... She had a need to feel the thunder
To chase the lightnin' from the skies
To watch the storm with all its wonder
Raging in her lover's eyes
She had to ride the heat of passion
Like a comet burnin' bright
Rushing head long in the wind
Out where only dreams had been
Burnin' both ends of the night...
To chase the lightnin' from the skies
To watch the storm with all its wonder
Raging in her lover's eyes
She had to ride the heat of passion
Like a comet burnin' bright
Rushing head long in the wind
Out where only dreams had been
Burnin' both ends of the night...
****
Years ago, Syren decided to leave much behind, including practicing the dark arts. To this day, she doesn't know why she did, just that it seemed to be the right time in her life to try her hand at other things; like a peaceful, uneventful life.
The select few who know Syren, whom know more than just her name and reputation, actually placed bets on just how long this new life would last. She surprised most in the fact that it lasted three and a half years. It wasn't easy, but she did it. Though, she cannot take all the credit. Her annoying personal droid, Six, kept playing the role of Syren's conscious. Finally tired of being a goody-goody, Syren had the ethics circuit removed from Six's motherboard and cashed her in for scrap.
During those three years, though, she decided to keep herself busy by having a few modifications added to her personal craft: a miniature cloaking device and bio-engineered spores; whose usefulness will be revealed later.
To her knowledge, only one other such ship like hers has ever existed in the universe and the owner of that ship has long since passed on. How she came across the plans for this one of a kind craft is another tale for another day.
The Nyte Masque is a custom-built Big Wing. Sporting a total of six laser cannons, three concealed in each wing; a short-range ion cannon hidden in the ships belly; a deflector shield, hyperdrive generator and sensor jammers. The ship itself resembles a large gackle bat. Instead of having the paint as rust-colors, she has had the ship painted black, with gold wing-tips. With a narrow cockpit positioned high and toward the rear of the craft, when the Nyte Masque takes flight, she casts a long shadow; however, the narrow frame makes it very difficult for one to target from the front or the rear.
A few more standard features of her ship include a full-color holoprojector, making it possible to receive messages from across the galaxy. A precise tractor beam which allows her to capture small cargo modules, starship components, and other stellar debris. A few other emergency devices as well as an escape pod - just in case. Originally, she thought she might try her hand at smuggling in order to help ease some of the restlessness. She never did do much with that, but she did decide to keep the ship anyways.
She measures twenty-seven meters in width, (the ship, not Syren) from wingtip to wingtip and reaches a maximum speed of 3.370 G's. The hyperdrive attains 1,200 kph, making her ship fast and easily maneuverable. She loves her ship. Though, she does grow rather annoyed with the ships built in astronavigational droid. The droid is directly hardwired into the Nyte Masque's systems to provide constant assistance and serve as a copilot if the need ever arises.
This droid also controls a small probe droid, which scurries through the ship, inspecting it, any passengers or cargo she may be carrying. This probe droid also has the capability of leaving the craft, though Syren's not tested that just yet. The idea of letting this droid out and on the loose in public unnerves her.
It is said that in order to move forward, one must go back. Consciously, Syren hasn't realized that she does just that - once a year. Years ago, she was left to die broken and alone when pirates raided Corellia. Her family was killed in the chaos, the love of her life was whisked away by some idealistic idea that he could save the galaxy when an even bigger fool implanted the idea into his head.
She'd only seen Rogell once since that fateful day her life was turned upside down. She hasn't seen him since. A good thing too, for if she had seen him more than that, she never would have walked down the desolate and addictive path known as the dark side.
Before wandering the darkness, she had chosen the light. In fact, she trained at the Jedi Academy for years, finally attaining the rank of a Jedi Knight. But that's when she met him. He enlightened her to the sheer power and glory of the darkside.He showed her the truth to the hypocracies of the do-gooders, easing her to stray from the straight path towards the righteous and over-glorified Saviors of the Galaxy.
Each year, on the anniversary of the Corellian Pirate Raid, she finds herself going home. Or, what she once considered home. Authorities never did find out exactly what band of pirates pulled off the successful and destructive raid, but each year, she finds herself snooping around.
Each year that has passed, no new information has ever surfaced. Whomever pulled off the raid did a damn good job. Most can't cover their tracks well enough to conceal their identities for over ten to fifteen years.
Then again, there were other allegations about the raid being connected to the Imperials during the aftermath. How ironic that would be if it were true. Afterall, she was once employed in the Imperial Navy.
Those thoughts are put out of her mind as she finds herself squatting atop of a hill which overlooks where the 'old neighborhood' once stood; plucking on a piece of blade grass.
The sunset is more beautiful that she remembers them being here on Corellia. The way the purples, oranges, blues, pinks and iridescents swirl through the stormy blue sky reminds her of some of the priceless works of art hanging in the Corellian Art Museum.
The night the pirates raided, the skies looked as pretty. Calm, a gentle breeze wafting in the air, delivering the scent of a storm building on the horizon.
Eyes as black as saccloth dance from thunderhead to thunderhead, the thoughts in her mind drifting back to a time long ago. She in her early to mid-teens and deeply in love with Rogell. He was a few years older and promised that one day, they would be wed. Life was good and she had not a care in the world.
"Damn you.", she scoffs as she tosses the blade grass down to the ground and rises. Pacing slowly, she looks from where the neighborhood once stood to the skies, replaying over and over the events which thrust her into her own living hell.
The sounds of children's laughter fills the air, carried on the winds which kicked up as a storm approaches towards the streets down the hill. Syren was sitting under the old maple tree, waiting for Rogell to show up. He called her, told her to meet him at seven o'clock under the shade tree; he had something important to ask her.
Seven o'clock had come and gone. Just as Syren was about to give up and head back home, the clouds opened up and a small fleet of ships came barrelling through. Laser fire rained down on the defenseless citizens below. The children's laughter became shrieks of terror and fright. They tried to run away, most were mowed down by an endless deluge of laserfire from the phantom ships above.
Ion cannons fired shortly thereafter; blowing up buildings left and right as the ships landed wherever they damn well pleased. Syren's gut instincts took over, dictating her actions. She ran down the hill in the opposite direction of her home. At the bottom of this side of the hill was the old dried up canal. It was there that the 'cool kids' use to hang out on saturday nights.
She ducked into the large permacrete tunnel and followed it lower and lower. It was the old access tunnel for the city workers controlling the dam. She stayed there until everything was over. The smell of acrid smoke and death awakened her the next afternoon. The images she saw upon exiting the old tunnel are still fresh in her mind today.
Syren just realizes now that as her mind reminisced, she walked the path she had taken on the day the Pirates raided. She glances to her left, then to her right; seeing a shadowed figure lingering just beyond the entry point of the service tunnel.