Pydyr was bright tonight. The sand covered moon that orbited Almania shined a orange hue overhead in the night sky; a contrast to the bleak darkness that surrounded the world beneath it. It looked eerie and mysterious from this perspective; but Vazela knew the history of Pydyr, the Pydyrians and how insignificant Pydyr had become over the course of the last few millennia. The wind was a barrage of waves that shook the tower and made it seem unstable and unsafe for Vazela to stand on top of it. Any other man might have climbed off, and went to navigate the broken, crumbled and weather steps to the bottom and never look back. But Vazela was not any other man. He found the view of Stonia to be both inspiring and relaxing at the same time, for it was a reminder of treasured memories. He couldn't feel the cold around him. He was warmed by the sense of calm that he felt on top of the Je'har towers, as those memories poured in from the recesses of his mind, reminding him of days long since passed. The calmness and serenity he felt gave him a source of power some lacked to understand or comprehend. As he was rejoiced by the memoirs of his past, he was- at the same time- reminded why he was about to do. The serenity and calm of it conflicted with the hate and malice he felt for the Galaxy. Whereas other men would have cracked, Vazela still stood tall and was renewed by the suffering that he had been forced to endure. Standing upon the towers built by his forebears, his seminal life- built out of compassion for his people- had driven him towards the path of revenge. He had cast aside the man he had once been, who had partly been responsible for what had happened, to embrace Vazela, the last son of Almania, and in his wake, the Jedi who had been the cause to his transformation would know suffering too.
The consistent bleep, bleep, bleep had been on-going for several minutes now. Vazela had paid it no attention, for he was consumed in the moment. But having reached an impasse, and brought back away from the fold of the Force and back into the moment, the Sith Lord could afford no more patience. Annoyed, Vazela brought the comlink out of his silky abyssal like robes and activated the device. The often whimpering sounds of Malus Bligh filtered through the gusts that assaulted Vazela and the tower. Lowering his yellow, predatory eyes down to the miniature holographic projection of the Admiral, Vazela afforded him his complete attention.
"My Lord, the Obscurity is ready and waiting for your arrival." Vazela remained silent. He knew, of course, that the Obscurity was waiting for him in Almania's high orbit. His silence was indicative of a chance for the Admiral to atone for a small, but ultimately dangerous mistake. Surely he had no been disturbed just for this.
"As per your orders, my Lord. The technologies recovered by your men have been stored in compartment A-364. They have each been assigned quarters." Nodding his head, Vazela continued to remain eerily quiet, as if to silently goad Malus into continuing his report. Indeed, he had already known that the various instruments and other creations he had made in the past three years were being transported to his ship, so as to join him on the conquest that was to come.
When the Admiral fell awkwardly quiet, no doubt debating whether or not to shut off the transmission in the seconds that had elapsed, Vazela saved him by breaking his silence. Voice soft, almost like a hiss, he said: "Very good, Malus. Dispatch a transport to the planet's surface."
"As you wish, my Lord," replied Malus. Vazela detected a hint of relief in the man's voice. He enjoyed the fact that the Admiral feared him. Beyond the momentary sensation of being satisfied by his whimpering tone, the Sith Lord knew that he was in complete control of Malus Bligh. He had served the Sith Empire well in the past decade, and he knew that the Admiral was a capable military man, which he found to be of use in the war that was to come. He commanded discipline in his crew and officers that served under his command, as all good Imperial men did. As he inspired fear in his people, Vazela inspired fear in Malus and as a consequence, a status quo had been established.
Vazela streched a finger to the comlink, and shut it off. As the image of Malus Bligh stopped broadcasting and the transmission between the Obscurity and the Almanian Sith Lord was severed, he turned his attention back onto Stonia for a final time. It would be a long time before he would have the opportunity to relax, to think and to experience the calm and serenity he had enjoyed since he was a child. The Je'har Towers would still be here when he could come back to Almania, whenever that would be. Until then, he would have to settle for the observation tower on board the Obscurity, and enjoy the view of the worlds he and the Star Dreadnaught would be visiting together.
