Private The Best Laid Plans

[Raphael Gallustrade]

Kyrel Ren
There were many things that Raphael loved about life and one of the biggest ones was the fact that he could just fly around whenever he wanted. Especially now, with his personal ship the Solar Lance, set up, it was so easy to just fly around. Yet…he wanted to explore and not just wander aimlessly. To that end, and wanting to learn about what else was out there, he had opted to use his luck to make a run through the Unknown Regions and kinda chart it out a bit. Maybe he'd even be able to get paid for it, who knows? There were so many possibilities through the galaxy and he was just starting to make his own way in it!



His ship had charted yet another portion of space and he wanted to keep going, but where to next? There were a lot of places in the Unknown Regions and he didn't have the time to exactly map every inch of it… What to do, what to do… Nor did he quite know where he was going to go next… He didn't feel like heading further towards the core; in that direction lay wars. The Galactic Alliance and jedi…then there was the Eternal Empire, or something like that. He didn't have the time to keep up with the galactic-political landscape, really. He was far more concerned with learning. What was in the galaxy, after all? How big, exactly, was the galaxy. Were there any other things out there still waiting to be discovered, or hell, rediscovered? Who knew!



So thus, as he floated there, he stared ahead into space and began to concentrate, the same ritual that he always did whenever he started to plot where he was going manually. Something that always would coax him this way and that way. Rarely was there coercion, though it had happened, now and again. Somewhere not too far off…the road continued. He could see it, but there…was something else there. It was leading to somewhere… And he almost felt…pulled? It was like the river that he'd been just relaxing down was starting to violently tug at him. It unnerved him, to say the least, but he'd never been one to deny it and say no before and so he simply shrugged, tuned his hyperdrive in the direction and fired it, allowing himself to move around the shadows of mass that lay in his path.



As the ship catapulted through hyperspace, though, he began to get an…uneasy feeling. The river was usually so calm and the road was usually so clear. Why, then, was this one…so dark and choppy? What was going on? There was no time to ponder, though. He took a breath or two. Such things weren't for him to just postulate. He had no data, no proofs, no…well, anything really. Follow the road was what he did when things seemed hopeless or…whatever and, so far, it had always worked, in one way or another. Perhaps that's why he'd always been so…free-spirited. Nice way to wax philosophically, but it didn't really do him much good right now.



He looked down as red started flashing. He was there, and so with a light tug of the control stick, his ship gave a quiet lurch, and then he returned to real space-time. Yet… As he did so, there was a sudden…sickening feeling. No…no that wasn't quite right. It was like the river that he'd been in was suddenly…like tar. The clean way that the world had felt during hyperspace had given way to a slick…sticking feeling. It was like drowning and he had to stop himself for a moment and take a breath as he began to punch the specific calculations shown on his computer into the blackbox with a cold breath.


That was when suddenly ships began to warp into space around him and he felt his blood run cold. He began to have a bad feeling about where he'd just arrived.

 

[Kyrel Ren]

The Unknown Regions didn't quite mean the same thing as empty. For those that simply didn't know, or perhaps unaware of the horrific nightmares that came from the region. As of late the Unknown Regions themselves were the home of the Brotherhood of the Maw. The Brotherhood themselves being a fanatical group of cultists, warlords, and all the evils of the galaxy from days past bound to a death cult all intent on destroying and rebuilding the galaxy in their image. To those unlucky to find this out much too late were either destroyed by the Maw, or worse enslaved and converted in serving the gods they served known simply as the "Avatars."

On board the Devourer a massive Star Destroyer fit to siege if not reduce worlds to ruin under his iron grip. It was the home of Kyrel Ren a foe that came from the mysterious Knights of Ren from an age of which many seemed to have forgotten. Kyrel would often stalk the corners of known space with the Devourer at his back. He would feel the urge, the compulsion brought on be endless hunger for the living force itself. This wasn't more evident than when Kyrel had destroyed an entire world due to this all consuming hunger alone.

The Devourer would sit on the outside of Maw space, close to the borders of the Unknown Regions. It wasn't before long where a ship would start to slip from hyperspace. What was in front of it was the massive warship that made it seem look like an insect in comparison to it. Kyrel watched from the command bridge, his undead visage staring through the hexagonal display showing the ship that had stopped to a standstill right in front of them. The bone covered stormtrooper officer of the Crimson Hands would hail the ship. "Attention unknown vessel... Identify yourself or you will be fired upon." Commander Grodd spoke to the craft's captain. Meanwhile the scream of TIE Fighters could be heard exiting the Star Destroyer heading straight for the craft that had just appeared from hyperspace.

