Play Testers Wanted Pt. 03

All characters are 18 years old or older. Sorry for the delay. While editing this piece I decided to add content to flesh things out and not leave parts of Booker's training and quests down to a simple time jump. I hope you enjoy.

*****

Home Sweet Home:

It only took a few hours to get Snow's tower the way I wanted it. The perpetual thunderstorm outside kept that pesky sunlight at bay. By the time I was finished I received a message through my HUD that the holocron puzzle was ready to be attacked. Within its crystalline depths were the secrets to mastering my undead nature and who knows what other surprises it might hold. Sweet! I had the symbiote armor change into pj's and brought the holocron out of my inventory. I was so damn excited. I turned the pyramid over in my hands examining it closely. I won't lie, the exterior had changed but I was cool with that. They not only tweaked it, but in my humble opinion it looked way cooler than before.

"Alright," I said as I began running my fingers over the etched Sith runes. "Let's see what makes you tick."

I counted the runes and discovered nearly one hundred characters and out of those one hundred, sixty of them were individual symbols. I also discovered that if you pushed on the runes, they gave off a musical tone. After touching three of them I received an electrical shock.

"Na'yun!" A voice declared and I chalked that up to meaning wrong.

"Shit!" I cursed when the second jolt I got was stronger than the first. "No more randomly pressing runes for me. I need to find a way of deciphering these letters."

The tower had a library. Archimedes wasn't any good since this was off world technology and language. I went through the titles of every book in my new library and while it was extensive it didn't cover anything like the life and times of Darth Nocturnal. I returned to my bedroom and stared up at the ceiling trying to puzzle it out. Suddenly, it hit me, and I rolled my eyes.

"I am so fucking stupid!" I said and returned the holocron to my inventory. I approached the Magic Mirror and touched it's surface to activate it. "Mirror, mirror hanging there, New York City is looking fair."

Whoosh!

I was standing in the alley next to the Baxter Building. I walked further in looking for the distortion that had caught my eye when I first entered the game. It was still there! I strode through and I went from a warm summer New York day to a bitter freezing Ossus night. I was about to change my armor to arctic mode when I saw the flashes of blaster fire. The temple was under attack! I slipped into stealth mode and raced down the mountain side. There were three large shuttles parked outside the temple. I saw the blaster fire focused near the entrance to the temple. It appeared they were trying to damage the massive locking mechanism that held the doors shut. As I approached the armored soldiers were setting up three tripods with heavy laser cannons to breach the temple doors.

'Not going to happen!' I thought to myself.

I snuck close until I was ready to spring my one-man ambush. I felt I was more than a match for these guys. I waited until they were preparing to mount the cannons to strike. I drew on the storm and worsened it which would only help my attack. I leapt upon them with my weapon ignited and cut them down. One after the other they fell to my blade. I cut a swathe through their ranks until none remained. I was about the pat myself on the back when I felt it. I hadn't felt it since I trained with Ventress. Two figures stood at the base of the ramp of the middle shuttle. They wore the dark robes of the Sith Empire.

"This place is under my protection." I growled as two crimson blades burst into existence.

"Kill him." A third figure ordered as the two Sith warriors leapt at me to close the distance.

I used telekinesis and only managed to knock down one of them. I easily parried the blade of the Sith that had reached me. I went on the offensive and felt the rush of energy fill my entire being. I reveled in the power but before I could take him down his partner joined the fight. The tried to fence me in by attacking from two different directions. I let them have it long enough for them to get cocky. Ten seconds after he had joined the fight, I ducked an overly aggressive horizontal slash and spun behind my foe and my blade bisected him from shoulder to groin.

"Bastard!" The remaining Sith roared and went berserk.

While his strikes were stronger, they were also sloppier. I was able to disarm him with a quick riposte that allowed me a parry followed up with a strike. My blade left a scar on the back of his weapons hand.

"Surrender." I offered as he glared at me weaponless.

"Sith do not surrender!" He screamed just before I impaled him on my blade. "So cold!" He whispered as my weapon clove his heart.

"No. They die." I replied as I turned to the third Sith. "Come on out and perish."

