The Price of Silence

[Dominik Borra]

Agent Dominion parked his personal ship, the Chronos, at the small docking bay at his apartments. He had a small apartment in one of the tallest residential buildings in Coruscant, and he was quite content with it. Most of it was his personal workshop where he did any modifications or repairs to his armor or weapons. A tiny section was curtained off that was a small space where he could lie down and do any repairs on himself. Medically and biologically, of course. One more section was his kitchen, and the other was his bedroom where he slept. Under his bed he kept his full arsenal. Different body armors, Handguns, rifles, ammunitions, the likes. Around the entire apartment there were weapons of all kinds. Sharp objects, hidden small blasters, more of the likes. He liked it all.

But he didn't get to see any of that after his latest mission. As soon as he was parked, Lisnail stepped out from the door leading into the building. Lisnail was the Sith who over looked his training as a boy to the man and warrior the agent was today. Lisnail was a Twi'lek, red in color and heavily built. Although Lisnail oversaw Dominion's training, this visit worried him. There was no reason for them to meet. But... maybe he would learn. The agent opened his cockpit and stepped out onto the platform, thousands of meters of drop to the ground, and the only thing stopping him was a few inches of metal, stretching out from a building. Didn't daunt him none.

"Well hello Lisnail. What do I owe this meeting? You know we aren't to meet anymore."

"Trust me, I know. But I need an update on some of your dealings. Some critical knowledge I'm looking for and you may know something that could give me a clue." His face was half shrouded by his cloaks hood, blowing against his face as the wind blew. "Let's venture into your home. We can't discuss things out here." He turned away and walked inside, Dominion following him.

And so Dominion did, leading the man straight into his home.

Lisnail took a seat at the workstation table Dominion had set up, looking up at him. "I'll start with questions. Do you remember Vaulkhar?"

"Vaulkhar?" Dominion started. "What about him?" He knew that Vaulkhar had recently turned rouge, and that they worked together quite a bit after that whole thing on Tatooine. And he said that much to Lisnail now.

"So you've been in contact with him?" Ah. So. That was what this was about.

"No, I'm afraid not." Lie.

"Are you sure? Maybe he's only been in contact with you."

"No. There hasn't been contact between us, I assure you." Lie.

Lisnail pressed a button on his wrist, and shortly after, a legion of stormtroopers were opening the door. "Are you sure?" The Sith asked again.

Dominion looked at them, then back at Lisnail. Well. A fight then? In his own home? "Lisnail, you've trained me for situations liked these." He walked away from the table towards a corner in the room as casual as anybody, where a hallway branches off into his room. He kept a fully loaded assault rifle strapped to the wall there, but hidden from all view until you turn the corner. As he turned the corner it... wasn't there. The straps were, bu-

"I know. Were you looking for this?" Lisnail said too close behind him.

A shot went off from the gun Lisnail held.

Dominion ducked under and swept his right leg out, hitting him in the knee and sending him down to the ground. The stormtroopers rushed in, and Dominion grabbed the rifle before running into his room. He had already gone through his whole place. Perhaps everything was already gone. He didn't have long to act.

He went over to the small terminal in his room and opened up a channel with the same frequency that Vaulkhar and his first contact had been. He only got to type a few things before troopers busted down his door, shot him in the shoulder and took away the gun. Then they hauled him out of there incapacitated.

2 4 1 10

He could only hope [member="Vaulkhar"] was listening..

 

[Vaulkhar]

It had been sometime since Vaulkhar was actually back upon his ship. Since he defected from the One Sith and joined the Silver Sanctum, he had been up to his ears in training with his newest master. But things had finally slowed down enough for him that he could take a personal trip. With the ever flowing information from his former accomplice and current friend, Dominion, he had been able to avoid the One Sith upon almost every occasion. Up until the point he actually felt comfortable taking a personal trip to Tattooine, weirdly enough, to search for a droid to purchase.

His ship ascended upwards from the landing pads situated near the Jedi Temple upon Voss. As he was going upwards, his personal protocal Droid, B-15 aided him in preparing his ship for a jump through hyperspace when the holoterminal within his ship activated. The only time it ever activated upon it's own was when he was getting a personal call or message from his friend, Dominion. Small beams of light erupted from the device situated near the wall, and a flickering image of five number appeared, floating about the air eerily. Looking upon them, Vaulkhar could only perk his brow in confusion. Yes, the two of them had managed to devise codes involving words, numbers, and actions, to safely get information back and forth to one another without getting the other caught.

