Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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A walk upon the sand...

Korriban - Dreshdae
There is a difference between living your entire life as an assassin, believing the skills you had were all that you possessed, and then suddenly thinking in the back of your mind that maybe all that you are can be put into the palm of your hand. So small and insignificant to the grand scheme of the cosmos, it was quite unsettling, but Sorin knew that when he dodged that Trooper's shot, it wasn't out of instinct. It should have gone through him. He should be dead. It was as if some part of him screamed out to move, warning him of danger, and saved his life. And the feeling hasn't gone away. Maybe it has always been there, in the dark corners of his mind, and it whispered.

Now that whispering had become a chorus the moment he had dropped out of hyperspace and landed upon the planet. As he walked among the many people that went past in the blistering heat and sand of the world of Korriban, Dreshdae was active with people and beings of almost all races. And a few more Storm Troopers than he had thought might be here. As he walked down that crowded street, buildings on both sides, he didn't know exactly where to go. All he had to go on was the voice in his head, and so he walked on, his bag on his back, and a forward stride, his red hair ablaze in the light of the afternoon sun.

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

It had been a week since she had returned to Korriban from Charros IV. Her hunt for the Jedi that had survived the battle, which had ended in Sith victory, had born some results. Her expedition into Dreshdae was to visit a weapons depot. Her stash of disruptor rifles, pistols and WESTAR M5 and 35 rifles and pistols were stored here. She had lost the rifle during her encounter with a Jedi Knight on Charros, after having used it on Dromund Kaas and Dubrillon as well. Thus, she required a replacement.

It was strange that Sorin felt warmth in the Horuset sun. Korriban was a cold, bleak world. Despite it's vast deserts, it was extremely cold during the day; and freezing during the night. It was like the dark side of the Force had strangled all of the light from the planet and placed it under it's cold embrace. Perhaps he had felt the engines of a passing speeder or something to cause such a feeling?

As the Sith Marauder walked, tucking a datapad into a shoulder strap bag on her left shoulder, she felt something bump into her. She took a step backwards off the impact and lowered her golden eyes to the red head individual. Ayra said, "Watch where you're going, kid."
 
(Ah, I goofed o,o Hmm...what to do...)

Heat...then cold...what? A shiver went down Sorin's spine as he noticed the temperature difference. The heat had come from an open building nearby, and now he was acutely aware of the change. Yet even so, he did not mind. He was use to far worse conditions. What he was more worried about presently were the people around. The night would come when it did, and he would be in doors by that point. The difference then was not the temperature, but the hospitality of a world he did not know. How long would he survive here? Hehe...that wasn't a question one asked an assassin. One ought to ask the more appropriate question: how long would he be until he found what he was looking for?

The slight collision of person against person was momentary at best. What was strange was not the collision, but that the voice within suddenly became silent. A glance toward the person revealed...a woman, as tall as he was, though slightly taller. Fair, and a blonde, the Massassi tattoo was the first he saw of her face. It contrasted with her features, though blended in its own twisted way. Unfortunately, he didn't know what it meant. Her golden eyes locked onto his own, and he could see the phosphorous yellow that reminded him of an angry, caged animal.

"Watch where you're going, kid."

Definitely angry.

Then...the voice came back. Only this time, it actually spoke.

"What are you waiting for, boy? Darkness is waiting..."

Sorin turned his head sharply, a glance to either side, but he did not know the source of the voice. No, it was nothing audible. He felt it. He turned his head back to the woman, and suddenly realized that he must look like a blundering idiot. "So I shall." That was all he said. Something was different, but he didn't know what it was. His purple eyes, however, were different, and something perfectly clear to the woman before him. For a brief moment, his left eye glazed over yellow, and then disappeared, with Sorin left unaware.

He felt he needed to move, and so he turned and walked away, a steady stride that kept him going as he slipped into the crowd. 'Something's not right...' he thought to himself, and he became acutely aware of something in the back of his mind. It wasn't just a voice, but as if...something else as well. He could feel something off, something incredibly different, but what was it?

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Sorin bumped into another man, this time a very tall one, a clear 7 foot, but it didn't much matter. The feeling burst throughout Sorin like an explosion, and before anyone around could turn to see, the tall man was on the ground, a howl of pain as a leg and arm were cleanly broken. Sorin was gone before the Troopers came over to investigate, confused as all the other common folk around them.

