Chapter Nineteen: Goodbyes
Under the rising sun of the early Korriban morning, a hooded figure emerged from the Academy. The Human, garbed in black and purple robes, intently eyed the envelope he caressed within his hands. Raising his gaze, the inquisitor's eyes narrowed as he looked across the expanse of the Academy grounds. Nestled amongst the excavation sites and wandering acolytes, a landing pad hung over a precipitous cliff, occupied by a sizable transport shuttle. Returning the envelope to the fold of his robes, the hooded figure set forth on his intended path.
Looking around the common room, Jresh saw that little had been altered from the night before. No remnants of cooked foodstuffs lay within the kitchen area. The desk remained unattended, with no signs of tampering. Adjacent to Lorrik's, the footlocker bearing his acquired datacards and reader looked untouched. Without knowing the code, the warrior could only guess if it had been emptied.
Rushing into Lorrik's bedroom, Jresh began looking for any signs, any whatsoever, as to the whereabouts of his companion. The bed was empty and unmade. The closet open and rummaged through. The bathroom hadn't seen activity since the previous night. The Pureblood checked every surface with increasing haste. If he could find the envelope. If he could find a note. Anything more what he had now. Something more than nothing. Checking in every nook, looking through every crevice, he only wanted answers. He only wanted to understand.
But he couldn't even offer that decency to his partner. Jresh dreaded the day his past would return to haunt him. Only now did he realize that trying to hide it would prove the greatest detriment. He had told Lorrik to disclose everything, with the promise he would do the same. Jresh knew he was at fault. He knew he drove his companion away. Lorrik was gone, and he had given him no reason to stay. Out of selfishness. Out of pride.
Opening the drawer to the bedside table, Jresh laid eyes on a small electronic tablet. Retrieving it, the Pureblood sat upon the cushioned bed as the screen came to life. It wasn't Lorrik's datacard reader, but a smaller, more personal datapad. A listing of entries appeared on the screen. Looking over the numerically titled items, Jresh hesitantly selected the first entry. Opening the file, the datapad's speakers clicked on.
"Lorrik Velash's Journal: Day Two, Entry One. I've decided to take up a journal…"
The Human made his way down the steps of the Academy and into the open training grounds. He witnessed the harsh realities that took place each and every day, even this early in the morning. Acolytes vying for the attention of their superiors through the various demanding tasks set upon them. Achieving this, retrieving that. All the while their efforts in danger of sabotage by their fellows. In their want for ascension, they'd focus their efforts on keeping each other down rather than see someone else rise in their place. Selfishness given form.
The acolytes below had never been a part of the Human's special tenure at the Academy. He looked much as they did. With his hood up, none could see the indicator of his impurity branded upon his neck. He was just another student trying to get by as his boots shuffled against the dusty terrain. The figure was confident in his ability. He knew he was their superior. In knowledge and skill. But an inferiority was baked into his past. Into his blood.
No longer would he have to submit to the Academy's notions. Its desires. He had a ticket away from it all. Moving toward the landing pad, a curious thing caught the Human's attention, however. There was little to concern him in the working below. Above him was a different story. Standing high atop a nearby ridge, an acolyte stood alone, looking down upon the morning progressions. The rising sun behind him concealed his image, leaving only a shadowy silhouette. Gazing upon the unfamiliar figure, the inquisitor's interest was piqued.
"… I am content with study. It is the root of anything I could possibly consider power for myself. But Jresh, he's got ambition. And honestly, I want to see where it takes him. It'll be entertaining none the less."
As Lorrik's recording ended, Jresh was left dumbfounded as he sat upon his companion's bed. He struggled to piece together the thoughts currently swirling around in his head. Instead, he simply rubbed his brow as he harshly shut his eyes. Opening them, he once again gazed upon the datapad's luminous screen, tapping at the next entry.
"Lorrik Velash's Journal: Day Three, Entry Two…"
The lowly acolyte stood upon the cliff's edge of the high mountain ridge. Clad in the traditional gray robes, the unremarkable student looked out over the Academy grounds with a lowered gaze. His stance was rigid, frozen upright. His body appeared to have no intention of moving. The same could not be said of his mind. With a deep breath, the acolyte raise a foot and hovered it over the deadly precipice.
"Hey!" a mysterious voice called out to him from behind. The sound caused the acolyte to momentarily jump with fright, utterly destabilizing his previous rigidity. His legs stumbled and faltered, threatening to send the acolyte over the edge. Not a moment later, that threat was realized.
As the lowly acolyte was unintentionally propelled over the cliff, the second figure reached out with his hands, clawing at the air. Clenching his fingers, the robed Human swung his arms back, as if he had an invisible tether upon the falling acolyte. With the Force, the gray student was soon flung backward onto the relative safety of the mountain ridge, where he slid and tumbled before laying at the feet of his rescuer.
