Chapter Seven
Aeacus sensed Minos' presence approaching shortly before seeing the ship that bore his brother home. He knew that if Rhadamanthus was right, then it meant trouble if Seti had not decided to destroy the Ring as he had warned. Watching as the ship landed, he had to admit that the sight of his brother returning from the interplanetary sieges was more bittersweet than anything else. On the one hand, he wished his brother all the wellness he could possibly hope to obtain but on the other...
On that second hand, because of the Ring's continued existence, he was wishing Minos had never come back just in case it needed to be destroyed still. "Brother Aeacus, I should have expected you to be the first to greet me once again!" Minos said, opening his arms for a hug. "You know I couldn't miss your melodramatic return from the planets rebelling against the Rakata," Aeacus teased. The teasing was artificial despite his sincerest attempt to enjoy his brother coming back but Aeacus just didn't have the heart in him to do so.
After all, last time he had seen him, Minos had looked on Rhadamanthus with disgust and had tried to kill him at the end of the duel they had with their possessed brother. If the Ring had not regenerated Rhadamanthus' wound, the trauma and the blood loss would surely have killed him. What is it about that thing that bothers me so much? Does it have to do with Minos being the next possible host for it? Aeacus asked himself quietly.
"Was that supposed to be sarcastic because I didn't pick up the sarcasm?" Minos asked. "Yes, it was meant to be sarcastic. Sorry you didn't pick it up though," Aeacus answered. But he wasn't so sure if it was or wasn't meant to be sarcastic and if he actually was sorry that he didn't indicate it. Actually, he wasn't even sure if he was actually glad to see Minos again after what had transpired the last time they crossed paths.
"Not a problem, but to move on a bit, is my Master taking visitors?" Minos inquired. "Not at his study but I'm sure you can catch him at his chambers," Aeacus admitted. "Very well, thank you brother, your help is most appreciated," Minos said. "I'm not letting you go there alone, he still has the Ring," Aeacus warned.
"Oh please, I am not nearly as weak-minded as our little brother. I have the training of a Je'daii on my side, unlike him," Minos snapped. Then he pushed Aeacus aside and asked him to go check on their father and grandfather in the mines. You may have the training of a Je'daii but I wonder if that will help when the Ring exploits that despicable temper of yours Aeacus thought silently.
Lying in the bunk of his cell, Rhadamanthus felt something in his gut that indicated trouble. He wasn't sure what it was or where it was coming from but he didn't like it. Could it be the Ring awakening after all these months under the watchful eye of Je'daii Master Seti? Had it found a suitable host to replace him that had arrived on Tython, once more?
Was Minos returning today and was he the chosen candidate to bear the Ring's power? I have to warn Aeacus before Minos gets anywhere the Ring! Gotta get out of here! he thought to himself. Immediately, he turned on the bars of his cell and began to shake them, demanding his release from this cell as he did so.
"I have to warn my brother Aeacus, I have to tell him to be wary of Minos! The Ring has chosen Minos to take it as its next host, I know it!" he shouted. "Quiet you, we'll get your brother over here if you just keep quiet!" the guard said. Then he slammed a baton at the cell bars and Rhadamanthus was forced to let go before getting his hands hit by the metal shaft.
"That may not be soon enough, guard! I need him here now!" Rhadamanthus demanded. "We're sending a messenger to go get him right now, just keep your cool until he gets here!' the guard said thought Rhadamanthus knew he was lying through his teeth. "This is some serious stuff, Force almighty!" Rhadamanthus exclaimed.
"Keep it up and I'll see that the Boxer puts you in your place. Remember what happened the last time we had to call him up for punishing an insubordinate prisoner?" the guard warned. Rhadamanthus did remember, all too well, what the Boxer had done to the prisoner across the room from him. The Boxer was a hired hand of the Guards who was paid to beat prisoners half to death when they refused to cooperate with the guards and quiet down when they were told to.
Two weeks ago, the prisoner across from Rhadamanthus was uncooperative with the authorities to the point where the Boxer was called in to enforce order. Already weak from lack of food and drink, the prisoner was chained by his arms and beaten until his heart collapsed. A beating that would normally have only blacked out Rhadamanthus and left him with some injuries, finished off the poor man near him. So despite not wanting to have the Boxer be called in, Rhadamanthus still wanted to get his point across and that was precisely what he did.
