Darth Malgus actually started to tremble. Not out of fear or anything similar. But pure anger. So much so that he channeled the force to lift the carbonite prison that once contained him and flung it across the sand.
And luckily not at the Jedi.
3000 years. 3000.
This time he does draw his lightsaber and points it at the Jedi.
"And the Sith Empire. What has become of it, Jedi?"
At least it sounds like there are still Sith around. That was good.
"I've absolutely no idea," he said, calmly and pleasantly. While staring down a lightsaber pointed at him by an enraged and likely disoriented Sith.
"They went away for a while, they came back. I don't believe I'd call what the Sith have now a Sith Empire, but there is an Empire and the Emperor is Sith, if that's of any use."
"What do you mean?" Though the Emperor being a Sith was good news. But hearing how they disappeared and then came back again ...
That was disappointing. Their reemergence lead by him against the Jedi Temple was supposed to be the start of their return for good. They were supposed to destroy all the Jedi once and for all.
That lead to another question.
"Is the Sith Academy still on Korriban?" By his time, the Jedi knew of it's location, there was no reason to believe that information would be suddenly lost.
And this Jedi was being strangely helpful about all of this.
He lifts his eyebrows just a bit when asked what he meant. He thought he'd been clear enough, but: "There was a long period of time where there was little enough Sith activity that they began to be seen as myth. There still aren't very many, at least compared to the height of their power, and certainly there's no centralized location. There are Sith ruins on Moraband - Korrigan in your time - and the world as a whole has seen both ... visitors and occasional use, but overall the entire planet's been abandoned."
He was being very helpful. He was not afraid but he sincerely had no desire for a fight and not just because the man and his story resembled Anakin.
"If you've finished pointing that saber at me, we can go somewhere much more comfortable, talk over tea, and work out arrangements for you to find some sort of transport."
Malgus really just wanted confirmation of what he suspected. So the Sith Empire collapsed itself. He wouldn't give any credit to the Jedi for their disappearance because the Sith were just as capable of destroying themselves. Politics got in the way. Someone was always backstabbing someone else to try and gain favor with a higher ranking sith.
It was petty and foolish all around.
At one point he tried to take over and abolish all of these obsolete ideas, but he failed and so did the Sith Empire it seemed. Still for even a few to still be around was a testament to the power of the Sith and Dark Side.
He was lost in his own thoughts for a very brief moment, though he deactivated his lightsaber. The Jedi's actions were nothing but curious. While he did not fully like this idea ... he had a lot of catching up to do it seems. Even he was not so foolish barge in on Sith he did not know.
"I could easily kill you after you have given me transport, you know." It wasn't really a threat more of a statement. He steps forward moving to just walk passed the Jedi. "And you still haven't given me a name."
He turns when the 'saber pointed at him deactivates and begins to walk, intentionally falling in beside Malgus. He is entirely matter of fact in doing so. He doesn't make an issue of it, certainly does not try to stop the Sith Lord from moving, there's no flare of temper or ego, he just isn't going to trail along behind him like a lost bantha.
He turns his head and looks over the man and looks him over for a moment, then smiles faintly and shrugs one shoulder in a surprisingly elegant gesture. "Possibly." Possibly easily, and possibly could, he means. There wouldn't be much sense in it, but since when do Sith have any sense?
"You can call me Ben." Giving him a real name would be a step more stupid than he will be for the sake of honesty, but he's also not lying. He hasn't said that his name is Ben. "And we've only about a kilometer to go. We should manage before the blasted suns become more than an annoyance. Until then, how dependent upon your respirator are you and am I going to need to find some sort of alternative means of hydration and nutrition be stocked on this transport?"
Malgus always found Jedi to be a nuisance. An annoyance. Walking beside one still made that irritation he felt quite clear. In the force, they always felt like a pressure of the lightside pressing against the dark. This one was no different, though he did not project his presence like a beacon. Rather it was calm, steady .. even.
Reaching back he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, casting his face in shadow and out of the sun.
"Your concern is noted, but unneeded. I can manage." He can disconnect the mask covering his jaw for short periods of time. While he can't last forever without it, he won't immediately die.
"Where are the rest of your Jedi? This planet feels empty from the Force." Except for maybe something. Something small out there. But it was nothing the Sith cared enough to make a point about.
He considered and then supposed that, yes, he had been concerned and moved on.
Moved on with a wry smile. "History," he said, still somehow level, "seems to be in the habit of repeating. So far as I know, I am one of two Jedi, and I've no idea where the other one is."
Bitter? No. Angry? Somewhat, somewhere, under other things.
Both the Jedi and Sith reduced to barely nothing. Though in the end neither actually destroyed one another. Malgus considered that he could do the current Sith a favor. Destroy this Jedi and help them crush the order completely.
