Darkness on Dantooine: Search for Rem Shivaaga, Ep. I

[Fennex Zeerda]

Dantooine, Outer Rim
Khoonda Plains
Mid-day​

"Almost there Art! Cav's somewhere up ahead on that ridge!"

Little Fennex shouted to be heard over the whine of the terrex speeder bikes repulsor engines as he and Knight Ivanov zipped through the grassy plains, scaring up a herd of galloping green Iriaz as the swooped over the crest of a gentle hill. Fen had to peek around the bigger knights side as he clung to his back, wind rippling through his fur and making his ears flatten to his skull, to see the ridge where they were supposed to be meeting Knight Cavalas. The fresh, warm, and- most importantly- dry Dantooine air felt good on his snout. He'd spent enough time in Force forsaken swamps lately to last him the rest of his furry little life.

He and Art had originally set out for Dantooine with Knight Calvyn and his young partner, as a hastily formed team tasked by the Councilors left at the temple on Jedha to seek out Councilor Shivaaga, the Crusader Master. The plan had changed a bit in route when the Strike Force received a transmission from Fen's friend Cavalas and a knight Fen didn't know- E-something, maybe. Cav and his friend had been operating on the planet already when rumors had surfaced of an Exile presence nearby. For one reason or another the Jedi already on the planet were unable to respond to requests for backup, forcing Cav to turn outward for help. After a short consultation with each other, the Strike team had agreed to split up. Calvyn and the youngling would meet Cav's partner and head for the last known location of Master Shivaaga's outpost. Fen and Art would meet Cavalas and investigate the supposed Exile presence. Fen figured that, with Rem Shivaaga's temperament, chasing down exiles would be at the very top of his priority list. If he wasn't at the outpost he would be here in the plains, hunting. It only made sense that the crusaders of the bunch look for him where there was most likely to be a fight.

Fen was excited. This was his first real mission since Illum. And yes, while the nasty pink scars across his gut and ribs still itched and he still felt a lot of aches in his wrecked left leg, he was not going to let them stop him from getting back in to the fight. This was his first opportunity that wasn't some damnable blue-milk run. He wasn't going to muck it up. The ageing knight, through many days of meditation on the nature of the force and despite all the tragedy of the last few years, had found himself filled with renewed conviction to help put the galaxy back to right. Rem Shivaaga could help them do that.

@Black Noise @Ecclessey

 

[Xiang Liu]

Walking with pride, and a job well done, the village had been left to burn; a funeral pyre on a whim. The lone Jedi Knight dispatched to guard the village lied dead, his lightsaber spinning around the palm of an exile Jedi. "You fought well...Jedi..but your death is already a fleeting memory," Xiang spoke, tossing the hilt above her head whilst drawing her own blade out, slashing the red crimson blade across the falling object. "But not well enough."

Glancing at the ruined hilt, she spat; kicking dirt on it. She found killing those she once called family a little pleasurable; showing the misguided and narrowed mind fools they brought this judgment upon themselves, holding fast to regulations others would undoubtely rebel against. The Jedi she once loved, adored, and admired where now a casket filled of broken dreams; a tomb of rotting flesh falling from bones of once begotten heroes. A quick glance again at the hilt, she smiled; wishing her former Master was still alive to witness how far she fell.

"Anger....pride....the fear of the Darkside," she spoke toward the flickering flames, "Was your failed teachings, fool. How I loathed everything about you. I regret...sadly...I could only kill you once."

Swiveling back from the infernal flames consuming the unworthy, Xiang marched across the grasslands to a mound with a broken tree. Smiling with a horrific grin painting her face, she dropped to her knees. "Is this the tree....Master....the one you wished to be buried under with your only prized possession?" Pulling from her robe, she held her former Master's hilt in her hand; feeling the stories of it's events playing over in her mind. "I know....I kept my promise."

Igniting her Master's former blade, she stared at the tree briefly waving the balanced hilt in her hand. "A promise is a promise....liar." With one quick slash, she cut down the tree placing the now powered weapon upon the stump. Rising to her her full height, she spat again before saying, "A promise is a promise....to a fool."​

 

[Artyom]

“Almost there Art, Cav’s somewhere up ahead on that ridge.”

Art did not respond, the wind roaring around his mask as he drove the speeder. His mind drifted elsewhere, to memories of their target. Artyom served under Rem Shivaaga in the outer rim campaigns, took orders from him on multiple occasions, even met the man directly once. It ached the young Jedi’s heart that this was the current state of the order, councillors missing and lost Jedi acting alone.

