Chapter 1: Plans

Consul's Office Temple of Sorrow Sepros

The first thing Locke noticed was that Sang kept the office much more well-lit than Locke had. Whereas the previous Consul had preferred dim lighting, Sang preferred brighter, warm lights. They provided a stark contrast to the dark, almost black coloring of the floors and walls.

"Did you get these lights from Malik?" Locke asked, gesturing to the new lamps in the ceiling. "They look like something you would find in a greenhouse, rather than an office."

Sang smiled. "They'll have to do for now. I couldn't have those depressing lights you used."

Locke merely chuckled, or forced himself to. It was difficult to express any emotion, deeply immersed in the dark side as he was. He took a seat near the Consul's desk, slowly relaxing his hold on the power. It dissipated a bit, the pain in his back returning, as if it had been numb this whole time. The dark side beckoned, just out of sight. It already seemed like an old friend.

"Why did you call me here?" Locke asked, his voice sounding more normal as he relaxed.

"As you know," Sang began, "pirates were recently driven off Aeotheran."

"Ah," Locke said, "I believe the Summit has found their space station and are planning an assault soon."

"Indeed, and that's the problem," Sang said, smiling slightly.

Locke wasn't sure if he was making a joke. "Problem?" he asked.

Sang took a seat across from Locke, sighing as he sat down. "We lost a lot of soldiers driving them off Aeotheran."

Locke nodded slowly. He was aware of the loss of life. "It seems our new leaders are a little...frivolous with our soldiers' lives," he answered. He never felt bad about speaking frankly to Sang. They had been through a lot.

The Consul nodded. "It was not necessary, and that's why I want you to lead our operation against the pirate base."

"Oh, I don't know," Locke said, injecting a bit of sarcasm in his voice, "I don't think the House leaders will appreciate that…"

"They won't have a choice," Sang said. "I don't want us losing any more troops until we have to. And I know you and I see eye to eye on the value of their lives."

"Right," Locke agreed. At first, he was hesitant to do this, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get back into action. The dark side had given him a gift, he would not squander it.

"I'll do it, but they're likely to have a heavily-defended station. I'll need help."

Sang cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, don't give me that look. I'm just going to call in a friend."

Location: Redacted Ship: Unidentified C-ROC Gozanti Cruiser Somewhere in the Orian System

Eww, more of those lights, Locke thought as he walked along a narrow corridor on the freighter. Maybe Sang really did get them from Malik.

Malik's ship didn't have an official name in the Clan's registry. It's location wasn't even officially listed. Locke had only been able to locate it because he had been given the coordinates at a prior date.

Why so secretive, Malik? He wondered.

He didn't ask, however. Locke was here to get the Neti's help, not to question his secrets.

"So, will you do it?" Locke asked.

Malik's Neti body made even Locke feel short. He loomed over the Augur, but somehow, did not seem threatening. Locke thought it might be for more reason than that they had worked together so much in the past. Something about Malik just made others feel at ease.

I don't sense the dark side around him at all, Locke thought. It was strange. In most Sadowans, it was quiet, but there. In Malik, it just...was not.

"I'll help," The Neti said in his strange, rumbling voice. "But how are we going to take command. Are we just going to walk in and say "Hi, we're the Sons of Sadow, this is our operation now"?"

Locke stopped, leaning against a bulkhead, releasing his hold on the dark side slightly. He winced, but it was necessary if he was able to show any emotion. He forced a grin. "Actually, I was thinking you would do that, while I would be in my ship."

"I see," Malik said. "You have a lot of faith in me."

"An Elder, a Son of Sadow, and a known war hero? Mention the Crusade and people start telling stories about you. I don't think you'll have a problem."

"And where will you be?" Malik rumbled.

"I'll be meeting with our enemy. Come on, I'll lay it all out for you."

For the Full Fiction to end our month out click here. And thanks to Locke for allowing me to use his submission for Station Assault as our final fiction. I couldn't have done it any better myself. He really outdid himself for this.

https://discourse.darkjedibrotherhood.com/t/pirates-of-the-aeotheran/1687/3

Overall we didn’t have many submissions but a total of 13 people did participate from the clan and I thank everyone of you for your help and efforts. As you have been waiting for them the results are as followed for the competition.

Erik - 1st - 24 points

Sang - 2nd - 20 points

Locke - 3rd - 14 points

Shimura - 4th - 11 points

Evelynn - 5th - 8 points

Lilith - 6th - 6 points

Tasha - 7th - 5 points

Aul Celsus - 8th - 4 points

Bentre - 9th - 3 points

Kojiro, Firith'rar, Darkhawk, Marcinius - 10th - 1 point

With his win Erik has won the honor of helping Evelynn and I come up with our next prompt for Shar Dakhan’s story and even help with the beginning fiction if he so chooses. Congratulations Erik!

Well it’s been a fun month guys and now we have Abomination to get ready for. Let’s get out there and make our clan better than this so that we can win the Great Jedi War.