Vazela lowered his centre of gravity, and begun his descent from the top of the tower. He left the wall that he been standing behind, and crossed the bridge to the small opening that reminded him of a hut. Stood inside the mouth of the hut, Vazela was met with the same weathered, beaten, ancient stairs he had climbed just hours ago. He had navigated the maze since he was a child, making sure to stand in the right place, as he continued his ascent or descent along the tower. He had once since a boy- a friend, perhaps- collapse on one of the stairs, as it gave way to his weight. That had been the first time he had seen someone die. Aided by the Force, the Sith Lord did not meet the same grizzly end and soon enough he was back at the bottom, among weeds and moss. Stepping out of the tower, Vazela entered the forest.
The trees of the Mem'Kabarr forest were large and in abundance. But as Vazela made his way back along the route towards the city, they begun to thin out, allowing him to gaze upon the the crumbling walls of Stonia. They were covered in veins, moss and infested with an assortment of insects, of varying species. He could feel them scuttling around with his powers. The forest, however, was eerily silent, save for the gusts that bellowed daily on Almania. It was a windy world. There were no birds or any wildlife to hear, see or sense. Even the Thernbees, a species found only on Almania, were all gone. A reminder that he was all alone now. Yes, he had subordinates, such as Malus Bligh and the thousands of people that made up the forces he had accumulated in the past three years. But they were not family or friend. They meant nothing to Vazela, mere pawns to bring him closer to absolution.
He decided to push his mind off it and continued his course, moving up the broken footpath to the broken walls. He found a gap in one of them, that was low and big enough to climb over, and found himself climbing into the ruined city. Leaving the wall, Vazela navigated his way through broken buildings and pavement towards the city center. It was the allocated landing zone, he remembered, and was rewarded for his prediction when he heard the sound of a ship coming into his vicinity. Stepping over a skull, Vazela came to a stop and lifted his gaze up to the sky. He had to shield to his eyes with his left arm, as the lights of the Lambda T4a-class transport shone overhead. Landing in the center, he lowered his arm and watched as the shuttle bay doors opened. Stormtroopers poured out of the mouth of the shuttle and down along the landing ramp, out into the city, to form a perimeter. Vazela ignored them, instead focusing his eyes upon the woman that followed. Her name was Alice Alfonsi, a disciple Vazela had recruited three years ago, who he had taught the ways of the dark side. She had progressed further than the other Dark Jedi that served him, and so he had afforded her some status among his growing army.
Vazela had found Alice on Telos, after learning that a Jedi Initiate had run away from their Praxeum. He had learned that she had had an incident with another Initiate, that had ended in the boy losing his arm. Such was her ferocity and anger, Alice had been unable to refrain herself from savagely beating the boy, in a planned and well orchestrated attack. Before her Jedi Masters could discover what was happening, Alice had described to Vazela how she had felt with each blow she had rendered upon the boy, who she explained to have been 'pompous' and 'annoying'. Unsatisfied with the damage she had caused, she had used the Force to pick up a slab of rock and then dropped it on the boy's dominant arm. Knowing that she would be punished, Alice had planned her escape, packing clothes and supplies in a bag before she had carried the attack. Leaving the boy a blood mess, she had slipped back to her quarters and taking her bag with her, she sneaked out of the Praxeum and into the forest to make her escape.
The Jedi begun a search for the missing Initiate, in a quest to discover what had happened and why. During the two day man hunt for Alice, Vazela had found his way onto Telos and found her first. He had offered her an ultimatum, giving her a choice to remain on Telos and be found by her former Masters; or she could come with him and discover the true ways of the Force. That hatred made her stronger and more powerful. She had chosen Vazela, entering his tutelage on the Obscurity whilst her Sith Master planned his revenge, and now, they were on the crisp of achieving it.
"Master," spoke Alicia, bowing her head in a sign of fealty and reverence to Vazela. Walking forwards, Vazela paid no attention to the gesture. He demanded her reverence to him, as he did in all his subjects, and so the fealty they displayed were not ignored, but rather tested. If Alice or the other Dark Jedi that served him begun to show the signs that they were not loyal, then Vazela would administer the necessary adjustments. He was not beyond making an example of one who put even a toe out of place, and thus far, he hadn't needed to.
