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.
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