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#Post#: 13--------------------------------------------------
Betrayal: A True Sith Saga: Part 5
By: Helios Date: January 25, 2019, 7:13 am
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Betrayal: A True Sith Saga
Part 5: the Choice
For a building built almost entirely of glass the inside was
gloomy. The glass cut out most of the light leaving it hard to
see around him.
Helios could barely make out the Black and White banners of the
Hellfire Tribe hanging on the walls. Statues of people Helios
did not recognize lined the walls. In addition to the darkness
it was also quiet, the droning of propaganda stopped at the
door.
<Not much of a reason for it here is there, Helios Pendragon.>
Thought Uriel.
<You’re right, we are in the pit now, what need would they have
here for propaganda only those who follow the True Path enter
here.> Helios responded.
"Isn't it majestic?" Michael asked interrupting Helios thoughts.
His voice sounded almost awestruck.
"Its a bit overwhelming." Helios replied.
“I understand,” his guide responded. “Do you see that statue
there, the angry looking Taung? That’s Su’vash. He was one of
the Horsemen.”
“The Horsemen?”
“The top enforcers of the Emperor’s will. His strongest allies
in the Hellfire, stronger even than his Hands. Su’vash and other
Horsemen died in the Battle of X595.”
Helios recognized that last name at least. “Wasn’t that where
you guys fought House G’Kar?”
Michael looked stricken. “We try to avoid saying that name here.
The Jackals hurt us much more than any enemy in the last
thousand years. Su’vash was a great leader…killed by a cowardly
snake of a man.”
“Let me guess, Sek…I mean the leader of that House?”
Michael nodded and looked almost grim. “His time will come. But
let’s focus on the task on hand.” He pointed forward. "Follow
me." He led Helios to a counter.
At the counter stood a protocol droid. "How can I help you
today, Michael of the Noonstar." It said.
"I have a subject for placement, C4-8X.” He motioned to the
Jedi. “Helios Pendragon."
The Droid paused for a moment. "All records are in order,
Michael of the Noonstar. Helios is to report to testing room
42B."
"Alright Helios that 4 floors down second room on the right." He
said pointing at a door across the main room. He continued.
"I’ll be watching your test from another room. I know you’ll
make us proud." And with a pat on the back he walked off through
another door.
Helios walked to the door that Michael had pointed out to him
and as he approached it slid open on its own revealing a
stairway. As Helios descended the first flight, he felt the
darkside slowly nudging the back of his mind. By the second
flight he felt angry and his mind began gravitating to all the
things he had repressed.
Like why Grandmaster Jarvan had chosen him for this mission? Why
had Jarvan whisked him away from the Pendragons to play games
with the True Sith? Helios had been training with Dark Lord to
study Jar’Kai. He had been preparing to make a council
evaluation. Why did he have to fight here? Was Jarvan afraid of
his growing power? Yeah, of course he was. He was terrified of
Helios and the power he wielded. That’s why he had set him up to
join the True Sith. Maybe…maybe this didn’t have to be an
infiltration? Maybe he could join the True Sith willingly. They
wanted him. They weren’t afraid of him. They respected him.
By the time He descended the 3rd flight and reached the 4th
landing Helios Vowed revenge on Jarvan for doing this to him.
Uriel’s voice pierced his thoughts <Calm yourself, Helios
Pendragon!>
<He did this to me!> Helios thought back angerly.
<No,” came the stern voice of Uriel. “That’s the Dark Tide
you’re feeling. It’s an old spell…I did not expect it to be here
or be so potent. But the Dark Tide is trying to pull under,
drown you in the Darkside! You must resist, Helios Pendragon.
Guard your mind and it will not be able to twist your thoughts!”
Uriel’s demand shook through the dark fog that had surrounded
Helios and made him wake up.
As he had done many times before Helios began to chant the Jedi
code to himself.
Slowly steeling his mind against the Darkside that had seeped
its way into his mind. After a minute or two Helios was able to
force it from his mind and with it the thoughts of revenge on
the Grandmaster.
<That's better.> Uriel stated.
Helios, his mind now clear, looked at the door before him and
saw a sign that said 40-49. Helios grabbed the handle and pulled
the door open. Inside was a dimly lit hallway with 10 doors on
each side. A's on the left and B's on the right. near each door
was a basin. Helios found the door labeled 42b and approached
it.
<Careful, Helios Pendragon, I sense something very powerful in
the Darkside,> Uriel warned.
<Yeah, no kidding.> The Dark Tide’s effects continued to combat
him and Helios could feel it gnawing at him. If he didn’t stay
focused, he’d give in to the dark impulses and be lost. His
mission could not end this way. He had to fight it.