Climbing into the shuttle, Vazela turned in the mouth of the transport and waited for Alicia to board. When she joined him, he said: "Take off." Retracting the landing ramp and closing the shuttle bay doors, the Lambda took off and flew out of Stonia into the sky. Turning his eyes to Alicia, Vazela said: "When we board the Obscurity, I want you to check that everything was loaded and is on board."
"I have already done this," replied Alice. "Everything is in place."
"Never assume; check it again." Vazela turned away from her, and then lowered himself into his seat. His attention switched to the pilot that was sat at the helm of the transport, and recognised him as one of the Obscurity's pilots. He watched as the pilot flew the transport through the stratosphere of Almania and out into the dark embrace of space. The Obscurity loomed through the cockpit's transparisteel screen, dark, foreboding and menacing. It's shuttle bay doors opened, allowing the pilot to guide Vazela, Alice and the Stormtroopers into the ship. Touching down, the Lamba's engines begun to power down and cool.
"Open the doors," Vazela ordered, eager to make his way to the bridge.
"Yes sir, my Lord." Opening the shuttle bay doors again, Vazela walked down the landing ramp, as it begun to lowered itself down to the floor and climbed off it just as it touched down. Waiting for him was Malus, his Admiral's uniform black and it's creases so rigid it could almost cut. "My Lord," said Malus, bowing his head as Alice had done on Stonia.
"Send a fleet wide broadcast explaining that we are leaving the Almania system," said Vazela, stopping at the side of Malus. "We will be making our way to the Roon system. Share this with your officers across the fleet. I want you to transmit co-ordinates of the entrance of the Death Wind Corridor to their navigational computers, and give orders for their helmsmen to follow the precise bearing allocated by the navigational computers. The Obscurity will be leading the fleet; when I give the order for us to stop then do so immediately. I will brief you on what I have planned for Roon and the Cloak of the Sith when I am ready. Until then, I am not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary."
"Very good, my Lord. It will be done."
Vazela nodded and continued on his course to the bridge. Alice followed him. Making his way through the corridors and lifted, the Sith Lord and his disciple climbed their way from the bowels of the Obscurity up to it's bridge. Stepping over the threshold of the lift that had carried them up from the deck below, Vazela walked across the gangway that hung over the bridge officers below, towards the observation deck at the front. Turning his gaze to Alice, the Dark Jedi had read the look a hundred times previously and left the deck, presumably to carry out the checks that Vazela had ordered as they departed Stonia. Averting back from Alice to the observation deck's window, Vazela lowered his yellow, predatory eyes down to his homeworld. He savoured the moment, absorbing it all into himself, knowing that he would not be back here for years, perhaps decades. "You will all be avenged," he whispered to himself, fating himself with a promise that would plague him for the rest of his life.
The consistent bleep, bleep, bleep had been on-going for several minutes now. Vazela had paid it no attention, for he was consumed in the moment. But having reached an impasse, and brought back away from the fold of the Force and back into the moment, the Sith Lord could afford no more patience. Annoyed, Vazela brought the comlink out of his silky abyssal like robes and activated the device. The often whimpering sounds of Malus Bligh filtered through the gusts that assaulted Vazela and the tower. Lowering his yellow, predatory eyes down to the miniature holographic projection of the Admiral, Vazela afforded him his complete attention.
"My Lord, the Obscurity is ready and waiting for your arrival." Vazela remained silent. He knew, of course, that the Obscurity was waiting for him in Almania's high orbit. His silence was indicative of a chance for the Admiral to atone for a small, but ultimately dangerous mistake. Surely he had no been disturbed just for this.
"As per your orders, my Lord. The technologies recovered by your men have been stored in compartment A-364. They have each been assigned quarters." Nodding his head, Vazela continued to remain eerily quiet, as if to silently goad Malus into continuing his report. Indeed, he had already known that the various instruments and other creations he had made in the past three years were being transported to his ship, so as to join him on the conquest that was to come.
When the Admiral fell awkwardly quiet, no doubt debating whether or not to shut off the transmission in the seconds that had elapsed, Vazela saved him by breaking his silence. Voice soft, almost like a hiss, he said: "Very good, Malus. Dispatch a transport to the planet's surface."
