The Gravity of Silence

[Jake Daniels]

.::.The Gravity of Silence.::.​

It had started when he had awoken. Awoken to a galaxy that was so different, so changed. Nothing he remembered still existed. Old Empires had fallen. From their ashes new Kingdoms had risen. While Gravis simply slumbered in a cryotube on Dantooine, the galaxy carried on. Even when a disease claimed the lives of trillions, even when entire civilizations crumbled, life itself still survived. The galaxy carried on. The family, his family, had found a way to carry on... carry on without him. As he had been just a year prior, Gravis felt as naked and exposed, as cold and lonely as he had when the alarms rang and the tube opened to allow him into this strange new time.

Instinct had taken over. He had searched; long and hard. Collecting belongings that had once belonged to his long since deceased wife. Finding the remnants of a family that whose Matriarch he had long since served with a near fanatical loyalty that was neither light nor dark; it was something more. His Lady Silencia was just that damn important to him. Yet, on the landing platform of Mal'ary'ush's Old Temple, Gravis stood alone. His eyes glared up at the stars above him. Thousands simply twinkled yet his mind was tugged, his heart pulled, towards the location of what was either his damnation or his salvation. Whichever it was; he would never know.

To him; Amorella Shamalain had betrayed him. She had taken him to Onderon where the reality of his meaning to the Shamalain family, to them had been revealed. While he slumbered away; they lived. Quietus, one of the strongest of the family was not only alive but she, herself, had three children of her own. Though there was an unmistakable jealousy to Gravis' aura, the fact that she had what he wanted; family, there was one feeling that dominated all others. Betrayal. While Quietus raised three beautiful children, Sunblade, Blackthorne, and Greyhide, three beings that would never need to fear Gravis, their mothers very existence simply revealed a new truth.

She lived.

This was hammered home when Amorella gave Jake contact information for [member="Dissero"], once a Lord of Honoghr, who now lived on Rudrig. This simply reaffirmed the suspicion. Deep in his heart Gravis had to admit; that pull, that lingering void in his heart was still so strong because he knew that someplace in this galaxy, his Lady Silencia lived. While she lived, while her family lived, he was frozen like a bitch in the Arctic. While they carried on and lived their lives, Gravis was forgotten to time. While they had been saved and even Quietus' children could lay their heads on a comfortable pillow at night, the ashes of Romano and Lysander rested six feet beneath the earth of the Shamalain Manor. While Quietus and Dissero lived; Cerusia remained beside their children.

Gravis had been betrayed.

"That's incredibly stupid. You can't retract into your shell, in fear that you might fail. That's for the turtles and the snails." The words of a mysterious force user, a man named [member="Gabriel Sionoma"]. Of all of the force users in the galaxy that Gravis had encountered only three had garnered an unwavering respect from the man known as The Eternal Apprentice. Gabriel was one of them. He proved Gravis wrong. Not all that Gravis encountered on the battle field were war mongering Jedi lunatics; Gabriel had been far different from [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] on their first meeting. He was simply far different from any potential adversary the Knight ever crossed paths with.

His words though; they were what remained strongest in the Knights mind. "I hope you find what you are looking for, Jake. And I hope you realize that your wife and children wouldn't have wanted this for you. Not if they loved you, as you did them. You are your own master now, that much is clear."

He had been right and Jake had not even realized it. Not until now. Jake had spent every waking moment looking for them, looking for the Shamalains, yet not one sought him out. Not one even cared. He was left, forgotten, naked, and alone on Dantooine while they carried on.

A beep caused the memory of Gabriels dusty and smokey face to vanish; the flames of Coruscant returning to the twinkling heavens above. Turning, Jake looked at a small R2 unit. With silver body yellow painted highlights, it had been a gift to Gravis. After having returned from Onderon, the droid and a small personal ship had been delivered as a gift from Amorella to Gravis. Was it a peace offering? Was it out of pity? Gravis didn't know. He didn't care. He appreciated the gesture but that's as far as his gratitude went.

After all, he wasn't the one that locked them away from centuries.

There were two paths Gravis could follow. He could lose it; something he knew he was close to doing, or he could try and find a way past the pain. If there was anything Gravis would try this time around, it was going to keep his word. He had made a promise to [member="Kära Hearthfire"] that he would not head out on vendettas, that he would not follow the devil's path lest he wish her wrath. She was one of the three to have Gravis' respect.

Days of meditations, weeks of physical training with the gifts he had received from [member="Darth Erebos"]', a Master of the Blade, had cleared the Knights mind enough to see the truth. Lord Erebos, the third that held his respect. In order to move past the pain Gravis had to forget it. It had to be erased. Gabriel was right; Gravis' Wife and children would not have wanted him like this. They wouldn't want a malnourished, sleep deprived man with borderline psychosis struggling to hold it together. So the man would do what was necessary; he'd erase the pain. There was only one place in the galaxy with beings strong enough to do that for him.

"Skillet," Gravis spoke to the R2 Unit, "open a frequency to Rudrig. Use the frequency Amorella gave me." Skillet was the name Gravis gave the droid.

There was a confirmed whistle from the droid whom rolled towards the edge of the platform and extended a small satellite dish from it's head. After a few minutes of twirling, the dish stopped and pointed towards the southeast sky. A whistle informed the Knight the droid was ready.

"Record and transmit." The Knight ordered. "The message is for Dissero. I served your Matriarch faithfully for decades. Decades that turned into centuries. Your family, your Mother," all assumptions being that this was the same Dissero Jake had once known, "left me to rot on Dantooine after the passing of Cera, Lysander, and Romano. You lot continued to live while they remained buried. You lot continued to thrive while I remained frozen. You forgot us. Forgot all of us. I do not regret my servitude to your Mother. I will always have a place in my heart for her as I will my wife and sons, but while I have never once wavered in my loyalty to you and yours, you have betrayed me. I see now that I was never Shamalain. I was never truly Cerusia's husband was I? I was just a tool. Once they were gone, I was expendable. I hope you did not forget about them as you have me."

