Ask Naboo Binding Ties

[Talak Rand]

Naboo was a nice world, but with all the meetings he'd needed to do here with former associates, he wasn't sure that it would be a particularly fondly associated world after this. His decision to leave the Sith Eternal hadn't been an easy one, and he wasn't sure how quickly news of it had spread, but he did his best to get out ahead of it in at least a couple of cases.

One of those cases was Ana. She had been one of his apprentices for some time, and he wanted to tell her and speak to her in person before she found out through the grapevine. Although he had a pair of sabers strapped to his belt, he didn't want to use them or plan to use them. Perhaps after this the pair would be die-hard enemies, but that wasn't his goal. Nor was it his hope that they would meet again as rivals. He had enough of those already.

He waited and look out at the waterfall ahead. He had sent a message asking Ana to meet him, but hadn't specified the reason. His stomach was churning and no matter how much he tried to calm himself by thinking about the green of the plains or the light wind, it didn't make him feel better. Perhaps he would feel better after it was all done... probably not.

 

[Ana DAmico]

Ana had been working day and night in planting the seeds of corruption on Naboo. From honeyed words in the ears of the aristocracy to heavy-handed threats and greasing the palms of the underworld, she and countless others were beginning to make progress in gaining a small following. Occasionally, though, she needed to take a break and allow for things to go at their own pace without her guiding hand. Today was one of those days, and she found herself with excess free time and a cryptic message from Talak to meet with him.

The weather was, as always, beautiful. She made the journey to Talak via airspeeder, though she did spend some time walking through the forest to see more of the nature that surrounded Theed. Everything about Naboo was idyllic, and she was glad she had chosen this world as one to begin the cult’s efforts to expand. Birds sang in the trees and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves enough to provide soothing background noise. For once, she felt almost at peace here, and it seemed like very few things could ruin this day for her.

Ana arrived at the meeting spot and found Talak staring out at the waterfalls in the distance. She approached him, making no attempt to quiet her footfalls or otherwise mask herself, and stopped a few paces to his side, looking out at the horizon in kind. She stood there in silence for a few moments, basking in the gentle warmth of the sun, before finally speaking up.

”You’re either going to kill me,” she said dryly, watching the churning water at the base of the falls, ”Or you’re going to tell me something I’d really rather not hear.” She spared him a momentary glance, trying to see if he did anything but stare out into the distance with her. ”You’re more anxious than usual.”

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak could sense and hear Ana approaching. Neither of them had any reason to try to conceal themselves from the other. Despite how this could unfold, he had no interest in violence or even being enemies, per se. He had met with Jedi when he was a Sith, after all.

You know me well, he said quietly without looking toward her at first. He was somehow hoping if he put this off it would be easier, but he knew that wasn't the case.

Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you, he said, so at least that was off the table. But the two statements together meant that she could figure out he had something to tell her that she wouldn't want to hear.

I'm sure you've heard about the attack on the Coruscant prison, he said. It had been all over every news network. There was little chance she hadn't heard, though it didn't seem she knew his role in it.

I left the Sith Eternal, he said. I helped kill Sol Puara there, he went on. The two statements were... probably not expected, and he let them sink in. She wasn't typically the type to lash out, but he was wary just in case.

And I wanted you to hear it from me first, he said. He felt he owed her that decency at least.

 

[Ana DAmico]

Ana couldn’t muster up a smile when he affirmed that he wasn’t here to kill her. Normally she’d find the thought of him killing her to be funny in a macabre sort of way after all they’d been through together, now it just seemed like a reassurance from someone she couldn’t quite understand. A few birds flew in a small flock towards Theed in the distance, and she remained quiet while Talak explained the reasoning behind his summons. After a few moments, the tiny black silhouettes disappeared in the distance, and she was left without much to focus on except for his words.

So, it was true. She’d heard rumors of his involvement at the prison attack, but not for the opposing side. The cult had been quiet since the death of one of its most lethal Champions, and she knew better than to be within three systems of their malevolent leader. Fear was a light way of describing how she felt towards the enigmatic figure; not of the power it wielded on its own, but fear of the legions willing to obey its every command. Cities, worlds even, might be razed in retribution for this sudden and unexpected loss. Not the loss of one of their Champions – a regrettable, but solvable problem – but rather the betrayal of one of their own.

”So that’s it then,” she spat, refusing to look at him, ”You kill one of our own and betray, not leave, the Sith Eternal?” She scowled, and made no attempt to hide her displeasure. After everything the cult had done, all of their plans, all of their help, Talak was willing to turn on it all. ”And for what?” she thought aloud, turning her head just enough to keep him in her periphery, ”Because you were too afraid to change things from within? Because you were afraid of the thing you were ‘becoming?’”

