Snaking down the rocky mountainside of Korriban the black clothed figure stopped a moment and lifted a red hand to its head. Pulling her hood back off now that she was a safe distance from the Valley of the Dark Lords Prava took a deep breath inhaling the death and restless souls with seemed to engulf the planet. This place was one of the few which she just loved the feel of, so dark, so dry, so empty and yet secrets one couldn't even imagine laid safely tucked away beneath its rocky crust.
Stopping at the edge of the outcropping she was on, the Lethan Twi'lek gazed down with her red eyes. The starfighter was still there right where she had left it a good two hundred yards or so below her. The quickest way down was always to jump. Taking a few steps forward she let herself fall off the edge and plummet towards the flat surface below. Her feet falling first as her black jagged cape shot up behind her and her long red lekku were streaming from her skull. Rotating her body in mid air she spun entering a dive, her hands fully extended in front of her as she fell head first. A mere thirty meters from impact she extended her red fingers sending a blast of force towards the ground slowing her descent before the recoil pushed her upwards. Whipping her legs around the Twi'lek flipped backwards and landed on the ground with ease. The pouch tied to her red belt jingled as her black boots made contact with the ground and a smirk crossed her face. That was definitely much faster than continuing her trek down the mountainside and as much as she truly wanted to linger a bit longer on the planet, her new Master had given her a task to complete and any enjoyment she might have gained by staying would be ruined by the mission constantly nagging at her heels or pulling at her lekku.
Her bright red eyes settled on the craft in front of her. Besides the coating of dust the planet had given it, the ship remained untouched much to her relief. She had already stolen this ship from the Sith and she really didn't want to test her luck having to steal another most likely from an outpost full of rage-filled darksiders ready to direct their hate at a common foe. As delightfully challenging the prospect seemed, she didn't care to waste the time and provoking a small army of already angry Sith wasn't generally considered wise.
She pushed a small button on the side of the fighter near the cockpit and after entering the proper code the glass lifted. Taking one last look up at the rugged terrain looming over her she jumped into the fighter. The hatch lowered sealing her within the metal shell of the ship. She hated flying, bigger vessels she could stomach, ships were she felt like she had complete and total control she could almost enjoy but flimsy generic dirt cheap assembly line starfighters made her queasy and paranoid. What was that maybe a few inches of durasteel plating that was supposed to protect her from the void of space as well as laser fire?! If she ever found the person who designed these horrible contraptions she would give them a piece of her mind before frying them like an egg.
The engines hummed to life and the fighter rose from the ground and the pilot shivered. "Ok almost out of the atmosphere, then I can just jump to lightspeed close my eyes and make it all disappear." As the fighter broke free from Korriban's hold, the Twi'lek punched a button on the dash and the ship vanished with a blurr. Stars whipped past the cockpit windows as she closed her eyes, time to make it all go away… time to go back… go back…
Snow whipped past, the flakes whirling around and quickly coating anything it touched. Coldness was everywhere. An iced over ship came into view… things were looking worse by the second.
Warmth, warmth was a necessity. Refuge from the storm was a priority, moving was difficult, jerky, and uncontrolled. The snow became ice pelting down from the grey sky and clinking as it hit the frozen ground.
And outline, the side of a mountain and an structure… the falling ice began to grow larger obscuring everything. There wasn't a choice, refuge must be sought here. A hand reached out and felt along the side for an entrance. The wall ended and a gaping hole appeared. Inside was darkness and a faint bluish glow. Statues, statues of robed figures lined the apparent path sticking out amongst the natural formations of the cave. Jedi, this was a Jedi structure… this was a tomb.
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…
The Twi'lek opened her eyes and growled. The starfighter was exiting hyperspace and the navicomputer was just all too happy to inform her of that fact. Slamming a red fist on the console the beeping stopped. Why something always had to interrupt her before she got to something good escaped her.
Wrapping her red fingers around the steering array she pushed the thoughts from her head and set her mind to the task at hand. Land, find the traitor's tomb, get what was required and get out. Perhaps a slight knock on the sarcophagus just to let Ulic know that he had a visitor on her way towards the exit, it would be considered rude to just slip in and out unnoticed without even letting the tenant know of your presence afterall.
Breaking through the atmosphere of Rhen Var the Twi'lek cringed again. Small metal ship, planet of ice, possibly small settlements with anti-aircraft turrets most likely not friendly towards the Sith, and her in a Sith fighter… needless to say she didn't like the situation very much. She liked to be in control, feet planted firmly on the ground, the Force flowing through her capable of striking whatever crossed her path down in an instant; a ship denied her that comfort. Sure you could use some force attacks in conjunction with flight but it was limited, the torrent she normally unleashed was reduced to petty credits when thrown in a ship.
She rolled the ship allowing the viewing windows to face the ground for better vantage. The computer began beeping and flashing indicating possible settlements to land at all of which she ignored. Nice quiet place to land, she needed a nice quiet place to land… the ancient buildings jutting from the snow and ice held some promise but placing her means of returning to warmth on an old untested structure exposed and risking icing over did not seem viable to her. Grumbling she glanced back at the computer. A small settlement a few clicks away, no affiliation with either side of the conflict… it looked promising and she could always improvise if needed via hack and slash if things went poorly. This option would at least keep her ship sheltered from the elements.
Now for a little fun, she closed her eyes a moment focusing on the ship. She just needed to alter its appearance a little, there were always mercs and pilots who bought old military craft and modified them. There were probably quite a few modified Sith fighters flying around owned by civilians and nonmilitary affiliated personale. As the Force was bent around the ship, the colors and markings changed from black and grey to yellow and chrome. It would be enough to keep them guessing and that's all that was needed. She turned her attention to herself. Black and red robes were definitely a dead give away, hm… it might help to look a little bit more prepared for the frigid climate as well. The tattoos on her lekku vanished, her black cape and hood turned white and appeared to be fur lined instead of the rugged and worn thick cloth hiding underneath, the rest of her outfit morphed to white loosing its jagged appearance and altered to suit the tastes of your average traveler. Off white pants, thick bulky brown boots laced with leather straps, a thick off-white high necked long sleeved shirt. She looked down at her hands and frowned, just altering their appearance wasn't going to do, she needed actual warmth. As much as she loved her fingerless gloves, they served no purpose in this climate. It would be easy enough to find a pair when she landed though.
