[u]Xid[/u]

Xid didn’t know what to expect when he was placed into the strange chamber but what he got was a hellish experience. No way to prepare for what was coming and braced his mind for it, nothing in his training that could’ve helped him through it. In only a short time what little sensation of time he had was gone. What bit he might’ve had now slipped beyond his understanding and ability to determine, made worse in his current predicament. For some reason, instinct or fear, his mind had set about to determine his own state of being. A task that was harder then he originally guessed it would’ve been. 

It started with the void where his senses should’ve been. Every surface within his cramp, little space felt exactly the same and prevented him from moving much. All around was a smooth flawless surface where he couldn’t grip or tell one area apart from another and soon enough, the sense of touch began to numb even to the air itself. His eyes saw only a continuous black, a darkness that clawed at his sight and unable to tell if his lids were open at all. It was frightening at first in words he couldn’t explain, Xid’s head quickly moved onto the next senses. Inwardly he was driven by his desperation to seek out anything to stop the drifting memories. Next was his mouth, dry and tasteless as he hadn’t eaten in days, once again resulting in another dead end. The Padawan inhaled, or at least he believed he did because of the lack of tight feeling within his chest, only to notice two dreadful things. Most notable was the silence seemed to have swallowed him up. The Padawan longed for another voice because his own seemed absorbed by his very cage and faded before it had begun. Lastly, his remaining hope and the final despise, he couldn’t smell anything. He couldn’t detect the stench he was sure he gave off or staleness air had when locked away in a box, nothing around him to distract his ever active mind. He knew he wasn’t dead. It meant he would’ve been one with the force and from tales he remembered, this experience was far from it.

It was just him and his mind… In this moment, he felt alone, weak and worse of all helpless. Easy prey. Sadly, the fear was not for the Sith but rather himself. Xid couldn’t tell if he was shaking when the memories finally started to consume his idled attention, merely that he had latched onto anything which would help keep his sanity. No matter how easily it would tear him apart inside.

Xid couldn’t fully understand why it had to be memories of [i]him[/i], what reasoning had driven the young Padawan’s thoughts to dare to tread there and once more fully experience the misery brought by them. The only thing he knew inside was that he was forced to endure it. The first memory began two years ago before Sela and he returned to Coruscant, on a planet called Belsavis.

Xid followed closely behind Master Sela, his form bundled up head to toe in thick winter coats and heavy boots clicked upon the hard flooring. Like his body, his eyes darted about and watched eagerly between the ancient droids who floated around the pair as if they weren’t there and the surrounding sights. Instantly the young boy had to grind to a stop when a droid darted across his path, seemingly ignorant of his presence, on route to complete daily tasks. He knew the droids had been informed they were here and allowed or they would’ve been attacked on arriving. It had been a few hours since their ship was docked in the bay, landed within another part of the faculty and locked down for their stay’s duration. 

His body still fixed in place, he recalled what he knew about the area. The planet was called Belsavis, a frozen ice world with a few places that weren’t covered by ice and snow. Those areas were affected by technology which created biome pockets unaffected by the natural chill on the planet’s surface. Currently, he continued, this area was referred to by the droids as a high maximum security vault, designed and housed much of the non-human prisoners, each jail cells set to accommodate each species’ independent requirements for living. His sight then shifted towards each nearby individual cell and curiously glimpsed the creatures within. Animals from Rancors to other bizarre and unidentifiable species seemed well settled in their habitats. Their forms flittered across the artificial landscapes easily adapted to their own traits while many different sounds filled the area, calls both strange and unique filled Xid’s ears causing him to just to listen. 

“Xid, you’re falling behind. It isn’t a good idea to dwell in one place, at least not until after we reach our destination first.” Sela’s words echoed back, her voice firm and reasonable, had broken the short lived spell over him. 

Quickly Xid turned on heel and darted after his master, his hand shuffled through his blond hair in a guilt gesture as his feet dashed across the hall. In a short time, he brought himself to her side and easily slipped into the steady pace she set. For every step she took, he ended up taking two while questions popped out his mind into his voice. “Master, why are we here? You mentioned very little and the fact it involved a connection with technology and the force. What does a prison have to do with that? And why are there animals here instead of prisoners?” 

Underneath the same wintery coat and layers, Jedi Master Sela had on the basic and simple rode worn by all those within the Jedi order as her hands were held deeply within the sleeves enhancing her calm look. To him, she was an idea imagine of a Jedi, something that quickly drew his respect when he was selected to be her Padawan. Though she turned to Xid when his questions started to rise, her mind easily navigated the endless twists and turns within the halls. She continued to lead herself and Xid through the passages, answering him with a mild chuckle.

