Star Wars - Galactic Legacy: Rise Of Darth Nox

Chapter 5 - Niloc, Nyx and A Goodbye

Hi! I'm back with chapter 5 which is a lot more action packed and emotional at least to my eyes. Also it's kinda nearly 9000 words long. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't make such long chapters especially when they diverge from the gameplay, but I just couldn't cut it any shorter. Please forgive me! Anywho, please enjoy this monster of a chapter while I go back to freaking out about exams. :)

==GL: RDN==

Chapter 5 - Niloc, Nyx and a Goodbye

-What is this - the secret failed acolyte hangout spot?! "Hey, guys, we all failed so why don't we hide out in the tomb of Marka Ragnos together and try to kill anyone who comes in? What do you say?""Yeah, thats a great idea - let's do that!" Stupid idiots.
Noli grumbled as she cut down the latest failed acolyte. She'd tried avoiding them, but they just kept coming so they had to die. They really were stupid idiots. She was also slowly coming to the conclusion that Korriban was really a living death trap and the people here were all very close to going insane. As she unleashed a storm of Force lightning upon another group of acolytes who rushed at her, Noli sighed:
-Who's bright idea was it to make Korriban a training ground for new Sith? I mean, yes, it makes the elimination rounds easier and the tests tougher as well as the fact that this place has great historic value, but do they not care about their mental health at all?! Of course not... No wonder the empire is filled with egoistical insane fools.
Lowering her blade, Noli closed her eyes for a second. She was getting tired, but pulling on the Force helped her sustain her energy and strength somewhat. Glancing at her shoulder, Noli grimaced at the sight of the angry burn scar forming there. Harkun had really done a number on her, but things could have ended far worse had she not managed to get the upper hand. He was stupid to underestimate her, she hoped he'd understand that now. In all honesty she couldn't believe that had worked, the chance was very slim, but she'd managed to hit his nervous system and knock him out. She wasn't really sure what had convinced her that that kind of risk would pay off, but when the idea popped up in her mind it had seemed as the only way out short of killing him or dying herself and since she couldn't kill him yet she'd decided to take the risk. The human brain sends signals down the nervous system like small electrical pulses and so all Noli had to do was create a similar signal which would make Harkun fall unconscious. It had worked. For once Noli was glad for Gyser's lessons on human and otherwise physiology.
  Noli's lips tugged up slightly as she remembered Gyser. Gyser was an old ally if not a friend she'd met back on Balmorra. He was on old man with tanned skin, whose one eye was covered with an eyepatch (he refused to get cybernetics) and the other was blue, as well as an excessively long beard held together by a short metal coil a few centimetres below his chin who made the tools for their training operations. While a lot of future acolytes got their start on Balmorra the war zone forced them to learn how to use weapons besides the force and Gyser was the one made them. Gyser was a strange old man, but he'd taken a liking to the young Noli and had made her into his student. Apart from being able to make weapons Noli learned that Gyser had once been a republic doctor before he left, defecting to the empire. He was the one that had convinced Noli that the Republic wasn't full of fools and hypocrites as she was taught, he told her that there were good people there too, but their system and their leaders were corrupt and weak, just like there were those in the Empire like that. As she walked along the Marka Ragnos's tomb, weaving between death traps and taking down everyone who stood in her way, Noli thought back to the night when she'd been told that she was going to Korriban to complete her training and become Sith or die trying:
  It was late evening, way past curfew, but Noli didn't really care. She was sitting on a hill in the calmer area of Balmorra, not too far from Sobrik, but not close enough to be in the war zone. She wasn't alone, her old friend Zena was sprawled out beside her. Zena was a young Mirialan woman a few years older than Noli, she worked for Imperial Intelligence- she didn't have any designation yet, but from what she'd told Noli so far she seemed to be just a paper shuffler there. Noli laughed as her friend finished up the recount of her job assignment:
-Wow, you can't be happy with that.
Zena rolled her grey eyes, smiling as she looked up at the clear sky where the stars shone:
-Eh, not really, but it gives me access to all the Empires citizens little secrets. It's fun.
-You sure they won't catch you rifling through what you're not supposed to?
-Nah, the best part is that I am supposed to - I'm keeping tabs on a few sectors on different worlds.