His words were filled with pain. A momentary crack here. A high pitch there. Yet he kept his composure. He wanted to say so much. He wanted to let the ones he once thought were his family truly know how he felt, yet... he did not. "A man once told me that I am my own Master now. Whatever I have done, whatever crimes I have committed against your family, I do apologize. I just do not feel that forgetting me, my wife, and sons was just punishment. You will see this message. If you are as I remember, you will dismit it as the rantings of a mad man. You'll view me as nothing. That's fine. I hope you live a good life. I mean that. Just do one thing for me. Just one. Tell your Mother I hope she lives hers forever."

With that the droid sent the message. With that the small dish disappeared back into its head.

"Come Skillet, it's time to go to Dathomir."

 

[Dissero]

He was not at home when he received the message, but half way across the galaxy with his wife and his son, enjoying the company of an old friend and a old friend's legacy. Dissero happened upon the transponded message, forwarded from his home on Rudrig, after returning to his ship. His initial reaction was deep and unsettled confusion. After watching the recording multiple times Dissero sat in silent contemplation, brow furrowed.

Secrets and the affairs of her historied life were a strong point of her life, this the son of Silencia knew. While aware that she had lived for hundreds of years and survived some of the worst eras and ages of this galaxy, that was about as far as his knowledge went. His study of their family tree was the only clue into the name of Jake Daniels, and it was the only recollection he had of the man because he was not the same Dissero Daniels had known in his lifetime.

For the briefest of moments he entertained the idea of dismissing the note. It was enough that he had enemies of far greater power and renown, he'd like not to get involved with a potential other. He had his own family to concern himself with, one he had no intentions of putting in any undue danger. But this thought was fleeting at best and a remnant of a man that lived hundreds of years ago but was no longer truly alive. Present-day-Dissero was a completely different person. If this man truly was who he claimed to be, then he was family - in a way.

Dissero leaned forward and engaged the comms to record a return reply.

What Jake would find was a man who was familiar, but not one in the same as the man he knew from ages ago.

Greetings, he began, his expression of confusion remained though perhaps it now looked more similar to concern, it is ... not unusual for me to get messages from people who claim to know me wearing faces I've never seen before. Admittedly this has happened numerous times throughout my respectively short life. I want to make it clear that although you seem to know me and my family, I have never once met you nor known of you except perhaps by a name etched into a family tome hundreds of years before my own birth.

The man folded his hands before him with a visible shrug, I am aware of the longevity of my ancestors and the longevity granted to me by their blood. In comparison to their historied lives, my own is but infantile. You...must have me confused for one of my ancestors of whom I was named after as is tradition within my family. It's not the first time someone has made this mistake, but it is a rare occurrence anyone would have that kind of knowledge of the Shamalain bloodline. If you truly are who you say, then you are aware of the secrecy with which the old Matriarch conducted herself and her family. Shamalain is still a name we keep near and close and one I was not permitted to use publicly until very recently. She was known for keeping her history to herself, as such her descendants knew very little of her and what came before them. I imagine she had her reasons, but it's not my place to assume the inner workings or intents of a ancient being.

A frown then, Dissero fell silent for a moment while contemplating his next choice of words.

Your situation is deeply saddening to me, because while I knew the names of your wife and your children very little information of them exists today. Much of that history was lost during the Gulag Plague and the 400 year darkness that followed - like most of the galaxy. It is likely that no one knew you were still alive. No one but the ones who put you in that sleep. I imagine there was a plan in place: Shamalains are not want for idleness or acts without reason and forethought. If that were the case, it is also likely you were awoken too soon, before such plans were ready to be enacted. This is merely conjecture, but one made with a solid understanding of at least how this bloodline works. I hardly doubt you were truly forgotten, Mr. Daniels, merely that circumstance has worked against you. I can't imagine your grief and confusion but I do know what it feels like to lose family.

But family you are and family is very important to me. I wish to help if I can, I know that my sister and mother would say the same were they still alive.

There came a pointed stare and silence at the end before the recording ended.

A deep sigh filled his chest, pressing against a knot forming uncomfortably at the center. Dissero leaned forward and sent the message then turned to leave his ship and rejoin his wife and son.

[member="Darth Gravis"]

 

[Jake Daniels]

The sound of screeching metal against rusted chain pounded against the ears of Jake as the metal door to the garage of the long abandoned fuel station creaked it ways open. Once to the top, the solemn eyes of the Eternal Apprentice stared out into the barren wasteland. In the distance, thick green clouds were seen emerging over the mountain tops.

“We’re in for a rough night tonight.” Jake said.

Skillet rolled up beside him but paid no attention to the aforementioned coming storm. A low, nearly submissive whistle escaped the astromech.

A small sigh escaped Jakes lips, “No. Like yesterday morning and the day before that I’m not mad at you anymore.”

The droid again let out another submissive whistle.

“Again, we’re stranded. Might as well try to make the best of it. No point being upset with you when you’re the only company I have right now.” Jake said.

The Knight took a step out of the garage, rounded the side of the brick building and pulled a tarp off of the personal ship. It was heavily damaged. The cockpit window was shattered and needed to be replaced. The right wing had its outer protective plating completely stripped away. The left was bent and cracked at a thirty degree angle. The belly of the ship was in need of a complete overhaul. Various metal plates had been either been completely removed or peeled back; exposing the circuitry within. Fortunately the circuitry had been what Skillet was working on for the past week. The entire ship was rested on several stacks of bricks.

Jake was no mechanical engineer. The entirety of the ships repairs were up to the small astromech. The only thing the Knight was able to do was to find and fetch the necessary materials for the droid to continue the repair process. As he took a step back, folding up the tarp, Skillet rolled over and began working on the circuitry beneath the vehicle.

“What do you need me to get today?” Jake asked as the tarp was placed over a rusted trash container.

Skillet let out a beep and rolled over. A difference between Skillet and most atromechs was a screen on one panel of its dome top. It flickered to life. As the droid beeped and whistled, words in Basic emerged. Like with mechanical engineering, Jake was no droid whisperer. He needed translation. The only reason he knew what the droid had been asking moments earlier was due to the repetitive routine that occurred each time the pair stepped out of their shelter.

