You're Gonna Go Far Kid

[Darth Tagus]

Spoiler: Mission Brief

Test weapons on isolated village.

Sometimes Tagus liked to see what other Sith were made of.

Some Sith seemed to think that they were the Dark Side's gift to the Galaxy and that they should be allowed to rule merely because they were Sith or because they were Sith who had been born into a good family. It was a hobby of his to test these types of Sith with the burdens and realities of command and see if they would bend and adapt or if they would break.

If they broke he was fine with it because he hated their entitled ilk.

If they adapted?

Well then they were an asset to the Empire and had been improved by the experience. There was, as far as Tagus was concerned, no downside. Czerka had requested their aid testing some weapons and they had specifically asked that they test the weapons against a the civilians of a remote village. The villagers were disgruntled former employees.

But honestly?

Tagus didn't care.

He had had the area blocked for signals by the Imperial navy and he now strode towards the village alongside the Sith he was evaluating and roughly one hundred Imperial troopers equipped with the weapons that Czerka wanted tested.

Raising his fist, the troops halted at the edge of the village and Tagus turned to Callum.

"You shall be taking command of the forces we have here Acolyte Attar. Give your orders but remember your objective and remember..." his eyes shone bright yellow from beneath his mask, "I am evaluating you, not the men."

@Pontus @Callum Attar

 

[Callum Attar]

It wasn’t every day that an Acolyte that went to great troubles to not make waves received a summons from a bona fide Sith Lord. Interestingly, once upon a time he was taught that this would be par for the course. Since then of course, he'd realised that not many that far up would bother looking down ever again. Still, for whatever reason, here he was. And when it came to these things, his was not to reason why. The men had been mobilised, as had the goods, and he himself had received the briefing. Now, there was work to be done.

"My Lord." - the Acolyte spoke, offering a polite but not servile salute: an undeniable sign of acquiescence. There was absolutely no way that anyone in their right mind would rejoice at the thought of having a Sith Lord breathing down their neck, he thought, and to assume that the Darth didn't know it also would be an insult to the Mirialan's intellect. So, as he saw it, the only real path of action would be to acknowledge the elephant in the room, but under no circumstances mention it.

Having excused himself from his superior, he now turned to face the troopers. "I shall be taking control over these forces." - he exclaimed, stating the obvious. Militarised forces required initial displays of strength, or so he was taught. A terribly drab part of the process, true, but an essential one all the same - "You are not yet familiar with me, or my methods. They are as follows. You are a force of the Empire. You will conduct yourselves accordingly. You will fulfill the assignments given to you and do so swiftly, cleanly and precisely. Nothing less will be deemed worthy. Are we understood?" - after a good few seconds of staring down the troops, Callum deemed it fit to look away, and slightly defuse the tension that he had hopefully built up.

"Assemble your leaders. They shall report to me at once." - he ordered, maintaining his authoritative, poised stance.

Some might think it overkill to go to such lengths for a weapons testing job. Some might even assume that the Darth's appearance meant the man would be more inclined to go by the book. Both had truth to it, but above all else, Callum was a survivalist. He did what he needed to do to move past the situation he found himself in, the best way he knew how. And today's had more fronts than met the eye, it seemed.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus rather enjoyed looking upon the human as he thought.

He wasn't reading the young man's mind so much as he was tasting his emotions through the Force. So while he could see that there was an easy level of confidence in the young man, he could also taste the understandable level of apprehension and the fear that hid underneath that. It was a foolish man who was not afraid when under the direct command of a Sith Lord - especially one of Tagus' reputation.

There were whispers, rumors, that he had killed a Sith Lord who had the misfortune of irking him. Unlike most rumors, this one was true but only Tagus and the Emperor himself knew for sure. Tagus like the rumors continue because it kept people on their toes. Following to the side of Callum, Tagus observed as he took command of the men.

The men knew what to expect so were silent.

Out of the mass of men, two captains came forward as their non-commissioned officers corralled the men and got them to keep the noise down. Tagus gestured to the two captains.

"Captains Janius..." a human woman in her late twenties, "And Gill." A male rodian.

Tagus looked to Callum, expectantly.

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

And the Sith Lord knew their names... Of course he did. Either he'd read the briefs more attentively, or these were his soldiers. Either way, this would be what one might call starting off on the wrong foot. Callum had to resist the urge to laugh in self-derision. Thankfully, years of living in a politically charged climate had allowed the Acolyte some level of comfort in hiding surprise on his face. Still, respectful as always, the pureblood once again turned to the Darth and gestured a polite thank you, before returning to his trial.