-Well, you always did like people-watching. Seems like you're perfect for the job.
-Yeah, can't complain about that. Oh, that reminds me - Noli, you're still looking into your sister's whereabouts right?
Noli nodded, folding her arms behind her head:
-Yeah, but so far no dice. I don't have access to proper channels. I'm really worried about her though.
-Hmm, you don't, but guess who does?
Noli's eyes widened:
-Are you serious?
Zena grinned, her cheek tattoos crinkling:
-Yep. I can keep an eye out for your twin in my sectors from when I return to Dromund Kaas.
Noli narrowed her eyes at Zena, sceptical of her offer:
-And?
-Pardon?
-What do you want in return? It's "you scratch my back and I scratch yours", right? You wouldn't do this out of the goodness of your heart.
Zena sighed, sitting up:
-True,- she looked Noli right in the eyes,- I want to figure out the biggest mystery of mysteries for me personally: I want to figure out who your father is.
Noli froze. Staring at the ground and pulling on the grass, Noli mumbled:
-Why...why would you want to do that?
Before Zena could answer Gyser, who was their designated supervisor, poked his head out of a cave:
-Hey, kiddo, Sergeant Seymour's looking for you. With a blaster. Looks like playtime is over.
-Damn it. She's gonna kill me. This is the third time I've broken curfew.
Zena stood up, brushing the grass of her pants and turned to the young woman:
-Come on, I'll get you off the hook.
-Aren't you on shore leave?
-Meh, I'll make something up about how I needed your unique knowledge of Balmorra for an operation. Come on.
Noli smiled and nodded gratefully, Zena may be a very annoying and nosy friend, but she was a true friend nonetheless. Something Noli had always been short of. She was about to walk away with her when Gyser called her back and handed her a small, nail-sized object wrapped in coarse brown cloth. Quietly, he spoke, looking seriously at the young woman:
-Take this, it's yours. I should have given it to you a while ago, but the time wasn't right - it will protect you though I don't know how. Be careful, Nolianna, keep your wits about you and you'll make it out of there alive. You're stronger than all of them, I know it. May the Force stay beside you.
Noli started at the strange parting words, but looking at the old man's face she nodded and carefully accepted the passage. She turned away and hesitated for a second before acting on her instincts and whipping around and hugging the man who had been like a grandfather to her. She whispered:
-I promise this isn't goodbye. I'll be back.
With those strange words said she stepped back, wished him farewell and rushed after Zena. As they entered Sobrik using Zena's intelligence clearance to avoid a hassle, the Mirialan looked at Noli and probed:
-So your mum and aunt weren't Force-Sensitive, right?
Noli sighed:
-You're dead set on this, aren't you?
-Of course. Aren't you curious yourself?
-Not really. I'm more worried about Nia.
-I help look for your twin and I get to pick your brain as I unravel the mystery of your dad's identity. Deal?
Noli huffed, but nodded - she needed Zena's help for this. She didn't give a damn about who her father was, but she was worried about her sickly, dead younger twin. She hung her head in defeat:
-Deal. Look from what I can recall  and from what I've been able to find out in war zone Sobrik - no, my mother and aunt were normal people. My father, however, was a Force-user, I vaguely remember my mother saying that.
-Ah! We're getting somewhere. Sith or Jedi?
Noli shrugged:
-No clue. But we lived on a station that floated about Imperial Space.
-I'll go with Sith. And your mother was a bounty hunter, right?
-No, that was my aunt. My mum was a smuggler. She worked for whoever payed.
-Hm, I guess I'll scour the holonet archives. How old are you now?
Noli cast Zena an exasperated look:
-I'm 19, going to be 20 in a few months. Damn it, Zena, stop scheming out loud and forgetting basic facts.
-Sorry, force of habit. Ah, we're here.
A cold, annoyed and clipped voice came from the doorway:
-Indeed. You're finally here.
Sergeant Seymour, a pale-faced, raven-haired woman stepped into the light. Zena rushed to cover for both of them:
-Ah, sergeant, I was just--
-Please don't bother yourself, Watcher Four. I know why you're here. With all due respect--
-Why is it that when somebody says "with all due respect" they usually mean "Kriff off"? It's kinda annoying so just be honest.
