Chapter 1
The Far Wanderer was a fine ship. Sturdy, dependable, easy to maintain and simple to fly. Yet it was also fast, maneuverable, and in the right hands, plenty able to make up for its aging design and limited firepower. Mostly with the fact that the Z-95, nicknamed the "Headhunter" by an early pilot of the craft whose name was long since lost to history, was essentially built more like a rock than a starfighter. It wasn't the swiftest, it wasn't the best shielded, and with a single medium laser mounted at the outer end of each wing, the Z-95 was most certainly not the best armed.
But it never broke down. Ever. No matter what you did to it, the Headhunter would keep running. The heads-up-display could be a calamitous painting of alarms and warning lights, one engine could be out and both weapons disabled, but the Z-95 would still be on its feet and moving. It just never quit.
And like all machines and droids, it did not pass judgment on its master and pilot. It did not lecture, give sanctimonious speeches about the supposed dangers of the Dark Side of the Force. It just stood by you, asking only for some care and periodic maintenance in return. Hence the Far Wanderer would remain with Jaden even after she had cast off all other visible reminders of her old life. The Jedi Order garments of gray, green-blue and silver, the color of her blue lightsaber- all would go soon enough. But the Headhunter would stay.
Jaden was coming to have a whole new appreciation for the name. It was… fitting… in a way Jaden had never had the sense to realize before.
Killing Rosh had changed Jaden's life. She could tell already that even though she had killed before that moment on Taspir III, and would soon kill again, her execution of that pitiful excuse for a Padawan would always be memorable. It wasn't the first time she had killed.
But it was the first time she'd allowed herself to enjoy it.
Speaking aloud the coordinates for the jump to Korriban, Jaden sat back, let the Far Wanderer's computer and hyperdrive do some talking, and watched as the stars blurred into white lines. The Headhunter leapt into hyperspace, tearing through the blackness at incredible speed, leaving Taspir III and her old life far, far behind her.
XX
The Dark Side was powerful. Rosh, stupid and weak as he had been at the end- no, as he had always been, from start to finish- was right about that. Jaden could feel it coursing through her, flowing in her veins, guiding her thoughts and showing her just the start- just a tithe- of what she had been missing when she'd been a fool enough to follow the Light.
Long ago, Jaden had read in the holobooks, the Sith had been more numerous- more organized. There had been a formal training academy for Dark Jedi on Korriban, destroyed by infighting during one of the Sith Empire's many unstable periods. It had joined the other ruins dotting the planet, and become just one more of the planet's tombs- this one holding the students and instructors who had fallen there.
But before that academy had fallen, they had talked of how "Peace is a Lie". Passion was said to give strength, strength gave power, and power gave victory. The chains you were shackled with on the day you joined the Jedi Order were broken, and the Force, now permitted to flow through you in all its unrestrained glory, set you free.
Jaden hadn't understood the words back when she'd first read them. She'd actually shaken her head in dismay, wondering how anyone could get so far from the truth and think themselves so right. She hadn't understood the words then because there was nothing to understand.
But she understood the words now.
Hate was a wonderful thing. Truly. Rage, fury, hate, in their purest, most unrestricted forms, gave you a feeling of euphoria, of unlimited power in the truest possible sense of the word, that you could never know while you followed the light. The Jedi did everything they could to trick their students, to ensure the wisdom and truths, the discoveries made by the old Sith masters and the great Sith Lords of the past, were never told. They would claim anything to keep you from realizing the truth.
The Dark Side was too quick, too easy. It would 'corrupt' you somehow, even destroy you. Jaden actually clenched her hands into fists as she thought about it. It was all a lie! They just told you that so the students they raised would stay tame and passive, never capable in all their lives of realizing the true extent of their abilities. Placid and meek, following the Jedi Masters and their Code and obeying every order without question, you would never, ever learn what power really was- and what the Force, coursing through you, could really allow you to do.
"How could I not have seen it?"
