Private Death, Devilry, and... Dairy?

[Maeve Linahan]

"Mother of Moons," she cursed. "What is that godsforsaken smell?"

A moo answered her in response from the field ahead.

Maeve restrained a groan. It was a farm. At least, what seemed like a farm. Because while it looked like a simple dairy on the outside, complete with a fenced enclosure and outbuilding, according to Master Noble—the other Master Noble—this was the site of a Sith laboratory, where Dark Siders concocted undead monstrosities of the Force.

Which meant it was ripe for a Jedi cleansing.

Maeve had come to the backwater planet in the company of Kahlil, Valery's husband and more recently the Shield of the Jedi. It was an honor to serve alongside him, no less at his invitation. What she hadn't expected was just how… different this mission was. And by different, she meant by how much it reeked of unwashed cows and manure.

Disguised in the bushes and dressed in her darkest robes, Maeve turned to where Kahlil was. The man was damnably huge. Nearly seven feet tall with a knife-sharp jaw and biceps the size of her neck. Little wonder Valery had fallen in love with him, and even less that they'd conceived an entire family together, too.

"Are you sure this is a Sith facility?" she asked him, a little skeptical as she eyed the farm ahead, cows absently chewing on the grass.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"I am."

Kahlil held quite the complicated expression as he looked over the farm. They'd rebuilt since the last time he was here. There wasn't even a sign of what he'd done left. Time healed all wounds, it seemed. Even the most unnatural. He stepped forward, into the pasture and past the cows. The farmers here didn't know. How could they?

"It used to be mine."

He raised a hand. The ground beside him split, and from within a pedestal rose. The Jedi set his hand on it, and at once he felt the prick of a needle in the center of his palm. Blood was the key. His lab, his blood. Nearby the ground shifted again, this time to descend and reveal a staircase below. Dead air rushed out. A good sign that no one had opened it since he left it sealed.

"Be on your guard. They'll be incredibly rotted by now, but they'll still be moving."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Yours?" she repeated, suddenly incredulous.

Before she could say more, Kahlil raised a hand over the grass. With a sharp pull of the Force, a pedestal slowly rose out, which he pressed his palm against, feeding it a taste of his blood. Maeve watched on with growing surprise. Even as the ground opened up to reveal a staircase and a monstrous reek, she never once looked away from the Jedi.

She'd heard the stories. Everyone in the Jedi Order had. Kahlil had once been a Sith, his mind enslaved to the Dark. Of course, as Shield, he'd fought and bled to redeem himself in the eyes of the galaxy, for Valery and for many others. There was no trace of the evil he once was. Maeve, too, could sense he was completely and fully in the Light.

But did that mean she trusted him fully? Not in the least.

Redeemed or not, those who ever walked the path of the Dark Side, Maeve found difficult to swear by—while she respected Valery with every fiber in her being, she'd never been quite sure about her husband. Palpatine, after all, had deceived trillions, even the entire Jedi Council and his most trusted friends. Kahlil might've been true to his word, but anyone could fall again. Anyone.

Once you had a taste of the Dark, could you really forget its pull?

Maeve shrugged the thoughts aside, turning away from Kahlil and then down into the passage. "This place smells as monstrous as these cows," she murmured, her nose wrinkling. "Remind me, how long ago was this laboratory yours?"

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh.. It was the last I made before I turned sixteen and fled from my Father's Empire to become a spacer, so.. About twenty years ago, now." There'd been more years now than he spent under the thumb of his father. Huh. He paused to reflect on that. Smiled, just a little. It was a good thought. And generally better than dwelling on the suspicion he felt from Maeve. She was right to be suspicious.

Those who touched the Dark were forever bound to it. And he was born into it.

"I've lived my life trying to make amends for what I did as a Sith. I'm not blind to how some still see me. And, in truth, I welcome it. I know just how corrupting the Dark is."

He moved to the staircase, lifting out his saber to ignite the green blade and hold it aloft as a light source.

"I know my limits. If my family is in danger, there is nothing I won't do to protect them. So if I do fall, I hope you'll stop me." He paused, glancing back to her with a sheepish smile.

"Preferably without killing me, though. Valery would get quite angry."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Twenty years was a long time. More than enough to atone for one's sins. But Maeve was not like most Jedi, and her prejudice against the Sith ran deeper than blood. Could saving twenty lives make up for the murder of one? Perhaps—until you asked the family of the one lost. All they'd want was justice.

