Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 50

Thread: Break the chains

  1. #1
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude

    Closed Break the chains

    The silent void of space; an absolute and consuming darkness sprinkled with hot pinpoints of light that were just as dangerous as the icy void itself. How inhospitable and threatening an environment that traversing it was a feat most remarkable, and yet one that no one gave pause to acknowledge. A single fault in your craft could lead to a plethora of horrible ends. Without particle shields you were susceptible to every rock and debris floating through the expanse. A glitch in the navigation system could fling you into a planetoid. A system failure could leave the craft crippled and floating through space as environmental and life systems failed and you slowly froze and chocked to death inside a metal coffin.

    And yet, knowing all that, he had somehow allowed an even more dangerous force aboard that same craft. All the bang and bluster of space pirates and military regimes could not levy a finger against what was laid up in his hold. It haunted his every moment since they left Obroa-Skai. It ripped sleep from his mind and frayed his nerves knowing that any miscalculation in the dosage could cause his passenger to wake prematurely and tear the ship in half, or worse kill him. The screams of rage still echoed in his mind. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

    But something greater weighed on his mind. While truly he had rescued this man from what would have been an eventual death at the hands of the Empire after a bloody and gruesome campaign to retake the ruins of the city that would leave hundreds, perhaps even thousands, dead at the hands of the powerful and unfocused telekinetic, he had still more or less kidnapped the man, without giving him choice or chance. That was not what this as about. That was not what he had signed up for. This was about choice, not to give into gluttony and grab up every force adept as the Empire and Jedi did. They fought like schoolyard children, laying claim to people like they had a divine right to them.

    This was about freedom; and he took that away.

    It was with a set jaw and a shaking hand that he tapped in the command to unlock the bridge and pressurize the coupling. Several more moments passed before Zereth finally stood and stepped through the portal into the airlock and then the hallway beyond; leaving his lightsabre behind. Weapons would do him no good here. The second bedroom door was still open, and inside the man slumbered. He did not look restful, his body was not calm even in a drug induced sleep. There was tension and a pain hiding just beneath the surface. The antidote to the sleep agent was produced from the same medical cabinet, a chemical agent he brought just in case the man did not wake up when needed.

    There was a hesitating moment, standing over the man, before the drug was finally administered and Zereth back up against the wall. Hands exposed, nothing hidden. No weapons. Only a knot of terror. Just him and his prisoner. It was time to make this right.


    To give help, a way, a place, and a hope to those who don't or have lost it.
    | | | | |

  2. #2
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    Between fluttering eyelids and tensing muscles, his mouth moved. No sound came, but it was plain to read the words on his lips.

    "There is no emotion, there is peace.
    There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
    There is no passion, there is serenity.
    There is no chaos, there is harmony.
    There is no death, there is the Force."

    Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes flicking open in an instant. Fingers and toes moving as he stared at the ceiling. Breath coming in deep in and out bursts from flaring nostrils.

    "I can feel your fear."

    Tyber sat up, or attempted to. Pain racked his body and he fell back to the bed in a shuddering heap, rolling to his side as his knees tucked to his chest.

    "What are you...so afraid of?"

    Examining his hands in front of his face, he saw where one of the mangled fingernails hadn't quite been torn fully from the quick. He eased his trembling finger into his mouth and bit off the rest of the nail, spitting it aside.

  3. #3
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    "You."

    The reply was simple and flat, Zereth's eyes never wavering for a moment as he watched the adept try to push himself up, only to fall again. This was hardly the same being he encountered on the fallen prison ship. He felt his guard lowering, but his attention did not wane lest this be a trap.

    "I saw your terrible powerful and all consuming rage. Such a combination is dangerous. Especially now, aboard a starship. I must apologize for seizing and sedating you. My fear caused me to act irrationally. My name is Zereth, and I'm here to help you."

  4. #4
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    "Help?"

