Private Survivor

[Lily Rhodes]

"Your kindness has been seen for what it is, weakness, strike her down now, learn from this failure."

That voice again, cold cruel and full of hate, but before where Malum had resisted it, he seemed to embrace it and the flash of anger Lily had felt at his condescendence vanished under a tsunami of fear, as he rose from his seat, contemplating her for a moment before moving to the window. Lily's breathing hitched her eyes settling on the door. She'd never make it, and even if she did she'd never make it pas the guards.

Lily was completely and utterly trapped, with a man wrestling with the idea of killing her.

"By all rights, we should kill you right now, whether you are or are not the threat we assumed you as... you are a risk, you are a criminal, none would miss you apart from what was it... a long-lived Whipid?" He laughed, a long-lasting laugh, a grim and dark laugh that was twisted and deranged from the sound that was elicited from his lungs, "Though I suppose for a Whipid, he is not very long-lived, is he? Do you believe he will be able to break through Faldos' defences alone, to break through the Inquisition, to defeat me, all to save some street rat from Coruscant, or wherever else you were spawned from."

His words cut Lily to the center of her very being. She had no one. She made friends on her journey, met people, kids mostly of her own age. Like Whuv Asyr Kostodu Xyston and Tass Arceneau on Arda, but she'd not connected with them. These were not long lasting friendships, they were just moments that would be blown away. She doubt they even remembered her. then there was Iskendyr Yvarro , but he was just... she drew in a deep shuddering breath, tears spilling over her cheeks.

Velok had been different, she adored him, he was her friend. But he was a galaxy away.

"Do you believe your... saviour... will be quick enough to... martyr... themselves, before I could simply draw this blade and kill you now?"

She drew her knees up to her chest, refusing to meet Malum's gaze, even if she could see the glint of the lightsabers hilt.

"Unfortunately, I see little regard to waste potential, tell me how you are able to go unnoticed, and I will..."

Lily blinked, holding her breath as he disappeared, her eyes settled on the door again, but danger prickled along her spine and she flattened herself against the wall as he reappeared in front of her, his face inches from hers.

"And I will teach you how to become unseen."

Lily let out a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh. More tears spilled, they were rolling uncontrollably over her cheeks. "I couldn't tell you how it works and even if I could, why would I? You and you're many personalities are torn between the idea of killing me and the idea that I need to be saved. How could I possibly trust you to teach me anything?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The tears made him still, for a moment pausing as if considering this was the right course, he had never been particularly talented at handling tears, whether it had been in childhood with his sisters, whether it had been in the aftermath of kidnapping two Jedi padawans, to now, a young woman who though far more capable than her age would suggest, only made him feel as if she was younger than she truly was.

But the course had to be stayed, he had attempted mercy, only for it to be seen as weakness.

And if there was one thing this Empire could not tolerate, it was weakness.

"End your blabbering, child," It still felt strange saying that much, she could hardly, hardly, be called a child, even if her actions throughout the last few moments had infantilised her in their mind, "Did you think your pride was worth displaying in exchange for your life, or is that simply the will of your lightsiders with more stupidy, than sense in your mind?" The voice was shifting, something unlike Malum's, yet still very much his, the lightsabre returned back into his robes, a rather ineffective attempt at cooling the tensions which had racketed up in the room ever since he had stood.

They could only offer a smirk at the end, breaking eye contact with the woman before them, and wandering some distance away, gazing toward the wall in seemingly some trance, "It seems you have aided us to reach some compromise, you will not die... not today..." There was a buzz in his brain, sentiments of disagreement being negotiated with, "You must know some things of your skill, for you truly are skilled, whether you will accept that compliment from us or not, it is a rare few that join the Tsis'Kaar, knowing that their purpose is to remain unnoticed and unseen," A lazy eye turned to consider Lily, orange pupils having taken over where red once stood, "You would be a worthy apprentice, you would be something greater than this... state, you could be something great within the Force, the next step in the Sith evolution," The Banist creed had failed them long ago, yet its precepts, its methods, could still be useful.

Evolution with the powerful, looking for the next generation.

It was what his Mistress had looked for.

It would be what he would find.

Still, already gazing upon her, gazing upon her fear, they knew that the moment to willingly have her had long ago passed, indeed, if it had been possible in the first place.

So was death the only course?

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily took a deep breath, wiping the tears away best she could. The shift made the dog tags Iskendyr Yvarro had given her shift beneath her top, close to her heart. A small reminder that she was not alone, that there was another who might come looking for her. It helped to still her nerves. She let out a small laugh at his proposition, more nerves than amusement. At least she knew which personality had won the fight.

"I've been in this state, as you put it, my whole life. Being hidden and staying unseen is a skill you have to have to survive. I wouldn't expect you to understand. Its second nature, i don't think about it i just do it. The frangawl tattoo, the telepathy and my connection to the force? All gained in the Friefirst galaxy in the last six months." She shifted on the bed, setting the cushion aside and moving to swing her legs off it. She needed to move, she needed to stop cowering in the corner.

