Private The Closing of one Chapter is the Opening of Another

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna ( Darth Strosius to Observe)
​

For weeks, he hadn't slept.

Every time he had tried to finally get some sleep, he had what he could only describe as visions. They started as crystal clear memories of the day he was created, of the day he came to exist. Every time he closed his eyes, he replayed every single second of his experiences in that tomb. He replayed every single second of what happened after he left that tomb.

Then they changed. They became visions of those he had grown close to. They started again as memories, memories of being found. Then memories of meeting the woman who would grow to be his wife. Memories of his children being born. All of them, replied in crystal clear resolution. The happiest days of his life by most accounts and he was reliving every single one of those.

It was the third times the visions changed that it really hurt. Those were the visions he was currently experiencing. Visions of screaming, visions of crying. Theuy became visions of his children screaming out, saying that daddy had abandoned them and that daddy didn't love them. All of the time, the only thing he could see was a grave. A grave with a name on it that he had not seen since that day he was created on Korriban.

He had long since shed the name Kei Raxis, opting instead to go by Tyros. Kei was the name of his genetic template, of that he knew. He had all of the memories of the man whom he had been created from, he was even aware he was a clone. He had become his own person though, carved out his own life and his story since that day on Korriban. Yet every time he closed his eyes, he heard screaming and he saw a grave with the name Kei Raxis engraved on it.

The decision to leave had been hard, but his wife had agreed. It was worth looking into, something wasn't right. He said his goodbyes to his family. He used all of the credits he had saved to buy a cheap ship capable of hyperspace travel and for the first time in roughly twenty years he did something he had not done. He opened himself up to the power of the force, something granted to him by the male who served as his genetic template.

Guided by the force, the clone set a course for his ship. He was almost certain that the visions were a work of the mystical power. He didn't even think whilst inputting co-ordinates. He just allowed the force to act on his behalf, he trusted that the force would send him where he needed to go. He didn't even think to check the navicomputer, he just put all of his faith into the force and his belief that he was doing the right thing.

He felt the ship jump out of hyperspace eventually. After setting it down on the planet surface, he checked he had everything he would require and need and he set off down the ramp to find out once and for all what the force wanted from him.

 

[Revna]

Tags: GhostOfProtocol
Gear: Armor, Sword


Revna’s time on Jakku had come to an end.

After meeting the young Jedi Jackson on less…hostile…terms, she knew it was time to depart and head back to Formos. To home. Hopefully her being missing didn’t raise too many questions. It had taken her roughly three days of travel to get to Jakku, and she had stayed the night in the town’s small inn, before hailing her ride the next morning to be picked up at the small port. She was very fortunate that one of the smugglers who worked alongside the Order of Wonosa had agreed to take her where she needed to go, as Revna still did not know how to fly a ship on her own. He had hung around for her too, greeting her when she met him at his ship’s side. He was not aware of the nature of her visit, not entirely. All he knew was that she had a mission to conduct, and thankfully he knew not to pry too much into what she had been doing.

After refueling and getting what supplies he needed, the smuggler and the young Sith took off, and she left the desert planet behind. Now she had three days of travel to look forward to before she set foot on home soil. She was relaxed; her encounter with Jackson had gone relatively well, given the nature of their meeting. At least, to her it had gone well. She couldn’t speak for the padawan.

Little did she know that her return trip home would be a crossroads of fate, an arena where the inner workings of the Force, the Dark side, could be made manifest.

Late into the first day of her travels, Revna felt a ripple through the Force and it tugged at her consciousness. She had felt this before-it was what prompted her to seek out the young Jedi. At first she thought that it was telling her to go back to Jakku…but that didn’t seem right. Not understanding what she was truly sensing or feeling, Revna meditated upon the Force in an attempt to ascertain what it was trying to tell her.

It gave her a vision: a man, and a grave with a withering tree beside it, sitting atop a hill as light was either fading or returning to the sky above. Then she saw herself there. There was a flash of light and darkness, of life and death, then she saw herself on her knees. She couldn’t tell if she was living or dying in that moment, but she could sense the hand of fate or perhaps the Force, moving within the vision. Then, everything went dark and her meditation ended.

Whatever this was, she knew she needed to go to wherever this place was, and carry out whatever was to take place. It seemed to be a fight of some sort, but she couldn’t be sure. Whether it be or not, she would prepare for it either way. She had stashed her gear on the smugglers ship-her Squire armor and her Sith sword-just in case she had found herself in need of it had her encounter with the Jedi gone wrong. Thankfully she hadn’t needed it…but now she was very thankful she had brought it.

She informed the smuggler pilot that they would be making a pitstop somewhere within the Outer Rim…but where she wasn’t sure exactly. He gave her a strange look, but seemed to sense that it had something to do with her mystical powers and abilities and just went with the flow, though he did inform her that it would cost extra credits. He didn’t transport people for free, as he had to think about fuel and other things. The young Acolyte was running a bit low on her credit funds taken from her deceased slave-master, but she had enough to pay him the extra and still get home.

