Dawn Comes
Ragoon VI
Objective I
Actors: Ryv Maynard Treicolt Loske Treicolt Adhira Chandra Serena Rylvin Irveric Tavlar
Act I: Apogee or when the world began to tremble
The engines of an X-wing sounded through the valley parting the crests of two mountains. Their whine bounced between the snow-covered faces, struggling to match the roaring river currents on their path down the valley's centre. Rock formations on either side of the riverbed stuck up from the ground in softened spikes that stacked over one another. Finding a spot to land wasn't easy, but the scanners beeped a find soon enough. A snow-covered overhang presented itself near the peak of the northward mountain. As the starfighter approached, the snow blew aside in the throes of its engines, revealing the grey surface underneath. The vehicle lurched from the momentum it still retained as the landing gears set down on the stone.
Bernard felt uneasy in the ship's heart. His grasp tightened the ship controls. Questions that had been his companions on the journey to Ragoon VI still bounced around his mind, and he regarded the message that lingered on the X-wing's holo-display with disbelief, even as he re-read its contents. None of it was making sense.
The fighter's canopy was fogging up in the cold; a silence settled over its frame, only the river murmured in the valley below. Ragoon's naturally preserved beauty lent it inherent tranquillity that the fighter's engines had temporarily pierced, but as the snow settled the intrusion seemed forgiven.
But turmoil still threatened to break the cage Bernard diligently maintained out into that serenity as his gaze lingered on the letters on the holo-display. He tore himself away from the text and found his knuckles gone white from tension. Sighing it away, he let go of the leather-wrapped control levers, leaving behind small indentations, to reach for the jacket draped around the pilot seat. As he struggled to put it on in the confined space, he flipped the canopy control-switch with his elbow, nearly breaking it off with unrestrained vigour.
The air hissed as it rushed through the small gap that formed in the groove that sealed the ship's canopy and frame. The stale smell of life-support systems dissolved in the cold freshness of Ragoon's atmosphere filling the cockpit. When the canopy raised half-way, Bernard rose from his seat and, deftly, jumped out of the X-wing.
His feet hit the stone with a quiet thud. The pull of gravity and solid ground beneath his boots reassured him with their stability, even as his resolve threatened to falter. This entire situation seemed so bizarre. Irrational, almost implausible. Surely the message had been false. Some hoax to lure him to Ragoon for an ambush? He shook the apprehension loose. Indecision was unbecoming of a Jedi. Their duties demanded clarity of thought and purpose in action. There was only one way to find out the truth. He turned to the X-wing to lock it down, then departed up the mountain.
The journey to its crest was a silent one. Most of the Padawan's attention was devoted to the mess of emotion that stirred in him. Ragoon's beauty had barely registered in his mind. Only when his feet were planted firmly on the other side of the mountain's peak did he pause to take in the sight that stretched down into the valley before him. Snow blanketed the mountain face for hundreds of metres. Verdant patches of grass occasionally broke up the white landscape below trees which stood defiant against the wind. His eyes were drawn to the flickering orange of a pyre far below, however, around which several shadowed figures stood assembled.
Whatever harmony the natural beauty could impart was lost on the Padawan. Yet, despite the lack of attention he paid that tranquillity, he felt the sense of vertigo that had overcome him past the mountain's crest bleed away as he regarded the flames in the distance. His right hand balled into a fist, and he forced his legs loose while reluctance gave way to purpose. The pyre drew him like a moth to a flame, and he marched through the snow towards it.
Every second bled into the next on his march. Eternity may have passed, but if only felt like moments as he crossed the vast distance.
They weren't ..., how could they?
The closer he got to the pyre, the more the precarious resolve he'd mustered began to crack and teeter, barely balanced against the tide of emotion that relentlessly crashed against it. He dreaded every step he took; winced as the first details of those assembled were wrested free from evening's shadow by fire's light. It had to be some kind of sick prank, surely?
He reached the edge of the small gathering, pushing past unfamiliar faces, always towards the pyre. His eyes never left the flames as he approached. The sea of grief around him parted as he razed a path towards his singular focus. Without even reaching out through the Force, he recognized who it was they were grieving. His presence was unmistakable in their midst. He stopped just short of the flames, standing above the crowd atop the pyre's hill.
Somehow the unpredictable pattern of the pyre's flame was the only thing that made any sense to him. The blaze transfixed him, swallowed him in its utter anarchy and offered solace to the embers already burning inside his chest. It drew out the emotional turmoil, barely tempered by the Jedi mantras, and acted as kindling for the fire that began to consume his world.
The shadows that trailed behind each person there took on a foreboding character. The loose ring they formed around the pyre became a wall that caged the Padawan in with him, the focus of all emotion that raged just below that steadfast facade. His gaze remained locked with the flames. The blazing heat pushed against his face, and he could barely keep his eyes open against the brightness of it all. The levee that kept his memories at bay so mercifully after the encounter on the Embrace began to splinter.
"Why?" He whispered.
His gaze tore away from the fire and wandered the faces of those who had assembled. It caught on three familiar figures. At the base of the pyre's hill they stood, the people he'd come to trust. Loske, Maynard, Ryv. Friends as he called them; mourning loss. The expression he bore contorted as his mind began to methodically break apart any delusions it conjured to protect itself from this reality, and slowly that ever-present emotionless mask he wore shattered.
The confusion, that sense of apprehension which had accompanied him to this point faded away as betrayal sunk its claws into his heart and seized his breath. He balled his hands into fists as he looked down on them full of anger and accusation.
Did they mourn the loss of that monster? The man who had personally carved the scars that now marred his body and nearly claimed his life in that prison chamber? Fine. They could side with Lanik. The name alone sent venomous echoes through his mind.
