Disclaimer: I don't own the Dragon Age, Star Wars of Aliens Franchise
We introduce our first secondary crossover in the Alien franchise, the first antagonists for Daylen to fight and the first world he 'visits'.
Dragon Wars: Odyssey and Revolution
Episode 2: No more
Cid snarled, he wanted to rip apart his employer, to tear through the Sith remnant bastards that shot him. Everything was going according to plan, the Jedi may have been a bit hasty, but they were on their way to intercepting the Warbler, 'forcing' Cid to surrender. The boy had a great legal defence team, he would panic but ultimately choose the legal battlefield and possibly dobbing in his worse criminal friends. The Echani brothers would do time, the Mandalorian would get extradited to Mandalore and Cid, he would pull off one of his daring 'escapes' and go back to the frontier's underworld, or the Hutt cartels. It would be back to business, Cid's real business, as usual. Only that isn't what happened.
He held the ship steady, weaving through space like a needle, the stream of fire on the Warbler's thrusters was the thread. Cid brought up the rear view camera, seeing the Delta 7 Jedi Starfighter. Infidus rushed to the front, and Cid could feel the man's hand shake when it gripped the back of the pilot's chair.
"Jedi, damn, time to earn your reputation Alpha," he said.
'My reputation was already earned you pup,' Cid thought.
He pulled off a few manoeuvres, flashy, fast feeling and looking but not enough to actually get any distance. Infidus didn't know that, and neither did his hired thugs.
'Come on Jedi, pull something off with the force already,' he thought.
There was an alarm and a beeping light on the ship's console. Outside of the two ships, a short distance away from them, a distortion appeared in space like a tunnel being formed. And out of that spatial tunnel came a white ship that filled most world's with dread, and even others with glee. For Cid it was the reminder of all the battles he had thought as a republic starfighter pilot, waves of the almost citadel like ships came out of a space station that swallowed an entire sun for power. Interdictor Class cruisers were once part of the republic military, taken fully into the service of the renegade military organisation that once made it their purpose to conquer member worlds. This Interdictor cruiser had black wing markings on the top of it, a form of customisation that marked it as sponsored by a corporation. But it also sported additional armour to make it 700 metres in length (as opposed to the traditional 600), two of the five turbo lasers batteries had been replaced by linear catapults.
"Jettison our spare parts," Cid commanded.
"But we need those parts," Infidus said.
"They'll provide us with cover against their tractor beam," Cid stated. "After you've jettisoned the parts mount the gun turrets," Cid added to the Echani brothers.
"If its a choice between the Jedi and pirates we can negotiate with pirates, my father..."
"Will abandon you as soon as he finds out you've been taken by the Revanchist cult," the Mando said.
He almost shoved Infidus out of the way, sitting at the co-pilot seat and adjusting the shield controls.
"If we can get to hyper space before they deploy their Gravity Well projectors, I know a place we can hold up," Cid stated.
"That ship doesn't have them," the Mando said.
"How do you know?" Cid asked.
"It's the Romulus, sponsored by the Yutani group, captained by David Weyland, you think the Jedi do terrible things to people then you've never met him," the Mando explained.
He adjusted the shield modulation, creating a pulsing affect that would disrupt the Romulus's tractor beam targeting. 'Smart' Cid thought appreciatively as he increased the thrust of the Warbler's rockets. The freighter managed to get some distance away from the Cruiser with the acceleration alone. But the ship still shook as blasts hit the hull. Twelve interceptors had been deployed by the Romulus, six for the Delta and six for the Warbler.
'Insulting,' Cid growled.
Barrel rolling, he used the superior armour of the Warbler to hit the brittle wing of one of the Interceptors, throwing it off course and into its nearest partner. The Echani brothers to their credit reacted fast, firing the guns attached to the spherical gunner bays they had climbed into. Red beams flew into one of the fighters and Cid flew through the stardust and wreckage, shooting his front cannons at two more fighters. The Mando nodded his head, impressed, looking out of the window at the small lights that represented the Jedi and his pursuers. Cid recognised a droid controlled ship, all algorithm and caution but no joy or risk. It wasn't so much as feeling what was coming from the ship, but just looking at the way it moved. Cid wouldn't begrudge others their belief in the force, but he wasn't going to be taken in by any of the convoluted explanations of it.
