Star Wars: The Darkness Within

[Chevron 7 locke]

Shan

 

"I have the gut feeling that I'll need your help even more during the second half of this mission. This is horrible to say, but I'm glad you know the minds of our enemies better than I do. Specifically, you know their hate, and it's time to counter it with what we Jedi know is right: fairness and honor."

 

Avriala smiled as she got to her feet. "Agreed." She said as she watched Light come into the room.

 

"Hey, the group is trying to decide on a leader. Everyone else is in the med-bay, so if you will come with me, we can all discuss it."

 

"Of course." Avriela said with a smile. "I'l be there in just a moment." She said quietly as she turned to Per'dra. "Let me know if you ever need someone to talk to."

 

 

 

Balmorra

Smuggler Spaceport

 

"Let me get this straight...you want to go to Taris? You have a nearly infinite choice of planets to go to and you choose to go to that Rakghoul infested toxic hole?" The smuggler shook his head. "I'm sorry but you have to be out of your mind to want to go there. I was there once and I don't plan on ever going again. I still have nightmares about that place."

 

The man facing the smuggler was dressed in a black cloak that he aquired in exchange for one of his few of his remaining kolto packs. The people of Balmorra needed help and though he hated himself for doing it, he had exchanged one of his three remaining packs in exchange for the cloak.

 

"Listen." The figure began quietly. "I am offering you quite a few credits in exchange for this journey to Taris. You don't even have to drop me off on the planet itself. Just the orbital station. I swear you won't even see a Rakghoul. You are the only captain that has a functioning kolto tank aboard his ship and Its a three day journey and I need at least two days to heal my injuries. I promise you won't hear a word from me."

 

The smuggler paused for a moment and finally shook his head in defeat. "Fine. You have a deal. Five hundred credits in exchange for a trip to the most nightmarish planet in galactic history. I saw that you were limping earlier, if your paying that much the least I can do is give you a hand to the ship."

 

"Much appreciated." The figure muttered as he got to his feet and the smuggler grabbed his arm and helped him walk out towards the hanger.

[MsFicwriter]

Aboard the Shan

 

"Thank you," the Jedi replied, meekly following Avriela to the medbay. The place in her heart where Zarev had so recently been, bound to her by comradeship in battle - and now love - felt cold and empty. She hoped that his sacrifice had been worth it, and that their foe in the Force would be more easily defeated. If so, there was still hope, and if not? Per'dra took a deep breath. There is no death; there is the Force. Zarev had been a Jedi until the end, despite his being possessed by an agent of the Dark Side. He had fought through agony and almost insurmountable control in order to try and save her, and she owed him more than doubt and despair. The courage you had left shall sustain me...

[thelightfang]

Light returned to the med-bay ahead of the two female members of the group,

"They're coming."

 

As he finished his sentence the door opened again, revealing Avriela followed by Per'dra. Now that everyone was assembled, Light felt he needed to share what had already been said with the previously absent pair.

"So, we were talking about who should be the new leader of our group. I suggested Vlalkor, due to two reasons. The first was that he has experience and training, and the second was that distrust of our Jedi --erm-- force-users may be higher due to our recent trials with Zarev and Varik. Corsail and Varik suggested that I would be a good candidate, being that I have experience and that, as a Gray Jedi, they agree with most of my decisions up to this point."

 

Light cleared his throat and continued. "I wanted to see what everyone thinks, and, with Kif being the obvious exception, now would be a good time for it. So, um, if you will?"

[MsFicwriter]

"I completely understand your reservations about...traditional Jedi," Per'dra said after an ever-so-slight pause. "After all, the presence that targeted Varik and Zarev assaulted them via the Force, and so what's to stop me from becoming the next victim? Neither Varik nor Zarev were weak in their mental defenses against Force attacks. However, they still fell prey to this dark enemy of ours. Thus, I vote for Vlalkor as our leader, taking no chances. Everyone feels the Force in some capacity, but those who are sensitive are vulnerable."

[thelightfang]

Very few members of the group recognize the differences between Zarev's and Varik's possessions, but, who knows? It is highly likely that at least Varik knows, and there is the possibility that Avriela knows as well. Per'dra doesn't seem aware, though it is possible she is covering for Varik.

 

With a glance and a nod in Varik's direction, Light spoke up, "Yes, it seems that our Force users are a little more vulnerable to these possessions."

 

He looked at each member of the group that he thought might know: Varik, Per'dra, and Avriela. "In any event, we don't know precisely how it is done. We have a mission to do, and it is convenient to have a leader. Who do you think should be the leader here, Avriela? Vlalkor?"

 

He directed the question at these two, both because they hadn't answered, and because it would distract everyone from the possessions.

 

I'll have to take Varik aside, and figure out all the details before we share it with the group. If it comes out at the wrong moment, in the wrong way, some of us may decide that he is the bad guy. We can't afford to lose more members of the group.