Hatred begged to rise within him, hatred of the exiles and all that they stood for, but he quieted his internal voices and continued driving. Since Ilum, Artyom has focused almost entirely on controlling his emotions in order to be in complete control of himself and the force. If he allowed himself even a moment’s respite to let anger and grief flood through him, Artyom feared the worst for his mental state. The Jedi had seen many young men fall to the dark side for lesser reasons, and he would not allow such to occur within him.

As Artyom drive, the feeling of the warm, furry body behind him was a great comfort. Of course, he would never admit it. The being behind him boasted of wisdom gained over a lifetime twice as long as Artyom’s own. Although the Jedi did not indulge pride, Artyom would still make sure he did not say nor admit anything that might bruise his elder’s pride.

Drawing closer to the ridge, Artyom’s attention was drawn to a massive plume of smoke off in the distance. Something was burning, something big. Speaking loudly, Artyom addressed the Amaran sitting behind him, “Master Zeerda, do you see the smoke? It does not bode well with me, let’s take a detour and confirm that everyone is alright. If I remember correctly, there’s supposed to be a village off in that direction.” Veering the speeder towards the smoke, Artyom gunned the accelerator and pushed the speeder to its limits. A sickness rose up in his stomach, and as they drew close the Jedi’s fears could be confirmed.

The village was burning.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex could smell the smoke before he could see it, hidden as he was on the back of the speeder. Ugh. It smelled like burning structures and flesh, an acrid and chemically smell, nothing like a natural wild fire or man-made bonfire. It was a cruel stench, and it made his snout crinkle and his whiskers twitch. He strained his neck around art as the speeder zipped toward the village, trying to get a glimpse . He could see the plumes of smoke rising into the clear blue sky, and orange flickers of flame licking up from burning rooftops. The village was small- a typical farming outpost, just a cluster of one or two room pre-fab huts encircling a common area, probably used for cooking or group activities, or for children to play in. No one was moving about now though. Fen nudged Art in the ribs and pointed for the open space. On the far side of the village, a lone figure could be seen- a dark figure against a golden grassy backing. A flash of bright crimson confirmed what he was looking at, if the looming darkness in the force didn't tell him enough. Exile.

"I'll take the courtyard!" Fen called out to Art, assuming he was seeing things the same and trusting him to use the terrain to his advantage.

Where is Cav? Fen wondered, hoping that he hadn't been down there in the village, alone, before this attack. Cav was a strong Jedi and a skilled duelist, and if he'd been defeated by this lone exile then it didn't bode well for Art and Fen. The old knight presumed he would find out soon enough as the pair of crusaders made their approach. There were a number of dark shapes on the ground- corpses, most likely. As Art brought the bike into the little village Fen scrambled up in the seat, prepared to jump off at the right moment. That moment came quickly as Art veered off just after entering the village. Fen hopped lightly from the saddle, landing with a soft thud on his hind paws, sabers igniting in a flash of brilliant sapphire. The stench here was overwhelming now, and the force swirled as darkly around this place as the smoke did, heavy with the sense of death and agony. A bloody, crumpled heap of Jedi robes lay not far from him, though he could not sense who it may have been. It was saddening to lose another brother or sister in this way, but Fennex did not focus on that now. His focus was entirely on the woman standing on the other side of the village.

The Force moved particularly darkly around her. It was not hard to determine that she was the source of all the pained emotions that now haunted this place. He didn't know why she felt the need to kill these people, and he didn't particularly want to know. All Fen knew is that she couldn't be allowed to continue this murderous rampage elsewhere. He reached out probingly with the Force, trying to get a better sense of her as Art circled around (he hoped). She was surely aware of the Knights now. He made no attempt to call out to her or engage in dialogue. He doubted it would be productive. Everyone here knew this could only end two ways now.

Poor girl.

Fen closed the distance in a flash of Force assisted speed, paws kicking up little puffs of dirt and soot, left saber held horizontally in front of him, the right above his head, tip toward his opponent. As he drew near, the front saber would come up above his head to ward off defensive strikes, while the right came down and across in a right to left horizontal slash that would catch the Exile just above the knees.

@Black Noise @Ecclessey (skipped for now) @Mortivica

 

[Artyom]

Artyom drove hard into the village, but applied the brakes as they entered in order to allow the older Jedi a safer leap off the bike. In the distance, he could see the crumpled robes of a fallen Jedi. No emotion filtered through Artyom's hardened heart as his eyes lost sight of the body, driving off in order to circle around the village. He had seem so much death in his time, more death than he wanted, and the body served nothing more than a grim reminder that Artyom would continue to see more and more death. Until the Exiles were eliminated, this destruction would not end.

