Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from my own characters and planets not mentioned in the Star Wars universe
For Chris and Lucy
Legacy of GloryChapter 2
Yavin 4Outer Rim
It was dawn on the world dubbed Yavin 4. The native diurnal fauna was starting to wake up as the yellow sun crested the horizon, warming the dark brown, fertile soil in the clearing. Off towards the river, the newly constructed Massassi temples, focusing points of the Force, reared against the sky like dark pyramids. A ramshackle hut, built primarily around a small transport, stood out amongst the trees. The sky was clear, promising another beautiful day on the moon. The gas giant Yavin was beneath the horizon. There came the sound of movement, and the external hatch on the transport opened. A girl, about 24 standard years old, walked out into the clearing. Kepani Jinn had been in stasis for over 300 years, after receiving a compulsion to stay on the moon after her scouting mission was over. She had been frozen in time, and awoken by a Jedi Padawan about three local weeks ago. Her compulsion had been to remain to guide him, but both had fallen for one another on first sight. Forsaking the Jedi law to not marry or feel attachment for others, they were both living together as outcasts. Kepani had a single lavender hued lightsabre that, even after 300 years of sleep, she could still wield with amazing effect. She had reddish pink hair, a fair complexion, dark eyes and stood at about 5' 5". She ran her hand through her hair, smiled, and glanced back at the transport. Typical of Leinad to sleep in for so long. She climbed onto the top of the small ship and reached for a fruit that overhung the transport. Despite all appearances, it was just out of reach. Shrugging, Kepani reached out with the Force. Oddly enough, it receded further up into the canopy. She drew her lightsabre and tried to slash through the branch. Again, her strike missed. She began to feel frustrated as the branch refused to give up its fruit, and threw her lightsabre up, determined to get it. Yet somehow, the lightsabre missed and landed in the dirt. Kepani gave a growl of irritation and turned to get it. As she prepared to jump down off the ship, she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. As she turned to look, the piece of fruit caught her in the face and seemed to explode, covering her in juice and bits of the flesh. She growled in frustration and was about to climb down when Leinad looked up at her, curiosity written all over his features.
"What are you up to Kepani? Honing your lightsabre skills on a honey apple?"
He looked her over, a smile beginning to dawn on his face. Kepani instantly realised what had happened.
"YOU did that! You were using the Force to make me miss getting that piece of fruit! AND you splatted it all over me!"
Leinad grinned as she stood there, covered in honey apple juice.
"And if I did?"
"Then I'd be right about you covering me in fruit juice!"
"From one apple?"
"Yes!"
Suddenly, something hit Kepani firmly in the side, followed by a thud on the leg and then one to the back of her head. With a screech, she fell off the transport and landed in the rich brown soil. Leinad was laughing as if he could never stop.
"No no no Kepani, not from one honey apple. From four."
Kepani gave him a look of pure anger, and used the Force to call her lightsabre to her.
"If I didn't know about the dark side, I'd act on this and draw my sabre on you."
"For what? Me making you look all messy?"
Kepani tried to stay angry with him, but in the end, was simply unable to. She broke into a smile and shook her head. Leinad came up to her and helped her up.
"Anyone would think you'd been frozen in time for 300 years for a responsible Jedi, not some fun-loving failed Padawan."
Kepani shrugged as she brushed herself down.
"Maybe. But I'm glad we are together."
Leinad smiled.
"Do you want to take a shower now? I got it working for you."
Kepani nodded and walked into the transport. She turned at the entry hatch and smiled at Leinad.
"Even when you make me mad, you can still warm my heart."
She walked inside the ship, leaving the younger Jedi with a soaring sensation in his mind and a feeling of pure love and peace in his mind.
Cron Drift Outer Rim"Dropping from hyperspace in two minutes."
Jedi Master Sirch Senoj looked tiredly at the rushing stars as they roared through hyperspace. His ship, Sirch's Pride, was designed to take a pounding, but not to deliver one. Manufactured at Kuat, it was a Kuatian Heavy Freighter, not a light cruiser. Had it been a newer cruiser, it would have been able to slash any and all opposition. As it was, he had to rely on two top-mounted turrets, and three forward lasers underneath the cockpit. Behind him in the co-pilots seat was Jedi Knight Drachir Flet, a surviving Jedi from the assault on Yavin 4 only a matter of days ago. Drachir was powering up the shield generator, which was unreliable at best. In the passenger bay was former Sith Lord Darth Sorus, and Sirch's girlfriend Ylcu. They had been assigned by the Jedi Council to settle a feuding pair of planets and promote peace. Few things accomplished this as fast as three highly accomplished Jedi.
"Dropping from hyperspace in thirty seconds."
Sirch sighed and turned to Drachir.
"Remind me again why we get chosen for all the tricky missions the Council has to offer?"
Drachir gave a wry smile.
"If they were easy Sirch, you'd be complaining that they were babying you."
"Perhaps, but still, we get ALL the messy jobs. Remember that one on Tatooine just ten days ago? And the…"
"Dropping from hyperspace in three, two, one, mark."
The freighter lumbered out of lightspeed into a colossal firefight. Tri-winged fighters clashed against a single cruiser, blackening the golden ship with green laser fire. Sirch took the forward guns as Drachir got the shield generator going. He glanced at the sensors and his eyes widened.
"Sirch, we have two dozen crafted decanting behind us. Profile would suggest Cross Interceptors."
Sirch sighed. Undoubtedly, they would be forced to side with the Cross Interceptors for this fight, rather than stay neutral. Suddenly, Drachir was shouting. Sirch glanced out the viewport and saw why. The Cross Interceptors were flying into combat in their typical X shape. But as they drew nearer to the massive fight, alternative wings opened on the left side of the first wings, forming a right-angled swastika shape. Sirch murmured a curse.
"Those aren't just any Cross Interceptors. I'm guessing they're owned by Hutts. Drachir, all power to front lasers. We need to cripple these ships and fast."
Even as he gave the order, twenty-four fighters swung round as if one, aiming for the huge freighter, their laser cannons aimed right at the cockpit. Thirty seconds before they could attack, an unknown capital ship dropped out of lightspeed almost on top of Sirch's Pride.
Ruusan System Outer RimRain fell heavily in the stifling jungles of Ruusan. The air was hot, thick and humid, and stank of decay. A single Jedi Knight named Junial Legreb stood in a clearing, her tan robes soaked through by the rain. She took hold of her lightsabre as if in slow motion and thumbed it on, an amber beam forming in the hot rain. Across the clearing from her came four Sith Knights, all extending red lightsabres as they walked her way. One had a double-edged lightsabre, and another had a training sabre with two handles and one blade in the middle of them. Junial smiled as they approached her. With a move too fast to follow, she had leapt on the one holding the training lightsabre and killed him in one swift lunge. Grabbing his weapon, she flung the double-handled lightsabre at one of the other Sith, catching him off-guard and beheading him with the blade of the weapon. She turned around and smirked at the two remaining Sith. Both charged her at once, but their sabres cut nothing as she leapt forward and into a tree. One of the Sith slashed through the trunk, but Junial had only leapt onto it to flip herself to another spot near a fallen tree. The tree nearly fell on the Sith with a normal lightsabre, and only by using all his focus and Force power was he able to hold it up. Junial threw her sabre, catching him in the chest and killing him, then tugged back her sabre to finish off the fourth Sith Knight. For several minutes, neither gained an advantage over the other. Then Junial raised her lightsabre a little too high, and the Sith Knight was able to kick her weapon out her hand and catch it in his. He smirked at her as he stood there holding her weapon. Junial looked more thoughtful than worried as she returned the Sith's gaze. She gestured, and a heavy tree limb fell, only to be shoved aside with barely any effort from the Sith Knight. However, the tiny distraction was all she needed to pull one of the discarded lightsabres to her. She thumbed the red blade on and went on the attack, randomly using the Force to distract her better-armed opponent. As he prepared to swing her weapon into her neck, she used the Force to pull the training lightsabre into her free hand. She turned it on and deflected the blow neatly, and also used the hard, metallic edge of the handgrip to stun the Sith Knight. She slashed through his gut and dropped the two Sith lightsabres, smiling as she reclaimed her weapon, then turned and walked off in search of a ship as if nothing had happened.
Cron Drift Outer RimSirch barely had time to gasp in shock as the colossal capital ship opened fire on the Swastika fighters. The new ship was unlike anything seen before, and had the fighters flying into hyperspace in seconds. Darth Sorus came into the cockpit to see what was happening.
"So what's happened then? Apart from being in the middle of a huge dogfight."
Sirch shrugged.
"We came out of light speed, had to pick a side to aid, and now we're in a sticky mess because of this strange cruiser. I've never seen its' type before, yet I've seen something like it somewhere."
"Blood Gutter."
Sirch looked around at his friend, converted recently from the Dark Side.
