Just Another Dream

[GhostOfProtocol]

[member="William Raxis"]​

The Nightshadow​

852 ABY​

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They drifted.

No direction in mind, Kei hadn't given the bridge officers one. Instead, they left The Nightshadow drifting through space, somewhere near The Sith Empire territory last they checked. The bridge officers were left giving the orders to the rest of the crew, Kei hadn't given them anything to work with. They hadn't seen Kei since the Deneba incident, since he'd returned from the planet.

They couldn't refer to it as anything else. To them, it was simply The Deneba Incident. Kei had gone down to the old Jedi temple to collect some belongings and ended up face to face with his former mentor [member="Veiere Arenais] who had fallen, become an enemy of the Jedi, of the light. None of the crew had since Kei since his return, since he'd simply told them to leave.

Kei hadn't left his quarters. He hadn't even changed since Deneba. It had to have been going on a week since Kei went face to face with the man that he trusted, the man who was the definition of a Jedi. It had been a week since Kei had learned of the resurgence of The Dark Jedi, lead by Veiere and his little goons, commanding legions of Stormtroopers and soliders.

Veiere had been a Jedi once.

Kei had been studying. His quarters was plastered in paper, each sheet having a scribble or a scrawl upon it. Kei had been researching, two holotablets lay unused, completely out of power. He'd been researching The Dark Jedi, learning more about the order that Veiere had attempted to revive. No, not attempted. He had succeeded, he'd brought them back successfully, he'd brought them back without a failure.

He sigh depressingly, shaking his head.

"Veiere. Why? Why did you fall?"

 

[William Raxis]

In the Space Surrounding The Nightshadow
Aboard Pirate Vessel Twisted Sister

It had taken years of meditation and searching for knowledge. On his sanctuary of Sharatan V, there had been little else to do but practice, meditate, and search. Darth Serennus, once known as William Raxis, stood in the bridge of the Ugly Corvette, Twisted Sister. It had taken years of searching for the right holocrons, the right books, the right ancient scrolls. It had taken years to find out how to find his son. But it had gotten him here. The Force had lead him here. He could feel his son near him, so close, yet so far. Something would need to be done.

Sharatan V was a pirate planet, and for the right credits, one could get them to do anything. Including dragging them across the galaxy, it seemed. No matter. The captain hailed the vessel, demanding cooperation in a boarding.

But William had a different concern. His mind was reaching out, his presence in the Force, seeking the one so like his own, yet just different enough. His son was a Jedi. Pitiful. This would have to change. His voice reached, the faintest whisper at the edges of one's consciousness:

Come to me. My son.

[member="Kei Raxis"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

[member=William Raxis"]​

The Nightshadow​

852 ABY​

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The bridge crew were all on their feet as the order to stand down and be boarded came through the communicators. Those who were armed would reach for their own firearms, all looking towards the first officer for advice. The Nightshaodw was rarely outgunned by pirates but this seemed to be an exeption. The first officer couldn't offer advice, he didn't know what to do. He knew that he wasn't Kei, he knew that he couldn't reassure them.

He gave the order to ready to be boarded.

That was all the first officer could do. He couldn't resist against the pirates, he could only let them board. Once they were on the ship, the crew who were armed could try and fight back, go down swinging and take as many pirates with him as possible. That was the goal, the first officer had decided to himself. Go down swinging, take so many of the pirates with them and leave them nothing left to steal or plunder.

Come to me. My son.

Kei was glaring at his papers, he knew nothing was going on. He wasn't informed, he didn't need to be informed. The force informed him, the force speaking to him. The voice in the force, demanding that he went. The voice, not one he knew. His father was dead, his father had left them and died like the wreck, the drunken ruin that he was. Kei didn't know why someone would claim to be a dead man, his father.

Kei rose to his feet.

He was almost glad he didn't need the cane anymore, he was almost glad that he was stronger. He would need to feel stronger if he was going to find out what was going on. He stepped from his quarters, looking around. His crew were running around with guns out and Kei wanted to know why. He set off towards the bridge, nearly at a run. The elevator was the worst, he couldn't speed that up even though he wished he could.

