Private Darkness Descends.......

[PERSENUS]

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Smoke billowed up from the crash site. The smuggler's freighter moaned as its exterior plates peeled off. Within was a dead crew, bludgeoned by their own goods in the crash but that was post-mortem. Cause of death was Perenus, who was in the process of pulling out a piece of metal out of his leg. Once out, it fell with a clang as his body went limp, still reeling from the crash which he had luckily survived. The pilot beside him wasn't so lucky. He had stowed away on this ship but they found him and the encounter went..... unsavory. In the end, the fight had put all of them in more trouble than they thought it would. As the blade of his saber soared, slicing and burning through their weapons and flesh and their blasters missed and bounced off onto very important surfaces, the battle tumbled through the ship, causing damage to numerous systems. When it was only him and the pilot left, it was too late to stop the crash.​

He ripped open the Medical Kit, revealing at least three broken vials of Bacta, leaving only two left to fix his injury. Hooking it up to an injector, he plunged the syringe into his arm, letting the gelatinous miracle water flood into his veins, stimulating the growth of lost tissue and nerves. He is overcome with a wave of relief as the wound on his leg slowly started to heal. He wasn't experienced in Force Healing but now was a better time than ever to at least try as he inspected the ship. Walking around, he saw the damage he and the crew had caused. The hyperdrive and the thrusters were still perfectly intact but the thermal regulators that vented out the ship's extreme exhaust had been almost completely destroyed, which overheated numerous systems. Luckily, the smuggler's had some parts.​

He could repair this. It'll take a while but it'll get back up and running in a few weeks. Either that or he calls on a repair shop but he'd rather not leave any traces of himself behind. The trouble is the smoke. He wasn't sure if this planet was inhabited by any intelligent race - he wasn't sure where he even was, actually. He knew, though, that smoke can pique curiosity. He knew that the smoke, if the crash didn't reach their ears, would attract someone or something and Perenus wasn't feeling very social. He needed to deal with whatever could cause the most immediate trouble first and while the smoke was important, there was nothing he could do. Besides, he needed to let the heat vent out of the ship.​

So the first order of business were the bodies. Their scent could attract predators and their presence could incite.... unsavory encounters. Of course, he could reason that they died in the crash but the saber wounds wouldn't exactly be on his side. Using to force, he dug them a hole. Just one, cramp space where he dumped all their corpses before piling the dirt back on. At least they look respectable underneath the earth, no combat wounds to suggest someone did them in. However, as he placed a good stone to mark them - they deserved at least that with the fight they gave him, he sensed a presence.​

Sola Wessiri​

 

[Sola Wessiri]

The smoke rising from the crashsite wasn't the initial thing that caught Sola's attention. No, it was the ship itself as it's sonic boom send a sound wave through the sky. Fire had errupted around the hull as it descended, giving the smuggler's ship the look of an asteroid coming down. At least that was what Sola thought it appeared to be.

"A fallen star, Sola. Looks to be an omen." One of the senior Paladins, an old man by the name of Falknor stood watch in the observatory that sat atop of the Adamite Tower.

"If the fire spreads, it very well could be a bad omen."

"It looks to be by the river. That is if my old eyes can be trusted."

Sola turned to him and gave him a small smile. She admired the elder, for he had helped to train her and so she owed him much for the passing of his knowledge and skills. "Then the fire will be easier to put out. I'll take care of it."

"Take a satchel with you. Stars tend to have rare metals that can be used for blades and armour. Bring me a sample and we'll see if there's anything good there to harvest."

"Understood. I will return tomorrow." With a bow of her head, Sola turned on her heel and made her way out of the Adamite Tower after packing up a satchel with food and supplies.

Within minutes she was on her way in a quick jog through the valley and the trees. There were no speederbikes or any other means of travel for her. She only had her feet. Yet the Force gave her muscles the speed and stamina that she needed to make the journey.

It took a few hours before Sola had arrived near the crash site. It was once she came to the edge of the trees that she realized that this wasn't an asteroid.

She unclipped her starfire sword (lightsaber) from her belt. It was by far her most intimidating weapon. At least it was when ignited. For the moment however, she merely held it in hand. "Hello? Are you in need of help?" The form of PERSENUS was visible in the distance and so she kept her eyes trained on him.

