Man on a Mission

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco chuckled a little bit to himself, mostly at her. "I have some ration packs for us. Its a power bar, so I guess its the same as plants." He produced one of the ration bars from his pouch and extended it to the horned priestess as he walked towards the beam of light moving upwards away from the planet towards the stars. The desert they walked on was dry and sandy, the light of the nearby stars and the bright gold light of the nebula beating down on the pair as they walked. "Be careful with how much we eat and drink. We don't know if anything on this planet is edible, and I'm not carrying you if you eat something that makes you sick. That means I'd rather not run out of rations while we are here." The thought of carrying the priestess piggy back wasn't as unappealing as it could be. She was at least light, but it still wasn't something he was planning on signing up for.

Something told him they were being watched, a slight scratching presence at the very edges of his perception. Each time he pushed his senses further, the presence seemed to retract and withdraw further away, pulling back to stay just outside his perception, just on the edge so he could have the unease of being watched, without the ability to discover who or where the presence was. Whether Briga could sense it or not, he couldn't tell, but he felt the desire not to worry her. They were already pretty far up the creek, and they were losing paddles left and right. There wasn't reason to tell her there might be someone trying to take what they might have left.

"Well, you can call it An'xo if you like, but the inhabitants probably won't recognize it. I doubt they are gonna start calling themselves An'xoans because you showed up." He shook his head laughing aloud. "We should focus on not getting killed here, and name it once we leave in once piece." Draco wasn't sure whether the pair would be able to manage leaving together, alive, and with no missing pieces. Something told him they wouldn't be so lucky.

The source of light, as they approached it, seemed to be a hole in the desert floor, with light and bright orbs rising from the hole in the ground. Draco peered downward, but his eyes could not see through the light as it streamed out of the planet's interior. "Well, it looks like we have to drop down, come here." Draco held out his arms open, waiting to take hold of her so he could carry her down through the hole without her falling to her death. "Don't worry, I've flown with people before, it'll be safe. But, keep your hands up on my shoulders." He grinned, waiting for her to decide what she wanted to do.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

The fact that Draco wanted her to ration her food, made the Caprine immediately hungry. Where was the scrubby grass, tangaroot and radishes that grew prevalently on other planets, specifically her beloved home world of Iktotch? The Force planet was beautiful, but hot and dry, and a sandy desert stretched before them for miles.

Briga didn’t notice the malevolent presence which lay like a black widow at the edge of a web, just waiting for unsuspecting beetles such as themselves to run in circles around the filaments until they were directly in the center and ready to be pounced upon.
“I wonder if there are any inhabitants at all. And if we ran into them, what they may think of us.”

The mystic still had plans to introduce them to Ax’no but she also had other things on her mind. The Living Force originated from Ax’no so the planet on which they stood must have hold some of the secrets of her revered goddess. The goddess that Briga was reputed to be.

When the Mandalorian warrior suggested they drop down some type of light tunnel in the ground, Briga gave him an “are you serious?” look, but was quite intrigued by the glow from underground.

It had an aura of the divine.

Briga clasped onto Draco, placing her clawed hands on his shoulders and waited for him to plummet with the both of them. Hopefully the freefall wouldn’t be anything like the ship crash they’d just endured.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco wrapped his arms around Briga's waist before stepping off into the abyss of light with her held securely against his chest. With the possibility of there being a several kilometer hole in the ground Draco wasn't risking Briga over a loose grip on her. As he stepped off, the repulsors in his suit and on his feet kept them from falling quickly. In fact they descended fairly slowly and gently, with only a few short drops as the electronics shorted and fritzed in the stream of light and glowing orbs rising from the hole in the ground.

After a moment the pair emerged from the hole in ground and could see dozens of floating plateaus beneath the desert surface of the world. These plateaus were covered in dense jungle, the plants dissolving into tiny orbs of light that streamed through the holes in the ground as the plants died, and others took their place. The light from the streams of energy, light, and glowing particles illuminated the subterranean jungles, keeping a dim, morning light throughout the endless cavern, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction, the bottom obscured by mists, fog, and darkness.

Draco floated lower and towards one of the plateaus with Briga in his grasp, letting her go only once his feet had touched the ground, still quiet, and keeping his thoughts to himself. The first thing he focused on was looking for the dark tree he had seen in his vision. He only needed a moment before he could see a dark spot on the horizon, the dark presence scratching at the edges of his perception seemingly in that direction. "Well, we should go in that direction." His voice was calm and collected, quiet as he pointed towards the darkened spot, streaks of lightning erupting from the clouds above it as he did so.

Draco thought for a moment, the spear on his waist, the sword on his back. Those things he needed, but his armor, with the electronics failing randomly. He couldn't risk taking the repulsors into danger and them being damaged. Right now they only had those in order to get off the planet and back up to the surface. "Give me a moment and we can get on our way." He said, sitting on the ground and pulling off armor plates, stacking them neatly on the plateau they were sitting on. "I can't take my jump pack, because if I do and it gets damaged, we will be stuck here. And between you and me, I have people to return to. And, worst comes to worst, you need a way to get off the planet. This jump pack is our way out." His storm grey eyes looked up at her, "Don't you leave me here." It wasn't exactly a threat, and his tone was even. He worried she would leave him here at the slightest sign of danger, and because of that, he decided to keep his boots on, a little insurance for himself if he needed it. Even then, the boots wouldn't have the altitude to get him all the way back to the surface without him getting seriously creative.

