Back Where It All Started: The Battle of Ruusan
Hey guys, Jack here with the second chapter of my newest story. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other Star Wars Fic, I'm just more inspired to write this one.
Disclaimer: Disclaimed, nuff said.
CHAPTER 2
It had been a week since the six had first setup camp on Ruusan, and things were ahead of schedule in Banes opinion.
Zannah had decided to expand her saber technique to include Makashi, since the second form of lightsaber combat didn't require kinetic strike power, just finesse. As a result she made a set of Curved-Hilt Lightsaber's that possessed interlocking hilts. (AN: yeah, yeah, I know, I'm knocking off Ventress' style, but I'd be lying if I said Zannah doesn't need some tactical diversity)
Cognus had managed to create two Synth-crystal's, setting one aside for when she felt she had enough experience to make her own set of lightsabers.
Hardin had been practicing using the Force to understand how things were made in his spare time, before he attempted to create a lightsaber of his own from spare parts he had found on one of the battlefields. It took him three tries to get it right.
The elder blond occasionally spares with his cousin and her apprentice, and often imitates Bane's preferred style, Djem So. The boy shows promise in the use of Form V, which is why Bane occasionally gives the kid a few pointers. He's even begun writing down a detailed explanation of both the duel-centric Djem So and classic Form V, Shien for the kid.
Darovit had done as Zannah had advised him to, and began using what power he possessed to identify plants that could be used to create healing salves, and other things of medicinal purpose. He found he was actually really good at it.
Githany, however, had greatly impressed Bane with her progress. She had managed to create a foundation for her technique by creating a barrier with her Lightwhip, and would use Makashi to dispose of her imaginary foes with minimal effort. Her Force mastery was nothing to scoff at either, her Lightning was almost as potent as his now; she had even created a new variant that she called electric bondage. The name is pretty self-explanatory.
XxxX
It was early in the morning, so early the sun had yet to rise, when Bane woke up. They had been sleeping in the freighter, since the main hold was large enough for the six of them to use as a sleeping quarters. He quietly got up, and snuck out of the ship. He had a habit of doing this morning routine that involved practicing his saber technique before dawn, one he had gotten into before they were cast away in time.
Once outside the ship, the snap-hiss of Bane igniting his lightsaber broke the silence as he began going through the Djem So combinations that Kas'im had taught him the first time around. He was a bit sloppier than he remembered, but attributed it to his instincts trying to help him develop muscle memory.
As he continued his morning practice, he sensed Githany nearby, it seems that she had snuck out of the ship earlier then he had. He sensed her emotional distress, and deactivated his lightsaber. Something was wrong, and he could sense it.
He followed her Force Signature until he came across her sitting by a stream, crying. He then called out to her, "What's got you so upset, Githany?"
Githany was so caught up in her emotions that she didn't sense him sneaking up on her, and jumped in surprise as she ignited her lightsaber, ready for a fight, only to see Darth Bane. She deactivated her weapon and sighed, "It's something I've kept to myself, something that the Jedi did because of my beauty."
Bane could already tell this wasn't going to be pretty, but that was to be expected, "Go on."
She gathered what little Self-control she had left and said, "Th-they removed m-my ovaries." The instant those words left her mouth, she broke down crying uncontrollably.
She would have fell to the ground had Bane not caught her, it was all he could do to keep himself from trying to march over to the Jedi encampment and kill each and every one of them. He knew he wouldn't like the answer, but asked anyways, "Why did they do it?"
"They said it was to spare me the shame of having some Sith Lord's rape baby, saying that they were afraid that I would be taken prisoner by the Sith if they had the chance," she answered bitterly, "But I know the truth is that they didn't trust me not to get into a relationship."
XxX
Zannah had been aware of her master's habit, but was surprised when she felt him break the routine, but soon figured out why: Githany was emotionally distraught. This had piqued her curiosity, so she woke her apprentice and cousins giving them an order, "follow me and keep quiet."
They used Zannah's spell of concealment to give them the ability to move fast enough to catch up to Bane, and stayed on the edge of the woods. What the four heard would change how Hardin and Darovit viewed the Jedi, and cement Zannah and Cognus' belief that they should be destroyed. Nodding to one another, Zannah dropped her spell of concealment, and they ran up to them and joined the embrace.
Darovit broke the hug first and growled, "Its official, I hate the Jedi."
Hardin nodded in agreement as his eyes briefly flashed yellow.
"They will pay for what they did to you," whispered Zannah as she affectionately kissed Githany's cheek, then brought the woman's face to her's and slipped her tongue into her mouth, surprising everyone present.
"Gross," cried her cousins.
