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Kamino


Tarrian Skywalker

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Tarrian leaned back in her chair and thought a moment. "We can't have the sith suffering now can we. But while money is necessary at times, I have enough now, so even though I'll take what comes my way, I do this for the sith. Where would you like to get started in this little venture?"

"When in doubt, Get the Hell out!!!"

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During the brief moment of reflection, the open swishing of air quickly rushing through the still room was felt. Out from the gapping doorway a lone Imperial officer maneuvered across the marble flooring towards Lord Oblivion. Leaning down slightly to match eye levels, the man whispered something in his ear before just as promptly exiting.

 

"Well, now. That is certainly most interesting news."

 

Beginning to rise from his seat, the readjusted the linings of his cloak and finished what remainder was left inside the cylindrical glass shot.

 

"It would appear my dearest friend and ally, Lord Exodus, has been dubbed the new Dark Lord and wishes my company upon Coruscant. You are honorably invited by proxy, I am sure, to attend. This meeting appears to be the same we are carrying here. Perhaps we can both attain more answers with many minds at work."

Oblivion.jpg

”œAll worlds begin in darkness. In darkness, all worlds shall end.”

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He staggered to and fro through the streets of Kamino, his body swaying to a rhythm his mind cast as memories reawakened in his mind. He kept his eyes closed as his feet moved one in front of the other, the force guiding him to his destination. He sliced the lock and went in. It didn't appear to have be touched since she was last seen. If there were any clues to his Master's disappearance, this was the only place Julio could think of to look. He remembered the scene perfectly. The two star crossed lovers had finally awoken to their respective fates, their shamed dreams dying before ever coming to fruition. A hint of their bitter sweet sadness remain in the cold room, Dominique's presence commanding still, despite her absence. Drifting his attention from the candied air, Julio took particular interest in the far wall. It was decorated much the same as the rest of the room, hardly anything outstanding about it. But there was something there. He could feel it, he could see it. With a meager release the wall shook, a hollow crater now in the exact spot Julio had been staring so intently.

 

He walked toward the hole, his steps slow and precise, weary of betrayal. His metal shrouded hand move in, quickly taking hold of the small, pyramidal object. It was beautiful to say the least. The woman certainly showed her flare in it's design. The room grew cold, the sound of soft crackling taking Julio's gaze from the small object to the hole in the wall. Dark blue ice had begun to grow around the hole, quickly enveloping the rest of the wall. He began to step back, carefully observing the frozen manifestation as it spread out. Soon the ice was at his feet. With the full extent of his grace he flipped backward toward the door, placing the new trinket in the folds of his cloak before pressing the keypad to open the door. Even still the ice grew, quickly enveloping all the furniture and fixtures housed within the apartment. He palmed the external keypad, latching the door shut. He could hear the ice inside, still growing. He decided to leave before the ice found it's way out of the room and began attracting attention.

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His head tilted slightly as his golden eyes bore past the newcomer's mortal coil in hopes to see this man for what he truly was, only to find his attempts futile. Only when the titan spoke did he make his identity apparent. There was no mistaking the smooth, bone chilling utterance that escaped this particular creature's lips. He reached up slowly, as not to provoke the man, removing his mask.

 

Of course she does Master. She was your creation. The product of your turn at the wheel.

 

Within the presence of his master, Julio once again felt the security he felt during his apprenticeship. To a degree he always felt that if things got far over his head, Exodus would be there, steadfast before all threat of death and pain. This soon was replaced by an all new sense of paranoid self preservation. Though he was sure Exodus could intercept any threat that stood in their way, what new threat did he bring? Now that Julio had grown stronger in his absence, were his intentions the same? Did he still prize Julio as his one and only apprentice? Was there another? Could he be replaced so readily? If so the matter of dominance among the master's students would have to be settled quickly. Julio pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he tried to focus on the matter at hand.

 

Any news of said lady? Our Dark Lord has been gone from us for some time.

