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Areku99

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re: The Road to Insanity (story reboot)

Hey guys! I felt like rebooting my character's story, so...here you are! Rated PG-13. Reviews and comments welcome at every step of the way, they boost morale Happy

(If I forgot to make it clear in-story, Aima and Kara are about eight years old in this chapter. Hope you like it!)


Chapter I: The Beginning

The sting of the rattan cane hitting my stomach at full force is a memory ingrained in my mind. It was a quick, stinging blow, one that I experienced often in those days. Well, nobody said being me was easy. The floor was no cradle, no source of comfort beyond the fact that I’d already fallen. And it was always followed by the sound of that instructor…

“Get up. GET UP!” I struggled to my feet, only for the cane to strike my back three more times. At that time, I was merely eight, maybe nine, and I’d not yet known a more brutal pain. With those strikes , I fell again. “Well? UP!” the man yelled.

“Yes, Master Kako,” I said as I rose again. My peers looked on, scared they’d be his next victim, and somewhat surprised that I could take such punishment. It seemed like they singled me out…why, I couldn’t imagine.

Kako was a young man, only thirty or so. My primary tormentor, I still held a healthy respect for him, after I’d seen him in lightsaber combat. Though he had the skill of any Sith, the lightsaber was his…element, so to say. But even though I respected him, I still hated him with a passion. For it was obvious that skill with a lightsaber makes a rattan cane hurt like hell.

“You…when can you learn? When WILL you learn?”
“I…I’m trying--”
WHACK! “No! Not if you’re trying, when will you learn?”
“I--”
The cane struck me again. And again. And again.
“You are worthless. You cannot use a lightsaber properly. You cannot use the Force properly. You barely remember the Sith Code!”
“Master--”
The cane hit my stomach. “You piece of shit. That’s what you are, a--piece--of--SHIT!”
With every word, he struck again. I coughed up a bit of blood.
“I wish you’d just--cadets!” he yelled, turning to the others. “Aima. Aima is the opposite of what you must be. You…I wish I could KILL you!”

+++

“They’re worse than usual,” Kara said, muttering to herself as she rubbed kolto on the wounds, and used some sort of Force healing power. “Master Kako has it out for you.”
“Wonder what I did,” I said.

It was in the middle of the night that my tortured existence found solace. Kara; a blue-skinned Twi’lek, and fellow cadet at the Mask Corps who was my age almost exactly…she was the one who always kept me alive. From whatever credits she could get, she bought kolto for my frequent wounds. It was obviously diluted, but rattan welts merited nothing more, and anything was a welcome relief.

“Well, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you have to stop doing it!” she said. “He’ll kill you if you’re not careful.”
“I wish he’d get it over with,” I said. “I hate this. Why am I the worthless one?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ah well. Thank you, Kara…you’re a lifesaver…my only friend, too.”
She smiled. “Well, the others are probably scared that if they’re seen with you, Kako will beat them too.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“I never said I wasn’t. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
She sighed. “Aima, this isn’t right.”
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t the right life for you. For me, either.”
“How so?”
“We’re too soft. We’re not monsters.”
“You’re--” I began, before giving a sigh. “You’re right. We’re not monsters.”
“What can we do?”
“We should run away,” I said. “Just…just run away.”
“Yeah. Away from this. All of this.”
“We can do it! And we can leave this planet…and we, we can go live without Kako, or any of them.”
“You think?” she replied.
“I know we can.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
I noticed her face was red. “Something up?”
She said nothing, rather, she threw her arms around me and kissed me gently on the cheek. I was pleasantly surprised.
“What was that for?”
“It’s…it’s part of the promise,” she said.
“Oh.”
“Well, I have to get back. Prefect checks bunks in about ten minutes.”
“Yeah, good idea.”

+++

The next day, we cadets assembled--that said, I couldn’t find Kara, to my disappointment.
Kako was nowhere to be found, which puzzled us as well, though the prefects were there to keep us in line. After a few minutes, a man in black robes entered, wearing a hood and steel battle mask, and with a lightsaber at his side. We immediately stood; though he wore a mask, we knew who he was.

Darth Intrus. Leader of the Mask Corps, and a mighty warrior.

He was about thirty-two at the time, but he was wise beyond any doubts--powerful, too. Darth Ashran, the former Commander of the Mask Corps, had died only a year ago; we all knew Intrus had killed him and usurped the mantle. That was the way it worked.

Intrus sat down. “Be seated. Master Kako will be here soon.”
We obeyed without hesitation. True to Intrus’ word, Kako entered soon after…and Kara walked in front of him. I was terrified, because he held the rattan cane. They stopped in full view of us all.