"This is Frozen Freedom. Incoming craft do you copy?" A distinctly gruff male voice sounded over the com.
"Yes I copy, this is Kirali Ofi." Ofi was a common Twi'lek clan name, it would be enough to satisfy the most certainly curious settlers and keep anyone from asking too many questions. "I would like permission to land at your settlement over."
"Might I ask what your business is here Kirali?"
"I'm in search of a particular ruin nearby. I'm an archaeologist and I believe this particular ruin potentially holds the key to helping me determine when Rhen Var was originally settled. So may I have permission to land?" She was getting a little annoyed, she didn't want questions just permission. She wanted the ground beneath her feet, then they could try and ask their questions all they wanted.
"Is that a modified Sith fighter?"
"Why yes, yes it is. You see it's so much cheaper to buy their old craft and repair them than to buy new ones and I had a friend who happened to find this one for me. If you need the registration number so you can affirm it's been decommissioned I can provide it for you." She chuckled internally. There was no way this outpost had the equipment necessary to check any registration.
"Ok you're clear to make your approach. Look for the orange lights they'll direct you to the docking bay."
"Rodger that."She stopped a moment… docking bay? The computer indicated that this was a small settlement. Something didn't seem right. Looking over her appearance she decided it was probably best to alter everything. Her skin faded from red to green, her eyes shifted to dark blue. It came with ease, unlike before she had no trouble maintaining it at all, it was like breathing… the prism must be having an effect. A twisted grin spread across her face, she was definitely going to have to thank Adhoura for that nice demonstration of his illusion technique before she sliced him in half… of course that was if she ever happened upon the Sith Lord again. As tempting as it was to find another place to land, the ice dinging on the metal hull of her ship indicated that she wasn't going to have that chance. There was no choice.
Coming in slowly she followed the orange beacons through the now rather dense precipitation. The lights cut through the ice and snow like a lightsaber through durasteel making sure that the path was easily spotted. Two large doors rolled back as the fighter hovered closer and light spilled out. In seconds her ship went from being blanketed in whiteness to comfortably snug and secure in the spacious and surprisingly empty hangar. Finding a proper spot she glided the ship down gently. As the landing gear hit the hard floor beneath she smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
Disengaging the engines, she opened the cockpit and carefully navigated her way down from it. As tempting as it was to just jump, it might attract unwanted attention and dainty Twi'lek women would never jump if not needed. Glancing around she saw several of the settlers approaching, many with weapons raised. She raised her now green hands in the air and plastered a confused look across her face. "Um… I'm Kirali, the archaeologist you gave permission to land, remember. Are those really necessary?"
"Yes, yes they are until that registration checks out." A heavy set and very brawny looking human male stepped forward, unlike the others he wasn't visibly armed. She glanced at his scruffy face as he towered over her his green eyes glaring at her in a rather annoyed fashion. "Obmeeto open that cockpit back up the serial number should be under the dash. Plug it in and run it."
A Rodian walked over towards the ship and began to open the cockpit… not good. She needed answers and she needed them fast. "Excuse me sir, but might I ask why I am being questioned. My ship's computer indicated that this was a small neutral settlement and right now your accommodations look far too upscale for the size you're listed as."
The man laughed, a deep hearty laugh. It was evident that he was laughing at something that must have been blatantly obvious but she wasn't in the mood for games. It was taking more restraint than she could almost bear to muster to not put the giant out of his misery on the spot. Composing himself he smiled. "Well wouldn't be much of secret base now would it if everything was able to be picked up by scanner."
The Rodian turned back to the massive man and uttered something in Rodese. Kirali knew the words before he could even speak them. "Well it looks like your ship was listed as destroyed. Completely and utterly destroyed in a battle over the Onderon system a few days ago. That doesn't leave you enough time to repair anything. So Sith, mind telling us all while you're really here?" The big man folded his arms across his chest smirking at her as more 'settlers' gathered around, their guns all aimed at her.
Kirali kept her hands raised and lowered her head. "Then this is a Republic base… a secret Republic base isn't it?"
"Well we're not quite a base, just a small listening post of sorts which was converted into an outpost and a place for Republic archaeologists to launch from after it became increasingly difficult to broadcast signals on a regular basis. But we have all the equipment needed to deal with the likes of you. What are you, a really really bad spy? Or perhaps really an archaeologist doing some digging for your Sith overlords? Hm?" It was clear that he was enjoying this, far too much.
She sighed, it served her right in some respects. She was working with a man who wanted to break free from the bondage of the Force. It was becoming increasingly apparent to her that it had led her to that tomb on Korriban at that time in order to kill him but she did not. She allowed herself to be sucked in by his words and promises of freedom and in essence failed her intended purpose. Now the Force was going to give her hell for it, fortunately she was prepared to return the favor.
"I'm just a really really bad… Sith Lord." She lowered her head farther as the white hood slipped farther over her face. The ship suddenly reverted back to its original color scheme and flashed brightly drawing all their attention away from her for a moment. As they squinted their eyes shielding them from what appeared to be a blinding light, she disappeared cloaking herself in the Force. The monstrous man looked back down to where she was and saw nothing. He was livid.
"Find her, that girl's a Sith of the force using kind! Capture her if you can kill her if you have to! And Obmeeto put that ship in lockdown and get those hangar doors closed, no one is going in or out until we have her! And no one is contacting command until she is caught!" Stomping towards the spot where she had been he thrashed around a moment in frustration. Oh it was so tempting, it was so tempting to push her pronged saber against his back, to let the points sink in a ways before igniting the orange blade through his heart watching him go into shock from the pain before falling to the floor with a thud… so so tempting to just slaughter them all.
