Telos

Posted on Fri Mar 13th, 2020 @ 12:34pm by Amare & Thane

3,226 words; about a 16 minute read

Chapter: Chapter VI: The Last Bastion
Location: Vault, Red Raptor (At Hyperspace)
Timeline: Week Four, immediately following "The Final Jedi"

OLD

Thane's harsh rebuke had left Amare speechless and robbed of all her ranting bravado. The focus of her eyes were upon the floor where Bomoor had stood as the destructive lava in her hearts had met the dowsing effect of a cold ocean of shame. The way Thane had spat her given name to her...there was no magical trick of the mind or some other dark power in play, but rather something scarier: his unravelling tone that stripped away her pretences coupled with his intense charismatic delivery. To be called Zaracoda in such a damning way might as well had been a lightsaber blade to her throat. The young Nautolan woman felt like nothing more than an inconsequential peasant at the mercy of her sovereign...no, worse; she felt like a slave all over again.

Amare put her quivering hand up to her forehead and breathed out in little more than a whisper, "What have I done?" She felt cold and without face in that moment, yet aware of her master's eyes upon her, and the fear emanating from Rex having borne witness to the verbal confrontation. The dark side had encouraged Amare to entrust it with her passions and deep feelings, and she foolishly let herself go over the edge. She gave herself so completely to the power so much in recent times that it finally gave her a reminder of its chaotic whims when it deceived her to burn her bridge with her now former Ithorian friend. Her mixed feelings towards Bomoor were amplified, and filtered all her thoughts of him through a narrow lens of hatred and resentment. And yet, she knew, there was no blaming the Force; she made the choice, and was too weak to resist, too unwise to hold back and save her malice for the real battles yet to come.

"Come with me," Thane said to Amare, already turning to leave the galley and not waiting for any response from his apprentice. "It is time for another lesson."

NEW

Amare had been brought into the Red Raptor's specially-designed bespoke vault on a handful of occasions since joining the crew, although it was almost exclusively frequented and managed by the two former Jedi Knights, and even G2-O7 had never been permitted access, with the droid's hacking software insufficient to bypass the advanced state-of-the-art black market security systems that had been installed.

The collection of objects contained within the aptly-named former cargo hold amounted to appearing as more of an exhibit of exquisite and nefarious objects, curios of dark power from forgotten ages, as opposed to a carefully-crafted system of secure locks and containers. The objects on show, whilst protected more than their open displays indicated, had multiplied since their excursion to Korriban, and it had recently become necessary to install an additional pedestal to join the previous two that had been erected when the vault was first installed, some months ago.

Off to the side, a kaiburr shard and the impressive Heart of Typhojem were prominently gleaming, whilst the tomes that Amare and her master had purchased on Sheva had been neatly arranged on their own hi-tech bookcase towards the back of the clean metal room, joined as they were by some historical and valuable volumes favoured by the ship's current occupiers. A space was also left for the grimoire of Darth Cabal, that the trio had recovered during their fateful mission to the Caanan moon of Vaa. It was a favoured bedtime read of Bomoor, in recent weeks, and was undoubtedly nestled somewhere safe and close to the Ithorian.

"The spoils of our recent exploits," Serus said to his Sith apprentice as they halted at the third pedestal. Sat atop it, a stark contrast in design and overall aesthetic to the other two Sith holocrons positioned at either side, was the Telos Holocron, so recently the charge of former Jedi Master Formeri.

Unlike the pyramidal designs of Darths Bane and Krayt, the Telos artefact was amorphous in appearance, characterised by an asymmetrical base that appeared like queer crimson matter surrounded by spiky protrusions. Set within the base was a vertical formation, the apex of which held a clear crystal of unknown origins and makeup. The device eschewed the intricate crystalline matrices of the other holocrons, as well as the trademark glyphs and outward markings that typically denoted Sith origins. Its dark side presence in the Force, however, was unmistakably Sith.

Amare was in breathless awe of the collection gathered so neatly before her, and she could feel a strange subtle buzzing in her head and slight tingling on her extremities just from the sheer Force energies that flowed through the room. Some she recognized, others strange yet immensely enticing, though none grabbed her focus so intently as the crystal portion of the Telos Holocron. She and Thane went to a great deal of trouble getting their hands on it, and she was happy to see it again in such a prominent display. There was a gentle, yet familiar stirring within her body as she took half a pace closer to the artifact, the azoth reacting to the presence of the dark side saturating the very air in which they breathed.

"This is amazing," Amare breathed in wide-eyed fascination. "But...I don't understand." It took considerable willpower to avert her eyes from the priceless Sith treasures to look upon Thane, "You're not angry with me for the way I insulted Bomoor's honour?"

"'Honour is a fool's prize'," Serus quoted Darth Bane to his apprentice, his tone cool and considered as he allowed a steely gaze to pass over both Amare and the Telos Holocron. Like the Nautolan, the energy of the ornaments gathered within the Vault was palpable. As if his neurosystem was awash with narcotic chemicals, the Human Sith Lord fought against the urge to lose himself within the power, an unbidden desire to clench his teeth and fists almost taking him, menial as such gestures were. "But, yes. I am angry. With the both of you."

