(Kreiton's POV)
Kreiton looked down from his hidden vantage point on a ridge that overlooked the compound. Gazing through his macrobinoculars, he began counting.
"Hmmm," he thought to himself. "There's too many for me to take on alone."
He raised his head to examine the land around the compound, looking for possible entry points where one or two people might be able to sneak in, but it seemed the Sith had chosen well for their camp's location. The compound was set in the middle of a vast lake bed, which had dried out long ago. With at least a hundred meters between the camp's perimeter and the base of the nearest ridge, the only other way into the area was via the dried river bed to the south, which had presumably been how the lake's water had drained so many millennia ago. There were no fence or guard towers placed around the compound, but there was a palpable sense of watchfulness coming from the area. The Sith were not content to assume their presence was a secret.
Looking once more at the compound, Kreiton began to take stock of the types of structures he saw. There were several smaller tents, probably used as barracks for the soldiers. There were also many prefab buildings. Designed to be broken down easily, moved, and erected quickly, these buildings looked to be large enough for a mess hall or armory; one even looked large enough to serve as a small hangar for one or two fighters. However, the structure that caused him to feel the most unease was the one in the very center of all the others. It was not especially large, but it seemed to be made of ferrocrete. Since it was not common to take the time to make a building out of permanent materials for a temporary base, Kreiton had to believe that these Sith planned to be here for awhile.
"Well, we'll just have to see what we can do to change their minds," he thought. "The last thing we need on Yanibar is a Sith encampment."
Slowly, he began to crawl on his belly down away from the edge of the ridge until he could stand up once more without being seen by watchers in the camp. Standing, he turned and began walking back to where he had parked his speeder a few hundred meters away. Once he reached it, he pulled out his commlink and, patching it through the encryption equipment he kept in the speeder, called the local Zeison Sha headquarters.
"It looks like I was right, we've got a regular infestation of Sith out here. I'm transmitting the coordinates now." He paused a moment, reluctant to say the rest, but knowing that there was nothing for it. "I need you to send a transmission to Coruscant, to the Jedi Temple. Tell them that we need them to send us some backup. I know, I know, I don't much like it either, but they have a lot more experience dealing with Sith than we do." He paused, remembering his own first encounter with a Sith. "I'm sure I don't have to remind you what happened the last time a Zeison Sha had a runin with a Sith on Yanibar, and that was only the one. This time, they've established an entire base. Just send them the message, and be sure to mention my name. Maybe all that time I've spent on Coruscant helping them deal with their problems will encourage them to help us out. In the mean time, I'll stay in position here and keep an eye on things. Kreiton out."
He returned his commlink to his belt and deactivated the equipment in the speeder. As he turned to make his way back to the ridge, he felt a sudden tingle at the base of his spine as his danger sense kicked in. He began to reach for his discblade, but felt something hard and heavy strike his left temple. Stars exploded before his eyes, and then everything faded to black. He did not even feel the ground as it rose up to smack him in the face.
(Riani's POV)
Riani Starchylde walks to her ship with the datapad containing the vital information for the Jedi healers at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The information will be used to help the recent crop of former Clonetroopers who showed up to the Temple seeking healing for a degenerative disease the only afflicts those Clones that survived way past their supposedly limited life spans.
She brushes her blonde hair away from her blue eyes as she comes up to her Stealth X. The astromech R9D9 chirps and whistles that there is a Priority one message from The Grandmaster, Mara 'Dodge' Skywalker.
"Put it through, R9." Riani says wondering why the Grandmaster would be calling her from Coruscant. Her mission to Kamino is a Blue Milk Run.
The holoimage of The Grandmaster flickers to life from the holoprojector. "Jedi Starchylde, are you there." The shimmering blue image asks squinting her eyes.
" R9 boost the transmission." Riani orders. The droid beeps and chirps a reply and the image of Grandmaster Skywalker stops squinting. "I'm here boss lady. What do you need? I have the Data the Healers need I was on my way back."
" I'll need you to transmit it from there. I just received an urgent message from the Zeison Sha. The message is a request for help." Mara says with a troubled tone in her voice.
"The Zeison Sha need from the Jedi? That's a new one. Given the history between the two." Riani replies back with a slightly sarcastic tone.
The Zeison Sha are an Isolationist Order of Force adepts that prided themselves on their
survival skills and their resourcefulness. History states that around the time of the New Sith Wars friends and families of the Jedi were secluded on Yanibar to protect them from harm. The wars took a total on the Jedi and every Jedi that knew of the whereabouts of the refuge were killed. Left to their own; the refugees made an existence on Yanibar. The Force sensitives that were among them help with this.
Over the course of time the Zeison Sha developed a culture all their own. Zeison Sha force sensitives are renown for their telekinetic abilities which often outshine the Jedi. The two Orders could never reconcile over the fact that the Jedi started to take Force sensitive children from their families to train them to be Jedi. The Zeison Sha train their Initiates but allow them to stay with their families. This was the main reason the two factions never could reconcile.
