Chapter 2:
Veranlea awoken with a start. Immediately she tried moving her arms and legs, with no avail. She was suspended in midair, Energy cuffs held her in place as she floated in her prison. She looked down to see the two commanders she had faced mere moments ago pacing the floor.
Mere Moments? How long HAS it been? Hours? Weeks? Months?
"She's Awake Thexan." The one in the Mask said, with a hint of anger in his voice.
Veranlea noticed bandages wrapping around his leg, he was probably still irritated after their duel. His Wounds haven't had time to heal, it hasn't been that long then.
"Greetings, Darth Imperius." The black robed one, Thexan, said in a cool charming voice. "Allow me to Introduce ourselves," The Black robed man bowed politely. "I am Prince Thexan of the Eternal Empire, and here is Prince Arcaan" he saw the man in the white nod gruffly. Veranlea looked at both of them, saying nothing in response. "SIlence will not save you, Sith." Arcaan said, his voice muffled and changed behind his mask. "Come Brother, we must be going." Thexan looked back at Veranlea, his hands crossed, "You Shall soon meet our father, My dear Sith, I suggest you make it easier for yourself, and show respect."With one glancing look, Thexan opened the door and exited along with his brother. The door shut with a loud hiss, now the only sound that filled the room where the energy binders. Veranlea looked around in the room, looked for any chance to escape, there was none. She felt a presence in the room with her, despite everyone leaving. Before she could call out to it, a Gas filtered into the Prison Cell, and everything went black.
...
The Prattle in the Cantina was the standard variety of unintelligible gibberish. Darth Icarus's face scrunched up at how simply unpleasant it all was. She looked around, noticing a Twi'lek and a Rodian engaging in sexual activities in the darkest corner of the building. Repulsive. In the other corner of the Cantina, Strange Aliens were yelling over a win at the gambling table near the bar. Icarus's thoughts drifted to the temptation of ending their miserable lives, it was all so very disheartening for her, then reminded herself of her mission. She tugged on the Bartenders Shirt and asked for a glass of Heavy Correlian Whisky.
The Bartender handed her a small wooden cup. Wood; now that's a material she had only seen in fine decorations. Putting the cup to her lips, she let the liquid roll down her throat and felt its warm presence in her abdomen. It was too sour. They overdid the mixture of ingredients. She would have to "confront" the Company about this one day, but for now, it was barely tolerable. She took another sip, her eyes glancing across the room. She channeled the force, trying to find any sort of clue as to where her objective was. A Man caught her attention, he was muscular, bald. with a bushy mustache and freckled face. He wore the fading shoulder plating of an Imperial soldier on top of a torn undershirt. Icarus pulled on her cloak, making sure he didn't catch her gaze. The rest of the whisky entered her stomach with a long chug, and then a coin was left on the Stone bar. She walked over to the man, who was drinking some other liquid they served in this ghastly place.
"Why Hello there," She said cunningly, she needed to get this man on her side.
The Man barely looked up to her and grunted a greeting. "I couldn't help but notice the Imperial Insignia on your shoulder, have you ever served here?" She asked, trying to use the force to persuade the man to answer her question. The man chuckled,
"Yea sweetheart I served here, 5th Imperial army regiment. Not like that means anything now." He took a big swig of his mug and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Icarus pressed on,
"Any chance you know of where your commander was during your tour here? I believe she was a Chiss?" this time Icarus drew deep on the Force, compelling his weak mind to bend to her will, jogging his memory.
Something changed in the Ex Soldier's' eyes,
"I don't know where she is. Dead most likely. but I did see a Chiss Woman walk around near the marketplace…" The Man said with a hypnotic tone in his voice.
Icarus smiled and released the Man from her Influence. Satisfied, she stood up, looking around the bar one last time. She began to walk off when she felt a hand reach for her behind. Her eyes filled with surprise as she looked down and saw the man give her a lusty smile. Without any hesitation, she ignited her lightsaber that she kept hidden within her sleeve. The patrons of the cantina all looked towards the man as he screamed in pain, trying to clutch an arm that was now on the floor, his blood pouring onto the ground. Icarus took advantage of the dim lighting and, using the force, cloaked herself in the shady undertones of the bar. She walked out of the Cantina as if nothing ever happened.
...
