Hello all. For those who are new, it is recommended that you read "Dark Desires: an Old Republic Story" before reading this story (the previous two installments in the DOTOR series are not required reading for this one, however). For those who have already read the previous installments, this one is going to focus on a more unique character who recieved very little screen time (so to speak) in "Dark Desires". Hope you enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I own most of the characters in this story. Any other names of characters or planets are owned by Lucasarts and Bioware.
Days of the Old Republic III: Blacknova
Chapter 1:
To most non Force-sensitives, hearing disembodied voices was a sign of madness. To most Jedi, to hear such voices meant that one could hear a Force-empowered spirit, and as such should be listened to attentively. To most Sith, the voices could be anything from a distraction to a problem.
To the Sith Pureblood known only as "Project Blacknova", hearing voices in one's head was a mundane ritual.
Within his mind, an image of Metarrid Leykott paced back and forth in front of a mental image of Blacknova. In Blacknova's mind, Metarrid was the same as he was in life: a figure in a metallic mask, body draped in dark robes. Similarly, Blacknova's mental image matched his true one: a huge, burly, red-skinned figure with a neck-length black mullet, golden eyes, and two scars where most Sith Purebloods would have facial tendrils.
"My greatest achievement," the voice of Metarrid spoke, echoing in Blacknova's mind, "you are the ultimate weapon. Do you understand?"
"I do," Blacknova nodded.
"You are to do as you are instructed," Metarrid continued. "You will never personalize a mission. You are the embodiment of raw power, and you must behave as such."
"Of course," Blacknova nodded again.
"I have told you of many things, my creation," Metarrid said. "I have taught you how to use all resources at your disposal, how to destroy that which you do not need. I have taught you how to wield a bladed weapon, how to harness your emotions. I have even told you of the great Revan, and of his power. But there is one more thing that I have left to teach you."
"What is it, Master?" Blacknova asked.
"Patience, my weapon," Metarrid said. "All things in due time."
The real world came rocketing back into Blacknova's eyesight. The hulking Sith Pureblood found himself kneeling on the floor in a meditative position, sitting in the passenger hold of a small shuttle. Several men, garbed in black Imperial uniforms, were with him.
"Are you all right?" one of them asked.
"Yes," Blacknova said simply, rising to his feet. "Have we reached the academy yet?"
"We're arriving now," another Imperial trooper answered.
Indeed, the shuttle touched down, and a door opened, letting in a flood of light. Blacknova shielded his golden eyes, having never seen this before.
"Sunlight," he murmured, reconciling the term with the image before him. "So this is sunlight."
The troopers looked at each other awkwardly. Why did they have to be stuck with the one Sith in the galaxy who grew up in a stasis tank, and was thus unfamiliar with trivial things such as sunlight?
"Ah, good," a woman's voice said. "You've arrived."
A woman garbed in black with silver armor on her shoulders approached Blacknova. Her long brown hair fell down to her shoulders, and reflected the sun.
"I am Overseer Ruzall," the woman said. "You must be Project Blacknova. I've heard much of you. I am told you wield tremendous power…but now that I can sense it for myself, I can see that words do not do you justice."
Blacknova looked around for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the Overseer.
"You are the Overseer?" he asked. "What do you oversee?"
"Hmm…you are indeed out of touch with the world," Ruzall muttered. "I suppose it is to be expected from someone who grew up in a stasis tank. Very well. I will explain to the best of my ability. Troopers, leave us. Blacknova, follow me."
The authority in Ruzall's voice prompted all to obey. The troopers returned to their shuttle, and Blacknova began to walk alongside the Overseer as she led him to the massive metallic structure that bore the Imperial emblem.
"This is one of many Sith Academies placed on various planets throughout the galaxy," Ruzall explained. "It is here at these academies that aspiring Sith—called Acolytes—are not only educated in the ways of the Sith, but are tested to determine if they are worthy of becoming Sith in the first place."
She stopped for a moment, as did Blacknova. She looked at him, noting that his physique towered over hers. Despite this, Ruzall never lost her composure for a moment.
