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Post by Valkess on Nov 30, 2016 1:20:03 GMT -5
*Some hours earlier, before the funeral pyre*
For some reason, Valkess was breathing hard. He shouldn't have been - this man posed nothing remotely close to a threat, especially now that he lay impaled upon the Trandoshan's arm. It was like a slap in the face with cold water as he slowly flexed his clawed fingers, feeling the blood, mucus and viscera coagulate on his scales. The man still struggled weakly, unspeakable pain and shock on his pale, sweating face. His eyes had rolled back into his head, blood dripping out of the corner of his nose, eyes and mouth. Pushing the soon-to-be-corpse away, and pulling his arm back through the wound he had created, Valkess felt an assault upon his senses. The feelings of loss, the tortured, painful revelry of cruelty and betrayal, things that he had thought himself rid of, came flooding back. His clean hand went to his temple and he fell back against the floor of the ship, pushing himself back a few paces until his back braced against the hull.
The cold creeped down his back as he stared at his red, bloodied appendage, his fingers slightly flexing as they dripped the man's blood down. His vision was clouded, if only for a moment, as tormented memories rushed back. Feelings of the sun upon his scales, of wheat and vegetation. A scent long lost to time roused in the synapses of his mind. He tasted blood as he bit down on his tongue, scrunching his face up as he fought crying out in fury. The ship around him was not so fortunate - glass panels and viewscreens across the room cracked and fizzled, sparks flying and alarms slowly rousing to life as power surged and the hull groaned in protest.
Why? Why did he feel this way? Was it fear, regret? Was it hatred?
WHY?
*Moments ago*
Valkess stood listening to Decivus' proclamation, though he was not present in the hall. Indeed, he listened through the Force, feeling the emotions and intentions of the speech rather than the exact wording. No, he was in the conference hall, the same one that only hours ago served as a mass execution chamber for a good number of the station's crew. The bodies had been removed, though the stench and carbon scoring of blasters still riddled the room. Neither concerned him, however - he was kneeling in the middle of the room, basking in the hate, fear and anguish that still flooded the area. It was intoxicating - so much power born of suffering.
Slowly, he reached back to the small bag on his belt and pulled it out. The faint, icy crystal spiked, almost like an excited young pet, at the energies it felt in the air. Valkess closed his eyes and began to meditate with it, letting the crystal float in front of him. He could feel every soul that still lingered here, weak though they were. With his focus, he called to them, beckoned. He guided them towards the light - and in it, their destruction. He could vaguely feel the physical temperature of the room drop as the crystal did its' work, annihilating and feeding off of the energies that cascaded through the station and the nexus that had grown in this room. He paused, though, when he felt one minor quiver through the Force. Some energy lingered - it was almost unremarkable save that it held a faint connection with Chiren. Curious, Valkess prodded, peeling back layer after layer of memory and emotion, only to stop abruptly.
Pahra.
*Some hours earlier*
The Trandoshan's hand trembled slightly as he gazed at the blood dripping down it, trying to come to terms with the sudden bout of emotion. He was not sure whether or not to embrace it or repress it, and tried to understand its' source. Surely, the Force was guiding him to something, but to what he did not know. These raw memories ran like acid down his spine, thoughts that his anger and dedication to study had sealed away now returning. It was just like when she-
He stopped, transfixed, breath caught in his throat. Slowly, as the realization dawned upon him, his fist steadied and closed. This wasn't his mind trying to torture him - it was trying to remind him. To add fuel to the fire that now surely drove him ever forward, one in which he and his young apprentice were most certainly linked. A grin slowly spread across his face as he pushed himself up to his feet, and he couldn't keep himself from laughing. This pain was his source - his desire. With it, he knew he was on the right track. With it, he knew that they would not be stopped. That pain would burn within him like a fire until his work was complete. He laughed at it, at the exhilaration and anticipation. The laugh, much like the painful memories, was raw and unyielding, one born of equal parts delight and torment. He could indulge for a moment.