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Alrighty everyone. After everyone posts on more time we're going to have a three day time skip for the journey to Taris.))

 

Shan

 

"In any event, we don't know precisely how it is done. We have a mission to do, and it is convenient to have a leader. Who do you think should be the leader here, Avriela? Vlalkor?"

 

Avriela cleared her throat before speaking. She had given this a few moments of thought and had made her decision. "I hope you don't take any offense to this Light, but I'm going to have to go with Vlalkor. People who are more sensative to the force seem to be more at risk."

 

She turned to look at Vlalkor who shrugged. "I very well can't vote for myself, but if you want me to take command then I will."

[LDR]

"People who are more sensative to the force seem to be more at risk."

 

"Not really. He did take control of a whole platoon of Republic soldiers. Anyone seems to be at equal risk.", Varik said, speaking up in Light's defense. He was starting to get uneasy - he never felt comfortable taking orders from someone who can't even use the Force.

[Warlord664]

"Not really. He did take control of a whole platoon of Republic soldiers. Anyone seems to be at equal risk."

 

"As the record stands, it's fifty non force users to two jedi." Corsail said, agreeing with Varik. "I think he can take control of people who aren't sensitive to the force much easier then someone who can."

 

"Not that it matters to me I suppose, i'm not the best at following orders anyway. I'm use to being my own boss."

 

The painkillers aren't going to last much longer, I need to go get into one of those kolto tanks. "Hey sith-" Corsail stopped himself. "I mean Avriela, I need my blaster back sometime. Also, can someone help into one of these kolto tanks? I'm not exactly in perfect condition here."

[thelightfang]

"Well, I'm not against leading either, but we really shouldn't drag this out. Here is an idea that should suit everyone: Vlalkor takes up the leadership role, and I'll be his second-in-command. This way, if he should be absent for whatever reason, I can give direction without another one of these discussions, and, if any major decisions shall be made, he will consult me as an advisor. How does that sound?"

 

Light moved over to Corsail, and helped him climb into the tank. Then he nodded and left to begin repairs on the ship.

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Alrighty, after this post, Light and LDR's post and MisFicWriter's post we'll have our three day timeskip))

 

Shan

 

"Well, I'm not against leading either, but we really shouldn't drag this out. Here is an idea that should suit everyone: Vlalkor takes up the leadership role, and I'll be his second-in-command. This way, if he should be absent for whatever reason, I can give direction without another one of these discussions, and, if any major decisions shall be made, he will consult me as an advisor. How does that sound?"

 

Vlalkor let out a sigh of relief. That sounded good to him. Truth be told, he was content to be a solder for the time being and was going to suggest that Light be leader but this also worked.

 

"Sounds good to me." He said to the others as Corsail and Light left the room and Avriela followed the two of them. She got into the medbay just as Corsail was put in the tank. She put his blaster on the table next to the tank and quietly left. Vlalkor watched as they left and then headed to the bridge and began his work on the ship's damaged systems.

[thelightfang]

Light finished putting Corsail into the tank, and went to the computer core to begin his work there. After a brief examination, he began ripping data from the intact memory boards and putting the data on a datapad he had wiped and reprogrammed to serve as the ship's primary data source. His work continued, and in the back of his mind he thought:

I forgot to... Oh well, I guess I'm going to have to talk to Varik later...

[MsFicwriter]

"Agreed," said Per'dra. "As always, I'll be available for Force support, not to mention skill with the saberstaff." She winked. "As long as the Sith don't get me, I'll be fine."

[LDR]

Varik turned and left the main hold, feeling the painkillers starting to wear off. He entered his quarters and closed the door, laying on his bed. Kif, meanwhile, stirred slightly in his kolto tank.

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Alright, time for the three day timeskip))

 

Three Days Later

 

 

Vlalkor manned the controls of the Shan as the damaged ship gently settled in the hanger at the Olaris Republic base. There had been a few occasions where the Hyperdrive had began to develop problems due to the damage the ship had sustained on Balmorra. Hopefully the repair crews could repair some of the damage while the group took care of Voleran.

 

"Taris control. This is the Shan on special assighment from the Jedi Council. We have sustained damage on Balmorra and require repairs immediatly."

 

"Acknowledged Shan. Damage assement in progress...How exactly did you lose your laser cannons?"

 

"Rogue force user on Balmorra and blaster fire. Hyperdrive and the hull took quite a bit of damage as well.

 

"Acknowledged Shan. We'll put you on the top of the repair list. Are you able to compile a full list of damage to repair?"

 

"We did so in orbit. You've got your work cut out for you. Shan out."

 

Vlalkor turned to look at the group. "Well, we've arrived on Taris. Now we just need to track down our force user and take him out. Any ideas on where to start looking?"

