Dark Rendezvous {open challenge to a Sith}

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The Jedi Knight walked casually down the busy streets. She felt someone trailing her but as she turned around, there was noone who emitted a force signature. The dark sensations that were stabbing at her conscious could not be denied as she sped around again hoping to intercept the intruder.


The stranger had successfully masked his presence with the force and this disturbed Aura, because it only signified he was a powerful darksider. Passing a bar, she was propositioned by a drunk man staggering in the doorway. Dismissing him and his perversion she turned down an alley way and saw to her dismay, there was no exit.


The corridor was narrow, an undeniable stench of alcohol as she noticed broken bottles. She sensed the vulnerability if she were to be cornered, so she turned to walk back out, enveloped by the the darkness probing her thoughts, magnified to monstrous proportions. Aura unleashed a deep prolonged sigh, expecting to be introduced to a volley of attacks as her hand descended to her saber hilt. Her emerald eyes taking in the surroundings feeling for the dark tendrils grabbing a hold of her.

[Trace Sha]

:: From somewhere in the darkness came a voice. A voice not betraying any emotion whatsoever, be it fear, anticipation, or desire. Aura looked all around and could not locate its source, though a movement did catch her eye.

The motion that caught her eye was a shadow moving along the littered pavement of the alleyway, it was a shadow of a bird. Tilting her eye’s cautiously upward but only briefly. She could see a pitch black raven moving through the sky, and she could sense that this was no ordinary bird. ::

With her hand poised at the ready, the voice filtered through the darkness. ::

“I know what you are.”

:: It was strange to hear what was said, very unusual. Not your typical ‘Give me all your credits!’ or ‘Hey beautiful!’, there was an eerie sense of knowing in the voice that was now silent, but its source completely unseen by any means available to her. ::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The ethereal manifestation presented himself to the Jedi Knight only audibly. His assured allegations echoed off the stone walls trailing off to a stygian abyss. An infernal ambience permeated this disguised entity. Aura's conjecture was confirmed. The Sith Lord discovered his Jedi prey.


"Show yourself, unless you wish to continue in this absent folly of words."


His presence appeared to be everywhere. She could not pinpoint the exact location. She felt compelled to unclip her saber hilt, but hesitated not wanting to invoke his aggressions, so she waited for him to reveal himself.

[Trace Sha]

:: The echo of laughter filled the alley she occupied, the shadows becoming even more ebony with each rhythmic beat of the mysterious voice. ::

“So eager to die Jedi? Or are you eager to protect that which is not even yet in jeopardy?”

:: The laughter stopped, but the creeping in of the darkening shadows did not. Soon the alleyway had become so dark that this woman could no longer see her own hand before her face via use of typical physical means. After a short pause to the questions laid out, the disenchanted voice came again in its deep resounding tone coming from all directions. ::

“Are you so certain of what you are, or have you aggressions that you wish to let lose, running rampant on one such as me? One whom you have never met or witnessed the actions of. Quick to judge and respond are you not?”

[Raven]

The fuliginous animal came to perch on a light-post hanging from the side of the wall of the alley. The light itself had ceased functioning, just as the voice had made its first audible sound. Ebon eyes stared straight at the Jedi standing alone in the darkness.

[Jedi Knight Aura]

Acknowledging the inquisition assembled by the unknown presence, she whirled to the Raven, suspecting the bird was connected to him in some way.


"I neither question my existence as a Jedi, nor do I dismiss you as a darksider. I am not eager to engage in comabat. It is well known a Jedi steers clear of violence unless in self defense or the protection of another. My judgemnet of you is confirmed by the force. You are of a cryptic nature, hence you are among the many allied with the darkside. The Sith have proven themselves to be bloodthirsty abominations. I only speculate that what has been confirmed through time and actions."


The Jedi Knight opened herself to the force as her vision escaped her, due to the darkness the Sith summoned to dissipate the lighting of the alleyway. She proceeded to leave the area, but something hampered the outlet, detaining her by a pressing will. The Sith Lord studied his catch, intent on instilling fear, breaking her control.

