KOTOR III: The Stand of the Sith

[steven]

"Maybe they're not all dead. Perhabs they were all abducted instead of killed." Jack suggested "Perhabs they're bodies were taken away to feed to an animal. Force knows what happened to them. I'm not sure we're even dealing with the sith. I mean since when have they ever used droids for assaults like this one?"

[Tysyacha]

Tysy nodded. "You're right. Droids have never been the style of the Sith.

They mostly prefer to jab red lightsabers through flesh." She gave a rueful

scoff. "And I wouldn't put it past them to have carried out this attack

personally. The reborn Jedi Order would have been too good a target

for Darth Traya's former servants to ignore. One more thing--before

we leave for Ziost, I want to see if the theory I just formulated

might be correct." She bowed to Aerl and Jack, and then turned

to the Mandalore. "Canderous? You can't feel the Force, so I'd

like you to come with me. Please?" Her eyes were anxious.

 

The Mandalore nodded and followed the Jedi Exile to the very places

where four new Jedi Masters had been vaporized(?) She crept close

to each ash-filled depression using the Breath Control technique she

had learned from her former dark Master. When she was done,

Canderous noticed she was holding her temples and grimacing,

writhing with barely endurable pain. Her last words before passing

out again seemed to be these, which the Mandalore found confusing:

 

"Hypersuffusion. It--has to be. No--!"

[steven]

John stood waited with Aerl. There was an orcward silent while the ships owners were away. John spent most of the time admiring the ship's insides. It was about 10 minutes before John asked "What do you think they're doing in there?"

[JasraLantill]

"Haven't got a clue," Aerl replied to Jack. "Though it's pretty obvious that they wanted to be 'alone'." He winked. "If you know what I mean. What I can't figure out is how an ex-Jedi and a Mandalorian got together in the first place." He went over to one of the consoles in the main hold and tapped a few buttons. "Maybe there is something in here about their history, or where they've been, or...OW!" Aerl jumped away from the console as a painful and unexpected electric shock flitted through his fingertips. Rubbing the feeling back into his hands, he glared at the utility droid parked next to him. "Hey! Did you do that on purpose?" he asked it.

 

T3 whistled, then whirred in quick succession.

 

"You know, that sounded very much like a snicker," Aerl said, raising an dubious eyebrow at the droid. He looked over at Jack. "Maybe you'll have some luck in finding out where they've been and what they've been doing. I'm going to check out the cockpit. Begin plotting the course to Ziost." He gave a hesitant look at T3. "That is, if the little mechanical prankster here doesn't have any objections."

 

T3 let out a couple of beeps.

 

"Good," Aerl said to T3 as he started toward the cockpit. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you. Just so you know I've had plenty of experience with droids. Especially ones with attitudes," he added over his shoulder.

[Tysyacha]

Once Tysy came to (again), the Mandalore had her pulled safely away

from the four ghastly depressions where the Force seethed. It seemed

to be angry, concentrated, quivering with destructive, raging power.

 

"Hypersuffusion," she continued with a choke. "Someone is trying

to fill in the holes in the Force, or the 'echoes', that Darth Traya

caused five years ago. Unfortunately, the method that this person

is using is just as dangerous, if not more so. You see, when you

hypersuffuse something with the Force, or are consumed by it,

you die just as quickly as if someone cut you in half with a lightsaber."

 

Her face looked worried. "If this keeps up, and more 'Force wounds'

keep being filled in by this deadly way, then the hypersuffusion will

spread out from the echoes and kill everything in its path. Either

that, or the hypersuffusion will cause the wills of the strong to

bend to whoever's causing it. Either way, we're in for trouble."

[ForceFightWMe12]

((OOC: Sorry I haven't been too active -- I've been off in New York City for a week Anyway, I'm back now, quite obviously, and I'll stop babbling and get to posting something useful now...))

 

Canderous processed what the Exile had just said. After a few moments of running her words through his head, he found it would be easier to just pretend he had understood.

"Wonderful." he said sarcastically. Then, more seriously and anxiously, he asked, "Does it put you in any danger?"

[Tysyacha]

The Exile nodded gravely. "Of course. It also puts Jack in danger, since

he is a Jedi, and it threatens to turn or destroy every living creature that

is sensitive to the Force. I honestly believe Kreia was blind as to the true

consequences of causing 'wounds' or 'echoes' in the Force, but whoever

is doing the hypersuffusion definitely knows what he or she is doing. He

or she is willing to let billions upon billions of creatures die to--what?

 

"Conquer the galaxy? What kind of a future would there be in an empty

void that has been filled with nothing but twisted waves of the Force?

