's health insurance," he warned simply, the ghost of a taunt in his eyes.

 

Without waiting for a response, Tenebris signaled to a handful of his men. "Take position on the outside of the building. Once we get the all-clear, we'll move in."

 

Turning to the Jedi, he asked cautiously, "What should we be prepared for?"

[Lux]

Tenebris’ remark was scathing and loathsome, and Lux’s repertoire of mental defenses rose to counter his crude advance. His illusion of concern, marred by the ghost of an insult that lingered in silver eyes, was an affront. He didn’t wish to show his disdain, but it was still present, stewing in the core of every word he spoke of her. Even here, obeying the heart of their mission, she was perceived as something less than helpful. But, Lux refused to contribute to his verbal repartee. She stood what little ground she had and stared at him with an intense curiosity. She questioned his callous disregard with a significant strike of perception. And yet, something niggled at the back of her mind. A small echo yelled at her.

 

She looked over at the CoreSec agents as they took positions along the exterior of the estate. But something still felt, off.

 

A strong sense of doom resonated from a point not too far away on the side of the manse. A hidden door maybe?

A worry… A feeling of…

 

“TENEBRIS! DUCK!”

 

Lux’s words were charged with fire and sprang from her mouth with a life of their own. Tenebris’ combat training encouraged his cooperation in a rapid, reflexive vertical motion. Clearing her sword from its sheath, Lux flipped over Tenebris’ back and slammed her foot into an approaching assailant with devastating accuracy. She spun to avoid a punch aimed at her head and used her cylindrical momentum to slice at the next opponent’s neck, spilling his body on the ground. Three more attackers of mysterious origin were approaching from the broadside of the estate and began to pepper the assembled group with blaster bolts of red and green.

 

Lux danced among them, taking a small shot to her shin. It stung; a white fire that climbed the tree of nerves to the adrenaline that sang with a strong prevailing melody in her mind. But it did not halt her advance. She craved the challenge. For so long, she resigned herself to the tedium of endless practice with little practical application. But now, with the feverish beat of her heart and the wild harmony of the wind that played across her face, fueling the battle in her hands and feet, she felt at peace. Graceful movements kept her body out of serious harm as she sprinted the length and met her opponents in yet another mortal exchange. No words were needed. No words could aptly describe the fire in her heart. Everything else faded away, and all that was left, was the fuller of her blade as it sailed through the air and the sheen of her pommel as it reflected the midday sun.

[Skye Organa]

"She's got guts, that's for sure. For her sake, I hope it doesn't get her killed. My people don't look highly on impulsive individuals who can't take orders."

 

Skye gave a nod towards Tenebris in response and fell silent, her attention on piloting the speeder and on Lux. Once they arrived at the front of the Estate, Lux was waiting. "So, it turns out the peaceful solution didn't work. I would still like to represent the bank's interest on this case, but it's your show from here on out Sergeant. I have forwarded you a very specific requisition form. I have also forwarded one to your boss and my boss. The whole process should take about thirty minutes, but the form essentially signs all of Mr. Relmis' assets on Corellia over to the authorities. Allowing you, or anyone else you authorize, to enter the premises without the need of a warrant."

 

"I am obliged to your efficiency. Now I must ask that you remain here while we conduct a thorough search and investigation. It may be dangerous, and your limbs aren't covered under CoreSec's health insurance," She watched as Tenebris instructed his men to take positions around the outside of the building, watching them spread out and search. While they were waiting for the all clear he turned to her asking, "What should we be prepared for?"

 

Skye looked back at the entrance to the building, stretching out her senses, something teasing… not right... She searched what she could though something was blocking her seeing inside the building, her danger sense warning her that things were not quite what they seemed. When she turned back to Tenebris and Lux she answered, "We can expect the unexpected. There is a strong darkside presence masking everything here. That doesn't necessarily mean that Kern is here but he most likely has traps set that ...."

 

“TENEBRIS! DUCK!”

 

Skye felt the threat as Lux did, the Jedi Master’s amethyst saber humming to life in an instant, sending blaster bolts back in the direction in which they came, dropping one of the assailants in the process and prompting the others dash for cover. She leapt in front of Tenebris and Lux, deflecting more blaster bolts and protecting them from being hit so they could gain cover themselves. That was her plan at any rate until Lux took the fight to the enemy. Skye briefly met Tenebris’ eyes with slight exasperation before she moved to protect the bank representative, her thoughts being Has she got a death wish?

 

Having seen scenes of violence in the Keshiri woman’s mind, Skye recognized the assailants as being of that origin and knew that they would fight like barbarians. Lux seemed to be holding her own, though these opponents were unpredictable and vicious. Tenebris seemed a very seasoned Agent so her concern centered on the bank representative. Seeing the glint of a short blade, Skye let the Force flow through her as she leaped into the air, pulling Lux out of the way and slashing down the dagger that had been thrown at the girl. It fell in two pieces with a clatter to the ground, “Don’t touch the blades – they use poison!”

[Non-Playable-Characters]

Wake up

 

Rand opened his eyes, sitting up in his bed and turning off the alarm on his clock. Another day. He went through the motions that were so familiar, showering, brushing his teeth, eating a small bowl of cereal, dressing for work...the ride to work was the same as it usually was, carpooling in Jessika's speeder, Kurt and Jaret playing their obnoxious Bith music. It didn't matter much to Rand though, it was just the same old dog and pony show, a processional march into the inevitable sunset.

 

Work was the same as it always was, sitting at his cubicle coding programs for clients that would pay the firm an exorbitant amount, and of which Rand might see a pittance. But, it paid the rent. So he never thought about it, he just kept typing on in cubicle 324 on the 13th floor of building 1337 located in megabloc 42 of the Coruscanti northern business sector. That was how it had been, how it would continue.

 

When he got home, Rand would fix himself some dinner, usually a sandwich or some soup, and flip on his favorite holonet shows, then go to sleep afterwards.

 

Wake up

 

Rand opened his eyes. Shut off the alarm, showered, ate, dressed for work. Carpool, same smells, same traffic.

 

Work. Typing endlessly, compiling code. Thinking how to arrange things on spreadsheets, instead of what he wanted to do. Had to pay the rent, after all.