Maeve followed that thinking blindly, because while the world was not all black and white, she saw it that way regardless, and she spared little mercy for even the most generous of Sith. Problem was, Kahlil was a unique case. She still wasn't sure to think of him, good or bad.

"If you were to fall, believe me, I will be the first in line to make sure no one else is hurt again." She looked over to Kahlil briefly. "Including Valery." Maeve glanced back down into the staircase. "But I appreciate the sentiment, Master Noble. I would never dare try to kill you, even if you were consumed again with the Dark Side."

She ignited her own lightsaber, its ice-blue glow piercing the shadows curling around the passage, before she descended inside. "Because I trust Valery enough that she will be the one to do it, if that becomes necessary."

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"I do appreciate that you trust her."

There was little wonder as to why. The Sword of the Jedi knew what needed to be done, and had the resolve to do it. It'd been the same for Exegol. Kahlil reached a hand up, idly drawing a rune in the air before a sphere of light formed before it. Then he sent it forward, down the halls. It was a lab, for sure. White walls and floors fit for any scientist. But etched with deep crimson. More runes, far more complex and sinister.

"But if I am too far gone, she won't be able to bring herself to do so. My weakness is my family. It's the same for her."

The sphere continued to drift, but eventually paused enough to lazily float by the end. Then darkness, the feeling of dread, of lethal intent and only lethal intent. A large clawed hand reached around the corner as it's owner dragged itself into the hall. A rancor, of sorts. Undead, decayed and rotting. Blank eyes stared towards the two Jedi as it continued it's way down, right over one of the entrance runes.

The rune faded. In a flash of crimson. Lightning erupted from it, decimating the zombified creature utterly and completely until nothing was left.

"Mind your step, and don't lean on the walls. I was.. Very paranoid as a boy."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Family," she repeated after him solemnly. "I understand."

But only so far. Hearing Kahlil claim that Valery would not be strong enough to challenge him in the small case that he fell was disheartening, but not unexpected. He was her husband, the love of her life, the father of her children. She supposed it was wrong to expect the Sword of the Jedi to destroy her Shield.

"Let's hope, then, that day never comes."

Maeve shouldered on. She stopped at the feeling of dread in her stomach, hand instantly drawn to her lightsaber when she saw the claw around the corner and the rise of an undead rancor. She froze. Part of her wasn't sure whether to charge at it or wait for it to attack, but she was grateful when she didn't have to do either. The runes in the chamber killed the beast for them.

As smoke wafted from what was left of the rancor's ashes, Maeve cocked an eyebrow. "Thanks for the warning," she said, nose wrinkling at the smell of burnt, undead flesh. So much for escaping the reek of cow manure.

"So, as a boy, were you just paranoid, or malicious?" she asked Kahlil as she strode delicately down the passage. "Because these rune traps are a little sadistically over the top, don't you think?"

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Sadistic would be turning your flesh inside out or freezing you in place in such a way you're aware of your body decaying but are unable to move the whole while. There were many things I could do with these runes that I just rather not, even then. Not many of my family would do the same." He wasn't defending himself. Not with the expression he had, anyway. Sorrow, that he felt he needed this all.

He walked down the hall, purposefully so with his steps. Motioning for her to follow in them. It was like riding a bike, so easy to remember all the little traps and triggers he'd set out to protect his secrets here.

"As a boy, my sister killed me over candy. My father made me, a clone, with the originals memories, as his own science experiment. All of this, everything in these labs, they were all made to both prove my worth as more than an experiment he could discard at any moment, and find a way to escape the fate he put on me if I couldn't."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Good point." Maeve had seen worse traps laid by Sith, so instant death at the hands of arcane lightning was somewhat of a mercy in comparison. Still, it was vicious.

But not as cruel as what Kahlil told her next.

"Just over some candy?" she said once he'd finished, unsure whether or not he was serious. By the solemn look Kahlil wore, she assumed he was. "How... considerate."

Maeve shouldn't have been surprised. She knew the stories. Kahlil was a Sith Prince, the son of a monster and a descendent to the most vile family in galactic history. His siblings, his father—they each were responsible for the deaths of countless innocent lives. Little wonder that they were just as dysfunctional and wicked to each other as they were everyone else.