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Julio could only stand still as he listened, his whole consumed by his master's presence. He could feel the locals, or some other trivial group coming upon them with the mist. He ignored them as he held on to his master's words, behind them boundless conviction. Exodus had certainly changed in their time apart. Where once his heart held little care for very few things, now his form was set with purpose as he spoke of the order he once despised. As Exodus posed his question, the words lingered in the air, waiting for the only answer Julio was capable of giving.

 

Your path is my path Master. Where you walk, I shall follow. Be it victory or death.

 

For the first time since Julio could remember, he felt truly connected to another being. He and Exodus were in complete understanding, their passions matched. Together they would walk through fire and flames and come out tempered.

 

Besides, they really are one and the same for you, aren't they?

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A light groan exited him as he watched his master ascend. Struck with the sudden appearance of his master, then cast to survival, Julio suddenly felt weary of the games. He counted them slowly, forming the map in his head. Piece by piece it came together until they began to wither away, as if a light breeze in the force scattered them to pieces in the wind. His eyes clutched desperately at the darkness, darting at inhuman speeds for just a glimpse at these new beasts. Panic began to break through the cracks forming in his confidence, held back only by discipline as he repeated the mantra in his head.

 

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

 

As the litany rolled on in his head, Julio could begin to feel the small trinket in the folds of his cloak growing cold. His eyes snapped open, the idea seeming so obvious he found himself stupid for not thinking of it sooner. Darkness reveled as his suppression broke free, brought manifest through an eerie stillness in the air. His chest rose slow and high as his eyes stared intently into nothingness, the air sinking and cooling with each exhale. His eyes broke from the void to a small disturbance in the air a few meters in front of him. As the air continued to chill he began to notice more and more rising mists of steam. Even the ones behind him became apparent as

their very life betrayed them with each breath. Julio could start to feel their life escaping them as the crept to. Arms clasped before him, he waited.

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Kamino.

 

It meant nothing. It was dead to him. Waking from yet another twisted meeting with his subconscious, Tel was in no state of mind to have the capability of even remembering why he was here. Movement was nothing, of course, and his body slid from the bed. His bare chest glistened with the sweat of his dreams, slippery under the bright lights. He hated the light. He hated these creatures. Hatred in the morning, his lover to lie beside in the ruffled bed he'd just left behind. Only it wasn't morning”¦no, he could never tell the time here in this place.

 

He dressed, he thought, he spit the vile taste of sleep from his mouth. For a week he had found himself trapped here, without the means to resupply the small craft he'd landed, without the means to acquire the means to do so, and without the patience to wait for the means to acquire the means. Thus, his hatred grew, his anger stirred, and the while room he'd been given as a courtesy had been blackened, in a figurative sense, by his presence. The Kaminoans were gracious enough, courteous enough, kind enough.

 

But Tel'asari only required a ship. A ship to get him off of this planet, a ship to transport him to a place where he could find what he sought; one ship, just one. If they gave him that without their ridiculous antics, he'd have left this world and been that much closer to finding his answers. His attempts to reason with their methods, to understand them, were countered by their lack of presence. They told him to stay in this room, and they did not appear before him. How does one bounce a ball off of a wall that isn't there?

 

The room was hot; its heat inspired by the fire within his body as it writhed and twisted. He could feel the heat as keenly as he felt his own heartbeat. Pound, pound, pound. The rhythmic intricacy sought to drive him back into sleep, back in the heat, back into the nightmares”¦

 

It was the sudden chill that brought him fully into consciousness. Days alone had left him without company save for his demons, and they were creatures born of his core, of his fire. The cold bit at them and they fled before it as children. He felt the chill, but it was still distant. Something”¦told him”¦nursed the thought within him, cultivated the feeling; something was different about this cold. With difference came the unexpected, and with the unexpected came danger. Tel left the room, his dark clothing a meaningless blot under the heavy rainfall of this world that was dead to him. This was different; he left his sword in the room.

"We all fall down." - Domino.

 

Last Bio Update: 4/01/08

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The first of the bunch wasted no further time and exploded into the scene with anomalous speed. He was fast without a doubt and wasn't limited by the confines of the normal; a blur some would mention. His entire frame was clothed, and the rain barely had time to pat down his blackened wardrobe as he sped towards the Sith from behind. His footsteps, even in the puddles seemed quieted and his presence masked. None could discern his intention if it were possible because of the faceless mask he too wore, but it was obvious he meant harm.

