The Shadow
Location: Outer Rim
It was supposed to be a simple jump from Nar Shaddaa to Nixor, something that any simple astromech droid could accomplish. Rath had his feet propped up on the dash as he leaned back against his chair with his eyes closed. Curled into a ball on his lap was a mass of orange fur that occasionally lets out a soft purr. The constant low hum from the hyperdrive functioning as streaks of stars filled the view from the cockpit. A moment of respite which was rather rare for someone like Rath, a moment of calm in the eye of the storm so to speak.
Like the eye of a storm, looming overhead was the thundering rumblings of trouble that sent ripples through the Force. Something that Rath has grown to be keenly aware of given his sensitivity. As his eyes of yellow opened to look at the ceiling of his ship, a distinct singular beep could be heard in steady rhythm from the sensors. The sound caused the mound of fur to perk triangle ears as big eyes of green opened before the loong cat sat up. Sensing its master’s intention of getting up, the cat hopped down as Rath turned towards his sensors.
A distress signal that was relatively close to the path that Rath was on. Truthfully, he would rather not be late to his meeting with a potential client in question, however there was something… wrong. Something that the Force would only react when a certain tragedy or large amount of lives lost would create a certain type of ripple in the Force. Given that Rath could only feel the Force and not be able to differentiate between what was Light and what was Dark unless he smelled it. It was about the closest thing Rath could tell based on experience.
Whatever it was, Rath felt like he couldn’t very well ignore it. The Force would never let him hear the end of it otherwise, and frankly if he could feel the shift then surely others who were sensitive in the Force would be able to feel it too. So when Rath draws close enough, Rath comes out of hyperspace at the source of the signal.
Looming overhead, drifting aimlessly through the vast space of stars and darkness, was a frigate class BSD-SI Corona with only the occasional blinking of red lights. Rath cruised around the sizable vessel as Rath began his attempts to hail the Corona to no avail. Frankly, his ship alone could only carry about five more medium sized creatures at most, so he knew that if the full crew was still alive. He wouldn’t be able to get all of them out. Yet with the lack of answering the call, Rath scanned the Corona for life forms onboard. There were a few, but either their life force was faint or it was possible they were hiding. All Rath knew was that there was an overwhelming sense of dread and bloodlust coming from the crew. Such madness that Rath had not encountered in a long time.
”I’m going to hate this…” He muttered before he sighed in defeat. Whatever the fate that had befallen upon the crew, it wasn’t natural, and the amount of force power lingering over the Corona was unbelievable as it continued to release ripples throughout the Force. A disturbance that almost anyone close to this system could detect. In the event that no one does answer the Force or the distress signal. Rath would turn his transport to dock at the hanger. To which half of it was blazing in fire and smoke as it appeared through the wreckage of a starfighter craft to be a recent event. Fortunately there was enough space for his ship to dock and perhaps enough space for one more ship of equivalent size to dock if necessary.
There was no one at the hangar, not a soul, and the only sound for comfort was the powered down whine from his ship and the blazing fire closeby. The Force was strong in this place, and as Rath felt the power he also caught the scent of sulfur and decay that took his breath away. Rath coughed as he tried to wave the scent away with his hand, and yet nothing seemed to work. The sheer amount of strength behind the dark side of the force determines how strong the smell was, and whatever this felt was ancient and incredibly dark. Rath’s only solace was to place the familiar mask from his face followed with the hiss as the mask filtered the air.
The dark side user was able to breathe once again, and frankly this presence unnerved Rath unlike anything he had felt before. Not even during the time where he participated in the attempt to stop Kyrel Ren, where Rath took on the Ren Order, could prepare him for this. What’s more was that he felt like there was something watching him. Somewhere, amidst the veil of shadow, lurked and sulked around to remain unseen. Barely leaving a trace in the Force as it were. He felt a psychic assault into his mind as cold fingers attempted to claw and tear through his mental defenses. If there was one thing that Rath could not stand, it was whoever dared to pry into his mind. Anger fueled his core as he directed his mind’s eye towards the owner. A mass of void as Rath channeled his hate towards the entity, causing intense pain as the very air and space screeched in the unholy gods’ glory.