 

Get home, dinner, holonet shows. Sleep.

 

Wake up

 

Eyes open. Alarm, shower, food, clothes. Carpool, crappy music.

 

Work. Typing, focused on mindless code. Gotta pay rent.

 

Home. Dinner, shows. Sleep.

 

Wake up

 

The days had become a blur. Rand was thirty-something, it didn't really matter. He had a warm bed and food. That was what mattered, right? Many beings would envy where he was in life. Many didn't even have food. Like his mom always said, there were starving kids on Dathomir. He was blessed. He was comfortable. He was right where he should be. Right? Right.

 

Wake up

 

And then one night, something crashed through his bedroom window. Rand awoke with a start at the loud noise, jolting up as a sharp shiver shot up his back. The outside air was cold, and it bit at him as he got up, careful not to step on the shards of glass. Something sat on the floor among the fragments, a sort of duracrete-looking brick, but one that had been painted. A cardboard fin was loosely taped to one side, and the thing looked like a rudimentary spaceship of some kind. Rand looked up, seeing two small horrified faces, a Human and a Twi'lekk child, dressed in silly clothes, one wearing a bucket with a face cutout, the other a speeder bike helmet. As soon as they realized they'd been spotted, they scampered away, taking refuge in a nearby cardboard box sitting in the alley outside his apartment.

 

Nearly an hour later, Rand had temporarily fixed his window, having cleaned the glass and blocked the hole with a piece of paneling he'd had lying around. He thought briefly about what happened, set the small spaceship on his nightstand, and went to sleep.

 

Wake up

 

Rand opened his eyes, and went to swat at his alarm, but his hand hit something hard and rough. He looked over groggily as his alarm continued to chirp angrily at him, seeing the duracrete chunk spaceship he'd put on his night stand the night before. For a moment, he stared at it again, before finally shutting off his alarm and hauling himself out of bed. Rand was tired, last night having really taken a toll on his sleeping habits. He dragged himself to his refresher, taking a shower, brushing his teeth, applying deoderant, and put on some underclothes before walking to his kitchen. He poured himself a bowl of cereal, staring through the door to his room at the 'spaceship.'

 

That day, the carpool never showed up. Apparently, the office building he was at needed to be remodeled internally, a chemical having been found in the ceiling paneling that was a general health hazard to most beings. Of course, this 'vacation' wasn't a paid one, and work would resume in a few days when the remodeling crews were finished.

 

Rand found himself sitting at home in the middle of the day, watching unfamiliar holonet shows, just...bored. It was an uncomfortable feeling. It was different. Eventually, he sat on his couch holding the duracrete ship, studying it. It wasn't a skilled paint job, but he could tell that it was lovingly colored. He might even have some glue in his kitchen's junk drawer somewhere, and some paper...

 

A few hours later, the ship looked amazing. Rand had touched it up quite a bit, sharpening lines with what markers and highlighters he did have, ensuring the fins he put on the tail section were good and secure. He caught himself smiling at the thing, it was silly and didn't really resemble any space ship he knew of, but it was still...good? He walked outside, and placed it on the box the kids had scampered into the other night, an old cooler box that had clearly been decorated and had "SPACE CLUB" scrawled on it in crude lettering. Rand set the ship in the box, then returned to his apartment. He was still exhausted from the night before, and took a nap.

 

Wake up

 

The next day, things seemed different. Rand began daydreaming, thinking about the ship he'd fixed for the kids. What if he had a real ship? What would it be like, sailing among the stars? His whole life he'd spent on Coruscant, his parents had never left, his grandparents...come to think of it, his great-grandparents on his paternal grandmother's side were the latest ones in his family tree to come to Coru. His whole family were cogs in the industrial machine. That kind of depressed him, but the thoughts of space travel, adventure, all of it gnawed at him.

 

That day, Rand opened a new savings account with the bank of Coruscant. He might not have the means to currently achieve what he wanted, but now, at least, he had a dream, and that was worth shooting for, right? That day, the sky seemed a little bluer. He went back to work over the next few days, still working, still focusing on code, but now he did so with a fire in his stomach. He was a cog, true, but now he was a cog with a dream.

 

Wake up

[JJK]

Somehow, Joelle had thought she couldn't feel any more like a blithering idiot. Then Jedi Givrah mentioned being here to find his ill grandmother. Processing through her emotions, she mentally rolled her eyes at her previous belief. Think about it, girl: What he could have been on Corellia for that wouldn't have made you feel like you've been utterly wasting his time with your explanation that wasn't one? Would you really feel any better if he was here on a mission for the Galactic Alliance or Jedi Order?

 

Yet, here he was inviting her to join him on his trip to the hospital! Of course, that was ridiculous; she would never want to intrude on a family matter like that! Fortunately, he gave the alternative option of meeting later outside the city.

 

"Thank you so much for your kind offer, sir, but I wouldn't want to intrude! My situation can wait. After all, I'd been expecting it to be at least a day or two before I was talking to any Jedi about my experience! Please, go and focus on your family. I can meet you this evening."

 

After a moment's thought, Joelle added, "In fact, your mention of family made me realize I ought to have at least told my own that I was heading off-planet. It would seem our meeting is even more fortunate for me than I'd first thought!

 

"Is there a specific place east of the city you had in mind, though? That is a rather large area." Though meeting later seemed to be the better option for both of them, Joelle wanted to make sure they would indeed meet again. It would have been the worst sort of irony to have accidentally literally collided with a being who could change her life, and then to not be able to find him when she meant to!

[Roene Givrah]

Skye's warning and subsequent interference were welcome but partially ignored. Fight flowed in the Thyrsian's blood and sung in her ears. After Skye cut the dagger and let it fall, Lux continued her stride to pop the pommel of her weapon into her opponent's throat. The movement of her limbs played the melody of her heart. She was the battle conductor and her sword was her baton.

 

When her strike was concluded, Lux retreated a step and assumed a defensive stance. The other two opponents, the ones still on their feet, were switching to melee weapons and closing in.

