Post #II - Subject: Shaa Kune

"Fell Rain"As Written by the Luminescent Fool

Somewhere on the Surface of Dxun
Approximately 3650 BBY


It was a simple matter of focus – the ability to decipher what was real from the imagined. Or sometimes just being able to reach deep inside one’s self and summon an air of sanity in an immobilizing storm of madness.

Focus, Shaa Kune thought behind closed eyes. That was the key - he had to focus.

Every part of him ached, inside and out. Despite this fact, he held a calm composure. He was seated on the floor of his sleeping quarters with his legs crossed in front of him. His breathing was quiet and regulated as he attempted to center himself.

Behind him, the mat of his bunk was sunken in and quite flat. The only light able to reach his place of solitude came from a shattered window in the larger, adjoining room. Regardless, he felt safer where he knew he was alone and had no chance of harming anyone due to his current state.

When the Praetorian-class frigate, Fell Rain, had first crash-landed on the planet moon of Dxun, there were minimal casualties. Admiral Nar Crath, the ship’s commander, had previously been sent on a mission to collect some ancient archeological finds near the Japrel sector. The operation was an amazing success and their cargo holds were loaded with supplies and their bounty.

Unfortunately, they suffered a surprise attack by pirates almost immediately after completing their mission. They were left crippled and robbed of almost everything they’d recovered from the site. And, since the pirates had felt inclined to destroy their communications equipment, they were unable to radio for help. A month later they drifted unnoticed beyond the far side of Onderon and crash-landed into the dense jungles of Dxun.

Admiral Crath and his first officer had both been mortally wounded in the pirate attack. Thus, command fell to an inexperienced man by the name of Omundson. He immediately ordered the dispatch of a scout team whose job was to locate a nearby town or village. Due to the fact that the planet was inhabited by a number of dangerous creatures, the team was never heard back from. Or…that was the assumption of Shaa, anyway.

At that point in time, he had been what he considered to be a normal, sane human being. Sadly, it was only a matter of days after the crash that the first of the crew – an engineer if he remembered correctly - went on a crazed shooting spree, claiming that he saw something that no one else did. That was only the beginning of something much bigger and deadlier.

Now, Shaa was all that remained of the Fell Rain’s crew. Whatever it was that had affected them was late in affecting him. So, in an act of cowardice, he hid himself away in a compartment in the cargo hold while the rest of the crew turned on one another or threw themselves from the ship to land in the jungle below.

It was a completely and utterly horrifying thing. By the time the last of the crew had finally gone, his mind began to be affected. He could recall in clarity running through the empty ship, firing off a blaster while being chased by hideous monsters that weren’t there. He heard the voices that told him to throw himself from the ship. The mutilated bodies of his fellow crewman would sometimes even reanimate to keep him company.

Somehow he made it through. But he was far from having control over this mysterious ailment that plagued his mind. Even now, in the adjacent room he could feel the shadow of something bolt from one place to another. He just ignored it and continued his meditation. He focused instead upon the quiet of the room and held his face upward ever so slightly.

It was then that he suddenly became aware of a powerful presence. When he let his eyes slide open, there was a figure standing directly in front of him. The face of the woman standing before him was very familiar. Hers was the only source of comfort in the hallucinations.

She stooped down upon her knees and leaned in close until the tip of her nose nearly touched his. There was a sense of urgency and genuine concern in her eyes. She reached up and touched his face, whispering something.

As with her other brief appearances, she spoke in a language that he could not understand and had not yet been able to identify. This time was different, though. She spoke in a tone that hinted that his life depended upon the comprehension of her words.

She repeated herself and then, as suddenly as she had come, she was gone.

With some purpose, Shaa rose to his full height and angled his gaze beyond the sanctuary that he had created.  In a few careful steps, he navigated the cluttered, dirty surface and found himself where the shadows roamed freely.  They could not hold him in this place anymore.

She, the woman in white, wanted him to leave the Fell Rain. Now.

