Remenissions

[Roth Fenix]

((Just a quick OOC note - this thread is intended to explain a backstory involving Roth and Kroenen, and the majority of it happened in the past, so it would be apprecited if people refrained from posting here without asking either of us first. Thanks!))

Roth Fenix stood in his chambers in the jedi Temple gathering his possessions to leave the Jedi Temple.

Roth walked around the room picking up the various possessions he kept in his room: the various lightsaber crystals, his commlink, datapad, and other electronical devices, and his various holocrons that he had spent so much time studying from.

After placing all of his various trinkets in a plasteel container, Roth walked over to his footlocker that sat at the foot of his bed. Roth kneeled down in front of the footlocker and slowly keyed in his security password to open the lock. The top of the footlocker popped open and Roth slowly raised the locker door up, reveling its contents.

In the locker sat a lone red, pyramid shaped holocron, one similar to those that were made by members of the Sith. But this holocron was different, it emanated a power like no other, its presence in the force betraying its secrecy, betraying the hidden wealth of knowledge contained inside the small device.

Roth turned the holocron over in his hands and gazed into the device, "Kroenen...." he muttered.

Unlike all of the other holocrons Roth had in his possession, he had been unable to discover the secrets contained in the holocron he held. He had kept the holocron to himself after trying to warn the Council of the Sith's return over four years ago. The Council denied Roth's evidence saying that the only two remaining Sith were Drake Paladin and his Apprentice Raeph Sunder.

But Roth knew that there was more to the Sith then what met the eye. He knew that the Sith had hidden their numbers from the Jedi, causing them to believe that they were near extinction and his suspicions had been proven correct on that fateful day on Korriban.

Roth shook his head, he had spent enough time in his chambers. He gathered his items and began walking towards the hangar that held the Corellian Corvette owned by both Trenton and Roth, the Valkyrie where Malfurion woul dbe waiting for him and where he would finally leave the Jedi Temple.

*****

Malfurion stood at the bottom of the ramp of the Valkyrie waiting for his master, Roth Fenix.

Malfurion knew the day would come when his master finally left the order. Roth had never agreed with the Jedi teachings and was always using methods that were considered by the Jedi to be dark and in the past few weeks, Roth had been recruiting a number of Jedi to leave the Order to form a stronger Order of Force users and to defend the galaxy from the threat of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Malfurion frew tired of waiting. After searching the hangar for his master he picked up his commlink to contact Roth when his Master grabbed his shoulder from behind him.

Roth looked down at his Apprentice with mild amusement and asked, "is everything ready to go Malfurion?"

Malfurion nodded, " yes master."

Roth nodded. Malfurion had always wondered how his Master could make himself invisible in the Force. Roth had been recently trying to teach his Apprentice the proper technique, but the young human was nowhere near perfecting the art.

Malfurion walked up the ramp behind his master into the Valkyrie, leaving the Jedi Temple behind.

*****

Two Standard Hours Later, Aboard the Valkyrie in Hyperspace

Roth sat in the meditation area of the Valkyrie cross-legged with the Sith holocron in front of him, trying to activate the device.

Roth poured his power into the Force towards the holocron, trying to get the holocron to respond to a powerful force user such as Roth, but to no avail. He sighed and picked up the holocron, then he remembered.

"Korriban," Roth muttered to himself, "that is where the secret lies." Roth paused in thought, "but not in the present, but the past."

Roth put the holocron down and stood up. He enveloped himself deep within the Force, letting the Force flow through him. The walls of the Corvette seemed to melt away to canyon walls and barren sand. In front of Roth instead of a small durasteel door sat the entrance of one of the Sith Tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords.

Then the transfromation stopped. Roth stood on the sands of the planet Korriban, looking directly at a younger version of himself. Roth, turned around and saw his old starfighter, the Redemption sitting idle in the middle of the Valley.

Roth looked back at the Younger Roth as he began to walk into the Tomb of Marka Ragnos. Roth followed, following the Younger Roth into the tomb, to the many traps that lay in wait, to the many deadly creatures that Roth remembered fighting.