Slipping into an alley, he stopped, and pressed his shoulder into the wall beside him. Never had he done that before, to feel angry so suddenly and then release it onto another person. Despite the cold, he felt a sweat develop on his brow.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked absently to the alley before him.

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra stepped over the boy and proceeded on her way, her Sith robe fluttering in the gust of wind that blew over Dreshdae. Night was steadily approaching, with the wind signaling that the inhabitants of the Sith settlement that they should take cover, less the freeze that came over Korriban claimed them. Turning into an alleyway, she raised her hand to the key pad and put in the code. The pad signaled green, which Ayra took for the door unlocking. Her gloved hand twisted around the doorknob, turning into the building.

The Sith Marauder climbed a flight of steps and came to a door. She produced a key from a necklace around her neck and opened the door with it. Her hand found the light switch and upon illumination showed a bunk bed in the corner of the room, a window overlooking Dreshdae and another door, which led into a smaller room where she kept her arsenal of rifles, pistols, knives and grenades. She lifted her hand to her chrono and checked the time. Afterwards, she approached the window and overlooked the horizon. The time and rapid change in conditions outside confirmed that she wouldn't be able to get back to the Sith Academy.

Ayra was about to turn away and turn the light off, so she could get some sleep, when she felt a disturbance in the Force. She turned back to the window and saw the commotion outside; and a red haired boy rushing from the scene towards the alleyway she had just vacated. Her hand lowered to her disruptor pistol and she turned back towards the stairs. When she finished her descent, she opened the door and wrenched her hand around Sorin's neck, pulling him into the hallway and closing the door. Darkness descended over them both and he felt her pistol at his temple; and the same, angry voice whispering. "What was your business in Dreshdae?"
 
The noise of the outside was still present in the back of Sorin's mind, as he absently looked behind him and toward the crowd of people gathered. This behavior was against the very training he had been taught, to always be of the shadows, and to always be distant from the target. Yet here he was, stirring up trouble for no reason. Or was there a reason? He didn't know, but he wasn't about to stay here and let them find him. The sun would be setting within a few hours, if not less than that, so it would be best to leave.

A hand was swiftly clasped around his throat, his windpipe blocked as he tried to breath, and suddenly pulled into the building he had been beside. Just like that, he was held against the wall, the hand still around his neck, and he was staring into the eyes of the woman from before. Yep, just as angry as ever. "What was your business in Dreshdae?" What? Sorin blinked, confused on the question, and now suddenly angry over it. What was up with this lady?! The moment he comes into contact with her, he is flipping out, and then takes it out on someone else. Now he was feeling the anger again, this time stronger than people. The blaster at his head didn't help either.

"Composure, Sorin, or she'll tear you in half."

As much as that voice was irritating, it had a point. Taking in a breath and breathing a short sigh, he thought he might as well answer. "Honestly, I don't know anymore." He gulped, or as much as he could with her hand there, his sweat now dry on his skin. "I was given directions here, told I might find some work for...someone like me. When I landed, I felt a need to be here, so I'm here. Or a compulsion, if that is any consultation. Next thing I know, I'm angry and flip out on someone." He paused in his rant, a thought reemerging inside his mind. "In fact, it happened after I last saw you, and as strange as this sounds, I feel angry...again. I might like a second opinion here."

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra dragged Sorin up the flight of stairs and into the room above, flinging him across the room. She closed the door, just as she had done with the one at the entrance before hand and kept her pistol on the man at all times, her back resting against the wall. "I don't know why you suddenly feel anger around me, but this is the second time we bumped into each other and that sets off alarm bells, especially when you've just severely harmed a man in public."

The Sith Marauder leaned off the wall towards the center of the room, only a yard away from Sorin now. Her face was somber, but he could detect the underlying, ever present unadulterated anger. She asked, "What's your name?"
 
Before Sorin could get a word from her, she dragged him up the stairs...very forcefully. Flung across the room, he wasn't sure if he flew or what. He stumbled to his feet and turned back around to face her. His hand absently rubbed at his neck, checking just to make sure nothing was missing, hopefully. She had a better grip than he first thought. The door closed quickly enough, and her pistol still pointed directly at him. 'This reminds me too much of the other women in my life. At least I still have clothes on.'

