Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon age or Star Wars
I originally intended on releasing this chapter on may 4th, which is why it has some classic star wars cameos. That's why this update is also a double chapter update too.
Talos Stratos's personality is original(ish) but he is not an OC.
Dragon Wars: The Force of others
Episode 42: Hail to the king
"Do you ever find it difficult, or is it all just an illusion?"
"I've always just tried to do what I thought was right."
"And that's enough?"
There was a stench in the air, common at Mos Eisley, you will never find a more retched hive of scum and villainy than the settlement on Tatooine. What was once a place on the outer rim frontier for corporations like Czerka to do business without the bureaucracy of the republic, had become a den for crime lords, bounty hunters and all manner of people conducting the worst kind of business. He walked across the sand, his lips dry, sand in his boots and on his leather clothes, reinforced with some armoured padding and an Echani duelling shield on his wrist. When he got into the cantina, he knew that people were looking at him; he was a sight after all, an aged human with a red cloth around his eyes. Some might have assumed he was a Miraluka, but there was no force in him, not for a long time.
"Complaints arose in the senate today regarding the Ruusan bill, though the majority of member worlds have accepted the bill there are still a high numbers of worlds that refuse to disarm their military," he listened to the news on the clunky radio at the bar, he could make it out even with the band playing in the background.
"Hey, we don't serve his kind in here," the fat barkeep said.
"Excuse me," he said, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
"The droid, we don't serve droids!"
He didn't so much as look over his shoulder, rather acknowledge he was travelling with a droid. A bronze coloured droid that was in tatters, face half covered by a grey cloth that concealed some of the other damage to its body.
"I mean it is a droid," he shrugged. "What exactly would you need to do for it?"
The droid obviously wanted to say something about the pathetic sack of…
"Oh, Stratos, I didn't notice you, go ahead come on down," the barkeep Wuher said.
He smiled as he walked down the steps.
"You know K4, he keeps quiet and simple, break open that caffeinated sludge you make please," Stratos said.
"Of course," Wuher said.
Despite his dislike of droids, he was one of the good ones, hated slavery, liked Jedi, which always reminded Stratos of how cool Jedi were. The cloth aspects of his shirt gave off that 'Jedi' feel after all and he favoured the blade, his Baragwin assault blade strapped to his back helped him to avoid some danger. Stratos sat at the bar and waited for Wuher to heat up his drink, he could tolerate it cold but he would probably need it to be hot. Often Stratos bumped into people unintentionally, most tended to understand why once they saw his covered eyes. Others didn't care and were always looking for a fight.
"Sor…" Stratos was about to apologise when he caught the scent of the alcoholic stench spewing from the Aqualish's maw, yes this one was definitely that kind of person.
The Aqualish thug let out a series of growls that Stratos pretended not to understand. A few seconds passed before someone patted his shoulder.
"He doesn't like you," the man said.
"That is such a shame," Stratos muttered.
"I don't like you either," the man gripped his shoulder.
"Well perhaps if you got to know me better you might change your mind," Stratos said.
"Just watch yourself, we're wanted men, I have the death sentence on twelve systems," the idiot said proudly.
"Cutting people up and turning them into mindless slaves tends to earn you that," Stratos said in a bored tone as Wuher gave him his drink.
He sniffed the fumes, allowing himself to relax a little, feeling his target tense behind him. Stratos heard the click of a holster when he reached into his pouch. He removed a pinging object from his pack, a tracking fob.
"You have the wrong person," the man said, his tone shifting slightly.
"Cornelius Evazan, human but horribly disfigured enough to pass as alien after a bounty hunter went after him, of course I think the hunter just made you look as grotesque on the outside as you are on the inside. From the planet Alsakan, graduated with high marks in cosmetic repair surgery, but then you started turning the knife on people who couldn't pay your extortive prices. Dabbling in serial murder is bad enough, but, oh Wuher you might want to listen to this one," Stratos explained.
The cantina had gone quiet, the patrons had stopped talking and looking towards the commotion. There was only one source of noise and that was the radio.