"Its gaining on us," Infidus said.
"We have the advantage in acceleration but its a bigger ship and it'll have a better overall top speed and fuel reserve, we'll go to lightspeed soon," Cid explained.
"No, I have a deadline to meet, if we fail then..."
"We'll be alive boss, we can always make the delivery another time, rescheduling is better than dumping the cargo," the Mando said.
He paused as the alarm went off again, again a tunnel like distortion appeared and another ship appeared. This one was yellow and green, but had a thicker shape than the Interdictor, its bridge at the front in a shape that earned it the name 'Hammerhead'. It was the bulk of the Republic forces, but the new colour scheme indicated it was part of the Frontier defence fleet. The ship was already launching squadrons of Z-95 Headhunters, some moving to support the Delta whilst others intercepted the Romulus. For a moment Cid thought he was in the clear, until the Romulus fired something from its linear catapult, hitting the top of the Warbler. At first there didn't seem to be anything wrong, then static began appearing on Cid's monitor.
"There's damage in the internal circuitry, its spreading, moving through the vent," the Mando mused.
The older of the Echani brothers raised his head from the gunport console, the Interceptors were falling back. He could hear a clattering inside the outer wall of the turret tunnel. Clattering like legs tapping against the alloy. Unstrapping himself, he carefully slid out one of the blades of his ritual brand.
"What exactly makes Weyland so terrifying?" Cid asked.
"He's a biologist, specialising in genetic engineering, he created biological weapons for Revan, pathogens, invasive spores, mutant creatures," the Mando stated.
"What do you mean by mutant creatures?" Infidus asked.
Acid dripped down into the tunnel, coming from a small hole that formed behind the older Echani brother. The corrosive fluid melted the paint and screen on the console of the younger Echani brother, who withdrew and looked up, a blob of acid dripping onto his eye. He let out a yell that made his brother look back, seeing his brother first before creatures began crawling out of the hole. They were yellow skinned in appearance, having bony exoskeletons, crawling across the floor like insects with their barbed tails behind them. One jumped at the older brother, who cut it in half. In the narrow space he could only skewer one before the other landed on his arm, skittering over his shoulder and towards his face. He withdrew a knife from his belt, stabbing the creature. It didn't scream, but it did bleed on his arm. The blood melted through the sleeve of his shirt and began to burn at his skin. Infidus heard the man's scream as well as the shriek of one of the medical staff members.
He drew the DT-12 blaster pistol from his holster and fired, the yellow bolt brushing through the woman's shoulder and missing the skittering creature. She screamed, falling to the floor as the creature jumped towards her. Infidus was able to hit it with a lucky shot, but his next few shots hit areas of the ship that triggered fires. Two more spider like creatures came out of the tunnel and jumped at Infidus and his staff. Two loud shots echoed out of the bridge, hitting the creatures. The Mando had come out, holding two WESTAR-34 blasters, popular amongst his people. He was about to lower them when there was an explosion, opening a section of the ship.
"Screw this," Infidus said, running away from the danger and to the bridge.
"What are you doing?" Cid demanded as Infidus slammed into his back, hands sprawling over his shoulders onto the console.
"We need to get out of here now," the rich boy said.
"You idiot stop, we can't just make the jump at ran..."
CHOOM! some people imagined that sound in space. Others a great boom as their ship would enter another universe itself. This one was tinged in blues, a tunnel in space known as the Hyperspace routes. These routes were the key to faster than light travel, without the complication of relativity and time dilation. Journeys of centuries took but days, and it was a moment in hyper space for the Warbler, a moment before and explosion of the damaged equipment released it from hyperspace. As soon as they were back in regular space, Cid had to turn the ship but he was too late. Blood and bone spread across the ship and they could hear its hull further rend, a small wound in comparison to the poor purrgil space whale they crashed into.
"Engines are on fire, acid burned through the circuits, I can barely hold it together," Cid said.
"What are our options?" the Mando asked, coming up to the bridge.
"That world, that looks like it might be habitable, there's a transponder on the escape pod," Infidus said, slamming his fist into the emergency release.
