Antaulo was born on the Inner Core World of Corellia. He was the younger of two sons from a forbidden and unsanctioned couple. His father a Green Jedi and his mother an Imperial Agent embedded with the Corellian Security Force. During the final days of Sith occupation on Corellia his parents were caught and forced to separate to their respective factions. However as the conditions in the Sector worsened the fog of war allowed the couple one last act of defiance.
Over the planet Talus Sith Empire and Republic ships fought. The Republic seeking retribution for years of oppression was showing little mercy to the defeated Sith. Aboard a loan Hammerhead corvette however, a different type of war was ending. Rebelling until the last, Jantonus Munovia fought off a group of Sith Assassins sent to kill him for aiding in the Republic’s victory. He looked upon his family one last time before sealing himself in engineering. Jantanus had given his eldest son Marcalo over to his friend and mentor, Jedi Master Strade to protect in another part of the ship, with the promise to take him to train as a Jedi.
His wife chose a different path for their youngest. She took an escape pod with Antaulo in tow and launched into space. Filled with sorrow she was determined to live and return to the Sith Empire. Daneliana turned on her Cipher tracker so that she could be picked up quickly by an Intelligence asset in the field. Fleeing the system before the battle ended she and young Antaulo made their across the galaxy. years later they returned to dromund kaas where in quick time his sensitivity to the Force had been discovered...
((This is the start of a new character Antaulo Munovia that I have created...I look forward to seeing where he takes us!))
Dromund Kaas…Kaas City Outskirts…
“Cipher 74, you place me in a difficult position.” Keeper said over the holo-transmitter. Torrential rain fell behind her as she huddled close to her son, Antaulo. Just over the age of 22 he had grown up on the move from planet to planet. Outer Rim, Mid Rim even a stint on Alderaan. His mother had done her best to protect him from the ever vigilant Sith who scoured the Empire looking for candidates for the Academy on Korriban. She was a loyal citizen and under the employ of Intelligence but for too long the Sith had squabbled amongst themselves and had halted the expansion of the Empire. Just recently she had received word from an old ally who had a strong power base in the Sith hierarchy. This Sith had taken an interest in her son and had offered to forgo the training on Korriban and take her son as his apprentice. She had all but exhausted her contacts and the favors they owed to her to discover and make initial contact with this Sith. “I understand the consequences of my actions but I have no choice. If what I have heard is true, my son’s power and talent’s will be wasted on Korriban. He must become a true Lord of the Sith outside the intrigue and rot that has become of the Dark Council.” Daneliana finished as thunder struck outside their tent. For weeks since their return to Dromund Kaas a group of bounty hunters had tracked them and drove them out of Kaas City. She had been able to determine that an unknown Sith Lord was collecting candidates for training on Korriban by the dozens and had found out that her Force sensitive son was in the capital. Antaulo held a blaster in his hand and was looking outside the tent, trying to decipher if those noises in the brush were Trandoshans or some local wildlife. “This Sith Lord that reached out to me was very specific on instructions and how to prove you and your son were not spies.” Keeper replied. It was impossible to tell if he was going to permit the continued betrayal of one of his best agents, she could only hope if any punishment came down it was directed at her. “I suggest you shake off whatever tail you have acquired and proceed to the next transfer point. Keeper out!” the holo fizzled and turned off. “At least he didn’t send troops this time Mother.” Antaulo said. “No, but that could only mean he is aware the bounty hunters are close enough to do the job for him.” She slung her blaster rifle over and checked the charges. “Still got some juice left…we need to make it back to our ship before we are found.” She said standing up. “Time to go.” Antaulo said also standing. Both were dressed in a modified version of Imperial soldier uniforms and rugged boots. Most of their supplies had been successfully stored on their ship, an older model X-60A that had been Cipher 74’s ship since being deployed as an agent.