"All right, fine but if Tython is destroyed then don't say I didn't warn you," he said, winking at the guard. The guard spat at his feet and marched off to make sure none of the other prisoners were stirred by the commotion. For those that were, he slammed his baton against the bars of their cell as a warning but for those that weren't, he passed by without a word or a sound. Rhadamanthus, meanwhile, desperately hoped that his brother would arrive soon to hear from him again.
For the past several months or so, Gilgamesh had to admit that he was a little on edge about having his father work with him in Rhadamanthus' place. Whether it was because of the things he had been told about his father or not, he couldn't say. He just felt uneasy about working with the man who had nearly betrayed the Order to the Rakata even if it did turn out for the better that he did. "I don't blame you for feeling uneasy around me, I left you and your mother when you were very young.
"Now look at you, a big strong man with a wonderful wife and an excellent set of triplet sons with two of them serving as members of the Je'daii Order," Sek'nos told him. "Yeah but the third one got possessed by the ring once worn by the Force Hound you fought. How does that make me feel any better about you taking his place in the mines?" Gilgamesh asked. "Maybe it doesn't but you're going to have to live without Rhadamanthus helping you for a while, maybe even forever," Sek'nos answered.
Though he hated to admit it, Gilgamesh knew that Sek'nos was probably right about that and it would serve him better to give up on hoping his son would return to work in the mines. Still, he felt like he had been cheated out of a son who loved him for a father that hadn't been there for him before. Sek'nos disappeared when Gilgamesh was still a little kid, about eight years old at the very most, and hadn't come back since. That meant that when Gilgamesh was fourteen, he needed to begin working in the mines in order to support himself and his mother since they were low on money.
It was all he had ever known after that even when his mother had died, two years later, and he was left all alone for a whole year before meeting Verinia and marrying her. Then the triplets had come into their lives and he devoted all his manpower to feeding himself and them. As if that wasn't bad enough, Aeacus and Minos proved a connection to the Force and were taken by Seti and Tut. While they became Je'daii, Gilgamesh continue to slave away in the mines until Rhadamanthus could work.
Now, Rhadamanthus had been taken into jail for crimes he had committed while possessed by Xesh's ring and Aeacus seldom ever ventured into the mines. As if that wasn't bad enough, Minos no longer made the regular visits he used to, doing more slaying of Rakata than staying at home. Gilgamesh was all alone with the very father who had left him at eight years old and basically abandoned him. How was he to feel about practically losing all three sons to the Je'daii cause while he was stuck with him?
Was he supposed to feel anything about it or was he supposed to be as mechanical about it as a Je'daii was often required to be? It wasn't easy to be them, Gilgamesh guessed that much but it still amazed him that Minos and Aeacus still felt anything for him at all. Even more amazing was that Sek'nos actually wanted to make amends for abandoning his son all those years ago.
Nonetheless, Gilgamesh taught Sek'nos how to use the tools that were at his disposal as well as how to look for ore and watched him during the first few weeks or so. When Sek'nos looked like he could take care of himself, Gilgamesh left him to mine where Rhadamanthus used to be. After finishing for the day and heading home, he began wondering to himself if the Je'daii was dividing his family. "Not to worry, if anyone has a clearer head than you then it'd be Aeacus without a doubt," Sek'nos said.
"What makes you so sure?" Gilgamesh asked. "Because even when Minos nearly killed Rhadamanthus, Aeacus kept a cool head and calmed the storm of rage within Minos. He'll know what to do about ensuring that the family isn't divided and I know it," Sek'nos answered. Gilgamesh left it at that, not wanting to argue and hoping that Sek'nos was right about Aeacus.
"Enter," Seti said at the sound of his door being tapped. Then Minos entered and Seti smiled at the sight of his old Padawan coming to see him. "Minos, what a surprise to see you. I didn't think you'd be back for another five months or more!" Seti exclaimed.
He meant it too: with the way the Council had barked orders at Minos before he left, Seti had little hope of seeing him again for a total of thirteen months. But it seemed as though fate was kind in that regard and allowed Minos to return after eight months of being away. "Missed me that little, eh? My brother acted similarly when I returned," Minos asked.