A hatch closed over the bridge, cutting he medical staff off from escape.
"NO!" Cid yelled.
But the process was already done, the Warbler's bridge doubled as an escape pod and disconnected from the ship. Cid yelled, pushing Infidus against the wall, his teeth bared, pupils narrow in bestial fury. He smelled what Infidus had produced under his trousers, and chose not to waste his time as the Mando had.
"Breathable atmosphere, water, no significant radiation sources, we might manage if our transponder is intact," he said.
"And who do you think will pick up our signal?" Cid asked.
They went down, down into the atmosphere, crashing through trees and skimming off of swamp land. Air bags went off, offering the three men some protection as the ship slid across grass land, crunching over rocks before it collided head on with a tree, a small tree that left a cut in the middle of the ship between the pilot and co-pilot chairs. Cid checked his watch as soon as he woke up, judging that the crash had given him a concussion. He had been unconscious for four minutes, four minutes of the green boss spewing green out of his guts from what Cid could hear. He checked his jacket, his Bryar pistol was still on his armpit holster, and his vibro-blade was still in its scabbard. Cid took out his blaster as he climbed out of the wrecked pod, scanning the surrounding trees and noticed some of the ruined pyramids around them.
"Any landing you can walk away from," the Mando muttered, nodding to Cid.
"Whoever said that wasn't particularly good at landing, any activity out there?" Cid asked.
"Local wildlife that's too cautious to go near us, and...wait a second," the Mando was looking up, his voice indicated a degree of shock.
The Romulus was in the planet's atmosphere, and they could see the small forms of landing pods being thrown onto the surface.
"By the force, there must have been a tracker in one of those things, Infidus, get out of the bush and make yourself useful, we need to gather supplies and..." Cid paused, looking out into the woods again.
The Mando took out his sword, but Cid raised his hand as a signal to stop. There were red skinned humanoids in the trees, cycler rifles and spears aimed at them. Some of them were quite athletic, more human than the bulky and taller red men, whom had elaborate dreadlocks of red flesh and almost monstrous faces. Cid had read of the description of pureblood Sith and their mutated counterparts the Massassi. Infidus wiped his mouth and was about to pick up his pistol when Mando put his sword under his chin.
"Do that and we are dead," he said.
Again he nodded to Cid, showing trust. The pilot put his blaster away and rubbed his hands together.
"Bah weep graaagnah, wheep ni ni bong?" he said, making Mando twitched and look at him for a moment before a grin cross his wolf like features. "Forgive me, a bad joke, and forgive us for trespassing, our vessel crash landed and we..."
One of the Massassi roared, letting out a series of words in a dialect Cid didn't know, and he knew a lot of languages. One of the Sith, a woman climbed out of the tree and unrolled a banner from a scroll on her belt. It was a symbol that some Mandalorians respected, the shape of the mask of their sworn enemy, both respected, feared and despised. The flag of Revan made Cid scowl and for a moment he thought he had made a mistake when the Sith purebloods whispered amongst themselves. The woman unrolled the flag and put it back on her belt. She cleared her throat and looked towards the strangers, offering her hand in a gesture that took the Mandalorian aback.
"Come with us," she said.
Excruciating pain was not a different concept to each of the three servants of the Sith, the men in the presence of the emperor himself. There were degrees of pain, the kind of torture that Plagueis had endured to harden himself, to feel just how truly insignificant he was within the dark side. That part of him that remembered Darth Tenebrous's red lightning crackling across his body, forever hated his master for putting him through that torture. But Plagueis's very mind was under attack, he was shrunk down to a child again, his backup organs shook inside his body and his eyes remained locked on the symbiotes floating around him, the midichlorians granted a gigantic form for him to see just how small he was even to the microscopic organisms.
Tarkin's throat felt dry, as if his father had left him to hunt for days without water. His toes were rough, as if he had walked for days bare foot and his back was sore like rows of wood and rock piled on top of him. The part of him that remembered his childhood believed that his father had done right by him, that because of that he rose through the ranks, took every opportunity that he deserved because he had earned it since childhood. He understood better than all those officer graduates and soft fleet personnel that it was survival of the fittest. As an officer of the empire, he had to right to take life, because by default he was strong.