"Pip Syndula of Ryloth, though still insisting that his world is a member state protested against the military shutdown stating that peace must be protected with military backup. He is one of many republic citizens now protesting the demilitarisation, including respected admiral Carth Onasi."
"You took people off of the streets, sometimes they came to you for medical help and then you experimented on them, stripping away the top of their heads and turning them into cyborg slaves," he continued, putting extra emphasis on 'slaves' and hearing the outraged grind of Wuher's teeth.
"You can't do a thing to me, I'm protected by Dryden Voz," Cornelius said and his associate laughed beside him.
"Who?" Stratos asked as he sipped his drink.
"The leader of Crimson Dawn," Cornelius said.
"What?"
"They're a big criminal organisation."
"I see your Crimson Dawn and raise you the Black Sun, oh," Stratos clicked his fingers together in realisation. "That must be that guy I killed earlier, he wasn't that particularly interesting, much like your friend Pondo Baba, just a common thug," he said with disdain.
"I erased my chain code how did you track me?" Cornelius asked.
"Altered your chain code is the correct term, it provided a partial tracking, the rest was easy considering you're stupid enough to go around saying you have the death sentence in twelve systems. Now that we've gotten the back story out of the way, there's only one thing left to do, barkeep," Stratos slammed a pouch filled with credits onto the bar. "Wuher, please give these credits to your boss as well as my heartfelt apology for the brutal murders about to take place in your respected establishment."
Pondo Baba let out a roar as Stratos suddenly threw the contents of his cup over his shoulder. It all happened so fast, faster than most of the people in the bar could keep up with. There were a few though, fighters like the Lepi adventurer Jaxxon Tumperakki or the Trandoshan Hunter Bossk could keep track of the way Talos Stratos moved. He threw the drink over his shoulder, burning Cornelius's face and simultaneously moved off of his stool and leant towards Pondo as the Aqualish drew his blaster. Talos drew the sword off of his back and in one fluid motion sliced off Pondo's arm. Pondo screamed with Cornelius, but the blind bounty hunter wasn't done yet. He sniffed the air, smelling how much Pondo had been drinking and hearing the dripping of his bloody stump.
"Do you like me now?" Stratos asked before slicing Pondo's head off.
He kicked the head across the room, striking Cornelius and knocking him to the floor. The panicking doctor was breathing heavily as he crawled towards the exit. Stratos walked over as Cornelius reached the stairs, placing his foot on the back of Cornelius's shoulder and trapping his neck on the edge of one of the steps.
"P-p-p-p-please, I-I-I I have credits, I'll give them all, give them all to you," Cornelius pleaded.
"That feeling up your spine, other than my foot of course, that's fear, the same fear your victims felt, it isn't just about the pay Cornelius," Stratos leant down, bringing his mouth closer to Cornelius's ear. "It's because I don't like you either!"
Cornelius's crying was silenced when Stratos brought his foot down, mercilessly snapping the 'doctor's' neck. Stratos sheathed his sword and began walking out of the cantina, leaving the bodies for his droid partner to pick up.
"Sorry about the mess," he added.
The bounty office wasn't too far away. There were the rare bounty hunters willing to go after protected targets, the two idiots were government contracts, they had finally killed the wrong senator's child. Talos Stratos went that extra mile some bounty hunters didn't, his private military company wasn't quite at the level of black suns, but it earned him some respect. He waited as the officers made the necessary calls to the core worlds, their doctors analysing the bodies K4 had brought in and ultimately confirming that they were indeed the two idiots.
"Five thousand credits deposited into your account," the officer said.