Amare frowned and nodded as she turned her gaze upon the Telos Holocron. "Yes...I would be too. It's my fault, and my failing for not knowing better. I'm incomplete. I sometimes don't know how to control my powers, or how to reign in these...impulses." She drew nearer to the priceless Telos treasure and gingerly held a hand up close to it, her dainty fingertips reaching ever so closely to it, but stopped short of contact. She turned back to him and added in realization, "I think see your intent, master. You wish for me - for us - to learn from the past so that we don't make the same mistakes the Sith before us did. We can explore these relics and practice what we learn together." She tried to mask the budding excitement in her voice, but her emotions, though suppressed, were not so completely concealed as her physical presence was when lurking in the shadows. "Please, say it can be so."

"Much wisdom is already within you," he replied with some pride at her insight, his expression softening just slightly, "to recognise my meaning without me saying or doing anything. But, yes," Serus repeated, "we both have much to learn. Whilst my experience, knowledge and power, for now, eclipses yours, it is, and has always been my intention, that our relationship become one of partnership - together, side-by-side we can reforge destiny. Whilst there must inevitably be ambition between us, we are but two mortals reaching out for the grandeur of infinity. Without one another, without patience and consideration, we are little more than children grasping at the wind."

Serus stepped away from Amare and round to the other side of the Telos Holocron. Even now, he could still sense the lingering presence he and Bomoor had left imprinted upon the fantastical relic a short while before, and he was already longing to tap into its intricate matrices once more. "I am not free from fault, though," he admitted, more softly, his eyes flicking to the Nautolan, an intensity burning behind them in some effort to engage with his apprentice, effectively commencing with the spoken lesson. "My training was a far cry from what I have subjected you to. What I experienced, at the hands of a kindly Jedi Master, I have led you to endure as a floundering would-be Sith in a few torturous months. Abandoned, tortured, brought to death, and paraded across the galaxy to end or threaten the lives of noble strangers." Serus removed his two leather gloves and placed them to one side. "You could be forgiven for losing your mind - but you have not."

His tone made it clear he was not yet content to discontinue speaking, and he continued to pace about the Telos Holocron, slowly drawing closer to Amare once again, not inviting her to speak. "You have become powerful - you are becoming Sith, and I am proud. The things you have achieved since you hid within the cargo hold last year are insurmountably remarkable, far exceeding any expectations, not least my own, as I fumbled within my own nascent Sith learnings. The dark side flows through you like you were born to it; it burns in your veins as magma within a volcano, and like that tempestuous wonder, it thrives unseen to the naked eye, waiting to unleash its fury upon the unexpectant fools beyond. But the dark side is dangerous; it must be brought to heel, lest it steal your future from you. Uncontrolled, it will decide your destiny for you, like those creatures that hide behind Axion's coat-tails. Like so many of the Sith that came before!"

Serus' words were like sweet nectar to Amare's ken, but she didn't allow her ego to grow for she did not wish to be anything like Nala or the other honourless Cultists. The Force had indeed inspired great lust in her for its power, but she did not care to crave power simply for power's sake; she wanted to put it to good use, to change lives and make a real difference in the galaxy, and, more personally, to find and emancipate her missing brother from slavery.

Serus then cupped his hand around the largely transparent crystal of the holocron to support his point, but did not yet make contact. A bright ethereal light, not like any dark side artefact seen before, began to shine within. "No triumphant figure, no Dark Lord, has ever reached the apex of galactic power without the reliance, loyalty or use of others. The One Sith and the Order of the Sith Lords before it ascended on the backs of a millennia of alliances and servants, their empires only felled by alienation born from the typical arrogance of our forebears." He took his hand away again, and now stood within three feet of Amare, the inner light of the holocron dying once more. "I am not content to wait a millennium, but not all are foes, lest you make them as such. Even a thousand foes can fell a Sith Lord. Bomoor is no foe." A slight hint of melancholy then seemed to creep into the Human's voice, and he withdrew slightly, his voice dropping an octave, becoming almost a mumble of an addendum as he turned his head to the side. "He is perhaps Sith in all but name."

Amare arched a hairless brow at Serus. "So if he is not Sith or Jedi, then...he stands alone. A dark acolyte trapped between two ways of life, committed to neither. I understand he's your longtime friend. You care for each other like family. I get that. I admire it deeply. Sometimes, the bond between you burns like ozone through the Force. The very thought of seeing you sharing the fraternal company of someone you love affects me in ways I wish it wouldn't. I'm petty in my jealousy, I admit it, but I'm also concerned. Suppose one day, you and I, do something so dark, so...unforgivable, that he discards that relationship with you. Have you considered the possibility, however small it may be, that he could betray you someday?"

He had considered it, yes. Several times. Frequently.

Were his friend to ever learn certain distinct truths about his descent into darkness in the past year, Serus wondered at where Bomoor's loyalties would continue to lie. In critical examination of their developing relationship and the Force bond that now solidified the figurative into the literal, he had concluded that Bomoor was, as he had always been, his own man. He would follow or oppose that which he considered appropriate; it fell to the Caanan to continue considering that and to react accordingly, either towards or against the Ithorian in a manner that befit their relationship. Their friendship was strong, and had already stood the test of the Jedi, Sith and, today, perhaps, Amare.