To the time Roth fought for his very life against Darth Kroenen.

[Ghev Dralin]

Over four years ago

Kroenen wasn't particularly fond of the darkness, despite all signs to the contrary. Since his misfortune at the hands of Drake Paladin - and, admittedly, himself - he'd spent his life in darkness, illuminated only by the synthesised images his optical implants relayed to his brain.
How he'd thirsted for vengeance against Drake, the unlikely protector of Lord Carnifex. Despite his earlier orders for the Initiative to set a course to the Unknown Regions, he'd quickly decided he'd rather hunt down Drake and pay him in kind for his deeds that day.
Naturally, Drake wasn't to be found. Kroenen didn't know if it was by coincidence, or by sheer will of the Force that he hadn't been able to track Drake down, but eventually he'd accepted that the time would come, and the right thing to do was move on. Dwelling on the matter would only hinder his progress.

Sat at the heart of the tomb of Marka Ragnos, he felt such progress being made. He'd been here for what felt like weeks, and probably was weeks, carefully constructing his personal holocron. Within, he'd poured his every innermost thought, his teachings on the Force and his ideologies on Sith supremacy. He'd left hints about unlocking the secrets to techniques he alone possessed, and various tests designed to keep out unworthy students.
Only those with proven talent and knowledge of the Force would be able to access this precious databank, this simulacrum of his very consciousness and being. Only then would he know who was worthy of reigning with him, and who must be culled in order to purge the Sith of all weakness.

Something stirred him; a resonation in the Force. At first, he thought perhaps the sound of his own mechanical breathing had jarred him from his concentration, for it was something he was still growing used to. But no... it was a reverberation he was all too familliar with, the echo left by a Force-sensitive individual. He wasn't alone on Korriban.
He reached out with his senses, careful to remain shrouded within the Force - even here on Korriban, he chose to remain hidden, for it was a beacon to Sith who wished to learn more of the Force. And Kroenen didn't wish to be discovered.
Amidst the masses of lifeforms, and the potency of the Force surrounding the entire world, he found it; a glimmer, a tiny foreshadowing of a Force-sensitive presence.
He looked down at the holocron in his cybernetic hand, then continued his work. He knew that, whoever it was, they'd be coming here. They'd discover him, and he'd be forced into battle.

It was inevitable, and ultimately irrelevant. He would leave here with his work completed, no matter the cost.

[Roth Fenix]

OOC: This post is as Younger Roth, the Roth not flow walking. PResent Roth, the Roth flow walking into the past is watching the Younger Roth, going through the events which led him to confront Darth Kroenen. Present Roth is still here, i'm just doing this point through his point of view, watching Younger Roth. Yes I know it is really F-ing confusing, but you'll get it.

The tomb was illuminated with a bright purple light as Roth Fenix plunged his double-bladed saber into the skull of one of the attacking Shyracks.

Roth flipped back as another group of shyracks flew by, their mouths open letting out an earsplitting shriek. Roth turned around, ducking under another one of the creatures as it sreaked past, and let out a salvo of violet Force Lightning at the Shyracks, sending volts of electrical current through their bodies as they fell from their flight and lay, blackened and burnt on the ground.

Roth deactivated his saber staff and placed it back on hi sbelt and began to continue on into the tomb when he felt it. A dark presence filled with anger, hatred, fury. Roth hid his presence in the Force and continued on, Drake, Roth thought, i've finally found you. Roth turned a corner and entered a large, empty room. Roth strode towards the door when he heard a faint hisssssss.

Roth's lightsaber was instantly in his hand as the purple blades blazed to life. Roth looked to his left as he heard a small thudin the far corner of the cavern, sand rose from the ground, Roth wasn't alone in the cavern, someone, or something, was watching him.

Roth's danger sense kicked in. He was a blur of motion, exerting himself through the Force in a sideways somersault, narrowly avoiding the large snapping jaws of a dark side dragon, a Hssiss.