The black cloak she wore gave her more questionable looks to come towards her as she entered the Dusty city marketplace. Her eyes wandered around for the look of a Chiss female with light blue skin and Jet black hair. That was how the records, or what was left of them, described her. Those were the perks of being a Darth, after all. The one thing the records didn't give her was a name. Then again, this WAS Imperial Intelligence. Insolent fools. A Human male began to puke irkingly as Icarus walked by him, probably from something he ate at the stalls. It was filthy and disorganized, much different than the environment that Icarus was used to. She almost had the urge to puke herself as all the smells and sights assaulted her. A certain voice brought her out of her thoughts, a feminine voice that was rough and worn, was distinctly Imperial. A little later, she saw a woman being thrown out of a store. An Angry Sullestian was yelling at her, holding a large butchers knife.
"That's the last time you try to cheat me you little puke!" The dirty Alien said in a croaky voice as he approached the Women.
As the Women tried to back away, crawling backwards in the dirts, Icarus noticed that the hands scratching the dirt0 were a shade of light blue. The Sullestian soon found himself armless as Icarus stood in between him and the Women. The Aggressor barely had time to scream out in pain before Icarus called upon the dark side of the force and, with a simple hand gesture, threw the man back into his store. His head hit a shelf, knocking him unconscious, possibly killing him; either way, didn't matter to her. She sheathed her lightsaber and glanced down onto the women. She was definitely a Chiss, with light blue skin and deep red eyes, a scar on her cheek. She wore a torn up tunic and her boots were ripping apart. "Get up." She said coldly. The Women struggled to get off the ground and ended up at a hunched stand, her hand clutching her sides. Icarus could see blood seeping out of her fingers. The women began to open her mouth, but Icarus cut her off.
"Not here, lead me to your dwelling…or else..." she said, patting the lightsaber in her hand. The Force was a majestic thing, for it could cast fear into those around her. The Chiss women nodded and slowly led her to a shabby block with one door and one window.
When the Chiss women opened the door and let her in, Icarus was assaulted with another spectrum of smells and stenches. It was a hive of dirt and other items strewn across the room. The door locked behind her and Icarus heard a click. She looked back to see the Women aiming a pistol at her head; An Imperial model as well.
"Now is that any way to treat a guest, Cipher 9?" Icarus said as she stared into the muzzle of the gun, then looked straight into the Woman's red eyes.
"Guest is a subjective term, Sith" Icarus considered what the Agent's words. She was playing a game.
"What is it you want, why are you here?" the women said.
Icarus shrugged, "Was just passing through…"
The agents brow scrunched and she adjusted her holding on the weapon. "Sith are not good liars"
Icarus then said, "I am in need of your expertise." the two paced the the den, not taking their eyes off each other, waiting, anticipating any sort of movement from the other.
"What would i have to offer to you, I am a nobody" the women asked cautiously, with a defeatist tone.
Icarus smiled. "I have information that may be of use to you, should you supply me with what i want. It will be be yours. You will have the means to find a certain Darth, i believe her name is Darth…" She tapped her chin playfully. "Darth….Imperious! There." Icarus felt recognition in the Cipher's eyes. She slowly lowered her Blaster. "Do we have a deal?" Icarus said, extending her hand. The Cipher agent thought for a moment.
"Deal….What is the name the Sith gave you…Darth...lord..?" The women asked, with a hint of cheekiness.
"Darth Icarus." She said, cynically. "Now your name. " The agent grabbed her hand politely and shook it.
"Sophy'a, a Pleasure." Icarus drew her hand faster, a bit more faster than needed. She adjusted her posture, with her nose above Sophy'a. "
Meet me and Docking Port 9, and please, do try not to be late…" She opened the door,
"We have work to do."
...
The Door closed as Icarus walked out.
Sophy'a sighed. Well that was interesting.
Sophy'a holstered her pistol into the covert pocket on her belt where she kept it. She walked over to a cabinet, grabbed a Medipack, and sat on the couch as she began to patch the wound on her side.
It wasn't really that bad. Sophy'a winced as she poured Alcohol to clean the wound. Sophy'a got lost in her thoughts. The Galaxy has no place for someone like me she thought as she noticed how lonely she was in the Galaxy. Her Empire had abandoned her, everyone she knew, even Veranlea, her greatest friend, a treasure, was taken away from her. She had given up hope, left to rot away on a hostile world.
