The Rise and Fall of Gor Heights

[Tarek'Gor]

A long time ago... in the Avidon System



"We are coming out of hyperspace milord" the Gaddania's captain chimed in from a console in front of Darth Heurek.

"Any sign of pursuit?" Heurek asked.

"None milord" the captain responded looking over from his console.

"Where is the Gorrada and my apprentice Captain?" Heurek asked.

"Destroyed milord. She did not jump with us", the Captain responded cautiously.

Darth Heurek fumed as he stared out the view port of his flagship the Gaddania, fate and the force and conspired to force his retreat to the Avidon system. He stared at the remnants of his once glorious forces. Of the hundreds of ships he had once commanded only seven remained, Of his countless slaves only thousands remained were left alive and his once immeasurable wealth had been reduced to only that which he had been able to salvage in the final moments of his defeat at the hands of the Jedi.

"Milord we are detecting a number of planets in the system that may serve as safe harbor, but we are blocked by an asteroid field" the Captain of the Gaddania said interrupting Heureks brooding.

"Push through the field and prepare the fleet to land on the nearest planet" Heurek commanded.

"Milord, the "fleet" has sustained considerable damage, we may not survive the-" The captains words of caution were cut short as Heurek enraged clasped the mans throat shut with a gesture of his hand.

"I Said! Push through the field and bring us to the nearest planet!" Heurek shouted his anger evident in his voice and actions.

"-- Y-yes mi--lord" the Captain managed to mutter, his face turning a beat red from lack of oxygen. Promptly Heurek released him and returned to his musings.

"All ships. Divert power to forward point defence batteries, push through the asteroid field and prepare for planet-side landing" the Captain commanded through the comm channels.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

"Milord, we are detecting a space station on the far side of the system. It appears to be under-construction and has not scanned us, shall we attempt communication" The captain of the Gaddania stated to Darth Heurek.

"Take no action Captain, the Gulag Plague has made many systems paranoid and they are more likely to pursue battle then render aid. Likely this station is a means to control travel into the system, one which you have bypassed through sheer luck.", Heurek responded.

"Yes milord" the captain responded hardening his features to avoid giving away his annoyance at the passive insult.

A bright flash outside the bridges view-ports caught the captains eye. One of the remaining ships had sustained critical damage and exploded in a fireball of dazzling light and death. Darth Heurek did not even glance in the lost ships direction. But there was no time to mourn or contemplate alternative action. Asteroid fields are no place for ships and capital vessels fair far worse then any other. As the flagship of Darth Heureks once massive fleet he Gaddania was not an ordinary ship, but even its formidable deferences were no match for the onslaught of rock and iron that the asteroid field presented.

Heurek sat troubled in his seat aboard his flagship. It wasn't the loss of yet another ship that age at him though. A gnawing unease at the back of his mind was growing. Heurek closed his eyes and drew on the frustration of recent event to command the force to provide him an answer. It responded and Heurek was not pleased with what he saw.

"Captain, order the fleet to increase speed!" He commanded.

Darth Heurek contemplates the loss of his fleet aboard the Gaddania

 

[Tarek'Gor]

Aboard a Jedi Cruiser In a nearby System

"Master, the fighting has drawn to a close, the rest of the fleet is breaking away" Balan'Gor announced.

"I know Balan, they are returning to help coordinate efforts in the core. Threat of this plague has everyone frightened, some beyond reason", the old Jedi master responded solemnly.

"We are not going to join them?" Balan asked cautiously.

The old jedi laughed. "I did not take you for a hypochondriac my young Padawan".

"If somone aboard becomes ill we could be trapped outside the blockade, I find the prospect .. uncomfortable" Balan responded hesitantly and somewhat ashamed but his fear..

"Im sorry lad, but we cant return to republic space just yet", the old Jedi master responded solemnly. "Darth Heureks fleet may be decimated, but the man still poses a threat. We cannot allow him to escape or before long he will be inflicting his madness on another hapless planet" .

Balan felt disappointment wash over him. He had a bad feeling that pursuing the Sith warmonger would not end as Master Doon was hoping and there was no telling how long the pursuit would take. Meanwhile the threat of this new plague was beginning to restrict travel. Systems were closing off their borders and setting blockades at major points of entry. Ships with the sick and dying were turned away from inhabited worlds and at times even destroyed outright. It was.. chaos. In Balan's mind being aboard a starship was the worst option for avoiding the sickness. Even the air inside this metal tomb was circulated again and again and this new plague was known to bypass even the most sophisticate filtration systems. Being planet side was far preferable to the confines of the ship and if he had to be planet side Balan preferred to be back home not trudging through a backwater system chasing a washed up Sith madman.

