Traitors to the Culture

[alint]

Part 1

https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/traitors-of-the-culture.147971/

After 2 years, Liir was back in relatively good standings with the Council. He atoned for his crimes and was slowly getting back into the game. Since his slip up, Liir was weary of Sith and the dark side. Nevertheless, Liir helped where he could with the war effort. The Council was hesitant to put Liir back into the field, but now Liir was ready to start fighting again. Liir's views on the Council changed and to many he is a Gray Jedi who most don't trust. Only a handful of Jedi trust him now despite his abilities as a Jedi and his countless efforts to regain the trust of his old-friends. Liir's Jedi robes had changed since his last assignment. Now they were very plain and simple, and colored beige. Liir's dark hair was lighter than before like he'd been out in the sun a lot. The biggest change in 2 years was in his eyes. Liir's eyes held the gaze of a well worn person. Not only were they wiser than before, but more vigilant.

Liir was stationed on Kiros to aid in the reconstruction and training of the natives. The Council felt this position was good for Liir because it was out of the way, but also close enough that they could monitor his movements.

Liir arrived on the planet with a small group of clones. They were greeted by Roshti, the governor of the planet. Roshti welcomed the clones and Liir as he talked about the people and how they were rebuilding their society since their capture and escape from the Zygerrian Empire. Liir didn't say anything, but he wondered if this was the reason the Council sent him here...to face other freed slaves and move on. Liir toured the rebuilt city and noticed how the residents were now preparing themselves for battle. As the tour continued, Liir was informed that he'd oversee the training of the Togruta population. Liir sighed at this idea since he wasn't really interested in training a bunch of civilians, but he swallowed his frustrations. The Jedi Council was watching him and he needed to stay on their good side.

 

[adabotcon]

Wahyu was in just as much trouble with the Sith as Liir was with the Jedi. His Master had become much stricter the last few years. In response, the Sith had become even more rebellious and was punished more often. The punishment for causing nearly getting caught by the Jedi, for working with one to get out of the slaver compound had been extreme if you asked Wahyu. It had been the typical electricity (sith were rarely creative) followed by a bout of simulated drowning, and then actual drowning. Wahyu was fairly certain he had been dead for a few minutes.

His master had certainly been surprised when he'd suddenly sat up and attacked him. He still got a happy tingly feeling whenever he saw the knawed off finger that his master now sported. It was worth it, he insisted even if it had affirmed that the other Sith could use far more extreme punishments without fear of killing him. As a consequence Wahyu now had a few ticks in his muscles from the over stimulation of electricity and his paranoia had skyrocketed during the years.

Not that it was paranoia if they were actually out to get you. Honestly his current assignment on Kiros was probably the easiest that the Dark Council had given him in years. It was making him even more paranoid. "'Scuse me," he muttered to the man he brained with his lightsaber hilt in the alleyway. He jumped over the corpse and began to remove its clothes. "You know. This was more like a suicide than a murder. Who goes through an alleyway in the dark? You are either very brave or very stupid." He slipped the clothes over his sith robe and made sure the lightsabers were out of sight. "Stupidly brave. Just 'cause everyone here was recently freed doesn't make them good people."

He patted himself down and said cheerfully, "Trauma breeds greed not empathy. Trust me I know." Wahyu hesitated as he reached up to the metal mask he'd been wearing lately. The dark veins had become more pronounced on his face. But even more there were far too many burn scars around it. Even more than before. He forced himself to slip the mask in his pocket and he slipped into the crowd as best he could.

Scars like his were obvious but these were a battle weary people and there were only pitying glances at him instead of the usual fear. "And isn't that even worse," Wahyu muttered darkly to himself.

 

[alint]

Liir felt the disturbance in the force the minute he stepped foot on the planet. It wasn't anything major, so Liir ignored the feeling...that is until he turned around to meet eyes with Wahyu. For a moment, Liir couldn't believe it. He blinked a few times hoping that it was just an illusion or his mind playing tricks, but when he refocused there was no doubt that the figure he was staring at was in fact Wahyu. Taking in the picture, Liir noticed that the man's face had changed. He sported new scars and new veins littered his face. Liir wondered if his appearance changed that much as well. The longer he looked at Wahyu the more Liir wondered what happened once they parted ways.

"Sir is something wrong?" a clone asked gently touching Liir on the shoulder. Liir turned rather slowly as he addressed the clone. Liir assured them that everything was alright. It wasn't like this would be the first time he's covered for Wahyu. During his trial, Liir was constantly interrogated about his involvement with the Sith, but Liir made sure to keep as much information about Wahyu hidden. For some reason, even after all of these years, Liir considered Wahyu a sort of friend...in the broadest of ways. Wahyu really changed the way Liir saw the world and also himself. To be honest, Liir was thankful to Wahyu for a lot but mostly for giving him the chance to let loose.