 

 

__________________

__________________

 

Her trepidation was understandable. Roene had a tendency toward making things more esoteric and vague than they needed to be, but he had no idea what to say to make his instruction any clearer. Troubled, he looked to the eastern sky and caught as the sun continued to drift over the nearest buildings. Amber rays lit the horizon in a brilliant flood of fiery aurora and illuminated the answer to his clouded conundrum. He subtly visualized the destination in his mind and then looked back at Joelle, a curious expression marking his face.

 

"Do you mind if I show you?" Roene asked, his palms and expression open.

 

Her consent was subtle, but Roene verified with her before imprinting an image on the surface of her mind. A wide babbling brook, bisecting a clearing, on the edge of a vast forest, rose in Joelle's mind. A small meadow sat peacefully in the cleft between the clearing and the forest. This spot seemed brighter in her eyes than the other parts of the vision.

 

"There," Roene said as he withdrew his influence from her mind. "Please meet me there. I will be there at the indicated time to guide you if you need it."

 

Then, with a small bow, Roene took his leave at a much slower jog.

[Tenebris]

Am I really seeing this? Tenebris thought in utter astonishment as Lux erupted into action, nearly receiving an impaling blade to the skull as a reward for her action. The quick slash of the Jedi's lightsaber brought a halt to it, and as his eyes fell on Master Organa, the look she gave him said that she was thinking the same thing. With a series of quick gestures, he signaled his men to enter the fray. "Set for stun!" he directed into his wrist comm.

 

Returning blasterfire rang out from the CoreSec troops, even as the two remaining opponents were discarding their blasters to produce vibroblades. He seized the opportunity to rush forward and catch the Thyrsian's arm, pulling her back from the skirmish and avoiding the backlash of the instinctual reaction that would likely try to plunge her sword down his gullet. Giving her a warning look, his eyes almost immediately softened into worried alarm.

 

"What the kriff do you think you're doing?" he yelled over the din of blasterfire and the hum of the lightsaber. Whatever importance he had placed on jurisdiction and doing things by-the-book for Mazzari's sake, the reality of this instance sank in: while the young woman had made it obvious that she knew what she was doing, Tenebris would be called to account for the bodies now littering the ground on the outside of the pristine estate. Not to mention that should anything happen to Lux herself, he would likely be held responsible as well, as the commanding officer. The thought unsettled him, but he could not seem to distinguish if that had more to do with his commission and duty, or with the mental image of Lux's broken body. The darkness that entered his eyes at the thought made him feel like an overprotective big brother, but he could not help but continue the tirade that sprang to the tip of his tongue. "I agreed to let you come and talk your way into the estate. You want to be helpful? Listen up and learn to take orders, or I'm stuffing your ass into a shuttle bound for Coruscant faster than you can blink."

 

His strike team, efficient and deadly, had already taken down the remaining two assailants, who bore the same strange sigil as the attackers at Coruscant General. Tenebris held up a hand to halt forward progress into the estate, and his agents checked the perimeter once more, standing guard behind the shimmering cerulean form of Master Organa. With a sigh, he passed a hand over his face, taking in the fiery and indignant expression of the Thyrsian, who yanked her arm away from his grip, looking very much like she would like to use him as a scabbard for the blade in her hand.

 

"Look, missy--I appreciate you saving my skin, and you've got some skill with that thing. But if you think for a minute I'm going to let a banker run point in a deadly skirmish into a booby-trapped Sith Lord's estate, you've got another think coming. Since it seems I can't keep you out of the fray, come along," he said with a sudden inspiration, "but you are to stay with either Master Organa or myself at all times, and you will answer to her directly, is that clear?"

 

He regarded her with eyebrows held high in unwavering command before turning to jog the few meters to where Master Organa stood. "I guess that's their way of rolling out the welcome mat for us," he said cynically, beginning to walk toward the mammoth front door of the estate once more, abandoning his blaster rifle in favor of the twin blades sheathed across his back. "Let's stop in for tea and biscuits."

 

As an aside to the Jedi as they stood before the doors, Tenebris added, "Keep an eye on the kid, will you?"

[Lux]

Missy?!

Hot blood boiled in the depths of her psyche. Her muscles tightened one after another and she had to restrain herself to avoid losing control. He was right. She didn’t like it, but Tenebris was right. Capability or no, he did not bring her here to speak with her sword. He brought her here to be diplomatic. And when that failed, it was his turn to run point and move them through the estate. But, the callous disregard of her ability, left her fuming. That was why she was so angry, wasn’t it?

 

She couldn’t pinpoint the catalyst to her fury. Maybe the hue of protection that he lorded over her set her off. Maybe she harbored some residual defiance for those that thought she needed protection. Whatever it was, she didn’t know that she had a trigger that powerful. It was somewhat disconcerting. But, maybe if she had been able to act with more deliberation, she could have saved Lucinda. The Chiss’ visage shadowed the surface of Lux’s mind and a small tear tickled the side of her burning cheeks.

 

Lux put a hand up and loosened the braid in her charcoal hair. She wrung her fingers through the thatch of gray and felt the strand of silver on the pads of her callused fingers. It had a different texture than the rest of her hair, but she didn’t have time to consider what that might mean. The group was approaching the door to the mansion and Lux had to jog a little to keep up.

"Keep an eye on the kid, will you?"

KID?!

 

Lux’s white eyes bloomed into an iridescent plume of fire. Excuse me?

 

The Thyrsian’s rage reached a fever pitch that became impossible to control. But, unbelievably, her actions were not purely frantic. Ignoring the people around her and the situation they found themselves in, Lux marched vehemently to where the Sergeant stood, spun him around, and pushed him into the door frame, meeting his extinguished fury with an icy stare. Her mane of wild charcoal hair framed her sweaty face. And her intense glare was focused on his form, preventing his gaze from hesitation.

No, you look at me!

 

“Alright, Sergeant. You listen to me for five seconds! I appreciate that you think you know what’s best for me. I even appreciate that you want to protect me. I do. But I don’t appreciate it when people don’t show me respect. You may be accustomed to ordering your subordinates to follow your every whim. But in my world, we work by respecting our peers. My name is not missy, kid, or Thyrsian. My name is Lux. I warned you because I am your teammate. I am accountable for myself. I have insurance covered by the bank and I am here because it is my job. Protect me if you want, but don’t discredit my ability or who I am. I will follow your order, but I would like it if you didn’t treat me like a child."

