Savage-Time Chapter 12 (Patreon)

[Savage’s Solar Sailer, Outer Rim Territories]

Savage Opress

I’m playing a dangerous game, in weapon design and manufacturing capabilities the Republic can’t hope to equal the CIS, but when it comes to super weapons it’s a different thing. They have some of the most brilliant scientists and engineers of the era, not to mention that they have already begun construction of the Death Star.

Contingencies must be prepared, should I fail to find the place where it’s being built, I must make sure to leave enough resources to mount an attack on it, perhaps even capture it.

The more irrational part of me, the one that was once a normal human, screams that letting a weapon like that goes against the very core of our being, the conservation of history and nature. But I’m not that man anymore, I haven’t been that man in a while and if I want to live, I can’t be a good man.

The stupid flashes of humanity are difficult to process but once I’m fully immersed in darkness again, they will disappear, and I will be Savage again.

Which is why right now I’m going to Nar Shaddaa, there is great darkness there and more importantly resources, both materials and people. Maul will meet me there eventually and from there we will go to Felucia, I hope he can gather the things I asked for.

I’ve arranged a meeting with a very particular Hutt, and it wouldn’t do for the guest of honor to be late.

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[Nar Shaddaa, Palace of Grakkus the Hutt]

What a delightful sensation, there is pain, grief, and betrayal in the air. A bouquet of darkness that makes me feel like I drank alcohol made for the Hutts. Speaking of the overgrown worms, there is my welcome party.

Mercenaries, bounty hunters and droids form a mockery of a royal procession, the disorganized state of his people and the lack of an unifying identity make the otherwise threatening sight very comical, but Grakkus is truly a sight to behold.

He was big like all the Hutts but where the others got their size from being fat, I could clearly see the defined muscles on the torso and arms of this one, I could feel the confidence he had in his strength and while he was moving slowly in his mechanical chair, I knew that the spider like legs of the thing could grant him great mobility.

“You are” he said speaking huttese “a very strange man” he moved closer until from his seat he could see me directly if he moved down his head “I hear that you’ve brought gifts, very valuable gifts and that is the only reason I will hear you speak”

“You are also very strange for a Hutt” my accent was terrible, and I spoke slowly but the message got across as I replied in his native language, I made no bow nor any other deference of respect.

The slug started laughing and his people laughed with him, even as I thought myself above the petty opinions of such lowly creatures my pride would have none of them laughing.

With no warning and no movement from my person the four beings closer to me suddenly had their heads turned backwards, the sound of their broken bones and the pitiful cries they made as their bodies shut down invigorated me, Grakkus proved however, that he was everything I was looking for when he laughed even harder at my actions.

“So, the Jedi are telling the truth, the CIS is controlled by the Sith, I was not yet born when the last war between them was raging across the galaxy.” He turned around without care and motioned me to follow “I hope you have great gifts or the meal I provide you will be your last one”

His men followed him, they were wary however, their minds were full of panic, and some were full of anger. They had seen me kill with no movement, it was unnatural, and I would even wager that it was the first time they had seen someone use the force.

With the push of a button several battle droids emerged from my ship, carrying three chests full of artifacts and treasures that would no doubt please Grakkus.

as I passed the entrance, the smell of spice reached my nose. The place was as I thought it would be, decadent but filled with the artistry of the Jedi, murals taken from long destroyed temples and artwork made by ancient Jedi were all over the walls.

Slaves and servants taking meticulous care for the collection of their master, as we moved further in the displays got more impressive, the clothes from figures such as Satele Shan and Ngani Zho, the light saber of Uliq Qel-Droma and the preserved bodies of long dead Jedi in their armor.

Finally, we arrived at the throne room and up in the ceiling I could see dozens of Jedi Holocrons, the majority were fake I could feel as much but the ones that remained were the real deal, releasing my presence and filling the room with it I could feel as they fought back against the tide of darkness. Deciding to relent I looked back to Grakkus who was watching me intently, my power had caused those closest to me to be turned into scared messes that soiled themselves.

“I’m curious” he said with undisguised excitement “What were you trying to do?”

“I was verifying the authenticity of your Holocrons, you will be happy to know that a good third of them are real” pointing upwards the change in those that were real was apparent where once they shared the same luminosity, now some were shining like newborn stars.

“OH! They look magnificent” his tail was wagging as his whole body shook “I knew some of them were probably fake, so it is no great loss but now I have confirmation that there are real ones among them”

Deciding that this was the perfect time I made the droids move and present the chests to Grakkus.

