Today's Science, Tomorrows Technology

[Delsin Shaw]

Darth Bane's Estate Ruins
Outside Main Gate

I shook my head. The dropship shutting down behind us as I walked down the ramp in my military uniform. Reaching to my left arm to flip through the systems on it, I tried to set a GPS signature on it, and activate a mapping system to track our movements, and prevent anything should we be walking through this place and lose our way. Once that was done, I slipped on a pair of glasses. Ones that filled my entire vision with an orange-yellow tint. I saw so many shades of this that I had to adjust my eyes to it. Even after looking at the young man that would be accompanying me, I could see the signature of him through the force, and it felt nice to be working with someone other than Kyrel for once.

Love the man as he is, but sometimes, he was so gunho about the First Order, I could't even do what I wanted to do. I felt like I was being smothered, and so I needed time to myself. The only way I got out was by telling him that someone else from the Disciples of Ren were with me. Luckily, I knew just the man.

I wanted someone who was clearly able to take care of themselves should the need arise, and not need me to baby them. So, as I hid my smile and began to walk forward, I started some form of communication with him as our ride had been eerie silent.

"Brennan, What is it exactly you do for the Order? Heard you are good solder and disciple, so I hope you don't mind my asking."

Not just that, but I wanted him to at least talk on some level so I didn't feel like the only sane person here. Out of two people, it was kind of a downer if one was sane and one was not. And I continued from that question without another beat between the two.

"Do you know why we are here anyways?"

[member="Brennan Cabrol"],

 

[WolfMortum]

They had traveled the majority of the venture en-route to their location in silence, save for the mediation between [member="Anora Shaw"] and their designated pilot. As was most often the case, Brennan Cabrol had kept his mind focused on the objective ahead and known not how to make himself readily available to the small talk of others. Aside from [member="Kriel Firin"], the Disciple rarely spoke to anyone unless it was required of him for the sake of Duty to the First Order or the secretive Order of Ren. Many tried to spark conversation with him though it was a part of his mind that had been severed from natural instinct during his isolated years within captivity by the One Sith Empire, they whom had stripped him of all but the memories of who he had once been as a Jedi student before now, broken then and dead now had it not been for the intervention of their enemy at the time, the Galactic Alliance, who hadn't expected to come across prisoners, let alone one that would accept their help in want for freedom only to end up seeking out the First Order for their ability to install Order to a galaxy in Chaos. Estranged to the casual nature of individuality, lost to himself, the Supreme Leader had given himself a role model of which he would find direction in following, find purpose in serving that such atrocities might not happen to others as they had befallen himself. Through any means the First Order deemed necessary and with a fanatical devotion to Seiger Ren and all those who served under their Supreme Leader, Brennan would follow and give his life for in the pursuit of their goals. For without the First Order, he truly believed he was nothing.

"Brennan, What is it exactly you do for the Order? Heard you are good solder and disciple, so I hope you don't mind my asking." ​

She too was part of the Order of Ren, a fellow Disciple and thus privy to certain information that he would in all other cases lie about to cover his true role in their organization of specially trained personnel. Agents of the Supreme Leader, affiliated with the government and military yet operating purely for the top of the hierarchy, all who were among them held unique abilities or character traits that made them crucial to the Ren. Able to infiltrate into enemy territory or reroute combatants across the battlefield, men and women worth five times the value of a typical soldier; it was accurate to say that they were among the Elite and as Disciples, their place among the Ren was to be earned through unwavering loyalty and unquestionable protocol. "I am trained in a wide variety of tactics suitable for the dismantling of the enemy" he responded very matter of fact, little emotion relayed through his tone of voice, neither pride nor spite shown in his remark as he moved a pace or two slower than she, though remained alongside and otherwise let the woman lead the way. "The nature of my mission is handed down to me from our Superiors, however it's safe to say that thus far I have served my purpose in the removal of key persons opposing the First Order's political endeavors, as well as targeting specific Force Users who have risen up against the will of Seiger Ren" the information wasn't personal to him, shared with another within the same secretive Order. Providing he didn't offer any intelligence over his previous missions or anything specific regarding their superiors who were more than capable of doing so themselves had they only to choose, the words that he offered up were all spoken upon the basis of duty, keeping mind not to exceed what was expected of him. 'Casual conversation' would likely help to put Anora at ease though when it came to fulfilling their mission here, it offered him nothing of benefit. Such curiosities over what was typically common for social gatherings and individual relations still seemed elusive to him; the concept of being open for someone else to read him like a book reeked of a lack of control. Information was valuable and the more difficult you were to anticipate, the harder it made for others to take advantage of you. There was only one thing certain in the galaxy, the orders that came down from those above them in the chain of command. Civility among individuals in this life could change at the drop of a coin...