Noli cut in sharply after giving Zena a hard look - state secret officer or no they did not keep secrets from each other unless the other's safety hung in the balance. Zena stifled a short at Noli's words while Sergeant Seymour hissed, eyebrow twitching:
-As much as I'd like to kill you here and now, redhead, it seems I'll be spared the trouble. Orders just came down from the top.
Noli hid her unease behind a casual annoyed look:
-So what ridiculous thing did they come up with now?
For the first time since she'd met the irksome woman Noli saw Seymour smile a sickly sweet smile:
-It is ridiculous, isn't it? You're being shipped of to Korriban where you'll become Sith or die.
Noli sighed. Personally, she was just glad that Seymour would never meet Harkun or else that would really be a match made in heaven. Noli stopped in the middle of a large room and looked at the two corridors leading out of the room. Now where did she have to go? Marka Ragnos, Ajunta Pall... What was it with with all these Sith making their tombs into mazes?! Was it a trend or something?!  Whatever it was, it was way too damn annoying. Thankfully, Noli's memory was near perfect when it came to memorising texts, maps and the like. So, she quickly picked the left corridor. Slaying a few aggressive Tuk'ata, annoying little beasts that came up to Noli's hips in height, with dark fur, glowing red eyes, sharp horns, long retractable claws and razor sharp teeth (the usual garden variety Korriban beast), Noli entered the antechamber. The antechamber was empty and oddly very quiet. Has Noli been stupid she would have written it off as a lucky break, but the young ginger-haired acolyte was anything but stupid and that badly concealed pile of shyrak corpses was enough to make Noli go on full alert. Reaching into the Force, Noli found that she couldn't sense anyone nearby,however, her intuition told her a different story. A rock tumbled out from behind the corner of the next room and Noli sensed a previously nonexistent Force presence flicker in panic before vanishing once more. Suddenly, it all made sense: Ffon's smirk, his swaggering gait, Niloc's surprising death... All of it! Niloc, that bastard, wasn't dead at all! He had conspired with Ffon and was now here, trying to ambush her. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't seen this coming - she had, from the moment she stepped foot on Korriban. She shook her head: that fool had played right into Ffon's hands. So he thought he could defeat her, did he? Very well, then so be it. Straightening up, Noli gripped her blade tighter and called:
-Come out, Niloc! I know you're here!
A very familiar figure walked out from behind the corner. It was Niloc alright. The same Niloc: human, dark skinned, with light brown hair that was shaved into three stripes and brown eyes that now held a manic glint. He held up his hands, smiling with contempt written on all his features:
-What gave me away?
-Oh, I'll admit that you hid your Force-presence very well, but you see, despite what you, Ffon and Harkun may think, I'm not stupid. That rock you dislodged, that barely concealed pile of Shyraks and your momentary loss of composure was enough to do it.
Niloc grimaced:
-You have always been a thorn in my side, Nolianna.
-Right, so to be accurate from the moment I kicked your butt when we were six year olds?
-Yes, you have always, always found a way to ruin my life for me. That ends today.
Noli raised an eyebrow at him, her deep blue eyes as cold as ice:
-Do you honestly, truly believe you can best me now? I don't recall you beating me once in the past thirteen years.
-Well, your winning streak is about to be over. Ffon gave me this lovely little artefact from the tomb of one of the Sith Lords of old - it'll increase my power tenfold and I'll finally be able to defeat you. Isn't this simply wonderful?!
Noli's eyes widened and for the briefest moment a flicker of fear flashed through her eyes before cold anger and determination killed it. She shouted at the manically grinning Niloc:
-ARE YOU INSANE?! NEVER EVER TAKE SITH ARTEFACTS THAT WERE SEALED IN THE TOMB! THEY WERE SEALED FOR A REASON!
Niloc scoffed:
-You are only saying that because you are afraid of my power.
Noli shook her head, not taking her eyes off the bracelet Niloc had snapped on his right wrist, the blood red stone glinted with the light of their ignited blades:
-I am afraid of that thing, not of your power. You are truly the fool of fools, Niloc. Don't do this. If you try to use that power - it will destroy you.
-I am stronger than you think. This time I will be the victor - not you. I will make you feel humiliation before you die.
