Ask Onderon Obsession

[Kor'ez]

Onderon: Iziz​

Onderon. A planet of Walled Cities built to protect the sentients of the world from the dangerous creatures dwelling within it’s savage jungles. It was beautiful in a vicious sort of way. However that beauty was not why Kor’ez had come here.

The large Twi’lek moved smoothly through the clouds. Wearing a grey loose tunic and a brown hooded cape pulled up over the alien’s head. The Sith needed the plain, common, clothing to fit in. As if being tall and broad wasn’t bad enough but his bright red skin, sith tattoos and handsome features were naturally eye catching. Luckily such poor clothing as his caused others to turn their gaze away and his hood was heavy enough to cast his features in shadow. The Sith’s lightsaber was also hidden beneath his clothing.

Kor’ez was here to grab some info on a datacard. He had no idea what it was, and he didn’t know, he was a mere acolyte of the Order. His masters wanted it so he had come to get it. This sort of grunt work didn’t really bother him as much as it did most of his Order. He had been a Slave after all and this was a lightyear better than many of the tasks he’d done in the past.

Reaching a corner he saw the navy caped Togruta that was his contact. Reaching the man, and staring down at him, he could see the fear in the other beings eyes

And he relished it.

Feed upon it.

He suddenly felt stronger, bigger and just… more. The Twi’lek smiled cruelly beneath his hood and the Togruta saw it.

“The disk?” Kor’ez hissed.

Fumbling at his pockets the alien pulled the object from his pocket and shoved it into the Sith’s hand. “H-here. It’s everything I promised.”

Kor’ez nodded and deposited the information device into his pocket. Pulling a few cred sticks from his pocket he dropped them into the other being’s hands. “Your payment.”

As the Togruta stuttered his thanks the Twi’lek turned and strode away. The Sith moved through the crowds towards the City limits. He’d parked his unmarked shuttle in the Jungles beyond Iziz’s walls to avoid detection by the Kingdom of Onderon and this “Free World Alliance”.

It was time to leave.

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@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Rahla Vimt]

Onderon, it really hadn't been on her itinerary of places to go but the transport she was on had to make an emergency stop and as luck would have it here she was. Perhaps she should have stayed in the hangar with the ship, but by the looks of things it was going to take a few days to repair. Something to do with the Thorsen field driver in the hyperdrive. The news that this day would take to acquire the parts before repairs could even begin made hanging around rather pointless and depressing. Fortunately she would not have to try and book another transport just yet as there was no rush on her returning to Yavin. What was it Oorrl was always telling her; be guided by the force’? Right now she was more into being guided by her stomach. A meal shouldn’t be that hard to find in a city the size of Iziz.

Her search for food took her out into the city until she found some vendors doing a good bit of business. Settling for a bowl of chowder, she readily assuaged her hunger pangs, slurping up the cephalopod with ease. Moving along, she began looking for lodgings when suddenly she felt as though she had been drenched in ice water. Looking up along the cloudy street was not much help in identifying just who or what was causing the sensation. Direction was no issue though and she was surprised that no one she passed on the street seemed to notice at all, but the closer she came to that source the more she began to fill with dread.

The sensation was visceral and carried with it an underlying delight, a hunger almost, that she found difficult to comprehend. Then as she rounded a corner in the street and turned her gaze toward the city limits, her eyes honed in on a large and cloaked figure and there could be no doubt that this man was the source. Her imagination was working over time, for though she had never felt a wielder of the dark side of the force, her Master had warned of its allure and of those who used its power. What else could explain this sense of wrongness emanating from his retreating figure?

What was he doing here? Wasn’t Onderon part of the Free World Alliance? As a Jedi, and there she gave herself liberties in thinking of herself in such terms for she was still yet a Padawan, they were charged with fighting against the dark side. She couldn’t just walk away and act like she hadn’t sensed the dark practitioner. At the very least she could trail him and discover what business he had in the city. Dressed in her usual attire of loose trousers tucked into knee boots and layered shirt and tunic over top, her own robe hid the presence of the lightsaber clipped to her waist belt.

He didn’t appear to be headed toward the space port but instead toward the city limits. Did he mean to leave the safety of these high walls for the wilderness that lay beyond? Her eyes narrowed as her suspicions rose even further about the purpose of his presence.