When she felt they were closer to the place where she needed to go, Revna found a mostly quiet place within the smuggler’s ship and knelt down in a meditative position. She closed her eyes and let herself connect to the Force, reaching for the Dark and letting herself be submerged within its depth. She let it flow through her veins, through her mind and spirit, strengthening her for whatever was to come. Months prior to this, she would have been afraid to touch the Dark, to feel its cold embrace. But her Sith Mentor Darth Strosius had shown her the truth and beauty of it, and she had freed herself of those fearful chains. Now fear was a tool to use and manipulate as she saw fit.

The ship jolting slightly around her alerted her that they had come out of hyperspace. The tug of the Force was strongest now; she had arrived wherever she was supposed to go, and that was confirmed a moment later when she heard the smuggler’s voice echo from the cockpit.

“There is a planet ahead of me, Miss Revna. Is…is this the place?”

She was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice in response to him: “...Yes.”

“Very well. I will take us in.”

Revna opened her eyes, their once blue-gray hue now glowing a golden yellow. The Dark side was with her, and she was with the Dark side. Silently, she rose to her feet and stripped from her simple travelers clothes and began to pull her armor on; the armorweave undershirt and pants that fit her near perfectly, then pulling on the dark robes made of zeyd-cloth. A leather belt went on last, wrapping around her waist that would hold her Sith sword in its sheath. She pulled her boots back on and the gloves, then she reached for the helmet that was the finishing touch to her outfit.

Yet…she did not slip it on over her head. Instead she just stared at the darkened eye slots, staring at her own reflection, and the golden-hued eyes that stared back at her, before she set the helm down.

The ship settled down upon the ground of the unnamed planet she found herself on, and the ramp in the belly lowered to admit her to the surface below. Before she departed, she cast a glance at the pilot to see him looking at her.

“You look like you’re headed into a fight.” he remarked.

“I may be. I don’t know yet for sure, but I am not going in unprepared.”

He glanced at her helm, which lay with the rest of her gear. “Not taking your helmet?”

“No. I have a communicator with me in case I need to reach you. However…if I am not back within a few hours and you have heard nothing from me, then assume I am dead. Tell my Mentor where you left me, and he will come in his own time.”

“As you wish. Good luck with whatever it is you need to do.”

The little Sith Acolyte turned and headed down the ramp without another word, casting her gaze around her settings briefly before she spotted a hill far off in the distance, with a familiar lonely tree adorning its top. Taking this as her sign, she set off towards the hill to face whatever the Force had guided her towards.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna ( Darth Strosius to Observe)
​

Kneeling, a tear fell from his eye.

He wasn't expecting to become emotional looking at a lone grave of a man he'd never met, but he had to admit it had brought a tear to his eye. His finger traced over the name on the broken down tombstone, the name of the person who served as his genetic template and technically gave him life. There was no wonder that it had brought a little emotion to the forefront.

A singular, near dead leaf fell from the tree and landed behind him. He got himself up from his knees and took a step back from the tombstone, hearing the crunch of the leaf underfoot. A gust of wind blew across the hilltop and the clone took a moment to stare out at the sunrise. While the sunrise was beautiful and the grave and tombstone was morbid, he had to admit one thing.

He couldn't yet ascertain why he had been drawn to such a place.

The temperature was beginning to increase as more sun made itself known, appearing on the horizon. The clone had taken a seat on a bench by this point, having already decided that the force would reveal it's motives with time. He was almost certain that there was a reason for him being dragged out to the far reaches of the galaxy, almost certain that something else was going on.

He closed his eyes for the first time in years, and allowed himself to meditate on the force.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


Revna approached the hill in silence, moving with a hunter’s caution as her gaze noticed anything and everything around her. A slight breeze shifted her dark and silver streaked hair over her shoulder, blowing it from her face as the planet’s star began to rise above the horizon and bathe its surface in light and warmth.

As she reached the base of the hill, she felt another Force presence near to her, and she paused briefly. This wasn’t a Dark side presence, which meant that whoever or whatever was up there was either a Jedi or perhaps someone not associated with either Order. She knew there were Force sensitives out there who were either unaware of their giftings in the Force, or chose to walk a path in the Force not tied to one side or the other.

There was only one way to find out the truth of the matter however, and so she began her ascent up the hill.

When she crested the top, she noticed a few things immediately.

One was the grave she had seen in her vision, the second was the withering and dying tree, and third was the man who seemed to be in a meditative position upon a bench. That would explain why she felt a Force presence up here. It was also the same man she had seen in her vision, the one with whom she felt a clash between light and dark, life and death. Was…she supposed to fight this man?

She wouldn’t say no if that turned out to be the case. Revna was always up for a challenge.

The small Sith woman took a few silent and cautious steps forward before coming to a stop. The slight breeze caused her dark robes to flutter about her as she regarded the scene before her in silence. Did she speak? Did she ask this man anything? Did she just…attack him?

No…attacking him like this was not honorable. A majority of the Sith may look down upon honor, seeing it as worthless or a weakness, but she tried to carry some honor within herself at least.

Revna let her grip on her dark presence relax, and made her presence known and felt. Her golden hued gaze stared at the meditating man, as she spoke the only words that seemed to come into her mind.

“You are the man I saw in my vision. I wonder why the Force would bring me here...I don't suppose you know the answer to that, do you?”

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna ( Darth Strosius to Observe)
​

Disturbed, his eyes shot open.

