Coming Full Circle

[Xan]

After returning from Tarnoonga, where he had successfully aided Akt'ul to become the leader of the local pirates, Xanthus had found himself himself looking back and thinking about the path that had brought him to this point. He had been an Assassin, an Imperial Knight, a Sith Master, and was now another cog in the machine that was the fledgling rebellion. He then turned his thoughts towards those whom he had encountered along that way. There were the twins Xotomi and Lutomi Renelo, one of whom had been an Apprentice whereas the other had become an apparent watchdog for him, ensuring that he did not slip back into darkness under threat of exposure and possible death. There was Jason Cole, another one-time Apprentice who Xanthus had attempted to turn to the path of the Grey with mixed results. The results were considered 'mixed' because whereas Jason (who now called himself Rumor) was indeed walking the path of darkness and light intertwined, he was doing so in such a manner that caused Xanthus to question whether the man would fall into darkness without realizing it.

In this he would become like Xanthus had been in the previous decade: one who considered themselves to be Grey, who was able to use both Light and Dark abilities and thus considered themselves still on the path that was both sides of the Force intertwined. Then there was Ben Losan, the first Apprentice that Xanthus had ever taught, the one who was closer to the Light Side of the Force rather than the Dark. When last the two had interacted, it had been a heated reunion between them and Kodu-Sunic that resulted in the latter's demise by beheading. This act had the effect of allowing a small sliver of the Dark Side into Losan's being, irrevocably tainting him even if it was in the smallest way. After all, the darkness only ever requires the slightest shard of itself in order to spread. That had been months ago, meaning that Losan had probably had enough time to reconcile what he had done. When they had last met, Ben had chosen to remain a Jedi even though he had admitted to being tainted by the darkness. Then again, in that admission alone was the thought that the Dark Side had taken just enough hold. Hmm...if Losan was to not perhaps become similar to Rumor, then would it not be prudent to offer him training, to direct him in how to walk the fine line that was balance between the dual sides of the Force?

To be fair, this was not the first time that Xanthus had come to this line of thinking or even this same conclusion. Indeed he had arrived at this thought process many times in the past, but had chosen to leave the matter to rest. Though to be fair, he had largely chosen to do this because he was still a Sith and later only freshly separated from them. Now that he had been long separated from his former title and had instead chosen to fight against his former brethren, perhaps now was the time to check in on his first Apprentice and see if he required Xanthus's services once again. Not long after arriving at this conclusion, Xanthus found his way onto the Shadow's Ascent and left the Rebel Dawn onboard his prized vessel. Once away from the flagship of the Rebellion, the former Sith Master began the process of communicating his old ship, the Shadowfall, hoping that Losan was currently piloting the vessel.

 

[Maxx]

A ship skirted the edge of an unknown system out in Wild Space. It was here that the pilot of the ship hoped that he and the inhabitants of one of the system's inner planets could hide from the Imperium. He sat at the controls checking systems and watching the sensors, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. He wasn't expecting anything, but it wasn't bad to be careful.

The ship's name was that of The Shadowfall, a ship that had once belonged to an Assassin. An Assassin that had at one point been Ben's master. At some point after Ben had left and joined the Jedi, his master had joined the Sith. Eventually rising the ranks to become a Sith Master. The last time he had seen his master was on Baes Logia a couple months ago. When that happened, it ended with the beheading of Kodu-Sunic, Ben's greatest enemy. Kodu-Sunic had killed his mother and he suspected his father as well.

A beeping pulled Ben's attention away from the controls and to the comm. The light was flashing letting him know that a message was coming through. He wondered who could possibly be contacting him. Only a few people knew this ship's comm channels and he wasn't expecting any of them to calling him. He pressed the button opening the channel. "This is The Shadowfall. May I ask who this is?"

 

[Xan]

It thankfully did not take long for Ben Losan to answer, confirming that he was in fact currently piloting the Shadowfall. This bit of good luck prompted a momentary feeling of gratitude projected towards the ether from Xanthus before he responded. "This is The Shadow's Ascent, though you'd know it better as the current starship of one Xanthus Dar'manda." The Assassin said with the slightest tones of amusement coating his words. "Dare I ask what business you are currently performing in my old ship, Losan?" Xanthus said, reclining a bit in his piloting chair. At that moment, Sol happened to walk into the cockpit, though 'walk' was less an accurate term than 'silently prowl' might have been. The Narglatch made its way over towards Xanthus and looked curiously at the panel that housed the communication equipment of the Shadow's Ascent. Xanthus simply placed a hand on the creature's head rather nonchalantly as he asked about Losan's current adventure.

