Ruins in the Forest

[AriaDran]

Saeryl sighed as Lane darted off, then settled against the wall beside her to wait. The seconds slowly ticked off as she counted them, finally making it to ten minutes. Trusting that Lane had indeed led the beast away she hurried out of the building and ran towards her ship. It wouldn't take her long to get there, and she was moving quickly enough that she was pretty sure the primatives wouldn't have a chance to get between her and it and stop her even if they noticed her movements, so she would very shortly make it to her ship and inside it if that proved true.

Her thoughts went back to Lane as she heard the Gorog roar somewhere in the distance, and she let out another sigh. He had better make it back in one peice or she... well, she didn't know what she'd do. Get Luminado to aquire some huge capital ship and come blast the Gorog into pieces, or something.

 

[Moriarty]

Lane stopped and faced the beast once again. It didn't even seem tired from any of his efforts to stop it. It caught up and simply stared down at him. Was it... Playing with him? He was surprised an animal, even one of this size, was at all anywhere near intelligent. The beast seemed to have some form of a brain in its massive skull. He then began to wonder if it was even possible for him to kill it. He thought of just running for his ship, but it would simply swipe him out of the air.

The beast lifted a massive fist and slammed down where Lane was. Lane had thrown up a force bubble at the last minute, knowing he couldn't avoid its sheer size. The beast tried repeatedly to bash him to true dust, but couldn't. He could feel fatigue starting to settle in. He had to think of something fast.

It was at that moment that he didn't need to. Lane looked up to see the beast backing away from a storm, ten times the size of his own, of black force lightning. The beast threw its arms up to cover its face, and could hear it start to whine in pain. It could only mean one thing. Lane looked over to see Karasym unleashing the force on a beast that made the toughest animals look like ants.He was his unlikely hero.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karasym stood in the same spot, unleashing a massive apocalypse of black lightning on the gorog. He had defeated a monster such as this before, but this one was slightly tougher. It had more resistance. However, it was attempting to pound in a pressence he hadn't felt since his days as a Jedi, his days before the Animus and his fallen father. It was that thought that fueled his ultimate anger, and fed into the massive storm of the force.

The beast had finally started to give in, its' flesh was beggining to sear. Steam started to float from its back, and its skin was becoming black. Like a child being burned by its innocent accidents, it let out a cry of pain. Karasym stopped the lightning and let the beast fall to its side. There was little life left in it, so he figured it would die on its own. He wanted to help Lane off the planet, though. He wasn't used to helping anyone who wasn't inside the cult, but Lane was an ex Jedi like himself. He was sure his business was finished there, and wanted to see him safely off the planet.

"Lane Benadaro," Karasym said, extending a hand to help him out. "Let me help you outa there."

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl sighed in relief as she finally got back in her ship, closing the hatch behind her and quickly powering it on. She hesitated for just a few moments before she took off, flicking on the autopilot and setting it to orbit the planet. She stood as the ship blasted into space, then walked back to the small private area afforded in the ship.

She wasn't sure what to do, so she decided to meditate. She sat down, crossing her legs and closing her eyes, her hands folded in her lap. She opened herself to the Force, asking it to help Lane get out of this one alive before simply letting it flow through her. After a while, she would guide it to show her the future, trying to make it show her when she would see him again.

 

[Moriarty]

"Why did you help me?" Lane asked, taking the hand reluctantly. He couldn't believe Karasym was there and actually helped him out of his situation, but he was grateful to say the least. It could've cost him his life. He supposed the angel of death didn't kill everyone he met then.

"Because you were fighting the gorog I was trying to kill. The beast is practice for me, but it would've destroyed you effortlessly otherwise. It couldn't hurt to help out," he said. Lane wished he could see past his heavy mental blocks, but he couldn't.

"Well, I appreciate the help. But I have to ask before I go," he started, "Did you kill all of those republic soldiers?"

"Yes," he said without trying to hide it. There was nothing Lane could do about it, though. The people were already dead, and Lane didn't particularly care for the republic. They wanted his kind dead just like the Hutts. It still didn't settle right with him, though.

"Why?" He asked.

"Perhaps in the future, we'll meet again. I must take leave, though. Go to your padawan; she's expecting you," he said before disappearing in the blink of an eye. Lane couldn't bring himself to believe what had just happened; he was saved by a killer. He didn't know why though. The man had a firmer grasp on the force than he did. Even as a Jedi, he was one of the best before they tried to exile him. Perhaps that was what made him go mad.

Lane made his way back to his ship within an hour and entered it. He sat in the comfortable pilots seat of the corvette and lifted the ship off the ground. It made it into space in no time, where he found Saeryl's ship. "I'm coming aboard," he said as he brought his ship next to hers to set up the docking procedures.

