Star Wars: The Darkness Within

[Chevron 7 locke]

The Jedi Order has been betrayed from within

 

Master Voleran, one of the Jedi Order's most powerful members has defected to the Sith Empire with nearly all of the knowledge that the Republic and the Jedi Order have collected since the Fall of Coruscant. If he is not stopped from reaching the Sith with this information, the Republic and the Jedi Order could end up facing a new war with the Sith Empire.

 

The Republic and Jedi Order are in agreement: The rouge Jedi Master must be caught or killed before the information reaches the sith. The Republic is now putting together a small strike force to intercept Voleran before he can reach his sith allies.

 

 

Coruscant

Senate Tower Briefing Room

 

Zarev Avera walked through the corridors of the senate tower with a mixture of determination and sadness. He had heard the rumors from Tython, that someone had managed to steal important data and had tried to flee with it. He was hoping that they had managed to capture the criminal before whoever it was had caused too much damage to the temple.

 

If I had managed to save Master Beval perhaps he could have stopped this from happening. He thought sadly as he arrived at the room where the briefing concerning the security breach was going to take place. Zarev was still torn up about the loss of his master, knowing that he could have saved him if he had arrived just a moment earlier.

 

As he walked in he saw three others already in the room. One was wearing the robes of a jedi master and the second one that was standing was wearing the uniform of a republic military officer. One with the rank of a general.

 

He turned to the solder that was sitting in the chair and the solder stared back at him. One thing that Zarev noticed before he turned away was that the solder had the insigna of Havoc squad on his shoulder.

 

Hmmm...As I recall, Havic squad is one of the Republic's top special forces units. Something important must have happened if Havoc Squad is involved.

The republic officer nodded once and motioned for the jedi to sit down. "We'll be waiting for the others to arrive before we begin the briefing. We have assembled the finest individuals in republic space to help deal with this situation."

[Warlord664]

"Destination reached." Corsail Opened his eyes as the ships AI system spoke. "Already? I was hoping I would have enough time to take a quick nap." Corsail had just recently completed a job he recieved from some nobles on Alderaan, he wasn't expecting another job so soon, and certently not so big.

 

He hadn't taken many assignments directly from the republic, to be honest he didn't really like the republic, but with the amount of credits they were offering he couldn't refuse.

 

Corsail walked down his ship landing ramp into the Coruscant docking bay, he saw a republic bay worker fixing a computer terminal. Corsail shivered at the thought that he could be living a boring life like that. "I guess everyone doesn't have the luck I have." he said. "Hmm.... Didn't even give me a map to the senate tower."

 

Corsail saw a republic trooper standing duty. "Hey, can you point me in the direction of the senate tower? Haven't been here to Coruscant much." The trooper turned to look at Corsail. "It's the biggest building around, you can't miss it, Just follow the walk way and you'll see it."

 

Corsail continued to walk down the walk way. Republic troopers are all the same, each one with the personality of a womprat. "Wow, It really is big." he said outloud. He walked into the nearest elevator and reached the senate tower briefing room. As he walked in he saw the small group sitting at a large meeting table. "Did I miss anything?"

[Yukub]

Traver steered his ship towards the landing pad, while holding the comlink in his hand. ''This is the 'Goddess of Mercy', requesting to land.'' Traver stored the comlink away. ''This is Senate Control, you are clear to land.'' Traver maneuvered the ship to the landing pad and turned the engines off. He opened the ramp and walked out. ''Wonder what's happened, with all this mess going on.''

 

 

He entered the Senate and took the elevator. He took some stairs and then walked into the briefing room. ''Hey'a Folks! What's up?'' While looking around the room. Some soldiers, Jedi, and some guy. He sat down at a chair. ''Big mess coming up, eh?''

[LDR]

Kif walked through the corridors of the Senate Tower. Gee, what's caused such a stir?, he wondered as he saw more Republic troopers in the perpendicular corridor. Ah, here we are., he thought as he entered the briefing room.

 

The first thing he saw was a man in a wide hat.

 

Hey'a Folks! What's up? Big mess coming up, eh?

 

A smile crossed his face as he took a seat next to the man.

