Imperial Dust

[Iniquitous Ren]

Iniquitous Ren pondered in her chambers on the Resurgent Class Destroyer "Anarchy". Her thoughts were vague and were lost to her flying over her head and swirling around inside of her cranium intriguing her as to what they meant or to what purpose they served. Her red velvet sheets comforting her as she laid there swallowed in the tranquility of her own oasis.

She closed her eyes and watched the ceiling shift into various shapes before her eyes the fabric of her psyche taking hold of her bodily function. She clenched the bed with her hands and was enveloped by its warm embrace, She entered a deep meditation feeding on her Rage and Sorrow but unlike most dark siders she integrated peace and serenity. Akirrae regularly found herself wavering the barrier between light and dark but it never mattered to her the force was a gift granted to her why she should only use part of it?

In her meditation, she saw visions of their destination the Lehon system home to the Rakatan Empire. She smiled and took solace in the thought of her success and subsequent rise to power. The twin sliding doors that opened to her quarters slid open revealing to the captain on the other side of the horrors that resided within the woman's room. Artifacts, Relics, Books, Remains of ancient rituals Iniquitous' room was essentially a stagnant seance.

Ripped from her desires of victory Iniquitous sat upright on her bed taking note of the Captains intrusion.

"It is my hope that you have a reason for interrupting my rest. Please have a seat relax."

The woman extended a palm gently slid a chair to the middle of the room, With the other hand, she tore the Captain from the doorway and sat him in the chair. She used the force to lift herself from the bed and prop herself in front of the man with an expressionless face. This was especially hard as on the inside she was infuriated with being interjected but she had had yet to hear the man's motive.

"Ma' mm we have...We have only a few more parsecs before our destination...The Admiral was the one who told me to inform you not I."

Her eyes narrowed as soon as he finished his sentence. If there was one thing she hated in this galaxy it was cowardice and fear to accomplish what must be done. Iniquitous took 3 steps back from the man and turned away from him her anger radiating off her like the heat from a flame.

"Get out...Get out right now."

The man got up riled and in a hurry, The door closed behind him freeing Ren to release all her built up anger. She grabbed both her temples and shouted in a fit of rage the power of her voice shaking the room and empowering its contents.

The ship was ripped from hyperspace as it hovered over the Lehon system the secrets of a forgotten empire crisp and hot to the touch.

[member="Orex Mauda"]

[member="Salis"]

[member="Mike V'Trechen"]

[member="Demitry Draskovits"]

 

[Mauda]

Arms folded and deep in thought, Orex stood at the edge of a Rakatan Beach. The slow waters creeping around his boots. He gazed out over the horizon, passing his eye over the graveyard before him. Rakata Prime was a technological artefact within itself. A graveyard for fragments of the ancient past. But what drew him most was the intense energy. The Dark Side.

The Star Forge was a marvel of its time. Endlessly churning out an unstoppable force that beat the Galaxy into submission far quicker than any could have imagined. And its fragments remained. Having been destroyed at the end of the War, chunks of the Forge had remained in orbit around the system's star. They were prime subjects of study and of immense value to The Emergence. But Orex had taken a detour. Before going to Abo, the Star, he decided to briefly explore the surface of Rakata. An ancient planet with an immense past. It was littered in debris, skeletons and ancient structures.

As he poured over the many oddities and lesser valuable artefacts he had come across, those voices returned. Orex had a somewhat unique form of Sense. Instead of a feeling. It was Voices. What attracted him to distant artefacts of great energy were the faint voices that resided at the back of his mind. The closer he came to the Force, the louder these voices became. And now they were infecting his thoughts. A low murmuring, one of pain and anger. There was no mistaking its Dark Side origin. But without him moving, these murmurs were growing.

They were approaching him.

Orex slowly pulled himself from his thoughts and focused on the chatter in his ears. Whispers, shouts, screams. The collection of what resides within a soul, slowly getting closer. And then it hit him like a weak wave, The Dark Side suddenly spiked and the voices plateaued. Whatever was approaching had arrived and now sat still. Orex clenched his hands and reached out to whatever it was, shouting back into the voices. Communicating.