"Betrayal is an interesting concept," the Nautolan's master finally said, pushing his inner monologue aside to address and face her. "It comes in various shapes and sizes, being variously personal and philosophical. Bomoor and I have already betrayed the Jedi, if you were to listen to the Jedi Council. Mentis has betrayed Axion, and you betrayed the Rift on Lorrd. From a certain point of view, and this is a subject I often find myself pondering, one could argue I have already betrayed my friend, numerously and profoundly, and I continue to do so." When Darth Bane's holocron called to me on Nar Shaddaa, I seized it for myself and indulged in its teachings through my own volition, conscious and aware of what they would entail, what would be required, and what would become of me. The taint of darkness pulls at me incessantly, yet I make my choices of my own freewill, or so I continue to believe. Bomoor's fall - for that is what it is - is far more... sinister."

Pausing only for a moment to glance at the other two Sith holocrons, Serus looked back to Amare. "His self-declared philosophy is that he is seeking learning and power from all facets of the Force, rather than restricting himself to the narrow dogmatic view of the Reborn Jedi, that he is now growing wiser and drawing from a broader spectrum than ever before, enhancing his talents and understanding beyond the restrictions of either the Jedi or Sith. In truth, he slips further along the path to darkness, not only through the abilities and information he grows to wield, but also through his acceptance of the grim facts that surround him. Even my behaviour and character would have once been more openly challenged by Bomoor, whereas now there is a cool detachment, or even agreement. Only so much of that can be submitted as personal growth; there is a rage and aloofness within him that did not exist before, and I do not think he yet recognises it, or does not care to. He now walks our path as more than an observer or fellow traveller seeking another destination, yet he does not realise it, or believes it wholly conscious and right."

There was a peculiar maudlin manner to the tone Serus had taken as he spoke retrospectively of Bomoor and the shifting paradigms of the former Jedi Consular's character, something that was more typically reserved for his recollections of faded memories or losses, much like his comments regarding Caanus in months past. He continued to speak, but his eyes had wandered again, examining the various materials Bomoor had added to their collection, or the ones he so frequently interrogated or handled. "My friend is falling to the dark side - and I am letting him." His ice-blue eyes now flicked back to Amare, the face of Thane genuine in its expression. "Is that not a betrayal?"

Amare could not deny his logic. She lowered her gaze to the floor as she found herself reminded of the Rule of Two. "Yes... and someday, the Rule says I must betray you too in the worst way possible." She returned her gaze to his gold-haloed blue eyes, "I accepted that when we became Sith. Maybe whoever I grow to become won't be bothered by the inevitable row between us, but right now I don't like it. Still, since we're going to have a fight someday, assuming we live that long, you deserve to have a worthy opponent. Let us study these treasures and make it a duel that will put all other Sith betrayals to shame."

Serus was pleased with the accord. He had anticipated entering the vault to be faced with surliness and hostility, or perhaps a dramatic show of self-deprecation following on from the verbal showdown with Bomoor. Whilst his honest admission to Amare had been accompanied with a painful acceptance of its own, he felt it had been appropriate. There was a certain satisfaction to revealing that dark truth to another - just as he so often had with the Ithorian.

How many faces need I wear? He thought, his mind flashing to the physical mask nestled securely beneath his bunk in his cabin.

"That would be no betrayal. To not challenge weakness, to allow the stagnation or corruption of our endeavour, would be the true betrayal," the Human said gently, standing opposite Amare now, the Telos Holocron between them. That enticing glow began to return, which not comforting or warm, despite its appearance. "Whatever inevitable shape the succession of the order takes, let it only be for the betterment of the Sith."

He clasped the crustacean-like base of the relic and a small figure was immediately projected in front of Amare. The simulacrum that the device exhibited was more life-like than others encountered, and the young Nautolan was now faced with the visage of a man not much older than her master, and like Serus, this figure had the patrician features of a nobleman. Thick red hair was swept back over the gatekeeper's head and a sharp nose was situated beneath two malicious, intelligent, golden eyes. A dishonest smile decorated the figure's queerly-kindly face as he regarded Amare, and an exquisite regalia of fine robes completed the image.

"Greetings, my young friend. In your wisdom, you have come seeking the arcane knowledge of the dark side," the avatar said, its voice rich and practised, sounding almost cheerful in its address of the Sith apprentice. "Well, as I told your master I shall also tell you; all that I know, I shall share freely with you. All that I, and my fellow gatekeepers, ask in return is that you keep an open mind, and use this knowledge for the benefit of only one being: yourself. It is not out of greed that we ask this of you, but out of respect. Of all those who might have stumbled upon or claimed this device, no one is more deserving of our knowledge than you."

The avatar made of a show of stepping to one side and gesticulating towards the holocron itself, his demeanour still pleasant and airy, as though inviting guests into a home. "I am Darth Sidious. Prepare yourself; for now, we will uncover the secrets... of Sith Battle Meditation."

END

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