But she had a mission, it looked like the ice storm was still raging on and the hangar doors would soon be shut. That left her time for one sweet victory and she knew who she wanted to watch die before her eyes… remaining cloaked she lifted the giant off the ground and with a quick jerk of her wrist slammed him head first into the ground. This feeling, it was wonderful… being able to maintain cloaking herself while raining havoc down on her foes was intoxicating. Hearing the man's skull cracking she grinned as the blood began to seep on the concrete floor, the other soldiers panicked. Some ran for cover, others dropped to their knees and began begging their invisible foe for mercy, several began firing spastically in front of them hoping to hit something anything. One soldier in a firing frenzy gunned down another… chaos was erupting. It was time to leave, there was just one more little thing to attend to.
The ship was another issue but she would leave it here for now. It would be safer in the hangar than elsewhere, she just needed to make sure that Rodian didn't do anything to it. She glided over towards him stepping around the frightened soldiers as they stared right at her and saw nothing. One panicked and shots resounded farther back in the rather empty hangar bay as the others moved to confront the man who just gunned down his comrade. She couldn't help but grin. Leaning in close to the Rodian she implanted actions in his mind wiping all else clean… 'you are to prep the ship for launch, refuel it… check the hyperdrive and other systems … you will lock all doors and block all entrances, no one and nothing will get out…and when the time is just perfect you will open the hangar doors for me and me alone…'
The Rodian's large eyes widened and seemed to go blank. Nothing was happening in his mind except what she wanted to happen. The Sith smiled, oh such a weak minded being… most would have resisted but the Rodian's mind hadn't even bothered. It just accepted the orders and relinquished anything not necessary to accomplishing the task at hand.
The storm and the chaos would take care of communications until she could deal with the array most likely located near the top of the terrain the hangar was built into. Now she needed to get out before those doors shut fully. Gliding across the hangar unnoticed she slipped between the large steel doors right before they shut falling into the snow and ice below.
Rising to her feet she let the Force wrapped around her fall away exposing herself to the snow and ice. The white clothing had faded back to her black robes and her skin and eyes once again took on their red hues. Securing the hood over her head and wrapping her cape around her upper body to further insulate herself she began her trek through the storm up the icy mountain towards the blinking red light at its peak. That was not a very subtle way to disguise a communications array but she was thankful for their stupidity. The short hike didn't take her long, glancing at the feeble array and laughing she ignited her orange blade slicing it from its base and with a flick of her wrist sent it plummeting towards the deep snow banks below. All evidence of their ever having been a device on the small mountain would be buried under the new sheet of ice and snow while the outpost was still in lockdown. They would never be able to find their precious communications device if they wanted.
She grinned wickedly she wouldn't even have to lift a finger now to keep the Republic out of her business. She would leave them there, no communication with the galaxy beyond, nothing to occupy them but paranoia that around every corner was a Sith ready to kill them. What was going to happen in the small maze below was inevitable as she had seen it already beginning as she left… they would all panic and behave irrationally, people would die senselessly, someone would round a corner and pull the trigger before looking and a comrade would fall. Angry and wanting retribution others would attempt to kill that being and the veins of darkness would spread until all that was left was the Rodian mechanic. If any of them survived the hell that was about to unfold due to their own schizophrenia then she would grant them a glorious death on her return… if she returned.
Now to get down and keep moving before her lekku froze over. She was already regretting not having stolen a set of gloves, her uncovered fingers were quickly becoming icicles. Tucking her hands back into her sleeves the Sith kept flexing them. Keep them moving, keep blood flowing and they'll come back to life later. As her eyes scanned the mountain the ice and snow began to slowly stop falling in such blinding sheets and a path caught her attention. Long sharp slope which was clearly firmly frozen over, it was perfect. Getting a running start the Twi'lek jumped slightly leaning forward. As her boots made contact with the ice she began to slide, whipping her arms around to her sides she quickly caught her balance and slid down the slope one black boot in front of the other. As the frozen stretch quickly dropped off in favor of light snow she flung herself from the firm ground falling a bit before landing in the powder on the opposite side of the mountain from the hangar.
As if on cue the sheets of ice stopped falling completely and the blue sky revealed itself much to the Twi'lek's dismay. Really just really it had to do that now that she was exposed in the open and bleak whiteness of the snow coated planet! At least that was a problem that could be solved. Closing her eyes a moment her robes turned from black to white. As draining as she expected the process of creating so many illusions to be, it didn't seem to phase her at all. She didn't feel drained in the least. Reaching down she pulled the prism out from under the cape bundled around her by pulling on the rope it was attached to and smiled. It looked like the thing really did work and she would get her chance to see if its promise of freeing her from the slavery of the darkside was true as well but not now, that had to wait. That would require a test, something to make her pause, a choice and right now none was before her. Now she had to move.
Trudging through the snow she glanced at the various ruins jutting up from the ice as she passed. There was so much history buried here, so much hidden behind that blanket of snow, that eternal whiteness. Every now and then she would feel something calling to her, humming to her but she pressed on. Maybe on the way back but not now, now she had to follow the bigger pull drawing her towards it like a magnet. Everything seemed so familiar and yet so foreign at the same time. Buildings stuck out as she glanced at them, images would flash through her mind… crumbling hallways, impenetrable ice banks blocking once spacious hallways, elaborate carvings of two force sensitives engaged in battle, giving up and moving on to the next room… a chill went up her spine as a strong wind whooshed past disrupting in incoming flow of images. Continuing to trudge forward she wrapped the cape around her even more tightly and pulled a small section of it up to cover the lower half of her head to protect her now numbing nose or cheeks from the frigid howling of Rhen Var.