Gain power? If anyone tried to 'feed' off of these Force hypersuffusion

pockets as Darth Nihilus once fed on Jedi, they would die in an instant.

At this moment, I consider you lucky," said Tysy humbly, "that you don't

feel the Force within you. If you did, I fear we both would be lost."

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Well then I guess its a good thing I'm not." Canderous said, his arm sliding around her shoulders. "Can you stand? We need to get back and talk to Jack, warn him if we have to. We need to figure this out."

[Tysyacha]

Tysy put her hand on top of the Mandalore's. "I agree. We need to

warn both Jack and Aerl, as even those who can't feel the Force

might still be affected by it. That means you, too, and I don't want

you--!" She choked up, startled. Then the Exile figured she might as

well say what was in her heart, with or without the Force to guide her.

 

"I don't want you to die before your time. To die before the Mandalorians

join you under one banner. To die before--I am your wife. We'd better board

the ship," she said quickly, fearing she'd confessed far too much already.

Mandalorians did not usually like "delicate" people. That meant "weak",

and nine times out of ten, "weak" meant "dead". Warriors. They all were.

 

When Canderous and Tysy had rejoined Jack and Aerl aboard the Ebon

Hawk, the Exile asked both of them a question. She didn't figure that

Aerl would know the answer, since he was neither a Jedi nor a Sith, but

Tysy thought Jack might have heard of it. Of the danger they all faced.

 

"Jack? Aerl? Have you ever heard of a deadly technique that the Sith

might use called 'Force hypersuffusion'?" She heard T3 beep ominously.

[ForceFightWMe12]

The Mandalore stood behind Tysy, his arms crossed over his armored chest. Beneath the mirrored visor of his helm, his eyes refused to leave the Exile for even a moment. What she had said to him earlier still rang clear in his head.

His arms shifted, eager to wrap themselves around her, but otherwise he stood stock-still.

Later. he told himself, I'll talk to her later.

[JasraLantill]

Sitting in the pilot’s seat and preparing the ship to take off for Ziost, Aerl’s eyebrow twitched at hearing Tysy’s question. “Force hypersuffusion?” he said to her over his shoulder. “You mean like… dosing a Force Sensitive with so much Force power that it dissolves their physical being and they become part of the greater whole? Erm…nope, never heard of it.”

[Tysyacha]

Tysy's blood immediately ran cold. "You have. I don't understand how you

would have, though, since you are neither a Jedi nor a Sith. Are you a

Force Sensitive? That would make more sense, but even the wisest of

Force Sensitives may not have heard of hypersuffusion. It's a very

stealthy technique, not often used and beyond the reach of even

Darth Traya. What else do you know of this method?" she asked.

 

Tysy reached out gently through the Force and felt a cloud of fear

in Aerl's mind. Protecting a secret, perhaps? What dark truth could

have been more shattering than the fact that Traya had tried to

destroy the Force with her, the Exile's, help? She sent waves of calm

to try and touch the nervous, hesitant pilot of the Ebon Hawk.

 

"I sense you know more than you're telling me," she said. "What

is Force Hypersuffusion used for on so grand a scale? It not only

wipes out your enemies, but it can wipe out all life in the galaxy

if it's used enough." Tysy was confused. "Who would want that?"

[JasraLantill]

"Me? Force Sensitive? Erm...I dunno," Aerl said hesitantly. "Like I said, I've never heard of Force hypersuffusion. Well," he quickly conceded, "I've heard of the theory of it. You know, being as I'm a jack-of-all-trades, I have a wide social circle. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things that people like to discuss in the cantina when they think no one is...." He paused, realising that he had very nearly said too much. "Erm, nevermind. Like I said, I've heard of it, but I haven't witnessed the actual process of it. " He sensed that Tysy wasn't buying his explanation. "Maybe...maybe someone wants to punch a hole in the universe or something? That's what the theory says would happen over the long term. A dimensional rift." He turned his head towards Tysy. "So...are we all go for Ziost?"

[Tysyacha]

"Mmm-hmm." Tysy smiled with a mixture of reassurance for Aerl

and suspicion. There was a distinct tone to her voice that said,

I would gladly give my life if you would tell me everything. If

everything the galaxy has heard about Force hypersuffusion

is true, then we're more than just doomed. For now, however,

she was content to poise her fingers over the hyperspace keypad.

 

Hissssss. A very quiet sound, like the releasing of air from a

valve, perked up the Exile's ears. Soon, a voice that spoke with

a soft timbre between a rasp and a growl addressed her, and the

entire five-person (including T3-M4) crew of the Ebon Hawk.

