Walkabout

[Kyyrk]

Voph grinned. But...it was not like his usual smile. This one...This one did not seem out of place. And there was no joy behind it. Just...determination. A predatory smile if Alwine had ever seen one. "No...I was not a useful weapon...I was the best. Duel after duel, battle after battle, war after war..." His simile deepened. Truly Voph seemed happiest when speaking of war and conflict. He sighed quietly after a moment, deflating somewhat. "But it was calculated. Controlled. Those whom I killed...I did so for a reason." He looked back towards Alwine. "It...is hard to explain properly. Those I killed while under the being's control...they were civilians. Going about their lives, not a threat to anyone."

Voph looked back at Alwine. "I have no issue with striking down an entire army. But...it's different with civilians. They did not chose the conflict. Nor do they have the chance to defend themselves." Voph reached up, and fidgeted with a ring perched on the ring finger of his right hand. "Even as Sith I respected that. My targets were only ever those that sought harm against the Empire. Though...once I became disillusioned with that failing colossus, I shifted my focus to the galaxy as a whole." Voph seemed distant for a second. "But...how bad could those memories be? I've killed thousands, if not millions in the days since. Surely by now there's no difference... Just...all part of the game..."

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine did her best to understand Voph's tale, but in truth, she did not comprehend much of it. She did not understand why he said he was not useful, but the best. Wouldn't the best be useful by default? And there was the matter of civilians too. Frankly, those she did not care about. When she had been imprisoned on Stewjon, when she had been tortured for months because they had decided she was a Witch, it was both government officials and regular civilians that had tortured her. Whatever title one wore, it would never and should never protect them from anything. The only way to be protected was to take care of it yourself.

"If there is a difference," she finally said, "I do not see it. Dig deep enough and you will have a reason to kill almost anyone above a certain age. There are no good people, only people that are better protected, be it by circumstance or power."

They had finally arrived.

It was strange to think that a few months ago, a massive citadel had stood there. Now there was simple rubble remains, not a single dead body in sight.

Alwine jumped off the speeder as soon as it stopped, and waited for Voph.

"This is the place," she said quietly, looking at it. She had killed close enough to this spot; she and her brother Gerwald, slain dozens if not more than that. And now there was nothing left. Not a hint of anything.

[member="Voph"]

 

[Kyyrk]

Voph stepped out of the speeder almost as soon as Alwine did. He wasn't one for waiting around. Not when there was work to be done. The girl was right, though. There was plenty of reason to kill. But that didn't make it right. Did it? Everything always came back to that question... But Voph could dwell on that later. For now there was work to do. He stood unmoving for a moment, head twitching in odd manners, turning to odd angles. Nothing grotesque, in fact it would seem as though he were simply stretching his neck, if not for the minor spasms occurring periodically, akin to shaking off a tickle in the back of one's ear.

Then, just as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. Voph stepped into the rubble, seeming perfectly normal now. It seemed like whatever had just happened to him did not bother him in the slightest. He knelt down, placing a hand upon the rubble nearest him. He was quiet for a moment, then stood up and moved to another pile. "You certainly were not wrong... There is precious little left." He glanced to Alwine for a moment, before kneeling again and reaching out with the Force. Much to his dismay, the chunks of rubble had little to reveal to him...

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Alwine Daye]

Alwine nodded. She had told Voph as much; the Citadel had been brought down into ruins as punishment for serving as the cult's headquarters. Where corpses had been removed to, she did not know. Where their own casualties had been moved to, she did not know either. And while she knew that they had copied their digital database, she did not know who had access to it and where it was saved either.

But why had she agreed to bring him to this place, anyway? Alwine had known there would be nothing useful. Had she just wasted not only Voph's time, but her own?

"Perhaps this entire trip has been a waste of time," she said at last, "I am sorry."

[member="Voph"]