His voice now lowered to a conversational volume, and he directed his words at the captains from here on out - "It is possible that either of your units would be enough to make light work of this assignment. But we do have 100 trained men and a small arsenal at our disposal. So, let's use these assets effectively, get this done nice and neatly, and go home, shall we?"

Glancing at one captain, then the other, Callum continued. "The first thing we need to be aware of is that we were asked to test weapons, and that is it. We are not the instruments of someone else's vendetta, nor are these insurgents considered a threat to the Empire."

"As a result, we will be focusing on ensuring our people come out of this unscathed." - Callum said, matter-of-factly. "So, what I want, is for you to gather your scouting assets and deploy them. Find me that village's entry points and some positions we can secure and hold. The goal is not to conquer this settlement, but some of those steps so would greatly limit the opposition and make our jobs that much easier." - a second pause, as he studied the captains' faces once more.

"Finally, while we were asked here to test-run equipment, any squad that we send out will see some of its members equipped with the gear they are accustomed to. Should the men be particularly interested in playing with their shiny new toys, then feel free set up a rotating schedule. But. Under no circumstances will any soldiers under my command be forced to rely exclusively on people who are not fully confident in their ability to use the weapons they carry."

"Questions?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Darth Tagus had used the captains before for missions such as this. It was the only reason that he knew their names and it was the only reason he made mention of them at all. These captains were officers who knew they might very well be under the command of Sith who proved themselves to be unworthy of command and yet they would follow their orders to the letter.

They would follow the best orders and the worst - all to give Tagus the best impression of the skill at the disposal of his young charge. He eyed Callum for a moment as he felt a spark of amusement that threatened to manifest itself on the man's face but, in the end, did not.

He raised an eyebrow slowly but said nothing.

The two captains listened and Tagus listened as well, both to the words being spoken and to the thoughts and feelings he was able to pick up through the Force. Both Captains were pleasantly surprised by Callum so far but they were also both rather cautious about feeling too hopeful.

"Sir, no sir!" came the sharp reply from both Captains, who saluted the two Sith before beginning to arrange the scouting elements of their detachments.

As the soldiers began to organize themselves, Tagus addressed the young Sith.

"Explain your reasoning."

There was nothing else.

There was no trap or anything - he wanted to know why Callum had done what he had done. There was no indication that he agreed with the actions or disagreed with them. There was nothing but a blunt demand for further information.

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

As the captains moved out to arrange their men, Callum's mind once again focused completely on the aura of the dark-side that emanated behind him. He hadn't seen many at Tagus's level, but what he did know from high ranking Sith, was that among other traits, these beings possessed a downright eerie ability to read people.

Despite over a decade of training, comparatively, Callum was little more than a beginner in the ways of the Force. It too spoke to him, from time to time, but its messages came gnarled and tangled. A gordian knot, unable to be made sense of. It took either immeasurable skill, or overwhelming power to cut through the noise. A Darth required both.

So, trapped in a proverbial room, in silence, with this arcane existence, the Coruscantian was left to stew in this collected, but uncomfortable stance. Until, that is, that a question was asked. In his mind, there was little time to consider possible double-meanings. If Tagus wanted him humiliated or tortured, then in the end, he would be. And it'd hurt just as much, no matter how he tried to weasel out of it. So, better to just take things as they came and do the job. Focus on controlling what he could.

"My lord." - he spoke, performing yet another short but polite greeting, signaling his acceptance of the task, before beginning his speech.

"This classifies as an urban environment. Its several constructs can, in the worst case scenario, give the enemy the ability to spread out, take cover and pick our troops off, despite their inferior numbers. But, if we could burst in, simultaneously, from multiple entry-points, we might be able to overwhelm them in ways that would not be possible if we attacked as a singular, cohesive unit."

A pause, to gather his thoughts and allow the presentation to breathe - appearances are everything for Republica-taught Sith, after all.

"Still, any strategy can backfire. Which is why I've had them map out a few places to capture and hold. These would not only become fortresses that the men on the ground could retreat to if need be, but also offer more significant suppressing fire, thereby limiting casualties and allowing for a quicker finish."