 

[Maxx]

"Dar'manda?" A slight smile appeared on his face hearing that it was Xanthus, "Is that what your last name is? Ten years and I never knew that." He waited to hear what else his old master had to say before continuing. Xanthus wished to know what it was that Ben was currently doing. The smile disappeared from Ben's face. The last time they had met, Xanthus had been a Sith Master. "Well, all I can tell you is that I'm keeping an eye on clear skies. I can't tell you where however." It was enough that he thought the other man could figure out what it meant. "May I ask as to what it is that you are doing right now?"

 

[Xan]

For a moment Xanthus was confused about Ben's secrecy concerning his doings. He had meant the question to be more of a casual pleasantry more than an actual point of information, but he had forgotten about the fact that Losan had known him as a Sith Master during their previous encounter. The ex Sith found that perhaps now would be a good time to inform his former pupil about current affairs, just so that there was no confusion further down the road. "Well, I am currently sitting in my transport, which is moving away from the current headquarters of the fledgling Rebellion. The Rebel Dawn. Such a strange name, but I kinda like it." Xanthus said with a growing smile on his face. If Losan knew about the Rebel Dawn and the Rebellion that called it HQ, which Xanthus thought he must have, then his reaction could be quite comical unless he figured out the actual implication behind the words. "And technically, Dar'Manda is not my surname. It's a Mandalorian word for someone who turns their back on their heritage. I figured it was appropriate at the time, and now it's just kinda grown on me. Much like the Rebel Dawn's name."

 

[Maxx]

The Rebel Dawn. Headquarters of the Rebel Alliance, the alliance that the Jedi had recently established a partnership with. "The Rebel Dawn huh? I guess I remember you saying last time that we met that your path might eventually take you away from the Sith." He pressed a button on the console and the comm channel was rerouted through the ship's intercom system. He got up out of his seat and walked back to his sleeping quarters on the ship. "Do you remember the object I took from Kodu-Sunic on Baes Logia?" He reached the room and went over to a locker, pulling its doors open to reveal a collection of weapons.

 

[Xan]

Still absently toying with Sol's head, Xanthus responded: "Indeed I did and indeed it did eventually. I packed my bags and equipment, threw them aboard The Shadow's Ascent, and blasted full speed towards Tatooine one day and simply never looked back. Quite liberating to be away from the ever-present feeling that someone might try to stab you in the back for a wrong glance, though to their credit the Sith have been getting better about that sort of thing." It had not been quite as quick a process as Xanthus was currently describing, but that had been the gist of one of the most important occasions in his life. There had been much paranoia leading up to it, with many checks over the outside and inside of The Shadow's Ascent for tracking devices that he had known were not there. There had even been checks through the transport's inner workings to ascertain whether or not there were any ways that the Sith could find the ship and therefore the errant Master. None of it had been necessary, but since when did an Assassin take risks with his personal safety? Speaking of personal status, Losan had mentioned something very important to his own. "You took his lightsaber, of course. A battle trophy that was yours by right for defeating him. What about it?"

 

[Maxx]

He reached into the weapons locker and removed a weapon, bringing it out and spinning it around in his hand. "It is now mine in more ways than one." The weapon buzzed to life and two yellow blades emerged from both ends of the saberstaff. "I've purged it of the Dark Side and let the Light Side take its place." He made a few sweeping motions with it before deactivating it and placing it back on its rack in the locker. He then closed the doors. "So what it is it that you've called me for?"

 

[Xan]

Though Ben could not have seen the motion, Xanthus was nodding his head with approval at his actions. He was also wearing a thoughtful expression, as Losan had managed to give him the beginnings of an idea. Xanthus could think of two weapons that were sitting in his own weapon storage area that could use some alignment modification, though that could be done at another time. For now, he had other matters to attend to. "Very nice. Most impressive, Losan. You've come quite a long way since we first met if you can purge the darkness out of captured inventory now. As to why I've called you: can't a man feel the need to contact an old apprentice without requiring a motive?" Xanthus asked with tones of feigned hurt in his voice. Naturally, any man or woman who had spent any respectable length of time in Xanthus's presence would know that he always had a motive for doing things, though whether said motive was good or bad was often the question.