"What? Who are you?" the acolyte asked from the ground. The Human male was young, boyish, most likely in his late teens.
"Lorrik. Lorrik Velash," the upright figure answered. Both Humans' tones possessed an inherent confusion in their delivery, each unsure of the other's intentions. Lorrik extended his hand down to the fallen acolyte, who hesitantly accepted.
Lifting himself from the ground, the young acolyte struggled to make eye contact with the hooded figure. "What are you doing up here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Lorrik shot back. "Though I suppose your intentions were somewhat more apparent."
"No! I… I only jumped because you startled me," the acolyte begrudgingly stated.
His head lowered, the acolyte almost didn't notice the hooded man walk away, venturing toward the cliff's end. He watched as the figure sat at the precipice, his knees bent over the edge. Lowering his hood, the Human looked over the Academy grounds unburdened. With a wave, he asked the acolyte to join him. Slowly, the acolyte shuffled toward the familiar edge, and carefully lowered himself to Lorrik's side.
"So, what's your name?" Lorrik softly asked.
The acolyte other stared at his interlocked hands as they rest on his legs. "Rennis."
"How long have you been at the Academy?"
"Two months… and you?"
"Over ten years," Lorrik admitted. The acolyte stirred at the statement.
"Wow… how does someone survive that?" the acolyte asked.
"One could say they don't. Whomever I was when I first arrived is dead."
"How do you deal with something like that? How do you deal any of the things this Academy throws at you?"
"You just do. That's the point of this place. To test the strength of its denizens. Sadly, many do not pass."
"I couldn't take any more of it," Rennis admitted. "I arrived on Korriban alongside my best friend, and on week two I saw him killed before my very eyes. I couldn't do anything about it. I still can't. I'm too weak. I felt trapped, like there was no escaping, so I opted for the easy way out. That just proves my weakness…"
"You shouldn't say that. You are strong, whether you realize it or not. Strength isn't measured in your ability to defeat and control others. The fact that you were affected by your friend's death means you are strong. A weak person would have simply ignored it. You tried. No one can take that away from you. This place doesn't test your strength, it tests your willingness to become a Sith. Something everyone doesn't, nor shouldn't, aspire to. But the Sith know only to judge as they have been judged. You are strong regardless of what the Sith or the Empire has to say. You didn't ask to be Force-sensitive. You didn't ask to become a Sith. This was all thrust upon you by people who don't understand what true strength is."
"But none of that matters within the Academy," Rennis muttered. "Once you're in, you're in. You either earn your freedom or you die. It doesn't matter what kind of strength I possess if it isn't the kind they prefer."
"What if you weren't burdened with the confines of the Academy? Of the Sith?"
"Idle wishes won't make me any happier about my place…"
"Not idle wishes, but possibilities," Lorrik warmly offered. "All things are possible. Remember that. If you no longer had to reside within the Academy and conform to the Sith ideology, would you have a plan of action?"
"I… I guess I would," Rennis stated as he lifted his gaze. Looking to his neighbor, he saw the Human reach into the folds of his robes, and retrieve an unmarked envelope. "What's in that?"
"Freedom. A ticket off world and enough credits to start a new life."
"Why are you carrying such a thing?"
"Because I intended to use it before I came across you. But I've changed my mind. I want you to have it."
"Whoa, I can't take this from you."
"You can't take it… but you can accept it. I realize I have unfinished business in this place. No one deserves to have this life thrust upon them. Forge your own path."
"I don't know what to say… you really think they'll just let an acolyte stroll off world?"
"Hmm, I guess you're right."
Rushing out of the Academy, Jresh scurried out into the Academy grounds hoping to catch Lorrik before he departed. Running past the various guards and officers, the Pureblood had his eyes set upon the shuttle port a short distance away. The warrior eagerly approached the landing pad holding a docked transportation vessel. As he looked upon it in the distance, he saw a hooded figure donning black and purple robes about to board the shuttle.
"Lorrik!" Jresh shouted with a thunderous roar, hoping to stall the departing inquisitor.
"Yes?" said a familiar voice. Searching for the nearby source, Jresh saw Lorrik was in fact standing only a short distance away, his torso unburdened by the usual outer robe of his uniform. Turning to the shuttle, he watched as the mysterious figure boarded without hesitation. Facing his nearby companion, the two approached one another in relative silence. "Jresh, I-"
Before he could finish a full utterance, Lorrik found himself bound and constricted by the tightening loop of Jresh's arms around his body. The inquisitor's feet dangled as his entire body was lifted from the ground within the warrior's powerful embrace. Through all the chaotic motions, Lorrik saw more than a faint smile upon his partner's face as he refused to cease his enduring hug.