 

Her mouth was dry. Her gaze was cold. And her arm was stiff against the middle of his chest. When she let go, she snuffed her fury out with a large sigh. It would do no good to hold on to that brand. It was too hot. Her rant was done. With little resistance, she stepped over to Skye and gripped her sword. She let her hair fly free in the fresh sea air and looked at the large double doors, expectant.

[Tenebris]

It was only the deep connection that Tenebris had built between his mind and his sinews that he was able to keep his hand from flying of its own accord to smack the impertinent woman across the face. She demanded respect, claimed that she must be treated as an equal, and then launched into a child's tirade. He let her say her piece, held his jaw firm, and waited as she tried to return to the side of the Jedi Master as though nothing had happened.

 

With slow, careful steps, like the creeping stalk of an approaching panther, he towered over her. Through gritted teeth, with flashing eyes, he peered down at her, a low growl sounding from his throat.

 

"Don't--ever--do that again," he snarled. "You are not my peer. I have respect for my subordinates because they can be trusted to follow orders. Your assignment was completed the minute you pulled your sword out. You are now officially impeding and interfering with a CoreSec investigation."

 

He motioned to Corporal Antilles. "Corporal, please escort Ms. Lux back to the ship, and ensure she remains there until we return to Coruscant. Lock her in the brig if you have to," he said coldly.

 

As the Corporal approached them, Tenebris stepped back and turned his attention back to the estate, calling over his shoulder, "and while we're on the subject of titles, it's 'Major' now. You are dismissed."

[Skye Organa]

Skye watched as Lux continued to fight. She shook her head, letting the Force guide her movements even as Tenebris gave his men new orders. It didn’t take long for his people to get the situation back under control and when the CoreSec Agent pulled Lux back and gave her a stern talking to, Skye kept her eyes peeled for any other disturbances. Luckily their didn’t seem to be. Once the rest of the CoreSec squad had things under control she shut down her saber and moved closer to where Lux and Tenebris were.

 

"I agreed to let you come and talk your way into the estate. You want to be helpful? Listen up and learn to take orders, or I'm stuffing your ass into a shuttle bound for Coruscant faster than you can blink."

 

It was obvious that he meant business. Lux looked more defiant than anything else and Skye could feel her determination through the Force.

 

"Look, missy--I appreciate you saving my skin, and you've got some skill with that thing. But if you think for a minute I'm going to let a banker run point in a deadly skirmish into a booby-trapped Sith Lord's estate, you've got another think coming. Since it seems I can't keep you out of the fray, come along," he said with a sudden inspiration, "but you are to stay with either Master Organa or myself at all times, and you will answer to her directly, is that clear?"

 

When Lux seemed to calm down and listen to him Skye glanced back at the doors of the Estate, positive that this was not going to be an easy visit. She kept a neutral expression on her face when Tenebris made a comment to her.

 

"Keep an eye on the kid, will you?"

 

Immediately Skye felt the spike of Lux’s ire as she lost her temper once again. Before she could say anything though, Lux had gone off on him again.

 

“Alright, Sergeant. You listen to me for five seconds! I appreciate that you think you know what’s best for me. I even appreciate that you want to protect me. I do. But I don’t appreciate it when people don’t show me respect. You may be accustomed to ordering your subordinates to follow your every whim. But in my world, we work by respecting our peers. My name is not missy, kid, or Thyrsian. My name is Lux. I warned you because I am your teammate. I am accountable for myself. I have insurance covered by the bank and I am here because it is my job. Protect me if you want, but don’t discredit my ability or who I am. I will follow your order, but I would like it if you didn’t treat me like a child."

 

"Don't--ever--do that again," he snarled. "You are not my peer. I have respect for my subordinates because they can be trusted to follow orders. Your assignment was completed the minute you pulled your sword out. You are now officially impeding and interfering with a CoreSec investigation." He motioned to Corporal Antilles. "Corporal, please escort Ms. Lux back to the ship, and ensure she remains there until we return to Coruscant. Lock her in the brig if you have to," he said coldly. As the Corporal approached them, Tenebris stepped back and turned his attention back to the estate, calling over his shoulder, "and while we're on the subject of titles, it's 'Major' now. You are dismissed."

 

“Corporal Antilles, could you wait a moment please.” Skye let her gaze take in both Lux and Tenebris before she looked back at the Estate doors where the strongest darkside presence seemed to be. “I would like to speak to you both…” she turned slightly and motioned for them both to come with her, “We need to put some distance between us and the Estate doors. I will explain everything once we’re far enough back.” It seemed that they were reluctant, “Please...” Once they started walking back with her, the Jedi Master led them back to where she could feel a significant lessening of the darkside influence. She knew that they all must be thinking ‘crazy Jedi’ or along those lines but what she needed to do was to get Lux far enough away so that her mind would clear. Once they were around a hundred meters from the door she stopped and turned back to them both.

 

“Lux, would you mind if I did a quick blood test?” The request must have surprised them by the looks upon their faces. She waited a moment for Lux to give her permission before she brought out her diagnostic tool and took a quick sample with a small puncture upon her finger. It confirmed her suspicions “Did you know that you were Force Sensitive?” When the young woman shook her head Skye explained to them both, turning from one to the other as she spoke. “The test I just performed confirmed that you have an above average midi-chlorian count. It is one way to test for Force Sensitivity. It would be why your reflexes are fast and why you may have a precognitive ability. If you were to be trained, you could learn how to manipulate Force energy. This also gives me pause as to Lux going inside a place that has a very strong darkside influence. If you were to go in, you would have to be very careful as to your emotions. Do not be quick to anger. Knowing you are feeling the effects of the darkside is one way to prepare and guard yourself against it. Are you normally quick or slow to show anger?” She paused for a moment, her gaze shifting to Tenebris. “I apologize for having to come so far from the others, I needed to get Lux far enough away from the influence so that she could control her emotions more.” Shifting her gaze back towards Lux she looked closer at her, getting a feeling that there was something more behind why the young woman kept on fighting. “You’ve had dealings with a Sith before… what happened?” Her voice was gentle yet encouraging Lux to talk about it.

