August 29, 2012

791. The Rough Exchange - Raezyr


Raezyr opened his eyes and looked around the tiny cargo bay for what seemed the millionth time. The grime on the walls made him wonder just exactly what kind of cargo this ancient freighter used to haul. He was thankful some underling had been told to at least scrub the floor in here before they had left for the Smuggler's Moon, or Nar Shaddaa as it was labeled on the star navigation charts.

The Sith warrior got to his feet after his usual workout, followed by a meditation session and went to the tiny communal refresher. There were only two cabins on board, with two bunks in each cabin. He hadn't been happy about having to bunk with his brother, but there was no way Rhox Vega was going to share a cramped room with Trychon and Dianna had been right anyway. It had been years since they'd seen each other and taking things slowly was probably for the best.

Once Raezyr was done cleaning up and had a fresh change of clothes he headed up to the freighter's tiny cockpit. Rhox and Dianna were at the helm and Trychon was engrossed in some ancient tome that was actually made of parchment and leather, cradling it in one hand while holding the everpresent holocron with the other.

Raezyr leaned in, holding onto the top of the hatch door for support. "Doin' a little light reading, I see," he commented to his brother.

"Yeah, in a minute," Trychon mumbled absently.

Raezyr just shook his head and smiled, watching the mottled blue of hyperspace slide by the transparisteel view-screens. His thoughts drifted back to several days prior. He had been putting himself through his daily workout routine in the gymnasium they had built on their estate back on Den Var. It hadn't taken them long to realize their suites in back in the Farrian Arms hotel back in the city just weren't going to be conducive to furthering their Sith training.

Trychon, with his deepening studies into Sith sorcery became more and more volatile the more powerful he became. Hiding the spells and the experiments wasn't feasible. Neither was Raezyr's ever increasing combat practice. He had long since come to a point where taking on holograms and just moving through forms was no longer increasing his skill. He needed real threats, and only live fire exercise could do that for him.

With their business investments booming and their financial adviser, Sinh Mon Man, proving more than capable at increasing their profits, the brothers soon had enough to purchase a vast estate in the foothills and lower slopes of the Kasparian Mountains a couple hundred kilometers from the main city. The land had actually come cheaply as most of it was desolate and without any creeks or streams or minerals and was regarded largely as useless, but it fit the brothers needs perfectly.

Nestled deep in a wide valley well within the boundaries of their property, Trychon and Raezyr built a large manse with a private spaceport and after drilling wells, landscaped the valley area around the main buildings into lush gardens and vast lawns that would appear to a visitor as just another private getaway for the rich. What went unseen were the underground, hardened facilities which contained what essentially amounted to a small Sith academy, had either of the brothers been interested in sharing their knowledge with anyone but their single apprentice, Invictus.

In several relatively short years, the brothers had accumulated a large library of Sith tomes, both ancient and recent, raiding libraries on Korriban and THX1138, as well as tracking down various works and artifacts through their contacts on the black market.

They also had a combat room, designed specifically to contain the damage as both Raezyr and Trychon took on live battle droids as they honed their combat skills.

The valley containing the entire facility was curved at it's entrance, with high mountains rising up on either side. It was laid out in such a way, that only from the air would anyone be able to see down into the valley, and with a private spaceport, they had been given control of the airspace over their estate as well, not that anyone flying over would see anything but what the two Sith wanted them to see.

On this day, Raezyr was surveying the smoking wreckage of the battle droids he had just laid to waste in the cavernous battle room which he used to hone his lightsaber skills. Sadly, battle droids were offering less and less of a challenge lately. He had tried adding more, had even disabled their safety protocols, but it was becoming easier to defeat them, nonetheless. Maybe if I have their AI capabilities increased, he thought to himself.

The com panel on the wall began to beep, calling his attention away from the carnage. He powered down his ever present weapons and clipped them to his belt as he walked over and flicked the switch. A Lethan Twi'lekki female, notable for their rare reddish skin tone, appeared on the screen. "My lord, the shuttle you are expecting just jumped into the system. Their ETA is 20 minutes," she said demurely.

"Excellent. See that Trychon is notified, if he hasn't been already and tell HK-51 to greet our guests on the landing pad and escort them to the receiving parlor. I will get cleaned up and meet them there. Also, make sure the repair droids get busy fixing the battle droids, and have their AI increased to level 6," Raezyr said, pulling a towel from a cubicle and throwing it over his shoulder.

The woman looked up quickly with obvious concern on her face. "Level six, my lord?" she asked. Clearly she thought level six was too dangerous.

"Yes, Astra," he replied reassuringly. "Level six."

She lowered her eyes again. "Very well, my lord."