Approaching him was a woman, the woman whom had spoken to him. She appeared to have come from the bottom of the hill, as she was unlikely to have just appeared from out of no-where. He had never seen her before, never met her however she appeared to have been summoned to the grave by the force in much the same way he had. There were numerous forces at play.

There was a darkness about her. Something from deep inside him stated she was clouded with the darkside of the force, though he couldn't state how he knew that. He just assumed it was to do with the genetic template and it's knowledge of the force and everything surrounding the force. The clone knew a lot about the magical power despite having never studying it.

"I don't know why I'm here, much less yourself my friend" he spoke softly, rising from the bench he had taken up refuse on. "A dream told me I should be here, thus I'm here. Other than that, I have about as much information as you do. Maybe together we can figure out why we're meant to be on this hill?" he enquired softly, raising an eyebrow towards his new companion.

"May I suggest it has something to do with this grave?" he said, casting his eyes towards the burial site of his genetic template. There was a radiating feeling coming from it, much lighter than the aura currently being projected by his new companion. Anyone with any sort of formal training would instantly recongise the lightside of the force radating from the grave.

"The grave of the man I was cloned from. An interesting place to be summoned to by a dream, that much is for certain" he looked up at his new companion as he spoke. "Apologies, I haven't even introduced myself. How rude. My name is Tyros" he smiled softly, offering out his hand towards the female.

All of his dreams had involved someone screaming.

Due to that, he didn't trust the girl, but she was his only way of ascertaining exactly what the force wanted from them. And if he had to make a choice? Well, he had a family to go home to and ulitmately he would go home to that family no matter what he had to do.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


The man reacted to her voice, his eyes snapping open to look at her. He seemed to regard her for a moment, before responding to her question and rising to his feet. His response brought a frown to her pale face. A dream had brought him here?

She glanced around the area once more, taking it all in, her gaze settling on the gravesite when he suggested that perhaps them both being here had something to do with it.

There was a sensation coming off the grave, of the light side. It made her lip curl ever so slightly in disgust, and that detestation would flicker in her golden eyes for a brief moment before she returned her attention back to the man before her. Whoever was buried there certainly had had a strong connection to the Force…but why would they still be projecting such a sensation if all they were was bone and dust? She didn’t quite understand what was going on there. But it caused the Darkness within her to react.

Then the man spoke again, and revealed that he was a clone of whoever was buried there. Her gaze narrowed ever so slightly at the mystery of it all. Why in chaos had the Force brought her here, to a grave of someone she knew nothing about?

The stranger introduced himself as ‘Tyros’, and offered a hand towards her. Revna did not move; she simply stared at the offered hand, before her eyes went back to his face. She was acutely aware that not taking his offered hand was a breach of some sort of social etiquette, but other than his name he was a stranger to her, standing at the grave of an individual who had had some connection to the light side of the Force.

She was a Sith. She was not meant to be exactly friendly towards others. Especially if they were of the light side. She had already violated her teachings and beliefs by meeting with the Jedi padawan. What would be said of her allegiance if she were to be friendly here and now? What would her Mentor think of her?

However, she could give him her name. She felt that was at least fair. “Revna. Forgive me for not taking your hand Tyros. My vision did not show us shaking hands and swapping stories over a grave…” She flicked her gaze back at the mound, the darkness within her growing deeper and more pronounced, as if trying to shield her from the light emanating from the ground.

“...No.” She brought her gaze back to his, her amber eyes hardening slightly. May as well cut straight to the chase. “I saw a struggle between life and death here.”

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna ( Darth Strosius to Observe)
​

Life and death.

That explained a lot. The clone lowered his hand to his side, shaking his head. One vision of screaming, another of life and death. Suddenly, part of the story had become quite clear. There was to be a fight to the death at the grave of a dead Jedi. It was not yet clear who said fight to the death would involve, though the clone was smart enough to make the assumpion that it would involve him and the female somehow.

The female, who'd given her name as Revna. It was a name he'd never come across before, but it was a nice name none the less. At least if one of them were to die, they'd go out knowing the other's name. It didn't change much, but it was a nice thought none the less.

The clone had already made the decision that he wasn't dying. He cast his mind back to his wife. He thought about the day they met, in the diner on Commenor. She was serving and he was eating, just trying to figure out who he was and where he'd come from. She'd almost taken pity on him, given him some free food and a change of clothes. They'd continued to meet in secret for months after that until she'd finally kissed him, cause he didn't have the nerve to make the first move.

He thought about their wedding day, their first dance where he'd tripped and fallen on his face. Her family had been there, had taken him in like their son and had shown him the love of a family that he never really knew. He had memories of a family of course, but they weren't his. They were Kei's family, the family of his genetic doner. Not his family.

He thought of the day his children were born, the day he got to hold them. The eldest had come out crying, kicking off. The youngest had come out a few years later almost silent. They were polar opposites now they were older, but they were still his kids and he still loved them equally. He still had presents to give them for their birthdays.

No. He was going home. If it came to it, she was the one who wouldn't.

"That tells us something" he chuckled nervously. "Though why here of all places, I'm yet to understand. Is there something one of us wants perchance? I know full well that it's not me, I don't want anything from here. I got life from this man, whatever happened to him after that is none of my business" he gestured towards the gave as he spoke.