The Commander would wait for a reply, while Kyrel had watched with a pensive gaze studying the new catch before them. "I want the ship's captain alive... As for the ship do what you will with it." Kyrel said darkly as he looked to his Commander. The Commander could only nod. "Y-Yes my Wrath." The stranger would have felt like a pilgrim in an unholy land when it came to discovering how monstrous the Maw were.

Raphael Gallustrade

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

Oh. Kriff. Well, that was much worse than he'd originally thought. The ships nearby seemed ominous, to say the least, and worse still, the feeling of the tar was much stronger from a large capital ship nearby. A group of tie fighters screamed on their way to him. He knew the design. Overall fairly basic, mass produced. He used the tie fighter's laser cannons in his original design. He was still using it, as a matter of fact. They weren't the strongest, but in large groups they could decimate most foes.

He'd even been hailed. For a few brief moments, he fumbled with the communicator controls. "Oh! Apologies. This is, uh, Captain NOI of the Solar Lance, from the Outer Rim. No need to shoot. My weapon systems and hyperdrive are both powered down. I'm not gonna try and do anything funny, don't worry."

His feelings were screaming at him to hit the hyperdrive and attempt an escape, but if he tried to power up such systems he knew he'd be shot at and no matter how strong his ship was, there were only so many he could take, on his own. The TIEs escorted him to the main ship, where he landed easily and nicely into the hangar. He took a breath right before getting out of his ship, cockpit lifting and pulling back and allowing himself to be swiftly and without resistance, be taken into custody. Yet, instead of a cell, as he'd originally expected, he was taken towards what would've almost seemed to be a bridge. The feeling of tar was becoming...overwhelming, and when the door opened, Raphael stared at the entity that practically oozed this...sickening feeling and was forced into room.

"As I said, I'm NOI. I didn't mean to intrude upon your lands, if I have." His arms stayed by his side, fairly limp, yet as much confidence as he wanted to exhude, he felt...ill and more than a little afraid. Whatever this...man was, Raphael felt just a bit more than concerned.

Kyrel Ren

 

[Kyrel Ren]

The massive behemoth of a star destroyer had weapon systems locked onto the small craft in case it would try anything. These days star charters would often be dissuaded from coming around to this known area of space. After the destruction of the Chiss Homeworld of Csilla the Unknown Regions were quite unknown any longer. For anyone that didn't know that would often find their craft apart of a graveyard for the reckless and foolish that dare defy the will of the Maw. Commander Grodd while a craven in the eyes of his Master was effective in getting his task done, and all the while as the man spoke he was tempted to blow the craft out of the sky for the sheer insolence these spacers had in daring to cross this space.

Instead Commander Grodd spoke with authority reminiscent of an Imperial Officer of old. "Nol is it? Do not move the TIEs will escort you to the hanger. Remain where you are and do not resist." He said sternly redirecting his pointer finger from the turbolasers to the tractor beams. Slowly the TIE Fighters would escort the small craft into a dark hanger bay bathed in a crimson glow. When his ship was opened he was greeted by stormtroopers covered in blood, furs, and bones. They wielded hooks, rusty blades, and blasters. One spoke demandingly towards him. "Oi, you shut your trap and come with us. The Master wants to speak to you." He said nudging him to move out of the craft with his rusty blade. Soon the man would find himself being escorted through dark and eerie corridors. The unsettling feeling was only added with the screams he heard echo throughout the ship.

When the man was finally brought up to the bridge it was empty. Hardly there was a soul in sight, and all the while there stood a dark figure in front. The man would feel as if he was freezing, and he would soon greeted by the stench of death coming off in waves. Slowly the man turned and one could see a living mask so to speak. His gaze was as black as the void, his lips dripping in black blood. He could feel anger slowly rise as he started to look the man up and down. "Who are you I wonder? What brings a heretic to my lands... To the lands of the Brotherhood... Do you now know where you are??" He asked as if outraged by the arrival of any outsider.

Raphael Gallustrade

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

He couldn't help but shiver under his skin, at the screams that echoed through the ship, not to mention the way that the men were dressed. The rusty blades and blasters, however, made him shiver in a different way, one more derived from annoyance than anything else. While the darkness and sickness wafted through him, wasn't helped by the eerie way that the ship looked, yet still he continued. He didn't look calm, he was fairly panicking, inside and out.

The bridge was empty and dark; for a few moments Raphael's words echoed out into the emptiness of the dark. His mind went into overdrive, head hurting for a few moments, before the freezing feeling struck him and struck him hard. He could feel the river shift, swirl and turn into a whirlpool before him as the man whirled, reeking of death and evil.

