Revan and Malak
The Monasis sun glared over the horizon as it rose to meet the morning sky, spreading its light across the vast Carshana plains. Light swept over the plains and finally over two small figures huddled near each other. A great ship flew over them, its engines like two burning stars coasted it through the morning air. Soon it began to circle the two figures on the ground before choosing an appropriate landing spot. The ship's landing gears met the soggy ground, pushing up mud and earth from its vast weight. Vapors and other such gases hissed out in some unknown mechanical procedure. Revan stood up, tossing aside the spare robe Malak had gifted to her right onto his face. This awakened him, finding out soon why he had been disturbed so rudely. Not far from them was the Trandoshan ship. The Monasis star gleamed across its surface causing it to shine brightly. It didn't look so bad, at least not from her point of view Revan thought. After brushing some dirt off and applying their robes in the correct positions they set off for it, rather quickly. Both of them nearing a jog as they drew closer. The boarding ramp lowered and out stepped Shandar before Revan and Malak, who had just arrived. He looked upon then with a sly grin across his face as they caught their breath from the run. Shandar took a deep breath before speaking." If you were wondering…we couldn't search for you during the night…it was too dark."
"And cold, but I guess that didn't matter to you. Don't worry master, we never lost faith in you. In fact, we were expecting you to show up this morning. You just caught us unprepared that's all." Revan said, standing in front of the boarding ramp before Shandar.
"Master…we are sorry…we failed. We could not stop the dam from being destroyed…" Malak bowed his head in some kind of shame. He was already apologizing.
"Please, do come inside…and we'll discuss this all soon don't worry." Shandar's voice hung low. The Jedi entered into the belly of the ship, the ramp closing behind them. Malak felt almost embarrassed for what he said, Shandar was neither angry nor showed any sign of concern of their failure yet. Most of the other masters would have debriefed the two padawans outside the ship for hours.
Revan spoke up as they moved throughout the ship with Shandar as their guide. "Zsar couldn't be reasoned with master, and he attacked us. There was no way to shut off the dam without him…and we had to defend ourselves against him. There was nothing we could do master."
"He is dead then? Hmm…I would imagine so. He was not with you of course…" Shandar trailed off into thought. Eventually the crew arrived at the bridge, where Mayla was stooped over the helm. Her face concealed by her hair. Revan suddenly realized the loss she had just taken. All those people, her people, were dead. Was it her fault, would she blame us? Mayla's head turned to meet them.
"Oh…it's the Jedi…good thing we found you…" Mayla didn't sound that excited at all. "Sorry about the wait…" She detached herself from her seat and strolled past the Jedi. Revan could see her eyes were red, red from crying. Her eyes boring deep into her own as she passed by off of the bridge.
Revan waited until she was out of earshot. "Did she take it hard?" What a stupid question she thought, why bother asking.
"Sadly yes…we just managed to escape alive ourselves. But…we are alive. All of us, and that's what matters. She will come to terms with her grief…eventually. We have more pressing matters however. We must decide our next course of action." Shandar spoke to them, getting down to business. "Leaving Monasis would probably be a good idea, before the Czerka come looking for us in numbers."
"Yeah your right…there isn't really anything left that we can do here. The resistance is gone, so that means our employers are gone. We can't do anything outside our mandate here now. We're in enough trouble already." Revan said to her two accomplices.
"What about Mayla? Should we just drop her off at the nearest spaceport?" Malak added.
"Do we have any other choice? I mean…she can't come with us can she?" Revan said back to Malak.
"Either choice is difficult and unadvisable. Mayla is a wanted criminal on Monasis you know. The Czerka would no doubt have her captured within hours if we left her here." Shandar's words were true. Mayla was a wanted "terrorist" and the Czerka were looking for her.
"Then there's no other choice! We can't abandon her here. She'll just come with us back to Coruscant." Revan sure as hell didn't want her to get captured, again.
"And then what? She'll stay at the academy?" Malak argued.
"It's up to her what she wants to do, we can't force her to do anything." Revan stated.