After almost an hour of hiking up and around a rather perilous peak, the pair had made it to their ship’s perimeter. It was still covered in a camouflage tarp however it was also now surrounded by five Trandoshans in full body armor. Two armed with lances and the other three with blasters. “Blast it they didn’t pursue at all…we’ve been betrayed!” Antaulo said cursing and drawing his blaster. “Hold off my son, we are outnumbered as far as we can tell…this group might be the one they want us to see.” She drew her rifle and set her distance on the scope. Switching to infrared view she shook her head and smiled. “Sloppy, there indeed are three more in brush behind the port side of the ship. Those are the ones I want you to take care of.” She finished, pointing out the area with her hand. “I will take position a few meters back in that outcropping we passed. There is a good enough spot for me to setup a nest and take care of these jokers before they knew what hit them. Once I start firing move in.” Antaulo nodded and took his mother’s hand briefly. “Just remember what I have shown you and you’ll be alright. Now go!” she finished rushing off to take her position. Antaulo watched for a moment as she disappeared into the foliage, the rain picking up once more and the cursed lightning of Dromund Kaas striking at will anywhere. He started to circumvent the ship, quietly moving from one place of cover to the next. A fallen tree, a group of shrubs, even an out of place boulder assisted his trek towards the hidden hunters. He had read that Trandoshans had a keen sense of smell and hearing, so he did as best he could to remain downwind and run only when rain and thunder could cover some of the noise his footsteps would make.
Antaulo had nearly reached a good spot to shoot his first target when he heard the whine and whistle of a blaster shot striking true on the chest of the outermost Trandoshan penetrating it and striking harmlessly against the hull of the ship. The other four scrambled to take cover and in that confusion another flash of red the second Trandoshan squealed and fell dead to the mud. The young human now looked at his targets. Two had advanced just inside their area of cover, the third still stood closer to him. He heard return fire from the three surviving hunters but by the sound of it they were wild and off the mark. “Time to die…” he whispered as he took aim. Antaulo had been playing with blasters and rifles since he could remember. Taking an affinity to smaller arms than his sniper mother he recognized he had great aim and a very steady hand to shoot, sometimes being able to sense the movement of a target. His mother told him he must have an affinity to the Force. His father had been a Jedi she said, and that was all she really did say about him. She once spoke of an older brother, one that he would never see as he had been kidnapped by the Jedi when he was born. A tale that only brought anger and hate to young Antaulo. Perhaps it was punishment for his crimes that his father was dead and mother spared. Only through training could he learn the secrets of his untapped powers. One day he might have the power to reunite with his brother and destroy him and his Jedi friends. Mercy for the evil they spread throughout the Galaxy.
Taking a breath he squeezed the trigger and exhaled as he fired a blue blaster bolt at the head of the Trandoshan. It hit and sent the reptilian down with a thud. At once the other two turned and started firing in his general direction. Already on the move he revealed himself briefly to the two attackers. Drawing now more fire on him, he could hear once again the familiar sound of his mother’s rifle. Less blaster fire was the response to that, another successful kill. Just barely he managed to take cover behind a large tree, the repeating blasters burning the wood off the bark still burned his face slightly. He pulled a flash grenade from his belt and threw it towards one of the Trandoshans. It exploded and he took his next shots wildly towards the blinded hunter. Two of five shots hit their marks on the abdomen and right leg. “Two down…” he thought just as he heard something land next to him beeping. “Frakk me…” he started to run and then leaped as the thermal detonator exploded in a shower of broken wood and mud. The concussion of the blast sending him flying he landed on his back against a tree. His blaster lost in the bushes. Stars surrounded his vision and he felt as if he was going to pass out. That was until he saw the Trandoshan almost upon him, reaching out to him with long arms. Antaulo managed to block the open ended attack and extend his leg out to kick the hunter in the chest. Had he not been so weakened that kick could have caused much more damage. Instead the Trandoshan growled and came at him again. Right before he was upon him a familiar sound stopped it dead. Splattered with blood on his tunic Antaulo stood to see his mother not far off. “Thanks! I had him though!” he yelled.”