 

"Traver, you been chewing spice? You weren't this jolly last time I saw ya."

 

***

 

Varik's mind was a hodge-podge of incomprehensible whispers and thought. All of the different voices...

 

Aggh!..., he cursed as he slammed his fist into a wall - creating a very noticeable dent in the wall.

 

The whispers seemingly dimmed to a barely noticeable sound, he strode into the briefing room.

 

"Oh you've got to be kidding me.", he said, grinning, as he saw his two favorite smugglers in the room. He sat on the other side of Traver.

 

"I guess big Republic problems have a way of bringing us together. This was the last place I'd expect to see either of you.", he said, grinning.

[Warlord664]

Corsail sat waiting at the meeting table. He wondered how many people were going to come to this meeting, there were already serveral people in the room.

 

''Hey'a Folks! What's up?''

 

As he heard the voice he looked up, a man with a ridiculously large hat had just walked in. The man strolled over to the meeting table and took a seat.

 

''Big mess coming up, eh?''

 

Shortly after a twilek walked in. How big is this mission? If any more people come were going to have an army. he thought to himself. A few minutes afterwards a jedi walked and took a seat beside the man with the hat and the twilek. "How many more people are coming before we start this meeting? he asked. I do have better things to do then sit around you know."

[MsFicwriter]

Per'dra Yllari, now a Jedi Knight, strode quickly into the Senate Tower Briefing Room. She had always been proud of her punctuality, but oddly enough, she was late today. A Master had defected from their Order to the Empire, and Per'dra wanted to know why before she even thought about igniting her silver saberstaff. "Sorry I'm late," she panted, a little out of breath. "I was on an errand for my own Master, and forgot all about the time..." Sitting down, she folded her legs into a lotus position and perked up her ever-inquisitive ears.

[Chevron 7 locke]

"How many more people are coming before we start this meeting? he asked. I do have better things to do then sit around you know."

 

The jedi turned to look as the final member of what was to be the strike force arrived. He smiled at her as she took a seat and waited.

 

"I apologize for the delay in starting the briefing. We needed to make sure that everyone was here before we started." The Republic General looked over the small group of individuals. "Last night, Grand Master Satele Shan contacted us and told us that someone in the temple had accessed their data banks and retrieved a massive amount of information that included the location of the Jedi Temple on Tython along with our most recent security codes and locations of our spies in Imperial space along with other important information."

 

The General moved over to the holoprojector and hit a button and the holographic image of a human wearing the robes of a Jedi Master appeared.

 

"This is Jedi Master Voleran. He was found to be missing from the Temple last night and his shuttle was missing from the hanger. The Temple was placed on lockdown after he was found to be missing."

 

The solder with the havoc squad insigna on his armor nodded as the Jedi looked over at him. "This is Vlalkor Hevron, a member of Havoc squad that has had experience with force sensative individuals."

 

Vlalkor waved at the group as the jedi continued. "Both the Jedi and the Republic are in agreement: Master Voleran has defected to the Sith Empire and he must be either captured or killed before he manages to deliver the data to the sith."

 

The General hit another button and a planet appeared in the holographic field. "This is Tatooine, we believe that Voleran sent a transmission to the planet but we're not exactly sure what he sent but it's the only lead we have."

 

The jedi looked over the group.

 

"Are there any questions?"

[Warlord664]

"Are there any questions?"

 

Corsail smiled. "I find it rather amusing that this jedi had full acess to such importent data, you jedi are far to trusting."

 

Corsail turned to look at the republic general, "If this jedi did defect, He probably has an imperial contact on tatooine. Do you have any republic soldiers stationed on tatooine? If so it might be a good idea for them to keep an eye out on the spaceport."

[MsFicwriter]

"Are there any questions?"

 

Per'dra raised her hand. "Do any of us know exactly why Master Voleran defected?" she asked. "I did not know him well, but rest assured that when he interacted with me, he never displayed any trace of falling to the Dark Side. Perhaps he was especially skilled at hiding his true intentions, even through manipulating the Force to do so. However, I doubt it because..." She sighed. "This is hard to explain, but no one wakes up and says 'I'll support the Sith, or even the Jedi, wholeheartedly today!' without some prior motive. Unless, of course, they suffered a psychotic break in the middle of the night." Giving an involuntary shudder, she asked, "What did Master Voleran want that he believed the Sith and their teachings could give him?"