The bridge crew all rose as Kei stepped out onto the bridge.

"At ease. Now, does someone want to tell me why a voice just called me it's son? Does someone want to tell me why my crew is running around with guns?"

 

[William Raxis]

My son is aboard that ship. That was the only thought William Raxis could have as his pirates moved to steer the ship to board. Aligning airlocks, extending, that sort of thing. He did not particularly care. His mind was focused on his son. [member="Kei Raxis"]. It had been too long. His son had been allowed to go astray. This could not be. He would show his son true power, his true destiny.

Once everything is ready, the ship captain turned to him.

"What do you want us to do?"

His golden eyes examined the man coldly.

"You would only get in the way."

His curved hilt slipped through his sleeve, and into his hand. It's blade came to life with a snap-hiss.

"I only need you to die."


The airlock opened to a dark and silent ship, and William stood on the bridge, hands behind his back. Once more, his mind whispered:

Come to me. My son.

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

[member=William Raxis"]​

The Nightshadow​

852 ABY​

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When you fired that first shot.

No matter how right you felt. You didn't know who was going to die, how many children were going to burn. You didn't know how many families were going to be torn apart.

Someone had told him that once. Someone had given him that phrase to live by and that's why Kei refused to let any of his men fire the first shot. That's why Kei wasn't going to fire the first shot. He didn't know how many of those pirates had families, how many people were going to die. He didn't know how many lives would be ruined if he fired that first shot, how many lived would be destroyed.

The airlocked opened. Nothing came out, nothing happened. The blast of air as the pressure adapted came from the opposite ship, slapping Kei in the face. He thumbed off his weapon, yellow blade sliding back into the handle of the weapon. He felt a presence in the force, a presence much like his own. He dropped to a knee as the force spoke to him yet again, two crew members stepping besides the captain.

He waved them off. He climbed back to his feet. He kept a white-knuckle grip on his lightsaber. He climbed to his feet, glaring into the darkness of the pirate ship. The presence that was doing this, that was leading this was on that ship. He looked back his men, the members of his crew. He shook his head, whispering to the security officer. He would take them away from the airlock, set up a defensive barrier further back.

And Kei stepped into the darkness, yellow blade sliding from the handle of the weapon once again.

 

[William Raxis]

William felt his son enter the ship. Felt him enter the cold halls. His sickly yellow eyes turned from the corpses of the pirates on the bridge, slain by his lightsaber. They had served their purpose. They had brought him to his son. But he could not have them getting in the way. Pirates were notoriously unreliable, after all.

When [member="Kei Raxis"] entered the ship, Darth Serennus turned completely, hands still held behind his back. he had waited long, long years for this moment. Long years of searching, of waiting, of meditating, of training. It all came to this exact moment. Finally, he would be reunited with his son, his legacy, and together, they would do what Sith were meant to do. Destroy the Light.

For long minutes he waited, watching the door to the bridge. He stood in the middle of the room, dark blue coat immaculate as he waited. Patience was a virtue that he had developed over the years.

When they finally opened, he smiled.

"My son. You have come."

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

[member=William Raxis"]​

The Nightshadow​

852 ABY​

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The ship was silent.

It was wrong, it was weird. They had been boarded and there was nothing, no-one to even attempt to stop Kei walking through the ship. There was no gunfire, no-one trying to shoot at Kei. There was nothing, no-one attempting to subdue or capture. No-one attempting to kill him. It was as if the ship was controlled by an AI, a robot. There didn't seem to be any sort of human presence on the ship, there didn't seem to be anything.

But there was. It was above him, on the bridge. There was a man, the force was strong with him. It was likely that this was all his doing, likely that he had started this entire thing. For what purpose, Kei didn't know. There had to be a purpose for all this, a reason for attacking his ship. There had to be a reason why this man had threatened to board his ship. There had to be a reason for everything.

He stepped onto the bridge.

"My son. You have come."

He stepped forward. Slowly first, lightsaber still ignited in hand.

"Who are you? Why have you done this? My father is dead!"