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Author Topic: Schisms: The Vhal'Dan Civil War  (Read 77482 times)
Karmack
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« Reply #195 on: March 19, 2019, 06:50:01 PM »

Alive ... but at what cost?   Everything Kazic knew...

Wow. 

Excellent my friend!  The end is coming, it feels like everything is winding down, but...

Yeah.  But.

Staying tuned.  I wouldn't miss this finish for anything!
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Lord_S_Gray
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« Reply #196 on: March 19, 2019, 09:36:27 PM »

Obviously I knew some of what was was gonna happen but - OOOH Pytir got his too - damn that was brutal, I can imagine even the most dedicated of the Masters wavering at that sudden smack down to their command - Anson and his obvious successors Pytir and J'nessah all dead or beaten down in a matter of hours. Kazic certainly got the victory he wanted. and now there is a 'Next Phase'...anyway loved the inclusion of Jarys here in a stealth role - really making the most of their small numbers and superior intellect.

Alive ... but at what cost?   Everything Kazic knew...

Indeed, a 300+ year old Anzat Gray Jedis knowledge now that a is a prize worth some risk. 
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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Taegin Roan
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« Reply #197 on: March 20, 2019, 05:36:23 PM »

I love that you used a bow in this chapter. That is so like the Aethans, and yet we have not seen it until now. Plus, you know, archery!
Great chapter, but we still have yet to see the full price of what Kazic payed.

Something that you brought out really well was that when Valens gives his word, he keeps it. There was one single line in this chapter that showed this extremely well. "And Kazic had already paid". At that point, even though he was nearly spent, Valens would have at the very least attempted to heal Saani, even if there had been no other Aethan there to do the job.
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"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

TheDutchman
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« Reply #198 on: March 24, 2019, 05:39:04 AM »

Special thanks to LSG for a terrific lead-in for this chapter  Smiley
*************************************************

Chapter 28: Annihilation, part I

Kiraea’s Sister effortlessly lifted the stunned younger man on her shoulders red sparks of Healing rapidly flowing into him, her Aunt close behind deftly checking his Recording Orb to ensure it had taken in the whole of fight.  

“Thank you.” Maekel spoke small, not from a lack of gratitude—especially to a sacred female—but rather as a result of his wounded…shattered pride.  All three stared at the broken, unconscious body of Anson.

This was the first Outsider they had seen that could match them when prepared and armored, the Devastation itself that had left them…absent…for so long…being an accepted exception.  It was both a somber warning of their limits and provided yet another target for them to reach as they recovered and caught up with their fellow Guardians’ abilities and powers.

Kiraea’s Aunt spared Anson another glance, intrigued more than anything…Valens had been very clear no one else was to risk facing him; she now understood why.  Still she could not help but feel disappointed that she was not yet fully recovered enough to have been the one to censure him for his egregious offenses against young Aresaea.  Regardless, there were still many other Outsiders who had harmed the People…she would not have a long wait for wrong-doers to punish for long.

               <<<<< >>>>>

Kazic’s head swam.  He was uncertain if that was from having lost Saani and having her returned to him, filling the Memory Orb, or a combination of the two.  He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, his Kanp’a.  

Not only that but between Valens, Jorol, and Saani’s Shadows, Anson’s forces had been dealt a debilitating defeat.  Kazic now controlled the largest of Lus’phor’s spaceports…and several of the planet’s kyber crystal manufactories.  Even the staunchest of Anson’s supporters would admit that they’d lost almost all initiative and considerable resources…

Yet, some still fought on.

Shaking his head to try to clear his lassitude, Kazic was having trouble focusing.  His eyes darted around the hanger, the various fires still burning, the gathering smoke slowly being filtered but not quickly enough.  Several of the ships would require maintenance but some were nothing more than wreckage…

Kazic inhaled, his senses suddenly hyper-alert.  How…how had he missed…?  Berating himself, Kazic’s confusion wasn’t so much cleared but rather…shunted back.  …By the Maker… He was a blind fool; he’d been so focused on Saani…and Valens…and everything else… A.  Blind.  Fool.

Larger, dynamic, and undulating more violently than he’d ever observed, Kazic now noticed that the daen nosi threatened to overwhelm his vision, his awareness…his entire being.

“We need to leave.  NOW!” Kazic’s deep voice was uncharacteristically shrill.  Every single pair of eyes had turned, locking onto him.  Faces ranged from incredulous to apprehensive, almost all of them contemplative.  Except two.

Saani and Valens.

“Jorol, evacuate the Shadows with your prisoners.  Take everyone.”  Saani’s voice cut through most of the vacillating minds of those hesitant and skeptical.

The Aethans’ actions did the rest.  Seemingly wordlessly, they moved as one.  Both Saani and Valens approached Kazic, unspoken questions apparent upon their faces.  However, neither of them asked anything.

K’ompo we need to get to Ryshhk’s ship.” Saani’s eyes had a dangerous glint about them, one that Kazic hadn’t seen before.  Had he?  His mind reeled, memories of the past that had once been buried and forgotten now engulfing his cognizant mind.  He stumbled, grabbing Saani’s shoulder as well as his head, his wife’s steadying hands upon him.

