What Options Remain

[Alphonse Carraway]

The die had been cast. Alphonse had left the Jedi Order, officially due to disillusionment of which he had been quite vocal about up until his decision. In truth it was to pursue his ideals without his criminal background sullying the name of the Jedi any further as well as their own sullying his. Perhaps at one time it would have been more advantageous to have stayed with them through thick and thin, though that time was not now. No, there would need to be multiple avenues taken to reach the desired future, there was no one path that everyone could tread to find what they wanted.

It was for this reason that Alphonse had come to Mustafar, to meet with someone he had done business with previously. Rhea had been one to guide him before and now that he was no longer with the Jedi perhaps she would be more amenable to helping him further. He had a collection of tomes from the Jedi archives that he had taken with him before leaving, perhaps some of those would be of interest to her. At the very least he could discern what his standing was with her, knowing that his actions with Leviticus could have possibly caused some strife as he had seen her in his memories. The exact nature of their relationship was unclear, mainly as Alphonse hadn't read ALL of Leon's mind, but just the fact she was in it meant that she had played a part in shaping him somehow.

While he didn't expect any trouble, he was prepared for it regardless. As always he had his stun cane in his left hand and his blaster hidden beneath his coat on his right hip. His lightsaber was hidden up his right sleeve with a simple blade hidden up the left. The Force on Mustafar was quite a different feel from most planets, something Al had been trying to get used to. He made sure to keep his emotional and mental shields up, the latter bolstered by knowledge he had taken from Rhea at their first meeting, and he kept control of the Force around him to use as needed. It was a habit for him now to do this, always practicing and keeping his edge sharp on all of his skills. He stood in a large black stone gazebo overlooking a stream of lava from one of the many volcanoes on the planet, admiring the burning color of the stuff. He wasn't so focused that he wouldn't notice someone coming up towards him, though, as that would just be careless.

@Malon

 

[Rhea]

The Yusanis swung into high atmosphere above Mustafar moments after reverting to realspace. Rhea sat in the cockpit of her Star Courier examining life-form readings. When she located a lone life form out on the far volcanic rivers of the northern hemisphere, she adjusted course and dove into the lower atmosphere.

Even in daylight, Mustafar was a foreboding and hellish landscape. Rhea had never been herself; she had only seen holos of the world and heard tales of it in the whispers of other Exiles. Leviticus himself, she understood, had once visited the molten planet. And it was for his sake that she arrived now. She landed her Star Courier along a blackened bluff and departed immediately for the meeting location with Alphonse.

Her own thoughts and intentions were behind an iron curtain. Whatever trust Alphonse thought he had built with her had gone the moment she had discovered his treachery. Now, only answers were needed. Answers and sweet retribution. As Rhea strolled into the meeting place, she felt her anger spike and the Force almost unconsciously coiling within he as though a viper poised to strike.

"I trust you are aware there are more hospitable locations in the galaxy for a parlay," Rhea spoke venemously as she entered the gazebo. "Though, I suppose I should not be surprised that you chose this world. The dark side of the Force runs strong here, after all."

@Insalius

 

[Darth Kravos]

Kal Vox's gut twisted for the briefest of moments before a cold chill ran up his spine and was replaced by something close to peace. Not as the Jedi would have defined it, but a feeling of quiet confidence in what he was doing. He knew how this meeting would unfold, even if Alphonse did not. He'd called Kal as a spot of reinforcement in case this meeting went sideways. He didn't trust the snake that was Rhea, it seemed, and that in itself was wise. Kal knew that sooner or later, this would happen, and even if this turned out to be a trap for him, he was ready for it.

His trip to the lava world had left him settling deeply into the darkness until the monster he'd come to touch surfaced. It was a beast devoid of emotion or doubt, warmth or the things that had once made him Jedi. He knew that the Witch would try to turn his mind, attacking him with word and thought. He was familiar with her style even as he'd watched from the shadows, allowing her to think he was the leashed dog who would make no move without Alais. Her underestimation of him would be her undoing, and his mind was was ready for her assaults. The beast didn't care for any of the doubts she would sow and everything she might say to him, he'd already pondered in his short exile on Dac.