Cognus licked her lips, it was a sensual sight.
Bane sighed, "This would be so much more interesting if Zannah was at least twelve." Her cousins looked at him prompting the man to say, "She's an early bloomer."
They stared blankly at the man before saying, "Pedofile." They soon found themselves floating in the air as they clawed at their throats.
"I seduced him when I was twenty boys, not the other way around," growled Zannah, "you'd do well to remember that."
The two barely choked out a yes ma'am before she released them.
Githany finally managed to shake off her shock before saying, "I wonder how things are going back on Korriban?"
XxxX
Qordis was not pleased. He had discovered that his ship, HIS ship, had been stolen, and had no doubt that Bane was behind it. That upstart had been a thorn is his side since he got here, leaving didn't help. Oh no, Bane saw to that by leaving a note on each students door.
They all said the same thing.
This academy is an insult to the Sith and the Dark Side, and Qordis is lining his own pockets with credit's that should be spent on giving the students a proper education. As punishment for his greed and short-sightedness, Githany and I liberated his ship, The Valcyn. If you want to know what it means to be Sith, spend more time in the library,
Darth Bane.
Needless to say, Qordis had lost the trust of his students, who now spent more time in the library reading the ancient tomes than listening to him. The only class they attended at this point was Kas'im's lightsaber instruction class. And worst of all, Qordis could do nothing to stop them, the tomes found in the library were simply too valuable to destroy.
Of all the students, none were more affected by Bane's desertion and words than the Zabrak Trio, particularly Sirak. At first, Sirak wanted revenge, and had initially believed that Bane ran away. Then he decided to humor the man, and went to see what the library held. He had to admit, Bane was on to something. As time went on, Sirak grew to respect the man who had manipulated him skillfully, and in doing so, reminded everyone that the Force is their greatest weapon.
He had mentally declared Bane his rival, and wanted to face him again. Sadly, this wasn't possible since that the man had left the Academy, but he couldn't blame him. Qordis was living the life with gourmet meals, while the students were fed slop.
He had little doubt that his rival went to Ruusan, though he doubted the man had killed Lord Kaan. It wasn't that Kaan was stronger than Bane; no, Sirak had no doubt that Darth Bane, as he now called himself, was more than capable of destroying Kaan. Sirak believed that Darth Bane was merely biding his time, waiting until the right time to strike, like a true Sith Lord would. That was the question that was plaguing his thoughts: when would the right time to strike be?
Sirak dismissed this question, if anyone knew the answer to that question, it was Bane himself.
His thoughts had then turned to the Darth Title. He had learned from Kas'im that it was a warning to ones fellow Sith; it said to them, "bow down, or be destroyed." Normally, Sirak wouldn't bow down to anyone, but after being defeated in such a manner had humbled him. If there was anyone who seemed to embody what that title meant, it was Darth Bane.
A part of him wanted to join Darth Bane, but the problem was he didn't want to risk compromising his rival's mission. He buried his face into his palm, he already knew where he was, all he needed to do was go there and let the Force guide him.
XxX
Convincing Llokay and Yevra to join him had been easy enough; the two were quite loyal to him. That and the fact he and Yevra have a thing going on didn't hurt either. They were looking to steal three Buzzard-class interceptors when they were confronted by Kas'im. "Going somewhere," asked the twilek blade master asked in a stern voice.
The three cringed at his question, Sirak wasn't sure if they should tell him the truth, but never got the chance. Kas'im presented them with three lightsaber's: a Saberstaff for Sirak, a Saberpike for Llokay, and a set of Sabershoto's for Yevra. "I know you intend to find and join Darth Bane; I would do so myself, however, I'm much more useful here," explained Kas'im, "so the least I can do is insure you are properly equipped."
The three were awestruck by this. Sirak was the first to regain his composure and bowed saying, "Thank you, Master Kas'im."
Kas'im smiled and nodded, before going his own way, allowing the three to take a set of Buzzard-class Interceptors as they flew off the Join Darth Bane.
The chains of Skere Kaan's lies were beginning to break.
XxxX
Cognus woke from her sleep, and knew she had to talk to Darth Bane about her vision.
She hopped to the floor and quietly walked up to where the Dark Lord lay sleeping, and began to shake him. "Lord Bane, wake up, I need to tell you something," she whispered.
Bane wasn't a heavy sleeper, so he woke up almost immediately and asked in a tired manner, "What is itCognus?"
"I had a vision concerning three Zabrak's; two males, one female, the female and one of the males looked identical, like they're twins, and the other male had yellow skin," answered Cognus.