He thought back to the Jedi apprentice who hunted him down in order to kill him. They were both ultimately betrayed by their Orders. And now it is once again a Jedi who shares a similarity to his situation. Both lost and away from their orders.
Though he suppose it's less loss for the Jedi and more like hiding.
"As long as the Jedi exist, hope remains in the galaxy. The Sith did not heed my warning back then, and it seems they have still not learned that lesson even thousands of years later. I want to know about the current Sith Order."
He was patently confused by hearing Malgus effectively speaking a philosophy that was very similar to his own, albeit for him 'as long as one survived, hope remains' was not a warning.
A baffled look for a moment and then: "I'll be happy to tell you anything I know, but I've no idea what that might be. As I said, so far as I know there are two. Sidious and Vader. Sidious rules the Empire."
Ah names. Names were important. It gave him a start.
"I suppose as a Jedi you would not know much of the Sith Order. I was merely curious if they ever moved away from their obsolete teachings petty grabs for power. Considering it has been reduced to only two, I am going to guess they have not. The Jedi are lucky in that regard, not as much unrest among the ranks. Though I have seen them betray their own for politics."
He might have smirked with that last part as gave a half glance towards Ben.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, in complete dead-pan and with a flat look.
Yes.
Yes he did.
He was just mostly tired about the whole thing, now. Most of his stronger emotions had burned out over his time on Tatooine. Not released so much as just...worn down, right along with him.
"They also have a tendency to kill one another for their own personal advancement, which is likely the reason there are only two. They are horrible at cooperating."
"I do not not disagree with your assessment. That was another warning," he gestured with a hand almost idly, "I knew if they continued on their path they would lead to their own destruction. I was not wrong. Sith Politics were a waste of time. Bloodlines, ranks, attempts scrambling to gain favor with someone of a higher rank. All pointless."
He verbally paused a moment before continuing.
"I'm sure my words surprise you Jedi, but make no mistake. I am a Sith and if our situations were reversed, I would have killed you."
"I am not," he said, withexasperation, "contrary to the sermonizing of every Sith I have encountered, as though they are given a script, stupid. I am also not Force blind. I am perfectly well aware that you would kill me were our situations reversed. I am also perfectly well aware you may choose to do so as soon as you've gotten everything useful that you can from me."
He raked a hand back through his hair and spared an idle thought for the fact that he needed a haircut and then: "I am still going to take you home, give you a cup of tea and then arrange for you to have transport off this foresaken rock. I am going to do that, because that is who I am. You will do what you will do based entirely upon who you are, and one way or the other the galaxy and force will carry on."
Edited (removing extra words) 2020-01-14 02:01 (UTC)
"I don't think you're stupid, Jedi. Possibly foolish, but not for the reasons you believe. I just want to make it clear, that I am also no fool. You're here in hiding."
From what? Possibly the Sith. And it was perfectly obvious that the Jedi wanted him gone. But he also wanted to avoid a fight. And while both intriguing and curious, Malgus had half a mind to leave it alone.
What he did not know was that Malgus would probably not kill him if the Jedi did as he said he would. He considered it yes, but ultimately he'd owe a debt for the Jedi's aide and simply leaving him would repay that.
If they ever met again in the future, that would be another story.
"The Emperor's new apprentice was my old one. He didn't get his new apprentice in quite the shape he expected him to be in. Yes, I am here in hiding."
There was nothing but truth in that, no bragging, no... edginess, nothing of the sort. Just that matter of fact reporting of what was.
And leaving alone what he really did not want to add to that truth.
"I am curious though. For what reasons do you believe I am foolish? Or better yet, what are the reasons that I think you think that are wrong." He actually made a face, a pained one, at the sheer convoluted nature of that sentence.
Aha. That explains it a great deal. The Jedi either did not want to face his apprentice again or believed he could not. Either way, it wasn't Malgus' concern. Nor did he really care.
He tilted his head downward to glance from under the hood over at the Jedi.
"You believe I look down on you. That I think you lack skill and are weak and that is why I would be able to defeat you."
He didn't bother to look at Ben while he spoke or even look back over at him for confirmation.
He continued to trudge through the sand, which now involved the obnoxious task of trying to climb the stuff.
Sand was bad.
Dunes were worst. He hated sand in his boots, but it was inevitable.
He made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat.
"Essentially, though it's lacking the near obligatory element of being completely insane I tend to associate with the Sith. Though so far, so have you."
And Ben's remark response that almost sounds like a laugh from behind the respirator.
"The Sith of my time might not agree. My ideas are considered unconventional. And I do not play their power games." And he may have tried to take over and declare himself Emperor. But it was the only way he thought he could force change.