“Kazic.” Valens voice was controlled, stoic.  “I’ve recalled my People.  We should take Anson with us.”

Kazic nodded, agreeing even now knowing that he was without full access of his mental faculties.  He opened his mouth to give the order but stopped, poleaxed.

Anson was nowhere to be seen.

               <<<<< >>>>>

The Gray masters and maenowans, knights and teidowans of the Collegium were finally able to agree on one indisputable fact: they had to do something about the war.  But as far as the Collegium being a unified body…this was no longer the case.

As the day wore on, the Collegium had stratified into three loyalties: those supporters of Anson that continued to do so under Master Raru Vinjaga, a contingent that intended to defect to Kazic’s camp led my Master Marc-Andr Drevifv, and finally a third but by far the largest group consisting of over half of Anson’s Vhal’Dan who wished to decamp from Galtea altogether.  This last group had elected as their spokesperson a Togrutan male, Master Viula Noth.  There were already whispers of electing Noth as the new Kage-abroad but each time voices were raised in proposal of such, the Togrutan would thoroughly quash them.

“We have more pressing issues to decide.” Master Noth’s deep base voice cut through the dissension…of his election.  But concerning the immediate future of the Collegium?  They were no closer to a consensus now than before Kazic’s “shadows” had killed Pytir and Fuqua.  Each time one voice would raise in argument, there would invariably be two stances against…which left them back at the beginning.

It was during one of these disputes that the doors once again slammed open, a trio of bodies framed by the metallic doorway.  One was a tall, dark-haired woman with a bacta-brace on her leg.  Another was a short, stocky red-haired man.  But all attention was on the third person held within the red-haired man’s thick arms.

It was Anson.

And even if his body was broken, the redoubtable look on his face projected the power and authority within the man.

Master Vinjaga ran up to the three of them.  “Kage!”

Another person spoke to the dark-haired woman, demanding, “Who are you?”

Her face imperious, her fair voice carried through the room.  “I am Silver Knight Inyak Zolor.  But—”

“What ar—”

“SILENCE!” Inyak projected her voice with the aid of the Force causing the entire room quiet.  “We must leave.  NOW.”

“Why?” Master Noth stepped forward.  “And why does not Kage D’Aklon speak?”

Inyak slowly inhaled as if to calm herself.  “I have time to explain this only once.  My husband Jinsen and I have only just come from the Lus’phor Spaceport.  While under the obfuscation of Buried Presence in order to help and rescue the Kage, we witnessed Kazic Ovarug suddenly and violently assert that something…dangerous and catastrophic was going to occur, and soon.  As we speak, the false Kage’s ships have left the planet.”  She looked at Anson within her husband’s arms.  “The Kage cannot speak at the moment; his jaw has been shattered.  But Anson projected into my mind his own feelings: he knows that Ovarug has Force-Visions.  He believes him.  We would be fools not to listen.”

Even though he had not spoken, Master Drevifv approached, looking first at Anson and then Inyak.  “Kazic’s forces have left Lus’phor?”  When Inyak gave a curt nod, he left without a backwards glance, gathering about a quarter of the gathered Jedi before disappearing through one of the far blast doors.  Leaving Master Noth staring supercilious and patronizingly at Inyak.

“Knight Zolor…as well we all know, the Force is ever in motion; the future is not something that we can predict with any certainty.  What is it that Ovarug intimated happening?”  He cocked an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

Inyak stared at the Togrutan.  “Something that required he and his people to leave.  If you choose to stay, the Kage will consider you an enemy of the Vhal’Dan.”  She glanced at Jinsen, still holding Anson.  “Let’s go.”

Inyak, Jinsen, and Anson left through the same blast doors leading to the ship berths.  Again, about a quarter of the Jedi that had congregated followed them.  A somber mood had settled upon the room.

“Vhal’Dan…” Master Noth began, “…you’ve elected me to speak collectively for you.  I now formally accept this as a means to not only find a way forward after so much death and adversity but to also recreate our Order absent of the systemic violence that we wish to escape.”  Those remaining began to crowd around the Togrutan Master, nodding and smiling.  

True, they were tired of the war and fighting…and the struggling.  They saw in Viula Noth a leader (and if they had it their way, a Kage) that would keep them from the horrors of war.  They agreed that even though that meant giving up Galtea, they would reestablish a new home, a home that would flourish in solidarity and unity.  And peace.  No longer would they fight; indeed, many had already thrown down their lightsabers.  

And while they continued to talk, plan, and commiserate with one another, the warnings of danger went unheeded, one and all having completely forgotten those incidents preceding the day.

...Except one.

               <<<<< >>>>>
Logged

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Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

TheDutchman
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« Reply #199 on: March 24, 2019, 05:47:01 AM »

Chapter 28: Annihilation, part II

Having stumbled his way through the forgotten tunnels leading deeper into the bowels of the base, Messer Subiah Fuqua fell hard upon the sealed metallic door at the end of the hall.  His mind swam in a morass of pain, disorientation, and intent.  Blood covered the floor, a grisly and conspicuous trail if anyone cared to follow it.  Not that anyone would; this sealed room housed the Vhal’Dan’s cache of Force artifacts, or rather, those that Anson and his retinue had been able to transfer from Galtea.  It was highly restricted to all personnel and in fact could only be accessed by the Kage, the Arbiter, and the Speakers.

