Star Wars: The Darkness Within

[LDR]

Varik listened as Corsail began spewing words. He thought for a moment of smashing Corsail's head through a bulkhead, and while smiling at the idea, they had saved each other on Balmorra. Ignoring the smuggler as he walked down the ship, Varik stumbled upon the conversation between Avirela and Velox.

 

"You know that man is right about me...I would have tried to kill you all."

 

"You would've tried.", Varik butted in, with a grin on his face. "Don't worry, I would put up a good fight."

[MsFicwriter]

Per'dra opened her eyes slowly, feeling them thick with gum and as painful as if the insides of the lids had been sandpapered. "Unnnnhhhh..." Looking around, all she could see through a watery haze of tears were the metal insides of the Shan. "Did...we get Voleran?" Her throat felt the same way as her eyelids, although magnified tenfold. After wriggling her arms and legs, finding that they could indeed move, she smiled and said to the empty air, "How come I'm not dead? By all rights I should have been, but the Force must have been with me." She lacked the strength to meditate, and continued to lie still.

[Chevron 7 locke]

"What's our ETA?"

 

Vlalkor took a quick look at the readouts. "It looks like we'll be reaching Republic HQ is about ten minutes. We do need to repair and resupply the ship before we head off to Voss. I have a feeling that we're going to run into more hostiles so it's best to be prepared."

 

He then turned and headed towards the dormitory where Per'dra and Zarev were and saw that Per'dra was awake.

 

"How come I'm not dead? By all rights I should have been, but the Force must have been with me."

 

Vlalkor smiled as he heard her speak to what she thought was an empty room. "The reason none of us are dead is because of Zarev over there." He said pointing at the bunk across from her. "He somehow managed to give Voleran a taste of his own medicine with the force lightning. I don't know exactly what happend, or where Zarev came from for that matter but we stopped him."

 

He smiled down at her. "In fact, he carried you back to the ship before he passed out. He should be fine though, he just needs some rest."

 

 

 

 

"You know that man is right about me...I would have tried to kill you all,"

 

"Don't worry, I would put up a good fight."

 

Avriela sat down next to Velox and a soft smile appeared on her face. "But you didn't. And although how you ended up joining the sith was a bit different than the way I did, there are some things that are identicle. In a way, we both joined because we had no choice. But we have a choice now. Right now, you have a choice to leave the sith and do what you want to do with you life."

 

"What was your name before you took the name Darth Velox?" She asked quietly.

[Cyborg Ninja]

Velox's head turned towards Varik when the jedi spoke up. It certainly seemed this jedi was comfortable with him being on the same ship. Then again Velox had taken note of Varik's behavior over someone like Per'dra. He recalled the last words she spoke before going unconscious. He couldn't wait to taunt her for not making a move against anyone on this ship. He glanced to Avriela briefly before looking back to the jedi, chuckling once more. It felt good to be able to laugh again without the pain.

 

"I would have look forward to that fight, Varik" Velox answered, speaking the jedi's name.

 

It seemed he at least had some allies on this ship, and the more he spoke to them...the better his chances of going free went up. It was good to have one of the jedi on speaking terms with him. Then again Varik was a unique jedi, and he a unique sith. Perhaps Varik picked up on Velox's lack of hatred for the jedi. It was true, he didn't actually hate them. Hate was a great weapon to a sith, but a completely conscious Velox never used it. Pride was his weapon of choice when fighting. When he slipped into that primal state though...that was a different story.

 

He turned his head towards Avriela once more as she spoke of choices. He didn't entirely understand what the issue with the sith was. He understood why she wanted to be free of them, but he was not in the same ship with her. When he defeated this higher power, he would be highly praised for this accomplishment. He chose to ignore this statement, instead choosing to answer her question.

 

"Per'dra," Velox answered. "You'd think the other Per'dra and I would get along," he added, chuckling at his own joke.