[member="Iniquitous Ren"]

[member="Salis"]

[member="Mike V'Trechen"]

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

The sands of Lehon were shiny and tingled between her toes. She sat benevolently on the beaches of Lehon taking in its scenery and marveling at its rich and fruitful history. Shrapnel and pieces of metal littered the beach and ocean yet continued to hold her interest nonetheless. The shards were nothing to an untrained being but to her they held meaning and purpose what appeared to be useless proved to be beneficial to her pursuit of power. The power of the dark side was strong on this world even more on this beach.

Cranes, Droids, Troops and other machinery ripped apart the hull of a large tower though it appeared to only be part of a larger structure. The droids went inside with loads of gear searching for anything of interest a manifest or a recording. The Star Forge. The swaying of trees in the distance and the waving motion of the ocean invited her beckoning her attention as she got up and began to step into the water until her entire body was emerged and her psyche entered a dream phase.

She floated atop the water and communed with the force its psalm resonating with her and giving her insight to the life around her. The call of a separate entity reached out to her from across the way somewhere on the planet they called to her and begged her to answer. She awoke and felt the presence of another force user. She left the ocean its tide chasing after her as she approached the officer on sight.

"There is an unknown personal on sight...Eliminate them and be weary of them they are immensely powerful in the force...I will accompany you to investigate this threat."

[member="Orex Mauda"]

[member="Salis"]

[member="Mike V'Trechen"]

[member="Demitry Draskovits"]

 

[Mauda]

Orex's head watched as transport craft descended from outside the planet. It was clear now that whoever had come, had done so on a mission. He felt the darkness of another continue to approach, coming closer yet never quite close enough. It remained distant but was undoubtedly on the planet. He turned from the sea and made his way up the beach, seeking out a good vantage point.

Orex quickly navigated through the ancient grass and bushes, finding himself atop a rock overlooking the beach. Scanning the waters, he laid eyes on a small collection of droids and deconstruction equipment. A coincidence he had no interest in entertaining. He was here to assess the value of this world, and now somebody had not only arrived doing the same thing, but was taking action. His anger slowly boiled as he gazed at the various Officers and Droids making their way back and forth across the sands.

And then he saw her.

Rage filled his chest and was coursing through his veins. The woman he had encountered on Abafar, but this time Demitry was not with him. He knew he should not have left without finishing her. Regardless of the injuries he sustained, she should have died there. And now she was here, of all places.

She spoke to what looked like an officer briefly, who then went on to initiate a search party. She knew he was here, he could feel it. They could feel each other. Orex's anger spilled over and began to detriment logical thought. His mentality switched. He was not going to tolerate another incursion. She would Not interrupt his searches again. Without allowing another minute to pass, he dropped from his vantage point directly in front of [member="Iniquitous Ren"] and her search party. With an un-ignited lighsaber in hand he began to reach out and infect the bones and joints of those vulnerable.

Landing with a muffled thud onto the sand, Orex locked eyes with Iniquitous, allowing his Mask to do its work. He was almost shaking but kept his anger contained for the time being. He allowed a moment to pass before he spoke, watching for any movement from the party. When he finally spoke, his deep, artificial voice reverberated with a quiet rage.

"I will not let you interrupt me again. You are interfering in the greater future of the Galaxy. I will not tolerate it."

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

Iniquitous' expression became perturbed when she came to the realization of who she was to face. His movements and appearance were familiar and it greatly discouraged her to the fact the she felt no similarities in his force signature from they last time they crossed paths. He had changed he was stronger more experienced in the firce and his life and his presence reflected that. She felt a slight small burning sensation in her joints feeling the man's power as he reached out causing her companions to collapse writhing in agony.

His lightsaber was sitting in his palm ready at the ignition. She approached him ever so lightly keeping her pupils focused on his hilt, As he spoke her anger grew gradually. After she summoned the Krayt dragon and fell unconscious her mind forgot many of the details but even then what was left was enough to light the bonfire inside her soul.

"Your vision of the future is a lie. Your dreams will never come to fruition your empire will fall before it ever rose and most importantly you die right here...Right now at this moment. I've grown exponentially since we last crossed blades and now my power shall be your demise, Your fall will be my ascension and then I will cleanse my rage."

Her blade ignited and she pointed it at the man ready for him to attack for when he does she will kill him with a special move she's been perfecting.