They had been a package deal, two bodies and one price. Talos used half of that to get passage to Hosnia, an easy job for a smuggler with a Corellian YT freighter. He knew from the sound of the engine and the smell of the oil that there was some damages and 'modifications', but he could feel the speed as it took off. It was a pleasant flight, the captain wasn't unbearable and his Wookie first mate was pleasantly surprised that Stratos could speak Shyriwook. Hosnia Prime was like Coruscant a ecumenopolis, a city that sprawled an entire planet. A trade hub that even had a senate building, it wasn't the capital of the core worlds though, just a place senators picked for their holidays. Talos rented a speeder that K4 piloted for him, driving him to the under construction areas where shady business could occur. Parking at an abandoned hotel, the blind bounty hunter made his way up to one of the nearly completed rooms. He could hear the whirling sound of a probe droid hovering through one of the windows, no hologram was necessary but it released audio from its two way connection.
"Talos Stratos I have need…"
"Hi Palpatine," Talos said.
The man on the other side of the call hesitated for a moment, like a computer error he seemed to rethink what he was doing.
"What are you talking about?" the man asked.
"Prime Minister Palpatine of Naboo, you have a distinguishing voice, you're also frightfully dull…the kind of person who would obviously have some deep dark secret, what is it you want?" Stratos asked.
Again the man paused, which was all the tell Stratos needed really. It was small, almost benign, but it offered the smallest hint of what was going on underneath the lid of the boiling pot. The silence too was what Talos Stratos needed to know that the meeting was going on ahead.
"Much better, what would you like me to dew?" the mercenary asked.
"Excuse me," Sheev Palpatine raised his eyebrows in confusion.
"I said what would you like me to do?" Stratos asked.
"The princess of Naboo has left with Jedi Master Klue, obviously we cannot deploy our own military, though I advised the king otherwise, he wishes to keep his military, thus antagonising the republic. We cannot afford to keep on aggressively dismissing the republic's policies. There was a great shockwave in the force, and its only getting more powerful on Korvis, there must be some sort of chatter about the mercenary factions seeking to take that planet for itself, the interest there was in the champion of the arena, this man of fire, blood, ice, lightning and rock," Palpatine explained.
"It sounds like even more a magician than the Jedi, if so why not simply let him free himself and the other slaves, it isn't every day that an uprising is successful," Stratos said.
"I don't want the slaves to be free, I want them to be evacuated, I need someone to deliver the 'magician' to republic hands, so that we can learn of his origins and assess the potential threat he or his people might represent," the minister explained.
"I see, you believe that the person who affected the force as he did is part of some kind of first contact scenario? I'm no diplomat and you are aware I don't often do jobs for the republic," Stratos explained.
"You won't be working for the republic, you'll be working for me," Palpatine said.
Stratos hummed, stroking his beard and smirking slightly.
"Off the books and off the record, fine then, consider me at your service, payment upfront into the account I'm forwarding to your office computer," Stratos stated.
"Don't send those details to my office," Palpatine's voice took on a dark tone, his eyes blazing with fury.
Stratos nonchalantly pushed the button on his data pad, Palpatine continued to glare even as he shut communications. The Nubian minister stood in the abandoned space port in the ruined parts of Coruscant, the area of the planet where next to no one lived, where no Jedi went. He was tempted, just tempted to unleash his rage, to decimate the building he stood in with force lightning, to ionise the atmosphere and bring down satellites on the republic's capital and to burn away the democracy he had to claim to love.
But it was not time, not yet, not yet.
Carth Onasi rubbed his eyes as he cycled through his options; the forms he had to sign authorising the decommissioning of several hammer head warships and their contingent of strike fighters. He shook his head as he slammed the data pad against the ground, and then addressed his troops. From Onderon and Alderaan came a contingent of volunteers, all part of local militias, the Alderaanians with their white curved helmets all stood in a group and at the front of them was Jedi Master Rahm Kota, the founder of their militia. The Onderon volunteers all wore whatever they had taken from their homes, nothing that could be called a military uniform, their leaders the Gerrera's kept them disciplined but Carth didn't like the extreme behaviour of the brother. The last factory built ships from Corellia came with the orange and yellow armoured republic marines. From Telos, where they gathered, came the white and orange republic troopers.