"I don't know why you suddenly feel anger around me, but this is the second time we bumped into each other and that sets off alarm bells, especially when you've just severely harmed a man in public."

"At least we can both agree on something." He sighed, and took a glance out the window nearby, toward the street below. The crowd was gone, and so too was the man he hurt. They likely got him out of there and to the nearest medical ward. The likelihood anyone saw Sorin was slim, but he could hack the street cameras later, if there were any. Wouldn't be the first, and it surely wouldn't be the last.

"What's your name?"

"Vanado." He replied, turning his head back to address her. "Sorin Vanado." With a sigh, he rubbed at his neck again, and wondered what to say now. The anger he felt before was...gone. How odd. Though he could certainly feel the anger from her, and the tension in the room was not going anywhere any time soon. "Alright, since I'm obviously not going anywhere anytime soon, and you definitely aren't a civilian, not with a disruptor pistol, I might as well give you my calling card." Indicating with his left hand, he slipped it into the folds of his top, pulling out a datapad and tossing it to her. If she used the screen, it read the following with a picture of him beside it:

Sorin Vanado
Assassin's Guild
Assignments: 257
Completed: 257
Current Assignment: None
Rank: S

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra lifted her free hand to the incoming datapad and caught it. She lowered her golden eyes to it's contents and read. When she was finished, she under arm threw it back towards him. She lowered her pistol back to her utility belt and turned the safety back on. Then she folded her arms over her chest. "You're a Sith, aren't you Vanado? I didn't know that the Empire still trained Sith Assassins."

She walked towards the window, back turned to Vonado. "You mentioned you were here to work. What type?"
 
When she caught it, he wasn't sure how this was going to go. Usually he had a better idea when he gives his info to another, but she didn't react much to what she read, tossing it back to him. Catching it, he was glad he did for what he heard next. "You're a Sith, aren't you, Vanado? I didn't know that the Empire still trained Sith Assassins." ...what? She thought he was Sith? Huh? He blinked, trying desperately to figure out what gave her that conclusion. "You mentioned you were here to work. What type?"

"Hmm...any really, but..." Putting the datapad back into his gi top, he turned to Ayra, and wondered what was going through her mind. "Why do you think I'm Sith? I don't even know if I'm Force sensitive."

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra turned away from the window back to the boy. She motioned for him to join her. Normally, the Sith Marauder didn't risk herself in any given situation; and whilst she was confident that, if this boy lost it and tried to do the same to her as he had done to the man in the street, she would be able to deal with it. But she was risking it because the boy, Vanado, had shown he had some elements of the dark side. He was definitely Force sensitive; and he had come to Korriban, looking for a job. She wanted a cadet for the Sith Marauder training regime. Darth Bane had stumbled upon Darth Zannah, by pure coincidence; and she had done the same with Vanado.

"I thought you were a Sith because of what you did to that man and because you were on Korriban," she said, as Sorin joined her to look upon the horizon. It was night time now and strong galls were passing by the transparisteel screen ahead of them. She continued. "What do you know about the Sith?"
 
When she motioned for him to come closer, he blinked, though stepped over to her anyway. Everything seemed to go smoothly so far, but he was still slightly nervous about it, even if it didn't show. What did the Sith have anything to do with this? He gazed out across Korriban, and realized that night had come to the land sooner than he had thought. New planet, new rules, as it were. Best to recalculate some things then when he got the chance. "I thought you were a Sith because of what you did to that man and because you were on Korriban." Sorin couldn't help but smirk, wondering in the back of his mind a few things.

"Thanks for the compliment." Sorin made note to not tell her of the other S ranked assassins. Though their numbers less than a hundred in the entire galaxy, every one of them could replicate the same procedure, though honestly he was on the lower end of that list. When it came to A ranked assassins, it varied on an exponential scale, and only the top twenty or so could do the same. One of those assassins who were S ranked happened to be Dumah Zohar, his best friend. Speaking of which, Sorin wondered where he was now. Probably sipping a drink half way across the galaxy.

"What do you know about the Sith?"