[member="Orex Mauda"]

[member="Salis"]

[member="Mike V'Trechen"]

[member="Demitry Draskovits"]

 

[Mauda]

Orex penetrated the bones of her companions and twisted them. He wrenched their tendons out of place and detached many organs. They were left writhing, dying masses. He focused again on Iniquitous. As she spoke he frowned, peering into her eyes as he did so. Ignorance and Ego clouded her and angered him. He ignited his own Black blade in response.

"A lie!?" He growled at her, his Mask contorting his voice further.

"This Galaxy has been drowning in Lies for millennia upon Millennia. You serve only to perpetuate this!" Orex was shouting at this point, pushing his draining rage behind every word.

"And like any Hindrance, you will be removed."

Orex gripped his burning Lightsaber, the Crystal within further amplifying his draining Aura. Nihilus began to push in his mind, pressuring him to go further. To wrench her life and devour it whole. But he knew he could not lest he become addicted, decaying.

But that push was slowly getting stronger.

[member="Iniquitous Ren"]

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

Iniquitous felt a draining presence befall her body decaying the very force around her but it was nothing foreign to her. She sat there complacent in the man's ability to withstand Nihilus' influence but she sensed his resolve weakening. He couldn't be able to bare this intense pressure before falling subject to it she simply needed to hold her own long enough to see him boil over at the hands of his pretentious desire. She rushed the man sending a tidal wave of sand flying towards the man.

She leapt high above it to land behind the man and unleash a barrage of strikes intent on separating his head from his shoulders. Troopers rushed over after hearing the clash and surrounded the two. All of their blasters were set on Orex a few of them bringing heavy machinery such as heavy cannons and rocket launchers. She locked blades with the man to peer into his mind and weaken her opponent.

"Your weak...You will fall...You will retract your blade and allow me to end your miserable existence. Why? Why do you persist? Is it your anger your intense rage that beckons your call? No...Its your pain...You didn't much enjoy being a servant did you? I couldn't imagine you would."

The woman pulled back and re-positioned herself, Satisfied with her evaluation she leapt out of the way and while she did a glint of animosity shined in the their eyes they aimed their weapons and fired at the man with not even a hint of hesitation. Iniquitous turned her head towards the dead soldiers on the ground their corpses being covered in ugly wounds and being digested by the beach like the pieces of shrapnel that scattered across it.

"A Shame. It seems they didn't adhere to my advice."

[member="Orex Mauda"]

[member="Salis"]

[member="Mike V'Trechen"]

[member="Demitry Draskovits"]

 

[Mauda]

Sand flew into his face, blinding one eye, but his Mask had the other contained and gave him enough sight to put up the defence he needed. Iniquitous attacked wildly and Orex responded with equally frantic defensive swings. They clashed and locked, giving him some respite and time to further draw from her. He saw the troopers surround him but locked his eye on Iniquitous, allowing his Mask to pull from her, but he did so himself. He reached out and grabbed her mortal life by its roots and pulled, feeling it pour into him.

Something he had never done.

He felt her life pour into his own, and for a moment, there was relief. His anger and his pain, his longing. Everything evaporated in those moments as he devoured her, and it took him entirely by surprise. This is was Nihilus fell victim to, and Orex felt it creeping up on him also. Then she said those words. She attacked his past, addressed his slave childhood. What desire he had was now replaced by nothing but pure anger. The empty chaos took a hold and he shuddered with fury.

She disengaged and leapt away. Orex was left surprised and.. unfinished. He needed it. He needed more, and he would get it. But the footfalls of Troopers and the spinning of Rotary Cannons brought him back to reality and sharpened his focus. His anger infected his flesh poured over his nerves. He began to swing his bade in response to the bolts ahead of him and ignored the searing pains in his back. Spinning to defend himself from every angle he knew he could not survive. The burns on his flesh were piling up, bolts beating down on every part of his body, some even knocking into his Mask.

He launched forward and with a shout, sliced a hole in the ring of men. Outside their little arena he was free of rear fire and could defend his front. But there were too many bolts to keep up with and his anger wouldn't protect his flesh for much longer. So instead he reached out with a free hand and tore a trooper into his grip. With throat in hand he quickly drained the man of his being. Devoured his signature in the Force and left him a blackened husk. With the corpse, he launched it back at the crowd at tremendous speeds.

And there was relief. Dangerous Relief.