"That was the final order I was given," Carth said, pointing at the data pad. "I understand the desire for peace, to no longer have to fight, we all understand that, better than any senator, and sadly even better than any citizen. We have been told that the majority of people no longer want violence, but when violence comes to them they will seek the hand of whatever help comes there way, whatever military order or law will protect them at the time, ignorant to whatever freedoms they may lose in the process until it is too late to do anything about it. The Rusaan reformations are wrong, demanding the shutdown of our military is wrong, from even the newest member state; every world has the basic right to defend itself.
"I will not stand down; I will continue to defend the republic and the ideals that we strive for. Republic citizens had been abandoned simply because they strayed too far from a watchful eye, they even been called criminal for it. Our freedom and our rights are slowly being sold to private military companies or Sith remnants like the First Order, the First Order should not be recognised as a formal government, nor should the republic bow down to their demands," the admiral explained.
"They might call us traitors for this, they might say we are abandoning the principles of democracy, but I cannot believe that it is the will of the people, the people not their senators, to leave their homes unprotected by the forces of evil, and trust me when I tell you evil does exist, we all remember the atrocities of the Sith, but the chancellor wants to simplify it, to say that it came from the Jedi, that it was simply a matter of their moral alignment or the council's failings. The Sith are coming, and we need to be ready to stop them. Are you with me?" Carth asked.
They raised their hands and yelled in agreement. If it was to be the last army the Old republic ever had, then Carth was proud to be a part of it. Not the leader though, that job had to go to someone different. They saw the ships come out of hyper space, an MC75 cruiser leading two MC30c frigates, Mon Calamari designed ships led by a Mon Calamari Admiral. Carth put his communicator to his mouth and spoke with a smile.
"Good to see you, or so to speak Admiral Raddus," he said.
"Sorry Admiral Onasi, but Admiral Raddus couldn't make it," Carth couldn't pretend he was familiar with Mon Calamari voices, but this one sounded young.
Inside the MC75 cruiser sat an immature Mon Calamari, a youth as signified by the smaller shape of his face, his lighter skin tone and the single barbell on his chin. He held up a webbed hand in humble embarrassment as he spoke.
"The king of Mon Cala and Admiral Raddus suspected that there would be consequences to this operation, they are currently carrying out a military operation that must remain secret at this time. They dictated that I would take three ships to aid you Admiral Onasi, I am Captain…Ryukin," he said with extra embarrassment.
'He's literally named after a breed of fish,' several of the younger volunteers whispered amongst themselves.
"It is a family name, I am Ryukin the second," the Mon Calamari said.
'He's the second, that doesn't make it a tradition,' more people muttered.
Carth rubbed his nose and sighed, it couldn't be helped.
Stratos's next transportation was again an YT series light freighter, but a newer model with its human captain, Nautolan co-pilot and an LE-series repair droid. The droid must have had few memory wipes at it certainly had personality, fascinated by the damages K4 had suffered in his long service life. When Talos sat for dinner he could hear the Nautolan's steps in the next room, practiced movements consistent with fighting. The art of Teras Kasi, and he was no amateur either. It was a steady flight and they parted on good terms when they landed in Takodana. Supposedly it was a beautiful world, but Talos had long lost his ability to perceive such beauty. He walked to the great fortress, weaving through the crowds of pirates and travellers kept in line by the patron's rules. Supposedly there was no fighting on Takodana, the pirate queen made sure of that. She was also a collector of artefacts, a preserver of things, she never did say how she got a hold of these items. 'A story for another time', but Talos hated waiting for answers.
He walked down the spiral staircase into her treasure dump, sneaking away from the people enjoying themselves on the surface. Though his connection to the force had long been severed, there were certain instincts that didn't go away. He could feel it, feel what he was seeking, unsecure in a box just waiting for someone to pick up. Removing it from the constraint, he pocketed the seemingly benign thing into his pouch. Then he lifted up the hilt that was beside it.
"We tolerate thievery on Takodana less than fighting," a voice spoke from the entrance of the vault.
Talos hummed as he held up the light saber hilt.