Beneath the armor, he wore a simple armorweave jumpsuit, his upper arms exposed, gauntlets, greaves, and boots still on, but the rest stacked neatly in a pile on the plateau they arrived on, closest to their exit.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxabLA7UQ9k​

As Draco held onto Briga tight, she had a suspicion that he enjoyed the feel of her curves against his body. She did have an hour glass figure, and many humans tended to be attracted to her despite her bovidae horns. But he was a gentleman, and his hands did not stray past where they were perched on her waist. A less restrained individual would have had their paws on her pert behind just about now.

When the electronics on the repulsorlifts shorted, Briga gasped and screamed. She wasn’t used to all of this flying around, being a creature who mostly lived off of the land and climbed the white cliffs of Iktotch. Yes, the cliffs of her youth had been high, but there was always solid ground underneath her feet.

But when they finally got to the bottom, the mystic was too caught up in the sights to be afraid any longer. The plateaus which floated, much like the Floating Rock Gardens of Ryloth, were filled with vegetation which turned into particles of light as the plant life died. Yet more was there to take its place. It was as though time were sped up, as though the light and energy fueled a frantic entropy cycle in the bowels of the planet.

And it was quite beautiful to behold.

As Briga stuck close to Draco, she began to meditate, breathing slower. For one, the visions that had preceded their visit did not bode well for what they were going to fine. But also she wanted to begin her own process of tying the Force Planet to her goddess and also to herself. It would be fruitless to leave finding out nothing more than a bunch of floating, grassy islands, but she couldn’t be sure she’d have any more visions. At times and in remote locations like this, her powers were unpredictable.

When the warrior began to talk and remove some of his belongings she thought about who she may miss as well if left to die on the mysterious world. I mean, technically they would not die, especially if they were to live off the land like the first settlers on the planet. While Briga seemed useless in everything except divination, she was actually a savvy farmer, having grown up the daughter of two mystics who raised crops on Ikotch. And in all of this vegetation, something had to be edible.

“I will not leave you here,” she said, not angry that he’d suggested it. But passionately as though making a promise to him. In her voice was enough of a tremor that he could tell she was, at once, awed and terrified at their surroundings. No longer was she trying to lure out Darth Vulkan like some nasty little imp.

Which is because Briga knew. She had seen.

“Would you miss your Lady if we ended up deserted here?” the horned mystic asked.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco looked up at her from the ground, the soft moss and dirt he sat on rather comfortable. Briga's voice had changed, she wasn't the same as she had been at the beginning of her trip. Perhaps she had seen some, or more than he had. The Black Eyes of Vulkan looming in the shadows, waiting like a predator stalking prey. It did not bode well that he had seen and spoke with what had to be Vulkan during the trip here. There were so many questions he had about his visions, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her. To frighten the horned mystic with what he had seen. "Thank you. I trust you, but if you are certain I'm not gonna make it, get out. Just be certain I'm gone and dead first." He chuckled as he spoke, making light of a very real possibility to make it seem as though it was absurd and unlikely. "And, I promise I get you home so long as I'm around, alright."

"I miss her already, so yes. I would suffer not being able to be rejoined with her, whole and untainted." He had already slept on their journey, and his thoughts kept drifting back to Faith, and her carrying his twins in her belly. Their evenings spent together lounging in the dusk sun laying in each others arms. The fiery passion they shared when together. If this sojourn had not been absolutely necessary, he might not have began it in the first place. He had already put it off a few times since Voss, choosing to stay with her rather than rid himself of Vulkan.

"And you? Would you miss someone, or would you be content with what is here?" He knew he wouldn't be content here. Even if they did become stranded, he would never stop trying to get back to Faith. But, Draco couldn't be sure about Briga. He knew Faith would be torn to shreds if he never returned, and he couldn't live with that, and worse, there were not many that new exactly where they were. Communication this deep in the core was tricky, and Aten and Rach may or may not be able to locate them if they were to go missing. Its not easy to search systems that are hard to get to and disrupt electronics.

Draco stood up, stretching out and starting walking towards the horizon where the darkest clouds rumbled with thunder and lightning burned through the dim light of the subterranean paradise. Little plateaus floated around bigger ones like the one they stood upon, some of them only large enough for a person to lay on, others the size of islands with mountain ranges on them. As Draco's hand brushed a plant, it withered, retracting, pulling away from his touch, dying and turning to light and orbs of white, floating towards the surface. But the next held firm, with nothing out of the ordinary happening as he touched it.

The Mandalorian looked at it oddly, but at least there would be food if the absolutely needed it. As he walked slowly, he closed his eyes to inhale and listening, feeling with the Force. Suddenly all fell quiet, the sound of animals hushed, the flurry of insects gone, even the whisper of the wind was gone as the hush fell over the wayward pair. Heard a quintet of voices, their tones merging and splitting as they spoke and with closed eyes heard them, but saw nothing, felt no danger or anything strange in the Force.