By the time Liir turned around Wahyu was gone. Liir sighed heavily and wondered why Wahyu was even on the planet to begin with. Liir wondered if it was destiny, if the Force pulled them together for a reason. Pondering on past visions and dreams, Liir scanned his memory for any indication that he would meet Wahyu again.

Despite feeling a sort of happiness about seeing Wahyu again, Liir also hoped he wouldn't. It was obvious that Liir had a soft spot for the Sith despite their differing views on the Force. Liir knew that getting involved with the Sith again would end in disaster. After fighting so hard to finally get on the good side of the Council, Liir was thrust back into the black hole that was Wahyu. If Liir let himself be influenced, he might not be able to return to the Order...the only life he knows.

Liir went back to his duties overseeing the training of the natives to battle potential threats. While training continued, Liir tried to keep his mind busy. He couldn't afford to think about Wahyu again. When training was over Liir went back to his quarters. He needed to ease his mind so he decided to take a shower and let the warm water and steam work some magic. Throwing his clothes in a heap in the corner of the room, Liir turned on the hot water. His body was littered with old wounds and scars from battles, but mostly from a time before the Order. His left shoulder bared a brand that marked him as a slave. Liir ran his fingers over the mark. Liir sighed as he ran his fingers through his thick dark hair.

 

[adabotcon]

Wahyu didn't notice Liir. He'd never been in touch with that side of the force. He wasn't even as good as a first year youngling when it came to sensing. So he moved on to trying to find the contact his master had sent him to find. They'd originally sent the droids. But the things were so dumb and so they'd ended up using them as a distraction. If they won so much the better. The Empire would get back some slaves (Wahyu winced at the thought. He still hated the practice. It was weak on the Master's part. Having to use other sentient beings for their dirty work) but otherwise...

Well, there'd been rumors of a fairly large Kyber crystal deposit on the planet. Wahyu moved easily into another alleyway and began banging on a door there. He stopped and heard nothing. "Helloooo," he said in a voice that echoed around the area. "I've been sent by the oh-so-great and-oh-so-intimidating-sith-" He heard a strangled groan from inside and the door abruptly opened.

"There was supposed to be a knock," the man complained in a hushed tone.

"I did knock," Wahyu said slowly as if talking to a toddler.

"I meant a secret-" the Man huffed and pulled Wahyu into the door, closing it. The inside of the room wasn't very impressive. It was tiny, Almost smaller than the alley outside. "I want to be sure-" the man said nervously. "I won't be re-enslaved if-if I help you?"

Wahyu waved a dismissive hand as he moved into the room and threw himself onto the small mat of a bed. "Sure, sure," he agreed unsure if it was a lie or not. "Hey listen it's getting dark let's head out to the area tomorrow. I'm taking your bed- mat- whatever you call it." He closed his eyes and ignored the nervous man moving around the room.

 

[alint]

Liir didn't take a long shower. It was long enough that he had some time to think about things that were troubling him. The world was rather screwed up already, but adding Wahyu to the mix made this troublesome. Liir began to relax a bit as he cleared his mind and got dressed for bed. The moment of tranquility right before sleep was a feeling Liir relished and always hoped would last. As his head hit the pillow, Liir fell asleep.

Liir was surrounded by darkness. The walls are rough and sound travels past him as if in a vacuum. Looking around, Liir notices that he's in a deep cavern that goes deeper and deeper towards the core of the planet. As he moves around, Liir is guided down a path towards a dim light in the distance. As he winds his way through the cave, something pulls at him. The closer he gets to the light the more he recognizes this feeling. It's a kyber crystal. The dim light shines brighter as Liir approaches. The darkness is pushed aside to allow light through. As he reaches for the crystal a darkness pulls him back. Liir turned around to find a menacing sith behind him. Instinctively, Liir draws his blades and crouches down in a fighting stance. A fight ensues. Liir begins to tire as the shadowy sith figure starts taunting him. As they fight Liir's blades go from their typical cyan color to a deep purple. Liir glances down at the blade before the sith's blade runs through his heart.

Liir awoke in a panic. He was breathing heavily and sweating. Immediately, he grabs his lightsabers. When they are exposed the blades are their normal cyan maybe even a bit lighter than normal. Nevertheless, everything seemed in order. The sun was just peeking over the horizon so there was no need to go back to sleep. Instead, Liir got ready for the day and headed out to the training area. No one was stirring yet which made Liir rather happy. He liked the soft noises of dawn. As he found a space to meditate, Liir wondered what Wahyu was doing on this planet.