Mortal Gods: Skeletons in the Closet [completed]

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She was sitting in the ready room of The Devil's Advocate, the lights dimmed as she waited news from the bridge. Captain Michel Delving, someone she had met in the navy of the Sith Order, had defected when she was banished, bringing her Correllian gunboat with him. With it's single fighter bay (put in by the late Diktat Viscera) full of Spaarti cyclinders, it was a most valuable ship.

Lilaena fingered a datapad and swiveled in his chair, putting her feet up on his desk. The doors swished open, and Delving walked in with his crisp military air. "Lady De'Ville, the coordinates of Chad III have been placed into the navicomp, and we will be jumping to lightspeed shortly."

She smiled, and sat up. "Lights." The room returned to an acceptable level of brightness. "Excellent, Captain. Have you need of your ready room?"

"Of course not, my Lady. Please, use it as long as you have need of it." He sketched out a respectable bow, and she allowed him to leave. The trip would take a few days, and she intended to spend much of it in her private suite. But for now she would take advantage of his offer, and put her feet back on the desk.

There was something satisfying about finally completing a task she had begun almost four years previously. She fingered the datapad again, and a faint smile crossed her wan face. The fool Banestone had left a great legacy behind him, even if he had died an ignoble death on a moon. Forgotten by all who had once pretended to care about him.

She laughed then, as if anyone could care for that miserable egomaniac! De'Ville had only been interested in two things: His death, and the codes for the Titan Class supership that had been dead. (http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8999>constructed</a>) And before his death she had downloaded the security codes to the Zeus. Her previous <a href=http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8569>attempt</a> to get the codes had ended horribly, and she blamed herself. She had been too tired, to weak to confront an opponent such as Prent. Had she been full strength, she would have seen through his lies. Yet desperation had motivated her, and thus mistakes in judgement were made.

Come to think of that, Sanis had yet to be punished for his audacity.

But there was time for that later. De'Ville looked over the datapad once more, and then took out the datachit and secreted it away in her dark blue robes. The datapad clattered onto Delving's desk as she exited the ready room, making her way to her suite.

If she could not make off with the entire ship, then she would at the very least destroy it. Revenge would be sweet.

[Janus Versa]

The journey from Coruscant had gone smoothly and without interruption; a rarity for anyone to travel sans hinderance these days. Squabbling Imperial factions engaged each other in futile skirmishes to gobble up whatever scraps had been left behind by the New Republic and usually those on long haul ventures found themselves caught in the cross fire. Hyperspace lanes were like mines fields with interdictors waiting at every known asteroid field and trade route.

"A refreshing change." Janus pondered quietly whilst he revisited the cockpit to collect sensory readouts and after giving them a glance over allowed himself to fall back into the pilot's seat. For six days his ship, Mundabe's Comet, had hurtled through hyprerspace and stopped only to readjust course. The mercenary wasn't taking any chances, he was determined not to be followed. The ship had been given it's name in accordance with it's appearance against the matte black ambience of space. It was entirely spherical save for the four large ion engines jutting out from the rear, it's hull gleamed immaculately like a giant chrome stress ball and when the bright blue engine exhaust trailed behind it, the ship indeed resembled a small comet.

Out of the main viewport, which consumed the curvacious wall of the bridge, swirled the brilliant miasma of blue and white hyperspace. The bounty hunter recalled his first ever hyperspace jump and how at eleven years old he had been gripped with fear believing that the ship was being sucked into oblivion. Now, eighteen years later, the once exhilerating vista had nothing but theraputic properties for the pilot. He yawned then checked his chronometer. Sixteen hours left until he would reach his destination.

"My my, how time flies when one is having so much fun." Janus sighed with excrutiating boredom then made a mental note to look into stasis technology on the Imperial market when he returned home. Usually he enjoyed to travel but now that his company had fell from two to none he had only himself for entertainment. On that thought, he stared down at his hand as it fumbled with a credit which had slipped down the back of the seat, now retrieved. His mind wandered back to when the woman he loved used to share his quarters two floors up and how they had planned to decorate one of the other rooms to accomodate for their daughter once she was old enough. All that was long gone now and all that was left are the haunting echoes of footsteps and laughter that once graced the ships halls.

"Right, time for some beauty sleep." He told himself idly. Even speaking to himself had become painfully monotonous over the past week. At least he had a good three or four days of fun up ahead of him. He grinned toothily with excitement at the thought as he left the bridge and was immediatly met by a ladder which he ascended. This brought him through the floor of his personal quarters, two floors up, below which were to guest quarters which he was considering refurbishing into something more practical. The room around was comfortable in size, not very big but spacious enough to not feel closed in but the most noticeable feature of the room was it's ceiling which arced from head height down to the floor. This was due to the spherical shape of the ship and in truth there wasn't one room onboard that didn't have at least one curved side.

"Only sixteen hours." The mercenary reminded himself with a tired groan as he slipped into bed immediatly having wandered his ship in nothing more than his underwear. It was his ship after all and it wasn't like anyone else was going to see him. The light switch on the wall seemed to flick itself off and in the silent dark he sighed and drifted off into a much needed slumber. "Sixteen hours."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"M'lady, you asked to be notified when we were passing through Sith space. We've begun the last leg of the journey."

Lilaena looked at the tiny holo of Delving, bleary eyed, and nodded. "Thank you Captain." The small figure nodded crisply, and the winked out of existance.

De'Ville flopped back onto her bed, and pulled the covers over her head. She hadn't been back into the Corellian system since....since the Vaders' wedding. Ha! What a farce. If anyone present had thought the two people at the 'altar' really loved each other, then they were more delusional than the Vaders' were egomaniacs.

She let her eyes close, attempting to drift back to sleep.

After ten minutes of watching the back of her eyelids, she gave up, and got to her feet, reaching for her robes. Her bare skin pimpled in the cool air, and De'Ville shrugged into her dark clothing, tied on the wide belt, and reached for her boots.

Once clothed, she left her rooms, and stalked the dim hallways. She was sleeping less and less these days, her body simply didn't need the rest. Or even if it did, her mind would not allow her sleep.

[Janus Versa]

It wasn't until thirteen hours later when Janus was awoken by the alarm he'd set some days previously; it's pitch was high and made him cringe as he turned to bring it's consistent beeping to an end. His flat palm slammed down on the small, dark surface of the chronometer by his bedside, it didn't break although he wished it had. Another mental note to buy a less ear-piercing alarm clock.

"Wow. I must've really needed that." He observed through a strained voice, Janus wasn't one to sleep a great deal every night but when he could he enjoyed a good night's rest. In any case, the mercenary will most definately need his energy in the upcoming days as he intended not to get anymore sleep for at least three days. That he had done many times before, it was no great challenge either.

Stepping onto a small tile surface to the other side of his bed, the weary bounty hunter slipped out of his underwear and knealt down so as not to risk banging his head and because this was required of him every morning. He lit a red candle. This used to always wake Catherine up when they shared the same bed and drove her crazy. Taking a carved bowl which fit comfortably in the palm of his hand, Janus lowered his head and allowed it contents to be poured onto his head. The red liquid which trickled down his neck and onto his back was the blood of a tunmor he had killed on Da Soocha V two weeks ago. He had a dead flock of them kept in a chilled container in the cargo hold.