"Yes Master Doon, I will request another ship join us and begin the calculations for an intercept jump" Balan responded stoicly and left his master to his meditation.

Padawan Balan'Gor at an unknown location prior to the campaign against Darth Heurek

 

[Tarek'Gor]

Heurek gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, his knuckles turning pale white from the exertion. Space spun around the Gaddania, a flurry of light, rock and impending doom as the warship tumbled to the planet below. Only two ships had emerged from the asteroid field and as the Gaddania began its downward spiral its aft end had struck the other ship with a crippling blow that shattered the other vessel into a thousand pieces. Heurek's vessel was now the last ship he commanded. The Sith sat gripping his seat in an effort to avoid being strewn about the bridge as many of the other bridge crew had. A few of the more hardened spacefarers had come to their senses early in the Gaddania's decent and had used the ships safety harnesses to secure themselves in their seats. They would survive... possibly.

Heurek wondered for a moment if the force could offer some means to escape this calamity. He had heard legends of Sith lords who had moved mountains to avoid death. He focused for a moment on the ship, willing its chaotic decent to slow. Nothing. Even the force has its limits.

"Was this the end?" the Sith warlord wondered. Heureks life flashed before his eyes. He had led a short but eventful existence rife with violence, conquest and debauchery, it was fitting that it should end this way he thought. The Gaddania plummeted to the planet below and from his vantage point on the bridge Heurek caught a glimpse of snow, ice and water drawing ever closer. To his own surprise his thoughts at this time of impending death wandered to pleasant memories. Growing up with his siblings, his first kiss, days hunting with his father in the forests of their home, his obsession with the large bodiced dancer at the cantina... Heurek found himself wandering what had become of those he had left behind so many years ago. Then the Gaddania struck the ground below and all of Heureks musings melted away into oblivion.

____________


"Master, we are coming up on an asteroid field. Detecting numerous derelict vessels, it would appear Darth Heurek braved the field with a cost." Balan'Gor announced.

"Any other anomolies", the old Jedi master asked.

"A space station on the far side of the system, it appears under construction. Shall we hail them?." Balan'Gor asked.


"No. Its best we go unnoticed, the plague has put many of these backwater systems ill at ease and I would rather avoid a firefight", the old Jedi master replied as he contemplated thier next move.

"Inform the Captain of the other vessel that we will be entering the field. They will take a position directly astern and allow us to take the brunt of the asteroids impacts, this way one of us will arrive on the other side unscathed" the Jedi Master ordered.

Balan, looked skeptical but did as he was told.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

Huerek's eyes shuddered and then slowly opened. He was lying on his back in a field of snow staring at the open sky and its brightness was in stark comparison to the artificial illumination that he was used to. Footsteps crunching in the snow and then voices caught his attention.

"Prisoners go to Master Doon's ship" he heard someone shout. The Jedi had finally caught up with the might Darth Heurek. He turned his head to look around, what was left of his ship and its survivors was strewn about a field of snow, ice and cold ocean. Not far, two enormous republic cruisers had landed. One he recognized as the ship of a Jedi Master who had dogged him these last few months, it was riddled with damage from asteroid collisions. The other ship which heurek did not recognize was relatively undamaged.

Republic troopers, clad in snow white arctic gear, were combing the wreckage of the Gaddania in search of survivors of the crash. Heurek struggled to his feet with murder in his eyes and reached for the light-saber dangling at his side. A squad of soldiers, saw him rise and began a rapid approach towards him. Heurek tried to bring his lightsaber to his grip and ignite its crimson blade but instead he clumsily dropped it to the icy floor. In shock Heurek looked down at his fighting hand and stared in shock as he found it frozen. It was only then that Heurek realized how frigidly cold it was. All of his extremities were numb, his eyes teared from the cold and the tears instantly froze solid against his skin. Heurek considered lashing out with the force at the approaching soldiers but the cold had robbed him of even the fiery passion that fueled his power. He had heard of hypothermia changing mens minds, and wondered if he was subject to it.