Mother and son reunited they embraced briefly. A loud noise came from behind followed by shouts. Through the brush came out a pair of military speeders and flanking troopers. The soldiers had started to fan out around them in a slow trot. Daneliana restrained her son’s impulse to shoot first and took a step out towards the platoon. “Get onboard the ship my son.” She said quickly. Keeper emerged from one of the speeders. “Cipher 74 you are hereby placed under arrest for treason against the Emperor. Surrender at once or be shot where you stand!” he called out. “You know I cannot do that Keeper.” She replied as Antaulo ran up the ramp heading towards the cockpit. The young man was angered that their last ally had betrayed them. Taking a seat in the pilots chair he started up the engines and turned on the external speakers and cameras. He was in shock to see his mother with her rifle raised and aimed at Keeper. “Don’t do anything rash!” he exclaimed and she saw her take a shot that hit the mark. As the Keeper fell the troopers opened fire on her, cutting her down in seconds. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” he cried as he sealed the hatch and ignited the repulsors, lifting the craft off the ground. Switching on the ground defenses he opened fire on the troopers below, kicking on the shields as their blasters fired on him. A score of troopers fell before he gained enough altitude to kick on the thrusters and blast off into space. A single tear falling down his cheek he swore to avenge her by tearing down the rotten Empire piece by piece.
As soon as his ship was in open space he leaned back in his chair wondering where to go next. The answer came almost immediately. A beep from his communications station sent him scurrying to it. Anger, regret, fear and more anger filled him. It was a heavily encrypted message that took some time to open. Once done he watched an image take shape. It was that of a Twi'lek. A powerful and serious tone pronounced his greeting. “Acolyte, I am Darth Nalokk, I have accepted you as my new apprentice. Please enter the following coordinates into your nav-computer and await instructions.” The image vanished and was replaced by the coordinates to be entered. And so began this new chapter in his life…the time had come to learn the ways of the Force…
FIN
Epilogue:
The rain continued to fall on the smoking and damaged terrain. The last sonic boom let those who remained know the ship had long gone. Standing up and brushing away the mud water Keeper had rubbed on his chest. A few meters away Cipher 74 also stood, grimacing a bit in pain. “Your troopers didn’t have to stun that many times.” She said walking over to her Keeper. “A few inches more and you would have killed me also with your stun shot.” Came the dry reply from Keeper. They stood in front of one another now, the surviving troopers collecting the dead and wounded. “Do you think he bought it?” he asked. “He is strong with the Force and could sense many things…but he is not trained. He cannot know it was all a ruse.” Daneliana replied standing firm. “Well then…now that we have taken care of that…are you ready to return to fold?” Keeper asked. “Yes sir…what are my orders?” she replied. “You are hereby assigned to monitor the progress of our agents on Coruscant. They have become lax and require…the proper motivation to perform their duties.” Keeper said with an ominous tone. “Understood Keeper, I will leave at once.” Cipher 74 replied saluting and walking towards the nearest speeder. Her duty to her son had ended. It was time again to return to her work to salvage what remained of the Sith Empire and the end of the Republic…
Dromund Kaas…Kaas City Outskirts…
“Cipher 74, you place me in a difficult position.” Keeper said over the holo-transmitter. Torrential rain fell behind her as she huddled close to her son, Antaulo. Just over the age of 22 he had grown up on the move from planet to planet. Outer Rim, Mid Rim even a stint on Alderaan. His mother had done her best to protect him from the ever vigilant Sith who scoured the Empire looking for candidates for the Academy on Korriban. She was a loyal citizen and under the employ of Intelligence but for too long the Sith had squabbled amongst themselves and had halted the expansion of the Empire. Just recently she had received word from an old ally who had a strong power base in the Sith hierarchy. This Sith had taken an interest in her son and had offered to forgo the training on Korriban and take her son as his apprentice. She had all but exhausted her contacts and the favors they owed to her to discover and make initial contact with this Sith. “I understand the consequences of my actions but I have no choice. If what I have heard is true, my son’s power and talent’s will be wasted on Korriban. He must become a true Lord of the Sith outside the intrigue and rot that has become of the Dark Council.” Daneliana finished as thunder struck outside their tent. For weeks since their return to Dromund Kaas a group of bounty hunters had tracked them and drove them out of Kaas City. She had been able to determine that an unknown Sith Lord was collecting candidates for training on Korriban by the dozens and had found out that her Force sensitive son was in the capital. Antaulo held a blaster in his hand and was looking outside the tent, trying to decipher if those noises in the brush were Trandoshans or some local wildlife. “This Sith Lord that reached out to me was very specific on instructions and how to prove you and your son were not spies.” Keeper replied. It was impossible to tell if he was going to permit the continued betrayal of one of his best agents, she could only hope if any punishment came down it was directed at her. “I suggest you shake off whatever tail you have acquired and proceed to the next transfer point. Keeper out!” the holo fizzled and turned off. “At least he didn’t send troops this time Mother.” Antaulo said. “No, but that could only mean he is aware the bounty hunters are close enough to do the job for him.” She slung her blaster rifle over and checked the charges. “Still got some juice left…we need to make it back to our ship before we are found.” She said standing up. “Time to go.” Antaulo said also standing. Both were dressed in a modified version of Imperial soldier uniforms and rugged boots. Most of their supplies had been successfully stored on their ship, an older model X-60A that had been Cipher 74’s ship since being deployed as an agent.