But these numbers, in this order, or in any order really, had literally nothing to do with what the two of them had put together. Standing up from his ship, he motioned for Bis, that's what he called his protocol droid, to stop what he was doing and wait. He strode towards the holoterminal and looked the numbers over once more, stroking his chin in thought. For many minutes he stood there, concentrating upon them before he finally managed to piece everything together. He had put so much focus into these numbers he failed to realize the most obvious factor regarding this message.

It was not encrypted.

Dominion was a damn good agent, and had taught Vaulkhar quite a bit in regards to encoding and encrypting messages. But this message was not coded, nor was it encrypted, which could only mean one thing. Dominion was in trouble. He ran back towards the panel and order Bis to once more begin plotting hyperspace coordinates.

"But to where, master?" The droid asked, confused and unsure.

"To Coruscant." Vaulkhar stated boldly before getting back to work. After a moment of furious typing away, he grasped the handle upon the panel and pulled back. The stars began to blur and the space around them turned a soft shade of blue as they shot off into hyperspace, on their way to Coruscant.

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

Dominion blinked open his eyes, and found himself staring up into a bright light. He shut his eyes again tried to turn his head away but, he couldn't. Something around his forehead and neck stopped him.. He tested his other limbs, and found that they couldn't move a centimeter. He wasn't in his armor anymore. Was he wearing any clothes at all? His shoulder hurt like hell, and his eyes weren't adjusted to the light yet. He heard a voice, far off, in a questioning tone.

"H-.. huh?" Dominion croaked. His throat was so dry..

The sounds were fuzzy for the first few words that responded, but as whoever spoke them got closer, he picked them out. "...-Are awake then. Good. Now we can keep talking in a space where you can't try to resist." Dominion opened his eyes, looking straight into Lisnail's face. Well, today was going to suck.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again, and if you don't tell me what I want to hear, I'm going to inject you." Dominion knew what he meant. A Truth Serum. Dominion had trained against it, but... he never made it far into that aspect. How it messed with his brain..

"Let's get started, huh? Where is Vaulkhar." Not a question, a demand.

"I don't know." Dominion said flatly.

"Good. I wanted to have fun with you." Lisnail reached for something out of the agent's line of sight, then came back with a large syringe. It was filled completely.. A whole- "500cc's of this stuff in one go can turn some people brain dead. But you're not like other people. That's why I have five more of these right next to me." Dominion started to breath heavily, panic started to rise inside hi-..

No. Calm. He had to stay calm. Keep his mind togethe-

A pain shot into his upper shoulder, and he could feel the syringe empty. Oh force... It would be mere seconds before he started babbling everything to this tail-head to Alleviate the pain..

"That's right! Except it's working already. But I don't like being called that racial slur." Lisnail eyes glared at him.

"It's already working? That fast?" He thought he said this to himself, but heard himself speak. "Oh kark. Everything I think about I'm saying right away.."

"Correct. Now, where is [member="Vaulkhar"] !?"

Dominion's head felt like it was splitting in two.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Vaulkhar's ship, The Question, emerged from hyperspace orbiting the planet of Coruscant. Planets under One Sith control, or even that of the Galactic Republic were not the most difficult to infiltrate. Docking at a normal hangar, undergoing simple checks, or even avoiding them entirely were not impossible. With a galaxy at war, there were more import things to worry about than strangers getting onto the planet illegally. And Vaulkhar took full advantage of that. His ship descended towards the world below, moving towards a small hangar that was situated within his old neighborhood, only a kilometer or so away from his old apartment in the slums. Docking his ship, the first person to great him was his former-mechanic, a man he would pay handsomely for not only service, but also for secrecy.

"Vaulkhar?! Is that you, man? Word is you went turncoat on the OS and are on the run?" The mechanic was an alien, looked down upon by the most traditional of Sith and treated like a second class citizen. Something exploitable.

"Yes Quix, it's all true." Vaulkhar strode down the ramp of his ship, looking over the Twi'lek in silence. This was a man he had worked with for years, someone who helped look after him and keep his former apartment in shape when he could not. Someone he knew wouldn't rat him out. "I need you to note my information under a false name," while saying this, Vaulkhar took a small card from his pack and held it out towards the Twi'lek, who took it smiling. "Ten thousand credits. Should be more than enough."