After a quick sanisteam and a change of clothes, Raezyr walked down to the parlor. Really it was all he could do to keep from running. He hated thinking of how many years it had been since he'd seen Dianna Kingsdoom, and how many hours, days, weeks and months he had spent attempting to track her down in that time. Suddenly, she just returns on her own. He kept thinking he should be mad, but he wasn't. Joy he hadn't known in ages filled him, knowing the woman he loved was right now standing in his home.

The door to the receiving parlor slid aside, and there she stood, more beautiful than he remembered. There was a bit of aged added to the corners of her eyes, but as far as he was concerned it only added to her allure. He strode across the room toward her, smiling from ear to ear. "Di! You're home!" He enveloped her with his arms, holding her close. He leaned down to kiss her lips, but she pulled away from him, turning her back. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"Raez... it's been years since we've seen each other. I can't just pick up where we left off," she said apprehensively.

"I... sure. I understand," the Sith warrior said, allowing his hands to drop to his sides. She spun back to face him, then leaned in and hugged him again. He tentatively hugged her back, unsure of how to proceed.

"It's good to see you again, Raez," she said, looking up and smiling at him.

He looked down at her, smiling. "It's good to see you, too," he replied. He then frowned a bit. "I've never stopped searching for you, Di. Where have you been all this time?"

Another voice spoke from across the room. "It's really none of your damn business where she's been, Darth Raezyr."

Raezyr pulled back from Di a bit and rolled his eyes. "Yes, and it's nice to see you too, Rhox Vegha," he said sarcastically. He looked back at Dianna. "She's right though. It's none of my business. All that matters is that you're back."

The door to the parlor whooshed open again, and Trychon, followed by a shorter individual wearing intimidating black armor entered the room. "Well, look at us. One big happy family again," Trychon said with a grin. "Isn't that right, Huck?"

The gun metal gray droid, who had been standing silently up until now spoke. "Indeed, Master," the droid responded with a hint of sarcasm, unmistakable even through the mechanized vocabulator.

August 22, 2012

790. Enter Daxter - Trychon

"I don't understand."  Falka shook his head, looking slightly crestfallen at the others in the conference room.  "Have we displeased you, my lords?" 

"Not at all."  Trychon reiterated.  "None of this is a reflection on you or your performance.  If anything, our desire to bring your operation in closer with our own goals is due to the level of trust you have dutifully earned."

Tocar, Black Phoenix's second in command, was having his usual hard time keeping his temper in check.  "You can put bows on a ronto all you'd like.  It still stinks like a ronto.  We've earned your trust operating a certain way, and what we get for it is jettisoned off our base into the outer regions to do your direct bidding and run completely legitimate courier operations."  He folded his arms and glared at the Sith.  "Every one of us, even the Cyborg here..."  He gestured to Haley, who rounded out the small group meeting.  "We all got into this either for the money or because we were already on the wrong side of the law, and it was the only way to do any business at all."

Raezyr held out his hand to his brother, indicating that he'd respond to the belligerent pirate.  Tocar would likely back down to the larger Sith more quickly, not wanting to lose another body part.  "We don't take business lightly, Tocar.  We may not bow to credits, but we don't toss aside our best investments lightly either."  He made eye contact with all three of their servants one by one.  "I promise that all will be well taken care of."  He could tell they were reassured, despite his normal gruff tone.

Falka looked to his two advisors.  "You'll have to excuse us for having our concerns.  We mean no disrespect."  He waited for a response and got a dismissal gesture from Trychon.  "We will of course prepare for the move whenever you tell us to go forward."

"The concerns are understandable."  Trychon reassured him.  "We fully expected as much, as well as your acquiescence.  You will begin to pack essential gear in the morning, and I trust you'll be fully prepared to withdraw in three days."

"We still have contracts to take care of!"  Tocar objected.  "We'll become outlaws among outlaws, never safe to return beyond the outer reaches."  He took a breath after an understanding glance from Falka and tried to calm himself.  "I fear that what you ask is... unreasonable and puts our entire crew at risk of reprisal from our clients, which our competition will be all to eager to jump on."

"Again, your objections were easy to predict."  Trychon nodded.  "We don't expect blind loyalty from you while also putting you in unnecessary danger."  He allowed the confusion to spread across the man's face.  "I already had Ms. Stargazer subcontract out your upcoming contracts.  You have nothing else left on your ledger."

"Permission to speak frankly?"  Tocar growled, waiting only momentarily for an objection.  "That's a load of bantha droppings.  I'm sick of her being your not so secret puppet in the room."

"That's exactly what she was always meant for, regardless of how you feel about it.  We needed some direct access that we could trust."  Trychon held up his hand to cut off any further complaint.  "You've earned our trust now, and Haley will be transferred to working with us directly.  She will still serve at times as a contact for your group, but she will no longer be a part of Black Phoenix."

Haley simply nodded, not seemingly disturbed or surprised by the news.

The doors opened, letting in a diminutive shape in intimidating dark armor.

"Everything is secured for our meeting?"  Raezyr asked.

