Two Darks Don't Make A Light

[Connor Harrison]

Sith Academy Ruins
Nar Shaddaa, Y'Toub System ​

Connor Harrison stood on the outskirts of the Sith Academy, once again, and finally had some alone time

The city, Ko Hentota, could be seen shimmering in the far distance with starships coming and going. He was always a sucker for watching starships come and go, their majesty in cutting through the atmosphere, roaring engines and a might of engineering. Behind him in the distance was New Vertica. He was here to think, again. Alone, again.

The Brotherhood of Darkness had created the academy to train assassins, intelligence agents and warriors of the Sith, all serving the Dark Side blinded by those above them. However, he knew of the Brotherhood - trained to use the Force as weapon rather than physical tools.

Connor sat on the lip of the small gorge that overlooked the mighty building, surrounded by small fires from those savaging the area and left-over camps from vagrants. The moons above illuminated the land below. Resting his arms on his knees, he wore his armour as usual but really had to get something more to wear for times like this when not engaged in battle. Maybe he could sweet-talk [member="Taeli Rae"] when he managed to make it back to her as promised.

This stop-over was simply to collect his thoughts away from empathic Padawans, over-emotional Masters and so-called friends who now had more important things to focus on than one of their own. But that didn't bother Connor in the slightest. He was born and raised a loner, so would be content with making his future as one to avoid any more disappointment.

However, right now, he was just Connor Harrison and he was lost in thought, which was usually a dangerous thing.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Someone heading towards the ruins she said, go and find out who it is she said. I really would rather just stay home... but i owe the Ravens." He sighed and rubbed his neck as he walked towards the old Sith Academy ruins on the planet, his feet carrying him over the ground at a rather slow pace as he leaned his head back. "Can't Sith ever make temples and academies on planets that aren't... Cesspools. I swear the day there is a beautiful Academy with a fully functioning garden, is the day i join them." He laughed at the thought of him being a Sith, never in a trillion years, maybe two if he was lucky to live that long.

He was traveling light today, only a few daggers, his krath warblade on his back and the scythe held in one hand as he wore the signature Rebel made Viola Coat. He liked trench coats, was it so bad. His eyes were Amber, but a dull amber. As if while it was clear there was Darkside corruption it wasn't full like most of the Sith were. He had morals, he had an understanding of the life of the galaxy. But the Darkside was a weapon that could be wielded with much more versatility than that of the light, it allowed you to break your bonds if you need to. And if you can control it... then you are golden.

As the thought finished his mind reached out and his eyes shut down, touching all the life around him... including Connor Harrison himself without knowing it. His Empathy acting like a beacon and a tracker at the same time as he looked for the emotions of curiosity. It didn't take long for him to find it.

 

[Connor Harrison]

As if someone shouted, or snapped a large twig, or whistled in the distance, the Force suddenly called to Connor and caught his attention. Turning his head from where he sat, the Silver Jedi looked back and scanned the area just below where he was, littered with small inclines, rocks, ruins of courtyards or training grounds that once belong to the Temple.

There was nothing, but that didn’t mean anything.

He didn’t expect to have peace – well, actually, he did. This was nothing but a ruin steeped in history, but it was just that; history. Why did there always have to be someone or something hanging around? Was it too much to ask to be left alone without someone sticking their beak in to things? It was a big enough galaxy out there, why didn’t they have somewhere else to go.

Unless it was a Silver Jedi? No…the aura was too faint, and too…tainted for that. Was Keira still around? If so, he wouldn’t be as gracious as he was last time.

Still looking over his shoulder, Connor narrowed his eye a little as he felt the presence but couldn’t see them. However, this felt familiar…a presence he hadn’t felt since...

”If you’re worried I’m trying to resurrect Akala, you needn’t worry yourself.”

He shouted out, 90% certain the name would mean something to the one lurking around the grounds. Best to try break the ice than break a bone straight away. He watched, and waited.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Thats good, id hate to have to deliver you knocked out back to the Silvers. You guys sure to love to blur the lines more than i ever could, you know that right." Solan stared at the man from a ledge nearby, his hand making a small wave before he bent down and dropped down to the lever ground beside Connor Harrison, two dozen meters separating them as his hand came to plant the but of his scythe in the ground and he waved to the man. "You know, its been a month since ive been in your order's space... you are still a silver right, i remember that Twilek back in hell mentioning it."