[Lux]

The seething flame of irritation that broke the surface of her face, intensified with Tenebris’ reprimand, to a point that Lux hadn’t felt before. It was unreal. Fury seeped from her skin; a murky fluid that she couldn’t wipe away. His actions were childish. But, she couldn’t see past her own actions to reason with the situation. All she could see was the blistering rage that suffused her skin. It wasn’t until the Jedi guided her from the mansion, that she could regain control of her fury. Like a spectator, watching as a volcano reversed its explosion, she gawped as her hair settled down and as her eyes extinguished their luminescent plumes of glowing white fire. What in the force was that?!!

 

She was too busy mulling over the extent of her mental transformation to notice the Jedi’s question and balked a little when asked to provide a blood sample. It was an odd request. Still, the Jedi had done nothing to deserve her scrutiny; malicious or otherwise. So, providing the Jedi with her blood, was a paltry sum in exchange for Skye’s patience and understanding. She didn’t seem like the type that would keep her DNA for a creepy experiment. Then again, Lux didn’t have the best judge of character. Her last few friends, Lucinda aside, had been very questionable. Morals and ethics seemed to be a very fluid concept around them and Lux didn’t really tolerate that level of indiscretion. Her moral compass was a bit ridged. That aspect seemed a tad ironic in these circumstances, but it was clear now that another force was at play.

 

The news of her force sensitivity was shocking, but illuminating at the same time. Phenomena that seemed disconnected and unrelated, began to pull together into cohesive pictures. Moments where her reflexes entered extreme modes of sensitivity, or moments when her legs moved a lot faster than normal, finally started to make more sense. She could find reason with previously unrealistic feats of strength. Part of her hated it: she didn’t like that she was ‘special.’ She liked to prove herself beyond the norm without the aid of an outside hand. Yet, part of her wanted to explore it further: the possibilities of her art and combat could supersede the mundane. She could become a true artist on the field of battle and wield a sword of light. The image and metaphor drew her attention away from the severity of the realization. And it seemed that, even with their distance from the mansion, the trio remained quite somber.

 

“Contrary to popular belief -- at the moment.” Lux interjected, looking with ambivalence toward Tenebris, “I am not very quick to anger. Especially not in that way. So, before we continue, Major, I owe you an apology.” Lux said, bowing her head and retreating a step from where he stood.

 

She looked to Skye, who took the lead in their discussion and nodded quietly to confirm any questions she had. At the end of the Jedi’s speech, however, a frigid pick of sorrow dug into Lux’s heart… Is that what that was?

 

A memory rose to the surface of her mind. It was recent and traumatic, so the details were vivid.

 

Lucinda’s smile grew and both drew closer. They touched their foreheads to one another and lightly touched lips, before drawing away and basking in the isolated moment of vague euphoria.
 
But, all good things eventually came to an end.
 
A wraith blossomed from the shadows and took the vague form of a shadowy Twi’lek. Without warning, she bent over and snapped Lucinda’s neck. The sound was simple. The movement was simple. The silence that followed, was deafening…
 
Lux’s world slowed. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to leave this whole nightmare and come back. But this wasn’t going to go away.
 
The wraith moved toward her, and some dark part of her wanted to capitulate. But words of advice and battle training took over. Lux leaped backward into a back-hand spring and landed on her feet. Her vibroblade was one flourish away and she came at the wraith with lightning reflexes. But, before she could cut her down, the wraith was gone again.

 

“I uh…” Lux stammered.

 

Two small tears flowed from both sides of her face, met by two or three more that joined at the peaks of her obsidian cheeks. Silent sobs tugged at her chest and she fought to keep her balance. It was a dangerously intense balancing act, but she was holding strong. Small sounds of snuffling emanated from her nose, and small huffs of breath came from her mouth, but her composure remained as hard as she could muster.

 

“I did encounter something… Similar.” Lux swallowed for a moment and continued. “It was a shadow that came out of nowhere and stole my friend from me. I tried to stop it, but it disappeared before I could save her; before I could save Lucinda. Emergency medical staff and CoreSec officers were too preoccupied with the relief efforts for those still recovering from the Trinity Tower destruction, that we were relatively ignored. I wasn’t mad at them. But I wasn’t going to stick around and help either. I regretted that callousness later. But I was in mourning.”

[Tenebris]

With a concerned frown growing on his face, Tenebris watched the interactions between the two women, some of which went completely over his head. Jedi terms that he had never before heard flew left and right. Force sensitive? Mini-chlorines? While it all seemed like gibberish, a visible change came over the excitable Thyrsian as they retreated from the doors of the Relmis estate. The frenetic glint in her eye lessened, and it appeared that she was more aware of her behavior in the situation that had just passed. Perhaps there was something to Master Organa's claims.

 

He bit his tongue to ward off the impulse to cut short the conversation. Lux gave him a nod, a paltry form of apology, though in his mind the damage was already done. She had proven herself impulsive and irresponsible, two traits that made her far more of a liability than he was willing to assume in this investigation. His in-ear comm crackled to life with Antilles' garbled voice. "Major, holding perimeter and waiting for instructions," he said, but Tenebris knew what he meant. What the kriff is happening? Clenching his teeth together, he turned away from the conversation between the two women for privacy's sake as Lux bowed her head in tears and tapped his wrist to activate his comm. "Copy, Corporal, stand by. We've got something of a ... delicate situation."

 

With a sigh, he pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose to ward off an encroaching headache as he turned to rejoin the women just in time to hear Lux answer Master Organa's question. But his disquiet only deepened at her allegation.

 

"Did you file a report?" he interrupted suddenly, narrowing his eyes in concern. "Dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist attack is one thing. But a murderer on the loose is another. What was this 'shadow'?"

[Skye Organa]

Skye watched carefully as Lux realised what being Force Sensitive might mean. She listened as the young woman told them about what had happened to her friend.

 

“I did encounter something… Similar. It was a shadow that came out of nowhere and stole my friend from me. I tried to stop it, but it disappeared before I could save her; before I could save Lucinda. Emergency medical staff and CoreSec officers were too preoccupied with the relief efforts for those still recovering from the Trinity Tower destruction, that we were relatively ignored. I wasn’t mad at them. But I wasn’t going to stick around and help either. I regretted that callousness later. But I was in mourning.”