After almost an hour of hiking up and around a rather perilous peak, the pair had made it to their ship’s perimeter. It was still covered in a camouflage tarp however it was also now surrounded by five Trandoshans in full body armor. Two armed with lances and the other three with blasters. “Blast it they didn’t pursue at all…we’ve been betrayed!” Antaulo said cursing and drawing his blaster. “Hold off my son, we are outnumbered as far as we can tell…this group might be the one they want us to see.” She drew her rifle and set her distance on the scope. Switching to infrared view she shook her head and smiled. “Sloppy, there indeed are three more in brush behind the port side of the ship. Those are the ones I want you to take care of.” She finished, pointing out the area with her hand. “I will take position a few meters back in that outcropping we passed. There is a good enough spot for me to setup a nest and take care of these jokers before they knew what hit them. Once I start firing move in.” Antaulo nodded and took his mother’s hand briefly. “Just remember what I have shown you and you’ll be alright. Now go!” she finished rushing off to take her position. Antaulo watched for a moment as she disappeared into the foliage, the rain picking up once more and the cursed lightning of Dromund Kaas striking at will anywhere. He started to circumvent the ship, quietly moving from one place of cover to the next. A fallen tree, a group of shrubs, even an out of place boulder assisted his trek towards the hidden hunters. He had read that Trandoshans had a keen sense of smell and hearing, so he did as best he could to remain downwind and run only when rain and thunder could cover some of the noise his footsteps would make.
Antaulo had nearly reached a good spot to shoot his first target when he heard the whine and whistle of a blaster shot striking true on the chest of the outermost Trandoshan penetrating it and striking harmlessly against the hull of the ship. The other four scrambled to take cover and in that confusion another flash of red the second Trandoshan squealed and fell dead to the mud. The young human now looked at his targets. Two had advanced just inside their area of cover, the third still stood closer to him. He heard return fire from the three surviving hunters but by the sound of it they were wild and off the mark. “Time to die…” he whispered as he took aim. Antaulo had been playing with blasters and rifles since he could remember. Taking an affinity to smaller arms than his sniper mother he recognized he had great aim and a very steady hand to shoot, sometimes being able to sense the movement of a target. His mother told him he must have an affinity to the Force. His father had been a Jedi she said, and that was all she really did say about him. She once spoke of an older brother, one that he would never see as he had been kidnapped by the Jedi when he was born. A tale that only brought anger and hate to young Antaulo. Perhaps it was punishment for his crimes that his father was dead and mother spared. Only through training could he learn the secrets of his untapped powers. One day he might have the power to reunite with his brother and destroy him and his Jedi friends. Mercy for the evil they spread throughout the Galaxy.