"I know, Riani, but the problem is Sith are involved. They are requesting our help because they don't have a lot of dealings with the Sith." Mara informs Riani.
"So, why me?" Riani asks politely. "I have to get back and train my Padawan." She adds.
"You're the closest Jedi I have to the situation on Yanibar. That and given you know how the Sith think you're the best candidate." Mara states.
Riani feels a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach. Having turned to the Darkside because of her mixed up feelings for her former master, Davva Vanstra, who fell into the Darkside and was reborn Darth Eversio. " Look, Grandmaster, with all due respect; just because I was a Sith for a time doesn't mean I know all their thought patterns." She says with a hint of frustration in her voice.
"Riani, look I know you want to escape all that but the fact remains you're better suited to this mission than most." Mara says with an undertone of making it an order without directly saying so.
"Okay, fine." Riani says raking the fingers of both her hands through her long blonde hair in frustration. She connects the datapad to R9 who transmits the data for the Healers. "Anything else I should know?" she asks halfheartedly.
"They said that they lost contact with their scout two days ago. Oh!"
That "Oh!" is not something that the Grandmaster says often. That means she is genuinely
surprised.
"What is it, Mara?" Riani asks actually concerned now.
"The scout was Kreiton." Mara replies.
Inside of ten minutes was all it took for Riani to do the preflight checks and bursted out of the atmosphere of Kamino. She sets the navcomputer with the coordinates of Yanibar. Riani's mind set on finding out what happened to the only person outside of the Jedi that she fully respected and trusted with her life. He never doubted that she would return to the Jedi after her fall to the Darkside. She owed Kreiton big. She activates the hyperdrive as the stars elongate in the familiar way they do before the big burst of speed that sends her Starfighter heading for Yanibar.
(Kreiton's POV)
When Kreiton finally awoke, it was to pain and dizziness. He had a feeling that he had been drifting in and out of consciousness for some time, but could not remember anything after being hit. As he slowly became aware of his surroundings, the first thing he realized was that he was laying curled in a fetal position on a cold metallic floor. Opening his eyes, he saw a faint glow coming from the doorway, and recognized the telltale hum of a force field. He started to sit up, but the sharp pain in his temple convinced him to remain where he was for a while longer. Instead, he gingerly turned his head to take in the rest of the room.
As it turned out, "room" was a generous term for the cell he was in. It was shaped like a threesided pyramid with two walls made of durasteel, the third being formed by the force field itself. The durasteel walls sloped up to meet each other directly over the threshold of the cell, allowing the force field to be completely vertical. Unfortunately for Kreiton, the cell was only about two meters at its highest point, which was directly over the force field's emitter on the threshold. He recognized the design as something that could be folded up and moved from place to place easily – in keeping with the design of the rest of the camp's prefab structures.
Looking through the force field, Kreiton could see the control board that governed the power to the force field for his cell. "They can't have made it that easy for me, can they?" he thought to himself. He reached out to the controls with the Force, but as soon as he did, he felt a wave of nausea rise up and threaten to spill the contents of his stomach, breaking his concentration. As soon as he stopped trying to use the Force, the nausea began to dissipate. "Hmm…they didn't make it so easy after all," he thought.
Feeling the need to move his stiff muscles, he slowly raised his head off the floor, and leaned himself back against the seam where the two durasteel walls met. It meant that he had to lean forward, but at least he had just enough room to stretch he legs all the way out for a moment. After giving them a good flex to get the blood flowing, he folded them back underneath himself so that he was sitting crosslegged. As he did so, his movement pushed his back against the seam momentarily, and he thought he felt it give way ever so slightly. Deciding to test this, he placed his feet beneath him, braced himself against the two walls, and pushed up as hard as he could. The effort nearly made him pass out as his head throbbed in protest, but he was rewarded by feeling the walls separate nearly a centimeter before he heard a metallic clink and more resistance than he could overcome at that point. Satisfied with what he had learned, and fearful that he might lose consciousness again from the strain, he settled back down to the floor and waited for his head to stop spinning.
"This cell is designed to be collapsible and easily moved whenever they break camp," he thought to himself. "I'll bet there are hinges on the outside that attach the walls to the floor, and the tops of the walls must be held together by some sort of chain or even just a clasp of metal…which means that'll be the weakest point of the cell. If I can somehow either snap that clasp or even just one of the loops that it must run through, the walls will push away from each other, and I can walk out of here."
However, he knew that in his weakened condition, there was no way he was going to be able to stand up and push against the walls with enough force to break through whatever was holding them together at the top before he blacked out from the effort. Frustrated that he was so close to freedom and yet still unable to grasp it, and cursing the pounding beat of blood in his head, he lowered himself to the floor. Turning over to lay on his back, he looked up at the seam that silently defied his efforts to push it apart. Given the shortness of the floor relative to his own height, he was forced to place his feet up on the walls in order to keep his head from making contact with the force field. As he did so, a smile of determination crept across his face as an idea occurred to him.
