The Darkest of Sciences

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine sat calmly on a stone throne in his private chambers in his fortress on the lush world of Thyferra, of which he was the sole ruler. Before him was a gaggle of dancers for his amusement, of which they were failing horribly, but perhaps that was not their total fault. Kaine was in a rather sour mood on this most dreary of days, and not even the enticing and curvy bodies of these dancers could shake him from his moody stupor. With a simple gesture, he ordered his guards to escort the dancers back to the Chamber of Desire beneath the fortress until called for again. He sipped the red wine from his black chalice before rising from his throne, and walking from the massive throne room out onto the veranda filled with a assortment of local and exotic flora. Here is where Kaine came to think and contemplate future actions before fully enacting them, and today he came to ponder the reason he was in such a bad temper.

The reason was that latest information he had pried from his ancestor's holocron, but to fully benefit from the information he had to have fluency in the dark side of the force, a skill he lacked. How he chastised himself now for not delving into training in the force while his parents still lived when he had the chance, instead he focused more on his technological skills. Still, better late than never he thought, and had sent out request to be trained by a Sith Lord as bait to see if he could entice any to train him in the dark side of the force, if any were willing of course. He expected some might be, and now he waited on his garden veranda overlooking the main landing pad for his fortress as orbital scanners had detected a ship of Imperial origin entering the atmosphere. It was only a matter of time now.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Darkest is the night before the dawn, those words echoed through Daxton's head as he pondered the words of Darth Tyranus when his meditations were interrupted by the chirp of an incoming message. What could possibly be important at this late hour? Cueing the message, he watched in silence as it played out before him.

After the message was done, Daxton stared at the screen for several minutes before sending a response.

"Lord Regent Zambrano. I would be honored begin your instruction in the ways of the Force. It would take me a few days to arrive. I look forward to seeing you then."

 

[Daxton Bane]

Daxton arrived accompanied by a floating droid head molded in the form of a Zabrak in pain. The droids eyes glowed with crimson energy as it hovered just above Daxton's left shoulder. The Sith Apprentice's arrival was some what a shock to the personnel manning the space port because there is no record of his ship every arriving.

"Greetings your grace." Daxton said as he bowed. "I am here to begin your instruction in the ways of the Force. However before we begin I will require complete privacy. What will be discussed is not for the consumption of those who do not follow the path we choose."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine watched as the ship descended and landed gingerly on the pad before him, and smiled slyly as a familiar form emerged from the vessel and walked towards him. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Bane. I am pleased that you were the one who answered my call." He said in his typical baritone voice as he welcomed the Sith into his heavily fortified compound, "Rest assured my friend, in my realm I can make anywhere private. We will be quite safe here." He escorted Daxton through the large and elegant halls of his estate, with nearly every every couple of square feet of wall adorned with a masterful painting of rather grim and debaucherous subjects. Their quick journey ended when they reached a large elevator lift, to which Kaine typed in a quick key-code into the panel next to it, and the doors opened with a hiss. "Going down... You first, as is only proper." Kaine bowed and motioned with his arms for the Sith to enter the lift.

 

[Daxton Bane]

If this was a trap, then Kaine was a rather foolish man. "We go in together. After all you are the host and I am but a mere guest."

All the while, U101 was discretely scanning for listening devices, cameras and unusual power sources which could signal traps. The information was sent to Daxton via wireless transmission to the pulse receiver on his wrist. The soft taps he felt on his skin told him all he needed to know about his immediate surroundings.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"As you wish then." Kaine entered the lift first and tapped another key of sequences into the pad, which once Daxton had entered the lift activated the doors to close and their descend to begin. All the while a field of dampening would interfere with U101's inter-workings, jamming it from scanning while in the vicinity of the compound, a security measure put in by Kaine himself to disable foreign electronics that were not part of this estate, as the estate's cybernetics and electronics had a built in defense shield to counter the effects of the dampener, and remain unaffected. The descent took roughly two to three minutes, and when it finally ground to a halt the doors opened to reveal a massive temple-like antechamber, adorned with statues o various Sith Lords and walls of sculptures and artifacts of Sith origin. The only light source came from braziers a lit with a bluish flame, giving the entire area a very sinister aura of mystery, and cast odd shadows around the room when Kaine stepped infront of them, to which at a glance looked like mischievous smoke demons scurrying about that darted away just out of sight, but was merely an optical illusion for mood and ambiance.

"Is this, private enough Mr. Bane?"

Kaine gestured to a room beyond the antechamber, revealing an expansive flat, open space perfect for training and meditating.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Closing his eyes, as the elevator began its descent, Daxton reached out to the dark side to expand his awareness of his surroundings. Even when the vehicle came to a halt he remained silent and shock still for several seconds.