"You were a pirate queen, is piracy not just another form of thievery? Or has some deep distinction arisen or been lost with time?" Stratos asked.
He ran his fingers over the hilt, feeling it, the sharp edges around the handle, the silver alloy that made up the casing. Maz Kanata's footsteps echoed in the narrow corridor, she was a short woman, nowhere near what one would imagine a pirate queen to be. Though Stratos knew better than most things were not always what they appeared to be.
"How did you come across this? In fact don't bother, I know that the answer will be 'story for another time', I like stories but there are some people just don't care about," Stratos explained.
"Talos Stratos, when people said there was a blind mercenary captain I laughed, how successful could such an organisation be with the blind leading them," he heard the click of the goggle like devices over her eyes.
In contrast to him, she had quite good eye sight, even better the closer she got to a specific object or person. The lenses she wore were to narrow her vision. She found Stratos's shape to be much like any kind of close quarter's fighter; his shape and poise seemed akin to a Jedi. There was a snap and Maz flinched slightly as an orange blade erupted from the hilt, illuminating some of her other treasures and the longing look across Stratos's mouth.
"Do you know whose light saber that was? And the significance of that crystal?" Maz asked.
"It is called 'heart of the guardian'," Stratos said and Maz widened her eyes. "The Jedi believe that it will appear in a time of great turmoil and bring salvation to the galaxy, whilst the Sith believe it will bring domination, but what is the difference between the two? Surely some people must be dominated in order to be saved, will the galaxy gladly accept a tyrant if it means peace and stability?" he let the questions hang in the air.
Maz had a small blaster wedged into the back of her belt. She was small, but she was quick on the draw.
The shot ran out, but the bolt deflected off of the orange blade, and back into Maz's hand. She dropped her blaster and gasped as Stratos was suddenly in front of her, swinging his blade for her neck.
Maz blinked in confusion, sweat running down her forehead. Her blaster was still at her back, her hand was unharmed. But she could have sworn that she had drawn her weapon. She was drawn back to Stratos when the man deactivated the saber. Maz's hands went limp and for the first time in centuries she felt terrified as Stratos casually walked past her.
"Its part of a pair," the words fumbled out of her mouth without meaning to.
"Yes, mantle of the force is the other, but don't worry I know exactly where that one is, be 'seeing' you Maz," he put the hilt into his pouch as he began walking back up the stairs.
Maz Kanata let out deep heavy breaths, feeling as if a great weight had brought her to her knees. She wiped away the sweat on her brow and tried to stop her hands from shaking. Eventually she was able to calm her nerves, look at the bigger picture and realise that she needed to contact someone about what was going to happen on Korvis.
Korvis
Vim Arena had had his eyes closed when Torvan had his slaves gathered. He opened them just before one of the droids shoved him to the ground. Finally he could see, see through the great darkness and the struggle that Daylen Amell was enduring. His smirk faded, replaced by fury as he looked towards the droid.
"Stop, we're going," Ranna said, stepping between the droid and Vim.
"Thank you my dear, but I hardly need you to protect me," he said.
"I know, but you've done much for the slaves here," Ranna said.
"Not enough, I didn't think I had the right to do anything else than treat wounds or bury the dead, I am not as good as I seem Ranna," Vim explained.
"Neither is Kas'im," Ranna retorted.
"That's true, but I'd like to think he's at least somewhat better than me," Vim said.
"He was a member of the Brotherhood of Darkness!"
"There are worse people in the galaxy," Vim sighed.
"Hey, we told you to move," one of the droids said.
"Come, we must not keep our master waiting," Vim said.
They joined Shriv, Kitster, Bowdaar, Qyzen and the Zabrak brothers in the courtyard, noticing that battle droids occupied the balconies. Torvan walked onto his balcony and the blaster at his hip didn't go unnoticed.
"There is a power struggle in Korvis, someone has declared themselves the new king but there is an order to things, Kalla is dead but her cousin will be attempting to retake her lands. In addition you'll noticed the large ships still in orbit, we are still drawing the interest of the first order, my first and only order to you is that you will remain obedient during this difficult period," Torvan explained.
