Tentation (Darth Arcanix)

[Zion Mirtis]

The ruins of Ossus had been fortified after the great war with the Sith long ago. The Jedi temple that once stood there was now nothing more than an oversized bunker of sorts. Not many had returned there and those that did had treated the place as something of an abandoned fort. But there were those who saw more to it than that. For those who knew about it the ruins held something greater, possibly great knowledge lost from the records of the newer temple on Tython; maybe even those that were lost on Courascant. The idea of finding out more was too tempting for someone like Jedi Padawan Sophie Gustav.

She'd used her Jedi status to procuer a shuttle transport to the planet itself, in the hopes of finding any of the lost records for herself. She'd persuaded a few people here-and-there and had used the excuse that this was a task assigned by her masters in the Jedi order. Really Sophie just wanted to learn. She'd read almost all possible texts from the Jedi temple on Tython and had been enriched by their lessons and techings and stories and the like. But she wanted more. She felt if she knew any of the other secrets the Jedi order might have kept then it would mean better chances of progression in the Jedi ranks.

Once the shuttle itself had arrived, the time being only mid-day, she informed the pilot to wait for her while she made her way to the ruins. The walk was only a few minutes but upon seeing the ruins of Ossus it had felt as though she should've travled longer. Her great suprise came at how large and yet so old the temple looked.

With not but her cloack to cover her body, and non-jedi robe dress attire, and a bag with enough supplies to help her, Sophie nodded to herself while making a mental note to not lose track of what she was here for. She began to journey into the temple in the hopes the trip would not have been in vain.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

It had taken a great deal of time and planning for Taeli, known in the Sith as Darth Arcanix, to slip past the Republic and Jedi cordon to access Ossus. Multiple aliases, along with changing ships three times, and constantly focusing on the Yuuzhan Vong slave seed in her chest to appear as Force Sensitive as a common solider in the Republic military, had allowed her to land her shuttle near the old Jedi Temple on the planet, just a few minutes walk from the sacred ruins.

Frowning slightly, she could see a second shuttle sitting nearby and she couldn't allow the pilot, if they were there, to inform anyone of her presence. Too many variables to account for in that situation, and word might reach the Jedi on the planet that something was amiss. Lowering the boarding ramp of her ship, she adjusted the red synth-silk dress she wore, along with the gray hooded cape, slung her satchel containing some equipment and her lightsaber over her shoulder, and made her way down the ramp. Knocking on the other shuttle's ramp, the pilot lowered it and allowed her inside.

"Back already?" he asked, turning around. He knew something was immediately wrong as he went for his blaster, and she was forced to retaliate. The man never reached his blaster, but at least he died a simple and quick death with Taeli casually breaking his neck with the Force. Closing the shuttle back up, she made her to the temple, now fully expecting some explorers were inside.

'A fellow explorer or explorers seeking knowledge of ancient times, this should be fun,' she thought, moving into the ruins, a breeze blowing her dress and cape back and giving her a slightly sinister air.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Unaware that her pilot was gone Sophie was still making her way into the ruins of Ossus' temple. As she progressed inside she was taken back by how large and grand everything was. Vines had grown over collums and statues while rubble scattered all over the remains. Looking around Sophie noted now the design of the place was similar to that of the temple of Tython, and possibly the one on Courascant. Obviosuly the Jedi had a defined style when it came to building their temples. Light cracked through the large holes in the roof and parks of the wall where damage from both battle and age could be seen.

Reaching into her bag Sophie pulled out a flashlight (some Star Wars version of one lol) and helped to illuminate the area. She noted to herself how, if this place was anything like the Jedi temple on Ossus, then the records she was looking for would be on one of the lower levels. She needed a moment to look but managed to spot the stairway, which she needed to move a few boulders out of the way thanks to the force, before making her way down.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

'There is something about the Jedi's sense of esthetics that I wish we Sith took a page from,' Taeli thought, slowly making her way through the ruins. She greatly enjoyed the pillars and such that made up the temple, the vines and greenery that had grown throughout it adding to the overall feeling of the place nicely. Stopping to observe a fallen statue of some great Jedi hero from the past, she noticed a single set of footprints in the dust.

'Well, well, well, a single curious explorer,' she thought, crouching down and holding a glow rod out to look for more footprints. While she was very curious who the other visitor was, she had come for another purpose. The temple's archives would be further underground, to make sure they could survive an attack from the Jedi's enemies, and she was hoping some of them were still intact.

