A Honed Machine

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Bastion of Ren
Virgillia, Outer Rim

Pride could be felt through the Force in the hallways of the Bastion. Following her promotion to Knight of Ren Kaalia was appointed her first apprentice, something she didn't take lightly. She wasn't the best Knight to teach Disciples loyalty and conviction to their cause, her true motivations for joining the Order lying within the power they granted her instead the goals of the man who was often referred to as the 'Supreme Leader'. In truth, she couldn't care less about what his aims were, if fulfilling his wishes meant she could stay close to the people she cared about and become stronger a bridge rarely if ever went too far. She was all too happy to impart her knowledge onto her fellow Ren however, and that is what the woman would do. The man, if you could still call him that, that would be learning from her did not need lessons in loyalty, of that she was ensured there was no doubt. The redhead had seen him roam around the Bastion before, an almost lifeless body held together by machinery. Her teachings would be purely focussed around his combat abilities, something the redhead had no issue with. She was tasked with honing a machine of war, and that's what she would do.

The woman sat in a training room in a meditative position. She wore her armored coat, her two lightsabers hidden within its sleeves ready to be used at will. Black trousers and black boots were accompanied by the coat. It was a habit she had picked up during her days as a Jedi, but instead of focussing on peace and serenity she let her emotions free and unrestrained. They swirled around the Knight, feeding the dark Force aura around her. In the moment she felt free, unrestrained. There was no time to dwell on it, however. Kaalia reached out to the Force, letting it be her messenger. The words sent to the disciple that went by the name of Valtilus Ren were simple: "Find me." Her Force presence wasn't masked, inviting her new apprentice to let it be a beacon towards her. A simple test to confirm his basic ability to use the Force.

[member="Valtilus Ren"]

 

[Valtilus Ren]

"Find me."​

​

The intrusion of a presence unknown probed Valtilus' mind, beckoning him to discover whatever - rather, whoever it was that requested his attention. It was not far, and among the Bastion of Ren is where the monstrosity sat in wait for a time of use.

//DISENGAGING STANDBY PROTOCOLS//​

​

.​

.​

.​

//DISENGAGED//​

​

Valtilus stood from the chair of his chamber, ridding his disfigured flesh of wires and needles before donning his bodyglove, boots, and gloves. Lastly came his coat, a thing shredded and torn by previous encounters before this point in his life - a life that wasn't being truly alive, rather, a mockery of life itself. The subject clenched his fists, feeling a phantom sensation of skin and nerves that were no longer there. But the rage, the anger, the bitter existence is what made the creation come to life. A man without a heart, now bearing two that pumped artificial poison throughout his veins. Before him an automated latch opened on a nearby wall, revealing two blackened hilts of his own personal lightsabres gifted to him as an achievement - for his service and survival of the procedure.

Reaching out through the Force, Valtilus sent out a message of his own. Nothing to do with words, but a feeling to relay that he understood and that he was approaching.

The creation walked the halls of the Bastion of Ren, seeking.

Eager.

[member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The message that was relayed back to Kaalia caused a smirk to be drawn on her face. Soon he would find his way towards her and his training would begin. She remained seated as she patiently waited and tracked his presence as it made its way towards the room she could be found in. This would be an interesting day for the both of them.

The redhead mulled over the clear training instructions she had gotten. Normally the Knights were given more freedom in their teachings, imparting certain skills and techniques onto the disciples they trained when they felt the time was right. This was a special case however, the disciple being a prototype of a project that required surgical precision. She didn't mind following the instructions in any case, and didn't see any issues with them. Perhaps this was less comparable to training a disciple and more to calibrating a machine. Only time would tell.

As Valtilus Ren drew closer Kaalia started reading his presence in the Force. It was cold, colder than anything she had felt before. It felt barely sentient, and it sent the slightest of shivers down her spine. Whatever they had done to him had drastically altered who he was. She quickly brushed off the thought, there was no need to dwell on it. Whoever he was, she had a duty of training him and so she would. It wouldn't bother her any further.