"Wasn't that your ship when you were a Sith Lord?"
Sorus nodded.
"Yes. Blood Gutter was my flagship, and was part of an elite unit that hid all over the galaxy. Many Sith Lords had a flagship, especially this one Sith I knew of, Darth Llanab. His ship, Galactic Genocide, is the cradle of a super weapon that can crack a continent. If he's here, then leaving now would be in our best interests."
Sirch punched in a random jump to light speed as the guns began to target the freighter. Fortunately, the ship was away before any real damage was sustained.
Drachir slumped in his cabin as the freighter headed for the Cron Drift, a massive asteroid belt. Things had been chaos ever since the Battle of Yavin 4 a month or so ago. Admittedly, some things were working out for the best, and Sirch being with Ylcu had undoubtedly made the Jedi Master's life complete, but the pressure of being on the front line so much was wearing him out. He relaxed into the bunk more, shutting his eyes as if to wipe the memory of Yavin 4 out that way. He knew he had massive potential in the Force, and could use a rare talent called 'Force Maelstrom' to great effect. But when all was said and dealt with, he was just an average Jedi Knight, one of over sixty thousand in the galaxy. After trying to get rest, he got up and walked to the cockpit, where Sorus and Sirch were having a heated argument. The former Sith Lord was strongly against the proposition of jumping to Ossus.
"Sirch, you might be a Jedi Master, but that doesn't mean you can't be stupid at times."
"I'M stupid?"
"Glad you agree."
"I am not stupid, I plotted a jump to Ossus to ensure our safety. Plus, there are Sith there that need defeating, as you told me."
"But jumping right into a war zone after meeting up with the biggest warship the Sith have? Talk about suicide."
"Sorus, you are a powerful and wise Jedi, and you were a mighty Sith Lord too. But right now, I'M the Jedi Master, and we ARE going to Ossus. Understood?"
Sorus slumped as Sirch won his point, and nodded in confirmation. Barely seconds later, and they decanted light speed near Ossus. But even the hardened Sith Lord couldn't contain his shock at the state of the planet. Ossus had once been a khaki and deep blue disc of a world. Now it was stained with grey and violent red, with dull purple where the seas had been. Exar Kun's strafing of the planet had been thorough. Only a few tiny patches of green remained, and one body of water shone cyan against the toxic purple. Sirch was the first to recover from his disgust of the planet being raped into this despoiled state.
"We'll land there. Chances are the Sith are going to be near that mountain range where that lake is. Everyone strap in."
Drachir looked at their landing site as they flew in closer to the planet.
"Couldn't we call in reinforcements? Surely not all the Jedi are gone from Coruscant?"
Sirch glanced up.
"They are unfortunately, and I can't reach Dantooine, Dagobah, Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Byss or Lulandrah. We're on our own here."
Ylcu gave a snort of dry humour.
"Three Jedi and a dancer against a poisoned planet full of Sith? I hope you know what you're doing Sirch."
Sirch gave her a humourless smile.
"What makes you think I do?"
Ylcu sighed and walked to her cabin.
"If you Jedi draw sanity from the Force, then Sirch must be stripped of the Force."
Sorus and Drachir sniggered as Sirch reddened. Rapidly, their ship descended into pure danger from both a toxic environment and the evil of the Sith.
Yavin 4Outer Rim
Leinad woke up in the middle of the night, Kepani snuggled up beside him. A massive rumbling in the Force had awoken him, originating in the direction of the Core. He sat up, taking care not to awaken his beautiful girlfriend, and walked to the hatch leading out of the transport. The hatch hissed open as he walked into the cool night air. He took a deep breath, smiling as he began to calm down. Maybe he'd imagined it, after all, Kepani was strong in the Force, and she hadn't woken up or even stirred. He climbed onto the top of the ship and looked up at the starry sky. After a life on Coruscant, a jungle moon was all he could wish for and more, to say nothing of having resurrected a long-dormant Jedi girl who had fallen for him quicker than a Hutt would fall for cash. He shut his eyes to expand his Force-awareness, and sensed the life in the forest around him, plus the shining beacon that was Kepani's Force signature. As he reached out to the Massassi temples however, a beacon of darkness became audible. He frowned, for as far as he knew, the Sith had been driven off this moon. He refined his senses and confirmed the Force signature for what it was, a Sith, no doubt bent on mayhem and death. He touched his lightsabre and decided that to take out this menace, he would need both his girlfriend and a second weapon.
As morning dawned, both the Jedi walked to the Massassi temples. The Sith had not moved at all, no doubt he or she wanted to be sure of their surroundings before trying anything. Kepani stretched as she walked along, slightly annoyed that a Sith had to show up now to ruin her time with Leinad. She took hold of her lightsabre and ran her other hand through her long, pinkish-red hair.
"I hope this is going to be quick. In, kill the Sith, then back to our home."
Leinad smiled.
"Do you ever think about staying awake?"
Kepani gave him a playful smile.
"Not really, no. Normally I'm too sleepy."
Leinad shook his head in mock despair.
"Such a lazy girl. But I still love you."
They stopped talking as they reached the Massassi temples. In a wide clearing that seemed to stretch for miles, there was a wrecked ship. Wisps of smoke hinted it hadn't been downed for long, and the furrow it had ploughed when it had hit the ground was fresh. Leinad and Kepani walked up to the ship, opening their senses to Force energy. Suddenly, a figure leapt into the air, landing on top of the ruined shuttle. A red lightsabre ignited as the Sith looked down at them. Kepani frowned. The Sith was a girl younger than Leinad, roughly 15 standard years old, and wasn't garbed in the typical black robes of a Dark Force user. Her skin was tanned chocolaty brown, her hair was white, and her ears suggested she wasn't totally human. She wore a tight-looking dark blue top and dark blue shorts, both embroidered with yellow markings, as well as a long cloak, navy blue and dark crimson in colour. She pulled her cape off and made an elaborate salute with her lightsabre.
"Greetings Jedi Knights. I am Kagami. It's a pleasure to see two of you. I do hate a one on one fight."
Kepani ignited her lightsabre, the purple beam reaching out to just under a metre in length. She raised it to a guard position in front of her, willing her anger to leave her as she faced the semi-human Sith. Kagami smirked and lowered her lightsabre.
"But for you, Jedi girl, I might change my rule."
Kagami smiled in pure evil, and let out a sudden burst of Force Lightning. Kepani was caught unawares, and sent skidding across the dirt three metres away from where she had been standing. Leinad ignited his blue and yellow lightsabres, eyeing Kagami warily.
"You say you like a 2 on 1 fight then? Bring it on."
Even as he dared Kagami to move, the younger girl was leaping off the shuttle and swinging like crazy with her lightsabre. Leinad blocked and parried as best he could, but Kagami's reckless attacks were whittling away his defences one by one. Finally, he got her in a lock, and they pushed hard, her red sabre trying to break through the deadlock of two lightsabres. Not far away, Kepani got up and rushed Kagami. Kagami rolled backwards from Leinad's block, and swung her red blade up to intercept Kepani. Both girls seemed evenly matched, until Kagami used Force Grip to strangle Kepani. She smirked as the older girl choked, her hands to her neck. Suddenly, a yellow blur made her lose focus as she fought for her life against a determined and enraged boyfriend. Kagami leapt up onto her ruined shuttle as Leinad and Kepani stood ready. Smirking, she gestured, and using the Force, brought down a tree, making the two Jedi separate. Seizing initiative, she leapt towards Leinad, figuring that wielding two lightsabres would slow him down. But even as she leapt into the air, she found herself being tugged to the ground by what could only be a powerful Force Pull. She hit the ground and her lightsabre fell out of her hand, landing some distance away. Leinad calmly walked up to her, his blue lightsabre pointing at her chest.
"Surrender. You can't win."
Kagami snarled.
"Never. YOU can't win!"
She sent him flying with a powerful Force Push, making him lose his grip on the yellow lightsabre to boot. Grabbing his weapon, she began to go after him, battering away with both his lightsabre and her own. Leinad managed to flick her red lightsabre out of her hands, and caught it himself. Kagami gestured, and a rock flew at him, missing him by inches. Then a violent upward slash from Leinad sent her stumbling backwards, her stolen yellow lightsabre flying into the air. Kepani walked in calmly and sliced Kagami's hand off, causing a scream of pain from the young Sith girl. Kagami fell over, clutching her severed wrist, eyes full of tears. Leinad and Kepani lowered their sabres to either side of her head. Kagami looked up through her tears, panic filling her.
"Please, no, don't kill me! Please! I'll do anything you say!"
Kepani gave an impatient snort.
"You Sith are pathetic. You rely on the dark side to give you power, whilst Jedi are strong anyway. We should stick you here and now."
Kagami shut her scarlet eyes, a tear running down her brown cheek. Leinad put his lightsabre under Kepani's and lifted it up. Kepani jerked back as if struck by a blaster bolt.