“Hello, everybody,” Kako said, an evil grin on his face. “Today, a disciplinary action will be administered to a fellow Sith Cadet…Kara here has been applying kolto to that failure, Aima, behind our backs.”
I was now deathly pale as everybody looked at me.
“And as you know…this is unacceptable.”
I tried to shoot her an apologetic gaze; she merely smiled.
“The reason this merits attention,” he added, “I feel it gives you all an opportunity to learn how to make people suffer. See…Twi’leks have their headtails. The lekku. They are very sensitive.” He gave one of Kara’s a hard pull, as if to demonstrate. I saw the pain in her eyes, and I felt it.
“Now, the rattan cane is not pleasant, as Aima was attest to. So, I wonder what will happen if I apply a rattan cane session to the lekku? Anybody?”
We were all silent. Kako smiled.
“Well, you’re about to see.” Anger was now pumping through my veins, having replaced the fear. Kako turned to me.
“Before I begin, would you like to add, Mr. Aima?”
I growled.

What happened next surprised everybody, but especially me. I leapt into the air, grabbed Intrus’ weapon off his belt, and pushed Kako away from Kara. Landing near-perfectly, I ignited the saber. Kako immediately jumped to his feet, ignited his weapon, and attacked.

We fought for a while, but I was young, unable to do this, and he cornered me, about to strike a killing blow.
“Afraid?” he laughed.
“No.”
He moved in for the kill, when…

“Stop.”

Intrus rose, took back his weapon by way of the Force, and motioned to Kako to step aside.
“This is the failure?”
“Yes.”
“He is the one?”
“Yes.”
“And he gave YOU a run for your money!”
“I…”

Intrus laughed.

“He is strong. He will be my apprentice.”
Kako’s eyes widened. “My lord! He is--”
“My apprentice.” Intrus looked at me. “You, Aima, with me.” He turned to the cadets. “Cadets, dismissed!”
The others scattered away, and Intrus left as well. I followed him.

+++

“What was that?” he asked, as we walked down a long corridor.
“I…well, she’s my friend.”
“And why did you do what you did?”
“I didn’t want him to hurt her.”
“He hurts you all the time, though, and you just…take it.”
“I don’t want him to hurt her.”
“Well, after that, I doubt he will. Taught him a lesson, you did.”
“But I lost.”
“Ah, but you had him scared. You, Aima, you have potential. But I knew it all along.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I always knew you had potential to be great. But I figured I could very well wait to allow you to demonstrate it.”
“Did I?”
“Did you ever,” he said, with a reassuring pat on the back.
“I have a question, though.”
“Yes?”
“How did he know? About the kolto, that is.”
“Your wounds healed up quickly, and we keep tabs on nearby vendors…we can add two and two.”
“Oh. I have another question.”
“Alright.”
“Will he still cane her?”
“I doubt it. You did well.”
“And…I can still see her, right?”
“I suppose. But you train with me now, though. It will be brutal. It will be painful, but I don’t use canes. You’ll wish for Kako’s rattan cane soon enough, though.”

+++

“His apprentice, huh?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow I get my lightsaber.”
“Wow,” Kara said. I could tell something was off.
“Something wrong?”
“No. We’re…we’re still running away, right?”
I sighed. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Why not?”
I looked at her. “Because…Kara, I have a chance to run this whole thing. I can be something--”
“Something you weren’t made to be.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not a fighter. And I don’t want to be here anymore, but I can’t go alone.”
I took out a small box and gave it to her. “You can.”
“What is this?”
She opened it; inside was a disruptor pistol I’d managed to swipe, with a few credits for good measure. “This is your ticket out of here. You have Force ability. You can leave this place…”
“I don’t want to go without you.”
“You have to, if you’re going.”
“But I…you’re my only friend! You’re all I’ve got.”
“This isn’t forever,” I said.
“How is it not?”
“Because,” I said, “I’ll be able to find you! We can be friends, still, even if we don’t talk for a few years.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
She hugged me. “Be careful.”
“You too.”

With that, she left.

+++

I walked into Intrus’ meditation chambers the next day, as he’d ordered. He wore his mask, as always. He sat there, waiting.

“Sit,” he said. “We have much to discuss.”
I obeyed. “Yes, Master?”
“I know Kara ran away.”
I gulped. “What?”
“She was killed by a Republic raid at the starport. They were Jedi, working with commandos in the service of the Republic.”
My eyes widened. “WHAT?!”
“I…I am sincerely sorry, my young ward. These things happen.”
“Why did they do this?”
“They must have known she was a cadet.”
“They did it on purpose?”
“We have witnesses that say a Jedi deliberately struck her down.”
“W--why…”
I clenched my fists in not anger, but pure hatred. “Teach me how to kill,” I said, my world now shattered.
“What?” He heard me, but he wanted me to say it again.
“TEACH ME HOW TO KILL THEM ALL!” I yelled, jumping to my feet. He looked pleased.
“Oh, don’t you worry. You will avenge her,” he said. I knew nothing of his intentions.