Suddenly his eyes opened as he strode forward into the hidden location. "If the goal was to impress then perhaps. You designed this location to strike awe and grandeur, yet failed to realize the most simple of things. Aside from you and I, who else would see this spectacle? No one. This location will not do at all. You will have your slaves take this place apart and strip it of all this frivolity. Once it has been stripped, you will personally kill each slave with this blade." From the confines of his cloak, Daxton draws a slim green tinged blade. "Gather their blood in a special vat made from silver and steel. We shall reconsecrate this refuge properly to the dark gods so that will bless and protect you. We will then divide this location into five separate quarters. The meditation chamber at the center, the laboratories to the south, the foundry to the north, the library to the east and the combat quarters to the west. We shall complete this before the twelveth hour of the fourteenth day, on or before the rise of the next full moon. During the reconstruction phase until the completion of the reconscreation you will wear clothes of the purest white. You will not allow anything to stain your clothes or your constance during this period. If your clothes are marked, you will burn them immediately in a pit five handspans wide, eleven deep and filled with brimstone and sulfur cores. You will partake nothing save water and bread for the next two weeks as you meditate on these holocrons."

A trio of crimson hued pyramid shaped holocrons floated in the direction of Kaine. "The first is the Code of the Sith. Learn it by heart, meditate on its truths. It will quite literally save your life one day. The rest would be the foundation of your studies under my tutelage. Do you have any questions so far my student?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine was pleased, Daxton had not fallen into this illusion of grandeur he had constructed to test him, which boded well for both of their futures. Kaine had built this place to test if whoever came would be caught in the facade of divinity and mystery this chamber had created, but Daxton had not. He never doubted the man for one second, and with his right hand plucked the Holocron from the air in front of him. "None, my master, I shall send for servants to begin the reconstruction of this chamber. They will not be missed when their time comes, I assure you." With this, Kaine took the holocrons and the daggers, and proceeded to the mediation chamber already created for that specific reason, as it would be the center of this construction effort. From there, Kaine called forth a host of servants to enact Daxton's will, as well as a plain white robe for him to wear. In a matter of minutes the servants arrived via the lift, and many went to work as specified by Daxton, while Kaine removed his normal garb and slipped into the white robe, and began the first of many hours of meditation and studying of the first holocron.

 

[Daxton Bane]

The first holocron was a revelation wrapped in riddles and dark promises. A weaker mind would have gone stark raving mad after a mere hour meditating under its crimson banelike light. Untold secrets are revealed to the mind strong enough to grasp its basics. This is the Code of the Sith. This is the first lesson.

If the first holocron was a promise of madness, the second was like razor sharp nails across the blackboard of the mind. The compiled teaching of Darth Sidious on Way of Monsters detailed how to breed creatures steeped in the dark side. Glorious experiments in rebuilding life from the building blocks of its DNA. This was the second lesson.

The third? well the third had yet to reveal its secrets. Content to float in the air, bathing all in its ruby tinged glow.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine meditated on these lessons as the scene around him changed over the next few days. Chambers were constructed within hours due to the mass of servants working on them, while none dared to bother Kaine during his meditation and studying of the holocrons. He was learning so much with each passing minute, and he had already memorized the Sith Code, "Peace is a Lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free. It's words rang true for Kaine, and he could envision hordes of Sith and Imperial soldiers trampling over the Republic's defenses and bringing Order and the Dark Side to the Galaxy as a whole. It was a glorious vision, and one that Kaine would not take lightly as he tapped into the second Holocron again.

The second holocron was where Kaine's attention was truly focused, as the ability to manipulate the building blocks of life to create creatures that only your own imagination could limit. It was quite a tantalizing thought, and Kaine swore he would learn this art, this Sith Alchemy, and create his own personal soldiers and monsters with it. But for now he had to continue his training, and he continued his meditation and study as the days counted down till the fourteenth day.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Seven days pass, when suddenly a summons is received from the practice area. When Kaine would arrive he would see Daxton dressed in a dark green pants with silver lining wielding a pair is wicked looking sepentine like daggers in either hand fighting against three melee wielding combat droids. His naked upper torso is covered with a fine sheen of sweat and several dark brown and green pulsing insectile growths.

The fighting is fast and furious, and yet despite at a disadvantage in numbers, Daxton clearly is keeping them hard pressed on the defensive. After several more minutes, the fighting ceases and the droids retreat a respectful distance.

"Today I will evaluate you my student on what you have learned. Armed with the blade I gave you, you will duel with this droid." Pointing at the closest combat droid, armed with a wicked looking shock stick and stun whip.