"What are you doing? We HAVE to kill this Sith!"
Leinad shook his head.
"No. We're angry, and killing her would turn us to the dark side. You there, Kagami is it?"
Kagami nodded.
"You're coming with us."
Kagami nodded miserably, and reached out with her severed hand. Her lightsabre began to roll back to her, but not before Kepani sliced the weapon in half. She then put her lightsabre to Kagami's throat.
"I'm warning you, Sith, one more false move and I'll stake you out for the piranha beetles to feast on. Understand me?"
Kagami looked terrified, and nodded mutely. Leinad gestured for her to get up, noting how scared Kagami seemed. Kepani kept her lightsabre extended and ready in case the Sith girl was simply biding her time. After a while, Kagami was taken back to the shuttle Leinad and Kepani lived in. Leinad took her to a side cabin and bade her to sit down.
"Listen. We spared your life because we both don't like to kill. But play up just once, and you'll find out to your cost how big a mistake that can be. Understand?"
Kagami nodded as Leinad used stun cuffs to keep her fastened to the wall, preventing any escape. She tried to reach out with the Force, but the tingling of static electricity pricking at her cauterised flesh kept her focus irritatingly short. She sighed and curled up to sleep.
Ossus Outer RimDrachir was getting ready in the cargo bay for the trip to Ossus. Already they were within the atmosphere of the planet, and a quick scan had shown the air was just about breathable. He took hold of both his lightsabres and put them to one side as he donned a dark brown jumpsuit. Made of thick fibre and stringed with threads of cortosis, it could resist lightsabres for a while, a terrific advantage for the Jedi. But even lightsabre-resistant armour didn't lighten the odds they faced. The Sith were numerous here, and when Drachir sought peace of mind in the Force, all he saw was a whirling maelstrom of Force energy. After donning his armour, he picked up one of his two lightsabres. He ignited the viridian blade and smiled, seeing it wouldn't need a new power cell for ages yet. He checked the blue lightsabre, and saw it too was sound. He gave a call to Sorus, and walked to the cockpit. Sirch was already garbed in the lighter armour of a Jedi Master, and Ylcu was preparing the ship for rapid take-off. Since she was not Force-strong, having her guarding the ship was some consolation. Soon, they were coming in to land near the ruins of the Jedi Academy. Sorus walked to the cockpit, dressed in armour the same colour as Drachir's. Sirch outlined the plan.
"Ok, what we do is this. We'll head to the remains of the Academy and search for anything we might be able to use. Any Sith we find on the way, we kill. But be careful. The Dark Side will be strong here. If we see any Sith out on their own, we ALL kill them together."
Drachir and Sorus nodded as the external hatch opened. Sirch kissed Ylcu goodbye, and all three Jedi walked into the poisoned world. Drachir winced as he walked outside. The rain had become acidic, and was burning his skin. Hastily, he used Force Protection to shield himself. He called back to his comrades.
"Careful! This rain is like acid, use Force Protect to keep it off you!"
Sirch and Sorus nodded, and two more green shields wavered into existence over the Jedi. Slowly they walked up to a large building that had once been the hangar for the Jedi Academy. Inside it was dilapidated and filthy, but a couple of speeders remained. Sorus walked up to one, letting his Force shield down.
"Strange, why are these totally undamaged? I'd have thought that orbital bombardment would have…"
He suddenly leapt on top of the larger of the two speeders. His blue lightsabre ignited as he used the Force to bring it to his hand.
"Watch out! Sith!"
From the shadows came two Sith Apprentices. One held a standard red lightsabre, but the other had a double-edged lightsabre, also known as a sabre-staff. Drachir drew his blue lightsabre, as did Sirch. The apprentice with the single red blade leapt up to face Sorus. Sorus smiled.
"You two take the other one. This one's mine!"
Sirch and Drachir began to attack the Sith with the sabre-staff. A mistimed step on the Sith's part was his fate, as Sirch lunged and stabbed him through the neck. All in all, the fight lasted maybe ten seconds. Sorus seemed to be dragging out his fight, and even made time to slash a sizeable hole in the side of the speeder. He lunged and caught the Sith off guard, but instead of impaling the Dark Force user, he missed by less than an inch. The Sith swung his lightsabre at Sorus's midriff, obviously expecting to decapitate the Jedi Knight, but the cortosis thread blocked the blow. Sorus grinned and slashed upwards, slicing through the hilt of the lightsabre and cutting off the power. Even as the Sith snarled in anger, a powerful Force Push from Sorus sent him flying through the air. With a sickening thud, he hit the wall, blood flying from his broken body. Sorus retracted his lightsabre, tempting the Sith to stand up. With a huge effort, he ran towards the speeders. Sorus smirked and leapt over the speeder, landing behind the Sith. He smiled and blasted the Sith with his most powerful Force Lightning ever. By the time he finished, the Sith wasn't even recognisable as pieces of a human. Suddenly, Sorus ignited his lightsabre to fend off Drachir. The Jedi Knight had reacted instinctively on seeing the former Sith Lord using a Dark Force talent.
"Cut it out Flet, are you insane?"
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE MAW DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SORUS!"
"Killing a threat."
Drachir held his green sabre against the other Jedi's, breathing heavily. Sirch walked up and ignited his blade, using it to break them up.
"Stop now you two. Drachir, keep your emotions in control. And Sorus, just what WERE you thinking by using the Dark Side?"
Sorus shrugged casually.
"The Force is strong here. I don't see why I should waste a perfectly good source of my powers. Besides, the Force isn't good and evil you know. I used the lightning to rid us of a threat."
Sirch rolled his eyes.
"Yes, when you could have just as easily destroyed such a threat with your lightsabre."
"Maybe. But I barely touched the Dark Side even when I fought you, Sirch. Now you see how strong I am in the Force."
Drachir cut in irritably.
"Yeah, and how headstrong and stupid you can be."
As Sorus was about to retaliate, a strong sensation of being watched came to him, and he turned to see a Bothan Sith Knight stood practically next to him. He reacted by using an almighty Force Push, but the Bothan simply used it to aid him in his jump. He landed gracefully and used the Force to take the Sith sabre-staff off the floor.
"You Jedi bicker too much. I challenge you," He pointed at Drachir with a furry hand, "to battle me. One on one."
Sorus walked forwards, a confident smile on his face.
"Well, I wouldn't have thought it possible if I didn't see it myself. Of all the Sith we could have met."
Kagami woke up as darkness fell. Her severed stump ached abysmally, and it took all her effort to not cry out in pain. The metal cuff fastened around her wrist kept on letting tiny pricks of pain tickle her nerve endings, amplifying the shock several times over. As she shifted in the small cabin, the door hissed open and Kepani walked in, her purple lightsabre drawn and shining in the gloom. Kagami quivered and shrank back against the metal wall, worried that with Leinad asleep, Kepani may decide to kill her. Kepani sighed as she shut off her lightsabre.
"Listen Kagami, I'm not going to kill you. At least not yet. Tell me what planet you're from."
Kagami looked up at the Jedi girl with fear in her crimson eyes.
"I come from a planet a long way away. I was trained at the Sith Academy, and I specialised in agility and speed."
Kepani waved her off.
"How many Jedi have you killed?"
Kagami lowered her head, her white hair looking brighter than ever in the gloom.
"Six. Four younglings, a Padawan and a Knight."
Kepani gave an angry hiss on hearing of Kagami's victims.
"You killed YOUNGLINGS? You sicken me. The Force only knows why Leinad spared you."
"I did my mission. You mean you've never killed anyone?"
Kepani left the room, only to return with a long scarf. She gagged the Sith with it, her only look being one of disgust as she turned to rest. Kagami felt worried. Kepani was doubtlessly tough and strong in the Force, and being crippled, shackled and weaponless in her captors' home did little to boost her morale. But she vowed to take revenge on the Jedi girl who had humiliated her. As she tried to doze off again, Leinad entered her room and walked up to her.
"You irritated Kepani didn't you Kagami?"
Kagami gave the Jedi a glare out of the corner of her scarlet eyes as she tried to get comfortable, to no avail. Leinad sighed and took her gag off, and then passed her a blanket.
"You'd do well to try and get on with both of us, Kagami. Or Kepani might summon the piranha beetles to kill you."
Kagami shifted but said nothing. Her shoulders quivered slightly as she tried to settle down, but the abysmal ache in her severed hand kept distracting her. She heard Leinad leave, and only then did the tears start.
Sorus smiled as he looked at the Bothan Sith they'd encountered. The Bothan's fur rippled as he looked at the converted Sith Lord.
"It's been a long time, Darth Sorus. Or, do you prefer the name Godo Calrissian?"
Sorus smiled again.
"Zheroth. I see you survived."
"You seem surprised at such a thing."