“These are treasures taken from the Temple of Eedit, materials that are used to make lightsaber hilts, some already made taken from the jedi in the temple, along with Kyber crystals and complete lightsabers, I have also brought for you another Jedi Holocron”

With the force I moved the Holocron towards his face, the object was in actuality a broken Holocron that I found in my new fortress on Dxun, the Sith from a thousand years ago had corrupted it in an effort to learn the secrets it held but only succeeded in breaking it.

“Your gifts are much appreciated. Bring food and drinks to my new friend” he didn’t even look away from the floating cube as he took it into his hands

His slaves moved quickly and before I was fully seated a feast was being placed before my eyes. Fruits from all over the galaxy and meat from exotic animals, that I decided to partake in.

“Tell me, what is this business proposition you have in mind” he took a gorg or as they called them in huttese a Chuba and ate it live.

“As you know, peace is quickly breaking out all over the galaxy and while there are planets still contested some with very strategic importance are now firmly on either side” I took a sip of my drink before continuing

“I want to use your mercenaries and your name to cause chaos on some planets, the CIS will then liberate them”

Grakkus seemed receptive to the idea, and I had no doubt he would accept we could both benefit from this arrangement and he would also be receiving a substantial pay from me.

“The Hutt clans are officially aligned with the Republic” moving from his throne he paced “But the alliance was only as long as the war remained, I could do what you are asking but apart from money you know what I like”

“I have considered your obsession, and no doubt you would want to make a Jedi your slave, or even breed force sensitives to exchange them for more Jedi artifacts” I stopped eating and walked towards him and put myself in front of him

“My brother is making a little errand, and should it bear fruit, you will have a Jedi padawan, a live Jedi padawan to add to your collection. There are also many more temples across the galaxy, and I know of one that hasn’t been touched in centuries”

Grakku’s eyes were almost burning a hole in my face with how intense his gaze was, the greed and sheer want I felt from him were invigorating, like a morning shower to properly wake up.

“You will, of course, share the riches of these temples, won’t you?”

“I wouldn’t dare to keep so much to myself, my brother will arrive in three days.” I turned from him and made for the exit “I will explore Nar Shaddaa while I wait”

“Enjoy your stay in the smuggler’s moon, Savage Opress”

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[Nar Shaddaa, Mercenary encampments]

This place was just as I imagined, death and pain filled the air, the anguished cries of a woman being raped sounded like the choir of angels and the screams of sentient beings as they were tortured for information was simply exciting. This, this is exactly what I need to silence the growing humanity in my soul.

I had found my way into the place where mercenaries gathered by listening to the force, and drawing it deep inside me, until I could see and feel everything along the upper levels round Grakku’s palace and what I felt drew me here.

“You’re big for a Zabrak, you here to join us?” a Devaronian man asked as he walked to me “There is a great signing bonus” he pointed at several twi’lek women that were chained up and caged.

This was what I wanted.

Grabbing his throat I crushed it, the black blood poured out and stained my fingers as I laughed. The fear as he drowned in his own blood fed my strength, the fear it caused among the others stoked my desire for more.

“Shit! he’s from a rival gang, kill him” the voice of another mercenary came from behind me.

Two of them rushed and tackled me or at least attempted so, but as they crashed into me, they noticed I was no mere man. There was no need to use my lightsaber on these scum, besides pummeling them to death would give me a greater reward.

I started punching, the feeling of breaking a human’s sternum with a single hit was exhilarating but I was not here to do one hit kills, with the force I felt the broken bones that were about to pierce his heart and I pulled them out while he screamed.

The others didn’t move from the shock of watching something like that, fear rooted them in place as I fed their minds images of the torture, I would inflict on them. As the last broken bone left the chest of the injured human he fainted as did the man that had also chosen to rush me.

I drew further on the pain around me, on the excitement of the slaves in front of me, their anger and even their hope, I made it an almost tangible thing with the force, pushing what I had created into the head of the uninjured man beside me.

He woke up screaming and distraught, shooting up from where he had fallen, he rushed his comrades and started beating another man. That made them move, launching themselves to their ally in an effort to pin him down as I watched the scene.

“Stop! I said STOP you karking idiot” one said as he grabbed an arm

“Boss we can’t hold him, he’s moving like a wild animal” spoke another that was trying to catch a leg

“Boss just shoot that sleemo” said another as the crazed man tried to bite him

They were distracted by the sound of my body sitting on a crate, it must have been a real insult to them, but I couldn't care less about the opinion of scum like them, still there was more to be done if I was going to break them.