Thoughts of warmth streamed into her mind... freshly cooked nerf steak… the orange fur coat of the akul… the Korriban sun… the twin suns of Tatooine beating down on her head… flying a little to close to a star… flowing blood of one's enemies… the heat from another being as it strangled to death beneath her fingers… the touch of Zelkin's hand. She stopped at that last thought and shook her head. No, no, no… why was that in there, that shouldn't be in there that shouldn't make her think of warmth, of revitalization, of feeling alive. But it did. She couldn't deny it as much as she wanted to. The whole subject of Zelkin was confusing and yet excited her at the same time… he had access to power she could only have dreamed of, he knew how to break free of the Force or so he claimed… but could one ever do it? Could one ever be truly free if one relied on the very entity which bound one to destiny? Logic told her no, that one could never break free not even in death… but something inside of her hoped it was true. If it was true she could gain control, she could stop searching, she might could actually be satisfied for once in her life, but that was just speculation. Even more perplexing he was only around her age… she had help, quite a bit of help in getting to this point but there wasn't anything blaring at her as overly abnormal in respects to him… he did have a stunning face though, shame he hid it. Her teeth began chattering and the noise pulled her back from the swirling fog of her thoughts into the blinding whiteness before her.
She looked up at the frozen wasteland stretching on, the pull still tugged strongly but there was no end in sight. How long she had been walking she no longer knew… it could have been minutes, hours, or even days… she had lost track focusing more on the things streaming through her mind than her progression.
She was cold, no part of her even felt warm anymore. Her hands could barely move, her feet were numb, she couldn't even feel her face, she had to keep raising a hand out from her sleeves to touch her skin and make sure her nose hadn't fallen off. Her arms continued to shake like the rest of her body in an attempt to keep circulation flowing but it was slowly failing... she needed to stop to find a place to revitalize her being but stopping meant she would stop moving, if she stopped moving she'd give in to the frosted sleep trying to creep over her bones and never wake up. She'd be buried here just like the numerous buildings below her feet… just another artifact, another object lost in the gloom and darkness beneath the white blanket that covered Rhen Var.
She wasn't going to die here, not like that anyways. Falling asleep, death by sleep, that would just be pathetic. What kind of Sith would she be if she just gave up and went to sleep just waiting for death?! No she had to keep going, she wasn't going to fail herself or her new Master. She was going to get back, to get back to Korriban and let that howling wind strike her face again, feel the darkness of the planet, bask in the red glow of the sun.
She was close to cresting the top of the mountain pass before her. Hope had to wait on the other side, she had to be close… it had to be right there, right before her, there wasn't another option, it had to be there. Reaching the top she gazed down below… more endless whiteness. There weren't even any rooftops of long forgotten temples poking from the snow… just that bleak white blanket and a few looming mountains in the distance. She fell to her knees staring at the ice below her. This was it. She couldn't go on that far… this was the end. The illusion around her finally dropped as her clothes reverted to their black coloration. She was going to fail and receive the proper punishment in the process, death. If she couldn't complete a simple task, she deserved to die… she never dreamed the tomb would be this elusive to find… it had felt close by when she landed but it wasn't… it wasn't… the Force tricked her… it was going to find a way to make her perish for attempting to defy it. It had tried before and now it was finally going to succeed.
How did it get like this, how did it all begin? Things began to slow down, her breaths became slower… her vision narrowed… she was going back… back to the beginning…
"Hush dear, I'll explain it all to you later I promise."
"You promise Mommy?"
"Yes I promise... When you're ready I'll teach you how to use one."
BAM! The door blew open there was smoke, a red glow and a harsh voice. "I need the child."
A blue light blazed through the haze, sabers clashed. There was hissing and cracking every time the blades met. The colors were swirling around in the fog. There was a gasp and the blue saber shrunk back into the darkness.
Another figure rushed through the haze and suddenly a burst of gold vaporized the smoke. Mommy laid there dead, daddy standing between her and the hooded man. There was a scream, a primal scream only produced by the utmost feeling of rage. Sabers clashed again now gold on red. The hooded man was smiling, why was he smiling, he had killed mommy he had no right to smile? The gold blade connected with the hooded man, he let out a groan before flinging daddy against a wall and stabbing his red saber through daddy's chest. The man killed daddy and he smiles how could he smile? How could he smile?
He was breathing deeply now, rasping, wheezing, the red bladed man was dying. He reached his hand out, a black triangle fell from his robes and jingled as it hit the floor. His hands grasped for something, screaming, the pain, it hurt, it hurt, make it stop, hundreds of knives, ear piercing screams. It ceased as suddenly as it came, the man fell to the floor and let go… all went dark.
Her eyes bolted open.
No think of warmth, think of motivation, she had to keep going… she stayed on her knees her legs refused to budge. They were now completely numb. Reaching two shaking hands towards her belt she unclipped two sabers and ignited the blades as she sat back stretching her legs before her. The heat coming off the red and orange blade allowed the warmth to return. The Twi'lek was holding them as close to her legs as she could with her unsteady hands. Feeling was slowly returning, she could flex her muscles according to her own will again. Keeping the blades ignited and held to her sides she rose back to her feet and began walking again ever so slowly the slight heat radiating from the blades pushing her on.
Laughter resounded from behind her. She whipped around with renewed vigor towards the source raising her sabers, a snarl was on her face hidden behind the cloak.
"Genius idea really. I applaud you, but what are you doing out here? Your ambitions and his do not align, I can sense you wanting to turn to the side to stray from your path and seek for yourself again. There is so much knowledge here that would aid you, help you grow in the Force and yet you struggle with the path he set for you oblivious to what's really taking place within. It's a pity." The black cloaked figure behind her just laughed again. She could feel darkness radiating from him… this being was a Sith. The Twi'lek was now utterly confused. "I've been watching you from a distance, those who wear white we are wary of for many Jedi come to this planet searching for answers and for meditation… but you clearly are no Jedi. I knew that from the beginning. You never would have made a good Jedi, you're too stubborn, to crude, to vile a creature."