"Revan is right. It is up to Mayla about where she will go…Revan, go and speak with her before we take off. We must be sure of our destination." Shandar ordered to Revan. Oh great she thought, why me? She was definitely not looking forward to the encounter that was inevitable but now she had to ask her about touchy subjects. If there's one thing Revan's learned in her life it's not to start asking people in grief questions. Especially ones that involve the cause of their grief. Revan trotted off into the ship, wondering where Mayla had gone. The ship was fairly big, and she went through many halls and rooms before finally finding the mess hall. Mayla sat at a large table in the center of the room, where the kitchen was also located behind a counter. Her black hair shrouding her face once again.
"Mayla…we need to know something." Revan spoke up to her, she nodded her head in response. "Um…is there any place you'd like us to drop you off or…something…because we have to be getting back to the academy now…since our work here is finished…" Revan never was good with words when she needed to be.
"Your work here is finished? What do you mean by that? That you actually accomplished something here?" Mayla's gaze turned to Revan, her eyes nearly filled with tears. This was exactly what Revan did not want to happen, but Mayla had been waiting for the opportunity to yell at someone. "You failed didn't you? You were too slow weren't you? You killed Zsar didn't you?!" Mayla practically screamed with rage at Revan as she got up from her seat.
"There was nothing we could do…we had to. I can't make any other excuses for you Mayla. We tried and we failed." Revan said to her, standing her ground firmly.
"I thought you Jedi were supposed to be prime negotiators! Why couldn't you stop it?! Why?!" Mayla only grew more enraged with Revan's excuse.
"Zsar was insane Mayla! He wouldn't listen to us! There was nothing we could do but defend ourselves from him. We didn't want this to end in bloodshed. Not in death." Revan's lie stung her, she knew why she killed Zsar.
"He's dead, they're all dead! Everyone I've ever known! They're all dead now…" Mayla sobbed as she screamed.
"If you want to blame something blame the Czerka! Blame Zsar! Just don't blame us, we tried to stop them. We may have been too slow…or didn't see the right answer but we still tried to save those people." Revan headed back to the door before turning around to the sobbing Mayla." Don't you dare cry for him."
Revan arrived back on the bridge where Malak and Shandar sat waiting for her return. Revan took a seat near them, sinking down into her chair while sighing deeply.
"Well? What did she say?" Shandar asked inquisitively.
"She hasn't decided yet…" Revan grumbled, in a bad mood now.
"That bad was it?" Malak chuckled to himself as Revan shot him a dirty look.
"Does anyone on Monasis know the saying: don't shoot the messenger. We can kick her off now or dump her out in orbit…" Revan said.
"Revan! Mayla will inform us of her plans when she is ready. And besides, we're in no immediate hurry." Shandar nearly scolded Revan for her comment. Minutes that felt like hours passed as the Jedi waited on the bridge, or at least it felt that way to the padawans. Both expecting a Czerka cruiser to drop out of orbit and bomb them into oblivion any second now. At last, Mayla appeared in the door way, looking still slightly mad but in a better mood. They all turned their attention to her.
"I've decided…to come with you…" Mayla said to them.
"Come with us?" Shandar must have needed some conformation.
"There's nothing left for me here…Carshana is gone, the resistance is dead, everything is just…over. The Czerka won the battle here but the war isn't over. Don't think I'm giving up just because I'm leaving Monasis." Mayla confirmed it for Shandar's old ears.
"Don't worry about that…" Revan mumbled.
"Then it's settled. She comes with us. Malak, now would be an excellent time to get us off this planet." Shandar sounded pleased. Malak was already at the helm, and began punching several buttons and flipping a series of switches.
Coruscant looked the same, as expected. Revan could see the gleaming gem at the center of the universe clearly now from the bridge. Revan remembered the best part of going off world, to her it was coming home. Leaving every once and a while is necessary, because every time you come back it feels almost fresh. Almost reborn. That way you can truly appreciate where your from, all you have to do is leave it for a while. Revan slouched comfortably into her seat, looking over to Shandar she spoke to him. "What happens when the council gives us our debriefing?"