 

[PERSENUS]

If she had sensed anything from him, it would go blank. Once he himself had taken notice of her, his mastery in concealment of his power in the force, refined by years of hiding from his fellow Sith, would take over. He hoped that she did not sense his nature - if she even could - or his sudden disappearance from her feelings would not rouse her instincts. The yellowing eyes of his disappeared as a bit of color returned to his skin, as much color as Echani had naturally, that is, as he turned to meet her gaze.​

"Who are you?", he shot back at her, ignoring her inquiry. Before her, with his frontside facing her, a good look at him would reveal that he is inhuman in some form, even in spite of his attempt to hide his true nature before her. His stark white skin and tattoos that etched across his entire body, as if he was a caricature of sorts. The tattoos seemed ritualistic, as if made to symbolize the unnatural origin of the man. This, he could not hide, and most of the time, he did not want to. Of course, perhaps it would have been better to move about without a target etched about his body.​

Then he saw the weapon in her hand - an all too familiar sight. His hand, with near unnatural speed reached for his own saber, hung by his belted scarf. The long shaft of his saber was already fit for two hands but it would suddenly extend, transforming from a lightsaber hilt to a pike shaft. Still, the blade was unlit, so it appeared more like a staff than a saber.​

"I recommend you answer quickly." He said, monotone yet with ever the poison to Sola Wessiri .​

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola felt the sudden change. She couldn't quite pinpoint the exact cause, but it was the absence that she noticed.

Stepping forward a little more, she took in more of PERSENUS ' body. He was a little taller than she was, but not by much. The tattoos that adorned his body were in her exoerience, a tell tale sign of a Lucite if ever there was one. However the flying transport that now lay waste next to the river gave her a clue enough that he was a different kind of Lucite. One from afar.

"I am Sola Wessiri, Paladin of the Adamite Tower. I have come to put out the fire." Her words held a double-meaning. Spoken with confidence they could also be taken as referring to put out the fire of the man standing before her. That is if he posed a big enough threat.

"Who are you?"

 

[PERSENUS]

"There is no fire. I crashed my vessel. My accomplices.... have passed on." He said as he started his trek back towards the crashed freighter, ignoring her second question. Still, at the back of his head, he wondered what this "Adamite Tower" is. He figured it was a base for a Jedi base. Long ago, he would have engaged this lightsider in combat and tortured out of her the location of this base if only to plot his scheme to destroy it but he couldn't afford to be as..... unsavory as he was when he was young.​

"If you could direct me to some place where I can find parts to repair the damages to my ship, it would be greatly appreciated..." He added for his shoulder. "If not, I would like to find the nearest ship port so I may find my way off this system."​

​

He wasn't particularly keen on her coming any closer than she should. Thinking back, he cursed himself for his rashness. He had pulled his saber out and he had concealed his presence far too suddenly. Not to mention, his defensiveness in the face of an obvious lightsider would likely give away his nature. His short-sightedness would be his downfall. Still, he was too prideful to let down the act now.​

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Sola Wessiri ​

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[Sola Wessiri]

Where there's smoke...

Sola was sure that there was a fire and that it neded to be extinguished. PERSENUS seemed to shrug the whole thing off though as if it was nothing, or an every day occurance.

Only now did she allow herself to take a second to look at the crashed ship. It was smaller than what they say the Adamite Tower is underground. Yet it was much much larger than the average house or building.

There was nothing like it here.

"There is nothing here that could fix ....that...ship? Is that what you call it? Our ships are on the ocean. And I'm afraid there are no space ports either. If you mean to get off of Weik, no one has done so in hundreds of years." That was the truth of it as far as she was aware.