"I have no interest in becoming anyone's apprentice. Certainly not yours." she slid off the bed with a wince, pain shooting up her spine as her feet connected with the floor. "And if I am to become great like you seem to think I'm capable of, then I will do it, by following my own path."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Her words were enough to elicit memories that were not his, memories of a planet he did not know the name of, hardly important he surmised, but saw through eyes that were as real as they were memorable, street battles with children, stealing the barest scraps in order to survive, lying in order to gain the slightest advantage, extorting what little could be gained from those weaker than them, spying to know what was unknowable, for information even if in the depths of chaos, in the depths of irrelevance, was still power.

He smirked, turning back to face Lily if the gir- woman, was unable to fully control her talents, then no doubt she saw those bitter memories.

Those painful memories.

Those memories that were not his.

But those memories which were theirs.

His eyes had transitioned back to their regular red, "You are right that I might not know," before they shifted back to their orange hue, "But we know very well how it is to be a street urchin, child, and by the end, I knew to find the only truth that mattered."

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion."

The precept he had been taught in his youth, the precept that had begun their journey into the darkness, the truth that was the Sith Code.

"Tell me of the Firefist galaxy, tell me of this tattoo, tell me of it all, and depending on how well you explain, the sooner you will have what you desire." She was growing bolder, her position by the bed, she was no longer quivering in fear, good.

Unfortunately, as her legs reached the ground, as she winced as pain struck through her body, he was there in a flash, a hand gripping firmly but gently upon her shoulder, eyes glimmering with orange flames, "I may not kill you, but I will not allow you to kill yourself, get back onto the bed... now." He hissed out, a voice that was becoming all the more familiar to them both.

"You have potential, Lily, but none are able to reach that potential alone." The fires burned low, yet embers still remained, "Do you believe the Sith the bogeymen that the galaxy believes we are, or do you simply fear me?" He was genuinely curious, was she a slave, or was she scared?

One was useless.

The other useful.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

The images that flitted past her mind were dark and cold but not completely dissimilar to her own childhood, the only difference was the malice behind the memories, the lying, the extortion. Lily had seen it done by others, hell she knew the type of street rat those memories belonged to, it was the sort she avoided, or protected younger ones from.

The only peace she had know was in the Nagai temple and that wasn't a lie, it was just something so impossibly hard to reach that few ever did. "That's utter chit." she retorted. but she didn't get a chance to expand on why. In a blink he'd closed the gap his hand on her should, a frightened gasp escaped her involuntarily. She didn't move, frozen beneath the flaming eyes, even as they died down to embers.

Her hands dug into the sheets behind her, supporting her weight. Slowly she pulled herself back up onto the bed, letting her legs hang off, though Malums hand was till of her shoulder.

"Neither." she replied. "My best friend was a sith, he murdered the woman he loved, cut out her heart and took her head all in the pursuit of power and was cursed for it. I am not afraid of you, Malum, same as I wasn't afraid of him. But her? The woman in your head?"

She stretched out her mind into his seeking the feminine voice that tormented him.

I am afraid of you, more now because I now know what you came from. You never had an ounce of good in you. But he does.

"You want to know about Firefist, about my tattoo?" she said, withdrawing "Then she stays silent."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

His grip on her shoulder loosened but did not stray, even as she was able to pull her legs off the ground and back onto the bed. He smirked at how casually she denied one of the most important precepts of his belief, of the truth he believed entirely, of the simple fact of the universe. Yet, she was young, young, naive, and inexperienced. All those things could be fixed, all those things corrected.

"Is it so? We would all like peace, we all see it as an ideal to aim toward, but what is it young one? What is it but an agent of stagnation? An agent of mediocrity, where we are forced to accept our stations, and never aim for higher? You might believe that it is we Sith who bring conflict to the galaxy, but you know better, conflict and war are simply facts of life, if it was not us, it would be the Mandalorians, it would be the Jedi, it would be some other creed. The difference between us and all others is," He leaned in closer, "We accept that truth, we accept its inevitability, and we become stronger, and better for it. Is that not what you desire?"

He returned to his original pace, embers still glimmering in his eyes, as he smirked, listening to her words. It seemed the boldness was packaged with the nerves, considering the circumstances that were more than understandable, if entirely amusing, "Your friend certainly seems like one to meet, if you are able to forgive him, I am quite surprised you are unable to forgive one so much like you."

He supposed honour among thieves did not matter if one ascended far above it.

He bit down on his teeth, as the foreign voice pervaded over his mind, a foreign voice from an outside source, the one he had not painfully, gotten used to. Orange flames lit up his eyes, as he leaned in further, madness dancing in the irises.

"Oh we will enjoy ridding ourselves of yo-"

They cut off with a gasp, Malum's free hand gripping desperately onto the amulet around his neck. A calming mist began to pervade over him, an unnatural ease that was all too familiar, an addiction in moments where it grew too much, yet still he winced as the fragment battered against his head, demanding to be unleashed.