Roth eyed the Hssiss, a three meter long reptilian creature with a one meter long spiked tail. A bite from the Hssiss caused their victim to go insane with the Dark Side, their emotions eventually overtaking them, making them slaves to the Dark Side, and finally killing them. Roth felt he had nothing to fear, Hssiss were only dangerous hunters in packs.

As soon as the thought crossed Roth's mind, he leapt, avoiding the muscled tail of another Hssiss who had been directly behind him. Roth cursed himself for not being more aware of other presences other than the Sith he had felt earlier, Hssiss had a limited ability to conceal their presence in the Force, but not anywhere near as effective as Roth could.

Roth immediately sprang into action, using the Force he grabbed a large rock and threw it at the Hssiss at the far end of the room. The lizard swung his tail around and shattered the stone into pieces. Roth leapt towards the Hssiss while it was stunned and swung his saber, severing the Hssiss's tail from its body.Roth turned and performed a downward stab, cuting through the reptile's spine. It roared in pain and slammed to the ground.

Roth felt the attack coming, he had no time to spare. The Kiffar sprinted towards the wall and took three steps up the rock and backflipped landing behind the Hssiss as its jaws closed where Roth's torso had been.

Roth brought his hands up to deliver the killing blow, but the Dark Side lizard swept the lightsaber out of Roth's hand with a flick of its tail. Roth didn't miss a beat, he raised his hands and violet lightning erupted from his fingertips engulfing the Hssiss's entire body.

To Roth's surprise, his powerful attack left the Hssiss unscarred. Then he remembered, Hssiss were immune to certain types of Force attacks. Roth cursed himself once more for being so naive. As the one of the two most powerful Force users in the galaxy, Roth should have remembered the weaknesses of his enemies.

Roth called his lightsaber back to his hand and jumped back as the monster's large tail swept at him. Roth picked up the Hssiss using the Force, levitating it a meter off the ground. Roth clenched his outstretched hand into a fist and heard an enormous crack as all of the bones in the Hssiss's body shattered. The lizard roared, louder than its brother did just moments before. Roth threw his saber, embedding one of the double blades into the reptiles head.

The fight was over in ten seconds.

Roth called his saber back to his hand and left the room continuing through the ancient door towards the rear of Marka Ragnos's tomb. The hallway was dim, Roth didn't risk using a glow rod to attract anymore unwanted attention.

Then he felt the presence again, powerful, and closer than it had been before, to close, Roth thought, Drake Paladin was near.

Roth summoned his saber in his hand using the Force, slowly walking down the hallway of the tomb, keeping watch as far as he could through the darkness of the tomb. Then he heard a noise, the sound of heavy, labored, metallic breathing and the heavy thuds of metal on rock. Suddenly, the noises stopped. Roth froze into place, then slowly walked on, his breathing slow and quiet.

Roth felt the attack before he saw it. A Crimson blade of pure energy sliced at Roth's head from a side passage. Roth activated one end of his double bladed lightsaber, dropping to one knee to block the blow. Roth gritted his teeth with strain, the Sith's strength was enormous, almost double of a normal humanoid, but Roth was no normal Kiffar.

Roth called on the Force to aid his strength, rising to his full height and pushed the locked blades as close to the attacker's face as he could.

Instead of the face of Drake Paladin, Roth didn't see a face at all, but rather a bronze colored helmet, similar to the design of an ubese helmet, but with a rounded top shaped like a human skull. His attacker's long, gray fingers ended in spikes, as sharp as vibrodaggers. Roth looked down the Sith's arms, one had its skin completely gone from the elbow down, replaced by a cybernetic forearm.

Roth broke off the saber lock, twirling his saber and activating the other end of his lightsaber settling in the form of Vaapaad. He eyed the Sith up and down and without a word, struck, swinging his saber at the Sith's head.