Some of the blood dripped from his fringe but it wasn't much because he had to use the blood sparingly. The ceremonial uses of one such bird should last three weeks and he made sure he hunted the tastiest ones. Opening a small cabinet before him he tore of a piece of dried meat scewered on a piece of metal and put in his mouth, it was naturally spicy and appealed to him but he daren't smile. Dipping his finger into the melted wax he began applying it carefully above his right eyebrow and down the same side of his face.

"E'vokomma. Tuchdoin, min tadocum ec grotetauf shiruch, shiray-oir du tosta. E'llevirem ec adi'chilas. Uveperedie." The red wax now bone dry on his skin he leaned forward, kissed the tiled floor and stood. Taking a towled robe he climbed down the ladder and made his way to the refresher on the floor below. There he washed, making sure to keep the wax intact on his face. He dried himself and began preparations for the days ahead.

[Janus Versa]

The moment he was ready, Janus dropped his ship out of hyperspace and did this deliberately, not wanting any censors to pick up on excessive ion trails caused by hyperdrive propulsion. He found himself in the Chad system, populated unsuprisingly by the planet Chadra, the fourth planet in the system and after that there was Chad II and Chad III. The latter of which interested the mercenary most, and thus his quad ion engines powered up and with his highly dense shielding refracting all light around the spherical starship, Mundabe's Comet made it's way unseen towards it's destination.

"Now, let's see if these military folk have thought to update their codes since I left." Assuredly his gloved fingers moved swiftly over the keys on his security control console behind the co-pilots seat. He smiled, noting that the security procedure itself hadn't changed and if he was reading the datapad correctly then he was indeed entering the correct access codes for the security mainframe at the secret military installation on the ocean world. Acces granted, the message appeared in the corner of the screen in green which set of a mischievous sparkle in the bounty hunter's eye and he went to work.

"First things first; communications."[/I] His voice trailed off as he went about fidgeting with the settings of internal communications and soon enough he had changed the frequency of outgoing transmissions and tampered around with com-link frequencies to create enough chaos and confusion once he had arrived. He then put his own security lock on it which meant that no-one short of himself would be able to change the settings. This unfortunately would reveal the indentity of whom had conducted the unscheduled alterations but that wouldn't matter as soon enough, there will be no-one left to tell the tale.

"Down." He confirmed to himself happily, then continued. "Escape pods and launch hatches--" He held his breath then smiled. "--Locked. That should do perfectly."

With that he stood and returned to his pilot's seat from where he began the landing sequence, soon enough the ship was in orbit of Chad III, undetected and having altered trajectory commenced atmosphere re-entry. The spherical ship went into a rapid nosedive headed towards the ocean so that sure enough it's firey body resembled nothing other than a cascading asteroid. This put the nearby military facility on red alert and ordered immediate evacuation of surface troops, they fled to the nearest turbolift shafts and headed back underground where the control centre was situated.

Strapping himself in tight, Janus placed his helmet on and accelerated so that his ship soared at a blinding rate straight into the ocean. When it hit the result was no less than that of an actual asteroid collision, the very water rose to almost one hundred feet above sea level and raced out towards the shore at frightening speed. The ship's insides shuddered violently as it deleved deeper into the sea but no damage of any significance had occured and already Janus was out of his seat and headed down into the cargo bay.

"Oh well. That takes care of any land-based facilities." He laughed, releasing his grip on the bars he allowed himself to slide to the bottom of his ship. "And Garrett Blade thinks he can make a good entrance!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I have felt a disturbance in the Force, Captain." Lilaena was sitting in the briefing room at a long conference table with Delving.

He pursed his lips, and pressed a button. "This may shed some light on that, m'lady."

"Repeat...all escape pods are...I can't get out! We're all trapped!...Where the hell did that....tidal wave knocked out all communication to topside...chunk of comet, perhaps asteroid, can't find a reading! No readings sir...wait, this is off the charts......get out, repeat evac all personnel, and get a tranmission to the Order HQ immed- What the frell is with our communication? I'm getting everyone right now, it's all...Its all being bounced back, nothing is getting out...."

De'Ville looked up at Delving, who cut the transmission recording. "We got that about twenty minutes ago, m'lady. Apparently the transmissions are old, maybe as many as three hours. Some may have been made right as we were receiving. There is so much junk on the signal, its like someone crossed all the comm channels and just set everyone on that planet loose." He sat back in his chair, his senior officers already dismissed to their duty stations.

The Dark Jedi was sitting quite still in her chair, her lanky frame seeming smaller as she rested her elbows on the conference table and cupped her chin in her hands. "Something is going on. But our objective is still the same. If Chad III was hit by an asteroid it probably frelled with their communication satellites. Perhaps..."

Michel waited for De'Ville to continue but she appeared suddenly lost in thought. He hesitated more, and then added, "That was among the possible senarios. We really don't know what to make of it though. Natural disaster, perhaps? Or maybe an act of war on the Sith Order."

A faint smile traced Lilaena's lips at that conjecture.

"At any rate, we were in-system when we picked up the residual transmission. We're entering orbit of Chad III, and we can begin shuttle clearance in a few minutes if you wish."

De'Ville shook her head, and sat up, tucking her hands in her lap. "I need time to prepare. I will be in contact with you. No ships, capital or otherwise in the area, correct?"

He shook his head. "Its uncanny, to be sure. Almost as if there was never major construction here at all. Just a planet. Nothing special about it."

"Which is why it is still undiscovered by the New Republic. Nothing to draw attention to it." De'Ville pushed herself up to her feet, and took a few steps towards the door. Her hand was clutched around something tightly. "I will contact you soon, Captain."

Once outside ot the briefing room, she steadied herself against a bulkhead before continuing on her way. Her body was protesting three days with no sleep, and her thoughts were becoming scattered, inspite of the concentration amulet she held in her right hand. She needed time to rest, and as there was no immediate danger to her ship or her person, she was going to properly prepare for her trip.

Lilaena keyed in her code and the doors to her suite swished open. The doors locked behind her, and she sat on the edge of her bed, untying her shoes slowly, and opening herself up to the Force.

The planet seemed ....empty. The Force was there - but yet, not.

[Janus Versa]

"O, the sun was high and the sky was bright, o'er sand dunes at skyscraper height, falling down to earth at a blinding speed, Jabba Hutt came home to Tattooine." Bold and loud was his voice as he sang an old song he'd learned when he was but six years old, Janus merrily collected the equiptment he'd prepared for the day ahead. On his person he carried blasters, explosives, sensors and other carefully assorted gadgets that might be needed. It was unlikely he would have to resort to the use of half of the items he had with him but the mercenary always believed it was better to safe than sorry.

Moving onto the second chorus, he descended a second ladder into a cylindrical chasm in the floor, a hatch above him then closed and into the tiny compartment water slowly trickled until it was eventually filled. The organic gill he had affixed to the inside of his helmet enabled Janus to breath without any problems underwater. The fibre-suit he wore beneath his armour was composed of durasilk and stericloth and along with a wafer thin layer of hyperbaride the material was completely water proof and flexible.

"Blasted water!" The bounty hunter groaned as he swam to a nearby launch shaft, it was where subs were ejected for either evacuation or surveilance purposes and after taking a quick look to make sure none were on their way out, Janus entered the duct and swam deeper inside. Near the launch bay there was a hatch which led into a small maintainance shaft for divers to use in order to conduct repairs and routine checks on the exterior of the launch bays. Soon enough Janus was inside and once the water had been drained out of it, he continued his trek deeper into the facility moving on all fours through the dim tube.