Or someone with their codes.

Fuqua had originally been given Pytir’s when he was the primary translator for the Vhal’Dan in ancient Massassi.  Or at least, he had been.  When Kazic showed up with that…that tralk, that…alien…all of his work had been called into question.

…But Pytir had never changed his codes.  Not even when Fuqua had absconded with the Force relics within the Vault in the Galtean Underworks.  Most of them he’d told Pytir about.  Most.

Inputting the last entry, Fuqua keyed the door open.  Dust covered the entire room; clearly no one had been in here since…well, since Ryshhk had stolen many of the artifacts that had been stored here.  Certainly not since Fuqua had first secreted his treasure here so long ago.  Not that it would have done the Wookie any good; Fuqua had hidden his prize well.  After all, he still knew more than every other Vhal’Dan about the Massassi Language.  He would show them, he would show them all!

Especially that…that tralk, that…alien…

Or so he kept repeating to himself.  His head wound was vicious, his exposed brain had been impaled by shards of bone and he was clearly missing a portion of the right lobe… But, unaware of the severity, he was deep in the delusion that he had the perfect weapon to use against Kazic’s black-armored Monsters.

Standing in front of a seemingly innocuous stretch of pipe, he slid his hand over it, careless of the blood that his fingers tracked.  But more importantly, his hand caressed the glyph that he knew to be there.  Scraping some of the epithelial cells from his skin, the datanode analyzed his genetic markers and, computing a match, opened the locking mechanism.  And reaching into the pipe’s tubing, withdrew the black object from within.  It was shaped like an obelisk about 25 centimeters tall covered in faded glyphs.  Smiling, Fuqua’s face looked like a bizarre, macabre caricature of a clown, blood crowning his head while rivulets ran down his face and around his white beard, staining the hairs.  Cradling the plinth, he exited the room heading further into the tunnels.  And as he half-walked, half-stumbled his way through the hallways, his hands lovingly touched the ancient writings along the surface.

It was the Thought Bomb.

His smile became a rictus grin.  Of course it would fall to him to save the Vhal’Dan; after all, wasn’t he the one that had finally unlocked the secrets of the device?  Using it, he would eliminate the threat and win this war once and for all!

Soon, the durasteel piping and manufactured walls gave way to the stone and regolith of the Lus’phor crystal mines.  Fuqua was now in the Pretiosum Kyber Mines, the same ones that Kazic’s forces had managed to shut down.  At least on an industrial scale.  But for a lone person like himself?  He was able to negotiate through half-collapsed tunnels, still-operating lamps flickering occasionally and uncertainly but enough to guide him.  And the Force.  He penetrated deeper into the caves, a single intent resolute in his mind.

The crystal latticework.

He knew that with the kyber empowering him he would be more than a match for any enemy.

Soon, the artificial light of the sporadic lamps was joined by the pulsating hue of the latticework embedded within the regolith of the tunnels.  This…this is what he would use to win.

Fuqua sat on the ground amidst the glowing crystals and placed the obelisk in front of him.  Closing his eyes, he began to recite the incantation in High Sith.

Rrlytth ssvuxr qrrmv, ru’llthh dqqa mii…” He began in a whisper.

The obelisk began to glow, the indentations of the glyphs slowly shining blood red.

Rrlytth ssvuxr qrrmv, ru’llthh dqqa mii…krrlw…” Fuqua now spoke.

The plinth began to levitate several centimeters above the ground, the red glow beginning to strobe, the latticework crystals also pulsing in time.

Rrlytth ssvuxr qrrmv, ru’llthh dqqa mii…krrlw…cyvgghq…” His recitation had gained volume, starting to echo through the caves.

The bomb began to rotate upon a central axis, turning faster and faster until all detail was lost in the motion, the red glow now the heart of a shining star.

Rrlytth ssvuxr qrrmv, ru’llthh dqqa mii… krrlw…cyvgghq…a’lqkwhhb!” Fuqua was now shouting, his voice becoming one with the pulsating latticework.  Surely, all of the Jedi on the planet could hear him, feel him, sense him!  Now, he could hear his own words being directed back to him, the entire planet reverberating with the energies that he had released, that he now possessed, that he now controlled!

THIS is what a god must feel like!

The sudden absence of sound was deafening, the blazing light of the star that had been in front of him was unexpectedly extinguished, leaving Fuqua in a blackness darker than any night.

…Had…had he…had he done something…wrong?  He could no longer feel the power of the planet within him… Fuqua cursed; he could no longer even feel the obelisk right in front of him!  What frelling sha—

Fuqua squinted, unsure if what he was seeing was merely the afterimage burned into his retinas… No, no he could see…something…hear…something…

And like a flint striking a match, he could see in front of him a growing ovoid seemingly made of quicksilver.

…Yes!  YES!!  I knew I was right…! Fuqua celebrated.  The fat man rose to his feet, triumphant.