 

[PERSENUS]

"Oh." Perenus, with a given pause, realizes the leather armour was not just the local fashion. This is a primitive world lacking the technology for space travel. He's been on world's like this before but they don't usually contain humans. He guesses that they were stranded here, seeing that she does say that someone got off this heap before, but the population itself could not.​

"Are you not a Jedi then? Where did you get your Lightsaber?" That didn't add up. It was a primitive world but strong in the Force, surely on the Lightside though the Darkness creeps on every corner, so he would not bat an eye if there was another Lightsider Cult here. What was curious was how did this technologically deficient world manage to give this woman a saber.​

He looked about, making sure she was alone, before gesturing for her to come with him. "Come. Talk to me while I work. Tell me of your people."​

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"What is a Jedi? As I have told you, I am Sola Wessiri, Paladin of the Adamite Tower here on Weik." She glanced down to the weapon in her hand and reclipped it to her belt. "Lightsaber? That's an odd name for it. They are passed down through the ages from Paladin to Paladin. One must earn it."

Sola approached to follow PERSENUS as he requested, herself being very curious about the discovery, but also continuing her assessment of the threat level; both by what the transport and the foreigner could represent.

"You have not given me your name or where you are from." He had bypassed her questions earlier and so she was determined to do the same, if only to get to the bottom of things herself.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"That weapon you are using is a Jedi's tool. For over a thousand generations, they've used them to defend those who could not defend themselves." ;the weak, "Then there are those that use it for a grander plan. At the very least, not a stagnant one, unlike the Jedi's." His face was expressionless. Normally, when he spoke of the Sith in comparison to the Jedi, speaking of their superiority, there'd be a smile on his face, or a snarl if he was facing an enemy. However, nowadays, he spoke of them with as much poison as he did the Jedi though the words that formed within his mouth told a different tale.

"My name is Vin." He wasn't lying. Although he has never gone by that name since his smuggling days, he figured it would be safer than using his current name. Perenus would kick up a peeled off metal plate that guarded the ship's side and moved it a bit farther from the ship, before picking up another and placing it with the previous one. He needed to count what he has and what he needs before he starts the repairs. "This is my ship." Now he was lying. "We crashed here after a.... discharge within our vessel that damaged some of its functions, causing us to lose control of it. Do your people have anything that can regulate heat? Any crashed ships I can cannibalize for parts? Surely, your people must have arrived here somehow - there must be something left over I can use."

Sola Wessiri

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola pointed to the hilt hanging from her belt. "These were found a long time ago, located at a crash site. Some don't even work anymore." But hers still did. She didn't ignite it a lot, but it came to life a lot better than some of the others did.

"Well met, Vin. Have all of your crew passed on? They should be burned in a pyre, unless you wish for them to be eaten." Sola gave off the hint that the local wildlife would be keen on the smell of decaying flesh, and that it would be better to be rid of it.

In regards to PERSENUS 's inquiry into a crashed ship, Sola was a little tight lipped. The only crashed ship that she knew of was the Adamite Tower itself which was once a massive warship of the stars. It had come down during a fierce battle and buried itself in the mountains. Only the observation deck was visible. The Paladins, after having the crashsite gifted to them, had explored it's depths and found many wonderful things. Among them were the lightsabers. "I am unaware of any crashed ships that you can take parts from to fix what's yours. But Vossport could have some things similar." Sola wasn't entirely sure though. Visitors were a very very rare occurance.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"They have been buried. I just finished their mound when you came." He said as he watched as the smoke slithered ever so slowly into the air. He wondered how much heat they had gathered in there from the functions as well as the crash. It would likely take a while before the smoke stopped so more likely than not, there would be others like Sola Wessiri who are too curious for their own good. Entering the vessel again, he would take all the valuables - remaining medkits, communication devices, credits, and all the sorts - and made sure they were secure in the holding chambers. The security systems were not functional so he had to make do by using a plasma torch to seal the entrance down.

"In any case, can you accompany me, Paladin, to this.... Vossport, you say?" Perenus requested as he finished up on the door. If he wanted to, he could just use the Force to pry it back open. Hopefully, by then, there wouldn't be any curious lightsiders at his side. His staff retracted back into a small handle, which, if Sola was attentive enough to see, would appear much like other Lightsabers or what they called Sunfire Swords, though with two other vents coming out of the side. "I am not keen on staying here any longer than I should."

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"They will be eaten. The dirt does little to hide." But there was always the chance that PERSENUS wanted it that way. It wasn't up to her to guess.