Heurek looked around, most of his own forces lay dead from the crash or dying from the cold. A few had donned arctic weather gear from the survival kits of unlaunched escape pods and were seeking to help those who were unable to move. No one had any fight left in them. His arms and his will subdued, Heurek fell to his knees and surrendered.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

Jedi Master Doon and Darth Heurek stared at each other across the containment field. The two men were glued to each others eyes, niether blinking and niether looking away. There were countless differences between them but they held one common trait: stubborness. Doon was pleased with the relativly easy capture of the Sith, apart from a few cases of frostbite his men had suffered no casualties. He himself had not even had the oppurtunity to join the hunt when word of Heureks surrender reached him. At first the Jedi master had thought it a Sith ploy to decieve him but upon seeing Heurek's nearly frozen form depositied into the ships brig, Doon had realized that the weather had beaten this man. At least for now.

Heurek, out of sheer luck had managed to keep his extremeties, many of his men had not been so lucky. The cold in this region of the planet rivalled the equator of Hoth and the Gaddania crew had been ill prepared for the crash. Many of those who had survived the initial impact quickly succumbed to the intense cold and many of those who survived had to give up limbs too frozen to heal.

Balan'Gor, Master Doons apprentice walked into the brig and the old Jedi finally broke his staring contest with Heurek.

"How did we fare Balan?" the Jedi asked.

Balan looked at the prisoner in the cell and wondered if he should be giving a detailed report within his earshot. But Master Doon seemed confident so Balan began his report.

"We had to shutdown the search for the night. Too cold, even for the planetside vehicles. Prisoner count is just over 200, we will do a quick run in the morning but not expecting any more survivors" the Padawan responded.

Master Doon nodded his face masked of all emotions, "Thats unfortunate, what about our trusty vessels".

Balan sighed, "Well, weve lost just about everything except life support and weapons. No engines, no hyperdrive, comms are down too"

"And our escort?" The master asked referring to the other cruiser.

"She fared better thanks to us but... its not good. No comms, engines took a hit and thier nav-computer was destroyed. Techs are seeing if they can retrofit ours but it will take a couple days"

Master Doon nodded, "Good, once she is up and running we can all squeeze aboard for the journey home".

The two men were interupted by a the ships first officer as he came running into the brig. The man looked relieved to find the two jedi and struggled to catch his breath before speaking. "Thank the force, you two are still aboard. We have a problem. Three of the other ships crew have fallen ill. Thier medic thinks its the plague".

Sitting alone in his cell Darth Heurek smiled.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

The spread of disease is often gradual, as it requires both a vector and time. What spreads instantly however is fear. The two republic ships stranded in the Avidon system were no exception to this rule. Balan and Master Doon observed the events developing on the planet over the course of a few day. Aboard thier own vessel, the crew was fearful of being permanently stranded but content to wait. Above their sister ship however things developed much more radically.

"Has the fighting stopped?" Balan asked his master as he entered the holding cells. Since learning of the sickness aboard their escort ship Master Doon had instructed Balan to remain in the holding cells and keep an eye on Darth Heurek and the other prisoners. For some reason Master Doon believed the Sith was complicit in the events that had unfolded on the other vessel . Balan knew that was physically impossible, but regardless he spent his days and nights in the holding cells watching thier prisoner. At first Balan was bored out of his mind, but after Master Doon instructed him to engage Heurek in conversation to glean intelligence Balan slowly found himself more and more engaged and engrossed by the Sith Knight. As Balan learned more of the man and his history he was surprised at how different he was from the perceptions everyone had of him and even more surprised to learn that he actually admired the man.

"It appears so , though no-one is responding to our attempts to communicate" Master Doon responded. "Have you learned anything from our prisoner?".

"With regards to our predicament" Balan shook his head in the negative.

Master Doon considered Balans response and became lost in thought.

"Prepare a team, I want you to head over there and find some answers", Doon said eventually.

A jolt of fear suddenly gripped Balan's heart and he found himself frozen by it. He stood there staring at Master Doon unable to speak.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

Balan stood in silence. He imagined his life coming to an abrupt and painful end, huddled in a corner too weak to move, his lungs filled with fluid and his eyes hazed over. As always the concept of being ill, terrified him. It was Darth Heurek who eventually broke the silence.

"If you send him over there, you send him to certain death".

"You are not his master" Doon snapped at the Sith as he looked at Balan for a response. "My apprentice, I can see this is troubleing you, but fear is somthing every Jedi must overcome" , Doon paused. "And to prove to you my sincerity in this, I will go to the ship first and then you shall follow".

Balan smiled and nodded, though he felt no different. "Yes master", was all he could muster.

Satisfied with Balan's response Master Doon departed the brig, heading for his chambers to gather items for the frigid trip outside. Balan meanwhile continued to stand in the brig in silence attempting to get a grip of the fear he was expected to overcome.

