Trulalis

[Kartaris Utharin]

Ku looked down at the rock at his feet with a blank stare. He continued to stare at the small rock as his mind went over the task. So he had to lift this rock with this power called the force. Ku tilted his head taking his view away from rock as he searched his memories for something that would instill a powerful emotion in him. Moving his view back down at rock his view was of a glare at the simple piece of stone.

 

His mind raced with memories of the one who killed him who was only a shadowy figure in his memory. He took the memory's near death being broken a part of dying and getting cloned but it filled him with such anger. How was he supposed to get revenge on the person if he had no clue who they were. Ku gritted his teeth as his angry glare turned into a glare of hatred at the roc. He only vaguely acknowledged what was going on around him as his mind focused on the rock by his feet and shut out distractions. A fists clenched as his body filled with greater anger and rage. Why won't that damn rock move he was focusing on the damn thing. Maybe if he threatened the rock, no a rock wouldn't move if he yelled at it, it wasn't a living thing. The rules for task said no physical moving and he clenched his fists tighter. Ku poured his rage and anger into fueling his focus on the rock further.

 

The rock moved just about a tenth of a millimeter to the left then right for a moment then nothing more happened . Grinding his teeth together Ku grew more anger and rage now more so because rock wouldn't move. He then noticed out of corner of his eye as another moved some rocks. He took a deep breath to calm himself enough so that he could think of what to do. There was obviously something he wasn't doing right. Ku thought to what sith had said and the word control stuck out in his mind. He needed to control his emotions and not let them control him. Focusing on memory of the one who had killed him once more he used the anger and rage that came with the memory to best of his ability though it still controlled him more then he controlled it. The rock moved about a millimeter into air this time but that quickly fell back down. Gritting his teeth once more Ku couldn't take it anymore and punched the ground angrily. The damn rock wouldn't move for him. Staring at the rock as he takes a deep breath before he focus's once more. A vein popped up visible in his forehead as he focused on the rock and did best to keep anger from controlling him. The rock rocked a little on ground then floated a few inches into the air. The strain was visible in his eyes and fact veins popped out on his neck. He fell to his knees mentally exhausted from the task. Taking a deep breath he didn't avert gaze from rock now lying on the ground. Ku placed a hand on the ground and got to his feet. Placing a hand on his pounding head he still stared at the rock.

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir slowly approached the group as not to call a large amount of attention to himself. There was an odd buzzing in the air; a strange presence that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. Apparently Julio had been speaking truthfully, this was indeed a place of force users; that much was obvious when a hutt and croke went flying through the air only to hit the ground with an odd combination of a thud and squish, the kind of noise one would imagine a sizable globule of mucus to make upon impact with a stone wall.

 

"If you want to survive here, then listen well. No one here cares about you. Everyone will seek to use you like a tool, with little more concern for you than the usefulness they assign to you. You must distinguish yourself in any way you can. Every opportunity. Backstab, steal, cheat, do anything you can, and use your head about it. If you came here thinking you were going to learn something, you were only half right. Learning is the goal, but suffering is the medium. And you will suffer."

 

Ah, he had arrived just in time for the ”˜welcome to Hell' speech. Hopefully he wouldn't miss the subsequent berating. Vaegir's lips strained to hold back his smirk, clearly amused by his own wandering thoughts. He was brought out of his private musings as a small pebble bumped into his shin as though of its own accord. Slowly, violet eyes pivoted upwards, looking upon the young man at what appeared to be the epicenter of the pebble party.

 

”œNot that I want to interrupt this fine display of”¦ rock floating, but I know I speak for myself at least when I say I have never felt the force”¦ knowledgeably. How does one attune their mind or body to the force? Is it through prolonged meditation or is it something that simply comes with time?”

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu's attention was pushed to its limits as the Sith Lord regaled his insipid sum up of Sith philosophy, and as if her ears were drenched in a cavernous augmentation, she could hear a perpetual echo of the man's words lingering in her skull indefinitely...

 

If you want to survive here”¦ here”¦

 

I've survived so far on my own, what makes this place any different?

 

No one cares about you”¦

 

I know”¦ Why should I care that no one cares?

 

Use you like a tool”¦

 

I have been used”¦

 

Distinguish yourself”¦

 

For whom? From whom?

 

Backstab, steal, cheat”¦

 

This does nothing; these are nothing but games.

 

Use your head”¦

 

My head is a dangerous place...

 

Going to learn something,

 

What do I need to learn?

 

Suffering is the medium.

 

Really?

 

You will suffer”¦

 

I suffer now”¦

 

With the final words of Sith-like wisdom uttered, the Twi'lek's innocent countenance re-emerged, followed by a trembling need to move and get away from where she stood. She didn't like settling in one spot, especially when she had nothing to offer for the time she had spent and when it seemed like a waste of her time. The drivel offered sounded like it was nothing more than a continuation of her own misery anyway; she had her own demons to contend with and these men knew nothing of them, but why should they care? They obviously knew what they wanted and where they wanted to go or, in the case of the lord, had already gotten there, but without a strong semblance of a guided consciousness, Lallu was left to linger in a blank sphere of apathetic motivational dead ends. She did stop however and observe the men as they stared at the ground, crossing their eyes in heated focus, pushing their anger to new limits and it brought a rather large smirk to her quirky black mug. She could tell their sport was best left un-interrupted, but her enjoyment was too large to contain within the simplicities of focus. She started giggling and fell over onto her back, watching one of the men try so hard to move a piece of rock that his veins popped clear out.

 

Do these men know nothing of other emotions? Is rage all that permits their foolish undulations? Not to say that I don't enjoy the show, but is there more to being a Sith than rage?

 

This statement coming from miss hate herself?

 

You know, that hurts”¦ bitch”¦ Do you still know nothing of what was said here? Apparently these Sith control abhorrent yet tempting powers of unknown limits. The notion of which is intoxicating.

 

Is that all you care about? Power, power, power”¦. Meh”¦ Oooh look, the Hutt is changing colors! Who'd think strangulation could be so entertaining.

Is that all you care about? ”˜oooh, pretty colors”¦ Oooh look someone is concentrating so hard it looks like they're taking a dump.' I'm not the only one who has problems here.

 

You wanna do something about it? I vote you go away and I live a normal life!

 

No”¦ I have something different in mind you festering piece of meat...

 

Just when all seemed bright and somewhat pleasant to Lallu as she sat admiring the rainbow of different colors Sheoq was turning under the Sith's grip, Lallu's mind sunk into a low thrall, bringing all of her peaceful thoughts that were only starting to connect with each other, into drastic, chaotic uncertainty. The vengeful spiritual personality that gripped her mind was bent on swirling her thoughts and memories into a traumatic spiral that catapulted Lallu's emotions one by one into a forceful and inevitable impression that bore itself further into the Twi'lek's being until Lallu's mind was nothing, but a blur of heated emotions and irrational thoughts.

 

Little of this malediction seemed outspoken however, for the few seconds that Sheoq and the Croke were let down. On the outside of her mind's raging inferno, it seemed like the giggling Twi'lek had been silenced, gotten up and was walking around with a headache which was made clear by her hands massaging her temples, but as soon as her mind was discombobulated and emotions began to rein supreme, particles of earth and rocks alike began to flow chaotically in the air with no particular concrete indication. She hadn't the slightest inclination of the power she'd unlocked and her other self was too busy holding the branding stick to notice the immense power wrought by such powerful emotional expression. It was just a simple sub-conscious submission to the mysterious powers that be as they lingered throughout the area, but her siphon rapidly built to a monumental tsunami; her mind was not in control of itself.

 

Lallu's eyes were a fierce glowing red, her feet were somehow latched to the ground yet could move where they wished regardless of direction and the remainder of her body vented all the expression she wanted to vent. Her expressions rapidly changed to pull out each and everything felt under her massive duress. Her own head began to pound, raising her blood vessels to their cap, pushing their visibility on her head and drawing a mass of pain in Lallu that resonated with a strong familiarity. Seeing the faces of all of her hateful instigators, of all of her despicable antagonists pushed her magma consciousness until it erupted in a loud shriek that cut through the air like a lightsabre through paper.