Moving towards the staircase, she smiled to herself as she saw the single set of footprints moving down into the gloom too. Several large boulders had been moved out of the way, indicating her fellow explorer was Force Sensitive as she saw no signs of equipment, quite possibly a Jedi Padawan or Knight seeking some lost knowledge for the Masters. Now that would make her little expedition even better.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

After a lot of exploration in the lower levels, and being scared half to death by womprats, Sophie had found the archive. She gasped at the sight as it turned out nearly the entire lower level was the archive itself. Everything was like a mix of the data storage units you'd find in most Jedi temples with old hand written texts. Obviously some of these writings were older than most, meaning there was no limit to how much Sophie could read and learn from it all.

The giddy side of her took over as she jumped and gave a cheerful sound the echoed. She wasted no time and made for the nearest text she could find, pulling her hood off before taking a handful under her arm and finding a nearby table to stack them all together on. She knew she would be a while here but, knowing her pilot, it meant time to fully study her texts without disruption. But then again, maybe she'd have spoken too soon.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli trailed her hand along the old archive databanks, smiling as she could still feel the hum of low-level power within them. The data might be salvageable after all, but she was hoping that perhaps the archives might also have writings and such, just in case the data storage units failed or were corrupted. A shout echoed down from one room, and Taeli smiled as she now knew the rough location of her fellow seeker of knowledge. It was time to deal with the situation, in whatever way that was deemed possible.

Walking slowly along the hallway, she suspected the other person would soon start to hear the click of her boots against the ruins' floor. She pulled out her lightsaber, the half-circle hand guard feeling right at home in her hand, but she didn't ignite it yet. No need to alert them more than necessary, and once they were dealt with, she could have free range of all the knowledge here. She would greatly enjoy that.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Before Sophie had a chance to open any of the texts something had caught her attention. It wasn't the sound she caught first, but the disturbance in the force. She could feel it. A Sith was around here. How? How did they get here? Where had they been? Were they hiding out here the whole time? Then with the following sounds of boots tapping Sophie's heart sank. They knew she was here. They must've sensed her too. Or followed her. If they did....that could've meant she was trapped.

Backing away from the table Sophie looked around before reaching into her bag. She pulled out the closest thing to a weapon she had: a training saber with the setting all the way up to the highest. She'd not had a saber of her own and now she was forced to use this simple tool against a Sith. She wasn't sure if it was an apprentice leveled one like her or something greater but she knew she wouldn't stand much in a fight; not without the proper training she needed.

As she could see the person, a woman by the outlining features, approach she pointed her saber and tried to keep her bravado by saying "Whoever you are, stand down! I don't want to have to use this!"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Oh?" Taeli asked, her smile growing wider and yet colder. "Someone is feeling brave, but I seem to have left you at a disadvantage. Allow me to show you exactly what you're facing."

Igniting her lightsaber, the crimson blade casting red light around the ruined halls, Taeli allowed her focus to be removed from the seed within her and her full Force presence to be felt. To demonstrate a point, she allowed her Marks of Darkness to appear around her eyes, a dark side aura rising off of her as she commanded the Force to come to her. The power she was feeling was such a rush, and she enjoyed it every time, and she allowed that power to be radiate out of her.

"I am no mere apprentice, my friend. My name is Darth Arcanix, and if you stand in the way of my gaining access to these archives and the knowledge they contain, I will destroy you."

As she spoke, another thought entered her mind. The girl was obviously a Padawan, judging by her age and Force presence, so she wouldn't have been indoctrinated too far along the Jedi's path of chains. Perhaps she could be tempted? She would see soon enough.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

The sudden burst of light from the Sith's saber. The growing sensation of the darkside around her. Seeing the Mask of Darkness form around her face, All of it induced a fear in Sophie that made her hands shake. She was outmatched for sure but that didn't mean she wouldn't fight. She just didn't know how long she would last. She barley had any training and now she was forced to face with a Sith Knight. Maybe, if anything, she could try to escape back to her shuttle. Hopefully her pilot would still be waiting. That would be her only and best chance.

Standing as brave as possible, despite her hands still quaking, she declared "I'm...I'm not afraid of you!" she stood in a fighting stance and decalred "I'm still a Jedi. Which means I don't fear you!"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Well aren't we a feisty one," Taeli laughed, noting the girl's shaking hands. She was frightened, no doubt, but she felt an obligation to stand and face the ancient enemy of the Jedi. Perhaps some more fear and a pinch of anger might help in this situation.

"I hate to break the news, but if you're hoping to escape on that shuttle that brought you here . . . well, let's just say it won't be flying anywhere anytime soon," she replied, snapping her lightsaber up into salute before spinning it to her side. "Sad, yes, but necessary as I couldn't allow anyone to know I'm here. I do hate doing such things, but sacrifices must be made for the pursuit of knowledge. Something I sense you understand."

