Interlude - Dark Sun
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Thyrsus
A man clad in red armor walked across the sands of Thyrsus, carrying enough weaponry to take on a small army yet moving quickly forward.
"Silencer, I'm sending you to Thyrsus to have you undergo training from some of the fighters there. If the fact that they are an Echani offshoot is any indication they should be able to train you effectively. You'll be dropped outside of any major cities; no offense but knowing you you'd end up getting it leveled in a day. When you wish to return, activate this comm unit and a nearby vessel will arrive to pick you up."
He did not have a particular destination in mind, simply using his armor's built-in sensors to detect any signs of life. Finding none, he continued his trek. Suddenly he stopped as the sensors registered something moving toward him at high speeds. Focusing on the source he saw that it was akin to a speeder bike albeit larger and capable of carrying more people. Though only one person was on board, their features hidden by the steel-grey armor they wore.
"...I don't recognize your armor and I don't know what you're doing out here," the figure said, his deep voice indicating that he was male. "You do know that there's a city over that way within walking distance?" he said, pointing to what seemed to be some kind of dot to his left.
"Not lost. A visitor," the Silencer said, clipped as always. "I'm looking for Thyrsian fighters. To train with them."
The man was silent, before turning off his bike, dismounting and walking towards the Silencer. "...Is that right?"
Suddenly the man threw a flurry of punches at the Silencer, who quickly blocked them as he reached for a pistol when he had the chance-
"Interesting," the man said as he suddenly stopped attacking though he was clearly looking at the pistol the Silencer was about to draw. "The way you fight...it has echoes of a Thyrsian warrior but there's a sense of emptiness behind it all," the man muttered to himself. Nodding after a moment, he began walking back to his speeder, gesturing for the Silencer to follow. "If you want to understand what it really means to be Thyrsian, then I know fighters who would be willing to teach you." Without a word, the Silencer boarded the speeder with the warrior as he drove it further into the desert.
--------
A few hours later the two of them arrived at what appeared to be an encampment of some kind where other armored men were idling around, though many of them stopped to see the Silencer and his companion ride into the camp, disembarking and entering what appeared to be a central structure of some kind.
"Lord Aron," the Silencer's companion said to a man in jet-black armor seated on a large chair with two other Thyrsians flanking him. "I have found a visitor to our world who wishes to learn our ways."
Aron looked at the other man. "What makes you believe he is capable of learning?"
"I traded blows with him and I could feel an echo of the Sun within him, though it feels empty, unlit."
Aron got up from his throne and moved towards the Silencer who was already tensing up. "I see..."
Much like before the Silencer was confronted by a flurry of punches from Aron, and again he managed to block them. The fight continued after that with Aron attempting to throw a kick at the Silencer's midsection, which the Silencer dodged, allowing him to attempt to retaliate with an uppercut. When it seemed like Aron would be able to block the incoming strike, the Silencer pulled back his right arm and attempted to throw a sudden jab with his left, though Aron was able to catch the jab.
"You are truly fascinating, young one," Aron commented, gently letting go of the Silencer's hand as the mercenary shifted back into a neutral stance. "So much power, so much skill, but it lacks the true fire of the Sun." Aron offered his hand to the Silencer. "If you would be willing, we could teach you to awaken that fire within you, help you awaken the Sun that sleeps dormant within."
"I came here for martial training, not words," the Silencer coldly said to which Aron sighed. "Hopefully in time you will understand that in our culture the two are one and the same," he said, offering his hand again. "Do you accept?"
"Yes," the Silencer said, not bothering to shake Aron's hand.
"Very well then," he said nonplussed as he began to walk back to his throne. "There is a barracks nearby you can stay at for the duration, Orel will show you the way."
---------
"You are a strong fighter already, but you must learn how to look beyond your foe's blows and understand what their blows are trying to convey."
The Silencer spent the next three weeks fighting against Thyrsian warriors whenever possible, honing his martial arts. He was certainly capable, but the Thyrsians were able to teach him finesse, fluidity, formalizing his fighting style with their own teachings.
"For instance, your blows right now convey that you are a taciturn man who cares for little else save for the fights he takes part in. Whoever gave you the title of 'The Silencer' was more right then they realized."
It was a rarity when the Silencer wasn't in the middle of a fight, getting into match after match against warriors with no signs of exhaustion on his part.
"They tell us that you are certainly skilled, and have fought in far more battles than we know of. But they also show us that you do not feel the Sun within you, the instinctive way you too can understand others through battle."
When he wasn't fighting, he was training himself, constantly going through the various martial arts the Thrysians had taught him as well as occasionally experimenting with the pikes they used.