‘Steel and Lead.’

“That’s all? You don’t need any circuitry?”

‘Circuitry nearly complete. Will finish today. Need to begin structural repairs.’

“Will you be able to send a distress signal to Rudrig?” Jake asked.

‘Negative. The radiation levels in the upper atmosphere are acting as a barrier. Will need new fuel cells to power the systems. Once all systems are operational, a signal may be able to get through should the ship not be able to lift.’

That was the idea. The first attempt would be a distress signal to Rudrig. Jake had received Dissero's message. To him, Dissero of Rudrig was the same Dissero of his time. The man didn’t believe in coincidence. Jake’s mind was already made up. He would seek the help of the Witches to wipe his mind clean of the past few months. To warp the reality of what had been. To remove the pain. Then Skillet tried to commandeer the vehicle. Wanting to go to Rudrig instead of Dathomir to respond to the message, the Astromech took them off course. A minor solar storm knocked the vehicle for a loop and gravitational pull later, they landed here. Should the signal fail, they would have to hope the ship would be flyable. Otherwise they were up a certain creek with no way of paddling.

Jake gave one more glance towards the forming storm on the horizon, “I’ll head over to Tithe’s Farm to see if they have anything to spare.”

Heading back into the garage, Jake gave a look at the family photo which now hung above the spot where his sleeping back lay. Snatching the worn messenger bag off a bronze hook. He took the lightsaber from the bag and hid it inside an air vent near the ceiling. He had no need for the weapon. Not when going to the Tithe family. Slinging the bag across his frame, the Knight headed into the wasteland.

 

[Jake Daniels]

The trek through the wasteland was not supposed to be a long one. At least not to the Tithe Farm. From the old fueling station, it was a three hour walk at a good pace. Today was not a day for a good pace. Jake's knees screamed at him as bone ground against bone. Even with the two knee braces firmly secured around the leg joint, they still ached. They had since arriving on the planet. The Knight had a feeling it had something to do with the increased radiation levels. That, or it was just simply too damn hot.

With his walking cane left in the garage, the Knight cursed at himself beneath his breath. Wiping sweat from his brow, the man pushed onward. Dust rose from the ground with each step. Dried twigs and dead plant life crumbled beneath his nearly two hundred pound frame. Hawkish eyes surveyed the land around him, the desolate ruins of a once vibrant world. Though the planet had been razed by a nuclear winter some centuries earlier, life still found a way to survive. Jake could feel it. Even on a God forsaken world like this one, life found a way to survive. From the lowly insect to the mutated herbivores that roamed the hill, life continued.

More surprisingly, so did people. On the planet for no longer than thirty nights, Skillet and Jake had encountered only a single family. A group of human that harvested cross-bred crops and traded them with passerbys. It had been by sheer dumb luck that Jake encountered them. The Tithes were a quiet family. Close knit. Untrusting to outsiders but tolerant. They helped Jake acquire what he needed and in return he paid them a favor. That was how currency worked on this planet after all.

Money, gold, jewels were all useless. What people wanted, what they needed, were resources. Water, food, shelter, and clothing. Anything to survive into the next day. That is exactly what Jake did. When he asked for something, he performed a task to earn it. Based on past experience, different material requests meant different tasks based on scarcity. Steel and lead? Jake had a feeling he would be in for one hell of a debt to pay. Just as the silhouette of a distant home beside an electrical tower came into view, Daniels felt a pulse in the force.

Glancing to his left, the Knight spotted a herd of wild game roaming the area. He couldn't risk drawing attention to himself. Instead, the Knight came to a knee and began to wait. His face grimaced as weight was put onto a joint that it would not be able to support for long. The problem was; the wild game of the planet were notoriously hostile to anything not of its own species. He couldn't outrun the quadrupedal beasts. He could only hope they would move along shortly.

 

[Jake Daniels]

The sun was beginning it's descent by the time the Tithe Farm came into view. A building made of aged wooden planks that were held together by brittle beams and rusted nails rose from the center of the farm. Three stories in height, it had now windows on the bottom floor. The second only had a couple of each side while the third had a few others. None of the windows had glass. Instead, they had storm shutters that could be pulled from the outside in.

The perimeter of the farm was wrapped in a combination of chain link fencing with wood posts to hold it up. The entirety of the left side of the farm served as actual land for crops. There were two that the Tithes specifically grew. The first, and one that could be seen from a distance, was a plant much like corn. Unlike corn, this plant had dark brown stocks, and tasted like an ash tray. The second plant was a small bush. Pink berries that the Tithes claimed were sweet but that Jake hadn't been able to taste. To the Knight, the berries had as much flavor as bottled water; none.

As he walked closer towards the farms only chain link gates, the Knight spotted three women working the berries. To the right of the farm were several large wells being tended too by an older gent. He seemed to be struggling pulling up one of the well buckets. Within a dozen meters of the gate, the hair on the back of the Knights neck came to a stand. There was another entity; a life that was not seen in Jakes immediate view but one the force made him aware of. The Eternal Apprentice came to a slow stop and looked over his shoulder.

"I come to barter." Jake said.

The sound of a gun-cocking could be heard.

"Easy." Jake said.

Something was amiss. He had never been greeted to the Tithe Farm in this manor. Even when he first arrived on the planet, the Family had never raised a weapon towards him. Turning his head a bit more, the Knight could seen a young teenage boy, one of the Tithe children, with a Winchester styled rifle aimed right at him. Yet it was not the gun the held Jakes attention. It was the two shiners that boy carried. Two dark purple circles enveloped both of his eyes. His lip was split and a cheek scratched.

Based on how the young teens arms shook, the glare of his stare, and the fear that rippled from him, Daniels knew not to attempt anything. The weapons of the world were preemptive. They were not energy based like he was used too. They used a gunpowder and metal ballistic configuration. It some ways, the shots seemed to move faster than an energy shot. It made it a bit more dangerous for Jake should he attempt to disarm an already unstable person.