Noli narrowed her eyes at him, being careful to maintain at least a small part of her attention on the Sith artefact. She'd seen what things like that one could do to people. Thanaton had been relentless when he made sure to highlight the danger and power onto her impressionable six year old mind, after their first meeting. She'd never spoken to him again and she didn't want to, she was afraid of him. Niloc snorted:
-Are you a coward Nolianna?
-Why are you doing this, Niloc?
-For revenge and because once I kill you I will be part of Ffon's inner circle - I will not die!
Noli sighed and shook her head at him:
-What a fool you are.
-Enough! Your words will not dissuade me. It's time for me to spill your blood!
With those words said Niloc rushed at her and Noli felt his power increase drastically as a red smoky glow surrounded him. Noli parried his first strike and the second, stepping back before edging in on his own withdrawal and launching her own barrage of strikes. Soon they were thoroughly engulfed in a duel to the death. Noli ducked, dodged and weaved, jumping over and stabbing, or ducking under and ending up behind him. Niloc had definetly become more powerful- she hadn't managed to score more than two hits on him while he had scored three. The next blow fell on the upper part of her head. Giving a small cry of pain, Noli staggered back and parried, trying to ignore the blood dripping down the side of her face - practice blades weren't lightsabers, they did not cauterise cuts. Niloc's grin turned feral somehow, animalistic. He had lost his mind. In exchange for power that artefact had taken his sanity. The blood was distracting her, letting Niloc land another two blows on her leg and on her upper arm. It hit the burn scar, that hurt a lot. Noli knocked him back into the wall with a burst of Force lightning from her free hand before using the Force to make a few pieces of the ceiling hit him. As he struggled to get back up, Noli quickly spat the blood out of her mouth and wiped her eye. She rushed back at him and needed him under the lungs, winding him. She used her free hand to land a solid punch to his jaw, backing it up with Force lightning. Surprisingly, Niloc managed to kick her feet out from under her and with a burst of Force lightning and his door pinned her to the cracked floor of the antechamber. Noli couldn't suppress the cry of pain from tumbling past her lips. Niloc used this moment to kick her blade out of her hands. He leaned down a bit, bringing the tip of his own blade to her chin. Noli glared at him, rage and cold control conflicting in her eyes. Niloc grinned, drawling:
-How does it feel to be defeated?
Noli smirked:
-The fight's not over yet.
-Yes, it is.
Niloc replied, drawing a cut across her right arm which she normally used to throw attacks with Force lightning and pinning her left arm to the floor with his other foot. Noli bit her lip, she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of hearing her acknowledge the pain her body was in. Pain was power, fear was power, anger was power - that would all be her power. She needed to think, to make Niloc or whatever was him lose his cool. Niloc leaned forward and drawled:
-Do you understand now? You are nothing? You were always nothing.
-I would beg to differ.
-Well, you're really in no position to disagree.
Niloc lifted the arm with the bracelet and suddenly Noli felt as though someone was choking her, she saw an orange beam shoot out from her body towards Niloc's hand. She knew that power - Life Drain, a weaker form of Death field. It took the life and health of the victim's body and made it the assailants own. Noli struggled and moved her left hand slightly so it was touching the tip of Niloc's boot and sent a strong current of lightning into it. Niloc jumped of her as though he'd been shot. Noli used that moment to scramble to her feet. She made to reach her blade when she suddenly found herself being propelled backwards, into the wall by an invisible force. Niloc was back up in her face in moments, pinning her to the wall by her neck. He or rather whatever was him was truly pissed at her now. Well, Gyser had always said it was a talent. The other acolyte brought his bracelet up before her face and Noli's eyes widened with fear. She didn't not fear him, but she did fear the artefact. The person controlling him hissed:
-I should just take your soul now, girlie. Actually, I will.
Noli thrashed futilely as her body was enveloped in a purple glow and the world began swimming. Her arms stopped moving first and she felt her right hand brush against the coarse parcel on her belt that Gyser had given her. He had said it would protect her. She hoped it would help now, the world was dimming on her eyes. Niloc's Crimson red eyes was all she could see now. She struggled to use the last of her energy to make her raw and bleeding fingers wrap around the parcel and push past the cloth to touch the cool metal of whatever the object was. Quietly, in a hoarse and basically inaudible voice, Noli whispered:
-Please...help me! I will show you my strength...