Reaching out with the Force, Artyom identified his companion and what he assumed to be their enemy. A dark stain in the Force, an Exile. It stood out to Artyom, not as a blotch of wine stands out on a white dress, but as a drop of blood on a dirty road. Weak and missable by the eyes of anyone not trained in how to look for the evidence. Dismounting his speeder, Artyom sighed and wondered as to the location of their companion. Cav should have been here by now. Stepping beside the nearest, burning, pre-fab house, Arytom walked the open space between one burning home and the next, approaching the Exile from the opposite side of Fennex's approach.

Of course, he would arrive slightly after Fennex, and he readied himself by igniting his blade. Artyom predicted the older Knight would already be engaging the Exile by the time he laid eyes on them. Perhaps some Jedi held ideals of redemption for these Exiles, but Artyom did not. Concentrating through the Force, the Jedi steeled his body and gathered his strength for battle.

 

[Xiang Liu]

She stood, poised and observing, as the alien Jedi rushed toward her; the blades adding color to the dreary background of the smoldering village. Switching eyes from one blade to the other, she allowed the Jedi to close the distance; her own hilt in her left hand remaining unlit until time deemed it necessary to awaken it from it's slumber.

She had watched her fellow Exiles charge, to headstrong, into battle against the Jedi; allowing their emotion of hate and visions of victory to override their understanding of common sense. Those poor sods believed, learning otherwise, that brute strength and the need to rid the galaxy of one more Jedi was their path to greatness; believing in a strong offense would rule the day. She was not of that mindset. She was patient, always calculating the results of scenarios that changed second to second. No fight had concrete outcomes. The stronger duelist could be bested by the weaker duelist, if they simply remained patient, holding fast to their own understanding of their strengths and faults; whilst playing the tune of capitalizing on the mistakes of foes.

As the blade began it's swinging motion toward her knees, she brought up a Force Barrier, a dark shimmer of energy that surrounded her entire body, protecting her against the attack. The barrier wasn't entirely strong, but it did it's job.

Not wishing to remain at ground zero, especially she now saw another figure in the distance with a colorful blade humming about, she stepped to her left, igniting her hilt and calling forth the crimson blade whilst simultaneously exerting a small dose of energy to call her former Master's hilt to her right hand; thumbing the activation stud bringing the green blade into play.

Bending her knees to lower her center of gravity and robbing her opponent of a full sized target, she positioned the green blade inches over her head in a defensive posture to guard against any overhand attack, while she thrusted her red blade toward the side of the furry Jedi's right rib cage; using just enough force to allow her to cut off her attack if she required it for defense, but enough to pierce home.

​

@Fennex Zeerda / @Artyom

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

The sudden appearance of a pair of Jedi Crusaders encircling and attacking her so aggressively must have flustered the Exile, Fennex imagined. He felt her summon the Force and attempt a barrier- an advanced technique usually reserved for masters or other very experienced users, most suited for physical attacks. Only the most powerful Jedi Masters could block a lightsaber with nothing but the force, and doing so required great concentration. He pressed on with his attack, confident he could overcome the defense. His feelings were confirmed as the woman attempted a second usage of the Force, splitting her attention, her hubris likely dooming her.

Fen's attack pressed on and, taking advantage of her distraction, passed through her hastily attempted barrier and then likely both of her legs as she foolishly divided her own attention. Having felt her attempt to summon a second saber to her hand, the Knight let the momentum of his strike carry his body into a tight counterclockwise hop-spin, interrupting her telekinesis attempt by bringing his left saber down at her outstretched wrist while his right saber, having completed its strike, took up the defensive position above and behind his head. This maneuver would land him with his left foot forward, facing her, inching the little Jedi even closer inside her guard, with his left saber taking up its place defending his front and his right resuming its place above his head, pointed at his opponent. Back to his starting position. Ready to fend off any last desperate strikes.

@Mortivica @Black Noise

 

[Artyom]

When Artyom laid physical eyes on the older Jedi and the exile, Fennex was already swinging his blade in an attempt to make contact with the Exile's legs. He could easily sense the Exile's attempt at a Force barrier, though he felt nothing about her choice to utilize that defense. Many Exiles overextended themselves in battle, believing themselves stronger than they were. The Dark Side's corrupting influence was a cancer on the brain, Artyom firmly believed, that robbed the user of the ability to think clearly and see the long term, and occasionally short term, consequences of the user's actions.

Dashing forward, Artyom swung his ignited blade in front of him from his position behind the Exile, seeking to bisect the Exile's neck and shoulders. Such a blow would separate her head and shoulders from her body should it connect. The blade swung from Artyom's left hand and crossed across his own body from right to left. When he swung his weapon, his right foot would be in front of him and his left behind. He timed his attack so that it would land merely seconds after Fennex's own. Therefore, if Fennex's attack failed completely, then the Exile's neck and shoulders would not be where Artyom predicted them. In such a case, Artyom's blade would seek to bisect the Exile's midsection.