"What happened?" Jake asked, deciding to take a passive approach.

"Walk!" The Boy barked.

 

[Jake Daniels]

"Boy!" The Gent shouted as Jake slowly opened the chain link gate. "Put the bloody gun down."

"Why? He could be one of them!" The boy replied.

Jake said nothing as he watched the banter back and forth. He could feel the anger in the boy. The rage he held for the man whom he held at gunpoint. There was mistrust, there was resentment. There was also a feeling Jake knew too well... that of fear. The boy wreaked of it. The stench as strong as that of decaying flesh. Jake could lash out. He could strike with the force, knock the gun away, and subdue the one whom dared raise a weapon towards the war-hardened Eternal Apprentice.

"I said drop the gun." The Gent scowled.

"He could be here to finish the job they started!"

The boy reminded Jake of himself at his age. Young and impressionable. Fearful. Intolerant of those he did not know. His name was Nathan, son to the Gent whom came to Jakes aid. His mind was easily penetrated, his emotions just as fragile. Without even looking, Jake could tell Nathans arms were shaking. Even if Jake wanted too, which he didn't, lashing out in the force would have resulted in the boy firing off at least one shot. Metal projectiles moved faster than energy beams from what Jake had seen. He wouldn't have been able to stop the bullet when it was this close to him.

Jake's attention turned towards the Gent, whose eyes fell to Jake. There was an unspoken conversation between the two. A slight nod from the Gent to Jake, thanking the man for not attacking his child. Did he know who Jake was or what he was capable of? No. He just understood that there was more to the fallen Knight than met the eye. He knew Jake was dangerous. He just didn't know how dangerous.

"Who gave him the shiners?" Jake asked.

"Outlaws."

"Outlaws?" Jake asked.

"Yes, dipstick." Nathan snarled. "Outlaws."

"Where's your other son." Daniels inquired, realizing now that there was one of the Tithe clan missing.

"Come inside. We need to talk." The Gent said. With a point of his finger towards Nathan and a look only a father could give, the boy finally lowered his weapon.

 

[Jake Daniels]

Jake knew of simplicity. He knew of living off of bare essentials. Upon entering Tithes home, Jake now knew what true poverty looked like. Yes the family had a home. It's construction was shoddy at best. New wood was placed with old to give it a mixed hodgepodge of brownish colors. On the first floor there was a cooking pot over a small fire in a mud and brick constructed fire place. Based on the smell and the sight of the slowly bubbling glob of white mess inside, Daniels knew it to be gruel. There were some cracked and broken cabinets that seemed to have been fixed up just enough to remain standings. One cabinet had wooden blocks for legs, while another had three natural legs and one that looked like a soft tennis ball. There were no picture hung. There was no floral life inside. It was actually quite dark and musty inside. The walls of the home were in various states of disrepair. Jake had rebuilt the Manor on Honoghr so he knew a little something about structural integrity. Most of the walls planks were held firmly together by rope and rusted nail. Some planks though were slowly separating which allowed light to seep through which cast single lines of greenish light across the floor.

Tithe found a seat in an old wicker chair. A push of his leg shoved a second from under a medium sized round dining table. Jake obliged his host and found a seat.

"Thank you for not harming him." Tithe said in reference to Nathan.

There were few people Jake ever encountered that had an innate ability to read and judge a person. Tithe was such a person. The Knight knew that the man did not believe Jake was some lost wanderer. His family may have and for the moment, Tithe seemed to have said nothing to them. Jake decided to play along with his deception as a humble man whom was simply lost in the world.

"He had me at gunpoint. There wasn't much I could do, even if I wanted too." Jake replied.

Tithe studied every inch of his guests face. The crows feet around his predatory eyes. The natural frown that seemed to barely be hidden by a growing and untidy beard. The streaks of gray in his facial hair were a testament to the mans advancing age. Finally he noted the scars that were visible on the Knights face and hands.

Jake knew the expression that Tithe gave him all too well. It was the look of a someone calling his bluff. His Lady Silencia and his Lady Reticea had nearly identical looks.

"There is more to you than you say, Jake. The scars on your hands and face. Those are not from years of tilling the land. Those are the scars of someone whom knows the life of combat. I don't know what you were before you've taken the life of a hermit up. But I do not need that lone hermit at the old fuel station. I'm in need of the man whom gained those scars. I need the help of the man who truly resides in that heart of yours." Tithe explained.

"That's a very dangerous request." Jake replied.

"A desperate father will do anything for his family." Tithe replied.

...Oh how right Tithe was.​

 

[Jake Daniels]

“Before the Outlaws arrived, my oldest went South to an old campground. Normally I would not think anything of it as he does this routinely. Trading and such. Unfortunately, earlier this morning Nathan spotted the same band of Outlaws that roughed us up yesterday heading back in that direction.” Tithe explained.

“Maybe they’ll miss the campground.” Jake replied.

Tithe scoffed, “Outlaws don’t miss an easy meal. Unlike us, that Campground is home to mainly widows and their children. They survive by harvesting cattle. What the Outlaws want, the Outlaws will get. My oldest is strong spirited. Good Moral Compass. He’s also hard headed. He’ll help those who need it and I’m afraid of those Outlaws hit that campground, he’ll do something stupid. I want you to go fetch him and bring him back; by whatever means necessary.”

Jake knew this story. He’s lived it. Being one of the few that will stand up in the face of insurmountable odds and willing to fight for what he believed in. The dilemma that ravaged Jakes mind was whether or not he should concern himself with Tithe’s needs. The Sith inside the Eternal Apprentice, the side known as Gravis, would have ignored this mans request. Though he wasn’t cold and callous, self-preservation was the Knights specialty. If it didn’t immediately affect him, he wouldn’t even consider a request. That side pulled. Yet there was another, more human, side that was enveloped in light. A side that set off alarm bells inside the Knight compelling him to agree to Tithes request. The pleas of a father were one that Jake could relate too. Yet both sides seemed equal in their pull.

“You came for resources, yes?” Tithe asked.

“Obviously.”

