A Fresh Start

[Kaden]

MEDBAY, VOSS ACADEMY​

VOSS​

"Whoah, easy there."

The words bounced around between red ears, competing with the hiss of equalising pressure for Kaden's attention, as his escape pod buzzed open. Amber eyes squinted in the light; a gloved hand was raised to ridged brow in an effort to dim the piercing glow. Breath did not come easy; lungs struggled to pull foreign air inside and wheezed when pushing it out. Panic befell the young Sith almost instantly - despite the voices trying to calm him down.

Suddenly, a crimson light blazed into being. It was accompanied by the signature snap-hiss of a lightsaber ignition and what followed was near-silence. Bathed in a sinister red glow, Kaden blinked away his weariness and studied his three captors.

"Who are you?" His voice was hoarse and quiet, full of fear and apprehension.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Stepping towards the young man, understandably greatly confused by what's going on, was a tall and powerfully built middle-aged man, golden of hair and blue of eyes. While some of the Jedi accompanying him reached for their sabers, Thurion halted them and slowly approached the Pureblood.

"My name is Thurion Heavenshield, I'm a Jedi Master," he told him, maintaining eye contact at all times. "You're on planet Voss. We found your escape pod drifting in space, and at first we thought it was empty. But its design was... well, ancient. We wanted to find out more, where it came from. Where you came from." With a nod of his head towards the medical staff, they along with the other Jedi cleared out, leaving the two alone in the sterile room.

"Why don't you tell me your name, son?"

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

Tense moments passed with only the hum of a lightsaber and the quiet beeps of a monitoring machine filling the uneasy tension. The Sith eyed Thurion quizzically; uncertainty defined in his yellow irises. Cracked lips formed a word but no sound came out. A tendril on his chin twitched and then a buzzing whoosh echoed throughout the medbay. The red glow of his lightsaber disappeared and silence befell the pair.

"Voss?" He croaked, after a minute. "There's no Jedi on Voss."

For the first time, Kaden looked around. Analytical eyes studied the medbay for a time before flicking back to Thurion.

"... Am I a prisoner?"

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"There are now," Thurion informed the young man, eyeing him while summoning a chair before sitting down in a rather casual manner. Thumbs began to twiddle as the two observed one another.

"No, you are not a prisoner. You're a guest," he then replied calmly yet decisively, motioning towards the hospital bed for him to sit. "The Order of the Silver Jedi have been the protectors of this corner of the galaxy for years. Voss is our headquarters, though we are scattered more or less equally throughout the sector to provide aid to the many worlds working with us."

He stopped himself. "I won't go into more detail, as to who we are - there will be plenty of time for that."

His head tilted to the side ever so slighty as he posed the Pureblood a question. "Tell me, what is the last thing you remember before waking up? Did someone put you in that escape pod against your will?"

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

Thoughtful analysis was evident on the pureblood's angular face as he listened to Thurion talk and continued for a time after the man had finished speaking. The expression gradually turned sour as the Sith appeared to recall prior events. With a small shake of his head, he scoffed weakly and remained seated in the escape pod.

"Me, a guest of the Jedi." The words crawled out of Kaden's mouth in a whisper, carrying undertones of disbelief and sarcasm with them. A moment passed before he spoke again, a direct response to the last question, though by this point he had broken eye contact with Thurion. "No."

A sigh.

"I ejected myself."

The Sith licked his cracked lips and returned his gaze to meet Thurion's. "I was on a Star Cruiser, en route to Korriban from Nar Shadaa, when it was attacked." A tendril on his chin twitched as he recalled the memory. "You called my pod ancient. How long have I been drifting for?"

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"I see," Thurion remarked with brow slightly furrowed, hand grooming his beard while pondering. The natural question which followed spoken by the young Pureblood had him hesitate on how to approach the situation. How does one tell someone everyone they ever knew are long dead? Or the state of the galaxy, for that matter?

He leaned forward in his seat, hands on his knees. "The pod you now sit in hails from a different era entirely. Our records show the technology used was decommissioned millennias ago. Son... you've been asleep and adrift for over 4,000 galactic standard years."

Watching the young man process the information, Thurion couldn't help but go for his hand to offer his support, if he would let him. "I won't pretend to know what it feels like, being told everyone and everything you knew are long gone. You may think this is some Jedi trick, but it's true. It is 450 ABY - that's 'After the Battle of Yavin'."