'Obedient, you're losing control already aren't you? You pathetic fool,' Vim thought.
"You'll notice that the number of slaves here has dropped, that is because I have sent a select few of the unnecessary lot to both parties as a means of appeasement. If you think your days of slavery are numbered think again. Do not test me, I am not above disposing of you," Torvan stated.
His intimidation tactic didn't have the desired effect. Instead Ranna looked around, wondering where Oola was. Vim knew exactly where she was though, and sighed in disappointment, that all of Daylen's efforts with her would be wasted.
Oola walked through the corridors of the palace, not bothered by the stench in the air. Corpses were being dragged about, taken for force knows what the new daimyo had in mind. She though remained calm, without fear, as she had been taught. No matter what the world threw at her, she still had her pride, what she had thought no matter what Hutt slug tried to force her to please them, no matter what outlandish requests slavers had of her during a dance, she still had her pride. Fear had gripped her before, but now she was brave, and that was a bravery she was able to maintain because of one blissful moment.
A blissful moment she remembered and would remember until the day she died.
She pushed her lips against his, kissing him with more passion that she had ever shared with anyone. Oola was no stranger to affection or romance, she had lovers in the past. Daylen though remained impassive, even trying to gently pry her away.
"No," he said.
"Am I not pleasing?" she asked.
"I don't need that kind of service, and you shouldn't have to give it, you owe me nothing," Daylen said.
"I owe you my life," Oola said.
They were huddle together in his room, his back against the hard wall and her standing in front of him with her chain against the door. Again he had been in deep thought over a possible escape plan, but his attention turned to Oola and not for her body.
"You don't have to do anything to repay me for saving your life," he said.
"It's a life debt Daylen, and its something I would repay because I want to, I can't save your life, there is only so much I can do for you," she stated.
"Then live, live with pride over the fact that you are alive, don't debase yourself by tying yourself to me, you're better than that Oola, no matter what else they may have put you through you are still the greatest dancer in the galaxy," Daylen explained.
She widened her eyes slightly at his declaration, taken aback by it, blushing and embarrassed.
"You think I'm the greatest dancer in the galaxy?" she asked.
"I said it didn't I? The way you moved out there, it told me so much about the horrors you had endured, and how much fight and passion there was left within you. Even though you were doing something you loved for a person you hated, even though you enjoyed dancing, you knew at that moment you were dancing for the wrong reasons, so to hell with them, you danced for yourself, you danced with defiance in your very soul. Forget rhythm, forget technique, you threw yourself into that dance with pride, that's why you were so good. You say you owe me your life, but the debt has already been paid because you restored me to life that day Oola," Daylen explained. "You reminded me of what it was to have pride," he added, looking at her with an admiration she had never seen before.
She blushed even more when he stood up and touched her shoulder.
"So don't kiss me or hold me Oola, you've already given me everything I've ever needed from you, dance for yourself, repay it not with death but life," he said.
She respected him enough not to kiss him that day, but instead shake his hand as a friend and hug him as a friend. And in the present she stood beside what she knew to be a shadow of the man whom she had inspired, and had inspired her in turn. Chaos stood in his full gear, many of the men and woman around him were wearing 'furious gladiator' armour and had the associated weapons, as if they were all badges of honour or a type of military uniform. He leant against his staff, smiling down at Oola.
"You are not Daylen Amell," she said.
"I am him as he could be," he countered.
"But not as he should be," her retort caught him off guard slightly.
Then he chuckled, impressed by how Oola stood with just the slightest tremor, the slight imbalance because of her robotic foot but the firmest look on her face he had ever seen. Through the lingering memory that was left in the body the demon possessed, he could see the terror and panic across the Twi'lek woman's face. But there was no more fear in her face, only determination and anger.
"Torvan sent me here to please you, as he sent me to Daylen's room nearly every night to please him," she said.
"You are quite beautiful Oola, but as you can see I am not short on women or men to please me, I now have power, a treasury of credits and riches, land and status, what more could I possibly want?" the demon asked.