@Lazy Swordsman

 

[Kor'ez]

He felt her rather than saw her. It was like being struck with a lash of flame, bright and burning, threatening to consume him. The Light. A Jedi? They really were an infestation who seemed obsessed with getting in the way of the Sith at every turn. The presence in the Force flickered and fluttered. Wild and untamed. Strange he had been led to believe Jedi were tightly controlled. An apprentice perhaps?

He would have to turn and face her of course. Not here though. He wasn’t going to risk an incident in the middle of the City. Patience. That was all that was needed.

The Twi’lek kept his head down and kept walking, mentally keeping track of the figure following him, he’d managed a vague glance back at an earlier corner. It appeared to be a short feminine figure. A Nautolan if he wasn’t mistaken. She was only dressed in robes as he was. That was something at least.

Reaching the perimeter wall Kor’ez handed over his fraudulent Starport Visa. It gives him permission to move easily throughout the planet from City to City and, if needed, to use their Spaceports.

As the guard checked his pass and gave him a nod while handing the small identification card back Kor’ez mumbled a thanks before heading past the gate. The foliage would start to thicken soon and then he would see what the squid-head wanted.

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@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Rahla Vimt]

Having detected this dark-sider was both exciting and unnerving because while she was pleased she was easing away from her difficulty in actively sensing force users, she’d rather they were servants of the light than not. Instinctively she thought she should try to contact Master Fonwim and Xiann letting them know she was stranded on this world after all. That alone was no reason to bother the man, but Oorrl would definitely wish to know there had been a servant of the dark on Onderon. Naturally that would mean returning to the space port and then her chance to determine what this rogue was about would be gone. He was definitely leaving the city; witnessing him at the gate and handing over his credentials decided the matter. There was no time, she would have to follow.

This presented another issue, one she hadn’t anticipated for she had no space port pass to move about the world freely; she wasn’t even scheduled to stop here in the first place? Darting away from the gate she expanded her sensing capability to determine which direction the man was traveling, then she paralleled his direction along the wall until she found a spot where she could make an illegal crossing into the wilderness.

The irony that he had credentials and was legally proceeding out into the wilderness, while she did not and would have to break the rules to follow was not lost on Rah’la. Be that as it may be, she was not about to let this man get away from her and the gathering of intel to give to her Master. So when she found a likely place in which surveillance was distracted, she made her way up and over the wall and out into the lands beyond. Taking direction once upon the other side, she locked onto the man and proceeded to follow at a discreet distance.

As it was, she did not have a visual on him with her eyes and was relying solely upon the force to guide her. That felt good for a change and was just testimony to how right Oorrla had been. Change came in its own good time and it was best to just accept that it would work out. Even so, she knew that didn’t preclude responsibility to train and to act. The People of Iziz didn’t live behind walls for ornamental reasons; this world was dangerous. Even as she passed among the strange foliage of Purple kings' crown, Skeleton Weed, and Blue Hutt's tongue, she was ever on the lookout for the native carnivores.

The planet was known for its rather large animals that were used as beast of burden or battle steeds and she certainly didn’t wish to be snatched off the ground by any wild flying Rupings, but it was the Gutkurrs that sounded nasty to her. Who wished to be overrun and eaten to death by a bunch of voracious insects?

@Lazy Swordsman

 

[Kor'ez]

The huge Twi’lek waited until he had moved through the treeline, and was sure the line of sight between himself and the Jedi were broken, before dashing off to the side and hiding behind a particularly large tree.

Kor’ez had never studied how to hide oneself in the Force however he had read that certain negative emotions were more difficult for the Jedi read. Something to do with their minds instinctively avoiding the broadcasting of powerful negative emotions such as lust, guilt, fear. It was not difficult to summon such things up.

The Sith had to consider his options. The Nautolan was likely a Padawan and, if so, he had little to fear. However there was also the chance that she was a real Jedi and he had misread the situation. If that was the case then he might be in some trouble. Although the Light was no match for the Dark his own experiences were still relatively shallow.

Many at the Temple, his fellow students, considered Kor’ez to be a brute who favoured smashing through any problems rather than exercising his mental faculties but that was far from the truth. If anything he overthought situations. A life lived in fear tended to do that to a man.

Taking a deep breath the Sith readied himself.

When the Light Side Adept moved close by he stepped out from his hiding place, still cloaked and bent over, moving with a slight shuffle.

“Miss.” his voice came out cracked, pathetic, weak. The voice of a frightened slave. “Why have you been following me?”

He would hedge her, there was little reason for her to be out here especially after having noticeably follow him the long track from near the City Center to this particular section of the wilderness. He could work with that.