His journey through the miserable, grey arteries of the military facility took no less than ten minutes and during which time his equiptment was able to dry. However when he stopped for several minutes below a powerful air vent so as to make sure that his weapons would fire and scanners would operate, the bounty hunter removed a capsule measuring no more than eight centimeters in length and slippped it inside the dark vent. Whilst navigating these maintainance ducts Janus had left behind eleven more of these small metallic capsules which housed a membrane filled with liquid cyanogen.

"Palpatine! He was a Dark Lord. Palpatine! You old coot! Palpatine! He was a senator. Palpatine! Gave Vallorum the boot!" Now coming to the end of his expedition through the cramped maintainance ducts - and having soundlessly taken out a fair number of mechanics via strangulation or neck-snapping - Janus finally arrived at his first destination; the generator room which was where he would find, suprisingly enough, the power generators.

"What have we here--" He observed quietly, then bringing his knees into his chest lashed out and booted a piece of grating from the body of the tunnel which fell and hit a patrolling trooper square on the head. By the time he had fallen to the floor unconcious and the other security personel turned to the origin of disturbance, the bounty hunter had dropped down and with twin WESTAR-55 Mark 2 blaster pistols took out the four armed gaurds in the blink of an eye. "--Good morning, boys."

"Ah, the cavalry!" Janus laughed as the blast doors opened and a wave of troopers charged in at the sound of blaster fire, turning, the armoured intruder slammed his fist into a box made of red flexiglass and beneath it was a large, red button. The glass smashed and simultaneously the button was pressed inwards, the generators whined to a quick halt and then darkness enveloped the room. "I hope you guys don't have any breathing difficulties!"

As the bounty hunter shouted out through the darkness, he hit the control console on his arm and turned to take out the power terminal. There was a bombardment of blaster fire which lit up the room and this was followed by a series of flashes from sparks as the computer was destroyed. The advancing soldiers had stopped dead in their tracks, straining to see through the blanket of pitch black and all along the only thing they could do is listen to the muted hissing from above. It was the sound of their approaching demise and it came in the form of a thick, yellow gas which slithered through the air vents and into the room in which they stood.

"You will be able to smell something odd in the air, any moment now, perhaps you can taste it? It should taste unpleasant, metallic even like sucking on a greasy coin." Casually, Janus strolled over towards the troopers, his gamma vision allowed him to waltz effortlessly between their taught and ready forms. His voice was grim and rasping through the filter in his helmet, this was the part he enjoyed most.

"By now your tear ducts should start to leak and your eyes begin to run, don't breath too heavily otherwise they will burst. Of course, that is one of the many effects of the cyanogen gas in your lungs right now." There was a whimpering from a number of the troops at the sudden revelation, a couple were already coughing, others were weezing with fever and others gagging in fright. "In the next couple of minutes you will start to regurgitate, violently. Ah, I see one of you is off to an early start, congratulations. Once your stomach is drained of bile, it will tear from the unrelenting diaphram contractions and then you will begin to spew profusely your own blood."

Nearing the blast doors on the opposite side of the room, Janus looked back at the quivering shapes of security gaurds, several were already on the floor. He smiled maliciously behind his visor.

"Don't fight the twitching, your nervous system is being assaulted by the chemicals in your bloodstream. When you die, it wont be from the loss of blood through your mouth, nose and ears, nor will it be from lack of air when your lungs shrink and cease to function. Rather, you will die from massive brain haemorhaging which, I'm told, makes you lose all control of your bowels and muscles so I hope you've visited the toilet recently. Anyway, gentlemen, I must be off, have quite a bit of business to attent to, good day."

Pushing the blast doors apart, Janus stepped through and occassionally switched visual modes to negotiate a route deeper into the complex, leaving the agonised screams and gutteral howling behind.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Deep inside a chaotic trance, De'Ville sought to glean strength from the Force. Jedi often utilized the Force in such a manner, in healing trances or deep meditation. The Dark side offered no such solace, instead it battled almost against its user, giving up its power only at great cost.

At first it was easy, much faster than the Dark side. But the more power you wanted, the more you gave of yourself. Sometimes De'Ville wondered what would happen when she had no more to offer it. Was the Force a ravenous beast that would simply devour her until there was nothing left?

Eyes lightly lidded, her body was laid prostrate on her bed, covered only with a sheet. Rest was long in coming, as she slipped out of the trance and into a natural sleep. Darkness covered her, and her breathing came easier...no longer the tightly regulated breath of her trance.

Her hand was gripped around something, a thin silver chain escaping from between her fingers.

De'Ville slept for over an hour, and then her eyes snapped open. Pain, death. And then nothing... She sat up, and had swung her legs out of bed before she stopped herself. I have to get down there.

[Janus Versa]

If silence was a colour, it would be black. The entire facility was cursed with a haunting darkness which gave it's meandering hallways an endless, lifeless quality. Not that perfectly symetrical walls, ceilings and floors made of shimmering, grey metals were anything other than void of life. But now at least not another pair of eyes will have to witness their bland, miserable features. Not a soul was left alive at the facilty. All who had worked there were now dead and forgotten.

If silence had a taste it would be sour and dated like that face-cringing first bite into a mouldy, clammy piece of bread. A stale, rancid stench clinged discreetly to the close air which festered deep in the underground caverns. It was warm, sickeningly so, in fact the only sound which occassionally broke the heavy silence was the drip-drip-dripping off moisure from above. Stomach-turning, the smell lingered like a stubborn ex-girlfriend on Holonet; the taste which came to one's tongue as a result of was not too dissimilar either.

If silence held any mass at all, then the Chad III military establishment would be several kilometers closer to the burning planet core, the extra weight pushing it down of course. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere, none of human origin anyway; not a voice, not a breath, not even a heartbeat. Eerie wasn't the word. This wasn't the temporary silence in between music on a disc, it wasn't the awkward silence between a boy and a girl discovering new-found interest in each other and it wasn't the kind of silence you find when you like back in bed at night. This was the good stuff, the kind you find in a graveyard, the silence of which you have no idea when it begun and know it will never end and for those who find silence golden, bring your pick-axe and shovel because it's time to start digging.

The bounty hunter's work was done.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It was into such silence that a lone shuttle landed, its repulsors tearing through the thick curtains of silence like a chainsaw. When it was comfortably settled on the abandoned military dock, the only noise was the clicking and hissing of the engines cooling down as gusts of vented gasses swirled around the underside of the shuttle.

The pilot strode unapologetically down the ramp and then across the landing pad, to a non-descript turbolift. She raised her hand, punched in an access code, and stepped inside. Behind her the shuttle closed itself up, simply awaiting her return.

The turbolift closed behind her with an efficient swish, and the lift began its descent into the bowels of the planet. The Force was different. No, not the Force itself, but the way it was interacting with "every living thing." The fact was, there was a lot less living, if her senses were telling her anything at all. The Dark Jedi checked her chrono. It was a five minute trip down into the main chambers. Down to Zeus.

Down towards revenge.

De'Ville pondered the loss of life on the planet. There didn't seem to be anything here that could have wiped everything out so completely. Perhaps a virus? No...it wasn't that. She would be doubly wary, yet her mission was clear as it had been when she'd stolen the codes for the Titan class ship off of Banestone's dead body.

Revenge was usually sweet. She had the feeling this would be bitter.

[Gav Mortis]

A bittersweet sickness stirred in Gav's stomach as he and his company paraded the countless corpses on the floor, strewn out erratically on top of one another like some grotesque tapestry depicting the final moments of those who once worked here. The Sith was happy and overcome with relief that his work was almost finished but despite this, the foul, rotting stench polluting the air was enough to render one to physical illness. He considered this his punishment for taking all these lives.