Perrin however was not screaming, his skin was intact and he was in a quiet bedroom in the Viscount's keep of Kirkwall. He was even in his old Viscount robes, his crown of thorns untouched on the desk, his hand holding the frail and pale hand of his wife.
"You have taken blades to your flesh, fire, seen war and torment, and even inflicted it yourself," he could hear the emperor behind him.
Whatever he was, he appeared human again, wearing the dark robes of the Kirkwall Chantry. His silver beard was neatened and his hair combed back, and his once yellow eyes were calm and blue.
"But all of that pales when compared to losing her, how did your wife die when you were the most powerful man in Kirkwall?" the emperor asked.
Perrin let go of his wife's hand, placing it gently on her chest as she began to take her last breaths. He had been here before, yet still he watched it again to capture in every detail he still remembered to this day.
"They call it the wasting illness, others call it blight sickness, spread through the blood of darkspawn, but it can also be carried by rats and spoiled food. Its at its least potent when contracted this way, one doesn't need to worry about becoming a ghoul, but the death is still painful. My wife was a kind woman, our marriage was arranged yet she was dutiful and kind, I didn't deserve it but in time she loved me as much as I loved her. She went into darktown to treat the sick and the poor, a pandemic had broken out, she was infected. The grey wardens knew of a means to suppress the blight, to essentially cure it for a few years, it wasn't even a process unique to their organisation, any mage could do it with darkspawn blood. I went to the circle hoping that someone would perform the spells necessary to save her life, the spells necessary to prolong so many other people's lives, but then the Chantry, the templars, Elthina and Meredith, they refused my request, they even placed me under house arrest to keep me from seeking the wardens out directly," Perrin's expression darkened, his eyes narrowed and he nearly broke the arm rest.
"Magic exists to serve man, that's what they always said, but when people needed it, even if just to ease their passing, they refused it and kept it for themselves," he snarled.
"The force is the same way, its secrets horded by the Sith and the Jedi," the emperor said.
"Jedi?"
"Defenders of the innocent, servants of the true face of the force, or so that is what they claim, in truth their claims on the true balance of the force is as empty as even my own, one cannot learn the true balance of the force within a single life time. The limits of the pain that Plagueis and Tarkin have endured is purely on the physical level, none know the weakness of love, or its strength either," the emperor stated.
"And do you?" Perrin asked, looking over his shoulder at the man.
The man whose eyes again glowed red, whose mouth and brown lines were set in a restrained fury. Perrin though held the gaze, weathered the storm and endured the fear.
"Sitting here with my wife, I tried for a moment to end her pain, she pushed aside any tea I tried to give her, and when for a moment I reached for a blade, she said 'no, no, no', not because she didn't want to die you see," he said.
"But because she believed in your maker, she believed in your hell and she believed that even if you were to end her life out of love and mercy you would still see that hell, goodness and the belief in goodness even in the darkest of souls, yes Perrin Thrennhold, I know this love," the emperor explained.
"Her name was Amelia," Perrin said, looking back at the dying woman.
She was better now, and Perrin realised that the emperor was putting him into a loop. But he had no more tears to shed, even for reconstruction as perfect as this one.
'No more tears,' he vowed.
"Come on Day, you aren't dead yet, get up!"
Daylen nearly screamed, his eyes snapped open and he sat up, hitting his head on a rock ceiling.
"Damn it," he snarled, rubbing his head.
Leaves had been tied to his stump, and he could feel his skin had been rubbed with a poultice of some kind. Again he had heard Jowan's voice, and he cautiously looked into the small cave he was in. It wasn't dark, more of a fox's den than a deep hideout. He cautiously began to crawl out of the den, smelling the fumes of burning incense and an even stronger smell from a poultice. Daylen came out of the den a short distance from the pure blooded Sith hunter, the man sat cross legged on the dirt, his bow beside him with smoking sticks in front of him and a bowl in his hand. He continually stirred the blue paste inside of it, tearing and adding additional herbs from a pile he had gathered.
"Tell me, do you converse with those whom have passed on, or did you hit your head when you landed?" the hunter asked.