Pushing off his right and left feet simultaneously, Artyom would leap a meter back after his attack, regardless of success. Keeping his blade in front of his body, ready for any counter attacks, Artyom would watch for any aggressive movements before pressing his attack. His body was like a calm river, no emotion moved through him as he fought. Battle was a necessity, not an enjoyment. To Artyom, eliminating this Exile was nothing more than a short task to complete. Short and simple, it was comparable to washing dishes or brushing teeth. It required no thought, no emotion.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

Fennex's attacks connected. His first strike quickly severed both of the Exiles legs just above the knee, as intended, and his second separated her outstretched hand from the rest of her arm, leaving the summoned lightsaber to crash into the dirt half way to its destination. Fen felt Art's presence move in fractions of a second after his, his attack neatly severing her head at the neck and then leaping backwards before she even had time to react. The Jedi assault had been aggressive and overwhelming- a signature of the Jedi Crusaders. Fennex let nothing distract him, however. He felt no feeling of victory or elation as the young woman fell in a crumpled heap. Dying and dead- whether they knew it or not- animals could be the most dangerous prey in the galaxy. Fen maintained his defense for a handful of long, excruciatingly slow and silent seconds. The entire world around the trio seemed to freeze. Not even the lightest breeze stirred the air as the Exiles self became one with the Force.

When the knight was sure that the threat was ended, he deactivated his sabers and stood up straight. The only sound to be heard now was that of his panting. He moved quickly to secure the ornate lightsaber still clutched tightly in the dead girls right hand. Simply touching the slim metal cylinder with his bare paw was enough for him to feel the pain the object had seen in its short life. He shook off the feeling as he eyed the exiles head. The poor girls face was frozen forever in her dying moments. Her mouth showed a cruel grin that indicated both patience and amusement, but her eyes... her eyes were full of shock. He very much doubted this was the way she thought things would end when she first discovered her powers to command the force. For most people, they naturally wanted to use their newfound powers to become super heroes of a sort. Younglings all over the galaxy pretended to use the Force in their games, protecting the weak and the innocent, but few were ever granted the chance to do so for real... And yet, somewhere along the line, so many lost sight of that dream. The Dark Side's corrupting influence seeped in, bit by bit, clouding peoples judgement and driving them to acts like this. Its started as doubts and insecurutities, or a desire for more strength. It often disguised itself as good intentions, which is what made it so insidious. Until one day it took hold completely, and turned even the greatest into monsters. Fen had seen that with Grandmaster Saresh, and he felt as if he was seeing it again now. The little Crusader was sure that young Xiang was probably someone he would have very much enjoyed meeting just a few years ago, before whatever happened to her. Fennex gently closed the girls eyes for the last time.

"We are one with the Force, the Force is with us." the Knight whispered to his fallen sister.

Fennex stood up again, slowly, and met the gaze of his fellow knight. They had found and conquered the dark presence here, but this wasn't what they'd come here for. Cav was nowhere to be found, and they were no closer to finding their missing councilor yet. All they had managed to do was end another life and now they were saddled with the task of showing some last shred of respect to more fallen victims of this war. This was a vicious and seemingly endless cycle. Fennex slipped the Exiles blade into his little courseweave shoulder bad and then shuffled over to the one she had tried to summon. As he turned the hilt over in his hands, he felt none of the darkness that clung to the exile weapon. He activated it, revealing a bright emerald blade. A Jedi weapon, he thought as his heart sank. The fox slipped this weapon into his bag as well as he continued on to investigate the crumpled heap of Jedi robes he had spied upon arrival.

His heart was in is throat as he knelt to turn the body over, fearing the worst... Knight Savard. A crusader known to him, and a heavy loss. The order would mourn the brave knights passing. His open eyes showed the same sort of shock in them that the exile's had. No matter their strength or sect, it seemed that they all died the same when their time came, Fennex thought. Surprised, scared, and alone. Fen's ears drooped in sorrow.

@Ecclessey @Black Noise @Mortivica

 

[Artyom]

Artyom did not close his eyes beneath the faceless visage of his mask as the woman's head fell. His body rigid in preparation for a counter-attack, it took a few full, painful seconds to disengage his mind from the iron grip of battle. Slowly, Artyom relaxed and deactivated his lightsaber for the moment. He was suddenly hyper aware of both knight Fennex's panting and his own rapid breathing. The sounds of a thousand laser bolts and screaming men filled his head as he looked upon the dead body of the Exile. Whispers, anger, darkness, these things flooded in as he stared at those twin, cold, dead eyes. Artyom swallowed hard, those eyes, darker than night, they looked right through him. They could see what he had done, they knew of his sins and they added to them. The eyes spoke to him, 'Judgement will come for you, judgement will-'

His trance broken by his partner closing the eyes of the Exile, Artyom breathed a deep sigh of relief. Removing his mask, the Crusader remarked quietly, "I am not as controlled as I believed, damn." His mind regained, Artyom placed a hand over his heart and clipped his mask to his belt for the time being. Stepping over towards the body as Fennex pulled one of the blade's of the fallen Exile to his person, Artyom looked over the crumpled body, mercilessly cut to pieces. His eyes quickly spotted the second blade of the Exile, a cruel weapon clearly designed after her fall.