"As you wish, my Lord," replied Malus. Vazela detected a hint of relief in the man's voice. He enjoyed the fact that the Admiral feared him. Beyond the momentary sensation of being satisfied by his whimpering tone, the Sith Lord knew that he was in complete control of Malus Bligh. He had served the Sith Empire well in the past decade, and he knew that the Admiral was a capable military man, which he found to be of use in the war that was to come. He commanded discipline in his crew and officers that served under his command, as all good Imperial men did. As he inspired fear in his people, Vazela inspired fear in Malus and as a consequence, a status quo had been established.
Vazela streched a finger to the comlink, and shut it off. As the image of Malus Bligh stopped broadcasting and the transmission between the Obscurity and the Almanian Sith Lord was severed, he turned his attention back onto Stonia for a final time. It would be a long time before he would have the opportunity to relax, to think and to experience the calm and serenity he had enjoyed since he was a child. The Je'har Towers would still be here when he could come back to Almania, whenever that would be. Until then, he would have to settle for the observation tower on board the Obscurity, and enjoy the view of the worlds he and the Star Dreadnaught would be visiting together.
Vazela lowered his centre of gravity, and begun his descent from the top of the tower. He left the wall that he been standing behind, and crossed the bridge to the small opening that reminded him of a hut. Stood inside the mouth of the hut, Vazela was met with the same weathered, beaten, ancient stairs he had climbed just hours ago. He had navigated the maze since he was a child, making sure to stand in the right place, as he continued his ascent or descent along the tower. He had once since a boy- a friend, perhaps- collapse on one of the stairs, as it gave way to his weight. That had been the first time he had seen someone die. Aided by the Force, the Sith Lord did not meet the same grizzly end and soon enough he was back at the bottom, among weeds and moss. Stepping out of the tower, Vazela entered the forest.
The trees of the Mem'Kabarr forest were large and in abundance. But as Vazela made his way back along the route towards the city, they begun to thin out, allowing him to gaze upon the the crumbling walls of Stonia. They were covered in veins, moss and infested with an assortment of insects, of varying species. He could feel them scuttling around with his powers. The forest, however, was eerily silent, save for the gusts that bellowed daily on Almania. It was a windy world. There were no birds or any wildlife to hear, see or sense. Even the Thernbees, a species found only on Almania, were all gone. A reminder that he was all alone now. Yes, he had subordinates, such as Malus Bligh and the thousands of people that made up the forces he had accumulated in the past three years. But they were not family or friend. They meant nothing to Vazela, mere pawns to bring him closer to absolution.
He decided to push his mind off it and continued his course, moving up the broken footpath to the broken walls. He found a gap in one of them, that was low and big enough to climb over, and found himself climbing into the ruined city. Leaving the wall, Vazela navigated his way through broken buildings and pavement towards the city center. It was the allocated landing zone, he remembered, and was rewarded for his prediction when he heard the sound of a ship coming into his vicinity. Stepping over a skull, Vazela came to a stop and lifted his gaze up to the sky. He had to shield to his eyes with his left arm, as the lights of the Lambda T4a-class transport shone overhead. Landing in the center, he lowered his arm and watched as the shuttle bay doors opened. Stormtroopers poured out of the mouth of the shuttle and down along the landing ramp, out into the city, to form a perimeter. Vazela ignored them, instead focusing his eyes upon the woman that followed. Her name was Alice Alfonsi, a disciple Vazela had recruited three years ago, who he had taught the ways of the dark side. She had progressed further than the other Dark Jedi that served him, and so he had afforded her some status among his growing army.
Vazela had found Alice on Telos, after learning that a Jedi Initiate had run away from their Praxeum. He had learned that she had had an incident with another Initiate, that had ended in the boy losing his arm. Such was her ferocity and anger, Alice had been unable to refrain herself from savagely beating the boy, in a planned and well orchestrated attack. Before her Jedi Masters could discover what was happening, Alice had described to Vazela how she had felt with each blow she had rendered upon the boy, who she explained to have been 'pompous' and 'annoying'. Unsatisfied with the damage she had caused, she had used the Force to pick up a slab of rock and then dropped it on the boy's dominant arm. Knowing that she would be punished, Alice had planned her escape, packing clothes and supplies in a bag before she had carried the attack. Leaving the boy a blood mess, she had slipped back to her quarters and taking her bag with her, she sneaked out of the Praxeum and into the forest to make her escape.