In his time there, he'd heard a story that resonated with him of a type of sea serpent that had a very unusual method of hunting. It would lie at the bottom of the ocean as if impotent and it's enemies would approach, yet it would remain completely still. They would continue to take little nibbles of the snake, and yet it would remain completely still. Kal had lay in wait and let his enemies come to him, and now was the time to make his move when his enemy was isolated.

He was surprised that Alphonse had called him, but perhaps it was the fact that she'd been asking about Kal or the fact that he knew she was an issue or the history the two had together. For one reason or another, he had trust that Kal would have his back. He only wondered if Alphonse knew that this would end in bloodshed regardless of anything else.

Kal had followed just after Rhea, silent as death and his life force buried deeply in a way that only a master with years hunting in the shadows could do. His saber hilt was in hand as he made his way up behind her. Her venom had been noticed by more than just him, which only reinforced further his resolve, not that he would have doubted anyway. His gut and the Force had screamed at him the first time he'd met the woman, and he wasn't one to ignore such a warning.

His saber lit as he gazed at her back silently and the Force swelled within him. There was a darkness inside of him that tapped into a power that was otherwise dormant inside of him. There were no waves of emotion, just the narrow gaze of a man determined on his own end. Your treachery is over, wormtongue, he said, voice quiet but menacing. He knew she would have some scathing words about how he was inept or foolish or shortsighted, but he didn't care. Not one bit. He knew she would have come for him sooner or later, and he wasn't going to wait forever.

Spoiler: OOC

Entered with permission from Insalius @Malon @Insalius
Also, just in case

 

[Alphonse Carraway]

It was written all over Rhea's body language just as the venom dripped from her voice. She was NOT here for one of their meetings like they had done in the past. While the woman was skilled with protecting her mind from probing attempts she had still not managed to train her physical tendencies to be just as obfuscating. Alphonse had done something to warrant this, yet what was it? His continued work on Vrogas Vas? The fact he hadn't been to Ilum yet? Or was it indeed Leviticus, whose memories he had managed to glimpse during his work reforming the man and healing the wounds of his heart? Or perhaps he was just no more use to her, that she had found another for her purposes. In the back of his mind he started to ponder what the truth was, though at best at the moment all he could come up with is conjecture.

He questioned his foresight in calling Kal for backup, taking a gamble that the man would honor their previous relationship instead of having fallen to being a true pawn of the Exiles. The stories he had heard of Devaron had worried him, as had the spa meeting with Alais and just seeing how...carefree she was after having done such horrible things to her former brethren. He also knew Rhea had been there, that alone having been the reason he had needed someone to have his back during this meeting. Hopefully the gamble would pay off in his benefit, though he would have to wait and see what would unfold from the drama playing out in front of him. He kept all of his defenses up, physical and with the Force alike, as he kept a firm grip on all his weapons. It would seem that Kal had some sort of problem with Rhea that needed to be dealt with first. How intriguing, perhaps he could learn more of their problems.

"There are many reasons I chose this world, though in truth the Dark Side wasn't a conscious part of the choice. I learned a great many interesting things from Leon and I wanted to see for myself just what about this world interested him so much. At least, when he still had hate feeding his heart. How IS he doing, by the way? I at least hope his Spa day at my expense helped calm him down a bit." He looked over at Kal, raising an eyebrow as he started to speak about what he heard. "Has she done something to betray you and Alais, Kal? I admit, I've been quite out of the loop, especially since I've left the Jedi. Though I suppose I'll have to wait for an answer until your business is settled." With that he stood back, noting that the two would most likely get into a fight. He had no place to intervene, instead willing to bear witness. He figured he might learn something interesting in their exchange, though. His right hand in his pocket, he turned on the recording feature to his commlink. He wouldn't want to miss anything interesting, after all.

