Duel My Precious [ _Private //]

[Darth Caedes]

<< You see, the Force is a tapestry, a very intricate web connecting all living beings. But through the power of the dark side, we can manipulate its threads, weaving shadows that shield us from prying eyes and the prying senses of intrusive minds. To obscure oneself in the Force is to become a phantom, elusive and enigmatic. >>
— Darth Caedes to Zal Aditi​

• Coruscant ​
• Level 1312 | Underbelly​
• Jett Kaal's Shipyard​
• Tags — Lao-ta | Niynx Ioune | Zal Aditi | Haro Aven ​

The dusky atmosphere of Coruscant's dimly lit lower levels buzzed with a cacophony of too many overlapping alien dialects and the occasional hum of a passing air speeder. It was a place where the shadows still held sway, where dark deeds had been done and the unwary could still become easily ensnared in the sticky web of Coruscant's criminal underbelly. Here, the pretty little painting of life which characterized the planet's upper levels was replaced by a mosaic of grim faces and seedy establishments. Here, the near constant call for help and subtle strife of the overlooked and disenfranchised gave shelter in the Force to the purpose of the Sith.

Caedes watched as darkness engulfed the sprawling metropolis of Coruscant's layered underside, shadows growing longer and street lamps blinking on in rows below him. Many stark and towering structures reached up toward the Prime's final glimmerings, silhouetted except for speckled lights against a cloudy, underlit sky. There, in the darkness, clad only in silks and perfectly still, like a piece of the architecture, Darth Caedes perched upon a jagged ledge. Neon lights played upon his dry, sunken cheekbones, reflecting holo ads with scrolling text detailing the latest in surgical beauty trends. Bare footed, one knee raised up to lean on, the other leg hanging free over the building's edge, Caedes stared at the streams of unsuspecting bodies shambling onwards, ever oblivious below him, trapped in the tortured stasis of a fretful senate and the misguided Jedi Order.

Hatchways hissed open as employee shifts changed, blue collar workers in matching, greasy uniforms slinging jargon and 'till tomorrows' at each other. Imposing thugs swept in with the shadows, clogging up alleyways and generally making a show of their possessing firearms.

From his vantage point, high above the heads of Coruscant's forgotten masses, he reached out to the Force and summoned Zal to his side. With a sense of sinister anticipation, Caedes outlined his plans before his clever apprentice, warning her of the Jedi Knight's own Padawan, Niynx Ioune, and of the gap which yet remained between Zal's considerable skills, and those of a fully raised Jedi Knight.

"Our dear little Padawan, Niynx," Caedes cooed, derisively.​

"His theft of La T'vil's saber cannot go unanswered. Retrieve from him what is rightfully mine. Bring back the stolen weapon and place it within my grasp. I will tolerate nothing less." His fingers tightened to a fist, as if envisioning the lightsaber already returned to him and within his grip.​

"Padawan Niynx is to remain unharmed, for he shall serve a longer purpose. Dead, he means nothing to us, just another name in a long list of lost potential. No, he too shall become a harbinger, like me, a loyal messenger in the night, crying out from the very heart of their Jedi Temples. Let him spread the fear of the Sith as a herald of our imminent return." ​

​

 

[Niynx Ioune]

• Coruscant
• Level 1312 | Underbelly
• Jett Kaal's Shipyard
• Tags — Lao-ta | Haro Aven | Zal Aditi | Darth Caedes

Deep within the dimly lit confines of Coruscant's lower levels, nestled beneath the clank and bustle of Jett Kaal's industrial machinery, where the aroma of oil hung heavy in the air, Padawan Niynx Ioune labored beneath the chassis of the Little Minnow. Dressed in worn and threadbare robes, covered in a thick layer of dark grease, the young Kiffar emerged from the freighter's underbelly atop a mechanic's rolling creeper, his heterochromatic eyes glazed with a mixture of contented boredom and the excitement of learning new skills.

Niynx's fingers, creased and calloused from countless hours spent tinkering with the Minnow's four engines, brushed away the dangling strands of oily hair which clung to a sweat-wet forehead. Sighing, starting to feel hungry and impatient, he wiped his hands on his thighs and left dark streaks across the fabric. With the flick of his wrist, he summoned his commlink and keyed it for activation, eager for the arrival of Master Lao-ta. The device crackled to life with a flurry of brief static before revealing its holographic contents. His eyes scanned for messages in the faint blue light, seeking an update on the arrival of his Master. Frowning and feeling all of a sudden chilly, Niynx hugged his arms about himself and squinted out through the facility's open air ceiling to Coruscant's darkening skies.
"Pretty much done over here," he announced without volume, glancing over to where Haro and Bodie diligently worked alongside one another.
"Ready for you to check my work, whenever you have a moment." Niynx switched off the commlink and placed it on a cluttered surface, then let his gaze slip back up to the growing darkness above, chewing a lip and furrowing his brows.