Suddenly it was as if a gale force wind had blown past her and all the pressure on her body was released. Noli managed to crack open her eyes to see a strange blue figure stride past her with it's arm raised and Niloc began choking. She didn't waste time and used the Force to summon her blade to her hand, though her body screamed in protest. Thankfully, her lightsaber arm, her left one, was still operable. She stroke up to Niloc and just before plunging the blade through his chest, she cut off the bracelet and stomped on the blood red stone, shattering it to pieces. The strong darkness receded and Noli ended Niloc's life quickly with her blade through his chest and a jolt of lightning to stop his heart. She kicked away his limo body. Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, Noli sagged against the wall, thoroughly exhausted. She glanced up to see the ghost still looking at her attentively. It was just as she had been told the ghost was blue in colour and definitely not corporeal, but very real all the same. The ghost seemed to be of some cross-species between human and Sith and Noli gasped as she saw the crest on his armour. She straightened up and once more she felt the cold chill of fear settle in her bones mixed with awe: she was gazing upon the ghost of Marka Ragnos himself. Quietly, she spoke:
-Thank you for the help. Are you going to try and kill me too?
The ghost snorted:
-No, you are...interesting. It has been many years since one has managed to awake me from my slumber and call me to their aid. And your power, for such a small being is impressive. No, I think I shall watch you some more.
Noli bowed her head slightly to the ancient Sith Lord:
-Thank you once more.
-You... You have potential. Do not lose it, girl. Or I shall devour you.
-Um, yes, sir.
There was a pause as the girl and the ghost stared at each other. Barely above a whisper, Noli asked, gesturing at the room beyond the antechamber:
-Is the holocron in there?
-It is, but good luck figuring it out. I shall find some amusement in watching you struggle, but maybe you are smart. I shall watch you closely child of the children of Kallig...
With what he wanted said, he vanished and Noli released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. She couldn't even begin to decipher what Marka Ragnos had said. To be honest, she hadn't even begun processing that she had just spoken and summoned the ghost of Marka Ragnos- one of the greatest and wisest Dark Lords of old. Sighing, Noli straightened up and picking up her blade, she entered the room to see four shyracks hovering around. Sighing tiredly, Noli clipped her blade back to her back and used the now free arm to launch a storm of Force lightning so powerful that it killed all the beasts at once. Slowly, wincing at the pain, Noli went up the sloping ramp to the tip of the closed up pyramid that held the holocron. Letting out a breath, Noli whispered:
-Here's where the fun part starts...
She forcibly engaged her exhausted mind and made it think about it. Since the monument hadn't reacted to her dripping blood - it wouldn't want blood and judging by the red glow it gave off it was an artefact of the dark side so meditating on the light side wouldn't work. Taking a deep breath, Noli took the last remaining option. She clasped her hands together and whitely recited from memory, word to word:
-Peace is a lie, there is only passion, through passion I gain strength, through strength - power, through power- victory, through victory my chains are broken. The Force,-Noli looked up at the monument her voice growing stronger,- shall free me.
The monument shuddered violently and had Noli not grabbed onto the railings she would have fallen. Under her breath, she grumbled:
-Oh, what now?!
To her great annoyance a tuk'ata and a shyrak rushed in. Her features contorted in annoyance, Noli quickly took care of them and swayed on the spot, grabbing the railing to keep standing. She was exhausted and the blood loss was making her dizzy. It seemed those challenges got more and more gruelling as time went on, not that Ffon and his lackeys helped matters much. Pushing herself up, Noli glared at the monument and raised one hand to shoot lightning, exclaiming:
-Just open damn it!
As soon as the lightning came in contact with the pyramid the top of the pyramid slid apart and down, exposing the holocron. Sighing in relief, Noli hazarded a jump onto the pyramid and with her dizziness barely remained upright, but she managed to scoop up the holocron and jump back onto the railing just as the whole pyramid shuddered again. She had gotten it and now it seemed all her strength was leaving her. Noli barely remembered staggering out of the tomb with the holocron in hand before collapsing in the room before the exit which was now free thanks to her ridding it of acolytes when she had entered. The world turned to darkness as the last of Noli's strength gave out and she temporarily succumbed to the sweet pull of unconsciousness.