A Tale Through Two Eyes

[Hailyn]

MONSTER

Benefit through hate, strength through anger, the emotions that were embroiled within the nearly powerless witch were all that kept her moving forwards these days. Time and time again, the force, the galaxy, fate, whatever the supreme being or fabric of creation that shackled life to its whims showed her that she had to stand alone, on her own. Part of her had wanted to turn that into energy for positivity, to try being good - and she'd tried it when she met Kaileann Vera on Sabarene when she was at wits end and almost dead - but that part of her was absent in the truest fashion from both her body and soul.

The clash of sabers on the surface of a barely breathable asteroid was testament to that. She'd progressed to a nearly enlightened state while on Dasid Anya, where Winter had stumbled upon her primitive home on an isolated island in the tropics. But, like with Kaileann, that partnership had shown to bear little fruition. Again the witch with too many names to remember found herself on a different world, a desolate world. Enlightenment had turned, again, to madness, to a distancing of sanity, a desire to return to what she had been when she was a young girl - a deity, worshiped by the very people that had trapped her and preserved her in a tomb for thousands of years.

Enlightenment, she had thought, would lead to her recovering her connection with the force, a resurgence of power within her, and a proverbial reset button to undo everything that had happened to her from the time she met Corvus Raaf til just recently.

She had thought wrong.

The Alua'an was, in all fairness, not in control of her connection to the force, which had wavered and surged like a fickle mistress over the last year, but she was most certainly heavily involved in the decision of how she would reach the point of recovery. There were a trillion ways to recover that connection, and almost all of them cycled around letting go of Corvus, of accepting her disappearance and possible, probable, death. The grief had so consumed her that she had made a personal crusade against everything that Corvus had stood for, hoping to draw the illusive Jedi out.

She'd failed.

But here, on an uncharted remnant of a planet destroyed by a collision with an asteroid of mythical proportions, Braith was heavily engaged in battle with [member="Darth Prazutis"]. How she'd made it this far, she had no clue. How he'd reached her, or even knew of her, she'd long since stopped caring - only working the lightsabers in each of her hands in sequence with his own in order to ensure both her survival and the prevention of his own. The cause of the duel could very much be a simple effect of their meeting and their incredibly turbulent path through life and the struggles that followed.

Much like the aggressive embrace that she'd given Corvus, the duel was an easy way to blow off steam, to let out all of that pent up aggression, that hatred, rage, and grief all in one go. While she wasn't certain if the reason was as simple for Prazutis, she was also without care to that end - ripping him apart would, in her wracked mind, be the solution to all of these feelings that freely flowed from her bleeding heart.

She ducked to avoid a blow, rising as the blade passed overhead to bring up one of her own to ensure it remained away, while the other came up for an intended jab to the chest. By no means did such tactics ensure her victory, however, as such trading blows had been exchanged for a substantial period of time now. "Just die already!" She grunted, eyes narrowed while she shoved the blade forth - only to be interrupted by a violent shove that was more than powerful enough to both halt her hand's momentum and also thrust her entire body away from the Sith Lord and off to the side, falling side over side across the surface of the nitrogen-rich celestial body.

The confusion in her eyes was as evident as it was on her face - the assailant hadn't been the Sith Lord, whom had been more than preoccupied with her prowess with weapons to launch such a concentrated strike, but rather from a strange creature that hovered in the air from a distance away from the duo. It was clearly skilled in its concealment, as it had made its way to the two without so much as a warning or hint from the force, and it was also obviously quite powerful - sending a woman belonging to a famously heavy species tumbling as though she was a coin flicked by a hand much larger than it.

"Wha-"

Her question and confusion were cut short by the sudden application of the end of a stun stick, a Vor'cha stun stick, to the base of her neck by a similar-in-appearance creature. Clearly sentient, and clearly not alone, whatever - whoever - these strangers were, they were skilled in the force and in tactical superiority. Putting down a woman that had been trained as a warrior by a warrior tribal people with such ease where a Sith Lord had dueled with her evenly, even without much presence in the force, made whoever these newcomers an incredible threat.