@Phoenix @Malon

 

[Rhea]

Rhea could see that there would be no avoiding it. She had not expected Kal to be there, but it was fortuitous that he was. She could settle her business with Alphonse later. There were more important matters to attend.

She called the Force to her, allowing it to gather within her, coiling like a serpent to strike. In the same moment she made sure that her mind became a fog behind which even the likes of Kal Vox would not be able to read her intent. In this state, invigorated by the Force, Rhea's perceptions were sharpened and she would notice any movements he made to engage her.

She also took in their surroundings. Ahead some twenty-five meters was a cascade of lava, roaring ever-so-loudly in the distance. About three meters to her right was a river of molten rock—the byproduct of the cascade—out of which several large boulders jutted out, though they were too far and too jagged for either of them to feasibly use them as footholds. The embankment they found themselves on was a flat beach of black, volcanic sand, which, ten meters to her left rose a steep cliff. The setting was utterly inhospitable, but fitting, Rhea thought, for a battle between Exiles.

She then unclipped her lightsabers and ignited both at the same moment—adding a blooshine hue to the already molten environment surrounding them. Her stance was open, lightsabers out to either side of her, ready to intercept whatever he might throw her way. For better or worse, the end was about to come for one of them.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

His saber swung into a reverse grip in his hand and he held still. And she'll betray you too, he said. It was just a gut feeling. He didn't even have evidence that she'd betrayed Kal and Alais, but he knew. He knew in his heart from the first time he saw her that she was a toxin, and she would no doubt go on to betray others. The shell of a Shadow didn't wait to see what effect those words would have on Alphonse, he was only evaluating for threats now, and he could feel and sense everything that happened around him.

His yellow eyes narrowed and the only thing that entered his mind was what he needed in order to be victorious. The Force flowed freely through him and every sense became sharper than most would think possible. Every shifting of stone and crunch under his boots reached him and the unseen currents of the Force around him became almost visible. Each movement felt smooth and practiced as he fell into the zone of death.

It appeared she didn't deign to look at him and he almost let out a dark, evil chuckle. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable. He didn't make some quick darting strike forward, instead his left hand clenched and the Force tightened around her throat with the intent to crush her windpipe and snap her neck if she did not act with immediacy.

Spoiler: OOC

Since you didn't mention turning around, I assumed you're still facing away. If not, I can edit that. @Malon @Insalius

 

[Alphonse Carraway]

Even if Kal Vox had fallen to the Dark Side, there were a few things that didn't change about a person no matter how twisted they could become. For Kal it was his pursuit of doing what he thought was right, mainly his loyalty to those he cared about, and even though Alais was quickly changing herself into something darker and farther from what Alphonse remembered Kal at least still acted like he remembered. If Rhea had done something to betray them, especially with how close they had seemingly become from their attack on Devaron, then this must have been something very bad indeed. If she had been willing to betray her own comrades, perhaps her own students if that was what she considered Alais, then it would be a simple matter for he himself to be betrayed. But how would the woman do so? He had left the Jedi, after all, so he couldn't be tossed from there if she told someone else about his meetings.

Then it hit him. If she really wanted to betray Alphonse, she could tell Nora about their meetings. Hell, she could even tell her lies if she wanted. Nora was still recovering from Devaron and despite the brave face she put on she wasn't fully moved on from the attack. Rhea would also know about her, having been there, and if she had the silver tongue like how Kal had mentioned then it was possible she had sought out Nora to turn her against him. Then again, she could have done nothing of the sort. Regardless, Al could feel the final pieces of a puzzle falling into place. It left him at a strange sense of peace, acceptance, and it bolstered is connection to the Force. He kept building up that power, Mustafar being strong in the Dark Side yet not devoid of the Light, and he would need all of that before the final parts of his tale were done.

