The Bottom Of The Ladder

[Connor Harrison]

Connor looked at her eyes, all violet. They were still captivating, but more so were the Sith markings and the whole aura around the Dark Lady who stood before him.

As it sank in, more questions bubbled up. How he wished they were somewhere else than the bowels of an unknown station in an unknown location. But then, when one reveals secrets such as this, you don't do it in broad daylight on a capital world.

"Did you have anything to do with Corvus vanishing?"

Heaven knows how he'd feel if he got the answer he didn't want.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Oh Force no," Taeli replied, almost balking at the suggestion. "I'm not a monster after all. A Sith can still love people, and I loved my sisters. My working theory is that Corvus disappeared when chasing after wherever Braith disappeared to and Melori followed, getting caught up in whatever happened. Not that I have much to go off of, but that's the theory right now."

That was her theory, but it was also a subtle prodding of Connor. She knew he never liked Braith and that it would just stir up those dark emotions just that little bit more. Then again, some would consider her a monster for what she was doing to the poor creatures and beings that were being subjected to her experiments, but no advances in science or alchemy were ever without sacrifice.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Well, that was one relief. But Braith - he hadn't heard that name in a while and even hearing from another it made his skin crawl. That tingling sensation that rippled across the skin like a repulsive wave.

"It's a shame I never got to see that Sith. I think I would have tried to kill her there and then, and live with the hate from Corvus rather than see her with that...thing. And look where it go her."

Pushing on his teeth with his tongue, he rolled into a gentle bite of the lip before looking to the Sith Lady.

"So what's your plan now? How long will this facade go on for? Weeks? Years? What's your goal? What do you want? Not to live in the shadow as Taeli Raaf all your years, no?"

It was so exciting for him inside to discover so much more on the person he thought he knew, and had known from way back as they crossed paths on Lorrd.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Braith was never a Sith, she predated the Order," Taeli reminded him. The fact he thought he should have killed the woman that stole Corvus's heart was amusing in a way. Here was a man that had certainly changed his outlook, and it was almost refreshing. "Regardless, the deception will continue for as long as it needs to. More pieces need to be moved into place, a stronger foundation established. While what I built so far is impressive, I'm not even close to being done yet."

That was something Connor had never really understood, the desire to remain in the shadows. She had done so even during the war between the Republic and One Sith. Sure, she had led forces into battle, but she primarily kept herself secluded, researching and experimenting with the dark side and other projects.

"It's all about building a strong power base to work from," she explained. "Besides these monsters, and the ones that are being developed even now, my company is working on other avenues to further augment my forces. Cybernetics, bio-engineered augmentations, newer and more powerful technologies. I've been forging new partnerships, learning more about some of the key players in the galaxy. All with it being put towards the goal of control and using that power to effect that control."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stepped more into her view, not letting the bone go. That was his problem - he was stubborn.

"What are you going to do? Wipe out the Jedi Orders across the galaxy? Take a throne with the Sith? Tell me....please. I want to know. I can help you."

If he were a dog with a bone, he'd be salivating at the thought of the bigger one Lady Arcanix held with lots more temptation and power behind it.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I'm not in a position as of yet to effect those goals," she answered. "But yes, I would like to see the Jedi wiped away eventually. As for ruling on a throne, that is much more a target than anything else. You know my style by now, I prefer to influence from the shadows. A puppet government or group to control the galaxy, influenced and controlled by myself and allies, is much more appealing to me than sitting on a throne myself."

The idea had appealed her once, back when she was an acolyte, but she had seen what claiming to be the strongest Sith brought. She had no interest in direct rule, that only painted a target on one's back... by both rivals and enemy factions.

"I had hoped to hear you would want to help," she continued saying. "As the Silver Jedi are going to be the first target. They have grown complacent and weak, hiding in their corner of the galaxy. A purging seems to be called for, and I suspect you can help with that immensely."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Hanging on every word, Connor ignored the snarls of the beasts around him and the whirring of droids. In fact he felt much like a Padawan, or whatever the Dark Side apprentices were called. Lapping up information and listening to those with real goals and aspirations, rather than just hanging back waiting for something to happen, something he'd been good at all his life.

When it came to the mention of the Silvers, part of him felt...strange. The Silvers were - used to be - still are? - his oldest friends. People he cared about and helped blossom into who they were today. He had helped form the Order itself on the planet Voss joining Iella E'ron over twelve years ago.

"The Silver Jedi? Why don't you target the Alliance? They're getting stronger. The Silvers aren't posing a threat to anything or anyone right now, and the Mandalorians are keeping them busy. I've seen it myself."

But part of him inside was curious as to what he could do. Part of him already head an idea.

