797. The Rough Exchange

The rundown luxury airspeeder settled down to the ground near the abandoned power converter factory and the co-pilot ensured her helmet was securely fastened before opening the door to the passenger compartment. The two red robed elderly gentlemen looked up at her from their seats. "Brother Beeble? Brother Zaphod? We've arrived at your specified location, sirs. If you'll allow me, I'll step outside and make sure the area is secure."

"Oh, I'm sure that won't really be necessary, Miss Brox," Brother Zaphod said with a warm smile. "S'spannish Expeditionary Monks often travel to seedy places, but we're rarely treated poorly," he reassured her.

"Let the young lady do her job, Zaphod," the other old man said, rolling his eyes. "It's what we pay her for."

"I don't know why you have to be so cranky all the time, Beeble. I was just trying to be nice to the young lass," the monk said, patting his elderly friend on the arm.

Dianna Kingsdoom smiled at the antics of the two old monks and activated the door controls, it opened with a hiss. Holding her carbine at the ready, she walked down the steps, keeping her head on a swivel. Despite the fact the landing yard at the factory was empty, she was wary for hidden threats. For a moment she was worried they might be in the wrong location, or that the other party hadn't kept their appointment. She was about to call back into the speeder that she'd go investigate when a walk through door on the side of the huge factory building opened up and two armed beings stepped out. Both were reptilian species; the first, a Gektl, the other, a Trandoshan who was gigantic even for one of his species and was wearing a large cape made of some sort of fur. It suddenly dawned on her that the fur was a Wookie pelt, and the realization made her shudder.

The Trandoshan called out to verify that she was with the monks, and she nodded in the affirmative, then turned her head just slightly and called into the open door of the speeder to let her employers know that this was indeed the place. She strode across the open space toward the building and the two reptilian humanoids, her mind imagining energy bolts striking her body from hidden snipers all around, but nothing of the sort happened. "Is this the lamest meeting every or what?" she said to the Trandoshan, then nodded conspiratorially to the Gektl. "I'm stuck protecting two ancient scholars from your boss, and you're stuck protecting your boss from two old humans," she chuckled.

She watched as the two criminals visibly relaxed just a bit, which was exactly what she had intended. No need for one of them to get jumpy.

She turned to watch as the two old men helped each other clamber out of the speeder and begin making their way toward the building. They each leaned heavily on a specialized staff that was taller than the stooped over man who used it. The bottom meter and a half was made out of a polished wood of some origin she didn't recognized, but it was beautifully marbled. The staves were topped by half a meter of electronics which housed their recording and communication devices for which S'spannish Monks were known for, along with their red robes.

When the monks got close, the two guards turned back inside and indicated the newly arrived party should follow them. Dianna made a mental note of the turns they made down various hallways inside the old factory in case they needed a hasty retreat, and after several minutes of walking they arrived outside of a doorway. Dianna turned to the old men to see how they were doing. They seemed to be wheezing a bit and leaning even more on their staffs, but she didn't say anything.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Master Trandoshan? I'm sorry, I don't know your name," Brother Zaphod asked. The Trandoshan mercenary didn't bother to answer, instead, he knocked on the door once, then opened the door upon hearing a voice from the other side say, "Enter."

The room was as non-descript as the rest of the building they had seen so far, with tan walls and tan floor tiles with a white ceiling. The recessed florescent glow rods provided harsh light above the beat up plasteel table. There were three chairs; Two obviously meant for the monks and the third was occupied by a Chiss male with blue skin and scarlet red eyes with black hair.

"Ah, Master Faren'or'gamulak. I'm glad you saw fit to meet with us," said Brother Beeble as he and his counterpart both settled down into their chairs.

"Your Cheunh isn't completely horrible, Brother...?"

"Beeble."

"... Brother Beeble. Still, please call me Norg," the Chiss said.

"Thank you, Norg. This is Brother Zaphod," Beeble said, indicating the other monk who was squirming in his seat.

"Not very comfortable chairs, Norg," said Zaphod, grumpily.

Beeble pinched his the bridge of his nose and shook his head incredulously, but Norg answered. "Yes, and I apologize. It was the best I could do on such short notice. Now, what can I do for such an esteemed organization as the Ss'Panish Expedition?"

796. The Rough Exchange

"I can't tell if you're listening to me or not with your damn helmet on," Rhox Vegha said to the armor clad figure sitting next to her in the cockpit of the air speeder. At one time, the craft would have been considered the ultimate in luxury speeders, but that time was a couple centuries past. Now, it needed a paint job and an engine overhaul, not to mention a complete renovation of the interior. The last time that had happened was probably more than twenty years ago, by the looks of things. Still, it afforded the privacy that people of their passengers status was required without giving the appearance of opulence which was unbecoming of any monk, no matter which order they belonged to.

"I'm listening," Dianna Kingsdoom's muffled and distorted voice said through the vocabulator of the helmet. It was weird hearing her own voice sound like that, but Trychon and Raezyr had insisted on disguising her voice on the off chance it might be recognized.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you told me you were going to avoid getting back together with that Sith, and take it slow if you did, didn't you? Or was I dreaming that conversation?" Rhox chided.