The sense of power coming off her was intense. She wasn't a meager peon. She was the real deal. Whatever her name, she was a lady of the Sith and fully trained. Her robes were elegant and carried the same markings as the holocron I wished to decipher. She took her time and seemed unimpaired by the snowstorm raging around us. I felt her rage but unlike her former students hers was a smoldering thing waiting to be called up at will.

"Good students are so difficult to find these days." She purred. "You cut them down almost as if you enjoyed it. Well, did you?" She asked as she reached up and pulled the hood of her robes down revealing her features.

"Twi'lek! I've never slept with a Twi'lek yet." I blurted out stoking her anger.

"You are bold, and your passion is a palpable thing. Why are you here?" She asked her curiosity stronger than her anger.

"I am in possession of the Holocron of Darth Nocturnal." I said and that caused her to falter. "I came here to seek out a way of safely opening it and gleaning its secrets."

"I've never heard of Darth Nocturnal." She stated. "I am a Sith historian and it is unlikely such a holocron exists. Though we may not be at cross purposes."

"I suggest a duel." I offered. "If I am able to mark you with three nonlethal strikes you give me access to your archive." My offer intrigued her and so I continued. "If you mark me once, we work on it together."

"Either way you appear to come away on top." She replied.

"In either situation you walk away with your life." I stated and she took affront to that.

"You seem to think that I lack the skills to defeat you." She snapped.

"Suit yourself. I am sure I can slice your computer's security while your corpse freezes out here on the bitter cold stones."

She never agreed to my challenge, so I took it as a rejection. We crossed blades and a real duel began. She was at least as skilled as I was. It was my first real challenge after Snow, and I was eager to prove myself. It was clear that my hybrid style was giving her problems. I was switching on the fly between forms and she was getting frustrated even though she hadn't left herself open yet. I was confident that I could force her into an opening. She suddenly switched to a one-handed grip on her weapon and I wrapped a static forcefield around my body anticipating either Force lightning or a telekinetic attack.

"Huh?" She gasped in surprise when her attack failed. "Ow!" She snarled when the tip of my blade marks the back of her weapon hand. "Bastard!"

She redoubled her efforts but now her once clean technique became as sloppy as her students. I frowned when that happened. I intensified my focus and disarmed her a few exchanges later. I snatched her weapon out of the air before she could recover. I moved to strike her down when she surrendered. I took her weapon as a trophy since it was the nicest of the three lightsabers I had claimed.

"Let's take a look at your archives, shall we?" I demanded and she relinquished its secrets. We climbed aboard her shuttle and after she unlocked the data vault, I asked a single question.

"What do you know about Darth Nocturnal?"

"Darth Nocturnal lived during the time of Darth Serpentis and the Great Hyperspace War. He was a pureblood Sith and lived to be over a thousand years old. Legends say that he travelled deep into the Unknown Regions of the galaxy and was infected by a strange creature. It was this infection that granted him his long life. Displayed is the lightsaber of Darth Nocturnal." The archive declared showing a black bladed lightsaber. Its construction was far more elegant than mine and I was able to copy the image to my own files. "Displayed is the Holocron of Darth Nocturnal. It has been lost since Nocturnal's tower was raided and he was destroyed by the Jedi Master Nov Ghenlis. Both the lightsaber and holocron are believed to be in the vault of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."

"So, you are looking for his secret of eternal life." The Sith chuckled.

"No, I've already figured that part out." I said and smiled revealing my fangs.

"Master!" She groveled. "How can I serve you?"

'Trophy earned: Sith Blood Lust.'

"I need help unlocking the holocron." I told her and her excitement only ramped up from there.

"You have it!" She moaned. "I thought you were lying but you have Darth Nocturnal's Holocron. May I see it?"

I created a hologram of it and let her look that over. I didn't trust her, she had lied about her knowledge of Darth Nocturnal, and she was far from earning my trust. She quickly translated the runes on it. The sequence of runes eluded her. I asked her to tell me about the Sith language. She told me all about its history, but it wasn't until she blurted out what she felt was a useless bit of trivia.

"Sith runes don't just have just a phonetic element but a mathematical one as well." She said and I cried out demanding she display the numerical values of the runes. "Of course, there must be a mathematical sequence to follow!"