Jaden started, surprised for a moment she'd spoken the words aloud. It was so obvious in retrospect, all of it, and it shamed Jaden to realize she'd wasted so much time- more than twenty years of her life, gone forever, stolen by the Jedi and their foolish, idiotic chanting about peace, control and order. They were pacifists, except in times of war. Teachers, except when it came to telling their students the truth. They were honest, except when they had to keep things from you because you were "too young". And every time somebody slipped up and made a mistake, and Jaden had a feeling there had been a lot of times when that had happened, it was brushed off, swept under the cargo ramp, another dirty little Jedi secret. But of course, they did that for the noblest of reasons. You could be sure of that. Always for the noblest of reasons. That was the Jedi.
The reality was that by the time they let you have unrestricted access to the Jedi Archives, you would be a Jedi Master, long ago cheated out of your youth, the absolute height of your passion, drive and power. You would be docile, complacent, entirely lost to dedication to Jedi discipline, mantra and routine. You would look upon stories of the Dark Side and what it had let Force wielders, young and old, to do for millennia, and see only 'bad' things that should never have happened.
Instead of seeing men and women, younglings of both genders, who had been liberated and permitted to realize their true potential, you would see beings who had 'fallen', who had been 'lost'. Instead of the beauty, the purity, of absolutely unlimited power, you would see those who had gone too far, done too much. You would see it this way and never be able to change, because by that time, you would have become like them.
Jaden shook her head, whipping it to the right as if to snap at her ear. She might have been so tame and complacent as to want such a future once. Now, let out of the invisible cell, released from the invisible chains she'd been forced to live with all her life, Jaden knew the truth; that she would rather die than become some doddering old fool of a Jedi Master. That she would kill every Jedi until no more remained, rather than ever again be among their ranks.
XX
Rosh was dead. Of this much Jaden was certain. Oh, she'd known he was still breathing- just barely- when she dropped him and went on to have that delightful, extraordinarily fun fight with Alora- also memorable as the first time she'd allowed herself to fight without restriction, without mercy, to kill in battle and gladly enjoy it.
But he had died by now beyond any doubt.
Maybe, just maybe, Rosh had lived long enough for Kyle Katarn to show up. The big hero, there to save the day, only to find one of his Padawans gone and the other dying before his eyes- maybe right there in his arms.
Slowly, very slowly, the corners of Jaden's beautiful face turned upward in a sunken, rather horrifying smile. She could just about see it now.
And she knew she wouldn't have had it any other way.
You never knew what consequences this catastrophe would have for that old soldier. Two students gone, one deserted from the ranks, the second killed by the other? Oh, that would not make Kyle Katarn look good. It would not have him upright and proud at the next Academy teachers' meeting. Or whatever kind of get-togethers they did.
There was always the chance that overrated 'legend' Luke Skywalker- another old soldier, not truly old yet by any stretch but definitely getting there- would deem Kyle to have done, well, rather poorly by Academy standards. There was always the chance Skywalker would have him dismissed, fired, drummed out. Or maybe he'd feel some stupid sense of guilt, despite having no more ability to claim responsibility- More like steal credit, Jaden thought- for anything the young ex-Jedi had done than one of those filthy savages running around with their gaffi sticks and stolen weapons in the Tattooine desert. If the last one was the case, Kyle would lament his actions, feel remorse and responsibility, and maybe he'd even fire himself.
Oh, the list of possibilities was endless for all it really mattered. Jaden let herself think about it freely, envision every route and option. The one she liked most was the chance that Kyle Katarn would have the nerve to follow her to Korriban. The chances of it were good, given that the Jedi Order was already landing forces there to seize control of the Valley of the Dark Lords and stop Tavion Axmis, head of the Disciples of Ragnos, from using the Scepter of Ragnos- artifact from the great Sith Lord's days as one of the finest ass-kickers in the galaxy- to bring Ragnos himself back amongst the living. Or at least as some approximation of living, able to feel, think, and use the Force.
Joining the Disciples was as unthinkable as rejoining the Jedi. What was Jaden supposed to do, trade one foolish Master for another? Bow before a Lord whose day had long since come and passed, instead of just bowing before every stupid Jedi Master who passed by?