[Ghev Dralin]

Kroenen had grown concerned when the presence had disappeared into the Force; it was a very Sith trait, and he hadn't anticipated the Brotherhood finding him so soon.
Still... it wasn't hard to track whoever it was. Death surrounded him on all sides, the constant slaughter of lifeforms leaving a beacon for Kroenen's mind to follow.
With work on his holocron almost complete, Kroenen remained sitting, fine-tuning the holographic matrix which would function as the gatekeeper of the holocron. The other details had been dealt with earlier, such as runes that only illuminated when in the presence of one strong enough within the Force to use it. Those runes glowed now, but would fade if Kroenen were to leave it here.

The presence moved closer, and closer still.

Kroenen slid the completed holocron into a pouch on his belt, and took up his lightsaber, heading into the dark passages of the tomb. He would have liked to have remained here a little longer, learning more of the secrets of Marka Ragnos, but time was now of the essence.
His mechanical breathing, the sound of metal on metal, continued despite his wishes to remain silent. Trapped in the armour of a Sith Stalker, he once again cursed Drake Paladin, and himself for such oversight.
And then... he saw it. The glowing violet blade, directly infront of him, coming from the main passage into the tomb. By instinct, he dashed forward using the Force to aid his speed, and activated his lightsaber in a lethal sweep intended to take off his opponents head.

Both blades locked, the deep violet of the Jedi's against the pulsating, compressed crimson of his own. The Jedi pushed against his blade, and Kroenen let him; let him see the face of the enemy he'd stumbled upon.
Both combatants parted, and as the Jedi activated the second blade of his lightsaber, Kroenen reversed his grip on his own, and countered the incoming attack with Vaapad.
"So, another Master of Form VII. It will be an honour" Kroenen rumbled, his voice a mesh of cybernetics working in accordance with his restored vocal chords.
And so it began.
He swept low, his lightsaber biting at the Jedi's feet, but the Jedi was much too fast for that, leaping clear of the attack. Following up, Kroenen leaped into the air, his lightsaber cutting a streak of red through the air, but he was deflected by the Jedi's parry. Both hung in the air, their blades locked, until Kroenen pushed himself away in time to avoid the violet blade heading for his abdomen as the Jedi wheeled his weapon.

He landed on the floor, lightsaber held behind him and one knee on the cobbled walkway. Turning his masked gaze upward, he saw his enemy, and sprung forward, barely touching the floor until he was on the Jedi, unleashing a flurry of attacks both with his lightsaber and the claws grafted to his fingers. How long they'd keep up this pretentious dance of lightsaber mastery, he didn't know, but he knew it would end with a display of Force. And if what he was sensing was correct, his opponent was a force to be reckoned with...

The Jedi's lightsaber clipped his belt, and Kroenen somersaulted to safety, landing 20 feet away. He felt for the holocron, and realised it was gone... lost, somewhere in this passageway.
"My destiny won't end here today, with you. Though I sense much confusion in your future, much as I sense it in my own... you will know the face of Darth Kroenen after today" he said. While he spoke, he drew the Force around him, squatting into a half-kneeled position, as the air in the passageway became stifled with static.
He drew his arms back, then threw them forward, Force lightning erupting from his hands. Violet and deadly, it spiralled toward the Jedi in a crackling, roaring stream of energy, churning and destroying cobbles in the floor, flagstones in the walls, and ripping gouges in the ceiling high above, throwing the entire passageway into bright light.

Roth snapped both hands out, quickly disengaging his lightsaber blades and freeing his limbs, his fingers spread as the torrent of Lightning roared down the passageway. He prepared himself, focusing the Force through the peripheral use of his hands, and as the lightning struck... he absorbed it through his palms. He grunted with the effort and concentration, his body becoming a conductor for the unfocused assault and compressing it into nothingness.
Kroenen didn't let this sway him; across the passageway, Roth could see him, in all his cyborg horror, channeling his rage and anger into the Force to continue his onslaught.