[Trace Sha]

:: It was as if there were an invisible entity, holding her legs in place as she started to make a move to leave. She had the desire to depart, but not the ability at this time. Her will was not as strong as the unseen power that held her where she was.

The first noise to follow her response to the disenchanted voice of the Sith Lord was the cawing of the Raven, as it remained on its perch. Its voice dripped with a supernatural sound of evil, hinting that it was more than just an ordinary fowl. Foul was indeed an appropriate word to describe the tone of its call.

The night air became stagnant and calm, making the hushed silence in the alley, occupied only by the Jedi and the black bird all that much more pronounced. After a minute or two of silence, the man’s voice came yet again. ::

“Shall I prove your judgments correct? And substantiate your single minded beliefs.”

[Jedi Knight Aura]

"Prove what you must. My beliefs are documented knowledge passed down from each generation." Aura defiantly retorted.


Confined between the incessant cawing of a possessed raven, and an eerie voice void of biological matter, the Jedi Knight sank deeply into the force, its beacon guiding her from the unknown presence attempting to manipulate her convictions with its putrescent deductions. She advanced onward, a stride assisted by the force as she slowly broke free of his telepathic binds. A glimpse of light showered the dismal passageway as her eyes focused on an alluring haven. Light was inventing a port hole of quietude, ingesting the dark that was blanketing Aura, retarding her exploits of elusion.

[Rama]

" You know for being so at one with the force you sure are easy to sneak up on."


:: The Jedi Turned, To Find a very shambled looking man leaning against the wall. He stood.....flipping a coin. Over and over in a constant rhtyme that seemed to echo. ::


" Don't....."


:: He had Answered her before she had even reached for her saber. ::


"Im not here to help him or hurt you..........just to observe."


:: Rama looked above to the Raven. ::

"It is kinda sad he has to create his friends now days........"

:: He looks back over at the woman. ::

"The Foe you face is my brother.........if he attacks will you kill him? "

[Raven]

The Raven a <a href=http://pub59.ezboard.com/fthesempirefrm1.showMessage?topicID=460.topic>creation</a> not of Trace but of one of his loyal disciples looked on and as it did, Trace could see what it saw as if the eyes were his own.

Trace said nothing as he watched amused at the ignorance of the mighty leader of the Empire and his obvious lack of understanding of what occurred around him at the very place he claimed to rule and be so understanding of.

His own self-centeredness was very apparent by his own assumptions. Trace has no need for friends and certainly did not create them. The Raven was a gift of the Darkside, provided because of his own union with it and provided by one whom Rama had paid no attention, as with many at the Empire.

Trace watched through the Raven’s eyes, to see how the Jedi would react to his brother’s comments and questions. Knowing what a fool he made himself look like, but also realizing that the Jedi would have a different perspective.

[Jedi Knight Aura]

A morbid sensation chilled the young Jedi Knight as the second Sith casually introduced himself. Aura's hand eased off her saber hilt as he assured her he was no threat, just an observer. She should have picked up on his force signature, yet he cloaked it with the accomplished skill of a Sith Master. The Knight ignored his comment at her failed detection.


"Brother you say....Is this a family trait to corner a Jedi in a dark alleyway?"


Aura's emerald eyes finally had someone to settle on. Rama returned her scrutiny, mulling over the Jedi before him. A paltry follower of the light. The antagonist of the dark, his enemy. She decided to answer one question.


"A Jedi's soul is forever stained in the killing of another. This waste is avoided at all costs if possible. I grow weary of the sport you both seem to be enjoying at my expense. Are you to intercept my departure as well?"


She transfered her gaze off the stranger, proceeding to traverse past him without waiting for a reply. Aura was prepared to act swiftly in self defense if restrained.

[Rama]

"No that is the trait of a coward my dear. "


:: Rama laughed. ::


"You know you remind me of someone........... You'll have to kill him you know. I know your teachings......the lessons of the Jedi, if you don't he'll just keep playing with you till you make a mistake and he kills you, or you go insane and kill yourself. You have so much power, and it's blocked by your narrow mindness. Kill him......take his life.......and then will be mine."