    Peeking behind his hands, Tyber looked at Zereth with glazed eyes. He'd grown so accustomed to seeing his own shadow, it was strange to see another shadow cross it's path. One shape. Formless and monstrous. Again he sat up, this time managing to complete the task. He crawled on hands and knees to the end of his medical cot. Looking at Zereth. Around Zereth. Through Zereth.

    "Helpers help to be helped right back scratching backs and scratching back raw and bloody bleeding intentions desires on the floor."

    His eyes screwed shut and his jaw tensed as he hissed through his teeth.

    "Not a virtue! Not a virtue!"

    Tyber's eyes opened then, surprised by his outburst. He slunk back on the bed slightly, almost ashamed by it.

    "Help me. I need..."

    The padawan hit at his forehead with a closed hand repeatedly, as if trying to physically start his brain into recalling something buried.

    "...so...many...things...all I remember how to do is be hungry starving dying and everything tastes of ashes. Everything tastes of ashes."
    Last edited by Tyber Jaan; Mar 3rd, 2015 at 11:00:21 PM.

  5. #5
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    He tried to take a step back as the man's outburst escalated, filling the room. Zereth's heel bounced off the wall behind him. There was no where to go. He was stuck in here with the broken man and his own discomfort.

    "Please, calm down. Tell me what you need. If you need food I have food. Real food, not ashes. You are safe here. Let me help you."

    Zereth was at a loss of how to approach this man. He had never encountered someone so broken, so lost in his own mind. It reminded Zereth of the years he spent being broken and molded by his first master Drexel Kane. Those were scars that took many years to heal, and many more for him to accept what they had done to him. He didn't have years for this man to come to terms with whatever had happened to him. He needed to rehabilitate him so that he could make the choice.

  6. #6
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    He was asking so nicely. Tyber looked up again. His eyes no longer frantic, they were softer in expression, a tear threatening to swell under each.

    "Mandalore."

  7. #7
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    "Mandalore?" An arched brow accompanied the words. What a strange request, of all the things in the galaxy, that this man would ask for the leader of the Mandalorian race. "I don't even know who the current Mandalore is. I don't think anybody knows. There are only feuding clans who claim to be lead by THE Mandalore. I know one so called Mandalore. She is the leader of a group of force practioners to whom I lay my allegiance."

  8. #8
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    Zereth could feel the hairs on his skin prickling. Behind Tyber, some of the medical equipment started to spark and the lights flickered slightly. Tyber sat silent for what seemed like an eternity. Staring at Zereth. Breathing deeply in and out. In and out.

    "I want to meet your...clan leader."

  9. #9
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    He didn't think it was possible to get closer to the wall, but Zereth managed to flatten himself even more against it as the man began to lose control again. Fortunately only the equipment and lights were manipulated and the ship was not sheered in half or the hull punctured. The still silence that followed, though, was somehow worse. It left Zereth standing there idly while the man did the same. He took the moment to take in the room, note potential weapons, possible projectiles for both parties, the location of the door behind him, and calculated just how long it would take him to reach it and exit. Not that there was anywhere safe to go. He was trapped with a time bomb. One that he could only hope would not go off before he reached Lilaena, and solid ground.

    Finally he spoke, a simple request, and one that Zereth would be happy to oblige. "We are on route to her as we speak. Please make yourself comfortable, the trip will not be long. Is there anything I can get or do for you in the meantime."

    Warrior, poet, and excellent host.

  10. #10
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    "Food. Water."

    Still starving, Tyber returned to his bed, clutching at his empty middle.

  11. #11
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    No sooner had the simple two-word request exited the man's mouth than Zereth was out the door. The movement would have easily been lost in a blink as he left the room as quickly as he could. It wasn't until the room was behind him that he finally let himself relax and breath. He looked down at his hands, expecting them to be shaking, but instead they were firm. Solid. Perhaps he was over thinking the situation.

    Down the hall from the private quarters was the recreational room and kitchen space. Zereth packed light when he had no crew to provide for. There wasn't much variety of food, he kept things simple. Some noodle soup was heated and a bottle of water was fetched from the cooler. The items, along with the necessary eating utensil, was taken back to the room and offered without a word.

