Dark Tranquillity (Complete)

[Rayna Eclipse]

Her eyes were closing and fluttering open as she walked. This was precisely why she didn't like being on spice and walking somewhere. She'd much rather be on her bed forgetting how the night went. She stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and skinned her knee.

"What the Frack are you doing, girl?" Zedrin said as he turned around giving her the eye. "Get your little butt up and get going. Our special client is paying top credit for you. We don't need to be late! Make me look bad..." He mumbled off as he continued walking without so much as offering a hand.

She slowly climbed back to her feet and straightened the red dress. Normally she wouldn't ever dress up, even for a client. But for some forsaken reason she was doing so for this one. Zedrin just burst into her one room apartment (if you'd call it that) and threw the dress at her saying something about a high paying client asking for her of all people. There were so many girls Zedrin could offer, many much prettier than her, and yet somehow she was asked for specifically. Whatever. She was too stoned to care.

"How- How much farther?" She mumbled but Zedrin ignored her. Perhaps he did so because he stopped as if they were there. More likely was the answer that he rarely responded to her questions. He looked around, seemed to be searching forsomething. She leaned against the wall, ruffling the red dress.

A woman in a black suit walked towards them and stopped under a streetlight. The white undershirt glowed particularly well wedged between the black tie and jacket, it created an interesting reflection on the tinted glass of the gasmask she wore to hide her face. Standing out in the little world of black and white was her vibrant red hair pulled back tightly in a bun.

"Sir, I believe you have my woman for this evening." She said though the muffled mask.

"Over there." Zedrin said and pointed at Rayna who looked as if she were frozen in midslid down the wall. "You sure you want that trash. I can make you a lot happier with some other pretty girls, aliens or humans... Boys or girls."

"No, this is the one I want." She said as she approached Zedrin, constantly staring at Rayna. "There's something about her demeanor, in her helplessness she is so beautiful. I prefer a weak woman for my nightly pleasures. You said you don't mind bruises, right?"

"Nah." He said casually. "You could hardly tell on her anyway, its that damn spice, right? She's practically worthless to me, the only reason I keep her around is cause she earns her spice. Speaking of which, you need some? I can hook you up."

"No thank you. I think my plate is full enough for tonight." The woman said. "And here is the last half of your credits."

Zedrin smiled as the thick wad of credits landed in his hand. "Alright, she's all yours. Just bring her back in the morning." He grinned and walked past Rayna without so much of a glance, his eyes focused ont he credits in his palm.

The woman walked towards Rayna, who was now fully slid downt he wall and seemingly in a trance. She rolled her head backto stare into the gas mask glass, only to see her distorted reflection staring pitifully back.

"Well, little girl you've made quite the spectecal of yourself. You've fallen quite far from grace, but perhaps in tonights endeavor you might barely redeem yourself."

"I haven't been with a woman in a while." Rayna said sluggishly, totally ignorant of what the other woman might have said.

"I'm sure." She said as she dragged Rayna up and off the ground. "Unfortunately, you won't be with one tonight either."

---

"So here's the deal. I give you the girl for the night. I need her back by mid-afternoon at the latest." The masked woman said within the shadows while Rayna slouched against a wall. "Poke around and get what you need. I need her alive and conscious. It is neccessary that she does not remember this night at all. No one can know what we're doing here. No trail can be left."

[Zanon O'hara]

"As you will it, it shall be done," came a voice from somewhere near Rayna. This voice was a man's though, and an older man by the sound of it, "Bring her," The voice instructed and two sets of arms set Rayna back on her feet and started pushing her down the street. Rayna would eventually catch glimpses of the hooded scarlet clad men carrying her, but her mind was so hocked up on spice that all she saw were blurs movement and dull colors.

What little light there was suddenly went out as Rayna was dragged into an alley. Cold metal touched her neck and pain shot through her body for a moment... and then everything went black...

-Later-

Rayna finally regained consciousness, she found herself lying on a cold metal table with her arms, legs, waist, and neck restrained by heavy durasteel binders. A heavy weight was pressed against her forehead. She couldn't move a single limb and only her fingers and toes were free to move. She would also notice that the spice had worn off and her craving had returned. She might also notice that she was completely naked and the room was quite chilly, not to mention dark.