[member="Valtilus Ren"]

 

[Valtilus Ren]

As Valtilus came to a close on the presence he felt, memories flashed across his very eyes. Possibly a side-effect from the ludicrous quantities of drugs masquerading as a less-than-human entity; happiness, dregs of the life that once made the newly crafted Ren smile in another time. But now, now was something different, it was about proving one's strength and dedication to a goal that held true purpose. It would be quite a damning thing in the eyes of the Jedi, but they weren't important anymore either. They were a malfunction, a defect in the galaxy that required correction.

Modulated, faux breathing filled the creation's ears along with his own lonesome footfalls against stone.

And then he saw her. A lone woman already awaiting his arrival, the very same presence that reached out to him. Valtilus stopped and stared with soulless, unwavering eyes. He did not utter a word, nor did he even shift once like any normal person would do to display a sense of insecurity or a lack of confidence in a situation. It was as if he were a living statue. The main reason for his nature as such was simply because he did not resemble anything of his former, more emotionally raw incarnation. Reborn through the Dark Side, the young man named Valtilus truly did die.

Now in his place stood something foul, brooding, and objectively driven.

He awaited confrontation.

[member="Kaalia Voldaren"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

There he was. Stepping through the doorway was the one Kaalia was tasked to train. A weapon for Sieger Ren. She slowly got to her feet as he stood there, unmoving, like a statue. It was an intimidating sight to most and the redhead was nothing short of impressed by it. She had only heard a small part of his history, knowing he was left for dead on a planet who seemed unsaveable. Yet, here he stood. "I am Kaalia Voldaren. I have been tasked with overseeing your progress, so let's not waste any time."

Kaalia spread her arms and reached out to her lightsabers inside her sleeves through the Force, and they replied by making their way into her hands. With a steel face she looked at Valtilus as she ignited her weapons, brilliant colors of blue and red springing to life as she did. "The first thing you will be taught is the art of dual sabers, Jar'kai." She glanced over to a large pile of rocks she had made sure to bring to the room in advance, and twirled her sabers around for a moment. "I will show you once, then it's your turn. We'll keep going until you have it down." She threw up her lightsabers into the air, leaving her hands free for a moment. Using that timeframe she suspended a number of stones, and with a burst of energy she hurled them towards herself. Kaalia then caught her sabers from mid-air and deftly deflected all the rocks that made its way towards her with quick and precise movements and strikes, flashes of blue and red mixing in a blur. When the last of stones was deflected she inspected the dust and tiny bits of rock that lied on the ground, and nodded. "Now you."

The woman sent her sabers back to sleep and let them float back into her sleeves, securing themselves within them. She walked over to the pile of rocks and waited for Valtilus to take position. "Get ready." She levitated more rocks into the air, and when he had taken position she hurled them his way. Then, another wave. And another. And another.

[member="Valtilus Ren"]

 

[Valtilus Ren]

And so the reason was established as to why he was truly here, and Valtilus couldn't quite disagree with the reasoning itself. He had been out of commission for quite some time, meditating and drawing energy from the Dark Side. An even more convincing excuse was the fact that First Order medical staff wished to observe the creation's functionality and if he would be as unstable as they suspected, but alas, none of their superstition held any merit thus far. But they knew something that Valtilus did not, and such a certain something may be just as detrimental to the First Order than the Jedi. But for now, they kept the subject in the dark to see how he would fare on his own.

The Disciple did not speak to [member="Kaalia Voldaren"], but merely watched and listened. There was some admiration to be had over the woman's showmanship, perhaps ever her prowess with the lightsabres she wielded. Watching each rock become nothing more than plumes of dust and bits of detritus littering the room in small, shattered pieces. It was a wonder how Valtilus would do left to his devices, or if he would even survive for very long. He held confidence and felt a power welling up inside of him from his experimentation alone. But that did not account for the lack of basic knowledge over himself and the abilities he must grind to perfection.

He longed for a purpose, and now was finally that time.