"You're arrogant, Zheroth, you always were. The Jedi showed me the true nature of the Force."
Zheroth laughed openly, mocking his former master.
"Lets see the old master get a victory on me THIS time! You two, stay out of this."
The Bothan ignited the double-ended lightsabre and charged Godo, spinning the lightsabre. Godo ignited his single blue lightsabre and began to intercept and counter every single one of the Bothan's attacks. Zheroth's blows came quick and fast, yet Godo was always there to counter them. Frustration rolled off the Bothan as Godo caught him in a deadlock, an allegedly impossible feat with a double-ended lightsabre. Godo then used the Force to shove the Bothan across the hangar, and stood there looking at him.
"You never were much good with a lightsabre, Zheroth. Try harder."
The Bothan stood up, snarling in fury that surprised even Sirch. Zheroth snapped the lightsabre handle in half, and then ignited both lightsabres.
"Don't you try to belittle me, Jedi scum!"
Zheroth rushed Godo, slashing away maniacally with both lightsabres. However, whilst he was primed for physical attacks, he was prone to being attacked through the Force. Godo used a gentle Force Pull to confuse Zheroth more than anything, and then used Force Lightning to take full advantage of the confusion. Zheroth fell to the ground, dropping one of the lightsabres. Godo closed the distance between them, walking slowly, and chopped the other lightsabre in half, sending a shower of sparks up to the roof. He stood over the defeated Bothan and raised his weapon up to stab his one-time apprentice. Suddenly, a loud rumbling caught his attention. Zheroth was using the Force to weaken the ceiling. The red lightsabre flared back to life, swinging upwards to behead the Sith convert. However, Godo ignited his blade and blocked the deadly weapon, smiling at Zheroth.
"I should have known you'd try that."
Zheroth's fur rippled, suggesting he was hugely enraged by now. Godo carried on talking.
"As a Jedi, I'm all but done with you."
Zheroth snarled, his eyes going blood red.
"THEN YOU HAVE LOST!"
With speed many Jedi couldn't hope to get to, Zheroth slashed, stabbed and lunged at his former master. Godo was kept on the back foot as red lightsabre clashed against blue. Sparks flew into the air when the lightsabres hit machinery as opposed to one another. Godo tried every single trick he knew or had heard of, but nothing would land that fatal blow to his opponent. Suddenly, Godo's foot hit a hole and he fell to the floor, at the mercy of his apprentice. Zheroth grinned as he took Godo's lightsabre.
"You are beaten. There is no point to resisting this. Now, I will destroy you. This is the end for you, my master."
Zheroth crossed the blades and leant over to behead the former Sith Lord. Godo saw one opportunity, and reached out for the training sabre. Grabbing it tightly, he ignited it, driving the hard metal handgrip into Zheroth's forehead. Zheroth gave a screech of pain as he dropped Godo's lightsabre. Godo wasted no time and snatched it out the air, and threw aside the training sabre. Zheroth swung sideways, hoping to decapitate his former master, but Godo's ungainly upward swing blocked it. Zheroth tried to lunge and impale Godo, but again, the Jedi batted the blade aside. For several seconds, both clashed time and again, until Zheroth saw his chance.
Kagami woke up just before dawn, finding her new surroundings more comfortable now Leinad had let her lie down. She tried to focus, and found to her delight, she could. She poured all her power into her severed wrist, and slowly, the bone began to grow back and the flesh closed over it. She gave a genuine smile, not a malevolent smirk like she'd been giving for so long, but one of satisfaction and pride. Her look quickly turned to fear when Kepani walked into her small room, lightsabre drawn.
"I don't care what Leinad says, I'm going to kill you NOW, you stinking excuse for a Sith! I never want to have my home polluted with the energies of the Dark Side!"
Kagami plucked up her courage and spoke to her captor.
"Kill me in cold blood, and the Dark Side will dominate your destiny. Will Leinad want you if you turn evil, Kepani Jinn? I doubt it."
Kepani froze on being lectured about the Dark Side by a Sith, of all people. Surely she should be encouraging her to fall. Her lightsabre hummed off as she stood up against the wall.
"Kagami, why did you become a Sith?"
Kagami gave a short, dry laugh.
"Now you want my life story, huh? Fine, sit on my bed and I'll tell you all about me."
Kepani put her lightsabre out of the room, and then sat down, feeling calmer now. Kagami began.
"A long time ago, on a planet far, far away, I was born. My home was mostly an oceanic world, very like the world you call Kamino, but you could see the islands from space. It was a tropical haven, and life for me was good."
Kagami smiled in recollection of her childhood, and continued.
"I was the youngest of a brood of three, but to my brothers, age didn't count at all. They were always there with me, always right next to me. All of us were strong in the Force. I can clearly remember playing on the beach in the dry season, chasing one another, splashing, making a sand temple. Ah, I long for my days of childhood back. Then I was dubbed Kagami by my father, and put into deep sleep for a hundred years. I dreamt of every planet known. Korriban, Dantooine, Sernpidal, Corellia, Coruscant, Tatooine and Kothlis. Every world whispered to me through the Force. I spent days watching the animals of Alderaan, basking the sands of Tatooine, many nights looking at Coruscant, years of beauty and total peace. But I was always alone."
Kagami settled under her blanket and sighed.
"Then came the day I was awoken and my capsule opened once more. Slavers, similar to Trandoshans, grabbed me and dragged me out onto the sand. My back was slashed open, then my cuts were smothered with salt, acid, alkali, and one was even burnt closed. Never had I felt such pain in my life. After a year of recovering, they took me with them to Korriban, where I was chained up and made to pleasure the Sith in whatever they desired. I gave birth to…"
She broke off, sobs racking her body. Kepani looked on silently. How could this girl be blamed for turning to anger and hate when she was abused sexually and degraded as a plaything? The answer was simple; she couldn't. Kagami brought herself under control and spoke again, but in a clearer voice.
"Then I remembered my Force powers, but the first time I used them, I killed my child. I was pushed away by the other slaves, hated by the slavers, scorned by Sith, and I felt cursed by the Force. One night, after finding a lightsabre I could use, I went to the slavers' quarters and all I remember doing is igniting the blade. The Sith took me on as an Apprentice, and as I was about to be inducted as a Sith Knight, I was called here, to Yavin 4. I came down in my ship and, well, you and Leinad caught me, cut off my hand and now you seem to want to ask for my forgiveness."
Kepani looked at the younger girl. Kagami was looking at the wall, her white hair standing out against the chocolate tan of her skin. But something seemed different about the young Sith now. She seemed more like a person than a berserker. Kepani sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear your life was so painful, Kagami. The Dark Side IS powerful, but it will ultimately destroy you. You can fight it. Darth Sorus did it, you can too."
Kagami shrugged as she snuggled down in her makeshift bed.
"I'll try in the morning. Please, can I sleep now?"
Kepani nodded and ruffled the Sith girl's hair. Kagami felt an old memory surface at Kepani's gesture, and sat up in bed, looking at the Jedi.
"You remind me of my older brother, he used to do that to me. I know I hurt you and Leinad when I fought you, but right now, I'd do anything to take away such pain."
Kepani smiled and tucked Kagami in, feeling maternal to the younger girl.
"Let go of your hate and you'll see your family again."
Kagami smiled back and fell asleep, leaving Kepani to go and speak with Leinad. Once asleep, she saw her childhood in her dreams.
Zheroth swung with his lightsabre, seeing a chance to catch Godo in the neck, where his bodysuit and skin met. Godo kicked the Sith's furry hand, and the lightsabre flew out of the Bothan's grip, retracting as it hit the hole in the side of the speeder. Godo then floored his opponent and let the lightsabre point touch his throat.
"Zheroth, you have lost. The Dark Side may have made you powerful, but the Light Side made me strong enough to defeat you."
The Sith sneered.
"You won't clean this planet of Sith, Godo! We have all we need in the fortress, and soon, Blood Gutter will return to reinforce us. You may kill me, Jedi, but the Sith will one day destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy."
Godo gave a sigh.
"You won't be here to see it, my old apprentice."
He stabbed the Bothan through the heart, killing him instantly. Sirch and Drachir came forward, the Jedi Master putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Come on, Godo, we should move on now. Up you get, mate."
Drachir looked out the back of the hangar and took out his binoculars to look around.
"The rain's stopped, but we should head to what's left of the Academy. Come on."
Sirch nodded, and Godo got to his feet. The former Sith looked back at the hangar and sighed.
"You're right. Lets go now. There are still a lot of Sith on this world."
A long time later, Drachir, Sirch and Godo walked into the ruined Jedi Academy. The horrific stench of decay was everywhere. Half-rotted skeletons of Jedi and Sith alike lay everywhere, some obviously not much more than children. Since arriving in the ruins, the Jedi had faced and killed four Sith, but the planet seemed far emptier than Zheroth had said it to be. Whilst searching among the ruins for clues, Sirch found a comparatively new datapad, obviously left by the Sith.
