Tracking a Legend

[Froste]

Cole had spent a fair amount of time collecting the information that brought him to the core planet of Arroev. On the planet was a very dangerous individual. The individual used to be called Darth Apparatus, but now goes by Soeht. Cole may not have an excessive amount of information on the killing machine, but he was definitely aware of how powerful the individual was. Cole's mission in following Soeht was innocent enough. He simply wanted to meet and learn from the powerful individual.

Now, Cole was sitting in a shuttle bringing him to the surface of the temperate planet. Soeht had taken a shuttle to the surface as well, which Cole was able to successfully track. If the tracking device was correct, which he assumed it was, the shuttle had arrived at a military compound by now. Cole moved some papers off of his lap and brought the trackpad up to the pilot of his shuttle. The pilot was aware of the situation, and a member of Cole's regiment. The man was a One Sith soldier but Cole trusted the man as one of his own. The pilot set the course for the compound, and Cole would arrive there shortly.

Cole moved himself back to his old seat and awaited to land at his destination.

[member="Soeht"]

 

[Soeht]

Silence enveloped the Arroev compound. There was a low profile to it - as if it was not to be too obvious to a passerby. The main door into the main building laid on the ground - shattered. The decapitated body of a soldier in solid black armor sat in the middle of the entrance. This would be clearly visible from outside as one approached the compound.

No one would stop or approach Cole [member="Tymon"] if he decided to enter the compound. No one tried to hail his ship. Chances were, the compound was even a part of the One Sith - yet there were no signals of distress.

The interior of the compound featured signs of a struggle. Smoldering slash marks covered the walls and floor. Scorches from blaster impacts were present everywhere. Bodies obviously slain by a lightsaber or some incinerating force littered the walkways.

The trail of carnage followed a purposeful path deep into the compound - which went down several levels underground. Easy to follow if one was not keen on exploring the untouched regions of the compound.

 

[Froste]

Cole's shuttle had landed a small ways away from the compound, and Cole would have to hoof it the rest of the way. Cole had figured it might have been a little too dangerous for the shuttle to approach the compound itself, as it could have been very easily just shot out of the sky. And whether his men knew it or not, he did not want to put their lives at risk when it was unnecessary.

So now Cole walked the short distance from his landing point and the military compound. Cole was honestly unsure of what to expect when he arrived at the compound. Was it being held by the One Sith? Some other military? The documents Cole had found on it were vague to say the least, and really only told him that there was in fact a compound there. No details of ownership, which was a bit odd. Either way, Cole was sure he could get past whatever security the base had. Should it be a One Sith outpost, it would be as simply as telling the guards his name and that he was a Lieutenant Colonel. He was rather sure that any grunt would let him past at that point, due to the fact that denial could cause a nasty end for the poor fodder.

However, if it were a base occupied by any other military power, Cole would have to rely on some other way to enter. Undoubtedly some way of sneaking past the guards, via disguise or simply climbing a wall. That would simply inconvenience Cole and he desperately hoped it was the former.

Eventually, Cole came into view of the military base. The place had looked deserted to Cole, and he quickly decided to go with the head on approach. He neared the entrance and noticed a headless soldier dressed in a black suit of armor. Cole exhaled from his nose at the site, but then scanned around the area for anything that could have done this. Upon not finding anything, Cole made for the entrance, stepping over the body in the process.

There had been a fight on the inside, Cole was sure. The slash marks in the wall and the lightsaber cuts through the bodies that were sprawled across the floor told Cole that there was a powerful force somewhere inside the compound. While he was rather sure that this force was in fact Soeht, the Acolyte kept his mind open to other options. It seemed foolish to simply assume, when there could be a very real threat of another lightsaber wielder in the compound. Cole continued following the carnage and destruction, which led deeper and deeper into the compound. From the outside, Cole would not have thought the compound to be as big as it was. The trail kept on going, and Cole kept his hand near his hip should the need arise to use his lightsaber as he stepped in blood and over dead bodies.