  12. #12
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    Tyber ate like a feral being, the sort of frenzied action desperate people did when they abandoned all decorum and clung to only what mattered to survive. Frenzied bites and greedy slurps of broth as he paused only to drink as much water as he could choke down. The water ran from the corners of his mouth in his haste, dampening his shirt as he slaked his life-threatening thirst.

    It was over within a minute. Tyber fell back into bed, clutching the empty bowl and bottle against him as he drifted into fitful sleep once more.

  13. #13
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    Zereth watched in silenced, his soul crying out for the horrible display before him. This was not a man, this was an animal. Whatever had happened aboard that ship before he crashed into the planet must have been terrible. There may be nothing left to save. He liked to think that any obstacle can be overcome. Perhaps, just perhaps, if he could get the man calm and collected that a healing meditation may help him recover what's been lost.

    Once he crumbled back to sleep Zereth left the room, closing the door behind him and standing there in the hallway for several minute. The low thrum of the engines was just enough to mask the sound of his own heart beating in his throat. A few minutes and his heartbeat slowed and his body calmed. Only then did he head back to the cockpit and checked the navigation charts to double check where they were. Right on course. They would arrive in a few hours, and then the man would be Lilaena's problem, but Zereth would be lying if he said he wasn't already invested in the man's recovery.

    It may take a formerly broken man to save one.

    Hours later the man was still asleep, balled up like an animal. Ahead of them, the Aranar and Ne'ta Prudii loomed, growing closer by the moment. The pair of ships looked naked without their sister ship to compliment the ever traveling convoy. The Star of Oblivion hooked it's trajectory and came up beside the bigger of the two ships, the Aranar and after a brief conversation with the Mando'ade on the other side an umbilical docking array was extended between the two and the ships married. "Inform Lilaena that I have returned."

    And with that he set the ship on automatic and traveled back to the personal quarters, to Tyber's chamber. He almost walked in, but stopped himself. A man deserved to be treated like a man. Instead he knocked. "We've arrived. My clan leader awaits us."

  14. #14
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    Tyber drew a hand across the air from where he sat on the bed. The force obeyed, opening the door for him.

    "Thank you."

    The words were a comfort, though Tyber had to remember how to smile. He gingerly stepped off the bed, still shaky on his bare feet.

    "You've been kind to me, Zereth. I don't forget kindness."

  15. #15
    TheHolo.Net Admin
    OG Forum Overlord


    Lilaena De'Ville's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    AKA
    Holly
    Location
    deep space
    Posts
    31,078
    Blog Entries
    35
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Lilaena Steam ID: jainhollie
    "Did he say why I needed to meet him?"

    "He said he had a passenger," said Jer'ai, the female Mando'ade assigned to shadow her today. Lilaena had convinced the Mandalorians she did not need a full honor bodyguard, and had talked them down to a single warrior. Neither of them were wearing armor, Jer'ai in a simple jumpsuit and Lilaena a belted tunic and pants.

    "Very well, let them know I am on my way." She started for the turbolift that would take her down to the appropriate level, Jer'ai at her heels.

    ####


    The airlock doors cycled, opening the passage between Star of Oblivion and Aranar. Five Mando'ade were present to greet Zereth and his passenger, and neutralize any threats that might appear. They all wore armor and helmets and were well armed, which was not unusual. They liked to be prepared for anything.



    oh what a tangled web I weave


  16. #16
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    Zereth escorted his passenger through the ship, pausing only to pull his cloak off the peg by the door. The auxiliary docking port took a bit of effort to pull open. The electronic lock and motor had been fried for as long as he had owned the ship. Instead he had to settle for a large metal bar that he laid across it to keep the door shut just in case any turbulence shook it loose. It was nothing a little brute force could not fix, and was soon shoved open. The umbilical passage between the ship was a mere twenty feet long, mostly cast-plast for flexibility with metal elements to give it some structure. He knew it was safe, but he would never be comfortable crossing that threshold with nothing but space in every direction.