Something smacked him in the face... something hard, metal. Black spots danced before his vision, but he could see no sign of an object, and Kroenen hadn't moved; the Sith was still pouring his energy into that vicious Lightning attack.
Suddenly, Roth brought up his lightsaber, both blades whirling at Kroenen who, impossibly, was stood both infront of him AND at the end of the passageway.
"What the..." he said, as his lightsaber passed through the Kroenen infront of him, but before his blade struck, something hit him on the back of the head, hard. He sprawled, dropping his lightsaber, and both Kroenen's disappeared.
He rose to his hands and knees, and a heavy boot caught him in the stomach... but there was nobody there, and even as he rose off the ground, Kroenen was falling down on him, both feet kicking him into the floor.

"Do you feel it? The inevitability of failure?" he breathed, standing tall over Roth.
"How..." Roth coughed, but before he knew it, he was pinned to the ceiling, an invisible hand gripping him in place, crushing him against the stone.
Roth exerted himself, smashing through Kroenen's grip and landed on the floor, knees bent, lightsaber in hand.
Both exchanged blows, matching each other elegantly, lightning arcing from Kroenen's hand, up his blade, and down the blades of Roth, only to be dissipated by the Jedi.
"You're Roth Fenix" Kroenen stated, not leaving it open to debate. Drake had described both Trenton and Roth after their encounters, and the Kiffar markings coupled with his strength identified his opponent clearly.

Something caught Kroenen's cybernetic field of vision; a glint, of light reflecting from a crystalline surface.
The holocron!
He extended a hand, calling the holocron to his hand, but at the same time received a Force Push from Roth which was so unexpectedly powerful, it sent him hurtling to the far end of the passageway. The holocron fell to the floor, but didn't smash, or even scuff.
Roth looked at it, curiously, and moved toward it. As he was about to kneel and pick up the small object, his danger sense told him to block; and he did, his blade intercepting Kroenen's. Somehow, the Sith had just... appeared out of nowhere.
"I won't kill you today" Kroenen hissed, lightning once again spiralling up his blade, around Roth's two blades, and dissipating between them, as their equal embrace of Vaapad negated its reflective conduit nature.
"Your death would be an inconvenience" he continued, leaning in heavily, his blade pressing down on Roth's.
Roth once again unleashed a powerful push, sending the Sith soaring through the air. A strand of lightning connected them, twisting up into the darkness, then disappeared as Kroenen fell from view.
Roth waited, expecting another strage re-appearance, another split-second attack, but none came.
Somehow, he thought, this Kroenen moves as though... as though time were of no circumstance. I didn't even know it was possible...

He spied the holocron again, and moved toward it, hand outstretched.

[Roth Fenix]

Roth watched his younger self reach out and pick up the holocron from the stone floor of the tomb, rotating it in his hands asking himself the same question Roth asked himself now, how do I open this?

Roth stared at the holocron his younger self was holding. The Sith device lay dim, unscratched despite the recent battle as Roth thought about what to do next.

The Kiffar had flow-walked back to this moment in time to discover how to open the Sith, Kroenen's, holocron. So far, the journey had provided all, but the secret of opening the holocron. Roth sighed and walked over to the Younger Roth, unaware that he would stand here in the future, trying to figure out the same secret. Roth helt his Younger self reach out to the holocron, attempting to open it, but nothing happened. Roth sighed, then an idea came to the Shadow Jedi's mind.

Reaching out with the Force, he contacted the holocron. THe device began to glow a dark red, the Younger Roth stepped back in shock, but Roth ignored him. Roth continued his connection, then he heard a whisper in the back of his mind, a voice with no physical connection, here, yet there as well, the voice paused, you are Sith?

Roth replied back, I'm not Sith, but something more.

The holocron's voice whispered in his mind, Anger. Ambition. Strength. The Master said to wait for someone like you, someone with the power to manipulate the Force such as you do now. The whispering stopped again, but continued seconds later, my secrets can be yours.

Roth felt a sense of triumph, Darth Kroenen had done well to keep his secrets from other Force users, requiring those who wanted to learn his secrets show signs of true power and a true mastery of the Force.


Roth remained in the flow-walk, watching his younger self eye the holocron in confusion for a few moments longer, then placed the holocron in his robes, and turn to leave the tomb of Marka Ragnos.