“You must be surprised by his reaction, if I’m being honest, I didn’t think it would work so well. You see this is an old power, the ability to instill fear in a being, the next step is horror and the last one insanity” the look on their faces was fascinating. I could see the exact moment they realized that these were the last words they would hear.

“There is something special about fear though,” I took a bite of one of the fruits they had lying around “At least for humans, humans have two responses to fear, fight or flight, I theorized that with the proper feelings I could use the fear to turn a human into an ally”

Tossing aside the bitten fruit I looked at the slaves, who were still watching me with so much hope in their eyes.

“It’s all about hope, as long as you have hope, any kind of hope for the future” making a gesture with my hand the force responds and breaks the cage around the twi’leks and then I drag all of the gang members to them “You lovely ladies have a choice right now, you can run and then brave this moon on your own or you can kill them with your own hands and follow me afterwards”

The sound of their desperate pleas to the women they intended to brutalize, the panic in their voices and the sweet taste of desperation filled the air, as the women got closer the panic turned into horror, they spoke words of repentance claiming that they had never even touched them, that they would have treated them with dignity, the rattling of their chains spoke a different story.

One by one they all choked to death and the last thing they heard besides the choking noises was my laugh, when the last one died, when the women realized that they were free from any kind of abuse they laughed, cried and screamed.

All the while I fed off their emotions, all of them. Drawing more and more power and when I thought there was no more to take a new voice surprised me.

“You are not yet lost, not entirely” a woman, perhaps the most beautiful I had ever seen had arrived “You waited until you found someone you felt was guilty to extract power, for all your desire to become a beast you can’t stomach the darkness right now”

“SILENCE” the roar was a thing of power both over the mind and of destruction, breaking the crates, windows and whatever gadgets were in the place.

The woman stopped it with a wave of her hand. It almost seemed effortless, but I sensed the truth, it was more difficult than she expected.

“You’re acting like a child, playing at the bad guy. You think that if you behave like a monster, you will feel things like one, perhaps you could get there but not now, not while there is doubt about your actions” her soothing voice almost got to me, but there was no way I was hesitating.

“You are wrong, there has never been any doubt in my mind” I walked until we were separated by a few meters, finally face to face in a proper manner I saw something that identified the woman, her ears.

“There is hope for you, close yourself off from the force, banish the temptation in its entirety. Free yourself from this path”

“Master Fay '' wariness exuded from her at the mention of her name “Perhaps you have a point, lately I’ve not been myself and it is true that I can’t stomach things as well as before. My strength and connection to the Dark have been weakened by actions not my own” I took a deep breath, releasing all the tension in my body.

Feeling the force, I could almost see the future if I took her offer. There was a woman with me and we were on a farm, we had a son and I felt happy in that vision, the pull of an ordinary life was great. To leave all my worries behind would surely be a way to be free.

But I knew the truth, freedom was only achievable through power, and there were many forms of power, but the ultimate form of power was the ability to kill your opponents.

“You are right, I was acting in a manner not befitting of my station, if I am to learn something is that the monster I was before could never reach the understanding necessary to win against you” the dark side gathered around me as I prepared my attack.

“You have chosen the wrong path; you are not strong enough to defeat me”

“Perhaps I can’t defeat you in the traditional sense, not yet at least but there are many paths to victory” lighting flared from my fingers for the first time.

I never understood before why characters like Ventress or even the inquisitors couldn’t use this power, they had rage in spades and enough suffering to last a lifetime, perhaps given enough time they could brute force it. I know now that what it needs is control, if one is to control rage made manifest one must be able to control themselves.

Fay ignited her saber and prepared for the blow, but she was not my target. The twi’leks that had been waiting for me were the real target, the cries of pain and the absolute feeling of betrayal empowered me further. The most important reaction was Fay’s she moved to intercept, blindly running to a trap.

The ground broke with a wave of my hand and behind her jagged things made of metal rose into the air launching themselves at the women, Fay raised a hand and stopped them, but several small pieces managed to hit her as I saw blood start seeping into her robes

“Pl-Please stop!” one of the twi’leks cried “You, you were our savior”

A broken heart is a terrible thing and I had just broken several, the cruelest thing you can do to anyone is to give them hope only to take it away, hope is truly a wonderful thing.