[member="Soeht"]

 

[Soeht]

After a bit of walking, there would be another body for Cole [member="Tymon"] to discover. The holocomm on the body still worked, yet just an audio signal was sent to it.

"They breached the..." began a crackling voice through the comm.

Yet at that moment, the lights suddenly turned off within the compound. The obvious hum of electrical devices being shut off could be heard. For a couple seconds, pure darkness would accompany Cole in the hallway.

The designers of the compound had safety in mind, still. An emergency generator turned on somewhere in the facility. Red lights near the floor turned on and blinked in a manner as if to guide people to the exit. This provided a dim light to the rest of the hall.

The path of carnage that Cole had been following went in the opposite direction of the blinking lights.

Then, a voice spoke.

 

[Froste]

Cole stumbled across the body and crouched down next to it. He did not have very much time to examine it before an audio message was sent through the dead man's holocomm. It went, "They breached the...". As soon as the audio message ended, all of the lights shut off. Cole jumped back to his feet and pulled his lightsaber from his hip. For a few moments, the only light was the red glow of the saber and the only sound was Cole's slightly exaggerated breathing through his mask.

Suddenly, red lights at the base of the walls turned on. They seemed to try to guide him back, it was probably meant to lead the faculty of the facility to the nearest exit. Cole had begun to relax from the jump of the lights shutting off, until an ominous voice spoke out.

It asked Cole why he was here. He pondered how he wanted to respond for a moment, and sheathed his lightsaber as he spoke. "To learn." The response was simple enough, but enough to provoke further conversation. He also hoped the gesture of putting his weapon away would show who he thought was [member="Soeht"] that he was there peacefully. The Sith Acolyte slowly continued following the path of carnage, awaiting the response from the voice.

 

[Soeht]

No response came from the voice.

The path further into the compound would be free for Cole [member="Tymon"] to follow. More of the recently departed awaited him. The power never returned.

If Cole continued, he would eventually reach a giant blast door at the end of a long hall. It was at least four meters tall and closed. Several stormtroopers laid dead on the ground before the door. Blaster marks dotted the hall - a sign of their futile attempts to keep the attacker from reaching the door.

A command console stood next to the door. It was damage beyond repair - sparks flying out of it. The most obvious path forward would have been to cut through the blast door.

On the ground next to the command console was an armored man with his back to the wall. He was wheezing through his helmet - almost as if he was in pain. He had his left hand over his stomach.

“W-who’s there?” he would ask if Cole approached.

 

[Froste]

Continuing his slow pace, the upcoming scene gradually grew nearer as Cole stepped closer and closer. He first laid his eyes on the dead stormtroopers that leaning against the door and in front of it, all obviously dead. His eyes then glanced over the blast door, it was closed and a deal taller than he was. The door also sported some blaster marks to match those on the walls around it and down the hall. Finally, the last thing to catch Cole's attention was the wheezing of an injured man off to the side, sitting against the wall near the command console of the door. This was the first alive man he had seen on his expedition, and Cole was not one to be trusting. The Acolyte pulled his lighstaber from his hip as he walked over to the soldier, keeping it off for the time being.

The man asked who was there as Cole approached him. Cole didn't trust this man with his identity, and gave a simple response. "I will not hurt you, soldier." The words may or may not be true, as the Acolyte was unsure of the exact situation as of yet. It did strike Cole as odd, however. Every man in this compound had been found dead, aside from this select one. To Cole, the survival of this man was not coincidence. It was intentional.

Cole gave a look around the room one more time before speaking to the injured soldier once more. "Tell me, what transpired here? It is important you tell me the truth, and with as many details as possible. We haven't got all day, either. Spit it out quickly." Cole's tone had changed slightly from before, as now he seemed more aggressive when the chance to receive information on [member="Soeht"] presented itself. The Acolyte hoped the man would be cooperative, as Cole was unsure of his injury and did not know how much longer the man would survive.

 

[Soeht]

The man turned his head toward Cole [member="Tymon"] . Several seconds passed after Cole began questioning him. He turned away - looking at the ground near his own feet.