As the foreigner worked inside of the vessel to pack up his things, Sola explored the outskirts of it. She placed her hand on the hull, still feeling traces of heat. It was hard to believe that such a big and heavy thing was capable of flying through the air. And yet it was...But lerhaps if it were to never be fixed, the Paladins could claim it as well.

Her attention turned to Vin as he returned, her eyes lingering momentarily on his form-changing-staff. "Vossport is on the other side of this mountain. It will take us the better part of a day to get there." As she led the way, Sola kept watch at the trees ahead, listening for predators that the bodies surely would have attracted. "Your markings...where are they from?"

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"I believe I buried them deep enough to fend off the smell, and far enough that they won't bother the ship if something does come. That as all I really care about." Obviously, he wasn't exactly close with his fellow shipmates. With the lack of ships and by what seems to be a more primitive level of technology, this place had one upside. It was invisible to the Empire. There won't be any surveillance to capture his figure, no crime brokers to trace his steps, at least of what he has seen so far. This would be a good place to lie low, from what he guesses its like so far. "Then let us leave. I am... eager to see what this planet has to offer me."

Then came he inquiry of his tattoos. Surely, he liked to put them on display but questions of them, nowadays, often made him more defensive that he should be. They are a reminder of how powerful he has become, a physical representation of his progress in the Force, by his master's wishes. They stemmed from Ancient Sith architecture and artwork and an educated Jedi would be able to guess his alignment from that alone. They were more trouble than they were worth but he even then, he finds it restricting to put clothes over the tapestry that has become Him. It is like putting dirtying a majestic beast. It is like chaining him but the Force shall set him free.

"Purely aesthetic." He said with more poison than anything else he had said so far, though still on a monotone range.

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Smalltalk wasn't a strongsuit of hers. She made attempts at it at times, especially back in her youth while training with Varlo and the other Paladins. But there were moments when it felt a little shallow or fake; as though it was nothing morethan something to replace the silence. Yet on Weik there was hardly ever silence. Nature was always there.

Conversing with PERSENUS was a different matter, however. He was a foreigner and not just to this side of Weik, but to the planet entirely. Automatically she didn't want to trust him. His mannerisms told her as much. Yet she needed to investigate him further before she could pass any judgement.

And for that she needed to engage him more.

"Has to offer you? That's a peculiar thing to say." Did he think that he was some God or liege Lord that all of Weik would bow down to? Such a notion couldn't be further from the truth. Those that had landed here hundreds of years ago learned that Weik was in control. Not them.

Sola led Vin up the mountain, following the same trail that she had used to get down to his crash site. "What is it like where you are from, Vin? Is it much like here?"

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"Is it now? Perhaps it is. It is something I picked up from my master." He said as he began their journey towards this Vossport. As he started to traverse, he let himself be immersed in the Force. It was sickening, the pull of this world. How the overpowering strength of the lightside kept things in its stranglehold while the dark slipped around in the Dark. It was slithering out of the perception, the source of where he drew his power. However, this trance was broken from her inquiry.

"No." He said succinctly. Eshan, however, to outsiders, would see similarities. "My homeworld was far more advanced in its technological state. In fact, we were the foremost developers of weapons, for a time, and our culture has been absorbed and penetrated the teachings of many in the art of combat." Of course, he had only learned such ways years after he was born, instead of being trained from birth like his brethren. Echani, the martial art, was one of the forefront martial skills anyone could learn and, though he didn't learn it traditionally, he was a master of its application. "Then again, I can't speak of it much. I've never lingered there long."

"I've only been there a few times in my life and no more for a month. I.... have a busy life." The saber he kept, now hanging on his belted scarf once more, felt as if it told his entire history in its grasp. All his life, on the run, in a fight, and he rarely ever complained. There wasn't much time for words when you were either fleeing certain death or fighting for your life in pits or on the battlefield. He simply took adversity on with silence. After living a life drenched in forced violence and bloodshed, he began to feel empty without it when he first embraced the dark side.

Now, years later, his rashness and fondness for breaking bones, snapping necks, and bisecting puny Jedi had mostly passed. His impatience still lies within him but his eagerness had faded away. When there is a new fight waiting for him at every turn, he could feel himself getting older, weaker. Then again, he was only eight and twenty, or perhaps that was a sign.

