Make it Bleed

[Darth Ophidia]

The Empire had supplied him with what he needed of weapons and equipment without asking many questions. The clerk had looked long at the flimsi, with all its credentials and official markings. Alisteri was, after all, an unknown. Yet, what could the clerk do but accept that this unknown could take any non-restricted weapon he so well wished.

The Sith Empire had many weapons, some of which were made especially for the hunting of Jedi.

A ship waited for him, and a pilot was at his call should he desire.
Destination:

​

AMBRIA

The planet stretched out below, a tapestry of yellows and oranges. It was unassuming to look at until one reached into the Force; it had a strong connection, marked with ages of strife between the dark and the light. The light had its bastions, while the dark side of the Force had mostly been restrained to Lake Natth. Now, it was fighting back and sprouting new seeds in new places.

One place, a jagged canyon deep in the mountains, was particularly powerful with the Force.

That was where she had said he would find his quarry.

It was a difficult hunt ahead. The cost of failure was death; the reward was entry to the sacred order, the Brotherhood of the Sith. There was knowledge and power waiting for him to seize it. All he needed to do was to kill one Jedi.

Kill one hermit in a cave on Ambria.

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

 

[Darth Strosius]

"So this is it hm? Ambria."

Whether Alisteri was talking to the pilot that he had recruited, conscripted, whatever the proper term was, or whether he was merely talking to himself was up for debate. It was one of the first real things that he had said aloud during the journey other than an order for transportation.

It was an underwhelming planet at first glance, but he figured that was the point. From what he had seen so far, the Force tended to be naturally misleading at times.

By now though, he knew better.

He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, reaching out with the Force and attempting to probe the planet for the information that he desired. He wasn't trained in the Force by any means, but he was a quick learner and it didn't take much effort to feel the planet beneath him.

He didn't fully understand what he was feeling yet, but he could feel the emotion and the struggle tied to it fairly easily.

"Take us down to the planet, towards that canyon on the map. Not too close to it though, else we may not be able leave in this ship."

Who knew what sort of protection that Jedi had down there?

He couldn't risk his only ride out of here.

The young man turned away from the pilot and the cockpit, heading to the cargo area to make his final preparations.

He had a Jedi to hunt.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

The pilot nodded, not responding verbally. She was used to these dark lords monologuing to themselves and she knew they were usually in a better mood when not disturbed. She prepared the ship for entry to orbit as he spoke, then awaited his order to bring them down.

It was usually a good time flying for Sith. Sure, there were a few nuts, but they usually left the ship and let her be.

"Yes sir."

The mirialan flicked a final switch and steered them down into orbit.

The ship made a lazy spiral as it descended, giving them a chance to see the surrounding landscape. Rocky peaks reached into the sky like lone fingers, while the canyon cut deeply into the land. The sun shone dawnward, casting long shadows in the gilded landscape.

"That outcropping will make a good cover." "Going in."

The ship swept into the shadows, using low clouds for cover, and turned sharply before floating down into a flat spot shielded by two sheer cliffs. A narrow path lead in and out, making it defensible while not all too difficult to reach. While it was shielded from the part of the canyon that was strongest in the Force, it was near potential outlooks from which one could get an overview of the nearby landscape.

The ship landed softly with the barest jostle, and the pilot leaned back with a satisfied smirk.

"Sir, I feel obligated to mention that while this ship can provide some air support, it will be fairly useless in this region unless the enemy is in the sky." She turned to him as far as her seat would allow, leaning on the middle console. "I won't be much more help until you want evac."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri hadn't spared a moment to acknowledge the pilot's response as he got dressed. He was focused, a bit tenacious, and a small part of him even felt slightly afraid.

He was about to face a Jedi with barely any knowledge of the Force on his end, as well as without a lightsabre. He was slightly paranoid as well, he felt as if he wasn't prepared.

Then again, would he ever have been?