"Did I not tell you to stay out of my head?" Malum intoned, breathing heavily, his eyes, back to their remarkable red sheen.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

"Is it so? We would all like peace, we all see it as an ideal to aim toward, but what is it young one? What is it but an agent of stagnation? An agent of mediocrity, where we are forced to accept our stations, and never aim for higher? You might believe that it is we Sith who bring conflict to the galaxy, but you know better, conflict and war are simply facts of life, if it was not us, it would be the Mandalorians, it would be the Jedi, it would be some other creed. The difference between us and all others is," He leaned in closer, "We accept that truth, we accept its inevitability, and we become stronger, and better for it. Is that not what you desire?"

Lily shook her head. "If you think peace is simply the absence of war, its not. Peace is..." Lily paused trying to find the right words. "Peace is finding a family, after years of having nothing and no one, its in building a home or standing on a beach with your feet in the sand while a storm rages around you. Its in a kiss shared with someone you care about..." her cheeks flushed pink slightly at this one. "Peace isn't a lie, it exists around all the turmoil that shapes this galaxy. It exists in spite of it. And becoming stronger is not my end goal in life, I already am strong in my own way."

"Your friend certainly seems like one to meet, if you are able to forgive him, I am quite surprised you are unable to forgive one so much like you."

"Velok didn't throw me around like a ragdoll, nor does he have some witch in his head hissing at him to kill me." she snapped. Her eyes widening slightly when she realised she'd said his name when she was doing her best to keep him out of this. "Chit." she muttered.

"Did I not tell you to stay out of my head?"

Despite herself, despite the fact that she was very afraid of dying here, Lily smiled. "You did." she leaned in, brown eyes flashing with a small iota of triumph "But you also shut her down that time a lot faster than you have before." she searched his red eyes for the soft glowing embers that represented her, content they weren't there, she showed him the tattoo on her forearm.

"It was given to me by another street kid. Wily little thing, kinds cute. It was her goodbye gift to me after we spent some time together at Drakeport, stripping ships for salvage after a Toff raiders attempted to attack. She learned, or rather bought the skill in the Seven Corners from a Bardottan." A smile tugged at her lips remembering Skeevi. She wondered if she would ever run into her again.

"Its frangawl in origin, they don't use the force like you and I they use marking like this so that the power they need is just...there." she shrugged. "I haven't dug deeper into it than that....I think Velok said they were from Phu?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Lily shook her head. "If you think peace is simply the absence of war, its not. Peace is..." Lily paused trying to find the right words. "Peace is finding a family, after years of having nothing and no one, its in building a home or standing on a beach with your feet in the sand while a storm rages around you. Its in a kiss shared with someone you care about..." her cheeks flushed pink slightly at this one. "Peace isn't a lie, it exists around all the turmoil that shapes this galaxy. It exists in spite of it. And becoming stronger is not my end goal in life, I already am strong in my own way."

He gulped, allowing the moisture down his parched throat, his grip on the amulet growing tenser, every blink growing longer, as he felt the ramming presence of the fragment pushing upon his exterior bounds. Blinded by the mist, sent in a different direction, the fragment of his famous ancestor battled within him, providing him time, even as every ram resulted in another wince.

"Peace is not simply the absence of war, peace is a poison which dulls your senses, which destroys vigilance, which will take away what you so desire," A weak smirk was on his face, "You are allowed to want, to desire, in the Sith Order, to have a family, to build a home, to experience, to love, it is because we are allowed these things that we are strong, that we are alive, but the precept gives us knowledge of the singular fact, that the galaxy, the powers that be are more than willing to take it away from, if you allow it to," The hand finally dropped from her shoulders, his eyes glimmered with a different kind of flame, the one of his own, "To claim you are strong in your own way is an admission you are weak in many other ways, this galaxy will not forgive that, take my hand, Lily, and I can show you power, not only to protect yourself but to protect all who you love," The same hand that was once on her shoulder, was outstretched in offering. The weak smirk turning into a weak smile, as he even lowered himself to be on her level.

"Velok didn't throw me around like a ragdoll, nor does he have some witch in his head hissing at him to kill me." she snapped. Her eyes widening slightly when she realised she'd said his name when she was doing her best to keep him out of this. "Chit." she muttered.

He noted down the mistake in his mind, wincing as the invisible lightning struck his brow, "So you are willing to forgive crimes against nature, against humanity, and against love, if it is against others, but not the physical and psychological harm inflicted upon yourself," The smirk was back now, "Good, you are smarter than I took you for, I do not know this Velok, you know him better than I, but I doubt it would be remiss to consider him a father of sorts to you. Thus I will say nothing, but that one who betrays, can, and will betray again."

Didn't he know it?

Despite herself, despite the fact that she was very afraid of dying here, Lily smiled. "You did." she leaned in, brown eyes flashing with a small iota of triumph "But you also shut her down that time a lot faster than you have before." she searched his red eyes for the soft glowing embers that represented her, content they weren't there, she showed him the tattoo on her forearm.