 

The energy pouring in to her was too much; her vengeful personality seemed more like a demon now than an actual humanoid representation of her and Lallu's face lashed out in a forceful tantrum composed of tears and rage. Her sorrow fed the rocks while her rage and passion punctuated their movements threshing about in an inordinate pattern at Samuel, the Hutt, the Croke”¦ Everyone in the proximity of the Twi'lek was in danger as her crazy imposed mood swings started to make the ground beneath her feet rumble.

 

There wasn't nearly enough power in her or her actions to bring the planet structurally to its knees, but Lallu's words, as frantic as they were, pushed the ground beneath her further down until a large crater stood beneath her and her fury was brought to its apex. Her black face welled into a sour red expression and her arms burst into flame that echoed in her bright red eyes.

 

Do you understand what I have to give to you, you hapless twit. I control you as much as you do and until you learn to adapt in this half-ass worthy environment, you need to learn that I am your lord and master first and foremost”¦ Do you see things as I see them?

Lallu's innocence struggled to grasp at a foundation of life that in and of itself seemed to break away, but she tried her hardest, managing only to force a cease fire that brought her head back into its previous state. There wasn't a sense of total control but there never was. The area around the Twi'lek had decayed slightly of the energy that was once there and although her tantrum had been particularly large and scorching, the flame of her violent struggle was put out rather quickly.

 

Her arms were put out, her mind re-ordered, and the rocks and other debris dropped to the ground along with her. Silence filled the area of where screams of anguish had penetrated the air. Now the only sounds that ticked the audible environment were the sounds of groaning and whips as slaves continued their work.

 

Lallu lay on the ground in shock and without consciousness. Darkness consumed her eyes, but her mind and body were still fairly intact. Her clothes were tattered, her skin bleeding and her arms smoking, but the Twi'lek slept breathlessly in a strong loss of consciousness.

[Tobias Vos]

Tobias had enough of these antics. He had to find Torin. It was just something he felt. He looked at these other trainee's and he was discussed. There was one that maybe worth his time later on but that Twi-lek would have to wait. He had to follow his own path for the moment. He had to find Torin.

 

Tobias looked around and no one was paying attention to him. He slinked away from the group into a large patch of ferns, someone might notice he left, but wouldn't care. He made his way back down the the base camp. He looked for a way off this world.

[Sheog the Mad]

As he glanced from hopeful to hopeful, his gaze was pulled to a twi'lek, sitting on the ground, giggling. Perhaps at him, perhaps not. These hopefuls were an interesting lot, an odd band, and stranger still than his father's court. They all represented different parts of society, or so he expected. He really didn't know who they were, but he expected this was perhaps not the best time for introductions. The Twi'lek girl was doing something peculiar, standing now, filled with rage. Sheog quickly averted his gaze, not wishing to dishonor her with his stare. Hutt's were not well... liked by Twi'leks, especially the female ones.

 

His madness grew slightly as distraction and boredom took its talonous hold. He became aware that most of the other hopefuls were trying their best to harness the force. Some did well, others not. He glanced back to the master, and then back to the crowd. Peer pressure took its course and Sheog began to focus on the uncomfortable, dark pebble that was the force. It was more of a small jellycake than a pebble, covered in the dark stim-frosting that was the dark side of the force. As he focused deeper on the jellycake, he felt a sudden burst of energy coursing through his very veins. He felt faster and more or less clear of mind. He felt the energy come to a crescendo, culminating in a very high intensity... Belch.... Worthy of the finest Hutt princeling.

 

Sheog kept his eyes closed, very pleased with himself. THAT was the force! It had tasted like food and drink at its finest, prepared by the most worthy of chefs. In his mind, the force had taken a physical form, one that a Hutt could understand. Food, of the most delicious type. It had shown itself like the threadless heartbeat of a greater power. He had just barely taken his first bite of a great unending feast. This was enjoyable. He focused once more upon the force, hoping to produce something far greater for the pleasure of the Sith Lord before him... This time, the force was much harder to grasp. When Sheog extended his internal hand, the jellycake leapt farther from his grasp. It changed forms to another type of food; a bowl of wriggling delicacies; black sac-worm, nearly hunted to extinction decades before, now so rare that a Hutt cartel would pay thousands of credits to get their hands on a bowl full of them. While he looked in awe upon the bowl of the force, he was ripped out of his concentration by a physical disturbance.

 

Sheog's eyes opened and he found himself being showered and pelted by flying earth and rock. Rocks pelted his hide, as he tried desperately to find the source of the earthen shower. He delved quickly into the force as the small rocks and dust hit against him. Though unclear, the force, now taking the form of a nerf steak pointed his desire in the direction of the Twi'lek girl. Just as he made this discovery, the rock storm ended, leaving him with no injury other than a bruise on his lower tail. He looked angrily towards were the Twi'lek had last been, but he only saw a large crater. Ignoring the group of hopefuls and letting his curiosity lead him on; he squirmed to the edge of the crater and leaned forward to get a look over the edge. As he leaned, he felt the newly formed crater's edge give way and he began to fall forward. Without any training in the force, Sheog had no way to stop his fall or cushion his landing. His tail flailed to grasp on to a root or anything, but to no avail.

 

He landed on the soft and rock studded ground and started to roll. He saw the Twi'lek's body swiftly approaching, and he dug himself into the ground, coming to a grinding halt only inches from the fallen girl covering her in a fine coating of dust to add to the burn marks upon her skin. Sheog glanced about and grabbed his side-bag from a small niche in the ground nearby and turned back to the Twi'lek, his previously angered expression fading to a sad, tired smile, not all befitting to the Hutt. He leaned down towards the Twi'lek and examined her. Her skin was black of color, and her limbs were adorned with scars and red thorn tattoos. He reached into his bag and held before the Twi'lek's nose a small putrid vial emblazoned with ”œRANCOR BRAND® SMELLING SALTS, WAKES MOST SENTIENTS!!”

[Torin]

[ENCRYPTED COMM: TOBIAS VOS]

 

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

[Tobias Vos]

A message screamed through Tobias's ears, although no one spoke to him. He looked around. No one, then he realized it was his master talking to him.

 

[ENCRYPTED COMM: TOBIAS VOS]

 

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

 

His feeling had been right! He looked back at the other apprentices. And that Fat Slob. Tobias remember, for a split second being whipped by the Master's slave Twi'lek. He looked at the pitiful sight.

 

Someday. These shuta's will bow at my feet. Beg for his mercy. This is not how the Sith should be. He Thought.

 

Tobias ran through the forest, towards camp. He felt the life flow through him, he felt the hate for this world burn in his soul. Sweat started to drip down from his brow. He sprinted down the hill faster than his feet could take him, he tripped and fell. Rolling down the hill at an unbelievable pace he took it all in and stuck his hidden knife into the ground,slowly he stopped but not before he sliced his arm open.

 

He stood, clearly dizzy. He leaned onto a Aesculus Glabra, and held his hand onto his wound. Tobias's hate burned the skin shut, he wiped his blood onto the tree, and continued down the hill, still just as fast. He quickly made it down to the camp. Slaves were now constructing the building. Tobias observed the camp, there was a tiny shuttle. It was on the opposite side of the camp. He would wait till dark to take it.

 

Then he noticed the guards, not many were around. He changed his plan. To heck with this he thought. He calmly walked down the hill.

 

In the camp, he noticed the grass was already dying and forming a path.

 

"OIE YOU!" Someone said. Tobias turned, his dreadlocks flying around.

 

"Yeas?" Tobias questioned.

 

"What are you doing here?! Get back to work." A guard had caught him.

 

Tobias looked down for a second. Then looked up. His eye color had changed. He spoke coldly yet softly to the man. "I am under personal orders from Lord Furion himself to bring something back to the hill. If you interrupt my task, I can solumly guarantee that you will wish for a thousand deaths compared to the pain he shall put you through if you delay my return."

 

The man looked into his eyes, noticing the change. His expression changed. The man was scarred. Frightened, and if that new stench was emanating from him, and not the slave pit, Tobias noted he had just urinated. "Be about your business, Master Sith."