Then his eyes caught sight of something. It was just a small shine at first, but instantly some memory that was repressed, a memory from the genetic template of Kei Raxis unlocked. He knew exactly what his eye had seen, and all of a sudden he started to connect the dots. He started to make sense of something, he started to understand why it had been at the grave.

In his dreams, there was one bit he hadn't admitted to anyone. One bit he refused to even process because he didn't want it to be true. He saw himself on the floor, unmoving. He saw himself with a shadowy figure above him with a yellow light in it's hand. He hadn't understood then, but he understood now. Everything made sense why the force had dragged two random people to one specifc place at one specific time.

He wouldn't let it be true.

"I think you're meant to kill me"

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


His hand lowered.

She watched his face, his body posture, and his expression carefully. Resolution seemed to come over his features, and she felt the Dark almost purr within. He had understood what she was implying, and the situation seemed to be headed towards a lethal confrontation. Still, she remained in her place until the die had been cast for sure, one way or the other. She would not make her move until the time came to do so.

But she allowed the Dark side to seep into every part of her body, her mind, her spirit. Her eyes would turn a darker shade of golden amber as her connection strengthened in anticipation for what was to come.

“I do not know why this place was chosen either. Clearly, there must be a purpose to it.”

Revna reflected internally for a moment. What…was something she wanted? She wanted her Mentor’s approval, his pride in her. She wanted to learn more, gain more knowledge about the Force, the Dark side, and learn just how far she could take herself with it. She wanted power, to become something greater than what she was before. And, of course…she wanted her own lightsaber.

She had envisioned herself cutting down a Jedi to take their saber, a proving moment for any Sith acolyte to show that they were dedicated to their path, their vision, and the ways of the Sith. She had been training hard to prepare herself for that eventual confrontation. She did have her chance, but she had purposefully rejected killing that padawan for his saber blade. It had been a training blade from what she could tell, and she wanted the real thing.

The small woman didn’t tell her wants and wishes to this Tyros, however. He didn’t need to hear any of that. It wouldn’t matter if he was dead.

But still, none of this explained why the Force had called her here.

Prove yourself worthy of Me, worthy of taking all that which I lay before you - the Voice of the Darkness whispered through her. Revna tilted her head, watching the man’s eyes flicker towards the grave, and a glimmer of recognition, of understanding, came over his face. She still didn’t know for certain, but she was starting to feel that her reason for being here was going to be revealed very soon...and it would involve more than just fighting and possibly killing this man. The vision she had been granted had revealed that much to her at least.

He spoke, telling her that he thought she was meant to kill him, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Then let us not delay the inevitable.”

Her hand went to the hilt of her Sith sword, her intentions made clear. There was no point in standing around and pondering what was to come, so she made her move first by freeing the blade she had trained with. She didn’t see a weapon on the man, but she wasn’t going to assume one way or the other if he was armed or not.

Either he would defend himself, or this killing would be done and over with before she knew it and she could continue on her journey home.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna ( Darth Strosius to Observe)
​

The weapon was readied.

For a very brief moment, he panicked. He realised that he was outclassed, outskilled and definitely about to meet his end. He panicked, thinking that it was all over and that he wasn't going to get to kiss his wife goodnight anymore. He panicked, thinking he wasn't going to see his children on their birthdays, wasn't going to get to see them perform in plays.

Then it dawned on him. He hadn't trained in combat before, but there was a very good chance Kei Raxis had trained in combat before. He just had to hope everything would come naturally to him, just had to hope that somehow self preservation would kick in and the inner memories would unlock and Kei's training would be enough to survive the encounter.

Tyros would survive.

From near the grave, there was a quiet noise not too dissimilar from earth being disturbed. Then the metalic silver object that the clone was looking at shot towards him at speed. Instinctivly, his hand reached out and caught the tube. Without even thinking about it, he spun it in his grip and pointed it towards his foe, yellow plasma igniting from the weapon.

Kei Raxis' Lightsaber, wielded by his clone.

"Look. We don't have to do this" he spoke, backing off and lowering the weapon. "Destiny can be avoided, can be changed! I don't want to hurt you, I just want to go home to my family! Whatever you want, you can have! Let's just work together and we can both get out of this alive!" he shouted, attempting to put more distance between the two just to be safe.

He hoped he could appeal to her, though he doubted it.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


Her Sith blade, exuding a presence of the Dark side, was a familiar weight in her hand. In the very beginning of her training, she had used it awkwardly as she tried to adjust to it, to make it an extension of herself. So many hours of training with it had done wonders for her, the mock duels…and eventually real combat had furthered her familiarity with it. The blade in her hand had tasted blood on numerous occasions, her enemies dying by its lethal edge.

She had lost count of exactly how many had fallen to this blade. Dozens, maybe. But that was what happened when one was in the thick of fighting.

Fighting itself had given her more experience than the training had ever done for her. But that was the point. Training gave her the tools to use, combat helped sharpen and refine her abilities and skills. Being so close to those who were to be slain also gave Revna a look into her opponent’s emotions, and she had come to realize that some emotions were universal on the field of blood and death:

Fear. Panic. Desperation.

And as her blade glinted in the rising sun’s light, she saw the man before her, Tyros, express panic as it finally settled on him that unless he did something immediately…he was going to die.