He watched the two battle, wary of them both, though in the back of his mind he was planning his next moves after Mustafar. He would record his life and experiences as best he could, sending Nora a message with the truth of his dealings and nothing but the truth. It would be up to her to believe him, though he felt he was signing his own death warrant regardless. Then it would be time to call in favor with an old friend of his on Nar Shadaa. Then there was Ark...He hoped the boy was growing up okay on Myrhen, wondering how his other father was doing raising him. He'd meant to come back with things calmed down, though now it seemed like he wouldn't be able to. He'd do what he could for the boy, though, even if the process would be convoluted. He was probably the only thing he had touched in the galaxy that the darkness hadn't claimed and he'd be damned if he let that happen even after death.

@Malon @Phoenix

 

[Rhea]

Fool. Rhea felt the twinge at her throat as Kal attempted to clench her trachea closed. But there was more force to it than that. He wanted to break her neck. She did not let him. The Force already gathered to her, she imagined an invisible donut-shaped barrier around her neck, which pushed the malignant Force energy he had wrapped around her neck back and away, freeing her windpipe.

As she did this, she finally turned to face him. Her putrid yellow eyes burned into his. There was no forgiveness to be found there. She did not speak. She would not give him an opening to exploit. Instead, the hatred in her eyes issued him a challenge. A challenge that would simply say: It is going to take far more than that to kill me.

Her stance was the same as before. Her lightsabers were held out to either side of her. Her gaze was solely focused on him. If he attacked, she would be ready to protect herself from him. It was time to see what this Shadow could do.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

Kal's lip turned up in what could be as much sneer as smile. She still underestimated him. She'd fallen for his bait, and now he let his trap close in. At the end of the day, he was a killer from the shadows and tactics that preserved him were what he used. He didn't move to engage her in blade range, because that was not where his advantage lay.

She protected her throat as he knew she would - as she had to - but while that would require her focus and power to be concentrated, Kal had power to tap into that extended beyond, reaching into the darkest corners of his mind.

Even as the Force still gripped around her throat, ready to crush her throat the moment she became distracted, his fingers on his right hand began to manipulate the Force further. It closed around her upper body to lift her off the ground and drop her into the lava mere meters to her side. The movement was surprisingly quick as only a master of the Force could do, and she had virtually no recourse as she would be forced to choose between her throat and burning alive as it was not within her repertoire to defend against both.

Even so, Kal was alert to her every movement and ripple in the Force lest she try some last desperate move to take him with her. He knew how these things went, and a snake in its dying throes was still venomous. @Insalius @Malon

 

[Alphonse Carraway]

The sheer power of what he felt coming from Kal was almost forcing Alphonse to his knees, only his current gathering of the Force keeping him even on his feet. The spectacle before his eyes was almost more than he could even believe, not only was he trying to crush Rhea's throat but he had enough power to also send her flying towards a pool of lava. It was a damn good thing that at the moment that power wasn't coming towards him at all. He just hoped that after the fight, if Kal were the victor, that he wouldn't turn that power on him as well. He had his pride, but he was also smart enough to know when he was outmatched. He could not defeat Kal Vox, no matter how hard he tried in his current state. Even with as much of the Force he had been building up. He waited for the end of the fight, or perhaps just it's next movement, with bated breath. It might just be all over.

@Malon @Phoenix

 

[Rhea]

Rhea was a smart woman. She knew when it was over. Kal's power was far beyond anything she could have imagined. In some deeper part of her, the thought that he had such power angered her. But then the realization struck her that it was all meaningless anyways. For all his power, he was still venerable.

Resigned to her fate, Rhea began to laugh, a high and cruel laugh. She poured every last drop of her power into resisting him for as long as she could. Knowing these would be her last words, the old crone made sure that everything she had left to say would hurt worse and longer than any single attack she could make. She hoped her final words would crawl in his head until the day he died.

"You poor fool." Her voice was strained. But the grin that curled upward on her lips was triumphant. "She'll be the end of you. By killing me here, you have rewarded me more than you could possibly imagine."

