Savage-Time Chapter 13 (Patreon)

[Nar Shaddaa, Mercenary encampments]

Savage Opress

There was something strange happening on the moon, beyond my own attempts at meddling with the force nexus, something or someone was drawing large amounts of power from it, it was unusual…and dangerous. It was akin to the rituals that I’ve read about on Dxun but on an even larger scale and I was determined to find out what it was.

If I didn’t have the corpse of Master Fay with me I would be tempted to say that it was some kind of Jedi interference but it felt too dark for it to be so, there were more darksiders on this moon and I will find them as soon as possible, untrained or not anyone making a ritual like this one is dangerous to me and probably wouldn’t join me.

I really don’t want to carry Fay around, but Grakkus will try to steal her body, that damned slug would double-cross his own mother if it got him another Jedi artifact, by now he probably knows something happened and his people must be looking for me. Maybe I can stash her somewhere and then come back for her.

Deciding that it’s indeed the best option I make a hole into an empty closed building that doesn’t appear to have doors, I throw the body inside and grab some metal plaques from other places and use my lightsaber to close the hole with them crudely stitching it back together, after moving some garbage to cover any indication I was there I start moving again.

I keep following the currents of the force until I see an opening, a passageway that leads further down inside the mechanical carcass that is the moon, the lack of light of any kind gives it an ominous feeling but I’ve become a man accustomed to darkness, what is one more jump into the abyss.

With those thoughts as encouragement, I start my way down sliding through the dark sloped ground using the force as my eyes to avoid hitting anything that I don’t want to hit. The fall continues for a while, I must have moved for at least ten minutes uninterrupted, the air is thick and has a distinct metallic flavor.

My hearts are beating faster, compensating for the lack of oxygen in the air. Heh and Maul thought that learning how to breath with the force was a waste of time, the Darkside responds to my call and energy fill my lungs, my heartbeat steadies itself and only once I’m sure that I’m in the perfect condition to fight, I turn on the lightsaber of Freedon Nadd.

Its orange glow lights up the pathway where faded posters from at least a millennium ago remain, there are many, many, of them that are propaganda by the hutts, others are advertisements and some simple directions.

There is something strangely familiar about the place I entered, it’s an old cantina, the booths are broken but I can somewhat recognize the style, the floor is cracked and holes leading further down are everywhere, insects that I doubt are native to the moon scurry away from the light.

How many centuries has this place been without light for even the animals here to turn away from it, there is a sound, rhythmic and loud in the Darkside, a song, there is purpose, true purpose. Whatever they are doing is important to them.

I continue exploring the place, passing the remains of many species and beings that found this place as their graves. The feeling of having been here, of seeing this place before somewhere doesn’t leave me, it’s at the back of my mind, like a word out of reach, until I finally recognize it.

The layout is the one from the cultists, those people from the inquisitor storyline from SWTOR, I’ve been walking towards their base.

Survivors.

The Darkside offers me the answer, something so impossible and inconceivable that makes me question my sanity. More than a thousand years have passed, Nar Shaddaa has grown and changed, and their faith hasn’t wavered.

A barking laugh comes out of my throat.

What amazing dedication, what wondrous perseverance, such unflinching patience needs a reward and I need new servants for my new order, this is destiny.

I walk with calm and measured steps inside, the old doors of the base creak as I push them aside with a thought and inside, I finally see my prospective companions.

Hunched figures, rail thin and with sunken faces look at me, even as they avert their eyes from the orange glow of my blade, anger rises in my chest at the state of what I was led to, the dregs of society, beings that I could barely call as functional much less worth recruiting.

Lightning crackled in my fingers, the sparks drawing their attention, and, as if they were one, they locked eyes with me, the yellowish pupils told me what I needed before I felt them in the force.

“Sith” the chorus of voices came out more like a screech made by metal than by flesh “Have you come to join us; the great one can always use one more to hurry his plan”

That confirmed my suspicions, they served him still and if I had to bet on what they were doing, the fact that their bodies were channeling their strength somewhere else gave me a good idea.

“No, I didn’t come here to join you”

“Leave then, we need no interruptions” the four figures turned again to something on the floor between them.

“I’m afraid that I have many questions, and I expect you to answer them” the threat in my voice was implied but I received nothing but silent looks and sneers.

