Proreus Sonntre Hyndus sighed as his head finally hit the stiff yet inviting pillow atop his bed, his half-lidded gaze locked onto the stark metal ceiling above him for a moment before they slid closed. It had been a stressful day, to say the least. His first day as the captain of a ship was expected to be exhausting he supposed, but this one was even more so given his first assignment. The Limos, one of the new ships that had been built and put into service by the Vergence Fleet, was far from the most luxurious of vessels but being granted command of it was an honor that still filled him with pride even now.
His years of service aboard various ships across the Order of Wonosa's Rimward fleets had been well rewarded with this position, the commanding officer of a freighter that would supply their various outposts and bases with supplies and ferry troops and equipment wherever was needed. Not exactly an exciting job, or so it was meant to be anyway, but he had no complaints. Being far away from the line of fire was a welcome change as far as he was concerned. This first voyage was not quite so relaxing however, for it was both a great honor and an extreme burden all in one. He muttered a silent prayer to the Dark Side for luck in his task as he rolled over and tried to calm his racing thoughts.
Only to be jolted back upright as warning alarms blared just before the ship was rocked and jerked from its placid cruising.
:"All hands report to your battle stations, we have boarders. I repeat, all hands report to your stations we have been boarded.": Hyndus cursed to himself as he pulled himself out of his bed, just barely being able to halfway pull on his uniform and draw his blaster pistol by the time that he had stumbled over to the door to his quarters. It slid open and his brief pause to exit proved a blessing as a bolt whizzed by the doorway right in front of his eyes, only to be met by a return of blaster fire from the opposing direction. "Proreus are you alright?" He let out a sight of relief as three Legionnaires rushed to guard the door, one of them looking him up and down before offering a quick salute.
"I'm fine, report soldier." The Legionnaire stepped back to allow Hyndus out, allowing him to spare a glance down the hall where the fresh body of what appeared to be some pirate or brigand was laying in a smoking heap. "The ship has been compromised sir, it appears as though we've been being followed since we left our last port. Boarding pods have breached several levels." Hyndus stifled another curse as he brought his hand to his face and sighed. "Damnit it all, are they trying to commandeer the ship?" The soldier nodded in response. "Yes Proreus, but the bridge crew eliminated them before any damage could be done. There are a few more holdouts we're tracking down now but we have a major issue." Hyndus raised an eyebrow and gestured for the Legionnaire to continue. "A squad of boarders is heading for the cargo bay."
"Ah. Oh chit." His eyes widened and he pushed through the Legionnaires as he raised his pistol, pale and somewhat shaking. "Get every Legionnaire to the cargo level now!"
"This is bad man. Game over-" "Would you shut up already?!" The pirate recoiled slightly at the outburst of his superior, earning a chuckle from the other two members of the squad. "If a few of those idiots get themselves killed then so be it. Even one crate of the weapons these freaks deal in will be more than enough to set us up for life, and the fewer partners to split it between the better." The leader of the band turned back forward from the berating of his newest crew member and looked over the dark cargo bay with a mixture of unease and satisfaction. This frigate hadn't been easy to track down and he knew well enough that this little raid wasn't going to go according to plan at all.
Thankfully the cantinas and dive bars across this sector were chock full of vengeful scum that wanted nothing more than to even the score with these 'Wonosa' people. A few greased palms and promises of revenge had been all that was needed to get his own little army of pirates to assault the next ship with, and luckily this one was far away from the usual patrol routes and traffic of its peers. The perfect target. "Fan out and search for some weapons crates, we need to be fast before any of them can get through that door." Sealing the entrance to the cargo bay had been a simple but effective affair, one that would hopefully keep the ship's crew off of their backs while they found their cargo and slipped off the ship.
The pirates did as commanded, some more reluctantly than others, and began sweeping through the pitch black room with nothing but the blinking lights of container panels and the lights attached to their weapons and helmets to guide them. The newest of their number kept his twitching finger on the trigger of his carbine, frantically glancing around as he moved through the rows of crates and containers. He'd heard stories about what these Wonosans would do to pirates, butchers and executioners of the foulest sort. He hadn't believed it himself until they boarded the ship and he got to see them up close when the squad that had went ahead of them was cut down by a bunch of sword wielding maniacs.
This was supposed to be some quick job with plenty of credits at the end of it and that was what he kept telling himself. He just needed enough credits to keep his folks back on Nar Shaddaa from losing the apartment. Then he'd never have to brush elbows with these awful pirates ever again. He took breaths to calm himself but his next breath wound up hitching as he rounded a corner to be met with one particular container that stood out from the rest. It looked to be made of some shiny black stone, the surface reflecting the light from his helmet perfectly, inlaid with strange writing that glowed with a sinister crimson light. Scrawling symbols and what must have been words encompassed the entire surface of the lid and down its sides, resembling some ornate coffin of sorts.
