Crimson Memories

[Darth Veles]

The Sith Lord turned his large head to look at Kana again, slightly annoying the only thing the woman cared for was his visit on Korriban, the homeworld of all Sith. She meets a Sith who offers an idea of the two Orders working together, bringing peace to the galaxy, and all she wants to know is why a Sith is on a Sith planet. Perhaps he should have waited a bit and let the two highly suspicious Jedi calm down to realize he wasn’t there to kill them, but then again, he had hoped they already knew he had no intention of harming either. “This is where my training started, Lady Truden,” the Sith calmly answered Kana’s question, raising his hand and pointing at the wall with his clawed finger, “In this very place. The hidden Chamber of Horrors. You could call the purpose of my visit a pilgrimage; Korriban is a Sith world, whether its occupied by the Republic or not. There is nothing you can do to change the nature of the planet.” He shrugged.

“I haven’t encountered any other Jedi, but you should look for them if you’re concerned about their safety. Korriban isn’t for the weak… and your kind.” It was the only advice he could give to the Jedi; he knew nothing of her lost friends, but he knew much about Korriban. One could disappear without a trace, falling prey to the wide variety of beasts that had no enemies in form of Sith Acolytes seeking to prove their worth by battling the wildlife. Of course, the planet’s true danger was much… darker. The very nature of Korriban could kill.

The response of Corvus surprised him the most, but then again, it didn’t. He knew she was a strong Jedi on the outside, a wreck on the inside. This was why he wanted to help her; the Jedi did not know how to deal with emotions, her shield of the Jedi Code and principles cracking, threatening to break and unleash whatever lied within, possibly even make the woman fall. Avreet did not want another Dark Jedi to deal with and Corvus’ reaction strongly suggested the relationship between her and her sister was supposed to remain a secret. It just showed how desperate she was in Avreet’s eyes; the inability to choose between the Jedi Order and her sister, the inability she could have both had she shattered the chains of prejudice that made her see all Sith as enemies, someone that had to be eliminated. It hurt Avreet. He had met both of the Jedi before, yet they still thought him to be some kind of a villain in their head. Did they still live the story where they were the main protagonists destined to purge the Sith Order? The ignorance of all Jedi often led Avreet question his belief of making peace with them. Perhaps… they had to be wiped out. As much as he hated to admit it, Darth Sidious had a point when he decided to outright exterminate them.

As Master Raaf started making her way out, Avreet walked past Kana, but did not pursue Corvus, just made a few quick paces in her direction. “But lady Raaf…,” he said, his voice failing as he did not know what to say. His expression showed both confusion and frustration, but the gaze in his eyes hardened as his eyes followed the Jedi Master. “Your violet eyes, Corvus; your and your sister’s eyes told me you are related!” the Sith stated, referring to the obvious similarities the two women shared, one of many. “When will you finally realize and accept I am not you enemy?! If you remember nothing else about me, remember that! I want to bring peace to the galaxy, with the Jedi Order!” Or without them, if necessary.

Shaking his head, he glanced at Kana. “I am sorry,” he sighed, “Well, go on. Comfort your friend. But please, do it in place that does not radiate the Dark Side…,”

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus barely listened to the Mon-Cal as she left. Her Master had dark hair and violet eyes and their bond was close. They were inseparable for three years - but nobody ever, ever suggested they were sisters. The Sith was clearly clutching at straws.

She managed to walk about a hundred metres before she stopped and waited for Kana. She was devoid of emotion - back to where she was six years previously. Had she been able to feel any emotion, she would have been comforted by the fact. Instead she was simply impassive and patiently waited for Kana to catch her up.

[member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Training started here, yet it was her orders to keep people out of the tomb as was it for the other Jedi that would be sent on patrol come the end of Kana’s shift as well. She wasn’t concerned for the others, she had known these men and women from the trip groundside and had complete faith in them. Something she was seeing less of in the Mon Cal man in front of him. The revelation that he had returned to the order he had sworn he wasn’t part of when they had first properly met was enough to have her revert to the serving jedi that few had ever seen.

“I will do no such thing, she can handle herself.” Kana furrowed her eyebrows. “We were sent here to keep intruders away from this place. I know it’s a place of meaning to you but the law requires me to vacate you from the premises.”

Actually it said something else completely but she would hold out on the part where she was actually forced to engage him. It didn’t seem right and as much as she wanted to trust him there was something about Corvus storming out that had her questioning things.

No, questions weren’t always meant to be answered.

“Look, both sides probably want the fighting to stop as well but both sides have encountered enough of the other since our last meeting to know that a majority of either side will not stand for a controversial change such as this. I want to support it, but I can not.”