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"Was your Master on board with you?" If that was the case than his Master had passed. PERSENUS didn't seem all that saddened by the deaths of the crew. And yet he took the time to bury them. It could very well be that Vin was the type to hide his feelings, much like she often did.

Her brows lifted at the mention of weapons being produced by his people. "Your staff; it shrinks itself down. Does it fold within itself? Is that one of your people's weapons technologies?" It wasn't unheard of that there were worlds far away that had more technical advances than they did. The Adamite Tower was proof of that. However just what else those advancements could be, Sola couldn't fathom. "There are those hete that travel a lot as well. Mostly merchants. When the fair seasons begin, they move about the mountain passes from one city to the next. Are you a weapons merchant?"

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"No, he was not." He said, not offering anymore information on that matter. However, her questions on his weaponry, he would amuse. She doesn't seem to have come to the realization that it is, indeed, the same type of armament as hers. Perenus felt relief at that, though he did wonder why she wasn't as suspicious of him as he thought. Foreign, unknown weaponry, knowledge of the world beyond their comprehension - he was a dangerous man even without consideration of his Force abilities. Still, he was thankful of her seeming ignorance, though he knew that she would have to come around to it eventually.

"No, it is not, though, in a way, it is. It is something of my own design, so yes, you can consider it something that my people have made and among those people is me." He said as he took the saber from his scarf belt. He remembers forging the blade and specifically remembering creating the synthetic crystal within it. He had bled it red in the furnaces with his use of the Dark Side, purposefully making it unstable but cracking it on accident, which resulted in the crossguard design. "It was my master that lectured me on its creation.

And then her question about his occupation and then he realized that he was starting to get very irritated at the barrage of inquiries coming at him. Still, he entertained her, trying to understand her curiosity at this alien being from another world, especially since he had been to multiple and not just his own. "No. Well, not now, anyways. You could say that I was a merchant of sorts with my father. We sold weapons along with other merchandise. I... have resigned from such a profession, though. My accomplices, however, have not."

"Tell me... Sola? Was it? What are the Paladins of this... Adamantine Tower?

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"Ahhh, so the apprentice has become the master." Sola had assumed that PERSENUS ' Master was for forging weapons. There were many bladesmiths on Weik, and some that built crossbows and the like, but she didn't really take a liking to automatic weapons. She preferred close combat.

The focus of the conversation shifted then. It seemed bizarre that other worlds didn't have Paladins. Yet perhaps they were simply called something else.

"The Adamite Tower," she corrected, "is where Paladins live and train. We protect the people, fight in the wars and deliver justice when neccessary. We don't govern, as that is up to the Weikian's leaders. We merely lend a helping hand."

A short yip sound was heard. Sola looked in it's direction and saw her vask-wolf friend Shadow through the trees. He kept pace with them, silenty.

"I think that you're the first visitor here in generations. Has it gotten that crowded out there that people are encroaching on Weik?"

 

[PERSENUS]

​

He would listen in silence but found himself mentally rolling his eyes. They were as Jedi as any other. It was rather amusing, really. Simple-minded fools are a dime a dozen. Their stagnancy is their downfall. Labelling themselves as protectors had always given him an unsavory taste in his mouth. They, all caught up in their greater good and holier-than-thou attitude, fail to see that they are as just as bad as them. The Jedi are no better than the Sith.

"No, I have not." He replied to her first remark and added nothing more. Continuing on with the conversation, he would address her last question. "There is plenty of space out there. Plenty of worlds uninhabited to take. Some worlds are so favored that they make cities atop of cities where people that live and die on the lower levels live and die without ever seeing the sun."

"So believe me when I say that we could have crammed the space of a hundred worlds into just one, if we so wanted to."

 

[Sola Wessiri]

PERSENUS didn't seem to like what she had to say. His body language and sometimes the subtle expressions on his face said as much.

Smalltalk was hard and sometimes pointless.

Sola nodded as she listened to him explain of other worlds. She couldn't imagine cities above cities. Vossport was the most densely populated area that she knew. Yet there was plenty of room for everyone.

"As long as they stay well away from here. All would be well." The last thing that they needed was raiders or anyone to help the Lucites further their goals.