"More, that's always the answer to men like you," Oola said.
"Men like me," his lip quivered in anger and beside him Clara winced.
He tightened his fist and suddenly, one of his men screamed. His skeleton was illuminated by a pulsing wave of energy running through him. A purple mist rose from his mouth, his skin turning grey and sagging as he fell to the floor, dead. Again Chaos tightened his fist and the purple mist turned green, sparking with electricity before rushing back into the dead man's mouth. His bones clicked into place and he moaned, eyes glowing green as he got up off of the floor, snarling at Oola. She however stood firm, unimpressed, and that made Chaos again kill one of his men, this time with a torrent of pale yellow lightning that gradually turned green as he reanimated the man.
"DOES THAT SEEM COMMON TO YOU?" he yelled, rising from his oversized throne.
"A show of violence and force, that's the most common use of power there is," she retorted.
He created a whip of electricity and wrapped it around Oola's chain. The lightning travelled up the chain, crackling through her collar. She screamed, her muscles began to spasm and she felt her neck burn. Despite the pain though she set her feet firmly, refusing to kneel, and she continued to glare at Daylen's copy defiantly.
"I could kill you in so many different ways, but I don't want to do that, I want you to do as many others have done, to let me in Oola, to let me gift you with power, power to never be chained again," he explained.
He reduced the electricity, using his whip to reel Oola's chain to his grip and then begin pulling her up the steps towards him.
"You could dance to your heart's content, then no one would ever enslave you or hurt you again, I am offering you power Oola, and above all the ability decide your own fate," Chaos stated.
He brought her closer, his lips inches from hers as he grabbed one of her head tails. Her chain dangled to the floor, hanging near her fingers as she let the new ruler of Korvis hold her.
"I offer you pride Oola," he said, his eyes calming, voice almost gentle.
Almost like his, almost though, Oola reminded herself as she wrapped some of the chain around her hand.
It was another night when Oola had been sent to please Daylen. But it was so much better than sexual bliss, she found a friendship and respect that was rare on Korvis. They sat across from one another and talked about the past. Oola spoke of Ryloth and its beauty, of her days as a young dancer with dreams to be famous and free. She had come close to achieving her dreams, but she trusted the wrong man and it ended with her being sold to Bib Fortuna, whom later had to sell her to Kalla in order to pay gambling debts.
"What was your world like Daylen?" she asked him.
"It was a primitive world, before the Sith arrived we believed in superstition and ruled through the sword, the dwarves had some understanding of sciences and technology but even that was a joke when compared to what the galaxy has to offer," Daylen explained.
"Do you have any love for your own?" she asked.
"I don't know, the people in it, they don't deserve to die…no one deserves to die," he muttered.
She stroked his arm platonically.
"Who did you lose?" she asked.
"First I lost my grandfather, then my freedom, not long after that my cousin Carver was taken by the SIth, even then I just didn't care. The tower was enough, I lived comfortably and I made friends, and then my teacher was taken from me, Irving, they took away all of his emotions because they knew it would bother me. That's what the Sith and their empire are, evil, and me, proud me, got it in my head that I could fight them, so I plotted, I got everyone else in the tower into it as well, my friends Kinnon, Petra, Nial and Jowan, but I ended up letting them down, I got them killed," he explained.
"And you're still trying," Oola said, wiping the tear away from Daylen's cheek.
"Still trying to give people hope, and succeeding, because now I have hope too," she wrapped her arms around Daylen and hugged him.
He slowly returned the hug, and to his surprise she kept hold of his hands as they separated. She began to sway back and forth with him, a look of embarrassment crossed his face when he realised what she was doing.
"Oh no, they didn't teach us how to dance in the tower, I sucked at staff kata 'you've got no rhythm at all' Uldred used to tell me," Daylen chuckled.
"Only professionals need rhythm, when it's for fun, all you have to do is just lose yourself in the music," she did a 360 spin as she spoke, laughing as Daylen grimaced.