The Jedi Master sighed. "I will see to it that you are properly brought up to speed on the state of the galaxy and its current factions, should you choose to remain with us. But if you do not, then know that the Sith Empire you know no longer exists, and hasn't for thousands of years. The world will not be how you remember it."

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

Instinctively, Kaden retracted his hand from Thurion's as the Jedi informed him of the truth. There was nothing else to do but listen and so the Sith did. And then he sat. In silence.

It must have been minutes before he stirred, though those minutes were marked with great inner turmoil which was likely evident to the Master sitting opposite. Many strong emotions cascaded through Kaden's body and eventually drove the Sith to jerk his head to the side - over the lip of the pod - and vomit.

A 4,500 year old meal lay strewn across the otherwise clean medbay floor; the perpetrator of which rested limply on the side of the pod facing away from Thurion.

"What now?" He asked weakly, despondently.

His gaze was unfocused and unmoving; filled with great sadness and despair. Somewhere within, though, a small amount of relief made its presence known.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"Ah... Don't worry about that, someone will come clean it up," he assured him, having risen from his seat to give him a friendly pat on the back as he recovered from his vomiting. "Just your body responding to the cryo-sleep, is all. Your bodily functions have just been kickstarted after millennia of lying dormant, it is only normal."

With a firm yet steady hand Thurion laid him back to rest in the pod, his hand resting upon his shoulder. "Well, you are obviously in no condition to go wander off on your own. You can stay here for as long as you want, Voss is open to anyone without ill will." His face turned solemn as he spoke next, however.

"Son, you should know that... there are not many Sith Purebloods around, these days. There was," he rubbed his bottom lip, "a pandemic, centuries ago. Many races and species were rendered extinct by the so-named Gulag Virus. Korriban and many other worlds were hit pretty hard." He paused, leaving room for him to process. "Just in case you catch people staring."

Sitting back down in the chair, Thurion remained by his side and would do so until either asked otherwise or his duties demanded him elsewhere. Thumbs began to twiddle again. "You never told me your name. Or would you rather I continue calling you 'son'?"

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

The pureblood let his rather limp body be guided back into the escape pod, though he sighed despondently as he did so. He remained seemingly lifeless until Thurion began talking about the plague. His eyes flicked to meet the Master's own.

"What," he uttered; a reflex to the news rather than a question. "... My people are nearly extinct?"

The tendrils adorning his chin seemed to twitch in unison, though Kaden's face remained borderline stoic. He broke eye contact once more, his gaze fixed on his boots.

"This... This is a lot to take in," he finally stated with a shake of his head. "My mother..."

If the room wasn't a cacophony of gloom, it certainly was now. Kaden shook his head again after a moment and looked back to Thurion. "My name is Kaden, I am... Was... A Sith Acolyte. I was training under Darth Traxu on Nar Shaddaa, though he was... severely undeserving of that title." The pureblood cleared his throat and continued. "I knew a lot about him and his illicit operations; also knew I'd go nowhere serving under his fething red lekku. I secretly arranged for transport back to Korriban to report him and request a new master... I'm guessing he had something to do with where I am now."

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

"Kaden," the elder repeated the youngster's name while sat grooming his golden beard, taking in the extraordinary circumstances of the Pureblood for himself. So much could be learned from him; not only about their ancient enemy, but also about the state of the galaxy milliennia ago - details lost over the course of history, either by accident or willful acts, or simply due to the passage of time. A Jedi always seeks knowledge, but more than this the entire galaxy could benefit from learning about their past.

His mind raced with thoughts, however Thurion realised of course that such questions would have to wait. The lad was in no shape to delve into his past any time soon, and as he made mention of his mother the Jedi Master couldn't help but frown, able to empathise due to losing his own mother long ago. Master Asha may not have been the one to give birth to him, but she had been his first true parental figure ever since she found him on Pelagon, raising him as her own. He owed everything to her.

"I am sorry for your loss, Kaden. Losing a mother is..." he sighed, "...terrible."

"At least you may take solace in knowing whoever this Darth Traxu was, he is long gone. Not even the greatest of Sith Lord can prolong their life for 4,000 years. Time may have defeated him, but you did not let him claim victory over you, Kaden. You proved stronger than him."

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

Amber eyes registered the pain on Thurion's face; ridged ears noticed the strain in his voice. A shared loss - perhaps the first step that lead to Kaden's shift in allegiance.

