Private The Summoning

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

​

Deep within the jungle of Kashyyyk the sound of blaster fire echoed through the trees. Big plumes of smoke were in the air, and down below a battle was raging on.

Within the large corridors of the Sith oil collection structure, alliance troops were trying to push forward the control room where their "project" was said to be stored. It wouldn't have been found if it wasn't for an alliance agent on the planet whistleblowing the operation, and now that their presence was known the alliance and Jedi order made no hesitation to shut it down before it even started. For a while, they had been pushing through the facility one area at a time, but now they had reached a chokepoint. One that was starting to build up casualties on both sides.

Over the sound of blaster fire, the ignition of a lightsaber erupted through the corridor followed by a lonely figure running through the chaos. Silas Westgard, knight of the order ran past his pinned comrades and began drawing fire at him "Keep your head down!" he shouted before skidding to a halt and raising a hand at the soldiers shooting directly at him. One by one the bolts lay hovering in front of his chest, building up into a clump as they looked to shoot past the force protecting him. Suddenly, Silas lets out a loud grunt and slings the blaster bolts in all directions towards the enemy.

In front of the Jedi, bodies dropped like flies to the floor motionless while the rest who managed to survive began to retreat into the control room itself. Taking a deep breath, the young Jedi looked back to the alliance troopers and motioned towards the blaster door which had now been barricaded from the inside.

"Prepare to breach... I sense we're getting close to the final hurdle"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Standard delaying procedures had been enacted. The refinery's guard had fought ferociously and tenaciously, spending their lives exorbitantly against the interlopers. Even when grievously wounded, the guards continued to fight on; driven as though animated by some insatiable will. Even when their bones were broken, their limbs struck through by blaster bolts, and all means of locomotion rendered impotent, they moved, fought, and died. Beyond the point of exhaustion and pain, they moved with terrible purpose, often throwing themselves at the enemy in a last ditch attempt to stymy them.

More often than not, they needed to be completely destroyed before they could be considered sufficiently neutralized. This bought precious time, time enough for the refinery's leading technicians to withdraw through the yawning chasm of incandescent light which tore itself through the fabric of space and time. It was framed by a curved archway, constructed out of heavy basalt blocks and etched with runic inscriptions which glowed and pulsated with dark power. Those that fled through the gate could not see the path nor the destination, but they ran forward all the same, the same dark will that gave unnatural fortitude to the refinery's defenders spurring them on into the unknown.

But it was not what was going through the portal that was most important, it was what was coming out. As the invaders began to breach through the blast door, a great and terrible shadow fell across the swirling miasma of the gate. The shadow brought forth fear, it brought forth despair. Anger trailed in it's wake, while hatred preceded it. A swirling maelstrom of darkness emerged, wreathed in earthly flesh and bone. Armor, gleaming with power, was fastened across it's chest, the keening wail of endless night heralding it's arrival.

Darth Carnifex, Dark Lord of the Sith, watched with cruel eyes as the doors were broken and thrown down, the soldiers and heroes of the Alliance streaking in with weapons held tight. Before them was their prize, but the dragon did so jealously guard it's treasure. Soundlessly, the Dark Lord stood tall and resolute, staring them down in the brief span of moments before the next breath.

Then the crackling blade of His lightsaber burst forth to life, drowning them all in it's hellish glow.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

​

For a few moments, there was silence outside of the blast door, almost as if the fighting had stopped. However, in a sudden explosion, the doors would crash open and reveal a group of marines who flooded into the control room. Behind them, Silas followed suit and stood watching the enemy troops retreating back into the gate. There was something wrong, a feeling he had felt long ago when he was only a padawan. Silas had yet to see this sinister darkness in the flesh, but that was soon to change.

Appearing from the gate was Carnifex, a legendary Sith who had been terrorising the galaxy for generations. In his presence, it almost felt like the lights had faded and the temperature had gone below freezing. To say the least, the man could strike fear through even the bravest of warriors who ever chose to defy him. Around Silas, the marines slowly began to back away from the gate with their blasters raised towards the titan. All their minds were afraid of the consequences of their actions, other than one.