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl breathed a sigh of relief as her sensors picked up another ship. She dropped out of her meditation as they sounded, then went to them to confirm that it was Lane's ship that was closing in. Confident that it was, she waited until he spoke across the intercom. She nodded and set up the docking procedure on her end, since her ship was smaller it was technically the one docking with his. She turned towards the hatch and waited for Lane to board once the procedure finished.

 

[Moriarty]

Lane stepped onto her ship, out of his armor and in casual clothing. He was calm and not so excentric at that moment. He looked over at her and smiled, but the smile quickly faded. He didn't know if Karasym was planning on leaving them alone of not.

"The man I told you about had saved me," he started. "The only name he had ever known is Karasym. After he left the order, many Jedi called him the angel of death. Honestly, it was the Jedi council that turned him into what he is now. They were planning on exiling him and stripping his power based on a future they saw which could've been avoided." Lane went to one of the chairs and sat down in it. "Karasym was the best Jedi. No one could beat him. At least, he was the best when I was one. It was only later I discovered his father was the leader of a dangerous cult of assassins. He followed in his footsteps."

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl stared at Lane incredulously for a few moments, then glanced over towards the ship's sensors. It should be able to pick up another ship's presence long before it reached them, unless they had a cloaking device - but ships with those were not very common, especially in uncharted areas of space. She turned and moved to sit in the only other chair, the pilot's seat, and swivelled it to face Lane.

"I thought you said that meeting him would be worse then death? I mean, not to call you a liar or anything, but... I think I can imagine worse things then him saving your life?"

She grinned and swatted his arm playfully, trying to lighten the mood. It just felt too heavy at the moment.

 

[Moriarty]

"Believe me, I'm just as baffled. His ways are a mystery to me and the universe. I don't trust him, but I'm at least thankful he spared me. Let's not dwindle here any longer, though. The mission isn't complete yet. We must head back to Svivren and explain your findings to the other generals. This was your mission, after all. I simply lended a helping hand," he said with a wink. He turned to enter back into his own ship. "Oh, and also, I was able to gather a descrption of the natives. My ship hacked into the networks of that base, which were surprisingly still up but weren't connected to the Republic battle net. This is so you can explain their descrption. They're called 'wookies' by themselves, according to their holocrons. And they named their planet Kashyyk. They're primitive, but not completely anamalistic. They still have blaster weaponry, even if outdated, and have utilized vehicles of their own. They don't wear clothes, though, as they don't need it. Their fur is enough." He said, and then turned to enter his ship.

When he got to the cockpit, he hit the coordinates for Svivren to return to the base and wait for Saeryl.

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl continued sitting quietly for a few minutes after Lane had left, then finally stood and moved back to the pilot's seat. She looked to the scanner and saw that Lane had already taken off into hyperspace. She wondered what was going on, then looked out the window towards the planet again.

She spun to look at her scanner, then pressed a few buttons in order to widen its search of the planet, looking for energy signatures. It was a primitive planet, so any fluctuation at all would likely be easy to pick up. It was just a hunch, but one she would look into anyways. She'd explain to Lane later, when she met him back on Svivren.

 

[Moriarty]

"Ah, so the famous Lane Benadaro returns from his mission with Saeryl. How was the planet? Find anything unusual?" Agreoran asked. He was the Count of Svivren, the 'Senator's' replacement. He was also a general for the Luminado. Lane was good friends with him.

"You know it's not my mission, Agreoran. She'll debrief you when she arrives. As of right now, how are things on our rebellious world?" Lane asked. He situated himself at the end of the council table where they held their meetings. It was often Lane and Agreoran with no one else, but sometimes representatives from smaller organizations would try to make themselves known.

"Rebellious as always. I'm curious though, you look as though you've seen a ghost," Agreoran said. Lane realized his helm was off.

"We ran into a gorog on the planet."

"No shit! You kill it?"

"No, someone else did... You remember when I talked with the council about Karasym, and what he was to me?" Lane asked. It was a truth he often kept from himself; that Karasym and he were the same person, but complete opposites. While one was powerful, the other was weaker, even if they were both more powerful than most. Karasym was just stronger.

"Wait, he found you? Shit, Lane, no wonder you couldn't beat it. In any case, it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Lane said. He looked at his wrist panel to check the time. "Where in blazes is she?" He said. Perhaps it was himself just being worrysome, but he hoped Saeryl wasn't hurt.

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl wouldn't show up for another half hour, but when she did she would enter as though nothing was amiss. Her clothes were immaculate - there was a good chance that she had simply spent that half hour getting ready to look perfect for this report. It was her first official one, after all.

She came to stand in front of the Council table and waited stoicly for everyone seated to quiet and look at her. When they had, she would calmly and clearly reitterate her view on all the events on the planet Kashyyk, though she left out anything she hadn't personally witnessed. She wasn't sure if Lane wanted all that on record, but if he did he could add it himself, she was sure.