Then, the pureblood snorted; a breath of pure contempt at the mention of Traxu's name.

"Strength is the way of the Sith, of my people... But being frozen for millennia is nearly the opposite. Traxu likely thought me dead, my victory is as shallow as a puddle on Tatooine."

He sighed.

"The force manipulates our destinies in peculiar ways. Why am I here?"

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Thurion leaned back in his seat and smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, the way I see it, you are no longer a member of the Sith Order. Whichever iteration existed in your time is long gone too, rendering your membership non-existing. Tell me I'm wrong."

He rose from his chair, brushing away the creases of his robes. "That it does, Kaden. We all come to understand this at some point in our lives. I did a long time ago." He then reached out to place a hand upon the Pureblood's shoulder. "Shall we find out why it has brought you here?"

Grabbing hold of his arm to help him out of the pod to stand for the first time in millennia, Thurion offered his support should he require it. "Can you walk?"

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

The pureblood shrugged within the confines of his escape pod. "You're not wrong," he agreed, meeting Thurion's eyes with his own. A awkward tingle blossomed in Kaden's gut as the man placed his hand on the pureblood's shoulder. His question was enticing, however, and Kaden found himself climbing out of the escape pod.

He gladly accepted Thurion's assistance as the weakness of millennia-long cryosleep and the weight of ancient Sith Warrior armour dragged him down.

"I think so," he declared, swaying ever so slightly on his feet.

A droid on wheels, flat, small and circular, entered the medbay and drove over to the mess Kaden had made previously. It buzzed and whizzed as it rolled over the vomit; sucking up the majority of it with ease and then returning that section of tiled floor to the uniformed sheen of the medbay with a quick brush. It beeped as it sped off.

"Heh, smart," the pureblood mumbled to himself.

His hand, still gripping Thurion's forearm, relaxed slightly as he looked back to the master.

"Where are we going?"

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

The young man proved heavier than at first thought, owing much to the ancient-yet-pristine armour he wore, but together they raised Kaden from his slumber until he stood on weary legs, having not been in use for millennia. As he wobbly took his first steps Thurion lended his strength, keeping a hand on his shoulder while Kaden held onto his free arm, they made for the exit to step out into a corridor which would take them to the main hall and entrance of the Silver Temple.

"Outside. Fresh air will do those rusty old lungs of yours good, don't you think?" The first people the two passed by were a pair of padawans, stopping dead in their tracks to witness the crimson skin of a Pureblood for the first time in their lives. Thurion gave them a stern look over his shoulder and they promptly scurried off. "Do not concern yourself with people staring - they have likely never seen one of your kind before, nor expect to see one walking around on Voss."

Thurion had always loathed the notion of judging someone by their looks or heritage; everyone is created and grow up different, and all deserve a chance to prove their quality. Even Sith, although the aging Jedi had surely met a number of individuals who had fallen so far that nothing of them remained but servitude to darkness, seeking only to make others' lives miserable. All he could do was pity them.

They arrived at the main hall, an absolutely enormous chamber with stairs leading to the upper levels, and at the centre there hovered a large crystal with deep connections to the Force. People of every species imaginable strolled these halls, as the Silver Temple was open to all whom seek knowledge or spiritual guidance. "No Jedi on Voss, huh," Thurion chuckled for himself.

[member="Kaden"]​

 

[Kaden]

Each step was a struggle for the recently awoken Pureblood. His feet dragged on the lavish floors of Voss Temple as Thurion helped the Sith walk. Curious gazes were fixated on Kaden as they moved through the massive building, though he didn't notice them for the most part. His own amber gaze was fixated on the architecture, which thoroughly impressed the man. The slum palace of Nar Shaddaa which was his own home for the six months previous to all of this simply did not compare.

Before that, he was used to red sand and the imposing facades of the Sith Academy.

This was a shock, one that threatened to take what little breath he had away.

And then, upon seeing the main hall for the first time, it did. A sharp, deep, gasp rattled his body as his widened eyes drank in the sight. Though his connection to the force had been weakened through years upon years of cryosleep, Kaden could feel the presence of the force here -- strong, and light.

The pureblood blinked away surprise and awe for a few moments and spent the next minute taking it all in.

"I've never seen anything quite like this," He managed to say through the breathlessness.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"]​