"Next to nothing, actually." The gales of the outside were barring on the windows with a furious movement, and he wondered if a storm was forming. He made a point to try to avoid them as much as possible. Makes using a sniper rifle go to sh*t. "What I do know is that they're a...highly dangerous group, people the Guild try not to piss off. They use the Force, lightsabers, and are known to be difficult to kill. Other than that, I'm falling short on information."

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

"There are Sith who are well attuned to the Force, or so they believe. I'm not going to pretend that I'm a mystic Vanado, but I think the dark side of the Force choose you. I don't think it's a coincidence that we bumped into each other in the home world of the Sith either, or why you choose the particular alleyway to hide in happened to be near my quarters."

The Sith Marauder turned to Sorin Vanado and said, "My name is Ayra. I am the only modern day Sith Marauder. I've been training myself to be like the Sith Marauders of old, because I vehemently hate the Jedi Order and love the Sith Empire, so it made sense that I should reciprocate the same type of individuals who were the anesthetist to the Jedi."

Ayra folded her arms across her chest, squinting her golden eyes as she did so. "Are you a selfish man, Sorin?"
 
"There are Sith who are well attuned to the Force, or so they believe. I'm not going to pretend that I'm a mystic Vanado, but I think the dark side of the Force choose you." The Darkside...choose him? "I don't think it's a coincidence that we bumped into each other in the home world of the Sith either, or why you choose the particular alleyway to hide in happened to be near my quarters." He had to wonder about that for a moment. Sorin was never much for thinking about fate, destiny, any of it in the scheme of his life, but he was always one to think that his actions were his own, the only deciding factor in whether he lived or died. To think that something brought him here was...a foreign idea.

'That voice...'

'Now you see.'

'Who are you?'

'Who am I not?'

Ayra's movement snapped him back to attention, his head turned toward her as he listened. "My name is Ayra. I am the only modern day Sith Marauder. I've been training myself to be like the Sith Marauders of old, because I vehemently hate the Jedi Order and love the Sith Empire, so it made sense that I should reciprocate the same type of individuals who were the anesthetist to the Jedi." The Jedi...he heard about the same from his teachers as he had the Sith, and unfortunately, he knew very little. Maybe he could learn more here.

"Are you a selfish man, Sorin?" He blinked over the question, unsure its implementations. Selfish...who wasn't?

"I've lived as an assassin my whole life, so if by selfish you mean I only look after my own well being, then yes. I choose my contracts. I choose who to kill. It's a job like any other, and I am paid well for it. Everyone wants someone dead, so why not be selfish by taking advantage of that need?"

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra turned back to the window, nodding her head. "I'm not a selfish person, Sorin. I've devoted my entire life to the destruction of the Jedi Order. There isn't a thing I wouldn't do in order to make sure that every, single Jedi in this galaxy is dead. That was was why I trained myself to be a Sith Marauder and why I created the Sith Marauder training regime to teach and train others into becoming what I am today."

"I tell you this because I am also a believer in the dark side and I believe that it guided you to me. You might find that hard to believe and like I told you, I'm not a mystic, yet I don't believe in coincidence, only the Force. What are your thoughts on the Jedi, Vanado?"
 
"I'm not a selfish person, Sorin. I've devoted my entire life to the destruction of the Jedi Order. There isn't a thing I wouldn't do in order to make sure that every, single Jedi in this galaxy is dead." The destruction of an entire ideology? It seemed odd to him that this wouldn't be the very definition of selfish, but then again, that was his interpretation. She devoted her life to this goal, because that's what she wants. Maybe in some way this was selfless, though Sorin had trouble comprehending this view point. Either way, he was not about to tell her how to live her life. "That was was why I trained myself to be a Sith Marauder and why I created the Sith Marauder training regime to teach and train others into becoming what I am today." To devote themselves to kill an order? Or to kill the most dangerous target to the Sith Empire? For some reason, that sounded exciting to him. Before, he didn't like the idea of painting himself as a target, but if working for the Sith would do so anyway, why not make it a challenge?

"I tell you this because I am also a believer in the dark side and I believe that it guided you to me. You might find that hard to believe and like I told you, I'm not a mystic, yet I don't believe in coincidence, only the Force." If there's anything in his line of work that has taught him anything, it's that there was no such thing as coincidence. Only patterns. People, places, ideas, emotions, they all act and react in a way that can be seen. It's why Sorin was so good as what he did. He saw those patterns, and shattered them to pieces. Each target has a weakness, and he knows that he has his own. Maybe learning from...a Sith would help close that gap in his abilities.

