The Return

[Connor Harrison]

Watching her with his predatory eyes, Connor took in all her questions, musings and rhetorical musings. When she moved to look at a painting, he cocked his head, and decided to join her.

"Very well." He walked around the table and stood beside her, looking. "My greatest strength is that I have no ties. No baggage. No shackles."

He squinted at the picture.

"I cherish nothing except my standing with the Dark and how it allows me to be strong. And I crave to find an identity and be a name known far beyond what he was."

The picture didn't hold him, and he turned to her.

"What's your story. Why was he so fixated with you. Did you offer him this, or did you try to mould him for your own goal. Let's not deny he was a rather weak subject."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"A man with nothing to hold them is a man that can move freely through the galaxy," she stated, not looking at him even as he looked at her. "A useful trait, as for what you cherish..."

Her voice would trail off, her hand lazily falling onto his shoulder and he would feel a coldness seep into him, a moment of emptiness as she made him quite aware of what she could take from him. It was meant as an example that she could very well indeed make him face such a loss of his most cherished thing, but then as suddenly as she imposed it, the feeling would dissipate as her hand lifted away and back to her side.

"The story of our first encounter is etched on your back," she replied, still regarding the painting before her. "He received a taste of what the dark side could do, and I encouraged that taste to slowly become an addiction. It was my hope, so to speak, that he would be strong enough to embrace it. Clearly, it required more... intensive measures to create you. I am curious about something though..."

She now turned her head to regard him.

"Why do you still cling to the name Connor Harrison when we both know that is no longer your name?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Only his eyes moved as she began to move, watching her movements and where she looked.

When she touched his shoulder, it felt heavy, and a shiver ran through him - up his face and hands. It also however felt partially like acceptance, to physically connect. He closed his eyes and focused for a moment, feeling her...there...inside his head...

And then she let the hand slide off, and walked around him again. She was right about the marks on his back, the blanket of scars that the Force lightning had etched from the base of the spine to the very top and all to serve a purpose. It was a purpose he understood and wanted to embrace.

Taeli asked of his name and he shook his head.

"I know. Believe me I am trying to seek a new identity. A name. A being. Some representation of this new chapter. I can't go under his name if I am trying to shake off his past. I just have no resources or text to see what I could take from the past to bring to this future." Their eyes didn't break. "I will welcome any lore you have I can research on the dark shadows of the past."

A question came to mind. One he had seen in Connor's journal.

"What are your plans? I know of you and your history and your current charade. What are your goals? What do YOU cherish? What are YOU afraid of?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Ah, good," she said, once again resuming her seat at her desk and pulling open a drawer. From within, she withdrew a manuscript of heavy parchment and set it upon the desk for Connor. "I had hoped you would be inquisitive on the subject of names, so I took the liberty of writing down some of the musings of past Sith on the subject, specifically Freedon Nadd and Darth Zannah. You'll find what they have to say about finding one's true identity quite illuminating I imagine."

She wore an amused smile as he asked her about her plans, her goals... her fears and desires. Opportunities were shifting now it would seem, so her plans needed to shift as well. As for the others...

"That's not exactly how it works for a Master to an apprentice," she answered, still wearing the amused smile. "But what I fear most has already come to pass and I embraced it, what I cherish most can't be taken away, they are already gone or can't be stripped from me. As a Sith Master, my goals are ever shifting and it is likely this charade will not be needed in the very near future. Darkness is on the march across the galaxy now."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor took a seat and sat forward, perching on the edge to see what Taeli was bringing forth and trying to make it out.

He read what he could, taking bits in, and glanced up at the Jedi now and then.

"Seems like nothing that could affect others will affect you. You fear nothing, cherish nothing? Be careful Taeli. You're sounding as if you're nothing but stone."

With a curious look to his eyes, he rested his hands out on the table and edge of the manuscript.

"The charade is the one of you being with the Alliance, am I correct? And what do you know of dark forces marching across the galaxy. There are so many who claim to be the bringer of righteousness and peace. Are they not but a factory, each destined to crumble after they've had a shot at glory?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I did not say I did not fear anything or cherish anything," she stated, patient as ever the teacher she was. "I simply said that I had already faced my fears, and what I cherish cannot be stripped away as they have vanished. Do not make the mistake that I am an unfeeling being, devoid of emotion. I draw strength, everyday, having to live with the fear I faced. I draw power from the anger and hatred I feel for those responsible for the disappearances of my sisters. Never forget that loss is just another path to strength, if one knows how to walk it."

She handed him the manuscript, as she had made it for him. She had no need for it. She had access to the very sources of the words on the pages.