"It was given to me by another street kid. Wily little thing, kinds cute. It was her goodbye gift to me after we spent some time together at Drakeport, stripping ships for salvage after a Toff raiders attempted to attack. She learned, or rather bought the skill in the Seven Corners from a Bardottan." A smile tugged at her lips remembering Skeevi. She wondered if she would ever run into her again.

He maintained his smirk against her smile, as she leaned forward and exposed her brown eyes filled with triumph and victory. It was infectious, she was a bold one, boldness and initiative were personalities that could be taught, but they were best for those who came easily to it. From there, it could be honed, made something even greater.

"And you yet still live, do you trust my word so?" It was mocking, it was sarcastic, it was rhetorical, yet curiosity still made him wish to know still.

He noted every word she said regarding the tattoo, much of it meant nothing, but Drakeport, Toff raiders, Seven Corners and Bardottan, locations and people, they could narrow his quest severely.

"Its frangawl in origin, they don't use the force like you and I they use marking like this so that the power they need is just...there." she shrugged. "I haven't dug deeper into it than that....I think Velok said they were from Phu?"

Darth Malum of House Marr

"All that from a tattoo huh?" There was no emotion in it, well apart from a twinge of impressment, a twinge of wonder, curiosity flowing freely, enough even to grab the attention of the parasite in his brain, he noted the location, Phu, more to look into then, "Tell me, are you able to apply this tattoo onto others?" He did not doubt his abilities in the least, nor the abilities of his men, but it would be another layer of protection that would be incredibly useful for them, something second nature, that would let them be beyond being unseen, to be unnoticed.

He was almost salivating at the thought.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

"Peace is not simply the absence of war, peace is a poison which dulls your senses, which destroys vigilance, which will take away what you so desire," A weak smirk was on his face, "You are allowed to want, to desire, in the Sith Order, to have a family, to build a home, to experience, to love, it is because we are allowed these things that we are strong, that we are alive, but the precept gives us knowledge of the singular fact, that the galaxy, the powers that be are more than willing to take it away from, if you allow it to," The hand finally dropped from her shoulders, his eyes glimmered with a different kind of flame, the one of his own, "To claim you are strong in your own way is an admission you are weak in many other ways, this galaxy will not forgive that, take my hand, Lily, and I can show you power, not only to protect yourself but to protect all who you love," The same hand that was once on her shoulder, was outstretched in offering. The weak smirk turning into a weak smile, as he even lowered himself to be on her level.

Lily frowned at the extended hand. "You're talking to me like I'm a Jedi. Like I'm not able to have the things I see peace in. I'm not. There is more to the force than a Sith or a Jedi's philosophy. I'm not so stupid that I will turn down a lesson, but I'm also smart enough to know that commiting myself in anyway to you would be the dumbest thing I've done to date. So thanks, but no thanks."

"So you are willing to forgive crimes against nature, against humanity, and against love, if it is against others, but not the physical and psychological harm inflicted upon yourself," The smirk was back now, "Good, you are smarter than I took you for, I do not know this Velok, you know him better than I, but I doubt it would be remiss to consider him a father of sorts to you. Thus I will say nothing, but that one who betrays, can, and will betray again.

She was angry with herself for letting his name slip, but the factvthat there was no recognition there brought her some relief. The name Velok was notorious, and though she didn't know all of it, she had learned enough to know that the ancestors of her Velok thay shared his name were some of the most dangerous and powerful sith to have walked the galaxy. But Malum wasn't wrong, she did see him as a father of sorts. Her heart swelled at the thought. She shook her head. "He would never." She said softly with a small smile. There was no indignant denial, just pure unshakeable belief that Velok would never betray her, not would he harm her.

"And you yet still live, do you trust my word so?"

"Not really, but you've got me stuck between a rock and a hard place so I don't really have much choice, do I?" She shrugged, it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to make choice she didn't want to. If she could, she'd stay silent, leave as soon as the hospital allowed it and head back home.

"Tell me, are you able to apply this tattoo onto others?"

She shook her head. "No. I received it before I met the Nagai telepaths. It was helping them remove Veloks curse that opened my connection up to the force. I alwsys had it, just not enough of a connection to do anything with it beyond trusting my instincts. Otherwise i wiuld likely have been scooped up by the New Jedi Order when I was younger."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Lily frowned at the extended hand. "You're talking to me like I'm a Jedi. Like I'm not able to have the things I see peace in. I'm not. There is more to the force than a Sith or a Jedi's philosophy. I'm not so stupid that I will turn down a lesson, but I'm also smart enough to know that commiting myself in anyway to you would be the dumbest thing I've done to date. So thanks, but no thanks."

His eyes narrowed, withdrawing the hand, as he again winced at the protrusion he felt in his mind, "If you believe you are free from the will of the Force for simply not being a Jedi or Sith, you are sorely mistaken, certainly there are other Force sects out there too, but every living being is touched by its will, only we are even more so touched, with only the boon that we are able to use it as a tool. It does not change the fact that its influence is a poison upon us, chains that bind us like slaves... until we can break free," His eyes glaze over, looking past Lily towards the wall, seemingly deep in thought and consideration, "It is only the Sith that will break us from the will of fate and destiny, I would think one such as you, so driven, would see the worth in such a goal... or have I found myself a sheep rather than a wolf?" His eyes returned to her, glimmering with mischief, her denial not making a dent in his efforts.