"So when you are fighting-and I expect that you will do so quite a bit-do not concern yourself with victory or defeat. Look beyond the fight itself and feel what your opponent is trying to convey."
Eventually, the weeks passed and the Silencer stood in the middle of the camp, facing down Aron once again. "Let us see what you have learned" was all the man said before he charged at the Silencer, who had adapted to the Thyrsian fighting style quickly, utilizing much more fluid strikes and dodging more often than before. Eventually, the two broke apart and stared each other down, still in fighting stances.
"Could you understand what I was trying to say?" Aron said.
"...'Welcome, brother.'"
"Then there is nothing more that needs to be said. Rejoice, for you now carry the Sun within you as well, brother," Aron said, relaxing as the people around him cheered. "There is more I wish to discuss with you but enjoy yourself for the rest of the day and we shall speak again tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing that, the Silencer gestured to another warrior in the audience, who eagerly faced off against the Silencer.
"Hah! You really are one of us if that is what you consider relaxation!" Aron happily commented as he stood back to watch the two fight.
--------
As the sun rose on the camp, the Silencer arrived at Aron's command structure.
"Good to see you brother. Now that you have begun to carry the Sun within you, I must now tell you what your purpose is."
The Silencer didn't react, so Aron continued. "The Sun Guard, our finest warriors, have begun to return to Thyrsus to help serve the Son of Suns, the chosen savior and embodiment of the Sun that we carry within us. I was hoping that you would be willing to join the Sun Guard so that your considerable talent would be at his disposal."
"Who exactly is this 'Son of Suns?'" the Silencer asked.
"His true name is hidden to protect him, but we know him as Sidious."
Once again the Silencer said nothing, causing Aron to fold his arms. "I understand that this must be much to take in right now brother. Take some time to understand the weight of your destiny, then we will speak of this further."
Without a word, the Silencer left the command structure. Looking around, he quickly ducked into a hiding spot and activated his comm unit.
"We read you, are you requesting extraction?"
"Confirmed. Potential for hostiles to be at LZ."
"U-understood. Heading to LZ now, will hold until arrival."
Closing the comm unit, the Silencer quickly took note of a particularly well-kept matte black speeder-likely Aron's-and mentally noted its location before returning to the barracks and loading up his gear.
"Is there something wrong, brother?" Orel asked as he noticed the Silencer gearing up rapidly. He didn't respond, to which Orel threw a punch which the Silencer easily caught. Once the Silencer let go Orel staggered backwards, shocked.
"How could you-" was all he managed to get out before the Silencer knocked him out with a right hook, quickly exiting the barracks and moving towards the garage he saw Aron's speeder at. The unfortunate man at the garage didn't even realize the Silencer was there before the mercenary broke his neck and moved to sabotage the other speeders, ripping out wires where he could as he heard an alarm begin to go off. With that he quickly boarded the black speeder, turned it on, and raced back out into the wastes towards his extraction point.
Looking back as his speeder rocketed through the wasteland, the Silencer saw that there were other speeders of varying sizes beginning to chase after him, with the warriors on board carrying pikes that they were gripping tightly as they gained on the Silencer. Unperturbed, he grabbed a grenade launcher with one hand while controlling the speeder with the other, aiming the gun carefully at the front-most speeders. The round he fired caused one of them to go up in a fireball that was thrown backwards into the rest of the pack, taking out another pursuer and forcing another to break off. He repeated the process as fast as he could, sending more and more deadly fireballs tumbling back into the ranks of his pursuers, killing a few and scattering some more, though there were still a significant number chasing after him.
Noticing that his launcher was empty, the Silencer switched to a heavy rifle and continued to shoot at the speeders pursuing him. However the damaged caused by his shots was far less then when he was lobbing grenades at them, allowing a few members of the vanguard to close in on him on both sides, the warriors brandishing their pikes as they moved closer. As the Silencer attempted to change weapons again one of them closed in, readying their pike for the kill. As the warrior thrust it at the Silencer he managed to barely lean out of the way, reach out and grab the pole of the pike, and with a strong pull yanked the unfortunate Thyrsian right off of his speeder, sending him tumbling across the wastes.
Quickly shifting the pike so it would be more thoroughly in his grasp, the Silencer used it to fend off the rest of the vanguard, striking at the weak points of their speeders where he could and simply stabbing the riders when he had the chance.
"Okay, we've just entered atmosphere," came a voice over his comms, "and...uh...are you being chased by several dozen speeders or are the sensors malfunctioning?"