"Yes. That's what I said," Dianna said, turning away from Rhox and pretending to look out the window.

"Well, seeing you come out of Raez's sleeping quarters this morning kinda throws all that out the window, doesn't it?"

"First of all, we slept. That's it," Dianna said. "Second, he caught me off guard. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to try this armor on, make sure it fit. I wasn't expecting to see him in the middle of the night... at least..." she paused, remembering how Raezyr had looked; disheveled hair, shirt off, that wry smile off his. "At least not like that."

"Whatever," Rhox said curtly.

"I'm sorry, Rhox. I can't help it when I'm around him. You know that."

"I do know that," the dark haired woman responded in exasperation. "You know I only have your best interests at heart, and it's not just you I'm thinking of."

"I know... I know," she said, and even though a helmet and disguised voice, she could hear her friend's smile. "I promise I'm going to take things slow. I haven't forgotten about all the changes he's caused in my life... the good or the bad."

"I guess that'll have to do," Rhox said, turning her attention to the upcoming landing.

795. The Rough Exchange

"So tell me again who we're looking for," Trychon said after the issue of disguises were settled. It was usual for most monks of S'pann to travel with a body guard so it had been decided that Dianna Kingsdoom would don a suit of Eriadu armor and play that role, while Rhox Vegha would pretend to be hired aircar driver and wait outside. If things went badly she could either come in as reinforcement, rescue, or just play the role of get away driver. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"The being our trail led us to was a Weequay named Que-do Ulvik, but other than the fact he belongs to the Exchange organization, we have no information about him," Dianna Kingsdoom informed them. "We suspect, although we've never been able to confirm, that Ulvik is on Orbital Station at Telos IV."

For the next few hours they hashed out some more details of their plan, then finally decided to turn in. Raezyr lay in his bunk, unable to sleep yet unable to pin point a particular reason why. After a couple of hours, he got up pulled on a pair of sleep trousers and went out to the main room to get something to drink.

As he entered the room, he noticed Di across the room, her back to him. She hadn't heard him. Instead, she continued to strap on the Eriadu armor she was supposed to wear the following day, adjusting various straps and ensuring a snug fit.

Raezyr grabbed a drink canister and walked across the room toward the fiery haired woman. "Something about a woman in armor," he commented quietly. She turned and looked him in the eyes.

"I wanted to make sure it fit properly," she said. "Help me adjust this strap, will you?" she asked, indicating a strap by her waist.

He walked over and connected the strap, making sure the fit was snug. He then put his hands on her hips and drew her to him, pressing his lips to hers. She tried to pull back. She put her hands against him to push away, but he held her tight. Slowly he felt her resolve melt as she gave herself to him, her hands beginning to run over his muscled chest.

Long moments passed as they drank each other in. Slowly Raezyr's hands began to disconnect her armor, and finally she pulled back. "Raez... no."

He wrapped his hands around her waist once more and pulled her close. She didn't try to fight. She didn't want to fight. She told him so even as she turned her head away. "Raez, you don't know how badly I want this... but I can't right now. There are things..."

"None of that matters," the big Sith interrupted, caressing her chin and turning her eyes back to his. "All that's happened is the past. Your past, my past, it's nothing. What matters is that you and I are here, together. I've become even more powerful than you can imagine, and I promise you this: Nothing will come between us. I won't let it. And I won't let you go again... Ever."

He looked into her eyes, and through the Force he felt her relief and... something else. Was that a flash of fear? He told himself he was mistaken as he lost himself in her.

794. The Rough Exchange

Within moments, the cargo speeder was safely secured in a nearby storage locker while the four humans and cyborg were safely inside as well, with their makeshift headquarters fully operational. Trychon sat in the 'command chair' at the main console, inspecting the data scrolling across the numerous screens while Darth Invictus scanned the security feeds, ensuring no one would pay them a surprise visit. Not that they really expected anyone to do so.

"And just how secure are we here?" Rhox Vegha asked Raezyr as they checked the racks of supplies to ensure whatever they might need was already on hand. "How do you know the owners of the building don't know about this place?"

Raezyr paused for a moment and gave Rhox a bored look. "The owners do know about this place."

The dark haired woman's jaw dropped. "How do you know they won't rat you out to the Exchange, or worse, the Hutts?"

The big Sith rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Because the owners are us," he replied as if talking to a small child and indicated Trychon and himself. "And now that we're finally done taking inventory, how about we all sit down and go over everything one more time? Unless of course you feel like raising more concerns that have been taken care of long before you waltzed back into our lives? No?"

Rhox glared at him and plopped down into a chair at the long table in the center of the room. "Oh how I missed your sunny disposition."

"And I, your trusting supportiveness," Raezyr retorted, sitting down opposite.