Shandar seemed disturbed out of a deep meditation, with his eyes open. "Hmm? Oh yes…I will speak with them, don't worry…if given a good reason they will understand."
"Are we even needed?"
"Well of course, partly. It's not that I don't trust you Revan…it's that the council doesn't trust you."
"Yeah what's new…? I suppose that means you'll do all the talking, save for a few yes masters we understand masters? The council should have learned to trust us by now…"
"And why should they have?" Shandar's abrupt question caught Revan off guard.
"Well…um, I…" Revan stumbled with her words.
"Because of your power? Revan you have to understand that there is more to being a Jedi, and especially a Jedi Knight, than power. You and Malak hold incredible skill and command the force like I've never seen…at least in a long time. But power only leads to the dark side if one does not have the wisdom to understand it and control it. That is what the council would be looking for in a padawan journeying to knight hood. And so would I." Revan listened well on her master's speech. Somehow he managed to make sense sometimes. She understood what he had said, but it still frustrated her. She had the will, the discipline, and the "wisdom" required, why couldn't they see that? If the council would only take the attention she and Malak deserved they would see that they were ready. Revan sat silent, and Shandar decided not to press the discussion any further. Mayla was currently somewhere inside the ship, she had never seen any of the core worlds, and had no idea what she was missing.
Their ship was a light corvette, large but not gigantic. Which made it much easier to pilot than any other sort of larger craft. The concern of if there was a docking bay large enough in the academy to fit inside was present in Malak's mind. He had already been hassled by the Republic forces who were in control of all space traffic coming to and from the planet. Apparently he was piloting a warship, definitely not a civilian vessel, and it took some convincing a few access codes exclusive to Jedi coming to and fro. They allowed him passage but only under fighter escort. Fine by him, they had nothing to hide. The academy was on the dark side of the planet, night had fallen. The entire cityscape, which was the entire planet, was shining vibrantly with lights even in the late hour. Finally the two fighters escorting him broke off and Malak began his decent into the planet's atmosphere. Standard procedure, take it slow and try not to get burnt to a crisp.
Mayla had been scurrying about the ship during the hyperspace travel. Lining the hallways and passages she discovered rooms of all sorts. Cargo rooms, bedrooms, lounge rooms, and even a few surprisingly well kept refreshers. Mayla had no clue where this ship came from and how it landed into the Jedi's hands until stumbling over the captains log. Trandoshan wasn't her best language but from what she could make out the last owners of this vessel were pirates. Busy pirates, the captain and his crew had been pillaging ships on that hyperspace route on a weekly basis and it made them very rich. It's too bad they happened to accidentally pick on the wrong diplomatic vessel or they might have become an even bigger problem. Too bad for them, good for everyone else who took that route. She knew about Trandoshans, and what she would have normally expected to find in the quarters of the crew turned out to be just the opposite. Very well kept, rich and expensive looking furniture, and even computers and technical equipment. She got the feeling this ship didn't belong to the Trandoshans to begin with. Somehow it must have fallen into their claws through illegitimate means of some sort. It was unknown what the gruesome fate of the original crew was, and it was better left that way.
The outer rim holds many planets that receive little or no contact with the Republic. For whatever reason, there are many independent systems in the galaxy. But the most independent, and by the far the most ruthless and cunning, are the Sith. On the edges of their dark empire, there lies a planet that all but the most powerful and malevolent Dark Lords ever visit. Ancient by almost any standards, the planet looms in a system of dead rocks and gas giants, the only planet that could ever inhabit life holds deadlier things than the barren lifeless rocks and crushing gravity of its neighbors. As anything related to the Sith usually is. It is an unholy blemish on the galaxy. It reeks with the dark side even before one sets foot on the planet. For a degraded mind broods here..along with his dark Jedi minion…
Echoing steps stretched throughout the gothic style archways as a tall figure clad in rotting black robes made his way with an unearthly speed. Bending around corners and traveling up flights of stairs of great spires. The top of a tower was his destination. He stepped before his Master's door. Not even having to knock it opened for him. Stepping inside, the eerie shallow light from the sky disappeared. Instead he was bathed in a dim candle light that bounced off the walls and his own figure. The Master's study was cluttered with things beyond even his grasp. Sith and Jedi holocrons, horrific weapons and various torture devices that haven't tasted tender flesh in so long. It almost made the dark apprentice sad.
