Walking through the main hub of the ship Mace spotted two people as he looked to his left and right. Jaesa his first Apprentice was situated in the med bay to his left. It seemed to be one of her favorite places. It was where she mainly spent her time on his original ship.
Sitting on the bed she had her legs crossed and was doing a type of meditation, a Lightsaber floating above her lap. The Lightsaber was specially made by Jaesa when he was frozen in carbonite; being double bladed it was larger than a regular hilt but kept a slim form for an easy grip. Across from her the blue light of the Kolto tank lit up the dark room.
On his right he could see Nadia Grell, she was his most recent Apprentice, he had met her once before when she was still traveling with the Barsen'thor of the Jedi, he had helped her out at that time for his own gain.
Her father had been kidnapped by a sith lord and was being held hostage to lure the Jedi's Barsen'thor into a trap. At the time Mace needed a few allies for his upcoming fight against Baras, deciding that having the Barsen'thor owe him a favor would be a boon, he had intervened in a critical moment and saved him from certain death.
He of course then had to fight the Barsen'thor who was suspect of his motives. In the end their fight had been interrupted as Nadia stopped him before it could escalate. Though Mace did want to see how that fight would have ended.
The Barsen'thor was rumored to be one of the most powerful Jedi in his generation with power on par and exceeding some of their council. He never got to see who was better in the end.
Now years later he had met her again and taken her under his tutelage, she had a bone to pick with Zakuul and he was happy to help her. She was strong in the force, her potential as great as Jaesa and Ashara, if she had been trained from a younger age he sometimes wondered what level she would be at right now.
Deciding which one to talk to first he walked to his left. He would speak with Jaesa. Walking into the room, the Lightsaber slowly floated to her side and clipped to her waist. Mace leaned on the door frame as he watched and felt the force around her. It was interesting to watch how she controlled the force.
Having learnt techniques to gaze at such things, it truly was a sight that mesmerized him. Her eyes opened slowly and the telling glint of red was seen before they turned back to their original blue. "Master." She almost purred the words as Mace walked into the room and sat next to her.
Getting out from her cross legged posture she curled her arms around his neck as he relaxed his body "You know you don't have to call me that anymore, you have become a lord yourself. Darth Luminous. An apt name given your special ability." Mace reached his hand up and held the hands around his neck as Jaesa buried her head into the back of his neck.
She spoke in almost a whisper in the quiet room. "You will always be my master…. I will always be yours…as you are mine." They both lapsed into silence for a while as they quietly talked to each other. They started to talk about the old days, before he was locked in carbonite, sometimes talking about what had happened since.
Finally Mace pulled away from the quiet embrace and prepared to leave, he still had other to talk to. Just before he left he turned back. "How's their training going?" Jaesa gave a small bow as she replied. "They will be worthy of you when I am finished, this I promise you…my Love"
With a small nod Mace moved out of the room and made his way into the conference area. Sitting at the last chair with a holopad in hand, her head was down, her white hair obscuring her eyes. She was so engrossed in reading that she didn't notice Mace when he walked in.
He stared at her for a few seconds, 'She had changed so much', That small thought popped into his mind as he walked in grabbing her attention as he made his way closer. Seeing who it was that just disturbed her, she quickly put the pad down before standing up and giving a small bow.
"Master." Mace waved his hand in dismissal. "It's ok Nadia." Taking the seat next to her he looked down at the pad she had just picked up again. "What are you reading?" At his words her face turned sad as her eyes turned downcast. It took a while before she responded.
"It's a letter from Sarkhai." Mace's eyes turned down as he heard her words. 'So it's from her home world'. "How are they doing?" Nadia gave a sad smile as she continued to look at the holopad. "Still rebuilding, Zakuul Really did too much damage when they attacked."
Mace could hear the sorrow in her voice when she spoke of her home. It had been 5 years since it had happened, but it was the catalyst that had led Nadia to become his Apprentice. 5 Years ago some of the first worlds to be attacked by the eternal empire had been Nadia's home world as well as others of the Rift alliance that they had set up.
Not having a huge standing fleet in orbit the Sarkhai had put up little resistance to the eternal fleet and had surrendered hoping for lower casualties and destruction, what they got in return was an orbital bombardment that had destroyed their capital city and set alight the forest world they occupied.
By the time everything was over more than a quarter of their planet had been burned to the ground by landing fleets and their cities ransacked.
Nadia's family had been killed in the bombardment of the capital city, including the father he had saved so many years ago, and most of those close to her had also been killed. The royal family was no more and the planet was left a wreckage of what it once was.
None of it actually had to happen, as after they surrendered it shouldn't have escalated to such a degree, but one person had changed all that. Being a small detachment from the eternal fleet as the main force went to the core worlds; the fleet had been commanded by a decorated knight of Zakuul.
When the surrender had arrived from the planet he had 'gratefully' accepted it before committing the slaughter. It was later stated that at the time he was quoted as saying. "Let the wider galaxy know what awaits them should they resist."
It was one of the greatest shows of might and destruction throughout the whole war, on par with the destruction of Korriban.
Nadia had been on a diplomatic mission at the time, it took quite a while for her to find out that another new faction had appeared and declared war, and it took even longer for her to hear what happened to her home world.
By the time she got back it was long past too late. The pain and loss she felt turned her to the dark side in a heartbeat, seeing the destruction of her world was too much for her to handle. From what he heard before they had met up just a few months ago, she had instantly gone in search of the Knight that ordered the attack and had been hunting him for years.