"Guys!" Dianna said, sitting down at the end of the table, between the two. "Let's focus on what we are here to do," she admonished. "Now, as we told you back on Den Var, someone made multiple in-roads on our private lives. At first, we thought it was an isolated incident, locally related, but then the next attempt was made, and we were unable to trace that one to it's source. We were never able to even find out who had been snooping around our home and businesses. The third attempt, however, was and attack on our lives. We got lucking in that we were able to trace the assassin, but the trail ran cold after it lead to Nar Shaddaa and The Exchange. After being out of the business for so long, our contacts were either dead, unable to be located, or out of the business themselves."

"At that point, we had a choice to make," Rhox said, picking up where Dianna had left off. "We could either go back home, hope whomever it is stops sending people, hope that next time the assassin didn't get lucky, or..." the dark haired woman trailed off, looking over at the red head to continue.

"Or we reach out for help," she said. "Raez, we knew you probably still had connections, at the very least. We couldn't live our lives in fear anymore."

For the next hour, Rhox Vegha and Dianna Kingsdoom laid out the trail they had followed to the point it had gone cold. Dead ended, rather. The Exchange was an intergalactic crime organization that had been insurmountable for many people, including planetary governments and the Galactic Republic itself, let alone two single individuals. It was no surprise they had reached out to the only help they had available.

“Norg,” Trychon finally said aloud, still working on the computer consoles.

Rhox and Dianna looked over at him for an explanation. When it became apparent that one wasn’t coming, they looked back to Raezyr.

“What is a Norg?” the red haired woman asked of the big Sith.

“Norg isn’t a ‘what’, it’s a ‘who,’” he said. “Norg is a Chiss we had some business dealings with a few years ago, but he’s not going to be receptive to just handing over information, even if we do pay him well.”

Trychon got up and grabbed a box from the shelf then walked to the table. “That’s why we use these,” he said, dumping the contents out in front of the other three.

Dianna picked up one of the two red robes which had fallen out. “What are these?”

Rhox grabbed the other one. “These look like the robes belonging to the Monks from the planet S’spann,” she said. “They’re sort of famous for taking knowledge gathering expeditions all across the galaxy. They usually travel in pairs, each with their own body guard. Mostly they’re harmless, but like to have protection anyway. I still don’t understand how these are going to help us.

Trychon looked at the rest of them. “Don’t you get it? Nobody expects the S’spannish Expedition.”

793. The Rough Exchange

Rhox Vegha pulled the massive cargo speeder truck up to the darkened warehouse storage facility and waited for the receiving doors to open after punching in the security code. Slowly, the massive doors groaned open and she pulled the vehicle into the opening. She had the brief sensation of what a Torrolian sardine must feel like when it's being swallowed by a kruk whale as she passed through the doors which were large enough to admit even a large space freighter.

Inside the warehouse itself her an even more insignificant feeling as the ceiling was about 500 meters above her... and this was just the ground floor. The height of the building itself didn't surprise her as many of the buildings on Nar Shaddaa were just as tall, if not taller. The difference was that most of the other buildings weren't designed to have cargo ships pull inside and unload their freight.

All over were individual storage units, some with regular sized doors, others with doors large enough to pull a speeder inside, but she maneuvered her vehicle on past them all, pulling up to and onto a large elevator platform which, after yellow warning beacons began flashing, started to rise into the air, taking them up to the third floor.

Despite it being after hours, there she noticed there was actually people loading or unloading plasteel crates or duroplast bins from individual storage lockers, but on the entire first floor, she estimated there weren't more than four, beings. Probably quite busy for this time of day, but not abnormal given the size of the facility.

When the elevator finally stopped moving, she noticed the third floor was much more normal sized, and while you couldn't fly a ship down the corridors, her large cargo speeder still maneuvered easily. She counted the numbers on the doors, stopping at eleven thirty-eight.

Rhox hopped out and ran around to the back doors of the vehicle and, after a quick look around, opened them.

A man jumped down to the ground and Rhox barely scrambled out of his way. "Watch where you're going, Sith Lord," she said sarcastically to Trychon, clearly annoyed as she reached her hand up to help Dianna Kingsdoom down.

Trychon ignored her and walked over to the doors on the storage unit, punched in a code, then held his hand up to door for a minute.

Dianna watched Trychon for a moment, then turned to Raezyr, who had jumped out and stepped up beside her. "I don't know why you would risk us being seen like this. Why not just let Rhox open the door?"

"See him holding his hand there?" Raezyr noted. "That's not just for fun. There's a mechanism on the other side that can only be deactivated manually. Which means unless a Force user, who knows the device is there, deactivates it before the door is opened, we'd have all been blown to pieces," he explained. "Besides, there's really no danger of being seen. We own the building and none of the storage units on this level are rented out."

Rhox opened her mouth to comment, but before she could, the storage unit doors began to creak open. Dianna was glad for it too, as she was sure there was some sort of wise crack about to leak from her friend's mouth.

Trychon hit the light switch and the glow rods flickered on, revealing what appeared to be a fairly comfortable living space, combined with some sort of technical center, one wall being lined with computers, the other lined with racks of all manner of weaponry. Scattered about were tables and couches and along the back was a kitchen area with a door placed awkwardly in the middle.