 

"Did you file a report?" Tenebris interrupted before Skye could say anything. "Dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist attack is one thing. But a murderer on the loose is another. What was this 'shadow'?"

 

"Your friend... was she killed or taken?" Skye asked. "Sith Assassins use the shadows, although there are others that do that as well."

[Lux]

Lux bit back a small surge of bitter tears that fought to the corners of her eyes. The relief of emotional control, followed by the resuscitation of a tragic and recent memory, made it far more difficult to continue denying the pain that she felt over the past two weeks. But her hard-won discipline did not falter easily. She took a deep breath, wiped away the drying liquid that remained on the surface of her face, and turned to look at Tenebris.

 

"No Major, I did not file a report. I admit, it was foolish." Lux recounted, a brief regret, tickling the clefts of her cheekbones. "But later, when I had the clarity of mind to think straight, I presumed that the authorities would think I was crazy. I mean, If I came up to you, and told you that a shadow snapped my girlfriend's neck, would you have believed me?"

 

Her eyes were still a little puffy, but her expression regained its solidity. Her composure seemed tenuous, but the shadow of grief had faded from her glowing, luminescent eyes.

 

"As to your question, Master Organa," Lux said, hesitating for a moment, trying to recall what the shadow looked like. "The shadow was in the shape of a Twi’lek. It had merciless red eyes that glowed in the darkness. And she killed my friend, leaving her body behind."

 

A pang of guilt smacked her in the gut, threatening to renew her teary struggle. She too had left her friend's body behind. It was selfish and crude; not to mention, quite disrespectful. But she wasn't sure that she wouldn't be accused of the act. That, and the grief she felt was a bit overwhelming at the time. She needed space to let everything out.

 

Lux looked to the clearing nearby and found a small stump. It seemed innocent. It rest relatively alone with little to its purpose. And yet, something about it seemed off. So, wanting to avoid another potential trap, Lux decided to sit beside the stump instead. She took a couple steps away and eased herself to the ground. The wet grass was cold on her pants. The crushing verdant blades dug small fissures of icy cold barbs into her backside and she cringed a little when she thought of the stains it would cause.

 

"In the meantime," Lux stated, looking directly at Tenebris. "I will wait wherever you need me to wait until the job is done. I have done what I can. You might want to wait another few minutes before the paperwork hits, but you should be okay after that."

 

The chill of the ground sent another twitch throughout her body before she settled and awaited instruction.

[Lusef Aryan]

...my will is your will, my hands are your hands. Only though your hands though shall my will be done. Act! Act and let it be done....

 

Gavo Malako, longtime human resident of Coronet City heard the voices in his head, urging him on.

 

It was the same voice, every night, every day, waking or sleeping.

 

Gavo stepped behind the controls of his simple transport pod. Built for getting him around the city and hauling cargo, it was nothing special, but he used it for logistics and shipping. He turned it on and started driving. His hands sound a music player. He'd found a taste for something new, opera. He cranked it up and smile, a blissful, dreamy smiled.

 

Do my will with your hands! Do it. Show them, Gavo. Show them what they all need to see....

 

He didn't quite know where he was going, he just let the voice take over. He'd lost the will to fight it. It had been innocent enough. Years ago, he was a trucker and logistics officer for a local Coronet City shipping company. He had a cybernetic implant unit placed into his head, running a hitched fleet of transport pods, driving especially important cargo himself. For many years, there were never any problems.

 

Kill them! Kill them all in my name!

 

It started with a routine piece of maintenance on his unit, something akin to a downloaded piece of a firmware updated. It was configured to provide an upgrade, streamline his systems. He felt dizzy afterwards, but everything was normal. Then the dreams started. The voice came. He didn't recognize the voice in his head as he slept. He felt it going through his mind. Waking, he dismissed it as a flight of fancy. Then it appeared when he was awake. He grew scared, but the voice reassured him. It showed him things. It made him listen. He kept it secret. He listened. He obeyed. Life was good. Pleasurable. Just listen to the voice.

 

KILL THEM!!! MAKE THEM ALL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO ME!!! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE ON THIS WRETCHED GALAXY!!!

 

For friends and family life was normal for Gavo. No one suspected a thing. He initially tried telling others, but he couldn't. He literally couldn't. His cybernetic unit stopped his mouth from opening, his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth. He couldn't write it. It knew. It knew when he tried and punished him. Pain, headaches, blurred vision. He tried ripping out his cybernetics unit, but the pain became too much, even as his cybernetically figured nerves had him otherwise smile, talking as if everything was normal, or working. He gave in. Slowly, he listened, and let the voice's will become his own.

 

START WITH THOSE TWO! YES! THEM! GOOD! GOOD! NOW! SPREAD MY MESSAGE! GIVE TO ALL OF CORONET! NOW! TO THE OTHERS!!!

 

He stared down at his bloodied hands. Family. An easy two targets. Their bodies would be discovered after he sent his message, and the message their blood left would send a loud and clear signal for those who would listen, those would could understand the beauty of the Master's vision. He closed his eyes and let the pod approach CoreSec's Coronet City headquarters at top speed. He aimed right at the main entrance of the building, knowing he'd likely encounter a security checkpoint or two that could limit the impact of his run. He wouldn't survive, but all paled before his Master's glory. The trailer part of his transport pod was full of volatile fuel cells. Nothing so great or grand as baradium. Now there was a great material to work with! Such a pity his own feeble hands could never get his hands on something so potent.

 

His approach is made and a simple transmission comes out, spread on an all frequencies broadcast. It's in Gavo's voice, his inflections, but the words come from another darker source, one that infected his mind.

 

"FOR LORD LUCIFERIAN! FOR LORD FAUST! HIS REVENGE IS UPON US!!!"

[Skye Organa]

"As to your question, Master Organa," Lux said, "The shadow was in the shape of a Twi’lek. It had merciless red eyes that glowed in the darkness. And she killed my friend, leaving her body behind."