"Drachir, Godo, I found this. Looks like the Sith aren't as careful as they should be."
Drachir gave a sneeze as he passed the corpse of a Sith.
"Why should they be? They have arrogance on their side, and they think they can hold Ossus against us."
Sirch shrugged as he turned the datapad on and looked at the map of the area. Right at the edge of the screen was the hangar where Zheroth had been killed, and further towards the centre was the Jedi Academy. North of the Academy was a massive building, and near that building was a tower that was obviously important. Sirch tapped on the part of the map the tower was in, and a mechanical voice began to recite to the Jedi.
"Sith Focusing Tower Alpha Red. Focal point for all Force energies on Ossus."
Drachir shook his head.
"Perfect. With the Sith draining the Force out of the planet, they'll be immensely powerful."
Sirch shook his head.
"It's not finished yet. Look. Parts of it are blue, but other parts are red. It's only about half-done. We should head there now and see what we can do. Well, as soon as we're done here we should."
Godo gave a yell.
"Sirch! Drachir! The control room's still working! And I can see the Focusing Tower from here too."
Both Jedi went to join their friend, and gasped on seeing the Focusing Tower. Even half-built, it was colossal, and showed it was definitely a Sith building by its dark colour and foreboding design. It had the impression of black vines trying to reach up and envelop the tower with the Dark Side. All three Jedi were silent as they looked at the towering beacon of darkness. Drachir shut his eyes as a vision came to him through the Force. The Force spiralled around him as he put Force Maelstrom into effect, scattering Sith left, right and centre. Both his lightsabres shone like beacons as he battled the Dark users of the Force. Above him, the freighter soared away into space, Sirch, Ylcu and Godo aboard. Behind him, the tower cracked and slowly fell like a giant tree. Even when all pain ceased for him and his mind became slow and complacent, there was still the Force coursing through him. In that moment, he knew he was never to leave the planet, that he would die to ensure the safety of his friends. He opened his eyes to see Sirch and Godo looking at him in concern. Sirch walked up to him as if to wake him up.
"Drachir, are you ok?"
Drachir nodded.
"Yeah. Had a vision through the Force. I'm not going to be leaving Ossus."
Godo sighed.
"You may not be right about dying, Drachir. I also saw myself vanish when I went to Yavin's moon, but as you can no doubt tell, I didn't perish. I merely changed."
Drachir shook his head.
"No, Ossus will definitely be my resting place. We should probably head to the Focusing Tower and try to draw the Sith to us."
Back on Yavin 4, Kagami's dreams were quickly turning to nightmares that she couldn't break free of. Finally, she rolled out of bed, gasping for air. Even her training as a Sith didn't render her invulnerable to nightmares. She ran her hand through her white hair and forced herself to think rationally. As a person, she had nothing left. The Sith wouldn't come to rescue and turn her back, her family was dead, and she didn't even know where her home planet was. On top of that, she was still a prisoner of two Jedi, and whilst Kepani was warming up to her a bit, she still felt worried that the Jedi may ignore their morals and kill her anyway. As she drew the Force to her in order to promote healing, a shudder ran through the entire ship. Kagami ran out of her cabin in time to see Kepani and Leinad warming up the engines.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
Leinad didn't look back as he spoke.
"We're going to take you back to your home planet. Give you a few good memories to replace your pain."
Kagami sat down on a chair and looked at the two Jedi, astounded by their generosity. Slowly, the whine of the engines grew to a roar, and the repulsors kicked in, lifting the ship off the ground and through the canopy. Once above the trees, Leinad fired the engines and the ship blasted into space. Kagami came into the cockpit, cradling her injured hand.
"I don't know how I can possibly thank you for all this."
Kepani smiled at the former Sith.
"You can tell us what species you are."
Kagami gave a light giggle.
"Human. I'm just, well, not your average human."
Leinad glanced back, eyeing the dark-skinned girl.
"You can say that again."
Kagami took a seat behind the two Jedi.
"Where is it we're going?"
Kepani pointed to a dot flashing on the map. Kagami leant over to see.
"Ossus. Why there?"
Kepani shrugged.
"It's the nearest Jedi Academy to us. They might be able to take you in as a Jedi, Kagami, and teach you to forget what you embraced as a Sith. Then we'll find your home planet and take you there for a while."
Kagami nodded as the transport began to accelerate. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive warship decanted below them. Painted a bloody red, it was distinctive. Leinad pulled the ship into evasive manoeuvres as rayed lasers targeted them.
"That's a Sith Lord's conveyance, I know it! Preparing to head into light speed in four, three, two, one, now!"
The only thing that saved the tiny transport from the unique weapons of the ship Blood Gutter was the fact Yavin was already miles behind them. Soon, the two ships were racing to Ossus.
OssusOuter Rim
Sirch, Godo and Drachir walked to the Focusing tower, apprehension clear in their body language. Around here, the dark side of the Force was so strong that sensing even one another wasn't working. Sirch put up his hand to stop as they reached a rocky field, stained dark by the acid rain.
"Drachir, Godo, back to back, in a circle. All sabres ready. We're going to have company."
Four lightsabres ignited as the three Jedi stood ready. For several tense minutes, the only thing that moved was the wind, always blowing towards the dark tower. Drachir nudged Sirch and indicated a rock formation up ahead.
"Look. There, just in the middle. Sith."
Sirch nodded, noticing the dark Force users. Slowly, three of them got up and approached the highly-strung Jedi. Drachir moved forward, in spite of Sirch's demands not to. In minutes, the Jedi Knight stood in front of the three Sith Apprentices.
"You three will fight me. Not those two. Just me."
One of the Sith snorted as the other two extended their lightsabres. Two were human; the one who spoke to him was a Rodian.
"Jedi weaklings. You aren't strong enough to face us."
Drachir smiled patronisingly, seeing it was getting the Rodian's back up.
"And it takes three of you to kill a weak Jedi Knight? Hah! Baby Ewoks from Endor worry me more than you."
Drachir's green lightsabre ignited the second he stopped talking, skewering one of the humans. The remaining human and the Rodian both charged, but were cut down before they had gotten five paces forward. Drachir's blade had been a mere blur of light as he slaughtered the Sith. Godo and Sirch watched in amazement as their comrade took on an eager Sith Knight, defeating him as he came. But then came a palpable air of dread. Stepping through the scenes of carnage was a black-robed Sith Lord, a human male, but not one who had received his title on a whim. Sirch spoke, his voice little more than a whisper.
"Darth Llanab."
Drachir didn't look worried in the least by the Sith Master. He raised the green lightsabre slowly as Darth Llanab drew two lightsabres, one in each hand. However, Drachir's confidence fell when Llanab ignited not two but four lightsabre blades. Sirch and Godo were about to go and help their comrade when a Force Push from Darth Llanab sent them flying. The Sith Master smiled, and starting spinning the double-edged sabres at high speed. Slowly he advanced on Drachir, the red sabres a mere pair of blurs. Drachir lunged with his green sabre, right into the middle of just such a blur, and suddenly, there was a sharp noise as half the lightsabre was cut off. Darth Llanab then went on the attack, lunging and slashing with his three blades, but Drachir remained calm and confident. He parried only those attacks he saw as a threat, drawing out the frustration in his opponent. Frustration quickly gave way to anger and more erratic, violent attacks. Again, Drachir took it all in his stride, and managed to cut the remaining sabre-staff as well. But now, Darth Llanab was able to wield the two sabres he had left considerably easier. Drachir was kept on the back foot, but still didn't draw his second weapon. Llanab floored the Jedi and crossed his two blades, forcing Drachir to hold his single sabre up against the Sith Lord. Slowly, the two sabres were pushing Drachir's blade closer and closer to his face. Drachir decided to gamble, and kicked up at the Sith Master at the same time he shut off his lightsabre. Llanab fell to the side whilst Drachir leapt up and ignited both his lightsabres. Llanab regained his feet and held up his two lightsabres, challenging Drachir to come forward. Drachir ran forward, and struck down with his blue lightsabre. Llanab crossed his lightsabres to block the blow; a move he realised too late would cost him his life. Drachir stabbed under the block and impaled the Sith Master. Darth Llanab fell to the ground, dead. Drachir sighed and retracted his two lightsabres. Godo chanced to look up, and felt dozens of Force signatures exit lightspeed. Doubtlessly, Blood Gutter was here.
Leinad, Kepani and Kagami were fortunately out of range of the massive Blade cruiser, and were so far not being pursued. A smaller ship exited lightspeed, bearing the Jedi Knight Junial Legreb. As Leinad took the ship down to the old Jedi Academy, the Blood Gutter erupted dozens of ray blasts, lancing out in all directions. Leinad's ship avoided all major hits, but Junial's took three hits to the midsection of her craft, destroying the ship and the Jedi within. Slowly, Blood Gutter settled into an orbit directly above the Sith Focusing Tower.