:: Rama grined big ::

[Trace Sha]

:: Maniacal laughter echoed through the alleyway as the Raven continued to sit upon its perch and Trace could still not be seen. This evening was turning out to be quite amusing. Now it seemed that his brother had come to do what he himself had been doing, taunting the Jedi, trying to fill her heart, mind, and soul with doubt.

It was funny how the roles had now been reversed, at one time Trace wanted to see Rama dead but that had changed and Rama was the one who wanted Trace dead. But Trace had now learned that it was much more torturous for his brother to live. Living with the curse that had become his meager life was oh so much more disparaging. ::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

"Kill him? I have no intention of harming anyone. What is it with you Sith? Killing is at the top priority of your lists it seems. Does this satisfy your relentless hunger to claim the life of another? Such power is wasted on a darksider when it can be transformed to useful purposes devoid of decadence. The true strength lies within the light force, yet we Jedi arent consumed by your quests of domination."


Aura arrested her advance, curious with this Sith and his predicitions of her fate at his brother's hand. She added to the conversation.


"And am I not arousing your shaded soul to devour me, Sith Master? Or is it more of a thrill for you to watch your brother perform the feat? Rest assured, I am highly capable of defending myself. My death will not come easy to anyone wishing to exterminate me. If he wishes to play, let him chase the fowl perched overhead. It may prove more of a welcomed folly." Aura smiled as she prepared once again to depart, dismissing the two darksiders and their recreation.

[Rama]

"Ive seen nothing........no revelation.......no great truth........that could damn or save my soul. Your asking questions that have no answers woman. It is not for me to devour your soul, your fall from grace will be most diffcult to accept. Especially for you.......but never the less it has already begun."


:: With that Rama backed into the shoadows which Trace had created......createing his own illusion to make his departaure. Then a whisper came.......as if on the wind itself ::


" There are lesson you must learn.......even if you do not want to learn them."


:: And with that Rama was gone. ::

[Raven]

The Raven Left its perch with a hop, and sailed up into the air, soaring higher and higher as it followed in the path that the Jedi took as she departed. The maniacal laughter that had come from the alleyway earlier had long since ceased and it kind of seemed that Trace had vanished. Or had he?

As the bird followed, the darkness that had permeated the alleyway earlier seemed to follow where the Raven traveled. Its dark absorption of light trailing the Jedi as the Rave moved higher and higher into the air.

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The Sith Master seemingly vanished, cast adrift on an ominous sea of lost souls. Aura ventured from the alley only to be pursued by the fowl overhead. She was still being trailed, and she knew it to be that other brother intent on persisting with the game.


She entered the bar she passed earlier, the drunken man was no where in sight. Taking a seat at a table by the corner, she ordered some Corellian ale by a burly old man. The barkeep brought her drink paying her no mind as she flipped him some credit chips. She smiled knowng the raven couldnt get into the bar. The occupants appeared to be human workers from a plant across the street, garb stained with daily toils. No one took notice of the Jedi knight, they were drowning their troubles, washing them away by the comforts of alcohol.

[Trace Sha]

:: The Raven found itself a perch above the doorway of the bar she had entered. It was merely another set of eyes for the Sith Lord, and now its vision was obscured by the fact that this bar, as customary with most, had no windows or method of seeing the inside without actually entering.

The bar was suddenly lighted more than usual as the doors at its from opened. The light that entered from those on the street outside was soon hindered on its path into the establishment, as a man, very different in wardrobe and over all appearance from the human workers stepped in the doorway and allowed it to close behind him.

He was a tall man with inhumanly pale skin. His hands were wrapped in what looked to be some kind of black plastic, possibly some kind of tape, and his eyes were accentuated with black paint, obscuring clear sight of them. He wore a long leather trench-coat that could easily hide many things underneath its almost shiny surface.