Things happened very quickly, but very slowly at the same time. As the little Sith woman infused her body with power, she noticed a rustling sound coming from the grave, followed by a swift movement. One of the man’s hands reached up to catch the object that was suddenly flying into his hand, an object that Revna instantly recognized.

A golden blade of plasma erupted from the hilt in the man’s hand, directed at her as he seemed to take a defensive stance.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for her: the object she’d seen in her hands in the vision had been a lightsaber hilt.

Her golden gaze went to the yellow blade in the man’s outstretched hands, and hunger filled her eyes and face. She hardly heard the words he spoke to her in a desperate last attempt to stop what was coming. Her entire body tensed, but she hesitated for a brief moment as a thought echoed through her head.

He…had a family?

Granted…many of the enemies she had slain in her various campaigns and missions with her Mentor probably had families too. But this…this was different. This man wasn’t exactly an enemy. Killing him-if she succeeded in doing so-was going to a close and intimate thing, and now knowing that he had a family added a weight to the choice that lay before her.

Revna was torn, caught between two different sides of herself, for a brief moment. Tyros would notice the golden hue fade from her eyes briefly as she recognized the struggle in her own soul. She also didn’t know how well he could fight or use that saber at all, and she recognized that this could prove out to be a huge error on her part and lead to her getting herself killed.

But she wanted that saber. The challenge of the unknown only added fuel to the fires within her, and thus she made her choice.

The little woman responded to his desperate pleas by launching herself forward, the darkness that was within her spreading out before her to engulf him in its icy, disorienting tide as a grim look of determination filled her face. Her blade caught his saber and she tried pushing it aside, aiming a hard forward kick with her own foot towards his pelvic region at the same time.

If she could distract him or otherwise disable him through pain, then she could give him a quick clean death, allowing her to claim her much desired prize.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna
​

Hope.

He clung onto hope, falling onto the defensive as quick as he could. Just in time, he raised the yellow blade instinctivly and found himself blocking. He wasn't entirely sure how he was blocking, his working theory was that the original Kei Raxis had been quite a reasonable user of a lightsaber. Either that, or he was incredibly lucky. Either way, he was still alive.

Then he stumbled backwards, and pain radiated through his midsection. It took him a few moments to realise that his foe had landed a clean kick directly to his stomach, his white shirt now with a muddy footprint for decoration. Without time to even catch his breath, he got himself back on the defensive in case his foe attempted to press her attack again.

Darting, his eyes studied the area looking for a way out. If he could fall back to the ship, he might be able to escape and get proper law enforcement to deal with the situation. Either that or he'd be able to make for the core worlds. He wasn't sure why, but something in his brain was screaming that Courscant was somewhere to go, that someone there would be able to help him.

"What do you want from me!" he shouted towards her. "I'll even lay down my weapon and we can end this!" he continued, still keeping his defence up. He began to back away towards his ship slowly. He hadn't realised it, but he was actively shaking. "Please, I don't want to hurt you. I just want to go home" he said quietly. "All I want is to go home"

There was hope. He'd seen the yellow drain from her eyes before she'd attacked and somewhere deep inside he knew that was a good thing. He was getting through to her. If he could get her to stop, they'd be able to both go home alive. If she continued, Tyros knew only one of them would walk away and he knew it would be him. He had a family to go home to.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


He blocked her blade, but was caught unprepared by her kick, stumbling backward from it as a small footprint of dirt and mud was left behind. Her eyes were narrowed as she pressured him ever so slightly, testing and prodding him to see what kind of fighter he was.

His eyes darted around, looking for an avenue of escape. There was desperation all over him, the overwhelming need to survive this encounter. She could sense it and feel it from him. It should have brought her a sick sense of joy or satisfaction, but it didn’t. She was just focused, her attention on him and everything he did.

The man shouted at her, demanding to know what she wanted from him. He even went as far as to tell her he’d lay down the weapon and let this conflict come to an end, pleading with her. He was trying to speak to her morality, to the part of her conscience that still tried to keep her grounded and thoughtful towards others. The little Sith recognized what he was doing, and as she circled him a small smirk touched her lips.

“I want that saber.” She said, raising her blade to gesture to the saber in his hand. “Unfortunately, I must earn it through blood, sweat, and tears. As much as I would like to simply take it from you and let you be on your way…I cannot. I must prove myself worthy of it, and I have to kill to truly earn it.” Revna said, her voice low.

She kept her gaze on him, noticing that he was backing away, trying to head somewhere. The Acolyte tilted her head at him and her eyes glinted dangerously. “Don’t be a coward and flee. Stand and fight me.” the woman growled, moving with a surprising amount of speed as she pushed in on him suddenly, thrusting her blade forward with a stab towards him, hoping to slip past the guard he had and wound him. As soon as the thrust was made, she danced to one side with the same amount of speed as before and followed up with a vicious swipe of the blade.

Revna was going to get that saber…even if it meant violating her own conscience that was now begging her to stop fighting and let him go, let him live. She could still gain the saber even if she halted hostilities. But she knew that if she did that…she would never feel worthy of the weapon. Never feel like she truly earned it with her own might and strength and abilities. That desire to take it through blood and violence overrode any sense of mercy she might have felt, and a dark thought consumed her.

She’d killed before to get what she wanted. She knew she could do so again.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna
​

He met her blade.