"There it is," I said picking out the runes that formed what is called a Fibonacci Sequence. "Time to see if it works."

"I can't believe this!" She exclaimed and it was clear to me the Lady of the Sith wasn't an NPC but another player. "I've been looking for this for... a long time."

I took out the pyramid and pressed the ten-digit sequence without getting shocked once. The holocron rose out of my grasp and spun and rotated on its axis a few times before the holographic image of Darth Nocturnal appeared. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming in delight. The holocron sent out beams to scan the Sith and me. Nocturnal turned towards me and spoke.

"You seek answers, I understand. It is a lonely path we follow. My secrets will be yours."

"Now hold the fuck on! I gave you the means to unlock the damn thing... what about me?!" The Sith roared as she flew into a rage.

"A true Sith would expect betrayal." Nocturnal purred. "Pay her for her services."

"Yes, my Lord." I said flashing the woman a toothy grin.

"UNNNNN!!" She moaned as my fangs sank into her throat. "Coming!" She cried out as her body bucked beneath me. "I don't want to die... please... I'll do anything!" She begged as her life blood coursed down my throat one pulse after another.

"You heard her. Anything." I barely heard Nocturnal chuckle through the red haze of the feeding frenzy.

I cut my wrist with an elongated fingernail and fed her my blood. Once more the Sith's body shook as she climaxed. Her eyes snapped open and the whites of her eyes turned blood red. The wound in her neck healed as did the one on my wrist.

'Reward: Born of Blood - Treasure Map Provided.'

"Let us begin." Nocturnal stated and my training as a Master Vampire began.

Treasure Hunt:

'Title earned: Darth Valakhor Lord of Shadows.'

It took five months in game to finish the training and quests connected to mastering both my vampire and Sith skills. Darth Nocturnal's holocron showed me everything from mist form, summon animal, and in my case shadow form. I could take on the shape of a living shadow, but it took a toll by forcing me into a feeding frenzy afterwards. If I used it, I was powerless to control who or what I fed from. My vampiric child Zanna only trained enough to get the very basic skills before she left. I was disappointed that she didn't stick it out. On the bright side I didn't have to share any of the rewards or treasure I accumulated once she was gone. The holocron went dark after the final lesson was completed and I stored it in my inventory. I was anxious to see where the treasure map led and return to the main game once more. I held the treasure map in my hands. It was a star map that led off world. I had two shuttles to pick from the take for my purposes. Before I left, I wanted to make sure Ventress was alright. I went to the sealed doors of the temple.

"Master?" I called out and the doors opened.

The temple was untouched by the Sith's attempt to breech the entrance. The caves that held the Kaiburr crystals glittered and shone as I passed them by. I was intent on finding my teacher and see if there was anything, she needed from me. I heard voices and the sound of multiple lightsabers igniting.

"Fear not, it is my former student." Ventress soothed the fears of her two students. "Ghost, what brings you to Ossus?"

"Much but I came to make sure you were well and see if I could be of help to you before I left." I replied.

"He feels strange Master," the red skinned Lethean Twi'lek commented as she looked at me.

"Indeed, is he a Sith?" the stunning Togrutan female asked. Her blue and white markings reminded me of the famed former Jedi Ahsoka Tano.

"He is a Bendu. Ghost Fire follows the old ways of balance between the light and dark side." Ventress explained. "We must respect his path. I wish you well on your journey." She stated as she looked at me directly. "I have no tasks that my two students cannot accomplish. Goodbye." She said ending the conversation abruptly.

I bowed and left my former teacher. I returned to the frozen garden and examined the two shuttles and took the more heavily armored of the pair. I preferred a good defense if I ran into trouble. I translated the coordinates on the map and plotted a course for what the map called the Viridian Pulsar. Thank goodness the ship was advanced enough for me to not require piloting skills to get it off the ground. The Exomorph joined me on my quest as we blasted off and slipped into hyperspace. The clock indicated I had three days until I reached the pulsar. I trained, meditated, and played catch with the Exomorph. I wasn't used to having so much free time on my hands.