"What would I do? Act as the decoy? The test subject? Send me in first to draw them out while you sit in the shadows again? What?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Because bringing down the Alliance and the New Jedi Order will require far more time, resources, and agents," Taeli replied. "Bringing down the Silver Jedi is much easier to accomplish at the present, and I think you'll be immeasurably helpful in that regard. Before I answer how you might be of help, I think that discussion needs a different atmosphere than a corridor."

She would continue along the corridor to the door at the end of the hall, opening it to reveal her office. Unlike her office on Erilnar, her office on Horizon showcased exactly what she was. The colors were darker, the wall opened out onto a reinforced and shielded view of space and the planet below. Behind the dark wood desk was a plinth that held three pyramid objects Connor would recognize. She took the seat behind the desk, gesturing for Connor to take the chair in front of her.

"Before we determine what role you'll have exactly, I think we can first discuss what information and insight you might be able to provide of the key figures in the Silvers and the defenses of the key worlds," she said. She already knew she didn't want to send him in as some decoy or test subject, that was so... wasteful of his potential.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Following the Sith and entering her office at the end of the hall, Connor silently approved of the muted colours, darker light and expansive view over the planet below. He walked around slowly, taking everything in; the furnishings, the relics, the total chance of atmosphere from Erilnar.

He took a seat opposite her.

"I have some friends there, you have to understand that," he said, a small lobsided grin forming, "so let's not rush into anything shall we?"

Connor adjusted softly in the chair and rubbed his chin.

"But I know the temple like the back of my hand. No doubt certain areas will be locked down for me if Thurion has revoked my rank, but I know the perimeter, I still have my ship and I know all the outposts on all Silver worlds and the key players in the Order. What do you need."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"When have you ever known me to rush into something?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "But yes, your friends... the same ones that cast you out or didn't help you when they might have been able to. Where are those friends now, and which friend is still here? Something to ponder hmm?"

She would that rest there in his psyche, but she knew it wouldn't take much to turn him on the few Silvers he might have feelings for still. Well... those that they weren't going to turn anyways.

"Tell me about the other Jedi masters in the Order," she said, leaning forward, her fingers steepled together. "Anything you can think of, possible weaknesses and such. We will work on getting through their defenses and such after we examine the information you might have."

 

[Connor Harrison]

She had a point, as always. Connor didn't say anything initially, and he didn't have to, for Taeli to see he was moved by her statement. Where WERE any of his friends, or those who cared? None had tracked his ship, sent a message, come to see if he was ok. He didn't want them to, and this wasn't a cry for attention, but if it had been the other way around...maybe he would have gone a step further to help those in his place.

It went to show what a Master of the Silver Jedi meant to them. Or, really, what Connor Harrison meant to them. So be it.

"Where do I start. Thurion and Coci Heavenshield run the Order, and their weakness is each other and their family. That's it. It's turning into the Heavenshield Order when they're not gazing into each others eyes. They have a son in the Order, Theo, and a daughter. Family is their weak spot, and they hide away on Midvinter most of the time. Striking there would hurt them more than Voss."

No guilt at all. Only a silent thrill being able to voice this. He rested his brow in his fingers in concentration, remembering the faces and names.

"Audren Skyes, don't know much about him. He's a good warrior. Tactical. Matsu Ike, who is their key player in technology and weapon creation. She's worth a bit. Ryn'Dhal, impressionable and has links to the Commenori. Sorel Crieff is another one, a keen fighter." He squeezed his eyes closed a little more. "George O'Rourke, I think he got married recently. And Rasu Gan, she's one of the founding members with Iella E'ron, now dead. And Aika Kawakami, but she's AWOL more often than not. She's not a concern. There are a couple more but I can't remember. Don't forget your Knights and Padawans too. As for defences, the Silvers have an impressive fleet, and I can give you locations of the planets where shipyards are located. We also have Ranger outposts on all planets, as you may well know. Soldiers monitoring and guarding our space with a Jedi assigned as a sort of...warden to a sector of planets."

Connor opened his eyes and sat forward to look at those absorbing violet eyes.

"The Heavenshields are the heart of that Order. Take them out, make them suffer and destroy their ideal life and the others will run around like headless womp rats."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I see," Taeli said, deep in thought as she processed what Connor said. She had briefly met the Heavenshields when she and her sister had gone to Corellia after the Akala Incident, and she knew Audren Skyes as he also worked with the New Jedi Order. Matsu was notable because she ran Sasori, an organization that irked her to no end. Not because it was run by Jedi, but because their business was... annoying and almost sacrilege. The others she didn't know or had heard of, which meant to her they weren't important in the grand scheme of things. She could sense the satisfaction coming from Connor though.