“Filled with so many questions Xid? Sometimes watching and observing is the best teacher, one you can learn much from. Something I thought you would’ve realized by now.” She gently chided him, her words continued. “However, I will satisfy some of your curiosity merely to ease the building need to know something.” 

They turned again, nearly missed a droid, when they entered a straight path where their destination lied at the end. Instead of the calm and entrancing sounds the prior cells had, these were dead silent. Each prisoner within had been locked in stasis, a long sleep, from which only their mind was active and ever alerted to the activities around them. Rarely any droids passed through this area as none of the cellmates required care within their hibernation, their bodies frozen and kept alive by the stasis process itself. This caused Xid’s eyes to flicker towards a single one causally to spot another strange creature he couldn’t place. They seemed more plentiful within this certain section then the other, at least some of the earlier cells had creatures he could’ve placed thanks to the Jedi Archives readings and his own encounters but not a single animal did he recognize here. He shuddered to consider what it was like for those trapped here and forced the thought out, his desire to be rid of the feeling quick had him focus on Sela’s conversation.
 
“We are assigned here due to your ability with the force. There is technology upon this planet that is rather old and date far back to an unsettling time. The technology left behind has properties that relate in a connection between one’s force and technology. An area you’re very adapt in Xid. The Jedi Order is hoping you can examine, study and possibly replicate the nature of this technology in hopes to improve the Republic’s weapons and aid the Jedi Order’s task in bring balance back to the Force. We can only hope it would be a means to end the war.” 

Xid’s expression seemed to become excited that soon faded into disappointment. This wasn’t what he expected as deep inside he wasn’t sure how to feel about it, his eyes lowered to the floor. Inside he mulled over the feelings. He over all hated the idea of bloodshed, especially when it something he built was the source of it, his feet continued to walk alongside her in utter silence. The only sounds were their boots echoing throughout the hall for some time before Sela once more called his attention. She seemed to have caught onto his feelings as she tried to ease them with her reasoning. 

 “War brings out the worst and best in everyone, a fact well proven by history, Padawan. To dwell too much on the choices before the knowledge is obtained isn’t helpful in deciding what to do with it. It just makes the task harder than it needs to be. Never doubt what we do as Jedi is to protect the galaxy, losing sight of that might lead you down the Dark Side.” She offered gently, the end of the hall almost on them as they passed the last cell on the right. 

Their journey to their quarters had been uneventful. At least until the moment Xid passed by a cell panel and the item clicked, its green light turned red suddenly. An earsplitting alarm blared shattered the prison’s quiet and flooded the air around them. His hands shoved over his ears, a vain barrier against the pain laced within his hearing, his teeth gritted against the noise. Xid’s wide eyes turned to seek out the cause for the disturbance as his voice tried to reach his master. “What’s going on? What’s happened?” 

He never got the chance to hear her reply. 

Xid felt something wrap about his body, his arms struggled only to be pinned to his and held fast. Fear and surprise flooded Xid. His head tiled down to spot the green thing around his waist which trapped him. The Padawan’s head jerked up to see Sela’s hand reach for her light saber, the green light flickered on and her body fell into her usual stance to attack. He didn’t have much time to dwell on how to release himself when pain popped through his brain. It started from where his neck and shoulder connected then set his body on fire. Several needlelike teeth pressed into the skin, their points drew the warm sensation of his blood. Muscles and flesh held in the thing’s mouth for a moment, his wound burned like acid embedded within. He started to shudder violently. His body’s senses felt slightly numb as his scream choked within his throat. The thing’s tail released followed leaving his face locked in utter horror when he fell the short distance upon his knees. Behind him, he caught an inhuman howl wail in fury. Xid was when his hands and knees when the tail smacked into his side, the attack had sent him slamming into the nearest wall. Immediately the wind completely knocked out of him. 

His neck bled out, his ribs cracked and slowly recovering from the shock, Xid was forced to watch the [url= http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/Kahhon/beast.jpg]beast[/url] closed in on Sela. If hadn’t attacked him and now threatened to tear his master to pieces than Xid might’ve thought it was interesting and impressive. Its hide, littered by faded scars, was a dark green with black and yellow stripes as it raised the crest upon its head and revealed the red webbing with each hiss. The creature’s size was about that of large tiger like beast he saw when researching Tattooine, the movements predatory and aggressive. Quickly Sela opened her palm to the animal to link with the beast’s mind. Inside Xid hoped it would’ve work, only to see slightly confusion on the master’s face, her hand pulled back instantly when the creature’s claws tried to rip it off. It seemed her effort only angered it. 