She was angry with herself for letting his name slip, but the factvthat there was no recognition there brought her some relief. The name Velok was notorious, and though she didn't know all of it, she had learned enough to know that the ancestors of her Velok thay shared his name were some of the most dangerous and powerful sith to have walked the galaxy. But Malum wasn't wrong, she did see him as a father of sorts. Her heart swelled at the thought. She shook her head. "He would never." She said softly with a small smile. There was no indignant denial, just pure unshakeable belief that Velok would never betray her, not would he harm her.

Malum slowly nodded, the certainty in her voice made him reconsider the almost instinctual scoff and doubt, she genuinely believed this man was her friend, was her ally. It was strange, he knew the name Velok was familiar to him, something at the back of his mind he just could not grasp no matter how hard he tried. Yet from what little he could tell, the man was a killer, a murderer, so why did she trust him so?

And perhaps far more importantly, why had he kept her around? Enough to feign enough care and affection to gain this much loyalty?

Was there something about this girl he was missing?

He could not quite say.

"I believe you," He did not, but that could come later, "I would love to meet him, perhaps you could organise that sometime." He certainly would, he certainly seemed like a man to meet.

A man to recruit perhaps.

"Not really, but you've got me stuck between a rock and a hard place so I don't really have much choice, do I?" She shrugged, it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to make choice she didn't want to. If she could, she'd stay silent, leave as soon as the hospital allowed it and head back home.

It was enough to get a chuckle out of him, one mirthful and genial, or about as much as one could be considering his head was still not sitting straight, "Rather pragmatic and shrewd of you, you would certainly fit among the Sith worlds well." It was no exaggeration nor a lie, Bogan knew they needed more of that kind, even he as a privileged noble would not underestimate the intuitive instinctual abilities of those who thought on their feet, it was certainly better than fleeing, better than freezing.

She shook her head. "No. I received it before I met the Nagai telepaths. It was helping them remove Veloks curse that opened my connection up to the force. I alwsys had it, just not enough of a connection to do anything with it beyond trusting my instincts. Otherwise i wiuld likely have been scooped up by the New Jedi Order when I was younger."

It was disappointing to hear that the ability could not be transmitted, at least not by her, "So... you had a friend not too different of age from you, who was able to give you a tattoo with an ability that most thieves and criminals, would kill for? That you yourself do not know how to transmit?" He smiled still gently and weakly, it was a strange story, one that seemed farcical, yet he still believed, oddly, that she was telling the truth. He took in the rest of her words, noting them down, Nagai telepaths, Velok's curse mentioned earlier, and that her force sensitivity had been... locked... or well more accurately suppressed, most odd.

"Lucky you did not, I imagine your plucky personality would have been eroded away by their..." Malum's smile shifted into a sneer, "dogma."

Before he blinked.

Where had that come from?

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily laughed at Malum assuming Skeevi was her friend. "I wouldn't call them a friend. Given half the chance, they'd have stolen my ship and anything else they could get their hands on. We were...temporary allies. Its a street kid thing, you don't really make friends with people in the same circles as you, because the only thing you can trust about them is that they are only in it for their own survival. This was a...parting gift. I helped them find a ship to make their own so..." she shrugged. "Tattoo. You give what you can when the need arises."

She cocked her head at his words about the Jedi. "I'm not the Jedi's number one fan for my own reasons, the biggest being the fact that they've a fountain of wealth at their finger tips and I grew up starving in their temples shadow, but I don't hate them. I managed to pickpocket one actually, pretty recently. I was pleased with myself until she caught up with me. They can be pretty mean, for supposed knights in shining armour."

Lily shifted, uncomfortable and sore, painkiller beginning to wear off, her eyes flicked to the food left on the tray at the foot of the bed, her appetite starting to come back now her nerves were easing away. "So, do I get to live? Or do you want more information about the life and adventure of Lily Rhodes?" she smiled. "I should write a book."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

Lily laughed at Malum assuming Skeevi was her friend. "I wouldn't call them a friend. Given half the chance, they'd have stolen my ship and anything else they could get their hands on. We were...temporary allies. Its a street kid thing, you don't really make friends with people in the same circles as you, because the only thing you can trust about them is that they are only in it for their own survival. This was a...parting gift. I helped them find a ship to make their own so..." she shrugged. "Tattoo. You give what you can when the need arises."

Malum grimaced, though he would admit it to no one else, especially not the young woman in front of him, how she described the relationship between the lowliest of street rats, had struck a nerve, for after all, was not such competition, rivalry, and general antipathy towards one another, only to aid when it was advantageous almost a hallmark of inter-Sith relations?

That it was the hallmark of relations between the mighty Sith was atrocious enough.

That it likely was seen by many in his Order as something to be proud of, was even more heinous.

They acted as those who were desperate to survive day to day, and they saw it as strength.