No. Those days were over. That starship had flown.
From now on Jaden Korr bowed to no one.
As the Z-95 blasted through hyperspace, travelling fast enough to reach even the most distant stars given a little time, Jaden took in a breath, let it out, and once again smiled- this time quite pleasantly. And why not? She was happy.
Soon, she would fly down to the surface of Korriban, allowing no one to stop her from making her way to the tomb of Marka Ragnos once she got there. She would kill anyone who tried to stop her, and with Jaden now swinging that double-bladed lightsaber of hers with the Dark Side of the Force backing her up, the bodies would be hitting the ground very fast.
And upon reaching the tomb, Jaden would silence that talkative, boring Tavion and take the damn Scepter everyone had made such a business of- and then, finally, the galaxy would see what it could really do. The same would go for its new owner.
Such a great plan. And like all great plans, it had the beauty of simplicity. And that simplicity would mean that even Kyle Katarn could probably figure it out. Jaden almost giggled like a kid, looking down at the silver hilt of her lightsaber, sitting comfortably at her belt. She actually did get the giggles when she succeeded in visualizing Kyle Katarn getting his head cut off, by none other than yours truly.
Oh, please, by the Force let it be so. Let him follow me to the Valley of the Dark Lords.
It had been too long since Jedi blood had watered the rocks and sand of Korriban.
XX
There was a flaming Star Destroyer, none other than the Imperial-II class made legendary by its service in the Galactic Civil War, now going on a decade past, right in front of Jaden's field of vision when the Far Wanderer dropped out of hyperspace.
"Nothing to it," Jaden said quietly, barely taking her eyes off the kilometer-long battleship as she powered up the Z-95's weapons and turned the shields to maximize protection of the forward half of the fighter.
Secretly, Jaden hoped the Star Destroyer neither went anywhere nor met with serious opposition all that soon. It would make quite a grand means to exit the system with once she had the Scepter of Ragnos in hand, after all. Whoever was aboard, whatever the crew was like, her captain undoubtedly swore allegiance to the Disciples of Ragnos and that tiresome, irksome Tavion.
Maybe the captain could be persuaded otherwise, shown that there were better masters to follow, once Tavion was good and dead and Jaden had the Scepter firmly in hand. If not, hey. The executive officer would probably be more cooperative- especially once his boss had been killed in front of him. Violently.
Oh, violence, Jaden thought wistfully as the Far Wanderer sped towards Korriban, and the giant, triangular mass of gray Kuat Drive Yards steel. How I have denied thee my love before, and how I will lavish thee with it now.
The Star Destroyer was watching for enemy capital ships, or groups of fighters. One lone Z-95 was barely worth its notice. Notice the ship did, for even though Jaden maintained a distance of several kilometers between herself and the massive vessel, it started firing with the longer-range laser batteries after a minute or two. But by that time, the Far Wanderer was already heading down and away, down towards the surface of Korriban. No effort was made by the Star Destroyer to launch fighters or even keep up sustained fire while Jaden was still in range. As soon as the Far Wanderer began its descent, they stopped firing. One fighter just wasn't worth very much trouble.
XX
Jaden's mind was going all sorts of directions as she flew over Korriban's tan, brown, red and black surface, through an atmosphere that had almost no rainfall yearly, as there were next to no clouds. Korriban was arid, unfriendly to organic life- and what life there was hunted and killed things as small as biped organics cheerfully.
It was a pretty ugly landscape, yet this planet had held in the past- and still held now- secrets from the Dark Side's glorious past, relics and artifacts. This planet was incredibly strong in the Dark Side. Even from up here, hundreds of feet in the air, Jaden could feel it tugging at her, calling her to come down, land, stop and visit a while. It was like coming home, though she had never been here before.
This wasn't the only place Jaden had never been before. In keeping with Jedi tradition, she had been taught from the beginning to deny herself the earthly pleasures that one became aware of upon reaching adolescence. Don't think about it, don't daydream, don't ever think about what that cute Padawan down the hall might look like with his robes off- or what the two of you could get up to if given a few minutes alone.
