I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters.
The planet Byss was the heart of the Rakata Infinite Empire. On the edge of the Blud'nach Sea, stood the command center of Predor Skal'nas, a testament to his martial power. The red skinned Rakata was furious. He shook back his elongated head, his yellow eyes twitch from his short sidewise eyestalks.
"Where is he?!" snarled Skal'nas.
The Rakata had been taking out his frustration on his Force Hound, Trill. Trill's white skin bore slight bruises, a few white locks fell free of her ponytail, and her pure white eyes remained expressionless. The red tattoo on her face (bridging her nose and from either side of her lip) concealed her cut lip. Trill's body had been protected from any lasting injury do to the red and black armour she wore, red cape falling about her.
"So clever is Tul'kar! Disable the Devourer's reporting device, will he? He presumes that will keep me from the Force-rich world I seek?" hissed Skal'nas.
The Rakata grabbed his Force Hound by the throat, raising her high above his head.
"That world is my prize! He will not share with me—his Predor, to whom he owes obedience! He connives to be my equal—conspires to replace me! Tul'kar is even more devious that I gave him credit for! A pity, Trill, that my own Force Hound lacked the skill to locate the world—the Tul'kar's Hound, Xesh, found…" exclaimed Skal'nas.
Skal'nas threw Trill, tossing his Force Hound around with the Force.
"I should prepare you for my table… Tul'kar has betrayed me! I want his head on a spit! The world should have been my magnificent prize!" bellowed Skal'nas.
Trill slowly rose from the ground, cautious to her Predor's mood.
"It will be, my Predor. Allow me to take a scout ship, my Predor! I will track the Devourer from the spot where it vanished—by tracking Xesh! The world you seek will be where he is!" stated Trill.
"The brood link between you and Xesh is still strong, is it? Good. You understand my mind, Hound Trill. Find this world for the glory of your Predor, for the glory of the Infinite Empire! And, if he still lives—find Xesh!" commanded Skal'nas.
Trill bowed eager to start her master's bidding.
XXX
On the dark moon of Bogan, Xesh sat on an ancient abandoned temple overlooking the planet Tython and its lighter moon, Ashla. Xesh sat and pondered the night sky as the shadow of Bogan again devoured the light of Ashla. The Je'daii said the light returns to balance the dark. The light they speak of was alien to Xesh. All his life, Xesh had only known what the Je'daii called the dark side.
Memories of his past flicker before his eyes. His earliest memory was of him and his brood mates, huddled together for warmth. Names and faces eluded him, but she was always there—fierce protector, comforter of pain…
He had been placed in a machine as a child—enchased in a tomblike shell where he screamed in fear. He had sensed his brood mates around him, screaming into the darkness. He learned anger and hate. That was how he came to understand the Force. He was chosen by a master, Tul'kar, and trained as a Force Hound. He became the best at what he did. But that was the past—when he was a slave to the Rakata. Two months ago everything changed.
Xesh had been led to the strange planet of Tython. There he encountered his first three Je'daii—three Journeyers. He fought first to kill them, then fought to save them. She was the reason. In the dark Abyss of Ruh, she glowed with light. It was an experience unlike Xesh had ever seen or felt before. Something in him yearned for the female. He could not let her die. But those feelings had made him weak. He had been struck down by the Force—by other Je'daii. They had made him a prisoner and exiled him to this dark moon. Bogan.
Xesh ran a hand through his dark hair which had grown to nearly reach his shoulders. The lifeless blue eyes of the Force Hound gazed at the silver cuffs on his wrists, covered by the sleeves of the simple robes the Je'daii had provided him with since his exile to the dark moon. He ran a pale hand over his face, lingering when he felt the purple triangular tattoo that his masters had marked him with. Frowning at the memory, Xesh almost didn't notice the security droid walk up behind him on its six spindly legs.
"Log note—Exile Xesh present in his compound. Marking the end of his second month since arrival. Please note—the supply ship will arrive in one week. Good night, Exile Xesh." spoke the droid.
He was told by the Je'daii that he was out here to learn of the balance in the Force. His task on Bogan was to find a balance between the light and dark. Xesh knew the truth though. He was sent here because they feared his dark power. He knows what he truly is on Bogan. A prisoner.
Xesh entered the hovel that had been his home for the past two months. Marking the wall with another tally, Xesh called a piece of fruit to him with the Force. At least he hasn't gone hungry. He is fed much better by his Je'daii jailers than he was ever by his Rakata masters.
Tul'kar is dead. Masterless on Byss, Xesh would have fought another slave in the arena to gain a new master. But he is no longer on Byss. If he is no longer a slave, then what is he?
An arm snaked around Xesh's throat. The Force Hound reached back, tossing his attacker over his shoulder. Xesh found it becoming hard to breath. He clutched his throat, gasping for air.
The hood of the attacker's cloak fell, revealing the face of a man with a scruffy beard and unkept graying hair. A scar ran across one of the man's golden eyes. A sinister smile twisted the man's face.
"Attack, boy! Show me your worth." challenged the man.
"What…did you do to me?" asked Xesh.
"I call it a mind twist. I'm inside your head. Hurts, doesn't it." laughed the man.
Xesh lunged at the man, pinning him against the nearest wall. The Force Hound called on his dark power, lightning dancing at his fingertips. No fear emanated from the man, only a dark and twisted grin spread across his face.
"You want to kill me? The do it! But, first, answer one question—I want to know why you appeared here on Bogan to me." stated the man.
"You saw me…like the Journeyers." questioned Xesh.
The Force Hound let the man go. He suddenly had some questions be wanted answered, and this man was the best way for him to get them.
"I'm Daegen Lok. You have a name? I don't want to keep calling you 'boy'." spoke Daegen.
"Xesh." said Xesh.
"Of course. Should have guessed. It's written all over your face. Put that on so you'd remember your name, did you?" mocked Daegen.
"This mark designates me as a Force Hound of the Rakata. They mark out limbs too—easier to find the pieces if the battle does not go well." stiffly spoke Xesh.
That's when Xesh realised this Daegen Lok's presence should not have even been possible in his compound, according to what the Je'daii told his when he first arrived on Bogan.
"How can you enter my compound? I was told these cuffs keep prisoners apart…yet you don't wear them." observed Xesh.
"No. Neither do you. There. You're free." said Daegen.
Daegen flicked his hand and the cuffs came free of Xesh's wrists. The other prisoner picked up the cuffs with the Force, tossing them onto Xesh's bed.
"Figured out a way to remove them with the Force—without disabling the sensors. The sentry droids there we're where the cuffs are. Droids aren't actually very smart." explained Daegen.
""A good trick, but we are still prisoners. There is no way off this moon." reminded Xesh.
"Now, the sentry droid will think you sleep. Tonight is the dark of the moon and we will cast no shadows. Walk with me, brother." ominously said Daegen.
The two prisoners walked off into the dark, leaving not a trace behind them.
Comment if you like the story.