"You speak my language?" Daylen asked.
"I speak many languages, yet still have much more to learn, do you speak my language?" the hunter asked before he let out a series of phrases that Daylen had a vague recollection of.
"That phrase 'Midwan', power I think," Daylen said.
"Very good, 'Taral'Nuyak'Nuwal'Saarai,' it is my name, you may call me Taral if a shortened version pleases you, it means 'he who protects' and the other names mean many other things," the Sith, Taral explained.
"You could mean I'm going to kill you painfully for all I know, I never heard any mention of Wodza in there," Daylen said and Taral laughed.
"Intestines, you must have had a colourful exposure to our language, you're healed well but the formula I've used will aid in acclimatising you after your time in that stasis chamber," he explained.
"What are you talking about?" Daylen asked.
"You haven't noticed that you aren't that stiff or sore, this substance warms your skin in such a way that blood rushes to it, its also good for preventing muscle cramp," Taral said.
He stood up, putting the bowl on the floor and looking Daylen over. The mage tensed and took a few steps back.
"That expression on your face, it tells me you have a degree of experience the rest of the galaxy might share, what do you know of the Sith?" Taral asked.
"I know that you're cruel sadistic, I...I...I think you hurt people I loved," Daylen shook his head and for a moment his vision seemed to blur.
He looked over Taral's shoulder and saw Jowan standing by one of the trees. But he disappeared as soon as Daylen blinked.
"Your mind is very damaged, I could tell that much from your pupils, your reaction to your surroundings, you truly don't know where you are, not just the planet but the galaxy too right?" Taral asked.
"I, I can't remember, but this could be you, your force playing its tricks on my head," Daylen snapped.
Taral suddenly spat on the floor and shook away a glare he had gotten on reflex.
"Forgive me, that is not a term used in polite conversation here," he said.
"What the force, I thought all you Sith were all about the force, moving stuff with your mind, breaking minds and flashing lightning," Daylen stated and Taral shook his head.
"There are two types of Sith, those whom have taken on a doctrine and us," he said.
"And who are you exactly?" Daylen demanded.
"No more!" Cid echoed the words of his host.
She and her band guided the trio of unsavoury characters to a place where they were far outnumbered. It was a settlement, a well built village with natural fountains to cleaning water, huts and tree houses. Children were present, some even remaining to watch the strangers before parents dragged them inside and closed the doors behind them.
"In the old tongue what we have called this world is 'No More' derived from a part of the ancient Sith code," she said.
She was called Kusk, meaning to dream, she shared that she was once a child prone to day dreams. But it didn't stop her from becoming a leader, even when compared to the larger Massassi. Kusk brought them to a domed hut larger than the rest, formed of bricks and stronger materials. Cid could see that the Mando was looking at areas, spotting a hole hidden by a furred rug, a weapon by the bed rolls and the guards themselves. Both armed with cycler rifles and swords that seemed to glow silver and blue in the dull lighting. Two older looking Sith sat in the centre of the room by a fire place and looked up at the new arrivals, analysing each of them. Cid could feel their eyes on him the longest and repaid them with a grin.
"Lady and gentleman, thank you for welcoming us into your home," he bowed his head and the older man huffed.
"We have not welcomed, only tolerated," the man said, indicating a struggle with broken basic.
"Hear you we shall, but keep you perhaps not, it is to be seen," the woman said.
"I can assure you my father..."
"YOU DO NOT SPEAK LITTLE ONE!" the Massassi from before bellowed.
He wanted to kill them, that much Cid could tell. The large, almost monstrous looking man had a sword and from the way his hand swayed towards it every so often was an obvious sign he was itching for a fight. He looked in particular at the Mando in that regard, no doubt he knew something of the reputation of Mandalorians and wanted to see if the rumours were true.
"Shasot, enough, I have welcomed them under guest rights, they will not be harmed and they will be treated with respect," Kusk said.
It was a command, but there was a tenderness in the way she approached the Massassi, her hand brushing against his. Infidus gulped and knelt soon after Cid and Mando did,
"Helmet, take it off," the old man requested.