"I serve the Force. I am its instrument that brings conflict. The Force is not light or dark, but the conflict created with both. The Jedi do not understand that as they only believe in peace. Peace brings weakness. It dulls the senses and skill. The Sith believe in their own selfish desires -- also weakness. That is why I think you are foolish, Jedi. Not because of your training or how you use the Force. But your knowledge of it."
He was actually unconventional to the entire Empire. And will probably not like the current one considering their views remain unchanged.
"Yes, the end point is very much a line from the Sith Script." Which did not mean the rest was, and he wasn't more than lightly snarky when he made that remark.
He also did not outright dismiss the rest, though he turned it over in his mind for a bit. Not to decide if he agreed with it - he did not - but.
But.
"Given the state that the Force returns to, time and again, I can't say that the idea has no merit. Unlike the current Sith philosophy which seems to be little more than to be precisely opposite anything Jedi, rather than anything with... thought or purpose behind it."
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me."
He recited the saying, while they trudged through the sand.
He makes a low sound in his throat again. As they arrive at the top of the dune his home - which is honestly fairly worn down but more of an old cabin than a hut - comes into view.
"Well, peace certainly is a lie," he said, this time actually sounding bitter, if only a little. "The end point is rather better than what I would have expected. In practice it seems to stop at gaining power."
The Jedi always did have more simplistic tastes -- despite their temple. The Sith on the other hand ... some would erect elaborate fortresses filled with all sorts of possessions. Some made it a point to show off their status in choice of lifestyle.
"Because they believe victory is achieved simply through domination. I won't lie, I wanted all of Coruscant to burn. That was my plan, but the Empire thought otherwise. They wanted to force submission onto a weakened enemy instead. But nothing is more dangerous than an wounded animal."
He looks down at the Jedi's home. It was kinda away from most life, a clever way to hide. Though a single life was easier to pick out among nothingness and Malgus wondered if the Jedi would be better off hiding in a more populated area.
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And luckily not at the Jedi.
3000 years. 3000.
This time he does draw his lightsaber and points it at the Jedi.
"And the Sith Empire. What has become of it, Jedi?"
At least it sounds like there are still Sith around. That was good.
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"They went away for a while, they came back. I don't believe I'd call what the Sith have now a Sith Empire, but there is an Empire and the Emperor is Sith, if that's of any use."
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That was disappointing. Their reemergence lead by him against the Jedi Temple was supposed to be the start of their return for good. They were supposed to destroy all the Jedi once and for all.
That lead to another question.
"Is the Sith Academy still on Korriban?" By his time, the Jedi knew of it's location, there was no reason to believe that information would be suddenly lost.
And this Jedi was being strangely helpful about all of this.
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He was being very helpful. He was not afraid but he sincerely had no desire for a fight and not just because the man and his story resembled Anakin.
"If you've finished pointing that saber at me, we can go somewhere much more comfortable, talk over tea, and work out arrangements for you to find some sort of transport."
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It was petty and foolish all around.
At one point he tried to take over and abolish all of these obsolete ideas, but he failed and so did the Sith Empire it seemed. Still for even a few to still be around was a testament to the power of the Sith and Dark Side.
He was lost in his own thoughts for a very brief moment, though he deactivated his lightsaber. The Jedi's actions were nothing but curious. While he did not fully like this idea ... he had a lot of catching up to do it seems. Even he was not so foolish barge in on Sith he did not know.
"I could easily kill you after you have given me transport, you know." It wasn't really a threat more of a statement. He steps forward moving to just walk passed the Jedi. "And you still haven't given me a name."
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He turns his head and looks over the man and looks him over for a moment, then smiles faintly and shrugs one shoulder in a surprisingly elegant gesture. "Possibly." Possibly easily, and possibly could, he means. There wouldn't be much sense in it, but since when do Sith have any sense?
"You can call me Ben." Giving him a real name would be a step more stupid than he will be for the sake of honesty, but he's also not lying. He hasn't said that his name is Ben. "And we've only about a kilometer to go. We should manage before the blasted suns become more than an annoyance. Until then, how dependent upon your respirator are you and am I going to need to find some sort of alternative means of hydration and nutrition be stocked on this transport?"
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Reaching back he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, casting his face in shadow and out of the sun.
"Your concern is noted, but unneeded. I can manage." He can disconnect the mask covering his jaw for short periods of time. While he can't last forever without it, he won't immediately die.
"Where are the rest of your Jedi? This planet feels empty from the Force." Except for maybe something. Something small out there. But it was nothing the Sith cared enough to make a point about.
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His concern?
He considered and then supposed that, yes, he had been concerned and moved on.
Moved on with a wry smile. "History," he said, still somehow level, "seems to be in the habit of repeating. So far as I know, I am one of two Jedi, and I've no idea where the other one is."