 

Jokes wouldn't do much for the sith other than show that he was indeed different than the average power seeking sith. The only problem with Avriela's question was he didn't have an answer to it. Velox had always been his name since it was given to him. Perhaps he did have a name before, but he couldn't remember much of anything besides being found by the sith. He looked to Varik, and then to Avriela.

 

"Velox is the only name I can recall. As I said before, things before my time with the sith are a blur."

[thelightfang]

Voss?

 

Light examined the course Vlalkor had set before he had left the room, altering it at certain points in order to ease the transitions in speed. His estimate had been accurate, and Light walked back to the ramp, where he planned to wait out the rest of the time the projected course would take.

 

On his way, hee began to wonder if any of the companions would get off here, thinking to help the Republic soldiers, or something else. Velox, the Sith whose name Light had overheard, could go either way. The others seemed to be willing to stick with it, though he hadn't spoken to Per'dra or Zarev.

 

There were a couple of others he hadn't considered previously. Kif and Traver. Both had needed healing, last he had heard. Maybe they would both be unloaded here? This place wasn't exactly ideal, but it had a much lower probability that those uninvolved in direct combat would be killed as a result of it. But would this planet have the facilities needed to heal them?

 

Light sat by the ramp, thinking more about those who had taken this quest with him.

[Warlord664]

Corsail walked down the corridor until he reached his room. He opened the door and noticed the lights in his room were still destroyed. He blinked once and then stepped back out. Nothing I really need out of there anyway.

 

The door sealed behind him and he walked back into the Shan's main room. As he passed by the ship's ramp he noticed Light sitting to the side. Corsail stood for a moment then sat down across from him. "Hey... so what happened down there with Voleran? And do you know where we're heading? Earlier I thought it would end with Voleran, but I guess he was just another blasted pawn of whoever, or whatever's been pulling all the strings."

 

Corsail sighed, "And if we're fighting something that can... take over our minds, what chance do we have?"

[thelightfang]

Light noticed Corsail walking over, nodding when they made eye contact.

 

"I thought it was going to be a more drawn out fight, but, I don't know. It happened pretty fast. Zarev suddenly leapt into battle, and when he struck Voleran, there was this weird light. Then an explosion, which threw them both away. Voleran got hit with a big sharp rock that had been on the ground, and he expelled some kind of dark shadow thing that looked to have gone off-planet... It was very strange."

 

Light paused to collect himself before answering the next questions.

 

"It seems we are headed to Voss, which is where I'd guess the next bad guy is. I didn't catch why we were headed there, but it seems important and related. About the mind control... If he was so easily able to take control of people, then why hasn't he taken control of more members of our group? I'm thinking that we are more mentally hardened than the other people who have been taken. Plus, there's Zarev, right? So there has to be a way out from under the control too."

 

Light paused again, before sharing his thoughts about what they would do next.

 

"So, it seems like we are going after something even worse than Voleran. And there are five injured members of our group. I'm sure some of us may want to stay and help the Republic HQ here. Others may need to stay for medical treatment. And some may use one or the other as an excuse to leave this mission behind. I'm assuming, but it seems like Zarev will stay for the mission. Per'dra will likely come too, because of him."

 

Light cleared his throat and swallowed before moving on.

 

"Vlalkor, Varik, and Avriela seem committed, but who can say for sure? Our most crucially injured are Kif and Traver, though I'm thinking Traver is on withdrawal. So those two might leave, along with that new Sith guy. What are you going to do?"

[Warlord664]

"Vlalkor, Varik, and Avriela seem committed, but who can say for sure? Our most crucially injured are Kif and Traver, though I'm thinking Traver is on withdrawal. So those two might leave, along with that new Sith guy. What are you going to do?"

 

"I have no intention of leaving, I've never left a job uncomplete, and I plan to see this one through till the end." Corsail's eyes drifted away from Light and he hesitated before continuing. "One way or another."