"No I'm not a Jedi." She was puzzled, this man had been following her how long? And why? He wasn't much more equipped for the cold than she was, his black cloak upon closer inspection was made of a similar cloth material as hers, his clothes were slightly heavier and bit more insulating but overall he retained a similar choice in black robes as she did. This wasn't making any sense. How did he know from the beginning? How could he judge her when he had never known her?
"Then your intentions aren't noble as I already know." His voice seemed as frigid as the ice around them.
"No they are not noble, or rather my intentions aren't noble." Her intentions were anything but noble. But she didn't intend to reveal them to this stranger. The shear fact that he stated that he knew angered her. Who was this man?
"Do you know how long you've been wandering out here? Do you have any idea?"
"No I don't. Look I'm freezing to death and as much as I'd love to chat, I have something I have to do and if I don't keep moving I'll…"
"You'll die, I know... I know… And it's been three days, you haven't stopped walking for three days, you haven't eaten, you haven't slept, you haven't hardly blinked in three days."
"And why do you care?" This wasn't making any sense, who followed a person for three days just to try to judge if they were a Jedi or a Sith… this didn't make sense unless he was waiting for delirium to set in so she would spill her thoughts. She closed her mind, sealing her thoughts behind a mantle of determination and fury.
"Come with me. I know a place where you can rest, a place where the wind and the ice won't be able to touch you. And I have reason to care." His yellow eyes glanced at the prism dangling from the rope around her neck and he grinned briefly before walking ahead of her as if to lead the way.
"Wait? Why… why didn't you just take it? I know you want it! Why do you care!?" This made no sense, why would anyone in their right mind want to live on this blasted icecube? And why didn't he just take it? Any other Sith would have just taken the prism, stabbed a blade through her heart and taken it, but he didn't. That confirmed it he wanted her mind, her knowledge... or did he? He said he cared but why? Why?!
"Despite your state I would still be likely to face death should I cross sabers with you and I have no desire to take the prism. Now come." His voice became demanding, authoritative.
Glancing at the stretch of whiteness beyond the Twi'lek sighed. She didn't have a choice, she had to follow or risk falling back into the state she had experienced prior. That feeling of hopelessness wasn't something she enjoyed enduring herself despite how much she loved to imposing it on others. Shivering she shuffled on keeping the sabers ignited by her sides urging her legs forward. After a long and eerily quiet march towards the crest of another snow covered mountain as the wind howled past her and yet didn't seem to touch him, she crunched through the snowy mixture before her while he seemed to tread over it with ease. A complex finally came into view. It wasn't the structure she wanted to see but at this point any sight of civilization was enough to make her renounce any doubt she had about the Force and its intentions for her life and embrace fate once more.
It was an extensive structure, a labyrinth of concrete and stone… a fortress, a Citadel. Towers and buildings of various sorts all connected by walkways. The architecture seemed strangely familiar, it was like… like that of Korriban but not nearly as ornate as the old tombs. The most puzzling aspect of all was the statue at its center, the robe figure seemed to be watching over the place, a silent guardian or an empty cliff side fortress.
"Welcome to sanctuary." He stopped just short of the main entrance to the large gray building behind the guarding statue holding out an arm gesturing for her to move forward.
This didn't seem right. Something was off. She stopped and turned towards the open archways peering inside at the darkness before turning back around towards the stranger… he was gone. The laughter echoed from deep within the halls of the building, it was the same laughter, his laughter.
"What is this some kind of trick!?!" She waited for an answer but there was none, just silence and reverberations as her words bounced among the stone walls. This building was the hope of shelter and the haven she needed but she hesitated. It could be another trick, another trap which the Force had arranged, she wasn't going to let it win… but she needed the citadel, without it she would continue wandering towards the pull of the tomb, the pull of familiarity under her body reached its limit and collapsed in the snow. She had no choice. Raising her sabers in a defensive position she pushed her barely functioning legs forward shuffling through the empty corridors.
The orange and red light illuminated her path as the sun outside sunk quickly and quietly… how she had missed the sun setting and not noticed the darkness for three days escaped her. Had she really been that deep in thought? Was she delusional? Was the man lying? She shook her head and continued through the hallway in front of her. Hearing the laughter echoing off the walls she pushed forward.
It was so empty, so lifeless, so bleak. There wasn't any sign of a recent inhabitant but the lingering darkness... the lingering darkness told her otherwise. Did the stranger live here?
A stairwell appeared leading into the bowels of the hollow building. The Twi'lek stopped. This isn't right but why? Why is it not right? As a breeze flew up from the depths she caught wind of a smell, a wonderful aroma filled her nostrils and drove her forward. She flew down the stairwell like a ravenous animal rushing to close the distance between it and its prey. Landing with a thud at the bottom she looked up her red eyes glaring through the darkness as glow of her sabers illuminated the area.
A violet blade jumped out at her thrusting towards her chest.
The Twi'lek froze a second spotting the glint of purple in the corner of her eye before whipping around to parry the strike with her two blades crossing catching the violet saber and forcing it upwards. A face came into view, the face of an old being, the face of a Twi'lek. Battle resurrected her will to live and forced her body back into action. She suddenly dropped to the ground keeping her blades crossed above her head for protection and whipped around with a leg extended. Her quick footwork took his feet out from under him sending him crashing to the floor. Flicking her wrists she slammed him against the wall pinning him there as she approached, her orange and red sabers held out in front of her. A moan escaped him as he began peeling himself up and moving the violent blade to assume a defensive posture.
"Who are you and why are you here?" His deep voice bellowed through the halls and the echoes cascaded back through the room reverberating through her head. He made no move to attack, he just stood there waiting one arm extended out, his blade drawn back over his head. Death by one blow… she knew that stance well, she used it often. He was planning on using her aggression, let her strike at the core while he appears exposed and with one quick whip of his body and a little Force speed, end it in one quick slash or as she liked to with a touch of her hand on the forehead jarring the nerves and sending her opponents jerking on the ground in unspeakable pain and agony before ending it with a swing of her blades.