<You must be prepared for the challenge ahead. You must defeat your evil, or be defeated by it. It is the only way.>

<You are not ready, you are weak and unsure of yourself.>

<You must focus on the strength you have been given by your loved ones.>

<You must banish the weakness of your doubt.>

<You will be conquered, or you will wear the mantle for yourself. There is no other option.>

As all five voices merged into one, they spoke in unison, calm and serene. <Here the Cosmic Force and the Living Force are one, at the birthplace of the Living Force, the epicenter of what science calls midichlorians. Here, there is only the Force, and all the Force may take form.>

The five masks faded away, and the black eyes returned staring at him from the shadows, the pupil-less voids glaring with evil and pleasure at Draco's confusion. <VULKAN LIVES!> The voice was a roar in his head, and Draco could hear the cracking of thunder from the dark clouds but when his eyes opened he recognized the lightning traveled not from the clouds to the floating island, but from the island to the clouds, in great sweeping bolts and arcs of raw power in the distance. Slowly the eyes receded into the darkness and the sound of animals and insects moving, the sound of life in a jungle returned to the deafening silence.

His visions were piecing together, slowly his mind was making sense of all that he heard as he searched the horizon, but he say only the storm before them, the creeping presence still just at the edges of his sense, as though hiding from him. Draco turned to look to Briga and finally he saw with his own eyes what could not be. Behind the pair of travelers, the five masks floated, long black robes covering their bodies, alien hands and digitigrade legs hovering above the ground.

"We have been waiting for you Draco, and for you Briga. You were expected, and the hour is late." The five spoke in unison, the tones calm, frustrated, doubtful, cheerful, and somber. Each their own. Each a part of the other. "All that surrounds us is the foundation of life, the foundation of what connects the cosmic Force and the Living Force. When a living thing dies, all that it is becomes one with the Cosmic Force. When a living thing is born, it is drawn from the Cosmic Force. One fuels the other. They are connected. Forever intertwined."

The first being, its mask expressionless turned to Draco, "You seek to break these bonds, to tear your evil from you, and conquer your darkness. The journey ahead of you is treacherous, and you will find betrayal and pain around every corner. Even those closest to you will cause you harm." The being turned its attention to Briga, leaving Draco questioning his wisdom in bringing her along. How much use could she be if he was going to find betrayal, perhaps it would not be her that betrayed him. Perhaps it would be him that betrayed her.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Briga had already seen enough in her own visions that she had every reason to be terrified, regardless of what Draco shared or not. “I understand,” she said at his request to make sure that he was dead if he wasn’t to survive. And while the thought was not appealing, the Priestess had a streak in her soul as cold and hard as mythra. If she were to kill Draco, it would only pain her that the galaxy was losing a great warrior like her beloved Balae Caprine on Iktotch, the ram-horned of her species. But she would courageously do what she needed to do.

After Draco admitted that he would miss Faith, the Sith Acolyte thought for a moment. Despite her loyalty to her species, she would not miss them and their whimsical revelry. She’d been separated from her mother and father since the age of twelve and she certainly held no undying love for the hoary old Caprine Elders. But yes, there was someone she would miss.

“Braxus Zambrano,” she said. “Darth Prazutis. I would miss him.”

Briga not only hadn’t admitted this to anyone, she’d never held this level of devotion to anyone before. As a pseudo goddess, she was the one who was normally being worshipped. The red-haired Caprine had never been in love as she preferred to mix power, spirituality and sex altogether.

Was she in love? Is that what this was? Or did she just miss the way he was able to satisfy her like no other in their bed chambers?

Draco moved towards a patch of swirling, dark clouds off in the distance. The Force Planet was a true enigma unlike anything she’d ever witnessed. Although she felt as though she should have been emboldened by its sheer power, she was humbled by the planet and felt distinctly ungoddess-like, more of the mortal bovidae animal she was than anything celestial.

And suddenly it was so quiet, it was as if any bit of noise in the air had been suddenly vacuumed out of it. While Briga could not witness Darth Vulkan she listened intently to the voices as they wove in and out of unison. Demi-gods? Lesser deities? Who were these strange individuals?

The Caprine abruptly dropped to her knees in front of the masked beings. “Praise be to sun and the sky,” she said under her breath. She glanced at Draco and then back at the Force Planet inhabitants. The Mandalorian wanted to banish evil, but that was not her journey. But was she the Great Betrayer they spoke of?

Still kneeling, she said in a loud voice as though addressing a congregation: “I am Ax’no, Goddess of the Harvest, Fertility and Creator of Life in the Caprine species.” She knew Ax’no wasn’t the creator of all life as Briga tended to believe in a pantheon of gods in the galaxy. “What will I find on the Force Planet? And what is your wondrous planet called?”

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco knew the name Braxxus. It wasn't a name he had heard or cared about in a long time. A very long time it seemed to him, but it was one he recognized. Perhaps later he would tell her what he new of this newly christened Darth Pravutis and their history, but that was in the future. And the future was always clouded. Especially now, facing five beings, floating above the ground, looking at them, regarding the unlikely duo quietly, speaking with an omniscient tone, as though they knew and were already well aware of the pair's intentions.

Draco remained standing, watching them as Briga dropped to her hands and knees, a position that accented her posterior quite well, and praised the five beings before her. The redheaded horned woman's words were intriguing. She truly believed she was the reincarnation of a god, a celestial being. Draco couldn't say for certain whether she was or not, but certainly her mortal coil wasn't the powerhouse of destruction and creation that Draco had heard the ancient god-like beings to be. Draco watched and waiting, standing behind her as she knelt, ready to go on the defensive if the need arose. If nothing else, the sword on his back would be of some use should he need it, its twisting dark aura ever present.

