A Story from the Old Republic.
The Jedi towered over the collapsed body of her foe, her green lightsaber shimmered and sparked, lighting the dark shuttle behind her. The body was formerly a Sith, a fallen Jedi who gave in to the temptations of the dark side of the Force. The red Sith lightsaber disappeared with a swish when he had fallen. The young Jedi knight retracted her blade and sheathed the hilt. She carefully made her way to the body, picking up its lightsaber and pulling the red band of the young man's arm. "I'm sorry it had to end this way." The Jedi stated sorrowfully, tears in her eyes from seeing a young Padawan so full of life and potential, now wasting away, paying for the failures of his teacher. A teacher who she would soon find and make her pay for her mistakes. No, such thinking is a path to the dark side. The former Jedi knight, Olgas Pik, now calling herself Darth Urdas, had taken many students with her down her dark path, promising false power and materialistic riches. True power, however, came, not from the dark, but the light. The power to be one with the Force, to be at peace. All the Sith want is blood and power. They wish to corrupt the Force and use their terrible power for petty purposes like revenge and glory. The Jedi are meant to be above such nonsense, we are the preservers of peace and hope throughout the Galaxy. To use our natural affinity with the Force to abuse and instil fear is ridiculous.
The Republic ships hovered far overhead, bombarding the complex Darth Urdas called home on a previously undiscovered planet which was named Ortos, according to the intercepted transmissions between Darth Urdas and an unknown assailant. The planet was barren for the most part, the dark side was strong here. Aboard one of the Republic ships, Master Tarium, her Jedi master, was advising the Republic admiral on the best methods to defeat the Sith and using the Force to study the battlefield. Many squads of Republic troops had been set down around the complex and a ferocious fight was taking place between them and the few Jedi the order could spare against the large mercenary contingent Darth Urdas had hired. She couldn't tell who was winning but the blaster fire could be heard from her position.
She had been sent here attempt to enter the facility and defeat Darth Urdas, along with two other Jedi knights, Vrik and Mertya. Vrik was severely wounded before entering the complex and was being transported to the nearest med-bay by Republic Troops whilst Mertya had been spotted and killed by the mercenaries. Only she remained. The hanger bay she was currently in was now quiet with the fallen Padawan defeated and the mercenary guards silenced. The Sith shuttle behind was non-functional, a consequence of the mercenary blaster fire. The roof above her closed and something changed in the room. Nothing had moved or changed physically but through the Force, she felt something shift, a darkness closing in.
"Show yourself." She yelled, equipping her emerald lightsaber and preparing for an engagement. "My, my. Such an impatient little Jedi, aren't we?" the voice mocked from the shadows. "I recognise your voice, Urdas." She said, trying to calm her nerves. "I repeat, show yourself." Stepping from beneath a nearby freighter, Darth Urdas approached. She ignited her blood red lightsaber and smiled maliciously at her. Urdas's eyes were Sith-yellow, nothing but sadistic joy behind them. All care, compassion and mercy was extinguished and replaced with the dark side. It ruled her, that was obvious. Her formerly chestnut hair had gone a pale white; her skin was lighter than her hair. She looked far older than when they had last seen each other in the Jedi temple on Coruscant, before she left, before she turned. "You allowed the dark side to corrupt you, old friend." The Jedi said, raising her lightsaber. "No, I allowed it to show me the truth. The truth behind the weak teachings of the Jedi masters. It allowed me access to true power, you Jedi hold yourself back with your teachings of 'peace'. The Force is weapon, of which it takes true power to master and once that has been achieved, you can mould it into any form you see fit. As I can show you." She raised her free hand and unleased a torrent of Force Lightning at the Jedi. Master Tarium had warned her that Urdas might try this due to a previous encounter on Onderon. He had also taught her the best way to avoid this. The Jedi lifted her blade and caught the torrent. The torrent was powerful and pushed her blade backwards, towards her torso. Darth Urdas screamed, dropping her lightsaber and lifting her other hand to add more power to the attack. The Jedi struggled to maintain her defence against the merciless torrents of crackling lightning that she could only barely keep at bay. One of them would have to give up eventually. The Jedi's grip was weakening, and she could feel exhausted, using the Force to maintain the blade's stance.