“Do this and I will give you what you wish. If I do not have it, I will ensure you know where to get it.” Tithe replied.

Again, the pull of light and dark tugged at Jakes mind. He could kill Tithe, or at the very least traumatize him to the point that the man was forced to give the Knight what he sought. Tithe knew Jake was dangerous but didn’t know exactly how dangerous. Yet, as one of the woman of the family quietly entered the home, Jake was finally pulled ever so slightly to the lighter aspect of a resolution.

“Very well. I go and get him. You give me what I need.” Jake replied.

“Deal.” Tithe agreed.

The woman, younger in appearance was the wife to Tithe’s oldest son. She brought a folded piece of paper to Jake and set it on the table. The Knight opened the paper which revealed a torn and tattered map. On it he could see various markings. The Tithe farm was marked, as was the campground and various other points of interest. A more recent marking was where the abandoned fuel station sat. Next to a circle read the word ‘Stranger. Loner.’

“Do you have a gun?” Tithe asked as Jake came to a stand.

Daniels shook his head, “I don’t use them.” Jake could tell by their reactions that it wasn’t normal to be unarmed.

“You walk these lands with no weapon?” Tithe asked.

“Never needed it.” Jake lied. He had one but it was hidden away at the fuel station.

The woman handed the Eternal Apprentice a packet of small white pills. Since arriving Jake had been given them by the Tithes whenever he visited. They were a nullifier; a special medication that was created to cause human cells to reject radiation from exposure. He had to take one per day to only be exposed to small amounts. Without the pills, a decent radiation storm would cause the man to become ill. Radiation sickness was not something Jake had an interest in experiencing. He pocketed the pills.

Tithe came to a stand and headed up the stairs, “If you’re going to fetch my boy then you will need something to protect yourself with.”

By the time Tithe returned with a small revolver and a box of bullets, Daniels had already left.

 

[Jake Daniels]

Night had fallen over the wasteland. A small fire burned before Jake, whom simply put his palms towards the flames in an attempt to keep warm. Night on this planet was magical. With a clear sky and no light pollution, the entire galaxy lit up the heavens above. Millions of stars twinkled silently. There was no moon on this night, only the stars above to light the planet. Jake could feel the life force of various nocturnal animals around him. Predators. Prey. They scurried about. Some grew close to investigate the flames but never so close as to pose a threat to Jake or he to them. Every one of them scurried away.

What should have taken half a day was going to push into the next morning. Jake had returned to the abandoned fuel station and moved his ship into the building along with Skillet. He ensured that the droid had locked the door from the inside. It was too much of a risk being away. The Knight knew the value of his ship. Not for flight but for resources. Had anyone around known he had it then people would have tried to claim it. He instructed the droid to try and continue sending out an s.o.s. beacon while he was away. When asked how long he would be, Jake simply stated he did not know. He hoped only a day. Key word being hoped.

Taking a glance up at the night sky, Jake’s eyes narrowed as he felt a tug. The same, strong feeling as though he was being pulled towards something. He knew she was out there. He knew that his Lady Silencia lived. Yet she and her family had turned their backs on Jake. Hopes of a reunion shattered and lost. All that was left in the wake was an emotional mixture of pain, grief, and betrayal.

Yet… what did Jake expect?

Had he ever truly been a Shamalain? Actions over the past months answered that for him. He learned the family line lived. He met up with Quietus and sent word to a man who went by the name Dissero. The family lived. They had successful, nearly peaceful lives, yet the man whom had spent the entirety of his late teens and adult life serving to protect them was cast aside. Forsaken. Ignored. Forgotten. Even hated? The darkness in Jake pulsated. Closing now watery eyes as his fingers played with a wedding band that hung around his neck, Jakes moment of self-reflection were suddenly interrupted.

“That’s a nice ring you’ve got there, Mate.” A booming voice said.

Daniels opened his eyes. He spotted two men walking towards him. One came head on. The other from his left. The force told Jake they were the only two in the area.

“You know it’s dangerous for you to be out here alone at this time of night?” The man asked.

The second came to a dead stop several meters from Jake when the Knight locked his eyes upon him.

The normal iris’s had given way to yellow and red. The darkness was enveloping the Eternal Apprentice.

“What the frack is wrong with his eyes?” The second intruder asked.

Jake turned his attention back to the first.

“Nah. He’s on some strong stuff. Lemme’ guess, Willy’s, Tangomashers, or DumDums?” The first asked.

“You two had best leave.” Jake spoke.

“Oh we best leave?” The man laughed. “Well then, since we’ve scared off all of the wild animals in the area for you, however you give us a little payment for our services.”

“Yeah,” the second said, “like giving us that ring and anything else you have of value?”

“Not happening.” Jake replied.

“We ain’t leavin' without payment.” The first replied.

It was here that Jake struggled to control his emotions. The Knight walked a fine line. He made promises to Kara and Amorella that he would not kill needlessly. Honestly, Jake was capable of anything and more unpredictable than most Sith yet the man was not a mindless monster. With eyes that held the bright flare of a yellow sun, ringed in the flames of a reddened hell, the Knight came to a personal understanding. This wouldn’t be a needless or senseless killing so in effect any promise he made to Kara or Amorella was never broken.

Jake simply looked back at the fire before him. His palms once against faced the flames. Lord Erebos had taught Jake a force technique that even his Lady Silencia had not. Jake was able to use the force without making a physical motion. It was a nifty little trick. The power of said technique came into full effect when both men attempted to walk towards Jake.

One step and the first suddenly froze. Two steps and the second was stopped dead in his tracks. Jake was no master of the force. He never would be. He was, by some accounts, a Master of the Blade. Given that, the man was still skilled at telekinesis. It’s what every force user could use. While some later learned to cause storms or throw lightening, Jake was limited so he perfected his telekinetic abilities. He held, without a glance at either man, their legs as they were. Both men struggled against the unseen barrier.

“What trick is this?” Spat the first.

“No trick.” Jake replied.

“Stop this!” The second barked.