She smiled, beating her own stance this was going to be fun. "My name and my affiliation don't matter I do not plan on remaining here much longer. I came following a man, he was dressed in black. I heard his laughter coming this way and I followed." Seeing the puzzled look spreading across the older Twi'lek's face she sighed. "Let me guess you haven't seen such a man."
"No I haven't. How long have you been wandering around out there?" He kept the stance, recoiled waiting. It was clear that he expected her to strike, she was bearing a red blade indicative of the Sith and yet she restrained herself. Whether it was the prism taking effect and 'freeing' her as Zelkin had claimed it would or just the fact that she knew what awaited if she struck, even she wasn't sure.
"I honestly don't know. The man told me two days though." She knew how moronic that must have sounded but everything was coming automatically, she was too tired to filter anything through her lips… it was just spilling out like water from a fountain. "That stance, I know that stance." She assumed the stance in an opposite direction, extending one blade towards him and holding the other high above her head. "But I doubt you'd have thought of this." She flicked her wrist as the man lowered his guard pushing him off balance slightly as she charged. He didn't have time to catch himself, to whip back around in time. Her orange blade caught the violent saber as he spun dropping her red saber it disengaged and hit the stone slabs with a clank grabbing his free arm she twisted it backwards. Just a few more seconds and he would be begging for mercy.
The male Twi'lek let out a gasp of pain as she stretched his arm to it's breaking point and with a quick jerk of the orange saber his violent blade melted as the concentrated beam sliced through the edge of the hilt damaging the outer lens. He looked at her amazed… what was this Sith? She looked young and yet she had bested him with ease? "Erh… I yield, I yield… what do you need? Food? Rest? Shelter? I… I can give it to you just let me go!" If she could break his focus that easy, he didn't stand a chance without his saber… he knew what to do, make himself useful. If there's a reason for Sith to keep you alive they will and right now he knew what she needed and he could provide it. He just had to bargain quickly.
"Food would be wonderful, water as well. If you happen to have a nice set of gloves or a heavier cloak I would just love those. And transportation… ah yes I would kill to not have to walk across this white wasteland any more." She gave him a slight push forward as she called her red blade back to her free hand and ignited it. She was tired, exhausted and that led room for vulnerability, it presented the chance for him to strike her down take her sabers and leave her to waste away in the hollow stone fortress like a Sith being put to rest in a tomb. Having an elaborate resting place was appealing but she had no intentions of making this hers, she needed to return to Korriban but she had to pay a visit to Ulic first. "Go, led the way start with food. I'll follow, try anything and I'll kill you and take it for myself."
"Yes of course, typical behavior for a Sith." He groaned as he moved down the hall towards a faint light trickling from the corridor beyond. His uninjured hand moved to cradle his hyper extended arm.
"You're the one who jumped me remember, what do you expect me to just suddenly trust that you aren't going to kill me!? Just get the blasted food." She sighed as she trailed behind him. Now that the small skirmish was over her strength was fading fast, she needed something to keep her here, to keep her from lapsing into sleep into a trance to death. Disengaging the orange saber and clipping it to her belt she braced herself against the chiseled walls as she followed her red blade still pointed in his direction.
"True, I did jump you. I apologize. I felt the darkness around you and panicked. I thought you might be one of them." His voice became very friendly open and welcoming as he pushed into the corridor. The light spilled around them and the glow of the saber retreated back towards its origin as the lamp set in the middle of the room spilled white light across the open space. She watched as he stepped into the light, his skin was white… as white as the ice surrounding the citadel. "My name is Alapus. I gave up my true name long ago as I embraced the ice here. The coldness…it's refreshing." He walked towards a round bin opened it and removed a package and tossed it to her as he turned around.
Catching it she felt the warmth radiating from it and primitive nature took over. Hunger reared its head and roared as she ripped into the packaged and gorged herself on the contents. It didn't much matter what the substance was that she was cramming into her mouth, all that mattered was that it was food, food would allow her to keep going, to push on, to live. It was vital. The thought crossed her mind that it could in fact be poison, or laced with something to incapacitate her but she didn't care right now… it was food, food!
"Wow, you really are hungry." He moved to another bin farther down the chamber and return bearing gloves, a fur cloak and a container of some sort, she didn't much care, she was still too busy stuffing her face. The red blade remained ignited and on the ground. Stopping a good distance away he set the items down and watched her.
Tossing the now empty wrapper aside she plopped down on the ground moving her fingers the container flew towards her… water. She gulped it down without hesitation and cast the container to the ground where it rolled along the slabs of stone.
"So why are you here? There has to be some reason… you're not one of them, so what are you?" It was clear that he couldn't contain his curiosity, a Sith girl barged in for an unnamed reason, bested him after assuming the very stance he had used, and yet he wasn't dead yet. As confused as she was, he appeared even more so.
Hearing his words she raised an eyebrow in suspicion as the cloak flew towards her while she rose to her feet once more. She slipped it on quickly followed by the black leather gloves. She pulled them on her hands and welcomed the warmth that engulfed her aching bones. "My business is my own and I know nothing of this 'them' you speak of."
He sighed. "Foolish young one, beware or they will claim you as well. I sense what you carry and they will try and take it. They are like you, Sith… and they hunt for relics amongst the ice. Apparently they cleaned what was left from this place ages ago and sent it to their Masters but that doesn't stop them from trying to kill me periodically for sport..." His voice trailed off, he was hiding something. Lies, they never escaped her, not when the one lying did it so poorly probably due to lack of practice. Every word reeked of a hidden secret, every action told her he had something here, something powerful, something valuable.
"So why are you here?" It was her turn for questions. She pulled two more packages of food and another container of water from the bins next to the wall towards her and secured them in the pouches on the thick warm cloak. The red saber disengaged and floated towards her before sliding up her sleeve… he was lying, liars tried foolish things in order to protect their secrets. "And why do you know that stance… it died ages ago."