The armor showed only a slight nod.

"This is Darth Invictus, our new protege."  Raezyr noted as he picked up his saber and placed it back on his belt. He had placed it on the table to remove any doubt as to who was in charge.  "He is a man of few words, but if he should ever need anything from you now or in the future, I strongly recommend you cooperate."

With that, the three Sith left the board room.

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

Trychon, Raezyr, and their new apprentice settled into a private room in the back of a very seedy cantina.  Invictus had already assured them in his own silent way that the room was clear of any danger. 

They had just received their first order of drinks when their contact showed.  He walked into the room with his face obscured by his cloak, which clung to him like a wet cloth.

"Nice outfit."  Raezyr spoke under his breath.  Wannabe, he thought at Trychon, who grinned briefly.

"I assume no introductions will be necessary." The dark man spoke, his voice echoed eerily.

"We're not ones to waste time."  Raezyr took a drink.  "You have all the information you need.  We're not going to give you a tour of the property in question.  We'll be vacated within a day and you can collect assuming you can transfer the money.  Now."

"All is in order."

"Good."  Trychon slid a miniature datapad across the table.  "That will disable all the defense systems and allow you access, once I've received the funds.  You won't be able to slice the code you need out of it, so don't try.  If the money does not come through, we will find you.  We'll take it and more."

"I can be quite resourceful myself."  The man's voice echoed again.

"Yeah yeah." Raezyr stood to leave.  "Obviously, you can pay us, and that's what mattered.  We're not going to sit here and compare the size of our tauntauns."

Suddenly, Trychon felt a mass of fur land on his neck, and a sharp pain on his cheek.  He quickly grabbed the ball of fur and tossed it to his brother, who caught it by the neck and held it up to inspect it.  Including the tail, it was all of a meter long, covered in orange fur, and a toothy sheepish smile, as it held the small dagger with drops of Trychon's blood on the tip.

"Uh.... nevermind?"  The thing laughed.  "I'll let you get back to your secret meeting now.  Carry on."

"Daxter?!"  The dark man exclaimed, with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Heh."  Daxter shrugged.  "I really do have to go now."

"Who sent you?"  Raezyr asked forcefully.

"I can't tell you that.  What kind of assassin would I be if I told you that?  I'll tell you what kind... the bad kind.  Or the dead kind.  That's what kind."

"I can find out."  The man's voice echoed emotionlessly again.  "He was a junior assassin in our group.  I can get his contract details and hand them over to you... if you hand the runt over to me."

"No dice."  Trychon said as he wiped the blood from his cheek.  "You can find out for us, and then come with us.  After all is done, we'll decide if you get what you want.  For all we know, you brought him here."  He nodded to indicate that the man look to his left, where he noticed the business end of a dual bladed lightsaber hovering inches from his face.  "Cooperate, and you may get everything you want.  Don't cooperate, and we'll still find a way to get what we want."

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

"Not like we needed to keep them alive to know that it was Jama the hutt was behind this."  Raezyr noted as they reached their final destination.  Jama'Rukus Rus'El was a local hutt who had crossed their paths before.  The Sith had responded by nearly destroying his entire base on their way out of the system.

"I've told you.  I'm not going to help you get in..."  The strange creature they'd come to know as only 'Daxter' squeaked.

"Look at it this way."  Raezyr held up the creature to meet his own eye level.  "Every time you obey us allows you another minute and another chance where you may be able to kill us."

Daxter seemed to consider this for only a brief moment before scurrying up the wall and through a barely noticeable vent above the entrance.

"A motivational speech unlike any I've ever heard before."  Trychon laughed.

"Just wait and see if it..."  Raezyr started, just before the doors began grinding open.  "Works."

"You two are reckless."  The dark man noted in as grumbling a tone as an emotionless voice can have.

"Your observation is noted."  Raezyr glared at him, as though the man needed a reminder as to their relationship.

The group wandered into the Hutt's lair and followed Daxter, who was being uncharacteristically quiet.  Finally they came to Jama's main chamber, and met the scowl of the obese alien, as well as the welcoming barrels of half a dozen blasters.

The Hutt voiced his displeasure with the visit and particularly his hired assassin allowing his enemies in.  Several obscenities were mixed into his commentary in his native huttese.  Daxter scurried over to the disgruntled alien and whispered in his ear, presumably about how it was the only way to stay alive long enough to kill them, and how he wasn't under a mind trick of some sort.... he promised.

The Hutt tossed a few more obscenities around the room, then admitted that it was true that if the Sith had wanted to attack him, they probably would have done it from the cowardice of their ship as they had the previous time.  Then the Hutt welcomed his guests with exaggerated grandeur and hospitality.  Then he ordered one of his servants to bring them all drinks so they could discuss their differences like civilized folk.

Then he winked at the server, and then to Daxter.