The moment Jake saw the motion in his peripheral the Knight acted. Just as the second went to draw a weapon from the small of his back, the mans arms were frozen completely. The firsts as well. Though they could move their heads, there was little else that could be done.

Jake let out a sigh, “The entirety of my life has been spent around people who thought they could push me around. People who thought they were better than me. People who thought they were more powerful.” Again a sigh escaped his lips. The words of Gabriel Sionoma again haunting his mind. Was Jake his own man? Those words, the impromptu heart to heart, had done more than any combat situation to cause the Knight to reevaluate just who he was. “For the longest time I believed them. For the longest time I believed you.” Jakes eyes rose from the flames and bounced between both men. “I have no one to blame for that ignorance except myself.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

The Knights eyes rose to the heavens, "You've forsaken me. Oh how there is so much I wish to say to you but you cower in the shadows, hiding from me?"

 

[Jake Daniels]

Jake knew how this would go. The same way it went before he found Amorella. The same way it went after he had found her. The same way it would be now. He would receive no answer. Two women had ever truly broken through the walls of Jake Daniels heart, each in their own way. One was long since dead, the other… now known to be alive… somewhere in the galaxy. Hiding away from the only person whom had ever stayed waveringly loyal to her through it all. Even now, no matter how much he wanted to hate his Lady Silencia. No matter how angry he was at her. No matter how much he wished he could tell her. There was one emotion that he could not feel… hate.

Through all of this, in his own way, he still very much loved his Lady Silencia. Now as much as centuries passed. Yet the one question he could not help but ask himself is why? Why had she forsaken him? Why had she denied him the death that would unite him with his family? Why, now, had she finally pulled the cloth covering the Eternal Apprentices eyes, to reveal he was never truly Shamalain. He had been a tool. Nothing more. When that tools usefulness had ceased, it was cast aside. It hurt. It hurt horrendously.

Slowly the Knights watery eyes rolled to the two strangers. He could feel it from them. That sense of fear. Their accelerated heart rates. Their own bouts of incessant sweating that now beaded on their brows. It was a feeling Jake knew all too well. Many Sith and many Jedi had much better control of their emotions. In the past as well as the present. [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] may have been arrogant to Jake, but the man exudes confidence. [member="Gabriel Sionoma"] and [member="Darth Erebos"] both had a calm collective about themselves. Even in a chaotic situation, Jake saw how stable all three were; some more than others.

It was a calmness that eluded Jake. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and the pain he felt at the abandonment of his Master, of those he thought family, stung him like never before. He rebuilt a home that had long been forgotten. He had searched the galaxy, studying and searching for the remnants of the family he served. He wanted them. They did not want him. Yet the tired and aged eyes of the warrior held a since of pity for these two men. He’d give them what was never offered to him; reprieve.

“Please leave.” Jake mumbled as his grip on the force released both men.

Each man stumbled slightly but held their distance from Daniels who simply went back to holding his palms before the flames.

“Please?” Jake asked questioningly.

Please? A word Jake never used with those he did not know. A word of begging reserved for his family. He felt it though. The same defiance he had within him. They felt violated. Their sense of pride rising. To them, Jake was some nobody. He was a drifter who could have been an easy score. Now he was a dead drifter to them. That lust for blood. The lust to gain what they just lost; their dignity. They were too blind to see it.

They were already dead.

 

[Jake Daniels]

Two loud pops were heard through the area. Two bodies fell to the dusty earth beneath them. The same technique that had been used to hold them into place was now used for a quick and painless death. His manner of killing was unlike most dark wielders. Jake did not put on a show; not after Eva Lilly’s death so many centuries ago. He gave people what he hoped would be his end; a quick one.

If there was one thing he learned about this planet is that nothing went to waste. Like a rat, Jake rummaged. Each pocket was checked. Some pieces of paper. A few metal coins. The men didn’t have much. As his search continued, Jake discovered that each man carried a small hunting knife. A round wooden handle with a serrated edged blade. At the base of the blade was an etched symbol of what looked like a rope tied in a noose. Either the blades came from the same blacksmith or they symbolized an allegiance of some sort. Perhaps both. The Knight took both Knives before moving each body onto the fire.

Shoving the loose papers, the coins and both Knives into his messenger bag, the Knight slung it across his frame and began to walk away. In his month on the planet, Daniels understood that there were truly some horrendous creatures walking the lands. Mutated wild animals of both the herbivore and carnivore kind, mutated insects, and from what Tithe said in the past, even mutated people. With the smell of burning hair and flesh already filling the air, Jake didn’t plan to be around if anything hungry came venturing about to investigate.

 

[Jake Daniels]

Jakes knelt just behind a thick, blackened tree trunk. His right flank was covered by shattered branches. His left covered by tattered and dried bushes. His breaths were shallow and slow. His frame was like a panther, tense and prepared to pounce. The newest predator to this planet had found the Campsite. Jake Daniels had found the campsite. More importantly Jake Daniels had found his objective.

Beneath one of the nine buildings that created a boundary for the campsite, among a collection of rocks and shrub, two bodies lay belly down. The first, a female had tears streaming down her eyes. Her clothes looked torn. Her nose bloody. Her mouth was covered by the palm of the man whom lay beside her. Tithe’s son. He was scared. Jake could feel it. The eyes of the Eternal Apprentice met the panicked gaze of his target.

Jake held up a palm, telling the two under the building to not run to him. The reason soon revealed. Around the building came an armed woman. The first thing Jake noticed wasn’t the rifle she carried. It was the knife at the small of her back. She was an Outlaw. The Knight put a finger to his finger then held his breath as the woman strolled by. Her eyes scanned the dead wasteland as she carried on. Once she was out of view, Jake took his own look around.

He had arrived after an attack on the camp. Several armed men walked the perimeter of the camp but the majority of commotion was occurring inside the campground. Something big was going on. He could hear the cries of women and the screams of children. The Knight closed his eyes and opened himself up fully to the force. The pain. The death. The terror. Like the intimate touch of a woman, it consumed him. It brought back memories of glory’s past. Yet, the now aged warrior no longer sought glory. War did not drive him. His own tormented pain did.

