Flare's eyes shot open just in time to see a dark red light whirling towards his bare chest. Letting his instincts take over, he sprung out of bed. Channeling the Force to augment his jump, the blood red blade of the lightsaber narrowly missed his midnight blue skin.
As soon as Flare landed, he dropped to the ground as the lightsaber came sailing back through the air into the assailant's hand. Knowing he had only a few seconds to act, he rolled onto his side and thrust his arm out toward his armor, which was hanging on the wall. Before he could locate his belt, the assassin brought his arms above his head, ready to deal the final blow.
"Th-there is no de-death, there is the f-force," Flare stammered, reciting the final line of the Jedi Code. He calmed his emotions, leaving nothing that the Dark Jedi could use against him. He slowly shut his eyes and braced himself for the end.
The Dark Jedi snarled, bringing the crimson red blade downward onto Flare's calm, motionless form. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me," he spit out as he lurched forward, the blade piercing Flare's majestic blue skin.
Flare, laying on the ground, was unable to comprehend what had just occurred. The blade of the lightsaber had passed right through his body, as if he wasn't there. He shook off his confusion, knowing he was lucky to be alive, and quickly located his belt. Not wanting to alert the assassin, who was pillaging his room, Flare used the Force to try to pull his lightsaber to him from the hefty armored belt hanging on the wall. Within seconds, Flare's lightsaber was swiftly gliding through the air, directed by only his thoughts.
Flare leaped up, catching his lightsaber in midair. Igniting its impressive black-gold blade, he brought it down upon the assassin, whose jaw dropped with terror upon catching sight of the seemingly vanquished Jedi hovering over him, about to end his life.
"It's not possible! You were dead!" the horrified Dark Jedi wailed as the lightsaber slashed through the tender flesh of his stomach, both cutting and cauterizing the wound.
"Am I now? If that's so, why am I standing over what will soon be your corpse. Now, who hired you?" Flare asked the assassin as he crumpled to the floor.
"It doesn't matter. Where I have failed, another will finish the job!" the assailant spat, knowing his time was short.
"You will tell me who hired you," Flare said, using the Force to persuade the mutilated murderer.
"I will tell you who hired me…," the assassin replied, seemingly confused by his willingness to cooperate, "It was a Sith by the name of Avalane…," The Dark Jedi muttered, as he collapsed in a heap.
"Avalane… why does that name sound familiar…?" Flare questioned himself. He heard a loud crash as his door burst open, followed by another Force user who wore the traditional robes of the Jedi.
"What the hell happened here?" the Jedi asked, surveying the scene.
"Ealeo, calm down," Flare muttered, still worn out from the fight. "To begin with, I woke up with a lightsaber flying at me," he replied, motioning toward the assassin's lifeless form.
"What?" Ealeo implored, obviously confused. "Why didn't you call for help?"
"You know that if I had time, I would've. Considering I woke up with this flying toward my body, I didn't have any time," Flare said, handing Ealeo the assassin's weapon. "He said he was hired by some Sith named 'Avalane'. The name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I've heard it... Any ideas?"
"I've heard the name, but I have no idea who it is. Sorry Flare," Ealeo muttered, trying to place where he had heard the name.
"Well, I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing. Call Marisolice on her holocom and let her know what happened. I'm going to find this 'Avalane', and when I do, that Sith better start talking," Flare announced while he began to put on his heavy black, orange, and cerulean blue armor. Sliding the last piece on, he dashed out of the room, determined to find the employer of the assassin.
Flare sprinted past the Merchant Ward of the Outpost, ignoring the constant chatter of the customers and the loud shouts of the auctioneers. Just outside the Outpost's Medcenter, he sighed in relief as he finally caught sight of his intended destination.
The Speeder Vendor, Dasharr Färcry, shouted a greeting as Flare trudged toward him, still groggy from the rude awakening. "What can I do for you today Flare? Haven't seen you in weeks!" the merchant smiled.
"I'm actually here on business today," Flare replied, knowing he wouldn't be able to rent a speeder without explaining his intent to his old friend. "I woke up with a lightsaber flying toward me. I was able to persuade him to tell me who hired him, and now I'm off to find the assassin's boss. I need a speeder to do so, and we both know you've sold the best speeders around for years."