The first to arrive on the scene were two droids. Their presence earned the beast’s attention, its howl erupted once more. Not heeded the warning, the first droid rushed in to subdue but ended up being shoved into a wall by a tail. It dented the armor easily. Not wasting too much time, its fore hands held the droid in place, the head pulled back and tossed forwards. Once, twice and three times the hard head butted the droid’s metal brain in. The outside caved in while gears, wiring and more were then gripped and jerked out remorselessly. It disabled the droid easily, now just a metal husk that it casted away. The second droid had drawn in during the scrap. A suicide mission it seemed as it slammed into the beast, its hands gripped the underbelly and sent a shockwave through the prisoner’s body. Another howl, frustrated and pained to Xid’s ears, echoed through the halls. 

Meanwhile, Sela had made her way towards her Padawan. She keeled over his crumbled body, her fingers pressed to his neck and checked for vital signs. Xid weakly smirked, his arms pushed him upright to sit up. Blood soaked through his shredded robe but thankfully most the flesh was there. He still throbbed from something which raced in his veins, each one felt hot and feverish, his eyes turned to watch the beast tear the droid apart with ease. It seemed to know the droid’s weak points all too well he noted quickly.

 “What is that thing?” Xid asked in a raspy voice. 

“Something that was left behind and we need to get it back into its cage.” Sela answered him. Her head darted to the cell and then returned back to Xid, helping him to his feet. “I’m going work on that. Can you close the door again?”

“I think so…Something doesn’t feel right. I think it crushed some of my ribs.” Xid observed through his gritted teeth, his mind unable to push away the pain. His hand used the wall for support, the other cradled his ribcage where the throbbing was strongest, when his master finally let go when she was sure he could stand upright. 

The monster had been dismantling droids left and right the whole time yet its movement became tepid. It's already high adrenaline drained somewhat in its rampage. Sela took the opportunity. She stepped away from Xid, her hand held out and Force Pushed a droid’s hollow shell at it. The metal case bounced off its target easily causing it to pause. It's beady eyes darkened, the head turned to the Jedi and was followed by a low hiss. The beast rose to all fours, then started it's attack. It nimbly strayed in and out of Sela’s light saber’s strike while the master tried to severe the tail or arm, each time she fought to keep a fixed distance between her and her opponent. Xid crept towards the panel, his head so often trailed to the pair that danced about. Each attacked and retreated over and over, their opposing strengths almost matched equally in combat. Finally Sela positioned the beast just in front of the cell. Its body pulled upright and ready to lounge at Sela’s exposed side. Instead she placed all her concentration within a Force Push, her aim thrown at its feet. The unexpected attack and power was enough. It knocked the creature off balance, sending it right into the cell at the moment Xid’s hand pressed the panel. The high energy buzz came on, trapped the beast within. At its frustrated cries and roars the Padawan knew his task was done. Once more he felt his form give out from under him, the youth collapsed where he stood. His mind numb to the pain on impact and his master’s rush towards him, her shouts drowned out by the darkness which filled his vision until it swallowed him up. 

Naturally when the memory ended, his mind returned to his status. Nothing had changed. He still was as numb and dead as before, the realization had caused him to drift in another escape. This one dated slight a few weeks later after he was attacked, his body recovered from some pathogen left in the attack and finally discovered the origins of a mysterious voice. It turned out the voice belonged to the creature responsible, locked away in a new habitat within the first cell blocks. 

Xid watched the creature in his new cell. The habitat was a hot and humid setting, tropical in natural with ambiance in the background similar to the planet it was based off of. A planet name Xid didn’t know or could remember. The beast shifted to sit upright and merely stared off into space, its hands sat upon its hind legs and balanced by the tail that curved beside it. To anyone else, the animal had seemed to be grunting and growling to itself but to Xid, each sound was actually a word he understood. The Padawan was stunned to hear the mumbling go on as the creature talked to itself. 

“Why did the Rakata send humans to retrieve me? After they had just sent me into sleep, why now? It makes no sense unless they wanted to kill me and the humans didn’t.” Something seemed to click in the creature’s brain, his mind leap from one topic to another rapidly. “How did they open it at all? The panels are only attuned to force sensitive beings but the one I fought...She did have force abilities but none that dealt with force technologies, not the right type. That would’ve made her Force Hound material, not a guard or common labor slave. She should’ve been out seeking new worlds for them, not here. Why here? Doesn’t make sense…What date is it? How long have I’ve been asleep, it couldn’t be for too long, could it?” 