At least, Until Icarus came. Then she was reminded,
Icarus wants something, everyone does...what Angle is she playing at, what cards does she hold?
Sophy'a finished dressing her wound and walked over to her bedroom. She began to pack up her belongings. A familiar object greeted her eye. It was a Lightsaber, Vernalea's lightsaber. Its encrusted hilt shined in the darkly lit room. Sophy'a held it for a while in her hand, feeling the weight of it on her hand. Snapping out of her trance, she stashed the saber into her pack. Putting on a poncho, she stood up and with one last look, left the Hutt that served as a home for many years. Only one way to find out...
...
Darth Icarus was waiting for her right near the docking bay. Sophy'a could tell because Icarus was the only one who stood up straight, like a noble, in a sea of Hunched and broken backs. Sophy'a ducked in an ally, for two Eternal Empire Security droids walked passed her, Scanning for potential troublemakers and thieves, a common sight on Mordan'Moran. A flash or memory brought her back to the Sullestion who had thrown her out a window for "Cheating" Her.
Glad he's gone. She thought.
When she reached her, Icarus was leaning against a lamp post. "Well...shall we?" Sophy'a asked, implicitly nodding towards the spaceport. Icarus, however, raised her finger. Sophy'a saw that she was scanning the market crowd, between her and the Spaceport.
Something was...off.
Suddenly a loud crash. "You little Pukes, no one messes with my brother!"
Sophy'a and Icarus both looked to where the sound came from. It was another Sullestian, this time he was taller, and a bit more plump. He held up a pistol and was flanked by four deadly assassin droids. "Skin them alive!"
Sophy'a and Icarus made for the spaceport, the walls behind them scorching from near missed blaster bolts.
"Well glad to be back on the run" Sophy'a joked, earning no response from Icarus. screams rang out and people began to run from the marketplace.
The Security droids that ran over to where the chaos was taking place were destroyed by well placed shots by the Assassin Droids. The Two ran into the spaceport, jumping over the customs office. An alarm rang out. The beings in the line yelled in protest and when the customs officer yelled out to them, they too were shot by the Assassin droids, who gave chase, the Sullestian right behind them, flailing his arms.
"Where's your ship?" Sophy'a yelled out, running into the Ship parking lot, a laser bolt flying past her head. "Choose one!" Icarus cried. Sophy'a was in disbelief for a moment. She doesn't even have a ship? Sophy'a looked at the docked ships.
"There!" Sophy'a pointed out a small freighter, with the owner, standing at the docking ramp, talking to a customs official. Sophy'a heard the sound of a Lightsaber igniting, Icarus Ran past Sophy'a and stabbed the Customs guard, his body crumpling to the floor. The Owner looked at Icarus with utter surprise, but then was pushed into the wall by Icarus, who used the force to push him inside. Icarus made a jerking motion with her head and Sophy'a ran inside, the Assassin droids were right on their tail. They recalled the landing ramp, locking themselves safely in the ship.
Have you flown a ship before?" Icarus said. Sophy'a sat herself in the pilot seat and cracked her knuckles.
"Of course" she assured. If she should be trusting anyone, it's the one who actually managed to find a way off planet. She hit a few buttons on the console.
A groan sounded from the interior of the ship. Sophy'a heard Icarus sigh. "Handle it" Sophy'a commanded. Icarus, Reluctantly, headed towards the Interior. The Ship lifted off.
Bolts from the Assassin droids hit the ship, and the Sullestian, reluctantly, gave up his attack, throwing his arms up in frustration.
...
The Ship rumbled as it flew higher in Mordan'Moran Atmosphere. Sophy'a was busy figiting around on the controls, switching systems on and off and pressing numerous buttons. She flinched as she heard a chilling scream come from the bowels of the ship. "Icarus!" Sophy'a said, "Do try not to get blood everywhere!" The screaming stopped and Icarus reappeared with a smile on her face on the deck of the ship, Sophy'a noticed that her nails and her chin was stained with fresh blood. Sophy'a felt a hint of guilt for the man who owned this ship previously. Shaking the thought out, she looked out the viewport, seeing two of the Eternal Empire T-shaped Dreadnaughts heading their way.
"There's two cruisers heading our way." Icarus pointed out.
Wonderful, she has the ability to point out the obvious.
As if she could read her thoughts, Sophy'a earned a mean look from Icarus. Let me focus on flying. A red light on the comlink began to flash.