Roth the concentrated, the ancient rock walls of the tomb began to fade away into nothing. The Younger Roth began to slowly dissipate as he walked back the way he had came, out of the Temple.

Then the transformation stopped and Roth stood in the meditation chamber of the Valkyrie, the holocron sitting in the middle of the room, untouched.

Roth walked over to the holocron and sat down in a meditative posture.Roth closed his eyes, enveloping himself in the Force. The holocron slowly lifted off the ground, levitating feet above the floor.

The holocron began to glow as the holographic matrix powered on and the gatekeeper of the holocron sputtered to life.

[Ghev Dralin]

Particles of red light arose from the holocron, and danced in a spiral, swirling and compressing until they formed a coherent image; a man, wearing Sith robes, the hood lowered to reveal his long hair and gaunt face.
"I am the gatekeeper" it announced. "I was designed in the image of Darth Kroenen... or rather, Kroenen as he once was" he mused, crossing his arms, his hands lost in the folds of his sleeves.
"You have already discovered much, to be able to access me..." the gatekeeper observed, tilting it's head to consider Roth for a moment. "But there is still much more to be found within this holocron".

The image faded, then returned, now cast in a blue light. It looked up at Roth, then closed it's eyes, as though meditating.
"You are not Sith" it said, reiterating what it had learned from Roth during his flow-walk. "Do you claim this because you do not wish to be associated with such a disreputable group, or because, in your own mind, you have transcended such titles?" the gatekeeper asked.
"To be Sith is not to be... evil, to put so fine a point on it" the gatekeeper said dryly. "To be Sith is simply to have the will to act upon the power at one's disposal. The will to conquer is for fools who believe in the self-fulfilling prophecy that comes with the name of 'Sith'. But the will to unify... to bring the galaxy together as a whole, and eradicate those that would bring about war..."

"Such Sith once existed, and the galaxy was unified, if momentarily. Unfortunately, the Jedi could not accept that for peace to reign, they had to die. Therefore, seeds of Rebellion were planted, and suddenly... the peace came to an end, the stable and secure Empire toppled" the holocron sighed.
"But I'm sure someone such as yourself, who has shrugged off his ties and needs of those lesser than himself, does not need to listen to the teachings of a Sith Master. Tell me, student... why have you accessed me? What do you seek?"

[Roth Fenix]

Roth thought about the gatekeeper's first question then replied, "Jedi...Sith, it makes no differences, they constantly fight over how to use the Force, but the Force is not simply black or white, it is something more, the Force is both a weapon and an ally, one that all users of the Force must understand to wield effectively." Roth paused, searching for something that would further appease the holocron's question then said, "I am not part of the dark, nor am I part of the light, I am simply deeper in the Shadows."

Roth pondered over what the gatekeeper had said about the Sith of old and nodded, "The Force users that call themselves Sith now lust for nothing but power, bending those lesser than them to their will. But the Jedi are no different, always preaching how power leads to the Dark Side, hindering their students to only a fraction of their true potential, and shunning those who deny their teachings. In reality, they both strongly resemble each other."

Roth ceased his philosiphies on the Jedi and Sith and answered the holocron's second question, "I seek the secrets you carry, the secrets that can help me as a Force-user to help stop this bloody war that is bound to envelop the galaxy and to to destroy my enemies that threaten not only me, but the rest of the galaxy as a whole."

[Ghev Dralin]

The gatekeeper smirked, and spread his hands.
"Dark, Light, Shadows... they're all just words, and ideologies. Truth be told, there is no correct way to view the Force. Everyone has their own theories, their own standpoint, their own ideals. Everyone is eager to prove that they alone understand the Force when, in reality, we are all students" it said. "We will all forever be students. The Force is a great mystery. It may be divided into Dark and Light, or it may be one great whole with many aspects. None of us truly comprehends the nature of the Force, and those of us who claim we do are nothing but pretenders".

