Private What Lies Below

[Kimiko Taiyou]

A long time ago...

A voice was heard that lead to a discovery that would change the lives of millions of beings. It brought about a leader who would go about uniting an empire. Though known only by this initial empress and the successors as it saw fit, it guided and allowed the civilization to prosper for millennia.

It has been slumbering beneath the surface for over a hundred years, since the last empress passed away without a named successor.

But now, it stirs. Feeling the presence of a new leader for the people it has watched over for it's entire life...

Modern day...

Heels clicked against the marbled floor as her quick and focused pace took her through the halls of the palace. An advisor tried hard to keep up, but the shorter women just couldn't match Ki and often fell behind. Panting the other woman attempted to calm the Empress' nerves,"Your Grace...please think about your response to him. I understand you may be a little, frustrated, but, hear him out." she spoke between pants.

Ki, frustrated beyond reason, snarled at the advice, did not show any signs of slowing her march,"No, Tsuki, I will not. This is not the first time he has gone off on one of his, escapades. He always thinks he can return with no repercussions. He goes off on these grand adventures, looking for treasures and new nick-knacks. He said he retired!" they round a corner and approached a door that lead to one of the palace's landing pads.

The guards rendered bows and reported of the holding of her target on the other side. Ki took a moment to straighten herself out, before gesturing for the door to open.

Once she saw her renegade husband, her anger came back in full,"How dare you think you can just prance around the Galaxy like you own the place!" she nearly screamed, raising a finger and nearly charging him...

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

Blaster bolts tore through the air, close enough to Dax's head that it singed the hairs on his neck as he turned, lifting the amber blade of his saber, deflecting bolts that would certainly burrow deathly holes in body.

His ship, the Azalea, roared to life as the thrusters rumbled, lifting the vessel off the ground as more small arms fire pinged off the hull.

The star streaked across the viewport as the Azalea soared through hyperspace, it's captain letting out a relieved sigh as he leaned back into his seat, homebound.

"Alright, bring her down!"

............The sound of a massive crate falling to the ground echoed through the air.

"Hey! Be careful! That's 600 pounds of explosives! Do you want to send this place up in flames?!" Dax shouted at the droid carrying one of the crates.

............Well, that could have gone better. But, Dax was home. And thus far, he hadn't been blown up...plus, he'd avoided the wrath of his wife! Honestly, the man couldn't have asked for much more for his hopefully last little escapade.

Click! Click! Click!

............The sound of heels on landing platform came from behind the man, causing him to grimace. Spoke too soon.

"Hey hun!" Dax said, turning around, and putting on his best smile in the hopes of lessening the punishment he was certainly about to endure. "I thought you were still off-world! I brought you home a uh...present?"

"How dare you think you can just prance around the Galaxy like you own the place!"

'Abort mission, abort mission!'

"Well, I heard there was a dark sider tome out there, and retirement was getting boring! And you know, I can't let that kind of stuff fall into the wrong hands, so I-" One glance was all it took for Dax to figure out that he wasn't earning any points with his wife at the moment. The man hung his head in defeat. The great Dax, lord of a world, once the leader of a great alliance, and Grand Marshall of Judges, cowed by the tiny 5' 3" kitsune woman. What a sight to see.

"I'm sorry, Ki...It won't happen again." It was gonna happen again. And they both knew it.

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

She had seen that look, heard that excuse and apology a dozen times before. Her resolve faltered for a split second, but only the hyper-attentive would catch it. She knew they would go about making up and moving forward after this, but the woman's emotions were getting the best of her yet again. He had to hear her worries, hear her feelings.

The recent months started out blissfully. Dax had 'retired' and began spending more time at home. Lazily relaxing with the children when afforded or assisting with matters of the state when Ki needed him for an outside opinion. Some of the other of Ki's companions had enjoyed Dax's company as well, to Ki's own amusement. Even Chika had accompanied him for a drink on several occasions. Everything had seemed to be falling into a pattern of normalcy.

Then, one day, Dax got an itch akin to his rogue days. He had snuck away while Ki was off-world, and ventured to find some sort of artifact from an ancient Sith faction. He did well to maintain his secret for a considerable time. But after one too many missions, she discovered his treasure chest so to speak. At first, Ki wasn't mad, she understood the need to scratch the adventurous itch every now and then. What bothered her was most definitely the frequency of his trips and how he never told her.