Scooting himself closer to the back of the cell, he placed himself so that he would have the best possible leverage as he placed one foot on either side of the seam. Then, bracing himself against the floor, he began to push up. He felt the resistance from the metal clasp as soon as the walls had separated a centimeter, but he kept pushing, alternately relaxing his legs and flexing them in the hope that he might be able to kick the walls apart.
Even lying on the floor, the effort made him begin to feel dizzy, but he continued pressing against the walls. He saw stars floating before him, and the edges of his vision began to darken, so he closed his eyes and kept kicking at the walls as hard as he could.
Finally, just as he felt himself slipping away into limbo once more, he felt something give. With a crack, the clasp holding the two pieces of durasteel gave way, and the walls fell away from each other. Kreiton lay panting from the exertion and effort of not passing out. When he felt he would be able to move without blacking out, he turned over and slowly rose to his feet. He made his way shakily to the control console before his knees began to buckle. Grabbing it to hold himself upright, he studied it for a moment before finding a way to call up a schematic of the compound. Looking over it, he realized that this was the building he had thought might be a hangar. Instead, he saw they were using it to store food, weapons, and ammunition…in addition to their holding cell.
"They're using Yanibar as some sort of depot," he thought. "But why? And where are all these supplies coming from?"
Just then, he heard a siren begin to sound. At first he thought he must have triggered some sort of alarm by breaking out, but then realized if that had been the case he would have already been swarmed by Sith troopers. This must be something else. He made his way to the door to the building he was in, the sudden burst of adrenaline allowing him to ignore the pain in his head for now.
Slowly, he opened the door and was surprised to see a lone figure leaping, twirling, and striking down numerous Sith troops. It was almost like watching a ballet the figure's movements were so beautiful. Her blonde hair trailed behind her like a comet's tail as she moved, glinting with reddish highlights as it caught the setting sun's reflection. As she waved her arms about, two viridian blades soared through the air, moving to a rhythm only she could hear while they deflected deadly red blaster bolts and sliced into those troopers unwise enough to get too close to her.
Kreiton knew that whoever that was out there, talented though she clearly was, would eventually be overwhelmed by sheer numbers if he didn't find a way to help her. Turning back into the warehouse, he found the crate he was looking for. Bracing himself, he stretched out with the Force and pulled the lid off of the crate, thankful that whatever had caused his nausea in the cell clearly did not extend its effects this far away. He lifted a blaster rifle out of the crate, opened another crate to supply himself with ammunition, and made his way back to the door.
Taking another look outside, he could see the figure was still holding her own, though she did seem to be slowing down slightly. Seeing a trooper take aim at her from behind the cover of another building, Kreiton brought his blaster around, aimed, and fired twice. The first shot hit the other building just behind the trooper's shoulder, but the second went right through the side of his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground.
He made his way from building to building, taking out as many targets of opportunity as he could while everyone was focused on the saberwielding figure. When the last trooper finally fell, he turned to see the figure standing in front of him, and recognized Riani.
"Glad you could make it," he said as he fought to remain on his feet. "Thanks for coming."
With the immediate excitement of battle subsiding, he again noticed the seemingly enlarged size of his head again. Placing a hand gently on his left temple, he dropped the nowspent blaster and started walking towards the ferrocrete building he had noticed during his initial survey.
"Come on. I need to know what these chakaar are doing on my homeworld."
(Riani's POV)
Riani looks at Kreiton with a frown. "Your not going any where right now but to my Stealth X. I can sense your hurt. Injured your nothing but a hindrance to whatever you have planned.." She says bluntly with her hands on her hips. The look in her bright blue eyes is tender and caring; yet stern and determined all at once.
"Kreiton we don't have time, Ri. There are more Sith here. We need to find them." He states.
"Their here. Yes. You being in any condition to do anything about it. No. I'll compromise. You sit and let me Heal you with the Force we'll go right after. You refuse to get healed I'll knock you out myself and then heal you." She says even more determined.
"I'll be fine as soon as we find my things. I've got some herbs in it that'll take the pain away and let me function." He grumbles at her.
"We'll find your things after your healed sit." She barks as she point to a small toolbox on the ground.
He sits down on the toolbox and looks at her. "Alright. Let's get this over with."
She smirks at him. "You're a horrible patient."
"I know the healers of my clan say the same thing." He half chuckles.
Riani moves toward him and starts checking his left temple which was bruised badly. She let's out a low whistle. "Kark!! Kreiton , had they hit you any harder you'd been dead. You probably have a major concussion." she says with concern in her voice.
"Explains a lot." Kreiton just nonchalantly says.