There was a tense moment, the Massassi gripping the handle of his sword, Infidus shaking and Cid nodding his head at the Mando. Slowly the Mando pulled at the mask, the release cables hissing as he removed the helmet. His face was pale, yet his cheek bones were strong, his hair cut into a shaved sides and crew cut. It was a face that Cid found slightly familiar, the man had some years on him but he was young, mid thirties at tops, dark hair, blue eyes and a burn scar on the bridge of his nose that Cid could tell was from a lightsaber and had recently undergone reconstruction surgery. Still, the man's chin was large and his gaze set as strong as the rest of his body. The armour and muscle really hadn't been for show.
"Kaldur is my name," he said.
"Of clan what, we have heard you Mandolorions have clans," Shasot said.
"It is Man-da-lo-rian, and I have no clan," Kaldur challenged with a look over his shoulder at the Massassi.
"I am Infidus Mercator, and I assure you my father will bring rich rewards to those who return me to him, and I will never forget those whom save my life," Infidus actually put his hands together, which made Cid shake his head.
"Indeed, gods demand you repay a life saved, but when the gods demand, refuse we do, life not worth life," the older woman said.
"The woman is our priestess Kissai, and the man is our chieftain Sutta," Kusk said.
"Simple people we are, simple lives we wish, free of trouble, free of pain," Kissai said.
"But make no mistake, bring trouble and we fight," Sutta looked at Infidus as he spoke, making the boy look down.
"All of us," Shasot snarled.
"Then you'd better prepare for a lot of trouble, because those ships in the sky are filled with men who will not hesitate to kill every last one of you," Kaldur said.
"Then I suppose we'll need to talk to Zuguruk, start using those power couplings and farming for the tibbana-gas," Kusk said.
Cid and Infidus widened their eyes in surprise, whilst Kissai and Sutta laughed.
"Surprised you are, that we know what those things are hmmm?" she hummed.
"Our technical abilities aren't evident because we don't employ machinery in our day to day lives," Kusk said.
"Why not, wouldn't it make things so much easier?" Infidus asked.
"Become reliant on machines, you lose something you need," Shasot said.
"You'd be surprised what we know about machinery, including ships," Kusk said.
"You have star ships?" Cid asked.
"We do, but where would these ships take us besides here, where we have given up far more than just technology," Kust smiled, leaving the group far more confused, and eager to know more.
"Impossible, giving up the force is impossible," Daylen said.
He followed behind Taral, frowning at the pure blood, who simply smiled with his bow over his shoulder. The young man stopped and looked up at the ship in orbit, a distant look in his eyes as if he was remembering something.
"I thought the force was the source of all life for you people," Daylen said, then grit his teeth, wishing to chide himself for such a term.
"Do you remember a time when you didn't know about the force?" Taral asked.
"That's the most I remember, my people believed in superstitions, in gods, then ships like that one came," Daylen said.
"And enslaved your world, the Sith enslaved themselves first, then they spread across the stars. Until, inevitably, the slaves fought back, we are the descendants of those slaves who were lucky enough to free ourselves and drive the empire away," Taral explained.
"You beat the empire?" Daylen asked.
"Some might say yes, but logically I think they had bigger things to worry about than one world, from then on our ancestors decided 'No more', we would not be their slaves, we would not be anyone's slaves. The world was rich with resources, we could grow our own food, make our own houses, not be indebted to anyone, we would stay here on this planet free of the involvement of others. Free of even the force, and the temptations that it offered," Taral explained.
"And it worked?"
"It wasn't perfect, nothing truly is, but in time the knowledge of how to use it eroded from our memories, people across the galaxy know that the force is something that exists, yet they don't access it."
"Some might argue that they do unconsciously."
"Others also say that great accomplishments are miracles, and great tragedies are part of the grand universal plan," Taral rolled his eyes.
"Oh wow, he's an atheist, you've already got a new best friend," Daylen snapped his head to the side, hearing Jowan speaking and seeing him standing by a tree.
Daylen rubbed his eyes and growled in frustration.
"We're not going to go away anytime soon Daylen," Jowan said.
"What did you do to me?" Daylen demanded, looking to Taral.
"What you're experiencing is not my doing, now come, more of the outsiders will arrive, and I want to warn the villages," he said.