A man, or maybe it might have been a man at one point, rose from a meditating position. He moved as if part of the shadows themselves, and his hooded face was removed from sight. The much taller man who had just entered bowed his head out of respect…and fear. For this man was his Master, and this was his realm. The Master draws his power from the dark energies of this planet, adding and even more impressive arsenal of deadly force power to crush the life out of anything he would see fit. But the apprentice had nothing to fear for now, he had good news.
"Why have you disturbed me…?" The hollow voice of the hooded figure spoke. His head rose as it did, revealing two black holes that stared at more than mere flesh.
The apprentice could feel his Master's sight searching into his very soul. Undoubtedly he already knew of what he had to report, but he decided to confirm it for his aged Master. "I have news you would be interested in Master…the Jedi you watch…the strong one…"
"Yes…I know. My plans will soon be in motion…and you have word from the Mandalorians as well yes…?"
The apprentice nodded his head in a slow motion. "Good news my Lord…from Mandalore himself. It seems he is eager for war."
"Bloodthirsty savages…I would expect no less of them…" The Master grinned a sickly expression. "Soon the Mandalorians and the Sith will unleash their fury upon the galaxy. And soon the cities of the Republic will burn…and their streets run red with the blood of the innocent…Yes…very soon."
"And then our empire will expand…" The apprentice added in.
"You fool…not then. It is only a step of the plan. We need her…she is the key"
"I…am sorry master…forgive me" The apprentice lowered to his knee, bowing.
"Rise Rann…do not be so…pathetic…Jedi like…"
"Shall I set the bait Master…?" Rann spoke as rose to his feet.
"Yes…go forth…and do not come back without the Jedi…."
The Monasis sun glared over the horizon as it rose to meet the morning sky, spreading its light across the vast Carshana plains. Light swept over the plains and finally over two small figures huddled near each other. A great ship flew over them, its engines like two burning stars coasted it through the morning air. Soon it began to circle the two figures on the ground before choosing an appropriate landing spot. The ship's landing gears met the soggy ground, pushing up mud and earth from its vast weight. Vapors and other such gases hissed out in some unknown mechanical procedure. Revan stood up, tossing aside the spare robe Malak had gifted to her right onto his face. This awakened him, finding out soon why he had been disturbed so rudely. Not far from them was the Trandoshan ship. The Monasis star gleamed across its surface causing it to shine brightly. It didn't look so bad, at least not from her point of view Revan thought. After brushing some dirt off and applying their robes in the correct positions they set off for it, rather quickly. Both of them nearing a jog as they drew closer. The boarding ramp lowered and out stepped Shandar before Revan and Malak, who had just arrived. He looked upon then with a sly grin across his face as they caught their breath from the run. Shandar took a deep breath before speaking." If you were wondering…we couldn't search for you during the night…it was too dark."
"And cold, but I guess that didn't matter to you. Don't worry master, we never lost faith in you. In fact, we were expecting you to show up this morning. You just caught us unprepared that's all." Revan said, standing in front of the boarding ramp before Shandar.
"Master…we are sorry…we failed. We could not stop the dam from being destroyed…" Malak bowed his head in some kind of shame. He was already apologizing.
"Please, do come inside…and we'll discuss this all soon don't worry." Shandar's voice hung low. The Jedi entered into the belly of the ship, the ramp closing behind them. Malak felt almost embarrassed for what he said, Shandar was neither angry nor showed any sign of concern of their failure yet. Most of the other masters would have debriefed the two padawans outside the ship for hours.
Revan spoke up as they moved throughout the ship with Shandar as their guide. "Zsar couldn't be reasoned with master, and he attacked us. There was no way to shut off the dam without him…and we had to defend ourselves against him. There was nothing we could do master."