 

"I'm sorry Lux. There's nothing you could have done to prevent an attack like that. A Sith will use fear as a weapon." She watched as Lux sat down by a stump. Getting very uneasy about something, Skye began to search the area with both her eyes and through the Force. Something was not right and she couldn't pinpoint where the feeling was coming from. Her hand automatically went back to the hilt of her saber as the Jedi turned around. The commlink in her pocket pinged and I-Nine's voice same over as she activated it. "Master! I thought you would want to know. This was just broadcasted out from Coronet City." An unfamiliar voice took over though his words had the blood drain from Skye's face, "FOR LORD LUCIFERIAN! FOR LORD FAUST! HIS REVENGE IS UPON US!!!"

 

"No..." Her eyes went straight to Tenebris, "Was there any proof that Faust was killed at the Memorial? Could this be a fanatic?" Please just be a fanatic

[Tenebris]

Tenebris crossed the short distance across the grassy lawn to where Lux had sat in a dejected heap, fighting to keep tears away as she recounted her tale of losses. Tucking his vibroblades back into their sheaths on his shoulders, he crouched in front of her, tipping his head down to try to meet her gaze.

 

"Listen," he began softly, "I'm sorry about your friend. I imagine you want justice for her. I would, in your shoes."

 

Rubbing a hand across his brow, he exhaled a moment, staring at her, weighing his words carefully. "Look, if Master Organa thinks you can handle yourself in there, and you think you can handle yourself in there, I'm willing to let you come along and have your go at vengeance. Provided," he said, holding up a hand, "that you find yourself capable of submitting to commands. Otherwise you're welcome to wait on the ship."

 

He stood, preparing to turn back toward Master Organa and the Relmis estate, when his in-ear comm crackled to life with a hiss of feedback that caused Tenebris to yank it out of his ear, replacing it only to catch the tail end of the broadcast. "...for Lord Faust! His revenge is upon us!"

 

Swearing loudly, Tenebris activated the comm to his team. "Status, I want someone scouring the local broadcast. Contact the CoreSec office and see if they can find out where that unauthorized hack came from."

 

He knew better than to get worked up about a prank like that. Most likely it was some rich kid in his mom's basement, or maybe it had come from within the estate. But in any case, he intended to get to the bottom of it.

 

It was the note of concern that he spied in Master Organa's eyes as she directed her next question to him that gave Tenebris pause. He replied with more surety than he felt, "Master, you of all people should know better than I what happened at the Coruscant Memorial. It's probably just a poorly conceived prank. I'm sure it will still get a full investigation. Inciting a panic is no small offense."

 

He turned back to the estate, faced with the decision about whether to carry on with the raid on the estate or to interface with the Coronet City office and divert their resources. A split second later, however, the choice was made for him.

 

"Major," came Corporal Antilles' voice again, more harrowed than Tenebris had ever heard him, "we can't raise Coronet HQ. Word on the street is there's been an incident."

 

Somber eyes met Skye Organa's. "Back to the speeders," he said, broadcasting to the team. "We're going back to Coronet City."

 

Grabbing Lux's hand and pulling her to her feet, he broke into a dead sprint toward the speeders, and before long they were racing across the water towards Coronet. What had happened?

[Lusef Aryan]

Gavo laughed maniacally as the pod broke through the last barrier around CoreSec's headquarters in Coronet. He bailed out at just the last moment, breaking into a roll that left him abraised and bruised. the speed of his landing taking an arm off. In a fit of dark irony, it was his left arm that came off, torn at the shoulder. He pulled himself up as he heard the crash of bending durasteel and permacrete as the pod ran into the main entrance, drowning out a chorus of screams. He stumbled away, a distant, fervent look in his eyes. A short moment later, his eardrums gave out as the fuel cells exploded in the trailer of his pod, sending out a ball of fire meters in all directions. The screams behind him rose in pitch then trailed away into a wail of pain, then silence, replaced only by crackling flames. The sound of more durasteel and permacrete breaking could be heard as parts of the building collapsed, leaving a high trailing plume of smoke.

 

Emerging from the flames, bleeding, missing an arm, and with his remaining hair charred off, he stared down the CoreSec officers, Corellian guardsmen, and other onlookers who rushed to the scene. His nerves were screaming out in pain, but none of it reached his conscious mind given the corruption to his systems. He fingered a cylinder in his right hand, index finger sliding up and down it, his eyes closing.

 

NOW! BECOME MY HANDS! SHOW THEM! SHOW THEM MY FURY!

 

Luciferian's puppet broke into laughter and the cylinder raised itself up, shining a blue light, an audible hum following a snap-hiss. Gavo's eyes took in the fear and panic as the guards backed away in alarm. Under Luciferian's guidance, he moved after them. A series of blaster bolts erupted from guardsmen, only to get moved back with a practiced, measured speed that was not the native Corellian's own, his very stance changing into that of one who'd fought with such a weapon before. One bolt flew back to its owner, striking him in the chest, felling him. Another hit an onlooker. More burnt flesh filled the air, followed by an ever greater carrion stench of singed cloth, hair, scales, and skin as he charged into the crowd that had gathered around the collision. Bodies dropped and limbs flew into the air.

 

Laughing and crying at the same time, Gavo could only obey as the voice took over, guiding his movements with a near flawless precision, forcing his wounded, broken body to move in ways it shouldn't. Bones cracked and muscles tore as the lightsaber he was given whistled into action. He channeled his Master's fighting style through him, but even still, he was not Faust. Broken as he was, his body gave out, and finally a blaster bolt took him from behind, vaporizing his head and the cybernetics unit on it. Headless and smoking, his corpse fell to the ground. His last thoughts, wholly his own were of utter relief, glad to be free, feeling the puppet strings that bound him snap.

 

*****

The lightsaber was crude, the type wielded by Faust's acolytes in the lead up to their demise at Ground Zero, Zero, Zero, but the fighting style that was so unnatural on the Corellian, even as it broke his body, almost perfectly mirrored archived footage of Faust in combat. There were limits though, given the native Corellian's wounds and how spent his body was, but otherwise, few could deny that Gavo was channeling Faust in that frenzied suicide run.