"You know I speak the truth Balan. You cannot go to the other vessel. Not only will you be throwing your own life away but also the lives of everyone whom you infect upon your return" Heurek claimed sincerely. "Go, speak to your master and convince him to remain here or he will doom us all"

Conflicted and still gripped with terror the young Padawan left the brig to seek out his master. To his chagrin, Master Doon had already left and now he was expected to follow. Balan proceeded to his quarters and put on his parka. It was a warm coat which would protect him from the frigid cold of the planets surface. For a time. He gathered his lightsaber and made his way to the landing gangway. As he walked down the corriders of the ship, the crew watched him with worried eyes. Some shook thier heads while others looked on in admiration for his apparent bravery. When he reached the departure ramp that would take him to the surface Balan paused. He felt his heart beat faster and faster as the came to grips with what he was about to do. The young jedi took a breath and made his way outside.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

The sun was quickly setting on the nameless world and Balan could feel the temperature approaching dangerously cold levels. He looked down at the tracks of his master who had left less then an hour before headed for the other vessel. Balan took a step forward, then another then another. He felt his fear of infection subside somewhat now that he had accepted whatever fate was in store for him but it gnawed at him. When the vessel was still a few hundred yards away a commotion caught the jedi padawans eyes. He looked up to see Master Doon and a handful of others slowly making thier way towards him. Even from his current distance he could see that a number were on stretchers and many others wore medical masks.

Realization suddenly dawned on Balan. Master Doon was bringing members of the other crew back to his ship. Balan watched the group and contemplated what to do. He should rush out to help them but that meant risk of infection. To his own surprise the fear he had felt earlier was gone. Unfortunately anger had taken the place of fear. The young padawan felt contempt grow in the pit of his stomach. Darth Heurek was right, Master Doon was going to risk everyone's lives. Balan understood where the old jedi master was coming from. Doon wanted to preserve his principles, he wanted to be compassionate in the face of fear and danger. Balan was not without compassion. But in the end one man did not deserve to make life and death decisions for all those around him simply on the basis of his principles.

Balan turned around and returned to the ship. He walked up the landing ramp and was surprised to find Darth Heurek waiting for him at the top.

 

[Tarek'Gor]

"Im glad you came to your senses my friend" Heurek flashed him a half smile.

"How did you-" Balan began

"Escape?" Heurek finished for him. "I didnt, your crew released me to deal with this problem of the plague and those who may carry it."

"What are you going to do?" Balan asked

"Only what is required" Heurek responded.

The Sith closed the access ramp and locked it using the control panel. No-one from outside could enter.

"No one enters... I will remain here and ensure your master remains outside. Proceed to the bridge and make sure things are in order" Heurek instructed

Balan nodded and left making his way to the bridge. Some crew members glanced at him, guilt, surprise and relief in their eyes at finding him still alive. Arriving at the bridge Balan came upon a heated debate ensuing between the republic commander whom he was familiar with and a lieutenant who wore the uniform of Heureks crew. Apparently more then just the Sith Knight had been freed Balan realized. The arguing paused as the he approached.

"Milord" the lieutenant began "The other vessel has powered their weapons". Balan didn't understand why the Lieutenant had given him the honorary "milord" but he determined he should not let it go to his head, yet.

"But they have made no move to target us!" The republic commander interrupted.

"Only because their targeting system is damaged. Milord, we need to respond" The lieutenant interrupted the commander in kind and looked to Balan.

Balan considered his options and then spoke.

"At this very moment, Master Doon is freezing to death because he risked the lives of this crew. We will not make the same mistake", Balan answered. "Power weapons and destroy the other vessel. Eliminate all trace of them and the infection they carry".

 

[Tarek'Gor]

The explosion from the destruction of the republic vessel revealed a series of caves below their location and the survivors over time built a small settlement within its depths. The republic cruiser was salvaged for its material and components to assist with the endeavour. Balan eventually killed Darth Heurek in the typical manner of sith apprentices and by virtue of his power became master of the region which he Dubbed Gor heights. Eventually Balan discovered that the planet they had crashed on was neither inhospitable nor devoid of other settlements however he used fear of the plague to quell any thoughts of anyone returning to the republic or their old homes. Those who disobeyed became slaves. those who followed he rewarded.

As time wore on the men and women of Gor heights forgot their old lives and embraced their new ones. Balan himself left behind the vestiges of his old life and focused on what he could achieve in Avidon. Building the fortress became one of his passions and he drove many a slave to their deaths in its completion over the course of many years.