View the Synopsis through post 560 Here.
After returning to the Black Phoenix base and recuperating, Trychon and Raezyr meet with Falka to go over their intricate plans. They also ask him about two of his crew members, Schyrt and Reed, who had approached them about joining in direct service. After passing a test of loyalty in which Schyrt nearly killed Reed, the Sith agree to their request.
Upon returning to the main docking bay in town, Huck informs them that the local authorities have impounded their ship. Knowing that it was the Jama the Hutt once again, they set out to confront the administrator. The bureaucrat tells them he won't help them, as he'd likely die if he did, but upon receiving hologram of his family being held captive by their assassin droid, he eventually caves.
Before taking off, Haley stops in to discuss her emotional state while she was trapped with Trychon. She apologizes and thanks him, before leaving awkwardly. Trychon is oddly perplexed. They load up and take off, but not before sending the Twilight Stalker on a strafing run of the Hutt's base.
On their way out of the system, they contact Tyr and Anya, who they find in the middle of leaving a trail of mayhem to keep the Republic off the right track. They inform them that it is time to move on to another job, and ask them to meet in the Corellia system. Along the way, they stop to hire an old contact of theirs, Dagus Kolant, after rescuing him from a death sentence.
While they traveled through space, Trychon finally completes his double bladed saber while Raezyr manages to unlock a new Holocron, containing the Weapons Master Vilmax N'varrq. Correctly assuming that it was by approaching the holocron alone that it finally opened, he convinces Trychon to do the same, and Trychon is able to unlock a mysterious master of the Dark Side powers who would not give his name.
After the initial rendezvous with Tyr and Anya, Trychon and Raezyr are left with a bad feeling, as the other two Sith are secretly planning on wresting control of the group from them slowly. Despite the developing tension, Trychon and Raezyr agree to risk capture to take Anya to Corellia to confront her parents after Anya teaches Raezyr her one skill, allowing him to hide his scar using the Force.
Though her father is long gone, Anya does confront her mother, only to be told that her memories were wrong or delusional, and she was sent out from her home for her own safety rather than sold out of her home for greed. True or not, Anya did not bother to find out before killing her mother and rejoining her Sith brethren.
As they leave, they run into the bounty hunter Lexa Teal, who recognizes them and the ensuing fight causes local authorities to get involved. Teal eventually finds Raezyr and Trychon in the sewers and leads them out so that they don't get turned over to the Republic and she can still cash in the larger, less legal bounty on them.
After taking off, they contact Anya and Tyr again and catch them in bed as well as in the middle of a few lies that only prove that the other Sith no longer truly support them. They agree to show up on Hoth anyway to help with the Master plan, not aware that Trychon and Raezyr are on to them and the tensions are rising.
Elsewhere, Jedi Weapons Specialist Ataraxiav'a'lajean or 'Val' replaces Jedi Kostek on The Unity in the search for the Sith. Unity's captain and a civilian slicer finally detect and remove the virus Tyr and Anya had inserted almost a year earlier and hatch a plan to track the Sith down and trap them, but they had another mission for the Republic they had to undertake first. The Jedi agreed to follow along until a new lead came in on Corellia and they instead leave to investigate.
Somewhere outside the plane of the galaxial disc, Trychon and Raezyr along with Diana and her Kingsmen, augmented by numerous other mecenaries, lay in wait for not just the Unity, but the cargo shuttle filled with aurodium that the Unity is escorting on their secret mission.
While Raezyr leads the attack on the shuttle, Trychon and Dianna direct the rest of the makeshift fleet in delaying the Unity's ability to support and defend their charge. Raezyr, with the help of Mannix, is able to shut down the shuttle and insert their boarding party, lead by some of Dianna's most loyal personnel.
In the meantime, the Republic force's superior numbers are taking their toll, threatening to overrun the makeshift pirate armada. As a last ditch tactic, Trychon remotely activates a hidden portion of the virus which had lain dormant and undetected after worming it's way into multiple systems, consequently sending the big capital ship into a spin, shutting down and rebooting all systems while setting all weapons on a random test firing patterns. The incident causes major damage to other Republic ships allowing Raezyr more time to complete his portion of the mission and for many of the pirates to escape.