The being in the center's attention fell on Briga, its expressionless mask regarding her directly with a calm, serene tone to its female voice. "You seek to know the truth. The truth to your words, young priestess, and you will find it on your journey." Its mask turned to Draco, still speaking to Briga. "But beware, for in your journeys are intertwined, but there is only darkness down the path your companion treads. Darkness you cannot hope face alone."

Another voice, more jovial spoke out, "But they are together, surely together they will prevail?"

A third, angered, ill-tempered. "No, he is far too weak to save her from his evil. His evil is great and powerful, confident, and knows its own weaknesses. He is none of those things."

A fourth, "But what of her own evil? What will she see of that?"

The final voice spoke, somber and broken, "They cannot succeed as divided and broken as they are, and they have not the will to unite themselves."

Draco watched carefully, listening to everything. She had darkness, for certain, but it couldn't possibly be worse than his own, however anything more than what he was already dealing with, was an unwelcomed thought. Finally, Draco spoke, stepping forward beside Briga, patting her shoulder. "I've heard you before. In my dreams. You told me I had to face my demons, and I will. With all the courage and power at my disposal, but I know not how to defeat my demon. It is a part of me as much as my arms. Tell me, how can I defeat Vulkan's will, once and for all."

The center being's calm voice rang out again. "You must know yourself, you must know the truth of yourself, of your strength. Only then will you be able whole. Only then will you triumph." The beings words didn't make sense, they were cryptic and calm. With Draco's metaphysical battle approaching and he still didn't have any answers or advice. All he had was his sword. He knew his limitations, he knew Vulkan's power was much greater than his own. What he lacked in brute force, he made up for in stubborn determination and an indomitable willpower. All Draco could do was nod, still unsure of the future or the path he walked. They knew his doubt, they called it his weakness, all he could do was hope that the strength Faith had stirred within him was greater than his doubt. He may not know the path, but he knew he would find the light at the end of the tunnel.

The being turned its attention back to the caprine, lowering down, floating just in front of her, its hand held out to her. "You seek your own truth amidst an ocean of lies and deceit. It is the quest of many. To find what you seek you must guide others to their own truths. Only then will you find your own."

The somber being, the mask frowning, almost crying. "But how can she lead him to his truth, to his path and hope to survive against him." Draco's eyes raised at the word. He was after all carrying a weapon designed by several great Force Users to kill demi-gods. How could she hope to stand against him if their paths crossed.

He spoke out, "Briga, I won't hurt you. I promise. No matter how bad things get, I will not hurt you. Alright?" He was worried, they seemed to be implying that he would fight her, and likely kill her in the near future. And then he would falter and break, surrendering to Vulkan. For beings you were depicted as omniscient and powerful seers, that was not a good sign they were betting against the pair.

"Discover the truth to his strength before he confronts his inner demons. It is the only way to put you on the path to know the truth. It is the only way for the Dragon to defeat the Devil." The serene being said and then the others floated into the central being, disappearing before their eyes, and then a single orb of light darted off through the sky towards the darkened storm clouds around the island with the massive twisted dark tree.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Briga was in too much of a religious fervor to notice Draco eyeing her up posterior up like a bantha steak. She waited with bated breath for the celestial beings to speak, and when they did, the mystic just listened with mouth slightly agape. In awe, she watched them, her head moving back and forth between them as they spoke. They each had their own individual embodiment – one of anger, one of melancholy, even one of joy… and yet, so strange how these beings were mono in nature. Could it be that they were all parts of the same whole? They cannot succeed as divided and broken as they are, and they have not the will to unite themselves. Well that statement explained the state of mind between Draco and Briga, but it also could be used to describe the Force Planet beings themselves. Weren’t they divided? Broken? Fragments of emotions that, if fit together like puzzle pieces, would make up the whole picture of what sentient life was about from an emotional standpoint at least.

The red-haired seer jumped momentarily as the Mandalorian patted her on the shoulder, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell if he was referring to her or the divine beings. Briga looked up at Draco with doe-like eyes, intense and a little frightened. “I’m my vision, I’ve seen and felt…” She couldn’t get the words out – the pure evil she’d witnessed inside her mind was beyond her language capabilities. “But I know the one who seeks to harm both of us is Darth Vulkan.” Again, no more was she taunting the former Sith Lord spirit out of Draco. There were far too many other variables on the Force Planet to warrant unleashing an unpredictable demonic presence. Briga was here to find answers – about the Living Force and Ax’no. Locating and conversing with these angels was a good first step to that. No way was she going to open the trap door and let the chained monster of Vulkan free. And then just as Briga suspected, the beings combined into one.

“The truth to your strength? What do you think they meant by that?” Was it love? Honor? Pride? Fear of failure? “Would you like for me to mediate on it to see if I can have another vision, Dragon?"

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco's eyes were plastered on the dark tree, the lightning crackling around it. There was the key, the battleground he had to prepare for. He needed to be rested, centered, and prepared to do everything that was necessary to obtain victory. It wasn't an easy task to be prepared, it was even more difficult given the cryptic warnings and messages given to the dynamic duo by the five Force Priestesses. The unnatural, ethereal nature of the beings intrigued him and his mind swam to understand the five presences. They were certainly separate but one. Much like he and Vulkan had been, but where as Vulkan represented Draco's fractured sanity, these five seemed to be in their proper places.