He hid his grinding teeth, as his former sneer transformed into a weak smile, "Well they certainly sounds like an interesting figure... one which I would certainly like to be acquainted with if they has the power to create tools of such power and calibre." He idly said the latter, knowing there was no real way to find them unless Lily had some useful intelligence.

She cocked her head at his words about the Jedi. "I'm not the Jedi's number one fan for my own reasons, the biggest being the fact that they've a fountain of wealth at their finger tips and I grew up starving in their temples shadow, but I don't hate them. I managed to pickpocket one actually, pretty recently. I was pleased with myself until she caught up with me. They can be pretty mean, for supposed knights in shining armour."

He could not help the smirk that took hold of his lips, it was good to see as a random sample, that the Jedi's lies and propaganda had not seeped into the minds of all those while they ruled. Yet, he should have known that from the beginning, after all, it was clear he was dealing with quite an intelligent and able woman.

Not simply the proletariat masses, who knew no better than subjugation.

A subjugation by conquest or laurels, a willing slavery or an unwilling one.

"Their cruelty is a subtle one, yet it is one that is felt the entire galaxy over, all the problems of the Galactic Alliance, can be laid squarely on their feet, their mismanagement, their misrule, and their ignorance will cause so many deaths before they will ever truly pay for their crimes," Slaves to the Force, slaves to their fear, they remained the Sith's greatest enemy in the physical realm, the one which would always be a threat to their true goal.

To break their chains.

"You are certainly older than they would normally take on, yet exceptions always can be made, hypocrisy justified, they will want you at their side, for the war that will come Lily. You may have the elusion of choice now, but you won't if the light claims you, the darkness is the only salvation from such slavery."

His amulet began to warm.

Lily shifted, uncomfortable and sore, painkiller beginning to wear off, her eyes flicked to the food left on the tray at the foot of the bed, her appetite starting to come back now her nerves were easing away. "So, do I get to live? Or do you want more information about the life and adventure of Lily Rhodes?" she smiled. "I should write a book."

"It is certainly a book I would read," Malum chuckled, as he took note of the warmth of his amulet, she had seemingly ended her assault on his brain, so why was the amulet warming?

"You get to live, I am a man of my word, but yes, I would like more informatio-"

"A worthy heir."

Malum blinked, it spoke, it spoke a phrase that was familiar to him, but in this instance, he did not believe it was directed toward him.

His eyes narrowed toward the young woman before him.

His amulet only warmed for certain circumstances, to defend him, to calm him, when he was near a relic of the great Darth Marr.

And...

...And when one of their blood was near.

His eyes widened, tilting his head toward the door, there was no way an artifact remained so close without his detection, had one of his kin come near then?

Yet then he considered the message.

A worthy heir?

It had never spoken when he had found others like that.

And then it dawned upon him.

It was for the benefit of the only other one who could hear his thoughts.

"...Lily... where did you gain the name, Rhodes?" He whispered, emotions choked in his throat, as the dawning realisation turned to denial.

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

There was no way for Lily to put Malum in touch with Skeevi. They hadn't exchanged contact information, and they certainly weren't friend. She might, if she was lucky, run into them in the skies, or on vessel for salvage but even then, there was no guarantee of whether they'd be competing for the scraps or working towards the same goal. She didn't share this fact.

She did however roll her eyes as the 'Sith are better than the Jedi' speech began. A small shake of her head and she looked away. She had no interest in engaging in this conversation. Each were equally faulted, neither offered her any form of salvation. They were so divided by light and dark, they were unable to see the path between, a path Sonere had put her on, and one she would have to find her way along alone.

Then Lily heard it.

The voice made her eyes snap back to him. It was not the voice that had wanted to kill her. A dozen things ran through Malum's mind, so fast she couldn't catch them in their entirety. Amulet... Artefact... Kin...

Her eyes dropped to the red stone at his neck, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She tensed, poised between retreating, and letting her curiosity get the better of her. The latter won over as she reached for the amulet in her mind.

What are you?

Her mouth had gone very dry as Malum asked his question and she tore her eyes from the amulet to meet his red eyes awash with emotion. "Orphanage." she answered her voice equally quiet. "Every child that came to them in the year I did, shares the same name."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

"I am a ghost, a fragment, Darth Marr they called me during my life... and after my death... now simply... I am ashes."

A three-way link was formed between them, Malum standing in shock, as the voice of his great ancestor spoke to both of them with more words than... well, usual. It was rare enough to have even a paltry few words spoken to him, normally the amulet being simply a warm, comforting presence, one which combatted the darkness within him, and guided him in whatever path he was upon.

It was something so rare, so strange, to have him speak in full sentence.

And he knew why.

There was another of their hollowed creed that he could now speak to, without necessitating that Malum relinquish the amulet entirely.

How must that feel?

He did not consider that for long, for her words, all but confirmed what he knew to be the case.

Yet he could still not entirely accept.

For if he did... all he had done the past few minutes... all that he did a few days ago.

No... it could not be the case.

He stepped forward, invading her personal space, as desperation and tension flooded his form.