 

[Moriarty]

"Welcome, Saeryl," Agreoran said with a smile. "Have a seat. We'll be the ones attending the debriefing. Report on your findings," he said. Lane looked up to watch. She looked great, and hopefully her report would be just as great. Agreoran studied her features as he waited for her to speak.

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl smiled, but didn't look right at the Count. Something about him unsettled her, but that was an issue for another time. She looked to Lane, her smile growing more genuine, and then started her report.

"We went to the forest planet - we have now found that it is called Kashyyyk by the natives, which are humanoid furry creatures. They are primitive, but seem to be intelligent enough. We searched through a ruined republic base and found some... interesting things. There was a woman there who raised a pet rancor and fed a large portion of the staff to it, but most of them were killed by someone else, someone with a lightsaber. We also discovered that there was a goron outside. Lane killed the Rancor to keep the goron from haering us, but the woman died in the encounter. We then proceeded to leave, after Lane checked out a few corpses, and found that the goron was fairly close. Lane distracted it so that I could get to my ship, then joined me in orbit. We then proceeded back here."

She had left some personal details out, but she wasn't one to intrude on Lane's personal life in case he wanted it kept secret.

 

[Moriarty]

"Alright. Sounds like you both had a fairly interesting encounter. Lane, anything you want to add?" Agreoran asked Lane.

"No, I'm perfectly fine with her analysis. It seems the planet isn't safe to set a base of operations at yet, though," Lane assessed. "Good job, Saeryl. You did your mission perfectly." He smiled and winked at her. "As promised from completing the mission, the credits will be transfered to your account, and you've been promoted to NCO2. Congradulations," he said, standing and holding a glass case with the NCO2 rank insignia pin inside. He held it out to her, waiting for her to take it.

"Also, if I may intrude, once you're finished pinning her, Lane, I'd like to speak with her," Agreoran said. "Unless, of course, she has business else where."

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl opened her mouth to make an innapropriate comment about Lane 'pinning her', but then snapped it shut when she remembered where she was. This wasn't really the time or place for that - even though she was pretty sure Lane would laugh, she didn't know much about this Count. She reached out and took the pin.

"Thank you, sir!"

She brought her free hand up in a salute, then dropped it back down to her side and looked again at the Count.

"I have no pressing business, Sir. I'm all yours."

 

[Moriarty]

"Excellent," The count said.

"I'll take my leave. See you both later," Lane said as he walked out of the chamber. Agreoran stood and walked over to Saeryl.

"I want you to be honest, Lane told me what you both enocuntered there and what he encountered. You aren't in trouble, I just feel like you deserve an explaination on some things," He started. "Tell me what he's told you of Karasym?"

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl watched Lane leave without turning her head, then slowly looked back at the Count. She let the smile drop, her face remaining stoic as he asked his question. Then she gently shrugged her shoulders.

"Not too much. He's strong and dangerous, basically."

 

[Moriarty]

"I'm about to tell you a secret, something to help you understand the connection with Lane and Karasym better. It's still a theory, per say, but it's proven true so far," Agreoran said. He felt she needed to know since they encountered him anyways. "Karasym and Lane are the same person, but comeplete opposites at the same time. As one gets stronger, the other isn't, though they both are stronger than any Jedi master we'd ever know of. You understand?" Agreoran explained.

 

[AriaDran]

Saeryl slowly raised one eyebrow up as the count 'explained' - and she used that term very loosely. Did he even hear himself talking? She knew she didn't like this Count - he was probably trying to talk in riddles to seem mysterious and aloof or something. Probably thought it made him look like a real bad-ass. She let out a soft sigh.

"Not really, Sir. Sounds like you're saying they're the same person but they're not the same person."

She paused for a moment as a thought struck her. She hadn't actually -seen- Karasym.

"Wait. Do you mean like multiple personality disorder?"

 

[Moriarty]

Agreoran sighed. He felt he wasn't getting across to her for some reason. "No, what I mean is, they're the same person. They're opposites in their affinity, but they're like two pieces to a puzzle. Karasym is an actual person, the son of a dead psuedon of an extremely dangerous cult, while Lane never really knew his past. So they are two separate people. What I'm saying is..." He paused to think of how to explain it better. "Lane and Karasym are two parts of a whole. We don't know why, but they are the same personality in two forms. Karasym is the darker version of Lane, but also the more powerful version. I'm telling you this so that you coud understand this part of him a little better. When he trained me, we both had an encounter with him. It was one that almost got me killed. He will never be able to trust the man, but he is ultmately a part of his life. I'm hoping this made it easier to understand," he said with a chuckle.