“I-I have nothing to give you. So please leave me be. I must return to my Master” he pleaded as if nothing more than a servant fearing a robbery.

Tags
@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Rahla Vimt]

She knew she was close to the man’s location, in fact practically on top of him. Nonetheless she was still slightly startled by his sudden appearance coming out from behind the tree so near to her. Even more surprising to the Nautolan were the words the rather large Twi’lek spoke and the manner in which he delivered them. They fell on her as an absurdity, certainly a lie for in her sensing for his position she would have sensed fear. He should have been drenched in it if his demeanor and shaky words were to be believed. But when she tried to get a better read on his emotions she didn’t seem to be able to focus well enough to pinpoint what he was feeling. All she knew was his state didn’t match what she could only call a performance.

That didn’t matter, he was force sensitive to the force and at the very least flirting with the dark side if not exactly a full fledged practitioner. She had never ran into anyone especially strong in the dark force but from what she had been told, unless the person were masking their abilities, there would have been an unmistakable and overpowering sense of evil. Perhaps this person was powerful enough to hide it? If so this move had been much stupider than she first supposed.

Spreading her hands wide, she backed away from the tree and said,”Whoa, whoa, whoa now.” Rah’la shook her head at the absurdity and continued, ”I’m with the Free Ryloth Federation of Planets? We work to free slaves and reunite families and from what you just said about rushing back to your Master, I’m glad I followed my instincts and came after you. You don’t have to be a slave, we can help you!” Technically it was true, not actually a lie. Jedi were servants of the light and slavery was just one form of evil in the galaxy.

She tried to exude an aura of empathy and concern, but inside was the growing certainty that she was the one in hot waters today.

@Lazy Swordsman

 

[Kor'ez]

The Twi’lek smirked beneath his hood, his expression hidden from the woman across from him. Her words almost made him laugh out loud. From the stories of the Jedi he had expected her to be a better liar.

“Mistress why do you say I am a slave? I did not say such to anyone in the City.” he said in timid tones but not making any attempt to hide his disbelief. “I am an indentured servant to my master. Such things are completely Legal here. Surely you do not mean to say you’re trying to subvert the laws of this system or the Alliance?” he asked frightened as if seeing the woman as a criminal, or perhaps terrorist.

The idea both amused and angered him. The Jedi had allowed Slavery to exist in the Old Republic for millenia, never making a move to help the helpless and suffering. In this new Republic and Alliance Kor’ez had yet to see evidence of this new Jedi Order doing the same. No lightsaber wielding hero had ever saved the Twi’lek from his suffering while growing up. A Sith had purchased him and Kor’ez had only ever become free after killing the man with his own hands.

“What!” he exclaimed turning to one side as if he had heard something.

Waiting for a brief nanosecond for the Nautolan to possibly get distracted by his fake alarm the Twi’lek suddenly stepped forward.

As Kor’ez moved smoothly he straightened up to his full height and the hilt flew to his hand as a red blade slashed towards the woman’s throat.

@Kayenta Moenkopi

 

[Rahla Vimt]

Shaking her head at the man she said, ”I am no one’s mistress, but I did mistakenly think you were being held in slavery. I’m sorry and will leave you to your business; clearly you need no rescuing.” He was a good actor, she had to give him that; he actually had her doubting that she had sensed the dark side within him. He was giving off strong emotions and her sensing ability wasn’t refined enough to sift through so many powerful and conflicting feelings.

He was both angry and amused; incredulous and afraid? Pivoting on her left foot she began to turn away from him so she might withdraw when she became aware that her mind seemed to be shying away from something. It was a cold sensation, dry; like an arctic wind that threatened to take your breath away.

His sudden exclamation caused her to turn her head to look back at him and that is when she knew for certain that she had made her last mistake. The man’s form seemed to grow menacing and yet all he did was stand up straight but she knew he would attack. Swiftly as everything changed gears from the roadside mummer’s play to a murder in the making. She had no one to blame but herself.

There was no way she would get her lightsaber to ignite and raise it in time to counter his attack. Instead she focused on backing away fast as she could from the path of the red laser darting forward toward her neck. Her first step was a good stride backwards, due to the force of her pushing off the ground slightly. This was followed up by several quick steps, backpedaling away from him and the raising of her right hand. Drawing on the force, she sought to create a small barrier right before his hand so that as he advanced his motion he would be obstructed.