 

"As you were, Guard." Tobias let him live, just for the sole fact, that he knew that guard would not live much longer for his error.

 

He made it all the way into the shuttle, without another incident. He sat down in the pilots chair and orientated himself with the controls. Tobias pressed a few buttons and the ship powered up. Guards took notice of this, obviously know he had not been granted permission to leave.No one was allowed to leave. The ran up onto the ship, Tobias pressed the little green button to close the boarding ramp, but he was too late. Two guards had made it on board.

 

"Your not supposed to leave, WHELP!" One screamed.

 

Tobias jumped up from the pilots chair and walked out the doorway to face the guards, three meters down the way. He rushed and the guards pulled their blades. Tobias dodged one to, strafing to the left, countering with his right fist he broke the nose of the guard. Blood spurted out of his face and mouth. The other guard saw the brute strength of this attack and took his differently.

 

He raised his sword high and waited for Tobias to make the first move. Tobias backed up and spun around. He took two steps towards the guard and screamed out. The guard's ears started to bleed.Tobias's eyes were pure purple now. This worm would not separate him from his master. The guard winced in pain and Tobias took this opportunity. He lunged and pressed his hidden blade, now open, into the man's eye socket.

 

He died instantly. His partner was still breathing however, and was holding his face in pain.

 

"Let me help you." Tobias said. Then brought his boot heel into the mans skull three times. Silencing him, forever.

 

With that task done, he resumed his position in the pilots chair. The guards had started some sort of gravity field generator, but they were too slow and Tobias inched his way into the sky, into freedom from this planet.

 

His last gift to these Sith, he opened the boarding door and the two bodies fell out, hundreds of meters up in the air. Tobias smirked and quickly jumped into hyperspace, but not to his primary destination.

[Kartaris Utharin]

Ku took a deep breath then slowly got back up onto his feet. He blinked noticing all the rocks in the air and stared for a moment. His mind couldn't grasp who or what had made crater as he glanced back down at his rock. He blinked noticing other rocks fall to ground watching them for a moment and catching the hutt go into crater out of corner of his eye.

 

His eyes went wide at sight of all the little stones when he went to go back to looking at rock. No this can't be he doesn't see the stone he was attempting to lift earlier for the task. Dropping down to his knees Ku began to toss rocks away behind himself. Focus going into finding the stone for he must complete the task. Standing up he clenched his fists full of so much anger. This would not do he must find his rock for the task. The anger flowed like the blood coursing through is veins when something caught his site out of corner of his eye. His anger calmed greatly as he oriented himself so he was looking down at his rock. His mind ran over the task at hand once again. He crouched down looking at rock more closely and pondered over what went wrong before. He stood fully as the idea to get even more angry then before so he could try and overcome his pathetic control with more emotion. The first memory that came to mind was of losing the rock.

 

Anger filled him once more like the blood coursing through his veins. How dare all those rocks fall and hide his rock. Those other rocks must have been trying to make him fail at the task. Pouring his focus into controlling as much of his anger as he could he stared at the rock. The rock wobbled then slowly began to float into the air a few inches. Veins popped on his neck and forehead as the strain from Ku was apparent. The rock barely managed to get three feet into air before plummeting down. His body was exhausted from the task and he fell to his knees as rock fell. But he had did it he had moved that rock. He laughed feeling that he had completed task. He then took full notice of some of things he had noticed and what had been happening around him. Pushing to his feet he hoped that his ignoring mostly what was going around him had gone unnoticed.

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu's consciousness was heated and fading slowly from existence. Her tantrum was extinguished, but flashbacks still plagued the remnant shadowy crevices of her mind's bellows. Her fingers, randomly dug into the dirt as the Twi'lek was inadvertently pushed to feel each and every force that had been exerted over her. The feelings weren't as magnified because of her odd state, but the searing pain produced from her burn wounds as they rubbed into the foul sediment only fueled her gyrations further.

 

It wasn't until the Hutt arrived with smelling salts though, that the Twi'lekk substantially stirred. Her comatose figure registered the Hutt on a minimal level and although the being showed an ironic concern for a female Twi'lek he had just met, it was a grateful gesture for him to revive the Twi'lek from her merciless slumber. A small annoying sound played in the back of Lallu's mind as the Hutt's presence was loosely imposed upon her thinly veiled eyesight, but as her eyes gripped their first chance at sunlight in only a handful of minutes, her eyesight was poorly veiled with a thin layer of hallucination.

 

She looked from right to left and nothing seemed to settle; all the images she could see were hanging loosely, blurred by repeated doppelgangers of each image as the scenery of Trulalis swooshed around the forefront of her desperate pleas at regaining some form of positional comfort. Her attempts at trying to see, were marred by particles of sediment still clinging at her lids, as if to break her of her quiet progress, but her body had made hasty strides to remove itself from its dirty prison. Her body rocked haphazardly as she did it, but her body was up and trying to move nonetheless.

 

The sensation of her feet moving on the ground was welcome, but as her vision scaled the expanse of blur down one more notch, she noticed a gleaming white knight where she lay not two seconds ago. The Twi'lek was briefly frightened at the suddenness of her savior's appearance, but as time wore on she went over to the knight and kissed him openly on the cheek. It was a small gesture for his kindness and Lallu closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the kiss of what seemed to be a handsome stranger. However... The slimy sweat from the Hutt's skin, portraying the exertion he endured trying to leave the crater, permeated her artificial reality and not only swung her eyes straight open, but her reality snapped back into clarity with a shocking quickness.

 

Lallu's eyes went wide with terror and before the Hutt could respond, Lallu shrieked loudly and jumped the amount of distance it took to get out of the crater, clearing a bit of distance from her and the Hutt, ignoring the stinging affluence of her burned limbs. He seemed a kind, albeit quirky, Hutt for what he'd done, but the shock of her sudden revelation carried her far away from her savior regardless.

 

The Hutt's politely disturbing oration hadn't even registered to Lallu, before her flying steps took her about a kilometer away in panicked flight, fueled ironically by her fear.

[Sheog the Mad]

To say that Sheog was surprised when the Twi'lek kissed him would be an understatement. He was shocked beyond belief. He blushed (as best a Hutt could) but his stuttering response was cut off by her ear-piercing shriek of horror and fear. Naturally, she thought it was horrid to kiss a Hutt. Sheog's eyes narrowed in sadness, then widened as the Twi'lek made a spectacular leap from the depths of the crater to the top, casting his gilded canteen into the mud and gravel at the base of the pit and she began to run. Her screams and whimpers faded as she moved further and further out of earshot. Sheog's eyes grew wider as he put one of his meaty hands to his cheek. That had been his first kiss. How natural it had ended the way it did. Nobody liked Hutts. That was an unfortunate response to her discovery. For a brilliant moment, the kiss had driven the madness from even the darkest depths of his unfortunate mind. He had seen the world as clear for the first time since he had been a Huttlet. The world darkened once more as the Twi'lek's screams faded finally away. He certainly hadn't meant to scare her. That had never been his intention.

 

Sheog let out a long, blubbering sigh and glanced around the crater. It continued to crumble as he watched. Quite peculiar. He pushed himself through the mud and gravel and retrieved his canteen. It was not broken, and bore no scuff marks for the considerable distance it had been thrown. He replaced it in his side bag and quickly packed up his med-kit. He hadn't even gotten the chance to help heal her wounds. At her rate, she'd need bacta in a jiffy. Once her adrenaline wore off, she'd be in a load of pain. Should he go after her? He rubbed his hands together and made his decision. He must go after her, she'd need help. What Sith code said he couldn't help another? Yes he was supposed to cheat and backstab, but one could get the same outcome through charity. Charity did not make one weak, reliance on anger did.