As she looked at him, she could not sense any presence of the Force within him, but she could sense something very strange. There seemed to be an energetic aura of some type covering every inch of his body. Was it possible that this was what blocked her ability to sense the Darkside within him? Not so much a question she asked herself as one that deems being asked.

No the aura that surrounded him would not block emanations in the force, be they evil or good, but it did block many things including the very temperature of the air around. It was a telekinetic field that surrounded his body, and it was a latent ability that he had always possessed, but it took a catastrophic event to release it, and a great deal of time and effort for Trace himself to learn how to control it.

His own brother had been the one to bring about the catastrophic event that had released this latent natural telekinetic ability in a battle the two of them had waged against each other. This latent ability actually came in very handy on the world which their battle took place. The telekinetic field protected the Half Nebari half Corellian man from the sulfur acid laden rains common on the planet Vjun.

Trace made no motion to look at any of those who surrounded him in the bar, he simply walked straight to where she sat and inquired in his natural voice, only a very slight hint of familiarity in it from his unseen conversation with her in the alleyway. The voice was not the same as that disenchanted one. ::

“May I join you?”

:: He asked moving a hand slowly toward the open chair across the table from her. ::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The Jedi Knight detected something aberrant in the force as the man settled into his seat. She couldnt expound any hints of his identity, let alone his volition with her. Aura nodded to his question feeling no threat from this person.


"Tell me, why are your hands taped up, and your eyes surrounded with black? A plant accident?" There was something familiar about the aura of this man, yet when she tried to uncover it, she drew up a blank. She waited for an answer to learn more from this transcendental stranger.

[Trace Sha]

:: His head lifted slowly and his dark brown eyes met hers. A short and quick blink followed as he seemed a little put off by the way she greeted him. No introductions, no simple small talk, just an outright cut to the chase interrogation of sorts. ::

It was no matter, Trace did not care to exchange false pleasantries with anyone, let alone one that carried the sickening aura of light with them. So he went on about answering her queries, his voice even and unemotional. ::

“The makeup is commonplace among those of my family. Some would call it war paint and some would call it formal wear. The same goes for this.”

:: He rubbed his hands together, causing the tape on them to make a plastic on plastic friction noise. His head then turned in the direction of a barmaid and he summoned the person with a slow methodical nod of the head. ::

“Mantell Vodka for me.”

:: Came his order. He turned back to the Jedi, noting that she looked very much out of place here. ::

“What brings you to this place?”

[Jedi Knight Aura]

Suddenly remembering her manners and sensing his offense to her outright interrogation, she offered him a reply.


"You must excuse me. I am a creature of no emotion. I seek knowledge to the offense of others, it may seem. I am Aura Sunrider, a Jedi Knight. I have been followed by someone earlier, so I am abit on edge. I am hoping this place will serve as temporary refuge."


Aura sized him up as she ordered a Corellian ale when barkeep passed by. She turned to the stranger. "You dont look like you work at the plant. On holiday?"

[Trace Sha]

:: He had no visible reaction to her sudden found manners and did not respond with his own name. He only nodded to her question and answered it. Finding the thought of her being on edge from what happened earlier a pleasant one. ::

“Holiday from the usual grind, indeed.”

:: The barkeep delivered his drink and he took a sip. It was now completely confirmed, what he already knew, and she had already indicated as much to him earlier in their exchange in the alleyway. She was a Jedi and even so advanced in its school of thought to be a Knight.

It was time to test her religion and see how she reacted. His eyes stayed focused on the drink he took a sip from, while across the room, a patron fell to the floor suddenly going into convulsions. No disturbance in the force was felt as Trace used his telekinesis to clamp shut the man’s Aorta, the vein that fed blood into his brain. He would surely die within three minutes time, and even if the blood flow was restored within that time, would suffer brain damage.

Trace put on a false air and allowed his head to turn and his eyes to grow large in mock surprise. ::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

"Someone seems to be in trouble." Aura excused herself as she ventured towards the fallen man and knelt down beside him.