Post #I - Subject: Ra Rhodes

"The Beginning"
As Written by the Luminescent Fool



The small Tatooine settlement of Anchorhead needed only one cantina. Not two. And, in Ra Rhodes opinion, things would be getting back to normal soon enough. The latest establishment was being tentatively called The Hammerhead. And its Ithorian owner had only recently declared the place open for business. That, of course, didn't mean that the building was new. Or that it was clean either.

Then again, who was Ra to judge the place by its obviously decaying exterior? This was only the first time he'd been here. And from his concealed position up in the cantina's nearly inaccessible loft, he wasn't actually interacting with the barkeep or the Hammerhead's random smattering of patrons. He was far too busy trying to keep his position hidden, while also keeping an eye out for a certain, elusive trader. If his intel was correct, the trader was going to be walking through the door at any moment.

Maybe this would be the day. He let a restrained sigh escape his throat. Once this was all over, perhaps some light would finally be cast upon the darkness that veiled the earlier days of his life. The thought amused him. A man with even a nominal amount of sense would know better than to chase the answers he sought. But that was just him – the fool. He needed things to be clear…if only to still the demons inside for but a moment’s time.

Ra closed his eyes and tried to relax his body using an echani meditation technique a friend had taught him after the accident. His body had been so horribly ravaged then that he’d been open to about anything to quiet the pain. Severe head trauma had rendered him amnesic as well, and he could only remember from that point forward. That was thirteen years ago.

He pushed the past back where it belonged and attempted to regain concentration. Leaving his eyes closed, he took in a deep breath and caught a whiff of the Hammerhead's cheap, signature brew. The stark, acrid smell nearly choked him. He caught himself, of course. The last thing he wanted to do was alert the entire establishment of his presence…especially after having been perched up in the building's stuffy loft for nearly seven hours. He was going to get through this - whatever the cost.

A change in atmosphere caused Ra to abruptly shift his focus. His eyes opened and he noticed that a figure had appeared in the entrance. For a moment, he thought perhaps all his waiting had finally paid off. He even went so far as to slide his blaster from its holster and disengage the safety. But...it turned out to be a false alarm. The newcomer, a slender twi'lek female, strode gracefully forward and looked around the small cantina, as if searching for someone. She smiled and nodded an unspoken hello to the few curious patrons who'd stopped what they were doing to cast a lingering glance her way. Ra actually thought if he were down there, he might've gone out of his way to talk to the girl. But as things stood, he could only trace her movement across the room.

He watched as she stopped at the bar and said something in her native tongue. The Ithorian shrugged his heavy shoulders and indicated that he didn't understand. She smiled politely in response and spoke in basic, asking about a man she was looking for.

Ra relaxed back into his alcove and listened to the girl's smooth, quiet voice as she spoke. She giggled every so often as she described what was shaping up to be a human male with some military experience. She went on with the man's description for another few minutes before he came to the sudden realization that she was describing…him. He scrambled as quietly as he could back to the ledge.

"Ra Rhodes," she was pronouncing slowly while she showed a hologram to the barkeep. He pointed her in the direction of a man in the far corner who shared some of Ra's features. She touched the Ithorian's hand, sporting a wry grin and whispered, "Thank you."

By this point, Ra was nearly ready to jump down from his hiding place and point her in the direction of the real Ra Rhodes. But, she was already tapping the shoulder of the man before he could do anything too rash.

The scruffy, yellow-toothed Ra imposter reluctantly tore his attention from his drink and swiveled his head around. In some form of martial art, she hit the man square in the face. The strike landed with a cruel crack that knocked the guy out cold and sent his head to land hard upon the table he was sitting at. Not missing a beat, she reached down and caught a wad of the now-unconscious man’s hair, pulling his face into view. A look of disgust spread across her face. She obviously knew her target…and this wasn’t him.

She whipped gracefully around, seeming to have already forgotten her misstep. The right tail of her lekku, which had earlier been wrapped below her chin and over her left shoulder, had broken free and was now dangling alongside her upper torso. Again she was holding out the hologram. This time she made sure everyone could see it.

“Ra Rhodes,” she said again. “Where is he?”

No one answered.