"He is dead then? Hmm…I would imagine so. He was not with you of course…" Shandar trailed off into thought. Eventually the crew arrived at the bridge, where Mayla was stooped over the helm. Her face concealed by her hair. Revan suddenly realized the loss she had just taken. All those people, her people, were dead. Was it her fault, would she blame us? Mayla's head turned to meet them.
"Oh…it's the Jedi…good thing we found you…" Mayla didn't sound that excited at all. "Sorry about the wait…" She detached herself from her seat and strolled past the Jedi. Revan could see her eyes were red, red from crying. Her eyes boring deep into her own as she passed by off of the bridge.
Revan waited until she was out of earshot. "Did she take it hard?" What a stupid question she thought, why bother asking.
"Sadly yes…we just managed to escape alive ourselves. But…we are alive. All of us, and that's what matters. She will come to terms with her grief…eventually. We have more pressing matters however. We must decide our next course of action." Shandar spoke to them, getting down to business. "Leaving Monasis would probably be a good idea, before the Czerka come looking for us in numbers."
"Yeah your right…there isn't really anything left that we can do here. The resistance is gone, so that means our employers are gone. We can't do anything outside our mandate here now. We're in enough trouble already." Revan said to her two accomplices.
"What about Mayla? Should we just drop her off at the nearest spaceport?" Malak added.
"Do we have any other choice? I mean…she can't come with us can she?" Revan said back to Malak.
"Either choice is difficult and unadvisable. Mayla is a wanted criminal on Monasis you know. The Czerka would no doubt have her captured within hours if we left her here." Shandar's words were true. Mayla was a wanted "terrorist" and the Czerka were looking for her.
"Then there's no other choice! We can't abandon her here. She'll just come with us back to Coruscant." Revan sure as hell didn't want her to get captured, again.
"And then what? She'll stay at the academy?" Malak argued.
"It's up to her what she wants to do, we can't force her to do anything." Revan stated.
"Revan is right. It is up to Mayla about where she will go…Revan, go and speak with her before we take off. We must be sure of our destination." Shandar ordered to Revan. Oh great she thought, why me? She was definitely not looking forward to the encounter that was inevitable but now she had to ask her about touchy subjects. If there's one thing Revan's learned in her life it's not to start asking people in grief questions. Especially ones that involve the cause of their grief. Revan trotted off into the ship, wondering where Mayla had gone. The ship was fairly big, and she went through many halls and rooms before finally finding the mess hall. Mayla sat at a large table in the center of the room, where the kitchen was also located behind a counter. Her black hair shrouding her face once again.
"Mayla…we need to know something." Revan spoke up to her, she nodded her head in response. "Um…is there any place you'd like us to drop you off or…something…because we have to be getting back to the academy now…since our work here is finished…" Revan never was good with words when she needed to be.
"Your work here is finished? What do you mean by that? That you actually accomplished something here?" Mayla's gaze turned to Revan, her eyes nearly filled with tears. This was exactly what Revan did not want to happen, but Mayla had been waiting for the opportunity to yell at someone. "You failed didn't you? You were too slow weren't you? You killed Zsar didn't you?!" Mayla practically screamed with rage at Revan as she got up from her seat.
"There was nothing we could do…we had to. I can't make any other excuses for you Mayla. We tried and we failed." Revan said to her, standing her ground firmly.
"I thought you Jedi were supposed to be prime negotiators! Why couldn't you stop it?! Why?!" Mayla only grew more enraged with Revan's excuse.
"Zsar was insane Mayla! He wouldn't listen to us! There was nothing we could do but defend ourselves from him. We didn't want this to end in bloodshed. Not in death." Revan's lie stung her, she knew why she killed Zsar.
"He's dead, they're all dead! Everyone I've ever known! They're all dead now…" Mayla sobbed as she screamed.
"If you want to blame something blame the Czerka! Blame Zsar! Just don't blame us, we tried to stop them. We may have been too slow…or didn't see the right answer but we still tried to save those people." Revan headed back to the door before turning around to the sobbing Mayla." Don't you dare cry for him."