"Ah, I see you have finally awoken," The voice from the street said as a bright light came on above the table, blinding the girl and making it impossible to see through the gloom outside the light. A old man with thin grey air and big brown eyes stepped into the light and stood over Rayna, "I hope you had a pleasant sleep, because your going to need your strength for the nightmares that are to come," He said as before turning aside and picking something up off small table beside the one that Rayna was laying on. The man held a needle syringe above her face for a moment and then lowered it, sticking it carefully into her neck and inserting the fluid.

"Truth Serum," Zanon told himself, returning the syringe to the tray beside him, "But this is only the first part, my love," He smiled down at her, a sick demented smile of one who lost all his 'marbles' long ago, "Tis a pity for something so fair," He ran a gloved hand over Rayna's thigh, "A little chubby, though. Need to lay off the synth-shakes, or the spice," His hand continued to explore, sliding inwards; much to the sick old man's amusement. He bent down and placed his mouth by Rayna's ear "But business before play, eh. Madam Charming wants you out of here as soon as I'm done, but I think I'll have a bit of fun before you go..."

In truth Rayna was barely aware of her surroundings. The spice hangover combined with the narcotic and truth serum put here in a state of vegetation. She could hear and see just fine, her brain just was unable to respond to it all.

Zanon moved away from her and over to a large computer console that was connected to a large apparatus that was hanging from the ceiling and pressing against Rayna's forehead. Several small cables were attached to Rayna's temples and other areas of her head. A small hole had carefully drilled in the back of Rayna's skull and a single wire had been inserted into the hole. It was a delicate operation, but the results were fantastic. Zanon could now scroll through Rayna's mind like one reading a very large and complicated book. The resent memories were easy to find, but to dig down to the deep memories would take time since the mind probe can only move very slowly as it travels through the delicate and fragile human brain.

Zanon pressed a few buttons and dug deeper with the mental scan. For Rayna this would be most painful, but no lasting damage would occur... hopefully, "Most interesting," Zanon said as an image played across one screen, words on second screen, and yet more words on a third. Several small screens displayed images, colors, and/or words. All together they did the best to give the viewer the ability to fully understand what the person was going through in the memory currently being probed, "Lets see what’s behind door number one," Zanon said and selected a memory at random...

[Rayna Eclipse]

No memory had ever been so vivid in her mind as Zanon probed through her brain. To her, it was like watching a holo of her life.

"Let's see what's behind door number one."

She remembered staring at the giant screen before her as she began hacking into the mainframe at the Sith Order. Most of the masters were out on a mission, but she couldn't help but feel anxious.

A Jedi does not feel fear. She reminded herself silently.

The firewalls were crumbling before her, the intel she had recieved on behalf of a rebellious political group that she was only part of de facto had proven to be worth having. She continued hacking until she found exactly what she was looking for. There was one thing that could destroy the Sith Order in a single swoop and that was the Sith Emergancy Protocols. A detailed biography on every member of the Order and every past member of the Order. It contained their strengths and their weaknesses. It detailed their confidence and fears.

In her minds eye the image of her hacking the mainframe fuzzed and changed into a much different scene. The cold colors of steel grew into the green of her home planet. She was much younger now, she could practically feel her energy all over again. She was in early training, her master watching on as she pushed herself through an obstacle course. It was an amature course for a Jedi-trainee, but she was only so advanced.

She recalled the burning in her muscles, the strain on her mind to use the Force to push her body. Her memories unfolded like a flower. She remembered all about this course now, it was not a course she did well on. It took nearly a year to beat it the proper time.

Her master was disappointed as he broke it to her plainly that if she didn't pass then pehaps she wasn't cut out to be a Jedi.

She was hiding under a table as her father and her master discussed the issue inside her childhood home. She was going to be pulled out of the Jedi trainee program. She wasn't good enough.

Her memory returned to her earlier attempts at the course, she was tripping over a ten foot hurdle and falling into the soupy mud beneath.

She was tripping over a ten foot hurdle and falling into the soupy mud beneath.

She was tripping over a ten foot hurdle and falling into the soupy mud beneath.

The scene replayed itself many times in her head and slowly she began to wonder why she was remembering this like a skipping record. Slowly she was coming to understand that something was not right.