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Areku99

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re: The Road to Insanity (story reboot)

Just saying, I edited the last part a bit. All that changed was that Intrus had his mask on, though :P


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Areku99

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re: The Road to Insanity (story reboot)

Here's a short chapter two. Happy

“They are my enemy. They are not people. They are animals. They must be slaughtered.”
Intrus smiled at me from behind my mask. “Again.”
“They are my enemy. They are not people. They are animals. They must be slaughtered.”
From my meditative position, and my hood over the tips of my eyes, I repeated the mantra, much to my Master’s delight. Looking back on it, I find a delicious irony--I constantly repeated to myself (and to him) that my foes were animals, unworthy of life…yet I was the one in such a position.
“The Jedi killed her. Murdered her. And they still yet live.”
“A grave injustice,” I growled, as the darkness of the chamber seemed to adopt normalcy. My breathing slowed. “They must suffer. They must die.” As I spoke, my eyes glowed a fierce blood-red, much to Intrus’ delight.
“Your hate is strong,” Intrus said. “And you, you too are strong. But you are still young. Naïve. Foolish…” he trailed on. “But the mantle of power is there for you to take. Godlike power, yours for the taking…it belongs to you…”
“I will seize that power,” I droned on, my anger merging with the Force-energy in my blood to put me in a mesmerizing, trance-like stance. My senses dulled, it was like the power and the emotions in me worked to put me in such a trance; warlords needed drugs and the like to make soldiers of this magnitude. And Intrus, the lucky bastard, he needed no chemicals. He only needed to guide my meditations enough so that I would drug myself, without realizing it…
“Jedi are the enemy of all life,” he kept on. “The enemy of us, for they are hypocrites who have fooled the galaxy.”
“I hate them,” I breathed loudly. “I want to see them die.”
“We all hate them,” Intrus said. “And you will kill one today.”
The trance broke, and I turned my head to lock eyes with him. “Kill one?”
“Yes. You will kill a Jedi Knight soon…on Rhen Var.”
“Why is a Jedi on Rhen Var?”
“There is a holocron that he seeks. You will go with a commando, Corporal Alan Kurdet. He will be your cover…but he has been instructed that you, and you alone, are to slay the Jedi.”
“I see. And then…”
“And then you get your lightsaber. In fact…the Jedi’s weapon will do nicely. Add a new crystal, and it will do well. There will be one aboard your ship.”
“What ship am I taking?”
“You will go on a capital ship called the Rakuen.”
“I see.”
“You will go to your chambers now, and retrieve the weapons there--a vibrosword, disruptor pistol, and cortoisis dagger.”
“Yes, my master.”
“Now. Rise, take up your weapons. And do not fail. Kurdet has been ordered to leave you there if you are defeated.”
“Yes, my master.”
“The Jedi’s name is Yi Thyma. He is a human male, age 30, and before you ask--no, he didn‘t kill Kara. You are a mere fifteen…but you will triumph. You know the Force well. Now…go.”
I nodded, and I rose to exit the chamber.
+++

I entered the shuttle bound for the Rakuen, to see a man in the pilot’s seat. “You are Corporal Kurdet?” I asked.
“Aye, sir. You are Captain Aima, then?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Strap yourself in.”
I did so, and he took off.
“So, you’re to accompany me to Rhen Var, then?”
“Aye, sir. If Thyma kills you, then I am to kill him the second you hit the ground. I will be observing in a concealed position…so that he doesn’t suspect it.”
“He can probably sense your life force.”
“I don’t care. You’ll keep him distracted.”
“Fair enough,” I replied. “So…have you ever killed a man?”
“Many,” Kurdet said. “You?”
“Never.”
“Heh. If Lord Intrus wants you to cut your teeth on a Jedi, then either he thinks you’re insanely tough, or he wants you dead.”
“I prefer to think the former.”
“And I don’t blame you.”

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, until we saw the Rakuen; it was a standard Interdictor-class ship, with nothing special about it.
“There she is…the Rakuen. Finest capital ship in the Sith Navy.”
“She’s beautiful.”

We docked inside the ship’s hangar, and departed for the bridge. Kurdet brought me over to a group of officers.
“This is him,” Kurdet said.
“Ah,” the senior officer said. “I am Admiral Owari, commander of this ship.” He looked to be in his mid-fifties, with gray hair slightly lighter in tone than his admiral’s uniform.
“I am Captain Aima,” I replied. “Mask Corps.”
“We’re all Mask Corps here,” Owari said. “But we don’t wear masks up here.”
“I have mine on me.”
“Good to know,” he replied sarcastically. “All men, set hyper-jump to Rhen Var.”
“Hang on!” Kurdet yelled.