[LDR]

"This is hard to explain, but no one wakes up and says 'I'll support the Sith, or even the Jedi, wholeheartedly today!' without some prior motive. Unless, of course, they suffered a psychotic break in the middle of the night." Giving an involuntary shudder, she asked, "What did Master Voleran want that he believed the Sith and their teachings could give him?"

 

"He probably got a little too close to a Sith artifact during one of his inquisitive escapades.", Varik replied - inadvertently describing the situation that he was in.

 

Kif butted in. "He most likely got tired of the Jedi's self-destructive path of pacifism and tolerance.", he said in his thick Huttese accent.

[MsFicwriter]

"He most likely got tired of the Jedi's self-destructive path of pacifism and tolerance."

 

Per'dra raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Was that a joke? If so, I don't get it. The Sith are the self-destructive ones, because betrayal and infighting are the very cornerstones of what they teach. As for pacifism and tolerance..." She trailed off. "I concede that maybe the Jedi Council was wrong, centuries ago, when they refused to support Revan in his fight to save the Outer Rim from the Mandalorians, but that's another issue." Her innards curdled at the tense silence that followed. "All I'm saying is that we Jedi strive for unity--to keep ourselves and the galaxy in one piece. Why did Voleran turn against this goal, and us?"

[Warlord664]

"What did Master Voleran want that he believed the Sith and their teachings could give him?"

 

 

Corsail turned his head to look at Per'dra, "It's really quite obvius, a man can only listen to that jedi code garbage for so long before he go's insane. When the first line of something says there is no emotion you knows somethings wrong."

 

Corsail leaned back in his chair, "Oh, and that last part, there is no death there is only the force." He let out a laugh,

 

"I hate to break your little dream world up but I see death all day long. Per'dra, every time you slice someone with your lightsaber, do you repeat that line?

[MsFicwriter]

"No. I'm too involved in the thick of battle to start thinking about our philosophy at that moment," the Jedi Knight replied. She was hesitant to bring up her own doubts about the first line of her Order's Code, however. All she said next was, "I have also seen death, and believe me, if Master Voleran carries out his plans in conjunction with the Sith, there will be plenty." She decided to ignore Corsail for the moment and returned her attention to the Republic General. Getting involved in petty arguments at this point would solve nothing.

[LDR]

"I hate to break your little dream world up but I see death all day long. Per'dra, every time you slice someone with your lightsaber, do you repeat that line?"

 

Kif roared in laughter. "Glad to see someone with the same thought process as mine.", he said, then looking back at Per'dra. "You really want to know my views on Jedi? Jedi lie, they...-", Kif began.

 

Varik raised his hand over Kif's mouth to silence him. "Not now, we're in the middle of a debriefing."

 

As Kif glared at him, Varik finished. "You could continue it later. I promise."

[Chevron 7 locke]

"Do any of us know exactly why Master Voleran defected?"

 

The General looked over at the Jedi Master and shrugged his shoulders. "The Jedi transmitted all of the information on Master Voleran that they possesed. He lost one of his students when the sith attacked the Temple and lost a squad of republic troops that were under his command during a skirmish with sith forces on Tatooine."

 

The General hit a few more buttons and a list of names appeared on a holographic screen. "Apparently Master Voleran has lost quite a few people who were close to him including his master. His Master was killed at the Jedi Temple when the sith attacked it and lost many of his friends during the war."

 

The Jedi Master sighed heavily. "We do have one theory as to why he may have defected. The loss of so many people who were close to him may have somehow twisted his mind so that he believes what he is doing is right. This is only a theory of course but it's the only one we have."

 

The General looked over the group and hit another control and the image of a ship appeared. "The Republic has issued you a ship so that you may track down Master Voleran. It's a modified Corellian Defender-class Light Corvette that has been modified with additional space so that more people can travel aboard it. If there are no more questions, then I suggest you get to the ship and travel to Tatooine as quickly as possible."