With the distraction executed, he leapt into the crowd of fumbling men and tore through them with his blade. One after the other, limb after limb he cut them down. Every swing with its own armada of anger. She would Dare use his past against him. He sent his blade through the head of the final trooper and, with smoking pock marks riddling his armoured cloak and body, he shouted.

"You.. DARE, speak of my past!"

He began to step forward, his blade carving a line in the sand and corpses that riddled it. His voice was a baritone, artificial shout with chaotic rage behind every word.

"You DARE call me Weak! Look at your Men!"

A lifeless corpse flew into his hand and was promptly drained of its colour, shrivelling at every bone and conjunction. Orex was indulging in what Nihilus had him do. And he would suffer for it in future. But his anger was clouding him.

"His soul is nothing! NOTHING! And yet you persist in your pathetic games!"

A primal shout left his mouth and with it, the chaos within him. He ran forward and beared down on Iniquitous with everything he could manage. Every swing an accumulation of what she had resurfaced within him, every clash delivered with the hatred of a young boy, beaten and starved. His past was catching up to him, and it was dishing out mountains of pain.

[member="Iniquitous Ren"]

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

Iniquitous' resolve weakened she felt the draining presence of Nihilus take its toll on her body. The force itself died around her, She winced in terrible agony as she felt the very binding that kept her tethered to the mortal realm being ripped from her body in a violent fashion. Force drain a power she was acquainted with even more now. She stood idly by while [member="Orex Mauda"] cut down troopers their heads flying from their bodies and into the air.

She smiled being able to almost see the lifeless expression on their faces as their helmets rained down upon her, She caught one of the heads and felt an eerie void emitting from the spirit not the usual absence of lie more like an detachment to existence. Rage sparked in mass amounts and was rushing at her with tremendous speed. Iniquitous bolted to her right to avoid a downward slash from Orex. Sparks flew as his blade grazed the sand but immediately was raised to strike at her again.

She jumped back to dodge it and Ignited her Lightsaber once more. She deflected his saber hatred, anger and pain fueling his strikes, She managed to push him away with a force push and retreated. He came at her eagerly and filled with respite. She pushed him once more and rushed at him twirling her blade. She batted his blade away from her creating an opening, A palm extended and a purple arc of energy originated from it attempting to strike the man.

"The dark side is strong but I am stronger. You cant defeat me you wont...Hmm wont you lash out at me like yiu did your master...It was such a bloody mess...And it entices me in more ways then one."

​A pink glow raised from her cheeks followed closely by a sadistic smile.

 

[Mauda]

A bolt of energy crackled from her palm before he could swing his Sabre back around and struck him in the chest. Orex flew metres back and landed on his back. Sand carved in his wake and kicked up in a cloud. He stood to his feet and locked gaze with Iniquitous yet again. There was a space between them inhabited by sand and corpses. Orex remained motionless, breathing heavily.

"The First Order is Dead. The Knights of Ren are nothing more than a child tugging on a dead parent. What is your motive? Why do you persist?"

[member="Iniquitous Ren"]

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

The surround land had been ruined, Left to rot among the rest of what's been forgotten in galactic history. Her paces were slow and condescending as she carefully made her way over to Orex cautiously maneuvering over the corpses and pieces of jagged metal. She stopped in front of the man taken back from the amount of rage he could produce at a single time. Though she was discreet about it she inspected her hand to observe welts from the lightning she struck.

Her power was faltering the force warped and twisted around her figure shaping it into an eerie red glow. She knelt down on one knee exhausted and on the edge of tipping over, All her emotions all her negativity was festering up to this moment. It was well beyond the point of boiling over. She stood to her feet and reached out with both hands the dark side presence on this world fueling her power, It was undeniable that she was weakened from Nihilus' efforts but her resolve was far from broken.

The ocean itself rose from its calm state and emerged as a land destroying typhoon and it was barreling towards the two. The wave picked up pieces of metal and aquatic life hurling at the two seconds from impact.

"This can't end well for either of us can it? Well then it's a shame...I would've liked to kill you myself."

[member="Orex Mauda"]

 

[Mauda]

Orex watched with cautious eyes as Iniquitous approached him. She gave no semblance of threat as she stepped over corpses and debris but Orex was not about to misinterpret a well-established threat. She stopped short of him, standing just in front, and proceeded to reach down. As he watched, Orex poured the Force through her body, letting it wash over her limbs and joints. She was exhausted, her barriers strained. He did not harm her, but kept the contingency in place.