 

Why kill? it asked. Why kill, when you can conquer? Why

murder, when you can save the victims from your knife? Why destroy

a planet, or a galaxy, when it would be far better to reshape it?

 

You misjudge us, Tysy Dvukh, and our intent. That surprises us,

for we believed you'd left the Jedi Order and its lies behind. Its

half-truths that it's concealed from you for the better part of

your life. That is what we want to kill, what we wish to destroy.

 

Save yourself, and those with you, before the deaths begin. Join

us, or at least learn the true root motives of our cause. Ziost

is the place for you, and for the Mandalorian, whose life is war.

Both the Jedi and the criminal are enigmas, but so are you.

You are turning to our side, though you do not know it yet.

 

Of your own free will, you will become one of ours...Dvukh.

 

Tysy, the wind knocked out of her, slapped the controls to

send the ship to Ziost. The Ebon Hawksurged forward

violently, as if fleeing away from an invincible threat. Or to it.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"What in the name of Malachor was that?" Mandalore barked out, despite himself. He had felt a presence in his mind -- he recognized the feeling from the few times Tysy had done the same -- but this touch was...different. Cooler, more secretive. Dangerous.

"Tysy, what's going on?"

[steven]

"I felt something," Stated Jack "I can't really explain it. It was weird and dark. What is going?"

 

(sorry for the one liner)

[Tysyacha]

"I think the Sith are near." Such an obvious statement would have caused

lesser men to laugh at Tysy, to scoff at her not-so-subtle revelation.

However, Jack, Aerl, and Canderous were not those lesser men. The

Exile continued, "Ziost is where we're headed, and if that's the case,

that world still radiates the Dark Side energy that draws me like a

Toydarian to credits lying on the ground. Why? I've known darkness.

 

"I've known war. My body count is very high, in the hundreds of

thousands if not millions. I believe the voice we've heard is of

the Sith, and their presence is trying to lure us to the very place

where we've decided to go in the first place. It's most likely a trap.

 

"However, that doesn't mean we should ignore it." She sent out

a nervous yet intense pulse through the Force. "Master? Master

Revan? Can you hear me, hear us? It's your former apprentice,

Tysy Dvukh, and I'm headed for Ziost. Are you there?" Silence.

[steven]

Jack, not ittentially, recived the message however he didn't block, change or interfier with it in anyway. "So Ziost it is then. I've never been there before, to be hononist I don't think heard of it before? What is it like?"

[RobQel-Droma]

Ziost

 

Meanwhile, Revan still searched the complex for any clues to who had tampered with the computer terminal. He had found nothing new - any information of any importance was either locked by an unknown means, or deleted. The only item he was able to glean from one of the computers was a map. It was partially corrupted, of course, but Revan had guessed that part of the damaged file, an area at the far side of an apartment-like section, was skillfully tampered with.

 

And if it wasn't, well... he would merely continue his explorations elsewhere. The structure was huge, and there was plenty of places where someone might hide.

 

The door in front of him opened, it's security lock ancient and ruined. He walked quickly past the first row of doors, then turned and found himself facing another series of doors, perpendicular to the others. Checking his map again, he tried the first door.

 

It appeared to be jammed, and perhaps blocked from the inside. Revan used his lightsaber to burn a small hole, but was met by rocks and crumbled debris. Turning off the cyan blade, he went to the next door; it did not open as well, but it was not blocked. Using the force, he pushed the door aside, and came face-to-face with a creature.

 

Evidently some starved mutated Sith beast, it roared weakly, then rushed at him, running on it's back legs. The creature's jaws opened, and spit a stream of acid at him. Revan lept to the side, then spun and ignited it's lightsaber. As the creature turned and came at him again, he jumped over it, slicing a line down it's back. The beast roared in pain, then fell to the ground as Revan's lightsaber severed it's neck.

 

Turning to examine the room, Revan noticed an opening in the wall that led into an open space behind the creature's lair. He crawled through it, then stopped - he could feel something in front of him. It was like a hole in the force, but different, he could feel the force inside of the hole... strong, and concentrated. But a voice in his head distracted him.

 

"Master? Master Revan? Can you hear-"Suddenly another voice drowned the first out, a soft and evil voice. Hssss.... Revan....He glanced upward, trying to find the voice. Greatest of the Jedi, isn't it? We are suprised. We knew you would come back here, but we did not think that you would come in this way. It was always a possibility, of course....

 

But did you learn nothing from Traya, at least? It would have been better if you would have left the lies and half-truths of the Jedi, instead of returning to them after your little brush with the dark side. For our aim is to destroy those lies, to reveal those half-truths which have been kept from you.