"Answer it" Icarus Commanded. Sophy'a keyed on the comlink,
"Unidentified vessel, This is Captain Carmari of the Sector 5 Defense force, Surrender and we will spare your ship and your lives." Sophy'a ignored the call.
"Well, aren't you going to answer them? We don't want to be stopped here on this desolate planet." Icarus complained.
"As Soon as we are in hyperspace we won't need to worry about the Eternal Empire." Sophy'a said irritated, inputting coordinates into the Navcomputor.
"Unidentified vessel, please respond, otherwise we will take extreme measures." Sophy'a ignored the call again. Suddenly booms and bright lights appeared outside the viewport. The Eternal Empire were shooting at them.
"They're firing on us!" Icarus said, urging Sophy'a to hurry. Wonderful Sophy'a simply groaned inside and put it the final calculations in the computer. "Hold on to something." Sophy'a pulled a level and soon the ships viewport was filled with a masterpiece of blue light as the ship escaped the Eternal Empire.
...
Carmari looked outside his viewport as the ship escaped into the deep reaches of space. "We lost em captain"
Carmari stroked his freshly shaven chin. "Orders sir?" his Officer asked. "No need to worry about them, Head back to the Station, we have our orders ."
armari said, as he turned to look down on Mordan'moran. He felt regret for what they were doing to the planet. He adjusted his collar and looked at his young face in the reflection. He shook his head, he wondered if what he was doing was right. Looking back down onto the planet, a thought came into his mind, All in Service to the Empire, Victory or Death. He reminded himself. That was their motto, their creed. Still, Carmari thought, Something was...missing.
...
"There, that was easy, wasn't it?" Icarus said.
Sophy'a stood up and stretched her arms. She decided that half the things coming out of Icarus's mouth really was not worth responding to. The light of Hyperspace disappeared in the cockpit and instead the viewport was filled with a brilliant display of stars and nebulas. She passed Icarus and walked out of the cockpit and into the Den of the ship. It was wide open space, with a miniature staircase in the middle of the room leading to a sunken couch with a Holochess table in the middle. Crates and shelves occupied the other walls of the room.
"Where is the owner?" Sophy'a asked, remembering the Man whose ship they had merely "borrowed" moments ago.
"Im looking at her" Icarus said walking past Sophy'a, ignoring her confused look, She walked over to the Couch and plumped herself down, putting her feet on top of the Holo-chess table. The Odd look on Sophy'a's face continued as she stared at Icarus, and Icarus stared right back. Blood still stained Icarus's face.
The Blood…
Sophy'a now noticed as the Stench of blood that lingered the air. Holding her breath, she walked over and quickly shut the door, not even bothering to look at what remained inside. The Smells filtered out eventually.
Sophy'a began scavenging through the cargo boxes picking out tools and wires. Something did Catch Sophy'a's eye. It was a holo portrait a man and a young human women who wrapped his arm around his waist. They looked towards her with beaming smiles.
"Why are we not in hyperspace, Cipher Nine?" Icarus said, her head facing the light above. Sophy'a was shaken out of her trance "The Hyperspace jump was made so that it would take us outside the system, from there, it's your game, Sith." Sophy'a said, putting down the holo portrait and rummaged through another box.
"I Sense an amount of Anger in your voice…" Icarus Paused, "Good….very good." Goodness Sophy'a exclaimed, She really is a lunatic, Hope that information, however, is not of the same nature. She doesn't seem to be lying however, no body movement, no variation in speech or tone.
She put down the box, Or, it could be her telling the Truth, from a certain point of view.
"Where are we heading then, my….friend?" Sophy'a said, truly wondering if Icarus planned farther than getting off Mordan'Moran.
Icarus smiled, " Head to a system called Viso Prime." a look of understanding on Sophy'a's face prompted a response from Icarus, "You Recognise it, Interesting indeed." Sophy'a merely nodded and headed back to the cockpit.
Visa Prime, The Colony Planet?
Visa Prime was a Mid-Rim Colony Planet When the SIth Empire was still the highest power in the Galaxy. It was Mainly used for starfighter repair services, so they could send the ships faster into the core worlds, where the Republic locked itself in a shell. Sophy'a pondered for a moment. Icarus IS a Darth, Perhaps she still has an influence in that sector. Sophy'a began typing in the coordinates for the System. With a deep breath, she pulled the lever, and entered Hyperspace once more.
