Down in the Dark

[Bjorg The Traitor]

The thick rain forests of this planet are horrid, sweat is leaking from me, my hair is clad in sweat, giving a foul odor that is beginning to cling to my body, furs were not ideal for this mission. I did intent to bring much technology with me, besides I am mere extra muscle against the swarms of the Kaleesh, a savage primitive, yet nationalistic folk. The rain was constant, heavy, I felt like I was weighing double weight, not in the sweat, but the rain. My leather boots became muddy, the water was sinking in, it was irradiating and uncomfortable, but at least it wasn't frostbite. There were mere rumors and vague remarks that there might be a Sith Temple some where around here, was it worth? Of course it wasn't, but yet again what choice do I have? I heard a constant stream of strange noises, only slightly muffled by the sound of rain, and yet I swear I heard voices, speaking strange dialect and langue I will most likely never know, nor that I intend to. In my wet and muddy hands I carry with me, a simple yet sturdy axe, using it to cleave my way past the bushes, I pretend to my self that I am cleaving people, to give my self some small sense of enjoyment out of this. I was only vaguely sure which way I was going, I may be tracker, but I'm not used to this, and a path would certainly help.


As the baking sun boils down on me, and the irradiating rain at least cools me, I find my self wondering where the other "sith" are, mostly youngsters, mostly joined not to late then I, but their force heritage gifts them a special position that I will most likely never know to enjoy, they see me as an inferior" Non-sensitive, to be bossed around accordingly, I can almost be promised they will go out of their way to make my life at the very least slightly more difficult. The sounds get oddly louder, I ignore them however, nothing more then creatures plotting to strike me, most likely, but I have no fear, they will be dead before they open their jaws, or what ever horrid things they use to eat. But what worries me slightly more, is that I am hearing whispers, no grunts or growls, but words at least I think they are. But it is only vague, no threat to me I would think.

The bushes become lighter, and some remark of there once being a path is shown, however this is most likely only the start to a long and tedious journey.

[member="Lark"] [member="Satia"]

 

[Poe]

The warship Midnight Spear​ dropped out of hyperspace, dislodging two squadrons of fighters to secure the area around the ship; and subsequently blockade the planet of Kalee. The planet was ruled by warlords, but compared to a Sith warship with their ferocity to conquer what they gazed upon, the warlords could only squirm in confusion and fear; surprise had caught them unawares. The galaxy's notorious conquerors arrived on their doorstep, whether they wanted to fight or submit was no longer their choice; a lost Sith Temple was rumored to reside on their planet, and they were guilty of stolen property in the eyes of the TSA! But the temple's existence was merely speculation, however the Sith no longer cared, it was a game of take and take more.

"Ready my shuttle," ​I ordered whirling around from the viewport, pulling my darkened robe around me. The Lords, in their ever testing of the new generation of Sith, had dispatched me with the undertaking of the unearthing the temple. But I wasn't the only one sent, the concept of discovering a lost Sith Temple was to important for one to undertake; especially for a Sith Acolyte. I didn't take this personally, but one day they would see me for what they had; a problem solver.

​I arrived on the surface of Kalee with no soldiers, but the moment I stepped out of my shuttle, three Kalee warriors greeted me viciously. Baring my fangs, I drew my alchemized Sith Whip, releasing the coiled serpent from it's sleeping state, snapping it once on my right side. They raised their weapons, and I matched them by producing the shoto length blade on my wrist; a weapon I was forced to tinker. ​"Stand aside less you wish to see your last sunset!" ​They charged me with their vibrostaffs, and I smiled; conflict was a gene beaten into me. Most do not know how to handle a whip, and the first Kaleesh to visit one lost his head. I repealed the attack from one, sidestepping the other's attack; putting my self between them.

​Catching one staff on my blade, I quickly snapped my arm out, after dropping the whip, to catch his brother by the throat before he continued finishing his attack. Being as tall as I am grants me a longer wingspan most underestimate. And despite my size, I was freakishly strong. Grabbing someone properly by the throat makes them pause, and it was this pause all I needed. Digging my claws into his throat, I ripped my hand back bringing part of his satiable throat with me. His brother howled with disgust as I bite into the raw flesh, feeling the bloody meat slide down my throat.