"Tell me more about the Heavenshields," she said finally. "You've known them ever since the Silvers were established, so I assume you can give a more detailed description of their characters... their strengths and weakness... possible avenues where strife might be created. If they are the heart of the Order, the glue that keeps things together in some way, they will be the key to destroying the Silver Jedi."

She wouldn't discount the information about their military, but she wasn't going to initiate military strikes against them. She might have impressive forces of her own, but a major galactic power was far stronger. Another power would need to be influenced to wage war against them. The Mandalorians might be the power for the job... but perhaps... it was something to consider. She would need to seek out a few allies to put pressure on the decision makers but it could be done.

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Where to start?"

Connor had a wave of heat under his neck, that uncomfortable on-the-spot feeling, but it passed in a moment.

So began all he knew of the Heavenshields. How they met on Shri-Tal and became an item. How he took the role of Grandmaster after Iella, surpassing Connor. How Coci, the wife, became Master of the Order beneath him. The children who were prominent in the Order and also with their Valkyri blood. Midvinter and the Royal Household there, which means more to Thurion than any Jedi on Voss.

"Thurion hit me the last time we spoke as I warned him one day I would stand over Coci and see how he feels to be left with nothing. He's weak for her and his family. They are the target. Take the heart, and he will fall and the Order around it. I don't know how others think of me now, but they're all blind and foolish. Gawping up at the pair with doe eyes, sweeping up when they take holidays to Midvinter, leaving the Temple wide open. Thurion sees the Jedi as his family, not just his children. So, in respect, any failing under his leadership would also dent his pride and faith in his ability. He's already lost me. What else can he afford not to lose."

He caught his breath, and looked at her for a moments silence.

"Teach me, Taeli. I need to learn more. I will submit to you if you let me in this time. Teach me what you can, how you do it. Let me help you do this."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Taeli got up to walk over to the viewport, hands clasped behind her back as she thought. She would need to do more research before any strike, but Connor's explanation of the Heavenshields was certainly insightful in two regards. It gave her valuable insight into the Jedi Grandmaster running the Silvers, and his wife... and it gave her valuable insight into the jealousy and what had been festering contempt Connor felt towards his former compatriots. The seeds of a plan began to form in her mind.

"You would pledge yourself to a Sith?" she asked, eyebrow rising in her reflection in the viewport. Below, a convoy of ships was heading down to the surface for another test. " Know this, if you want me to teach you, everything that ties you to your old life must be left behind. The lightsaber you wield, the ship you own, everything must be stripped from you... until all you can do is find who you truly are, the secret the dark side will whisper to you. I shall teach you what you desire, if you can do this."

She would turn back to look at the man sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.

"We won't kill them," she stated simply, walking back to a concealed panel on the wall above the holocrons. A simple touch of her finger and it would slide open, revealing a row of vials containing a dark liquid. She would pluck one out and set it on the desk in front of him. "Your revenge against Thurion will be more... poetic. Do you know what this is?"

If he had read enough, he would know the vial contained a Sith poison. One that Taeli had created herself.

 

[Connor Harrison]

When she turned away, Connor held his face in his hands. Would he pledge himself? What the hell was he now? Was he unclassified in terms of the Force? He hadn't done anything against Jedi or Sith - he was just....there, in the middle. But he couldn't last forever in the middle. He'd have to choose.

He came back to attention when she turned back, and showed him the vial on her desk. Leaning over to inspect it at eye level, he carefully picked it up and stood, holding it to the light.

"I take it this is poison, right? I've seen this sort of thing before. The effects of such poison, I mean."

The liquid sloshed a little as he shook it gently in his fingers, and then looked beyond it out to the planet. Like a rising sun, the reality of his situation was dawning. Connor Harrison, Silver Jedi Master, was still standing, and his conscious, however rattled, was still there. He frowned a second.

"I can't give up this hilt, do you know the legacy to it? It belonged to the Skywalker family. Think of the poetry in that, using it against the Jedi and forging a new era for the Dark Side. You can take everything else. I'm already trying to shun the Order, but it's early days yet, you must understand." He sighed. "So, what - you want me to poison Thurion or one of his brood? Coci?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"A lightsaber hilt is simply a lightsaber hilt, regardless of the story attached to it," Taeli said... but then shrugged. In her opinion, she had never understood the lure of actually owning lightsabers from famous Jedi or Sith. A lightsaber was merely a tool in her eyes, a means to an end and an elegant weapon. It held no true value beyond that point. "Keep it as a trophy if you so desire. A reminder, perhaps, of the man you were before and the road you traveled to reach this point."

She was more annoyed that he was stalling, that some remnant of the Jedi Master still survived to make him hesitate. There was a clear unease about the situation wafting from his presence... that would need to be expunged.