 

Letting out a brief sigh he looked back towards Light, "As for the others, I can't say, I can't really see any of them leaving besides Kif, because of his injuries, and Traver, but he hasn't exactly been all there anyway. And if I had my way i'd get rid of that Sith before he can recover back to his full strength, because honestly, he's just one more thing we have to be watching our backs for."

 

Corsail paused a moment and his eyes darkened. "But I guess I'm not a very good judge of character, i've spent most of my life around scum. Take what happened on Tatooine for example, I tried to kill you, Avriela, and Traver because I believed all of you were traitors, even after you aided us."

 

"I apologize about that, I was acting like a complete idiot and I was wrong. There are reasons why I don't trust anyone though, but I don't think you're interested in hearing about any of that."

[thelightfang]

"I don't know about the Sith either. Avriela seems to believe in him, but who can say that he wouldn't turn and kill us all, assuming we manage to complete this mission."

 

Light realized that Corsail was opening up to him, as the conversation went on.

"Yeah, well, you have to do what you believe is right. And there is nothing wrong with a bit of cynicism. I think I am too much of an optimist, honestly. And at least your intentions are pretty clear. If anything, I can say that it makes me more confident that you will fulfill your role, whatever that might be."

 

Light heard the landing procedures begin, and, speaking a bit louder, he continued.

 

"I wouldn't mind hearing more, but I think we are about to arrive, and there is much to do once we land. Perhaps we can have a longer conversation when we are en route to Voss?"

 

The landing sequence was finished, and the ramp lowered, hitching at halfway down, before grinding noisily to full extension. "Another thing to fix..."

[Warlord664]

(OOC: Sorry for the long wait, I've had a really busy month. Let's do our best to keep this RP alive )

 

"I wouldn't mind hearing more, but I think we are about to arrive, and there is much to do once we land. Perhaps we can have a longer conversation when we are en route to Voss?"

 

Corsail nodded and stood up as the ships ramp descended, slightly flinching at the screeching noises it made.

 

"Another thing to fix..."

 

"You mean that wasn't intended?" He asked, letting some of the humor come back into his voice. Corsail looked out of ship's ramp and sighed. "Vlalkor will probably be gathering everyone up in a minute, I guess we're about to find out who's staying and leaving."

[MsFicwriter]

Zarev's alive. I'm alive. Voleran has been defeated. Still, all is not well... These thoughts ran through her mind as she at last conquered her bouts of slipping in and out of unconsciousness. Summoning all of her willpower, she clung to the metal walls of the ship and hoisted herself to a standing position. "Hmm. My legs still work..." Stumbling for a moment, she caught her balance and looked around again. "I'm still aboard the Shan, and I have a lot of catching up to do." Gingerly, she walked toward where she thought the others were, but something sharp, a twinge of unease, still tingled in the back of her mind. "Mind control," she said a little louder, her voice a croak. "Could this...thing...have gotten me already, when I blacked out? Is it capable of possessing unconscious beings?"

[Chevron 7 locke]

Shan

 

"Velox is the only name I can recall. As I said before, things before my time with the sith are a blur."

 

Avriela smiled down at him. "Let me know if you have any memories of your time before the sith. And if you ever need someone to talk to than just let me know." She said.

 

"Mind control," she said a little louder, her voice a croak. "Could this...thing...have gotten me already, when I blacked out? Is it capable of possessing unconscious beings?"

 

Zarev slowly limped into the room after having regained consciousness. His eyes were bloodshot and he was still in very bad shape.

 

"He can't." Zarev muttered. "After I threw myself off the Republic HQ on Balmorra I was close enough to death that I was able to actually speak to my old Master. He told me what this thing's goal is and defenses we can use against his mind control abilities. I learned a lot about this thing including that it's very existence is causing massive disturbances in the force on planets all around the galaxy."

 

"That's how it gained so much strength. It caused disturbances in the force and the force users who investigated these disturbances weren't prepared for it. They fell under it's sway. It learned more and more as more fell under it's sway and thats how it became as strong as it did. With each person that fell under it's sway, it became stronger."