Plasma clashed with tempered Sith weaponary. It had become clear to the clone that there was no-way for the hostilities to end without one of them falling prey to the other. As much as he hated the thought of it, he was going to have to press the attack eventually. If he could strike to disarm, he would do so. If it came to it and there was no other option.

Well he was walking away.

His defence had so far been sloppy, yet fueled by the memories of the man whom he was cloned from. He needed to open himself up to those memories to have any chance of surviving the duel, however he wasn't sure what that would mean for him. If he opened himself up to all of that, would he lose who he was? Would his family turn their backs on him?

Questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. He couldn't risk hesitation, he had to just go with it. He heard her shout towards him, demanding that he stop cowarding and fight and for the first time, he smiled. He closed his eyes and allowed everything that Kei Raxis knew to flood into him. Everything that he had locked away for so many years revealed itself.

To anyone else, he would radiate lightside energy more than he had ever done before.

He rotated the weapon in his hand, everything feeling much more familar to him. He suddenly realised how cocky his genetic template had been, how cocky he was now that he'd accepted that part of him and accepted that he was Kei Raxis too. Kei Raxis had been a fighter, and now he was one too. Yellow plasma was pointed towards the Sith who attempted to claim his life.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe there's any other option here. I was willing to let you walk away" the clone spoke, the confidence dripping from every word. Kei Raxis had clearly been a badass. "I was willing to give you everything you wanted and still you refused, still you claimed this had to end with my life. So here's the deal. I'll give you one final chance. Lay down your weapon and take mine" he continued.

"Or unfortunately, you will die"

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol

Her words seemed to have caused a shift within the man before her, and he blocked her prodding attack again. Up until now, his efforts had been a bit sloppy; he appeared untrained or at least not accustomed to using a saber. But that soon changed.

He grinned at her, briefly closed his eyes, and his entire persona changed. She felt it through the Force, and felt the light side seemingly unlocked within him. She wasn’t entirely sure how this was happening, but it made her a bit more cautious; not fearful by any means, just more aware and alert.

When he looked at her, there was confidence in his gaze, on his face, in his stance. For a brief moment, Revna recognized that she might have perhaps made a mistake; there was no telling just how powerful or skilled this individual was. She had trained and dueled with others of exceptional skill, but that hadn’t been to the death. This…was more than likely going to get bloody and violent and would end in the death of one, if not both of them, if they were not careful.

If she was not careful.

He spoke again, and she kept just outside of the reach of the yellow blade, her own sword ready to fend him off should he make any move towards her. The confidence was thick in his words as he warned her that she had been given her chances, and was being offered one last offering of peace.

But now he wanted her to lay down her own weapon in exchange for his, saying that if she didn’t…she would die. She bristled at the mere idea of surrendering her weapon. Besides, she wasn’t going to fall for that. The moment her blade was out of her hand, he certainly would try to kill her.

“I don’t think so.” she growled again, her gaze fierce.

The time had come; all the dancing, all the playing around, was at an end. She knew the moment she committed to this, there was no way to go back. Either he would die, or she would. Her fight to take the saber would turn into a fight to stay alive.

She fell into the Force, and let the Dark wash over her completely. She let her desire to take the saber as well as her disgust bordering on hatred for the light side fuel her aggression. She wasn’t getting lost into the emotions that strengthened her power and abilities, but controlled them in such a way that she could use them while staying focused on the fight. It was something that had been drilled into her throughout her training. There were times where one could lose themselves to their passions, their emotions…but now was not that time. Not yet, anyway.

Revna lunged in again with renewed purpose and a snarl on her face, her aggression perhaps a bit surprising for one so small, especially for a woman. In her mind, this was a Jedi before her, and all the bitterness she had begun to develop towards them was present in the vicious stab she directed towards his midsection.

But she had to take care to keep that saber blade away from her armor, her body, though. She couldn’t let it score a direct hit…otherwise it would simply burn through the material and wound her. And Revna knew that if she was wounded badly enough, then this fight would be over and she would not be returning home.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna
​

With a renewed confidence, he met her blade once again.

Less off balance this time, more controlled. Darkness had washed over the little woman, rage fueling her attacks. She was matched however by the lightness of the clone, refreshed with Kei Raxis' memories and talents and skills and abilities. Whereas she was fueled by hatred and rage, he was calm and settled and focused on survival.

Every movement he made had purpose, no longer sloppy and reckless. Instead, he moved with the poise and percision of a trained lightsaber duelist. Everything Kei Raxis knew, Tyros knew. Djem-So and Makashi were Kei Raxis' forms of choice and he guessed that made them his forms of choice. The aggressive Djem-So mixed with the elegance and grace of Makashi.

He redirected her sword with the force as his ferocious opponent went for the jab towards his abdomen, aware that it's sharp edge was more than capable of successfully landing a killing blow if she connected with it. He followed up his little force move with a kick aimed directly to the jaw. If it landed, it would do some damage and knock her backwards.

If it missed, it was likely to at least knock her off balance and allow for the counter attack to be pressed. Either way, he would lunge in for attack of his own, his yellow blade arching down towards his opponent in an extemely powerful strike. Both his own power and the assistance of the force would be used to aid the strike in it's movement.