"I think I'll call this 'The Death Parade', catchy isn't it?" His teeth gleamed through a cheerful smile and Gav held his arms out wide to present his work in all it's morbid glory. The military officer was pale and kept a tissue up over his violet lips, he gagged occassionally whenever he brought the cloth up to wipe a few trails of sweat. Gav nudged him playfully.

"Oh cheer up, sir. It's not so bad but we could do with a little air freshener in here. Don't you think?" The Sith brought a clenched fist under his chin and gently tapped his index finger on his lips in thought, his demeanour was that of a child after finishing it's first finger painting at nursery, carefree and proud. "What to do next. Ah!"

With eyes wide in realisation, he grinned and looked at the balding officer who immediatly stepped back in fright, he cried out when Gav siezed his hand and pulled him playfully out of the room laughing jovially. On his way out the officer slipped but was quickly pulled to his feet and had his thinning head ruffled, with one last horrified look he left the room behind.

The corridoor into which they had ventured was no different from any other room or passage in the entire facilty. The floor was soaked with viscous, sticky liquid; it was a mixture of blood, vomit, visceral spillages and the occassional blemishes of urine, faeces and body hair. Swimming in this putrid swamp of human remains were even more human remains, lacerated, punctured, defaced corpses or parts of corpses which were so numerous that you had to tread carefully everwhere you go. Once Gav stepped on a skull which had some shreds of flesh and patches of hair still stuck to it and he was fascinated by how it seemed to squash under his boot rather than crack.

"Ooh! Juicy isn't it?" He took Leuitenant Foster's finger and used it to poke the mushy cranium, bubbles and moisture leaked out of several cracks and not being able to hold it back anymore, the officer pulled the tissue away from his mouth and contributed to the vomit on the floor. Gav tutted, standing up from his once crouched position. When the leuitenant had finished, Gav took his hand in his once again and pulled him off down the corridoor.

"Don't worry about the mess, we'll have someone clean it up later. For now, dinner time!"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The lift doors opened at the bottom, and she stepped out..

..and into what seemed an alternate reality.

There were bodies in the hallway. She picked her feet up to examine the sticky liquid she'd stepped into and blew out her breath through her mouth in a long exhalation. There wasn't even a ghost of a breeze through the passages, but the stench of death wafted up to fill the void as the 'lift returned to the surface.

Her eyes tracked the level indicator on the 'lift doors, knowing that there was no one up there. Perhaps it just automatically returned to the point of origin. De'Ville returned her gaze to the passage in front of her, and started walking.

There was a slight sense of something ahead of her, but she had no way of knowing who it was...or even what it was. The Force wasn't precise like that. It moved through and around everything, and ahead of her it was moving strangely. As though a Force user, or something that could manipulate the energy of the Force were somewhere in the depths of the Zeus.

The Dark Jedi fingered her lightsaber hilt, rubbing her thumb over its smooth enamel, but not pulling it off her belt. Everyone here was dead - and the further she walked into the ship, the more obvious it was that everyone really meant everyone.

Her cloak trailed in the blood and other body fluids that were on the deck as she walked over and around bodies. The thought of the violence that must have existed in this ship at the time of their deaths vaugely excited her. On the other hand, it appeared that someone had beaten her to the punch.

What was going on?

[Gav Mortis]

“I remember this place well, Mister Foster. It’s like a second home to me.” Not one to waste the opportunity for chit-chat, be it idle or intelligent, Gav relentlessly continued to talk to the plump, fumbling officer whether he wanted him to or not. After all, his journey back to wherever he had come from was going to be long and boring and lonely. The Sith’s hand tightened around that of the lieutenant. “You know, I like to address my friends by their first name. Do you mind if I call you--”

“--Lev?” He asked, looking to the pale-faced man with wide, puppy-dog eyes and pouted lower lip to boot. Lev nodded, he was clearly shaken but had no other choice to play along with who he immediately believed was a complete madman. Stopping in his tracks, Gav looked affectionately into the officer’s eyes which darted left and right to avoid the chilling stare, then the Sith wrapped his arms tight around the lieutenant and rested his head on Lev’s shoulder. He whispered quietly to him as they stood at a junction within the facility, the officer felt a hand gently stroking the bald patch on his clammy head. “Thank you, Lev. You’re a true friend, Lev, a true friend. Come!”

He stepped back and snatched the lieutenants hand once again and lifted it up in the air then with a quick tug they were on their way again, turning left where at the end of the next corridor they found a turbolift, still functioning oddly enough, either that or it had been reactivated some time after the attack. The curved doors swished open and they both stepped inside the surprisingly clean but equally smelly cylindrical vessel and Gav’s finger started hovering over the controls. He had a puzzled look on his face. “Lev, dear friend, could you remind me where we can find the nearest dining-room-slash-mess-hall?”

“Four levels up. Room D10.”

“Ah yes!” The Sith declared with a snap of his fingers. “Good old D10! But first--” He pressed a button and the lift began it’s speedy ascent to Level B, where Gav stepped out of the lift and marched over to the nearest corridor junction, then crouched. His eyes slowly crept back down the corridor and he caught Lev’s eye just as he moved to press a button on the turbolift. No doubt the close-the-bloody-doors-and-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here button but one look from the Sith paralysed him and like a loyal little puppy the lieutenant waited while Gav wrote something in the thick ooze on the floor. He stood, stepped back and read it:

"Take the tears out of your stride
And even the score for two."

Pleased with his work he returned to the turbolift and explained, “Every artist has to sign his work.”

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She walked on through the goo and grime that splattered up from the floor onto the pristine walls. There had been a lot of violence in these people's deaths. What was the Order playing at here?

De'Ville made her way towards a second turbolift, and knelt down, examining a body which lay in the passageway of the immense ship. Intense trauma to the head, including what looked like fingernail marks around the throat. Well, what was left of it. It was ripped out, but had been done by a human hand. Someone strong. One of the Sith gone rogue and destroying everything here?

"Always have to spoil my fun." Lilaena grumbled, and then her eyes caught sight of something else on the floor.

There were words written in the ichor, and she stepped over them to look at them rightside up.

"Take the tears...tears?" She alternated pronunciations ('tears from the eyes' and 'tears the cloth') as she read aloud. De'Ville settled on the sort of tears that come out of the eyes, and continued reading. Take the tears out of your stride, and even the score for two.

What the frell?

[Gav Mortis]

“You know, this place isn’t half as bad as I thought it would be.” Gav commented upon stepping inside room D10, there were several long tables made of dull, grey stericrete and at one sat a couple whose heads were buried within their now cold bowls of vegetable soup. They must really like the soup. Aside from that, a couple more tell-tale corpses lying about and the ever present rotting stench the room was free of any hint of death and decay. “Perfect. Just what we need for a nice evening meal. I just wish we had some candles. Stay put and I’ll go raid the kitchen, the chef wont mind.”

As the Sith plodded over to the canteen at the far end of the room a prepared table was suddenly disrobed of it’s cloth which suddenly found itself wrapped around the lieutenant’s upper torso and ankles, tying him steadfast to the chair. Gav hopped through the gap in the wall which led right into the kitchen where the cooks would serve meals ready for waiters to take to the appropriate tables. Inside the lighting was one moment immaculately bright then almost pitch black. The lights flickered continuously whilst the Sith merrily searched for the refrigerator. He could be heard humming then he started singing amidst the clanging of pots and pans. Five minutes had passed and he reappeared, this time through the staff service door carrying a stack of plates, bowls and cutlery.