​"Last chance!"

​The final Kaleesh, using his body, drove me back while our weapons remained lock. Kaleesh were renown warriors, but that's all they were. Warriors bred to fight, not think. I possessed a long wingspan, but my legs were even longer. I leg swept at him, and when he jumped, I Forced Pushed him up into the air one moment while calling my whip to my hand in the next. When he landed, thinking he had the next advantage attack; the whip had already wrapped around his neck. With a gentle yank, his head jumped off his shoulders. And then I fed off their carcasses, feeling the exotic sensation of tasting raw flesh.


[member="Bjorg The Traitor "][member="Lark"]

 

[Lark]

Lark peered up at the skies, awaiting the arrival of one of his acolyte allies. He saw a small shuttle slowly glide down to the surface of the planet Kalee, doubtlessly piloted by the pale cannibal. She hadn't chosen the most opportune time to come, a small gang of Kaleesh warriors had been patrolling the surrounding area. One such group ambushed him from the grassy shadows, their enhanced night vision aiding them in tracking the outsider. But they didn't last long. Lark butchered them before they could even think to call for backup.

Lark remembered reading somewhere that Kaleesh warriors believed those who fought well in life became deities in the afterlife. How aghast their gods must feel right now, witnessing how easily their worshipers were cut down. They could not protect their descendants from him.

He calmly walked towards where [member="Satia"] landed. Despite the fact that there was certainly other warriors scouting the area, he wasn't particularly concerned for her safety. He put away his enchanted knife, granted to him by one of the Sith Lords, inside the sleeve of his jacket. But he kept out the enchanted sword to help cut through the foliage. The blade's color was that of an icicle, light blue with a hint of snow down the center. Crimson blood coated the slightly curved sword, droplets showered onto his clothing as he swung the blade. He cleared out the brush, and found Satia standing over a trio of recently slain bodies, sharp teeth deep into their flesh. Without a hint of repulsion, he peacefully walked towards her, bloodstained blade still in hand. He gracefully twirled his sword, sheathing it, but keeping his hand on the hilt. When looking at her, one might think she was the most heinous beast in the galaxy. Perhaps she was. But she was a different type of creature than Lark. People spoke of something so decisively damnable about him, and in the same breath they'd whisper of his archangelic beauty. It was as if he was not of this world at all.

[member="Bjorg The Traitor "]

 

[Bjorg The Traitor]

A path? A path, ragged and ridden with decay but a path all the same. Leading up ahead, the rain was still intense and the heat was still hot, but this small sense of gratitude was welcomed. As I wipe my face with my hands, as I carry on walking at a calm and gentle pace, as big as I am, I tread carefully, but I know I'm being watched, I'm very aware that some one or some thing is going to attack me at some point, the question is, when? So I wander although this path could lead any where, I began to see various stone pillars, they were small, having no real meaning at a mere glance, but as I carried on walking, they got larger, oddly larger. Much like the Wookies to an extent, despite being exposed and could easily get their hands on advance technology, they stubbornly refuse, in order to preserve some false sense of "tradition", a poor and weak culture, reminds me much of my homeland and people. Perhaps ironic, as I am bearing a simple axe, yet I consider that more financial then cultural.

