PROLOGUE

JEDI

WEAPONMASTER

SARA

NIGHTINGALE

PROLOGUE

THE ECSTASY OF GOLD

VS. THE CALL OF KTULU

January 30, 1405 Galactic Calendar

1613 Galactic Standard Hours

Korriban Dark Jedi Academy: Outside

Sara Nightingale moved as fast as the wind, no…faster than the wind. She was swift and silent in her observation of the Dark Jedi Academy. Ten years had passed since its supposed destruction, and still it thrived. A controversial destruction at that, 'The great Sith massacre,' is what the politicians called it. That's what it had been labeled as. 'An army of thousands of Jedi, killed children and teacher alike at a school of the force. A rival school of the force.' That's what the headlines wrote. But they were mistaken, the Dark Jedi had started the fight.

They started it eleven years ago when a student named Rico was admitted into the Dantooine Jedi Academy. A year later the boy killed teachers and students in order to let the Sith and 'harmless' Dark Jedi into our Academy. 'Harmless?' Those 'rival force users' slaughtered hundred of students and nearly all the teachers. It took the Jedi weeks and months to eradicate them from Dantooine and the outlying planets. So the Jedi retaliated.

Yet unlike the Sith and Dark Jedi, they didn't send a lone student undercover to learn the weaknesses of the Academy, you see the Jedi fueled by vengeance something they weren't accustomed to invaded in full force and killed not only students and teachers but their leader at the time as well, 'Darth Ktulu.' The war was finished, the Dark Jedi were through…or so they thought.

Intelligence reported of a newly rebuilt Dark Jedi Academy. Being led by the infamous General Taurus. There were reports that he was training a new Dark Lord, one to take over in the death of Ktulu. So Sara was sent in to kill this young man, this would be future Dark Lord. A mission that is not to be on paper or record. The mass public would never understand why a young man was assassinated by the Jedi of all people. Not after the massacre, they would never allow it.

Nightingale is the most keen, fastest and smartest of all of Neo's Jedi. 'Jedi Weaponmaster' is Nightingales title. A title only earned by the most ferocious of all the Jedi. By the most cunning, the most courageous, the most daring. Neo exempted, there was only one of these at all times.

The Weaponmaster had no time to worry herself with others. A Jedi in that title always worked alone, any who followed a Weaponmaster was sure to die, now was no different.

Ten battle droids patrolling the Academy as a diversion, and a set of snipers on top of the outlying cliff was what Nightingale had surveyed from the outside. The clickty-clank of the droids was loud enough, but the rough and course sand of Korriban was what gave the snipers away. Wind blowing horizontally to the east shouldn't inadvertently circle around a mound of sand. Unless an infrared scope was attached which pulled the billowing particles in towards it.

Her light brown robe acted as perfect camouflage as she swiftly circled behind either sniper with the speed of the force behind her, she low crawled up to their position. While either sniper were still mindset on the enemy coming into view on their scope, each was surprised to taste the sweet bitterness of their own blood that soiled the hand guard of their long beamed rifles before their limp head collided with the guard then borrowed into the textile sand that had once held them up. Courtesy of a knife to either throat the blade of her saber would be too noticeable in the sandy pitched environment around her. Nightingale was perfect in the art of 'discreetness.'

The silencers on the long beamed rifles were still too loud for Nightingales likings. She had a standard of absolute flawlessness in her missions. No sound, no matter how minute, would jeopardize that. Bangs, flashes and loud sounds wouldn't appear in her mission until she decided it was necessary to do so.

The ten droids patrolling around the Academy were loud and moved clumsily. There were far more advanced droids out on the market, these ten seemed to be purposely downgraded and stupid. She didn't like this feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. A trap most likely, but she had every training and tool in her arsenal to spring the trap.

Weaponmaster Nightingale didn't even bother with the droids. The elimination of one would trigger the others to send a report to the control station. Using a simple force invisibility shield, she masked her body heat and slipped past them and into the Academy.

There was no door leading inside the Academy entrance, but there was one leading inside the Academy, past a large hallway.