Quix nodded and went away, not bothering to continue the conversation. The both of them knew the more time they spent together, the more dangerous a job it be for the both of them. Striding out of the hangar, Vaulkhar began his journey towards his home. Fifteen minutes later, the young man arrived, opening the door of his former apartment. Looking around, he realized the door of his former home had not been opened since his departure. Which of course meant it was not compromised and could be used as a base of operations while he remained on Coruscant. When he left he took everything with him. Emergency credits, clothing, lightsaber, and all other provisions. Which meant what he had on him would be it for now.

Leaving the apartment after putting some of his current belongings away, he made his way towards the Slums speeder service. For a simple fee, he could rent a Speeder and travel through the city, as long as he had it back at a specific time. Choosing later at night was the best opportunity. If he kept it out for too long, it would become questionable and his search could be thrown away if the sleazy clerk recognized him. Ascending once more, Vaulkhar made his way towards Dominion's apartment. Though he had never been their personally, he was notified of it's location in case of an emergency; this qualified as such.

Vaulkhar rode around the building dozens of times, getting his bearings while also utilizing the force to reach out and pick up any life forms within. It had to be under surveillance, it only made sense. If he could get numbers on possible guards within, he might even be able to get some information on any foolish enough to be around where his best and only friend had been kidnapped.

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

There would be various life forms inside the buildings, as this was a residency. But there was a large collection of them inside the agent's home. If [member="Vaulkhar"] really wanted to know numbers, there were five soldiers inside.

~~

His whole body ached, and felt like it was coming apart. The constant force lightning that Lisnail sent into his body over and over again was making him too weak to even try to move. Of all things, his head was by far the worst pain. He couldn't think of one thing without saying it, so he switched his thoughts to literally everything else, not related to Vaulkhar. Three empty syringes lay scattered on the floor.

He rambled about how he cleans his guns, fighting techniques, how tall he was and his entire life story. The Sith would shock him after each word that Dominion said that wasn't related to Vaulkhar. Dominion started to scream what he thought about Lisnail. Which not one word was good. He insulted him, his mother, his father, his siblings if they even existed. He insulted his race, just anything to keep his mind away from Vaulkhar. Most people would have broken by this point, but Dominion was a Sith Agent, and one of his first lessons was how to deal with pain. Pain didn't matter much to him, and Lisnail was starting to understand that.

Dominion's breathing was raspy, his throat burning from screaming so much. But... the pain stopped. He couldn't see Lisnail.

Lisnail came back into his point of view, holding his lightsaber. "So, you're a sniper? Well, everyone needs there eyes, but Snipers most of all. What if I took one?"

"Wai wait wait no nononononoNONO!" Dominion screamed in panic as Lisnail activated his lightsaber, held it above Dominion's head pointing down, and lowered it slowly. The agent cried out in fear and shock and desperation, trying to deter Lisnail. But nothing about Vaulkhar. Tears streamed down the sides of his head as the blade got closer to his right eye.

"I know how much you value your body. You're ability to perform. Let's take that away. Unless you tell me anything about Vaulkhar."

"NO!" Dominion pleaded, and refused Lisnail.

The Sith punctured the Agent's right eye, melting it and the immediate surrounding bone.

His scream wasn't even human as he destroyed his throat with it.

 

[Vaulkhar]

After determining a rough estimate of those within, Vaulkhar directed his speeder downwards, towards the streets below. Parking it near the curb, he stepped out and move towards the entrance of the apartment building. It was nice, even Vaulkhar could see that. Moving towards the entrance, the door simply slid open, allowing him access. As he went in, he passed by several others who lived within the building, all of which were wealthy or well off. It brought a soft grin to Vaulkhar's lips.

"For someone so damned discreet, he sure as hell picked a nice place to live."

He approached the elevator while laughing at his own joke and pressed a button. It opened and he stepped in after allowing the passengers from within to step out. Offering a nod, he stepped in after and shut the door behind him with the closing button. His hand drifted towards the keys, where he felt around for brail. After 'reading' the numbered floors, he clicked the button that would lead up to Dominion's floor and began his ascent. As the elevator moved upwards, Vaulkhar relieved himself of his robe and gently grasped his lightsaber. Holding it within his hand, he slipped his robe into his pack. At the sound of the elevator sliding open, Vaulkhar activated his vermilion lightsaber and dashed forwards.