When all the surviving pirates make it back to Hoth, Raezyr claims the entire insertion team had remained aboard the cargo shuttle, which was not according to plan. Raezyr told Dianna and the others that the team had claimed there was a problem and had been forced to remain aboard. In reality, Dengar, the team member who had stayed aboard the Jet Razor had caught Raezyr in the act of uploading a program to the cargo shuttle's computers, and while en route back to the pirate base, had questioned Raezyr about it. Subsequently, Raezyr forced the man out of the airlock in interstellar space.
Back on Hoth, the cargo shuttle containing the aurodium and the pirate boarding party never arrives, and despite Dianna's insistence that something must have gone wrong, Raezyr and Trychon convince her that her loyal crew had taken the shuttle and disappeared into the galaxy to keep all the spoils for themselves.
Now having nothing to show for all their effort, Tyr and Anya decide to steal the holocron of Lord Daxon Var, and head off on their own. They had had a pretty successful run when leading the Jedi on the wild bantha chase, and felt they could again, but only if they got away from Trychon and Raezyr.
Having discovered that the holocron did not contain much more new information, and considering they had already moved on to much more powerful holocrons, Raezyr and Trychon let the other two Sith go. The had more pressing issues.
In preparation for the big aurodium heist, Dianna Kingsdoom had borrowed heavily through some rather seedy sources, one of which was a minor Hutt crime boss. Somehow or other, the Hutt had figured out what transpired, and had called her loan due immediately. On top of that, he demanded a huge cut of the take. Unfortunately, they didn't have it, or so Dianna had been lead to believe.
In reality, Trychon had come up with an elaborate scheme, involving hijaking the cargo shuttle twice more by parties completely unknown to each other, and eventually the aurodium ended up in the hands of the Black Phoenix on Tattooine, who promptly fence it with a galactic organized crime syndicate.
The Hutt's interference in their plans was something that Trychon had anticipated, and they put a plan in action to go to Nar Shaddaa and take out Sootoo the Hutt. All goes according to plan, until Mannix is cornered by a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Then encounter leaves the young man severely burned and his bones shattered. Dianna had grown quite fond of the young man, and insisted they take him to a major medical facility for treatment.
Not wanting to run the risk of being caught, Raezyr and Trychon assure Dianna that Mannix will be taken care of, and take him to the ancient Sith base on THX 1138, where they hook him up to the computer run medical bay, and leave him to be attended by the computer controlled, zombie like human workers they had discovered a long time ago.
When they all arrive back at Hoth, they find Dianna preparing to shut the operations down. Trychon and Raezyr convince the pirate to let them "invest," by paying off all her debts. At first she didn't want to take charity from them, but they finally convince her that she can pay them back.
Ironically, they pay her debts and purchase equipment and upgrades with the money that she had helped hijack from the Republic, and had the two Sith not stolen it again, the money would have been hers anyway. Unbeknownst to Dianna, she ended up in the exact same position she would have been before, only now she was in deep debt to Raezyr and Trychon.
About this time, the two Sith recieve a garbled message from their old Sith master, whom they had long ago decided must be deceased, to go on another mission for him and collect some artifacts as they had on Altax III.
This time they arrived on the technology-devoid planet of Meisos, inhabited by a strange, reddish skinned near-human species whom were also Force sensitive as the Taxl monks had been.
Raezyr and Trychon take the ever-present Reed and Schyrt with them, and together they make contact with an elder. Surprisingly, he tells them he will just give them the amulets they are looking for, as long as they attend a meeting halfway across the planet in his stead.
In reality, the elder, who turns out to be a True Sith Lord, has set them up. The planetary leader is assassinated, and Raezyr and Trychon are blamed. During their escape, Reed and Schyrt give their lives so their two Sith employers can make it out safely.
Upon reaching the home village of the True Sith, they kill him in a duel, but not before being badly wounded and nearly killed themselves. They retrieve the amulets, and using their ship, they return to the capital city and threaten to destroy every living being for murdering Schyrt and Reed, and they vow to return some day.
In the mean time, things have not gone so well for Anya and Tyr. Tyr has begun to suspect that Anya has been mind controlling him with her Force powers, but it's too late. They are cornered and shot down on a deserted planet in an uninhabited system. The Jedi Knights Val, and Nal Talla land shortly after them, and give pursuit on foot.