"The truth of my strength." He let the words hang in the air for a moment as he pondered them. "No, I think we should start with working on being a united front. I need to know I can trust you." The Mandalorian turned to face her, to look into her orange eyes, and pierce her with his own stormy grey eyes. The shadows of dusk seemed to be setting in, as though the little trails of light and energy were dimming slightly around them. "Come here, let me look into your spirit."

The mentalist's presence crept around her, closing around her mind, not yet forcing its way through her barriers, but resting at the edges, gaining a feel for her as his arms were held waiting for her to come closer and trust him enough to let him through her defenses, deep into the crevasses of the horned seers mind. "Its going to be a two way street. You'll get glimpses of my mind just as I get of yours. I think that is the best way to earn each other's trust. To know that we are prepared together, not just as individuals. Don't you think?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath waiting for her to decide and take his hands with her own and meld with him through the Force. He didn't need her acceptance, breaking down mental barriers was something he had done several times, but one did not gain trust by forcing their way into reading the others deepest darkest thoughts. "What do you say? Meld and gain each other's trust, then meditate on the questions that have been proposed to us." Draco couldn't win if he was constantly devoting some of his energy to watching her, keeping track of her and waiting for the horned woman to pounce. He was almost certain she would be a problem at the beginning of this journey. But now he wasn't exactly sure given the circumstances. She did kind of need him around for right now.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Briga normally didn't trust anyone and vice versa. But the truth of the situation was stacked up against her. The two - Mandalorian and Priestess - had crashed on the Force Planet, had encountered one or five celestial beings and were about to face the unrelenting predator Darth Vulkan. Of course, they needed to trust each other! The alternative was to die on the planet, perhaps wrapped in the arms of Ax'no. But for Briga that wasn't something she had seen as her fate.

Ax'no has bigger, better plans for me, she thought.

"Come here, let me look into your spirit."

There was something slightly clinical about the request as though the Caprine would be subject to a sterile examination. He could see doubt flash over her features and then acceptance.

She felt Draco pressing against the edges of her mind, just waiting for the right opening...

And there, she let him in.

As he took her hands in a spiritual manner which Briga always appreciated being a Lady of the Cloth, she said back to him: "I trust you. And you can trust me. Ax'no has deigned that there is no other way. We will not leave this planet alive without depending upon each other."

And in her mind, he would be able to feel that this was the truth. Briga's mentalism wasn't powerful enough to hide the honesty besides a carefully constructed maze of lies.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco kept his eyes closed, letting Briga's presence peer into his mind, see the stresses and fractures of his consciousness. The places that were torn and broken, as though ripped from his mind, and the empty spots where memories had been erased and were simply no more. So much death and destruction. So much pain and sacrifice.

All of Draco's life were now at Briga's beckon call. His early years in a military academy and the time he spent as a solider. The short stint as a hired gun with the Hutt Cartel. The first great betrayal that cost him his freedom for four long years. The twelve hundred ninety seven days of darkness he spent deep beneath the surface of some world, glimpses of energy spiders dragging friends away in the darkness. The shackles that bound them all, forcing him to cut off friends arms as they screamed for help to save himself and others. It was the screams that echoed in these places the most.

In these places of his mind were where the tears and fractures were most prolific. The most frequent. Whole battles missing from his mind, but the memories of their results branded into his memory.

In other places there was happiness and light. Fields of flowers spent with woman, a child laughing and playing, a different woman whom Draco truly loved and was devoted. The image of two empty cribs brought happiness. In these places of his mind there were no tears, no fractures or weak spots. She would get images and occasionally voices wherever he mind wandered. He was open and honest this time.

What Draco found was a little girl who had always been told or told herself she was a demi-god. A god reincarnated to bring prosperity and greatness to her people, who was just a little frightened she wouldn't live up to the name she had been given, or the title she had worn all these years. He felt a little sorry for her. All that weight on one little being's shoulders.

It took the unlikely pair, the Mandalorian Warlord and the Caprine Goddess, several hours lost in a trance, deep in each others mind. But after those hours Draco's eyes opened and he felt like he could trust the caprine to help him. Not to turn on him when the time was right. She knew almost as much as Faith did about his past, and she knew the sound of the voices from his memories, the deep scars and furrows that lay within.

Draco smiled quietly at Briga, trying to be reassuring, "Well, that wasn't as bad as it could have been was it?" Trust was there, at least for now. For this trip. "So, do you think you got any hints about the truth of my strength? I have some ideas. I think I have enough worth fighting for to win out in a battle of wills at least."

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

As they connected minds, Briga realized she could see into Draco’s memories, hopes and fears, the same as he could into hers. Yet, the Caprine was hiding a lot of secrets which would know be laid bare to the Mandalorian. But first she examined his psyche. She strayed away as much as possible from the darker visions – the mutilations and the torment under the grip of Darth Vulkan. Briga wasn’t a very maternal soul, but she spent much longer on the joyous moments – the flowers, the children, even his early friendships with fellow soldiers and mercenaries. Surprisingly she saw her own Master, Braxus Zambrano at Draco’s side working for the Hutt Cartel. She wanted to bottle that vision so she could examine it in greater detail and in her own time, but it was fleeting and out of her grasp.