Moving towards the body, Artyom watched Knight Fennex retrieve the two blades, igniting one in order to examine it. The knowledge that, likely, the Exile has killed her Master was not lost on Artyom. He was thankful, however, that Fennex retrieved the blades. It was not forgotten how dangerous lightsabers were. Although valuable tools of the Jedi, lightsabers still functioned as weapons and, in the hands of evil, created untold amounts of destruction. The less blades there were drifting about in the galaxy, the better. Watching still his partner, the young Jedi observed him examining the body of their fallen brethren. Unfortunately, even after seeing the face, Artyom did not know the Jedi. Seeing the fox's ears fall, Artyom theorized that his elder knew of the fallen knight.

Moving towards him, Artyom knelt down and set a hand on the fallen Jedi. Without turning towards his companion, he reaffirmed their grand mission in a somber tone, "We will not let the sacrifices of our forebearers be in vain. This will not always be the way of life, I know this to be true. Come, let us give our brother, and all these people, peace." At that, Artyom reached down and scooped up the body in his arms. Carrying it over towards the fallen tree, he set the body down gently and straight atop it. Assisted by Knight Fennex, the two gathered up the bodies of the fallen villagers and the Exile, gently piling them down against the tree. Once complete, Artyom ignited his blade and, along with Fennex, set the great tree and the bodies of the fallen ablaze.

Stepping back, Artyom watched the pyre for but a moment before speaking quietly, "There is no death, there is the Force." His words were less of a eulogy and more of a reminder to himself. He’d see that their sacrifices were not in vain, he convinced himself, for if he did not then for what point was there to live if not in remembrance and reverence of those who came before? Turning away, Artyom spoke louder, "Let us continue with our mission." And made his way towards where the speeder bike was stowed. He retrieval would be swift, Fennex would not need to accompany him if he wished to spend a few more precious moments by the pyre.

@Loco @Ecclessey

My theme​

 

[Cavalas Onn]

Cavalas had some bad experience with comms and Fennex on Ossus, but he had never guessed that the bad luck would follow them all the way to Dantooine. His radio had seemed to be jammed for the last couple of hours. It had forced the Serenno aristocrat into a lonely existence here on the planet whose untouched harmony -for the slightest of moments- had worked to convince him to end the final crusade before it started. Cavalas was in doubt and longed for a cold drink, good company and perhaps even a sparring match in the safety of the temples that were so beloved by the guardians. He had come to Dantooine to more or less let go of traditional Jedi values and join Rem's crusade until his life energy would dissipate into the ill-defined Force. It would have been what was expected of him back on Serenno and as his vanity would say: It would've been with the honor of doing his duty. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. Vinn and Evalyn, themselves aristocrats like Cavalas, had such a different -more positive- view on the galaxy. They knew joy the likes of which he had only known as a child. He suddenly craved to return to such innocence.

That is, until he saw the tree being set aflame. He, too, knew Savard and had fought beside him on Ilum. A good knight and an even better crusader who had surely joined Rem on his crusade. Cavalas' soul hardened as he watched his friend's body burn next to the black-robed child and he pressed his jaw together as tight as humanly possible.
If the Dark Side could give so much power to a child that it could overcome a crusader like Savard, then... then the crusade could never end. The fallen had to be eradicated. "There will be death for those that are exiled," he spoke as he approached them on his speeder and only stopping when he was between his companions and the burning tree. "The Force we draw from cannot include the dark energies of the fallen for we would fall as well." he continued, knowing full well that the others would know similar crusader-rhetoric to justify their extreme methods. "Artyom is right on one thing, though. We're here to find Rem Shivaaga." Cavalas knew that his serious mannerisms and harsh view of what he thought was the galaxy's reality didn't exactly make him popular among his fellow Jedi and while he had cared for that only ten minutes ago, such trivial thoughts had faded from his mind. He had returned to his primary goal and he would wipe them all out.. for Ilum.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"The Force is all the same Knight Cavalas. It's how you use it that counts."