Revan arrived back on the bridge where Malak and Shandar sat waiting for her return. Revan took a seat near them, sinking down into her chair while sighing deeply.
"Well? What did she say?" Shandar asked inquisitively.
"She hasn't decided yet…" Revan grumbled, in a bad mood now.
"That bad was it?" Malak chuckled to himself as Revan shot him a dirty look.
"Does anyone on Monasis know the saying: don't shoot the messenger. We can kick her off now or dump her out in orbit…" Revan said.
"Revan! Mayla will inform us of her plans when she is ready. And besides, we're in no immediate hurry." Shandar nearly scolded Revan for her comment. Minutes that felt like hours passed as the Jedi waited on the bridge, or at least it felt that way to the padawans. Both expecting a Czerka cruiser to drop out of orbit and bomb them into oblivion any second now. At last, Mayla appeared in the door way, looking still slightly mad but in a better mood. They all turned their attention to her.
"I've decided…to come with you…" Mayla said to them.
"Come with us?" Shandar must have needed some conformation.
"There's nothing left for me here…Carshana is gone, the resistance is dead, everything is just…over. The Czerka won the battle here but the war isn't over. Don't think I'm giving up just because I'm leaving Monasis." Mayla confirmed it for Shandar's old ears.
"Don't worry about that…" Revan mumbled.
"Then it's settled. She comes with us. Malak, now would be an excellent time to get us off this planet." Shandar sounded pleased. Malak was already at the helm, and began punching several buttons and flipping a series of switches.
Coruscant looked the same, as expected. Revan could see the gleaming gem at the center of the universe clearly now from the bridge. Revan remembered the best part of going off world, to her it was coming home. Leaving every once and a while is necessary, because every time you come back it feels almost fresh. Almost reborn. That way you can truly appreciate where your from, all you have to do is leave it for a while. Revan slouched comfortably into her seat, looking over to Shandar she spoke to him. "What happens when the council gives us our debriefing?"
Shandar seemed disturbed out of a deep meditation, with his eyes open. "Hmm? Oh yes…I will speak with them, don't worry…if given a good reason they will understand."
"Are we even needed?"
"Well of course, partly. It's not that I don't trust you Revan…it's that the council doesn't trust you."
"Yeah what's new…? I suppose that means you'll do all the talking, save for a few yes masters we understand masters? The council should have learned to trust us by now…"
"And why should they have?" Shandar's abrupt question caught Revan off guard.
"Well…um, I…" Revan stumbled with her words.
"Because of your power? Revan you have to understand that there is more to being a Jedi, and especially a Jedi Knight, than power. You and Malak hold incredible skill and command the force like I've never seen…at least in a long time. But power only leads to the dark side if one does not have the wisdom to understand it and control it. That is what the council would be looking for in a padawan journeying to knight hood. And so would I." Revan listened well on her master's speech. Somehow he managed to make sense sometimes. She understood what he had said, but it still frustrated her. She had the will, the discipline, and the "wisdom" required, why couldn't they see that? If the council would only take the attention she and Malak deserved they would see that they were ready. Revan sat silent, and Shandar decided not to press the discussion any further. Mayla was currently somewhere inside the ship, she had never seen any of the core worlds, and had no idea what she was missing.
Their ship was a light corvette, large but not gigantic. Which made it much easier to pilot than any other sort of larger craft. The concern of if there was a docking bay large enough in the academy to fit inside was present in Malak's mind. He had already been hassled by the Republic forces who were in control of all space traffic coming to and from the planet. Apparently he was piloting a warship, definitely not a civilian vessel, and it took some convincing a few access codes exclusive to Jedi coming to and fro. They allowed him passage but only under fighter escort. Fine by him, they had nothing to hide. The academy was on the dark side of the planet, night had fallen. The entire cityscape, which was the entire planet, was shining vibrantly with lights even in the late hour. Finally the two fighters escorting him broke off and Malak began his decent into the planet's atmosphere. Standard procedure, take it slow and try not to get burnt to a crisp.
