Disclaimer: All of Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Lucasfilm. Most people understand that.
Author's Note: I had to go back and change the character's names. Apparently, I used the names of my friend's Star Wars Roleplaying Game characters. He wanted them changed. Whoops.
A Beginning's End, Part 1
Rain drummed its long, heavy fingers on the roof of the estate. Opening the basement door, Saal Styx stepped up into the main part of the house, his camouflaged poncho dripping with water.
He removed his filthy boots and sopping jacket and hung them up by the front door.
"Saal, is that you?' called a voice from the kitchen. He unconsciously smiled upon hearing her voice.
"I'm back from checking the perimeter sensors," he said. "The waterproofing should hold up."
His wife stepped through the door into the living area. "Don't count it. The holovid said that more of this storm front is coming through." She flicked a wet strand of blond hair away from his eyes, and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Why did you take that camouflage poncho?"
"Why shouldn't I have?"
"It's loaded with combat supplies, a portable clip recharger and cube of detonite." Saal paused for a minute. Everything he owned had some combat application.
That's what came with being a hard core mercenary for so many years. "I didn't think about it. The first thing I grabbed on my way out the door."
"Well, it doesn't matter know. Ress and Wyyrup won't be able to make it here tomorrow.
Ress said the roads that you two cut have been washed out."
He groaned. "Owning an estate is much harder than maintaining my ship."
"That's price you pay for being successful. Go take a shower and take some medicine so you don't get sick.
I've got to finish arranging flowers for the sunroom. I'll be finished in a little while."
They kissed for a long minute, then Ran went up the stairs in his sock feet.
After soaking for a few minutes in the hydrosonic whirlpool bath, he stepped out dried off. Throwing his muddied black fatigues down the laundry chute, he changed into comfortable exercise clothes. Walking into his study, he powered up his computer, and walked over to the window.
The forests and jungles of this moon proved very hazardous to whatever wanted to inhabit them. The computer beeped and he turned around in the dark room.
Sitting down in front of the screen, he saw that several new messages had arrived. He flipped through a couple of them, deleting the junk from various corporations asking for support as they went down the drain.
He opened the final message. It was from Geruis Belthron, a business friend that he seen only days before.
Saal had traveled to Coruscant only a few days before, on a financial trip. In reality, he had been shopping for information, information that had cost him a pretty penny: nearly forty thousand credits in all.
But the information he had sought after for a year had finally come across his desk. The message read:
Mr. Styx,
We are delighted to have served you in the past weeks. The final piece of information you had requested has been procured. It has been confirmed that your wife,Morina Styx, has been meeting with the CEO of the Terramium Mining Conglomerate, Vangross Lippil, for more than a year now.
Most sources, including those closest to Mr. Lippil, say that the relationship was purely for business. Records indicate that Mrs. Styx bought 3,000 shares of TMC stock. They have also discussed other business matters over meals and other events.
We appreciate your patronage, and hope that you pay us a visit on Coruscant again.
Sincerely,
Geruis Belthron
Pressing a button on his console, Saal locked the office door. He reread the message several times. Then this confirms what I thought. Other sources had investigated and found out that Morina and Lippil had been having an affair for about a year and a half. In the five years that they had been married, Ran had always loved her.
And he had expected unconditional love back from her. But the idea that he alone did not hold a place in her heart was unthinkable. He had known Morina for a long time. While a feared and respected mercenary, she had been his second in command. He had been in command of a team of elite fighters, commandoes for hire. And they had fought side by side, learning to trust each other with their life and their deepest secrets.
And now that shield was broken. I feel my caring for her draining away. She meant the universe to me, but now my love alone is not enough for her.
Saal deleted the message and rose from his chair. He stared out the window again. She broke our pact. If she keeps this up, she will tear me apart. I would give my life for her, but to know that she is this treasonous . . . it's unbelievable.
I must take action. Walking over the wall, he pushed a holopainting aside, and revealed a hidden safe. Punching in the code, the miniature vault opened with a hiss of equalizing air pressure. Reaching in, he felt around. His hand fell upon a familiar object.
Grasping it, he pulled it out and shut the safe, replacing the painting. Tugging on the handle, he pulled the dagger from it's sheath. The D'skar knife glinted in the light.
