Lazarus

Lazarus.

Lokasena awoke in his new found home.
He knew in his heart that he had finally found the place he belonged.
The Dark Jedi Brotherhood had been everything he’d hoped it to be. Even when spending most of his time with study and meditation, he had enjoyed it intensely. That was partly the reason why he was already an Acolyte after only a few weeks. The other part was the guidance of his masters. One in particular, Lady Alanna, had earned his respect.
These were all people like him. Sure, some had horns. Others had skin in different shades of greens and browns. But basically they were the same. All were driven by the desire to grow in the Dark Side of the Force. It was the Force that fuelled them.

He started his day off with a good meal. Few things are as relaxing as good food.
After that, he began his meditations. Practising the ways of the Force. Meditation could be a powerful tool. Gaining self consciousness. Becoming more aware of ones’ passions, fears and desires.
Lokasena sat down in a dark room with one small window, which let in a strong ray of light.
He sat on his knees and relaxed his shoulders. Letting his mind drift from confines of his body. The Acolyte slightly guided his thoughts to the ray of light. His life energy was blending with it. He could feel its warmth, deep inside of him.
Suddenly he was pulled toward something else. A smell. One he had not smelled in a very long time. Someone was coming. He could feel it, hear it almost.
“It? Not it…?! Her…!” he thought. Alarmed about this strong sensation, Lokasena quickly left the room and strode in to the hallway.
“How could she be here?” The question rang through his head.
Almost without thinking he made a right turn, then a left. He wasn’t sure where he was going until he got there.
He faced a big wooden door. Lokasena knocked, using the steel heavy ring in the middle of the door. “Enter.” He heard a soft voice say.
As he entered the room, he boughed deep. “Mistress.” He said in a respectful tone. “I need your help.”
Dark Jedi Master Alanna Taldrya stood in the middle of the room. From underneath her black velvet, hooded cloak, a gentle voice spoke. “Acolyte Lokasena… you’ve come for guidance?”
Lokasena knew that dark cloak hid a beautiful woman. He had only seen her face once. At his initiation. “Yes my Lady.” He said. “It is of a personal matter.”
The hooded woman stepped closer. “We are all one with the Force.” She almost whispered. “There are no personal matters.” A whiff of her sent passed the Acolytes’ nose. It was intoxicating. But this was not the time to indulge in such things. He tried to block out the sent. Lest she discovered how he felt, if she not already had.
“My lady, it concerns someone from my past. I believe this person has tracked me down here.” His voice was trembling. “Calm yourself Lokasena. This person you speak of… Was she close to you?” Lokasena was taken aback for a moment. “Of course she knows it’s a woman.” He thought. “She can see straight through you, you fool…!” He looked at the dark chasm underneath the cloak, where her face would be. “Yes Mistress, she and I were both student at the Lazarus Concordance.” At the mention of the Concordance, the Dark Jedi Master turned her back towards him. “You are no longer a part of that organisation.” She sounded irritable. He hadn’t really been forthcoming about his history with the Concordance.
Although he always answered any direct question truthfully. “They no longer control your destiny.” Lady Alanna strode through the room toward a tall standing mirror. She lifted her hands to her head and removed the hood. With hair as black as obsidian and eyes that shone with sparkle of Correllian Fire Diamonds, she turned and looked him in his eyes. “It would, however, be wise to discover her motives. Is this a personal quest for her? Or are there anymore likely to come and look for you if she should… disappear?”
Lokasena could already guess what would follow. He returned her glance, all too gladly.
“You must seek this woman out. Confront her. We must think about Brotherhood first. If she is one of many whom are looking for you, bring her back with you as soon as possible for interrogation. If not, and she is indeed alone… Kill her.”
Lokasena straightened his shoulders, stuck out his chest and lifted his chin. Proud that he had received an assignment that would mean something. Eliminating a potential threat to the brotherhood.
“Your will, my Lady…!” he said in a strong tone.
The Jedi Master nodded to him. “Then go now. Deal with this new challenge.”
As anxious as he was to start on his mission, a part of him didn’t really want to leave the room. The lady Alannas eyes were so mesmerizing. “What are you doing, you idiot?” He thought suddenly. “Get out, get out…!” He broke free from her gaze. Boughed and left the room as calmly as he could.
Out in the hallway he let out slight sigh. He hoped that she hadn’t noticed how he felt.
Even so, this was not the time to dwell on such minutia. He had far more important things to do.

