Re: Act 6.0b - During the Meeting
Dohr listened to the women exchanging stories and knew his turn would come up soon too. Being 37 years of age and having spent 15 or so of those mostly off Dorin, the doctor’s story would be too long to be told in all its entirety. There were parts and times he would not like to disclose or even remember. And yet there were many occasions he would hold dear for all his life. It was genuinely interesting for the Kel Dorian to hear Kyvarr talk about his army history. And Fiarr’s description of the events at the Grand made him smile. People had been fairly tense and things could’ve have gone much worse, but compared to the events on the following day the little incident seemed quite irrelevant.
Nijel was a beast to behold. Dohr had been expecting a heavy weapon, a heavy blaster or even a light repeater. But Nijel was a Merr-Sonn Z-6, a blaster of an entirely different breed. The Dorian armed forces didn’t use the Z-6 as the Kel-Dor soldiers rarely were strong enough to handle one properly without a harness, but Dohr had seen a few on this trips around the galaxy. Fortunately he’d never been forced to be on the receiving end of one. Idaya’s rifle on the other hand was quite alien by appearance. It had some similarities to Dohr’s own Rodian carbine, but yet looked very different. But that didn’t really surprise the doctor. He’d seen so many members of different species that nothing much did anymore.
Kyvarr was indeed very protective about her Nijel it seemed and the Chiss considered the weapons of her own people superior to others as was quite natural. But before the differences of opinion had time to turn into an argument, Dohr decided it was his turn to speak. He looked at Fiarr, smiled behind his mask and nodded. ”Yes. I am very well, thank you.”
He then turned to the Cathar and the Chiss and pointed at the guns with a clawed finger.”Both of your weapons are very beautiful and deadly, but in my childhood I observed a weapon even more lethal and beautiful on a daily basis.” Dohr surprised himself with the words coming out of his mouth. There was really no reason for him to share the particular fact of his background with these three women who were basically little more than strangers. Not that it really mattered as there was really no way the information could hurt him now or in the future.
A couple of seconds and a silent sight later the doctor continued:”A lightsaber… or in fact two. I could have watched my father and my mother practice their different forms against each other all the time every day. Little did I understand of the danger hidden in the wonderful dance of those humming colourful blades back then. Having retired from the Jedi Order, my parents did not participate in the war between the Republic and the Separatists, but concentrated on making our world’s defences stronger instead. For you see, the leaders of our people feared the galactic struggle would at some point reach Dorin as well. Sixteen or seventeen years ago when the republic was torn apart by Emperor Palpatine, their fears became reality…”
Dohr shook his head sadly and carried on: ”I do not know how powerful Jedi my parents were as I had never seen them in real action, but the constant practice and general Veen’s status as a Master of the order made me think they could win anyone… I was not with them when the Imperial forces arrived. I was posted with my troops at the defensive line inside the main spaceport. The generals and the ministers initially considered fighting, but quickly decided such a battle would be futile and have the same end result with a lot of our young dead. Therefore after a few short skirmishes, the Kel Dorian nation surrendered.”
”Apparently my father or my mother or both had known what would happen and what they would be up against. That was why they had returned home and sent the servants away to keep them safe. After the things calmed down, I was finally able to head home. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw…” The words just seemed to pour out of the doctor’s mouth. He was surprised about how sad it still made him feel after all those years. ”All of the palace personnel had not left the premises in time. At the gates two guards had been ruthlessly shot down by a hail of blaster bolts. At the stairs leading to the entrance, Aira, the butler had faced the same fate… Father and mother had not gone down without a fight. The floor of the grand hall was littered with bodies of dead clones. The stormtroopers had been foolish enough to attack them openly and had paid for the mistake with their lives. But they were not the only ones dead. My parents were lying lifeless on the cold tiles. The blaster bolts had not been the end of them as there were long cuts… burned cuts across their bodies. Mother had lost her hands and father his head and yet there was almost no blood to be seen.”
Dohr had been fiddling with the cane he’d picked up from the spaceport while he talked. He raised his eyes from the silvery stick and looked at the women in the room. ”The rumours of an evil Jedi, a Sith lord serving the Emperor had been true. Later on I heard stories of a black armored giant commanding the clones. He had hunted down two more Jedi in the capital and slain them mercilessly and after that the whole imperial force just left. Some of their officers had told the remaining Dorinian leaders that the world was now under Emperor’s protection and that the mighty ruler of the galaxy would send advisors and guardians to help in our world’s transition from the evil republic to the Empire… Later on I managed to get my hands on some security vids that showed this Sith, Lord Vader. He was an imposing figure whose gaze even his own soldiers tried to avoid.”
The doctor held the cane in his hand as if it were a sword, made a couple of swings through the air with it and let out a deep sigh. ”After the funeral, I did not linger long at home. There was really nothing left for me there anymore. I was nearly mad with revenge and hatred towards the imperials and the black Jedi. I swore I would devote my life in fighting against the evil Empire and its servants. And while I would love to drive a dagger into Vader’s black heart, I know it will never happen. He is too powerful and too well protected for me to accomplish that.”
Dohr let out a dry laugh that came out through the vocalizer more like a cough. ”Oh, but do forgive me my ladies for wasting your time with such a sombre tale. It was not my intention to ruin anyone’s good mood.” The voice became lighter and happier. ”I will finish by saying that for the last 15 or so years, with the exception of my time on Det Akari, I have roamed the galaxy causing havoc and pain to the imperials wherever and whenever possible. It is probably not completely sane, but that is the only thing I have left in my life. That… and the pointless hope to one day find my sister alive.”