His eyes were like a black hole, drawing everything into them. From his lips dripped a tarlike ichor, or perhaps blood, it was difficult to see from where he was. Then an anger began to fill the room, an oppressive tension that struck Raphael, once more he felt like he was wading through tar, though he did his best to not show it. The questions were…odd. A heretic? Lands of the Brotherhood? Yet at the last question, Raphael finally shook his head.

"I'm afraid that I don't know where I am. I only recently left a small ship breaker station in the outer rim and am largely unaware of the galactic-political landscape. As for who I am, you can call me NOI, a wanderer. What brought me to this place, however, is a bit harder to explain. I tend to call it "the river" though you most likely know it by its full name: the Force." He stood by, showing he was afraid, but not showing intelligence beyond that. Omissions had to occasionally be made and this individual was no exception.
Kyrel Ren

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Kyrel would eye the mysterious stranger up and down. Most beings had known better to stay away from the Unknown Regions, yet he found that others didn’t quite heed the same advice. Still he stood before the man like a looming shadow. Kyrel to outsiders wouldn’t know what to describe him, save for only that he could have been Death incarnate. Throughout the bridge the stench of death was at its strongest, and only closer when Kyrel would approach. There was anger radiating off of him in waves. Even the sound of his voice had threatened to cause the ship to shake.

Still the Master of the Knights of Ren remained silent. Only taking on a pensive gaze studying the man and listened closely as he spoke. The man had fear coming off in waves, and Kyrel found it to be very pleasing on how he soaked in the fear of such a strange man that appeared. Beside him the two Barbarian like stormtroopers would grip him by the arms as Kyrel continued to stare into his very soul. As if the blacked gaze was trying to rip the very truth from him.

While the man wasn’t lying, he wondered if this was yet another trick, or a form of deception made out by his enemies. The tension brought on by the silence only seemed to have made it worse. Kyrel finally spoke again. “It is the Shadow… you wield it in some way… You say all these words, yet how do I know they are the truth. How do I know you simply aren’t a spy sent here by the Alliance… Perhaps time in the interrogation chamber would bring the truth out.” He said with the final sentence only adding a cruel smirk. The grip of the Stormtroopers preventing him from running away.

He now stood in front of the man, appearing as if he was a giant towering over him. Soon his fingers would unsettlingly touch his face, and Kyrel spoke again with some type of sadistic glee. “They always talk sooner or later. While your story might be true spacer… I cannot take any chances.” He looked over to the stormtroopers and with one gesture of his men they started to drag him out of the bridge with Kyrel following closely behind.

Raphael Gallustrade

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

Raphael watched the towering shadow, the mammoth sized monster, with a bit of apprehension. The shadow? Unfortunately not. The river flowed through all things in the universe, no matter what it was called and it was always the same, sometimes it was polluted, sometimes it was not, but it was always there. The two stormtroopers held him by the arms, but in the sense of a man that had been invited, Raphael didn't move, didn't budge, he didn't even try to protest as they held him. He knew it wouldn't have done him any good, regardless. Yet, his mind had already started working.

He could feel a bead of sweat, slide down his cheek in an unnatural fashion. It was an odd feeling to not be physically afraid, but to feel the river twist its flow around him, choking and compressing in on him. Raphael couldn't blame the being, to be honest. His story wasn't necessarily the most believable. After all, he did his best to not either dictate or show that he could read the river's flow. Yet, and this was something that he'd begun to make note of, around those that could utilize it as well, Force, river or shadow, that his ability to read it, to see a threat coming, changed in unpredictable ways. As he stared up at the entity he could sense that, even had he been free and tried to attack, there were many ways that it could've cut him down. And yet, as he studied it, there were ways that he would have advantages then, in the same instance, the anger that oozed from this thing warped the advantages. Had he been less afraid, he would've probably smiled. It was a mechanical challenge.

Alliance? Perhaps that was who he'd run into on Sedri. Then the shadow was before him, the monolith that it was had the power. Yet still despite the fear, Raphael did not move. An interrogation chamber seemed, perhaps personally a bit much, but that was not his call. He'd come to someone else's home. The only thing that he knew about an interrogation chamber, is that most likely there would be torture of some kind. Internally, he sighed. It wasn't like he wasn't used to pain. It happened now and then. He used to be beaten by some of the others on the station.

While he prepared to speak once more, to try and explain he simply shrugged, as best he could, and allowed himself to be taken away. This was the best, and least reckless course of action, ironically.
Kyrel Ren