Well, I'm gonna fix that, Jaden thought with determination as the Far Wanderer's computer picked up the homing beacon set by the first Jedi to land. It guided the fallen Jedi in to land just like it had all the more sanctimonious ones.
But something as trivial- but important- as her own physical enjoyment was going to have to wait. Jaden knew that not even half of the ideas she had for that- or anything else- could be realized until she had the Scepter of Ragnos. Until that was done Jaden was little more than a fallen Jedi. She had to take the Scepter for anything else to happen.
As Jaden brought the Z-95 down and landed, a pair of Jedi moved out from cover near the landing area. It was Clegg Alastair, a male human Jedi Knight that Jaden had interacted with a few times at the Academy, and some Rodian that Jaden didn't know. But that wasn't really a problem, was it? The hate coursing through Jaden, the hate every Dark Side wielder had felt for every Jedi for centuries and would feel for all eternity, pulsed particularly strong as she looked at the Rodian, that bug-eyed freak, and saw his lightsaber in hand.
Opening the transparasteel cockpit and jumping down unassisted, Jaden concealed the revulsion she felt at seeing one of these bug-faced creatures holding a lightsaber. She hid it just as she hid her disgust for Clegg Alastair, who was just as boring as Kyle Katarn was old. Was this really the landing reception she was getting?
As Jaden walked forward and they moved to meet her halfway, Jaden found herself unsure whether it was hate she needed to conceal more, or boredom.
XX
"Jaden!" Clegg exclaimed. "It's good you're here- we- we've been taking losses trying to get to the tomb of Marka Ragnos." He shook his head, dismayed. "It's been harder going than even Master Skywalker said it would be."
Must be pretty bad, then, eh? Jaden thought, resisting the urge to snigger. Ah, dead Jedi. And here Clegg was talking about it like it was a problem.
"Where's Rosh?" Clegg asked, shaking off his troubled thoughts. "I heard there was some trouble on Taspir III. Is he all right?"
"He's safe," Jaden lied, "but badly hurt. Kyle's taking care of him."
"Is that why Kyle isn't here?" Clegg was looking at her uncertainly. "I would've thought… shouldn't he have turned Rosh over to the medics and come here with you?"
"Like I said," Jaden said, a little impatience coming into her voice as much as she tried to stop it, "Rosh was badly hurt. He needs a lot of looking after."
"What happened? It seems like you're fine, at least."
"Oh, I am," Jaden said, and there was nothing but truth in that statement. She had never felt better in all her life.
"Jaden," Clegg said, his brow furrowing, "something's not right here. You said Rosh was badly hurt, but- you don't seem that concerned about it."
"He's in Kyle's hands," Jaden said. "Kyle knows what he's doing. I've got nothing to be concerned about."
"Is that right?" the Rodian asked in passable Basic, speaking for (thankfully) the first time in this cute little meeting.
Jaden shot him a look, her pulse quickening as she fought to hide her disgust, battled the urge to draw her lightsaber and kill this freakish thing on the spot. "Yeah, it is," was all she said.
Then she took a step forward, but was stopped almost immediately as Clegg put a hand out. "Jaden," he said, concern now rising towards alarm, "I can sense the Dark Side in you… and it isn't just this planet. I can't let you pass. Not until Kyle gets here. We have to sort some things out."
Jaden didn't resist his attempt to stop her. She simply stood in place, letting her gaze fall to the ground. "I will pass…" she said calmly, menace rising in her voice as she spoke. "Whether you want me to or not."
Then she sent out a blast, a Force wave that hurled both Jedi away from her. They managed to stop themselves before the impact with the nearest wall or pillar would have killed them, and ignited their lightsabers just as Jaden ignited hers. From there the fight was on.
Jaden flung herself into it gladly, spinning and twirling the dual-ended blade with reckless abandon. It was barely twelve seconds before she cut off Clegg Alastair's arm. Only a second more before she cut off his head.
