Aiden was sitting aboard the Gunship in the cargo hold, legs crossed as he cleared his mind of all thought. He focused on his breathes, just barely existing as Gia had taught him. In, hold, out. This journey had been long, and his travels had taken him across a large portion of known space. The bounty hunters chasing after him had made things interesting, if them literally showing up wherever he went and started shooting up places could be called that. To say we was unimpressed was the understatement of the millennium. Brutes the lot of them. However he didn't think about that now. His objective was close, and this invasion, most opportune if still a great misfortune. The NIO's brazen entrance into Sith space made the where's and when's of his target more predictable, as The Sith had to consider the new imperials a legitimate threat. And while Aiden might have agreed with their ideals of wiping the Sith off the map, their timing couldn't be worse. The Bryn were by the larger of all threats, and with the NIO's sudden appearance and cause for wanton destruction that threat would be made even more dangerous. Because it had been made quite clear that their advance would take a coordinated effort of peoples from all walks of life to end them. To annihilate their very existence. To stop the menace. Aiden shook the thoughts from his mind as he kept his eyes shut. In, and out. Breathe. This next part of his journey, his mission, was going to be supremely difficult. For everything Aiden had gone through, it all would pale in comparison to this. Infiltrating The Dire Wolves' home and only ship compared to this, would be child's play. Fending off bounty hunters and trying to survive while getting more fuel and all the resources he could, a paltry menial task. Even his training, his practice of martial arts, weapons craft, and mental strength would pale in comparison. Because he knew who his target was, the name and title anyways.
Darth Prazutis, Dark Lord of the Sith.
The name should strike fear into the hearts of any man, mortal or not. Rumors ran wild on him, ranging from things that people should expect from one such as him, to the wildly bizarre and outrageous. A man who excelled at intelligence and counter-intelligence, a exceptionally powerful Dark Lord, rivalled by only the strongest in
The Sith Empire. A mountain of a problem, an exceedingly dangerous opponent, and essentially a Krayt Dragon of a warrior among seemingly Kath Hounds. Someone who even Death itself should fear. This was who Aiden sought to find. Who Aiden sought to confront on such an opportune moment during such a calamity. Who he had to be prepared to not only defend himself against, but also be prepared to fight should it come to it. He remembered what Gia had taught him. To keep his emotions in check. To seek peace, not violence. To defend yourself, only attacking if necessary. He needed to stick to the virtues he had learned from his adopted father, Sergei Jachovich, his caretakers and foster parents John Locke and Gianna Aegis. He would be pushed to the very limit in this battle, if not from physicality, then from the moral quandary posed by such a daunting task. He wished nothing more that he could simply find this man, and asked what he needed to know, and that be the end of it. That he wouldn't have to sneak into Sith Space in the middle of a war, hope to infiltrate to the ground and then track this man down on foot. That he wouldn't have to possibly even kill Imperials or Sith alike if they got in his way. The Confederacy had labelled him a fugitive. The men and women he used to call brothers and sisters, the very people who had initially raised the boy, now hunted him like an animal. The only two things he could trust, a droid who used to serve Sergei directly, and himself. Such a hopeless situation where only the deranged might seek success.
And yet the boy clung to hope.
He remembered Sergei's own teachings and wisdom imparted before he left him behind. To keep Aiden safe. To let the former child soldier try to live a normal life.
"It doesn't matter what is set up before you. It does not matter who or what is arrayed against you. It does not matter what is there to assist you. The only thing that matters, the one thing, when it comes to doing what you set your mind to, is your will to see it through. The will to act, to prepare, and drive on despite your failings and the odds against you. If you believe in yourself and want it bad enough, you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish. It is with this state of mind that you can not only do your best, but what is necessary to succeed,"
Sergei had looked death in the face on the regular and faced it down without a second thought. He'd done what most would consider was impossible. And of everything Aiden had learned, that singular principle was the most important. It's what drove him to go to school, to get an education, to get a doctorate in his secondary education to become a biomechanical engineering graduate. A former child soldier, a monster, now reformed and ready to go on to live a more relatively normal if successful life.
And now he was here. Throwing it all away on a quest for righteous vengeance. To avenge the fallen. To slay a great horror that had taken from him the most dear thing he'd ever known and had. To put it simply, Aiden let only one thing enter and stay in his mind while he meditated.
He had to win, in spite of everything he had to succeed. Failure, was unacceptable.
A short beep would announce the voice of John from the cockpit.