It took all of the Siths' willpower to keep their snide remarks to themselves.  If the dark assassin's face was visible, they imagined his jaw would be hanging wide open.  This was one of the most obtuse criminal organizations perhaps in the history of the galaxy.

The Hutt went on to talk about how everything had been a big misunderstanding up to this point, and how he was sure that they could all get along.  The brothers said nothing as they waited and allowed the Hutt to think himself clever.

After a while, when the server had taken too long to return with their drinks, Jama ordered his newest slave Daxter to go fetch the drinks.  He winked again, and this time, Raezyr thought he heard the dark assassin cough, covering a laugh of sorts.

They waited several more minutes, and just when it seemed the crime lord was getting ready to explode with impatience, and having to keep up his charade of kindness, Daxter returned, with a tray full of drinks.

One of Jama's servants grabbed the tray hastily and handed a drink to Jama as well as one to each of the Sith.

Daxter hurried over to Jama and began tugging at his arm nervously, but the annoyed hutt only swatted him away.

Jama raised his glass and took a drink, as did the Sith.  Afterwards, the host began to give one of the famous hutt chuckles.

Fools, he called them... then after another chuckling fit, he told them that their drinks had been poisoned, and that they would die within seconds.

"Actually..."  Daxter started to explain, though it was already too late for the now choking hutt.  "I spilled the poison into all the drinks on accident."

The two Sith were not paying attention, however.  The second that Jama had begun to lose his breath, they had each turned to face each other and placed their right hand on their opposite's left shoulder and closed their eyes.

The entire room watched with baited breath waiting for them to keel over, though it became apparent after several moments that they intended to disappoint everyone.

The dark assassin had already rushed to Daxter, and was taking great pains to avoid touching the creature as he attempted to smother him with a seat cushion.

"Not so fast."  Trychon said, holding out his hand and halting the assassin through the Force.  The various henchmen around the room opened fire on the two intruders, but Raezyr was faster, quickly downing half of them with blocked blaster bolts, and the other half through lightning quick movement through the room, slicing them all with his humming blade.

Daxter took a moment to grasp what was transpiring, but he took no time to react once it struck him.  A few quick movements later, and an odd set of attacks of a sort, and the strange assassin laid dead.

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

"You want to keep him, don't you."  Raezyr stated more than he asked.

"It could be... interesting. you never know."  Trychon smiled.

"Just explain to me what happened between you and that creepy guy... and why I should let go of the fact that we need to find a new buyer for our base."

Daxter took a deep breath and then began to explain furiously.

"Well, you see I was working for this group as an assassin obviously, and it was going alright but it was really weird, I'm sure you could guess, well eventually I figured out that really the leaders of the group weren't a bunch of dark cloaked guys but really a bunch of clones of the one dark cloaked guy who really was really bad, but I also figured out how to kill him and I was the only one who knew how, but he knew I was the only one who knew how to kill him, so he ordered other assassins to kill me, but still I managed to sneak in and kill him, which killed all of his clones too, except for the one who was left behind, who you met, and he shouldn't have survived, but somehow he did, and he wanted me dead obviously because he knew I knew what he was and how to kill him you see, and so I..."

"I retract the question.  Welcome aboard."  Raezyr laughed.

August 08, 2012

789. Synopsis - post 560 through post 740

View the Synopsis through post 560 Here.

After returning to the Black Phoenix base and recuperating, Trychon and Raezyr meet with Falka to go over their intricate plans.  They also ask him about two of his crew members, Schyrt and Reed, who had approached them about joining in direct service.  After passing a test of loyalty in which Schyrt nearly killed Reed, the Sith agree to their request.

Upon returning to the main docking bay in town, Huck informs them that the local authorities have impounded their ship.  Knowing that it was the Jama the Hutt once again, they set out to confront the administrator.  The bureaucrat tells them he won't help them, as he'd likely die if he did, but upon receiving hologram of his family being held captive by their assassin droid, he eventually caves.

Before taking off, Haley stops in to discuss her emotional state while she was trapped with Trychon.  She apologizes and thanks him, before leaving awkwardly.  Trychon is oddly perplexed.  They load up and take off, but not before sending the Twilight Stalker on a strafing run of the Hutt's base.

On their way out of the system, they contact Tyr and Anya, who they find in the middle of leaving a trail of mayhem to keep the Republic off the right track.  They inform them that it is time to move on to another job, and ask them to meet in the Corellia system.  Along the way, they stop to hire an old contact of theirs, Dagus Kolant, after rescuing him from a death sentence.

While they traveled through space, Trychon finally completes his double bladed saber while Raezyr manages to unlock a new Holocron, containing the Weapons Master Vilmax N'varrq.  Correctly assuming that it was by approaching the holocron alone that it finally opened, he convinces Trychon to do the same, and Trychon is able to unlock a mysterious master of the Dark Side powers who would not give his name. 