The chase lasts but a day or two when finally Tyr decides he's had enough of Anya's crap and is fed up with running as well. He decides to let Anya go on ahead, hopefully buying her some time to escape.
Tyr waits for the Jedi, and initiates a duel. Val quickly realizes he can handle the fight alone and sends Nal on ahead so Anya doesn't get away. Tyr tries valiantly, but Val's skill with a lightsaber is too great, and he is able to knock Tyr unconscious and capture him.
Meanwhile, Nal finally corners Anya after the Sith runs into a dead end at the head of a canyon. At first Nal tries to get Anya to surrender, but Anya only taunts her. The Jedi falls for the Sith tactic and lets her anger, and the Dark Side, take over and in her rage against her friend's murderer, she nearly murders an unarmed Anya. The only thing that stops her is the arrival of Val, who barely talks the other Jedi down.
Finally, Anya is struck unconscious as well and both are taken as prisoners to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine and brought before Jedi Masters Taisun and Tanner Solumi.
At first, they attempt to redeem the two Sith warriors and bring them back to the light, but Anya proves not only unreceptive to the idea, but violently combative. Tyr, however, is eventually told that Tanner Solumi is his grandfather and Solumi reveals more information about his father which shakes the young man to the core.
Tyr had always believed that his father had abandoned him to the slavers, and that his father had hated him, and after years in slavery, Tyr had finally escaped and murdered his father in revenge. It turned out that Tyr had been wrong all those years, and that his father had nearly been drummed out of the Jedi because he refused to abandon his search for his son.
Faced with this life changing news, Tyr submits, asks his grandfather's forgiveness and begins the long road to redemption and atonement for the criminal acts he had committed in the name of the Dark Side. Despite all this, Tyr remains steadfast in his loyalty and refuses to divulge the whereabouts of Trychon, Raezyr, and Dianna.
In the meantime, after much counseling, Nal Talla finds strength in her companion Val, and reconciles her near fall to the Dark Side of the Force. Val, Taisun and Solumi agree that she seems strong enough to continue her mission to bring the Sith responsible for murdering her childhood friend to justice without fear of falling to the Dark Side.
Anya manages to escape from the Jedi Enclave facility, and in a vain attempt to show Trychon and Raezyr how powerful she was to be able to escape on her own from the Jedi, she heads straight back to Hoth to brag about it. Unbeknownst to her, the Jedi had anticipated a possible escape attempt and had put a tracking device to find out her destination. Jedi Knights Nal Talla and Val, along with the Unity and a Republic task force, were standing by and followed her.
Meanwhile, Raezyr and Trychon spend some time on the planet Den Var, where Raezyr gets an cybernetic prosthesis from his knee down to replace the appendage which had been damaged far beyond any normal healing abilities during their battle with the Sith Lord back on Meisos.
While there, the two brothers also managed to get Zhan Helwae, a quickly up-and-coming politician elected to office by forcing his closest competitor to bow out of the race, and shortly thereafter foiled an assassination attempt on Helwae's life, further ingratiating themselves to the suddenly popular elected official.
Once they had finished their business on Den Var, Trychon and Raezyr returned to Hoth. Upon arriving, Raezyr presents a special gift to Dianna, a special, expensive dagger which, to most pirates has great significance, usually finalizing a treaty or a joining of forces.
Anya then arrives shortly thereafter, with the Republic hot on her heels. The moment it was apparent she had been followed, the brothers confronted her only to find out that she had abandoned Tyr to the Jedi.
Her entire life's work now forfeit to the Republic, Dianna Kingsdoom stabs and kills Anya Tachi and they begin evacuation of the base despite the fact there is little hope anyone will make it out.
Dianna refuses to leave, insisting on staying until all her people are gone, but in a moment of desperation, knowing she'll never leave on her own, Raezyr knocks her unconscious and convinces her close friend Rhox Vegah to take Dianna and evacuate the base immediately. Rhox assumes Dianna is injured and follows Raezyr's suggestion, making good their escape before the Jedi and the Republic can lock down the system.