 

[Connor Harrison]

The voice came first, and it guided Connor up to see a familiar face, one from the nightmarish plight that had spread over the galaxy recently. The man looked confident, well attributed to the terrain and…well, more confident in his stance and words.

He dropped down and was now closer, no malice evident in his voice plenty of knowledge about The Jedi before him. Connor stood.

”You’ve got a good memory. I am…in transition with the Silvers at the moment.” He didn’t even know what that meant, but he didn’t honestly know where he stood with the Order anymore. ”Long story, but probably a long time coming.”

Looking over the scythe, quite a dangerous looking weapon not commonly seen around the galaxy, Connor walked forward gently and held out his hand.

”Connor Harrison. Your face is familiar, but you’re name not so.”

At least this guy didn’t appear to have a problem with him. Maybe he could just be passing through? That would be fine.

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Solan Charr, at your service. You know, the scythe wielding darksider that hangs around the Jedi and the Silver Jedi and helps them out. Pretty common and unique... creature i am in regards to those that frequent the orders. King of some dustball too but thats not important. It is good to meet you though Connor Harrison, ive heard stories, some true, some fake. Met you back way when that whole hammer debacle was going on. Reunited during the Akala fiasco. That sum up where you have seen me?" He smiled as he planed the scythe's but into the ground and leaned against the shaft of the unconventional weapon. Sure it wasn't as effective or elegant as others, but it made up with a psychological aspect of having to fight such an odd weapon as well as the common man's reaction to Solan's illusions and fire.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Racking his brains, the name rung a bell more than the face, but Connor nodded and waggled a finger.

”Charr, yes that name is familiar. I remember you – you look well. Also, I will hedge a bet many of the stories about me you say are fake are probably true, but I daren’t ask what or where you heard them.”

There was something all too convenient again for him being in the same place as Connor, at the site of the old Brotherhood Academy.

”So what do I owe the pleasure of you being here, I take it this isn’t some wonderful coincidence as the last two times?”

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Something about someone coming to the Sith academy near by, Red Raven operatives were concerned the Sith were trying to sneak in and find some old artifact or do some ritual or what ever it is that sith do... funny part being now i see you. Why are you here yourself Connor?" His eyes raised a bit and the amber color to them remained dull as he had no reason to connect with the force right now considering who was there infront of him. He had more than enough reasons to trust the Silver Jedi, considering the man was one of the few people that Solan knew would never work with a Sith.

"Oh, And Connor, how are the Silver Jedi doing, its been a while since i last came to your space looking to help you, i hope you are all still doing ok and don't need the help of the strangest Dark Jedi to ever exist. That would certainly be embarrassing for your council to need me to fly in with the Calvary." He laughed and lets his scythe lean against a wall before he himself dusted off something to sit on.

 

[Connor Harrison]

He shook his head and dismissed his intentions with a small laugh.

”Red Ravens? I've heard of them. No, I'm not here for relics or rituals or anything. I'm here just to think, y'know. To reflect and simply discover a little bit about how those with the Force ticked over eons before the Silvers, the Ravens, whoever.”

Turning to point at the ruins, he walked backwards towards Charr as he spoke.

”Built by the Brotherhood of Darkness, formed by former Jedi Skere Kaan. He felt the Jedi he served were reckless and just as much to blame for the galaxy's problems as the Sith, so he a few valued Knights formed the Brotherhood and, yeah, pretty much ruled the Sith - but it all ended pretty bad.”

He turned back and leant against a pile of boulders opposite the Dark Jedi.

”You could say I'm just trying to understand what makes a Jedi do that. I don't want a clear path myself, and almost veer to the path you yourself take, but I've so much going on at the moment I just...I just needed to breathe.”

Exhaling, he chuckled.