It was a elegant weapon, made by the warrior species the Coyonites. Each was handcrafted and unique. He put the dagger in his pocket, and put the sheath down of the table.
"Saal?" Morina's voice called.
His heart skipped a beat. Despite years of fighting in combat, he had never been more nervous. "Yes?" he answered, moving toward the office door. She opened it. "There you are."
She was running her fingers through her luscious long wavy brown hair. Her dusky skin matched perfectly with it. she had that impish smile that gave a special magic about her.
"I missed you while you were gone," she said. "Why don't we make up for lost time?"
It sounded fantastic. "I'm ready whenever you are."
She gave him a devilish gaze. "Give me a few minutes." Saal nodded, then walked around the corner and into the big closet. Switching on the light, he pushed his way to the back.
The security systems was linked to the back of this closet. With clothes draped across him, he disabled video and audio feed to the master bedroom.
He stripped off his shirt, and switched out the light. Opening the closet door, he saw the back of Morina's naked body. Beautiful.
She walked over to the bed and laid down. Saal walked over to the bed and knelt beside it. "You are an angel," he said, as he slipped the D'skar knife out of his pocket and shoved the blade into the side of the mattress.
"Your dark angel," she said, using his affectionate name for her. "Your trip to Coruscant made me lonely," she said as he climbed up onto the bed.
Saal felt her breasts. So firm but supple. "Nobody can replace you. I saw many beautiful women on Coruscant. All liked me," he teased her.
"But I told them that they combined couldn't love me as much as you."
"You animal," she laughed. He kissed the base of her neck, and worked his way down her breast, onto her stomach. They embraced, and she kissed him hard, with passion. After a minute, she released him. As they gazed into each other's eyes, Ran grasped the D'skar knife. "Do you love me, Morina?" he asked her in his most serious voice.
"Of course I do! What would make you think otherwise?" She eyes searched through his.
"Tell me. Tell you do."
Morina looked strangely at him, then kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you, Saal."
And she does. Ran pulled the knife out of the mattress and brought it up. "Saal! ! !" Morina shrieked. Unthinking, like machine in combat, he plunged the knife downward, cutting through her right breast and sinking into her chest.
Blood dribbled from the wound. Morina's eyes went wide, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Saal still gripped the dagger, unable to believe what he just did. Morina's body shook, convulsing.
"I love you," she gasped through trembling lips. Her head fell backward as blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth. Her hands held his, then went slack.
He stood up and looked at his hands, covered in Morina's blood. He looked down at her body. Taking the corner of the sheet, he wiped the blood away from her mouth. She looked peaceful even in such a savage death.
Saal went into the bathroom and hosed himself off in the shower. Pulling some black fatigues out of the closet, he dressed. Giving one last look at Morina's body, he flicked out the lights and walked down the stairs.
Walking past the turned on holovid, he opened the basement door and walked down into the basement. It appeared to be just a place for fixing the speeders.Pressing a hidden button, he slid back some paneling and walked down a short passage to his secret arsenal. With all of the illegal weaponry that he had collected from all over the galaxy over the years,
this place was a black marketeer's paradise.
I must escape from this place. He walked down another hidden passage. Coming around the corner, he entered his dark, damp docking bay. The scent of oil and ion engine exhaust hung in the air. He looked at his prized ship, the Hailfire. It was YT-2400, a copy of the famous Outrider. I can't take the Hailfire. It's too noticeable.
He turned and looked at the only other ship in his docking bay. A small XS-800 freighter. That's my ticket out of here.
The XS-800 looked like a scaled down Corellian corvette. Climbing aboard, Saal started up the engines and opened the docking bay doors. Once the ship was fired up, went into the cockpit. Sitting in the dewback leather captain's chair, he rubbed the nameplate of the ship on the console. It was a tribute to Morina: the Dark Angel.
He lifted off, living his home behind. It never was your home, Ran. The stars have been your home.
There never has been a home for you.
Home. Maybe that's where destiny will take me. To my home. As he sped out of the atmosphere and into deep space, he read the nameplate again. Morina's dying moments flashed back into his memory. They ingrained themselves deeper and deeper. By the time he had set the hyperspace coordinates, he was silently crying.
Pushing the lever forward, he sobbed on the console as he rocketed past light speed. I can't reverse what I did. Morina will never be with me again.