"I am being pursued, yes," the Silencer said flatly as he managed to break the controls of a speeder that had gotten too close to him, causing the speeder to go out of control and flying back in to the fearless pursuit team.
"Dammit, should have known...okay, I got an idea! Get ready and hold on to your speeder as tight as you can."
As the Silencer began to comply, he heard the voice of Aron roar out "TRAITOR!" over the din of the engines as he closed in on the Silencer riding on a normal-looking speeder. "You come to learn our ways, to ignite the Sun within you, and this is how you repay us!? You would have been one of the Son's greatest servants!"
"Incoming!"
Looking up, the Silencer saw a transport roar over him before it turned and hovered just in front of Aron and his team of pursuers.
"Brace yourself! Diverting full power to engines!"
The transport suddenly pulled back and rocketed upwards, the engine wash generated from the maneuver sending Aron and the majority of his pursuers flying away as the rest pulled back, clearly no longer willing to continue the pursuit. As the Silencer eased off of the throttle and slowed to a stop, the transport landed by him, the landing ramp lowering.
"So are you keeping the speeder-"
Without a word, the Silencer drove the speeder up the ramp into the ship, the ramp closing behind him as he turned off the speeder and dismounted it. After a quick check of his gear, he moved up to see the pilot of the ship.
"You."
The man at the controls and his copilot jumped in their seats as the pilot turned to face the Silencer, visibly shaking. "Y-Yes sir?"
"Interesting maneuver. Your superior will be informed of your creativity."
He was still shaking, though he managed to force a smile. "U-uuhhh...thanks?"
Without a word, the Silencer left the bridge as the pilots let out a sigh of relief.
"Dammit, Herrin, why is it that we keep getting involved in the craziest shit?"
"At least we weren't down there ourselves. And he likes us...I think. That was a compliment right?"
"Don't push your luck."
Rewards: The Silencer gains 'Thyrsian Fighting Style,' Customized Speeder' traits. Information on the Sun Guard's nature as Sith cultists gained.
AN: It's an interesting experience when your muse has you begin with writing a kung-fu training montage and end with writing a chase scene straight out of Mad Max. I regret nothing.
I doubt this one will be as hyped up in the thread as the last two interludes were but I think it was still pretty fun to have the Silencer kicking everyone's ass as he should. Anyway, stay tuned for more~
A man clad in red armor walked across the sands of Thyrsus, carrying enough weaponry to take on a small army yet moving quickly forward.
"Silencer, I'm sending you to Thyrsus to have you undergo training from some of the fighters there. If the fact that they are an Echani offshoot is any indication they should be able to train you effectively. You'll be dropped outside of any major cities; no offense but knowing you you'd end up getting it leveled in a day. When you wish to return, activate this comm unit and a nearby vessel will arrive to pick you up."
He did not have a particular destination in mind, simply using his armor's built-in sensors to detect any signs of life. Finding none, he continued his trek. Suddenly he stopped as the sensors registered something moving toward him at high speeds. Focusing on the source he saw that it was akin to a speeder bike albeit larger and capable of carrying more people. Though only one person was on board, their features hidden by the steel-grey armor they wore.
"...I don't recognize your armor and I don't know what you're doing out here," the figure said, his deep voice indicating that he was male. "You do know that there's a city over that way within walking distance?" he said, pointing to what seemed to be some kind of dot to his left.
"Not lost. A visitor," the Silencer said, clipped as always. "I'm looking for Thyrsian fighters. To train with them."
The man was silent, before turning off his bike, dismounting and walking towards the Silencer. "...Is that right?"
Suddenly the man threw a flurry of punches at the Silencer, who quickly blocked them as he reached for a pistol when he had the chance-
"Interesting," the man said as he suddenly stopped attacking though he was clearly looking at the pistol the Silencer was about to draw. "The way you fight...it has echoes of a Thyrsian warrior but there's a sense of emptiness behind it all," the man muttered to himself. Nodding after a moment, he began walking back to his speeder, gesturing for the Silencer to follow. "If you want to understand what it really means to be Thyrsian, then I know fighters who would be willing to teach you." Without a word, the Silencer boarded the speeder with the warrior as he drove it further into the desert.
--------
A few hours later the two of them arrived at what appeared to be an encampment of some kind where other armored men were idling around, though many of them stopped to see the Silencer and his companion ride into the camp, disembarking and entering what appeared to be a central structure of some kind.
"Lord Aron," the Silencer's companion said to a man in jet-black armor seated on a large chair with two other Thyrsians flanking him. "I have found a visitor to our world who wishes to learn our ways."