Fennex growled a bit irritably at the younger Jedi. He was still coming down off the complex mix of emotions that preceded and followed the battle. No matter how many times you got in a fight, you felt it all over again. All the same chemicals and impulses were kicking around in your body and in your brain, but it just didn't affect you like it did the first few times. Building the pyres for the dead- friends, foes, and innocent- had given him enough work to distract and calm his mind, but apparently it had still left him in a bit of a foul mood. Too small to move the bodies on his own, he'd had to use the Force to help him, and now he was sweating and exhausted.

The old fox wasn't as much a fanatic as some of the younger crusaders either. He believed the Exiles needed to be exterminated to bring peace and balance back to the Galaxy, absolutely, but that didn't mean he agreed with how some Jedi chose to go about it. He didn't believe that evil could ever be totally eradicated from the galaxy, either. If the Dark Side didn't exist, how could the Jedi know what Light Side was? Balance meant just that. Balance. It needed to be carefully grown, guided, and nurtured. Hopefully trimming one rotten branch today would help save the tree. But there was much more work left to do. Art had just been about to walk back to their speeder when Cav finally showed up.

"I'm glad you have a flair for being fashionably late Cav, but you missed the party entirely this time. I hope you have some good news to make up for it."


@Black Noise @Ecclessey

 

[Artyom]

Pulling the speeder around by its handles, not mounting the vehicle yet, Artyom approached the two as their conversation began. As Fennex inquired as to Cavalas's absence, Artyom interjected before his fellow human could respond. He addressed Fennex only, his own emotions still turbulent and only slowly growing colder, "It does not matter, Knight Fennex. Even if Cavalas arrived with us, we would still have been too late to change anything. Let's go."

Truthfully, it was not that Cavalas's tardiness 'did not matter' as Artyom put it. Rather, it was that the Knight had no desire to hear any excuses from Cav. A Crusader was dead, they were too late for him, but they were not too late for Rem Shivaaga, at least Artyom hoped they were not. Mounting the speeder bike, the Jedi would wait for Fennex before revving the engine and starting off back in their original direction. As the bike left the village, Artyom reached out to his riding partner's mind, seeking to give a gentle nudge of calming emotions. In addition, he attempted to leave a message in Fennex's mind,

Well, it can't get any worse than this.


@Loco @Ecclessey

 

[Cavalas Onn]

"My apologies, Fennex. My wounds needed longer to heal that I had anticipated." Cavalas said regretfully. Earlier that day he had been together with three other Jedi and they had received the brunt of the dangerous wildlife hidden on Dantooine. It turned out that, contrary to his initial thoughts, this planet wasn't as tranquil and idyllic as he had hoped. No wonder then that Rem Shivaaga had chosen Dantooine, for behind its tranquil facade lay a fierce weapon. In some ways it was synonymous with the Jedi crusader.

Cavalas turned his neck to look at the dead once again and grimaced, "I don't know if it's good news, but the reports of Fallen Jedi didn't describe that girl." he tried to recount what he'd heard as he pressed the gas and directed the speeder bike towards the reported coordinates. With their advanced speed it was difficult to hear each other talk above the winds, so Cavalas maneuvered his bike awfully close alongside Artyom to communicate with his two fellow crusaders. "Going off from the report it's three of them. A green Twi'lek male, a young female Bothan and a human male." The sped through a swarm of flies as they crossed a small marsh and Cavalas had been forced to close his mouth to prevent a bug infestation in his stomach. "The Twi'lek I'm pretty sure is-" He suddenly swirled to his left away from the others to avoid a boulder that protruded from the otherwise plain grassy landscape, "-Knight Guardian Olme Tryfasa." He had fought alongside Olme on Ilum and remembered his strong convictions. Whatever made him fall, Cavalas knew Olme was the very definition of a Guardian before his fall and one of the best lightsaber duelists he'd ever met. "I don't know who the Bothan is, but-" now came the painful memories and regretful admittance, "The human Rel Makk. I killed his former padawan three weeks ago right before his eyes." he paused, his eyes tearing up because of the wind and not because of the emotion, yet the regret was clearly visible. "She had fallen," he almost yelled it, "His feelings for her forced my hand! I couldn't trust him to do the right thing!"

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"Three more?" Fennex shouted over the roar of the bikes and the rushing of the wind past his long ears, "Sounds great. What's the worst that could happen, right?"