Taking a breath he squeezed the trigger and exhaled as he fired a blue blaster bolt at the head of the Trandoshan. It hit and sent the reptilian down with a thud. At once the other two turned and started firing in his general direction. Already on the move he revealed himself briefly to the two attackers. Drawing now more fire on him, he could hear once again the familiar sound of his mother’s rifle. Less blaster fire was the response to that, another successful kill. Just barely he managed to take cover behind a large tree, the repeating blasters burning the wood off the bark still burned his face slightly. He pulled a flash grenade from his belt and threw it towards one of the Trandoshans. It exploded and he took his next shots wildly towards the blinded hunter. Two of five shots hit their marks on the abdomen and right leg. “Two down…” he thought just as he heard something land next to him beeping. “Frakk me…” he started to run and then leaped as the thermal detonator exploded in a shower of broken wood and mud. The concussion of the blast sending him flying he landed on his back against a tree. His blaster lost in the bushes. Stars surrounded his vision and he felt as if he was going to pass out. That was until he saw the Trandoshan almost upon him, reaching out to him with long arms. Antaulo managed to block the open ended attack and extend his leg out to kick the hunter in the chest. Had he not been so weakened that kick could have caused much more damage. Instead the Trandoshan growled and came at him again. Right before he was upon him a familiar sound stopped it dead. Splattered with blood on his tunic Antaulo stood to see his mother not far off. “Thanks! I had him though!” he yelled.”
Mother and son reunited they embraced briefly. A loud noise came from behind followed by shouts. Through the brush came out a pair of military speeders and flanking troopers. The soldiers had started to fan out around them in a slow trot. Daneliana restrained her son’s impulse to shoot first and took a step out towards the platoon. “Get onboard the ship my son.” She said quickly. Keeper emerged from one of the speeders. “Cipher 74 you are hereby placed under arrest for treason against the Emperor. Surrender at once or be shot where you stand!” he called out. “You know I cannot do that Keeper.” She replied as Antaulo ran up the ramp heading towards the cockpit. The young man was angered that their last ally had betrayed them. Taking a seat in the pilots chair he started up the engines and turned on the external speakers and cameras. He was in shock to see his mother with her rifle raised and aimed at Keeper. “Don’t do anything rash!” he exclaimed and she saw her take a shot that hit the mark. As the Keeper fell the troopers opened fire on her, cutting her down in seconds. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” he cried as he sealed the hatch and ignited the repulsors, lifting the craft off the ground. Switching on the ground defenses he opened fire on the troopers below, kicking on the shields as their blasters fired on him. A score of troopers fell before he gained enough altitude to kick on the thrusters and blast off into space. A single tear falling down his cheek he swore to avenge her by tearing down the rotten Empire piece by piece.
As soon as his ship was in open space he leaned back in his chair wondering where to go next. The answer came almost immediately. A beep from his communications station sent him scurrying to it. Anger, regret, fear and more anger filled him. It was a heavily encrypted message that took some time to open. Once done he watched an image take shape. It was that of a Twi'lek. A powerful and serious tone pronounced his greeting. “Acolyte, I am Darth Nalokk, I have accepted you as my new apprentice. Please enter the following coordinates into your nav-computer and await instructions.” The image vanished and was replaced by the coordinates to be entered. And so began this new chapter in his life…the time had come to learn the ways of the Force…
FIN
Epilogue:
The rain continued to fall on the smoking and damaged terrain. The last sonic boom let those who remained know the ship had long gone. Standing up and brushing away the mud water Keeper had rubbed on his chest. A few meters away Cipher 74 also stood, grimacing a bit in pain. “Your troopers didn’t have to stun that many times.” She said walking over to her Keeper. “A few inches more and you would have killed me also with your stun shot.” Came the dry reply from Keeper. They stood in front of one another now, the surviving troopers collecting the dead and wounded. “Do you think he bought it?” he asked. “He is strong with the Force and could sense many things…but he is not trained. He cannot know it was all a ruse.” Daneliana replied standing firm. “Well then…now that we have taken care of that…are you ready to return to fold?” Keeper asked. “Yes sir…what are my orders?” she replied. “You are hereby assigned to monitor the progress of our agents on Coruscant. They have become lax and require…the proper motivation to perform their duties.” Keeper said with an ominous tone. “Understood Keeper, I will leave at once.” Cipher 74 replied saluting and walking towards the nearest speeder. Her duty to her son had ended. It was time again to return to her work to salvage what remained of the Sith Empire and the end of the Republic…