"We're getting ready to exit hyperspace kiddo, strap yourself in, this is gonna be a bumpy ride,"
*******
Location: Entering Dantooine's atmosphere
Aiden cinched down the straps to all of his various armor pieces and weapons. A new sniper rifle that he'd managed to fix up and get ready for this incursion was now added to his back alongside his sword. His pistol holstered, his custom vibro-dagger sheathed, various grenades and munitions on bandoliers for ease of access and allowing him to maintain ease of movement. He thought about putting his gloves and boots on, but decided against it. They were only ever to cover up Aiden's cybernetics anyways, and this time he couldn't take any chances. This coming storm would demand everything of the boy, of that he was sure. Sergei's droid 'John', stood in front of him as always, making sure everything was properly attached. He would finally pass him his helmet and watch the boy put it on, seals engaging with a small pop and a hiss. Aiden would close his eye as he always did, and shut off his cybernetic one as he switched to the helmet's own sensors. The feeling of being able to see all around him was getting more easy to deal with, but still slightly upset him at first. John would speak as he finished doing final checks of Aiden.
"Looks like you're all set kid, you sure you don't want me to come down with you? You know my programming is based from the best fighter the galaxy has ever seen,"
Aiden would pause as he considered his reply and spoke evenly
"Which is why if I get into trouble and need help, I know you'll move mountains to get there. Keep the ship safe, and pray that for the first time that things go according to plan,"
"Firstly, I've the simulations which make that highly doubtful, secondly, kind of a droid so I don't really pray," John would quip back.
"Fair enough, I suppose you'll be waiting then?"
The droid would nod his response, Aiden accepting that as he turned about and started walking to the rear ramp of the ship. This gunship had been given CDF transponders since it was operating with them during its time with The Dire Wolves. Transponders that Aiden and John had neglected to change since it would be much easier to get into controlled airspace with them. This however would also give away exactly who was aboard if anyone bothered to check the records of galactic data, rather than just look at the affiliation of the vessel and assume it was friendly. He hoped that no-one would make this extremely complicated out the gate, as this was already next to if not beyond impossible. Aiden watched the altimeter in his HUD count down as they descended through the atmosphere of Dantooine, silently watching the numbers as he went through the plan again in his head. It was fool hardy to say the least. Hunt down and confront a Sith in the middle of a warzone, and hope he doesn't decide to smite you alongside the rest of the enemies here. And hopefully be as prepared as he could for such an eventuality. As they came over the city scape below them, Aiden would simply walk to the edge of the platform as he heard John call over comms.
"Be ready in three.... two... one... jump now!"
Aiden would simply lean off the edge and fall, tumbling gracefully through the air as he plummeted to the earth. He didn't have any chute, no jet pack, nothing to slow his fall as he fell to the ground. That wasn't to say he didn't have a plan. Aiden was still a graduate from a university in CIS Space, and one of his favorite subjects while in school was physics. He knew his terminal velocity, the level of deceleration his body could take, and the question before him was how to make the final deceleration acceptable so he could land safely. The answer was quite simple, as he now guided himself through the air using his body to sort of glide toward his intended target.
Increase his friction on the way down to slow down.
As Aiden fell he finally came alongside a high rise building in the city, and would simply reach out with his Phrik-A clawed hand, and rather forcefully attempt to catch a piece of it. When his claws began to scrape off the ferrocrete of this particular building, the deceleration was rather jarring, but was accomplishing what he needed. He was now upright as his fingers dug into the ferrocrete, dragging them through as he fell, rapidly slowing his progress to the ground as he made subtle adjustments to his grip to ensure he didn't slow down to much or too little. And then when he got to the final thirty feet of the fall, he simply let go and let his body go limp to absorb the remaining impact. And from the outside, it would look like a nasty fall as he crumpled to the ground. But as Aiden rolled dissipating the remainder of the kinetic energy carrying his body, he would silently thank the sturdy construction of the building. The first step of getting here had been accomplished, now onto the infinitely more difficult task at hand. To find a Dark Lord of the Sith, hopefully remain relatively undiscovered, and try to save as many lives as he could in the meantime. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. Hopefully he didn't have to do that again anytime soon. He would pull out his sniper rifle and remark that while to many it would seem crude to have a slug thrower such as this, Aiden couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship. If it was one thing Sergei and the 'Wolves knew, it was how to make extremely durable weapons that got the job done. Unlike much more fragile blasters and other nicer/more convenient weapons. He pulled out a magazine of Armor Piercing Incendiary Rounds and loaded the weapon, not chambering a round yet for safety. He could feel Sergei smiling on him for that part at least, not forgetting his training with various weapons and other things he and the Wolves had passed onto him. And with that, Aiden would start off at a brisk jog, picking a direction towards the center of the city as he moved.
It was time to locate a Sith Lord.
Robogeber
| Var Koon | Josiah Navollius |
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