"Where's that door lead?" Rhox asked, unloading some gear from the truck.

"Bunks. Refresher," Trychon called over his shoulder as he began flicking switches, powering up the electronics. He paused, turned to the two ladies and grinned. "Welcome to our Nar Shaddaa base of operations."

792. The Rough Exchange

The shuddering of the small cargo ship brought Raezyr out of his reverie. "What's the problem?" he asked Dianna, trying to look past her to see the ship's readout screen.

"Looks like a hyper stabilizer has broken loose. Can you see if you can go lock it down?" she replied, trying not to sound like it was a big deal, when in fact it was a pretty big deal. If the stabilizer wasn't fixed it could draw them off course while still in hyperspace and who knows where they'd come out. Worst case scenario, it would break completely and drop them out of hyperspace in interstellar space, requiring weeks or even months to get to the nearest system, which may or may not even be inhabited.

Trychon appeared as if he were annoyed by the vibrations, his nose still in his tome, and Rhox looked as if she might try to follow, but Raezyr didn't wait. He shot down the cramped corridor as quickly as he could, nearly smacking his head on two or three bulkheads as he ducked through hatchways.

Finally he entered the cramped engine compartment and flung open the hatch which held the hyperdrive. Immediately he spotted the problem. A box of tools which Daxter had been told to load for them, had apparently been set on top of the hyperdrive engine itself and had some how vibrated off, dumping the tools everywhere and dislodging the hyperstabilizer in the process. Wordlessly cursing the accident prone rodent they had picked up on Tatooine, the Sith carefully dislodged the hydrospanner and reconnected the hyper stabilizer.

He stepped over to the com panel on the wall and hit the switch which buzzed the cockpit. "Did that do it?"
Rhox Vegha's voice, distorted by the ancient comm system, answered him. "Yeah. We're fine now."

He glared at the box on the wall, wondering if a comment about Rhox's lack of appreciation was in order, but decided it wasn't worth it, instead turning his irritation at the tools spread all over the engine compartment deck, then marched over to the starboard side cargo hold and opened the hatch. Inside, staring at a data pad was Raezyr and Trychon's black armored apprentice, Invictus. The only signs of acknowledgement were the data pad lowering slightly and the helmed head raising, turning it's black glassed face screen toward the Sith Lord.

"Daxter made a mess in the engine compartment. I want you to clean it up," Raezyr instructed.

The helmet of the figure inside the omnipresent armor nodded in reluctant acquiescence to his master, then moved past the Sith Lord and down the corridor toward his new task. Raezyr watched him go for a moment. Once, the apprentice had held great promise but had become too hungry for power, attempting to wrest that power from his two masters as all Sith apprentices are expected to do.

The problem was that his attempt had failed, and his failure had left him scarred and broken. Raezyr had been ready to finish him, a fitting punishment his own weakness and failure, but Trychon stayed his brothers hand. The elder brother was loathe to toss away useful tools, and while they both recognized that Invictus would never become the heir to their power they had once hoped for, Trychon had seen that their apprentice might still be useful in carrying out their bidding.

Raezyr hoped he was right, because so far Invictus hadn't done much except cost them a lot of credits for in customized cybernetic limbs and physical rehabilitation.

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.

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.

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.

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.'"

787. Raezyr and the Bored Room - Raezyr

The Jet Razor settled into it's berth in the crowded Nar Shaddaa space port. It had been a few years since the ship and it's pilot had blasted it's way free and escaped into hyperspace, and as the Sith Warrior expected, they had long ago forgotten about a single incident. Not that they would be able to tie this ship to it anyway, at least not by transponder. Trychon had long ago altered the transponder frequency. He'd done it many times, in fact. Still, the ship was the same one and it was unique enough that if they cared compared hull silhouettes, they'd probably find a correlating match.  But as he suspected, they didn't bother. Too many ships in and out of the system and even the Hutts themselves didn't want their own people digging too deeply into the identity of ships. It's one of the reasons that Nar Shaddaa carried the nickname of "Smuggler's Moon."

Raezyr slipped his helm over his head, checked to make sure the rest of his midnight blue armor was in place and activated the loading ramp. He began to descend before it touched the ground, his boots clicking on the durasteel plating. Once on the ground, he walked around to where the cargo bay doors were opening and the gun metal gray droid designated as HK-51 was unloading a small, unremarkable open air speeder. Raezyr climbed into the pilot's seat as the the ramp closed and locked behind them.

A Klatooinian male dressed in a spaceport authority uniform walked over to the speeder holding a datapad out. "Need your berthing and refueling fee. Sign here," he said, indicating a spot on the screen.

Raezyr waved his gauntleted hand in a careless gesture. "You don't need to collect a fee from me."
A glazed look passed over the official's face. "I don't need to collect a fee from you," he repeated almost absently.

"I'm not going to be here long enough to refuel anyway."

"You're not going to be here long enough to refuel anyway."

"You have other business to attend to now."

"I have other business to attend to now."

The Klatooinian turned to his data pad and began going over docking and departures schedules as he wandered toward another berth, the being with the dark blue helm already forgotten amongst his other duties.

