Marooned

[The Chorus]

Darth Vindictus awoke. Sparks leapt into the air before him, originating from the control panel of his single occupant starfighter. Smoke poured out of the front of the vehicle. The outer visor of the starfighter splintered with spiderwebbed cracks all through it. His body weighed heavily upon him, but he couldn’t sense any major injuries from the crash.

Force Pushing the visor out of its holdings, Vindictus crawled out of his downed ship. He stood and inspected it for damage. Completely fucked. Telekinetically drawing his lightsaber to his hand, he extended the blood-red blade, tore a chunk of plating from the starship with the Force, and stabbed deeply.

He walked away calmly as flames erupted from the fuel line, and a moment later a deafening explosion heralded the destruction of his starship. A plume of flame climbed into the sky, leaving behind a black column of smoke in its wake. No one would scavenge what he left behind.

It was then that the Sith Lord bothered to absorb his surroundings. As fire crackled behind him, he drew in the deep, untouched greens and browns of an untamed jungle planet. He sensed the Force strongly, almost suffocatingly, on this world, in no small part due to the abundance of life flourishing all around him. Calls of alien beasts and birds echoed around the enormous, building-sized trees that stretched high above and out of sight.

Darth Vindictus recounted his last conscious moments to resolve the mystery of this place. After discovering Darth Bane’s treacherous plan, he leapt into his starfighter and set out to slay the fool. On the way, something happened... but no clear memory supported what, exactly, led him to crashing. Nor where this planet was, or what it was called.

Wait... a few spotty thoughts almost congealed into a recollection of the past, but not quite. He remembered something appearing in the midst of deep space, something he hadn’t seen before. It sucked him in, then... another handful of shaky visual memories of him desperately wrenching the controls into obedience, failing, and then blackness.

A ploy by Darth Bane? Had it been a trap? Could the mystery phenomenon that disabled his ship and dropped him here have been part of the deranged Sith’s promise to wipe out the remainder of his order? If it had, he failed. Vindictus still drew breath.

Yet if Darth Bane knew that, he would surely arrive to claim his head personally. The Sith Lord needed to be ready for a battle at any moment.

At least it was unlikely anyone would chance upon him on this remote world. Unfortunately, that made things more difficult when it came to leaving. Having landed the death blow on his already useless starfighter, his hopes of finding transport in this primitive world were slim, especially since he couldn’t deduce where a settlement be with all of this... life interfering with his senses.

Still, Darth Bane had to be stopped. His insane notion that the entirety of the Sith population should be reduced to two bordered on treason against the Force itself.

But whatever planet he slammed into wasn’t familiar to him. Finding the heretic from here would prove challenging.

A low growl emanated nearby, but the thick, leafy vegetation blocked the creature from sight. Moments later, a predator burst from its verdant hiding place, extending hooked claws from its paws and baring teeth large and pointed enough to shear through bone.

Darth Vindictus thrust a hand at the pouncing beast, locking it in mid-air. It struggled against the binds of the Force and surprisingly proved quite capable. Vindictus felt the strain as the beast thrashed against his will. This had to end quickly.

Sweeping his arm downwards, the Sith Lord drove the scaly monster into the ground, stunning it momentarily. The crimson lightsaber blade sizzled quietly as Darth Vindictus used it to cleave through the creature’s neck. Blood pooled about the headless corpse of the native creature as he strode away, careful not to get any of the red fluid on his cloak.

Though the plasma blade retracted back into its housing, Darth Vindictus held the lightsaber hilt in his hand, at the ready.

Penetrating hardy, unyielding ferns and bushes with almost every step, the Sith Lord battled the vegetation that choked the planet’s surface. The lightsaber blade soon returned as he hacked through the stubborn plant life, forging a path that allowed his cloak to remain unhindered by the grasping twigs and branches.

Each swing of the weapon sent a low hum through the jungle, and each branch severed or plant uprooted rustled as it tumbled to the earth. Another opportunistic carnivore would eventually hear his noisy ingress, but Darth Vindictus didn’t mind. If anything else approached him here, anything at all...

He would murder it without a second thought.