 

[Jake Daniels]

As a man rounded the same building the woman had earlier, Jake realized that he would only have one opportunity to get Tithe’s son out. So the predator in Jake waited. He listened. His stilled his breath. Just as the man passed, the Knight had retrieved both knives from his messenger bag. With the swiftness of a Leopard and the focus of a hawk, the Eternal Apprentice struck.

‘You must move as the wind. Quick and fast. Do not dally. Do not pause. Strike or be struck down.’ The words of his Master rang through his mind as he took the Outlaw by surprise.

One knife was driven up and under the chin of the Outlaw. The force clamping his mouth shut as blade punched through tender flesh and crushing past bone at the roof of mouth which muffled any scream. Jake then brought the second blade into the chest of the man whose body went limp. As Jake hid the body where he, himself, had previously been, the Knight looked back towards Tithe’s son.

The young man dragged the woman with him as he emerged from the woods. Jake said nothing as the Knight scanned the surrounding area to ensure they had not been seen.

“Where’s my father?” The son asked.

“Home.”

“It’s just you?” The son questioned with disbelief.

Jake simply stared down the Son but turned his attention to the frazzled woman, “You’ve got to help them. They’re selling off the woman.”

 

[Jake Daniels]

Jake perked a brow, “Selling?”

“Yes! They killed the men, kept the boys, and use the women for breeding. We need to help them.”
The Knight felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. The force flowed freely through him, telling him of the emotional black hole that had befallen the campsite. He could feel the tension, the angst, the torment and pain. More importantly he felt a presence nearing. Instinct took over. The training his Lady Silencia had given him again came into full display.

Spinning around, Jake launched one of the daggers from his hand. It flung through the air, amplified in speed by the aid of the force the Knight compelled to help the object find its mark. The steel punched through the chest of another Outlaw. He made not a sound as his body hit the ground. His gun was not so quiet. As the butt hit the dirt, it sent off a single round into the air.

The jig was up.

“Go!” Jake barked. Raising a palm, the Knight summoned the Knife back to him.

Tithes Son and the woman rushed into the dead forest while Jake focused on the sound of shouting coming in his direction. He knew the routine. He had been through it more times than he could even remember. Two more men rounded the corner of a building.

A knife was flung into each of them.

Jake motioned with his hand, using the force to pull one of the knives from the dead outlaws and sent it flying behind him. It found the body of the female outlaw whom had walked passed earlier. Jake had never been a blood thirsty Sith. He had never been driven by thoughts of power. Though he wanted prestige, it wasn’t the prestige of popularity or of title he sought. He wanted the prestige of being the servant of his Lady Silencia, the Apprentice above all Apprentices. He had been the lover to her daughter, the father to her Grandchildren, and yet… she refused him?

Jake's blood boiled. As yet another Outlaw emerged, the attacker suddenly dropped as the sound of his neck snapping echoed above the shouting among the camp grounds. She refused him? Daniels turned his attention towards Tithe’s son, whom he felt still around, though the man was well hidden. Looking in the direction the force guided, the Knight narrowed his eyes on the silhouette of the man and woman.

Jake said nothing. He did nothing as he felt the emotion between the Son of Tithe and his female companion. Their bond. Their love. Their loyalty. It was too each other. It was a loyalty Jake had felt before. A bond he had cherished. A bond he still treasured. Feelings for a bond that had seemed to go unreciprocated in this new century. His Lady Silencia had moved on and it hurt. His pain was not this mans or his companions however. They did not need to know the pain of such loss.

Jake was going to help this camp the only way he knew how.

 

[Quietus]

How often had she wondered what a life devoid of the Force might've been for her. Where would she be after so many centuries were it not for the trials and tribulations of the Darkside and its many, many practitioners. Perhaps she might have been a noblewoman of Garhall, the rising matriarch of House Shamalain, slowly climbing the ranks and weaving a life of intrigue and folly.

In restless dreams I walked alone,​

Or perhaps she may have chosen the life of a Priestess, forsaking all claims and titles, turning away from the chance at motherhood in order to study the Lanu Prophecies and speak them to her people, stand as a guiding light of the Mother Moire. How different this galaxy would be, indeed, had her children not taken to the stars. Many stories of many people touched by her descendants would have been different.

So very, very different.


What if she had been but a simple human girl, growing up on a quaint little farm on a lonely little planet of strife and turmoil, waiting for the return of a stranger who had left several hours ago. For word on a wayward son or brother, fearing the worst had come to family and friends at a quiet camp. Wondering if that stranger could truly be trusted for his word, if he was capable of fulfilling his promises.

What power did he have here amidst the chaos of savage, uncaring people who took life and love heedlessly? Just a man, they may have thought to themselves, gathered at the kitchen table late into the night. Just a man.

taking roads of cobbled stone,​

Her steps were slow, lacking in grace what they made up for in purpose. The stride of an aged raltiir tiger, grieving loss and filled with memories, regrets, of a life lived for far too long. Footfalls of a beast that had weathered every storm it encountered with the dignity and ferocity of a wisened God; shuffling along a path unfamiliar and yet completely recognizable within the annals of years long since passed.

It was the steady amble of a creature that sensed its own impending end and meant to greet the Fade prepared and willing, as if an old friend.

'neath the halo of the glowing moon,​

I turned my cowl to the cold and gloom,​

Not yet, though - Death - she had one last thing to do.

A withered gaze took in the sight of the farmhouse as she followed the curve of a walking path, footsteps soft on the worn earth and muffled by the draping material of her robes. When finally she reached the door it was with a hand frail and thin, pale in the moonlight, that she reached to knock and announce her arrival.

Patriarch Tithe was the one to meet her there, slivering open the door with the look of someone who had expected trouble but was presented something else entirely. Something he couldn't quite define.

"Good evening," the woman's husky voice uttered from within the shadow of her cowl was barely audible and carried with it an overwhelming burden of dread, "I am here for Jake."