He was once again clinging to Art's back as they sped across the grassy plain. With the death of the exiles he and Art had laid to rest, he'd felt a diminishing in the strength of the darkside presence on the planet. It did nothing, however, to relieve a certain sense of uneasiness he was feeling. Three more fallen knights could certainly cause such a feeling, and Fennex had felt that many times before. This threat was nothing to be scoffed at. The Jedi had been beacons of hope in the Galaxy for a reason, and it wasn't their powers of negotiation that got them starring roles in B-side holo-vids. They were dangerous, and exiles who had embraced the darkside could be even more dangerous than most. This felt different though, and Fen couldn't place it. Cav and Art may not either, preoccupied as they seemed to be. The younger knights seemed fixated on either their own guilt (whether they recognized it or not) or their singular mission. That sort of single mindedness could easily cloud their perception. Not that his own perception was any better, Fen thought, since his own perception seemed awfully cloudy.

"If you think you did right then you did right, Cav." Fen offered by way of assurance, "If you doubted it you wouldn't have killed her.

It might now have been the reassurance the younger man was looking for, but it was how Fen saw things. Deliberate. Decide. Trust in the Force and your instincts. Carry out your choice without hesitation or regret. Nothing could change the past. Move past it. It was an easy enough thing to say, but an incredibly difficult lesson to master. Even Fennex had trouble with it on occasion. Move on. The knight tried his comlink again, to no avail, trying to raise a signal to the other party of the strike team. Nothing. He was now firmly convinced there was something wrong with the comms on the planet, or at least in the region. Nothing stayed down this long without a reason, and he had a feeling it wouldn't be too long before they found out what it was.

"Bugger the Exiles for a moment. Any word of the Councilor?" Fen inquired of Cav.

@Ecclessey @Black Noise

 

[Cavalas Onn]

Looking east as they left the valley, Cavalas' eyes widened in dread and without much of a word he directed his speeder bike towards the sudden distraction. It was thick black smoke rising from where he knew was another village. That was the second village already, he thought as he remembered the scene where he joined up with Fennex and Artyom. "Is that word enough!?" he shouted to be heard above the winds as he sped towards the burning buildings. Word of Rem Shivaaga being on Dantooine didn't just reach the Jedi Order, it seemed, for there was a disproportionate level of destruction, death and despair on this planet and it was possible all caused by the large amount of fallen jedi. Did they betray Rem in their fall? he wasn't sure, but he feared something way worse. Did Councilor Shivaaga embrace the Dark Side, again?

This was bad business and as he got closer and closer to the village he realized that the smoke wasn't an isolated occurrence and in the distance a new pillar of black smoke rose to the skies. "Only war can leave such a devastation!" Cavalas cried out in despair, but something in him was undeniable excited. If there were still live exiles here he'd make sure they'd never get off planet alive for their crimes. There was no more doubt in his mind, only conviction. If Shivaaga had fallen he'd set him free from his mortal body and continue the crusade without him. The Exiles had to be eliminated to prevent the destruction of worlds like Dantooine.

@Loco @Black Noise

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"Get ahold of yourself Cav!" Fennex shouted irritably, "You sound like a frightened youngling!"

This was getting strange. You'd think that this amount of death and devastation would leave a mark... not a physical one- there was smoke and the stench of burning duracrete and plasteel everywhere. There should be a mark in the Force. A sort of dark stain, a cold spot, a sense of dread... something. Something that would make it known that many people had died here, and especially so if it was at the hands of an Exile or some dark side abomination. Strong emotions left something behind. But... Fennex didn't feel... anything. There was nothing here. A hint of fear, maybe, at best. There was no lingering sense of death or pain. No scent of rage or fear or anything else one would expect to cling to the site of an exile raid...

"Stop!" Fen called to Art and Cav both as the approached the edges of another burning outpost.

Fennex hopped off the back of the bike as they slowed to a crawl. When the engines died down, the place was eerily quiet. All Fennex could hear was the faint crackle of smoldering embers from the outposts remains, and the gentle swishing of the tall Dantooine grasslands. That was it. Curious, the little knight pressed forward into the village. The place was wrecked for sure, but something felt off. If his parties previous encounter was any indication, this place didn't bear the right sort of scars. There were blaster marks and the central square seemed trampled, but there were no lightsaber scoring marks to be had. And, again, there was no feeling here. This place hadn't been attacked out of anger, or rage, or fear, or whatever else drove an exile. In fact the only fear he could sense was decidedly... civilian? Nothing distinctive at all. It seemed just like any typical traumatizing event that didn't involve mass casualties... Oh. That was it. Fen realized with a start, looking around hurriedly as if seeing the place for the first time as he realized something painfully obvious, sniffing at the air with his powerful nose to confirm...

There were no bodies here.

@Ecclessey @Black Noise

 

[Artyom]

Artyom kept deathly quiet as his two companions shouted to each other over the whine of the speeders. His gaze steeled and his face twisted into a dark grimace beneath his mask, the Knight kept driving without hesitation as the group approached the second burning village. Whether or not Cav was justified in his murder of a fallen knight, Artyom did not care. A fallen Jedi was not redeemable in any capacity. To Art, the fallen Jedi who grew up in the order and turned their backs on it were the worst kind of scum. Those were the men and women who examined their friends, their loved companions, and their mentors, and found them wanting in comparison to raw power.