Stepping in front of them all, Silas took a deep breath and stared down the Sith as he basked them all in his hellish glow. He couldn't show fear, especially when the rest of the marines were frightened of the brute standing in front of him "One way or another, I knew this day would come Carnifex" the young man said bravely as he showed no hint of backing down, unwaved by the dangerous individual who could kill them all in one strike.

His former masters Valery Noble and Kahlil Noble had faced him many times, now it was his turn to defend the galaxy from the shadow that threatened to consume them "Whatever you have planned here, it will not suffice..." the knight grunted before igniting his light blue blade, the same crystal that his son used to know all too well during the dark days. If his masters could stop him, there was no reason why he couldn't after all they had taught him.

"I don't care how much it takes. I will rid you from this planet and send you back where you belong."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Silas Westgard."

The booming voice of the Dark Lord was enough to rattle teeth, a terrible miasma of dark energy pervading washing over them from His presence alone. Monstrous and cruel, the Dark Lord of the Sith towered over them like some ancient edifice; wreathed in harrowing esoterica. He did not seem like a man, for there was little about Him that could possibly be misconstrued as mortal. Every fiber of His being had been suffused with the Dark Side, bathed in the primordial energies of the Wellspring from which He had drunk greedily.

Two natures seemed to exist simultaneously within Him, one violent and wrathful, the other curious and hungry; but both perfectly aligned. Perhaps the Nobles had passed down the story of what transpired in the Wellspring of the Force to Silas, where the two disparate halves of the Dark Lord were again conjoined within the stolen body which bore Kahlil Noble 's face. Perhaps they had told him how the Dark Lord hollowed out the Other, erasing his mind and spirit so that they could jointly occupy his body. That the Other had been carefully cultivated for that exact moment, that all of his pitiful existence had been groomed for sacrifice.

Perhaps they did not, but it mattered little to the Dark Lord.

He stepped forward threateningly, the very air growing heavy as stray sparks of electricity danced between the two Force users. "You rage against the setting of the sun, little Silas, and at the rising of a new. You destroy this facility, and three more shall take it's place. You do not have the numbers or resources to hunt them all down, and the Nobles know this. As the Mandalorians once more pick up the sword, the Jedi will have no choice but to answer, and they shall be blind to all else which lurks beyond their sight. All of your hallowed institutions rot from within; the Senate, the Defense Force, the SIA, even the Jedi Order itself."

The Dark Lord raised His left hand, bright red energy crackling between His outstretched fingers. "I tell you this because there is nothing in your power to stop it. Not enough hands, not enough eyes." Suddenly, a current of bright electricity shot forth from the Dark Lord's fingers. It first appeared to come straight at Silas, but at the last possible moment it split apart into many smaller arcs, all of which shot out and bent around Silas and missed him entirely. Instead, they all rushed towards the Alliance marines at his back, each one carrying enough power to kill a man thrice over.

He lowered His hand, still crackling with lingering energy. "And your number dwindles with every breath."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

​

Of course Carnifex would know his name, that's what being the padawan of his son and the sword got him. It wasn't any big secret that he was close to the pair, so the fact he knew of him didn't surprise him by the very least. Tightening his grip on the lightsaber lifted in front of him the knight seemed to grit his teeth at the Sith's words "The only thing rotting is your hollow heart Carnifex, one way or another we will not only stop the aggression of the Mandalorians but your influence over the galaxy too" Silas grunted back before his blue eyes shot worryingly to the red lightning radiating from his hands.

Suddenly, Carnifex would unleash his agony right at him. Silas braced himself in preparation, but he'd soon find out it wasn't meant for him. Screams erupted around him as the troopers fell to the floor yelling in horror, completely taken over by the pain the lightning brought with it "That's enough!" the knight yelled before kicking his legs and running straight at him with frightening speed "You fail to realise that we will only be the same for you. No matter how many of us you strike down, we'll only come back at you stronger!"