[Warlord664]

"The Republic has issued you a ship so that you may track down Master Voleran. It's a modified Corellian Defender-class Light Corvette that has been modified with additional space so that more people can travel aboard it. If there are no more questions, then I suggest you get to the ship and travel to Tatooine as quickly as possible."

 

 

Corsail stood up, "Fine, when this jobs done, my ship better be here, because if your stupid security lets some thief make away with my girl i'm gonna shoot you in the head."

 

After that, he walked off towards the spaceport.

[MsFicwriter]

As Per'dra climbed aboard the spacecraft, she couldn't silence the echo of certain words running through her mind. Little dream world. Goes insane. Do you repeat that line? Little dream world. Goes insane. Do you repeat that line?... To distract herself, she dug her fingernails into her right arm and let the pain jolt her back to physical reality. The Jedi Master who had given the briefing could certainly have come to the defense of their Order. Why hadn't he? Per'dra thought that maybe he considered Corsail and Kif's slights beneath his notice. After all, the Jedi were supposed to be above responding to wisecracks and insults. Still, the Knight sighed and sat down in the main hold, not wanting to look too conspicuous. She wasn't in the mood for conversation, after what she'd heard. Rather, Per'dra wanted to meditate upon the reason the Master gave for Voleran defecting to the Sith Empire:

 

"The loss of so many people who were close to him may have somehow twisted his mind..."

 

After what I've been through in the past, she mused, I'm surprised that I haven't defected! What makes Master Voleran and me different?

[Warlord664]

Corsail took a seat at the side of the ship hoping that no one would choose to sit by him. He didn't feel comfortable leaving his ship behind, every job he'd ever taken, he always used his ship. He didn't trust the republic to handle anything.

 

Corsails face grew very grim as he thought over his past, his entire family had been killed by imperials in the war. He looked inside his pouch tied to his belt and saw his fathers lightsaber, he pulled it out and held it tightly.

 

Tears never left his eyes, but they were there.

[Yukub]

Traver came bustling into the ship where Varik and Kif already sat. He quickly sat down on a chair and spit out something that looked very much like spice.

 

''Sorry, I arranged some things.'' He apologied, while winking at Varek. He took out his gun and showed it to Varik.

 

'I just got this baby. Heavily modified of course. Always handy when you just can't persuade the cops.''

 

He looked around the ship and then back at Varik.

 

''So, we're going to Tatooine? I hate sand. You can't chew on it.''

[LDR]

As Varik and Kif sat down, they saw Traver burst into the ship's main hold.

 

''Sorry, I arranged some things.''

 

"Traver, you seem much more...jumpy since the last time we spoke. Last time I saw you, you were a drunken loser.", Kif said.

 

"Looks a little more than jumpy.", Varik added.

 

"I just got this baby. Heavily modified of course. Always handy when you just can't persuade the cops.''

 

"Congratulations, and I've had this 'baby' for years.", Kif said, laughing, holding his pistol. "This gun's got more history than your own life. My ancestor used it in the Jedi Civil War to kill some Sith Officer named Mon Halan."

 

"And I've got lightsabers, which neither of your toys can hold a candle to.", Varik said, chuckling.

 

''So, we're going to Tatooine? I hate sand. You can't chew on it.''

 

"Actually, you could. It just leaves a rather...dusty sensation in your mouth.", Kif said, chuckling at the thought of Traver chewing sand.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Coruscant Spaceport

 

As Zarev and Vlalkor boarded the ship Zarev couldn't help but wonder something: Many of the order's most power masters were stationed on Tython, why hadn't one of them sensed what was happening to Master Voleran and stopped him before he made off with the information?

 

I'll have to ask Per'dra later. Perhaps she may have an idea. But I should probably ask what happened at the temple from her perspective.

 

He watched as Knight Per'dra went to the main hold and followed her. He watched as she sat down and he sat down next to her.

 

"Greetings knight Per'dra." He said quietly. "If I may ask...well...you were at the Temple on Tython when Master Voleran managed to get away with the information, what happened at the temple from your perspective? How long did it take for the temple to be locked down?"