After the initial rendezvous with Tyr and Anya, Trychon and Raezyr are left with a bad feeling, as the other two Sith are secretly planning on wresting control of the group from them slowly.  Despite the developing tension, Trychon and Raezyr agree to risk capture to take Anya to Corellia to confront her parents after Anya teaches Raezyr her one skill, allowing him to hide his scar using the Force.

Though her father is long gone, Anya does confront her mother, only to be told that her memories were wrong or delusional, and she was sent out from her home for her own safety rather than sold out of her home for greed.  True or not, Anya did not bother to find out before killing her mother and rejoining her Sith brethren.

As they leave, they run into the bounty hunter Lexa Teal, who recognizes them and the ensuing fight causes local authorities to get involved.  Teal eventually finds Raezyr and Trychon in the sewers and leads them out so that they don't get turned over to the Republic and she can still cash in the larger, less legal bounty on them.

After taking off, they contact Anya and Tyr again and catch them in bed as well as in the middle of a few lies that only prove that the other Sith no longer truly support them.  They agree to show up on Hoth anyway to help with the Master plan, not aware that Trychon and Raezyr are on to them and the tensions are rising.

Elsewhere, Jedi Weapons Specialist Ataraxiav'a'lajean or 'Val' replaces Jedi Kostek on The Unity in the search for the Sith.  Unity's captain and a civilian slicer finally detect and remove the virus Tyr and Anya had inserted almost a year earlier and hatch a plan to track the Sith down and trap them, but they had another mission for the Republic they had to undertake first.  The Jedi agreed to follow along until a new lead came in on Corellia and they instead leave to investigate.

Somewhere outside the plane of the galaxial disc, Trychon and Raezyr along with Diana and her Kingsmen, augmented by numerous other mecenaries, lay in wait for not just the Unity, but the cargo shuttle filled with aurodium that the Unity is escorting on their secret mission.

While Raezyr leads the attack on the shuttle, Trychon and Dianna direct the rest of the makeshift fleet in delaying the Unity's ability to support and defend their charge. Raezyr, with the help of Mannix, is able to shut down the shuttle and insert their boarding party, lead by some of Dianna's most loyal personnel.

In the meantime, the Republic force's superior numbers are taking their toll, threatening to overrun the makeshift pirate armada. As a last ditch tactic, Trychon remotely activates a hidden portion of the virus which had lain dormant and undetected after worming it's way into multiple systems, consequently sending the big capital ship into a spin, shutting down and rebooting all systems while setting all weapons on a random test firing patterns. The incident causes major damage to other Republic ships allowing Raezyr more time to complete his portion of the mission and for many of the pirates to escape.

When all the surviving pirates make it back to Hoth, Raezyr claims the entire insertion team had remained aboard the cargo shuttle, which was not according to plan. Raezyr told Dianna and the others that the team had claimed there was a problem and had been forced to remain aboard. In reality, Dengar, the team member who had stayed aboard the Jet Razor had caught Raezyr in the act of uploading a program to the cargo shuttle's computers, and while en route back to the pirate base, had questioned Raezyr about it. Subsequently, Raezyr forced the man out of the airlock in interstellar space.

Back on Hoth, the cargo shuttle containing the aurodium and the pirate boarding party never arrives, and despite Dianna's insistence that something must have gone wrong, Raezyr and Trychon convince her that her loyal crew had taken the shuttle and disappeared into the galaxy to keep all the spoils for themselves.

Now having nothing to show for all their effort, Tyr and Anya decide to steal the holocron of Lord Daxon Var, and head off on their own. They had had a pretty successful run when leading the Jedi on the wild bantha chase, and felt they could again, but only if they got away from Trychon and Raezyr.

Having discovered that the holocron did not contain much more new information, and considering they had already moved on to much more powerful holocrons, Raezyr and Trychon let the other two Sith go. The had more pressing issues.

In preparation for the big aurodium heist, Dianna Kingsdoom had borrowed heavily through some rather seedy sources, one of which was a minor Hutt crime boss. Somehow or other, the Hutt had figured out what transpired, and had called her loan due immediately. On top of that, he demanded a huge cut of the take. Unfortunately, they didn't have it, or so Dianna had been lead to believe.

In reality, Trychon had come up with an elaborate scheme, involving hijaking the cargo shuttle twice more by parties completely unknown to each other, and eventually the aurodium ended up in the hands of the Black Phoenix on Tattooine, who promptly fence it with a galactic organized crime syndicate.

The Hutt's interference in their plans was something that Trychon had anticipated, and they put a plan in action to go to Nar Shaddaa and take out Sootoo the Hutt. All goes according to plan, until Mannix is cornered by a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Then encounter leaves the young man severely burned and his bones shattered. Dianna had grown quite fond of the young man, and insisted they take him to a major medical facility for treatment.