The first volley of shots were fired at him, all of which were deflected, one being aimed back at the assailant. The man was taken with a bolt through the mask, dropping him to the floor like a stone. As expected, the soldiers had cleared out the floor and were using it to their full advantage. It was likely a trap, but it didn't matter. Vaulkhar wouldn't allow his friend to perish for protecting him. He continued his dash, moving towards a foe as he was reloading. Stopping up short, Vaulkhar ducked and swung his saber upwards, slicing through the arm of the solider. Before the missing arm even hit the floor, Vaulkhar spun around, ending the motion in a horizontal slash that dropped the solider to the floor, right after his head that is.

One by one the soldiers dropped left and right until all but one was left alive. Vaulkhar came upon him, raising him upwards, and slamming him into the wall. His powerful will was exerted upon the solider, forcing him against the wall so strongly it cracked from the pressure.

"Where is Dominion?"

Vaulkhar's voice was hollow, devoid of emotion. He eyed the soldier in cold silence, the power of the force exerting it's strength upon him.

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

"G-gah!" The trooper was gasping for breath as the force pushed against him. He could feel it in his mind, trying to make him answer. "I-... I can't..." He had seen his comrades die so easily.. And he had worked under Agent Dominion before. He valued the men's lives, and he had a sense that the man under the mask was a good guy.. "A-alright, Lisnail took him to the Slums. There is a Sith base there for all the things they won't do in the temple. It's in block J 36. The entrance should be gaurded. Please just let me live..!"

~~

Dominion's body relaxed and his screaming stopped, his eyes closing.

Lisnail thought he had killed the agent, but after pulling his lightsaber out and looking, there wasn't any hole to the brain. He checked the agent's vitals, and they were weak, but stable. He reached over to the table and plucked up a smaller syringe, filled with adrenaline. He injected it straight into Dominion's heart.

Dominion woke up screaming, straining against all the restraints that had been placed on his body. Despite their strength, they bent under his struggling before he fell back to the table, weeping and gasping for air.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Lisnail screamed at Dominion.

Dominion looked at him with his one eye, nothing but hatred in there. "May the force leave you! I'm not telling you ANYTHING!" He felt nothing but hate for Lisnail. He already took Dominion's eye, the thing he needed to be useful. With only one eye, he would hardly be able to walk without falling over. He wouldn't be able to shoot his blasters. The only thing he could do, was to keep quite.

Lisnail, full of rage and frustration, activated his lightsaber once more and swung it down on Dominion's left arm.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Vaulkhar pulled him back from the wall only to push him back even more forcefully, embedding the solider into the wall. The force wasn't enough to kill him or even seriously maim him, just enough to put him under for a few hours while also trapping him in place while unconscious. Turning about and facing the hall of dead soldiers, he shook his head slightly. Though he controlled his rage, he still killed so many, which was never a good thing. He strode down the hall, avoiding the blood and bodies with a frown. Reaching the elevator, he stepped back in, clicked the button and began his ascent downwards once more.

He stepped from the elevator and moved out the front door of the apartment complex, moving towards his speeder parked a few dozen paces away. Vaulkhar hopped in and released a heavy sigh, unable to believe the situation he was in. The Slums currently housed his companion, and now he had not go back. He was lucky they had not noticed him while he traversed the slums earlier that morning. The speeder ascended into the skies before merging into traffic. Vaulkhar pushed the speeder to it's max speed whilst weaving in and out of traffic, unable to slow down. He had to get there and save Dominion, otherwise the Agent could perish, simply for helping the rogue escape. And that was something he would not be able to ever let go.

As the speeder flew above the various apartments within the Slums, Vaulkhar approached his target. The infamous J Block. It had been said that hundreds disappeared every year in the area, and now he knew why. A hidden Sith base for torture and imprisonment most likely. Setting the speeder onto autopilot, Vaulkhar leaped from the vehicle and fell dozens of feet before landing atop an apartment building. The roof cracked and spread, but it remained intact for the most part. The young man strode across the roof, searching for the source of Dominion and the Sith. Reaching the edge of the roof, he lowered himself into a meditative position and began to focus upon the force.

Through the force he'd find his missing friend, and the Dark Side that surrounded him.

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

He would recognize Dominion's life force far down below him, under the very building he sat on. It was dormant, but surged more alive all of the sudden. There was hate and rage and pain pouring out of him. And then pain overpowered all the others.