 

[Maxx]

"A man can feel the need to contact an old apprentice without requiring a motive." He turned back around and walked out of the room, back to the cockpit. "But you always have a motive. You never do anything without a reason." He sat down into the chair he had sat in earlier. The same seat that Xanthus had sat in ten years ago, when he was the owner of the ship. A weight suddenly appeared in Ben's lap as Jaden jumped into it. Jaden was Ben's pet kitten, she got her name because of the deep green eyes that she possessed. She curled up in his lap and he rubbed her back. The purring was probably loud enough that the intercom could pick it up. "So what is it that my old master has called me for?"

 

[Xan]

"Fair enough." Dropping the feigned hurt, Xanthus instead opted for an unseen shrug and a voice of nonchalance. "Nice to know that there are at least a few people in the galaxy who know me that well. Anyway, the reason I call is...wait..." Just then, Xanthus heard a strange sound come over the communication system. It sounded suspiciously as though there was a small furry creature somewhere nearby to Losan. But since when did he have a pet? "Sorry about that. Just got distracted by the sound of low purring. And here I thought I was the only one who kept pets aboard his ship." As if on cue, Sol released a deep rumbling growl from somewhere within the pits of its stomach. "Anyway, I call because I thought I'd check on you. See how you were doing after our heated reunion."

 

[Maxx]

Jaden's fur stood up on end, her body tensing at the sound of the growl that came over the comm. He sent calming thoughts into her head to try to get her to calm down. It partially worked, her fur went back to normal but still kept her body tense. "I've been doing good since our last meeting. I've taken on a padawan, been on some high-risk missions, got a few scars." He looked down at Jaden and continued to pet her silky, black fur. "But I suppose what you really mean is how I'm dealing with that sliver of Dark Side." His petting slowed down a bit and Jaden set her head down, eyes staring at him. "I've come to terms with it. I've been a little bit freer with how I handle things, but I still stick with what I know is right."

 

[Xan]

Losan had taken on a Padawan? That was news that Xanthus found strangely interesting, perhaps because it made him curious as to how powerful Ben truly was. If he had been entrusted with the care of a learner, then his skills had more than likely improved even more than Xanthus had suspected from their short encounter with Kodu-sunic. The fact that he had also been sent on higher level missions added to this thought, prompting Xanthus to question the initial thought even further. Even more curious than Losan's relative power however, was his method of dealing with the 'sliver' of the Dark Side. Audibly sighing, Xanthus spoke in low tones that seemed to come after a pause as though he were considering his words with care. "I trust that you know that everything has a beginning. The beginning of an individual's fall to the Dark Side typically starts with much the same ideal as what you just professed."

 

[Maxx]

Even though Xanthus wouldn't be able to see it over the comm, Ben nodded his head. What his old master said was true. The Dark Side did have a way of corrupting those it had infected. It could make a person stumble on the Path of Light and then just disappear. The affected would have no idea that they are infect becoming ever so closer to the Path of Darkness. Despite what he had told Xanthus, Ben was scared of that sliver exactly for that reason. A lot of the things he did were him attempting to stay on the Path of Light.

Taking on a padawan? It wasn't him just taking on the duties of a Knight and preparing the future Jedi, he had seen a part of himself in his padawan, before the Fall of Coruscant. He had taken on a padawan to try to remind himself of who he'd been, and who he still was. Adopting Jaden? He had found her, a kitten wandering the streets of a zombie overrun town on Tatooine. She was scrawny, limping, and sad. He had scooped her up in his arms and taken care of her ever since. He hoped that all of this could help keep the Dark Side within him in check.

"I'll admit, I need help with it. I'm fighting it, but I have no way of knowing how much of a hold it has on me."

 

[Xan]

And thus did the truth that Xanthus suspected make itself known. At the very least, Xanthus had to give Ben credit: there were many who would have turned about after Baes Logia and denied the fact that their actions might have had any consequences. He respected the fact that Losan was able to admit not only to the fact that the event had affected him, but that it had affected him in such a way that he might not be able to handle the aftereffects on his own. "You cannot tell because your experience with the Dark Side is relatively limited and largely one-sided." Xanthus said matter-of-factly, with a tone that would more than likely convey a verbal shrug to match the one that he was performing physically. "My experiences on the other hand, have led me to and through both sides of the Force and have given me insight into the machinations of each one. It would be no great trouble for me to impart a measure of that insight to you."