The gatekeeper looked up into Roth's eyes, still smirking. As the holographic representation of Kroenen's consciousness, it had been projected as the Sith Lord as he was before Drake destroyed him; an image long since forgotten. Roth, however, was now the only person outside of the Sith Initiative who knew what Kroenen looked like then, and what he looked like now.
"You wish to be taught how to destroy your enemies and stop the war that threatens the galaxy?" the gatekeeper mused. "You already know how to do those things" it scoffed. "Do you not believe that, if the war were meant to be prevented, then it will be whether I help you or not?"

The holo-image flickered for a moment, as the gatekeeper seemed to consider Roth.
"The war will come, but it will be the beginning of a cleansing fire. When the smoke clears, the galaxy will stand united once more. Your enemies and your friends stand on fine lines, Roth... and they may very easily reverse roles. It all depends on what you want, what you lust for... peace, or power. Knowledge, I can provide, and the key to many secrets that will set you apart from other Force users... but only if you truly wish it".

[Roth Fenix]

Roth listened to the gatekeeper's messages of views on the Force with interest, denying all groups of Force users as simple pupils in the Force. He thought about the message, considering himself as a pupil when he had believed he had transcended above any lesson the Force had to offer him, clearly he had been wrong. Even Trenton would still be considered a student according to the gatekeeper.

Roth thought on the holocron's question, what did the Kiffar lust for? Power, peace, does one correspond with the other? A thought raced through Roth's mind, Peace Through Power? The unstoppable war between the Yuuzhan Vong would nto be solved with negotiations, only strength and will would survive the coming onslaught."

Roth stared into the gatekeepers eyes, "I did not flow-walk to simply listen to your philosophies gatekeeper, your teachings are what I truly seek."

[Ghev Dralin]

The holocron's gatekeeper nodded, satisfied with Roth's commitment and understanding.
"Very well. I believe that by accessing me, you have proven that you possess the key fundamentals to begin learning what I have to teach" he said, sitting on an imaginary floor, his arms and legs folded within his robes.
"Sit, and focus. Meditate, if it makes you feel comfortable" the gatekeeper said, his tone almost mocking. It clearly held little regard for common practices.
"Open your mind, not only to the flow of the Force, but to the flow of time itself" he instructed. "Time, a sequence of events, a measure of how and when those events come to pass, or have already passed".

The gatekeeper closed his own eyes, as though he were practicing what he preached; in reality, it was simply the way the holocron translated Kroenen's own mind, the images he associated with such lessons.
"Some people view the Force as something tangible, like threads or tendrils to be manipulated. Such mental aids are helpful, especially in this exercise. Picture time as a thread, an individual one for each event in a particular sequence. For example, a fruit falling from a tree and landing on the floor".
The gatekeeper remained silent for a moment, allowing Roth to digest his words properly.

"The proper flow of time dictates that first the fruit must break free of the branch, be pulled to the ground by gravity, before landing and splitting on the floor, its contents scattered at random. Now... in your mind, picture how the scene would look if you removed the falling. One minute, the fruit is there, the next... it is on the floor, a mess".
The gatekeeper opened his eyes, and regarded Roth.
"You've witnessed events similar to these, if you've come to possess Kroenen's holocron".
It smiled, and stood, holding out a hand to Roth, palm upward.
"The power you seek is all within your own palm, Roth. Your mind is your only limitation. In practice, Time Displacement is as simple as removing the threads of a particular sequence from the mind of your enemy. Their perceptions alter, and while you prepare to bury the blade, they don't even realise you've moved. They see an echo of your image, a residual effect of disrupting the chronological order. Again... I have no doubt that you've witnessed that of which I speak".

The gatekeeper turned away.
"Practice this. Train your mind, and travel to places where you can put the theory into practical use. Experiment with different sequences, different scenario's, and you will begin to understand more of the power at your fingertips.
"Until then, I will share nothing more. Prove yourself a great student, and we shall speak again".

[Roth Fenix]

The gatekeeper's image shook, then the top of the holocron closed and the image of Darth Kroenen faded away and Roth stared at the same red holocron he had been trying to decipher an hour before.