He turned back towards the pyre and relaxed his fists. One hand dropped towards the sabre hilt at his side and detached it from the utility belt. His hands trembled, finding none of the reassurance he sought in the weapon. He took a deep breath but had to force it out through all the tension. He wasn't sure if he had the willpower to do what needed to be done, but if it didn't stop here, then who else would have to suffer the Dark?
If it was their wish to join the traitor, so be it.
Bernard felt uneasy in the ship's heart. His grasp tightened the ship controls. Questions that had been his companions on the journey to Ragoon VI still bounced around his mind, and he regarded the message that lingered on the X-wing's holo-display with disbelief, even as he re-read its contents. None of it was making sense.
The fighter's canopy was fogging up in the cold; a silence settled over its frame, only the river murmured in the valley below. Ragoon's naturally preserved beauty lent it inherent tranquillity that the fighter's engines had temporarily pierced, but as the snow settled the intrusion seemed forgiven.
But turmoil still threatened to break the cage Bernard diligently maintained out into that serenity as his gaze lingered on the letters on the holo-display. He tore himself away from the text and found his knuckles gone white from tension. Sighing it away, he let go of the leather-wrapped control levers, leaving behind small indentations, to reach for the jacket draped around the pilot seat. As he struggled to put it on in the confined space, he flipped the canopy control-switch with his elbow, nearly breaking it off with unrestrained vigour.
The air hissed as it rushed through the small gap that formed in the groove that sealed the ship's canopy and frame. The stale smell of life-support systems dissolved in the cold freshness of Ragoon's atmosphere filling the cockpit. When the canopy raised half-way, Bernard rose from his seat and, deftly, jumped out of the X-wing.
His feet hit the stone with a quiet thud. The pull of gravity and solid ground beneath his boots reassured him with their stability, even as his resolve threatened to falter. This entire situation seemed so bizarre. Irrational, almost implausible. Surely the message had been false. Some hoax to lure him to Ragoon for an ambush? He shook the apprehension loose. Indecision was unbecoming of a Jedi. Their duties demanded clarity of thought and purpose in action. There was only one way to find out the truth. He turned to the X-wing to lock it down, then departed up the mountain.
The journey to its crest was a silent one. Most of the Padawan's attention was devoted to the mess of emotion that stirred in him. Ragoon's beauty had barely registered in his mind. Only when his feet were planted firmly on the other side of the mountain's peak did he pause to take in the sight that stretched down into the valley before him. Snow blanketed the mountain face for hundreds of metres. Verdant patches of grass occasionally broke up the white landscape below trees which stood defiant against the wind. His eyes were drawn to the flickering orange of a pyre far below, however, around which several shadowed figures stood assembled.
Whatever harmony the natural beauty could impart was lost on the Padawan. Yet, despite the lack of attention he paid that tranquillity, he felt the sense of vertigo that had overcome him past the mountain's crest bleed away as he regarded the flames in the distance. His right hand balled into a fist, and he forced his legs loose while reluctance gave way to purpose. The pyre drew him like a moth to a flame, and he marched through the snow towards it.
Every second bled into the next on his march. Eternity may have passed, but if only felt like moments as he crossed the vast distance.
They weren't ..., how could they?
The closer he got to the pyre, the more the precarious resolve he'd mustered began to crack and teeter, barely balanced against the tide of emotion that relentlessly crashed against it. He dreaded every step he took; winced as the first details of those assembled were wrested free from evening's shadow by fire's light. It had to be some kind of sick prank, surely?
He reached the edge of the small gathering, pushing past unfamiliar faces, always towards the pyre. His eyes never left the flames as he approached. The sea of grief around him parted as he razed a path towards his singular focus. Without even reaching out through the Force, he recognized who it was they were grieving. His presence was unmistakable in their midst. He stopped just short of the flames, standing above the crowd atop the pyre's hill.
Somehow the unpredictable pattern of the pyre's flame was the only thing that made any sense to him. The blaze transfixed him, swallowed him in its utter anarchy and offered solace to the embers already burning inside his chest. It drew out the emotional turmoil, barely tempered by the Jedi mantras, and acted as kindling for the fire that began to consume his world.
The shadows that trailed behind each person there took on a foreboding character. The loose ring they formed around the pyre became a wall that caged the Padawan in with him, the focus of all emotion that raged just below that steadfast facade. His gaze remained locked with the flames. The blazing heat pushed against his face, and he could barely keep his eyes open against the brightness of it all. The levee that kept his memories at bay so mercifully after the encounter on the Embrace began to splinter.
"Why?" He whispered.
His gaze tore away from the fire and wandered the faces of those who had assembled. It caught on three familiar figures. At the base of the pyre's hill they stood, the people he'd come to trust. Loske, Maynard, Ryv. Friends as he called them; mourning loss. The expression he bore contorted as his mind began to methodically break apart any delusions it conjured to protect itself from this reality, and slowly that ever-present emotionless mask he wore shattered.
The confusion, that sense of apprehension which had accompanied him to this point faded away as betrayal sunk its claws into his heart and seized his breath. He balled his hands into fists as he looked down on them full of anger and accusation.
Did they mourn the loss of that monster? The man who had personally carved the scars that now marred his body and nearly claimed his life in that prison chamber? Fine. They could side with Lanik. The name alone sent venomous echoes through his mind.
He turned back towards the pyre and relaxed his fists. One hand dropped towards the sabre hilt at his side and detached it from the utility belt. His hands trembled, finding none of the reassurance he sought in the weapon. He took a deep breath but had to force it out through all the tension. He wasn't sure if he had the willpower to do what needed to be done, but if it didn't stop here, then who else would have to suffer the Dark?
If it was their wish to join the traitor, so be it.
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