A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars

Knights of the Old Republic

The Way of the Force

It is a dark time for the galaxy as the Republic has been thrust into the midst of war. The Republic is falling, the Sith are rising: chaos is everywhere. From the ruthless actions of Darth Malak, countless Jedi are fighting their darker brethren to defend the stagnating Republic. There are heroes and villains on both sides.

The battles of hundreds of worlds have left many lives lost, corruption goes unchecked. In the Outer Rim, there lay rumours of an ancient holocron, which could provide the finder of such an artifact unparalleled power. In the hands of the Jedi, balance to the Force could be restored and perhaps bring about a chance to rebuild a dying galaxy. In the hands of the Sith, however, the Force could be wielded to an unfathomable extent, allowing the galaxy to be plunged further into the darkness.

On an Outer Rim planet, two Jedi embark on a mission to follow the ruminations of the Holocron and retrieve it, with the determination to restore peace and justice to the galaxy…

Prologue

It was dark, the light was fading quickly and he was still running through the caverns. Using the Force to keep his strides up and to increase his speed further, he knew it was only a matter of time until he would inexorably be forced to fight his pursuers. He could feel the pull of the Dark Side, he could feel it growing and gaining on him, slowly but surely. It would only be a matter of time until his former Master managed to regroup with him, but in the next few minutes Jedi Knight Dante Ravenmoon would be forced to fight against his darker brothers.

Hold on Dante, a calm, wizened and familiar voice said. I am right above you, remember: there is no chaos, there is harmony, the voice said to Dante. The familiar lines from the old Jedi code, a mantra with which to allow a Jedi to center oneself. It wasn't long ago that Dante ascended to the rank of Knight. It also wasn't very long when they were sidetracked and were forced to split up in order to cover more ground. Only to run into that trap, he thought smartly. Dante continued to run out from the caverns of the ruined temple on a nameless planet. The stone pillars, broken statues and piles of debris marked the once noble Jedi Temple. Or was it Sith? He shook his head, the entrance-now his much sought for exit-lay just 5 meters from him. Feeling the gap between his pursuers and himself close much more rapidly now, Dante reached out for his lightsaber and found it in his right hand. Leaping into the air-and out of the ruins--, came the familiar snap-hiss of the lightsaber, the weapon of the righteous Jedi and ruthless Sith alike, and Dante swung around to strike at his pursuers with the knowledge and comfort of the terrain to his advantage.

His pursuers, two Dark Jedi adepts, ignited their own lightsabers and clashed against the Jedi Knight's weapon. The three engaged in a dangerous dance, movements flowing together in deadly harmony, striking, thrusting and quick parries. Feeling the Force all around him, the Dark Side threatening to overwhelm the Light, Dante spun and managed to hold his sapphire blade in a lock with both of his adversaries in front of him. Feeling their anger radiate from them and the lack of control the adepts had, Dante swung about and kicked his left opponent across the face, leaving him winded and out of the fight for now, spun out with his blade to renew his attack at his now single-and much more vulnerable-- foe.

Blast! Where is that ship! I can't hold these two off forever and I can feel more on the way. Dante continued his strikes not relenting for one moment and continued to drive his lesser opponent down. "This doesn't have to end in bloodshed. Turn back now, no one has to die," Dante said to the Dark Jedi, very calmly and trying to sound reassuring, while trying to keep the sound of desperation out of his voice. Too many Jedi had turned their backs on the Order and on their fellow brothers and sisters. Too many had died and it seemed there was no end to this war. The way things were going, it wouldn't be too long before the traitor Malak would rule over the broken Republic. At the way things were going, it wouldn't be too long before someone replaced Malak himself; after all, this was the same 'Jedi' who turned his back on his former friend, and Sith Master, Revan.

The adept growled at Dante and continued to strike back with his own lightsaber. Guess that's a no, he thought candidly. Dante parried and managed to drive back the adept each step coming closer to an edge. The area had been subjected to wear and tear for at least a hundred years. The second adept slowly rose, noticing his ally was slowly being driven back. Feeling the hate swirl within himself, he jumped towards the Knight only to watch a viridian blade come crashing down into his face.

"Told you that I'd be here," smirked the Jedi Master Alec Ness. The wizened man appeared no more than 60, a discernible scar running from his right cheek towards his right pectorals and shoulder blade: the discernible scar of a lightsaber. With his white trimmed beard and a seamlessly perfected hair style slicked back, he could pass for being an aristocrat had he not been wearing the trademark robes and wielding the lightsaber customarily attributed to the Jedi Order.

"A little less talk and a little more help would be appreciated, Master!" Dante called as he managed to daze his opponent with blunt hit between the eyes with the hilt of his saber, before driving it into the chest of the adept. The stunned adept appeared fearful, he began to realize the grim darkness and weariness of death take over and he fell.

Smiling lightly, but only with the genuine concern for his former Padawan, Alec replied, "seemed to me that you could handle him. After all, the dogs of war will continue to cry for more bloodshed before this is all over."

