Seekers of the Darkness
Posted on Mon Oct 8th, 2018 @ 4:46pm by Thane & Bomoor Thort & Amare
3,296 words; about a 16 minute read
Chapter:
Chapter V: Unbound
Location: Korriban Orbital Station, Horuset system
Timeline: Korriban Day 1 (1,218 ABY), After "Wardens of the Darkness"
OLD
The main console began bleeping to confirm they had begun to take orbit, disrupting Thane's Coda concerns and drawing him back to his Jedi ones. In a short space of time, Korriban had begun to loom large beyond the viewport, the great rust-coloured globe consuming nearly all visible space in front of the Raptor. Even from space, great crevices could be seen to run along the planet's surface like ancient scars, edging their way across an endless sea of dust. Clouds spiralled here and there about the world, but more sparsely than many of the worlds Thane and Bomoor had been to, although an obvious storm cell could be seen tearing its way across one part of the southern hemisphere.
His attention almost entirely consumed by the sight, Thane longed to touch the Force and allow the flow of the ancient Sith world to come to him. His own anticipation surprised him, but he did his best to contain any outwards show.
"We will discuss it later," he then said to Coda, seeing the communications panel light up, his eyes drawn to the now-visible orbital station just beyond them. "We still have some old colleagues to dupe."
NEW
“They were always digging into my business back in the day; I can’t believe you never had to deal with a single marine in your work.” Lameer leaned back as he chatted to Orys at the small table set up in the control room. He took a sip of his mug, containing a double portion of caf, before continuing, “Fortunately, the Grand Master has got Paralles to speak to GalactaWerks about their involvement in our covert operations. Now we are protected under the same clause as TRIO agents.”
The burly Corellian's mechanically-enhanced face shifted into a grizzled expression of frustration. "If you practised with the blade as much as you spoke and played sabacc, you'd be almost an accomplished swordsman as me," he grumbled under the onslaught of his colleague's so-called conversation.
A resonant chime from the sensor console then caught the attention of all the Jedi in the room; it indicated that the Crimson Craw had entered orbit. Quickly getting up from the table and joining the others now gathering about the console, Orys and Lameer both shared the same surprised glance.
“They’ve already made it?” the Half-Bothan asked, voicing the confusion of the group that nobody had sensed the ship getting closer.
“It would appear so,” Falorn nodded towards the blinking ship icon on the screen with the correct transponder code beside it, “Tal, you have the youngest eyes; can you see the ship out of the view-port?"
Orys also positioned himself alongside the young Kel Dor, his artificial eyes silently adjusting to examine the stellar display beyond. He did not say anything, however, allowing Tal to carry out Falorn's orders.
"There," Tal pointed towards a small light over the planet. "You can see them holding geosync orbit just shy north of the equator. My compliments to their pilot for following directions so efficiently."
The creases around Orys' ocular implants narrowed around the cybernetics, the nearest imitation of a frown the large Jedi could muster. "I sense... very little," he said, as though even that small kernel of information had been a struggle, turning to Falorn as he spoke. "Master?"
Falorn screwed up his features, making his small leathery face look more rodent-like than usual, “Hmm, I too sense nothing from the ship. Most unusual, but not without precedent: on rare days the darkness of this world can cloud our perceptions. This may be why I have been struggling to receive visions of late.”
The Snivvian Jedi did not stop to consider any other alternatives; he was certain that he had found the reason for his recent troubles and was actually somewhat relieved that it was affecting the other Jedi and not just himself.
He turned to his little family of shadows and gave a weak smile in one corner of his mouth, “Not to worry; these things pass. If there were anyone strong with the Force aboard we would be able to sense it through the mask of the dark side. To be safe, however, I would recommend that we request they dock with us on their return to ensure no artefacts are taken from the surface. I see no reason we cannot allow them down at this time, however.”