When she had first confronted him about it, she foolishly thought things would get better...but trip after trip, she had caught onto him and his escapades, and every time they argued, she ached. Ached for a little bit of truth, a little honesty from her husband.

Ki snapped back, tears running down her face as her finger shook as the emotions welled up,"I've heard you say that so many times now Dax, I thought you would've understood how I felt about you going out every now and then. I don't care if you go seeking some artifact or what have you." her hand fell, as did the tears finally come out,"I just wanted you to tell me. Communicate with me."

She took a deep breath wiping away the moisture on her cheeks, shaking her head rapidly before looking back up to him,"What was so important for you to go hunting for this time?"

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............It wasn't exactly due to keen eyes that Dax noticed the fleeting change in Ki's countenance, though he had those too. It was the fact he'd known the woman for so long. This wasn't exactly the first time they'd had this conversation. It hadn't been the first time Dax had been caught red handed after one of his clandestine outtings. And everytime, it was the same thing. Arguing, maybe crying, apologizing and making up. Promising to change things, only for the cycle to repeat once more. Sometimes being a creature of habit wasn't the best thing in the galaxy.

............Ki snapped, again, the tears coming down. And just like the last nine or so times, it broke Dax's heart. Dax reached out, almost cautiously for his wife's hand and took it gently in his. "I know, Ki, I know. I just...I don't want you worrying. Or thinking that I'm gonna get myself doing something so blasted stupid," the Rogue apologized, meaning it. It wasn't for a lack of trying either, that the man constantly failed at his wife's one request. Part of it, that was much harder for the man to put into words, was that he felt like every time he went out, he was breaking his promise to lay down his sabers. He knew, at the end of the day, Kimiko wouldn't really care if he went to go recover some dusty old scroll or another. It was the fear of his constantly broken word would drive her away. Although, he was doing a wonderful job of that anyways it seemed.

............Dax turned and gestured towards the frigate, droids still unloading various crates, "I'd gotten word from a small rebel cell on some backwater planet they'd found a old Dark Side tome, and wanted to trade munitions for it. They went back on it, but I got the tome and the weapons back here. It doesn't matter." The Rogue turned back to wife, an serious and apologetic look on his face. "Look, I know I've said it before, but I'm gonna try to tell you next time. Okay? I mean, I get it if you don't believe me, but I'm gonna do it. Promise."

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Ki balled her fist and punched his shoulder playfully,"You're always doing something stupid." she followed this with the Akaran word for idiot, it felt fitting in this context. Inside, the placation from his words, did ease a bit of the anger she had before continuing.

She did seem surprised he was smuggling weapons, an act he hadn't personally done in quite some time. She looked up at him with a quizzical brow raised,"Three questions: One; What is on this tome that is oh so important? Two; What in the world did you think would happen running guns? and Three; What rebel cell did you attempt to do dealings with?" the last question really irked her. If he had been making backdoor dealings, there was a possibility they would know him and where he was from, which meant retaliation.

A heavy sigh,"This is actually something I have been meaning to talk to you about as well." she turned away and steeled herself for the next part. She had been thinking long and hard about this moment, not thinking it would be started so confrontational, but, here they were. When she turned back to her husband, she was ready to lay it on him,"I've been thinking for some time over what I'm about to say Dax, so don't take it lightly...I think you should-"

She was cut off as a violent tremor rocked the palace. Masonry fell from the walls, alarms started sounding and several personnel nearby panicked as the ground shook.

It was over in seconds.

Ki snapped back and looked for Tsuki, finding the smaller Akaran sprawled on the floor attempting to read a data pad,"Tsuki, status?!"

The other woman was obviously pouring over reports coming from various locations throughout the palace,"Grace, it seems as though this was the biggest quake yet. Damage reports are still coming in, but, as of now, there is a small fire in the Knights' quarters and a water main has ruptured flooding the residential suites. No serious injuries as of now." she looked to Ki with what could only be described as exhaustion which sent Ki into a fury.

"That's the seventh tremor today! Can nobody figure out where they're coming from??"

It was at that moment, Kimiko fell to her knees, whining in pain and grasping at her ears...

"I think the time has come...."

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............The Rogue cracked a smile as his wife playfully jabbed his shoulder and calling him an idiot in her native tongue. "Yeah, but you're the one who married me, so who's the bigger idiot?" he teased back.