The Sith, realizing that many of their secrets, including the location of THX1138 could be gleaned from the computer systems in the base, destroy all evidence before they leave, but there is the complication of a redundant computer storage facility located in a cave on the far side of Hoth. Raezyr and Trychon go to destroy it as well, but are forced to split up as the Jedi Knights Nal Talla and Val are hot on their heels.
Raezyr draws the Jedi away from his half-brother and lures Nal to land and face him one on one in a lightsaber duel. Raezyr had felt her anger flare up many months ago back on Coruscant during their first confrontation, and he decides to goad her into anger, while at the same time using the opportunity to vent his frustration. Nal doesn't fall for it, staying calm and serene despite taking a brutal beating from the Sith warrior.
In the meantime, Trychon locates the remote backup site and destroys it, along with a wampa which makes the mistake of attacking the Sith warrior.
Val then lands just in time to save Nal's life, and nearly defeats Raezyr who has depleted his energy reserves in an attempt to torture his Jedi opponent and force her over to the Dark Side. He is only saved by the appearance of Trychon, who then destroys the Jedi ships during the get away, leaving the Jedi unable to follow the fleeing Sith.
During the evacuation, most of Dianna's crew are either captured or killed by the Republic. Trychon, Raezyr, Dianna and Rhox are the sole survivors to make it to the secret base which was to be their rendezvous point. While there, Dianna tells Raezyr she needs time to sort her life out, and refuses to tell her Sith lover where she plans on going or when she plans on coming back. Just before she leaves, she gives the dagger back to Raezyr, but keeps the sheath for herself.
August 08, 2012
August 01, 2012
788. Raezyr and the Bored Room - Raezyr
The doors whooshed open briefly, admitting a large cloaked figure and the aura in the room changed when it did; even the musicians noticed it and stopped playing. All eyes swung to the imposing figure as it stood silently.
All about the room, beings stopped in the middle of what they were doing, be it dancing, or drinking or eating. Each suddenly had a bad feeling.
The room was dark, now silent as well, as the lights on the small, temporary stage flashed on the band and around the dance floor. Finally, a human male pushed a Twi'lek dancer off of his lap and stood. "This is a private party. I don't know how you got past the guards outside, but I suggest you leave before I have the security in here throw you out."
The figure raised his arm, revealing dark blue armor. With a slight gesture of his hand, each door in the room began to close.
The security guards didn't wait for orders once they saw the armor. Armor could only mean that the intruder was looking for trouble. Several beings of various species moved quickly toward the cloaked figure. When they did, a bright red energy blade sprung from it's fist as if by magic.
"It's a Sith!" somebody in the room yelled.
When the lightsaber came to life, the room filled with chaos. Dancing girls were screaming, board members were shouting and running for cover while guards were trying to draw weapons and dying as the red blade flashed and hummed, deflecting energy bolts and slicing through body parts all the while beings were trying to hide or banging unsuccessfully on the locked doors.
After the guards were finished, the assassin didn't stop. He continued cutting down the party-goers, almost casually, as if he were going about a leisurely stroll through a park. Oddly, only one being failed to run. Instead, the red-skinned Twi'lekki dancer dropped to her knee. "My Lord, let me be your servant."
He held his left hand out to her, almost as if to help her up. Suddenly she clutched at her throat and began gasping for air, as her body rose from the ground, feet dangling inches above the floor. With a flick of his wrist, the girl flew across the room and crumpled to the floor, unmoving.
Within minutes the only beings still moving were the twelve board members and the Sith, and they cowered in a corner of the room, hiding behind a flipped over table as if it could afford them any protection from either the blood-red lightsaber or the dark side of the Force.
Finally, one man stood up, apparently ready to meet whatever fate was about to befall him. "My Lord, what is it that you want from us? What have we done to displease you?"
The figure deactivated his blade and clipped it to his belt, then pulled back his hood and removed his helm. The man beneath had pale skin with black hair, and was imposing even without the helmet. He tucked it under one arm. "My name is Darth Raezyr. One or more of you has had dealings in the past with a pirate and smuggler; a female named Diana Kingsdoom. You will now tell me any and all information regarding your dealings with her."
The man who spoke looked confused. "Lord Raezyr... I've never heard of this woman."
Raezyr raised his hand toward the man and purple bolts of electricity shot forth, surrounding and consuming the man as he screamed in agony. What seemed an eternity to the eleven remaining board members passed slowly until their partner fell silent and the the electricity stopped. The charred husk of what was once their chairman fell to the floor.
