The Five Stages

Chapter 1: The Denial of the Desperate.

One day after the abduction…..

Denial:

Arrogance. Doesn't matter who you were, what you were, or what kind of being you were. Arrogance would get you killed. Even if you were a Sith. The chaos around him was proof of that.

"Just wait, this is obviously a trap."

"So, we spring the trap."

"Talas this isn't one of your rogue sith making a power play. Whoever is behind this is calm, calculating, and has a trained group behind them. They haven't been caught either, this would indicate a mobile base, or a strong backer."

"Talean, we appreciate your concern. However, there are numerous facts against how seriously you are taking this. One: None of the abductions have been successful-"

"Because of rookie mistakes! And every time the victim was severely injured. Yes, this person is new to this but whoever this is learning fast!"

"Number two: The perpetrator is a victim of their own arrogance. They are following in the footsteps of a far smarter criminal and trying to one up them. Instead of just going after adults they are going after full trained Sith. Giving into the trap would allow us to take advantage of their arrogance. You were an investigator; do you disagree with my assessment?"

"No, but-"

"Then there is nothing more to discuss. We have made out decision. As always you do not have to come but you will not be paid without completion of the mission."

All you had to do was listen.

I know.

Do you?

Of course, I do. How could I not?

Easy, you would only have to look away like you do so well.

Not this time.

Then look her in the eye when you tell her he's not coming back.

Chaos. Ancient buildings tumbling down around them. They never stood a chance. Shortly after arriving on Taris they had been given their coordinates. Talean warned them, but again he was ignored. Talas was not easy to get along with on the best of days. Finally, he turned on Talean after the third attempted warning.

"YOU! SHUT. UP. You did not have to come along. If it was my way you would not have ever been allowed on our ship. We have a mission. We have a plan. And if you cannot fall in line you can go home. DO you understand?"

A quick look towards you showed him that you felt similarly albeit not as strongly. So Talean fell back in line.

I didn't agree with Talas though!

Really? Cause it sure didn't look that way.

I mean…of course I was annoyed we had been hiking through muck for a couple of hours at that point.

And?

And I was sick of my decision being questioned….

Good boy. That wasn't so hard now was it?

Shortly after they had arrived the would have their first casualty of the trip. A sniper hidden somewhere let off one shot, directly through the head of their main scout. Then, panic. More snipers kept thinning the ranks until the group had gathered behind the triangle of the two sith and the body guard.

"Lex call the ship we need out of here, and Talean not a word or I will leave you here."

He called, but it would still take time for the ship to get there. After the snipers realized they weren't getting past the Sith's lightsabers, and the Mando's shield was when the bombs started going off.

How many?

How many what?

How many had to die for your mistake?

Nine. All four scouts, and five of Captain Dawne's men.

And?

He's not dead.

Is that why you haven't told her? Is that why you won't leave your chambers?

He is not dead.

Make sure you can still say you believe that when you go tell his sister how you ignored his warnings and got him… well, let's just call it MIA.

Then came the swarm. Rakgouls, unlike most creatures will run towards the loudest noise they can find. Amidst the falling rubble their horrible screeches could be heard as they closed in. Everyone tried to stay together, but when the world is literally crumbling around you, people get separated. They watched as rakgouls picked of the isolated ones, a few tried to get to the main group, but those were subsequently eviscerated or shot. Then the next bomb went off killing most of the pack and causing the surviving gouls to flee.

You never even scanned for bombs.

I know…

Do you? He warned you it was a trap. Again, and again, and again, he warned you. So why did you never scan? You didn't even use the scouts you brought until you were already too late.

Arrogance.

That's right. Remember that as his sister cries on your shoulder. Remember that as you whisper your pointless vows to get him back…. Remember that as you tell her you love her.

The ship was a minute or so out when the 'things' came. They were close to a tall humanoid height with scales. Not that any of that would matter. The only thing that became relevant was the fact that they came wielding large blades, and that they were only after the two sith. Ordinarily, eight thugs with swords vs the two sith present, wouldn't even have been fun to watch. They had taken on far larger groups without breaking a sweat. But the trek, the snipers, the explosions, and the rakgouls had taken their toll. Despite their exhaustion, Tallas reacted, quick flashes of purple light and his opponents seemed to simply fall apart. But he didn't see the one behind him.

Three things happened at once in this moment: The shuttle they had taken down to the planet came down, hatch open to take the survivors home. Talas turned just in time to watch the thing sneaking up from behind him be separated from his legs by a flash of red. And Lex, hand still outstretched pulling his lightsaber back towards him, felt the most painful thing he had ever felt. He watched as his saber stopped and fell to the ground only meters away, only to look and see his hand fall to the ground as one of the thing's blades finished its arc through his forearm. He was in too much pain to try to stop the backhanded blow that followed.

He didn't notice Talas show up until his opponent was pierced by twin purple blades. Then, he felt himself being pulled towards the ship until he began running on his own. As he tried to remain conscious, he watched as his crew finished boarding, and then the ship was lifting up and Talas was trying to pull him on board. Suddenly as the ship rose he had a vision: Talas trying to pull him up, one of the things leaping for him, then he and Tallas would fall. He felt the thing leap and prepared to let go of Talas; only to watch an armored mass leap from the boarding ramp and slam into the thing as the shuttle continued to rise. The last thing he heard as Tallas hurried him towards their emergency kit was a click, and then the voice of the one being who knew this would happen.

He knew.

I know he knew! I get it I should have listened!

No, he knew how this story would end.