“Dinner is being prepared, Lev, so don’t you worry about a thing. It will be the best meal you’ve had in a long time. Tell me, have you ever read a book called ‘The Coruscant Tales’? No? Well, it’s fascinating, I suggest you look it up sometime. It’s full of short stories about folklore and fantastical urban legends set in a time when the city planet was only a settlement planet, when the cities were only just growing and things weren’t quite as prosperous as they are now. Wonderful place, Coruscant, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Oh yes, it’s my home.” Answered the lieutenant, still obviously worried but at least he had accepted that he wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. His only real concern at the time being was what concoction his estranged company would serve for dinner. Strangely enough, he had prepared the table for three.

“Really? Well, isn’t that something. Small galaxy, eh?” Gav gave the lieutenant a nudge as he crouched to affix a napkin into his collar. He winked and stood once more then headed back towards the kitchen. “Yes, ‘The Coruscant Tales’, I was just singing a song one of the stories, I believe it was called ‘Dinner and a Pound of Flesh’.”

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It was apparently a riddle of some kind, but she had no patience for riddles. Tears out of stride...tiers out of stride...tears...tiers... Stride minus tiers left a d. D....two. D2? Lilaena frowned angrily, and walked into the turbolift, inspecting it carefully to make sure there would be no surprises.

She looked at the choices in this 'lift, and found D4-67. Not D2 at all. Of course. Binary. De'Ville depressed the D10 button, and held her breath as the doors closed. The vents in the turbolift were still circulating fresh air...and the relief from the stench of the ship helped the Dark Jedi focus her mind.

De'Ville examined a bloody fingerprint on the wall as she traveled upwards, and extended her senses outward. As the 'lift slowed, and then stopped, the doors opening, she heard...singing?

She held her lightsaber pommel in her hand as she ventured out, seeing a doorway to a mess hall. The singing was coming from inside. It sounded like -

"Mortis?" De'Ville stood in the doorway, watching the Sith Master prepare the table in front of his captive. A macabre meal indeed.

[Gav Mortis]

"De'Ville?" Came an equally suprised response from the Sith who stood upright from placing a large bowl on the table, napkin resting neatly across his forearm. He smiled, a genuine smile as opposed to the fanciful, playboy flashing-of-teeth he kept giving the leiutenant. "Now isn't this a suprise."

The last time he had seen the woman was back on Corellia when she had ventured to retrieve an item of personal belongings which she had left behind in some sort of enchanted treasure chest. He had her figured out as being a loose cannon of sorts, wild and unpredictable and ready to go 'Bang!' at anytime. She was strong, she had grown very strong in her absence from the order which has led him to believe that she trains elsewhere. An enigma in itself. But she was the real enigma.

"I expected company, I admit, but I had no idea I'd be seeing any familiar faces for a while. I'm suprised I didn't sense you approaching--" He chuckled then looked at the chair-bound leiutenant with faux-shock. "--Must be losing my touch in the old age!"

"Please, join us." And gracefully he gestured to the third seat at the table. "Dinner is served."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Things had gone from bizarre to unbelievable in a matter of seconds. When he motioned to the spare third seat, the Dark Jedi stepped warily into the room, senses open and searching for any traps - any tremble in his emotions that might declare his true intentions.

After entering the doorway, she stepped to the side, her back to the wall, taking in the scene more fully as she slowly walked between the long tables towards the only other living people in the Zeus. There were two non-commissioned officers face down in their bowls, a celery and carrot soup the last thing the pair had ever seen. Her sharp eyes caught a smear of blood on the far walls of the kitchen, and there were a few other bodies scattered around, in various positions, and in various pieces.

The venting system was working overtime, trying to clear the air of the smell of death, but the microbes and bacteria already being released by so many corpses was proving to be too much for it. She focused her mind on something else. On Gav Mortis, and his strange behavior.

"I am not hungry, but I thank you for the offer." De'Ville stood opposite the pasty faced captive, looking across the table at Mortis. Down to business. "You mentioned expecting visitors... Who else is coming?"

[Gav Mortis]

"My apologies, let me make myself crystal clear." Gav took a seat and studied De'Ville for a moment of silence. His eyes then swept across the table to survey his captive and he grinned contemplatively, looking down into his clasped hands on the table. "When I said I was expecting company, I meant that I had sensed the presence of another somewhere in the facility. That was you."

Of course, at the time I was unaware of this but being the gentleman that I am, one simply had to invite the unexpected visitor to dinner. After all, manners are important. Aren't they, Lev?"

Again, he gestured to the free chair then picked up his spoon and with a pleasant look on his face, tucked into his soup. The spoon in front of the restrained officer suddenly took on a life of its own, scooped up some of his broth and glided up into his mouth. Rather repeticiously, this process was continued whether Lev wanted to eat or not.

"So," Gav suddenly broke away from his meal and looked to De'Ville. Except this time his once pleasant, cheerful voice was tainted with a hint of cold, unwelcoming formality. "Now that I have established that you are indeed the unexpected visitor would you be so kind as to explain what you are doing in my top - secret - military - facility?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She watched the meal with morbid fascination, and had begun backing away from the table, on the pretense of getting a closer look at one of the corpses. At Mortis' last words, she paused, and looked down at him, equally formal.

"Well, it is not as if I had no idea it existed. I have been here before, once or twice, if you care to remember. No one else at TSO seemed to take an interest.

"As to what I am doing here... I came to take it. Or destroy it, if need be." She saw no reason to disguise her motives, but kept her hand within easy reach of her lightsaber, wondering what Mortis' reaction would be. "It appears you beat me to it...or if not you, then something else did."

[Gav Mortis]

"My, my, you're all grown up Miss De'Ville." Gav smiled again, he looked amused, De'Ville's frank and blunt answer cut through him and it tickled. He laughed. "Something really terrible must have happened to you in order for you to bear such stale fruit. You have a nice smile, you should do that more often. Contrarywise, I'll leave it down to you to decide whether or not you should sit and not ask as much."

The cultery once systematically feeding the leuitenant suddenly clanged into an almost empty soup dish. He seemed to be relieved and relaxed as much as his bindings would allow. Gav was vigorously rubbing a serviette into his hands. He put it on the table, steppled his fingers and stared at the table cloth as though deep in thought.

"There are two problems facing you, two faults in your wonderfully executed plan; one, I wont let you take the ship and two, I wont let you destroy it." He frowned, as though he were carrying out negotiations in his head. With a smack of his lips he stood brightly, his voice was a little strained as he rose. "But before your hand gets any closer to that lightsaber of yours, that is not to say we can't arrange some sort of agreement. However, there's one more thing to deal with before we go any further."

Gav made his way around to the officer's side and crouched down next to him so that their eyes were level. He placed a hand gently on his shoulder and tilted his head sympathetically. He looked concerned.

"I am still at a loss as to how you are going to die." He looked up to De'Ville. "Suggestions?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Of course he wasn't going to let her destroy it, or take it. She hadn't anticipated Mortis' presence on the ship in the first place. Apparently, no one else had, either. The officer looked sideways at Mortis, and she could see the whites of his eyes all around his irises as his skin blanched paler.

"Dying of boredom always seemed cruel to me." She allowed her lips to quirk up in a half smile.

