Songs in Shadow
Prelude: Part 1
This is the first chapter in a long piece set in the Old Republic era. Original characters, original plot. I hope to post a new "episode" every 2 weeks. Hope you enjoy it. :)
I made up the Imperial dating system used here. Years are counted from the end of the Great Hyperspace War, circa 5000 BBY.
Some say that Sith can never have friends – only allies. Marius has just his fellow apprentice: the volatile Ciaran, who doesn't fit neatly into any categories. But after Ciaran causes the death of an Imperial officer, Marius may have to give up the only comrade he has ever known.
3668 BBY
Imperial date 1312.11.26
"Em-four, hold still," the apprentice scolded.
The modified assassin droid stopped squirming and sat upright on the workbench. "They are too tight, my lord," it said in a flat, grating voice. "If you will allow me, I can loosen them to the proper tension." It grabbed one of the bolts on its torso and began to twist.
"No. No." Marius grabbed the droid's bulky arm and forced it back down. "If you don't stop twitching, I'll turn you off." He picked up the wrench and waved it threateningly.
HK-M4 remained still, but it didn't stop complaining. "They feel too tight."
Marius kept working without looking up. "The bolts are tightened correctly, but your programming hasn't been updated for the new specifications."
"When will you update my programming?"
"If you show the proper respect, perhaps I will tell you."
Em-four tried again. "Lord Marius, when will you update my programming?"
The Red Sith pursed narrow lips. "Soon. It's not easy to integrate the astromech code with your current systems. There are still several glitches…" Marius fell silent.
"My lord?"
"Wait a moment." It was barely a ripple, but it was growing stronger.
A whisper…a shadow approaching…
"Is it the Force?"
Marius turned to the droid. "Yes. Something is about to happen. I have to deactivate you." He reached for the machine's artificial jawline.
"No, please no, allow-"
The apprentice curtly flipped a switch, rendering the droid inert. He quickly twisted the remaining bolts, trying to remain mindful of every angle and piece of threaded metal as the Force churned around him.
The shadow crashed into the present moment like a wave. There, in his private workshop aboard the Golden Vanity, Marius felt Captain Torru die.
The dark side made all Sith stronger and faster, but only some devotees of the Force were gifted with true extrasensory perception. All three of Darth Salire's apprentices possessed this kind of sixth sense, but each experienced it in a different way. Vyhra described it like a phantom touching her, trying to get her attention by scratching at her skin. Ciaran's abilities involved his sense of smell; Marius had never been able to fully grasp how that worked. His own experiences involved sound. Because of his connection to the Force, he could sometimes hear things happening at the other end of the ship.
This was one of those times. Marius heard the blaster's safety click, heard the muffled shot and the sizzle of cooling flesh. Captain Torru fired a shot into her cranium.
Damn. I didn't think it would come to this.
The Red Sith furrowed his brow ridges, rapidly fixing a the last bolts to HK-M4's exoskeleton. He returned the power ratchet to its place among the other tools hung on the wall. He folded the heavy droid into a bin and carried it to a high shelf at the back of the room. Some Sith relied upon the Force to manipulate bulky objects, but Marius had spent years developing his raw physical abilities. He liked using them.
With his workshop in order, the apprentice began to pace. The Force would help him sort out his thoughts and emotions. He focused on his feelings, opened his mind, and let the dark side trickle in.
Despite the fact that he had shown little talent for seeing visions while at the Sith Academy on Korriban, Marius had sensed when Captain Torru fired a blaster shot into her cranium as vividly as though she had expired here in his workshop. The vision's clarity was likely because he had been watching Attla Torru, waiting for her to implode in some fashion since the Pampas mission three weeks ago. Ciaran had been playing his games again, but Marius really hadn't expected Torru to suicide. None of Ciaran's previous toys had killed themselves.
It must end; the Zabrak has taken things too far this time.
Marius considered the idea as he walked. Ciaran rarely took anything seriously enough, that was true, but Marius had come to appreciate the Zabrak's carefree attitude over the years. It could be refreshing, at least sometimes.
He is holding you back, the voice in his head continued.
But I'm sure it's not intentional. He was arguing with himself—or was he? This was the danger in allowing the dark side to guide his decisions. The Force made Marius hear things. He assumed that the events creating the sounds in his head were actually occurring somewhere in the universe, but he couldn't be absolutely certain. Could the Force create experiences for him that had no basis in reality?
If the dark side spoke to him, what would it sound like?
Sometimes he wasn't sure whether his thoughts were his own.
He reached the far wall of the distant workshop. He spun on his heel and started back along the same line, clenching his fists and his jaw. As much as he disliked the possibility of losing control over his thoughts and feelings, he wanted the insight that the Force could offer. Obviously, he needed to do something about his fellow apprentice, but none of his options were particularly appealing.
One possibility was to confront the other apprentice again, but Marius didn't think a second discussion would be any more productive than the first. Marius smirked despite his frustration. Ciaran had laughed and said "take the saber hilt out of your ass." No, nagging the Zabrak wouldn't work. Besides, Marius never asked twice for something. Not from anyone.
He could go to Darth Salire. No doubt she would put an end to Ciaran's destructive games, but Ciaran would certainly retaliate against such an egregious betrayal. The two apprentices had known each other since they were younglings. They had gone through the Academy together. Neither had ever thrown the other in front of the proverbial speeder in order to gain prestige there. It had simply never made sense to do so, for Marius at least. The long-term benefits of having a reliable partner had always outweighed any short-term opportunities.
Since being recruited together from the Academy to their positions with Darth Salire, Marius and Ciaran had always worked side-by-side, mission after mission.
Marius spun about as he reached the other end of his circuit, his heavy black robe whipping around behind him.
Doing nothing was the second option. Ciaran was the closest thing to a friend that Marius would ever have among the Sith. If he were to tell their master about Ciaran's transgressions, he would violate the most important of the unspoken rules that defined his partnership with the Zabrak. Perhaps he shouldn't risk losing such an asset over a few broken officers.
You're no longer in the Academy. What are the benefits now?
I suppose I enjoy his company. He felt ashamed to admit it. Desire for friendship was a vulnerability, and Sith did not tolerate weakness. But it was important that he understand the truth of his own feelings, even if they disturbed him. Knowledge of the self was a form of power.
His boot squealed against the polished floor as Marius turned.
A true Sith wouldn't allow any relationships he did have to impede his advancement. He and Ciaran had enjoyed an amicable rapport for the past eight years, but his future should not—could not—be chained by the past. And after all, if their alliance did fall apart, wouldn't Ciaran be to blame? Up until the moment he created a game of plunging Imperial officers into pits of disillusionment, hadn't everything been going well?
Perhaps not. Again, seething, Marius forced himself to acknowledge a difficult truth. He was bored with this post. He and Ciaran had been Darth Salire's apprentices for twelve months, and all they had accomplished were a handful of paltry infiltrations and local assassinations. Marius was too talented to waste as a glorified bounty hunter on backwater planets like Pampas. He deserved a command. He was ready for a new challenge.
The dark side whispered. Marius halted mid-stride.
He headed for the exit.
He wanted more power and autonomy, but he wouldn't get either if Ciaran continued demolishing the psyches of people under their shared command. In Darth Salire's eyes, the other apprentice's behavior had probably already tarnished Marius' prized reputation for efficiency and competence.
If their master could get Ciaran back under control so they could continue working together, that would be ideal. But at the very least, Marius' own plans for himself could continue forward. He would not allow his relationship with Ciaran to weaken him.