She didn't sense any infrared nor motion sensor detectors. From the point of view of an infiltrator, this was another bad sign. She tiptoed smoothly across the concrete floor. Smartly taking in all of her surroundings, she needed to be aware of everything.

The door to the Academy interior crept open in front of her. Nightingale was fast though, she already had the element of invisibility, and the Jedi student who walked out had no knowledge of the Weaponmaster who clung above him on the ceiling concealed in shadow. Unaware, the student read a holo-book and continued walking.

Nightingale dropped silently from the ceiling in a crouched position. Now directly behind the student, she hastily stood to her feet and wrapped her right forearm across the neck of the student, the hand of the right held onto the back elbow of the left and the hand attached pushed the students head forward. Essentially choking and pushing the students head forward simultaneously. He silently gasped and twitched uncontrollably in resistance. But it was far too little resistance. She then kicked the back knee of the student and taking a step back herself, rendered him useless. She now dragged him backwards into the nearest shadow silhouetted corner.

The boy limp and unconscious, the Weaponmaster slowly lowered his body to the ground. He would be out for an hour at lest, more than enough time for Nightingale to complete her mission. She had orders to reduce casualties to a minimum, her main focus was the primary target.

Switching robes and pants with the student, substituting the brown for black, she picked up his holo-pad and entered into the unlocked doors of the Academy.

The school was dimly lit and smelled of rotten death. She could easily feel a large connection with the force. A different type of force, a Darker kind.

Ahead of her, she could see two students dueling with red bladed sabers as a teacher watched over. To the right stood three students who bowed to one another and then began in hand to hand combat. A teacher on the side of them was critiquing each student and cheering them on.

Screams and shouts filled the next room, as she watched young children attacking life sized silhouettes and giving loud war cries. Each child had a long pole with a painted red tip on it. The obvious shape of a lightsaber. Their strikes were directed toward certain vital points on the silhouettes that was painted a circular white spot, supposed vital organs. "One shot, one kill!" A teacher was yelling at them. The children chanted back, "Ready to die but never will!"

There was no doubt in Nightingales mind, the Dark Jedi weren't destroyed. From what she had just seen and heard from the children, their adversaries seemed to be stronger than ever before, and if not now, would eventually become so. These new Jedi would be more ferocious, more destructive, more suicidal. One such child even had a blue tattoo with purple triangles covering the front of her forehead, what pain that must have been…she had to find the young man and kill him quickly.

She ventured down another hallway and now she stood at a crossway. Several different directions she could head to. Attuning her senses she discovered the right one. It was the path where the connection with the force would be less evident.

If indeed the General was training the boy, it would surely be in secretive and isolation. No students or teachers would bother them.

The hallway leading to the young man was emptied and cold. But she was absolute certain it was the right one. Looking behind her she easily opened the door and slowly walked inside with her saber disconnected from her side and held in her right hand.

The room was empty let alone a single large chair in the middle. She could see the back of the young man, he sat reading a holo-book. Looking around, she could neither sense nor see the General. She dropped her own holo-book, intentionally letting it hit loudly on the floor below, in an attempt to draw out the General or surprise the young man. Yet still the young man didn't turn his chair to look at her and the General didn't come out.

Slowly walking behind him she activated her saber, and stood silent.

"So they sent a Weaponmaster after me, I'm honored to say the least." The young man in the chair said calmly. The chair slowly turned around and there he sat. The boy Neo had let live. But he still carried the battle marks of facing the great elfin Jedi Master. A scar that began from his mid left hair line and receded down the right side of his face, across his right eye. As he slowly stood up, his black slick back hair swayed lightly. Just as calm as he had stood, the man slowly reached to his side and after a moment pause activated his own lightsaber. He gave a sinister smile to the Weaponmaster standing at the ready in front of him.

"I've trained and waited many years to exact my revenge on that traitorous elf, but slaying her personal pet will do for now." The young man spoke. His smile faded with the speed that Nightingale exacted. She didn't waste her time with witty slogans or retorting comments, she was about action, not words. She showed him with a quick slice of her blade.

