Summary: Karshaan is the last of his kind, the last Sith Pureblood. He has been hunted, watched his family be killed by Jedi and spent his life on the run. Now he has had enough. His last words are written down, only to be found by a certain Queen of Naboo and be broadcast across the galaxy. Will these last words open the eyes of the galaxy to their actions?
Author Note: This came to me in the middle of the night, so I just got up and wrote it down. Here it is. This story may be upsetting to some people.
Warning: Mentions of suicide, depression, self-hate and self-harm.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.
-LWOAM-
Padme was stunned. She had just left the palace for a walk, to get away from it all for a moment. The newly-elected Queen had elected to take a stroll through the green forests, taking a path that was unfamiliar to her.
She had barely been walking for a half hour when she came upon a run-down building. Her young mind was as adventurous as ever, so she went in. She immediately wished she hadn't. She knew what it was that she was seeing; a body of a Sith Pureblood. A monster. Yet there is was, clearly dead by its own hand. The blood not even dry yet.
She was about to steer her shaking form out of the building and run back to Theed when she spotted a leather-bound book on the floor, only a couple of feet away from the body. Cursing her curious mind, Padme stepped forward, keeping her eyes away from the body and locked onto the book.
As she knelt down over it, she could clearly see that it was a diary. With a shaking hand she picked it up. It was open, so she did what anyone would have done. She read it…
-LWOAM-
Naboo grew silent as one. The emergency holo-channel that connected to every house in Theed booted up at the same time, showing a teary-eyed Queen Amidala. Everyone was curious, but also nervous at what could reduce their fierce Queen to tears. The announcement can quickly.
"My people. No, my fellow Nubians; a tragic day has come. A great loss to the galaxy. The last of a species died today…" A tear slipped down her cheek as her people watched on in horrified silence. "…and it is all our fault."
The Queen pulled a leather-bound book onto her lap, clearly a diary. Even over the colourless holo-projectors, what was obviously blood was splattered over the book. "I found him today, lying in a ruined house in the forest." She sniffed. "His last words are written here. These words need to be heard. We need to know the consequences of our actions."
As another tear slipped down her face, Queen Amidala began to read…
"When I was five, I had watched as they cut down my father as he tried to protect our family. They had come in the middle of the night, smashing down the door and storming the house. My mother had collected me and my little sister from bed and ran out the back door, heeding father's screams for us to run. In our haste, we fled leaving the backdoor open, giving me a clear view of them driving a lightsabre through my father's heart as my mother clutched me and my sister, Aurora, to her chest. We had both watched, unable to look away from the horrific scene.
"When I was seven, I had been there as they cut down my mother. We had been hiding in the underworld of Nar Shaddaa. Just eating dinner as usual, my younger sister recounting a tale of how she had met and played with a friendly Nautolan boy. That was when they came again. Once again kicking down the door and charging in with their blades ignited. Mother drew her blade, nothing more than a relic from a past age that she had no idea how to use, before yelling at me to take my sister and run. I had tried to stay, saying that I wouldn't leave her – that I wouldn't let them take anyone else from me. Mother, in her desperation, used the Force for the first time in years and pushed me out the back door, collapsing the ceiling and stopping them from following. My sister and I were haunted by mother's screams for years after.
"When I was eleven, I was unable to save my sister from them. We had fled to Tatooine, thinking ourselves out of their reach. We were wrong. I had just stepped out the back door for some fresh air, exhausted from my day working odd jobs on the moisture farms, when I heard her scream. I sprinted back into the house to find her, only… she was already gone. They were standing over her lifeless body. My sweet, loving sister – someone who could never hurt a fly – cut down at the age of nine for being different. I used the Force for the first time that day. It came to me in my anguish, my scream of pain unleashing a wave that sent them flying from the room, leaving me kneeling over my sister's body. I had fled with her body, gave her the burial that she deserved; that we were unable to give our parents.
"I was alone. I cried and begged to every deity I knew of to bring them back. I didn't know what to do, only that they wouldn't have wanted me to die. So, I ran. I ran and ran and ran. Never stopping, not even for a moment. Several times over the years since I have lost them, I have wanted to end it. Hoping beyond all hope that I may join them in whatever form of afterlife there may be. Even if there was no afterlife, at least I wouldn't have had to live in fear anymore, right? But I would always back out, knowing that they would have wanted me to live.
"Now I am fifteen and I have had enough. I heard rumours on the streets that Jedi have landed on Naboo, where I currently hide in the forests. I will not run anymore; I'm too tired. I never asked for this. I never wanted to be hated – to be a monster. As a child, I never understood why everyone hated me, though now I think I do… because, now I hate me, too. I have spent my life being hunted; suffering the loss of everything that I have ever held dear, all because I was born different. My life has never truly been my own, just one endless chase… It seems right that my final moments be mine, that I be the one in control. I am going to go be with my parents. I won't let them get me, I'll do it myself; not giving them the satisfaction.
"I have many cuts over my arms, you know. All of them I have made myself. A way to know that I am still alive, still here, still able to feel. It seems ironic that it be a cut that lets me stop feeling, lets me escape… lets me die. There is no place in this galaxy for me… perhaps there never was.
"With this, I go to be with my family. With this, the last of my kind leaves this galaxy that never looked at us as anything more than monsters. With this, the Sith Purebloods die out. Perhaps my actions will make them happy…
"Farewell.
"Karshaan."
The holo-channel closed, leaving every home, every workplace and every hotel in shocked silence. Nubians, Gungans and visitors from all over the Republic were rooted to the spot, brains trying to comprehend everything that they had just heard. Many citizens had tears falling down their cheeks at the tragic life the Sith had.
In a hotel in Theed, four Jedi were standing in front of the rooms holo-projector. Each Jedi wore expressions of shock. The Jedi were meant to be pure, to be good… What had they done?
Unknown to the Nubians, a docked trading ship from Coruscant had recorded the broadcast and was now sending it to Coruscant News. By days end, every world in Republic heard the last words of a supposed 'monster', leaving many to question who the real monsters were.
-LWOAM-
Author Note:
I am considering making an alternate version where he survives – Karshaan is found and taken to be healed by Padme. His diary is still read out and spreads across the galaxy. Will he finally be accepted? Or will the Republic and the Jedi come for him? – So, what do you think of that idea?
Please let me Know how you think I did.
Also, if you take anything away from this, let it be that suicide is not a joke. It is real and it happens. Be mindful of what you say and do to people, it may be just a joke to you, but it could be the final straw for them.
SAJones.