"I was requested for by name. I am to support you in traversing the facilities of a prominent former Sith Lord in search of artifacts sensitive in the Force. Should we encounter hostiles, I am to engage them".

 

[Delsin Shaw]

I smiled a bit with the very deadpan explanation of why he was here, and what he did. An assassin for the people of the First Order. He did what he was told. Why? They were threats to the order, and thus needed to be taken down. All I knew of this young man was that he had a past that made him into the man he is today, and he followed it. He went with it because it was the reason he was here. He had gotten this far because of his own "fate carving hands" and that any other intervention was not brought to him by some god, or being of Fate.

He had a reason, and he was to fulfill it.

I agreed with him. Everyone has a reason to be here. Everyone has the idea that what they have sewn was done by their own hand, but as a being of the force, I thought that he might be understanding that even some coincidences were lucky breaks, or the mere chance that there was something else in the Galaxy that could affect him. Either way, It was good to learn a little more of the brooding young man.

"I will not question our commanding officers, that is assured. However, I ask because I am interested in why you do what you do. Purposefully killing others just because someone points them out to you. Do you ever wonder why they point you in that direction? Or why they are a target? Or is it just your job, and at the end of the day, you too will perish underneath the blade?"

Continuing to walk on, I voiced limited of what I myself felt. I had grown up under the mentor-ship of my father. A former Sith Assassin, Dark Jedi Mercenary, and Jedi Apprentice. He had many years that he learned, and wished he could have done more to prevent the deaths of others. He taught me that all life is important. Even if I do not claim to end it myself, Everyone deserves a shot at life. It's when they begin to damage the lives of others, and go out of their way to make others miserable that I will not tolerate.

I understood that Mercenaries did what they did to earn a living. However, the actions of some to take the innocence from young adults before they are supposed to learn of such, or the idea that they can do what they want because they at the end of the day are just doing their job. It was people like myself who wanted to prevent this as much as we could. Unlike them, I knew the difference of when a person can be saved, and when a person needed to be stopped.

I never wanted to be the person to pull the plug on someone's thread of life. I never wanted to be the person to chose when and how a person dies. That is why I tried so hard to become a Medical officer, and learn as much as I could. Maybe, just maybe, I could instill this in others who could learn from this, and determine their own path. Yes, the Knights of Ren were thought of as cultists, and did everything for the honor of their Order, but it was people like Brennan who did it because it was their job. They did it to live and to survive.

"Forget my ramblings. I guess you could say I am a dreamer of sorts. I dream of things that could and couldn't be possible. Maybe we can learn from each other?"

It was with this statement that I had to resist talking further as we reached the front gate. With a simple push of the force, it opened up to reveal a courtyard that was half covered by an open roof that hung over the yard by way of pillars made of stone covered in vines and portions of the roof were taken down due to trees pushing through. I could feel the force, just as much as I could see it in shades of orange and yellow in the glasses that I wore. Even the sounds of plinking came as though various seeds or even rain were falling upon the roof and break out at any moment.

Walking on, I then decided to ask a more simpler question for the lad.

"What do you know of this Sith Lord Bane?"