The Jedi begun a search for the missing Initiate, in a quest to discover what had happened and why. During the two day man hunt for Alice, Vazela had found his way onto Telos and found her first. He had offered her an ultimatum, giving her a choice to remain on Telos and be found by her former Masters; or she could come with him and discover the true ways of the Force. That hatred made her stronger and more powerful. She had chosen Vazela, entering his tutelage on the Obscurity whilst her Sith Master planned his revenge, and now, they were on the crisp of achieving it.
"Master," spoke Alicia, bowing her head in a sign of fealty and reverence to Vazela. Walking forwards, Vazela paid no attention to the gesture. He demanded her reverence to him, as he did in all his subjects, and so the fealty they displayed were not ignored, but rather tested. If Alice or the other Dark Jedi that served him begun to show the signs that they were not loyal, then Vazela would administer the necessary adjustments. He was not beyond making an example of one who put even a toe out of place, and thus far, he hadn't needed to.
Climbing into the shuttle, Vazela turned in the mouth of the transport and waited for Alicia to board. When she joined him, he said: "Take off." Retracting the landing ramp and closing the shuttle bay doors, the Lambda took off and flew out of Stonia into the sky. Turning his eyes to Alicia, Vazela said: "When we board the Obscurity, I want you to check that everything was loaded and is on board."
"I have already done this," replied Alice. "Everything is in place."
"Never assume; check it again." Vazela turned away from her, and then lowered himself into his seat. His attention switched to the pilot that was sat at the helm of the transport, and recognised him as one of the Obscurity's pilots. He watched as the pilot flew the transport through the stratosphere of Almania and out into the dark embrace of space. The Obscurity loomed through the cockpit's transparisteel screen, dark, foreboding and menacing. It's shuttle bay doors opened, allowing the pilot to guide Vazela, Alice and the Stormtroopers into the ship. Touching down, the Lamba's engines begun to power down and cool.
"Open the doors," Vazela ordered, eager to make his way to the bridge.
"Yes sir, my Lord." Opening the shuttle bay doors again, Vazela walked down the landing ramp, as it begun to lowered itself down to the floor and climbed off it just as it touched down. Waiting for him was Malus, his Admiral's uniform black and it's creases so rigid it could almost cut. "My Lord," said Malus, bowing his head as Alice had done on Stonia.
"Send a fleet wide broadcast explaining that we are leaving the Almania system," said Vazela, stopping at the side of Malus. "We will be making our way to the Roon system. Share this with your officers across the fleet. I want you to transmit co-ordinates of the entrance of the Death Wind Corridor to their navigational computers, and give orders for their helmsmen to follow the precise bearing allocated by the navigational computers. The Obscurity will be leading the fleet; when I give the order for us to stop then do so immediately. I will brief you on what I have planned for Roon and the Cloak of the Sith when I am ready. Until then, I am not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary."
"Very good, my Lord. It will be done."
Vazela nodded and continued on his course to the bridge. Alice followed him. Making his way through the corridors and lifted, the Sith Lord and his disciple climbed their way from the bowels of the Obscurity up to it's bridge. Stepping over the threshold of the lift that had carried them up from the deck below, Vazela walked across the gangway that hung over the bridge officers below, towards the observation deck at the front. Turning his gaze to Alice, the Dark Jedi had read the look a hundred times previously and left the deck, presumably to carry out the checks that Vazela had ordered as they departed Stonia. Averting back from Alice to the observation deck's window, Vazela lowered his yellow, predatory eyes down to his homeworld. He savoured the moment, absorbing it all into himself, knowing that he would not be back here for years, perhaps decades. "You will all be avenged," he whispered to himself, fating himself with a promise that would plague him for the rest of his life.