The question of what they planned to do with the two, and whether they had or would assault the Sith as well, remained to be seen.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epdg2eGNsSc[/media]​

​

An Asteroid In Unknown Space...

Hatred. Anger. Rage. They were all the Dark Titan could feel as he delved deeper into the black power of the dark side. All other emotions love, compassion, depression, seemed to drain away as he tried to embody his own namesake: Prazutis. Prazutis in its truest form meant destruction in the ancient sith language. It perhaps was his own form of defiance in the face of the infamously powerful Dark Lord who chose all the One Sith Lords names. But on the eve of the coup Prazutis defied the feared man and chose his own. He certainly didn't think at the time that his choice would soon become so pivotal.

It was just recently that he stood with [member="Darth Carnifex"] on the observation deck of Coruscant, the two Sith Lords infamous for being architects of many galactic genocides across the galaxy and they spoke as equals. No matter how much he hated the prospect, everything about the One Sith was a lie. They came to the conclusion through hours of philosophical thought and discussion, looking back at history. The Sith Order always promised Order, Security, Peace so long as they destroyed the Jedi Order and took control of the galaxy. But every Empire from the iconic Marka Ragnos down to the well known Darth Sidious came close, and almost achieved their goals.

But they were all destroyed and their empires toppled sooner or later, the force was in its true essence perpetual conflict and it couldn't come any closer to the truth. The more he thought about it the more anger and hatred boiled in his mind, along with a modicum of embarrassment. Prazutis was well known for being a highly intelligent, cunning Machiavellian, the master of the One Sith's intelligence network that was now his own. But for all his gifts and foresight in the force he still easily bought into what they were being spoon fed all of these years: lies. Kaine was so convinced of their true purpose as agents of conflict, agents to continually wage a perpetual war and ensure the force had its due of blood and death.

What drew the Goliath of Panatha to the remnants of this uncharted destroyed planet, seemingly devoid of life except for one was unknown. It seemed to recede within the confines of his mind as he locked in combat with [member="Braith Achlys"]. Both were strong combatants seemingly even and determined to use brute force to overpower the other to no avail. He kept his crimson lightsabers crashing down to preserve his life and hopefully end her own. It seemed to him they both had axes to grind in their own ways through combat that seemed to go on forever. He roared in black rage at the woman as his reply to her demands he die, if she wanted it she'd have to come and deal it herself. Crushing the life from her corpse would provide him plenty satisfaction.

But then something shocking happened that certainly surprised the Sith Lord: an ambush. Something hovering above them sent his quarry careening over the cliff side, something he had still not managed to do locked in combat with her. As he turned to look at the hovering creature another one came out of hiding to deliver a powerful blow with a Vor'cha stun stick strong enough to drop the massive hybrid to his knees. In the midst of all his rage and pain he reached out and grabbed the creature around its throat, perhaps if he crushed the life from its miserable corpse it would give him the reprieve he needed. But these things were smart, and they held all the tactical advantage in this combat.

A powerful shove sent him careening away from the creature and crashing to the ground. Prazutis was a massive Epicanthix-Anzati Hybrid weighing over three hundred pounds of muscle, it was rare something without a force presence no less managed to throw him around like that. He went to leap up and back into the fray with these creatures but his body had other plans. The pain coursing through his body from the stun stick was immense, close to overwhelming. It slowed the mans unnatural speed and he received another, and then another strike with these stun sticks, and after the last strike was delivered it was more than enough to put him down.

All he had was too many questions and no answers, but perhaps in time they would be revealed to him.

 

[Hailyn]

EPILOGUE

The struggle that [member="Darth Prazutis"] had found himself engaging within in order to keep himself conscious, albeit a short one, was entirely the same sort of confusion that Braith found herself pushed into. In much the same manner that he'd fought to free himself as he was fallen upon, the Alua'an had also kept herself conscious through the initial application of the shock stick. The fourth and fifth, however, had rendered even the Alunrovaan unconscious, a feat that truly hadn't been accomplished by anyone since the day she killed Bathia on Pax Insul some nine and a half thousand years ago, when she was knocked into an oubliette that had kept her imprisoned for a millenia.