Exiles cast aside their bonds for the draw of evil, and they were scum because of it. Artyom did not call out above the roar of the speeders, rather, he reached out to Cavalas's mind and sought to speak a few words to him. It was a gentle nudge, carrying the feelings of reassurance from a friend.

'I will take care of Rel Makk, release your emotions, we will make all well.'

When Fennex ordered him to stop, Art quickly pulled his speeder to the side and allowed his companion to dismount. Without thinking, he started taking a long circle around the burning buildings, still on the speeder. If there was yet another fallen in this village, Artyom would be ready for the fight that would doubtlessly ensue by flanking their enemy. As he stopped the speeder behind a completely burnt out pre-fab, the Knight reached out with the Force and drew his hilt.

The absence of darkness, the lack of death and wounds within the energy of this place, it spoke to Artyom. Igniting his blade, he reached out his senses and readied himself. Quietly, he remarked.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

 

[Cavalas Onn]

Cavalas looked around, suddenly bewildered and with a slight increase of panic. "There's no one here," he said, knowing the others had just discovered the same thing. "What is this planet?"

Dantooine wasn't growing on him.

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"Bad feeling indeed..." Fennex muttered as he wandered through the wrecked village.

He sniffed several times at the air, trying to catch a whiff of something other than burning prefab huts, scorched duracrete, and melted plasteel. He wasn't hoping for the smell of cooked flesh, per se, but its absence in this case was unexpected and somewhat disconcerting. It made Fen's fur stand on end. Unlike so many other places he had experienced in his career as a Jedi knight, this place was strange because there was no death. It was an abrupt and unusual change from so many battlefields littered with bodies, or even the last village they had visited- devastated at the hands of the exile apprentice. That place had reeked of burning corpses- many of them put on a pyre by Art and Fen themselves. It had been awful, but it was familiar at the same time. This was different, but Fen didn't like it any better right now.

"This doesn't feel right." He called out to Art and Cav, knowing as he did so it was probably obvious and unnecessary.

He poked at the smoldering door of one of the little huts with the butt of his lightsaber and watched it collapse in a puff of ash. Fennex coughed as the ash scattered around him and made its way up his nostrils, causing him to work up to a slow sneeze. Sniffling, he pushed his way inside, the burning interior forcing him to cover his snout and making his eyes water. The interior was much the same as the rest of the villages exterior, disheveled and burning slowly. A childs doll sat conspicuously in the middle of the floor, untouched by the flames and devastation around it, a stark contrast to the shattered dishware and uneaten food scattered in the dining area, or the partially collapsed roof. There was even a tea kettle still singing in the food-prep area. Fen picked up the doll without thinking about it and slipped it into his bag before making his way back outside, the smoke and heat overwhelming him.

The fox gulped in the fresh exterior air, panting heavily. He wasn't sure why he'd gone in there. It was very clear just from looking that something terrible had happened here, but it was impossible to determine what, exactly. Coughing up mucus and tearing heavily, it took Fennex a few moments to collect his breath. He wandered through the to the center of the village where the smoke didn't swirl so heavily, and sat down on the edge of the slightly raised well. Catching his breath, he took the doll out of his bag to study it. He wasn't sure what he was hoping to see in the thing. It was a crude little creation, hand sewn sack in a humanoid shape, with colored yarn for hair and drawn on mouth and eyes. Hanging limply from one hand was a strip of plastic. Fen toyed with it for a moment, holding it up and then realizing suddenly what it was. This was a Jedi doll, complete with a little blue lightsaber, and a smile on its rough sewn little face. Fen gazed for several seconds into the little dolls eyes, hoping that it could tell him something, anything. But the doll had nothing to say. It's little smile remained impassive and unmoving.

"Lets go." He called to Art and Cav, "There's something wrong here. We need to find the others."

He made his way quickly back to the bikes, his thoughts scattered and distracted- uncharacteristic for the little knight. This situation was unusual and made him worry. He'd seen too much recently, and the events still weighed heavily on him. He had hoped this hunt would be quick and easy, but that had proved unlikely since before they even landed and had only gotten worse since. He had link-up coordinates for the other party, and he sent them to the swoop bikes little nav computer for Art to follow. He tried hailing the other group, but was answered with the same static as before. Nothing was working as it should, and it was beginning to frustrate him.

He hoped the others would be there. If they weren't... Force knew what he would do. There were no more back up plans for this.

@Black Noise @Ecclessey

/Thread