With the gist of things explained, all that's left was a decent punchline. "Weapons testing in this way is an act of wanton destruction. This will not be a struggle for power. These villagers simply have nothing to offer. We can retreat whenever necessary, attack whenever we feel we should, and do all of it with no care towards any well beings but our own. All luxuries our opposition cannot afford. As such, we hold immense power over them. So, by flooding their streets and claiming these specified buildings, we impose our pace and sow chaos among them. Force them to play our game, by our rules. In doing so, we hold most of the cards and limit the chances of anything going awry."
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus was glad that Callum didn't immediately dive into explaining himself but rather took a moment to collect his thoughts. People who wasted time without doing that irked him so he was glad that this Sith did not. The fact that his reasoning was rather solid was a bonus as well it had to be said.

He held the gaze of the young Sith.

In the past he had been told that his gaze was unnerving due to it's yellow, Dark-Side stained, appearance and the fact that he naturally very rarely blinked. Staring down the acolyte, Tagus gestured to the village.

"It is a small target, of little threat." he agreed before nodding towards Callum, "Only two questions before I expect you to initiate the attack, Acolyte Attar."

He smiled and it was an unkind sight.

"Pray tell, where shall you and I be during this battle?"

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

His speech had gone over well, it seemed. As for the prolonged eye-contact, it was unsettling no doubt, but little of it had been due to its appearance. Callum had been raised in the epitome of opulence and vice of the Republica's Sith. Most of his tutors had had very pale skin and glowing yellow, or reddened eyes. It was a sight he was numb to, for the most part. The troubling thing about the man that stood before him was that, unlike the corrupted Acolytes that had once taught him, he could practically taste the power oozing off of this man. And, if it was to be described in a word, that word would be overbearing.

Tagus was a cryptic individual, but Callum had begun to find what he perceived to be steady footing when dealing with him. As long as he continued his work in the manner he had thus far, he believed he would make it. So, when the Sith Lord smiled and the air grew so tense it felt like you could cut it with a knife, the Coruscantian held his ground, reassuring himself that he'd been doing decently thus far, and two questions later, he'd be free.

But the instant the first question hit, a smile sprung up on his face and this time, the chuckles he had been able to contain last time leapt out of him. Not a lot, merely one or two soft, barely audible exhales, but the laughter was there and now there was no concealing it. Interestingly enough, though he knew he'd put his foot in it, it had temporarily lessened the hold Tagus's aura held over him.

"Apologies, my lord. Your question caught me by surprise." - he stated, performing a quick, polite but not desperate bow, before centering himself and then moving to answer the question - "Once the soldiers have captured a stronghold I deem fit, I will be moving towards it, to inspect the situation from a closer standpoint. I believe I will be best suited to leading them from a relative distance, moving only if my particular talents are needed." - with another brief exhale, Callum finally moved on to the part that had actually struck him as funny.

"As for you, my lord. You are Darth." - the Acolyte spoke, neither surprised nor servile, but the smile that had previously graced his face now tore into a grin. Evidently, this is what he found so amusing. "As such, if you'll pardon me being crass, you will do whatever you fucking please."

Swearing wasn't common for Callum. Having been raised to embody the suave politesse the Republica had once wished to project, the act clashed with his looks, somehow. That, however, made it all the more attention-grabbing. Like a forbidden fruit, almost, that tasted sweeter because it was so sparingly used.

Despite the contrite posture he adopted, knowing he'd stepped over a line, hints of the roguish grin remained in the pure-blooded man's face, who remained visibly amused by his own remarks. After all, which Sith did not dream of reaching Tagus's heights and the freedom said power would bring? Though his conscious mind told him this was an expected question in a test scenario, some part of him screamed that even considering it would go against the very notion of what, to him, it meant to be Sith.

The Acolyte knew he had gone too far to even consider the second question the Darth had mentioned. For now, all that was left was to wait, and hope that he had not made the Mirialan too upset.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Some commanders presumed that they needed to command from the front in order to get the respect of their men and control the pace of the battle by being in the thick of it.

Other commanders believed that hanging back from the actual combat gave them a tactical edge that allowed them to better control the course of the battle and make adjustments to the overall tactics to better win the day.

Both had their merits and neither was wrong - the important thing about subscribing to either school of thought was the reasons as to why you believed that. That was the test that Tagus was presenting Callum with today. It was not a test of methods, it was a test of reasoning and rationale. He raised an eyebrow at the way that Callum allowed some levity into his carefully sculptured appearance. It wasn't something that Tagus found disrespectful in and of itself but the reasoning would, as with the rest, be key here.