[Gav Mortis]

"Yes. That would be rather cruel." Gav's chin rested between his thumb and forefinger, he seemed not only oblivious to De'Ville's quip but also the audible murmors of fear from the leuitenant violently struggling with his restraints. Gav stood, seeming to have come to a conclusion and wrenched the officer's head around, his neck buckled and cracked, his head hung limp and his body struggled no more. Gav stood in silece for a moment, staring at the corpse, lost in thought.

"Right, business it is." He murmered, his voice was uncharacteristically monotonous. He swept past De'Ville and was already on his way out of the mess hall. "Come on."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She didn't have a choice in the matter. Fighting Gav Mortis for control of a ship full or corpses was something only Garrett Blade would have done. And he was insane.

The Dark Jedi followed him out of the mess hall, without a backward glance at the freshly dead Lev. "Where are we going, Mortis." De'Ville stayed alert to what was going on around her, in case a trap was to be sprung.

[Gav Mortis]

"I have a first name, you know." Gav replied. Heading sure-footed down the corridoor to the turbolift. The door slid open and he stepped inside, turned and his eyes rested upon De'Ville. He didn't invite her inside, if she wished to follow she would do. "We're going down to the ship, as it doesn't have a smell almost as foul as that of Hobgoblin."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She hesitated, and then followed him into the turbolift. "Old habits are hard to break...Gav." Lilaena waited, biding her time, suddenly feeling a bit adrift now that her purpose for being there was taken away from her.

She didn't want to contradict Mortis, and even if she tried, the Dark Jedi wasn't sure she would win. But Mortis...Gav...was an ally, if another Darksider could be called an ally. As to his own purpose for being on the Zeus, that remained to be seen.

[Gav Mortis]

Gav found it interesting that she failed to show any reaction to the mention of Hobgoblin but pondered on it no longer. Instead he moved onto a different topic.

"You're here to have your revenge on the Order." He said absent-mindedly, all traces of his theatrics in the mess hall gone. He grinned to himself and glanced across to her with a hint of amusement. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She gave him a sideways glance, and answered with a question. "At least I have a purpose for my presence. Why are all these people dead? Seems a bit theatrical and unecessary, if you ask me."

Lilaena brushed her hair behind her ears, and looked around the small, enclosed space of the turbolift. "It seems we were both wounded by the Order. And now here we are. Why not just take this ship from them, and be done with it?"

[Gav Mortis]

Gav was now leaning casually against the inside of the turbolift as it reached greater depths. His arms were folded across his chest and he was smiling at her, small cracks in the red wax markings on his face were appearing.

"Let's put things into perspective then. I have killed these people but don't want to take the ship or destroy it; I could've easily done either but have chosen against it. That doesn't make what I've done theatric or unneccessary, it just means I have a different agenda than yourself."

Our paths have crossed now, so we could take advantage of the opportunity we have. So allow me to explain--"

Gav was cut off at the sound of the turbolift doors swishing open, he hadn't felt the lift slow to a stop. He stepped out into the messy corridoor and started walking ahead. "--but it can wait. Let's just get there first."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville felt like a child as she followed the Sith Master out of the turbolift, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

But she did it anyway, curious, if nothing else. De'Ville stepped over a body, and trailed behind Mortis, wishing she could delve into his mind and unlock the secrets inside. "Did you ever get your talisman back? The one Darkserpent came to me for?" Garrett Blade had intervened in that situation, whether by chance or choice he had saved her son from Seth, and taken the amulet off her neck himself. She picked her way around a paticularly bloody corpse, and realized she didn't care if he answered.

[Gav Mortis]

"No, but it wouldn't serve any purpose for me anyway." Gav answered plainly, turning down another corridoor not looking back at his company. Perhaps, he thought, the walk would tread the bitterness out of her by the time they reached the ship. He doubted it.

"What about Blade? When did you last seem him last?" He asked with curiosity, he grinned. "How was he? Was he--" He hesitated. "--himself?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She rubbed a hand over her forehead, remembering the last time she'd seen Garrett. "Actually I did not really see him, the last time I...saw him." At the time she'd been unconscious, fighting for her life after defeating the Sith Damon Void. Her apprentice at the time, Shaed, had followed Blade after the insane Sith had picked her up, and had told her most of what she knew of the encounter.

Her memories of the events following the emancipation of Michael Cline were fuzzy at best. "I ran into him on Coruscant about a year ago. He was sane enough to save my life. I owe him much."

[Gav Mortis]

Gav's eyebrows lifted and then he smiled. He was impressed and could only begin to imagine what sort of conundrum they had been tangled up in. As he pushed aside a damaged blast door he had to wonder if Garrett was still a little obsessed with the woman.

"Here we are!"

They stepped inside a place which had all the features of a room, chairs and small tables assorted neatly, and all the size of a never-ending corridoor, to either side the room went on for as fas as the eye could see in both directions. The wall opposite was a deep black and with a second glance it was clear it was made of glass.

"Care to have a look?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville looked around the room, or wide passageway, and then stepped up next to Mortis. She studied the glass wall, noting it's thickness, and then looked through it.

[Gav Mortis]

Through the heavy darkness of the window a wall is visible on the other side, there's a great distance between the glass and the wall which plunges at an angle into endless black below were no bottom can be seen in this enormous space.

"If you look hard, you can just make out the windows and armaments. Can you see them?"

At this it was clear that what they were looking at was not the wall on the opposite side of what seemed to be an enormous gaping room, but was in fact the hull of the Titan Star Destroyer. It looked overwhelmingly ominous and no end to the hull could be seen in any direction. Gav's face was pressed against the glass looking this way and that.

"Unbelieveable, isn't it?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Bloody ashes..." She let her eyes adjust to the darkness on the other side of the glass, and soaked up the sight of the enormous ship. What the frell is the Order doing, leaving it in here? "Hard to imagine, even when you are looking at it with your own eyes."

[Gav Mortis]

"Yes, I know." Replied Gav, who was running a hand down the surface of the glass, surveying the monstrous ship with a look of great distaste. "One turbolaser volley and a Victory, maybe even an Imperial Star Destroyer would go 'Poof!'"

"And you'd want to destroy it?" Gav shot De'Ville an incredulous look, he shook his head. "I think there are better things to do being in this position now. There's a boarding chute this way."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"Ah," she replied, following after him. "But I do not have the command codes necessary. Well," she admitted, "I do have one set. And that is why I have come, not that I have been searching for all these years, but that Fate, or what-have-you, sort of threw this back into my life."

De'Ville noted the absence of bodies in the corridor as they walked through it.

[Gav Mortis]

"Which reminds me," Gav began immediatly, not turning to look at her but instead opened the circular blast doors and stepped inside a cylindrical room. There was about six meters to the other side where another set of circular blast doors resided. The way through which they had just entered sealed up behind them and Gav pointed to the white environmental suits lined up on one side of the wall.

"Take one, there's no oxygen through these doors, we'll adjust the atmosphere once onboard depending on what deck we stop. Don't want to waste energy." He moved casually to the rack of suits and started slipping one on.

"Yes, as I was saying anyway," He paused momentarily and looked across to De'Ville. "There were three people from the Order who had the master access codes to this place; myself, Lord Banestone and Garrett Blade. Whose do you have?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She eyeballed the suits, finding one approximately her size, and began pulling it on, one leg at a time. There were magnetic seals around the gloves and overboots, and down the middle of the suit. De'Ville took a moment before putting on the helmet to answer Mortis' question.