“Two Sith,” began the man, “They sealed themselves in the lab.”

The man shivered - grasping his stomach even tighter.

“If anything’s left, all the answers to why are in that lab,” the man said, “Just, please, avenge my comrades.”

Succinct and to the point, that was it for the armored man’s initial answer. He continued to breathe and would have been available for further questioning. Yet, that would have allowed whoever was beyond the blast doors - in the so-called lab - to continue doing whatever they had set out to do.

 

[Froste]

Cole listened intently as the grievously injured man gave him the information he had. The Acolyte was surprised to hear that there were two Sith inside, he hadn't even noticed the presence of the second. Either way, there were two Sith in the room ahead of him now. The situation is very dangerous, yet Cole decided to continue on with it. If worst came to worst, [member="Soeht"] and the unknown Sith inside would probably be able to deal with Cole the same as they had the standard soldiers that lay before him.

After the trooper finished giving Cole his answers, the Acolyte stood to his feet and exhaled. He could ask the man more questions, but it would more than likely just be a waste of time. He knew what two Sith were capable of, he didn't need a warning from a man who had lost to them already. With his lightsaber already in his hand, Cole stepped in front of the blast door. He ignited it and raised it up, slowly beginning to cut through the door. After what felt like forever, the entry Cole was making was complete. The Acolyte raised his hand up and gently pushed open the makeshift entry point, anxious to see inside of the lab.

 

[Soeht]

The slab of the blast door that Cole [member="Tymon"] sliced open fell to the floor. The inside of the lab was dim - the power for the facility was still gone. Yet, red light from the emergency lights managed to keep the lab somewhat lit.

The room was shaped as a giant circle. The ceiling was extremely tall. Had the lights been working correctly, the room would have surely been a glossy white. A plethora of holocomputers were strung around the lab - their emitters dark. Several bodies of lab technicians littered the floor. At the back of the lab was what looked like a pod meant to store a humanoid subject.

Standing before the pod was a fully armored figure with a body draped over one shoulder. It was clear that the armored person had a feminine body shape. The body over her shoulder was covered in a white cloth with just the feet visible to Tymon.

The armored woman looked at Tymon. She held a crimson lightsaber and pointed it toward Cole. She was several meters away.

“Who are you?” she questioned with a monotonous tone.

 

[Froste]

Before answering the woman standing in front of him, Cole killed the power on his lightsaber. He wasn't necessarily here to fight, but he wasn't foolish either. He didn't completely sheath the weapon, however he hoped the gesture of switching it off would show to the woman that he wasn't being aggressive.

The Acolyte spent a quick moment inspecting the room, making note of the dead lab technicians and the pod. Cole then brought his eyes back to the woman, using a moment to glance over the body on her shoulder. And finally, Cole spoke. "I am Cole Tymon. I was hoping to find [member="Soeht"]." Cole saw no point in trying to deceive the mysterious woman, so he simply told her the truth.

 

[Soeht]

The lab had little sign of an actual firefight occurring. The lab technicians were likely massacred - whether or not they fought back. Their bodies displayed the means to their demise - large, charred slash marks across their vital just as one would expect from a lightsaber.

The armored woman was unmoving even as Cole [member="Tymon"] deactivated his lightsaber and identified himself. She wore the trappings of a Sith - though the feeling surrounding her seemed more hollow and empty than the passionate torrent one would expect from a Sith.

The body hanging from one of the woman’s shoulders had a feminine shape to it beneath the cloth. She was alive, if the Force was telling no lies.

Once Tymon revealed his intentions, the armored woman continued to stare at him for several seconds. Then, she turned her head as if to look at something behind Cole.

A compelling telekinetic force then attempted to wrestle Cole’s deactivated lightsaber from his hand. Its source: directly behind the young Sith.

 

[Froste]

Cole was completely unaware of the presence behind him, so when the telekinetic force pulled at the lightsaber in his hand, it gave way with ease. As soon as the young Sith's weapon was forcibly removed from his hand, he spun around to face whoever or whatever had taken the weapon.

[member="Soeht"]