Of course, she knew, she could be wrong. Alais had some bond with her; of that she knew, but what kind of bond? She really couldn't say. It was even harder to say what she would do when she learned Kal had killed the witch. Would she care? Rhea doubted it. But she did know one thing for certain... Alais was growing out of Kal Vox. And when she did, a fate worse than Rhea's awaited him.

Her piece said, she let go her restraints, and allowed herself to be dragged off to her death. A death that would last a mere moment, whilst his — far more agonizingly — would go on for some time longer.

@Phoenix

 

[Darth Kravos]

Still underestimating him to the last. She assumed him the fool - said as much - but she never had understood that he knew far more than he ever let on to her. He'd seen what Alais might become years before in an old abandoned building, far away from Jedi or Exile. He saw the fates unfold before him, and he knew the risks he took. He knew more likely than not that this path would someday destroy him, and he was fine with that. He'd told Evalyn as much, and he had come to terms with it long before her biting words.

He could have argued with her or come with some retort, but what would that serve? Bantering words with a dying woman whose most powerful toxin were the words and seeds she planted in the minds of others. No, he didn't think so. He let her die with whatever dignity she chose. This was how it ended for people like them: alone in an abandoned location with another quiet professional.

He watched as her body slid under the surface of the lava, obliterating the evidence of what had transpired. It was one of dozens of kills to be filed away in his mind, spoken of only if and when the right situation arose, and covered up with no remaining evidence.

The saber in his hand snapped out, it's crimson blade unused as Kal slipped it back into its horizontal case. There was an eerie silence that seemed to cling to this place and that silent pull of darkness as the Force moved darkly around them.

His gaze never shifted to the Jedi - or former Jedi - to his side as he spoke. Take what you want from her ship, destroy the rest, and speak of this to no one, he said. His tone was firm and decisive, indicating that it wasn't really a request. He would have been lying had he said that he'd not pondered killing Alphonse as well, but that was of high risk. Killing off someone who had helped you was a great way to find yourself isolated, and there was still potential for mutual benefit between the two in the future. He had no true reason to kill the man, and if anything, had more than a few reasons to let him go. He only hoped the Jedi would keep his mouth shut. While Kal wouldn't keep it secret forever, he knew he needed to wait for the proper time to divulge what had happened here, and he didn't want it discovered through the grapevine before he was ready. @Insalius

 

[Alphonse Carraway]

Just before Rhea's form disappeared beneath the lava, Alphonse used the Force to pull her lightsabers from her hands as they were worth far more at the moment. He nodded to Kal, giving the man a bow in gratitude at being left to live and let live. He knew that he'd die if he tried to fight him and for good or for ill he was still his friend. He would speak not a word of how Rhea died to anyone, only that she perished. He wasn't the kind to break a word, after all, it was very bad form to do so. Plus he still needed to live for just a small while still. There were things he needed to do. "It will be done, friend. I hadn't expected quite all THIS when I called you here but...I can't deny the results. Also...If you ever have someone named Ark try to call on you, as a favor to me, please listen. I can't explain much now, but it will become apparent if he ever tries to find out about me."

He raided Rhea's ship, taking anything of value from Saeros' other lightsaber to all the data he could find after slicing into the computer systems. Once he was done he returned to his own ship, having taken the droid from the other to serve as his co pilot for the moment. Once he was lined up with the ship he fired a proton torpedo, destroying the vessel before flying off. He'd learned that the ship had sent a signal somewhere when it landed, meaning someone was probably going to come soon at it's behest. He had best not be there when they arrived, mentally coming up with ideas of who would be coming after them. The ship was now just mere atoms as he took off, leaving for Hyperspace soon after. He had all the data that Rhea had managed to acquire, including whatever journals and other writings she had made. All of this would be sent to Nora along with his confession, after his preparations were done. A few stops later and he had returned to Vrogas Vas, finishing what he had started and sitting down to meditate. It was a few hours later that Vin would visit him, but that was a story for another time.

/Endthread