What Daxton didn't tell him was the droids were programmed to attack without warning. This one on one duel was actually going to be three on one. Still it was a good lesson to learn. In life, it was rare for one to be able to dictate ones circumstances.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine removed the vicious ceremonial blade from his person, while also removing his robe and neatly folding it and placing it away from the combat area to keep it from being stained by blood or oil. He turned to face the droids and began to twirl the blade around in his hand as he breathed in deeply and assumed a combat stance as he waited for the first droid to come at him. This wasn't the first time he had to fight droids, although with his current garb and weapon he felt slightly nude and defenseless, but he wouldn't let that plague his mind, and thus forced it away. He'd been trained in hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat for years, fighting against one droid wouldn't be too difficult, two of course would be a challenge. He wondered how he would fare against all three, and as he watched the droid turn to regard him with its un-living photoreceptors, Kaine was horrified to see the remaining two move to join the one he was supposed to be fighting. Kaine faltered a tad, but prepared himself as the droids came for him.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Daxton watched with intense focus as Kaine fought with the combat droids. Even at the lowest setting, these droids were capable of providing an adequate challenge. However, one could ramp up the difficulty setting so that they would mimic the known moves of master Jedi and Sith swordsmen of old. With a snap of his fingers, the droids increased their combat setting to ramp up the attacks.

Suddenly he said to his pupil as he watched a stun blade narrowly miss it target. "What is the first precept?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine grimaced as he swung his body out of the way of the Droid's attack, narrowly avoiding what could have been a critical blow. Daxton called out to him, asking a question of Kaine's knowledge on what he had been studying this past week, and Kaine knew exactly what to say to him. Dodging another attack as he tried to land a blow to the droid's photoreceptors, a blind foe is better than one that can see, before answering. "Peace is a Lie, there is only Passion." He said above the roar of combat, weaving in and out between all three droids as they attacked him without mercy.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Ratcheting up the difficulty and speed of the robots, he calmly said, "What is your passion, my student?" As the droids began a rather deadly dance, he did not expect his student to remain standing, unless he could tap into his darker feelings.

A droid can repeat the Sith Code without understanding the words. Daxton did not need a parrot, he want to extract the full potential of his student. Words without understanding is meaningless, that way lie complacency and sloth.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine knew that to truly get a feel for what he had been studying for the past week, he had to tap into that pent up anger within him. The seething well of hate that threatened to froth up constantly, he had let it simmer for too long now, far too long. Kaine answered his instructor as his vision became a bit more sharper, as if he could anticipate the droid's movements a micro-second before they happened, and he moved accordingly and weaved in and out, trying to attack at the more vital parts of the droids. "My passion... My passion is the legacy of which has been set before me, for me and me alone now to assume responsibility. My passion is my hate, my lust, my..." His voice trailed off as he felt a searing hot bliss well up inside of him, painful yet pleasurable at the same time. He backpedaled away from the droids before he felt the searing flames rise up from the very core of his being, ripping through his chest and throat as it manifested itself as an involuntary scream of force aimed directly at the droids.

 

[Daxton Bane]

As he watched his student destroy one of the combat droids, Daxton frowned. So much potential, yet lacking in focus. With a snap of his fingers the droids stop in midswing and withdrew from the combat circle, as Daxton wrapped tendrils of force around his student's limbs and neck, completely immobilizing him in their snug but firm grip.

"You are clear the peak, my student but you do not see the sun, as you are allowing yourself to be distracted by the means to which the goal is attained. Many Sith before you have fallen into the trap of emotion. Anger, hate, envy, lust. These are but mere tools to reach the goal, which is the Dark Side of the Force. I could rip you apart with the force on a mere thought, but I am neither angry with you nor disappointed, but all I need is desire. Desire to do something and command the Dark Side to obey. Do you understand, my student?"

"You cannot always dwell in anger and rage of all the time. That way blinds you to the possibility of what your opponent might do. Harness the tools, use them to enhance your desire and bend the dark side to your will. Then and only then can you break the shackles that keep you prisoner."

With a snap of his finger, the droids reengage their weapons systems and enter the ring again. This time however, Daxton kept the bindings of force on his student to see if the lesson was understood at all.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine listened to Daxton's words, and heeded them well. The previous and very sudden attack with the Dark Side had been completely involuntary, and Daxton was right. The potential was there but terribly lacked focus and direction, but that was something Kaine planned to rectify by learning at the feet of Daxton. He watched as the droids moved in to attack their now seemingly helpless foe, but Kaine was far from helpless yet. Kaine reached deep inside himself, trying to conjure up the Dark Side again, but not with hatred, lust, or greed, but with his desire to survive and destroy these mechanical automatons. He felt the heat begin to grow quickly in his being, and he used all of his will to try and mold it to his will, to escape these bonds and save himself.

 

[Daxton Bane]

"Excellent progress, my student." Daxton commented him as the last droid crumpled in heap of broken circuits and parts. "Always remember this lesson well. Emotion is but the tip of the mountain, use it as a tool but do not let it consume you. Now go, purify yourself, you still have much to learn so little time we have left."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine nodded to Daxton, and moved to go refresh himself and put his robe back on. The fight against the droids had pleased him, as it showed his progress with mastering the potential within him. It would be a long and difficult road ahead, but Kaine was determined, and he would not crack nor waver easily, no matter what. He washed himself and returned to gather his things, and quickly put them on with ease, moving back to the trio of holocrons to continue his meditation and study of their contents, waiting until his master called on him for more once again.