Maeve might've sympathized, but what more was there to expect from being born into the Dark Side? To be an heir to a Sith empire? Call her heartless, but that was just reality.

"What convinced you to finally leave them?" she asked as she followed each and every careful step behind Kahlil. Maeve had heard varying tales on how he'd come to abandon his family, but she was curious to hear what he had to say himself.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm."

Considerate wasn't a word he'd use for it, but then again, he wasn't sure what word he would. What made him leave, though? He paused near the actual entrance to the lab, peaked around the corner just to make sure one of his experiments wasn't waiting around the corner. So far, for now, clear. How much longer? Not very, if he hazarded a guess. They could probably feel the life that was now wandering the halls.

Maybe. His experiments weren't about them being used as a weapon primarily.

Not that they weren't dangerous.

"A woman I was supposed to capture, torture, and kill told me I was being stupid for thinking that I had to prove my worth to be allowed to live. That it'd be better to live the way I wanted to than in constant fear. If my last day was tomorrow, did I really want to spend it making monsters and hiding in labs? No, obviously not. So I ran with her. She showed me how to run a freighter and make a living as a spacer."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"You're saying you escaped Darth Carnifex, the most powerful Sith of our time, and became a space-faring smuggler?" she told Kahlil, just to show how utterly ridiculous his story sounded, even if it was the complete truth. "And then he just let you become a Jedi? Did he not ever come to reclaim you?"

She felt sure the Sith Lord had. Once, at least. Sith were predictably prideful, and one of their own turning to the Light no doubt would've driven him into a wrathful frenzy. Her real question was just how Kahlil had survived despite that—to become the Shield of the Jedi in the face of his own family without consequence. Had he never feared the day Carnifex would come knocking at his door like a reaper in black?

Maeve would. She might've fought an ocean of Sith and countless unspeakable monsters, but that man was more devil than demon, and she knew for all her strength, she was just a flickering candle against the vast night, and in Kahlil's shoes, she'd spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, preparing for the day that the night came to claim her.

"If he tried to come for you," she continued, her voice a low whisper as they continued through the lab, "do you think you could stop him?"

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"He didn't let me. And he has."

Kahlil didn't go into detail. Honestly, he didn't want to. What happened, with Valery, with himself both before he met her and after, they were a past he'd long come to terms with. But just because he'd come to terms with it, didn't mean he wanted to talk about it all over again. He did, however, turn to flash Maeve a grin. Not a grim one, either. "I might look young, but I'm a lot older than you think. The boy he had a hold over, I'm not him any more. If he comes, if he threatens my family, if he finally steps out of the shadows he's hiding behind, I will strike him down. He needs to be stopped."

He paused. Turned his gaze towards the chamber they had arrived to. Gone was the grin as he instead held his saber in his hand.

"Like here. I can feel them. More. Are you prepared for what comes next?"

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Short answers, but honest ones, too.

Maeve had no reason not to distrust Kahlil's story. He'd already proven his true character to Valery and the rest of the Jedi, including the Council, and as the forsaken son of Darth Carnifex, he was far from her enemy. And while it didn't change Maeve's prejudice against his dark past, it did shed some light on what he was like and what had made him into the man he was today. He had changed, and he wanted to mend his mistakes.

Starting now, for instance, with this lab and these creatures.

"Good," Maeve said, surveying the chamber at the end of the passage. It seemed they had managed to sidestep most of the traps he'd laid as a boy, so she needn't worry too much about getting blasted to ash out of nowhere. That still left her with the problem of the undead, but like the man at her side, she shared little concern for what laid ahead.

"Why else would I be here if I wasn't?" she answered Kahlil's question with a smile. "Whatever toys you left behind for us, I'm more than ready to break, as long as that's alright with you."

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Toys make it sound so simple."

Kahlil chuckled. A sad kind of chuckle anyway before he reached out to open the door. The air practically hissed before the smell of death drifted out into the hall. Movement was obvious. Though where the Jedi Master expected a horde, only one thing moved. And quickly at that. An amalgamation of all the various creatures he once experimented on, fused into some sort of abomination. A rancor face roared aloud as it suddenly ran forward towards them.

So he shut the door, just as it slammed into it.