"Why didn't you just leave me then?" Daylen asked.
"Because it is not my name," Taral said.
"What?"
"Did you lose some of your hearing too?" Taral asked cheekily. "Fine, when you raised your hand and accessed that power that is not the force, you hesitated, not out of some sort of qualms about killing, but because though you saw me as the same species as your enemy, you began to consider that I'm not, that alone shows that you are a good person," he explained.
"I thought you didn't use the force," Daylen huffed.
"One doesn't have to use the force to know a mind, those whom rely on the force become reliant upon it, and we decided..."
"No more," Daylen finished, and Taral nodded with a smile.
Despite how rough the forests and rocky areas seemed to be, Taral walked with a confidence and calmness. Each snap of a twig and possible creature watching them made Daylen twitch. But Taral was the image of calm, he didn't bat an eye when he saw a winged creature pass over them, it had a long yellow beak, blue scales and great finned wings. The pure blood on top of the creature waved down at Taral as they passed.
"A Dactillion, the empire bought and left many creatures onto the planet, it was enough to create multiple generations that we could tame, he's most likely gone to warn one of the neighbouring tribes," Taral said.
"You have more than one tribe here?" Daylen asked.
"Five, six if you count the fact that two are linked by marriage, the planet is vast but there's so much left for us to explore and tame, most of the tribes operate on a mix meritocracy and inheritance of roles, tribal leaders can come from the same family but other positions are earned through talent, at the same time we do not wish for people to make trouble because they are dissatisfied with roles, so we encourage dreams, we encourage desires, but again not perfect, we discourage space exploration even though we have trained tribe members to be able to pilot our ancestor's ships and even maintain them," Taral explained.
"It sounds like you've already had some trouble amongst yourselves, but you still at least want to be prepared to leave the planet if you have to," Daylen said.
"Prepare for the worst in case your hope disappoints," Taral said.
They stopped at a hilltop, overlooking a set of fields. Daylen had an image flash in his head, a field in Ferelden of grain crops being tended to by farm hands, mages in blue and red melting ice to create water. The Sith pure bloods on those fields were not intimidating warriors, most weren't even in gold armour but in fact wore just rags and makeshift ponchos. They picked, watered with cans and planted where there was room, it was peaceful and though some complained about blisters on their hands, they sighed with relief at a good days work. That all changed when Taral let out a series of clicks and whirls with his tongue.
"Taral," an elder woman called from the fields, walking out to him.
Some of the purebloods recoiled at the sight of Daylen, and he began to understand just how foolish he was earlier.
"You are essentially an alien to them too," Jowan clarified for him.
He didn't have the energy to fight the ghost or whatever it was. Daylen looked to a woman with a straw pack on her back, one that had a small child in it, his beady eyes staring at Daylen in fascination.
"The ship, outsiders," the elder said.
"They have already sent scouting parties, it will be a matter of time before they release their fighters on us," Taral said.
"A message came through from Kusk, she has found more outsiders and they have warned us of the danger," the elder said.
"I know it has been a hard harvest, but you must get the Orbaks and caravans ready," Taral said.
"I have already gathered the seeds, we will return to the village and prepare for our hopes disappointment," the elder lowered her head and Taral rubbed her shoulder.
"We will grow again I promise," he said.
Daylen watched the moment, thinking for a moment how his cousin Leandra must have felt when her boy and son were taken from her, the comfort her remaining daughters had to give. They spoke often in letters, and when Bethany volunteered for the tower, he finally had a vague link to his family close by. But he didn't have the same hair, or face, or eyes. He heard a child cry, a baby being cared for by its mother and tried to remember what he was missing about the Amell family. Those thought though were broken when he saw something shift in the bunched up crops. There was a groan and Daylen looked to clearly see Jowan in the bush, glowing blue and holding his head in horror.
"Get them out Daylen, get them out now something terrible is already here, GET THEM OUT NOW!" he screamed.
Suddenly there was a horrifying scream in the field. A Sith man came out of the field, vicious scratch marks were on his body, so frightened that he fell to the floor.
"Get back, get back," he screamed again as something dragged him back inside.