Bitter? No. Angry? Somewhat, somewhere, under other things.
Mostly? Kind of remote sounding.
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He thought back to the Jedi apprentice who hunted him down in order to kill him. They were both ultimately betrayed by their Orders. And now it is once again a Jedi who shares a similarity to his situation. Both lost and away from their orders.
Though he suppose it's less loss for the Jedi and more like hiding.
"As long as the Jedi exist, hope remains in the galaxy. The Sith did not heed my warning back then, and it seems they have still not learned that lesson even thousands of years later. I want to know about the current Sith Order."
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A baffled look for a moment and then: "I'll be happy to tell you anything I know, but I've no idea what that might be. As I said, so far as I know there are two. Sidious and Vader. Sidious rules the Empire."
Ask him questions, then.
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"I suppose as a Jedi you would not know much of the Sith Order. I was merely curious if they ever moved away from their obsolete teachings petty grabs for power. Considering it has been reduced to only two, I am going to guess they have not. The Jedi are lucky in that regard, not as much unrest among the ranks. Though I have seen them betray their own for politics."
He might have smirked with that last part as gave a half glance towards Ben.
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Yes.
Yes he did.
He was just mostly tired about the whole thing, now. Most of his stronger emotions had burned out over his time on Tatooine. Not released so much as just...worn down, right along with him.
"They also have a tendency to kill one another for their own personal advancement, which is likely the reason there are only two. They are horrible at cooperating."
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He verbally paused a moment before continuing.
"I'm sure my words surprise you Jedi, but make no mistake. I am a Sith and if our situations were reversed, I would have killed you."
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He raked a hand back through his hair and spared an idle thought for the fact that he needed a haircut and then: "I am still going to take you home, give you a cup of tea and then arrange for you to have transport off this foresaken rock. I am going to do that, because that is who I am. You will do what you will do based entirely upon who you are, and one way or the other the galaxy and force will carry on."
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From what? Possibly the Sith. And it was perfectly obvious that the Jedi wanted him gone. But he also wanted to avoid a fight. And while both intriguing and curious, Malgus had half a mind to leave it alone.
What he did not know was that Malgus would probably not kill him if the Jedi did as he said he would. He considered it yes, but ultimately he'd owe a debt for the Jedi's aide and simply leaving him would repay that.
If they ever met again in the future, that would be another story.
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There was nothing but truth in that, no bragging, no... edginess, nothing of the sort. Just that matter of fact reporting of what was.
And leaving alone what he really did not want to add to that truth.
"I am curious though. For what reasons do you believe I am foolish? Or better yet, what are the reasons that I think you think that are wrong." He actually made a face, a pained one, at the sheer convoluted nature of that sentence.
He liked eloquence and that was... not.
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He tilted his head downward to glance from under the hood over at the Jedi.
"You believe I look down on you. That I think you lack skill and are weak and that is why I would be able to defeat you."
He didn't bother to look at Ben while he spoke or even look back over at him for confirmation.
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Sand was bad.
Dunes were worst. He hated sand in his boots, but it was inevitable.
He made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat.
"Essentially, though it's lacking the near obligatory element of being completely insane I tend to associate with the Sith. Though so far, so have you."
It was very strange.
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It was coarse --
And rough --
And Ben's remark response that almost sounds like a laugh from behind the respirator.
"The Sith of my time might not agree. My ideas are considered unconventional. And I do not play their power games." And he may have tried to take over and declare himself Emperor. But it was the only way he thought he could force change.
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Unconventional didn't begin to cover it.
Even before the laugh, especially after.
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He was actually unconventional to the entire Empire. And will probably not like the current one considering their views remain unchanged.
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He also did not outright dismiss the rest, though he turned it over in his mind for a bit. Not to decide if he agreed with it - he did not - but.
But.
"Given the state that the Force returns to, time and again, I can't say that the idea has no merit. Unlike the current Sith philosophy which seems to be little more than to be precisely opposite anything Jedi, rather than anything with... thought or purpose behind it."
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He recited the saying, while they trudged through the sand.
"That is the actual Sith philosophy."
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"Well, peace certainly is a lie," he said, this time actually sounding bitter, if only a little. "The end point is rather better than what I would have expected. In practice it seems to stop at gaining power."
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"Because they believe victory is achieved simply through domination. I won't lie, I wanted all of Coruscant to burn. That was my plan, but the Empire thought otherwise. They wanted to force submission onto a weakened enemy instead. But nothing is more dangerous than an wounded animal."
He looks down at the Jedi's home. It was kinda away from most life, a clever way to hide. Though a single life was easier to pick out among nothingness and Malgus wondered if the Jedi would be better off hiding in a more populated area.
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I'm not sure how much of this malgus personally knows but fuck it I do what I want
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