"There isn't any music," he said.
"Well just think of some, sing it even," Oola said.
"I'm not much of a singer, I know the lyrics but I'm not exactly good."
"It doesn't matter, there's got to be one piece of music or a song that brings out the best in you."
Daylen pulled his arms away for a moment, stroking his chin as he thought.
"Okay, there was one song, it was a Chantry hymn, but I did like the words:" he cleared his throat and closed his eyes, thinking of the words to a song that once got him through the night.
"Shadows fall and hope has fled, steel your heart the dawn will come, the night is long and the path is dark, look to the sky for one day soon the dawn will come."
Heads began to poke out of their bars; bodies drew closer to their walls, hearing a song in galactic basic. Flesh raiders curiously looked amongst themselves and began to listen to something that sounded quite nice to them. Moorint and the other Twi'lek male slaves understood the greater meaning behind the words, and still they listened to it.
"The shepherd's lost and his home is far, keep to the stars the dawn will come, the night is long and the path is dark, look to the sky for one day soon, the dawn will come."
The Zabrak brothers looked out from their cells, the older shooting the younger a look when he saw him hold back a tear. Bowdaar the Wookie champion howled out, not annoyed, but inspired. Qyzen too stood up for the first time that night and hissed in pride, he had lost his score with the keeper, but he could still get his honour back. Maximus did nothing, Torvan was sleeping and he would not wake him, he would listen, listen to the song of a man whom had hope and pride. The song could be heard from the house and the young slaves there cried.
"Bare your blade and raise it high, stand your ground the dawn will come, the night is long and the path is dark, look to the sky for one day soon the dawn will come!"
Oola wiped away her tears just as Ranna did. In his cell Vim raised his head and tried looking up at the stars, even reaching for them. He smiled, feeling waves of hope and reawakened pride in the others around him. The dancer began to sing the song herself, guided in the lyrics by her new friend.
It was her last happy moment, before the end.
Chaos's eyes widened as Oola snapped her chains around his throat. He growled in frustration, trying to punch her back. Oola however slid herself back, dodging the punch. It was like a dance for her, pulling the war lord embarrassingly to his knees. Then she tied the chain more around his neck by sliding around to his back.
"You offer me pride? I already have pride, we all do, and none of us will bow to you," she seethed, pulling on the chains with all her weight and suffocating him.
His eyes flashed with electricity as he let the lightning flow through the chains. Oola's hands and neck burned, but she still held on, pulling back. Clara drew her A180 blaster pistol, raising it alongside the other gladiators. They wavered however when Chaos stood up. He pulled forward, roaring in fury.
Suddenly, the chain snapped throwing Oola back towards the throne. Her scalp slammed hard into the step, dazing her, her vision blurred and ears rung and then she screamed in pain feeling a foot slam into her knee. The sound of her bone breaking echoed with her scream, yet still she was able to glare at Chaos.
"He's coming, he'll stop you," she said.
"Whatever, you'll still be dead, your permission was a luxury, not a requirement," the demon said.
He stabbed her shoulder with his staff and then bit into his wrist. Drawing blood from his veins, he pulled the staff out, keeping Oola pinned with his foot as he poured his blood into her wound. The black fluid began to flow through her veins, highlighting them through her skin. She thrashed around, feeling a pain she had never experienced before. Her skin bubbled and areas of it were pushed outwards, as if there was something growing inside of her. She could only scream as her body was changed.
Her death scream echoed through the fade, and Daylen was driven further and further into the depths.
'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I failed, I was so stupid, thinking that I could inspire, thinking that…that pride was a good thing, how can I bring pride to others when I have no pride in myself?' he wondered.
"Is that true lad, do you truly have no pride?"
Daylen's eyes snapped open; he wasn't in the white void or the fade anymore. He was in the tower again, sitting in the library with Irving behind him.
"What troubles you my child?" he asked.
Next Episode 43: Hail to the king part 2
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, is Oola dead? Did I spare her then only to kill her now? You'll have to read to find out.