Riani can't help but giggle at Kreiton as she closes her eyes and centers herself in the Force. The Force rushes into her like a raging river providing her strength and energy. Once she is certain she is refreshed she opens her eyes. Her normally bright blue eyes have turned into blue chromatic mirrors; a trait associated with true Dantooinian Force wielders.
She looks at the bruise and focuses on it. Slowly looking into the bruise at a microscopic level then into the blood vessels then into the brain. Riani sees that he indeed has a major concussion the telltale hemorrhaging is there. Slowly she open herself deeper into the Force; letting it flow into her then through her into Kreiton. The sensation she has been told by those healed by her is akin to a warm zephyr off an ocean. She slowly heals the hemorrhage then all the damaged blood vessels. After twenty minutes she shuts the flow of the Force off to him then her. She looks at his temple. The nasty bruise that was once there has vanished. "There how do you feel?"
"I'll be fine as soon as we find my things. I've got some herbs in it that'll take the pain away and let me function," Kreiton grumbled at Riani. He did not want to stop now. Who knew what these Sith were doing on his world? He had to find out.
"We'll find your things after you're healed. Sit," she barked as she pointed to a small toolbox on the ground.
He sat on the toolbox, reminding himself what a pain Jedi could be when they are convinced they are right, and knowing that she would not let the issue drop until he allowed her to take care of his head wound. "Alright, let's get this over with."
(Kreiton's POV)
After some banter back and forth between them, Riani placed her hand gently on his left temple and began to allow the Force to flow through her and into Kreiton, carefully repairing the damage. He closes his eyes as the warm flood of energy fills his head. He had only ever felt anything like this once before….with Trinta. The memory hits him like a sharp pain in the chest, constricting his heart. Not wanting to worry Riani, he clamps down on the feeling, trying to shove the memory aside.
After what seems to Kreiton like a very short time, Riani pulls her hand away from his head and asks, "How do you feel?"
Keeping his eyes closed, he breathes deeply. "Better." He stands up abruptly, still trying to push aside the pain of his memory, and takes hold of Riani's hand without turning to look at her. "Thank you," he says, keeping his head turned so she will not see the tears he has to blink back.
Letting go of her hand, he begins walking quickly and deliberately toward the compound's main building, more determined than ever to make sure these Sith do not cause any harm to his homeworld. "Come on. Let's not wait for an invitation."
(Riani's POV)
Riani places her hand on Kreiton's shoulder as she walks with him toward the main building. " Here you might need this." She says as she hands him one of her lightsabers.
He hesitantly takes it. "Don't you need this? I mean isn't dual sabers your primary style? Wouldn't you fight more effectively with both?" He says feeling awkward. Thinking he is sounding like an idiot.
"I don't need two lightsabers to be able to fight well. Davva trained me in all the lightsaber forms with a single saber before he trained me with dual sabers. I even know how to fight with a saberstaff and hand to hand." She smirks feeling his awkwardness in the Force."I'll be okay." She suddenly snaps her head in the direction of the Main building as she feels a tremor in the Force.
" I feel it too." Kreiton says as he grips Riani's lightsaber in his right hand tightly. The random errant thought runs through his mind that her lightsaber is well designed and balanced. It feels natural in his hand.
The durasteel door slides open quickly as six dark robed masked individuals race out toward them. All of them with crimson bladed lightsabers. Riani reacts quickly by igniting her viridian colored light saber in her right hand as she moves quickly to her right away from Kreiton. Hoping to draw at least three of the attackers to her. The tactic works.
The fastest attacker engages her with a high arching double gripped over head attack. A classic Ataru attack. She simply sides steps to her left as the attacker brings his blade down missing her completely. Riani executes two quick strikes; one to the attackers right elbow cleaving it off then quickly stopping the momentum she redirects the attack by simply turning her wrist and letting the attackers momentum complete her own attack as he runs his stomach into the blade. The attacker screams and falls to the ground in three pieces.
Riani quickly places her left hand on the hilt and continues forward bringing her lightsaber up and to her left to block the second attackers to her neck. She lurches forward with her head and smashes it into the attackers nose. The attacker backs bringing his left hand up to his masked nose as he executes a fanciful flourish used to keep an attacker a bay. Unfortunately the for the attacker as it does keep Riani for advancing forward the flourish eviscerates his companion who had executed a forward Forceaided aerial flip up over the nose smashed attacker; to try to take advantage of his companions stalling defense.
The nose smashed attackers eyes widen in shock as he sees his companion fall in front of him in several pieces. The hesitation provides Riani time to charge in and smash his jaw on the left side with her right fist with the weight of her lightsaber aiding to the strength of the punch. The attackers eyes roll back into his head as he falls to the ground unconscious.
Riani takes up all the attackers weapons as she watches Kreiton finish with his attackers.
(Kreiton's POV)
As the Sith approached him, Kreiton bent down, almost casually, and picked up seven small, smooth stones from the former lake bed with his left hand and stood back up. Grasping Riani's saber in his right hand, he began to walk calmly toward the nearest of the Sith. In any other place, he might have seemed like he was going on an afternoon stroll.