Looking at the old man, they both switched off their lightsabers and began to look around for their ship and couldn't help but notice the destroyed bridge, the cliffs and nothing that seemed to connect them with a way out of the ruins. "Well, it would appear that we're without a means of leaving this planet, Master. Surely they should have been here by now. I can only imagine what our smug friend might be doing right now." Dante continued to look around, still feeling at unease and noticing that his right glove was torn, exposing his light brown skin.

Their pilot of a freighter they had purchased from a junk dealer, an old light-class freighter with about as much capability in it as the likelihood of a rancor dancing to the tunes of a tone-deaf Bith, happened to be a former Republic commando-turned-Sith assassin-turned-.. something. Unfortunately, this universal soldier happened to have one problem: he can't turn down a tempting wager, especially if it's more than credits at stake. This contributed heavily to his stationing as the Jedi chauffeur. However, his skills were indeed useful, perhaps unparalleled. He also was the team leader of his group of commandoes on the mission with the Jedi. "Sekula Mumba, where did you go this time?" Dante mumbled under his breath. In times such as this, patience was indeed a virtue.

"Relax, Dante. He'll be here when the Force wills it and not a moment later."

Looking at his esteemed former Master, Dante couldn't help but wonder if he too felt the Dark Side emanations coming towards them or if the Force was ebbing within him. Age had a tendency to dull the senses.

"I feel them too, relax. We will be gone long before they arrive." Even after all this time together, Alec was continuing to teach to his former apprentice and newly ranked Jedi Knight. Dante looked around at the ruins and felt its own emanations. Obviously the ruins were rife with the Force, but the only reason why neither of them-nor their Sith counterparts as well-couldn't tell who once occupied the temple was because the Force wasn't a fountain of the light nor the dark; it was merely a fountain of the Force.

Sighing, Dante closed his eyes and once more immersed himself within the Force, reflecting on days past and possibly days yet to come. He was the youngest of his brothers, his two older brothers being identical twins and both of them dead, in some form or the other. In his black clothing, he seemed a lot more unconventional than most Jedi. Even Master Alec dressed in darker colours-well indigo to be precise, but what's wrong with wearing black? Whilst Alec wore robes that were very in tune for a Jedi, Dante wore black, slightly form fitting clothing, a long-sleeved shirt, with his gloves. The only different colour in his attire was gunmetal grey: his bracers. They were special-- as he had picked them up in Tatooine while searching for a bounty hunter who was notorious for the deaths of several Jedi-- as they contained a cortosis weave. It deflected lightsabers and had saved him more than once. Feeling once more in tune with the Force he felt the sharp spikes of the Dark Side rising towards both he and Master Alec. He had always been perceptive, even as a child, and more so now due to the crystal in his lightsaber, which he bonded to and which greatly channels the Force through him. Another place in which we have yielded no results. Has the Council begun to lose its wisdom? Is this a fool's errand? Is there no such Holocron which may provide the answer to restoring balance to the Force and the Galaxy? I wonder.. Suddenly Dante's line of thought was cut off from great dark presence that had arrived before their ship.

The three Dark Jedi ignited their sabers. There were four distinct crimson blades. The Dark Jedi in the center of the three appeared to wield two lightsabers and happened to take an interest in Dante. She was human, that much was obvious, though her skin-tight clothing left a lot less to the imagination, though it included a reason to desire her. Her raven hair reached her up to her neck, though some of it covered her right eye; her eyes revealing a venomous green eye on her left and a cold gray eye on her right. Her blades were shaped slightly as if both blades should connect adjacently and form a notorious double-edged lightsaber. Her left arm was left sleeveless and it showed her toned muscles and a tattoo of daggers around her bicep. Her left hand was gloved. Her entire right arm was covered. Smiling lustily and with hungry eyes, her cold but soft voice simply stated, "you two take the old man. I have this one." With a grim but determined expression, both Alec and Dante ignited their lightsabers, a silvery green blade and a sky blue blade with a barely visible swirl around the center of the blade itself. The acolytes made their war cry and met the Jedi blade for blade.

As the female Dark Jedi lunged in towards her would-be prey, Dante strafed out to the right and spun to meet one of her blades. They began their own dance of blades and continuously struck out, searching for weak spots and finding none. She smiled, a cold and almost sadistic feeling to it and she continued to strike out, one blade quickly replacing the other, only to be blocked and parried by this single blade wielder. He was good; really good.

Dante continued striking and blocking, searching for that opening he knew would come: dualists almost always rely on their blades to get them through a fight. He blocked her scarlet blades coming in at both sides, only to spin around and feel a shot at his ribs from a kick. He continued, unabated and spun his blade closer to her, almost as a shield and to let her think she could thrust at him. She took the bait. Her blades spun out to the right, Dante punched her with his right fist, his left arm holding the blades at bay; and she was pushed back, slightly closer to the ledge of the cliff face.