[thelightfang]

"Well we know he can convert people to his cause. I wonder if he can control the Rakghouls... Regardless, if his operation in this area is new, there would be a lot of people or 'ghouls acting strangely. I'm sure that the Republic base would keep track of something like that."

 

Light glanced at the others, then looked at Vlalkor. "We should probably ask there first, chase down any leads they give us, and work on a way to differentiate the controlled and the free. Anything any of these people say to us could be a trap, so we should figure out how to tell them apart first."

[MsFicwriter]

Per'dra raised an eyebrow. "I wish I knew a way, because even though I've been trained to ferret out deception, my Masters never mentioned how to tell someone possessed from someone free in the Force. I did ask about such things, but they said it was too dangerous."

[Warlord664]

Corsail had only been out of the kolto tank for several hours, and he felt a little dizzy.

 

"Well, we've arrived on Taris. Now we just need to track down our force user and take him out. Any ideas on where to start looking?"

 

He shrugged, "I'm not very familiar with Taris. I've heard about the rakghoul plauge and how dangerous it is, but none of my jobs ever sent me here, so i've never seen the surface."

 

"I wish I knew a way, because even though I've been trained to ferret out deception, my Masters never mentioned how to tell someone possessed from someone free in the Force. I did ask about such things, but they said it was too dangerous."

 

"Do you think they would display lack of emotion? If they're being controlled, I would think the controller would have a hard time putting fake expressions over so many at one time, since his influence apparently spans over several worlds. I don't know much about how his power is supposed to work so i'm just making guesses."

[Chevron 7 locke]

Shan

 

"We should probably ask there first, chase down any leads they give us, and work on a way to differentiate the controlled and the free. Anything any of these people say to us could be a trap, so we should figure out how to tell them apart first."

 

Vlalkor nodded in agreement. "Agreed. If we do find anyone who has been controlled we should study their movements without raising their suspicians. We don't want another incident like the one on Balmorra."

 

"Do you think they would display lack of emotion? If their being controlled, I would think the controller would have a hard time putting fake expressions over so many at one time, since his influence apparently spans over several worlds. I don't know much about how his power is supposed to work so i'm just making guesses."

 

Vlalkor thought for a moment. "It's possible. Whoever the controller is may be focusing the majority of his abilities on those who are fighting back against his control while using only a small amount to take control of the ones who's mind's are already gone. Keep an eyes out for anything unusual."

 

 

 

Smugger Vessell

 

The smuggler looked at his passenger who was standing near the loading ramp and shook his head. "Be careful down there, I tried to find an area thats clear of Rakghouls but there may be a few I missed." He said as he manuvered the ship above a wrecked wall so his passenger could land on something other then the ground.

 

"Don't worry." The cloaked figure said as he jumped down from the ramp onto the wall and began to climb down to the ground . "The thing I'm worried about makes the Rakghouls look like Iriz." The smuggler's ship turned towards the sky and vanished after a few moments as the cloaked figure threw back his hood.

 

"Alright Voleran..." Zarev muttered as he turned towards a large building that was off in the distance. "I think it's time you and I have a chat." He started walking off towards the building with his hand down on his lightsaber just in case he ran into a rakghoul.

[thelightfang]

"Lack of emotion? The soldiers seemed that way, for the most part."

 

Light made a little cough, mostly to cover the fact that he looked a Per'dra, having detected... sensitivity to the passing of Zarev in the past few days, and he thought carefully about what he said next.

"Zarev's eyes were weird. Like there was another color mixed in.."

 

And Zarev and that Sith were making the weird little movements... Maybe that was my imagination...

 

((Lower pitched voices should be mentioned by someone.))

[MsFicwriter]

All of a sudden, Per'dra remembered something. "Also, when Zarev...last spoke, his voice was lower than normal, not quite a bass tone, but there was something peculiarly 'off' about it. The timbre was almost otherworldly, come to think of it, and that's what scared me so much."

[LDR]

Varik woke up and walked into the Main Hold, his legs almost completely healed in the last three days.

 

"...timbre was almost otherworldly, come to think of it, and that's what scared me so much."

 

"Wait a minute...you're scared of timber trees?", he asked groggily, letting out a yawn.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Shan

 

"Also, when Zarev...last spoke, his voice was lower than normal, not quite a bass tone, but there was something peculiarly 'off' about it. The timbre was almost otherworldly, come to think of it, and that's what scared me so much."

 

"I've been reviewing some of the security images that the computer was able to grab while Zarev was attacking us. " Vlalkor said thoughtfully as he remembered something. "It looked almost as if he was having small muscle seizures while attacking us. It's possible that seizures were casued by him trying to fight back against whatever was in his mind."

 

"Well, we have three things that may be able to tell us the difference between someone who is not possessed and who is. It's possible that there's more but at least we have something to work with now."