He reached a hand towards the shining ovoid.  He knew that they’d been wrong, knew that he was right, knew that h—

               <<<<< >>>>>



As soon as Fuqua’s finger had touched the liquid silver sheath, the Thought Bomb detonated.  As the ovoid expanded outward, propagated exponentially by the latticework, a spherical void of black annihilated everything in its path, originating from deep within the Pretiosum Kyber Mines.  Anything that came into contact with the void was utterly destroyed…with one notable exception.  Fuqua’s soft tissues were vaporized in a microsecond, leaving a silver-gilded skeleton, courtesy of his tactile contact with the ovoid when it achieved critical mass.

Located only a few kilometers from the Mines and gathered in the base, Master Viula Noth and his followers felt the first tremors in a series of planetquakes.  A few seconds after that, all Force-sensitives felt the massive release of Force energies, magnitudes greater than anything else they’d ever experienced.  Looking to Master Noth, over two thousand sets of eyes sought reassurance.  But there was nothing that he could do.

Several seconds later, a perfectly black sphere of non-existence washed over the base and all of the inhabitants within.  None were spared.  One moment, thousands of future plans were being dreamed; the next…not so much as a particle of baryonic matter remained.

And still the void grew.

Lus’phor’s kyber crystal deposits extended throughout the thick crust of the small planet and with the Thought Bomb attuned to their resonant frequency, every crystal propagated the sphere of obliteration.

Every.  Single.  Crystal.

Finally, when the spherical void hit Lus’phor’s inner core, the reaction was instantaneous.  And extremely volatile.

Lus’phor exploded in a release of unimaginable energies, both kinetic and Force-based.

And the Galtean System was forever changed.  

As were the Vhal’Dan.
Logged

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Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Lord_S_Gray
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« Reply #200 on: March 24, 2019, 10:46:53 PM »

The mad thoughts of one barely coherent man leading to worlds become desolate, something neither side would have dared enact performed in a mad flurry of semi lucid thought.

Clearly explains why the Vhal'Dan left Galtea, the backwash from that will be intense and without the Kyber mines the system is dramatically less resource rich. 

And Inyak makes another appearance with Anson (who's gonna need some major recovery), presumably everyone else too busy getting away to bother with him after Kazics moment of clarity! Clearly Inyak didn't take the advice to just leave the forsaken place. Now the Vhal dan are left in two camps once more, the 'sensible center' wiped out in a moment...like Saani said long before, she's been proved right - there is no longer be much of a Vhal Dan left to save.
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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Karmack
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Light side points please.


« Reply #201 on: March 25, 2019, 02:00:56 PM »

Wow...   You just invented a crystal-boosted thought bomb...  ;-)

Seriously, its a darned good thing Karm got to that one on M'Tzigon.  With all the crystals laying around, it would have had a similar effect.  Maybe not as great, but just as devastating to the local populace.

Wow...

This explains a lot.  2000 dead Val'Dhan.  Destroyed in a madman's final solution.   I agree with LSG, it wipes out the reasonable middle ground, but at the same time the utter shock might be what it takes to bring the rest back to their senses.  Especially since it wasn't an outside threat that destroyed them, but the inside threat.

Jealousy - fear - anger - pain - suffering...   Yoda's chain of the dark side plays out again...
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TheDutchman
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« Reply #202 on: March 26, 2019, 09:10:35 PM »

Again, special thanks to LSG for his awesome contribution  Smiley
*************************************************

Chapter 29: New Scars

In the wake of the Lus’phor Holocaust, everything changed.

The single hyperspace lane that had been the lone, secure path to the Galtea System had fissured: there were now three routes leading to-and-from the planet.

Of Lus’phor, there was no sign that it had even existed, all of the baryonic matter having been converted to dark energy.  The roughly 26,000 persons who had been on planet—2,387 of those Gray Jedi—were completely vaporized.

Nux’x, the small planet that had shared an orbital resonance with Lus’phor, had its trajectory permanently altered: it had been in opposition and at its perihelion to Lus’phor when the wave of dark energy had slammed into it, knocking it from its stable orbit.  Nux’x was now destined to be thrown out of the system.  In a few short years, it would become a rogue planet, consigned to wander the outer rim of the galaxy in perpetual deep-freeze.

Galtea itself was not spared.  While it was far enough away in quasiconjunction to Lus’phor in its orbital path to avoid a complete global natural catastrophe, for hundreds of years afterwards Galtea would experience heavy meteor bombardment courtesy of Lus’phor’s trojan asteroids.  And while the planetary shield could intercept those asteroids that were detected, there were many more that would go unnoticed…until it was too late.

Worse, the backwash of the Thought Bomb detonation had created a Force Nexus along the ecliptic plane where Lus’phor had perished.  Every single Force-sensitive being on Galtea was adversely affected to one degree or another, typically the most powerful suffering the worst symptoms.  And while these ranged from headaches and nightmares to grand mal seizures and aneurisms, the symptoms were always severe.

But that was not all: while Galtea passed through the Nexus, ALL living beings were affected as the planet’s weather patterns went temporarily haywire, lasting the entirety of the passage through the vergence.

The Civil War ground to a halt although no official overtures were made by either side.  Both factions had suffered deep wounds that would take time to recover.