 

A few steel projectiles hid inside the palm of the carrier, and with a twitch, were sent like bullets towards the idle man. The move was a test of his attention and whether or not he focused on his counterparts in front of him as he stood there motionless or if his awareness was in fact here. As soon as the projectiles whizzed towards its destination, the man drew two short blades made of an awkward metal material and prepared his next scheme.

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Every breath that lingered in the cold air was like a small, personal gift to him, life ticking away at the assailants' betrayal. One of the original ten had become overzealous as he broke away from the group. This him volumes about the masked lot, the lack of coordination a sure sign of lessened training. Either they had not been told the truth of the threat Julio alone presented, or they had simply been used before they were ready. Regardless of the lone deviant's reasons, Julio doubted he would get another chance to thin their ranks so easily.

 

As the projected blades flew, Julio lurched forward, forcing his torso parallel with the ground as his legs swung up with the flip. The blades flew harmlessly under him as he spun in air. He flicked his legs mid flight to spin himself on a separate axis, his lightsaber finding itself in his hand somewhere in the flight. His right heel caught the ground, his body still in motion of the spin as he brought the crimson blade in a powerful overhead strike while the lightsaber housed in the crushgaunt on his right cleaved upward.

 

((Wasn't sure if we were treating this by dueling rules or not. If so, I'll give the NPC's the chance they deserve, if not I'll cut through them in a couple posts. Up to you.))

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With the realization of danger came the realization that his greatest asset had been left behind, but this was quickly forgotten when Tel saw a flash of red. Here, no this planet he would have damned and destroyed out of frustration, he found what he'd been looking for over a span of three years...no, his lifetime. Ever since his father had first spoken of them, the dark ones, the masters in the dark. Sith.

 

Tel crouched on the walkway above a conflict he only half understood, with a focus of intensity so vicious that his every skill came out in that moment. Somehow he recognized that the small puffs of mist were the heat of air from lungs, and that, invisible as they seemed to be, the attackers were mortal. No immortal would have need of breath. Mortals, as it were, could be killed. Tel'asari Duos would readily kill to ensure that this Sith before him, this wielder of a blood red lightsaber that sliced the air apart in a whizzing slash, would be around to provide what he wanted.

 

Without even a moment's hesitation, Tel dropped from the walkway, his dark form falling fast, but with no more weight in its apparent bulk than a feather, it seemed, as he landed atop something. A great puff of mist shot up before him; he was on the shoulders of an invisible. His hands were up and no longer empty, now grasping the flashing blades that would bring an end to this thing beneath him. He drove the daggers downward to a head unseen...

"We all fall down." - Domino.

 

Last Bio Update: 4/01/08

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One by one, Julio cut the swarm to shreds. His chest rose and fell steadily as he looked down upon the brutally maimed bodies. If it was a test his master desired, Julio hoped he passed. Surely there'd be many more to come, but he'd have to take them with stride. Julio turned his attention from the beauty his hands created to the lone man who had thought it wise to intervene.

 

I'm not sure whether to thank you for your assistance or kill you where you stand for taking that man's death from me. Name yourself.

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Tel's legs had a grip that did not falter as the invisible figure fell to its knees. Rolling to his feet as he slid his blades free of the skull, he found himself surrounded by a massacred group of, apparently, assassins. The man before him had done so much more, just as fast...perhaps faster. Tel'asari felt a very interesting chill crawl up his spine, but he knew it to be a chill of anticipation. He spoke boldly now, holding his knives at his sides loosely, but preparedly.

 

"It is obvious to me that you have a great amount of talent; enough, in any case, to kill as you choose. Someone easily killed by a man such as myself means nothing to the wielder of a lightsaber of red." He locked eyes with this man, this wielder of red, and he felt another chill. "I am Tel'asari Duos, and I am looking for the Sith."

"We all fall down." - Domino.