[thelightfang]

Light walked down the ramp gingerly, unsure whether or not it would give way. He began addressing the Republic soldiers, to find out who was in charge. Once he reached the man, he told him that the ship would need repairs, and began coordinating with him as to how and when this could be accomplished.

 

The man in charge informed him that it would take three days, after some convincing that it was for an important mission without giving too many specifics, and, with the state of things, they would need help of the crew in order to get it done that quickly. Light volunteered, hoping to speed up the process if at all possible.

 

Light was ready to begin work, as he hadn't been involved in too much combat and the amount of running they had done was relatively minor. He assumed most of the others would need a day of rest, at least, in order to begin assisting with the repairs.

[MsFicwriter]

"If that's true," Per'dra told Zarev, "then perhaps there's a way to starve this presence into dormancy or death through the Force. That's how it attacked us, and maybe we should give it a taste of its own medicine. The thing is, how do we even attempt to do that? It's so strong that we can barely hold up mental barriers against it. Defenses will help, most definitely, but we have to defeat whatever hounds us. The galaxy is at stake, and as much as I hate to admit it, I feel sorry for anyone under its possession, whether Jedi or Sith."

[Chevron 7 locke]

"If that's true," Per'dra told Zarev, "then perhaps there's a way to starve this presence into dormancy or death through the Force. That's how it attacked us, and maybe we should give it a taste of its own medicine. The thing is, how do we even attempt to do that? It's so strong that we can barely hold up mental barriers against it. Defenses will help, most definitely, but we have to defeat whatever hounds us. The galaxy is at stake, and as much as I hate to admit it, I feel sorry for anyone under its possession, whether Jedi or Sith."

 

"It's possible." Zarev said quietly. "But I personally think we should go to the source of this and end it once and for all. Whoever or whatever this thing is, it's already demonstrated that it has hostile intentions."

 

Avriela nodded her head in agreement. "And we've seen the power it has. It was able to corrupt a member of the Dark Council and Master Voleran with no apparent effort. We need to end this thing."

 

Zarev looked over at Per'dra and than over at Vlalkor. "Voleran managed to take back his mind long enough to tell us the name of a planet. Voss. I have a feeling that that is where we can end this once and for all. But for all we know whatever this thing is has already managed to corrupt the natives of Voss. We have to move carefully and quietly to avoid drawing attention to ourselves."

 

Zarev looked over at the assembled group.

 

"Are we all in agreement? We go to Voss and we finish this?"

[MsFicwriter]

"Agreed. I, for one, am tired of worrying about whether I and the whole kriffing galaxy will be possessed or not. It's time to fight for the minds of every living being in it."

[Warlord664]

Corsail watched as the rest of the group assembled into the Shan's main room, curious about what was going through everyone else's minds.

 

"Are we all in agreement? We go to Voss and we finish this?"

 

Corsail nodded, "I'm going to see this mission through to the end. As for Light, he's already left the ship and began preparations, it's safe to say he's coming."

[thelightfang]

"I'm going to see this mission through to the end. As for Light, he's already left the ship and began preparations, it's safe to say he's coming."

Light walked back on the ship for a moment looking for more volunteers. After over hearing Corsail, he chimed in, "Yeah, and how many of you are going to help me fix up the ship? We are going to start today, so we should all get off the ship. We have a small building for our crew, so anyone who needs to rest can stay there. If you're good to get to work today, then we should get outside and get started."

[LDR]

"Are we all in agreement? We go to Voss and we finish this?"

 

By this point Varik had walked into the main hold, "Sure, I don't see why not. No one likes a quitter."

 

Light walked in a few seconds later, "Yeah, and how many of you are going to help me fix up the ship? We are going to start today, so we should all get off the ship. We have a small building for our crew, so anyone who needs to rest can stay there. If you're good to get to work today, then we should get outside and get started."

 

Varik left the main hold almost as quickly as he walked into it.