The little passage between crates that it was tucked into was similarly odd, adorned by two hanging incense burners that were letting out thin wisps of smoke with a rather strange scent to them. Wood smoke with an undercurrent of lavender and hints of, he paused and briefly pulled off his respirator to get a proper whiff, cinnamon by his guess. Between the weird ritualistic coffin and the incense burners all tucked into some little 'alley' the whole sight resembled something more akin to an altar than anything else.
What was something like this doing on an arms dealer's ship?
He almost couldn't resist the urge to step closer to the coffin, idly hearing what sounded like whispers just at the periphery of his hearing as he reached out to run a hand along one of the glowing rooves. His finger caught some edge in the surface and a gasp followed by a slight hiss and wince escaped him when he felt the sting of a new cut, only to stumble back in surprise as his vision was suddenly filled with the snapping open of two golden eyes set in a pale face. It filled his entire view for a moment but as he got his racing heart under control and steadied his breathing he realized it wasn't a sight before him but rather one that had been entirely in his mind's eye. Not that it offered much comfort.
He moved to take another step back but froze as the lid suddenly shifted, all the color draining from his face as it slid to the side and a black gloved hand gripped the edge that the lid had once occupied. His blaster clattered to the ground as he hyperventilated, turning on his heel and stumbling into a sprint away from whatever or whoever was emerging from within that thing. The atmosphere in the cargo bay seemed to shift in an instant, a chill running down his spine as his breath started to become visible.
D̴͕́͝a̶̠̳̐̌r̴̲̓͛y̵͈̻͠ ̵̢͚̓̒N̴͈̖͒̐e̴̛̠͙͋n̴̳̋̃x̵̞̀̄ ̷͉̈́̍N̴͇̕ạ̷͛ī̸͘͜l̴̳̈́̉ę̵̇͝
His pulse quickened into a hammering beat as a foreign voice and even more foreign tongue echoed in his ears, shuddering as he turned corner after corner in desperate search for an escape. The rows of containers seemed more like a maze now, each dead end or forced turn during his run seeming to make his heart pound in his ears all the more, but it still didn't drown out the voice that kept coming to him. Nor did it distract him from the feeling of icy talons digging into his back despite nothing having touched him during his run.
J̷͇̊'̷̢̌u̷̹͊s̷͠ͅ ̵͓̕A̴̘̔ȓ̶̥ä̵͓́s̶̝̈ ̴̻̈́H̵̺̽è̶ͅv̵̹̀i̴̛̥l̶͈̕ă̷̪s̸̢̒ ̵͍͘S̸̳͒ṵ̴̊l̴̗̓i̶̠̿g̴͙̈́ ̵̬̔S̶̪͂ȃ̵̯v̷̭̓i̴͈͐m̷̤͌i̸͔̔
He heard it behind him, crates shifting and sliding as something pushed them aside. As something followed him at a steady and slower pace yet still seemed just right behind him no matter how fast he scrambled away. This was it, this was the day that he would die. Lost in some dark and horrible cargo bay aboard some arms dealer's ship just because he wanted to make some extra credits. Did he deserve this? To be slaughtered like cattle with a bunch of pirates?! He just wanted his family to have a decent living for once! Finally he made it into a little clearing amidst the cargo, falling to his knees and panting as he reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow.
J̴̞̒'̵̥̌u̴͙̽s̸͕̃ ̵̫̔V̵͎̒ả̴͚ĺ̶̳ǐ̸̱ạ̷͐ ̴̘͆N̶̫͐e̶͔̅n̵̩̓x̴̪̿ ̸̬̑M̸̡͌r̵̖̓i̶̝͠à̶̖s̵̛̜ ̸̗̇S̶̘͊i̵͍̔s̷̠̓ ̵̦͠Ď̵̞ì̸̙ë̸͇́n̴͉͑a̴͉͘
"The hell happened to you?" The young man jumped and snapped his head around to be meet with the confused and glaring face of his crew's leader. "B-Boss there's-" "What there is, is your ass out here instead of rifling through those crates over there. And where did you leave your gun? That's coming out of your paycheck if-"He paused as the younger pirate froze up, eyes wide and features pulled into a look of sheer dread and horror. "What?" The pirate practically snarled the word as the other man raised a shaking finger and pointed at him, or rather at something behind him given that his in-the-headlights expression was fixed just over his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and turned his head to glance behind himself.