"But Acolyte I am here to evaluate your use of the Forces at your disposal."

He smirked.

"And if I say I am at your disposal for the duration of this mission... what then?"

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

"I pride myself on my pragmatism, Lord Tagus." - he remarked, referring to the Darth by 'name' for the first time since the exercise had begun - "And I believe you may well be the most powerful combatant I have held a conversation with. As a result, should at any point I deem that the fate of the assignment will be significantly improved by you taking action, I will not hesitate to ask." The Acolyte had placed emphasis on that final word, leaving it hanging in the aether for a few moments, before resuming his speech. "But, as you yourself have stated, the opposition we face is trivial. So much so that not even I am expecting to have to step onto the field of battle, myself. So I do not see that scenario coming to pass."

After a few moments of thought on how to best place these next few words, Callum finally pressed onwards. "But even in the event of a scene where your assistance is required, I can't say I'm comfortable in my ability to guide you, my Lord. I'm not even certain I can estimate the extent of your powers. As a result, anything I were to command would likely limit your abilities, be it by virtue of asking too much, or too little."

Volunteering something that may be perceived as weakness was seldom a good idea, especially when Sith were concerned, but for all the Acolyte knew, the Darth would've sensed it all the same. Having found himself in such a situation, Callum hoped the best way forward would be through. "Being of the belief that bad leadership is worse than none at all, with all due respect and at the risk of having my assessment lowered, I would still prefer to not punch too far above my weight and not have you under my command, my Lord."

"If the Force wills it, there will be a time when my abilities will develop to such a level, but in order for such a day to arrive, I must walk before I can run."
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Pragmatism was good.

He hummed a little bit as he mused on what Callum had actually said before the battle well and truly began. He blinked once in dull surprise as two light repeaters, set up in houses at the edge of the village, opened fire. Blaster bolts rained down at the assembled Imperial forces and one of the troopers, unable to react in time, went down from a blaster bolt to the side of his skull. Even as most of the troopers dug in and found some meager cover, Tagus merely ignored the attack.

Some blaster bolts kicked up dirt by himself and Callum but Tagus didn't move an inch. Instead he turned continued to have his conversation with Callum.

"The Force may will whatever it likes, Acolyte. It is the duty, and the pleasure, of a Sith to bend the Force regardless of it's will." he pointed out, "Remember that. You are not a slave to the will of the Force; you are a Sith, it is you who bends the Force and wills it into action, not the other way around."

Another trooper fell due to the barrage.

"Your men are dying."

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

All in all, despite the glowering and the gloom, the Darth seemed like an interesting conversation partner. Though he spoke little, when he did speak, it was meaningful. The spark of intelligence was becoming increasingly more visible behind these yellowed eyes, to the Coruscantian. And that was a reprieve.

Though every Sith believed him or herself to be of considerable intellect, truthfully the Force seemed to have lower standards than wit, when it came to the ones they chose. And those who did have both tended to so self-absorbed that they were insufferable. Attar should know, he himself tended to walk that line, and often enough that was putting it mildly.

The Acolyte's eyes snapped to the repeaters the moment the firing began, and his hand instinctively edged closer to his sabre, until he heard the Mirialan's admonishment. He wanted to say that he had made that remark in jest, but honestly, nothing came to mind. And, as the two scouts fell to the village's defenders, he was reminded once again: Lady luck was a fickle mistress.

It was a lesson that was easily forgotten. His own life had been greatly improved due to the Force's blessing, after all. But there was nothing that would ensure Fate would choose to stay by his side. Like Tagus had stated, if he wanted to remain bathed in this light - rather ironically - he needed only bend it to his will.

"So they are." - Callum responded reticently, with a sigh. It saddened him, sometimes. Few appreciated an intricate, well-thought-out plan. Conversely, brute force was a rather droll alternative, but it could be hard to argue with the results it produced.

"Well, I did try it the nice way." - he mumbled, somewhat dispirited but, despite holding his ground like the Sith Lord beside him had, his hand firmly clasped his sabre. If he had to guess, then this green-skinned companion, though interesting he may be, would by no means act to defend him from enemy fire.

"Assemble long-range weaponry and cover those scouts!" - he commanded to the troops, half-expecting them to have anticipated his command and begun preparations to avoid the deaths of their comrades. "Evidently, our friends have been expecting us. So it is time we send gifts of our own. Those who are heavily armoured will prepare to take the lead. If we have anything that can deploy cover, then use it. If not, keep up suppressing fire and storm in. We're pulling our people out safely. Move!"