 

So many here only relied on their ”˜anger' to fuel the fire of the dark side. The Sith Lords weren't doing anything to help stop that at all. They were encouraging it. Did they not know that Anger was not the only fuel for the dark side? Were they that incompetent? Perhaps... Perhaps not... Maybe they drew their hopefuls towards weakness to fuel their own intentions. In the culture of the Hutts, they had seven codes of infamy. Each code had a contributing attribute that helped draw that Hutt down the codes path. Each of the seven was a vice, and each had its power and weakness. Anger was the easiest path, but one did not grow in power through taking what was easy. One grew on the darker and harder paths. Many of the codes coincided and were interwoven. He had never achieved true infamy, he had never pursued anything for long enough. His father Radcrass had followed the Path of Acedia. He had to choose a path soon, before he was corrupted by these weak, ”˜angry' Sith. Anger was a reprehensible temporary madness with its only visible result coming as grief. The Krath would not be like this at all. He must seek them out, after of course finding and helping this Twi'lek.

 

Sheog pushed himself up the crater's side and came to the ledge, which was crumbling. He grasped hold of the ledge and threw his tail up and over, landing him on his side, on the brink. He began to slide back down the crumbling brink much to Sheog's sadness. He spotted an exposed root from a nearby tree of a decent size. From his scabbard, he withdrew his trusty vibroknife (or what was comparable to a Hutt vibroknife, roughly the size of a short sword for the average humanoid) and switched it on. He stabbed the knife into the root up to the handle and deactivated the vibrations, leaving himself a good-sized handhold for which he could draw himself up. He grabbed hold of the knife and began to inch himself up the ledge. He heard a wooden-sounding groan and looked up in time to see the tree uproot and come flying towards him. Back over the ledge, he flew and landed with a cry as the medium sized tree landed on top of him, back at the bottom of the crater. It really wasn't an advantage to weigh a whole lot. Sheog pushed with all his might, and the tree only moved a few inches.

 

He drew his madness and dementia into his mind and focused upon the force. It was very hard to do and took a lot of concentration, but he began to make progress. He removed the anger from his mind and instead focused of his other thoughts: Greed, extravagance, lust, gluttony, sloth, and envy. His greed for credits. His countless extravagances. His lust for... who knows what. His obvious gluttony. His species natural sloth. His envy for friends. These thoughts swirled through his mind like a dark whirlwind. He drew upon its power. He shunted it to his arms and tail. In an instant, the tree was flying off of him, landing beside him in the crater which seemed to becoming more of a sinkhole. He grabbed his vibroknife and shifted to an upright position. The power was amazing! Sheog continued to draw upon it and climbed out of the crater without any more assistance. He went quickly to the path, but then the power left him, as quickly as it had come. He felt slightly drained. He sighed once more and turned back to the nearby apprentices, lords, and hopefuls.

 

<>

 

Sheog turned and scooted down the path, thankful to be alone in glorious solitude. More time to think. More time to choose a path. Not a path he was physically walking, but one of the many paths to the dark side. The trees passed by at a decent rate. He knew now how badly rooted these trees were. As badly rooted as many of these Sith. As the trees were shallow, so were the larger body of the Sith. Relying only on anger was going to get you badly palnted and easily torn up. Sheog still couldn't hear her screams, even though he'd gone about a kilometer by now. Perhaps she was around the next bend...

[Ason Antilles]

Training”¦ it brought back so many memories for that sith charged with these insects' tutelage. He recalled the slimy globules that had rained from his master's mouth after every harsh syllable. Hair shot up nearly through his sleeve as he heard the crack of his master's whip again in his head, another punishment for a task completed inefficiently. Still, the most vivid of all of his recollections was when he was ordered to kill the woman he left when he joined the academy, only to have his skull smashed for his hesitation. That trainer hated his old master in those days.

 

But now I see what he saw.

 

These creatures weren't there to have fun. They were there to be honed, sharpened into the perfect point. It was all those things he hated that had made him strong enough to rise above it, and it was those things now that would give this pathetic lot a chance to become something more.

 

The attempts to move the rocks met with varied success. Some couldn't get it up at all, a true disappointment. Others were able to stir it a bit, eventually lifting it proudly in the air like a declaration of victory. Still, there was even one that not only handled multiple objects at once, but also found a way to make a crater large enough for a Hutt to slither into. He'd let that pair run off, as he wasn't quite in the mood to chase down a psycho or a slug.

 

He rose a confident hand in the air, calling to him the attention of all the peons.

 

”

[Orphan]

Orphan takes the datapad, his kiffar eyes gazing upon the contents. It would be a tough mission to pull off, his biggest yet. But the plans seemed solid and his team capable. Taking a step forwar a facing the others, Kiff na off those he was ordered to take.

 

"Okay, i need Solkar, Ku, and Vaegir to step forward." Kiff looks around, noticng others sing amuck, and after looking at he datapad aain, speas once more. "And if any of the rest of you want to step forward, now is the time to do so. We've got a mission to do."

 

Ther was also another na posted on the daapad incase of emergency, ad uing his comm, sent out a message among the proper channels to this person, asking fo his help as well. For now, Orphan would wait to see who would show up. Including the slicer droid.

 

((Okay. Step forward guys. I'll be posting our departure in three days, unless we get together sooner.))

[Kartaris Utharin]

Ku grabbed the rock he had moved and put it into his pocket before his attention was grabbed by a voice. He looked at the man with a raised hand. Cracking his neck as he moved his head around he listened as the man spoke. Ku began to think of what to say before he blinked as then orders to follow instructions were given out. So much talking was a bother. His head still ached from the last task for him to care what was going on around himself much. He did put effort to pay attention to what he took as important.

 

Eyes shot back open as his name was mentioned. Ku rolled his shoulders before stepping forward as ordered. He punched his own chest as replied "I am Ku." Ku then rested the arm to side like the other. He was relieved that he would not have to move another rock. It was tempting to ask himself why names being called. Though Ku was curious he waited to see if someone would ask about what was going on. He rubbed his forehead as the pain was finally gone in his head from the task before with rock.

[Notorious v.2]

Boredom”¦ it had leapt to the front of his mind and plagued him like a raging rancor. Desperately trying to find some way to appease the dullness that encompassed him, the croke began running through the vast library of beings and creatures that he could become. Overtime, Sokar had settled on the form that he now exhibits; a teenage boy whom most would consider innocent and naïve. Though within the deep recesses of his experimentations, some rather nasty forms lurked”¦ though in time they would make themselves present. For now though, the current form would simply have to due. The rock that he'd been ordered to move had been accomplished”¦ having never been taught how to use the force, Sokar kicked the blasted stone as hard as he could.

 

It soared through the air for a short distance before striking one of the slaves square in the jewels. The rock brought the man to his knees and due to the sudden stop of work, the slave driver sprang into action. The whip in hand cracked to life against the bare torso of the crippled slave; unable to recover from the nut shot, or the sudden whip lashing.

 

Sokar smiled”¦ and then quickly wiped the grin out of sight when he was asked to explain what he felt when he moved the rock.

 

I felt it make contact with my boot and hit that guy in the balls”¦ Priceless. thought Sokar as suddenly his name came booming from behind him.

 

When he turned to face the man who'd made the feeble attempt to pronounce his name, a snarl escaped the quivering lip of the Sith hopeful. ”œIt's Sokar”¦”

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir found himself standing in an awkward silence as the lord seemed to pointedly ignore his question. Perhaps it was something that he would learn with time, or perhaps the lord simply felt the question was hardly worth answering. It was only when he took his gaze off the silent lord that Vaegir seemed to notice the happenings about him.

 

Apparently the twi'lek had entered some manner of spaz fit whereas just about every other person seemed to fly into an emotional state as though on a whim. In Vaegir's culture, public displays of emotion on that scale were something to be avoided; the very act in itself entirely shameful. The Firrerreo had his demons, hell, everyone did, but he wasn't going to simply unleash them randomly.

 

”œNice shot.”

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu's eyes darted around, fruitlessly trying to calm her fear stormed adrenaline. Normally such sensations would be encouraged in times of hardship and struggle, but through fear, her random outburst of piercing decibel was a disgraceful lag of purposeful intentions. She hadn't the slightest desire to run kilometers away from an unknown monstrosity, nor had she the vaguest implication to disregard her active senses, but in the pain of it all - in the panicked haze her mind took within moments of her consciousness - she seemed to know only one course of action.