 

[Ridley]

The Dreadnought held orbit in the distance, as Ridley’s eyes narrowed across Kraw. The Xenomorph program was holding on schedule, even if Liv had to fiddle with the collars still, and the Qiraji were ripe to lend aid for the right price, but Ridley was not satisfied with that. Kraw had all forms of monster living in it’s natural eco-system that would be put to greater use under the Pirate Lord’s command, and he would possess them all in time.

Still, something odd had manifested on the subspace sensors, if only for a moment. A crash-landing of some kind, one his sensors had caught by chance when an uncontrolled light-speed signature had crossed the sensors. Not an FTL type he was familiar with, but one common to the crossroads, Liv had assured him.

Thus, Ridley had chosen to indulge in a little treasure hunt. Wreckage was a good way to find weapons, technology, credits, and his wings were far faster than almost anything on Kraw intelligent enough to see the find for anything other than a potential snack.

The dragon’s mouth cleared into a wicked grin as he caught it - the distinct smell all life-forms knew as burning woods - and he swooped in with a grimace.

Unfortunately, the smell was already catching, mixing in with unfamiliar smells of the jungle and whatever the fallen spacecraft was made up of. It left Ridley unable to smell the other in his midst, but the snap-hiss of something behind him was enough to divert course at the last moment, Diving immediately to ground to avoid the flying weapon through the air, he turned to see a man catching a double-bladed laser sword of some variety.

Ridley grimaced, as he saw this. This hostile brought back memories of the protoss scum he had recently been cut apart by. Thus, he was responsible for Venting Ridley’s frustration, as the Old Avian turned and Charged the Dark-robed survivor, a bestial screech following in his wake…

But to his surprise, as ridley charged down the masked human, he simply raised a single hand, and Cut Ridley’s momentum.

The Feeling of some invisible force gripping him and holding him down brought back memories of old Phantoon, the former pirate general, and Ridley’s eyes narrowed at the thought. This one was not a magician, nor was he using the same arts the templar had. These were… psionic powers, as he understood them.

Every muscle seized up, as pressure was put on Ridley’s neck, and the old drake narrowed his eyes as red flashed behind yellow. This fool sought to contain him with psychic strength, and as he calmly walked up to finish Ridley, Double-bladed weapon at the ready, it occurred to him that he was fully confident in his ability to do so.

And that was abominable, for a mammal.

Ridley’s muscles pushed against the force grip, and the Man’s visor seemed to clink upwards, as though surprised, before he tried to squeeze tighter. But Ridley was stronger, always, and the man’s hand was snapped backwards as Ridley tensed every muscle and flung his wings outward with another bestial screech. How dare he think to contain Ridley with such a parlour trick! How dare he think to attack his countenance.

Ridley’s heat burned into hate and he expelled it in a burst of Fiery plasma, the blast scorching a blazing inferno through Kraw. as he unleashed flames upon the Psychic swordsman.

The burning fire was vicious, leaving a charred wasteland everywhere the Pirate’s gaze could touch, leaving a devastated area. His tail lashed in satisfaction, while he curled his wings inwards.
At least, the satisfaction lasted until he heard the whirr of a rapidly spinning blade.

The exotic warrior looked mildly singed, but no worse for wear otherwise, as he spun his little blades, before going for a counter-attack, Bringing his weapon along for a counter-attack.

Ridley’s glare returned as the creature attacked, faster than he could avoid… so he didn’t. He set one talon to catch the bastard’s blade, and the white hot tip sunk into his flesh with pain and vitriol. Compared to the pain Ridley had experienced in his life, however, such a paltry wound was nothing, so instead of a wince, the Pirate king simply grinned as he grabbed the fighter with his back talon, crushing him in his grip.

Afterwards, simply bashing the warrior against the ground until the saber was forced from his hand took only a few tries and almost no effort, before he chucked the warrior directly in front of him, Jaws showing.

“Kneel!” Ridley commanded.

“You… speak?” The man commented in disbelief.

“I lose patience.” the Drake commanded. “You’ve one chance to live. Kneel, identify yourself, and tell me what you are.”

“And then you’ll let me live?”

Ridley’s response was simply a chilling grin.