"I'm here to study, on my own. I enjoy knowledge and this seemed like a good place to go to gather it. I learned that stance from a recent holocron I found hidden here…"
Her voice cut him off. Reflex took over something stuck in her mind. It was making sense now, she was led here for a reason, it all made sense. "Take me to it." Yellow streaks started flowing through her eyes. His secret… this was it, he let it slip that easily.
"It's gone, they took it." He sighed but the sigh was laced with frustration and hesitation not regret or remorse. Liar! Her gut screamed at her, slice him in two, cleave his head from his shoulders and take it.
"How can I know that you're being honest with me?" She took a step closer her red saber igniting and flying to her hand once more. "How can I know? Something tells me you're lying… it calls to me I feel it, I know it's here." She raised her blade to his throat. She didn't need him, he was useless… he had no means of transportation… and the holocron was… ah yes. To destroy him or not right now she had a choice, he had lied to her and attempted to kill her prior… it was settled in an instant.
"No please!"
The red blade whipped around and Alapus' head rolled to the floor, the yellow streaks in her eyes remained as she took off through the halls… it was here… a copy, could it be a copy? A backup? The red blade flying around the corner before her she stopped a horror stricken look creeping over her face… no… no…NO! Fragments lay shattered on the floor. She fell to her knees gathering the pieces and clutching them in her hands. He had done it… he had pushed it off the pedestal sitting in the midst of the chamber nearby when she had raised her saber to strike him, she could sense him doing it but she hadn't realized until it was too late. Collecting the pieces she opened a small pouch on her belt and slid them inside, her eyes blazing with rage. Another hopeless trail, another answer ending in fragments and pain and how far off course was she now.
Laughter burst forth behind her. She turned around growling. "You! It's you!" The figure took off running, his black cape sweeping behind him. She tore off after the shadow. Why were phantoms leading her around, why had his phantom manifested itself here?
Flying back up through the corridors she chased him across the wasteland before her. The ice and snow failed to slow her now, she was going to catch him… to get answers. Running, running, pounding, the crunching of footsteps… hours of footsteps pounding, leaping up mountains after him. She was a torrent of rage, emotion fueling her driving her on like a mad beast, a wild creature. Sliding down a mountain she landed in the snow sinking below the undisturbed bank engulfed by the never ending whiteness of Rhen Var.
Bursting forth from the frigid blanket she glanced around he was gone and darkness was gone as well. The sun was rising again… day four according to her phantom. Glancing around something seemed familiar… that mountain… the ship. She turned around to see a glint of metal shining from the whiteness. Walking over she touched it before digging a bit with her sabers carving the snow back… ship! Guiding her sabers around the craft, it reared its chassis from its frozen prison… cockpit, engines, wings, landing gear. The drift disappeared as the starship fully emerged. Yes this was it, it was here, she was close, so very close. It was coming back to her now. She closed her eyes and let the memories of another guide her…
The snow became ice pelting down from the grey sky and clinking as it hit the frozen ground.
And outline, the side of a mountain and a structure… the falling ice began to grow larger obscuring everything. There wasn't a choice, refuge must be sought here. A hand reached out and felt along the side for an entrance. The wall ended and a gaping hole appeared. Inside was darkness and a faint bluish glow. Statues, statues of robed figures lined the apparent path sticking out amongst the natural formations of the cave. Jedi, this was a Jedi structure… this was a tomb.
She was here… she was inside the tomb of the traitor, the tomb of Ulic Qel-Droma, apprentice of Exar Kun, once a Jedi then a Sith Lord before embracing the lightside once more allowing him to shed the guilt of what he had done and die in peace. How pathetic.
A tremor ran up her spine... Shadows moved towards her blocking her path drawing sabers. They were phantoms like her stranger, they kept watch over the tomb and all it contained… they were guardians. The Twi'lek drew her sabers and took a defensive stance. "I advise you all to back off I'm here for something and I will attain it regardless of whether you oppose me or not."
They manifested themselves further and moved towards her to attack the trespasser in order to rid the tomb of the darkness that dared to taint it. Whipping her blades around the Twi'lek blocked their attacks, how many there were she couldn't tell, she was surrounded and fighting furiously. Her blades moved on impulse keeping the sabers at bay. Slicing through one figure it vanished returning back to the nothingness from which it came. A grin spread over her face. Jumping back from the fray she glanced at the rock formations hanging from the ceiling directly over the mass of shadows… perfect. Screaming she raised her sabers above her head and loosening her grip on the hilts pulled the ceiling down with surgical precision, she couldn't risk a cave in. Just enough to hit them, to cause them to loose the energy to manifest themselves… that's all she needed. As the rocks crashed to the ground the shadows beneath them disappeared. The few that remained she charged blocking their strikes with one saber and slicing through them with the other. One after the other, she soared through them like the piercing cold breeze beyond capable of penetrating through skin and bone crippling those who face it with a debilitating chill.
They were gone… her chest heaving as her lungs attempted to suck oxygen from the stale air around her, she headed for a pillar towards the right of Ulic Qel-Droma's crypt. She was in no mood to fight a former Sith Lord right now… not a disgruntled ex-Sith Lord turned Jedi. Whipping out her datapad from her robes she pressed a few carvings on the pillar causing the stone to slide back revealing an ancient terminal. She began typing away, her red fingers nimbly navigating the keys… yes what Zelkin searched for it was here. She had been right. A large smile spread across her features… this was going to be magnificent. Checking the information on the datapad with that of the terminal she grinned… perfect, it was all here.
A chill coursed through her branching nerves… the soundly sleeping traitor had been disturbed. Ulic's spirit was stirring. She had seconds. Grabbing what Zelkin required she darted for the exit using the Force to push her failing legs forward. As much as she'd love to get in a long philosophical discussion with a spirit who had discovered how to manifest itself through the Force, now was not the time… and she'd rather the spirit not be of a Jedi and not be livid at her, that wouldn't make for a very deep conversation, just chiding and scolding.