Raezyr started the speeder's engine and eased away from the landing bay with Aitchkay sitting in seat next to him. He didn't like to over use Force persuasion techniques as they didn't always work in the first place and they rarely worked a second time on the same being. Usually it dawned on them that some sort of trickery was happening. Besides, it wasn't really his specialty. His brother Trychon was much better at it then he was. Still, he was attempting to be less than obvious on this mission.

Once he was clear of the spaceport, he picked up speed and joined the chaos of traffic on the city moon. On Coruscant, the traffic was orderly and organized. Here, everyone did pretty much as they pleased, and Raezyr did the same. He tapped into the city's public information network, looked up the coordinates for the Dubach Banquet Hall and made straight for it as best he could.

"Statement: Master, the probability of you finding the information for which you are searching is quite low," Aitchkay stated, his staticky voice crackling as he spoke. Despite HK units secondary function as protocol droids, they really weren't built for talking, and their second rate vocabulators showed it.

"I don't care, Huck," Raezyr replied. "Despite Diana Kingsdoom wiping the memory cores of the Omicron Delta Facility, Trych was still able to reconstruct some of the data. It showed a business transaction between her and someone who sits on the InnoCom Corporation Board of Directors. I don't know when that exchange took place, but it's the best lead I've had since the last time I saw her. I have to follow it."

At first, when he had gotten the information, it had seemed useless. He had no way of knowing exactly who on the Board of Directors had been in contact with Di and tracking them all down one by one had seemed folly. If, after visiting the first couple board members he wasn't successful, surely security would be increased on the rest of them, and walking in on them in board meeting in broad daylight seemed like it would logically end in disaster as well, with every security person in the sector probably being called.

Raezyr had been about to give up on the idea as useless when he got lucky. Trychon had sliced into the InnoCom Corp networks to poke around for more information when he came upon a memo regarding an end of the business year banquet. He wasn't naive enough to think that there'd be no security at the banquet. The difference was that it was at night and in a location where there wasn't going to be an entire corporate building filled with security to get passed. At most, he suspected a few body guards. That was something he could handle discreetly enough.

The Sith warrior landed the speeder about a block from the Dubach Banquet Hall, and after grabbing a small pack, he and the droid approached on foot. As suspected, there were several private events all being catered on the same evening, and guests of all shapes and sizes and manners of dress were entering and exiting the building.

They observed the activity from the nearby alleyway for a few minutes and finally Raezyr pulled a black cloak from the pack with ornate trim. He slung it over his shoulders and pulled up the hood, hoping his entry would be less suspicious than necessary.

"Huck, do you still have that slicer program Trych gave you?" Raezyr asked.

"Response: Of course, Master. After all, I am a droid. The program is downloaded into my memory banks. It is not like I can misplace it," the droid responded. If the Sith didn't know better, it almost sounded as if  Huck's feelings were hurt.

"Good. Go first and secure the entry."

A moment later the gray HK-51 was walking through the front entryway. Immediately he was greeted by a protocol droid of some unfamiliar make. "Good evening. Might I be of some service to you?"

HK extended a limb forward. In his hand was a device which suddenly emitted an ion burst. Electrical waves wrapped around the droid in crackling blue waves for a moment before all it's systems shut down and it collapsed to the floor. Kneeling beside it, the assasin droid placed a small patch on it's metal hull. He stood up and gave the all-clear signal to the cloaked figure waiting just outside.

As Raezyr swept in he looked at the droid on the floor. The patch was sizzling as it released the acid inside. He watched for just a moment to make sure it was going to eat through the data banks of the protocol droid, ensuring there was no record of their entry, before continuing on past.

The banquet hall was a big building with several events all taking place at the same time, but he already knew which room he was looking for. The two took a small hallway off the main corridor and it lead them to a more private place where the InnoCom executives would be celebrating.

As they rounded a corner, they saw two armed security guards standing by the only door at the end of the hallway. They began to tense as the black cloaked figure drew near.

One of the guards held up his hand, palm out, intending for the stranger to stop. "This is a private party sir-" he began to say.

Raezyr made a slight gesture with his right hand and instantly both guards dropped to their knees, pulling at their collars as they struggled to breath. He stood there watching them writhe on the floor, faces turning first red, then blue as the oxygen in their system was slowly used up. At the last second, one of the men tried to reach for the weapon at his side, but Raezyr stepped on his hand, hearing he bones crunch under his boots.

The Sith just shook his head in disgust. He was hoping this might be at least a challenge, but if this was to be the most resistance he was going to get, it would be a dull mission, indeed. Hopefully he'd be able to learn something of Dianna's whereabouts and the night wouldn't be a complete waste.

He turned to the droid. "Plug in out here, Huck. Jam all communications both into and out of this room, and when I'm done, wipe out the data banks and erase all electronic evidence of our presence."

"Acknowledgement: Yes, Master."