K̷͎̾o̷͎͝t̴̨͌s̴̻̽ ̴̪͘T̵̳̂ä̷̗v̷͓̽e̵̪͋ ̸̗̓I̴̙̽t̵͎̆s̵̳̅ư̶͇
"Damnit how long have they been in there?!" Hyndus paced back and forth in front of the cargo bay's currently locked door as the Legionnaire technician hastily worked to slice into the damaged control panel. "About ten minutes, Proreus." The soldier at his side was far more composed than the captain but Hyndus could see the trembling of the Legionnaire's finger hovering just outside of the trigger guard as well as the occasional glance over their shoulder. "We need to get in there now! Get a thermal detonator if you have to." Before any such drastic measures could be taken however, the bulkhead doors suddenly slid open just after the technician let out a triumphant exclamation of her own.
Without wasting any time Hyndus moved inside the dark cargo bay, flanked by the squad of Legionnaires that had been escorting him throughout the depths of the Limos. All six would stop at the sight that greeted them, with the Legionnaires quick to fall to their knees as the captain ducked his head and holstered his pistol. In the rough center of the room, illuminated only by the light filtering in from the hall beyond the doorway of the cargo bay, stood a robed and hooded figure. Two bodies sat at His feet, both with blaster scorches lining their forms.
One single spot of red was visible on the gloved hand that He lifted to up His face, still turned away from the door and His followers as the pale tendrils spouting from His back threw away the limp and withered body of another pirate that had just been being held up close to His face. "It seems as though we have some intruders, Proreus." Hyndus gulped and bowed deeply, the Legionnaires next to him all but pressing their helmeted heads to the floor as well. "M-My apologies my lord, we have secured the ship and executed the rest of the boarders. I already have our officers scrubbing their crafts for information regarding where they came from. This slight will not go unanswered, I assure you."
When the gloved hand returned to His side, the aforementioned speck of blood was noticeably absent. Not that Hyndus would or could comment on such a thing of course. "As it shouldn't. None that dare assail my faithful can go unpunished." After a moment he swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke up again. "Shall we alter course and make for a port so that we can-" The words died in his throat as the hood head snapped towards him, his gaze swiftly returning to the floor as he tried to keep his breathing level while heavy footfalls slowly tread over to him. He had never met the Prophet of Bogan before today and even without His usual robes and armor He was every bit the myth that his Wonosan siblings had told him about.
Except that this myth was very real. The lacking mask only made the existing tension in the pit of his stomach intensify, making him wonder if gazing upon a sacred sight like the Prophet's face was what had drained the pirates in such a manner. He had always been told that the Dark Side was a pathway to many blessings that would appear unnatural, and there was most certainly nothing natural about the hollow bodies of the intruders before him now. The heavy boots of his lord stopped just on the periphery of his vision, his jaw clenching at the sight. "Forgive us Prophet, please."
"That will not be necessary, berniuk." Hyndus resisted the urge to bite through his lip as some unseen hand seemed to firmly grip his chin, slowly forcing him to raise his gaze despite his desire to close his eyes. Darth Strosius peered down at the captain, pale tendrils loosely hanging behind him like the fluttering remnants of a torn banner. His face was not obscured by a mask but rather some unnatural shadow that cloaked every feature in darkness, leaving only His burning golden eyes visible to the shaking man before Him. "You have done very well, all of you. Maintain course."
"Korriban awaits."
The invisible hand released its grasp on his chin but he couldn't bring himself to break from the intense stare of the Sith Lord, only able to catch his breath when the Prophet turned His attention away from the captain and crew to instead regard something else that He gestured towards with a wave of His hand. The trembling and horrified form of a young man sat in a fetal position against one of the crates that was scattered around the room, his wild eyes shifting between the soldiers and the Sith with an unblinking and fearful stare. "And do please have one of the priests attend to your newest brother here, what was your name again young one?"
The pirate looked almost like he'd rather swallow his tongue than respond, a feeling that Hyndus could very much sympathize with even despite the odd calm feeling that had grown in the back of his mind since he had locked eyes with the Prophet a few moments ago. "Th-Thocha sir-my lord-sir." The man somehow managed to shrink into his knees even more after choking out his words. "Yes, Thocha. Make sure that Brother Thocha is settled in and tended to alongside the rest of your siblings in faith. I will join you on the bridge in a few hours." Darth Strosius offered the captain a nod before turning and making His way back towards His oubliette with His long, heavy strides.
The Legionnaires looked to one another and then to Hyndus as he slowly stood up and approached the trembling man, wary of the blaster pistol that the man clutched and stifling the mixed feelings about what was clearly some scared pirate, offering him his hand. "Come on son, we'll get you some fresh clothes and a warm bed for the night." Despite initial hesitance and reluctance Thocha slowly reached out to accept the offered hand, only then allowing the captain to notice something on the back of the man's other hand. The sigil of Wonosa, drawn in blood that very clearly was not the pirate's own.