She told the others gawking around the patron to back away and give the man room. The Jedi Knight raised her hand over his head as the force scanned his vitals. She explored his interior as a practiced hand shifted to his chest. She felt the blood flow arrested at the aorta.


Aura sighed deeply working at a brisk pace. She concentrated on the defect, restoring the blood flow to the man's brain and correcting the damage. She helped the victim up.


"You should seek a a med center."


The man, now profusely sweating, nodded to Aura as his friends helped him out the door. She returned to her table as she smiled to Trace.


"The man had trouble with his heart. I wouldnt doubt it with all the high fat processed foods they serve here."

Trace beamed, his stealth at concealing the unperceivable attack on the patron was intact.

[Trace Sha]

:: His beaming was difficult to conceal, for he had succeeded in manipulating her via her Jedi morals. It had not been the least bit difficult or hard to conceive. It was nothing more than child’s play, and she had taken the bait hook line and sinker. It was something that made her kind weak. Compassion was what some considered a honorable trait, but it could easily be her undoing. He was smug and pleased with the information he now possessed.

The ice cubes in his glass rattled and clanked as he brought the sharp tasting liquor to his lips and concealed his smugness with the glass by sipping from it. As he drank he considered some of the possibilities of this power he now knew that he held over her, while his head gently nodded in the affirmative to what she had said.

His Raven had remained on its perch above the doorway to the bar and via Trace’s connection to it, the Sith Lord could see what the ebon fowl could. Just across the way from the bar stood what looked to be a supermarket of some kind. There were hundreds of civilians moving in and out of it, as they proceeded about their individual daily routines.

It was next to impossible for Trace to conceal the grin that formed on his face as an evil thought occurred to him. For he could see on top of the supermarket’s structure sat its cooling and heating system, just ripe to be tampered with. ::

“A shame.”

:: He said with still no real emotion conveyed in his voice, but he was trying to act as if he was paying attention and mask the thoughts racing through his mind.

No sooner did the last syllable escape is lips than a horrendous sound shook the very walls of the bar they were sitting in. Across the way from it, the ceiling of the building had caved in and the entire heating and cooling system had come crashing down inside the marketplace, exploding in a devastating ball of flames and chemicals. The vicious red and orange flames leaping out the windows, sending burnt, and still smoldering bodies flying out of the structure.

Screams could be heard as shrapnel from the windows and structure peppered those waking by in the darkness of night. It had been early enough in the evening, that some were going about the many tasks necessary after getting off from a hard day’s work.

As it had been with the patron, Trace’s head turned in the direction of the noise, playing up as if it had been a reflexive action. But in reality he only wondered, what the Jedi would do now, and how he could use it to his advantage.::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

A profound disturbance in the force caused the Jedi Knight to suddenly cringe. The explosion invaded her hearing as hundereds of screams assualted her senses, clawing at her soul in agony and despair. Aura rose from her seat in an almost trance-like state as she headed out of the bar to the source of carnage.


She searched for a strong force signature, but knew now was not the time. The Jedi Knight was overwhelmed by the numerous casualties she was offering aid to. Some burned beyond recognition. Blood and scattered limbs littered the street. The waste of lives was astronmomical.


A cruel and merciless feat delivered by a Sith incapable of clemency, feeding on the suffering of others. The Sith had the distraction he was waiting for. The time had arrived.


Aura knew a Sith was responsible for the explosion, because no one but a darksider was capable of willingly committing such atrocities.

[Trace Sha]

:: He rose from his seat and followed her out of the bar, acting as if he were going to help some of the injured and wounded as well. His acting was convincing as he approached a woman who lie on the ground, still breathing but bleeding profusely from many cut and burn wounds that riddled her face, arms and legs.

Trace withdrew a dark colored cloth from a pocket in his jacket and started to apply pressure to one of the more serious wounds, in what looked to be an effort to stop the bleeding.

As he did this, his telekinesis was up to something far more sinister. His plan was still unfurling, and this was just the second stage, there would be more to some, and the time for the next phase to begin was now.