"What are your thoughts on the Jedi, Vanado?"

"Well..." He paused, unsure how to respond. He didn't have an opinion of them, but then again, he didn't know that much about them. "...I don't know. I know as much about them as I do the Sith, if not less now from talking with you." After a pause, he wondered about something else. "You mentioned a training regime, yes? Train them in...what?"

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

"The Sith Marauder training regime covers the skills and knowledge that I studied and learned about for over a decade, from which the end of it I dubbed myself a Sith Marauder, as I believe the set of skills and knowledge that I now possess matches to the historical records of the Sith Marauders of old."

Ayra paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyone inducted into the regime are trained through fifteen phases. Each phase has three steps to them and a test. If you pass the test, you past the phase and move onto the next. If you pass all fifteen phases, you pass the regime and become a Sith Marauder. The regime teaches you how to be a Sith Marauder, ranging from Lightsaber combat to a military acumen to doctrine. Even after a cadet passes the regime, they are still expected to pick up new skills. We never stop learning."

She turned her gaze Sorin. "Why the interest?"
 
"The Sith Marauder training regime covers the skills and knowledge that I studied and learned about for over a decade, from which the end of it I dubbed myself a Sith Marauder, as I believe the set of skills and knowledge that I now possess matches to the historical records of the Sith Marauders of old." Sith Marauders of old...which mention there were historical records of their existence somewhere, most likely here on Korriban, and on other planets. This was going to be a very interesting investigation.

"Anyone inducted into the regime are trained through fifteen phases. Each phase has three steps to them and a test. If you pass the test, you past the phase and move onto the next. If you pass all fifteen phases, you pass the regime and become a Sith Marauder. The regime teaches you how to be a Sith Marauder, ranging from Lightsaber combat to a military acumen to doctrine. Even after a cadet passes the regime, they are still expected to pick up new skills. We never stop learning."

'Sounds about like how we train our assassins, though we didn't exactly stop at just one test.' The memory of it wasn't pleasant, but he was not faulting the methods of his family. They did what they needed to survive, and to become as mysterious as possible to almost the entire galaxy. The only ones who would know anything extensive about his family would be the family itself. They always had the idea that assassins should never stop learning, and it's something Sorin thought of for himself as well. The mention of using a lightsaber was...very intriguing.

"Why the interest?"

"Can anyone learn these...skills?"

@[member=Ayra]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra nodded her head, replying, "Yes, anyone can learn these skills. But there is a difference between learning and understanding these skills. The three steps that each phase has are designed to teach and train the cadet in that phase, but it's the test that will determine if you understand what the phase is all about. If you fail the test, you fail the phase and lose a chance. Each cadet has three chances to them. If you lose a chance, then you were punished and the punishments become more severe for each chance lost."
 
"Would you be recruiting, by any chance?" The idea of failing the tests didn't appeal to him, but the idea of learning how to become this...Sith Marauder...was far more enticing. If these tests were designed so that they could try again, he wondered what they would be. He was more use to the tests that killed you outright if one failed, and he hoped that this wasn't going to be one of those.

@[member="Ayra"]
 
| @[member="Sorin Vanado"] |

Ayra smiled. It was a genuine smile, like she was happy. That in itself was a sickening, frightening thing because she was happy at the prospect of teaching and training an young man into becoming a kill machine. But she was a Sith and the Sith had certain tests one has to pass before entering the tutelage of another. "I could teach you how to be a Sith Marauder. You could join the regime and become a cadet. But before that happens, there is a test."

The blonde fury turned around to him and continued. "I'll be waiting at the Sith Academy, which is a ten mile trek from Dreshdae. You are to make your way there with a Tuk'ata. They are a native creature found on Korriban and are extremely dangerous. They protect the tombs of the ancient Dark Lords of the Sith. If you can make your way to the Sith Academy with a Tuk'ata in one day, then I will accept you on the regime."

She gestured towards the door. "You can leave now Vanado. You've got a lot of work to do."
 

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