If she focused hard enough, she would likely notice that he was aiming for her wrists in an attempt to disarm instead of kill. Even after everything, he didn't want to kill her despite her attempting to end him.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


Within those first few moments, Revna had an idea of who and what she was up against.

This was going to be the fight of her life. If she survived this, then she could take pride in overcoming the struggle to come out on top. It was going to take every ounce of focus, every ounce of strength, every ounce of connection to the Dark side to win this.

And if she fell…then it would have been to a worthy opponent, at least-he was worthy to her.

His moves were no longer sloppy or hesitant; his golden blade danced with hers as they tested one another, looking for any small opening or opportunity to get the best of the other. The little Sith woman channeled her anger until it was her focus, lasering in on him with lethal intent. It left her vulnerable to attack from others…but she wasn’t worried about that here. It was just the two of them, with only the Force and the sun above as their witnesses.

This man, Tyros, redirected her strike away from his belly before aiming a powerful kick towards her face. In that moment, Revna was very thankful for her agility and flexibility and lightning fast reaction time. She twisted to avoid the blow to her jaw, and her opponent would notice that she bent her body in a way that almost didn’t seem…human. Though briefly off balance, she returned to being centered with grace and agility, almost feline-like.

The little woman knew a counter attack was incoming and she managed to dance out of the way of his saber, deflecting it just in the nick of time. She noticed fairly quickly that he was seeking to disarm her by targeting her hand and wrist. Aware of this, she adjusted enough (or so she hoped) to keep her sword hand and wrist away from the plasma blade, especially moving forward. The collision of their blades sent shockwaves through her, and she gritted her teeth against the small lances of pain that needled through her arm.

She harnessed it and used the pain she felt like fuel to stoke the burning fires within her, and she felt strength surge through her as she tried to push him back, stepping into his space in an attempt to position one of her legs behind his to force him off balance or even trip him up completely, and she gave a shove with aid from the Force to add to the momentum of her push. If she could get him down, then she could end this swiftly. If not, then their struggle would continue.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna
​

She was annoyingly talented.

All of her anger had become focused, used in her attempts to counter his attacks or break through his defensive stances. It became exceptionally clear to the clone that someone had taken their time in ensuring that the female foe he was encountering was a trained, formidable fighter. What he couldn't tell is if she was being trained as more of a Sith or more of a lap dog.

The duo danced around each other, golden plasma clashing with tempered, alchemised Sith weaponary. Every collision led to a dull thunk and the noise of a lightsaber clashing. Both of them struck out for each other, attempting to pierce through the defenses of their foe and bring a close to the fight that was currently occuring.

Then she pushed him.

Physically she tried to trip him, but she added a quick force push to knock him off balance. It was successful as well, and very quickly the clone found himself back first in the mud. The wind was knocked out of him, and he didn't even have time to catch his breath before he was back on the defensive, stopping sword puncturing through him and bringing his life to a close.

With one last attempt, he waited for her to get on top of him to plunge her blade into him and he kicked up as hard as he could.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol


Her attempt to knock him down was successful, and she watched for a brief moment as he fell back into the muddy ground, landing hard. In her eagerness to finish him off, she launched herself at him, like a predator would do to their prey once down on the ground. But he was ready for her, and though she saw his kick coming, she did not react completely in time to avoid a blow.

There was a resounding crack of fracturing bone that echoed through the space between them, and the little woman felt white-hot pain rip through her ribcage and chest. The kick that landed against her pushed her away roughly as her breath was momentarily robbed from her, giving the space and time her opponent needed to get back on his feet. She managed to stay on her feet, but just barely.

Feth, that hurt.

She knew one of her ribs was broken by the strength of his kick. The pain made her mind hazy for a brief moment before she tapped into the Force to help dull the pain, so she could keep up with the fight and ignore the injury until it was finished.

But now she was truly angry. The pain enraged her further, fueled her further, and with a snarl she leapt by aid of the Force back towards him, moving with speed as she made another stab with her blade towards his chest.

She was going to get that saber, even if she had to sustain injuries to take it from him. It would all be worth it in the end. At least, that is what she told herself as she gritted her teeth through the sensation of bone grinding against bone.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

The Outer Rim
Written as Kei Raxis' Clone
Tags - Revna
​

The female foe was all over him.

On one hand, kicking her had led to a successful result. She'd been knocked off balance and he was fairly certain he'd heard bone crunch under his boot. He'd had chance to catch his breath and get back to his feet whilst his foe attempted to recover from what was almost definitely a broken rib or two, if not more damage than that.

However, on the other hand he'd made her angry. He'd left her wounded, which she just used to fuel her next attacks. She came at him like an animal, fueled by the anger she now felt towards him. For just the briefest moment, golden plasma and tempered Sith weapon danced around each other quicker than the naked eye could digest and process.

Then all he felt was pain.

There was a gasp, and the eyes of the clone drifted down. He had seen his foe leap in for the stab and he had attempted to counter it, attempted to protect himself with his own blade. He had attempted to block or parry the weapon, redirect it away from himself. Instead, all he saw was the sword having peirced straight through his abdomen.

Everything was pain. Every single breath he took seemed to lead to even more pain. He dropped to his knees, a dull thud when bone connected with the ground. Everything in his peripheral vision was going dark, and he heard another thud and felt yet more pain in his skull as he dropped onto his side. The darkness continued to creep into his vision.