"I will give you this one chance to leave my world," he said as he gently clacked the stones together in his hand.
In response, the Sith nearest to him leapt at him, his blade raised over his head for a powerful downward strike that would split Kreiton down the middle. Rather than try to move out of the way of the attack, Kreiton hurled the stones in his left hand at his attacker. The stones flew, with a telekinetic nudge through the Force, into – and out of – his attacker. Knowing that having seven projectiles shoot through his body would eventually be lethal, though excruciating in the interim as he bled out, Kreiton activated Riani's lightsaber and with a single smooth motion, sliced the now falling Sith in two, ending his agony.
As the first Sith hit the ground to Kreiton's left and right, the largest of his opponents charged at him. This opponent reminded him of the descriptions he had heard of the ancient Dark Lord Bane. Nearly two meters tall and built like a mountain of muscle, the Sith charged him, striking with his lightsaber again and again in a very aggressive use of Form V. Rather than lock blades with this giant, Kreiton deactivated Riani's lightsaber and leapt up toward him. He timed his jump so that the Sith's blade would be on a downward swing as he approached. Kicking off of the Sith's head, he tucked himself into a front flip that took him closer to his final opponent while causing the mammoth to stumble forward. Capitalizing on the other's momentary lack of balance, Kreiton struck him with a Force Push, knocking him to ground hard.
As he knocked down the Big Guy for the moment, Kreiton could hear the telltale hum of a lightsaber cutting through the air, and he knew that if he did not move quickly, he would be having a very unpleasant encounter with the glowing red blade that belonged to his final opponent. As soon as he landed, he threw himself backward onto the ground. Landing hard, he barely avoided the energized blade as it passed over him. As the woman wielding that blade continued her swing into a spin, Kreiton kicked up from the ground, regaining his feet, and once again activated the lightsaber Riani had given him. The viridian blade sprang to life as the female Sith's red saber completed its circle and crashed into it.
Rather than try to overpower Kreiton, the Sith allowed her blade to bounce off of his as she spun around to strike at his back. Knowing that he did not have much time before the large Sith was able to get up and rejoin the fight, Kreiton spun himself around as if to bring his blade in to block her attack. However, as their backs were toward each other, he reached out with the Force to grab a large stone and pulled it directly at his own head. As the Sith brought her blade around for the attack, Kreiton dropped to the ground, below the level of her attack, allowing the rock to crash into her face. He heard the distinctive pop of a nose being broken, and looked back at her in time to see her fall to the ground, blood streaming from her nose and mouth, unconscious.
Unfortunately, Kreiton did not have any time to catch his breath, because the Darth Bane lookalike had now regained his feet and was coming at him fullbore with murder in his eyes. Knowing he would not be able to overpower this mammoth, Kreiton focused on deflecting and parrying as many of the attacks as he could, though each blow forced him back a step. Realizing that he needed to do something before he ran out of room, Kreiton watched for his opportunity. As the Sith took another swing, Kreiton brought his blade up to block the strike, and locked sabers with the giant. As the two men began pushing at each other, it quickly became clear to both of them that Kreiton was losing the battle of strength. However, as he was slowly forced to bend backwards, instead fear, his eyes were filled with determination when he looked up at the Sith.
Without warning, Kreiton took his left hand off of his hilt, grabbed the Sith by his right wrist, and fell backward. As he did so, he placed his right foot squarely in the Sith's stomach and pulled him over on top of himself, and kicked him over as he continued his backward roll. The look in the Sith's eyes went from confident, to uncertain, to surprise, and finally ended with a mixture of pain and rage, as, in the midst of the roll, Kreiton took advantage of the larger man's distraction and deftly sliced off his left hand.
Kreiton quickly got to his feet and turned to look at the Sith. He was kneeling on the ground, holding his left hand to his body with his right, and staring at his severed hand and the deactivated lightsaber it still held lying on the ground between them. As he looked up at Kreiton, he let loose a cry of pure rage and hatred, amplified through the Force and directed at the Zeison Sha. The blast knocked Kreiton off his feet, sending him flying several meters through the air to hit the wall of the main building with a heavy thump before falling to the ground. As he picked himself up, Kreiton could taste the salty stickiness of blood trickling into his mouth from where he'd bitten his own lip. He looked up at the Sith and smiled mirthlessly.
Kreiton and the Sith rose to their feet simultaneously, each one's gaze locked on the other – redhot fury meeting cold determination. The Sith raised his right hand and let loose a furious assault of Lightning. The lightning streaked out toward Kreiton desperately trying to wrap its deadly tendrils around him, but he was no longer there. Seeing the Sith raise his hand, Kreiton knew what would be coming next. Gathering the Force about him, he leapt high into the air, clearing the barrage of lightning. As he came down at his opponent, he ignited Riani's lightsaber one more time, and passed the viridian blade through the Sith, cleaving him in two as it passed from the crown of his head all the way down.