*One hour ago*
Valkess' ship, The Sovereign, arced through the small fleet that surrounded Ord Mantell and Tansarii Point. It's wide, black wings dipped as his ship wove around capital ship and point defense satellite alike. He had, at first, considered waiting for Chiren aboard the Super Star Destroyer, but that would take too long, and there was something else the Trandoshan wanted to see to. As he neared the station proper, he opened up a channel with command, standing before the projector.
"Bloody fleet can't do a damn...Unidentified ship, hold station or you will be fired upon. Tansarii Point is currently on emergency lockdown."
"I am meeting privately with Lord Decivus," Valkess said matter-of-factly.
"I'm sorry, sir, but Decivus is the one who gave the order. Now, kindly report to the nearest Star Destroyer for inspection and-"
"You will allow me docking clearance and will not announce my presence."
"I...will allow you to dock in the administrative hangar."
A short time later, the Trandoshan stepped down the loading ramp of his ship and into the otherwise-empty hangar. Only a few droids milled about, those ones that began attending to and refueling his ship. Focusing for but a moment, he felt through the station for his apprentice, and found him some floors below. Valkess smiled softly, being able to feel the man's pain and anger from even such a cursory glance. It would serve the youth well, so long as he did not become consumed by it. Throwing his hood up over his scaled hide, the Sith Lord began to move through the station, passing aliens and humans alike as they all seemed to be moving to the same area. Valkess cared not for what Chiren was to say - he had bigger things on his mind.
*Some hours earlier, and a few minutes prior*
Valkess watched on the viewscreen as blaster bolts shot out and across the room. One figure was shoved aside, then another took a direct hit. The Trandoshan watched passively while the man next to him chewing on the tip of a deathstick. He seemed confident, though that confidence - along with the color on his face - quickly drained as he watched the screen play out. The figure who'd been shoved aside leapt upwards inhumanly fast, an unmistakable blade of red energy springing to life and cutting through two, then three others. Incredulously, his jaw fell open, horror and anger splayed across his bearded features.
"You sent my men against a Jedi!?!"
"No," replied Valkess, his eyes never leaving the viewscreen, "I sent them against an influential leader of the Black Suns. The 'Jedi' just happens to be her mate."
"You son on of-" the man screamed out hoarsely, a wild look in his eye. "Those are my men! You sent them to DIE down there! You KNEW!"
"As did you know the risks when you took this job. Perhaps you should have gone with them?"
The man screamed and raised his fist, a switch triggering and popping out a small knife over his hand. Valkess merely grabbed the hand and twisted, feeling the bones strain and fracture from the sudden torque. With a scream, the mercenary leader tried to pull away, only to be held fast by the Trandoshan's other hand gripping his face.
He did so enjoy this part.
Pressing forward with both claws and the Force, he squeezed. The man began to cry out in agony, Valkess inflicting horrors upon the man's senses as he let the now-broken arm go.
"As I said, perhaps you should have gone with them. It would've saved me the trouble of killing you." The Sith Lord began to pull apart the man's thoughts piece by piece, letting him relive each and every failure of his life as he continued to squeeze on his skull like a vice. He began to twitch and sputter, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as Valkess let go, now letting the man float in front of him. With an almost amused enthusiasm, the Trandoshan pressed his claws together and stabbed them into the man's stomach. It was only then that he noticed how hard he was breathing.
*Present*
Valkess focused on the energies that remained of Pahra, the anger, heartbreak and confusion that lingered. He toyed with the idea of what to do, playing scenarios out in his head. Only when he realized that Chiren's speech was nearing conclusion did he settle his mind - with but an errant thought, he dragged her imprint in with the others, feeding the ever-hungering maw of the crystal.
Slowly opening his eyes, he placed the crystal back in its' satchel and collected himself before reaching out through the Force. Gently, he pricked at Decivus, letting his apprentice at last know that he was on the station, if he couldn't feel the spike in dark energies from his use of the device.
'I understand you have suffered immeasurable loss. Come - I await you. Your training begins now.'
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