786. Once Upon a Tyr - Raezyr

Jedi apprentice Tyr Solumi strode side by side with his Jedi Master and grandfather, Tanner Solumi, down the gleaming white duracrete skyways of the galactic capital city-planet. Tyr had been studying at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for the last couple of years with the occasional mission here and there. They were mostly diplomatic in nature, settling treaty disputes or finalizing peace talks. In each case there was the potential for an escalation to violence, but the realistic chances were minute. The young man suspected the Jedi High Council still didn't fully trust him because of his past.

And how could he blame them? He had murdered a Jedi, his very own father, helped take down another Jedi during her trials here on Coruscant and had lead other Jedi tasked to chase him down on a path of wanton destruction that included sabotage of a Republic Navy star ship. Yet since his grandfather had redeemed him and brought him back to the light several years ago, he had done nothing but do his best to serve the Jedi and the Republic in any way they sought fit. Thankfully the High Council had decided he could best serve in the ranks of the Jedi rather than stand trial for his crimes.

Still, he had served faithfully as his grandfather's Padawan, and he had learned much of the Force, or at least the light side of it, anyway, and for the last year or so he had felt that it was time he undertake the trials. Deep down he knew he was ready. He knew he had the skills. Yet Master Solumi skirted the question whenever it arose, or chided him to be patient.

"Grandfather, where is it we're going today?" Tyr asked, hoping it would be something interesting, or at least offer him an opportunity to learn something.

"We'll be spending some time with the kids at the Memorial Orphanage and Adoption Center over in Xylune Sector," Tanner replied.

"Really?" Tyr replied, trying his best not to sound disappointed, but failing miserably. "I was hoping to be able to learn something today."

"And you think that's not possible?"

"Oh, I have no problem entertaining a bunch of kids. I understand the necessity for the Jedi to give to the community and spread goodwill and all that, but I just think my time might be better spent learning and preparing for the Trials," Tyr offered. "I know I'm ready for them, and I can't imagine what else I need to know. I'm anxious to start making up for my past in my own way."

"Ready for the trials?" Tanner asked skeptically. "The Council will decide when you are ready, although I suspect they'll lean heavily on my recommendation."

"And just when will that be?"

"Patience, Tyr," the older Jedi admonished. "Don't be so quick to rush into things. It's one of the things that sent you down the path of the Dark Side in the first place."

Tyr sighed and hung his head. He was about to apologize, when Master Solumi spoke. "Ah, here we are."

They walked entered the building and met with the director for several minutes. The man gave them a tour of the facility and introduced Tyr and Tanner to most of the staff members who were present. They exchanged pleasantries and took time to talk with the staff for a while. Eventually the director took them to a large room filled with various games and activities. They stood outside and looked through the window in the door, watching for a moment. Younglings of many different species ran about doing various activities, although the majority were human children. Many of the older ones were engaged in some sort of ball game outside while others were reading while many of the younger ones were playing with blocks or dolls or other toys and still others were outside playing on swings and other playground equipment. The director explained that during the regular days, the children were in school, but that today was one of their scheduled free days and were allowed to play as they chose.

"Thank you very much for the tour, Director," Tanner said. "I have some other engagements for now, but my apprentice Tyr will be happy to spend a couple hours with the children."

Tyr's jaw nearly dropped. He had expected his grandfather to stay, and was a bit dismayed to find out that he was about to be abandoned. Neither Mastor Solumi nor the director seemed to notice Tyr's astonishment.

"That's most gracious of you, Master Tyr," the director said to him with a bow.

Tyr watched the receding form of his grandfather as the elder Jedi walked away. "You can just call me Tyr."

"Very well. If you'll follow me in. The children have been most excited at the prospect of meeting a real Jedi," the director informed him. He took Tyr into the room and immediately the younger children rushed over, recognizing the garb of a Jedi and  began bombarding him with questions. The director hung around for a while, but then soon dismissed himself as well, leaving Tyr alone in a sea of little hands and faces.

After a while, the excitement level of the kids began to wear down after they figured out he wasn't going to do anything more with his lightsaber besides show them the metallic cylinder, and Tyr found time to play games with the kids throughout the morning while answering all the questions he could. Eventually he noticed that while some of the older kids had come over to talk, not all of them had. They seemed a bit begrudging of his presence, although they eventually let him play hoop ball with them. In the end, they were all laughing and having a good time. Even Tyr found himself enjoying the time spent with the kids.

Tanner Solumi returned by mid-afternoon and found Tyr and some of the older kids lounging in the shade taking a break between games of hoop ball. He spoke as he approached. "I see you're getting along pretty well. The director told me everyone seemed to be having a great time."

Tyr and the kids jumped up to their feet at the arrival of the older Jedi. "Yeah, they're pretty great kids," Tyr said, ruffling the hair of one of the boys standing near him.

Tanner turned his attention to the children for a moment. "Did any of you get a chance to tell Tyr your stories? Let him know why you're here?" Silence followed as the kids shook their heads no. Tanner put his hand on one human boy's shoulder. "Would you mind sharing?"