And—as some came to find out—there were certain things from which there would be no recovering from…

               <<<<< >>>>>

On the bridge of Ryshhk’s light-freighter, Justice’s Brachiate, Saani gently tended to her husband while Kazic struggled for lucidity after his experience with the Memory Orb.  He’d asked Valens to join them although the rest of Ari’s People had evacuated in their own sleek, arrowhead-shaped ships.  Only Ari had insisted joining them.  That—coupled with Saani’s own contentions that Ari do so—was enough for Kazic to relent.

While Ryskkh piloted, the four of them had gathered together in the converted conference room where Justice’s Brachiate had been equipped instead with a command hub, a central computer databank more than sufficient to delineate intel, tactics, and communiqués.  And while all of them were busy, for all intents and purposes, Kazic’s mind was preoccupied, especially with Valens and, invariably, his own morality.

Memories, thoughts, feelings from decades…centuries back reeled through his head still as he slowly staggered across the war room where Valens stooped over the central display illuminated blue by the screens.

…Stooped…this was not a man who stooped was he…tired..? Kazic asked himself.  He reached round to finger his saber.  …This is the enemy… He thought in a moment of insanity—or was it clarity?—the unsettled reminiscence surging like tides in his mind told him Valens’ kind were a plague upon the galaxy, petty and childish demi-gods armed with heinous technologies used to inflict their tantrums upon others.

Unfiltered feelings, emotions, and values told him he should be standing with Annix…no he had to remind himself in the confusion of revived thoughts…Stryka was dead…Anson, he should stand with Anson against Valens and his ilk.  What had caused him to ally with such a creature…his own history, beliefs, and values buried for too long under the stress of the here-and-now rose to the fore to convict him.

“Traitor” the word echoed loud, shattering like glass through his ears and back into the mind that had condemned himself as such.  To let such a terror loose upon his own, there was no other word to describe what Kazic had become.  He looked at Valens, his mind aflame…

His helmet was on the floor, Valens rubbing his head from the strain of the weeks he had been awake and alert… Kazic would never have a better chance…he unhooked his saber and stepped forward quietly.

It was suicide, Kazic understood that, but there was a decent chance he could take Valens down with him, perhaps in a last act of defiance he could kill the destroyer of worlds and redeem himself.

…No…

No, those very memories that showed him to be a hypocrite also told him that one betrayal did not atone for another.  Valens was not the Monster here; he like his kind were a force of nature, arguably incapable of enough self-reflection to even be considered moral agents.  Even Ari—much as he loved her—showed shockingly arbitrary and instinctual behaviors and thought patterns not even Saani could break her out of. 

It was Kazic himself who had set them loose, he was the Monster he wished to destroy.  Only now faced with the values he once held in years past could he see his own face clearly.  Valens…Valens had merely been an “effect.”  But it was Kazic that had been the “cause.”  Slowly, he looked down at his lightsaber hilt down the emitter chamber.  …Just a kilogram’s worth of pressure… He thought, his thumb on the activation switch.

…No… Came the admonition once again.

Kazic knew that to be the coward’s way out.  To live would be much harder, to atone more difficult still.  But he knew now what he must do.

“Valens…” Kazic squared his shoulders.  “I must ask that you and your People go.”  Valens’ face remained impassive.  “It was a mistake to involve you.  I will honor our agreement but now I must insist that you all go.”

Valens did not move.  “‘Insist?’”

“…‘Ask,’ ‘solicit,’ ‘plead,’ ‘request.’  Whichever you prefer…but without malice, your People are no longer needed here.  Or wanted.”  Kazic stared stolidly.  “I know that I cannot force you and would only destroy the Vhal’Dan by standing against you…but you and your People are no longer welcome here.”  The Anzat spread his arms to show his sincerity…much like how one would disarm a predator who’d been surprised with its hackles up. 

Kazic almost smiled.  The irony of his mental comparison was not lost upon him.  Instead, he kept his face devoid of all emotion.

Valens held his gaze a moment longer.  “Yes.  I can see that.  I shall collect the artifacts that I’ve chosen as soon as we reach Vhal’Ulhadv.  And then we shall depart.”  For a moment he stared deeply into Kazic’s face.  “You’re right, the Vhal’Dan would be destroyed.  That is how I have persecuted this war.  After all: you said you wanted to win…and you never specified limitations of how it was to be done.” Valens’ tone was indifferent.

“Would you have followed them if I did?” Kazic knew his own question was rhetorical.

“No.” Valens replied, equally so.  Moving away from the central computer bank, he sank into the aircouch located on the opposite side of the room.  What Kazic hadn’t expected was that when he turned, Ari was standing directly behind him.

He looked down into her eyes, aqua eyes that he had seen mature into a young woman, love evident in their longing gaze whenever they’d fixed upon Saani or himself…but no longer.

Kazic took a mental step back.  Staring up at him, Ari’s face was filled with pain, incredulity, and…disappointment.  “I told you.  I told you not to do it.  But you wouldn’t listen.  Outsiders are all alike: they can’t be trusted.  Even the Vhal’Dan.  Like all Outsiders, they are untrustworthy…and you turn on yourselves.”  She turned to leave, glancing back a final time.  “…I…I’ll always love the man you USED to be.”  With that, she sat beside Valens.