A standard suit of SAS Universal Reconnaissance Armor was all that he managed to get in the way of protection. He didn't want to push his luck with his requisitions and the Maneuverability pack would be an improvement from his normal movement. It wasn't lightsabre proof of course, but it was better than nothing and would give him some protection from most of what this Jedi had to throw at him.

With a sigh he pulled the helmet on, checking over the SIF-57s that he had acquired before clipping it onto the armor. He gave the SI-HB-2 Power Mace a similar treatment before clipping it on as well and moving back toward the cockpit.

His choice of weaponry was rather light but he knew that all the blasters in the galaxy were hardly of use against an experienced Force user. Besides, he wasn't experienced in any heavier weaponry.

He watched the landing and gave a small nod, as if in thanks.

"That will be fine, this is something I must do on my own. Lower the ramp, please."

He turned away from the pilot again, stopping before he fully left the cockpit to glance back at her. The helmet made his expression nigh unreadable. "If I don't come back within a reasonable amount of time, or you see anyone other than me approaching, then get yourself to safety. Thank you for the ride, regardless."

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

"Yes sir." "It's been a pleasure."

She maintained a smirk until he left the ship, then closed the hangar doors behind him.

The ship fell silent within and without for a moment. It was a silence filled with the distant sound of wind tugging on unyielding metal. Barlan leaned back in her seat and put her feet on the console. She let out a sigh and fished her comm out of a pocket. The mirialan's face was impassive as she tapped into the Pale's encrypted channel and sent a message:

'He is landed on Ambria and headed out. I am awaiting further instructions.'​

She turned the comm over in her fingers once the message was sent, staring out into the distant horizon. This place reminded her of Mirial.
___

Ambria's canyons looked vast from the vantage point.

In the distance, mountains pierced clouds. Fog clung dearly to the edges of the deep canyon sides as they carved into the landscape. While arguably breathtaking, it gave no visual confirmation as to where his target was.

But there was something.

A vibration? A sensation. It was intangible, yet ever presence. It was an energy, a Force. It could be sensed everywhere, but there was something different, something off. The Force coalesced and ratiated from a single area, a deep crevasse in the canyonscape.

Whilst the canyon itself was a dark cut, it glowed in the Force like a sun.

Within it, one life stirred. However, it was not yet aware of the encroaching danger.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

There was a mere moment that Alisteri spent looking over the horizon, a moment of silence as he took a few steps away from the shuttle. He had spent all of his life in a spice mine on Kessel and the better part of two weeks on Bastion, so the sight was unusual and interesting to him.

The moment was gone as soon as it came, perhaps it was better that way.

He closed his eyes and let out a breath as he concentrated, attempting to feel the Force around him. Thankfully he didn't have to feel around for too long. As always, the presence of the Force felt jarring to him yet he quickly pushed past that initial feeling.

He had work to do.

The young man's gaze was soon settled on the deep crevasse, his eyes narrowing as if he could see the Jedi there already. He idly reached down to touch the taozin amulet as it hung at his side, unclipping his sidearm with his unoccupied hand at the same time.

He made his way towards the crevasse, mentally prepping himself for the long climb down into the canyon.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The climb was arduous and far from safe. Yet, the Force, as present as it was, helped guide one willing to listen to it.

As Alisteri climbed, the cutting gales of the peaks would give way to whistling breezes. The baking heat of the sun was soon blocked by the tall walls of red stone, and the deeper Alisteri went, the more present the Force became, and more loudly did it speak to him. Here and there, the canyon walls gave way to narrow caves and caverns, It was not uncommon, in a such a place, to find fragments of one's past or future.

A sound. A glimpse. A scent.

While he was hidden from the senses of one that would see him through the Force, he was not hidden from the Force itself. Nor the occasional grab of an errant gale, sent to knock him down.

Now that he had begun his climb down, Alisteri would also see the odd, errant crystal, cutting through the rock formations. The deeper he went, the larger and more frequent the crystals became. And if he dared look down, he would see the moving water. While the water itself glistened, there were points of fixed light; tall shards of crystal piercing through the stream, ever sharpened by wind and water.