The boy appeared to be about 10 standard years of age with sandy brown hair and freckles across his nose. The easy smile that had been on his face most of the day was gone without a trace now, but he spoke anyway. "My mom and dad went out on a date and got killed by some bad guys."

"Can you tell us a little more?" Tanner prompted. Tyr looked at him suspiciously, wondering why this was apparently so important.

"Well, it was when I was about four, and they dropped me off at a babysitter, and they went to a club to go dancing and these Sith showed up and killed a Jedi and my parents were outside and got killed," the boy said, a pained look spreading on his face.

Tanner looked over at Tyr strangely... realization dawned on Tyr. Several years ago he, Anya, Trychon and Raezyr had killed their first Jedi outside a nightclub here on Coruscant. Thinking back he couldn't recall any bystanders getting in the way, but then again, he remembered not caring about bystanders at all.

More realization flooded over Tyr. This place was named the "Memorial" orphanage. Tyr came back to the present as the next child, a Togruta female, told her tale. Her parents had been riding a light-rail train when four Sith had entered, slaughtering everyone aboard.

The next child told how her father had been a guard working at the Galactic Senate Building and had been killed trying to protect some Representatives. Her mother, in grief had committed suicide a day later.

One story bled into the next, and Tyr listened, but it was all a blur. The awareness of just how far-reaching his actions had been came crashing in on him, and it was more than he could handle. He excused himself and rushed out side, emptying his stomach over the railing and into the vast darkness a kilometer below.

Tyr wiped his mouth and stood staring into the black depths of the bowels of Coruscant, trying to recover, trying to process everything as his thoughts raced to his other deeds around the galaxy, people he'd murdered and ships he had destroyed. As he struggled, he stared over the edge of the skyway and the dark void below threatened to swallow him.

He was suddenly aware of his grandfather's presence. "How can I reconcile all of this, grandfather? How can I come to terms with the deeds I've done and lives I've destroyed? How can the Jedi accept me after all of this?"

Tanner put his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "Darth Tyrazzapon committed those deeds years ago, but the Jedi Tyr Solumi waged a war against that Sith Acolyte and destroyed him. Now Tyr must go forth and do the work of the Jedi Order and try to serve those whom that Sith of years ago attempted to dominate and destroy."

Together the Jedi Master and his apprentice walked toward the Jedi Temple in silence. Each thinking their own thoughts, ever aware of those around them, but alone in their minds. Finally Tyr spoke. "Grandfather, if when we have some more free time, may I go back and help out at the orphanage?"

"I think that can be arranged, Tyr." Tanner Solumi replied.

They walked on in silence for a few more steps and this time it was Tanner's turn to break it. "I have sneaking suspicion that the High Council will call on you to take the Trials for Knighthood very shortly."

785. No Place Like Home 8 - Trychon

Trychon screamed again and the room crackled with dark energy that flowed through him.  In a way, the room felt as though it was alive for the first time in a millennium.

He pulled the Holocron to him and squeezed it in his hands, as though he wanted to juice out the essence of it's inhabitant, or crush the crystal itself.  "What did you do to her?!" He yelled as he held the crystal inches from his own face.

"I did nothing.  You did this to her, as you should have." The voice of the Holocron rang out from behind him.
Trychon spun to face the Sith Master.  "Tell me what you did to her!"

"Again, this was your doing.  Your mistake was simply not understanding.  She was a tool.  She was to get you this far, and she has."

Trychon wanted to assault the dark being, but even in his distraught state, he knew that was pointless.  He let the Holocron continue.  "She did make a mistake though, in translating the ritual as 'Sacrament'.  It's true that the connotation is there, but the true meaning in this use was 'Sacrifice.'"

"It's done then!  Help me get her back, or so help me..."

"Oh, it's not done yet.  Nothing is done yet but preparations.  She was the prerequisite.  The ritual calls only for knowledge, and she was your tool of knowledge.  Now you must make a sacrifice, that the Dark Side can recognize your willingness to do anything to achieve your goals.  That nothing else matters.  That you will use your power and reign down destruction for the pursuit of more power."

Trychon repeated his demand.  "What about Cordelia? You said we could save her, you piece of..." 
"I said you would need to finish the ritual.  You haven't finished yet.  For what it's worth though, your tool is with me."

Cordelia appeared in front of him, as a miniature version of herself in the glistening blue form of a Holocron Master.  She was doubled up on the floor in pain, screaming in ethereal pain.

"This is her state, and how she'll remain until you satisfy what is required of you."

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

Trychon walked slowly down the path to the town that raised him.  He had some small semblance of family there... even if they only raised him in turns, and only some were fair to him.  As a teen he couldn't wait to get away.  As an adult he'd put off returning for too long, only to find that there was a treasure there waiting for him.

Now he found himself returning one last time, and there was a sense of urgency as well as continued hesitance.  He went with dual purposes.  One he had held for a long time - continued mastery and power over the dark side of the Force.  The other was much more recent - a chance to save a woman he loved.
She had forgiven or overlooked the violence in his past, when he told her of its sometimes random nature and targets, not always with a real purpose.