 

Last Bio Update: 4/01/08

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He stood motionless as the untrained spoke, listening to how carefully the man chose his words. His attempts to play at Julio's vanity did nothing but annoy the Sith he worked so hard to attract. The Sith held back his more destructive urges as he snarled behind his bone white mask. With ease, Julio removed himself from Tel'asari's sight, masking himself from whatever he didn't want to see him. The moment he disappeared he had reappeared, directly behind the boy, his voice piercing to his very core.

 

You know nothing of talent, and your words are an insult to my ears.

 

The boy had promise. He could feel it coursing through the youngling as the reveille of death rang in his ears. The fact he had killed even one of his would be killers was enough to prove he was of some use, but how was the question. A test was in order. Once again, Julio disappeared from all known forms of sight, only this time he didn't reappear. Now only his chilling voice remained.

 

If it's darkness you seek, go to Coruscant. There you'll find an...acquaintance of mine. Her name is Atia. Finding her will be your first task.

 

Julio's words lingered in his head, leaving the question of whether or not he was still there unanswered.

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He had never before known helplessness. It was not when the man disappeared from his sight that he felt such a thing, no. It was not when the man spoke of his words as no more than an insult, an understandable response from a man so obviously enmeshed in power. It was not even after registering that the difference in their skill levels made his survival, in such a situation that would require him to face this man, impossible.

 

It was in knowing that even his senses could not find this man. When first he had disappeared, Tel's only instinct had been to reverse the grip of his knives. Losing sight of an opponent usually meant they would attack where one could not see, and that was at the back. It was simple instinct, but perfectly executed without conscious effort. It would have done him no good if the man's goal had been his death, but at least it showed he knew what to do. He simply lacked the skill to do what he knew against such a man.

 

And there it was. His senses, honed to such perfection that he could find anyone, anything, anywhere and in any condition, a talent he had employed in countless situations before this one, proved useless here. He felt an unspoken truth come into his mind, something that would push him inexorably towards the Dark Side of the Force. They are human senses, and you know not what the truest sense is, for it surpasses your humanity. He had only one response.

 

"I shall find Atia."

"We all fall down." - Domino.

 

Last Bio Update: 4/01/08

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  • 2 weeks later...

A vagrant gaze across the thickened glass shield showed the furious onslaught of precipitation bordering lethal velocity. Shrouded by ever constant darkness, the man did smile upon its image.

 

"How very curious this planet can be," A gentle twist of his wrist called upon the drink which he had taken up with his guest, the hovering cup laid upon his palm before all of his slender fingers curled around its surface.

 

"After all these years of study and research here, it still can surprise one such as I... As it would seem, our path off planet side has been breeched for now until the storm subsides, m'lady."

 

The last drop was savored from his draught, the empty vessel cast aside and rolled aimlessly down the long corridor in which they stood against.

 

"Our meeting has passed... A pity, really. Now it is just you and I."

 

---

 

A message came through once again to his quarters, the same drone of a living being summoned to the cause. It was brief upon first inspection, immediately knowing the receiver.

 

"Heh, dear friend, your timing is ever so impeccable."

 

A quick glance shot over to his humble guest, extending his hand over to the woman in the same motion.

 

"Care to join me in a special mission to the point of no return?"

Oblivion.jpg

”œAll worlds begin in darkness. In darkness, all worlds shall end.”

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  • 1 month later...

His ship seemed to slip out of hyperspace like a blade parting the water in a still pool. He reflected his gaze down at the watery world and instantly felt a strong dislike for the amount of water wreathing about in a turbulent storm. A clap of thunder added to his already turbulent thoughts on the matter.

 

Another water world. I grow tired of such places.

 

He scanned about looking for a decent place to land. He was hunting yet another target. He would need to wait and regroup before pursuing the other matter any further.

 

Last known location was Kamino. How descriptive.

 

He paused an pursed his lips as he brought up his database. Searching through it on known information about kamino he was surprised to find that this place had been hit by Jedi once before. His mind flashed back to that time period. During his active time with the Empire. He did remember giving out a general alert to his superiors. He reflected back on what little he knew of the military installments on Kamino. He decided he didn't want to run the risk of going up against them even if he had at one point, help them prepare for a surprise attack. Gratitude was short lived in the galaxy.