But still she couldn't resist at least telling him goodbye… he had gone so long without any visitors, he would appreciate it. Stepping into the light streaming in from the tundra beyond she grinned and bowed mockingly. "I apologize Ulic Qel-Droma for disturbing your slumber but I promise to put this to good use. Return to your rest." She dove out the exit as she felt the Force rushing out trying to pull her back inside the cavern. The tomb though would only hold one, and her sharing a tomb with Ulic while probably appropriate… two traitors spending eternity arguing with each other over their opposing views of the Force… it just wasn't meant to be. Flying through the snow she made sure to clear the entrance of the tomb and put some ground between herself and the spirit she had undoubtedly ticked off.
She stopped when she reached the once buried ship her chest heaving as her lungs struggled to process the frozen air. Dropping to her knees she looked up at the mountains surrounding her and laughed. The deep sounds of success bounced from mountain to mountain declaring her victory over the Rhen Var, of everything it had thrown at her, over the phantom, over Ulic, over her destiny. This, this was a true turning point. This moment she felt free.
The familiar noise of a blaster clicking on sounded behind her… no. Rolling to the ground through the snow she managed to get out of the way just in time as a blaster bolt melted the snow where she had once been. Igniting her sabers she turned to face those who dare oppose her, who dared to shackle her again as she pulled herself to her feet.
"Ah, so you're the one who killed that fool! I applaud you, but you have something which we need… a certain holocron!" Three figures wearing white approached from high on the mountain above, one holding a sniper rifle, the other two wielding sabers both with red blades. The voice of the female Cathar was arrogant and ridden with contempt. It was clear that she was jealous that someone else had gotten to kill the keeper of the citadel before her and now she was ready to exorcise that jealousy by beating it out on another. The other two humans seemed to be mindlessly following her lead.
The Twi'lek snarled, really, really?!? One break, she wanted one break… sighing she looked at the ones creeping down the mountainside towards her slowly. "I'm sorry Alapus broke it as I broke him, I took the pieces… I'm sure you have no use for a shattered holocron! But it doesn't matter right now, you'll die in this snow regardless!" It didn't matter if this was what the Force wanted her to do or not, if this was what the dark side was pushing her towards or not, she didn't care. She just knew that she was going to kill this trio for the shear enjoyment she was going to get from seeing their bodies limp in the snow, the ones trying to bind her back prisoners of the very snow they relied on. Her eyes were blazing, the sulfur streaks running through them, the mix of red and gold gave them the appearance of fire. The fatigue didn't matter, nor did the fact that her inner reserve was running low, they would die painful deaths regardless and it wouldn't require much effort on her accord.
She smiled a moment before lifting up her hands and disengaged her sabers as if surrendering… seeing the trio grinning and hastening their approach down the mountainside she pulled hard on the snow drift above. There was a creaking sound and then rumbling like thunder charging towards the relic hunters, the turned to see the avalanche heading in their direction. It was too late for the doomed fools… it was about to be too late for her.
Move, move, move… she had to get out of the way. Seeing the exposed ship she held her sabers up to the edges of the glass of the cockpit melting the newly formed ice plastered on sealing her out. Prying it open she jumped inside and began furiously flipping switches. "Come on, come on, come on. Come on!" She thrust her fists down on the console a dull thud sounding as the leather hit metal and it rumbled to life. Looking back towards the mountain the wall of ice and snow which had swallowed her enemies now charged forward seeking the one who had woken it. The engines rumbled and lurched a moment before roaring to life. She gripped the steering array. "Up you blasted thing! Up!"
Reluctantly the well preserved hunk of metal climbed into the sky above. The Twi'lek closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she saw the monster she had created pelting towards her. The ship lurched forward once more just as the avalanche crashed down below, stray pieces of ice soaring through the air clunked against the durasteel as she opened her eyes again and patted the controls.
Checking the instrumentation everything seemed to be in order. This vessel would get her back to Korriban in one piece as long as no one attempted to shoot her out of the sky. As tempting as it was to return to the crippled outpost in its death throws and recover the stolen starfighter she arrived in, it was time to leave. The fools would all be dead or dying anyways from their own paranoia, there was no need for her to return except to kill the Rodian and his mind was an endless loop running through the same basic tasks over and over… fix the hyperdrive, refuel the ship, make sure the doors stay closed… he would soon die from starvation if the others hadn't killed him already for his alien behavior.
Breaking through the atmosphere and entering the black void of space beyond she marveled at how the ship seemed to meld to her hands. The Lethan Twi'lek still didn't enjoy flying the craft, not in the least… but it was familiar, comfortable almost unlike the flimsy fighter she had been piloting earlier. She relaxed sitting back in the cockpit as the navicomputer plotted the hyperspace route back to Korriban… back to the red sand desert… from one form of wasteland to another… from one planet hiding its treasures beneath a blanket of snow to another keeping its secrets buried under mounds of sand. A planet she loathed and a planet she loved. From the tundra to the desert, oh how she would welcome having that head hued dust swirling past her once again. Slumping back in the pilot chair she was beginning to feel warmth coating her body once more, she felt alive again, sane again. She had what Zelkin wanted, her new Master would be pleased and training could begin. Breaking free from the Force… what would it feel like to break completely free of the Force, to wield it without any repercussions, to bend it truly to serve her will without it using her in return?
She pulled out the datapad she received on Korriban. It was time to inform him of her success. "Zelkin, this is Prava and I have what you were seeking in my possession. I will be on route to Korriban momentarily and awaiting further instruction." As she finished speaking her finger moved to cut the transmission. He was undoubtedly busy as was expected, she would just have to learn patience. Patience right now was not an issue, the fatigue left her calm and reserved where otherwise she'd be pounding the controls nervously with her bare fists while she waited for a response.
The navicomputer beeped, the hyperspace route had been calculated. Taking one last glace at the white orb floating in the distance the Sith smirked as she punched the dash. Stars zipped past, everything became a blur… her mind drifted off into darkness as her eyes closed… sweet engulfing darkness…