”Here's me babbling on. The Silver Jedi are...fine. I say fine, I don't know. It feels like they're just falling apart from the top down. Ruled pretty much by a man and wife duo who spend more time in each other's pockets travelling the galaxy than bringing their Jedi together, it's a shambles. It's embarrassing, and I've not got time for them anymore. This is just a stop over while I get away to find myself again and decide where I belong.”

He smiled.

”Bet your regret asking now, huh?”

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"You remarkably already know why they did such a thing but just have yet to figure out that fact and really there is not much difference from what you just told me and what they probably felt. Question, did the Silver Jedi itself not form under the same pretenses, did you not just leave the Silver Jedi over such pretenses? Keep in mind to the fact that things are not always as they seem. Lets take it in a look like this and from a viewpoint of my own and why i never joined the Jedi. But that does not make me a bad person and nor does my use of the darkside and only the darkside make me evil. The line that separates good and bad is... had to simply say. There are many levels that come with one's being, from a simple cruel and genocidal mad man to that of a pacifistic and selfless blind man."

He paused and looked down the path to the academy. "You leave the Silver Jedi now because of a disapproval of those that lead it, a understanding that they are not the ones you think should lead the Silver Jedi because they let their personal lives come before the order. Am i correct?" He would wait for a moment to look at him once over again. "As i was saying you left on the pretenses you have described and do you not see the similarities between what you have done and what they had done before you. Granted the situations and understandings are in no way the same and nor do you plan to go scurrying to the Sith from what i know... But. You have abandoned your fellow Jedi because of how they are run when you should be doing what your leaders cannot it seems from how you speak. You should not be out looking for a path that you yourself do not realize you are on."

He smiled, though his words seemed commanding, there was not a single tone that suggested such or hostility. "I am a Dark Jedi, a monster to some, a whelp to others. I hold no more power than you do and my breath remains held and controlled for the days of the future. I have murdered, committed regicide, tore apart families, tortured. I have seen Genocide, tried to stop the suffering of the weak, protected those that could not defend themselves. This is the world that i belong too... I ask you now though Connor... What world do you belong to? And do -you- regret your past?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

It seemed that the ones away from the Jedi and Sith circle spoke most sense; more honest and open. Taeli, while leaning to the Light, was in the middle and offered him honest views. Now this Dark Jedi, a mirror image of who Connor could see himself being, was speaking honesty and clear views.

He leant his head back listening, and it all made sense in some way. While he was tired of lectures, at least this man was someone far removed from the situation and probably didn’t care which way he went, but yet, he secured the fact that not those bearing the mantle of “Dark” were all bad. Just different.

”You speak wise words, far wiser than I’d expect from someone carrying a scythe.”

He smiled, failing to make light of the seriousness of his words and question.

”I don’t know where I belong, in all honesty. I think I know, but I just keep…fighting myself about it. I make my own mental barricades I can’t overcome, you know? Then everything just seems so clouded, so black and white. I’m no use to anyone like this, and it’s why I need to, like you say, find out where I belong and who I am.”

His fingers drummed on his arms gently.

”What you describe yourself as sounds more real to me than what the Jedi envision themselves as. I wouldn’t want to walk to self-destructive path of a Sith, not that I’m far from that now, but you sound like you use the Force as a tool – defend the weak, take down the tyrants, whichever side of the fence they are on. That’s what I want to do. I want to explore the Force for the greater good but I need to accept I’m not as clear cut as others and can’t act like I’m some all…wonderful, angelic Jedi.”

Exhaling, he waved his hand.

”I’m sorry. As you can tell I’ve not had much change to speak thoughts to people not affected by it. And recently when I do, I tend to let my emotion dictate and hurt them.”

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Emotions are things... i don't handle too well. Trust me, im more than susceptible to them just as you... to the same degree i cant say. As for my scythe, come now. Impractical as it may be its unique and adds a bit more power to my pyrokinesis. The thing is quite useful for its alternative means my good angelic Jedi friend." He smiled and cast a glance at the weapon before thinking and turning his head back to face Connor with a more pressing question rising to his tongue.