The soldier's deaths this day were not going to be in vain

While the few marines in the doorway who avoided his lightning shot directly at the Sith, Silas unexpectedly changed his target and slid across the floor on his knees. The knight brought back his saber and slashed at the Sith's knees to try and knock the titan down a peg so he could make a break towards the still operational gate.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Jedi bravado avails you nothing."

The lightning dissipated quickly, errant sparks of energy still lingering in the air as the Jedi pushed forward. Carnifex's lightsaber spun in His hand, catching several of the marine's blasterfire and redirecting back towards them. He hardly had to do anything in order to react to them, His senses dialed up beyond any mortal parameter. Thus, He quickly responded to the young Silas' attack, blade flashing like a viper's bite to meet the lad's cerulean weapon.

Sparks flashed as the two lightsabers met, magnetically drawn to one another. "How many younglings sleep easily within your temple, knowing nothing of war? When it does come for them, will they be ready? Your Order has gorged itself on victory over the Maw, but how many warriors do you have left? How dearly did Solipsis and his insane kin bleed you? How many died at Tython? At Empress Teta? At Exegol? How many died, Silas Westgard? How many died so that you could shame their memory?"

The Dark Lord shoved against Silas, a gust of Force energy rushing out like a hurricane. It was enough to knock the surviving marines to their backs, enough to send them hurtling through the air like dolls. The Dark Lord was a storm of tremendous fury, the very Dark Side raging around Him like a maelstrom. At it's center was Him, calm but pulsating with unfathomable hatred, evil so terrible that it threatened to suffocate the young Jedi even now.

"They'll all die, each and every one of those children in that cradle of a temple. We'll drag them out screaming, and cast them to the wolves." The Dark Lord did not yell, He did not scream. His voice never rose above a steady, even octave. He spoke as though this had already happened, as though there was little Silas or any other Jedi could do to change it. Like the inexorable march of a glacier over thousands and millions of years, the Dark Lord's promise of butchery seemed inevitable.

Unstoppable.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

​

In a flash, the Sith met his lightsaber and forced sparks to fly around erratically. Silas bravely locked eyes with the man who had killed countless Jedi and dared not to look away as he spoke. His words were sharp, invisible weapons that stabbed into his soul rather than his body. They carried an emotionless tone that made it as if it was already set in stone, like he meant every single word he muttered out of that cursed mouth. Gritting his teeth, Silas could only reply with a purpose of his own.

"Many brothers died that day, but none died in vain. Their deaths only fueled the next generation of their duty to protect the galaxy of such hatred, especially against the likes of you"

Bashing Carnifex's saber upwards, Silas looked to press the attack only to be thrown backward by powerful force energy. He, along with the remaining marines were flung across the floor until they roughly connected with the floor backfirst. The young Jedi grunted loudly but didn't waste any time by kicking back up to his feet. Even though it hurt quite badly, he couldn't let Carnifex find any weaknesses. One crack in his game could potentially be a breakthrough for the Sith and in turn the end of his short life.

"If you really think that will happen, your sadistic mind is more stupid than I thought," Silas said with a shake of his head along with the rise of his lightsaber. There was no way he could defeat such a powerful foe alone, the hatred that surrounded him only proved it. There was the option of running to fight another day, yet who knew how many lives would be lost with the operation of this gate in Galatic Alliance territory. Silas knew he had to fight, no matter how much it cost.

"People like you no longer scare me, nor do the prophecies they spread like a plague. I have seen what happens to them, and all I do is pity their miserable end..."

Taking a deep breath, Silas raised his two hands in the air and shut his eyes. The force inside his body flowed through rapidly and went straight into the chest of the goliath. It appeared he was trying to push back step by step back towards the gate, however, even he knew that was a near impossible task.

All he needed was Carnifex to realise that

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Delusion. Their deaths only serve to slake the hunger of a voracious god, I have engineered it as such. Go to your master, to scrape and beg at Kahlil's feet, and ask him of the one called Voracitos and you will know the folly of your own existence." Cryptic as the Dark Lord's words may be, there was still pointed direction within them. He spoke of a name, He advised who to speak of it, and that doing so would validate all that He had so brazenly proclaimed. But it could not be true, could it? Misdirection and falsehood were the Dark Lord's ways, weren't they? Nothing that came from His mouth could ever be construed as truth by those vigilant of mind and heart.