 

"I could stay and help fix up the ship a little bit.", he said to Light. "But eventually I'll have to head off. I'm still pretty hungry."

[Chevron 7 locke]

"Yeah, and how many of you are going to help me fix up the ship? We are going to start today, so we should all get off the ship. We have a small building for our crew, so anyone who needs to rest can stay there. If you're good to get to work today, then we should get outside and get started."

 

Zarev smiled weakly and was about to raise his hand to volunteer but Avriela grabbed it before he could get his hand all the way up. "You and Per'dra need to catch some sleep." She said sternly. "You both fought a Jedi Master who was not holding back. Don't worry, we can get the ship fixed up but you need to recover before we reach Voss so get in there and enter a healing trance. "

 

She stared at both Per'dra and Zarev and pointed at the dormitories. "Sleep. Now." She ordered.

 

Zarev was about to argue but he saw the look in Avriela's eyes and silently nodded. "Alright. But if there are any emergencies you'd better let me know."

[MsFicwriter]

Per'dra smiled wanly, with bloodshot eyes, at Avriela. "Yes, Master." She winked and turned to Zarev. "Let's head to our quarters. The sooner we're refreshed, the sooner we can fight." She headed toward the women's dormitory and crawled under the stiff military bedlinens. Even though they were manufactured for utility instead of comfort, she was asleep within seconds. Absolutely naught disturbed her mind, not even dreams or visions of Voss. It was almost like being unconscious, except when she'd been in that state, she'd sensed nothing.

[Chevron 7 locke]

Zarev's face turned a bit red from the wink Per'dra gave him but otherwise showed no reaction as he turned and headed towards the dormitories that were reserved for the male population of the ship. He sighed heavily as he collapsed down on the bed and let a small grin appear on his face. He didn't care that it wasn't comfortable. He didn't even have to climb under the sheets. It was better then what he had been working with since Balmorra.

 

He fell asleep almost the moment he hit the bed. Even though he was tired and had no idea what was going to happen next, he didn't know if they would succeed or fail...he knew he was going to give it his all.

[Warlord664]

"Yeah, and how many of you are going to help me fix up the ship? We are going to start today, so we should all get off the ship. We have a small building for our crew, so anyone who needs to rest can stay there. If you're good to get to work today, then we should get outside and get started."

 

Corsail stood up, "I can help out if you need an extra hand."

 

He was tired, but he still had enough energy to help with the repairs. "I've had to patch up my own ship quite a few times, so you shouldn't have to worry about me accidently blowing anything up."

[thelightfang]

Corsail stood up, "I can help out if you need an extra hand."

 

He was tired, but he still had enough energy to help with the repairs. "I've had to patch up my own ship quite a few times, so you shouldn't have to worry about me accidently blowing anything up."

 

"Okay, sounds go--, blowing anything up? Sounds like there's a story there. You'll have to tell me about it sometime. But for now, there is work to do." Light left the ship, and started getting to work on the obvious problems, if the tools were handy. Luckily, the ship already had a few people taking looks and gathering equipment, so tools weren't hard to find.

 

[[should there be a time skip soon?]]

[Chevron 7 locke]

((Time for a three day Time-skip. And sorry for the late post, been a bit busy))

 

Three days later

 

Shan

Taris Space Port

 

Zarev slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms as he came out of his healing trance. He got to his feet and listened to to the background sounds of the Shan. The ship sounded as though it had been repaired as some of the sounds that had become normal after the damage the ship had taken were gone and the normal sounds that he had first heard when they had first taken the ship had replaced them.

 

Zarev grabbed his double-bladed lightsaber from off the table next to the beds and clipped it to his belt as he walked out the door into the main crew area. He stopped for a moment as he saw Corsail and Vlalkor working on a console.

 

"Feels good to be up and walking again." He said with a smile as he approached the two of them. "What's the status of the ship?" He asked. Vlalkor looked up at him and turned to look at the console. "Just about done. Just need to fix this up and we're done."