I am finally ambushed, yet I am not meet with a war cry and bloodshed, I am offered a speech, as several Kaleesh, armed with blasters, long rifles, perhaps home made, perhaps brought I could not tell, I cared little. The Kaleesh that was speaking to me, spoke oddly fluent Galactic Standard, which was rare to see a Kaleesh that was even outside his own planet. "You walk softly for a giant.", he gave a pause, "Often you people and loud, slow and sluggish", I agreed. Yet I was taken off a bit, he knew my kind? Odd, the Valkyri only number in roughly two million; much likely less since the raid on Midvinter. I knew it was likely I would be killed where I stand if I didn't say anything, so in my deep voice, which I regard as quite, dominating. "What do you want from me?" The Kaleesh didn't kill me where I stand, nor did they when they were following me, they wanted some thing. The Kaleesh gave a small laugh, "You are servant of the Sith, we saw you land here, and we've seen your friends, we have eyes and ears every where."
"You follow the ways to the Forsaken Temple, this path is cursed, but we'll show you the way." I was hesitant, to say the least, why should I trust them? Of course it seemed as if I had little choice, looking around me I discovered I was being aimed at, "Very well, lead the way." I said as if he was genially offering help, instead of indirectly threatening me.


[member="Lark"]

[member="Satia"]

 

[Elensa Jari]

Kalee, Kalee System, Wild Space​

| [member="Bjorg The Traitor "]| [member="Satia"] | [member="Lark"] |​

To see one of the others engaged in blatant acts of feasting on the dead flesh of those she had killed was not a sight Elensa particularly imagined she would see, joining the others on Kalee as she had. True, there were plenty of depravities that the others were inclined to engage in: torture and sadistic acts meted out upon their enemies, natural dehumanisation of those unable to touch the Force, but this...this was something very different. The act of one that does not even see them as sentients, but simply as a food source. She couldn't be certain which part of those actions disgusted her more.

Her disgust hidden carefully behind the semi-translucent veil she wore to cover her face, Elensa approached the other woman, noting the presence of a third: a tall red-headed human, younger than she, clearly enamored of the blade he carried openly in his hand. Her skirts whispered softly across the grass, a silent glide forward as she approached the cannibal. He pike stabbed firmly into the ground with each step, a dull thudding making her presence obvious compared to the silence of her passage.

Coming to stand next to the pale-haired woman that continued her feast, the Hapan reached down and carefully touched the woman on the shoulder, extending her own presence with the Force so that she might encompass both of them. Her Master had insisted on her learning the art of communicating telepathically from a distance, given that she was unable to speak verbally, but it was a far easier thing to do if she could maintain physical contact with the one she wished to speak with.

You should save your feasting until there is something to celebrate, the young woman projected coldly, taking a step back and relinquishing their physical contact, her words done. The formerly loquacious young woman had become used to her silence, and had turned into a far more laconic individual once her vocal cords had been severed. There was no need to say anything further, at least for the moment.

Straightening, using her Lightsaber Pike to keep her steady, the Hapan stared at the other two through her veil, wondering if these would be the only ones that were assigned to this particular operation. To find a Sith Temple lost upon this strange world was their objective, though Elensa had little idea of how best to start: there was life in plenty on the planet, and the energies of the Force were strong here. Pinpointing a simple building laden with Dark Side energy might not be a simple matter. They might have been on the wrong side of the planet, for all she knew, but something told her that the other students might have had a better sense of where they might go.

A simple wave of a velvet-gloved hand indicated that they should move forward. We do, after all, have work to do here.

 

[Bjorg The Traitor]

I was being lead off the path, we went though thick bushes and around large trees, the Kaleesh moved with a fluidity that I struggled to match, I was forced to move ahead, the Kaleesh were not in the mood slowing down for me, I felt pokes of the barrel against my back, but none had the heart to dear push a hulking giant. It carried on for awhile , the sun was setting, the rain had stopped and the air had cooled, although still far to hot for my liking, it was more tolerable. Finally, we reappear out of the jungle, and we moved back onto the path. It was as if the path had been made just yesterday, paved with a refined stone that lead the way in the straight line, and there it was, the temple. Contrary to the path that lead us here, the temple was a mess, vines and plants had rooted deeply here, covering the decayed and chipped stone. The temple was built in with although a backward and ancient technique, it was done very well. As stone slaps were built on top of each other, each smaller then the last it was also built in a pyramid like shape, yet inside was a ill lit passageway, my fears confirmed as we were sent forward to walk into the unknown. "You go." The Kaleesh said, I walked forward, we was sent into the passage way, this was my chance. One of the Kaleesh was struggling to lit a torch, most were with me but one was guarding the entrance, here was my chance.