Tal gently pressed two fingers on her forehead and concentrated. Like the others, she sensed virtually nothing from the visiting Crimson Craaw, but something was gnawing at her. It wasn't from Korriban, it wasn't from the arriving ship, nor was it from anywhere else on the station. She placed her other hand over her gut and palpated the eerie feeling buried there. It was a similar dull ache she empathically felt when her sister conceived her first child, but this was different and not at all the same pleasant omen of motherhood from another member of the Omna family. It was a different ache, the kind that sparked a chill through the spine and out to all the nerve endings. It was confusing, it was sickening, and it was...dreadful. She shook herself from her imaginings, felt the mild pain fade, and realized it wasn't her place to question her master's decisions regardless of how she felt. She knew that her training depended on Falorn's wisdom, and that was the end of it. She trusted him implicitly. If the Craaw would pass, then it would be so. The Force would see to the rest.
"Shall I grant them permission to land, master?" Tal asked.
Examining the expectant faces before him, Falorn was surprised about the amount of confusion this particular ship was causing. Perhaps it was the late hour, the change of the calendar or simply because they were all together, but he sensed their unease, “If anyone has any concerns to raise, then raise them now. We are all intelligent beings, strong with the Force so your opinions are no less valid than my own.”
“Hmm… I agree with your decision, master”, Lameer answered in his gruff but friendly voice, “We should search them on their return, but better not spook them now. If they have any deceitful intent, it will become apparent during their time on the planet and we will have greater cause to interrogate them. I hardly fancy writing a report citing the reason for stopping them as ‘couldn’t sense anything’.”
"The logic is sound," Orys agreed, himself appearing more at ease with the Snivvian's assessmnent, even if his response was almost as robotic as his visage. "By your command, Master."
“Very well then,” the master nodded, turning to Tal, “Give them their clearance and get them to transmit precise coordinates for their landing site.”
"I told you it was going to work," Thane said with a cool confidence as he entered the commands into the helm controls, his slight exhale of breath going mostly unnoticed. "No problem," he added with a shrug, managing as much charisma as he could in the vaguely-disabled state he currently felt himself to be in.
Whilst it was better being disconnected from the Force and untarnished, as opposed to crippled and near-death, as he had been on Jericho, the aspirant Sith Lord still found himself troubled and deeply uncomfortable, much like his companions. He longed for when they finally drew close to the surface of Korriban, and they could embrace their power once more.
As an aside thought, he also found himself pondering on the other 'side' effects of one's Force connection, such as preternatural longevity and even the corrupting influences of the darker arts he himself had begun to peruse. For instance, what sort of fate would have befallen the great and terrible arcane masters of the ancient times, such as the awfully-crippled Darth Sion, or the deeply-corrupted Emperor Palpatine? Would they have fallen apart without their sheer Force will? Or would the gifts of their powers have had some lingering essence or longer-term effect, allowing them to maintain some of their fortunes without the Force?
Serving as nothing more than a minor curiosity, he wondered if a dark-sider's eyes might even lose that golden glint when in the negating field of a ysalamiri. Would that corruption disappear, or would it spell the end of that creature's existence? Not for the first time, but perhaps in a different way, he felt somewhat concerned about their reliance upon the Force. Rather than viewing it as the atmosphere all must breathe to exist, Thane's mind briefly considered it the crutch that might be kicked from one's hand - not that such doubts would serve him, or Coda, well on the so-called homeworld of the Sith.
"We are beginning our descent towards the Valley," he then explained to Bomoor and Coda as the ship was now being thrust about by the planet's atmosphere. Great stretches of sand-yellow and clouds filled the viewscreen as the Raptor was increasingly buffeted by the natural forces of the ancient world. Although his reactions were dulled, Thane was able to keep up with the shifts, courtesy of the ship's computer assisting him. "Find me a good landing zone?" He then asked of the others.
Coda transferred the sensor readouts to the holoprojector which displayed a topographical map with white blips appearing in various spots on the planet closest to the Raptor's position relative to its approach vector. There were several good sites spotted by the computer, but she didn't know anything about Korriban. She only knew that they were on a quest for the Kaiburr Shards, and that the old Sith homeworld may still yet play host to one of them.