 

Now that the black Twi'lek rested safely behind a tree, clicks away from the rest of the Sith, her eyes began to slow and the rest of her body's functions began to decelerate.

 

You fool child, do you even know why you ran furiously away from your point of conflict? a snide voice leaked through Lallu's renewed sense of equilibrium, shaking her thoughts from their contemplative mental state.

 

No... and neither would I prefer you telling me. I think i got enough of your flak 5 minutes ago.

 

Oh, you have have you? Well.. To let you know, you just kissed a Hutt and ran away. Or, that's what I saw at least.... Reialla, the essence of Lallu's conflicting conscience, laughed into Lallu's mind.

 

A Hutt? Lallu probed incredulously at the cockiness of her alternate personality, her insides rolling over themselves. For a moment Lallu looked like she was going to be sick, but contained her putrid sensation as a shuffling sound reached her position.

 

Lallu took small time to herself as the sound got louder. Then Lallu looked around for a few moments and grabbed to climb the tree behind her to reach higher ground and pull away from the impending revelation, but the general curiosity of her naive side pulled her head around the tree's thick bark to stare at the path instead.

 

It is simple enough thought Lallu as she tried to pull herself to her feet and pull herself around the tree, using her arms for most of the strain. Despite her shrewd confidence though, sharp stinging sensations placated her supported attempts. Her arms were swollen slightly and burn wounds glared up at her from her forearms when she tried to find the source of the overblown sensations. Well it would seem, you have heard enough from me, Reialla marveled while eying the bleeding sores. Don't count on fixing that anytime soon you poor helpless child...

Laughing rattled her mind, but Lallu managed to keep focus and although her arms still hurt, she managed to pull up to the tree and spot the Hutt as he came further toward her position. Why is he following me? Lallu thought silently as she slowly walked from the tree, massaging her bleeding wounds.

 

"Why are you following me?" The timid black Twi'lekk said through raised eye brows. Her voice was soft, but carried with it a small air of elusive confidence that could be passed over by any and all who didn't pay attention.

[Deton]

"Coordinates 678-865214"

 

The pilot of the SecuriCo freighter landed in hanger bay 622 at those coordinates. A simple comm is sent off to alert those awaiting his arrival of just that. He knew what he was hauling, and he knew it included plastoid armor suits capable of protecting against very harsh environments as well as projectiles and kinetic energy weapons. The armor might be penetrated by a blaster bolt, but it reduced damage from the bolts significantly. It lacked the durability to make the wearer immune to blaster fire yet, it could deflect low-powered bolts. It also deflected stun beams, and served as protection against explosions and shrapnel.

 

He wasn't too fond of the stuff. Made people risky in his opinion, but with the hardware he was hauling, it was maybe ok to be risky. He had enough gear to outfit a small squad of maybe five. Which was at least commando size.

 

The sound of a hatch opened and he watched his current companion step out. Beautiful and stunning Ms. Elindi Lenda stepped out. He knew her track record. Her skills included the use of blasters, melee and unarmed combat, pickpocketing, forgery, infiltration techniques, and piloting repulsorlift vehicles and spacecraft. Other fields of knowledge in which She was proficient included swimming, computer programming, demolitions, machinery repair,] and lip reading.

 

In a way she seemed out of his league. But he enjoyed her company all the same. Carrying to cups of caf in her hand, she handed on to him, upon which he took a sip.

 

"How long you think we will have to wait?"

 

"Beat me you know these types, they could already be here for all we know."

 

Conversation fell shortly after that while they waited.

 

((Yea all yours now.))

[Sheog the Mad]

Naturally, the black twi'lek was not around the next bend as he had hoped. Sheog slithered down the path at an increasing rate. She would have to be in major pain by now. His maddened mind thought back to the Sith ”˜hopefuls' he had left behind. He knew not what they were doing or learning, but frankly he did not care. They made his teeth itch. If he had teeth, they certainly would make them itch. That Crocke he had been dropped off with was especially infuriating. He seemed rather abusive and controlling of those beneath him, and probably thought that was the best way to gain the power of the Sith. Sheog paused on the path and cleared his head of the angry thoughts. Anger gained nothing. It was an easy path to power, and nothing is learned or truly gained taking an easy path. He breathed in deeply and discovered how hungry and thirsty he truly was. He withdrew his flask and took a deep gulp from its refreshing depths. The liquid refreshed him, driving the fatigue from his body, flushing it through the viens, and expelling it to the capillaries, which drove it through the skin in the form of a fresh coat of slime. It was good to be a Hutt. Sheog placed a slimy hand into his sidebag and removed a handful of white worms, the last handful to his despair. He quickly devoured them and looked around. He had to get more worms...

 

He spotted a fallen tree and pushed himself quickly over to it. His madness was consuming him, and manifested itself in him as an insatiable hunger. He tore the log apart, searching for any sign of worms or other edibles. Nothing was to be found but bark and moist, rotting wood. He picked up a piece of the moist wood and put it in his mouth. It certainly didn't taste like worms. He spat it out at high felocity and moved on. He spotted a particularly muddy spot and began to dig. Sheog tried to focus on the force in order to help him find the worms, but he could not find it. After a few minutes of digging, he found some worms, not white ones, but black and blue ones. He tasted one of each and found them to be quite satisfying. He gathered up large handfuls of the wriggling worms and filled his sidebag. He sloshed through the mud and found the path once more. His madness had cleared for the most part, leaving him clear, but still hungry. He continued up the path, munching on the plentiful worms. They were soo much better than the white worms, and didn't leave any sour aftertaste. They were sweet, and tasted of necter and flesh, a wondrous combination. If any of the large Hutt cartels learned of these worms, this planet would be stripped down to the mud by teams searching for them to feed their insatiable masters.

 

Sheog felt a slight tug in the back of his mind and turned slowly around. The path behind him was covered in worms, all pursuing him. His face fell, he had no wish for a fight, especially with worms. The path was covered in black and blue, a swarm of deliciousness. Sheog felt the madness take hold again, and he was consumed by hunger. In but a few moments, the worms were in full retreat, having lost half of their number to the Hutt's gullet. The cloud of darkness passed once more from his eyes, and the world grew once more bright. Sheog, to say the least was stuffed. He hadn't been this full in many a long year. He continued on the path, glancing once more upon the battleground he had left behind, scattered with dead worms crushed in his gluttonous rage. Gluttony, that was his path... There were five subsets of Gluttony that all Hutts strived for. His latest feat had fulfilled four of the five: eating too soon, eating too much, eating too eagerly, and eating wildly... Perhaps this path was one that could gain him power in the Dark Side! He smiled and looked up to see a peculiar sight; the black Twi'lek approaching him from the tree line, massaging a bleeding arm. His smile slowly drained from his face at the sight of her injured appearance. He withdrew his sterile med-kit from his bag, but then she began to speak:

 

"Why are you following me?"

 

Sheog smiled and started to reply, but he truly knew not the answer. Was it because he was trying to help her? Was it because of the kiss? Was he weak enough to be drawn in by her beauty? She was truly beautiful... Black with designs of red... Hutt's always had Twi'lek girls at their sides... No, there was no real attraction there, he was... Trying to help! He began to speak, slowly and surely, his madness completely gone...

 

<>

 

Sheog trailed off, as a smile crept slowly upon his face, just as the madness it concealed. He opened his medkit and showed it to her, pushing himself slowly forward, trying to move slowly and not scare her more. She seemed confident, but then again, she had done many unpredictable things... Enough for him to keep his guard up...

[Orphan]

"Whatever." I replied as the Croke stepped forward and corrected my pronunciation of his name. It didn't really matter to me how one spoke it, only so much as he knew it was he that i meant. Looking out among the gathered three as they spoke, i found myself disappointed in how many stepped forward. So very few true to their cause. But numbers mattered not. Only passion. "While i cannot directly speak of the mission in full, i can tell you that it will define you as a Sith and become the first stepping stone along your path."