Mayla had been scurrying about the ship during the hyperspace travel. Lining the hallways and passages she discovered rooms of all sorts. Cargo rooms, bedrooms, lounge rooms, and even a few surprisingly well kept refreshers. Mayla had no clue where this ship came from and how it landed into the Jedi's hands until stumbling over the captains log. Trandoshan wasn't her best language but from what she could make out the last owners of this vessel were pirates. Busy pirates, the captain and his crew had been pillaging ships on that hyperspace route on a weekly basis and it made them very rich. It's too bad they happened to accidentally pick on the wrong diplomatic vessel or they might have become an even bigger problem. Too bad for them, good for everyone else who took that route. She knew about Trandoshans, and what she would have normally expected to find in the quarters of the crew turned out to be just the opposite. Very well kept, rich and expensive looking furniture, and even computers and technical equipment. She got the feeling this ship didn't belong to the Trandoshans to begin with. Somehow it must have fallen into their claws through illegitimate means of some sort. It was unknown what the gruesome fate of the original crew was, and it was better left that way.
The outer rim holds many planets that receive little or no contact with the Republic. For whatever reason, there are many independent systems in the galaxy. But the most independent, and by the far the most ruthless and cunning, are the Sith. On the edges of their dark empire, there lies a planet that all but the most powerful and malevolent Dark Lords ever visit. Ancient by almost any standards, the planet looms in a system of dead rocks and gas giants, the only planet that could ever inhabit life holds deadlier things than the barren lifeless rocks and crushing gravity of its neighbors. As anything related to the Sith usually is. It is an unholy blemish on the galaxy. It reeks with the dark side even before one sets foot on the planet. For a degraded mind broods here..along with his dark Jedi minion…
Echoing steps stretched throughout the gothic style archways as a tall figure clad in rotting black robes made his way with an unearthly speed. Bending around corners and traveling up flights of stairs of great spires. The top of a tower was his destination. He stepped before his Master's door. Not even having to knock it opened for him. Stepping inside, the eerie shallow light from the sky disappeared. Instead he was bathed in a dim candle light that bounced off the walls and his own figure. The Master's study was cluttered with things beyond even his grasp. Sith and Jedi holocrons, horrific weapons and various torture devices that haven't tasted tender flesh in so long. It almost made the dark apprentice sad.
A man, or maybe it might have been a man at one point, rose from a meditating position. He moved as if part of the shadows themselves, and his hooded face was removed from sight. The much taller man who had just entered bowed his head out of respect…and fear. For this man was his Master, and this was his realm. The Master draws his power from the dark energies of this planet, adding and even more impressive arsenal of deadly force power to crush the life out of anything he would see fit. But the apprentice had nothing to fear for now, he had good news.
"Why have you disturbed me…?" The hollow voice of the hooded figure spoke. His head rose as it did, revealing two black holes that stared at more than mere flesh.
The apprentice could feel his Master's sight searching into his very soul. Undoubtedly he already knew of what he had to report, but he decided to confirm it for his aged Master. "I have news you would be interested in Master…the Jedi you watch…the strong one…"
"Yes…I know. My plans will soon be in motion…and you have word from the Mandalorians as well yes…?"
The apprentice nodded his head in a slow motion. "Good news my Lord…from Mandalore himself. It seems he is eager for war."
"Bloodthirsty savages…I would expect no less of them…" The Master grinned a sickly expression. "Soon the Mandalorians and the Sith will unleash their fury upon the galaxy. And soon the cities of the Republic will burn…and their streets run red with the blood of the innocent…Yes…very soon."
"And then our empire will expand…" The apprentice added in.
"You fool…not then. It is only a step of the plan. We need her…she is the key"
"I…am sorry master…forgive me" The apprentice lowered to his knee, bowing.
"Rise Rann…do not be so…pathetic…Jedi like…"
"Shall I set the bait Master…?" Rann spoke as rose to his feet.
"Yes…go forth…and do not come back without the Jedi…."