“You don’t know how many you face, the terrain you are in or the strength of your enemies. Our master spoke of Sith like you as the most dangerous, either idiots that ruined the empire or idiots strong enough to make it worse” they stood as they talked separating themselves and taking positions along the room “Pests like you are to be culled”

“I will have what I want even if I have to take it from your broken bodies, your god is dead and-“ it seems that they took exception to that because as soon as the words were out of my mouth they pulled out their weapons and threw themselves at me growling.

“God is not dead, he is resting” they respond in synchrony, they have vibroswords and what they apparently lack in skill they compensate in teamwork.

Two of them attack my sides, it’s no feint but I can see that they want me to move further inside their position so they can encircle me, so instead of doing that, I grab the hand of one of them and slam him into the other, it takes barely any effort when they are so malnourished.

Throwing a lazy swing with my lightsaber as an experiment, I watch for their reaction and I’m not disappointed, they block with their swords that have a particularly silvery edge.

“The blades have beskar, very interesting. Let’s see you dance some more” with those words I advance with a more aggressive stance from Makashi, giving some rather rattling swings to their swords to check for any vulnerabilities.

The two from before have recovered and they move their hands together to throw me across the room, I let myself be carried by the force push before landing on my feet.

They are not stronger than Maul, but if the four of them concentrate it could be dangerous, there is still much that remains unknown, so I decide to take a little more time to experiment, breaking the floor beneath their feet they are forced to jump away and when the one that I recognize as the strongest is in the air I grab him with the force.

He struggles in the air as my strength presses around his body, I feel as his bones begin to crack in my metaphorical hand, he puts as much resistance as he can but it’s not enough, his ribs break and with a little push I make them pierce his organs.

The other three scream as their comrade dies, there are benefits to such unions of the minds but the problems it causes when a part of it dies can bring the whole group down, those five Sith that manipulated fear in the time of the old republic learned that as they died. The dread masters.

“This battle is at an end” lightning bursts from my hand and envelops them, their already agonizing pain turns even harsher and once their hearts are on the edge of failing, I stop, with a gesture of my hand another is pulled forward, this time a woman.

“There are more of you, the force nexus of this planet is still being drained and if you were the only ones defeating you wouldn’t have been so easy”

“We are many, we are the oldest here. God guides us to more on the surface and then we bring them here to train” she barely manages to choke out those words before a genuine lightsaber pierces her body, the blade almost reaching my throat.

The remaining members of the bond can’t seem to take the shock and die shortly afterwards, a woman that doesn’t look as if she was starving comes from the floor below, a Mirialan with pink skin and a rather large tattoo on the right side of her face,

“So quick to silence one of your own, Kallig would be appalled with your wastefulness” there is a sudden stiffness in her body at my words, at having knowledge forgotten by the galaxy.

“Do not speak the name of the great dragon so carelessly, or I will do what they could not and kill you. Leave this place Sith and bother us no more” more figures appeared and their strength in the force was not little by any means.

“You play a dangerous game here cultist, but something called me here and I doubt it was you” I felt their wariness and a hint of fear “You have a piece of him” it didn’t take me long to realize it, either his mask or maybe even a holocron with a part of his spirit.

“You know too much; you are too dangerous to stay alive” she dived back down, and her forces advanced on me as they ignited their blades.

“I offer you a chance to leave the cult of the screaming blade and join me” none of them moved “no takers, what a shame”

My red blade jumped to my empty hand, and I activated only one blade, not long after that I threw them both at the man closest to me, all for a distraction my true objective, the man that had stayed far behind the others, with the force I grabbed him and threw him towards me.

My blades were parried and the other one continued his advance which I met by charging at him, I dodged his attempt to decapitate me and delivered a punch to his throat. Moving to the next I called my orange saber to me as I moved to block a slash from a woman.

Our blades met and I wasted no time in overpowering her with some heavy strikes, my superior strength breaking her guard and leaving her open for a force push, the leader rose from the rubble close to us and threw grenades at the ground, I jumped but that did little to block the screeching sound that came out.

With my ears bleeding and my body out of balance they took their chances, together they grabbed my left leg with the force and twisted it, a sickening crack was heard as it broke.