............The next few questions were easy to answer at least. "Supposedly has something todo with Life Transfer and Life Drain, haven't taken a look yet though, so I can't be sure." Besides, messing with Dark Side artifacts typically required defeating the spirit of it's progenitor, or dealing with some curse...obstacles Dax wanted to eliminate before opening the book, and certainly not on the Azalea. "And honestly, I figured it was a fifty-fifty. People either try to kill me, which usually ends with them dead, or everything goes honky-dorey. That should also answer your last question." The cell, small, and still growing, had sent a sizable team to deal with the former Judge...unfortunately for them, that had meant they didn't have enough people at the end of it all to harass Dax or anyone else for that matter. The Rogue had made sure of that.

............It was the turning around though that set Dax on edge. The man gave his wife a concerned, questioning look, as she took a few steps away. She only ever did that when she was about to make a very big, very serious suggestion, which could frankly go either way. The Empress never finished her sentence though, as the walls of the palace shook violently. Dax took a step back to steady himself, one hand moving towards his slugthrower. A first reaction. It was only a moment later that Dax realized that there had been no accompanying sounds of explosions, meaning they weren't under attack. Well that was a first.

............Dax took a look around, very confused. Tremors? What in the void? As far as Dax knew, Akarui wasn't exactly known for earthquakes. What was going on? Well, Dax wouldn't have the opportunity to figure it out much longer. In an instant, Kimiko collapsed to the ground, and Dax dashed to her side, kneeling beside her, and gripping her arm. "Ki! What's wrong!" The man turned to the attendant and shouted, "Go get help!"

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

The pain was unlike any she had felt before, a loud reverberating ringing was all she felt and heard as the voice, booming and sounded as if it was coming from everywhere at once, as everything else around her ceased.

As quickly as it started, it was over. The ordeal had left Ki in a heaving mess on the ground, a cold sweat soaking through her robe and thick streams of pained tears down her cheeks. Her senses took a moment to return as she took several deep breaths to regain composure.

Her look at Dax was full of confusion and fear. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but before any words could make it out, the ground beneath them opened up...

And they fell...

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............The sounds of the attendant's feet striking the floor rapidly quickly disappeared, before there was nothing but the sounds of Kimiko's pain and Dax's worried voice trying to comfort her and bring her back from whatever mental assault she was under. Moment felt like hours until finally the pained cries receded into heaving breaths. Dax sat back a little, a look of concern still riddling his face. His wife looked up at him, her fear plain as day. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a sound, ground beneath them cracked open with thunderous crack and the two plummeted down.

............"Oh chit!" the Rogue shouted as the light quickly faded away and the wind roared into his ears. The Rogue reached out to grab his wife and pull her towards him as they plummeted into darkness.

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

Her eyes opened as the feeling of pain covered her entire being. Rolling onto her back, she suddenly found it difficult to breath, fractured ribs she thought. Toes and fingers began to flex as Ki took roll of all the extremities, tails included, not feeling much more past some serious bruising.

Painfully, she brought herself upright and attempted to gain her bearings. It was nearly impossible as the darkness swallowed everything around her, even with her eyes fully adjusted. Hands clumsily reached for one of her sabers and fumbled with the hilt before activating it. The white light did very little down here, where ever here was. Her eyes turned upwards, not even able to see the hole through which they fell. She cursed audibly, they must have fallen quite a distance. Thoughts immediately went to her husband, attempting to feel his presence, which was nearby.

Standing, she turned in his direction, bringing her lit blade low and studying the ground. It shined n the light of the saber, opalescent in it's refraction of the light. The entire ground was the same, it was mesmerizing.

She started her off in his direction,"Dax!" her voice echoed incredibly in the chamber, carrying on for some time...

In the darkness however, a pair of eyes watched with immense curiosity at the young empress, studying her as she walked along it's own back...

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............For a time, Dax couldn't see, hear or feel anything. Just the empty void of unconsciousness, spread out before him like an eternal ocean. And then all at once, a sharp pain in his skull, brought him back to reality as his eyes slowly opened. He was lying face down on the cold stone floor and he swore and groaned as he slowly stood up, pressing a hand against the spot on his head that was radiating the sharp pain. He could feel a small trickle of warm blood, but nothing too serious, he hoped. Worse case scenario, he fractured his skull...which wouldn't exactly be new for the Rogue. The possible concussion on the other hand, that part would suck.