"Do you..." His breath was husky, worn, frantic, too fearful to ask, but even more needing to know the truth of the matter, "...I apologise for needing to ask this, but... do you remember your parents?"

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

A ghost...was it trapped in the amulet? Lily frowned, her eyes dropping to it once more as she tried to see it in the force. It was so small against Malum's own signature it was almost impossible to notice its own glow, not unless you were looking for it. Lily wanted to close her eyes, she wanted to peel back the layers that eyesight placed and truly look at Malum in the fore.

She wanted to understand him, the voices that were linked to him. She wanted to see what he was at his core.

Malum closed the gap between them again forcing her gaze back to him. He was desperate, almost pleading her to answer. She hadn't thought about her parents since she was a child, the question brought bitterness to her heart. "No." she replied flatly "I was dumped on the doorstep as a new-born with nothing. No records, no paperwork, not even a trinket to try and trace them with. I stopped trying to figure out who they were a long time ago."

A wave of emotion she'd buried long ago rose up forming a lump in her throat.

"Why are you asking me this?" her voice cracked.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

There was an ugly feeling growing in his chest, denial having long surrendered itself to acceptance, yet that ugliness was born out of another emotion entirely, one that was not much known to a Sith, and of even less use, one that was not much known to a noble, and certainly of no use.

Shame.

For her explanation hit far too close to home.

Not something he personally experienced, but something that he knew his family was complicit in for far too long, not only complicit but the perpetrators of, and he had seen far too many victims of it.

He gazed softly at her, considering, wondering, if this was truly the case, knowing if it was.

He would be a truly horrid person.

Yet he knew that didn't he? He had done all that was required for his advancement, for his family's, and the entire Galaxy viewed him and his kind as the ultimate evil.

Yet what did it make him, if he had inflicted such ills to family?

There was no justification there, no way to make it right.

But he could try, and he could only try if he knew the truth.

He found himself kneeling beside the bed, his face a mixture of emotions that were undefinable, but poignant still, struggling with a question he was all but certain of the answer.

"I am sorry for bringing up such memories Lily..." His mouth was dry, how did one reveal something like this to someone? He swallowed his emotions, this was not just for him now, it was for her too, "...But I know who you are... or at least I believe I do."

His gaze turned to the amulet around his neck, he felt the warmth around his fingers, as he offered it up, almost as if a sacrifice, "It calls to you, as it called to me, as it called to many others. Hold the amulet in your hands, feel its warmth..." His eyes glimmered with a bittersweet twinge, "...And it will reveal exactly who you are."

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily was baffled, the weight of shame driving Malum to his knees, but shame for what?

Something was pressing heavily on her chest, afraid of the words coming out of his mouth.

"How could you possibly-"

The action of lifting the amulet up to her silenced her. She shook her head. "N-no." she began, choking back the tears that threatened to spill "Whatever cruel joke thi-"

Lily...

Her eyes went wide, her gaze settling once more on the red stone, encased in gold, Her hand had stretched towards it without her knowing stopping inches from it as she realised. Did she need this question answering? She'd gotten through her life thus far without knowing so why now? What strings of fate were being tugged to lead her here? And for what purpose?

...You cannot know your place in this Galaxy, until you know who you are.

She blinked, quiet tears spilling over her cheeks as her brown eyes flicked up to meet Malums red ones. She drew in a deep shuddering breath and took the amulet into her hand.

The world around her blurred as her mind toppled forward, falling until she was standing in a vast chamber....a throne room?

Vitiate...

The name came from nowhere, the knowledge came from nowhere. A new face, a different name, but still the same Sith Emperor he had knelt to before.

"I will never again, kneel to you." the voice wasn't her own.

Dread filled Lily, she didn't want to see this, she knew what was coming. She tried to pull her hand away but it held fast.

"You would sooner die, than admit my superiority?"

Please don't make me watch this. Again she tried to pull free. their conversation washing over her as panic began to rise.

"I will not kneel."

Marr, please! Do not make me watch you die.

Valkorian's hand stretched forward, the dark power that engulfed him made her feel sick. She drew in a gasp as the lightening stretched forward, bracing herself for agony, for death.

It never came. The vision around her froze. She stumbled back, out of the body that wasn't hers and turned to face the masked figure of Darth Marr as the memory around them faded.

This proves nothing.

It proves everything.

Lily shook her head as the ghost stepped forward, catching her chin in his hand and forcing her to look up at him.

I am not a Sith.

No. But you are my heir.

The Amulet dropped from her fingers and the hospital room came back into sharp focus. She scrambled back from Malum, back across the bed until the cold wall was at her back once more. She had nowhere to go, she couldn't run from this. She was trapped by the truth and it tore her apart. A small sob escaped her. "What the kark, Malum?" she choked out.

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

The vision was as clear as it was on Jutrand, yet this time, he could do even less as he simply stood shaking, nails biting into flesh as he formed fists, teeth ground down to dust, as he watched the great betrayal happen across his sight once again. The sight where Darth Marr, the Lord of Duty, who had commanded the Sith Empire in service to his people, was brought low by the man he had called Emperor.