"And if we have any explosives to test, ready them. If we can't make this clean, then we might as well make a grand entrance." Embarrassment had quickly been replaced by anger, which had summoned the Dark Side within the Acolyte. Where it went, death and destruction would follow.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Good.

Callum hadn't done what most young Sith did when things didn't go their way - fly into a rage. Rather than acting out, the young Sith had instead adjusted to the new situation, exactly as Tagus would have wished him to. It spoke of good education actually. To Tagus it was the mark of the stupid and the ignorant to respond to upsets with anger rather than logic and reason.

Of course there was still some anger but, well, it was an instinctive reaction so Tagus wasn't going to fault the man for it. Instead he merely moved one of his feet slight as a blaster bolt slammed into the ground where it had been not a second or two earlier. He raised an eyebrow at the enemy positions even as the Imperial forces opened fire.

Tagus nodded to his companion as he began to walk slowly over to one of the groups of Imperial men laying down covering fire. He was not in the least bit intimidated or cowed by the apparent danger.

"Tell me Acolyte, when was the last time you had formal instruction in the ways of the Dark Side?"

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

Callum had moved to his side the instant he'd spotted the errant bolt that had been fired in their general direction. Where it landed did not escape him, nor did the Mirialan's reaction to it. That eyebrow could've meant anything from mild surprise at the event, to the usual Sith condescension, to the Darth having realised something he had not. There were too many choices, and even if the truth was something like the latter possibility, it would not matter, for Tagus would likely not say whatever it was that he'd discovered. As stated in the beginning of this assignment, he was on his own.

The Coruscantian's gaze swept through the battlefield, and despite snapping back to the repeaters - that had twice now come close to hitting him - often, he did pan out as thoroughly as he could, looking to ensure his soldiers would not be surprised once again.

When Tagus had asked another question, the Acolyte noted that he had moved closer to the soldiers providing backup. Not wishing to risk staying out in the open to prove some pointless courage, Callum made his way towards his superior, and then provided an answer.

"When the Empress fell, my Lord, proper teachings became more scarcely found within the Republica. Those who chose to continue tended to be..." - a pause, as struggled to find a suitable euphemism for human supremacist before the green-skinned individual, extended slightly as quite a lot of the Acolyte's attention was focused on the warring forces before them - "... overly zealous. The remainder seemed to take a step back to allow for better integration between our once separate factions. An approach I sought, myself."

"Then came the attack on the Imperial Palace" - and the subsequent demise of the Dark Lord, he continued only in his mind, thinking it best to leave it unsaid - "From that moment onward, the proverbial trenches were dug deeper, and good tutoring became harder to come by still. My apologies, for the precise date escapes me, but I believe the last time I had a formal lesson was around then."
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

At least Callum was well versed in his history.

It was recent history but Tagus appreciated the view into the man's mind as the Troopers worked on targeting the two repeaters that had opened up on them. Taking the First Blade from it's resting place, Tagus ignited it as he swiped in front of himself, almost lazily slapping away a stray shot that came too close.

He could have dodged it like the others but he was honestly beginning to get a little bit annoyed about this whole thing. It was time for the Imperials to actually manage to push forwards. Reaching out with the Force, Tagus applied a 'touch' of Force Fear into the mind of one of the gunners, allowing the Troopers to destroy the other one while one gunner wasn't firing.

The second gunner didn't last long.

"The way is clear - give your orders." he instructed Callum as he deactivated his lightsaber, "I want one survivor to be brought to me, Acolyte. They will be something of a tool in your further instruction."

Let it never be said that Tagus did not nurture talent.

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

For the first time, the Acolyte had seen the Darth actively utilising the Force. It had looked like a trivial task to the Mirialan, but even one such as Callum could sense the tyrannical nature of the move. Though Callum himself lacked the ability to perform it at that distance, he had judged its cause and effect and determined it was not a particularly technical move. It had, in fact, been one he had seen applied many times before.

Instead, it was feeling behind it. The pervasiveness of the Force itself that left him wondering why these villagers hadn't run away the instant the Darth had moved, whether they'd been affected or not. This run-down village could not possibly be worth making this grand stand against a foe they clearly could not hope to defeat... In truth, they could simply have lacked the ability to sense things in the way that only a Force user could. And that, just made them all the more pitiable.