Rico didn't drop down dead as he should have, no, he remained still and his torso shimmered a splash of translucent colors.

The hologram image of Rico had looked so real, but she had been tricked by this new technology. The image deactivated his lightsaber and began laughing uncontrollably. How could the young man have known she was coming, how could he have set up a hologram image of himself in the place he knew she'd look? General Taurus was no doubt alive and well. He had strategize who Neo would send and how the Weaponmaster would go step by step to complete her mission. No wonder the droids were so old and there were only two snipers. The boy she had subdued had given up little resistance and she was not bothered or questioned once upon entering into this room. She had foreseen a trap and walked right into it.

Lights beneath Rico's image began to light in succession…a countdown.

Nightingale spun so fast her black cloak wouldn't have caught up unless it had been worn on her body, which it was. Though the speed of the Weaponmaster was uncanny next to Master Neo herself, it wasn't fast enough. A loud bang sounded, an explosion of light and flame ripped through the air and sent Nightingale flying backwards, causing her to drop her active saber.

The Weaponmaster knelt up and immediately had to brace herself with hands to the debris stricken ground as she coughed up blood. For a mere second she closed her eyes and remembered how much her illness had gotten worse over time. A mission several years back had nearly killed her. A fight with a witch named Sabrina, Nightingale put that witch on the shelf for nearly two years. But the Weaponmaster had been injured drastically, Sabrina had ripped open Sara's body and did her work.

For months Nightingale lay in the hospital, sickening worse everyday. Thinking she would die, the only way to save her was to take out half her damaged organs and implant artificial ones in their stead. It let her live, but they weren't made for her fast paced life, they couldn't keep up half the time and daily her body told her with random spurts and coughs of blood.

Hacking up red fluid one more time she opened her eyes and looked at the blurry filled room. She could hear doors being closed and locked behind her, but for the life of her she couldn't see clearly. Her vision had taken a hit as well.

Silently cursing, she managed to shake off the pain and slowly stood up. She then noticed several ribs were cracked and blood now seeped down her left arm under her cloak. Her vision now returning to her she looked to her fallen saber and summoned it back to her bloody fingertips.

She didn't bother wiping away the blood that had begun dripping down from the creases of her lips and down her chin and neck. There were better things to worry about. Including the three large doors at the front of the room that loudly creaked open and slammed shut. Out came a trio of seven foot tall figures draped in black cloaks wearing silver masks with horizontal slits where the eyes should have been and vertical where the mouth was to be.

Nightingale couldn't determine if it was from the newly reinstalled vision of hers or a simple illusion trick, but regardless she couldn't see the three figures feet touch the ground. In place of feet was smoke, green eerie smoke, the figures looked as if they were gliding on top of it.

The illusion phenomenon didn't scare Nightingale though, she had dealt with such terrors before. Sensing, she could tell they were undoubtly strong and swift, but of all things important, they were independent. This wasn't the first time she dealt with these foes.

More smoked filled the room, from where she couldn't tell, but she doubted her own feet were even apparent now.

The three figures still moving in towards her, she could see that their right hands were missing and in place were curved glowing red blades.

She had learned about these so called 'psychological killers,' Death Knights, the personal bodyguards of the Dark Lord. Their looks were literally to die for and they always appeared as more than men in the face of their enemies. Terror ensued. Theatricality and elusiveness was their key power. But as stated earlier, Nightingale was not the slightest bit dismayed. Many of these foul beasts had lay rest to her blade.

Taking a step forward to meet head on with the three figures, she fixed her attention on one after another, in order to choose the best candidate to strike at first. She found him, her eyes fixated on the furthest demon to the right.

Crouching down, ready to attack, she rose her blade out in front of her, she could sense that the figure knew it, as he stopped then too raised his blade in preparation to attack as the other two continued moving forward. Nightingale moved with the utmost intensity and speed at her enemy, the force technique known as Master Speed being used at its fullest potential.