    The duo reached the other side of the umbilical, although in Zereth's case he kept his eyes straight ahead and did not dare look anywhere else. He imputed the code into the door and it opened up, whooshing aside to allow them passage. He stepped in and to the side, allowing the man to follow after him. "Welcome to the Aranar."

  17. #17
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    The sight of five soldiers wearing beskar caused Tyber to stop in his tracks. Their aesthetics were much different than his Neo-Crusader tormentors, but there was no mistaking those distinctive T-shaped visors. The Padawan's eyes widened.

    There is no emotion, there is peace.
    There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
    There is no passion, there is serenity.
    There is no chaos, there is harmony.
    There is no death, there is the Force.


    His hands started to tremble. The words came back to him and offered no comfort. They hadn't protected him before - from them! Their evil sect endured despite every principled Jedi that stood against them. If Jedi principles could not shatter beskar, then new principles were needed.

    There is no peace, there is justice.

    He winced, a high pitched noise screaming in his head like a tea kettle. Tyber grit his teeth.

    There is no knowledge, there is justice.

    He could taste the blood that still ran beneath their skin. So unrepentant and alive.

    There is no serenity, there is justice.

    The scream became a roar in his head, and Tyber grabbed ahold of his ears, twisting his head violently from side to side to make it all go away.

    "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

  18. #18
    TheHolo.Net Admin
    OG Forum Overlord


    Lilaena De'Ville's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    AKA
    Holly
    Location
    deep space
    Posts
    31,078
    Blog Entries
    35
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Lilaena Steam ID: jainhollie
    The Mandalorians backed up a bit from Zereth and his guest, two of them raising their blasters to point at the stranger. "What is this? Do you need assistance?" the squad leader questioned Zereth.

  19. #19
    TheHolo.Net Poster

    Has been a member for 5 years or longer


    Zereth Lancer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    AKA
    Geoffrey
    Location
    Aboard the starship Star of Oblivion
    Posts
    2,599
    Gamer IDs

    Gamertag: Karagane Steam ID: Davendude
    Everything had been going so well, and then it immediately fell apart. Zereth moved in between the man and the Mandalorians, motioning for them to lower their weapons. Turning to Tyber he stretched his hands out wide, as if to protect him from what laid beyond, even while his mind slipped into his, not to access his thoughts, which were a maeltrom he could not hope to survive, but instead to the sensory cortex of his brain. Here he could play with the functions of his senses, even as he manipulated existence around them. The Mandalorians, the ship, the very hull beneath their feet, and even sound faded away into blackness so that, to the man, the only thing that existed was himself and Zereth, illuminated by an invisible light source. There was nothing else for him. The illusion was complete.

    "There is no danger. You are with friends. Calm yourself. Tell me what is wrong. Let me help you."

  20. #20
    Tyber Jaan
    Guest
    It all slipped away. In the roaring crescendo of his rage, those horrifying masks and the brutality they bore as a standard had fallen into serene emptiness. It was just his friend Zereth.

    Tyber tried to reach out to him, but his hands betrayed him, twisting into fists held close to his chest. He tried to answer Zereth, his voice usurped by the unquenchable anger that now built upon itself deep within.

    ZEEEEREEEEETH HEEEEELP MEEEEEE

    Beyond the illusion that held him in momentary check, Tyber was falling apart. He snarled and growled, eyes rolling into the back of his head as veins bulged against his forehead. He doubled over, wild hands scrabbling at his scalp as if he was trying to tear off his own face, his withered and gone fingernails making this a useless act of self destruction. Saliva frothed at the corners of his mouth as he screamed, a guttural and inhuman sound that seemed more the dying bleats of a tortured animal. Around the hangar, small tools and objects began to shake loose from where they rested, some falling off utility pegboards with an audible clang.

    GIVE ME THEIR BLOOD GIVE ME THEIR BLOOOOOOOOOD NOW DO AS I DEMAND

    The illusion shattered. Zereth and the Mandalorians immediately standing close by were thrown to the ground as if a bomb went off.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •