Spin the Wheel of Iniquity (Jenno)

[Cain]

Jack stepped off the ramp of his new toy, a Coulé-class starship called The Nyoka, and onto the surface of Korriban. A hash wind swept through the Valley of the Dark Lords, painting the imposing Temple ahead a rusty red with the dirt and dust kicked up from Korriban's parched surface. With a miserable expression etched on his face Jack lifted the collar of his jacket to shield himself from the stinging sand.

Korriban. Jack hated coming here. He'd spent enough time on this dead, soul-sucking world for two life times during his last visit. Jack first came to Korriban with the naive hope of discovering the vaunted knowledge of the Sith. What he found was what they all would find, a mausoleum infested with pretenders and sycophants, and beyond the Temple, endless expanses of sand long since raped of their resources. It was depressing, really. The only hope left on the planet rested with the reclusive Dark Lords of the Sith. If anything remained on Korriban for one to learn about the nature of the Force and the dark side, it would have to rest with them.

"Will you be long, Mr. Makura?" Jack's pilot called from the top of the ramp behind him. She was a slender woman, Corellian, the same as Jack, with bleach blond hair pulled back tightly into a ponytail and a large pair of glasses adorning her face. She was one of the leftovers from Toprawa.

"Yes," he answered in monotone, "take the ship back into space. Wait for me there."

"If you think that's really necessary..."

Jack nodded, "These Sith are worse than Jawas. You don't leave things in the Valley of the Dark Lords overnight that you intend to keep."

"Understood, sir. Good luck, Mr. Makura."

With his back still turned, Jack raised a hand, dismissing his pilot. The ramp closed and Jack started out toward the Sith Temple, barely cognizant of the roar of The Nyoka's engines as it lifted off over the relentless howl of the wind.

Crossing the threshold into the shadow of the Temple, Jack shook the dust off his jacket. With a yawn he stretched his limbs and cracked his neck. The grand entrance hall was very much how Jack had left it, and that was not simply due to the stone stump near the center of the room where a pillar had once stood. The Sith's sanctuary was packed as always with preening tools, fighting each other over scraps like feral wolves. They eyed Jack as he made his way across the sandstone surface much as a vornskr might eye a fresh kill.

Jack ignored the stares, setting a cigarette on his bottom lip before igniting his lightsaber and lighting up against the glowing red blade.

"They see. They can smell weakness," the all too familiar voice inside Jack's head snarled, "Go on. Show them what power is." it mocked.

Jack grimaced, taking another long drag from his bloodstripe. The nicotine saturation was enough to silence the derision. For now, at least. Jack had no desire to play with Korriban's Sithlings this time around. He was here because he was summoned. The only thing that could have wrested Jack away from his exploits in the unknown regions was the call of his master. As to why he'd been called back to Korriban, Jack could not say for sure. It was unlikely that Iniquitous knew much of what had gone on during Jack's travels over the past year, outside of what Nieraan may have shared. Tesa had been off Jack's radar for quite some time, though she hardly knew enough to be threatening. Jack could only guess why he was here, but it didn't matter. One does not simply refuse the call of the Dark Lord of the Sith, after all.

Entering the hall that led to Iniquitous, the sounds of the students playing their Sith games was steadily consumed by a vacuum of silence. Jack's own breathing suddenly seemed deafening as he came upon the double doors which concealed his master. A pair of Sith guards flanked the entrance, though neither made any move to try and stop Jack from proceeding. He was expected.

With a final deep inhalation of smoke, Jack plucked the spent butt of his cigarette from his lips and flicked it to the floor, crushing it beneath his boot. Before he even took another step forward, the large doors shuddered with a loud thud that reverberated down the length of the long corridor. On squeaky hinges the doors swung open, seemingly by themselves.

"Neat trick," Jack quipped, drawing no reaction from the statuesque guards. Without further hesitation Jack stepped into Iniquitous' chambers. Once inside, the doors swung shut behind him. Jack stopped half way across the floor, dropping to one knee and lowering his head, "I've returned, Master. I'm late. Forgive me."

[Jenno]

This was his rest. A few hours of meditation could help rejuvenate his body and mind. It was a technique that he had learned from Everos' holocron. The darkness sustained him, allowed him to avoid the uncertain factors that sleep brought with it.

He hovered within his chambers, the darkness warpped around his body. It was in the air, under his flesh, boiling his blood and nestled deep within his heart. As much as he desired to be carrying on with his experiments at the moment, he needed to do this, there was no point in continuing his work if his mind became too worn. As his session drew a close he could feel the presence of one of his apprentices, he had returned. Iniquitous suspected that this time Jack would not feel inclined to cause trouble within the halls.

But still, the boy's abundance of arrogance was a problem, one that would not be easily resolved. Iniquitous called him boy, but truthfully Jack was a year older than he was. He wondered how much the young Sith would enjoy that detail if it were exposed. But in the Overlord's mind he still acted like a boy, the instance in which they met was very much like a child acting out.

But still, there was potential there, potential that he could use to help accomplish his goals. Iniquitous slowly sunk to the ground, he could feel his apprentice quickly coming closer. As he stood, the Overlord turned to face the doors to his chambers, arms resting within the opposing sleeves. Few were ever allowed access to his personal chambers, but it wasn't quite his greatest area of privacy. There was an area of the temple where he would carry out his experiments, access to those rooms was practically non-existant to anyone other than himself. And of course, there was Ossus, his own little sanctuary of knowledge.

The guards allowed his apprentice to enter, opening and closing the doors for him. Jack took to his knee, humbly offering an apology for the Dark Overlord. He cared little for it. "Rise, apprentice."

He took a few paces towards his student before he began talking again. "I've heard word of some of the experiences you've had upon your travels. Tell me, what was it like facing a member of the Jedi Council?" His words were a little cold, but he was not generally known amongst the Order for his warmth.

[Cain]

An exhausted sigh escaped Jack's lips as he hefted himself back to his feet at his master's command. He did his best to stand up straight in front of the Dark Overlord of the Sith, though his head still tilted ever so slightly to the right. In the year since he'd first arrived on Korriban little had changed in Jack's anemic appearance, in fact, it had only gotten worse. Were one not to have known better and simply run into Jack on the street, it would be easy to mistake him for a spice junkie. Jack's skin was clammy and pale. His eyes, outlined by dark rings, were heavy with a dull expression as if lost in a chemical fog. Jack had all the features of an addict, and this wasn't far from the truth. The dark side had wrought havoc on Jack's physical body as his own powers grew beyond the limits of his control.

Iniquitous, on the other hand, kept his appearance hidden, as always, "I've heard word of some of the experiences you've had upon your travels. Tell me, what was it like facing a member of the Jedi Council?"

Jack scowled at the question, silently cursing Nieraan. He could have guessed the Firrerreo would be unable to keep his big mouth shut about that. "The Jedi was strong," Jack conceded, an austere quality to his voice as it dropped an octave, "Though neither of us could best him on Metellos, the encounter was not a total failure. The knowledge I've gained through battle with this Jedi Master has revealed his weaknesses. No one survives me twice, my Lord. Not even a Jedi."

Jack did his best to contain the anger dripping from his words. Now was not the time to vent. He would save that for the Jedi whom he was eager to repay. "In addition," Jack continued, "I was able to take a souvenir from the encounter. The Jedi's former apprentice, a young Knight of the Order. What I've been able to ascertain from him has proven... most valuable." A slight smirk formed on Jack's face as he dismissed this knowledge just as quickly as he'd inferred it, "However, I don't imagine you've called me here simply to discuss a bar fight on some backwater core world. How is it that I might be of service, my master?"

[Jenno]

As he stood there, observing Jack, Iniquitous could feel the red hot heat of anger that crashed around inside his apprentice. With words and thoughts the emotions inside him swelled. He exerted some control, perhaps because he did not wish to act out in front of his Master, but he still was so consumed by those feelings, and hardly seemed to notice how much it inhibited him. This training would help them touch upon that area of their meeting, but it was not currently his main concern.

“On this occasion, my apprentice, it is I who will be of service. Your recent confrontation with a Jedi Master will have no doubt revealed your shortcomings. You are strong, but there are areas in which you are severely lacking, and this war will bring you face to face with many more Jedi. I’d rather you were more prepared for them next time around.”

“There are some important basics that you are lacking, things that children in the Jedi Order can do better than you. I state this as fact, so that you might understand ways in which you are unprepared for the Jedi. They train for years to predict the nearest and furthest futures, to connect with and understand what is around them. This is an area in which you lack. You are aware, you have your own means, you use your eyes and your mind, but that will only get you so far. There are scholars of the Force who can predict your actions before you’ve started thinking them, warriors who can foresee your attacks and counter them in an instant, and there are even some who are so in tune with this aspect of the Force that they have no use for their eyes at all. It is a crucial part of the Force that you must expand upon so that you can use it in combat, it will keep you from an early grave.”

Iniquitous turned and walked to his desk, upon which there was a black container. He picked it up and walked back to his apprentice. With the press of a button upon the edge of the container, the top opened to reveal two identical circular machines and a long piece of black cloth. “These will be your most basic training tools. You will find little joy in developing this skill in its early stages; it will frustrate and irritate you. But know that giving in to your anger will not help you. Whilst it will give you power it will dull your focus, you must learn to master your anger, to use it at will, to be the one in control.”

“To begin with we shall see how you fair against a single remote whilst blindfolded. Ready yourself my apprentice.” Iniquitous would see how much work there was to do during this brief first step.

[Cain]

Jack shifted uncomfortably in place as Iniquitous spoke. Absorbing criticism was not among his many talents. Especially when the critique was accurate. Jack's short temper certainly had done him no favors on Metellos. Anger gave power to his command of the dark side, but in the face of a far superior opponent, even that power was not enough. Worst of all, Jack knew it. Attempting to match a stronger foe blow for blow was exactly the kind of simple minded, bantha-like behavior Jack detested in his peers here at the academy.

Jack's ability to control the dark side within himself was waning. It was not so much this revelation itself, but more so that the Dark Overlord had recognized the obviousness of his condition as well that perturbed Jack. To appear weak was a dangerous thing on Korriban, especially here, in these chambers, at the heart of the Sith's power.

Jack bit his tongue and steeled himself against the Overlord's barrage of harsh truths. Finally Iniquitous came to Jack's first lesson... a remote droid and a blindfold. Jack couldn't conceal his frown. He knew what this tool was used for. Jack had no talent for using a lightsaber, and even less for anticipating attacks. In the past he'd compensated for this by devising many simple cheats and workarounds. Force barriers working as pseudo trip wires and cast-all-defenses was among his favorites. Taking the time to learn to intercept a blaster bolt with a lightsaber blade seemed silly, after all, when one could just raise a wall instead. However this time the lesson came with the more practical goal of teaching Jack control.

With a short sigh Jack wrapped the blindfold over his eyes. In the breast pocket of his jacket were his cigarettes and the weathered, worn hilt of his lightsaber. This was one of the rare occasions in which he'd reach for the latter first. Lightsaber in hand, Jack shrugged off his jacket. Underneath he wore a simple black t-shirt and a harness for the sheathe and katana on his back.

The remote droid kicked on with a whir and began to strafe around Jack's position. He rolled his neck around his shoulders, the joints popping and creaking as if they'd not been used in years. Finally he ignited his weapon. The sound it produced had been followed by a shot of nicotine so frequently that the familiar hiss and hum of the blade only reminded Jack how badly he'd like a cigarette. This momentary lapse in concentration was enough to miss the remote's first test. Unable to react properly, Jack could only dive aside, avoiding the stun bolt by centimeters and crashing heavily to the ground.

Jack winced, grabbing his side. His ribs did not appreciate that, nor was it the sexiest of maneuvers. A deep breath and Jack hefted himself back up. This time he attempted to maintain his concentration on the remote. His feelings were fuzzy, inaccurate. A vague anticipation of danger alerted Jack to raise his defenses. He lifted his lightsaber and the droid fired. The bolt's trajectory was too steep and thus missed Jack's blade, instead striking his wrist.

Jack grunted with the pain. The bolt was not at full power, but still left a nasty burn. He gritted his teeth, trying not to allow his frustration to overwhelm him again. This was going to take time and practice.