“Stop! You must remain calm and forget the pain” Fay said as she finally reached their side “He is getting stronger thanks to your emotions”

“What a cruel thing to say Jedi” the word came out like a curse from my mouth “They are entitled to their feelings, of course an unfeeling thing like you could never understand”

More pieces of metal were rising, the whole place around us became something out of a nightmare, spiked poles and dark metal with serrated teeth came from everywhere, the walls, the floor, even the objects around us were made into weapons.

“One of us won’t come out of here alive and believe me Master Fay, I will make sure this place becomes your tomb”

Closing the distance as fast as I could was the first move, igniting my old double-bladed saber was the next, it was then that our duel started.

Fay had no option than to remain in that position, the twi’leks behind her would become my targets if she moved, she braced for the impact of my strike and managed to hold her position admirably even while the impact forced her back.

She retaliated with a series of quick strikes aimed at my legs, but before she could make any headway, I stomped on the ground, augmenting my strength with the force, another piece of metal raised thanks to my efforts, and it blocked her lightsaber.

“You are powerful and oh so righteous but tell me Fay, can you truly protect the innocent with so little strength” I delivered a jab at her stomach raising her into the air and then I grabbed her with the force and threw her at the weaponized walls.

She managed to move just in time to avoid being impaled however she still received several more cuts all over her body, and in her eyes, I saw that she finally had found the will to fight.

She launched her saber at me, and she followed not far behind, blocking the saber was an easy thing to do, I parried it and it went past me.

“You stupid woman, this mistake will cost you your life”

As I made to bisect her, a warning of danger manifested itself, her lightsaber was coming back and now I was facing an attack on two fronts. Fay used my distraction to land several punches on my face, I barely felt the hits, but they were distracting. I kneed her in the stomach once again causing her to lose her breath and her concentration, her lightsaber turned off and fell behind me just before touching my back.

She grabbed my legs and pushed with a telekinetic blast making me fall onto the spiked floor. The pain in my back as I felt the spikes break through my armor only made me stronger.

Turnabout's fair play, so I did the same, once more Fay sailed through the air as I attempted to impale her on the walls and unlike before, this time I managed to get one of her arms, at the pace this was going she would die of blood loss eventually.

She was struggling now and as she took another stance, I felt imminent danger again.

“You could have lived if you had taken my offer” with those words she extended her hands and what once was a great plan was revealed to be a double-edged sword. She made a storm of telekinetic force and metal with one hand and with the other she attempted to drag me into her makeshift blender.

Gathering the power of the Dark Side on my hands again I unleashed a veritable river of lightning at her, calmly she moved the miniature storm to block, the metal drew the lightning at it and once it had enough, she threw the whole thing at me.

“You think this is going to work.” with my hands already raised it didn’t take any effort to grab the thing with the force “In this place so full of suffering I can be your equal”

The metal storm was then in between us; a battle of wills had started, and the loser was going to pay with their life.

It moved barely and for moments it seemed as if either of us could be the winner, but I had an advantage that she had forgotten about, letting the metal get closer slowly it blocked her view of me and that’s when I acted.

The women that we had ignored while we fought were now again in center stage.

“No!”

Jedi were truly cursed, unable to free themselves from acting when an innocent was in danger, when I started choking a twi’lek with the force she retaliated losing control of the storm she had created and, in that moment, I gave it back at her, she had saved the woman but had doomed herself in the process, centuries of life extinguished, knowledge of the force lost, and all for a slave.

It was a thing of beauty what we had created the force threw her like a ragdoll in its currents, the metal pierced her flesh and cut her skin almost flaying her in some parts and the lighting tortured her nerves and charred her flesh.

I could feel her as she faded, she ignored the pain and focused on the force, I could have interrupted her and brought pain to her final moments, but she had been more than worthy, and I now knew the kind of Sith I wanted to be, I would give her a peaceful end she was free now, freer in death than she could ever be alive.

Turning from her I saw the twi’leks cower from my gaze, they were afraid, and I doubted any of them would ever trust any being again. Walking closer I felt as the only one that had talked before prepared herself to defend the others.

“Take this” tossing a bag of money at her head “You should leave this place if you hope to survive, the sound of our fighting kept the other denizens of the moon at bay but with the fight over they will soon come crawling here”

“I will kill you someday”

“Survive first, make stupid promises later”

Deciding not to waste things I grab Fay’s body with the force and take it with me, perhaps Grakkus will give me something good for it, if he has nothing I would like to trade I will keep it on Dxun like Ventress’ body.