Aron looked at the other man. "What makes you believe he is capable of learning?"
"I traded blows with him and I could feel an echo of the Sun within him, though it feels empty, unlit."
Aron got up from his throne and moved towards the Silencer who was already tensing up. "I see..."
Much like before the Silencer was confronted by a flurry of punches from Aron, and again he managed to block them. The fight continued after that with Aron attempting to throw a kick at the Silencer's midsection, which the Silencer dodged, allowing him to attempt to retaliate with an uppercut. When it seemed like Aron would be able to block the incoming strike, the Silencer pulled back his right arm and attempted to throw a sudden jab with his left, though Aron was able to catch the jab.
"You are truly fascinating, young one," Aron commented, gently letting go of the Silencer's hand as the mercenary shifted back into a neutral stance. "So much power, so much skill, but it lacks the true fire of the Sun." Aron offered his hand to the Silencer. "If you would be willing, we could teach you to awaken that fire within you, help you awaken the Sun that sleeps dormant within."
"I came here for martial training, not words," the Silencer coldly said to which Aron sighed. "Hopefully in time you will understand that in our culture the two are one and the same," he said, offering his hand again. "Do you accept?"
"Yes," the Silencer said, not bothering to shake Aron's hand.
"Very well then," he said nonplussed as he began to walk back to his throne. "There is a barracks nearby you can stay at for the duration, Orel will show you the way."
---------
"You are a strong fighter already, but you must learn how to look beyond your foe's blows and understand what their blows are trying to convey."
The Silencer spent the next three weeks fighting against Thyrsian warriors whenever possible, honing his martial arts. He was certainly capable, but the Thyrsians were able to teach him finesse, fluidity, formalizing his fighting style with their own teachings.
"For instance, your blows right now convey that you are a taciturn man who cares for little else save for the fights he takes part in. Whoever gave you the title of 'The Silencer' was more right then they realized."
It was a rarity when the Silencer wasn't in the middle of a fight, getting into match after match against warriors with no signs of exhaustion on his part.
"They tell us that you are certainly skilled, and have fought in far more battles than we know of. But they also show us that you do not feel the Sun within you, the instinctive way you too can understand others through battle."
When he wasn't fighting, he was training himself, constantly going through the various martial arts the Thrysians had taught him as well as occasionally experimenting with the pikes they used.
"So when you are fighting-and I expect that you will do so quite a bit-do not concern yourself with victory or defeat. Look beyond the fight itself and feel what your opponent is trying to convey."
Eventually, the weeks passed and the Silencer stood in the middle of the camp, facing down Aron once again. "Let us see what you have learned" was all the man said before he charged at the Silencer, who had adapted to the Thyrsian fighting style quickly, utilizing much more fluid strikes and dodging more often than before. Eventually, the two broke apart and stared each other down, still in fighting stances.
"Could you understand what I was trying to say?" Aron said.
"...'Welcome, brother.'"
"Then there is nothing more that needs to be said. Rejoice, for you now carry the Sun within you as well, brother," Aron said, relaxing as the people around him cheered. "There is more I wish to discuss with you but enjoy yourself for the rest of the day and we shall speak again tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing that, the Silencer gestured to another warrior in the audience, who eagerly faced off against the Silencer.
"Hah! You really are one of us if that is what you consider relaxation!" Aron happily commented as he stood back to watch the two fight.
--------
As the sun rose on the camp, the Silencer arrived at Aron's command structure.
"Good to see you brother. Now that you have begun to carry the Sun within you, I must now tell you what your purpose is."
The Silencer didn't react, so Aron continued. "The Sun Guard, our finest warriors, have begun to return to Thyrsus to help serve the Son of Suns, the chosen savior and embodiment of the Sun that we carry within us. I was hoping that you would be willing to join the Sun Guard so that your considerable talent would be at his disposal."
"Who exactly is this 'Son of Suns?'" the Silencer asked.
"His true name is hidden to protect him, but we know him as Sidious."
Once again the Silencer said nothing, causing Aron to fold his arms. "I understand that this must be much to take in right now brother. Take some time to understand the weight of your destiny, then we will speak of this further."
Without a word, the Silencer left the command structure. Looking around, he quickly ducked into a hiding spot and activated his comm unit.
"We read you, are you requesting extraction?"
"Confirmed. Potential for hostiles to be at LZ."
"U-understood. Heading to LZ now, will hold until arrival."
Closing the comm unit, the Silencer quickly took note of a particularly well-kept matte black speeder-likely Aron's-and mentally noted its location before returning to the barracks and loading up his gear.