"Finding yourself is both simple yet a difficulty that i cannot explain because... i am not you. It takes moments of great pain that shape us, change us. From the loss of a friend to the extermination of a population... the latter of the two something i am intimate with on a high level... something i can't truly explain to someone without the natural empathy that i was born with. My point is that while i cannot tell you a sure fire way to know who you are... Perhaps we can talk and discover it?"

He stood and started to walk for a moment before smiling. "The Echani settle how they feel and know someone through ritualistic duels. The movements, their restraint. The Miralukan can use their sight, the sight i can touch, to see the connections of the force. To see you and I at our deepest point. Kiffar can read a person's past, their closest and most influential memories through touch. Every race understands eachother in their own ways, i could use my sight to look into your connection or the Kiffar's touch to see a old memory but i ask you now Connor... what made you who you are today. Loss? Pain? Happiness? Loyalty perhaps. Granted you don't have to tell me but i am curious now.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor swayed gently on the large boulder he rested on, eyes glancing up now and then as a passing transport above caught his attention in the light of the atmosphere.

”If you were someone else I’d probably tell you to get lost or go on about some prophetic nonsense, but you’ve sort of turned it around to use on me, and besides I think I’m in a better place than I was a few days ago even.”

He shifted slightly, eager at the chance to find a little more about what Solan was tapping into – he had nothing to lose.

”What made me who I am today?”

With a small laugh and exhale, he sighed and thought aloud.

”Well that’s a long story. In a nutshell I was possessed by the Taung many years ago and it sort of fed of my desire to do good but twisted it to try and enslave me. That passed, but it left fragments of doubt in my head as to if I could really BE great and stand tall above others. Then there was the Sith Magic rooted in my brainstem by a Sith Lord that was inside my head for over 5 years and manipulated my emotional state whenever it could. Mix that with losing fellow Jedi and a few up and down personal acquaintances and Silver Jedi starting to fall apart and you blend it together and have what looks like me right now.”

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I learned how to spout prophetic bullshit long ago... Had some great teachers too. Alot of them Silver Jedi from back during those Hammer days and the times with the Nagai. That's what the three eyed humanoids were called right? I mean no disrespect of course connor, but you have got to admit your order and the Republic's Jedi sure do love their rhymes and riddles especially when it comes to prophecy. Is there a class you guys are taught or something?" He smiled but it was clear he was thinking on the latter part of what was said.

"Lets go sate your curiosity then... and see what made the brotherhood what they were. After all, if we are going to get all dark on eachother might as well do it in a Sith Temple where the whole feeling should be right at home." His feet pushed against the ground, his balance returning and his hands dusting himself off as he stood. It was curious to him too what might be held in there and why not visit it with and ally and not alone. Heck, last thing Solan needed was to later come back and find some sith spirit there that still lived in the temple. "I do hope you don't mind the company."

 

[Connor Harrison]

”I’ve come across those Nagai before – a very curious breed.”

Standing, opposite Solan, Connor walked forward and faced the ruined Academy up the incline littered with broken stone and patchy grass now coming through the disturbed soil that was once a grand courtyard.

”Before I go any further, can you just tell me now if you intend to test my patience as a Jedi or do something for your Ravens? It’s been a long few days so if you’ve got some other motive for wanting to go into an old temple, just tell me now.”

[member="Solan Charr"]

 

[Aithne Charr]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"If i intend to test your patience my friend, it wont be as a Jedi. I could do that to Tricia or Matsu Ike if i wanted. Or Tae- err Taelith. Ya." He grinnned at the Jedi, hiding the slip of the tongue over the mutual friend of theirs, unsure if Connor knew about Taeli's plans that Solan had at this point pretty much figured out after how many clues he had gotten between Taeli herself and those connected to her. 'Shes going to be an oddball of a Jedi...' he thought before continuing to talk to the man beside him. "As for the Ravens... not mine. No, we are just... odd friends. As long as they don't partake in slavery there is no need for me to interrupt their workings. Im sure they appreciate that, and if they didn't... well that would be a shame. So in short Connor. I am here to test out some interest in you yourself. And to see what this academy has to offer. I am still a Darksider after all, an evil and abandoned academy of the Sith is just my summer home at this point."