It caused Rath to cover his ears from how sharp the screech was, yet the presence thankfully receded into safety. Somewhere, on the Corona at least. After a few moments had passed, Rath uncovered his ears and his first concern was his cat. Sir Pounce-A-Lot, as Rath called him, was hiding inside the cabinets with his fur standing up on end in fright with wide eyes.
”It’s alright, it’s over now Pounce-A-Lot.” Rath reached out to comfort his cat, which frankly flinched at the stimuli, but after realizing that it was Rath the loong-cat accepted the comforting hand. What concerned Rath was that this presence could bring Rath down to the point where he has to use every ounce of his strength to resist being dominated. He couldn’t imagine any of the crew members surviving that ordeal with their minds intact. With a sigh, Rath looked up at the ceiling as he spoke words in the empty air as if he was talking to the Force itself.
”Any chance that a Jedi could come here? Or someone with a bit of light maybe? No? Krakking Force.” It wasn’t like the Force could answer anyways, but still it helped drive the unease at bay. One thing was for sure, driven mad or not Rath knew he could at least save some people today. So Rath geared up in his dark armor of Empire’s Shadow and his trusted weapons of Storm Breaker at his belt over the left side and held the Shroudsaber in hand.
As if the Force had answered his question, Rath felt a shift in the Force as he felt another presence arriving in the general vicinity. Who they were, or which side they were on, Rath had no inkling of an idea other than that they were present.
”Stay, I’ll be back.” His voice sounded muffled as if speaking through a speaker, as he instructed his pet to stay put before he departed from his ship. If nothing else, he’d greet whoever came to answer. Prying eyes could be felt from the dancing shadows as the heaps of wreckage and fire continued to burn off to the side.
It was supposed to be a simple jump from Nar Shaddaa to Nixor, something that any simple astromech droid could accomplish. Rath had his feet propped up on the dash as he leaned back against his chair with his eyes closed. Curled into a ball on his lap was a mass of orange fur that occasionally lets out a soft purr. The constant low hum from the hyperdrive functioning as streaks of stars filled the view from the cockpit. A moment of respite which was rather rare for someone like Rath, a moment of calm in the eye of the storm so to speak.
Like the eye of a storm, looming overhead was the thundering rumblings of trouble that sent ripples through the Force. Something that Rath has grown to be keenly aware of given his sensitivity. As his eyes of yellow opened to look at the ceiling of his ship, a distinct singular beep could be heard in steady rhythm from the sensors. The sound caused the mound of fur to perk triangle ears as big eyes of green opened before the loong cat sat up. Sensing its master’s intention of getting up, the cat hopped down as Rath turned towards his sensors.
A distress signal that was relatively close to the path that Rath was on. Truthfully, he would rather not be late to his meeting with a potential client in question, however there was something… wrong. Something that the Force would only react when a certain tragedy or large amount of lives lost would create a certain type of ripple in the Force. Given that Rath could only feel the Force and not be able to differentiate between what was Light and what was Dark unless he smelled it. It was about the closest thing Rath could tell based on experience.
Whatever it was, Rath felt like he couldn’t very well ignore it. The Force would never let him hear the end of it otherwise, and frankly if he could feel the shift then surely others who were sensitive in the Force would be able to feel it too. So when Rath draws close enough, Rath comes out of hyperspace at the source of the signal.
