Den Siva

An abandoned platform floated carelessly above the waves of the planet Iskalon's unending ocean. Rusted debris and torn plasteel littered the platform's ruined surface.

A young swimmer silently surfaced and crested the deck of the platform. He stood carefully at first, his legs adjusting to the unfamiliar weight and his gills breathing gassy air.

A golden skinned Iskaloni with flowing blonde hair stepped away from the rubble and the long shadows of the late day sun. "Does it amaze you that the outworlders must live in such an environment?" he asked the startled swimmer.

"Kiro!" The young man called. "I did not see you there!"

"I did not mean to frighten you, Orin. What brings you to this sad place?"

Orin shrugged. "I don't know. The elders of the school say that the outworlders used to visit Iskalon. They say that starships used to land on these platforms and aliens would journey below to the city of Pavillion."

Kiro nodded. "It is true. When I was a boy, Pavillion was filled with all manner of aliens, knocking on the glass and trading exotic wares. Today Pavillion is a ruin."

Orin nodded. "I go there even though Mone forbids it."

"I don't think he'd approve of your visit here either." Kiro swept his dagger across the deck. "But it was here that I forced the Nagai off our world once and for all."

"You traveled among the outworlders, Kiro. What are they like?"

"I suppose they are as diverse as us, but adrift. Those I knew had no home, no school. Some were searching for a place to belong. Others turned their backs on it and could never make their way home. The worst of these were the Nagai."

"The invaders. They came to Iskalon after the Empire fled."

"Yes," nodded Kiro. "I knew one Nagai. His name was Den Siva. His people were stalked across their galaxy by an Enemy that was unyielding and brutal. Den Siva learned to fight the Enemy. He was a fierce and canny warrior; on a distant world called Kinooine, he nearly killed me."

Orin was shocked. There was no greater warrior on Iskalon than Kiro. Orin looked over to Kiro who smiled fiercely. "Nearly dead is a long way from all dead, Orin. Siva underestimated me."

"And in the end, all of his skill was nothing against the Enemy, and the Nagai fled into the worlds of the Empire and Alliance. Den Siva led the invasion and enslavement of the systems they discovered." Kiro paused and looked sadly to the horizon. "He tortured the people who would one day save his race."

"It's madness!" Orin swore. "They say you slew many Nagai, Kiro. I hope this Den Siva was among them! It sounds like he deserved it as much as the rest of them."

"We should pity him. He thought he was saving his people. He fought to protect them. The Nagai fought their Enemy; they fought the Alliance; finally they turned on themselves. Fighting was the one thing they knew. The one thing they had left. Only when they had no choice, did the Nagai ask for and accept the help of the Alliance. Everything Den Siva believed in, he betrayed. Few of us, I fear, would act any differently."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Kiro smiled grimly. "Yes, I did. I tried to kill him. He said he had changed, but I did not believe him."

"What happened?"

"That is a story for another time. Come. To linger is to attract the attention of the Chiaki." With that, Kiro gracefully dove into the water.

Orin looked around the platform one last time before following Kiro into the sea.

• Den Siva

Type: Nagai Warrior

Height: 1.8 meters

Species: Nagai

Sex: Male

Force Points: 2

Dark Side Points: 4

Move: 10

Equipment: Knives, blaster, cloak.

Description: Den Siva is tall, lean and handsome Nagai with a full head of black hair and penchant for black leather garb.

A Quote: "I never considered, before I came here, that there might be beauty in what is weak and ephemeral."

Den Siva was created by Jo Duffy and Cynthia Martin.

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