Looking down at the four pieces of the two Sith he had killed, Kreiton deactivated the lightsaber, and allowed himself a momentary pang of regret that they had refused to leave when he told them to. He collected the three lightsabers, and walked over to where Riani was waiting for him beside the entrance to the building. He dismantled five of the six blades they had collected from their attackers, and left the pieces laying on the ground. Placing the sixth one on his belt, he handed Riani's lightsaber back to her.
"Here. I'll use this one until we can find my own things. It'd be better for us if you had both of your blades…just in case."
"Alright, if you're sure?" she replied as she took the lightsaber from him.
"Yeah," he said as he wiped the blood from his lip. His brow furrowed in concentration. "I get the feeling you may be wanting it in there." Shaking his head to clear it, he said, "Come on."
As they made their way into the building, the first thing that struck Kreiton about it was its utilitarian design. The hallways looked just like one of any number of corridors he had seen in buildings that had been built in the days of the Empire; spartan and utilitarian with absolutely no decoration or ornamentation.
They made their way slowly and cautiously down one hallway after another, their senses stretched as far as they would go in order to alert them to any ambush or surprise that might be in store for them, but none came. After the intense fighting they had gone through to get into this place, the silence and lack of any living being began to trouble them. They went from room to room, finding communications equipment, a dining hall, and a refresher, but no sentients of any species. They did not even encounter so much as a single droid.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Riani said as they came to the first locked door they had encountered.
"Well," Kreiton replied, "one way or another we need to find out what they're doing here. My guess is that whatever's on the other side of this door is key to figuring that out." He began to slice the lock. After only a few seconds, there was a soft click, and he stood up. "Be ready," he said as he opened the door.
As they entered the room, the first thing that struck Kreiton was the ostentatious feel of it. The floor was carpeted in dark purple, and any wall space that was not covered by some sort of shelving revealed rich wood paneling. The shelves themselves were lined with scrolls and books. The far side of the room was dominated by a large wooden desk with three nerf hide chairs around it – one for the person seated at it and two others on the opposite side for guests.
Taking all of this in with a glance, Kreiton forced himself to turn his focus from the vast amount of wealth needed to ship all of these things all the way to Yanibar toward the two men seated at the desk. The Falleen sitting on the far side of the desk looked up from the conversation he had been having with the Twi'lek sitting opposite him to view Kreiton and Riani as they came in.
The Falleen stood and moved from behind the desk, raising his hands in greeting and smiling. "Ahh," he intoned with a deep, resonant voice, "at last our visitors have arrived." His eyes seemed to latch onto Riani as his smile broadened. "So YOU are the one the Jedi sent. We have heard much about you, Darkchylde."
Kreiton stepped between the Falleen and Riani before she could respond to him. "It's STARchylde, actually. Riani Starchylde. Darkchylde is gone forever."
"Indeed?" the Falleen responded without taking his eyes from Riani. "Are you certain?"
"In either case, it does not make any difference at the moment," the Twi'lek said to his associate in a thin, raspy voice. Turning to Kreiton, he continued, "We hope that our students acquitted themselves properly."
"Students? You mean the six who attacked us just outside?" Kreiton asked.
The Falleen addressed Kreiton without taking his gaze from Riani, "We sent them to welcome you."
"We apologize if they were too…enthusiastic in their manner," the Twi'lek finished.
"Well, there are only two of them left now," Riani told them.
"What did you mean 'students'?" Kreiton demanded, almost speaking over Riani. "What IS this place?"
"Why, it's an academy, of course," the Twi'lek said a little too smoothly for Kreiton's taste. "This is where we bring those students who we feel need some additional training in selfdiscipline. We believe that Yanibar's harsh climate is ideal for toughening them up." He began to smile. It was a sight Kreiton found especially distasteful as it send a small shudder up his back. "It's certainly worked wonders for the Zeison Sha….wouldn't you agree, Krieton?"
Kreiton's eye twitched slightly, though he gave no other sign of surprise that these two strangers knew his name. Apparently, it was enough for them to catch. "Yes, we know who you are," the Falleen said.
"We know much about you and your Order," the Twi'lek added, broadening his smile to show his razorsharp teeth.
"Who are you?" Kreiton demanded in a cold, quiet voice.
"Xin Davon and Juvaren'tal," Riani answered from behind him. When Kreiton turned to give her a puzzled look, she explained, "Davva told me about them once. He…had some dealings with them."
Turning back to face the Sith, Kreiton made a mental note to speak to Riani about the time she spent with Davva after he fell to the Dark Side and converted her once they were through here. He addressed the Sith Lords, "Whoever you are, you are not welcome on Yanibar. We want nothing to do with the Sith. This world is under the jurisdiction of the Zeison Sha, and as such, we reserve the right to determine what, if any, facilities outsiders may establish here. This 'Academy' of yours has not been sanctioned, and therefore, I am ordering you to leave Yanibar immediately and permanently."