Two behind me, two in front, easy enough. Turning around, I plumbed my fist into the Kaleehs face behind me , grabbing the gun from his hands as he fell, although we was in almost pitch-darkness, with the only hint of light coming from the passage way, it was still very narrow. I ducked down, narrowly avoiding a blaster shot to the head, as I returned fire on the Kaleesh, chaos soon erupted, screams coming down the passageway, yells of pain and agony, unrecognizable, I don't know what happened , it was too dark, too chaotic, I acted on rage and hate alone, all my other scenes had numbed, I acted purely on instinct. In those few desperate moments, I came out, I felt blood leaking out of me, the reak of that iron smell strong, the Kaleesh guarding gave me one brief stare and ran for the jungle. I began to realize what had happened to me, blood was all over my hands, I had suffered several wounds, bites, scratches, even a few glancing hits from the blasters, I dared not travel to far into that temple, yet staying here wasn't a good idea, was this even the right temple? Why would they show me this, trick me, sacrifice me, perhaps even offer friendship, who was I know?

I checked for my comm, it was with me and undamaged, I spoke into it, saying "I think I have found the temple."

[member="Elensa Jari"]

[member="Lark"]

[member="Satia"]

 

[Poe]

​The act of feasting always put me in a trance-like state, covering my senses like a black veil of thickened mist, robbing me of my surroundings. This was a dangerous act I played, but whether this was born from my insatiable hunger or a side-effect of feasting of the flesh of other sentinets, I could not be sure. What I was sure of, when I ate the confusion in my mind, a real side-effect of the disease I battled everyday, subsided slightly. Looking up at the woman who touched my shoulder, with blood sliding down my chin, listening to her words in my mind made me pause. If this woman meant me harm, she would have succeeded, but I recognized her from the warship. She was part of our group.

​Dropping a bloody chunk of flesh, I nodded in admittance. She was right, until we found what we came for there was no reason to celebrate. Licking the blood off my elongated fingers, I said, "Proper manners. Still learning them." ​I followed the veiled woman, joining with the others. The silence was disrupted when our comlinks chimed in unison. So the Temple had been found, looking at the others I wondered if this was possible. Then I noticed were one member short, the newcomer to the Ascendency. I applauded his desire to succeed. ​"Shall we see this Temple for ourselves?"


[member="Bjorg The Traitor "][member="Elensa Jari"] [member="Lark"]

 

[Lark]

Lark trailed behind the other two, lost in thought. Besides the training temple at Bastion, he had never seen an ancient Sith temple. What kind of lost, undiscovered secrets would it hold? Or would it be abandoned, mysteries lost to the everflowing wind of time? Lark wouldn't say that he was excited, but he was curious.

Another member of their party must have gone ahead, the man had already managed to find the temple. It must be nearby, and when Lark received the location from where the message was sent the trio had a clearer direction of where they needed to be going. They were heading in the right direction, they'd be there soon. "We're on our way," he replied evenly. He held his hands behind his back peacefully, but kept a careful eye out for the possibility of an ambush. "Let's see what those who came before have to offer," he said composedly.

[member="Satia"] [member="Bjorg The Traitor "][member="Elensa Jari"]

 

[Bjorg The Traitor]

I kept on hearing strange calls, birds with their shrilling calls, repeating across the jungle as if their were some deformed and broken orchestra. It was horrid to hear, the bushes and trees were shaking, as if they were alive, was I being watched? I deiced to retreat to the darkness, of the temple, to hide from any possible ambush. My eyes darted, almost uncontrollably , I knew some thing or some one was coming for me, they had to. I even looked over my shoulder, to be greeted with a eerie silence. All I can do is wait, patiently for them to come, I began to see the sun going down, it was getting late, more dark then day.