 

A small chiming sound came from the cockpit and Vlalkor got up. "Excuse me for a moment. Be right back."

 

As he reached the bridge he was able to see that there was some sort of high priority message coming in from the Taris spaceport command. It was on all frequencies and was being sent to all ships that were currently docked.

 

"Attention. Rakghouls have been sighted inside the defense perimeter. All troops are to divide into squads. Please be aware that this is a condition five alert. All crews should stay aboard their respective ships."

 

Condition five...He thought as he accessed what was left of the ship's computer and linked it to the Taris spaceport computer. The color left his face as he read what condition five meant.

 

He headed back down to the area where the rest of the group was and cleared his throat. "I think we can safetly assume that Voleran is here. The Taris spaceport has just issued a Condition five alert. I checked it, it means that the Rakghouls that are inside the defensive perimeter are using organized tactics against the republic forces."

 

 

 

Ruined Landscape

Taris

 

Zarev unleashed a massive force wave that sent quite a few of the Rakghouls back towards the runined walls and debries that littered the landscape of Taris. But they kept getting up and kept running at him

 

Time to switch strategies. He thought as he threw his lightsaber and used the force to adjust it's trajectory so that it cut down a group of Rakghouls.

 

I should have tried to shroud my presence in the force. He thought as he pulled a grenade off his belt and threw it into another group of Rakghouls that were coming at him. He turned away from the blast but as he reached out through the force he couldn't detect anymore of them coming after him.

 

Nice try Voleran. But it's going to take more than that to stop me. He thought as his lightsaber returned to his hands and he deactivated it. He had been given a second chance. And he would use to it to protect Per'dra and the others even if it cost him his life in the attempt.

 

Stay safe my friends. He thought as he continued on his way towards his destiny.

[thelightfang]

While Vlalkor was in the cockpit, Light addressed the recently awoken Varik. "Nice of you to join us. Have a nice nap? Oh, and is Kif up and about yet?"

 

Once Vlalkor returned and reported to the group, Light responded.

 

"We should send a message back offering to provide help. Then if any of the soldiers down there fire on us intentionally, it should tip us off that they have been contaminated."

 

"I know some of us might not want to chance being exposed to the Rakhgoul disease, but if we don't do this, we could end up waiting for the Republic to send reinforcements. We all know how thin they are spread these days. That said, what do you think, boss?" Light looked at Vlalkor, expecting him to agree that they should help.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Shan

 

"We should send a message back offering to provide help. Then if any of the soldiers down there fire on us intentionally, it should tip us off that they have been contaminated."

 

"I know some of us might not want to chance being exposed to the Rakhgoul disease, but if we don't do this, we could end up waiting for the Republic to send reinforcements. We all know how thin they are spread these days. That said, what do you think, boss?"

 

Vlalkor answered without any hesitation. "Good plan Light. I agree. We should head out there and help out as best we can. And I've been thinking, Avriela, from what I heard back on Balmorra you were able to tell that something was wrong with that sith that you fought back on Balmorra through the force somehow. Is it possible that if you concentrate you can tell us who is controlled and who isn't?"

 

The former sith thought for a moment. "It's more of a feeling than an ability but yes...I suppose I could. I should warn you that I can't pinpoint exactly who is being controlled, I can tell you if they're approaching or are near us but thats it."

 

"Good enough." Vlalkor said as he grabbed his blaster rifle and headed for the ramp but paused for a moment to turn and look back the group.

 

"I don't need to tell you all whats at stake here. Whatever Voleran is doing...we can't allow it to continue. If we fail, he will either kill us or use his abilities to turn us against the republic. It stops here whatever the cost."

[Warlord664]

"I think we can safetly assume that Voleran is here. The Taris spaceport has just issued a Condition five alert. I checked it, it means that the Rakghouls that are inside the defensive perimeter are using organized tactics against the republic forces."

 

Corsail scowled. They've always got a welcoming party ready for us. "We just killed a dark council member, Voleran knows that these rakghoul aren't going to stop us. He just wants to slow us down."

 

"I don't need to tell you all whats at stake here. Whatever Voleran is doing...we can't allow it to continue. If we fail, he will either kill us or use his abilities to turn us against the republic. It stops here whatever the cost."

 

Whatever the cost... Corsail focused on these words. What do I have to lose? He asked himself. Everything I ever really cared about about was taken from me. Everyone else here has a reason to fight, some of them have families they want to protect, and some of them are just fighting for what they believe in. And what am I fighting for? Credits? I'll never be like my father, a true hero, a jedi. What Varik said was true, i'm nothing more then a worthless piece of space trash. I have no purpose.

 

He closed his eyes and bit down hard on his lower lip. When he opened his eyes both of his blasters were in his hands, ready to be used. "I'm ready. Let's stop Voleran."