After listening unintentionally to the creature’s ramblings, Xid thought it was ideal to make his presence known. He stepped closer to the energy barrier and spoke in a gentle voice, his wariness still clear since after the attack. “Hello. Can you understand me?” 

The beast’s body stiffened at Xid’s question. It stood there, immobile for a moment or two, inwardly seemed to debate on its course of action. Finally, the animal moved again and twisted its head to look upon him. Xid couldn’t help but strange awe at seeing the creature react, his ears caught the words answering his question. 

“Yes… I can. Who are you? Why have the Rakata sent you to me and for what purpose? It can’t be a social or curious desire that they want to see me, so do not lie to me.” It growled defensively. 

Xid’s head tilted like before at the mention of the Rakata, never heard of such a race. He calmly continued the conversation in a hope to satisfy his growing curiosity and maybe gather some answers to why this creature had acted so brashly towards them. From the impression he gathered, it seemed there might’ve been some misunderstanding. It had assumed he was aligned with another race. It was odd to see the creature acting so different from the violent and vicious monster he encountered on arrival.At this, more questions seemed to seed and take root within him. Xid started to let his guard down a little upon believing it might be possible to reason with such a being, if he could only understand it. “My name is Xid Terrik and currently, I’m a Jedi Padawan. I’ve never met or heard of these Rakata you speak of. My master and I were sent by the Jedi Order to examine technology upon this world left behind. Is the Rakata whom is responsible for the technology here, did they create it?” 

The creature blinked his small eyes, unsure how to take this new wave of information then broke out into a harsh, inhuman laugh. “Never heard of the Rakata? The Infinite Empire whose claws reach many planets and enslave many, how can you not have heard of them? They are the masters of the galaxy. Cruel and vicious, leaving most planets in ruins and many enslaved to their sick, twisted wills.” 

Its chuckles slowly died at the expression on Xid’s face, realizing the boy was serious. Leaning into the energy door the being took a long look at the Padawan. The stare was hard enough to send small shivers along Xid's back until the creature spoke again. It didn’t take long for the being to note there was nothing to indicate a lie within Xid’s words. “You’re not lying. Interesting that you’re ignorant to their existence and the misery they’ve spread over the worlds. Before I answer any of your questions, I have one more of mine that I hope you’ll answer. What is the current year?” 

Xid answered simply, "Ummm.... I think the republic's been around over 21,000 years."

“That long…and you’ve never heard of the Rakata. Does that mean it worked?” The later part the creature mumbled more to its then Xid. There was a slight astonishment, its head turned back to the wall and stood there lost after the delivered news. 

Apprehension filled Xid at seeing the creature’s subtle change, his voice reached out. “What is your name?” 

“Ithor Maelstrom, a former human from Coruscanti.” Ithor replied, his words turned to a mild amusement at the Padawan’s bewildered look when he mentioned being once human. “It’s true, though I can’t blame you for not taking my word. It is hard to believe from my current…state. It has been a long time since I’ve had someone understand me and brave enough to engage in a chit chat with me. Most don’t understand me or end up dying after being bitten since the poison affects the language center of the nervous system, namely in its rewriting process.” 

Ithor paused, his head shifted to look at his claws as his tail lazily flickered like a cat. “Rest assured I’m telling you the truth of what I was once. So I hope you’ll be satisfied with that.” 

“It is hard to believe.” Xid walked to the wall, his back followed it down while he folded his leg underneath. In his sitting position, his head rest against the hard surface and he continued the chat with this strange prisoner. “Yet I get the feeling you’re telling the truth. What could you gain by lying to me? Nothing while in a cell as I don’t know how I released. I don't even know how I did it before.” 

“I can shed some light on that. The panel reacted to your Force energy, which means it has to be technologically in tune, is it not?” 

Xid was surprised when Ithor had guessed his talent right. His face must have showed it well enough because the prisoner seemed amused, the barking laugh vibrated off even the hallways. 

“You have an interesting talent, one the Rakata prized and feared within me once. You seem to lack confidence in your abilities, but let me assure you: it will get you farther here then you might believe.” He took a deep breath and changed his topic. “To answer you earlier question about if the Rakata was responsible for this place, it is yes. They built it to keep their failures and little pet projects in one place. Had I known you and your Master wasn’t connected to them then I never would’ve attacked. No serious injuries, I hope?” 

Xid thought he heard Ithor’s inquiry hold a distinct concern for his well being. On noting this, the Padawan’s hands folded up into his lap then fiddled at the sleeve edge out of habit. The creature was nice and polite enough, but he couldn’t forget that Ithor was a prisoner here. For some reason in his past, Ithor was placed here to rot by these Rakata and remained here for apparently a long time. It had to be for something terrible, didn’t it? The absence of knowledge about those reasons seemed to cause guilt. It worsened into a war between what his master might think and the idea of just turning his back on a possible victim. Xid’s knuckles tightened in his inner conflict, his mind jerked away when Ithor’s voice spoke again. 