The long hammerhead-like cranium of Bomoor loomed over the map. The dead and dusty landscape was so different to any of the crew would call home but it was particularly alien for a species that made its name bringing life back to dead worlds. Korriban was not, however, the kind of planet the Ithorians would ever consider reviving, even if it were permitted.
“XoXaan's Temple is our destination; it is a massive structure but I imagine large sections will be buried by this point. Consumed by dust and sand,” Bomoor waved a finger around an area of interest, “These structures here: Coda, can you do a scan on that sector?”
"Mmhmm," Coda interjected with a nod, always happy to be useful. All the displayed scientific gobbledygook either went mostly over her head or was just flat out boring, but she did like the name of the region on the image. "Valley of the Dark Lords," she mused with a grin. "So dramatic. And who is XoXaan? Sounds like the name of a fruit."
"So does a coda," Thane quipped, but he took the instructions from his apprentice's consoles into his own, and began their descent at a suitable landing point.
Having now passed through the dense clouds of Korriban's skies, they found themselves met by an endless sea of dust-gold deserts stretching in all directions. As they drew closer to the surface of the planet, forms became more apparent, and even at this great height they could spy dozens of huge chasms and mountains lining the arid ground.
The light of Korriban's primary was a dim orange, and long shadows were cast by the various protrusions and natural shapes of the long-dead, near-mythical world. Nothing could be seen to be moving on the surface, not that it was necessarily to be expected from this height, and not even a wind now seemed to touch the Red Raptor.
As it became apparent where Thane was taking the ship, great carved shapes could be seen lining the chasm they were approaching, which in itself was in fact the formation of a valley - the self-evident Valley of the Sith Lords. A great chasm opened at one end of the Valley, there being a huge drop that led down to rocky outcroppings and formation miles beneath. Oddly, several great thin pedestals reached up from within those depths, peaking at a height with the Valley beyond.
Atop these pedestals were statues of varying heights and fullness, with only one retaining the full shape and form of a Humanoid figure, its head bent in low and close to its chest and neck. The rest were either left only with the crumbling remnants of torsos or legs, but none retained any true definition. The sands of Korriban and time had long worn away the face of the lone figure, let alone the other features further below the head that they once bore.
Thane found it remarkable. Awe-inspiring, even, despite still not yet being able to feel the world through the Force. Looking across the Valley from such a height, it would have been easy to convince oneself that it was not so large, and that a determined traveler might travail its winding and treacherous paths within a mere day or two. In truth, spying the crevices and how large the mountains in fact were, it was quite evident that it would take in excess of weeks to even cover a small percentage of its size and grandeur.
Fortunately for them, XoXaan's Temple was one of the original temples constructed by the 'first' of the Dark Jedi Lords of the Sith, having been a scion of the pupils whom had rebelled during the Hundred-Year Darkness, some eight millennia ago. Whilst that would typically have dampened Thane's spirit, what with the ages and plunders of various nations reducing such locales to empty polished stone or rubble. Fortunately, and comparatively recently, Darth Krayt and the One Sith had restored the temple, according to his holocron, which had been an edifice hidden deep within the mountains claimed by the earliest Dark Lords, just over twelve-hundred years ago.
From an archaeological point of view, that did not leave the party so desperate, but it would necessitate some exploring and caving, and they had come suitably prepared.
Once more feeling cut away from the universe, Thane longed to embroil himself within the dark waves of the planet. Would it be intoxicating? Energising? Humbling?
The Raptor passed between the large rows of mountain at either side and into the Valley proper, dipping low enough for the light of the sun to be weaker but for the ruins of the various mausoleums and ceremonial totems to be much clearer to see, dotted up and down, both high and low within the gargantuan Valley. Great visages of long-deceased kings and Lords could be seen jutting out from the rocks, although most were smashed or surrounded by such debris that would be inaccessible, but for the dangerous use of explosives or even the Force.