Along the way she had met up with both Ashara and Jaesa, who had gladly taught her the ways of the dark side. A few months ago, when they had all met back up, he had helped her track down the Knight that had evaded her for so long. He helped her get the revenge she craved and in return she had joined the alliances cause.
Even becoming his apprentice, he would finish her training where the others had started. Mace stayed quiet as she started to talk about the things her planet was implementing to help with the rebuilding effort, the small amount of friends left that were helping with that effort and finally the Sarkhai that were flocking home all uniting as one to rebuild their home.
A few minutes later Mace noticed the forlorn look in her eyes as she stared blankly ahead. "Do you wish you went with him?" He didn't have to say who he was talking about, Nadia instantly knew. Thinking to herself for a few moments she finally shook her head. "No, Kal knew I was on a diplomatic mission at the time, he didn't have the time to come and get me…" A few tears appeared in her eye as she thought of the Barsen'thor, the person that had encouraged her to become a Jedi, who started her down the path of the force. "…I would have just died if I had gone, like they did."
Crying for a short while as the memories came back Mace moved in closer and offered her some comfort. Giving her a few moments she finally wiped the tears from her eyes and turned her eyes to look at him. "But I have no regrets. I got to have my vengeance against that schutta Knight commander. And I get to kill many more like him every mission. You and the others have taught me so much, more than I could have ever imagined."
She looked down at the pad again for a second before meeting his eyes head on. "Kal, was wrong about one thing when he was guiding me…" Her eyes suddenly gained a tint of red her heart rate increasing. "Using your emotions, feeling them when you connect to the force. Denying it was never the answer."
The conviction in her eyes was clear as day to Mace. "Then you are ready for the next stage of learning Nadia. I will be upping your training heading forwards." Both stood up Nadia giving him a bow as he left the room. "Yes, Master."
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Stepping out of the conference room Mace turned right and headed for the back of the ship. An hour and a bit had already passed since he talked to Vette, their destination would be coming up soon. Stepping past the exit ramp his eyes trailed over to Ayillh who was practicing her fighting moves against one of the training dummies.
Practicing her knife and movement techniques he only watched for a second before moving into the armory. Standing inside with his back turned was Xalek. In his hand he held a Kaleesh blade as he practices his sword techniques.
Steeped in the tradition of his race Xalek was fighting an unseen opponent twisting his blade left and right to fend off blows. Dressed in sith robes his huge figure gave an imposing impression. He had his hood up like always so from the back you couldn't see much of his race.
With a belt wrapped around his waist, his hands were wrapped in white bandages, but that didn't cover up his 3 fingered hands. With a dark orange tinted skin color Xalek was a part of the Kaleesh Race. A war like race they value honor and the ability to fight.
They believe that when you get powerful enough in life you would become gods in death. He had joined up with Mace the same day Ashara joined. He had taken over his training until he had become a lord like the rest.
After his 5 year rest they had met back up on Ilum, the same place he buried his father. Watching the techniques displayed for a short while Mace felt his passion for battle ignite. As if sensing the unsaid challenge Xalek finally turned around his red eyes staring at him.
Ever so slowly Xalek placed the blade off to the side as he reached for his Lightsaber strapped to his waist. *Snap* *Hiss* Igniting the blade the dark red color combined with his large facial tusks and bone mask showed a fierce visage. It was hard to tell with the bone mask on but Mace could tell that he was smiling underneath.
He smiled in return as his eyes scanned the room looking for something in particular. Over on the right wall over a dozen lightsabers hung. Xalek had taken over the armory after coming aboard and spent lots of his time on the ship.
He had set up the wall to hang lightsabers to show off his trophies, some from Jedi, some from sith, and many from Zakuul. There were a multitude of different lightsabers that hung there. Reaching out with the force, one of the normal hilts flew over.
*Snap* *Hiss*
Both starred at each other before the fight began.
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"Hahaha" The deep baritone voice of Xalek sounded out as he sat down on one of the crates. Even with the injuries that littered his body he was in a happy mood. They couldn't go all out in the ship but it was a nice work out. There weren't many that could keep up with either of them.
Both didn't draw on the force while sparring, they only used their physical prowess. It was a way for them to relax. "It was good to spar with you once again Wrath!" *Clap* They both clasped hands in a show of honor and recognition.
"Always good to spare with you as well, Xivhkalrainik" It took a long time to learn how to pronounce his name, but Mace did it as a show of respect. *Clench* Their grip tightened for a few seconds before they let go.
Sitting down himself he waited for Xalek to speak. They had known each other long enough to know when he wanted to say something. Taking the queue Xalek spoke. "Master, I request that I have some time to visit my home world, Kalee." Mace didn't have to think before he responded. "You have permission to leave; you have served me well for so many years old friend."
Xalek gave a deep bow at the words, but Mace was wondering one thing. "Why do you want to return?" Rising from the bow Xalek clipped his Lightsaber back on his belt. "My Lord, we have both achieved the state of living godhood, our power unrivaled by most except those around us…"
He took a second to gather his thoughts before he finished. "My father already reached godhood when he died years ago, but that has left me as the only one left in my lineage. I plan to go back to find a mate, someone worthy to bare my progeny so that my line will live on. They will be powerful!"
Clenching his hand in excitement, as his eyes drifted off into space, it took a while for him to calm down. "Once that is accomplished I will have no worries left in this life. When I die and ascend to true godhood I will have made my ancestors proud and joined their ranks." Mace nodded in understanding before clasping his shoulder.
"I wish you the best Xalek, until we meet in battle once again." Xalek gave one last bow as Mace left. "As you say, My lord" Turning from him, he once again grabbed his ceremonial sword and began his training.