Sirch looked around as he sensed three more Jedi arriving as well as the capital ship full of Sith. He watched their ship land, but a sudden feeling of unease came to him. Surely any Sith would leap at the chance to kill three Jedi sitting there, and sure enough, five Sith ran to take advantage. Kagami was the first to exit the transport, and spotted the oncoming Sith, three humans and two reptiles whose species she hadn't seen before.
"Leinad! Kepani! Sith coming and fast!"
Kepani leapt out the hatch and ignited her amethyst blade as five red lightsabres shone to life. Since she, Kagami or Leinad didn't have the latest sets of Jedi armour; one wrong hit would be fatal. Leinad joined her, his yellow lightsabre igniting as well. Kepani looked around.
"Where's Kagami?"
Leinad shrugged.
"She said she still felt too close to the Dark Side. She wants to ride this one out."
Kepani nodded.
"5 on 2 Leinad. I don't think we have much of a chance."
Her boyfriend shrugged, as if death was nothing new to him.
"Well, at least we had a good time together. Even if I did annoy you on occasion."
Kepani smiled as the first Sith approached.
"You know as well as I do that I loved every second of it. Goodbye, my love."
Leinad swung up with blinding speed, cutting the first Sith's forearms off. The Sith looked at the two failed Jedi in amazement. Kepani was giving off a blue aura that was timing their hits perfectly! The four other Sith slowed their rush, and attacked the two Jedi all as one. There was a flurry of purple and yellow, and when it stopped, there were five dead Sith on the rocky ground. Kepani retracted her lightsabre and slumped to the ground, exhausted. Leinad sat down beside her.
"Kepani, you never said you knew Battle Meditation!"
Kepani gave a weak smile as she tried to stand up, panting heavily.
"Must be because…you never asked me."
Leinad rolled his eyes as he helped Kepani up.
"When we get back to Yavin 4, I am so going to pelt you with honey apples until you beg me to stop."
Kagami walked out the transport, holding Leinad's blue lightsabre. Leinad turned to her and smiled.
"Feel ready to fight, Kagami? I know you can still feel the Dark Side, but…"
He trailed off as Kagami collapsed and began to sob. Kepani motioned for him to go and comfort the former Sith whilst she leant against the transport to regain her strength. Using Battle Meditation was no easy feat. Leinad gingerly touched the younger girl on her shoulder.
"What's wrong Kagami? Please, tell me. Kepani and I are your friends."
Kagami pointed to a Sith Knight walking slowly towards them.
"H-he w-w-was the one who r-r-raped me."
Leinad turned to see a bulky man, easily two metres tall, walking towards him, Kepani and Kagami. He hugged Kagami and patted her back reassuringly.
"We'll deal with him for you. Join in when you're ready."
Leinad ignited his yellow lightsabre and stood ready. The Sith smiled at Kagami, ignoring the two failed Jedi.
"Well look who it is. The Force-strong slave girl who killed my child. Still failing in everything, Kagami?"
Leinad twirled his lightsabre as the Sith ignited an emerald green blade. Kagami covered her ears, quivering as her tormentor continued.
"Surely you remember all the things I did to you, failure? How you begged and pleaded me to…"
A bolt of Force Lightning, which he grounded safely in his lightsabre, cut him off. Behind them, Godo Calrissian was approaching. Leinad looked at him in surprise.
"Sorus? You're here too?"
Godo nodded and ignited his blue lightsabre. Then he spoke to the man who had been putting Kagami through emotional hell.
"You, shut your face and fight me!"
The Sith sneered and used a Force Push so strong, it sent Godo flying back to where Sirch was fighting three Sith Apprentices. He then turned to Kepani.
"Will you fight me, oh pretty maiden?"
"Oh shut up."
Kepani drew her lightsabre and charged the Sith, batting her lightsabre up against his. But it became obvious soon that he was deliberately taunting her, trying to make her lose her focus. Kepani managed to keep her cool for a while, but was soon knocked out and thrown aside as if she were nothing. A couple of hundred metres away, Godo had joined the fight with Sirch and Drachir. Leinad walked forward.
"You beat Godo, you beat Kepani, try your best to beat me."
Green lightsabre clashed with yellow as the two duelled. Behind them, Kagami was still curled into a ball, painful memories exploding in her mind.
"You are nothing, slave."
"We will deal with you as we wish."
"You have no worth."
"You will never be anything."
Flashback
Kagami lay weeping in her small room, her baby dead in her arms. She had tried to sense a presence in the Force, but had gripped her child's mind too tightly, and ended up killing the newborn baby boy. The toll of the slavers bell rang, and the retractable wall was pushed in, forcing Kagami into the corridor. Several slaves looked at her, all wearing expressions of disgust and loathing. It was common knowledge that Kagami had killed her child. How was unclear, but that didn't matter to them. She was still hated for it.
End of FlashbackKagami opened her eyes and watched Leinad duelling her rapist, flashes of light erupting as the two lightsabres clashed. At her side hung Leinad's blue lightsabre.
"Let go of your pain and you'll see your family again."
Kepani's words echoed in her mind. Slowly, Kagami stood up, letting all her negative emotions flow from her, focusing on the hope the two Jedi had given her.
"The dark side is powerful, but it will destroy you. Darth Sorus became Godo Calrissian again, you can become someone the galaxy will LOVE."
Leinad had been holding off Kagami's rapist for a few minutes, but it was clear that he was stronger. Slowly, their deadlock began to fade to his disadvantage.
Kagami touched the lightsabre, and felt something stir inside her. She knew in that moment what she had to do. She walked forward as her attacker floored Leinad and swung down with a blow that would slice the Jedi in half.
If it ever landed.
Kagami ignited Leinad's blue lightsabre under the green blade of her rapist. He looked at her in contempt.
"Back off you, and I might just spare your life."
Kagami's determination shocked him.
"Never."
"What did you say to me?"
"I will never allow you to hurt the two Jedi who saved my soul. You can kill me, but you will never have my surrender."
Kagami pushed upwards with her lightsabre and went on the attack, always keeping her enemy on the back foot. Soon, he stumbled, giving her all the chance she needed. Swinging upwards violently, she severed his hand, then lunged and impaled him through the neck. He fell to the rocky ground dead, his head coming off all the way as he hit the stained earth. Kagami retracted the lightsabre and walked back to Leinad and Kepani. Behind them, Sirch, Godo and Drachir had killed the last Sith and were looking up at the Focusing Tower. Even half built, it was still colossal. Kepani, Leinad and Kagami approached the three other Jedi. Leinad spoke first.
"So what's the plan then, Master Senoj?"
Sirch pointed towards the tower doors nearby.
"See if you can open them using…"
He stopped as Kagami used Force Push instead of Pull to flatten the doors completely. She smiled up at the Jedi Master.
"…Force Pull."
Sirch shook his head.
"Ok, what's your name?"
"Me? Kagami, former Sith Apprentice."
Sirch opened himself to the Force and used it to read Kagami. She had had a lot of pain, and anguish was clear in her mind, but he could sense no deception from the young girl.
"Well Kagami, I was going to tell Godo here to do it. Wait until you hear my orders before you act on what you think I'm going to say."
Kagami looked to Godo.
"Were you Darth Sorus?"
Godo nodded.
"Not so long ago either."
"Is your Jedi Master always like this?"
Drachir hid a snigger.
"You should see him around his girlfriend."
Sirch sighed and walked towards the tower. Leinad called out.
"Wait! Sirch, it's not safe."
Sirch turned around.
"You sense something?"
Leinad nodded.
"Something bad."
Sirch was about to say that he felt no such negativity when a dozen Sith of varying skill level walked out the smashed doors. Sirch, Godo and Drachir advanced, all four lightsabres ignited. Twelve red lightsabres lit up, making their odds four to one. Against. Almost no one survived such odds. Kagami shut her eyes and felt the Force rise up in her. She reached out to the tower itself and tore a piece of the structure free, bringing it down to crush the Sith. Seven were killed, and two injured. Sirch lead the charge, slashing away maniacally. Two of the unhurt Sith were killed immediately in his berserk attack, and the other three were killed by Godo and Drachir. Suddenly, a massive quake shook the entire landscape. All six Jedi took cover as the very ground buckled and cracked. Kepani pointed to the sky.
"Look! That's no quake!"
Blood Gutter was clearly visible dead overhead. Rayed lasers were slashing through the stained rocky ground, creating the tremors. All the Jedi retracted their lightsabres. Drachir suddenly whirled around to see a lumbering machine, obviously a conveyance of some sort for Sith. Drachir walked forward.
"I'll hold it back. You five, get away."