Not wanting to run the risk of being caught, Raezyr and Trychon assure Dianna that Mannix will be taken care of, and take him to the ancient Sith base on THX 1138, where they hook him up to the computer run medical bay, and leave him to be attended by the computer controlled, zombie like human workers they had discovered a long time ago.

When they all arrive back at Hoth, they find Dianna preparing to shut the operations down. Trychon and Raezyr convince the pirate to let them "invest," by paying off all her debts. At first she didn't want to take charity from them, but they finally convince her that she can pay them back.

Ironically, they pay her debts and purchase equipment and upgrades with the money that she had helped hijack from the Republic, and had the two Sith not stolen it again, the money would have been hers anyway. Unbeknownst to Dianna, she ended up in the exact same position she would have been before, only now she was in deep debt to Raezyr and Trychon.

About this time, the two Sith recieve a garbled message from their old Sith master, whom they had long ago decided must be deceased, to go on another mission for him and collect some artifacts as they had on Altax III.

This time they arrived on the technology-devoid planet of Meisos, inhabited by a strange, reddish skinned near-human species whom were also Force sensitive as the Taxl monks had been.

Raezyr and Trychon take the ever-present Reed and Schyrt with them, and together they make contact with an elder. Surprisingly, he tells them he will just give them the amulets they are looking for, as long as they attend a meeting halfway across the planet in his stead.

In reality, the elder, who turns out to be a True Sith Lord, has set them up. The planetary leader is assassinated, and Raezyr and Trychon are blamed. During their escape, Reed and Schyrt give their lives so their two Sith employers can make it out safely.

Upon reaching the home village of the True Sith, they kill him in a duel, but not before being badly wounded and nearly killed themselves. They retrieve the amulets, and using their ship, they return to the capital city and threaten to destroy every living being for murdering Schyrt and Reed, and they vow to return some day.

In the mean time, things have not gone so well for Anya and Tyr. Tyr has begun to suspect that Anya has been mind controlling him with her Force powers, but it's too late. They are cornered and shot down on a deserted planet in an uninhabited system. The Jedi Knights Val, and Nal Talla land shortly after them, and give pursuit on foot.

The chase lasts but a day or two when finally Tyr decides he's had enough of Anya's crap and is fed up with running as well. He decides to let Anya go on ahead, hopefully buying her some time to escape.

Tyr waits for the Jedi, and initiates a duel. Val quickly realizes he can handle the fight alone and sends Nal on ahead so Anya doesn't get away. Tyr tries valiantly, but Val's skill with a lightsaber is too great, and he is able to knock Tyr unconscious and capture him.

Meanwhile, Nal finally corners Anya after the Sith runs into a dead end at the head of a canyon. At first Nal tries to get Anya to surrender, but Anya only taunts her. The Jedi falls for the Sith tactic and lets her anger, and the Dark Side, take over and in her rage against her friend's murderer, she nearly murders an unarmed Anya. The only thing that stops her is the arrival of Val, who barely talks the other Jedi down.

Finally, Anya is struck unconscious as well and both are taken as prisoners to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and brought before Jedi Masters Taisun and Tanner Solumi.

At first, they attempt to redeem the two Sith warriors and bring them back to the light, but Anya proves not only unreceptive to the idea, but violently combative. Tyr, however, is eventually told that Tanner Solumi is his grandfather and Solumi reveals more information about his father which shakes the young man to the core.

Tyr had always believed that his father had abandoned him to the slavers, and that his father had hated him, and after years in slavery, Tyr had finally escaped and murdered his father in revenge. It turned out that Tyr had been wrong all those years, and that his father had nearly been drummed out of the Jedi because he refused to abandon his search for his son.

Faced with this life changing news, Tyr submits, asks his grandfather's forgiveness and begins the long road to redemption and atonement for the criminal acts he had committed in the name of the Dark Side. Despite all this, Tyr remains steadfast in his loyalty and refuses to divulge the whereabouts of Trychon, Raezyr, and Dianna.

In the meantime, after much counseling, Nal Talla finds strength in her companion Val, and reconciles her near fall to the Dark Side of the Force. Val, Taisun and Solumi agree that she seems strong enough to continue her mission to bring the Sith responsible for murdering her childhood friend to justice without fear of falling to the Dark Side.

Anya manages to escape from the Jedi Enclave facility, and in a vain attempt to show Trychon and Raezyr how powerful she was to be able to escape on her own from the Jedi, she heads straight back to Hoth to brag about it. Unbeknownst to her, the Jedi had anticipated a possible escape attempt and had put a tracking device to find out her destination. Jedi Knights Nal Talla and Val, along with the Unity and a Republic task force, were standing by and followed her.

Meanwhile, Raezyr and Trychon spend some time on the planet Den Var, where Raezyr gets an cybernetic prosthesis from his knee down to replace the appendage which had been damaged far beyond any normal healing abilities during their battle with the Sith Lord back on Meisos.