Although, like Tagus had mentioned, one could possess the ability to bend the Force - and even Fate and Reality itself - to one's will, this was a right that was not extended to everyone. These ex-employees' bell had tolled. It was their time. All they needed do was accept it.

"Bring me the-..." - the Coruscantian, about to ask for the gunner the Darth had interfered with to be brought to him alive, fell silent at the sight of a blaster shot from their side that had claimed the rogue combatant's life. It had taken them far too long to take care of two individuals, and now that one of them might've held value they struck him down... No matter, Callum told himself in his mind, glad that progress had been made.

"Captains! Retract your scouts, send your armoured units in first, and keep them covered from the rear. We proceed as a unit, and move to take the first tall building we can find. In the meantime, keep your eyes open and begin testing the weaponry. Fire at buildings if you must. I want these foes forced out or exterminated."

"Finally, you have heard Darth Tagus's words. At least one of them is to be captured alive! Now go!" - he shouted, still firmly reined in and focused, but beginning to lose patience.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus enjoyed watching the troopers going to work.

There was something to be said about the well-oiled machine that was the Imperial military. Certainly there were fearsome warriors outside of it's ranks but the tactics and solidarity on display as the troopers swept forwards and began to clean out resistance was something to be cherished.

Maybe it was a little bit of OCD but Tagus enjoyed watching as the troopers spent the next half an hour meticulously checking every room in every house just to make sure they had gotten everyone.

It wasn't long before the officers returned with a prisoner each. Clearly they had both wanted to make sure that at least one person survived and had made sure to ensure it. There was a man and a woman, both around the age of twenty and their crying and clasped hands identified them as a lovely young couple.

Tagus looked at them before glancing to Callum.

"Kill the spare."

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

A sigh. Thankfully, the remainder of the assignment had gone well. Now came the final part of the test. His test.

Reaching into his pocket, the man fished out a credits chip, and tossed it onto the dirt, in front of the couple. "My Lord." - he said, polite and respectful as always, acquiescing to the Darth's request in full view of the couple, before turning to face them - "One of you is going to die right now. There is nothing you can do to change that. But those credits, there." - he pointed to the floor - "They're how we figure out who. The first one to grab the chip gets to live."

Callum had meant what he'd said. He never had been overly fond of killing for no particular reason, so all he'd have to do would be fish for one. His hand reached down and he pulled his blaster out of its holster, readying to shoot. The instant one of them reached for the credits, the other would die. Same rules applied if one of them tried to sacrifice himself to save the other. He would grant that sacrifice.

He felt, in his heart, that Tagus would be having him do less than kind things to the one who lived. So, the least he could do was spare the more selfless of the two with a quick blaster shot to the brain. If, on the other hand, the trial was over, then at the very least he'd be teaching some harsh, but valuable lesson about humility and sacrifice... probably.

If neither moved, he'd just pick one of them at random and shoot. At the end of the day, he was a pragmatist. What really mattered here was that this was the job, and he'd see it through.
@Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus hadn't expected Callum's actions it had to be said.

He had expected the young man to do the couple the favour of executing the spare quickly, without any suffering, but it seemed that he had underestimated the Sith. There was the potential for great hatred, anger and sorrow to come of this... so Tagus took one look at how reluctant both members of the couple seemed to be before deciding he liked the idea.

Enough to give them both a little bit of a nudge.

Through the Force he pushed gently at their minds, adding irritation, more fear and anger. It was a subtle thing, to make it seem like it was their own emotions and nothing pushed onto them by the Sith. It didn't take very long before both of them reached for the credit and the mad scramble started.

Tagus continued to egg the two of them on through the Force and the couple tore each other bloody with their bare hands until finally the woman managed to get a low blow in that stunned her boyfriend before she cracked his skull open against the harsh ground.

The Sith Lord hummed once.

"Now for the test." he smiled and it was a rather bitter thing, "Force Lightning. To the death."

Force Lightning was a rather taxing and rather dark technique - one that probably shouldn't be lethal at the level Callum was operating on but, well, that just meant he needed to use more, right?

@Pontus

 

[Callum Attar]

The Dark Side could accomplish many things, and people's minds were frail things. Callum had noticed Tagus instigating the couple's negative emotions, but he had not expected them to actually attempt to kill one another. Frankly, part of him had felt this to have been a circus act he could've done without, but he could feel their outrage, their anger. And something in his heart told him he'd need to feed off of it, to use it, if he was to weather the coming storm.