Do not fall.

The one sentient life, the one beacon of light within this canyon, was somewhere down there, with the water and the crystals. Somewhere at the bottom of the canyon.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri had never been one for that much physical labor. He hadn't done much of the actual mining back when he lived on Kessel, he was always in more of an administrative position.

This did not help him on the way down.

The feeling of the Force was heavy here, almost like how the atmosphere became heavy at high points or how pressure increased in the depths of water. It was strange to feel yet it almost seemed as natural as anything else. He wasn't all that familiar with the Force, but he was becoming rather acclimated to it.

Of course, that acclimation would have been far easier if it didn't seem like the canyon despised his presence.

Every other step he took, he seemed to lose his footing for just a moment. Every time he attempted to grasp a better handle on the rock, the wind blew his hand wayward just enough to slightly disorient him in his climb.

The occasional sudden crystal and the sound of water beneath him did little to settle his nerves either.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath, fairly close to the middle of the canyon by this point, a quick look down was more than enough to confirm that fact. His gaze was drawn towards the sky above, as well as the glimpses of sunlight that skirted across the open gash that was the canyon.

He could die here, alone and with no one caring or being any the wiser.

Just one misstep and he was gone.

He closed his eyes and felt his muscles tense before relaxing slightly. The canyon was fighting him, but the Force could lead him to victory.

So he waited, and listened.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

When Alisteri opened himself to the Force, when he waited and listened, it was as though stepping into a world upside down. It felt as though the glow of the sun came from below, from the canyon, and every crystal was a star on a starry sky to which the young man clung. The sky above, however, was empty and dark. It was as though he could see in the light of the Force, even with his eyes closed.

If he trusted his connection to it.

The crystals, like stars, seemed to form a pattern once lines connected between them. It was a pattern of ledges and cracks, places to grip with hand and foot. A voice soundlessly whispered to him that the path was safe, yet the journey fraught with danger. Near every crystal was a darker point that called him, like an outstretched hand in the dark.

He could brave the cliffside and blaze his own path, or he could follow the path of the stars and dark caves, and meet the challenges it proposed to him. The canyon did not accept anyone into its depths untested

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The sensation of the environment around him, seeming to shift and turn upside down, disorientated more in that moment than he was when the wind had hit him. He quickly reaffirmed his grip onto the...expanse that covered the canyon wall.

It took him a moment to recognize that a pattern existed with the crystals, tracing the path for a moment as if to study it.

He was unsure about whether he could trust that path, he wasn't all that attuned to the Force yet. It was still unfamiliar. Then again, he didn't trust his ability to make it to the canyon's bottom unscathed.

After a minute or two of hesitation and thought, he steeled his resolve.

The Force was trying to lead him, and he would follow it.

He shifted his grip and moved to join the path that the crystals revealed to him.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

Even for an inexperienced climber, the path the crystals showed was fairly easy. In fact, so easy that one would almost kick oneself thinking of the route he had taken thus far. However, it was also possible to see that the holds were hidden by angles and colouration of stone.

When Alisteri approached the first crystal, he would find a hole in the stone wall. It was deep, and just about big enough for him to put his head trough.

Unlike the crystal, which glowed with an almost irritating light, the hole was dark, damp, and oddly cold. It was as though a constant wind pulled him toward the deep shade and whispered inaudibly. If he stared into the dark, he would find that it stared back, as if something waited for him inside. Whether it was good or bad, or simply hungry, he would have to judge for himself

Or he could ignore it, give it a wide birth and follow the path to the next crystal.

It was possible, perhaps.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The ease of the crystal path almost made him feel rather relaxed. Almost, thankfully he wasn't that naïve. He supposed it was good that something on this trip was fairly easy.

Alisteri stopped for just a moment to glance at the hole in the stone wall, moment that he had a sinking feeling about. He stared into the hole and idly felt his eye twitch, the presence that the hole exuded was...well he would say strange but that would be an understatement.