Where can I find solace?
Author's Note: I had to go back and change the character's names. Apparently, I used the names of my friend's Star Wars Roleplaying Game characters. He wanted them changed. Whoops.
A Beginning's End, Part 1
Rain drummed its long, heavy fingers on the roof of the estate. Opening the basement door, Saal Styx stepped up into the main part of the house, his camouflaged poncho dripping with water.
He removed his filthy boots and sopping jacket and hung them up by the front door.
"Saal, is that you?' called a voice from the kitchen. He unconsciously smiled upon hearing her voice.
"I'm back from checking the perimeter sensors," he said. "The waterproofing should hold up."
His wife stepped through the door into the living area. "Don't count it. The holovid said that more of this storm front is coming through." She flicked a wet strand of blond hair away from his eyes, and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Why did you take that camouflage poncho?"
"Why shouldn't I have?"
"It's loaded with combat supplies, a portable clip recharger and cube of detonite." Saal paused for a minute. Everything he owned had some combat application.
That's what came with being a hard core mercenary for so many years. "I didn't think about it. The first thing I grabbed on my way out the door."
"Well, it doesn't matter know. Ress and Wyyrup won't be able to make it here tomorrow.
Ress said the roads that you two cut have been washed out."
He groaned. "Owning an estate is much harder than maintaining my ship."
"That's price you pay for being successful. Go take a shower and take some medicine so you don't get sick.
I've got to finish arranging flowers for the sunroom. I'll be finished in a little while."
They kissed for a long minute, then Ran went up the stairs in his sock feet.
After soaking for a few minutes in the hydrosonic whirlpool bath, he stepped out dried off. Throwing his muddied black fatigues down the laundry chute, he changed into comfortable exercise clothes. Walking into his study, he powered up his computer, and walked over to the window.
The forests and jungles of this moon proved very hazardous to whatever wanted to inhabit them. The computer beeped and he turned around in the dark room.
Sitting down in front of the screen, he saw that several new messages had arrived. He flipped through a couple of them, deleting the junk from various corporations asking for support as they went down the drain.
He opened the final message. It was from Geruis Belthron, a business friend that he seen only days before.
Saal had traveled to Coruscant only a few days before, on a financial trip. In reality, he had been shopping for information, information that had cost him a pretty penny: nearly forty thousand credits in all.
But the information he had sought after for a year had finally come across his desk. The message read:
Mr. Styx,
We are delighted to have served you in the past weeks. The final piece of information you had requested has been procured. It has been confirmed that your wife,Morina Styx, has been meeting with the CEO of the Terramium Mining Conglomerate, Vangross Lippil, for more than a year now.
Most sources, including those closest to Mr. Lippil, say that the relationship was purely for business. Records indicate that Mrs. Styx bought 3,000 shares of TMC stock. They have also discussed other business matters over meals and other events.
We appreciate your patronage, and hope that you pay us a visit on Coruscant again.
Sincerely,
Geruis Belthron
Pressing a button on his console, Saal locked the office door. He reread the message several times. Then this confirms what I thought. Other sources had investigated and found out that Morina and Lippil had been having an affair for about a year and a half. In the five years that they had been married, Ran had always loved her.
And he had expected unconditional love back from her. But the idea that he alone did not hold a place in her heart was unthinkable. He had known Morina for a long time. While a feared and respected mercenary, she had been his second in command. He had been in command of a team of elite fighters, commandoes for hire. And they had fought side by side, learning to trust each other with their life and their deepest secrets.
And now that shield was broken. I feel my caring for her draining away. She meant the universe to me, but now my love alone is not enough for her.
Saal deleted the message and rose from his chair. He stared out the window again. She broke our pact. If she keeps this up, she will tear me apart. I would give my life for her, but to know that she is this treasonous . . . it's unbelievable.
I must take action. Walking over the wall, he pushed a holopainting aside, and revealed a hidden safe. Punching in the code, the miniature vault opened with a hiss of equalizing air pressure. Reaching in, he felt around. His hand fell upon a familiar object.
Grasping it, he pulled it out and shut the safe, replacing the painting. Tugging on the handle, he pulled the dagger from it's sheath. The D'skar knife glinted in the light.