+++

When we had finished the jump, I found myself feeling vaguely ill--two seconds later, I was vomiting into a garbage can a few feet away, must to the crew’s shock/disgust/humor. Owari sighed.
“I question Lord Intrus’ judgment,” he said.
“It’s my first jump. Give me some credit,” I said, before hurling again.
“Very well You know where the hangar is.”


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re: The Road to Insanity (story reboot)

“This Thyma guy must be insane,” Kurdet said. “The surface of this planet is…”
“Is cold,” I said bluntly. “I agree.”
“Well, devoting yourself to something so futile as that Order, it takes quite a degree of insanity.”
“Well stated.”

We trekked across the Rhen Var surface for hours on end, as my sense of the Force led us closer to the Jedi Knight Yi Thyma. After a while, I spotted what looked to be the ruins of a small temple, far in the distance.
“Look over there,” I said, tapping Kurdet on the shoulder. “Looks to be around two hundred meters away.”
“More like three hundred. Maybe four,” he replied. “Why, is it important?”
“I feel that something…powerful…is there.”
“Or someone?”
“Yeah.”

We moved to about fifty meters, and took up positions on a nearby ice hill, laying prone as Kurdet surveyed the ruins.
“He’s there,” Kurdet said. “Looks like he’s meditating.”
“He’s waiting for us?”
“I don’t know what he’s thinking. But he’s there.”
“I sense he’s alone. The three of us are the only life signatures for at least fifty kilometers in all directions.”
“That’s all?”
“I dunno, but I’m going in,” I said, fastening my mask and drawing my vibrosword.
“I’ll be waiting here.”

I approached the ruins, which were open-air, and saw him; Thyma looked to be about forty years old, with a short, black goatee and no hair. He also wore a brown cloak. Upon my arrival, his eyes shot open and he looked at me.
“Who are you?” he asked, quietly.
I simply took a battle stance. He chuckled.
“A Sith, yes? You’re not so tall…you…you’re not more than a child!”
“I’m your nightmare,” I said plainly.
“You look like you stepped out of one.”
“Draw your weapon,” I said. “While it is still yours.”
“You’re trembling,” Thyma laughed.
“Quiet!” I blurted out.
“Why?” He drew his lightsaber--a curved hilt with a green crystal. “Are you scared? Never killed a man?”
“You’re one of them…” I growled. “You’re one of those scum!”
He frowned. “Well, that’s not very nice.”
I simply let out a battle cry and charged him; he deflected my attack without any form of difficulty. I had a firm, two-handed grip on my vibrosword; he wielded his saber with his right hand alone, and I could tell he was getting cocky.
But that would only aid me.

He made a move; I parried the attack, but I made it look like I had a tough time of it. Satisfaction in his eyes, he attacked again, and I deflected it. He laughed at my perceived lack of skill, only for me to push him against one of the ruins, catching him off-balance. Dashing towards the disoriented JedI, I tried to run him through with my sword, but he regained his composure and parried the attack rather forcefully--he realized that I was, indeed, a threat.
“The Force is strong in you, boy.”
“And you will make me stronger.”
I stepped back, and fired a small bolt of Force lightning at him, which he absorbed with his lightsaber. “You’ve a lot to learn, boy.”
“I like hands-on learning.”
With that, we sparred viciously for a few minutes--though it seemed like hours. Seeing an opening, I nicked the side of his hand with my vibrosword, inflicted a deep flesh wound. A trickle of fresh, warm blood fell against the pearly white snow, melting some of it. Thyma gritted his teeth and looked at me, anger obviously on his face.
“You’ll pay for that, boy!”
“Oh, I don’t think so.”
In a split-second, I gripped part of the ruins with the Force, and struck him with it. The blow didn’t kill him, but he certainly was wounded. I charged him while he was on the ground, and ran him through with the vibrosword. The trickle of blood that had settled into the now crimson snow was not distinguishable with the large, spurting river of blood that poured generously from the wound. He dropped his lightsaber and screamed in his agony; I picked it up with the Force before sticking the sword into some fresh snow, so as to clean it. As I sheathed it, he looked at me in disgust and contempt.
“You…you…”
He died then, and I walked back to my companion.
“I see you killed him,” Kurdet said.
I motioned to Thyma’s saber, which I proudly carried in my hand. “This?”
“Well, yes…that, and you’re covered in blood. Let’s get going, then.”


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