“I was planning on recruiting you forcefully but that is out of the question now, RAAGHH” with that scream I pushed my bone back into the leg and held it there with the force, it was still bleeding but I could at least walk now.

The man who I punched in the throat charged at me again but this time I just broke his neck with the force, he made a gurgling sound as he fell, with the force I ignited his saber and made it spin until it was a circle of fire, I held it in front of my free hand as if it were a shield and I advanced on the woman.

Our blades met but with my improvised shield I had an advantage and soon after our first couple of clashes she lost her head, those that remained tried to rush me but i dropped my lightsabers and let a storm of lightning stop them.

As I held them on the ground, another hooded figure emerged from the floor below, this one had a double-bladed lightsaber and seemed to know how to use it.

Enough numbers could kill me, so I removed the heads of those on the ground as I advanced on my new enemy, I turned off the blade of Freedon Nadd and called my original saber to me.

“I haven’t had the pleasure of fighting another that uses the same type of lightsaber as me, this will be interesting”

I moved into a Niman stance and waited for his move, he circled me looking for an opening and when he found none he decided to charge in with a flurry of blows that I could recognize as Djem So, he had fluidity and speed but my defense was robust and the ability to use the force on my free hand to inconvenience him as he moved left him unable to even touch me.

“You are a very technical fighter, it doesn’t seem like you have much experience in life and death fights, your companions were the same.” This time I was the one circling him, the move reminded me of the fight I had with Dooku so long ago “Surrender and follow me, I will help you achieve a power beyond what you thought possible”

“My life is an offering to the great dragon; I will not be swayed by empty promises”

“So be it, this place will be your grave”

I ran around him while twirling my blade until it was a burning star in the darkness, advancing on him as fast as I could I left a trail of destruction as I passed because of the speed, ramming into him like a speeder I carried him into the next room through a wall, his blade barely keeping mine separate from his flesh.

I delivered several slashes to his legs, arms and torso but all were blocked at the last second, increasing my strength. I delivered heavier and heavier blows to him, I saw as his arm strained and buckled under my assault, but he held on and managed to avoid being overwhelmed.

With the force I grabbed one of his legs and pulled, he went off balance and tried to compensate by using a force push against the ground, but I delivered a punch to his stomach making him crumple down into the floor, then I kicked him around before piercing his leg with my saber.

Whimpering, he made a last attempt at gaining distance.

“Futile”

I drove my blade through his heart and my enemy finally stopped. There was still one more person and if what I was feeling in the force was correct it wouldn’t be as easy, I jumped down and followed the feeling, until I came upon a chamber bathed in red light.

The woman from before was waiting there and in the center of the room a red pyramid sat undisturbed by the filth that was all around us.

“You are here, then this is the end, the great dragon won’t awaken from his slumber” she sounded resigned and tired “Many were sacrificed before but still he didn’t respond, his spirit unwilling to listen to our prayers”

“I’m sure Kallig decided that coming back wasn’t the best idea, I doubt any lack of faith on your part was the cause of this, or merely a lack of power” I walked until I was beside her and once, I was close enough the holocron lighted up “maybe it was a lack of ambition”

“This life is worthless, as is all life that is purposeless. I dreamed of the approval of our god” with tears streaming down her face she continued “I want to die; I want to be free”

In a quick motion that I was sure she barely felt my blade cut off her head.

The holocron lighted up once more and from inside it a figure emerged the masked face of the man that rose from slave to a member of the dark council, the descendant of Kallig, the heir of Tulak Hord, master of the dead, the great dragon himself.

Darth Nox.

“They thought themselves important but what could I possibly find useful about some poverty-stricken morons” he looked down on me and continued “At least you look like you shower regularly”

“I can already tell that this is going to be great”

“I didn’t think someone that looks like you do could use sarcasm, the wonders of the galaxy never cease” he made a motion as if he was sniffing the air “This place is terrible, I hope you have a more appropriate place for me, cause this place smells like a rancor shat in it”

“You don’t even have a nose”

“That is not an answer”

This apprenticeship is going to be a long-

“Quickly my newest slave, murder and mayhem await”

A long and terrible thing.

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Author notes: hello guys i'm here with a little gift, i figured that since i've been so busy planning out my new stories and haven't really written more things exclusively for you letting you in on the newest chapters before the normal day was a fair trade. i thank you for your support and i hope you have a great day.