They passed dozens of sights like this and swerved between innumerable statues, large rocks that jutted high from the dusty ground, as well as pillars and all manner of natural and unnatural formations that made their winding flight path through the Valley difficult. It did, however, offer the trio an unadulterated view of the Valley's surface, littered though it was with thin, dry plants and uncountable rocks and broken ancient buildings.
Finally, Thane led the vessel to plant itself in one space clear of debris from ancient totems or rubble, somewhat in the centre between the mountains either side of the Valley and relatively close to the coordinates provided by Krayt's holocron. Moments later, various systems within the cockpit confirmed their successful landing.
A sense of trepidation was running through Thane, an eager excitement that was quite unlike him, which left him ever-so-slightly pleased that his Ithorian friend could not quite share in his perhaps-unhealthy enthusiasm. Equally, it was odd to experience the sensation without the added touch of the Force itself - a fact he keenly wished to rectify.
"We are here," he said, his voice light as he turned to look briefly at Coda, and then with more meaning to Bomoor. "On Korriban. Homeworld of the Sith." A brief huff of a laugh escaped him. "This is perhaps not what I had anticipated when first reciting the Code all those years ago with you and the Masters."
Peace is a lie... Zaracoda thought instinctively as she observed the landscape outside with both awe and trepidation. The Sith Code was the only code she felt worth reciting, especially after her vision of The Mind and The Heart (a tale from Lorrd she had yet to convey to Thane and Bomoor). Seeing what lay beyond the ship was nothing like those first two days on Lorrd; Korriban's terrain somehow felt far more sculpted, purposeful, and lived-in. Now that they were on the world which gave rise to the original Dark Lords of the Sith, she wondered how much longer she would have to keep the secret of her and her master's aspiring Sithhood from Bomoor. She hoped if and when the revelation came out that her Ithorian mentor would be accepting. She imagined it would be quite interesting to observe how it would affect the brotherhood between the two men. She dared not to dwell on what might happen if Bomoor didn't take the truth well.
Thane’s comment about their knighthood into the Reborn Order stirred some mixed feelings in the Ithorian; in some regards, they had fallen far from their vows to be where they stood now. But the words of the Reborn Jedi no longer held the same righteous air as they did when they first spoke the Code.
“I am not sure that any Jedi imagined that this planet would be visited by Force-users ever again and yet here we are,” Bomoor spoke as he got up and walked over to the exit ramp. He checked the pressure readings briefly before hitting the button to lower the ramp and expose the ship to the lifeless air of the exterior world.
A soft yellow light began to permeate the cabin, highlighting the Ithorian’s form; he may not yet have felt the Force essence of the planet, but his cells were already feeling the warm light of its sun. Regardless of the tainted acts of those who had come before them, the planet was still a planet: still dependant on the gravity of the system’s star to stay tethered and to its solar radiation to keep it habitable.
Bomoor was not sure what he expected but it was strange to find his first experience of the planet to be so ‘normal’. “I suggest we all step outside as soon as we can and try to get a sense of where we are going. But be prepared as the Force returns as it may have a different balance to it here.”
"Then let us be mindful but waste no more time," Thane said simply, the black greatcoat that often served as his outer robe now being tucked neatly around his grey garments beneath, numerous essentials attached to his belt and braces inside. Bringing himself to now stand just to Bomoor's side, Coda only a few steps behind them, Thane looked out across the rocky and dusty landscape reaching out beyond the ship, littered as it was with boulders and long-forgotten totems with meanings lost to time.
And so, with just a few careful steps, the former Jedi and their Nautolan charge made their first foray into the storied and foreboding darkness of the homeworld of the Sith. With the Force-negating effects of the ysalamiri now beyond them, it took but seconds for the awesome might of Korriban's true and ancient nature to assail them, its first welcome guests in many a year.
TBC
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