The sounds of the calm ocean began to subside, soon replaced by increasing violence. Orex's head turned to face the sea, only to realise it was now a rapidly approaching Tsunami. His head snapped back to face Iniquitous. He felt the energy pulsating from her, washing over the land around them, but was completely blind to what she was doing until now. In a blink, he wrenched her foot out of its socket. He would have done more, maybe mortally wounded her. But he simply had no time, all he could do was give her the disadvantage.

They were already near the sea anyway. Orex turned and began to sprint, pounding across the sands towards the rocks. But even they weren't high enough. The flowing water was like a violent waterfall behind him. He heard its chaos slowly approaching him as he desperately made for the rocks. Moments away, he leapt toward where he stood much earlier on, catching the edge and pulling himself up. Just as he got to the top he heard the Tsunami smash against where he was moments before. As he resumed his sprint he felt the waters lap against his heels.

And the he was gone.

He felt himself thrown forward by an object. Metallic in nature and blunt. He cried out, only to be silenced by the in-flow of water. Almost choking he was dragged back into the waters. Blind and helpless, he was thrown around, smashing against corpses, metals and rocks. He thrashed against the gravity of the flow but to no avail, he couldn't fight. But he continued, arm and leg pounding in every direction. He gripped a body but seconds later, something hard smashed against his head, and in that moment, he fell away, into himself. He was unconscious.

The grass was black, decayed. The trees craning under their own weight as they slowly died. And in the middle of this slow death, lay Orex soaked and bloodied. Surrounded by dying life and debris. The Tsunami had slowly faded until it finally spewed him out and left him tens of miles away from where he began. He lay in a forest unconscious. And yet even in his sleep, he held influence on the life around him. Life that was no more, dying slowly as it crumbled beneath the death he radiated.

The winds blew gently through the dying leaves but otherwise, there was silence. Silence until Orex's coughing. He spluttered and choked, water and vomit evacuating him as he twisted over to allow his lungs to empty. He brought himself to his stomach as his body clenched and contorted to get the water out. Finally, he stopped, and lay still, half-awake with blood from his head feeding the dead soil.

[member="Iniquitous Ren"]

 

[Iniquitous Ren]

Iniquitous awaited his response as the tidal wave approached the shore at increasing speed while gradually growing in size. She took another step when feeling a massive wave of energy manifest from pure anger and rage, The man turned to face her and with incredible speed her ankle snapped causing her to collapse onto the sand unexpectedly. Her wrist tore on a piece of metal her blood staining the rusted shrapnel further adding to its brown color.

She barely had time to look up when the tsunami hit the shore with the force of a raging stampede. Orex sprinted away while she was first burrowed in sand and scrap then she along with the sand were ripped from the ground and into the air the current pulling her along with it. The wave crashed on a shuttle nearby and for a brief second Iniquitous was flung from the water and onto the ground. She was drenched and bleeding as the tide once again collided with her body damaging organs upon impact.

She submerged into the water unable to pull herself out, Scrap driftwood and other dangerous objects came flying at her. They cut her clothes they cut her ​slammed her against the ground repeatedly like a child's play thing. Her body couldn't take the pain anymore and she blacked out letting her body become limp and at the mercy of the ocean. She woke up sprawled across a stretcher her joints and limbs all bent in the opposite direction of what she remembered them to be.

Her body was in agony she wanted to die the pain was too much, Her body twitched and shook holding onto life by a single thread thin but made from titanium. Her eyes skimmed over her body its open wounds beginning to fester the sand only furthering her irritation. Her head turned to face the doctor running scans on her body, Out of pure anger and unkempt rage she lifted the man off the ground shattering his neck soon after. The droids looked shocked as he dropped to the ground dead.

They took her towards a ship the roar of its engine annoying Iniquitous to great extent. A man exited the ship and ran up to the woman looking flustered and confused at her injured state.

"Ma'mm we have conformation of a target inside the flora towards the east troopers have already arrived on the site and are ready when you are."

Iniquitous shot him a ugly glare filled with rage and discontent. In her state using up what little power she could muster on subordinates wasn't in her best interest so she spared him for the time being her rage growing at her powerless situation.

"Tell me...Does it look like i'm in any condition to give orders at the moment? You handle it and don't fail me."