 

No matter, still there is but, one main city I could search for information. If he was sighted here, chances are it would be in that city.

 

 

He sighed inside of his helmet and leaned back. No doubt, what he was attempting was something border line suicide. In the idea of the force alone, he was but a man with a decent understanding. Yet he was searching for a man who was crowned the Dark Lord of the Sith.

 

He knew his target of course. The last time he had seen him had been on tattooine before one of the suns had gone supernova. The man hadn't been considered a target then. He had been considered more or less an ally at best and an avoidance any other time.

 

Now however, he was seeking him out to do what? The details of the bounty wern't perfectly clear. He doubted he should kill the man as he had posted the bounty on himself. No doubt a coming out party to his newly appointed title. However, could he take the man alive? It would be difficult to say the least.

 

While he himself had never been on the beck and call of any Dark Lord. he had on occasion gather information into the works of the Sith. He knew about the man he could very soon face. He was in all respects dangerous. Perhaps he was even more dangerous than he was a strange thought to be sure but one with adequate merit.

 

I suppose such a thing is inevitable, Sith always seem to seeking out those higher than they are. A matter of making sure the fit are the ones leading. Such destructive tendency and now I have been inadvertently drawn up with in the ritual. All for the sake of some credits and a good time.

 

He paused; there would be time enough later for dreading a confrontation. Right now, he needed to find he target. He sent in a request to traffic control. He knew the Sith had a strong presence on the world.

 

----COMM----

 

"Darth Asperser requesting permission to land. "

 

---End Comm---

 

He leaned slightly forward in his chair. Precious few knew his Sith name. Perhaps only one being still breathing in the galaxy. However, he felt no harm in saying it. It at least prepared him for what was to come.

Slicer.jpgMy sig is my profile...

ship

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Direction...

 

The Force needed a ruler, and in Torin Thard it had found its future commander. With a new quest identified, Torin's ship descended onto the dark watery world of Kamino.

 

Climbing from his ship, Torin's hood blew back exposing his metallic face to the elements. Rain beat upon the lifeless, tough, bloodless skin. Each pellet of rain streaked across the glossy surface forming a minature river. Each river was driven by the wind, forced backwards with a roaring current until, like a small briefly existent waterfall, the drop fell from Torin's face only to once again become a part of the rain.

 

The process was an endless never ending circle. Peering through the storm, Torin's gaze looked beyond the montrous waves of the Kaminoian Ocean and towards a future. One where he would control the cycle and stop the eternal revolving wheel. The Force and all its mystery would and could be controlled by only one. To work...

 

========================================

 

The security codes having coming to him from a deep recess of his mind, Torin now stood inside an elevator waiting for it to deliver him to some cavernous part of this wretched planet. While traveling Torin had learned many new things about the universe and himself, however he had neglected his training. His power in the Force had faded. The potential was still there, he could feel it, but from lack of use his own abilities had grown stagnet.

 

Finally, the elevator came to a halt and released the Sith into a long narrow hall. Patience is not the key. With a sudden surge Torin broke into a sprint. He pumped his legs harder and harder as he attempted to feel the spirit coarsing through his veins. The energy exists, I must merely harness it.

 

Breaking free of the physical realm, the rage that gripped his heart urged him onwards faster and faster. The hall seemed endless, dark, and deep. With pride and frustration Torin penetrated its inner recesses releasing the stress that had welled within him for the past months. The Force once again flowed freely through its master eager to serve his will.

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The communication cleared without any interference. Stationed below upon the surface of Kamino, the Imperial traffic controllers gave the foreign ship a clearance code to land. Nothing further was stated or implied.

Oblivion.jpg

”œAll worlds begin in darkness. In darkness, all worlds shall end.”

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Release...

 

The Sith burst out of the tunnel and into a large room as a fluid does when it breaks through a constraining barrier. Bounding into the air, Torin flipped, floated, and fell precisely to the ground landing softly and nearly impact free.