"I feel I should warn you," she said. "Not all Acolytes survive these tests."
"I will," Blacknova said. Though many who would say this did so out of arrogance, Blacknova's tone was extremely matter-of-fact.
"I am afraid that remains to be seen," Ruzall said, "but I will admit that you do seem to have greater potential than most Acolytes. Regardless, you will do as you are instructed, and you will do whatever you feel is necessary to keep ahead of the other Acolytes. Am I understood?"
"Of course, Overseer," Blacknova said with a nod.
"Good," Ruzall said, stopping at the academy entrance. "Now, take your place alongside the other Acolytes. I will be assigning you and your fellows your fist task soon."
Ruzall left, and Blacknova stared inside the academy. A small crowd gathered, consisting of many different species. Although they were mostly humans, Blacknova spied a male Rattataki amongst them. He approached the crowd, the Rattataki spying him first.
"So," the Rattataki said, "another nerf has entered the slaughterhouse."
Blacknova paid the Rattataki no mind, keeping his golden eyes faced forward.
"The strong, silent type?" the Rattataki assumed. "Fine, I guess I'll start things off myself. My name's Ziaku Kratannos. As you can most likely guess, I, too, am an Acolyte."
"In other words, I am competing with you," Blacknova said, still not looking at Ziaku.
"So, you do speak?" Ziaku said. "What do people call you, exactly?"
"Project Blacknova," the Sith Pureblood replied.
"Ah. I've heard about you," Ziaku said. "You've probably already realized that your reputation precedes you. In fact, all the talk about you comes from the same Darth."
Now Blacknova turned his gaze to Ziaku.
"Who is this Darth, and why is he talking about me?" he asked.
"He calls himself 'Darth Ranek'," Ziaku answered. "You know how it is with those Darths and their fancy titles."
"Ranek…I believe I met him," Blacknova said. "He was the one who released me."
"That would explain why he is supposedly so familiar with you," Ziaku said.
"Attention, Acolytes!" Overseer Ruzall boomed, every head in the room turning to see her standing in front of the Acolyte crowd. "From here on, your lives belong to the Sith. It is in this academy, on this planet Ziost, that you will begin your Sith training. Let me make one thing clear: weakness will not be tolerated. You are here to shed aside your former lives and devote yourself to the ways of the Sith."
"And get eviscerated in the process," Ziaku muttered, crossing his arms. "Oh, how I do look forward to seeing my lungs splatter on the floor."
"There are numerous trials ahead of you," Ruzall continued. "If you succeed in these trials, you have a greater chance of being chosen by a Sith Lord to become his or her apprentice. If you fail, then you will die."
"I certainly didn't see that coming," Ziaku muttered, this time with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"Your first trial is mind-numbingly simple," Ruzall continued. "You will report to the armory and retrieve a training saber. It is with that training saber that you will arm yourself. It is with that training saber that you will fight to survive. Now, if there are no questions, you will now go and get your training saber."
"That sounds a little too easy to be a Sith trial," Ziaku said.
"You are training to become a Sith," Blacknova said, "yet you seem to have a knack for questioning the Sith ways."
"It is simply who I am," Ziaku shrugged. "And before you go and get your blunted lightsaber copy, you may want to look behind you."
Blacknova did so, and saw Overseer Ruzall smiling at a human man who appeared to be somewhere in his twenties, chin sporting tattoos and the rest of his head sporting chalk-white hair that hung over one eye. When most of the other Acolytes had gone, Ruzall took the white-haired man by the arm and led him away.
"Who was that man with the white hair?" Blacknova asked.
"His name is Daemus," Ziaku said. "He is the son of Darth Ranek, and is therefore favored by the Overseer…despite the fact that she is supposed to remain impartial."
"How do you know this?" Blacknova asked. "How do you know so much about Lord Ranek?"
Ziaku sighed.
"Let's just say I have…an association," he said. "Come on, we had better get to the armory. Knowing the Sith, they won't have enough training sabers for everyone."