Then again, everything involving the Force seemed like an understatement to him.

He was oddly comforted by the cold, damp aura that the dark hole produced. It was a welcome reprieve from the blazing sun and the hot stone that surrounded him.

Against his better judgement, and his gut feeling, he stuck his head forward into the hole. Just a little bit couldn't hurt, besides the sun was just dreadful even in the armor he wore.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

At first, it gave exactly that: A welcome reprieve from the blazing sun. A slow trickle of condensation pattered against his head, creeping down through his collar to cool his neck. It was quiet, safe, almost peaceful.

And then it wasn't.

There was a quick moment where the hole seemingly squeezed down on Alisteri. The smooth, cold stone now felt more and more like a mouth trying to bite down on his body for a healthy snack. There was a sucking sound, like an inverted scream coming up from the depth.

The dark thinned and moved as a thousand dirty hands crawled their way up through the dark. Scrambling and scratching, clawing at the walls, the sucking scream inverted into a howl of despair as the hands came closer and closer. Between the hands there were faces, mouths open and eyes hollow. As they gaped, a new face appeared in their mouth again, and climbed out with their own dirty, clawed hands.

The faces were nondescript at first, but as they tugged and scratched at their flesh, they became more and more familiar: They were the crew he had murdered on his way to the Sith Empire. They were coming to take him with them to the Netherworld for revenge. They wanted to rip him apart.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

The small moment of coolness was enough to make the young man relax, both physically and mentally. A moment that ended far too quickly for his taste, and one that startled him.

Alisteri watched the creatures with horror, frozen in shock by their little display. When he started noticing how their faces were becoming more...familiar to him however, he was quick to snap out of his stupor. He did his best to try and pull his head out of the hole, even with it seeming to clamp down on him.

One of his hands also moved down to his side to unclip his sidearm as he grit his teeth and glared at the creatures that now bore the likeness of his first kills.

"I already killed all of you once, I can do it again!"

Whether he spoke as a threat to the creatures, or as a spurring on for his own efforts was debatable. Not that he had any time to worry about such things right now anyway.

He poked and prodded the barrel of the sidearm around where he thought the edge of the hole would be as he renewed his efforts to pull his head out. He just needed a bit of a loose spot to get the blaster in there, whether he could wedge his head out with it or just shoot the creatures wasn't his main concern.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

They were coming, and fast. Alisteri's words only seemed to agitate them as they came almost within touching distance of his face. Their dirtied fingernails and grey teeth posed to claw and gnaw at his helmeted face, like they did at the earth and stone.

His push and scramble to pull his head out and get his blaster in gave results, but perhaps not the ones he was looking for.

With a sudden rush of freedom, Alisteri's head was free and his hand could rise up to fire, but in pulling his head out of the hole so violently, he would also be pushing himself away from the wall and the narrow ledge on which he stood. While the shot momentarily lined up perfectly with the hole, there was now nothing there but the same, inviting pool of darkness.

All around him was the glaring sun and pointed crystals jutting from sheer walls. Below him were rushing waters. Shallow? Deep? He could not know.

And then there was gravity.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

There was one brief moment as Alisteri's head left the hole that he felt relief, and a bit of pride as he brought his gun up to fire. The moment of confusion at the empty hole in front of him soon gave way to concern as he realized that he wasn't holding onto the ledge anymore.

As all this clicked in his mind and his body began to drop away from the wall, he knew he had to act fast.

Cursing his own stupidity and his lack of awareness, his free hand shot up in an attempt to grab a crystal; or a stray ledge, or anything really.

He moved his feet forward to meet the canyon wall at the same time, attempting to get some friction to help stop his motion. He did not like the look of the water below him, and he had taken enough chances already.

Then, right before his feet hit the wall and as his hand reached out to grasp any sort of outcropping, he closed his eyes and focused.

Force help him with this one...