His left hand shot out, catching the blast of Force that emanated from the young Jedi Knight. It was redirected out in a cone around the Dark Lord, cracking the floor and buckling the ceiling. The Dark Lord seemed an insurmountable threat, so much more powerful than anything the young Westgard would have confronted in his entire life. And there was something different Him, changed, altered. Silas would have heard the tale of Kahlil and Valery's confrontation with the Dark Lord in the Wellspring, and how He was reunited with His disparate selves to become one unified being. Much time had passed since that day, and the Dark Lord seems to have evolved in an unnatural way.

"Have you spoken to Jasper about the truth etched into his flesh, Westgard? Or must I carve it into yours as well?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

​

Silas tilted his head in confusion as to what Carnifex was asking of him. He didn't know the name, but it sounded of significant importance to Kahlil by how the Sith was saying it. He'd ask about that name soon enough, begging on the other hand was not going to be a possibility to the knight "You will not make me beg. By that time you would have had to kill me ten times over!" Silas said back with even more defiance in his voice as he tried to ward out the doubts Carnifex was trying to etch into his mind.

Sending a force push directly into his chest, the Sith seemed unmoving while the floor and ceiling cracked around him. There was no doubt his power was far greater than his. If he couldn't defeat him, he'd have to force him to retreat. He had an idea in mind, a crazy one to be exact. It all depended on if the gate worked as he thought it did. Being wrong would cause him to fall, let alone be killed by the merciless Sith in front of him.

However, just when he was going to test fate a familiar name made him hesitate "Jasper? What did you do to him?!" he grunted, saddened by the fact he had harmed one of his most trusted friends "If I have to suffer how Jasper did to rid you of this galaxy so be it. I will not let others die under your hands" the knight said before suddenly pushing forwards again with one hand and unexpectedly throwing his lightsaber like a boomerang straight into the side of the gate right behind him.

He was weaponless now, but if that gave him hope of getting Carnifex back through that gate it was worth every last chance!

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"So, your friends do keep secrets from you."

The Dark Lord had achieved two aims. Firstly, He had discovered that Jasper had not widely shared the visions He had been subjected to with more members of the Jedi Order. And secondly, that Silas Westgard thought highly enough of Jasper Kai'el to visibly show emotion. There was an opening, a flaw that could be leveraged by the Dark Lord's insidious cunning. Silas Westgard was talented, and exceptionally trained, there was no discounting all that he had become in the years since he joined the Jedi Order. But he was young, much younger than the Dark Lord, and youth came with it's own hazards that were not so easily avoided or quickly unlearned.

But it was then that the Jedi Knight did something that the Dark Lord did not expect. His adversary willingly disarmed himself, hurling his blade like a whirling disc towards the portal gateway. The blade slashed through the metal construct with ease, and the shimmering space within the archway began to distort and discharge unstable quantities of energy out into the room. In all of his years, so rarely were the Jedi keen to deprive themselves of their often sole defense against Him. Kahlil must have trained the boy well, he was well-versed in the Jedi arts.

Respectable, but futile all the same.

"You tamper with powers you cannot comprehend, little one. Had you, you would not have set in motion such destruction."

It wouldn't take long now, the portal was decaying at a very steady rate. Eventually it would expend all of it's energy, and it would collapse it on itself with such force that a calamitous eruption was practically guaranteed. It would not only take out the room, but also a substantial portion of the surrounding facility and forest. He had done much to advance the study of this technology, and catalogued the many pitfalls and setbacks His scientists suffered along the way.

He swung His lightsaber down, cutting through the metal floor as the Jedi spun just out of danger's reach. But, without his weapon, Westgard could not strike back as they had earlier in their bout. The odds were stacked in the Dark Lord's favor, as they always had been, but now there was a rapidly diminishing time limit. He would have to pass through the portal before it fully closed, and use His power to ensure that the connection to the Malsheem was not distorted or lost. But the Jedi had no such knowledge or power...