[member="Lark"]


[member="Satia"]

[member="Elensa Jari"]

 

[Elensa Jari]

| [member="Bjorg The Traitor "]| [member="Satia"] | [member="Lark"] |​

Following the others felt unnatural, odd as it was to be partnered with others of her kind. Her experience of other Acolytes lay mostly in their competitive, ruthless natures, each one observing their fellows with a view to ensuring that none gained in superiority, keeping them all at an equivalent level, that none could get complacent, and none could serve as a threat. We are all expendable to each other, and yet all far more expendable to our Masters. Only the dire consequences that awaited those who murdered their fellow Sith served to stay their hands from turning against each other.

Though at the moment of greatest opportunity, such niceties will be ignored as the positioning begins. Elensa knew well enough that the others in their party would move to kill her without a second thought and, in truth, she knew she would do the same. Better to suffer at the hands of the Lords than to fall beneath the blade of one too quickly inclined towards opportunism. If she'd learned anything of the Sith, it was that those who served only themselves ultimately faltered in the grand scheme of things, as their ambition overrode their sense of duty. To die at the hands of such a being would be a true indignity.

She sized up the others as they walked: the tall, pale woman, hair like driven snow, eyes colder still, that insatiable lust for flesh sending a silent shiver down Elensa's spine. Their other companion, an odd contrast of colour: flame-red hair, bright and almost garish against white skin, strange flaming eyes not dissimilar to those of other Sith of her acquaintance. She knew herself to be the smallest of the group, but did not feel intimidated for that: these others would have weapons available to them beyond the boringly physical, if it came to the backstabbing that might yet come.

There was another, she knew: he had contacted them via commlink, a gruff voice, belonging to one she sensed was likely to be older, perhaps one more dependent on brawn rather than brain, judging by the harsh tones she had heard ringing across her commlink. But that one found the Temple first, so it wouldn't do to underestimate him.

All she could be certain was that they were walking into a potential deathtrap: not merely the ancient Temple, which no doubt had safeguards meant to repel intruders and test those that would seek out the secrets that the Acolytes hoped might yet be buried within. No, the biggest danger would of course come from each other: if she turned her back on any of them, one might take the chance to slip a blade between her ribs, and remove another competitor. And, if I do die, I know that one will be feasting on my flesh before my body goes cold.

Staying alive and intact would mean staying alert. To drop your guard here might be to die. She would watch these other three, very closely indeed.

 

[Lark]

After a short trek of silent hiking, the Sith Temple finally came into view. All had been calm since they met, although there was a near-palpable thread of tension that strung the three of them together. Not a fear of local tribesmen ambushing them, as long as they were alert the three of them would be more than a match for the Kaleesh warriors, even if they were outnumbered. No, each acolyte was wary of the other two, even on assigned missions the fear of being struck down burrowed into their hearts like a beetle digging into the rough soil they walked atop of. The Lords wouldn't mourn for their deaths, it was up to them to prove themselves worthy of standing beside the Lords as equals.

The temple loomed over the young Sith, casting a shadow that swallowed them whole as they approached. It was covered in all manner of foliage, it's once resplendent prominence was ensnared by thorny tendrils and dense leafage. There was no sign of their other companion, perhaps he had gotten eager and made his way inside without them. He walked past the other two, one with eyes as blue as the ocean, the rest hidden behind elegant garb, the other possessing the hunger that the most blood-starved beasts would envy. All three were paler than ghosts, like an odd trio of siblings, they walked into the temple. He was aware that he was exposing his back to them, but he wasn't worried, and his hands were still held together harmoniously behind him. "Listen for any movement behind us," he said as quiet as a phantom. "I have a feeling we're being followed."

There were bodies in the passageway, courtesy of their fourth companion. Without moving his head Lark stepped over them gracefully, noting the blunt damage they had on their corpses with his ethereal eyes. He found [member="Bjorg The Traitor "]waiting for them a little farther on, and Lark offered him a kind nod in greeting. "Well done on finding the temple," Lark commended with a voice as soft as silk.

[member="Elensa Jari"] [member="Satia"]