A thunderous secondary explosion, caused by Trace stretching out with his telekinesis and moving a container of flammable liquid into a fire near where he and the woman were, erupted from the nearby building, its wake knocking Trace from off his feet.

He had relaxed the tangibility of the natural telekinetic field covering and protecting his body, so that he would be injured by the fragments of rock, glass, and metal, as well as the lapping flames of the ensuing explosion.

His body was tossed back and slid across the street, smoking and bleeding. The woman he had been appearing to help, completely engulfed by the flames, rendered dead and beyond recognition by the unforgiving mass of flame.

Trace lie bleeding and burnt, outwardly appearing seriously injured, but inside he was feeding on the pain, using it to his advantage, still masking his force presence from the Jedi, using the power the pain and suffering fed him, to that very end. ::

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The second explosion caught Aura by surprise as she spun around to see if more casualties have been added. After applying several bacta patches to a man's severely burned arm, she noticed Trace on the ground in a grave state. She hustled to him taking a knee besides him.


"Can you hear me?"


Aura was hoping he was still conscious, a good sign of recovery. She checked him over reaching in her bag for more bacta patches. Unbeknownst to the Jedi Knight, she was in the company of the mad perpetrater whom pioneered this slaughter.

[Trace Sha]

:: Trace nay have appeared unconscious, with eyes closed an being motionless, but that was far from the truth. He could still see his surroundings clearly thanks to the Raven which had not left its perch across the street.

Feebly an open hand, dripping with blood rose from his side. The other could not be seen as it appeared to be underneath him. In what looked to be a week effort the hand moved closer to Aura and a pained sound escaped his lips, eyes beginning to flutter. ::

“Help……….me.”

:: Instinctively and reflexively, Aura moved somewhat closer still, pressing the bacta patches to the worst looking of his wounds, searching for signs of more profound injury than he clearly visible lacerations.

The Sith Lord’s hand remained lifted up and as she moved closer, it moved under the surface of her cloak. Due to her distraction with his condition, she failed to notice this. It only took a split second for his plan to become complete. His hand wrapped around the steel handle of her saber, yanking it from its belt clip and turning the emitter towards her midsection.

As that split second passed, his eyes popped open, and the familiar sound of a lightsaber activating followed. His eyes glowed with bloodlust and satisfaction, as he watched the concerned look on her face, change to one of shock, and then to one of pain. Her own weapon spurted through her side, cauterizing the wounds as it passed through her midsection, causing damage to a great many organs and vital parts of one’s body found there.

Just as soon as he saw her expression change to one of pain, Trace completed what he had planned to do. The arm that had been resting out of sight underneath his side, sprung forth, wielding a wicked looking dagger, the blade having sharp barbs along its length. Before Aura could even reel away from the first attack, the dagger was plunged into the other side of her body, where it was twisted then yanked free of her flesh. Blood and gore followed the blade on its exit, as the barbs on the blade tore out bits of organs and flesh.

His eyes had remained focused on hers the entire time, which only spanned a second or two, but in that short duration, he had seen what he longed to see. He had manipulated her to his whims and made her pay for being so predictable.

Now with time to react, Aura could do no more than reel away, reflexively reaching for her wounds as her saber was deactivated in Trace’s grip. The Sith Lord rose to his feet, as the sounds of emergency vehicles approaching filled the night’s air. He looked down at his handiwork, knowing full well that even the healing abilities a Jedi possessed would be taxed to repair the damage he had caused.

She was still conscious and could see him now standing at his full height, seemingly unaffected by the major injuries he had feigned. With a wicked grin, he brought the steel housing of her saber up to his lips and placed a kiss upon its surface, some of his blood, from the many lacerations on his face, remaining on the weapon after he took it away. ::

“You have been shown one of your many weaknesses Jedi, such things are easily exploited and will ultimately lead to the destruction of your kind. Enjoy the pain I have given you. The physical wounds and scars may heal in time, but you will carry the mental scars for the rest of your days.”