 

[The Chorus]

Darth Vindictus gazed up at the hulking purple dragon looming over him, grinning sadistically, ordering him to reveal his identity. In a tactical error, the Sith Lord assumed the beast was just another of the mindless creatures he had encountered on this jungle planet, spoiling for a meal. Not only did he misread the dragon’s incredible resilience, stopping his lightsaber with the skin of his taloned palm, but also the destructive force of its breath. An entire section of jungle either burned or floated on the wind as vapour. Yet the most interesting aspect of the dragon was the sentience it possessed. Perhaps the jungle planet wasn’t barren of intelligent life after all.

Normally such a mistake wouldn’t matter – after all, few materials stood firm against the plasma of a lightsaber – but now Darth Vindictus was on the back foot. Physically dominated for the time being, he had no choice but to play along with the cunning monster’s demands. After all, the humiliation and subjugation he would feel would only stoke his anger – a tried and true font of power that Darth Vindictus could draw upon when the tables turned.

He kneeled, lowering his head to show false deference, and provided only the information the dragon requested. “Darth Vindictus, Sith Lord.”

Though kneeled, Darth Vindictus took note of where his lightsaber landed. It was out of his arm’s reach, but not the Force’s. He imperceptibly moved his fingers and the lightsaber hilt shifted ever so slightly. The plasma blade might not kill the dragon, but an unexpected flash of pain and red light might be enough to remove the Sith Lord from his precarious situation. New opportunities arose all the time – he would follow whatever felt right after that.

"I am Lord Ridley,” the dragon said in its deep, growling voice. “Tell me of your 'Sith', psychic."

“The Sith believe in the superiority of those who are exceptional, powerful,” Darth Vindictus said, needing no provocation to discuss his beliefs. “We use the Force to draw low those who are beneath us, and raise ourselves up to the positions we are meant to hold. It is our destiny. That what we wish to take, we take.”

Ridley paused. "An enlightened philosophy. Hunters should not stoop to prey. But where is this 'we?' I've not seen your like in the Crossroads."

Darth Vindictus raised his head to look at the dragon. “Crossroads? I’m unfamiliar with this star system.”

Ridley grinned. "The solar system you are now trapped in. Welcome."

“Trapped?” the Sith Lord said, rising to his feet. “What nonsense is this? We are in space. There are no limits!”

He thought back to his crash and the incident leading up to it. Still it remained elusive in his mind, like trying to grasp mist in his hands. Had he fallen into some sort of intergalactic prison? Surely this beast had no reason to lie about something so outrageous?

"And yet, no matter how far your ship appears to fly, you will loop back to this star system. I have tested it with the Dreadnought. Extensively." Ridley replied, the hint of sadism in his tone overpowering the hatred so naturally coiled within it.

Darth Vindictus lifted an open hand. His discarded lightsaber rocketed back to him. Ridley bristled, ready for an attack, but the Sith Lord hung it on a hook off his belt instead.

This dragon creature held a lot of information on this star system. He could be a useful asset. If escape was indeed impossible, then Darth Bane had already won. But if Ridley had not heard of the Sith order before, then this was a chance for Darth Vindictus to establish a true Sith chapter, hidden from the machinations of that traitor. And if an escape of this galaxy could be discovered one day, he and his dark side army would roam the stars, conquering the planets powerless to stop him.

Even if he was a prisoner of a star system with boundaries, he could rule here instead.

For now, Ridley still commanded this interaction. But there were always new opportunities arising.

“You possess a great deal of knowledge,” Darth Vindictus said, placing his arms behind his back in a show of non-hostility. “I feel that we could mutually benefit from one another.”

"Name your... benefit then, Vindictus." The behemoth spoke in a low voice, almost purring, as his tail swished from one side to another, wings slowly curling in as he turned his head to the side, viewing the Sith Lord with one slitted eye.

“Perhaps I can take care of some thorns in your side,” Darth Vindictus said. “Issues you don’t wish to dirty your hands with. And in return, you can help me understand this Crossroads.” He paused. “You do seem receptive to the Sith creed. Maybe our goals will align in some fashion, after all.”

Ridley cocked his head, pausing. "I will take your ship aboard the Dreadnought." He continued, after a moment. "My men will... repair it for you. In exchange, you will take some work for me. Should you do well...”

Ridley's grin grew broad. "A spot among our ranks in WYVERN will be open to you. Your creed preaches of power? I am power, here."

And at that, Ridley cocked his head, low to the ground as he took one step forward. "I will guide you to the settlement nearby. I will speak of the Crossroads. You, of the Force."