God & Satan

[Darth Evandrus]

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Darth Evandrus, Lord of the Sith, High Judge and Prince of Lothal.

He sat upon his throne, leaning forwards slightly as he waited for the woman he had invited to arrive. The throne room and, indeed, the Prince's Tower itself was locked down by Imperial soldiers. Only those who's presence he had requested would be permitted to come within feet of the Tower - everyone else would be pushed away.

Dressed in his Sith armour, aside from his helmet, Evandrus waited until Abigail arrived before speaking.

Looking down at her from his throne, he leaned forwards slightly as he raised a hand to stop her before she could speak. He was going to speak first and she was going to let him. His presence in the Force was filling the room as the Dark Side radiated from him, drawing the eyes of anyone with any perception of the Force to stare at the Prince as he sat in his throne.

When Abigail was in the middle of the throne room, he spoke.

"It appears to me, Abigail Nimbus, that we have something of an issue, you and I." he announced, leaning back in the throne slightly now, never taking his eyes off of her, "Do you know why I would think that? Perhaps I should explain again - in case you've forgotten."

He frowned slightly as he looked at her.

"I tortured your mother. I stripped her of the Force." he tilted his head to the side slightly, "And because of those things - she died during her escape attempt. Her death lands squarely at my feet, doesn't it, Abigail?"

He wanted her to respond now so he merely stared at her, willing her to speak.

@TheBrokenMadMan

 

[Abigail Nimbus]

Abigail hadn't been quite sure how to react or prepare when she had received the summons. Not more than a few days after resurfacing from her private recuperation, and she had already been called to Lothal by the High Judge to discuss certain issues. While nothing had been specified, she knew full well what it would be. Cregan Drast was the one whom had stripped her Mother of the Force, left her a quivering wreck and indirectly caused her fragile state when her escape attempt was performed, leading to her death. He had told her this himself, but now he summoned her to truly discuss it, which only prompted a question in her mind.

Was this a talk, or an execution?

Abigail had weighed the options in her mind, the emotional factors and the cold math - the benefits of her head being clearer than it ever had been. On the one hand, Cregan was a good man, or as good as a Dark Sider could be: he understood the value of loyalty, compassion, understanding, and endeavored to make sure his subordinates were treated well and content in their positions. On the other hand, he was the High Judge, and a Sith, both titles called for a level of detachment and ruthlessness. It was entirely possible that he saw her as a potential threat, as was it equally possible that he could simply want to talk things out with her. With that in mind, she had come prepared, strolling into the High Judge's throne room adorned in her armor, her Vibrosword hanging by it's sheathe at the side. She was hoping there would be no violence, but she assumed nothing anymore.

If the High Judge felt her out with the Force, he would feel everything, she only shielded her thoughts from him, and that was simply a matter of habit. She had recovered from her stroke, that much was evident, but more than that, her presence in the Force was stronger than it had ever been. She was completely at ease within her own skin, at long last, and she had embraced the darkness and power within wholeheartedly. She was truly Abigail for the first time in a long time, and this was partially why she held no fear in her eye as she stopped in the middle of the room, removing her mask and allowing him to see her face, as he had allowed her to see his. Her skin had paled somewhat since their last meeting, and her eyes were now a deep shade of purple, not red or yellow like some other Sith, though that was simply due to a concerted effort on her part to overwrite the color.

She made no effort to speak when he outstretched his hand, they were in his home, and it was only respectful to let him speak first. She couldn't resist a soft smirk at the mention of her having possibly forgotten. Stroke or no, that confession was not simply something you forgot, and even he had to be kidding himself if he thought she would not remember. Still, it served as a nice way of reaffirming why they were here, and his words focused her gaze squarely on his eyes. When she had leave to talk, she pursed her lips and looked down, thinking things over a little before looking back up.
"Not entirely, after all, Evalyn Dan'ela captured her, Ryras Nur took her hands, and the two Jedi on Al'Doleem killed her...but you did contribute to her death in a large way," She stated calmly, letting her words hang in the air for a little while before speaking up again. "Malthazar told me that she was delirious when he found her there, singing like a child and barely holding on to her human shape...you did more than strip her, you broke her."