[member="Brennan Cabrol"],

 

[WolfMortum]

"I will not question our commanding officers, that is assured. However, I ask because I am interested in why you do what you do. Purposefully killing others just because someone points them out to you. ​

Do you ever wonder why they point you in that direction? Or why they are a target? Or is it just your job, and at the end of the day, you too will perish underneath the blade?"​

​

Though Brennan Cabrol might not seem like one to understand the doubts others might often come across when being tasked with objectives more often than not, morally questionable, Brennan's own uncertainties had been rendered void following his initial weeks having been inducted into the Bastion of Ren upon the world of Virgillia. [member="Castor Ren"] had brought in the new recruits aboard their transport vessel, Brennan was one of them though far less talkative than the others, they had all been eager, not really knowing what it was they were signing up for in truth, where as Brennan had already been robbed of all self-entitled promise within his life; his wish to join with the Knights of Ren came from a desire for direction and a permanent goal that he might fight for to benefit the galaxy. Not with the arrogance of the Jedi in believing that all life could live in harmony, but that following the will of Seiger Ren, peace could be attained through power and dictatorship, knowing well that some had to be forced to accept the way of their lives in order to conform and create unity across the millions of races that spread out in the vast reaches of their galaxy.

"Forget my ramblings. I guess you could say I am a dreamer of sorts. I dream of things that could and couldn't be possible. Maybe we can learn from each other?" ​

​

[member="Anora Shaw"] sounded like an idealist, exploring the possibilities that alike so many other idealists, were so often out of their own reach. Brennan knew the way of the Galaxy, it wasn't a kind and compassionate place but a truly immoral and chaotic pool whose tides brought all lives clashing together, differences of backgrounds and traditions forced to oppose one another, governments and races striving to better themselves and best their peers. Brennan had no reason to question Seiger's Will when it was so blatantly obvious to him that outside of the First Order, there was no security, no semblance of regime. The Sith glorified themselves in their self destructive ways while the Jedi held themselves upon high in denial of the truth in their failure to combat their opposition, both factions masking their inadequacies in the pursuit of goals unattainable. He had lived both lives, a student of the Order, a slave to the Sith and he hated them both. People were weak, so consumed in their emotional bonds and presumed virtuous standings that they neglected themselves the chance for true strength; sentient design was made up of such selfish and ridiculous structure, the ambitions of the individual so often coming to conflict with the goal of the collective. Brennan was glad to be so disconnected from this way of living, a shell of the man he might have been but a perfect instrument for the Order of Ren that he was willing to die if only to make a difference, if only to help promote the First Order's enlightenment across these inferior nations, blinded too by their ideals of a democratic society.

"Personal choice is irrelevant to the Supreme Leader's vision. The Knights of Ren act as his hand, reaching out to all those that would oppose him. Some we are able to convince but those that fight against true order need to be dismantled. Individual idealism only promotes further differences between peoples, opening the path for further conflict to ensue where the First Order seeks to provide security to the Galaxy", he felt no doubt in the response that he gave, his tone confident and firm. Those that were put forward to be his targets for assassination were removed of their right to live the moment First Order Intelligence had designated them to be kill orders. Had they not fought against the path of progress for the majority of Galactic Society then they would not have brought upon themselves such consequences. They were numbers upon a list to be struck off, just as [member="Kriel Firin"] had once told him, lives that were already dead and all Brennan needed to concern himself with was fulfilling his own path, ensuring that his drive would not be deterred.

Following the young woman, only a little older than he was himself, Brennan moved in tow, his eyes scanning the surrounding environment with careful precision looking to identify any potential threats to their invasion of the ruined fortress. Darth Bane was an old Sith Lord made up on many legends, even the Jedi often discussed certain key figures within their opposition for the sake of knowing their enemy, Darth Bane was one such figure who had brought about a revolution in the Sith. "He created the Rule of Two, one Master and one Apprentice" Brennan responded as they moved forward further into the former residence, the darkside was truly strong within the vicinity, the air dense and carrying a certain power that he could only enjoy the weight of as it filled his lungs, brought a certain excitement to his mind, though he refused to show it. "It's been argued that this philosophy led to the survival of the Sith Empire during the Jedi Order's established reign across the galaxy before the First Galactic Empire rose into power. The Sith were once believed to have been wiped out, yet over time they rose back into power through small sects, working in pairs behind the shadow of the Jedi Orders ignorance, empowering themselves until they were ready to come together again. The One Sith cast aside this ideology when they assumed control of the core worlds once more..." resulting in the complete devastation of the Jedi Enclave on Svivren, and the wild change to Brennan's own path, for which today he supposed he ought to be thankful for, though he hated the Sith too much to give them the credit due for the better direction he had found in the Knights of Ren.