If he succeeded in saving her, could she forgive him for violence with a true purpose?  If he destroyed everything she ever knew, would she then finally hate him for the monster he had become?
He knew he was a monster by most definitions, and that the path he had been seeking would only make it more true.  He had tried to temper the monster and to him it was not who he was, but rather a tool that he used.

To satisfy the darkness, would he have to finally become the monster?  What level of depravity and violence was proper sacrifice to prove his devotion to this path, and save Cordelia?
His only real option was to leave no doubt.  The time for internal debate was over, as he reached the edge of the village.  He paused for a moment to stare into the clear skies above, as the stars began to fade along with night time.  Everyone would just now be rising from their beds for their daily chores.

Perfect.

He let every ounce of hate he had for this place, his childhood, Thad and his buddies bubble to the surface of his consciousness.  He added to it every experience he could draw from since he'd left.   Every trick he knew to amplify his power came into play, and he could feel it pulsing from him as he paced to the center of the town.

"Shaan?  Thank the skies, it is you!  We were worried you had disappeared again, and we haven't found Cordelia!  What happened?"

"You worried about the fate of Cordelia and Shaan?"  Trychon laughed mockingly.  "That's sweet."

He looked up from the ground, and Pon recoiled at the sight of electricity coursing from his eyes.  "But I am the Sith Lord Trychon, and Cordelia will be safe soon enough."

He unleashed a blast of Force Lightning unlike any he'd ever controlled.  Pon's body went limp immediately as it flew backwards into the village meeting center, causing it to catch ablaze.

The confusion and screaming followed predictably.  Everyone was running out of their modest homes, in search of answers for the cause of the destruction.  They were too altruistic or too stupid to seek shelter away from the chaos, and instead found themselves lining up like nerfs to the slaughter.

One by one, he ended their pointless lives as they ran around like animals.  He could easily destroy them by the handful, but he gave them each an individual moment of his rage.  Some he blasted like he had done Pon, others he lifted into midair and snapped their necks or squeezed the life out of their beating heart.  Others he crushed with flying debris, as even the structures around them did not deserve his mercy.

Finally, it seemed to dawn on some of the few that were left that it was insanity to stay or confront him and they began to flee.

Without understanding his own words, Trychon began reciting a spell he did not know.  The syllables flowed from his mouth as though from a stranger.  Yet, he somehow knew that nobody would be able to get beyond the invisible barrier he had conjured.

Their cries of pain and suffering did nothing but fuel his power, as he pulled them back to him one by one and finished their fates.

Finally, he sensed Thad.  He must have known what had been going on and had cowered in his home.  There was nobody else left, but the quivering essence of his very first enemy.

With a thought, he lifted the hovel from around the scum and called to him.  "Aren't you going to stop me, Thad?  Don't you want to fight me anymore?"

He had to pull Thad to him in the air as he had so many of the other cowards.  He set him down in front of him and let him cry.

He slowly let his draw on the Dark Side slide away.  "Now's your chance.  Show me what a strong man you've become."

Thad yelled as he stood, and threw a haymaker at Trychon's head.  Trychon didn't stop it, instead allowing the punch to jerk his head back, while holding his ground.

Several more times, he allowed Thad's fists to connect with his face and even cause him to bleed.  Still, the rest of his body would not budge.

"You're a freak!"  Thad screamed.  "You've always been a freak, and we had always wished you'd never shown up!  Leave!  Go away!  You never could take the beatings you deserved, and you've become something unnatural.  You freak!"

"If anyone here could take claim on what I have become today, Thad... it would be you.  Whether you understand it or not, your part in this universe, as my life... is insignificant.  I am what I am because it was destined.  You won't get the chance to come to terms with the meaning of this, but Cordelia will."

With that, Trychon began responding to the blows.  He blocked them, shoved them aside and returned them in kind.  What little strength Thad had left from the ordeal faded quickly as strike after strike found their place on his body and his face.

He did not call on the Force to strengthen his attack, or give him foresight into Thad's thoughts.  He simply beat him, and beat him until he laid bloodied on the ground beneath him.

With one last brutal strike to the face, Trychon felt something give and Thad stopped breathing with a quiet gurgling noise.

Trychon stood up and walked away out of the rubble that had been a town, admiring again the clear skies above him, now much brighter and seemingly not bothered at all by the storm of rage he'd unleashed.

He allowed himself only a few moments of reflection on what he'd done.  The people he'd killed; friend and foe alike, all helpless before him... slaughtered.  In those brief moments thinking back, he finally realized that he hadn't hated the place as much as he'd remembered.  He knew he'd destroyed all of the good with whatever amount of bad there had been.

His sudden insight into his own mind made him realize something else.  He doubted that his 'Master' was telling the truth about saving Cordelia.  At least not the truth in entirety... he never did.  He was sure that he had passed the Sith's rite of passage.  He'd felt it.

He was nearly as sure that there was broken promises waiting for him back at the Sith Temple.  He felt that now too.

"Goodbye."  He mumbled without regret.

He continued on, staring once more at the ground as he returned to pack up his camp and hopefully reclaim his loved one.