I spent time examining the hologram of Darth Nocturnal's lightsaber or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a darksaber. It burned cold just as mine did, and was whisper silent when activated, and in combat. What I found more interesting though was its construction and the characters decorating it. It became a bit of an obsession really. I desired to be able to one day create such a find work of art. My combat skills were only part of my path as I saw it. Like the Japanese samurai I wanted to be a well rounded warrior and not simply a hack and slash fighter. I wanted to embody both sides of the Force equally. I was the follower of Anackire and her instrument and as such the Shadow Master.

"I think that has it." I said to the Exormorph. "I have broken it down to these components. You see here that it has a curved hilt just like Count Dooku's weapon. I may have to train with one and see if it helps or hinders my fighting style. I think I can break down the three sabers I took from those Sith and make one with the parts available. What do you think?"

The Exomorph rolled onto her side exposing her belly. I took that as a good sign. I had just enough time to take the other sabers apart, set aside the parts I needed and stored the rest in my inventory. I took the finest of the Kairburr crystals into my cupped hands and poured both light side and dark side energy into it. I hoped it would bathe the jewel in an equal amount and allow it to function for me at full potential. I did this until I felt the nature of the gem change on a fundamental level.

"Done." I said as I recuperated. "Whoa!" I exclaimed as I opened my hands revealing a dark violet crystal for my back up weapon. "Nice!" I said as I eagerly assembled the lightsaber.

Snap! Hiss!

The weapon functioned perfectly but it was more a traditional weapon making the traditional sound that most lightsabers made upon activation. The vibrant amethyst blade was a deeper shade than what I recalled Mace Windu wielded. I would need to practice with it to use it properly. The hooked handle felt strange in my grasp. I placed it in my inventory for now but later I would set aside time to train. I fed the Exomorph just as the alarm sounded that the ship was about to drop out of hyperspace. The ship's shields came online automatically. The lethal radiation coming off the pulsar would have killed me had I chosen the other shuttle. Score one for paranoia.

"Scanning for anything unusual." I said to the Exomorph who cocked her head to the side as if to say, 'great idea boss'. "I'm getting some weird readings here. That is a lot of metal. I have no idea what it means. Is it a ship?"

The collision claxons sounded, and I took the controls. God help me I don't know how to fly. I did my best and trusted to the Force to keep us alive. It was a ship! The gigantic derelict was pulling us in and there was no fighting it. The ancient star ship somehow survived the area around the pulsar, and I was going to find out whether I liked it or not. I took quick measurements of the ship and tried a second time to get an accurate reading.

"There is no way anything is that damn big." I said and the Exomorph purred. "It says that it is thirty-five thousand meters long. That's like twenty-two miles."

The ship settled into a massive docking bay. There were dozens of ships of varying sizes. The smallest was a one-man fighter and the largest a small frigate. I didn't know that much about the history of the galaxy but some of these ships felt like they were separated by thousands of years in time and space. The tractor beam that held my shuttle set the craft down amid the mid-sized ships. I checked the atmosphere and there wasn't just a breathable atmosphere, but the radiation was tolerable. It was time to see what treasure I was here to find. I felt like I was off the edge of the world and half expected to see graffiti on the walls that read, here be dragons. I armored up and dropped the ramp. The Exomorph was eager to stretch her legs. She raced ahead and ran back and repeated this behavior while I looked for a map or command area on this deck. That eerie feeling hit me again as I saw the condition the ships were in. They were all in various states of age and weathering but one thing they had in common, they were all functional. I didn't feel that the treasure I was after was here amidst these ships.

The Exomorph and I left the docking bay again seeking a map or clue. We headed to the left and walked the pristine corridor. There were no signs of wear or tear here. This vessel couldn't have had many missions before she found herself here. The sudden wave of nausea struck out of nowhere. I leaned against the wall until it passed. The hall seemed to twist and corkscrew on itself. I fought the queasiness and even the Exomorph was affected by the anomaly. It passed as quickly as it manifested.

"What the hell was that?" I grumbled as I got to my feet. The sound of multiple lightsabers igniting reached me and I raced in the direction of the fighting. I could distinguish the clash of blades and other sounds of combat. "There!" I called out as I spied the flashes of multicolored light coming from an open doorway. I reached for my weapon as I cleared the threshold only to find an empty room. "What the fuck?"