Roth stood up, thinking on the gatekeeper's perplexing use of imagery on Time Displacement. He then emptied his mind of all other thought, removing any restrictions, concentrating on distorting time to his advantage.

Roth caught on to what the gatekeeper had meant in his teachings. Roth concentrated, the flow of the Force seemed to separate into separate particles that Roth could manipulate and bend to his will. He concentrated on each individual one, causing not only his presence in the Force, but also his physical being to move much faster than anything in the entire galaxy.

Roth stopped his trance and looked out the window, the lines of hyperspace had seemed to slow, as if the Valkyrie was powered by its sublight engines instead of its hyperdrive.

In a matter of seconds Roth had mastered Time Displacement.

Roth ended his newfound power and turned, the holocron had begun to reopen, the holoprojector made a noise and the image of Darth Kroenen, completely organic, came to life and stared at Roth with a look of approval.

[Ghev Dralin]

The gatekeeper clapped his hands slowly; it would have seemed mocking, had it not been for the look of approval on his face.
"You are a fast learner" he said. "But tell me... how much did you learn?"
He once again sat on an imaginary floor, and regarded Roth with heavy-lidded eyes. He steepled his fingers, as though waiting for a reply, but before one could be given, he continued.
"Displacing time is a diverse technique. Following instructions that I give you... that will teach you the basics, but there is so much more to be achieved through personal study. I am impressed with the speed of your assimilation of my teachings, however..." he paused, a trace of a smirk on his face.
"However, you took no time to explore this power. To unlock secrets, one has to be willing to expand on what he is told. I am not here to hold your hand and draw you a map" the gatekeeper admonished.

"Much in the same way that Marka Ragnos's gatekeeper refused to divulge every path to Lord Kroenen, I will refuse to paint a clear path for you" the gatekeeper said. "Take the time to truly appreciate what you have learned, and expand on the possibilities created by your newfound skills. Don't think of this holocron as a textbook".

With that, the gatekeeper once again faded, and the holocron snapped shut. The runes etched into the holocron dimmed, leaving its surface a clear, crystalline crimson.

[Roth Fenix]

Roth stared at the holocron in both anger and annoyance as the cryptic gatekeeper retracted back into the holocron after giving Roth a sarcastic congratulation.

But despite Roth's annoyance, he knew the gatekeeper was right, to become a true master of this new Force power, like the rest of the powers Roth had mastered, true mastership of the Force required personal study and development.

Roth heard an alarm go off over the Valkyrie's loudspeakers. He rushed to the bridge to investigate.

Roth stopped at the navigation console where the warning was coming from and checked the screen, telling him to emerge from hyperspace, Roth had reached his destination.

Before Roth had left the Jedi Order, the Council had told himself and Trenton about sending Damion Scott on a Republic ship, known as the Amaris, to investigate not only the Vong actions, but also a clouded, mysterious presence, shrouded in darkness. Know one else knew what it could be, except Roth Fenix.

Roth knew that Darth Kroenen had been hiding in the Unknown Regions, biding his time until he could reemerge and unleash his revenge on the entire galaxy. Roth had been sure that the presence he had felt was Kroenen, finally ready to emerge from his exile.

Roth had found the ship by accessing the Jedi records before he had left the Temple, where the Jedi had kept a constant surveillance of the ship's activities since it had one of the members of the Jedi Council aboard. Roth had downloaded the data onto his datapad, uploaded it to the Valkyrie, and set up hyperspace coordinates to where the ship was lying in wait for its next hyperspace jump into the Unknown Regions.

Roth pulled his ship out of hyperspace and saw a small fleet of various ships, most of them bearing the logo of the Black Star Alliance, a smuggling faction led by Roth's friend Aeolan Kicka.

A small jolt of excitement went through Roth, he hadn't seen Aeolan in a long time and Roth had changed since the last time they had met.

Roth walked over to the communcations board as Malfurion walked onto the bridge and contacted the Amaris, "this is Roth Fenix aboard the Corvette, the Valkyrie, requesting permission to come aboard."