Without saying another word, she attacked, using the Force to increase her speed and strength so her blade clashed with opponent's, forcing it back towards her body.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Oh no. The pilot was dead? And that meant the shuttle wasn't ging anywhere. And likely, neither was Sophie. The look of horror on her face was breif but effective enough to display her emotions. This sith had her surrounded and outmatched in every sense of the word. But she didn't have time to think before she approched her as amazing speed, using the force as a booster, before her blade clashed together. Sophie managed to hold but only just. She felt a sudder in her hands from the impact.

Needing to think of something and fast Sophie pushed [member="Darth Arcanix"] away before pulling off her hooded robe and tossing it at her. It revealed her attire, a long skirt and dress shirt with boots and stockings and a bow in her hair. Obviously for a Jedi padawn she didn't wear the same robes as they did, a sign of her sens of standing out. Without another word Sophie ran in the opposite direction of the Sith, trying to hide behind one of the statues.

She peeked out, seeing what the sith was doing, before seeing the statue itself was weak. With all her might she reached out with the force, trying to break the base and hopefully have it fall and crash on her.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Clever girl," Taeli said, banishing the hooded robe away with a flick of the Force. Her opponent was bleeding fear into the Force, whether she knew it or not. Fear and a slight hint of desperation, but the girl was quick she had to give her that.

"Come now, hiding are we? For all your bravado, you can't stand against the power of the dark side," Taeli said, allowing her voice to echo. "I'll give you a piece of advice, one Force user to another, only embracing your fear, your pain, and your anger do you even have a hope of getting through this. Give into your emotions, take power from them. Only then, will you be able to stand against me."

A cracking sound caught her attention as a statue, no doubt the Padawan using the Force to try and collapse it on her. Very clever girl, she definitely liked this one. Using her own command of the Force, she gripped the statue with it and broke it into small pieces. It broke her heart to destroy something with such history, but sacrifices had to be made sometimes. Seeing the girl peering around where the statue had been, she unleashed a barrage of Sith Lightning at her.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Sophie was suprised to see the statue suddenly break into peices. And all of that from the force? Sophie had trouble just to push it down and yet this Sith had enough power to break it on a whim. Looking to [member="Darth Arcanix"] now Sophie gave an awkward, if terrified, laugh before force lighting was shot. She ducked under what remained of the statue's base in a loud gasp. She watched as it struck the wall behind her, the large black singe from where it struck. Sophie felt a gulp in her throat as she realized there was more power to fear from this one.

Trying to think Sophie looked around, eventually looking up to where she could see a pile of rubble on the edgde of one of the higher levels in the room. Maybe, if she could reach it and push it down, that would take care of the Sith. Though the stairs were too far. She would need to climb. Sophie looked around before seeing more rocks. She put her training saber in her bag before using both hands to lift the small pile of rocks, each about the size of someone's head. With a heaby thrust she sent them all flying towards the Sith before making a run for it.

Sophie found a decent pile leading up to the next level, which she started to climb as fast as she could.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Seeing the rocks flying towards her, Taeli activated the second blade of her lightsaber and twisted the handle. The other half of the hand guard slid out and into place, the mag locks on her blade emitters disengaging and they began to spin, faster and faster. (Inquisitor's lightsaber from SW:Rebels) Using her spinning lightsaber as a shield, she shredded the rocks heading her way, a fine dust coating her shoulders.

Seeing her opponent scrambling up some debris, Taeli threw her lightsaber into the debris pile, the spinning blades burning through the bottom and causing it to collapse underneath the Padawan. Catching her blade, she disengaged the spinning mode and began to slowly move towards her opponent.

"As I said, your only hope is embracing the dark side," Taeli said, her voice near a whisper but she used the Force to project it into her opponent's mind. "Give in, it's not that hard, just give in. No need to die, no need to not gain the knowledge you desperately sought. We are alike, you and I, we both will seek knowledge wherever it may be, no matter how dangerous it can be."

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

The sudden feel of rocks slipping downward had cuahgt Sophie's attention just in time to see as the pile of debris fell down around her. She screamed as she fell down, rollowing the debris before hitting the ground and rolling. She was injured but would live. She groaned as she tried to pick herself up before hearing the Sith. She looked towards her, hearing her voice echo in her mind. It was like a booming sensation that almost made her deaf. Sophie got to her feet, trying to find her training saber.

In the back of her mind, however, she began to think on what the Sith was saying. She said how the dark side, using her emotions and all, was the only way to stop her. And how they were both trying to find knowlegde here in the ruins. Was it possible she was like her afterall? No! Sophie tried to stop herself from thinking like that. [member="Darth Arcanix"] was a sith and Sophie was a Jedi. They were nothing alike.