[Zanon O'hara]

Zanon watched the video screens with a keen, and some what sick interest, though these older memories were not as fascinating as the more recent ones; the ones of Rayna conducting her 'business' with his spice contact's clients. He sat back in his chair, reclined in a lazy fashion with his feet propped up on the console. He watched the images with half a mind; the other half being off fantasizing about Rayna. A new image shot across the screen and instantly Zanon was up, pressing his nose against the screen while tapping the record button. He got a good look at The Sith Order's Protocol Files, but not the entire thing. He would have to double back to that memory and press the proper deeper for better clarity.

His fingers danced over the controls as he directed the probe back towards the memory that contained the Protocol. He was sure that young little Rayna had committed most of the list to memory, he just needed to probe around that memory for the list, or just read the list through Rayna's eyes; as he had done a moment ago.

As he probe moved it got 'snagged' on something and stopped moving. An image repeated over and over again. He waited for the problem to fix itself, but Zanon could only take so much of it before he resolved the problem himself. He raised a hand and smacked the side of the console with all the strength his frail arms could muster. There was a loud beep from the console and the probe started to move again, "Yes, that’s right," Zanon said to himself, "Lets just rewind things back a little and see what we find..."

[Rayna Eclipse]

The Sith Protocols. This was what she needed to get. Her original mission in infiltraiting the Sith Order was to simply bring a homebase attack against them. She had been taught how to make bombs, how to sabatoge networks and any other skill that might bring the slightest degree of pain to this beast.

Never had she expected to stumble onto this goldmine. She had only heard about it when she was spying on a Sith Elders meeting, it was mentioned only briefly, but enough for her to know that it was essential to look into.

The screen changed to a list of everyone, from members to minor aquaintances to prospective members. It was obvious that this contained information that was priceless on any market. She began reading through the files wishing she had the time memorize every detail. She needed a way of accessing this information from another place, a way to keep an eye on the files as they change over time.

She set up a file within the system which would allow access to the Protocols from a remote source and hid it within the name of Masfat Regoor. In hacking into the general Sith Order network and searching for the name Masfat Regoor, one could access the Sith Protocols in its entirety.

[Zanon O'hara]

Zanon looked over the scrolling information, recording it all just in case. The last thing he wanted was to incur the wrath of his partner in crime, despite how attractive the fiery red head looked when she was angry. He got bored again and started fiddling with a small device he had been working on. He was trying to create a death ray to destroy most of the universe with. So far it some powerful enough to zap a flimnat and kill it with a single shot. Zanon was very pleased with his progress with it so far. He estimated that in twenty years he'll actually have it ready for his galaxy-wide take over.

He glanced up from his 'toy' and the results of the screen made him jump up again, tossing the death ray over his shoulder as he did so. "Sweet Joan mother of maidens, I've struck ry'll!" He shouted, doing a little dance; that mostly consisted of waving his hands around in the air while spinning in a circle, where he stood. He recorded the findings and then ran over to the table, "Congratulations, my sweet little nerf. You were worth every credit we put into this operation." He was so giddy, and then he suddenly his face fell and sadness entered his eyes, "Tis a pity that you will be leaving us now, but I have a parting gift for you before I go." He smacked her thigh and then turned away, snapping his fingers. Out of the darkness stepped two men. They were covered from head to toe in black and scarlet, their heads covered by hoods and their faces with masks, "Take her to my room," He ordered and the two lackeys jumped forward, turning off the mind probe and releasing the jedi girls bonds and then carrying her out of the laboratory, "Now to give my report," Zanon said, moving over to the wall and turning on all the lights. He blinked for a moment and then moved across the white, sterile lab to where a mirror hung from the wall. He put his fingers through his thin grey hair and tried to fix it, "Perfect," He said, his hair didn't look any different.

He stepped out of the lab and down a corridor, around a corner and up to a closed door. He raised his hand to knock, but stopped just before. He grabbed pressed the button on the side and the door swished open and Zanon stormed inside. He looked around for a moment and then stormed over to the couch, were a red haired woman lay, "Ma'am," He shouted, "Are you the one who's be sneaking into my room at three O'clock in the morning?"