 

Always remember that, Revan. You will be on our side, and you will not even know it. Just like those who are coming to you now. The quiet, raspy voice subsided with and echo, and then silence. So, Revan was not prepared for the wave of the force that flowed over him, then retreated, leaving him unconcious on the floor.

 

(((A bit long, I know - and a bit lame - but I needed to post something in case I missed a couple of days... Oh well.)))

[Tysyacha]

The Ebon Hawk landed on Ziost in the dead of night, perching like an

owl upon its hardened rock surface. The atmosphere of this dark Sith world

was both steaming hot, as Malachor had been, and cold with sinister energy.

Tysy, Canderous, Jack and Aerl emerged as cautiously as they dared, keeping

their footsteps to soft and muted taps instead of bold and stalwart stomps.

 

"Well, T3," muttered Tysy ruefully to the utility droid, "here we are."

 

T3-M4 chirped an ominous "Dwoooo," and then rolled out further onto

the surface of Ziost. He made tracks in the quartz-gray rock dust lightly

covering the unyielding bedrock below. He kept all of his sensors alert.

 

"Now that we're on Ziost," continued the Exile, turning to her three companions,

"what do you think we should do, and where do you think we should start

looking for Revan? If he's even here," she added with a regretful shrug.

 

((P.S. Rob, if THAT was lame, I crave to see your finest work! *LOL*))

You are most likely your own worst critic. I loved what you wrote!

[RobQel-Droma]

((Perhaps I am... Although, it's nice to see there's people out there that like it. ))

 

Revan got to his feet slowly, rubbing his eyes as they slowly focused on the room. He started to remember why he was here, then the strange voice, and the words it had spoken to him. Wincing, he stretched out with the force, trying to feel that-

 

Wait. He couldn't feel anything with the force. In fact, he couldn't even control it. Ironically enough, he could feel the force inside him, but it was as if it was numbed. He could feel it to some extent, but he felt weak. Reassured by the fact that he had not been completely stripped of the force, he picked up his dropped saber.

 

Now he focused his attention on the voice. He knew he had heard that voice somewhere. In a darker dream, perhaps? Or was he remembering some forgotten journey he had made into these regions? He also remembered the other voice, reaching out to him just before it was blanked out by the other. "Master? Master Revan? Can you hear..." And then it was gone.

 

He knew that voice also, and he knew who it was. But if she was coming to Ziost, he had to find her. Perhaps she knew something more, something that could reveal what was happening here. However, it would be a bit hard, knowing that he could not use the force to sense her. Shaking his head, he hurried through the building, going back to his ship.

[steven]

"We could try looking for shelter, if the guy's smart he would of done the same thing. And if we're sure this guy is here there's a decent chance he came here by ship. If we find a ship we have a good lead in finding him," Suggested Jack.

[JasraLantill]

Aerl pulled out a small metallic device, no bigger than a hypo, from his pocket, and as he held it in his hand it began to hum. He began to turn to the right and the humming began to decrease in volume. He turned to the left and the sound increased, and increased more until the humming was a solid tone.

 

He pointed to a nearby ridge. "Think your guy's located on the other side of that small ridge," he said definitively, then he paused as he realised the others were staring at him and his device. "Oh...erm...this is something I picked up on... erm... Regus 12," he said hurriedly about the device. "It detects... erm... residual hyperdrive coil emissions. From ships. So, if there's a ship over there, most likely this Revan fellow's there, too, yeah?" He moved forward with the confidence of a soldier. "Ok, this way people!" he called over his shoulder.

 

He paused then, and looked sheepishly over at Tysy. "Erm...wait a sec...I suppose since it's your friend that we're looking for, and it's your ship that we came in, that's your line to say, right?" He gave a hurried glance at Mandalore. "Or, maybe his," he added. "But either way, Tysy, there is a ship over that ridge. And I think we should investigate it since we've come all this way and...." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Erm...I'll just shut up now." He started forward, grumbling something unintelligible to himself under his breath.

[JasraLantill]

Hate to double post, Tysy, but are we continuing with this thread or ...??

[RobQel-Droma]

(((Well, I think it's continuing... Haven't seen Tysy for a while, though)))

 

Revan ran across a broken causeway, exiting one of the larger structures in the fortress. According to one of the old computers, the ship had come down on the opposite side of the ridge. Now, all he needed to do was get there.

 

He ran through several more doors, finally emerging on an ancient walkway that led to an open courtyard. This was where I left my ship...

 

Except it wasn't there. "What the....!" He looked across the courtyard in vain for some clue where it had gone, but there was just an empty space. "Great." He said to the empty space. "It gets more and more interesting all the time."