"Minos, you know the Je'daii way decrees that I can't 'miss' someone per se but it is good to see you again. You're turning out to be a better Je'daii Ranger than most could ever hope to be and you give hope to those who need it in their struggle against the Rakata," Seti answered. What is it with him? Has all the fighting and the bloodshed that he must have seen really changed him so as to be like this when he comes home? Seti asked himself quietly.
"And it is good to see you again, Master but I'm not here to utter formalities that can be dispensed with. I am here because I have a question for you: where is the Ring?" Minos demanded. "Why, it's in my study where I've always kept it safe from prying eyes. Are the Rakata looking for it, do they know it's on Tython with the Je'daii Order?" Seti replied.
The old man knew better than to just simply let Minos ramble about the Ring at random so he asked those questions so as to get a better idea as to what he wanted with it. "They're looking for it, all right but they don't necessarily know that it's here on Tython. However, I get the feeling that it won't be long before they do which is why I need your help. I need you to give me the Ring so that I can threaten to destroy it in the event that the Empire attacks worlds that choose to be free," Minos explained.
Seti knew why that would be effective with the Rakata if it was used as a last resort: the destruction of the Ring meant a permanent loss of attunement to the Force. And without it, not only would they have trouble harnessing Force energy for their technology but the plague'd be deadlier. "Minos, you know that I need the Ring to find out a cure for the Rakatan plague and bargain for it in exchange for worlds longing for freedom to have that right," Seti said after thinking for a bit. "Yes I know but we need them to know we have it before we can truly start negotiations," Minos countered.
"Negotiations would be fruitless and any gesture toward them would be equally futile once they know we have the Ring. They'll stop at nothing to destroy us then and if it means running the entirety of their armies unto our blades, so be it! We need the vaccine before we can begin negotiations with them, let alone threaten them with the destruction of the Ring if they don't keep their terms," Seti insisted. "Then let us use the power of the Ring for the only damned thing it's good for: destroying people, destroying worlds when left unchecked," Minos ordered.
"No Minos, even the Rakatan are not such a powerful enemy as to be worth the price of millions of innocent people. This is not the Je'daii way and you know that!" Seti shouted. "In war, strength and strategy are what prevails not holding on to morals!" Minos yelled back. "What's happened to you, what did you see out there to change you so much?" Seti asked.
"I saw the way of Truth, Master, and it has told me that the Ring must either be used or destroyed. Not studied, not analyzed for vaccines that would give us negotiative power or anything you would have it be used for. Destroyed or used as a weapon against the very people who were given it, there is no other way," Minos answered. "That isn't the way of Truth, that is the way of Bogan, the way of the Voice of the Ring!" Seti hissed.
"I ask you and I won't ask you again: give me the Ring!" Minos said as he drew his sword at his former Master. "Weapons are not to be drawn in the Temple of Balance or any Tythan Temple of the Je'daii Order unless we are at war. We are not at war so please, put your weapon away around the Temple Master of the Temple of Balance," Seti begged. "Shut up!" Minos exclaimed.
Then Minos surprised his former Master by ramming the cutting tip of his blade through the old man's abdomen. He continued to push through until Seti's body came into contact with the crest of his sword then Minos leaned forward to whisper into Seti's ear. "Tell me Seti, where in your study, is the Ring?" he asked. "In the top right drawer of my desk, you'll find it in a little box," Seti answered.
"Good, was that so hard?" Minos asked rhetorically. Then he yanked the blade out of his old Master and used a cleaning spell before sheathing it once more. Since he had been here before, Minos knew where the study was and knew where Seti's desk would be in it. However, the only thing that really stood in his way were two guards that would not permit him access.
But instead of even revealing who he was, Minos used the Force to Push them against the wall and knock them cold before conjuring a crescent blade of energy from his sword to break the door. Meanwhile, Seti lied bleeding to death in his own room but instead of calling for help, he sent Aeacus a telepathic warning about Minos going for the Ring. He hoped that he would get it in time to come to the Temple and bring Minos back to his senses though Seti didn't doubt that he'd have to stall until then.
For a brief moment, Aeacus' head ached but he realized this was because he was receiving a telepathic message from Seti. Clearing his mind of thoughts that might interrupt interpretation of this message, Aeacus listened carefully but didn't like what he had to hear in his head.Aeacus, Minos means to steal the Ring and has already wounded me in his anger. You must stop him before he has a chance to use it for his own purposes Seti said.