Draco would find a young Briga under a lot of pressure in her teenage years over being the reincarnation of her species goddess. But her life before that was fairly normal for a Caprine and consisted of helping her father on his farm and frolicking in the woods with a pack of Balae adolescents. But once she was cloistered among the Elders and raised to be a deity, she would suffer daily ritual whippings, starvation and even was forced to lie with the male Elders. She was revered by day, but taken advantage of at night. And then in her post-teenage years, she participated in many distinctly un-goddess-like acts, betraying the fact that she was supposed to be chaste.

In their past, they both shared light and darkness equally.

She opened her eyes at the sound of Draco’s voice. “I feel closer to you now,” Briga said. It was an intimate thing this delving into the other’s deepest thoughts and memories. “And I don’t know, but I see your strength in your ability to protect those that you love, even if they have not entered this world yet.” The Caprine mystic looked into the eyes of her new dark-haired friend. She was a consummate Priestess in that she saw the world in black and white with little nuance in between. But on the Force Planet, she felt distinctly stuck in a grey area as foggy as the mists in the subterranean cavern. And furthermore would Draco protect her if she were facing great danger on this trip?

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Draco saw into her mind, and as the smoke cleared and the dust settled around them after their meld, he felt a twinge of pity for Briga. He knew that life. He had seen it happen to his friends in the mines. The pretty ones only got to the mines after they were used up, for lack of a better word. He pulled her close to him and hugged her, letting her fall into his gentle embrace. It wasn't passionate, just, kindly. The sort of thing a father might do to a young child who has been hurt, or an older brother might do for a younger sibling who was crying. Draco just held her for a moment, hoping she would feel some security, some sense of safety in all the darkness and plight. Too many friends had been tossed into the mines, hollow, dead by the time they got there, chained to him. Whimpers in the darkness of the mines as they worked pulling spice in the pitch black. Too many had been dragged away by monsters in the blackness screaming. Too many had been sacrificed to get him this far for him not to help those in need.

Even on the Force Planet there were absolutes. Somethings that just couldn't change. One was Draco's protectiveness. He was born an older brother to two much younger siblings, went off to the military very young, and adopted two children whom he loved like his own over his life time. There were people he just couldn't let harm come to without going berserk. Perhaps in time, Briga could count herself among that number. "Its gonna be alright. You are going to be fine." He let go of her after almost a minute, smiling as reassuringly as he could. He didn't know if it was the truth, but he was going to try his best. He had brought her along, he would see her returned to Iktotch in one piece. He patted her shoulder and and turned back to face the dark clouds, staring at them for a moment. Collecting his thoughts, mentally preparing for the battle ahead.

"Alright, so, my strength is my drive to protect others and my stubborn unwillingness to die quietly. I think we can work with that." He took a deep breath. "Are you ready to see what's up ahead." His clothing was adjusted, and without the plates he was a bit more exposed than normal, only gauntlets and boots for the moment. Sword across his back, machete at his side. The Dark Clouds rumbled deeply and lightning stormed through the sky as he took his first steps towards it, jumping from floating plateau to the next small floating rock. The rock wobbled in the air beneath his weight, dipping down and then returning to its position in the orbit around the larger rock. A string of these, about the size of a tank to about the size of a small building floated around between them and the massive tree clouded in darkness.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

If this were any other desolate rock, Briga may have bristled at the hug, but on the Force Planet with imminent danger ahead, she clung to Draco quite firmly, her claws digging into his muscular back. She knew he’d seen the worst degradation inflicted upon her by the Elders, but the time was over to feel embarrassed about it. It wasn’t as if she had a choice at the time. His hug was an embrace that said, I’ve been there too and have seen the same. For all intents and purposes, Draco was, if not a lightsider, than a grey force user. Why he picked a dark, destructive misfit like Briga to befriend, she would might not ever know. But she was grateful now to have him as her ally on this strange world.

She nodded and Draco pulled her up to her feet. As they moved towards the brewing storm, the wind began to whip the Caprine’s hair and gown around her face and legs. The seer followed along behind Draco, more sprite-like than he would have imagined. Her bovidae genes made her fairly good at jumping and climbing. But she concentrated on her footfalls instead of the dark clouds ahead. She could not look at them because they gave her vertigo and the distinct feeling in her stomach like they were plummeting through space and time.

Do not gaze upon it, Briga. Make your way across these rocks as though you were scaling an Iktotch cliff. She was quiet and reflective now, wondering what the enormous tree held in store for them.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

As Draco leaped from plateau to outcropping of rock, to floating island, he reflected a little on what he had shared with Briga. He had seen the worst parts of her life, and she had seen the beginning of his long descent into darkness. The pair's past wasn't so different. She had been praised as a goddess but treated as a slave while he had been a slave. Where they differed were how they had dealt with their pasts. Briga had drowned her memories in spice, self indulgence, and self importance. She convinced herself her trials and tribulations weren't for nothing, that she was a goddess and now everything would be better. Draco had handled it much differently. He had chalked it up to human evil and spent the next years of his life trying to be better to those he cared about and to keep from being a tyrant. He had also torn out the worst of his memories and blacked them out and created a split-personality to deal with his darkest memories.

But now Draco had Faith, and twins on the way. It was the beginning of the happiest time of his life with much more to follow. He was about to be a father, for real, for the first time in his life, he had a woman he loved and adored who returned his affections unlike the few women he had known before her. He had a stable company, and his clan was strong and stable, both could stand on their own without him, both flourished under his indirect control fairly well. He had it all if it were not for this thing that was bearing down on him, the beast on his back tearing at him in his most private moments.