............Dax began to remember what had happened. The floor cracking beneath him and his other half, the earth swallowing them whole, and then the long fall through the darkness. Ki! Where was she? Before Dax could begin a panicked search through the dark for his wife, a white bar of light illuminated the darkness, some distance away from him. Although he couldn't see the figure who held the blade, there was only one person who that could be.

"Dax!" her voice echoed towards the man, bringing a sense of warmth and comfort with it. No mistaking it now. And it sounded like she was okay, mostly.

"Ki!" Dax answered back, igniting his own amber blade, letting the woman know he was okay, and where he was. It didn't take more than a moment for Dax to take note of the floors though. "Woah..." the Rogue whispered, sweeping his saber in a slow arc in front of him, watching as the light reflected off the refracting stone in a million different ways.

Dax walked towards his wife, slowly sweeping his saber back and forth, still examining the mysterious stones as he approached. "Ki, are you okay?" he asked, if only to confirm what he was already sure of. She was still standing after all.

"I'm not imagining this right? No one slipped anything into my water or anything and I'm just hallucinating?" he said half jokingly. "What do you think this place is?" he asked, more seriously as he raised his saber into the air in an effort to get some more light and a better view of their surroundings.

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

She made the universal 'I don't know' sound as she approached, her saber blade continuing to arc widely, not doing much to cut through this darkness. Her focus turned upwards, the hole they had fallen through could not be seen,"I am fine, bruised and embarrassed, but fine. Are you okay?" she looked at him worriedly.

Before she could open her mouth on her thoughts of this place, a tremor shook the ground beneath them...more like moved beneath them. Worried eyes looked at Dax as a deep and bellowing voice could be heard in their heads...

"Welcome, young Empress and...guest. Before I reveal myself, please, do not be alarmed when we meet."

The voice had ceased, and a slight glow began filling the space around them. In the light appeared a massive draconic head towering above them. Ki stared in shock as the being's eyes were laser focused on her...

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............With Ki's confirmation that she wasn't too badly hurt, Dax nodded, glad that she was okay. It always helped to hear it, even if he had already guessed. "I mean, I'm gonna have one hell of a headache after this, but otherwise I'm fine." he answered, still looking around. And then he chuckled. A memory, almost a decade in the past now, came back to him. "Man. This almost reminds me of how we met. At least I didn't break my ribs this time," Dax mused with a warm smile. Stressful, terrible danger, but Nar Shadaa remained one of Dax's happiest memories.

............Before Ki responded, the ground shook again, and for a moment, Dax thought that the floor was about to give way again. Much to his surprise, it didn't and instead, a deep voice echoed in the Rogue's skull. 'Sure, sure, not like I rule another planet...' the Rogue sarcastically thought to himself, unsure if the mysterious voice could hear his thoughts.

............As the space before the two began to illuminate a gigantic serpentine head reared above them and stared down at Ki. Dax was mixed with a feeling of awe, shock and surprise. He'd seen many bizarre and amazing things through out his travels, but this, this about topped them all.

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​

 

[Kimiko Taiyou]

She stood, mouth agape and frozen in awe as her wide eyes studied the being before them. The massive head, pointed and covered in smooth white scales lowered until it was nearly at ground level, or whatever approximation of ground level was. The beast's shining pale eyes were transfixed on her, it was unnerving.

The voice echoed again, but the beast's mouth did not move. She thought it must be a form of telepathy,"A little surprised I can see. But do not worry, I mean you two no harm." it looked to Dax, curiosity in it's gaze,"Another being, one I have not seen before...how interesting." it breathed out of it's two large nostrils, the warm air causing a slight breeze around them as it focussed back on Ki.

"Wh-what are you, if you can understand me...if that's you talking in our heads?" she stammered, looking at Dax for clarification...

Dax Perl

 

[Dax Perl]

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[ D A X...F Y R E ]

............Dax glanced over at Ki as she spoke and caught the confused look she tossed his way. "I hear it too. Dax confirmed in a soft voice. Even if this gigantic serpent claimed that it wasn't going to hurt them, it didn't exactly make Dax anymore at ease.

The man looked back up at the alabaster scaled creature and spoke, "I'm guessing you're responsible for...dropping us in here." More a statement than a question.

Had this massive beast lived underneath the palace all this time? Dax had heard of massive beings like this, but they almost always lived out in the void of space, like the purgills, but he'd never even heard rumor of something like this. Had it always been hear, slumbering beneath their feet? "What exactly is it that you want with my wife?"

Kimiko Taiyou

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by Dax Fyre​