Sith: Arrival

Written by: Crsepe and posted on: Apr 19, 2013

The world was dusty and bleak, it did not look like anything living had stepped foot on this planet in decades let alone any creature that once might have once lived here. While still sitting in the pilots chair, I stared out across the landscape trying to judge whether there was anything out there that I could see with my eyes that my sensor did not tell me. In orbit, my sensors told me that there was life, but nothing that spoke of civilizations. But once I broke atmosphere, my sensors started glitching to the point that I could not tell was was out there and I had to land using visuals and the force. Once on the ground, I expanded my awareness to the maximum of what I have bee able to achieve so far. My Master vilified me repeatedly that I needed to achieve better results with my force awareness range if I was to survive within the Shadow Academy. If not I would most likely be killed by something I did not see coming or by a rival before I achieved anything worth while.

Not feeling anything within by sphere, I decided that it was time to venture forth and see if I could find what my Master sent me here for. Although he really did not tell me what it was, which was infuriating. "Use that," he said with the scoundrel grin on his face. " You will know what it is I want when you find it." I meditated on that during the trip out here, although a short trip, and I came to the conclusion that this was another of his endless tests to see if I will fail and not return. Failure is not an option for me, I crave power and he seems the best path for me to achieve that, for now. I heard that his other apprentice had been given a task that was easier that what I was given, though I highly doubt it.

I set about gathering my gear that I was certain that I would need to complete my mission here. An explorer's kit, my lightsaber, a vibroknife, a blaster carbine(a left over habit/skill from my days as a trooper. Stopped at the top of the ramp, extended my awareness to the max of my abilities, which is about 10 meters. At the base of the ramp, I heard a sound that made me sigh in annoyance. My Master had assigned a remote to randomly fire low to high power bolts at me from different angles and distances. I found that it is equipped with a mini-shield generator that can withstand a direct hit from a blaster, plus it has several high grade sensors to keep track of me, also found out it has an evasive protocol installed. Found that out when I threw a datapad at it in frustration and it deftly avoided it. It floated down the ramp after me and as soon as I stepped on dirt it fired a bolt at the back of my head, expecting that, I picked up a rock with the force and moved it to block the bolt. The rock blew apart, and I force pushed the pieces at the remote making it go evasive for the moment.

Several days of continuous walking and many infuriating bolts later, I felt a pull in the force dragging me towards a mountain range off in the distance. A few more days, more remote attacks, and a couple of attacks from medium to large predators who thought I would be an easy lunch, I arrived at the foothills of the largest mountain in the range. Not seeing anything, but feeling as though this was where I needed to go, I set about setting up camp intending to rest before I start my climb the next day. 
As I was pulling some dry wood towards me with the force to start a fire, I immediately felt a massive amount of malice and hunger directed at me. Dropping the wood I yanked my blaster carbine from my pack and started to scan the area trying to find what was out there that wanted me dead. Not seeing anything through the infrared scan on my blaster's scope, I dropped the carbine and pulled out my lighsaber and set to destroy whatever was out there. Of course, I had to immediately block an incoming bolt from the remote. Throwing a glare at the remote, I scanned the area again, and that's when I saw the first one, a vornskr. Curiosity washed over me as I was trying figure out why I didn't feel the malice or hunger coming from this vornskr, or how it didn't show up on the infrared scan. Feeling a sudden alarm from both my flanks, I dropped into a backwards somersault while throwing my lightsaber at vornskr on my right flank piercing where it's heart would be. Expecting a falling dead vornskr to throw at the one on left, I saw the right vornskr dissipate as my lightsaber flew through and past where it should have stopped in the body. In my confusion, I almost forgot to pull my lightsaber back to me. As my lightsaber returned to my hand, the other vornskr had landed and pivoted to make another leap at me. I raised my hand and threw force lightning at it to kill in quickly, only to see it dissipate as well, and my lightning bolt struck a tree exploding it, causing the rest of it to catch fire. From the bright flash of the lightning and the glow of the fire, I saw multiple pairs of eyes of vornskrs' lurking in the shadows. I absently flicked my lightsaber to block an incoming bolt from the remote, and that's when I heard a voice from straight ahead.

"Kill him, my pets." The voice seemed familiar but was disembodied until I saw a very large red vornskr appear in front of me, and then behind it I saw my Masters' other apprentice. Becoming enraged that Master would send both of us on the same mission and for not understanding what was going on with the dissipating vornskrs, I unleashed a large force lightning attack at the multiple attacks coming from all directions at once, dissipating all the attacking ones and exploding several trees in the area. I then threw a dual handed force lightning attack at the red vornskr and my rival, and saw it hit a force shield just in front of the red vornskr. Still angry but feeling drained I stood staring at those two, a pair of vornskrs' attacked, one from the right and one from behind. I jumped into a low somersault in mid-air, slicing the one behind me making it dissipate, and intending on slamming down on the other one. But the one on the right had slid to a stop to dodge the attack and lashed out with its tail piercing my right leg, and I immediately felt the poison from its tail enter my blood stream and could feel my leg starting to go numb.

I instinctively dropped to my knee before I feel trying to walk, and pulled heavily from the dark side to try and pull the poison from my leg. To my ever increasing surprise, I could not find any poison in my body anywhere, and then clarity dawned on me. It was a force illusion, a rather elaborate one, but something that I should have noticed as soon as the vornskrs started dissipating.

"Pathetic," my rival spat towards me. "I don't see how you have survived this long. I've seen monkey-lizards smarter than you." Getting angry at myself for not realizing the force illusion earlier, and now furious at be made a fool by my rival, I unleashed a force lightning ball at my rival. Just as it was to fly over the top of the red vornskr, it seemed as of it was pulled into a vortex centered on the red vornskr's forehead.

"That was promising", even though his expression didn't change, he did sound impressed. "Though we shall see how long you survive."

By this time the fires from the force lightning had all but died out and the red vornskr turned and disappeared into the darkness of the night. From the darkness I heard these parting words, "knowledge and power await those that are worthy enough." It was at this point that the remote decided to fire a bolt at me, I ignited my lightsaber while flicking my wrist to intersect the bolt redirecting it back towards the remote. I stood there a couple more minutes trying to get a hold of what just happened. Above and behind me I could hear the whir of the remote, and hoping ultimate knowledge and power were within my grasp, I spun on the remote reaching my hand up towards it and grasped it in the force. I closed my hand in the signifying way to cause the force to crush the remote, and I kept crushing it until it was the quarter of its original size. Turning back to look at the spot where my rival was standing, I took immense pleasuring in knowing that I would be making him suffer in ways that no one has ever dreamed about.

Figuring I had a long day, if not longer, I continued setting up my camp to get the rest I needed before I set out the next day. I felt what could be a smugglers grin dawn on my face as I realized that there was a possibility that when I returned to the Shadow Academy, I would be strong enough to kill my master and acquire more power, but that remains to be seen.