"I recovered Banestone's codes after finding his body on one of the moons of Iego. His cybernetic parts still had some power left in them, and it was a simple enough matter to slice into his mainframe and download them."

[Gav Mortis]

"Poor Banestone." Replied Gav immediatly, his tone was totally unsympathetic. It had been many years since Gav had seen or heard anything of the cyborg Sith, he had been a founding member of the Sith Council when Gav had joined. His helmet was on and he headed toward the second set of blast doors.

"If I remember rightly, he was the first lightsaber instructor I ever had. Then Jen Katrina took over as my master. She's dead too now." He told De'Ville casually, the blast doors opened and before them was a long dark chute which led straight to the ship. It was tall enough to stand and walk in.

"Who was your master back then?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She sealed up her helmet and followed him down into the darkened corridor. "Live Wire." De'Ville wondered what he was getting at. Surely he remembered that Live Wire had been her mentor in the Force.

Although, maybe he had been too wrapped up in other things to notice her back then. Behind them the blast doors closed, and they walked on.

[Gav Mortis]

"Oh yes." Gav muttered immediatly, then through clenched teeth, "Of course."

His knuckles went white, his jaw bones protruded a little more than usual as his teeth jarred against each other; he felt like by asking De'Ville to identify her old master he had openly asked her to shoot him in the chest and pour salt into the wound. He remained silent from there on and ventured further along the passage, their footsteps echoed in the endless dark.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She felt the stab of emotion from him, but said nothing. She understood the feeling.

They walked in silence until they reached the end of the dark passage. De'Ville felt a little non-plussed at her circumstances, but what else could she do? She wasn't prepared to take her pure sabacc and exchange it for a Knave of Cowardice. There would be no turning away from this future that loomed in front of her.

[Gav Mortis]

"It'll just take a moment--" Gav murmured wearily, pressing a couple of keys outside the hatch connected to the boarding tube. "--Life support on a ship this size takes much longer than your average dreadnaught."

He turned back to her and cut her eye. "Where would you like to go first?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

If this was an elaborate trap, then this would be the place to spring it on her. De'Ville kept eye contact with Mortis, and then shrugged. "Certainly."

[Gav Mortis]

"You would like to go to 'Certainly' first?" Gav asked, amused. It was apparent that De'Ville's mind was preoccupied with something, he imagined that she was untrusting of him and he didn't blame her. To stay alive as long as they had in the world in which they live you had to have your wits about you twenty-four hours a day.

"How about the bridge then?" He suggested, the hatch behind him swinging open. He stepped inside, the interior was nothing special, just the usual, boring brand of Imperial decor. "You know, if I wanted to kill you I would've already made my move by now. Try to relax."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She flushed under her helmet from her misunderstanding of his question and followed him inside. "Yeah, I'm trying to relax, but things just never seem to go my way, if you know what I mean."

They walked through the bland corridors towards the bridge, and she tried not to be impatient. Was there a point to his tour?

[Gav Mortis]

Due to the size of the ship, their journey also involved two repulsor-chute rides; there were metal arteries running throughout the ship and along them travelled pods big enough to carry twelve people at a time. After soaring through the tunnels and blinding speeds, Gav and De'Ville were finally able to unstrap themselves from their seats and make one last trek to the bridge.

"I love this place." He said, after swiping a keycard through a panel in the wall the doors slid open. "I've never known any other bridge to be made of three floors."

The bridge was large, shaped like a broad ballroom with a black marble floor; a touch which Gav explains was his idea. There was the captain's seat and one to his left and right, each with computer terminals on the arm rests. Computer panels were embedded into the walls all around, none were in front of the captain's seat because that's where the floor dissapeared and allowed for all to look down onto the lower deck of the bridge again filled with computer terminals and control consoles, it was of similar design except no captain's chair but again had a great gap in the floor which led down onto the thrid deck of the bridge, less of this floor could be seen from where Gav and De'Ville stood. Extending all three floors was an enormous viewport which consumed the entire far wall.

"Unfortunately, there's little activity going on at the bridge at the moment because it's not needed, of course. But it looks spectacular when all the computers are up and running." He said casually, falling back into the captain's seat. He asked De'Ville to join him and sit. "There's a few things I'd like to discuss."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

On all her previous visits, she'd never been to the bridge of the Titan Zeus before. In fact, she couldn't remember setting foot inside the actual ship, having spent her time reviewing plans, and worker tallies. She hadn't been involved in the Titan's construction, but she had made it a point to know what was going on.

It was more than impressive. It was jaw dropping. Bigger than an SSD, so immense that it had to be constructed in absolute secrecy in the bowels of a planet. That must have been Blade's idea. He'd always been a bit crazy.

De'Ville could see a murky reflection of herself in the marble floors of the bridge, and then took a seat to the left of Gav. She tried not to look like a backwards farm girl, but the ship was leaving her a little wide-eyed. She'd never seen anything like it. No one had ever seen anything like it.

"What would you like to discuss, Lord Mortis?" The Dark Jedi focused her attention on the Sith Master sitting beside her.

[Gav Mortis]

"Please," Gav raised an open hand, he was grinning. "Gav is just fine, 'Lord Mortis' is something I would have an underling call me and considering I have none of those, Gav is fine. Let's be informally professional."

As if to emphasise his point, he arched his back away from the comfortable leather of his seat there was a clicking sound, his head tilted from side to side and there was a popping sound to accompany it and to complete his orchestral stretching he heaved a weighty sigh. Leaning back comfortably in his chair he rested his neck on the head rest and stared up at the ceiling dreamily.

"You came here to have revenge upon an order which was once considered by both of us our home and family. I came here to do likewise, I have succeeded to an extent, the Titan Star Destroyer will, in time, be forgotten and lay dormant here out of the cluches out of our enemies and let's face it, in our world, there's an abundance of them on both sides." He smiled, his gaze cast down from the ceiling now and at De'Ville. Her face, in spite of his smiling remained as stone.

"Cutting to the chase," He continued, "I want to help you take your revenge because I want it too; whatever you have in mind, whatever you want to plan, whenever you wish to do it - I want to help."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

"I want to make Vader and Live Wire pay for their misuse of the Order. And ultimately, of me. It is their fault..." she paused, collecting her thoughts, a moment of raw pain surfacing in her eyes. "I lost my daughter because of them. I had no where to go when they kicked me out, and I suppose they think I should be grateful I had my life still.

"But the Order was my life." De'Ville settled back in her chair, finding it surprisingly comfortable. "And so all I really want to do it take it away from them." She patted the console in the arm of the chair. "This was going to be a great way to do it."

[Gav Mortis]

Gav listened intently to what De'Ville had to say, it was certainly news to him that she had lost a daughter, let alone lost a daughter by the hands of Lady Vader and Live Wire. There was a time long ago when he would have jumped to the defence of Lady Vader's counterpart but now almost all compassion for her had dried up and he, like De'Ville wanted to bring pain to both of them.

"You make me feel like a spoiled brat with such a legitimate reason for hating them." He smiled, but he felt it only fair to offer De'Ville some sort of explanation on his part. "Looking back, I don't think that place ever was my home nor the people my family, back then I was just a lost little boy. I've grown up since then, so have you; your a wiser woman but if you don't mind me saying so, quite embittered too."

"And you have every right to be!" He added quickly, feeling the flicker of temper. "In fact, the Order is one of the few remaining things that I hate anymore. You find yourself growing out that age of angst and depression after a while, for some it takes longer than others and for those who don't, I guess it just eats them up." He stood and looked about the bridge, then took a stroll.