Kazic was uncertain as to what pained him worse: Ari’s words echoing his own self-rebuke or that her simplistic perspective concerning…well, everyone who were not her People…had thoroughly indoctrinated her despite how Saani and he had raised her… Kazic supposed that he would never really know.  But he would never forget…

It…hurt too much…

And even after the Lus’phor shockwave hit Justice’s Brachiate several minutes later, Kazic was again reminded—perhaps unnecessarily—that life was pain…

               <<<<< >>>>>

As Kazic’s ships had left first, they had put the most distance between them and Lus’phor.  The Force energies that erupted from the small planet exploding still inundated them but given their distance at the time, there was no permanent damage done.  At least no direct damage…

The same could not be said for Anson’s ships.

While many had reached outer space, some had just reached the limits of Lus’phor’s magnetic field.  Unfortunately, those still in the lower atmosphere perished along with the planet.  However, Inyak Zolor’s Class 440 freighter, the Domai’s Honor, was rising through the exosphere just past the thermopause when the Thought Bomb detonated.  And while the ship and its passengers escaped destruction, the concussive blast broke the bodies within, but it was the metaphysical dark energy that did the most damage.

Both of Inyak’s femurs fractured in multiple places but was otherwise no worse considering.  Jinsen unfortunately was thrown against the restraints with such force that several of his vertebra were crushed.  He would forever walk with a limp…when he was finally able to walk again.  And they would both suffer from debilitating migraines for years to come.

But it was Anson that had the worst of it.

Anson’s already ruined body was further shattered.  But the Thought Bomb’s backwash crashed into Anson’s mind, fragmenting an already damaged consciousness.

All of Anson’s existence became a monument of pain, a testament of anguish.  He’d lost, lost almost everything.  And now…even as he struggled for cognizance—for existence—the part of him that his followers had pledged themselves to, that inner core of quadranium…

He continued to fight.

He fought, embracing the agony as Anson was again reminded—perhaps unnecessarily—that life was pain…
Logged

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Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Karmack
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« Reply #203 on: March 27, 2019, 03:20:12 PM »

Tragic.   Kazic loses his daughter, and a big piece of himself.  Anson, still alive, but forever fighting just to be.   The home they had all fought for lost forever to them.

Not the Vhal'Dan's finest hour. 

And yet, still glimmers of hope.  Kazic is still alive, can learn from his mistakes.  He was wise enough to stop, to save the Vhal'Dan from total annihilation.  His wife is still at his side. 

Live is pain, perhaps.  But it is also hope.  Without hope, life ends.

And now, six centuries later, Kazic finishes his confession...   What more is there to tell?   I am looking forward to finding out!  :-)
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« Reply #204 on: March 27, 2019, 09:20:17 PM »

Agree with Karm, big losses, and arguably the only winner in the civil war is the mercenary Aethans who have just obtained Kazic's memories, artefacts and reams of combat and strategic data and performed extensive weapons testing - and arguably so far as Valens is concerned scored a win by convincing Ari Outsiders cannot be trusted. 

Interesting parallel I see is that Anson is broken physically, but mentally and psychologically would at least be whole, firm that he has done the right thing nd given his all to protect the Vhal'Dan from Kazics horrors.  Kazic is the polar opposite, physically whole but shattered emotionally and now sees he has just made the biggest mistakes of his life (to date....) and has become a traitor to his own -no wonder he changed the records and in the present must confess.

Life is pain for both, but a different type of pain for now...

Cool pic for Ari BTW very tribal but sci-fi!!
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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Taegin Roan
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« Reply #205 on: March 28, 2019, 06:54:58 PM »

Aye, that was a strong chapter. There is no denying the pain that will continue for years to come. But there is still more to the story I think. Just from what we know from the current timeline, The Vhal'Dan have somehow taken up residence on Zenoma Sekot. How may not be important, but it is still part of the story. Kazic also has Anson's lightsaber, which means that there will be another confrontation between the two of them some time. Whether it is a confrontation of reconciliation, I do not know, but based on the pain that we are getting from Kazic as he retells this story to D'Aylanna, and the emotion when the story of how he found Zearic stealing Anson's saber, I get the sense that their next meeting will not be in the friendship that they once had.

Amazing storytelling and world-building as usual TD. Very excited and interested to see what comes next.
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"I am the Outcast's Shadow" - Taegin Roan
"Confronting fear is the Destiny of a Jedi" - Luke Skywalker
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala

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« Reply #206 on: April 09, 2019, 04:00:03 PM »


Chapter 30: Aftermath

“I, Master Gray Marc-Andr Drevifv, attest my allegiance to and so swear that Kazic Ovarug is Kage of the Vhal’Dan.”  With that he bowed deferentially, the last of Anson’s former Jedi to do so.  It was an enormous victory. 

And a stunning loss.

True, Kazic’s forces had tripled…but of the over 5,000 Vhal’Dan Jedi the Order had numbered before the Civil War, Kazic could only claim 783 now.  And even if the most liberal of estimates were to be believed, Anson had no more than 300 Jedi among his ranks…

And the military fatalities had been catastrophic: all told, over 2 million had perished over the course of the war.  It didn’t matter to Kazic if they were from Anson’s forces or his own, he lamented the death of every person regardless of allegiance.