What happened after the two were brought to the mercy of their captors was a blur. She could recall momentary lapses in the time between her being knocked unconscious and before they were brought aboard the strange ships the assailants operated. Every so often her eyes would open slightly, she'd catch a fading glimpse of the strange aliens that took them like trophies of war - at least it was what she held an impression of at the time, however misunderstood that was. Parallel her she could make out the shape of Prazutis before her eyes shut again, this time not opening for quite some time.

When she finally awoke she was alone in what she could only describe as a holding cell of sorts, adjacent to another that was separated from hers by thick bars that held the Sith lord that had been fighting her prior. The cell she was in was strange, almost alien - in the sense of it being different than the more common appearance of sterile, mechanical, ships - with its stark-white, smooth, bone-like plating that separated her prone body from whatever it was that was underneath. She had been fighting Prazutis in her simmerscale clothing, a fabric of her own make, but now found herself wearing ragged black clothing made of some kind of soft material, nor were either of her lightsabers with her.

Dragging herself off of the floor, a small right hand propping her frame up against the wall with her knees underneath her, Braith blinked several times before glancing up and across the room to the cell the Sith was held within. She tried to reach out with the force, to enhance the meager strength she could muster that had been hampered by her repeated exposure to the stun sticks, but found it all but unresponsive. A grimace, and a grunt, and the Alua'an was back on her feet. It took quite a bit out of her just to stand up, most of which was the frustration at being unable to call on the force for the upteenth time in the last year. Everything had appeared to be on the fast track to her re-obtaining her former connection to the force but this kidnapping had seemed to either temporarily cut that reforming connection or it'd just shrunk again, like a fickle shrew.

"Where are we?" She wondered aloud, her eyes trained on the Anzati-Epicanthix without an iota of trust.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmx1YKHVB_s[/media]​

​

It was a rare occurrence for someone to beat Prazutis into unconsciousness like that, in fact the last person to ever achieve such a feat would certainly have been [member="Darth Carnifex"] many countless years ago during his early training session where no quarter given was the only rule given. What happened after he slipped into unconsciousness was all a blur, in the midst of his semi consciousness his eyes would ever so slightly open to allow him brief glimpses. Everything seemingly faded in and out of focus, a product of the hammering pain that shot through his body. The aliens had to have given him additional shots with the stun sticks to ensure he was out.

The last thing he was able to see before slipping back into unconsciousness was the form of [member="Braith Achlys"] being dragged along with him, just as disheveled as he was before falling into the embrace of darkness. Some time later Prazutis woke staring at the stark white ceiling of the what looked to be a holding cell. Immediately the epicanthix hybrid scrambled to get to his feet, but that was another bad mistake. As he stood the pain from both prolonged exertion in his fight with Braith, and from the many blows the creatures delivered to him set in. Prazutis stumbled and crashed into the wall before dropping to his knees, clenching his head with one hand while the other was used to balance himself against the wall.

Whatever they did to him it felt like he was just run over by a truck, or a few trucks. It took Prazutis a few minutes before he recovered and stood to his feet, finally getting a glimpse of the room around him. It was a brightly lit holding cell made of some sort of bone white plating, the appearance of the room made it appear to be almost sterile even, it was certainly unlike any of the holding cells he's ever seen before. Something was different however, his dark lightly armored robes were replaced with ragged black clothing, his lightsabers nowhere to be found. A scowl formed on his face as he gripped the bars of the adjacent cell where his adversary sat unconscious, but stirring.