~~

Dominion screamed more as his arm thudded to the ground. The searing pain on the short stub that used to be his upper arm was about to make him pass out again. His head leaned to one side and his eye started to close before-

"NO! You will stay awake!" Lisnail grabbed more adrenaline and shot it into Dominion, making Dominion strain against the bindings and scream again.

He just wanted to die... this was just pain and pain and unending pain! He couldn't function anymore, not with his right eye and left arm gone. He just laid there and wept, before Lisnail stretched forth his fingers and sent lightning coursing into the agent's body.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Vaulkhar feel such raw emotion flowing from beneath him. There was hate, pain, rage, and everything in between. The dark side permeated the building, but in the middle of it all, was Dominion. His friend was undergoing what he could only assume to be the worst torture he could imagine, likely because of him. And that did not bode well with Vaulkhar, not in the slightest. Running towards an access door upon the roof, he activated his vermilion saber and slammed it through the center of the door. He brought it downwards, slowly slicing through it before stepping back and throwing forth a powerful burst of force energy. The door split in two and was sent tumbling backwards, down the stairs to the floors below. Vaulkhar did not even slow as he hurried after them, keeping his saber activated.

The mad dash ended with him upon the floor Dominion was located. Upon reaching it, he continued forward, his body a blur as the force empowered him. Within mere seconds bodies lay strewn about upon his path and he was at the entrance of the room holding Dominion. His lightsaber, as before, was forced into the door, where he sheared a circle through the durasteel. Taking another step back, he launched another wave of force energy forwards into the door, sending it dropping with a heavy thud to the flooring. He stepped through, his blind gaze peering about the area. Vaulkhar's blind eyes were filled with a purpose, a cold and dark purpose.

"Give. Me. Dominion."

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

As [member="Vaulkhar"] couldn't see see in the traditional sence, he would feel two presences in the room. One belonging to some Sith, and the other Dominion. Except.. Dominion's was lacking. No, not lacking.. In pieces. There seemed to be some of his force coming from the floor near his head, and more solidly, to the left of his body.

What he would hear, would be lightning crackling, distorted yelling in pain, and the Sith shouting questions at him as he shocked the Agent. But Lisnail stopped sending the force to torture Dominion and turned to the door, seeing Vaulkhar. But above all things that Vaulkhar would hear, would be weeping. The man who had done so many things, killed like it was nothing and do some incredible feats for someone without the force, was weeping to die. To have Lisnail just end it.

Lisnail drew his saber. "So, here is where you are!" He launched himself as Vaulkhar, swinging his lightsaber and cutting multiple pieces of equipment in the room into pieces.

OOC: Changed it a little incase you didn't notice.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Vaulkhar's upper lip turned back into a snarl, only momentarily, at the sight and feeling of what was before him. Seeing within the Force was similar to seeing everything within the infrared spectrum. He could see, but it was slightly distorted in the sense that he saw the force, not the heat. He looked up at Lisnail as he started speaking, only taking a deep breath in response. Vaulkhar could feel the hatred and anger brewing within him. He could feel the tempting pull to release it all and go berserk upon Lisnail. To slaughter him, rend him into dozens of pieces, and toss him about the room into a bloody mess. But he knew it was not the right thing to do, not the actions of a Jedi. So with a determined gaze, he slid his foot back and fell into a defensive crouch.

The blind man met the Sith's saber with his own, holding it high above his head as the first attack crashed down upon him. Only a split-second before contact was to be made, he pushed upwards with his own to set him slightly off balance. He then met the following strikes with relative ease, as each were less powerful due to the simple defensive move he made prior. At the end of the Sith's own combination of blows, Vaulkhar slipped forwards, his right foot sliding inwards into the guard of the Sith. Within his guard, Vaulkhar threw an upward elbow at his jaw before taking a sudden step back and aiming a vertical slash meant to tear directly from groin to neck.

"There will be no mercy, Sith."

[member="A. Dominion"]

 

[Dominik Borra]

Lisnail staggered a little at the elbow hitting his jaw, but sensed the oncoming attack from Vaulkhar. He jumped back, dodging the blade just barely.

"The same goes for you, Traitor!" He cried as he rushed forth once more, slashing right then spinning and slashing left, then jumping into the air and striking down on the rogue.

Dominion noticed the amount of noise in the room... Lightsabers? He couldn't move his head much, but.. Did Vaulkhar come for him? Was he fighting Lisnail?
"Vaulkhar.." he breathed, hoping it would tell his friend he was still alive.