"Is there something wrong, brother?" Orel asked as he noticed the Silencer gearing up rapidly. He didn't respond, to which Orel threw a punch which the Silencer easily caught. Once the Silencer let go Orel staggered backwards, shocked.
"How could you-" was all he managed to get out before the Silencer knocked him out with a right hook, quickly exiting the barracks and moving towards the garage he saw Aron's speeder at. The unfortunate man at the garage didn't even realize the Silencer was there before the mercenary broke his neck and moved to sabotage the other speeders, ripping out wires where he could as he heard an alarm begin to go off. With that he quickly boarded the black speeder, turned it on, and raced back out into the wastes towards his extraction point.
Looking back as his speeder rocketed through the wasteland, the Silencer saw that there were other speeders of varying sizes beginning to chase after him, with the warriors on board carrying pikes that they were gripping tightly as they gained on the Silencer. Unperturbed, he grabbed a grenade launcher with one hand while controlling the speeder with the other, aiming the gun carefully at the front-most speeders. The round he fired caused one of them to go up in a fireball that was thrown backwards into the rest of the pack, taking out another pursuer and forcing another to break off. He repeated the process as fast as he could, sending more and more deadly fireballs tumbling back into the ranks of his pursuers, killing a few and scattering some more, though there were still a significant number chasing after him.
Noticing that his launcher was empty, the Silencer switched to a heavy rifle and continued to shoot at the speeders pursuing him. However the damaged caused by his shots was far less then when he was lobbing grenades at them, allowing a few members of the vanguard to close in on him on both sides, the warriors brandishing their pikes as they moved closer. As the Silencer attempted to change weapons again one of them closed in, readying their pike for the kill. As the warrior thrust it at the Silencer he managed to barely lean out of the way, reach out and grab the pole of the pike, and with a strong pull yanked the unfortunate Thyrsian right off of his speeder, sending him tumbling across the wastes.
Quickly shifting the pike so it would be more thoroughly in his grasp, the Silencer used it to fend off the rest of the vanguard, striking at the weak points of their speeders where he could and simply stabbing the riders when he had the chance.
"Okay, we've just entered atmosphere," came a voice over his comms, "and...uh...are you being chased by several dozen speeders or are the sensors malfunctioning?"
"I am being pursued, yes," the Silencer said flatly as he managed to break the controls of a speeder that had gotten too close to him, causing the speeder to go out of control and flying back in to the fearless pursuit team.
"Dammit, should have known...okay, I got an idea! Get ready and hold on to your speeder as tight as you can."
As the Silencer began to comply, he heard the voice of Aron roar out "TRAITOR!" over the din of the engines as he closed in on the Silencer riding on a normal-looking speeder. "You come to learn our ways, to ignite the Sun within you, and this is how you repay us!? You would have been one of the Son's greatest servants!"
"Incoming!"
Looking up, the Silencer saw a transport roar over him before it turned and hovered just in front of Aron and his team of pursuers.
"Brace yourself! Diverting full power to engines!"
The transport suddenly pulled back and rocketed upwards, the engine wash generated from the maneuver sending Aron and the majority of his pursuers flying away as the rest pulled back, clearly no longer willing to continue the pursuit. As the Silencer eased off of the throttle and slowed to a stop, the transport landed by him, the landing ramp lowering.
"So are you keeping the speeder-"
Without a word, the Silencer drove the speeder up the ramp into the ship, the ramp closing behind him as he turned off the speeder and dismounted it. After a quick check of his gear, he moved up to see the pilot of the ship.
"You."
The man at the controls and his copilot jumped in their seats as the pilot turned to face the Silencer, visibly shaking. "Y-Yes sir?"
"Interesting maneuver. Your superior will be informed of your creativity."
He was still shaking, though he managed to force a smile. "U-uuhhh...thanks?"
Without a word, the Silencer left the bridge as the pilots let out a sigh of relief.
"Dammit, Herrin, why is it that we keep getting involved in the craziest shit?"
"At least we weren't down there ourselves. And he likes us...I think. That was a compliment right?"
"Don't push your luck."
Rewards: The Silencer gains 'Thyrsian Fighting Style,' Customized Speeder' traits. Information on the Sun Guard's nature as Sith cultists gained.
AN: It's an interesting experience when your muse has you begin with writing a kung-fu training montage and end with writing a chase scene straight out of Mad Max. I regret nothing.
I doubt this one will be as hyped up in the thread as the last two interludes were but I think it was still pretty fun to have the Silencer kicking everyone's ass as he should. Anyway, stay tuned for more~
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