Was it treason when you fought against a man who had betrayed his own people?

Was it treason to stand against the man you called Emperor when he had abandoned his for immortality?

Was it treason to stand the one who had broken the principles of the Sith for his own aggrandisement?

Questions that had whirled in Malum's mind, as they had no doubt whirled in the great Darth Marr's.

He still winced, almost looking away as the lightning strummed out of Emperor Valkorian's fingers, out of Darth Vitiates, out of Tenebrae's, the three names of the Sith Emperor.

The traitor.

The betrayer.

Yet one of the greatest Sith that had ever lived.

Yet he stood and watched, as his great ancestor was cut down, to be made the ashes which were held around his neck.

She stumbled back, out of the body that wasn't hers and turned to face the masked figure of Darth Marr as the memory around them faded.

This proves nothing.

It proves everything.

Lily shook her head as the ghost stepped forward, catching her chin in his hand and forcing her to look up at him.

I am not a Sith.

No. But you are my heir.

His eyes watered.

The final proof of what he had known, what he had accepted, yet there was no denying it now.

She was kin.

And he had broken her.

The vision faded from both their midst, he felt the warmth of the amulet press against his robes as if it were a hot coal, boiling, burning, to the touch, as it returned to his side from Lily's hold.

He found himself standing from his knelt position, as she scrambled against herself, toward the cold wall of the hospital which abutted the bed on which she sat.

There was silence, an agonising silence, as he registered, and considered all that had happened in the last few moments.

Her sob, her question, broke him out of the stupor, as his eyes softened, looking toward the scared woman. He no longer saw the adorable smuggler whom he had felt guilty for harming.

He saw Sophia, he saw Julia, both quivering, both scared, both in pain for the action he committed, she did not share their raven locks, nor their red eyes.

Yet it was so clear now.

She was as much a Marr as the rest of them.

He cautiously approached her, staying out of her personal space, as he resolved to say words... words of meaning no doubt, yet words that would not harm her either...

A difficult tightrope at the best of times.

He offered a small weak smile, "Greetings cousin, Lily of House Marr, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Lily Rhodes

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily closed her eyes at his words and shook her head, withdrawing deep into her own mind, her breathing ragged from the sobs tearing through her. She hunted her mind for influence, for tricks againstbher like Velok had taught but found only herself.

She wanted it to be a lie.

The idea, that she had had family all this time, influential family, and theyvhad left her to rot? And for why? The matron of her orphanage loomed over her in a memory so clear she could touch it, the zabrak drew her hand back for a second strike.

"Worthless little shit."

Lily opened her eyes pulling herself away from the painful memories of her childhood. She wouldn't allow herself to get drowned by their darkness. She took several deep breaths to steady herself, to get her sobs under control.

It took her a long time before she looked at Malum again. Her face searching his, finding resmeblences she didn't see before. Lily had so many questions but it wasn't a question that fell out of her mouth.

"I will not compromise my beliefs for people that chose to abandon me, that left me to..." she trailed off, shaking head head. "I am not and will never be a sith, Malum. I will not join your Order, just because we're..." the word 'family' stuck in her throat, as the image of his anger flashed across her mind as he slammed her into the duracrete floor.

"Just because a ghost claims we're related doesn't mean we're family."

Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

His heart cracked the smallest shard at her words, more cracks appearing, as more and more pieces fell into the abyss, yet he simply choked back his emotions behind a grimace, the only visible sign that he was at all bothered by her words. After all, he could hardly blame the woman before him for such a reaction, their family's tradition, made in a bygone age, even if evolved to something... less barbaric, did not take away from its atrocity.

It was a microcosm of all that was wrong with the Sith, actions made out of necessity, out of strength, to survive.

Yet so needlessly cruel.

How would anyone justify the murder of their own child?

The abandonment of their own flesh and blood?

There was no justice, there was no rationalisation, there was no way to vindicate such actions.

And the victims of them, like the one that sat before him, had no reason to return to such a family.

Yet, he could not allow them to be abandoned again.

Malum found himself kneeling upon the cold floors again, cautiously moving his hands to hers, to reassure and support her, when truly, he was the one who needed that the most.

"We are not family... you are right," He spoke bitterly, his eyes still damp, yet now resolute and hardened, knowing that he would need to do this, some way or the other, or all else would be lost, "Yet we are blood, and I take care of my blood. There are countless many just like you out there in the galaxy and is my burden, my... duty," A glimmer of something warm took hold of him, from the amulet of the Lord of Duty, "To find all of them, to bring them home, many of them will not wish to rejoin a family that abandoned them, I accept that, I understand that, but you need to understand," His eyes were glimmering in flames now, seemingly drying the watery mess that was his eyes, "I will never abandon you, for though you may not consider me family, perhaps ever, you are my family now, and I will never let harm come to you."

And there would be time yet to convince her that the House of Marr was not beyond redemption, that the darkness was her only salvation.

But that would come later, for all he wanted now, was to protect his new little cousin.

Lily Rhodes