"Really?" Juvaren'tal the Twi'lek asked excitedly as he slid to the edge of his chair.
"Indeed?" Xin Davon said, finally turning his gaze to look at Kreiton as though he just noticed he was there. "I am afraid that we cannot oblige your request. The Academy will stay."
Producing the lightsaber he had taken from the woman he knocked unconscious, Kreiton said, "No. It will not."
"Actually," Juvaren'tal said as he stood to his feet, brimming with excitement, "it will." His empty hand suddenly held a lightwhip, which sprang to life.
"You will not impede our work here," Xin Davon intoned as he produced and ignited his saberstaff.
(Riani's POV)
Riani looked at Xin with a smirk. "Davva said you always overstepped you boundaries. I think you've taken too big a bite to swallow this time." She said igniting her twin viridian lightsabers.
"We shall see, Darkchylde, if you're as good as Eversio proclaimed." Xin said looking at Riani as if he meant something more intimate. He reached out to touch her in the Force like an unseen hand caressesing her body in such a way to engage in foreplay.
Riani's body reacts completely the way Xin planned. Her passion ignites the Tahesia welcoming the touch. Riani's blue eyes open in shock as she steps back a step and Force pushed Xin violently back into the wall behind him.
Kreiton reacts by telekinetically pulling at the bookcase along the wall on the right; situated between Xin and Riani. Books, scrolls, and loose papers fly about creating a temporary screen. Kreiton ignited the lightsaber he took from the Sith student outside. The crimson blade comes to life just as Juvaren'tal lashes at him with the lightwhip. Kreiton brings the lightsaber's blade parrying the whips attack as he telekinetically shoves at the Twi'lek. Juvaren'tal falls back smashing into a cabinet in the corner.
"How dare you!" Xin proclaims as she moves forward toward Riani again. "Do you know how many woman would beg for a chance to spend one night with me?"
Riani springs forward and bring her lightsabers down in an arch from her right shoulder simultaneously. "Like I really care." She said as her blades are blocked by his saberstaff. "I am not a sleeper." She added with a strange strain in her voice.
"Ahhh! I hit a nerve did I?" Xin smirks as he launched a series of attacks that she easily parried away with minimal effort.
Riani shakes her head to focus on the fight; her eyes slowly turning into purple chromatic mirrors as she teeters on the edge of the Darkside.
(Kreiton's POV)
Kreiton has been back up by Juvaren'tal's furiously fast lashing attacks. Barely able to parry each attempted strike away. The lightwhip is such an exotic weapon that it is not really ever approached in combat training. With a sizzling snap Kreiton's left shoulder is grazed by the crimson energy tether. The momentary shock of receiving the wound opens Kreiton up to another attack to his left leg forcing him down to his knee.
Juvaren'tal begins another vicious series of lashing attacks at Kreiton as he cackles. "Your doomed Zeison Sha. I will flay your skin from your body slowly. I will savor screams." He raised his arm to strike at Kreiton who noticed his discblade lying on the floor where it had fallen out of the cabinet he Forced pushed Juvaren'tal into.
"I like my skin on my body." Kreiton said with a confident smile as he extended his arm out and summoned his discblade to him. The path he chose severed Juvaren'tal's right arm just above his elbow. Kreiton caught the discblade in his hand as Juvaren'tal grasped his bloody stump as he tried to stop the blood gushing from his wound; screaming. Kreiton flung his discblade again this time separating Juvaren'tal's head from his body.
(Riani's POV)
Riani and Xin who have been oblivious to what had transpired where trading attacks and parries at a blinding pace. Each combatant shown signs of the effect of several successful strikes. Xin being worst of the two. Riani smiled a wicked smile as she heard Juvaren'tal screams end abruptly. "Your friend seems to have expired. Evidently you didn't train him well enough."
Xin screamed in anger as he dropped his saberstaff and unleashed a Force wave at Riani causing her to slam through the door that she had entered the room from. Kreiton lunged at the Falleen but his leg that was attacked but the Twi'lek buckled. Xin laughed maniacally at Kreiton. "You will die Zeison Sha for what you have done." as he unleashed the Force as lightening directed at Kreiton.
Kreiton screams in anger and anguish as the electricity flows through his body. He summons all his strength to stand letting the pain fuel his strength. Xin watches the feat as he continued to pour on the Lightening in almost admiration. The contest of wills goes on a few long moments; each man thinking he is better than the other. Then Kreiton starts to falter, his wounds and the fatigue of the contest taking is toll.
"Noooo!" screamed Riani as she launched herself toward the Falleen.
Xin turned to redirect the lightening toward Riani whose eyes had gone completely red signifying that she had dove into the Darkside. Riani having reigniting her lightsabers used them to redirect the lighting back at the Falleen.