"I see…," Dash muttered, deep in thought. "But how would you find this 'employer'?" He inquired, appearing troubled by this new obstacle.
"I... have no doubt that the Force shall guide me," Flare replied slowly, knowing that he was only acting on his instincts, not with wisdom.
"If you're sure." Dasharr remarked. "Since I've known you for so long, and since you rent my speeders whenever you leave the base for your fieldwork, I'll let you borrow one, free of charge. How about this black and gold one?" He announced, a wide grin appearing on his rugged face.
"You're a lifesaver Dash. I owe you big time!" Flare exclaimed, overwhelmed by the generosity of his friend, "This one will do perfectly. It matches my lightsaber." He finished, eager to begin his search.
"Travel safely, and I hope to see you return soon." Dasharr added, knowing about Flare's tendency to be rash.
"Hope your business continues to do well while I'm away," Flare commented, starting the speeder. "See you soon!" He yelled over the roar of the engine as he darted away, leaving Dasharr in the dust.
Gliding out of Republic Territory, Flare quickly came upon a village in which resided a community of Lehon's native species, the Rakata. The Rakata are a carnivorous reptilian species with one eye protruding from each side of their head. They are also known to be cannibals. Although they have highly advanced technology and machinery, they choose to live in towns made of wood and bamboo, all intricately put together to form amazing building structures.
Once he had passed through the town, Flare noticed an orange light in the distance rapidly approaching. He slowed his speeder to a halt about a mile outside the settlement as the orange blur was now extremely close. He instinctively hit the ground upon seeing that the object was not going to stop. Narrowly missing his body, Flare heard someone shout in anger, although he could see no one. Still prone, he surveyed the area, attempting to locate the mysterious person. As soon as he moved, the orange light returned, again barely missing Flare, who immediately drew his lightsaber.
"Ahahahah. You think you're very resourceful, now don't you, Jedi filth?" cackled a young feminine voice.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through Flare's body, and he could smell burning flesh as he stumbled to the ground. "Who… are… you…?" Flare asked, his body writhing in agony.
"Oh, you should know by now. A pity your precious 'Order' didn't teach you how to defend yourself against lightning. This was the easiest fight I've had since my training on Korriban!" the voice shouted in mockery. Instantly, a teenage girl, who looked to be no more than eighteen, materialized in front of Flare. "Shocking, isn't it?" She jeered.
"I'm not afraid of you Avalane. Your assassin went down easily, so you shouldn't be much different," Flare spit out, mustering up his courage.
"Oh, you think so, do you? I think my lightning has something to say about that!" She shouted in glee, shooting another round of electricity into Flare, who screamed out in agony. His body was beginning to mutilate from the unnatural high voltage sent throughout it. "Want it to stop? Just submit to me, then. If the Jedi are 'oh so powerful', then why can a mere Sith acolyte like myself take you down with a technique almost all Sith are taught from the beginning? Why do you think we were able to infiltrate your Command Post, and almost successfully assassinate one of the Order's most powerful and promising Jedi? It's obvious that the Light Side is no match for the true powers of the Sith."
"If I submit…," Flare paused, screaming out due to the immense amount of pain caused by his wounds, "Will you let my friends live?" He finished, his voice full of desperation.
"If they submit to me as well, gladly. Let me see, was it that one rather handsome human, about my age I'd say… Ealeo was it?" Avalane smirked.
"No! Stay away from my friends!" Flare shouted, channeling his anger through the Force to choke Avalane. He then collapsed in a heap as his lightsaber rolled from him, his singed incapacitated body unable to maintain the energy required to subdue Avalane.
"Good! Use your anger! Ah yes, you will be one of the finest Sith we have seen in years. Already so much contained hatred and anger. I'm sure your friends will make nice slaves as well," Avalane said, trying to provoke Flare.
"No!" Flare screamed out. He lept into the air and kicked Avalane to the ground, his body now fueled by his rage. Pulling to lightsaber to his hand, he ignited the blade, and he began to bring it down onto Avalane's tan flesh.