No….

He knew that at the end of the day, eventually one of you would get in too much trouble. Someone would have to be left behind, and he knew that it could never be one of you.

It could have. He should have let it be me!

No, it could not have. He needed you to make it back. Now make sure you fulfill his last request.

*This message is for Lexxor, Judge of the Empire, and one of the best men I have ever known. I recorded this message a little after I joined his crew. I do this every time I join a crew. I edit as things change, but this should be the most current one. This should reach your comlink alone, if this is not you please go find Lex. If you have no idea who that is, well do what you want. This is my last message, my last request, I'm glad someone will hear it.

When I joined your crew, I was haunted by the fact that I had taken another beautiful thing and ruined it. One of the few people who cared about me died because of my powers being out of control. I figured I would travel with you, protect you, and hopefully one day meet my end saving something instead of taking. But let's be honest, if you are hearing this then I did something stupid. I did something and wound up dying, getting maimed, or worse. This message is set to a panic button in my helmet and this means that something just ripped it off my head. Hopefully my head didn't go with it. Haha….that was dark, well anyway…I only need one thing from you: Keep Elizabeth safe….

I didn't have any of those fears I was supposed to when I found out the two of you were seeing each other. I knew you were a man of honor above all else….. and honestly out of the two of you, she is far more of a troublemaker…..*sigh* She will try to hide it, but this will hit her hard. I…..I'm just glad I went first….I couldn't have gone to her funeral. Be there for her. Be true. And if you ever hurt her…..who am I kidding? I just hurt her far worse. Don't ever show her this. In my bunk you will find my lightsaber. It was made from parts of our mother's lightsaber, give it to her. Everything else…. find someone who will use it.

Allit ori'shya tal'din: Family is more than blood, and you will always be a brother. *

All you had to do was listen.

I know.

She's coming.

I know.

This will hurt.

Good.

The mutt is finally gone.

shutup

Aww, don't be like that. You hated him too.

No…

Oh yes you did. Afterall, if not for him, I wouldn't be here.

He had nothing to do with that…

Are you really so sure?

JUST SHUTUP!

You silence me because you know I'm right. You keep thinking that you and that partner of yours are the exception to the rules-

SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!

-Sith are not loyal creatures. We always find our advantage. He found a new partner who would never be a threat-

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

-And now that beast is gone. So prepare yourself Talas Vail, he will betray you…..

Just. Shut. Up. You don't know Lex….He would never….

So you have said before. But I have the experience my friend. And Sith always turn on each other. It's just how we survive,

….no…

And I will teach you how to survive.

Just go away….

Sorry, not gonna happen.

Someone…save me….

Also not going to happen…Now let's begin!

Ow.

Ditto.

Why did you jump from a KRIFFING shuttle?

Lex.

Oh, that's right…

Yeah.

She is gonna kill us if we make it out of here.

Yep

*Sigh* Well time to get some answers hopefully.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"You're lying."

"I swear to you, I have no idea what you are talking about?"

"YOU'RE LYING!...…..you have to be.."

From his shackles the prisoner looked carefully at his captor. She was small; couldn't have been more than 5'4", 5'5" tops. Rail thin build and grey eyes that spoke of mania and emotion. By far though, her most distinguishing feature was the sickly pale red skin, divided by the black lines of traditional tattoos. But even odder was despite the Zabrak head spikes running down the middle of her scalp and the two on the corners of her forehead, she had one spike on each knuckle. She was agitated, pacing back and forth in front of him, growing more agitated every time he spoke. He was running out of options, he pleaded "Look, I don't remember any of my childhood. It's nothing personal, I just don't know you. Just let me go, I'm sure we can-"

"NO, JUST STOP LYING! YOU KNOW ME! WE GREW UP TOGETHER!...I LOVE YOU AND YOU LOVED ME!"

She screamed at him, finally stopping the pacing and grabbing his face she mashed her lips into his; only for him to recoil before he could stop himself. As the tears began to run down her face she turned and began to walk away, his ears barely picking up her muttering: "…you love me….you have to…." And then the door quietly slid shut.

…

Yeah that's what I thought.

You do realize we are screwed right?

Yep

And you're not freaking out?

Would it help?

No….

Oh….

There we go.

….

Yeah, so we have two possibilities here.

….

One: She is completely crazy and we just need to find a way to play to her fantasy to survive.

Odds?

Not in our favor. Number two:,…

…..

Number…two:….

We're fragged….

Yep that's number two.

Authors note: MY FIRST CHAPTER! WOOT WOOT! *ahem* Sorry about that. So a couple of clarity points:

1: This story takes place about 70 percent of the way through the much bigger story I had planned. But you will get the rest of that, I just don't know when.

2: Monologues. You will notice that every character for the most part gets some internal dialogue. Example:

Ow. This would be the internal part. Think maybe something like instinct.

Ditto. This is a more conscious force in the brain. Obviously MOST of my characters are sane so this is more of the two voices behind your thoughts. Logic vs Nature

Why did you jump from a KRIFFING shuttle? Nature

Lex. Logic

Oh, that's right… Nature

Yeah. Logic

She is gonna kill us if we make it out of here. Nature

Yep Logic

*Sigh* Well time to get some answers hopefully. Nature

I have a bad feeling about this. Logic

Something to keep an eye on though is that I have carefully formatted this story countless times. Other than typos and Grammar you aren't going to find narrative issues or plotholes. So isn't it odd that one of the monologues has no nature element? Something to think about!

Anyways, All stories must end, but this is just beginning.