The Dark Lord reached out, ripping up the floor up near Silas and folding it over to push him towards the portal. Pieces of the floor were then dislodged and thrown like javelins towards him, aiming to drive the young Jedi towards the portal.

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Kashyyyk
Objective: Take down the Sith project
Tags: Darth Carnifex

A glimmer of confidence shot through Silas when his lightsaber throw took the Sith off guard. The only bad thing was he was now without a weapon to defend himself, the very thing he was taught not to throw away. However, they were also taught to think outside of the box when it came to facing stronger opponents so what he was doing wasn't entirely wrong by any means. Sticking to the Jedi rulebook would be too predictable against Sith, it was mainly personal tricks that got them the upper hand in the end.

The gate was doing as he hoped when it began to malfunction and mess with the very groundwork beneath their feet. He couldn't admire his fancy work for long though, a strike from Carnifex forced him to jump backward towards the portal with a large stumble that threatened to take him to the floor "My friends have no reason to keep secrets from me. When they are ready, they will come to seek my help!" he grunted back to the Sith lord with a grin "At least my "friends" don't threaten to stab you in the back when you are most weak!" the knight goaded this time, hiding his earlier doubts which put him on a back foot.

If he survived this ordeal, there were going to be questions needing to be answered...

Reacting too slowly, Silas didn't see the floor underneath him rise. The force sent him rolling towards the furious portal, only stopping inches away from the force that was trying to drag him in. Feeling his body ache from the rough tumble, he got to his feet and dug his feet into the ripped up floor to keep himself upright. His eyes snapped to the lightsaber that was in the corner to his right and to Carnifex a few moments later was throwing sharp debry directly at him. Right now, there was only one option he could do. Retrieve the lightsaber and destroy the gate once and for all.

Holding up his two hands, he used every last bit of his power to halt the group of flooring being thrown at him. While most stopped only a few inches from his chest, a few flew past and cut into his arms. The cuts were big but not life threatening, yet enough to make blood run down them in a steady stream to run down them. Silas grits his teeth and glares back at Carnifex with a cold icy stare, one that shows shades of his master Valery Noble when they were in the midst of battle.

"Believe it or not Carnifex you've lost. I may be young and far less powerful, but my teachers have taught us to stand up to false prophets. Today, you will not get your way!"

Shouting with an almighty warcry, he flung the pieces back at Carnifex to try and use the force to try and return the saber into his grasp. Only then, he'd be able to destroy the gate once and for all. Whatever happened after that, would be the force to decide...

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Oh no, my young Jedi. I've found this little exercise very enlightening."

The Knight threw back the pieces the Dark Lord had wrenched free from the ground, sharp ballistic missiles hurtling through the air like javelins. Carnifex knocked several away with the Force, before effortlessly catching one of them with His open palm. The metal bent and splintered as He closed His fingers around it, shards falling to the ground with a melodic clamor. He then crushed them beneath His boot as He walked over them, slowly approaching the Jedi Knight as the portal continued to fluctuate wildly out of control.

He extended one arm, scintillating energy coiling around His fingers in a kaleidoscopic array. The sharp whine of power undiluted filled the air, and for a moment it seemed like the Dark Lord would turn such destruction upon the Jedi; but that was not where His fingers were aimed. "Our time draws to an end, young Westgard. We are ordained to cross paths again. All those bound to the tapestry are fated to meet beneath the hollow tree."

The energy, unleashed from the Dark Lord's grasp, slammed into the undulating portal. It became further destabilized, wholly breaking free of it's moorings. But the Dark Lord did not shrink from the chaos, He embraced it, allowing it's cascading energies to roll over and engulf Him. Soon, the entire facility would begin to crumble inwards, drawn into the voracious maw of the unbound portal. Where it would take them was impossible to say, for the causeway had been disrupted and all flows would lead to many places; known and unknown.

And then, the portal would consume itself.

And explode with the same magnitude as a thousand fission bombs.

Silas Westgard ​