While there, the two brothers also managed to get Zhan Helwae, a quickly up-and-coming politician elected to office by forcing his closest competitor to bow out of the race, and shortly thereafter foiled an assassination attempt on Helwae's life, further ingratiating themselves to the suddenly popular elected official.

Once they had finished their business on Den Var, Trychon and Raezyr returned to Hoth. Upon arriving, Raezyr presents a special gift to Dianna, a special, expensive dagger which, to most pirates has great significance, usually finalizing a treaty or a joining of forces.

Anya then arrives shortly thereafter, with the Republic hot on her heels. The moment it was apparent she had been followed, the brothers confronted her only to find out that she had abandoned Tyr to the Jedi.

Her entire life's work now forfeit to the Republic, Dianna Kingsdoom stabs and kills Anya Tachi and they begin evacuation of the base despite the fact there is little hope anyone will make it out.

Dianna refuses to leave, insisting on staying until all her people are gone, but in a moment of desperation, knowing she'll never leave on her own, Raezyr knocks her unconscious and convinces her close friend Rhox Vegah to take Dianna and evacuate the base immediately. Rhox assumes Dianna is injured and follows Raezyr's suggestion, making good their escape before the Jedi and the Republic can lock down the system.

The Sith, realizing that many of their secrets, including the location of THX1138 could be gleaned from the computer systems in the base, destroy all evidence before they leave, but there is the complication of a redundant computer storage facility located in a cave on the far side of Hoth. Raezyr and Trychon go to destroy it as well, but are forced to split up as the Jedi Knights Nal Talla and Val are hot on their heels.

Raezyr draws the Jedi away from his half-brother and lures Nal to land and face him one on one in a lightsaber duel. Raezyr had felt her anger flare up many months ago back on Coruscant during their first confrontation, and he decides to goad her into anger, while at the same time using the opportunity to vent his frustration. Nal doesn't fall for it, staying calm and serene despite taking a brutal beating from the Sith warrior.

In the meantime, Trychon locates the remote backup site and destroys it, along with a wampa which makes the mistake of attacking the Sith warrior.

Val then lands just in time to save Nal's life, and nearly defeats Raezyr who has depleted his energy reserves in an attempt to torture his Jedi opponent and force her over to the Dark Side. He is only saved by the appearance of Trychon, who then destroys the Jedi ships during the get away, leaving the Jedi unable to follow the fleeing Sith.

During the evacuation, most of Dianna's crew are either captured or killed by the Republic. Trychon, Raezyr, Dianna and Rhox are the sole survivors to make it to the secret base which was to be their rendezvous point. While there, Dianna tells Raezyr she needs time to sort her life out, and refuses to tell her Sith lover where she plans on going or when she plans on coming back. Just before she leaves, she gives the dagger back to Raezyr, but keeps the sheath for herself.

August 01, 2012

788. Raezyr and the Bored Room - Raezyr


The doors whooshed open briefly, admitting a large cloaked figure and the aura in the room changed when it did; even the musicians noticed it and stopped playing. All eyes swung to the imposing figure as it stood silently.

All about the room, beings stopped in the middle of what they were doing, be it dancing, or drinking or eating. Each suddenly had a bad feeling.

The room was dark, now silent as well, as the lights on the small, temporary stage flashed on the band and around the dance floor. Finally, a human male pushed a Twi'lek dancer off of his lap and stood. "This is a private party. I don't know how you got past the guards outside, but I suggest you leave before I have the security in here throw you out."

The figure raised his arm, revealing dark blue armor. With a slight gesture of his hand, each door in the room began to close.

The security guards didn't wait for orders once they saw the armor. Armor could only mean that the intruder was looking for trouble. Several beings of various species moved quickly toward the cloaked figure.  When they did, a bright red energy blade sprung from it's fist as if by magic.

"It's a Sith!" somebody in the room yelled.

When the lightsaber came to life, the room filled with chaos. Dancing girls were screaming, board members were shouting and running for cover while guards were trying to draw weapons and dying as the red blade flashed and hummed, deflecting energy bolts and slicing through body parts all the while beings were trying to hide or banging unsuccessfully on the locked doors.

After the guards were finished, the assassin didn't stop. He continued cutting down the party-goers, almost casually, as if he were going about a leisurely stroll through a park. Oddly, only one being failed to run. Instead, the red-skinned Twi'lekki dancer dropped to her knee. "My Lord, let me be your servant."

He held his left hand out to her, almost as if to help her up. Suddenly she clutched at her throat and began gasping for air, as her body rose from the ground, feet dangling inches above the floor. With a flick of his wrist, the girl flew across the room and crumpled to the floor, unmoving.

Within minutes the only beings still moving were the twelve board members and the Sith, and they cowered in a corner of the room, hiding behind a flipped over table as if it could afford them any protection from either the blood-red lightsaber or the dark side of the Force.