This contest of wills was short. Riani was too powerful for Xin as she steadily stepped forward. Xin screamed in agony as his own lightening was reflected back on to him enhanced by Riani's rage. Xin falls back on to his back writhing in pain as he stopped casting the lightening from his hands. Riani in the grips of the desire to cause him as much pain spins her lightsabers in each hand into a backward grip and drives them into each of his thighs. "You're going to die at my hands you foolish Shutta. I am Darkchylde. No one can stop me." She seethed.
"Ree! No! Stop You're better than this. Better than him." Kreiton pleads. "You have come too far to fall now." he adds with a pained pleading expression on his face.
Continuing to leer with contempt at Xin; she replied back to Kreiton in that haunting hollow voice she used to intimidate her opponents as Darkchylde. "I am better than him." She dragged her lightsabers up the Falleen's thighs toward his groin. His screams of agony getting more anguished. "He doesn't even know he isn't worthy to even look at me let alone to touch me in the vulgar ways he projected into my mind as we fought. No man is worthy to touch me." she added.
Kreiton swallowed hard as he took a chance as he replied back. "That include me, Ree?"
Riani snapped her head in Kreiton's direction with a look of confusion. Xin stopped screaming as he had passed out for all the pain. His legs mangled by Riani's lightsabers. "What?" she asked her voice no longer hollow.
"Am I included in the 'No man is worthy to touch me' comment?" Kreiton asked
"You don't want me, Kreiton. You're too hung up on Trinta or Selene; whatever she's calling herself these days. "Riani retorted.
"Yes I am. That is my fault. I couldn't see pass the pain she caused me to see that you are more caring than she ever was. I care fore you,Ree. As your friend. You mean a lot to me. Come back to the light. Your so much more beautiful when your one in the light." He said with genuine feeling that Riani can feel in the Force.
She closes her eyes as she struggled internally.
"Please, Riani, come back to the light."Kreiton says with compassion.
Riani fell to her knees her lightsabers clattering on the floor on each side of her. For what seemed to both of them an eternity Riani slowly raised her right hand out toward Kreiton. It was shaking. Kreiton taking it as a sign she was fighting for control he moved to her and embraced her close to him. For another eternity he held her until she clasped onto him in a tight embrace. She starts crying. "I'm sorry, Krei. I failed again."
"No. You succeeded. You won. You fought the Darkside back." He whispered
(Kreiton's POV)
Holding her as she cried, Kreiton felt torn between his duty to press on and find out what these Sith were doing on his planet and his duty to Riani to be there for her as her friend. Unaccustomed as he was to seeing someone so strong in such a vulnerable state, he simply stood there with her, patting her back awkwardly, and letting her cry until she was done.
When she finally did manage to pull herself back together, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "You going to be okay?"
She nodded and wiped some tears away. He thought he saw her blush slightly, but couldn't be certain since she turned away from him to look down at the Sith whose legs she had carved up. As she turned away, he looked around the room. On the edge of the bottom shelf of the cabinet he had pushed the Twi'lek into he saw his equipment. He moved over to pick it up, and checked to make sure everything was still there: his lightsaber, his commlink, and his pouch of herbs. He placed them all back on his belt where they belonged, along with his discblade after he'd cleaned the blood from it, and moved to kneel beside the Falleen.
Reaching into his pouch, he removed a small green leaf. He opened up the Sith's mouth, and placed the leaf on top of his tongue where it dissolved almost immediately. Once it had dissolved, his body relaxed noticeably, and his breathing eased into a rhythmic pattern.
"That should keep him under for the next week or so while his body repairs itself." He glanced up at Riani and smiled. "It's not as effective as a Jedi's healing trance, maybe, but it should do the trick."
He looked down at the saber burns where Riani cut up the length of the Xin's legs, and realized that the Falleen would need prosthetics to replace them, as there was no way they could be repaired. She had cut all the way down to the bone, and the heat from her lightsabers had practically melted much of his femurs.
Not wishing to dwell on the unpleasantness of what had happened for fear that Riani would break down again, he stood up and turned to take in the rest of the room. The place was a complete mess with books and scrolls and bits of Twi'lek scattered around. One thing did seem strange to him, however. He walked over to the wall opposite of where the Falleen lay, and noticed that one book was still sitting normally on the middle of the shelf. Everything else had been flung from the shelf in his initial move against the Sith, but this one book had remained unmoved for some reason.
He read the title on the spine aloud, "The Complete History of Corvis Minor." He turned to look at Riani. "I've never even HEARD of Corvis Minor." Reaching out, he went to pull the book off of the shelf. It slid forward a few inches, and then stopped. Frowning in confusion, he pulled at it again, and then one more time. He heard a loud click, and took a surprised step backwards, nearly tripping on the clutter on the floor, as the bookshelf dropped into the floor.
Behind where the bookshelf had stood was revealed a turbolift car. Kreiton looked over at Riani. "Care to take a ride?"