Darth Urdas suddenly went quiet and the lightning stopped, the Jedi was thankful and lowered her blade and dropped to her knees, thankful for a little respite. She looked up and saw Darth Urdas doing the same. The blaster fire outside had calmed now but still was there. "That was the great power you spoke of?" The Jedi said unimpressed, "Powerful indeed, but not enough." Darth Urdas looked up, the sadistic joy gone, replaced with pure anger and hatred. She grabbed her lightsaber "I'm not done yet." She cried and used the Force to launch herself at the Jedi, her red lightsaber spinning hypnotically. The Jedi lifted her lightsaber just in time to block the attack. The red and green blades sparked as they smashed into each other. Up close, Darth Urdas's face was far more visible. It was wrinkled, scarred, deformed. The red and green lights reflected off both of their faces. "Who did that to you?" The Jedi asked with a strained note in her voice. The blades separated merely for a second before Urdas swung her blade again, this time at the Jedi's head. She quickly threw herself backwards to avoid the blade and, as if in hyper speed, Urdas swung again with such force and power that it cut through the ramp to the shuttle behind the Jedi. The Jedi fell back in order to find some space and get her bearings.
She had barely managed to move a few feet away before Urdas leapt again. This time, the Jedi dived out of the way, quickly found her feet and swung at the Sith Lord. Urdas was grazed but hit nonetheless. She cried out in pain. "Jedi scum, I will exterminate your kind." She screamed in an inhuman manner. "What happened to your face?" The Jedi asked calmly. She was now calm.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
"I did, I brought it upon myself. Like any true power, I had to sacrifice to become this powerful." The Sith Lord lifted her lightsaber again, the Jedi followed suit. "You're lying. Someone did it. Those are scars, the kind of scar created by a lightsaber." Darth Urdas stiffened, the dark aura off of her was more vibrant and powerful than ever. She's putting everything she's got into this now. The Jedi closed her eyes and concentrated on the Force.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
Urdas was getting even angrier, using her dark passions to fuel the dark side. Her deepest feelings, her greatest beliefs, her base instincts all used as fuel for corruption of the Force and of the self.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
She could feel it brimming off of herself, she felt the darkness emanating off chaos outside had stopped, and she sensed that the Republic was victorious, many of the Jedi who fought alongside them had perished.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
Darth Urdas began to charge at the Jedi, her speed being frightful, but the Jedi was as still as a statue. Darth Urdas screeched and began to swing.
There is no death, there is the Force.
The Jedi slashed her lightsaber across the Sith Lord's chest. Mid-swing, Darth Urdas stopped and collapsed to the floor, her life escaping her. She tried to reach for her lightsaber, but the Jedi kicked it away. Darth Urdas looked up and there was no hatred in her eyes, no lust, no anger, just fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what comes next, it was like looking into the eyes of a child, a child who had lost their way. No longer were the eyes yellow but they were the vibrant blue they had been before, and they were being drained of their life. The Jedi could see regret in the fallen knight. "Why did you turn?" The Jedi asked sympathetically. "Why betray us? Why join the Sith?" "I felt- I- had no choice." Urdas muttered. "We did so little to protect the galaxy. Slavery was still common place in the outer-rim, people suffered from tyrannical regimes, pirates and Mandalorians swarmed the outer-rim, slowly worming their way into the galaxy, a galaxy we swore to protect. We did nothing to help them, I- I- I wanted to help but ended up being played for a fool," She said with much pain in her voice. "Who played you for a fool?" The Jedi asked. "A man, a Sith. He told me he knew- ancient Jedi secrets and holocrons from Korriban that could give me the power to-" She coughs violently. "To save everyone." Urdas coughs again, this proved to be her last. As she slumped over and lay on the floor, Republic troops blew open the blast door and came across the Jedi comforting the Sith in her final moments. The Jedi placed her hand over Urdas's forehead and recited the Jedi code.
"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force."