As the other Jedi were about to protest to Drachir sacrificing himself, Sirch cut them off.
"He's right. That thing will follow us if we all stick together. One of us HAS to die."
Kagami stepped forward.
"Then let that be me."
Drachir shook his head at the former Sith.
"No. You have a future to live for."
Kagami looked away, not feeling happy with the idea of Drachir dying, but she knew there was no alternative. Sirch nodded to the Jedi Knight.
"The Force will always be with you, my friend."
Drachir nodded and put both his lightsabres back on his belt. Leinad, Kepani and Kagami ran for their transport, whilst Sirch and Godo left for their freighter, which hopefully still had Ylcu in it. Drachir looked around. Somehow, he felt perfectly content with the knowledge this was to be his last stand. He resolved to take out every last Sith left on this world, no matter what the price. Behind him, Leinad's transport took off and sped to join up with Sirch's ship. He smiled as the heavy machine lumbered closer. About twenty Sith walked in front of it, and from the strength of the Force inside the machine, there had to be at least another twenty there. Within a few minutes, the Sith were only metres away from him. One of the forerunners walked up to the Jedi Knight.
"You have courage, Jedi, but you cannot hope to beat us all. Move aside, and I will spare your life."
Drachir smiled, and used the Force to lift up a layer of soil in front of him. When he was finished, there was a distinctive black line.
"I challenge each and every one of you Sith to single combat. This area here is mine. None shall defeat me."
The Sith's answer was a contemptuous blast of Force Lightning, powerful enough to blow the insolent Jedi apart. Drachir absorbed the lightning and then fired it back at his attacker, blowing him apart. The other forerunners looked uneasy. Drachir ignited both his cerulean and viridian blades.
"None shall defeat me."
One Sith walked forward and drew his lightsabre. Time ceased to have any meaning whatsoever for Drachir Flet as lightsabres clashed and hummed against one another, bursts of light erupting from the battling blades. The Force flowed through him with more power than it ever had before, guiding his slashes, directing his stabs, and warning him of attacks. His Jedi armour protected him when errant attacks did land, but the cortosis thread kept him alive with its ability to resist lightsabres. Slowly, the numbers of the dead Sith began to rise. At first there was only one.
Then two.
Then three.
Then four.
Then ten.
Drachir Flet had been fighting for close on thirty minutes now, but he felt no exhaustion. The Force has become him, and he has become the Force. Little does he notice the lives he vanquishes with each carefully executed slash.
Little does he notice the gaps in his armour.
Little does he notice the pain of lightsabre slashes.
After an hour of pure fighting, the last of the twenty Sith lies dead at his feet. Yet he remains as the giant weapon before him powers up.
Almost not fair he thought humourlessly. Then he becomes aware of the Focusing Tower again. The building he came to destroy so Ossus could be saved.
Well, so long as our mission is complete, I guess it doesn't matter.
Reaching out with the Force, he gripped the colossal structure and felt the Force energy rush into him as the huge weapon fired. The conflicting energy spiralled upwards towards Blood Gutter. Drachir pulled with every bit of energy he had.
The tower stirred.
He pulled again as he began to transcend his physical form.
The tower sagged and collapsed like a tree, falling on top of the Sith weapon. Slowly, Drachir Flet feels himself die.
Sirch's freighter had taken Leinad's transport aboard easily, and now the five Jedi and Ylcu were heading to Coruscant. Blood Gutter took a massive hit from the area near the Focusing Tower, rendering its weapons inactive for now. Below them, the Jedi felt Drachir's presence die. No one said a word as the freighter hit lightspeed.
"…the Sith menace on Ossus has been neutralised, but at the cost of the Jedi Knight Drachir Flet. A Sith defected on Yavin 4, and is currently being questioned by Jedi Knight Godo Calrissian."
The Jedi Council looked up from the report. Sirch stood still, hoping he had accomplished his mission.
"When we promoted you to Jedi Master, Sirch, we believed you would do well. You have done better than we expected. Who was it who converted this Sith girl?"
"Two Jedi who chose to distance themselves from us. Leinad Ekkru and Kepani Jinn."
"Have them brought here."
"They have left Coruscant. They departed in their old transport."
The twelve Jedi Masters nodded.
"Very well. Allow them to do as they please. Bring this Kagami before us, as well as Godo Calrissian."
"As you wish."
Sirch left the chamber, nodding for Kagami and Godo to enter. Kagami looked like any more stress would surely kill her. She was wearing a dark blue dress, traced with thick yellow lines in no particular pattern, and at her side was her lightsabre. Slowly she walked into the chamber along with Godo. But no sooner was she in there than she passed out. Godo caught her and looked her over.
"I guess bringing her here wasn't the best idea. She's a shy girl at the best of times."
One of the Council members addressed Godo as he tended to Kagami.
"She is the Sith convert?"
"Yes Master, she is. She battled Leinad and Kepani, but was defeated. She is skilled in healing and killed several Sith on Ossus. I believe she is sincere in her defection."
"We will talk to her when she recovers. Godo?"
"Yes?"
"We promote you to the rank of Jedi Guardian. Look after her well."
"As you wish, Masters."
Godo left the chamber, carrying Kagami on his back. Slowly, she stirred.
"Where am I? What happened?"
Godo smiled as he took her to the medical bay.
"I think you were TOO nervous Kagami. I've been promoted to Jedi Guardian, and I'm to look after you."
Kagami shook her head.
"I want to see my home world. If I become a Jedi, I'll never see my family again. I don't want to do that! I want to use the Force as Leinad and Kepani do. Why can't I be like them?"
Godo sat on the bed with her.
"Kagami, the Jedi Council doesn't openly approve of former Jedi running around, and they barely accepted me as a Jedi at all. The only reason that Leinad and Kepani are allowed to do as they please is…"
Kagami cut him off.
"Why? Because they defeated a Sith? That Sith was ME!"
Kagami dissolved into tears before Godo could comfort her. She got up off the bed despite his best efforts and went to the Council Chamber herself. The twelve Jedi Masters looked at her in surprise.
"I am the Sith converted by Leinad and Kepani. My name is Kagami."
One of the Masters nodded.
"What can we do for you?"
Kagami shifted slightly.
"Why are Leinad and Kepani so special?"
"Both of them have never touched the dark side, and they are meant to be together. It isn't something we like, but they won't stray from Yavin 4 for long."
Kagami felt hurt by their suspicion, even though she could understand it.
"Why don't you trust me?"
"We do, or we'd have summoned guards to arrest you. Kagami, you know you aren't emotionally stable. We will decide what to do with you soon."
Kagami couldn't have heard worse words if she tried.
"Decide what to do with me? I'm a living person, not an object! I deserve to be treated with dignity and…"
Kagami fainted, and was taken to a medical bay again. After a long time of sleeping and having horrific nightmares, she woke up, feeling that even less was right with her world. She opened her eyes, and saw she was in an isolation room. A single message lay on her sheets, and she reached to grab it when she realised she was being restrained. Not tightly, but it was enough to remind her of when she was a mere toy to amuse the Sith. She tried to summon the Force to her, but somehow it was being held from her at the moment. She leant forward and saw the writing on the note.
'We will come from Yavin 4 to visit you now. We both hope you're alright. Leinad and Kepani.'
Kagami felt relieved two Jedi she understood were coming to her. Perhaps they could persuade the Jedi Council to let her go with them. She didn't want to live a life of servitude to anyone, Jedi or Sith, after being through worse hell than was easily imaginable.
"You really don't look well today Kagami."
She looked up and saw Leinad and Kepani there, leaning over her bed.
"Leinad! Kepani! Oh I'm glad to see you!"
Kepani smiled at her.
"You want to come with us don't you?"
Kagami nodded.
"Yes! I do, please, I do. I don't want to be a Jedi, but I will never touch the dark side as long as I live. Please, take me with you. I promise not to disturb you when you, well, want to be alone."
Both Jedi laughed at this.
" We have asked the Council to vote on letting you come with us. And we're getting the results now."
Leinad opened a datapad.
"Here they come."
He showed Kagami the datapad. Her eyes went wide. Ten said she could go with them, the other two advised caution. Kagami nodded and pulled on her restraints.
"Can you help me up please? I can't go like this."
Kepani looked thoughtful.
"Well, you see Kagami, we can tickle you like this."
Kagami gave a squeal of laughter as Kepani tickled her.
"No fair! No fair! I can't stop you!"
Leinad shrugged.
"She's the one in charge here, not me."
Kagami smiled at the two Jedi she had come from hating and trying to kill, to accepting them as allies, friends and equals.
"Let go of your anger and you'll see your family again."
Leinad helped her up whilst Kepani turned off the machine keeping her Force powers down. Kagami got up and smiled at them.
"I owe you both so much. But can I request one thing first?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Can we go to my home planet please for a visit?"