Alec saw both of them come in at him from both sides. He spun and quickly deflected both blades and continued deflecting and spinning and preventing them from continuously striking at him. He was on the defensive, but it appeared-- that unlike the last ones-- these were highly trained fighters. They were relentless in their strikes and continued working together. Too bad they weren't fully Sith, otherwise it would have been much easier to make sure one kills the other and attack the one left standing. Alec knew that he could yet win this fight. These two were young and didn't have the knowledge of fighting enemy Jedi and other would-be assassins in the 45 years he had lived fighting. When one is 60, you tend to pick up a few tricks. The two Dark Jedi continued to strike, aiming for his midsection. Alec continued to deflect and spin and found what he was looking for. He quickly spun in the reverse direction, deflected and Force-pushed one of the acolytes towards the ledge. He returned in a blur towards his opponent he left unchecked and continued driving him towards the interior of the ruined Temple in the hopes of reducing the young fighter's mobility. The second dueler got up and hurried to catch up in the fight.

The female acolyte very much enjoyed the fight, her lip bleeding and tasting her own blood she enjoyed the thrill of the fight with this particular Jedi. There was something to him, something very familiar though. Almost as if she'd seen him before. His eyes, dark brown, almost black, radiated a strong will. After she killed him, she'd enjoy taking his saber and searching for someone to be an even worthier opponent as she would remember this fight for a very long time.

Dante continued to parry her shots and swiftly kicked her to the ground. He felt a strange disturbance in the Force. There were multiple ripples, but they were coming for him. Sekula. Just in time, he thought bitterly. He continued fighting the female Dark Jedi, her movements were fluid, she was definitely skilled and it was more than likely she had killed some of his other brethren. She looked once more in his eyes and knew this was the one person whom could very well destroy her. Bringing her blades to block a downward slash from Dante, she formed an X and brought her blades to lock and be much closer towards Dante than he would have cared. The looked each other in the eyes, his passive yet strangely aggressive expression vivid on his face, her aggressive expression and lustful smile on her soft lips.

"You're good. Too good, which is why it's a shame you have to die now," she flatly said to him. He stared back at her, his eyes revealing the fury within him. "Not today, it's your turn to go, witch." Shoving her, their blades lost their hold with each other and Dante continued to strike at her. She felt his anger slowly rising, his urge to destroy her. He was flirting with the Dark Side and she enjoyed feeding off it. She blocked his blades once more, forcing Dante to lose control of the fight and be struck right across the face, falling flat to the ground. "This isn't over yet, Lover." She grinned and laughed. She jumped off towards the ruins to join her two comrades with the hopes of killing the older one. Dante groaned and tried to get up and catch up to help his former Master.

Alec continued fighting and noticed his second opponent return to the fray. The Jedi Master felt himself touch with the Force, become a part of the flow and immerse himself in this fountain. He continued to deflect their attacks and he managed to trap his first quarry into a pit, dropping debris into the pit covering the acolyte. Suddenly a frenzy of attacks came towards him as he was pitted against the sinister female and the other companion. This time he pushed them towards the entrance, in hopes of getting them back into the open: he had trapped himself. Dante, get up! The ship is coming for you! You have to go now! Alec knew he wouldn't come out of this one alive. But if Dante could make it back, then not all hope was lost. He immersed himself once more into the Force and continued blocking and striking heavily at them, hoping the change in his fighting style wouldn't allow them to adapt. He continued fighting, reciting the Jedi code in his mind, while remembering the moments he enjoyed in the past. How excited Dante had been when he was 12 and built his first real lightsaber. How he had remembered the time Dante used the living Force, saving both of them from certain danger with the dreaded Rancor. How Dante had been more than a son to him over the years. Alec recanted the memories in his mind and one thing was clear: he could never have been more proud than ever to have trained Dante to be the man he was now. Even as the female acolyte bore her lightsabers down on him, Alec truly knew what it meant in the mantra "there is no death, there is the Force". Even when the last thing he heard was Dante screaming, "NOOO!" and he felt fire envelope him.

Dante immediately ran towards the entrance, but was stopped when more debris started to fall. Something wasn't right. He heard his Master call to him through the Force, but it seemed the old man wanted Dante to go without him. Fat chance, Old Man. You're coming with me. He thought to himself. As he made his way to the entrance, he gaped at the scene in front of him. He saw the female acolyte run Alec through with her blades, he saw his Master-- the man who could be considered his Father-- die in front of him. He screamed, "NOOO!" But even he didn't hear it, all he could feel was the death of Alec and the last thought from the former Jedi Master: I will be with you, always. He couldn't hear anything; he kept replaying the death of his former Master in his head, it was all surreal. He didn't hear the engines of the freighter, the Thunderbolt, that came to pick both Alec and he up. He didn't register the explosion of the entrance hallway of the Temple from the missile the freighter fired. The shockwave of the explosion threw Dante back, throwing him off the cliff face. The last thing he knew before he blacked out was that Alec had died…

There is no Death, There is the Force