The string on Taral's bow materialised as he knocked it back, aiming into the field. There was another scream and the elder pointed to the rooftops of one of the houses. They could just make out a skeletal tail slithering into the house. People suddenly ran out of the house, dropping what they had been packing. A Sith behind the elder suddenly froze, looking over his shoulder and seeing what was killing his people. It had a curved head that seemed to have no eyes, a black armoured skeletal frame and thin figure. The monster was tall, snarling, top lip almost breathing like a pair of nostrils, fluid dripping out of its maw. The Sith man was about to scream when the creature took hold of his head with its long fingers. It opened its mouth, and a jaw of teeth popped out of its mouth, piercing through the man's face.
"By the ancestors," the elder gasped, stumbling back.
It lashed out with a bladed tail, and another villager pushed the elder out of the way, getting skewered through the back for his troubles. Taral turned, letting loose the arrow he had knocked back, hitting the creature's tail and blowing it off. Liquid dripped onto the soil from the creature's wound, making the floor bubble and boil.
"LOOK OUT ITS ACID!" Daylen yelled.
The creature wave its tail, spraying the elder's arm before going into the field again.
"NO!" Taral screamed, supporting the elder as her knee melted to the bone.
"SIQSA!" one of the Sith yelled, firing his cycler rifle into the field.
A shot suddenly came from the hilltop, hitting the Sith marksman. Taral and Daylen looked up to the hill and saw three of the silver armoured men. One was carrying a cylinder shaped device hanging off of a handle he was holding, the other two were holding blaster rifles. They seemed to be led by a man in a black and grey heavy exoskeleton, blue lines on his chest indicating the power flowing through the suit, he was holding a more advanced rifle with a black and silver sword on his back. He was a dark haired man with a red visor over his eyes.
"We found another settlement, we'll clear his one," he said, pushing his finger to the comm on his ear.
Daylen stepped back in hesitation when he saw more of the creatures come up behind the soldiers. These ones though had computer devices welded into their faces, and they seemed tamer than the others.
"Find the subject, kill the rest," the commander said.
He pointed his finger and the creatures ran towards the village like hounds. Taral fired his bow, hitting one of the creature's in the head, blowing it apart. Red bolts were fired by the soldiers, the one with the rotary cannon laughing as his explosive bolt knocked back the Sith defenders. Such as they were, people weren't even able to put up a fight. Daylen looked at the Sith, heard their screams, saw them dying and looked into their eyes. They were expressions he recognised, expressions he remembered. He remembered the red and black armoured soldiers, their blasters unleashed on he helpless, simplistically clothed people of Denerim, he remembered the screams and the wailing of those who saw loved ones die in front of them.
"STRANGER! STRANGER YOU NEED TO MOVE!" Taral yelled.
Daylen's eyes froze, looking at the mother. He hadn't seen her for a moment, but when he saw her next he saw her on the floor, her baby gone and in its place was just a smoking hole in her back.
Something snapped inside the mage, he saw a burning creature in his mind bursting out of the floor. He heard a roar and didn't realise it was his own yell of fury.
"STRANGER!" Taral screamed.
Daylen heard the hiss, but he didn't scream nor was he afraid. He let the rage take hold and move instead towards the creature. The silhouette of a rage demon appeared around him as he thrust his hand into its rib cage.
"NO MORE!" he yelled.
Flames lit up the alien creature's joints, smoke came out of its mouth, its inner jaw melting. Suddenly it was thrown back by an explosive force, a draft that Daylen created with his fire. His eyes glowed red and the fire in his hand turned to steam, spreading vapour through the field. Taral lowered his bow, looking in shock and awe at where Daylen once stood.
"My name is Daylen," he heard the young man speak behind him and prepared another arrow.
'No more ignorance, target and unleash your rage, on those who truly deserve it,' Daylen thought, mana glowing across his hand as he prepared to fight alongside his fellow enemy of the Sith.
Next Chapter 3: Projects and spies
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.
I used the Sith purebloods as the first species Daylen meets, in order to test his expectations and views. And to create a different approach to the Sith as a species, a culture that completely lacked a view of the force as a deliberate part of their culture.
Next time we are introduced to more characters of the Old republic.