It was a elegant weapon, made by the warrior species the Coyonites. Each was handcrafted and unique. He put the dagger in his pocket, and put the sheath down of the table.
"Saal?" Morina's voice called.
His heart skipped a beat. Despite years of fighting in combat, he had never been more nervous. "Yes?" he answered, moving toward the office door. She opened it. "There you are."
She was running her fingers through her luscious long wavy brown hair. Her dusky skin matched perfectly with it. she had that impish smile that gave a special magic about her.
"I missed you while you were gone," she said. "Why don't we make up for lost time?"
It sounded fantastic. "I'm ready whenever you are."
She gave him a devilish gaze. "Give me a few minutes." Saal nodded, then walked around the corner and into the big closet. Switching on the light, he pushed his way to the back.
The security systems was linked to the back of this closet. With clothes draped across him, he disabled video and audio feed to the master bedroom.
He stripped off his shirt, and switched out the light. Opening the closet door, he saw the back of Morina's naked body. Beautiful.
She walked over to the bed and laid down. Saal walked over to the bed and knelt beside it. "You are an angel," he said, as he slipped the D'skar knife out of his pocket and shoved the blade into the side of the mattress.
"Your dark angel," she said, using his affectionate name for her. "Your trip to Coruscant made me lonely," she said as he climbed up onto the bed.
Saal felt her breasts. So firm but supple. "Nobody can replace you. I saw many beautiful women on Coruscant. All liked me," he teased her.
"But I told them that they combined couldn't love me as much as you."
"You animal," she laughed. He kissed the base of her neck, and worked his way down her breast, onto her stomach. They embraced, and she kissed him hard, with passion. After a minute, she released him. As they gazed into each other's eyes, Ran grasped the D'skar knife. "Do you love me, Morina?" he asked her in his most serious voice.
"Of course I do! What would make you think otherwise?" She eyes searched through his.
"Tell me. Tell you do."
Morina looked strangely at him, then kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you, Saal."
And she does. Ran pulled the knife out of the mattress and brought it up. "Saal! ! !" Morina shrieked. Unthinking, like machine in combat, he plunged the knife downward, cutting through her right breast and sinking into her chest.
Blood dribbled from the wound. Morina's eyes went wide, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Saal still gripped the dagger, unable to believe what he just did. Morina's body shook, convulsing.
"I love you," she gasped through trembling lips. Her head fell backward as blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth. Her hands held his, then went slack.
He stood up and looked at his hands, covered in Morina's blood. He looked down at her body. Taking the corner of the sheet, he wiped the blood away from her mouth. She looked peaceful even in such a savage death.
Saal went into the bathroom and hosed himself off in the shower. Pulling some black fatigues out of the closet, he dressed. Giving one last look at Morina's body, he flicked out the lights and walked down the stairs.
Walking past the turned on holovid, he opened the basement door and walked down into the basement. It appeared to be just a place for fixing the speeders.Pressing a hidden button, he slid back some paneling and walked down a short passage to his secret arsenal. With all of the illegal weaponry that he had collected from all over the galaxy over the years,
this place was a black marketeer's paradise.
I must escape from this place. He walked down another hidden passage. Coming around the corner, he entered his dark, damp docking bay. The scent of oil and ion engine exhaust hung in the air. He looked at his prized ship, the Hailfire. It was YT-2400, a copy of the famous Outrider. I can't take the Hailfire. It's too noticeable.
He turned and looked at the only other ship in his docking bay. A small XS-800 freighter. That's my ticket out of here.
The XS-800 looked like a scaled down Corellian corvette. Climbing aboard, Saal started up the engines and opened the docking bay doors. Once the ship was fired up, went into the cockpit. Sitting in the dewback leather captain's chair, he rubbed the nameplate of the ship on the console. It was a tribute to Morina: the Dark Angel.
He lifted off, living his home behind. It never was your home, Ran. The stars have been your home.
There never has been a home for you.
Home. Maybe that's where destiny will take me. To my home. As he sped out of the atmosphere and into deep space, he read the nameplate again. Morina's dying moments flashed back into his memory. They ingrained themselves deeper and deeper. By the time he had set the hyperspace coordinates, he was silently crying.
Pushing the lever forward, he sobbed on the console as he rocketed past light speed. I can't reverse what I did. Morina will never be with me again.
Where can I find solace?