“I am giving you ten minutes, Avreet. Kindly wrap up your business in this tomb before I have no choice but to escort you off the premises.”

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

The Mon Cal did not share the blonde’s belief that Corvus could pull herself together. Nor he understood what set her off so much. Was it crime to know she had a sister? Did her Sith sister ruin her mostly flawless record? Did the possibility of others knowing the dark secret worry her? Avreet had no idea, but Corvus’ breakdown certainly did one thing. It left Master Truden alone. On a Sith planet. In a Sith tomb. With a Sith Lord. Foolishness that hasn’t been realized, utter indifference, or have the two really assumed Avreet to be all talk no action, a harmless moderate Sith? The amphibian’s gaze fell upon the woman, large eyes silently staring at her, just as the apparitions of those he had killed stared at him in the Chamber of Horrors. Did Kana know her best friend just left her to die? Did she know she’d become another set of bones to decorate the main chamber of this massive tomb? The cybernetic enhancements within Darth Veles’ body in combination with Force speed and the suffocating presence of the Dark Side that clouded the Jedi’s beacon of light made Avreet an unstoppable opponent. One lightning-fast move of his hand and before Corvus knew what happened and rushed back to help her friend, Kana’s neck’s been broken, her body limp and falling down, head turned in an unnatural angle that looked too uncomfortable to leave any chance of the blonde Jedi Master surviving.

Most Sith would have done that, murder the woman in cold blood and leave her still warm corpse to the beasts, but Avreet never considered himself to be like the majority. Not yet. Whether the majority would be like him or, in worse case, if he became like the majority. For now, he stayed his hand, not taking the opportunity to easily kill the Jedi Master, though the idea was there. Instead of slaying her on the spot, the Sith Lord offered the woman a pleasant smile and let his body seemingly become a conductor of the Light Side through his signature-bending skill to make Kana feel more at ease in this place that was the exact opposite of the safe confines of Jedi Temple.

“Relax, Lady Truden,” his smile became a smirk as he shook his head in faked disbelief, “Your laws have no place here. You Jedi don’t care about laws anyway, so please, give it a break. We both know fighting each other would be pointless, unless you are so willing to kill just to stop me from standing here.” Letting out an amused chuckle, he started to slowly pace in the direction of the statue, waving his hand in a gesture of beckoning the Jedi Master to walk with him. “To obey for the sake of obeying, without questioning,… don’t become a mindless drone, Kana.” Avreet warned her in a friendly tone, though he meant his words seriously. Before she could protect, he raised his hand to silence her.

“And since Lady Raaf stormed off before listening to me further, she also missed an important piece of information. I and my Master have established a small group open to people from both Orders, people who have the same goal and want to achieve it through the same means. Whether you’re a Sith or a Jedi, you can talk to the other without fearing death. And no; you are not required to leave the Jedi or change your beliefs to enter.” The Sith Lord turned and flashed her a bright smile. “Think of it as a group of friends who want to build a place where Sith and Jedi can co-exist. We exchange our experience and knowledge and are completely neutral. The group itself does not help any side of this conflict, though individual members usually do help out their respective side. Of course, Sith within this cute group support my ideas of reforming the One Sith. If we teach enough apprentices to be like us, encourage young Acolytes to interpret the Sith Code and re-introduce basic moral values and honour as an important part of being a Sith, I believe the One Sith will eventually change for the better.” The Sith explained before finally giving the woman room to speak.

“What do you think, Kana?”

[member="Kana Truden"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Being hushed before being allowed to retort. There was no hint of real anger in it, frustration perhaps, but not anger. There was something to Avreet that seemed different. Something felt hidden underneath the friendly exterior yet she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

The topic then moved on to the new order.

“Avreet, if you knew life as a jedi then you would have known I can’t go along with that. Allegiances would cause doubt when faced with other members of this order. If I can stay in my order then the Sith of this other order would be as well, as is evident with your presence in the One Sith.

There would be doubt involved if the circumstances in a battle between the Republic and the OS came and I would had to do combat with another member of this new order. Would I follow my Jedi Order or this new order?

Do you see where I am going? I can’t afford that doubt, no jedi or sith can and for that sake I must apologize but the answer is a ‘No’.”

She took a deep breath. “So please, Avreet. Wrap up your business or you will have no choice but to take me down. The laws that I have sworn to uphold claims none ”

[member="Darth Veles"]

 

[Darth Veles]

The blonde Jedi presented some valid points, but Avreet still found himself unwilling to give up on her. The Sith definitely respected her dedication to the Republic, he appreciated her talking to him instead of drawing her weapon as any other Jedi would have done, though he still wished to persuade her to join his and his Master’s little group. There was no real harm in his offer, so her dismissal disappointed him a bit.