...
Veranlea was awoken this time by a much larger and immense presence in the Dark side of the Force, something that rivals the Sith Emperor himself. Looking around, this time Veranlea noticed that she was suspended in a different status chamber. She was in the center of a large room, with the walls made of the same white and gold artistic style. The floor below her was made of a thick glass, which gave her a good look at the planet below. The powerful presence stood in front of her. He was a tall man, with a white beard covering his wrinkled faded face, his body was covered in gleaming white and gold armor. The Man stood in front of the door, hands behind his back. Something about the man seemed Familiar. "Welcome," The man's voice sounded like he just rose from a grave. His arms moved outwards towards the walls, referencing the Planet and starships that drifted outside the space stations glass.
Veranlea tried to probe his mind, but she was weak, not only physically, but it seemed as if the force was being drained out of her.
"It is fruitless to attempt any sort of Abilities with the Force."
Alright, creepy.
"You were once Darth Imperius, another cog in the Machine called Sith Empire, today, you stay a cog, but in the Machine of My Empire."
The Emperor began to pace the floor, his every step felt like a stone falling. "Quite Literally I may add. I just wanted to see you for myself" He added. Veranlea looked up the Cuffs binding her in the prison. There was something off about them.
"Why am i here? What are you doing?" The Emperor stopped to look down at the Planet below them. It was a flurry of Gold and industrial haze. Long spires rose from the planet's surface into its atmosphere, even up to the space above.
Ohh thats not good. Veranlea's eyes opened wide as she saw the biggest fleet in the galaxy hanging in the space surrounding the Planet. There could have been hundreds of dreadnaughts drifting there. The Emperor walked back to the door. Without looking back, the Emperor said, "All in good time…" and the Door shut behind him. Veranlea sighed, she looked back to the planet. It really was beautiful. Veranlea began to make conclusions. This must be the Emperor's Empire. Her eyes then looked over to the Dreadnaughts, the very same type that had attacked Mordan'Moran. There were not more than a dozen Dreadnaughts on the planet that day. Here, There were hundreds in orbit around the planet. Hundreds! Veranlea felt weaker and stared at the massive fleet of dreadnaughts as the gas filtered back into the room. she slowly drifted back into unconsciousness.
...
An Alarm woke Sophy'a from a long dreamless nap. She checked her ship's Instruments.
We should be at the system soon.
She Walked to the Den of the ship to see Icarus sitting in a Cross-legged Position. "We will be arriving at the system shorty" Sophy'a Interrupted her. "Know your place, Cipher Nine." Icarus Retorted, keeping her eyes closed. "NEVER Interrupt my Meditation." Sophy'a shrugged the threat off and approached her. "remind me, where's you're ship? how did you get to Mordan'Moran?" Sophy'a asked Impatiently. Icarus didn't budge, "The things unseen are less important then those that are seen."
She avoided the question.
Frustrated, she walked back into the cockpit. She checked the Brewer began to brew herself something warm to drink.
Space Was Cold indeed. She thought. The Brewing finished and she put the metal cup to her lips, feeling the drink warm her in the cold nothingness of space. She sat in the pilot's chair and put her feet up, continuing to drink. Holding the warm cup in her hand calmed her, but in truth, she was still on edge on what exactly this Sith had in store for her.
The Galaxy is a changed place after so many years, where would i fit in?
A quieter warning bell alerted her that they were even closer to the system, and had to exit hyperspace soon to avoid any...Unnecessary Accidents.
Sophy'a put her cup down and began to play with the controls. Icarus came and sit in the chair next to her.
"Exiting Hyperspace…" Sophy'a wrapped her fingers around the Lever, "Now." The bright blue light disappeared again, and in its place, a planet appeared, it was a giant sphere of green and blue.
Odd.
Sophy'a checked her sensors, "No Sign of any other ships…" Sophy'a said warily. Icarus smiled and pointed at one of the moons "There." Sophy'a checked her sensors, then looked up on the viewport, suddenly seeing a cluster of Large Menacing Sith Capital dreadnaughts, with one larger one in the center appear from behind the moon. "Oh, Well then…" Sophy'a lost her voice as she saw the large fleet continue to grow and grow as more ships appeared. "Head for the larger one," Icarus said,
"YOUR Flagship"
End of Chapter 2