Despite the serenity in her voice, it was clear that it was tempering the rage beneath her face, more controlled and refined than before, but still rage nonetheless. "Despite that though...you were doing your duty as a Jedi, just as you now are doing your duty as High Judge, it was nothing personal, it was only business...I think she would want me to let it go, though knowing her, she'd probably want me to pay you back in some small way, sort of her way of giving you a wink and saying 'You still put me through shit, so you kinda deserved that.' "

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Evandrus stared down at Abigail as she strode into the throne room like she owned it. Her attitude irked him. She was strolling into his throne room as if she was some kind of conquering hero when in reality she was a woman with some personal power and nothing else to her name save, he believed, a hotel.

So the gall of the woman to smirk at him while he sat on his throne, the throne he had earned and fought and pushed for, irked him to say the least.

She was angry too.

"No, I wasn't doing my duty as a Jedi. I was actively going against the way of the Jedi." he told her bluntly, "I was breaking her because I could. Because I wanted her to hurt. Sure, I might not have thought that at the time but it doesn't change the truth of the matter."

He leaned forwards slightly,

"I broke your mother because I wanted to and I would do it again in a heartbeat. She was a rabid dog and I'm glad she was put down." he declared firmly, coldly, "And this leaves us with a problem."

He rested his hands on his thighs for a moment before standing up,

"You should hate me. You should want to see me dead or suffering because of what I did to your mother." he tilted his head to the side slightly, "Do you hate me, Abigail?"

@TheBrokenMadMan

 

[Abigail Nimbus]

Abigail had made a grave mistake.

She had assumed too much and thought she could just walk in, fit and healthy and mentally righted again, and that he would be impressed. If anything, he seemed to just get pissed off at her attitude which, in hindsight, made perfect sense. Seeing him annoyed, in of itself, was enough to make this persona falter a little, punching some cracks in the armor to let herself start to seep through. As the moments ticked by, and her mind began to panic as he only seemed to get even more irked, her mind began to go into overdrive. She couldn't have messed up this badly on her first day back could she have? Then the taunting began, the cold and efficient way that Cregan began to egg at her, pushing every single button with barely a second thought. With each passing word, Abigail felt her chest tighten and her anger build, the furnace just gaining more and more pressure. As soon as she heard his final affirmation, all rational thought left her mind, and her hand instantly shot for her sword. He enjoyed killing her, he would have done it again, he was a killer, a monster! her enemy! her...

Abigail froze, the Force of her own will in the Dark Side lashing out against itself before she could even grasp the hilt, wrapping around her legs and chest as she pulled herself back and to the floor, dropping with a pained yelp into a kneel. Her hand fell to the floor and Abigail was left a gasping mess, quivering and fighting back tears and sobs in front of the High Judge. For a brief moment, everything seemed to halt, and for a blissful few seconds, she felt clarity return. She had been such a damn fool, she thought that everything could just be as it was, that she could just start moving again...but no, there needed to be amends made first. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal, her body relaxed, and her hand inched toward the sword again, but it was done slowly, deliberately, in plain view of the High Judge. She wanted him to see what she was doing, and know that this time, it wasn't aggressive. She gently pulled the sword from it's sheathe and placed it on the ground in front of her, facing the wall to her left.

When she looked back up at the High Judge, her face was frailer, more vulnerable, looking for more like the Abigail he had last seen. All the same, her eyes still showed something different, not anger, not anymore, but a certain level of calm and certainty in herself. She let the anger pour off her, leaving her clear of mind and temperament once more, before opening her mouth.
"I'm sorry," She breathed softly, looking down again, "I thought I had learned, but it seemed that the last morsels of my rage had one last caveat to give my Lord." She deepened her breath as she opened completely, her mind and will becoming an open book to the Sith Lord so that he would know she was not lying. "I've had a lot of time to think while recovering from the attempt on my life...did you know that I was institutionalized as a child? My Adoptive father put me there and paid the Doctors to torture and brainwash me on a daily basis. I was in that place for years before my Mom came for me and set me free...she gave me my life, my skills, everything I had for a good long while, and I've spent so long letting my childhood and my Mom define who I am, but until recently, I never really knew who I was, you know?"

She cleared her throat quickly, looking up with a slight look of embarrassment on her face. "I'm sorry, I'll cut to the chase, my point is...I'm tired of it all, the hatred and pain and holding onto every last bit of it. I had a shitty start to life, it happens, there's no point in harping on it forever because it's barely a blink in my species lifespan...I have accomplished a lot with the Sith, the missions I've aided, the Hotel, but nothing filled me with more fulfillment than the relationships I formed, with Eisa, with Kano, with you...my Lord, to answer your question, no, I don't hate you, I'm tired of hating people for stuff they've done in the past, I just want to move on and be Abigail, not The Doctor's Daughter, me, Abigail...you have done a lot for me, and I consider you a friend, I don't want to throw any of that away, I want to be your friend again...I want to leave everything behind and just do what I feel I am meant to, and that is helping the Empire grow, and serving the Sith."