[Alexia Sturkov]

Alexia eyes shot open and she sat up on the couch, a knife held in her hand. She looked up at Zanon with clear confusion on her face, “What the frell are you going on about now Zanon?” She asked, slipping the knife back under her pillow, “And if you say you shot a rancor in your pajamas one more time I will personally remove your wrinkled raisins and make you eat them!” Her anger was rising, and her voice along with it, “And never, NEVER, storm into my quarters again!”

It was hard enough to keep an operation like this secret without Zanon running out of the bathroom with his pants down shouting that he figured it out and making a bee line for his laboratory screaming the whole way about his new idea. She was surprised that the people in the nearby coronet couldn't hear his outbursts. Alexia was now adamant that they move to another planet and set up base there. Somewhere were they Zanon can scream all he wants and no one can hear him, except for Alexia and her hunters. She created a little cult here on Corellia, the Cult of the Reborn, she called it. She had placed Alexander Bane at it's head and she was going to leave him behind to manage it. The cultists dressed in black and red, Alexia's favorite colors. She used them when she needed something done on the surface because she couldn't risk sending her hunters out in fear that someone saw them and reported the occurrence to the corellia authorities.

[Zanon O'hara]

"Hmm, what rancor?" Zanon asked and then waved his hand through the air, as if dismissing the subject, "No, nothing like that. I just wanted to tell you that I've finished with our little patient," He so enjoyed the pleased look on Alexia's face, "And? She asked and started to get annoyed when Zanon just stood there smiling, "I discovered a way to access the protocol itself. It seems the little jedi had constructed a tunnel in the security system. This tunnel can be access by a certain log in name that I managed to rip out of her pretty little head. So, now all we have to do is fly your little boat out there and contact this system with the ships long range communications array. It would take a few hours to recalculate the array to pick up the Sith's internal systems, but its completely possible." He said, still smiling as he spoke. He stood there, bright eye and smile, waiting for his mistress to throw him a verbal treat.

[Alexia Sturkov]

"Is that all?" Alexia said, nearly screaming. Her face was a mix of pleasure and anger. The information did in fact please her but Zanon's very personality was making her quite angry, "If that’s true then why you are still here and not prepping my ship for me?" She asked, turning and disappeared into a side room.

She emerged several minutes later dressed more suitable for public, in a black and red gothic dress with her silver lightsabre hilt dangling from the belt, "Let us be off at once," She commanded and swept out of the room without a second thought. In a half hour the Morning Star was readied and blasting off of Corellia. She left Zanon behind to deal with the prisoner and only took a single platoon of her hunters with her.

As for Zanon, He made his way to his quarters and made all his sick fantasies come true. Afterwards he made sure the girl had no memory of the entire event and then returned her to Zedrin.

[Rayna Eclipse]

Her eyes snapped open to find perhaps her only friend sitting at her bedside. It was very much late in the day as she could tell by the sunlight coming through the window.

"Umm... Sishma." Rayna asked groggily. "What, what happened last night?"

"You gotta lay off that spice." She replied. Usually Sishma hadn't bothered her about her excessive spice use, but lately after Rayna had let out ideas that she had once been a Jedi, since she'd been receiving a lightsaber in the mail, since she had been going missing for whole nights with no recollection of what happened had Sishma become concerned about the spice.

"No I- This is a differnt feeling." Usually I can remember some things, but..." She reached for the back of her skull and found a scab. "What the hell?"

"Zedrin brought you in a few hours ago when I was looking for you here. You agreed for some woman to pay a heavy fee for you and your time for the night and that was it. You did you business and now you're in much better graces with Zedrin."

"Red haired woman?" She said quietly. For some reason the only image in her mind that appeared when she tried to remember the thought was herself during her time at the Sith Order. It was like someone had crossed a wire in her brain. "I don't know. I mean, I can't remember at all... Sorry."

"It's fine, honey." Sishma said and handed her a glass of water. "I think Zedrin wants you to go back with this woman tonight. And by tongiht I mean soon."

She frowned and took the glass of water. She had just woken up and now she had to 'work'? If it got her out of debt a little more, then it was neccessary. "Fine I guess. The pay is good, right?"

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Rayna's story continued in: http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=40043