Shrouded in the musky cover of the green smoke she deactivated her blade, clipped it to her side in order to cover her trail.

The tall figure on the far left wasn't ready when the Weaponmaster lunged at him with a single jump, cutting across the distance of the room instantly. He backed up at the last second and blindly swung his right arm out. The Death Knight was fast indeed to have even caught glimpse of her lightning swift speed. In her youth, Nightingale knew that the foe would have never saw her, she's getting slower due to her illness and age. But Nightingale easily ducked underneath the swing and shot up with an attack of her own. She needed to make an impression on these so called 'psychological killers' with a psychological move of her own. Let them know who their dealing with.

With untracked speed, she shot up her right hand palm extended and grabbed onto the thick throat of the figure. Fueled by the force she rose him off the ground. They do have feet after all, she couldn't resist to think of seeing the dangling pair of black boots.

Screaming, she continued suspending him in the air with a single arm then forcefully she grabbed onto the black hooded mans right arm by the triceps then ripped it off his connected body. Blood splattered out as she slashed the glowing red curved blade at the tip of the arm into and through the tall man's body. Splitting him into two halves on the ground. The two accompanying figures stop and stare at her.

Nightingale was bathed in the red shower of blood that rained down on her. Sporadic blood of an enemy was a Dark Jedi's dream and a Weaponmasters standard.

Without moving, her saber flew from her belt and she caught it in her right hand. Spinning around to gain speed, she hurled the glowing blade tipped arm of the Death Knight she had just killed towards the nearest hooded figure.

Leaning over from the throw she watched as the blade curved limb flew right through the Death Knights torso that momentarily gleamed translucent. The Knight held out his left hand and a spiral of green smoke flew at her. It wasn't a hologram, Nightingale was sure of that when the beast of a man ran through the smoke filled room and harshly grabbed onto her choking unguarded throat and slammed the back of her head and body into the furthest pillar.

With sheer strength the Death Knight held unflinchingly onto Nightingales throat and began squeezing the air out of her lungs. At the same time, Nightingale was doing all that she could to fend off strikes from his opposite hand that wielded the unconventional curved blade.

Moments more pass and the Weaponmasters eyes begin to flutter. She can now see the purposely slow moving third hooded figure moving towards the two of them.

Using her mind to trigger the force, she activates the blades at the bottom of her black boots and stabs them at the Death Knights chest. Feebishly kicking, she uses all her strength and flexibility and somehow manages in colliding her right heel with the figures mask. In response, the man tightens his grip even more around her throat, then with one hand flings her over him and onto the ground.

Not having time to brace herself, she lands viciously on her chest and once again coughs out blood. Another two ribs break. She doesn't cy or scream in pain, but she hates the fact she uncontrollably coughs up blood and is now shaking, it shows a weakness in her.

A bladed hand is moments away from crushing her, she once again shakes off the pain and rolls to her side. She hasn't escaped from harms way, the blade clashes next to her again. This prompts Nightingale to roll yet again but instead of staying on the ground, she utilizes the force around her and spins up from her side to her feet.

Her spontaneous use of the force once again catches one of her enemies off guard. Nightingale can't even feel the broken ribs nor the torn up insides of her body that scream in pain with receding blood trickling from her mouth. She momentarily feels perfectly healthy again. The force is like a naturally ecstasy that can keep you alive even if you're a hairsbreadth away from certain death.

Unleashing a flurry of precise combos and attacks only a true Weapnmaster attuned with their custom made lightsaber could pull off, she outperforms the sacred guard of the Dark Lord and with a well placed knee to the chin standing upright seven plus feet in the air, knocks the big man down.

Nightingale need not look behind herself to know that the only standing being besides her was dashing towards her. But the speed did nothing for the Death Night, a powerfully summoned force push lifted the beast off his feet and backwards into the air as it had done to her.

Her abdomen began to tingle in pain no not yet! Once again sucking in the force around her, she fueled herself with such nirvana, that the pain once again went away, then she launched her feet from the ground and landed on top of the stumbling Knight she had bested in the weapon duel, who was now crawling on his hands and knees.