So he watched. He did nothing, as the man tore into the woman, and she ultimately grabbed the upper hand. A low blow. None could argue with efficacy. And besides, there was probably some poetic justice of some kind, if he ever cared to look.

Splat. Death by blunt force was always a particularly gruesome thing. Especially on a warm day like this. Blood gets everywhere, like a thin mist. Under her nails, up her nose, coating her hair. She, bruised and battered but supposedly victorious had now finally come to terms with what she'd done. The whispers of the dark side had ceased, and her brain now struggled to process the information.

Soon enough, she'd be mourning her lover. For now, she'd receded into herself, and merely sat, listlessly on the ground, not far from the growing blood stain to her side. His trial would now begin.

Force Lightning, huh? the Acolyte thought to himself. This was, perhaps, the power most associated with the Dark Side. It could not be used to defend, caused unspeakable amounts of pain, and twisting the Force to that degree required serious commitment. It was to be expected, perhaps. Tagus had been trained by the Old Empire, after all, and they were drawn to the old ways.

"Bind her hands and feet together." - Attar commanded one of the troopers around - "Then return to your job. Fire at the buildings, throw some explosives, and record your findings. You have your job to do, as I have mine." They did as instructed and then left. This would be gory, and the troopers did not need to see it, nor did he want strangers looking in on his training. Especially not one of this nature.

For now, the woman remained despondent, but as literal electricity pulsed through her veins, she'd awaken, and thrash about. Who could blame her? It certainly was no crime to want to live. But Lightning was draining. The Acolyte could not yet command the Force to melt this murderess like a true Sith would. So, he'd have to improvise.

He moved, slowly, around to her rear, placed his hand over her spine, between her shoulder-blades, just over her heart, and slowly moved to summon the Force into him. By the time he heard a faint crackling, and his fingers getting numb, he closed his eyes, let out a calm sigh, to steel himself, and then moved to whisper into the woman's ear.

"All you had to do was reach for the chip, and I would've killed him for you. Instead, you claimed the life of a loved one. And for what?" The woman remained catatonic for a little while longer, but her emotions had swiftly changed. Fear, then anger, then regret, then fear again. The cycle had begun.

It had been a cruel thing to do, but the Acolyte did not have the undying hatred required to forge those many bolts of lightning by himself. He needed to feed off of hers. And he did. While her breath grew erratic, his pulse grew steady. Errant fibres on his clothing began to rise as static built up around him.

And, in one swift motion, like a defibrillator, a pulse of energy roared through her chest, aimed at her heart. He didn't need to melt this girl's insides, only kill her with it. And the easiest way to do that would be to have her heart give out. But the first pulse hadn't been enough. He lacked the strength. And now she had been jolted out of her trance.

She screamed, she pleaded, and so much sweat and tears came pouring out of such a small woman that she must've lost some unreasonable portion of her bodyweight from the water loss alone. She cursed him, she cursed the Darth, she cursed herself, she pleaded, she denied ever doing anything, she told them she'd do whatever they wanted, the list went on. The five stages of grief. As per usual, they appeared in random order, with plenty of repetition. And her emotions were amplified by the guilt she felt over what she'd done. And once again, he fed off of them.

Then came the second pulse. And the third. Callum's hand was fully numb now, and he could feel her clothing having melted onto her skin. At this point, no coherent sound came out of her lips. Her spasms were so harsh that she'd lost control of finer motions like speech. But survival speaks louder than most everything else, in life. Her body would not give out, even if her mind had.

It took seven hits for her heart to finally give out. The Coruscantian was drenched in sweat, never having had to use the Force that much for that long. He was exhausted, physically and mentally, and when he finally removed his hand from her back, he noticed some gooey substance stuck to the polymer that made up the gloves he wore. Beneath it was a fairly visible hand-print on her back.

Out of breath, he tried to rub it off with his other glove, but to no avail. It wouldn't be particularly difficult to wash, but he simply lacked the strength for it, right now. The blazing sun was not helping.

His vision hazy, and his lower back in serious pain from the awkward positioning, he fully rose to his feet and once again met the Darth. Offering up a respectful but considerably more lax salute - simply lacking the strength to accomplish things properly - he took a deep breath in, expelled the stale air out of his lungs, replacing it with something that tasted of his sweat, and finally brought himself to speak.

"My Lord." - that was it. He had no ability nor will to produce flowery speeches. He'd had a job, and he'd done it. Everything else, was out of his hands.
@Nefieslab