But it was the civilian losses that staggered Kazic.  Even at conservative estimates, there had been over a million confirmed civilian casualties since the war began, mostly centered in Vhal’Ulhadv.  The once-magnificent skyline that bespoke of technological wonder and beauty was encircled with a halo of smoke, ruin, and—at least within the influence of the repulsor fields—detritus.  Many of the tall spires that had rivaled the surrounding mountains were much shorter…if they had not collapsed altogether.  The entire cityscape that had been a marvel of Galtea could have instead belonged in a Nar Shadda or Taris slum. 

Had the Vhal’Dan Order stayed on Galtea, Vhal’Ulhadv might’ve been resurrected.  But with the metaphysical backwash of the Lus’phor Thought Bomb…within a handful of years, ALL Force-sensitives would abandon the planet, damning the once-beautiful capital city to the ruins it would become 600 years in the future…

But the fighting had not been confined to the city proper.

The surrounding countryside, from the Cthodral Mountains to Lake Olucem’m, had been completely devastated by both Force powers as well as conventional artillery.  Mountain peaks that had reached kilometers into the blue skies had been reduced by a third.  And of Lake Olucem’m…

The blue crystal waters of the enormous lake were now brown, choked with dirt, sludge, and debris.  And, invariably, the bodies of those that rescuers had been unable to reach.  It was truly a paradise lost.

All of this occupied Kazic’s thoughts despite the gravity of the ceremonies.  Even as the reality of Galtea’s future—or rather, that of the Vhal’Dan Order—wouldn’t be known for a couple of months, the enormity of the endeavor to reconstruct and heal the damage done threatened to overwhelm the Anzat Kage.

And he hadn’t even considered the fact that Anson and his followers were still at large, much less what he intended for them…

Suddenly, he felt pressure in his mind.  Kazic almost smiled.  Saani.  Their connection was as strong as ever.  Stronger to be honest.  In fact, ever since her resurrection her presence in the Force felt stronger, more potent: she’d always been just below Kazic, now…now she was as powerful as Anson, or close enough not to make a difference.  But that wasn’t all…

Saani had always been a beautiful woman, courtesy of her Twi’lek heritage.  But as the days had progressed, she seemed to look…younger.  No, not “seemed;” she did look younger.  Where before she’d appeared to be in her 30s, now she could easily pass for a young woman in her 20s.  Her early 20s.  Out of the corner of his eye, a wry grin curved the corner of her lips.  …My Kanp’a… Leave it to her to help keep him on track.

Mentally squaring his shoulders, Kazic sobered, focusing at the task at hand.

“I accept and bond you into my service and absolve you of all past trespasses.” Came Kazic’s reply.  With that done, he’d formally vindicated all of the defecting Jedi and welcomed them back into the Vhal’Dan with them having officially recognizing Kazic as Kage.  And while the tradition was intended to inaugurate solidarity, peace, and reconciliation, there was nevertheless an undercurrent of unease. 

Since the inception of the Order 400 years prior, there had never been anything like the hostilities of the Civil War.  Indeed, even prior to Black Rikard uniting the seven Clans, there had been Clan disputes that had broken out in skirmishes but nothing remotely close to the severity of the Civil War.

And it was that weight that Kazic alone tried to shoulder.  He was responsible; he would make it right.  Already he had plans in motion to make amends.  And the most important reparation that he had to make was to Anson…his brother.  Kazic wanted to rend his hair and rage towards the heavens.  He should’ve been more receptive, done something—anything—else instead of the War.  But he could not.

What was in the past was said and done.  And he still had a responsibility as Kage.  That helped to buoy him.  That…and Saani’s reassuring comfort.  And as all of the Vhal’Dan gathered recited the Code, Kazic felt his spirits if not rising, then strengthened.

Flowing through all, there is balance
There is no peace without passion to create
There is no passion without peace to guide
Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act
Power blinds without the serenity to see
There is freedom in life
There is purpose in death
The Force is all things and I am the Force


               <<<<< >>>>>

Exhausted, Kazic collapsed on the couch in the Atrium of the Kage’s Suite.  Following her husband’s example, Saani kicked off her boots, sitting beside him as she tucked her feet beneath her.  With expert hands, her fingers began to kneed into the Anzat’s shoulders and neck, aggressively attacking the knotted muscles in both.  Worries, laments, and intents evaporated under Saani’s ministrations.

“…By the Maker that feels good, Kanp’a…” Kazic mumbled, allowing himself to finally relax.  Saani chuckled, nuzzling her nose in his neck.  “…and that feels even better.”

Sudden motion momentarily surprised Kazic as Saani jumped up from the couch to straddle him, fiercely kissing her husband.  Her hands moved from his neck to the sides of his face, one of them deftly unknotting his statim, releasing his topknot.

Between kisses Saani purred.  “I love your hair, K’ompo.” 

His hands roamed her body while he felt his blood quicken.  “And I love you, Kanp’a.” His hands gently stroked her lekku as he returned each fervent kiss in kind.  Very soon, there was nothing between them, each wrapped in the other’s arms with an intimacy that transcended the physical.  Joined by body, mind, and the Force, the shared inferno that they both felt was as wonderful as it was passionate.

Moreso, truth be told.  Since Ari had brought Saani back, their lovemaking had become more frequent, more intense.  More…aggressive.  Indeed, the last time Saani had forcefully nipped her husband’s neck, drawing blood.  It had only served to enflame Kazic more.