Helios saw an ornate handle on the door and tried to open it.
The door did not budge. Instead an inscription appeared on the
door that read.
ALL THOSE WHO WISH TO PASS MUST PAY THE TOLL. ONLY A PAYMENT OF
THE ESSENCE OF LIFE CAN OPEN THE WAY TO THE TRUE PATH.
Helios turned his attention to the basin by his door. In it lay
a dagger. The essence of life must be blood.
<Your thoughts are correct, Young Jedi,> Uriel agreed.
Helios picked up the knife in one hand and gripped the blade
with his other. Blood pooled into the basin as Helios drew back
the knife.
After a minute the blood slowed to a drip and Helios healed his
hand using the force.
KUCHUNK!
Helios almost jumped at the sound as the door unlocked and swung
open on its own. Behind the door was nothing but a dark abyss,
the Darkside permeated the air so thickly it threaten to swallow
Helios up. As Helios stepped over the threshold of the door way
suddenly the room lit up.
The sudden brightness caused Helios to close his eyes and after
a moment he opened them to allow them to adjust to the light. In
the center of the room was a sandy arena not unlike their trial
grounds back on New Avalon.
The thought of home made Helios home sick.
"Enter the Arena, Helios Pendragon" A feminine voice boomed from
all over the room. "Here you will give up your false name and
take your first steps on the True Path!” An alluring laugh
echoed throughout. “Or…you will die.”
Helios stepped into the sandy arena and waited.
"Now what?" Helios asked after a few minutes.
No sooner had the words left his mouth the light went out
leaving him in complete darkness. Helios held his breath for a
moment.
PSHHH! A red Lightsaber ignited and cut his arm. SHWOOP! came
the sound of the saber turning off. Helios staggered a bit and
grimaced in pain. He’d felt this kind of attack before and knew
that it was clearly only meant to wound him and not kill him.
Helios tried to heal himself using the Force but suddenly he
felt weak and was unable to do so.
<Uriel, what’s wrong?> Helios asked himself.
<It would seem the dagger you used was poisoned> Uriel replied.
"What's wrong, Helios." A voice taunted him from the darkness.
"You look a little drained." PSHHH! The red saber ignited again
in the darkness the light was so bright it was all Helios could
see. Helios grabbed his saber from his belt and Ignited the
blade. PSHHH! His blade erupted to life in a purple hue.
Through the light of their sabers, he saw a dark garbed Sith
charging him. The True Sith threw several makashi 2 strikes at
Helios. Precise strikes that showed a mastery that no novice
possessed. Blocking them with vapaad not a single strike got
through. The red blade came at Helios in a stab and struck him
above his left knee searing the meat in his thigh.
Helios focused on the force and falling to one knee tried to use
it to push his opponent. The amount of Force Helios channeled
would have cracked bones of his opponent but instead barely
staggered his attacker.
Helios felt himself grow weaker.
<Helios Pendragon, you must stop tapping into your abilities!
The poison grows stronger every time you do!> Warned Uriel.
His attacker recovered quickly and stuck downward and at his
head. Helios blocked the strike and threw it to the side using
Shien and rolled backwards and clumsily stood.
"Michael spoke highly of you, Helios. Perhaps he was wrong." The
voice taunted once again.
Helios had had enough! He was going to shut up his attacker any
way he could.
Helios unleashed a volley of strikes at his opponent pushing
them on the defense. As he transitioned from form to form,
Helios could feel the Darkside push on him from his opponent.
<Uriel, the poison only gets stronger when I channel the Force?>
<Correct.>
<I have an idea then.>
Instead of being a wall for the Darkside energy that crashed
upon him, he started to take it in and channel it slowly back at
his opponent.
The attacker pushed harder still on the defense and eventually
Helios saw an opening and cut her blade at the emitter.
As the severed emitter hit the ground the lights suddenly came
on. Before Helios stood his would be killer. She removed her
hood allowing her blonde hair to spill around he shoulders.
Helios gasped. This was no mere reaper. He recognized her from
the vids and the posters outside. There wasn’t a person on this
planet who didn’t know who she was.
Lilith, Scion of the Sect of Truth.
"Good, Helios" she purred.
“You were the one testing me?” Helios asked, still feeling the
pain of his injuries. “But you’re…you’re Lilith.”
“Of course, I would test you.” She gave him an intense look.
“You think I’d let such a valuable recruit be trained by some
low-level evaluator? No, you’re too important.”
"Does this mean I pass?" Helios asked blushing a bit at the
praise.
Lilith laughed, "You’ve earned the right to live. For now.” She
turned and walked away. “I can feel it, you know.”
Helios blinked. “Huh?”