His last thoughts were of children, thanking him for trying.

 

[Revna]

GhostOfProtocol



Despite her injury, the little woman was aggressive in her attack. She was rage-fueled speed and the Force lent her its strength as she bid that it serve her in her glorious moment.

Her opponent tried to fend her off. She recognized a sudden flash of emotion-perhaps fear-as her blade and his danced in rapid hits and blows. She made a feint, which he fell for, and she saw an opening and went for it, thrusting the Sith sword forward towards him-

-and felt the briefest resistance before her blade sank deep into his flesh, all the way to the hilt from the energy she put into her stab.

He froze with a gasp, and Revna froze as well. For a moment, time seemed to come to a halt for her. Their eyes briefly met, before he looked down to see her blade buried in his abdomen. She could feel warm blood spilling from the wound channel and coating her gloved hand, the splatters of it hitting the ground beneath them to mix with the mud and dirt. She could tell by the position of the blade that it had gone through more serious internal organs, like his liver. A lethal wound if not taken care of immediately. But she didn’t want him to die a slow and agonizing death. So she gave the blade a slight twist, severing the major artery she knew was in there.

He sank to his knees before her, the weight of his own dying body pulling him free from the sword he was impaled upon, before falling back to the ground. Without thinking, Revna reached her mind out to his and felt little to no resistance as she connected to his mind, reliving the last thoughts and memories he had as the darkness of the void quickly rose up to meet him. The little Sith woman saw faces, heard whispers, and realized that they were images of his family…his children, his wife.

She sank down to her knees on the bloodied ground beside him, her sword hand roughly tossing the Sith blade just out of reach as pain…physical, emotional, mental and spiritual…overcame her and she unconsciously laid a small hand on his chest. She felt his pain, and she felt her own.

I'm so sorry...

Revna kept her mind connected to his until everything faded, and she felt his life slip into the Force. She stayed on her knees beside his body, a numbness starting to creep over her. She felt cold inside, oh so cold...almost as if she had killed a part of herself when she killed him.

Eventually, Revna rose to her feet, and the glint of metal in the sun brought her attention to the now deactivated lightsaber that was still held in his hand. She raised a hand towards it and pulled on it with the Force, feeling some resistance before it leapt into her hand. She could feel the light side within the saber itself as it resisted her Dark presence; she had learned through her training that certain crystals powered sabers, gave them their colorful hues and abilities, and that some were more bound to the light side of the Force whereas others were more connected to the Dark side. She inspected the saber hilt, feeling its weight and how it felt in her hand. A small, triumphant smile tugged at her lips. Oh, she couldn’t wait to see the look on her Mentor’s face when she revealed it to him, and recalled the tale of how she had acquired it. Hopefully he would be proud of his little Acolyte.

With her other free hand, Revna summoned her sword, and used the edge of her robe to gently clean the drying blood from its surface before slipping it back inside its sheath. She’d have to give it a more thorough cleaning once she arrived back home to Formos. The saber hilt she placed on her beltline, a hard earned trophy that she would need to figure out how to operate later on.

Pain lanced through her chest, reminding her of her broken rib. Now that the fight was over, the adrenaline was beginning to wear off and as she released her hold on the Force, the pain she felt began to build in intensity. Exhaustion was also starting to settle in; that had perhaps been one of the most intense fights she’d experienced yet, and though it ended fairly quickly, it had still taken a lot of her focus and energy to stay alive and come out of it in one piece.

The little woman pushed her exhaustion back; she still had some work left to do.

She reached for her communicator and spoke to the smuggler to inform him that she would be returning shipside soon, and to prepare for departure. But first…she wanted to give the man she had slain a proper resting place. She reached into the Force, feeling some resistance from her exhaustion, and she coaxed the ground beside the other gravesite to open, before she moved the body into the hole and sealed it back over, expending the last of her energy in doing so. She stood there staring at the now dual gravesite, and she tilted her head in reflective thought and realization.

Father and son, now resting side by side, nothing more but memories to live on in the minds of others.

Revna bowed her head before turning away to return to the ship, lifting a hand to press it against the throbbing pain in her side. As she made the walk back, guilt began to worm its way into her soul and spirit.

She had murdered a man for a lightsaber, a man who had a family who loved him and hoped for his return home. This was no act of self-defense on her part; no, she had killed him in cold blood and with intention. She had robbed his family of his presence, and she knew the pain that they would feel in knowing he was gone, never to come back.

Revna had experienced that pain for herself when her mother had been executed. She…she couldn’t do that to his family, keep them separated.

Her guilt wouldn’t let her go until she fixed what she had broken. She just hoped she could do what she needed to do, when the time came.

The smuggler greeted her when she reached the ship, noticing her bloodied appearance and decided not to press her for answers.

“Back to Formos?” he inquired as he settled down in the pilot’s seat.

“No. I need to go to Commenor. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you what I have left for the troubles.”

“Very well. Inputting coordinates now.”

Revna applied a bacta patch to help aid in healing her injury, before she finally knelt down in a dark and quiet place to reflect on what she had done. She pulled the saber hilt from her belt and looked at it in her hands once more, feeling a mixture of pride, guilt, and sorrow.

She had done it…she had won the fight and claimed the saber for herself.

…But at what cost?