“I beg you to reconsider, my lady,” he said carefuly, “I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to do. Think of the possibilities. Jedi and Sith could lay the foundations of peace between our Orders. Isn’t that what you Jedi are supposed to do? Strive for peace? Here’s your chance.” The Sith Lord stated, one of his eyes throwing a glance towards the exit to see if lady Raaf came back. She didn’t. For a Jedi Master, she was surprisingly… unstable.

“If you encounter a Sith who is also a member of the order in battle, you’ll just pick someone else to fight. This war…,” Avreet gave her a questioning glare, “Have you ever thought of what will happen when it ends? I think it is safe to say you are not going to win. Coruscant. Empress Teta. Alderaan. Manaan. Kashyyk,… Your losing streak continue while your casualties are higher and higher. For how long do you think your citizens will support the Republic and follow it to the slaughter? Die for it? Once they realize their sacrifices only delay the inevitable, they will stay at home, sitting on their asses.” Avreet took a step towards the blonde Jedi Master.

“You will lose this war. That’s a fact. What next? Do you want your beliefs to die with you? After your order is destroyed, its members scattered and organizing terrorist strikes against their former citizens, what will you do? You don’t have to join the Sith just as you don’t have to be a terrorist, yet you can still do good in the galaxy. By joining me. And my Master. I think if you spend some time with the two of us, you will see the light that we offer and accept our ideals into your heart.” Very slowly, the Mon Cal turned and walked to the entrance, careful not to step on any bones to avoid breaking the silence.

“But choose wisely. I won’t give you a chance to join again. You can ensure the ideals of your Order and its ways stay in the galaxy no matter what happens… or you can bet all on the Republic miraculously defeating the One Sith. In which case…,” there was a slight hint of sadness in his voice, “When we meet on a battlefield, we will meet as enemies. I am sorry. I don’t want you or Corvus to get hurt, but I will do anything to bring peace. Which means defeating all those who fanatically follow your failing government and refuse to simply stop, return to their families and enjoy life. But never say Avreet Zatarus was an unreasonable man. I did what I could from my end.”

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

And Kana followed behind to ensure [member="Darth Veles"] left the tomb.

“I don’t follow the government, I follow my grandmaster.” Kana would allow herself to retort. “I trust her to make the right calls and I expect you would do the same if you were a jedi. I am a jedi and my allegiance lies with the force but my Order serves the Republic.”

“Even if I so did serve the Republic as a blind peon I’d have you know that I grew up in Republic space. I worked and lived all my life in Republic offices and corridors. I have been a citizen of the Republic since I was born and it seems to me like you’re asking me to do is forsake that.” She shook her head. It wouldn’t happen. “I oppose the One Sith because I want to. I oppose them because someone needs to. My home, Alderaan, was destroyed by them and every day I am reminded of that pain I felt when I heard of it. It drives me forward in my duty. I use it as motivation to go on because as long as one person remembers those horrors there will be others to help light that fire.”

“So let the One Sith run me down, let them rip my existence from the history books. The circle will repeat and they will become just as corrupt as people claim my government to be. It’s what happens to all civilizations when they spread too thin and get too comfortable.” It was one of those things history would always come to repeat, of that Kana was sure. “For all I know they will rip the Order from the history books as well, but they can never rip the Jedi out of it.”

“We aren’t a singular order, we’re a belief. An idea of peace and serenity through tranquility. Of warriors and diplomats who don’t see ourselves as above anyone. We respect all life and we bring order. You know just as well as me that the Jedi will not die with the Republic and the efforts to quell us all would prove fruitless simply based on the fact that we are so few yet so many.”

“I will say no more on the subject, Mister Zatarus. Enemy or not I will see you on the battlefield one day, and when that day comes I will be ready to do my part for my Order just as you would be ready to your duty for yours.”

 

[Darth Veles]

Sighing, Avreet shook his head. He saw where Kana was coming from, yet there lied a fine line between common sense and blind loyalty that clouded one’s mind to see better options than presented by the superiors. They started to walk through the last hallway that led to the grand staircase running to the exit.