Lady Alanna was still standing in front of her mirror. She knew that most men found her an attractive woman. Although she had long ago stopped caring about that. But this man… Coming from nowhere with a history as vague as the green of his eyes.
She would meditate on this. There was something about him…

Acolyte Lokasena walked into his dorm room. He threw of his training tunic and put on his robes. Paying no attention to the other students of house Ektrosis. Not that he didn’t like them, he just didn’t feel like explaining the whole story to them.
Lokasena picked up the scabbard holding his Mormegil sword, and stuck it in his sash.
He would go out and meet this old acquaintance. It had been three years since he’d seen her. She would undoubtedly have changed much. But so had he.
They might have been friends in the past, but this was different.
He had broken al bonds when he joined the Brotherhood. She was trespassing.
The Acolyte would deal with her, swiftly.








“Damn Shi’auri, how far is it?” Chamberlain asked annoyed. “Not to far now, you saw the layout! Can’t you read a map?” She was getting inpatient with him. He’d been nagging at her for hours now. “Sure I can.” Chamberlain said. “But in this jungle I can’t really make sense of it all.” He was right about that. Taruma was a jungle planet. The hot dampness had hit them like a charging Bantha. But this was where the signal had lead them. This was where Lokasena should be. “Why did he have to leave anyway?” Chamberlain asked. He was a tall man. About two meters in height. Sternly built with short black hair and squinty eyes. “We’ve always had a pretty good deal with the Concordance. And they pay well…” “Some consider dignity more valuable than money.” Shi’auri said. She was a young Human woman of twenty-two. She had red hair, green eyes and a finely toned body. “Never heard of dignity Champ?” Chamberlain shrugged. “Dignity and an empty sack are worth a sack…!” He had a lot of those phrases. Some of them actually made sense. According to Shi’auri, this one didn’t.
“Come on. We still have to walk at least four miles before we reach the signal.

Lokasena was running fast. Shrubs and branches rustled all around him. Occasionally a branch struck his face, leaving a small cut. But he ignored it.
There was not much time. He needed to intercept these intruders before they came to close.

Shi’auri suddenly stopped. Chamberlain, who was to busy complaining, bumped into her.
“Hey, watch it…!” he bellowed.
“Sshhh…” Shi’auri snapped. “The signal is closing, fast.” The indicator on her tracking device was beeping like mad.
“You think he knows we’re here?” Chamberlain asked. “I’m sure of it…!” the young woman answered. “Question is… Does he want us to find him?”
Chamberlain looked at the device in Shi’auri's hand. “What the… He’s almost on top of us.” He said as he quickly drew his blaster.
“No, don’t…!” Shi’auri said. But it was too late. She felt a rush of air and as she looked at her companion she saw that a sword was sticking out of his chest. It had impaled him to a tree.
Chamberlain slowly dropped the blaster to the ground as the life left his eyes.

The woman spun around to see Lokasena standing there. “Senaaaaa….” She yelled.
“What did you do? Why?” Shi’auri asked bewildered.
“Why have you come?” said the Krath.
“We came to find you.” Crying as she was now, the woman seemed very weak to the Acolyte.
He walked up to her and pulled his sword free from the tree and corpse that it was holding up.
“You should not have come.” He spoke with a cold voice.
Shi’auri looked at him. He had changed so much since they had last met. “What happened to you? Why did you leave us? Why did you leave me?”
Lokasena shrugged. “Leave you…?” He said sarcastically. “I’m part of something larger than you could ever hope to comprehend.” He snapped. “Leave now, and I will spare you.” The Acolyte allowed the corner of his mouth to curve upward. “For old times sake.”
The young woman had stopped crying. “My orders are clear. If I can’t bring you back. I’ll have to kill you.”
Immediately she felt her legs being kicked out from under her. As she lay on the ground, the last thing she saw; was a black metal blade come down on her neck.

Lokasena wiped Mormegil clean of the blood as he looked down upon the decapitated body of
Shi’auri. “I’m sure you would have tried.” He hissed as he left the two corpses.