"Flare! Stop! Don't you see? She's trying to turn you!" yelled Marisolice, Flare's Jedi friend who had just arrived on-scene along with Ealeo. Her lustrous sleek brown hair dropped to her broad shoulders as she ripped off her helmet. Her unique cyan eyes met Flare's with a pleading gaze.
Flare immediately dropped his lightsaber, distraught by what he had almost done. "There is no emotion, there is peace," he recited, attempting to let go of his volcanic rage. Flare turned, walking back to his speeder.
Just as Flare reached his speeder, he heard Avalane grunt. "Ah, I guess I was wrong," Avalane smirked, "Maybe they won't be useful after all!" She cackled, sending her orange blade flying toward Ealeo. He was concentrated on Flare, so he couldn't see the lightsaber sailing through the air toward his body.
"No!" Marisolice shouted, diving in front of Ealeo just as the blade was about to pierce his robes. Her lifeless form tumbled to the cold ground, causing Flare's anger to spiral to an uncontrollable rage.
Flare leaped over to her body, grabbed her purple double-bladed lightsaber as well as Ealeo's lime green double-bladed lightsaber and soared through the air to Avalane, who was enjoying the display of Flare's rage. Only too late did she realize what he planned to do. He ignited both of the double-bladed lightsabers, and threw them both at Avalane, using the Force to aide his accuracy.
"Why you little…!" Avalane screamed sending wave after wave of electricity towards Flare as the first lightsaber hit her, grazing her side. Seemingly unaffected by her new wound, her onslaught continued, electricity being wildly flung through the air, hoping to find its target.
"Flare! Stop it! Let go of your anger!" Ealeo yelled, using the Force to knock the second lightsaber to the ground, distressed by his friend's sudden anger.
Flare looked over at him with a sudden hatred, and picked up his own lightsaber from the ground. "It's your fault she's dead!" He yelled. "If you weren't so stupid and slow, she would still be here!" Flare flew at Ealeo, impaling the unsuspecting Jedi with his black-gold energy blade. "You two would have been safe, had you stayed away. Now, you ended up getting both Marisolice and yourself killed! It didn't have to come to this!" He yelled into Ealeo's ear. Ealeo grunted in disbelief, and stumbled to the ground.
"There is no death, there is the Force," Ealeo said, breathing his final breath. His lifeless body hit the ground with a thud.
Flare surveyed the scene, his anger coursing through him as though he were a volcano, and his rage the lava. Not only had he just exacted his revenge on the Sith who had cleverly attempted to kill him, he also had murdered his two best friends. They had only been trying to help him, and he had murdered them! He trudged over the rocky soil until he reached his speeder, not wanting to even glance at the mutilated corpses of the Jedi that had once been with him through thick and thin.
As Flare mounted the luxurious black and gold speeder, he heard a cough behind him. Rolling off the speeder and onto the hard, gritty dirt, his eyes shot up. He expected to see another assassin coming at him, its lightsaber drawn. Instead, his gaze fell upon the cold, empty stare of Marisolice, whom he had believed to be dead. Dumbfounded, he stumbled backward, trying to rapidly locate his speeder which had been close behind him.
Marisolice's menacing glare quickly transformed into one of her signature dazzling smiles. "You actually thought me dead," Marisolice chuckled. "Did you honestly believe I would be so unprepared to the point that I couldn't even conjure a simple illusion?" She questioned, shaking her head in disbelief at Flare, who was still clueless as to what had just occurred. "Do you really think Ealeo would have moved so slowly had he truly been here with us. I advised him to stay back at headquarters, as I knew Sith are unpredictable. How do you think that lightsaber passed right through you when you were fighting that assassin this morning? I had sensed the battle and used illusions to make you seem defeated, which gained you the upper hand in the battle. Illusions can only be used if the Force user has an affinity with the Force." She explained, stating it as though it had been obvious.
"The lightsaber slashed you in the chest! I saw your body hit the ground! There's no way you could have survived that hit!" Flare cried out, utterly confused.
"You should know by now that I never leave base without my armor," she laughed as Flare's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "I think you might need some anger management classes. If you learned one thing today, it's that revenge sucks. Now, let's go back to base. I think Ealeo might have some things to say to you."