"It's a concoction of my own design," she said, gesturing at the vial in his hand. "A far more potent type of Sith poison, designed to corrupt those that it enters. It heightens negative emotions, builds a blood lust and inner rage. It twists the memories and thoughts to a more... insidious light. It corrupts that which we hold most precious, our very connection to the Force, turning it from the light into the murky depths of the dark. That will be part of the instrument we use to avenge your humiliation at the hands of the Heavenshields, by using that on Coci or one of the children... but not yet."

She would pause, taking the vial from his hand.

"You aren't ready for such yet. You must be absolutely sure of your path, to embrace the dark side fully and utterly, before you are strong enough to attempt it. We will start small, I think. Tell me of any of your former Padawans that might be recruited?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

The vial was there, and then it was gone. Quick as a flash she plucked it from his fingers and walked away like a teacher, making it clear he wasn't ready. Wasn't ready? He was always ready.

"I'm always ready," he said, following her slowly, "and I have a number of those in the Order who may be able to be broken. Aria Vale is the strongest, and I'm working on her as we speak. She's vulnerable, but she's a brilliant mind. Keen, eager and filled with a burning desire to take from the galaxy. I just need to unlock that."

Connor stood beside her, looking at her profile while all she did was gaze out of the window.

"Another, Kyra Sol, she hangs on my every word and action. She trusts me more than the Force itself. Celiana, another one, she's confused - easy to snap. A couple of others have left the Order but if I found them, they'd turn also. Not just those I have trained, but those who looked up to me in general I hope would listen to me now. The word of the Heavenshields is a poison itself, and it's hard to shake away when it's applied to much to them."

There was little reaction he could read from Taeli.

"I'm not holding back, Taeli. Just give me time. I'm...I'm getting there. I'm not going back. Not now."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

In her reflection, there was a small amused smirk as he detailed he could influence some to the dark side. They would need agents to carry out their plan to its fullest extant, but there was still something there about him. He might claim he was ready, but he wasn't quite there yet. She knew it, and deep down... he knew he wasn't quite at the state where he was ready to take that last plunge into the unknown.

"Yes, well, time will tell won't it?" she said, more rhetorically than an actual question. Her gaze followed the pinpricks of light as ships came and went from the surface. "Prove it to me, Connor. Before we can proceed, I need to know absolutely that you are ready to fully embrace the darkness. I don't have the time to deal with any second thoughts or unease. Can you assure me, right here and now, that there is no nagging worry? No second thoughts?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

And there it was. Gone was the veil of support from Taeli Raaf, Jedi Master and scientist. Now stood Lady Arcanix, Sith alchemist ready to continue her work with or without people like Connor Harrison holding her back. He looked out at the ships with her, knowing the answer as soon as the question was asked.

She had a good way of making him feel insignificant before her.

"I can't convince you. Not right now. You know that." He had come looking for something, but even he didn't know what or had expected to find a scheme such as this one. "I've been banished. That's it. I'm not going to lie and say I've suffered because I haven't. The only change is that I can't go back, so I'm on my own."

He watched the ships a little longer, light reflecting over their faces. He could feel something from Taeli; it felt like distaste.

"I guess coming here this soon was a mistake. Then, I didn't expect to find this so I was a little unprepared." Connor turned away. "Sorry for wasting your time."

Biting down his frustration, Connor stepped away and walked around the room. She'd opened up a chasm again and made him see what little he had, but how much more he had to lose to become whole again.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

She continued to look out the viewport, mildly amused now.

"Weren't you just a few moments ago asking me to train you? To teach you?" she asked, not turning around. "The path you chose requires a certain level of sacrifice of who you are... to become something greater. I know you likely know the Sith code, but that code is meaningless until you grasp that concept. In old days, the Sith would require an initiate to kill or sacrifice someone or something they loved to show their commitment to the cause. However, this sacrifice also served a dual role of keeping, or awakening, part of their humanity. We see the results, all too often, of Sith and Dark Jedi who don't understand the concept of keeping part of what makes them human."

She turned around at this, to look at the pacing man. He couldn't leave unless she deemed he could, not on this space station.

"For as long as I've known you, Connor, you've struggled with this conundrum," she continued. "It's given you a certain level of indecision and lack of knowing who you are. Are you Connor Harrison, Jedi Master, someone for all the Silver Jedi to strive to be? Or are you Connor Harrison, the man who flirts with the darkness, who is a cautionary tale your friends speak of when they warn their Padawans of the dangers of the dark side? Or are you Connor Harrison, alone and lost, drifting with no purpose but wanting to so desperately find something to make your actions worthwhile, to feel like you are actually accomplishing something?"