“You may be peacekeepers, but don’t get blinded by the self-righteous illusion of being the only force of good in this galaxy, lady Truden. As you may know from the conflict with the Sith Empire, it is easy for defenders of peace to become conquerors. It is understandable you hate the Sith for invading and destroying so many worlds, but you have ultimately done the same the moment you became the winning player in the war. Burning down cities, overthrowing governments and replacing them with your puppets, escalating minor conflicts of peaceful planets into civil wars, sentencing every single being who dared to oppose you to death… This war isn’t as black and white as your leaders tell you, Kana.” Avreet said kindly, his head turned to look at the blonde Jedi Master.

“Perhaps the Sith are not your enemies? Maybe it’s your head doing that, preventing you from seeing another option? What do you expect from people you want to exterminate? To obediently stand and die? How do you see Sith and those who follow them? Enemies? Bad guys? Villains? That’s why you murder them, as that’s what you do to all bad people, you kill them and don’t give half a thought about it because you just know you’re in the right, that there is some justification for all the carnage, havoc and slaughter you wreak on your enemies?” the Sith Lord’s lips curled into a smile.

“But then you say the circle will repeat again, no matter who wins. It makes this war pointless, doesn’t it? It will happen again. If you, Jedi, self-proclaimed peacekeepers, truly want to bring peace, perhaps you should focus on breaking the cycle instead of ensuring it continues? If you look at it from this way, you might see it is the Jedi who stand in the way of peace, who are the murderous villains who have to be stopped. You might argue you fight injustice and evil, but who gave you the right to decide what is right or wrong, who made the Jedi the only ones being able to kill people by millions without being branded villains, bringers of chaos and destruction? You might say you defend yourself and your people, but then again, when our people call Sith for help, aren’t we entitled to help them as well? Does that make us evil, lady Truden? Do people like me deserve to die because they essentially do the exactly the same thing as you?” Avreet questioned the Jedi Master while his right hand slipped into the robe, searching for something.

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

"No, we dropped the subject, Avreet. I will not discuss this at this time."

A curious look shot out at what [member="Darth Veles"] was retrieving from his robe. As much as she wanted to trust him explicitly she couldn't. Her hand placed itself at the ready.

 

[Darth Veles]

Paying no heed to the woman’s state of awareness that flicked on once his hand reached into his robe, the amphibious Sith finally touched the desired object and pulled it out; a datacard, a relatively small storage device capable of containing large quantities of data. As if hesitating, the Sith Lord looked at the datacard, observing it, then handed it over to the blonde Jedi Master.

“It is difficult to admit, but not all Sith treat liberated worlds as they should. Some use the planets and their inhabitants as test subjects to many twisted experiments; something that will be addressed once Sith like me have their Voice. Until then, there is little that can be done from our side, as we cannot risk being exiled or worse. The constant resistance of the Republic and those pathetic rebel cells you pay also makes it no easier for us, as our Sith opponents can argue the drastic measures serve as means of suppressing violent rebellions. This datacard contains all information about one such man, a scientist whose methods are unethical at best.” The Sith Lord took a deep breath, Kana was not going to like the revelation.

“He operates on Alderaan, lady Truden. This Sith scientist wishes to achieve a scientific breakthrough, but he had crossed the line and gone too far. All of his test subjects are the poor citizens of Alderaan. I have seen some of his experiments and it really wasn’t pretty, my lady. Combining Vong technology with human flesh, testing new findings on living people,… the man is a monster. He has to be stopped. I assure you I would have done something if I could, but my views followed by desertion are more than enough to paint a noose around my neck and I cannot afford to pursue the monsters among us on my own.” It was strange; to find the two Jedi on this planet, Kana in particular given her homeworld. The Force worked in mysterious ways and moments like this simply had no other explanation than they were meant to happen.

“Please, take the datadisc and do whatever you can to stop the madman. I was originally going to anonymously send this to the Jedi Council… but since you’re here, I want you to have it. You’ll figure out what to do, Master Truden.” The mischievous smirk on the Sith Lord’s face had a company in form of a wink. The two Force users walked out of the Tomb, passing through the damaged entrance... only to see another set of stairs in front of them. And one angry [member="Corvus Raaf"] as well.

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Alderaan. As much as Kana would have loved to return it was still the source of much grief. The vong and now experiments on people. While not necessarily a place of the dark side the grief of knowing what had happened to her planet had once been enough for her to shun the Order as a whole. Normally the situation would have called for her to go there, but just this once she was going to hand it over to the others, the Jedi who would be able to go there without losing their way.

“Thanks, I will make sure it falls into the right hands.” She gave the datacron a look of wary. “Just not my hands.”

At worst it would be archived, at best it would be given to the Shadows. The memories attached to her between the planet and her temper was way too strong.

“I can’t do much else, unless you want another Dark Jedi at your hands. Sorry.”

[member="Darth Veles"]