Looming overhead, drifting aimlessly through the vast space of stars and darkness, was a frigate class BSD-SI Corona with only the occasional blinking of red lights. Rath cruised around the sizable vessel as Rath began his attempts to hail the Corona to no avail. Frankly, his ship alone could only carry about five more medium sized creatures at most, so he knew that if the full crew was still alive. He wouldn’t be able to get all of them out. Yet with the lack of answering the call, Rath scanned the Corona for life forms onboard. There were a few, but either their life force was faint or it was possible they were hiding. All Rath knew was that there was an overwhelming sense of dread and bloodlust coming from the crew. Such madness that Rath had not encountered in a long time.
”I’m going to hate this…” He muttered before he sighed in defeat. Whatever the fate that had befallen upon the crew, it wasn’t natural, and the amount of force power lingering over the Corona was unbelievable as it continued to release ripples throughout the Force. A disturbance that almost anyone close to this system could detect. In the event that no one does answer the Force or the distress signal. Rath would turn his transport to dock at the hanger. To which half of it was blazing in fire and smoke as it appeared through the wreckage of a starfighter craft to be a recent event. Fortunately there was enough space for his ship to dock and perhaps enough space for one more ship of equivalent size to dock if necessary.
There was no one at the hangar, not a soul, and the only sound for comfort was the powered down whine from his ship and the blazing fire closeby. The Force was strong in this place, and as Rath felt the power he also caught the scent of sulfur and decay that took his breath away. Rath coughed as he tried to wave the scent away with his hand, and yet nothing seemed to work. The sheer amount of strength behind the dark side of the force determines how strong the smell was, and whatever this felt was ancient and incredibly dark. Rath’s only solace was to place the familiar mask from his face followed with the hiss as the mask filtered the air.
The dark side user was able to breathe once again, and frankly this presence unnerved Rath unlike anything he had felt before. Not even during the time where he participated in the attempt to stop Kyrel Ren, where Rath took on the Ren Order, could prepare him for this. What’s more was that he felt like there was something watching him. Somewhere, amidst the veil of shadow, lurked and sulked around to remain unseen. Barely leaving a trace in the Force as it were. He felt a psychic assault into his mind as cold fingers attempted to claw and tear through his mental defenses. If there was one thing that Rath could not stand, it was whoever dared to pry into his mind. Anger fueled his core as he directed his mind’s eye towards the owner. A mass of void as Rath channeled his hate towards the entity, causing intense pain as the very air and space screeched in the unholy gods’ glory.
It caused Rath to cover his ears from how sharp the screech was, yet the presence thankfully receded into safety. Somewhere, on the Corona at least. After a few moments had passed, Rath uncovered his ears and his first concern was his cat. Sir Pounce-A-Lot, as Rath called him, was hiding inside the cabinets with his fur standing up on end in fright with wide eyes.
”It’s alright, it’s over now Pounce-A-Lot.” Rath reached out to comfort his cat, which frankly flinched at the stimuli, but after realizing that it was Rath the loong-cat accepted the comforting hand. What concerned Rath was that this presence could bring Rath down to the point where he has to use every ounce of his strength to resist being dominated. He couldn’t imagine any of the crew members surviving that ordeal with their minds intact. With a sigh, Rath looked up at the ceiling as he spoke words in the empty air as if he was talking to the Force itself.
”Any chance that a Jedi could come here? Or someone with a bit of light maybe? No? Krakking Force.” It wasn’t like the Force could answer anyways, but still it helped drive the unease at bay. One thing was for sure, driven mad or not Rath knew he could at least save some people today. So Rath geared up in his dark armor of Empire’s Shadow and his trusted weapons of Storm Breaker at his belt over the left side and held the Shroudsaber in hand.
As if the Force had answered his question, Rath felt a shift in the Force as he felt another presence arriving in the general vicinity. Who they were, or which side they were on, Rath had no inkling of an idea other than that they were present.
”Stay, I’ll be back.” His voice sounded muffled as if speaking through a speaker, as he instructed his pet to stay put before he departed from his ship. If nothing else, he’d greet whoever came to answer. Prying eyes could be felt from the dancing shadows as the heaps of wreckage and fire continued to burn off to the side.