 

He stood in the middle of the room breathing hard. A phantom sensation tickled his brow causing him to reach up and wipe the sweat from his forehead. His fleshy hand rubbed the hard dry steel reminding him that he was no longer a humanoid. Sweat would never again run freely down his face. He would never again be able to scatch his cheek or see through organic eyes. Dealing with his deformation was proving more difficult that anticipated.

 

However, in the darkness he found a refuge. The comfort of isolation surronded him and grasped his soul. His muscles relaxed as he decided to sit comfortably on the ground. His electronic eyes disengaged, and Torin prepared his mind for meditation.

 

Where does my power lie? Where has it gone to? Sifting through the darkness, Torin began his search for his former self. It was obvious to him that his attunement with the Force had weakened, it no longer answered directly to his will. Strength is power, but how do I grow stronger without remaining in control. Strength descends from passion and passion is made up of my combined hate, fear, and anger which are all difficult emotions to control.

 

Frustration swelled within the former Sith Lord. He thought back to former battles, recalling the empowerment he had felt as his passions fueled his strengths. Lust for such power caused his mouth to water. The former Sith Warrior longed for battle, for pain, for fear, for destruction.

 

I need a mission... He remained in the darkness contemplating the Force, its power, and how to properly harness it.

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"Your mission..." A haunting and familiar voice echoed from the chasm in which the Sith Lord contemplated, "...is a simple one."

 

The stark silhouette of a towering beast, rivaling that of the mighty rancor beast, arose slowly. The arch of its back curved round, stretching up with his back. A constant secretion of ooze seemed to pour from its body, leaving a trail by each thunder footstep. Emerging fully from the shadows, both arms raised and grasped the columns in which the large armament room rested upon.

 

While the texture upon its skin was as fluid, whenever the beast contracted its muscles, the tips of his fingers became solid and began withering the hardened marble away like dried clay. With a large snap, the monster pulled the cemented material and balled it in palms. It then proceeded to smash the substance together into a mammoth ball of rock that formed under the sheer intense pressure its muscles exerted.

 

"...Live."

 

Soon thereafter, the beast let forth a frightful roar that shook the room. Despite it's bulky size, the creature was terrifyingly fast; able to close the distance between itself and the Sith Lord outright. One swift blow was enough to send the man flying clear across the room, slamming into the solid wall with such velocity and sheer intensity...

Oblivion.jpg

”œAll worlds begin in darkness. In darkness, all worlds shall end.”

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  • 2 months later...

He sighed he had been on this watery world for well over a month now. Questioning locals, bribing what he could. Things if that nature. He had traded weapons for info, and info for weapons. So that he could trade again for more info. It was a draining cycle to be sure. In the end, he felt no where near as close to his prey as he should be.

 

He decided he would change tracks. While he had indeed gained quite a bit of valuable insight especially on the inhabitants of this world, few as they may be, he hadn't gotten the solid lead he needed yet.

 

Returning to his ship he blasted off world shortly after.

Slicer.jpgMy sig is my profile...

ship

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  • 4 months later...

An Imperial shuttle lands on Kamino, chosing a solitary and bleak looking platform amid stormy seas. Lightning crashes around it, and a dark wind howls through the night.

 

Seemingly minutes later, Faust's Bhelliom touches down beside it, making full use of his ships faster hyperdrive to make up for his... delay... on Mon Calamari.

 

He greets Darla and Aerec, now with the last of his sedatives removed inside the shuttle, having quiet words first with the crew and unleashing a surge of Force power. They would not remember being here after they left, and following a series of random jumps, would wind up back at Mon Calarmai to aid the Imperial's "restoration" efforts, their computer missing Kamino's coordinates.

 

"Ah, Darla, Aerec," Faust calls cheerfully, a slight smile on his face, one that actually touches his eyes, though their cold, everburning fire remains. "I trust your flight was suitable?" He goes over to Aerec and makes the personal point of checking him over to ensure his relative health. "I had to stay to take care of a few things. The Imperials will have no record of your shuttle's crash and I made sure that Darex did arrive safely on Gala, so be at ease. You are safe, though," he adds, gently pulling Aerec to a sitting position, "there may be a few difficult trials ahead."