After a few moments, Draco stepped foot on the darkened island with the massive tree, thunder roiling through clouds that surrounded them on the ominous rock. He waited for Briga to catch up to him and strode calmly towards the tree, shrouded in fog and mist, and surrounded by roots and twisting vines, thorns sprouting through the roots and the ground. The dirt and fallen leaves crunched beneath his boot as he walked through the dimly lit island. The occasional streak of lightning cut through the sky above them and a dark presence covered the area. An aura of fear and horror eminated from the tree so palpable and so powerful that Draco felt the familiar twinge in the back of his mind.

"We should stop for a moment. We should collect ourselves and prepare for whatever it is we about to do. I suppose its going to be a test of our mental fortitude so we might want to take a moment." The warrior glanced back at the caprine to ensure she wasn't planning on wandering off and knelt in the dirt and dry leaves, stabbing his sword into the ground before him before closing his eyes. Seconds became minutes as he sat centering himself, steeling himself to be ready, as ready as he could be. He doubted he would need something as dangerous as the Ravening here, but he wanted it. It made him feel secure about being able to face whatever it was they faced.

The familiar sounds of leaves crunching underfoot brought him out of his trance like meditation. Why Briga was moving around was beyond him, but the boots stopped right in front of him. His danger sense exploded with alarm in an instant and his eyes snapped open, expecting to see Briga standing before him attempting to strike him down. Instead he saw a shadowy figure before him, about his size and build, shadows and darkness billowing out from its form, a dark hand gripping the sword stuck into the ground, black, pupil-less eyes staring back at him from the ground.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Luckily Briga was a fairly strong mentalist for an Acolyte. She’d spent less of her time in Vain Hollow training for combat and more in the esoteric arts, ancient Sith language and spells, also training her mind with Crucitorn and other psychic barriers. The Caprine mystic watched Draco kneel and center himself, and she did the same, sitting across from him her knees touching his. The proximity and the physical nearness would help with their gathering of the Force between them.

The Acolyte then began to erect wall after wall in her mind to protect it from what was about to happen. The air was redolent with the smell of musky vegetation like fungi or lichen, as well as the distinct smell of rain. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she heard the crunching of boots through leaves and debris. For a moment, Briga was terrified to open her eyes.

But she did and was awarded by a sight that was very familiar to her; she’d seem him in her vision after all. Blackness and the heavy press of death nearly forced her down to the ground, constricting her with the sheer evil at such close quarters. The Caprine wouldn’t move. She was taking her cues from Draco and felt that the worst thing she could do was attack the shadow figure out of fear. While her vision hadn’t shown either the warrior’s or the horned seer’s fate, she knew that she needed to stay very still and bide her time until the opportunity presented itself for action.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l7fhxNrrrM​

Draco stared at the entity standing over him. He knew what it was, he just couldn't believe it. Vulkan was a part of him, how was it separate from him? Questions and doubt, and disbelief surged through his mind as he stared into the black voids of the shadowy being's eyes. Ravening separated itself from the dirt and Draco's instincts drove him into action, doing a backwards roll to his feet, getting out of slashing distance and going for his back up weapon, the Naast'beskad on his him. He didn't know how or why the shadowy form of Vulkan was present before him, he had assumed it would a mental struggle. Perhaps this was just an illusion?

The shadow stepped forward with and the blade surged downwards towards Draco's collarbone with a roar flowing from the bestial being's mouth, the soft glow of embers deep within its gullet noticeable as it hefted the weapon in an overhead arc. The hilt of Naast'beskad elongated so that Draco could old the short blade with two hands, blocking the strike as the monster bared down on him, driving him to a knee beneath the force of the strike. The shadow quickly lifted a knee, placing it into Draco's ribs, driving the air from his lungs, the cold of metal against his skin, and the crack of bone audible to the trio fighting in beneath the dark tree on the Planet of the Force.

Draco, rolled backwards again, going with the knee to slip back out of range and go with the momentum, doing his best to reduce the force of the blow, probably saving his sternum. Pain shot through his leg as he went into the backward roll, just above the back of his knee, a warm wet sensation dripping down his leg as he landed. He was still on the defensive and the shadow before him was very much still on the attack, but its attention had changed. No longer was Vulkan solely focused on him, but the being had taken notice of Caprine mystic.

Thunder roared through the clearing, lightning crashed through the sky, and the Force rippled with energy as the shadow unleashed the first bolts of red lightning, ripping through the Force shredding the connections of the little dust specs of light and energy as it tore its way through the air for the mystic. So much pain and hatred filled the Force as the lightning burst from the fingertips of the shadow, running from the being's shoulder outwards in dark red veins. The Force surged through Draco's body, fending off the pain of his injuries as he bolted to the Caprine, shoulder checking her to the ground and getting in front of the blast of Force Energy. He knew the power well, and he knew that it would cost them both.

