The Dark Behind Every Light

In their short time of meeting Nero had learned her name, Lo Vul is what they called her back home but the mark on her face marked her as Onith. The markings that stained each child's skin was sickening as the sight of the single letter of a name was an insult as well. The two spent the latter a few months together, to them their sense of time misconstrued and held little meaning due to the lack of planetary rotation, sun, and way to tell time, each day that passed soon felt like an eternity.

As each day dragged by and the ship came closer to its destination, the brood was stricken with a wave of foreboding fear, as if all of them had been submerged in a sea of ice water and left to drift. None could fully explain what had gripped them so deeply but they knew that something was clawing at the back of their mind, the shadows seemed to have eyes and their eyes were becoming harder to trust. Senth was having a difficult time as well dealing with everything, he was no exception to this feeling but he was combating it better than the others due to his connection. Deep within a trance is where he lay, usurping the ensuing darkness with great haste though it was difficult due to the overwhelming mass and nature that beckoned them all towards their fate.

Sweat dripped off the young human as he lightly panted, lost between a state of perpetual balance between the Ashla and the darkness that laid before him. Nero's skin crawled as this feeling was foreign and unfamiliar, being so enthralled in the Ashla was where comfort lie but this forced balance was difficult to comprehend and a losing battle as the negative of the Ashla had a consistent push that was slowly winning the tug o' war that was taking place within Nero.

The Rakatan ship slowly began to approach the large station, its size commendable, various parts of the ship were painted with the sigil of the Infinite Empire. This station wasn't merely a satellite that stayed within orbit, this was the Star Forge. The culmination of slaves from all over the Outer Territories had built this machine under the supervision of the Rakatan. This was a shipyard, used to produce everything the Rakatan needed in their conquest, from droids to ships and it only took the power of nearby stars and the force energy of others. The malevolent use of this destructive force has seeped it within the blight of the dark of the force, feeding off the Rakatan's cruel and malicious nature. Any force-sensitive near the Star Forge could feel and experience the malevolence of this machine yet hadn't a clue what waited for them inside.

The Rakatan scientist stood within the bridge, a smile on his face as he looked at the beauty, the marvel that lay before him. As the ship, they were on loomed closer to the forge the scientist could almost feel the children quake in fear before soon they would begin their journey into the perfect subservient weapons that would further feed the empire's hunger. Slowly the ship docked inside the forge, the children froze in fear as each of them were corraled up, pushed out of the pin they had become accustomed to for over a year. Nero was glued to Lo Vul, not wanting to lose sight of the only person he knew these days, both clutching one another's hand in a prospect of safety and comfort.

Each of the slaves passed the crew of Rakatan, the beady eyes of the cone-headed reptiles looking over the children as if fine cuts of meat. As Nero walked gripped his friend's hand, only to find himself being pulled away by a boney hand. The yank was powerful as it caused him to grunt through his grip didn't falter as Lo Vul began to put up a fight, pulling on Nero's hand as if both their lives depended on it. Nero tried to pull away, panicking and full of fear, the eyes of an elderly Rakatan stared him down him.

Nero felt something within his mind trying to worm deeper into it, bore to his core as his stomach flipped. Whispers filled his mind as his grip loosened, Lo yelled out and split his concentration and the grip that the Rakatan had on his mind. A sudden pulse in the dark side reverberated through not only the ship but the Star Forge as it lost power, going completely dark. With a tremendous push, everyone was sent against the walls, ceiling, and floor. Painful grunts, cries, and sick sounds of bone and flesh being torn, ripped and all other manners of agonizing contortion. Nero could only feel the sickening miasma of the darkness that flowed through him in the moment, his head felt fuzzy and his stomach felt full of metal. His heart thudded in his chest like a club against his rib cage, his world began to fade to black.

Everyone who witnessed this event was left in agony and shock. Very few Rakatan had survived that who were in the blast, the scientist was left gasping for air as he looked at the splayed mess before him. He couldn't tell if this was some sort of artistic statement of blood as different colors painted the metal. He was unable to tell which of the slaves were alive or dead, that was until a few stood, wheezed, and cried out. He saw the girl that clutched Senth's hand, she gasped and clutched her ribs as she coughed some blood up. The scientist smiled through his pain, it seems he had made a discovery