Slamming the blade of her beam into its spine should have killed it, but these things weren't like any conventional species, they were altered somehow…in the most grotesque ways imaginable.

The Weaponmaster pushed the beam even deeper through its body. Screaming through its mask in pain, the Knight still crawling with the Weaponmaster on top of him, swung back with its bulky elbow and collided it with its enemies jaw.

Letting go of the saber, Nightingale swayed backwards but quickly regained her balance and felt the un-proportionate alignment of her jaw. Popped out of place, she unemotionally popped it right back in.

Her untended to pain exploded onto her enemy as she wrapped both her blood stricken hands on his head. Though the black hooded figure resisted, it was no match against the force fueled Jedi. A well placed hand on either side, powerfully she twisted the Knights head rudely around itself twice. A set of loud punctual cracks sounded. Finally the Knight stopped moving all together, and Nightingale continued to crouch on top of the lifeless body that now head dived unlikely into the ground.

One Death Knight left and her body was still adrenaline fueled by the force around her.

Attuning everything around her, Nightingale sensed the last of the Knights running at her from behind.

In pure awareness, she tightens her grip on the back head of the fallen Knight she crouches on top of. Using the back as support, she grinds her boots even deeper into its body then rolling backwards, she smartly flips the dead Knight behind herself and at the running black hooded figure.

On her back now, she plants her hands behind her head and back flips in a spin, feet first to the ground, facing the direction of the last of the three current enemies.

Sara Nightingale moved as fast as the wind, no…faster than the wind. She was swift and silent in her pace through the green smoke filled room. Much speed that the body she had thrown hadn't even reached its target yet. Its target that she now stood behind, the last of the three Death Knight.

The lifeless body of the cracked neck Knight collides with the one in front of her. The Knight nearly teleports out of the way to avoid the contact, but Nightingale was faster than him.

Her blade behind her body, she draws up speed then plunges the glowing blue into the enemies back. Like the second one, this one refuses to die by a mere saber in the back. The hooded figure reached behind with its left hand, in order to extract the weapon from its body, but Nightingale has other plans. Seeing the arm reaching back, the Jedi forcefully grabs it then twists it upwards and circular, snapping whatever bones were in place. She then holds the broken left arm behind its own back. Still pinning down the arm, she reaches up and grabs the right arm of the beast and power struggles to move it up to its own neck.

Both parties arms shake as they test their strength against one another. Nightingales front body pressed against his back she is unaware of her failing body that ribs have once again began cracking inside of. Blood once again spurts from her lips and her eyes begin to get filled with the red liquid. She's becoming light headed and her strength begins to falter next to the seven tall hooded figure.

Dammit! Not now! Nightingale breaths in and pushes with all her strength. Now she isn't sure whether it was her strength alone or that of the force, but regardless, she overpowered the final Death Night and used its own bladed arm to cut its own throat.

Nightingale side stepped as the final enemy fell backwards to the ground in a pool of its own blood. Standing still, the Weaponmaster held out her hand and her lightsaber ripped through the dead Knights body and back to her hand.

Out of the three doors in front of her, the middle one opened and this time Rico didn't step out, instead it was something much worse. A man whowas the definition of the word 'scary.' The man who was said to have defied hell itself and killed the Devil. The great strategist military General, the man in charge of the entire Sith military, a cold look and barb wired sewn on jaw were indication enough of his pure evil and loyalty to the Dark side of the force, General Taurus.

"Remarkable, three Death Knights slain with little more than your bare hands, I doubt even Neo herself could do so well. Bravo Weaponmaster Nightingale." The General spoke sinisterly.

Saber still active, Nightingale took a single step forward and fell to her knees coughing up blood.

"I see your aliment has finally caught up with you. Such a shame, I would have preferred to test myself against you in your prime."

Nightingale tried to stand but once again found her body rejecting the idea. Her insides wrenching together she coughed out blood.

Walking up to her, General Taurus activated his own lightsaber and finally told her, "goodbye Jedi Weaponmaster."