Finding her training saber Sophie activated it and pointed it at the Sith before saying "I'm nothing like you. You're a monster! Just like the rest of your kind."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli took slight offense at being called a monster, but she could see her words were having an effect on the young Padawan.

"A monster? What exactly have I done that is monstrous? Killing the pilot?" Taeli asked, advancing towards the girl. "That was necessity, that was for survival. Something you seem to understand quite well."

The humming from her saber was music as it echoed off the walls, the girl was wavering, she could feel it in the Force.

"Unless you allow yourself to feel, to embrace, your most powerful emotions, I'm afraid you don't stand a ghost of chance," Taeli said, she was close to the girl now. The bravado was back, but doubt was rising from the girl. It was an interesting experience, even if the girl didn't turn, that would allow Taeli to observe just how her words could affect an individual.

"Give yourself permission to cast aside the chains that have been crafted for you, give yourself permission to seek every bit of knowledge that the Jedi deny you or elect to keep buried out of danger. I chose to not let anything hold me back in my pursuit of knowledge, and you see the results in front of you. The dark side is power, power enough to find the lost secrets of the Force. Give into those emotions, give yourself the chance to find the knowledge you seek, you shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

She spun her lightsaber around her slowly, allowing to gain momentum.

"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Sophie backed away, keeping her saber pointed at [member="Darth Arcanix"], while hearing her try to give her grand argument about the dark side's power. Sophie had read about the manipulation of the Sith and how they tempted any and all to join them. Emotion was a powerful thing and it was what drove the Sith to become what they were: power hungry conquerors. Sophie was doing her best no to waver, but she couldn't help but feel the growing fear in her mind. She was outmatched and out gunned, but that didn't stop her from trying to stay the path of the Jedi.

Lashing out she swung her saber, trying to cut the Sith woman's head off. She advanced while sweeping with both hands keeping a tight grip on her training saber. Large over the shoulder sweeps like a man chopping wood her motions came hard as she tried to fight back with all her strength.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli dodged or deflected each attack from the young girl, and even though she saw several openings to end her, she chose not to. For someone who wanted to follow the path of the Jedi, the girl had taken the aggressor's path, trying to kill her and stop the words that were causing her to waver, to fear that she wouldn't get out of this alive without giving in.

Taeli caught another one of the girl's attacks on her blade, locking them in place.

"Good, very good. Not the most elegant approach, but good," she said, keeping their blades locked. "But killing me would only prove me right in the end. A Jedi never attacks an opponent first, I believe you are only supposed to use your saber for defense, never attack. You're already part Sith now, my young friend. But you gave yourself permission in a way, even if it is out of some dogmatic, archaic way of thinking the Jedi instilled in you. Strike out, unleash your fear and anger!"

With that, Taeli broke the saberlock and began to attack, never going for the kill but steadily driving the girl back a step then another. The double-bladed lightsaber keeping the Padawan unbalanced. The whole point was to prove two things, she wasn't a monster by not even trying to kill her right now, and to also show the girl just how powerful the dark side made Taeli.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

With more words of persuasion Sophie shook her head, trying to tell herself it was all a lie. She was nothing like this Sith woman and her attacks were justified. She didn't have time to think though as she now had to go on the defesnive. She backed up with each strike the woman tried, it being hard with her sore leg. She kept both hands on the hilt while ducking and blocking as best she could. Poor little Sophie felt like she was up against a rancor with not but a butterknife.

One attack had caused Sophie to trip and fall on her back. She recovered only to have the Sith looming over her. She cralwed back on the floor while keeping her saber pointed up at her. She was running out of both room and options and she needed to think. Quick!

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli batted aside the saber, knocking it out of the girl's grip. She was at her mercy now, a place most Jedi never liked to be. But, she felt this Padawan was more interested in getting out alive and with the knowledge she came for, rather than holding to the Jedi doctrine. Her aggressive opening attacks indicated as much to Taeli.

"You're disarmed now, my next attack will find its mark," she said, spinning the blade above her head. She was doing it deliberately, hoping the Padawan would lash out with the Force. She would need to tap that fear, that anger, that despair to push her away though. "Use that fear, use your emotions, and you'll gain everything you came here for and more. The Sith are in the ascendant, the Jedi are being driven back slowly, but surely. The dark side will grant you power and knowledge beyond anything the Jedi have to offer you."

Still spinning the saber above her head, she turned contemplatively for a moment.

"In a way, you're already on the path," she continued saying. "Seeking forbidden knowledge is something the Jedi frown upon, but I understand the desire, the hunger to know things. As I said, we are alike in that regard. All you have to do is tap into those raw emotions inside, and I'll help guide you to knowledge. The choice is yours."

She left her posture open, using the Force to brace herself to anything except a dark side powered Force Push

[member="Sophie Gustav"]