Finally, one man stood up, apparently ready to meet whatever fate was about to befall him. "My Lord, what is it that you want from us? What have we done to displease you?"

The figure deactivated his blade and clipped it to his belt, then pulled back his hood and removed his helm. The man beneath had pale skin with black hair, and was imposing even without the helmet. He tucked it under one arm. "My name is Darth Raezyr. One or more of you has had dealings in the past  with a pirate and smuggler; a female named Diana Kingsdoom. You will now tell me any and all information regarding your dealings with her."

The man who spoke looked confused. "Lord Raezyr... I've never heard of this woman."

Raezyr raised his hand toward the man and purple bolts of electricity shot forth, surrounding and consuming the man as he screamed in agony. What seemed an eternity to the eleven remaining board members passed slowly until their partner fell silent and the the electricity stopped. The charred husk of what was once their chairman fell to the floor.

"You have seen what happens to those who are of no use to me," Raezyr said.

Before he could finish, another board member, this time a Rodian, stood. "I have vague memory of this woman of whom you speak," he said in Huttese, "but I will speak of what I know."

Raezyr reached out with the Force searching for deception in his words. "When you met her, what did she look like?" he asked, leading the Rodian.

"Ah, it was, ah very hard to remember... medium height for..." the businessman stumbled, realizing he didn't even know what species this Kingsdoom female was.

And Raezyr sensed it. The blood red energy blade sprung to life and bisected the Rodian before he had time to through his hands up in a futile attempt at defense. The two halves slumped to the floor as the blade deactivated again. "Now you've seen what happens to those who attempt to lie to me. I promise you this: whomever is able to give me the information I desire shall be alive when this night is through."

The remaining board members looked back and forth at each other in terror, wondering, hoping someone might appease this monster before them.

Raezyr watched for a moment, his anger growing. This night was as useless as he had expected it to be. He had hoped that at least this might be a little fun, a little exercise, a little challenge, but even the security had been sub-par and easily defeated. Even that bit of excitement had escaped him.

Just when the Sith had decided to slag the rest of the useless vermin cowering before him, a pudgy, balding human stood up. "My Lord, I believe I may have dealt with her a few years ago, but I'm not entirely sure."

Raezyr could sense no deception in his words. "What was the nature of your dealings? Do not leave out a single detail."

The man began, shaking and nervous. "I never spoke to her face to face. It was only by voice transmission. I contracted her to pick up a small shipment of undeclared weapons and transport them to Carida. She completed the job and was paid. I never had reason to contact her again," the man said, nearly ready to pass out from fear. "That's all I know, I swear."

"I have to verify this." Raezyr said, stepping toward the man. He reached out and placed his palm on the man's skull, gripping it tightly with his fingers. "Open your mind to me and this will be easier on you."

"Yes, Lord Raezyr."

Raezyr poured dark side energy into the man, delving through his mind, tearing through his memory as a burglar might trash a domicile, quickly looking for the valuable items. The man screamed in agony, his eyes rolling back into his head and the veins on his face and skull bulging as his blood pressure soared. Finally Raezyr pulled his hand away and the man crumpled to the floor unconscious, but still alive.

In the next moment, Raezyr danced through the rest of the board members, his lightsaber separating heads from bodies. Shutting the blade down he clipped it to his belt, then slowly replaced the helmet he had been holding casually the entire time.

Turning on his heel, he walked toward the exit where HK-51 awaited on the other side. Stopping before the door, he turned his head slowly and spoke to the red-skinned Twi'lekki dancer. "Come here."

Slowly she pulled herself off the floor from where she had been pretending to be unconscious. Limping, she crossed to the Sith Warrior. "My Lord," she said submissively, bowing her head when she arrived before him, "why did you allow me to live?"

"I do not casually dispense of tools which may be of use to me," Raezyr replied. "As long as you serve me and my brother well, you will continue to live. Now be silent and follow me."

When the doors opened, HK-51 was standing there. "Master, I sense an organic yet lives in that room beside the one you apparently spared. Is it not a concern that you may be recognized?"

Darth Raezyr strode past the droid, and new servant following in his wake. "No, Huck, it's not. I'm confident he won't tell anyone about me when he wakes."

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

The medic rolled the pudgy, balding man onto his back and used the med scanner. "Sir! This one is still alive!" he called as the man groaned.

A NarShaddaa Security Force Officer ran over. "Sir... Can you tell me what happened here? Who are you? How did you survive?"

The medic continued to scan the lone survivor as other medics and Security Force members continued to search the carnage. The survivor opened his eyes, but it was a blank expression on his face. There was no indication that he had heard anything or that he even recognized his surroundings.

"Officer... I don't know what to tell you," the medic began, looking at his readings."But this man's brain activity is almost non-existent."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"His brain is nearly dead, but he's still alive... if you want to call being a vegetable 'living.'"