Three steps more and she had her lightsaber in her left hand and was igniting it’s blade. ”You don’t act like anyone’s servant any more than I do someone’s mistress; Care to try that story again?”, she said thinking that she might be deader than she first supposed. Maybe he wasn’t lying. Maybe he was someone’s servant but, the question begged asking, how strong did someone have to be to keep a dark force user subservient to one’s every order? The thought was more than sobering.

@Lazy Swordsman

 

[Kor'ez]

Kor’ez’s cut flashed through the space where the woman had been moments but with a simple twist of his wrist he lunged turning the attack into a thrust. However the movement came up short as the sensation of the Force pushed against his sword-hand. The Twi’lek frowned before flexing his grasp of the Dark Side and shattered the small barrier.

Even as the Jedi readied her blade he pushed down his hood and smiled. The Twi’lek was an exceptionally handsome example of his race with the beauty only ruined by the black tattoos covering his face and lekku as well as his sickly, almost glowing, yellow eyes.

“We all serve someone.” he responded rather pleasantly as he practically sauntered towards her. “Is this not also true of the Jedi, mistress?”

The pleasantries however hid a growing anger in the Sith’s heart. He could feel the harshness of the Light emanating off the Nautolan. The Light Side of the Force was cruel and blinding, a constant annoyance that sought to destroy the welcoming and accepting Darkness to which Kor’ez now dedicated himself.

He drew deeply upon it now. Breathed in its power. Felt the Darkness saturated every fibre of his being. For that moment the Dark Side made him the center of the Galaxy. A being of infinite potential.

“Tell me mistress. In your training have you ever had to fight for your life?” he asked in distractingly innocent tones.

Shooting forward, his strength and speed enhanced by the Force, he reached out with his left hand and with a flick of his fingers he sent a rock hurtling for the side of the woman’s head.

Once in range he leapt forward in a classical Ataru Hawk-Bat Swoop. Whilst mid-air, flipping over the Jedi, his sword would slash downwards towards the top of her head in an attempt to slash her whilst distracted. It was an extremely aggressive and kinetically powerful opening move.

 

[Rahla Vimt]

Rah’la knew that one of the allures the dark side had was in manipulating truths to uphold its own ends. A person didn’t have to spread lies in order to warp the minds and hearts of those their message touched; justification and rationalizations could convince the most saintly of adherents to tread the path of darkness if given the right delivery. That is why she was not about to get into a debate over the concepts which differentiated the light from the dark side. Rather than quibble with him over the question she assented to his statement.

”No one thrives in a vacuum, what of it?”, she commented while she retreated in order to keep her distance from his advancing pace. Nonchalant or no, she did not believe for an instant that he posed her no threat. Oddly enough she did not feel the chill of fear despite being wary and skeptical of his intent. He was a dark side user; of course he meant to harm and maybe kill her. If she felt anything it was closer to regret for getting herself into this situation from the start. She took heart, however, in the near miss from before. This warrior must not be on par with Master Fonwim or she would not have survived the slash at her throat.

She could feel the eddies in the force swirling about them both; intricacies of weaves between light and dark that even as they intermingled sought to repel and extinguish each other. In that moment she was reminded of how the light and dark swirls in the atmosphere about gas giants was ever changing, how one hue was constantly pushing against another only to be enveloped before reemerging and spreading once again. It made her acknowledge such a struggle would be endless, and while there were those who might find despair in such a revelation, it brought comfort to Rah’la to know the light would never die.

”Everyday is a fight for life; I don’t train, I live”, she replied and when she felt the eddies change Rah’la swam in those flows as surely as she did the seas upon her homeworld. His push came at her sending a projectile for her head and she responded by lifting her right hand and shoving against the intrusion with the force even as she pivoted out of the path his attack flew. The rock veered off narrowly missing her, only diverted by a slight degree, and she felt the darkness that surrounded the man lift to fill the space above her head as he leapt into the air.

Rah’las could well imagine the terror small mammals felt when birds of prey descended on them out of the sky, blocked from detection by the angle of the sun. No doubt it was the most sudden alarm freezing the animal before it could even understand what was going on, too late to prevent deadly talons from ending their lives. The Nautolan, however, was no raptor’s meal nor was she too slow to react. Her left arm came up and her blade countered the slashing attack from his saber as he vaulted over her through the air.

The sound was deafening, the contact brief yet jarring to her shoulder so she brought her right hand to the hilt of her saber to support her defensive move. Even as the Twi’lek continued through the rest of his arcing leap she continued her pivot and angled a slash at the man’s side advancing toward the place where he would land when his leap was through.

@Lazy Swordsman