"Son of a bitch!" Aeacus shouted aloud. "What is it, son?" Gilgamesh asked. "Minos is going for the Ring, stay here with Grandpa while I go to stop him!" Aeacus answered. Then he ran to the nearest transport that he could find and demanded to be taken to the Temple of Balance.
He knew it would be at least an hour before he was in close proximity to the Temple and a little while longer still before he arrived to the Ring's resting place within the Temple itself. Nonetheless, he was not without a plan and decided to send another telepathic message to Seti.Master, if you are not too seriously injured, do what you can to stall Minos until I arrive. Even if it means your death, I don't want him leaving until I can stop him Aeacus said to Seti's mind.
Not a problem, I'm already using the Force to mend my wound and get back up for a round with Minos. I'll challenge him to single combat for possession of the Ring, he won't deny me even if he knows that he runs the risk of being destroyed Seti replied. May the Force be with you, Master. If you can beat him before I arrive, I'll take the Ring and destroy it before it can destroy him Aeacus stated.
With that, he once again blocked telepathic messages from reaching his head and didn't doubt that Seti would not be needing to communicate again. After all, if Minos had fallen in for a lust for the Ring's power then it was likely that he would kill Seti unless the old man was blessed by the Force. Minos was younger, stronger, healthier, and had more endurance than Seti did even if Seti was somehow superior in sword skills. With all those advantages, it would be a miracle if Seti found a way to defeat him even if he wasn't fighting him for that purpose.
Rhadamanthus developed a mild migraine and he knew why: not only were the Ring's powers awakening again but a host was within proximity to it. In a brief moment of mystical insight, Rhadamanthus saw the face of his brother Minos approaching the Ring. With that brief vision, everything that Rhadamanthus had suspected was coming to life and it frightened him. "Guard, Minos is about to take the Ring and use its power, you gotta let me go and stop him!" he demanded passionately.
"First you were saying that you had to warn your brother of Minos doing that and now you're saying that Minos is doing it! Are you sure you're not going crazy in your solitude, Rhadamanthus?" the guard teased with a wide grin. "This isn't funny, I have to get to Aeacus and help him take in Minos before he uses the Ring's powers as I once did," Rhadamanthus warned.
"Yeah and I need to get back to my wife so I can fuck her in the ass, we're on common ground. Now shut up or I'm going to call in the Boxer," the guard, called Hannibal, replied. "All right, call him in if you really insist on doing that but I need to get to my brothers!" Rhadamanthus shouted. "You know, I have had it about up to here with your demands for your brothers and since you said so, I'll bring in the Boxer," Hannibal snapped.
Opening the cell with his key, Hannibal prepared to chain Rhadamanthus for the beating that the Boxer was sure to give upon arrival. However, Rhadamanthus had a surprise of his own and punched Hannibal in the face before grabbing his baton and knocking him cold. "Next time, remember to bring the Boxer before you decide to cuff a prisoner," he said to the unconscious guard. Now to get to the Temple and find Aeacus unless I meet him along the way Rhadamanthus thought quietly.
"Halt in the name of the law!" two more guards shouted at him. Brandishing their short swords, which probably would not last long against a Je'daii katana, they charged like wild bulls after him. "Not tonight, I intend to save the galaxy even if it means being a wanted criminal!" Rhadamanthus replied. Then he bolted for his life, knowing that that was the only thing he could do now that he had struck down Hannibal and begun escaping from the prison.
At first, all seemed well and it seemed as though he might just get lucky and actually reach his brother. And people say nobody escaped from that place, how pathetic! he shouted to himself proudly. However, in his pride and excitement at being able to reach his brother, he had forgotten about the archers on the prison balcony that were ordered to shoot down escapees. By the time he was nearing the edge of the bridge between the prison and the Tython town, three arrows cut into him.
Falling down just as he was reaching the edge, he continued to crawl even when four more arrows found their way into him. At that point, he simply gave up trying and in just a few minutes, the trauma and an arrow to the heart combined to kill him. Thus marked the end of the life of Rhadamanthus Rath, first host of the Ring of Xesh and the first to fall because of its power.