".. Okay, I didn't make that."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"You say that, but Sith treat everything they think beneath them as toys. Didn't you as a child?" Maeve asked, half-joking but also, half not. While it was easy to forgive a man like Kahlil for his actions, for her, it wasn't easy to forget. Especially in a place this foul and wretched.

It was even worse when he opened the door at the end of the hall, revealing what seemed to be a nightmarish fusion of a dozen abominations. A Rancor's face with an Acklay's teeth, a poison-tipped tail and armored scales on its back. The creature was a monstrosity only the worst Sith alchemists could concoct.

The door shut as quickly as it was opened, but Maeve had seen enough. She stared at Kahlil for a long, awkward moment. "What… was that?"

The door shuddered as the creature within beat against the walls. Dust sprinkled down from the ceiling, catching in her hair, and she scowled with some measure of irritation. "If you didn't make that—" She thumbed at the door as it shook a second time, "—then who else could it have been? I thought you said this place was your laboratory. Not your family's. Not your father's. Yours."

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"A heap of corpses stitched and combined together, by all appearances. And it's very angry."

Kahlil rubbed at his chin, frowning. She was right. Who got access to his lab? There was no one who knew- Oh right. Realization settled in pretty quick before he chuckled. A grim chuckle. He, Silas Westgard , and Amani Serys had found it before, but he'd forgotten about it. Being 'dead' certainly made it hard to remember things.

"Part of my research was about making a soul to inhabit a body. I thought I failed, but several years back we found one that worked who.. Took a lot of my research. My guess they've been busy."

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

"Really? I would have never guessed," Maeve said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Of course the creature inside was a pile of dead beasts sewn up together—she'd seen it with her own eyes, and she had seen especially how frenzied and starving it was, desperate to escape and sink one of its many jaws into their necks. The abomination was nothing like she'd ever seen.

"Wait," she added despite the roaring noise behind the door, "You meddled in the spirit-world?" Maeve could not believe what she was hearing. "I thought you were a simple Sith alchemist. What kind of child experiments in necromancy?"

Why was Maeve surprised? The Zambrano family were practically born as unforgivable monsters. Interfering in the darkest Sith arts was probably a staple of their childhood.

The door shuddered again. Dents were already appearing in the metal, one after another, and no amount of barricading would be able to hold back the monster inside for long. And while she wanted to be upset with Kahlil, there was no time for her to be throwing another fit. They had to fight, or run. And by the look of the beast, running was probably the wiser option.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"My father marked me from the day he cloned me as a vessel for his soul to take over whenever he wanted. Finding a way to move my spirit or prevent him from taking over was my only goal as a child." That was about as much as he was going to say on it as he instead raised a hand towards the door. The Force shifted as he drew a different rune on the door. A simple lock, which seemed to reinforce the metal enough to keep it from breaking open immediately.

"We're going to kill it. That's not something we can let run around. How much experience do you have with killing undead?"

Maeve Linahan

 

[Maeve Linahan]

Maeve backed off at Kahlil's answer. Of course. As much as she'd liked to have lumped him and Carnifex in together as family, the Sith Lord was a soulless monster, and he'd have seen his own son as little more than a tool, another weapon in his arsenal. What else could you do as a child, grasping at straws trying to find a way to survive?

Still, by the Force, Maeve only wished it hadn't led to that diseased abomination shrieking from behind the door.

"It's not ideal," she told Kahlil. "But I've killed my fair share of undead. I suspect this shouldn't be any different?" She closed her eyes, drawing in a calming breath as the Force gathered around her in waves. Undead creatures weren't all she'd fought before. With Amani, she had managed to defeat a seemingly unstoppable Sith spirit, and all it'd taken was a little ingenuity and plenty of Light. More than likely, the same applied here.

"You know these monsters best. How do you propose we kill it?"

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"I know the simple things I made. Shambling creatures that were an afterthought as I searched for a way to control souls. This certainly isn't one of my area's of expertise." Though they certainly had the weakness of any Sithspawn, undead or not. He raised a hand, glancing to his palm before letting the light within flash. A simple rune, the very same for Light, brightened before he reached out to tap the ground.

Redouble on his old traps. Just, more ethical, he figured.

"Just guide it over the traps and- Uh. Don't get caught?"

He shrugged a little before turning his head and offered her an apologetic smile.

Maeve Linahan