 

At the late Corellian's home, two bodies were found, their demise marked by a savage, inhuman cruelty. It perfectly mirrored the execution of a bountyhead on Nar Shadda that Faust ran shortly after his allegiance to the Sith.

 

There was little subtlety in his actions, broadcast in bright red words painted with Gavo's hands, but in a writing style that once more matched the Sith Lord's.

 

The end will come again as have I. Let Morthos or some other Dark power complete my work. Follow the steps of Vaklu to his master and then to me.

[Lux]

Lux nodded softly. It was a little weird to see the Major respond to her feelings like that -- Echani didn’t make a habit of making peace with Thyrsians, crying or not. Her virulent temper was gone and her emotional turmoil had subsided for the moment. But he still saw her pain; the puffiness in her cheeks, the streaks of sorrow that wrote melancholic limericks on the frame of her jawline. The subtle tilt of her head that said a thousand words from one idle gesture. Even when the feelings were pushed from her sleeve, he still saw the pain in her eyes. His sympathy was surprising – pleasantly so. A small warm feeling rose in her chest. Watching his concession unfold, she swore she could see som…

 

And then something felt terribly wrong.

 

Lux felt a spike of something awful from far away. Involuntarily, the Thyrsian swung her head toward Coronet city, just as a plume of smoke rose from the urban horizon. When she really focused on it, a sharp pain shot straight through the center of her forehead. Her eyes seared with fire and her head pulsed with a deep throbbing ache. She probed her scalp with her fingers and bowed her head toward the cold grass. When she resurfaced and her eyes cleared, everything looked different. The grass, the flowers, the skyscrapers; everything had a bright purple tinge to it. Lux was just about to say something about her observation when she felt her arm propel her from the ground.

 

Tenebris’ grip was impressive. Lux had no idea what was going on. Her expression fought between something of a dumfounded resignation and a determined curiosity. When they reached the speeders, she could formulate some answers in her mind, but the whole world started to coruscate in a whirlwind of rainbows. Her mind fought to concentrate and did what it could to block the rainbows out. She placed goggles on her face to mitigate the agitation and they worked for a little while, but they weren’t a catch-all. Rainbows danced on the other end of her lenses and she could still see them through the brown lenses that she wore. Still, she could see straight ahead, and that was enough.

 

Lux kicked the repulsor engine into high gear and took off, keeping pace with the others. It would do no good to show off in front of the Major. Especially when she was suffering from a mysterious ailment.

[Skye Organa]

"Master, you of all people should know better than I what happened at the Coruscant Memorial. It's probably just a poorly conceived prank. I'm sure it will still get a full investigation. Inciting a panic is no small offense."

 

The spike through the Force made the Jedi Master gasp for breath. When she could speak she answered with “It’s no prank… I can assure you of that.” No sooner had she said it than a great plume of smoke erupted in the direction of Coronet City.

 

"Major," came Corporal Antilles' voice again, more harrowed than Tenebris had ever heard him, "we can't raise Coronet HQ. Word on the street is there's been an incident." Somber eyes met Skye Organa's. "Back to the speeders," he said, broadcasting to the team. "We're going back to Coronet City."

 

It didn’t take long for them all to get to the speeders and for the squad to head back to Coronet City. As they went she pulled alongside Tenebris, “Can you get clearance for my ship to land near Coresec HQ?” Receiving permission to do so, Skye keyed her comm, “I-Nine, do you copy?” “Yes Master” came the answer. “If it’s safe for you to do so, I want you to bring Serenity as close to CoreSec HQ as possible. I also need you and Flitter to prep the medbay and ward. I’ll meet you there.” “Yes Master. We’ll have everything ready for you.” I-Nine answered. With what she’d felt through the Force and knowing the casualties would be high, Skye prepared herself mentally for what was ahead of them.

[JJK]

"Do you mind if I show you?" Jedi Givrah's expression and body language were calm and reassuring as he asked the question, yet the first emotion that flashed through Joelle was wariness. Hadn't she already seen enough mental pictures this morning?

 

Oh, don't be ridiculous! she mentally chided herself. This is different! It's controlled; you know it's coming, and you understand why. These thoughts were processed in an instant before she inclined her head in agreement. After the Jedi Knight checked to make sure she truly was alright with the idea, a peaceful image popped into her head, which she could sense was coming from him.

 

For the second time that morning, Joelle did a slight double-take. She knew that meadow!

 

Her parents' "learn through experience" philosophy wasn't limited to galaxy-wide history; they wanted their children to learn about their home planet as well. Because of that, the family spent much of their free time on Corellia visiting local museums, attending cultural events, or hiking. The elder K'smets also encouraged her and her younger siblings to spend as much time as possible exploring the natural world outside of Coronet independently.

 

She had discovered the area Jedi Givrah was showing her one particularly hot morning early in the summer she was twelve. On that day, the brook cutting through the clearing had been the most attractive portion. She had run back home to find her brother and sister and the three of them spent several hours that afternoon wading, splashing, and playing in the cool water. As it happened, the heat of that day was just the beginning. It turned out to be one of the hottest summers of Joelle's life, so the K'smet children returned frequently to the brook. Some days they stayed in one place, while on others they would walk up and down through the water or explore the reaches of the clearing. It was again Joelle who had found the glen on the border of the forest.

 

In the following years, the little meadow had become her sanctuary. Set apart from the rest of the clearing by a spur of the forest that nearly encircled the open grass, it was even more peaceful. Additionally, Joelle had been delighted to learn one of the trees at the border had grown in such a way to form a perfect seat! Throughout her teens, she had spent countless hours there reading, writing, or simply appreciating the beauty and peacefulness. Some summer days, she had left in the morning with a bag holding a cushion, blanket, food, a water purifying bottle, and her datapad and not returned home until dusk. Now, though, she hadn't even visited the clearing or meadow in years. It had been long enough, in fact, that she'd almost forgotten about both. However, the vision Jedi Givrah shared brought all those old memories back and looked too much like her old sanctuary not to be the same place!

 

Almost too quickly, the image was gone and the Jedi was bidding her farewell. "Please meet me there. I will be there at the indicated time to guide you if you need it." Joelle returned his bow, too surprised by the recent events to form a response, then turned toward her family's home.