[member="Jake Daniels"]

 

[Jake Daniels]

Tithe's fingers drummed against the small round tabletop. His eyes reflected the fire in the pit. His face, like those of the remainder of his family, was filled with worry and despair. Jake was taking far too long. Going on two days on an otherwise half day trek. They should have been back by now. Had Jake forfeited their agreement? Had the stranger that arrived on his doorstep shown some hidden color? Was the need for self preservation so strong that an otherwise apparently stone face individual would cower and run from his own word?

"We should have gone instead of him." Nathan protested as he loaded his lever-action rifle.

"Shut up, Boy." Tithe replied with an unusual coldness towards his own blood. As the hours had dragged on, even Tithe had to admit that he felt the same. He wouldn't express it though. He couldn't. He had made this decision. He would wallow in its outcome; should the outcome be not what he wanted... not what he hoped for. Had Jake even made it to the camp? Had outlaws found him? Had someone else? Had the Outlaws made it to the Camp? What if they were both dead? What if he would never see his son again simply because he left the fate of that whom he loved in the hands of a complete stranger?

Then there was a knock upon his door... and the home went silent.

Tithe looked to his Wife, whom looked at Nathan. With a finger pressed to his lips, Tithe ordered the women into a back room and pointed for Nathan to go upstairs. The Boy may have been young but he had a better shot than Tithe. Why was the family suddenly on an even sharper edge when it came to nerves? It was well past midnight. In the wasteland no one came calling a home at this time unless it was for trouble.

With a small crack of the front door, Tithe peeked outside to see something even he couldn't have expected. A tall, slim figure in a black cloak. Her hands before her. No weapon visible.

"Good evening," she spoke with a husky, tired voice, "I am here for Jake."

Tithe slowly opened the door further and glanced around. He saw no one else with the woman. The farmer quickly opened the door enough for the woman to venture through and then shut it behind her. His eyes locked on the woman, the lower aspects of her face lit by the light of the flames from the pit. She was pale, so very pale. To Tithe she looked sickly. Her face seemed to have some form of marking upon it yet he would not ask. Why?

The voice of @mahet. Though husky and tired, there was an unmistakable authority to it. Motioning for the table, Tithe apprehensively took his own seat, "Jake isn't here. He is running an errand to help me out with something. Who are you?" Tithe asked.

 

[Quietus]

The cowl pulled over the woman's head did not reveal much to the man as she slowly, quietly stepped inside his home. The cloak clung to her figure like the weight of death clung to a carcass. Without seeing much of her at all it was apparent by the slope of her shoulders and the fall of the velvet that there existed very little of a body within.

A dimness of the fire became evident as the visitor moved within, the air grew colder, a chill took the bones of all those present in the domicile. Much like the feeling of a long winter that refused to cede to spring, it permeated the small building with the same intensity of the biting cold. She moved to the proffered table, pale green eyes watching the man take a seat, and reached with a delicate, bony hand to pull a chair out for herself. In short order the woman had settled into it, her presence filling the space that her diminutive figure failed to claim.

"You may call me Mahet," said the guest in reply after gently clearing her throat, "I am his mother."

Silence followed that statement, and then more gently, "Your son is alive and safe, for now."

 

[Jake Daniels]

Confusion continued to bear down on the stress lines of the Farmers face. There was no illusion to the wear and tear it held. "[member="Mahet"]," Tithe began before momentarily stopping. Here before him was a woman whom claimed to be Jake's mother. "I did not know Jake had family. He's been held up in that abandoned fuel station for some time now. Never saw anyone with him. If I may..." Tithe leaned slightly into his chair then fell silent. His question no longer to be asked. She mentioned his Son. He had a feeling he knew which Mahet referred too but he didn't want to truly accept that thought. It was simply too terrifying for a variety of reasons.

"Of course my Son is ok. He is upstairs right now." A clear reference to his youngest.

 

[Quietus]

"And the other is not."

Cold hands coiled within the sleeves of her robes, moving to rest upon her lap. The fire grew dimmer still.

"Have you more kindling, Master Tithe?"

 

[Jake Daniels]

The path had come full circle

The search was finally over.

Jake stood, with the glow of a freshly fed fire pit, with eyes locked upon a woman whom he had not seen in what felt like an eternity. A woman whom looked the spitting image of a daughter that Jake had almost misidentified as his Master. A woman that had known Jake better than any other in his life. Though centuries had passed, in reality, it had been just under a year since his awakening. It still felt like an eternity.

So much rushed through the mind of the man. Why was her signature on the force so weak? That was the first thing he had noticed. Whereas it had once been the most powerful presence he had ever felt, today it could not compare. Even his own seemed on par with his Lady Silencia’s now. That itself was a red flag. The part of him that wanted to demand answers from this woman. The part that wanted an explanation as to why she let him rot on his own for so long since being awoken. The part of him that wanted to know why she just didn’t let him die. The part of him that wanted to know why her actions, and that of her family, had brought him to the realization that he had never been truly one of them.

His aged and tired knees could barely hold his frame up; even with the braces hidden beneath his pant legs. His heart sank like an anchor in water. His eyes glossed over from the sudden urge to let out a stream that would rival the Niagara River. His arms were weak as his shoulders felt tired from a sudden weight that had befallen them. Yet there was a difference in this man, in this version of Jake Daniels.

Every encounter before always played out like a well-rehearsed script from a Shakespearean play. They would meet and Jake would be his ever formal self around his Lady Silencia. She would return the gratitude’s and then they would talk as Master and Apprentice. Jake, would have fallen to a knee or bowed. That was how obedient he had been. That was how trained he had become. Today was not the past. Jake was different. He had to be. This was the same woman that had cast him aside upon his awakening.

With her being here, it was not obvious she could have come to Jake at any point. He would not have been alone. For nearly a year he had been. By himself. Desperation for family, for acceptance, going unnoticed. With everything going through his mind he said only one thing in a shakey, emotional voice.

“Hello.”

Never had words carried so much weight. Never had Jake spoke such few words to his Lady Silencia and still said so much. Never had such words cast the unmistakable message… ’I love you, but Babe, you’ve royally screwed up.’