She couldn’t understand why he would betray his own in such a way and then have the temerity to approach her to let her know personally. What did he hope to gain from this meeting? An enemy? An ally? Pity? Someone to beg for him to change his mind? She was almost insulted that he felt the need to inform her of his betrayal rather than simply disappearing and letting her hope he was dead instead of confirming his new place among the ranks of the misguided.

She was amazed he managed to find the one thing to ruin her day.

 

[Talak Rand]

The more of these meetings he had, the more he wondered if he should have just slipped away quietly. But he knew the betrayal would be even more cutting if he did. Or at least he thought so, and so he faced the ugly things.

He could feel her anger rising and the cutting words she spat out. She had yet to attack him, and that was an improvement, but he didn't count it outside the realm of possibility.

Yes, but no, he said. Some of what she said was true, but it didn't encompass the whole story. There were so many complicated things. He was the only one that shared his visions. Even those who supported and Empire didn't care about more than their own power, and when he died, it would be left to someone corrupted.

I did it because the Sith won't ever be a force for good that actually protects the galaxy, he said. He didn't think she'd be able to see the truth, but he wouldn't stop trying.

The actions of the Knights and the Sith and the Champions are about their own power and wanton killing. You said it yourself once upon a time, even the Empire wasn't about protecting people, it was about the power of the Sith Lords, he said. He had been fooling himself and he felt like a fool for having believed anything different for years.

Has your opinion changed? he asked. He doubted it had, and if it hadn't then she would have an idea of why he'd left.

 

[Ana DAmico]

There was truth to what he was saying. She knew that the corrupting influence of the Dark Side led to an ever-growing hunger for power and control, and that would be the downfall of the cult in time unless someone assumed the mantle of responsibility and steered them away from that. After their time together, she did find herself leaning towards his side of things; an Empire could bring peace and stability where the cult could not, but it would take radical change, and she wasn’t sure who could bring about that change now that Talak threw it all away.

”It has,” she replied to his final question, ”But my allegiance hasn’t. You said it yourself that we need things to change within the cult. Running away would just make things worse.” Ana finally turned to look at him, shaking her head slowly. ”Do you not foresee the effects your betrayal will have? Hundreds, thousands will die from the Eternal’s retribution, and it will be because of you,” she accused, furrowing her brows in frustration, ”Everything you worked to achieve has been undone.”

Her chest rose and fell with an exasperated sigh as she looked back out at the horizon. ”Where will you go after this?” she asked, ”The Jedi? They’d never accept you. You’d never survive on your own, either; not with the target on your back.” She was curious why he would go to the Jedi of all people They were misguided, and it was the nature of their Order that led to stagnation and suffering around the galaxy. They were too afraid to take action while the Sith Eternal was too bullheaded to consider possibilities other than mass murder. Both sects were flawed, but she’d prefer the devil she knew versus the one she didn’t.

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak shook his head as she said that thousands would die because of his betrayal. Perhaps she was right, but to say such was to assume that they wouldn't have died if he stayed.

The Eternal would have killed those people regardless. Do you even know what it wants? he asked. No one did. He'd been bringing it up for months, and no one had an answer. It should have made everyone very uncomfortable.

If I can kill the Eternal from inside, I can kill it from the outside, he said. His intention to destroy the Eternal hadn't truly changed, it seemed. Even he didn't know where the future would take him.

It's not just about the darkness in me. I've watched it turn people into monsters from the inside out, he said. His thoughts turn to Ender. A man he'd brought into the Sith Eternal, twisted by the darkness until Talak barely even recognized him anymore.

I might - or you might - go into this with the best of intentions, but the darkness corrupts all and whether before you make an Empire or after, it will twist that into something evil, he said. She would know it was true. She'd seen enough of the darkness to be aware of how it worked, but she wasn't yet so consumed with it to be blind. And if by some miracle it doesn't happen to you, then the next darksider after you will take the throne and the machine you created will grind over the galaxy and make it all the worse, he added.

I might try the Jedi. Or aid the Alliance, he said. He didn't know where he would go for sure, but the galaxy needed help, and he'd do what he could.

There are people out there who are willing to fight if they're led, he said. The Jedi were complacent, but he knew that some of them had a fire. The others in the galaxy would rise up against a Sith genocide. It was the age old story of the galaxy.

He could tell she was still angry and he let out a sigh of his own. Despite everything that had happened, he was still the same person he knew. Impulsive, frustratable, but not quite so... discouraged. For the first time in years he didn't feel as if he was at war within himself. There was grief and sadness, but also a seeming peace below that she would be able to sense.

I want to cut out the bad in the galaxy. The Sith Eternal... they aren't working toward that goal, and they aren't going to, Ana, he said. It was the difficult truth he had finally come to terms with, and he hoped that someday she would as well.