Private The Enemy of My Enemy....Is Still Not My Friend

[Darth Moskvin]

THE ENEMY...

"Horrors, I believe, should be original--the use of common myths and legends being a weakening influence."
- H.P. Lovecraft -

Hushed tones and whispers echoed magically throughout the Palace on the Sith homeworld of Jutrand, words no doubt infused with false additions or exaggerated phrases; neither of which I cared to fancy myself with. I hated coming here, not just to this majestic eye sore created by their Emperor, but the planet itself; filled with too many ideologies of political maneuvering and back side ego boosting. I hated the Sith, more than the Jedi at times, but they were a necessity to me, just another tool I've grown to manipulate to reach higher purposes, and to earn the right to be left alone.

However, it didn't take long for whatever was being pushed around the Palace to find me. I looked up at Archimedes, my fowl feathered fiend, jointly sighing together. I wondered internally how long or how much I had to express to these fools that I did not care about their problems; Dathomir is my home, and that along with my Sisters is all I cared about, though Sith are like little children, until they burn their hand they do understand the concept of fire, or hot. Luckily, I didn't have to see that Emperor, forced to endure his voice like broken nails running down a chalkboard. I was simply handed a datapad, which made me consider changing the I.D. on that 'borrowed' ship or outright get a new one. I hate being tracked.

At the conclusion of the recorded message, I let out a cackle of laughter that rolled down the hallway in flooding fashion, bent on drowning all who stood in its path. Just another example of ignorance among this Order. Send the one Sith who has no loyalty to the Order or its Emperor, the one Sith who would betray the Order for a handful of peanuts, the one Sith who has shown more defiance than any other to hunt down a powerful weapon of such magnitude and destroy it, along with those in possession of the weapon. How easy could they make this? But I will destroy the weapon not because I was asked or order to, depending how you perceived the tone of the message, out of concern of robbing the Jedi and their keepers from getting their dirty paws on it.

"You were right Archie, t'was a mistake coming here," I said handing the perched raven roosting on my shoulder a fresh cut of fleshy meat, "It seems we are off to Prakith to play hero. What? I don't know what kind of food they have for a raven."


Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit
Weapons: Lightsabers

The name alone carried weight.

A world steeped in darkness, its skies choked with storms that rumbled like the ghosts of old wars. Valery wasn't here for the ghosts. The Jedi had caught wind of something — a weapon, powerful and dangerous, and shrouded in enough secrecy that even whispers were hard to come by. That alone was cause for concern. But what made it worse was where it had surfaced. Prakith. A world the Sith still touched, still claimed, still whispered to in the shadows.

And if the Sith were after this weapon, then she knew exactly what needed to be done.

It needed to be destroyed.

Her X-wing cut through the thick clouds, dipping into the planet's upper atmosphere. Turbulence rocked the cockpit, rattling her slightly in her seat, but Valery barely noticed. Her fiery gaze was locked on the surface below, where jagged mountain ranges clawed at the sky, their peaks lost in mist. Hidden among them were ruins, outposts, the decayed remnants of Sith power long thought forgotten.

But nothing was ever truly forgotten.

A soft beep from her console signaled her descent vector. She adjusted course, guiding the starfighter toward a secluded canyon where she could set down without drawing attention. The landing was smooth, the hiss of venting hydraulics muffled against the roar of distant winds.

Then, silence.

Valery climbed out, boots meeting the cold, uneven stone beneath her. The air was thin here, sharp with the metallic scent of rain yet to fall. Overhead, the sky churned in endless shades of gray.

She reached out with the Force.

The darkness was thick here, like an oil slick across the planet's surface. Not overwhelming. Not unbearable. But it was there, clinging to the ruins like ivy, seeping into the bones of the world itself. It wasn't surprising — Prakith had always been a place where shadows lingered long after the bodies fell.

Adjusting the strap of her pack, she exhaled slowly and moved forward.

There were no grand armies here. No war cries, no banners, no Sith Lords proclaiming dominion over the land. But she wasn't alone. Something — someone — else was on the hunt.

She could feel it.

Darth Moskvin ​

 

[Darth Moskvin]

THE ENEMY...

"Horrors, I believe, should be original--the use of common myths and legends being a weakening influence."
- H.P. Lovecraft -

All around where the Force touched, the Dark Side stood above like a staunch guardian, waiting on command to strike its deadly blow. The planet was barren, near desolate for a few settled cities and other collections of civilized living that refused to suffer defeat, etching out a life among the many mountains and plateaus dotting the planet's landscape. There was also pain and suffering, wafting off the surface of the rock planet, trickling together with a steep, rich history. All this I felt, all this made my undead heart skip beats.

"Such a peculiar place, oddly fascinating," I said to Archimedes, my golden eyes observing the serene-less panorama. Dormant and active volcanoes varying in size performed like rippling waves in the far reaches of the topography, the latter spewing caustic fumes and blackened ash in the sky, threatening to molest the lungs of the living; whilst tangerine-red lava danced in serpentine fashion down the sides.

Drawing the hood of my outfit over my dreadlocked hair, rattling the few entwined bones in procession, it was time to seek out this weapon that has now become the temporary bane of my existence. Prakith was not lacking in ancient ruins, or ghostly inhabited caverns or tombs; ripe pickings to hide a weapon. Automatically Prak city was eliminated, to folly to harbor a secret of that immensity among that many people, as well as the other cities. No, it would be stashed away somewhere nobody wished to visit; leaving only Andeddu's Keep as the only reasonable solution.