 

Looking above me as the sounds of engines and the feeling of wind brushed by me, i noticed the shipment had arrived. Turning to gaze upon the security vessel as it landed, a feeling in the pit of my stomach tightened. Brushing it off, i made my way toward the ship. I knew what laid ahead, and i knew my life as an Orphan had long prepared me for tasks such as this. But still, it just didn't sit right with me. Either way, it was time for my game face, and as i grew near the ship, i had pushed away all but what task i was called upon.

 

"Good afternoon, Romeo Falcar." spoke a woman as she lingered near the ship's lead-ramp. "I am Elindi Lena."

 

"That is not my name..." I scolded, my brow curving in frustration. "Call me Kiff or Kiffar."

 

"Forgive me."

 

"No need."

 

"Right. To business, then?"

 

It surprised me that this woman had taken my burst of anger, but then again, there was something weird about her to begin with. y temper flare had gone as quick as it had arrived. With a nod of my head, i turned back to the trio. "I will give you each a debriefing on our way. Let's go." Within moments, after allowing each on board and gathering a droid gifted by Lord Antilles, we were off.

 

((Sorry for the absence guys. RL threw a hardball at me. To the space thread.))

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu took a moment and wavered slightly under the blood loss as her arms tried to scab unsuccessfully, but her consciousness was still amusingly rolling over the idea of a helpful Hutt. The idea was generally ridiculous based off of the normal attribution to their race, but without medical experts within range and with her crude vanity expressing her desire for her skin's salvation, she surrendered to the Hutt's helpful medical treatments and shriveled out of reach upon the appropriate stinging solvent's applications and bandaging. the beautiful day around her, which seemed haloed by a cap of foreboding dark clouds, was an illusion compared to the biting pain she felt as each vial of medicine and patch of bacta was administered to her flesh; the pain of mortality; the pain of humility and disgrace.

 

However, despite the pain kneading at her sides, pushing toward her mind, the medical processes were fairly quick and managed to take a small amount of the net pain from Lallu's arms. It still hurt to move them though, so her movement was isolated to small flourishes and careful gestures.

 

Lallu backed away from the Hutt only slightly, feeling gingerly the area around the bandages with her hands, probing the wounds as if she hadn't seen them a moment before. The bandages were an effective disguise, but she recoiled when her hands found a particularly sore spot, indicating that the mask shielding her wounds was just that, a mask. She didn't know how long the treatments lasted nor how effective they were, but in a bout of rather fanciful ADD, the Twi'lek's eyes were focused on where the group of Sith from before had been. Had... being the operative word...

Apparently the Hutt and Lallu were now the only Sith aside from one and a few lesser known lords that stayed behind. Hmmmm... well there goes boredom dispenser no. 2.

 

Needless to say, although Lallu may or may not have been thankful to the Hutt for what he did, she was still no further to finding the man from before. How did he command so much respect and obedience? How could he command so much power? His aura stood before her even now and although some may have come to disregard what they viewed as simply a man, Lallu had never had the gratification of meeting him. He was a god to her in more ways than one and since she was a victim of his soul, she chose to follow in his echoed doctrine as well.

Still, the deliverance of her safety was of Hutt hands and not her own. So, she breathed, sighing slightly, as her gaze shifted back to the Hutt; her red eyes pushing through the silence and gazing toward Sheoq without any distinct emotion.

 

”œThank you”¦ I guess.”

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog shuffled back a meter or so to look at his bandaging job. It looked almost professional. Pride swelled within his mind, setting it ablaze with a hidden fire. He shook his head at his own insolence and sprayed the Twi'lek once more on the arm with bacta. The bacta bottle sprayed out a fine mist that settled like dew upon the white of the bandages on her arms, and shone in the bright light that filtered through the trees. In a moment, the beauty passed as the bacta soaked into the bandages, helping to sterilize and heal the burn wounds beneath. She would need almost constant applications of the bacta in order to insure healing and to stave off infections. Burn wounds got infected quite easily, and robbed the body of its ability to dissipate heat. He had done good work, she would heal in time. He beamed down at the Twi'lek as she began to speak.

 

”œThank you”¦ I guess, my name is Lallu”¦ I have a longer name, but I like to keep it to myself. What do you think we should do now that most of our classmates have gone?”

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu watched as the over-sized, muscular, slug went over to what appeared to be a small wriggling mass of something and in abject disgust, Lallu watched and saw a huge swarm of worms begin to pour from the sky in what looked like a large hail of fleshy pests. Guts flew as the Hutt bit into their flesh without remorse, and Lallu was thoroughly sickened. It was of course something she was bound to expect from one hungry enough to eat such things, but the sheer mass of broad insecticidal carnage and wretched noises almost brought a small amount of puke to the back of her throat, and only really succeeded in burning her esophagus with stomach acid, leaving a rather distasteful and acrid taste in her mouth.

 

Well that was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen... And We've seen disgusting...

 

What? Nothing?

 

....

 

C'mon... If you're going to be in my head you might as well talk to me even if you are spiteful sometimes.

 

Fine... Yes, I agree. It is a rather egregious display of rancid feasting habits, but what did you expect from a Hutt?

 

I dunno... A big slug?

 

There was a clear audible sound in the mists of Lallu's consciousness that almost sounded like a palm hitting a forehead, but without an actual visual, it was impossible to read exactly what happened.

With her little internal escapade vaguely concluded, Lallu was almost caught unaware as to the Hutt's redirected attention at her. For a moment, she merely stood, trying to avoid touching her arms even as they healed, and instead contending merely to massage her lekku. There was a mischievousness in her eyes, that reflected her young personality and even as injured as she was, Lallu was thinking about dangerous things.

 

"First," Lallu said, her ruby red eyes aflame with interest, "I want to steal a souvenir... And then I want to get off this planet, because it is soooo boring here." Lallu rallied, spending particular strain on the word "so" expressing exactly how bored she was.

 

The black Twi'lekk wandered away a few steps and pointed out towards the temple a bit, straining her arms and wincing for a moment, before she resumed her previous youthful anxiousness. "Over there in the fields," Lallu said, her eyes and eyebrows open extremely wide, as if to capture the Hutt's attention on her enthusiasm alone. "As I ran after Lucifer and tried to catch the other Twi'lek that served as our master for a period of time, I saw a couple of what looked to be ships in the clearing. They were made to be invisible, but I managed to catch a glimpse of supplies being brought from them. However... They don't seem to come to terribly often." Lallu said her hope deflating slightly, but not completely leaving her bright eyes.

 

"I want to take something, or see if I can take something for these slavers here and then I want to see if there is a supply ship docked there." Lallu continued, gesticulating her arms instrumentally in the air and jumping about a bit. "Then... I am going to try and get out of here..."

 

Quite a brilliant plan that... Tell me? If no one wants the apprentices to leave, would they make the access to the supply ships easy? Would the even be remotely happy that you were leaving. And even if you find this illusory man, what's to say he will even want you? Jzora wanted you and she abandoned you...

 

Lallu had forgotten about Jzora; a mystifying woman in her own right, and a brilliant figure in Lallu's life however short their relationship had been.

 

That was different... You'll see! I'll find him and we'll be great together...

 

The same sound of a palm hitting a bare forehead rang off the sides of Lallu's mind, but she still didn't connect the dots.

 

"Ok... First things first, I want a whip!" yelped Lallu as she threw away the pain in her arms and flew through the woods toward the temple in hopes to catch a slaver off guard. Her arms pumped viciously, and her legs worked simultaneously, plying her feet from the ground and forcing her to float through the air in an acrobat's grace. The force wasn't even present as she ran with bright speed, but she did so regardless and held a broad smirk across her features even as leaves smashed into her face.

[Notorious v.2]

Several Acolytes had been recruited for a little mission, I was one of them. Nothing had been offered regarding as to what they would be doing and my original plan of tagging along quickly fell flat upon that detail. Having been a stickler when it comes to needing details there was no possible way for me to join the others. This mission stunk of death and decay, something that I hadn't prepared for yet... "without any training what good would I really have been anyways?" Unbeknownst to myself, I'd verbalized the final portion of my thought.