“Xid? Please, don’t stop talking to me. It’s been too long, many thousands of years to be accurately guessed, since I’ve actually talked to someone other than myself. I didn’t mean to upset you...” 

The Padawan thought he heard a small hint of fear within Ithor’s last reply, his heart slightly hurt to know that. He once more started to talk. “I’m sorry, I was being rude. No, you didn’t hurt me too bad. I was just out for a few weeks was all and currently there seems to be nothing permanently damaged.” 

Ithor’s tone sounded relieved. “I am truly glad to hear this. As I said, it was mistake. I was merely defending myself against what I thought was the Rakata. Had I known what you were then it never would’ve happen that way.” A bitter tone was added to the next bit while Ithor seemed to reflect back. “It seems I’ve become the monster the Rakata wanted me to be sadly despite my efforts to resist.” 

“What happened to you?” 

Xid heard the creature find a comfortable spot, his body shifted to lie against the warm ground. His head faced the cell door, his eyes steadily fixed upon where the boy was now on the wall's other side. “My story isn’t a pretty one, young Terrik, but if you want to know and have time then I’m willing to share.” 

“Even if it was a short one, I would still like to hear it. I can’t understand some of the things you’re telling me unless I know your past, how you came to be like this. Maybe then I can decide on my own and how to help you.” Xid’s fingers had stop picking at his robes, his body settled for what he expected to be a long story. “I have the time and it’s nice to have met you Ithor Maelstrom.” Xid’s voice sounded cheerful and polite, far calmer then before. 

The Padawan didn’t spot the wicked smirk that passed along the creature’s mouth when he answered. “I am too, young Xid Terrik. More than you can ever know.” 

The second memory was the first time he officially saw Ithor to be something more than animal, something human. A mistake he should’ve known better than to make. Stuck in utter darkness, Xid hadn't be able to stop the memories from surfacing yet currently only two so far had struck him the hardest. Inside, he wanted to kick, scream or even tear the hair from his head, leaving his scalp a bleeding mess. Anything to keep him from reliving that time and finding those clues he should’ve seen much sooner. He didn’t want to feel this again. None of the joy or happiness as it just made how it ended that much worse. The pain, the sadness, and most of the hate he swore were forgotten had now renewed that bitterness towards the creature who called himself a friend. Betrayal hurt most when Xid thought he should’ve known better. Eventually his mental begging had ceased and his mind had sank into only the first year of memories by the time the fourth day had drawn to a close within the Sensory Deprivation chamber.

At first he wasn’t sure if was it a trick of his mind or reality when the first sense had awaken. It was a single sound, soft and faint, that drew his mind to the present. His ears latched onto the foreign noise which drew louder with each step towards his cramp prison. Xid’s mind drifted outwards to seek the origins before his vision turned red, light suddenly hit the eyelids and burned him enough to flinch away. A rough, gravelly voice ordered him to rise only to have owner be met by the Padawan’s squinted eyes. Inside, the understanding the words seemed to have had troubling reaching Xid as he had lethargically pushed out of the chamber’s space. His mind was already trying to deal with the senses return, they had been overwhelming to him. He grimaced at the pins and needles racing up and down his muscles thanks to the long time spend in one position. The leg lifted gingerly to rest outside where his weight threatened to collapse it. At some point the trooper sent to put him back had gotten impatient. A hand jerked he the rest of the way out where he nearly lost balance, his body managed to remain standing against the treatment that almost sent him face first into the floor. The trip to his cell wasn’t any better. The whole time his senses were taking their sweet time to resort themselves and hindering his chance to memorize the path, while they wasted little time in disposing of their unwanted burden. 

Finally at the Cells, the last finally caused Xid to trip over the door’s threshold. Pain, intense and sensitivity increased, racked his side upon impact. The Padawan couldn’t help the soft groan which escaped him. His body curled into a ball, his vision still stinging like fire nested within the eyeballs, tried to closed himself off to his surroundings. Ears set to right themselves after the utter silence but each little sound seemed like it had been magnified to a painful degree. For a time he just wanted to stay like that. Never to move or face eventually what would come for him. The Sith wouldn’t leave him alone for long, that much he was certain of and dreaded it more now than before. He just wanted to let his mind and body right itself once more to a familiar state, a better one. 

For a time, Xid just laid there until he found the strength to rise and moved back to his cell in silence.