He wasn't used to feeling like this, as if he was some caged animal or trophy for the victor to tote around. Prazutis leaned back pulling with his aching muscles and massive frame to see if the bars would balk, or budge, to no avail. They were at the mercy of the alien captors that brought them here, and it was embarrassing. How did he let them sneak up on him? He was always prepared and on alert, this kind of thing never happened. Prazutis's mind was certainly out of it with recent events that happened, finding out his purpose and pursuit of order in the One Sith was a lie, an impossibility. It brought him back to the days before he joined the Sith when he served as a contract killer, an empty life without purpose, even money hardly mattered. He hated this void with every fiber of his being, and he now struggled to come to terms with it once more.

The man finally relaxed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of his cell glancing over at the alu'an woman standing adjacent to him. It was now in this moment that he was able to take in traits of the woman that he didn't see or notice in the midst of combat. She was very beautiful, almost divine with long flowing brown hair and extremely pale almost alabaster colored skin without a presence of any blemish or imperfection. While she was on the larger side to an untrained eye it was easily to mistake her size as being overweight. She was lithe and toned her appearance telling him she worked to keep her body in excellent shape, with the extra weight taking the form of muscle and muscle density. In truth it was a beguiling trait about the blue eyed woman, her hidden strength.

To be frank the woman hit like a truck. In combat she matched him blow for blow, power for power, it was rare to find someone who fought with such brute force that matched him evenly. In truth he was impressed from her strength and finesse down to the woman's beauty and beguiling appearance. He kept his eyes trained on her as she struggled to stand up meeting her gaze with his own blazing sulfuric yellow eyes. "They've thrown us in what looks like holding cells. I haven't seen anyone yet." Prazutis replied to her, once more looking around the chamber before refocusing back to her "Who are you?"

 

[Hailyn]

NEW DAY

Although the once-over the Epicanthic-hybrid gave her was a bit unnerving, Braith was more concerned with her - their - captivity and her current predicament of, yet again, having a floundering connection with the force. It seemed no matter what she'd done, whether it was try to off herself and see if the force cared enough to keep her from doing so - it apparently did - and would restore its connection upon revealing such - it didn't- or going into isolation on Dasid Anya and then going with Winter Sovereign once her connection, upon her arrival, began to steadily strengthen. It was becoming frustrating that her ability to rely on the force was so unstable that it was more reliable to rely on muscle memory over the more preferable use of the force.

"Well that is just wonderful." She grumbled sarcastically, sighing heavily while she leaned against the wall of her cell and glanced around at the stark white features of the holding area. It was obviously not meant for holding slaves, otherwise they wouldn't have been separated by cell - though perhaps their captors might have taken the time to ensure that she and Prazutis wouldn't try to kill each other in a single cell - and the holding area would have been much larger, and populated. From what she could tell, though she didn't have the force or an Anzati's ability to sense the life force of other beings nearby, the holding area was relatively small and they were likely the only two held in such a position on the ship at all. "I am Braith Achlys." The Alua'an replied while she slid off of the wall and glanced at the cell doors, wondering if she could force her way through.

"And you?"

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Again silence filled the room after Braith's sarcastic remarks, leaving the two of them patiently waiting in the two sterile white cells. Through careful observation these were clearly not meant for holding slaves the cells would be far larger and they wouldn't have them separated. These were some sort of holding cell for prisoners or perhaps dangerous suspects. Worse somehow in these cells their connections to the force were severely weakened or almost cut off completely. Even his innate anzati ability to sense life essence around him didn't work in here. Prazutis guessed that there wasn't many of these cells and they were most likely the only ones locked in here.

The bars on the cell were strong no doubt reinforced, the bars didn't even strain under his full weight when he bore down on them. They were locked in here tight without the use of the force, alone they'd never break out of here. Why did these beings want them? What were they? "I am Braxus Zambrano." He replied to Braith, observing the cell doors with the alu'an. They were both no doubt thinking similar thoughts of escape, and if they wanted to break out of here rather than stay at the mercy of these creatures, they'd have to do something. "The bars are some sort of reinforced metal. I doubt without the use of the force either of us could force them open."

[member="Braith Achlys"]