 

It was at then that it happened, just a few moments after I'd turned my back upon the others just outside of the landing fields. My original thought process was that surely there had to be another flight off of the planet, unfortunately great disappointment washed over me. Besides the lone ship that the others had left in there wasn't a ship or shuttle in sight. My body slowly began to alter as I'd begun the transformation process and when all was said in done I stood as a crow upon a branch. The tree lined the landing fields, which would provide me with the greatest vantage point.

 

Knowing that the wait could be as many as seven days before the next shipments arrived, it would be then that he would find his escape off of this cursed planet. There was something calling to me... it was odd and unwanted, but also undeniable... the light drumming noise within the base of my skull was guiding me off world.

 

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

 

A few days later, just as the hustle and bustle of the average workday began. A corvette arrived bearing slaves, more cattle to be herded and put to work. With the grace of an angel, I leapt from my perch and with a few powerful flaps of the wings my approach to the rapidly closing hanger-bay door was going to be close. Allowing my eyes to judge the gap, I adjusted my angle of approach and tucked my wings tight to my body... narrowly breaking the plain.

 

(( To be continued in Space ))

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog frowned as the black Twi'lek's eyes grew brighter as the red flame of ambition spread throughout her mind. She was surely an interesting girl, crazy as himself, but more or less lost in her other personality. She didn't seem to be listening as he raised a cautious hand towards her to shake her from her other personality, but he never reached her. Before he could, she began to speak.

 

"First, I want to steal a souvenir... And then I want to get off this planet, because it is soooo boring here."

 

She was like a huttling... consumed by its own needs, not yet aware of its allies or the galaxy as a whole...

 

"Over there in the fields as I ran after Lucifer and tried to catch the other Twi'lek that served as our master for a period of time, I saw a couple of what looked to be ships in the clearing. They were made to be invisible, but I managed to catch a glimpse of supplies being brought from them. However... They don't seem to come to terribly often."

 

Perhaps she spoke of a time before his coming to this world, or perhaps at that time he was preoccupied by that weak, hateful Croke he had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting earlier... Sheog opened his mouth to interject on the plan, and make a suggestion about taking it slow, but Lallu continued, blissfully unaware of his concerns.

 

"I want to take something, or see if I can take something for these slavers here and then I want to see if there is a supply ship docked there.”

[Sheog the Mad]

Sheog slapped the side of his thick hide with the palm of one of his meaty hands. The wet slapping sound was enough noise to draw attention to himself from the guard that guarded the supply ships. The heavy-set trandoshan had been happily drinking stim-caf but now stood up to approach the large imposing Hutt. As he approached, Sheog moved to the side as they did the same. After a few pushes of his tail Sheog was now in between the guard and the ships the trandoshan was supposed to be guarding. He squeezed his palmed shockstick, which activated into the palm of his hand unfortunately burning it, which was to say a typical move for him. As he hissed in pain the guard withdrew his shockstaff and strode forward confident and smiling in the prethoughts of his impending victory over this strange Hutt. Sheog continued to stoop in an act of pain as the first trandoshan guard thrust his shockstaff into Sheog's tail. The pain coursed through him coming from his stinging tail. Thankfully, they hadn't set their staffs for something his size. He lashed out hard with his tail catching the guard in his kneecap. The crack and wet snap was drowned out by his scream of pain. He coiled in his tail in a very snake-like motion drawing the screaming guard close in a tight, oily embrace. Sheog smiled and whispered into the ear of the guard, who was now clambering for his holstered blaster pistol

 

>>You really should not have done that! Now to find you a creative death...>>

 

With those parting words Sheog moved very swiftly to the side port of one of the cargo freighters, opened the hatch, and scooted inside still dragging the hapless guard who was still struggling against the muscular, slimy tail . Sheog smiled as he found his desired location: The food prep galley. Sheog opened the food synthesizer and cleared out one of the preloaded cartridges. The cartridge was approximately mansized a fact that made Sheog smile. His luck seemed to be good today thank the stars that these merchants had decided to buy a deluxe food synthesizer (from the only name in food synthesizers, you can trust: Loolinbockle!® A subsidiary of the !Fia-Fia!© Corporation based out of Galantos which prided itself by using only the most skilled of Fian workers selected at birth to be given the ”˜privilege' of working for the fabulous !Fia-Fia! Corporation.)

 

Sheog dumped the innards of the cartridge down the compactor and replaced the insides with the now terrified guard. He then placed the cartridge back into the food synthesizer reset the machine, and selected all of the delicious menu items to be synched up to the trando-containing-cartridge. He didn't start the machine, but simply set the crew of the ship up for having blood on their hands. He made as stealthy an exit that a Hutt could make from the ship and retreated to the shadows where he accessed his com. He hurredly dialed his caravel's number (no easy task with large fingers). The Demented Madness' steward answered his master's call and listened eagerly to Sheog. The Demented Madness was currently in orbit having tracked it's master to Trulalis through his com. Within a few minutes Sheog's ship descended and Sheog scooted up the ramp. He was greeted by his overjoyed servants who showered him with food and drink all of which Sheog ignored as he pushed his way to the navicomputer.

 

The Demented Madness rose swiftly out of the atmosphere to a safe hyperspace distance. Sheog selected Kamino from his choice of planets. It was a dark place. There were rumors of a Sith presence there... Perhaps a suitable master would also be present... One could always hope... As Sheog enjoyed all the food his gluttonous appetite could hold, The Demented Madness entered hyperspace towards the oceanic world.

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu, in her over enthusiastic euphoria, smashed into the broadside of a tree and felt the unconscious hand of darkness grip her feeble mind and thrust her to the ground. Such a beautiful energy was hastily plucked from the air by an immovable force that rattled her mind like a child's play thing. For a few moments, as Lallu lay motionless at the foot of a large oak, it seemed that Sheog was fairly sympathetic to the Twi'lek. His large eyes were welling up with what looked like tears and he even shared a few words, but, after a few moments of minor grieving to what Sheog thought was a Twi'lek corpse, it appeared his priorities changed on the heels of his immediate haste to the departing supply ships not 4 miles away. It would take him a while to get there, but by the time Lallu woke she would be alone”¦

 

All alone”¦

"Well looks like you are up shit creek without a paddle huh?"

A rather cloudy version of Lallu exclaimed, looking particularly serene as she stared down at a prone version of Lallu, which seemed to mock the actual Lallu's outward appearance and posture.

"Do you ever leave me alone?" The prone Lallu mumbled at the ground before turning herself over and trying to get up.

 

"I am a part of you, you crazy bitch and until you get that in your crazy empty messed up skull, I don't think you will ever live with yourself, because you are me”¦ Get it?" probed the cloudy Lallu as she poked at the prone Lallu with her bare darkened foot.

 

Lallu's playful side, painted as the face of innocence and called Grace for this particular tale, looked with shock upon her alternate ego, continuing to stare only under sheer disbelief.

 

"No Malive, I don't get it”¦"

 

"Malive? Really? Is that supposed to be a nickname comprised of different biting words? Let me guess”¦ Malicious, Malign, Vengeance and Rage? Is that supposed to insult me? Child you are one of the wo”¦ Whatever. I'll respond to it if it makes you feel better. Now, as to our current delegation, what is it about my statement that you didn't get? Was it the ”˜you are' part? Or the ”˜like me' part?"

 

"All of it really", Grace plaintively shrugged as she sat on a hillock that materialized out of thin air. "You can be a real pain and you are such a meanie that I don't understand how your scum can equal my fluffiness”¦"

"Well”¦ Fluffy", Malive suggested, wincing at the word's mention, "we are merely part of the same coin. Two sides, if you will of the same person".

"Well”¦ I understand that you can make me see stuff that happened from my younghood”¦ Childness? Childhood? I dunno. The past! I know you can do that, because you've done it before, but does that mean you are me because you can do stuff to me? Or because I let you do stuff”¦ I am so confused”¦"

 

Malive lifted the palm of her hand to the bate patch of what looked to be a tendril coated forehead. "You naïve foolhardy ass! Have my exhibitions brought you nothing? Have you no wisdom from these traumatic lapses of consciousness?"

 

"All I know is that they hurt a lot”¦"

"Alright we are ending this right now”¦ I am not sharing this insufferable existence with someone who can't even spell insufferable!!" Malive yelled, her hands rushing to her sides in a plight of heated rage.