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The wind cradled his body as he tipped back. His fingers caught only wind, dust, dirt and errant, dead root. His feet skid against the wall, touching barely and kicking up the loose sand and dust that rested on the cut sandstone.

Yet gravity held him.

He fell, until he used the Force.

He would feel no root or ledge in his hand, yet a distinct tug held him firm against the wall. The very toe-tip of his shoes had dug themselves into a tiny lip, and they held him fast against some invisible tether. It did not strain his hand, even though he held it, but it strained some untrained 'muscle' in his mind that had awakened in his peril.

Below him, in the water, the glint of spear-like crystals threatened with hurt and worse.

But around him, there was a small root, an outcropping of crystal, and more ledge cut into the sandstone. He could climb there with some caution and proceed down on his way. The hole he had stuck his head inside of could not be seen at this angle, but the very tips of the crystals could. Alisteri had descended some distance in his slip, and caught himself just barely.

Now still hanging by the invisible tether, only as strong as his will for self-preservation.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

Alisteri felt pure panic for a moment as his hand failed to find purchase on the canyon wall, his foot movements becoming erratic as he attempted to dig in or find any sort of foothold in the rock.

Still, he pushed his panic to the edge of his mind as he focused, his breath hitching as he finally stopped. He let out a breath and cracked open one of eyes, idly noticing the small foothold in the rock that he had slid onto. He knew that didn't stop him however. Instead his gaze focused on his outstretched hand, and though it grasped nothing, he could see it slightly shaking in the air as if it were struggling to hand onto a ledge.

The shaking mirrored the stress that he felt in the recesses of his mind, wincing slightly as the strain of it actually hit him. Well that adrenaline rush was short.

A quick look at the rockface around him showed the ledge cut into the sandstone, although the sight of the crystal did cause him to feel a bit of trepidation.

Regardless, he slowly clipped his sidearm back onto his belt as he started making his way over to the ledge. hen he finally did grapple onto it, he let out a sigh of relief as the strain in the back of his mind subsided into an idle ache.

For a moment, he wondered if he could convince that pilot to stop by a cantina on the way back to Bastion.

 

[Darth Ophidia]

[member="Alisteri Haxim"]

The rest of the way down was far less challenging, now that Alisteri had been alerted to the paths and some of the dangers of the canyon wall. There were other holes in the wall, some larger, some smaller, only some of which had the same seeping darkness as the last one. It was hard to tell how long it took for him to get to the bottom as the sun was perpetually hidden behind the tall mountain walls. However, one would perhaps be able to tell that the sky had changed hues. The clouds became more pink, and the light more golden, as the backdrop of the sky darkened toward purple.

Yet, there, in front of him was the wide, running stream of water. Rocks and crystals jutted out, seemingly at random. The Force was strong here; the presence of it was like the low hum of electricity surging through the very air. If he looked down where the stream of water was headed, the hum would intensify.

Further down, there was a pool, which he would be able to see during parts of his climb.

There was a cave on the other side of the stream, right where he had landed. The cave was narrow and turned quickly to darkness, but it was not held by the dark side of the Force. Not entirely, anyway.

 

[Darth Strosius]

[member="Darth Ophidia"]

As Alisteri made his way across the rock wall, he made sure to go around every hole in the wall that he could. He didn't have the luxury of a long fall like last time. Going around them like he did cost him a little extra time than it usually would have, but he still made it down the canyon wall fairly easily. He barely even noticed the change in the sky, although he did make note of it.

He assumed that night would fall soon, whether that would be a benefit or a hindrance remained to be seen.

The presence of the Force was heavy here, he subconsciously rolled his shoulders and let out a sigh. He glanced between the pool and the narrow cave, wincing as his gaze went over the stream. The helmet did little to dampen the feel of this place.

Perhaps that was for the better.

With another sigh he looked back towards the cave and then at the stream. The last time he had stuck his head into a dark place was...well less than ideal. This one felt different however.

Different enough for him to try it.