The mere thought of the Keep sent orgasmic chills coursing through my body, a warm glow emancipating from deep within my nether regions. Undoubtedly, after so many passing centuries, the Keep was possibly void of any useful content or tomes written with frightful contexts. I recalled during my Apprenticeship how my Master spoke of how ancient Sith ruins, temples, and such always drew the unholy apparitions which thwarted many an adventure's curiosity nature to delve headfirst into exploring these ruined edifices. I fear no ghosts or the dead, rather quite the opposite in fact. I find it more fantastical to convey with spirits and the dead, their lifeless voices speaking only in truths; unlike the great many lies falling from parting jaws of the living.

"Come Archie, standing around gets us no closer back to Dathomir," vocalizing my thoughts, sensing among all this darkness a single beacon of light was encroaching upon it. It would seem I wasn't the only predator hunting.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit
Weapons: Lightsabers

The wind howled through the jagged cliffs of Prakith, carrying with it the weight of a world steeped in history and ruin. Valery moved swiftly through the narrow canyon paths, her cloak snapping against the harsh gusts as she pressed on toward the looming structure ahead.

Andeddu's Keep.

A place of legend. A place of dread. Even from a distance, the fortress stood defiant against time, its weathered stone walls etched with the scars of countless centuries. The Dark Side clung to it, thick and heavy, coiling through its cracks like a living thing. It was an unnatural presence — not just the residual energy of what once was, but something more. Something waiting.

Something aware.

Valery exhaled slowly, adjusting the grip on her pack as she reached out with the Force once more, letting its currents guide her. The darkness here was suffocating, pressing against her senses like the weight of deep ocean waters, but she had walked through worse. She had faced worse. Still, something was different.

There was another presence.

It wasn't the echoes of the past, not the lingering malice of Sith Lords long dead — this was current. Moving. Watching. It was strong, steeped in the Dark Side, and yet… unfamiliar. Not one of the Sith Lords who plagued the war. Not one of the acolytes who followed in their wake. This one was something else entirely.

Valery slowed her steps, crouching behind the jagged remains of a fallen column as she surveyed the Keep's outer perimeter. Even now, she could feel the pull, the way the darkness twisted around whoever was inside. A seeker of Sith knowledge, then? A scavenger looking for relics? Or worse — someone who already knew what was hidden here?

Her jaw tightened. She had no intention of letting another dark force weapon slip into the wrong hands. Whether this newcomer was an enemy or merely an opportunist remained to be seen, but one thing was certain — if they were here for the same reason she was, this was going to be a problem.

With a quiet breath, she moved closer, keeping to the shadows of the ruined battlements, waiting for the right moment.

Waiting to see just what kind of predator had found its way to Prakith.

Darth Moskvin ​

 

[Darth Moskvin]

THE ENEMY...

"Horrors, I believe, should be original--the use of common myths and legends being a weakening influence."
- H.P. Lovecraft -

Up the spiraling steps I walked, playing a game of toss the stone up in the air and catch it, cooing romantically with sadistic thoughts of the paws of the Dark Side groping me. The whole castle was in eviction status; crumbling walls, weathered damage from years of neglect, and a sad representation from one of the darkest minds of the Order. I hoped to see spooks, apparitions, or a partial rotted corpse from a failed adventure's dream of fame and glory.

What I felt was something trying to portray their wholesomeness upon all yet dripping venom from savory thoughts of hedonism and darker thoughts further than that. The sickening feeling of the Light Side was strong, still pale to the overabundance from bogan, and I was compelled to laugh.

Jedi.

Any gambling man could have safely bet their soul on the goodie-two-shoes showing up; uninvited as always. I already didn't want to be here, I bore easily, and this Jedi complicated matters now. I do not play well with surprises.

Sweet and loyal, yet fierce and a pain in the ass, Archie took to flight; swirling around until our connection caught the female Jedi in our eyes. With a mystic word, I transformed; now taking flight. Together we hovered over the Jedi, until I landed on a ledge, still in raven form and asked, "Are you lost? This is no place for the likes of you. Danger! Danger! Danger!"

And boredom returned.

Repeating the word in reverse, I went from raven to vampire; sitting on the ledge, left leg over the right. "You Jedi are nosy, easily broken, but nosy none-the-less. I assume asking the question of why you're here is probably moot, but still, why are you?"

"Rhetorical."

"I've never smelt you before, and I really hate fighting anyone less your dinner, so please cut me deep and tell me you're here to take that weapon back?"

"Because I can't allow that."



Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Jedi Jumpsuit
Weapons: Lightsabers

Valery remained still in the shadows, her fiery gaze tracking the raven as it circled overhead. She felt the shift in the air before she saw it — the unnatural ripple of the Dark Side twisting reality to its whims. A moment later, the creature was gone, replaced by the figure now lounging on a crumbling ledge above.

A vampire.

The unnatural, predatory aura clung to her like mist, seeping through the ruins like something woven into the very fabric of the Dark Side itself. This was no ordinary scavenger or Sith acolyte desperate for scraps of lost power — this was something older, something with its own agenda.

And yet, despite the theatrics, the dramatics, the boredom, Valery barely reacted. She simply exhaled, stepping into the open with a slow, measured pace.

"I'm not here to take anything," she said, her voice even, unwavering. "I'm here to destroy it."

Her stance remained relaxed, but there was a weight behind her presence, something steady — unyielding. She had done this before. Walked into the depths of old Sith ruins, stared into the abyss, and broken the chains of those who sought to wield forgotten horrors.

She would do it again.

Lifting her chin slightly, she studied the woman in return, golden-orange eyes flickering with something sharper than curiosity. "But that makes two of us trespassing here," she continued. "So, tell me — what's your purpose?"

Darth Moskvin ​