[Firestorm] - Bentre Kairn’tel Stahoes & Janos Breaker

As the time of our assault on the Dominion world of Agua’tah draws near, you and a partner - among other teams - have been assigned the task of destroying hydroponics facilities on the world’s surface. This will disrupt their food supply and distract them from our main assault.

However, we have a secondary objective, for your eyes only…

With the Grand Master’s recent campaign against undesirables and Jedi, the clan has suffered from the vocalness of Jedi sympathizers in our ranks and we now believe that the Inquisitorious has sent agents into our ranks in order to search for them. We cannot overstate the danger this puts Sadow in.

We suspect that your partner may be a Jedi sympathizer or loyal to the Inquisitorious. You are to discover the truth and confront them, if necessary.

This is a joint fiction competition. Members will sign up individually via the google form at this location and be paired randomly with another member. Each pairing will have their own Discourse thread made by one of the competition organizers. Each individual member must make at least two posts. Judging criteria will follow the Fiction Grading Rubric, but also take into consideration the flow of the story between posts. The rubric remains the same, but we will consider this factor when looking at realism and story.

Each pair will place together, so 1st place will be two members, 2nd place will be two members, etc.

Additional Rules:

Each post must contain a minimum of 250 words
No back to back posting by the same member
This competition will run for the entirety of the event, from March 10th-31st.

Good luck!

As the din of battle fell away and the rush of adrenaline passed, the Equite looked to his compatriot. Bentre knew what his orders had entailed. He was supposed to uncover the traitors to the Iron Throne, and deliver them to justice. Those hadn’t been the exact words given, but Stahoes knew more than well enough the Grand Master didn’t plan to spend much time messing with those he labeled enemies.

The Obelisk, the Krath, the aliens, and the Jedi had shown that clearly enough. Still, he had to keep some appearance of adherence to the commands he was given. His acts, as terrible as they had been put him into a better position to act with his conscience. He could not afford to look as though he were lax in his duty. At the very least, he needed to know where the Novitate stood.

He could never feel quite at ease with his Clan in these dark times. There were those, like Sang who wore their true allegiances on their sleeves. There were others like the Long family, Macron Goura and the Clan’s Rollmaster who still begged a question in his mind. At times he even looked at Locke and wondered how the man really felt. Still, he feared that asking too many questions would draw the wrong kinds of attention to him. Drawing himself up as he walked slowly toward Braker, the question came to the forefront of his mind again.

Where did this Sith stand? With the madness of the Grand Master or the madness of those who resisted him? How indoctrinated are people in these days?

“So, where do you stand?” Bentre found the words falling from his lips before he could draw them back. “If the Grand Master gave the direct order to kill our Proconsul, how quickly will you draw your blaster, Proselyte? Will your hand waver if duty calls?”

Janos was momentarily taken aback by the forwardness of the question. Apparently this one had gotten the same orders as he had. Why bother with the secrecy then? Not for the first time he found himself questioning the orders of his superiors. In his mind he knew what he wanted and he knew what he needed, and as rarely as those things coincided with the orders of his higher ups, they proved to be a fortuitous means to an end.
“I gather by the question that you got the same orders that I did. One of us is weak in his resolve. Let me assure you of one thing so that we may go about the more important part of this mission: my loyalty is first to myself, second to my Master and third to the Brotherhood and all it entails. I would kill you and anyone else if it brought me closer to my goals. I have fought alongside Jedi, Sith and the undecided alike, and I find no fault in having more samples to work with. I know why I’m here. I know my reason for fighting. Can you say the same?”
Not waiting for an answer, Janos activated the systems in his helmet. His HUD quickly tagged their objective in the distance. Externally the Novitate was still and ready as he began to scout the possible defenses between the landing zone and the target. Internally, he was monitoring his partner with the Force, ready to strike or defend himself if need be. All of this was an unwelcome distraction from his pet project and he greatly resented the need to do all this. Yet here he stood, and for a moment the puzzled him.

What kind of a fool did I get paired with? Bentre looked out at the landing zone, puzzled. Is he being serious with this whole “I am loyal to myself” non-answer poodoo?

“I know why I fight,” Bentre’s voice was low as he stepped up beside his fellow Sith. Though he made no outward show of aggression, there was a hint of threat in the tone. “Though you may want to be cautious with accusations of weak resolve, kid. At the end of the day, my family and Clan are the most important thing. I am not going to let outside threats dissuade me from that duty. Grand Master be damned. Sith be damned. Jedi be damned. Hell, even the Force itself be damned.”

The Corellian looked out of the corner of his eye at the Proselyte. “You claim your first loyalty is to yourself? Fair enough. Every Sith chooses his own path, and so I can respect that much.” The Equite fingered his lightsaber with a grimace. “A word to the wise, though? You shouldn’t make threats toward the people who can snap you in half.”

Braker looked at the Sith for a moment before turning his attention back to the landing zone. Bentre raised his lightsaber, his finger hovering over the activation switch. “Part of my protecting my Clan would be to eliminate any loose cannons that I encounter, just the same as I might end the life of any Dominion soldier stupid enough to try and go toe to toe with me. So the real question here is once we return to Sepros, are you going to cry to the Grand Master if you think it might give you some favor in his eyes? Are you going to fight against him? I understand your fear to choose sides, though. Fear is a powerful motivator. I suppose some Sith choose to hide in the shadows and let the world pass them by instead of manipulating it themselves.” Stahoes chuckled as he shook his head slowly. “As for me, I am going to get closer, and inflict some change and chaos while I gather intel. Sure, that can work sometimes. This time though, I am not going to stick to the shadows like that. If you want to join in, come along and you might prove your worth.”

Janos laughed, really laughed for the first time since he was a small boy. It was a deep belly laugh that sounded rather awkward translated through the comms of his helmet. After a moment he mastered his reaction.
“I know exactly what you are capable of ‘Mighty One”. I also know the threat you pose to me should you choose. My stock in trade is not the brutish culture, popular with most of our kind. Since I am at your tender mercies, I’ll fill you in on why I am more valuable alive.”
Janos turned to look at Bentre, his hands at his sides and waited. The other Sith’s body language showed obvious annoyance and a willingness to listen.
“Make it quick. We have work to do and I need to figure out how hard I should try to keep you alive.”
Janos bowed just low enough for to not be a mocking gesture. “Do you know what a Sith Leviathan is, or was? A reptilian being that never stopped growing with armored hide thick enough to turn lightsabers and make most blaster weapons useless. It had claws sharp enough to rend tank armor. But the best part about them was they when they ate a living thing they kept it alive in a blister on their backs until they absorbed everything the victim knew. The Dark Exiles birthed these creatures for their wars. I aim to resurrect and perfect them. Now imagine a force with hundreds or thousands of these at their command. Such knowledge that could be recorded and gained! Imagine after the dust settles a galaxy that was equal in all things. It would make the conflict you are so concerned with……pointless.”

Bentre listened and was shocked. “This idiot is completely stark raving mad!”

Braker took off towards the objective at a Force enhanced speed. “Come on Great One. We have work to do to bring glory to our mutual lords and Masters.”