"You have seen what happens to those who are of no use to me," Raezyr said.
Before he could finish, another board member, this time a Rodian, stood. "I have vague memory of this woman of whom you speak," he said in Huttese, "but I will speak of what I know."
Raezyr reached out with the Force searching for deception in his words. "When you met her, what did she look like?" he asked, leading the Rodian.
"Ah, it was, ah very hard to remember... medium height for..." the businessman stumbled, realizing he didn't even know what species this Kingsdoom female was.
And Raezyr sensed it. The blood red energy blade sprung to life and bisected the Rodian before he had time to through his hands up in a futile attempt at defense. The two halves slumped to the floor as the blade deactivated again. "Now you've seen what happens to those who attempt to lie to me. I promise you this: whomever is able to give me the information I desire shall be alive when this night is through."
The remaining board members looked back and forth at each other in terror, wondering, hoping someone might appease this monster before them.
Raezyr watched for a moment, his anger growing. This night was as useless as he had expected it to be. He had hoped that at least this might be a little fun, a little exercise, a little challenge, but even the security had been sub-par and easily defeated. Even that bit of excitement had escaped him.
Just when the Sith had decided to slag the rest of the useless vermin cowering before him, a pudgy, balding human stood up. "My Lord, I believe I may have dealt with her a few years ago, but I'm not entirely sure."
Raezyr could sense no deception in his words. "What was the nature of your dealings? Do not leave out a single detail."
The man began, shaking and nervous. "I never spoke to her face to face. It was only by voice transmission. I contracted her to pick up a small shipment of undeclared weapons and transport them to Carida. She completed the job and was paid. I never had reason to contact her again," the man said, nearly ready to pass out from fear. "That's all I know, I swear."
"I have to verify this." Raezyr said, stepping toward the man. He reached out and placed his palm on the man's skull, gripping it tightly with his fingers. "Open your mind to me and this will be easier on you."
"Yes, Lord Raezyr."
Raezyr poured dark side energy into the man, delving through his mind, tearing through his memory as a burglar might trash a domicile, quickly looking for the valuable items. The man screamed in agony, his eyes rolling back into his head and the veins on his face and skull bulging as his blood pressure soared. Finally Raezyr pulled his hand away and the man crumpled to the floor unconscious, but still alive.
In the next moment, Raezyr danced through the rest of the board members, his lightsaber separating heads from bodies. Shutting the blade down he clipped it to his belt, then slowly replaced the helmet he had been holding casually the entire time.
Turning on his heel, he walked toward the exit where HK-51 awaited on the other side. Stopping before the door, he turned his head slowly and spoke to the red-skinned Twi'lekki dancer. "Come here."
Slowly she pulled herself off the floor from where she had been pretending to be unconscious. Limping, she crossed to the Sith Warrior. "My Lord," she said submissively, bowing her head when she arrived before him, "why did you allow me to live?"
"I do not casually dispense of tools which may be of use to me," Raezyr replied. "As long as you serve me and my brother well, you will continue to live. Now be silent and follow me."
When the doors opened, HK-51 was standing there. "Master, I sense an organic yet lives in that room beside the one you apparently spared. Is it not a concern that you may be recognized?"
Darth Raezyr strode past the droid, and new servant following in his wake. "No, Huck, it's not. I'm confident he won't tell anyone about me when he wakes."
---------------------
The medic rolled the pudgy, balding man onto his back and used the med scanner. "Sir! This one is still alive!" he called as the man groaned.
A NarShaddaa Security Force Officer ran over. "Sir... Can you tell me what happened here? Who are you? How did you survive?"
The medic continued to scan the lone survivor as other medics and Security Force members continued to search the carnage. The survivor opened his eyes, but it was a blank expression on his face. There was no indication that he had heard anything or that he even recognized his surroundings.
"Officer... I don't know what to tell you," the medic began, looking at his readings."But this man's brain activity is almost non-existent."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"His brain is nearly dead, but he's still alive... if you want to call being a vegetable 'living.'"
July 25, 2012
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."
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."
July 18, 2012
786. Once Upon a Tyr - Raezyr
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."
July 11, 2012
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.
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.
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