After the woman gave the cue for Valtilus to be prepared, the Disciple relinquished two blackened hilts from the inside of his coat, twirling them both rather egotistically for a near-conscienceless entity. As each rock soared towards the subject, he slashed right from left - and left from right, deflecting them just as his defacto mentor had previously. Standing still after the brief, perhaps even pointless task, Valtilus turned his gaze back to the woman. Something inside of him was begging, urging to lash out in cold blood. But with what humanity still clung to the cybernetics and the intact mind, the Disciple restrained himself, but with ever-increasing difficulty which only caused his anger to fester.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

It was clear that Valtilus was skilled in the use of lightsabers. Kaalia gave him a satisfactory nod as the final stone was deftly blocked, the basics were already there. She'd move on to the next step, which was sparring. In all honesty she had been looking forward to it, she loved a good battle of the saber. Before the woman could get to it however, her attention was caught by the anger welling up within the man. It was powerful, but had to be controlled.

"I feel your anger and with it your wish to strike out. Remember that we are allies, but the moment you attack me I will not hesitate to strike back. With lethal consequences if that is needed." She closed a small bit of the distance between the two and sent a wave of her own emotions towards him. A controlled but powerful current of the fuel of her power. "Your anger gives you power. It is a powerful tool, but it has a mind of its own. It begs you to give in to it, to lose control to it. You are teetering on the edge of doing so." The redhead's eyes slowly shifted color, from her natural emerald to a corrupt sulphur, revealing the presence of the dark side within her. "Let your emotions take hold and you will be useless to the Ren. You will be weak. You must learn to dominate them, bend them to your will. You are the master, your emotions the servant." For a short moment she'd reach out through the Force, letting it gather around Valtilus' neck. Her left hand turned to a claw, slowly building up the pressure around his windpipe before letting go. "I could've tried to kill you, but didn't. I was in full control, the pleas of the Dark side to kill you falling to deaf ears. Meditate on that when we are done."

Kaalia once again called her sabers to her hands, igniting them and taking a stance. "But I will test your abilities personally first." She dashed forwards, sending out three precise strikes towards Valtilus. The first was aimed at his left ribcage, but was feinted before it arrived. The second was a feint as well, a stabbing motion with her red saber towards his midsection pulled away mid-strike. The final one was not a feint, and aimed at the upper left leg.

[member="Valtilus Ren"]

 

[Valtilus Ren]

At this point, Valtilus was wondering if the woman understood that he couldn't necessarily speak. His vocal cords were too heavily damaged, and the usage of telepathy was something he didn't care for. Remaining truly silent was by far the easiest thing about his existence, for his body language and gaze told all that needed to be understood. Actions over words, the small talk of sharp tongues had no effect over the one that would much rather cut them out and leave them to grovel. Valtilus felt this way about the woman before him, preaching and picking at the fact that he couldn't very well hide his anger. The redundancy of what he already knew was quite irritating, but then she did something that was uncalled for.

She demonstrated.

Feeling the pressure around his throat, Valtilus began to buckle a bit, moving his neck slightly to the right, clearly in a state of discomfort. But before long, she released her grasp. There was a respect to be given, that this woman was so bold to make one understand the extent of their own negligence; however, the time for abuse was over.

Suddenly, the mentor dashed forward and chanced upon the subject; not with contact, but with intimidation. The Disciple readied himself, not taking up any particular stance, but having the common sense to defend when the time was appropriate. Each time [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] went in for a means of attack, Valtilus adjusted himself to meet what the potential result could have been. And then the moment finally revealed itself. Not being a stranger to combat entirely, the Disciple understood footwork and how to read movement, and when the woman went in for his leg, he made the effort to cut her off with his leftmost sabre, batting it away and then charging in with a double-swipe towards her mid-section.

Not even a sound escaped Valtilus all the while. Deathly silent, like a ghost.

Hollowed.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

When her attack was cut short by one of [member="Valtilus Ren"]'s own sabers, Kaalia quickly pulled back. Brute strength wasn't going to be in her favor, it rarely was, and instead she would have to make use of her speed. A double-swipe came towards her mid-section. Here her speed would have to turn this attack around. She quickly brought both her sabers to the same height as the Disciple's, creating sparks as they met. She did not fully resist the force of the strike however, instead electing to move with it, finding herself at the side of the completely silent man. His soundlessness was odd, but it didn't bother her too much.

The redhead's position allowed her to strike at Valtilus' mid-section herself, and did so with her left saber. Landing the strike wasn't the intention, instead she would bring her left leg towards the backside of the man's right leg in an attempt to trip him up. Her right saber was held back to deflect any potential counters would they be sent her way.