And as they lay together upon the couch both spent, the responsibilities and concerns of life were blissfully lightyears away.

And closer than they thought.

               <<<<< >>>>>

Anson remained fully submerged within the bacta tank for more than a week while medical droids helped to carefully rebuild his body.  The damage while extensive could be undone.  At least physically.

Mentally was another matter altogether.  The backwash of the Thought Bomb had taken Anson’s convictions and intensified them into fervent zealotry.  Of course, this had not been helped by Kazic’s decision to include those “shadows,” one of which had soundly beaten him.  He still was unsure how… But one thing was certain:

Kazic was to blame.

For Anson, this also included those…those cowardly deserters that had defected.  Anson’s fingers balled into fists, the corded muscles in his neck standing taunt.  They too were to blame… No; worse he admitted.

At least the Anzat had been constant.

The bacta infiltrated his body, making micro-repairs on the cellular level.  Soon enough, he would be healthy again.  But the bacta could not touch Anson’s mind.

And to him, Kazic and ALL of his Jedi—no, everyone who was aligned with him—were traitors.  Not just to Anson but the entire Vhal’Dan Order.  It was they who were responsible for this devastation, they who were murderers.  He knew it.  Every dead Jedi, all of the military casualties, and the civilian fatalities…he thought of every one.  After all, during his time in the bacta tank, Anson had had little to do but think…and reflect.  And he knew…

Anson remembered when Arkady had come to him while he’d been imprisoned accusing him of relinquishing the Arbiter’s Codes to access the Vhal’Dan’s Force artifacts…or giving it to…someone.  But Arkady had been wrong; Anson would never betray his oaths to the Vhal’Dan.  Only one person had done that.  Anson scowled.

Kazic.

He had motive, opportunity.  Kazic.  He’d been on Lus’phor just prior to it exploding so he’d obviously had the time to set the Bomb.  Kazic.  And he’d known that the Pretiosum Kyber Mines were accessible; after all, hadn’t he been the one to try to seal them?  Kazic.  And he’d brought those murdering black-armored monsters. 

Kazic.

Anson’s paranoia burned through his mind and back again around and in itself, transgressions both imagined and real reinforcing and blurring the facts and the suppositions until one became indistinguishable from another.

He kept repeating the Anzat’s name, reciting it like a litany.  And within that singular train of thought, Anson’s mind now knew beyond a doubt that he’d been wrong to fortify the Order against all foreign threats…only.  He’d been mistaken in thinking that no danger could possibly come from within.  But he knew better now.

And when his followers finally came to remove Anson from the tank and bring him up to speed, he absorbed all the information, storing it for future retrieval with one, immutable thought pervading his mind.

It wasn’t just Kazic that needed to be destroyed but in fact ALL of his people.  And only he knew how to accomplish such…

               <<<<< >>>>>

Two weeks later, the Thought Bomb backwash symptoms first began to appear amongst all of the Forceusers on Galtea.  It didn’t take long to pinpoint the origin of misfortunes but one and all the Vhal’Dan were at a loss at how to counter the effects.

That wasn’t to say that possible hypotheses weren’t tried, tested, rejected, and revised but after almost a month, there was no solution in sight.

And the symptoms kept getting worse and more severe.

Kazic knew that the Vhal’Dan would be better served if whole, now more than ever.  So during the interim, he’d cast a wide net, broadcasting his desires and intent to end hostilities and bring solidarity to the Order.  To that end, he tried everything—even via the Force—to contact Anson.

But for that first month, he’d been unsuccessful.  Not that Anson or his followers weren’t listening; rather, they were carrying out the orders of their Kage, preparing, waiting. 

Until…

Almost two months after the Lus’phor Holocaust, Kazic was sitting in the Kage’s Office of the Vhal’Ulhadv Temple when he finally received the contact from Anson that he’d so anticipated.  And as the two spoke, Kazic’s dread took a new turn as he listened to his former brother.

And if Kazic could have broke out in a cold sweat, he would’ve done so now…
Logged

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Cataphract Triarch of the Vhal'Dan

My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Karmack
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« Reply #207 on: April 09, 2019, 06:25:07 PM »

OK, I did NOT see that one coming...    Maybe I should have.  :-)   It reminds me of the end of Dr. Strange, when Mordo attacks Johnathan Pangborn.   He says he realized the problem was that there were to many wizards....

I think Anson has come to the same conclusion...
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« Reply #208 on: April 09, 2019, 03:35:05 PM »

Ansons life was pain, and in that tank he found the source of said pain to be Kazic....I like that imagery, just floating there his anger feeding on itself into a systematic semi-logical hatred for Kazic...after all what else did he have to do?
I wonder what exactly Anson said to Kazic...probably doesn't matter...frankly none of it seems to in light of everything that has been lost - as Saani said long before will there be a Vhal'dan left to save....well not really - the Vhal'Dan that was died in that war, the Vhal'Dan that is...is something forever different.
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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Karmack
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« Reply #209 on: April 10, 2019, 03:05:34 PM »

Exactly, LSG.   One of the ultimate tragedies is that they killed what they were trying to protect.  The Vhal'Dan survived ... but they're not what they were. 
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