 

"What are you going to do?" Said Grace as her eyes welled up into huge orbs that shone under an artificial ambient light like a cute kitten mewing for its evening meal.

"I am going to do something I should've done a long time ago."

 

Then, without any other words, Malive, the crazy psychotic embodiment of a corrupt symbiotic existence, launched towards Grace in a rapid flurry of fervid beating. It threw Grace for a loop as she tumbled backwards in hasty response, but even when she was threatened she tried to back away from the hostile situation, bringing up hands to try and quell the thundering tide.

 

"We can settle this without hurting”¦ Right?"

 

"NO!" Said Malive as her eyes flashed like red flame and the ambience of terrestrial existence darkened, leaving the floor beneath them, which stood as a mere illusion before, in a blanket of cold darkness.

 

Grace looked around in a panicked episode of flighty resolve and ill consequence, but after a few moments of corrosive battling, her eyes went red as well and the two of them parted only to be brought back together in a chorus of pounding and crashing.

 

Blow after blow, grab after grab and throw after throw each personality dueled until, in their rapid haste, they crashed directly into each other sending a mental shock wave throughout Lallu's mind, culminating in the contusion that rose only slightly visible upon her black head, nestled lightly adjacent to her right lekku.

 

After a few hours of long winded passivity and a regretful episode of unconsciousness, Lallu looked around with careful eyes, began brushing herself off and got up off of the ground, stretching as she lifted each muscle. So, my position hasn't changed, but where is the tub of lard that followed me earlier?

Lallu managed a few moments to look around more aggressively, swiveling her head quickly from one side to the other only to find that it hurt to swing her head too far to one side and found soreness there that wasn't a good sign. Other than the small lump and neck injury though, it appeared her body was recovering well. What did this to me? Was it the slug?

It was then that Lallu turned to find a rather large imprint in the nearest tree that seemed to be Twi'lek sized. Oh great, it seems that girl got into more trouble”¦ Wait”¦

 

Lallu took a moment to dwell within her mind echoing her inquisitive thoughtfulness off of the bare chasm walls, searching for a shadow, or even a halo, something that would tell her she was the same as before, but nothing echoed her call. There was nothing left of either distinct personality; she was truly alone. You mean”¦ I'm free?

 

Lallu paused for a moment until a broad smile creased her lips and broke into an explosion of joy that shook her entire body. Oh I missed this. Lallu thought as she hugged herself heartily, I have control now and I am not letting go”¦ Now, what was I doing?

 

The black Twi'lek stared at the temple in the distance with relatively hazy, still recovering eyes and laughed out loud, finding her steps carrying her in that direction without qualm or haste.

 

Alright, so maybe if I grab a whip on the way and hypnotize one of the guards in my own special way, I can get them to dish about the overseer.

 

Finding the nearest Taskmaster's Den was no easy task though, as it was intentionally hidden from slave's eyes. After a heated span of ten minutes though, Lallu located one of the places in question behind a large row of trees, and set to work. She hadn't decided on any cover and was almost unsure of this plan's security, but the cover of night seemed too good to be true in answer to this dilemma. However, the taskmaster's tent still seemed heavily guarded. Must be the leader.

 

Lallu kept her hands and body wreathed behind a large mass of bushes and other shrubbery, staring at the assembled rabble for a long time. She began taking note of each guard's shift in posture and level of interest. She didn't really take into account the actual shift change, but her luck seemed to pick up as both of the guards waddled away to switch with another set. This wasn't a bad move considering the elements and time, but Lallu took advantage of it anyway and slipped into the tent with relatively little difficulty. It seemed that the coast was clear as she tumbled quietly into the tent, but a large lump in the corner of the tent scared the Twi'lek so much that she almost gave away her position. Her feet left the ground momentarily and her hands rushed to her face in abject, useless horror. It wasn't the taskmaster, but it was enough of a decoy to spook Lallu and even with her rapid save, she could tell from the shift in postures outside the tent that someone heard something.

 

Ok... Get what you need then get out.

 

So, Lallu looked around quickly, leafing through papers as quietly as possible, heart pounding.

 

Gripping at small objects and wrenching them away to get a better look, heart pounding.

 

Pushing things around, heart pounding.

 

Then, just when Lallu thought her heart, which had been beating away for the past 30 minutes in a loud cacophonous gesture of anxiousness, was going to burst, she found a whip right next to a curled up note.

 

Taking the whip and adding it to her tattered red sash, Lallu unrolled the note and a wicked smile unfolded across her black face.

 

Ok... First, I need to get out of here, then a quick call and I am off of this planet.

 

((I know the end is a little choppy, but I want to get off planet so there...))

[Valar Morghulis]

The Wingless Seraph came out of hyperspace around Trulalis's orbit, trying to remain hidden. Riktor Hess stared down at the seemingly tranquil-looking planet below, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. This place was the exact opposite of Vjun; while Vjun had been an eerie, moody planet of constant rainfall and apparent lifelessness, the planet below looked bright and happy. Presumably, the Sith were here, but Hess wasn't sure if he believed it. He spoke to the man standing behind him, his Master, Darth Dominus: "Is there anything we need to do before we land? Any codes we need to transmit? I don't want the others to shoot us out of the sky..."

 

Hess smiled in spite of himself. He murmured, "knock, knock."

[Darth Dominus]

"I would hold any smart comments like that to myself in front of any Sith. They don't have a sense of humor, unless the joke is sadistic."

 

Dominus realized he had been speaking of the Sith as if they were a separate group to Hess since he started training him. Had Dominus' philosophy of the Force extended so far beyond the Sith that he no longer truly considered himself one of them?

 

Yes. That is exactly how I feel.

 

Dominus knew he would have to keep those emotions hidden as long as he was on Trulalis. And for the sake of Hess, who was entitled to complete training in the ways of the Darkside.

 

"Go ahead and land. We don't need permission."

[Valar Morghulis]

Hess bit his tongue in distaste. He hated having to be stoic, but if it was necessary there would be no second thoughts. If there was one thing he liked more than joking around, it was having his head still attached to his body.

 

Without a word, Hess brought the Seraph forward and into Trulalis's atmosphere. Here he was again, descending down to a Sith-controlled world; and his fear was still there, ever the persistent demon. Vjun had only been the domain of a single Sith. This world, Trulalis, supposedly held many of them. Darth Dominus had so far been stoic and fair, which seemed almost uncharacteristic from what Hess had heard of Sith Lords. Dominus certainly felt his fear, so wouldn't the other Sith Lords? The other, less forgiving Sith Lords? What was to say they wouldn't set upon him as one, like a pack of cackling animals, and tear him limb-from-limb for his cowardice? Or maybe a Sith would simply snap Hess's neck with a flick of the wrist. Assuming they killed him at all; maybe they would rip out his soul and use it to fuel one of their unnatural creations. A thousand grim possibilities flicked through Riktor's mind.

 

He had plenty of assets, though. There was Dominus, who seemed very powerful and certainly would protect Hess from any Sith advances. Hell, it probably wouldn't take much for Dominus to attack another Sith. There was an invisible tension in the air whenever Darth Dominus mentioned his so-called brethren. It hadn't gone unnoticed. As for Hess himself, he would be willing to debase himself and pay lip service to the more dangerous of Sith Lords. They seemed like the types who liked to be praised. Hopefully, they'd come to underestimate him, and they'd come to let their guards down, and that- of course- would be the last thing they'd ever come to do.

 

Alternatively, Hess would keep his head down and no trouble would break out. This was the preferred option.

 

Alternatively- and this was the option Hess began to favor as the Wingless Seraph touched down on Trulalis's surface- there would be no trouble because there were no Sith. This planet looked fairly deserted. Hess looked questioningly to Darth Dominus, wondering if it would be wise to go outside.

[Darth Dominus]

There were no Sith here, that was obvious. Dominus could only conclude they were engaged in battle elsewhere. He exited the ship, indicating that Hess should follow him. Sith had been here recently. Their presence was very strong. This was where they had made their home.

 

"Can you sense anything? Try now, see what you can feel."