The Rodian Jedi, whose name Jaden had never even wanted to know, lasted a full minute and a half before Jaden shoved him against a pillar with a Force wave, then impaled him on it with her lightsaber.
Jaden felt it as it had happened both times- the rush of life as the enemy was cut down. As these uppity Jedi were brought down by someone who had just recently discovered what power actually was. She was breathing hard, but not just from the fight. It was the excitement of fighting, the rush of killing, the joy of hate.
The fallen Jedi looked at the dead bodies, and heard the sound of fighting, of lightsabers crashing together as Disciples and Jedi battled for control of the catacombs leading to the Valley of the Dark Lords. Battle, beckoning yet again. There were more bodies to add to the count.
There was a Scepter to take, to wrest out of the hands of Tavion. It was about time the Jedi learned some humility, the Disciples learned they were following the wrong idol, and the Scepter found its way into the hands of someone who would actually use it for what it was meant for. Tavion talked too much and did too little.
Once Jaden had the Scepter, the possibilities were endless. The sooner she had it, the better. Not even Kyle would be able to get in the way anymore after that. There was no sense waiting around, not with a prize like that waiting.
Igniting her lightsaber once again, Jaden headed for the steps leading down below. She smiled. This was going to be fun.
XX
It was over a kilometer- two, easily- from the landing site to the Valley of the Dark Lords. As Jaden had suspected, the Jedi Order and the Disciples of Ragnos were both out in force, engaged in heavy fighting throughout the catacombs and tombs of lesser Sith warriors and loyal servants. The Disciples attacked Jaden immediately, as they freely attacked anyone or anything not wearing Stormtrooper white or wielding a red lightsaber.
Jaden would probably get to that soon enough, but part of her wanted to keep the blue. It might be… useful… when it was convenient to pose as a Jedi. The typical non-Force sensitive had never been very good at distinguishing the two. And at this early point in her new life, as her efforts to break free of the Jedi shackles and realize her full potential were only just beginning, posing as the member of the Order she had once been might come in handy.
It certainly did as Jaden battled her way through the tombs. Letting the Dark Side flow freely through her, Jaden killed the Disciples of Ragnos swiftly and painfully, her heart singing with joy each time she broke a neck with a Force push, each time she severed an arm with her whirling dual-bladed lightsaber and heard a Disciple scream like a child. But the best of all by far were the Jedi. Some of them, the more wary and adept ones, the veterans, noticed something 'off' about Jaden as she tried to greet them as a friend. Those Jedi had to be killed quickly. And of course anytime Jaden did that, the younger Jedi, the Padawans and newly-promoted Jedi Knights (like she had once been) who were nearby, noticed and had to be killed as well.
But other times, Jaden encountered a lone Jedi, or two. Sometimes they would be the only ones n the room to begin with, and other times they were the only ones left once the dust settled. Jaden leapt into the fray as if to save them, calling out words of encouragement to the Jedi. She would fight whoever they were fighting, act selflessly to preserve the lives of the Jedi in the room or hallway. She even added an extra special touch to the delightful deception, calling on the Disciples she battled in front of these Jedi to surrender. None did, which was just as well, because if they had Jaden would have killed them anyway.
And then, when the latest small battle was won, and the Jedi around her let down their guard, Jaden re-ignited her lightsaber and struck them down. Some turned instinctively at the sound of the weapon activating, whirling to get a look at the unseen enemy Jaden had sighted. Their glimpse of that unseen enemy was the last thing they ever saw. Whether she took both sides on at once or fought one and then cut down the other unawares, Jaden exulted in her victories. The Force flowed through her like a swift, rushing river, grown from the smallest of brooks. It pulsed stronger every time she flung someone through the air using the Force, every time she blasted deadly, agonizing lightning from her fingertips. Every time she killed, Jaden could feel herself growing stronger. Every time she killed, she felt more in tune with the Dark Side, gateway to the truly unlimited potential for power offered by the Force.
She killed many times on her way to the Valley of the Dark Lords.