The Lightning caught Draco in the hands and an orb or red energy appeared in his hands as the energy was dissipated into the area around them. The brunt of the attack was reduced, though Draco still felt the effects to a degree. A sickening, unearthly laugh, ripped through the air from the shadowy form. "Here the Cosmic Force, and the Living Force is one and the same. They warned you, you just didn't listen." The shadow took a defensive stance holding the sword between he and the unlikely duo. "One will walk away, the other will perish. One fight for it all." The shadow took a deep breath, the light from its gullet growing larger and brighter. "Get behind me Briga." It was all Draco could say, wheezed through broken ribs pressing against his lungs. Not the fight he expected, and it was already looking to be in Vulkan's favor. Fire burst from the shadows mouth in a torrent, blazing through the air, battering against Draco's very hastily erected barrier, withering his defenses, preparing him for the death blow looming on their future's horizon.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

The battle began to rage now - shadow figure versus Draco with Briga standing there, feeling like a helpless referee. A blade flashed in a blur of motion and was driven into the Mandalorian warrior's ribcage. She winced in pain for him. All of a sudden the sky opened up like the jaws of a Kraken, spewing the blackest of pure evil energy and crimson bolts of lighting. And feth, who else knew because the Caprine realized she had crumpled over and was cowering in fright.

C'mon Briga, get your head in the game, she thought. Vulkan is here and he is the antithesis of Ax'no. The goddess protects with her entire being. Dark as she is, she will protect you from the apocalyptic forces at play. But suddenly she was off her feet as Draco crashed into her, protecting her, absorbing the electricity attack like a lightning rod.

Briga did as she was told but not before screaming at the unholy beast: "The Living Force and Cosmic Force are here, but they are not yours, Vulkan! They belong to Ax'no! She is one with the living force and so am I!" Out of the corner of her eye, the horned mystic saw the burning flames shoot towards them like a stream of hellfire. Behind Draco, she said, "We need water!" and then Briga chanted quickly in Caprinean to summon the mighty goddess's elemental power. While Draco wouldn't understand it, it translated to:

"Born of Water, Cleansing, Powerful, Healing, Changing, We Are Born of Water!" Briga expected something, anything but to her dismay nothing happened... until...

A huge looming cloud opened up right on top of the fragile pair and dumped a torrential rainfall down upon Vulkan to douse the fire from his gaping maw.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The torrent of water crashed over the trio of beings fighting in the clearing. Vulkan's fires were doused and Draco was drenched to his bones, but he wasn't burning or on fire. The shadowy form of Vulkan roared and closed the distance in two quick steps, slashing upwards across Draco's chest. The shadow spirit represented all of Draco's fear, anger, hatred, and suffering, everything that had tormented him in his life, the long list of atrocities done to him and done by him manifested into a personality, unrestrained and unconfined. The bestial spirit's only goal seemed to be the destruction of the pair that sought to defeat and disassemble him.

The sword came up for his hips, and Draco took a half step backwards, bringing his own blade across his body, deflecting the blow off to his side only seeing Vulkan's follow up after he had committed to the parry. The shadow stepped forward, under Draco's defense and struck Draco in the chest with an open palm blow to the sternum that sent the Mandalorian warrior backwards into the mud on his back. The warrior gasped for air as the wind was driven from his chest, drawing to draw it into himself through the pain of the fractured ribs.

Draco lay in the mud and leaves of the dark tree, pulling the Force into himself, tugging on the ancient web of Force energy. The power flowed into the warrior, relieving him of his pain, strengthening his body, and empowering his mortal coil with the power of the Force. Draco was a warrior, he had been injured before. Worse than this many times over. The warrior sat up, steadying himself as he moved to stand.

Vulkan's attention turned on Briga, the shadow almost sneering at her, ominous voids staring through her being as it approached the caprine, sword in one hand held low. Fear and suffering filled the Force, pressed beneath the power of the shadow. All of the Sith entity's focus was pointed at the Caprine. Fear and suffering, the will to press on clawed upon by the shadow. "What use is there for one weakened warrior and one false prophet? There is none." The shadow's voice was soothing and calm, attempting to lull her into a false sense of trust and belief. "There is nothing for you, its already over. You just haven't accepted it and rejoined your goddess in Chaos. But you will, pretty little prophet. Soon enough." The sword flashed out at her midsection with a lazy horizontal slash aimed to swipe across her navel.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Whether he was a spirit or flesh and blood, the wounds he inflicted on Draco did not look at all like an illusion. After Darth Vulkan gave the Mandalorian a good pummeling, driving the warrior down into the mud, which congealed in sticky, wide pools all of the landscape due to the rain falling all around them, he turned his attention to her.

“I am not a False Prophet,” growled Briga, and then she let out an unearthly howl, sounding like a jilted banshee haunting a midnight cemetery. “And the warrior is nowhere near weakened. I know that he defeats you! I saw it in a vision!” The mystic also saw unimaginable acts inflicted on both of them by the iron hand of Vulkan, but in this circumstance, she wondered if that particular vision had been a lie. At times and especially away from Iktotch, her precognition wasn’t not always reliable. While Briga would rather think that all of her visions were air-tight, picture perfect holofilms depicting exactly what would happen in the future… she did make incorrect predictions and quite often. But she was no “False Prophet” as the Sith Lord taunted.

When the sword swiped in a quick arc towards her, Briga jumped backwards using the Force. She then attempted to Force Stun him akin to the time that she’d slowed down Jedi Padawan Setzi in the Voss Temple. The Caprine Acolyte was much stronger now, so hopefully she had the strength to keep him stationary so Draco could get up and strike him from behind.

[member="Draco Vereen"]