“That good in you.” She turned around and found his eyes. “You
are still holding on to your past. Still Helios Pendragon, hero
of the Pendragon Alliance. You have proved to be a formidable
opponent in combat, which means I’m not wasting my time, but now
you must prove to myself and my people where your loyalties
ultimately lie.”
She waved her hand and a door opened in the wall. Michael and
Gabriel appeared with a red headed woman between them. They
dragged her body to the center of the arena and threw her on the
ground before Helios.
Helios breath caught in his throat. Mary.
"Helios, I believe you meet Mary today at breakfast." Lilith
stated. Spitting on Mary’s beaten bloody body, she continued.
"Mary is traitor to the True Path.”
“NO!” Mary screamed. “No, that isn’t true! I am loyal! I am
loyal to the True Path! I am loyal to my emperor! Please!’
Lilith looked unimpressed. “Kill her, and prove whom you serve.”
Helios stared at the woman. Kill an innocent woman? Helios had
taken lives before. That came with being a martyr in the
Imperial Legion. He’d fought in numerous battles, and killed
many Corsairs, Sith, soldiers, and anyone else who had tried to
hurt others.
But this was different. He had met Mary. Spoken to her. She
wasn’t some evil monster trying to hurt others. She was a
barmaid. An innocent.
“I’m waiting, Helios.” Lilith said, almost in a whisper. “Whom
do you serve?”
<Helios Pendragon,> came the voice Uriel.
<You are wavering.>
<I know this woman, Uriel! She is an innocent!>
<I know what you are feeling, my vessel, but you must think of
the greater good.>
<The greater good? You become a Sith when I wasn’t looking,
Uriel?>
The spirit bristled with anger. <Young Jedi, you are in a
precarious situation. You volunteered for this mission. You
allowed Jarvan to put you under a spell. You agreed to do what
it took to gain their confidence.>
<Those men I killed before were Husks, Uriel. They weren’t
real!>
“Is there a problem, Helios?” Lilith asked. Michael and Gabriel
hands were near their sabers. If he didn’t make a move soon,
they’d kill him. As strong as he was, he couldn’t take them all,
not still dealing with his injury.
<No, they were not real, but you must now ask yourself, what is
this worth for you? If we do not kill this woman, we will surely
perish. If that is your will, my vessel, I will help where I
can. But if we are to bring the True Sith down, many innocents
will have to die.>
<I am not a murderer, Uriel. I am not a killer!>
<Once, longer than any can remember, I was faced with a similar
choice. I had to choose between killing someone I loved and
fulfilling my duty, or walk away and satisfy my conscience. I
chose the latter…and I paid dearly for it. This is a chance for
us to atone, young Jedi.>
<If I kill this woman, I’m hurting the cause! She’s a traitor to
the True Sith!>
<Helios Pendragon, if you do not kill this woman, she will still
die. She will be killed by these monsters. And so shall we. And
then what happens? The True War continues. And your friends and
family will be locked into an eternal conflict. Innocent people
die in war, young Jedi. You believe you can fight this conflict
and keep your conscience intact. That is admirable, but it is
selfishness.>
<Selfishness? It’s selfish to keep a woman alive? To spare a
life?>
<Yes. Because how you view yourself is more important than
stopping the True Sith. Your opinion of your morality is valued
over the lives of billions. That is ego, Helios. That is pride.>
<If I do this, I won’t be able to live with myself.>
<But you will live. And that means you will honor her
sacrifice.>
“Please, Helios…I don’t…I don’t want to die.”
“I know,” Helios said. “I know you don’t.”
<You must do this evil thing, Helios Pendragon, or all this is
for nothing and Anubis will win. Canderous, Aurora, and Gideon
need you. The only path to them…is through Mary.>
And with the hesitation was over. Gabriel seemed to be studying
Helios very carefully, while Michael looked almost pleading at
him.
“Well, Helios?” Lilith asked. “Have you made a decision?”
“Please! Please! Don’t do this! You’re a good person! You’re a
good-”
Helios pulled back his arm and stabbed Mary through the heart.
As her body Jerked and as her life ended Helios saber turned
red.
Helios disignited his saber and having growing weaker from the
poison fell to his knees. Grief washed over him and his heart
wept.
<You did the right thing>
<Shut your mouth, spirit. Don’t say another fucking word.>
He felt a sharp sting in his arm and shortly after his strength
returned.
Lilith stood over him. Michael and Gabriel stood on either side
of her. She Ignited her blade and moving from one shoulder to
the next she said. "By the Power vested in me by the True
Emperor Anubis D'sade…I Grant you the name D'sade!" She
disignited her saber.
"Rise Helios D'sade, I name you a Warden of the Hellfire
tribe!"[left][attachimg=1][/left]
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