 

Vlalkor sat down in the command chair on the bridge and began to input coordinates into the navcomputer. After a few moments the course for Tatooine was set and Vlalkor engaged the hyperdrive and watched as the stars turned to lines as the ship entered hyperspace.

[MsFicwriter]

((Does the ship have a name? For now, I'll just call it the Light Corvette.))

 

Aboard the Light Corvette, en route to Tatooine

 

"How long did it take for the temple to be locked down?"

 

Per'dra turned her head toward Zarev, gazing at him circumspectly. "Too long, in my opinion," she replied. "It was total chaos at the temple on Tython when we found out that Master Voleran turned on us! First, we had to calm ourselves down even though we're Jedi and supposed to rise above emotion in every possible circumstance. Second, we had to make sure that this was a defection, and an unauthorized breach of Temple security, instead of a Master going on a routine mission. Thirdly..." She trailed off for a moment. "Perhaps it's not my place to say this, but someone should have seen the signs of Voleran's treason earlier, if there were any signs. Rumor has it that he had a Padawan, for instance. If that's true, then why is that person not here with us? Did the other Masters think it would be too dangerous to send her along, or that she would exhibit preferential treatment toward her Master?" She sighed. "Even if Master Voleran had no Padawan, or a Knight, under his command, something's still very wrong. There's almost no way suspicious activities by anyone would go fully undetected at the Temple!"

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Yikes, I forgot to name the ship! The ship's name is the Satele for now. If someone has a better name then feel free to let me know.))

 

Light Corvette Satele

 

"Perhaps it's not my place to say this, but someone should have seen the signs of Voleran's treason earlier, if there were any signs. Rumor has it that he had a Padawan, for instance. If that's true, then why is that person not here with us? Did the other Masters think it would be too dangerous to send her along, or that she would exhibit preferential treatment toward her Master?"

 

Zarev looked at her curiously. "Back when I was on Tython for my training I would often hear rumors that he refused to take another padawan. Is it possible that if he had a padawan he or she may have been killed or turned to the darkside? The galaxy isn't exactly a safe place for jedi these days."

 

Zarev sighed heavily as he thought back to his own master who had been killed recently. "I suppose I can relate to Master Voleran in one respect: He lost quite a few people that were close to him including his Jedi Master back on Coruscant, and I recently lost my Master."

 

Zarev's eyes took on a haunted look as he remembered the loss of his own Master. She had been a Echani Jedi who had been well trained in the art of combat but not even her training had been able to save her from overwhelming odds. A single tear appeared in his left eye as he remembered how he had arrived a moment too late, he had arrived just as she had been cut down by blaster fire from sith troops.

 

"Even if Master Voleran had no Padawan, or a Knight, under his command, something's still very wrong. There's almost no way suspicious activities by anyone would go fully undetected at the Temple!"

 

Zarev snapped back to reality after a moment. "I think that theres something more going on here. Is it possible that he had inside help from someone inside the temple?"

[MsFicwriter]

"Very much so," Per'dra replied, "but I have no idea who could have assisted Voleran in his betrayal. Rest assured, it couldn't have been anyone with a lower rank than that of a Jedi Master. The information that he stole was highly classified, and even after my recent promotion, I couldn't have seen it, either." Hesitantly, she laid a hand on Zarev's arm. "It's horrifying, isn't it? Here we are, a Knight and a Master, still reeling from losing those who were dear to us. Now Voleran presents an even greater threat. I know that the first part of our Code says, There is no emotion; there is peace..., but even I know that's not always true. Whatever happens, I'll remain loyal, and won't let the Sith get either of us if it's within my power to prevent it."

[LDR]

"Speaking of loss,", Varik mused, "I've lost much more than anyone else in here. I'm surprised that I haven't fallen to the dark side yet."

 

"Wait, didn't you go to Korriban?". Kif asked.

 

That is none of your concern, Kif. Varik thought to himself. Instead of answering Kif's question, he instead listed off all of the people close to him that he lost. "My old Master, my brother, my mother, my father, all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins on Onderon, H4-7X, and...and...", he paused, not wishing to continue.

 

"And who? What were you going to say?", Kif asked.

 

"It...it is none of your concern.", Varik stammered.

 

They both looked over at Traver, who seemed to be chewing something.