Bane was wide awake and asked, "They intend to destroy me, don't they?" Cognus shook her head saying, "No milord, they intend to join you."
Bane had been surprised to hear this; he would not deny that Sirak was talented, if anything, he would make a valuable ally. It also helped that he was pretty much the top student at the academy, and if he joined Bane's cause, then others were soon to follow. "Do you know when they'll arrive?"
"By noon milord," answered Cognus.
Bane nodded, "I'll inform Zannah of this, and tell her to drop the spell of concealment for a brief moment."
Cognus nodded and went back to bed.
XxX
Bane did as he said he would and informed Zannah to keep her senses up. She said she wouldn't drop her Spell of Concealment when they arrived, saying it would be their test. Bane agreed to this, since they needed to prove their worth.
XxX
Upon arrival, the three made sure to suppress their presence in the Force. "He isn't here, I can't sense his presence," growled Llokay.
"That's because he's hiding it," countered Sirak, "he knows not to draw attention to himself; it would be foolishness to do otherwise." He smirked as he thought, 'it seems finding will be a challenge unto itself; well played my rival, well played.'
Sirak expanded his awareness in the Force, trying to find something that didn't fit. He could sense Kaan's encampment, as well as the encampment of Lord Hoth's Army of Light. But what caught his attention was an area about 250 meters in diameter that was clouded. It was closer to Kaan's encampment, which was about three kilometers to the north of this distortion.
"There," he spoke, "do you sense that?"
"Sense what," Yevra asked.
"That area that's clouded in the force, it's about three kilometers south of Kaan's encampment," he said excitedly.
Yevra focused on the location, "I sense it!"
"I do too," stated Llokay, "looks like you were right Sirak."
'Soon my rival, soon we shall join forces,' thought Sirak, 'and together we will bring the Jedi to their knees.'
XxX
Zannah was engaged in a duel against both her cousin Hardin, and her chosen apprentice, Darth Cognus while her master, Darth Bane, went over Zannah's Spell Book. She had put the finishing touches on her complete spell book last night, and had written it primarily in Sithese. Thankfully she had translated everything into basic on the bottom of the page along instructions on how to speak Sith. He was surprised by how detailed Zannah's explanations were; he was actually beginning to understand the intricacies of Sith Sorceries thanks to his apprentice.
Bane was brought out of his thoughts when three Buzzard-class interceptors came into the area of Zannah's Spell of Concealment, prompting the three to deactivate their lightsaber's and wait for the new arrivals to land.
Sirak was a bit surprised to see four small children along with Bane and Githany, so he decided to gauge their potential. The Iktotchi clearly possessed great potential, as did the blond boy. The brunette had hardly force connection at all, but he could tell that the young man was producing high quality healing salves, meaning his potential lay elsewhere. Then he turned his attention to the curly blond girl, and was practically overwhelmed by what he felt. This girl who was no older than ten possessed far greater power the Darth Bane, and had somehow mastered it.
Sirak made a mental note to ask Bane where he found the girl as he walked up to the man and knelt before him and the twins followed suit. "I must say, I'm surprised that you have so many younglings here, Darth Bane, even more so at the power that little blond girl possesses," he looked Bane in the eyes and asked, "How does she possess more power than you, and complete mastery of it?"
Bane waved his hand, and the three ignited their lightsabers and began practicing, again, prompting Sirak and the twins to observe. The three received another shock as they watched the curly blond keep her opponents at bay with Form III: Soresu. It wasn't her use of the form that shocked them, it was the way she moved combined with she wasted no energy. Clearly she was a master of the form. "Only Zannah can show you the answer to that question," answered Bane.
Sirak immediately realized he was talking about the girl, and decided to continue watching the match. It lasted for another fifteen minutes before Zannah had decided to end it, and activated the Duel-Phase function while separating her blades, placing the tips just inches from her opponents throats. "Better luck next time, guys, but you did well."
The boy rolled his eyes and mumbled something about overpowered cousin's while the iktotchi bowed and said, "thank you, my master."
Sirak was curious, especially about the Iktotchi's remark; he couldn't help but wonder how someone so young could be considered a master.
The girl then walked up to them, and knelt before Bane, "What is thy bidding my master."
"You are to show these three the truth, from both our Points of view, Zannah," commanded Bane.
Zannah rolled her eyes before repeating the same process for a third time, showing the three everything that had occurred, including their deaths.
At the end of it all Sirak stared hard at Bane, "tell me one good reason why I should believe any of this."
"Because I defeated you so easily when I fought you," answered Bane as he went back to reading Zannah's book.
"I take it you find that book extremely informative, master," asked Zannah.