She raised her hand and reached out with the force, picking up the sword and levitating it to Evandrus hilt-first, the blade aimed squarely at her head. "My mind is open to you, so you know I'm not lying, but if you see me as a threat to you, then I won't stop you...just let it be quick, if that is your Judgement."

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Exactly as he suspected.

She reached for her sword and she was angrier than she had ever been. She hated him for what he had done and she was lying to him and herself if she thought otherwise. She would be a threat to him, to his Judgement, to his planet, to his friends, to his people and, most importantly, to his family. Comments had been made about his family, whispers carried on the wind by Imperial spies and trusted Sith.

And some even right to his face.

There would be no second chance. She was acting as though they were Jedi, as though he was pushing her so that she could accept her anger and let it go. He wasn't. He was testing the waters of her hatred for him and his own and if she was truthful? She was acting more Jedi than Sith and if she was not truthful then she held a deep, burning, hatred for him that would threaten his family and all that he had built.

When she grabbed her sword, he stepped down from his throne and began to advance on her even as she fell to the floor. Even as she spoke he continued to step closer, his presence in the Force an oppressive blanket that spread outward from him in waves, saturating the air around Abigail as he approached.

Reaching out with his right hand, he accepted the hilt of the vibrosword and held it tightly in his hand, staring down the blade at Abigail from where he was stood just in front of her. The Force wrapped around Abigail under Evandrus' control, coiling itself around her body to hold her in place.

She presented herself for judgement and he would have her kneel before the judgement that was to come so he locked her body in place with a stasis effect.

Staring down the blade at Abigail, Evandrus tilted his head slightly.

"Look at me - look me in the eyes, Abigail."

With the blade inches away from her and Abigail so vulnerable, so unprepared and bound still, he attacked faster than she could likely even react. Evandrus didn't even flinch as he thrust the sword forwards, the point stabbing straight into her left eye and into her skull. He twisted the sword inside of her skull, shredding the brain with the sword's vibroblade edge before withdrawing the blade.

She would be dead already but Evandrus wasn't killing someone on the battlefield - he was executing someone.

With the blade withdrawn, he slashed lower, to sever the woman's head from her shoulders, before allowing the head to roll off as the body remained.

"The Empire is better off without your service, Miss Nimbus."

He stabbed the sword down into the body so that the hilt stood beside the neck stump, the blade held fast within the woman's chest. Stepping away from the body, he touched his comlink,

"Head Warden." he called to Xornoth, who had been waiting for his own meeting after Abigail's, "Enter. We have things to discuss... and filth to be removed."

@TheBrokenMadMan @Xorism

 

[Xornoth Sk'ar]

The doors parted in front of the Sith Master as he entered to the ghastly sight at the far end of the throne room. Violence was nothing new to Xornoth, nor the bloody mess that came with the business but to think Evandrus had just executed one of their own was definitely a concern at the back of his mind. If the Sith Lord desired so, Xornoth could be struck down himself and his lord would suffer little for it.

A slow but steady stride brought him within the presence of Evandrus as summoned where he could inspect the carnage properly first hand. "Another one, my Lord? people will have questions when she doesn't return from Lothal, I will have to ensure that is taken care of." He watched his friend curiously, hoping to gauge how he would react after this incident.

Xornoth had recently returned from inspecting the Lothal fleet, his armor and weapons were a little dusted and beat up but otherwise the same he had been using for years by now. Quietly, he waited for the response he expected.

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Evandrus had stepped away from the body now, leaving himself free to address Xornoth as the Head Warden entered the throne room. He looked fresh and ready despite the armour and the dust that had accumulated there. He looked from Xornoth to the body for a moment.

"No one will care that she's dead, save for Eisa and, perhaps, Kano." he reasoned with a small frown, "I believe Kano will accept it as a necessity if he is told. Eisa will not."

Thinking about it for a moment, he thought about who had actually seen her arriving.

"Cameras were turned off before she arrived." he tilted his head to the side slightly before humming, "I was thinking we use fire on the body and the sword. Remove the evidence of both the attack and the weapon. Make it harder to try and piece it all together - and make it far easier to leave the throne room."

Even Xornoth would get alarmed looks from the guards if he walked away with a body from the throne room. He glanced at his friend's armour.

"Interrupt you, old friend?"

@Xorism