A storm was coming, he thought, he could feel it on the shifting winds...

 

[Lao-ta]

• Coruscant
• Level 1312 | Underbelly
• Jett Kaal's Shipyard
• Tags — Niynx Ioune | Haro Aven | Zal Aditi | Darth Caedes

Lao-ta stared at nothing in particular as the droid operating the air taxi expertly navigated the lower levels of coruscant. Somewhat lost in thought she pondered the growing darkness she had been feeling. The last few hours in particular she had felt it swelling. There was a sense of dread in the force. Something was coming. It was like the tide receding before a tsunami, or a sharp intake of breath before a scream. Ever since she had shared in a vision of the past with Niynx she felt certain it had to do with this dark jedi he had met. She let her hand rest on the extra lightsaber she carried. The one her padawan had acquired from the shadowy figure. An analysis of the blade at the temple archive had revealed precious little, except perhaps a name. She did not know for sure.

She was eager to meet her padawan today. This miasma in the force and Niynx's connection to it worried her. They needed to be together, and they needed to be prepared. Soon the speeder passed out of the market districts and into the industrial sectors. The taxi moved to land on a small platform near several landing pads. One of which contained the ship she recognized as the Little Minnow. Working away at it was a grease covered Niynx.

She paid the droid and disembarked, striding purposefully towards the young jedi.

 

[Haro Aven]

Haro deactivated his welding torch and glanced over at Niynx through a pair of shaded googles from where he worked nearby, atop a mini-lift about six feet up.

"Alright. Give me a sec." He called back, perhaps with a bit too much volume due to the music thrumming in his other ear. He brought the welding torch back up to finish soldering the piece he'd been working on while the metal was hot, bobbing his head to the beat of the song. A hulking service droid held the large durasteel piece in place while Bodie scuttled around on the side of the ship nearby, going over what Haro had already worked on to touch up and or complete monotonous tasks. Soon enough, Haro brought the lift down then leaped off and trotted over to Niynx.

He pulled his goggles up to his forehead as he pulled up beside Niynx, revealing his curiosity and concern as he took in the young Jedi's body language. He stepped up next to him and joined him in squinting up toward the pocket of sky visible through the massive whole in the otherwise dense ceiling of several layers of city, seeing if he could see what had Niynx looking so concerned. He looked back down at the boy, puzzled.

"What's up? Is your Master here?"

Niynx Ioune | Lao-ta | Darth Caedes | Zal Aditi

 

[Zal Aditi]

• Coruscant
• Level 1312 | Underbelly
• Jett Kaal's Shipyard
• Tags — Darth Caedes | Lao-ta | Niynx Ioune | Haro Aven

From the jagged outlook where she stood at her master's back, Zal could see the lights and shadow of Coruscant in every direction. Neon flashed garish rainbows in the darkness. It was a distinctive feature of the city-planet, and one that spoke to its nature - the kind of light that provided little to no real illumination, meant to draw the eye rather than chase back the shadows. Noise with little meaning. Somewhere far above them there might have been a faint sliver of sky. Somewhere even deeper below, the surface of the planet bore the weight of the immense infrastructure. Zal wondered what it would be like to touch the soil of a planet that had not seen its own sky in millennia.

She fanned herself lightly as she considered her master's instruction, head cocked slightly to one side. The slight breeze ruffled the long, feathery bangs that framed her face... a face that had been subtly altered by her art. With her Mask in place, her round eyes were a clear, bright blue, with no hint of the dark side corruption that normally painted them crimson and gold. Her talons, too, were subtler, less pronounced than normal. Beyond that, little physical disguise was necessary. Omwati were scholars, Galactic Alliance citizens; hardly a threatening species, and certainly not physically imposing. A little performance, and she was a delicate, fluttering innocent. Of course, the true test this day would not be of her visible disguise, but of her disguise within the force.

Once again she wished a Taozin amulet would have served their purpose. But no... a living being without a presence in the force would be just as suspicious as one whose presence was Dark. More subtlety was called for here, more skill. The shroud she had woven in the force to conceal herself had met the satisfaction of both her own judgement and her master's. The trick would be maintaining it, splitting her focus between the shroud and the task that lay before her, at least for long enough to accomplish that task.

Fortunately, she knew that her master's directive that the padawan Niynx not be harmed was subject to some... interpretation. It would be enough to leave him alive and unmaimed, without permanent physical damage. It was another test, this one of her restraint, but she wasn't too concerned... as long as she didn't kill him, she could always heal the whelp if she slipped up and went too far.

She fingered the hilt of the thin blade hidden in her belt as she readied herself for the work ahead. "I will not fail you, master." And she would not. She would prove herself here, rise to the challenge, and continue on her path to true power.