In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

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Aerec slowly came to wakefulness, too weak to do much more than open his eyes. He was free from the nightmare. And for a while, there was none of Faust in the Force. Only Darla.

 

That was disturbing for two reasons. First, Darla was almost always absent in the Force. The only exceptions to that rule had been in times of great distress.

 

And the second reason was likely why she was in great distress, Aerec guess: there was no Darex. Stress, anger, fear all surged through his weak body. For hours he could do nothing but writhe in his emotional pain.

 

He finally calmed himself. Darex was probably dead, but Darla wasn't. He wasn't completely alone and without resources. He still had Darla, he still had the Force. His eyes told him only that he was restrained inside what seemed to be the medical bay of a shuttle. The Force, however, clued him into something else: he was not on the same planet. Though the planet's signature in the Force was similar to the water world, it was distinct. He knew he'd never been here.

 

As he surveyed the new planet via the Force, Faust's presence re-entered. He cursed...well, tried to. He was barely strong enough to use his voice. Fuast's presence confirmed what he should have already put together: he was a captive. Before allowing himself to go completely under, he remembered Faust attempting to sway him. He hadn't fully worked, but it had put enough pressure on Aerec that he'd simply given up and retreated. Retreat would not be an option for long.

 

But perhaps Faust had answers. When he saw the man standing above him, he tried to talk, but Faust spoke quicker. All the better, for there were answers in the man's words, and Aerec's voice still was not strong.

 

Apparently Darex wasn't dead...if Aerec could take Faust at his word. When the Hunter finished, Aerec decided to test his vocal cords. His words came out as a croak, but they were understandable.

 

"Where are we? And how can I trust you about Darex?"

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An encrypted message comes in from the unwavering nothingness of space, bounced from satellite to satellite from one corner of the galaxy to another. Once Faust's datapad finished decoding the message, it stored it away until opened. A holographic display of his apprentice and it's parallel message was meant for his eyes and his eyes alone.

 

~~~~~~~

 

My Master,

 

I apologize for lack of communication. Much has transpired of late that had to be looked to before I could step away to report on my progress.

 

My studies have gone well, as well as my physical training as you ordered. The woman turned out to be a greater vault of insight than I could have hoped. However, with such progress, I found that I am of need of time to meditate and reflect to fully grasp the lessons. I'm currently on Ilum, on my way to the abandoned crystal temple. I figured it to be a suitable place for a secluded moment of reflection. The Jedi could return to claim their temple back, and I don't really know how I will handle it should that be the case, but rest assured it will be taken care of.

 

I did not take care of the situation on Csilla, however. While I was working to make the proper connections, I noticed that there were serious strides of peace at the galactic capital, and felt that a rebellion at such a time would get us more notice than what we were hoping for, so I left the matter for another time.

 

I'm not sure how long I will stay one Ilum in my time of reflection and meditation, but I will leave at a moment's notice should you need me.

 

-Your Apprentice

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"Kamino, and with friends here," Faust answers. "As for trust, reason suggests you shouldn't, but you're a smart boy." Faust stabs at Aerec's head, then down at his chest, "and if Darex taught you anything about the Force, you'd know to trust your feelings on this one." Faust stands back, arms at his sides, half bowing his head. "Give me your best shot," he adds, mentally lowering his guard where Darex was concerned. "Decide if I'm telling the truth. He was put into an automatic shuttle bound for Gala, which should have landed safely. No tricks or traps. I owed the Jedi for healing me."

 

*****

 

As he speaks, his mind whirls, making firm on his cybernetic connection with his ship, receiving and devoting spare processing power to answering his apprentice's call, sending back a secure and encrypted comm.

 

Understood. I was at the Conference earlier. I tried to sneak in and infiltrate the Jedi group, but couldn't get close enough. Both parties are dead set on peace, though I've done what I can to give the Empire an edge.

 

When are are able, meet me on Kamino. I have someone who is suffering from a similar block as you. The former Jedi Darla is here and has shut herself away from the Force in fear after your last.... encounter. Perhaps the two of you could help each other out. If she can be reawakened as a Sith, then we chip further at the Jedi's support base and strengthen our hand.

In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

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