Leinad rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Ok then, you tell us where it is, and we'll all go there for a while. Come on, let's go."
Kagami nodded and walked with her two friends to their ship.
Kashyyyk
Outer Rim
Sirch's ship landed on the vast plain of burnt wood that had been slashed into Kashyyyk's otherwise green paradise of life. Home to the Wookiees, Kashyyyk was important to the Republic for its loyalty and many hyperspace links. He stepped out of the ship, fleetingly sad Ylcu had to stay at their home on Coruscant. But his life as a Jedi Master meant he would be on the front line until the last Sith was dead. He looked around for the Wookiee he was supposed to meet as his translator droid came out and alighted on his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile. P-SEZ-o'8 was a new stealth droid, designed to resemble fauna native to the world in question. This one resembled a kroyie bird, fairly common on Kashyyyk all over. The Jedi Council had received a report of strange aliens being sighted on Kashyyyk, and he was there to help the Wookiees until more Jedi could arrive. As he looked around, he saw the Wookiee he was supposed to meet. Ralforr was a 200 year-old Wookiee scout, and could just about speak Basic, but more importantly, knew where these strange, xenophobic aliens were hiding. Sirch ran up to the khaki hued Wookiee.
"Ralforr, there you are. Where are these aliens meant to be?"
Ralforr's Basic was very deep and scratchy, but Sirch could cope without his droid.
"Seven…clicks west. Many of them."
Sirch nodded and took hold of his lightsabre. His translator droid hovered in the air just behind him.
"We should go right away. Lead on, Ralforr."
The Wookiee lead the way down a fresh path cut into the undergrowth. As Sirch walked along, he couldn't help but notice how different Kashyyyk was from Ossus. The home planet of the Jedi had been poisoned and burned terribly, but here on Kashyyyk, life thrived constantly. The very Force pulsed from the lower levels of the forest, and Sirch nearly walked into a tree as he felt the Force around him. Ralforr glanced around at the Jedi Master, and drew a blaster pistol at the same time Sirch ignited his lightsabre. Here, the native fauna was in more disarray than they could cause, and with good reason. Six small, reptilian creatures, crouching low on the ground, were ripping into the carcass of a bantha. Upon seeing Sirch and Ralforr, their aggression was triggered. Snarling ferociously, they crept forward, patches of skin becoming red and vibrant blue, obviously a threat display. Ralforr fired on the nearest one, prompting the other five to leap into the air. Sirch used a powerful Force Push to throw them back, but no sooner were they down than they were up again, making an odd guttural snarl. Three of them leapt at Sirch again as the other two charged his Wookiee companion. Sirch's lightsabre was a blur as he slashed the aliens apart before they could touch him, the sound of blasterfire denoting that Ralforr was obviously accounting for his harassers. The fight was over in thirty seconds. Sirch looked around for any more, and retracted his blade. He levitated the corpse of one of the aliens and looked it over.
"Strange. I've never seen anything like this before. These ones appear to be immature, meaning the adults will be much tougher."
Ralforr gave a growl of acknowledgement. Sirch kept his lightsabre to hand as they pushed deeper into the wild lower depths of Kashyyyk's forests.
Godo was not happy as he piloted his shuttle to the hyperspace point. With Drachir dead, he and Sirch had been separated, and he was going to one of the most worthless planets known to exist to track down smugglers who were provisioning Sith outposts and capturing Jedi. He rolled his eyes as his ship accelerated towards the Hoth system. Even with the Sith on the back foot, surely the Council could spare him one or two other Jedi to help? There were 60,000 of them, after all. Seeing a chance to get some rest, he went to the shuttle's cabin and lay down, popping open a canteen of blue milk from Tatooine. Swigging down a sizeable amount, he sighed again and took hold of his lightsabre. Memories of his days as a Sith Lord sprang to mind as he stared at the ceiling, but he cast them from his mind, determined to overwrite his evil with acts of good. Briefly he thought about Kagami, someone he knew he'd be able to understand. Hopefully she'd reconsider and train to be a Jedi under him. Both would learn a lot from the other. Perhaps if she returned to the Jedi Temple, she could be schooled in the ways of the Jedi more properly. He raised his feet onto the co-pilot's chair and looked at the timer saying how long it would take to arrive on Hoth. He groaned when he saw it would take 40 standard hours. He shut his eyes to rest, hoping that this wasn't going to be some wasted journey to the middle of nowhere. At least if it had been to a planet like Kothlis, he could easily catch a luxurious break in paradise. Hoth promised nothing but endless plains of ice and snow. After several minutes, he fell asleep, his ship rocketing towards Hoth as it jumped into lightspeed.
Thunder rolled on Yavin 4 as Leinad skilfully brought the upgraded transport in to land. Larger than the other, and armed with heat-seeking mini-cannons, it was a much better choice than the cramped transport he had initially used to get to Yavin 4. Kepani was resting in one of the five bedrooms, and Kagami was meditating. Slowly, he landed on the site he'd first come to. Memories washed over him like a wave breaking on a beach, and he smiled as he set down. He walked into Kepani's room and looked at her fondly. Despite their scrape on Ossus, she had come out barely affected at all, but she had let go of any hostility she felt towards Kagami. He sighed, sat on her bed, and very gently caressed her cheek. She gave a pleased moan in her sleep, inciting him to lean in and kiss her. Kepani moved her hand up and delicately traced over his face with her hand. Leinad smiled and lay down with her. As he was about to kiss her, he felt the feeling of being watched. He whirled to see Kagami stood there, amusement written on her features.
"Boy, what you two won't do."
Leinad gave a slight smile.
"Oh this is nothing. You should see…"
He was cut off by Kepani shoving him to the floor. She sat up and began drumming her fingers on her mattress. Leinad gulped.
"Oh perfect. Thanks Kagami!"
The former Sith smiled.
"Anytime. I'm going to go get some fruit in the jungle. I'll leave you two to get it on."
"Why you cheeky little!"
Kagami ran out the transport with Kepani's curses following her. No sooner was she out of the ship than she felt beacons of darkness close in around her.
Kill them.
Kagami stopped and looked around.
"Who's there?"
Slay the Jedi!
Kagami reached for her lightsabre, but found it wasn't on her. She looked around again, but could see no living thing.
"I won't slay the Jedi! They saved me in every way I could be saved, and I won't betray them!"
Fool. You are a SITH.
"No, I'm a Jedi! I'll never return to the dark side!"
Give up.
Kagami felt someone come up behind her. She didn't recognise their Force-signature, so she presumed it was a Jedi or a Sith. On searching her feelings, she found the dark side was strong there. As if to confirm her fears, the sound of a lightsabre igniting caught her attention. In a move too quick for most Jedi to hope to match, she spun around, kicked out, and knocked the lightsabre out of her opponents' hand. She caught the lightsabre and faced her opponent. Her opponent was a middle-aged female Zabrak, her face contorted into a look of pure hatred.
"Ah, the goody goody Jedi holding a Sith lightsabre. Aren't you a bad girl?"
Kagami let go of her anger and smirked insultingly at the Sith.
"Are the Sith so desperate they'll train anyone in the ways of the Force, even if they do look like a retarded bantha with diahorrea?"
Her opponent snarled and ignited a second lightsabre. Lunging, she began to duel with the younger Jedi. Kagami wasn't skilled with a lightsabre the way Sirch Senoj or the late Drachir Flet was, but she had managed to hold both Leinad and Kepani back, and neither of them were to be taken lightly. The Zabrak Sith was clearly more skilled, but was shocked at Kagami's pure speed. For someone a foot shorter than her, she definitely knew how to use her agile form. Kagami ducked, sidestepped and dodged all attacks that could be damaging, before finally being caught in a deadlock. The Zabrak Sith smirked, inciting fear inside her.
"I sense great fear in you, Kagami. You possess such anger and hate, but you don't use them."
Kagami pushed all negative emotions aside, and spat in the Zabrak's face.
"Sith need the Dark Side to become powerful. Jedi are strong anyway!"
Kagami slashed at her opponent, catching her off-guard and severing both her hands. She looked at the defeated Sith, and skewered her fast before she could try and taunt her more. Throwing away the lightsabre she'd taken, she ran back to the shuttle and entered the cockpit. She dialled in the code for Godo's transport, which he had left with her before leaving Coruscant, and waited for a response.
On Kashyyyk, Sirch was taking a break on the long winding trail. Ralforr had gone scouting ahead, leaving him alone. Keeping his lightsabre handy, he ate some dried bantha steak, barely noticing the lack of flavour it had. In the forests of Kashyyyk, bread was hard to come by. No sooner was he finished with his meal than he was back on his feet, ready to press deeper into this mystery…
The End
Notes
Fletch, sorry your death wasn't as glamorous as I promised.
Rick, you do get to replace your old apprentice.
Chris, sorry this took so long.
Everyone else, may the Force be with you.