"But if we're going to have the last laugh, let's do it with a touch of class and not lower ourselves to their level by using this monstrosity. We can have plenty of fun without it."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It wasn't exactly a lie...after all Jax's twin had died because of a parting shot from a TSO guard. And that would never have happened if it wasn't for the two she had named. She offered Gav a wry smile. "I was thinking crashing it into Corellia would have been a nice parting shot."

She rested her head in her hand, lightly rubbing her temples. "I have nothing to fear from them. I have faced their worst, and lived. Their compassion is their only flaw." De'Ville opened an eye, and studied Gav. "Did you have something in mind, then? They can't touch this ship, which is good, but then what? Just show up at their so-called Palace and wreak havok?" A smile touched the corners of her lips.

[Gav Mortis]

"You'd like that." He replied immediatly, his hands holding onto a banister which led around the circumerence of the edge of the deck before it drops down into the second deck on the bridge. He smiled. "I'd like that but now that time is on our side, why not plan something that isn't only fun, it could be smart too!"

He went silent, the old cogs turning in his head, the silence was so overwhelming in the dead super ship that he wouldn't have been suprised if De'Ville had been able to hear him thinking. Nothing came to mind right away so he walked some more, glancing with curiosity at the different control consoles as he walked by.

"You know, compassion isn't neccessarily a weakness. I have compassion and I'd say I'm doing alright for myself." He said defensively. "I think you should open your mind a little before you fall into the same trappings as all the other rag-tag self-proclaimed Sith clowns and you're no clown." He had gone full circle and slumped back into his chair. "How could we really hurt them?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She tilted her head to the side, and then got to her feet, walking to the railing that he stood in front of. "Compassion is not a weakness, when used properly. They misuse it." De'Ville turned to face him, leaning in close.

"How could we really hurt them? We could start a new Order. Draw away their recruits, harry their supply lines. We could show them the full power of the Darkside." Her eyes burned up into his, and he felt the strength of her convictions. "Think of it...we could build around us our own empire, and suck the life out of theirs. When they are homeless and helpless, they will see our success, and know that I -

"That we, were right all along." De'Ville's knuckles whitened on the railing, and she carefully drew back from Mortis, relaxing slightly.

[Gav Mortis]

But Gav was far from relaxed and for some time he stared directly ahead at the enormous black viewscreen and although their surroundings were still and quiet, inside he was a tempest of anger and frustration. As much as De'Ville had changed, she still held close to her heart the ideals which forced Gav away from the likes of her and other Dark Siders. Another Empire.

"Order?" He repeated visciously, through grinding teeth. His clenched fist slammed down onto the rail on which they leaned. His cheekbones protruded from clamped jaws and his nostrils flared with heavy breathing. His eyes, alive with a firey temper, fell upon De'Ville. "Is that how you would describe the way we live our lives? Order! Our kind don't have lives, De'Ville, we are only on a waiting list for death and our existence is wretched and we are tormented by what you call power and I call a curse!"

He had stood upright and had allowed his voice to boom wildly in the empty bridge. Loud, heavy breathes heaved from his lips and he snorted, turning away. After giving himself a moment to calm he continued in a much quieter but restrained tone.

"There's no order in our world; chaos, hatred and blind greed dominate all those who walk the Dark Path. Ours is a life of suffering and I would not wish that on another soul, not even one because no-one should ever have to live this way." Returning to his seat looking somewhat drained, Gav flopped down into it and sighed. "I'm sorry, De'Ville, but I don't want to start recruiting any more victims. I'll help you have your revenge on those who have made you suffer but not at the cost of enslaving others to share our burden."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She turned away from him. "I don't need your help. My siblings will assist me if you will not."

[Gav Mortis]

"Can you be so sure?" He asked, looking up at her back. "We share the same hatred for the Order and it's members, it's not up for debate, I will be involved and I wont let you deny me my revenge."

Together, we will put an end to a long-running joke and finish off the self-proclaimed Sith Order."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She turned and looked into his eyes with a skeptical look on her face. It seemed that whenever she trusted someone, they turned on her. Pierce had done it, Vader and Live Wire had done it. Would Gav also only hang around long rnough to stab her in the back?

"I spoke excitedly, Gav. I have tried to put the thirst for power behind me. You are correct when you call it a curse." She couldn't see herself, but she knew she appeared older than she actually was. A stranger would put her a mid thirties, and she was barely twenty nine. She was thinner, and the lines of her face were more angular than round. The Dark side did indeed have a curse. She'd found the beginnings of unnatural bruising on one of her arms...

"So, tell me how you can help me, Gav. I have already begun to draw around me a group of like minded individuals."

[Gav Mortis]

"I have learning in matters that can help our cause extensively. I would contribute to the efforts of yourself and your friends but not without caution." He paused, finding his footing before continuing. "I have to be weary of the people I choose to associate with, yourself included, no offense and the reason being is that I don't want to be mixed up in matters which do not concern me. The Order called itself a family; what kind of family allows it's members to suffer by it's own hand? Being part of a family, any family, brings more trouble and heartache than it's worth."

You say you have begun to gather like-minded individuals to yourself, with the ultimate goal of-- what, exactly?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She snorted, "Family? The Order would not know family if it hit them between the eyes. I am an orphan, I know nothing of family, other than what I attempted to make for myself. I failed. No, I would not start a 'family' again. There are better ways to do things.

"My ultimate goal would be to make the Sith Order pay for its crimes. And to fill the power vaccumm left when it collapses."

[Gav Mortis]

Gav sat in silence for a while, mulling over a number of things in his head while De'Ville occupied herself with a wander around their deck of the bridge. When she had returned he was still sat but now wearing what looked like an amused grin.

"You know, I think I'm going to do something very uncharacteristic of myself today and take you up on your offer. I think what interests me the most is the fact that it isn't something I would normally do, I could do with the company too."

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She smiled, truly smiled, and leaned against the railing once more. "I am glad to hear that Gav, really pleased. We both know the dangers of too much power, but we also know the dangers of too much power in the wrong hands."

De'Ville looked around the enormous bridge with a faint sigh. "It certainly would be nice to take this back as a prize, but I have no way to crew it. And even if I did... This is too much power. For any mortal."

[Gav Mortis]

"Well, there's the irony of it, this thing makes Gods of mortal men." He stood and joined De'Ville near the rail. He rapped his knuckles against the metal. "And this is a perfect example of the dangers of too much power in the wrong hands and I think we've spent enough time wallowing in it." He looked to De'Ville and nodded his head in the direction of the exit. "Shall we?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She looked around the bridge one last time, feeling slightly empty now that this chapter of her life was to be finally closed. De'Ville turned back to Mortis, and nodded in agreement. "Certainly. Let us put this behind us." She followed the Sith Master out of the bridge, and they began their long journey back towards the airlock.

The Titan was dormant beneath their feet, never to rise again. It was named after a god in some long lost culture: Zeus. De'Ville thought about what Gav had said, about mortal men with the power of the gods. It reminded her of Hobgoblin, how he was convinced it was the Dark Jedi's right and proper place to be gods. The problem was not too much power...it was that power in the wrong hands.

But who would decide who's hands were right? Certainly hers were. Or were they? De'Ville fastened up her helmet as Gav did his own, and they started walking through the tunnel, back to Chad III and the facility full of dead men. The Sith Order's secret closet was full of skeletons now, but would they even take notice?