"And yes, the charade is the one I present to the public, but we shall see," she said. "I may find uses for it still. As for the dark forces, the Sith begin to draw together, to form into a new empire the First Order successfully defended their worlds from the Alliance assault, losses aside. The GA is floundering from the loss, peace on many of their leaders' minds. The Silver Jedi are but a shadow of their former strength, and the new powers in the Core have yet to face any real test from the darkness... but that is likely to change."

 

[Connor Harrison]

He read what he could, taking bits in, and glanced up at the Jedi now and then.

"Of course. My apologies, Taeli Raaf. I know of your sisters. I know what Corvus meant to him, and you."

Taking the manuscript, he looked at it again, dividing his attention between the text and the Jedi talking about the darkness. It was the most he had heard about the shifting Force.

"I will return to the First Order soon to clear my name in the crime committed on Skor. I do not want that hanging over my head. And the Silver Jedi will face their time soon, as I know the Heavenshields have stepped down leading. The head has been cut and they will flounder, wither and die. I myself am without a clear place to call home, but I know where I stand and who with, and if the tide turns, I know where I will stand."

He drummed his fingers on the desk.

"The one thing I don't want from you is pity, pertaining to the past. It's me, or nothing. No in-between."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Then perhaps, for your first real lesson, we shall focus on something tangible," she said, not saying anything until he had said everything he wanted to say. "Every Sith, or dark sider for that matter, is nothing without a power base to act from. Without a foundation to build upon, your actions and plans will have little effect upon the galaxy. Your failures will mean you have nowhere to fall back to, to rest and regroup. Besides learning what I have placed in that manuscript, a few lessons on names and instructions in how to channel lightning more efficiently and into a lightsaber blade or sword, I want to see what you can build."

It was an interesting challenge, not one most Sith would tell an apprentice to do right off the bat. But Taeli knew this Connor before her had some idea of the dark side and how to command the Force and to fight. No, she was much interested in seeing if he could be anything other than a warrior. Could he build up a power base of his own? Hers was rather vast, spanning many worlds publicly as Aurora Industries and covertly with her many research labs devoted to her experiments in alchemy and sorcery.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a slight twist of the mouth, Connor sighed – the doubt evident and lack of conviction in her words.

"Hm. Nice idea, and a point well-made but there is a little issue and it’s not something that be rectified quickly."

He leaned and scooped up the manual, rolling it into a cylinder and resting it on his knees.

"You started from the ground up after a redemption…well, not really, just the base of a big lie, but you had the resources on both sides. I, however, do not. I have no resources on either side and I know how blackened the name Connor Harrison is with Jedi and some Sith alike."

He stood up and walked around the office.

"Famous Jedi Master. Turncoat of the Silver Order. War criminal to the First Order. Unwanted by the Sith Order." He turned to her. "There is little in my favour to build anything from."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Then you take what you need," she stated simply. "We're wielders of the dark side of the Force. If you gain something without working for it, then you don't truly deserve it. We must overcome and rise above any challenge in our way, whether it be some metaphorical obstacle or a person in our way. I honestly don't care how you build a power base, use whatever means you deem necessary. Assassinate a planetary ruler or a CEO and take control yourself, steal or build vital technology or a starship, murder a home owner to gain a residence. Recruit or manipulate beings to work for you. Be creative."

It might surprise him but he would gain more respect if he took what he wanted or needed, as long as he was careful not to cross a Sith who had a stronger power base or was more powerful themselves. One had to be careful with such things.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Taeli spoke wise words. He nodded slowly, taking it all in. There was much to do, and he had spent enough time waiting.

It was time to move forwards, to take what was his and cast out the things that were not worth his time.

"I will see what I can do."

He looked at her for a while longer, before breaking the spell and standing.

"With that I shall go and seek what is mine. I don't know where to look, but I will certainly do just that and not wait around."

He tapped the manuscript again in his hand and licked his lip.

"Somehow I don't think I'll ever meet your expectations you may have. In that sense, don't feel obliged to waste your time guiding me if you have other more important plans to put in motion."

A sly smirk crossed his face, and he nodded.

"I will be in touch when I've made progress, unless I hear from you first?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"It is hard to have expectations for someone you are meeting for the first time," she replied, giving an amused smirk as he stood up. "I expect to hear reports of progress, but do feel free to contact me when you require another lesson. There are many things you still have to learn about the Sith and the dark side, and do make sure to peruse that manuscript. Until then..."

Her voice trailed off as two of her Aurora Wights entered to escort him back to whatever ship brought him to the world.