:: Just as Trace finished speaking. The Raven across the street, glided off its perch and came to land on the dark clad Sith’s shoulder. ::

“This is goodbye for now, walker of the path of the light. We will meet again.”

:: He said to her wickedly, his pale skin laced with lines of crimson blood. He then turned and walked away. Just before he vanished from sight and was swallowed by the darkness, the clinking of metal hitting the surface of the street caught Aura’s attention. The saber rolled up to her and came to stop near her leg, the red prints of the bloody kiss still upon its surface. ::



<center><img src=http://tracesha.clanpages.com/tracebleed.jpg></center>

[Jedi Knight Aura]

The Sith Lord consummated his heinous undertaking dismissing his quarry, mortally wounded in the street lying in a pool of her own blood. The extensive damage he allocated exacted Aura to recede into a life saving hibernation trance, slowing her heartbeat and metabolism till medical aid arrived.


A dark robed man from her clan traipsed towards the fallen Jedi Knight. Kneeling down besides her, he applied synthflesh to her grievous wounds. He spoke to her quietly.


"I am here, Aura."


Her Master, summoned through the force by the multifold of screams, sensed his Learner in the mayhem. He carefully lifted Aura, carrying her to his speeder as they left the harrowing scene in their wake.


The alarming sight of Aura floating in a bacta tank, prompted Master Kirana to address his fellow elders of the council sooner than he planned to.


"She was attacked by a Sith Lord of the Sith Empire, Trace Sha be his name. He is a Master at cloaking his presence, using the aid of a raven. He is responsible for the deaths of over 100 men and women. Why he didnt add Aura to his list of victims, I have no clue."


The council elders spoke amongst themseles as Master Kirana added more.


"Only her strength with the force aided in her survival. I almost lost her in transport. She is doing fine in the bacta tank, but needs many weeks of rest and heavy meditation."

A senior council member spoke up.


"You know our policy, Master Kirana. The Knights must be assembled to intercept this darksider."


Master Kirana shook his head.


"Aura asked after she came out of the trance, if she would be granted permission to deal with him herself. She doesnt want a war to ensue over this if the Knights were to engage him. TSE, no doubt, would not stand for a Jedi raid against one of their kind. She will be strong enough in time. The force will guide her. The fact that he revealed his true self when he attacked her, staves future concealments of his presence from her again."


The council discussed Aura's request. The senior elder stood to address the others.


"If Aura Sunrider fails in her mission to deliver Trace Sha to justice, and is killed or maimed in the process, the Knights will silence this Sith Lord. If war comes over this action, then so be it, he must be stopped from committing these murderous acts again."


Master Kirana nodded having faith in the Jedi Knight.

[Trace Sha]

:: He had departed and returned home, but this particular home was not at the headquarters of the Sith Empire. He had instead gone to his own home, the planet which he was born to rule and soon would do so. The planet was Ord Mantell, where the castle bearing his family’s name stood.

His chance meeting with this Jedi, seemingly new to the universe for he had not heard tale of her, had gone splendidly. He had toyed with her as if she were but a plaything, making her succumb to his wishes and fall into his web of deceit like nothing more than a child.

He knew there would be a future meeting with this one, for he had planted seeds of hate and revenge in her mind. Even if she were to remain true to her religion of light, she could not completely escape the grasp of what he had sown. Revenge and anger were powerful things, powerful things that had spawned him to become what he was today.

He sat stoic and unmoving in a chamber within his castle as medical druids tended the varying lacerations about his body. The wounds were memories of what he had accomplished, but they would soon fade into nothingness, but the memory and satisfaction his deeds brought him would not. ::

”From whence does her order of Jedi come?”

:: He thought to himself as the tending machines sealed torn flesh. It was obvious that she had received a great deal of training in her Lightside arts, but it was also obvious that her experience in using those arts against devious foes was not so practiced. ::

”There must be others of her order.”

:: Came his final thought for the moment. He would have to investigate this further, so that the new enemy could be measured, and exploited as he had done to this one of their flock. ::