Bane glanced at his apprentice, "I find it amazing that you wrote it in a way that helps me understand the intricacies of Sith Sorcery."
Sirak's eyes widened greatly, Sith Sorcery was not to be trifled with, and it had been suspected that those who could understand it were few and far between.
Zannah suddenly frowned as her eyes began glowing yellow, "we have uninvited guests."
"See to it that they are dealt with," responded Bane offhandedly.
Zannah giggled and said, "I already have."
XxX
Skere Kaan was a bit worried when the force signatures of three buzzard-class interceptors suddenly disappeared about three kilometers south of his encampment, so he sent out five scouts to investigate.
It was about half an hour later when only one returned, and he was in critical condition. He had made his way to the man's location, only to see what appeared to be several lacerations, but upon closer inspection he realized these wounds were not lacerations. The flesh had been disintegrated, and the wounds were clearly infected. It was miracle that the man was alive, let alone conscious. "What happened, what caused this," he demanded.
"It came out of nowhere," he answered in a pained voice, "this serpent of Dark Side Power." The man's breathing quickened as he rasped out, "nothing we did harmed it; it even absorbed our Force Lightning." The man then died, leaving Kaan fearful in ways he had never been before.
XxX
"You subjected them to Dark Side Tendrils," growled Bane as he shuddered from the intensity of the phantom pains thy shot through his shoulder and right arm just above the elbow.
Zannah smiled brightly and nodded happily, "I let one get away to let Kaan know to stay away from this place; he should live long enough to tell him the gist of what happened."
Sirak inched away from the girl slowly; the fact that his rival was fearful of this ability had put her at the top of the food chain in his mind.
"Well, at least I doubt Kaan will be foolish enough to waste more scouts in an attempt to find out what's here," sighed Bane, he really didn't like that technique.
XxX
Later that evening, Sirak approached Bane, "I can see how the Rule of Two works, and agree with the philosophy." He closed his eyes and said, "I also agree that two Sith can't hope to hunt down and kill all the Jedi by themselves." He then turned to the Sith'ari and ignited his Saberstaff, "let's spar, I need to work on my stamina, and you're the perfect opponent to do so against."
Bane smirked; Sirak was probably one of the few who could actually keep up with him, and having the Zabrak as a sparring partner would definitely help him improve his reaction time. "Alright then," answered as he ignited his lightsaber and went into the Djem So Attack stance, "let's begin."
The two started off strong, Sirak blending the forms of Lightsaber combat to create a whirlwind of death, while Bane ducked and dodged every attack sent his way before countering with a brutal series of Djem So strikes.
Sirak winced when he blocked the first strike directly, so he began using Soresu to avoid direct damage.
They fought for an hour and a half before Sirak couldn't take anymore. Bane on the other hand, had barely broken a sweat. "Tomorrow *pant* I'll last *wheeze* the full *gasp* two hours."
Bane smirked and said, "You're setting realistic goals for yourself, that's impressive."
The Zabrak chuckled, "I couldn't have picked a better rival if I tried."
"Rival," Bane asked cautiously, Sith rivals had a tendency to destroy one another.
Sirak smirked, "the one who will keep me at my strongest shall be my Rival."
Zannah had watched the fight carefully, and had been impressed with Sirak's skill and technique; the man's going to be one of the greatest duelists to ever live, that's for sure. She had no doubt that he would survive the war, the Zabrak was simply that determined.
His declaration had also intrigued Zannah; Rivalry between Sith Lords usually didn't end well, but she had a feeling about this one. "A good fight," she said calmly, "one could learn much from watching you two."
"One should expect great things to happen when rivals put aside their differences to achieve a common goal," Sirak answered smugly.
Bane smirked as he said, "If only our predecessor's had the same mentality; the Jedi would have been wiped out eons ago."
Sirak chuckled, "true that my rival, true that."
DONE
Time for explanations!
Today I'll explain Sirak's group joining Darth Bane, Githany, and the two saber shotos for Yevra
Sirak, as I had mentioned, was the top student at the academy, so for him to leave and join Darth Bane would undoubtedly have a significant impact on his fellow students. It also helps that Bane had directed his fellow students to the Library.
The Jedi removing her ovaries just felt like something the Jedi would do.
For those of you who don't know this, Kas'im discouraged the use of Jar'Kai tactics (duel wielding) in order to keep an edge over any students who would try to go against Kaan's way. Giving Yevra two saber shotos (these are what Yoda used, and Jar'Kai users tend to use these to give them an edge in speed and maneuverability) shows he is beginning to have a little more faith in the old ways.
Until next time,
Jack "The Ripper" Hellscythe